Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-03-05
LETTER FROM THE PHILIPPINES.


Mrs. Hoyt of Massachusetts. 1t was
written by her son, who is in the
Philippines:
Lara, Isle OF Panay, Dec. 80, '99.
/ DEAR HOME FRIENDS:
Who would have thought it would
have been SO long time before L
wrote, but we have been more than
busy, moving, fighting, and cleaning
up towns, and incidentally making a
/! fine name for Co. D.
We are in love with our captain
and getting stuck on ourselves, and
everyone says, "with good reason"
I think I have written since the JOro
battles, in one of which the man
standing next me was shot, making
me think it was pretty close.
We had orders to go to a town
named Cabatuan, inland about twenty
miles, and then the order was chang
ed and we we're sent up here to Lara.
This is about seventy five miles north
of IIoilo, and in Conapcion Province,
where the 18th Regularsiare stationed.
Why we were sent here [ don't know,
but suspect it was to give Captain
Brownell chance, and he has i'm
proved it. Four companies of the
18th passed through here and on to
Capiz, sixty miles farther north, and
we came the next day. We left Iloilo
on an old lighter towed by a launch
and we were so late in reaching the
landing place that we had to sleep on
the deck of the lighter that night.
All these boats have few pigs on
them; this one had two, and we
would just get nicely laid down and
partly asleep, when some Of the boys
would start the pigs down the deck;
we were packed like sardines SO that
the pigs could not step or jump with
out landing on some Of US, SO you can
imagine the scramble there would be
whom the pigs started.
1t rained, too, in the night, SO we
were very glad when daylight came.
The shore was SO sloping We had to
unload into row boats. [ landed
with the first party in the morning
and the Lieutenant and I went out to
rustic up bulls and carts. After
long search we found twenty four. |
Two of the bulls proved intractable SO |
I had to stay behind that night with a
corporal and ten men as guard. [ |
sent out three men to get some bulls |
SO we could start the first thing in |
the morning; they came back with /
three bulls and two men and we kept |
them ali night. It was an anxious |
night for US as the insurgents were all /
around Us and would occasionally fire
a shot just to keep Us up and awake,
but they did not attack. We started
at daybreak and reached Lara about
noon. The transportation here is
awful. Carts that will on a pinch
carry eight hundred pounds, and
"caribou'' Or bulls that if you keep at
them will make two miles an hour
will lie down and all the power on
earth can't move them.
for about three hours, and then they
The town was pretty we'll deserted
when we got here, SO We were
4uartered in four sections, each in a
fine Spanish house. Like all the
towns here there is plaza near the
center of the town and all the best
houses are on its four sides. We are
luartered on two adjoining sides, and
opposite to US is the governors
house. The guard house is near, also
he quartermaster's and commissary
departments, which are in my charge,
ind exactly opposite my quarters is
he church, which in all these towns
ire fine; next to that is our cook ]
louse, which was the town school
louse. The plaza is about one half
he size of the common at North
We have it we'll cleaned
Up and the town is really quite pretty.
t is up i'll the mountains SO it is quite
deal cooler and dryer than IIoilo,
nd we hoped to stay here until we {
tarted for home, but now, we'll, |
I'll tell you later.
From the Sth to the 10Th of Deem
er we were busy cleaning up the c
own, cutting bamboo, etc. The t
of December 18th about forty e
nen were notified to be ready to c
cave at three a. M, the 10Th. I s
ould not go, much to my regret, as c
he captain had detail for me to go t
o Conapcion and get mail and sup b
lies on the gunboat "Concord'. G
Well, the men marched up steep '
mountain about three miles, and sur t
ounded shack, surprising its oc t
upants completely, killing two and
a pturing several men and thirteen e