Evening star., 1900-10-12
SERVICE IN PHILIPPINES.
Washington Soldiers Hope to Eat
Christmas Dinners mt Home.

Sergeant Jesse j. owen, q member Of
Company K of the 27th U. S. Volunteers
wrote from Montalbon, Philippine Islands,
to a friend In this city an account of his
participation in the service of Uncle Sam
at the front. The letter is in part as fol-
lows:
Our company, known in the Philippines
as 'Graham's Rough Walkers because Of
tie numerous hard, forced hikes We have
undertaken, but officially designated as
Company K, 27th U. S. Volunteers, is at
present established in the small native
town of Montalbon, twenty miles
from Manila. Here we are very comfort
ably fixed in large, cool bamboo barracks,
the floor elevated ten feet from the ground.
Beneath the barracks we have our dining
room, with rows of tables to eat upon. Our
kitchen is located in the rear and Is domi-
mated by Q. M. Sergeant Dickinson. Here
he takes great delight In throwing out to
us our hard tack, 'slum' and beans as
we pass in line. His assistant Hupfer
stands by with a shovel and scoops the
beans on our mess kits in heaping and
generous piles. But the usual mess con-
sists of a concoction called by us Dickin-
sons mysterious slum,' from the fact that
none of us have ever been able to deter
mine what the mixture ever consisted of
From this we have dubbed our quartermas-
ter 'Slummy Dick But, taken altogether,
our mess is not so bad; in fact it is far
superior to that Of last year in Santiago.
Our breakfast, take today for instance con-
sists Of fresh bread, baked by our own
bakers at San Mateo, Java coffee, fried
mush and bacon. For dinner, fresh bread
roast beef, mashed potatoes gravy and cof-
fee. Supper, fresh bread, meat soup with
potatoes stewed apples and coffee. OF
course there are days in which we have to
come down to hard tack and bacon, but
this usually occurs on those days
when fierce tropical storm is raging and
our road to our base of supplies at San
Mateo Is cut off by swollen streams and
deep muddy roads.
No one, except he who has visited
the Philippines during the rainy season, can
form the least conception of the extent and
volume Of its dOWnpours. Small mountain
brooks become fierce. rushing, roaring tor
rents. Little shallow streams between us
and Manila become large, deep rivers, and
completely isolate us from that city until
the rain subsidies. Then a week of sun
shine is necessary to make the muddy roads
hard enough to prevent our army wagons
from going into the soil up to their hubs.
Before the rains set in the surrounding
country hard by was hard solid earth upon
which we drilled day after day. Now it is
one large lake or swamp, in parts OF which
native fishermen are taking out fish. On
the site of our old camp, when we were in
tents. canoes are now plying to and fro.
The whole geographical aspect Is changed
by these rains. We mount guard with water
to our knees, at times, and stand guard
duty our outposts in water sometimes to
our waists.
"A night on outpost with force of one
'non-com and three men, under these con-
dftionE, with heavy, deep, rolling peals Of
thunder and long electrical flashes of
lightning every minute is not an enviable
position by any means. At night the dark
sets In so intense that we cannot see
three feet in front of us, and on these kind
Of nights we are in momentary expectation
of attack by the bands Of Iadrones' or
mountain robbers, who inhabit the noun
tains near by. They are noted for sneaking
upon an outpost on this kind of a night
and boloing an unsuspecting sentinel and
getting safely away before We can realize
what has occurred.
This is now the only kind Of fighting we
have to contend with. The Filipinos are
held under control by mere force of num-
bers and the excellent training and mill
tary discipline of the Americans. But /
am confident that this peaceful aspect Is
only on The surface, and should the Fill
p!nos be given the opportunity we would
have ell our fighting to do over again.
"All the Washington boys are well and
in the best of health, but are eagerly look
ing forward to November, when we expect
to start for the states, and all hope to eat
our Christmas dinners in Washington"