The delay in taking the city was caused by Dewey's shortage of troops. He could have taken it at any time, but could not have occupied it. The Spanish commander made little attempt at defense. A formal attack on one of the forts satisfied the demands of honour. When the city surrendered, on August 13th, the Americans were in the difficult position of guarding thirteen thousand Spanish soldiers, of keeping at bay some fourteen thousand plunder-mad Filipinos, and of policing a city of two hundred thousand people--all with some ten thousand men! The way in which it was accomplished is in effective contrast with European methods. When our troops broke the line of trenches encircling Manila they pressed quickly forward through the residence district to the old walled town, which housed the governmental departments of the city. Here they halted in long lines, resting calmly on their arms until the articles of capitulation were signed. It took but an hour or so to arrange for the disposition of our troops among the various barracks and for the removal of the disarmed Spanish garrison to the designated places of confinement. Then command was passed along by mounted officers for the several regiments to proceed to their quarters for the night. In columns of four they marched off with the easy swing and unconcern of troops on practice march. A thin cordon of sentinels appeared at easy hailing distance along the principal streets, and the task was accomplished. By noon next day they had a stability as great as though they had been there for years. Not a woman was molested, not a man insulted, and the children on the street were romping with added zest to show off before their new-found friends. The banks felt safe to open their vaults, and the merchants found a healthily rising market. The ships blockaded and idling at anchor in the harbour discharged their cargoes, the customs duties being assessed according to the Spanish tariff by bright young volunteers, aided by interpreters. The streets were cleaned of their accumulated filth, and the courts of law were opened. All this was done under General Anderson's command, and it seems to me is much to his credit. A daughter of General Anderson's, who was there at the time with her father, writes: "Days of intense anxiety followed the opening of hostilities. The Filipinos were pushed back more and more, but we feared treachery within the city. We heard that they were going to poison our water supply, that they were going to rise and bolo us all, that every servant had his secret instructions. Also, that Manila was to be burned. There proved to be something in this, for twice fires were started and gained some headway, and we women were banished to the transports again."