Instantly upon the starting of this little hymn it was taken up by every soldier in the barracks and the unlucky veteran, crestfallen and beaten, was only too glad to retire into seclusion.
During those five months in which the soldier was learning the peculiarities of Oriental life and sweltering under the rays of the Southern sun, he adopted any means of causing the speedy destruction of time. After the singularities of his new surroundings had ceased to be uncommon he began to look about himself in search of other amusement. Naturally a person who adapts himself easily to his environments, he took up with the games of the Filipinos, and, as a consequence, soon after the appearance of the American as a prominent figure on the streets of Manila, it was no unusual occurrence to behold the huge, good-natured Yankee engaged in friendly sport with the diminutive and fiery Tagalan.
As cock-fighting is the national game of the native the soldier seized upon this diversion with an enthusiasm that was truly remarkable. The slender and wiry game cock was in great demand. The feathered pugilist became the hero of the hour. The price of "pollos" jumped above par two or three times over. On the shady side of every street could be seen little knots of men eagerly awaiting the outcome of a battle in which these kings among all the fowl tribe were engaged. And the victory was not decided without great loss, for frequently the champion proclaimed himself conqueror by mounting the gory body of his late enemy and crowing with great vigor. Men bet on their favorites with as much fervor as an ardent proselyte of Mohammed utters praises to his Maker from the housetop at sunrise.
But even this pastime was too tame for the restless nature which constantly pined for the more exciting fun of America. So the chicken stock suddenly declined in value, and that of the swine took a corresponding rise, when there was talk of organizing a football association. This plan, however, lost its popularity after several practices on the "Gridiron"—the climate of Luzon had its drawbacks when it came to punting the pigskin. The requirements for a good football game are a temperature of 6 degrees below zero, and a field covered with a four-inch layer of snow and a corresponding thickness of soft mud underneath. As the Philippines are sadly deficient in the first two articles, it was decided to drop "Rugby" in favor of baseball.
Throughout the Eighth Army Corps this proposition was received with great warmth. Every organization had its team. Some influential men of Manila offered inducements to the winning nine; the American Commercial Company agreed to present a silver cup to the team which could score the most points. Arrangements were made for matches, and rival teams soon met on the diamond at the Lunetta. Utah was not to be outdone even in baseball; any man who had ever played ball or looked at a diamond was invited to join the team, and after this liberal request, it took no great time for the battalion to put a pretty good organization into the field. Soon the husky farmers from Utah were pitted against the powerful "pumpkin rollers" from Nebraska, and the sturdy Pennsylvanians fought for honors with the Wyoming cowboys.
Those were pleasant hours when the sons of America met under the tropic sky on a foreign soil and exchanged friendly greeting in their national game. Not a follower of the "Stars and Stripes" was there but felt happier and prouder after such a day. Home seemed nearer by half than it ever had before. And the natives, too, came in for a share of the rejoicing; they liked to see the "Grande Americano" perform his antics with the ball; they, too, gathered in knots and talked and gesticulated and laughed and cheered. The irrepressible small boy was everywhere present, with his sarsaparilla, his peanuts and his slabs of cocoanut candy. There were those who made his trade profitable and those who preferred something of a more fiery nature. That also could be obtained for the asking.
So the games went on by the side of the great swelling sea, and the roll of the surf mingled with the merry tones of the players. Battles were fought and fields were won on the diamond and Utah carried the trophy away to America.
While there were some things which excited the curiosity, others which aroused the attention, and still others which seemed to rivet men's minds for a short time on certain subjects, yet they all paled into insignificance before the magic of that one word "Mail!"