The San Francisco call., 1898-08-24

CAvITE ARSENAL, July 15.-The First California Volunteers, or part of the First, has gone to the front At 6 o'clock this morning the Flrst bat- talion, consisting of Companies A, E, l and M, under Major Boxton, the expe- dition being commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Du Boce, was taken across the bay to form the camp of the advance guard under the walls of Manila. Two cascos, these quaint native boats which are, 1 believe, unlike anything else In the world, were loaded with the boys and their baggage in the short space or 70 minutes It was not such an easy matter to unload them at Paranaque, near which place the camp has been pitched, but that is a tale which does not come in this place. The cascos, taken In tow by the Rapido, one of the Spanish tugs captured by Dewey, were lowed across the bay at reasonable speed until they came to the mouth or the Paranaque River and the Ra- pido ran her nose incontinently into the mud. The cascos, like a well-trained tow, came on as they had been taught and smashed the stern rail of the Ra- pido into small bits Soldiers were
  deck of the tug like sardines, but none or them, fortunately, were hurt The captain Of the Rapido, who is a simple DoatSWa1n in the navy, cast off his tow, and the native crews followed the cascos into the river when the troops were landed. In the meantime the tug widowed about in the mud, finding the water in the river too shal- low to permit entrance, and the heads of the expedition widowed about in deep disgust, awaiting the return of a casco to deliver them. The move ments of a casco are slow as the death of a just man whose heirs wait upon him. It came at last, and we were put ashore and the boys who had preceded us were got into marching order. It is two miles from Paranaque by the road which leads to Manila, the Calle Real, to the camp ground chosen for the California boys. The ground is almost level lying between the road and the sea, and there are groups of trees about which will furnish abundant firewood. The land, I believe. is rather swampy when it rains Whether it will be healthy or not is an open question, but I hardly think it is the intention to let the boys remain there long enough to test that. The Americans will be in Manila I believe, before they have chance to get Ill. At present the First Brigade will be quartered at Paranaque, probably to make room for the second expedition, now daily ex- pected. When that expedition comes the forward movement, begun to-day, will be carried all along the line, and our friends the TagalS, within two miles of whose advance lines the first American troops in the field are now encamped, will have chance to watch the prowess of the men who in future will perhaps be their masters.
 There was some heavy firing from the Spanish lines, the big guns in the lu- netta being particularly active, as we landed at Paranaque this morning. The firing was not at us, although pos sibly the Spanish, who must have known the purpose of the expedition, were not averSe to giving us sam pie of the kind of guns we were going against The Filipinos, l believe, made an attempt to turn the right of the Spanish line to get possession of the suburb of Malate Whether the at- tempt failed I do not know, but proba- bly, it did Aguinaldo has little artil- lery. and that little old fashioned and poorly served. His best pieces are two old 10-inch smoothbores, taken from the arsenal at Cavite. If the Spaniards knew how to shoot the least bit in the world they would have beaten the insurgents back long ago. Ger tainly, in the firing this morning they shot ten shots to one from the inSur- gents for two hours.
 I was out at the front for the third time yesterday, looking over the ground where the First is going into camp, and approached closer to Ma nila than upon any previous recon noissance. The Filipinos are coming to guard their lines from intrusion somewhat more jealously than at first, but I managed, under heavy fire from the Spanish rapid-fire gun sweeping the Calle Real, to go around the rebel lines and approach Manila so closely along the beach I could see the people bathing from the quay off the English Club, and looking down upon the Lunetta. could see the crowds which throng that thoroughfare in the late