The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1900-11-09

Oh VIZ A"to improvements III implements
to work with. Then to think that these
people completed it all with, we'll, you
might say, sharp stick and cocoanut
shell. The natives can do almost any
thing with wood; their wagons are all
wood and some of them are marvel in
Workmanship. No spokes in the wheel
and no tires on the wheels, they work on
wooden axle, and require no greasing.
The harness is made out of hemp. The
harness for caribou consists of one
piece OF rope which fastens the caribou
to the yoke. saw one native with a
hat made entirely of wood and it was all
in one piece. Something new to me in
the hat line.
August 10th.
You see took vacation of five days
since l started this letter. Well, that is
good example of one of the phases of a
soldiers life. was off on five days
march and didn't have time to finish be-
fore started. We are notified to get
ready for march and all we are told is
how much rations to carry. Don't know
where we are bound for nor how long we
are to stay. This time it was only TWEEN
ty miles down the river TO guard the ra-
ton boats against attack We had very
little excitement on this trip. We ran
into an outpost of the insurrectos, but
they got away so quickly that we didn't
get but one of them and he lived only
about tive minutes after he was hit, so
we were unable to find out how many
there were in the band About three
weeks ago the Ladrones captured cou-
pie of boat loads of clothing and they are
now wearing regulation hats, blue shirts
and ponchos. There are about 600 oper-
ating in this province and they make us
no end OF trouble. They never travel in
bands OF more than forty and usually
ten or twelve is all we run into at time.
We captured their colonel some time
ago and he says they are never still, for
the last four months they have never
been able to stop more than two days in
a place for we are hot after them all the
time: The rain bothers US good deal
and 1t is not at all uncommon for us to
wade for two miles at time in mud and
water up to our knees and it is tiresome
work can tell. We have travelled over
every trail in this section of the country,
time and again, so find nothing new, and
as we get mail only once month, and
sometimes not so often, it is little mo-
notonous, and game growing scarce
When we can kill but one niger ON a
five days march. There is one native
here that has been in New York and
boston. He can speak good English and
1t is pleasure to talk TO him. When
he is conversing with us in English the
natives look at him with open mouthed
wonder. Many of them can understand
what we want when we speak to them in
English and use great many gestures,
but only this one can talk back to us in
our own language.
There are about twenty provinces in
this island and there are as many differ
ent languages spoken. They are differ
ent looking people too, in many respects;
this may seem strange to you, but not
when you understand it. Before these
islands were discovered the natives
fought among themselves, but when the
Spaniards came they were looked upon
as common foe and they all fought
against them, but their hatred OF each
other was so great they would not com
bine. This left each province to fight
for itself and the Spaniards obtained a
foothold in Cavite province. AS this
did not effect any of the natives except
those in Cavite, they went to fighting
each other again and it has continued
that way for some hundreds of years.
When Aeuinaldo appeared upon the
scene he succeeded in combining several
of the provinces to fight the Spaniards,
and are now fighting the Americans.
Should we give up the islands to them
as l see some of the democrats in the
States advise the natives would be fight
ing among themselves in a month. In
dress only do these natives resemble
each other, and then only because the
Spanish law compelled to. The law
made three classes out of the inhabi-
tants. The higher class, comprised of
Spanish and educated natives, were al
lowed to wear what they pleased; the
second class, or meztizos, had to wear a
certain kind of garment, and the third
class were allowed a piece of cloth to
wrap around them or nothing as they
wished. Although the Spaniards are
out of power in the islands, the people
still adhere to the old law and probably
VIII Tor some years to come. There are
only three women in town who wear
made after American or Cont
mental fashion and they are Spanish.
There are quite a number of men who
wear English style SUITS and they look
very swell in them, although the shoes
and stiff hats bother them not little. i
They can't seem to get used to the shoes, !
they stub their toes on everything and !
look at them as though they were some
thing too deep for them, but time and
practice will accomplish a great DEAL !
and before we leave here look to see /
great many of them develop into Broad
way swells.
saw wedding party come to church
this morning and mentally compared !
it with wedding party in the States;
the comparison was too much for me
and | have laughed about it ever since.
At the head of the procession came the
priest walking along trying to keep him
self and his robes out of the mud and
seemed anxious to impress it upon every
one that he was the whole thing. Then
come bride and groom, relatives and
friends, while the band brings up the
rear, and all in a general mix-up, dodg-
ing mud puddles and having a deuce of
a time generally. 1t took this couple
three hours to get married, so it must
have been very binding tie.
There is native school situated in
he CITY whore thov foaoh tho ohildrop |