The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1899-05-26

ii might az well be 8 miles as long as the /
present orders are in effect.
Major Mcclure, Captain O'Brien, my /
self, and ten men Of Company II are the /
only ones who have been on the other side /
Of the river, mention Of which has been |
made before.
In my opinion the surrender Of the ma |
tive forces on this island depends upon /
the result OF the campaign Of Luzon, of |
which Manila is the capital. ii the ma |
tiHes of Luzon are whipped or forced TO |
surrender, 10 will not DO long until their |
forces here surrender. The island Of Nj /
gros, which is just across the bay from
this one, has already peacefully surren-
dered, and a battalion of the First Cali
iornia Regiment was sent down from Ma
Mia and are conducting affairs.
/ think the campaign will be q long one
on Luzon Island, and thatnecessarily will
extend operations on Panay, unless they
send us troops, or abandon Iloilo and 20
out after them. The First Tennessee can
end the campaign on this island, If the
general will just say 60 ahead, II would
be the hardest thing to accomplish a gang
OF men ever attempted, but we-oflicers
and men, from the colonel down-are get
ting tired OF these islands, and will risk
winding up the natives little ball of
yarn in short order to get out. We size
mp the matter in this way: If you want
these natives put ont of the business, let
us got at them, finish 'em up, and then
! LET us 90 home. But under existing cir
cumstances think General Miller is do
ing all he can-obeYing orders.
presume you have seen in the papers
that Lieutenant Colonel Childress was
promoted to the colonelcy OF the regiment
and Major Bayless to the lieutenant colo
nelcy. They were first in line of promo
ton.
1t is reported that the natives on Luzon
are short of ammunition, They use the
Mauser and Remington rifles, and most
of the shells used in the Remington are
brass-coated, which makes it poisonous,
and very slight wound caused by one o.
these bullets is at least a serious if not
deadly one, This is the bullet the natives
are trying to kill us with. It is reported
that the supply ofarms and ammunition
here is even less than on LuzOn. The
question of food supply hardly enters into
this little unpleasantness, for they can
live on three grains of rice day. The
same as to wearing apparel. Themost of
them wear no shoes and go bareheaded
half the time, and yard of any kind of
goods will furnish shirt and pants Some
Of them wear no clothes at all to speak of
The insurgents affect a uniform which is
a shirt and pants, of an indigo blue color,
and a straw hat, but the majority of them
wear white shirt and pants and any kind
of hat they can get. Some of their Off
GERS, though, have very snowy and gaudy
uniforms upon which gold lace, etc., is
very conspicuous.
AsI have told you, they are a very small
race OF people. believe the natives here
are larger than those on Luzon and speak
different language, called HViscayan."
tits more difficult to understand also. I
understand that every island in the Phil
lippine group has different language.
Their customs, however, are the same.
They are an INDECENT race, but by no
means fools. There are plenty of smart
ones among them. Rice and sugar cane
are the chief products, but they raise an
exceptionally good grade of tobacco, and
cigars, cigarettes and tobacco are very
cheap here. There is an abundance Of
tropical fruit, also mosquitoes.
We have quarters in buildings near our
lines now, and the companies alternate
every "a bours in outpost duty. This is
easier on the men, but hard enough. Nc
, body of men were ever assembled that
were better than these composing the
; third battalion. They are soldiers, every
!. inch otthem, and thoroughly reliable and
safe in every respect; discipline is per.
feet, and the officers resort to summary
measures very seldom. Major Mcclure
, is an ideal commander, Il aud
/ am glad to hold the position of adiutant
to such a splendid officer.
All the forces have done splendid work
since the occupation of the island. Some
times the natives in large numbers will
mass on our right flank, and in one case
Of this kind Major Mcclure telephoneC
General Miller, who sent down ligh
! battery of the Sixth Artillery. After {
few rounds Of shrapnel not an insurgen
could be seen. They don't like shells
! At the bombardment Of Iloilo February
; ii the shells from the Boston and Petre
! kept them flying in every direction. /
was the grandest sight | ever saw. The
a Petrol got information early that morning
: that the natives were firing the city, anC
= at or a. M. she sent shot which in
: formed the natives at we were going at
! ter them. We arrived from Manila tina
i morning on the st. Paul, and were an
chored near the Boston. At first we con
: Guided the Petrol was firing salute, bu
4 the next shot a part of the insurgent for
. on the beach tumbled down, and then w
= knew that war on Panay Island had be