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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:14:06 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24705-8.txt b/24705-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b2b8ad --- /dev/null +++ b/24705-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3100 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Woman with a Stone Heart, by Oscar William Coursey + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman with a Stone Heart + A Romance of the Philippine War + +Author: Oscar William Coursey + +Illustrator: W. K. Leigh + +Release Date: March 3, 2011 [EBook #24705] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project and the Internet Archive.) + + + + + + + + The Woman with a Stone Heart + + A Romance of the Philippine War. + + By + + O. W. Coursey, (U. S. Vols.) + + Author of + + "History and Geography of the Philippine Islands." + "Who's Who In South Dakota." + "Biography of General Beadle." + "School Law Digest." + + + + + All of these books are published and for sale by + THE EDUCATOR SUPPLY COMPANY + Mitchell, South Dakota + + + + + + + + + Copyrighted 1914 + + By O. W. Coursey + + + + + + + +THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART + + +INTRODUCTION + + +To those whose love of adventure would cause them to plunge head-long +into an abyss of vain glory, hoping at life's sunset to reap a +harvest contrary to the seed that were sown, let me suggest that +you pause first to read the story of "The Woman With a Stone Heart," +Marie Sampalit, dare-devil of the Philippines. + +Perhaps we might profitably meditate for a few moments on the musings +of Whittier: + + + "The tissue of the life to be + We weave in colors all our own, + And in the field of destiny + We'll reap as we have sown." + + --The Author. + + + + + +DEDICATION + + +To Her, who, as a bride of only eighteen months, stood broken-hearted +on the depot platform and bade me a tearful farewell as our train of +soldier boys started to war; who later, while I was Ten Thousand miles +away from home on soldier duty in the Philippine Islands, became a +Mother; and who, unfortunately, three months thereafter, was called +upon to lay our first-born, Oliver D. Coursey, into his snow-lined +baby tomb amid the bleak silence of a cold winter's night, with no +strong arm to bear her up in those awful hours of anguish and despair, + + +My Soldier Wife, Julia, + +this book is most affectionately dedicated. + + + "Only a baby's grave, + Yet often we go and sit + By the little stone, + And thank God to own, + We are nearer heaven for it." + + --O. W. Coursey. + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Page + + Marie Sampalit 10 + Region Around Manila Bay 29 + Admiral Dewey 39 + Aguinaldo 61 + Marie, Her Mother, etc. 82 + Filipinos at Breakfast 100 + End of the Boat-Battle 113 + The Rescue 126 + Floating Down The Rapids 129 + General Lawton and Staff 139 + + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + + Chapters: Page + + I. Love Defeated 9 + II. First Shot of A New War 25 + III. Avenged Her Lover's Death 41 + IV. The Interval 57 + V. Filipino Uprising 69 + VI. As A Spy 81 + VII. Off For Baler 93 + VIII. The Gilmore Incident 105 + IX. The American Prisoners 113 + X. Death of General Lawton 131 + XI. North-bound 141 + XII. Crossing the Sierra Madres 153 + XIII. Compensation 167 + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +LOVE DEFEATED + + +Marie Sampalit and her fiancee, Rolando Dimiguez, were walking +arm-in-arm along the sandy beach of Manila bay, just opposite old +Fort Malate, talking of their wedding day which had been postponed +because of the Filipino insurrection which was in progress. + +The tide was out. A long waved line of sea-shells and drift-wood +marked the place to which it had risen the last time before it began +to recede. They were unconsciously following this line of ocean +debris. Occasionally Marie would stop to pick up a spotted shell +which was more pretty than the rest. Finally, when they had gotten +as far north as the semi-circular drive-way which extends around +the southern and eastern sides of the walled-city, or Old Manila, +as it is called, and had begun to veer toward it, Marie looked back +and repeated a beautiful memory gem taught to her by a good friar +when she was a pupil in one of the parochial schools of Manila: + + + "E'en as the rise of the tide is told, + By drift-wood on the beach, + So can our pen mark on the page + How high our thoughts can reach." + + +They turned directly east until they reached the low stone-wall that +prevents Manila bay from overflowing the city during the periods +of high tides. Dimiguez helped Marie to step upon it; then they +strolled eastward past the large stake which marked the place where +the Spaniards had shot Dr. Jose Rizal, the brainiest patriot ever +produced by the Malay race. + +When they came to the spot, Marie stopped and told Dimiguez how she +had watched the shooting when it took place, and how bravely Rizal +had met his fate. + +"If it hadn't been for this outrage committed by the Spaniards," +remarked Dimiguez, "this insurrection would not have lasted these two +years, and we would have been married before now; but our people are +determined to seek revenge for his death." + +Then they started on, changed their course to the northward, entered +the walled-city by the south gate, walked past the old Spanish arsenal, +and then passed out of the walled-city by the north gate. Here they +crossed the Pasig river on the old "Bridge of Spain" (the large +stone bridge near the mouth of the river, built over 300 years ago) +and entered the Escolta, the main business street of Manila. After +making their way slowly up the Escolta they meandered along San Miguel +street until they finally turned and walked a short distance down a +side street to a typical native shack, built of bamboo and thatched +with Nipa palms, happily tucked away beneath the overhanging limbs +of a large mango tree in a spacious yard,--the home of the Sampalits. + +Here Marie had been born just seventeen years before; in fact the next +day, April 7, would be her seventeenth birthday. When she was born, +her father instituted one of the accustomed Filipino dances which last +from three to five days and nights, and at its conclusion she had been +christened "Maria," subsequently changed by force of habit to "Marie." + +Late that evening, while they were seated side-by-side on a bamboo +bench beside of her home, tapping the toes of their wooden-soled +slippers on the hard ground, and indulging in a wandering lovers' +conversation, Marie said to him (calling him affectionately by his +first name), "Rolando, when did you first decide to postpone our +wedding day?" + +"Well, I'll tell you how it was," answered he, meditatingly. "The +thought of serving my country had been lingering on my mind all +last summer--in fact, ever since the insurrection first broke out in +the spring of 1896. You know I intended coming down to see you last +Christmas, but I couldn't get away. That night I walked the floor +all night in our home at Malolos, debating in my mind whether we +had better get married in March, as we had planned, or if it would +not be wiser and more manly for me to go to war, take chances on +getting back alive and postpone our wedding day until after the war +is over. Toward morning, I decided that it was my duty to become a +soldier; so I called my father and mother, got an early breakfast, +bade them goodby and started for Malabon, which was Aguinaldo's +headquarters, and enlisted. He was glad to see me. You know, he and +I attended school together for one year at Hongkong. Well, Aguinaldo +at once commissioned me a spy and assigned me to very important duty." + +"My God!" interrupted Marie, "you are not on that duty now, are you, +Rolando?" + +Dimiguez arose. "Marie," said he firmly, "I must be off." + +"But won't you tell me where you are going and what task lies before +you?" pleaded Marie, as she threw both arms about his neck and began to +sob, "I'll never tell a living soul, so help me God, but I must know!" + +"A spy never tells his plans to anyone, Marie," said Dimiguez +slowly. "He takes his orders from his chief, plays his part; and +if he gets caught, he refuses to speak and dies without a murmur, +like a man. Good night, Marie, I must be off; duty lies before me." + +Marie cried herself to sleep. + +The next morning she started down town, as usual, for the market place, +with her bamboo basket filled with bananas, sitting on her head, +and a cigarette in her mouth. She had only gone a block when she met +a neighbor girl, one of her chums of equal years to her own, who was +a chamber-maid in the German consul's home on San Miguel Street. + +Her friend looked excited. "Have you heard the awful news, Marie?" said +she. + +"No!" exclaimed Marie, "What is it?" + +"Why, Dimiguez was caught last night by Spanish guards inside the +yard of the governor-general's summer palace up on the Malacanan, +just as he was slipping out of the palace itself. How he got in there, +nobody knows." + +Marie dropped her basket. "Heavens!" gasped she, "Did he do anything +wrong?" + +"They found in his pocket diagrams of the interior of the palace, +showing the entries to it, the room where the governor-general sleeps, +and many other things; also your picture. See here! the morning paper +gives a full account of it." + +Marie glanced at the head lines and then started on a vigorous run for +the building in which the Spanish military court was sitting. Rushing +in, past an armed guard, she began to plead for her lover's life. But +he had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to death by +strangulation in the old chute at Cavite. Dimiguez never moved a +muscle when he saw Marie. Armed guards forced her abruptly out of +the building and ordered her to leave. + +Inside of two hours, on the same day, April 7, the anniversary of +Marie's birth, he was taken to the little town of Cavite, seven miles +southwest of Manila, and was there placed in the lower end of a long +chute built out into Manila Bay. This chute was just wide enough for +a man to enter. Its sides, top and bottom were all built of heavy +planks. The side planks lacked a few inches of connecting with the +top, although of course the side posts ran clear up and the top was +firmly bolted to them. The entrance to it was well elevated near the +docks. The lower end protruded into the bay, so that it was visible +about eighteen inches above the water during the period of low tide, +and submerged several feet during high tide. + +Tides come in slowly at Cavite, each succeeding wave rising but a +trifle higher than the others, until the usual height is reached. Thus, +a prisoner placed in this chute, forced to the lower end and then +fastened securely during low tide, can look out over the side planks +at the hideous spectators, watch the tide as it begins to rise and +see slow death approaching. It was in this chute that Marie's lover +met his death. + +Marie saw the launch that carried him away as it left Manila. She +rushed down to the Pasig river, loosened her little boat from the +tree to which it was tied, jumped in, seized the oars and started in +pursuit. The launch on which he was being carried had for its power +a gasoline engine, and, of course, it soon left her far behind. When +she first started, the swells caused by the launch rocked her little +canoe quite roughly and impeded her progress. As she approached the +mouth of the river, passed the monument of Magellan and came between +the walled-city on the southern bank and the docks on the northern +bank, a crowd of excited natives thronged the shore, and many of them +recognized her. She heard some one cry out, "Vive Marie!" With might +and main she strove forward. + +The launch made its seven-mile run to Cavite; the victim was placed +in the chute; the tide had risen to the danger line; her lover, +with his head thrown back, had just begun to gurgle the salt water, +when Marie, in frantic agony, almost exhausted, rowed around the +lower end of the chute and came near enough to the dying hero to +be recognized by him. Straining ever muscle to keep his head above +the water a second longer, he cried out in chocking tones that were +interrupted by the merciless sea which was rapidly filling his mouth, +"Goodby, Marie, God bless you. Avenge my death!" + +Hush! At this moment another tidal wave engulfed the apex of the +chute. Not a sound could be heard save the slight flapping of the +waves against the pier, and the dismal chant of three priests, who +stood on the shore near by, and who had not been permitted to attend +the young spy before his death. Marie trembled; she dropped the oars; +her eyes fell; for a moment it seemed that her young heart stood still: +then her face flushed; the tears stopped flowing; anguish gave vent +to determined revenge; pent-up sorrows yielded to out-spoken threats; +and in tones sufficiently audible to be heard ashore, she cried, +"I'll do it." + +The Spaniard knows no pity. If Marie were to have stepped ashore +immediately after her lover's strangulation, she might have come +to grief. It is strange that she escaped punishment for having +followed. She, therefore, rowed directly east and landed on the beach +of the bay, about four miles south of Manila, just west of the little +city of Paranaque. + +From sheer exhaustion, she needed food; therefore, she walked northward +along the shore until she found a Mango tree heavily laden with +fruit. After eating a few luscious mangoes, she crept into a clump +of bamboo and had a good cry: tears so ease a woman's soul. + +From her position on the beach she could readily see the Spaniards +as they took her dead lover from the chute when the tide had lowered +toward evening. She saw them even strike his corpse, and she bit her +finger nails as she watched them place him in a rough wooden box and +haul him up through the streets of the village on an old two-wheeled +cart drawn by a caribou. + +With the approach of sunset, things grew strangely quiet. The spring +zephyr that had blown modestly during the day died away. There was no +longer even a dimple in the blue surface of Manila Bay. Not a leaf was +astir. It seemed to Marie that the only sound she could hear was the +the throbbing of her own heart. To her the whole world seemed like an +open sepulcher. Looking down she discovered that she was unconsciously +sitting on a flowery terrace and that all about her was life. She +pulled one of those exquisite white flowers with wide pink veins, +peculiar alone to the Philippines, and pressed it to her lips. + +The sun was just setting beyond Corregidor. The island's long shadows +seemed to extend completely across the bay to her feet. As the solar +fires burned themselves out, the orange tint which they left behind +against the reddened sky reminded Marie of the night before, when +she and her lover had strolled along the shore of the bay about three +miles farther north; and as the sun slowly nodded its evening farewell +and buried its face in the pillow of night, she remembered how he, on +the previous night, had called to her attention the lingering glow of +its fading beams. Before her lay the Spanish fleet, it, too, casting +shadows that first grew longer and longer and then dimmer and dimmer +until they in turn had died away in the spectral phenomenon of night. + +Marie's thoughts turned toward home. What about her mother? She walked +back to her little boat, pushed it out into the bay, and, stepping +into it, sat down, took hold of the oars and started northward near +the beach. Just opposite Fort Malate, she swung westward, and, passing +outside of the break-water a mile from shore, she entered the Pasig +river and hurried homeward. When she arrived, about nine o'clock, +she found her mother on the verge of prostration; for that very day, +strange to say, Marie's father, who was a colonel in the Filipino +infantry, had been killed at San Francisco del Monte, six miles +north-east of Manila, in a battle with Spanish troops. + +"Don't cry, mother," expostulated Marie, "from now on I intend to +kill every foe of ours in these islands!" + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +FIRST SHOT OF A NEW WAR + + +Three weeks passed by. Marie had gone down town late in April to +do some shopping. While she was standing in the door of the old +postoffice on the Escolta, she heard the shrill voice of a Filipino +lad piping out: "Papers! Papers! All about the war with the United +States. Dewey's comin'!" He had a bundle of newspapers under his right +arm and was waving one in his left hand. Everybody rushed out of the +bazaars and offices along the Escolta where they were transacting +their business, and each one who could get near enough to the boy, +eagerly bought a morning paper. + +The lad's papers were all gone but one. Marie Sampalit snatched it from +his hands, and dropped into one of them a small coin. She stepped into +the corridor of the post office, to escape the annoyance of the crowd, +and read the large head lines: + + + "WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN + + dewey en route to manila great naval + battle friday or saturday in manila bay + + The Stone Wall Around the City will be + Razed to the Ground. Great Loss of Life." + + +"Then, I'm off for Corregidor Island right away!" exclaimed +Marie. "Dewey can't get into the Bay except by that route. That's +where the fight will begin. Mother doesn't know this. I'll tell her +I am going to take some supplies to the Spanish garrison. I will go +at once!" + +She set out from Manila in a small casco, or flat-bottomed native boat, +heavily laden with fresh fish, pine-apples, mangoes, bananas, tobacco +and cigarettes--all intended for the Spanish garrison on Corregidor +Island. Manila is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. From +there to the island it is nearly thirty miles. Her little boat was +driven forward on its journey by an easterly wind that gently swelled +the tiny sails. + +She reached the island at five o'clock that afternoon and was given +a royal welcome by the Spanish soldiers. Marie gave them the morning +paper containing the news of Dewey's prospective arrival. She asked +permission to take part in the fight. + +Marie was a favorite with the Spanish garrison. Her genial disposition, +added to her almost inconceivable daring, had won for her the +friendship and admiration of all. The gunners had playfully taught +her all about loading, firing and swabbing their cannon. She had also +learned the art of good marksmanship, so that at a target practice +she was an adept. + +Impatiently she awaited the arrival of the American fleet. She heard +the Spaniards discuss among themselves the cowardice of the American +soldiers, and saw them wager the Dewey would not come to Manila at all +but that he would sail down around the Malay Peninsula and hasten home +by way of Good Hope to save his vessels from certain destruction. All +this sounded plausible to her and she grew restless and enthusiastic +as the dull hours dragged away. + +Dewey was so long in coming from Hongkong and the garrison on the +island had been kept at their guns ready for action for so many hours +without rest that many of them were completely tired out by the last +day of April, and asked for relief. It was hard to give it. Marie's +opportunity had come. Her ability as an expert rifle shot was known +alike to officers and enlisted men. She offered to serve. The Spanish +commandant could not well refuse. He needed her services; besides, +the Spaniards were just then doing all within their power to win the +temporary friendship of the natives. Consequently, he promised to +assign her to duty for the night. + +The sunset, as viewed from Corregidor Island on the evening of +April 30, was most glorious. Not a cloud was in the sky; a dead calm +prevailed, so that the sea was unusually smooth. As the sun sank to +rest behind the shimmering horizon it caused the island to cast a +long shadow over Manila bay as far as the eye could reach, but this +soon disappeared. + +When the sun had sunk from view, Marie noticed that a comparatively +new moon was visible in the sky, and she remarked to the Sergeant +of the Guard, "It will not be very dark to-night. We can see the +Americanos a long way off." + +"Yes," replied the Sergeant, "the only difficulty with the cowards is +that they will not come near enough to be seen at all. They have had +plenty of time to run from Hongkong to Manila and back again; still +they have not been seen or heard of. I'll bet you a peso (Spanish +dollar) that they have gone home and that all of this excitement has +been for nothing. Dewey is getting old, Marie; he doesn't want to go +to a watery grave so far from home. If he were young and ambitious, +it would be different. Old men do not care much about real fighting, +especially on the sea. It is different with old generals commanding +land forces. They can sit away back in the rear of the battle-field, +receive messages that come to them; plan certain movements based upon +these reports; and while they do have considerable responsibility, +still they are not in the actual fight. As for Dewey, nobody has +ever heard of him. He is not a recognized naval commander. Besides, +the old fellow, according to reports, is slow and easy going. If he +should come to make us an unfriendly call tonight, mark my word, Marie, +there will not be a sliver of his entire fleet left floating above the +water yonder inside of thirty minutes after the first shot is fired." + +He had scarcely concluded speaking when the Officer of the Guard, +Lieutenant Orlando, called out, "Sergeant of the Guard! Fall in the +First Relief!" The Sergeant threw his arm over Marie's shoulder in an +affectionate manner, smacked a hurried caress against her olive cheek, +jumped up from the little bamboo bench on which they were sitting, +rushed up to the guard house and cried out, "First Relief! Fall in!" + +Marie hastened after him. As the relief was forming in line, she seized +a Mauser rifle that stood leaning against a huge rock, grabbed up a +cartridge belt well filled with Mauser ammunition that was lying on +the ground near by, hastily adjusted it to fit her waist measure, +buckled it on and fell into the rear rank. + +"Count fours!" ordered the Sergeant. As is usual in military affairs, +the front and rear rank men count in unison; that is, number one in +the front rank and number one in the rear rank both count "one" at the +same time; second file counts "two," etc. When it came to Marie she +piped out simultaneously with the corporal who stood in front of her, +"quatro." (four). + +As the guard was marched along the stony pathways on Corregidor Island +and the various sentinels were relieved, Marie soon saw that there was +not going to be a place for her. She tip-toed up to the corporal who +was posting the relief and asked him where he was going to station her. + +"Never mind," said the corporal, "we have a place for you." And sure +enough, they had. + +Every soldier or civilian who has ever been on this island will readily +recall the rough, hard-beaten, winding path that led from the summit of +the hill, in a south-westerly direction, down over precipices, around +clumps of bamboo, to a beautiful fresh water spring which bubbled +out of the coral rocks at a point just high enough to prevent it from +being inundated or even infiltrated during the season of high tides. + +A few feet from this spring and elevated but slightly above it, is a +massive, flat rock. Along the north and west sides of this rock is a +vertical stone precipice some eight feet high, which from its upper +edge inclines back gradually at an angle of about twenty degrees +above a horizontal plane, toward the crest of the island. + +On this rock Spain firmly bolted one of her most modern cannon--a +good seven-inch gun. It was so situated on a revolving casement that +its shots could be made to sweep the whole Boca Grande channel, as +the large entrance south of the island is called. Marie had often +operated this gun. She had done splendid work with it on a floating +target two miles distant. Its deadly roar was her delight. Oh! if +she could but use it just once on an actual enemy instead of firing +it at an indicated one! + +When the old guard had been relieved and the sentries were marched +back to the guard-house to be dismissed, poor Marie, heavy hearted, +marched along. Just as they approached the guard-house, the sergeant +motioned to her to fall out and to come toward him. This she did. + +Into her ear he whispered the information that was to start her on her +eventful military career. "Marie," said he, "the officer of the Guard +informs me that we cannot use you in the infantry service tonight, +but that you will be needed with the artillery." + +"Good!" exclaimed Marie, "Where shall I serve?" + +"At the new gun on the large rock near the spring," answered the +Sergeant. + +"Thank heaven!" said Marie. "Dewey will surely come, and when I put +a solid shot through the 'Olympia' just below the water line--the +battle will be half over. Oh! I'm so anxious! May I go down there +tonight and take charge of the gun at once?" + +The Sergeant told her to report to the headquarters of the artillery +department where she would receive instructions. + +At last she found herself on actual duty. How her young heart throbbed +as her black eyes peered forth into the darkness. Toward midnight, +small clouds began to drift oceanward. For a few moments at a time +they would obscure the quartered cheek of the young moon. Oh! if +Dewey would but come. The hopes of a life-time were poised on that +painful "if." Before her was the dream of glory; behind her, the +dreary forgetfulness of the past. Hour after hour whiled away. The +tiny lights in the natives' shacks along the opposite shore began to +go out and grow fewer and fewer until the closing day had died safely +away into the solemn night. As usual, "taps" were blown at ten o'clock +and things on the island grew very quiet. Days--yes, weeks--seemed +to crowd themselves into those long hours. Would he ever come? + +Presently she heard the sentry's shrill cry on the brow of the hill, +"Twelve o'clock! All's well!" The echo of his repeated call had +scarcely died away when Marie thought she saw something dark on the +water near the center of the channel, perhaps three miles away. She +whispered to a member of the artillery corps, who sat near her watching +the shadow of his pipe on the rock near the base of the cannon. They +both looked. Surely! it's Dewey! The artilleryman sent up a rocket as +a warning. Marie took hurried aim. "Boom!" went her cannon, and from +its mouth a seven-inch shot was hurled over the "Concord," between +its main and mizzen masts. It went a trifle high and did no harm. + +"Bang!" went one of the port batteries on the "Raleigh" and before +its flash was gone a shudder shot through every vein, every nerve +and every fiber of Marie's body. Such a crash she had never heard +before. "War is hell" to be sure. She sniffed the smoke from her own +gun, and looked around to see what had happened. The stone precipice +behind her was torn into fragments. A man's hand protruded from the +debris. "My God!" she murmured. Yes, there was the evidence. The +man who had sat by her side and who sent up the rocket, lay cold in +death. His head was torn off and his body was mangled among the pieces +of broken rock. The gunner on the "Raleigh" had done his work well; +and Marie's dream of American cowardice, of their poor marksmanship +and of her ability to sink Dewey's flag ship, were shattered in an +instant. She had fired the FIRST gun of the war, but not the LAST! + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AVENGED HER LOVER'S DEATH + + +After Dewey's fleet had passed the island and entered the bay, proper, +Marie crept up to the top of the cliff and awaited the results. As she +sat there shivering with fright, day began to dawn. Presently she heard +the Spanish batteries on Point Cavite fire a heavy shot--then a second +one; and a few minutes later she saw flames of fire and smoke belching +forth from the starboard sides of Dewey's entire squadron. Then the +Spanish fleet, lying off of Point Cavite, commenced a united and +simultaneous action. + +Shells rent the air; the men on both fleets cheered as they beheld +the effect on the enemy of a well-directed shot; smoke-begrimed +gunners, with the perspiration washing light-colored furrows down +their manly cheeks, stood at their guns and worked like demons as they +swabbed their cannon and crowded into them shot after shot. Hissing +projectiles that missed the opposing ships and plunged into the bay, +were throwing volumes of splashing foam into the air. Dewey's vessels +were moving in a figure eight and using alternately the several guns +on their port and on their starboard sides, while the Spanish ships +moved about promiscuously among each other in an awkward fashion, +over a small area, and fired only as an opportunity offered. + +"Thank God, I'm out of range of the demons," said Marie to a Spanish +officer who had come to her side. + +Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey's ships ceased firing +and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent damage had been +sustained by the vessels of either command. + +"The old fellow is going to quit," said Marie to the Spanish officer +who stood erect with his field glasses carefully trained on Dewey's +squadron. + +"They're coming this way, Marie," said the officer. + +"My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and open +fire on us again?" shouted Marie. "We haven't a mounted gun left to +shoot with." + +The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, "They've stopped and +are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going to resume +the fight." + +He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey's vessels were heading +straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on fire the +beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the "Reina Christina." Then her magazine +blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach near Cavite and deserted +amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was able to +leave. The dead and the dying were left to their fate. Magazines in +several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes most of them +were on fire. Dewey's gunners were doing deadly execution. Hundreds +of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from their burning vessels +into the ocean. + +"Now what is he going to do?" said Marie, with some excitement, as +she saw one of Dewey's ships, the "Concord," disengage herself from +the rest of the fleet and head straight for a large Spanish gun-boat +that was lying off to herself and whose sole business it seemed was +to keep up a deadly fire on Dewey's flagship, the "Olympia." The +Concord literally disembowled her. + +"The heartless wretches!" exclaimed Marie, as she watched another +American ship, the "Petrel," leave the line of battle and make a rapid +run right past the Spanish fleet for the village of Cavite. "I wonder +what the villains are up to now." In a few minutes the Petrel returned, +with six small vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying +at her mast head this signal, "Have destroyed eight vessels." + +Dewey's ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their +positions in line and remained quiet. + +"What time is it?" asked Marie of the Spanish officer who stood +near her. + +"Twelve-thirty," answered he, as he looked at his watch. + +Marie whiled away the afternoon watching the Spaniards on Corregidor +island burying their dead comrades. She wanted to go home, but she +feared to go past Dewey's fleet. + +That evening things became solemnly quiet; and the blazing sun, as its +face reddened into nightly slumber beyond the watery horizon of the +Pacific, bade farewell to a finished deed, which, in the history of +naval warfare, has never been surpassed; while the pale-faced moon, +moving slowly up her appointed path, looked calmly down with her +quartered cheek in silent benediction on the blazing hulls of the +Spanish ships as they slowly cremated their dead and dying. + +The next day the Spanish Commandante on Corregidor discovered that +Dewey had blockaded the port of Manila, so he restrained Marie from +starting home for nearly a week. + +Finally, she got permission to go. As she passed Dewey's fleet she +was surprised to find everything so peaceful and to see dozens of +native canoes hovering along the port-holes of his vessels, selling +fruit and curios to his men. + +Marie reached home in the early evening, and found her old mother +frantic because of her absence and the excitement that had taken place. + +During the next few weeks while Dewey was waiting for reinforcements +from home, many strange things occurred on shore. The Filipinos +captured or killed nearly all of the smaller Spanish garrisons +distributed throughout the islands. On May 26, they secretly cut +down the Spanish guards walking their beats along the western side of +the little town of Cavite, and let in a horde of Tagalos well armed +with bolos, who crept up near a large stone cathedral, built in 1643, +in which the Spaniards, as a military necessity after their defeat by +Dewey, were making their headquarters. These Filipinos made a mad rush +through the back door of the building and captured all the Spaniards +being quartered therein. This feat also gave them possession of another +lot of Mauser and Remington rifles and a goodly store of ammunition, +for which they had been yearning. + +Dewey had no men whom he could spare to send ashore; therefore, he had +left these surrendered Spaniards to take care of themselves. Evidently +he did not anticipate an attack upon the garrison at Cavite, or +he might have landed enough marines from his battleships to have +prevented it. + +When Marie heard about the capture of the Spanish garrison at Cavite +by the Filipinos, she at once rowed over there to see what was going +to be done with the prisoners. This was the first time she had been +at Cavite since the day of her lover's tragic death. She found the +Filipinos jubilant over their new fire-arms. But many of them had +never before used a gun and they were very awkward with them, so +that accidents were constantly occurring. The privileges of target +practice given to Marie by the Spaniards, in times past, now found a +new reward. She organized the Filipinos into squads for this training, +arranged suitable targets for them, supervised the loading and cleaning +of their guns, and by voluntary assent became the leader in a whole +lot of nefarious mischief in the neighborhood. + +But what about her lover's dying request and the vow she registered +in her aching soul as she left the scene of his death? By remaining +away from the graves of our loved ones we may check memory and +enthrone reason, thus more rapidly overcoming sorrow. By constantly +resorting to places of grief we keep that grief, whatever may have +been its cause, fresh on the tablets of our memories. The fact that +Marie had not returned to Cavite, the scene of her sorrow, for about +two months, helped her to forget it and to flirt with fate among the +very troops who had caused it. Now that she had returned to Cavite, +old visions began to haunt her. Shooting at wooden targets was not +desperate enough to appease her nature; she longed for bloodshed. + +Between herself and a few Filipino leaders she concocted a scheme +that would be hilarious, avenge the death of him whom she had +briefly mourned, as well as the deaths of Rizal and thousands of +other Filipinos who had been shot or strangled by the Spaniards, +and satisfy the longings of her innermost nature. It was this: a +pit twenty feet in diameter and ten feet deep was to be dug on the +higher ground a few miles southwest of Cavite. Each morning twenty +of the captured Spaniards were to be marched out to this pit and +made to slide down a bamboo pole into it. The Filipino soldiers, +armed with their newly-captured rifles, were then to stand around +the brink of this pit and use these half-starved Spaniards for living +targets. Marie gloated over her new enterprise. What sport! How she +enjoyed it! The Filipino's marksmanship was poor and many of their +unfortunate prisoners were shot over a dozen times before they were +stilled in death. This bloody practice was kept up until over two +hundred Spaniards had been slain. + +About this time rumors of what was being done reached the ears +of General Anderson. He ordered it stopped, and sent food ashore, +under American escorts, for the Spanish prisoners. These prisoners, +before being led to the slaughter, were housed by the Filipinos +in an unfinished portion of the old convent at Cavite, and in some +large stone buildings without floors and with only a few windows, +heavily barricaded with iron bars, formerly used by the natives for +storage purposes for various cargoes of raw materials, preparatory +to exportation. These buildings were dark, damp and infested with a +multiplicity of insectivora. + +The Spaniards, imprisoned therein, were fed by the Filipinos on a +very small ration of uncooked rice. This they had to pound into meal, +and eat it out of their hands. Water, although plentiful, was denied +them, except in small quantities. They had no beds, but slept on +the bare ground. Many of them were practically nude. They had staid +by their guns on the Spanish fleet until their ships began to sink; +then they had jumped overboard and swam ashore, taking off most of +their clothes before making the attempt. The Filipinos had little +clothing to give them and no disposition to share what they did have. + +These half-starved wretches, pale, lean and ghostly looking, many +of them sick with fever and other ailments, none of them with a +cent of money, were a sickening sight to the American troops whom +General Anderson sent ashore to investigate their circumstances +and conditions. Of course the healthier ones were marched out and +killed first. Some of them began to cry when the American officers, +pushing the Filipino sentries aside, poked their vigorous manly faces +through the openings of the massive doors to see who and what was on +the inside; but most of them propped themselves up on one elbow and +held out the other hand for something to eat. Others indicated by +motions that they wanted paper and pencils, so as to write letters +home, telling their loved ones in far-off Spain that they were still +alive, and asking for money. + +As the Americans began to empty their haversacks and hand hard-tack +and Boston baked beans to them, some of the prisoners seized them by +the fingers and kissed the backs of their hands in grateful homage +for their kindness. A few of the more ignorant ones, who had heard so +much about the cruelty of the American soldiers, and who, upon sight +of our officers, believing the end was near, had sought a kneeling +attitude and begun to pray, gradually sank back into a reclining +posture and held out their hands for a morsel of food. + +The Filipino guards sulked when they were displaced by the American +sentries, and some of them had to be forced from their posts of +fiendish duty at the point of the bayonet. They considered these +Spaniards as reprisals, constituting their own private property, with +whom they could do as they pleased without any justifiable interference +on the part of anybody. Marie Sampalit slapped an American private +who had been sent to displace a Filipino sentry whom she had just +stationed at one of the prison doors. He promptly knocked her down with +the butt of his rifle. What she said in reply he could not understand. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE INTERVAL + + +After avenging her lover's death, Marie returned again to Manila +where she remained at home until the Filipino uprising against the +American troops in the spring of 1899. During this interval of nine +months, she daily frequented the places of rendezvous of the American +troops stationed in and around Manila. She also went to the officers' +homes in the city where their wives and children were stopping. She +did their washing, and cared for the children. Her congeniality made +her a favorite. Some of the American ladies offered to bring her back +to America with them for a house-hold servant. + +From them she learned to speak the English language nearly as fluently +as Spanish. The American soldiers were kind and polite to her. She +made considerable money by doing washing for them. It was noticeable +that she was gradually improving the old bamboo home in Manila. In a +few months she had come into possession of more money than she thought +there was in the entire world. Most of it was American gold--largely +in five dollar denominations. (This is what the United States used in +paying the soldiers.) These she took to the Spanish bank in Manila +and exchanged them for Mexican silver, which, until the United +States began to issue special coins for the Philippine islands, +was the standard medium of exchange in the archipelago. + +Marie began to dress better. Her penia cloth gave way to Chinese silks; +her wooden hair combs to expensive ones inlaid with gold, bought at +the Spanish bazar down town. Many little comforts were bought for her +home. Still the washings kept growing larger. She and her mother could +be seen back of their shack, in the shade, pounding American soldiers' +white uniforms on large boulders from early morning till night. + +Aguinaldo, who had previously sold out his country and gone to +Singapore, after commissioning Dimiguez, upon hearing that war +was about to begin between the United States and Spain, made his +way northward to Hongkong. After the battle of Manila Bay, Dewey +despatched the revenue cutter, "McCulloch," to Hongkong to cable +home the news of his splendid victory. On her return to Manila, +she permitted Aguinaldo to come along. + +After a brief conversation with Admiral Dewey on board the "Olympia," +he went ashore at Cavite, his boyhood home, began to organize the +Filipinos into a powerful army, captured 1500 Spanish soldiers who +were holding out-lying posts, and hemmed in the city of Manila. + +On August 13, following, Dewey and General Merritt, by a union of +their forces, captured the city of Manila which offered but slight +resistance. Aguinaldo's native troops rushed forward with the Americans +in the charge that was made by the land forces and they insisted on +looting the city. General Merritt refused this and ordered them to +withdraw beyond the city limits. This they did after considerable +wrangling. Then the Americans established out-posts on every road and +pathway leading to and from the city, completely around the town; +and they were given instructions by the commanding officer not to +allow any Filipino troops to enter the city. + +Aguinaldo discarded his uniform one evening, completely +disguised himself as a Filipino fruit-vender, and made his way +into Manila. Naturally, he slipped around to the home of his old +friends, the Sampalits. He sat in a semi-darkened room, with all the +hinged-windows to the shack tightly closed and stroked Marie's soft +black hair with his left hand. As he engaged her and her mother in +conversation in subdued tones, he little thought that in so short a +time Marie would be associated with him in a series of bloody tragedies +that would revolutionize the government of the islands forever. + +"Marie," said he, "I'm going to force the Americans to acknowledge +the independence of the Philippine islands, or I shall not permit +the rest of their army to land. Dewey tells me he has sent home for +reinforcements. There is no use for us to let these troops land, if +America instead of Spain is going to govern the islands. What we want +is absolute independence with myself as president of the new Filipino +Republic. If the Americans won't concede this to us, let's fight!" + +"That's what I say!" declared Marie. "Let's drive the foreign devils +off the islands or slay them all. Here's father dead and--Dimiguez, +too"--Marie's voice trembled--"I tell you it's too much. Let's kill +every one of them!" + +"Yes; but say Marie, we must keep quiet about all this," cautioned +Aguinaldo. "I'll tell you what I have in mind. We'll wait about four +weeks and by that time if Dewey hasn't received definite instructions +from Washington, and if he won't give me any satisfaction, I'm going +to go to Malolos, proclaim myself Dictator of the Philippines, appoint +a cabinet and a congress from among some of the bright young Filipinos +here in Manila who have been educated abroad, draw up a Revolutionary +form of government, and begin to administer the affairs of these +islands just as I please. + +"We'll keep our present army in the field, and if the Americans do +land we'll shut them up in Manila, so that they will have nothing at +their command but the city to regulate. This won't amount to much as +compared with the rest of the islands which I will dominate." + +"Are you sure the Americans won't land a powerful army, cut through +your lines around Manila and drive you out of Malolos, or capture you +and your officials at that place? It seems to me I would go farther +inland--say to San Isidro," said Marie. + +Aguinaldo thought a moment, then replied: "That's true, in a sense, +Marie; but I have got to be on or near the railroad where I can have +easy and rapid access to Manila. Malolos is not far from here and +it is situated on the railroad. It has some very large buildings in +which our legislative sessions could be held. I think it the place +for the undertaking. + +"To be on the safe side, I believe I will have our troops erect a +series of fortifications between here and there along the railroad +track, so that if the Americans do attempt to advance by that route +I can easily stop them." + +"I think that would be a good scheme," said Marie. "Malolos is about +twelve miles from Manila Bay; besides, the bay is shallow in the +north end, so that heavy boats could not go up there. This will make +it impossible for Dewey to shell the place with his fleet. We've got +to watch out for that--no matter what we do. My! but those American +ships can shoot! Did you hear about me shooting at 'em with that +cannon on Corregidor island when they entered the bay? I mighty near +got one of their vessels." + +"No," said Aguinaldo, "I have not heard very much about the firing +off Corregidor, but as I came from Hongkong the other day on the +"McCulloch" I noticed that the Spanish fortifications on the island +had all been dismantled." + +"Why! they killed a man right at my feet, the very first shot," said +Marie; "and then one of their boats drew nearer and fired several +times more and they killed every Spaniard in the relief guard which +was near by,--seven of them in all." + +"And I was terribly worried about Marie," interrupted her mother who +had listened to the conversation with deepest interest. "She had been +gone for a week, and I hadn't heard a word from her." + +"Oh! well, I don't pity the Spaniards any for what the Americans did +to them," interjected Aguinaldo, with some emphasis. + +"Be careful," said old lady Sampalit, putting her finger on her lips, +"don't speak too loud." + +Aguinaldo continued in a lower voice: "They killed your husband. They +shot Rizal. They strangled Dimigeuz. They tortured to death several +hundred of our young fellows in the dungeons. They have left ridges +of dead wherever their armies have moved among us. I tell you they +deserved all they got." + +Mrs. Sampalit and Marie had grown heavy hearted. Aguinaldo looked at +his watch. It was after ten P. M. + +"I wonder," said Aguinaldo, hesitatingly, "how I shall be able to +get back to our lines tonight." + +"Don't go!" said Marie, in an emphatic whisper, "stay over night!" + +"Yes, do!" entreated the old lady, "I'm nervous." + +"It might be best; it would surely be the safest thing to do," said +Aguinaldo, in a meditating manner. + +"We sleep on bamboo beds," said Marie. "There stands mine. You may use +it tonight, and I will sleep on the floor. I don't mind. Mother and +I frequently lie down on the floor near the window, when the nights +are sultry." + +The next morning Aguinaldo arose very early, made his way to the +edge of the city and stealthily stole out threw the Americans' lines, +never again to return to Manila until General Funston brought him back, +two years later, a captive. + +He made his way to Malolos, a few weeks after this conversation, +declared himself "Dictator of the Philippines," appointed a Filipino +congress, set up a government of his own and began to run the general +affairs in the interior of Luzon. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +FILIPINO UPRISING + + +The close of the eventful year of 1898 was near at hand. General Otis +had been made governor-general of the islands. He had received about +15,000 troops from home. These had all been landed and were quartered +in the city of Manila. + +Preparations had begun by the American troops for a great day of field +sports to be held on the Luneta--a beautiful narrow park paralleling +Manila bay and extending southward from the walled-city about four +miles--on New Year's day, 1899. + +On the afternoon of January I, as planned, the exercises were +begun. The afternoon program consisted of foot races, running high +jumps, wheelbarrow race, fat man's race, running broad jump, high +kicking, fancy club swinging, tumbling, shot-put, sack race, tugs of +war, five boxing contests, base ball, foot ball, and pole vaulting. + +Situated on the Luneta, about a mile south of the walled city, and +distant from Manila bay about 100 feet, is a large bandstand. This +served as headquarters for the exercises. The day was perfect--clear, +cool and calm. + +About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives, soldiers (including jack-tars +from Dewey's fleet, Spaniards and Americans) and foreign residents +had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of Welcome and +to witness the sports. When the speaker arose to deliver the address, +for which he was afterward voted, and presented with, a medal by the +Eight Army Corps, he said in part (verbatim report): + +"On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to make +these Field Day Exercises a success, and this occasion one long to +be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon, I bid +you, one and all--officers, soldiers, sailors and civilians of every +nationality--a hearty welcome." + +"Again to you, the members of Admiral Dewey's fleet, I feel obligated +to extend a separate and special welcome; for without your chivalrous +devotion to duty last May Day, yon shell-riven wrecks (part of unraised +Spanish fleet visible above the bay) would not bespeak the down-fall +of a sister nation, and we ourselves would not have been permitted +to assemble here this afternoon. There is no braver man on land or +sea than the American marine; and on behalf of the entire American +army of occupation, I bid you a most cordial welcome." + +Touching upon the question of territorial expansion, the speaker said: + +"This was a war for humanity, not for conquest. But simply because +it suddenly closed and left us in possession of large tracts of +new territory, is no reason why these spoils of war should be given +up. I hold this to be true Americanism: that wherever the old flag +is established through sacrifice of American blood, whether it be on +the barren sands of the desert, at the frigid extremes of the earth, +or on the rich and fertile islands of the sea, there is should remain +triumphant, shedding forth beams of liberty to the oppressed, shouts +of defiance to the oppressor, and furnish protection and enlightenment +to all who come beneath its streaming folds forever!" (applause). + +A chubby Filipino maiden, standing near the speaker's stand, and +who had listened intently to every word of the address, because she +now understood the English tongue, quietly elbowed her way through +the dense crowd which was gradually becoming more compressed, until +she reached a car drawn by two Chinese ponies on the old street car +line running south from Manila to Fort Malate and back. Taking the +car she rode up town to the Escolta. Going into the postoffice, she +hastily wrote and mailed to Aguinaldo at Malolos a letter containing +an account of what was said. It follows: + + +"Manila, P. I., Jan. 1, 1899. + + +My Dear General: + +Those wretched Americans are holding some kind of exercises on the +Luneta this afternoon. I heard one of the speeches. It was awful +bad. The fellow talked loud. He swung his hands in the air and the +crowd seemed to get terribly excited over what he was saying. + +He told about that treaty of peace, and he said no power under the +sun would haul down the American flag from over Manila. + +It made me angry. I am going right out to the Filipino trenches to +see my Uncle (Colonel Miguel). He'll fix those fellows. I'll bet +he'll haul down their flag before tomorrow morning. + + +Goodby, + +Marie." + + + +The evening program on the Luneta, which followed the afternoon +exercises, was largely literary in its nature. It consisted of music +by the California band, singing by the famous Washington Male Quartet, +fancy dancing, selected recitations, and stump speeches. In addition, +Privates Green and Martin boxed four rounds, much to the satisfaction +of the natives. + +The program had just been completed when the Master of Ceremonies +received from the American general in charge a note telling +him to announce the conclusion of the program at once and to +order all soldiers to report immediately at their respective +regimental headquarters;--trouble had been reported at the +out-posts. Reinforcements were hastened to several of the out-post +reserves, and it appeared that the expected insurrection was at hand. + +After the out-break by the Filipinos on New Year's night, it was +evident to both sides that it was only a question of a short time when +blood would be spilled in abundance. The Filipinos occupied all of the +block-houses--some seventeen in number--around the city of Manila. This +forced the Americans to stand in the open and do guard duty exposed. + +The Filipino troops were saucy. They couldn't understand why men should +be armed with rifles and not be permitted to shoot. They tormented +the American soldiers daily with hideous pranks. They grew bolder, +and pushed their out-posts forward until they stood within a few feet +of the American sentries. + +Marie went out and back through the American lines at will. She +secretly kept the Filipino army thoroughly posted on the arrival of +new troops from America. Occasionally she would take the train and +go up to Malolos to see Aguinaldo. She was the best posted person +in the Philippines as to what was going on in each of the hostile +armies. Nobody suspected her. She was respected by the American +troops. Everybody came to know her. + +Just before dusk, on the evening of February 4th, 1899, Marie +and her mother left the city of Manila, in a cariole, drawn by a +Chinese pony which they had recently purchased. They had in it all of +their most precious household trinkets. As they passed Colonel John +M. Stotsenberg, commanding the 1st Nebraska volunteers, stationed +on McLeod's hill at the eastern edge of Manila, he recognized them, +and called to Marie, "Where are you going?" + +"Out on a little trip," retorted Marie. + +"How soon will you be back?" asked he. + +"O, I can't tell," responded Marie. "Mother is getting so nervous +that we thought best to go away for awhile." + +"Say, Marie," said the colonel, "do you know who the Filipino officer +is in command of all those thousands of troops that are now assembling +in the ravines between the hills along the far side of the river +valley, yonder?" + +"No, I do not," she declared with an emphatic swing of her head. + +But she was lying. It was Colonel Miguel, her own uncle. She knew about +it. He had secretly informed her that he was preparing to attack the +city and burn it and that he was going to exterminate the American +army of occupation and all foreign residents that fell into the hands +of his mighty army. He told her that he had chosen the east side of +the city as his main point of attack, so that Dewey could not reach +his troops with the shells from his gun boats in case he tried to +assist the American army, without elevating his guns and shooting +completely over the city--a thing wholly impractical within itself, +as Dewey could not determine whether his shells would be falling +among the Filipino or the American troops. It was he who advised her +to take her mother and flee to the hills for refuge. + +Colonel Stotsenberg then asked Marie if she knew anything about the +proposed attack on the city by her people. This, she denied also. The +colonel's face flushed. Pulling back the flap of his tent, he said +emphatically: "Do you see that gun, Marie? Tell those fellows over +there when you pass their lines that I said they could have trouble +whenever they want it." + +Marie drove on. + +Inside the colonel's tent stood a large gun from the Utah battery, +mounted, loaded, ready for action; its threatening nose was +pointed directly at the line of little brown men assembled across +the valley. The Filipinos were smarting for trouble. They wanted it +badly. Wherever and whenever possible they improved every opportunity +to bring it about. The trouble came. Colonel Stotsenberg that night +used the cannon he had pointed out to Marie. A long pile of mangled +forms lying at the base of the river hills on the opposite of the +valley next morning told the results. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +AS A SPY + + +Marie was well equipped by instinct and experience for a spy. The +tragic nature of such work was exceptionally inviting to her. When +a chance came to undertake it, she lost no time in embracing the +opportunity. + +After passing out through the American lines, she drove on down the +slope of the hill and crossed the San Juan River on the old stone +bridge where the fighting was begun that night by young Grayson of +the Nebraska regiment. After reaching the Filipinos' lines she at once +reported to her uncle, Colonel Miguel, and had an extended interview +with him. + +Secret plans were agreed upon whereby she was to become the colonel's +chief scout. Two Filipino soldiers were sent to accompany her old +mother to the little town of Angono on the eastern bank of Lake Laguna +de Bay, near its northern end. A native family, quite familiar with +the Sampalits and related to them, lived in this village. Marie stayed +with the troops in the field. Her young brain danced at the thought +of more bloodshed. She must be in the fight. + +Just what part Marie took in the attack made upon the Americans by +the Filipinos on the night of February 4th, and in the fighting on +February 5th, the world will never know. The two main figures in +these operations were Colonel Miguel, in command of the main portion +of the Filipino forces, and Colonel Stotsenberg, who commanded the +1st Nebraska volunteers. Before the close of the war these men were +both shot; consequently, there is no one left to tell the story, +and history is silent on the point. + +After the fight of February 4 and 5, the entire line of block-houses +and intrenchments circumscribing Manila, were in the hands of the +Americans. From the Pasig river on the east, around the city to the +bay on the north, this line was commanded by Major-General MacArthur; +the corresponding semi-circle on the south, by Major-General Anderson. + +During the next seven weeks, fresh troops were constantly +arriving. Each side was preparing for the long, inevitable conflict. + +At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall's brigade +in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on the firing line, +which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant charge along +the entire front on the Filipinos' breastworks about a mile and a +half distant and constructed parallel to those of the Americans'. + +Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments; +had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted a terrible +loss upon Aguinaldo's troops; had demonstrated to them the difference +between a determined American advance and an irresolute Spanish one; +and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the capture of +the Filipinos' temporary capital, Malolos, the overthrow of their +provisional government, and the establishment of American sovereignty +throughout the entire archipelago. + +That night, about eleven o'clock, a nervous Filipino woman came walking +down along the American out-post reserves which, during actual war, +are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the sentries. She +reached Company "G's" reserve of the 1st South Dakota Volunteers, +where she was ordered to halt. She refused, but acted as though she +did not understand. Drawing a large bamboo bonnet down over her face +to conceal her identity, she mumbled something apparently to herself, +and walked rapidly on. In a moment she was seized; her bonnet was +torn off; her identity revealed: it was Marie. + +She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see +if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which they had +received, would be warranted in making a night attack. + +She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched, +scrambled--making it necessary to employ two privates, a corporal +and a sergeant to send her to the rear. + +When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the +3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer +that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private +was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, and insisted +that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she +drew the poncho about her to keep herself warm (it grew very chilly +before morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to +escape. Her teeth chattered and she seemed distressed--evidently +through fear of what the morning might bring to her. + +The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return +to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. She +pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that +after her return to Manila she would do washing free of charge for +the American soldiers who were sick in quarters. + +After being liberated, Marie walked eastward, following an irregular +sled-road; that is, a road-way used by the Filipinos for sledding +their rice to market. This is done by means of a bamboo sled drawn +over the dry ground by a caribou. She followed this road for over +two miles until she came to the San Mateo river. + +Although given a few hardtack by her captors at the time of her +release, she was getting hungry. As she approached the stream she +noticed an old Filipino standing near his bamboo cabin which was neatly +tucked away oh the slope of a deep ravine near by. Turning from her +pathway which had now grown somewhat indistinct she approached the +old gentleman. + +When quite close to him she said, "Buenos dias," (Good morning in +Spanish.) + +"Magandang umaga," (Good morning, in Tagalo), muttered the old man. + +After a brief conversation during which Marie told him that she had +been captured by the Americans, had been terribly misused and he had a +miraculous escape, he invited her into his cabin where his aged wife +gave her something to eat. This breakfast consisted of boiled rice, +some fish which the old man had just brought from his set lines in +the San Mateo river, and some bacon which he had found along the +trail made by the American's pack train the day before. + +While the old couple were outside of their home--he breaking up +some bamboo with which to re-kindle the fire, and she, cleaning the +fish--Marie ransacked the house. She stole a large diamond ring which +the old man had taken from the finger of a Spanish officer during +the previous insurrection. She opened an old mahogany chest and took +from it a rosary valued at several hundred dollars; also a gold lined +cup which the old man, himself, had stolen from a Spanish priest, +and some Spanish coins. + +After a hearty lunch, she started on. + +Crossing the river at the rapids, on the boulders which projected +above the water, she quickened her steps and hurried along. Changing +her course to the southward, she started for the northern end of Lake +Laguna de Bay to see her mother. + +She had not gone far through a small clump of timber when she came +upon the corpse of a Filipino soldier who had been shot in the previous +day's engagement,--perhaps by a stray ball. Hastily stealing the cross +which hung from a small cord about his neck, and a valueless ring from +one of his fingers, she seized his Mauser rifle and his cartridge belt +which was partly filled with ammunition, and then resumed her journey. + +A short distance ahead was a large opening--an old rice field +well cleared. She had scarcely begun to cross it when she heard a +noise. She turned and saw the bow-legged old man whom she had robbed, +with a machete in his hand, coming after her as fast as he could. He +had discovered that the rosary was missing, and upon looking around, +that several other things were gone; therefore he at once started +in pursuit of the fiend who had just enjoyed his hospitality. Marie +was not disturbed. Raising to her shoulder the rifle which she had +just found, she took deliberate aim and at the first shot laid him +low in death. + +She reached the small native village of Angono, where her mother was +stopping, about four o'clock in the afternoon of March 26th. + +The old lady was wonderfully elated to receive the new jewels which +Marie had stolen. She put on the rosary and danced about in the native +hut like a young child on Christmas morning, when it sees the gorged +stocking fastened to its bed. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +OFF FOR BALER + + +That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, fired with ambition +and discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette and started for +Manila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row boat via the +Pasig river which drains the lake into Manila bay and which flows +through the city of Manila situated at its mouth. + +While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next few +days, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being carried +out by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanish +garrison of fifty men stationed at the little town of Baler, near +the eastern coast of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrendered +to the American forces with the remainder of the Spanish army on +August 13, 1898, but as all lines of communication with them had been +destroyed by the Filipinos they had never been officially notified +of the capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information that +they were being besieged by a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos which +outnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of time +before all would be exterminated. + +Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that something +must be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party was formed and +placed aboard the "Yorktown," which carried them around the southern +point of Luzon and then northward to the mouth of the Baler river. + +Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath not +to take up arms against the Americans again during the insurrection, +and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besieging +Filipinos of what was to take place, and to help them as best she +could to resist the advance of the rescuing party. + +Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern coast +of Luzon, and Manila is on the west side of the island Baler is, +nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused by the +deep indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of which +Manila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward of +the eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight east +of Manila. + +In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipino +foot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part near the +San Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which is +situated about three miles north and a trifle east of Manila. At that +point she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for a +short distance and which was made by the Americans' commissary train +on the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March 25, +preceding. + +She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention was +attracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a few +feet distant from her pathway. She walked over to in and found these +words inscribed thereon: + + + "R. I. P. D. O. M. + + Wat Erbuf Falo + + Born -- (?) Died, February 12, 1899. + + + To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave, + Some facts on its headstone we wish to engrave; + If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell + Bill Sherman was right when he said, 'War is Hell.' + He charged on two pickets whose names are below; + They took him for niggers,--poor wronged buffalo. + As to the way he met death, everybody knows how; + As to whom he belonged we don't caribou. + + Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. "M," 1st. Col. Vols." + + + +It was now April 2nd, and Marie had ahead of her about ninety miles +overland to be made on foot or else on horse-back; and it was necessary +for her to hurry along, as the rescuing party was scheduled to reach +the mouth of Baler river April 10th, or 12th. + +Her course led past the little shack on the bank of the San Mateo +river, where she had robbed the elderly couple who had been so kind +to her and near where she later had shot the old man when he was +pursuing her to regain possession of his stolen property. + +She found it deserted; but in a little bamboo corral nearby she found +three Chinese ponies. Evidently they had made their escape from the +scene of battle and had drifted into this yard for refuge. There was +a small stack of rice straw just outside the corral. From this Marie +soon made a stoutly-twisted rope which she hastily arranged in the +form of a bridle. Placing it over the head of the largest pony she +mounted him and rode off. + +She got ten miles beyond this last stopping place before sunset. That +night she stopped at a small inland village. As she lay down to sleep +on the bamboo floor in the hut of a Tagalo family whose acquaintance +she had readily formed, recollections of the place which she had +passed during the afternoon where she had previously robbed the old +couple immediately after she was released upon oath by the Americans, +suggested to her the thought that she was violating her oath; that she +was now out in a country where she might be betrayed at any moment by +her own people, or else be captured by a squad of American infantry +or cavalry; therefore, she decided that on the following day she +would destroy her identity. + +Upon retiring the previous night Marie coiled up for a pillow her head +of long black hair. "I hate to give it up," thought she, "but what +will the Americans do to me if they capture me another time? Oh! well, +after the war is over it will soon grow out again." + +The next morning, after a scanty breakfast of bananas and rice, and +a pineapple which Marie salted heavily before she ate it, she went to +a native barber and had her long hair cut close to the scalp, except +for a little tuft on top which she had him brush up for a pompadour. + +Before cutting off her hair the barber tied a piece of hemp very +tightly around it, just back of her neck. After he had detached it, +he held it in front of Marie and asked her what she wished done with +it. She took it in her own hands. + +The barber kept on trimming her shortened hair. Marie stopped talking +and seemed to be in deep meditation. + +Presently the barber said. "That's all." + +Marie arose from the rough mahogany slab on which she had been sitting, +handed him a puesta (twenty cents, Mexican), looked out of the window +and said, "I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll trade you my hair for +that quilas (two-wheeled cart) standing there." + +"All right"; said the barber, "My pony is dead, and the war has so +devasted the country, and money has become so scarce, that I can't +afford to buy another one." + +"The harness hanging on it goes with the cart," said Marie. + +"Oh no!" exclaimed the barber, "my wife borrowed that, and I must +return it." + +"It doesn't make any difference to whom it belongs," said Marie, +emphatically, "you traded me the cart, and everything that was in it +goes with the trade. How do you suppose I could hitch my pony into +the cart without a harness?" + +Just then she pulled a bolo out from under her apron. The barber said +no more. + +Marie hitched her pony into the cart and started on toward Baler. + +That day she followed a good road leading toward the mountains near +the eastern coast of Luzon. By night her pony had made twenty miles. + +She had already reached the foot-hills. It was impossible for her +to make head-way any longer with the cart. She would soon be across +the mountains and be in the region to be approached by the American +relief party. What was to be done? + +A happy thought came to Marie. She clasped her hands and muttered to +herself, "I'll trade the cart for a suit of men's clothes and trade +the harness for a sombrero," (bamboo hat.) + +Since the middle of the afternoon she had been driving parallel to a +stream that wound its way, nearby, from the mountains across the plains +to the sea. Villages along the banks were numerous. At night fall she +was still in Tagalo territory. It was her own tribe. She soon found a +place to stay over night. Her pony was turned loose in a vacant yard, +with an old bamboo fence around it, and given some young rice. + +That evening while smoking cigarettes, and while inflaming the minds +of the villagers with startling stories about the atrocities, of the +American soldiers, Marie finally succeeded in making the trade which +she had planned during the afternoon. + +Next morning, April 5, she rode on. Before her lay sixty miles of +unknown territory to be covered during the next four days, if she +were to reach Baler in time to warn the besieging Filipinos of the +contemplated attack by the Americans. + +A half mile out from the village, Marie came to an abrupt turn in the +road. Near by was a dense cluster of banana trees. She dismounted, +and while her pony was nibbling young rice she went into the thicket +and changed her attire. Then she tied a good-sized stone up in her +old clothes and threw them into the river. As she stood on the bank +watching them sink, she saw her shadow in the water. How changed she +looked! The sombrero was such a relief in keeping the hot sun off +her head. + +"Now, I'll not be recognized," thought she. "How nice it is to be +dressed like a man. From now on I mean to play a man's part and be +a full-fledged soldier." + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE GILMORE INCIDENT + + +Marie reached her destination late in the evening of April 9th, +and she at once notified the officers commanding the Filipinos who +were besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with so small a +force, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish garrison, +it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler river--as +the town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was located is some two +miles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific ocean, and +the American troops were too greatly outnumbered by the Filipinos to +make a land expedition safe,--she suggested to them the advisability +of fortifying the river at specific intervals along either bank and +of taking the precaution to cover the fortifications with freshly-cut +brush so that the Americans could not locate them for the purpose of +bombarding them in case they saw fit to load some of the smaller cannon +on cascoes and make their way up the river for an attack in that way. + +The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and places +for the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. It was +during the dry season and the river was very low at the time. This +made it possible to dig ditches on the sand bars which extended far +out into the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sand +taken therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments by strewing over them +some fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance of +having drifted to their lodgment. + +The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, as +scheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of truce, where, +to his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers; +but their exceptionally good behavior and the twinkle of their eyes +told only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. He +therefore returned to the Yorktown without having accomplished anything +in particular. + +The next morning, at four o'clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and sixteen +brave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered the +mouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were put +ashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke forth and +those left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry who +was walking his beat along the shore. He gave the alarm. Lieutenant +Gilmore and his party could easily have pulled out to sea and gotten +away, but humanity forbade it. What would become of the two scouts +who went ashore? Their comrades in the boat could not desert them, +so they rowed up the river into the very jaws of impending danger. + +Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinos +opened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only fifty yards +distance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck in +the mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. In a moment Morrisy +fell dead, having been shot through the head; Dillon followed; +then McDonald, then Nygard;--Marie was doing deadly work with her +Mauser rifle. + +The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what was +the use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly had the +Filipinos screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were using +smokeless powder. + +Four of Gilmore's men were already dead, two were mortally wounded +and begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell into the +hands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Most +of the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy's rifle balls. In +this moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumped +overboard and tried to push the boat out to mid-stream. It was no use; +the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they could +not compete against it. + +Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change and +use one of the dead men's rifles. As he picked it up he noticed the +lock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip had been jammed +in. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, to be fixed. + +The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struck +him in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been under fire +before. Looking up calmly, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit." + +In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out of +his arm pit. With his attention riveted on his task, he remarked, +"I'm hit again, Mr. Gilmore." + +Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cut +a painful wound in his scalp. "Mr. Gilmore, they've hit me again," +he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with blood running +down all over him. + +In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad's ankle, one of +the most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. This time, +with a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit +once more; but I've fixed your gun, Sir." + +Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans' fire had +practically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench the limbs and +underbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns, +spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash for the boat and captured +the entire crew. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE AMERICAN PRISONERS + + +Those of the Americans who were alive and able to help themselves +were ordered to go ashore on the sand bar, where the Filipinos robbed +them of their personal effects and then lined them up preparatory +to shooting them all down in a body. Gilmore, being an officer, +protested against having his hands tied. He claimed, according to +the accepted rules of warfare, that on account of his rank he had +a right to die honorably with his hands free. The Filipinos have +great superstitions about "rank" in military affairs. Marie knew the +significance of Gilmore's request; she respected it. + +The Filipinos had loaded their rifles, cocked them, raised the same +to their shoulders, had taken aim, and Marie was about to give the +fatal command, "Fire!", when a shout from the bank stopped her and +for a moment engaged the attention of both the Americans and the +Filipinos. It came from a Filipino officer, running down to the +shore. He ordered them to stop. One second longer would have been +too late. + +This Tagalo officer ordered the Americans to get back into their boat +and to row across to the opposite shore. After bailing the water out +of the boat and plugging up the holes in it made by the enemy's rifle +balls, they obeyed his command. + +When they went ashore, Lieutenant Gilmore asked permission to bury +his dead comrades. This privilege was emphatically denied. What was +done with their bodies by the Filipinos is hard to tell, but in all +probability, as was customary with the natives, they cut them into +fragments and threw them away. + +The ones who were mortally wounded, but who were still alive, were +placed under a tree by Gilmore and his comrades, and left to die. The +Lieutenant asked that a native doctor be summoned to give them aid, +but it was not done. What their fate was Eternity alone will reveal. + +Gilmore and his comrades picked up the lesser wounded and carried +them, and together the whole procession was marched inland about a +mile to the Filipino Commandante's headquarters. + +Here they were questioned at length. Gilmore asked permission to +write a note to the commander of the Yorktown telling him of their +fate. Permission was granted, but the note was never delivered. The +two scouts who went ashore, returned to the Yorktown in the afternoon +and reported that they had heard heavy firing up the river. + +After waiting several days for news of some kind for them, and finally +concluding that they were either captured or killed, the crew of +the Yorktown, heavy-hearted over their failure and their sacrifice, +steamed back to Manila. + +During the afternoon of the same day that the battle took place, +the American prisoners were ordered to march to an old bamboo church +in the northern outskirts of the little town of Baler, a mile and +a half farther on. By this time the wounded men were suffering +terribly. Little Venville's ankle had swollen badly. From his four +wounds he had bled so much that he had grown faint. Therefore, he +and several of the others had to be carried. + +En route to their new destination, the Americans passed in sight of +the old stone church being used as a fortress by the Spanish garrison +whom they had originally set out to relieve. The Americans had gone +to the Philippines to fight the Spaniards. They were now sacrificing +their lives to save them. + +At the bamboo church, an old Filipino with a kindly face and a manner +that elevated him above his fellow tribesmen, came in to see them. He +examined the wounded and then disappeared. Presently he returned with +some large leaves that resembled rhubarb, under his arm. Out of the +big stems of these native herbs he squeezed a milky secretion which he +permitted to drop into the gaping wounds of the Americans. The torture +of the wounded occasioned by this liquid was damnable. The men grew +deathly pale. They rolled and screamed and begged to be shot. But +it did not last long. In ten minutes the torture had ceased, the men +became quiet, the swelling around their wounds was gradually reduced, +and their temperatures soon lowered. The herb doctor evidently knew +his business. + +The next day the Filipinos received orders from Aguinaldo, who, +with his appointed congress, was now at San Isidro, to march the +captured Americans to his headquarters. Accordingly, the trip +was undertaken. But the apprentice lad, Venville, was unable to +go along. Obeying the stubborn orders of the rapacious Filipinos +his comrades left him lying on the floor of the old rickety bamboo +church,--wounded--uncared for--suffering--hungry--thirsty--dying. A +year later the assistance of the entire naval organization in the +Philippines was given to the task of trying to ascertain from the +Filipinos in the neighborhood of Baler some information concerning +the lad's whereabouts or his burial place, but no trace of him, +dead or alive, could ever be found. + + + An aged mother, ill and bowed, + Keeps asking, "Where's my boy?" + But zephyrs from the Orient + Refuse to bring the joy. + + +Amid great privations the marching column crossed the mountains and +the fertile plains on the opposite side, to the city of San Isidro. It +was heralded in advance that the Americans were coming through the +country. Obeying their greatest national instinct--curiosity--the +natives assembled by thousands in the villages along the road. Every +one of them kept crowding forward to get to touch the Americans to see +what their skins felt like. Others were looking for the long feathers +in their hair, which they had heard so much about. It was all the +Filipino guards could do to restrain their own people. The latter, +like monkeys, jabbered incessantly. Gilmore's men hurled back at them +defiant epithets. They realized that involuntarily they had become +the chief actors in a new moving circus. + +Again, when they reached San Isidro, a great throng of curious natives +had come to town to see them. These fellows were very hostile to the +Americans. It was all the native guard could do to keep the Filipinos +from doing violence to them. Gilmore was again questioned at length +and then he was separated from his comrades and all were hurried off +to jail. + +In a few days it was rumored that the American army was approaching the +city. Aguinaldo and his associates hurriedly prepared to leave. Orders +were given to march the prisoners overland north and then westward +across another range of high mountains to Arancay, on the western +coast of Luzon,--a distance of 100 miles. + +This time the crowd of prisoners was greatly increased. At San +Isidro there were added 600 Spaniards; a small tribe of mountain +Negritos whom Aguinaldo had originally sent to fight the Americans, +but who, being armed only with spears and bolos, soon got tired of +seeing their number decrease so rapidly before American riflemen, +and refused to fight, and who were later imprisoned and terribly +misused by Aguinaldo's selected guards; and eighteen Americans in +addition to Gilmore's party (total twenty-six Americans), who had +been captured in as many different ways around Manila by the crafty, +cunning Filipinos. Among them was Frank Stone, of the U. S. Signal +Corps, captured by some "amigos" (friendly natives) on the railroad +track near Manila, while out strolling one Sunday afternoon; Private +Curran, of the 16th U.S. Infantry who was grabbed within fifty feet +of his own outpost, gagged and dragged into captivity; also a civilian +who had gone to the Philippines to sell liquor. + +This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila +while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen beer. He was the +life of the expedition. He took his captivity as a joke, told stories +to keep the prisoners good natured, and painted on ever boulder that +he passed the seemingly sacrilegious words, "Drink Blank's beer on +the road to H----." It was, however, this harmless practice that later +on enabled the American relief party to follow the prisoners' trail. + +After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched +northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city of +Vigan. Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden +presence of an American war-ship in the harbor, off Vigan, caused the +natives to abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners +for some mountain fastness. The Americans were separated from the +rest of the prisoners whom they never saw again. + +High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys +were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. The Filipino +lieutenant who had charge of the prisoners, ordered them to go on; +they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for +them without avail. The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon +comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer +himself was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance, +the sick Americans were able to go along. + +A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and came +upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent dancing down the +rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in +the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from the Americans, and with guns +in hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them. + +"Prepare to die," said Gilmore to his companions; "they are going to +shoot us." Calling the Filipino lieutenant to his side Gilmore asked +him why he did not shoot them on the opposite side of the mountains, +and not have made them make all of that hard climb for nothing. + +The native officer said in reply: "My orders were to shoot all of +you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability, +your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them +ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago when you showed +me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman +in America, I decided not to carry out my order, but to let you all +go free. I may be punished for disobedience of orders; but we are +both bound together by the great Catholic church, and my conscience +forbids that I should kill you." + +Gilmore replied: "You might as well shoot us as to set us free away +up here in the mountains in our weakened condition with nothing to +defend ourselves with against the savages whose territory we will have +to cross in order to get to the sea. Can't you spare us at least two +rifles and some ammunition? If you will do this, I will give you a +letter which, should you fall into the hands of the Americans, will +make you safe and bring you ample reward." + +The Filipino looked meditatingly at the ground for several moments, +then he calmly said, "I shall not dare to do it. An American relief +party, seeking your liberation, is close on our heels. They will +protect and care for you. Goodby!" + +Gilmore did not believe him. + +Under cover of the night the Filipinos disappeared. In the morning, +after nine long, tedious months of captivity resulting from Marie +Sampalit's depredations,--sick, nearly starved, practically nude, with +nothing but two battle axes and a bolo for both weapons of defense +and for tools--the Americans at last found themselves free men in +the wilds of northern Luzon, with positive death left behind, and +with possible life and all of its happy associations still before them. + +Their first day of liberty was spent in preparing bamboo rafts on +which to float down the tortuous, winding river to the sea. The next +night they all slept well; and on the following morning, just after +they had gotten up and begun to saunter around, everybody present was +suddenly shocked by the shrill yell of a strong American voice. They +all looked up, and while their hearts for a moment seemingly stopped +beating and fairly rose in their throats, the liberated prisoners +beheld the blue shirts and khaki trousers of Colonel Hare's rescue +party that for several weeks had been on their trail. + +What rejoicing! The bony, ill-clad prisoners fell on the strong bosoms +of their rescuers and wept. + +Colonel Hare's father, Judge Hare, of Washington, D.C., knew Gilmore +personally. He had seen the military reports of his captivity among +the natives. When his son bade him goodby as he started for the +Philippines, Judge Hare said, "My boy, God bless you; find Gilmore +and bring him home!" Colonel Hare had remained true to his trust. + +The party could not retrace their steps over the mountains, owing to +the weakened condition of the prisoners and the lack of food. Their +only chance for self-preservation and a possible return to civilization +lay in carrying out Gilmore's designs to build bamboo rafts and float +down the river to the sea. This was done. In going over rapids and +water-falls, many rafts were destroyed and new ones had to be built. + +Two of the boys got the measles. The raft on which one of them, +Private Day, was being transported, got smashed on the rocks and he +was thrown into the water. He took cold and died the next day. His +comrades took his body with them and did not bury it until they finally +reached the little town of Ambulug, at the mouth of the stream they +had been following, on the northern coast of Luzon. There, amid a +simple but impressive ceremony, it was buried in the church-yard of +the cathedral to await the resurrection morn. + +At Ambulug the Americans secured ox-carts drawn by caribous and drove +along the beach to the city of Aparri, at the mouth of the Cagayan +river. Here they were met by a detachment of American Marines who +took them aboard a war-ship, lying out to sea, which carried them +around the northwest promontory of Luzon to the city of Vigan on the +western coast, at which place they had been imprisoned for so long. + +Here they met General Young who shook hands with each of them; +congratulated the rescued and complimented the rescuers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +DEATH OF GENERAL LAWTON. + + +After the battle of Baler, Marie and a few native soldiers hastened +westward in advance of the prisoners, to San Isidro to notify Aguinaldo +who had moved his headquarters to that place, that the Americans were +advancing northward in great numbers and that nothing could impede +their progress. This information had previously been conveyed to the +Filipino general from other sources, so that Marie found him in his +so-called congress packed up and ready to move,--a thing they were +forced to do a few days after the American prisoners arrived. She +accompanied them for several long, tedious months, acting as cook for +the expedition and serving in other capacities--none of them seeming +to her to be ample reward for all she had done. + +Early in the coming fall, Marie, tired of Aguinaldo's game of +hide-and-go-seek, and anxious to find out about her mother and to get +into more fighting, if there be a chance, made her way back to Manila. + +But her conscience bothered her. She remembered that broken oath and +many other acts of wanton treachery that would shock the civilized +world. She feared that her own life would soon be sought either by +the Americans or by the Filipinos. Accordingly she suggested to her +mother that they again go to her aunt's in the little town of Angono +at the north end of Lake Laguna de Bay, where she had left her mother +stationed when last they had parted. Her mother, growing old and +nervous through accumulated years, past grievances, hard work and the +strain of the present conflict, favored the plan; and so they departed +on December 2nd, taking the same road over McLeod's Hill and on down +over the Santa Mesa bridge that they had traveled on February 4th. + +Before leaving Manila she learned through the private Filipino Junta +which was secretly assisting in the war by accumulating funds for +its prosecution and by distributing among the native troops the +inflammatory literature which was being promiscuously sent out by +the people in the United States who opposed the war, that a secret +reward of $10,000. had been offered for the death of General Lawton. + +About the middle of December, 1899, the General had returned to +Manila from another telling campaign northward, when he learned that +the Filipinos were assembling in large numbers under one of their +fearless leaders, General Geronemo, on the San Mateo river, but a +few miles out of Manila, for the purpose of making one more attempt +to break through the American lines guarding that city. + +On December 17, Marie heard that another attack was to be made on +Manila, so she left her mother at Angono and made her way to the +Filipinos' camp along the San Mateo river, only a few miles south of +where she had crossed it at the rapids the morning after she had been +liberated under oath by Major Allison. + +The next day, she was in secret consultation with Geronemo, and she +disclosed to him all the information she had concerning the defenses +of Manila. + +That evening, Filipino scouts, dressed in female attire, brought to +General Geronemo the news that the Americans, under General Lawton, +who was supposed to be away up in the northern part of Luzon, had +anticipated his movements and were assembling in the woods on the +opposite side of the valley in large numbers, possibly for a night +attack. + +Marie told Geronemo what she had learned while in Manila concerning +the reward that had been secretly offered for the killing of General +Lawton. He knew all about it and confirmed the offer. She told him all +about her training as a marksman with the Spanish on Corregidor island +and of her subsequent experience, and said she knew General Lawton +well; that she could single him out, and in case he led his troops, +as he usually did in battle, she was sure she could capture the prize. + +A place of unusual safety and concealment was selected along the +Filipinos' lines, directly in front of the center of the probable point +of attack by the Americans, for Marie, and for a Filipino lieutenant +and a corporal, both of whom were also good shots. + +Geronemo had instructed them that Marie was to have the first three +shots at the general, in case he appeared on the scene of battle. If +she failed to hit him, the lieutenant was then to try it. After he +had taken three shots, if he, too, failed, the corporal was to be +given a chance. + +The next morning, December 19, the American line of battle came out +of the woods on the opposite side of the valley, ready to charge on +the Filipinos' position. The morning was bright and clear, so that +General Lawton, with his tall figure, resplendent uniform and large +white helmet, could easily be discerned by the entire Filipino command. + +"I'll fix him," whispered Marie, "just wait till the firing begins, +so that I can shoot without attracting attention to our position." + +In a moment, the Filipinos opened fire on the Americans all along +the line. The latter sought cover. General Lawton remained erect. He +made an ideal target. Marie took careful aim. "Bang!" went her rifle, +and at that very moment this peerless leader of men, this hero of +several wars, was shot through the heart and fell dead in the arms +of his aide. His only words were, "I'm shot." + +"See that! What did I tell you?" snapped out Marie, "I told you I'd +get him! Now for my dinero." (money). + +The Americans were so angered because of the sudden death of their +beloved commander that they made a mad rush forward, without orders, +and swept the Filipino army from the field. + +Marie returned to Manila where she claimed the reward for having shot +the general. The lieutenant who was with her claimed that he did it, +and by promising half of the bounty to the corporal for swearing to +the lie, he proved it. Meager reports of the affair state that only +$7000 of the money was actually paid over. Like Aguinaldo who crept +into a cave northwest of Manila and sold out his country during the +insurrection of 1896, and then could not collect his fee, so Marie, +too, found herself deprived of the compensation for her bloody deed. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +NORTH-BOUND + + +The controversy over the distribution of the fund in Manila for the +death in any form of General Lawton permitted the unholy scheme to +simmer its way into publicity. The United States authorities employed +secret detectives to investigate the matter and if possible to locate +the persons who claimed to be responsible for the act. Marie soon +found herself under surveillance and she quickly left the city. + +Making her way north on horse back along the same route she had taken +when on her way to Baler about a year before, she came to the city +of San Miguel where one of the hardest battles of the war had been +fought. The troops engaged in this fight had become so disorganized +that all formation by regiments, companies, etc., had been broken +up. Unfortunately, one of the Americans' dead privates could not be +identified. He was buried where he fell, and a board tombstone was +placed at the head of his grave, on which was carved this lonely word, + + + "UNKNOWN". + + +As Marie passed over the old field, she saw this grave and read the +solemn word on its headstone. "Alas!" she muttered, "I wonder if the +same sad fate will some day overtake me." + +The body of this "unknown" soldier was exhumed by the government a few +months later and brought back to the United States for burial. Upon +its arrival the following pathetic poem appeared in "Leslie's Weekly"; + + + JUST AN "UNKNOWN" + + After the fight was over, + They found him stark and dead, + Where all the bamboo thicket + Was splashed and stained and red. + No name was missed at roll call, + Not one among them knew + The slender, boyish figure + Arrayed in army blue. + + Among our fallen soldiers + They brought him o'er the deep, + And with the nation's heroes + They laid him down to sleep. + A starry flag above him, + And on the simple stone + That marked his final bivouac, + The single word, "Unknown." + + Perchance a mother watches, + Her eyes with weeping dim, + Or sweetheart waits the postman + In vain for news of him. + While snow of winter freezes, + And April violets thrust + Sweet blossoms through the grasses + Above his nameless dust. + + But when the last great trumpet + Shall sound the reveille, + And all the blue battalions + March up from land and sea, + He shall awake to glory-- + Who sleeps unknown to fame, + And with Columbia's bravest + Will answer to his name. + + +Her personal safety demanded that she continue her journey northward, +without delay; also her inclination to rejoin Aguinaldo and his +troops--although his exact whereabouts were unknown--invited her in +this direction. + +At San Isidro, from which place Aguinaldo had been driven, she +saw some American soldiers administering the water cure to some +Filipinos in order to make them reveal the whereabouts of their wily +general. Marie was angry. She yearned to shoot, but she was no longer +on the aggressive; she was now a fugitive from justice. At this +place she inspected the old Filipino prison and on its walls found +the names of Gilmore and his party, whom she had helped to capture at +Baler, who had been imprisoned there, and who were still alive when +Aguinaldo was driven from the city of San Isidro by the approach of +the Americans. She determined to take her revenge on them for this +water cure punishment, if she ever found them. But the opportunity +never came. So journeying on toward the northern part of Luzon she had +many experiences, and she came in contact with tribes whom she had +never seen before and whose dialect was foreign to her. Many things +combined to retard her progress. Often she grew very weary and would +have turned back, except for fear. + +Following up the valley of the Pampanga river and thence on northward +along the Barat, she passed through the province of Nueva Ecija, +crossed the Caraballo mountains which form its northern boundary, +and then entered the province of Nueva Vizcaya, where she came upon +the head-waters of the Rio Magat river. + +In crossing the Caraballo mountains she made her way through a deep +gorge at night. It was now about the middle of February. A full moon +shone at its best. The weather was ideal. Journeying was abnormally +pleasant. Under favorable conditions, during times of peace, the trip +she was taking would have been a delightful outing. Just now things +were different. Small garrisons of American soldiers had crowded +forward and were occupying the largest cities along her route. As yet +she had not gotten beyond them. "A guilty conscience needs no accuser"; +everywhere that she went she imagined herself to be under suspicion. + +Far up in the Caraballos she came across a little mountain torrent +which leaped down over the mountain side from one rocky ledge to +another at quite regular intervals in a series of waterfalls until it +beat itself into a turbulent spray in the bed of the chasm below. The +laughing moon filtered its beaming rays through the thin sheet of +shimmering water as it danced down its course from precipice to +precipice, and seemingly converted it into a great silvery stair-way +connecting earth with heaven. Marie's heart throbbed with emotion. The +dashing of the falling water on the rocks below in the bed of the canon +made a hollow sound as its echoes reverberated through the gorge above. + +A half mile farther up, the valley widened somewhat; and finding here +some grass for her pony to forage on, she stopped for the night. The +flimsy saddle was removed from her horse and converted into a crude +pillow, in true cowboy style. Marie was uneasy. This was the first +night in all her adventures that she had been absolutely alone, +separated from both friends and foes, with no house to shelter her +weary head, with the cloudless canopy of the silent heavens arched +above her, the silvery moonbeams dancing in her face, and with +no voice, save the echoes of her own, to answer back the whispers +of night. + +It is often only in such a silent nook as this, with no one present +but God and self, that humanity asserts itself and the tenderest +portions of the human soul become paramount and give rise to +sacred thoughts. Even the savage cannot escape it, for he, too, +feels his responsibility to something outside of self. No doubt the +self-conscious criminal would be the most susceptible to it. + +What a night for Marie! Solitude gave rise to fear; fear, to conscious +criminality; a sense of wrong-doing, to grief. Would morning never +come? Every time she fell into a doze her sleep was disturbed by dreams +of the past. Recollections of her dying benefactor in the woods by +the San Mateo river, of Gilmore's comrades bleeding by his side, and +of Lawton in the arms of his aide, filled her soul with remorse and +suggested to her with an unspeakable vividness that in all probability +she would pay the penalty on both sides of the grave. Awakening from +one awful dream, she would, after listening to the stillness of the +night for a time, lapse into another. Again she would suddenly awake +and begin to fumble her rosary and repeat selections from a Catholic +prayer book. Would she dare to turn back? Behind her was certain death; +before her, the possibility of life. She resolved to go on. + +The night whiled away. Her pony ate his fill and lay down to +rest. Beaded dew drops collected themselves in close proximity upon +the grasses and foliage about her feet. The cool mountain air from +without and fear from within caused her to shiver a great deal. Day +finally came; Marie rode on. + +Following the Magat river she finally reached the city of Bayombong +with a population of 20,000 people. Here she learned from the natives +that Aguinaldo and a loyal remnant of his appointed congress had +passed through the city ahead of her, en route northward. + +At Bayombong she was advised to follow down the Magat river for +twenty miles, then to bear to the northeast along the pathway made by +Aguinaldo and his followers in their recent retreat. This she did, +crossing another range of mountains near Fort Del Pilar, which had +been erected by the Filipinos to circumvent as well as to prevent the +progress of the Americans, should they attempt to follow them. On +the farther side of this slope she came upon the headwaters of the +Rio Grande de Cagayan river, which she followed on to the north for +several weeks, enjoying the hospitality of the natives along the +course, until at last she came upon the beautiful city of Ilagan at +the confluence of the Cagayan and Pinacanalan rivers. + +It was now late in April. Marie was tired and needed rest. At Ilagan +she was cordially received by the curious natives who were eager to +learn some news concerning the war which was being conducted several +hundred miles further south. Marie grew cheerful. There were no +Americans in the city, and nobody knew of any within the valley. She +felt that at last she had successfully eluded her supposed pursuers and +that she was safe. Ilagan is the capital of Isabella province. It has +a population of approximately 60,000 people. Marie's natural ability, +information gathered in the school of experience, knowledge of the +details of the war, and her willingness to talk (quite a number at +Ilagan could speak Spanish) made of her a sort of responsive idol +for the entire populace. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CROSSING THE SIERRA MADRES. + + +She remained at Ilagan until the middle of June, when it began to be +rumored that the Americans were preparing to invade the Cagayan valley, +not only soldiers from the south but with the "mosquito fleet" coming +up the river from its mouth at the extreme northern end of the island +of Luzon. Nobody in the city seemed to know just where Aguinaldo had +gone. Part of his advance guard had arrived in the city some three +months before, but he had not come, and his soldiers had soon departed +for the southeast, following the valley of the Pinacanalan river. + +Tired of her surroundings and impatient to join Aguinaldo, Marie +departed by the same route that his soldiers had taken. From an +old native living all alone in a bamboo shack on the bank of the Rio +Masagan river, which empties into the Pinacanalan about eighteen miles +southeast of Ilagan, she learned that Aguinaldo and his troops had +started up the valley of the Masagan. This stream rises high up near +the summit of the Sierra Madre mountains which parallel the eastern +coast of northern Luzon for nearly five hundred miles, and are inland +from the coast from ten to thirty miles. + +Marie had with her three trusted natives from Ilagan. She did not want +to spend another night alone in the mountains. After proceeding up +the Masagan for thirty-five miles to a place where its valley narrows +itself to a gorge, its bed was so strewn with huge boulders that it +became impossible to travel any longer on horseback; therefore, one +of the natives was sent back with the horses, and Marie and the two +others continued the ascent on foot, taking with them such equipment +and provisions as they could conveniently carry. + +After many hardships they succeeded in crossing the range in safety +and soon found themselves descending the other side. A Filipino +scouting party was met at the evening of the first day's tramp down +the Pacific slope. They were well supplied with food--thing Marie and +her companions greatly needed. From them it was learned that Aguinaldo +and his body guard and quite a complement of Filipino soldiers were +secreted at the little town of Palanan on a small stream by the same +name, about ten miles back from the coast and lying directly east +of them on the journey which they were pursuing. This party escorted +them to Filipino headquarters, which they reached July 10, 1900. + +Marie was cordially welcomed by Aguinaldo, who restored her to a +position on his staff and secured from her the identical information +which he desired relative to the movement of the American troops, and +the very information, strange to say, which led to his own discovery +and capture by General Funston of the American forces in March of +the following year. + +Aguinaldo learned from Marie that from the Filipinos' standpoint, the +war around Manila had been a dismal failure. He decided, therefore, +to send one of his trusted generals south by practically the same +route over which Marie had come, with information to the Filipino +troops east and south of Manila to move all their available forces +north with the quickest possible despatch and to place them under his +immediate command so that he might not only render himself immune from +capture, but take the initiative and oppose the American campaign in +the valley of the Cagayan river. + +In December, 1900, about three months before his capture by General +Funston, Aguinaldo, having learned that the Americans were making their +way in great numbers into the valley of the Cagayan, asked Marie to +take up duty as a spy again; to recross the Sierra Madre mountains; +visit the American lines; ascertain their number of soldiers on duty +in the valley on the opposite side of the mountains and then to bring +this information to him, so that when reinforcements should arrive +he would know better how to undertake the campaign. + +To this, Marie willingly assented, but she insisted that she could +not make the trip alone over the rugged Sierra Madre mountains; +that she had nearly famished crossing them the first time. Aguinaldo +therefor fitted out a little expedition consisting of eight Filipinos, +in addition to Marie, and a pack-train of fourteen ponies to accompany +her over the divide. Nine of the animals were for riding purposes; +the other five were to pack the supplies,--three of them for the +outward trip, two for the incoming. In addition to the rice which +they took along, they were instructed to forage as much as possible. + +On December 9, the party started out on their perilous undertaking. A +point far up on the mountain slope, near a refreshing mineral spring, +having been reached on December 17, the party halted and established +a sub-base for their return trip. It was evident to them that they +had struck the wrong trail and were going to be compelled to send +Marie back through a different gorge from the one by which she and +her associates had come over a few months before. + +Here the party divided into two relays--one to accompany Marie close +to the top of the mountains, the other to remain where it was until +her guides returned. At this temporary base three Filipinos and two +pack-horses were left. The Filipinos thus left behind were instructed +to hunt and trap all they could till their comrades returned. + +The on-going squad, consisting of Marie and five native soldiers, took +with them their six riding ponies and three of the pack-horses. They +departed from their comrades early in the morning, December 18. By +night of the second day they had gotten so near the crest they could +plainly discern that in one long march Marie could cross the divide +and get a safe distance down the slope on the opposite side. Coming to +an old stone church they dismounted and established themselves for the +night. It was December 19,--the anniversary of Lawton's death. Marie +remarked about it. + +This old church had partly fallen down. Vines and mosses had so +interlaced themselves in climbing over its rocky walls and across its +openings that they had to be cut away by the unwelcome intruders before +they could gain an entrance. The stone cross on the front gable was +still in place; but the old mahogany door had long since been torn +from its hinges by the mountain storms, and it lay in a state of +decay on the ground. An earthquake had destroyed part of the roof, +and had caused the west wall to become inclined and to crumble. + +Within, one end of the old altar was still found to be intact. The +priest's pulpit chair had become ivy-mantled, and one handle had rotted +from its fastenings and had fallen to the floor. Statues of the Saints +had pitched from their moorings in the alcoves along the walls and were +lying face-downward or standing on their heads amid the debris below. + +What hands had built this old church, none could tell. It seemed +certain that no human being had entered it for over a century. The +mountain tribes who had lifted into place the huge chalk stones +that composed its massive walls, under the devout leadership of some +pious monk, for a place of worship, had long since perished from the +earth. The mountain game which rendered possible their habitation in +this altitude had vanished. Everything and everybody had evidently +given way before some fierce invasion of one of their southern tribes. + +Marie was busy cleaning off the trash from the massive rock that lay +at the entrance to the door-way. "1765," said she; "come, see the +date chiseled in the rock! I wonder what has become of the tribe that +built it?" + +A soldier who had made his entrance by one of the window openings, +was busily engaged in prying up a huge flat stone just back of the +altar. He had it loosened; he called for help to remove it. When the +stone had been overturned and had fallen back onto its aged neighbors, +some soft damp earth beneath it was slowly scraped away. + +"Listen!" said the native who on bended knees was doing the +sacrilegious work, "Did you hear that grating noise?" + +He scraped again with his bolo turned edgewise, and gripping the back +of it firmly with both hands. "Do you hear it?" said he. "It's here!" + +In a few minutes a metallic box was pried out of the earth wherein +it had lain unmolested for many years. + +"Can you read the inscription on it?" asked Marie. + +Carefully the sediment and rust shales were removed. The grooves in +the letters and figures of the inscription were carefully cleaned +out with a knife. It read + + + FATHER + JUADANEZ + 1768. + + +"The old father has been dead a long time," said the fellow who was +doing the details of the work. + +"I wonder," said Marie, "if we really ought to disturb his bones." + +"Do you suppose they put any valuables in the little chest when they +sealed it up?" asked another. + +"It has always been customary to put in the sacred urn," said Marie. + +"Cut it open!" commanded a corporal. + +"I can't," said the robber; "we'll have to build a fire and melt +it open." + +This they did; and in it they found the dust of his bones and a number +of valuables including the Patricia's gold-lined cup which Marie took +and hung on her belt. + +That night a terrible storm swept over the mountains. Marie and her +companions crept into the old church for refuge. The ponies had been +given some rice and then set free to forage as best they could. They +were stampeded by the violence of the wind and rain. + +The morning broke cool and clear. Everybody was astir at day-break. The +ponies were gone, but plenty of rice remained. Marie soon saw a way +out of the difficulty. She left three of her men at the old church to +await the return of the two who were to accompany her until she reached +some plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of the mountains. + +The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such +a supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only three miles +farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost +perpendicular and seeming to form pillars for the sky, were so close +together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used +the ponies for travel, even though they had not retreated in the storm. + +Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had reached +the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be the north fork of +the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had previously +followed. The beautiful valleys below them were plainly visible as +the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A small native village +could be seen on the bank of the stream a few miles ahead. The party +bivouacked for the night. + +Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was +off on her important mission. + +Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after +another night's rest, the five undertook their return journey to +the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they +reached this camp they found their ponies all returned to it; and +their comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the +Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. The entire party, except +Marie, got back to Aguinaldo's camp at Palanan, on Christmas Day. + +Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her +spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing help from +the natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a +few months. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +COMPENSATION + + +On the evening of December 24, 1900,--one of those dark nights in +the Philippines when the air seems so dense that you can almost +take hold of it with your hands--when the heavy clouds blanket the +earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem to shake the earth +in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their melody--when +the lightening bugs flutter from twig to twig, revealing their +lanterned wings--when the human heart beats with a conscious thump +in anticipation of something awful--when those who are out alone +whistle to give themselves courage--when the zigzag openings rent +through the clouds by the vicious lightning flashes almost reveal +Eternity;--Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which we all celebrate +and shall continue to celebrate till the end of time, to commemorate +the birth of our Christ,--a sharp-eyed, dare-devil Filipino crept +slowly out of the city of Ilagan along a foot-path toward the +Americans' camp about a mile north of that city. + +When so near to the Americans that their out-posts were plainly visible +during the flashes of lightning, the Filipino spy crept into a bamboo +thicket not over fifty feet from an American sentry. After lying there +for a half hour, waiting for the storm to come, the native grew a +trifle bolder and arose to his knees. That moment the sharp eyes of +the sentry caught him. + +"Corporal of the Guard!" called the sentry in a loud voice. + +The corporal, being suspicious that something unusual was taking place, +in responding to the call took with him two armed privates. + +Approaching the sentry, with light steps and in a crouching attitude, +the corporal said in a heavy whisper, "What's the matter, Jack?" + +The sentry was standing with gun in hand, loaded, cocked, and with +bayonet fixed. Keeping his eye centered on the exact spot where he had +last seen the slowly gravitating figure before him, the guard said +in an undertone that denoted grave alarm, "Do you see that thicket +just to the left of that big mango tree?" + +"Yes;" said the corporal in a whisper, "What's the trouble?" + +"There's a man in there," said the sentry. "I saw him quite plainly at +first--and I think he's got a gun in his hand. You better watch out, +boys. He's still there." + +The corporal and the two privates fixed the bayonets on their +Krag-Jorgensons, filled the magazines, slipped a shell into the +barrel of each rifle, cocked them, crouched close to the ground, +some ten feet apart, and began to move forward, a step at a time, +between the flashes of lightening. Each time it would flash, they +would peer into the thicket. Each step brought them nearer. + +"There he lies!," said one of the privates in a quick out-spoken voice. + +"Amigo," (a friend) said the stretched-out form, as three guns were +raised in unison with the anxious muzzles pointing directly at him. + +"Este no quere combate" (you don't desire to fight), said the corporal, +in crude Spanish. + +"Mucho amigo" (very friendly), came the reply. + +"Vamose aque!" (come here), commanded the corporal. + +With his eyes fixed in theirs, the Filipino raised himself slowly up +and came toward the three Americans who stood but twelve feet away. + +"Take him by the arms," said the corporal to the two privates who were +with him, "while I look behind that rice-dyke to see if he had a gun." + +"Here's what the rascal was up to," said the corporal, holding a +Mauser above his head. "Good thing you saw him when you did, Jack." + +The storm was coming nearer; the first gust of wind had just struck +them. It blew back the Filipino's little checkered frock. The corporal +saw a glitter. + +"Watch out! boys, he's got a machete under his coat," said the +corporal. + +He was searched for more weapons and then marched inside the American +lines and taken directly to headquarters. A drum-head court was +convened at once and the prisoner led in. + +With hands clinched, muscles taut, eyes piercing at the court, he +listened to the reading of the charge: + +"Caught acting as a spy for the enemy in violation of the Articles +of War; armed, with intent to take the life of an American sentry +on guard!" + +After the testimony had been taken, the prisoner was given a chance +to speak, but he absolutely refused to do so, even though addressed +in several different languages and dialects. + +"He spoke Spanish to us as we captured him," interjected the corporal. + +"GUILTY!" + +said the lieutenant-colonel who was presiding, in a firm military +tone. "The court fixes the penalty at death, and sentences the prisoner +to be shot at sun-rise." + +"Remove him, Sergeant, and detail a firing squad to execute the order +of the court!" + +As the prisoner was led away, the lieutenant-colonel dropped his +chin in the palms of his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees, +and muttered in a semi-regretful way: "I hate to do it; but in the +past we have always been so chicken-hearted about punishing these +blood-thirsty natives that they have now come to regard our kindness +as cowardice. I can't help but feel that it will bring the war to a +close quicker if we deal with them hereafter with a good firm hand." + +"I wonder what province the young fellow came from," said a major +who was sitting near. + +"I really don't know," replied the lieutenant-colonel: "his face shows +him to be a Tagalo. Certain it is that he didn't come from Isabella +province in which we are now campaigning. I wouldn't be surprised if +Aguinaldo were near here and if he had sent this young dare-devil to +cut down our sentry, so as to make an attack upon us tonight during +the storm." + +Toward morning the storm subsided. At day-break a comparatively shallow +grave was hastily dug near the edge of a little bamboo thicket on +a slightly elevated piece of ground. As the flickering rays of the +tropical sun began to shoot above the pale, ashen-gray hue of the +eastern horizon, the prisoner was led to the foot of his prospective +tomb. The firing squad took its place in line. + +The guns had been carefully loaded in advance for their deadly work; +all but one contained blank cartridges. As usual, after loading, the +guns were intermixed, so that no man might know which one contained +the deadly bullet. + +"Ready!" commanded the sergeant who had charge of the squad,--the +corporal having taken his usual place in line with his men. + +"Click," went the hammers of the rifles in unison, as they were +brought to a full cock. + +"Aim!" came the next command in a firmer tone. The soldiers brought +their rifles to their shoulders. Every barrel was pointed at the +chest of the prisoner, who now for the first time, began to tremble +and turn a sickly yellow. + +"Fire!" commanded the sergeant. + +"Bang!" went the united roar of the guns; and as the light powder smoke +cleared away and the echoes reverberated through the woods of northern +Luzon, the firing squad stepped forward to view their heroic dead. + +A private jumped into the grave and turned the corpse over onto +its back. + +That night Frank W. Pugh, of the regular army, a member of this +unfortunate firing squad, who died later at Fort Worth, Texas, of +fever contracted in the Philippines, sitting in his little dog-tent, +meditating, wrote in his diary, which is now preserved in the archives +at Washington with other relics of the war, the following appropriate +poem: + + + A CHRISTMAS COURT-MARTIAL + + "The night was dark and threatening rain, + No stars were in the sky; + We caught him hiding in the pines-- + A Filipino spy. + A slender youth with coal black eyes, + Brim full of frightened tears; + We turned him over to the guard, + I fear with callous jeers. + + Next morning it was Christmas day, + The sun was shining hot, + A drum-head court had said, "The spy, + Is sentenced to be shot." + Erect before the officers, + He still disdained to speak, + Although a single crystal drop, + Empearled his olive cheek. + + Upon a long and hurried march, + In light array, you see, + We could not take the boy along, + So stood him near a tree; + Told off the little firing squad, + And ordered it in line. + One gun was loaded in the lot-- + I hope it was not mine. + + Birds in the branches overhead + Sang softly in the heat. + The grave, a trench of steaming sand, + Gaped yellow at his feet; + He faced us with a dauntless air, + Although his lips were white;-- + Our grim old Sergeant turned away, + He could not stand the sight. + + A flash, a roar, a cloud of smoke, + And headlong to the ground + He fell face downward in the grave, + And died without a sound. + We turned him over on his back, + And DEATH the TRUTH confessed, + For through his open jacket peeped + A Woman's tender breast." + + + +Marie Sampalit had earned her doom. After her grave had been filled, +the soldier boys placed at its head a cartridge-box lid on which they +inscribed the pitiful word, + + "UNKNOWN." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman with a Stone Heart, by +Oscar William Coursey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + +***** This file should be named 24705-8.txt or 24705-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/0/24705/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project and the Internet Archive.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman with a Stone Heart + A Romance of the Philippine War + +Author: Oscar William Coursey + +Illustrator: W. K. Leigh + +Release Date: March 3, 2011 [EBook #24705] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project and the Internet Archive.) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="front"> +<p class="first"></p> +<div class="figure xd20e108width"><img src="images/titlepage.gif" alt= +"Original Title Page." width="452" height="720"></div> +<div class="titlePage"> +<div class="docTitle"> +<div class="mainTitle">The Woman with a Stone Heart</div> +<div class="subTitle">A Romance of the Philippine War.</div> +</div> +<div class="byline">By<br> +<span class="docAuthor">O. W. Coursey</span>, (U. S. Vols.)<br> +Author of<br> +“History and Geography of the Philippine Islands.”<br> +“Who’s Who In South Dakota.”<br> +“Biography of General Beadle.”<br> +“School Law Digest.”</div> +<div class="docImprint">All of these books are published and for sale +by<br> +THE EDUCATOR SUPPLY COMPANY<br> +Mitchell, South Dakota</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd20e144">Copyrighted 1914</p> +<p class="xd20e144">By O. W. Coursey</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd20e144">The Woman with a Stone Heart</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">Introduction</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">To those whose love of adventure would cause them to +plunge head-long into an abyss of vain glory, hoping at life’s +sunset to reap a harvest contrary to the seed that were sown, let me +suggest that you pause first to read the story of “The Woman With +a Stone Heart,” Marie Sampalit, dare-devil of the +Philippines.</p> +<hr class="tb"> +<p>Perhaps we might profitably meditate for a few moments on the +musings of Whittier:</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<p class="line">“The tissue of the life to be</p> +<p class="line">We weave in colors all our own,</p> +<p class="line">And in the field of destiny</p> +<p class="line">We’ll reap as we have sown.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">—<span class="sc">The Author.</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">Dedication</h2> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">To Her, who, as a bride of only eighteen months, stood +broken-hearted on the depot platform and bade me a tearful farewell as +our train of soldier boys started to war; who later, while I was Ten +Thousand miles away from home on soldier duty in the Philippine +Islands, became a Mother; and who, unfortunately, three months +thereafter, was called upon to lay our first-born, Oliver D. Coursey, +into his snow-lined baby tomb amid the bleak silence of a cold +winter’s night, with no strong arm to bear her up in those awful +hours of anguish and despair,</p> +<hr class="tb"> +<p>My Soldier Wife, Julia,</p> +<p>this book is most affectionately dedicated.</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<p class="line">“Only a baby’s grave,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Yet often we go and sit</p> +<p class="line">By the little stone,</p> +<p class="line">And thank God to own,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">We are nearer heaven for it.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">—<span class="sc">O. W. Coursey.</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">List of Illustrations</h2> +<ul> +<li> <span class= +"tocPagenum">Page</span></li> +<li><a href="#p010">Marie Sampalit</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">10</span></li> +<li><a href="#p029">Region Around Manila Bay</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">29</span></li> +<li><a href="#p039">Admiral Dewey</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">39</span></li> +<li><a href="#p061">Aguinaldo</a> <span class= +"tocPagenum">61</span></li> +<li><a href="#p082">Marie, Her Mother, etc.</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">82</span></li> +<li><a href="#p100">Filipinos at Breakfast</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">100</span></li> +<li><a href="#p113">End of the Boat-Battle</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">113</span></li> +<li><a href="#p126">The Rescue</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">126</span></li> +<li><a href="#p129">Floating Down The Rapids</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">129</span></li> +<li><a href="#p139">General Lawton and Staff</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">139</span></li> +</ul> +</div> +</div> +<div id="toc" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">Table of Contents</h2> +<ul> +<li>Chapters: <span class= +"tocPagenum">Page</span></li> +<li>I. <a href="#ch1">Love Defeated</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">9</span></li> +<li>II. <a href="#ch2">First Shot of A New War</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">25</span></li> +<li>III. <a href="#ch3">Avenged Her Lover’s Death</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">41</span></li> +<li>IV. <a href="#ch4">The Interval</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">57</span></li> +<li>V. <a href="#ch5">Filipino Uprising</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">69</span></li> +<li>VI. <a href="#ch6">As A Spy</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">81</span></li> +<li>VII. <a href="#ch7">Off For Baler</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">93</span></li> +<li>VIII. <a href="#ch8">The Gilmore Incident</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">105</span></li> +<li>IX. <a href="#ch9">The American Prisoners</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">113</span></li> +<li>X. <a href="#ch10">Death of General Lawton</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">131</span></li> +<li>XI. <a href="#ch11">North-bound</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">141</span></li> +<li>XII. <a href="#ch12">Crossing the Sierra Madres</a> + <span class="tocPagenum">153</span></li> +<li>XIII. <a href="#ch13">Compensation</a> +<span class="tocPagenum">167</span></li> +</ul> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb10" href="#pb10" name= +"pb10">10</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first"></p> +<div class="figure xd20e379width" id="p010"><img src="images/p010.jpg" +alt="Marie Sampalit" width="440" height="614"> +<p class="figureHead">Marie Sampalit</p> +<p class="first">“The woman with a stone heart.’</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="body"> +<div id="ch1" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter I.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Love Defeated</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb11" href="#pb11" name= +"pb11">11</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Marie Sampalit and her fiancee, Rolando Dimiguez, were +walking arm-in-arm along the sandy beach of Manila bay, just opposite +old Fort Malate, talking of their wedding day which had been postponed +because of the Filipino insurrection which was in progress.</p> +<p>The tide was out. A long waved line of sea-shells and drift-wood +marked the place to which it had risen the last time before it began to +recede. They were unconsciously following this line of ocean debris. +Occasionally Marie would stop to pick up a spotted shell which was more +pretty than the rest. Finally, when they had gotten as far north as the +semi-circular drive-way which extends around the southern and eastern +sides of the walled-city, or Old Manila, as it is called, and had begun +to veer toward it, Marie looked back and repeated a beautiful memory +gem taught to her by a good friar <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb12" +href="#pb12" name="pb12">12</a>]</span>when she was a pupil in one of +the parochial schools of Manila:</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<p class="line">“E’en as the rise of the tide is told,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">By drift-wood on the beach,</p> +<p class="line">So can our pen mark on the page</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">How high our thoughts can reach.”</p> +</div> +<p class="first">They turned directly east until they reached the low +stone-wall that prevents Manila bay from overflowing the city during +the periods of high tides. Dimiguez helped Marie to step upon it; then +they strolled eastward past the large stake which marked the place +where the Spaniards had shot Dr. Jose Rizal, the brainiest patriot ever +produced by the Malay race.</p> +<p>When they came to the spot, Marie stopped and told Dimiguez how she +had watched the shooting when it took place, and how bravely Rizal had +met his fate.</p> +<p>“If it hadn’t been for this outrage committed by the +Spaniards,” remarked Dimiguez, “this insurrection would not +have lasted these two years, and we would have been married before now; +but our people are determined <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb13" href= +"#pb13" name="pb13">13</a>]</span>to seek revenge for his +death.”</p> +<p>Then they started on, changed their course to the northward, entered +the walled-city by the south gate, walked past the old Spanish arsenal, +and then passed out of the walled-city by the north gate. Here they +crossed the Pasig river on the old “Bridge of Spain” (the +large stone bridge near the mouth of the river, built over 300 years +ago) and entered the Escolta, the main business street of Manila. After +making their way slowly up the Escolta they meandered along San Miguel +street until they finally turned and walked a short distance down a +side street to a typical native shack, built of bamboo and thatched +with Nipa palms, happily tucked away beneath the overhanging limbs of a +large mango tree in a spacious yard,—the home of the +Sampalits.</p> +<p>Here Marie had been born just seventeen years before; in fact the +next day, April 7, would be her seventeenth birthday. When she was +born, her father instituted one of the accustomed Filipino dances which +last <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb14" href="#pb14" name= +"pb14">14</a>]</span>from three to five days and nights, and at its +conclusion she had been christened “Maria,” subsequently +changed by force of habit to “Marie.”</p> +<p>Late that evening, while they were seated side-by-side on a bamboo +bench beside of her home, tapping the toes of their wooden-soled +slippers on the hard ground, and indulging in a wandering lovers’ +conversation, Marie said to him (calling him affectionately by his +first name), “Rolando, when did you first decide to postpone our +wedding day?”</p> +<p>“Well, I’ll tell you how it was,” answered he, +meditatingly. “The thought of serving my country had been +lingering on my mind all last summer—in fact, ever since the +insurrection first broke out in the spring of 1896. You know I intended +coming down to see you last Christmas, but I couldn’t get away. +That night I walked the floor all night in our home at Malolos, +debating in my mind whether we had better get married in March, as we +had planned, or if it would not <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb15" +href="#pb15" name="pb15">15</a>]</span>be wiser and more manly for me +to go to war, take chances on getting back alive and postpone our +wedding day until after the war is over. Toward morning, I decided that +it was my duty to become a soldier; so I called my father and mother, +got an early breakfast, bade them goodby and started for Malabon, which +was Aguinaldo’s headquarters, and enlisted. He was glad to see +me. You know, he and I attended school together for one year at +Hongkong. Well, Aguinaldo at once commissioned me a spy and assigned me +to very important duty.”</p> +<p>“My God!” interrupted Marie, “you are not on that +duty now, are you, Rolando?”</p> +<p>Dimiguez arose. “Marie,” said he firmly, “I must +be off.”</p> +<p>“But won’t you tell me where you are going and what task +lies before you?” pleaded Marie, as she threw both arms about his +neck and began to sob, “I’ll never tell a living soul, so +help me God, but I must know!”</p> +<p>“A spy never tells his plans to anyone, Marie,” said +Dimiguez slowly. “He takes <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb16" +href="#pb16" name="pb16">16</a>]</span>his orders from his chief, plays +his part; and if he gets caught, he refuses to speak and dies without a +murmur, like a man. Good night, Marie, I must be off; duty lies before +me.”</p> +<p>Marie cried herself to sleep.</p> +<p>The next morning she started down town, as usual, for the market +place, with her bamboo basket filled with bananas, sitting on her head, +and a cigarette in her mouth. She had only gone a block when she met a +neighbor girl, one of her chums of equal years to her own, who was a +chamber-maid in the German consul’s home on San Miguel +Street.</p> +<p>Her friend looked excited. “Have you heard the awful news, +Marie?” said she.</p> +<p>“No!” exclaimed Marie, “What is it?”</p> +<p>“Why, Dimiguez was caught last night by Spanish guards inside +the yard of the governor-general’s summer palace up on the +Malacanan, just as he was slipping out of the palace itself. How he got +in there, nobody knows.” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb17" +href="#pb17" name="pb17">17</a>]</span></p> +<p>Marie dropped her basket. “Heavens!” gasped she, +“Did he do anything wrong?”</p> +<p>“They found in his pocket diagrams of the interior of the +palace, showing the entries to it, the room where the governor-general +sleeps, and many other things; also your picture. See here! the morning +paper gives a full account of it.”</p> +<p>Marie glanced at the head lines and then started on a vigorous run +for the building in which the Spanish military court was sitting. +Rushing in, past an armed guard, she began to plead for her +lover’s life. But he had already been tried, convicted and +sentenced to death by strangulation in the old chute at Cavite. +Dimiguez never moved a muscle when he saw Marie. Armed guards forced +her abruptly out of the building and ordered her to leave.</p> +<p>Inside of two hours, on the same day, April 7, the anniversary of +Marie’s birth, he was taken to the little town of Cavite, seven +miles southwest of Manila, and was there placed in the lower end of a +long chute built <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb18" href="#pb18" name= +"pb18">18</a>]</span>out into Manila Bay. This chute was just wide +enough for a man to enter. Its sides, top and bottom were all built of +heavy planks. The side planks lacked a few inches of connecting with +the top, although of course the side posts ran clear up and the top was +firmly bolted to them. The entrance to it was well elevated near the +docks. The lower end protruded into the bay, so that it was visible +about eighteen inches above the water during the period of low tide, +and submerged several feet during high tide.</p> +<p>Tides come in slowly at Cavite, each succeeding wave rising but a +trifle higher than the others, until the usual height is reached. Thus, +a prisoner placed in this chute, forced to the lower end and then +fastened securely during low tide, can look out over the side planks at +the hideous spectators, watch the tide as it begins to rise and see +slow death approaching. It was in this chute that Marie’s lover +met his death.</p> +<p>Marie saw the launch that carried him away as it left Manila. She +rushed down <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb19" href="#pb19" name= +"pb19">19</a>]</span>to the Pasig river, loosened her little boat from +the tree to which it was tied, jumped in, seized the oars and started +in pursuit. The launch on which he was being carried had for its power +a gasoline engine, and, of course, it soon left her far behind. When +she first started, the swells caused by the launch rocked her little +canoe quite roughly and impeded her progress. As she approached the +mouth of the river, passed the monument of Magellan and came between +the walled-city on the southern bank and the docks on the northern +bank, a crowd of excited natives thronged the shore, and many of them +recognized her. She heard some one cry out, “Vive Marie!” +With might and main she strove forward.</p> +<p>The launch made its seven-mile run to Cavite; the victim was placed +in the chute; the tide had risen to the danger line; her lover, with +his head thrown back, had just begun to gurgle the salt water, when +Marie, in frantic agony, almost exhausted, rowed around the lower end +of the chute and came <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb20" href="#pb20" +name="pb20">20</a>]</span>near enough to the dying hero to be +recognized by him. Straining ever muscle to keep his head above the +water a second longer, he cried out in chocking tones that were +interrupted by the merciless sea which was rapidly filling his mouth, +“Goodby, Marie, God bless you. Avenge my death!”</p> +<p>Hush! At this moment another tidal wave engulfed the apex of the +chute. Not a sound could be heard save the slight flapping of the waves +against the pier, and the dismal chant of three priests, who stood on +the shore near by, and who had not been permitted to attend the young +spy before his death. Marie trembled; she dropped the oars; her eyes +fell; for a moment it seemed that her young heart stood still: then her +face flushed; the tears stopped flowing; anguish gave vent to +determined revenge; pent-up sorrows yielded to out-spoken threats; and +in tones sufficiently audible to be heard ashore, she cried, +“I’ll do it.”</p> +<p>The Spaniard knows no pity. If Marie were to have stepped ashore +immediately <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb21" href="#pb21" name= +"pb21">21</a>]</span>after her lover’s strangulation, she might +have come to grief. It is strange that she escaped punishment for +having followed. She, therefore, rowed directly east and landed on the +beach of the bay, about four miles south of Manila, just west of the +little city of Paranaque.</p> +<p>From sheer exhaustion, she needed food; therefore, she walked +northward along the shore until she found a Mango tree heavily laden +with fruit. After eating a few luscious mangoes, she crept into a clump +of bamboo and had a good cry: tears so ease a woman’s soul.</p> +<p>From her position on the beach she could readily see the Spaniards +as they took her dead lover from the chute when the tide had lowered +toward evening. She saw them even strike his corpse, and she bit her +finger nails as she watched them place him in a rough wooden box and +haul him up through the streets of the village on an old two-wheeled +cart drawn by a caribou.</p> +<p>With the approach of sunset, things <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb22" href="#pb22" name="pb22">22</a>]</span>grew strangely quiet. The +spring zephyr that had blown modestly during the day died away. There +was no longer even a dimple in the blue surface of Manila Bay. Not a +leaf was astir. It seemed to Marie that the only sound she could hear +was the the throbbing of her own heart. To her the whole world seemed +like an open sepulcher. Looking down she discovered that she was +unconsciously sitting on a flowery terrace and that all about her was +life. She pulled one of those exquisite white flowers with wide pink +veins, peculiar alone to the Philippines, and pressed it to her +lips.</p> +<p>The sun was just setting beyond Corregidor. The island’s long +shadows seemed to extend completely across the bay to her feet. As the +solar fires burned themselves out, the orange tint which they left +behind against the reddened sky reminded Marie of the night before, +when she and her lover had strolled along the shore of the bay about +three miles farther north; and as the sun slowly nodded its evening +farewell and buried <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb23" href="#pb23" +name="pb23">23</a>]</span>its face in the pillow of night, she +remembered how he, on the previous night, had called to her attention +the lingering glow of its fading beams. Before her lay the Spanish +fleet, it, too, casting shadows that first grew longer and longer and +then dimmer and dimmer until they in turn had died away in the spectral +phenomenon of night.</p> +<p>Marie’s thoughts turned toward home. What about her mother? +She walked back to her little boat, pushed it out into the bay, and, +stepping into it, sat down, took hold of the oars and started northward +near the beach. Just opposite Fort Malate, she swung westward, and, +passing outside of the break-water a mile from shore, she entered the +Pasig river and hurried homeward. When she arrived, about nine +o’clock, she found her mother on the verge of prostration; for +that very day, strange to say, Marie’s father, who was a colonel +in the Filipino infantry, had been killed at San Francisco del Monte, +six miles north-east of Manila, in a battle with Spanish troops. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb24" href="#pb24" name= +"pb24">24</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Don’t cry, mother,” expostulated Marie, +“from now on I intend to kill every foe of ours in these +islands!” <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb25" href="#pb25" name= +"pb25">25</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch2" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter II.</h2> +<h2 class="main">First Shot of A New War</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb27" href="#pb27" name= +"pb27">27</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Three weeks passed by. Marie had gone down town late +in April to do some shopping. While she was standing in the door of the +old postoffice on the Escolta, she heard the shrill voice of a Filipino +lad piping out: “Papers! Papers! All about the war with the +United States. Dewey’s comin’!” He had a bundle of +newspapers under his right arm and was waving one in his left hand. +Everybody rushed out of the bazaars and offices along the Escolta where +they were transacting their business, and each one who could get near +enough to the boy, eagerly bought a morning paper.</p> +<p>The lad’s papers were all gone but one. Marie Sampalit +snatched it from his hands, and dropped into one of them a small coin. +She stepped into the corridor of the post office, to escape the +annoyance of the crowd, and read the large head lines: <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb28" href="#pb28" name="pb28">28</a>]</span></p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="main">“WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN</h2> +<hr class="tb"></div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first"><span class="sc">dewey en route to manila great naval +battle friday or saturday in manila bay</span></p> +<hr class="tb"> +<p>The Stone Wall Around the City will be Razed to the Ground. Great +Loss of Life.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<p>“Then, I’m off for Corregidor Island right away!” +exclaimed Marie. “Dewey can’t get into the Bay except by +that route. That’s where the fight will begin. Mother +doesn’t know this. I’ll tell her I am going to take some +supplies to the Spanish garrison. I will go at once!”</p> +<div class="figure xd20e526width" id="p029"><img src="images/p029.gif" +alt="Region Around Manila Bay" width="504" height="720"> +<p class="figureHead">Region Around Manila Bay</p> +</div> +<p>She set out from Manila in a small casco, or flat-bottomed native +boat, heavily laden <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb29" href="#pb29" +name="pb29">29</a>]</span>with fresh fish, pine-apples, mangoes, +bananas, tobacco and cigarettes—all intended for the Spanish +garrison on Corregidor Island. Manila is situated on the eastern shore +of Manila Bay. From there to the island it is nearly thirty miles. Her +little boat was driven forward on its journey by an easterly wind that +gently swelled the tiny sails.</p> +<p>She reached the island at five o’clock that afternoon and was +given a royal welcome by the Spanish soldiers. Marie gave them the +morning paper containing the news of Dewey’s prospective arrival. +She asked permission to take part in the fight.</p> +<p>Marie was a favorite with the Spanish garrison. Her genial +disposition, added to her almost inconceivable daring, had won for her +the friendship and admiration of all. The gunners had playfully taught +her all about loading, firing and swabbing their cannon. She had also +learned the art of good marksmanship, so that at a target practice she +was an adept.</p> +<p>Impatiently she awaited the arrival of <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb30" href="#pb30" name="pb30">30</a>]</span>the American fleet. She +heard the Spaniards discuss among themselves the cowardice of the +American soldiers, and saw them wager the Dewey would not come to +Manila at all but that he would sail down around the Malay Peninsula +and hasten home by way of Good Hope to save his vessels from certain +destruction. All this sounded plausible to her and she grew restless +and enthusiastic as the dull hours dragged away.</p> +<p>Dewey was so long in coming from Hongkong and the garrison on the +island had been kept at their guns ready for action for so many hours +without rest that many of them were completely tired out by the last +day of April, and asked for relief. It was hard to give it. +Marie’s opportunity had come. Her ability as an expert rifle shot +was known alike to officers and enlisted men. She offered to serve. The +Spanish commandant could not well refuse. He needed her services; +besides, the Spaniards were just then doing all within their power to +win the temporary friendship of the natives. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb31" href="#pb31" name= +"pb31">31</a>]</span>Consequently, he promised to assign her to duty +for the night.</p> +<p>The sunset, as viewed from Corregidor Island on the evening of April +30, was most glorious. Not a cloud was in the sky; a dead calm +prevailed, so that the sea was unusually smooth. As the sun sank to +rest behind the shimmering horizon it caused the island to cast a long +shadow over Manila bay as far as the eye could reach, but this soon +disappeared.</p> +<p>When the sun had sunk from view, Marie noticed that a comparatively +new moon was visible in the sky, and she remarked to the Sergeant of +the Guard, “It will not be very dark to-night. We can see the +Americanos a long way off.”</p> +<p>“Yes,” replied the Sergeant, “the only difficulty +with the cowards is that they will not come near enough to be seen at +all. They have had plenty of time to run from Hongkong to Manila and +back <span class="corr" id="xd20e553" title= +"Source: agin">again</span>; still they have not been seen or heard of. +I’ll bet you a peso (Spanish dollar) that they have gone home +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb32" href="#pb32" name= +"pb32">32</a>]</span>and that all of this excitement has been for +nothing. Dewey is getting old, Marie; he doesn’t want to go to a +watery grave so far from home. If he were young and ambitious, it would +be different. Old men do not care much about real fighting, especially +on the sea. It is different with old generals commanding land forces. +They can sit away back in the rear of the battle-field, receive +messages that come to them; plan certain movements based upon these +reports; and while they do have considerable responsibility, still they +are not in the actual fight. As for Dewey, nobody has ever heard of +him. He is not a recognized naval commander. Besides, the old fellow, +according to reports, is slow and easy going. If he should come to make +us an unfriendly call tonight, mark my word, Marie, there will not be a +sliver of his entire fleet left floating above the water yonder inside +of thirty minutes after the first shot is fired.”</p> +<p>He had scarcely concluded speaking when the Officer of the Guard, +Lieutenant <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb33" href="#pb33" name= +"pb33">33</a>]</span>Orlando, called out, “Sergeant of the Guard! +Fall in the First Relief!” The Sergeant threw his arm over +Marie’s shoulder in an affectionate manner, smacked a hurried +caress against her olive cheek, jumped up from the little bamboo bench +on which they were sitting, rushed up to the guard house and cried out, +“First Relief! Fall in!”</p> +<p>Marie hastened after him. As the relief was forming in line, she +seized a Mauser rifle that stood leaning against a huge rock, grabbed +up a cartridge belt well filled with Mauser ammunition that was lying +on the ground near by, hastily adjusted it to fit her waist measure, +buckled it on and fell into the rear rank.</p> +<p>“Count fours!” ordered the Sergeant. As is usual in +military affairs, the front and rear rank men count in unison; that is, +number one in the front rank and number one in the rear rank both count +“one” at the same time; second file counts +“two,” etc. When it came to Marie she piped out +simultaneously <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb34" href="#pb34" name= +"pb34">34</a>]</span>with the corporal who stood in front of her, +“quatro.” (four).</p> +<p>As the guard was marched along the stony pathways on Corregidor +Island and the various sentinels were relieved, Marie soon saw that +there was not going to be a place for her. She tip-toed up to the +corporal who was posting the relief and asked him where he was going to +station her.</p> +<p>“Never mind,” said the corporal, “we have a place +for you.” And sure enough, they had.</p> +<p>Every soldier or civilian who has ever been on this island will +readily recall the rough, hard-beaten, winding path that led from the +summit of the hill, in a south-westerly direction, down over +precipices, around clumps of bamboo, to a beautiful fresh water spring +which bubbled out of the coral rocks at a point just high enough to +prevent it from being inundated or even infiltrated during the season +of high tides.</p> +<p>A few feet from this spring and elevated but slightly above it, is a +massive, flat <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb35" href="#pb35" name= +"pb35">35</a>]</span>rock. Along the north and west sides of this rock +is a vertical stone precipice some eight feet high, which from its +upper edge inclines back gradually at an angle of about twenty degrees +above a horizontal plane, toward the crest of the island.</p> +<p>On this rock Spain firmly bolted one of her most modern +cannon—a good seven-inch gun. It was so situated on a revolving +casement that its shots could be made to sweep the whole Boca Grande +channel, as the large entrance south of the island is called. Marie had +often operated this gun. She had done splendid work with it on a +floating target two miles distant. Its deadly roar was her delight. Oh! +if she could but use it just once on an actual enemy instead of firing +it at an indicated one!</p> +<p>When the old guard had been relieved and the sentries were marched +back to the guard-house to be dismissed, poor Marie, heavy hearted, +marched along. Just as they approached the guard-house, the sergeant +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb36" href="#pb36" name= +"pb36">36</a>]</span>motioned to her to fall out and to come toward +him. This she did.</p> +<p>Into her ear he whispered the information that was to start her on +her eventful military career. “Marie,” said he, “the +officer of the Guard informs me that we cannot use you in the infantry +service tonight, but that you will be needed with the +artillery.”</p> +<p>“Good!” exclaimed Marie, “Where shall I +serve?”</p> +<p>“At the new gun on the large rock near the spring,” +answered the Sergeant.</p> +<p>“Thank heaven!” said Marie. “Dewey will surely +come, and when I put a solid shot through the ’Olympia’ +just below the water line—the battle will be half over. Oh! +I’m so anxious! May I go down there tonight and take charge of +the gun at once?”</p> +<p>The Sergeant told her to report to the headquarters of the artillery +department where she would receive instructions.</p> +<p>At last she found herself on actual duty. How her young heart +throbbed as her black eyes peered forth into the darkness. Toward +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb37" href="#pb37" name= +"pb37">37</a>]</span>midnight, small clouds began to drift oceanward. +For a few moments at a time they would obscure the quartered cheek of +the young moon. Oh! if Dewey would but come. The hopes of a life-time +were poised on that painful “if.” Before her was the dream +of glory; behind her, the dreary forgetfulness of the past. Hour after +hour whiled away. The tiny lights in the natives’ shacks along +the opposite shore began to go out and grow fewer and fewer until the +closing day had died safely away into the solemn night. As usual, +“taps” were blown at ten o’clock and things on the +island grew very quiet. Days—yes, weeks—seemed to crowd +themselves into those long hours. Would he ever come?</p> +<p>Presently she heard the sentry’s shrill cry on the brow of the +hill, “Twelve o’clock! All’s well!” The echo of +his repeated call had scarcely died away when Marie thought she saw +something dark on the water near the center of the channel, perhaps +three miles away. She whispered to a member of the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb38" href="#pb38" name= +"pb38">38</a>]</span>artillery corps, who sat near her watching the +shadow of his pipe on the rock near the base of the cannon. They both +looked. Surely! it’s Dewey! The artilleryman sent up a rocket as +a warning. Marie took hurried aim. “Boom!” went her cannon, +and from its mouth a seven-inch shot was hurled over the +“Concord,” between its main and mizzen masts. It went a +trifle high and did no harm.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e604width" id="p039"><img src="images/p039.jpg" +alt="The Hero of Manila Bay" width="448" height="626"> +<p class="figureHead">The Hero of Manila Bay</p> +</div> +<p>“Bang!” went one of the port batteries on the +“Raleigh” and before its flash was gone a shudder shot +through every vein, every nerve and every fiber of Marie’s body. +Such a crash she had never heard before. “War is hell” to +be sure. She sniffed the smoke from her own gun, and looked around to +see what had happened. The stone precipice behind her was torn into +fragments. A man’s hand protruded from the debris. “My +God!” she murmured. Yes, there was the evidence. The man who had +sat by her side and who sent up the rocket, lay cold in death. His head +was torn off and his body <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb39" href= +"#pb39" name="pb39">39</a>]</span>was mangled among the pieces of +broken rock. The gunner on the “Raleigh” had done his work +well; and Marie’s dream of American cowardice, of their poor +marksmanship and of her ability to sink Dewey’s flag ship, were +shattered in an instant. She had fired the FIRST gun of the war, but +not the LAST! <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb41" href="#pb41" name= +"pb41">41</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch3" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter III.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Avenged Her Lover’s Death</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb43" href="#pb43" name= +"pb43">43</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">After Dewey’s fleet had passed the island and +entered the bay, proper, Marie crept up to the top of the cliff and +awaited the results. As she sat there shivering with fright, day began +to dawn. Presently she heard the Spanish batteries on Point Cavite fire +a heavy shot—then a second one; and a few minutes later she saw +flames of fire and smoke belching forth from the starboard sides of +Dewey’s entire squadron. Then the Spanish fleet, lying off of +Point Cavite, commenced a united and simultaneous action.</p> +<p>Shells rent the air; the men on both fleets cheered as they beheld +the effect on the enemy of a well-directed shot; smoke-begrimed +gunners, with the perspiration washing light-colored furrows down their +manly cheeks, stood at their guns and worked like demons as they +swabbed their cannon and crowded into them shot after shot. Hissing +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb44" href="#pb44" name= +"pb44">44</a>]</span>projectiles that missed the opposing ships and +plunged into the bay, were throwing volumes of splashing foam into the +air. Dewey’s vessels were moving in a figure eight and using +alternately the several guns on their port and on their starboard +sides, while the Spanish ships moved about promiscuously among each +other in an awkward fashion, over a small area, and fired only as an +opportunity offered.</p> +<p>“Thank God, I’m out of range of the demons,” said +Marie to a Spanish officer who had come to her side.</p> +<p>Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey’s ships +ceased firing and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent damage +had been sustained by the vessels of either command.</p> +<p>“The old fellow is going to quit,” said Marie to the +Spanish officer who stood erect with his field glasses carefully +trained on Dewey’s squadron.</p> +<p>“They’re coming this way, Marie,” said the +officer. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb45" href="#pb45" name= +"pb45">45</a>]</span></p> +<p>“My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and +open fire on us again?” shouted Marie. “We haven’t a +mounted gun left to shoot with.”</p> +<p>The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, “They’ve +stopped and are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going +to resume the fight.”</p> +<p>He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey’s vessels were +heading straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on fire the +beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the “Reina Christina.” Then +her magazine blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach near Cavite +and deserted amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was +able to leave. The dead and the dying were left to their fate. +Magazines in several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes +most of them were on fire. Dewey’s gunners were doing deadly +execution. Hundreds of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from +their burning vessels into the ocean.</p> +<p>“Now what is he going to do?” said Marie, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb46" href="#pb46" name="pb46">46</a>]</span>with +some excitement, as she saw one of Dewey’s ships, the +“Concord,” disengage herself from the rest of the fleet and +head straight for a large Spanish gun-boat that was lying off to +herself and whose sole business it seemed was to keep up a deadly fire +on Dewey’s flagship, the “Olympia.” The Concord +literally disembowled her.</p> +<p>“The heartless wretches!” exclaimed Marie, as she +watched another American ship, the “Petrel,” leave the line +of battle and make a rapid run right past the Spanish fleet for the +village of Cavite. “I wonder what the villains are up to +now.” In a few minutes the Petrel returned, with six small +vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying at her mast head +this signal, “Have destroyed eight vessels.”</p> +<p>Dewey’s ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their +positions in line and remained quiet.</p> +<p>“What time is it?” asked Marie of the Spanish officer +who stood near her. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb47" href="#pb47" +name="pb47">47</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Twelve-thirty,” answered he, as he looked at his +watch.</p> +<p>Marie whiled away the afternoon watching the Spaniards on Corregidor +island burying their dead comrades. She wanted to go home, but she +feared to go past Dewey’s fleet.</p> +<p>That evening things became solemnly quiet; and the blazing sun, as +its face reddened into nightly slumber beyond the watery horizon of the +Pacific, bade farewell to a finished deed, which, in the history of +naval warfare, has never been surpassed; while the pale-faced moon, +moving slowly up her appointed path, looked calmly down with her +quartered cheek in silent benediction on the blazing hulls of the +Spanish ships as they slowly cremated their dead and dying.</p> +<p>The next day the Spanish Commandante on Corregidor discovered that +Dewey had blockaded the port of Manila, so he restrained Marie from +starting home for nearly a week.</p> +<p>Finally, she got permission to go. As <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb48" href="#pb48" name="pb48">48</a>]</span>she passed Dewey’s +fleet she was surprised to find everything so peaceful and to see +dozens of native canoes hovering along the port-holes of his vessels, +selling fruit and curios to his men.</p> +<p>Marie reached home in the early evening, and found her old mother +frantic because of her absence and the excitement that had taken +place.</p> +<p>During the next few weeks while Dewey was waiting for reinforcements +from home, many strange things occurred on shore. The Filipinos +captured or killed nearly all of the smaller Spanish garrisons +distributed throughout the islands. On May 26, they secretly cut down +the Spanish guards walking their beats along the western side of the +little town of Cavite, and let in a horde of Tagalos well armed with +bolos, who crept up near a large stone cathedral, built in 1643, in +which the Spaniards, as a military necessity after their defeat by +Dewey, were making their headquarters. These Filipinos made a mad rush +through the back door of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb49" href= +"#pb49" name="pb49">49</a>]</span>the building and captured all the +Spaniards being quartered therein. This feat also gave them possession +of another lot of Mauser and Remington rifles and a goodly store of +ammunition, for which they had been yearning.</p> +<p>Dewey had no men whom he could spare to send ashore; therefore, he +had left these surrendered Spaniards to take care of themselves. +Evidently he did not anticipate an attack upon the garrison at Cavite, +or he might have landed enough marines from his battleships to have +prevented it.</p> +<p>When Marie heard about the capture of the Spanish garrison at Cavite +by the Filipinos, she at once rowed over there to see what was going to +be done with the prisoners. This was the first time she had been at +Cavite since the day of her lover’s tragic death. She found the +Filipinos jubilant over their new fire-arms. But many of them had never +before used a gun and they were very awkward with them, so that +accidents were constantly occurring. The privileges of target +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb50" href="#pb50" name= +"pb50">50</a>]</span>practice given to Marie by the Spaniards, in times +past, now found a new reward. She organized the Filipinos into squads +for this training, arranged suitable targets for them, supervised the +loading and cleaning of their guns, and by voluntary assent became the +leader in a whole lot of nefarious mischief in the neighborhood.</p> +<p>But what about her lover’s dying request and the vow she +registered in her aching soul as she left the scene of his death? By +remaining away from the graves of our loved ones we may check memory +and enthrone reason, thus more rapidly overcoming sorrow. By constantly +resorting to places of grief we keep that grief, whatever may have been +its cause, fresh on the tablets of our memories. The fact that Marie +had not returned to Cavite, the scene of her sorrow, for about two +months, helped her to forget it and to flirt with fate among the very +troops who had caused it. Now that she had returned to Cavite, old +visions began to haunt her. Shooting at wooden targets was not +desperate <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb51" href="#pb51" name= +"pb51">51</a>]</span>enough to appease her nature; she longed for +bloodshed.</p> +<p>Between herself and a few Filipino leaders she concocted a scheme +that would be hilarious, avenge the death of him whom she had briefly +mourned, as well as the deaths of Rizal and thousands of other +Filipinos who had been shot or strangled by the Spaniards, and satisfy +the longings of her innermost nature. It was this: a pit twenty feet in +diameter and ten feet deep was to be dug on the higher ground a few +miles southwest of Cavite. Each morning twenty of the captured +Spaniards were to be marched out to this pit and made to slide down a +bamboo pole into it. The Filipino soldiers, armed with their +newly-captured rifles, were then to stand around the brink of this pit +and use these half-starved Spaniards for living targets. Marie gloated +over her new enterprise. What sport! How she enjoyed it! The +Filipino’s marksmanship was poor and many of their unfortunate +prisoners were shot over a dozen times before they were <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb52" href="#pb52" name="pb52">52</a>]</span>stilled +in death. This bloody practice was kept up until over two hundred +Spaniards had been slain.</p> +<p>About this time rumors of what was being done reached the ears of +General Anderson. He ordered it stopped, and sent food ashore, under +American escorts, for the Spanish prisoners. These prisoners, before +being led to the slaughter, were housed by the Filipinos in an +unfinished portion of the old convent at Cavite, and in some large +stone buildings without floors and with only a few windows, heavily +barricaded with iron bars, formerly used by the natives for storage +purposes for various cargoes of raw materials, preparatory to +exportation. These buildings were dark, damp and infested with a +multiplicity of insectivora.</p> +<p>The Spaniards, imprisoned therein, were fed by the Filipinos on a +very small ration of uncooked rice. This they had to pound into meal, +and eat it out of their hands. Water, although plentiful, was denied +them, except in small quantities. They had no beds, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb53" href="#pb53" name="pb53">53</a>]</span>but +slept on the bare ground. Many of them were practically nude. They had +staid by their guns on the Spanish fleet until their ships began to +sink; then they had jumped overboard and swam ashore, taking off most +of their clothes before making the attempt. The Filipinos had little +clothing to give them and no disposition to share what they did +have.</p> +<p>These half-starved wretches, pale, lean and ghostly looking, many of +them sick with fever and other ailments, none of them with a cent of +money, were a sickening sight to the American troops whom General +Anderson sent ashore to investigate their circumstances and conditions. +Of course the healthier ones were marched out and killed first. Some of +them began to cry when the American officers, pushing the Filipino +sentries aside, poked their vigorous manly faces through the openings +of the massive doors to see who and what was on the inside; but most of +them propped themselves up on one elbow and held out the other hand for +something <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb54" href="#pb54" name= +"pb54">54</a>]</span>to eat. Others indicated by motions that they +wanted paper and pencils, so as to write letters home, telling their +loved ones in far-off Spain that they were still alive, and asking for +money.</p> +<p>As the Americans began to empty their haversacks and hand hard-tack +and Boston baked beans to them, some of the prisoners seized them by +the fingers and kissed the backs of their hands in grateful homage for +their kindness. A few of the more ignorant ones, who had heard so much +about the cruelty of the American soldiers, and who, upon sight of our +officers, believing the end was near, had sought a kneeling attitude +and begun to pray, gradually sank back into a reclining posture and +held out their hands for a morsel of food.</p> +<p>The Filipino guards sulked when they were displaced by the American +sentries, and some of them had to be forced from their posts of +fiendish duty at the point of the bayonet. They considered these +Spaniards as reprisals, constituting their own private <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb55" href="#pb55" name= +"pb55">55</a>]</span>property, with whom they could do as they pleased +without any justifiable interference on the part of anybody. Marie +Sampalit slapped an American private who had been sent to displace a +Filipino sentry whom she had just stationed at one of the prison doors. +He promptly knocked her down with the butt of his rifle. What she said +in reply he could not understand. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb57" +href="#pb57" name="pb57">57</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch4" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter IV.</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Interval</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb59" href="#pb59" name= +"pb59">59</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">After avenging her lover’s death, Marie returned +again to Manila where she remained at home until the Filipino uprising +against the American troops in the spring of 1899. During this interval +of nine months, she daily frequented the places of rendezvous of the +American troops stationed in and around Manila. She also went to the +officers’ homes in the city where their wives and children were +stopping. She did their washing, and cared for the children. Her +congeniality made her a favorite. Some of the American ladies offered +to bring her back to America with them for a house-hold servant.</p> +<p>From them she learned to speak the English language nearly as +fluently as Spanish. The American soldiers were kind and polite to her. +She made considerable money by doing washing for them. It was +noticeable that she was gradually improving the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb60" href="#pb60" name="pb60">60</a>]</span>old +bamboo home in Manila. In a few months she had come into possession of +more money than she thought there was in the entire world. Most of it +was American gold—largely in five dollar denominations. (This is +what the United States used in paying the soldiers.) These she took to +the Spanish bank in Manila and exchanged them for Mexican silver, +which, until the United States began to issue special coins for the +Philippine islands, was the standard medium of exchange in the +archipelago.</p> +<p>Marie began to dress better. Her penia cloth gave way to Chinese +silks; her wooden hair combs to expensive ones inlaid with gold, bought +at the Spanish bazar down town. Many little comforts were bought for +her home. Still the washings kept growing larger. She and her mother +could be seen back of their shack, in the shade, pounding American +soldiers’ white uniforms on large boulders from early morning +till night.</p> +<p>Aguinaldo, who had previously sold out his country and gone to +Singapore, after <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb61" href="#pb61" name= +"pb61">61</a>]</span>commissioning Dimiguez, upon hearing that war was +about to begin between the United States and Spain, made his way +northward to Hongkong. After the battle of Manila Bay, Dewey despatched +the revenue cutter, “McCulloch,” to Hongkong to cable home +the news of his splendid victory. On her return to Manila, she +permitted Aguinaldo to come along.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e721width" id="p061"><img src="images/p061.jpg" +alt="Aguinaldo" width="175" height="470"> +<p class="figureHead">Aguinaldo</p> +</div> +<p>After a brief conversation with Admiral Dewey on board the +“Olympia,” he went ashore at Cavite, his boyhood home, +began to organize the Filipinos into a powerful army, captured 1500 +Spanish soldiers who were holding out-lying posts, and hemmed in the +city of Manila.</p> +<p>On August 13, following, Dewey and General Merritt, by a union of +their forces, captured the city of Manila which offered but slight +resistance. Aguinaldo’s native troops rushed forward with the +Americans in the charge that was made by the land forces and they +insisted on looting the city. General Merritt refused this and ordered +them to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb62" href="#pb62" name= +"pb62">62</a>]</span>withdraw beyond the city limits. This they did +after considerable wrangling. Then the Americans established out-posts +on every road and pathway leading to and from the city, completely +around the town; and they were given instructions by the commanding +officer not to allow any Filipino troops to enter the city.</p> +<p>Aguinaldo discarded his uniform one evening, completely disguised +himself as a Filipino fruit-vender, and made his way into Manila. +Naturally, he slipped around to the home of his old friends, the +Sampalits. He sat in a semi-darkened room, with all the hinged-windows +to the shack tightly closed and stroked Marie’s soft black hair +with his left hand. As he engaged her and her mother in conversation in +subdued tones, he little thought that in so short a time Marie would be +associated with him in a series of bloody tragedies that would +revolutionize the government of the islands forever.</p> +<p>“Marie,” said he, “I’m going to force the +Americans to acknowledge the independence <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb63" href="#pb63" name="pb63">63</a>]</span>of the Philippine +islands, or I shall not permit the rest of their army to land. Dewey +tells me he has sent home for reinforcements. There is no use for us to +let these troops land, if America instead of Spain is going to govern +the islands. What we want is absolute independence with myself as +president of the new Filipino Republic. If the Americans won’t +concede this to us, let’s fight!”</p> +<p>“That’s what I say!” declared Marie. +“Let’s drive the foreign devils off the islands or slay +them all. Here’s father dead and—Dimiguez, +too”—<span class="corr" id="xd20e740" title= +"Source: Maries">Marie’s</span> voice trembled—“I +tell you it’s too much. Let’s kill every one of +them!”</p> +<p>“Yes; but say Marie, we must keep quiet about all this,” +cautioned Aguinaldo. “I’ll tell you what I have in mind. +We’ll wait about four weeks and by that time if Dewey +hasn’t received definite instructions from Washington, and if he +won’t give me any satisfaction, I’m going to go to Malolos, +proclaim myself Dictator of the Philippines, appoint a cabinet and a +congress from among some of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb64" +href="#pb64" name="pb64">64</a>]</span>bright young Filipinos here in +Manila who have been educated abroad, draw up a Revolutionary form of +government, and begin to administer the affairs of these islands just +as I please.</p> +<p>“We’ll keep our present army in the field, and if the +Americans do land we’ll shut them up in Manila, so that they will +have nothing at their command but the city to regulate. This +won’t amount to much as compared with the rest of the islands +which I will dominate.”</p> +<p>“Are you sure the Americans won’t land a powerful army, +cut through your lines around Manila and drive you out of Malolos, or +capture you and your officials at that place? It seems to me I would go +farther inland—say to San Isidro,” said Marie.</p> +<p>Aguinaldo thought a moment, then replied: “That’s true, +in a sense, Marie; but I have got to be on or near the railroad where I +can have easy and rapid access to Manila. Malolos is not far from here +and it is situated on the railroad. It has some very large <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb65" href="#pb65" name= +"pb65">65</a>]</span>buildings in which our legislative sessions could +be held. I think it the place for the undertaking.</p> +<p>“To be on the safe side, I believe I will have our troops +erect a series of fortifications between here and there along the +railroad track, so that if the Americans do attempt to advance by that +route I can easily stop them.”</p> +<p>“I think that would be a good scheme,” said Marie. +“Malolos is about twelve miles from Manila Bay; besides, the bay +is shallow in the north end, so that heavy boats could not go up there. +This will make it impossible for Dewey to shell the place with his +fleet. We’ve got to watch out for that—no matter what we +do. My! but those American ships can shoot! Did you hear about me +shooting at ’em with that cannon on Corregidor island when they +entered the bay? I mighty near got one of their vessels.”</p> +<p>“No,” said Aguinaldo, “I have not heard very much +about the firing off Corregidor, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb66" +href="#pb66" name="pb66">66</a>]</span>but as I came from Hongkong the +other day on the “McCulloch” I noticed that the Spanish +fortifications on the island had all been dismantled.”</p> +<p>“Why! they killed a man right at my feet, the very first +shot,” said Marie; “and then one of their boats drew nearer +and fired several times more and they killed every Spaniard in the +relief guard which was near by,—seven of them in all.”</p> +<p>“And I was terribly worried about Marie,” interrupted +her mother who had listened to the conversation with deepest interest. +“She had been gone for a week, and I hadn’t heard a word +from her.”</p> +<p>“Oh! well, I don’t pity the Spaniards any for what the +Americans did to them,” interjected Aguinaldo, with some +emphasis.</p> +<p>“Be careful,” said old lady Sampalit, putting her finger +on her lips, “don’t speak too loud.”</p> +<p>Aguinaldo continued in a lower voice: “They killed your +husband. They shot Rizal. They strangled Dimigeuz. They tortured to +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb67" href="#pb67" name= +"pb67">67</a>]</span>death several hundred of our young fellows in the +dungeons. They have left ridges of dead wherever their armies have +moved among us. I tell you they deserved all they got.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Sampalit and Marie had grown heavy hearted. Aguinaldo looked at +his watch. It was after ten P. M.</p> +<p>“I wonder,” said Aguinaldo, hesitatingly, “how I +shall be able to get back to our lines tonight.”</p> +<p>“Don’t go!” said Marie, in an emphatic whisper, +“stay over night!”</p> +<p>“Yes, do!” entreated the old lady, “I’m +nervous.”</p> +<p>“It might be best; it would surely be the safest thing to +do,” said Aguinaldo, in a meditating manner.</p> +<p>“We sleep on bamboo beds,” said Marie. “There +stands mine. You may use it tonight, and I will sleep on the floor. I +don’t mind. Mother and I frequently lie down on the floor near +the window, when the nights are sultry.” <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb68" href="#pb68" name="pb68">68</a>]</span></p> +<p>The next morning Aguinaldo arose very early, made his way to the +edge of the city and stealthily stole out threw the Americans’ +lines, never again to return to Manila until General Funston brought +him back, two years later, a captive.</p> +<p>He made his way to Malolos, a few weeks after this conversation, +declared himself “Dictator of the Philippines,” appointed a +Filipino congress, set up a government of his own and began to run the +general affairs in the interior of Luzon. <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb69" href="#pb69" name="pb69">69</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch5" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter V.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Filipino Uprising</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb71" href="#pb71" name= +"pb71">71</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">The close of the eventful year of 1898 was near at +hand. General Otis had been made governor-general of the islands. He +had received about 15,000 troops from home. These had all been landed +and were quartered in the city of Manila.</p> +<p>Preparations had begun by the American troops for a great day of +field sports to be held on the Luneta—a beautiful narrow park +paralleling Manila bay and extending southward from the walled-city +about four miles—on New Year’s day, 1899.</p> +<p>On the afternoon of January I, as planned, the exercises were begun. +The afternoon program consisted of foot races, running high jumps, +wheelbarrow race, fat man’s race, running broad jump, high +kicking, fancy club swinging, tumbling, shot-put, sack race, tugs of +war, five boxing contests, base ball, foot ball, and pole vaulting. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb72" href="#pb72" name= +"pb72">72</a>]</span></p> +<p>Situated on the Luneta, about a mile south of the walled city, and +distant from Manila bay about 100 feet, is a large bandstand. This +served as headquarters for the exercises. The day was +perfect—clear, cool and calm.</p> +<p>About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives, soldiers (including jack-tars +from Dewey’s fleet, Spaniards and Americans) and foreign +residents had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of +Welcome and to witness the sports. When the speaker arose to deliver +the address, for which he was afterward voted, and presented with, a +medal by the Eight Army Corps, he said in part (verbatim report):</p> +<p>“On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to +make these Field Day Exercises a success, and this occasion one long to +be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon, I bid +you, one and all—officers, soldiers, sailors and civilians of +every nationality—a hearty welcome.” <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb73" href="#pb73" name="pb73">73</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Again to you, the members of Admiral Dewey’s fleet, I +feel obligated to extend a separate and special welcome; for without +your chivalrous devotion to duty last May Day, yon shell-riven wrecks +(part of unraised Spanish fleet visible above the bay) would not +bespeak the down-fall of a sister nation, and we ourselves would not +have been permitted to assemble here this afternoon. There is no braver +man on land or sea than the American marine; and on behalf of the +entire American army of occupation, I bid you a most cordial +welcome.”</p> +<p>Touching upon the question of territorial expansion, the speaker +said:</p> +<p>“This was a war for humanity, not for conquest. But simply +because it suddenly closed and left us in possession of large tracts of +new territory, is no reason why these spoils of war should be given up. +I hold this to be true Americanism: that wherever the old flag is +established through sacrifice of American blood, whether it be on the +barren sands of the desert, at the frigid extremes of the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb74" href="#pb74" name="pb74">74</a>]</span>earth, +or on the rich and fertile islands of the sea, there is should remain +triumphant, shedding forth beams of liberty to the oppressed, shouts of +defiance to the oppressor, and furnish protection and enlightenment to +all who come beneath its streaming folds forever!” +(applause).</p> +<p>A chubby Filipino maiden, standing near the speaker’s stand, +and who had listened intently to every word of the address, because she +now understood the English tongue, quietly elbowed her way through the +dense crowd which was gradually becoming more compressed, until she +reached a car drawn by two Chinese ponies on the old street car line +running south from Manila to Fort Malate and back. Taking the car she +rode up town to the Escolta. Going into the postoffice, she hastily +wrote and mailed to Aguinaldo at Malolos a letter containing an account +of what was said. It follows: <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb75" href= +"#pb75" name="pb75">75</a>]</span></p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">“Manila, P. I., Jan. 1, 1899.</p> +<p>My Dear General:</p> +<p>Those wretched Americans are holding some kind of exercises on the +Luneta this afternoon. I heard one of the speeches. It was awful bad. +The fellow talked loud. He swung his hands in the air and the crowd +seemed to get terribly excited over what he was saying.</p> +<p>He told about that treaty of peace, and he said no power under the +sun would haul down the American flag from over Manila.</p> +<p>It made me angry. I am going right out to the Filipino trenches to +see my Uncle (Colonel Miguel). He’ll fix those fellows. +I’ll bet he’ll haul down their flag before tomorrow +morning.</p> +<p>Goodby,</p> +<p>Marie.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<p>The evening program on the Luneta, which followed the afternoon +exercises, was largely literary in its nature. It consisted of +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb76" href="#pb76" name= +"pb76">76</a>]</span>music by the California band, singing by the +famous Washington Male Quartet, fancy dancing, selected recitations, +and stump speeches. In addition, Privates Green and Martin boxed four +rounds, much to the satisfaction of the natives.</p> +<p>The program had just been completed when the Master of Ceremonies +received from the American general in charge a note telling him to +announce the conclusion of the program at once and to order all +soldiers to report immediately at their respective regimental +headquarters;—trouble had been reported at the out-posts. +Reinforcements were hastened to several of the out-post reserves, and +it appeared that the expected insurrection was at hand.</p> +<p>After the out-break by the Filipinos on New Year’s night, it +was evident to both sides that it was only a question of a short time +when blood would be spilled in abundance. The Filipinos occupied all of +the block-houses—some seventeen in number—around the city +of Manila. This forced the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb77" href= +"#pb77" name="pb77">77</a>]</span>Americans to stand in the open and do +guard duty exposed.</p> +<p>The Filipino troops were saucy. They couldn’t understand why +men should be armed with rifles and not be permitted to shoot. They +tormented the American soldiers daily with hideous pranks. They grew +bolder, and pushed their out-posts forward until they stood within a +few feet of the American sentries.</p> +<p>Marie went out and back through the American lines at will. She +secretly kept the Filipino army thoroughly posted on the arrival of new +troops from America. Occasionally she would take the train and go up to +Malolos to see Aguinaldo. She was the best posted person in the +Philippines as to what was going on in each of the hostile armies. +Nobody suspected her. She was respected by the American troops. +Everybody came to know her.</p> +<p>Just before dusk, on the evening of February 4th, 1899, Marie and +her mother left the city of Manila, in a cariole, drawn by a +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb78" href="#pb78" name= +"pb78">78</a>]</span>Chinese pony which they had recently purchased. +They had in it all of their most precious household trinkets. As they +passed Colonel John M. Stotsenberg, commanding the 1st Nebraska +volunteers, stationed on McLeod’s hill at the eastern edge of +Manila, he recognized them, and called to Marie, “Where are you +going?”</p> +<p>“Out on a little trip,” retorted Marie.</p> +<p>“How soon will you be back?” asked he.</p> +<p>“O, I can’t tell,” responded Marie. “Mother +is getting so nervous that we thought best to go away for +awhile.”</p> +<p>“Say, Marie,” said the colonel, “do you know who +the Filipino officer is in command of all those thousands of troops +that are now assembling in the ravines between the hills along the far +side of the river valley, yonder?”</p> +<p>“No, I do not,” she declared with an emphatic swing of +her head.</p> +<p>But she was lying. It was Colonel Miguel, her own uncle. She knew +about it. He had secretly <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb79" href= +"#pb79" name="pb79">79</a>]</span>informed her that he was preparing to +attack the city and burn it and that he was going to exterminate the +American army of occupation and all foreign residents that fell into +the hands of his mighty army. He told her that he had chosen the east +side of the city as his main point of attack, so that Dewey could not +reach his troops with the shells from his gun boats in case he tried to +assist the American army, without elevating his guns and shooting +completely over the city—a thing wholly impractical within +itself, as Dewey could not determine whether his shells would be +falling among the Filipino or the American troops. It was he who +advised her to take her mother and flee to the hills for refuge.</p> +<p>Colonel Stotsenberg then asked Marie if she knew anything about the +proposed attack on the city by her people. This, she denied also. The +colonel’s face flushed. Pulling back the flap of his tent, he +said emphatically: “Do you see that gun, Marie? Tell those +fellows over there when you pass their <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb80" href="#pb80" name="pb80">80</a>]</span>lines that I said they +could have trouble whenever they want it.”</p> +<p>Marie drove on.</p> +<p>Inside the colonel’s tent stood a large gun from the Utah +battery, mounted, loaded, ready for action; its threatening nose was +pointed directly at the line of little brown men assembled across the +valley. The Filipinos were smarting for trouble. They wanted it badly. +Wherever and whenever possible they improved every opportunity to bring +it about. The trouble came. Colonel Stotsenberg that night used the +cannon he had pointed out to Marie. A long pile of mangled forms lying +at the base of the river hills on the opposite of the valley next +morning told the results. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb81" href= +"#pb81" name="pb81">81</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch6" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter VI.</h2> +<h2 class="main">As A Spy</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb83" href="#pb83" name= +"pb83">83</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Marie was well equipped by instinct and experience for +a spy. The tragic nature of such work was exceptionally inviting to +her. When a chance came to undertake it, she lost no time in embracing +the opportunity.</p> +<p>After passing out through the American lines, she drove on down the +slope of the hill and crossed the San Juan River on the old stone +bridge where the fighting was begun that night by young Grayson of the +Nebraska regiment. After reaching the Filipinos’ lines she at +once reported to her uncle, Colonel Miguel, and had an extended +interview with him.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e899width" id="p082"><img src="images/p082.jpg" +alt="Marie, Her Mother and Two Filipino Scouts" width="396" height= +"250"> +<p class="figureHead">Marie, Her Mother and Two Filipino Scouts</p> +</div> +<p>Secret plans were agreed upon whereby she was to become the +colonel’s chief scout. Two Filipino soldiers were sent to +accompany her old mother to the little town of Angono on the eastern +bank of Lake Laguna de Bay, near its northern end. A native family, +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb84" href="#pb84" name= +"pb84">84</a>]</span>quite familiar with the Sampalits and related to +them, lived in this village. Marie stayed with the troops in the field. +Her young brain danced at the thought of more bloodshed. She must be in +the fight.</p> +<p>Just what part Marie took in the attack made upon the Americans by +the Filipinos on the night of February 4th, and in the fighting on +February 5th, the world will never know. The two main figures in these +operations were Colonel Miguel, in command of the main portion of the +Filipino forces, and Colonel Stotsenberg, who commanded the 1st +Nebraska volunteers. Before the close of the war these men were both +shot; consequently, there is no one left to tell the story, and history +is silent on the point.</p> +<p>After the fight of February 4 and 5, the entire line of block-houses +and intrenchments circumscribing Manila, were in the hands of the +Americans. From the Pasig river on the east, around the city to the bay +on the north, this line was commanded by Major-General MacArthur; the +corresponding <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb85" href="#pb85" name= +"pb85">85</a>]</span>semi-circle on the south, by Major-General +Anderson.</p> +<p>During the next seven weeks, fresh troops were constantly arriving. +Each side was preparing for the long, inevitable conflict.</p> +<p>At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall’s +brigade in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on the +firing line, which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant +charge along the entire front on the Filipinos’ breastworks about +a mile and a half distant and constructed parallel to those of the +Americans’.</p> +<p>Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments; +had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted a terrible +loss upon Aguinaldo’s troops; had demonstrated to them the +difference between a determined American advance and an irresolute +Spanish one; and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the +capture of the Filipinos’ temporary capital, Malolos, the +overthrow of their provisional government, <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb86" href="#pb86" name="pb86">86</a>]</span>and the +establishment of American sovereignty throughout the entire +archipelago.</p> +<p>That night, about eleven o’clock, a nervous Filipino woman +came walking down along the American out-post reserves which, during +actual war, are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the +sentries. She reached Company “G’s” reserve of the +1st South Dakota Volunteers, where she was ordered to halt. She +refused, but acted as though she did not understand. Drawing a large +bamboo bonnet down over her face to conceal her identity, she mumbled +something apparently to herself, and walked rapidly on. In a moment she +was seized; her bonnet was torn off; her identity revealed: it was +Marie.</p> +<p>She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see +if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which they had +received, would be warranted in making a night attack.</p> +<p>She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched, +scrambled—making it necessary <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb87" +href="#pb87" name="pb87">87</a>]</span>to employ two privates, a +corporal and a sergeant to send her to the rear.</p> +<p>When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the +3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer +that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private +was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, and insisted +that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she drew +the poncho about her to keep herself warm (it grew very chilly before +morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to escape. Her +teeth chattered and she seemed distressed—evidently through fear +of what the morning might bring to her.</p> +<p>The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return +to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. She +pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that after +her return to Manila she would do washing free of charge for the +American soldiers who were sick in quarters. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb88" href="#pb88" name="pb88">88</a>]</span></p> +<p>After being liberated, Marie walked eastward, following an irregular +sled-road; that is, a road-way used by the Filipinos for sledding their +rice to market. This is done by means of a bamboo sled drawn over the +dry ground by a caribou. She followed this road for over two miles +until she came to the San Mateo river.</p> +<p>Although given a few hardtack by her captors at the time of her +release, she was getting hungry. As she approached the stream she +noticed an old Filipino standing near his bamboo cabin which was neatly +tucked away oh the slope of a deep ravine near by. Turning from her +pathway which had now grown somewhat indistinct she approached the old +gentleman.</p> +<p>When quite close to him she said, “Buenos dias,” (Good +morning in Spanish.)</p> +<p>“<span class="corr" id="xd20e943" title= +"Source: Magundi eropo">Magandang umaga</span>,” (Good morning, +in Tagalo), muttered the old man.</p> +<p>After a brief conversation during which Marie told him that she had +been captured by the Americans, had been terribly misused <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb89" href="#pb89" name="pb89">89</a>]</span>and he +had a miraculous escape, he invited her into his cabin where his aged +wife gave her something to eat. This breakfast consisted of boiled +rice, some fish which the old man had just brought from his set lines +in the San Mateo river, and some bacon which he had found along the +trail made by the American’s pack train the day before.</p> +<p>While the old couple were outside of their home—he breaking up +some bamboo with which to re-kindle the fire, and she, cleaning the +fish—Marie ransacked the house. She stole a large diamond ring +which the old man had taken from the finger of a Spanish officer during +the previous insurrection. She opened an old mahogany chest and took +from it a rosary valued at several hundred dollars; also a gold lined +cup which the old man, himself, had stolen from a Spanish priest, and +some Spanish coins.</p> +<p>After a hearty lunch, she started on.</p> +<p>Crossing the river at the rapids, on the boulders which projected +above the water, she quickened her steps and hurried along. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb90" href="#pb90" name= +"pb90">90</a>]</span>Changing her course to the southward, she started +for the northern end of Lake <span class="corr" id="xd20e959" title= +"Source: Leguna">Laguna</span> de Bay to see her mother.</p> +<p>She had not gone far through a small clump of timber when she came +upon the corpse of a Filipino soldier who had been shot in the previous +day’s engagement,—perhaps by a stray ball. Hastily stealing +the cross which hung from a small cord about his neck, and a valueless +ring from one of his fingers, she seized his Mauser rifle and his +cartridge belt which was partly filled with ammunition, and then +resumed her journey.</p> +<p>A short distance ahead was a large opening—an old rice field +well cleared. She had scarcely begun to cross it when she heard a +noise. She turned and saw the bow-legged old man whom she had robbed, +with a machete in his hand, coming after her as fast as he could. He +had discovered that the rosary was missing, and upon looking around, +that several other things were gone; therefore he at once started in +pursuit of the fiend who had just enjoyed his hospitality. <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb91" href="#pb91" name="pb91">91</a>]</span>Marie +was not disturbed. Raising to her shoulder the rifle which she had just +found, she took deliberate aim and at the first shot laid him low in +death.</p> +<p>She reached the small native village of Angono, where her mother was +stopping, about four o’clock in the afternoon of March 26th.</p> +<p>The old lady was wonderfully elated to receive the new jewels which +Marie had stolen. She put on the rosary and danced about in the native +hut like a young child on Christmas morning, when it sees the gorged +stocking fastened to its bed. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb93" href= +"#pb93" name="pb93">93</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch7" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter VII.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Off For Baler</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb95" href="#pb95" name= +"pb95">95</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, +fired with ambition and discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette +and started for Manila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row +boat via the Pasig river which drains the lake into Manila bay and +which flows through the city of Manila situated at its mouth.</p> +<p>While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next few +days, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being carried out +by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanish garrison of +fifty men stationed at the little town of Baler, near the eastern coast +of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrendered to the American +forces with the remainder of the Spanish army on August 13, 1898, but +as all lines of communication with them had been destroyed by the +Filipinos they had never <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb96" href= +"#pb96" name="pb96">96</a>]</span>been officially notified of the +capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information that they +were being besieged by a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos which +outnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of time +before all would be exterminated.</p> +<p>Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that something +must be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party was formed and +placed aboard the “Yorktown,” which carried them around the +southern point of Luzon and then northward to the mouth of the Baler +river.</p> +<p>Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath not +to take up arms against the Americans again during the insurrection, +and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besieging +Filipinos of what was to take place, and to help them as best she could +to resist the advance of the rescuing party.</p> +<p>Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern +coast of Luzon, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb97" href="#pb97" +name="pb97">97</a>]</span>Manila is on the west side of the island +Baler is, nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused +by the deep indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of +which Manila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward +of the eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight east +of Manila.</p> +<p>In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipino +foot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part near the San +Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which is +situated about three miles north and a trifle east of Manila. At that +point she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for a +short distance and which was made by the Americans’ commissary +train on the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March +25, preceding.</p> +<p>She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention was +attracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a few feet +distant from her pathway. She <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb98" href= +"#pb98" name="pb98">98</a>]</span>walked over to in and found these +words inscribed thereon:</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first xd20e144">“R. I. P. D. O. M.</p> +<p class="xd20e144">Wat Erbuf Falo</p> +<p class="xd20e144">Born — (?) Died, February 12, 1899.</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<p class="line">To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Some facts on its headstone we wish to +engrave;</p> +<p class="line">If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Bill Sherman was right when he said, +’War is Hell.’</p> +<p class="line">He charged on two pickets whose names are below;</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">They took him for niggers,—poor wronged +buffalo.</p> +<p class="line">As to the way he met death, everybody knows how;</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">As to whom he belonged we don’t +caribou.</p> +</div> +<p class="first">Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. “M,” 1st. +Col. Vols.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<p>It was now April 2nd, and Marie had <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb99" href="#pb99" name="pb99">99</a>]</span>ahead of her about ninety +miles overland to be made on foot or else on horse-back; and it was +necessary for her to hurry along, as the rescuing party was scheduled +to reach the mouth of Baler river April 10th, or 12th.</p> +<p>Her course led past the little shack on the bank of the San Mateo +river, where she had robbed the elderly couple who had been so kind to +her and near where she later had shot the old man when he was pursuing +her to regain possession of his stolen property.</p> +<p>She found it deserted; but in a little bamboo corral nearby she +found three Chinese ponies. Evidently they had made their escape from +the scene of battle and had drifted into this yard for refuge. There +was a small stack of rice straw just outside the corral. From this +Marie soon made a stoutly-twisted rope which she hastily arranged in +the form of a bridle. Placing it over the head of the largest pony she +mounted him and rode off.</p> +<p>She got ten miles beyond this last stopping <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb100" href="#pb100" name= +"pb100">100</a>]</span>place before sunset. That night she stopped at a +small inland village. As she lay down to sleep on the bamboo floor in +the hut of a Tagalo family whose acquaintance she had readily formed, +recollections of the place which she had passed during the afternoon +where she had previously robbed the old couple immediately after she +was released upon oath by the Americans, suggested to her the thought +that she was violating her oath; that she was now out in a country +where she might be betrayed at any moment by her own people, or else be +captured by a squad of American infantry or cavalry; therefore, she +decided that on the following day she would destroy her identity.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e1043width" id="p100"><img src="images/p100.jpg" +alt="Filipinos at Breakfast" width="430" height="506"> +<p class="figureHead">Filipinos at Breakfast</p> +<p class="first">(Courtesy of McClure’s Magazine.)</p> +</div> +<p>Upon retiring the previous night Marie coiled up for a pillow her +head of long black hair. “I hate to give it up,” thought +she, “but what will the Americans do to me if they capture me +another time? Oh! well, after the war is over it will soon grow out +again.”</p> +<p>The next morning, after a scanty breakfast <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb101" href="#pb101" name="pb101">101</a>]</span>of +bananas and rice, and a pineapple which Marie salted heavily before she +ate it, she went to a native barber and had her long hair cut close to +the scalp, except for a little tuft on top which she had him brush up +for a pompadour.</p> +<p>Before cutting off her hair the barber tied a piece of hemp very +tightly around it, just back of her neck. After he had detached it, he +held it in front of Marie and asked her what she wished done with it. +She took it in her own hands.</p> +<p>The barber kept on trimming her shortened hair. Marie stopped +talking and seemed to be in deep meditation.</p> +<p>Presently the barber said. “That’s all.”</p> +<p>Marie arose from the rough mahogany slab on which she had been +sitting, handed him a puesta (twenty cents, Mexican), looked out of the +window and said, “I’ll tell you what I’ll do: +I’ll trade you my hair for that quilas (two-wheeled cart) +standing there.”</p> +<p>“All right”; said the barber, “My pony is dead, +and the war has so devasted the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb102" +href="#pb102" name="pb102">102</a>]</span>country, and money has become +so scarce, that I can’t afford to buy another one.”</p> +<p>“The harness hanging on it goes with the cart,” said +Marie.</p> +<p>“Oh no!” exclaimed the barber, “my wife borrowed +that, and I must return it.”</p> +<p>“It doesn’t make any difference to whom it +belongs,” said Marie, emphatically, “you traded me the +cart, and everything that was in it goes with the trade. How do you +suppose I could hitch my pony into the cart without a +harness?”</p> +<p>Just then she pulled a bolo out from under her apron. The barber +said no more.</p> +<p>Marie hitched her pony into the cart and started on toward +Baler.</p> +<p>That day she followed a good road leading toward the mountains near +the eastern coast of Luzon. By night her pony had made twenty +miles.</p> +<p>She had already reached the foot-hills. It was impossible for her to +make head-way any longer with the cart. She would soon be across the +mountains and be in the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb103" href= +"#pb103" name="pb103">103</a>]</span>region to be approached by the +American relief party. What was to be done?</p> +<p>A happy thought came to Marie. She clasped her hands and muttered to +herself, “I’ll trade the cart for a suit of men’s +clothes and trade the harness for a sombrero,” (bamboo hat.)</p> +<p>Since the middle of the afternoon she had been driving parallel to a +stream that wound its way, nearby, from the mountains across the plains +to the sea. Villages along the banks were numerous. At night fall she +was still in Tagalo territory. It was her own tribe. She soon found a +place to stay over night. Her pony was turned loose in a vacant yard, +with an old bamboo fence around it, and given some young rice.</p> +<p>That evening while smoking cigarettes, and while inflaming the minds +of the villagers with startling stories about the atrocities, of the +American soldiers, Marie finally succeeded in making the trade which +she had planned during the afternoon.</p> +<p>Next morning, April 5, she rode on. Before <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb104" href="#pb104" name="pb104">104</a>]</span>her +lay sixty miles of unknown territory to be covered during the next four +days, if she were to reach Baler in time to warn the besieging +Filipinos of the contemplated attack by the Americans.</p> +<p>A half mile out from the village, Marie came to an abrupt turn in +the road. Near by was a dense cluster of banana trees. She dismounted, +and while her pony was nibbling young rice she went into the thicket +and changed her attire. Then she tied a good-sized stone up in her old +clothes and threw them into the river. As she stood on the bank +watching them sink, she saw her shadow in the water. How changed she +looked! The sombrero was such a relief in keeping the hot sun off her +head.</p> +<p>“Now, I’ll not be recognized,” thought she. +“How nice it is to be dressed like a man. From now on I mean to +play a man’s part and be a full-fledged soldier.” +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb105" href="#pb105" name= +"pb105">105</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch8" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter VIII.</h2> +<h2 class="main">The Gilmore Incident</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb107" href="#pb107" name= +"pb107">107</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Marie reached her destination late in the evening of +April 9th, and she at once notified the officers commanding the +Filipinos who were besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with +so small a force, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish +garrison, it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler +river—as the town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was located +is some two miles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific +ocean, and the American troops were too greatly outnumbered by the +Filipinos to make a land expedition safe,—she suggested to them +the advisability of fortifying the river at specific intervals along +either bank and of taking the precaution to cover the fortifications +with freshly-cut brush so that the Americans could not locate them for +the purpose of bombarding them in case they saw fit to load +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb108" href="#pb108" name= +"pb108">108</a>]</span>some of the smaller cannon on cascoes and make +their way up the river for an attack in that way.</p> +<p>The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and places +for the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. It was during +the dry season and the river was very low at the time. This made it +possible to dig ditches on the sand bars which extended far out into +the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sand taken +therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments by strewing over them some +fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance of having +drifted to their lodgment.</p> +<p>The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, as +scheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of truce, where, to +his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers; but +their exceptionally good behavior and the twinkle of their eyes told +only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. He therefore +returned to the Yorktown without having <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb109" href="#pb109" name="pb109">109</a>]</span>accomplished anything +in particular.</p> +<p>The next morning, at four o’clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and +sixteen brave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered +the mouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were put +ashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke forth and those +left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry who was walking +his beat along the shore. He gave the alarm. Lieutenant Gilmore and his +party could easily have pulled out to sea and gotten away, but humanity +forbade it. What would become of the two scouts who went ashore? Their +comrades in the boat could not desert them, so they rowed up the river +into the very jaws of impending danger.</p> +<p>Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinos +opened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only fifty yards +distance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck in +the mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. In a moment Morrisy fell +dead, having been <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb110" href="#pb110" +name="pb110">110</a>]</span>shot through the head; Dillon followed; +then McDonald, then Nygard;—Marie was doing deadly work with her +Mauser rifle.</p> +<p>The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what was the +use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly had the Filipinos +screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were using smokeless +powder.</p> +<p>Four of Gilmore’s men were already dead, two were mortally +wounded and begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell into +the hands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Most of +the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy’s rifle balls. In +this moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumped +overboard and tried to push the boat out to mid-stream. It was no use; +the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they could +not compete against it.</p> +<p>Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change and +use one of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb111" href="#pb111" name= +"pb111">111</a>]</span>the dead men’s rifles. As he picked it up +he noticed the lock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip +had been jammed in. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, +to be fixed.</p> +<p>The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struck +him in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been under fire +before. Looking up calmly, he said, “Mr. Gilmore, I’m +hit.”</p> +<p>In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out of +his arm pit. With his attention <span class="corr" id="xd20e1135" +title="Source: rivited">riveted</span> on his task, he remarked, +“I’m hit again, Mr. Gilmore.”</p> +<p>Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cut +a painful wound in his scalp. “Mr. Gilmore, they’ve hit me +again,” he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with +blood running down all over him.</p> +<p>In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad’s ankle, +one of the most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. This +time, with a slight tremble in his voice, <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb112" href="#pb112" name="pb112">112</a>]</span>he said, “Mr. +Gilmore, I’m hit once more; but I’ve fixed your gun, +Sir.”</p> +<p>Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans’ fire +had practically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench the limbs +and underbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns, +spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash for the boat and captured the +entire crew.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e1147width" id="p113"><img src="images/p113.jpg" +alt="End of the Boat Battle" width="442" height="608"> +<p class="figureHead">End of the Boat Battle</p> +<p class="first">(Courtesy of McClure’s Magazine.)</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb113" href="#pb113" name= +"pb113">113</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch9" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter IX.</h2> +<h2 class="main">The American Prisoners</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb115" href="#pb115" name= +"pb115">115</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">Those of the Americans who were alive and able to help +themselves were ordered to go ashore on the sand bar, where the +Filipinos robbed them of their personal effects and then lined them up +preparatory to shooting them all down in a body. Gilmore, being an +officer, protested against having his hands tied. He claimed, according +to the accepted rules of warfare, that on account of his rank he had a +right to die honorably with his hands free. The Filipinos have great +superstitions about “rank” in military affairs. Marie knew +the significance of Gilmore’s request; she respected it.</p> +<p>The Filipinos had loaded their rifles, cocked them, raised the same +to their shoulders, had taken aim, and Marie was about to give the +fatal command, “Fire!”, when a shout from the bank stopped +her and for a moment engaged the attention of both the <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb116" href="#pb116" name= +"pb116">116</a>]</span>Americans and the Filipinos. It came from a +Filipino officer, running down to the shore. He ordered them to stop. +One second longer would have been too late.</p> +<p>This Tagalo officer ordered the Americans to get back into their +boat and to row across to the opposite shore. After bailing the water +out of the boat and plugging up the holes in it made by the +enemy’s rifle balls, they obeyed his command.</p> +<p>When they went ashore, Lieutenant Gilmore asked permission to bury +his dead comrades. This privilege was emphatically denied. What was +done with their bodies by the Filipinos is hard to tell, but in all +probability, as was customary with the natives, they cut them into +fragments and threw them away.</p> +<p>The ones who were mortally wounded, but who were still alive, were +placed under a tree by Gilmore and his comrades, and left to die. The +Lieutenant asked that a native doctor be summoned to give them aid, but +it <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb117" href="#pb117" name= +"pb117">117</a>]</span>was not done. What their fate was Eternity alone +will reveal.</p> +<p>Gilmore and his comrades picked up the lesser wounded and carried +them, and together the whole procession was marched inland about a mile +to the Filipino Commandante’s headquarters.</p> +<p>Here they were questioned at length. Gilmore asked permission to +write a note to the commander of the Yorktown telling him of their +fate. Permission was granted, but the note was never delivered. The two +scouts who went ashore, returned to the Yorktown in the afternoon and +reported that they had heard heavy firing up the river.</p> +<p>After waiting several days for news of some kind for them, and +finally concluding that they were either captured or killed, the crew +of the Yorktown, heavy-hearted over their failure and their sacrifice, +steamed back to Manila.</p> +<p>During the afternoon of the same day that the battle took place, the +American prisoners <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb118" href="#pb118" +name="pb118">118</a>]</span>were ordered to march to an old bamboo +church in the northern outskirts of the little town of Baler, a mile +and a half farther on. By this time the wounded men were suffering +terribly. Little Venville’s ankle had swollen badly. From his +four wounds he had bled so much that he had grown faint. Therefore, he +and several of the others had to be carried.</p> +<p>En route to their new destination, the Americans passed in sight of +the old stone church being used as a fortress by the Spanish garrison +whom they had originally set out to relieve. The Americans had gone to +the Philippines to fight the Spaniards. They were now sacrificing their +lives to save them.</p> +<p>At the bamboo church, an old Filipino with a kindly face and a +manner that elevated him above his fellow tribesmen, came in to see +them. He examined the wounded and then disappeared. Presently he +returned with some large leaves that resembled rhubarb, under his arm. +Out of the big stems of these native herbs he squeezed a milky +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb119" href="#pb119" name= +"pb119">119</a>]</span>secretion which he permitted to drop into the +gaping wounds of the Americans. The torture of the wounded occasioned +by this liquid was damnable. The men grew deathly pale. They rolled and +screamed and begged to be shot. But it did not last long. In ten +minutes the torture had ceased, the men became quiet, the swelling +around their wounds was gradually reduced, and their temperatures soon +lowered. The herb doctor evidently knew his business.</p> +<p>The next day the Filipinos received orders from Aguinaldo, who, with +his appointed congress, was now at San Isidro, to march the captured +Americans to his headquarters. Accordingly, the trip was undertaken. +But the apprentice lad, Venville, was unable to go along. Obeying the +stubborn orders of the rapacious Filipinos his comrades left him lying +on the floor of the old rickety bamboo +church,—wounded—uncared +for—suffering—hungry—thirsty—dying. A year +later the assistance of the entire naval organization in the +Philippines was given to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb120" href= +"#pb120" name="pb120">120</a>]</span>the task of trying to ascertain +from the Filipinos in the neighborhood of Baler some information +concerning the lad’s whereabouts or his burial place, but no +trace of him, dead or alive, could ever be found.</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<p class="line">An aged mother, ill and bowed,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Keeps asking, “Where’s my +boy?”</p> +<p class="line">But zephyrs from the Orient</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Refuse to bring the joy.</p> +</div> +<p class="first">Amid great privations the marching column crossed the +mountains and the fertile plains on the opposite side, to the city of +San Isidro. It was heralded in advance that the Americans were coming +through the country. Obeying their greatest national +instinct—curiosity—the natives assembled by thousands in +the villages along the road. Every one of them kept crowding forward to +get to touch the Americans to see what their skins felt like. Others +were looking for the long feathers in their hair, which they had heard +so much about. It was all the Filipino guards could do to restrain +their own people. The latter, like monkeys, jabbered incessantly. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb121" href="#pb121" name= +"pb121">121</a>]</span>Gilmore’s men hurled back at them defiant +epithets. They realized that involuntarily they had become the chief +actors in a new moving circus.</p> +<p>Again, when they reached San Isidro, a great throng of curious +natives had come to town to see them. These fellows were very hostile +to the Americans. It was all the native guard could do to keep the +Filipinos from doing violence to them. Gilmore was again questioned at +length and then he was separated from his comrades and all were hurried +off to jail.</p> +<p>In a few days it was rumored that the American army was approaching +the city. Aguinaldo and his associates hurriedly prepared to leave. +Orders were given to march the prisoners overland north and then +westward across another range of high mountains to Arancay, on the +western coast of Luzon,—a distance of 100 miles.</p> +<p>This time the crowd of prisoners was greatly increased. At San +Isidro there were added 600 Spaniards; a small tribe of mountain +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb122" href="#pb122" name= +"pb122">122</a>]</span>Negritos whom Aguinaldo had originally sent to +fight the Americans, but who, being armed only with spears and bolos, +soon got tired of seeing their number decrease so rapidly before +American riflemen, and refused to fight, and who were later imprisoned +and terribly misused by Aguinaldo’s selected guards; and eighteen +Americans in addition to Gilmore’s party (total twenty-six +Americans), who had been captured in as many different ways around +Manila by the crafty, cunning Filipinos. Among them was Frank Stone, of +the U. S. Signal Corps, captured by some “amigos” (friendly +natives) on the railroad track near Manila, while out strolling one +Sunday afternoon; Private Curran, of the 16th U.S. Infantry who was +grabbed within fifty feet of his own outpost, gagged and dragged into +captivity; also a civilian who had gone to the Philippines to sell +liquor.</p> +<p>This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila +while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb123" href="#pb123" name= +"pb123">123</a>]</span>beer. He was the life of the expedition. He took +his captivity as a joke, told stories to keep the prisoners good +natured, and painted on ever boulder that he passed the seemingly +sacrilegious words, “Drink Blank’s beer on the road to +H——.” It was, however, this harmless practice that +later on enabled the American relief party to follow the +prisoners’ trail.</p> +<p>After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched +northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city of Vigan. +Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden presence +of an American war-ship in the harbor, off Vigan, caused the natives to +abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners for some +mountain fastness. The Americans were separated from the rest of the +prisoners whom they never saw again.</p> +<p>High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys +were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. The Filipino +lieutenant who had charge of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb124" +href="#pb124" name="pb124">124</a>]</span>prisoners, ordered them to go +on; they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for +them without avail. The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon +comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer +himself was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance, +the sick Americans were able to go along.</p> +<p>A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and +came upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent dancing down +the rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in +the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from the Americans, and with guns in +hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them.</p> +<p>“Prepare to die,” said Gilmore to his companions; +“they are going to shoot us.” Calling the Filipino +lieutenant to his side Gilmore asked him why he did not shoot them on +the opposite side of the mountains, <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb125" href="#pb125" name="pb125">125</a>]</span>and not have made +them make all of that hard climb for nothing.</p> +<p>The native officer said in reply: “My orders were to shoot all +of you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability, +your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them +ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago when you showed +me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman in +America, I decided not to carry out my order, but to let you all go +free. I may be punished for disobedience of orders; but we are both +bound together by the great Catholic church, and my conscience forbids +that I should kill you.”</p> +<p>Gilmore replied: “You might as well shoot us as to set us free +away up here in the mountains in our weakened condition with nothing to +defend ourselves with against the savages whose territory we will have +to cross in order to get to the sea. Can’t you spare us at least +two rifles and some ammunition? If you will do this, I will give +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb126" href="#pb126" name= +"pb126">126</a>]</span>you a letter which, should you fall into the +hands of the Americans, will make you safe and bring you ample +reward.”</p> +<p>The Filipino looked meditatingly at the ground for several moments, +then he calmly said, “I shall not dare to do it. An American +relief party, seeking your liberation, is close on our heels. They will +protect and care for you. Goodby!”</p> +<p>Gilmore did not believe him.</p> +<p>Under cover of the night the Filipinos disappeared. In the morning, +after nine long, tedious months of captivity resulting from Marie +Sampalit’s depredations,—sick, nearly starved, practically +nude, with nothing but two battle axes and a bolo for both weapons of +defense and for tools—the Americans at last found themselves free +men in the wilds of northern Luzon, with positive death left behind, +and with possible life and all of its happy associations still before +them.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e1246width" id="p126"><img src="images/p126.jpg" +alt="The Rescue" width="439" height="533"> +<p class="figureHead">The Rescue</p> +<p class="first">(Courtesy of McClure’s Magazine.)</p> +</div> +<p>Their first day of liberty was spent in preparing bamboo rafts on +which to float down the tortuous, winding river to the sea. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb127" href="#pb127" name= +"pb127">127</a>]</span>The next night they all slept well; and on the +following morning, just after they had gotten up and begun to saunter +around, everybody present was suddenly shocked by the shrill yell of a +strong American voice. They all looked up, and while their hearts for a +moment seemingly stopped beating and fairly rose in their throats, the +liberated prisoners beheld the blue shirts and khaki trousers of +Colonel Hare’s rescue party that for several weeks had been on +their trail.</p> +<p>What rejoicing! The bony, ill-clad prisoners fell on the strong +bosoms of their rescuers and wept.</p> +<p>Colonel Hare’s father, Judge Hare, of Washington, D.C., knew +Gilmore personally. He had seen the military reports of his captivity +among the natives. When his son bade him goodby as he started for the +Philippines, Judge Hare said, “My boy, God bless you; find +Gilmore and bring him home!” Colonel Hare had remained true to +his trust.</p> +<p>The party could not retrace their steps over the mountains, owing to +the weakened <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb128" href="#pb128" name= +"pb128">128</a>]</span>condition of the prisoners and the lack of food. +Their only chance for self-preservation and a possible return to +civilization lay in carrying out Gilmore’s designs to build +bamboo rafts and float down the river to the sea. This was done. In +going over rapids and water-falls, many rafts were destroyed and new +ones had to be built.</p> +<p>Two of the boys got the measles. The raft on which one of them, +Private Day, was being transported, got smashed on the rocks and he was +thrown into the water. He took cold and died the next day. His comrades +took his body with them and did not bury it until they finally reached +the little town of Ambulug, at the mouth of the stream they had been +following, on the northern coast of Luzon. There, amid a simple but +impressive ceremony, it was buried in the church-yard of the cathedral +to await the resurrection morn.</p> +<p>At Ambulug the Americans secured ox-carts drawn by caribous and +drove along the beach to the city of Aparri, at the mouth of +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb129" href="#pb129" name= +"pb129">129</a>]</span>the Cagayan river. Here they were met by a +detachment of American Marines who took them aboard a war-ship, lying +out to sea, which carried them around the northwest promontory of Luzon +to the city of Vigan on the western coast, at which place they had been +imprisoned for so long.</p> +<p>Here they met General Young who shook hands with each of them; +congratulated the rescued and complimented the rescuers.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e1274width" id="p129"><img src="images/p129.jpg" +alt="Floating Down the Rapids." width="433" height="623"> +<p class="figureHead">Floating Down the Rapids.</p> +<p class="first">(Courtesy of McClure’s Magazine.)</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb131" href="#pb131" name= +"pb131">131</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch10" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter X.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Death of General Lawton.</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb133" href="#pb133" name= +"pb133">133</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">After the battle of Baler, Marie and a few native +soldiers hastened westward in advance of the prisoners, to San Isidro +to notify Aguinaldo who had moved his headquarters to that place, that +the Americans were advancing northward in great numbers and that +nothing could impede their progress. This information had previously +been conveyed to the Filipino general from other sources, so that Marie +found him in his so-called congress packed up and ready to +move,—a thing they were forced to do a few days after the +American prisoners arrived. She accompanied them for several long, +tedious months, acting as cook for the expedition and serving in other +capacities—none of them seeming to her to be ample reward for all +she had done.</p> +<p>Early in the coming fall, Marie, tired of Aguinaldo’s game of +hide-and-go-seek, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb134" href= +"#pb134" name="pb134">134</a>]</span>anxious to find out about her +mother and to get into more fighting, if there be a chance, made her +way back to Manila.</p> +<p>But her conscience bothered her. She remembered that broken oath and +many other acts of wanton treachery that would shock the civilized +world. She feared that her own life would soon be sought either by the +Americans or by the Filipinos. Accordingly she suggested to her mother +that they again go to her aunt’s in the little town of Angono at +the north end of Lake Laguna de Bay, where she had left her mother +stationed when last they had parted. Her mother, growing old and +nervous through accumulated years, past grievances, hard work and the +strain of the present conflict, favored the plan; and so they departed +on December 2nd, taking the same road over McLeod’s Hill and on +down over the Santa Mesa bridge that they had traveled on February +4th.</p> +<p>Before leaving Manila she learned through the private Filipino Junta +which was secretly assisting in the war by accumulating <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb135" href="#pb135" name= +"pb135">135</a>]</span>funds for its prosecution and by distributing +among the native troops the inflammatory literature which was being +promiscuously sent out by the people in the United States who opposed +the war, that a secret reward of $10,000. had been offered for the +death of General Lawton.</p> +<p>About the middle of December, 1899, the General had returned to +Manila from another telling campaign northward, when he learned that +the Filipinos were assembling in large numbers under one of their +fearless leaders, General Geronemo, on the San Mateo river, but a few +miles out of Manila, for the purpose of making one more attempt to +break through the American lines guarding that city.</p> +<p>On December 17, Marie heard that another attack was to be made on +Manila, so she left her mother at Angono and made her way to the +Filipinos’ camp along the San Mateo river, only a few miles south +of where she had crossed it at the rapids the morning <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb136" href="#pb136" name= +"pb136">136</a>]</span>after she had been liberated under oath by Major +Allison.</p> +<p>The next day, she was in secret consultation with Geronemo, and she +disclosed to him all the information she had concerning the defenses of +Manila.</p> +<p>That evening, Filipino scouts, dressed in female attire, brought to +General Geronemo the news that the Americans, under General Lawton, who +was supposed to be away up in the northern part of Luzon, had +anticipated his movements and were assembling in the woods on the +opposite side of the valley in large numbers, possibly for a night +attack.</p> +<p>Marie told Geronemo what she had learned while in Manila concerning +the reward that had been secretly offered for the killing of General +Lawton. He knew all about it and confirmed the offer. She told him all +about her training as a marksman with the Spanish on Corregidor island +and of her subsequent experience, and said she knew General Lawton +well; that she could <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb137" href="#pb137" +name="pb137">137</a>]</span>single him out, and in case he led his +troops, as he usually did in battle, she was sure she could capture the +prize.</p> +<p>A place of unusual safety and concealment was selected along the +Filipinos’ lines, directly in front of the center of the probable +point of attack by the Americans, for Marie, and for a Filipino +lieutenant and a corporal, both of whom were also good shots.</p> +<p>Geronemo had instructed them that Marie was to have the first three +shots at the general, in case he appeared on the scene of battle. If +she failed to hit him, the lieutenant was then to try it. After he had +taken three shots, if he, too, failed, the corporal was to be given a +chance.</p> +<p>The next morning, December 19, the American line of battle came out +of the woods on the opposite side of the valley, ready to charge on the +Filipinos’ position. The morning was bright and clear, so that +General Lawton, with his tall figure, resplendent uniform and large +white helmet, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb138" href="#pb138" name= +"pb138">138</a>]</span>could easily be discerned by the entire Filipino +command.</p> +<p>“I’ll fix him,” whispered Marie, “just wait +till the firing begins, so that I can shoot without attracting +attention to our position.”</p> +<p>In a moment, the Filipinos opened fire on the Americans all along +the line. The latter sought cover. General Lawton remained erect. He +made an ideal target. Marie took careful aim. “Bang!” went +her rifle, and at that very moment this peerless leader of men, this +hero of several wars, was shot through the heart and fell dead in the +arms of his aide. His only words were, “I’m +shot.”</p> +<p>“See that! What did I tell you?” snapped out Marie, +“I told you I’d get him! Now for my dinero.” +(money).</p> +<p>The Americans were so angered because of the sudden death of their +beloved commander that they made a mad rush forward, without orders, +and swept the Filipino army from the field.</p> +<div class="figure xd20e1331width" id="p139"><img src="images/p139.jpg" +alt="General Lawton and Staff" width="422" height="282"> +<p class="figureHead">General Lawton and Staff</p> +<p class="first">(Photo taken only five minutes before his death.)</p> +</div> +<p>Marie returned to Manila where she <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb139" href="#pb139" name="pb139">139</a>]</span>claimed the reward +for having shot the general. The lieutenant who was with her claimed +that he did it, and by promising half of the bounty to the corporal for +swearing to the lie, he proved it. Meager reports of the affair state +that only $7000 of the money was actually paid over. Like Aguinaldo who +crept into a cave northwest of Manila and sold out his country during +the insurrection of 1896, and then could not collect his fee, so Marie, +too, found herself deprived of the compensation for her bloody deed. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb141" href="#pb141" name= +"pb141">141</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch11" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter XI.</h2> +<h2 class="main">North-bound</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb143" href="#pb143" name= +"pb143">143</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">The controversy over the distribution of the fund in +Manila for the death in any form of General Lawton permitted the unholy +scheme to simmer its way into publicity. The United States authorities +employed secret detectives to investigate the matter and if possible to +locate the persons who claimed to be responsible for the act. Marie +soon found herself under surveillance and she quickly left the +city.</p> +<p>Making her way north on horse back along the same route she had +taken when on her way to Baler about a year before, she came to the +city of San Miguel where one of the hardest battles of the war had been +fought. The troops engaged in this fight had become so disorganized +that all formation by regiments, companies, etc., had been broken up. +Unfortunately, one of the Americans’ dead privates could not be +identified. He was buried <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb144" href= +"#pb144" name="pb144">144</a>]</span>where he fell, and a board +tombstone was placed at the head of his grave, on which was carved this +lonely word,</p> +<p class="xd20e144">“UNKNOWN”.</p> +<p>As Marie passed over the old field, she saw this grave and read the +solemn word on its headstone. “Alas!” she muttered, +“I wonder if the same sad fate will some day overtake +me.”</p> +<p>The body of this “unknown” soldier was exhumed by the +government a few months later and brought back to the United States for +burial. Upon its arrival the following pathetic poem appeared in +“Leslie’s Weekly”;</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<h4>JUST AN “UNKNOWN”</h4> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">After the fight was over,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">They found him stark and dead,</p> +<p class="line">Where all the bamboo thicket</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Was splashed and stained and red.</p> +<p class="line">No name was missed at roll call,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Not one among them knew</p> +<p class="line">The slender, boyish figure</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Arrayed in army blue.</p> +</div> +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb145" href="#pb145" name= +"pb145">145</a>]</span> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">Among our fallen soldiers</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">They brought him o’er the deep,</p> +<p class="line">And with the nation’s heroes</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">They laid him down to sleep.</p> +<p class="line">A starry flag above him,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">And on the simple stone</p> +<p class="line">That marked his final bivouac,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">The single word, “Unknown.”</p> +</div> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">Perchance a mother watches,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Her eyes with weeping dim,</p> +<p class="line">Or sweetheart waits the postman</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">In vain for news of him.</p> +<p class="line">While snow of winter freezes,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">And April violets thrust</p> +<p class="line">Sweet blossoms through the grasses</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Above his nameless dust.</p> +</div> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">But when the last great trumpet</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Shall sound the reveille,</p> +<p class="line">And all the blue battalions</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">March up from land and sea,</p> +<p class="line">He shall awake to glory—</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Who sleeps unknown to fame,</p> +<p class="line">And with Columbia’s bravest</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Will answer to his name.</p> +</div> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb146" href="#pb146" name= +"pb146">146</a>]</span></p> +<p>Her personal safety demanded that she continue her journey +northward, without delay; also her inclination to rejoin Aguinaldo and +his troops—although his exact whereabouts were +unknown—invited her in this direction.</p> +<p>At San Isidro, from which place Aguinaldo had been driven, she saw +some American soldiers administering the water cure to some Filipinos +in order to make them reveal the whereabouts of their wily general. +Marie was angry. She yearned to shoot, but she was no longer on the +aggressive; she was now a fugitive from justice. At this place she +inspected the old Filipino prison and on its walls found the names of +Gilmore and his party, whom she had helped to capture at Baler, who had +been imprisoned there, and who were still alive when Aguinaldo was +driven from the city of San Isidro by the approach of the Americans. +She determined to take her revenge on them for this water cure +punishment, if she ever found them. But the opportunity never came. +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb147" href="#pb147" name= +"pb147">147</a>]</span>So journeying on toward the northern part of +Luzon she had many experiences, and she came in contact with tribes +whom she had never seen before and whose dialect was foreign to her. +Many things combined to retard her progress. Often she grew very weary +and would have turned back, except for fear.</p> +<p>Following up the valley of the Pampanga river and thence on +northward along the Barat, she passed through the province of Nueva +Ecija, crossed the Caraballo mountains which form its northern +boundary, and then entered the province of Nueva Vizcaya, where she +came upon the head-waters of the Rio Magat river.</p> +<p>In crossing the Caraballo mountains she made her way through a deep +gorge at night. It was now about the middle of February. A full moon +shone at its best. The weather was ideal. Journeying was abnormally +pleasant. Under favorable conditions, during times of peace, the trip +she was taking would have been a delightful outing. Just <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb148" href="#pb148" name="pb148">148</a>]</span>now +things were different. Small garrisons of American soldiers had crowded +forward and were occupying the largest cities along her route. As yet +she had not gotten beyond them. “A guilty conscience needs no +accuser”; everywhere that she went she imagined herself to be +under suspicion.</p> +<p>Far up in the Caraballos she came across a little mountain torrent +which leaped down over the mountain side from one rocky ledge to +another at quite regular intervals in a series of waterfalls until it +beat itself into a turbulent spray in the bed of the chasm below. The +laughing moon filtered its beaming rays through the thin sheet of +shimmering water as it danced down its course from precipice to +precipice, and seemingly converted it into a great silvery stair-way +connecting earth with heaven. Marie’s heart throbbed with +emotion. The dashing of the falling water on the rocks below in the bed +of the canon made a hollow sound as its echoes reverberated through the +gorge above.</p> +<p>A half mile farther up, the valley widened <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb149" href="#pb149" name= +"pb149">149</a>]</span>somewhat; and finding here some grass for her +pony to forage on, she stopped for the night. The flimsy saddle was +removed from her horse and converted into a crude pillow, in true +cowboy style. Marie was uneasy. This was the first night in all her +adventures that she had been absolutely alone, separated from both +friends and foes, with no house to shelter her weary head, with the +cloudless canopy of the silent heavens arched above her, the silvery +moonbeams dancing in her face, and with no voice, save the echoes of +her own, to answer back the whispers of night.</p> +<p>It is often only in such a silent nook as this, with no one present +but God and self, that humanity asserts itself and the tenderest +portions of the human soul become paramount and give rise to sacred +thoughts. Even the savage cannot escape it, for he, too, feels his +responsibility to something outside of self. No doubt the +self-conscious criminal would be the most susceptible to it.</p> +<p>What a night for Marie! Solitude gave <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb150" href="#pb150" name="pb150">150</a>]</span>rise to fear; fear, +to conscious criminality; a sense of wrong-doing, to grief. Would +morning never come? Every time she fell into a doze her sleep was +disturbed by dreams of the past. Recollections of her dying benefactor +in the woods by the San Mateo river, of Gilmore’s comrades +bleeding by his side, and of Lawton in the arms of his aide, filled her +soul with remorse and suggested to her with an unspeakable vividness +that in all probability she would pay the penalty on both sides of the +grave. Awakening from one awful dream, she would, after listening to +the stillness of the night for a time, lapse into another. Again she +would suddenly awake and begin to fumble her rosary and repeat +selections from a Catholic prayer book. Would she dare to turn back? +Behind her was certain death; before her, the possibility of life. She +resolved to go on.</p> +<p>The night whiled away. Her pony ate his fill and lay down to rest. +Beaded dew drops collected themselves in close proximity upon the +grasses and foliage about her feet. <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb151" href="#pb151" name="pb151">151</a>]</span>The cool mountain air +from without and fear from within caused her to shiver a great deal. +Day finally came; Marie rode on.</p> +<p>Following the Magat river she finally reached the city of Bayombong +with a population of 20,000 people. Here she learned from the natives +that Aguinaldo and a loyal remnant of his appointed congress had passed +through the city ahead of her, en route northward.</p> +<p>At Bayombong she was advised to follow down the Magat river for +twenty miles, then to bear to the northeast along the pathway made by +Aguinaldo and his followers in their recent retreat. This she did, +crossing another range of mountains near Fort Del Pilar, which had been +erected by the Filipinos to circumvent as well as to prevent the +progress of the Americans, should they attempt to follow them. On the +farther side of this slope she came upon the headwaters of the Rio +Grande de Cagayan river, which she followed on to the north for several +weeks, enjoying the hospitality of the natives <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb152" href="#pb152" name= +"pb152">152</a>]</span>along the course, until at last she came upon +the beautiful city of Ilagan at the confluence of the Cagayan and +Pinacanalan rivers.</p> +<p>It was now late in April. Marie was tired and needed rest. At Ilagan +she was cordially received by the curious natives who were eager to +learn some news concerning the war which was being conducted several +hundred miles further south. Marie grew cheerful. There were no +Americans in the city, and nobody knew of any within the valley. She +felt that at last she had successfully eluded her supposed pursuers and +that she was safe. Ilagan is the capital of Isabella province. It has a +population of approximately 60,000 people. Marie’s natural +ability, information gathered in the school of experience, knowledge of +the details of the war, and her willingness to talk (quite a number at +Ilagan could speak Spanish) made of her a sort of responsive idol for +the entire populace. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb153" href="#pb153" +name="pb153">153</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch12" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter XII.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Crossing the Sierra Madres.</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb155" href="#pb155" name= +"pb155">155</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">She remained at Ilagan until the middle of June, when +it began to be rumored that the Americans were preparing to invade the +Cagayan valley, not only soldiers from the south but with the +“mosquito fleet” coming up the river from its mouth at the +extreme northern end of the island of Luzon. Nobody in the city seemed +to know just where Aguinaldo had gone. Part of his advance guard had +arrived in the city some three months before, but he had not come, and +his soldiers had soon departed for the southeast, following the valley +of the Pinacanalan river.</p> +<p>Tired of her surroundings and impatient to join Aguinaldo, Marie +departed by the same route that his soldiers had taken. From an old +native living all alone in a bamboo shack on the bank of the Rio +Masagan river, which empties into the Pinacanalan about eighteen miles +southeast of Ilagan, she <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb156" href= +"#pb156" name="pb156">156</a>]</span>learned that Aguinaldo and his +troops had started up the valley of the Masagan. This stream rises high +up near the summit of the Sierra Madre mountains which parallel the +eastern coast of northern Luzon for nearly five hundred miles, and are +inland from the coast from ten to thirty miles.</p> +<p>Marie had with her three trusted natives from Ilagan. She did not +want to spend another night alone in the mountains. After proceeding up +the Masagan for thirty-five miles to a place where its valley narrows +itself to a gorge, its bed was so strewn with huge boulders that it +became impossible to travel any longer on horseback; therefore, one of +the natives was sent back with the horses, and Marie and the two others +continued the ascent on foot, taking with them such equipment and +provisions as they could conveniently carry.</p> +<p>After many hardships they succeeded in crossing the range in safety +and soon found themselves descending the other side. A Filipino +scouting party was met at the evening <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb157" href="#pb157" name="pb157">157</a>]</span>of the first +day’s tramp down the Pacific slope. They were well supplied with +food—thing Marie and her companions greatly needed. From them it +was learned that Aguinaldo and his body guard and quite a complement of +Filipino soldiers were secreted at the little town of Palanan on a +small stream by the same name, about ten miles back from the coast and +lying directly east of them on the journey which they were pursuing. +This party escorted them to Filipino headquarters, which they reached +July 10, 1900.</p> +<p>Marie was cordially welcomed by Aguinaldo, who restored her to a +position on his staff and secured from her the identical information +which he desired relative to the movement of the American troops, and +the very information, strange to say, which led to his own discovery +and capture by General Funston of the American forces in March of the +following year.</p> +<p>Aguinaldo learned from Marie that from the Filipinos’ +standpoint, the war around <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb158" href= +"#pb158" name="pb158">158</a>]</span>Manila had been a dismal failure. +He decided, therefore, to send one of his trusted generals south by +practically the same route over which Marie had come, with information +to the Filipino troops east and south of Manila to move all their +available forces north with the quickest possible despatch and to place +them under his immediate command so that he might not only render +himself immune from capture, but take the initiative and oppose the +American campaign in the valley of the Cagayan river.</p> +<p>In December, 1900, about three months before his capture by General +Funston, Aguinaldo, having learned that the Americans were making their +way in great numbers into the valley of the Cagayan, asked Marie to +take up duty as a spy again; to recross the Sierra Madre mountains; +visit the American lines; ascertain their number of soldiers on duty in +the valley on the opposite side of the mountains and then to bring this +information to him, so that when reinforcements <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb159" href="#pb159" name= +"pb159">159</a>]</span>should arrive he would know better how to +undertake the campaign.</p> +<p>To this, Marie willingly assented, but she insisted that she could +not make the trip alone over the rugged Sierra Madre mountains; that +she had nearly famished crossing them the first time. Aguinaldo +therefor fitted out a little expedition consisting of eight Filipinos, +in addition to Marie, and a pack-train of fourteen ponies to accompany +her over the divide. Nine of the animals were for riding purposes; the +other five were to pack the supplies,—three of them for the +outward trip, two for the incoming. In addition to the rice which they +took along, they were instructed to forage as much as possible.</p> +<p>On December 9, the party started out on their perilous undertaking. +A point far up on the mountain slope, near a refreshing mineral spring, +having been reached on December 17, the party halted and established a +sub-base for their return trip. It was evident to them that they had +struck the wrong <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb160" href="#pb160" +name="pb160">160</a>]</span>trail and were going to be compelled to +send Marie back through a different gorge from the one by which she and +her associates had come over a few months before.</p> +<p>Here the party divided into two relays—one to accompany Marie +close to the top of the mountains, the other to remain where it was +until her guides returned. At this temporary base three Filipinos and +two pack-horses were left. The Filipinos thus left behind were +instructed to hunt and trap all they could till their comrades +returned.</p> +<p>The on-going squad, consisting of Marie and five native soldiers, +took with them their six riding ponies and three of the pack-horses. +They departed from their comrades early in the morning, December 18. By +night of the second day they had gotten so near the crest they could +plainly discern that in one long march Marie could cross the divide and +get a safe distance down the slope on the opposite side. Coming to an +old stone church they dismounted and established themselves for the +night. It was December <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb161" href= +"#pb161" name="pb161">161</a>]</span>19,—the anniversary of +Lawton’s death. Marie remarked about it.</p> +<p>This old church had partly fallen down. Vines and mosses had so +interlaced themselves in climbing over its rocky walls and across its +openings that they had to be cut away by the unwelcome intruders before +they could gain an entrance. The stone cross on the front gable was +still in place; but the old mahogany door had long since been torn from +its hinges by the mountain storms, and it lay in a state of decay on +the ground. An earthquake had destroyed part of the roof, and had +caused the west wall to become inclined and to crumble.</p> +<p>Within, one end of the old altar was still found to be intact. The +priest’s pulpit chair had become ivy-mantled, and one handle had +rotted from its fastenings and had fallen to the floor. Statues of the +Saints had pitched from their moorings in the alcoves along the walls +and were lying face-downward or standing on their heads amid the debris +below. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb162" href="#pb162" name= +"pb162">162</a>]</span></p> +<p>What hands had built this old church, none could tell. It seemed +certain that no human being had entered it for over a century. The +mountain tribes who had lifted into place the huge chalk stones that +composed its massive walls, under the devout leadership of some pious +monk, for a place of worship, had long since perished from the earth. +The mountain game which rendered possible their habitation in this +altitude had vanished. Everything and everybody had evidently given way +before some fierce invasion of one of their southern tribes.</p> +<p>Marie was busy cleaning off the trash from the massive rock that lay +at the entrance to the door-way. “1765,” said she; +“come, see the date chiseled in the rock! I wonder what has +become of the tribe that built it?”</p> +<p>A soldier who had made his entrance by one of the window openings, +was busily engaged in prying up a huge flat stone just back of the +altar. He had it loosened; he called for help to remove it. When the +stone <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb163" href="#pb163" name= +"pb163">163</a>]</span>had been overturned and had fallen back onto its +aged neighbors, some soft damp earth beneath it was slowly scraped +away.</p> +<p>“Listen!” said the native who on bended knees was doing +the sacrilegious work, “Did you hear that grating +noise?”</p> +<p>He scraped again with his bolo turned edgewise, and gripping the +back of it firmly with both hands. “Do you hear it?” said +he. “It’s here!”</p> +<p>In a few minutes a metallic box was pried out of the earth wherein +it had lain unmolested for many years.</p> +<p>“Can you read the inscription on it?” asked Marie.</p> +<p>Carefully the sediment and rust shales were removed. The grooves in +the letters and figures of the inscription were carefully cleaned out +with a knife. It read</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="first xd20e144">FATHER<br> +JUADANEZ<br> +1768.</p> +</div> +<p>“The old father has been dead a long <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb164" href="#pb164" name= +"pb164">164</a>]</span>time,” said the fellow who was doing the +details of the work.</p> +<p>“I wonder,” said Marie, “if we really ought to +disturb his bones.”</p> +<p>“Do you suppose they put any valuables in the little chest +when they sealed it up?” asked another.</p> +<p>“It has always been customary to put in the sacred urn,” +said Marie.</p> +<p>“Cut it open!” commanded a corporal.</p> +<p>“I can’t,” said the robber; “we’ll +have to build a fire and melt it open.”</p> +<p>This they did; and in it they found the dust of his bones and a +number of valuables including the Patricia’s gold-lined cup which +Marie took and hung on her belt.</p> +<p>That night a terrible storm swept over the mountains. Marie and her +companions crept into the old church for refuge. The ponies had been +given some rice and then set free to forage as best they could. They +were stampeded by the violence of the wind and rain.</p> +<p>The morning broke cool and clear. <span class="pagenum">[<a id= +"pb165" href="#pb165" name="pb165">165</a>]</span>Everybody was astir +at day-break. The ponies were gone, but plenty of rice remained. Marie +soon saw a way out of the difficulty. She left three of her men at the +old church to await the return of the two who were to accompany her +until she reached some plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of +the mountains.</p> +<p>The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such a +supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only three miles +farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost +perpendicular and seeming to form pillars for the sky, were so close +together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used +the ponies for travel, even though they had not retreated in the +storm.</p> +<p>Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had +reached the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be the north +fork of the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had +previously followed. The beautiful valleys below <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb166" href="#pb166" name="pb166">166</a>]</span>them +were plainly visible as the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A +small native village could be seen on the bank of the stream a few +miles ahead. The party bivouacked for the night.</p> +<p>Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was +off on her important mission.</p> +<p>Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after +another night’s rest, the five undertook their return journey to +the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they +reached this camp they found their ponies all returned to it; and their +comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the +Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. The entire party, except +Marie, got back to Aguinaldo’s camp at Palanan, on Christmas +Day.</p> +<p>Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her +spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing help from the +natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a few +months. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb167" href="#pb167" name= +"pb167">167</a>]</span></p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="ch13" class="div1"><span class="pagenum">[<a href= +"#toc">Contents</a>]</span> +<div class="divHead"> +<h2 class="label">Chapter XIII.</h2> +<h2 class="main">Compensation</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb169" href="#pb169" name= +"pb169">169</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div class="divBody"> +<p class="first">On the evening of December 24, 1900,—one of +those dark nights in the Philippines when the air seems so dense that +you can almost take hold of it with your hands—when the heavy +clouds blanket the earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem to +shake the earth in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their +melody—when the lightening bugs flutter from twig to twig, +revealing their lanterned wings—when the human heart beats with a +conscious thump in anticipation of something awful—when those who +are out alone whistle to give themselves courage—when the zigzag +openings rent through the clouds by the vicious lightning flashes +almost reveal Eternity;—Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which +we all celebrate and shall continue to celebrate till the end of time, +to commemorate the birth of our Christ,—a sharp-eyed, dare-devil +<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb170" href="#pb170" name= +"pb170">170</a>]</span>Filipino crept slowly out of the city of Ilagan +along a foot-path toward the Americans’ camp about a mile north +of that city.</p> +<p>When so near to the Americans that their out-posts were plainly +visible during the flashes of lightning, the Filipino spy crept into a +bamboo thicket not over fifty feet from an American sentry. After lying +there for a half hour, waiting for the storm to come, the native grew a +trifle bolder and arose to his knees. That moment the sharp eyes of the +sentry caught him.</p> +<p>“Corporal of the Guard!” called the sentry in a loud +voice.</p> +<p>The corporal, being suspicious that something unusual was taking +place, in responding to the call took with him two armed privates.</p> +<p>Approaching the sentry, with light steps and in a crouching +attitude, the corporal said in a heavy whisper, “What’s the +matter, Jack?”</p> +<p>The sentry was standing with gun in hand, loaded, cocked, and with +bayonet fixed. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb171" href="#pb171" name= +"pb171">171</a>]</span>Keeping his eye centered on the exact spot where +he had last seen the slowly gravitating figure before him, the guard +said in an undertone that denoted grave alarm, “Do you see that +thicket just to the left of that big mango tree?”</p> +<p>“Yes;” said the corporal in a whisper, +“What’s the trouble?”</p> +<p>“There’s a man in there,” said the sentry. +“I saw him quite plainly at first—and I think he’s +got a gun in his hand. You better watch out, boys. He’s still +there.”</p> +<p>The corporal and the two privates fixed the bayonets on their +Krag-Jorgensons, filled the magazines, slipped a shell into the barrel +of each rifle, cocked them, crouched close to the ground, some ten feet +apart, and began to move forward, a step at a time, between the flashes +of lightening. Each time it would flash, they would peer into the +thicket. Each step brought them nearer.</p> +<p>“There he lies!,” said one of the privates in a quick +out-spoken voice.</p> +<p>“Amigo,” (a friend) said the stretched-out <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb172" href="#pb172" name= +"pb172">172</a>]</span>form, as three guns were raised in unison with +the anxious muzzles pointing directly at him.</p> +<p>“Este no quere combate” (you don’t desire to +fight), said the corporal, in crude Spanish.</p> +<p>“Mucho amigo” (very friendly), came the reply.</p> +<p>“Vamose aque!” (come here), commanded the corporal.</p> +<p>With his eyes fixed in theirs, the Filipino raised himself slowly up +and came toward the three Americans who stood but twelve feet away.</p> +<p>“Take him by the arms,” said the corporal to the two +privates who were with him, “while I look behind that rice-dyke +to see if he had a gun.”</p> +<p>“Here’s what the rascal was up to,” said the +corporal, holding a Mauser above his head. “Good thing you saw +him when you did, Jack.”</p> +<p>The storm was coming nearer; the first gust of wind had just struck +them. It blew <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb173" href="#pb173" name= +"pb173">173</a>]</span>back the Filipino’s little checkered +frock. The corporal saw a glitter.</p> +<p>“Watch out! boys, he’s got a machete under his +coat,” said the corporal.</p> +<p>He was searched for more weapons and then marched inside the +American lines and taken directly to headquarters. A drum-head court +was convened at once and the prisoner led in.</p> +<p>With hands clinched, muscles taut, eyes piercing at the court, he +listened to the reading of the charge:</p> +<p>“Caught acting as a spy for the enemy in violation of the +Articles of War; armed, with intent to take the life of an American +sentry on guard!”</p> +<p>After the testimony had been taken, the prisoner was given a chance +to speak, but he absolutely refused to do so, even though addressed in +several different languages and dialects.</p> +<p>“He spoke Spanish to us as we captured him,” interjected +the corporal. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb174" href="#pb174" name= +"pb174">174</a>]</span></p> +<p>“GUILTY!”</p> +<p>said the lieutenant-colonel who was presiding, in a firm military +tone. “The court fixes the penalty at death, and sentences the +prisoner to be shot at sun-rise.”</p> +<p>“Remove him, Sergeant, and detail a firing squad to execute +the order of the court!”</p> +<p>As the prisoner was led away, the lieutenant-colonel dropped his +chin in the palms of his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees, +and muttered in a semi-regretful way: “I hate to do it; but in +the past we have always been so chicken-hearted about punishing these +blood-thirsty natives that they have now come to regard our kindness as +cowardice. I can’t help but feel that it will bring the war to a +close quicker if we deal with them hereafter with a good firm +hand.”</p> +<p>“I wonder what province the young fellow came from,” +said a major who was sitting near.</p> +<p>“I really don’t know,” replied the +lieutenant-colonel: “his face shows him to be a <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb175" href="#pb175" name= +"pb175">175</a>]</span>Tagalo. Certain it is that he didn’t come +from Isabella province in which we are now campaigning. I +wouldn’t be surprised if Aguinaldo were near here and if he had +sent this young dare-devil to cut down our sentry, so as to make an +attack upon us tonight during the storm.”</p> +<p>Toward morning the storm subsided. At day-break a comparatively +shallow grave was hastily dug near the edge of a little bamboo thicket +on a slightly elevated piece of ground. As the flickering rays of the +tropical sun began to shoot above the pale, ashen-gray hue of the +eastern horizon, the prisoner was led to the foot of his prospective +tomb. The firing squad took its place in line.</p> +<p>The guns had been carefully loaded in advance for their deadly work; +all but one contained blank cartridges. As usual, after loading, the +guns were intermixed, so that no man might know which one contained the +deadly bullet.</p> +<p>“Ready!” commanded the sergeant who <span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb176" href="#pb176" name="pb176">176</a>]</span>had +charge of the squad,—the corporal having taken his usual place in +line with his men.</p> +<p>“Click,” went the hammers of the rifles in unison, as +they were brought to a full cock.</p> +<p>“Aim!” came the next command in a firmer tone. The +soldiers brought their rifles to their shoulders. Every barrel was +pointed at the chest of the prisoner, who now for the first time, began +to tremble and turn a sickly yellow.</p> +<p>“Fire!” commanded the sergeant.</p> +<p>“Bang!” went the united roar of the guns; and as the +light powder smoke cleared away and the echoes reverberated through the +woods of northern Luzon, the firing squad stepped forward to view their +heroic dead.</p> +<p>A private jumped into the grave and turned the corpse over onto its +back.</p> +<p>That night Frank W. Pugh, of the regular army, a member of this +unfortunate firing squad, who died later at Fort Worth, Texas, of fever +contracted in the Philippines, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb177" +href="#pb177" name="pb177">177</a>]</span>sitting in his little +dog-tent, meditating, wrote in his diary, which is now preserved in the +archives at Washington with other relics of the war, the following +appropriate poem:</p> +<div class="lgouter"> +<h4>A CHRISTMAS COURT-MARTIAL</h4> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">“The night was dark and threatening rain,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">No stars were in the sky;</p> +<p class="line">We caught him hiding in the pines—</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">A Filipino spy.</p> +<p class="line">A slender youth with coal black eyes,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Brim full of frightened tears;</p> +<p class="line">We turned him over to the guard,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">I fear with callous jeers.</p> +</div> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">Next morning it was Christmas day,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">The sun was shining hot,</p> +<p class="line">A drum-head court had said, “The spy,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Is sentenced to be shot.”</p> +<p class="line">Erect before the officers,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">He still disdained to speak,</p> +<p class="line">Although a single crystal drop,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Empearled his olive cheek.</p> +</div> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">Upon a long and hurried march,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">In light array, you see,<span class= +"pagenum">[<a id="pb178" href="#pb178" name="pb178">178</a>]</span></p> +<p class="line">We could not take the boy along,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">So stood him near a tree;</p> +<p class="line">Told off the little firing squad,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">And ordered it in line.</p> +<p class="line">One gun was loaded in the lot—</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">I hope it was not mine.</p> +</div> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">Birds in the branches overhead</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Sang softly in the heat.</p> +<p class="line">The grave, a trench of steaming sand,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Gaped yellow at his feet;</p> +<p class="line">He faced us with a dauntless air,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">Although his lips were white;—</p> +<p class="line">Our grim old Sergeant turned away,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">He could not stand the sight.</p> +</div> +<div class="lg"> +<p class="line">A flash, a roar, a cloud of smoke,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">And headlong to the ground</p> +<p class="line">He fell face downward in the grave,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">And died without a sound.</p> +<p class="line">We turned him over on his back,</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">And DEATH the TRUTH confessed,</p> +<p class="line">For through his open jacket peeped</p> +<p class="line xd20e191">A Woman’s tender breast.”</p> +</div> +</div> +<p class="first">Marie Sampalit had earned her doom. After her grave +had been filled, the soldier boys placed at its head a cartridge-box +lid on which they inscribed the pitiful word,</p> +<p class="xd20e144">“UNKNOWN.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="back"> +<div class="transcribernote"> +<h2 class="main">Colophon</h2> +<h3 class="main">Availability</h3> +<p class="first">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no +cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. 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These +links may not work for you.</p> +<h3 class="main">Corrections</h3> +<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p> +<table width="75%" summary= +"Overview of corrections applied to the text."> +<tr> +<th>Page</th> +<th>Source</th> +<th>Correction</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20" valign="top"><a class="pageref" href= +"#xd20e553">31</a></td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">agin</td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">again</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20" valign="top"><a class="pageref" href= +"#xd20e740">63</a></td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">Maries</td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">Marie’s</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20" valign="top"><a class="pageref" href= +"#xd20e943">88</a></td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">Magundi eropo</td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">Magandang umaga</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20" valign="top"><a class="pageref" href= +"#xd20e959">90</a></td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">Leguna</td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">Laguna</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="width20" valign="top"><a class="pageref" href= +"#xd20e1135">111</a></td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">rivited</td> +<td class="width40" valign="bottom">riveted</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman with a Stone Heart, by +Oscar William Coursey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + +***** This file should be named 24705-h.htm or 24705-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/0/24705/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project and the Internet Archive.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman with a Stone Heart + A Romance of the Philippine War + +Author: Oscar William Coursey + +Illustrator: W. K. Leigh + +Release Date: March 3, 2011 [EBook #24705] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project and the Internet Archive.) + + + + + + + + The Woman with a Stone Heart + + A Romance of the Philippine War. + + By + + O. W. Coursey, (U. S. Vols.) + + Author of + + "History and Geography of the Philippine Islands." + "Who's Who In South Dakota." + "Biography of General Beadle." + "School Law Digest." + + + + + All of these books are published and for sale by + THE EDUCATOR SUPPLY COMPANY + Mitchell, South Dakota + + + + + + + + + Copyrighted 1914 + + By O. W. Coursey + + + + + + + +THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART + + +INTRODUCTION + + +To those whose love of adventure would cause them to plunge head-long +into an abyss of vain glory, hoping at life's sunset to reap a +harvest contrary to the seed that were sown, let me suggest that +you pause first to read the story of "The Woman With a Stone Heart," +Marie Sampalit, dare-devil of the Philippines. + +Perhaps we might profitably meditate for a few moments on the musings +of Whittier: + + + "The tissue of the life to be + We weave in colors all our own, + And in the field of destiny + We'll reap as we have sown." + + --The Author. + + + + + +DEDICATION + + +To Her, who, as a bride of only eighteen months, stood broken-hearted +on the depot platform and bade me a tearful farewell as our train of +soldier boys started to war; who later, while I was Ten Thousand miles +away from home on soldier duty in the Philippine Islands, became a +Mother; and who, unfortunately, three months thereafter, was called +upon to lay our first-born, Oliver D. Coursey, into his snow-lined +baby tomb amid the bleak silence of a cold winter's night, with no +strong arm to bear her up in those awful hours of anguish and despair, + + +My Soldier Wife, Julia, + +this book is most affectionately dedicated. + + + "Only a baby's grave, + Yet often we go and sit + By the little stone, + And thank God to own, + We are nearer heaven for it." + + --O. W. Coursey. + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Page + + Marie Sampalit 10 + Region Around Manila Bay 29 + Admiral Dewey 39 + Aguinaldo 61 + Marie, Her Mother, etc. 82 + Filipinos at Breakfast 100 + End of the Boat-Battle 113 + The Rescue 126 + Floating Down The Rapids 129 + General Lawton and Staff 139 + + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + + Chapters: Page + + I. Love Defeated 9 + II. First Shot of A New War 25 + III. Avenged Her Lover's Death 41 + IV. The Interval 57 + V. Filipino Uprising 69 + VI. As A Spy 81 + VII. Off For Baler 93 + VIII. The Gilmore Incident 105 + IX. The American Prisoners 113 + X. Death of General Lawton 131 + XI. North-bound 141 + XII. Crossing the Sierra Madres 153 + XIII. Compensation 167 + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +LOVE DEFEATED + + +Marie Sampalit and her fiancee, Rolando Dimiguez, were walking +arm-in-arm along the sandy beach of Manila bay, just opposite old +Fort Malate, talking of their wedding day which had been postponed +because of the Filipino insurrection which was in progress. + +The tide was out. A long waved line of sea-shells and drift-wood +marked the place to which it had risen the last time before it began +to recede. They were unconsciously following this line of ocean +debris. Occasionally Marie would stop to pick up a spotted shell +which was more pretty than the rest. Finally, when they had gotten +as far north as the semi-circular drive-way which extends around +the southern and eastern sides of the walled-city, or Old Manila, +as it is called, and had begun to veer toward it, Marie looked back +and repeated a beautiful memory gem taught to her by a good friar +when she was a pupil in one of the parochial schools of Manila: + + + "E'en as the rise of the tide is told, + By drift-wood on the beach, + So can our pen mark on the page + How high our thoughts can reach." + + +They turned directly east until they reached the low stone-wall that +prevents Manila bay from overflowing the city during the periods +of high tides. Dimiguez helped Marie to step upon it; then they +strolled eastward past the large stake which marked the place where +the Spaniards had shot Dr. Jose Rizal, the brainiest patriot ever +produced by the Malay race. + +When they came to the spot, Marie stopped and told Dimiguez how she +had watched the shooting when it took place, and how bravely Rizal +had met his fate. + +"If it hadn't been for this outrage committed by the Spaniards," +remarked Dimiguez, "this insurrection would not have lasted these two +years, and we would have been married before now; but our people are +determined to seek revenge for his death." + +Then they started on, changed their course to the northward, entered +the walled-city by the south gate, walked past the old Spanish arsenal, +and then passed out of the walled-city by the north gate. Here they +crossed the Pasig river on the old "Bridge of Spain" (the large +stone bridge near the mouth of the river, built over 300 years ago) +and entered the Escolta, the main business street of Manila. After +making their way slowly up the Escolta they meandered along San Miguel +street until they finally turned and walked a short distance down a +side street to a typical native shack, built of bamboo and thatched +with Nipa palms, happily tucked away beneath the overhanging limbs +of a large mango tree in a spacious yard,--the home of the Sampalits. + +Here Marie had been born just seventeen years before; in fact the next +day, April 7, would be her seventeenth birthday. When she was born, +her father instituted one of the accustomed Filipino dances which last +from three to five days and nights, and at its conclusion she had been +christened "Maria," subsequently changed by force of habit to "Marie." + +Late that evening, while they were seated side-by-side on a bamboo +bench beside of her home, tapping the toes of their wooden-soled +slippers on the hard ground, and indulging in a wandering lovers' +conversation, Marie said to him (calling him affectionately by his +first name), "Rolando, when did you first decide to postpone our +wedding day?" + +"Well, I'll tell you how it was," answered he, meditatingly. "The +thought of serving my country had been lingering on my mind all +last summer--in fact, ever since the insurrection first broke out in +the spring of 1896. You know I intended coming down to see you last +Christmas, but I couldn't get away. That night I walked the floor +all night in our home at Malolos, debating in my mind whether we +had better get married in March, as we had planned, or if it would +not be wiser and more manly for me to go to war, take chances on +getting back alive and postpone our wedding day until after the war +is over. Toward morning, I decided that it was my duty to become a +soldier; so I called my father and mother, got an early breakfast, +bade them goodby and started for Malabon, which was Aguinaldo's +headquarters, and enlisted. He was glad to see me. You know, he and +I attended school together for one year at Hongkong. Well, Aguinaldo +at once commissioned me a spy and assigned me to very important duty." + +"My God!" interrupted Marie, "you are not on that duty now, are you, +Rolando?" + +Dimiguez arose. "Marie," said he firmly, "I must be off." + +"But won't you tell me where you are going and what task lies before +you?" pleaded Marie, as she threw both arms about his neck and began to +sob, "I'll never tell a living soul, so help me God, but I must know!" + +"A spy never tells his plans to anyone, Marie," said Dimiguez +slowly. "He takes his orders from his chief, plays his part; and +if he gets caught, he refuses to speak and dies without a murmur, +like a man. Good night, Marie, I must be off; duty lies before me." + +Marie cried herself to sleep. + +The next morning she started down town, as usual, for the market place, +with her bamboo basket filled with bananas, sitting on her head, +and a cigarette in her mouth. She had only gone a block when she met +a neighbor girl, one of her chums of equal years to her own, who was +a chamber-maid in the German consul's home on San Miguel Street. + +Her friend looked excited. "Have you heard the awful news, Marie?" said +she. + +"No!" exclaimed Marie, "What is it?" + +"Why, Dimiguez was caught last night by Spanish guards inside the +yard of the governor-general's summer palace up on the Malacanan, +just as he was slipping out of the palace itself. How he got in there, +nobody knows." + +Marie dropped her basket. "Heavens!" gasped she, "Did he do anything +wrong?" + +"They found in his pocket diagrams of the interior of the palace, +showing the entries to it, the room where the governor-general sleeps, +and many other things; also your picture. See here! the morning paper +gives a full account of it." + +Marie glanced at the head lines and then started on a vigorous run for +the building in which the Spanish military court was sitting. Rushing +in, past an armed guard, she began to plead for her lover's life. But +he had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to death by +strangulation in the old chute at Cavite. Dimiguez never moved a +muscle when he saw Marie. Armed guards forced her abruptly out of +the building and ordered her to leave. + +Inside of two hours, on the same day, April 7, the anniversary of +Marie's birth, he was taken to the little town of Cavite, seven miles +southwest of Manila, and was there placed in the lower end of a long +chute built out into Manila Bay. This chute was just wide enough for +a man to enter. Its sides, top and bottom were all built of heavy +planks. The side planks lacked a few inches of connecting with the +top, although of course the side posts ran clear up and the top was +firmly bolted to them. The entrance to it was well elevated near the +docks. The lower end protruded into the bay, so that it was visible +about eighteen inches above the water during the period of low tide, +and submerged several feet during high tide. + +Tides come in slowly at Cavite, each succeeding wave rising but a +trifle higher than the others, until the usual height is reached. Thus, +a prisoner placed in this chute, forced to the lower end and then +fastened securely during low tide, can look out over the side planks +at the hideous spectators, watch the tide as it begins to rise and +see slow death approaching. It was in this chute that Marie's lover +met his death. + +Marie saw the launch that carried him away as it left Manila. She +rushed down to the Pasig river, loosened her little boat from the +tree to which it was tied, jumped in, seized the oars and started in +pursuit. The launch on which he was being carried had for its power +a gasoline engine, and, of course, it soon left her far behind. When +she first started, the swells caused by the launch rocked her little +canoe quite roughly and impeded her progress. As she approached the +mouth of the river, passed the monument of Magellan and came between +the walled-city on the southern bank and the docks on the northern +bank, a crowd of excited natives thronged the shore, and many of them +recognized her. She heard some one cry out, "Vive Marie!" With might +and main she strove forward. + +The launch made its seven-mile run to Cavite; the victim was placed +in the chute; the tide had risen to the danger line; her lover, +with his head thrown back, had just begun to gurgle the salt water, +when Marie, in frantic agony, almost exhausted, rowed around the +lower end of the chute and came near enough to the dying hero to +be recognized by him. Straining ever muscle to keep his head above +the water a second longer, he cried out in chocking tones that were +interrupted by the merciless sea which was rapidly filling his mouth, +"Goodby, Marie, God bless you. Avenge my death!" + +Hush! At this moment another tidal wave engulfed the apex of the +chute. Not a sound could be heard save the slight flapping of the +waves against the pier, and the dismal chant of three priests, who +stood on the shore near by, and who had not been permitted to attend +the young spy before his death. Marie trembled; she dropped the oars; +her eyes fell; for a moment it seemed that her young heart stood still: +then her face flushed; the tears stopped flowing; anguish gave vent +to determined revenge; pent-up sorrows yielded to out-spoken threats; +and in tones sufficiently audible to be heard ashore, she cried, +"I'll do it." + +The Spaniard knows no pity. If Marie were to have stepped ashore +immediately after her lover's strangulation, she might have come +to grief. It is strange that she escaped punishment for having +followed. She, therefore, rowed directly east and landed on the beach +of the bay, about four miles south of Manila, just west of the little +city of Paranaque. + +From sheer exhaustion, she needed food; therefore, she walked northward +along the shore until she found a Mango tree heavily laden with +fruit. After eating a few luscious mangoes, she crept into a clump +of bamboo and had a good cry: tears so ease a woman's soul. + +From her position on the beach she could readily see the Spaniards +as they took her dead lover from the chute when the tide had lowered +toward evening. She saw them even strike his corpse, and she bit her +finger nails as she watched them place him in a rough wooden box and +haul him up through the streets of the village on an old two-wheeled +cart drawn by a caribou. + +With the approach of sunset, things grew strangely quiet. The spring +zephyr that had blown modestly during the day died away. There was no +longer even a dimple in the blue surface of Manila Bay. Not a leaf was +astir. It seemed to Marie that the only sound she could hear was the +the throbbing of her own heart. To her the whole world seemed like an +open sepulcher. Looking down she discovered that she was unconsciously +sitting on a flowery terrace and that all about her was life. She +pulled one of those exquisite white flowers with wide pink veins, +peculiar alone to the Philippines, and pressed it to her lips. + +The sun was just setting beyond Corregidor. The island's long shadows +seemed to extend completely across the bay to her feet. As the solar +fires burned themselves out, the orange tint which they left behind +against the reddened sky reminded Marie of the night before, when +she and her lover had strolled along the shore of the bay about three +miles farther north; and as the sun slowly nodded its evening farewell +and buried its face in the pillow of night, she remembered how he, on +the previous night, had called to her attention the lingering glow of +its fading beams. Before her lay the Spanish fleet, it, too, casting +shadows that first grew longer and longer and then dimmer and dimmer +until they in turn had died away in the spectral phenomenon of night. + +Marie's thoughts turned toward home. What about her mother? She walked +back to her little boat, pushed it out into the bay, and, stepping +into it, sat down, took hold of the oars and started northward near +the beach. Just opposite Fort Malate, she swung westward, and, passing +outside of the break-water a mile from shore, she entered the Pasig +river and hurried homeward. When she arrived, about nine o'clock, +she found her mother on the verge of prostration; for that very day, +strange to say, Marie's father, who was a colonel in the Filipino +infantry, had been killed at San Francisco del Monte, six miles +north-east of Manila, in a battle with Spanish troops. + +"Don't cry, mother," expostulated Marie, "from now on I intend to +kill every foe of ours in these islands!" + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +FIRST SHOT OF A NEW WAR + + +Three weeks passed by. Marie had gone down town late in April to +do some shopping. While she was standing in the door of the old +postoffice on the Escolta, she heard the shrill voice of a Filipino +lad piping out: "Papers! Papers! All about the war with the United +States. Dewey's comin'!" He had a bundle of newspapers under his right +arm and was waving one in his left hand. Everybody rushed out of the +bazaars and offices along the Escolta where they were transacting +their business, and each one who could get near enough to the boy, +eagerly bought a morning paper. + +The lad's papers were all gone but one. Marie Sampalit snatched it from +his hands, and dropped into one of them a small coin. She stepped into +the corridor of the post office, to escape the annoyance of the crowd, +and read the large head lines: + + + "WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN + + dewey en route to manila great naval + battle friday or saturday in manila bay + + The Stone Wall Around the City will be + Razed to the Ground. Great Loss of Life." + + +"Then, I'm off for Corregidor Island right away!" exclaimed +Marie. "Dewey can't get into the Bay except by that route. That's +where the fight will begin. Mother doesn't know this. I'll tell her +I am going to take some supplies to the Spanish garrison. I will go +at once!" + +She set out from Manila in a small casco, or flat-bottomed native boat, +heavily laden with fresh fish, pine-apples, mangoes, bananas, tobacco +and cigarettes--all intended for the Spanish garrison on Corregidor +Island. Manila is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. From +there to the island it is nearly thirty miles. Her little boat was +driven forward on its journey by an easterly wind that gently swelled +the tiny sails. + +She reached the island at five o'clock that afternoon and was given +a royal welcome by the Spanish soldiers. Marie gave them the morning +paper containing the news of Dewey's prospective arrival. She asked +permission to take part in the fight. + +Marie was a favorite with the Spanish garrison. Her genial disposition, +added to her almost inconceivable daring, had won for her the +friendship and admiration of all. The gunners had playfully taught +her all about loading, firing and swabbing their cannon. She had also +learned the art of good marksmanship, so that at a target practice +she was an adept. + +Impatiently she awaited the arrival of the American fleet. She heard +the Spaniards discuss among themselves the cowardice of the American +soldiers, and saw them wager the Dewey would not come to Manila at all +but that he would sail down around the Malay Peninsula and hasten home +by way of Good Hope to save his vessels from certain destruction. All +this sounded plausible to her and she grew restless and enthusiastic +as the dull hours dragged away. + +Dewey was so long in coming from Hongkong and the garrison on the +island had been kept at their guns ready for action for so many hours +without rest that many of them were completely tired out by the last +day of April, and asked for relief. It was hard to give it. Marie's +opportunity had come. Her ability as an expert rifle shot was known +alike to officers and enlisted men. She offered to serve. The Spanish +commandant could not well refuse. He needed her services; besides, +the Spaniards were just then doing all within their power to win the +temporary friendship of the natives. Consequently, he promised to +assign her to duty for the night. + +The sunset, as viewed from Corregidor Island on the evening of +April 30, was most glorious. Not a cloud was in the sky; a dead calm +prevailed, so that the sea was unusually smooth. As the sun sank to +rest behind the shimmering horizon it caused the island to cast a +long shadow over Manila bay as far as the eye could reach, but this +soon disappeared. + +When the sun had sunk from view, Marie noticed that a comparatively +new moon was visible in the sky, and she remarked to the Sergeant +of the Guard, "It will not be very dark to-night. We can see the +Americanos a long way off." + +"Yes," replied the Sergeant, "the only difficulty with the cowards is +that they will not come near enough to be seen at all. They have had +plenty of time to run from Hongkong to Manila and back again; still +they have not been seen or heard of. I'll bet you a peso (Spanish +dollar) that they have gone home and that all of this excitement has +been for nothing. Dewey is getting old, Marie; he doesn't want to go +to a watery grave so far from home. If he were young and ambitious, +it would be different. Old men do not care much about real fighting, +especially on the sea. It is different with old generals commanding +land forces. They can sit away back in the rear of the battle-field, +receive messages that come to them; plan certain movements based upon +these reports; and while they do have considerable responsibility, +still they are not in the actual fight. As for Dewey, nobody has +ever heard of him. He is not a recognized naval commander. Besides, +the old fellow, according to reports, is slow and easy going. If he +should come to make us an unfriendly call tonight, mark my word, Marie, +there will not be a sliver of his entire fleet left floating above the +water yonder inside of thirty minutes after the first shot is fired." + +He had scarcely concluded speaking when the Officer of the Guard, +Lieutenant Orlando, called out, "Sergeant of the Guard! Fall in the +First Relief!" The Sergeant threw his arm over Marie's shoulder in an +affectionate manner, smacked a hurried caress against her olive cheek, +jumped up from the little bamboo bench on which they were sitting, +rushed up to the guard house and cried out, "First Relief! Fall in!" + +Marie hastened after him. As the relief was forming in line, she seized +a Mauser rifle that stood leaning against a huge rock, grabbed up a +cartridge belt well filled with Mauser ammunition that was lying on +the ground near by, hastily adjusted it to fit her waist measure, +buckled it on and fell into the rear rank. + +"Count fours!" ordered the Sergeant. As is usual in military affairs, +the front and rear rank men count in unison; that is, number one in +the front rank and number one in the rear rank both count "one" at the +same time; second file counts "two," etc. When it came to Marie she +piped out simultaneously with the corporal who stood in front of her, +"quatro." (four). + +As the guard was marched along the stony pathways on Corregidor Island +and the various sentinels were relieved, Marie soon saw that there was +not going to be a place for her. She tip-toed up to the corporal who +was posting the relief and asked him where he was going to station her. + +"Never mind," said the corporal, "we have a place for you." And sure +enough, they had. + +Every soldier or civilian who has ever been on this island will readily +recall the rough, hard-beaten, winding path that led from the summit of +the hill, in a south-westerly direction, down over precipices, around +clumps of bamboo, to a beautiful fresh water spring which bubbled +out of the coral rocks at a point just high enough to prevent it from +being inundated or even infiltrated during the season of high tides. + +A few feet from this spring and elevated but slightly above it, is a +massive, flat rock. Along the north and west sides of this rock is a +vertical stone precipice some eight feet high, which from its upper +edge inclines back gradually at an angle of about twenty degrees +above a horizontal plane, toward the crest of the island. + +On this rock Spain firmly bolted one of her most modern cannon--a +good seven-inch gun. It was so situated on a revolving casement that +its shots could be made to sweep the whole Boca Grande channel, as +the large entrance south of the island is called. Marie had often +operated this gun. She had done splendid work with it on a floating +target two miles distant. Its deadly roar was her delight. Oh! if +she could but use it just once on an actual enemy instead of firing +it at an indicated one! + +When the old guard had been relieved and the sentries were marched +back to the guard-house to be dismissed, poor Marie, heavy hearted, +marched along. Just as they approached the guard-house, the sergeant +motioned to her to fall out and to come toward him. This she did. + +Into her ear he whispered the information that was to start her on her +eventful military career. "Marie," said he, "the officer of the Guard +informs me that we cannot use you in the infantry service tonight, +but that you will be needed with the artillery." + +"Good!" exclaimed Marie, "Where shall I serve?" + +"At the new gun on the large rock near the spring," answered the +Sergeant. + +"Thank heaven!" said Marie. "Dewey will surely come, and when I put +a solid shot through the 'Olympia' just below the water line--the +battle will be half over. Oh! I'm so anxious! May I go down there +tonight and take charge of the gun at once?" + +The Sergeant told her to report to the headquarters of the artillery +department where she would receive instructions. + +At last she found herself on actual duty. How her young heart throbbed +as her black eyes peered forth into the darkness. Toward midnight, +small clouds began to drift oceanward. For a few moments at a time +they would obscure the quartered cheek of the young moon. Oh! if +Dewey would but come. The hopes of a life-time were poised on that +painful "if." Before her was the dream of glory; behind her, the +dreary forgetfulness of the past. Hour after hour whiled away. The +tiny lights in the natives' shacks along the opposite shore began to +go out and grow fewer and fewer until the closing day had died safely +away into the solemn night. As usual, "taps" were blown at ten o'clock +and things on the island grew very quiet. Days--yes, weeks--seemed +to crowd themselves into those long hours. Would he ever come? + +Presently she heard the sentry's shrill cry on the brow of the hill, +"Twelve o'clock! All's well!" The echo of his repeated call had +scarcely died away when Marie thought she saw something dark on the +water near the center of the channel, perhaps three miles away. She +whispered to a member of the artillery corps, who sat near her watching +the shadow of his pipe on the rock near the base of the cannon. They +both looked. Surely! it's Dewey! The artilleryman sent up a rocket as +a warning. Marie took hurried aim. "Boom!" went her cannon, and from +its mouth a seven-inch shot was hurled over the "Concord," between +its main and mizzen masts. It went a trifle high and did no harm. + +"Bang!" went one of the port batteries on the "Raleigh" and before +its flash was gone a shudder shot through every vein, every nerve +and every fiber of Marie's body. Such a crash she had never heard +before. "War is hell" to be sure. She sniffed the smoke from her own +gun, and looked around to see what had happened. The stone precipice +behind her was torn into fragments. A man's hand protruded from the +debris. "My God!" she murmured. Yes, there was the evidence. The +man who had sat by her side and who sent up the rocket, lay cold in +death. His head was torn off and his body was mangled among the pieces +of broken rock. The gunner on the "Raleigh" had done his work well; +and Marie's dream of American cowardice, of their poor marksmanship +and of her ability to sink Dewey's flag ship, were shattered in an +instant. She had fired the FIRST gun of the war, but not the LAST! + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AVENGED HER LOVER'S DEATH + + +After Dewey's fleet had passed the island and entered the bay, proper, +Marie crept up to the top of the cliff and awaited the results. As she +sat there shivering with fright, day began to dawn. Presently she heard +the Spanish batteries on Point Cavite fire a heavy shot--then a second +one; and a few minutes later she saw flames of fire and smoke belching +forth from the starboard sides of Dewey's entire squadron. Then the +Spanish fleet, lying off of Point Cavite, commenced a united and +simultaneous action. + +Shells rent the air; the men on both fleets cheered as they beheld +the effect on the enemy of a well-directed shot; smoke-begrimed +gunners, with the perspiration washing light-colored furrows down +their manly cheeks, stood at their guns and worked like demons as they +swabbed their cannon and crowded into them shot after shot. Hissing +projectiles that missed the opposing ships and plunged into the bay, +were throwing volumes of splashing foam into the air. Dewey's vessels +were moving in a figure eight and using alternately the several guns +on their port and on their starboard sides, while the Spanish ships +moved about promiscuously among each other in an awkward fashion, +over a small area, and fired only as an opportunity offered. + +"Thank God, I'm out of range of the demons," said Marie to a Spanish +officer who had come to her side. + +Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey's ships ceased firing +and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent damage had been +sustained by the vessels of either command. + +"The old fellow is going to quit," said Marie to the Spanish officer +who stood erect with his field glasses carefully trained on Dewey's +squadron. + +"They're coming this way, Marie," said the officer. + +"My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and open +fire on us again?" shouted Marie. "We haven't a mounted gun left to +shoot with." + +The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, "They've stopped and +are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going to resume +the fight." + +He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey's vessels were heading +straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on fire the +beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the "Reina Christina." Then her magazine +blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach near Cavite and deserted +amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was able to +leave. The dead and the dying were left to their fate. Magazines in +several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes most of them +were on fire. Dewey's gunners were doing deadly execution. Hundreds +of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from their burning vessels +into the ocean. + +"Now what is he going to do?" said Marie, with some excitement, as +she saw one of Dewey's ships, the "Concord," disengage herself from +the rest of the fleet and head straight for a large Spanish gun-boat +that was lying off to herself and whose sole business it seemed was +to keep up a deadly fire on Dewey's flagship, the "Olympia." The +Concord literally disembowled her. + +"The heartless wretches!" exclaimed Marie, as she watched another +American ship, the "Petrel," leave the line of battle and make a rapid +run right past the Spanish fleet for the village of Cavite. "I wonder +what the villains are up to now." In a few minutes the Petrel returned, +with six small vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying +at her mast head this signal, "Have destroyed eight vessels." + +Dewey's ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their +positions in line and remained quiet. + +"What time is it?" asked Marie of the Spanish officer who stood +near her. + +"Twelve-thirty," answered he, as he looked at his watch. + +Marie whiled away the afternoon watching the Spaniards on Corregidor +island burying their dead comrades. She wanted to go home, but she +feared to go past Dewey's fleet. + +That evening things became solemnly quiet; and the blazing sun, as its +face reddened into nightly slumber beyond the watery horizon of the +Pacific, bade farewell to a finished deed, which, in the history of +naval warfare, has never been surpassed; while the pale-faced moon, +moving slowly up her appointed path, looked calmly down with her +quartered cheek in silent benediction on the blazing hulls of the +Spanish ships as they slowly cremated their dead and dying. + +The next day the Spanish Commandante on Corregidor discovered that +Dewey had blockaded the port of Manila, so he restrained Marie from +starting home for nearly a week. + +Finally, she got permission to go. As she passed Dewey's fleet she +was surprised to find everything so peaceful and to see dozens of +native canoes hovering along the port-holes of his vessels, selling +fruit and curios to his men. + +Marie reached home in the early evening, and found her old mother +frantic because of her absence and the excitement that had taken place. + +During the next few weeks while Dewey was waiting for reinforcements +from home, many strange things occurred on shore. The Filipinos +captured or killed nearly all of the smaller Spanish garrisons +distributed throughout the islands. On May 26, they secretly cut +down the Spanish guards walking their beats along the western side of +the little town of Cavite, and let in a horde of Tagalos well armed +with bolos, who crept up near a large stone cathedral, built in 1643, +in which the Spaniards, as a military necessity after their defeat by +Dewey, were making their headquarters. These Filipinos made a mad rush +through the back door of the building and captured all the Spaniards +being quartered therein. This feat also gave them possession of another +lot of Mauser and Remington rifles and a goodly store of ammunition, +for which they had been yearning. + +Dewey had no men whom he could spare to send ashore; therefore, he had +left these surrendered Spaniards to take care of themselves. Evidently +he did not anticipate an attack upon the garrison at Cavite, or +he might have landed enough marines from his battleships to have +prevented it. + +When Marie heard about the capture of the Spanish garrison at Cavite +by the Filipinos, she at once rowed over there to see what was going +to be done with the prisoners. This was the first time she had been +at Cavite since the day of her lover's tragic death. She found the +Filipinos jubilant over their new fire-arms. But many of them had +never before used a gun and they were very awkward with them, so +that accidents were constantly occurring. The privileges of target +practice given to Marie by the Spaniards, in times past, now found a +new reward. She organized the Filipinos into squads for this training, +arranged suitable targets for them, supervised the loading and cleaning +of their guns, and by voluntary assent became the leader in a whole +lot of nefarious mischief in the neighborhood. + +But what about her lover's dying request and the vow she registered +in her aching soul as she left the scene of his death? By remaining +away from the graves of our loved ones we may check memory and +enthrone reason, thus more rapidly overcoming sorrow. By constantly +resorting to places of grief we keep that grief, whatever may have +been its cause, fresh on the tablets of our memories. The fact that +Marie had not returned to Cavite, the scene of her sorrow, for about +two months, helped her to forget it and to flirt with fate among the +very troops who had caused it. Now that she had returned to Cavite, +old visions began to haunt her. Shooting at wooden targets was not +desperate enough to appease her nature; she longed for bloodshed. + +Between herself and a few Filipino leaders she concocted a scheme +that would be hilarious, avenge the death of him whom she had +briefly mourned, as well as the deaths of Rizal and thousands of +other Filipinos who had been shot or strangled by the Spaniards, +and satisfy the longings of her innermost nature. It was this: a +pit twenty feet in diameter and ten feet deep was to be dug on the +higher ground a few miles southwest of Cavite. Each morning twenty +of the captured Spaniards were to be marched out to this pit and +made to slide down a bamboo pole into it. The Filipino soldiers, +armed with their newly-captured rifles, were then to stand around +the brink of this pit and use these half-starved Spaniards for living +targets. Marie gloated over her new enterprise. What sport! How she +enjoyed it! The Filipino's marksmanship was poor and many of their +unfortunate prisoners were shot over a dozen times before they were +stilled in death. This bloody practice was kept up until over two +hundred Spaniards had been slain. + +About this time rumors of what was being done reached the ears +of General Anderson. He ordered it stopped, and sent food ashore, +under American escorts, for the Spanish prisoners. These prisoners, +before being led to the slaughter, were housed by the Filipinos +in an unfinished portion of the old convent at Cavite, and in some +large stone buildings without floors and with only a few windows, +heavily barricaded with iron bars, formerly used by the natives for +storage purposes for various cargoes of raw materials, preparatory +to exportation. These buildings were dark, damp and infested with a +multiplicity of insectivora. + +The Spaniards, imprisoned therein, were fed by the Filipinos on a +very small ration of uncooked rice. This they had to pound into meal, +and eat it out of their hands. Water, although plentiful, was denied +them, except in small quantities. They had no beds, but slept on +the bare ground. Many of them were practically nude. They had staid +by their guns on the Spanish fleet until their ships began to sink; +then they had jumped overboard and swam ashore, taking off most of +their clothes before making the attempt. The Filipinos had little +clothing to give them and no disposition to share what they did have. + +These half-starved wretches, pale, lean and ghostly looking, many +of them sick with fever and other ailments, none of them with a +cent of money, were a sickening sight to the American troops whom +General Anderson sent ashore to investigate their circumstances +and conditions. Of course the healthier ones were marched out and +killed first. Some of them began to cry when the American officers, +pushing the Filipino sentries aside, poked their vigorous manly faces +through the openings of the massive doors to see who and what was on +the inside; but most of them propped themselves up on one elbow and +held out the other hand for something to eat. Others indicated by +motions that they wanted paper and pencils, so as to write letters +home, telling their loved ones in far-off Spain that they were still +alive, and asking for money. + +As the Americans began to empty their haversacks and hand hard-tack +and Boston baked beans to them, some of the prisoners seized them by +the fingers and kissed the backs of their hands in grateful homage +for their kindness. A few of the more ignorant ones, who had heard so +much about the cruelty of the American soldiers, and who, upon sight +of our officers, believing the end was near, had sought a kneeling +attitude and begun to pray, gradually sank back into a reclining +posture and held out their hands for a morsel of food. + +The Filipino guards sulked when they were displaced by the American +sentries, and some of them had to be forced from their posts of +fiendish duty at the point of the bayonet. They considered these +Spaniards as reprisals, constituting their own private property, with +whom they could do as they pleased without any justifiable interference +on the part of anybody. Marie Sampalit slapped an American private +who had been sent to displace a Filipino sentry whom she had just +stationed at one of the prison doors. He promptly knocked her down with +the butt of his rifle. What she said in reply he could not understand. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE INTERVAL + + +After avenging her lover's death, Marie returned again to Manila +where she remained at home until the Filipino uprising against the +American troops in the spring of 1899. During this interval of nine +months, she daily frequented the places of rendezvous of the American +troops stationed in and around Manila. She also went to the officers' +homes in the city where their wives and children were stopping. She +did their washing, and cared for the children. Her congeniality made +her a favorite. Some of the American ladies offered to bring her back +to America with them for a house-hold servant. + +From them she learned to speak the English language nearly as fluently +as Spanish. The American soldiers were kind and polite to her. She +made considerable money by doing washing for them. It was noticeable +that she was gradually improving the old bamboo home in Manila. In a +few months she had come into possession of more money than she thought +there was in the entire world. Most of it was American gold--largely +in five dollar denominations. (This is what the United States used in +paying the soldiers.) These she took to the Spanish bank in Manila +and exchanged them for Mexican silver, which, until the United +States began to issue special coins for the Philippine islands, +was the standard medium of exchange in the archipelago. + +Marie began to dress better. Her penia cloth gave way to Chinese silks; +her wooden hair combs to expensive ones inlaid with gold, bought at +the Spanish bazar down town. Many little comforts were bought for her +home. Still the washings kept growing larger. She and her mother could +be seen back of their shack, in the shade, pounding American soldiers' +white uniforms on large boulders from early morning till night. + +Aguinaldo, who had previously sold out his country and gone to +Singapore, after commissioning Dimiguez, upon hearing that war +was about to begin between the United States and Spain, made his +way northward to Hongkong. After the battle of Manila Bay, Dewey +despatched the revenue cutter, "McCulloch," to Hongkong to cable +home the news of his splendid victory. On her return to Manila, +she permitted Aguinaldo to come along. + +After a brief conversation with Admiral Dewey on board the "Olympia," +he went ashore at Cavite, his boyhood home, began to organize the +Filipinos into a powerful army, captured 1500 Spanish soldiers who +were holding out-lying posts, and hemmed in the city of Manila. + +On August 13, following, Dewey and General Merritt, by a union of +their forces, captured the city of Manila which offered but slight +resistance. Aguinaldo's native troops rushed forward with the Americans +in the charge that was made by the land forces and they insisted on +looting the city. General Merritt refused this and ordered them to +withdraw beyond the city limits. This they did after considerable +wrangling. Then the Americans established out-posts on every road and +pathway leading to and from the city, completely around the town; +and they were given instructions by the commanding officer not to +allow any Filipino troops to enter the city. + +Aguinaldo discarded his uniform one evening, completely +disguised himself as a Filipino fruit-vender, and made his way +into Manila. Naturally, he slipped around to the home of his old +friends, the Sampalits. He sat in a semi-darkened room, with all the +hinged-windows to the shack tightly closed and stroked Marie's soft +black hair with his left hand. As he engaged her and her mother in +conversation in subdued tones, he little thought that in so short a +time Marie would be associated with him in a series of bloody tragedies +that would revolutionize the government of the islands forever. + +"Marie," said he, "I'm going to force the Americans to acknowledge +the independence of the Philippine islands, or I shall not permit +the rest of their army to land. Dewey tells me he has sent home for +reinforcements. There is no use for us to let these troops land, if +America instead of Spain is going to govern the islands. What we want +is absolute independence with myself as president of the new Filipino +Republic. If the Americans won't concede this to us, let's fight!" + +"That's what I say!" declared Marie. "Let's drive the foreign devils +off the islands or slay them all. Here's father dead and--Dimiguez, +too"--Marie's voice trembled--"I tell you it's too much. Let's kill +every one of them!" + +"Yes; but say Marie, we must keep quiet about all this," cautioned +Aguinaldo. "I'll tell you what I have in mind. We'll wait about four +weeks and by that time if Dewey hasn't received definite instructions +from Washington, and if he won't give me any satisfaction, I'm going +to go to Malolos, proclaim myself Dictator of the Philippines, appoint +a cabinet and a congress from among some of the bright young Filipinos +here in Manila who have been educated abroad, draw up a Revolutionary +form of government, and begin to administer the affairs of these +islands just as I please. + +"We'll keep our present army in the field, and if the Americans do +land we'll shut them up in Manila, so that they will have nothing at +their command but the city to regulate. This won't amount to much as +compared with the rest of the islands which I will dominate." + +"Are you sure the Americans won't land a powerful army, cut through +your lines around Manila and drive you out of Malolos, or capture you +and your officials at that place? It seems to me I would go farther +inland--say to San Isidro," said Marie. + +Aguinaldo thought a moment, then replied: "That's true, in a sense, +Marie; but I have got to be on or near the railroad where I can have +easy and rapid access to Manila. Malolos is not far from here and +it is situated on the railroad. It has some very large buildings in +which our legislative sessions could be held. I think it the place +for the undertaking. + +"To be on the safe side, I believe I will have our troops erect a +series of fortifications between here and there along the railroad +track, so that if the Americans do attempt to advance by that route +I can easily stop them." + +"I think that would be a good scheme," said Marie. "Malolos is about +twelve miles from Manila Bay; besides, the bay is shallow in the +north end, so that heavy boats could not go up there. This will make +it impossible for Dewey to shell the place with his fleet. We've got +to watch out for that--no matter what we do. My! but those American +ships can shoot! Did you hear about me shooting at 'em with that +cannon on Corregidor island when they entered the bay? I mighty near +got one of their vessels." + +"No," said Aguinaldo, "I have not heard very much about the firing +off Corregidor, but as I came from Hongkong the other day on the +"McCulloch" I noticed that the Spanish fortifications on the island +had all been dismantled." + +"Why! they killed a man right at my feet, the very first shot," said +Marie; "and then one of their boats drew nearer and fired several +times more and they killed every Spaniard in the relief guard which +was near by,--seven of them in all." + +"And I was terribly worried about Marie," interrupted her mother who +had listened to the conversation with deepest interest. "She had been +gone for a week, and I hadn't heard a word from her." + +"Oh! well, I don't pity the Spaniards any for what the Americans did +to them," interjected Aguinaldo, with some emphasis. + +"Be careful," said old lady Sampalit, putting her finger on her lips, +"don't speak too loud." + +Aguinaldo continued in a lower voice: "They killed your husband. They +shot Rizal. They strangled Dimigeuz. They tortured to death several +hundred of our young fellows in the dungeons. They have left ridges +of dead wherever their armies have moved among us. I tell you they +deserved all they got." + +Mrs. Sampalit and Marie had grown heavy hearted. Aguinaldo looked at +his watch. It was after ten P. M. + +"I wonder," said Aguinaldo, hesitatingly, "how I shall be able to +get back to our lines tonight." + +"Don't go!" said Marie, in an emphatic whisper, "stay over night!" + +"Yes, do!" entreated the old lady, "I'm nervous." + +"It might be best; it would surely be the safest thing to do," said +Aguinaldo, in a meditating manner. + +"We sleep on bamboo beds," said Marie. "There stands mine. You may use +it tonight, and I will sleep on the floor. I don't mind. Mother and +I frequently lie down on the floor near the window, when the nights +are sultry." + +The next morning Aguinaldo arose very early, made his way to the +edge of the city and stealthily stole out threw the Americans' lines, +never again to return to Manila until General Funston brought him back, +two years later, a captive. + +He made his way to Malolos, a few weeks after this conversation, +declared himself "Dictator of the Philippines," appointed a Filipino +congress, set up a government of his own and began to run the general +affairs in the interior of Luzon. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +FILIPINO UPRISING + + +The close of the eventful year of 1898 was near at hand. General Otis +had been made governor-general of the islands. He had received about +15,000 troops from home. These had all been landed and were quartered +in the city of Manila. + +Preparations had begun by the American troops for a great day of field +sports to be held on the Luneta--a beautiful narrow park paralleling +Manila bay and extending southward from the walled-city about four +miles--on New Year's day, 1899. + +On the afternoon of January I, as planned, the exercises were +begun. The afternoon program consisted of foot races, running high +jumps, wheelbarrow race, fat man's race, running broad jump, high +kicking, fancy club swinging, tumbling, shot-put, sack race, tugs of +war, five boxing contests, base ball, foot ball, and pole vaulting. + +Situated on the Luneta, about a mile south of the walled city, and +distant from Manila bay about 100 feet, is a large bandstand. This +served as headquarters for the exercises. The day was perfect--clear, +cool and calm. + +About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives, soldiers (including jack-tars +from Dewey's fleet, Spaniards and Americans) and foreign residents +had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of Welcome and +to witness the sports. When the speaker arose to deliver the address, +for which he was afterward voted, and presented with, a medal by the +Eight Army Corps, he said in part (verbatim report): + +"On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to make +these Field Day Exercises a success, and this occasion one long to +be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon, I bid +you, one and all--officers, soldiers, sailors and civilians of every +nationality--a hearty welcome." + +"Again to you, the members of Admiral Dewey's fleet, I feel obligated +to extend a separate and special welcome; for without your chivalrous +devotion to duty last May Day, yon shell-riven wrecks (part of unraised +Spanish fleet visible above the bay) would not bespeak the down-fall +of a sister nation, and we ourselves would not have been permitted +to assemble here this afternoon. There is no braver man on land or +sea than the American marine; and on behalf of the entire American +army of occupation, I bid you a most cordial welcome." + +Touching upon the question of territorial expansion, the speaker said: + +"This was a war for humanity, not for conquest. But simply because +it suddenly closed and left us in possession of large tracts of +new territory, is no reason why these spoils of war should be given +up. I hold this to be true Americanism: that wherever the old flag +is established through sacrifice of American blood, whether it be on +the barren sands of the desert, at the frigid extremes of the earth, +or on the rich and fertile islands of the sea, there is should remain +triumphant, shedding forth beams of liberty to the oppressed, shouts +of defiance to the oppressor, and furnish protection and enlightenment +to all who come beneath its streaming folds forever!" (applause). + +A chubby Filipino maiden, standing near the speaker's stand, and +who had listened intently to every word of the address, because she +now understood the English tongue, quietly elbowed her way through +the dense crowd which was gradually becoming more compressed, until +she reached a car drawn by two Chinese ponies on the old street car +line running south from Manila to Fort Malate and back. Taking the +car she rode up town to the Escolta. Going into the postoffice, she +hastily wrote and mailed to Aguinaldo at Malolos a letter containing +an account of what was said. It follows: + + +"Manila, P. I., Jan. 1, 1899. + + +My Dear General: + +Those wretched Americans are holding some kind of exercises on the +Luneta this afternoon. I heard one of the speeches. It was awful +bad. The fellow talked loud. He swung his hands in the air and the +crowd seemed to get terribly excited over what he was saying. + +He told about that treaty of peace, and he said no power under the +sun would haul down the American flag from over Manila. + +It made me angry. I am going right out to the Filipino trenches to +see my Uncle (Colonel Miguel). He'll fix those fellows. I'll bet +he'll haul down their flag before tomorrow morning. + + +Goodby, + +Marie." + + + +The evening program on the Luneta, which followed the afternoon +exercises, was largely literary in its nature. It consisted of music +by the California band, singing by the famous Washington Male Quartet, +fancy dancing, selected recitations, and stump speeches. In addition, +Privates Green and Martin boxed four rounds, much to the satisfaction +of the natives. + +The program had just been completed when the Master of Ceremonies +received from the American general in charge a note telling +him to announce the conclusion of the program at once and to +order all soldiers to report immediately at their respective +regimental headquarters;--trouble had been reported at the +out-posts. Reinforcements were hastened to several of the out-post +reserves, and it appeared that the expected insurrection was at hand. + +After the out-break by the Filipinos on New Year's night, it was +evident to both sides that it was only a question of a short time when +blood would be spilled in abundance. The Filipinos occupied all of the +block-houses--some seventeen in number--around the city of Manila. This +forced the Americans to stand in the open and do guard duty exposed. + +The Filipino troops were saucy. They couldn't understand why men should +be armed with rifles and not be permitted to shoot. They tormented +the American soldiers daily with hideous pranks. They grew bolder, +and pushed their out-posts forward until they stood within a few feet +of the American sentries. + +Marie went out and back through the American lines at will. She +secretly kept the Filipino army thoroughly posted on the arrival of +new troops from America. Occasionally she would take the train and +go up to Malolos to see Aguinaldo. She was the best posted person +in the Philippines as to what was going on in each of the hostile +armies. Nobody suspected her. She was respected by the American +troops. Everybody came to know her. + +Just before dusk, on the evening of February 4th, 1899, Marie +and her mother left the city of Manila, in a cariole, drawn by a +Chinese pony which they had recently purchased. They had in it all of +their most precious household trinkets. As they passed Colonel John +M. Stotsenberg, commanding the 1st Nebraska volunteers, stationed +on McLeod's hill at the eastern edge of Manila, he recognized them, +and called to Marie, "Where are you going?" + +"Out on a little trip," retorted Marie. + +"How soon will you be back?" asked he. + +"O, I can't tell," responded Marie. "Mother is getting so nervous +that we thought best to go away for awhile." + +"Say, Marie," said the colonel, "do you know who the Filipino officer +is in command of all those thousands of troops that are now assembling +in the ravines between the hills along the far side of the river +valley, yonder?" + +"No, I do not," she declared with an emphatic swing of her head. + +But she was lying. It was Colonel Miguel, her own uncle. She knew about +it. He had secretly informed her that he was preparing to attack the +city and burn it and that he was going to exterminate the American +army of occupation and all foreign residents that fell into the hands +of his mighty army. He told her that he had chosen the east side of +the city as his main point of attack, so that Dewey could not reach +his troops with the shells from his gun boats in case he tried to +assist the American army, without elevating his guns and shooting +completely over the city--a thing wholly impractical within itself, +as Dewey could not determine whether his shells would be falling +among the Filipino or the American troops. It was he who advised her +to take her mother and flee to the hills for refuge. + +Colonel Stotsenberg then asked Marie if she knew anything about the +proposed attack on the city by her people. This, she denied also. The +colonel's face flushed. Pulling back the flap of his tent, he said +emphatically: "Do you see that gun, Marie? Tell those fellows over +there when you pass their lines that I said they could have trouble +whenever they want it." + +Marie drove on. + +Inside the colonel's tent stood a large gun from the Utah battery, +mounted, loaded, ready for action; its threatening nose was +pointed directly at the line of little brown men assembled across +the valley. The Filipinos were smarting for trouble. They wanted it +badly. Wherever and whenever possible they improved every opportunity +to bring it about. The trouble came. Colonel Stotsenberg that night +used the cannon he had pointed out to Marie. A long pile of mangled +forms lying at the base of the river hills on the opposite of the +valley next morning told the results. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +AS A SPY + + +Marie was well equipped by instinct and experience for a spy. The +tragic nature of such work was exceptionally inviting to her. When +a chance came to undertake it, she lost no time in embracing the +opportunity. + +After passing out through the American lines, she drove on down the +slope of the hill and crossed the San Juan River on the old stone +bridge where the fighting was begun that night by young Grayson of +the Nebraska regiment. After reaching the Filipinos' lines she at once +reported to her uncle, Colonel Miguel, and had an extended interview +with him. + +Secret plans were agreed upon whereby she was to become the colonel's +chief scout. Two Filipino soldiers were sent to accompany her old +mother to the little town of Angono on the eastern bank of Lake Laguna +de Bay, near its northern end. A native family, quite familiar with +the Sampalits and related to them, lived in this village. Marie stayed +with the troops in the field. Her young brain danced at the thought +of more bloodshed. She must be in the fight. + +Just what part Marie took in the attack made upon the Americans by +the Filipinos on the night of February 4th, and in the fighting on +February 5th, the world will never know. The two main figures in +these operations were Colonel Miguel, in command of the main portion +of the Filipino forces, and Colonel Stotsenberg, who commanded the +1st Nebraska volunteers. Before the close of the war these men were +both shot; consequently, there is no one left to tell the story, +and history is silent on the point. + +After the fight of February 4 and 5, the entire line of block-houses +and intrenchments circumscribing Manila, were in the hands of the +Americans. From the Pasig river on the east, around the city to the +bay on the north, this line was commanded by Major-General MacArthur; +the corresponding semi-circle on the south, by Major-General Anderson. + +During the next seven weeks, fresh troops were constantly +arriving. Each side was preparing for the long, inevitable conflict. + +At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall's brigade +in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on the firing line, +which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant charge along +the entire front on the Filipinos' breastworks about a mile and a +half distant and constructed parallel to those of the Americans'. + +Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments; +had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted a terrible +loss upon Aguinaldo's troops; had demonstrated to them the difference +between a determined American advance and an irresolute Spanish one; +and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the capture of +the Filipinos' temporary capital, Malolos, the overthrow of their +provisional government, and the establishment of American sovereignty +throughout the entire archipelago. + +That night, about eleven o'clock, a nervous Filipino woman came walking +down along the American out-post reserves which, during actual war, +are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the sentries. She +reached Company "G's" reserve of the 1st South Dakota Volunteers, +where she was ordered to halt. She refused, but acted as though she +did not understand. Drawing a large bamboo bonnet down over her face +to conceal her identity, she mumbled something apparently to herself, +and walked rapidly on. In a moment she was seized; her bonnet was +torn off; her identity revealed: it was Marie. + +She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see +if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which they had +received, would be warranted in making a night attack. + +She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched, +scrambled--making it necessary to employ two privates, a corporal +and a sergeant to send her to the rear. + +When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the +3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer +that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private +was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, and insisted +that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she +drew the poncho about her to keep herself warm (it grew very chilly +before morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to +escape. Her teeth chattered and she seemed distressed--evidently +through fear of what the morning might bring to her. + +The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return +to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. She +pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that +after her return to Manila she would do washing free of charge for +the American soldiers who were sick in quarters. + +After being liberated, Marie walked eastward, following an irregular +sled-road; that is, a road-way used by the Filipinos for sledding +their rice to market. This is done by means of a bamboo sled drawn +over the dry ground by a caribou. She followed this road for over +two miles until she came to the San Mateo river. + +Although given a few hardtack by her captors at the time of her +release, she was getting hungry. As she approached the stream she +noticed an old Filipino standing near his bamboo cabin which was neatly +tucked away oh the slope of a deep ravine near by. Turning from her +pathway which had now grown somewhat indistinct she approached the +old gentleman. + +When quite close to him she said, "Buenos dias," (Good morning in +Spanish.) + +"Magandang umaga," (Good morning, in Tagalo), muttered the old man. + +After a brief conversation during which Marie told him that she had +been captured by the Americans, had been terribly misused and he had a +miraculous escape, he invited her into his cabin where his aged wife +gave her something to eat. This breakfast consisted of boiled rice, +some fish which the old man had just brought from his set lines in +the San Mateo river, and some bacon which he had found along the +trail made by the American's pack train the day before. + +While the old couple were outside of their home--he breaking up +some bamboo with which to re-kindle the fire, and she, cleaning the +fish--Marie ransacked the house. She stole a large diamond ring which +the old man had taken from the finger of a Spanish officer during +the previous insurrection. She opened an old mahogany chest and took +from it a rosary valued at several hundred dollars; also a gold lined +cup which the old man, himself, had stolen from a Spanish priest, +and some Spanish coins. + +After a hearty lunch, she started on. + +Crossing the river at the rapids, on the boulders which projected +above the water, she quickened her steps and hurried along. Changing +her course to the southward, she started for the northern end of Lake +Laguna de Bay to see her mother. + +She had not gone far through a small clump of timber when she came +upon the corpse of a Filipino soldier who had been shot in the previous +day's engagement,--perhaps by a stray ball. Hastily stealing the cross +which hung from a small cord about his neck, and a valueless ring from +one of his fingers, she seized his Mauser rifle and his cartridge belt +which was partly filled with ammunition, and then resumed her journey. + +A short distance ahead was a large opening--an old rice field +well cleared. She had scarcely begun to cross it when she heard a +noise. She turned and saw the bow-legged old man whom she had robbed, +with a machete in his hand, coming after her as fast as he could. He +had discovered that the rosary was missing, and upon looking around, +that several other things were gone; therefore he at once started +in pursuit of the fiend who had just enjoyed his hospitality. Marie +was not disturbed. Raising to her shoulder the rifle which she had +just found, she took deliberate aim and at the first shot laid him +low in death. + +She reached the small native village of Angono, where her mother was +stopping, about four o'clock in the afternoon of March 26th. + +The old lady was wonderfully elated to receive the new jewels which +Marie had stolen. She put on the rosary and danced about in the native +hut like a young child on Christmas morning, when it sees the gorged +stocking fastened to its bed. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +OFF FOR BALER + + +That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, fired with ambition +and discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette and started for +Manila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row boat via the +Pasig river which drains the lake into Manila bay and which flows +through the city of Manila situated at its mouth. + +While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next few +days, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being carried +out by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanish +garrison of fifty men stationed at the little town of Baler, near +the eastern coast of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrendered +to the American forces with the remainder of the Spanish army on +August 13, 1898, but as all lines of communication with them had been +destroyed by the Filipinos they had never been officially notified +of the capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information that +they were being besieged by a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos which +outnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of time +before all would be exterminated. + +Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that something +must be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party was formed and +placed aboard the "Yorktown," which carried them around the southern +point of Luzon and then northward to the mouth of the Baler river. + +Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath not +to take up arms against the Americans again during the insurrection, +and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besieging +Filipinos of what was to take place, and to help them as best she +could to resist the advance of the rescuing party. + +Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern coast +of Luzon, and Manila is on the west side of the island Baler is, +nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused by the +deep indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of which +Manila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward of +the eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight east +of Manila. + +In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipino +foot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part near the +San Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which is +situated about three miles north and a trifle east of Manila. At that +point she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for a +short distance and which was made by the Americans' commissary train +on the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March 25, +preceding. + +She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention was +attracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a few +feet distant from her pathway. She walked over to in and found these +words inscribed thereon: + + + "R. I. P. D. O. M. + + Wat Erbuf Falo + + Born -- (?) Died, February 12, 1899. + + + To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave, + Some facts on its headstone we wish to engrave; + If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell + Bill Sherman was right when he said, 'War is Hell.' + He charged on two pickets whose names are below; + They took him for niggers,--poor wronged buffalo. + As to the way he met death, everybody knows how; + As to whom he belonged we don't caribou. + + Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. "M," 1st. Col. Vols." + + + +It was now April 2nd, and Marie had ahead of her about ninety miles +overland to be made on foot or else on horse-back; and it was necessary +for her to hurry along, as the rescuing party was scheduled to reach +the mouth of Baler river April 10th, or 12th. + +Her course led past the little shack on the bank of the San Mateo +river, where she had robbed the elderly couple who had been so kind +to her and near where she later had shot the old man when he was +pursuing her to regain possession of his stolen property. + +She found it deserted; but in a little bamboo corral nearby she found +three Chinese ponies. Evidently they had made their escape from the +scene of battle and had drifted into this yard for refuge. There was +a small stack of rice straw just outside the corral. From this Marie +soon made a stoutly-twisted rope which she hastily arranged in the +form of a bridle. Placing it over the head of the largest pony she +mounted him and rode off. + +She got ten miles beyond this last stopping place before sunset. That +night she stopped at a small inland village. As she lay down to sleep +on the bamboo floor in the hut of a Tagalo family whose acquaintance +she had readily formed, recollections of the place which she had +passed during the afternoon where she had previously robbed the old +couple immediately after she was released upon oath by the Americans, +suggested to her the thought that she was violating her oath; that she +was now out in a country where she might be betrayed at any moment by +her own people, or else be captured by a squad of American infantry +or cavalry; therefore, she decided that on the following day she +would destroy her identity. + +Upon retiring the previous night Marie coiled up for a pillow her head +of long black hair. "I hate to give it up," thought she, "but what +will the Americans do to me if they capture me another time? Oh! well, +after the war is over it will soon grow out again." + +The next morning, after a scanty breakfast of bananas and rice, and +a pineapple which Marie salted heavily before she ate it, she went to +a native barber and had her long hair cut close to the scalp, except +for a little tuft on top which she had him brush up for a pompadour. + +Before cutting off her hair the barber tied a piece of hemp very +tightly around it, just back of her neck. After he had detached it, +he held it in front of Marie and asked her what she wished done with +it. She took it in her own hands. + +The barber kept on trimming her shortened hair. Marie stopped talking +and seemed to be in deep meditation. + +Presently the barber said. "That's all." + +Marie arose from the rough mahogany slab on which she had been sitting, +handed him a puesta (twenty cents, Mexican), looked out of the window +and said, "I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll trade you my hair for +that quilas (two-wheeled cart) standing there." + +"All right"; said the barber, "My pony is dead, and the war has so +devasted the country, and money has become so scarce, that I can't +afford to buy another one." + +"The harness hanging on it goes with the cart," said Marie. + +"Oh no!" exclaimed the barber, "my wife borrowed that, and I must +return it." + +"It doesn't make any difference to whom it belongs," said Marie, +emphatically, "you traded me the cart, and everything that was in it +goes with the trade. How do you suppose I could hitch my pony into +the cart without a harness?" + +Just then she pulled a bolo out from under her apron. The barber said +no more. + +Marie hitched her pony into the cart and started on toward Baler. + +That day she followed a good road leading toward the mountains near +the eastern coast of Luzon. By night her pony had made twenty miles. + +She had already reached the foot-hills. It was impossible for her +to make head-way any longer with the cart. She would soon be across +the mountains and be in the region to be approached by the American +relief party. What was to be done? + +A happy thought came to Marie. She clasped her hands and muttered to +herself, "I'll trade the cart for a suit of men's clothes and trade +the harness for a sombrero," (bamboo hat.) + +Since the middle of the afternoon she had been driving parallel to a +stream that wound its way, nearby, from the mountains across the plains +to the sea. Villages along the banks were numerous. At night fall she +was still in Tagalo territory. It was her own tribe. She soon found a +place to stay over night. Her pony was turned loose in a vacant yard, +with an old bamboo fence around it, and given some young rice. + +That evening while smoking cigarettes, and while inflaming the minds +of the villagers with startling stories about the atrocities, of the +American soldiers, Marie finally succeeded in making the trade which +she had planned during the afternoon. + +Next morning, April 5, she rode on. Before her lay sixty miles of +unknown territory to be covered during the next four days, if she +were to reach Baler in time to warn the besieging Filipinos of the +contemplated attack by the Americans. + +A half mile out from the village, Marie came to an abrupt turn in the +road. Near by was a dense cluster of banana trees. She dismounted, +and while her pony was nibbling young rice she went into the thicket +and changed her attire. Then she tied a good-sized stone up in her +old clothes and threw them into the river. As she stood on the bank +watching them sink, she saw her shadow in the water. How changed she +looked! The sombrero was such a relief in keeping the hot sun off +her head. + +"Now, I'll not be recognized," thought she. "How nice it is to be +dressed like a man. From now on I mean to play a man's part and be +a full-fledged soldier." + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE GILMORE INCIDENT + + +Marie reached her destination late in the evening of April 9th, +and she at once notified the officers commanding the Filipinos who +were besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with so small a +force, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish garrison, +it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler river--as +the town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was located is some two +miles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific ocean, and +the American troops were too greatly outnumbered by the Filipinos to +make a land expedition safe,--she suggested to them the advisability +of fortifying the river at specific intervals along either bank and +of taking the precaution to cover the fortifications with freshly-cut +brush so that the Americans could not locate them for the purpose of +bombarding them in case they saw fit to load some of the smaller cannon +on cascoes and make their way up the river for an attack in that way. + +The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and places +for the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. It was +during the dry season and the river was very low at the time. This +made it possible to dig ditches on the sand bars which extended far +out into the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sand +taken therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments by strewing over them +some fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance of +having drifted to their lodgment. + +The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, as +scheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of truce, where, +to his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers; +but their exceptionally good behavior and the twinkle of their eyes +told only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. He +therefore returned to the Yorktown without having accomplished anything +in particular. + +The next morning, at four o'clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and sixteen +brave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered the +mouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were put +ashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke forth and +those left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry who +was walking his beat along the shore. He gave the alarm. Lieutenant +Gilmore and his party could easily have pulled out to sea and gotten +away, but humanity forbade it. What would become of the two scouts +who went ashore? Their comrades in the boat could not desert them, +so they rowed up the river into the very jaws of impending danger. + +Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinos +opened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only fifty yards +distance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck in +the mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. In a moment Morrisy +fell dead, having been shot through the head; Dillon followed; +then McDonald, then Nygard;--Marie was doing deadly work with her +Mauser rifle. + +The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what was +the use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly had the +Filipinos screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were using +smokeless powder. + +Four of Gilmore's men were already dead, two were mortally wounded +and begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell into the +hands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Most +of the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy's rifle balls. In +this moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumped +overboard and tried to push the boat out to mid-stream. It was no use; +the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they could +not compete against it. + +Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change and +use one of the dead men's rifles. As he picked it up he noticed the +lock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip had been jammed +in. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, to be fixed. + +The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struck +him in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been under fire +before. Looking up calmly, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit." + +In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out of +his arm pit. With his attention riveted on his task, he remarked, +"I'm hit again, Mr. Gilmore." + +Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cut +a painful wound in his scalp. "Mr. Gilmore, they've hit me again," +he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with blood running +down all over him. + +In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad's ankle, one of +the most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. This time, +with a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit +once more; but I've fixed your gun, Sir." + +Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans' fire had +practically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench the limbs and +underbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns, +spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash for the boat and captured +the entire crew. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE AMERICAN PRISONERS + + +Those of the Americans who were alive and able to help themselves +were ordered to go ashore on the sand bar, where the Filipinos robbed +them of their personal effects and then lined them up preparatory +to shooting them all down in a body. Gilmore, being an officer, +protested against having his hands tied. He claimed, according to +the accepted rules of warfare, that on account of his rank he had +a right to die honorably with his hands free. The Filipinos have +great superstitions about "rank" in military affairs. Marie knew the +significance of Gilmore's request; she respected it. + +The Filipinos had loaded their rifles, cocked them, raised the same +to their shoulders, had taken aim, and Marie was about to give the +fatal command, "Fire!", when a shout from the bank stopped her and +for a moment engaged the attention of both the Americans and the +Filipinos. It came from a Filipino officer, running down to the +shore. He ordered them to stop. One second longer would have been +too late. + +This Tagalo officer ordered the Americans to get back into their boat +and to row across to the opposite shore. After bailing the water out +of the boat and plugging up the holes in it made by the enemy's rifle +balls, they obeyed his command. + +When they went ashore, Lieutenant Gilmore asked permission to bury +his dead comrades. This privilege was emphatically denied. What was +done with their bodies by the Filipinos is hard to tell, but in all +probability, as was customary with the natives, they cut them into +fragments and threw them away. + +The ones who were mortally wounded, but who were still alive, were +placed under a tree by Gilmore and his comrades, and left to die. The +Lieutenant asked that a native doctor be summoned to give them aid, +but it was not done. What their fate was Eternity alone will reveal. + +Gilmore and his comrades picked up the lesser wounded and carried +them, and together the whole procession was marched inland about a +mile to the Filipino Commandante's headquarters. + +Here they were questioned at length. Gilmore asked permission to +write a note to the commander of the Yorktown telling him of their +fate. Permission was granted, but the note was never delivered. The +two scouts who went ashore, returned to the Yorktown in the afternoon +and reported that they had heard heavy firing up the river. + +After waiting several days for news of some kind for them, and finally +concluding that they were either captured or killed, the crew of +the Yorktown, heavy-hearted over their failure and their sacrifice, +steamed back to Manila. + +During the afternoon of the same day that the battle took place, +the American prisoners were ordered to march to an old bamboo church +in the northern outskirts of the little town of Baler, a mile and +a half farther on. By this time the wounded men were suffering +terribly. Little Venville's ankle had swollen badly. From his four +wounds he had bled so much that he had grown faint. Therefore, he +and several of the others had to be carried. + +En route to their new destination, the Americans passed in sight of +the old stone church being used as a fortress by the Spanish garrison +whom they had originally set out to relieve. The Americans had gone +to the Philippines to fight the Spaniards. They were now sacrificing +their lives to save them. + +At the bamboo church, an old Filipino with a kindly face and a manner +that elevated him above his fellow tribesmen, came in to see them. He +examined the wounded and then disappeared. Presently he returned with +some large leaves that resembled rhubarb, under his arm. Out of the +big stems of these native herbs he squeezed a milky secretion which he +permitted to drop into the gaping wounds of the Americans. The torture +of the wounded occasioned by this liquid was damnable. The men grew +deathly pale. They rolled and screamed and begged to be shot. But +it did not last long. In ten minutes the torture had ceased, the men +became quiet, the swelling around their wounds was gradually reduced, +and their temperatures soon lowered. The herb doctor evidently knew +his business. + +The next day the Filipinos received orders from Aguinaldo, who, +with his appointed congress, was now at San Isidro, to march the +captured Americans to his headquarters. Accordingly, the trip +was undertaken. But the apprentice lad, Venville, was unable to +go along. Obeying the stubborn orders of the rapacious Filipinos +his comrades left him lying on the floor of the old rickety bamboo +church,--wounded--uncared for--suffering--hungry--thirsty--dying. A +year later the assistance of the entire naval organization in the +Philippines was given to the task of trying to ascertain from the +Filipinos in the neighborhood of Baler some information concerning +the lad's whereabouts or his burial place, but no trace of him, +dead or alive, could ever be found. + + + An aged mother, ill and bowed, + Keeps asking, "Where's my boy?" + But zephyrs from the Orient + Refuse to bring the joy. + + +Amid great privations the marching column crossed the mountains and +the fertile plains on the opposite side, to the city of San Isidro. It +was heralded in advance that the Americans were coming through the +country. Obeying their greatest national instinct--curiosity--the +natives assembled by thousands in the villages along the road. Every +one of them kept crowding forward to get to touch the Americans to see +what their skins felt like. Others were looking for the long feathers +in their hair, which they had heard so much about. It was all the +Filipino guards could do to restrain their own people. The latter, +like monkeys, jabbered incessantly. Gilmore's men hurled back at them +defiant epithets. They realized that involuntarily they had become +the chief actors in a new moving circus. + +Again, when they reached San Isidro, a great throng of curious natives +had come to town to see them. These fellows were very hostile to the +Americans. It was all the native guard could do to keep the Filipinos +from doing violence to them. Gilmore was again questioned at length +and then he was separated from his comrades and all were hurried off +to jail. + +In a few days it was rumored that the American army was approaching the +city. Aguinaldo and his associates hurriedly prepared to leave. Orders +were given to march the prisoners overland north and then westward +across another range of high mountains to Arancay, on the western +coast of Luzon,--a distance of 100 miles. + +This time the crowd of prisoners was greatly increased. At San +Isidro there were added 600 Spaniards; a small tribe of mountain +Negritos whom Aguinaldo had originally sent to fight the Americans, +but who, being armed only with spears and bolos, soon got tired of +seeing their number decrease so rapidly before American riflemen, +and refused to fight, and who were later imprisoned and terribly +misused by Aguinaldo's selected guards; and eighteen Americans in +addition to Gilmore's party (total twenty-six Americans), who had +been captured in as many different ways around Manila by the crafty, +cunning Filipinos. Among them was Frank Stone, of the U. S. Signal +Corps, captured by some "amigos" (friendly natives) on the railroad +track near Manila, while out strolling one Sunday afternoon; Private +Curran, of the 16th U.S. Infantry who was grabbed within fifty feet +of his own outpost, gagged and dragged into captivity; also a civilian +who had gone to the Philippines to sell liquor. + +This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila +while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen beer. He was the +life of the expedition. He took his captivity as a joke, told stories +to keep the prisoners good natured, and painted on ever boulder that +he passed the seemingly sacrilegious words, "Drink Blank's beer on +the road to H----." It was, however, this harmless practice that later +on enabled the American relief party to follow the prisoners' trail. + +After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched +northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city of +Vigan. Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden +presence of an American war-ship in the harbor, off Vigan, caused the +natives to abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners +for some mountain fastness. The Americans were separated from the +rest of the prisoners whom they never saw again. + +High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys +were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. The Filipino +lieutenant who had charge of the prisoners, ordered them to go on; +they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for +them without avail. The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon +comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer +himself was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance, +the sick Americans were able to go along. + +A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and came +upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent dancing down the +rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in +the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from the Americans, and with guns +in hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them. + +"Prepare to die," said Gilmore to his companions; "they are going to +shoot us." Calling the Filipino lieutenant to his side Gilmore asked +him why he did not shoot them on the opposite side of the mountains, +and not have made them make all of that hard climb for nothing. + +The native officer said in reply: "My orders were to shoot all of +you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability, +your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them +ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago when you showed +me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman +in America, I decided not to carry out my order, but to let you all +go free. I may be punished for disobedience of orders; but we are +both bound together by the great Catholic church, and my conscience +forbids that I should kill you." + +Gilmore replied: "You might as well shoot us as to set us free away +up here in the mountains in our weakened condition with nothing to +defend ourselves with against the savages whose territory we will have +to cross in order to get to the sea. Can't you spare us at least two +rifles and some ammunition? If you will do this, I will give you a +letter which, should you fall into the hands of the Americans, will +make you safe and bring you ample reward." + +The Filipino looked meditatingly at the ground for several moments, +then he calmly said, "I shall not dare to do it. An American relief +party, seeking your liberation, is close on our heels. They will +protect and care for you. Goodby!" + +Gilmore did not believe him. + +Under cover of the night the Filipinos disappeared. In the morning, +after nine long, tedious months of captivity resulting from Marie +Sampalit's depredations,--sick, nearly starved, practically nude, with +nothing but two battle axes and a bolo for both weapons of defense +and for tools--the Americans at last found themselves free men in +the wilds of northern Luzon, with positive death left behind, and +with possible life and all of its happy associations still before them. + +Their first day of liberty was spent in preparing bamboo rafts on +which to float down the tortuous, winding river to the sea. The next +night they all slept well; and on the following morning, just after +they had gotten up and begun to saunter around, everybody present was +suddenly shocked by the shrill yell of a strong American voice. They +all looked up, and while their hearts for a moment seemingly stopped +beating and fairly rose in their throats, the liberated prisoners +beheld the blue shirts and khaki trousers of Colonel Hare's rescue +party that for several weeks had been on their trail. + +What rejoicing! The bony, ill-clad prisoners fell on the strong bosoms +of their rescuers and wept. + +Colonel Hare's father, Judge Hare, of Washington, D.C., knew Gilmore +personally. He had seen the military reports of his captivity among +the natives. When his son bade him goodby as he started for the +Philippines, Judge Hare said, "My boy, God bless you; find Gilmore +and bring him home!" Colonel Hare had remained true to his trust. + +The party could not retrace their steps over the mountains, owing to +the weakened condition of the prisoners and the lack of food. Their +only chance for self-preservation and a possible return to civilization +lay in carrying out Gilmore's designs to build bamboo rafts and float +down the river to the sea. This was done. In going over rapids and +water-falls, many rafts were destroyed and new ones had to be built. + +Two of the boys got the measles. The raft on which one of them, +Private Day, was being transported, got smashed on the rocks and he +was thrown into the water. He took cold and died the next day. His +comrades took his body with them and did not bury it until they finally +reached the little town of Ambulug, at the mouth of the stream they +had been following, on the northern coast of Luzon. There, amid a +simple but impressive ceremony, it was buried in the church-yard of +the cathedral to await the resurrection morn. + +At Ambulug the Americans secured ox-carts drawn by caribous and drove +along the beach to the city of Aparri, at the mouth of the Cagayan +river. Here they were met by a detachment of American Marines who +took them aboard a war-ship, lying out to sea, which carried them +around the northwest promontory of Luzon to the city of Vigan on the +western coast, at which place they had been imprisoned for so long. + +Here they met General Young who shook hands with each of them; +congratulated the rescued and complimented the rescuers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +DEATH OF GENERAL LAWTON. + + +After the battle of Baler, Marie and a few native soldiers hastened +westward in advance of the prisoners, to San Isidro to notify Aguinaldo +who had moved his headquarters to that place, that the Americans were +advancing northward in great numbers and that nothing could impede +their progress. This information had previously been conveyed to the +Filipino general from other sources, so that Marie found him in his +so-called congress packed up and ready to move,--a thing they were +forced to do a few days after the American prisoners arrived. She +accompanied them for several long, tedious months, acting as cook for +the expedition and serving in other capacities--none of them seeming +to her to be ample reward for all she had done. + +Early in the coming fall, Marie, tired of Aguinaldo's game of +hide-and-go-seek, and anxious to find out about her mother and to get +into more fighting, if there be a chance, made her way back to Manila. + +But her conscience bothered her. She remembered that broken oath and +many other acts of wanton treachery that would shock the civilized +world. She feared that her own life would soon be sought either by +the Americans or by the Filipinos. Accordingly she suggested to her +mother that they again go to her aunt's in the little town of Angono +at the north end of Lake Laguna de Bay, where she had left her mother +stationed when last they had parted. Her mother, growing old and +nervous through accumulated years, past grievances, hard work and the +strain of the present conflict, favored the plan; and so they departed +on December 2nd, taking the same road over McLeod's Hill and on down +over the Santa Mesa bridge that they had traveled on February 4th. + +Before leaving Manila she learned through the private Filipino Junta +which was secretly assisting in the war by accumulating funds for +its prosecution and by distributing among the native troops the +inflammatory literature which was being promiscuously sent out by +the people in the United States who opposed the war, that a secret +reward of $10,000. had been offered for the death of General Lawton. + +About the middle of December, 1899, the General had returned to +Manila from another telling campaign northward, when he learned that +the Filipinos were assembling in large numbers under one of their +fearless leaders, General Geronemo, on the San Mateo river, but a +few miles out of Manila, for the purpose of making one more attempt +to break through the American lines guarding that city. + +On December 17, Marie heard that another attack was to be made on +Manila, so she left her mother at Angono and made her way to the +Filipinos' camp along the San Mateo river, only a few miles south of +where she had crossed it at the rapids the morning after she had been +liberated under oath by Major Allison. + +The next day, she was in secret consultation with Geronemo, and she +disclosed to him all the information she had concerning the defenses +of Manila. + +That evening, Filipino scouts, dressed in female attire, brought to +General Geronemo the news that the Americans, under General Lawton, +who was supposed to be away up in the northern part of Luzon, had +anticipated his movements and were assembling in the woods on the +opposite side of the valley in large numbers, possibly for a night +attack. + +Marie told Geronemo what she had learned while in Manila concerning +the reward that had been secretly offered for the killing of General +Lawton. He knew all about it and confirmed the offer. She told him all +about her training as a marksman with the Spanish on Corregidor island +and of her subsequent experience, and said she knew General Lawton +well; that she could single him out, and in case he led his troops, +as he usually did in battle, she was sure she could capture the prize. + +A place of unusual safety and concealment was selected along the +Filipinos' lines, directly in front of the center of the probable point +of attack by the Americans, for Marie, and for a Filipino lieutenant +and a corporal, both of whom were also good shots. + +Geronemo had instructed them that Marie was to have the first three +shots at the general, in case he appeared on the scene of battle. If +she failed to hit him, the lieutenant was then to try it. After he +had taken three shots, if he, too, failed, the corporal was to be +given a chance. + +The next morning, December 19, the American line of battle came out +of the woods on the opposite side of the valley, ready to charge on +the Filipinos' position. The morning was bright and clear, so that +General Lawton, with his tall figure, resplendent uniform and large +white helmet, could easily be discerned by the entire Filipino command. + +"I'll fix him," whispered Marie, "just wait till the firing begins, +so that I can shoot without attracting attention to our position." + +In a moment, the Filipinos opened fire on the Americans all along +the line. The latter sought cover. General Lawton remained erect. He +made an ideal target. Marie took careful aim. "Bang!" went her rifle, +and at that very moment this peerless leader of men, this hero of +several wars, was shot through the heart and fell dead in the arms +of his aide. His only words were, "I'm shot." + +"See that! What did I tell you?" snapped out Marie, "I told you I'd +get him! Now for my dinero." (money). + +The Americans were so angered because of the sudden death of their +beloved commander that they made a mad rush forward, without orders, +and swept the Filipino army from the field. + +Marie returned to Manila where she claimed the reward for having shot +the general. The lieutenant who was with her claimed that he did it, +and by promising half of the bounty to the corporal for swearing to +the lie, he proved it. Meager reports of the affair state that only +$7000 of the money was actually paid over. Like Aguinaldo who crept +into a cave northwest of Manila and sold out his country during the +insurrection of 1896, and then could not collect his fee, so Marie, +too, found herself deprived of the compensation for her bloody deed. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +NORTH-BOUND + + +The controversy over the distribution of the fund in Manila for the +death in any form of General Lawton permitted the unholy scheme to +simmer its way into publicity. The United States authorities employed +secret detectives to investigate the matter and if possible to locate +the persons who claimed to be responsible for the act. Marie soon +found herself under surveillance and she quickly left the city. + +Making her way north on horse back along the same route she had taken +when on her way to Baler about a year before, she came to the city +of San Miguel where one of the hardest battles of the war had been +fought. The troops engaged in this fight had become so disorganized +that all formation by regiments, companies, etc., had been broken +up. Unfortunately, one of the Americans' dead privates could not be +identified. He was buried where he fell, and a board tombstone was +placed at the head of his grave, on which was carved this lonely word, + + + "UNKNOWN". + + +As Marie passed over the old field, she saw this grave and read the +solemn word on its headstone. "Alas!" she muttered, "I wonder if the +same sad fate will some day overtake me." + +The body of this "unknown" soldier was exhumed by the government a few +months later and brought back to the United States for burial. Upon +its arrival the following pathetic poem appeared in "Leslie's Weekly"; + + + JUST AN "UNKNOWN" + + After the fight was over, + They found him stark and dead, + Where all the bamboo thicket + Was splashed and stained and red. + No name was missed at roll call, + Not one among them knew + The slender, boyish figure + Arrayed in army blue. + + Among our fallen soldiers + They brought him o'er the deep, + And with the nation's heroes + They laid him down to sleep. + A starry flag above him, + And on the simple stone + That marked his final bivouac, + The single word, "Unknown." + + Perchance a mother watches, + Her eyes with weeping dim, + Or sweetheart waits the postman + In vain for news of him. + While snow of winter freezes, + And April violets thrust + Sweet blossoms through the grasses + Above his nameless dust. + + But when the last great trumpet + Shall sound the reveille, + And all the blue battalions + March up from land and sea, + He shall awake to glory-- + Who sleeps unknown to fame, + And with Columbia's bravest + Will answer to his name. + + +Her personal safety demanded that she continue her journey northward, +without delay; also her inclination to rejoin Aguinaldo and his +troops--although his exact whereabouts were unknown--invited her in +this direction. + +At San Isidro, from which place Aguinaldo had been driven, she +saw some American soldiers administering the water cure to some +Filipinos in order to make them reveal the whereabouts of their wily +general. Marie was angry. She yearned to shoot, but she was no longer +on the aggressive; she was now a fugitive from justice. At this +place she inspected the old Filipino prison and on its walls found +the names of Gilmore and his party, whom she had helped to capture at +Baler, who had been imprisoned there, and who were still alive when +Aguinaldo was driven from the city of San Isidro by the approach of +the Americans. She determined to take her revenge on them for this +water cure punishment, if she ever found them. But the opportunity +never came. So journeying on toward the northern part of Luzon she had +many experiences, and she came in contact with tribes whom she had +never seen before and whose dialect was foreign to her. Many things +combined to retard her progress. Often she grew very weary and would +have turned back, except for fear. + +Following up the valley of the Pampanga river and thence on northward +along the Barat, she passed through the province of Nueva Ecija, +crossed the Caraballo mountains which form its northern boundary, +and then entered the province of Nueva Vizcaya, where she came upon +the head-waters of the Rio Magat river. + +In crossing the Caraballo mountains she made her way through a deep +gorge at night. It was now about the middle of February. A full moon +shone at its best. The weather was ideal. Journeying was abnormally +pleasant. Under favorable conditions, during times of peace, the trip +she was taking would have been a delightful outing. Just now things +were different. Small garrisons of American soldiers had crowded +forward and were occupying the largest cities along her route. As yet +she had not gotten beyond them. "A guilty conscience needs no accuser"; +everywhere that she went she imagined herself to be under suspicion. + +Far up in the Caraballos she came across a little mountain torrent +which leaped down over the mountain side from one rocky ledge to +another at quite regular intervals in a series of waterfalls until it +beat itself into a turbulent spray in the bed of the chasm below. The +laughing moon filtered its beaming rays through the thin sheet of +shimmering water as it danced down its course from precipice to +precipice, and seemingly converted it into a great silvery stair-way +connecting earth with heaven. Marie's heart throbbed with emotion. The +dashing of the falling water on the rocks below in the bed of the canon +made a hollow sound as its echoes reverberated through the gorge above. + +A half mile farther up, the valley widened somewhat; and finding here +some grass for her pony to forage on, she stopped for the night. The +flimsy saddle was removed from her horse and converted into a crude +pillow, in true cowboy style. Marie was uneasy. This was the first +night in all her adventures that she had been absolutely alone, +separated from both friends and foes, with no house to shelter her +weary head, with the cloudless canopy of the silent heavens arched +above her, the silvery moonbeams dancing in her face, and with +no voice, save the echoes of her own, to answer back the whispers +of night. + +It is often only in such a silent nook as this, with no one present +but God and self, that humanity asserts itself and the tenderest +portions of the human soul become paramount and give rise to +sacred thoughts. Even the savage cannot escape it, for he, too, +feels his responsibility to something outside of self. No doubt the +self-conscious criminal would be the most susceptible to it. + +What a night for Marie! Solitude gave rise to fear; fear, to conscious +criminality; a sense of wrong-doing, to grief. Would morning never +come? Every time she fell into a doze her sleep was disturbed by dreams +of the past. Recollections of her dying benefactor in the woods by +the San Mateo river, of Gilmore's comrades bleeding by his side, and +of Lawton in the arms of his aide, filled her soul with remorse and +suggested to her with an unspeakable vividness that in all probability +she would pay the penalty on both sides of the grave. Awakening from +one awful dream, she would, after listening to the stillness of the +night for a time, lapse into another. Again she would suddenly awake +and begin to fumble her rosary and repeat selections from a Catholic +prayer book. Would she dare to turn back? Behind her was certain death; +before her, the possibility of life. She resolved to go on. + +The night whiled away. Her pony ate his fill and lay down to +rest. Beaded dew drops collected themselves in close proximity upon +the grasses and foliage about her feet. The cool mountain air from +without and fear from within caused her to shiver a great deal. Day +finally came; Marie rode on. + +Following the Magat river she finally reached the city of Bayombong +with a population of 20,000 people. Here she learned from the natives +that Aguinaldo and a loyal remnant of his appointed congress had +passed through the city ahead of her, en route northward. + +At Bayombong she was advised to follow down the Magat river for +twenty miles, then to bear to the northeast along the pathway made by +Aguinaldo and his followers in their recent retreat. This she did, +crossing another range of mountains near Fort Del Pilar, which had +been erected by the Filipinos to circumvent as well as to prevent the +progress of the Americans, should they attempt to follow them. On +the farther side of this slope she came upon the headwaters of the +Rio Grande de Cagayan river, which she followed on to the north for +several weeks, enjoying the hospitality of the natives along the +course, until at last she came upon the beautiful city of Ilagan at +the confluence of the Cagayan and Pinacanalan rivers. + +It was now late in April. Marie was tired and needed rest. At Ilagan +she was cordially received by the curious natives who were eager to +learn some news concerning the war which was being conducted several +hundred miles further south. Marie grew cheerful. There were no +Americans in the city, and nobody knew of any within the valley. She +felt that at last she had successfully eluded her supposed pursuers and +that she was safe. Ilagan is the capital of Isabella province. It has +a population of approximately 60,000 people. Marie's natural ability, +information gathered in the school of experience, knowledge of the +details of the war, and her willingness to talk (quite a number at +Ilagan could speak Spanish) made of her a sort of responsive idol +for the entire populace. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CROSSING THE SIERRA MADRES. + + +She remained at Ilagan until the middle of June, when it began to be +rumored that the Americans were preparing to invade the Cagayan valley, +not only soldiers from the south but with the "mosquito fleet" coming +up the river from its mouth at the extreme northern end of the island +of Luzon. Nobody in the city seemed to know just where Aguinaldo had +gone. Part of his advance guard had arrived in the city some three +months before, but he had not come, and his soldiers had soon departed +for the southeast, following the valley of the Pinacanalan river. + +Tired of her surroundings and impatient to join Aguinaldo, Marie +departed by the same route that his soldiers had taken. From an +old native living all alone in a bamboo shack on the bank of the Rio +Masagan river, which empties into the Pinacanalan about eighteen miles +southeast of Ilagan, she learned that Aguinaldo and his troops had +started up the valley of the Masagan. This stream rises high up near +the summit of the Sierra Madre mountains which parallel the eastern +coast of northern Luzon for nearly five hundred miles, and are inland +from the coast from ten to thirty miles. + +Marie had with her three trusted natives from Ilagan. She did not want +to spend another night alone in the mountains. After proceeding up +the Masagan for thirty-five miles to a place where its valley narrows +itself to a gorge, its bed was so strewn with huge boulders that it +became impossible to travel any longer on horseback; therefore, one +of the natives was sent back with the horses, and Marie and the two +others continued the ascent on foot, taking with them such equipment +and provisions as they could conveniently carry. + +After many hardships they succeeded in crossing the range in safety +and soon found themselves descending the other side. A Filipino +scouting party was met at the evening of the first day's tramp down +the Pacific slope. They were well supplied with food--thing Marie and +her companions greatly needed. From them it was learned that Aguinaldo +and his body guard and quite a complement of Filipino soldiers were +secreted at the little town of Palanan on a small stream by the same +name, about ten miles back from the coast and lying directly east +of them on the journey which they were pursuing. This party escorted +them to Filipino headquarters, which they reached July 10, 1900. + +Marie was cordially welcomed by Aguinaldo, who restored her to a +position on his staff and secured from her the identical information +which he desired relative to the movement of the American troops, and +the very information, strange to say, which led to his own discovery +and capture by General Funston of the American forces in March of +the following year. + +Aguinaldo learned from Marie that from the Filipinos' standpoint, the +war around Manila had been a dismal failure. He decided, therefore, +to send one of his trusted generals south by practically the same +route over which Marie had come, with information to the Filipino +troops east and south of Manila to move all their available forces +north with the quickest possible despatch and to place them under his +immediate command so that he might not only render himself immune from +capture, but take the initiative and oppose the American campaign in +the valley of the Cagayan river. + +In December, 1900, about three months before his capture by General +Funston, Aguinaldo, having learned that the Americans were making their +way in great numbers into the valley of the Cagayan, asked Marie to +take up duty as a spy again; to recross the Sierra Madre mountains; +visit the American lines; ascertain their number of soldiers on duty +in the valley on the opposite side of the mountains and then to bring +this information to him, so that when reinforcements should arrive +he would know better how to undertake the campaign. + +To this, Marie willingly assented, but she insisted that she could +not make the trip alone over the rugged Sierra Madre mountains; +that she had nearly famished crossing them the first time. Aguinaldo +therefor fitted out a little expedition consisting of eight Filipinos, +in addition to Marie, and a pack-train of fourteen ponies to accompany +her over the divide. Nine of the animals were for riding purposes; +the other five were to pack the supplies,--three of them for the +outward trip, two for the incoming. In addition to the rice which +they took along, they were instructed to forage as much as possible. + +On December 9, the party started out on their perilous undertaking. A +point far up on the mountain slope, near a refreshing mineral spring, +having been reached on December 17, the party halted and established +a sub-base for their return trip. It was evident to them that they +had struck the wrong trail and were going to be compelled to send +Marie back through a different gorge from the one by which she and +her associates had come over a few months before. + +Here the party divided into two relays--one to accompany Marie close +to the top of the mountains, the other to remain where it was until +her guides returned. At this temporary base three Filipinos and two +pack-horses were left. The Filipinos thus left behind were instructed +to hunt and trap all they could till their comrades returned. + +The on-going squad, consisting of Marie and five native soldiers, took +with them their six riding ponies and three of the pack-horses. They +departed from their comrades early in the morning, December 18. By +night of the second day they had gotten so near the crest they could +plainly discern that in one long march Marie could cross the divide +and get a safe distance down the slope on the opposite side. Coming to +an old stone church they dismounted and established themselves for the +night. It was December 19,--the anniversary of Lawton's death. Marie +remarked about it. + +This old church had partly fallen down. Vines and mosses had so +interlaced themselves in climbing over its rocky walls and across its +openings that they had to be cut away by the unwelcome intruders before +they could gain an entrance. The stone cross on the front gable was +still in place; but the old mahogany door had long since been torn +from its hinges by the mountain storms, and it lay in a state of +decay on the ground. An earthquake had destroyed part of the roof, +and had caused the west wall to become inclined and to crumble. + +Within, one end of the old altar was still found to be intact. The +priest's pulpit chair had become ivy-mantled, and one handle had rotted +from its fastenings and had fallen to the floor. Statues of the Saints +had pitched from their moorings in the alcoves along the walls and were +lying face-downward or standing on their heads amid the debris below. + +What hands had built this old church, none could tell. It seemed +certain that no human being had entered it for over a century. The +mountain tribes who had lifted into place the huge chalk stones +that composed its massive walls, under the devout leadership of some +pious monk, for a place of worship, had long since perished from the +earth. The mountain game which rendered possible their habitation in +this altitude had vanished. Everything and everybody had evidently +given way before some fierce invasion of one of their southern tribes. + +Marie was busy cleaning off the trash from the massive rock that lay +at the entrance to the door-way. "1765," said she; "come, see the +date chiseled in the rock! I wonder what has become of the tribe that +built it?" + +A soldier who had made his entrance by one of the window openings, +was busily engaged in prying up a huge flat stone just back of the +altar. He had it loosened; he called for help to remove it. When the +stone had been overturned and had fallen back onto its aged neighbors, +some soft damp earth beneath it was slowly scraped away. + +"Listen!" said the native who on bended knees was doing the +sacrilegious work, "Did you hear that grating noise?" + +He scraped again with his bolo turned edgewise, and gripping the back +of it firmly with both hands. "Do you hear it?" said he. "It's here!" + +In a few minutes a metallic box was pried out of the earth wherein +it had lain unmolested for many years. + +"Can you read the inscription on it?" asked Marie. + +Carefully the sediment and rust shales were removed. The grooves in +the letters and figures of the inscription were carefully cleaned +out with a knife. It read + + + FATHER + JUADANEZ + 1768. + + +"The old father has been dead a long time," said the fellow who was +doing the details of the work. + +"I wonder," said Marie, "if we really ought to disturb his bones." + +"Do you suppose they put any valuables in the little chest when they +sealed it up?" asked another. + +"It has always been customary to put in the sacred urn," said Marie. + +"Cut it open!" commanded a corporal. + +"I can't," said the robber; "we'll have to build a fire and melt +it open." + +This they did; and in it they found the dust of his bones and a number +of valuables including the Patricia's gold-lined cup which Marie took +and hung on her belt. + +That night a terrible storm swept over the mountains. Marie and her +companions crept into the old church for refuge. The ponies had been +given some rice and then set free to forage as best they could. They +were stampeded by the violence of the wind and rain. + +The morning broke cool and clear. Everybody was astir at day-break. The +ponies were gone, but plenty of rice remained. Marie soon saw a way +out of the difficulty. She left three of her men at the old church to +await the return of the two who were to accompany her until she reached +some plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of the mountains. + +The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such +a supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only three miles +farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost +perpendicular and seeming to form pillars for the sky, were so close +together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used +the ponies for travel, even though they had not retreated in the storm. + +Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had reached +the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be the north fork of +the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had previously +followed. The beautiful valleys below them were plainly visible as +the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A small native village +could be seen on the bank of the stream a few miles ahead. The party +bivouacked for the night. + +Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was +off on her important mission. + +Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after +another night's rest, the five undertook their return journey to +the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they +reached this camp they found their ponies all returned to it; and +their comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the +Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. The entire party, except +Marie, got back to Aguinaldo's camp at Palanan, on Christmas Day. + +Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her +spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing help from +the natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a +few months. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +COMPENSATION + + +On the evening of December 24, 1900,--one of those dark nights in +the Philippines when the air seems so dense that you can almost +take hold of it with your hands--when the heavy clouds blanket the +earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem to shake the earth +in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their melody--when +the lightening bugs flutter from twig to twig, revealing their +lanterned wings--when the human heart beats with a conscious thump +in anticipation of something awful--when those who are out alone +whistle to give themselves courage--when the zigzag openings rent +through the clouds by the vicious lightning flashes almost reveal +Eternity;--Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which we all celebrate +and shall continue to celebrate till the end of time, to commemorate +the birth of our Christ,--a sharp-eyed, dare-devil Filipino crept +slowly out of the city of Ilagan along a foot-path toward the +Americans' camp about a mile north of that city. + +When so near to the Americans that their out-posts were plainly visible +during the flashes of lightning, the Filipino spy crept into a bamboo +thicket not over fifty feet from an American sentry. After lying there +for a half hour, waiting for the storm to come, the native grew a +trifle bolder and arose to his knees. That moment the sharp eyes of +the sentry caught him. + +"Corporal of the Guard!" called the sentry in a loud voice. + +The corporal, being suspicious that something unusual was taking place, +in responding to the call took with him two armed privates. + +Approaching the sentry, with light steps and in a crouching attitude, +the corporal said in a heavy whisper, "What's the matter, Jack?" + +The sentry was standing with gun in hand, loaded, cocked, and with +bayonet fixed. Keeping his eye centered on the exact spot where he had +last seen the slowly gravitating figure before him, the guard said +in an undertone that denoted grave alarm, "Do you see that thicket +just to the left of that big mango tree?" + +"Yes;" said the corporal in a whisper, "What's the trouble?" + +"There's a man in there," said the sentry. "I saw him quite plainly at +first--and I think he's got a gun in his hand. You better watch out, +boys. He's still there." + +The corporal and the two privates fixed the bayonets on their +Krag-Jorgensons, filled the magazines, slipped a shell into the +barrel of each rifle, cocked them, crouched close to the ground, +some ten feet apart, and began to move forward, a step at a time, +between the flashes of lightening. Each time it would flash, they +would peer into the thicket. Each step brought them nearer. + +"There he lies!," said one of the privates in a quick out-spoken voice. + +"Amigo," (a friend) said the stretched-out form, as three guns were +raised in unison with the anxious muzzles pointing directly at him. + +"Este no quere combate" (you don't desire to fight), said the corporal, +in crude Spanish. + +"Mucho amigo" (very friendly), came the reply. + +"Vamose aque!" (come here), commanded the corporal. + +With his eyes fixed in theirs, the Filipino raised himself slowly up +and came toward the three Americans who stood but twelve feet away. + +"Take him by the arms," said the corporal to the two privates who were +with him, "while I look behind that rice-dyke to see if he had a gun." + +"Here's what the rascal was up to," said the corporal, holding a +Mauser above his head. "Good thing you saw him when you did, Jack." + +The storm was coming nearer; the first gust of wind had just struck +them. It blew back the Filipino's little checkered frock. The corporal +saw a glitter. + +"Watch out! boys, he's got a machete under his coat," said the +corporal. + +He was searched for more weapons and then marched inside the American +lines and taken directly to headquarters. A drum-head court was +convened at once and the prisoner led in. + +With hands clinched, muscles taut, eyes piercing at the court, he +listened to the reading of the charge: + +"Caught acting as a spy for the enemy in violation of the Articles +of War; armed, with intent to take the life of an American sentry +on guard!" + +After the testimony had been taken, the prisoner was given a chance +to speak, but he absolutely refused to do so, even though addressed +in several different languages and dialects. + +"He spoke Spanish to us as we captured him," interjected the corporal. + +"GUILTY!" + +said the lieutenant-colonel who was presiding, in a firm military +tone. "The court fixes the penalty at death, and sentences the prisoner +to be shot at sun-rise." + +"Remove him, Sergeant, and detail a firing squad to execute the order +of the court!" + +As the prisoner was led away, the lieutenant-colonel dropped his +chin in the palms of his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees, +and muttered in a semi-regretful way: "I hate to do it; but in the +past we have always been so chicken-hearted about punishing these +blood-thirsty natives that they have now come to regard our kindness +as cowardice. I can't help but feel that it will bring the war to a +close quicker if we deal with them hereafter with a good firm hand." + +"I wonder what province the young fellow came from," said a major +who was sitting near. + +"I really don't know," replied the lieutenant-colonel: "his face shows +him to be a Tagalo. Certain it is that he didn't come from Isabella +province in which we are now campaigning. I wouldn't be surprised if +Aguinaldo were near here and if he had sent this young dare-devil to +cut down our sentry, so as to make an attack upon us tonight during +the storm." + +Toward morning the storm subsided. At day-break a comparatively shallow +grave was hastily dug near the edge of a little bamboo thicket on +a slightly elevated piece of ground. As the flickering rays of the +tropical sun began to shoot above the pale, ashen-gray hue of the +eastern horizon, the prisoner was led to the foot of his prospective +tomb. The firing squad took its place in line. + +The guns had been carefully loaded in advance for their deadly work; +all but one contained blank cartridges. As usual, after loading, the +guns were intermixed, so that no man might know which one contained +the deadly bullet. + +"Ready!" commanded the sergeant who had charge of the squad,--the +corporal having taken his usual place in line with his men. + +"Click," went the hammers of the rifles in unison, as they were +brought to a full cock. + +"Aim!" came the next command in a firmer tone. The soldiers brought +their rifles to their shoulders. Every barrel was pointed at the +chest of the prisoner, who now for the first time, began to tremble +and turn a sickly yellow. + +"Fire!" commanded the sergeant. + +"Bang!" went the united roar of the guns; and as the light powder smoke +cleared away and the echoes reverberated through the woods of northern +Luzon, the firing squad stepped forward to view their heroic dead. + +A private jumped into the grave and turned the corpse over onto +its back. + +That night Frank W. Pugh, of the regular army, a member of this +unfortunate firing squad, who died later at Fort Worth, Texas, of +fever contracted in the Philippines, sitting in his little dog-tent, +meditating, wrote in his diary, which is now preserved in the archives +at Washington with other relics of the war, the following appropriate +poem: + + + A CHRISTMAS COURT-MARTIAL + + "The night was dark and threatening rain, + No stars were in the sky; + We caught him hiding in the pines-- + A Filipino spy. + A slender youth with coal black eyes, + Brim full of frightened tears; + We turned him over to the guard, + I fear with callous jeers. + + Next morning it was Christmas day, + The sun was shining hot, + A drum-head court had said, "The spy, + Is sentenced to be shot." + Erect before the officers, + He still disdained to speak, + Although a single crystal drop, + Empearled his olive cheek. + + Upon a long and hurried march, + In light array, you see, + We could not take the boy along, + So stood him near a tree; + Told off the little firing squad, + And ordered it in line. + One gun was loaded in the lot-- + I hope it was not mine. + + Birds in the branches overhead + Sang softly in the heat. + The grave, a trench of steaming sand, + Gaped yellow at his feet; + He faced us with a dauntless air, + Although his lips were white;-- + Our grim old Sergeant turned away, + He could not stand the sight. + + A flash, a roar, a cloud of smoke, + And headlong to the ground + He fell face downward in the grave, + And died without a sound. + We turned him over on his back, + And DEATH the TRUTH confessed, + For through his open jacket peeped + A Woman's tender breast." + + + +Marie Sampalit had earned her doom. After her grave had been filled, +the soldier boys placed at its head a cartridge-box lid on which they +inscribed the pitiful word, + + "UNKNOWN." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman with a Stone Heart, by +Oscar William Coursey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + +***** This file should be named 24705.txt or 24705.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/0/24705/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project and the Internet Archive.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman with a Stone Heart + A Romance of the Philippine War + +Author: Oscar William Coursey + +Release Date: February 27, 2008 [EBook #24705] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + The Woman with a Stone Heart + + A Romance of the Philippine War. + + By + + O. W. Coursey, (U. S. Vols.) + + Author of + + "History and Geography of the Philippine Islands." + "Who's Who In South Dakota." + "Biography of General Beadle." + "School Law Digest." + + + + + All of these books are published and for sale by + THE EDUCATOR SUPPLY COMPANY + Mitchell, South Dakota + + + + + + + + + Copyrighted 1914 + + By O. W. Coursey + + + + + + + +THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART + + +INTRODUCTION + + +To those whose love of adventure would cause them to plunge head-long +into an abyss of vain glory, hoping at life's sunset to reap a +harvest contrary to the seed that were sown, let me suggest that +you pause first to read the story of "The Woman With a Stone Heart," +Marie Sampalit, dare-devil of the Philippines. + +Perhaps we might profitably meditate for a few moments on the musings +of Whittier: + + + "The tissue of the life to be + We weave in colors all our own, + And in the field of destiny + We'll reap as we have sown." + + --The Author. + + + + + +DEDICATION + + +To Her, who, as a bride of only eighteen months, stood broken-hearted +on the depot platform and bade me a tearful farewell as our train of +soldier boys started to war; who later, while I was Ten Thousand miles +away from home on soldier duty in the Philippine Islands, became a +Mother; and who, unfortunately, three months thereafter, was called +upon to lay our first-born, Oliver D. Coursey, into his snow-lined +baby tomb amid the bleak silence of a cold winter's night, with no +strong arm to bear her up in those awful hours of anguish and despair, + + +My Soldier Wife, Julia, + +this book is most affectionately dedicated. + + + "Only a baby's grave, + Yet often we go and sit + By the little stone, + And thank God to own, + We are nearer heaven for it." + + --O. W. Coursey. + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Page + + Marie Sampalit 10 + Region Around Manila Bay 29 + Admiral Dewey 39 + Aguinaldo 61 + Marie, Her Mother, etc 82 + Filipinos at Breakfast 100 + End of the Boat-Battle 113 + The Rescue 126 + Floating Down The Rapids 129 + General Lawton and Staff 139 + + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + + Chapters: Page + + I. Love Defeated 9 + II. First Shot of A New War 25 + III. Avenged Her Lover's Death 41 + IV. The Interval 57 + V. Filipino Uprising 69 + VI. As A Spy 81 + VII. Off For Baler 93 + VIII. The Gilmore Incident 105 + IX. The American Prisoners 113 + X. Death of General Lawton 131 + XI. North-bound 141 + XII. Crossing the Sierra Madres 153 + XIII. Compensation 167 + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +LOVE DEFEATED + + +Marie Sampalit and her fiancee, Rolando Dimiguez, were walking +arm-in-arm along the sandy beach of Manila bay, just opposite old +Fort Malate, talking of their wedding day which had been postponed +because of the Filipino insurrection which was in progress. + +The tide was out. A long waved line of sea-shells and drift-wood +marked the place to which it had risen the last time before it began +to recede. They were unconsciously following this line of ocean +debris. Occasionally Marie would stop to pick up a spotted shell +which was more pretty than the rest. Finally, when they had gotten +as far north as the semi-circular drive-way which extends around +the southern and eastern sides of the walled-city, or Old Manila, +as it is called, and had begun to veer toward it, Marie looked back +and repeated a beautiful memory gem taught to her by a good friar +when she was a pupil in one of the parochial schools of Manila: + + + "E'en as the rise of the tide is told, + By drift-wood on the beach, + So can our pen mark on the page + How high our thoughts can reach." + + +They turned directly east until they reached the low stone-wall that +prevents Manila bay from overflowing the city during the periods +of high tides. Dimiguez helped Marie to step upon it; then they +strolled eastward past the large stake which marked the place where +the Spaniards had shot Dr. Jose Rizal, the brainiest patriot ever +produced by the Malay race. + +When they came to the spot, Marie stopped and told Dimiguez how she +had watched the shooting when it took place, and how bravely Rizal +had met his fate. + +"If it hadn't been for this outrage committed by the Spaniards," +remarked Dimiguez, "this insurrection would not have lasted these two +years, and we would have been married before now; but our people are +determined to seek revenge for his death." + +Then they started on, changed their course to the northward, entered +the walled-city by the south gate, walked past the old Spanish arsenal, +and then passed out of the walled-city by the north gate. Here they +crossed the Pasig river on the old "Bridge of Spain" (the large +stone bridge near the mouth of the river, built over 300 years ago) +and entered the Escolta, the main business street of Manila. After +making their way slowly up the Escolta they meandered along San Miguel +street until they finally turned and walked a short distance down a +side street to a typical native shack, built of bamboo and thatched +with Nipa palms, happily tucked away beneath the overhanging limbs +of a large mango tree in a spacious yard,--the home of the Sampalits. + +Here Marie had been born just seventeen years before; in fact the next +day, April 7, would be her seventeenth birthday. When she was born, +her father instituted one of the accustomed Filipino dances which last +from three to five days and nights, and at its conclusion she had been +christened "Maria," subsequently changed by force of habit to "Marie." + +Late that evening, while they were seated side-by-side on a bamboo +bench beside of her home, tapping the toes of their wooden-soled +slippers on the hard ground, and indulging in a wandering lovers' +conversation, Marie said to him (calling him affectionately by his +first name), "Rolando, when did you first decide to postpone our +wedding day?" + +"Well, I'll tell you how it was," answered he, meditatingly. "The +thought of serving my country had been lingering on my mind all +last summer--in fact, ever since the insurrection first broke out in +the spring of 1896. You know I intended coming down to see you last +Christmas, but I couldn't get away. That night I walked the floor +all night in our home at Malolos, debating in my mind whether we +had better get married in March, as we had planned, or if it would +not be wiser and more manly for me to go to war, take chances on +getting back alive and postpone our wedding day until after the war +is over. Toward morning, I decided that it was my duty to become a +soldier; so I called my father and mother, got an early breakfast, +bade them goodby and started for Malabon, which was Aguinaldo's +headquarters, and enlisted. He was glad to see me. You know, he and +I attended school together for one year at Hongkong. Well, Aguinaldo +at once commissioned me a spy and assigned me to very important duty." + +"My God!" interrupted Marie, "you are not on that duty now, are you, +Rolando?" + +Dimiguez arose. "Marie," said he firmly, "I must be off." + +"But won't you tell me where you are going and what task lies before +you?" pleaded Marie, as she threw both arms about his neck and began to +sob, "I'll never tell a living soul, so help me God, but I must know!" + +"A spy never tells his plans to anyone, Marie," said Dimiguez +slowly. "He takes his orders from his chief, plays his part; and +if he gets caught, he refuses to speak and dies without a murmur, +like a man. Good night, Marie, I must be off; duty lies before me." + +Marie cried herself to sleep. + +The next morning she started down town, as usual, for the market place, +with her bamboo basket filled with bananas, sitting on her head, +and a cigarette in her mouth. She had only gone a block when she met +a neighbor girl, one of her chums of equal years to her own, who was +a chamber-maid in the German consul's home on San Miguel Street. + +Her friend looked excited. "Have you heard the awful news, Marie?" said +she. + +"No!" exclaimed Marie, "What is it?" + +"Why, Dimiguez was caught last night by Spanish guards inside the +yard of the governor-general's summer palace up on the Malacanan, +just as he was slipping out of the palace itself. How he got in there, +nobody knows." + +Marie dropped her basket. "Heavens!" gasped she, "Did he do anything +wrong?" + +"They found in his pocket diagrams of the interior of the palace, +showing the entries to it, the room where the governor-general sleeps, +and many other things; also your picture. See here! the morning paper +gives a full account of it." + +Marie glanced at the head lines and then started on a vigorous run for +the building in which the Spanish military court was sitting. Rushing +in, past an armed guard, she began to plead for her lover's life. But +he had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to death by +strangulation in the old chute at Cavite. Dimiguez never moved a +muscle when he saw Marie. Armed guards forced her abruptly out of +the building and ordered her to leave. + +Inside of two hours, on the same day, April 7, the anniversary of +Marie's birth, he was taken to the little town of Cavite, seven miles +southwest of Manila, and was there placed in the lower end of a long +chute built out into Manila Bay. This chute was just wide enough for +a man to enter. Its sides, top and bottom were all built of heavy +planks. The side planks lacked a few inches of connecting with the +top, although of course the side posts ran clear up and the top was +firmly bolted to them. The entrance to it was well elevated near the +docks. The lower end protruded into the bay, so that it was visible +about eighteen inches above the water during the period of low tide, +and submerged several feet during high tide. + +Tides come in slowly at Cavite, each succeeding wave rising but a +trifle higher than the others, until the usual height is reached. Thus, +a prisoner placed in this chute, forced to the lower end and then +fastened securely during low tide, can look out over the side planks +at the hideous spectators, watch the tide as it begins to rise and +see slow death approaching. It was in this chute that Marie's lover +met his death. + +Marie saw the launch that carried him away as it left Manila. She +rushed down to the Pasig river, loosened her little boat from the +tree to which it was tied, jumped in, seized the oars and started in +pursuit. The launch on which he was being carried had for its power +a gasoline engine, and, of course, it soon left her far behind. When +she first started, the swells caused by the launch rocked her little +canoe quite roughly and impeded her progress. As she approached the +mouth of the river, passed the monument of Magellan and came between +the walled-city on the southern bank and the docks on the northern +bank, a crowd of excited natives thronged the shore, and many of them +recognized her. She heard some one cry out, "Vive Marie!" With might +and main she strove forward. + +The launch made its seven-mile run to Cavite; the victim was placed +in the chute; the tide had risen to the danger line; her lover, +with his head thrown back, had just begun to gurgle the salt water, +when Marie, in frantic agony, almost exhausted, rowed around the +lower end of the chute and came near enough to the dying hero to +be recognized by him. Straining ever muscle to keep his head above +the water a second longer, he cried out in chocking tones that were +interrupted by the merciless sea which was rapidly filling his mouth, +"Goodby, Marie, God bless you. Avenge my death!" + +Hush! At this moment another tidal wave engulfed the apex of the +chute. Not a sound could be heard save the slight flapping of the +waves against the pier, and the dismal chant of three priests, who +stood on the shore near by, and who had not been permitted to attend +the young spy before his death. Marie trembled; she dropped the oars; +her eyes fell; for a moment it seemed that her young heart stood still: +then her face flushed; the tears stopped flowing; anguish gave vent +to determined revenge; pent-up sorrows yielded to out-spoken threats; +and in tones sufficiently audible to be heard ashore, she cried, +"I'll do it." + +The Spaniard knows no pity. If Marie were to have stepped ashore +immediately after her lover's strangulation, she might have come +to grief. It is strange that she escaped punishment for having +followed. She, therefore, rowed directly east and landed on the beach +of the bay, about four miles south of Manila, just west of the little +city of Paranaque. + +From sheer exhaustion, she needed food; therefore, she walked northward +along the shore until she found a Mango tree heavily laden with +fruit. After eating a few luscious mangoes, she crept into a clump +of bamboo and had a good cry: tears so ease a woman's soul. + +From her position on the beach she could readily see the Spaniards +as they took her dead lover from the chute when the tide had lowered +toward evening. She saw them even strike his corpse, and she bit her +finger nails as she watched them place him in a rough wooden box and +haul him up through the streets of the village on an old two-wheeled +cart drawn by a caribou. + +With the approach of sunset, things grew strangely quiet. The spring +zephyr that had blown modestly during the day died away. There was no +longer even a dimple in the blue surface of Manila Bay. Not a leaf was +astir. It seemed to Marie that the only sound she could hear was the +the throbbing of her own heart. To her the whole world seemed like an +open sepulcher. Looking down she discovered that she was unconsciously +sitting on a flowery terrace and that all about her was life. She +pulled one of those exquisite white flowers with wide pink veins, +peculiar alone to the Philippines, and pressed it to her lips. + +The sun was just setting beyond Corregidor. The island's long shadows +seemed to extend completely across the bay to her feet. As the solar +fires burned themselves out, the orange tint which they left behind +against the reddened sky reminded Marie of the night before, when +she and her lover had strolled along the shore of the bay about three +miles farther north; and as the sun slowly nodded its evening farewell +and buried its face in the pillow of night, she remembered how he, on +the previous night, had called to her attention the lingering glow of +its fading beams. Before her lay the Spanish fleet, it, too, casting +shadows that first grew longer and longer and then dimmer and dimmer +until they in turn had died away in the spectral phenomenon of night. + +Marie's thoughts turned toward home. What about her mother? She walked +back to her little boat, pushed it out into the bay, and, stepping +into it, sat down, took hold of the oars and started northward near +the beach. Just opposite Fort Malate, she swung westward, and, passing +outside of the break-water a mile from shore, she entered the Pasig +river and hurried homeward. When she arrived, about nine o'clock, +she found her mother on the verge of prostration; for that very day, +strange to say, Marie's father, who was a colonel in the Filipino +infantry, had been killed at San Francisco del Monte, six miles +north-east of Manila, in a battle with Spanish troops. + +"Don't cry, mother," expostulated Marie, "from now on I intend to +kill every foe of ours in these islands!" + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +FIRST SHOT OF A NEW WAR + + +Three weeks passed by. Marie had gone down town late in April to +do some shopping. While she was standing in the door of the old +postoffice on the Escolta, she heard the shrill voice of a Filipino +lad piping out: "Papers! Papers! All about the war with the United +States. Dewey's comin'!" He had a bundle of newspapers under his right +arm and was waving one in his left hand. Everybody rushed out of the +bazaars and offices along the Escolta where they were transacting +their business, and each one who could get near enough to the boy, +eagerly bought a morning paper. + +The lad's papers were all gone but one. Marie Sampalit snatched it from +his hands, and dropped into one of them a small coin. She stepped into +the corridor of the post office, to escape the annoyance of the crowd, +and read the large head lines: + + + "WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN + + dewey en route to manila great naval + battle friday or saturday in manila bay + + The Stone Wall Around the City will be + Razed to the Ground. Great Loss of Life." + + +"Then, I'm off for Corregidor Island right away!" exclaimed +Marie. "Dewey can't get into the Bay except by that route. That's +where the fight will begin. Mother doesn't know this. I'll tell her +I am going to take some supplies to the Spanish garrison. I will go +at once!" + +She set out from Manila in a small casco, or flat-bottomed native boat, +heavily laden with fresh fish, pine-apples, mangoes, bananas, tobacco +and cigarettes--all intended for the Spanish garrison on Corregidor +Island. Manila is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. From +there to the island it is nearly thirty miles. Her little boat was +driven forward on its journey by an easterly wind that gently swelled +the tiny sails. + +She reached the island at five o'clock that afternoon and was given +a royal welcome by the Spanish soldiers. Marie gave them the morning +paper containing the news of Dewey's prospective arrival. She asked +permission to take part in the fight. + +Marie was a favorite with the Spanish garrison. Her genial disposition, +added to her almost inconceivable daring, had won for her the +friendship and admiration of all. The gunners had playfully taught +her all about loading, firing and swabbing their cannon. She had also +learned the art of good marksmanship, so that at a target practice +she was an adept. + +Impatiently she awaited the arrival of the American fleet. She heard +the Spaniards discuss among themselves the cowardice of the American +soldiers, and saw them wager the Dewey would not come to Manila at all +but that he would sail down around the Malay Peninsula and hasten home +by way of Good Hope to save his vessels from certain destruction. All +this sounded plausible to her and she grew restless and enthusiastic +as the dull hours dragged away. + +Dewey was so long in coming from Hongkong and the garrison on the +island had been kept at their guns ready for action for so many hours +without rest that many of them were completely tired out by the last +day of April, and asked for relief. It was hard to give it. Marie's +opportunity had come. Her ability as an expert rifle shot was known +alike to officers and enlisted men. She offered to serve. The Spanish +commandant could not well refuse. He needed her services; besides, +the Spaniards were just then doing all within their power to win the +temporary friendship of the natives. Consequently, he promised to +assign her to duty for the night. + +The sunset, as viewed from Corregidor Island on the evening of +April 30, was most glorious. Not a cloud was in the sky; a dead calm +prevailed, so that the sea was unusually smooth. As the sun sank to +rest behind the shimmering horizon it caused the island to cast a +long shadow over Manila bay as far as the eye could reach, but this +soon disappeared. + +When the sun had sunk from view, Marie noticed that a comparatively +new moon was visible in the sky, and she remarked to the Sergeant +of the Guard, "It will not be very dark to-night. We can see the +Americanos a long way off." + +"Yes," replied the Sergeant, "the only difficulty with the cowards is +that they will not come near enough to be seen at all. They have had +plenty of time to run from Hongkong to Manila and back again; still +they have not been seen or heard of. I'll bet you a peso (Spanish +dollar) that they have gone home and that all of this excitement has +been for nothing. Dewey is getting old, Marie; he doesn't want to go +to a watery grave so far from home. If he were young and ambitious, +it would be different. Old men do not care much about real fighting, +especially on the sea. It is different with old generals commanding +land forces. They can sit away back in the rear of the battle-field, +receive messages that come to them; plan certain movements based upon +these reports; and while they do have considerable responsibility, +still they are not in the actual fight. As for Dewey, nobody has +ever heard of him. He is not a recognized naval commander. Besides, +the old fellow, according to reports, is slow and easy going. If he +should come to make us an unfriendly call tonight, mark my word, Marie, +there will not be a sliver of his entire fleet left floating above the +water yonder inside of thirty minutes after the first shot is fired." + +He had scarcely concluded speaking when the Officer of the Guard, +Lieutenant Orlando, called out, "Sergeant of the Guard! Fall in the +First Relief!" The Sergeant threw his arm over Marie's shoulder in an +affectionate manner, smacked a hurried caress against her olive cheek, +jumped up from the little bamboo bench on which they were sitting, +rushed up to the guard house and cried out, "First Relief! Fall in!" + +Marie hastened after him. As the relief was forming in line, she seized +a Mauser rifle that stood leaning against a huge rock, grabbed up a +cartridge belt well filled with Mauser ammunition that was lying on +the ground near by, hastily adjusted it to fit her waist measure, +buckled it on and fell into the rear rank. + +"Count fours!" ordered the Sergeant. As is usual in military affairs, +the front and rear rank men count in unison; that is, number one in +the front rank and number one in the rear rank both count "one" at the +same time; second file counts "two," etc. When it came to Marie she +piped out simultaneously with the corporal who stood in front of her, +"quatro." (four). + +As the guard was marched along the stony pathways on Corregidor Island +and the various sentinels were relieved, Marie soon saw that there was +not going to be a place for her. She tip-toed up to the corporal who +was posting the relief and asked him where he was going to station her. + +"Never mind," said the corporal, "we have a place for you." And sure +enough, they had. + +Every soldier or civilian who has ever been on this island will readily +recall the rough, hard-beaten, winding path that led from the summit of +the hill, in a south-westerly direction, down over precipices, around +clumps of bamboo, to a beautiful fresh water spring which bubbled +out of the coral rocks at a point just high enough to prevent it from +being inundated or even infiltrated during the season of high tides. + +A few feet from this spring and elevated but slightly above it, is a +massive, flat rock. Along the north and west sides of this rock is a +vertical stone precipice some eight feet high, which from its upper +edge inclines back gradually at an angle of about twenty degrees +above a horizontal plane, toward the crest of the island. + +On this rock Spain firmly bolted one of her most modern cannon--a +good seven-inch gun. It was so situated on a revolving casement that +its shots could be made to sweep the whole Boca Grande channel, as +the large entrance south of the island is called. Marie had often +operated this gun. She had done splendid work with it on a floating +target two miles distant. Its deadly roar was her delight. Oh! if +she could but use it just once on an actual enemy instead of firing +it at an indicated one! + +When the old guard had been relieved and the sentries were marched +back to the guard-house to be dismissed, poor Marie, heavy hearted, +marched along. Just as they approached the guard-house, the sergeant +motioned to her to fall out and to come toward him. This she did. + +Into her ear he whispered the information that was to start her on her +eventful military career. "Marie," said he, "the officer of the Guard +informs me that we cannot use you in the infantry service tonight, +but that you will be needed with the artillery." + +"Good!" exclaimed Marie, "Where shall I serve?" + +"At the new gun on the large rock near the spring," answered the +Sergeant. + +"Thank heaven!" said Marie. "Dewey will surely come, and when I put +a solid shot through the 'Olympia' just below the water line--the +battle will be half over. Oh! I'm so anxious! May I go down there +tonight and take charge of the gun at once?" + +The Sergeant told her to report to the headquarters of the artillery +department where she would receive instructions. + +At last she found herself on actual duty. How her young heart throbbed +as her black eyes peered forth into the darkness. Toward midnight, +small clouds began to drift oceanward. For a few moments at a time +they would obscure the quartered cheek of the young moon. Oh! if +Dewey would but come. The hopes of a life-time were poised on that +painful "if." Before her was the dream of glory; behind her, the +dreary forgetfulness of the past. Hour after hour whiled away. The +tiny lights in the natives' shacks along the opposite shore began to +go out and grow fewer and fewer until the closing day had died safely +away into the solemn night. As usual, "taps" were blown at ten o'clock +and things on the island grew very quiet. Days--yes, weeks--seemed +to crowd themselves into those long hours. Would he ever come? + +Presently she heard the sentry's shrill cry on the brow of the hill, +"Twelve o'clock! All's well!" The echo of his repeated call had +scarcely died away when Marie thought she saw something dark on the +water near the center of the channel, perhaps three miles away. She +whispered to a member of the artillery corps, who sat near her watching +the shadow of his pipe on the rock near the base of the cannon. They +both looked. Surely! it's Dewey! The artilleryman sent up a rocket as +a warning. Marie took hurried aim. "Boom!" went her cannon, and from +its mouth a seven-inch shot was hurled over the "Concord," between +its main and mizzen masts. It went a trifle high and did no harm. + +"Bang!" went one of the port batteries on the "Raleigh" and before +its flash was gone a shudder shot through every vein, every nerve +and every fiber of Marie's body. Such a crash she had never heard +before. "War is hell" to be sure. She sniffed the smoke from her own +gun, and looked around to see what had happened. The stone precipice +behind her was torn into fragments. A man's hand protruded from the +debris. "My God!" she murmured. Yes, there was the evidence. The +man who had sat by her side and who sent up the rocket, lay cold in +death. His head was torn off and his body was mangled among the pieces +of broken rock. The gunner on the "Raleigh" had done his work well; +and Marie's dream of American cowardice, of their poor marksmanship +and of her ability to sink Dewey's flag ship, were shattered in an +instant. She had fired the FIRST gun of the war, but not the LAST! + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AVENGED HER LOVER'S DEATH + + +After Dewey's fleet had passed the island and entered the bay, proper, +Marie crept up to the top of the cliff and awaited the results. As she +sat there shivering with fright, day began to dawn. Presently she heard +the Spanish batteries on Point Cavite fire a heavy shot--then a second +one; and a few minutes later she saw flames of fire and smoke belching +forth from the starboard sides of Dewey's entire squadron. Then the +Spanish fleet, lying off of Point Cavite, commenced a united and +simultaneous action. + +Shells rent the air; the men on both fleets cheered as they beheld +the effect on the enemy of a well-directed shot; smoke-begrimed +gunners, with the perspiration washing light-colored furrows down +their manly cheeks, stood at their guns and worked like demons as they +swabbed their cannon and crowded into them shot after shot. Hissing +projectiles that missed the opposing ships and plunged into the bay, +were throwing volumes of splashing foam into the air. Dewey's vessels +were moving in a figure eight and using alternately the several guns +on their port and on their starboard sides, while the Spanish ships +moved about promiscuously among each other in an awkward fashion, +over a small area, and fired only as an opportunity offered. + +"Thank God, I'm out of range of the demons," said Marie to a Spanish +officer who had come to her side. + +Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey's ships ceased firing +and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent damage had been +sustained by the vessels of either command. + +"The old fellow is going to quit," said Marie to the Spanish officer +who stood erect with his field glasses carefully trained on Dewey's +squadron. + +"They're coming this way, Marie," said the officer. + +"My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and open +fire on us again?" shouted Marie. "We haven't a mounted gun left to +shoot with." + +The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, "They've stopped and +are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going to resume +the fight." + +He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey's vessels were heading +straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on fire the +beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the "Reina Christina." Then her magazine +blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach near Cavite and deserted +amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was able to +leave. The dead and the dying were left to their fate. Magazines in +several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes most of them +were on fire. Dewey's gunners were doing deadly execution. Hundreds +of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from their burning vessels +into the ocean. + +"Now what is he going to do?" said Marie, with some excitement, as +she saw one of Dewey's ships, the "Concord," disengage herself from +the rest of the fleet and head straight for a large Spanish gun-boat +that was lying off to herself and whose sole business it seemed was +to keep up a deadly fire on Dewey's flagship, the "Olympia." The +Concord literally disembowled her. + +"The heartless wretches!" exclaimed Marie, as she watched another +American ship, the "Petrel," leave the line of battle and make a rapid +run right past the Spanish fleet for the village of Cavite. "I wonder +what the villains are up to now." In a few minutes the Petrel returned, +with six small vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying +at her mast head this signal, "Have destroyed eight vessels." + +Dewey's ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their +positions in line and remained quiet. + +"What time is it?" asked Marie of the Spanish officer who stood +near her. + +"Twelve-thirty," answered he, as he looked at his watch. + +Marie whiled away the afternoon watching the Spaniards on Corregidor +island burying their dead comrades. She wanted to go home, but she +feared to go past Dewey's fleet. + +That evening things became solemnly quiet; and the blazing sun, as its +face reddened into nightly slumber beyond the watery horizon of the +Pacific, bade farewell to a finished deed, which, in the history of +naval warfare, has never been surpassed; while the pale-faced moon, +moving slowly up her appointed path, looked calmly down with her +quartered cheek in silent benediction on the blazing hulls of the +Spanish ships as they slowly cremated their dead and dying. + +The next day the Spanish Commandante on Corregidor discovered that +Dewey had blockaded the port of Manila, so he restrained Marie from +starting home for nearly a week. + +Finally, she got permission to go. As she passed Dewey's fleet she +was surprised to find everything so peaceful and to see dozens of +native canoes hovering along the port-holes of his vessels, selling +fruit and curios to his men. + +Marie reached home in the early evening, and found her old mother +frantic because of her absence and the excitement that had taken place. + +During the next few weeks while Dewey was waiting for reinforcements +from home, many strange things occurred on shore. The Filipinos +captured or killed nearly all of the smaller Spanish garrisons +distributed throughout the islands. On May 26, they secretly cut +down the Spanish guards walking their beats along the western side of +the little town of Cavite, and let in a horde of Tagalos well armed +with bolos, who crept up near a large stone cathedral, built in 1643, +in which the Spaniards, as a military necessity after their defeat by +Dewey, were making their headquarters. These Filipinos made a mad rush +through the back door of the building and captured all the Spaniards +being quartered therein. This feat also gave them possession of another +lot of Mauser and Remington rifles and a goodly store of ammunition, +for which they had been yearning. + +Dewey had no men whom he could spare to send ashore; therefore, he had +left these surrendered Spaniards to take care of themselves. Evidently +he did not anticipate an attack upon the garrison at Cavite, or +he might have landed enough marines from his battleships to have +prevented it. + +When Marie heard about the capture of the Spanish garrison at Cavite +by the Filipinos, she at once rowed over there to see what was going +to be done with the prisoners. This was the first time she had been +at Cavite since the day of her lover's tragic death. She found the +Filipinos jubilant over their new fire-arms. But many of them had +never before used a gun and they were very awkward with them, so +that accidents were constantly occurring. The privileges of target +practice given to Marie by the Spaniards, in times past, now found a +new reward. She organized the Filipinos into squads for this training, +arranged suitable targets for them, supervised the loading and cleaning +of their guns, and by voluntary assent became the leader in a whole +lot of nefarious mischief in the neighborhood. + +But what about her lover's dying request and the vow she registered +in her aching soul as she left the scene of his death? By remaining +away from the graves of our loved ones we may check memory and +enthrone reason, thus more rapidly overcoming sorrow. By constantly +resorting to places of grief we keep that grief, whatever may have +been its cause, fresh on the tablets of our memories. The fact that +Marie had not returned to Cavite, the scene of her sorrow, for about +two months, helped her to forget it and to flirt with fate among the +very troops who had caused it. Now that she had returned to Cavite, +old visions began to haunt her. Shooting at wooden targets was not +desperate enough to appease her nature; she longed for bloodshed. + +Between herself and a few Filipino leaders she concocted a scheme +that would be hilarious, avenge the death of him whom she had +briefly mourned, as well as the deaths of Rizal and thousands of +other Filipinos who had been shot or strangled by the Spaniards, +and satisfy the longings of her innermost nature. It was this: a +pit twenty feet in diameter and ten feet deep was to be dug on the +higher ground a few miles southwest of Cavite. Each morning twenty +of the captured Spaniards were to be marched out to this pit and +made to slide down a bamboo pole into it. The Filipino soldiers, +armed with their newly-captured rifles, were then to stand around +the brink of this pit and use these half-starved Spaniards for living +targets. Marie gloated over her new enterprise. What sport! How she +enjoyed it! The Filipino's marksmanship was poor and many of their +unfortunate prisoners were shot over a dozen times before they were +stilled in death. This bloody practice was kept up until over two +hundred Spaniards had been slain. + +About this time rumors of what was being done reached the ears +of General Anderson. He ordered it stopped, and sent food ashore, +under American escorts, for the Spanish prisoners. These prisoners, +before being led to the slaughter, were housed by the Filipinos +in an unfinished portion of the old convent at Cavite, and in some +large stone buildings without floors and with only a few windows, +heavily barricaded with iron bars, formerly used by the natives for +storage purposes for various cargoes of raw materials, preparatory +to exportation. These buildings were dark, damp and infested with a +multiplicity of insectivora. + +The Spaniards, imprisoned therein, were fed by the Filipinos on a +very small ration of uncooked rice. This they had to pound into meal, +and eat it out of their hands. Water, although plentiful, was denied +them, except in small quantities. They had no beds, but slept on +the bare ground. Many of them were practically nude. They had staid +by their guns on the Spanish fleet until their ships began to sink; +then they had jumped overboard and swam ashore, taking off most of +their clothes before making the attempt. The Filipinos had little +clothing to give them and no disposition to share what they did have. + +These half-starved wretches, pale, lean and ghostly looking, many +of them sick with fever and other ailments, none of them with a +cent of money, were a sickening sight to the American troops whom +General Anderson sent ashore to investigate their circumstances +and conditions. Of course the healthier ones were marched out and +killed first. Some of them began to cry when the American officers, +pushing the Filipino sentries aside, poked their vigorous manly faces +through the openings of the massive doors to see who and what was on +the inside; but most of them propped themselves up on one elbow and +held out the other hand for something to eat. Others indicated by +motions that they wanted paper and pencils, so as to write letters +home, telling their loved ones in far-off Spain that they were still +alive, and asking for money. + +As the Americans began to empty their haversacks and hand hard-tack +and Boston baked beans to them, some of the prisoners seized them by +the fingers and kissed the backs of their hands in grateful homage +for their kindness. A few of the more ignorant ones, who had heard so +much about the cruelty of the American soldiers, and who, upon sight +of our officers, believing the end was near, had sought a kneeling +attitude and begun to pray, gradually sank back into a reclining +posture and held out their hands for a morsel of food. + +The Filipino guards sulked when they were displaced by the American +sentries, and some of them had to be forced from their posts of +fiendish duty at the point of the bayonet. They considered these +Spaniards as reprisals, constituting their own private property, with +whom they could do as they pleased without any justifiable interference +on the part of anybody. Marie Sampalit slapped an American private +who had been sent to displace a Filipino sentry whom she had just +stationed at one of the prison doors. He promptly knocked her down with +the butt of his rifle. What she said in reply he could not understand. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE INTERVAL + + +After avenging her lover's death, Marie returned again to Manila +where she remained at home until the Filipino uprising against the +American troops in the spring of 1899. During this interval of nine +months, she daily frequented the places of rendezvous of the American +troops stationed in and around Manila. She also went to the officers' +homes in the city where their wives and children were stopping. She +did their washing, and cared for the children. Her congeniality made +her a favorite. Some of the American ladies offered to bring her back +to America with them for a house-hold servant. + +From them she learned to speak the English language nearly as fluently +as Spanish. The American soldiers were kind and polite to her. She +made considerable money by doing washing for them. It was noticeable +that she was gradually improving the old bamboo home in Manila. In a +few months she had come into possession of more money than she thought +there was in the entire world. Most of it was American gold--largely +in five dollar denominations. (This is what the United States used in +paying the soldiers.) These she took to the Spanish bank in Manila +and exchanged them for Mexican silver, which, until the United +States began to issue special coins for the Philippine islands, +was the standard medium of exchange in the archipelago. + +Marie began to dress better. Her penia cloth gave way to Chinese silks; +her wooden hair combs to expensive ones inlaid with gold, bought at +the Spanish bazar down town. Many little comforts were bought for her +home. Still the washings kept growing larger. She and her mother could +be seen back of their shack, in the shade, pounding American soldiers' +white uniforms on large boulders from early morning till night. + +Aguinaldo, who had previously sold out his country and gone to +Singapore, after commissioning Dimiguez, upon hearing that war +was about to begin between the United States and Spain, made his +way northward to Hongkong. After the battle of Manila Bay, Dewey +despatched the revenue cutter, "McCulloch," to Hongkong to cable +home the news of his splendid victory. On her return to Manila, +she permitted Aguinaldo to come along. + +After a brief conversation with Admiral Dewey on board the "Olympia," +he went ashore at Cavite, his boyhood home, began to organize the +Filipinos into a powerful army, captured 1500 Spanish soldiers who +were holding out-lying posts, and hemmed in the city of Manila. + +On August 13, following, Dewey and General Merritt, by a union of +their forces, captured the city of Manila which offered but slight +resistance. Aguinaldo's native troops rushed forward with the Americans +in the charge that was made by the land forces and they insisted on +looting the city. General Merritt refused this and ordered them to +withdraw beyond the city limits. This they did after considerable +wrangling. Then the Americans established out-posts on every road and +pathway leading to and from the city, completely around the town; +and they were given instructions by the commanding officer not to +allow any Filipino troops to enter the city. + +Aguinaldo discarded his uniform one evening, completely +disguised himself as a Filipino fruit-vender, and made his way +into Manila. Naturally, he slipped around to the home of his old +friends, the Sampalits. He sat in a semi-darkened room, with all the +hinged-windows to the shack tightly closed and stroked Marie's soft +black hair with his left hand. As he engaged her and her mother in +conversation in subdued tones, he little thought that in so short a +time Marie would be associated with him in a series of bloody tragedies +that would revolutionize the government of the islands forever. + +"Marie," said he, "I'm going to force the Americans to acknowledge +the independence of the Philippine islands, or I shall not permit +the rest of their army to land. Dewey tells me he has sent home for +reinforcements. There is no use for us to let these troops land, if +America instead of Spain is going to govern the islands. What we want +is absolute independence with myself as president of the new Filipino +Republic. If the Americans won't concede this to us, let's fight!" + +"That's what I say!" declared Marie. "Let's drive the foreign devils +off the islands or slay them all. Here's father dead and--Dimiguez, +too"--Marie's voice trembled--"I tell you it's too much. Let's kill +every one of them!" + +"Yes; but say Marie, we must keep quiet about all this," cautioned +Aguinaldo. "I'll tell you what I have in mind. We'll wait about four +weeks and by that time if Dewey hasn't received definite instructions +from Washington, and if he won't give me any satisfaction, I'm going +to go to Malolos, proclaim myself Dictator of the Philippines, appoint +a cabinet and a congress from among some of the bright young Filipinos +here in Manila who have been educated abroad, draw up a Revolutionary +form of government, and begin to administer the affairs of these +islands just as I please. + +"We'll keep our present army in the field, and if the Americans do +land we'll shut them up in Manila, so that they will have nothing at +their command but the city to regulate. This won't amount to much as +compared with the rest of the islands which I will dominate." + +"Are you sure the Americans won't land a powerful army, cut through +your lines around Manila and drive you out of Malolos, or capture you +and your officials at that place? It seems to me I would go farther +inland--say to San Isidro," said Marie. + +Aguinaldo thought a moment, then replied: "That's true, in a sense, +Marie; but I have got to be on or near the railroad where I can have +easy and rapid access to Manila. Malolos is not far from here and +it is situated on the railroad. It has some very large buildings in +which our legislative sessions could be held. I think it the place +for the undertaking. + +"To be on the safe side, I believe I will have our troops erect a +series of fortifications between here and there along the railroad +track, so that if the Americans do attempt to advance by that route +I can easily stop them." + +"I think that would be a good scheme," said Marie. "Malolos is about +twelve miles from Manila Bay; besides, the bay is shallow in the +north end, so that heavy boats could not go up there. This will make +it impossible for Dewey to shell the place with his fleet. We've got +to watch out for that--no matter what we do. My! but those American +ships can shoot! Did you hear about me shooting at 'em with that +cannon on Corregidor island when they entered the bay? I mighty near +got one of their vessels." + +"No," said Aguinaldo, "I have not heard very much about the firing +off Corregidor, but as I came from Hongkong the other day on the +"McCulloch" I noticed that the Spanish fortifications on the island +had all been dismantled." + +"Why! they killed a man right at my feet, the very first shot," said +Marie; "and then one of their boats drew nearer and fired several +times more and they killed every Spaniard in the relief guard which +was near by,--seven of them in all." + +"And I was terribly worried about Marie," interrupted her mother who +had listened to the conversation with deepest interest. "She had been +gone for a week, and I hadn't heard a word from her." + +"Oh! well, I don't pity the Spaniards any for what the Americans did +to them," interjected Aguinaldo, with some emphasis. + +"Be careful," said old lady Sampalit, putting her finger on her lips, +"don't speak too loud." + +Aguinaldo continued in a lower voice: "They killed your husband. They +shot Rizal. They strangled Dimigeuz. They tortured to death several +hundred of our young fellows in the dungeons. They have left ridges +of dead wherever their armies have moved among us. I tell you they +deserved all they got." + +Mrs. Sampalit and Marie had grown heavy hearted. Aguinaldo looked at +his watch. It was after ten P. M. + +"I wonder," said Aguinaldo, hesitatingly, "how I shall be able to +get back to our lines tonight." + +"Don't go!" said Marie, in an emphatic whisper, "stay over night!" + +"Yes, do!" entreated the old lady, "I'm nervous." + +"It might be best; it would surely be the safest thing to do," said +Aguinaldo, in a meditating manner. + +"We sleep on bamboo beds," said Marie. "There stands mine. You may use +it tonight, and I will sleep on the floor. I don't mind. Mother and +I frequently lie down on the floor near the window, when the nights +are sultry." + +The next morning Aguinaldo arose very early, made his way to the +edge of the city and stealthily stole out threw the Americans' lines, +never again to return to Manila until General Funston brought him back, +two years later, a captive. + +He made his way to Malolos, a few weeks after this conversation, +declared himself "Dictator of the Philippines," appointed a Filipino +congress, set up a government of his own and began to run the general +affairs in the interior of Luzon. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +FILIPINO UPRISING + + +The close of the eventful year of 1898 was near at hand. General Otis +had been made governor-general of the islands. He had received about +15,000 troops from home. These had all been landed and were quartered +in the city of Manila. + +Preparations had begun by the American troops for a great day of field +sports to be held on the Luneta--a beautiful narrow park paralleling +Manila bay and extending southward from the walled-city about four +miles--on New Year's day, 1899. + +On the afternoon of January I, as planned, the exercises were +begun. The afternoon program consisted of foot races, running high +jumps, wheelbarrow race, fat man's race, running broad jump, high +kicking, fancy club swinging, tumbling, shot-put, sack race, tugs of +war, five boxing contests, base ball, foot ball, and pole vaulting. + +Situated on the Luneta, about a mile south of the walled city, and +distant from Manila bay about 100 feet, is a large bandstand. This +served as headquarters for the exercises. The day was perfect--clear, +cool and calm. + +About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives, soldiers (including jack-tars +from Dewey's fleet, Spaniards and Americans) and foreign residents +had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of Welcome and +to witness the sports. When the speaker arose to deliver the address, +for which he was afterward voted, and presented with, a medal by the +Eight Army Corps, he said in part (verbatim report): + +"On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to make +these Field Day Exercises a success, and this occasion one long to +be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon, I bid +you, one and all--officers, soldiers, sailors and civilians of every +nationality--a hearty welcome." + +"Again to you, the members of Admiral Dewey's fleet, I feel obligated +to extend a separate and special welcome; for without your chivalrous +devotion to duty last May Day, yon shell-riven wrecks (part of unraised +Spanish fleet visible above the bay) would not bespeak the down-fall +of a sister nation, and we ourselves would not have been permitted +to assemble here this afternoon. There is no braver man on land or +sea than the American marine; and on behalf of the entire American +army of occupation, I bid you a most cordial welcome." + +Touching upon the question of territorial expansion, the speaker said: + +"This was a war for humanity, not for conquest. But simply because +it suddenly closed and left us in possession of large tracts of +new territory, is no reason why these spoils of war should be given +up. I hold this to be true Americanism: that wherever the old flag +is established through sacrifice of American blood, whether it be on +the barren sands of the desert, at the frigid extremes of the earth, +or on the rich and fertile islands of the sea, there is should remain +triumphant, shedding forth beams of liberty to the oppressed, shouts +of defiance to the oppressor, and furnish protection and enlightenment +to all who come beneath its streaming folds forever!" (applause). + +A chubby Filipino maiden, standing near the speaker's stand, and +who had listened intently to every word of the address, because she +now understood the English tongue, quietly elbowed her way through +the dense crowd which was gradually becoming more compressed, until +she reached a car drawn by two Chinese ponies on the old street car +line running south from Manila to Fort Malate and back. Taking the +car she rode up town to the Escolta. Going into the postoffice, she +hastily wrote and mailed to Aguinaldo at Malolos a letter containing +an account of what was said. It follows: + + +"Manila, P. I., Jan. 1, 1899. + + +My Dear General: + +Those wretched Americans are holding some kind of exercises on the +Luneta this afternoon. I heard one of the speeches. It was awful +bad. The fellow talked loud. He swung his hands in the air and the +crowd seemed to get terribly excited over what he was saying. + +He told about that treaty of peace, and he said no power under the +sun would haul down the American flag from over Manila. + +It made me angry. I am going right out to the Filipino trenches to +see my Uncle (Colonel Miguel). He'll fix those fellows. I'll bet +he'll haul down their flag before tomorrow morning. + + +Goodby, + +Marie." + + + +The evening program on the Luneta, which followed the afternoon +exercises, was largely literary in its nature. It consisted of music +by the California band, singing by the famous Washington Male Quartet, +fancy dancing, selected recitations, and stump speeches. In addition, +Privates Green and Martin boxed four rounds, much to the satisfaction +of the natives. + +The program had just been completed when the Master of Ceremonies +received from the American general in charge a note telling +him to announce the conclusion of the program at once and to +order all soldiers to report immediately at their respective +regimental headquarters;--trouble had been reported at the +out-posts. Reinforcements were hastened to several of the out-post +reserves, and it appeared that the expected insurrection was at hand. + +After the out-break by the Filipinos on New Year's night, it was +evident to both sides that it was only a question of a short time when +blood would be spilled in abundance. The Filipinos occupied all of the +block-houses--some seventeen in number--around the city of Manila. This +forced the Americans to stand in the open and do guard duty exposed. + +The Filipino troops were saucy. They couldn't understand why men should +be armed with rifles and not be permitted to shoot. They tormented +the American soldiers daily with hideous pranks. They grew bolder, +and pushed their out-posts forward until they stood within a few feet +of the American sentries. + +Marie went out and back through the American lines at will. She +secretly kept the Filipino army thoroughly posted on the arrival of +new troops from America. Occasionally she would take the train and +go up to Malolos to see Aguinaldo. She was the best posted person +in the Philippines as to what was going on in each of the hostile +armies. Nobody suspected her. She was respected by the American +troops. Everybody came to know her. + +Just before dusk, on the evening of February 4th, 1899, Marie +and her mother left the city of Manila, in a cariole, drawn by a +Chinese pony which they had recently purchased. They had in it all of +their most precious household trinkets. As they passed Colonel John +M. Stotsenberg, commanding the 1st Nebraska volunteers, stationed +on McLeod's hill at the eastern edge of Manila, he recognized them, +and called to Marie, "Where are you going?" + +"Out on a little trip," retorted Marie. + +"How soon will you be back?" asked he. + +"O, I can't tell," responded Marie. "Mother is getting so nervous +that we thought best to go away for awhile." + +"Say, Marie," said the colonel, "do you know who the Filipino officer +is in command of all those thousands of troops that are now assembling +in the ravines between the hills along the far side of the river +valley, yonder?" + +"No, I do not," she declared with an emphatic swing of her head. + +But she was lying. It was Colonel Miguel, her own uncle. She knew about +it. He had secretly informed her that he was preparing to attack the +city and burn it and that he was going to exterminate the American +army of occupation and all foreign residents that fell into the hands +of his mighty army. He told her that he had chosen the east side of +the city as his main point of attack, so that Dewey could not reach +his troops with the shells from his gun boats in case he tried to +assist the American army, without elevating his guns and shooting +completely over the city--a thing wholly impractical within itself, +as Dewey could not determine whether his shells would be falling +among the Filipino or the American troops. It was he who advised her +to take her mother and flee to the hills for refuge. + +Colonel Stotsenberg then asked Marie if she knew anything about the +proposed attack on the city by her people. This, she denied also. The +colonel's face flushed. Pulling back the flap of his tent, he said +emphatically: "Do you see that gun, Marie? Tell those fellows over +there when you pass their lines that I said they could have trouble +whenever they want it." + +Marie drove on. + +Inside the colonel's tent stood a large gun from the Utah battery, +mounted, loaded, ready for action; its threatening nose was +pointed directly at the line of little brown men assembled across +the valley. The Filipinos were smarting for trouble. They wanted it +badly. Wherever and whenever possible they improved every opportunity +to bring it about. The trouble came. Colonel Stotsenberg that night +used the cannon he had pointed out to Marie. A long pile of mangled +forms lying at the base of the river hills on the opposite of the +valley next morning told the results. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +AS A SPY + + +Marie was well equipped by instinct and experience for a spy. The +tragic nature of such work was exceptionally inviting to her. When +a chance came to undertake it, she lost no time in embracing the +opportunity. + +After passing out through the American lines, she drove on down the +slope of the hill and crossed the San Juan River on the old stone +bridge where the fighting was begun that night by young Grayson of +the Nebraska regiment. After reaching the Filipinos' lines she at once +reported to her uncle, Colonel Miguel, and had an extended interview +with him. + +Secret plans were agreed upon whereby she was to become the colonel's +chief scout. Two Filipino soldiers were sent to accompany her old +mother to the little town of Angono on the eastern bank of Lake Laguna +de Bay, near its northern end. A native family, quite familiar with +the Sampalits and related to them, lived in this village. Marie stayed +with the troops in the field. Her young brain danced at the thought +of more bloodshed. She must be in the fight. + +Just what part Marie took in the attack made upon the Americans by +the Filipinos on the night of February 4th, and in the fighting on +February 5th, the world will never know. The two main figures in +these operations were Colonel Miguel, in command of the main portion +of the Filipino forces, and Colonel Stotsenberg, who commanded the +1st Nebraska volunteers. Before the close of the war these men were +both shot; consequently, there is no one left to tell the story, +and history is silent on the point. + +After the fight of February 4 and 5, the entire line of block-houses +and intrenchments circumscribing Manila, were in the hands of the +Americans. From the Pasig river on the east, around the city to the +bay on the north, this line was commanded by Major-General MacArthur; +the corresponding semi-circle on the south, by Major-General Anderson. + +During the next seven weeks, fresh troops were constantly +arriving. Each side was preparing for the long, inevitable conflict. + +At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall's brigade +in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on the firing line, +which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant charge along +the entire front on the Filipinos' breastworks about a mile and a +half distant and constructed parallel to those of the Americans'. + +Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments; +had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted a terrible +loss upon Aguinaldo's troops; had demonstrated to them the difference +between a determined American advance and an irresolute Spanish one; +and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the capture of +the Filipinos' temporary capital, Malolos, the overthrow of their +provisional government, and the establishment of American sovereignty +throughout the entire archipelago. + +That night, about eleven o'clock, a nervous Filipino woman came walking +down along the American out-post reserves which, during actual war, +are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the sentries. She +reached Company "G's" reserve of the 1st South Dakota Volunteers, +where she was ordered to halt. She refused, but acted as though she +did not understand. Drawing a large bamboo bonnet down over her face +to conceal her identity, she mumbled something apparently to herself, +and walked rapidly on. In a moment she was seized; her bonnet was +torn off; her identity revealed: it was Marie. + +She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see +if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which they had +received, would be warranted in making a night attack. + +She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched, +scrambled--making it necessary to employ two privates, a corporal +and a sergeant to send her to the rear. + +When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the +3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer +that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private +was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, and insisted +that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she +drew the poncho about her to keep herself warm (it grew very chilly +before morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to +escape. Her teeth chattered and she seemed distressed--evidently +through fear of what the morning might bring to her. + +The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return +to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. She +pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that +after her return to Manila she would do washing free of charge for +the American soldiers who were sick in quarters. + +After being liberated, Marie walked eastward, following an irregular +sled-road; that is, a road-way used by the Filipinos for sledding +their rice to market. This is done by means of a bamboo sled drawn +over the dry ground by a caribou. She followed this road for over +two miles until she came to the San Mateo river. + +Although given a few hardtack by her captors at the time of her +release, she was getting hungry. As she approached the stream she +noticed an old Filipino standing near his bamboo cabin which was neatly +tucked away oh the slope of a deep ravine near by. Turning from her +pathway which had now grown somewhat indistinct she approached the +old gentleman. + +When quite close to him she said, "Buenos dias," (Good morning in +Spanish.) + +"Magandang umaga," (Good morning, in Tagalo), muttered the old man. + +After a brief conversation during which Marie told him that she had +been captured by the Americans, had been terribly misused and he had a +miraculous escape, he invited her into his cabin where his aged wife +gave her something to eat. This breakfast consisted of boiled rice, +some fish which the old man had just brought from his set lines in +the San Mateo river, and some bacon which he had found along the +trail made by the American's pack train the day before. + +While the old couple were outside of their home--he breaking up +some bamboo with which to re-kindle the fire, and she, cleaning the +fish--Marie ransacked the house. She stole a large diamond ring which +the old man had taken from the finger of a Spanish officer during +the previous insurrection. She opened an old mahogany chest and took +from it a rosary valued at several hundred dollars; also a gold lined +cup which the old man, himself, had stolen from a Spanish priest, +and some Spanish coins. + +After a hearty lunch, she started on. + +Crossing the river at the rapids, on the boulders which projected +above the water, she quickened her steps and hurried along. Changing +her course to the southward, she started for the northern end of Lake +Laguna de Bay to see her mother. + +She had not gone far through a small clump of timber when she came +upon the corpse of a Filipino soldier who had been shot in the previous +day's engagement,--perhaps by a stray ball. Hastily stealing the cross +which hung from a small cord about his neck, and a valueless ring from +one of his fingers, she seized his Mauser rifle and his cartridge belt +which was partly filled with ammunition, and then resumed her journey. + +A short distance ahead was a large opening--an old rice field +well cleared. She had scarcely begun to cross it when she heard a +noise. She turned and saw the bow-legged old man whom she had robbed, +with a machete in his hand, coming after her as fast as he could. He +had discovered that the rosary was missing, and upon looking around, +that several other things were gone; therefore he at once started +in pursuit of the fiend who had just enjoyed his hospitality. Marie +was not disturbed. Raising to her shoulder the rifle which she had +just found, she took deliberate aim and at the first shot laid him +low in death. + +She reached the small native village of Angono, where her mother was +stopping, about four o'clock in the afternoon of March 26th. + +The old lady was wonderfully elated to receive the new jewels which +Marie had stolen. She put on the rosary and danced about in the native +hut like a young child on Christmas morning, when it sees the gorged +stocking fastened to its bed. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +OFF FOR BALER + + +That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, fired with ambition +and discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette and started for +Manila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row boat via the +Pasig river which drains the lake into Manila bay and which flows +through the city of Manila situated at its mouth. + +While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next few +days, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being carried +out by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanish +garrison of fifty men stationed at the little town of Baler, near +the eastern coast of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrendered +to the American forces with the remainder of the Spanish army on +August 13, 1898, but as all lines of communication with them had been +destroyed by the Filipinos they had never been officially notified +of the capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information that +they were being besieged by a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos which +outnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of time +before all would be exterminated. + +Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that something +must be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party was formed and +placed aboard the "Yorktown," which carried them around the southern +point of Luzon and then northward to the mouth of the Baler river. + +Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath not +to take up arms against the Americans again during the insurrection, +and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besieging +Filipinos of what was to take place, and to help them as best she +could to resist the advance of the rescuing party. + +Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern coast +of Luzon, and Manila is on the west side of the island Baler is, +nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused by the +deep indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of which +Manila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward of +the eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight east +of Manila. + +In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipino +foot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part near the +San Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which is +situated about three miles north and a trifle east of Manila. At that +point she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for a +short distance and which was made by the Americans' commissary train +on the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March 25, +preceding. + +She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention was +attracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a few +feet distant from her pathway. She walked over to in and found these +words inscribed thereon: + + + "R. I. P. D. O. M. + + Wat Erbuf Falo + + Born -- (?) Died, February 12, 1899. + + + To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave, + Some facts on its headstone we wish to engrave; + If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell + Bill Sherman was right when he said, 'War is Hell.' + He charged on two pickets whose names are below; + They took him for niggers,--poor wronged buffalo. + As to the way he met death, everybody knows how; + As to whom he belonged we don't caribou. + + Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. "M," 1st. Col. Vols." + + + +It was now April 2nd, and Marie had ahead of her about ninety miles +overland to be made on foot or else on horse-back; and it was necessary +for her to hurry along, as the rescuing party was scheduled to reach +the mouth of Baler river April 10th, or 12th. + +Her course led past the little shack on the bank of the San Mateo +river, where she had robbed the elderly couple who had been so kind +to her and near where she later had shot the old man when he was +pursuing her to regain possession of his stolen property. + +She found it deserted; but in a little bamboo corral nearby she found +three Chinese ponies. Evidently they had made their escape from the +scene of battle and had drifted into this yard for refuge. There was +a small stack of rice straw just outside the corral. From this Marie +soon made a stoutly-twisted rope which she hastily arranged in the +form of a bridle. Placing it over the head of the largest pony she +mounted him and rode off. + +She got ten miles beyond this last stopping place before sunset. That +night she stopped at a small inland village. As she lay down to sleep +on the bamboo floor in the hut of a Tagalo family whose acquaintance +she had readily formed, recollections of the place which she had +passed during the afternoon where she had previously robbed the old +couple immediately after she was released upon oath by the Americans, +suggested to her the thought that she was violating her oath; that she +was now out in a country where she might be betrayed at any moment by +her own people, or else be captured by a squad of American infantry +or cavalry; therefore, she decided that on the following day she +would destroy her identity. + +Upon retiring the previous night Marie coiled up for a pillow her head +of long black hair. "I hate to give it up," thought she, "but what +will the Americans do to me if they capture me another time? Oh! well, +after the war is over it will soon grow out again." + +The next morning, after a scanty breakfast of bananas and rice, and +a pineapple which Marie salted heavily before she ate it, she went to +a native barber and had her long hair cut close to the scalp, except +for a little tuft on top which she had him brush up for a pompadour. + +Before cutting off her hair the barber tied a piece of hemp very +tightly around it, just back of her neck. After he had detached it, +he held it in front of Marie and asked her what she wished done with +it. She took it in her own hands. + +The barber kept on trimming her shortened hair. Marie stopped talking +and seemed to be in deep meditation. + +Presently the barber said. "That's all." + +Marie arose from the rough mahogany slab on which she had been sitting, +handed him a puesta (twenty cents, Mexican), looked out of the window +and said, "I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll trade you my hair for +that quilas (two-wheeled cart) standing there." + +"All right"; said the barber, "My pony is dead, and the war has so +devasted the country, and money has become so scarce, that I can't +afford to buy another one." + +"The harness hanging on it goes with the cart," said Marie. + +"Oh no!" exclaimed the barber, "my wife borrowed that, and I must +return it." + +"It doesn't make any difference to whom it belongs," said Marie, +emphatically, "you traded me the cart, and everything that was in it +goes with the trade. How do you suppose I could hitch my pony into +the cart without a harness?" + +Just then she pulled a bolo out from under her apron. The barber said +no more. + +Marie hitched her pony into the cart and started on toward Baler. + +That day she followed a good road leading toward the mountains near +the eastern coast of Luzon. By night her pony had made twenty miles. + +She had already reached the foot-hills. It was impossible for her +to make head-way any longer with the cart. She would soon be across +the mountains and be in the region to be approached by the American +relief party. What was to be done? + +A happy thought came to Marie. She clasped her hands and muttered to +herself, "I'll trade the cart for a suit of men's clothes and trade +the harness for a sombrero," (bamboo hat.) + +Since the middle of the afternoon she had been driving parallel to a +stream that wound its way, nearby, from the mountains across the plains +to the sea. Villages along the banks were numerous. At night fall she +was still in Tagalo territory. It was her own tribe. She soon found a +place to stay over night. Her pony was turned loose in a vacant yard, +with an old bamboo fence around it, and given some young rice. + +That evening while smoking cigarettes, and while inflaming the minds +of the villagers with startling stories about the atrocities, of the +American soldiers, Marie finally succeeded in making the trade which +she had planned during the afternoon. + +Next morning, April 5, she rode on. Before her lay sixty miles of +unknown territory to be covered during the next four days, if she +were to reach Baler in time to warn the besieging Filipinos of the +contemplated attack by the Americans. + +A half mile out from the village, Marie came to an abrupt turn in the +road. Near by was a dense cluster of banana trees. She dismounted, +and while her pony was nibbling young rice she went into the thicket +and changed her attire. Then she tied a good-sized stone up in her +old clothes and threw them into the river. As she stood on the bank +watching them sink, she saw her shadow in the water. How changed she +looked! The sombrero was such a relief in keeping the hot sun off +her head. + +"Now, I'll not be recognized," thought she. "How nice it is to be +dressed like a man. From now on I mean to play a man's part and be +a full-fledged soldier." + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE GILMORE INCIDENT + + +Marie reached her destination late in the evening of April 9th, +and she at once notified the officers commanding the Filipinos who +were besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with so small a +force, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish garrison, +it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler river--as +the town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was located is some two +miles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific ocean, and +the American troops were too greatly outnumbered by the Filipinos to +make a land expedition safe,--she suggested to them the advisability +of fortifying the river at specific intervals along either bank and +of taking the precaution to cover the fortifications with freshly-cut +brush so that the Americans could not locate them for the purpose of +bombarding them in case they saw fit to load some of the smaller cannon +on cascoes and make their way up the river for an attack in that way. + +The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and places +for the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. It was +during the dry season and the river was very low at the time. This +made it possible to dig ditches on the sand bars which extended far +out into the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sand +taken therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments by strewing over them +some fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance of +having drifted to their lodgment. + +The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, as +scheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of truce, where, +to his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers; +but their exceptionally good behavior and the twinkle of their eyes +told only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. He +therefore returned to the Yorktown without having accomplished anything +in particular. + +The next morning, at four o'clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and sixteen +brave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered the +mouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were put +ashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke forth and +those left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry who +was walking his beat along the shore. He gave the alarm. Lieutenant +Gilmore and his party could easily have pulled out to sea and gotten +away, but humanity forbade it. What would become of the two scouts +who went ashore? Their comrades in the boat could not desert them, +so they rowed up the river into the very jaws of impending danger. + +Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinos +opened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only fifty yards +distance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck in +the mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. In a moment Morrisy +fell dead, having been shot through the head; Dillon followed; +then McDonald, then Nygard;--Marie was doing deadly work with her +Mauser rifle. + +The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what was +the use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly had the +Filipinos screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were using +smokeless powder. + +Four of Gilmore's men were already dead, two were mortally wounded +and begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell into the +hands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Most +of the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy's rifle balls. In +this moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumped +overboard and tried to push the boat out to mid-stream. It was no use; +the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they could +not compete against it. + +Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change and +use one of the dead men's rifles. As he picked it up he noticed the +lock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip had been jammed +in. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, to be fixed. + +The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struck +him in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been under fire +before. Looking up calmly, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit." + +In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out of +his arm pit. With his attention riveted on his task, he remarked, +"I'm hit again, Mr. Gilmore." + +Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cut +a painful wound in his scalp. "Mr. Gilmore, they've hit me again," +he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with blood running +down all over him. + +In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad's ankle, one of +the most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. This time, +with a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit +once more; but I've fixed your gun, Sir." + +Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans' fire had +practically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench the limbs and +underbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns, +spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash for the boat and captured +the entire crew. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE AMERICAN PRISONERS + + +Those of the Americans who were alive and able to help themselves +were ordered to go ashore on the sand bar, where the Filipinos robbed +them of their personal effects and then lined them up preparatory +to shooting them all down in a body. Gilmore, being an officer, +protested against having his hands tied. He claimed, according to +the accepted rules of warfare, that on account of his rank he had +a right to die honorably with his hands free. The Filipinos have +great superstitions about "rank" in military affairs. Marie knew the +significance of Gilmore's request; she respected it. + +The Filipinos had loaded their rifles, cocked them, raised the same +to their shoulders, had taken aim, and Marie was about to give the +fatal command, "Fire!", when a shout from the bank stopped her and +for a moment engaged the attention of both the Americans and the +Filipinos. It came from a Filipino officer, running down to the +shore. He ordered them to stop. One second longer would have been +too late. + +This Tagalo officer ordered the Americans to get back into their boat +and to row across to the opposite shore. After bailing the water out +of the boat and plugging up the holes in it made by the enemy's rifle +balls, they obeyed his command. + +When they went ashore, Lieutenant Gilmore asked permission to bury +his dead comrades. This privilege was emphatically denied. What was +done with their bodies by the Filipinos is hard to tell, but in all +probability, as was customary with the natives, they cut them into +fragments and threw them away. + +The ones who were mortally wounded, but who were still alive, were +placed under a tree by Gilmore and his comrades, and left to die. The +Lieutenant asked that a native doctor be summoned to give them aid, +but it was not done. What their fate was Eternity alone will reveal. + +Gilmore and his comrades picked up the lesser wounded and carried +them, and together the whole procession was marched inland about a +mile to the Filipino Commandante's headquarters. + +Here they were questioned at length. Gilmore asked permission to +write a note to the commander of the Yorktown telling him of their +fate. Permission was granted, but the note was never delivered. The +two scouts who went ashore, returned to the Yorktown in the afternoon +and reported that they had heard heavy firing up the river. + +After waiting several days for news of some kind for them, and finally +concluding that they were either captured or killed, the crew of +the Yorktown, heavy-hearted over their failure and their sacrifice, +steamed back to Manila. + +During the afternoon of the same day that the battle took place, +the American prisoners were ordered to march to an old bamboo church +in the northern outskirts of the little town of Baler, a mile and +a half farther on. By this time the wounded men were suffering +terribly. Little Venville's ankle had swollen badly. From his four +wounds he had bled so much that he had grown faint. Therefore, he +and several of the others had to be carried. + +En route to their new destination, the Americans passed in sight of +the old stone church being used as a fortress by the Spanish garrison +whom they had originally set out to relieve. The Americans had gone +to the Philippines to fight the Spaniards. They were now sacrificing +their lives to save them. + +At the bamboo church, an old Filipino with a kindly face and a manner +that elevated him above his fellow tribesmen, came in to see them. He +examined the wounded and then disappeared. Presently he returned with +some large leaves that resembled rhubarb, under his arm. Out of the +big stems of these native herbs he squeezed a milky secretion which he +permitted to drop into the gaping wounds of the Americans. The torture +of the wounded occasioned by this liquid was damnable. The men grew +deathly pale. They rolled and screamed and begged to be shot. But +it did not last long. In ten minutes the torture had ceased, the men +became quiet, the swelling around their wounds was gradually reduced, +and their temperatures soon lowered. The herb doctor evidently knew +his business. + +The next day the Filipinos received orders from Aguinaldo, who, +with his appointed congress, was now at San Isidro, to march the +captured Americans to his headquarters. Accordingly, the trip +was undertaken. But the apprentice lad, Venville, was unable to +go along. Obeying the stubborn orders of the rapacious Filipinos +his comrades left him lying on the floor of the old rickety bamboo +church,--wounded--uncared for--suffering--hungry--thirsty--dying. A +year later the assistance of the entire naval organization in the +Philippines was given to the task of trying to ascertain from the +Filipinos in the neighborhood of Baler some information concerning +the lad's whereabouts or his burial place, but no trace of him, +dead or alive, could ever be found. + + + An aged mother, ill and bowed, + Keeps asking, "Where's my boy?" + But zephyrs from the Orient + Refuse to bring the joy. + + +Amid great privations the marching column crossed the mountains and +the fertile plains on the opposite side, to the city of San Isidro. It +was heralded in advance that the Americans were coming through the +country. Obeying their greatest national instinct--curiosity--the +natives assembled by thousands in the villages along the road. Every +one of them kept crowding forward to get to touch the Americans to see +what their skins felt like. Others were looking for the long feathers +in their hair, which they had heard so much about. It was all the +Filipino guards could do to restrain their own people. The latter, +like monkeys, jabbered incessantly. Gilmore's men hurled back at them +defiant epithets. They realized that involuntarily they had become +the chief actors in a new moving circus. + +Again, when they reached San Isidro, a great throng of curious natives +had come to town to see them. These fellows were very hostile to the +Americans. It was all the native guard could do to keep the Filipinos +from doing violence to them. Gilmore was again questioned at length +and then he was separated from his comrades and all were hurried off +to jail. + +In a few days it was rumored that the American army was approaching the +city. Aguinaldo and his associates hurriedly prepared to leave. Orders +were given to march the prisoners overland north and then westward +across another range of high mountains to Arancay, on the western +coast of Luzon,--a distance of 100 miles. + +This time the crowd of prisoners was greatly increased. At San +Isidro there were added 600 Spaniards; a small tribe of mountain +Negritos whom Aguinaldo had originally sent to fight the Americans, +but who, being armed only with spears and bolos, soon got tired of +seeing their number decrease so rapidly before American riflemen, +and refused to fight, and who were later imprisoned and terribly +misused by Aguinaldo's selected guards; and eighteen Americans in +addition to Gilmore's party (total twenty-six Americans), who had +been captured in as many different ways around Manila by the crafty, +cunning Filipinos. Among them was Frank Stone, of the U. S. Signal +Corps, captured by some "amigos" (friendly natives) on the railroad +track near Manila, while out strolling one Sunday afternoon; Private +Curran, of the 16th U.S. Infantry who was grabbed within fifty feet +of his own outpost, gagged and dragged into captivity; also a civilian +who had gone to the Philippines to sell liquor. + +This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila +while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen beer. He was the +life of the expedition. He took his captivity as a joke, told stories +to keep the prisoners good natured, and painted on ever boulder that +he passed the seemingly sacrilegious words, "Drink Blank's beer on +the road to H----." It was, however, this harmless practice that later +on enabled the American relief party to follow the prisoners' trail. + +After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched +northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city of +Vigan. Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden +presence of an American war-ship in the harbor, off Vigan, caused the +natives to abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners +for some mountain fastness. The Americans were separated from the +rest of the prisoners whom they never saw again. + +High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys +were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. The Filipino +lieutenant who had charge of the prisoners, ordered them to go on; +they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for +them without avail. The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon +comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer +himself was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance, +the sick Americans were able to go along. + +A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and came +upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent dancing down the +rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in +the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from the Americans, and with guns +in hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them. + +"Prepare to die," said Gilmore to his companions; "they are going to +shoot us." Calling the Filipino lieutenant to his side Gilmore asked +him why he did not shoot them on the opposite side of the mountains, +and not have made them make all of that hard climb for nothing. + +The native officer said in reply: "My orders were to shoot all of +you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability, +your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them +ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago when you showed +me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman +in America, I decided not to carry out my order, but to let you all +go free. I may be punished for disobedience of orders; but we are +both bound together by the great Catholic church, and my conscience +forbids that I should kill you." + +Gilmore replied: "You might as well shoot us as to set us free away +up here in the mountains in our weakened condition with nothing to +defend ourselves with against the savages whose territory we will have +to cross in order to get to the sea. Can't you spare us at least two +rifles and some ammunition? If you will do this, I will give you a +letter which, should you fall into the hands of the Americans, will +make you safe and bring you ample reward." + +The Filipino looked meditatingly at the ground for several moments, +then he calmly said, "I shall not dare to do it. An American relief +party, seeking your liberation, is close on our heels. They will +protect and care for you. Goodby!" + +Gilmore did not believe him. + +Under cover of the night the Filipinos disappeared. In the morning, +after nine long, tedious months of captivity resulting from Marie +Sampalit's depredations,--sick, nearly starved, practically nude, with +nothing but two battle axes and a bolo for both weapons of defense +and for tools--the Americans at last found themselves free men in +the wilds of northern Luzon, with positive death left behind, and +with possible life and all of its happy associations still before them. + +Their first day of liberty was spent in preparing bamboo rafts on +which to float down the tortuous, winding river to the sea. The next +night they all slept well; and on the following morning, just after +they had gotten up and begun to saunter around, everybody present was +suddenly shocked by the shrill yell of a strong American voice. They +all looked up, and while their hearts for a moment seemingly stopped +beating and fairly rose in their throats, the liberated prisoners +beheld the blue shirts and khaki trousers of Colonel Hare's rescue +party that for several weeks had been on their trail. + +What rejoicing! The bony, ill-clad prisoners fell on the strong bosoms +of their rescuers and wept. + +Colonel Hare's father, Judge Hare, of Washington, D.C., knew Gilmore +personally. He had seen the military reports of his captivity among +the natives. When his son bade him goodby as he started for the +Philippines, Judge Hare said, "My boy, God bless you; find Gilmore +and bring him home!" Colonel Hare had remained true to his trust. + +The party could not retrace their steps over the mountains, owing to +the weakened condition of the prisoners and the lack of food. Their +only chance for self-preservation and a possible return to civilization +lay in carrying out Gilmore's designs to build bamboo rafts and float +down the river to the sea. This was done. In going over rapids and +water-falls, many rafts were destroyed and new ones had to be built. + +Two of the boys got the measles. The raft on which one of them, +Private Day, was being transported, got smashed on the rocks and he +was thrown into the water. He took cold and died the next day. His +comrades took his body with them and did not bury it until they finally +reached the little town of Ambulug, at the mouth of the stream they +had been following, on the northern coast of Luzon. There, amid a +simple but impressive ceremony, it was buried in the church-yard of +the cathedral to await the resurrection morn. + +At Ambulug the Americans secured ox-carts drawn by caribous and drove +along the beach to the city of Aparri, at the mouth of the Cagayan +river. Here they were met by a detachment of American Marines who +took them aboard a war-ship, lying out to sea, which carried them +around the northwest promontory of Luzon to the city of Vigan on the +western coast, at which place they had been imprisoned for so long. + +Here they met General Young who shook hands with each of them; +congratulated the rescued and complimented the rescuers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +DEATH OF GENERAL LAWTON. + + +After the battle of Baler, Marie and a few native soldiers hastened +westward in advance of the prisoners, to San Isidro to notify Aguinaldo +who had moved his headquarters to that place, that the Americans were +advancing northward in great numbers and that nothing could impede +their progress. This information had previously been conveyed to the +Filipino general from other sources, so that Marie found him in his +so-called congress packed up and ready to move,--a thing they were +forced to do a few days after the American prisoners arrived. She +accompanied them for several long, tedious months, acting as cook for +the expedition and serving in other capacities--none of them seeming +to her to be ample reward for all she had done. + +Early in the coming fall, Marie, tired of Aguinaldo's game of +hide-and-go-seek, and anxious to find out about her mother and to get +into more fighting, if there be a chance, made her way back to Manila. + +But her conscience bothered her. She remembered that broken oath and +many other acts of wanton treachery that would shock the civilized +world. She feared that her own life would soon be sought either by +the Americans or by the Filipinos. Accordingly she suggested to her +mother that they again go to her aunt's in the little town of Angono +at the north end of Lake Laguna de Bay, where she had left her mother +stationed when last they had parted. Her mother, growing old and +nervous through accumulated years, past grievances, hard work and the +strain of the present conflict, favored the plan; and so they departed +on December 2nd, taking the same road over McLeod's Hill and on down +over the Santa Mesa bridge that they had traveled on February 4th. + +Before leaving Manila she learned through the private Filipino Junta +which was secretly assisting in the war by accumulating funds for +its prosecution and by distributing among the native troops the +inflammatory literature which was being promiscuously sent out by +the people in the United States who opposed the war, that a secret +reward of $10,000. had been offered for the death of General Lawton. + +About the middle of December, 1899, the General had returned to +Manila from another telling campaign northward, when he learned that +the Filipinos were assembling in large numbers under one of their +fearless leaders, General Geronemo, on the San Mateo river, but a +few miles out of Manila, for the purpose of making one more attempt +to break through the American lines guarding that city. + +On December 17, Marie heard that another attack was to be made on +Manila, so she left her mother at Angono and made her way to the +Filipinos' camp along the San Mateo river, only a few miles south of +where she had crossed it at the rapids the morning after she had been +liberated under oath by Major Allison. + +The next day, she was in secret consultation with Geronemo, and she +disclosed to him all the information she had concerning the defenses +of Manila. + +That evening, Filipino scouts, dressed in female attire, brought to +General Geronemo the news that the Americans, under General Lawton, +who was supposed to be away up in the northern part of Luzon, had +anticipated his movements and were assembling in the woods on the +opposite side of the valley in large numbers, possibly for a night +attack. + +Marie told Geronemo what she had learned while in Manila concerning +the reward that had been secretly offered for the killing of General +Lawton. He knew all about it and confirmed the offer. She told him all +about her training as a marksman with the Spanish on Corregidor island +and of her subsequent experience, and said she knew General Lawton +well; that she could single him out, and in case he led his troops, +as he usually did in battle, she was sure she could capture the prize. + +A place of unusual safety and concealment was selected along the +Filipinos' lines, directly in front of the center of the probable point +of attack by the Americans, for Marie, and for a Filipino lieutenant +and a corporal, both of whom were also good shots. + +Geronemo had instructed them that Marie was to have the first three +shots at the general, in case he appeared on the scene of battle. If +she failed to hit him, the lieutenant was then to try it. After he +had taken three shots, if he, too, failed, the corporal was to be +given a chance. + +The next morning, December 19, the American line of battle came out +of the woods on the opposite side of the valley, ready to charge on +the Filipinos' position. The morning was bright and clear, so that +General Lawton, with his tall figure, resplendent uniform and large +white helmet, could easily be discerned by the entire Filipino command. + +"I'll fix him," whispered Marie, "just wait till the firing begins, +so that I can shoot without attracting attention to our position." + +In a moment, the Filipinos opened fire on the Americans all along +the line. The latter sought cover. General Lawton remained erect. He +made an ideal target. Marie took careful aim. "Bang!" went her rifle, +and at that very moment this peerless leader of men, this hero of +several wars, was shot through the heart and fell dead in the arms +of his aide. His only words were, "I'm shot." + +"See that! What did I tell you?" snapped out Marie, "I told you I'd +get him! Now for my dinero." (money). + +The Americans were so angered because of the sudden death of their +beloved commander that they made a mad rush forward, without orders, +and swept the Filipino army from the field. + +Marie returned to Manila where she claimed the reward for having shot +the general. The lieutenant who was with her claimed that he did it, +and by promising half of the bounty to the corporal for swearing to +the lie, he proved it. Meager reports of the affair state that only +$7000 of the money was actually paid over. Like Aguinaldo who crept +into a cave northwest of Manila and sold out his country during the +insurrection of 1896, and then could not collect his fee, so Marie, +too, found herself deprived of the compensation for her bloody deed. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +NORTH-BOUND + + +The controversy over the distribution of the fund in Manila for the +death in any form of General Lawton permitted the unholy scheme to +simmer its way into publicity. The United States authorities employed +secret detectives to investigate the matter and if possible to locate +the persons who claimed to be responsible for the act. Marie soon +found herself under surveillance and she quickly left the city. + +Making her way north on horse back along the same route she had taken +when on her way to Baler about a year before, she came to the city +of San Miguel where one of the hardest battles of the war had been +fought. The troops engaged in this fight had become so disorganized +that all formation by regiments, companies, etc., had been broken +up. Unfortunately, one of the Americans' dead privates could not be +identified. He was buried where he fell, and a board tombstone was +placed at the head of his grave, on which was carved this lonely word, + + + "UNKNOWN". + + +As Marie passed over the old field, she saw this grave and read the +solemn word on its headstone. "Alas!" she muttered, "I wonder if the +same sad fate will some day overtake me." + +The body of this "unknown" soldier was exhumed by the government a few +months later and brought back to the United States for burial. Upon +its arrival the following pathetic poem appeared in "Leslie's Weekly"; + + + JUST AN "UNKNOWN" + + After the fight was over, + They found him stark and dead, + Where all the bamboo thicket + Was splashed and stained and red. + No name was missed at roll call, + Not one among them knew + The slender, boyish figure + Arrayed in army blue. + + Among our fallen soldiers + They brought him o'er the deep, + And with the nation's heroes + They laid him down to sleep. + A starry flag above him, + And on the simple stone + That marked his final bivouac, + The single word, "Unknown." + + Perchance a mother watches, + Her eyes with weeping dim, + Or sweetheart waits the postman + In vain for news of him. + While snow of winter freezes, + And April violets thrust + Sweet blossoms through the grasses + Above his nameless dust. + + But when the last great trumpet + Shall sound the reveille, + And all the blue battalions + March up from land and sea, + He shall awake to glory-- + Who sleeps unknown to fame, + And with Columbia's bravest + Will answer to his name. + + +Her personal safety demanded that she continue her journey northward, +without delay; also her inclination to rejoin Aguinaldo and his +troops--although his exact whereabouts were unknown--invited her in +this direction. + +At San Isidro, from which place Aguinaldo had been driven, she +saw some American soldiers administering the water cure to some +Filipinos in order to make them reveal the whereabouts of their wily +general. Marie was angry. She yearned to shoot, but she was no longer +on the aggressive; she was now a fugitive from justice. At this +place she inspected the old Filipino prison and on its walls found +the names of Gilmore and his party, whom she had helped to capture at +Baler, who had been imprisoned there, and who were still alive when +Aguinaldo was driven from the city of San Isidro by the approach of +the Americans. She determined to take her revenge on them for this +water cure punishment, if she ever found them. But the opportunity +never came. So journeying on toward the northern part of Luzon she had +many experiences, and she came in contact with tribes whom she had +never seen before and whose dialect was foreign to her. Many things +combined to retard her progress. Often she grew very weary and would +have turned back, except for fear. + +Following up the valley of the Pampanga river and thence on northward +along the Barat, she passed through the province of Nueva Ecija, +crossed the Caraballo mountains which form its northern boundary, +and then entered the province of Nueva Vizcaya, where she came upon +the head-waters of the Rio Magat river. + +In crossing the Caraballo mountains she made her way through a deep +gorge at night. It was now about the middle of February. A full moon +shone at its best. The weather was ideal. Journeying was abnormally +pleasant. Under favorable conditions, during times of peace, the trip +she was taking would have been a delightful outing. Just now things +were different. Small garrisons of American soldiers had crowded +forward and were occupying the largest cities along her route. As yet +she had not gotten beyond them. "A guilty conscience needs no accuser"; +everywhere that she went she imagined herself to be under suspicion. + +Far up in the Caraballos she came across a little mountain torrent +which leaped down over the mountain side from one rocky ledge to +another at quite regular intervals in a series of waterfalls until it +beat itself into a turbulent spray in the bed of the chasm below. The +laughing moon filtered its beaming rays through the thin sheet of +shimmering water as it danced down its course from precipice to +precipice, and seemingly converted it into a great silvery stair-way +connecting earth with heaven. Marie's heart throbbed with emotion. The +dashing of the falling water on the rocks below in the bed of the canon +made a hollow sound as its echoes reverberated through the gorge above. + +A half mile farther up, the valley widened somewhat; and finding here +some grass for her pony to forage on, she stopped for the night. The +flimsy saddle was removed from her horse and converted into a crude +pillow, in true cowboy style. Marie was uneasy. This was the first +night in all her adventures that she had been absolutely alone, +separated from both friends and foes, with no house to shelter her +weary head, with the cloudless canopy of the silent heavens arched +above her, the silvery moonbeams dancing in her face, and with +no voice, save the echoes of her own, to answer back the whispers +of night. + +It is often only in such a silent nook as this, with no one present +but God and self, that humanity asserts itself and the tenderest +portions of the human soul become paramount and give rise to +sacred thoughts. Even the savage cannot escape it, for he, too, +feels his responsibility to something outside of self. No doubt the +self-conscious criminal would be the most susceptible to it. + +What a night for Marie! Solitude gave rise to fear; fear, to conscious +criminality; a sense of wrong-doing, to grief. Would morning never +come? Every time she fell into a doze her sleep was disturbed by dreams +of the past. Recollections of her dying benefactor in the woods by +the San Mateo river, of Gilmore's comrades bleeding by his side, and +of Lawton in the arms of his aide, filled her soul with remorse and +suggested to her with an unspeakable vividness that in all probability +she would pay the penalty on both sides of the grave. Awakening from +one awful dream, she would, after listening to the stillness of the +night for a time, lapse into another. Again she would suddenly awake +and begin to fumble her rosary and repeat selections from a Catholic +prayer book. Would she dare to turn back? Behind her was certain death; +before her, the possibility of life. She resolved to go on. + +The night whiled away. Her pony ate his fill and lay down to +rest. Beaded dew drops collected themselves in close proximity upon +the grasses and foliage about her feet. The cool mountain air from +without and fear from within caused her to shiver a great deal. Day +finally came; Marie rode on. + +Following the Magat river she finally reached the city of Bayombong +with a population of 20,000 people. Here she learned from the natives +that Aguinaldo and a loyal remnant of his appointed congress had +passed through the city ahead of her, en route northward. + +At Bayombong she was advised to follow down the Magat river for +twenty miles, then to bear to the northeast along the pathway made by +Aguinaldo and his followers in their recent retreat. This she did, +crossing another range of mountains near Fort Del Pilar, which had +been erected by the Filipinos to circumvent as well as to prevent the +progress of the Americans, should they attempt to follow them. On +the farther side of this slope she came upon the headwaters of the +Rio Grande de Cagayan river, which she followed on to the north for +several weeks, enjoying the hospitality of the natives along the +course, until at last she came upon the beautiful city of Ilagan at +the confluence of the Cagayan and Pinacanalan rivers. + +It was now late in April. Marie was tired and needed rest. At Ilagan +she was cordially received by the curious natives who were eager to +learn some news concerning the war which was being conducted several +hundred miles further south. Marie grew cheerful. There were no +Americans in the city, and nobody knew of any within the valley. She +felt that at last she had successfully eluded her supposed pursuers and +that she was safe. Ilagan is the capital of Isabella province. It has +a population of approximately 60,000 people. Marie's natural ability, +information gathered in the school of experience, knowledge of the +details of the war, and her willingness to talk (quite a number at +Ilagan could speak Spanish) made of her a sort of responsive idol +for the entire populace. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CROSSING THE SIERRA MADRES. + + +She remained at Ilagan until the middle of June, when it began to be +rumored that the Americans were preparing to invade the Cagayan valley, +not only soldiers from the south but with the "mosquito fleet" coming +up the river from its mouth at the extreme northern end of the island +of Luzon. Nobody in the city seemed to know just where Aguinaldo had +gone. Part of his advance guard had arrived in the city some three +months before, but he had not come, and his soldiers had soon departed +for the southeast, following the valley of the Pinacanalan river. + +Tired of her surroundings and impatient to join Aguinaldo, Marie +departed by the same route that his soldiers had taken. From an +old native living all alone in a bamboo shack on the bank of the Rio +Masagan river, which empties into the Pinacanalan about eighteen miles +southeast of Ilagan, she learned that Aguinaldo and his troops had +started up the valley of the Masagan. This stream rises high up near +the summit of the Sierra Madre mountains which parallel the eastern +coast of northern Luzon for nearly five hundred miles, and are inland +from the coast from ten to thirty miles. + +Marie had with her three trusted natives from Ilagan. She did not want +to spend another night alone in the mountains. After proceeding up +the Masagan for thirty-five miles to a place where its valley narrows +itself to a gorge, its bed was so strewn with huge boulders that it +became impossible to travel any longer on horseback; therefore, one +of the natives was sent back with the horses, and Marie and the two +others continued the ascent on foot, taking with them such equipment +and provisions as they could conveniently carry. + +After many hardships they succeeded in crossing the range in safety +and soon found themselves descending the other side. A Filipino +scouting party was met at the evening of the first day's tramp down +the Pacific slope. They were well supplied with food--thing Marie and +her companions greatly needed. From them it was learned that Aguinaldo +and his body guard and quite a complement of Filipino soldiers were +secreted at the little town of Palanan on a small stream by the same +name, about ten miles back from the coast and lying directly east +of them on the journey which they were pursuing. This party escorted +them to Filipino headquarters, which they reached July 10, 1900. + +Marie was cordially welcomed by Aguinaldo, who restored her to a +position on his staff and secured from her the identical information +which he desired relative to the movement of the American troops, and +the very information, strange to say, which led to his own discovery +and capture by General Funston of the American forces in March of +the following year. + +Aguinaldo learned from Marie that from the Filipinos' standpoint, the +war around Manila had been a dismal failure. He decided, therefore, +to send one of his trusted generals south by practically the same +route over which Marie had come, with information to the Filipino +troops east and south of Manila to move all their available forces +north with the quickest possible despatch and to place them under his +immediate command so that he might not only render himself immune from +capture, but take the initiative and oppose the American campaign in +the valley of the Cagayan river. + +In December, 1900, about three months before his capture by General +Funston, Aguinaldo, having learned that the Americans were making their +way in great numbers into the valley of the Cagayan, asked Marie to +take up duty as a spy again; to recross the Sierra Madre mountains; +visit the American lines; ascertain their number of soldiers on duty +in the valley on the opposite side of the mountains and then to bring +this information to him, so that when reinforcements should arrive +he would know better how to undertake the campaign. + +To this, Marie willingly assented, but she insisted that she could +not make the trip alone over the rugged Sierra Madre mountains; +that she had nearly famished crossing them the first time. Aguinaldo +therefor fitted out a little expedition consisting of eight Filipinos, +in addition to Marie, and a pack-train of fourteen ponies to accompany +her over the divide. Nine of the animals were for riding purposes; +the other five were to pack the supplies,--three of them for the +outward trip, two for the incoming. In addition to the rice which +they took along, they were instructed to forage as much as possible. + +On December 9, the party started out on their perilous undertaking. A +point far up on the mountain slope, near a refreshing mineral spring, +having been reached on December 17, the party halted and established +a sub-base for their return trip. It was evident to them that they +had struck the wrong trail and were going to be compelled to send +Marie back through a different gorge from the one by which she and +her associates had come over a few months before. + +Here the party divided into two relays--one to accompany Marie close +to the top of the mountains, the other to remain where it was until +her guides returned. At this temporary base three Filipinos and two +pack-horses were left. The Filipinos thus left behind were instructed +to hunt and trap all they could till their comrades returned. + +The on-going squad, consisting of Marie and five native soldiers, took +with them their six riding ponies and three of the pack-horses. They +departed from their comrades early in the morning, December 18. By +night of the second day they had gotten so near the crest they could +plainly discern that in one long march Marie could cross the divide +and get a safe distance down the slope on the opposite side. Coming to +an old stone church they dismounted and established themselves for the +night. It was December 19,--the anniversary of Lawton's death. Marie +remarked about it. + +This old church had partly fallen down. Vines and mosses had so +interlaced themselves in climbing over its rocky walls and across its +openings that they had to be cut away by the unwelcome intruders before +they could gain an entrance. The stone cross on the front gable was +still in place; but the old mahogany door had long since been torn +from its hinges by the mountain storms, and it lay in a state of +decay on the ground. An earthquake had destroyed part of the roof, +and had caused the west wall to become inclined and to crumble. + +Within, one end of the old altar was still found to be intact. The +priest's pulpit chair had become ivy-mantled, and one handle had rotted +from its fastenings and had fallen to the floor. Statues of the Saints +had pitched from their moorings in the alcoves along the walls and were +lying face-downward or standing on their heads amid the debris below. + +What hands had built this old church, none could tell. It seemed +certain that no human being had entered it for over a century. The +mountain tribes who had lifted into place the huge chalk stones +that composed its massive walls, under the devout leadership of some +pious monk, for a place of worship, had long since perished from the +earth. The mountain game which rendered possible their habitation in +this altitude had vanished. Everything and everybody had evidently +given way before some fierce invasion of one of their southern tribes. + +Marie was busy cleaning off the trash from the massive rock that lay +at the entrance to the door-way. "1765," said she; "come, see the +date chiseled in the rock! I wonder what has become of the tribe that +built it?" + +A soldier who had made his entrance by one of the window openings, +was busily engaged in prying up a huge flat stone just back of the +altar. He had it loosened; he called for help to remove it. When the +stone had been overturned and had fallen back onto its aged neighbors, +some soft damp earth beneath it was slowly scraped away. + +"Listen!" said the native who on bended knees was doing the +sacrilegious work, "Did you hear that grating noise?" + +He scraped again with his bolo turned edgewise, and gripping the back +of it firmly with both hands. "Do you hear it?" said he. "It's here!" + +In a few minutes a metallic box was pried out of the earth wherein +it had lain unmolested for many years. + +"Can you read the inscription on it?" asked Marie. + +Carefully the sediment and rust shales were removed. The grooves in +the letters and figures of the inscription were carefully cleaned +out with a knife. It read + + + FATHER + JUADANEZ + 1768. + + +"The old father has been dead a long time," said the fellow who was +doing the details of the work. + +"I wonder," said Marie, "if we really ought to disturb his bones." + +"Do you suppose they put any valuables in the little chest when they +sealed it up?" asked another. + +"It has always been customary to put in the sacred urn," said Marie. + +"Cut it open!" commanded a corporal. + +"I can't," said the robber; "we'll have to build a fire and melt +it open." + +This they did; and in it they found the dust of his bones and a number +of valuables including the Patricia's gold-lined cup which Marie took +and hung on her belt. + +That night a terrible storm swept over the mountains. Marie and her +companions crept into the old church for refuge. The ponies had been +given some rice and then set free to forage as best they could. They +were stampeded by the violence of the wind and rain. + +The morning broke cool and clear. Everybody was astir at day-break. The +ponies were gone, but plenty of rice remained. Marie soon saw a way +out of the difficulty. She left three of her men at the old church to +await the return of the two who were to accompany her until she reached +some plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of the mountains. + +The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such +a supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only three miles +farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost +perpendicular and seeming to form pillars for the sky, were so close +together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used +the ponies for travel, even though they had not retreated in the storm. + +Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had reached +the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be the north fork of +the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had previously +followed. The beautiful valleys below them were plainly visible as +the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A small native village +could be seen on the bank of the stream a few miles ahead. The party +bivouacked for the night. + +Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was +off on her important mission. + +Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after +another night's rest, the five undertook their return journey to +the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they +reached this camp they found their ponies all returned to it; and +their comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the +Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. The entire party, except +Marie, got back to Aguinaldo's camp at Palanan, on Christmas Day. + +Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her +spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing help from +the natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a +few months. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +COMPENSATION + + +On the evening of December 24, 1900,--one of those dark nights in +the Philippines when the air seems so dense that you can almost +take hold of it with your hands--when the heavy clouds blanket the +earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem to shake the earth +in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their melody--when +the lightening bugs flutter from twig to twig, revealing their +lanterned wings--when the human heart beats with a conscious thump +in anticipation of something awful--when those who are out alone +whistle to give themselves courage--when the zigzag openings rent +through the clouds by the vicious lightning flashes almost reveal +Eternity;--Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which we all celebrate +and shall continue to celebrate till the end of time, to commemorate +the birth of our Christ,--a sharp-eyed, dare-devil Filipino crept +slowly out of the city of Ilagan along a foot-path toward the +Americans' camp about a mile north of that city. + +When so near to the Americans that their out-posts were plainly visible +during the flashes of lightning, the Filipino spy crept into a bamboo +thicket not over fifty feet from an American sentry. After lying there +for a half hour, waiting for the storm to come, the native grew a +trifle bolder and arose to his knees. That moment the sharp eyes of +the sentry caught him. + +"Corporal of the Guard!" called the sentry in a loud voice. + +The corporal, being suspicious that something unusual was taking place, +in responding to the call took with him two armed privates. + +Approaching the sentry, with light steps and in a crouching attitude, +the corporal said in a heavy whisper, "What's the matter, Jack?" + +The sentry was standing with gun in hand, loaded, cocked, and with +bayonet fixed. Keeping his eye centered on the exact spot where he had +last seen the slowly gravitating figure before him, the guard said +in an undertone that denoted grave alarm, "Do you see that thicket +just to the left of that big mango tree?" + +"Yes;" said the corporal in a whisper, "What's the trouble?" + +"There's a man in there," said the sentry. "I saw him quite plainly at +first--and I think he's got a gun in his hand. You better watch out, +boys. He's still there." + +The corporal and the two privates fixed the bayonets on their +Krag-Jorgensons, filled the magazines, slipped a shell into the +barrel of each rifle, cocked them, crouched close to the ground, +some ten feet apart, and began to move forward, a step at a time, +between the flashes of lightening. Each time it would flash, they +would peer into the thicket. Each step brought them nearer. + +"There he lies!," said one of the privates in a quick out-spoken voice. + +"Amigo," (a friend) said the stretched-out form, as three guns were +raised in unison with the anxious muzzles pointing directly at him. + +"Este no quere combate" (you don't desire to fight), said the corporal, +in crude Spanish. + +"Mucho amigo" (very friendly), came the reply. + +"Vamose aque!" (come here), commanded the corporal. + +With his eyes fixed in theirs, the Filipino raised himself slowly up +and came toward the three Americans who stood but twelve feet away. + +"Take him by the arms," said the corporal to the two privates who were +with him, "while I look behind that rice-dyke to see if he had a gun." + +"Here's what the rascal was up to," said the corporal, holding a +Mauser above his head. "Good thing you saw him when you did, Jack." + +The storm was coming nearer; the first gust of wind had just struck +them. It blew back the Filipino's little checkered frock. The corporal +saw a glitter. + +"Watch out! boys, he's got a machete under his coat," said the +corporal. + +He was searched for more weapons and then marched inside the American +lines and taken directly to headquarters. A drum-head court was +convened at once and the prisoner led in. + +With hands clinched, muscles taut, eyes piercing at the court, he +listened to the reading of the charge: + +"Caught acting as a spy for the enemy in violation of the Articles +of War; armed, with intent to take the life of an American sentry +on guard!" + +After the testimony had been taken, the prisoner was given a chance +to speak, but he absolutely refused to do so, even though addressed +in several different languages and dialects. + +"He spoke Spanish to us as we captured him," interjected the corporal. + +"GUILTY!" + +said the lieutenant-colonel who was presiding, in a firm military +tone. "The court fixes the penalty at death, and sentences the prisoner +to be shot at sun-rise." + +"Remove him, Sergeant, and detail a firing squad to execute the order +of the court!" + +As the prisoner was led away, the lieutenant-colonel dropped his +chin in the palms of his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees, +and muttered in a semi-regretful way: "I hate to do it; but in the +past we have always been so chicken-hearted about punishing these +blood-thirsty natives that they have now come to regard our kindness +as cowardice. I can't help but feel that it will bring the war to a +close quicker if we deal with them hereafter with a good firm hand." + +"I wonder what province the young fellow came from," said a major +who was sitting near. + +"I really don't know," replied the lieutenant-colonel: "his face shows +him to be a Tagalo. Certain it is that he didn't come from Isabella +province in which we are now campaigning. I wouldn't be surprised if +Aguinaldo were near here and if he had sent this young dare-devil to +cut down our sentry, so as to make an attack upon us tonight during +the storm." + +Toward morning the storm subsided. At day-break a comparatively shallow +grave was hastily dug near the edge of a little bamboo thicket on +a slightly elevated piece of ground. As the flickering rays of the +tropical sun began to shoot above the pale, ashen-gray hue of the +eastern horizon, the prisoner was led to the foot of his prospective +tomb. The firing squad took its place in line. + +The guns had been carefully loaded in advance for their deadly work; +all but one contained blank cartridges. As usual, after loading, the +guns were intermixed, so that no man might know which one contained +the deadly bullet. + +"Ready!" commanded the sergeant who had charge of the squad,--the +corporal having taken his usual place in line with his men. + +"Click," went the hammers of the rifles in unison, as they were +brought to a full cock. + +"Aim!" came the next command in a firmer tone. The soldiers brought +their rifles to their shoulders. Every barrel was pointed at the +chest of the prisoner, who now for the first time, began to tremble +and turn a sickly yellow. + +"Fire!" commanded the sergeant. + +"Bang!" went the united roar of the guns; and as the light powder smoke +cleared away and the echoes reverberated through the woods of northern +Luzon, the firing squad stepped forward to view their heroic dead. + +A private jumped into the grave and turned the corpse over onto +its back. + +That night Frank W. Pugh, of the regular army, a member of this +unfortunate firing squad, who died later at Fort Worth, Texas, of +fever contracted in the Philippines, sitting in his little dog-tent, +meditating, wrote in his diary, which is now preserved in the archives +at Washington with other relics of the war, the following appropriate +poem: + + + A CHRISTMAS COURT-MARTIAL + + "The night was dark and threatening rain, + No stars were in the sky; + We caught him hiding in the pines-- + A Filipino spy. + A slender youth with coal black eyes, + Brim full of frightened tears; + We turned him over to the guard, + I fear with callous jeers. + + Next morning it was Christmas day, + The sun was shining hot, + A drum-head court had said, "The spy, + Is sentenced to be shot." + Erect before the officers, + He still disdained to speak, + Although a single crystal drop, + Empearled his olive cheek. + + Upon a long and hurried march, + In light array, you see, + We could not take the boy along, + So stood him near a tree; + Told off the little firing squad, + And ordered it in line. + One gun was loaded in the lot-- + I hope it was not mine. + + Birds in the branches overhead + Sang softly in the heat. + The grave, a trench of steaming sand, + Gaped yellow at his feet; + He faced us with a dauntless air, + Although his lips were white;-- + Our grim old Sergeant turned away, + He could not stand the sight. + + A flash, a roar, a cloud of smoke, + And headlong to the ground + He fell face downward in the grave, + And died without a sound. + We turned him over on his back, + And DEATH the TRUTH confessed, + For through his open jacket peeped + A Woman's tender breast." + + + +Marie Sampalit had earned her doom. After her grave had been filled, +the soldier boys placed at its head a cartridge-box lid on which they +inscribed the pitiful word, + + "UNKNOWN." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman with a Stone Heart, by +Oscar William Coursey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + +***** This file should be named 24705-8.txt or 24705-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/0/24705/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman with a Stone Heart + A Romance of the Philippine War + +Author: Oscar William Coursey + +Release Date: February 27, 2008 [EBook #24705] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + The Woman with a Stone Heart + + A Romance of the Philippine War. + + By + + O. W. Coursey, (U. S. Vols.) + + Author of + + "History and Geography of the Philippine Islands." + "Who's Who In South Dakota." + "Biography of General Beadle." + "School Law Digest." + + + + + All of these books are published and for sale by + THE EDUCATOR SUPPLY COMPANY + Mitchell, South Dakota + + + + + + + + + Copyrighted 1914 + + By O. W. Coursey + + + + + + + +THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART + + +INTRODUCTION + + +To those whose love of adventure would cause them to plunge head-long +into an abyss of vain glory, hoping at life's sunset to reap a +harvest contrary to the seed that were sown, let me suggest that +you pause first to read the story of "The Woman With a Stone Heart," +Marie Sampalit, dare-devil of the Philippines. + +Perhaps we might profitably meditate for a few moments on the musings +of Whittier: + + + "The tissue of the life to be + We weave in colors all our own, + And in the field of destiny + We'll reap as we have sown." + + --The Author. + + + + + +DEDICATION + + +To Her, who, as a bride of only eighteen months, stood broken-hearted +on the depot platform and bade me a tearful farewell as our train of +soldier boys started to war; who later, while I was Ten Thousand miles +away from home on soldier duty in the Philippine Islands, became a +Mother; and who, unfortunately, three months thereafter, was called +upon to lay our first-born, Oliver D. Coursey, into his snow-lined +baby tomb amid the bleak silence of a cold winter's night, with no +strong arm to bear her up in those awful hours of anguish and despair, + + +My Soldier Wife, Julia, + +this book is most affectionately dedicated. + + + "Only a baby's grave, + Yet often we go and sit + By the little stone, + And thank God to own, + We are nearer heaven for it." + + --O. W. Coursey. + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Page + + Marie Sampalit 10 + Region Around Manila Bay 29 + Admiral Dewey 39 + Aguinaldo 61 + Marie, Her Mother, etc 82 + Filipinos at Breakfast 100 + End of the Boat-Battle 113 + The Rescue 126 + Floating Down The Rapids 129 + General Lawton and Staff 139 + + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + + + Chapters: Page + + I. Love Defeated 9 + II. First Shot of A New War 25 + III. Avenged Her Lover's Death 41 + IV. The Interval 57 + V. Filipino Uprising 69 + VI. As A Spy 81 + VII. Off For Baler 93 + VIII. The Gilmore Incident 105 + IX. The American Prisoners 113 + X. Death of General Lawton 131 + XI. North-bound 141 + XII. Crossing the Sierra Madres 153 + XIII. Compensation 167 + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +LOVE DEFEATED + + +Marie Sampalit and her fiancee, Rolando Dimiguez, were walking +arm-in-arm along the sandy beach of Manila bay, just opposite old +Fort Malate, talking of their wedding day which had been postponed +because of the Filipino insurrection which was in progress. + +The tide was out. A long waved line of sea-shells and drift-wood +marked the place to which it had risen the last time before it began +to recede. They were unconsciously following this line of ocean +debris. Occasionally Marie would stop to pick up a spotted shell +which was more pretty than the rest. Finally, when they had gotten +as far north as the semi-circular drive-way which extends around +the southern and eastern sides of the walled-city, or Old Manila, +as it is called, and had begun to veer toward it, Marie looked back +and repeated a beautiful memory gem taught to her by a good friar +when she was a pupil in one of the parochial schools of Manila: + + + "E'en as the rise of the tide is told, + By drift-wood on the beach, + So can our pen mark on the page + How high our thoughts can reach." + + +They turned directly east until they reached the low stone-wall that +prevents Manila bay from overflowing the city during the periods +of high tides. Dimiguez helped Marie to step upon it; then they +strolled eastward past the large stake which marked the place where +the Spaniards had shot Dr. Jose Rizal, the brainiest patriot ever +produced by the Malay race. + +When they came to the spot, Marie stopped and told Dimiguez how she +had watched the shooting when it took place, and how bravely Rizal +had met his fate. + +"If it hadn't been for this outrage committed by the Spaniards," +remarked Dimiguez, "this insurrection would not have lasted these two +years, and we would have been married before now; but our people are +determined to seek revenge for his death." + +Then they started on, changed their course to the northward, entered +the walled-city by the south gate, walked past the old Spanish arsenal, +and then passed out of the walled-city by the north gate. Here they +crossed the Pasig river on the old "Bridge of Spain" (the large +stone bridge near the mouth of the river, built over 300 years ago) +and entered the Escolta, the main business street of Manila. After +making their way slowly up the Escolta they meandered along San Miguel +street until they finally turned and walked a short distance down a +side street to a typical native shack, built of bamboo and thatched +with Nipa palms, happily tucked away beneath the overhanging limbs +of a large mango tree in a spacious yard,--the home of the Sampalits. + +Here Marie had been born just seventeen years before; in fact the next +day, April 7, would be her seventeenth birthday. When she was born, +her father instituted one of the accustomed Filipino dances which last +from three to five days and nights, and at its conclusion she had been +christened "Maria," subsequently changed by force of habit to "Marie." + +Late that evening, while they were seated side-by-side on a bamboo +bench beside of her home, tapping the toes of their wooden-soled +slippers on the hard ground, and indulging in a wandering lovers' +conversation, Marie said to him (calling him affectionately by his +first name), "Rolando, when did you first decide to postpone our +wedding day?" + +"Well, I'll tell you how it was," answered he, meditatingly. "The +thought of serving my country had been lingering on my mind all +last summer--in fact, ever since the insurrection first broke out in +the spring of 1896. You know I intended coming down to see you last +Christmas, but I couldn't get away. That night I walked the floor +all night in our home at Malolos, debating in my mind whether we +had better get married in March, as we had planned, or if it would +not be wiser and more manly for me to go to war, take chances on +getting back alive and postpone our wedding day until after the war +is over. Toward morning, I decided that it was my duty to become a +soldier; so I called my father and mother, got an early breakfast, +bade them goodby and started for Malabon, which was Aguinaldo's +headquarters, and enlisted. He was glad to see me. You know, he and +I attended school together for one year at Hongkong. Well, Aguinaldo +at once commissioned me a spy and assigned me to very important duty." + +"My God!" interrupted Marie, "you are not on that duty now, are you, +Rolando?" + +Dimiguez arose. "Marie," said he firmly, "I must be off." + +"But won't you tell me where you are going and what task lies before +you?" pleaded Marie, as she threw both arms about his neck and began to +sob, "I'll never tell a living soul, so help me God, but I must know!" + +"A spy never tells his plans to anyone, Marie," said Dimiguez +slowly. "He takes his orders from his chief, plays his part; and +if he gets caught, he refuses to speak and dies without a murmur, +like a man. Good night, Marie, I must be off; duty lies before me." + +Marie cried herself to sleep. + +The next morning she started down town, as usual, for the market place, +with her bamboo basket filled with bananas, sitting on her head, +and a cigarette in her mouth. She had only gone a block when she met +a neighbor girl, one of her chums of equal years to her own, who was +a chamber-maid in the German consul's home on San Miguel Street. + +Her friend looked excited. "Have you heard the awful news, Marie?" said +she. + +"No!" exclaimed Marie, "What is it?" + +"Why, Dimiguez was caught last night by Spanish guards inside the +yard of the governor-general's summer palace up on the Malacanan, +just as he was slipping out of the palace itself. How he got in there, +nobody knows." + +Marie dropped her basket. "Heavens!" gasped she, "Did he do anything +wrong?" + +"They found in his pocket diagrams of the interior of the palace, +showing the entries to it, the room where the governor-general sleeps, +and many other things; also your picture. See here! the morning paper +gives a full account of it." + +Marie glanced at the head lines and then started on a vigorous run for +the building in which the Spanish military court was sitting. Rushing +in, past an armed guard, she began to plead for her lover's life. But +he had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to death by +strangulation in the old chute at Cavite. Dimiguez never moved a +muscle when he saw Marie. Armed guards forced her abruptly out of +the building and ordered her to leave. + +Inside of two hours, on the same day, April 7, the anniversary of +Marie's birth, he was taken to the little town of Cavite, seven miles +southwest of Manila, and was there placed in the lower end of a long +chute built out into Manila Bay. This chute was just wide enough for +a man to enter. Its sides, top and bottom were all built of heavy +planks. The side planks lacked a few inches of connecting with the +top, although of course the side posts ran clear up and the top was +firmly bolted to them. The entrance to it was well elevated near the +docks. The lower end protruded into the bay, so that it was visible +about eighteen inches above the water during the period of low tide, +and submerged several feet during high tide. + +Tides come in slowly at Cavite, each succeeding wave rising but a +trifle higher than the others, until the usual height is reached. Thus, +a prisoner placed in this chute, forced to the lower end and then +fastened securely during low tide, can look out over the side planks +at the hideous spectators, watch the tide as it begins to rise and +see slow death approaching. It was in this chute that Marie's lover +met his death. + +Marie saw the launch that carried him away as it left Manila. She +rushed down to the Pasig river, loosened her little boat from the +tree to which it was tied, jumped in, seized the oars and started in +pursuit. The launch on which he was being carried had for its power +a gasoline engine, and, of course, it soon left her far behind. When +she first started, the swells caused by the launch rocked her little +canoe quite roughly and impeded her progress. As she approached the +mouth of the river, passed the monument of Magellan and came between +the walled-city on the southern bank and the docks on the northern +bank, a crowd of excited natives thronged the shore, and many of them +recognized her. She heard some one cry out, "Vive Marie!" With might +and main she strove forward. + +The launch made its seven-mile run to Cavite; the victim was placed +in the chute; the tide had risen to the danger line; her lover, +with his head thrown back, had just begun to gurgle the salt water, +when Marie, in frantic agony, almost exhausted, rowed around the +lower end of the chute and came near enough to the dying hero to +be recognized by him. Straining ever muscle to keep his head above +the water a second longer, he cried out in chocking tones that were +interrupted by the merciless sea which was rapidly filling his mouth, +"Goodby, Marie, God bless you. Avenge my death!" + +Hush! At this moment another tidal wave engulfed the apex of the +chute. Not a sound could be heard save the slight flapping of the +waves against the pier, and the dismal chant of three priests, who +stood on the shore near by, and who had not been permitted to attend +the young spy before his death. Marie trembled; she dropped the oars; +her eyes fell; for a moment it seemed that her young heart stood still: +then her face flushed; the tears stopped flowing; anguish gave vent +to determined revenge; pent-up sorrows yielded to out-spoken threats; +and in tones sufficiently audible to be heard ashore, she cried, +"I'll do it." + +The Spaniard knows no pity. If Marie were to have stepped ashore +immediately after her lover's strangulation, she might have come +to grief. It is strange that she escaped punishment for having +followed. She, therefore, rowed directly east and landed on the beach +of the bay, about four miles south of Manila, just west of the little +city of Paranaque. + +From sheer exhaustion, she needed food; therefore, she walked northward +along the shore until she found a Mango tree heavily laden with +fruit. After eating a few luscious mangoes, she crept into a clump +of bamboo and had a good cry: tears so ease a woman's soul. + +From her position on the beach she could readily see the Spaniards +as they took her dead lover from the chute when the tide had lowered +toward evening. She saw them even strike his corpse, and she bit her +finger nails as she watched them place him in a rough wooden box and +haul him up through the streets of the village on an old two-wheeled +cart drawn by a caribou. + +With the approach of sunset, things grew strangely quiet. The spring +zephyr that had blown modestly during the day died away. There was no +longer even a dimple in the blue surface of Manila Bay. Not a leaf was +astir. It seemed to Marie that the only sound she could hear was the +the throbbing of her own heart. To her the whole world seemed like an +open sepulcher. Looking down she discovered that she was unconsciously +sitting on a flowery terrace and that all about her was life. She +pulled one of those exquisite white flowers with wide pink veins, +peculiar alone to the Philippines, and pressed it to her lips. + +The sun was just setting beyond Corregidor. The island's long shadows +seemed to extend completely across the bay to her feet. As the solar +fires burned themselves out, the orange tint which they left behind +against the reddened sky reminded Marie of the night before, when +she and her lover had strolled along the shore of the bay about three +miles farther north; and as the sun slowly nodded its evening farewell +and buried its face in the pillow of night, she remembered how he, on +the previous night, had called to her attention the lingering glow of +its fading beams. Before her lay the Spanish fleet, it, too, casting +shadows that first grew longer and longer and then dimmer and dimmer +until they in turn had died away in the spectral phenomenon of night. + +Marie's thoughts turned toward home. What about her mother? She walked +back to her little boat, pushed it out into the bay, and, stepping +into it, sat down, took hold of the oars and started northward near +the beach. Just opposite Fort Malate, she swung westward, and, passing +outside of the break-water a mile from shore, she entered the Pasig +river and hurried homeward. When she arrived, about nine o'clock, +she found her mother on the verge of prostration; for that very day, +strange to say, Marie's father, who was a colonel in the Filipino +infantry, had been killed at San Francisco del Monte, six miles +north-east of Manila, in a battle with Spanish troops. + +"Don't cry, mother," expostulated Marie, "from now on I intend to +kill every foe of ours in these islands!" + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +FIRST SHOT OF A NEW WAR + + +Three weeks passed by. Marie had gone down town late in April to +do some shopping. While she was standing in the door of the old +postoffice on the Escolta, she heard the shrill voice of a Filipino +lad piping out: "Papers! Papers! All about the war with the United +States. Dewey's comin'!" He had a bundle of newspapers under his right +arm and was waving one in his left hand. Everybody rushed out of the +bazaars and offices along the Escolta where they were transacting +their business, and each one who could get near enough to the boy, +eagerly bought a morning paper. + +The lad's papers were all gone but one. Marie Sampalit snatched it from +his hands, and dropped into one of them a small coin. She stepped into +the corridor of the post office, to escape the annoyance of the crowd, +and read the large head lines: + + + "WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN + + dewey en route to manila great naval + battle friday or saturday in manila bay + + The Stone Wall Around the City will be + Razed to the Ground. Great Loss of Life." + + +"Then, I'm off for Corregidor Island right away!" exclaimed +Marie. "Dewey can't get into the Bay except by that route. That's +where the fight will begin. Mother doesn't know this. I'll tell her +I am going to take some supplies to the Spanish garrison. I will go +at once!" + +She set out from Manila in a small casco, or flat-bottomed native boat, +heavily laden with fresh fish, pine-apples, mangoes, bananas, tobacco +and cigarettes--all intended for the Spanish garrison on Corregidor +Island. Manila is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. From +there to the island it is nearly thirty miles. Her little boat was +driven forward on its journey by an easterly wind that gently swelled +the tiny sails. + +She reached the island at five o'clock that afternoon and was given +a royal welcome by the Spanish soldiers. Marie gave them the morning +paper containing the news of Dewey's prospective arrival. She asked +permission to take part in the fight. + +Marie was a favorite with the Spanish garrison. Her genial disposition, +added to her almost inconceivable daring, had won for her the +friendship and admiration of all. The gunners had playfully taught +her all about loading, firing and swabbing their cannon. She had also +learned the art of good marksmanship, so that at a target practice +she was an adept. + +Impatiently she awaited the arrival of the American fleet. She heard +the Spaniards discuss among themselves the cowardice of the American +soldiers, and saw them wager the Dewey would not come to Manila at all +but that he would sail down around the Malay Peninsula and hasten home +by way of Good Hope to save his vessels from certain destruction. All +this sounded plausible to her and she grew restless and enthusiastic +as the dull hours dragged away. + +Dewey was so long in coming from Hongkong and the garrison on the +island had been kept at their guns ready for action for so many hours +without rest that many of them were completely tired out by the last +day of April, and asked for relief. It was hard to give it. Marie's +opportunity had come. Her ability as an expert rifle shot was known +alike to officers and enlisted men. She offered to serve. The Spanish +commandant could not well refuse. He needed her services; besides, +the Spaniards were just then doing all within their power to win the +temporary friendship of the natives. Consequently, he promised to +assign her to duty for the night. + +The sunset, as viewed from Corregidor Island on the evening of +April 30, was most glorious. Not a cloud was in the sky; a dead calm +prevailed, so that the sea was unusually smooth. As the sun sank to +rest behind the shimmering horizon it caused the island to cast a +long shadow over Manila bay as far as the eye could reach, but this +soon disappeared. + +When the sun had sunk from view, Marie noticed that a comparatively +new moon was visible in the sky, and she remarked to the Sergeant +of the Guard, "It will not be very dark to-night. We can see the +Americanos a long way off." + +"Yes," replied the Sergeant, "the only difficulty with the cowards is +that they will not come near enough to be seen at all. They have had +plenty of time to run from Hongkong to Manila and back again; still +they have not been seen or heard of. I'll bet you a peso (Spanish +dollar) that they have gone home and that all of this excitement has +been for nothing. Dewey is getting old, Marie; he doesn't want to go +to a watery grave so far from home. If he were young and ambitious, +it would be different. Old men do not care much about real fighting, +especially on the sea. It is different with old generals commanding +land forces. They can sit away back in the rear of the battle-field, +receive messages that come to them; plan certain movements based upon +these reports; and while they do have considerable responsibility, +still they are not in the actual fight. As for Dewey, nobody has +ever heard of him. He is not a recognized naval commander. Besides, +the old fellow, according to reports, is slow and easy going. If he +should come to make us an unfriendly call tonight, mark my word, Marie, +there will not be a sliver of his entire fleet left floating above the +water yonder inside of thirty minutes after the first shot is fired." + +He had scarcely concluded speaking when the Officer of the Guard, +Lieutenant Orlando, called out, "Sergeant of the Guard! Fall in the +First Relief!" The Sergeant threw his arm over Marie's shoulder in an +affectionate manner, smacked a hurried caress against her olive cheek, +jumped up from the little bamboo bench on which they were sitting, +rushed up to the guard house and cried out, "First Relief! Fall in!" + +Marie hastened after him. As the relief was forming in line, she seized +a Mauser rifle that stood leaning against a huge rock, grabbed up a +cartridge belt well filled with Mauser ammunition that was lying on +the ground near by, hastily adjusted it to fit her waist measure, +buckled it on and fell into the rear rank. + +"Count fours!" ordered the Sergeant. As is usual in military affairs, +the front and rear rank men count in unison; that is, number one in +the front rank and number one in the rear rank both count "one" at the +same time; second file counts "two," etc. When it came to Marie she +piped out simultaneously with the corporal who stood in front of her, +"quatro." (four). + +As the guard was marched along the stony pathways on Corregidor Island +and the various sentinels were relieved, Marie soon saw that there was +not going to be a place for her. She tip-toed up to the corporal who +was posting the relief and asked him where he was going to station her. + +"Never mind," said the corporal, "we have a place for you." And sure +enough, they had. + +Every soldier or civilian who has ever been on this island will readily +recall the rough, hard-beaten, winding path that led from the summit of +the hill, in a south-westerly direction, down over precipices, around +clumps of bamboo, to a beautiful fresh water spring which bubbled +out of the coral rocks at a point just high enough to prevent it from +being inundated or even infiltrated during the season of high tides. + +A few feet from this spring and elevated but slightly above it, is a +massive, flat rock. Along the north and west sides of this rock is a +vertical stone precipice some eight feet high, which from its upper +edge inclines back gradually at an angle of about twenty degrees +above a horizontal plane, toward the crest of the island. + +On this rock Spain firmly bolted one of her most modern cannon--a +good seven-inch gun. It was so situated on a revolving casement that +its shots could be made to sweep the whole Boca Grande channel, as +the large entrance south of the island is called. Marie had often +operated this gun. She had done splendid work with it on a floating +target two miles distant. Its deadly roar was her delight. Oh! if +she could but use it just once on an actual enemy instead of firing +it at an indicated one! + +When the old guard had been relieved and the sentries were marched +back to the guard-house to be dismissed, poor Marie, heavy hearted, +marched along. Just as they approached the guard-house, the sergeant +motioned to her to fall out and to come toward him. This she did. + +Into her ear he whispered the information that was to start her on her +eventful military career. "Marie," said he, "the officer of the Guard +informs me that we cannot use you in the infantry service tonight, +but that you will be needed with the artillery." + +"Good!" exclaimed Marie, "Where shall I serve?" + +"At the new gun on the large rock near the spring," answered the +Sergeant. + +"Thank heaven!" said Marie. "Dewey will surely come, and when I put +a solid shot through the 'Olympia' just below the water line--the +battle will be half over. Oh! I'm so anxious! May I go down there +tonight and take charge of the gun at once?" + +The Sergeant told her to report to the headquarters of the artillery +department where she would receive instructions. + +At last she found herself on actual duty. How her young heart throbbed +as her black eyes peered forth into the darkness. Toward midnight, +small clouds began to drift oceanward. For a few moments at a time +they would obscure the quartered cheek of the young moon. Oh! if +Dewey would but come. The hopes of a life-time were poised on that +painful "if." Before her was the dream of glory; behind her, the +dreary forgetfulness of the past. Hour after hour whiled away. The +tiny lights in the natives' shacks along the opposite shore began to +go out and grow fewer and fewer until the closing day had died safely +away into the solemn night. As usual, "taps" were blown at ten o'clock +and things on the island grew very quiet. Days--yes, weeks--seemed +to crowd themselves into those long hours. Would he ever come? + +Presently she heard the sentry's shrill cry on the brow of the hill, +"Twelve o'clock! All's well!" The echo of his repeated call had +scarcely died away when Marie thought she saw something dark on the +water near the center of the channel, perhaps three miles away. She +whispered to a member of the artillery corps, who sat near her watching +the shadow of his pipe on the rock near the base of the cannon. They +both looked. Surely! it's Dewey! The artilleryman sent up a rocket as +a warning. Marie took hurried aim. "Boom!" went her cannon, and from +its mouth a seven-inch shot was hurled over the "Concord," between +its main and mizzen masts. It went a trifle high and did no harm. + +"Bang!" went one of the port batteries on the "Raleigh" and before +its flash was gone a shudder shot through every vein, every nerve +and every fiber of Marie's body. Such a crash she had never heard +before. "War is hell" to be sure. She sniffed the smoke from her own +gun, and looked around to see what had happened. The stone precipice +behind her was torn into fragments. A man's hand protruded from the +debris. "My God!" she murmured. Yes, there was the evidence. The +man who had sat by her side and who sent up the rocket, lay cold in +death. His head was torn off and his body was mangled among the pieces +of broken rock. The gunner on the "Raleigh" had done his work well; +and Marie's dream of American cowardice, of their poor marksmanship +and of her ability to sink Dewey's flag ship, were shattered in an +instant. She had fired the FIRST gun of the war, but not the LAST! + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AVENGED HER LOVER'S DEATH + + +After Dewey's fleet had passed the island and entered the bay, proper, +Marie crept up to the top of the cliff and awaited the results. As she +sat there shivering with fright, day began to dawn. Presently she heard +the Spanish batteries on Point Cavite fire a heavy shot--then a second +one; and a few minutes later she saw flames of fire and smoke belching +forth from the starboard sides of Dewey's entire squadron. Then the +Spanish fleet, lying off of Point Cavite, commenced a united and +simultaneous action. + +Shells rent the air; the men on both fleets cheered as they beheld +the effect on the enemy of a well-directed shot; smoke-begrimed +gunners, with the perspiration washing light-colored furrows down +their manly cheeks, stood at their guns and worked like demons as they +swabbed their cannon and crowded into them shot after shot. Hissing +projectiles that missed the opposing ships and plunged into the bay, +were throwing volumes of splashing foam into the air. Dewey's vessels +were moving in a figure eight and using alternately the several guns +on their port and on their starboard sides, while the Spanish ships +moved about promiscuously among each other in an awkward fashion, +over a small area, and fired only as an opportunity offered. + +"Thank God, I'm out of range of the demons," said Marie to a Spanish +officer who had come to her side. + +Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey's ships ceased firing +and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent damage had been +sustained by the vessels of either command. + +"The old fellow is going to quit," said Marie to the Spanish officer +who stood erect with his field glasses carefully trained on Dewey's +squadron. + +"They're coming this way, Marie," said the officer. + +"My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and open +fire on us again?" shouted Marie. "We haven't a mounted gun left to +shoot with." + +The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, "They've stopped and +are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going to resume +the fight." + +He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey's vessels were heading +straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on fire the +beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the "Reina Christina." Then her magazine +blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach near Cavite and deserted +amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was able to +leave. The dead and the dying were left to their fate. Magazines in +several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes most of them +were on fire. Dewey's gunners were doing deadly execution. Hundreds +of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from their burning vessels +into the ocean. + +"Now what is he going to do?" said Marie, with some excitement, as +she saw one of Dewey's ships, the "Concord," disengage herself from +the rest of the fleet and head straight for a large Spanish gun-boat +that was lying off to herself and whose sole business it seemed was +to keep up a deadly fire on Dewey's flagship, the "Olympia." The +Concord literally disembowled her. + +"The heartless wretches!" exclaimed Marie, as she watched another +American ship, the "Petrel," leave the line of battle and make a rapid +run right past the Spanish fleet for the village of Cavite. "I wonder +what the villains are up to now." In a few minutes the Petrel returned, +with six small vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying +at her mast head this signal, "Have destroyed eight vessels." + +Dewey's ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their +positions in line and remained quiet. + +"What time is it?" asked Marie of the Spanish officer who stood +near her. + +"Twelve-thirty," answered he, as he looked at his watch. + +Marie whiled away the afternoon watching the Spaniards on Corregidor +island burying their dead comrades. She wanted to go home, but she +feared to go past Dewey's fleet. + +That evening things became solemnly quiet; and the blazing sun, as its +face reddened into nightly slumber beyond the watery horizon of the +Pacific, bade farewell to a finished deed, which, in the history of +naval warfare, has never been surpassed; while the pale-faced moon, +moving slowly up her appointed path, looked calmly down with her +quartered cheek in silent benediction on the blazing hulls of the +Spanish ships as they slowly cremated their dead and dying. + +The next day the Spanish Commandante on Corregidor discovered that +Dewey had blockaded the port of Manila, so he restrained Marie from +starting home for nearly a week. + +Finally, she got permission to go. As she passed Dewey's fleet she +was surprised to find everything so peaceful and to see dozens of +native canoes hovering along the port-holes of his vessels, selling +fruit and curios to his men. + +Marie reached home in the early evening, and found her old mother +frantic because of her absence and the excitement that had taken place. + +During the next few weeks while Dewey was waiting for reinforcements +from home, many strange things occurred on shore. The Filipinos +captured or killed nearly all of the smaller Spanish garrisons +distributed throughout the islands. On May 26, they secretly cut +down the Spanish guards walking their beats along the western side of +the little town of Cavite, and let in a horde of Tagalos well armed +with bolos, who crept up near a large stone cathedral, built in 1643, +in which the Spaniards, as a military necessity after their defeat by +Dewey, were making their headquarters. These Filipinos made a mad rush +through the back door of the building and captured all the Spaniards +being quartered therein. This feat also gave them possession of another +lot of Mauser and Remington rifles and a goodly store of ammunition, +for which they had been yearning. + +Dewey had no men whom he could spare to send ashore; therefore, he had +left these surrendered Spaniards to take care of themselves. Evidently +he did not anticipate an attack upon the garrison at Cavite, or +he might have landed enough marines from his battleships to have +prevented it. + +When Marie heard about the capture of the Spanish garrison at Cavite +by the Filipinos, she at once rowed over there to see what was going +to be done with the prisoners. This was the first time she had been +at Cavite since the day of her lover's tragic death. She found the +Filipinos jubilant over their new fire-arms. But many of them had +never before used a gun and they were very awkward with them, so +that accidents were constantly occurring. The privileges of target +practice given to Marie by the Spaniards, in times past, now found a +new reward. She organized the Filipinos into squads for this training, +arranged suitable targets for them, supervised the loading and cleaning +of their guns, and by voluntary assent became the leader in a whole +lot of nefarious mischief in the neighborhood. + +But what about her lover's dying request and the vow she registered +in her aching soul as she left the scene of his death? By remaining +away from the graves of our loved ones we may check memory and +enthrone reason, thus more rapidly overcoming sorrow. By constantly +resorting to places of grief we keep that grief, whatever may have +been its cause, fresh on the tablets of our memories. The fact that +Marie had not returned to Cavite, the scene of her sorrow, for about +two months, helped her to forget it and to flirt with fate among the +very troops who had caused it. Now that she had returned to Cavite, +old visions began to haunt her. Shooting at wooden targets was not +desperate enough to appease her nature; she longed for bloodshed. + +Between herself and a few Filipino leaders she concocted a scheme +that would be hilarious, avenge the death of him whom she had +briefly mourned, as well as the deaths of Rizal and thousands of +other Filipinos who had been shot or strangled by the Spaniards, +and satisfy the longings of her innermost nature. It was this: a +pit twenty feet in diameter and ten feet deep was to be dug on the +higher ground a few miles southwest of Cavite. Each morning twenty +of the captured Spaniards were to be marched out to this pit and +made to slide down a bamboo pole into it. The Filipino soldiers, +armed with their newly-captured rifles, were then to stand around +the brink of this pit and use these half-starved Spaniards for living +targets. Marie gloated over her new enterprise. What sport! How she +enjoyed it! The Filipino's marksmanship was poor and many of their +unfortunate prisoners were shot over a dozen times before they were +stilled in death. This bloody practice was kept up until over two +hundred Spaniards had been slain. + +About this time rumors of what was being done reached the ears +of General Anderson. He ordered it stopped, and sent food ashore, +under American escorts, for the Spanish prisoners. These prisoners, +before being led to the slaughter, were housed by the Filipinos +in an unfinished portion of the old convent at Cavite, and in some +large stone buildings without floors and with only a few windows, +heavily barricaded with iron bars, formerly used by the natives for +storage purposes for various cargoes of raw materials, preparatory +to exportation. These buildings were dark, damp and infested with a +multiplicity of insectivora. + +The Spaniards, imprisoned therein, were fed by the Filipinos on a +very small ration of uncooked rice. This they had to pound into meal, +and eat it out of their hands. Water, although plentiful, was denied +them, except in small quantities. They had no beds, but slept on +the bare ground. Many of them were practically nude. They had staid +by their guns on the Spanish fleet until their ships began to sink; +then they had jumped overboard and swam ashore, taking off most of +their clothes before making the attempt. The Filipinos had little +clothing to give them and no disposition to share what they did have. + +These half-starved wretches, pale, lean and ghostly looking, many +of them sick with fever and other ailments, none of them with a +cent of money, were a sickening sight to the American troops whom +General Anderson sent ashore to investigate their circumstances +and conditions. Of course the healthier ones were marched out and +killed first. Some of them began to cry when the American officers, +pushing the Filipino sentries aside, poked their vigorous manly faces +through the openings of the massive doors to see who and what was on +the inside; but most of them propped themselves up on one elbow and +held out the other hand for something to eat. Others indicated by +motions that they wanted paper and pencils, so as to write letters +home, telling their loved ones in far-off Spain that they were still +alive, and asking for money. + +As the Americans began to empty their haversacks and hand hard-tack +and Boston baked beans to them, some of the prisoners seized them by +the fingers and kissed the backs of their hands in grateful homage +for their kindness. A few of the more ignorant ones, who had heard so +much about the cruelty of the American soldiers, and who, upon sight +of our officers, believing the end was near, had sought a kneeling +attitude and begun to pray, gradually sank back into a reclining +posture and held out their hands for a morsel of food. + +The Filipino guards sulked when they were displaced by the American +sentries, and some of them had to be forced from their posts of +fiendish duty at the point of the bayonet. They considered these +Spaniards as reprisals, constituting their own private property, with +whom they could do as they pleased without any justifiable interference +on the part of anybody. Marie Sampalit slapped an American private +who had been sent to displace a Filipino sentry whom she had just +stationed at one of the prison doors. He promptly knocked her down with +the butt of his rifle. What she said in reply he could not understand. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE INTERVAL + + +After avenging her lover's death, Marie returned again to Manila +where she remained at home until the Filipino uprising against the +American troops in the spring of 1899. During this interval of nine +months, she daily frequented the places of rendezvous of the American +troops stationed in and around Manila. She also went to the officers' +homes in the city where their wives and children were stopping. She +did their washing, and cared for the children. Her congeniality made +her a favorite. Some of the American ladies offered to bring her back +to America with them for a house-hold servant. + +From them she learned to speak the English language nearly as fluently +as Spanish. The American soldiers were kind and polite to her. She +made considerable money by doing washing for them. It was noticeable +that she was gradually improving the old bamboo home in Manila. In a +few months she had come into possession of more money than she thought +there was in the entire world. Most of it was American gold--largely +in five dollar denominations. (This is what the United States used in +paying the soldiers.) These she took to the Spanish bank in Manila +and exchanged them for Mexican silver, which, until the United +States began to issue special coins for the Philippine islands, +was the standard medium of exchange in the archipelago. + +Marie began to dress better. Her penia cloth gave way to Chinese silks; +her wooden hair combs to expensive ones inlaid with gold, bought at +the Spanish bazar down town. Many little comforts were bought for her +home. Still the washings kept growing larger. She and her mother could +be seen back of their shack, in the shade, pounding American soldiers' +white uniforms on large boulders from early morning till night. + +Aguinaldo, who had previously sold out his country and gone to +Singapore, after commissioning Dimiguez, upon hearing that war +was about to begin between the United States and Spain, made his +way northward to Hongkong. After the battle of Manila Bay, Dewey +despatched the revenue cutter, "McCulloch," to Hongkong to cable +home the news of his splendid victory. On her return to Manila, +she permitted Aguinaldo to come along. + +After a brief conversation with Admiral Dewey on board the "Olympia," +he went ashore at Cavite, his boyhood home, began to organize the +Filipinos into a powerful army, captured 1500 Spanish soldiers who +were holding out-lying posts, and hemmed in the city of Manila. + +On August 13, following, Dewey and General Merritt, by a union of +their forces, captured the city of Manila which offered but slight +resistance. Aguinaldo's native troops rushed forward with the Americans +in the charge that was made by the land forces and they insisted on +looting the city. General Merritt refused this and ordered them to +withdraw beyond the city limits. This they did after considerable +wrangling. Then the Americans established out-posts on every road and +pathway leading to and from the city, completely around the town; +and they were given instructions by the commanding officer not to +allow any Filipino troops to enter the city. + +Aguinaldo discarded his uniform one evening, completely +disguised himself as a Filipino fruit-vender, and made his way +into Manila. Naturally, he slipped around to the home of his old +friends, the Sampalits. He sat in a semi-darkened room, with all the +hinged-windows to the shack tightly closed and stroked Marie's soft +black hair with his left hand. As he engaged her and her mother in +conversation in subdued tones, he little thought that in so short a +time Marie would be associated with him in a series of bloody tragedies +that would revolutionize the government of the islands forever. + +"Marie," said he, "I'm going to force the Americans to acknowledge +the independence of the Philippine islands, or I shall not permit +the rest of their army to land. Dewey tells me he has sent home for +reinforcements. There is no use for us to let these troops land, if +America instead of Spain is going to govern the islands. What we want +is absolute independence with myself as president of the new Filipino +Republic. If the Americans won't concede this to us, let's fight!" + +"That's what I say!" declared Marie. "Let's drive the foreign devils +off the islands or slay them all. Here's father dead and--Dimiguez, +too"--Marie's voice trembled--"I tell you it's too much. Let's kill +every one of them!" + +"Yes; but say Marie, we must keep quiet about all this," cautioned +Aguinaldo. "I'll tell you what I have in mind. We'll wait about four +weeks and by that time if Dewey hasn't received definite instructions +from Washington, and if he won't give me any satisfaction, I'm going +to go to Malolos, proclaim myself Dictator of the Philippines, appoint +a cabinet and a congress from among some of the bright young Filipinos +here in Manila who have been educated abroad, draw up a Revolutionary +form of government, and begin to administer the affairs of these +islands just as I please. + +"We'll keep our present army in the field, and if the Americans do +land we'll shut them up in Manila, so that they will have nothing at +their command but the city to regulate. This won't amount to much as +compared with the rest of the islands which I will dominate." + +"Are you sure the Americans won't land a powerful army, cut through +your lines around Manila and drive you out of Malolos, or capture you +and your officials at that place? It seems to me I would go farther +inland--say to San Isidro," said Marie. + +Aguinaldo thought a moment, then replied: "That's true, in a sense, +Marie; but I have got to be on or near the railroad where I can have +easy and rapid access to Manila. Malolos is not far from here and +it is situated on the railroad. It has some very large buildings in +which our legislative sessions could be held. I think it the place +for the undertaking. + +"To be on the safe side, I believe I will have our troops erect a +series of fortifications between here and there along the railroad +track, so that if the Americans do attempt to advance by that route +I can easily stop them." + +"I think that would be a good scheme," said Marie. "Malolos is about +twelve miles from Manila Bay; besides, the bay is shallow in the +north end, so that heavy boats could not go up there. This will make +it impossible for Dewey to shell the place with his fleet. We've got +to watch out for that--no matter what we do. My! but those American +ships can shoot! Did you hear about me shooting at 'em with that +cannon on Corregidor island when they entered the bay? I mighty near +got one of their vessels." + +"No," said Aguinaldo, "I have not heard very much about the firing +off Corregidor, but as I came from Hongkong the other day on the +"McCulloch" I noticed that the Spanish fortifications on the island +had all been dismantled." + +"Why! they killed a man right at my feet, the very first shot," said +Marie; "and then one of their boats drew nearer and fired several +times more and they killed every Spaniard in the relief guard which +was near by,--seven of them in all." + +"And I was terribly worried about Marie," interrupted her mother who +had listened to the conversation with deepest interest. "She had been +gone for a week, and I hadn't heard a word from her." + +"Oh! well, I don't pity the Spaniards any for what the Americans did +to them," interjected Aguinaldo, with some emphasis. + +"Be careful," said old lady Sampalit, putting her finger on her lips, +"don't speak too loud." + +Aguinaldo continued in a lower voice: "They killed your husband. They +shot Rizal. They strangled Dimigeuz. They tortured to death several +hundred of our young fellows in the dungeons. They have left ridges +of dead wherever their armies have moved among us. I tell you they +deserved all they got." + +Mrs. Sampalit and Marie had grown heavy hearted. Aguinaldo looked at +his watch. It was after ten P. M. + +"I wonder," said Aguinaldo, hesitatingly, "how I shall be able to +get back to our lines tonight." + +"Don't go!" said Marie, in an emphatic whisper, "stay over night!" + +"Yes, do!" entreated the old lady, "I'm nervous." + +"It might be best; it would surely be the safest thing to do," said +Aguinaldo, in a meditating manner. + +"We sleep on bamboo beds," said Marie. "There stands mine. You may use +it tonight, and I will sleep on the floor. I don't mind. Mother and +I frequently lie down on the floor near the window, when the nights +are sultry." + +The next morning Aguinaldo arose very early, made his way to the +edge of the city and stealthily stole out threw the Americans' lines, +never again to return to Manila until General Funston brought him back, +two years later, a captive. + +He made his way to Malolos, a few weeks after this conversation, +declared himself "Dictator of the Philippines," appointed a Filipino +congress, set up a government of his own and began to run the general +affairs in the interior of Luzon. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +FILIPINO UPRISING + + +The close of the eventful year of 1898 was near at hand. General Otis +had been made governor-general of the islands. He had received about +15,000 troops from home. These had all been landed and were quartered +in the city of Manila. + +Preparations had begun by the American troops for a great day of field +sports to be held on the Luneta--a beautiful narrow park paralleling +Manila bay and extending southward from the walled-city about four +miles--on New Year's day, 1899. + +On the afternoon of January I, as planned, the exercises were +begun. The afternoon program consisted of foot races, running high +jumps, wheelbarrow race, fat man's race, running broad jump, high +kicking, fancy club swinging, tumbling, shot-put, sack race, tugs of +war, five boxing contests, base ball, foot ball, and pole vaulting. + +Situated on the Luneta, about a mile south of the walled city, and +distant from Manila bay about 100 feet, is a large bandstand. This +served as headquarters for the exercises. The day was perfect--clear, +cool and calm. + +About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives, soldiers (including jack-tars +from Dewey's fleet, Spaniards and Americans) and foreign residents +had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of Welcome and +to witness the sports. When the speaker arose to deliver the address, +for which he was afterward voted, and presented with, a medal by the +Eight Army Corps, he said in part (verbatim report): + +"On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to make +these Field Day Exercises a success, and this occasion one long to +be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon, I bid +you, one and all--officers, soldiers, sailors and civilians of every +nationality--a hearty welcome." + +"Again to you, the members of Admiral Dewey's fleet, I feel obligated +to extend a separate and special welcome; for without your chivalrous +devotion to duty last May Day, yon shell-riven wrecks (part of unraised +Spanish fleet visible above the bay) would not bespeak the down-fall +of a sister nation, and we ourselves would not have been permitted +to assemble here this afternoon. There is no braver man on land or +sea than the American marine; and on behalf of the entire American +army of occupation, I bid you a most cordial welcome." + +Touching upon the question of territorial expansion, the speaker said: + +"This was a war for humanity, not for conquest. But simply because +it suddenly closed and left us in possession of large tracts of +new territory, is no reason why these spoils of war should be given +up. I hold this to be true Americanism: that wherever the old flag +is established through sacrifice of American blood, whether it be on +the barren sands of the desert, at the frigid extremes of the earth, +or on the rich and fertile islands of the sea, there is should remain +triumphant, shedding forth beams of liberty to the oppressed, shouts +of defiance to the oppressor, and furnish protection and enlightenment +to all who come beneath its streaming folds forever!" (applause). + +A chubby Filipino maiden, standing near the speaker's stand, and +who had listened intently to every word of the address, because she +now understood the English tongue, quietly elbowed her way through +the dense crowd which was gradually becoming more compressed, until +she reached a car drawn by two Chinese ponies on the old street car +line running south from Manila to Fort Malate and back. Taking the +car she rode up town to the Escolta. Going into the postoffice, she +hastily wrote and mailed to Aguinaldo at Malolos a letter containing +an account of what was said. It follows: + + +"Manila, P. I., Jan. 1, 1899. + + +My Dear General: + +Those wretched Americans are holding some kind of exercises on the +Luneta this afternoon. I heard one of the speeches. It was awful +bad. The fellow talked loud. He swung his hands in the air and the +crowd seemed to get terribly excited over what he was saying. + +He told about that treaty of peace, and he said no power under the +sun would haul down the American flag from over Manila. + +It made me angry. I am going right out to the Filipino trenches to +see my Uncle (Colonel Miguel). He'll fix those fellows. I'll bet +he'll haul down their flag before tomorrow morning. + + +Goodby, + +Marie." + + + +The evening program on the Luneta, which followed the afternoon +exercises, was largely literary in its nature. It consisted of music +by the California band, singing by the famous Washington Male Quartet, +fancy dancing, selected recitations, and stump speeches. In addition, +Privates Green and Martin boxed four rounds, much to the satisfaction +of the natives. + +The program had just been completed when the Master of Ceremonies +received from the American general in charge a note telling +him to announce the conclusion of the program at once and to +order all soldiers to report immediately at their respective +regimental headquarters;--trouble had been reported at the +out-posts. Reinforcements were hastened to several of the out-post +reserves, and it appeared that the expected insurrection was at hand. + +After the out-break by the Filipinos on New Year's night, it was +evident to both sides that it was only a question of a short time when +blood would be spilled in abundance. The Filipinos occupied all of the +block-houses--some seventeen in number--around the city of Manila. This +forced the Americans to stand in the open and do guard duty exposed. + +The Filipino troops were saucy. They couldn't understand why men should +be armed with rifles and not be permitted to shoot. They tormented +the American soldiers daily with hideous pranks. They grew bolder, +and pushed their out-posts forward until they stood within a few feet +of the American sentries. + +Marie went out and back through the American lines at will. She +secretly kept the Filipino army thoroughly posted on the arrival of +new troops from America. Occasionally she would take the train and +go up to Malolos to see Aguinaldo. She was the best posted person +in the Philippines as to what was going on in each of the hostile +armies. Nobody suspected her. She was respected by the American +troops. Everybody came to know her. + +Just before dusk, on the evening of February 4th, 1899, Marie +and her mother left the city of Manila, in a cariole, drawn by a +Chinese pony which they had recently purchased. They had in it all of +their most precious household trinkets. As they passed Colonel John +M. Stotsenberg, commanding the 1st Nebraska volunteers, stationed +on McLeod's hill at the eastern edge of Manila, he recognized them, +and called to Marie, "Where are you going?" + +"Out on a little trip," retorted Marie. + +"How soon will you be back?" asked he. + +"O, I can't tell," responded Marie. "Mother is getting so nervous +that we thought best to go away for awhile." + +"Say, Marie," said the colonel, "do you know who the Filipino officer +is in command of all those thousands of troops that are now assembling +in the ravines between the hills along the far side of the river +valley, yonder?" + +"No, I do not," she declared with an emphatic swing of her head. + +But she was lying. It was Colonel Miguel, her own uncle. She knew about +it. He had secretly informed her that he was preparing to attack the +city and burn it and that he was going to exterminate the American +army of occupation and all foreign residents that fell into the hands +of his mighty army. He told her that he had chosen the east side of +the city as his main point of attack, so that Dewey could not reach +his troops with the shells from his gun boats in case he tried to +assist the American army, without elevating his guns and shooting +completely over the city--a thing wholly impractical within itself, +as Dewey could not determine whether his shells would be falling +among the Filipino or the American troops. It was he who advised her +to take her mother and flee to the hills for refuge. + +Colonel Stotsenberg then asked Marie if she knew anything about the +proposed attack on the city by her people. This, she denied also. The +colonel's face flushed. Pulling back the flap of his tent, he said +emphatically: "Do you see that gun, Marie? Tell those fellows over +there when you pass their lines that I said they could have trouble +whenever they want it." + +Marie drove on. + +Inside the colonel's tent stood a large gun from the Utah battery, +mounted, loaded, ready for action; its threatening nose was +pointed directly at the line of little brown men assembled across +the valley. The Filipinos were smarting for trouble. They wanted it +badly. Wherever and whenever possible they improved every opportunity +to bring it about. The trouble came. Colonel Stotsenberg that night +used the cannon he had pointed out to Marie. A long pile of mangled +forms lying at the base of the river hills on the opposite of the +valley next morning told the results. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +AS A SPY + + +Marie was well equipped by instinct and experience for a spy. The +tragic nature of such work was exceptionally inviting to her. When +a chance came to undertake it, she lost no time in embracing the +opportunity. + +After passing out through the American lines, she drove on down the +slope of the hill and crossed the San Juan River on the old stone +bridge where the fighting was begun that night by young Grayson of +the Nebraska regiment. After reaching the Filipinos' lines she at once +reported to her uncle, Colonel Miguel, and had an extended interview +with him. + +Secret plans were agreed upon whereby she was to become the colonel's +chief scout. Two Filipino soldiers were sent to accompany her old +mother to the little town of Angono on the eastern bank of Lake Laguna +de Bay, near its northern end. A native family, quite familiar with +the Sampalits and related to them, lived in this village. Marie stayed +with the troops in the field. Her young brain danced at the thought +of more bloodshed. She must be in the fight. + +Just what part Marie took in the attack made upon the Americans by +the Filipinos on the night of February 4th, and in the fighting on +February 5th, the world will never know. The two main figures in +these operations were Colonel Miguel, in command of the main portion +of the Filipino forces, and Colonel Stotsenberg, who commanded the +1st Nebraska volunteers. Before the close of the war these men were +both shot; consequently, there is no one left to tell the story, +and history is silent on the point. + +After the fight of February 4 and 5, the entire line of block-houses +and intrenchments circumscribing Manila, were in the hands of the +Americans. From the Pasig river on the east, around the city to the +bay on the north, this line was commanded by Major-General MacArthur; +the corresponding semi-circle on the south, by Major-General Anderson. + +During the next seven weeks, fresh troops were constantly +arriving. Each side was preparing for the long, inevitable conflict. + +At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall's brigade +in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on the firing line, +which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant charge along +the entire front on the Filipinos' breastworks about a mile and a +half distant and constructed parallel to those of the Americans'. + +Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments; +had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted a terrible +loss upon Aguinaldo's troops; had demonstrated to them the difference +between a determined American advance and an irresolute Spanish one; +and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the capture of +the Filipinos' temporary capital, Malolos, the overthrow of their +provisional government, and the establishment of American sovereignty +throughout the entire archipelago. + +That night, about eleven o'clock, a nervous Filipino woman came walking +down along the American out-post reserves which, during actual war, +are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the sentries. She +reached Company "G's" reserve of the 1st South Dakota Volunteers, +where she was ordered to halt. She refused, but acted as though she +did not understand. Drawing a large bamboo bonnet down over her face +to conceal her identity, she mumbled something apparently to herself, +and walked rapidly on. In a moment she was seized; her bonnet was +torn off; her identity revealed: it was Marie. + +She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see +if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which they had +received, would be warranted in making a night attack. + +She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched, +scrambled--making it necessary to employ two privates, a corporal +and a sergeant to send her to the rear. + +When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the +3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer +that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private +was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, and insisted +that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she +drew the poncho about her to keep herself warm (it grew very chilly +before morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to +escape. Her teeth chattered and she seemed distressed--evidently +through fear of what the morning might bring to her. + +The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return +to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. She +pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that +after her return to Manila she would do washing free of charge for +the American soldiers who were sick in quarters. + +After being liberated, Marie walked eastward, following an irregular +sled-road; that is, a road-way used by the Filipinos for sledding +their rice to market. This is done by means of a bamboo sled drawn +over the dry ground by a caribou. She followed this road for over +two miles until she came to the San Mateo river. + +Although given a few hardtack by her captors at the time of her +release, she was getting hungry. As she approached the stream she +noticed an old Filipino standing near his bamboo cabin which was neatly +tucked away oh the slope of a deep ravine near by. Turning from her +pathway which had now grown somewhat indistinct she approached the +old gentleman. + +When quite close to him she said, "Buenos dias," (Good morning in +Spanish.) + +"Magandang umaga," (Good morning, in Tagalo), muttered the old man. + +After a brief conversation during which Marie told him that she had +been captured by the Americans, had been terribly misused and he had a +miraculous escape, he invited her into his cabin where his aged wife +gave her something to eat. This breakfast consisted of boiled rice, +some fish which the old man had just brought from his set lines in +the San Mateo river, and some bacon which he had found along the +trail made by the American's pack train the day before. + +While the old couple were outside of their home--he breaking up +some bamboo with which to re-kindle the fire, and she, cleaning the +fish--Marie ransacked the house. She stole a large diamond ring which +the old man had taken from the finger of a Spanish officer during +the previous insurrection. She opened an old mahogany chest and took +from it a rosary valued at several hundred dollars; also a gold lined +cup which the old man, himself, had stolen from a Spanish priest, +and some Spanish coins. + +After a hearty lunch, she started on. + +Crossing the river at the rapids, on the boulders which projected +above the water, she quickened her steps and hurried along. Changing +her course to the southward, she started for the northern end of Lake +Laguna de Bay to see her mother. + +She had not gone far through a small clump of timber when she came +upon the corpse of a Filipino soldier who had been shot in the previous +day's engagement,--perhaps by a stray ball. Hastily stealing the cross +which hung from a small cord about his neck, and a valueless ring from +one of his fingers, she seized his Mauser rifle and his cartridge belt +which was partly filled with ammunition, and then resumed her journey. + +A short distance ahead was a large opening--an old rice field +well cleared. She had scarcely begun to cross it when she heard a +noise. She turned and saw the bow-legged old man whom she had robbed, +with a machete in his hand, coming after her as fast as he could. He +had discovered that the rosary was missing, and upon looking around, +that several other things were gone; therefore he at once started +in pursuit of the fiend who had just enjoyed his hospitality. Marie +was not disturbed. Raising to her shoulder the rifle which she had +just found, she took deliberate aim and at the first shot laid him +low in death. + +She reached the small native village of Angono, where her mother was +stopping, about four o'clock in the afternoon of March 26th. + +The old lady was wonderfully elated to receive the new jewels which +Marie had stolen. She put on the rosary and danced about in the native +hut like a young child on Christmas morning, when it sees the gorged +stocking fastened to its bed. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +OFF FOR BALER + + +That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, fired with ambition +and discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette and started for +Manila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row boat via the +Pasig river which drains the lake into Manila bay and which flows +through the city of Manila situated at its mouth. + +While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next few +days, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being carried +out by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanish +garrison of fifty men stationed at the little town of Baler, near +the eastern coast of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrendered +to the American forces with the remainder of the Spanish army on +August 13, 1898, but as all lines of communication with them had been +destroyed by the Filipinos they had never been officially notified +of the capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information that +they were being besieged by a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos which +outnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of time +before all would be exterminated. + +Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that something +must be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party was formed and +placed aboard the "Yorktown," which carried them around the southern +point of Luzon and then northward to the mouth of the Baler river. + +Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath not +to take up arms against the Americans again during the insurrection, +and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besieging +Filipinos of what was to take place, and to help them as best she +could to resist the advance of the rescuing party. + +Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern coast +of Luzon, and Manila is on the west side of the island Baler is, +nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused by the +deep indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of which +Manila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward of +the eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight east +of Manila. + +In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipino +foot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part near the +San Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which is +situated about three miles north and a trifle east of Manila. At that +point she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for a +short distance and which was made by the Americans' commissary train +on the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March 25, +preceding. + +She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention was +attracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a few +feet distant from her pathway. She walked over to in and found these +words inscribed thereon: + + + "R. I. P. D. O. M. + + Wat Erbuf Falo + + Born -- (?) Died, February 12, 1899. + + + To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave, + Some facts on its headstone we wish to engrave; + If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell + Bill Sherman was right when he said, 'War is Hell.' + He charged on two pickets whose names are below; + They took him for niggers,--poor wronged buffalo. + As to the way he met death, everybody knows how; + As to whom he belonged we don't caribou. + + Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. "M," 1st. Col. Vols." + + + +It was now April 2nd, and Marie had ahead of her about ninety miles +overland to be made on foot or else on horse-back; and it was necessary +for her to hurry along, as the rescuing party was scheduled to reach +the mouth of Baler river April 10th, or 12th. + +Her course led past the little shack on the bank of the San Mateo +river, where she had robbed the elderly couple who had been so kind +to her and near where she later had shot the old man when he was +pursuing her to regain possession of his stolen property. + +She found it deserted; but in a little bamboo corral nearby she found +three Chinese ponies. Evidently they had made their escape from the +scene of battle and had drifted into this yard for refuge. There was +a small stack of rice straw just outside the corral. From this Marie +soon made a stoutly-twisted rope which she hastily arranged in the +form of a bridle. Placing it over the head of the largest pony she +mounted him and rode off. + +She got ten miles beyond this last stopping place before sunset. That +night she stopped at a small inland village. As she lay down to sleep +on the bamboo floor in the hut of a Tagalo family whose acquaintance +she had readily formed, recollections of the place which she had +passed during the afternoon where she had previously robbed the old +couple immediately after she was released upon oath by the Americans, +suggested to her the thought that she was violating her oath; that she +was now out in a country where she might be betrayed at any moment by +her own people, or else be captured by a squad of American infantry +or cavalry; therefore, she decided that on the following day she +would destroy her identity. + +Upon retiring the previous night Marie coiled up for a pillow her head +of long black hair. "I hate to give it up," thought she, "but what +will the Americans do to me if they capture me another time? Oh! well, +after the war is over it will soon grow out again." + +The next morning, after a scanty breakfast of bananas and rice, and +a pineapple which Marie salted heavily before she ate it, she went to +a native barber and had her long hair cut close to the scalp, except +for a little tuft on top which she had him brush up for a pompadour. + +Before cutting off her hair the barber tied a piece of hemp very +tightly around it, just back of her neck. After he had detached it, +he held it in front of Marie and asked her what she wished done with +it. She took it in her own hands. + +The barber kept on trimming her shortened hair. Marie stopped talking +and seemed to be in deep meditation. + +Presently the barber said. "That's all." + +Marie arose from the rough mahogany slab on which she had been sitting, +handed him a puesta (twenty cents, Mexican), looked out of the window +and said, "I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll trade you my hair for +that quilas (two-wheeled cart) standing there." + +"All right"; said the barber, "My pony is dead, and the war has so +devasted the country, and money has become so scarce, that I can't +afford to buy another one." + +"The harness hanging on it goes with the cart," said Marie. + +"Oh no!" exclaimed the barber, "my wife borrowed that, and I must +return it." + +"It doesn't make any difference to whom it belongs," said Marie, +emphatically, "you traded me the cart, and everything that was in it +goes with the trade. How do you suppose I could hitch my pony into +the cart without a harness?" + +Just then she pulled a bolo out from under her apron. The barber said +no more. + +Marie hitched her pony into the cart and started on toward Baler. + +That day she followed a good road leading toward the mountains near +the eastern coast of Luzon. By night her pony had made twenty miles. + +She had already reached the foot-hills. It was impossible for her +to make head-way any longer with the cart. She would soon be across +the mountains and be in the region to be approached by the American +relief party. What was to be done? + +A happy thought came to Marie. She clasped her hands and muttered to +herself, "I'll trade the cart for a suit of men's clothes and trade +the harness for a sombrero," (bamboo hat.) + +Since the middle of the afternoon she had been driving parallel to a +stream that wound its way, nearby, from the mountains across the plains +to the sea. Villages along the banks were numerous. At night fall she +was still in Tagalo territory. It was her own tribe. She soon found a +place to stay over night. Her pony was turned loose in a vacant yard, +with an old bamboo fence around it, and given some young rice. + +That evening while smoking cigarettes, and while inflaming the minds +of the villagers with startling stories about the atrocities, of the +American soldiers, Marie finally succeeded in making the trade which +she had planned during the afternoon. + +Next morning, April 5, she rode on. Before her lay sixty miles of +unknown territory to be covered during the next four days, if she +were to reach Baler in time to warn the besieging Filipinos of the +contemplated attack by the Americans. + +A half mile out from the village, Marie came to an abrupt turn in the +road. Near by was a dense cluster of banana trees. She dismounted, +and while her pony was nibbling young rice she went into the thicket +and changed her attire. Then she tied a good-sized stone up in her +old clothes and threw them into the river. As she stood on the bank +watching them sink, she saw her shadow in the water. How changed she +looked! The sombrero was such a relief in keeping the hot sun off +her head. + +"Now, I'll not be recognized," thought she. "How nice it is to be +dressed like a man. From now on I mean to play a man's part and be +a full-fledged soldier." + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE GILMORE INCIDENT + + +Marie reached her destination late in the evening of April 9th, +and she at once notified the officers commanding the Filipinos who +were besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with so small a +force, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish garrison, +it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler river--as +the town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was located is some two +miles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific ocean, and +the American troops were too greatly outnumbered by the Filipinos to +make a land expedition safe,--she suggested to them the advisability +of fortifying the river at specific intervals along either bank and +of taking the precaution to cover the fortifications with freshly-cut +brush so that the Americans could not locate them for the purpose of +bombarding them in case they saw fit to load some of the smaller cannon +on cascoes and make their way up the river for an attack in that way. + +The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and places +for the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. It was +during the dry season and the river was very low at the time. This +made it possible to dig ditches on the sand bars which extended far +out into the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sand +taken therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments by strewing over them +some fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance of +having drifted to their lodgment. + +The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, as +scheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of truce, where, +to his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers; +but their exceptionally good behavior and the twinkle of their eyes +told only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. He +therefore returned to the Yorktown without having accomplished anything +in particular. + +The next morning, at four o'clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and sixteen +brave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered the +mouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were put +ashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke forth and +those left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry who +was walking his beat along the shore. He gave the alarm. Lieutenant +Gilmore and his party could easily have pulled out to sea and gotten +away, but humanity forbade it. What would become of the two scouts +who went ashore? Their comrades in the boat could not desert them, +so they rowed up the river into the very jaws of impending danger. + +Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinos +opened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only fifty yards +distance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck in +the mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. In a moment Morrisy +fell dead, having been shot through the head; Dillon followed; +then McDonald, then Nygard;--Marie was doing deadly work with her +Mauser rifle. + +The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what was +the use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly had the +Filipinos screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were using +smokeless powder. + +Four of Gilmore's men were already dead, two were mortally wounded +and begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell into the +hands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Most +of the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy's rifle balls. In +this moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumped +overboard and tried to push the boat out to mid-stream. It was no use; +the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they could +not compete against it. + +Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change and +use one of the dead men's rifles. As he picked it up he noticed the +lock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip had been jammed +in. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, to be fixed. + +The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struck +him in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been under fire +before. Looking up calmly, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit." + +In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out of +his arm pit. With his attention riveted on his task, he remarked, +"I'm hit again, Mr. Gilmore." + +Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cut +a painful wound in his scalp. "Mr. Gilmore, they've hit me again," +he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with blood running +down all over him. + +In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad's ankle, one of +the most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. This time, +with a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit +once more; but I've fixed your gun, Sir." + +Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans' fire had +practically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench the limbs and +underbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns, +spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash for the boat and captured +the entire crew. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE AMERICAN PRISONERS + + +Those of the Americans who were alive and able to help themselves +were ordered to go ashore on the sand bar, where the Filipinos robbed +them of their personal effects and then lined them up preparatory +to shooting them all down in a body. Gilmore, being an officer, +protested against having his hands tied. He claimed, according to +the accepted rules of warfare, that on account of his rank he had +a right to die honorably with his hands free. The Filipinos have +great superstitions about "rank" in military affairs. Marie knew the +significance of Gilmore's request; she respected it. + +The Filipinos had loaded their rifles, cocked them, raised the same +to their shoulders, had taken aim, and Marie was about to give the +fatal command, "Fire!", when a shout from the bank stopped her and +for a moment engaged the attention of both the Americans and the +Filipinos. It came from a Filipino officer, running down to the +shore. He ordered them to stop. One second longer would have been +too late. + +This Tagalo officer ordered the Americans to get back into their boat +and to row across to the opposite shore. After bailing the water out +of the boat and plugging up the holes in it made by the enemy's rifle +balls, they obeyed his command. + +When they went ashore, Lieutenant Gilmore asked permission to bury +his dead comrades. This privilege was emphatically denied. What was +done with their bodies by the Filipinos is hard to tell, but in all +probability, as was customary with the natives, they cut them into +fragments and threw them away. + +The ones who were mortally wounded, but who were still alive, were +placed under a tree by Gilmore and his comrades, and left to die. The +Lieutenant asked that a native doctor be summoned to give them aid, +but it was not done. What their fate was Eternity alone will reveal. + +Gilmore and his comrades picked up the lesser wounded and carried +them, and together the whole procession was marched inland about a +mile to the Filipino Commandante's headquarters. + +Here they were questioned at length. Gilmore asked permission to +write a note to the commander of the Yorktown telling him of their +fate. Permission was granted, but the note was never delivered. The +two scouts who went ashore, returned to the Yorktown in the afternoon +and reported that they had heard heavy firing up the river. + +After waiting several days for news of some kind for them, and finally +concluding that they were either captured or killed, the crew of +the Yorktown, heavy-hearted over their failure and their sacrifice, +steamed back to Manila. + +During the afternoon of the same day that the battle took place, +the American prisoners were ordered to march to an old bamboo church +in the northern outskirts of the little town of Baler, a mile and +a half farther on. By this time the wounded men were suffering +terribly. Little Venville's ankle had swollen badly. From his four +wounds he had bled so much that he had grown faint. Therefore, he +and several of the others had to be carried. + +En route to their new destination, the Americans passed in sight of +the old stone church being used as a fortress by the Spanish garrison +whom they had originally set out to relieve. The Americans had gone +to the Philippines to fight the Spaniards. They were now sacrificing +their lives to save them. + +At the bamboo church, an old Filipino with a kindly face and a manner +that elevated him above his fellow tribesmen, came in to see them. He +examined the wounded and then disappeared. Presently he returned with +some large leaves that resembled rhubarb, under his arm. Out of the +big stems of these native herbs he squeezed a milky secretion which he +permitted to drop into the gaping wounds of the Americans. The torture +of the wounded occasioned by this liquid was damnable. The men grew +deathly pale. They rolled and screamed and begged to be shot. But +it did not last long. In ten minutes the torture had ceased, the men +became quiet, the swelling around their wounds was gradually reduced, +and their temperatures soon lowered. The herb doctor evidently knew +his business. + +The next day the Filipinos received orders from Aguinaldo, who, +with his appointed congress, was now at San Isidro, to march the +captured Americans to his headquarters. Accordingly, the trip +was undertaken. But the apprentice lad, Venville, was unable to +go along. Obeying the stubborn orders of the rapacious Filipinos +his comrades left him lying on the floor of the old rickety bamboo +church,--wounded--uncared for--suffering--hungry--thirsty--dying. A +year later the assistance of the entire naval organization in the +Philippines was given to the task of trying to ascertain from the +Filipinos in the neighborhood of Baler some information concerning +the lad's whereabouts or his burial place, but no trace of him, +dead or alive, could ever be found. + + + An aged mother, ill and bowed, + Keeps asking, "Where's my boy?" + But zephyrs from the Orient + Refuse to bring the joy. + + +Amid great privations the marching column crossed the mountains and +the fertile plains on the opposite side, to the city of San Isidro. It +was heralded in advance that the Americans were coming through the +country. Obeying their greatest national instinct--curiosity--the +natives assembled by thousands in the villages along the road. Every +one of them kept crowding forward to get to touch the Americans to see +what their skins felt like. Others were looking for the long feathers +in their hair, which they had heard so much about. It was all the +Filipino guards could do to restrain their own people. The latter, +like monkeys, jabbered incessantly. Gilmore's men hurled back at them +defiant epithets. They realized that involuntarily they had become +the chief actors in a new moving circus. + +Again, when they reached San Isidro, a great throng of curious natives +had come to town to see them. These fellows were very hostile to the +Americans. It was all the native guard could do to keep the Filipinos +from doing violence to them. Gilmore was again questioned at length +and then he was separated from his comrades and all were hurried off +to jail. + +In a few days it was rumored that the American army was approaching the +city. Aguinaldo and his associates hurriedly prepared to leave. Orders +were given to march the prisoners overland north and then westward +across another range of high mountains to Arancay, on the western +coast of Luzon,--a distance of 100 miles. + +This time the crowd of prisoners was greatly increased. At San +Isidro there were added 600 Spaniards; a small tribe of mountain +Negritos whom Aguinaldo had originally sent to fight the Americans, +but who, being armed only with spears and bolos, soon got tired of +seeing their number decrease so rapidly before American riflemen, +and refused to fight, and who were later imprisoned and terribly +misused by Aguinaldo's selected guards; and eighteen Americans in +addition to Gilmore's party (total twenty-six Americans), who had +been captured in as many different ways around Manila by the crafty, +cunning Filipinos. Among them was Frank Stone, of the U. S. Signal +Corps, captured by some "amigos" (friendly natives) on the railroad +track near Manila, while out strolling one Sunday afternoon; Private +Curran, of the 16th U.S. Infantry who was grabbed within fifty feet +of his own outpost, gagged and dragged into captivity; also a civilian +who had gone to the Philippines to sell liquor. + +This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila +while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen beer. He was the +life of the expedition. He took his captivity as a joke, told stories +to keep the prisoners good natured, and painted on ever boulder that +he passed the seemingly sacrilegious words, "Drink Blank's beer on +the road to H----." It was, however, this harmless practice that later +on enabled the American relief party to follow the prisoners' trail. + +After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched +northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city of +Vigan. Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden +presence of an American war-ship in the harbor, off Vigan, caused the +natives to abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners +for some mountain fastness. The Americans were separated from the +rest of the prisoners whom they never saw again. + +High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys +were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. The Filipino +lieutenant who had charge of the prisoners, ordered them to go on; +they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for +them without avail. The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon +comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer +himself was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance, +the sick Americans were able to go along. + +A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and came +upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent dancing down the +rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in +the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from the Americans, and with guns +in hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them. + +"Prepare to die," said Gilmore to his companions; "they are going to +shoot us." Calling the Filipino lieutenant to his side Gilmore asked +him why he did not shoot them on the opposite side of the mountains, +and not have made them make all of that hard climb for nothing. + +The native officer said in reply: "My orders were to shoot all of +you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability, +your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them +ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago when you showed +me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman +in America, I decided not to carry out my order, but to let you all +go free. I may be punished for disobedience of orders; but we are +both bound together by the great Catholic church, and my conscience +forbids that I should kill you." + +Gilmore replied: "You might as well shoot us as to set us free away +up here in the mountains in our weakened condition with nothing to +defend ourselves with against the savages whose territory we will have +to cross in order to get to the sea. Can't you spare us at least two +rifles and some ammunition? If you will do this, I will give you a +letter which, should you fall into the hands of the Americans, will +make you safe and bring you ample reward." + +The Filipino looked meditatingly at the ground for several moments, +then he calmly said, "I shall not dare to do it. An American relief +party, seeking your liberation, is close on our heels. They will +protect and care for you. Goodby!" + +Gilmore did not believe him. + +Under cover of the night the Filipinos disappeared. In the morning, +after nine long, tedious months of captivity resulting from Marie +Sampalit's depredations,--sick, nearly starved, practically nude, with +nothing but two battle axes and a bolo for both weapons of defense +and for tools--the Americans at last found themselves free men in +the wilds of northern Luzon, with positive death left behind, and +with possible life and all of its happy associations still before them. + +Their first day of liberty was spent in preparing bamboo rafts on +which to float down the tortuous, winding river to the sea. The next +night they all slept well; and on the following morning, just after +they had gotten up and begun to saunter around, everybody present was +suddenly shocked by the shrill yell of a strong American voice. They +all looked up, and while their hearts for a moment seemingly stopped +beating and fairly rose in their throats, the liberated prisoners +beheld the blue shirts and khaki trousers of Colonel Hare's rescue +party that for several weeks had been on their trail. + +What rejoicing! The bony, ill-clad prisoners fell on the strong bosoms +of their rescuers and wept. + +Colonel Hare's father, Judge Hare, of Washington, D.C., knew Gilmore +personally. He had seen the military reports of his captivity among +the natives. When his son bade him goodby as he started for the +Philippines, Judge Hare said, "My boy, God bless you; find Gilmore +and bring him home!" Colonel Hare had remained true to his trust. + +The party could not retrace their steps over the mountains, owing to +the weakened condition of the prisoners and the lack of food. Their +only chance for self-preservation and a possible return to civilization +lay in carrying out Gilmore's designs to build bamboo rafts and float +down the river to the sea. This was done. In going over rapids and +water-falls, many rafts were destroyed and new ones had to be built. + +Two of the boys got the measles. The raft on which one of them, +Private Day, was being transported, got smashed on the rocks and he +was thrown into the water. He took cold and died the next day. His +comrades took his body with them and did not bury it until they finally +reached the little town of Ambulug, at the mouth of the stream they +had been following, on the northern coast of Luzon. There, amid a +simple but impressive ceremony, it was buried in the church-yard of +the cathedral to await the resurrection morn. + +At Ambulug the Americans secured ox-carts drawn by caribous and drove +along the beach to the city of Aparri, at the mouth of the Cagayan +river. Here they were met by a detachment of American Marines who +took them aboard a war-ship, lying out to sea, which carried them +around the northwest promontory of Luzon to the city of Vigan on the +western coast, at which place they had been imprisoned for so long. + +Here they met General Young who shook hands with each of them; +congratulated the rescued and complimented the rescuers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +DEATH OF GENERAL LAWTON. + + +After the battle of Baler, Marie and a few native soldiers hastened +westward in advance of the prisoners, to San Isidro to notify Aguinaldo +who had moved his headquarters to that place, that the Americans were +advancing northward in great numbers and that nothing could impede +their progress. This information had previously been conveyed to the +Filipino general from other sources, so that Marie found him in his +so-called congress packed up and ready to move,--a thing they were +forced to do a few days after the American prisoners arrived. She +accompanied them for several long, tedious months, acting as cook for +the expedition and serving in other capacities--none of them seeming +to her to be ample reward for all she had done. + +Early in the coming fall, Marie, tired of Aguinaldo's game of +hide-and-go-seek, and anxious to find out about her mother and to get +into more fighting, if there be a chance, made her way back to Manila. + +But her conscience bothered her. She remembered that broken oath and +many other acts of wanton treachery that would shock the civilized +world. She feared that her own life would soon be sought either by +the Americans or by the Filipinos. Accordingly she suggested to her +mother that they again go to her aunt's in the little town of Angono +at the north end of Lake Laguna de Bay, where she had left her mother +stationed when last they had parted. Her mother, growing old and +nervous through accumulated years, past grievances, hard work and the +strain of the present conflict, favored the plan; and so they departed +on December 2nd, taking the same road over McLeod's Hill and on down +over the Santa Mesa bridge that they had traveled on February 4th. + +Before leaving Manila she learned through the private Filipino Junta +which was secretly assisting in the war by accumulating funds for +its prosecution and by distributing among the native troops the +inflammatory literature which was being promiscuously sent out by +the people in the United States who opposed the war, that a secret +reward of $10,000. had been offered for the death of General Lawton. + +About the middle of December, 1899, the General had returned to +Manila from another telling campaign northward, when he learned that +the Filipinos were assembling in large numbers under one of their +fearless leaders, General Geronemo, on the San Mateo river, but a +few miles out of Manila, for the purpose of making one more attempt +to break through the American lines guarding that city. + +On December 17, Marie heard that another attack was to be made on +Manila, so she left her mother at Angono and made her way to the +Filipinos' camp along the San Mateo river, only a few miles south of +where she had crossed it at the rapids the morning after she had been +liberated under oath by Major Allison. + +The next day, she was in secret consultation with Geronemo, and she +disclosed to him all the information she had concerning the defenses +of Manila. + +That evening, Filipino scouts, dressed in female attire, brought to +General Geronemo the news that the Americans, under General Lawton, +who was supposed to be away up in the northern part of Luzon, had +anticipated his movements and were assembling in the woods on the +opposite side of the valley in large numbers, possibly for a night +attack. + +Marie told Geronemo what she had learned while in Manila concerning +the reward that had been secretly offered for the killing of General +Lawton. He knew all about it and confirmed the offer. She told him all +about her training as a marksman with the Spanish on Corregidor island +and of her subsequent experience, and said she knew General Lawton +well; that she could single him out, and in case he led his troops, +as he usually did in battle, she was sure she could capture the prize. + +A place of unusual safety and concealment was selected along the +Filipinos' lines, directly in front of the center of the probable point +of attack by the Americans, for Marie, and for a Filipino lieutenant +and a corporal, both of whom were also good shots. + +Geronemo had instructed them that Marie was to have the first three +shots at the general, in case he appeared on the scene of battle. If +she failed to hit him, the lieutenant was then to try it. After he +had taken three shots, if he, too, failed, the corporal was to be +given a chance. + +The next morning, December 19, the American line of battle came out +of the woods on the opposite side of the valley, ready to charge on +the Filipinos' position. The morning was bright and clear, so that +General Lawton, with his tall figure, resplendent uniform and large +white helmet, could easily be discerned by the entire Filipino command. + +"I'll fix him," whispered Marie, "just wait till the firing begins, +so that I can shoot without attracting attention to our position." + +In a moment, the Filipinos opened fire on the Americans all along +the line. The latter sought cover. General Lawton remained erect. He +made an ideal target. Marie took careful aim. "Bang!" went her rifle, +and at that very moment this peerless leader of men, this hero of +several wars, was shot through the heart and fell dead in the arms +of his aide. His only words were, "I'm shot." + +"See that! What did I tell you?" snapped out Marie, "I told you I'd +get him! Now for my dinero." (money). + +The Americans were so angered because of the sudden death of their +beloved commander that they made a mad rush forward, without orders, +and swept the Filipino army from the field. + +Marie returned to Manila where she claimed the reward for having shot +the general. The lieutenant who was with her claimed that he did it, +and by promising half of the bounty to the corporal for swearing to +the lie, he proved it. Meager reports of the affair state that only +$7000 of the money was actually paid over. Like Aguinaldo who crept +into a cave northwest of Manila and sold out his country during the +insurrection of 1896, and then could not collect his fee, so Marie, +too, found herself deprived of the compensation for her bloody deed. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +NORTH-BOUND + + +The controversy over the distribution of the fund in Manila for the +death in any form of General Lawton permitted the unholy scheme to +simmer its way into publicity. The United States authorities employed +secret detectives to investigate the matter and if possible to locate +the persons who claimed to be responsible for the act. Marie soon +found herself under surveillance and she quickly left the city. + +Making her way north on horse back along the same route she had taken +when on her way to Baler about a year before, she came to the city +of San Miguel where one of the hardest battles of the war had been +fought. The troops engaged in this fight had become so disorganized +that all formation by regiments, companies, etc., had been broken +up. Unfortunately, one of the Americans' dead privates could not be +identified. He was buried where he fell, and a board tombstone was +placed at the head of his grave, on which was carved this lonely word, + + + "UNKNOWN". + + +As Marie passed over the old field, she saw this grave and read the +solemn word on its headstone. "Alas!" she muttered, "I wonder if the +same sad fate will some day overtake me." + +The body of this "unknown" soldier was exhumed by the government a few +months later and brought back to the United States for burial. Upon +its arrival the following pathetic poem appeared in "Leslie's Weekly"; + + + JUST AN "UNKNOWN" + + After the fight was over, + They found him stark and dead, + Where all the bamboo thicket + Was splashed and stained and red. + No name was missed at roll call, + Not one among them knew + The slender, boyish figure + Arrayed in army blue. + + Among our fallen soldiers + They brought him o'er the deep, + And with the nation's heroes + They laid him down to sleep. + A starry flag above him, + And on the simple stone + That marked his final bivouac, + The single word, "Unknown." + + Perchance a mother watches, + Her eyes with weeping dim, + Or sweetheart waits the postman + In vain for news of him. + While snow of winter freezes, + And April violets thrust + Sweet blossoms through the grasses + Above his nameless dust. + + But when the last great trumpet + Shall sound the reveille, + And all the blue battalions + March up from land and sea, + He shall awake to glory-- + Who sleeps unknown to fame, + And with Columbia's bravest + Will answer to his name. + + +Her personal safety demanded that she continue her journey northward, +without delay; also her inclination to rejoin Aguinaldo and his +troops--although his exact whereabouts were unknown--invited her in +this direction. + +At San Isidro, from which place Aguinaldo had been driven, she +saw some American soldiers administering the water cure to some +Filipinos in order to make them reveal the whereabouts of their wily +general. Marie was angry. She yearned to shoot, but she was no longer +on the aggressive; she was now a fugitive from justice. At this +place she inspected the old Filipino prison and on its walls found +the names of Gilmore and his party, whom she had helped to capture at +Baler, who had been imprisoned there, and who were still alive when +Aguinaldo was driven from the city of San Isidro by the approach of +the Americans. She determined to take her revenge on them for this +water cure punishment, if she ever found them. But the opportunity +never came. So journeying on toward the northern part of Luzon she had +many experiences, and she came in contact with tribes whom she had +never seen before and whose dialect was foreign to her. Many things +combined to retard her progress. Often she grew very weary and would +have turned back, except for fear. + +Following up the valley of the Pampanga river and thence on northward +along the Barat, she passed through the province of Nueva Ecija, +crossed the Caraballo mountains which form its northern boundary, +and then entered the province of Nueva Vizcaya, where she came upon +the head-waters of the Rio Magat river. + +In crossing the Caraballo mountains she made her way through a deep +gorge at night. It was now about the middle of February. A full moon +shone at its best. The weather was ideal. Journeying was abnormally +pleasant. Under favorable conditions, during times of peace, the trip +she was taking would have been a delightful outing. Just now things +were different. Small garrisons of American soldiers had crowded +forward and were occupying the largest cities along her route. As yet +she had not gotten beyond them. "A guilty conscience needs no accuser"; +everywhere that she went she imagined herself to be under suspicion. + +Far up in the Caraballos she came across a little mountain torrent +which leaped down over the mountain side from one rocky ledge to +another at quite regular intervals in a series of waterfalls until it +beat itself into a turbulent spray in the bed of the chasm below. The +laughing moon filtered its beaming rays through the thin sheet of +shimmering water as it danced down its course from precipice to +precipice, and seemingly converted it into a great silvery stair-way +connecting earth with heaven. Marie's heart throbbed with emotion. The +dashing of the falling water on the rocks below in the bed of the canon +made a hollow sound as its echoes reverberated through the gorge above. + +A half mile farther up, the valley widened somewhat; and finding here +some grass for her pony to forage on, she stopped for the night. The +flimsy saddle was removed from her horse and converted into a crude +pillow, in true cowboy style. Marie was uneasy. This was the first +night in all her adventures that she had been absolutely alone, +separated from both friends and foes, with no house to shelter her +weary head, with the cloudless canopy of the silent heavens arched +above her, the silvery moonbeams dancing in her face, and with +no voice, save the echoes of her own, to answer back the whispers +of night. + +It is often only in such a silent nook as this, with no one present +but God and self, that humanity asserts itself and the tenderest +portions of the human soul become paramount and give rise to +sacred thoughts. Even the savage cannot escape it, for he, too, +feels his responsibility to something outside of self. No doubt the +self-conscious criminal would be the most susceptible to it. + +What a night for Marie! Solitude gave rise to fear; fear, to conscious +criminality; a sense of wrong-doing, to grief. Would morning never +come? Every time she fell into a doze her sleep was disturbed by dreams +of the past. Recollections of her dying benefactor in the woods by +the San Mateo river, of Gilmore's comrades bleeding by his side, and +of Lawton in the arms of his aide, filled her soul with remorse and +suggested to her with an unspeakable vividness that in all probability +she would pay the penalty on both sides of the grave. Awakening from +one awful dream, she would, after listening to the stillness of the +night for a time, lapse into another. Again she would suddenly awake +and begin to fumble her rosary and repeat selections from a Catholic +prayer book. Would she dare to turn back? Behind her was certain death; +before her, the possibility of life. She resolved to go on. + +The night whiled away. Her pony ate his fill and lay down to +rest. Beaded dew drops collected themselves in close proximity upon +the grasses and foliage about her feet. The cool mountain air from +without and fear from within caused her to shiver a great deal. Day +finally came; Marie rode on. + +Following the Magat river she finally reached the city of Bayombong +with a population of 20,000 people. Here she learned from the natives +that Aguinaldo and a loyal remnant of his appointed congress had +passed through the city ahead of her, en route northward. + +At Bayombong she was advised to follow down the Magat river for +twenty miles, then to bear to the northeast along the pathway made by +Aguinaldo and his followers in their recent retreat. This she did, +crossing another range of mountains near Fort Del Pilar, which had +been erected by the Filipinos to circumvent as well as to prevent the +progress of the Americans, should they attempt to follow them. On +the farther side of this slope she came upon the headwaters of the +Rio Grande de Cagayan river, which she followed on to the north for +several weeks, enjoying the hospitality of the natives along the +course, until at last she came upon the beautiful city of Ilagan at +the confluence of the Cagayan and Pinacanalan rivers. + +It was now late in April. Marie was tired and needed rest. At Ilagan +she was cordially received by the curious natives who were eager to +learn some news concerning the war which was being conducted several +hundred miles further south. Marie grew cheerful. There were no +Americans in the city, and nobody knew of any within the valley. She +felt that at last she had successfully eluded her supposed pursuers and +that she was safe. Ilagan is the capital of Isabella province. It has +a population of approximately 60,000 people. Marie's natural ability, +information gathered in the school of experience, knowledge of the +details of the war, and her willingness to talk (quite a number at +Ilagan could speak Spanish) made of her a sort of responsive idol +for the entire populace. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CROSSING THE SIERRA MADRES. + + +She remained at Ilagan until the middle of June, when it began to be +rumored that the Americans were preparing to invade the Cagayan valley, +not only soldiers from the south but with the "mosquito fleet" coming +up the river from its mouth at the extreme northern end of the island +of Luzon. Nobody in the city seemed to know just where Aguinaldo had +gone. Part of his advance guard had arrived in the city some three +months before, but he had not come, and his soldiers had soon departed +for the southeast, following the valley of the Pinacanalan river. + +Tired of her surroundings and impatient to join Aguinaldo, Marie +departed by the same route that his soldiers had taken. From an +old native living all alone in a bamboo shack on the bank of the Rio +Masagan river, which empties into the Pinacanalan about eighteen miles +southeast of Ilagan, she learned that Aguinaldo and his troops had +started up the valley of the Masagan. This stream rises high up near +the summit of the Sierra Madre mountains which parallel the eastern +coast of northern Luzon for nearly five hundred miles, and are inland +from the coast from ten to thirty miles. + +Marie had with her three trusted natives from Ilagan. She did not want +to spend another night alone in the mountains. After proceeding up +the Masagan for thirty-five miles to a place where its valley narrows +itself to a gorge, its bed was so strewn with huge boulders that it +became impossible to travel any longer on horseback; therefore, one +of the natives was sent back with the horses, and Marie and the two +others continued the ascent on foot, taking with them such equipment +and provisions as they could conveniently carry. + +After many hardships they succeeded in crossing the range in safety +and soon found themselves descending the other side. A Filipino +scouting party was met at the evening of the first day's tramp down +the Pacific slope. They were well supplied with food--thing Marie and +her companions greatly needed. From them it was learned that Aguinaldo +and his body guard and quite a complement of Filipino soldiers were +secreted at the little town of Palanan on a small stream by the same +name, about ten miles back from the coast and lying directly east +of them on the journey which they were pursuing. This party escorted +them to Filipino headquarters, which they reached July 10, 1900. + +Marie was cordially welcomed by Aguinaldo, who restored her to a +position on his staff and secured from her the identical information +which he desired relative to the movement of the American troops, and +the very information, strange to say, which led to his own discovery +and capture by General Funston of the American forces in March of +the following year. + +Aguinaldo learned from Marie that from the Filipinos' standpoint, the +war around Manila had been a dismal failure. He decided, therefore, +to send one of his trusted generals south by practically the same +route over which Marie had come, with information to the Filipino +troops east and south of Manila to move all their available forces +north with the quickest possible despatch and to place them under his +immediate command so that he might not only render himself immune from +capture, but take the initiative and oppose the American campaign in +the valley of the Cagayan river. + +In December, 1900, about three months before his capture by General +Funston, Aguinaldo, having learned that the Americans were making their +way in great numbers into the valley of the Cagayan, asked Marie to +take up duty as a spy again; to recross the Sierra Madre mountains; +visit the American lines; ascertain their number of soldiers on duty +in the valley on the opposite side of the mountains and then to bring +this information to him, so that when reinforcements should arrive +he would know better how to undertake the campaign. + +To this, Marie willingly assented, but she insisted that she could +not make the trip alone over the rugged Sierra Madre mountains; +that she had nearly famished crossing them the first time. Aguinaldo +therefor fitted out a little expedition consisting of eight Filipinos, +in addition to Marie, and a pack-train of fourteen ponies to accompany +her over the divide. Nine of the animals were for riding purposes; +the other five were to pack the supplies,--three of them for the +outward trip, two for the incoming. In addition to the rice which +they took along, they were instructed to forage as much as possible. + +On December 9, the party started out on their perilous undertaking. A +point far up on the mountain slope, near a refreshing mineral spring, +having been reached on December 17, the party halted and established +a sub-base for their return trip. It was evident to them that they +had struck the wrong trail and were going to be compelled to send +Marie back through a different gorge from the one by which she and +her associates had come over a few months before. + +Here the party divided into two relays--one to accompany Marie close +to the top of the mountains, the other to remain where it was until +her guides returned. At this temporary base three Filipinos and two +pack-horses were left. The Filipinos thus left behind were instructed +to hunt and trap all they could till their comrades returned. + +The on-going squad, consisting of Marie and five native soldiers, took +with them their six riding ponies and three of the pack-horses. They +departed from their comrades early in the morning, December 18. By +night of the second day they had gotten so near the crest they could +plainly discern that in one long march Marie could cross the divide +and get a safe distance down the slope on the opposite side. Coming to +an old stone church they dismounted and established themselves for the +night. It was December 19,--the anniversary of Lawton's death. Marie +remarked about it. + +This old church had partly fallen down. Vines and mosses had so +interlaced themselves in climbing over its rocky walls and across its +openings that they had to be cut away by the unwelcome intruders before +they could gain an entrance. The stone cross on the front gable was +still in place; but the old mahogany door had long since been torn +from its hinges by the mountain storms, and it lay in a state of +decay on the ground. An earthquake had destroyed part of the roof, +and had caused the west wall to become inclined and to crumble. + +Within, one end of the old altar was still found to be intact. The +priest's pulpit chair had become ivy-mantled, and one handle had rotted +from its fastenings and had fallen to the floor. Statues of the Saints +had pitched from their moorings in the alcoves along the walls and were +lying face-downward or standing on their heads amid the debris below. + +What hands had built this old church, none could tell. It seemed +certain that no human being had entered it for over a century. The +mountain tribes who had lifted into place the huge chalk stones +that composed its massive walls, under the devout leadership of some +pious monk, for a place of worship, had long since perished from the +earth. The mountain game which rendered possible their habitation in +this altitude had vanished. Everything and everybody had evidently +given way before some fierce invasion of one of their southern tribes. + +Marie was busy cleaning off the trash from the massive rock that lay +at the entrance to the door-way. "1765," said she; "come, see the +date chiseled in the rock! I wonder what has become of the tribe that +built it?" + +A soldier who had made his entrance by one of the window openings, +was busily engaged in prying up a huge flat stone just back of the +altar. He had it loosened; he called for help to remove it. When the +stone had been overturned and had fallen back onto its aged neighbors, +some soft damp earth beneath it was slowly scraped away. + +"Listen!" said the native who on bended knees was doing the +sacrilegious work, "Did you hear that grating noise?" + +He scraped again with his bolo turned edgewise, and gripping the back +of it firmly with both hands. "Do you hear it?" said he. "It's here!" + +In a few minutes a metallic box was pried out of the earth wherein +it had lain unmolested for many years. + +"Can you read the inscription on it?" asked Marie. + +Carefully the sediment and rust shales were removed. The grooves in +the letters and figures of the inscription were carefully cleaned +out with a knife. It read + + + FATHER + JUADANEZ + 1768. + + +"The old father has been dead a long time," said the fellow who was +doing the details of the work. + +"I wonder," said Marie, "if we really ought to disturb his bones." + +"Do you suppose they put any valuables in the little chest when they +sealed it up?" asked another. + +"It has always been customary to put in the sacred urn," said Marie. + +"Cut it open!" commanded a corporal. + +"I can't," said the robber; "we'll have to build a fire and melt +it open." + +This they did; and in it they found the dust of his bones and a number +of valuables including the Patricia's gold-lined cup which Marie took +and hung on her belt. + +That night a terrible storm swept over the mountains. Marie and her +companions crept into the old church for refuge. The ponies had been +given some rice and then set free to forage as best they could. They +were stampeded by the violence of the wind and rain. + +The morning broke cool and clear. Everybody was astir at day-break. The +ponies were gone, but plenty of rice remained. Marie soon saw a way +out of the difficulty. She left three of her men at the old church to +await the return of the two who were to accompany her until she reached +some plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of the mountains. + +The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such +a supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only three miles +farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost +perpendicular and seeming to form pillars for the sky, were so close +together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used +the ponies for travel, even though they had not retreated in the storm. + +Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had reached +the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be the north fork of +the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had previously +followed. The beautiful valleys below them were plainly visible as +the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A small native village +could be seen on the bank of the stream a few miles ahead. The party +bivouacked for the night. + +Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was +off on her important mission. + +Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after +another night's rest, the five undertook their return journey to +the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they +reached this camp they found their ponies all returned to it; and +their comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the +Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. The entire party, except +Marie, got back to Aguinaldo's camp at Palanan, on Christmas Day. + +Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her +spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing help from +the natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a +few months. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +COMPENSATION + + +On the evening of December 24, 1900,--one of those dark nights in +the Philippines when the air seems so dense that you can almost +take hold of it with your hands--when the heavy clouds blanket the +earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem to shake the earth +in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their melody--when +the lightening bugs flutter from twig to twig, revealing their +lanterned wings--when the human heart beats with a conscious thump +in anticipation of something awful--when those who are out alone +whistle to give themselves courage--when the zigzag openings rent +through the clouds by the vicious lightning flashes almost reveal +Eternity;--Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which we all celebrate +and shall continue to celebrate till the end of time, to commemorate +the birth of our Christ,--a sharp-eyed, dare-devil Filipino crept +slowly out of the city of Ilagan along a foot-path toward the +Americans' camp about a mile north of that city. + +When so near to the Americans that their out-posts were plainly visible +during the flashes of lightning, the Filipino spy crept into a bamboo +thicket not over fifty feet from an American sentry. After lying there +for a half hour, waiting for the storm to come, the native grew a +trifle bolder and arose to his knees. That moment the sharp eyes of +the sentry caught him. + +"Corporal of the Guard!" called the sentry in a loud voice. + +The corporal, being suspicious that something unusual was taking place, +in responding to the call took with him two armed privates. + +Approaching the sentry, with light steps and in a crouching attitude, +the corporal said in a heavy whisper, "What's the matter, Jack?" + +The sentry was standing with gun in hand, loaded, cocked, and with +bayonet fixed. Keeping his eye centered on the exact spot where he had +last seen the slowly gravitating figure before him, the guard said +in an undertone that denoted grave alarm, "Do you see that thicket +just to the left of that big mango tree?" + +"Yes;" said the corporal in a whisper, "What's the trouble?" + +"There's a man in there," said the sentry. "I saw him quite plainly at +first--and I think he's got a gun in his hand. You better watch out, +boys. He's still there." + +The corporal and the two privates fixed the bayonets on their +Krag-Jorgensons, filled the magazines, slipped a shell into the +barrel of each rifle, cocked them, crouched close to the ground, +some ten feet apart, and began to move forward, a step at a time, +between the flashes of lightening. Each time it would flash, they +would peer into the thicket. Each step brought them nearer. + +"There he lies!," said one of the privates in a quick out-spoken voice. + +"Amigo," (a friend) said the stretched-out form, as three guns were +raised in unison with the anxious muzzles pointing directly at him. + +"Este no quere combate" (you don't desire to fight), said the corporal, +in crude Spanish. + +"Mucho amigo" (very friendly), came the reply. + +"Vamose aque!" (come here), commanded the corporal. + +With his eyes fixed in theirs, the Filipino raised himself slowly up +and came toward the three Americans who stood but twelve feet away. + +"Take him by the arms," said the corporal to the two privates who were +with him, "while I look behind that rice-dyke to see if he had a gun." + +"Here's what the rascal was up to," said the corporal, holding a +Mauser above his head. "Good thing you saw him when you did, Jack." + +The storm was coming nearer; the first gust of wind had just struck +them. It blew back the Filipino's little checkered frock. The corporal +saw a glitter. + +"Watch out! boys, he's got a machete under his coat," said the +corporal. + +He was searched for more weapons and then marched inside the American +lines and taken directly to headquarters. A drum-head court was +convened at once and the prisoner led in. + +With hands clinched, muscles taut, eyes piercing at the court, he +listened to the reading of the charge: + +"Caught acting as a spy for the enemy in violation of the Articles +of War; armed, with intent to take the life of an American sentry +on guard!" + +After the testimony had been taken, the prisoner was given a chance +to speak, but he absolutely refused to do so, even though addressed +in several different languages and dialects. + +"He spoke Spanish to us as we captured him," interjected the corporal. + +"GUILTY!" + +said the lieutenant-colonel who was presiding, in a firm military +tone. "The court fixes the penalty at death, and sentences the prisoner +to be shot at sun-rise." + +"Remove him, Sergeant, and detail a firing squad to execute the order +of the court!" + +As the prisoner was led away, the lieutenant-colonel dropped his +chin in the palms of his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees, +and muttered in a semi-regretful way: "I hate to do it; but in the +past we have always been so chicken-hearted about punishing these +blood-thirsty natives that they have now come to regard our kindness +as cowardice. I can't help but feel that it will bring the war to a +close quicker if we deal with them hereafter with a good firm hand." + +"I wonder what province the young fellow came from," said a major +who was sitting near. + +"I really don't know," replied the lieutenant-colonel: "his face shows +him to be a Tagalo. Certain it is that he didn't come from Isabella +province in which we are now campaigning. I wouldn't be surprised if +Aguinaldo were near here and if he had sent this young dare-devil to +cut down our sentry, so as to make an attack upon us tonight during +the storm." + +Toward morning the storm subsided. At day-break a comparatively shallow +grave was hastily dug near the edge of a little bamboo thicket on +a slightly elevated piece of ground. As the flickering rays of the +tropical sun began to shoot above the pale, ashen-gray hue of the +eastern horizon, the prisoner was led to the foot of his prospective +tomb. The firing squad took its place in line. + +The guns had been carefully loaded in advance for their deadly work; +all but one contained blank cartridges. As usual, after loading, the +guns were intermixed, so that no man might know which one contained +the deadly bullet. + +"Ready!" commanded the sergeant who had charge of the squad,--the +corporal having taken his usual place in line with his men. + +"Click," went the hammers of the rifles in unison, as they were +brought to a full cock. + +"Aim!" came the next command in a firmer tone. The soldiers brought +their rifles to their shoulders. Every barrel was pointed at the +chest of the prisoner, who now for the first time, began to tremble +and turn a sickly yellow. + +"Fire!" commanded the sergeant. + +"Bang!" went the united roar of the guns; and as the light powder smoke +cleared away and the echoes reverberated through the woods of northern +Luzon, the firing squad stepped forward to view their heroic dead. + +A private jumped into the grave and turned the corpse over onto +its back. + +That night Frank W. Pugh, of the regular army, a member of this +unfortunate firing squad, who died later at Fort Worth, Texas, of +fever contracted in the Philippines, sitting in his little dog-tent, +meditating, wrote in his diary, which is now preserved in the archives +at Washington with other relics of the war, the following appropriate +poem: + + + A CHRISTMAS COURT-MARTIAL + + "The night was dark and threatening rain, + No stars were in the sky; + We caught him hiding in the pines-- + A Filipino spy. + A slender youth with coal black eyes, + Brim full of frightened tears; + We turned him over to the guard, + I fear with callous jeers. + + Next morning it was Christmas day, + The sun was shining hot, + A drum-head court had said, "The spy, + Is sentenced to be shot." + Erect before the officers, + He still disdained to speak, + Although a single crystal drop, + Empearled his olive cheek. + + Upon a long and hurried march, + In light array, you see, + We could not take the boy along, + So stood him near a tree; + Told off the little firing squad, + And ordered it in line. + One gun was loaded in the lot-- + I hope it was not mine. + + Birds in the branches overhead + Sang softly in the heat. + The grave, a trench of steaming sand, + Gaped yellow at his feet; + He faced us with a dauntless air, + Although his lips were white;-- + Our grim old Sergeant turned away, + He could not stand the sight. + + A flash, a roar, a cloud of smoke, + And headlong to the ground + He fell face downward in the grave, + And died without a sound. + We turned him over on his back, + And DEATH the TRUTH confessed, + For through his open jacket peeped + A Woman's tender breast." + + + +Marie Sampalit had earned her doom. After her grave had been filled, +the soldier boys placed at its head a cartridge-box lid on which they +inscribed the pitiful word, + + "UNKNOWN." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman with a Stone Heart, by +Oscar William Coursey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + +***** This file should be named 24705.txt or 24705.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/0/24705/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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+font-weight: bold; +} + + + +</style></head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's The Woman with a Stone Heart, by Oscar William Coursey + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman with a Stone Heart + A Romance of the Philippine War + +Author: Oscar William Coursey + +Release Date: February 27, 2008 [EBook #24705] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="front"><div class="titlePage"> +<h1 class="docTitle">The Woman with a Stone Heart</h1> +<h2 class="docTitle">A Romance of the Philippine War.</h2> +<h2 class="byline">By +<br> +<span class="docAuthor">O. W. Coursey</span>, (U. S. Vols.) +<br> +Author of +<br> +“History and Geography of the Philippine Islands.” <br> +“Who’s Who In South Dakota.” <br> +“Biography of General Beadle.” <br> +“School Law Digest.” +</h2> +<h2 class="docImprint">All of these books are published and for sale by <br> +THE EDUCATOR SUPPLY COMPANY <br> +Mitchell, South Dakota +</h2> +</div><div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><p class="aligncenter">Copyrighted 1914 + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">By O. W. Coursey + + + + + + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">The Woman with a Stone Heart + + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">Introduction</h2> +<p>To those whose love of adventure would cause them to plunge head-long into an abyss of vain glory, hoping at life’s sunset +to reap a harvest contrary to the seed that were sown, let me suggest that you pause first to read the story of “The Woman +With a Stone Heart,” Marie Sampalit, dare-devil of the Philippines. +</p> +<hr class="tb"><p> + +</p> +<p>Perhaps we might profitably meditate for a few moments on the musings of Whittier: + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>“The tissue of the life to be +</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>We weave in colors all our own, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>And in the field of destiny +</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>We’ll reap as we have sown.”</span></p> +</div> +<p>—<span class="smallcaps">The Author.</span> + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">Dedication</h2> +<p>To Her, who, as a bride of only eighteen months, stood broken-hearted on the depot platform and bade me a tearful farewell +as our train of soldier boys started to war; who later, while I was Ten Thousand miles away from home on soldier duty in the +Philippine Islands, became a Mother; and who, unfortunately, three months thereafter, was called upon to lay our first-born, +Oliver D. Coursey, into his snow-lined baby tomb amid the bleak silence of a cold winter’s night, with no strong arm to bear +her up in those awful hours of anguish and despair, +</p> +<hr class="tb"><p> + +</p> +<p>My Soldier Wife, Julia, + +</p> +<p>this book is most affectionately dedicated. + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>“Only a baby’s grave, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Yet often we go and sit +</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>By the little stone, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>And thank God to own, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>We are nearer heaven for it.”</span></p> +</div> +<p>—<span class="smallcaps">O. W. Coursey.</span> + + + +</p> +</div> +<div class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">List of Illustrations</h2> +<ol class="lsoff"> +<li> <span class="tocPagenum">Page</span> + +</li> +<li>Marie Sampalit <span class="tocPagenum">10</span></li> +<li>Region Around Manila Bay <span class="tocPagenum">29</span></li> +<li>Admiral Dewey <span class="tocPagenum">39</span></li> +<li>Aguinaldo <span class="tocPagenum">61</span></li> +<li>Marie, Her Mother, etc <span class="tocPagenum">82</span></li> +<li>Filipinos at Breakfast <span class="tocPagenum">100</span></li> +<li>End of the Boat-Battle <span class="tocPagenum">113</span></li> +<li>The Rescue <span class="tocPagenum">126</span></li> +<li>Floating Down The Rapids <span class="tocPagenum">129</span></li> +<li>General Lawton and Staff <span class="tocPagenum">139</span></li> +</ol></div> +<div id="d0e226" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="normal">Table of Contents</h2> +<ol class="lsoff"> +<li>Chapters: <span class="tocPagenum">Page</span> + +</li> +<li>I. <a href="#d0e328">Love Defeated</a> <span class="tocPagenum">9</span></li> +<li>II. <a href="#d0e434">First Shot of A New War</a> <span class="tocPagenum">25</span></li> +<li>III. <a href="#d0e540">Avenged Her Lover’s Death</a> <span class="tocPagenum">41</span></li> +<li>IV. <a href="#d0e627">The Interval</a> <span class="tocPagenum">57</span></li> +<li>V. <a href="#d0e712">Filipino Uprising</a> <span class="tocPagenum">69</span></li> +<li>VI. <a href="#d0e804">As A Spy</a> <span class="tocPagenum">81</span></li> +<li>VII. <a href="#d0e882">Off For Baler</a> <span class="tocPagenum">93</span></li> +<li>VIII. <a href="#d0e999">The Gilmore Incident</a> <span class="tocPagenum">105</span></li> +<li>IX. <a href="#d0e1045">The American Prisoners</a> <span class="tocPagenum">113</span></li> +<li>X. <a href="#d0e1155">Death of General Lawton</a> <span class="tocPagenum">131</span></li> +<li>XI. <a href="#d0e1208">North-bound</a> <span class="tocPagenum">141</span></li> +<li>XII. <a href="#d0e1335">Crossing the Sierra Madres</a> <span class="tocPagenum">153</span></li> +<li>XIII. <a href="#d0e1441">Compensation</a> <span class="tocPagenum">167</span></li> +</ol> +</div> +</div><a id="d0e326"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e326">10</a>]</span><div class="body"> +<div id="d0e328" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter I.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Love Defeated</h2><a id="d0e333"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e333">11</a>]</span><p>Marie Sampalit and her fiancee, Rolando Dimiguez, were walking arm-in-arm along the sandy beach of Manila bay, just opposite +old Fort Malate, talking of their wedding day which had been postponed because of the Filipino insurrection which was in progress. + +</p> +<p>The tide was out. A long waved line of sea-shells and drift-wood marked the place to which it had risen the last time before +it began to recede. They were unconsciously following this line of ocean debris. Occasionally Marie would stop to pick up +a spotted shell which was more pretty than the rest. Finally, when they had gotten as far north as the semi-circular drive-way +which extends around the southern and eastern sides of the walled-city, or Old Manila, as it is called, and had begun to veer +toward it, Marie looked back and repeated a beautiful memory gem taught to her by a good friar <a id="d0e338"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e338">12</a>]</span>when she was a pupil in one of the parochial schools of Manila: + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>“E’en as the rise of the tide is told, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>By drift-wood on the beach, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>So can our pen mark on the page +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>How high our thoughts can reach.”</span></p> +</div> +<p>They turned directly east until they reached the low stone-wall that prevents Manila bay from overflowing the city during +the periods of high tides. Dimiguez helped Marie to step upon it; then they strolled eastward past the large stake which marked +the place where the Spaniards had shot Dr. Jose Rizal, the brainiest patriot ever produced by the Malay race. + +</p> +<p>When they came to the spot, Marie stopped and told Dimiguez how she had watched the shooting when it took place, and how bravely +Rizal had met his fate. + +</p> +<p>“If it hadn’t been for this outrage committed by the Spaniards,” remarked Dimiguez, “this insurrection would not have lasted +these two years, and we would have been married before now; but our people are determined <a id="d0e355"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e355">13</a>]</span>to seek revenge for his death.” + +</p> +<p>Then they started on, changed their course to the northward, entered the walled-city by the south gate, walked past the old +Spanish arsenal, and then passed out of the walled-city by the north gate. Here they crossed the Pasig river on the old “Bridge +of Spain” (the large stone bridge near the mouth of the river, built over 300 years ago) and entered the Escolta, the main +business street of Manila. After making their way slowly up the Escolta they meandered along San Miguel street until they +finally turned and walked a short distance down a side street to a typical native shack, built of bamboo and thatched with +Nipa palms, happily tucked away beneath the overhanging limbs of a large mango tree in a spacious yard,—the home of the Sampalits. + +</p> +<p>Here Marie had been born just seventeen years before; in fact the next day, April 7, would be her seventeenth birthday. When +she was born, her father instituted one of the accustomed Filipino dances which last <a id="d0e361"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e361">14</a>]</span>from three to five days and nights, and at its conclusion she had been christened “Maria,” subsequently changed by force of +habit to “Marie.” + +</p> +<p>Late that evening, while they were seated side-by-side on a bamboo bench beside of her home, tapping the toes of their wooden-soled +slippers on the hard ground, and indulging in a wandering lovers’ conversation, Marie said to him (calling him affectionately +by his first name), “Rolando, when did you first decide to postpone our wedding day?” + +</p> +<p>“Well, I’ll tell you how it was,” answered he, meditatingly. “The thought of serving my country had been lingering on my mind +all last summer—in fact, ever since the insurrection first broke out in the spring of 1896. You know I intended coming down +to see you last Christmas, but I couldn’t get away. That night I walked the floor all night in our home at Malolos, debating +in my mind whether we had better get married in March, as we had planned, or if it would not <a id="d0e367"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e367">15</a>]</span>be wiser and more manly for me to go to war, take chances on getting back alive and postpone our wedding day until after the +war is over. Toward morning, I decided that it was my duty to become a soldier; so I called my father and mother, got an early +breakfast, bade them goodby and started for Malabon, which was Aguinaldo’s headquarters, and enlisted. He was glad to see +me. You know, he and I attended school together for one year at Hongkong. Well, Aguinaldo at once commissioned me a spy and +assigned me to very important duty.” + +</p> +<p>“My God!” interrupted Marie, “you are not on that duty now, are you, Rolando?” + +</p> +<p>Dimiguez arose. “Marie,” said he firmly, “I must be off.” + +</p> +<p>“But won’t you tell me where you are going and what task lies before you?” pleaded Marie, as she threw both arms about his +neck and began to sob, “I’ll never tell a living soul, so help me God, but I must know!” + +</p> +<p>“A spy never tells his plans to anyone, Marie,” said Dimiguez slowly. “He takes <a id="d0e377"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e377">16</a>]</span>his orders from his chief, plays his part; and if he gets caught, he refuses to speak and dies without a murmur, like a man. +Good night, Marie, I must be off; duty lies before me.” + +</p> +<p>Marie cried herself to sleep. + +</p> +<p>The next morning she started down town, as usual, for the market place, with her bamboo basket filled with bananas, sitting +on her head, and a cigarette in her mouth. She had only gone a block when she met a neighbor girl, one of her chums of equal +years to her own, who was a chamber-maid in the German consul’s home on San Miguel Street. + +</p> +<p>Her friend looked excited. “Have you heard the awful news, Marie?” said she. + +</p> +<p>“No!” exclaimed Marie, “What is it?” + +</p> +<p>“Why, Dimiguez was caught last night by Spanish guards inside the yard of the governor-general’s summer palace up on the Malacanan, +just as he was slipping out of the palace itself. How he got in there, nobody knows.” +<a id="d0e389"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e389">17</a>]</span></p> +<p>Marie dropped her basket. “Heavens!” gasped she, “Did he do anything wrong?” + +</p> +<p>“They found in his pocket diagrams of the interior of the palace, showing the entries to it, the room where the governor-general +sleeps, and many other things; also your picture. See here! the morning paper gives a full account of it.” + +</p> +<p>Marie glanced at the head lines and then started on a vigorous run for the building in which the Spanish military court was +sitting. Rushing in, past an armed guard, she began to plead for her lover’s life. But he had already been tried, convicted +and sentenced to death by strangulation in the old chute at Cavite. Dimiguez never moved a muscle when he saw Marie. Armed +guards forced her abruptly out of the building and ordered her to leave. + +</p> +<p>Inside of two hours, on the same day, April 7, the anniversary of Marie’s birth, he was taken to the little town of Cavite, +seven miles southwest of Manila, and was there placed in the lower end of a long chute built <a id="d0e398"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e398">18</a>]</span>out into Manila Bay. This chute was just wide enough for a man to enter. Its sides, top and bottom were all built of heavy +planks. The side planks lacked a few inches of connecting with the top, although of course the side posts ran clear up and +the top was firmly bolted to them. The entrance to it was well elevated near the docks. The lower end protruded into the bay, +so that it was visible about eighteen inches above the water during the period of low tide, and submerged several feet during +high tide. + +</p> +<p>Tides come in slowly at Cavite, each succeeding wave rising but a trifle higher than the others, until the usual height is +reached. Thus, a prisoner placed in this chute, forced to the lower end and then fastened securely during low tide, can look +out over the side planks at the hideous spectators, watch the tide as it begins to rise and see slow death approaching. It +was in this chute that Marie’s lover met his death. + +</p> +<p>Marie saw the launch that carried him away as it left Manila. She rushed down <a id="d0e404"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e404">19</a>]</span>to the Pasig river, loosened her little boat from the tree to which it was tied, jumped in, seized the oars and started in +pursuit. The launch on which he was being carried had for its power a gasoline engine, and, of course, it soon left her far +behind. When she first started, the swells caused by the launch rocked her little canoe quite roughly and impeded her progress. +As she approached the mouth of the river, passed the monument of Magellan and came between the walled-city on the southern +bank and the docks on the northern bank, a crowd of excited natives thronged the shore, and many of them recognized her. She +heard some one cry out, “Vive Marie!” With might and main she strove forward. + +</p> +<p>The launch made its seven-mile run to Cavite; the victim was placed in the chute; the tide had risen to the danger line; her +lover, with his head thrown back, had just begun to gurgle the salt water, when Marie, in frantic agony, almost exhausted, +rowed around the lower end of the chute and came <a id="d0e408"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e408">20</a>]</span>near enough to the dying hero to be recognized by him. Straining ever muscle to keep his head above the water a second longer, +he cried out in chocking tones that were interrupted by the merciless sea which was rapidly filling his mouth, “Goodby, Marie, +God bless you. Avenge my death!” + +</p> +<p>Hush! At this moment another tidal wave engulfed the apex of the chute. Not a sound could be heard save the slight flapping +of the waves against the pier, and the dismal chant of three priests, who stood on the shore near by, and who had not been +permitted to attend the young spy before his death. Marie trembled; she dropped the oars; her eyes fell; for a moment it seemed +that her young heart stood still: then her face flushed; the tears stopped flowing; anguish gave vent to determined revenge; +pent-up sorrows yielded to out-spoken threats; and in tones sufficiently audible to be heard ashore, she cried, “I’ll do it.” + +</p> +<p>The Spaniard knows no pity. If Marie were to have stepped ashore immediately <a id="d0e414"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e414">21</a>]</span>after her lover’s strangulation, she might have come to grief. It is strange that she escaped punishment for having followed. +She, therefore, rowed directly east and landed on the beach of the bay, about four miles south of Manila, just west of the +little city of Paranaque. + +</p> +<p>From sheer exhaustion, she needed food; therefore, she walked northward along the shore until she found a Mango tree heavily +laden with fruit. After eating a few luscious mangoes, she crept into a clump of bamboo and had a good cry: tears so ease +a woman’s soul. + +</p> +<p>From her position on the beach she could readily see the Spaniards as they took her dead lover from the chute when the tide +had lowered toward evening. She saw them even strike his corpse, and she bit her finger nails as she watched them place him +in a rough wooden box and haul him up through the streets of the village on an old two-wheeled cart drawn by a caribou. + +</p> +<p>With the approach of sunset, things <a id="d0e422"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e422">22</a>]</span>grew strangely quiet. The spring zephyr that had blown modestly during the day died away. There was no longer even a dimple +in the blue surface of Manila Bay. Not a leaf was astir. It seemed to Marie that the only sound she could hear was the the +throbbing of her own heart. To her the whole world seemed like an open sepulcher. Looking down she discovered that she was +unconsciously sitting on a flowery terrace and that all about her was life. She pulled one of those exquisite white flowers +with wide pink veins, peculiar alone to the Philippines, and pressed it to her lips. + +</p> +<p>The sun was just setting beyond Corregidor. The island’s long shadows seemed to extend completely across the bay to her feet. +As the solar fires burned themselves out, the orange tint which they left behind against the reddened sky reminded Marie of +the night before, when she and her lover had strolled along the shore of the bay about three miles farther north; and as the +sun slowly nodded its evening farewell and buried <a id="d0e426"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e426">23</a>]</span>its face in the pillow of night, she remembered how he, on the previous night, had called to her attention the lingering glow +of its fading beams. Before her lay the Spanish fleet, it, too, casting shadows that first grew longer and longer and then +dimmer and dimmer until they in turn had died away in the spectral phenomenon of night. + +</p> +<p>Marie’s thoughts turned toward home. What about her mother? She walked back to her little boat, pushed it out into the bay, +and, stepping into it, sat down, took hold of the oars and started northward near the beach. Just opposite Fort Malate, she +swung westward, and, passing outside of the break-water a mile from shore, she entered the Pasig river and hurried homeward. +When she arrived, about nine o’clock, she found her mother on the verge of prostration; for that very day, strange to say, +Marie’s father, who was a colonel in the Filipino infantry, had been killed at San Francisco del Monte, six miles north-east +of Manila, in a battle with Spanish troops. +<a id="d0e430"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e430">24</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Don’t cry, mother,” expostulated Marie, “from now on I intend to kill every foe of ours in these islands!” + + + +<a id="d0e433"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e433">25</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e434" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter II.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">First Shot of A New War</h2><a id="d0e439"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e439">27</a>]</span><p>Three weeks passed by. Marie had gone down town late in April to do some shopping. While she was standing in the door of the +old postoffice on the Escolta, she heard the shrill voice of a Filipino lad piping out: “Papers! Papers! All about the war +with the United States. Dewey’s comin’!” He had a bundle of newspapers under his right arm and was waving one in his left +hand. Everybody rushed out of the bazaars and offices along the Escolta where they were transacting their business, and each +one who could get near enough to the boy, eagerly bought a morning paper. + +</p> +<p>The lad’s papers were all gone but one. Marie Sampalit snatched it from his hands, and dropped into one of them a small coin. +She stepped into the corridor of the post office, to escape the annoyance of the crowd, and read the large head lines: + +<a id="d0e444"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e444">28</a>]</span> +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<h2 class="normal">“WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED +STATES AND SPAIN +</h2> +<hr class="tb"> +<p><span class="smallcaps">dewey en route to manila great naval battle friday or saturday in manila bay</span> +</p> +<hr class="tb"><p> + +</p> +<p>The Stone Wall Around the City will be Razed to the Ground. Great Loss of Life.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>“Then, I’m off for Corregidor Island right away!” exclaimed Marie. “Dewey can’t get into the Bay except by that route. That’s +where the fight will begin. Mother doesn’t know this. I’ll tell her I am going to take some supplies to the Spanish garrison. +I will go at once!” + +</p> +<p>She set out from Manila in a small casco, or flat-bottomed native boat, heavily laden <a id="d0e466"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e466">29</a>]</span>with fresh fish, pine-apples, mangoes, bananas, tobacco and cigarettes—all intended for the Spanish garrison on Corregidor +Island. Manila is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. From there to the island it is nearly thirty miles. Her little +boat was driven forward on its journey by an easterly wind that gently swelled the tiny sails. + +</p> +<p>She reached the island at five o’clock that afternoon and was given a royal welcome by the Spanish soldiers. Marie gave them +the morning paper containing the news of Dewey’s prospective arrival. She asked permission to take part in the fight. + +</p> +<p>Marie was a favorite with the Spanish garrison. Her genial disposition, added to her almost inconceivable daring, had won +for her the friendship and admiration of all. The gunners had playfully taught her all about loading, firing and swabbing +their cannon. She had also learned the art of good marksmanship, so that at a target practice she was an adept. + +</p> +<p>Impatiently she awaited the arrival of <a id="d0e474"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e474">30</a>]</span>the American fleet. She heard the Spaniards discuss among themselves the cowardice of the American soldiers, and saw them +wager the Dewey would not come to Manila at all but that he would sail down around the Malay Peninsula and hasten home by +way of Good Hope to save his vessels from certain destruction. All this sounded plausible to her and she grew restless and +enthusiastic as the dull hours dragged away. + +</p> +<p>Dewey was so long in coming from Hongkong and the garrison on the island had been kept at their guns ready for action for +so many hours without rest that many of them were completely tired out by the last day of April, and asked for relief. It +was hard to give it. Marie’s opportunity had come. Her ability as an expert rifle shot was known alike to officers and enlisted +men. She offered to serve. The Spanish commandant could not well refuse. He needed her services; besides, the Spaniards were +just then doing all within their power to win the temporary friendship of the natives. <a id="d0e478"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e478">31</a>]</span>Consequently, he promised to assign her to duty for the night. + +</p> +<p>The sunset, as viewed from Corregidor Island on the evening of April 30, was most glorious. Not a cloud was in the sky; a +dead calm prevailed, so that the sea was unusually smooth. As the sun sank to rest behind the shimmering horizon it caused +the island to cast a long shadow over Manila bay as far as the eye could reach, but this soon disappeared. + +</p> +<p>When the sun had sunk from view, Marie noticed that a comparatively new moon was visible in the sky, and she remarked to the +Sergeant of the Guard, “It will not be very dark to-night. We can see the Americanos a long way off.” + +</p> +<p>“Yes,” replied the Sergeant, “the only difficulty with the cowards is that they will not come near enough to be seen at all. +They have had plenty of time to run from Hongkong to Manila and back <span id="d0e486" class="corr" title="Source: agin">again</span>; still they have not been seen or heard of. I’ll bet you a peso (Spanish dollar) that they have gone home <a id="d0e489"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e489">32</a>]</span>and that all of this excitement has been for nothing. Dewey is getting old, Marie; he doesn’t want to go to a watery grave +so far from home. If he were young and ambitious, it would be different. Old men do not care much about real fighting, especially +on the sea. It is different with old generals commanding land forces. They can sit away back in the rear of the battle-field, +receive messages that come to them; plan certain movements based upon these reports; and while they do have considerable responsibility, +still they are not in the actual fight. As for Dewey, nobody has ever heard of him. He is not a recognized naval commander. +Besides, the old fellow, according to reports, is slow and easy going. If he should come to make us an unfriendly call tonight, +mark my word, Marie, there will not be a sliver of his entire fleet left floating above the water yonder inside of thirty +minutes after the first shot is fired.” + +</p> +<p>He had scarcely concluded speaking when the Officer of the Guard, Lieutenant <a id="d0e493"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e493">33</a>]</span>Orlando, called out, “Sergeant of the Guard! Fall in the First Relief!” The Sergeant threw his arm over Marie’s shoulder in +an affectionate manner, smacked a hurried caress against her olive cheek, jumped up from the little bamboo bench on which +they were sitting, rushed up to the guard house and cried out, “First Relief! Fall in!” + +</p> +<p>Marie hastened after him. As the relief was forming in line, she seized a Mauser rifle that stood leaning against a huge rock, +grabbed up a cartridge belt well filled with Mauser ammunition that was lying on the ground near by, hastily adjusted it to +fit her waist measure, buckled it on and fell into the rear rank. + +</p> +<p>“Count fours!” ordered the Sergeant. As is usual in military affairs, the front and rear rank men count in unison; that is, +number one in the front rank and number one in the rear rank both count “one” at the same time; second file counts “two,” +etc. When it came to Marie she piped out simultaneously <a id="d0e499"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e499">34</a>]</span>with the corporal who stood in front of her, “quatro.” (four). + +</p> +<p>As the guard was marched along the stony pathways on Corregidor Island and the various sentinels were relieved, Marie soon +saw that there was not going to be a place for her. She tip-toed up to the corporal who was posting the relief and asked him +where he was going to station her. + +</p> +<p>“Never mind,” said the corporal, “we have a place for you.” And sure enough, they had. + +</p> +<p>Every soldier or civilian who has ever been on this island will readily recall the rough, hard-beaten, winding path that led +from the summit of the hill, in a south-westerly direction, down over precipices, around clumps of bamboo, to a beautiful +fresh water spring which bubbled out of the coral rocks at a point just high enough to prevent it from being inundated or +even infiltrated during the season of high tides. + +</p> +<p>A few feet from this spring and elevated but slightly above it, is a massive, flat <a id="d0e509"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e509">35</a>]</span>rock. Along the north and west sides of this rock is a vertical stone precipice some eight feet high, which from its upper +edge inclines back gradually at an angle of about twenty degrees above a horizontal plane, toward the crest of the island. + +</p> +<p>On this rock Spain firmly bolted one of her most modern cannon—a good seven-inch gun. It was so situated on a revolving casement +that its shots could be made to sweep the whole Boca Grande channel, as the large entrance south of the island is called. +Marie had often operated this gun. She had done splendid work with it on a floating target two miles distant. Its deadly roar +was her delight. Oh! if she could but use it just once on an actual enemy instead of firing it at an indicated one! + +</p> +<p>When the old guard had been relieved and the sentries were marched back to the guard-house to be dismissed, poor Marie, heavy +hearted, marched along. Just as they approached the guard-house, the sergeant <a id="d0e515"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e515">36</a>]</span>motioned to her to fall out and to come toward him. This she did. + +</p> +<p>Into her ear he whispered the information that was to start her on her eventful military career. “Marie,” said he, “the officer +of the Guard informs me that we cannot use you in the infantry service tonight, but that you will be needed with the artillery.” + +</p> +<p>“Good!” exclaimed Marie, “Where shall I serve?” + +</p> +<p>“At the new gun on the large rock near the spring,” answered the Sergeant. + +</p> +<p>“Thank heaven!” said Marie. “Dewey will surely come, and when I put a solid shot through the ’Olympia’ just below the water +line—the battle will be half over. Oh! I’m so anxious! May I go down there tonight and take charge of the gun at once?” + +</p> +<p>The Sergeant told her to report to the headquarters of the artillery department where she would receive instructions. + +</p> +<p>At last she found herself on actual duty. How her young heart throbbed as her black eyes peered forth into the darkness. Toward +<a id="d0e529"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e529">37</a>]</span>midnight, small clouds began to drift oceanward. For a few moments at a time they would obscure the quartered cheek of the +young moon. Oh! if Dewey would but come. The hopes of a life-time were poised on that painful “if.” Before her was the dream +of glory; behind her, the dreary forgetfulness of the past. Hour after hour whiled away. The tiny lights in the natives’ shacks +along the opposite shore began to go out and grow fewer and fewer until the closing day had died safely away into the solemn +night. As usual, “taps” were blown at ten o’clock and things on the island grew very quiet. Days—yes, weeks—seemed to crowd +themselves into those long hours. Would he ever come? + +</p> +<p>Presently she heard the sentry’s shrill cry on the brow of the hill, “Twelve o’clock! All’s well!” The echo of his repeated +call had scarcely died away when Marie thought she saw something dark on the water near the center of the channel, perhaps +three miles away. She whispered to a member of the <a id="d0e533"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e533">38</a>]</span>artillery corps, who sat near her watching the shadow of his pipe on the rock near the base of the cannon. They both looked. +Surely! it’s Dewey! The artilleryman sent up a rocket as a warning. Marie took hurried aim. “Boom!” went her cannon, and from +its mouth a seven-inch shot was hurled over the “Concord,” between its main and mizzen masts. It went a trifle high and did +no harm. + +</p> +<p>“Bang!” went one of the port batteries on the “Raleigh” and before its flash was gone a shudder shot through every vein, every +nerve and every fiber of Marie’s body. Such a crash she had never heard before. “War is hell” to be sure. She sniffed the +smoke from her own gun, and looked around to see what had happened. The stone precipice behind her was torn into fragments. +A man’s hand protruded from the debris. “My God!” she murmured. Yes, there was the evidence. The man who had sat by her side +and who sent up the rocket, lay cold in death. His head was torn off and his body <a id="d0e537"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e537">39</a>]</span>was mangled among the pieces of broken rock. The gunner on the “Raleigh” had done his work well; and Marie’s dream of American +cowardice, of their poor marksmanship and of her ability to sink Dewey’s flag ship, were shattered in an instant. She had +fired the FIRST gun of the war, but not the LAST! + + + +<a id="d0e539"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e539">41</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e540" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter III.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Avenged Her Lover’s Death</h2><a id="d0e545"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e545">43</a>]</span><p>After Dewey’s fleet had passed the island and entered the bay, proper, Marie crept up to the top of the cliff and awaited +the results. As she sat there shivering with fright, day began to dawn. Presently she heard the Spanish batteries on Point +Cavite fire a heavy shot—then a second one; and a few minutes later she saw flames of fire and smoke belching forth from the +starboard sides of Dewey’s entire squadron. Then the Spanish fleet, lying off of Point Cavite, commenced a united and simultaneous +action. + +</p> +<p>Shells rent the air; the men on both fleets cheered as they beheld the effect on the enemy of a well-directed shot; smoke-begrimed +gunners, with the perspiration washing light-colored furrows down their manly cheeks, stood at their guns and worked like +demons as they swabbed their cannon and crowded into them shot after shot. Hissing <a id="d0e550"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e550">44</a>]</span>projectiles that missed the opposing ships and plunged into the bay, were throwing volumes of splashing foam into the air. +Dewey’s vessels were moving in a figure eight and using alternately the several guns on their port and on their starboard +sides, while the Spanish ships moved about promiscuously among each other in an awkward fashion, over a small area, and fired +only as an opportunity offered. + +</p> +<p>“Thank God, I’m out of range of the demons,” said Marie to a Spanish officer who had come to her side. + +</p> +<p>Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey’s ships ceased firing and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent +damage had been sustained by the vessels of either command. + +</p> +<p>“The old fellow is going to quit,” said Marie to the Spanish officer who stood erect with his field glasses carefully trained +on Dewey’s squadron. + +</p> +<p>“They’re coming this way, Marie,” said the officer. +<a id="d0e560"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e560">45</a>]</span></p> +<p>“My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and open fire on us again?” shouted Marie. “We haven’t a mounted gun +left to shoot with.” + +</p> +<p>The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, “They’ve stopped and are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going +to resume the fight.” + +</p> +<p>He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey’s vessels were heading straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on +fire the beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the “Reina Christina.” Then her magazine blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach +near Cavite and deserted amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was able to leave. The dead and the dying were +left to their fate. Magazines in several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes most of them were on fire. Dewey’s +gunners were doing deadly execution. Hundreds of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from their burning vessels into the +ocean. + +</p> +<p>“Now what is he going to do?” said Marie, <a id="d0e569"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e569">46</a>]</span>with some excitement, as she saw one of Dewey’s ships, the “Concord,” disengage herself from the rest of the fleet and head +straight for a large Spanish gun-boat that was lying off to herself and whose sole business it seemed was to keep up a deadly +fire on Dewey’s flagship, the “Olympia.” The Concord literally disembowled her. + +</p> +<p>“The heartless wretches!” exclaimed Marie, as she watched another American ship, the “Petrel,” leave the line of battle and +make a rapid run right past the Spanish fleet for the village of Cavite. “I wonder what the villains are up to now.” In a +few minutes the Petrel returned, with six small vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying at her mast head this +signal, “Have destroyed eight vessels.” + +</p> +<p>Dewey’s ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their positions in line and remained quiet. + +</p> +<p>“What time is it?” asked Marie of the Spanish officer who stood near her. +<a id="d0e577"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e577">47</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Twelve-thirty,” answered he, as he looked at his watch. + +</p> +<p>Marie whiled away the afternoon watching the Spaniards on Corregidor island burying their dead comrades. She wanted to go +home, but she feared to go past Dewey’s fleet. + +</p> +<p>That evening things became solemnly quiet; and the blazing sun, as its face reddened into nightly slumber beyond the watery +horizon of the Pacific, bade farewell to a finished deed, which, in the history of naval warfare, has never been surpassed; +while the pale-faced moon, moving slowly up her appointed path, looked calmly down with her quartered cheek in silent benediction +on the blazing hulls of the Spanish ships as they slowly cremated their dead and dying. + +</p> +<p>The next day the Spanish Commandante on Corregidor discovered that Dewey had blockaded the port of Manila, so he restrained +Marie from starting home for nearly a week. + +</p> +<p>Finally, she got permission to go. As <a id="d0e588"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e588">48</a>]</span>she passed Dewey’s fleet she was surprised to find everything so peaceful and to see dozens of native canoes hovering along +the port-holes of his vessels, selling fruit and curios to his men. + +</p> +<p>Marie reached home in the early evening, and found her old mother frantic because of her absence and the excitement that had +taken place. + +</p> +<p>During the next few weeks while Dewey was waiting for reinforcements from home, many strange things occurred on shore. The +Filipinos captured or killed nearly all of the smaller Spanish garrisons distributed throughout the islands. On May 26, they +secretly cut down the Spanish guards walking their beats along the western side of the little town of Cavite, and let in a +horde of Tagalos well armed with bolos, who crept up near a large stone cathedral, built in 1643, in which the Spaniards, +as a military necessity after their defeat by Dewey, were making their headquarters. These Filipinos made a mad rush through +the back door of <a id="d0e594"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e594">49</a>]</span>the building and captured all the Spaniards being quartered therein. This feat also gave them possession of another lot of +Mauser and Remington rifles and a goodly store of ammunition, for which they had been yearning. + +</p> +<p>Dewey had no men whom he could spare to send ashore; therefore, he had left these surrendered Spaniards to take care of themselves. +Evidently he did not anticipate an attack upon the garrison at Cavite, or he might have landed enough marines from his battleships +to have prevented it. + +</p> +<p>When Marie heard about the capture of the Spanish garrison at Cavite by the Filipinos, she at once rowed over there to see +what was going to be done with the prisoners. This was the first time she had been at Cavite since the day of her lover’s +tragic death. She found the Filipinos jubilant over their new fire-arms. But many of them had never before used a gun and +they were very awkward with them, so that accidents were constantly occurring. The privileges of target <a id="d0e600"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e600">50</a>]</span>practice given to Marie by the Spaniards, in times past, now found a new reward. She organized the Filipinos into squads for +this training, arranged suitable targets for them, supervised the loading and cleaning of their guns, and by voluntary assent +became the leader in a whole lot of nefarious mischief in the neighborhood. + +</p> +<p>But what about her lover’s dying request and the vow she registered in her aching soul as she left the scene of his death? +By remaining away from the graves of our loved ones we may check memory and enthrone reason, thus more rapidly overcoming +sorrow. By constantly resorting to places of grief we keep that grief, whatever may have been its cause, fresh on the tablets +of our memories. The fact that Marie had not returned to Cavite, the scene of her sorrow, for about two months, helped her +to forget it and to flirt with fate among the very troops who had caused it. Now that she had returned to Cavite, old visions +began to haunt her. Shooting at wooden targets was not desperate <a id="d0e604"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e604">51</a>]</span>enough to appease her nature; she longed for bloodshed. + +</p> +<p>Between herself and a few Filipino leaders she concocted a scheme that would be hilarious, avenge the death of him whom she +had briefly mourned, as well as the deaths of Rizal and thousands of other Filipinos who had been shot or strangled by the +Spaniards, and satisfy the longings of her innermost nature. It was this: a pit twenty feet in diameter and ten feet deep +was to be dug on the higher ground a few miles southwest of Cavite. Each morning twenty of the captured Spaniards were to +be marched out to this pit and made to slide down a bamboo pole into it. The Filipino soldiers, armed with their newly-captured +rifles, were then to stand around the brink of this pit and use these half-starved Spaniards for living targets. Marie gloated +over her new enterprise. What sport! How she enjoyed it! The Filipino’s marksmanship was poor and many of their unfortunate +prisoners were shot over a dozen times before they were <a id="d0e608"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e608">52</a>]</span>stilled in death. This bloody practice was kept up until over two hundred Spaniards had been slain. + +</p> +<p>About this time rumors of what was being done reached the ears of General Anderson. He ordered it stopped, and sent food ashore, +under American escorts, for the Spanish prisoners. These prisoners, before being led to the slaughter, were housed by the +Filipinos in an unfinished portion of the old convent at Cavite, and in some large stone buildings without floors and with +only a few windows, heavily barricaded with iron bars, formerly used by the natives for storage purposes for various cargoes +of raw materials, preparatory to exportation. These buildings were dark, damp and infested with a multiplicity of insectivora. + +</p> +<p>The Spaniards, imprisoned therein, were fed by the Filipinos on a very small ration of uncooked rice. This they had to pound +into meal, and eat it out of their hands. Water, although plentiful, was denied them, except in small quantities. They had +no beds, <a id="d0e614"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e614">53</a>]</span>but slept on the bare ground. Many of them were practically nude. They had staid by their guns on the Spanish fleet until +their ships began to sink; then they had jumped overboard and swam ashore, taking off most of their clothes before making +the attempt. The Filipinos had little clothing to give them and no disposition to share what they did have. + +</p> +<p>These half-starved wretches, pale, lean and ghostly looking, many of them sick with fever and other ailments, none of them +with a cent of money, were a sickening sight to the American troops whom General Anderson sent ashore to investigate their +circumstances and conditions. Of course the healthier ones were marched out and killed first. Some of them began to cry when +the American officers, pushing the Filipino sentries aside, poked their vigorous manly faces through the openings of the massive +doors to see who and what was on the inside; but most of them propped themselves up on one elbow and held out the other hand +for something <a id="d0e618"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e618">54</a>]</span>to eat. Others indicated by motions that they wanted paper and pencils, so as to write letters home, telling their loved ones +in far-off Spain that they were still alive, and asking for money. + +</p> +<p>As the Americans began to empty their haversacks and hand hard-tack and Boston baked beans to them, some of the prisoners +seized them by the fingers and kissed the backs of their hands in grateful homage for their kindness. A few of the more ignorant +ones, who had heard so much about the cruelty of the American soldiers, and who, upon sight of our officers, believing the +end was near, had sought a kneeling attitude and begun to pray, gradually sank back into a reclining posture and held out +their hands for a morsel of food. + +</p> +<p>The Filipino guards sulked when they were displaced by the American sentries, and some of them had to be forced from their +posts of fiendish duty at the point of the bayonet. They considered these Spaniards as reprisals, constituting their own private +<a id="d0e624"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e624">55</a>]</span>property, with whom they could do as they pleased without any justifiable interference on the part of anybody. Marie Sampalit +slapped an American private who had been sent to displace a Filipino sentry whom she had just stationed at one of the prison +doors. He promptly knocked her down with the butt of his rifle. What she said in reply he could not understand. + + +<a id="d0e626"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e626">57</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e627" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter IV.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">The Interval</h2><a id="d0e632"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e632">59</a>]</span><p>After avenging her lover’s death, Marie returned again to Manila where she remained at home until the Filipino uprising against +the American troops in the spring of 1899. During this interval of nine months, she daily frequented the places of rendezvous +of the American troops stationed in and around Manila. She also went to the officers’ homes in the city where their wives +and children were stopping. She did their washing, and cared for the children. Her congeniality made her a favorite. Some +of the American ladies offered to bring her back to America with them for a house-hold servant. + +</p> +<p>From them she learned to speak the English language nearly as fluently as Spanish. The American soldiers were kind and polite +to her. She made considerable money by doing washing for them. It was noticeable that she was gradually improving the <a id="d0e637"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e637">60</a>]</span>old bamboo home in Manila. In a few months she had come into possession of more money than she thought there was in the entire +world. Most of it was American gold—largely in five dollar denominations. (This is what the United States used in paying the +soldiers.) These she took to the Spanish bank in Manila and exchanged them for Mexican silver, which, until the United States +began to issue special coins for the Philippine islands, was the standard medium of exchange in the archipelago. + +</p> +<p>Marie began to dress better. Her penia cloth gave way to Chinese silks; her wooden hair combs to expensive ones inlaid with +gold, bought at the Spanish bazar down town. Many little comforts were bought for her home. Still the washings kept growing +larger. She and her mother could be seen back of their shack, in the shade, pounding American soldiers’ white uniforms on +large boulders from early morning till night. + +</p> +<p>Aguinaldo, who had previously sold out his country and gone to Singapore, after <a id="d0e643"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e643">61</a>]</span>commissioning Dimiguez, upon hearing that war was about to begin between the United States and Spain, made his way northward +to Hongkong. After the battle of Manila Bay, Dewey despatched the revenue cutter, “McCulloch,” to Hongkong to cable home the +news of his splendid victory. On her return to Manila, she permitted Aguinaldo to come along. + +</p> +<p>After a brief conversation with Admiral Dewey on board the “Olympia,” he went ashore at Cavite, his boyhood home, began to +organize the Filipinos into a powerful army, captured 1500 Spanish soldiers who were holding out-lying posts, and hemmed in +the city of Manila. + +</p> +<p>On August 13, following, Dewey and General Merritt, by a union of their forces, captured the city of Manila which offered +but slight resistance. Aguinaldo’s native troops rushed forward with the Americans in the charge that was made by the land +forces and they insisted on looting the city. General Merritt refused this and ordered them to <a id="d0e649"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e649">62</a>]</span>withdraw beyond the city limits. This they did after considerable wrangling. Then the Americans established out-posts on every +road and pathway leading to and from the city, completely around the town; and they were given instructions by the commanding +officer not to allow any Filipino troops to enter the city. + +</p> +<p>Aguinaldo discarded his uniform one evening, completely disguised himself as a Filipino fruit-vender, and made his way into +Manila. Naturally, he slipped around to the home of his old friends, the Sampalits. He sat in a semi-darkened room, with all +the hinged-windows to the shack tightly closed and stroked Marie’s soft black hair with his left hand. As he engaged her and +her mother in conversation in subdued tones, he little thought that in so short a time Marie would be associated with him +in a series of bloody tragedies that would revolutionize the government of the islands forever. + +</p> +<p>“Marie,” said he, “I’m going to force the Americans to acknowledge the independence <a id="d0e655"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e655">63</a>]</span>of the Philippine islands, or I shall not permit the rest of their army to land. Dewey tells me he has sent home for reinforcements. +There is no use for us to let these troops land, if America instead of Spain is going to govern the islands. What we want +is absolute independence with myself as president of the new Filipino Republic. If the Americans won’t concede this to us, +let’s fight!” + +</p> +<p>“That’s what I say!” declared Marie. “Let’s drive the foreign devils off the islands or slay them all. Here’s father dead +and—Dimiguez, too”—<span id="d0e659" class="corr" title="Source: Maries">Marie’s</span> voice trembled—“I tell you it’s too much. Let’s kill every one of them!” + +</p> +<p>“Yes; but say Marie, we must keep quiet about all this,” cautioned Aguinaldo. “I’ll tell you what I have in mind. We’ll wait +about four weeks and by that time if Dewey hasn’t received definite instructions from Washington, and if he won’t give me +any satisfaction, I’m going to go to Malolos, proclaim myself Dictator of the Philippines, appoint a cabinet and a congress +from among some of the <a id="d0e664"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e664">64</a>]</span>bright young Filipinos here in Manila who have been educated abroad, draw up a Revolutionary form of government, and begin +to administer the affairs of these islands just as I please. + +</p> +<p>“We’ll keep our present army in the field, and if the Americans do land we’ll shut them up in Manila, so that they will have +nothing at their command but the city to regulate. This won’t amount to much as compared with the rest of the islands which +I will dominate.” + +</p> +<p>“Are you sure the Americans won’t land a powerful army, cut through your lines around Manila and drive you out of Malolos, +or capture you and your officials at that place? It seems to me I would go farther inland—say to San Isidro,” said Marie. + +</p> +<p>Aguinaldo thought a moment, then replied: “That’s true, in a sense, Marie; but I have got to be on or near the railroad where +I can have easy and rapid access to Manila. Malolos is not far from here and it is situated on the railroad. It has some very +large <a id="d0e672"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e672">65</a>]</span>buildings in which our legislative sessions could be held. I think it the place for the undertaking. + +</p> +<p>“To be on the safe side, I believe I will have our troops erect a series of fortifications between here and there along the +railroad track, so that if the Americans do attempt to advance by that route I can easily stop them.” + +</p> +<p>“I think that would be a good scheme,” said Marie. “Malolos is about twelve miles from Manila Bay; besides, the bay is shallow +in the north end, so that heavy boats could not go up there. This will make it impossible for Dewey to shell the place with +his fleet. We’ve got to watch out for that—no matter what we do. My! but those American ships can shoot! Did you hear about +me shooting at ’em with that cannon on Corregidor island when they entered the bay? I mighty near got one of their vessels.” + +</p> +<p>“No,” said Aguinaldo, “I have not heard very much about the firing off Corregidor, <a id="d0e680"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e680">66</a>]</span>but as I came from Hongkong the other day on the “McCulloch” I noticed that the Spanish fortifications on the island had all +been dismantled.” + +</p> +<p>“Why! they killed a man right at my feet, the very first shot,” said Marie; “and then one of their boats drew nearer and fired +several times more and they killed every Spaniard in the relief guard which was near by,—seven of them in all.” + +</p> +<p>“And I was terribly worried about Marie,” interrupted her mother who had listened to the conversation with deepest interest. +“She had been gone for a week, and I hadn’t heard a word from her.” + +</p> +<p>“Oh! well, I don’t pity the Spaniards any for what the Americans did to them,” interjected Aguinaldo, with some emphasis. + +</p> +<p>“Be careful,” said old lady Sampalit, putting her finger on her lips, “don’t speak too loud.” + +</p> +<p>Aguinaldo continued in a lower voice: “They killed your husband. They shot Rizal. They strangled Dimigeuz. They tortured to +<a id="d0e692"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e692">67</a>]</span>death several hundred of our young fellows in the dungeons. They have left ridges of dead wherever their armies have moved +among us. I tell you they deserved all they got.” + +</p> +<p>Mrs. Sampalit and Marie had grown heavy hearted. Aguinaldo looked at his watch. It was after ten P. M. + +</p> +<p>“I wonder,” said Aguinaldo, hesitatingly, “how I shall be able to get back to our lines tonight.” + +</p> +<p>“Don’t go!” said Marie, in an emphatic whisper, “stay over night!” + +</p> +<p>“Yes, do!” entreated the old lady, “I’m nervous.” + +</p> +<p>“It might be best; it would surely be the safest thing to do,” said Aguinaldo, in a meditating manner. + +</p> +<p>“We sleep on bamboo beds,” said Marie. “There stands mine. You may use it tonight, and I will sleep on the floor. I don’t +mind. Mother and I frequently lie down on the floor near the window, when the nights are sultry.” +<a id="d0e706"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e706">68</a>]</span></p> +<p>The next morning Aguinaldo arose very early, made his way to the edge of the city and stealthily stole out threw the Americans’ +lines, never again to return to Manila until General Funston brought him back, two years later, a captive. + +</p> +<p>He made his way to Malolos, a few weeks after this conversation, declared himself “Dictator of the Philippines,” appointed +a Filipino congress, set up a government of his own and began to run the general affairs in the interior of Luzon. + + + +<a id="d0e711"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e711">69</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e712" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter V.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Filipino Uprising</h2><a id="d0e717"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e717">71</a>]</span><p>The close of the eventful year of 1898 was near at hand. General Otis had been made governor-general of the islands. He had +received about 15,000 troops from home. These had all been landed and were quartered in the city of Manila. + +</p> +<p>Preparations had begun by the American troops for a great day of field sports to be held on the Luneta—a beautiful narrow +park paralleling Manila bay and extending southward from the walled-city about four miles—on New Year’s day, 1899. + +</p> +<p>On the afternoon of January I, as planned, the exercises were begun. The afternoon program consisted of foot races, running +high jumps, wheelbarrow race, fat man’s race, running broad jump, high kicking, fancy club swinging, tumbling, shot-put, sack +race, tugs of war, five boxing contests, base ball, foot ball, and pole vaulting. +<a id="d0e724"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e724">72</a>]</span></p> +<p>Situated on the Luneta, about a mile south of the walled city, and distant from Manila bay about 100 feet, is a large bandstand. +This served as headquarters for the exercises. The day was perfect—clear, cool and calm. + +</p> +<p>About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives, soldiers (including jack-tars from Dewey’s fleet, Spaniards and Americans) and foreign +residents had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of Welcome and to witness the sports. When the speaker arose +to deliver the address, for which he was afterward voted, and presented with, a medal by the Eight Army Corps, he said in +part (verbatim report): + +</p> +<p>“On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to make these Field Day Exercises a success, and this occasion +one long to be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon, I bid you, one and all—officers, soldiers, sailors +and civilians of every nationality—a hearty welcome.” +<a id="d0e731"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e731">73</a>]</span></p> +<p>“Again to you, the members of Admiral Dewey’s fleet, I feel obligated to extend a separate and special welcome; for without +your chivalrous devotion to duty last May Day, yon shell-riven wrecks (part of unraised Spanish fleet visible above the bay) +would not bespeak the down-fall of a sister nation, and we ourselves would not have been permitted to assemble here this afternoon. +There is no braver man on land or sea than the American marine; and on behalf of the entire American army of occupation, I +bid you a most cordial welcome.” + +</p> +<p>Touching upon the question of territorial expansion, the speaker said: + +</p> +<p>“This was a war for humanity, not for conquest. But simply because it suddenly closed and left us in possession of large tracts +of new territory, is no reason why these spoils of war should be given up. I hold this to be true Americanism: that wherever +the old flag is established through sacrifice of American blood, whether it be on the barren sands of the desert, at the frigid +extremes of the <a id="d0e738"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e738">74</a>]</span>earth, or on the rich and fertile islands of the sea, there is should remain triumphant, shedding forth beams of liberty to +the oppressed, shouts of defiance to the oppressor, and furnish protection and enlightenment to all who come beneath its streaming +folds forever!” (applause). + +</p> +<p>A chubby Filipino maiden, standing near the speaker’s stand, and who had listened intently to every word of the address, because +she now understood the English tongue, quietly elbowed her way through the dense crowd which was gradually becoming more compressed, +until she reached a car drawn by two Chinese ponies on the old street car line running south from Manila to Fort Malate and +back. Taking the car she rode up town to the Escolta. Going into the postoffice, she hastily wrote and mailed to Aguinaldo +at Malolos a letter containing an account of what was said. It follows: + +<a id="d0e742"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e742">75</a>]</span> +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<p>“Manila, P. I., Jan. 1, 1899. + + +</p> +<p>My Dear General: + +</p> +<p>Those wretched Americans are holding some kind of exercises on the Luneta this afternoon. I heard one of the speeches. It +was awful bad. The fellow talked loud. He swung his hands in the air and the crowd seemed to get terribly excited over what +he was saying. + +</p> +<p>He told about that treaty of peace, and he said no power under the sun would haul down the American flag from over Manila. + +</p> +<p>It made me angry. I am going right out to the Filipino trenches to see my Uncle (Colonel Miguel). He’ll fix those fellows. +I’ll bet he’ll haul down their flag before tomorrow morning. + + +</p> +<p>Goodby, + +</p> +<p>Marie.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>The evening program on the Luneta, which followed the afternoon exercises, was largely literary in its nature. It consisted +of <a id="d0e765"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e765">76</a>]</span>music by the California band, singing by the famous Washington Male Quartet, fancy dancing, selected recitations, and stump +speeches. In addition, Privates Green and Martin boxed four rounds, much to the satisfaction of the natives. + +</p> +<p>The program had just been completed when the Master of Ceremonies received from the American general in charge a note telling +him to announce the conclusion of the program at once and to order all soldiers to report immediately at their respective +regimental headquarters;—trouble had been reported at the out-posts. Reinforcements were hastened to several of the out-post +reserves, and it appeared that the expected insurrection was at hand. + +</p> +<p>After the out-break by the Filipinos on New Year’s night, it was evident to both sides that it was only a question of a short +time when blood would be spilled in abundance. The Filipinos occupied all of the block-houses—some seventeen in number—around +the city of Manila. This forced the <a id="d0e771"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e771">77</a>]</span>Americans to stand in the open and do guard duty exposed. + +</p> +<p>The Filipino troops were saucy. They couldn’t understand why men should be armed with rifles and not be permitted to shoot. +They tormented the American soldiers daily with hideous pranks. They grew bolder, and pushed their out-posts forward until +they stood within a few feet of the American sentries. + +</p> +<p>Marie went out and back through the American lines at will. She secretly kept the Filipino army thoroughly posted on the arrival +of new troops from America. Occasionally she would take the train and go up to Malolos to see Aguinaldo. She was the best +posted person in the Philippines as to what was going on in each of the hostile armies. Nobody suspected her. She was respected +by the American troops. Everybody came to know her. + +</p> +<p>Just before dusk, on the evening of February 4th, 1899, Marie and her mother left the city of Manila, in a cariole, drawn +by a <a id="d0e779"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e779">78</a>]</span>Chinese pony which they had recently purchased. They had in it all of their most precious household trinkets. As they passed +Colonel John M. Stotsenberg, commanding the 1st Nebraska volunteers, stationed on McLeod’s hill at the eastern edge of Manila, +he recognized them, and called to Marie, “Where are you going?” + +</p> +<p>“Out on a little trip,” retorted Marie. + +</p> +<p>“How soon will you be back?” asked he. + +</p> +<p>“O, I can’t tell,” responded Marie. “Mother is getting so nervous that we thought best to go away for awhile.” + +</p> +<p>“Say, Marie,” said the colonel, “do you know who the Filipino officer is in command of all those thousands of troops that +are now assembling in the ravines between the hills along the far side of the river valley, yonder?” + +</p> +<p>“No, I do not,” she declared with an emphatic swing of her head. + +</p> +<p>But she was lying. It was Colonel Miguel, her own uncle. She knew about it. He had secretly <a id="d0e793"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e793">79</a>]</span>informed her that he was preparing to attack the city and burn it and that he was going to exterminate the American army of +occupation and all foreign residents that fell into the hands of his mighty army. He told her that he had chosen the east +side of the city as his main point of attack, so that Dewey could not reach his troops with the shells from his gun boats +in case he tried to assist the American army, without elevating his guns and shooting completely over the city—a thing wholly +impractical within itself, as Dewey could not determine whether his shells would be falling among the Filipino or the American +troops. It was he who advised her to take her mother and flee to the hills for refuge. + +</p> +<p>Colonel Stotsenberg then asked Marie if she knew anything about the proposed attack on the city by her people. This, she denied +also. The colonel’s face flushed. Pulling back the flap of his tent, he said emphatically: “Do you see that gun, Marie? Tell +those fellows over there when you pass their <a id="d0e797"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e797">80</a>]</span>lines that I said they could have trouble whenever they want it.” + +</p> +<p>Marie drove on. + +</p> +<p>Inside the colonel’s tent stood a large gun from the Utah battery, mounted, loaded, ready for action; its threatening nose +was pointed directly at the line of little brown men assembled across the valley. The Filipinos were smarting for trouble. +They wanted it badly. Wherever and whenever possible they improved every opportunity to bring it about. The trouble came. +Colonel Stotsenberg that night used the cannon he had pointed out to Marie. A long pile of mangled forms lying at the base +of the river hills on the opposite of the valley next morning told the results. + + + +<a id="d0e803"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e803">81</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e804" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter VI.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">As A Spy</h2><a id="d0e809"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e809">83</a>]</span><p>Marie was well equipped by instinct and experience for a spy. The tragic nature of such work was exceptionally inviting to +her. When a chance came to undertake it, she lost no time in embracing the opportunity. + +</p> +<p>After passing out through the American lines, she drove on down the slope of the hill and crossed the San Juan River on the +old stone bridge where the fighting was begun that night by young Grayson of the Nebraska regiment. After reaching the Filipinos’ +lines she at once reported to her uncle, Colonel Miguel, and had an extended interview with him. + +</p> +<p>Secret plans were agreed upon whereby she was to become the colonel’s chief scout. Two Filipino soldiers were sent to accompany +her old mother to the little town of Angono on the eastern bank of Lake Laguna de Bay, near its northern end. A native family, +<a id="d0e816"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e816">84</a>]</span>quite familiar with the Sampalits and related to them, lived in this village. Marie stayed with the troops in the field. Her +young brain danced at the thought of more bloodshed. She must be in the fight. + +</p> +<p>Just what part Marie took in the attack made upon the Americans by the Filipinos on the night of February 4th, and in the +fighting on February 5th, the world will never know. The two main figures in these operations were Colonel Miguel, in command +of the main portion of the Filipino forces, and Colonel Stotsenberg, who commanded the 1st Nebraska volunteers. Before the +close of the war these men were both shot; consequently, there is no one left to tell the story, and history is silent on +the point. + +</p> +<p>After the fight of February 4 and 5, the entire line of block-houses and intrenchments circumscribing Manila, were in the +hands of the Americans. From the Pasig river on the east, around the city to the bay on the north, this line was commanded +by Major-General MacArthur; the corresponding <a id="d0e822"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e822">85</a>]</span>semi-circle on the south, by Major-General Anderson. + +</p> +<p>During the next seven weeks, fresh troops were constantly arriving. Each side was preparing for the long, inevitable conflict. + +</p> +<p>At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall’s brigade in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on +the firing line, which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant charge along the entire front on the Filipinos’ breastworks +about a mile and a half distant and constructed parallel to those of the Americans’. + +</p> +<p>Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments; had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted +a terrible loss upon Aguinaldo’s troops; had demonstrated to them the difference between a determined American advance and +an irresolute Spanish one; and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the capture of the Filipinos’ temporary capital, +Malolos, the overthrow of their provisional government, <a id="d0e830"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e830">86</a>]</span>and the establishment of American sovereignty throughout the entire archipelago. + +</p> +<p>That night, about eleven o’clock, a nervous Filipino woman came walking down along the American out-post reserves which, during +actual war, are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the sentries. She reached Company “G’s” reserve of the 1st +South Dakota Volunteers, where she was ordered to halt. She refused, but acted as though she did not understand. Drawing a +large bamboo bonnet down over her face to conceal her identity, she mumbled something apparently to herself, and walked rapidly +on. In a moment she was seized; her bonnet was torn off; her identity revealed: it was Marie. + +</p> +<p>She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which +they had received, would be warranted in making a night attack. + +</p> +<p>She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched, scrambled—making it necessary <a id="d0e838"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e838">87</a>]</span>to employ two privates, a corporal and a sergeant to send her to the rear. + +</p> +<p>When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the 3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer +that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, +and insisted that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she drew the poncho about her to keep herself +warm (it grew very chilly before morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to escape. Her teeth chattered and +she seemed distressed—evidently through fear of what the morning might bring to her. + +</p> +<p>The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. +She pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that after her return to Manila she would do washing free +of charge for the American soldiers who were sick in quarters. +<a id="d0e844"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e844">88</a>]</span></p> +<p>After being liberated, Marie walked eastward, following an irregular sled-road; that is, a road-way used by the Filipinos +for sledding their rice to market. This is done by means of a bamboo sled drawn over the dry ground by a caribou. She followed +this road for over two miles until she came to the San Mateo river. + +</p> +<p>Although given a few hardtack by her captors at the time of her release, she was getting hungry. As she approached the stream +she noticed an old Filipino standing near his bamboo cabin which was neatly tucked away oh the slope of a deep ravine near +by. Turning from her pathway which had now grown somewhat indistinct she approached the old gentleman. + +</p> +<p>When quite close to him she said, “Buenos dias,” (Good morning in Spanish.) + +</p> +<p>“<span id="d0e853" class="corr" title="Source: Magundi eropo">Magandang umaga</span>,” (Good morning, in Tagalo), muttered the old man. + +</p> +<p>After a brief conversation during which Marie told him that she had been captured by the Americans, had been terribly misused +<a id="d0e858"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e858">89</a>]</span>and he had a miraculous escape, he invited her into his cabin where his aged wife gave her something to eat. This breakfast +consisted of boiled rice, some fish which the old man had just brought from his set lines in the San Mateo river, and some +bacon which he had found along the trail made by the American’s pack train the day before. + +</p> +<p>While the old couple were outside of their home—he breaking up some bamboo with which to re-kindle the fire, and she, cleaning +the fish—Marie ransacked the house. She stole a large diamond ring which the old man had taken from the finger of a Spanish +officer during the previous insurrection. She opened an old mahogany chest and took from it a rosary valued at several hundred +dollars; also a gold lined cup which the old man, himself, had stolen from a Spanish priest, and some Spanish coins. + +</p> +<p>After a hearty lunch, she started on. + +</p> +<p>Crossing the river at the rapids, on the boulders which projected above the water, she quickened her steps and hurried along. +<a id="d0e866"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e866">90</a>]</span>Changing her course to the southward, she started for the northern end of Lake <span id="d0e868" class="corr" title="Source: Leguna">Laguna</span> de Bay to see her mother. + +</p> +<p>She had not gone far through a small clump of timber when she came upon the corpse of a Filipino soldier who had been shot +in the previous day’s engagement,—perhaps by a stray ball. Hastily stealing the cross which hung from a small cord about his +neck, and a valueless ring from one of his fingers, she seized his Mauser rifle and his cartridge belt which was partly filled +with ammunition, and then resumed her journey. + +</p> +<p>A short distance ahead was a large opening—an old rice field well cleared. She had scarcely begun to cross it when she heard +a noise. She turned and saw the bow-legged old man whom she had robbed, with a machete in his hand, coming after her as fast +as he could. He had discovered that the rosary was missing, and upon looking around, that several other things were gone; +therefore he at once started in pursuit of the fiend who had just enjoyed his hospitality. <a id="d0e875"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e875">91</a>]</span>Marie was not disturbed. Raising to her shoulder the rifle which she had just found, she took deliberate aim and at the first +shot laid him low in death. + +</p> +<p>She reached the small native village of Angono, where her mother was stopping, about four o’clock in the afternoon of March +26th. + +</p> +<p>The old lady was wonderfully elated to receive the new jewels which Marie had stolen. She put on the rosary and danced about +in the native hut like a young child on Christmas morning, when it sees the gorged stocking fastened to its bed. + + + +<a id="d0e881"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e881">93</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e882" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter VII.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Off For Baler</h2><a id="d0e887"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e887">95</a>]</span><p>That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, fired with ambition and discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette and +started for Manila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row boat via the Pasig river which drains the lake into Manila +bay and which flows through the city of Manila situated at its mouth. + +</p> +<p>While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next few days, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being +carried out by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanish garrison of fifty men stationed at the little town +of Baler, near the eastern coast of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrendered to the American forces with the remainder +of the Spanish army on August 13, 1898, but as all lines of communication with them had been destroyed by the Filipinos they +had never <a id="d0e892"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e892">96</a>]</span>been officially notified of the capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information that they were being besieged by +a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos which outnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of time before all would +be exterminated. + +</p> +<p>Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that something must be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party +was formed and placed aboard the “Yorktown,” which carried them around the southern point of Luzon and then northward to the +mouth of the Baler river. + +</p> +<p>Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath not to take up arms against the Americans again during the +insurrection, and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besieging Filipinos of what was to take place, and to +help them as best she could to resist the advance of the rescuing party. + +</p> +<p>Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern coast of Luzon, and <a id="d0e900"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e900">97</a>]</span>Manila is on the west side of the island Baler is, nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused by the deep +indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of which Manila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward +of the eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight east of Manila. + +</p> +<p>In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipino foot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part +near the San Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which is situated about three miles north and a trifle +east of Manila. At that point she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for a short distance and which was +made by the Americans’ commissary train on the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March 25, preceding. + +</p> +<p>She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention was attracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a +few feet distant from her pathway. She <a id="d0e906"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e906">98</a>]</span>walked over to in and found these words inscribed thereon: + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<div class="body"> +<div class="div1"> +<p class="aligncenter">“R. I. P. D. O. M. + + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">Wat Erbuf Falo + + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">Born — (?) Died, February 12, 1899. + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Some facts on its headstone we wish to engrave;</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Bill Sherman was right when he said, ’War is Hell.’</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>He charged on two pickets whose names are below; +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>They took him for niggers,—poor wronged buffalo.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>As to the way he met death, everybody knows how; +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>As to whom he belonged we don’t caribou.</span></p> +</div> +<p>Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. “M,” 1st. Col. Vols.”</p> +</div> +</div> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>It was now April 2nd, and Marie had <a id="d0e940"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e940">99</a>]</span>ahead of her about ninety miles overland to be made on foot or else on horse-back; and it was necessary for her to hurry along, +as the rescuing party was scheduled to reach the mouth of Baler river April 10th, or 12th. + +</p> +<p>Her course led past the little shack on the bank of the San Mateo river, where she had robbed the elderly couple who had been +so kind to her and near where she later had shot the old man when he was pursuing her to regain possession of his stolen property. + +</p> +<p>She found it deserted; but in a little bamboo corral nearby she found three Chinese ponies. Evidently they had made their +escape from the scene of battle and had drifted into this yard for refuge. There was a small stack of rice straw just outside +the corral. From this Marie soon made a stoutly-twisted rope which she hastily arranged in the form of a bridle. Placing it +over the head of the largest pony she mounted him and rode off. + +</p> +<p>She got ten miles beyond this last stopping <a id="d0e948"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e948">100</a>]</span>place before sunset. That night she stopped at a small inland village. As she lay down to sleep on the bamboo floor in the +hut of a Tagalo family whose acquaintance she had readily formed, recollections of the place which she had passed during the +afternoon where she had previously robbed the old couple immediately after she was released upon oath by the Americans, suggested +to her the thought that she was violating her oath; that she was now out in a country where she might be betrayed at any moment +by her own people, or else be captured by a squad of American infantry or cavalry; therefore, she decided that on the following +day she would destroy her identity. + +</p> +<p>Upon retiring the previous night Marie coiled up for a pillow her head of long black hair. “I hate to give it up,” thought +she, “but what will the Americans do to me if they capture me another time? Oh! well, after the war is over it will soon grow +out again.” + +</p> +<p>The next morning, after a scanty breakfast <a id="d0e954"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e954">101</a>]</span>of bananas and rice, and a pineapple which Marie salted heavily before she ate it, she went to a native barber and had her +long hair cut close to the scalp, except for a little tuft on top which she had him brush up for a pompadour. + +</p> +<p>Before cutting off her hair the barber tied a piece of hemp very tightly around it, just back of her neck. After he had detached +it, he held it in front of Marie and asked her what she wished done with it. She took it in her own hands. + +</p> +<p>The barber kept on trimming her shortened hair. Marie stopped talking and seemed to be in deep meditation. + +</p> +<p>Presently the barber said. “That’s all.” + +</p> +<p>Marie arose from the rough mahogany slab on which she had been sitting, handed him a puesta (twenty cents, Mexican), looked +out of the window and said, “I’ll tell you what I’ll do: I’ll trade you my hair for that quilas (two-wheeled cart) standing +there.” + +</p> +<p>“All right”; said the barber, “My pony is dead, and the war has so devasted the <a id="d0e966"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e966">102</a>]</span>country, and money has become so scarce, that I can’t afford to buy another one.” + +</p> +<p>“The harness hanging on it goes with the cart,” said Marie. + +</p> +<p>“Oh no!” exclaimed the barber, “my wife borrowed that, and I must return it.” + +</p> +<p>“It doesn’t make any difference to whom it belongs,” said Marie, emphatically, “you traded me the cart, and everything that +was in it goes with the trade. How do you suppose I could hitch my pony into the cart without a harness?” + +</p> +<p>Just then she pulled a bolo out from under her apron. The barber said no more. + +</p> +<p>Marie hitched her pony into the cart and started on toward Baler. + +</p> +<p>That day she followed a good road leading toward the mountains near the eastern coast of Luzon. By night her pony had made +twenty miles. + +</p> +<p>She had already reached the foot-hills. It was impossible for her to make head-way any longer with the cart. She would soon +be across the mountains and be in the <a id="d0e982"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e982">103</a>]</span>region to be approached by the American relief party. What was to be done? + +</p> +<p>A happy thought came to Marie. She clasped her hands and muttered to herself, “I’ll trade the cart for a suit of men’s clothes +and trade the harness for a sombrero,” (bamboo hat.) + +</p> +<p>Since the middle of the afternoon she had been driving parallel to a stream that wound its way, nearby, from the mountains +across the plains to the sea. Villages along the banks were numerous. At night fall she was still in Tagalo territory. It +was her own tribe. She soon found a place to stay over night. Her pony was turned loose in a vacant yard, with an old bamboo +fence around it, and given some young rice. + +</p> +<p>That evening while smoking cigarettes, and while inflaming the minds of the villagers with startling stories about the atrocities, +of the American soldiers, Marie finally succeeded in making the trade which she had planned during the afternoon. + +</p> +<p>Next morning, April 5, she rode on. Before <a id="d0e992"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e992">104</a>]</span>her lay sixty miles of unknown territory to be covered during the next four days, if she were to reach Baler in time to warn +the besieging Filipinos of the contemplated attack by the Americans. + +</p> +<p>A half mile out from the village, Marie came to an abrupt turn in the road. Near by was a dense cluster of banana trees. She +dismounted, and while her pony was nibbling young rice she went into the thicket and changed her attire. Then she tied a good-sized +stone up in her old clothes and threw them into the river. As she stood on the bank watching them sink, she saw her shadow +in the water. How changed she looked! The sombrero was such a relief in keeping the hot sun off her head. + +</p> +<p>“Now, I’ll not be recognized,” thought she. “How nice it is to be dressed like a man. From now on I mean to play a man’s part +and be a full-fledged soldier.” + + + +<a id="d0e998"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e998">105</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e999" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter VIII.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">The Gilmore Incident</h2><a id="d0e1004"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1004">107</a>]</span><p>Marie reached her destination late in the evening of April 9th, and she at once notified the officers commanding the Filipinos +who were besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with so small a force, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish +garrison, it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler river—as the town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was +located is some two miles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific ocean, and the American troops were too greatly +outnumbered by the Filipinos to make a land expedition safe,—she suggested to them the advisability of fortifying the river +at specific intervals along either bank and of taking the precaution to cover the fortifications with freshly-cut brush so +that the Americans could not locate them for the purpose of bombarding them in case they saw fit to load <a id="d0e1007"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1007">108</a>]</span>some of the smaller cannon on cascoes and make their way up the river for an attack in that way. + +</p> +<p>The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and places for the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. +It was during the dry season and the river was very low at the time. This made it possible to dig ditches on the sand bars +which extended far out into the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sand taken therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments +by strewing over them some fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance of having drifted to their lodgment. + +</p> +<p>The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, as scheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of +truce, where, to his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers; but their exceptionally good behavior and +the twinkle of their eyes told only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. He therefore returned to the Yorktown +without having <a id="d0e1013"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1013">109</a>]</span>accomplished anything in particular. + +</p> +<p>The next morning, at four o’clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and sixteen brave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered +the mouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were put ashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke +forth and those left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry who was walking his beat along the shore. He gave +the alarm. Lieutenant Gilmore and his party could easily have pulled out to sea and gotten away, but humanity forbade it. +What would become of the two scouts who went ashore? Their comrades in the boat could not desert them, so they rowed up the +river into the very jaws of impending danger. + +</p> +<p>Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinos opened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only +fifty yards distance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck in the mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. +In a moment Morrisy fell dead, having been <a id="d0e1019"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1019">110</a>]</span>shot through the head; Dillon followed; then McDonald, then Nygard;—Marie was doing deadly work with her Mauser rifle. + +</p> +<p>The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what was the use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly +had the Filipinos screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were using smokeless powder. + +</p> +<p>Four of Gilmore’s men were already dead, two were mortally wounded and begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell +into the hands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Most of the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy’s +rifle balls. In this moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumped overboard and tried to push the boat out +to mid-stream. It was no use; the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they could not compete against it. + +</p> +<p>Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change and use one of <a id="d0e1027"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1027">111</a>]</span>the dead men’s rifles. As he picked it up he noticed the lock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip had been jammed +in. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, to be fixed. + +</p> +<p>The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struck him in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been +under fire before. Looking up calmly, he said, “Mr. Gilmore, I’m hit.” + +</p> +<p>In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out of his arm pit. With his attention <span id="d0e1033" class="corr" title="Source: rivited">riveted</span> on his task, he remarked, “I’m hit again, Mr. Gilmore.” + +</p> +<p>Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cut a painful wound in his scalp. “Mr. Gilmore, they’ve hit +me again,” he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with blood running down all over him. + +</p> +<p>In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad’s ankle, one of the most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. +This time, with a slight tremble in his voice, <a id="d0e1040"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1040">112</a>]</span>he said, “Mr. Gilmore, I’m hit once more; but I’ve fixed your gun, Sir.” + +</p> +<p>Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans’ fire had practically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench +the limbs and underbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns, spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash +for the boat and captured the entire crew. + + + +<a id="d0e1044"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1044">113</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1045" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter IX.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">The American Prisoners</h2><a id="d0e1050"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1050">115</a>]</span><p>Those of the Americans who were alive and able to help themselves were ordered to go ashore on the sand bar, where the Filipinos +robbed them of their personal effects and then lined them up preparatory to shooting them all down in a body. Gilmore, being +an officer, protested against having his hands tied. He claimed, according to the accepted rules of warfare, that on account +of his rank he had a right to die honorably with his hands free. The Filipinos have great superstitions about “rank” in military +affairs. Marie knew the significance of Gilmore’s request; she respected it. + +</p> +<p>The Filipinos had loaded their rifles, cocked them, raised the same to their shoulders, had taken aim, and Marie was about +to give the fatal command, “Fire!”, when a shout from the bank stopped her and for a moment engaged the attention of both +the <a id="d0e1055"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1055">116</a>]</span>Americans and the Filipinos. It came from a Filipino officer, running down to the shore. He ordered them to stop. One second +longer would have been too late. + +</p> +<p>This Tagalo officer ordered the Americans to get back into their boat and to row across to the opposite shore. After bailing +the water out of the boat and plugging up the holes in it made by the enemy’s rifle balls, they obeyed his command. + +</p> +<p>When they went ashore, Lieutenant Gilmore asked permission to bury his dead comrades. This privilege was emphatically denied. +What was done with their bodies by the Filipinos is hard to tell, but in all probability, as was customary with the natives, +they cut them into fragments and threw them away. + +</p> +<p>The ones who were mortally wounded, but who were still alive, were placed under a tree by Gilmore and his comrades, and left +to die. The Lieutenant asked that a native doctor be summoned to give them aid, but it <a id="d0e1063"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1063">117</a>]</span>was not done. What their fate was Eternity alone will reveal. + +</p> +<p>Gilmore and his comrades picked up the lesser wounded and carried them, and together the whole procession was marched inland +about a mile to the Filipino Commandante’s headquarters. + +</p> +<p>Here they were questioned at length. Gilmore asked permission to write a note to the commander of the Yorktown telling him +of their fate. Permission was granted, but the note was never delivered. The two scouts who went ashore, returned to the Yorktown +in the afternoon and reported that they had heard heavy firing up the river. + +</p> +<p>After waiting several days for news of some kind for them, and finally concluding that they were either captured or killed, +the crew of the Yorktown, heavy-hearted over their failure and their sacrifice, steamed back to Manila. + +</p> +<p>During the afternoon of the same day that the battle took place, the American prisoners <a id="d0e1073"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1073">118</a>]</span>were ordered to march to an old bamboo church in the northern outskirts of the little town of Baler, a mile and a half farther +on. By this time the wounded men were suffering terribly. Little Venville’s ankle had swollen badly. From his four wounds +he had bled so much that he had grown faint. Therefore, he and several of the others had to be carried. + +</p> +<p>En route to their new destination, the Americans passed in sight of the old stone church being used as a fortress by the Spanish +garrison whom they had originally set out to relieve. The Americans had gone to the Philippines to fight the Spaniards. They +were now sacrificing their lives to save them. + +</p> +<p>At the bamboo church, an old Filipino with a kindly face and a manner that elevated him above his fellow tribesmen, came in +to see them. He examined the wounded and then disappeared. Presently he returned with some large leaves that resembled rhubarb, +under his arm. Out of the big stems of these native herbs he squeezed a milky <a id="d0e1079"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1079">119</a>]</span>secretion which he permitted to drop into the gaping wounds of the Americans. The torture of the wounded occasioned by this +liquid was damnable. The men grew deathly pale. They rolled and screamed and begged to be shot. But it did not last long. +In ten minutes the torture had ceased, the men became quiet, the swelling around their wounds was gradually reduced, and their +temperatures soon lowered. The herb doctor evidently knew his business. + +</p> +<p>The next day the Filipinos received orders from Aguinaldo, who, with his appointed congress, was now at San Isidro, to march +the captured Americans to his headquarters. Accordingly, the trip was undertaken. But the apprentice lad, Venville, was unable +to go along. Obeying the stubborn orders of the rapacious Filipinos his comrades left him lying on the floor of the old rickety +bamboo church,—wounded—uncared for—suffering—hungry—thirsty—dying. A year later the assistance of the entire naval organization +in the Philippines was given to <a id="d0e1083"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1083">120</a>]</span>the task of trying to ascertain from the Filipinos in the neighborhood of Baler some information concerning the lad’s whereabouts +or his burial place, but no trace of him, dead or alive, could ever be found. + + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>An aged mother, ill and bowed, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Keeps asking, “Where’s my boy?”</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>But zephyrs from the Orient +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Refuse to bring the joy.</span></p> +</div> +<p>Amid great privations the marching column crossed the mountains and the fertile plains on the opposite side, to the city of +San Isidro. It was heralded in advance that the Americans were coming through the country. Obeying their greatest national +instinct—curiosity—the natives assembled by thousands in the villages along the road. Every one of them kept crowding forward +to get to touch the Americans to see what their skins felt like. Others were looking for the long feathers in their hair, +which they had heard so much about. It was all the Filipino guards could do to restrain their own people. The latter, like +monkeys, jabbered incessantly. <a id="d0e1096"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1096">121</a>]</span>Gilmore’s men hurled back at them defiant epithets. They realized that involuntarily they had become the chief actors in a +new moving circus. + +</p> +<p>Again, when they reached San Isidro, a great throng of curious natives had come to town to see them. These fellows were very +hostile to the Americans. It was all the native guard could do to keep the Filipinos from doing violence to them. Gilmore +was again questioned at length and then he was separated from his comrades and all were hurried off to jail. + +</p> +<p>In a few days it was rumored that the American army was approaching the city. Aguinaldo and his associates hurriedly prepared +to leave. Orders were given to march the prisoners overland north and then westward across another range of high mountains +to Arancay, on the western coast of Luzon,—a distance of 100 miles. + +</p> +<p>This time the crowd of prisoners was greatly increased. At San Isidro there were added 600 Spaniards; a small tribe of mountain +<a id="d0e1104"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1104">122</a>]</span>Negritos whom Aguinaldo had originally sent to fight the Americans, but who, being armed only with spears and bolos, soon +got tired of seeing their number decrease so rapidly before American riflemen, and refused to fight, and who were later imprisoned +and terribly misused by Aguinaldo’s selected guards; and eighteen Americans in addition to Gilmore’s party (total twenty-six +Americans), who had been captured in as many different ways around Manila by the crafty, cunning Filipinos. Among them was +Frank Stone, of the U. S. Signal Corps, captured by some “amigos” (friendly natives) on the railroad track near Manila, while +out strolling one Sunday afternoon; Private Curran, of the 16th U.S. Infantry who was grabbed within fifty feet of his own +outpost, gagged and dragged into captivity; also a civilian who had gone to the Philippines to sell liquor. + +</p> +<p>This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen +<a id="d0e1108"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1108">123</a>]</span>beer. He was the life of the expedition. He took his captivity as a joke, told stories to keep the prisoners good natured, +and painted on ever boulder that he passed the seemingly sacrilegious words, “Drink Blank’s beer on the road to H——.” It was, +however, this harmless practice that later on enabled the American relief party to follow the prisoners’ trail. + +</p> +<p>After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city +of Vigan. Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden presence of an American war-ship in the harbor, off +Vigan, caused the natives to abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners for some mountain fastness. The Americans +were separated from the rest of the prisoners whom they never saw again. + +</p> +<p>High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. +The Filipino lieutenant who had charge of the <a id="d0e1114"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1114">124</a>]</span>prisoners, ordered them to go on; they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for them without avail. +The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer himself +was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance, the sick Americans were able to go along. + +</p> +<p>A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and came upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent +dancing down the rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from +the Americans, and with guns in hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them. + +</p> +<p>“Prepare to die,” said Gilmore to his companions; “they are going to shoot us.” Calling the Filipino lieutenant to his side +Gilmore asked him why he did not shoot them on the opposite side of the mountains, <a id="d0e1120"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1120">125</a>]</span>and not have made them make all of that hard climb for nothing. + +</p> +<p>The native officer said in reply: “My orders were to shoot all of you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability, +your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago +when you showed me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman in America, I decided not to carry out +my order, but to let you all go free. I may be punished for disobedience of orders; but we are both bound together by the +great Catholic church, and my conscience forbids that I should kill you.” + +</p> +<p>Gilmore replied: “You might as well shoot us as to set us free away up here in the mountains in our weakened condition with +nothing to defend ourselves with against the savages whose territory we will have to cross in order to get to the sea. Can’t +you spare us at least two rifles and some ammunition? If you will do this, I will give <a id="d0e1126"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1126">126</a>]</span>you a letter which, should you fall into the hands of the Americans, will make you safe and bring you ample reward.” + +</p> +<p>The Filipino looked meditatingly at the ground for several moments, then he calmly said, “I shall not dare to do it. An American +relief party, seeking your liberation, is close on our heels. They will protect and care for you. Goodby!” + +</p> +<p>Gilmore did not believe him. + +</p> +<p>Under cover of the night the Filipinos disappeared. In the morning, after nine long, tedious months of captivity resulting +from Marie Sampalit’s depredations,—sick, nearly starved, practically nude, with nothing but two battle axes and a bolo for +both weapons of defense and for tools—the Americans at last found themselves free men in the wilds of northern Luzon, with +positive death left behind, and with possible life and all of its happy associations still before them. + +</p> +<p>Their first day of liberty was spent in preparing bamboo rafts on which to float down the tortuous, winding river to the sea. +<a id="d0e1136"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1136">127</a>]</span>The next night they all slept well; and on the following morning, just after they had gotten up and begun to saunter around, +everybody present was suddenly shocked by the shrill yell of a strong American voice. They all looked up, and while their +hearts for a moment seemingly stopped beating and fairly rose in their throats, the liberated prisoners beheld the blue shirts +and khaki trousers of Colonel Hare’s rescue party that for several weeks had been on their trail. + +</p> +<p>What rejoicing! The bony, ill-clad prisoners fell on the strong bosoms of their rescuers and wept. + +</p> +<p>Colonel Hare’s father, Judge Hare, of Washington, D.C., knew Gilmore personally. He had seen the military reports of his captivity +among the natives. When his son bade him goodby as he started for the Philippines, Judge Hare said, “My boy, God bless you; +find Gilmore and bring him home!” Colonel Hare had remained true to his trust. + +</p> +<p>The party could not retrace their steps over the mountains, owing to the weakened <a id="d0e1144"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1144">128</a>]</span>condition of the prisoners and the lack of food. Their only chance for self-preservation and a possible return to civilization +lay in carrying out Gilmore’s designs to build bamboo rafts and float down the river to the sea. This was done. In going over +rapids and water-falls, many rafts were destroyed and new ones had to be built. + +</p> +<p>Two of the boys got the measles. The raft on which one of them, Private Day, was being transported, got smashed on the rocks +and he was thrown into the water. He took cold and died the next day. His comrades took his body with them and did not bury +it until they finally reached the little town of Ambulug, at the mouth of the stream they had been following, on the northern +coast of Luzon. There, amid a simple but impressive ceremony, it was buried in the church-yard of the cathedral to await the +resurrection morn. + +</p> +<p>At Ambulug the Americans secured ox-carts drawn by caribous and drove along the beach to the city of Aparri, at the mouth +of <a id="d0e1150"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1150">129</a>]</span>the Cagayan river. Here they were met by a detachment of American Marines who took them aboard a war-ship, lying out to sea, +which carried them around the northwest promontory of Luzon to the city of Vigan on the western coast, at which place they +had been imprisoned for so long. + +</p> +<p>Here they met General Young who shook hands with each of them; congratulated the rescued and complimented the rescuers. + + + +<a id="d0e1154"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1154">131</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1155" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter X.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Death of General Lawton.</h2><a id="d0e1160"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1160">133</a>]</span><p>After the battle of Baler, Marie and a few native soldiers hastened westward in advance of the prisoners, to San Isidro to +notify Aguinaldo who had moved his headquarters to that place, that the Americans were advancing northward in great numbers +and that nothing could impede their progress. This information had previously been conveyed to the Filipino general from other +sources, so that Marie found him in his so-called congress packed up and ready to move,—a thing they were forced to do a few +days after the American prisoners arrived. She accompanied them for several long, tedious months, acting as cook for the expedition +and serving in other capacities—none of them seeming to her to be ample reward for all she had done. + +</p> +<p>Early in the coming fall, Marie, tired of Aguinaldo’s game of hide-and-go-seek, and <a id="d0e1165"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1165">134</a>]</span>anxious to find out about her mother and to get into more fighting, if there be a chance, made her way back to Manila. + +</p> +<p>But her conscience bothered her. She remembered that broken oath and many other acts of wanton treachery that would shock +the civilized world. She feared that her own life would soon be sought either by the Americans or by the Filipinos. Accordingly +she suggested to her mother that they again go to her aunt’s in the little town of Angono at the north end of Lake Laguna +de Bay, where she had left her mother stationed when last they had parted. Her mother, growing old and nervous through accumulated +years, past grievances, hard work and the strain of the present conflict, favored the plan; and so they departed on December +2nd, taking the same road over McLeod’s Hill and on down over the Santa Mesa bridge that they had traveled on February 4th. + +</p> +<p>Before leaving Manila she learned through the private Filipino Junta which was secretly assisting in the war by accumulating +<a id="d0e1171"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1171">135</a>]</span>funds for its prosecution and by distributing among the native troops the inflammatory literature which was being promiscuously +sent out by the people in the United States who opposed the war, that a secret reward of $10,000. had been offered for the +death of General Lawton. + +</p> +<p>About the middle of December, 1899, the General had returned to Manila from another telling campaign northward, when he learned +that the Filipinos were assembling in large numbers under one of their fearless leaders, General Geronemo, on the San Mateo +river, but a few miles out of Manila, for the purpose of making one more attempt to break through the American lines guarding +that city. + +</p> +<p>On December 17, Marie heard that another attack was to be made on Manila, so she left her mother at Angono and made her way +to the Filipinos’ camp along the San Mateo river, only a few miles south of where she had crossed it at the rapids the morning +<a id="d0e1177"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1177">136</a>]</span>after she had been liberated under oath by Major Allison. + +</p> +<p>The next day, she was in secret consultation with Geronemo, and she disclosed to him all the information she had concerning +the defenses of Manila. + +</p> +<p>That evening, Filipino scouts, dressed in female attire, brought to General Geronemo the news that the Americans, under General +Lawton, who was supposed to be away up in the northern part of Luzon, had anticipated his movements and were assembling in +the woods on the opposite side of the valley in large numbers, possibly for a night attack. + +</p> +<p>Marie told Geronemo what she had learned while in Manila concerning the reward that had been secretly offered for the killing +of General Lawton. He knew all about it and confirmed the offer. She told him all about her training as a marksman with the +Spanish on Corregidor island and of her subsequent experience, and said she knew General Lawton well; that she could <a id="d0e1185"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1185">137</a>]</span>single him out, and in case he led his troops, as he usually did in battle, she was sure she could capture the prize. + +</p> +<p>A place of unusual safety and concealment was selected along the Filipinos’ lines, directly in front of the center of the +probable point of attack by the Americans, for Marie, and for a Filipino lieutenant and a corporal, both of whom were also +good shots. + +</p> +<p>Geronemo had instructed them that Marie was to have the first three shots at the general, in case he appeared on the scene +of battle. If she failed to hit him, the lieutenant was then to try it. After he had taken three shots, if he, too, failed, +the corporal was to be given a chance. + +</p> +<p>The next morning, December 19, the American line of battle came out of the woods on the opposite side of the valley, ready +to charge on the Filipinos’ position. The morning was bright and clear, so that General Lawton, with his tall figure, resplendent +uniform and large white helmet, <a id="d0e1193"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1193">138</a>]</span>could easily be discerned by the entire Filipino command. + +</p> +<p>“I’ll fix him,” whispered Marie, “just wait till the firing begins, so that I can shoot without attracting attention to our +position.” + +</p> +<p>In a moment, the Filipinos opened fire on the Americans all along the line. The latter sought cover. General Lawton remained +erect. He made an ideal target. Marie took careful aim. “Bang!” went her rifle, and at that very moment this peerless leader +of men, this hero of several wars, was shot through the heart and fell dead in the arms of his aide. His only words were, +“I’m shot.” + +</p> +<p>“See that! What did I tell you?” snapped out Marie, “I told you I’d get him! Now for my dinero.” (money). + +</p> +<p>The Americans were so angered because of the sudden death of their beloved commander that they made a mad rush forward, without +orders, and swept the Filipino army from the field. + +</p> +<p>Marie returned to Manila where she <a id="d0e1205"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1205">139</a>]</span>claimed the reward for having shot the general. The lieutenant who was with her claimed that he did it, and by promising half +of the bounty to the corporal for swearing to the lie, he proved it. Meager reports of the affair state that only $7000 of +the money was actually paid over. Like Aguinaldo who crept into a cave northwest of Manila and sold out his country during +the insurrection of 1896, and then could not collect his fee, so Marie, too, found herself deprived of the compensation for +her bloody deed. + + + +<a id="d0e1207"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1207">141</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1208" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XI.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">North-bound</h2><a id="d0e1213"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1213">143</a>]</span><p>The controversy over the distribution of the fund in Manila for the death in any form of General Lawton permitted the unholy +scheme to simmer its way into publicity. The United States authorities employed secret detectives to investigate the matter +and if possible to locate the persons who claimed to be responsible for the act. Marie soon found herself under surveillance +and she quickly left the city. + +</p> +<p>Making her way north on horse back along the same route she had taken when on her way to Baler about a year before, she came +to the city of San Miguel where one of the hardest battles of the war had been fought. The troops engaged in this fight had +become so disorganized that all formation by regiments, companies, etc., had been broken up. Unfortunately, one of the Americans’ +dead privates could not be identified. He was buried <a id="d0e1218"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1218">144</a>]</span>where he fell, and a board tombstone was placed at the head of his grave, on which was carved this lonely word, + + + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">“UNKNOWN”. + + +</p> +<p>As Marie passed over the old field, she saw this grave and read the solemn word on its headstone. “Alas!” she muttered, “I +wonder if the same sad fate will some day overtake me.” + +</p> +<p>The body of this “unknown” soldier was exhumed by the government a few months later and brought back to the United States +for burial. Upon its arrival the following pathetic poem appeared in “Leslie’s Weekly”; + + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<h4 class="
 lghead
 ">JUST AN “UNKNOWN”</h4> +<p class="line" style=""><span>After the fight was over, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>They found him stark and dead,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Where all the bamboo thicket +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Was splashed and stained and red.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>No name was missed at roll call, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Not one among them knew</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>The slender, boyish figure +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Arrayed in army blue.</span></p> +</div><a id="d0e1245"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1245">145</a>]</span><div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Among our fallen soldiers +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>They brought him o’er the deep,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>And with the nation’s heroes +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>They laid him down to sleep.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>A starry flag above him, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>And on the simple stone</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>That marked his final bivouac, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>The single word, “Unknown.”</span></p> +</div> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Perchance a mother watches, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Her eyes with weeping dim,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Or sweetheart waits the postman +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>In vain for news of him.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>While snow of winter freezes, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>And April violets thrust</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Sweet blossoms through the grasses +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Above his nameless dust.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>But when the last great trumpet +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Shall sound the reveille,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>And all the blue battalions +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>March up from land and sea,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>He shall awake to glory— +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Who sleeps unknown to fame,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>And with Columbia’s bravest +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Will answer to his name.</span></p> +</div><a id="d0e1297"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1297">146</a>]</span><p>Her personal safety demanded that she continue her journey northward, without delay; also her inclination to rejoin Aguinaldo +and his troops—although his exact whereabouts were unknown—invited her in this direction. + +</p> +<p>At San Isidro, from which place Aguinaldo had been driven, she saw some American soldiers administering the water cure to +some Filipinos in order to make them reveal the whereabouts of their wily general. Marie was angry. She yearned to shoot, +but she was no longer on the aggressive; she was now a fugitive from justice. At this place she inspected the old Filipino +prison and on its walls found the names of Gilmore and his party, whom she had helped to capture at Baler, who had been imprisoned +there, and who were still alive when Aguinaldo was driven from the city of San Isidro by the approach of the Americans. She +determined to take her revenge on them for this water cure punishment, if she ever found them. But the opportunity never came. +<a id="d0e1302"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1302">147</a>]</span>So journeying on toward the northern part of Luzon she had many experiences, and she came in contact with tribes whom she +had never seen before and whose dialect was foreign to her. Many things combined to retard her progress. Often she grew very +weary and would have turned back, except for fear. + +</p> +<p>Following up the valley of the Pampanga river and thence on northward along the Barat, she passed through the province of +Nueva Ecija, crossed the Caraballo mountains which form its northern boundary, and then entered the province of Nueva Vizcaya, +where she came upon the head-waters of the Rio Magat river. + +</p> +<p>In crossing the Caraballo mountains she made her way through a deep gorge at night. It was now about the middle of February. +A full moon shone at its best. The weather was ideal. Journeying was abnormally pleasant. Under favorable conditions, during +times of peace, the trip she was taking would have been a delightful outing. Just <a id="d0e1308"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1308">148</a>]</span>now things were different. Small garrisons of American soldiers had crowded forward and were occupying the largest cities +along her route. As yet she had not gotten beyond them. “A guilty conscience needs no accuser”; everywhere that she went she +imagined herself to be under suspicion. + +</p> +<p>Far up in the Caraballos she came across a little mountain torrent which leaped down over the mountain side from one rocky +ledge to another at quite regular intervals in a series of waterfalls until it beat itself into a turbulent spray in the bed +of the chasm below. The laughing moon filtered its beaming rays through the thin sheet of shimmering water as it danced down +its course from precipice to precipice, and seemingly converted it into a great silvery stair-way connecting earth with heaven. +Marie’s heart throbbed with emotion. The dashing of the falling water on the rocks below in the bed of the canon made a hollow +sound as its echoes reverberated through the gorge above. + +</p> +<p>A half mile farther up, the valley widened <a id="d0e1314"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1314">149</a>]</span>somewhat; and finding here some grass for her pony to forage on, she stopped for the night. The flimsy saddle was removed +from her horse and converted into a crude pillow, in true cowboy style. Marie was uneasy. This was the first night in all +her adventures that she had been absolutely alone, separated from both friends and foes, with no house to shelter her weary +head, with the cloudless canopy of the silent heavens arched above her, the silvery moonbeams dancing in her face, and with +no voice, save the echoes of her own, to answer back the whispers of night. + +</p> +<p>It is often only in such a silent nook as this, with no one present but God and self, that humanity asserts itself and the +tenderest portions of the human soul become paramount and give rise to sacred thoughts. Even the savage cannot escape it, +for he, too, feels his responsibility to something outside of self. No doubt the self-conscious criminal would be the most +susceptible to it. + +</p> +<p>What a night for Marie! Solitude gave <a id="d0e1320"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1320">150</a>]</span>rise to fear; fear, to conscious criminality; a sense of wrong-doing, to grief. Would morning never come? Every time she fell +into a doze her sleep was disturbed by dreams of the past. Recollections of her dying benefactor in the woods by the San Mateo +river, of Gilmore’s comrades bleeding by his side, and of Lawton in the arms of his aide, filled her soul with remorse and +suggested to her with an unspeakable vividness that in all probability she would pay the penalty on both sides of the grave. +Awakening from one awful dream, she would, after listening to the stillness of the night for a time, lapse into another. Again +she would suddenly awake and begin to fumble her rosary and repeat selections from a Catholic prayer book. Would she dare +to turn back? Behind her was certain death; before her, the possibility of life. She resolved to go on. + +</p> +<p>The night whiled away. Her pony ate his fill and lay down to rest. Beaded dew drops collected themselves in close proximity +upon the grasses and foliage about her feet. <a id="d0e1324"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1324">151</a>]</span>The cool mountain air from without and fear from within caused her to shiver a great deal. Day finally came; Marie rode on. + +</p> +<p>Following the Magat river she finally reached the city of Bayombong with a population of 20,000 people. Here she learned from +the natives that Aguinaldo and a loyal remnant of his appointed congress had passed through the city ahead of her, en route +northward. + +</p> +<p>At Bayombong she was advised to follow down the Magat river for twenty miles, then to bear to the northeast along the pathway +made by Aguinaldo and his followers in their recent retreat. This she did, crossing another range of mountains near Fort Del +Pilar, which had been erected by the Filipinos to circumvent as well as to prevent the progress of the Americans, should they +attempt to follow them. On the farther side of this slope she came upon the headwaters of the Rio Grande de Cagayan river, +which she followed on to the north for several weeks, enjoying the hospitality of the natives <a id="d0e1330"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1330">152</a>]</span>along the course, until at last she came upon the beautiful city of Ilagan at the confluence of the Cagayan and Pinacanalan +rivers. + +</p> +<p>It was now late in April. Marie was tired and needed rest. At Ilagan she was cordially received by the curious natives who +were eager to learn some news concerning the war which was being conducted several hundred miles further south. Marie grew +cheerful. There were no Americans in the city, and nobody knew of any within the valley. She felt that at last she had successfully +eluded her supposed pursuers and that she was safe. Ilagan is the capital of Isabella province. It has a population of approximately +60,000 people. Marie’s natural ability, information gathered in the school of experience, knowledge of the details of the +war, and her willingness to talk (quite a number at Ilagan could speak Spanish) made of her a sort of responsive idol for +the entire populace. + + + +<a id="d0e1334"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1334">153</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1335" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XII.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Crossing the Sierra Madres.</h2><a id="d0e1340"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1340">155</a>]</span><p>She remained at Ilagan until the middle of June, when it began to be rumored that the Americans were preparing to invade the +Cagayan valley, not only soldiers from the south but with the “mosquito fleet” coming up the river from its mouth at the extreme +northern end of the island of Luzon. Nobody in the city seemed to know just where Aguinaldo had gone. Part of his advance +guard had arrived in the city some three months before, but he had not come, and his soldiers had soon departed for the southeast, +following the valley of the Pinacanalan river. + +</p> +<p>Tired of her surroundings and impatient to join Aguinaldo, Marie departed by the same route that his soldiers had taken. From +an old native living all alone in a bamboo shack on the bank of the Rio Masagan river, which empties into the Pinacanalan +about eighteen miles southeast of Ilagan, she <a id="d0e1345"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1345">156</a>]</span>learned that Aguinaldo and his troops had started up the valley of the Masagan. This stream rises high up near the summit +of the Sierra Madre mountains which parallel the eastern coast of northern Luzon for nearly five hundred miles, and are inland +from the coast from ten to thirty miles. + +</p> +<p>Marie had with her three trusted natives from Ilagan. She did not want to spend another night alone in the mountains. After +proceeding up the Masagan for thirty-five miles to a place where its valley narrows itself to a gorge, its bed was so strewn +with huge boulders that it became impossible to travel any longer on horseback; therefore, one of the natives was sent back +with the horses, and Marie and the two others continued the ascent on foot, taking with them such equipment and provisions +as they could conveniently carry. + +</p> +<p>After many hardships they succeeded in crossing the range in safety and soon found themselves descending the other side. A +Filipino scouting party was met at the evening <a id="d0e1351"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1351">157</a>]</span>of the first day’s tramp down the Pacific slope. They were well supplied with food—thing Marie and her companions greatly +needed. From them it was learned that Aguinaldo and his body guard and quite a complement of Filipino soldiers were secreted +at the little town of Palanan on a small stream by the same name, about ten miles back from the coast and lying directly east +of them on the journey which they were pursuing. This party escorted them to Filipino headquarters, which they reached July +10, 1900. + +</p> +<p>Marie was cordially welcomed by Aguinaldo, who restored her to a position on his staff and secured from her the identical +information which he desired relative to the movement of the American troops, and the very information, strange to say, which +led to his own discovery and capture by General Funston of the American forces in March of the following year. + +</p> +<p>Aguinaldo learned from Marie that from the Filipinos’ standpoint, the war around <a id="d0e1357"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1357">158</a>]</span>Manila had been a dismal failure. He decided, therefore, to send one of his trusted generals south by practically the same +route over which Marie had come, with information to the Filipino troops east and south of Manila to move all their available +forces north with the quickest possible despatch and to place them under his immediate command so that he might not only render +himself immune from capture, but take the initiative and oppose the American campaign in the valley of the Cagayan river. + +</p> +<p>In December, 1900, about three months before his capture by General Funston, Aguinaldo, having learned that the Americans +were making their way in great numbers into the valley of the Cagayan, asked Marie to take up duty as a spy again; to recross +the Sierra Madre mountains; visit the American lines; ascertain their number of soldiers on duty in the valley on the opposite +side of the mountains and then to bring this information to him, so that when reinforcements <a id="d0e1361"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1361">159</a>]</span>should arrive he would know better how to undertake the campaign. + +</p> +<p>To this, Marie willingly assented, but she insisted that she could not make the trip alone over the rugged Sierra Madre mountains; +that she had nearly famished crossing them the first time. Aguinaldo therefor fitted out a little expedition consisting of +eight Filipinos, in addition to Marie, and a pack-train of fourteen ponies to accompany her over the divide. Nine of the animals +were for riding purposes; the other five were to pack the supplies,—three of them for the outward trip, two for the incoming. +In addition to the rice which they took along, they were instructed to forage as much as possible. + +</p> +<p>On December 9, the party started out on their perilous undertaking. A point far up on the mountain slope, near a refreshing +mineral spring, having been reached on December 17, the party halted and established a sub-base for their return trip. It +was evident to them that they had struck the wrong <a id="d0e1367"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1367">160</a>]</span>trail and were going to be compelled to send Marie back through a different gorge from the one by which she and her associates +had come over a few months before. + +</p> +<p>Here the party divided into two relays—one to accompany Marie close to the top of the mountains, the other to remain where +it was until her guides returned. At this temporary base three Filipinos and two pack-horses were left. The Filipinos thus +left behind were instructed to hunt and trap all they could till their comrades returned. + +</p> +<p>The on-going squad, consisting of Marie and five native soldiers, took with them their six riding ponies and three of the +pack-horses. They departed from their comrades early in the morning, December 18. By night of the second day they had gotten +so near the crest they could plainly discern that in one long march Marie could cross the divide and get a safe distance down +the slope on the opposite side. Coming to an old stone church they dismounted and established themselves for the night. It +was December <a id="d0e1373"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1373">161</a>]</span>19,—the anniversary of Lawton’s death. Marie remarked about it. + +</p> +<p>This old church had partly fallen down. Vines and mosses had so interlaced themselves in climbing over its rocky walls and +across its openings that they had to be cut away by the unwelcome intruders before they could gain an entrance. The stone +cross on the front gable was still in place; but the old mahogany door had long since been torn from its hinges by the mountain +storms, and it lay in a state of decay on the ground. An earthquake had destroyed part of the roof, and had caused the west +wall to become inclined and to crumble. + +</p> +<p>Within, one end of the old altar was still found to be intact. The priest’s pulpit chair had become ivy-mantled, and one handle +had rotted from its fastenings and had fallen to the floor. Statues of the Saints had pitched from their moorings in the alcoves +along the walls and were lying face-downward or standing on their heads amid the debris below. +<a id="d0e1379"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1379">162</a>]</span></p> +<p>What hands had built this old church, none could tell. It seemed certain that no human being had entered it for over a century. +The mountain tribes who had lifted into place the huge chalk stones that composed its massive walls, under the devout leadership +of some pious monk, for a place of worship, had long since perished from the earth. The mountain game which rendered possible +their habitation in this altitude had vanished. Everything and everybody had evidently given way before some fierce invasion +of one of their southern tribes. + +</p> +<p>Marie was busy cleaning off the trash from the massive rock that lay at the entrance to the door-way. “1765,” said she; “come, +see the date chiseled in the rock! I wonder what has become of the tribe that built it?” + +</p> +<p>A soldier who had made his entrance by one of the window openings, was busily engaged in prying up a huge flat stone just +back of the altar. He had it loosened; he called for help to remove it. When the stone <a id="d0e1386"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1386">163</a>]</span>had been overturned and had fallen back onto its aged neighbors, some soft damp earth beneath it was slowly scraped away. + +</p> +<p>“Listen!” said the native who on bended knees was doing the sacrilegious work, “Did you hear that grating noise?” + +</p> +<p>He scraped again with his bolo turned edgewise, and gripping the back of it firmly with both hands. “Do you hear it?” said +he. “It’s here!” + +</p> +<p>In a few minutes a metallic box was pried out of the earth wherein it had lain unmolested for many years. + +</p> +<p>“Can you read the inscription on it?” asked Marie. + +</p> +<p>Carefully the sediment and rust shales were removed. The grooves in the letters and figures of the inscription were carefully +cleaned out with a knife. It read + + +</p> +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="aligncenter">FATHER<br> +JUADANEZ<br> +1768. +</p> +</div><p> + + +</p> +<p>“The old father has been dead a long <a id="d0e1408"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1408">164</a>]</span>time,” said the fellow who was doing the details of the work. + +</p> +<p>“I wonder,” said Marie, “if we really ought to disturb his bones.” + +</p> +<p>“Do you suppose they put any valuables in the little chest when they sealed it up?” asked another. + +</p> +<p>“It has always been customary to put in the sacred urn,” said Marie. + +</p> +<p>“Cut it open!” commanded a corporal. + +</p> +<p>“I can’t,” said the robber; “we’ll have to build a fire and melt it open.” + +</p> +<p>This they did; and in it they found the dust of his bones and a number of valuables including the Patricia’s gold-lined cup +which Marie took and hung on her belt. + +</p> +<p>That night a terrible storm swept over the mountains. Marie and her companions crept into the old church for refuge. The ponies +had been given some rice and then set free to forage as best they could. They were stampeded by the violence of the wind and +rain. + +</p> +<p>The morning broke cool and clear. <a id="d0e1426"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1426">165</a>]</span>Everybody was astir at day-break. The ponies were gone, but plenty of rice remained. Marie soon saw a way out of the difficulty. +She left three of her men at the old church to await the return of the two who were to accompany her until she reached some +plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of the mountains. + +</p> +<p>The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such a supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only +three miles farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost perpendicular and seeming to form pillars +for the sky, were so close together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used the ponies for travel, even +though they had not retreated in the storm. + +</p> +<p>Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had reached the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be +the north fork of the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had previously followed. The beautiful valleys below +<a id="d0e1432"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1432">166</a>]</span>them were plainly visible as the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A small native village could be seen on the bank +of the stream a few miles ahead. The party bivouacked for the night. + +</p> +<p>Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was off on her important mission. + +</p> +<p>Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after another night’s rest, the five undertook their return journey +to the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they reached this camp they found their ponies all returned +to it; and their comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. +The entire party, except Marie, got back to Aguinaldo’s camp at Palanan, on Christmas Day. + +</p> +<p>Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing +help from the natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a few months. + + + +<a id="d0e1440"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1440">167</a>]</span></p> +</div> +<div id="d0e1441" class="div1"><span class="pagenum"> +[<a href="#d0e226">Contents</a>] +</span><h2 class="label">Chapter XIII.</h2> +<h2 class="normal">Compensation</h2><a id="d0e1446"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1446">169</a>]</span><p>On the evening of December 24, 1900,—one of those dark nights in the Philippines when the air seems so dense that you can +almost take hold of it with your hands—when the heavy clouds blanket the earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem +to shake the earth in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their melody—when the lightening bugs flutter from twig to +twig, revealing their lanterned wings—when the human heart beats with a conscious thump in anticipation of something awful—when +those who are out alone whistle to give themselves courage—when the zigzag openings rent through the clouds by the vicious +lightning flashes almost reveal Eternity;—Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which we all celebrate and shall continue to +celebrate till the end of time, to commemorate the birth of our Christ,—a sharp-eyed, dare-devil <a id="d0e1449"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1449">170</a>]</span>Filipino crept slowly out of the city of Ilagan along a foot-path toward the Americans’ camp about a mile north of that city. + +</p> +<p>When so near to the Americans that their out-posts were plainly visible during the flashes of lightning, the Filipino spy +crept into a bamboo thicket not over fifty feet from an American sentry. After lying there for a half hour, waiting for the +storm to come, the native grew a trifle bolder and arose to his knees. That moment the sharp eyes of the sentry caught him. + +</p> +<p>“Corporal of the Guard!” called the sentry in a loud voice. + +</p> +<p>The corporal, being suspicious that something unusual was taking place, in responding to the call took with him two armed +privates. + +</p> +<p>Approaching the sentry, with light steps and in a crouching attitude, the corporal said in a heavy whisper, “What’s the matter, +Jack?” + +</p> +<p>The sentry was standing with gun in hand, loaded, cocked, and with bayonet fixed. <a id="d0e1461"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1461">171</a>]</span>Keeping his eye centered on the exact spot where he had last seen the slowly gravitating figure before him, the guard said +in an undertone that denoted grave alarm, “Do you see that thicket just to the left of that big mango tree?” + +</p> +<p>“Yes;” said the corporal in a whisper, “What’s the trouble?” + +</p> +<p>“There’s a man in there,” said the sentry. “I saw him quite plainly at first—and I think he’s got a gun in his hand. You better +watch out, boys. He’s still there.” + +</p> +<p>The corporal and the two privates fixed the bayonets on their Krag-Jorgensons, filled the magazines, slipped a shell into +the barrel of each rifle, cocked them, crouched close to the ground, some ten feet apart, and began to move forward, a step +at a time, between the flashes of lightening. Each time it would flash, they would peer into the thicket. Each step brought +them nearer. + +</p> +<p>“There he lies!,” said one of the privates in a quick out-spoken voice. + +</p> +<p>“Amigo,” (a friend) said the stretched-out <a id="d0e1473"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1473">172</a>]</span>form, as three guns were raised in unison with the anxious muzzles pointing directly at him. + +</p> +<p>“Este no quere combate” (you don’t desire to fight), said the corporal, in crude Spanish. + +</p> +<p>“Mucho amigo” (very friendly), came the reply. + +</p> +<p>“Vamose aque!” (come here), commanded the corporal. + +</p> +<p>With his eyes fixed in theirs, the Filipino raised himself slowly up and came toward the three Americans who stood but twelve +feet away. + +</p> +<p>“Take him by the arms,” said the corporal to the two privates who were with him, “while I look behind that rice-dyke to see +if he had a gun.” + +</p> +<p>“Here’s what the rascal was up to,” said the corporal, holding a Mauser above his head. “Good thing you saw him when you did, +Jack.” + +</p> +<p>The storm was coming nearer; the first gust of wind had just struck them. It blew <a id="d0e1489"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1489">173</a>]</span>back the Filipino’s little checkered frock. The corporal saw a glitter. + +</p> +<p>“Watch out! boys, he’s got a machete under his coat,” said the corporal. + +</p> +<p>He was searched for more weapons and then marched inside the American lines and taken directly to headquarters. A drum-head +court was convened at once and the prisoner led in. + +</p> +<p>With hands clinched, muscles taut, eyes piercing at the court, he listened to the reading of the charge: + +</p> +<p>“Caught acting as a spy for the enemy in violation of the Articles of War; armed, with intent to take the life of an American +sentry on guard!” + +</p> +<p>After the testimony had been taken, the prisoner was given a chance to speak, but he absolutely refused to do so, even though +addressed in several different languages and dialects. + +</p> +<p>“He spoke Spanish to us as we captured him,” interjected the corporal. +<a id="d0e1503"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1503">174</a>]</span></p> +<p>“GUILTY!” + +</p> +<p>said the lieutenant-colonel who was presiding, in a firm military tone. “The court fixes the penalty at death, and sentences +the prisoner to be shot at sun-rise.” + +</p> +<p>“Remove him, Sergeant, and detail a firing squad to execute the order of the court!” + +</p> +<p>As the prisoner was led away, the lieutenant-colonel dropped his chin in the palms of his hands as he rested his elbows on +his knees, and muttered in a semi-regretful way: “I hate to do it; but in the past we have always been so chicken-hearted +about punishing these blood-thirsty natives that they have now come to regard our kindness as cowardice. I can’t help but +feel that it will bring the war to a close quicker if we deal with them hereafter with a good firm hand.” + +</p> +<p>“I wonder what province the young fellow came from,” said a major who was sitting near. + +</p> +<p>“I really don’t know,” replied the lieutenant-colonel: “his face shows him to be a <a id="d0e1516"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1516">175</a>]</span>Tagalo. Certain it is that he didn’t come from Isabella province in which we are now campaigning. I wouldn’t be surprised +if Aguinaldo were near here and if he had sent this young dare-devil to cut down our sentry, so as to make an attack upon +us tonight during the storm.” + +</p> +<p>Toward morning the storm subsided. At day-break a comparatively shallow grave was hastily dug near the edge of a little bamboo +thicket on a slightly elevated piece of ground. As the flickering rays of the tropical sun began to shoot above the pale, +ashen-gray hue of the eastern horizon, the prisoner was led to the foot of his prospective tomb. The firing squad took its +place in line. + +</p> +<p>The guns had been carefully loaded in advance for their deadly work; all but one contained blank cartridges. As usual, after +loading, the guns were intermixed, so that no man might know which one contained the deadly bullet. + +</p> +<p>“Ready!” commanded the sergeant who <a id="d0e1524"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1524">176</a>]</span>had charge of the squad,—the corporal having taken his usual place in line with his men. + +</p> +<p>“Click,” went the hammers of the rifles in unison, as they were brought to a full cock. + +</p> +<p>“Aim!” came the next command in a firmer tone. The soldiers brought their rifles to their shoulders. Every barrel was pointed +at the chest of the prisoner, who now for the first time, began to tremble and turn a sickly yellow. + +</p> +<p>“Fire!” commanded the sergeant. + +</p> +<p>“Bang!” went the united roar of the guns; and as the light powder smoke cleared away and the echoes reverberated through the +woods of northern Luzon, the firing squad stepped forward to view their heroic dead. + +</p> +<p>A private jumped into the grave and turned the corpse over onto its back. + +</p> +<p>That night Frank W. Pugh, of the regular army, a member of this unfortunate firing squad, who died later at Fort Worth, Texas, +of fever contracted in the Philippines, <a id="d0e1538"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1538">177</a>]</span>sitting in his little dog-tent, meditating, wrote in his diary, which is now preserved in the archives at Washington with +other relics of the war, the following appropriate poem: + + +</p> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<h4 class="
 lghead
 ">A CHRISTMAS COURT-MARTIAL</h4> +<p class="line" style=""><span>“The night was dark and threatening rain, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>No stars were in the sky;</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>We caught him hiding in the pines— +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>A Filipino spy.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>A slender youth with coal black eyes, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Brim full of frightened tears;</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>We turned him over to the guard, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>I fear with callous jeers.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Next morning it was Christmas day, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>The sun was shining hot,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>A drum-head court had said, “The spy, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Is sentenced to be shot.”</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Erect before the officers, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>He still disdained to speak,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Although a single crystal drop, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Empearled his olive cheek.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Upon a long and hurried march, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>In light array, you see,<a id="d0e1581"></a><span class="pagenum">[<a href="#d0e1581">178</a>]</span></span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>We could not take the boy along, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>So stood him near a tree;</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Told off the little firing squad, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>And ordered it in line.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>One gun was loaded in the lot— +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>I hope it was not mine.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Birds in the branches overhead +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Sang softly in the heat.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>The grave, a trench of steaming sand, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Gaped yellow at his feet;</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>He faced us with a dauntless air, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>Although his lips were white;—</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>Our grim old Sergeant turned away, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>He could not stand the sight.</span></p> +</div> +<div class="
 poem
 "> +<p class="line" style=""><span>A flash, a roar, a cloud of smoke, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>And headlong to the ground</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>He fell face downward in the grave, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>And died without a sound.</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>We turned him over on his back, +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>And DEATH the TRUTH confessed,</span></p> +<p class="line" style=""><span>For through his open jacket peeped +</span></p> +<p class="line" style="text-indent: 2em; "><span>A Woman’s tender breast.”</span></p> +</div> +<p>Marie Sampalit had earned her doom. After her grave had been filled, the soldier boys placed at its head a cartridge-box lid +on which they inscribed the pitiful word, + +</p> +<p class="aligncenter">“UNKNOWN.” + + +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div class="back"> +<div class="transcribernote"> +<h2>Colophon</h2> +<h3>Availability</h3> +<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give +it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/">www.gutenberg.org</a>. + +</p> +<p>This eBook is produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at <a href="http://www.pgdp.net/">www.pgdp.net</a>. + +</p> +<p>This eBook has been produced from scans made available by Google. <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=MUifQ1dFz8kC">First</a>, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=m2rrJJ9LDvoC">Second</a>, and <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=-pQiAAAAMAAJ">Third</a> copy. (Snippet view for visitors from outside the U.S.) + +</p> +<p>The illustrations have been omitted from this ebook. If you can provide high quality scans of the illustrations, please send +them to Project Gutenberg. + +</p> +<h3>Encoding</h3> +<p></p> +<h3>Revision History</h3> +<ol class="lsoff"> +<li>2008-02-26 Started. + +</li> +</ol> +<h3>Corrections</h3> +<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p> +<table width="75%"> +<tr> +<th>Location</th> +<th>Source</th> +<th>Correction</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e486">Page 31</a></td> +<td width="40%">agin</td> +<td width="40%">again</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e659">Page 63</a></td> +<td width="40%">Maries</td> +<td width="40%">Marie’s</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e853">Page 88</a></td> +<td width="40%">Magundi eropo</td> +<td width="40%">Magandang umaga</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e868">Page 90</a></td> +<td width="40%">Leguna</td> +<td width="40%">Laguna</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td width="20%"><a href="#d0e1033">Page 111</a></td> +<td width="40%">rivited</td> +<td width="40%">riveted</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman with a Stone Heart, by +Oscar William Coursey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN WITH A STONE HEART *** + +***** This file should be named 24705-h.htm or 24705-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/0/24705/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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