The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-17

A little message of two words that
brought with it a world of comfort and
relief from anxiety and uncertainty,
was received yesterday by Mrs. Will
lam f. Hill from her husband, Captain
Hill, at Manila, who was wounded in
the battle at Caloocan. The message
read:
''All right"
Ever since the battle in which Cap
tain Hill was wounded, his wife and
friends in Butte have been very much
concerned about him because it could
not be learned how serious his condi-
| ton was The cablegram from him
would indicate that his wound is not
| serious.
In one of the many interesting letters
| from Manila, Montana volunteer
writes as follows: ~
The natives, who have never been
| away from their respective islands.
and have seen less than a dozen white
| people in a lifetime, know the art of
making an intoXicant as we'll as the
most scientific man. In the backwoods
| of the smaller and infrequented Philip
pine islands the natives make brandy
from sugar cane.
fortunately for their drinking hab-
it's. the process of making the intoXi-
cant is slow and laborious The lazy
and slovenly native would never spend
so much time and energy in producing
anything else but an intoXicant. BCeal
brandy is made from the juice of the
sugar cane, fermented and distilled
The juice is extracted by pounding the
cane over a piece of log and allowing
the juice to fall into trough. When
-
is poured over it and ii is allowed to
stand in the sun until it ferments.
Then it is ready for the ingenious ma
tive process of distillation. Four-gal-
Ion water jugs are set on the ground
as close as their bullying sides will per-
nit. Earth is covered over the upper
part and falls down part way, where it
is stopped by the Bullying jugs. thus
leaving an open space underneath
around the bottom of the jugs. The
heat from the surface passes through
this opening and boils the fermented
juice with which the jugs are filled.
The steam passes out through pieces of
hollow bamboo, and still in bamboo
pipes it is introduced into hollow log
standing on end Water from the creek
flows through this log over the cells of
bamboo which contain the steam. which
quickly condenses and falls into large
jug set to catch it, while the thirsty
natives wait around and fume at the
slow process. Certainly the stuff is
pure. and the Catholic missionaries say
it is healthful, and; uueerly enough do
not object to the natives use of it.
They probably consider it wise to con-
sent to what they cannot prevent. On
account of it's purity-the whiskey never
deranges the stomach. but a quart Of it
intoxicates quickly.
"A long and interesting chapter might
be written about the snakes in the Phil
ippines I never heard how many varie
ties there are there. but there must be
lots of them. A few are poisonous, but
most are water snakes, and are harm
less. The most dreaded variety is a
reddish brown long. slim fellow. known
as the manapo. 1t is as deadly as the
moocasin of the Southern swamps. and
more venomous than the rattlesnake.
It's bitten victims die in Is and 90 min
utes. In the densest. forests off the
backwoods of the islands boa cCnstric-
tors are frequently found. / have heard
of some on Mindanao that were 25 feet
long. but their usual length is II feet.
They have been known to crush people
to DEATH"
According to the press dispatches,
Captain Gardner and Lieut.. William
. McGrath of Butte have arrived at San
Francisco from Manila. The two Off
GERS belonged to Company B of Butte,
but for reasons that have not yet be-
come public they We're recently relieved
from duty. They are expected to ar
rive in Butte in day or two.
-o----
Paris of o-day-the handsomest Pre-
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vance for one years subscription to
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