The National tribune., 1900-06-14
WITH THE 3Sth u. S. INF.
Experiences of an Indiana Boy in the Philir
pines

Experiences of an Indiana Boy in the Philip
pines.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Doubtless
short account Of army life would be in
teresting to a few Of your readers, so
viii attempt to give you some idea of the
trials and tribulations which the ordinary
private is obliged to undergo while in the
field. Our regiment the 35th) left Port
land, Ore, Oct. 4, 1899. We made a short
stop at Honolulu.
We arrived in the historic harbor of
Manila Nov. 8, and the next day were
hustled ashore, loaded into the little d'y
goods boxes which served for cars on the
Dagupan Railroad and shipped for tile fir
ing line. When we reached San Fcrnan-
do we found the track torn up by the enc
my, and were obliged to march the remain
ing sixty miles to San Isidro. AS Novcm-
Der is the last month of the rainy season
the ground was little damp, 50 to speak.
and we hiked that sixty miles in three
days through jungles, thorn thickets and
mud over our lcgging-tops, sleeping in the
rain, with no cover but our blankets.
| stood guard one night in the graveyard
at Arayat. The FilipinOs have Il custom
Of renting their burial lots, and when the
rent is not paid the remains are thrown
out. AS n consequence this particular
graveyard was Uttered with broken cof-
fms, skulls, bones and spirits Of the dead.
We remained at San Isidro about a
month, guarding the town and making
scouting and exploring expeditions into the
interior. Although we were often fired
upon when on outpost in the trenches by
Filipino scouts, the first real excitement
which | got into was Nov. q, when
scouting party of sixty of Company Il tock
the little town Of Moniclng. On our way
over we found Company L boy lying
dead by the roadside, with his entire chin
shot away and Il bullet through his brain.
lie had started out that morning on Il
little scout with one companion and fell
into an ambush. He died game, however,
for in the jungle on the opposite side of
the road we found two dead Eiipinos, and
trail of blood led all the way into town.
We found no trace of the other Company
Il boy, so concluded that he must have
been taken prisoner.
We advanced on the town in 3kirmiSii
formation, and as soon as we got IN sight
Of the cnemy's trenches things com
menced to come our way"
Here we had a chance to try Or new
guns, and we made the most of it. Bullets
were coming thick and uncomfortable
close, and several Of the boys lay grOaning
in the wet rice paddy with more or less
severe wounds before our Major came out
Of his trance and yelled, "Charge, -
yc. Charge" / suppose it made him mad
because Il Remington bullet had Just
spoiled a bran new hat he was wearing by
knocking it off into the mud. We'll, we
didn't wait for second invitation, but
with whOOp that would have done credit
to an Apache warrior, and with hats hay
erSackS and cantccns flying in air, away
we charged across the rice fields. The
"GoogoDs' stood long enough to fire one
yollcy, and then rolled out Of their trench
l nc Ii HI Il a. l..
Many of them threw away their guns in
their laudable and friendly ambition to
outdistancc their comrades
Several were killed in the river. and
when we returned from the chase we bur
| led ii more. | am sorry to say that we
| were obliged to bury four of our own boys,
while six more were wounded, but such
are tn" chances of war. Dec. II our en-
| tire regiment left San Isidro and moved on
| San Miguel, which was strongly fortified
and held by 800 Of the enemy. Naturally
we expected a little fun here, but were
disappointed, as the enemy guarded the
| town only long enough to let the ,lain
body get good start for the jungles We
were in an engagement for about n half
| hour, and then marched into town without
! further trouble. Companies A, and E
have been stationed at Balinag since
| Christmas.
| Inc afS season Is wen on Its way, and
everything is in full bloom
The thermometer is now averaging 81
degrees in the shade each day, so while
you are trying to thaw the pastepot in the
morning l am doing my best to keep cool.
which is very difficult thing to do, as the
necessary exertion usually brings Oh pro,
fuse perspiratfon. L would like to speak
about the people, customs, etc, but | fear
this letter is growing too long alreadv.-
LEE Ross. Company B, 35th Inft. q. S.
", Manila, T.. |.
Jan. 20, 1900.