Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-08-25
A Letter from Honolulu.
HONOLULU, HAWAII.

HONOLULU, HAWAII.
July %, 1895
DEAR OLD REGIsTER-l guess some OF
the Shepherdstown and Moler's Cross
Roads people wonder what has become
Of the boy they used to call Bub Bowers
am here in Honolulu, and well and
hearty, having a grand time. Now |
guess many will wonder why am here
Well, | am in the employ of Uncle Sam,
and have been for one year. am en-
ployed in the Quartermaster' Depart
ment, and am on my way to Manila,
Philippine Islands. III giveyOu a short
history Of my trip from San Francisco
We left Frisco on Friday, July 18th,
at 3 p. m, on board the steamer Peru
Another steamer, the City of Pueblo,
also came with us. On our steamer there
were six troops of the 4th L. 5. Cavalry,
two light batteries of the Sixth Artillery,
a detachment of the Third Artillery, a
detachment of the signal corps, also
teamsters and mechanics of the Quarter
masters Departmental all about LOO
men, besides the ships crew. The 9TH
er steamer carried about the same. The
people of Frisco gave us rousing send
off, as they always do. We passed
through the Golden Gate about p. M,
and out through the heads and over the
bar. There was good stiff wind blow
ing, and of course the old ship rolled and
tumbled little. At o'clock mess call
| went. but there were about one-eighth
of the men didn't show up for supper
They were feeling like dying instead OF
eating. | had been out there a good
many times, so | got along fine. |
laughed and leased the rest. never
felt better in my life all the way down
never missed a meal and enjoyed the
trip very much.
The ships travelled close to each other
We passed two sailing vessels, and never
saw anything but sea gull and flying
fish oncein awhile. We sighted land on
Saturday morning, July 23d, and got
into the harbor about o'clock. You
bet all parties were anxious to go ashore
No doubt you have heard OF the ma
tives of these islands being great swim
mers, and have read of them diving after
coins Now when we were about hall
mile from shore they swan out to meet
us Many people would throw piece
of coin out in the water, and they would
60 down and get the coin before ii would
90 any way near the bottom Now no
doubt many would think this a fish yarn,
but 'llexplain just how it is done. First,
the water is clear and very salty, and
anything is very slow to sink. a fiat
piece OF money is especially slow to go
down, and they can easily get it. Ihey
are great water people, and are raised
up to be in the water every day l
thought would find the natives some
thing like our California Indians, but
found them very different. They are
dark brown in color, straight hair and
large build. They are very neat and
clean in their dress a great many go
barefooted all the year. They are good
natured and obliging and are always
ready to do some favor for you-one
thing. they are very proud Many
American men here have native wives.
You can see any time in the day a swell
rig with a white cOachman in English
dress and the carriage Will have some
high-bred natives in 1t.
Honolulu is fine little city, regular
garden The city, to look at it from a
distance, looks like park. Cocoanuts
and bananas grow everywhere. Cofee
and sugar are the principal crops, and
all kinds of tropical fruits, nuts and
flowers grow in abundance. All the
people here are up-to-date. There are
some handsome buildings here. The
Queens palace is beautiful place. The
town is all lit by electricity and there
are plenty OF street cars The carriages
have pneumatic tires and the bicycle is
everywhere. There are beautiful nils
lust back of the city. This morning |
was taking trip on the railroad to a
big sugar plantation, about 70 miles
from here. 1t is no use trying to des-
cribe the plantation. They turn out
l4O tons of sugar daily on this one es-
tate. | mean tons, not pounds. There
are about 1000 Japanese laborers on
this place. 1t is all contract labor, at
Sl2. 90 per month. | had a chat with
one Of the foremen, who is a personal
friend of mine from Frisco. The peo-
pie here seem very glad to be brought
into Uncle Sam arms.
There was another steamer arrived
here from Frisco with ! 800 men aboard,
and three more will be here in a few
DAYS, also the cruiser Philadelphia.
Then they are going to raise the Amerl-
can flag over the government building
and big celebration it will be. We eX-
pect to leave here for Manila inside Of
ten days. Will take about p or % days
to go from here to Manila, so | guess
when my friends next hear from me
will be from Manila. | am now 2,2OO
miles southwest of San Francisco. Well,
| believe this is about all, Mr.. REGISTER.
With best wishes to all, | remain the
wandering boy, BUB.