The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1900-02-16

FROM THE PHILIPPINES.
Newsy Letter from one OF Yale's Soldier
Boys Fighting In the Philippines.
Pasaag. January G 1900

Pasaag, January 6, 1900.
Dear Father:-I received your letter
yesterday and was glad 10 hear from
home and that you were all well at
present. | am in the best of health.
We have been having hard time of il
Tor the last three months, but expect
TO nave a rest for short time now.
Ihey nave changed the Headquarters
OF the regiment from Camp Aha to
Pasaag and we are now in the bamboo
barracks formerly occupied by the 4th
CaValry, as they are going back to the
states III the course of few months, il
being Gen. Lawton's last request that
the 4th, his favorite regiment, be sent
to the States.
My troop was in the battle of San
Matoe the 10Th of December, the day
Lawton met his fatal doom. We left
Camp Aha on the 18th at 9:3O at night
and Wended our way over mountain
paths all night and arrived in the Mar
qulna Valley i'll front of the city at 10
a. IN. on the 18th of December. About
half an hour before we arrived on the
line OF action the niggers opened fire
on the 4th Cav. 1t must be remember
ed that the eight troops in the IIth
Cav. in this engagement had marched
thirteen hours and there was heavy
ram falling during the entire march
and had no rations for thIrty-six hours.
On the field of action before this city
was a rice and cane field which the pre-
vious rains had converted into almost
an impossible marsh. The mud was
knee deep and right i'll front of the CITY
runs the Marqulna river, a stream 100
yards wide and a very swift current.
AS we Waded the mud and fOrded the
river we were under heavy fire from
the natives who were sheltered from
our lire by trenches. After fOrding the !
river we formed skirmish line along |
the bank and at the command forward |
a cheer went up along the entire line
as the troops rushed forward on q |
double time. We scaled the breast |
works but the niggers had taken time |
by the forelock aud vamoosed to the |
mountains.
Gen. LawtOn was killed early i'm the |
action as he stood on a knoll i'm the rear
of the troops giving his commands.
Ills last words were II am shot" His
orderly was the only person very close
to MIN when he fell.
Thugs are not half so bad here as
the papers back there try to make out.
Things get pretty tough once in a while
but what can soldiers expect during
The natives are slow to learn English
| had to do a lot Of talking and geSticu-
latlng to get this paper. Our money is
worth twice as much as theirs but it
don't cut any ice with them as they
simply double the price, therefore their
money buys as much as ours.
The native children eat all our scraps
at meal time and wash our mess kits TO .
pay for them. When | finish eating |
call out "here Cheno muchee chow
chow, and niger kids will come run
ming from all directions and take the {
scraps and wash my mess kit.
Everything here IS built Of bamboo.
Houses or huts, stables, barracks. ar
'enals, chairs, and beds, and some of
.he natives look as though they were
made of the same material.
We were assigned lot Of horses on \
he 26th or December so l guess we will
'ide from now on. They are all West 7
,rn stock. Prior to the latter date we
we're doing dismounted duty.
This is all for this time. will write
gain soon. MURRAY a. MCKENNA, \
Troop H., L 5. V. Cav, Manila, p. /. &