The San Francisco call., 1898-08-24
Special Correspondence of The Call.
BY PRIVATE FRED A. HEALY.

CAVITE, July 14.-This is not the local room of a paper. One has to get his information as to the date of de- parture of the different mails as best he can, and as they generally leave about two days ahead of schedule time he has to do the best he can in the few minutes allowed him between the periods of his military duty to get his correspondence written.
 This is not the only epistolary diff ficulty the young soldier has to over come It seems that the mail to the United States will not be forwarded unless the passage Is prepaid. The troops have received no money. Not one in ten has two Mexican cents to his name, let alone the 10 needed to carry his letters home, and in conse- Quence many a mother and sweetheart will wonder why they do not hear from the boy at the front.
 We have been here for two weeks now and have tasted no fighting. though every evening the sound of firing commences in the vicinity of Manila. just across the bay. and the regiment Is lulled to it's sleep by the  of Luzon's capital replying to the mus ketry attacks of the encircling bodies of insurgent infantry.
 Nearly every morning we hear re- ports of more or less serious affrays which took place the night before and of victories for the insurgents, which latter report IS generally confirmed by the long line of captive prisoners which are brought in later in the day and incarcerated in prisons which they themselves built in former years for the natives who now stand guard over them.
 Since the regiment landed its health as a whole has been pretty fair, though there has been considerable doing in the way of cramps and dysentery, and those sores which first made their ap pearance on the Picking, and which were supposed to have been the result of a too liberal use of salt water, are still staying right with 1t. The indi vidual who Is unfortunate enough to be the victim of the two disorders to- gether Is anything but an object of envy to his more fortunate fellows As he can eat nothing, he becomes a sort of a cross between a military Job and a warrior Lazarus.
 The first serious accident since the regiment landed here occurred on the 12th. Jack" Egan, the senior corporal of E Company, was cieaning his rifle, when the piece was discharged, blowing off three of the fingers on his right hand. He is now being cared for In the regimental hospital and will be re- turned to his home in San Francisco as soon as his condition will permit of his making the trip. Egan was at one time employed In the composing room of The Call. The accident, while very unfortunate and much to be regretted, can be blamed to no one but himself, as 1t was entirely the result of his own carelessness.
 Colonel Smith is determined to make good marksmen of the boys he com mands. A few days ago he had targets erected on those portions of the decks Of the San Juan de Ulloa and Isle de Cuba that are above water, and last Saturday the Third Battalion lined up for it's initial shoot. The boys were deeply interested in the outcome of the competition, and good natured rivalry between the different companies of the battalion ran high. The ranges were 250 and 525 yards, respectively. and the firing was done by squads and singly both in the erect position and lying down G Company, Captain Sutliffe made the best score, though all acquit- ted themselves very we'll, the firing of the green hands in particular being so good as to surprise those who had looked for a far different result from men who in many instances had never had gun in their fists before in their lives.
 To-day the Second Battalion had it's target practice. and l. Company, under the command of Captain Eggett car ried off the honors.
 En passant I might say that this same l. Company Is winning a name for Itself as a crack company. It's drill has excited the admiration of the regulars themselves, and number of its men have been chosen for positions that are generally considered the re- wards of particular excellence in army life. Private Ward Eaton has been made regimental clerk. Private Frank Lanks has been promoted to the posi- tion of clerk in the quartermaster de- partment. and Privates Lawrensen and White are to be attached to the Brig ade Signal Corps as soon as 1t is or ganized.
 One great trouble here Is the lack of sanitary facilities as regards keeping the persons of the enlisted men in a state of healthful cleanliness. There Is a great scarcity of fresh water in this place. Most of that precious fluid is ob- tained from the frequent rains, and the supply is so inadequate to the demand that fresh water for washing purposes Is entirely out of the question. Swim ming in the salt water of the bay was attempted, but came to an abrupt end.
 
 and jelly fish that had located in the bay some little time before the Ameri- can occupation, and were no more irl- clined to give up their territory to the invaders than are their poisonous Spanish neighbors on shore. L Com pany and D Company, which attempted the first bath, were stung almost to a man. The poison of the sting, while only transitory in it's effects. Is so dis agreeable and painful in its results that rfr I-t,, @n 1t again. Something should and no doubt will be done to remedy the pres ent condition
 Another thing that the boys would be very grateful for would be supply of pith helmets. The slouch campaignine hat that seemed so light in San Fran cisco is as heavy as lead in the humid climate of Manila. and on long march would become an instrument of torture where in garrison 1t Is merely matter of great discomfort.
 Speaking of discomfort. when a mar wishes to enjoy thorough, unalloyed >5t- tst,..