The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-01-05


charged, had been silenced, and remain.
ed as mute evidences of a severe strug.
gle.
Montana was engaged in Il fight i'm
mediately upon her men being sent on
shore. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon al
old side.wheeler backed mp alongside
OF the Pennsylvania and took off two
companies. r and K, for guard duty at
Cavite. The remainder Of the troops
we're to remain on board until the fol-
lowing morning. Among those who
landed was a Mr.. Rosenthal, in charge
Of Red Gross supplies, and about 8
O'Clock in the evening a solitary pas.
senger, in a native boat, came back to
the Pennsylvania and pleaded to the
guard to allow him to come on board.
He brought the most narrowing tale,
to the effect that, Immediately upon the
landing of these two companies. they
had been set upon by the insurgents or
by the natives and were engaged in a
most deadly combat. the result of
which he Ind not been alhe to learn !;
he had barely escaped, having paid a
fabulous price to a native to bring him,
under cover Of darkness, back to the
transport. Immediately there was the
widest oom,notion On shipboard.
Three miles of from shore and with no
possible opportunity Of going to the
succor of our imper1iled comrades, we
were compelled to imagine all sorts Of
narrowing details and conceive Of the
~frightful slaughter that might come to
our comrades by a populace Of natives
such as these. The night was one Of
fearful suspense, and with the early
hours of morning the mer were gazing
toward the shores Of Cavite, hoping to
CLEAN some knowledge as to the condi.
tions. At 8 o'clock Captain Dillon of
< company came OH board and reported
tnat at z o'clock the night before it had
been asoertained that the natives were
stealing copper and commodities from
the sunken %gunboats, and that he had
sent a squad under Captain Jennisen
from company Il to arrest these men;
that in the attempt two natives had
been shot and the others had escaped
under cover Of the darkness. So much
for the fame of Mr.. Rosenthal. There
was a very diligent search Of the boat
made a few minutes afterwards for Mr..
but he had climed over the
side and silently stole away.
"At 2 O'Clock in the afternoon of
August 24th' the troops had been landed
at Cavite. This we found under ordi.
nary conditions to have boen a beauti.
full place; practically it was the navy
yard and coaling station for such Of the
feet as might be in these
The buildings were large, the
machinery modern, the governor. gen
erals home a palace and everything
about the walled part Of Cavite to indi-
Gated refinement and comfort. We
were assigned to quarters outside the
city or arsenal, in some dilapi-
dated buildings. in an old cathedral,
that had been looted by u%nfriendly ia.
lives, and in the prisons, in which had
been found, ten days previous to our
about four thousand Spanish
prisoners. These were under the nomi.
nal care Of the insurectos, as they styled
themselves. I may not be able to de-
scribe tile horrible conditions that sur.
these prisoners. I am not CON-
nenting at all upon the treatment that
hey received. for it ia a notorious fact
hat the Spanish army and those in
authority in the Spanish Province Of
Luzon and the Philippines had taught
;hese innocent natives all they knew Of
iendishness and barbarity in the treat.
nent Of prisoners. Conditions in the
,ity adjacent to Cavite we're horrible;
he natives had no conception Of clean
mess III their streets, and although
hey themselves are very careful as to
bodily cleanliness, they seemed to be
Indifferent to conditions Of their streets
md alleys. The most horrible stencil
rom dead and decayed matter assailcd
he nostrils of our men ~ we went
bout looking over our dwelling place
The nat yes gazed on us not exactly
With reverence, nor with fear, but
ather in that free way that suggests to
our mind the question: What bust
less have you here, anyway? There
would have been some hand-to.hand
had our men been able to IN.
III those first days, the language
he natives were using towards us, but
hen it was in the Tagalic, and mixed
p with the Spanish, and the Irish hos.
in our nature led us to believe
hat they were glad to see us and We're
Expressing it in their own peculiar way.
$ they saw fit. Later we found out
ur mistake.
Immediately upon our assignment
. quarters, soldier life began; the city
be patroled, outposts established,
.risoners guarded, drills inauRurated
nd preparations be made for any sud.
en- emergency. Cavite was the only
lace that the soldiers fell down. They
ould not resist the smiles nor the