First Hand Accounts of being in Marinduque during the war
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Bedford Gazette February 1
A Soldier Boy’s Experiences In the Philippine Islands
Elbert Devore writes about his trip
The following letter was recently received by W. W. Devore, of Bedford township, from his
son, Elbert E Devore, who is a member of Company B, First Infantry, U. S. A., now in the
Philippines.
We had right good accommodations on the Sumner. It is not as large as the Logan. We
steamed out of the bay late in the afternoon of the 9th to recapture the 29 volunteers who
were nearly all captured by the Filipinos on the island of Marinduque, a distance of about
150 miles from Manila. We neared the island by morning, our company went ashore in
rowboats about 12 o'clock. We then lined up and marched to a village called Santa Cruz.
About a mile from the shore we made our quarters in an old school house the rest of the day
and night.
October 10: About 75 men of our company and one company of the 38th Volunteers, who
are stationed here in Santa Cruz, started out on a march. They took an old trail or sort of
path they went over rocky mountains and through dense jungles and waded rivers up to
their necks and mud over their shoe tops. About noon three of the men were tired oat. They
went back about a mile, took dinner and stayed there until the next morning. The men felt
no better, so they started back. They brought back three prisoners.
Four of us went out on the morning of the 11th to get some coconuts and we saw some nice
country. I just wish you could see some of the beautiful trees we saw on our scout we had
all the coconut milk we could drink. We are not allowed to eat the fruit, but ate some of it
anyhow.
October 12: The company was divided up into squads, a corporal in each squad; there are
twelve in our squad corporal, bugler and ten privates. We moved out into one of the natives'
houses, where we have a very comfortable place. We have plenty of fresh meat. We kill a
goat every day or so I have a bed of cotton pillows which is very comfortable.
October 13 news came that the prisoners of the 29th were released.
Sunday, the 14th, was a very rainy morning. We didn't have reveille. The mud is about
shoe top deep. Sleeping and eating are the main things to-day. I had a pony ride. Plenty of
them are running around here; also cattle, sheep, hogs and goats. They raise two crops of
corn and rice here each year.
On the 15th it was still raining. Three of us killed a sheep and had mutton for dinner. Went
swimming in the afternoon. Thirty-five of the 29th Infantry Volunteers who were captured by
the Filipinos came back to Santa Cruz, their former quarters; 14 other sick and wounded
ones were sent to Manila. There were only four killed. Some of the boys who got back tell
us they were treated very good while they were prisoners.
October 16: Weather is cloudy and a little warmer. I had a swell dinner—goat, beef liver,
being and hard-tack there are a great many parrots and other pretty birds on this island.
The surface is very mountainous and is covered with, thick underbrush, making a very good
place for the negroes to hide. They speak the Spanish, language. Their houses are built on
posts set in the ground from 6 to 10 feet high. The frame work is tied together with bamboo
sticks, the roofs are made of rice straw and have four sides. They look like hay-stacks. The
natives are very religious. Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion. They have a large
church here.
October 20: We had inspection of arms and about an hour's drill. The sun was very hot, I
nearly melted.
October 21: I cooked my meals and sat around. We drew two days rations in the evening
and began to get ready to go on another hike. I will give an account of our rations. We each
draw about a pound of pork per day and 16 ounces of hard-tack or 18 ounces of bread and
one pound of coffee and one-half pound of brown sugar for ten days.
October 22: Seventy six of us started out on an expedition, we took a trail which led across
steep mountains and deep ravines. We have but little skirmishing. The Goo Goos seem
very scarce. I suppose we marched about ten miles the first day. We camped for the night of
top of a hill
where there were two deserted shacks A party went out and killed three beeves, so we had
plenty of fresh meat for supper and breakfast. There was not room for us all inside the
houses, so I made my bunk on the ground. I had two palm leaves for my bed. I have a good
blanket but don't take it along when I go on a hike. A person has enough to carry
themselves, with their rations, gun and 100 rounds of ammunition. We did not cross any
large streams that day.
October 23: I slept very well during the night with my best friend within easy reach with 6
loads in it. We were now in a more elevated country. We had a good trail. We crossed
several rivers, some of them were more than waist deep. We burned quite a number of
store houses on our trip. We only captured three prisoners. We reached our camp by
evening, Mail came in while we were gone. I received your letter written August 27 was
exceedingly glad to hear from home.
October 24: I was very tired and sore the nest morning. Went to the river, washed my
clothes, and took a good swim while my clothes were drying. I only have n few clothes here;
we left nearly all our clothes at Manila and I hear that they got wet and are rotten. I am the
loser of about 850 if they are, unless Uncle Sam gives me new ones in place of them which
I don't think he will. I enlisted
for three years unless sooner discharged. It is not likely that I will get discharged before my
enlistment is out, which will be August 5, 1903. I don't think we will serve more than two
years in foreign service. I like soldiering real well in some ways of course I have a great
many hard ships to endure, but if I keep my health I expect to see old Pennsylvania again.
October 25: Was on guard it was a very hot day and I nearly roasted.
October 26: Came off guard at 8.30 a. m. and went for coconuts. I got a good soaking
before I got back. Our shack caught fire and nearly burnt up.
October 27: We have a half hour's drill in setting up exercises each morning after reveille.
We had inspection and a short drill in the evening.
October 28: The sun has shone very brightly all day and a good breeze going all the while. I
think the rainy season is about over. There is no post office here, so I can't send any money
while on this island. I had $10.25 taken while on the boat. I am going to leave my money
with the paymaster. I will get 4 per cent on it I don't know when we get paid. They only pay
every three or four months here. Well, I wish you all a happy Christmas, and while you are
eating turkey think of me chasing Goo Goos. Write and give me the election news Hurrah
for Bryan!
E E DEVORE
A Soldier Boy’s Experiences In the Philippine Islands
Elbert Devore writes about his trip
The following letter was recently received by W. W. Devore, of Bedford township, from his
son, Elbert E Devore, who is a member of Company B, First Infantry, U. S. A., now in the
Philippines.
We had right good accommodations on the Sumner. It is not as large as the Logan. We
steamed out of the bay late in the afternoon of the 9th to recapture the 29 volunteers who
were nearly all captured by the Filipinos on the island of Marinduque, a distance of about
150 miles from Manila. We neared the island by morning, our company went ashore in
rowboats about 12 o'clock. We then lined up and marched to a village called Santa Cruz.
About a mile from the shore we made our quarters in an old school house the rest of the day
and night.
October 10: About 75 men of our company and one company of the 38th Volunteers, who
are stationed here in Santa Cruz, started out on a march. They took an old trail or sort of
path they went over rocky mountains and through dense jungles and waded rivers up to
their necks and mud over their shoe tops. About noon three of the men were tired oat. They
went back about a mile, took dinner and stayed there until the next morning. The men felt
no better, so they started back. They brought back three prisoners.
Four of us went out on the morning of the 11th to get some coconuts and we saw some nice
country. I just wish you could see some of the beautiful trees we saw on our scout we had
all the coconut milk we could drink. We are not allowed to eat the fruit, but ate some of it
anyhow.
October 12: The company was divided up into squads, a corporal in each squad; there are
twelve in our squad corporal, bugler and ten privates. We moved out into one of the natives'
houses, where we have a very comfortable place. We have plenty of fresh meat. We kill a
goat every day or so I have a bed of cotton pillows which is very comfortable.
October 13 news came that the prisoners of the 29th were released.
Sunday, the 14th, was a very rainy morning. We didn't have reveille. The mud is about
shoe top deep. Sleeping and eating are the main things to-day. I had a pony ride. Plenty of
them are running around here; also cattle, sheep, hogs and goats. They raise two crops of
corn and rice here each year.
On the 15th it was still raining. Three of us killed a sheep and had mutton for dinner. Went
swimming in the afternoon. Thirty-five of the 29th Infantry Volunteers who were captured by
the Filipinos came back to Santa Cruz, their former quarters; 14 other sick and wounded
ones were sent to Manila. There were only four killed. Some of the boys who got back tell
us they were treated very good while they were prisoners.
October 16: Weather is cloudy and a little warmer. I had a swell dinner—goat, beef liver,
being and hard-tack there are a great many parrots and other pretty birds on this island.
The surface is very mountainous and is covered with, thick underbrush, making a very good
place for the negroes to hide. They speak the Spanish, language. Their houses are built on
posts set in the ground from 6 to 10 feet high. The frame work is tied together with bamboo
sticks, the roofs are made of rice straw and have four sides. They look like hay-stacks. The
natives are very religious. Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion. They have a large
church here.
October 20: We had inspection of arms and about an hour's drill. The sun was very hot, I
nearly melted.
October 21: I cooked my meals and sat around. We drew two days rations in the evening
and began to get ready to go on another hike. I will give an account of our rations. We each
draw about a pound of pork per day and 16 ounces of hard-tack or 18 ounces of bread and
one pound of coffee and one-half pound of brown sugar for ten days.
October 22: Seventy six of us started out on an expedition, we took a trail which led across
steep mountains and deep ravines. We have but little skirmishing. The Goo Goos seem
very scarce. I suppose we marched about ten miles the first day. We camped for the night of
top of a hill
where there were two deserted shacks A party went out and killed three beeves, so we had
plenty of fresh meat for supper and breakfast. There was not room for us all inside the
houses, so I made my bunk on the ground. I had two palm leaves for my bed. I have a good
blanket but don't take it along when I go on a hike. A person has enough to carry
themselves, with their rations, gun and 100 rounds of ammunition. We did not cross any
large streams that day.
October 23: I slept very well during the night with my best friend within easy reach with 6
loads in it. We were now in a more elevated country. We had a good trail. We crossed
several rivers, some of them were more than waist deep. We burned quite a number of
store houses on our trip. We only captured three prisoners. We reached our camp by
evening, Mail came in while we were gone. I received your letter written August 27 was
exceedingly glad to hear from home.
October 24: I was very tired and sore the nest morning. Went to the river, washed my
clothes, and took a good swim while my clothes were drying. I only have n few clothes here;
we left nearly all our clothes at Manila and I hear that they got wet and are rotten. I am the
loser of about 850 if they are, unless Uncle Sam gives me new ones in place of them which
I don't think he will. I enlisted
for three years unless sooner discharged. It is not likely that I will get discharged before my
enlistment is out, which will be August 5, 1903. I don't think we will serve more than two
years in foreign service. I like soldiering real well in some ways of course I have a great
many hard ships to endure, but if I keep my health I expect to see old Pennsylvania again.
October 25: Was on guard it was a very hot day and I nearly roasted.
October 26: Came off guard at 8.30 a. m. and went for coconuts. I got a good soaking
before I got back. Our shack caught fire and nearly burnt up.
October 27: We have a half hour's drill in setting up exercises each morning after reveille.
We had inspection and a short drill in the evening.
October 28: The sun has shone very brightly all day and a good breeze going all the while. I
think the rainy season is about over. There is no post office here, so I can't send any money
while on this island. I had $10.25 taken while on the boat. I am going to leave my money
with the paymaster. I will get 4 per cent on it I don't know when we get paid. They only pay
every three or four months here. Well, I wish you all a happy Christmas, and while you are
eating turkey think of me chasing Goo Goos. Write and give me the election news Hurrah
for Bryan!
E E DEVORE
Letters home helped to document what the soldiers
saw while they were in Marinduque. There were also
correspondents from weekly magazines that visited
and wrote about what they saw.
saw while they were in Marinduque. There were also
correspondents from weekly magazines that visited
and wrote about what they saw.
The Daily Gazette Janesville Wisconsion April 20, 1901
SOLDIER LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Charles Caniff Writes of His Experience Hunt'ing Up Filipinos.
Hope for a Skirmish.
February 5.—-Well the unexpected always happens and a boat showed up January 30 with
orders for both companies to go to the island of Marinduque, a small but fertile island, but to
different places. F company going to some small island of which I do not know the name
and G going to regimental headquarters at Boac. We now have most of our baggage and
rations on board' and expect to finish by tomorrow. The ship we are loading is an old
German tramp freighter and has not even a bunk in it so we have to lie down almost
anywhere when night comes. We will only have about a week aboard so I guess we can
stand it. About half of each company-being aboard to do the work, the balance being
scattered from the dock to the barracks, a distance of about three miles doing general duty,
loading lighters with rations. Most of the active insurgents are at present on the island of
Marinduque, so we hope for a few more skirmishes.
After the Filipinos.
Well, we are at last at Boac with K. company of the second and have a fine barracks in an
old ' Spanish church inside a stone fort, and situated on a high hill. Here two companies
could hold off ten regiments of infantry. The people here are smarter, better dressed and
wealthier than those at Binangonan and the place is decidedly healthier as we have had
comparatively no sickness in the short time we have been here and K company has never
had to amount to anything. About three hundred infantry in the mountains are looking
for insurgents. They started from all over the island and intend to meet in the mountains
somewhere. I guess we will keep after them in this island until they are all captured or killed.
Far Better Rations.
We left company F which we have been with so long at Gason a town twelve miles up the
coast from here. The people are not only healthier here but our rations are far better Fresh
beef every day, onions, Irish potatoes and good bread, also beans and boiled fruit of all
kinds; where we only got bacon and salt horse, poor bread, evaporated spuds and bean
coffee the four months we were at Binangonan. Here we can buy eggs,for 15 cents a
dozen, chickens for 15 to 20 cents each, so I guess-we will be all O. K. for a while. We had
one man wounded the other day in a skirmish, the first one to get hit at all. F company had
one killed and two wounded in battle yesterday. I guess I am too thin to hit although I seem
to be able to hit them when I get a chance to shoot one. We have the band here now so we
have music every day for two hours. We had two batches of mail in four months at
Binangonan, but here we have mail at least once a week. I guess I will close. With best
regards to old Janesville friends and hope to shake hands with them all some time again.
Ever yours truly,
CHARLES CANIFF,
G. Company, 2d Infantry.
P. S.—I receive the Gazette from Janesville at least twice a week and it is like seeing old
friends from home.
SOLDIER LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Charles Caniff Writes of His Experience Hunt'ing Up Filipinos.
Hope for a Skirmish.
February 5.—-Well the unexpected always happens and a boat showed up January 30 with
orders for both companies to go to the island of Marinduque, a small but fertile island, but to
different places. F company going to some small island of which I do not know the name
and G going to regimental headquarters at Boac. We now have most of our baggage and
rations on board' and expect to finish by tomorrow. The ship we are loading is an old
German tramp freighter and has not even a bunk in it so we have to lie down almost
anywhere when night comes. We will only have about a week aboard so I guess we can
stand it. About half of each company-being aboard to do the work, the balance being
scattered from the dock to the barracks, a distance of about three miles doing general duty,
loading lighters with rations. Most of the active insurgents are at present on the island of
Marinduque, so we hope for a few more skirmishes.
After the Filipinos.
Well, we are at last at Boac with K. company of the second and have a fine barracks in an
old ' Spanish church inside a stone fort, and situated on a high hill. Here two companies
could hold off ten regiments of infantry. The people here are smarter, better dressed and
wealthier than those at Binangonan and the place is decidedly healthier as we have had
comparatively no sickness in the short time we have been here and K company has never
had to amount to anything. About three hundred infantry in the mountains are looking
for insurgents. They started from all over the island and intend to meet in the mountains
somewhere. I guess we will keep after them in this island until they are all captured or killed.
Far Better Rations.
We left company F which we have been with so long at Gason a town twelve miles up the
coast from here. The people are not only healthier here but our rations are far better Fresh
beef every day, onions, Irish potatoes and good bread, also beans and boiled fruit of all
kinds; where we only got bacon and salt horse, poor bread, evaporated spuds and bean
coffee the four months we were at Binangonan. Here we can buy eggs,for 15 cents a
dozen, chickens for 15 to 20 cents each, so I guess-we will be all O. K. for a while. We had
one man wounded the other day in a skirmish, the first one to get hit at all. F company had
one killed and two wounded in battle yesterday. I guess I am too thin to hit although I seem
to be able to hit them when I get a chance to shoot one. We have the band here now so we
have music every day for two hours. We had two batches of mail in four months at
Binangonan, but here we have mail at least once a week. I guess I will close. With best
regards to old Janesville friends and hope to shake hands with them all some time again.
Ever yours truly,
CHARLES CANIFF,
G. Company, 2d Infantry.
P. S.—I receive the Gazette from Janesville at least twice a week and it is like seeing old
friends from home.
The Outlook Magazine
New York City
August 18, 1900
The Occupation of Marinduque
By Phelps Whitmarsh
Special Commissioner for The Outlook in the Philippines
AFTER a man has given the romantic years of his life to the sea, has served a full
apprenticeship, and has earned the title of "sailor," he never feels the heave and
send of even the smallest of craft beneath him that he does not at once become
confident, and at once become what we call "at home." And to the man who has
forsaken his boyish ideal and taken up the more complicated life of a landsman,
every whiff of salt water stirs his memory as no perfume can, revives his romance,
makes him a boy again. More than all, perhaps, is the comforting knowledge that
he and the sea understand each other-that they are old friends. It was with much
content, therefore, that, after so much of the mountains and the plains, I found
myself aboard the transport Indiana, leaving the sweltering Bay of Manila for a
cruise to the southward. I say" cruise" because our ports were by no means
definite, nor could they well be so; for, in addition to landing army supplies at
various points, we carried an expeditionary force-a battalion of the Twenty-ninth
Infantry, U. S. V., and, though the orders were supposed to be secret, we all knew
that they were going out to take islands. What and where these islands were we
did not know; but it was certain that the vessel was under Colonel Hardin's orders
until the mysterious islands were in American hands. All of which was rather
interesting.
At the long table in the saloon some sixty of us sat down to dinner. We were
placed in the usual military fashion, according to rank. The Colonel and the ship's
captain had the head of the table, and then, in turn, came the majors, the captains,
the lieutenants, the "contract" doctors, the interpreter and Visayan pilot, and, lastly,
the few civilians not connected with the expedition.
"Hello, Benguet I" said a voice as I was passing to my seat. It was Lieutenant
Fuqua, under whose escort our party had passed through northern Benguet, and
whose blanket I had shared on not a few cold nights. "Well, tramp! Bet you don't
remember me," said the next man, holding out his hand. " I think I do. Dr.
Herrmann, isn't it ? Met you in Cuba. You gave me a much needed breakfast at
Sancti Spiritus at the smallpox hospital a year or so ago." " Yes. I have a pencil-
sketch of your beautiful mule still." A little further on I got a gentle poke in the ribs
and the salutation, "Hola, amigo I Quetal?" This from the patriotic and big-hearted
Dr. Xeres y Burgos,' "the friars' friend," whom I had known in Manila for some time.
Almost opposite Dr. Xeres, I recognized Chaplain Miller, of the Fourth Cavalry, the
broadest of parsons and the best of fellows. And when, at last, I sat down, it was
to find in my right-hand neighbor another friend. Thus it is in the Philippines-one
gets to know everybody.
In the good old days when expeditions sallied forth to conquer islands and things, I
suppose they experienced all kinds of hardships, were very uncomfortable, and all
that sort of thing; but as I looked along the table, lighted and fanned by electricity,
furnished with an unlimited amount of that great Philippine luxury, icewater and
supplied from the refrigerator with American fowls and meats, vegetables and
fruits, I felt that things had changed. It was very pleasant, but it upset one's notions
about war. There was not even a suggestion of war. It reminded me of what I saw
in Angeles when General MacArthur took me round the firing-line and I saw hot
soup, beef, potatoes, and rice-pudding being served to the men from a carabao
cart. Imagine it! Hot dinner served on the firing-line! I have seen a good deal of the
United States army in the Philippines, and I am convinced of one thing-that it is the
best fed, the best paid, and the best supplied army on earth.
The Indiana did not get under way until late that night, but the cool, delightful
breeze kept most of us a wake until the Cavite lights had gone out and the steady
glare of Corregidor was far astern. Then, the cabins being insufferably hot, we
brought up our blankets, and camped under the stars. On the port side, so close
that we could hear the unseasonable crowing of cocks and barking of dogs, and
could catch the subtle, earthy odor which rises with the night dew, rose the bold
shore of Cavite Province. Soon all was quiet. Nothing but the regular throb of the
engines and a gentle rustle over the bow gave evidence that the vessel was
moving. It seemed as if she were feeling her way along the coast alone. Early next
morning we dropped anchor in the Bay of Batangas, in sight of Taal Volcano,
where we remained three days discharging commissary and quartermaster's
supplies.
Though Batangas is the second port in Luzon, there were absolutely no facilities for
loading or unloading vessels. Everything was landed on the beach in long, narrow
dugouts-three armed guards and four boxes being the usual load. Batangas is
called the worst town in the worst province. The people are Tagalogs, rather
darker than those of the middle provinces, and decidedly less reconcilable to
American rule. With Dr. Xeres I visited the leading natives of the town, and, owing
to my companion, I had an opportunity of hearing a truthful expression of their
views. All, even though they were under military protection, and diplomatically
professed friendship, were most bitter in their denunciation of the Americans. It
was patent that these people, like the majority of the inhabitants of Luzon,
submitted only when there was no alternative; and that in their hearts enmity
toward the white race, for it is no longer solely the American, is strong. Seven
months, I believe, the town had been occupied by United States forces, and yet the
greater part of the people were still in the mountains; no municipal government had
been established, for no one would accept office; schools were unthought of,
guerrilla warfare was rife throughout the province, and no white man was safe• one
hundred yards beyond the outposts. It. is such things as these, such glimpses of
native sentiment as this, that make one believe that an army, aye, and no small
one, will be necessary in the Philippines for a generation to come. Batangas,
before the last insurrection, was a rich town, the center of-the best sugar district in
Luzon, and also the largest coffee-growing district. Batangas coffee is of excellent
quality, only equaled by the Benguet product. At the time of my visit, however,
most of the coffee plantations were ruined-partly by neglect brought on by war, but
principally by the visitation of an insect which killed the trees; sugar production had
been reduced by more than one-half, and the population of the town had shrunk
from twenty thousand to three thousand. While we were being driven through the
grass-grown side streets, we came upon a part which had been burned, and we
asked our driver about it.
"No," he said, "it was not an accidental fire. The Americans had done it." " What for
?" I inquired. " I do not know, senor," he replied. " It is not possible that so many
houses would be destroyed without good reasons." " But it is true, senor. All they
found was one soldier lying between the houses." "An American soldier ?" " Yes,
senor." "Was he wounded?" "No, senor, he was not wounded. He had no head."
This was by no means a joke-for the Filipino is not given to joking-but was told us in
the most grave, matter-of-fact way.
The utility of that homely, snail-like, exasperating but indispensable animal, the
carabao, was clearly exemplified in Batangas. The beasts were harnessed to rude
bamboo rafts furnished with runners and freighted with raw sugar, and driven down
the river to the sea. In the shallow parts of the stream they dragged the rafts; in
the deeps they swam. Nor did they stop at the river-mouth, but continued along the
shore until they reached the landing bancas. A carabao, with only its nose and
horns out of water, towing a pile of sugar with a half-naked boy perched atop of it,
who steers with a line made fast to the animal's nose-ring, is a novel and an
amusing sight. By using the riverbed instead of the poor roads, the native brings all
the powers of his amphibious beast of burden into play, and saves himself a good
deal of time and trouble. In such ways, in anything which will lighten his own labor,
the Filipino is ingenuity itself.
While we lay in Batangas Harbor, the United States ship Helena and the gunboat
Villalobos came in and anchored near us. It soon became known that these two
ships of war were to accompany us, and that the expedition's first work was to
take the island of Marinduque. What opposition the insurrectionists, who had a
government of their own for nearly two years, were likely to offer no one knew. It
was reported, however, that the beach near Boac, the capital, was well intrenched,
and that the most determined fighters in the island were there to be found. Toward
Boac, therefore, the three vessels were headed, the Helena being in the lead and
the Villalobos following us.
The cloud-bank which at daybreak next morning darkened the east became land
when the sun rose behind it; at seven o'clock it was a tropical island teeming with
vegetation, and right ahead of us lay a strip of yellow beach with a cluster of nipa-
thatched houses nestling beneath a roof of tossing cocoa-palms. By the time the
anchors of the little fleet went rattling to the bottom of the bay the line of trenches
was visible, and we could see many white-shirte'd figures scurrying about among
the trees; also a solitary man on horseback. As" B " and" C" companies piled into
the landing boats, there was not a little excitement, and the burning question of the
hour was, " Will they fight?" Before a start was made, however, a lone native came
running down to the end of the sand-spit, and, mounting an overturned banca, he
took off his white trousers (his only garment) and waved them at us. At this the
hopes of the Twenty-ninth died; for, although a man who takes off his coat may
mean war, he who unbreeches himself is invariably pacific. Notwithstanding the
novel flag of truce, the landing was made according to the original plan, and a very
pretty landing it was, in spite of the fact that not a shot was fired. Led by Colonel
Hardin, the men leaped from the boats as they neared the shore, and, deploying,
they took the trenches both on the flank and in the rear. Then, with a shrill and
distinctively American yell, the Stars and Stripes went up, and the rule of the
insurrectos in Marinduque was ended. It was all very pretty, but, unfortunately, as
the Twentyninth said, very tame. It was neither as exciting as a sham battle at
Aldershot, nor as interesting as a comic opera, though it was suggestive of both.
As we marched through the pretty village of Lai Lai, in the shade of a lofty palm
grove, the few people who had not fled hastily threw out little white flags, shirts,
handkerchiefs, chemises, floursacks, any rag, indeed, that was or had once been
white. Except this show of fear, they made no demonstration whatever, and it was
impossible to judge from their appearance what our reception would be at Boac,
which lies three miles inland. Everywhere as we progressed we found model
trenches and other evidences that a determined resistance had been planned; but
since these model trenches were empty, and the scouts and flankers stirred up
nothing more than a few grazing carabaos, it was also evident that the plans at the
last moment had been abandoned.
In all parts of the Philippines it is the same. Trenches, splendid ones, guard the
seacoasts, the
roads, the towns, the river-crossings, and the mountain passes; the work that has
been done in thus preparing for war is, for these people, enormous, and at the
same time ridiculous; for if they do not leave their defenses before the enemy's
approach, which is usually the case, the first American yell produces a vision of
flying shirt-tails. When one sees the magnificent opportunities the Filipinos have
had, and thrown away, it quite makes one out of patience with them. Bravery, even
though it be wrongly applied, has ever in it something admirable, but one can have
nothing bu.t contempt for the man who is both a fool and a coward.
An hour's march along a road arched with glossy mangoes and nangkas, cocoa
and betel palms, bread-fruit, cacao, coffee, pomegranate, a species of citrus laden
with large green spheres, and other profitable fruit-trees, with occasional glimpses
of rice-flats and hills of foliage, and sundry bursts of color from the poincianas and
hibiscus, brought us to the charming little town of Boac. At first we thought it
deserted, for the streets and the square were empty and every door and window
closed; but we had hardly come to this conclusion when we were hailed from an
upper window in our own tongue and welcomed to the town by an Englishman-the
inevitable Englishman. Inevitable, because it does seem as if he were not to be
avoided. Probe into the heart of the darkest continent, land on the most desolate
island, explore the least-known region, climb the highest peak or descend the
ocean depths, and an Englishman rises before you and, in the most matter-of-fact
way and with an unmistakable accent, bids you good-day. The Boac Englishman,
being of a speculative turn, had sailed over from Luzon in an open boat with $5,000
in silver (300 Ibs.) for the purpose of buying hemp before the ports were opened.
After fighting a school of sharks en route and passing thirty-six hours without food,
water, or shelter, he arrived off the beach at Lai Lai and was at once made a
prisoner. In this condition he had remained until our arrival, when he was placed in
the house of the richest native as a protector; the natives knowing well that a house
with a white man in it would neither be fired upon nor sacked. To the credit of the
natives of Marinduque it must be said that, though guarded, he was allowed to
carry on his business and was not robbed of a single cent.
In the rapid search that was made of the town, a few old muzzle-loading rifles and
flint-locks were found, a great store of new bows and arrows, and an evil-looking
Recoleto friar, who had been held prisoner for two years. As soon as they could be
found, messengers were dispatched to the neighboring country with assurances of
good will and promises of protection to all those who would return to their houses.
The next day the frightened inhabitants began to come in, and within three days, by
means of a diplomatic correspondence opened up between Colonel Hardin and the
representatives of the so-called Filipino Government, Martin Lardizabal, the
Governor, appeared. A conference was held aboard the Helena, which resulted in
four out of five of the island towns-being peacefully surrendered. Santa Cruz, the
remaining town, was taken without opposition by Major Case, who marched across
the island, while the fleet sailed round to the same point.
While these things were going on, I had an opportunity of seeing something of
Marinduque. The island rises in the center of a number of tree-clad mountains, and
is throughout a delightful jumble of vales and peaks of surpassing greenness and
beauty. Roughly speaking, it is about twenty-five miles square. It is divided into five
townships-Boac, Santa Cruz, Mogpog, Gasan, and Torrijos-and has some forty-
five thousand inhabitants, all of whom are Tagalogs, though their language is
slightly mixed with Visayan and Bicol. Unlike the Tagalogs of Luzon, however, the
people are a peaceful, humble lot, submissive to authority, and unusually diligent.
They are, moreover, lighter colored and physically superior to their tribal relatives.
In many respects, indeed, Marinduque is an exceptional island. The chief product,
hemp, is of a quality unequaled in the archipelago. It is known as " kilot," and is an
unusually fine, white, and strong fiber, which brings five to six dollars more per picul
than ordinary hemp. Kilot is used wholly for weaving into fabrics. Primitive hand-
looms can be seen in most of the houses, and the greater part of the clothes worn
are made by the women from material woven by themselves. Marinduque also
produces a fair quantity of rice, copra (dried coconut), and arrowroot. Though the
island has never been prospected for minerals, and the natives are ignorant on the
subject, it is asserted that copper, gold, and lead are to be found in the mountains.
I was shown specimens of galena which proved the existence of one large vein.
Hot sulfurous springs, which are panaceas for native ailments, exist in many parts,
and petroleum, also, is said to be present. Caves of great size are common, not
only in Marinduque, but in the adjacent islands. In the group known as the Three
Kings, Gaspar is said to be undermined by one immense cavern. From the many
skeletons discovered in these caves it is generally supposed that in some former
age they were used as burial-places; and the gold fillings in the teeth of the
skeletons, the gold ornaments made in the shape of a leaf, and various kinds of
pottery also found seem to point to an ancient civilization of no mean order. At least
they open up a world of speculation. The island abounds in animal and bird life-of
pigeons alone there are thirty species-and the butterflies were especially
noticeable.
In the way of architecture, the most interesting thing in Marinduque is the old
fortified church and convento at Boac, which occupies the summit of a small hill in
the center of the town, It was built about 1690, under the direction of the friars, as
a protection against the piratical Moros, who until within almost recent years looked
upon these outlying islands as their lawful prey. It is less than thirty years in fact,
since these sea-robbers last landed in Marinduque and looted the town of Santa
Cruz. Within the massive walls of this island fort, which was intended to be both
cannon and earthquake proof, the entire population of the town can be gathered. It
is one of the most picturesque structures in the Philippines, thoroughly mediaeval in
design as well as in appearance; for the ravages of a moist, tropical climate have
clothed it with a growth of parasites, mellowed and aged it far beyond its years.
The church within the walls is a fine large building in excellent repair. Twice during
my stay in Boac I slept on its fine hardwood floor, with the gaudy pyramid of
wooden images that backed the altar in front of me, a famous black Christ to my
left, and on my right, done in wax, a veritable chamber of horrors.
In spite of its well-appointed church, however, Boac had been without a priest for
several months. The last incumbent, a native, had robbed the people to such an
extent that they had forcibly ejected him. Not content with the usual church fees,
which in such a parish must have been large, he instituted a system of fines, one,
for instance, for coming into church late, and forced payment by refusing to
confess, absolve, or perform any religious rite until the fines were paid. He was
worse, the people said, even than the friar before him. As a punishment for this
wickedness, the Archbishop of Manila had excommunicated the whole parish; and
the people, overjoyed at the freedom thus given, then declared themselves in favor
of an American minister. They said freely that they did not care whether he was a
Catholic or a Protestant or anything else so long as he could perform the
baptismal, marriage, and burial ceremonies. All whom I talked with stated that
they were willing to welcome anyone but a "fraile." To this one thing, if to nothing
else, the Filipino is constant-his hatred of the friars.
While riding along the sandy, palmfringed road to Gasan one morning, I noticed
several men pass with great cane pitchers hooked over their shoulders, and I
asked my guide what they contained. Upon learning that it was tuba, the common
drink of the island, I expressed a wish to try it. We pulled up, therefore, at the next
house in a coconut grove, and I seated myself in the grateful shadow of the fanlike
foliage, while one of the numerous boys of the household, with a bamboo slung
over his shoulder, went aloft. Grasping the trunk of the palm with his hands and
placing his feet in the notches cut in both sides of the tree, he climbed or rather
walked up a perpendicular fifty-foot bole with as little exertion, apparently, as we
would have in going up-stairs. Just below the great shining leaves' there ran from
tree-top to tree-top, and thus connected the 'whole group, a double row of
bamboos-the lower one to walk on, the upper to serve as a handrail. By this means
the little tuba gatherer sped from one tree to another, emptying each receiver he
came to until his own measure was full. Then he came down, and, after the flies
and insects had been strained out by means of a bunch of hemp, I had my first
taste of tuba. It is not at all an unpleasant drink when fresh; something like small-
beer-a little sharp and yet sweet. Though its natural color is a milky white, it
becomes brown when a ferment is used with it. Tuba is the sap of the cocoa-palm,
and is obtained by cutting off a leaf within a foot or so of the trunk and tying a
bamboo receiver on the end. In Marinduque it is customary to place a small
quantity of powdered bichi bark in the receiver, so that as the sap drips it also
ferments. The end of the cut leaf requires occasional trimming, lest the pores clog
and nature should heal the wound; but beyond this no care is necessary. The
contented native sits en cuclillas (on his heels) in the shade of his grove, chews his
beloved betel, and thinks (oh! happy mortal) of nothing. Meanwhile the fruit falls to
his hand, his wife works, and free beer is always on tap.
" How," I asked my host, whose name was Anastasio, " how do you live ?" He
answered nothing, but pointed with his lips (a common Filipino fashion) to the trees
above.
"Is it possible that you can keep a family, and I see you have a horse as well, on
so small a grove as this? You cannot have more than two hundred trees." " It is
possible, senior." " What sized family have you ?" "Nine children [he checked them
off on his fingers], my wife, my wife's sister, my son's wife and baby, and a cousin
altogether fourteen." "How much money do your trees bring you in during the year
?" "I do not know, senor, but sufficient." " And you are contented ?" His little black
eyes opened with indolent surprise; then, slowly emptying his mouth of a lake of
red saliva, he inquired, "Why not?"
Yes, indeed, "why not?" His innocent question set me thinking. Two hundred
coconut-trees gave Anastasio and his large family food, drink, raiment, and shelter.
His house, save for the strip bamboo floor, which he cut from the clump across the
road, was thatched and fashioned wholly from his own palms. They gave him oil for
frying and for anointing the family hair, fiber for ropes, material for petates and
hats, husks for fuel, and tuba to exchange with the fisherman for fish and to drink
his own and his friends' health. The sale of the green nuts and the copra furnished
him with enough money to buy rice, hemp, and cotton for his wife's loom, a few
luxuries, and still left him a little to gamble with. Half a dozen betel palms, a few
buyo vines, and lime burned from the coral rocks of the beach gave him the
materials for his indispensable chew; his salt he evaporated from sea-water; his
fowls and pigs grew fat and multiplied upon food supplied by nature; his children
needed no clothes; he and his wife little more. He had no fear of hunger, nor of
thirst, nor of cold; no weight of cares or responsibilities; no religious doubts or, for
that matter, beliefs to trouble him; no hope for "better things;" no fretting ambition,
no restless energy to wear him out, not even a conscience. "Contented!” I said to
myself as I mounted my pony and rode away. " Yes, indeed. Why not?"
New York City
August 18, 1900
The Occupation of Marinduque
By Phelps Whitmarsh
Special Commissioner for The Outlook in the Philippines
AFTER a man has given the romantic years of his life to the sea, has served a full
apprenticeship, and has earned the title of "sailor," he never feels the heave and
send of even the smallest of craft beneath him that he does not at once become
confident, and at once become what we call "at home." And to the man who has
forsaken his boyish ideal and taken up the more complicated life of a landsman,
every whiff of salt water stirs his memory as no perfume can, revives his romance,
makes him a boy again. More than all, perhaps, is the comforting knowledge that
he and the sea understand each other-that they are old friends. It was with much
content, therefore, that, after so much of the mountains and the plains, I found
myself aboard the transport Indiana, leaving the sweltering Bay of Manila for a
cruise to the southward. I say" cruise" because our ports were by no means
definite, nor could they well be so; for, in addition to landing army supplies at
various points, we carried an expeditionary force-a battalion of the Twenty-ninth
Infantry, U. S. V., and, though the orders were supposed to be secret, we all knew
that they were going out to take islands. What and where these islands were we
did not know; but it was certain that the vessel was under Colonel Hardin's orders
until the mysterious islands were in American hands. All of which was rather
interesting.
At the long table in the saloon some sixty of us sat down to dinner. We were
placed in the usual military fashion, according to rank. The Colonel and the ship's
captain had the head of the table, and then, in turn, came the majors, the captains,
the lieutenants, the "contract" doctors, the interpreter and Visayan pilot, and, lastly,
the few civilians not connected with the expedition.
"Hello, Benguet I" said a voice as I was passing to my seat. It was Lieutenant
Fuqua, under whose escort our party had passed through northern Benguet, and
whose blanket I had shared on not a few cold nights. "Well, tramp! Bet you don't
remember me," said the next man, holding out his hand. " I think I do. Dr.
Herrmann, isn't it ? Met you in Cuba. You gave me a much needed breakfast at
Sancti Spiritus at the smallpox hospital a year or so ago." " Yes. I have a pencil-
sketch of your beautiful mule still." A little further on I got a gentle poke in the ribs
and the salutation, "Hola, amigo I Quetal?" This from the patriotic and big-hearted
Dr. Xeres y Burgos,' "the friars' friend," whom I had known in Manila for some time.
Almost opposite Dr. Xeres, I recognized Chaplain Miller, of the Fourth Cavalry, the
broadest of parsons and the best of fellows. And when, at last, I sat down, it was
to find in my right-hand neighbor another friend. Thus it is in the Philippines-one
gets to know everybody.
In the good old days when expeditions sallied forth to conquer islands and things, I
suppose they experienced all kinds of hardships, were very uncomfortable, and all
that sort of thing; but as I looked along the table, lighted and fanned by electricity,
furnished with an unlimited amount of that great Philippine luxury, icewater and
supplied from the refrigerator with American fowls and meats, vegetables and
fruits, I felt that things had changed. It was very pleasant, but it upset one's notions
about war. There was not even a suggestion of war. It reminded me of what I saw
in Angeles when General MacArthur took me round the firing-line and I saw hot
soup, beef, potatoes, and rice-pudding being served to the men from a carabao
cart. Imagine it! Hot dinner served on the firing-line! I have seen a good deal of the
United States army in the Philippines, and I am convinced of one thing-that it is the
best fed, the best paid, and the best supplied army on earth.
The Indiana did not get under way until late that night, but the cool, delightful
breeze kept most of us a wake until the Cavite lights had gone out and the steady
glare of Corregidor was far astern. Then, the cabins being insufferably hot, we
brought up our blankets, and camped under the stars. On the port side, so close
that we could hear the unseasonable crowing of cocks and barking of dogs, and
could catch the subtle, earthy odor which rises with the night dew, rose the bold
shore of Cavite Province. Soon all was quiet. Nothing but the regular throb of the
engines and a gentle rustle over the bow gave evidence that the vessel was
moving. It seemed as if she were feeling her way along the coast alone. Early next
morning we dropped anchor in the Bay of Batangas, in sight of Taal Volcano,
where we remained three days discharging commissary and quartermaster's
supplies.
Though Batangas is the second port in Luzon, there were absolutely no facilities for
loading or unloading vessels. Everything was landed on the beach in long, narrow
dugouts-three armed guards and four boxes being the usual load. Batangas is
called the worst town in the worst province. The people are Tagalogs, rather
darker than those of the middle provinces, and decidedly less reconcilable to
American rule. With Dr. Xeres I visited the leading natives of the town, and, owing
to my companion, I had an opportunity of hearing a truthful expression of their
views. All, even though they were under military protection, and diplomatically
professed friendship, were most bitter in their denunciation of the Americans. It
was patent that these people, like the majority of the inhabitants of Luzon,
submitted only when there was no alternative; and that in their hearts enmity
toward the white race, for it is no longer solely the American, is strong. Seven
months, I believe, the town had been occupied by United States forces, and yet the
greater part of the people were still in the mountains; no municipal government had
been established, for no one would accept office; schools were unthought of,
guerrilla warfare was rife throughout the province, and no white man was safe• one
hundred yards beyond the outposts. It. is such things as these, such glimpses of
native sentiment as this, that make one believe that an army, aye, and no small
one, will be necessary in the Philippines for a generation to come. Batangas,
before the last insurrection, was a rich town, the center of-the best sugar district in
Luzon, and also the largest coffee-growing district. Batangas coffee is of excellent
quality, only equaled by the Benguet product. At the time of my visit, however,
most of the coffee plantations were ruined-partly by neglect brought on by war, but
principally by the visitation of an insect which killed the trees; sugar production had
been reduced by more than one-half, and the population of the town had shrunk
from twenty thousand to three thousand. While we were being driven through the
grass-grown side streets, we came upon a part which had been burned, and we
asked our driver about it.
"No," he said, "it was not an accidental fire. The Americans had done it." " What for
?" I inquired. " I do not know, senor," he replied. " It is not possible that so many
houses would be destroyed without good reasons." " But it is true, senor. All they
found was one soldier lying between the houses." "An American soldier ?" " Yes,
senor." "Was he wounded?" "No, senor, he was not wounded. He had no head."
This was by no means a joke-for the Filipino is not given to joking-but was told us in
the most grave, matter-of-fact way.
The utility of that homely, snail-like, exasperating but indispensable animal, the
carabao, was clearly exemplified in Batangas. The beasts were harnessed to rude
bamboo rafts furnished with runners and freighted with raw sugar, and driven down
the river to the sea. In the shallow parts of the stream they dragged the rafts; in
the deeps they swam. Nor did they stop at the river-mouth, but continued along the
shore until they reached the landing bancas. A carabao, with only its nose and
horns out of water, towing a pile of sugar with a half-naked boy perched atop of it,
who steers with a line made fast to the animal's nose-ring, is a novel and an
amusing sight. By using the riverbed instead of the poor roads, the native brings all
the powers of his amphibious beast of burden into play, and saves himself a good
deal of time and trouble. In such ways, in anything which will lighten his own labor,
the Filipino is ingenuity itself.
While we lay in Batangas Harbor, the United States ship Helena and the gunboat
Villalobos came in and anchored near us. It soon became known that these two
ships of war were to accompany us, and that the expedition's first work was to
take the island of Marinduque. What opposition the insurrectionists, who had a
government of their own for nearly two years, were likely to offer no one knew. It
was reported, however, that the beach near Boac, the capital, was well intrenched,
and that the most determined fighters in the island were there to be found. Toward
Boac, therefore, the three vessels were headed, the Helena being in the lead and
the Villalobos following us.
The cloud-bank which at daybreak next morning darkened the east became land
when the sun rose behind it; at seven o'clock it was a tropical island teeming with
vegetation, and right ahead of us lay a strip of yellow beach with a cluster of nipa-
thatched houses nestling beneath a roof of tossing cocoa-palms. By the time the
anchors of the little fleet went rattling to the bottom of the bay the line of trenches
was visible, and we could see many white-shirte'd figures scurrying about among
the trees; also a solitary man on horseback. As" B " and" C" companies piled into
the landing boats, there was not a little excitement, and the burning question of the
hour was, " Will they fight?" Before a start was made, however, a lone native came
running down to the end of the sand-spit, and, mounting an overturned banca, he
took off his white trousers (his only garment) and waved them at us. At this the
hopes of the Twenty-ninth died; for, although a man who takes off his coat may
mean war, he who unbreeches himself is invariably pacific. Notwithstanding the
novel flag of truce, the landing was made according to the original plan, and a very
pretty landing it was, in spite of the fact that not a shot was fired. Led by Colonel
Hardin, the men leaped from the boats as they neared the shore, and, deploying,
they took the trenches both on the flank and in the rear. Then, with a shrill and
distinctively American yell, the Stars and Stripes went up, and the rule of the
insurrectos in Marinduque was ended. It was all very pretty, but, unfortunately, as
the Twentyninth said, very tame. It was neither as exciting as a sham battle at
Aldershot, nor as interesting as a comic opera, though it was suggestive of both.
As we marched through the pretty village of Lai Lai, in the shade of a lofty palm
grove, the few people who had not fled hastily threw out little white flags, shirts,
handkerchiefs, chemises, floursacks, any rag, indeed, that was or had once been
white. Except this show of fear, they made no demonstration whatever, and it was
impossible to judge from their appearance what our reception would be at Boac,
which lies three miles inland. Everywhere as we progressed we found model
trenches and other evidences that a determined resistance had been planned; but
since these model trenches were empty, and the scouts and flankers stirred up
nothing more than a few grazing carabaos, it was also evident that the plans at the
last moment had been abandoned.
In all parts of the Philippines it is the same. Trenches, splendid ones, guard the
seacoasts, the
roads, the towns, the river-crossings, and the mountain passes; the work that has
been done in thus preparing for war is, for these people, enormous, and at the
same time ridiculous; for if they do not leave their defenses before the enemy's
approach, which is usually the case, the first American yell produces a vision of
flying shirt-tails. When one sees the magnificent opportunities the Filipinos have
had, and thrown away, it quite makes one out of patience with them. Bravery, even
though it be wrongly applied, has ever in it something admirable, but one can have
nothing bu.t contempt for the man who is both a fool and a coward.
An hour's march along a road arched with glossy mangoes and nangkas, cocoa
and betel palms, bread-fruit, cacao, coffee, pomegranate, a species of citrus laden
with large green spheres, and other profitable fruit-trees, with occasional glimpses
of rice-flats and hills of foliage, and sundry bursts of color from the poincianas and
hibiscus, brought us to the charming little town of Boac. At first we thought it
deserted, for the streets and the square were empty and every door and window
closed; but we had hardly come to this conclusion when we were hailed from an
upper window in our own tongue and welcomed to the town by an Englishman-the
inevitable Englishman. Inevitable, because it does seem as if he were not to be
avoided. Probe into the heart of the darkest continent, land on the most desolate
island, explore the least-known region, climb the highest peak or descend the
ocean depths, and an Englishman rises before you and, in the most matter-of-fact
way and with an unmistakable accent, bids you good-day. The Boac Englishman,
being of a speculative turn, had sailed over from Luzon in an open boat with $5,000
in silver (300 Ibs.) for the purpose of buying hemp before the ports were opened.
After fighting a school of sharks en route and passing thirty-six hours without food,
water, or shelter, he arrived off the beach at Lai Lai and was at once made a
prisoner. In this condition he had remained until our arrival, when he was placed in
the house of the richest native as a protector; the natives knowing well that a house
with a white man in it would neither be fired upon nor sacked. To the credit of the
natives of Marinduque it must be said that, though guarded, he was allowed to
carry on his business and was not robbed of a single cent.
In the rapid search that was made of the town, a few old muzzle-loading rifles and
flint-locks were found, a great store of new bows and arrows, and an evil-looking
Recoleto friar, who had been held prisoner for two years. As soon as they could be
found, messengers were dispatched to the neighboring country with assurances of
good will and promises of protection to all those who would return to their houses.
The next day the frightened inhabitants began to come in, and within three days, by
means of a diplomatic correspondence opened up between Colonel Hardin and the
representatives of the so-called Filipino Government, Martin Lardizabal, the
Governor, appeared. A conference was held aboard the Helena, which resulted in
four out of five of the island towns-being peacefully surrendered. Santa Cruz, the
remaining town, was taken without opposition by Major Case, who marched across
the island, while the fleet sailed round to the same point.
While these things were going on, I had an opportunity of seeing something of
Marinduque. The island rises in the center of a number of tree-clad mountains, and
is throughout a delightful jumble of vales and peaks of surpassing greenness and
beauty. Roughly speaking, it is about twenty-five miles square. It is divided into five
townships-Boac, Santa Cruz, Mogpog, Gasan, and Torrijos-and has some forty-
five thousand inhabitants, all of whom are Tagalogs, though their language is
slightly mixed with Visayan and Bicol. Unlike the Tagalogs of Luzon, however, the
people are a peaceful, humble lot, submissive to authority, and unusually diligent.
They are, moreover, lighter colored and physically superior to their tribal relatives.
In many respects, indeed, Marinduque is an exceptional island. The chief product,
hemp, is of a quality unequaled in the archipelago. It is known as " kilot," and is an
unusually fine, white, and strong fiber, which brings five to six dollars more per picul
than ordinary hemp. Kilot is used wholly for weaving into fabrics. Primitive hand-
looms can be seen in most of the houses, and the greater part of the clothes worn
are made by the women from material woven by themselves. Marinduque also
produces a fair quantity of rice, copra (dried coconut), and arrowroot. Though the
island has never been prospected for minerals, and the natives are ignorant on the
subject, it is asserted that copper, gold, and lead are to be found in the mountains.
I was shown specimens of galena which proved the existence of one large vein.
Hot sulfurous springs, which are panaceas for native ailments, exist in many parts,
and petroleum, also, is said to be present. Caves of great size are common, not
only in Marinduque, but in the adjacent islands. In the group known as the Three
Kings, Gaspar is said to be undermined by one immense cavern. From the many
skeletons discovered in these caves it is generally supposed that in some former
age they were used as burial-places; and the gold fillings in the teeth of the
skeletons, the gold ornaments made in the shape of a leaf, and various kinds of
pottery also found seem to point to an ancient civilization of no mean order. At least
they open up a world of speculation. The island abounds in animal and bird life-of
pigeons alone there are thirty species-and the butterflies were especially
noticeable.
In the way of architecture, the most interesting thing in Marinduque is the old
fortified church and convento at Boac, which occupies the summit of a small hill in
the center of the town, It was built about 1690, under the direction of the friars, as
a protection against the piratical Moros, who until within almost recent years looked
upon these outlying islands as their lawful prey. It is less than thirty years in fact,
since these sea-robbers last landed in Marinduque and looted the town of Santa
Cruz. Within the massive walls of this island fort, which was intended to be both
cannon and earthquake proof, the entire population of the town can be gathered. It
is one of the most picturesque structures in the Philippines, thoroughly mediaeval in
design as well as in appearance; for the ravages of a moist, tropical climate have
clothed it with a growth of parasites, mellowed and aged it far beyond its years.
The church within the walls is a fine large building in excellent repair. Twice during
my stay in Boac I slept on its fine hardwood floor, with the gaudy pyramid of
wooden images that backed the altar in front of me, a famous black Christ to my
left, and on my right, done in wax, a veritable chamber of horrors.
In spite of its well-appointed church, however, Boac had been without a priest for
several months. The last incumbent, a native, had robbed the people to such an
extent that they had forcibly ejected him. Not content with the usual church fees,
which in such a parish must have been large, he instituted a system of fines, one,
for instance, for coming into church late, and forced payment by refusing to
confess, absolve, or perform any religious rite until the fines were paid. He was
worse, the people said, even than the friar before him. As a punishment for this
wickedness, the Archbishop of Manila had excommunicated the whole parish; and
the people, overjoyed at the freedom thus given, then declared themselves in favor
of an American minister. They said freely that they did not care whether he was a
Catholic or a Protestant or anything else so long as he could perform the
baptismal, marriage, and burial ceremonies. All whom I talked with stated that
they were willing to welcome anyone but a "fraile." To this one thing, if to nothing
else, the Filipino is constant-his hatred of the friars.
While riding along the sandy, palmfringed road to Gasan one morning, I noticed
several men pass with great cane pitchers hooked over their shoulders, and I
asked my guide what they contained. Upon learning that it was tuba, the common
drink of the island, I expressed a wish to try it. We pulled up, therefore, at the next
house in a coconut grove, and I seated myself in the grateful shadow of the fanlike
foliage, while one of the numerous boys of the household, with a bamboo slung
over his shoulder, went aloft. Grasping the trunk of the palm with his hands and
placing his feet in the notches cut in both sides of the tree, he climbed or rather
walked up a perpendicular fifty-foot bole with as little exertion, apparently, as we
would have in going up-stairs. Just below the great shining leaves' there ran from
tree-top to tree-top, and thus connected the 'whole group, a double row of
bamboos-the lower one to walk on, the upper to serve as a handrail. By this means
the little tuba gatherer sped from one tree to another, emptying each receiver he
came to until his own measure was full. Then he came down, and, after the flies
and insects had been strained out by means of a bunch of hemp, I had my first
taste of tuba. It is not at all an unpleasant drink when fresh; something like small-
beer-a little sharp and yet sweet. Though its natural color is a milky white, it
becomes brown when a ferment is used with it. Tuba is the sap of the cocoa-palm,
and is obtained by cutting off a leaf within a foot or so of the trunk and tying a
bamboo receiver on the end. In Marinduque it is customary to place a small
quantity of powdered bichi bark in the receiver, so that as the sap drips it also
ferments. The end of the cut leaf requires occasional trimming, lest the pores clog
and nature should heal the wound; but beyond this no care is necessary. The
contented native sits en cuclillas (on his heels) in the shade of his grove, chews his
beloved betel, and thinks (oh! happy mortal) of nothing. Meanwhile the fruit falls to
his hand, his wife works, and free beer is always on tap.
" How," I asked my host, whose name was Anastasio, " how do you live ?" He
answered nothing, but pointed with his lips (a common Filipino fashion) to the trees
above.
"Is it possible that you can keep a family, and I see you have a horse as well, on
so small a grove as this? You cannot have more than two hundred trees." " It is
possible, senior." " What sized family have you ?" "Nine children [he checked them
off on his fingers], my wife, my wife's sister, my son's wife and baby, and a cousin
altogether fourteen." "How much money do your trees bring you in during the year
?" "I do not know, senor, but sufficient." " And you are contented ?" His little black
eyes opened with indolent surprise; then, slowly emptying his mouth of a lake of
red saliva, he inquired, "Why not?"
Yes, indeed, "why not?" His innocent question set me thinking. Two hundred
coconut-trees gave Anastasio and his large family food, drink, raiment, and shelter.
His house, save for the strip bamboo floor, which he cut from the clump across the
road, was thatched and fashioned wholly from his own palms. They gave him oil for
frying and for anointing the family hair, fiber for ropes, material for petates and
hats, husks for fuel, and tuba to exchange with the fisherman for fish and to drink
his own and his friends' health. The sale of the green nuts and the copra furnished
him with enough money to buy rice, hemp, and cotton for his wife's loom, a few
luxuries, and still left him a little to gamble with. Half a dozen betel palms, a few
buyo vines, and lime burned from the coral rocks of the beach gave him the
materials for his indispensable chew; his salt he evaporated from sea-water; his
fowls and pigs grew fat and multiplied upon food supplied by nature; his children
needed no clothes; he and his wife little more. He had no fear of hunger, nor of
thirst, nor of cold; no weight of cares or responsibilities; no religious doubts or, for
that matter, beliefs to trouble him; no hope for "better things;" no fretting ambition,
no restless energy to wear him out, not even a conscience. "Contented!” I said to
myself as I mounted my pony and rode away. " Yes, indeed. Why not?"
The Daily Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin May 23 1901
SOLDIER'S LETTER FROM PHILIPPINES
Charles Caniff, a Janesville boy, Writes of Scenes and Incidents at Boac
Boac Marinduque P.I. April 14, 1901
Editor Gazette- As there is a little news out of the ordinary I will try and let you know what I
can about it. The Filipino Peace Commission of Judge Taft of Cincinnati, O., president,
several regular officers and several representatives of the islands besides members from
several European nations, were here this afternoon inspecting the barracks and listening
to the band concert when they adjourned to the transport Sumner, which is at their
disposal.
Two officers of the garrison here have been out for two days rounding up the presidents
of the different cities and villages on the island also several insurgent leaders and they all
expect to meet here, in Boac, tomorrow and hold a session to discuss the future of the
island and it's form of government.
March 15 - Well the peace commissioners have gone and I guess did not transact much
business as some of the village presidents and insurgent leaders were not notified in time,
so they did not get here.
The commissioners and their ladies were given a banquet this noon in the officer's
quarters and it seemed good again to see an American woman. I have seen women of all
nationalities since leaving home but none to compare with the American woman.
We had two fairly brisk skirmishes in the last two weeks and succeeded in killing
twenty-five or thirty natives besides wounding a good many and capturing several rifles
and ammunition, one of the rifles being a Krag-Jorgensen that the Insurgents got when
the captured F Co. of the 29th U.S.V.
We had one man killed and four wounded, but your humble servant has been able to
dodge them so far, although they have come too close for amusement some times.
We expect about two more months of this and then the rainy season will put a stop to our
mountain trip.
I received a number of Gazettes this morning and have been busy all day reading them
and finding out what going on in the old town. As there is no more news of interest I will
close with regards to all friends.
Your, CHAS. L CANNIFF Co. G 2nd Infantry
SOLDIER'S LETTER FROM PHILIPPINES
Charles Caniff, a Janesville boy, Writes of Scenes and Incidents at Boac
Boac Marinduque P.I. April 14, 1901
Editor Gazette- As there is a little news out of the ordinary I will try and let you know what I
can about it. The Filipino Peace Commission of Judge Taft of Cincinnati, O., president,
several regular officers and several representatives of the islands besides members from
several European nations, were here this afternoon inspecting the barracks and listening
to the band concert when they adjourned to the transport Sumner, which is at their
disposal.
Two officers of the garrison here have been out for two days rounding up the presidents
of the different cities and villages on the island also several insurgent leaders and they all
expect to meet here, in Boac, tomorrow and hold a session to discuss the future of the
island and it's form of government.
March 15 - Well the peace commissioners have gone and I guess did not transact much
business as some of the village presidents and insurgent leaders were not notified in time,
so they did not get here.
The commissioners and their ladies were given a banquet this noon in the officer's
quarters and it seemed good again to see an American woman. I have seen women of all
nationalities since leaving home but none to compare with the American woman.
We had two fairly brisk skirmishes in the last two weeks and succeeded in killing
twenty-five or thirty natives besides wounding a good many and capturing several rifles
and ammunition, one of the rifles being a Krag-Jorgensen that the Insurgents got when
the captured F Co. of the 29th U.S.V.
We had one man killed and four wounded, but your humble servant has been able to
dodge them so far, although they have come too close for amusement some times.
We expect about two more months of this and then the rainy season will put a stop to our
mountain trip.
I received a number of Gazettes this morning and have been busy all day reading them
and finding out what going on in the old town. As there is no more news of interest I will
close with regards to all friends.
Your, CHAS. L CANNIFF Co. G 2nd Infantry
From the book "My Army Experiences" Private Andrew Pohlman, 1st Infantry
Broadway Publishing 1906
We arrived in Manila bay October 1st. Soon after our transport anchored a
government steam launch arrived with orders for two battalions of the Ist infantry to
transfer to the transport of Sumner and sail for Marinduque island, where a captain
and fifty-four men of the 29th volunteer infantry were held prisoners by Philippine
insurgents.
OCTOBER 8th we arrived at Santa Cruz, Marinduque island, where company B.
landed and where a company of the 29th volunteers were stationed. Early the next
morning we sailed farther along the coast and landed companies F., G. and H. at
Torijos. Two gunboats, the Bennington and Villalobis, were with our expedition and
protected the landing of the soldiers, who went ashore densely packed in small
boats. The third day after we arrived our transport sailed for Gusan where
companies D., E. and fifty men of company C. were landed. At night the search
lights on the gunboat Bennington and transport Sumner were used to search the
hills for signs of the enemy or American prisoners.
October 11th company A. and the remainder of company C were transferred to the
old exSpanish ship Venus which proved to be the most filthy troop ship of any we
had previously been aboard. We sailed back along the coast about twelve miles
and anchored at Buena Vista, where we remained all night. The night was very
beautiful. There was bright moonlight and water in the bay was so calm that it
caused only a gentle rocking of the ship. The sea air in that tropical climate was
just cool enough to feel comfortable and Stroetz said it was too pleasant a night to
be sleeping, so we stood until nearly midnight at the side of the ship looking out
over the waters and engaged in pleasant conversation. In the morning several
boats went ashore' and it was rumored that General Hare had sent a message
addressed to the insurgent leader, commanding him to surrender the American
prisoners within three days' time, and that all property on the islands would be
burned or otherwise destroyed if he allowed the prisoners to be killed. From Buena
Vista we sailed back to Santa Cruz and remained three days, during which time it
rained the greater part of the time. We slept on the open deck with not much
shelter and partly for that reason were becoming very anxious to land.
October 14th we started for Boac, but when we arrived near Buena Vista we saw
a crowd of people with a white flag on shore. Boats from the Venus and
Bennington were taken to the shore and they brought back the American prisoners.
They were brought aboard the Venus and we soon heard the story of their capture
and treatment during captivity. Their captain and many of the enlisted men had
been wounded during the fight in which they were captured. One man was shot in
the face by a bullet which had first struck and glanced off from a tree. The bullet
was lodged in his neck near the jawbone where its shape I could plainly be seen
under the skin. They said they were surrounded by about eight times their own
number and after their ammunition was exhausted they saw no way for escape and
surrendered. The Americans who were killed were buried near the place where
the fight occurred. They had been held prisoners about one month, and during that
time their clothing had become worn into rags, all were barefooted and some had
no hats or shirts. Their greatest hardship was almost continuous marching over "
mountains with their captors who were in retreat before the pursuing 1st infantry.
Our transport sailed to Santa Cruz, where the released prisoners rejoined their
company.
In the morning of the following day our transport sailed for Boac where companies
A and C landed. We had been crowded aboard ships forty-six days and we were
very happy after we were again on land. After we had finished unloading our
rations and ammunition from the ship we cooked our supper and then pitched our
shelter tents on the beach where a detachment of our company remained to guard
the property until all was transported from the beach to the town of Boac. I will
never forget my feeling of enjoyment during our first evening on Philippine soil. The
sky was clear and the cool sea breeze made the night very pleasant. Our camp
was on a high and dry beach and I was certain there could be no fever there. It
was almost as good as being out with a pleasure party. Stroetz and I sat with our
rifles on the clean white sand near the edge of the water until the hour arrived when
we were to go on post for guard duty. After coming off post we crawled into our
shelter tent together and slept soundly until morning. When the last cart load of our
property left the beach our detachment also prepared to leave and I was very
much pleased when I was detailed to go with the advance guard. The road
between the beach and the town, a distance of three miles, led through a dense
cocoanut grove and we had instructions to keep a sharp lookout as it was known
that the insurgents on the islands were well supplied with rifles and ammunition.
Company A. of the 29th volunteers was stationed at Boac at the time we arrived.
Several days after we arrived at Boac a detachment of companies C. and A. of the
1st infantry and company A. of the 29th volunteers' in command of a captain
started on a march into the interior of the islands. Each man carried a poncho, rifle,
120 rounds of ammunition, a canteen and two days' rations in his haversack. We
followed the Boac river far into the mountains, crossed and recrossed it fifty-four
times during the two days. Occasionally we waded long distances in the stream
between high walls of mountains. At such places the bed of the stream was thickly
strewn with large sharp-edged stones and they caused our shoes to become worn
very fast. The first day was hard mountain climbing. The men of the 1st infantry
having lately been confined aboard ships without much exercise were not in good
condition for a hard march and some of our men fell exhausted by the side of the
trail. When relieved of the weight of their rifle and other equipments by the stronger
men they managed to struggle along until we struck camp in the evening.
An amusing incident occurred while we were cooking supper. A recruit who had not
been long in the service was grumbling, "in his own language," about the way they
throw a hunk of bacon and some hardtack at a feller for supper after hiking
twenty-five miles up the mountains. Just as he finished saying this, another man
came along and with his muddy shoes stepped unintentionally on his sliced bacon,
which he had placed on a banana leaf on the ground preparatory to frying it. All
who witnessed the accident laughed loudly, and the recruit grumbled some more.
The second day we met the enemy, and after a skirmish of not much consequence
we burned their barracks and then started back to Boac with the prisoners we had
captured. The march down the mountains was much easier, and we made much
faster progress. When we arrived back at Boac our shoes, which were not new
when we started, had worn out, and many of us had swollen and bleeding feet,
caused by the sharp stones and gravel while wading down stream. When our
expedition left Manila we were supplied for a short campaign only and clothlng
soon became a scarce article. Officers frequently offered enormous prices for a
pair' of shoes. The enlisted men were barefooted the greater part of the time
during this campaign, and our beards grew quite long on account of the barber's
outfit being left at Manila, with the company property.
One day there arrived at Boac the detachment of our company which had been left
at Gusan. Stroetz and I were very glad to see our friends Phillips, Cooley and
Gray, who came with the detachment. All were barefooted, and Phillips had his
trousers rolled up to his knees. In spite of his beard, his face looked young, very
jolly, handsome and carefree. I told him if he was in the States the girls would fall in
love with him. During the time we were stationed at Boac we were quartered in
the upper story of a large building, directly above our storeroom, which contained
our rations. We had often noticed a great many cockroaches among the ration
boxes in our storeroom, and one night shortly after taps they came on a visit
through our sleeping quarters. The fun began when a man jumped out from under
his blanket and said that cockroaches had been running all over him. A little later
another man jumped up. Phillips came up next, and said they had tickled his feet
and started to run up his legs. Before many minutes had elapsed every man was
up and shaking his blankets. The fun began in earnest when somebody struck a
light and we began killing the roaches. All the boys were in their nightclothes and
running after cockroaches with sticks and flat pieces of boards. In our mirth we
struck the floor so violently that we awakened the 1st sergeant and quartermaster,
who slept in a room downstairs and came up to investigate if there was any reason
for a disturbance at that hour of the night.
A typhoon struck Marinduque Island shortly before we left. The violent wind and
rain continued one night and during all the following day, but did not cause much
damage.
Broadway Publishing 1906
We arrived in Manila bay October 1st. Soon after our transport anchored a
government steam launch arrived with orders for two battalions of the Ist infantry to
transfer to the transport of Sumner and sail for Marinduque island, where a captain
and fifty-four men of the 29th volunteer infantry were held prisoners by Philippine
insurgents.
OCTOBER 8th we arrived at Santa Cruz, Marinduque island, where company B.
landed and where a company of the 29th volunteers were stationed. Early the next
morning we sailed farther along the coast and landed companies F., G. and H. at
Torijos. Two gunboats, the Bennington and Villalobis, were with our expedition and
protected the landing of the soldiers, who went ashore densely packed in small
boats. The third day after we arrived our transport sailed for Gusan where
companies D., E. and fifty men of company C. were landed. At night the search
lights on the gunboat Bennington and transport Sumner were used to search the
hills for signs of the enemy or American prisoners.
October 11th company A. and the remainder of company C were transferred to the
old exSpanish ship Venus which proved to be the most filthy troop ship of any we
had previously been aboard. We sailed back along the coast about twelve miles
and anchored at Buena Vista, where we remained all night. The night was very
beautiful. There was bright moonlight and water in the bay was so calm that it
caused only a gentle rocking of the ship. The sea air in that tropical climate was
just cool enough to feel comfortable and Stroetz said it was too pleasant a night to
be sleeping, so we stood until nearly midnight at the side of the ship looking out
over the waters and engaged in pleasant conversation. In the morning several
boats went ashore' and it was rumored that General Hare had sent a message
addressed to the insurgent leader, commanding him to surrender the American
prisoners within three days' time, and that all property on the islands would be
burned or otherwise destroyed if he allowed the prisoners to be killed. From Buena
Vista we sailed back to Santa Cruz and remained three days, during which time it
rained the greater part of the time. We slept on the open deck with not much
shelter and partly for that reason were becoming very anxious to land.
October 14th we started for Boac, but when we arrived near Buena Vista we saw
a crowd of people with a white flag on shore. Boats from the Venus and
Bennington were taken to the shore and they brought back the American prisoners.
They were brought aboard the Venus and we soon heard the story of their capture
and treatment during captivity. Their captain and many of the enlisted men had
been wounded during the fight in which they were captured. One man was shot in
the face by a bullet which had first struck and glanced off from a tree. The bullet
was lodged in his neck near the jawbone where its shape I could plainly be seen
under the skin. They said they were surrounded by about eight times their own
number and after their ammunition was exhausted they saw no way for escape and
surrendered. The Americans who were killed were buried near the place where
the fight occurred. They had been held prisoners about one month, and during that
time their clothing had become worn into rags, all were barefooted and some had
no hats or shirts. Their greatest hardship was almost continuous marching over "
mountains with their captors who were in retreat before the pursuing 1st infantry.
Our transport sailed to Santa Cruz, where the released prisoners rejoined their
company.
In the morning of the following day our transport sailed for Boac where companies
A and C landed. We had been crowded aboard ships forty-six days and we were
very happy after we were again on land. After we had finished unloading our
rations and ammunition from the ship we cooked our supper and then pitched our
shelter tents on the beach where a detachment of our company remained to guard
the property until all was transported from the beach to the town of Boac. I will
never forget my feeling of enjoyment during our first evening on Philippine soil. The
sky was clear and the cool sea breeze made the night very pleasant. Our camp
was on a high and dry beach and I was certain there could be no fever there. It
was almost as good as being out with a pleasure party. Stroetz and I sat with our
rifles on the clean white sand near the edge of the water until the hour arrived when
we were to go on post for guard duty. After coming off post we crawled into our
shelter tent together and slept soundly until morning. When the last cart load of our
property left the beach our detachment also prepared to leave and I was very
much pleased when I was detailed to go with the advance guard. The road
between the beach and the town, a distance of three miles, led through a dense
cocoanut grove and we had instructions to keep a sharp lookout as it was known
that the insurgents on the islands were well supplied with rifles and ammunition.
Company A. of the 29th volunteers was stationed at Boac at the time we arrived.
Several days after we arrived at Boac a detachment of companies C. and A. of the
1st infantry and company A. of the 29th volunteers' in command of a captain
started on a march into the interior of the islands. Each man carried a poncho, rifle,
120 rounds of ammunition, a canteen and two days' rations in his haversack. We
followed the Boac river far into the mountains, crossed and recrossed it fifty-four
times during the two days. Occasionally we waded long distances in the stream
between high walls of mountains. At such places the bed of the stream was thickly
strewn with large sharp-edged stones and they caused our shoes to become worn
very fast. The first day was hard mountain climbing. The men of the 1st infantry
having lately been confined aboard ships without much exercise were not in good
condition for a hard march and some of our men fell exhausted by the side of the
trail. When relieved of the weight of their rifle and other equipments by the stronger
men they managed to struggle along until we struck camp in the evening.
An amusing incident occurred while we were cooking supper. A recruit who had not
been long in the service was grumbling, "in his own language," about the way they
throw a hunk of bacon and some hardtack at a feller for supper after hiking
twenty-five miles up the mountains. Just as he finished saying this, another man
came along and with his muddy shoes stepped unintentionally on his sliced bacon,
which he had placed on a banana leaf on the ground preparatory to frying it. All
who witnessed the accident laughed loudly, and the recruit grumbled some more.
The second day we met the enemy, and after a skirmish of not much consequence
we burned their barracks and then started back to Boac with the prisoners we had
captured. The march down the mountains was much easier, and we made much
faster progress. When we arrived back at Boac our shoes, which were not new
when we started, had worn out, and many of us had swollen and bleeding feet,
caused by the sharp stones and gravel while wading down stream. When our
expedition left Manila we were supplied for a short campaign only and clothlng
soon became a scarce article. Officers frequently offered enormous prices for a
pair' of shoes. The enlisted men were barefooted the greater part of the time
during this campaign, and our beards grew quite long on account of the barber's
outfit being left at Manila, with the company property.
One day there arrived at Boac the detachment of our company which had been left
at Gusan. Stroetz and I were very glad to see our friends Phillips, Cooley and
Gray, who came with the detachment. All were barefooted, and Phillips had his
trousers rolled up to his knees. In spite of his beard, his face looked young, very
jolly, handsome and carefree. I told him if he was in the States the girls would fall in
love with him. During the time we were stationed at Boac we were quartered in
the upper story of a large building, directly above our storeroom, which contained
our rations. We had often noticed a great many cockroaches among the ration
boxes in our storeroom, and one night shortly after taps they came on a visit
through our sleeping quarters. The fun began when a man jumped out from under
his blanket and said that cockroaches had been running all over him. A little later
another man jumped up. Phillips came up next, and said they had tickled his feet
and started to run up his legs. Before many minutes had elapsed every man was
up and shaking his blankets. The fun began in earnest when somebody struck a
light and we began killing the roaches. All the boys were in their nightclothes and
running after cockroaches with sticks and flat pieces of boards. In our mirth we
struck the floor so violently that we awakened the 1st sergeant and quartermaster,
who slept in a room downstairs and came up to investigate if there was any reason
for a disturbance at that hour of the night.
A typhoon struck Marinduque Island shortly before we left. The violent wind and
rain continued one night and during all the following day, but did not cause much
damage.