The age-herald., 1899-12-17

From the Chicago Tribune.
 Some vivid pictures of life on the firing line in Luzon-reminiseent of Kipling at his best, with the added interest of being drawn from the actual-are to be found in a letter to the Tribune from a correspon- dent who was trying to keep up with Gen. Joe Wheeler.
 tTheres nothing doin on the firing line, one commissary officer, profanely known as cracker box captan,' said to the cores pondent. Wont be until some troops and mule and wagons and few things that are used to carry on war With get over here. There's nothing on the line, except sleeping in little nipa shacks that the niggers take sight on in the day time and shoot holes in at night. Nothing on the line but slap ping mosquitoes all day and fighting four round mills with them at night. Nothing but heat and rains and muddy trenches and sick soldiers. Of course, when the cam- paign opens up and the new troops come and the Hip, hip, hurrah, come on boys, business starts, then 1t will be different. But Manila is nicer place to wait for things than the firing line is.'
 But General Joe Wheeler had said he wouldn't join the "coffee coolers" and tho Tribune man started out to find him.
 He was so hard to locate that almost reached the conclusion that ho had grabbed up a regiment somewhere and started off into the insurgent country to see what the insurrectos would do if they were kept moving two days in succession. Bacolor Is where Colonel Bell and the new Thirty sixth volunteers are stationed and is on the way to Porac, the town which we are going to take some day soon everybody gets good and ready and the insurgents complete the new trenches they are building. I fig- ured that as the next move would be on Porac, and that the Thirty-sixtl was sure to take part, I would find General Joe hnG1a hot eli for trouBle." Sure enough, at Bacolor l was told that General Wheeler had been there, but that he had gone on to Santa Rita, which is two miles and a half nearer to Porac than Bacoor.
 The next day went to Santa Rita and found General Wheeler. Santa Rita was a town of the ordinry Philippine type. It had great church in the center of the town, with a grass-grown plaza in front, sur rounded on three sidec with one-story houses on stilts. Most of the houses are of nipa thatch, but others are well built, with stone foundations
 With another correspondent I was taken down to the hospital to sleep. The hospital is a sort of "best room'' at the little towns on the firing line. We did not believe there would be an attack in the morning, so we undressed to go to bed. Undressing on the firing line means taking off your shoes. So we undressed and lay down on the bamboo floor. A tree frog sang under the house, and away off a night bird screamed. drift ed off to sleep and woke a man always does on the firing line-as wide awake as though he had taken a plunge into cold bath. There was a steady roll of heavy volley firing. Outside the window a bullet whistled past and Mauser popped some- where over the house. A horse came gall 1oping down the road. It stopped and heard its rider throw himself off and jump up the steps of the colonels house and rap. rap rap on the door. Some voice away off was shouting: TX company, fall in! K com- pany, fall in!'
 The insurgents were firing heavy volleys. As their bullets struck the bamboo and the roofs of the houses it sounded like the swishing of rain against the windows. Our matches were wet We struck five, and each one went out. Then one famed up, and the steward lit the candle. l seized the other correspondent by the shoulders. I shook him until his teeth rattled. 'Get up; this place isn't safeI' He turned over drowSily.
 ''Is it a sure enough attack, or are they just firing on the outposts?' A terrific vol ley came from the insurgents just as a crashing filled our ears, and I felt splinters fly against my arm. Anybody hurt?' shouted the steward. The room was so filled with dust that we could see nothing for a moment, and each thought the other correspondent had been killed, as he made no answer.
 We went over to the church. From the tower the flashing of the rifles of the ad-