“ They are fighting for a good cause, and the Americans should be the last of all nations to transgress upon such rights. Their independence is dearer to them than life, as ours was in years gone by, and is today." J. E. Fetterly, a Nebraska soldier:
"Some think the insurgents are disheartened, but I think they will make a desperate struggle for what they consider their rights. I do not approve of the course our government is pursuing with these people. If all men are created equal, they have some rights which ought to be respected." ”

“ You see sights you could hardly believe, and a life is hardly worth a thought. I have seen a shell from our artillery strike a bunch of Filipinos, and then they would go scattering through the air, legs, arms, heads, all disconnected. And such sights actually make our boys laugh and yell, 'That shot was a peach.' A white man seems to forget that he is human.... Hasty intrenchments were thrown up to protect our troops from this fire, the bodies of many slain Filipinos being used as a foundation for this purpose, intrenching tools being scarce. ”

“ It places the American people and the government of the United States in the position occupied by Great Britain in 1776. It is an utterly causeless and defenceless war, and it should be abandoned by this government without delay. The longer it is continued, the greater crime it becomes -- a crime against human liberty as well as against Christianity and civilization.... Those not killed in the trenches were killed when they tried to come out.... No wonder they can't shoot, with that light thrown on them; shells bursting and infantry pouring in lead all the time. ”

“ And the unpleasant feature of this is that unless the conditions change radically there will be few soldiers who will care to stay there. There's no use trying to conceal the fact that many of the men over there now, especially the volunteers, are homesick, and tired of fighting way off there, with nothing in particular to gain. There is not one man in the whole army now in the Philippines who would not willingly give up his life for the flag if it was necessary, but it isn't pleasant to think about dying at the hands of a foe little better than a savage, and so far away from home. ”

“ None of the men are the same as they left home, either physically or mentally, and the only thing that will do us any good is to get us home. Any one can have our share of these islands any time they let us get home. There have been about one hundred and twenty-five killed and three hundred wounded all together, and, when you consider that these beastly islands are not worth one American life, you can see what they are costing. ”

“ The enemy numbered thousands and had courage, but could not shoot straight. People can never tell me anything about the Rough Riders charging San Juan. If these natives could shoot as accurately as the Spanish, they would have exterminated us. Fighting goes on all along the lines, many natives are killed, but we capture very few rifles, as they seem to have men to take them. Official reports say over four thousand two hundred natives have been buried by American troops. How many they have buried themselves and how many more are dead in the brush no one knows. ”

“ Well, John, there will always be trouble here with the natives unless they annihilate all of them as fast as they come to them." Tom Crandall, of the Nebraska Regiment:
"The boys are getting sick of fighting these heathens, and all say we volunteered to fight Spain, not heathens. Their patriotism is wearing off. We all want to come home very bad. If I ever get out of this army I will never get into another. They will be fighting four hundred years, and then never whip these people, for there are not enough of us to follow them up.... ”

“ Small-pox is still raging in all the regiments, and every day some poor soldier if gone beyond recall. Is it any wonder we want to get home? Well, I have come to the conclusion that soldiering is not what it is cracked up to be, and if Uncle Sam wants any of our services he had better keep us as long as he can now (and I guess he is doing it, too) . We are all living as well now as can be expected, and will, probably, through the rest of the service, but that doesn't blot out any past misdeeds. ”

“ We are not nearly as anxious to fight these people as some people may think we are, and we do not enter any of the fights with the same spirit we did when fighting the Spaniards. If a vote was taken to take us home now or wait six months and discharge us here with our travel pay and finals, which would amount to nearly five hundred dollars, I do not believe that ten percent would be willing to stay, so you see how the men look at this addition to the United States. ”

“ When the battle is on the native seems to be in his element, and the longer this insurrection lasts the more proficient will he become in the use of arms, and the steadier under fire. Those who think Aguinaldo is a quitter can rest easy or uneasy, just as it suits them; but many of us here do not believe it of him, and think there will be some desperate fighting and insurrection for years to come, owing to the bad feeling now existing against the Americans.... ”

“ The Anti-Imperialist League believes that it is due to the people of America that they should have all the information obtainable, and all the side-lights possible, upon the condition of things in the Philippines, to the end that they may be able to render an intelligent decision as to our policy there, with all the facts before them. ”

“ We have been in this nigger-fighting business now for twenty-three days, and have been under fire for the greater part of that time. The niggers shoot over one another's heads or any old way. Even while I am writing this the black boys are banging away at our outposts, but they very seldom hit anybody. The morning of the 6th a burying detail from our regiment buried forty-nine nigger enlisted men and two nigger officers, and when we stopped chasing them the night before, we could see 'em carrying a great many with them. ”

“ They are sacrificing their own lives without hesitation, and, so far as any sign appears, without reluctance or regret. But it is a sombre thought that a little tact with the Filipinos might have prevented the rain of 'fire and bullets,' and saved tens of thousands of the natives, and hundreds and thousands of our own brave men. ”

“ Sometimes we stopped to make sure a native was dead and not lying down to escape injury. Some of them would fall as though dead and, after we had passed, would climb a tree and shoot every soldier that passed that way. Even the wounded would rise up and shoot after we passed. This led to an order to take no prisoners, but to shoot all. ”

“ We killed them like rabbits; hundreds, yes, thousands of them. Every one was crazy. I tell you it was awful after it was over. But it was war.... We will soon round them up and kill them all off. No more prisoners. They take none, and they torture our men, so we will kill wounded and all of them.... The weather is intensely hot, and we are all tired, dirty, and hungry, so we have to kill niggers whenever we have a chance, to get even for all our trouble." Charles R. Wyland, Company C, Washington Volunteers, March 27:
"This war is something terrible. ”

“ But the old boys will say that no cruelty is too severe for these brainless monkeys, who can appreciate no sense of honor, kindness, or justice.... With an enemy like this to fight, it is not surprising that the boys should soon adopt 'no quarter' as a motto, and fill the blacks full of lead before finding out whether or not they are friends or enemies. ”

“ Private Ruppenthal, Company M, Twentieth Kansas:
"Have been in numerous battles and skirmishes since February 4th, and with my own hand set fire to over fifty houses of Filipinos after the victory at Caloocan. Women and children were wounded by our fire." Colonel Stotzenberg:
"I am tired of fighting, and I am tired of seeing my men killed. More of the men in my regiment have been killed than in any other regiment in the Philippines. Since March 25 fifteen of my brave boys have been killed and one hundred and twenty wounded, and there are but six hundred and fifty men in the regiment." ”

“ I cannot see that we are fighting for any principle now." A Corporal in the California Regiment:
"We sleep all day here, as we do our duty all night, walking the streets. We make every one get into his house by 7 P.M., and we only tell a man once. If he refuses, we shoot him. We killed over three hundred men the first night. They tried to set the town on fire. If they fire a shot from a house, we burn the house down, and every house near it, and shoot the natives; so they are pretty quiet in town now." Guy Williams of the Iowa Regiment:
"The soldiers made short work of the whole thing. ”

“ In each town a church, a convent or a priest's home, a 'tribunal,' which is court-house, jail, and record office all in one, and a school, constitute the public buildings. The schools were neat, substantial buildings, which testified that the Spanish made an honest effort to educate the masses. ”

“ It would be a novel idea to those who so strongly favor territorial expansion, for political reasons only, to make a thorough investigation and research of the land to be so acquired, and especially estimate its resources, and the expenditures in maintaining peace with the hostile and treacherous natives. ”

“ They had four prisoners, and didn't know what to do with them. They asked Captain Bishop what to do, and he said: 'You know the orders,' and four natives fell dead." Sylvester Walker, of the Twenty-Third Regulars, February 20:
"There has not been a night for the last ten days we have not had fighting. Our force is too weak, and we cannot spare any more men, and will have to wait for more troops. Then we will have hard fighting, for there are so many that, no matter how many we kill or capture, it doesn't seem to lessen their number." ”

“ There seems little reason to doubt their statements, though some show a tendency to boast of brutal deeds, probably exaggerated, and a loose morality, which indicate the demoralizing effects of war even upon educated young men. ”

“ We can lick them, but it will take us a long time, because there are about 150,000 of the dagos back in the hills, and as soon as one of them gets killed or wounded there is a man to take his place at once; and we have but a few men in the first place, but we are expecting about 8,000 more soldiers every day, and I hope they will soon get here, or we will all be tired out and sick.... ”