The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-07
IT WAS HOT OPPOSITION
Description of the Fight at Ca
loocan by r. P. A. Howe.
AN IDEAL BATTLEFIELD
Montana Boys Gould Not Be Kept Out
OF the Fighting-Are Enjoying Life
in the Countrywide a Big
Hunting Trip.

Great Falls, April 6.-The following
letter from T. p. A. Howe, who is ser
geant in Company A, has been received
by Sam French, and in part reads as
follows:
"Caloocan, eight miles from Manila,
10 a. M, February 20, 1899, 10 degrees
in the shade.-Dear Friend Sam:
Here we are. camped in our entrench-
ments, thrown up on the site of the
end of the battlefield of the 10th of
February This was the first battle
Company A had a chance to show her
self, and we had the worst opposition
of any troops in our whole line of %
miles. When you think of a line of
battle % miles and that a battalion
and one more company Give companies)
being placed to support our Company
A and Company I of Lewistown and
none of the other parts of the line being
supported, you may be sure we were
thought TO be met with strong oppo-
sition, and we were, too. Our lieuten-
ant was detailed on the morning of the
battle to go to Company E, Captain
Andrew Jensen's company from Dillon,
SO l was in command of our second pla-
toon.
I'VE were deployed under fire from
dense woods in our front, we going in
open ground, about 200 yards from the
woods, all the rest of our lines being
in shelter except our second platoon.
We deployed into line of squads and
then as skirmishers, with one yard in
terval. We got the order to advance
by rushes, by platoons, as soon as we
were deployed, my platoon making the
first rush. about 80 yards, and then
we fired three Volleys while the first
platoon, under Lieutenant Boardman,
advanced go yards: and so we advanc-
ed to the edge of the timber, where we
had three successive cut-bank creeks
ito cross, about eight feet deep and from
OTTO 20 feet wide, the banks being lined
with bamboo bushes and trees, which
were very thick and troublesome to get
through
Clarence G. Briggs was shot in the
neck and died about Sc hours after
wards: Seth H. Dibble was shot through
both legs and is doing fine; Jack Bull
lard was shot in the side of the face
and will soon be all right. One of the
boys Jack Irwin, was injured when a
bullet took off the end of one of our
boys thumbs, struck his gun BARREL
splintered the stock and one of the
splinters struck Dave Bruneau over the
eye, while another splinter struck EN-
met Hawkins. Another bullet went
through the trousers of George w.
Boardman, just grazing the inside of
his left knee, and another cut the rim
off his hat. These were all the casual
ties in our company.
Lieutenant Colonel Wallace was
shot through his left lung and is now
so that he can get up and walk around
the hospital and hopes to be with us
soon. He was right behind me when
shot and Colonel Kessler then took
command and stayed with US.
after going about a thousand yards
through the timber we came into open
country with occasional groups of bam-
boo brush and trees, which concealed
the insurgents. The ground everywhere
hereabouts has been irrigated and is
graded so as TO hold the water in
squares and rectangles. etc, and the
small banks afford concealmert for the
men lying down and the scattering trees
and brush conceal movements of men
over a thousand yards away, in every
direction. The country is an ideal bat
tlefield Our boys, as well as the 9TH
ers, did finely and could not be re-
strained from advancing and fighting
until dark, when all We're completely
tired out.
I'VE have some field pieces, handled
by the Utah boys, and they are a great
help in scattering the enemy. The ma
tives can't stand volley firing by us.
nor our shells. The navy also helps with
it's shells, throwing them seven miles
with great accuracy and effect
"a battle is not just what I thought
it would be. When you can't see any
smoke and no enemy in front and only
hear what sounds like small frecrack-
ers popping in front of you, you can't
have any fear. You can hear the
Mauser bullets whistle through, but as
most of them go away high. one does
not feel a bit scared to advance and
shoot at clumps Of trees, in hopes they
contain the enemy. We. with Spring
fields, have killed as near as we can
learn, about rs to 100 to one of the enc
my and they have Mauser rifles. which
are better than the Krag-Jorgenson.
1.-THE town of Caloocan is eight miles
from Manila and is the first place north
of Manila on the Manila & Dagupan
railway. The railway shops here are
about the size of the G. N. at Great
Falls and quite complete, although
many tools have been taken out to re-
pair engines, ears, etc, that the insur-
gents have farther up the line. There
is also another railway, a 'dinky' affair,
which connects Manila and Malabon,
another city, about mile west of Cal
ocean, but which was evacuated when
silly in a few hours. and it is very
dangerous place in a town built of stone
when modern shells are flying around
and bursting. Their effect is simply
terrible, even in an open field. Our
boys are running both railways now
and we have renamed them-one being
the Kansas G. Utah Short Line and the
other the Montana & Idaho Special,
these regiments having captured the
towns and railways.
1--WE have been in the trenches, which
consist of earth banks just high enough
to fire over when kneeling, since the
10th, and we will stay here until we
give the insurgents time to entrench
themselves and gather together so we
can whip them in a bunch. We have
skirmishes and exchange scattering
shots all the time, with no effect to our
men and little to the enemy.
Il am using Winchester. a 30-cali-
Der rifle, and am the only Montana
man who can reach as far as the insur-
gent sharpshooters. The weather is