erest carefully shown. Then under the shading palms, amid the
fragrance of flowers, with hundreds of pretty girls to wait on them the
men sat down to the banquet. In an atmosphere which breathes poetry and
pleasure; where the soft tropical zephyr kisses the cheek as a mother
does a sleeping infant the choicest fruits were served and substantial
edibles tempted the appetite. Soldiers made love to maidens with dusky
cheeks; American blue eyes told short stories of love to Kanaka brown,
and the Caucasian ladies were not forgotten, for it was a feast of love.
Everywhere was "Aloha, Aloha."

But all things end. The next day saw the ships sail away. With the sweet
fragrance of blossoms still lingering in their nostrils and the
long-to-be-remembered clasp of friendship yet plainly felt they passed
away from the dreamy isle into the oblivion of the Pacific to resume the
diet of beef a la can and coal a la "Colon." Once more was ship soup
staple and tropical sea monotony plentiful.

A few days later the fleet arrived at Wake Island, which General Greene
took possession of in the name of the United States. Five days after
this the Ladrone Islands were sighted and passed.

About the middle of the month the Philippines were sighted and on the
17th the fleet of transports entered the harbor of Manila escorted by
the cruiser "Boston."

The landing was an exceedingly difficult undertaking. The facilities for
taking the guns from the transports were not perfect. The guns were put
ashore in about five feet of water and had to be hauled out by hand, but
the work was accomplished in the usual good natured American fashion,
and when this task was finished men dried their clothes as though
nothing had happened. In landing several amusing incidents occurred.
Many Filipinos, anxious to earn a few "centavos," flocked around the
ships, and not a few of the men hired a native as a sort of a pack horse
to carry them ashore. One two-hundred-pound soldier was unfortunate in
the selection of his human pack horse, for he sat astride the shoulders
of a ninety-pound native until the little fellow broke down and buried
himself and rider in the sad sobbing sea waves to the great amusement of
his comrades and his own disgust. Other occurrences were equally as
ludicrous.

The several days following the landing of the batteries were spent in
giving the men the rest they had earned and needed. No work worthy of
mention was done until the morning of the