Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-02-15
SOLDIER LETTER.
From Ira l.. Mather, Formerly a
Resident Here.

LuZon Island, L. l., Jan. -, l9UU.
Mr.. Louis Lee, Audubon, Iowa.
Dear Old Friend
/ VIII now try and write you a few
lines to let you know | am alive and
we'll. The regiment landed at Manila
March 6, 1899. and on the 18th were
taken out on the line of battle and
have been out ever since. joined the
regiment some months ago, / did not
come with the regiment as | was at
San Franciso, California, helping drill
recruits so was retained there some
months before / came here. / had
crazy idea to see these islands and so
to satisfy my curiosity enlisted i'll the
regular army. We have had some very
hard times since came here. Some of
our boys are in critical condition at
present.
There are quite a number of Iowa
boys in the regiment. One of Audu-
bon's boys, l think you surely know
him The was only lad when you and /
used to be young fellows together, his
name is Will Beadle. He is here in my
company now. The Iowa volunteers
did some good work here and deserve
great credit for bravery and gentle
manly principles plainly manifest in
the majority of the regiments of volun-
teers.
We are now doing garrison duty at
Aryat, town on the Rio Grande
river about 100 miles in the interior
from Manila. We have three compaies
of our regiment here, one company at
San Louis, oneIbattalion at Condoba
also doing garrison duty. The other
battalion is on the north line some
where and are in deplorable condition,
majority of them are devoid of shoes
and almost naked. The second bat
talon came in a few weeks ago and out
of 300 men who left fit for duty only
1913 returned able for duty, so you can
see how marching and fighting does
for men who are not acclimated. /
think most of our fighting days are
almost if not quite over. There is
nothing doing on the north line now
and very little to do on the south line
as near as We can learn.
Our brave General Lawton was
killed on the south line on the 10Th of
December depriving us of one Of the
bravest and best beloved men of the
army. His remains have been taken
back to the states for burial. The
bullets were never too thick or the
march to long to discourage him. Gen.
Joseph Wheeler succeeds him / under
stand. He also is very good man
and fighter These people are a very
queer people here and have some queer
customs but are quite an intelligent
race of people nevertheless.
As you would suppose we had quite
quiet Christmas and New Years day
here, although it was quite green, in
fact, one of the greenest Christmas
days | have ever seen. One could hard
" realize it was Christmas and New
Years when one would go around
almost suffering from heat
and go down the river and take bath.
The churches and most prominent
buildings are very similar to those OF
Texas and Mexican towns, large stone
churches with large stone fences around
the same Their mode of business and
farming are quite like old biblical
times. The water buffalo is their beast
of burden. Their chief sport is cock
fighting and gambling in various ways.
They are lovely musicians, neverthe-
less, and give us some fine entertain
ments evenings which is fully appre-
ciated by us. The leader of the band
here has just returned from visit to
the states. He was at the Omaha Ex-
position last summer. These Islands
are very rich in almost all minerals, the
soil is also very fertile and produces
an abundant yield of almost anything
that one could wish for. One could do
well here if they had some ready money
when the trouble is over.
did not know where you were until
/ read an account in an Audubon paper
of you going into business at Audubon.
1 do not suppose it is like it used to be
there. l have not been there for a
good while but when l come back l
think shall take trip up there and
see some of my old friends. l met
Gus Keith last winter at st. Joseph,
Missouri, and we were together for a
long while. Gus left before did and
l wrote to him. We exchanged few
letters and l never heard from him
since. would be glad if you would
tell me if he is at Audubon now. Give
my regards to all of my friends. My
regards to your wife. Write me when
you get this if you have time. AS ever
yOur friend IRA L. MATHERS