Semi-weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings Co., S.D.) 1894-1898, 1898-11-15


lS9S.-My Dear Sir: We are now in
the PHILIPPINES since the last day OF
August, and at your r"quest will give
a short description of ,nr voyage and
life at Manila.
We had fair weather all the way ex-
cept few rainy days near the La
drone Islands. The health Of the
men was poor, more so on account OF
unwholesome food than seaSickness.
Fat salt pork and hard-tack became
80 tasteless that most Of the boys re-
fused to eat same and suffered good
deal from hunger. At present | can
not say more on this subject; suffice 1t
to add that unless we see some really
hard lighting, life on board ship will
be remembered as the hardest time
during our enlistment.
Our transport left Honolulu on
August lOth-two days before flag
raising, which we wished so much to
see-and came in sight of land a
month after we left San Francisco.
At Honolulu the boys took aboard
three young natives of Hawaii for
mascots; one of them, Joe, is with us
and is a great favorite with our Of
ficers, especially with the captain.
After land was sighted we. sailed
south one day and night and entered
Manila harbor in the afternoon Of
August 3lst, feeling quite certain
that no fighting was going on as no
escort met us on the way and we could
see our Stars and Stripes floating over
Manila. The first news we heard was,
Everything is taken with ease"
Then explanation followed and we
learned that Manila was taken Aug.
18th without much loss TO either side.
1t is said that the Minnesota boys
and the Astor Battery took the hard
est part in the fight, having lost six
men, while the Spaniards lost forty.
/ cannot express in words how we felt
on learning that the fight was over
and that we had come such long dis
tance only to occupy what others had
taken. That Manila was taken with
hardly any loss more than pleased us,
but to know there is no prospect for
any more fighting greatly distressed
us.
Besides Dewey's squadron there are
N<I hi in, hn
man and English revenue cutters. In
all / counted twenty-four large ves-
sells, including our transports. The
night before we landed the monitor
Monadnock turned her search-light
on US, showing us its usefulness at
night. After the Colorado and Min
nesota recruits were landed we were
taken to Cavite, sOrae seven miles
across an arm of the bay, toward the
southwest, where the second and
third batallions of our regiments had
landed week before and were quar-
tered in an old church built in 1912.
You ought to see the beautiful arches
and massive pillars in this grand
structure, full of wooden and clay
images of the twelve apostles and
other persons of the olden time.
It is near this town the effects of
Dewey's work can be seen, as the
sunken warships once belonging to
Spain are scattered all around the
peninsula on which Cavite is situated.
Although we came to fight the Span
iards, we could not see any of them
here except those held as prisoners by
the insurgents, who are in no way
particular IN treating their prisoners,
and quite a number of Spanish sol
diers came and gave themselves up to
American officers rather than starve
in their hands. Near our quarters
were about twenty Spanish prisoners.
1t was a pity to see them half starved.
At every mealtime some one Of our
boys would take all the food he could
get and take it to the prison. Only
scarcity of money kept the boys from
doing more for the Spaniards than
they have done.
We stayed at Cavite week and
then were ordered to Manila, 1t was
said to fight the insurgents in case
they refused to lay down their arms
which were given them by Dewey, or
in other words, he allowed them to
take what ammunition they could get
out of the captured forts. 1t was the
greatest mistake the United States