Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-01-05

weekly Is al expensive Undertaking
and requires the combined efforts of
them soldiers pay, make them eat
soldiers grub and do soldiers duty in
the sun, they would settle this Philip
pine question G. D. @. Well, we are
willing to do all we can for the g. 0. p.
and when we get home we will hurrah
for them, but here we are mum.
The letter you sent me, that was
written by E. r. Wells from Coamo.
was eagerly read by all of the boys in
Company K. I guess that they are
not having any harder times than we
are, although the government don't
force anything on us boys l buy
about all / eat and things are very
dear Eggs are five cents each and
duck eggs at that. The oranges and
bananas are a wild kind and are mis-
cradle things. | bought some apples
today that were shipped in from Mich
iSo1i, y. b'; dIii pdlS' ~ OS1Io C6tCu loI
them. We don't get any milk except
the water buffalo milk and | would
not drink that if I.never had any: the
buffaloes' looks arg enouge for me.
For the eagle brand canned milk we
pay IS cents, and apples are 60 cents
per can. These prices are Spanish
money, we get two Spanish for one
American dollar. Clothing and cigars
are cheap, 10 cents (MeXican) will buy
signed the clothing rule for the first
six months clothing allowance and am
credited with $500. The government
made us present of a new pair Of
shoes, a hat and green colOred linen
jacket and trousers to the boys who
were in the battle of Manila. / re-
ceived my clothes last week. 1t is a
kind of mark to tell the Vets from
the 'Ruckies'', and they are kicking
and say they will buy uniforms like
them. | don't know whether the gov
ernment will let them wear them or
not. The government never stopped
the soldiers from wearing citizens
clothes since we landed in Luzon eX-
cept when on duty or parade.
You ask me how | like it. | have
to like it, and 'there are Others" We
have good officers and have more lib
erty than any other regiment on the
island. We have baseball league and
each regiment has team and we have
a game twice week when times are
and after retreat, $50 to 10 p. m., we
can go where we please and that is
more than any other regiment can do.
Last Sunday l was in the Walled City.
1t is horrible place. The Spanish
| prisoners are quartered there, except
| those that are out on parole: they &C
around where they like, but are OBJ
! liged to answer rollcall twice day.
The Oregon and the Twenty-third reg.
iment are stationed in there. The
wall is about thirty feet thick and
twenty feet high, and covered with
heavy guns and monitors. We could
stand off all of Spain'S army if we
were stationed in behind the walls.
The guns are most all old fashioned
ones and like the people in the city are
hundred years behind the times. AL
along the walls are dungeons anC
prisons that are terrible | know Tn
not very easily frightened, but those
places made me Shudder. 1t is sicken
ing to see them. Just think of it
The 18th century and the stocks where
they put people and torture them. Ir
some rooms the floors were covered
with sharp rocks and they made theil
| prisoners run around on them with
bare feet until they would faint away
and then they would whip them with
a cat-o-nine tails. Inside the Walled
City are Chinese shops and opium dens
The walls keep out the seabreeze anC
the streets are narrow and dirty. They
say it is a ''cIean city, since the Am
pricans control it. 1t is no wonde1
that the soldiers are dying like sheep
for it is d perfect pest hole. Their,
are fine castles that cost millions o
dollars and for all their riches the,
have their windows barred and lool