The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-25
IN SMALL BANDS
Sylvester. Walker Describes
Filipino insurgents Methods
WILL BE A LONG FIGHT
Rebels Often Bury Guns When
Crowded and Play Friends

Sylvester Walker, an old Wichita boy,
now in the United States army in the
Philippines, writes to his parents, who
now live at Jefferson, o. T, describing
the methods of the insurgents. Mr..
Walker served his time in the Twenty
third U. S. V. and enlisted in the Thirty
seventh. The letter following was sent
to the Eagle from Jefferson:
Calamba, Nov 30, 1899
Dear Father and Mother: 1 received
your welcome letter and was awful glad
10 hear from you and that all were well.
7 am glad you received everything sent
you. 1 got fifteen notifications of regis
tered packages. The mail was delayed
fifteen days by mistake. 1t was sent TO
Guiana Island instead Of Luzon.
1 am glad that Estle was turned down
by the recruiting officer, for one of
family is enough to be IN this country at
once.
am glad father got his cane, for I
feared that the custom inspectors at
Frisco would stop the package. 1 hope
father had good time at Topeka. I read
your newspaper clippings of Simpsons
speech and 1 think he is very wrong.
Just think of naked set of savages run
ming a government
wrote Roy Houston a letter and got
a return. was well acquainted with 10
Campbell.
Well, the insurgents are getting pretty
badly whipped on the north line, but it
will be many of a day before the war
closes, for they have broke I'D in small
bands of from 100 to 200 in squads, and
when hard pressed they bury their arms
and ammunition and pass through our
lines as Ameg5 es, or friends, so you see
it will be a bushwhacking fight after We
get their large forces broke up. There
are about 5000 of them, just in sight of
this place, off to the south, and We have
had several skirmishes with them. We
had quite an exciting time with them the
other day while out scouting with two
company's commanded by Major Cheat
UNI, son of the eX-COnfederate general
We were led into trap and came near
being all captured or killed. We were
let past an insurgent fort and breast
works and they closed in behind US with
about 5000 troops and 1 tell you the way
they warmed our jackets for a while was
anything but pleasant.
OF course, being outnumbered ten to
one. we were driven back and pretty
roughly handled, but we fell back in an
old WORKOUT road and a little branch of
water and any old place We could get
protection from their fire. We were in
very bad fix. eighteen miles from re-
s,.F o,,1v- dc Of
muni;ion was enough to make anyone
feel shaly. The major said someone had
to g back for reinforcements and ammu-
milton. but no one would volunteer to go
back, for it was the same as committing
suicide. When on one would volunteer he
ordered the captains of c and \ company
II select two men, one from each their
companies and order them back And
was selected from company G. and across
from \ and go back through a very
r5ugh country and report the circum-
stances. L took US nine hours and five
minutes to make the eighteen miles, but
We made it and one regiment, the
Twenty-first infantry, with a battery,
came 10 our relief, and we were able TO
drive them from their position, but l
hope We may never get in that fix again.
/ always said that Major Cheatum would
get US ali killed or captured sometime.
He Is too reckless. This makes twice he
has done this same trick. Once at Mon
taiupa and once out at Calumpit. This is
Thanksgiving day and l have a lot to be
thankful for. l got large mail today
and heard from home and several Of my
friends in Texas. Besides we had a great
dinner. Our bill of fare was chicken,
= stufing. cake. green peas, pickles, coffee,
bread and apples, a pretty good dinner.
And while ! am writing this the cook
came and laid a big piece of cake by me
and as soon as l finish this letter 1 will
finish the cake. The cook and are good
friends and anything he has got 1 am al
ways welcome to half of it. and If any
thing ever happens to me you will hear
from him A good many of the boys have
been shot. some killed and more wounded,
but it has not been as bad as it might.
I got promoted to corporal and I suppose
it was that trip took did it. 1 have the
best Of health, but am very thin. 1 only
weigh 1875 pounds The hot climate and
roughng ii accounts for that. Some of
the boys have the chills, others have
malaria Did you get a paper sent 10 you
by me for one year the Insular Press?
If you have not I will get after the edi-
tor l send love and best wishes.
s. T. WALKER,
Co c.. S7th L. S V.