as in sight almost the
entire voyage. We passed through straits and seas, by Iloilo on the
Island of Panay, Cebu, Negros Island, through the sea of Jolo to
Zamboanga on the Island of Mindanao, and to Jolo. The group of islands
forming the Sulu Archipelago is the southern islands of the Philippines.
The "Leon" sailed into the Jolo Bay in the evening on the nineteenth of
May. A large force of Spanish soldiers was stationed in the town
performing garrison duty. Our force was to relieve them, and they were
to return to Spain on the transport "Leon." On the twentieth of May we
went ashore. The Spanish soldiers seemed to be very glad to be relieved
and return to Spain.

The garrison was short of rations, and the soldiers were living very
hard when we relieved them. These Spanish soldiers were the last who
left the Philippines for Spain.

We were landed in small boats, which could not carry very many men. The
boats were rowed by Chinese. All supplies have to be carried in by these
small boats. It is a very slow and tedious piece of work to land the
contents of a large ship, and requires several days to do the work.

Captain Pratt was in command, and Company E was ordered out to the block
house, which stands about one thousand yards back of Jolo, and towards
the mountains. A guard detail was made out, and the Spanish soldiers
were relieved. I relieved the first Spanish of his post at Jolo. When I
approached him he began to speak in Spanish and tried to make me
understand what, I supposed, were his orders he was turning over to me.
I could not understand him, and told him to go. Of course I had enough
orders without his, if that was what he was trying to explain to me.

The Spanish went to work with a rush getting everything ready to leave.
They had been there for a long time. I learned that the commanding
officer, who was an old man, had been there twenty-eight years. In the
evening at two o'clock the Spanish flag on the block house was hauled
down by the Spanish soldiers and the Americans unfurled to the breeze
the Stars and Stripes. The Spanish seemed to be very much grieved, the
officers wept; the Americans were jubilant. Everything passed into our
hands, and the various responsibilities of the place with all its
dangers also passed to us. The natives, who belong to the Mono tribe,
are treacherous. We knew nothing about them and their intentions. Guards
were put on duty at once, six being around the block house so that a