Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-04-19

| about the same way I would quinine.
OF which, by the way. we get plenty
here In the field. The second platoon
vas held in reserve till we reached the
| outskirts of Caloocan. when the first
was ordered to fall back and the second
to take its place, but somehow no one
tell BACK and our whole company was
| on the firing line as we passed through
the town burning everything as we
went. There are only two or three
houses left. This was another rabbit
chase or rout, never stopping until we
| had run them two miles beyond the
city. There we stayed all night then
! fell back mile next morning to get
! even with the rest of the line.
Major General Macarthur said of TIE
Kansas regiment during the last fight:
Those boys are not soldiers, they are
| nothing but fighting devils' / don't
know how true that is but / do know
| that in both charges we were ahead of
everything else when they ended. On
Sunday we were thousand yards
ahead and on Friday mile. Our com
| pany never had man scratched in the
charges but while throwing up breast
works next morning two boys were
wounded, not seriously, however.
We have been lying in these trench
es for over two weeks. Things are so
uncertain in the army that I'll not at
tempt to say what we are waiting for.
but are becoming impatient to go at
them again. Since the 18th the natives
have been on the offensive. On that
morning they advanced but after driv.
Ing in our pickets were checked. We
are lying in sight of their trenches and
they shoot every time they see one of
us. They have killed three boys and
wounded several more. The natives
seem to enjoy making US nightly yis-
its. So far they have only killed one
man: they shoot so high that there is
not much danger.
Il was on outpost duty last night;
had charge of Co. Ms detail. The out
posts are not supposed to return alive,
but the monotony of barrack life is re-
leved by the spice of danger attending
ILLS hIuu VI employment.
There was an outbreak in Manila
the other night and 200 natives were
killed and about 600 taken prisoners.
The native part of the town was nearly
all burned.
II have just finished eating dinner
which consisted of beans, beef, light
bread, coffee, sugar and-cake
The natives had been rather quiet and
when dinner was ready the boys grew
rather bold and lined up about forty
deep. The natives suddenly walked up,
but dinner is over and nobody is hurt
while the firing still goes on.
Life in the trenches is not so bad
and unpleasant; the heat and dew are
the worst things to contend with. The
dew fall is excessive, being more like
small rain. l was wet nearly to the
skin this morning when | came in from
guard. We have fixed up temporary
shades over our beds which also pro-
tects us from the dew.
"Our food supply has been excellent,
excepting our first day out. We have
had plenty of everything and good
many delicacies such as oatmeal, homi-
ny, cornmeal mush, peaches canned
and dried, and cake. That is not so
bad for being in the field, is 1T?
1--WE are camped about fifty yards
from the native cemetery of Caloocan.
This cemetery is like all the native
cemeteries. A high stone wall encloses
an open space probably fifty yards
square. Vaults are built of stone all
around the interior of the wall. The
whole affair is controlled by the church
and natives in order to have their rela-
tives inferred must pay sum of about
$50 (Mexican money!, and then in order
to keep them buried must pay a month
ly or yearly rental. If from any reason
this rental is not paid promptly the
vaults are opened and the remains
thrown out in corner allotted to:them |
to bleach in the sun. This is done to |
make room for others who will pay |
Every cemetery has its bone pile, vary
ing in size according to the age of |
the cemetery. l saw one with a bone
pile ten feet high. This is pretty good |
sample of the semi barbaric condition |
of the natives. They won't bury their
dead at all when killed in battle. We |
have buried all we have killed.
Ernest says he is enjoying excellent |
health, and that if the regiment is mus |
tered out in the Philippines he and |
some of the boys may remain a year or
two'longer. He closes his letter thus: |
I'm case decide to make change
of climates during some of our battles
with the Filipinos, Laird will write you
the details of the change, but he'll new
er tell you | was going to the rear when
it happened
DON 7 think for moment that the