Page:American Boy's Life of William McKinley.djvu/303

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OF WILLIAM McKINLEY
259

The advance of General McArthur was comparatively easy, although several severe engagements were fought. But the advance under General Lawton taxed his troops to the utmost. The route lay directly through the jungle, where the roads were extremely bad, and where many streams with broken bridges had to be crossed. A hundred and fifty miles were covered in twenty days, and during that time the soldiers fought twenty-two battles and captured twentyeight toAvns and a large quantity of army supplies.

But the wily Aguinaldo was not to be captured, and when San Isidro was taken, he and his army immediately fell back to Tarlac and to the mountains. The rainy season was now on in all of its fury, the waters in all streams and lakes rising to a great height, and for the time being further pursuit became out of the question.

The Filipinos had sued for peace, and now they sued again. But they wanted everything settled upon their own terms, and much as he desired to see peace established. President McKinley, backed by his ofhcial advisers, had to decline their terms. Our