s were relieving each other from day to day.
The fire from the Spanish lines was kept up in a desultory manner and
was replied to by the infantry in the American lines.

The final engagement on the 13th was short, but the guns of the Utah men
did wonderful execution. In conjunction with Dewey's fleet they tore
holes in the Spanish fort at Malate and helped in forcing the enemy out
of his position on the extreme left.

CHAPTER II.

BARRACK LIFE.

Like all the other organizations which had taken part in the capturing
of Manila, the Utah batteries were without a home when they first
entered the city. Battery A found temporary quarters in a spacious nipa
hut in the Malate district, while Battery B went into barracks in the
Odministracion de Hacienda. Several days later Major Young secured the
Cuartel de Meisic, formerly occupied by a Spanish engineer regiment, and
Battery A was stationed there August 18th. Some days following Battery B
moved into the same building. The Third Artillery occupied the south
half of the Cuartel, and the batteries were domiciled in the east and
west wings of the north half. The Cuartel was a large and stalwart
structure located in the most picturesque part of Manila. South of it
lay the business portion of Manila, with its Escolta, its Plaza de
Cervantes, and its Hotel de Oriente; to the west was the Marcadero
teeming with rustic Filipino maids and redolent with its Oriental odors;
stretching away to the north were the broad rice fields and forests of
bamboo, with the mountains in the distance forming a background. It was
a pleasant home and one which the men appreciated.

During the first few weeks of barrack life the men settled down serene
in the thought that they would soon be speeding homeward. Their duty had
been done and they felt that they were now entitled to the happier
pleasures of Utah. But days passed, and were lengthened into weeks,
weeks passed and were lengthened into months, and still they remained in
the tropics with less hope of returning home than they had at first
entertained. The novelty of their surroundings began to wear off and
everything which the Philippines could afford became decidedly
commonplace. Unable, therefore, to find other entertainments when off
duty, as a pastime the men exchanged reminiscent fairy tales about
their late combat. Wearying of these occupations they often sauntered
out of the Cuartel in bodies in quest of what little mirth they cou