Many of the crew had planned a visit to the quaint inland city Osaka; but the destiny of the soldier and sailor is one of absolute uncertainty. This time the unexpected appeared in the shape of an order, directing that the cruiser proceed at once under forced draft to Manila, a distance of 1400 miles. All kinds of rumors ran afloat, the one predominating being that a German ship caught smuggling arms to the insurgents had been fired on by the gun-boat _Nashville_; this, however, seemed absurd, though not improbable. It was evident, at any rate, that something of a serious nature needed repairing, as consultations in the admiral’s cabin by the flag-officers and captain were at fever heat. The following day at dawn, coaling ship was commenced by a motley throng of natives, who kept a continuous stream of coal pouring into the bunkers, which by night-fall contained two hundred and fifty tons. At two bells (9 o’clock) the ship had been thoroughly cleansed, and at four bells (10 o’clock) anchors were weighed, and the “bull-dog of war” ploughed madly through the waters of the phosphorous deep. Fair weather prevailed throughout the voyage, alleviating to some extent the labor of the coal-passers below, who by their strenuous efforts kept the cruiser under forced draft, driving her through the “briny” swells and into Manila Bay in less than four days. Casting anchor in the harbor of Cavite, booms were spread, launches lowered, and we immediately learned of our mission, of the terrible massacre of Company “G” of the Ninth Infantry, General Chaffee’s old command, at the hands of the barbarous bolo-men of Samar, the company having been taken by surprise while at breakfast. Most every person is familiar with the horror of this massacre on the Island of Samar in October, 1901; of how the savages stealthily crept upon the sentries, dispatching them with a thrust of the bolo, as one might blow out a flame, so adroit and silent was the operation; how, at a signal given, one detachment secured the arms in the barracks, as another made the fatal charge at the mess-hall, where one of the bloodiest struggles ensued that has been recorded since the battle of the “Alamo,” one or two soldiers of a whole company miraculously escaping to tell the tale.