The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-10-24
GENERAL WELLINHAND."
Soldiers cknam for Otis, Says a
Returned Private.

Harry w. White, AIS Bright street, for
merly a member of Battery G, Third United
States Artillery, doing service in the Phil
ippines. returned TO the city a few days
ago. and has many interesting tales to tell
of his experiences. According TO White, the
situation there is much more serious than
Is generally believed in this country. He
Is loud in his praise of the service OF VOL
unteer regiments, General Funston and the
four batteries of the Third Artillery. Re
garding the commander-in-chief, General
Otis. he is inclined 10 be critical, saying he
thought General Otis, or General WeHin-
hand" as he is called by the soldiers, on
account of his dispatches, altogether in
capable and looking out too much for his
own welfare. He said Otis had not been
outside the walled city, or at least not TO
the knowledge OF the soldiers. The fact,
said White, that officers under him refuse
and neglect TO carry out his orders day
after day is proof to me that something is
wrong with his management OF affairs.
From all / was able to learn, the round
robin OF the newspaper correspondents was
about right, and Otis is a mar who will
have to be relieved from the of
affairs there before any success whatever
can be attained. The natives there are
called niggers, and it has been the practice
of Otis, after defeating them, to allow them
to enter the city. They are the most de-
ceitful people l have ever seen. and there
is no way TO subdue them but by killing
them off or by having an army large enough
to drive them all to bay, keeping them In
'front.' OF the army all the time. And even
then there can be no safety TO Americans
after they surrender and the army is re-
duced. They are a treacherous lot and can
The command of which White was a men,
Der saw continuous service from the time
II landed at Manila, and at the time the
had been killed. The first engagement in
which he participated wa Was the capture a Of
service within the city until Feb. o,
1899. when an advance on Caloocan was
was Known as the battle of La Iona. In
speaking of this White said: The Tween
yieth Kansas was on our left and the First
about 10 o'clock Saturday evening TO pre-
pare for movement in the morning. Just as
we arose from the trenches Sunday morn
ing, Feb. D, five of our men were instantly
killed before we had fired a shot. We went
forward that morning about six miles, and
had fierce ighting all the way through
until Feb. 10. when We made another adj
vance. which was led by Major Bell. now
of the Thirty-first Regiment. which is
made up OF soldiers discharged in the Phil
ippines and re-enlisting there. Shortly after
out start Bell had a horse shot from under
him very close 10 me. We kept on for five
days. during which time our battery lost
three or four men. Battery X, IN which
there Were Indiana men. lost eight. We
then lay I'm the trenches for about thirty
nve days. until March Is. Our lines and
those OF the enemy were irregular. some
places as close 10 each other as 400 yards,
and never more than so yards. So mon0t-
oncus was the service that We used 10 get
out or the trenches and exchange a few
shots with the niggers just for pastime.
Nearly every day some Of our fellows were