Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-05-23
HOTpURSUIT OF 'NIGGERS.
SERGEANT LESTER WOODS EXPERIENCES
IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Says They Have Done Something Besides Toy
Soldier--ExpOsure Of Health and Life By Hard
Marches and Fierce Fighting-He Expects
Promotion for Duty Well Performed-He
Writes interestingly.

the following letter from Lester Wood.
who was a member of Company Nj. and
after his return from the south went to
the Philippines.
ATmoNAy. PROVINCE OF TAYABAs
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, MARCH q, 1900. !
received your letter Of January 2ist
and was very glad to hear from you. but
even then, these troublesome ''niggers, p
just as | had distributed the mail torn
open letter and began TO read, fired on
our outposts and the town OF course
everyone flew for his rifle and then ran
into the street rs the trumpeter was
blowing call to-arms Our company,
which is always first in everything,
dashed down the street to where the
outpost was, near the woods, and as we
have only one officer with the company
and | as acting First sergeant am second
in command, heard the lieutenant say:
Sergeant take your men into the woods
and up the hill, then turn TO the right
down the ridge" We plunged into the
cocoanut grove and soon were scaling
the hill, while Co. had taken a position
in the church behind stone wall where
they remained. The men with me never
fired shot as the insurgents were hid
den and as soon as they saw us enter the
woods they chased of up the mountain
side This is the second time they have
fired upon the town like that. The next
day we went out recommending with
fifty men and on our return ran into an
ambuscade There was derachment
of twenty-five men from each company
under lieutenant. We acted as ad-
vance guard going out and they ON the
return. They were on low rocky hill
very near the road, and in one place the
rocks ran nearly straight up. /, at the
head of our detachment, was nearly OPP
posite this high place when 'bangl'' and
the Mausers began to hit all around us
To a man we all hit the real estate and
got what cover we could and few of
us mustered up courage to swing our
rifles over the ledge and empty them in
the brush above. Tell me the Filipino
can't work Mauser And all at once
down the hill came large rocks which
struck in the road very near TO some of
the men, while smaller stones struck
some of the boys. All at once there was
a lull in the firing and | for one got up
in the road. The first man / saw was
our lieutenant, McCabe, who said, Take
half the company and flank them from
the rear and left, which we did as fast
as we could run, but as usual the black
devils had path cut out on which to
retreat and had flown. We were called
back to the road and the lieutenant
counted seven places in the road where
bullets had struck not over four feet
from where / lay. Our lieutenant. who
is very brave man, said that it was
plenty hot enough for him, as he was
sure that balls went within two inches
of his head. But the hand of God was
surely with us, as not man was shot.
II was simply miracle. On the 23d of
February our company were ambushed
about three miles from here while going
TO Saguimanoc They fred all of twenty
shots at us without hitting a man. We
fired volley into the brush and then
charged up two hills We got up the
hills sooner than they expected and gave
them hot crags at about fifty feet, We
killed six that day one being lieuten-
ant bearing an important letter. We
made six amigoes the best days work
vet On two other small expeditions we
killed two and wounded one, ON each.
| am getting plentv of experience
Companies | and X 'ivod here for one
month without any government rations,
subsisting on Carabion rice and wild
hogs Talk of soldering and campaign
ing. | have had some experience in
both lines. We made one trip that is
the most important one, from here to
Saguimanoc. we being the first soldiers
over the trail, and then from there by
boat down the coast Of the China Sea TO
Sucena. There were fifteen men, my
self, Lieutenant McCabe and a Cheno.
We were on the rocks twice, each time
over a mile out from shore. The last
time IL was II o'clock at night. One
man, Jacob Brandt, was knocked over
board by the boom, and drowned At
last we managed TO get ashore and then
the woods were so full of insurgents that
we lay ON the beach the rest OF the night
without sleep or supper. The poor boys
all had chills and | had to relieve them
from watch every hIIlf hour 1t was the
worst night ever spent. We reached
Lucena and then marched seven miles
more through the enemy's country TO
Tayabas. our regimental headquarters,
where lieutenant McCabe bought us $40
worth of canned goods for our good
looks / could relate several such evente
which may sound rather fshy, but are
every bit true.
There are two companies here, / and
Tx. We are IL miles from Saguimanoc
where company ID is stationed, and %
miles from Tayabas. There are about
four hundred armed insurgents in the
hills, near by. We see their signal lights
every night We are too much for them
in q fight, so they bushwhack. The
men ON guard every two days, and
other details between times The health
of the boys is good; hardly any sickness,
mostly dysentery, what there is, which
is very dangerous here. / am enjoying
perfect health and weigh 40 pounds.
Once while on the march from Ratangas
TO San Pueblo we went for fifty hours
without sleep, on three-fourth rations
| Of bacon, hardtack and coffee, and near
| ly carried a large wagon train which we
| were escorting. These were the rations
| that Swans men had on the march 10
| Santa Cruz and at the battle of Santa
20 Hill We could hear the guns plainly
| but as our work was done we could only
listen to the boom Of the mountain bat
| terry which bOmbarded the insurgent
| trenches. We were all worn ont and
the company was in the worst condition
it had been since the expedition started.
Our orders were TO get the wagon train
| into San Pueblo by IL o'clock. and II
was / 80 when Lieutenant McCabe re
ported to General Swan, and inImedi-
atelY the battalions of infantry and
| cavalry began to swing into lire. Then
we began to see the necessity of our
hard march and terrible hardships. But
now l am glad Of it, and the man who
SAYS tiTl soldiers 10 me wants to look out
for his head But enough Of this "a