The record-union., 1899-11-03


and the employments and enjoymentS
of the soldier boys there, and indicates
that he is only one of many who are
cOntented to stay there.
Headquarters 23d Regiment,
Jolo, Sept. IL. 1899.
My Dear Brother: l now take pleas
ure in writing to you a few lines and
telling you something about the city
and climate and it's people, OF course
have told you all about Manila in
my other letters-that is, if you have
received them.
Well, we arrived at Jolo August IL,
1899, on A. T. S. Pennsylvania, and
were sent right to headquarters, and
then to my company There are six
companies in the city, and two outside,
one at blockhOuses and the other at the
water works. We are quartered in the
only church, and a big one at that, on
the same street that the headquarters
are on. Company G is all right; of
course, that is my company. About the
city, it is clean, and the climate is
just as far ahead of Manila as K street
is ahead of Chinatown, the finest eli
mate in the land. Natives look ugly,
but are quiet and waiting for the peace
treaty. There is always a gunboat or
two here and the Charleston.
Sunday, August 20, 1889 = Peace
treaty is signed. The Sultan is in
town and all the companies turned out
with the band. There are two battal-
ions here, the other is up at Cebu, fur
ther north.
Sunday, August 81, 1S99-Company
~ oil 1,o
ball and wins Is to g There have been
only three deaths here since the 10Th
of May, so you see that there can be
no sickness here. Well, we live on the
finest in the land, and everything
grows here-corn. tomatoes, cucumbers,
onions greens, sweet potatoes and any
thing you want, and chickens-well you
can live on chickens, buy them for >
and 10 cents each The companies all
eat chicken, and we have plenty of
fresh meat which we kill here, and just
think of beefsteak and eggs. You will
be in the States a long time before you
get these things as good and as cheap.
/ tell you a regular soldier gets just
what he wants. / am glad l came in
just when / did There are three of
the old battery in my company, Par
nell, Naughton and Jeff Armstrong and
myself, and there are few more here.
too. They are Kelly, Fowler, Hesse.
rDelashmidt, Shomperle, Schmidt and
Wentzel, and at Cebu are Wilson, Wv
ian, Monsinger and lot more Of them.
Frank Ryan of Sacramento is here.
The boys all look healthy and fat and
are saving money. I put away $40 this
pay day with the paymaster at per
cent. and I can't get it until I get dis
charged, and when 1 come out you bet
I will have several hundred dollars for
my finale. You don't need any money
here-the drinks are all poor and no
ice, and what good are the drinks, and
we get good Government food Just
think of rice pudding and tapioca and
beefsteak and onions.
1 tell you, 1 will never believe the
papers any more of what they say
about the Philippine Islands. 1 am sat
isfied now. OF course in Manila on the
firing line is different thing, but they
really live better in Manila than here.
OF course when any volunteer comes
home they say that things are great
deal worse than they really are. I tell
you that most of them are getting their
discharge here and re-enlisting again.
Well, the natives are a different class
of people. They are the Mooros, and
are ruled by a Sultan. The only arms
are the bolos and spears, and they are
something fierce. A Moore cut Fill
pino's left arm off at one cut the other
day. The Mooros haven't any use for a
Filipino at all, not even the Chinese, and
there are lots of Chinese here Things
are all quiet at night. Mooros come in
during the day to market and have to
be out of the city at $50 p. M, except
those that live in the city.
Well. time flies; we have a nice band
here, and music at guard mount and at
5:3O dress parade. Chicken fights ev-
cry Sunday and they have a long knife,
three inches long and as sharp as a
razor and a fight don't last long. Cen
orally one or two passes and then one
or the other is cut in two, and some
times both of them die. Well. you give
all the boys my regards and tell them
that I am in the best of health and
think they were foolish for not coming
in again. I forgot to tell you that we
are eighty miles from Borneo and six
degrees from the equator, and Jolo is
in the Sulu Islands, but it belongs to
y.
pany d left Saturday for Sassais, fifty
miles south Of here, and Company L |
left for Bangol this morning, $50 miles
southeast, fifteen miles from Borneo.
Pineapples and bananas are growing
in our yard; things are cheap, banan-
mas half cent apiece, that would sell
in the States for 75 cents a dozen. Oh, |
we have any thing here
We are just told that the rainy sea-
son has just begun here. 1t is raining
hard now, but we don't care. We only |
drill one hour day, from Z until s !
a. M, and then we are done for the |
day. Reading matter is very scarce. |
for there are lots of Sacramento boys
here, and they told me to write and I
will. Now don't forget. Well, must |
close for while, and will finish as soon
as the next boat comes in I expect |
lots of mail on the next boat. but may |
be disappointed. Good-by for while. |
1t is raining very hard, but it is warm; !
the wind is blowing hard, it seems just |
like Frisco. We just got in half a |
dozen barrels of Anheuser Busch bottled
beer and it is fine; seems like home We
have nothing to do at all but eat and
sleep this kind of weather, SO you see
there is nothing to do. We have plenty |
of room in the Jesuit church-all on the
same floor. We are getting our COM
pany filled up very fast. and there are
a lot of old discharged soldiers coming
one at a time: There are 1O2 men in |
now, twenty-six men short yet. Most
every one tries OF get in Company G,
but they can't make it. Well, Charley,
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