Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-08-03
HARDSHIPS OF SEA.
SERGEANT JOHN J. GALLAGHER,
WRITES HIS FATHER AN IN.
TEREsTiNa LETTER.
Tells Of the Voyage Of Hf,nself and
Wife From Guam to Manila, p. IT,
Encountered a Rough Storm While
In Mid Ocean.

The hardships of a sea voyage on
rough water in strange country Is
the contents of an interesting letter
from Sergeant John j. Gallagher Of
Troop I, Eighth United States Cav
alIy, to his father, Thomas Gallagher.
Df this city. Sergeant Gallagher is
an Ottumwa boy serving In the ar
my. The letter Is from Guam. n. l.
and tells Of the voyage from that
point*to Manila, where Sergeant Gal
hgher ts stationed. He is accom-
panied by his wife.
Tho1etter rs in part as foilowss
\ Guam, II. l., April 20, 1908.
Dear Father: We are now in
Guam and very nice place It Is. It
Is avery hard Job to take large
boat IN at this point, We being I'M
AbdeHto get closer than two miles
hun the shore on account Of the
shau6w water. Thee vessels went
10 the bottom here because Of collid-
mgwfth rocks close to tho shore. The
deepest wafer IN the world Is outside
n6 She 'hnbor and we have to Cross
It 10 get IN here. There are three
Swedish vessels at port here, being
compelNeG to stop at this point by the
Depa. whow1u not allow them TO laud
kheirycarEo Of provisions for the Rus
sfanss They have been hying here
tor the past eight weeks, afraic to
ventures out, where two Japanese
warshipSs aresstationed.
/ "We went ashore this afternoon to
visit Guam It seems to be a very
Of itsy but Z would prefer to be sta
T. t,<,<1 Mn {o
one company Of marine corps sta
toned here and about 5000 natives.
Their language is called Chip Morros.
They are small in stature. They are
very busy unloading cargo which be-
longs in Guam. There is storm
brewing and we are due to depart
from this port at s o'clock.
I'VE are now in mid ocean and ex-
periencing the toughest kind of
weather. The storm Is so fierce we
are not allowed on deck. The wind
Is SO strong we are drifting. We
could not sleep last night and this
morning we are lost in mid sea. We
cannot tell where we are going only
by the compass, which points to the
east We are headed south. Last
nigh, while the boat was lurching and
fighting the wind, we thought we
we're gone. We hit something and for
a moment we rocked like cradle.
The lights went out and children
and women cried throughout.
thought we were all gone, but we are
still living and very thankful for it.
eve were allowed to go on deck to-
day because we couldn't stand 1t any
longer below. I strapped myself to a
pole in order to keep on deck. We
have not seen the sun, moon or stars
for the past five days. The next morn
Ing after the two days storm was Sun
day, and the weather was as calm as
American days The people are all
glad to see the calm and they are re-
joicing. Helen and went to chapel
this morning and joined with the bal
ance Of the congregation in giving
thanks to God for our safety. We are
to arrive in Manila tomorrow. The
weather is still mild and those aboard
are lively.
1--WE have reached Manila bay, where
we ought to have been four days ago.
We can see some of Dewey's great
work here in the shape of a sunken
ship. Everybody is getting their bag
gage Strengthened up, preparatory to
landing. Helen and l go ashore in
about an hour We have just received
our orders, which provide for our be-
ing stationed at Camp Wallace, San
Fernando de Union. We feel the heat
more here than on our voyage.
with love and best wishes to all,
from your loving son,
Sergeant John j. Gallagher,
Troop I, Eighth Cavalry,
Scamp Wallace, San Fernando de
JIpion p -