Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-09
ROMANTIC
COURTSHZP
NEARSEND
LOS ANGELES GIRL AWAITS
SOLDIER LOVER
PIECE OF HARDTAcK MAY UNITE
TWO HEARTS
Pretty Young Woman Places Name on
Cracker, Which Is Found by
Engineer In the Far
East

The journey of a piece of hardtack from
Los Angeles to the Philippines is the
cause of the faster beating of one SOL
diers heart with each passing day that
brings nearer the time when he can again
tread the soil of California, after an
absence of two years among savages,
whose welfare has been intrusted to the
care of Uncle Sam with the requirement
of vast and strange possessions in the
tar east.
And it all came about from the prank Of
a pretty girl. The soldier has never seen
the girl, and neither has she seen him.
The medium through which the long-dis-
| tance acquaintance that has developed
into a more tender affection was made
was cracker, common piece Of hard
tack, the substantially of which delights
the penurious soul of the commissary de-
partment and makes the soldier deplore
his position and his jaws crack in pro-
| test.
| The soldier is Howard Taylor, member
of company c, engineer corps, stationed
on the Island of Mindanao, Philippines.
Good fortune dealt the cards, and early
| one August morning Taylor, as he placed
| the piece of hardtack to his lips saw
written upon it the name Of a girl and
underneath the name and address.
Many Letters Exchanged
What more natural than that he, pining
| for the refining influences of home life,
| living in country where danger Is ever
present, should write to the young woman?
| And, again, what more natural than that
she, acting from the motives of pure sym
pathy in woman's heart, should reply?
| That the initial letters should be followed,
| by others and that they should become
| more affectionate is, of course, to be sup
posed.
| Early in August Miss Ruth Walker, a
pretty 19-year-old girl living at GAG Kohler
| street, while in one of the large cracker
| factories of Los Angeles, wrote her name
| and address on the piece of hardtack
The cracker, packed with thousands of
others, was shipped to the supply depart
| ment of Mare island and thence made the
long journey across the Pacific.
AT Manila 1t was placed on a narrow
gauge train and sent into the interior
and then transshipped to an army wagon
After miles of travel over the govern.
| ment's new roads it reached, together
| with tons of other supplies. the little viii
lage of Pautar, Mindanao, and fell into
the hands of the commissary sergeant of
company G, engineer corps Fate placed
it in Howard Taylor's rations and fac
| stopped him in the act of destroying it in
the usual way
Tells of Conditions
Taylor took the first opportunity to
write, and the letter, travelling by steamer
to the Island of Moro then to Manila,
began its long trip across the Pacific and
| reached the Walker home in mid -Septem-
Der. Since then letters have been COM
raratively frequent, for mail travels
faster than supplies.
| Taylor's letters are interesting, telling
Of conditions in the far interior of the
islands and of the life of the soldiers in
camp. Pautar, he says, is situated in one
of the widest spots on Mindanao island
His company has been stationed at that
place for almost two years, and every
member of 1t is constantly on the alert,
for savages surround them and take du-
vantage of every opening to dash in AMI
cut to pieces every man within reach.
He expresses little hope for the future
civilization of the Moros who inhabit the
islands, and, although he does not believe
in their determination by the sword. he
thinks the tribal warfare constantly going
on and the manner in which they live will
have the effect of diminishing them until
they will be regarded as one of the lost
tribes.
Clothing at Premium
Each district, he says has datto or
chief with anywhere from fifty to $4,000
slaves. They also have from three to 100
wives.
Clothing, it seems, is at premium, the
people wearing anywhere from nothing
to almost nothing.
AS source of amusement the men of
company G have tanned two monstrous
snakes, one of which is twenty-five feet
in length, the other eighteen feet. They
also have a cage filed with monkeys.
These monkeys have been taught, after
| ,.1I~I Iol@ a. S-k -..Ie. ...5 al
though they are not on Uncle Sans pay
roll their services are not without re-
ward, for they are fed and petted beyond
measure. .gs
The outer guard lines are placed at
great distance from the main body OF
troops, a mile sometimes separating tho
camp from the little squads upon whose
vigilance depends the lives of thousands.
The guards carry monkeys to their tenn
porary stations, and there the little ami
mails are released.
Make Good Guards
The Moro is one of their worst enemies,
and they never stray far from their SOL
dier friends. Whether it is from an in
born desire to create racket or because
Of an appreciation of danger, the mon
keys nevertheless, at the first sign of
danger, set up such a chattering that the
whole squad is aroused, while the ami
mails scamper back to camp, carrying q
noisy message of threatening danger
But all the excitement of soldiers life
is paling in the mind of Howard Taylor.
and he is anxious to see the end of his
term of enlistment, and girlish heart In
Los Angeles beats in sympathy.
The little piece of hardtack is wrapped
up carefully in soldiers blue shirt and
nestles at the bottom Of a well-worn
knapsack.
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