The record-union., 1899-06-11
SOMETHING ABOUT MANILA.
SOLDIER GEORGE PARNELL's
IMPRESSIONS.
Pleasantly Given in a Letter to His
Friend, C. e. Longton of
This City.
Manila, P. l., May 6, 1890.

Manila, +. l., May D, 1871.
Friend Charley: I expect you are
thinking that I am long time in writ
/ ing you a letter. Well / will explain
why I have not written sooner. We
| landed here on the 26th of March and
were sent at once to our companies at
the front 1 tell you, Charley, one who
never saw any fighting has any idea
of the l1ardships WEI had to put up with.
| The country here is a hard one to bat
| tie in on account Of the bamboo forests
and rice fields, which are so swampy.
| At times we would be UP to our
waists in mud and water, and wet
! through we would have to lie in the
| trenches twenty-four hours at a time,
with nothing to eat but bareback, can
ned beef, fat bacon and black coffee.
| I tell you I have seen some hardships
here, being in some hard fights. 1t is
no picnic to hear the bullets singing
over your head, nor to see a comrade
alongside of you fall dead.
| But with all I have good health Our
company has been in the field all the
time until UP to two weeks ago, when
we were ordered to the city to do guard
duty at the palace. lit is the headquar-
tiers of General Otis and his staff. By
| the general outlook of things around
| here think the Philippine war is about
over, as the insurgents are getting short
of men. food and ammunition, and
Aguinaldo is crying for peace.
AIT present everything is closed up at
! Z o'clock p. M, and no natives are al
lowed on the streets after that hour.
Any one caught out after said hour is
shot 1t is nothing to find, two Or three
natives dead on the streets when you
get up in the morning.
| Manila is very pretty place, and has
some very pretty native houses, built Of
bamboo. The business houses are made
of stone, but very low, on account of
the heavy earthquakes and lightning
they have here. The natives here beat
anything I ever saw before. They look
! like a mixture of Chinese, monkey and
negro The women are surely the ugli-
est lot Of humanity I ever saw. In
color they run all the way from cheese
| to ebony-from bleached out yellow to
solid black. Once in great while you
see one (rear view that looks rather
attractive, with a pretty head and
graceful shoulders, but when the sub
ject of your admiration faces you the
charm is rudely broken.
| The usual time of marriage among
! the Filipino maidens is from 13 to -
years. They are clothed in single
garment Milliners are unknown to the
Filipino maiden Her hair is coiled
tightly about her head and held Ky a
pin or some similar ornament. and then
again it hangs down her back. The
soldiers stand O.. K with the Filipino
maidens, but the Spanish maidens will
not look at us. ~
But there will come time some day,
after everything is settled here as to the
policy of local and territorial govern
ment There will be ample room for
American capital and brains. There is
as yet nothing definitely settled, and no
one should think of coming here yet
for six CIR nine months to come. There
is room here for factories of all kinds,
but the most pressing need of this city
at present time is a good large Ameri-
can hotel and rooming and boarding
houses, so that men with sufficient cap
ital can find good paying investments
by building or buying.
All the kick I have to this country is
the heat 1t is the hottest place outside
| of hell.
| Well, Charley, I think I have writ
ten you a long letter for the first one.
Will try and keep you posted about
things here. Give my regards to all
who may ask for me. With my
regards and best wishes, and hoping to
| hear from you soon, / remain ever your
friend, GEO. PARNELL.
Company c, Twenty third U. S. Infan-
! try Manila P T.