Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-09-26
letter FROM THE PHILIPPINES
Wil'mar Boy Writes-Life in the Marine
Service Not Quite to His Liking.

"il'mar Boy Writes-Life in the Marine
Service Not Quite to His Liking.
In a letter to his brother Chris,
dated at Cayite, P. l., Aug 6, Carl o.
Berg gives the following account of
his condition.:
well, I am fine and dandy, with
tne exception of having been laid up
Tor week with boils under my arms
ana on my legs-regular bad blood
DOLLS, caused by poor food and hot
weather: L finally had to go to the
hospital to get them cut, and for a
week have been tied up with band
ages and plasters. I guess today or
tomorrow they will be taken off.
EVERY! morning for the past week l
nave had to see the doctor and he has
dressed them, washed out the bad
SUN and stuffed cotton into the holes.
The weather is so warm out here
mat they don't heal fast, and they
have to be taken care of. Otherwise I
certainly feel good-and hungry.
Ihey certainly don't believe in giving
US 100 much to eat out here, for during
tne last month we have been taking
nall our meals at restaurants, where
yer we could get credit till pay day.
Iheey are rObbing our mess to finish
and nobody can say word to an
,ofhcer or gentleman as they call
them: We have to shut up and take
It, | am disguised with the whole
proposition and in the near future will
certainly try to go aboard ship or to
Chlna-lt is no use thinking of getting
back to the United States until June,
1907"
MIR. Berg also encloses the follow
ing account of a hanging which he
attended, which he thought might be
OF interest to TRIBUNE readers:
On Saturday, June %, 1906, party
OF five of US marines left Cavite for
San Francisco de Malabon, where
there was to be a hanging scene,
arriving there at 80 a. m.
One Federico De la Cruz, formerly
soldier and bugler in the Philippine
constabulary, was hung for crime
committed in January, 1905, when he
deserted, stole two rifles and amuni-
ton, and joined the tribe of Insur-
rectos in the surrounding country in a
raid on Malabon, where they killed
one constabulary-man, DR.. O'neill, of
the U. S. Army, and raided the town
treasury. He was caught Immediately
afterwards by detachment of the
18th U. S. Cavalry.
The hanging took place at O'Clock
on plaza in church-yard and was
visited by over 1900 people, all being
tilipinos with the exception of some
people from neighboring towns who
were mostly soldiers from other
branches of the service. Upon arriv-
ing there the first we saw was the
frame work of the scafold and we
thought for moment it was all over,
but it was not completed as the preyi-
Gus day had been too hot for outdoor
work on it.
At 8 o'clock the troops stationed
there were called to order and atten-
ton and given their orders where to
be stationed on the parade grounds
so as to form a square. There we're
three companies of constabulary, and
one of scouts Zone of the companies of
constabulary was his old company.
They were then marched to the grounds
and formed a square around the
plaza, to keep back the crowd and as
a guard. At $50 a. m. everything
was in readiness and at 8:45 the
prisoner (who in the meantime had
been kept in Che church) was I'M
chained and marched out through an
aisle formed by officers of the different
branches of the service up to the scat
fold, where he was halted and the
death sentence and proceedings of his
trial were read to him by the provin-
cial judge. During this reading he
was seen to finch and sway his cad.
AS he walked up the last - steps lead
ing to the gallows he never finched or
lost a bit of courage.
Behind him was a sheriff, a priest,
a Filipino carrying a cross, the death
watches, and the Judge and doctor.
At 1855 he was given permission to
talk and for three minutes he spoke
very freely of his guilt and life.
Owing to the fact that he spoke in his