The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1900-10-05
Letter from the PHILIPPINES.


Aug. |, l9O0.-Dear Relatives: As l lie
here on my bed, with high fever and
knocked out in general, / will take time
TO tell you little OF my experience in
the last two months. My first month
in Tautuan passed away without any
great event. Every day l have done
duty up till today, ON guard or on hike.
Do you know what hiking is2 At any
rate you don't know what it is here, SO
| will tell you. Imagine yourselves sol
diers coming off 24-hour guard at $3.50
a. m. and at 8 a. M, with three days.
rations in your hayersacks, poncho,
canteen full Of water, gun and 100
rounds OF ammunition in your belt, GO
ing on march, quick time Gas fast as
you can walk) march until 3 O'Clock in
the afternoon without stopping. At 3
you sit down, eat the contents Of can
marked salmon (Which you have to hold
with your fork half the time to keep it
from running away, it is so strong), and
half dozen hard tack half the time
soaked with muddy water, and you are
awful lucky il you can get cup OF cof-
fee; start out again at 4 O'Clock, and
nine chances out OF ten hike all night.
But sometimes you stop when it gets SO
dark you can't see your hand in front of
your face, spread your poncho (Which is
little better than rag) out on the
ground and enjoy life. No ants nor
mosquitoes; oh mol You arise in the
morning refreshed and happy, SO happy
you don't really care if you never see the
states again. Well, You monkey along
all day and maybe find a niger who
looks good; take him into town; get in
town in time to go on guard the next
day. So goes our life in this beautiful
country. When we go ON a short hike,
maybe only 10 or II hours, we all have
a good time-steal eggs and kill chickens
and then have something TO eat.
OF late the niggcrs have been getting
pretty saucy around town. A few nights
ago we were walked in the night by call
10 arms. We got up and put on our
clothes and got our belts and picked up
our guns and went down stairs on the
jump. The bullets were going ping,
ping, ping; zip, zip zip They came
through our barracks. We went down
and lined up against the wall. We
waited till about daylight and then went
in. Nothing happened. The next day
went on o hike. We rounded up twelve
young hombres and got to work. We
tied their hands behind their backs and
made them kneel down in q row. We
then lined up and filled our chambers
and magazines. The captain called the
interpreter and told him to tell the
prisoners to give up their guns, or rath-
er where their guns were hidden, in one
minute or they would be dead men.
The captain said to us, "Don't fire till
give the command, 'aim'" We wait
ed till we were tired. Just before the
time was up one OF the hombres jumped
up and told where his gun was the 9TH
ers soon followed, and at the last tick of
the minute every hombre followed and
we got the rifles, Mausers and Reming-
tons, 800 rounds OF ammunition and a
lot OF bolos. Sometimes we use another !
method. Get an hombre between 1S
and 80 years of age and lay him on the |
ground pry his mouth open with bay
onet, hold his nose and pour water into |
him. We tell him through the inter-
prefer that when he wants to he can tell |
us where his gun is, and we don't stop
till he does. 1t very seldom fails to get
all he knows out OF him. Sometimes it
fails, and he dies the death of man
who is drowned. II seems cruel, but it
isn't. You are not here and don't know
what these people are. The more can
make 'good amigoes" the better will
be Satisfied. They take an American
prisoner and begin with bolo, cut his
scalp into strips, cut off his ears, lance
his nose, cut off his fingers at every
joint, then at the wrist, then the toes in
the same manner; cut feet and arms off,
then put ropes around the stumps and
unjoint the legs, do, do, until you are
dead. | love them as much as | love
onions or pole cats. used to pity them
when was in Manila but my heart has
gone to stone. One man in my company
has experienced the death have lust
spoken of, and every man has made
promise to avenge his death. Our brave
and good quartermaster, Notrie, died
lighting like hero. That he NASHVILLE
The rest, with the exception of one who
was taken prisoner, retreated. The
man who staid was court martialed, the
others were given awards of merit. |
lid not hear the straight OF that story
until lgot to my own company. Ibegan
his letter on the first OF August, it is ,
now the tenth. | was taken sick and
,ould not finish it then, but l am well !
low. EDWIN HENDERSON. Z