The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-02-27
LIEUTENANT YOST
In PHILIPPINES.
Writes An Interesting Letter to
q Canton Friend.
HE HAS SEEN INSURGENTS
But rhey scampered Away When They
Saw the Americans Coming scme-
thing About the Country and
the People Generally.


Mr.. George Mcneil, popular w. & L.
E. employe, has received an interesting
letter from First Lieutenant Philip
Yost, who is with the Forty-Seventh
u. S. ", Co. ID, doing ser -ce in the
Philippines. Mr.. Yost was formerly
many friends will be pleased to hear
from him. The letter follows:
San Pedro Macati, p. 1.
January s, 1900.
George: 1t is now Z o'clock in the
evening, Just about the time you are
leaving Canton on No. 8. 1 have had
hard day travelling over the hills,
through rice patties and jungles, maxi
ing map of the position occupied by
our battalion and the country to the
front and fianks. This work Is doubly
hard because it is necessary to use
certain amount of caution to prevent
being surprised in the narrow roads
and dense underbrush. Today 1 saw
two insurgents hustling into the bushes
about 1000 yards away. We did not
fire owing to it being in the vicinity of a
native hut, but this is all we saw or
heard of them. 1 suppose they were
4 home seeing their families or they may
Nhave been part of small patrol, as
on our arrival at quarters a telegram
had been received to be on the lookout
as the insurgents were gathering about
six miles away and might advance on
our lines.
San Pedro Macati is about five miles
east of Manila on the south bank Of tt ;
Pasig river. There are only seven
buildings here and the troops are quar-
tered in these. OF course there are a
great many bamboo shacks in which
the natives live. Our battalion occu-
pies trenches extending about three
fourths of q mile in a southwesterly
direction toward Manila bay. Co. D,
(my company is in the town.
We have a canteen wher can be
bought ice-cold Schlitz export. Our
table is excellent. Bananas, oranges,
fresh meat, and everything one could
wish for. There is no telling how long
this will last, so we are making the best
of it.
The natives are negroes, though not
so black as our negro at home. They
are not slow and slovenly but excep-
tionally quick and active, and quick of
comprehension, but uneducated. The
children are very bright. They all are
tricky and treacherous. They are of
slight build but straight as arrows. 1t
is wonderful the weight they can carry
on their heads. Every day there are
over one thousand women and children
pass this post to Manila and back again
carrying on their heads between 25 and
$50 pounds each Of nuts, fruit, cocoanut
oil, etc. for the market, some living
as far as eight and ten miles from Ma
nila 1t is one Of the characteristic
scenes of the island and 1 always
watch them as they hurry by in punches
of 80 or more from years old to old
Women all keeping step to kind OF
a march played on an old mouth harp
by a pickaninny. The soil through this
section of the island is very fertile, rice
and sugar cane being the principle
crops. Bananas, cocoanuts, etc. seem
to grow wild. The bananas are not OF
as good a variety as those we have at
home, but the oranges are fine. The
winter or dry season is now on and lasts
from November to June and is perfect
There is very little rain. OF course
during the middle of the day it is quite
warm but from 5 in the evening to
in the morning it is cool and pleasant
We landed on the 23d Of December
and have been stationed here since then
One column of the southern helix started
from here and consisted of 2,700 infan-
try, ten troops of cavalry and artillery
1t is expected here that this will break
the backbone of the insurgnt army
We hear but little news here. Have
had no trouble except Christmas night
one of our outposts were fired on. A
sergeant was hit in the leg, just cutting
the skin. 1 have been interrupted q
times while writing this but no ex.
cuses. Suppose by this time thins are
all running smoothly on the Wheeling
Remember me to all and to Mr.. Butcher
PHILIP YOST,
Manila, Philippine Islands.