Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-06-01
TlDINGS FROM THE PHILIPPINES.
MANILA, April "a, 1899.

as an excuse to write to you, When
the 5lst Iowa Regiment was attached
to the department of California, it
had all the preside work to do and
| was fortunate to be attached to a
guard in connection with the navy.
and through instruction there became
qualified to transfer into the Y. S.
Signal Corps as lneman for harbor
and coast defense and rank frst-class
private. Service in the signal corps
! find much more pleasant and resem-
bling a civilian not a little. Roll call
drill, ETC., does not make much head
way with us, and our duty is stringing
telegraph lines and keeping the FREEING
line in connection with General Otis
While some of us are detailed to the
staff as ilagmen the part of the signal
corps in the PHILIPPINES are the LIST
18th and 18th companies. ! am in the
10Th company, half of which is attach
ed to General Wheaton's staff and the
lst section, with yours truly, is attach
ed to General Lawtons. My section
is. now out on the advance from
Saloma church, while ! returned yes
terday suffering slight injuries from a
kick from my horse. Following diff
ferent advances, patrolling telegraph
lines, laying cables across the lakes
give me a very good idea of the coun-
try around Manila, and | cannot but
say it will in the future be very good
place for enterprise with sufficient
capital. Every trade and business
here is conducted in its rudest form
save few American plants that are
beginning to find their way to Manila.
Manila, hemp, sugar and tobacco, as
you know, are the principal outputs
but extensive gold and silver mines
are reported in the interior. We have
very good samples of gold bearing
quartz in our quarters, and the Mon
tana regiment have found very hatter-
ing traces in the black sand in the
Spanish prisoners escaped from the
me he believed the gold mines here
would prove richer than any of the old
Spanish mines. Many of the Spanish
soldiers and officers are trying to re-
main here with the intention of pros
pecting, but at present the gold region
Is out side of our lines. Nothing
seems to be developed not even the
street car, which is in itself gold
mine. All of our fruit, save a few
pineapples that are utilized for floral
decorations, grow wild.
In the campaign against Santa Cruz
we found among the mountains and
foot hills, tobacco, oranges, cocoanut,
and nearly every other kind of fruit
and valuable vegetables, including
corn, yams and peanuts growing wild
or without clue to lead to the opin-
ion that they ever saw cultivation.
Rice and sugar cane is cultivated be-
cause it will not grow without it and
from the market results they pay their
church taxes and buy their few necces-
tiles. All of the low and level mead
ows that can be cleared and irrigated
are utilized and cultivated in the rude
way the only one that the shiftless
Tagalo's with his feeble brain capacity
can understand.
Rice, cocoanut, fish and Gigs, are
the only provisions that find their way
to the Filipo's larder. And crouch
ing around TN earthenware dish, in u
way peculiar all through the orient,
the family silently take its one meal
day. A Tagalo's home usually con-
sists oil two or three families from
grandparents down to great-grand-
children, u family monkey with his
relations and two or three generations
of lizards and red ants, they seem to
live together happy and contented; all
sleep under the same blanket and eat
out of the same dish. The husband
does the cooking and after carefully
compromising the contents OF his lard
or he sets it down in the one room of
the rapa hut, the monkey usually gets
its share first and think his rights
are seldom disputed, by the time the
lizards and ants gets their share the
family has gathered around and with
their hands commence to eat. Furni-
ture among the natives is almost UNI
known and save II few blocks of wood
from three to four inches high, used
both for pillows and chairs, the napa
hut has no furniture. After the native
finishes his meal he takes II chew of
natural leaf tobacco and nutmeg pow
der favored with n kind of mustard
lights u cigarette passes the box con-
tanning the combination around the
circle; pushes his chair back to use as
pillow and is prepared to sleep.
Mosquitoes and Spanish taxes We're
their only trouble; but the arrival of
the American soldier has rid them of
both their pests. We find in the in
terror that modesty has never been
preached; but the strict law of cloth
ing is strictly inforced as the line adj
vances and soon the first steps of
civilization will be making an appear
ance. The native seems to have no
idea of wealth, and thinks the Ameri-
caa soldier is made of money, How
Americana" can afford to pay their
soldiers 30 pasos month is more
then they can understand. And they
regard us rs II walking bank. Two
months pay, or $50, would buy most
families out of house and home. soc
II day is very good wages, and un-
skilled labor can he secured for Poe.
The water buffalo is their means of
locomotion and pillow horse. The
chinese carrier is the beast of burden.
Mostly all of the freight is transferred
by Cinnamon and the contract pay is
10 cts per day. The government now
has nearly all the buffalo taken up
and use them for freighting supplies
to camp. The speed of II train, of
buffalo, Is mile an hour aud some
buffalo can pull 300 over a rough