The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-06-09
LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES
AN OFFICER SKETCHES DAILY
HOUND.
Hunting Ladronos in the iunglc-ln sur-
rection at AN End Spanish Prisoners
Treated ar slaves boy Filipinos

rection at am End Spanish Prisoners
Treated os slaves boy Fnpinos.
The following letter from an officer
In the Philippines. throws some light
upon recent events ia those Islands.
The gallant Lieutenant is well known in
Honolulu, where he has many friends.
lie writes:
When Kipling wrote ship me some
where east of Suez where the best Is
like the worst where there aren't no
ten commandments and man can raise
a thirst" / think he left out a very
necessary saving clause i'm his refrain.
He should have stipulated in his re-
quest that he be shipped back again at
a reasonable date. Probably when he
had had enough of the east, and had
become tired of It. In fact, ! am 50
much of this opinion / now could sim
cerely say: ship me somewhere east
of Frisco. where the best is what it's
worth. where we learn the ten COM
mandments and man can quench his
thirst, etc.
A military life, unlike the childs pro-
verbal new toy, is not a thing TO be
picked up at will and cast aside again
when the interest and enthusiasm, In
proportion to the glitter and glamour.
has fallen away. | do not mean to say
have chosen "A military career, nor
that l regret going as far as | have. l
am merely saying the pretty gold lace
has worn off my uniform.
A brief outline of our campaign may
be of interest. When the Thirtieth ar
rived i'm Manila October p, the cam
paign i'm the north under Macarthur and
LaWton was drawing to a close: the
territory up there having been subju
gated and garrisoned, we were delegat-
ed and relegated to the campaign in the
south. l say relegated because Aguln-
aldo and his army were up there and
we were anxious to get as close as pos
sible to his heels.
The Thrtieth, at the start, was as
signed to the First Division, Lawton s
Dates now in command), and we were
but five miles from San Mateo when he
was killed.
Brigadier General Schwan, chief of
staff for General Otis, organized what
he called an eXpeditionary brigade, In
Guiding the Thirtieth and Forty sixth
infantry, and the Fourth and Eleventh
cavalry, a mountain battery and a suit
able wagon and pack train. With this
organization we opened the ball in the
southern campaign. Since January A.
this brigade has marched steadily
southwark, fighting all the way, until
now we are in garrison in Province of
Tayaboaa, $50 miles south of Manila.
Since we took the field from our sta
ton on the Pasig River we have been
in several engagements and skirmishes
without number, and even now, though
we call ourselves in garrison, we still
do a great deal of marching, or kick
ing as it is called, and some part of
the regiment is under fire every day.
Schwans brigade being but tenn
porary formation and having accom-
plished it's object the separate organ1-
cations being assigned each to a sepa-
rate province as a permanent garrison.
To typify the work of organization in
these Islands, Colonel Gardner of the
Thirtieth, has been made military gov
ernor of the Province of Tagabas; he
apportions his regiment throughout the
province as he sees fit, and proceeds
to establish a republican form of gov
eminent, and to reduce to peace and
subordination the small bands of rob
bers or ladrones, as they are called,
who term themselves insurrectiOnists.
and under the guise of such roam in the
woods and mountains robbng and
threatening the peaceful natives and
lying in ambush for our wagon trains.
1t is with these ladrOnes our work will
be while we are here in garrison, which
without question, means the rest of our
term of service. The instruction is
broken beyond repair; we dignity them
unduly by calling them an enemy and
an army; the few who were involved
are rapidly returning to their homes
and peaceful occupation. The ladrones,
alone, are left. These, as we did the
insurectionists, we are fighting in their
mountain strongholds. We are forced
to keep one company out in reconnais-
sance all the time. Our permanent
station is at Lucban, but we are out
of town half the time securing the foot
Ia
For instance, I am writing you this
letter tonight at Lucban, and tomorrow
morning at daybreak l am ordered uu
country eighteen miles with a detach-
ment to repair our wire the insurgents
have cut and, if 1 can find them, to
put the fear of God in the hearts of the
band that did it.
Searching for these scattered bands
and driving them from their positions
when we have them located is a hercu-
lean task that is spirit breaking and
wearing; it eXhausts our men and kills
our horses, but the work is clearly cut
out for us and it must be done. The
country here is certainly beautiful
but in a life like ours one becomes in
ured and calloused to the beauties of
nature with appalling rapidity. l have
long since been satiated with this seen
cry that's grand, rugged, acute and
grotesque; uninhabited save by mon
keys and buzzards.
We have had a great deal to do with
Spanish soldiers since we have been in
Toyabas PROVINCE. You remember that
after the battle of Manila Bay the
Americans landed, co-operated with the
Filipinos, supplied them with arms and
said to them: Help us drive out these
Spaniards;" this they did; consequent
ly every Spanish garrison in the Islands
was surrounded by the Filipinos and
made to surrender to them. Later
when Aguinaldo turned against the
Americans, he would not turn in these
prisoners, so they have been held in the
bush ever since; at least,'until liberated
by our troops; great many have beer
| liberated, and very few are now left.
Last week we made a night raid out
of Lucban up the mountain side into
the clouds, remained up there two days
and brought back with. us when we
came, fifty-eight Spanish prisoners we
found in captivity In a small village
| These Spaniards were captured in Ma,
| Mia and CaVite Provinces and were