ck was being made. The Filipinos in that hospital would have met
with little resistance from only three guards had they made a dash for
liberty. They could have easily passed out through the unlocked doors
while we could have killed a few. After gaining the outside they could
have given assistance to their comrades, and in the darkness of the
night set fire to the city and made our situation a desperate one
indeed. The Filipinos knew the city much better than the Americans and
had Aguinaldo been possessed with the nerve and ability he could have
entered with his superior numbers and captured the city. The Filipinos,
however, gave the Americans some hard fighting before the enemy's forces
were scattered over the island of Luzon. After the Filipinos were
scattered they divided into small bands, which marched over the island
burning and destroying. One of the bands when run upon by the Americans
would give them a short desperate fight and flee to the hills in safety.
Frequently it happened that a squad of American soldiers would be
outnumbered by a band of the enemy, and it was then the Americans
turned to run into Manila for safety.

A great many of the native business men, both employers and employees,
stayed in Manila after it was captured and carried on their business.
Many of these were a menace to the safety and the authority of the
Americans. All the arms and ammunition and dynamite that could be
obtained by them were hidden away. They banded together to do all the
mischief possible, but our guards were too clever for the Filipinos and
always detected their schemes and plots before they could be carried
out. It was believed that the men inside of the city were working with
the enemy outside for an outbreak. Aguinaldo would engage the attention
of the Americans and these treacherous Filipinos and Spaniards inside
would do a great deal of mischief before being discovered.

Therefore, in the face of all this, much depended on the efficiency of
our guard duty. Guards were on duty in all parts of the city, in church
towers and every place that would give any advantage in keeping a
lookout for any indications of trouble.

CHAPTER V.

Before Aguinaldo's attempt to enter Manila the friendly natives outside
the city were suffering from a fatal epidemic of some character,
apparently so, judging by the number of caskets taken outside. This
continued for several days; one or two caskets every day were allowed to
pas