The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-13
Great Experience
Claude Rogers Fife
IN the PHILIPPINES.

AdHlIa, Z. L. June z, 1888.
Dear Father and All: 1 received two
letters and package OF papers today, but
1t has been over a month since had re-
ceived any mail and 1 was getting i'm
patient So the letters and papers cheered
me up. Yesterday I was out on the Leu
nitta and saw the boats in action. 1t was a
grand sight. / wouldn't have missed 1t
for the world. There were four of them.
The Oregon taking the lead. the monitor
bringing up the rear. They shelled the in
surgents over an hour. driving them out
Of their intrenchments TO the hiKs. Our
troops have been fighting along the south
line for more than a week, but little dam
age has been done, but think that the
backbone of the insurgent army has been
broken and that the fighting from now on
will be light, until after the rainy season
IS over anyway, by that time the volun-
teers will all be home, and IL they increase
the army 10 s.. 900 I think IL will be enough
TO finish them up. Aguinaldo's cousin is
in charge OF the insurgent army on the
south side Of the island and he has a
eral OF the men OF the 2lst captured six
men and women trying TO come down the
river in a casco. They were so starved
that they could hardly stand. There are
about thirty men, women and children
that hang around our quarters and get
what we leave at mess time. pity them,
We have oat meal and milk for breakfast
now. 1t rains very hard most OF the time
and most of the boys are on the sick list
The new troops that are coming over
suffer more than who have been here
longer. L am well yet and am thankful
for that. felt little bad last week and
they gave me 50 much qulnine that was
deaI for two days. It is qlinine or castor
oil and big doses at that. 1 get awful
lonesome some days and wish that had
never heard Of the army. think of you
all the time and keep every spot in Wich-
ita in my mind. Would like to be out I'M
der those trees Of ours right now, but the
three years will soon pass away. eight
months have nearly gone now. May We
all be spared to meet again is my prayer
When L get so blue that I can't stand IL
any longer, l take my flute and play all
the tunes that 1 know and In spirit are
carried back to you. 1 am a regular po>
ltceman now. Don't you think that l
will make a dandy? We carry fifteen
rounds of ammunition, but expect to have
revolve-s and clubs in couple of weeks.
Everybody calls me sorrowful. as / hardly
ever smile. ] keep to myself don't bother
any body and nobody bothers me can
keen ont NJ had cnu,papv fbat 49,. 81 7
have my own cOunsels. You don't know
how 1 long to see the inside OF a church
or Sunday school. The boys and girls at
home ought to go often to make up for
me. II l could speak just one word TO a
good American woman 1t would be like a
God-send to me. All we see IS soldiers.
spaniards and Fflipinos. Tell Mr.. Thayer
that 1 don't forget him and have longed
many times to hear one of his sermons.
The children don't have any Sunday
School over here, but they go to public
school fivo days out OF the week That
Is one OF our duties to see that all child
rem over five years old go to school Il
Is a great curiosity to hear them study.
They study out loud and talk and do "a
they please. When they get too smart
the teacher bats them with a paddle.
When we walk by the school house they
will all stop studying and holler hello, or
how are you? They learn to talk oU1
language very fast. The Oregon volun-
teers leave today and we are expecting
the Sixth infantry every day. We think
there will be n lot OF mail with them for
us. They come on the Sherman. One Of
our boys married Philippine woman. 7
feel sorry for his folks and IL the com.
mandery finds 1t out he will get a dis
honorable discharge. He is only abou,
eighteen years old and rather wild. Some
Of the boys say that they are going to
write TO his folks about it, but | don't
think that It will do any good for he has
NJ respect for his people Tell little Ruth
Smith that l am going to keep Ter letter
until Igo back home and see IL she will
know It. She will he quite a little e:rI
then. read a paper today with news from
the south line. They fought all day yes.e ter
day and captured twelve smooth bore
guns from the insurgents. over 6n0 insur-
gents killed and 200 taken prisoners. The
insurgents killed twenty. wounded ninety
and took twelve prisoners of our men.
There was but one volunteer killed There
was over six regiments engaged. / havn't
seen Rube Oldfeld since l wat at PasiC.
lie Is on special duty. \ soldiers life Is
different from a civilians. We are Ike a
lot of brothers and II you are sick they
will do anything for you. We Ill have
20 go through the same hariships. - all
are treated alike. You asked II though,
that ] would have enough of he army N
three years. have enough of Il already.
hut I think that l can stand it for three
years. There is an order 20 increase every
company to the standard of Us men Gt
used TO be 1867. so 1t will make our duty
quite bit easier. We only get one fun
nights sleep in a week. and we have to be
out in all kinds OF weather It is very
tedious and also monotonous and life is
almost a burden. but we have n great
many comforts here that they don't have
On the firing line. Such as good things 10
EAT and Il dry place TO sleep.
VIII try and tell you some amusing
things that happened to us when We were
out WIN Wheaton. II Is hard to remember
everything at first, hut when you get 10
thinking and talking about IL afterwards.
It comes 10 your memory. The first day
out we ate up all OF our rations so the
next morning we were pretty hungry. An
order came for twenty men out OF every
company TO go out foraging. ] was ono Of
the twenty in our company. We won't ov--
- a place We called Duck Town. We GO,
enough ducks and chickens to last Ne n
week The chickens were old game chick
ems. The natives are great on fighting