The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-01-22

c, First Washington volunteer infantry
as follows:
Manila. P. l.. Dec. 5. 1895.
Mr.. and Mrs Milford Richardson, Wichita
Kansas:
Dear Parents-We ha1 arrived al Manila
and have been on ashore ten days. We
had a very pleasant eight-day voyage from
San Francisco 10 Honolulu and eiehteer
days from there to Manila.
our regiment is CHARTERED in an old resi-
dence in the outskirts Of town. Every
thing is quiet AT present. but we al expect
that We viii have to fight the rebels yet
There are about 10000 of them encamped
just outside Of town Our outposts are
| only about 12J yards from them.
/ The insurgents have posted notices
throughout the town warning us to vacate
Manila by the 18th of January, but we do
not intend to leave 50 soon.
OF all the cities I have sen. this is the
I dirtiest and most miserable. it is won
/ der 10 me that any human being can live
1 here at all. A city of 800 900 inhabitants.
! on a level with the sea. and no drainage.
/ The people are little. half-starved. sallow
/ and skinny; in form and size look some
! thing like the Japs They seem 10 be in
two tribes, one Malay and the other ne
/ groes, who are much darker and have
| curly hair. L is said that there is a
| tribe of cannibals back in the mountains.
I o. whom the natives are very much afraid.
/ They wear gold beads and bracelets. which
gives rise TO the belief that large quanti-
ties of gold exists in the mountains. Some
! Of the boys talk Of going prospecting for
gold as soon as they get their discharge.
but if man had a few hundred TO invest
in business here, in few years ne would
/ have a Klondike Of his own.
/ The Spaniards have been too law and
| lndolent 10 do anything themselves. but
/ 10 prevent the natives from doing what
/ they might All that the Spanfards here
! ever allowed the natives 10 learn has been
the Catholic code, though the natives are
a bright, sharp people and quick to learn
ABOUT three or four blocks from here is
a large Catholic cathedral. and in the
cemetery surrounding it is a large nile Of
human skulls and bones. I Judge about
three carloads. The friends of the dead
are taxed very heavy for use of the burial
ground, and when they fail to pay this tax
! or what L viii call grave rent. the bones
are dug up and thrown upon this pile. In
loohlns at that massive pile of human
ooieS' MADE up my mind then and there
mat hereafter my life shall be devoted Ia
'ne cause OF the A. P. AS. I would like
% nave the Catholics at home see some of
me sights here and learn the way the ma
tives nave been treated by their church
ms Is called the dry season, but We get
good ram two or three times week, SO
imagine what the rainy or wet season
must be
About eight or ten of the company are on
the sick report, hut 7 never felt better in
my life We get up at 4:3O a. m, drill:
from Z until s when we lay around camp
or walk about town until 4:30 p. m. We
wear the white duck suits, as the blue is
ance Of our time Of +y-o 80 -, ne "a
rison d,,tv VIII no eor.9 oa,,-i.-II'
tho insurga,+s f., 49,. 49,. IN
This nc i f,,Ir 80 ,'T ,i''},o-0,!E
-,ra,,.,II-. -, l'7'''7, ilNdIuS'
hard Everything to make life miserable.
The mosquitoes are thicker than the hair
on dogs back and their bite swers up
worse than any bee sting I ever expe-
rlenced. We have a net stretched over
our hunks so that we can sleep at night