The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 24, 1898, Page 8

THE SAN FRANCISOO- CALL, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1898. JOYS AND S OF ARMY LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES Volunteers Find ' Transports Is No First Special Correspondence of The Call. BY PRIVATE FRED A, HEALY, CAVITE, July 14.—This is not the local room of a paper. One has to get | his information as to the date of de- parture of the different mails as best he can, and as they generally leave ebout two days ahead of schedule time he has to do the best he can in the few | minutes allowed him between the | periods of his military duty to get his | correspondence written. | This is not the only epistolary dif- ficulty the young soldier has to over- come. It seems that the mail to the United States will not be forwarded unless the passage is prepaid. The | troops have received no money. Not one in ten has two Mexican cents to his name, let alone the 10 needed to carry his letters home, and in conse- quence many a mother and sweetheart will wonder why they do not hear from the boy at the front. We have been here for two weeks now and have tasted no fighting, though every evening the sound of firing commences in the vicinity of Manila, just across the bay, and the regiment is lulled to its sleep by the boom of Spanish cannon on the walls of Luzon's capital replying to the mus- ketry attacks of the encircling bodies of insurgent Infantry. Nearly every morning we hear re- ports of more or less serious affrays which took place the night before and | of victories for the insurgents, which | latter report is generally confirmed by the long line of captive prisoners| which are brought in later in the day | and incarcerated In prisons which they | themselves built in former years for the natives who now stand guard over them. Since the regiment landed its health as a whole has been pretty fair, though there has been considerable doing in the way of cramps and dysentery, and those sores which first made their ap- pearance on the Peking, and which were supposed to have been the result of a too liberal use of salt water, are still staying right with it. The indi- vidual who is unforfunate enough to be the victim of the two disorders to- gether is anything but an object of envy to his more fortunate fellows. As he can eat nothing, he becomes a sort of a cross between a military Job and a warrior Lazarus. The first serfous accident since the regiment landed here occurred on the 12th. “Jack” Egan, the senior corporal of E Company, was cieaning his rifle, when the piece was discharged, blowing off three of the fingers on his right hand. He is now being cared for in the regimental hospital and will be re- turned to his home in San Francisco as soon as his condition will permit of his making the trip. Egan was at one time employed in the composing room of The Call. The accident, while very unfortunate and much to be regretted, can be blamed to no one but himself, as it was entirely the result of his own carelessness. Colonel Smith is determined to make good marksmen of the boys he com- mands. A few days ago he had targets erected on those portions of the decks of the San Juan de Ulloa and Isle de Cuba that are above water, and last Saturday the Third Battalion lined up . for its initial shoot. The boys were deeply Interested in the outcome of the competition, and good natured rivalry between the different companies of the battalion ran high. The ranges were 250 and 525 yards, respectively, and the firing was done by squads and singly, both in the erect position and lying down. G Company, Captain Sutiiffe, made the best score, though all acquit- ted themselves very well, the firing of the green hands in particular being so good as to surprise those who had looked for a far different result from men who In many instances had never }\lad a gun In thelr fists before in their ves. To-day the Second Battalion had its target practice, and L Company, under the command of Captain Eggett, car- ried off the honors. En passant I might say that this same L Company is winning a name for itself as a crack company. Its drill has excited the admiration of the regulars themselves, and a number of its men have been chosen for positions that are generally considered the re- wards of particular excellence in army life. Private Ward Eaton has been made regimental clerk. Private Frank Lanks has been prom~téd to the posi- tion of clerk in the quartermaster de- partment, and Privates Lawrensen and ‘White are to be attached to the Brig- ade Signal Corps as soon as it is or- ganized. One great trouble here is the lack of sanitary facilities as regards keeping the persons of the enlisted men in a state of healthful cleanliness. There is a great scarcity of fresh water in this place. Most of that preclous fluld is ob- tained from the frequent rains, and the supply is so inadequate to the demand that fresh water for washing purposes {= entirely out of the question. Swim- ming in the salt water of the bay was attempted, but came to an abrupt end, owing to a large number of sea nettle and Jelly fish that had located in the bay some little time before the Ameri- can occupation, and were no more in- clined to give up their territory to the invaders than are their poisonous Spanish neighbors on shore. L Com- pany and D Company, which attempted the first bath, were stung almost to a man. The poison of the sting, while only transitory in its effects, 1s so dis- agreeable and painful in its results that most men prefer going dirty to trying it again. Something should and no doubt will be done to remedy the pres- ent condition. Another thing that the boys would be very grateful for would be a supply of pith helmets. The slouch eampaigning hat that seemed so light in S8an Fran- cisco is as heavy as lead In the humid climate of Manila, and on a long march would become an instrument of torture, where in garrison it is merely a matter of great discomfort. Speaking of discomfort, when a man wishes to enjoy thorough, unalloyed, simon-pure discomfort 1et him forsake the ease_and luxury of civil existence as a hodcarrier or satevedore and join the army. He'll gef what he is looking for. Art and nature both combine agalnst the soldier, and the gods, the 1 California Gaining Being the Crack Regiment at Cavite. | where troops are to be found it stands | thing down here in a general sense and ORROWS That Unloading in the Sun Joke. Distinction of the elements and some men are never propitious to the boys In blue. When it is guard duty that has to be done rain is the accompaniment of the lonely sen- tinel; the order for a long march is the sure precursor of a broiling hot sun and clouds of stifling dust on the ap- pointed day, while the taps of the tired soldier are the reveille of the frolicsome and omnipresent mosquito. There is a duty known in the army as fatigue. The first man who so called it knew his business. In all places| for the laborious duties attached to a | camp or garrison. It means the same the hold of the Peking in a particular | sense. The troops age forced to unload their own stores from the vessels, and every day a fatigue detail from each company is sent aboard to rustle bales, boxes and barrels in the hold of the vessel. Such work is considered fairly laborious when performed by men ac- customed to it and in a cold climate. Imagine what it must be in the tropics to men, many of whom have never lifted anything heavier than a visit- ing-card in their lives. They stick to it like good ones, however, and one never hears a complaint. It seems to be| considered a matter of honor among | the boys to say nothing and perspire | until their clothes are wringing wet and their shoes slop as they moveabout. | The First California is composed of good 'uns, “an’ that ain’t no lie.” Drills take place twice a day and are held in the early morning and evening so as to escape the terrible humidity of midday. That they are ac- complishing their object can be seen by a man with half an eye. The im-| provement in the carriage, gun hand- ling, marching and general demeanor of the men must be very gratifying to their officers, and I don’t hesitate to say that before the first year’s enlist- ment has expired the First California Volunteers will be able to compete and hold their own with the best regulars in the country or out of it. As to their fighting qualities—well, just give them the chance and let the result speak for them. Not only have they had the ordinary garrison drills, but skirmish and re- connoitering drills have taken place that have carried the boys of the Sec- ond and Third Battalions under Majors Tilden and Sime many miles through the enemy’s territory and well up toward the defenses of Manila. The officers of the regiment are quar- tered In the houses occupied but a short time ago by the gold-laced Dons that Dewey sent scurrying toward Manila, while the rank and file are occupying the quarters left vacant by the hurried departure of Spain’s crack regiment, the “Infantry of Marine.” The natives tell us that thirteen men were killed in this building during the bombardment. If this is so the boys don’t worry much about it. Every even- ing song, jest and badinage fly thick and fast and as yet no Castilian ghost has seen fit to put In an appearance at the festivities. The navy has presented Colonel Smith with a fine twelve-oared barge, captured from the Spaniards, and it is considered quite a privilege to be al- lowed to form one of the crew. A place on one of the barge’s thwarts is not alone coveted for the honor of rowing the colonel, which is not specially light and easy work on a very hot day, par- ticularly if Lieutenant Colonel Duboce and Adjutant Kelleher make up the balance of the party. But as the colonel always gives the boys a good meal at headquarters when they miss their own dinner hour and as they generally con- trive to miss it the work of tugging at the oars assumes the aspect of a dis- guised blessing. The other day one of the boys was sent to town to purchase some fishing tackle for an excursion the colonel had decided on. The fellow succeeded in getting hooks, but was informed by the man who sold them that as for lines he might as well give up his quest, as none were to be had in the whole place. A Spanish prisoner of officer rank, who was standing near by, said: “There are lots of fish lines in Ma- nila. Why don’t you fellows go in and get them?” “We will in a few days,” replied the American, “and when we do we will find_the bait there to put on the end of them.” The conversation abrupt conclusion. Speaking of prisoners, there must be nearly three thousand of them here al- together. They receive excellent treat- ment, much better than they had been told would be their portion if captured by the “American savages.” and the relations existing between them and their conquerors are of the most cordial character. The boys stroll along in front of the buildings in which the prisoners are confined and try to carry on a pleasant conversation with every one who appears behind the bars of the windows. As the windows are large, and as they are always crowded to their utmost capacitv a continual con- versazione of large proportions is the result. That it must perforce be car- ried on In two different tongues, with the result that only one-half is intelli- gible to one party at a time, does not seem to make the slightest difference. The prisoners have instituted a sort of burean of exchange, where they and their captors meet and through crossed iron bars carry on a lively traffic in buttons, badges, gold braid, chevrons, then came to an \ PN SR N ullY T il | Wi il i tousti HEADQUARTERS FIRST INFANTRY, CALIFORNIA VOLUNTEERS, CAVITE. From a Sketch by S. N. Androus. {f 1] Rl i £ 2 T 4 | i 3’ & Q \ cap ornaments or any other old thing which may serve as a curio, receiving in return cigarettes, cigars, tabacco, fruit, bread or whatever the prospec- tive buyer may have about him to trade. |MERRITT REPORTS ON THE BATTLE OF MANILA List of the Killed and Severely and Slightly Wounded—Those Who Died in Hospitals. WASHINGTON, Aug. ' 23.—Adjutant General Corbin this afternoon received the following dispatch from General Merritt, giving the list of wounded at Manila: Adjutant General, Washington: Follow- ing is the list of killed, wounded and deaths of enlisted men in this command since August 1; KILLED—Lears, ‘private, | Company E, First Nebraska; McCann, | Robert, private, Company C, Fourteenth Infantry; Howell, Samuel P., private, | Nineteenth Infantry, Lauer, Clements, private, Company F, Twenty-third In- fantry. SEVERELY WOUNDED—Duncan, John F., private, Company B, First Nebraska; | Connor, Lawrence P., private, Company | A, First Nebraska; Hanson, George, pri- vate, Company A, First Nebraska; Wick- | ham, William Bl First Nebrask: clan, Company A, First Nebraska; Lam- pert, Clinton, private, Company C, I-‘nur-‘ teenth Infantry; Snow, Lucius, private, | Company D, Fourteenth Infantry; New- | man, Fenton F., private, Company C, Twenty-third Infantry; Smith, Joseph, | rivate, Twenty-third Inf:mtEy; Turk, | Richard L., private, Company C, Twenty- | third Infantry; Hayden, Thomas, private, Astor Battery; Carleton, Mervin, sergeant Company E, TRirteenth’ Minnesota; Wil- | llams, Henry E., corporal, Company E, | Thirteenth Minnesota; Crowl, Frank A., private, Company G, Thirteenth Minne- sota; Little, Charles, private, Company F, Thirteenth Minnesota, SLIGHTLY WOUNDED—Oviatt, Jo-| seph 8., private, Company First Nebraska; Peltzer, Charles 5., Ti- vate, Company E, First Nebraska; McCauley, John P., private, Com- pany A, TFirst Nébraska; Ballard, | Henry W., private, Company F, Twenty-third Infantry: O'Connor, Daniel J., private, Company D, Fourteenth In- fantry; Sterling, William W., private, Company K, First Colorado; ¥ngleholm, K, First Ne. George, private, Company braska; McCann, Robert E., private, Com- pany C, Twenty-third Infantry; Morgan, Charles M., private, Company C, Twenty- third Infantry; Parker, Robert R., pri- vate, Company C, Twenty-third Infantry Perg, Peter, private, Company H, Twenty- third Infantry; Rooker, Harry, private, | Company C, Twenty-third Infantry; Van Pelt, Charlés E.. private, Astor Battery; Silman, Robert H., sergeant, Astor Bat- tery: Hakel, George E., private, Astor Baftery; Van Horn, Hallard, corporal, Astor Hattery; Seymore, Willlam, Astor Battery; Baker, Willlam B., Astor Bat- tery; Smith, Frank, private,'Company F, First Colorado; Brady, Edward F., pri- vate, Company K, First Colorado; Em- merson, Alfred T., private, First Cali- fornta; Jones, William A., private, Com- any G, Thirteenth Minnesota; Wallace, | Lewts H., private, Company L, Thirteenth Minnesota; Thorsen, Guian, Company H, Thirteenth Minnesota; Rice, Clarence T., | private, Company E, Thirteenth Minne- sota; Barrowman, Henry E., private, Company E, Thirteenth Minnesota; Twen- ty, George T., private, Company E, Thir- teénth Minnesota; Ulmer, Louis, private, Company L, Thirteenth Minnesote; Kahl, George, private, Company L, Thirteenth Minnesota; Moore, William 'S., private, Company L, Thirteenth Minnesota; Rid- er, Ernest L., private, Company L, Thir- teenth Minnesota; Fitzloff, Henry, pri- vate, Company C, Thirteenth Minnesota; Trerham, Milton 4., private, Company C, Thirteenth Minnesota; McDonald, Rob- ¢ft, private, Company K, First Colorado; Hanson, Albert 8., private, Company F, Thirteenth Minnesota; Aslere, Charles J., private, Company G, Thirteenth Minne- sota; Wood, Charles P., private, Com- paniy E, Thirteenth Minnesota. DIED OF WOUNDS—Winfleld, Charles, private, Company H, Third Artillery; Sny- der, Leo, Company E, Tenth Pennsylva- nia} MeInran, John A!, Battery H, Third Artillery; Dunstore, John G., private, First California; Dunn, Charles, private, Astor Battery; Burnston, Charles, ser- eant, Company G, Thirteenth Minnésota; hineas, Charles, corporal, Company First Colorado. DIED OF DISEASE—Evans, WilliamJ., sergeant Company O, First Nebraska,July 24; Nicholas, Daniel X private, Company H, First California, July 2: Johnson, Bd- gar J., private, Company D, Second Ore- on, July 28; ' Berdine,” Walter, private, ompany E, Twenty-(hird Infastry, July 31; Robesman, Willlam _B., Hospital Corps, August 2; Paden, Leslle B., pri- vate, Company K, Thirtcenth Minnesota, August 6; Perkins, George H., private, Cnmpu.n{ B, First Californla, August 1: Holbrook, Rufus R., private, Company C, Second Oregon, August 10; Young, Ed- ward C., private, Cempan?r A, Second Oregon, August 11; Firn, Phillp, musician, Company G, Eighteenth' Infantry, August 14; Howard, Neill private, Hospital Corps, August 14; Minnich, Leroy S, pri- vate, Company C, First Wyoming, August 15; Dickson, Henry, private, irteenth Minnesota, August 16; Sergeant, Thomas H., private, Hospital Corps, August 1T; Sanders, Willlam, August 17; Pratt, Sid- ney, private, Thirteenth Minnesota, Au- gust !g; éodt(ln..xg,mAlrntlur‘, pr!xate. tCtllgl'u- an: . Eighteen nfantry, August 19. By MERRITT. RUN ON THE SPANISH BANK OF MANILA KK KKK WK XK KKK KK KX AR * * = JAMAICA IS KNOCKING. x . —_ * * Favors Annexation to the * : United States. : % KINGSTON, Jamaica, Aug. # * 23.—Coincident with the West * # Indian sugar conference, which * #* is to assemble at Barbadoes Sep- #* * tember 3, for the purpose of pro- % * testing against a sacrifice of the % * colonies, Jamaica is preparing a ¥ * plebiscite to the British Parlia- * # ment, requesting permission ‘to * * endeavor to arrange for annexa- ¥ % tion to the United States. The ¥ #* promoters of this movement are #* * endeavoring to secure Inter- * # colonial co-operation, but are * # not depending upon it. * * # [ %% %% %% %% %% X FEELFFXR of trouble between the natives and the Americans are, for the most part, un- founded. The fact is that the insur- gents have been unwilling to disarm until assured of the permanence of American protection. The distrust feit as to the Spanish bank, which originated in rumors as to an excessive note issue to aid the Spanish authorities, led to a run on the | the its British' banking institution, but 1 asslStance and houses came to averted a failure. Business is now booming. The ob- structions in the river Pasig, flows through the town, have been re- moved and the water works have re- sumed operations. DEWEY THE BOYS' IDEAL. A Volunteer’s Opinion of the Con queror of Montijo. In a letter to his mother in this city Private Andrew Reilly of the First Cal- ifornia Volunteers, writes: Cavite 1s a great town to see but a “bum" place to live in. We went through the town and took in all the sights. In one of the churches that the insurgents destroyed we found the skeleton of a man. I suppose it was that of one of the priests that had been murdered. We went all through the prisons, and the Spaniards wanted to sell us thelr clothes for money to buy food with. They get very little to eat, and most of them are actually starving. In the hospitals it is a terrible sight, some of them lying there with their limbs shot off and no care taken of them. They lle there just waiting for the end. The- insurgents are fighting every day. As I write I can hear the booming of can- non a mile and a half away. Last Sunday they fought a big battle, and all day they were bringing their dead and wounded through our camp on their way to town. Out in the bay there lle eleven Spanish warships—the result of Dewey's victory. Oh, you bet he made a ?ood job of it! After what he has done I would not be afraid to fight all the nations in the world ombined with him as a leader. With his ix ships he sunk eleven and captured two and the city of Cavite, and if the war will only last long enough he will te of great help in capturing Manila. After that I am sure they will cry quits. This regular army life is just the thing. T am going to enlist for life after the war (nit). It is now raining, and I have to stay in my tent. It is nice to be doing sentry duty and have a bolt of thunder come and make you feel as if you were hit on the head with an empty barrel. But, then, it is all in time of war, and we volunteered to stand it all for Uncle Sam’'s sake. CAPTAIN CLARK BETTER. It Is Believed the Oregon’s Com- mander Will Regain Health. BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Aug. 23.— Captain Lloyd Clark, keeper of the light- house station at St. Joseph, has received a telegram from his brother, Captain Clark of the battleship Oregon, now at Montauk Point, L. I., in which he states that he was convalescent and that his physiclan says his condition is much im- proved by the few days’ rest he has had since leaving his ship. Captain Clark says the quarantine will be raised to-day, and he will then proceed to the Brooklyn Navy Hospital, where he will pass a medical ex- amination. In view of the fact that he will grubnbly be detalned several days at the Brooklyn Hospital, Captain Clark has asked his family to proceed to New York and meet him there. After a possible short stop at ‘Washington the party will go direct to St. Joseph, where the captain will spend several days visiting his brother and other relatives and friends. Lloyd Clark does not regard his broth- er's condition as serious, and thinks by the time his six months’ furlough has ex- pired he will have regalned his usual state of health. Collapse of the Volunteer Forces. WASHINGTON, Aug. 2.—It Is expected that the order mustering out 100,000 men of the volunteer force will be issued to- mMorrow. e Six Killed by Lightning. COPENHAGEN, Aug. 23.—A terrible thunder storm swept the whole Jutland peninsula to-day. Many buildings were MANILA, P. I, Aug. 23.—The rumors struck by lightning, six {emons were killed and thirty-nine farm buildings and thirten houses burned. which | NAVY DEPARTMENT OPENS THE BIDS Lively Competition for Torpedo Craft. 'SCOTTS IN THE SCRAMBLE CRAMPS SEEM TO BE AFTER BIGGER GAME. | JComplicated Proposals of Certain Builders Will Necessitate Delay in Awarding Tontracts. The Call. 23.—The Navy at noon to-day | . Special Dispatch to WASHINGTON, Aug. Department opened bids for sixteen torpedo-boat destroyers and | twelve torpedo boats, to cost in the ag- gregate not to exceed $16,%00,000, as pro- | vided In the last naval appropriation act. | These destroyers and torpedo boats con- | stitute the largest single addition ever made to the navy. The destroyers are to | be completed within eighteen months and | | the torpedo boats within twelve months. | According to the requirements of the de- | | partment the destroyers are to have a | guaranteed speed of 28 knots, and the tor- | | pedo boats 2 knots. The destroyers are | | to be zbout 400 tons and are to cost not | more than $295,000 each, while the tor- pedo boats are to be about 150 tons and to cost not more than $170,000 each. The bat- tery will be composed of seven rapid-fire | guns. The ammunition required will | weigh about seven tons. There will be mounted on the midship line two twenty- foot torpedo tubes, to carry seventeen- inch torpedoes. The first bid was that of the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., for one torpedo boat | with a speed of 2§ 5-10 knots, at $161,000, | or four at $160.000 each; one destrover of 29 knots_at $292,000; two at $251,000, or | three at §280,500. The other bids follow: Dialogue & Son, Camden, N. J.—One torpedo boat destroyer, 23 knots, at $293,000, or two at 285,000 each. ‘Columbia Iron Works, Baltimore, Md.—One to four torpedo boats, 26 knots, at $160,000 each; | also, under different plans, one torpedo boat | $165,000; two, $165,000; three, $163,000, or. four, each; also, one destroyer, 28 knots, at | two, $291,000; three, four or five, $289,- 0 each; also destrovers under different plans, one or two at $282,500; three, four or five at $252,000 each. | Neaty Levy, Philadelphia—For destroyers, 23 knots, two at $284,000; three, $283,000. | William R. Richmond—For torpedo | Trigg, boats of 26 kunots, one at $160,000; two, $150,000 | 000" each; each; three, $129,000 also 'destroyers, one, three, $250,000; four, $24 Unfon Iron Works, San ers of 20 knots, one at $204,000; two or three, $285,000 each; also destroyers under the second clags, one $234,000; two, §$282,000; three, §281,500 each. Maryland Steel Company, Maryland—Two de- | stroyers of 30 knots, $234,000; ‘three, $286,000; | three (different bid), $283,000; four, §282,000 each. | Georfge Lamley, South Boston—Torpedo boats, oné of 26 knots, $262,000; two, $159,400; also, dif- ferent plans, one $152,900; two, $149,400 each; | also, different plans, one, $157,400; two, $153,900 each. Lewis Nelson, Elizabethport, N. boats, 26 knots! one, $165,000; two, . Harlan-Hollingsworth Company,” Wilmington, Del.—Destroyers of 29 knots; one,’ $294,000; two, $291,000. Fall River Engine Company, Weymouth, Mass.—One destrover of 30 knots, $285,000; one torpedo boat, $164,000; also, different plans, one destroyer, $281,000; three, $280,000; also destroy- ers, different plans, oné 30 knots and one 23 | $282,000 and $272,000 respectively: aiso, three, $159,000 each. ea J.—Torpedo $165.000. knots, torpedo boats, one $160,000; Gas Engine and Power Company, New York—Destroyers, one $28,000; also, one de- stroyer and one torpedo boat $423,000 for both or two destroyers and one torpedo boat $780,- | 000; or two destroyers and two torpedo boats, $546,000; or two destroyers and three torpedo boats, §957,000. Richard 'S. Peyton, Willlamsport, stroyers, 40 knots: one, $295,000; four, ; also one tq four, 30 knots, $330.000; also one to four, 35 knots, §215,000. [The foregolng bid at 10 knots caused some comment. Wolf & Zwicker, Portland, Or.—One torpedo boat, $170,000; two, $165,000; three, $163,000; four, $162,500; also, destrovers, 9% knots: one, §289,% 000; two, 32§5,000; three, $263,000; aiso destroy- ers: one, $295.000; two, $291,000; three, $259,000. This closed the bids. The naval offi- cials commented on the absence of the Cramp firm and the Herreshoffs amon; the bidders. The bids will be tabulate and the awards made at the earliest day practicable. Aside from the price there are many details in each bid, time of de- livery, displacement, speed, 'design, etc., which will have to be considered in’ mak- ing the awards. Representatives of all the great ship building firms were present when the bids were opened. Pa.—De- ILLNESS OF SCHLEY. The Admiral too Weak to Go for a Carriage Drive. WESTPORT, Conn., Aug. 23.—As the day advanced it became evident that Ad- miral Schley’s condition was such that it would be unwise for him to undertake a proposed carriage drive. Immediately af- ter breakfast the patient returned to_ his room, and when r.. Gregory called at noon the admiral was advised to remain in_bed most of the day. WASHINGTON, Aug. 23.—The Navy Department recelved a dispatch to-day from Rear Admiral Schley’s 'wife, saying that in her opinion his illness was not se- rious, and that he would probably be around in a few days. this assur- | (\ P N ALIFORNIA BOYS - FIRST UNDER THE « WALLS OF MANILA Formed the Advance Guard of the Americans in the Forward Movement. From Their Camp They Could Watch the Fight- ing Between the Insurgents and the Spaniards. Special Correspondence of The Call. BY SOL N. SHERIDAN. CAVITE ARSENAL, July 15.—The First California Volunteers, or a part of the First, has gone to the front. At 6 o’clock this morning the First Bat- talion, consisting of Companies A, E, I and M, under Major Boxton, the expe- dition being commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Du Boce, was taken across the bay to form the camp of the advance guard under the walls of Manila. Two cascos, these quaint native boats which are, I believe, unlike anything else in the world, were loaded with the boys and their baggage in the short space of 70 minutes. It was not such an easy matter to unload them at Paranaque, near which place the camp has been pitched, but that is a tale which does not come in this place. The cascos; taken in tow by the Rapido, one of the Spanish tugs captured by Dewey, were towed across the bay at reasonable speed until they came to the mouth of the Paranaque River, and the Ra- pido ran her nose incontinently into the mud. The cascos, like a well-trained tow, came on as they had been taught | and smashed the stern rail of the Ra- pido into small bits. Soldiers packed on the cascos and on the lower deck of the tug like sardines, but none of them, fortunately, were hurt. The captain of the Rapido, who is a simple boatswain in the navy, cast off his tow, and the native crews followed the cascos into the river when the troops were landed. In the meantime the tug wallowed about in the mud, finding the water in the river too shal- low to permit entrance, and the heads of the expedition wallowed about in deep disgust, awaiting the return of a casco to deliver them. The move- ments of a casco are slow as the death of a just man whose heirs wait upon him. It came at last, and we were put ashore and the boys who had preceded us were got into marching crder. It is two miles from Paranaque by the road which leads to Manila, the Calle Real, to the camp ground chosen for the California boys. The ground is almost level lying between the road and the sea, and there are groups of trees abcut which will furnish abundant firewood. The land, I believe, is rather swampy when it rajns. Whether it will be healthy or not is an open question, but I hardly think it is the intention to let the boys, remain there -long enough to test that. The Americans will be in Manila, I believe, before they have a chance to get ill. At present the First Brigade will be quartered at Paranaque, probably to make room for the second expedition, now daily ex- pected. When that expedition comes the forward movement, begun to-day, will be carried all along the line, and our friends the Tagals, within two miles of whese advance lines the first American troops in the field are now encamped, will have a chance to watch the prowess of the men who in future will perhaps be their masters. There was some heavy firing from the Spanish lines, the big guns in the lu- netta being particularly active, as we landed at Paranaque this morning. The firing was not at us, although pos- sibly the Spanish, who must have known the purpose of the expedition, were not averse to giving us a sam- ple of the kind of guns we were going against. The Filipinos, I believe, made an attempt to turn the right of the Spanish line to get possession of the suburb of Malate. Whether the at- tempt failed I do not know, but proba- bly it did. Aguinaldo has little artil- lery, and that little old fashioned and poorly served. His best pieces are two old 10-inch smoothbores, |taken from the arsenal at Cavite. f the Spaniards knew how to shoot the least bit in the world they would have beaten the insurgents back long ago. Cer- tainly, in the firing this morning they shot ten shots to one from the insur- gents for two hours. I was out at the front for the third time yesterday, looking over the ground where the First is going into camp, and approached closer to Ma- nila than upon any previous recon- noissance. .The Filipinos are coming to guard their lines from intrusion somewhat more jealously than at first, but I managed, under heavy fire from the Spanish rapid-fire gun sweeping the Calle Real, to go around the rebel lines and approach Manila so closely along the beach I could see the people bathing from the quay off the English Club, and looking down upon the Lunetta, could see the crowds which throng that thoroughfare in the late were | | afternoon. It was altogether the best | view T have had, and gave the best idea | of the capacity of the Spaniards for stub- | born defense. The garrison of Manila | 1s fed on horse flesh, so the galley yarn runs, and the priests control the stock | of rice on hand, nevertheless I belleve | from what I have seen of the defenses | that it will. be a pretty fight when the place comes to be stormed. Life In camp continues to be dull and | without incident, although the for- | ward movement of to-day has put | heart into the boys, who desire nothing | 80 much as to capture Manila and get { home again. Private Soden, of Company D, Four- teenth Infantry, rested his gum muzzle | down on top of his foot yesterday and forgot it was loaded. As a matter of | fact it should not have been loaded. Anyway, Private Soden is minus one | toe now and will not participate in the | advance on Mani’ .. |FRAUDS UNEARTHED AT VANCOUVER, B. C. | Simple Device by Which the Custom House Has for Many Years Been Fleeced. VANCOUVER, B. C., Aug. 23.—C. C. Eldredge, recently appointed Appraiser at | Vancouver, has unearthed a conspiracy | to defraud the customs, which has been in existence for years. While searching the recent records of the Customs Depart- ment here ..idredge found that by using a double set of invoices Chinese and Japanese merchants had defrauded the | Government out of thousands. of dollars 1 s | through operations extending over six operandl was very | years. The modus | simple. Mongolians in the East who sent out goods to_ their countrymen in the West_prepared two invoices—one for the | use of the merchant and the other to be | used at the Customs Department. The latter invariably misrepresented the value of the goods. et | BANKERS MEET AT DENVER. Want Light on Financial Condition of Our New Possessions. | DENVER, Aug. 23.—The twentv-fourth | annual meeting of the American Bankers’ | Association convened at 10 o’clock to-day | at the Broadway Theater. Most of the 500 delegates expected were present when President Joserh C. Hendrix rapped for | order. Secretary James R. Branch's re- port shows a net gain over last year's to- tal membership of 53. The roll now em- braces 338 members, with a combined capital of $1,049,629.008 and combined de- posits of $3,840.709,451. | Upon recommendation of the council the association adopted a resolution ask- | Ing that a Government commission be | created to_study the financial conditions of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines and suggest amendments thereof if any | are deemed necessary. — EDITOR McLEAN INDIGNANT. Denies the Rumor Published by a Rival Newspaper. | WASHINGTON, Aug. 23.—The state- ment, first published in the Cincinnati Times-Star, that John R. McLean would not interest himself in the Ohio Demo- | cratic_Convention because he was to suc- | ceed Secretary Alger in McKinley's Cabi- net, was an error, as the following from Bar Harbor will show: ‘“Please deny in the most positive terms the statement of the Times-Star. R. McLEAN.” Getabout Steps Lively. DETROIT, Aug. 23.—At Windsor to-day Oak Maid and Henry Launt were the winning fa- vorites. First race, maiden three-year-olds and up- ward, six furlongs — Getabout _won, Sweet Cream second, Jessamine third. Time, 1:15%. Second race, two-vear-olds, four furlongs— | Nat Wilson won, Maltese second, Topa third. Time, :50%. Third race, three-year-olds, five furlongs— Oak Mald won, Jim McCleevy second, Pros- pero third. Time, 1:01%. Fourth race, three-year-olds and upward, selling, seven furlongs—Bob Garnet won, Nim- rod second, Ray H third. Time, 1:381 Fifth race, three-year-olds and upward, sell- ing, seven furlongs—Henry Launt won, Deyo second, Nicholas third. Time, 1:25%. ALBERT EDWARD’'S KNEE. Lancet Believes the Prince Will Not Be Permanently Lame. LONDON, Aug. 23—The Lancet, re- | ferring to the recent injury of the Prince of Wales’ knee, discourages the fear that the Prince will be permanently lame, and | says: “The present condition of the | Prince’s knee augurs well for the future mobility of the joint. It will be a month before the Prince will be able to walk.” Santa Rosa’s Charter Beaten. SANTA ROSA, Aug. 23.—The charter election held in this city to-day resulted in the defeat of the proposed charter by | a large majority. ADVERTI: SEMENTS. [oloXoYoXoJoRoJoo o Yoo RoRoXoRoROJORORORORORORORORORONOROROROROJORCIO} ance there is felt to be no occasion for substituting another name for that of the rear admiral on the Porto Rico commis- sion. The illness of Captain Evans of the Jowa has been reported to the depart- ment, and in his case, as well as others where officers are sick after their long service, leave will be granted and every opportunity given for recuperation. seg ovew FORSYTHE WILL NOT REBUILD. Disposes of His Fresno Raisin Busi- ness to Another Firm. FRESNO, Aug. 23. —Gartenlaub & Pratt, raisin seeders, whose establish- ment was destroyed by fire, have made a deal with Colonel Forsythe to buy his raisins, brands and contracts, and Fe sythe will not rebuild. - Over 10,000 men pralse it. foXOYOROOJOROXOROROROROYOROYOROROROROROROROROROXOXCROROYOROXOS * % DR. A. T. 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