Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1899-06-02
A LETTER FROM MANILA.
Capt. Frank A. Fem Describes
Conditions as he
Sees Them.


In a letter to his brother, Geo.
G. Fem. of Grangeville, our old
friend, Frank A, Fem, captain,
of Co. H., Idaho volunteers, writes
az follows:
On the firing line near San Pedro
el Macati, p. l, April 16, 1S99.-l
DEAR BROTHER: Your letter OF
Feb. 81 reached me here last
Wednesday, April II. Itcame per
steamer Portland. 1t takes long
while for mail to reach its destina-
ton in this far-away region at best,
but very much mail matter has
gone astray. OF late the postal
facilities here have been much i'm
proved so that now there is little
trouble. The old system in opera
ton before the Americans took
charge was defective and unsatis-
factory.
Since coming here my health has
been first-rate nearly all the time.
OF course l had a slight touch of
diarrhna everybody has that more
or less--but otherwise l have been
as wen as could ask. Fred, on the
contrary, has had tough time OF
it. Has been in the hospital three
times, from two weeks to two
months at stretch. When he had
typhoid was afraid he would die,
but he came out all right. He is
now quite hearty. There are two
diseases which the surgeons say
they cannot control here-chronic
diarrhea and rheumatism. Many
men have been discharged for dis
ability on account of these troubles.
The wet season is very trying on
weak lungs. The atmosphere
seems laden with moisture to the
point of saturation all the time.
Then at times when it is not rain
ing the whole country is subjected
to regular steam bath. When
ever the clouds pass the sun comes
out and the hot vapor rising from
the saturated earth is very enerv-
ating. The hot season extends
from March to July l, the wet
season from July l to December !,
and the cool from December to
March. One should not misunder-
stand the term cool; it is used here
in a relative sense only as it is hot
| here all the time to one reared in
the U. S.
Since our last campaign COM
menced on Feb. 5, more men have
been knocked out by heat prostra-
ton than by Filipino bullets. Of
fensive operations are carried on in
the early morning and late after
noon as far as possible, but the
fortunes of war do not permit COM
batants to fight at pleasure of one
side only. When the Americans
are compelled to do battle in the
middle of the day the heat is theil
worst foe.
Since the Filipinos began opera
tions they have lost a lot of men
The most careful estimates place
their killed and wounded at from
II, 900 to Is, 900, besides three Of
four thousand prisoners. Our kill
ed and wounded all told number
not over 600. We have about al
many wounded natives in our hos
pitfalls as we have Americans. Thu
natives cannot understand why WI
care for their wounded. At frs
they wanted to be allowed to di'
when picked up, as they had tn
idea we wanted to nurse them bacl
to life in order to stand them up il
, a row and shoot them as the Span
| iards used to treat their wounde,
prisoners. The day after the bat
: tie of Santa Ana a Filipino lieuten
, ant who had been taken prisone
t was offered some breakfast. H
declined it, saying in Spanish, g
am ready now" The guard didn'
understand what was meant, SO h
} reported the case. Upon investi
CATION it was found that the poo
: deluded fellow had been told by tn
g priests we would kill every on
: that fell into our hands, and h
, expected to be executed and pre-
/ ferred to have the ceremony finish
) ed as soon as possible. 1t is yer
{ hard to disabuse the minds of prif
t oners in this regard. OF course W
Q can't turn loose those we have unit
: the war is over, for they have n
idea of what parole means, g
t they have to be held, and the ide
t is now being spread among the ns
tives who are still in the field this
= we are merely acting in a kind
y manner to prisoners now in ordt
: to get the rest to lay down the
r arms and surrender, and when a
Q have submitted, then we will max
g one general wholesale slaughter.
g 1t is awfully hard to deal wit
y these poor, deluded, semi-barbar
Q ans who for four hundred yea