Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1900-06-15
CHATTY LETTER.
Mestrezat Tells OF Many Inter
esting Things
Concerning the Vegetation aud Climate
of The Philippines Three Hundred
Hours OF Rain Many Gases OF Fever
Expected Greater Morgantown En-
dorsed Heartily,

Hours OF Rain Many cases or Fever
Expeeted-Greater Morgantown En-
dorsed Heartily,
TAYARAs, II. /,
May Is, 1000.
FRIEND MISUNDERSTANDING being
the capital OF the Province has been
the objective point in every insurree
ton with the deplerable result that
IL has been destroyed three times.
Once IL was a beautiful little city af
Is, 900 inhabitants. Now It is mostly
in ruins and has population OF about
1000. OF course The church Is the
principal building and is the largest
have ever seen, being about 500 feet
long, and containing the finest pipe
organ on the island.
The church Is made Of concrete
with walls eight feet thick and hav-
ing been used as fort has thousands
of pieces Clipped out OF the walls near
the windows and helfry. IL took the
Spaniards seven days 10 take this
town. The Filiplnos took hand
then, and after Il seige Of SIS days the
Spanards surrendered. During this
time $50 Spaniards were In the church
they were all nearly starved, many
died and all were sick but fifty. The
court house being wooden building
was SO shot to pieces 1t Is almost
worthless. Col Gardner is very proud
Of his band and we have for quarters
the finest building In town. 1t has
about MI modern improvements aud
is well furnished. We only have the
six upper rooms which cost Uncle
Sam $3.50 per month. This house
has suffered less than any | know of.
The small corner room ] occupy has
fourteen bullet holes through the
walls. The owner who was an insur-
gent officer tells me they were made
hy the Spanish. The rooms on the
I'll st floor are occupied BY grocer who
WAS 4 soldier in Aggies army.
Many Of the papers IN the states, !
suppose for economical reasons pub
lish fake pictures Of the Philippines.
Those that appear In the art supple
ment of the pittsbHrg Post are relia-
BILE. No doubt you think the build
ings here have very small glass In the
sash. No glass is used for lights as
IL would not keep out the hot sun.
The sash have thin shells for lights.
The sash are made TO slide To the
right and left and then open up the
room To the air.
Towering above us 5000 feet are
Mt. Bonahah aud Mt. Lukbon,
two extinct volcanoes. These noun
tains are covered with the richest tim
Der In the world. At Lukbon | have
seen mahogany boards over five feet
wide. Too bad all these beautiful
hard woods cannot be kept for veneer
ing. A large stream of cold clear
water comes down from the mountain
and flows through the town. Con-
crete sewers carry this through each
street and through each lot in town,
either OF these sewers where they come
out below town would run mill
One OF these run an old fashioned rice
mill. There is a water wheel ten feet
high on shaft thirty feet long. On
this shaft are attached arms that
come In contact with projections on
upright parts which they lift up and
drop on the rice till 1t is pounded to
suit.
The rice is contained In bowl shaped
cavities cut In a mahogany log. Afa~l
ter being taken out OF the mill tRoes
through cleaner that blows the dust
and bulls out and leaves 1t ready to
use. There is some work about rails
ing rice. The water is turned on a
field till it is about foot deep. Then
with the aid OF water buffalo the
ground is plowed, the buffalo Is at
home in the mud and no other animal
could do the work. The rice is sowed
on the water and worked into the
mud by the faithful buffalo dragging
a kind Of harrow over it. When the
rice is about foot high 1t Is known
as s'rice grain, and cut to feed cattle
and horses. The second crop pro-
duces the grain. The Spaniards have
been here for 300 years but have never
made the least improvement In rails
ing rice or preparing it for market
No doubt the Creator allows Spain
to exist for some purpose, but it il
profound secret Perhaps it is to
show what country will come to
when church and state are so mixed
an outsider cannot tell which Isl
which.
We now have all our band together
for the first time in four months.
Fleming Of Fairnont was the last
man to get back from the hospital
where he had been with fever. The
government has done everything pos
sible to make the soldiers comfortable
during the rainy season. Three more
doctors have Just arrived for the regi-
ment and 200 more cots have been or
dered for the hospital at Lucera where
most OF our sick will be sent. The
doctors estimate this regiment will
have about 900 fever cases during the
rainy season. During the last rainy
season it rained here at one time 800
hours without ceasing.