The record-union., 1899-03-03

before we came into Manila. It hap
pened on July 9th. The native sol-
diers captured a Spanish soldier, and
after shooting him about ten times
about seven or eight of them lit
orally hacked him to pieces with their
long knives, but after the case was re :
ported to General Green, who was in
command, he sent letter to General
Aguinaldo and told him that he would
have to stop such work, and if he did
not have it stopped that he would take
the firearms away from the native sol
diers and drive them away from the
trenches, so We did not hear of any
more work of that kind.
Manila will be a big city some day
if the United States keep the ISLANDS.
In fact, it has commenced to look like
a large city in America already. Eco
pie are coming here from all parts OF
the world, opening stores, hotels, res
taurants, ETC., and business IS very
brisk. l was talking with Spamard,
ard he said that as long as he had lived
there he had never seen the old town
so lively and that every time be went
down town he felt that he was in
different city altogether. The streets
are very narrow, and in some of them
only one wagon can go through at a
time. When one has to pass another
person on the sidewalk he must stop
until the other person has passed.
The horses here are very small, like
our small Shetland ponies in America.
There are a great many of them mere,
and they are used to draw what we
call carramettas, something like our
cabs in America, only they have two
wheels instead of four. All of the heavy
hauling is done by the carrabo, or what
is called the water buffalo. They are
hitched to a two-wheeled cart with a
yoke and they haul some very heavy
loads They can be handled by a little
child, as they are very gentle. Lots
of them are driven by little native boys
not over 10 years old, and it is quite a
sight to see them coming up the street
in long line behind one another.
The main article of food is rice, with
dried fish and fruits which are very
plentiful, such as bananas, pineapples.
oranges and also many other tropical
fruits. Cocoanuts are also very plen-
tiful. Monkeys and parrots are numer-
Gus, and most every man in the army
has one or the other. There are 1Oi
boys in my company, and 20 of them
have each a monkey, and some of them
also own parrots. 1t is quite amusing
to watch the monkeys scampering
through the trees and playing together
like lot of little children.
When the regiment returns to the
United States I intend coming back to
Los Angeles, and will try and bring a
young monkey back with me for the
small boys in Company B of the Whit
tier School. I think it will be quite
amusing for them.
Do you remember James c. of
Company D? He was in the shoeshop
when he was at Whittier He is now
is doing nicely. He has grown wonder
fully and is very large man now.
He has been saving his money, and
says that he will start in the shoe bust
ness when he leaves the United States
service.
There is lots of money to be made
in the lumber business here. They have
to do everything by hand, and of course
that makes lumber so much dearer.
There are millions and millions of feet
of lumber here. There is black ebony
and several different kinds of wood.
which, if shipped to the States, would
bring a very high price, and would also
bring good price here in the Philip
pines.
Labor is, very cheap here, but Chinese
do most all the work. and they work
very cheap.
/ will have to close my long letter, as
the mail leaves for America this after
noon, so good-by, with best wishes to
all. Remember me to the boys at the
school. Yours very respectfully,
BENJAMIN H.
Company H, First - Volunteers
There are Whittier boys in almost all
vocations-Whittier boys trusted
clerks in stores, Whittier boys who own
their own homes, Whittier boys who
have stores of their own, and on every
hand can be seen the great work of
this antidote to San Quentin
Universities are necessary, High
Schools are necessary. and Normal
Schools are necessary, but the Whit
tier State School. that takes boys and
young men from the whirlpool of crime
and places them upon the solid ground
of respectable, self-supporting citizen
ship, is certainly of superlative use to
the State. Yours truly,
WALTER LINDLEY,
Trustee Whittier State School.