The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1899-01-20
A MANILA LETTER.

Following is letter received by Mr..
and Mrs. G. G. Turner, from their son
Marvin Turner, with the Oregon Volun
teers. at Manila. 1t is dated Dec. IA, and
gives information of general interest:
received your most welcome letter
Of Nov. Z, also the box that you sent, to-
day. As you expected was very glad to
receive them both. The fruit came in
very handy and news is so scarce here
that letter is one of the most welcome
things on earth.
This leaves me in the best OF health,
am feeling fine, getting as fat as can be.
This climate is very healthful for me,
| / would not ask for better climate than
this, but there are some of the boys that
cant say so much. Our sick list is on the
decrease. There is not so much sickness
now, as we are getting acclimated. We
have not lost q single man out of our
company, have twelve men on sick re-
port and there is none of them in a dam
Gerous condition. They are all on the
mend.
All you can see and hear is about. the
Christmas boxes. ate enough today to
kill dozen men; had to taste little of
everything so 1 got filled up very fast.
Am at present in n isery from its effect,
l. e., from a full stomach. Some of the
people at home must think that we have
nothing at all to eat here. They sent
canned roast beef, salt and pepper and
such stuff as that, something that We get
more OF than we want from the govern
ment, in fact, We are fed very we'll. OF
course all kinds of canned fruit is lux
ury TO us and especially that tomato cat
sup,th was just fine. Lots of the stuff
that was sent was spoiled, such as cakes,
cookies and one thing and another, but
all my stuff was in good shape.
There has been two ship loads OF Sran-
iards left here in the last two weeks. |
They were the best tickled lot of people !
that YOU ever saw. They will all be out |
of here in three months. The soldiers |
are glad to see Spain give up the islands. !
OF course the high officials don't like it |
so well, but it is case of have to. The |
business men are glad too see the Amer !
leans here as business has been better |
since we have been in Manila than it has /
ever been before. There is at present |
y, 600 soldiers here and We will soon |
have more as another large expedition |
has left New York by the way of the |
Suez canal and will be here in about three |
weeks. We will then have about So 900. |
We don't expect to start home until |
about May or June, and will feel that we
are lucky ii we get TO start home in that |
time. lam not thinking very strong OF |
in the regular service at pres
ent.
VIII try and answer some of past ques
lions. The chief product OF this lsisn d |
IS hemp, from which all of the Manila
rope is made, next is tobacco. There are
zen large tobacco and ,i-ar factories L.
Manila. There are OAar 200, 900 cigars
lSed daily in Manila u st every hody
smokes here. / sent Y u 4 box ol some OF
the different cigars man ,laetured here.
You can buy cigars hers IRON lc to &c
American money. You can get the best
made for &c, which wonlt cost % cts. in
Albany. Each factory employs not less
than loco men women and children.
One of the La Insuar factories employs
2S00. Rice is the next product. When
We entered the city all of the churches
were stacked full of rice, wher- they had
hurried it in to live on. Sugar cane is
about next, then bananas, native or
anges, peanuts, coeoanBts, beetlenuts,
mangos, in fact all kinds OF tropical
fruits. As to wheat don't know wheth.
er they raise any or not. 1t is reported
that they raise a little back in the noun.
tain valleys, but have not seen any so
far. They raise kind of barley, but it
is not kind that grows in the U. S.
There is one thing that has not been
developed here, that is, the gold mines.
The rivers are literally lined with gold.
There are mines here that the Chinese
have dug into a little and those that have
seen them say that they are a verits ble
klondyke. They are selling gold rings
made out of the gold mined here at $S
and 81, which is $50 and 81 in Ameri-
;an money. II a man had 1900 or 5000
here he could make q stake in a very 1
short time. There are many openings Il