The Newtown bee., 1900-08-03
Litchfeld County.
WASHINGTON.

and confined in the TO. t, which IL used
as prison. The day after I wrote last,
some of the men were working around
our quarters and found three bullet-holes
in a wall. The bullets were dug out OF
the wall and were found to be K:ag
Jorgensen bullets. There has been no
shooting near there irce We have been
here. When we first came to the town
we found it deserted and went right Oh
through to the mountains. That was
the day that our five men were lost.
We returned to the town, twoidays later.
and found it filled with people. A few
days later we captured messenger
leaving the town with important papers.
We threatened to shoot him if he didn't
tell all he knew about the place. he
told US that our five men had come into
the town. after we left, and that one OF
them was sick. He said that the priest
of the town took them to his house and
that he didn't see them again. The
bullet holes were found in the priests
house, so Capt. French thought that
these people knew more about our mel
than they cared to tell, go he sent the
president Of the town into Cebu as a
prisoner and put the vice president and
treasurer in the guard house here. They
are not allowed to hold conversation
with any one and will be held until they
give some information in regard to our
missing men. There ia no doubt but
what they were killed near here and it
will 60 hard with these native Officials il
we ever find their bodies. Last week,
Col McClesnand of the 44th Volunteers,
now District Commander in place Of our
colonel, who has gone home to be re-
tired, was up to inspect our camp. 1t
was not much of an inspection, as he
arrived late in the evening and left the
same night. He is fine old man and is
liked by everyone. You have often
wondered why you never see anything
in the newspapers about The 19sh 1nfan-
try and few other Regular regiments.
The reason is that we don't hire re-
porter to 60 with the regiment. Every
volunteer regiment over here has news
paper reporter with it and they keep the
papers stuffed with things that never
have happened. When we we're OIL
Panay at the battle of San Bias Hill the
10 h captured the whole of the insurgent
works, besides building all the roads In
the vicinity and doing all the work neces.
sary to such a campaign. The 26.h
Volunteers were with us as reserve and
only one company got into the engage
ment. They had a "Boston Globe" re-
porter with them and when we got papers
from home, there was long account in
some of them about the brave 26sh Vol
unteers storming San Bias Hill. We
were mentioned in the reports sent to
Washington and that ended 1t. That
means more than all the newspaper
bluffs. There are very few regular
regiments here who have reporters with
them, one of them being the 9Th Infan-
try stationed on the Isle Of Negros.
They have Sun correspondent and he is
q good one. His letters in the "Sun"
are true to life. see that number OF
the other papers are copying them. 1
hope that box of books will come soon,
as we are short on reading material.
Life would be monotonous here without
something to read. Yesterday we were
visited by the grasshoppers sgain and
this time more than before. We were
out at target practice when they struck
town and they became so thick that it
was impossible to see the targets. This
time they came right into our quarters
and we were almost compelled to leave
them in possession, but they started for
thick wood near camp and left US alone.
1t was dangerous to 60 near that wood
while they we're there as it was one con-
tinual crash. AS fast as they would
settle on q tree, down would come the
branches, breaking under their weight.
It was remarkable sight to see the
trees charge from green to brown, the
color of the grasshoppera. This morn
ing went out to the wood after they
had left and there wasn't green leaf
left In that whole wood. This may
seem to be an impossibility, but If you
OAS:A S0W uAI AUuUO1 VI tA0 hn6uOp"
pers, you would wonder that they left
anything. We had some fun this morn
ing with sail boat that tried to run by
town without stopping. took detail
down to the dock and fred volley in
front Of them. They didn't stop, 80 the
next volley wegave them went through
their sails and that brought them up
with sharp turn. There was an Amer
lean in charge of it on his way to Bogo,
a town about twenty miles up the coast.
He had good wind and didn't want to
stop, but he changed his mind. We
have had so much practice stopping
boats that we know the range, to within
3 few yards and it would be dangerous
for anyone to attempt to run by If they
were in range. I suppose by this time
they are making great preparations for
Alumni Day at the Gunnery. 1 suppose |
will have to miss it this time. 1 will
close now.
Sibonga, Cebu, P. l.,
June 10. 1900.