Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-09-07
THE BRATTLBBoRo BOYS.
A. V. y. Piper, Now Sdquarters
scout. Writes About the soldiers who
went from THIS Town. Rainy sea-
son Not nIsagreeabIe.
SLANG, p. l., J
Province OF CANITE,
II ~ 1000

Province OF CAvIrE,
July %, 1900.
Company NJ is still supporting the "peace
and dignity of the state" in Slang, where
we have been since February %. There
have been a number of changes of station
of volunteer in the last few days owing to
the sending of the 9th, 14th and 4th as
regular infantry to China. BY the way,
the 9th is the regiment in which are two
Brattleboro boys, O'Neil and Sherry, so
Brattleboro as ever has men where the
fighting is thickest. In the general move
Company E, 4Gth, was sent here from In
dang. This is the company in which the
other boys from home are. | went down
to see them and was very much surprised
to learn from their top" sergeant that
Tenney and Merrill were in the hospital
at Manila and that Longuil had been sent
back to the states.
l suppose you have heard ere this that
Lieut.. Batchelder of Chester, Vt, has
been sent home insane. Well, have had
the good fortune to escape so far and still
continue to feel as fine as a fighting cock,
with not sick day to my credit since |
Joined the regiment ten months ago.
Since l last wrote l have given up my
place as corporal and joined the headquar-
tiers scouts, 20 in number, selected from
the whole regiment. While this will not
lessen my chances of promotion any, it
will give me more active service and may
be chance for personal distinction, which
is the thing we are all working for.
| saw in The Phoenix a notice of the
death of Edwin Marsh and a conjecture as
to whether it were intended for Ned Marsh,
who was in Company d, Goth infantry.
Edwin Marsh was the cook in my company,
NJ &c Il a.,
of small pOX in Bacoor He enlisted from
Lancaster, Y. H., where he has a mother
now living. Just at present things are
rather quiet around this province. We
were out on a scout two days last week,
visiting Santiago, Barcelona, San Francis
co de Malalon, Santa Cruz de Malalon and
Buen Vista. At Barcelona we captured a
general with his orderly and four Reming-
ton rifles.
A great many officers of the insurrectos
are coming in under the amnesty procla
nation published by Gen. Macarthur
about a month ago. Under this proclama-
ton any officer or soldier who within the
next 30 days would surrender and take the
oath of allegiance would be given full am
nesty for past acts, have property restored
and be transported to any part of the ISL
and at the United States expense; also
would be given $50 or more Tor every gun
brought in.
We have about 20 prisoners here now.
We use them to work on the streets grad
ing and ditching and cutting brush.
Two prisoners we keep in solitary con-
tnement; one, Col. Legaspi, was a major
of artillery and ordinance officer and from
January to May was at Houtemg as a
member of the Filipino Junta. He says
that at the time he left there, the middle OF
May, Aguinaldo and Agincillo were both
there, Notwithstanding that about that same
time Aguinaldo was reported to have been
killed on the north line by the Thirty third
but then you can place no reliance OIL
what these natives tell you. They are ever
more skillful liars than the Chinese. Col
Legaspi said that the Filipino government
was to pay him $50 a month but that ht
never received anything and as he wa.
'mucha probre'' VERY poor, and had a
family to support he was compelled to re
turn to Luzon and go to carpenteGing, hi:
trade, under an assumed name.
He says, II am an insurrecto and an
proud of it, and although he has beef
asked several times to take the oath of al
legiance and thus secure his liberty he re
fuses to do so.
The other solitary confinement prisone
ployed for several months as despatch
bearer between Gen. Larro, the reporte
commander of the insurgent forces in thi
end of the island and Manila. At tn
time of his capture he had six despatche
relating to the disposition and movement
of our troops here.
The rainy season of which we had hear
so much and of which we stood in sue
fear, has turned out 80 be great deal of
bug-a boo. 1t has not rained for NOR
than three days in succession since "
have been on the island, and while W
were told that July would be the woTs
month of the year We have found it jus
the opposite, not nearly as warm as Jul
in Vermont and the nights are very COO
so much so that we wear blue uniforms o.
guard after retreat. Then, too, it doe
not rain more than one or two days wee
and only showers, usually in the after
noon, at that.
OF course this may not be true in a
parts of the island, but up here in th
mountains the weather is certainly fine.
We are all provided with Helen Goul
cots and mos quito bars now, so We pas
our days and nights, when of duty, yer
comfortably.
The homesick boys are beginning
pick up and look and act more cheerfI
since the report has come that the volur
teers were to be sent home beginning
November. If the regiments go back
the order they came over we will reac
home about January, as We are the first {
the last ten regiments to reach here, whic
places US twelfth on the list to go home.
We have quite a large school here nov
taught by a native teacher, but und'
American auspices. Only boys atten
and as they all study out loud, whe
school is in session, they can be heard a
over town, but then it is a good scheme
one respect, if any Of them stop studyi1
the teacher knows it at once.
! might 60 on writing for hours aboI
the dongs Of our troops here but you pro-
ably get more authentic and detailed r
ports through the regular press channels.
will close hoping to see the people
Brattleboro POGO tenapoo," as the n
tives say,
Yours,
A. V. D. PIPER,