News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-10-17
CHAPTER VII.

/
Willis began his letter by a descrip-
ton of some fighting on the main rail-
road line running out of Manila.
| Talk about excitement-he went on Football
| is nothing to it. We crossed the stream near
outowa and came pretty near being ambuscaded
| on the other side, for, after forcing our way
| through one of the meanest swamps you ever saw,
| where the mosquitoes were all on the side of the
| Filipinos, we suddenly came out of the brush
upon the village. At first we thought it was de.
| serted, everything quiet, but the minute
we came out from cover got it slap in the
face from a lot of the natives, who were behind
the huts, and then another volley from another
lot the other side of a broad ditch Just outside
the village limits.
Half dozen in our company fell, among them
Perkins of the university. You remember him.
Played in the Thanksgiving day game-the one
you didn't play in. Well | saw him dive head
first to the ground arms up and gun going every
way, just as you see in pictures of battles. And
| had queer, sick sort of feeling as if my turn
would be next; but it wasn't and then a thing
happened that made me scker yet The natives
began to tumble out of the huts in twos and
threes yelling and running toward the ditch
Some of them leaped across it and turned and
fired from the other side But the sickening part
of it was the women and children OF course we
had orders not to shoot them, and we did our
best to obey the order, but they were Jumping in
and out among the men, and they were all mixed
up together on the other side Of the ditch firing
like devils at us, and it would have been a mira.
Gle II none OF the children and women had been
hurt. WE'LL we drove for the ditch every man
OF us yelling and firing like mad, and when we
got up to it we discovered a great thicket Of
thorns and abatis work fringing the other side
And all the natives, men, women and children to-
gether, were crowded in huddled up group
alongside the ditch, hemmed in by the thicket on
one side and the ditch on the other You see
they had been expecting attack from that side
of the village instead of the rear, where we came
up, and, being driven out of the village, they
were caught in the trap Of their own delenses
We yelled to them to surrender, seeing they
were cooped up like rats in a trap but they blaz-
ed away with their guns and threw their long
knives at us, and we had to shoot back in reply
One of the knives grazed my cheek and cut it
OPEN ] think | didn't realize what it was until
began TO taste the blood running down into my
mouth. The next thing | knew | was leaping
over the ditch, and the natives were running up
and down, some of them trying to jump the ditch
again back toward our lines But they were shot
down like rabbits and tumbled into the ditch
until, in several places | saw afterward, our men
walked straight across the bodies, they filed
the ditch up so level full.
This is not very pleasant reading but you re.
member you said that Sherman or somebody
said that war is hell" And | never realized the
truth Of it as did that day We may be fighting
in the best cause that Christian nation ever
had, though ! have my doubts of it. But that
does not make the fighting any more refined
pleasant.
The thing l started to tell you about this
action was the incident Of Barnes. You remem-
Der how kind hearted Barnes always was in col
| lege. The fellows used to laugh at the way he
would take lame dogs and cats up to his ROOM
Well after the shooting was all over and we were
taking breath to notice the results there was
Barnes sitting on the ground, wounded in the
foot with Mauser bullet. But he was not pay
ing any attention to that. There was the dead
body Of native woman lying half over the edge
of the ditch, and it impossible to tell from
her position and her wound whether she had been
shot by our men or her own. Anyhow, she was
Dead and ner baby not more than " years old,
was Juggling at the mothers arm and calling to
her in her language.
] tell you the sight made me choke. Barnes
was sitting there trying to get the baby to come
to him.. But every time he tried to the child
away it struck at him and then turned and pulled
its mothers arm again. The began to gather
around and look Barnes was crying like a
baby himself and every last who came up
and stood stock still by that dead mother gave q
gup and then went to pieces.
WELL can't tell any more about that We got
the DaDy away alIeT dWnlle, anu DaTHes, WHO was
in the hospital, got the surgeon to take Of
it. hate to tell you the rest. The most terrific
storm came up that night, and the rain flooded
everything, including all the tents The rains
here are simply awful. For tropical country,
too the cold Of night rain is often intense. In
| the morning the baby was found dead The sur
| geon had his hands full and more too. He hadn't
| had any sleep for several nights. The woman who
| was given charge Of the baby slipped out Of the
nd obandnnad II And | m afraid II is II
| that the baby was really drowned in the torrent
| that swept through the camp that night. We
| found the body, with Others Of the natives, on
the edge Of the river ravine in the morning. do
| not think | ever Barnes more cut up over
| anything in my life. And yet, ! suppose, It was
the best thing that could happen, after all, see.
| ing the mother was gone too.
That sounds more cold blooded than ii is. But
| to tell truth, chum. with all these hor.
rors rather like the excitement and all. 1t is a
| tough life, and II may not last long, but some
| how ! seem to take to it. ! think Of you often
| and would give much to see you and the old room
| in Rankin hall Remember me to all the fellows.
| II you want TO mention my name to your sister,
| would like it | still have the book Of poems.
| Your old chum, WILLIS.
Edward sat holding the letter and
thinking of the contents for a long
time. 1t was the second letter Willis
| bad written him. In the first one be
had described the life in barracks near
| Manila and some incidents in the city
itself. There was one thing that Will
lis did not mention, but Mrs Preston
had written to Edward that the news
had reached her that Willis was drink
ing again. The old habit was strong
| on him. And apparently the prlvations
of the rough, coarse fare and camp
were so many that when he was allow
ed to go into the city on leave he in
dulged In dissipation that was gradual
| ly putting its mark on him and chang
| ing him daily for the worse. This
much Mrs. Preston confessed with sor.
row and with a helpless sort of resig.
nation as II to an inevitable fatality
| that moved Edward more than the
most beseeching appeal.
He answered Willis letter at once,
remembering how long it took for a let
ter to reach him, and again urged him
| to leave the drink alone In his letter
he also told him that he should take
the liberty of using a part OF Willis
letter In abe coming debate r. open
meeting of the societies. He did not
mention Freeda's name nor make any
reference to Willis mention Of It.
| Somehow he still had shrinking from
| INV tbnnUhf IF E'ronIo aud XltI1ta