Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-05-03
MANILA LETTER.
Another Breezy EpistIe From a Former
Wood County Bow.

4 Wood County Boy.
| Capiz. 2. l.. Panay Island. Feb. %,
; 1900.-NOOD COUNTY REPORTER:
! LaZily moves the giant palm leaves. as
! the gentle ZephyrS kiss their upturned
; faces in gleefsl sport. Huge vam-
pireS. 1.-The flying cat of the Orient. =
slowly wing their way to dark homes
: in the tangled jungle. Their work is
done at night; SO is the robbers.
BOny. saw-backed pigs, the scayangers
: Of the Philippines, half tame. half
wild sneak around to find some morsel
| not eaten by their brother scavangers,
!; the yelping ours. They number into
the hundreds: are never killed by the
ISuperStltiOuS natives; are cursed to
: kingdOm'S end by the soldiers.
| 'TiS break of morn in the Philip
pines and old Sol Shyly peeps Ger the
:; horizon, as if lOath to transform the
mystic splendOr of departing night.
The distant hum Of voices breaks the
:; OminOuS silence. We listen awhile.
attentiyely, 'tiS the natives coming
from the market with a fish or per-
: hapS ''clackerS" worth of ShrimpS.
/ Such SutticeS for the daily rGtiOnS:
they are not big eaters nor could they
+ afford it were they so. The motley
| collection of half clothed humanity
passes hUrriedly to their homes: nipa-
! hutS built on bamboo poles to protect
them from water in the rainy season.
Filipino cities look like a second
: NoniCe. after a weeks rain. | cannot
youch for their cleanliness around
their habitatiOnS: they care nothing
for dirt. Many of the huts are built
in SWampS midst stagnant pools of
foetid water Their negligence along
! sanitary measures makes matters
worse, and it is a wonder how they
keep from fever and many other con-
] tagiOuS diseases. | cannot say that /.
particularly am in love with our
newly acquired American brothers
and sisters, but must guard my
! tongue and speak not i'll of American
subjects. I wonder if President
Mckinley and his followers really
know what kind of an elephant they
have purchased. 1t may be the cele-
brated white elephant'' of prOverbial
fame. Don't forget | am a republican
and that L mean to cenSure the party
/ for it's acts in the past, but can say
that something may 'buSt'' in the
future. The United States govern
ment has most serious proposition to
solve in the Philippine question and
. | OIlIy ShllII vi VI p1OuldCy Will SuCCSpU.
The lnSurreCUiOn is not ended as vet
in LuzOn Island and if the insurgents
hold on till the rainy season it will
mean one more years fighting for the
United States troops and also the
reorganization of the inSurgent army.
We all hope for peace in the near
future and surely the soldiers have
done nobly in trying to secure that
end.
This island of Panay is now
practically peaceable and no inSurrec-
tiOn exists. A few scattered bands of
'IagalO robbers rove around in the
interior and make life miserable for
the natives. | witnessed a novel
sight February. u al,l never expect to
see another like it. Two companies
, (17O mem Of insurgents, including
seven officers, came into this town and
surrendered to the military authOri-
ties. They received $4,000 Mexican
money for each gun. They were
transported to Manila, their former
homes and guess they were glad to go.
I'll wager that balf of them will be
back on the lines with AguinaldO
before two months are gone. They
were all TagOlaS, the scum of Manila
population 'tiS said and surely their
faces told as much.
Our band has been moving around a
good deal since November 30, 100, and
we are not settled down as yet.
Expect to move to Sara at anv
moment. We enjoyed pleasure trip
larmed with Krag, a six shooter and
q musical instrument aDiece) from
llOiiO to Capiz on the steamer
''ElCanO" and | enjoyed it, excluding
the Sea-SickneSS. Witnessed the
bOmbardment of Ajui. a coast city.
by two gun boats. They were re-
cOnnOitering and were fired upon by
the insurgents from shore trenches.
Marines from the Concord and soldiers
from our boat were hastily landed.
AS usual, the inSurrectOS ran away
after firing a few scattering shots.
The town was burned and thus ends
this little episode. Banta and
EStancia offered no resistance. Their
wise men came on board and con-
yerSed, through an Interpreter, with
: the commanding officer They went
their way in happy mood as | would
judge by their cOuntenances. Con-
cepciOn was our next objective point
and a strong force of insurgents was
reported TO be there. The gun boat
Pampagna steamed ahead into the
bay and shortly Signalled that
trenches could be seen on the hill. All
was excitement and hustle on board
and we quickly embarked in the ships
boats. All went smoothly until we
reached the beach, or rather until the
boat grounded 1t was laughable to
see Us as we jumped into the briny
!; wet water waist deep and wade for
shore. We formed the SkirmiSh line
on the run and advanced at the
: bugle'S call. Twas anxious moments
for all and | for one thought of the
bad things | had done through life. |
! had death grasp On my krag and
rather think. no smiles on my face.
We Waded in SwampS and labOriOuSly
!; crawled through thick under-grOwth,
now and then stumbling over log or
being tripped by some hidden vine.
: Oh. war is hell.' SO Sherman said
We were nearing the brow of the
hill and could dimly see red patches
of dirt that formed their trenches
The grip on my gun was now more
| deadly. [ ceased to think of my bad
: self but now my thoughts were
diverted to home and friends. The
| long Sna1e-like mound of dirt was
: easily discerned by the eye and
yOlley was in order at any moment.
Would liked to had few cannon
crackers and exploded them at the
rear of US. Remember, we profess to
| be musicians and some Of US play a
. little. but as to fighting that's
another thing. What would have
|! | haDDpnpd TO us had firing ODpnnd at