The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-11-25
Corporal Mcmahon of Com
pary M Writes of Soldier
Life in the Philippines.

pary M Writes OF Soldier
Life in the Philippines.
Manila. P. l., Oct. 5, 1898.
Dear Friends
/ will pen you a few lines today
to let you know that l am sill in
the land Of the living and doing as
we'll as could be expected under the
circumstances. We Still have our
regular supply of short rations and
not weather, together with plenty
of sickness. There are 1900 men in
the hospital-sick with typhoid fe-
YER measles etc, besides having so
confined in the pest house and
"breaking out" every day. 1t is
getting exceedingly unhealthy here
and | believe we have danger
to face now than we had before tue
Spaniards surrendered. One can
face the music of Dattle without
f1iuching, but 1t i, hard for the BOYS
TO die in a country like this from
sickness, where they receive so little
Care.
Our company is in bad shape, al
though none of them are dangerously
i'll, but about one-third Of them are
under the weather. 1t is that way
all through the army. The first
thing our country will have to do if
they propose to hold these islands is
o enter into contract with someone
TO furnish collins to bury soldiers
in. The death rate now at the hos
pital is v a day, and at that rate
we lose a company every ten days.
This will certainly be a sick looking
army If they keep US here two years.
We could possibly stand it better if
we had toe grub justly due US, but
they feed us IN fat pork, bacon etc,
just the same as they did in the
states, and anyone vith3the least in
t"lligence ought to know that such
food won't do in this country. Hon
estly, we nave to eat food that l
would not feed to a dog, and l have
seen more than one dog walk away
and refuse to eat it. They drill US
three hours IL day here in a country
| where it almost exhausts one to
walk. 1 do not wonder at the sick
ness prevailing. W. all blame the
officers in charge, and'the doctors
in pasticular. These doctors" were
not appointed because Of their abil-
ity; their political "pull' got the
most of them their jobs. They give
US pills for almost every ailment, nc
matter what it is-measles, typhoid
fever, ore throat, mumps OF
rheumatism. One day a CON 'ade
cut his foot quite badly. The
doctors tied a rag around it anc
gave him a box Of pills. I never
saw such a farce as the medical de
partmeEt of the army. There i!
little show for one to recover if hi
should be SO unfortunate at to ge
sick, for they do not send one to thu
hospital until he is SO far gone tina
he dies within a few days after be
ing removed. The boys n al
afraid of getting sick, well knowing
that they will receive little care AM
their chances for recovery would b.
slim.
Not much of a stir is made il
burial. While l was on guard tn
other night two truck loads of dea'
were hauled by u barracks to tn
grave yard. They came from Davi
son hospital and the only person
accompanying them were the nativ
drivers aud the detail of grave-dig
gers,
) The brass band is q thing of tn
! past and to tell the truth, Uncl
Sans boys r receiving prett
tough treatment from those in cor
, troll here. Some of our officers ar
simply rotten in their treatment {
the men and some of them will pac
: sore heads home with them if the
: are here when the boys are muster
80 oI yNhn< = d;fforoo,o;% ~oI,r