The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-25
FROM WEARY SOLDIERS.
Spicy Letters Written by Men Who
Long For a Sight of Kansas.
The following letter was received by En-
gineer AndreM Smith of the Santa Ea:

Inc IO1OWllS letter was received by En-
gineer Andrew Smith of the Santa Fe:
Manila, P. L. June 10, 1899.
Your letter. though delayed somewhere en-
route, reached me about two weeks ago.
/ was very glad to receive a letter from
case when we had been out in the jungle
lot several weeks. chasing nsurrectos with
| out having any comnlunlcaton VITA the
realized what pleasure and relief it is to
US TO get letters and papers from home
while struggling through the hardships of
write to u.s. even though. under the diff
culties we often tind in writing, We do not
the papers. We always find nome papers
very Interesting and deyOur nearly every
between scraps. 1t is not the time Of
strength and endurance. 1t is the wait
ing between attacks. The lying in
trenches or the lonely outpost picket duty
watching for sneakng Indian foes TO
take shot at you from some dark cover,
while your thoughts wander anon TO home
and friends far away and you do not get
coarse, UNIV hoiesome rations. During the
crash and roar and ever changing wild
scenes of battle a mans mind and body
are fully occupied, often strained 70 high
gotten, the present is everything, and
even if it has been embalmed.
You ask for some of my Impressions of
this new country and 1 hardly know what
to write, OF course, during my SIX
months here-tWo OF armed neutrality and
many ana varied. The country is very
DeauIlLui 10 the eye ana especially ABOUT
Manila bay. level plain stretching
back from 10 to 80 miles, then rising to
foothills, and then towering, craggy noun
talns, all covered with dense tropical IoH-
age, except where the planter tiils his field
The rest of the lOwlands are covered with
bamboo thickets, palm groves and banana
while the hills and mountains, where. not
too rocky, are covered with dense hard
wood timber In the remote parts there
MANY MONKEYS and other small animaIs,
na Ia he Gh crcrKr
bears and fierce apes, some standing four
feet in height. AS to the other inhabi-
tants, l might write great deal. but
probably could not tell you of anything
that you have not already seen in the pa
pers, and if L should tell you all that I
cracSEsorne Of the 5ostai laws We nave
them. Many of them, while openly hos
tile when on the outside, are very friendly
when cOrnered. or when they desire to
come within our lines for any purpose,
when purpose r. TO help the cause all
they can by getting hold Of a few dollars
of the money of the hated Americans or
py giving lnlormatlon as 10 their move
ments, 1 will give an instance; Out al
San Fernando, from which place I have
just returned, the amigos all claim
be Macabebes. a friendly tribe which.
/ q the lnsurreetOs, and Aguinaldes sol
diers come into town in the morning.
baskets or eggs or fruit on their heads
to sell US In the evening they go back
with their women and children. get out
their ReIningtons and Mausers and attack
our outpOsts. One night not long ago
voileys they would yeIi, "Caroo huavas,
Caro- huavas" do you care for eggs?),
| goes. sir They are very merry, at least
when filled with vino or beno. as they call
the native liquid they drink. and often
when we fire vOlleys at them IN their
tre7nTc ne, Wi15nout adyancIng on them they
tended to say something of the fruits. and
are to be had at ali times, also various
vegetables, while there are certain kinds
| which have their seasons. Just now we
in the mango season. There IuHnV
other kinds, some of which l do not l5n6W
| the names Of, but nearly all Of sort tfopi-
| cal varieties and none of them do I con
! slider equal in flavor and healthfulness to
All in ali; / do not consider that God
ever INTENDED TINS for a white man
the aborigines 50 black? Some white
men can live here and enjoy life. at least
for time, and If a man has pretty good
stake he can, by application, make some
ever, perhaps can tell you more of these
| things when 1 see you. Doubtless you re-
celEe IoHS', Interesting IetLeis from your
broth er-ln-laW in the far north, and per
| haps they can tell you of greater hard
1reme OF climate mere, and that is heat;
There has not been a day since we arrived
| would perspire on the least exertion, the
| temperature. never going below 70 on the
coolest nights. and running up to 90 on
nervatfne heat A cool breath Of air is
I a thing dreamed Of. and cool drinks are
yate soldier at $3.50 a monthNbeer 20
| cents a glass. etc. There are all manneP
! of rumOrs here to the time of our de
| parture, and we now have some hopes Of
| getting away on the first expedition, as it
/ is called. or about the fifth regiment, on
account of the hard work we have had.
and may get away in four or FIVE weeks.
w. L. SHERBU RNE.
Mr.. J. W. Gibbons. foreman Of the Santa
| Fe paint shop. received the following let
| ter from Frank Pribble, who formerly
| worked in the paint shops here, but is
| now a corporal in company a:
| San Fernando. P. l.. May 81. 1899
! We have had a hard campaign and lots
| of suffering. but here We are (What is left
! Of u.s. still in our place and ready to go
] in if they need US but all the boys are get
| IA battles and any amount of skrmishes