Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-02-22
UNLOADING A TROOPSHIp,
How Uncle Sam Gets Soldiers and Bag.
gage Ashore.

To the many thousands who have seen
the government transports leave the
San Francisco docks loaded with men,
horses and mules and supplies for the
American army in the Philippine Is
lands 1T may prove interesting to know
how they are landed at Manila, writes
the war correspondent of the San Fran
cisco Call. l say Manila, because up
to the present time all transports have
unloaded their cargoes at the capital
city of the island Of Luzon. In the flu
ture they may go to ports south of this
point.
The vessels anchor i'm Manila bay,
from one to TIVE miles outside the city.
AS soon as their arrival is made
known a government tug. towing four
or five cascoes, is Immediately sent
alongside and made fast. The troops
first disembrk, taking with them their
light baggage and only sufficient ra-
tons for n meal or two. The cascoes
are tOwed up the Pasig river about half
Il mile from its mouth to the foot of the
lunet, the city's main driveway, where
the men first set foot on our new
possessions i'm the Orient. Generally a
casco is assigned to company, and all
the men and property of that organi-
Zation are put ashore before it becomes
available for another company. II
properly managed one trip Is sufficient
to land each company, all its baggage
and equipment.
/ have seen an entire regiment, with
all the personal property of the officers
and men, regimental baggage and
camp equipage. landed in a few hours
In fact, l remember one instance
where regiment was ordered to the
front five miles from Manila. 1t com
menced to disembark at noon, and two
of its batalions, eight companies, ate
supper the same night on the firing
line.
The horses and mules are loaded by
means of cages from the transports to
n large vessel similar to a ferryboat.
All animals are unloaded mt the foot
of the luneta. The little ferryboat,
If we may call it such, will carry about
fifty animals, and these are led ashore
through a chute.
| was present at the unloading Of
the first lot of horses and mules receiv-
ed at Manila from the United States
OH the transport Tacoma, and those
who were there ut the time will bear
me out i'm saying that finer lot of
horses and mules were never received
at any point of destination.
The horses were Immediately turned
over to the use of the Fourth Calvalry.
The mules were kept in the quarter
masters corral for day or two and
then performed excellent service.
Right here l might say that a drove
Of 200 elephants going up market
street could not attract more attention
than these eighty-one horses and 119
mules did to the inhabitants of Manila.
The natives stood with open mouths
and gazed at them as they were led
through the streets to the cOrrals.
Directly opposite the luneta, and on the
opposite side of the River Pasig, are
located the large quartermaster and
commissary storehouses, In which are
stored the supplies for the Eighth
Army Corps. These supplies are fur
nished under contract, and mostly
from the United States. They are also
unloaded from the transports by means
of canoes.
1t may be said to the credit of these
two staff departments, as well as all
other staff departments of the army
In the Philippines, that not a call or
demand has been made upon them