The record-union., 1899-03-27

ers potted about twenty natives VINO
were skulking through the brush. we
crossed the Mariquina River twice by
wading waist deep, and came up to the
Water Works about = o'clock that
evening. The Utah Battery and the
rest of the Nebraska regiment had
driven the insurgents out and had fuil
possession, the battery having an ex-
cellent position on a hill that enabled
them to command the valley for five
miles in every direction.
/ want to say here that this valley
is the prettiest place i ever saw. Any
thing will grow here. AS that ola
Dutchman in Pomona said, Put him
in the ground and he grow" Another
advantage this has over Pomona IS
there is no dearth of rain.
Wednesday morning 1 went up on the
hill where the battery was posted and
could see up to the lake which FEEDS
Pasig River, and the sight was truly
grand The lake is quite large. and
from its eastern shore it is only about
twenty miles to the Pacific Ocean. L
believe 1 forgot to state that during
our scrap Monday night the Utah Bat
terey threw two shells over our way
that had quite a salutory effect on
the natives, as they can't stand shrap-
nel
After all this marching we were pref
ty tired and hungry not having had
anything but raw bacon and hardtack
for two days, and as the Water Works
is in quite chicken and turkey center
what we did to the aforesaid fowls was
a plenty, likewise what we did to num-
erous pigs. To show you that I'm
pretty near able to take care of myself,
I'll say that the Hospital Corps had
four fat hens and two turkeys in one
big stew set off by onions and green
corn on the side, also radishes- | found
a stone jug to make coffee in so We
Jared pretty WELL
To give you an idea of what kind OF
people we are fighting, I'll tell you how
Dr. Young of the Utah Battery met
his fate On Monday afternoon the
battery stopped to rest a little at the
water filter When we had established
a signal station, the doctor, being
mounted of course, indiscreetly went on
ahead of the battery about fifteen
minutes. He fell into the hands of a
band of insurgents, and when the bat
terry came along they found the doctor
tied to a tree, stripped naked, shot, his
throat cut, his heart cut out, and dis
emboweled, and even his horse chopped
and mutilated in a horrible manner.
We came into town Wednesday after
noon and saw the place where he was
murdered. We also saw the effects of
some of Deweys shells, as we came
to their abandoned trenches. We didn't
lose a man during this trip, and only
one was struck, and he only had his ear
creased.
The next fight I was in was the big
battle Of Caloocan, and it was a
peach and no mistake. The Sixth
Artillery opened the thing up at 3
o'clock by firing three shots as signal
to the Charleston and Monadnock,
which We're lying close in shore, and
then they and the battery began to
shell them out of the trenches. The
infantry did the rest, rushing them
from one trench back to another, when
they would shell 'em out again. When
our soldiers would let out a yell and
charge it seemed to scare the rebels
nearly to death.
Just about dark the shells set the
town of Caloocan on fire, and that got
the enemy on the run again, our boys
pursuing them several miles beyond
that place and taking a position that
they are holding yet, as We have to
wait for more troops before extending
our lines any further. They are twen-
ty-three miles long now.
1t was a grand sight that night
watching the town burn and hearing
the scream of the shells and seeing them
bursti One of my men killed a Filipino
Sharpshooter who was in the act of
shooting him. He shot the fellow in
the center of the forehead with regu-
lation Colts 3S-calber revolver, and got
his Remington rifle, cartridge belt and
two bayonets.
Our forces only lost three killed and
twenty wounded. One of the
killed was a Hospital Corps man, who
was shot through the heart while
carrying in wounded Captain of one
of the Montana companies. The dead
insurgents were everywhere singly and
in heaps and piles, and some of them
on fire. The next day our soldiers
threw them into their own trenches and
piled the dirt over them about a foot
OF SO. In many pidceS tnero were 40 10
100 put into one hole. l was out there
several days later and the stencil was
fearful. and when the bodies had begun
to swell they had showed the dirt off
and were exposed, and buzzards were
everywhere.
OF course these two fights were only
those I was in, but there were plenty
more during the last two weeks. The
Filipino losses dead are over 5000, as
We took few prisoners, only having
about 600. Our loss to date is 60 killed
and over 800 wounded.
I guess after the Filipino scrap is
over we war recruits will get our dis
charge. I'm as well as l ever was, and
havA been ever since I've been here.
I don't weigh quite as much, only 140
pounds in scant attire. / did get pret-
ty thin when we first got here, but have
picked up a good deal. I'll get some
pictures made soon and send one to you.
It's beginning to get pretty hot again,
although it has never been exactly
frigid at any time. I suppose the cold