The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1898-11-24
LETTER FROM MANILA
CHRIS COOK TELLS OF ARMY
LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
RAISING STARS AND STRIPES
The Kenosha Soldier, While on Police
Duty, Kills a Chtnaman-How Manila
was Taken After Many DAYS in
The Trenches.


Chris j. Cook, formerly of this city,
but now a member of Co. A, 14th q. S.
Infantry at Manila:
MANILA, Oct. 2, 1913.
Dear SISTER, should have written
to you sooner, but | have not had the
time to do it. We moved across the
bay fifteen miles distant and went into
camp, and then our work commenced,
so | have had no time to write. But
now everything is over, think, at
least We are in Manila, our regiment
is not in the city, but we are two miles
from it. We can 60 down town for
four cents on the street cars (hOrse
.cars) or we can ride down in cab for
ten cents.
Wen, dear sister, have by this time
nearly found out what war really is.
will try and give you a description of
what we went through. The night Of
August we were in the trenches, and
as soon as darkness set in the Span
iards started to fire on us from a dist
ance of about 25O or 800 yards. Of
course they could not see us, nor could
we see them, but we knew they were
in their trenches, which were ~about
that distance from the American
trenches, and their fort had four can
mons trained on us and sent shells
which exploded all about and around
us. Our regiment lost two men that
night; Co. G lost one man who had his
head blown clear off his body by
shell. l don't suppose the poor fellow
ever knew what struck him. Co. D
lost man who was killed by bullet
which struck a stone and glazed. The
night of August 9th we were in the
trenches again. We were not fired on
that night, but it rained so hard that
we were standing in water up to
our knees until nine o'clock the next
morning.
I suppose you read in the paper
about the battle of Manila, and how
the city was taken Aug. ID. [ will tell
you something about that affair. On
Friday afternoon we got orders to be
ready the next morning at $50 to
march to the front, and take enough to
eat for twenty -four hours. We all got
can of salmon, half dozen of bis
cults and our canteen full of coffee.
bought nine eggs, boiled them hard,
and took little salt; bat we did not
1 get @ chance to eat it until five O'Clock
Saturday evening. / ate four eggs and
three biscuits while we were marching.
Well, we left camp at $50 Saturday
morning and marched four miles
through mud up to our knees, and at
nine O'Clock it was 800 in the shade,
and it was getting hotter right along.
But there was rot man an our COM
| paHy who gave out. Well, we marched
until we got half n2ile from che FIRE
| ing line where we were halted, and we
wai6ed until twelve o'clock before we
| gOt,Orders to 60 to the line and help
/ the Minnesota regiment, who had held
the dine since mine o'clock, and when
we got there they refused to get away
frOm the line. Their captain said they
could hold out for another two hours.
They had 200 rounds of ammunition,
and they had only shot about 100 in
three hours. So we had to go back
the half mile through mud knee deep,
and the Spanish bullets whizzing over
our beads. 1t sounded like a piano
playing, but not quite so entertaining.
The tune sounded to us like the song,
These Bones Shall Never Rise Again.
But very soon we got orders to march
forward, that the city had surrendered,
so we marched into the city. We got to
q fire engine house, where there was a
Spanish flag. One of our officers took
it down and threw it out into the street
and one of the boys put a match to it.
There we raised the first American flag.
You can imagine the cheering when we
saw the Stars and Stripes over our
heads once more. Well, we left there
and marched about a mile until we got
to an old livery stable, where we slept
that night. We had cup of hot coffee
and ate what we had left. The next
morning we were ordered to go out and
guard the fort spoke of before. We
got there and I saw the most terrible
sight / ever care to witness. We found
six Spaniards with their heads COM
pletely blown off. A shell from one Of
Dewey's ships had struck the cannon
they had been shooting at us and the
shell exploded and killed every man
around that gun. We buried them and
then went into the field between the
American and Spanish trenches, where
we found 102 dead Spaniards. We dug
one big hole and threw them all in it,
and our days work was done.