The Elbert County tribune., 1900-02-08
FROM TIVE
PHILIPPINES
Letter From Frank
Bean. an old El-
bert County
Boy.
Continued from last week. J



other day as | was on the outpost
and was relieved before | had
finished writing. We are still in
the same place. / have learned
that this town is called Peur SC
Rahv meaning Ruby. Well
suppose You are having frost OIL
snow now and a good fire in the
stove. 1t is just the other way
here. 1t is just about like June
now. We are camped in one OF
the best houses in the town, which
is just about like farm house for
structure and framing with palm
leaf roof and sides with large win
dows all around and with thatched
awnings to be raised or lowered
at pleasure. There are no roofs of
anything but thatching excepting
a few large churches which have
tin roofs. All the dwelling houses
are built on stills from five TO ten
feet high, the larger ones being
the highest. All the large houses
are framed of hard wood. Ma
hogany think or something that
looks like it. But all the small
est ones are built entirely of
bamboo and it is surprising how
many other things they make of
it, fences, chairs, baskets, cups,
ladders and other things too nu-
merous to mention. | wish
could send you some of the mat
tings they make. They are braid
ed or woven of Il kind of palm
leaf and are as soft and pliable as
a blanket and are often used for
that. They make all kinds of
sacks Of it, too. These people
are about five hundred years be-
hind the times in their mode OF
living. They are about like the
Hawaiian Islanders, but don't
believe they are as intelligent as
a rule. They look more like Japs
though. There are more dogs to
the square mile here than there
are in all Ebert county l believe,
and they make the night hideous.
Every family has from two to six
of them, and people, hogs, dogs,
chickens and cattle, all live to-
gether or nearly so. The prin-
cipal beast of burden is the water
OK or caribou as they call it. They
have horses but they are so small
as to be Of no use except for rid
ing. They work the Spanish cat
tie, too. They look good deal like
Jersey but are much larger and
their horns turn up and forward.
The caribou is black or mud color
ed, very thin hair, low and heavy
set, with very heavy horns that
grow in curve almost straig hi
backward an6 little up. They
will go through mud that any
other animal would stick in and
wallow like hogs. They are also
excellent swimmers, as water is
their natural element. We have
been following up what appear:
to be broad valley between two
ranges of mountains all the way
from Manila, the mountains being
in sight all the way on both sides,
the ones on the right being the
nearest, until we came | should
think IS miles of where they meet
on TIE northern coast or so il
seemed to me, Then we bore tc
the left keeping about the salnt
distance from them until we camt
to this place, which is only abou
three miles from them, the noun
tains being north of us. Th'
view / can get from the window
here is very grand. The mountains
are not very high and are woodec
clear to the SUBMITS. They sa,
this is the country where gold j
found, and several of the boys sa,
they have found colors in the SAM
and rocks. One fellow found
piece of wire gold in duck
gizzard, and the natives say ther
is gold here.
But the most reliable information
| have came from General Lawto
who told our captain there wa
GOLD here. But don't think