Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-23
ON THE ISLE OF SAMAR
CHOLERA HAS FINALLY DEPART
ED FROM GUINAN.
Hardships Of the Troops-Quarantined
and Without Their Pay-Scanty
misunderstanding Of Natives.
of The Evening Star.

Correspondence of The Evening Star.
GU1NAN, Samar, p l.. September i. 1902.
Cholera chung to this village for one
month and then packed It's dirty duds ana
started for filthier towns. 1t left its marx
IN the neighborhood, fully 100 natives sue
| cumbing. Every other house in the town
has Its empty chair. 1t is the custom for
the people to gather in prayer for several
nights after a death in the house. SO after
dark every house Is full Of canters, and q
dismal sound they make.
Since the scourge struck the town this
people have stopped putting out lights IN
front of their houses, and the town would
appear to stranger unpeopled. The
presidento sent around his circular last
evening in the shape OF a drummer boy
and loud-mouthed announcer. SO the peo-
pie will have to light the strets as formerly.
The people still keep up their daily and
nightly procession and they are firmly con-
WINGED that it was their actions. and not
medicine and cleanliness, that caused the
cholera to leave. They have little or no
faith in Amer can medicine, and will not
take any II they can possibly get out of It..
Cholera cutting a wide swath a short
time past at Tacloban Leyte, and tho
natives dropped by the dozens. American
medicine was freely dispensed and in the
end checked the epidemic, with the assist
ance of sanitary measures. After the trou-
Bile was over the agitators circulated the
rumor that 1t was our medicine that was
killing them and not the cholera and adj
vised all natives to beware Of our drugs, es
our object was to destroy the Filipino race.
Here they concealed their cases as much
as possible from the medical officers, as
they had received the notice from Taclo-
ban. They no doubt concluded that they
knew as much as our officers, as the hos
thirty cases on record twenty-seven of them
had been reported and treated and had died.
and the three that were not reported did
not die and they without blushing declare
that they owe their lives to the fact that
they did not take American medicine.
Guaranteed and Penniless.
The soldiers have been quarantlned on
their reservation for about six weeks now.
and are yearnng for chance to stretch
their legs. The commanding officer will
not take any chances, and 1t will be some
time before the men can call on their dusky
lady friends.
The paymaster has not paid for four
months and is expected any day. When he
does come and the men are permitted TO
go where they please, much wet goods will
be purchased and the celebration will be
strenuous.
Food and Rations Scarce.
The town is out of rice completely and
how the poor devils manage to get along is
a mystery They certainly have had their
troubles The insurrection wiped nearly
everything of the island Of value and then
the cholera comes along to fatten on the
remains There are several hundred old
women In this town, and they are a sad
spectacle they go to church. They are
all extremely thin-almost fieshless-and the
clothes they wear are as near nothing as
possible.
We are living on very moor diet orr.
selves, and it looks as though the commits
sary department has out the Island Of Sa.
mar off its list. In the sixteen months We
have been over here and on Leyte, We have
not had any fresh vegetables to exceed
three months out Of the sixteen. A boat
comes in about once in two months. leaves
about ten crates of vegetables, which are
eaten up in a week and then We have
other two months to walt.
We live altogether canned goods, and
our dump would remind you Of Klondike
mining camp. And this Is In the tropics
where vegetation grows rank. We cannot
buy native vegetables as there Is order
against It, We thoroughly appreciate the
value OF the homely potato, and after our
usual wait they look to like boxed an
gels. We shut our eyes in ecstacy over
the first bite, and, like the American In.
Now that the troops being cut down ma
terially all over the islands expect to DO
supplied better.
Demeanor Of the People.
This town is full of ex-nsurrectos, and
they act suspiciously at all times. They
try to give US the impression that they look
on us as great people. Some of them will
stop short in the street, approach and,
as we expect him to address us, he will drop
down on one knee, remove his top-p piece and
salute. They do it SO quickly that we set
for uppercut a bolo thrust.
The padres everything to these peo-
pie. They will treat him with the greatest
reverence, although aware of his Short
comings. The people of this town know
that their padre has a mistress, but 1t ap-
parently matters not. When they meet him
on the streets (Which is only on occasions
when they do not see him in time to escanA)
down on their knees they go and XIX his
hand
l noticed two women attempt this cere-
mony the other day One of them he per-
mitted to go through with it: the other he
slapped lightly in the face and rebuked her
in words she had been smoking a cigar.
cite and had the weed hidden in her hand
behind her She took the rebuke very light
ly, as she laughed heartily when he had
passed.
The padre thinks we are treating him
badly no doubt during the cholera epidemic.
He lives in practically the same building
and gets water from the same well. He 10
not allowed to go near the well nor any OF
his help. Neither are visitors allowed to 60
to his private entrance, as there is a sentry
for that purpose. People with chickens and
presents are turned away hy the dozens
daily. He does not say anything, but no
doubt thinks volumes.
The sentry caught a native stealing the
PADRES chickens last week, and the latter
is in the city Jail. He will probably
get life time and hasn't a ghost of a
chance of ever seeing the meadow of con-
tent
There have been of late in the stores hera
many articles marked made in America
Heretofore they were generally marked a.
made in some part of Europe The Filiyjao
gives us credit for making the best of things
and will not hesitate to acknowledge it.
w. S. K.