The Newtown bee., 1901-03-29

they were brought out here m q Sall- boat, and the one for me was from Lowney's, and it was a dandy, 50 pounds of their mixed chocolates, be- sides lot of sweet chocolate for drink ing. About all that we have been do- ing to-day is to eat candy, and if every man in the company is not sick 1t won't be because he has not had enough candy to eat. 1 can't imagine where your box is, as the "Kilpatrick" came direct from Manila to Cebu. Last year there was large number of the boxes broken open, so perhaps that is what has happened to mine. The pic ture of myself which l enclose was snapped by one of the boys. It was taken in front of the tent which l have been using since I began teaching school. You can see we are living quite comfortable under the circum- stances. The climateshere can't be beaten. We have been here since last June and have had breeze every day, and the past three months have been as comfortable as our autumn months at home About a week ago part of the 44th Volunteers had one of the hardest fights on this Island. The fight took place about 25 miles from this place on the west coast of the Is land. There was 40 men in all con- manded by Lieut. Hincken. They were washing in a river bed, when they were fired upon on three sides. The firing from the Hanks was rifle firing but that from the front was from two brass cannon which the in surgents had planted in the center of the road. At the first volley the ad- vance guard and the lieutenant were shot down and the firing was so heavy | that the remainder of the party had l to fall back to a town several miles away and there await endorsements. | When the reinforcementsa arrived, they went back but the insurgents had es- capped. A search was made for the bodies and they were finally found, but in such a condition that they could hardly be recognized. Every body had been striped and then hacked with bolos, and some had their eyes gouged out. That is the ''Gentle Filipino'' which one reads about. The list of casualties was one lieutenant and five men killed, four wounded and two missing. The two missing men were found that same day. One had both eyes shot out, and the other shot through both kneecapS. When we re- ceived word of the fight every man in the company volunteered to go out but the 44th have since cleaned that country out entirely so have had no need of our help. It makes one $ blood boil to read articles in the pa pers about the inhumanity of the ized country on the face of the earth had to contend with such treachery and such methods of carrying on war as we have to contend with the Fili- l pinos would have been exterminated long ago. The Filipinos have been so long under Spanish rule, and have been trodden down So long that when | the Americans came and treat them with kindness, they looked upon it as weakness, and thought the Americans were afraid of them. Such race only respects strong hand. The only policy for these people is to whip them first and teach them afterwards. I saw an account of the school bill which the commissioners at Manila have just passed. It cuts out religion out of the school during school hours. It will be the best thing in the world for the rising generation. At present nearly l two-thirds of the school hours are talk en up with religious studies. So you can see the boys don't have much time to learn anything else. I opened the geography the other day and showed my class the Philippines Is- lands and then the United States. They could not realize that the islands were so small. Now they are crazy to study history and geography. If I had no other ambition 1 would like nothing better than to teach these boys. l have changed a great deal since left home, thlt is in regard to study. The only time read anything is when l receive mail from home. spe nd all my spare time in study. have learnel everything more thor oughly in the army thln I could have at school Ben.