Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-03-02
BOYS ARE WE'LL.
JOHN DUNLOP WRITES OF LIFE
IN MANILA.
Says the Soldiers Have a Better Time
Than They Did in the States One
Satisfied Fighter.

Audu AuCy O1u Al eA0 oeoVOo VAS
Satisfied Fighter
| MANILA. Jan. 2.-We have as FINE
quarters as any Of the troops here. II
is large two story tobacco ware
house and has lately been painted in
side and out. 1t has electric lights
and has bath room with shower
bath on the same floor we sleep on;
the lower floor is used for mess hall.
The cooking is done in a bamboo
house separate. The officers have
a building across the street.
The second and third battalions'
quarters are each in a different part
of the CITY,, The troops are scattered
all over the city. About $4,000
soldiers are here now and Dewey has
about dozen war vessels and more
are coming.
Manila has about 100000 popula-
ton, only about $4,000 are white.
The rest are natives, Chinese, Jap
|
anese and Spanish and Tagalo is all
that is spoken outside Of the SOL
diers.
Pat Kelley and | took walk
through the walled city or old Manila
Sunday and walked along its walls
until we we're tired. We saw lots Of
old cannon 200 years old. The walls
are over 100 feet thick IN splaces and
from 20 to 80 feet high. Onj the in
ner side Of the wall there are any
amount Of cells and rooms. There is
a wide deep ditch or moat around the
wall but it is pretty we'll filled with
dirt and rubbish land sgrown over
with different kinds of weeds, grass
and bushes and is miry bog under
| meath that cant be walked on. There
are eight gates in the wall with
drawbridges.
There were about 5000 Spanish
soldiers when they surrendered.
About 1000 have been sent home and
Spain has transports here now to send
more. The Spanish prisoners can 90
any where in the city in the daytime,
but must be in the walled city by
evening, Their officers can be out
later. saw several hundred of them
Sunday and they are fine looking
body of men, a little under the aver
age height Of the Z. S. soldier. They
draw the same rations we do and the
soldiers who were here when Manila
surrendered say the Spanish soldiers
were very dirty and thin but they
have fattened up and cleaned up till
thew look first rate. The men only
oct S9 per month and their lieuten-
ants get about the same asia private
| in the United States army.
We had fine trip from America
here as far as weather,was concerned,
only three or four rough days and |
rather enjoyed them, but the most OF
the boys did not like the up and down
rocking motion. | soon got so !
could walk the deck any time and 90
| M the masts when she was rolling
her best. The ship was great on the
roll: she rolled clear over on the At
lantic and sunk once and Twas raised
again. She belongs at New York and
used to be passenger liner till the
government chartered her fora trans
mort on the Pacific. The other two
battalions of the Twentieth left San
Francisco 70 days before 'us and got
here days ahead of us and then they
were kept on board till after we went
ashore.
Kelley and Harvey Kuhns are well
and all of MS for that matter. we
have not had half the sickness since
we left the camp in the States There
| is not near the sickness in the army
mere for the number Of men as there
| was at times in San Francisco. Our
drinking water is all boiled then run