The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-04
KESSLER IS ALL RIGHT
A Change of Opinion Among
the Men.
REBELLION NOT BROKEN
Plenty OF Backbone Left Among the
Filipinos for Numberless Insur-
rections--It Is Second Ma
ture to the Tagals.

Great Falls, Sept S.-One of the bright
est letters written from the Philippines
by the boys engaged in doing battle there
Is written by j. b. Rtch of Company to
friend at Gilt Edge The writer evil
IDENTIFY has no thought of "the gallery"
and says what he believes in very candid
language. in part he writes as follows:
I'VE have not great deal to do here.
We are on the firing line, though, and do
"a hours of outpost duty every four days
but this has been made lighter lately and
we are expecting to be relieved from the
line and return to Manila within 10 days,
but there 10 nothing sure about it, The
regiment has been on the line four and
half months and we look forward to re-
turning to Manila and shortly thereafter
to the states with almost childish feel
ings of anxiety.
"A great many of the men have been
sick from diseases incidental to semi
tropical climate and some of the less
hardy are pretty well played out But on
the whole. the regiment has done splen-
didly. l believe the percentage of sick
has been smaller than that of any other
organization in the division, and it has
done as much marching duty and fight
ing as any of them.
"A great change has taken place in the
feeling ami opinion of the enlisted men
toward Colonel Kessler. We have found
since the war has been on that the old
colonel Is a pretty good man to have
around, and where formerly very strong
characteristic Western expressions were
used in speaking of him. now there is
scarcely a man in the regiment who does
not take pride in prociaiming the old
Man to be just about all that could be
expected of one man.
THE regiment has Jared as well in the
field as could be expected. The food at
times has been awfully tough, but the
colonel was not to blame for that, and
we have been we'll supplied with shoes,
stockings and clothes.
Another officer who is very popular in
the regiment is Surgeon Major Adams of
Great Falls. He is not only a first-rate
physician, but takes great interest in
the welfare of the men, and is also about
al brave as any one man gets to be. The
Montana regimental hospital corps is one
of the best in the Sth army corps and 1t
is told that Major Adams says the insur-
rectos can't shoot a man where he will
not go and get him away Life Is very
dull here at times, but not always So for
Aguinado makes US a warm visit occa-
sonally, and then everything looks quite
business-like for a while. We had been
here only three or four days when the
first of these visits occurred, and since
then the outposts are fired on nearly ev-
cry day. The papers in the states tell
the people that the backbone of the rebel
lion is broken, but l have arrived at the
conclusion that the insurrectos have on
hand a goodly supply of backbones for
rebellions, and when one is broken they
remove if and substitute another"
After describing a recent engagement,
Mr.. Ritch continued:
THE Filipino dead on our side were
hauled into town and buried in the ceme-
terry. There were 81 of them brought in
in three loads. One wagon was loaded
with "a of them and they completely filled
the box. although the sideboards We're on
it. Some of them were shot in three or
four places, and as they are not really
nice looking when they are alive, they are
certainly a repulsive sight after an Amer
lean mechanic has worked on them with
his Long Tom Another attack is look
ed for any time, and l believe this rebel
lion is going to last for some time vet, all
reports to the contrary Notwithstanding
The Filipino is an odd fellow and a most
persistent fighter yet brought into public
notice. He gets whipped every time but
being by nature a glutton for glory, he
comes back for more. He is a decided
optimist, taking the bright view of every
thing. At Caloocan they got an awful
beating. one that would have had very
depressing effect upon an American force,
yet in d few days they had constructed
trenches to oppose our advance. We
could hear them singing and playing mu-
sic at night, and they were always up to
greet the outposts at daybreak with a
volley or two, usually supplementing the
volleys by yelling out lin their own lam
guage) that our ancestors had departed
from the paths of virtue and respecta-
hility, or words to that effect, and ending
by a few caustic comments on ourselves
after which all hands would give us the
horse laugh and fire a few more shots
And every time We do not them going
they appear to enjoy life pretty well
They have become so used to wars and
rebellons that think they look on them
as natural condition; and. besides, sol
diering is so much more pleasant and
homelike where the soldier can have his
wife or best girl with him whenever the
army is not on the move.
Il belieye that l write truthfully wher
/ say that the volunteers are all very
anxious to return to the states. The con.
ditions are so much different from those
in America that they are all ready tC
quit the army at the earliest possible
moment, though a few will undoubtedly
remain here as citizens. | do not see
much to hold one here, unless the mining
Held should prove a paying proposition
and that IS as yet practically unknown.
think that 1T will be great place for the
safe investment of capital in sugar plan
tations, but poverty-stricken Son OF
Rest has no show to win"