ery
or that of any other man; his chief concern seemed to be that of
obtaining his salary of one hundred and twenty-five dollars per month.
Beyond this his interest seemed to cease, and if a sick soldier
recovered he was considered lucky.

There were many sick men in Camp Merritt in the months of June and
July. We were stationed there for five months.

Twenty-five men, myself included, volunteered to be transferred from
Company "A" to Company "E." This transfer was made on the sixth of June,
and was done to fill up Company "E" to its full quota for the purpose of
going to Manila on the transport Colon, which was to leave San Francisco
on the fifteenth of June.

My company, now Company "E," was being prepared by Captain Pratt, and
was drilling for the last time in the United States before going to
Manila. I unfortunately became ill and had to be left at Camp Merritt to
go over later. It was sad news to me, for I wanted to go over with this
expedition.

One battalion of the 23d Regiment was left at Camp Merritt, which
included my old company, to which I was assigned. We stayed at Camp
Merritt until about the middle of August, when orders were received to
go to Manila. By the time everything was packed and ready to strike
tents a second order was received, not to go to Manila, but to go to
Presidio, in San Francisco, and await further orders. About the 10th of
October, to our great joy, orders were read out at parade in the
evening, that we would start to Manila on the seventeenth. The men were
so glad they threw up their hats and shouted for joy. We were glad to
leave the cold, foggy and disagreeable climate of San Francisco, and
delighted that we were going to Manila, which was then the central
battle field.

The bad climate, incidentally mentioned, of San Francisco seemed to be
only local, extending along the coast for only a few miles.

I have been in San Francisco when it was cold enough to wear an
overcoat, and going across the bay to Oakland it was warm enough for a
man to be comfortable in his shirt sleeves. The distance between these
two points is only six miles. The native citizens of San Francisco, and
those who have been residents for many years and accustomed to the damp,
foggy atmosphere, are very healthy.

But this climate was very detrimental to the soldiers in Camp Merritt,
and fatal to many.

While stationed in Camp Merritt I spent a great deal of time in the San
Francisco park, which contained