While in the Philippines, U.S. Army soldiers some- times sang a song with the refrain, 

“Civilize ’em with a Krag.” The Krag-Jorgensen rifle, with its superior smokeless firepower, was the most modern rifle used by the U.S. military in the War of 1898. An impressive firearm, it nonetheless had to be loaded slowly, by hand. This meant that it was best suited for deliberate, well-aimed fire. Conversely, the Spanish and Filipinos used the German-designed Mauser rifle, which could be loaded through the top of the magazine with a stripper clip, a much faster and smoother process.