Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1899-03-31
FROM MANILA.
j. r. Edick Writes of the Early Stages
of the Battle.

Dear Parents: You will have heard
before this reaches you of what we
have got OH our hands now, and will
want to know if | am all right or not.
1 can answer that in a few words. rs
the boys say am as right rs Il fox,
but there has been Il hot time here as
near us l can find out. On our side
there is 90 odd killed and about 145
wounded CO: on the natives side the
number killed goes over 5000 (?). so our
work hasn't been in vain. For eighteen
solid hours there was no let up but Il
continuous rattle of musketry punctu-
ated by the heavy boom of the artil-
lery and the still heavier oar of the
big 1O-inch guns on the warShiDs
which kept close to shore. The n. ID.
troops held the extreme right of the
line ut old Fort Malatc along the
beach. They made one charge yes
tcrllay led by Major White which is
said by those who saw it to be one of
the finest they ever saw. Company
A was kept in town so we didn't have
a: chance to see the show. but expect
to be relieved soon. The North Da-
kOtI troops and q part of the Four
teenth have driven the insurgents
right back over the same ground that
we drove the S%paniards. only reversed.
The North Dakota headquarters are
at old Camp Dewey and they say they
are going to drive the black devils Off
the island. I have just spoken about
out part of the line and Of curse it is
about the same clear around the line.
When it started our line was about
fifteen miles long but is now about
forty. There will be some little fight
ing before they give lup, but their
backbone is broken. They expected
after lis fighting all night for us to go
back and rest and smoke cigarettes
like the Spanish used to do. but in
stead Of that we followed them up.
The big monitor Monadnock is follow
ing us right up and does some awful
work. 1 slipped out of the line today
to see how things looked in the
trenches where the battle was, and it
was something pretty tough to see
the black stiffs lying all around the
ground in the trenches-on top Of them
and al around-sh0t and mangled in
I'LL manner Of shapes. OF course you
have seen the same thing many times
but it was much different. There is
1lIllC pltS lOI lllclli illu llcS IcSpcCL
us much more than they ever did be-
fore. They have thought and called
themselves our equals but they begin
to see the error Of their ways. Talk
of the treachery Of the Spaniard-they
are not in it with the native; they have
to be watched very close. They even
fire on the Red Cross boys who have
to so armed when they are picking up
the wounded. The Red Cross boys
say that many times they run across
a wounded native who is nearly dead
from his wounds who puts his last
remaining strength in fighting them.
The way the boys have stood up to
the heavy fire that has been poured
into u ranks is something remark
able. Not a man has faltered, but
all they can think Of is to kill all they
can Of the hated Filipinos. Here we
have fought for them, fed them and
given them big prices for everything
they had to sell; paid them ten, yes,
twenty times what they ever got be-
fore and now they turn on us. Is it
any wonder the boys fight like tigers.
Well, 1 could write a dozen pages but
must stop for this time. Write again
SOOn.