The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-08-19


ceived the following very interesting
letter from his son, Sergeant Hugh M.
Strachan. member of the Signal
Corps who enlisted III Sacramento:
Honolulu Oh. L., Aug. 1, 1898.
Dear Father: We arrived here yester-
day morning, and came ashore after
breakfast. l wrote you when we were
couple of days out, so you know of
the beginning of our tour We had a
very pleasant trip, much unlike the
rough voyage across the Atlantic. In
fact, the Pacific Ocean is calmer than
the great lakes.
We had great deal of spare time to
ourselves on the steamer, and the sig
nalmen took advantage of it by study
ing, for this is the branch of the SER
vice that requires a great deal Of
study We are expected to have a
knowledge of most all military regula-
tons, besides our own work, which in
cludes biography, electricity, pho
Biography, heliograph, flag signaling,
etc.
But to go on with the account of our
trip. We had a few sick cases aboard.
Two or our Signal Corps men, both
from North Carolina, were placed in
they won't go any farther with US, since
we expect to leave on Wednesday, Au-
gust Sd.
Private jerks, Company L, North
Dakota Infantry, died of pneumonia on
July 26th and was buried with military
honors on the 9th. The funeral at
sea was very impressive, and one which
we will not soon forget The soldiers
lx- o,,in g
the corpse, wrapped in the Stars and
Stripes, was brought out and placed
on slab near the rail, heads were un-
covered. The Chaplain made a short
address, the quartet then sang Near
er, My God, to Thee" the last sad rites
were pronounced, the body was slid into
the water, the firing squad fired three
volleys, taps were sounded, the band
played My Country, 'Tis Of Thee, )"
and the funeral was over.
This sad event was the only thing
that marred the pleasantness of our
voyage to Honolulu. Honolulu has
proved to be a very agreeable surprise
to most Of Us. It's inhabitants are the
most hospitable people 1 have ever been
| among. They are delighted with the
soldiers, are very patriotic, and all
SeelH u De
On questioning a little, copper-colored
fellow in regard to his nationality, he
promptly replied: Me American now"
His chum broke in by saying: No. him
Hawaiian" But No. l wouldn't have
it that way, and repeated: No, no,
me American"
The residence portion of the town is
foreign in every respect to our ways.
Thick foliage encircles each house, and
the dwellings are pretty little wooden
buildings. 1t seems as though nearly
every one here is the owner of a horse,
and there are large livery stables. The
streets are all macadamized and in
first-class shape. The '9S bicycles are
in abundance.
The customs Of the business portion
of the city are American, English,
Chinese, native and any other nation
atty you may wish for When the
troopships arrive here the soldiers are
given substantial reception in the
form of a dinner, and we got ours to-
day We ate beneath the tropical trees
in the palace grounds, and it is need
less to add that we all enjoyed it i'm
mensely. Our little CD party consisted
of about 900 men.
L ne Ddldce Is d IdISt SlO1lc UOlluliiS
mot as large as the Capitol, and there
in all Government business is trans
acted Pictures of the Hawaiian Kings
and Queens Including Queen LID
adorn the walls Native soldiers guard
the entrances to the palace grounds.
These men are very neat in appear
ance and we'll drilled. PrivateS receive
$50 a month. The Hawaiian flag still
a will
tinue to do so until the Philadelphia
arrives and the f1ag-raising takes place.
Most all business blocks are built Of
stone The Masonic Temple is fine
stone building. There are also stone
churches. All kinds of tropical fruits
grow in abundance, and the boys are
not overlooking it by any means. Pine
apples, especially, are delicious, and are.
recommended, so we are paying most
attention to them, being careful not to
harm ourselves with the others.
Gin is the favorite drink here and
as the Red Cross Society warned us to
drink no other liquor we have needed
the warning l met an old Sacramentan,
an ex-member of the Sacramento Ath-
letic Club, this morning, and he was
delighted to hear all the news from
Sacramento.
HUGH NJ. STRACHAN,
Sergeant L. S. V. Signal Corps.
Dcta to yfs