My Life before the World War, 1860–1917: A Memoir

10. Duty in the Philippines—Manila, Mindanao, and Iligan: November 1899–April 1902

137 10 Duty in the Philippines— Manila, Mindanao, and Iligan November 1899–April 1902 There was something romantic in the thought of service in an oriental country inhabited by so many tribes in different stages of civilization beginning at the bottom with wild aborigines. It also offered a variety of opportunities not hitherto embraced in any service which the army had been called upon to perform. As usual [the army] greeted that call of duty with enthusiasm, and the able and devoted manner of its performance is already a matter of history. The Philippines—Manila Manila in those days still had the aspects of a medieval city. Its outstanding feature was the old walled city on the south bank of the Pasig River at its mouth. On the inland side a wide moat extended from the banks of the river to the shores of the bay. The total perimeter of the walls, less than three miles, was not great compared with those of the ancient cities of Spain, but set out here in the island fringe of Eastern Asia this miniature replica of a Spanish town of the days when soldiers fought in armor was impressive. Standing boldly at the point where the river runs into the bay was the imposing citadel known as Fort Santiago. Also inside the walled city were the principal government offices, barracks for the garrison , a magnificent cathedral, and picturesque old churches. Across the river and out beyond the moat the city proper had its active commercial quarter and the residences of foreigners and wealthy Filipinos. The city trailed off into suburbs up the Pasig [River] and out to Cavite on 138  My Life before the World War, 1860–1917 the bay shore. Manila was notably the largest city in the islands, having a population of nearly three hundred thousand, while the next in size was Cebu, with less than a quarter of that number. Most of the Filipinos lived in small towns and villages. In the three and a half centuries of their occupation, the Spaniards, though they had not made loyal subjects of all the people, had impressed their character upon the islands in one remarkable way. This was in the conversion of the people to Christianity. Out of a population of a little over ten million, more than nine million were professing Christians. The Spanish priests who followed the conquering soldiers had caused the great bulk of the population to give up their faiths and adopt that which, though originally Eastern, had become the religion of the West. One reason for this notable achievement was probably the fact that the Spaniards, as in their Central and South American colonies, had mingled with the natives socially and had not withheld themselves from inter-marriage with them. Into this civilization, definitely alien to our own, we Americans had come. Up to this time we were represented almost exclusively by the army. Few civil officials, missionaries, school teachers, and businessmen had yet arrived, and Americans out of uniform on the streets were the exception. Governor-General Otis lived at Malacañan, the palace of the Spanish Governor-General; the headquarters were in the Ayuntamiento [municipal council]; and the troops were quartered in the old Spanish barracks. The Oriente Hotel, then the only good hostelry in the city, was crowded with army and naval officers. On the roads in and about the city, in noticeable contrast with the pony carromata, a two-wheeled vehicle with a light roof, a few small two-pony carriages, and the carabao [water buffalo] carts of the Filipinos, were the big American cavalry horses and the mule teams. There were yet no motor cars in use. The Philippine War Few people realize the colossal task that confronted the army in the Philippines at that time. The problem involved the establishment of law and order in a thousand inhabited islands, making together a territory the size of Japan proper, situated in a hot, faraway region of the world to which our forces were not accustomed or acclimated. Washington had no trained personnel able to administer the affairs of the Islands and there was no department of the Government to which they naturally pertained. The job, therefore, fell to the army, which, besides its normal functions of maintaining law and order, found itself called upon to reconstitute the The Philippines (Vandiver, Black Jack, vol. 1, p. 241). 140  My Life before...