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

uIuHS. Lue lu(tl VIEWS ule puUI1sueu III
a conversational strain. the questions
Of the reporter being omitted in order
that the narrative may not be discon-
nectad or marred.
1.-The trip from Montana on the part
of the First Montana regiment of vol.
uhteers to the Oakland mole vas de-
void Of any incidents of general inter-
est to the Montana people. Upon ar.
rival, however. i'll San Francisco, the
social life Of the San Franciscans was
revealed to us in an entirely new
manner, for a hungry. dilapidated
crowd Of humanity called Rockies was
taken in, housed, fed, jollied and COM
forted as though this were about the
last opportunity that they would have
to come in contact with such kindness
at least for a year, and possibly two.
1.-THE life OF s%hipboard was all that
could be desired, for there were any
number Of kicks, plenty of 'slum.gul-
lion aud all the accessories that would
make the life Of an inlander thoroughly
miserable.
ARRIVING at Honolulu, for five days
the beauties of the Hawaiian Islands
were presented to US by men who seem.
ed to have no other ambition in life
other than to mako their fellowmen
happy. 1t was my pleasure to visit the
leper settlement in Molkai and see the
conditions that obtain there. 1t is not
our purpose, however, to discuss these
or the conditions that were met at Hon.
olulu, for at the present time there are
lecturers who obtain about all they
wear and eat from what they don't
know Of the Hawaiian islands. and
were I to start in to tell actual impress
sions derived form a five days journey
as aginst their books, the common peo-
pie would say that somebody lied.
Life was not so pleasant after leav.
ing Honolulu. There was but a broad.
weary waste Of waters and, incidental
~, good grub obtained from the kitch.
ems and by unnatural process heaved
the side of the vessel. It was
natural for squads of men to DO congre.
gated along the ships railing. so that
they were in a position to see things,
and everything conceivable that might
enter the active imagination Of a sick
man came before these homesick lads as
they gazed out upon the sea. We
the whole Spanish armada
'Our torpedo boats, ten cruisers and
other smaller craft-during the
;wenty. five days that we were On pass.
,ge from Honolulu to Cavite. Need.
to say, all these formidable boats
:esolved themselves into one single YES
'el or transport, the Rio de Janeiro.
That was our constant companion on
The trip owe So much for magma.
ion.
August 23d found us coasting along
he Luzon Islands. Intense anxiety,
md curiosity as we'll, kept officers and
men from their berths; lights were to
70 seen in all directions upon our port,
md again the suspicion was raised in
he minds of the more timorons that
nsurgent sunboats and Spanish cruis-
RS were waiting to contest u ell
rance into the harbor at Manila. But
With the light of the following norm.
hg it was discovered that these were
merely lights along the shore in some
ude fishermen huts and that we had
'bsolutely nothing to fear, for the gun
'oats, ms we'll as the munitions Of wal
N land, had been silenced by Admiral
Dewey Oh his magnificent squirt through
he channel.
1.-THE conditions that we met upon
ntl ance from Corregidor indicated that
{ there had been any fighting spirit at
ii on the part of the Spaniards, that