Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-21

Thompson Campbell, Esq, is in receipt
of a newsy Letter from Attorney Alex
Laist. who is serving with the Montana
regiment in the Philippines. Mr.. Laist
speaks in high terms of the Montana
boys with one exception. His letter is
as follows:
Manila, p. T., March IA, 1899.
Since my last letter quite a few things
have happened that are worth telling
about. In the first place l spent the lat
ter part OF the month of September and
most of October in the hospital at Cavite,
i'll of a malarial fever. Then during the
last days of October, the Montana regl-
ment was transferred to Manila. l
Joined it from the hospital about the 10th
of November, and have enjoyed splendid
health ever since. From the 18th of No
vember to the first of the year l was
reporter of a general court martial.
Since then / ave been on detail at Major
General MacArthur's headquarters, so
that / AVE been with the regiment but
a small part of the time since we landed
on the islands. About January 26 pub
lished a translation of a small book on
the archipelago, prefixing it with a short
historical sketch, a compilation OF my
own. The book has been we'll received
and is selling rapidly. | send you a copy
and a map of the recent battlefield, pub
lished by myself as well.
"On February 4 the trouble with the
natives began. AS | have charge of
Genera MacArthur's reports of the affair,
I have a good knowledge of the whole en-
gagement. Macarthur commands the
Second division. occupying the territory
north of the Pasig river. the side of the
river on which Malolos, the seat of the
rebel government. lies. The other divi-
sion Of the American forces, to the south
Of the Pasig, is commanded by Major
General Anderson.
THE territory occupied by the Ameri-
cans before the attack by the rebels in
cluded Manila and a few suburban towns
of an area of approximately ten square
miles. From the first occupation of Ma
Mia, on August 10, we made agreements
with the insurgents where our posts were
to end and theirs to begin. The Ameri-
cans no more thought of going outside
these lines than of sending a hostile fleet
to Java, but constant trouble was eX-
perienced with the F%ilipinos, who were
| continually encroaching upon our lines.
For the two months Immediately pre-
J ceding the rebel attack, both American
headquarters were IN a turmoil almost
daily from reports coming from various
points along our line, that armed natives
had entered, or were endeaVOrlng to
enter, at such and such a place on the
line of demarcation. Then couriers
would be sent out; the call to arms
blown; all soldiers dress themselves in
brown trousers and blue shirts, fill their
haVersacks with extra ammunition and
their canteens with boiled water and fall
into their places in the ranks in light
marching order only to get the order,
a short time after, to go to bed again.
about the first of February, at Santa
Mesa, an outpost occupied by the Ne
braska regiment, the natives had, for
the huudredth time, i~nsolently sent their
armed soldiers across INTO American ter
ritory. General Macarthur went out in
person to reason with the Filipino COM
mandant. AS usual, the willy Malay was
profuse in his apologies; said his soldiers
had been disobedient; that he would pun
ish them Immediately; that he would
again give them stringent orders not tC
violate the agreement, and that the of
Tense should not happen again. Mac
Arthur told him if it did occur again, he
would be compelled TO take such actor
as he might deem necessary
by half-past S of the evening of The
G 4th of February the insurgents had evi
IDENTIFY again forgotten their treaty viii
the Americans. AT the place just men
toned, the armed Flllpinos again made
an incursion into American territory
Our sentinel (of the Nebraska regiment
challenged twice, and then, as the in,
surgent patrol continued to advance
fired the first shot of the war. The in,
surgents retired, replying with fire, ant
soon the engagement became general al
along the lines surrounding Manila. A
, 10:lO p. M, by winch TIME IL Edd become
evident that the insurgents intended t
q m hostilities in earnest, dis
e patches were sent to the brigade com,
e manders to carry out the pre-arranget
= programme. Long before these dis
patches had been sent out, the soldier:
:. had fallen into line at their barracks
l. ready to move at the command March,
n and when it came, 'double-time,' of
they vent, their heavy tramp raising {
cloud of dust in the otherwise silen
streets. Everything went like clock,
work: everybody knew what to do. Some
companies marched off to take theil
places as inks in the chain of American
soldiers that has surrounded Manilf
20 since the day Of the attack; and the,
20 knew where their place III the cham was
10 Other companies split into squads of fiv'
N or six and patrolled the districts Of TIL
N city occupied by disatfected natives, a
" shoulder arms with bayonets fixed
~ others guarded the barracks and store
houses, and others We're conffded witt
the duty of gathering in isolated band
of Malays sneaking around the street
occupied by Europeans, with petroleum
cans and long knives, ready to loot ant
burn and murder anything and every
body unfortunate enough to come within
their power.
of ell races on the face of the earth
the Filipinos, Notwithstanding thei
varnish and pretence of civilization, ar
morally the most degraded. Why shout
one be manly and industrious, when de
ceit and theft lead to the same end? Thi
host Tilipinos. we have Such peopie |
the states, too, but an unappreciativ
majority locks them up in the peniten
t~iaries. They would be about as fit 70
self-gOvernnlent as a cage of the monkey
found in their forests.