Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-08-29
PHILIPPINE PLEASURES
a Member Of the Fifty-fr Iowa
Describes Life During the
Rainy Season.
Pencil Nor Brush Can Portray Woes
OF the Soldiers In the
Philippines.

OF the Soldiers In the
Philippines.
Mud and Malaria, Insects and Ill
ness Only Portion of Their
Ordeals.
Des Moines, Aug. 29.-The Leader
prints the following from member of
the Fifty-first Iowa, now in the Philip
pines:
San Fernando, P. l., July 1e.-Twice
during its eventful career has the Iowa
regiment been called upon to lead
marine existence. The first was when
it passed three months at sea on the ark
Pennsylvania. The second and present
instance is its experience on outpost
duty about San Fernando in the midst
of the rainy season.
To attempt to describe all the tribu-
lations involved in this kind of service
| is a large undertaking. To perform
this undertaking is hopelessly beyond
anything not as powerful as the brush
of Verstschogin, which is supposed
to be permanently in the business of
depicting horrors. An ordinary lead
pencil does not rise to the heights of
| the task involved. In the first place
there is an utter lack of anything like
| fair, fixed and stable weather at this
season. 1t is as changeable as the
winds, constantly shifting and uncer
| tain. When this letter was begun
4 few minutes ago the sun was shining
| down on the moist, soaked earth fierce
lily. The sky was partly clear and the
mountains to the north and west, cap
l ped by clouds only here and there,
| stood out dark blue and sharply out
l fined. Now things have changed COM
| pletely. The sky is overcast. the sun
hidden, the mountain peaks and ranges
are yelled in clouds and a hard, driv-
| ing rain is sweeping over the cane
1 fields, through the rice swamps and the
bamboo thickets. Nature is capricious
1 enough to assure half dozen such
changes as this before night, with the
/ prospects good for a heavy deluge be-
tween sunset and tomorrow morning
/ The condition of the roads and paths
and of the fields in this reign of mois-
ture may be imagined. 1t has become
a task to wade the mud to the out
skirts of town, where the outposts are
stationed. The posts are fairly afoat
in water and the sentinels keep watch
in the rain and constantly deepening
mud, amid rank growths of weeds and
marsh grass and the discordant cries
of thousands of lizards, frogs and other
lamphibious creatures that alone seem
to enjoy the situation. Myriads of
mosquitoes and ants add to the dis
comforts of existence by night BY
day there are swarms of flies abroad a,
to keep up campaign on humanity
while the pests of night are resting.
4 These are a few Of the conditions and
environments incident to the rainy sea-
/ son in Luzon that help to make life
cheerful and agreeable-all of which
the troops at the front are in position
4 to enjoy and appreciate to particular
/ degree of nicely.
This is the season when Ag,lnaldo
has been encouraging himself with the
i peifef that the Americans are doomed
to die Off like flies. 1t is true the CHI
mate Is not at all salubrious. There is
much sickness. 1t is not unusual for
the reports to show number of the
a
4 strength of but twenty to TWENTY-FIVE
privates for duty. On the other hand,
the natives themselves do not appear
to find the rainy season especially con-
genial. They seem to be worse AFFECTED
by the rains than the Americans. AT
night they resort to the expedient of
building great fires in their trenches
and the sky to the northward of San
| 10 ANIL <r1<,
flames from these, about which they
huddle and SILVER through the chilly.
rainy hours ALI things considered. ii
Is probable Aguinaldo has been giving
his Imagination as free play in discuss
A ing rainy season health statistics as he
is wont to allow 1t in other matters.
4 There Is sure to be an abundance of
sickness IN the American army but II
is doubtful II it will suffer to any great
Il degree more than will the Filtpinos
themselves.
4 The Fifty-first is now brigaded under
4 Gen. Wheaton. Gen. Hale has gone into
4 Manila and will soon be on his way
E. homeward with the Colorado regiment.
1t may be said here that Gen. Hale Is
held in very high regard by the men of
the regiment. He is considered one of
the ablest of the brigadiers here. It is
probably not generally known that he
graduated from West Point in 1854 with
the highest average standing of any
student that has finished the course at
that institution.
First Lieut.. Frank Kihlbom OF Com
pany has been appointed captain to
succeed Capt. Gibson, now in the regu-
lar army. Second Lieut.. Park Findley
becomes first lieutenant. and First
Sergt. William Parvin second lieuten-
ant. J.. A. Graham is now first sergeant
of the company.
A recent issue of the American at
Manila speaks in very glowing terms
OF the band of the Fifty-first Iowa.
The occasion of the mention was a con-
cert at Gen. MacArthur's headquarters
, in San Fernando. At the close of the
concert Gen. Macarthur commended
the band in the highest terms The
American says the band of the Fifty
first is ranked as the second finest in
the military service of the United
States being surpassed only by Brook S
marine band of Chicago. This state
ment is not strictly a new one, the au-
thority for Ii being the Army and NAVY