The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-10
FROM MANILA
Description of the Fighting Fol-
lowing Caloocan.
A SLAUGHTER OF NIGGERS
Shells From the Ships Did Frightful Ex-
ecution = The Montana Fighters
Are Great Fighters-Torture
and Mutilation.

Another Manila mail arrived yester-
day, bringing letters from the Mon
tana soldiers. The letters are dated
from March l to 6, and give details Of
the fighting subsequent to Caloocan
and up to the time of writing, as seen
from the different points of observ&-
ton of the authors. One of the most
interesting letters came from Dan Stat
terry, one of the postoffice gang, gen
eral delivery clerk up to the time the
president called for volunteers for the
war with Spain. He promptly quit his
job and went back to Dakota, where
he was corporal in the North Dakota
militia, and went to the front with his
regiment Among other things, Cor
poral Slattery says the Montana boys
have proved themselves great fighters.
The letter, which is dated "On the
Firing Line, Pasay, P. l., March s.
reads:
I'VE are once again in it, and this
time it is hotter than ever. The trou-
BILE started March at about 8 o'clock
and for about Sc hours it was pretty hot
work. We slaughtered niggers by the
score, drove them to where they IRE
now, about six miles from Manila. We
are entrenched here now.
1t was great sight after the firing
had abated to go over the fighting
ground. L never thought that l would
see so many dead and wounded; they
(the niggers) We're piled in every con-
ceivable shape, shot to pieces by our
musketry fire and artillery. We buried
them in their own trenches, Simply
throwing them in, and piled dirt IN
top of them. We were on the extreme
right, next to the bay, and protected
by the Monadnock. Concord and other
boats. They shelled the insurgents.
We charged and drove them back. We
killed quite a few of them, but the
boats did frightful execution. l never
heard such noises. When the monitor
Monadnock let loose one of her 10-inch
shells it sounded like a swiftly moving
passenger train, and the explosion was
fright 1t sent niggers and dirt sky
high and simply tore up everything for
hundred yards around.
THE Montana regiment is a great
one; they did hard fighting, a good deal
harder than we did. We had some pro-
lection from the boats. They We're on
the extreme left of the line, nowhere
near us. I think they are in front of
Malabon, while our brigade is in front
of an insurgent stronghold called Pa
ranaque. We are fired on every day
and night by insurgent sharpshooters.
God save the mark! About the only
shooting they can do accurately is TO
shoot a drink of beer into themselves
Once in a while they make mistake
| and hit one of our men. They shot five
| of the 23d yesterday. One of them died
Last night we had a scrap. They vol
| ley-fired us from the woods in front of
US, which we returned up and down the
| line for about an hour We sure stopped
| them. They again opened up on us,
but we We're not allowed to return the
| fire. We have a masked battery con-
sisting of four three-inch and two ma
| chine guns. If they ever get chance
| to use them, half of those niggers will
| be very good.
There Is one sharpshooter that has
| been plugging away at us night after
night, and we have been laying for
| him right along. You can distinguish
him on account of the double report
his rifle throws out. The different Of
ficers think he is in well. We will
| get him some time this week The boys
are all crazy to go after him. You
know that we have a very small force
| to what they have. We could follow
them up as it is and give them a
| damned good licking, but we could not
protect the city at ALL They set fire
every night in Manila and do a good
deal of damage. We have burned up
everything in front of us, and as a re-
suit 1t is a desolate looking country
We all wish that the other troops
would come, so we could get through
with our work. I think it is shame,
| so does every man in the Sth army
corps that our government could not
| send troops over here. Everybody in
this country knew that it was coming,
and knew so for two months. Our
firing line is 2S miles long. with $4,000
men on it, counting everything We
nave no reserve, no support, nothing
in fact, but thin blue line of Ameri-
can soldiers between the insurgents
| and the city. We lost about 100 men
altogether, but the hospitals are full of
wounded.
Il wish we had smokeess powder.
The niggers have it, You can't mag
inc what smoke arises from a thou
| sand Springfield rifles after you fire
six or seven shots The enemy's sharp
| shooters can PUNK it right into us.
We have to do outpost duty every other
| night. 1t is great strain on a mans
nerve. We get in advance of the firing
line, sneak out about 200 yards and Law
there. 1t is very dangerous work,
| because If a sudden fire sprung UP a
man would be sacrificed We get a
shot, though, right along at the yellow
boys
Last Thursday two of our sharp
shooters Oath lads) brought down two
at range of a thousand yards They
used Krags. Our Springfields are not
accurate over 800 yards, and are no
good at all at a thousand. Hardly any
of the boys have confidence in them at
range of 600 yards.
Thomas. before this reaches YOU
| you probably will heave heard of a
great engagement here, because we are
going to go after them soon, and we
will finish it up pretty quick There
| is one thing sure, and that is that we
will lose quite a few men, | hops 7
| will be as lucky as / have been. The
| niggers have no mercy at all on any
of our men they capture: they torture
| them and mutilate them beyond de-
scription: they cut off a surgeon of the
| Utah battery and mutilated him horri-
bly,. They will get scant mercy from
| us
Tom, We have had deserters from
some regiments here. They Joined the
insurgents. One was a corporal of the
CallfOrnianS. He married a Filipino