The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-02-03
ON A BEAT In MANILA.
Private Fiddes Says Police Duty is
Rather Interesting.

A very interesting letter has been re-
seived from James HI Fiddes, of Com
pany &, Thirteenth Minnesota, formerly
in the newspaper business in this city,
who has written to friends about the
life in Manila He speaks of the work
of the regiment, the natives, the country
and the sights of the city, Following
are extracts from the letter:
''Since the surrender of the city we
have been doing police duty with our
colonel as project or chief of police, and
if 1 don't get my job back when we re-
turn to st Paul l will apply for posi-
ton on the police force We have the
requisites for making ideal policemen.
We have become so lazy that we would
undoubtedly be asleep around the cor
ner when needed, but if such an unlucky
thing should happen as to drop around
when street scrap or fight was going
on we could show how we handle the
natives or 'googoos' in Manila, and l
have no doubt we could put large
crowd to route in short'order
while we are probably doing more
work than any other regiment on the
island our police work is sufficiently ex-
citing and dangerous to be interesting.
We are on duty every third day, that is,
on police or patrol duty, then on fatigue
duty the next and are kept pretty busy.
"The Thirteenth Minnesota band,
which, by the way, is the best band on
{ le island, gave concert short time
ago in the band stand on the Luneta,
the fashionable park and driveway in
the city. 1t was beautiful moonlight
night in the tropics and the fine park
was gay with people promenading up
and down or sitting in chairs listening
to the music, which sounded grand in
the open air. The drive was crowded
with carriages containing Spanish and
American officers, English attaches,
Germans, Spaniards and fair senoritas,
leaning back in their carriages and driv-
ing up and down, listening to the mu-
sic. The drive around the Luneta and
along the sea shore is lined on both
sides with palm trees and other tropical
trees and plants and to sit there and
look across the waters of the bay glis-
tening in the moonlight out to the
twinkling lights of Dewey's fleet and
the other warships of the various ma
- ho hox I'D 1icfaY fn tho ctT inc
of music flo 4ting out on the still night
ART was almost perfect, the only
thing lacking was some nice American
girls to enjoy it with us.
THE one thing we miss here most is
the society and companionship of the
gentler sex. Of course the Spanish
,senoritas have no tire for us, and there
are very few English or American
young ladies here, in fact don't know
of any. All that is left is the dusky ma
tive girls, and most of them are as
they can talk but very little English,
and we can't talk very much Spanish or
<Googoo,' so our conversation is limited
mostly to signs and wild gesticulations,
and sane person to see us talking
would think we were crazy"
Mr.. Fiddes tells of visiting the
Spanish prison, where the Spaniards
confined so many unfortunate natives,
and tells of the shackles that were used
and of the horror of the dungeons in
which the prisoners were confined. He
speaks very highly of Maj Beams work
as governor of the prison and of the
good work he has done among the
prisoners