Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1899-10-26
letter From the Philippines.
MANILA,
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS,

! Ctpb' 1000.
To THE SHEPHERDsTowN REGISTER
Dear EditOr-l thought as | was not
very busy l would give you few lines
about Manila, although | have not been
here long enough to learn much yet.
But | will let you and the people around
the old town know that am still kick
ing and in better health than ever be-
fore. 1t seems as though the Climate
does me good.
We had long trip to get here. We
were thirty-five days from the time we
! left Camp Meade until we reached here,
| on August 26th. We steamed into Ma
Mia Bay in the morning about 8 o'clock.
| think it surely is one lovely place.
| The sun was shining on the water and
| the ships all lay at anchor, and when
we came in they all saluted us and
everything was good cheer. The Tar
tar and Newport, that is the other trans
ports, arrived before we did The Tar
tar reached here on Monday, the New
port on Thursday, and we reached here
| ON Friday. We were on the transport
! Ohio. We had good trip. We lald
! of TWO days at Honolulu TO coal up and
| take on fresh water. | think 1t me
| place. We were over nearly the Whole
island. You ought TO have seen the
| boys after cocoanuts, oranges ana other
| fruit. We had but little sickness on our
| boat-one man got the measles and we
! left him off at Honolulu in the hospital.
One fellow got the jimjams and another
the mumps and couple the toothache,
and | believe that was all the sickness
we had. The Tartar lost two men and
/ The Nawnnrt lost one
man, who died Of eating too much fruit
! in Honolulu. You ought TO have seen
! the seasick boys on board the Ohio the
first morning we were out at sea. They
had hardly eaten their breakfast until
! they were on deck leaning over the rail-
! ing feeding the fish and sea gulls. The
first two days were dull, but the boys
soon got used to it and then everything
went jolly.
Wei, | haven't told you anything
| about Manila yet. AS said, we landed
in the morning, and in the evening
about five o'clock we left the ship and
went ashore in small boats called light
| ers. Uncle Sam captured them from
Spain. The water IS too shallow Tor
the big ships TO go into the wharf.
When we marched down through town
the band was playing "A Hot lime in
the Old Town Tonight" We reached
our barracks after about an hours
march. The barracks are Of bamboo
and are all right. AT night you can lie
in your bunk and hear the monkeys
hollering and all other kinds of wild
beasts. They have the water buffalo
! here and use them as oxen TO haul
! loads. The horses here are very small
They are about the size of our Mexican
ponies. They drive them TO two
wheel fix and haul people about the
city. Some of them have carriages and
work two ponies. The street cars are
! drawn by two ponies, driven by the ma
| tives. There is plenty of work here for
the laboring people, cleaning up the
| town and laying water pipes and sew
erS throughout the whole city. The
natives are very good workmen. They
| have their tradeS-Some are good me-
chanicS, plasterers and all kinds OF
workmen. The dairymen drive their
! cows through the city, and as they sell
milk they milk it right from the COW
one will hold the cow while the other
milkS.
We are camped on the outskirts of
! the town, about two miles from old Ma
Mia and about the same from new Ma
nlla. Old Manila is surrounded by
wall about twenty feet high. New Ma
Mia is across the Pasig river, and it is "A
! fine place. You can get anything you
want, from a pin TO buffalo. Talk
about Chinamen--thisp place is made of
them. We have four in each company
to do the work around the kitchen, such
as washing dishes, carrying wood, etc.
They are good to work if you make
them. There are all sorts of looking
coons on these islands. The little ma
tives come around every meal and get
all the scraps that are left.
The climate here now is fine. The
first two days we were here it rained all
the time, but we are having fine wealth
er now. We are on the Island Of Luzon
now. but the second and third battalion
expect to go to Iloilo, on the island Of
Panay. We will 60 there to do garrison
duty They say that it is a fine place
and healthy climate.
Some of the boys of other regiments
are getting their discharges and are 60
ing home, but many are staying and
going into business. There are good
chances here to make money. There is
lots of the very best of land laying
around here idle, where if cultivated
and tended it is a fortune for anybody.
The cheapest thing we have here is to-
bacco. You can buy the best cigars
here two for five cents, cigarettes TWEEN
ty-four for a nicble. Our men double
theirs. For one dollar American you
can get two dollars Mexican. You buy
a nickle's worth of tobacco in our money,
and you get two and a-half cent change
Mexican money and your tobacco too.
Well, guess | will have to close for
this time. will write again when learn
more about the country and people.
Helferstay says he is struck on the wo-
men He says when he comes home he
is going to bring monkey and an organ
and a native woman to turn it-then
he wont have to work any more. We go
down to the beach every evening and go
in bathing. 1t is fun to ride the waves,
and we all have a fine time as long as it
lasts. We have to be in quarters at
half-past eight o'clock at night. They
have provost up town who will run you
in. If we could talk to the natives we
could have better time, but you might
as well talk to a COW or mule-they
would understand just as well.
Send my regards TO all my friends.
| would love for all Of them TO write to
me. and send me the Shepherdstown
papers, for would enjoy nothing bet
ter than to read them.
c. w. SIsLER,