The woman with a stone heart : $b A romance of the Philippine WarCoursey, O. W. (Oscar William)
History
The woman with a stone heart : $b A romance of the Philippine War
Coursey, O. W. (Oscar William)
Philippines -- History -- Revolution, 1896-1898 -- Fiction
At day break, on March 25, General MacArthur, leaving Hall's brigade
in the trenches and placing those of Otis and Hale on the firing line,
which was over seven miles in length, made a brilliant charge along
the entire front on the Filipinos' breastworks about a mile and a
half distant and constructed parallel to those of the Americans'.
Before night he had cut the Filipino army into hopeless fragments;
had advanced his own army over nine miles; had inflicted a terrible
loss upon Aguinaldo's troops; had demonstrated to them the difference
between a determined American advance and an irresolute Spanish one;
and had taken up in earnest the invasion of Luzon, the capture of
the Filipinos' temporary capital, Malolos, the overthrow of their
provisional government, and the establishment of American sovereignty
throughout the entire archipelago.
That night, about eleven o'clock, a nervous Filipino woman came walking
down along the American out-post reserves which, during actual war,
are usually only from 100 to 200 feet in the rear of the sentries. She
reached Company "G's" reserve of the 1st South Dakota Volunteers,
where she was ordered to halt. She refused, but acted as though she
did not understand. Drawing a large bamboo bonnet down over her face
to conceal her identity, she mumbled something apparently to herself,
and walked rapidly on. In a moment she was seized; her bonnet was
torn off; her identity revealed: it was Marie.
She had been counting the American out-posts and the reserves to see
if the defeated Filipinos, with the reinforcements which they had
received, would be warranted in making a night attack.
She boldly denied her identification; fought, scratched,
scrambled--making it necessary to employ two privates, a corporal
and a sergeant to send her to the rear.
When she was taken before Major William F. Allison, commanding the
3rd battalion of the South Dakotas, who was acting as field-officer
that night, he ordered her restrained until morning. A tired private
was detailed to guard her. He gave her a rubber poncho, and insisted
that she wrap herself up in it and lie down to sleep. Although she
drew the poncho about her to keep herself warm (it grew very chilly
before morning) she refused to sleep, and made repeated efforts to
escape. Her teeth chattered and she seemed distressed--evidently
through fear of what the morning might bring to her.
The next day she was set free, after taking a solemn oath to return
to Manila and not take any further part in the insurrection. She
pleaded earnestly for her liberty, and voluntarily promised that
after her return to Manila she would do washing free of charge for
the American soldiers who were sick in quarters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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