The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-29
HISTORIC JAIL
FOR SPAN|ARDS
Prisoners Confined in a
Ruined Convent.
MANY SUFFER FROM FEVER
BOILED RICE THE CHIEF FOOD
SUPPLIED.
Corpora1 Sfock of fhe Volunteer SiC-
MANY SUFFER FROM FEVER
Corporal Stock Of the Volunteer Sig
nal Corps Writes Of Life at the
Headquarters OF the Phil
ippine Insurgents.

Corporal William j. Stock Of the Vol
unteer Signal Corps, writing to his pa
rents In this city from Bacoor, midway
between Cavite and Manila. under date
Of August s, gives information outside
Of that found in the letters of CORE
spondents to the newspapers. He
writes:
l am writing this in the old s-anish
Tribunal Municipal del Pueblo de Ba-
coor,' where we established a telegraph
office on the line between Cavite and the
tended this is no longer the terminal, The
main body of the corps has been ordered
TO the front. Within a stones throw OF
the queer old building in which l am is
the convent of Bacoor, a large church and
buildings of the familiar red-tiled Mission
style. 1t is now no longer used as
insurgents. who made a stronghold of 1t.
1t was then bombarded by the Spanish
feet and is now in about the same con-
dition that it was after the bombardment.
The walls and the roof are shattered by
Spanish projectiles and one cannot gaze
upon the interior without q feeling of sad
ness. The vaulted ceiling is completely
wrecked. the affairs are partly demolish,,
ed, the tombs of the padres torn up and
their bones scattered about, a frlghtful
monument of the devastation of shot and
shell.
The adjoining house is used as a prison.
and the sight of the poor Spanish prison
S.
all afflicted with fever, nearly all bare
footed, looking thin and Respondent, is
enough to bring tears to the eyes OF al
most any one. Their only food is little
boiled rice and a small piece of meat TO
each man, and which they themselves
must cook on hot Goals, for they nave no
cooking utensils.
This is the headquarters of the insur-
gents, and they are an interesting lot.
Some wear captured Spanish uniforms
and others wear only dull brown, brilliant
rad
shirt and big straw hat. They are all
barefooted. Each carries a machete and
either Remington or Manser r1lie slung
each seems to be to own a revolver, and
they frequently pay as high as forty and
fifty Mexican dollars for one. Ihey pro
and when any move along the streets
they are hailed with cries of Viva los
AmeEieanos and the little GnIdren ar take
precocious lot, nearly all read and write
and speak Spanish. l have seen boys
from 10 to u years Of age In the ranks
alongside of gray-haired men, the young
sters carrying small rifles.
The nights here are beautiful, hrefiies
fit about in all directions and they are SO
bright that they can be seen at distance
of block. Bats, crickets. lizards and
frogs are numerous. Violent thunder
storms, accompanied with much rain, are
night. Our drinking water is the rain
caught in ollas from roofs. The ordinary
cistern and river water is unflt 1or use,
though. the natives use the former.
Camp Dewey is queer looking camp.
1t is as large as was Camp Merritt, or
larger The men are living in shelter
two feet from the ground. 1t looks like
one of those Chinese fshermen,s villages
1 saw at Monterey. When 1t rains at the
time there is three inches of water on the
ground. therefore the reason for elevated
platforms.
coor l rode one of those miserable little
beasts that here are by courtesy called
horses. They are not more than four
feet high and weigh about three hundred
pounds. but they are remarkably strong
and useful in drawing the two-wheeled,
two-seated, almost springless carts of the
you could have seen me astride of one of
those animals coming from camp with
all my equipments; rubber poncho, haver-
sack, canteen, carbine. cartridge belt full
of cartridges and large wood ak. My
feet were within ten inches of the ground
and l am sure by appearance must have
been as impressive as was that of Sancho
Panza when out with Don Quixote.
My observation teaches me that the talk
about this climate being unhealthy is all
bosh The air is warm, but we expert
enced air so much warmer on the ocean
trip that this is cool by comparison.
There is no suspicion of the damp hot
on the contrary, it is mild and balmy. The
native banana which has name that
sounds like 'sarragin" is delicious. They
cost ''un centavo,' a piece which is one
eightieth part of a Mexican dollar. and
Mexican dollar here is worth about forty
five cents of our money. The oranges are
thick-skinned, full of seeds and the skin
is a bright green when the fruit is ripe,
but they do not compare with the navel
oranges of California. The native fruits
are somewhat queer and l do not care
to have any of them. From all 1 have
seen, and from what 1 can learn, if an
individual will take reasonably good care
of himself. he need have no fear in regard
to becoming Ill.
Under date Of the 9th Corporal Stock
writes of the attack on Manila, and
regrets that acting under orders he
was placed on top Of the old church at
Bacoor to receive signals, and could
only see the smoke of battle, while
others of the corps were at the front.