The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-03
PHILIPPINE COTTON.
A SAMPLE SENT ny A SAVANNAH
IAN.

Some Impressions of the FiIipinos.
Experiences of Soldiers in the
PhiIippines--Descrip of Some
of the Nntives-Other Matters of
Interest.
Sta. Maria of Pania, Province of Bull
can, Isle of Luzon, p. l., March %, 1900:
send you by this mail a sample of Fill
Pine cotton. which grows here on trees
and as thick as apples. / have just re-
turned from a trip up the mountains. 1t
was quite an interesting trip. At the time
of setting out on march the order
"route-step" is given, and then every
man, previously SO correct and stiff, is
allowed to pack his gun as he pleases,
provided the barrel is not turned down,
and adopt the gait that suits most his
convenience If he so wills 1t he Is at lib
erty to smoke or chew, and, of course,
silence is no longer enforced.
The soldiers are as a rule, on starting
out, full OF animal spirits, voicing camp
dittles and cracking jokes and chatting
one another all along the line. Towards
the wind up a good many of them feel
snappy and short tempered, and as with
shaky knees and dropping heads they
plod along many covetous look is bes-
lowed on the colonel's, or majors steed
as he goes prancing by.
We had "hyked," as route-mapching in
the Philippines is called by us, about ten
or twelve miles, when halt was ordered
for dinner on the summit of one of the
largest mountains, and which overlooked
the towns of Angot, NorZagaray, San
Rafiel and San Miguel (where, in the
month of December, in the latter town,
our regiment had an engagement with
the enemy, capturing the town, and driv-
ing them out and into the hills. In fact,
we could see in the distance the bay of
Manila.
Up to now we had seen nothing of the
enemy, and but few of the natives, and
those we had seen were too badly scared
to wait on our approach. Presently after
our halt, few of them blossomed forth.
It seemed as though all the able-bodled
had absconded from the mountains, leav-
ing only the old, the infirm. the lame. and
the blind. One withered old crone dangled
a child, or rather the skeleton of one, on
her hip in native fashion, and its abnor-
mally large feet hung down from its hid
eously long legs till they almost trailed
on the ground An old man turned his
dulled forever by cataract. Quite a good
locking young woman was shaking like
O leaf from calentura, the name which
the natives give to ague, and very pre-
valent disease amongst them. Altogether
they bore the marks of the hard life
meted out to them by the insurrectos, who
were perfectly at liberty to lay violent
hands on anything they felt the want of,
under plea that 1t was a help to the
cause.
II was pitiful to hear and see them as
they DOTTED their sombreros (Which are
ms big as a washtub) waved their white
flags and piped their viva Americanos'
In feeble shrlll tones. What a subject for
the picture OF painter of the grotesdue
IL would have made.
Let me show you. Here we have the
soldiers grouped around In picturesque at
titude. One Is lying on his back smoking
a pipe. Another Is tightening up the hook
straps Of a bunkie's canteen. In the midst
of a small crowd private is what Ia call
ed in soldiers parlanoe) shooting off his
mouth" whilst a tall sergeant is talking
to the captain, who is digging his sword
into the loose sand. At the side Of the
road, in the foreground OF the picture, is
a nipa shack. Several dusky Filipino dam
sells are engaged in dipping out luke warm
water to the already tired soldiers from
cocoanut shells. Maybe few generously