The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-07
OF Life in nlanlla
Claude Rogers, Wiebita Boy,
Urifes Of Camp and fisld.

sUflteS 81 EdWp dau tiefu.
Claude Rogers, the Wichita boy in the
Philippines, writes the following enter
tanning letter:
Manila, P L, March "a, 1899.
Dear Father and Mother-I received
two letters from you yesterday and was
glad 10 hear from the home so far away.
I vii ltry and tell you something about
Manila first, and after that VIII tell you
about the fight
Manila is a beautiful place OF about
5000 people. There are two cities. the
old and the new. with the river between.
Old Manila is walled in. The wall IS TWEEN
~ feet high and forty thick, which is full
OF dungeons and prisons. Il seems as
though these Spaniards thought or moth
ing but prisons, dungeons and places Of
torture. One room in the wall has a floor
and a trap door connecting with the sea,
where the Spaniards used to dump their
prisoners or anyone they wanted TO make
way with. They say that they used 10
take the Filipinos prisoners and dump
them through that trap door TO drown.
They expected to dump Us Americans
down there. but got nicely fooled.
The Spaniards gave up the city with
out very much Of q struggle and no Won
der, for they have only six modern guns.
The others are old brass cannons cast in
100 There isn't one made later than
1883. so you can see why they gave up
so easily. We get two dollars of their
money for every one OF ours. Fine silk
is only worth IS cents per yard. One
40,
government only pays natives employed
1919 cents per day. 1 am betting along
fine. Haven't been sick day. We don't
feel the heat here any more than We did
in the states.
You ought TO see my wardrobe. I have
one blue uniform, overcoat and cap. One
hat, two suits of white cloth, two suits
of knockbine. kind OF yellow and brown
clothing and two suits OF underclOthing,
leggins, socks and blankets. rubber coat,
besides two blue shirts, so you can see a
soldier has a few clothes in a hot country.
We are in barracks as good as ours were
in the states We have bath house made
Of marble. so you see I have nothing 20
complain of.
The natives are very small people
about five fees high. yellow in color, with
long, black hair, very ignorant, supersti-
tious and Notwithstanding ike our
Indians. They call us soldiers giants. II
has been great fun to sit up on the wall
and see Dewey shell the coast cities. But
now for the fight.
1--WE left the walled city last Sunday.
the 18th. We were out six days and had
a pretty tough time of it, wadng rivers
and swamps, and one day we fought the
natives in a rice swamp with water up TO
our necNs We started early in the morn
ing in the following order: The river gun
boats on our left, with the Sixth artil-
lery, then came the Twentieth infantry
with the Twenty-second infantry and the
Fourth cavalry on our right, with ten
COMPANY of the Oregon volunteers held
in reese Se. We had a line over a mile
long. 1t was a grand sight and very in
spring and I think we were all filed with
a desire to do or die If need be. We
struck the enemy at a. and made
charge and drove them over six miles.
They would stand as long as they could
and then run like a drove OF jack rabbits.
About D. m we drove them across
river. Then we thought we had them
trapped They were on an Island sur
rounded by river and large lake. The
gunboat wac on the lake to keep them
back and we halted at the river. The
following day we advanced across the
river and captured the large town Of Polo.
The succeeding day the First battalion
captured another city. This was the hard
est fight of the week. The insurgents
made a brave stand at a stone church,
but were finally driven out with great loss.
We stayed there two days and then came
back TO Manila. We captured about 1,000
prisoners and great many killed and
wounded. We lost eight killed and thirty
wounded out OF the Twentieth. We cap
tured four towns and burned them. On our
way back We saw a great many dead
Fiipinos floating down the river. They
bury all Of their dead that they can. but
we pressed them so hard that they didn't
have time to cover them fully and We
could see lots OF arms and feet sticking
out OF the ground. grewsome sight, in
deed II rained most OF the time We were
out. and we had nothing TO cover Us ex-
cept blankets.
The first two days we got pretty hun
gry. but that is a soldiers life and I do
not WISH 70 tbAlAii4o4Ai- 'eN' N+-- H--'~-
and we did i cheerfuIly We are push
ing The insurgents further and further
each day. and they Will have 70 give up
when they get 10 the last ditch. but We
Will have some fighting 70 do yet I think
We are doing police duty now IN the city
Of Manila. and that IS much more pleas
ant than fighting We may not have 70 20
out again. I forgot 20 tell you that on
our return from the fight the volunteers
choered Us all the way and they called
Us the glorious Twentieth. on account q
our victory. We captured some o. the rich
est part OF the Islands. The Twentieth
has lost more men than any other regi-
nent on the lsland up 10 This time. and
mas had harder lighting than they did o.
he 4th u February. The Insurgents have
TWO large cities fortified with stone Wals.
50 there vii be lots q Agh-ng Sc. before
they give uD.
The natives I've n bamboo hulS and
they make very pretty homes
The scenery around Manila is very fire
and the bamboo houses look very Tic,sr-
e=oua The !nzurEe1t shsrpsnoJters get
10 in the trees and cover themselves VIA
leaves. They uSe smoksIess powder. They
can shoot very good, bug or 01ss a."ass
manage 70 bring taem down.
The insurgents are running short e
ammunition and provisions. 50 * tn.ak
thel- fighting spi-z Will not iast forever
7 they could only szoot as We az oar
BOYS tney wouldn't 60 q thing % pz
I'VE i've fire hera In Manila We cave
fresh beef every day One hundred p7E-.is
are issued 70 eaca company. For s13per
ve have rice.
..ro--.t ~. q 81 FL ztamas uhez