The Iola register., 1899-04-14

THEo. l. SHAFFER.
In letter dated February 26. at
Caloocan, Fred Nelson gives the fol-
lowing sketches OF the situation of
the troops at that time and OF the
burning of Manila by the insurgents
and later NY the Americans in self
protection. He writes:
1--WE have been in the field since
three weeks ago last night and fight
ing almost every day. Our regiment
has eight killed and about forty
wounded, | think no lola boy except
McGrew who Is not seriously hurt.
A bullet went through his shoulder.
After we took and burned Caloocan
Feb. 10, We had to stop all advance
along the line to wait for reinforce
ments as our entire line is over
thirty-two miles long. Our regiment
is about the fartherst from Manila as
near as | can tell and occupies the
extreme left of the line next to the
bay and ABOUT half mile. from where
CaloOcan stood and a mile from Mala-
bon. Here is a map sketched in by
the writer
That Is the way it appears to me.
They, the insurgents, have large
forces all around outside of our lines
and Malabon is a strong hold. On
the right and left in front OF our regI-
ment you see have placed insurgent
cannon. Here is the only place our
line has been bombarded by them
except tor while the very first
night. The insurgent cannon on our
LETT was fired at us few times about
"a week ago hut our battery soon To-
Gated 1t and silenced it. On the
morning of the 23rd they had slipped
in among the dykes on our left and
gave us raking cross fire which
killed three men and wounded seven
or eight. The same morning early
they began on ue with the cannon on
the right, iring at the Utah battery
and 9th artillery. Their shots fell
about 100 yards short OF the battery
and then bounced and passed us,
The 2Oth Kansas lines are on both
sides of the artillery, one company
being on the right. Myself and an
other fellow had elm bed up ON high
wall about thirty feet high, which
is back of the church and seems to
! hnx a Il . Ia.
church) at the first shot. From there
we watched a couple when one
bounced and ricochetted over in our
direction and so close tnat we nearly
fell of the wall. Guess the wind OF
the shell nearly blew me of?) All
that day and night ani the next day
and night they fired at US all the
: time and Mausers were swapping and
Remingtons whizzing all day. (Maus-
sers and Remingtons are the two
kinds of rifles the insurgents have.
"The night before the hardest at
tack was made out here the natives
in Manila rose. Altogether there
} were only about two regiments of US
there. The insurgents set fire in
several places in the city and then
bugle calls sounded i'm the streets and
t companies formed in no time who
fought cur boys all night there in the
, city. When the fire companies tried
to fight the fire they would cut the
, hose right in plain sight and several
were shot and one VINO tried it too
near soldier had his back brok Ell
by dubbed musket. There were
hundreds of them killed and women
and children burned TO death. The
total will probably reach almost a
aud wounded hut l don't know how
mauy. The insurgents, about $50 OF
them, attacked the engine house OF
the railroad we have been running
, There were only ten soldiers there
and they soon hal to retreat back
this way, One of them, Webber, Of
Company L., had the ends Of the
, third and fourth fingers of his right
hand shot of and six cartridges cut
in two in his belt. He came back
here to report, and reiniorcements
were sent aud help came from town
as it was about $3.50 a. m. and things
were more quieU there and the cal
house was re'captured, about dozen
of them were killed and the rest
escaped. During the fight at night
orders were given to fire the lower
part of the city where the insurgents
.