Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-09-19

Il he courier presents kIOulSnt dnOtleF
letter from f. Z. Strong, of Company
NJ, Eifty-frst Iowa. The letter was
written while the regiment was still at
San Fernando, on the firing line, and is
as follows:
San Fernando, P. T., Aug. /. 1899.
Dear Mother-I received your well
come letter Yesterday. The mail came
on the transport Valencia. The COM
pany was on outpost duty yesterday
and last night. Things have been pref
ty quiet here lately.
There is some talk of making an adj
vance to Mexico, which is up the river
about three miles from here. The enc
my is pretty thick in front of us now,
and it is rumored that his royal high
ness, "Aggie," is in command. They
have pretty strong Notifications in
front of us and we will probably see
pretty stiff fight if we advance. The
Ninth, Twelfth, Seventeenth and TWEEN
ty-second regulars are here, and they
say the Sixteenth infantry is an its
way here from Caloocan, where they
were lately relieved by the Twenty
fourth regulars (colored troops), who
recently arrived on the Zelandia. Bat
terry E of the First United States ar
tillery came up the other day. They
haye big American horses to pull their
guns. The advance is only a rumor.
but it looks like it means something
when these new troops are ordered
here. The ground is just getting dry
again, after big rain for ninety hours
steady. The whole surrounding coun-
try looked like one large lake. The
boys went to the outposts wading in
in the rain for twenty-four hours.
Some found canoes and came in to
quarters in them. Most all went bare
footed with their pants rolled up.
Companies down the street from us
built RATS and padded right up the
street to the commissary to draw their
rations. Our company was the only
one that did not get flooded. We have
the best quarters in town and sleep up
stairs, and cook right in the building,
so don't have to go out in the rain for
meals. like the other companies. We
live in a large stone house, but the
other companies of the regiment are
quartered in bamboo shacks, built up
on poles TO keep dry when the water
raises. The floors are about five Or
six feet above the ground, Centipedes
and other insects We're thick during
the high water. They were drowned
out of the ground, and could be seen
on weeds and trees sticking out of the
water, and just hung on to each other
like a, swarm Of bees. / was down to
Manila last week to make a few pur-
chases. The captain is down today.
The whole water :ront and Tondo dis
The whole water front aud ondo dis.
trict were under wafer when / was
there. The Sherman sailed few days
ago with the First California infantry,
and the First California heavy artillery
on board. The Grant expects to go to-
morrow. 1t takes the First North Da-
kota, First Idaho, First Wyoming, in
fantry, and Battary A First Wyoming
light artillery volunteers. The Sheridan
arrived the other day.. 1t will probably
leave the middle of the month with the
Thirteenth Minnesotas and Montanas.
The Valencia will probably go TO llo-
lilo and get the First Tennessee. The
First South Dakotas expect to SO OH
the Zelandia, which will follow the
Sheridan. The old Pennsylvania, that
brought us over here. will soon be IN
with the Twenty-ffth regulars (colcr-
ed, and it will probably take buck
the Twentieth Kansas. The paper said
the new transport, Tartar, which is
about the size of the Warren, left 'Fris-
co on July "a, and will get here about
the last of August. We will probably
go home on this boat, along with
Troop A., Nevada cavalry. We hope 10
get out of here about the middle of
September. / hope it will not be any
later than this, as it will be so awfully
cold when we get home and will prob
ably go hard with the regiment on ac-
count of leaving so hotSa climate for
a cold one. and might cause sickness
But we will all be glad enough to get
back TO Gods country once more,
stand the cold and not say a word.
But this is too far away to talk about;
here we are. away up here in Sen Fer
nando, and not even in off the line
and no prospects of getting in to MAJ
Mia or back to our old quarters in Ca
vite for weeks yet. We are the only
volunteers on the line, either north or
south. About the only fighting that
lis going on is down on the lake, La
guna de Bay The "niggers" don't
seem TO be so aggressive of late, and
if they are not stirred up or pushed
hard by our troops, they go 10 working
in the fields and gathering provisions.
] think they are getting very short of
food. We sometimes see them in trout
of the outpost cutting and gathering
corn.
Three new volunteer regiments are 10
be organized, to De called tie United
States Veteran Volunteers, and are
made up principally OF volunteers who
desire to stay here, About 100 of the
Fifty-first are going to stay in service,
and have .reinlisted TO stay until June
so, 100. Theyare the Thirty-sixth, Ma
ior Bell to command; Thirty-seventh.
Colonel Wallace, to have one battalion.
one troop Of cavalry, one company Of
artillery and TWO companies Of imfan-
try: and the Thirty eighth, consisting
Of mounted scouts, captain Lockett, OF
the Fourth cavalry, to command. The
men joining these new regiments. are
mostly from the different volunteer
regiments, and will be mustered out
of their regiments and given their trav-
ell pay home (about S5e0l, then taken
into the new regiment. / doubt il any
out of our company will STAY here hui