The record-union., 1898-10-03

|
and look like soldiers all right. They
have seen a great deal of fighting. and
are perfectly fearless, though it is said
| they realize that the Americans are
their only friends and desire no trouble
with them. However, we may be
fighting them long before you receive
| this.
There are some peculiarities about
their mode Of warfare. They-and the
! Spanish also-fight only at night and
! they can only be located by the flash
of their guns. They seldom take aim,
even in the daytime, but fire with the
| butt of the gun at their hips, when in
| the open, and hold it above the head
when in the trenches, never exposing
more than their hands, so one can see
| the only way would be to rout them
with artillery or charges.
We are kept pretty busy with guard
details, and all the red tape of word
! ing, briefng and indorsing all these
papers.
have had no typewriter since we
landed, and have had great deal Of
PEN pushing to do, but will have one
all right in day or two.
I am going to write more letters
home when 1 get the machine.
I cannot see that it is so very warm
here. but the water is vile and works
just like apenta.
We have good coffee and tea now
hominy (Which is eaten a great deal
here), bread and biscuit, and are living
as comfortable as at the Preside, as
/ this is just such a place, only the walls
and buildings are adobe, with tiled
roofs, just like Suffers Fort in it's
| present state, but on a larger scale.
We could not have hoped to walk into
/ a better snap.
| So, when you receive this, unless you
/ read that the Fourth Cavalry is in
/ action somewhere, you may know that
we are not suffering for the necessi-
! ties Of life, and are troubled with moth
/ ing more than inconsistencies.
| We are to have a Summary Court,
and I will in all probability be detailed
| stenographer, and with the double val
lie Of our money here I can dress well
/ and keep in practice without over
/ working.
There is little that we are in need
| of, as soap, etc, mosquito netting. and
| all kinds Of things are furnished the
/ troops In fact, we are surprised at
our good treatment lately.
! The buildings inside the walls are not
I tiled, but corrugated, and every one
| has troughs over a foot deep, which
/ run to great iron water tanks at the
/ ends. In the dry season wells are
used. but it is rumored that they are
/ all poisoned around here, but we don't
/ care, as we will make the Spanish
/ prisoners dig some more
| The guns on the walls are all muz-
/ zle-Ioading, forty year-old pieces, some
bronze, bearing the royal coat-of- arms,
years old. There are three new breech-
/ loading guns lying on the ground on
/ the outer corner overlooking the bay,
/ with the breecn mechanism gone. 1t
/ is thought they had not time to mount
them before Dewey's attack.
The old hulks in the bay are wooden,
! sheetiron- covered, with little armor on
/ them, and whatever they may say
| about Spain's pride of a navy being
! sunk, one has only to glance at these
! to see that it must have been a most
one-sided affair." and sets one to Won
dering which were the greater heroes,
/ those who went down beside their old
fashioned guns in these old tubs. or
/ those who with so much better ad-
vantage, blew them up.
These vessels are as poor, and at
| their best, were as far inferior to ours
and those of the other nations as their
| old buildings around here appear in
comparison with our modern build
ings.
1t is said that on the walls of the
next fort here they have the names of
every one of our cruisers. where they
were going to tie all Of them Con cap
turing them), and they had cells all
they We're so sure of victory.
AS / have often said, you doubtless
know a. great deal more about the stu
alton from the newspapers than we
do and as it will be a month before
| you receive this you certainly will
| know what is to be done with us
They say a boat leaves for home to-
morrow, and will try to get this on it.
Now, don't worry, as there will prob
ably be no further trouble, and it only
remains to settle things then apply
for discharge and go home We will
be paid every two months, and I am
going to put some Of 1t back every
time, so I will have some when I get
home. When we are moved over to
Manila and get horses Of some kind we
| will have all kinds of fun.
In my letters I say little about
| Frank, but of course he is a. model lit
| tie soldier, always has his gun clean
| excepting mine from rusting is the