The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-10-01
seen BY A TRIO
Men Who Went From Here Write
Of Fighting.
HARKER- MURRAY PLEASANTS
Incidents of Action Before Manila.
Moving in Rainy Season.
Good Accounts.
PROFESSOR HARKER.

IScI E-OSCoH IIf Elk.
The following letter was received in
this city by the last mail from Profess
sor George Harker, recently a teacher
in the High School, who enlisted for
Manila in one of the regular companies
Of United States troops:
We are now occupying Spanish bar
racks in Manila. The city is under
martial law. On Saturday morning we
left camp with 200 rounds OF ammuni-
ton and two days ratTons. 1t was
raining hard as usual and we splashed
through the mire of the bamboo Jungle
till we reached our intrenchments. All
was quiet for the following two hours,
excepting a few shots from the Span
ish sharpshooters. All 10 o'clock a
shot was fired from one of our guns,
and at this signal Dewey began to
lombard the forts and Manila. For an
hour the shells kept whistling past us;
then as the firing ceased, We were ord
cred to advance over our intrench-
ments toward the Spanish lines: There
was not the least confusion, and our
men went ahead in line of skirmish-
ers, firing as they went
The Colorado men, who were anead
of us, fired several volleys in quick
succession, and rushing over the Span
ish works, planted our flag on the top
of the black stone fort. The fire from
the Spanish now became scattering
and we pushed ahead as rapidly as
possible, wading and stumbling across
a flooded corn field, when we reached
the fort.
We assembled and marched on in
column into barricaded street on the
alrfc xiyf, ,f
the way was strewn with blankets,
hats, shoes and ammunition which the
Spaniards had left i'll their hurry to
get back into the city. "A number of
dead and wounded soldiers We're lying
against the earthwOrks where the
shells from our fleet had opened the
way for us.
We then started down the street in
to Manila, expecting to have another
fight further on, but few Struggling
shots was the only resistance we met
at one time, though we had to lie down
to avoid the bullets. At last we came
to an open space and at the further
side we saw fortress or castle whose
parapets were ;bristling with soldiers.
But our eyes were fixed on a great
white flag at one corner of the battle
ment, and we knew that the battle was
ended.
In half an hour our whole force was
drawn up under the walls of old Ma
Mia. The natives. or FilipinOs, who
had been shut up within the town. as
well as a number who had come in
with us, we're mad with delight and
rushed odhs our ranks distributing
eigdIe PlaneIe cigars to the men. The
fghP though, were somewhat
takeiectus Hen forced to give up
their - who're entering the town
They had fully expected TO sack the
town and cut the throat of every Span
lard.
At about 4 p. m. we passed through
the business center of Manila and took
up our quarters in the court yard of a
great stone building which proved to
be cigar factory. Bands of Spanish
soldiers kept passing US on their way
to the arsenal to lay down their arms.
They looked clean and neat in their
light blue uniforms and white straw
hats, and formed a strong contrast to
our men with their torn shirts and
grimy faces. Next day we took pos
session of our present quarters. and
since then we have been busy patrol
ing the streets.
Our loss is reported as six killed
and thirty-four wounded. The Span
ish had about 200 killed and great
number wounded. Some one remarked
that we took advantage of them by
fighting in daylight, as all the skirm-
fishing heretofore had been done at
night.