The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-08-05
LETTER FROM CORPORAL BEERS.

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Tells IN a Modest Way of his Daring
Work Signaling from the Water Tank
One of the Breeziest Letters Received
From Camp.
The following letter from Corporal Seth
Beers will be read with interest by all our
readers,as after his splendid work, every one
in the whole community feels personal in.
terest in aud sort OF an especial claim up.
on him. The letter was written at Siboney,
July 7th, to Sergt. Henry Bartrem, of this
city, who has kindly permitted us to print
1t nearly in full.
Here we are at the front, and we can say
old company g has been In action and has
smelled Spanish powder. 1t was on the 1st
of July the S3rd. Reg. was sent up the rail.
road six miles to make bluff On the fort,
rife pits and block house 80 that the Span
iards wouldn't send flank movement
around back of our lines.
We started from here at a. m. in heavy
marching order one hundred rounds of am.
munition, three days rations, our woolen
blankets, rubber ponchos, pup tents. and
everything we own In the world. 1t only
weighs go or 20 pounds. We were the only
Co. in the Reg. that reported every man for
duty. Well we got there all right
The road is right along the beach and just
about mile this side of the fort we stopped
and the Adjutant came back and called out
"ls there signal man here?" Some one
called to me so had to report that knew
had to send a message to the battle ships.
1 started back to the company when the
General called to me and told me to stay
with him as he would need me all day, and
l stayed.
There was high water tank on the track
a quarter of mile from the fort where the
General had his headquarters and got Or
ders to get up on top of that tank and sig-
nal the ships to commence firing. climbed
up there and had just nicely got started
when the SpaDiards got sight of me and the
bullets commenced to sing around my head.
Gee, but they sound funny, not at all the
way they do when you are behind big tar.
get on the range, but they have q regular
nasty hum.
BY this time the boys had thrown out a
skirmish line and were blazing away In
great shape. Old G Co. was at the head
with Il close second and and just lit
tie way behind and near the water tank
while the other two battalons were back
farther. q did great work and held her
nerve in fine shape all day. from Z to 4.
COL BOynton came back to Gen. Dufield
ry in asking to go against the block house.
The Colonel wouldn't let him 60 as he had
had orders not to cross the river.
They didn't do very good work knocking
me over with rifles so they turned a three
inch rapid fire gun on me and the tank and
you should have seen the General and his
staff crawl behind rocks. was sending a
message and kept right on working the flag
but say how fast L could work. l was
willing enough to get out but wouldn't
move until got orders to or the messag e
finished. Capt. Wilcox, of the staff hap
pened to see me up there waving the flag
and wanted to know why didn't get do Vn
out of there told him that had no Or
ders to do so. He made me get down; then
l went back a little while afterwards and
received another warm reception. never
texpected to get out of 1t without getting at
least one of the bullets in my hide but did
sOmeway.
We didn't lose man out of our company
but Co. l. in the reserves got one of the
shells. 1t exploded killing two men and
wOunding three others. Two were also
hit with bullets and badly wounded.
thought of you every little while all day and
wished you we're there to enjoy the fun. 1t
was very exciting tell can you. expect
ed to be scared out of my pants but didn't
feel bit frightened-onl awfully excited
all the time. 1t was fun to see the officers
duck every time one of our big guns were
fred; they would almost fall fiat ducking.
This Is h Of hole-mountaips, rocks
and all kinds of bad things. Say, you can
talk about crabs, we have them here two
feet across and the dirty brutes climb all
oyer fellow at night. Last night four came
in our tent-Frieseke, Lieut. Retain and
are together-and crawled upon Frieseke.
Great Scott how we got out of there. We
killed one and lay down again. Albert
said, "Well I'll be hanged II another one gets
In here" So he kept sticking his head out
every few minutes looking for them and
once he almost stuck his face onto one OF
them. He jerked his head In so fast he fell
all over himself and said something appro-
pirate to the occasion In the funniest way.
"Peewe" and nearly "busted", we laughe ed
so. And then In the morning when we
awoke there was tarantula In bed with us.
Holy Smoke but we went out of the tent as
though we were shot out. Then we have
Lizards here by way of change. You will
probably say "Gee how he drinks but VIC
haven't had thing to drink since we left