Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1899-05-19
"sToRY OF COMPANY &C.
- collins Narrates It's Do.
ipas Since it, Arrival
at Manila.

,ould wr1te YOU ASA6 'OOooa CIV
- 9TH the history Of company c, l
K, heein by starting at the time
a.1e into Manila. Our first
..,srs were ct Malate. We were
u.rtsred with the 14th infantry.
81 ousrters were enclosed by a
.one fence and our kitchen was in
~ yard. We slept on the floor
= nearly two months, after which
we're issued cots, one each. We
- hacked like sardines in box.
We did outpost duty about twice a
~ in the vicinity of Malate, on
liz streets. It was in the rainy
icon. and it rained all the time.
i have seen it rain Is hard as to
think II was q water spout. When
ne were not on outpost we were
.ompelled to stay in quarters, and
onIy noncommissioned officers
conld 90 out. I was acting corpor-
Il and could get out very often
that way.
The first pay day was September
10. and prior to that time we had
no money and could not buy any
thing. OF course, all the time we
had q little to eat, but that was all
Won could say about it. We left
there in October, got good quarters,
and the rainy season being about
/ over, we enjoyed ourselves much
better, doing outpost duty all the
time, but had the privilege of 60
| ing up town once in q while on a
psss. We drilled twice a day,
time passed easy, but tired and
| lonesome it was, with no place to
20 to spend . leisure hour
could not 60 up town except on a
psss, and then nothing to see but
ualy Spaniards and natives and no
Zone to talk to except soldiers. just
about December the insurgent
scare began raging and about two
or three nights in the week we
would sleep with our clothes on
ready to move. We left these
quarters on January 2 and moved
| to q bamboo building which used to
BE- q cock pit where the natives in
dulged in the cruel sport of fight
ing cocks. That is still our quar-
ters, although we have not been
there since the fight begun. After
we moved up there we did not
have any outpost duty to do, but
still, about three or four nights in
the week we would have to SLEEP
with our shoes on and our guns by
our side, and often times get up in
the night and 60 to the outpost
and stay all night. Up to this
time we had done a great deal OF
garrison duty and / would rather
lay three years in jail than to &c
through that experience again. BY
this time the scares had been going
on for month or 80, and we had
made several trips out to the lines
and there was no trouble. We
were getting worried to death.
We all would say that the officers
were crazy for anticipating trouble
with the natives. If you could
have seen us when we returned
after going out and staying all
night and no trouble, when we bad
been told upon starting that they
were fighting outside, we looked
just like lot Of boys that had lost
mother. We would have to &c
out on double time through mud
and water and lay in the sand all
night, and upon our return in the
morning the boys would say,
well, we never will get to &c
home now, for if this lasts much
longer we will all de-" And that
very night it would be the same old
cry OF the wolf again, and yet he
did not come; but he has come at
last. We were not like the sheep
nerder; we went once more with
the same old regret, but when we
found the wolf there it was quite
the reverse. We, the enlisted men
OF the eighth army corps, never did
nave any desire to fight the ma
lives, as 1t looks like shame for
90 powerful . nation as ours to
whip such trash; bat as we are
here to do a. We arc ordered, we
VII! tight, and fight hard, too,
which we have done. Well, things
went ON in the same manner until
tne night Of February 4, when the
insurgents signed their death war
rant and thousands have bit the
aust since. That morning / took
my regular turn at guard duty, no
one knowing anything about the
agnt, not even Gen. Otis, and that
night at $3.50 there came an order
70 Do ready to 20 at q minutes
lotlce, as the Indications showed
sagns OF an attack by the insurg-
sn.s' The boys hooted at it and
said 1t was another fake. In a few
minutes we heard Q few shcts in
sne east near where our position
was On the lines. The boys saw
Sue Dig thing was on and rushed
Sut to 70. Some had been sick for
Jays and poor Collins could not go
ao ne was ON nnard and could not