The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-01-05
ON THE
PHILIPPINES
Continued from Fnurth Page.

ingly humid, the men sleeping out
doors and without their blankets cover
ing them, e~ndeavoring to keep cool,
contracted the malaria that ultimately
led to the death Of several. Still, our
stay at Caivte was not unpleasant. I
speak now of the stay of the various or.
CARNATIONS. for Montana was not alone
at Cavite.
beyond Cavite and the wall that
surrounded it was a narrow causeway
that led to San Rogue; the cemetery
was out through San Rogue near the
Spanish marine hospital beyond Sangley
Point. I speak Of this simply from the
fact that on several occasions, when at
tenn pting to bury our dead, OIL going
through San Rogue we discovered that
the Filipinos had guards along each
avenue, who frequently desired to con-
test our right beyond what they had
styled their line 1t was amusing to
see the detail, even though at q fun
eral the little Filipino with his Mau.
ser, a sombrero. corduroy suit and bare
footed, together with his Tagalic jar
gon, seeking to stop a funeral process
sion, was a little more than the aver
age soldier cared for, and the solemnity
of the occasion was marred in several
instances by an American soldier tax.
ing hold of the barrel of his gun and
lifting the stock in a threatening man
ner. when the Filipino wonld beat a
hasty retreat and look at the procession
from a safe distance.
lone other thing in connection with
Cavite to indicate Spanish cruelty to
the Filipinos. While visiting our hos
pital,, early in September. Captain
Gerry called my attention to the terri
BILE condition Of affairs in another hos
pital. diagonally opposite our own. I
went over one day and saw a magnif.
cent building called a Collegio dc Con-
cepcion, that had been transformed into
a hospital. The attendants were care
fully dressed, very gentlemanly and
suave, and led me to infer that the care
the inmates were receiving would be
ever better than we we're according our
own sick. We were conducted up the
stairway, aud my first introduction was
to a Filipino padre. who was held as a
suspect. He had a suite of rooms ad
joining the chapel, SO that lie might
hold services for the convalescents. I
sat aud talked with him for some time,
resurreoting my college Latin SO that I
sould converse with him in disconnected
sentences, and I learned that the policy
of the insurgent army was to capture
both Spanish and native priests and ill.,
oarcerate them, thus showing their
hatred Of the church. ! knew some.
thing Of this, for upon visiting several
of the families at Oavite and being
asked what my position was in the
army, and stating that I was a chap
lain, the answer came: Yes; chaplain
equal padre. Padre equal ladrone.' T
was not at all oomplimented by this
statement and inquired the reason why
padre vas a ladrone, and the answer
came very quickly: "For a little
prayer, much money; money, money.
And if we had it not to give
to them, they simply would insist upon
selling something that we had Of
our own, in order that we might COM
ply with their demands
Leaving the padre I visited a room
the Spanish officers were and
found them suffering from disease and
hunger. They were allowed but a very
small quantity of rice. and in their sick
and emaoiated condition were denied
even the ordinary comforts that might
to a man in our average poor
houses in the state OF Montana. I went
the wards and found the major
number Of patients Filipinos, and re.
this to one of the attendants,
when he told me that those who were
in this hospital we're prisoners who had
been taken from the Spaniards, and that
the Filipinos themselves, who were
prisoners, were men who had been
lighting with the Spaniards against
their own people, and that therefore
deserved nothing more in the way
Of comfort or food other than was being
given them. I left the building, but
followed by one of the GONZALES
cents, who told me that l had not seen
the whole Of the hospital aud asked me
to return. ! may not describe to yon
the sight that greeted my eyes on going
into the corridors under the main floor
from where I had been carefully kept
by the hospital steward and his assist.
ants. Men were lying upon their cots
in the clothing that they had worn
when captured, some Of them with
fostering, others in the excre-
ments from dysentary and with the
most awful stencil arising form recep-
tacles that had not been changed or
cleaned during the whole Of their stay
there. l found men lying on their
beds, too weak to arise and relieve
themselves, with the excrement drying
upon their clothing, left in that filth to
die. 1t was more than ! could stand
and l went upstairs and began, in a Pc
American way, to relieve my
mind to the steward in charge. did
not dare swear. for was "A chaplain. |