Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-10-23
HOLDING ANGELESE.
Soldier Life i'm the Philippines Not
What 1t is Cracked
Up to Be.
ALFRED WAGNER WRITES ALBTTER

Americans Have a Hard Tussle In Occupy
Ing the Town, Losing - Men In the
Operation-SerenadedD Daily With shrap-
mel by the FIIipinos-Rock Islander Tells
of Narrow Escapes He Has Experienced.
Edward Wagner, who is now a trav-
cling salesman in Iowa, visited Rock
Island over Sunday. He has a letter
fl ON his brother. Alfred Wagner,
whom it will be remem bered was as
signed to the hospital corps from JEFF
ferson Barracks. Mo-, and transferred
TO service in the Philippines. That the
service is anything but easy is shown
by the tone of the letter, as the writer
is by no means a ninny boy. The
letter is as follows:
"Angelese, Philippine Islands, Sept.
/. 1S99.-Dear Brother Ed | re-
ceived your letter of July 81 yester-
day and was very glad to hear from
you, and especially that you are doing
well. You say that you have written
me several letters, but l have only re-
ceived one besides the last, and l an
swered it shortly after receiving it. |
am feeling first rate at present, but
have suffered considerable in the past,
having lost about 20 pounds
Plenty OF Fighting.
l tell you we are having all the
scrapping we want here and little
more, too. On the 10Th of August
our regiment had one of the hottest
fights that has taken place in the isl
ands. Six hundred of us, all that
were able for duty in the regiment.
they made it pretty hot for us for a
while. On that date our colonel said
he would eat his dinner in Angelese,
the stronghold of the niggers. He
ordered us out ut / a. III. that day and
we advanced until we got about six
hundred yards from their trenches,
then they opened on us, and l
cell you they led us merry
gait for Il while until charge was
ordered, then il was all Off, the Mig |
gers had to vamepse, but they stayed |
in the trenches until we got within 60 !
yards of them. We got out of it /!
mighty lucky at that, as we only lost |
% men. We have lost quite num- |
Der of men since in skirmishes, as the |
niggers have tried to recapture the !
town nearly every day since we came !
here. They serenade us every morn |
ing and evening with schrapuel and |
shell from their big guns along with |
their Mausers and Remingtons, which |
are their small arms.
Has a Close Call.
Last night 1 was awakened by
bullet going through the /
shack where 1 sleep. and l looked
around and found the bullet lodged in
the side of the wall. 1t went through
about two or three feet below my
head. We are getting kind of
used to those things now, as it is
nothing to have your canteen pune
tured and lose all your water after
having carried it six or seven miles.
| tell YOU this business is not what it
IS cracked up TO be, and l wish | was
out of it. | hope that some of those
fellows who want the Philippines so
badly Will have to come over here and
light the niggers for a while. and
.hink that they will change their
minds The boys tell
ne I'm the luckiest fellow in the reg
ment. The niggers fired three vol
eys at our little hospital squad the
,ther day and did not even touch me
rhe niggers have got the hospital corp
or regular marks, and fire on US
very chance they get.
Veil, | will close for this time, hop
ng to hear from you often and love to
III. Regards to all the boys. Your
,rother, ALFRED WAGNER.