Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-10-18
MORN FROM MANILA.
JAMES A. LEE ON THE RIO hStlRo.
An old story Told In different Ways
Zach one Of Interest rs Coming From
Separate written.

Manila r. lsi Sept v iat's
Dear parents To-day being sunday
thought that you would possibly like
TO hear from this side Of the world and
of what we are doingi ana have time
today and can't tell what we may be
doing tomorrow. af things are very I'M
settled at present We may have trou-
bic with the insurgents at almost any
minute. Yesterday morning we r1ps1
The runs roadyfor morning and expect.
ID orders an day. but none came We
have 90 pull the guns. 80 use long ropes
like the old-,lme IRE engine. II lH JUS
"a week today since we arrived here
from the steamer. but Il seems longer.
We are located In an old Spanish bar
rack on the edge Of what is called isic
new city. on the north side. in COM
Portable quarters, surrounded By a tcn-
foot wan. We also have plenty OF
water and a ro1d plunge bath. which
a worth a good deal 10 u. but we
may have TO move almost any day, as
some " the companies who are not 20
Won situated are trying 90 get ~ oui.
I hope they will not succeed, a. we
could not ret quarters o. good any
who're iu town. na everything Dr. full.
Tho only thing T.. the mosluitoos ore
very bad 90 nleht. worse inside than
out. auI ihoy sing terribly. They only
bother Us at night when we want 10
sleep, and there Is no getting away
from them.
Tho weather II very hot ana opprcr-
slve nt times, especially when the sun
shines. and some OF tho boys have
fallen In their tracks. We had an aw-
mi hot walk week aEp in coming
from the boat with our blankets. an
Of the boys ZEN out. I had heard q
great deal about Manila and what
fine place Il n. but excuse me. fhrrn
Isn't anything hero for me at present.
The place n not clean and the natives
are about a. undesirable n lot OF PEG.
pie as one would wish 90 associate
With. Thcy resemble the Chincse
more than any other people that 1
know uf, and ] really believe that one
third 81 the population or more are
chinese. They almost an 30 bare.
footed and wear very little clothing.
Knee dresses arc fashionable among
she natives ana q Is a great change
from anything l ever saw. 10 makcH
one think that thtrr are moro places
than one on earth, and u n a FOOD cX-
porlcnco-one that l am Elad of hav.
NNAM WNA = MNM 4 ANhN wv NNA|A % 10y
ing here IN the barracks Tor two years
with nothing 20 dos bu, from the moss
reliable source % Information at pres
Cnt u seems that We will be- here yot
Tor about six months. II all depends on
what IL done % Paris. All the boys
who came iirri are ready 60 10 home
now. ~ none OF thcm like the country,
and when u lent hardly safo 90 90
around town while under martial law
10 NHmHH hardly ~ "a n FUW
the interior. ana u viii not be for
a number " years yet A lot %
troopa are needed TO keep order and
put down trouble that 10 sure 20 arise
~ times. although the people profess
friendship they cannot be- trusted.
suppose that you were intercttsd IN
the taking Of Manila and know about 4,
long before I dld. BIN you don't know
what an awful hard time the Utah boys
had ~ well a. ! Do. The most Hurprla-
Ing thing OF all 20 me 10 how they ever
managed 10 Pull these big guns
through mud hub deep. across fields
that had been soaked for almost three
months with a tropical rain; ~ day
and night with nothing 10 cat but hard
tack and coffee, and 90 stand up under
she IRE they ala, The only time the
Spanish would leave their trenches and
do any nring wis az night. and the
darkest wet night % be- had. The guns
had no shelter. and that n The way the
Utah batteries fought MI The time. In
getting their guns ashore thoy were
lowered into a freight barge and then
were knee deep Ia mud and water with
taken In shore nH FAR o. possible. then
run over board into the sea IN about
four feet Of water then pulled ashore:
but the most remarkable thing of AT
was that not man was killed and only
one slightly wounded IN the arm. while
some % the regulars, who were IN she
trenches with them, were blown an 90
pieces one OF the sights was shot N
% one gun, ap0kca shot out u tho
wheel. and yet no one hurt. Young
Lever had a bullet burn him across the
stomach and left ~ mark, then struck
a spoke. lie has ser. u home.
All Of the boys have interesting
stories 20 tell OF their experiences and
some OF them hai very narrow escapes
since ana n the Americans had had iho
barbados that the Spanish had they
would have stayed there forever with
no more opposition than they had.
They had sacks hlcd with sand and
dirt. six TO Cight feet high and from tWu
20 fifteen feet thick, but when the bE
guns got TO working, u made them
shaky. az they cln'i stand shells burst
lnE all around them, and some Of the
boys saw some terrible sights On their
way In town. There was q loss ~ about
forty killed OF tho Americans and the
lowest estimate on the spanish AIDE IL
from two % three hundred killed and
seven hundred wounded. The spanish
are In what IN known aa the old city,
which II surrounded by large, thick
wall well fortified with large canal
each side OF IT, They have their free
dom IN the clty but nobody o. allowed
20 carry arms eNcppt linked states sll-
cunveraant and Try 90 tax with ~
when they get the chance, but most "
them have very little 20 say. They evi-
denuy don't care u great deal Tor uH.
They are not very large men, olth'r
one " the boys visited the spanish
hospital a few days since, and soldier
With both legs and one arm on told