Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-02
.FR0M:A SERGEANT
Thomas j. Bordeaux Writes
From the Philippines.
IS ANXIOUS TO GET BACK
To the United States Because There
Is No Fighting to Be
Done.
IS ANXIOUS TO GET BACK

john X. Bordeaux is in receipt of a letter
from his brother Thomas, now a sergeant
IN the service of Uncle Sam at Manila, in
the Philippine islands. Mr.. Bordeaux left
Butte with the troops when the war with
Spain first broke out, being attached to
Company G, First Montana infantry,
United States volunteers. He has been sick
at Manila.
The letter is dated November u, and is as
follows:
Il received your letter of September 30
Yesterday and was glad to get it. AS to
myself, l can say that l am now doing
well-improving very fast. Have just come
out of the hospital. Was there q days. l
had a hard spell of malarial fever and was
very sick for awhile, but never gave up
nope and stuck it out grimly. The malarial
fever is quite different here to what it is
chill followed by a fever, which usually
lasts until DEATH. if he dies. The blood
turns to water. And such nervousness! I
never experienced it's equal in all my life.
Since leaving the hospital l have fallen
down without being able to arise, but,
thank God, | am doing much better now.
Two poor boys died in the same room with
me while l was in the hospital; and their
death was due more to inconsistencies and
fright than anything else, for the surgeon
told me they were not as sick as | was.
You ask me about the country. First.
it is very warm. At present the thermom-
eter registers about so degrees. and it does
not vary much from this in either winter
or summer. Rice, tobacco, sugar cane, cot
ton, manila hemp, cocoanuts, bananas,
oranges, mangoes, and many other fruits 1
cannot recall on account of their Spanish
names, grow here in profusion. The coun-
try is we'll timbered. Evidently the forests
have great trees in them. for all the tim
Der in the shipyards is the finest l have
ever seen. There are no knots in it and it
is of great length. Besides, e>ony, mahog-
any, rosewood and camphor wood are
plentiful. The land is very rich, and were
it not for the fact that it rains SO much,
anything would grow. So far as l can
learn, there is no prairie land. About -
miles from the coast there is a range of
mountains, which, l believe, extends the
full length of the island.
This is a great business place. 1t looks
like Butte in her palmiest days. This is
no josh. Manila, with her mixed popula-
ton of Chinese, %Filippinos, Spanish. French
and American soldiers, a population of
more than 500, coo, is very rushing in a bust
ness way, but she needs a rub or two of
, American enterprise and inventive genius
to give her tone and place her in touch with
the world. The city should have electric
lights (there are a few here now, electric
cars, ice plants, telephone system, Ameri-
can planning mills, and an all-round Amer
lean system of doing business. The bust
ResS people who should be in the lead are
away behind the Americans in everything,
and the Americans are away ahead of every
other nationality.
AT present we cannot tell how long we
WILL pe al Gill iIoll oiilo II
seems that the peace commissioners are
deadlocked. l have mailed you some
American papers published here. They
give. an account of the American forces;
also other news.
when it is not raining, we drill regularly
every day, except when attending to other
duties devolving upon the soldier. j am
now just beginning to be a soldier. We do
almost regular police duty, keeping the
streets clear, arresting petty offenders, all
same policemen, and turning them over to
the provost court for trial.
MANY of the boys are anxious to remain
here and have petitioned their congress-
men to that effect, but some of us are
equally as anxious to return to the United
States, and will do so as soon as Uncle
Sam presses the button. l dread the long
voyage, but will weather it, as there is no
fighting to be done for our country now.
The Americans hold everything here
! postoftice, custom house and all, and col
lect American license from everybody in
any business. The United States govern