Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-03-15
FROM THE PHILIPPINES.

NIL -. 1Ss w 40 LII lSSSAPe VI o
long letter from his son, DR.. c. F. Will
liaSfs, of the United States army, who
Mas ordered to the Philippines some
weeks ago. The letter was written
shortly after the arrival Of DR.. Will
liams at Camp Wallace, Manila, and is
dated January 81. At the request Of
TIE ENQUIRER Mr.. Williams has con-
sented to allow the letter to be pub
llshed, and because 1t will prove Of es-
pecial interest to the many friends of
DR.. Williams, it follows in full:
Now that I seem settled for few
days, I will try and give you some Idea
Of my surroundings, and what l nave
seen since I left the states. We are at
present in camp at Camp Wallace, and
will have to remain here for ten days
in quarantine. All the officers have
had measles, so, consequently, are not
restricted; but no enlisted man can go
beyond the borders Of the camp. Just
as soon as we are released from quar-
antine we will go at once to the town OF
Zamboaneo, island of Mindanao. From
all reports this is the best island In the
Philippines, and we are very lucky 70
get it. There has been very little fight-
ing there lately, the island is healthy
and the troops are provided with COM
Portable quarters. While l have no OF
der vet, I have been told by Maj. Ken
nedy. a surgeon in the chief surgeon
office, and who by the way Is q South
Carolinian, that 1 will go with the Zitn
to the town above mentioned.
Now to begin. We sailed from san
San Francisco on the transport Sherl-
dan. about noon on the first, as 1 wrote
you. We had easy sailing for about
five or six hours, and then 1t began TO
get rough, and when the supper gong
sounded 1 felt very little like eating;
but to avoid the sarcasm and unsym-
pathetic remarks made to one by those
who are more fortunate, I nerved my
self and went down to the dining room
for the trying ordeal. When one Is
partially seasick, the odor Of food and
the sight of a dining table seems to
have a peculiar emetic influence, which
makes man feel that he would rather
20 ashore. However, when l got to
the dining room, found many unoccu-
pied seats, and tried TO console myself
by thinking that I was not the only
one. I bolted down a few morsels and
hurried back to the upper deck, where
I cast my bread upon the waters; and
to use a sailors slang fed the fishes" "
I tried to brace myself and walk 1t on,
but finally succumhed, and was confin-
ed to my room for about week. In
all I was sick about ten days, though
only bad for three or four days.
When we had been out about ten
days the sea got quiet, and the rest ,of
the voyage was very pleasantly spent,
though I had a good deal Of work to
do. Measles broke out among the
troops, and had to make an inspec-
ton Of about 800 men every morning.
did not have to treat any sick on the
boat, for we sent all those needing
treatment to the hospital. Each trans
nice hospital. One man Of our battal-
ion died Of typhoid fever on the way
over. He was the only case lost dur
ing the trip.
We had several cases Of pneumonia,
but all recovered, and our command
was in fine shape when we landed, and
have had only a few trivial cases
since we came into camp. On the way
over we made only one stop and that
was at Guam. We sighted the island
about 8 o'clock on the morning Of the
goth, and you can imagine what a well
come sight 1t was when We had not
seen anything except water from the
hour of our departure. Guam Is a
beautiful little island, about 80 miles
long and six miles wide, with a popula-
ton Of $4,000. The natives are a mixed
breed and I think it impossible to
classify them. Probably one would not
be wrong in saying that they all belong
to the Malay race, but you can see any
type Of the human kind there. We were
not allowed to go ashore on account Of
measles; but the natives flocked down
to the boat, which gave me an opportu-
nifty to see them. They all had some
thing to sell, but on account Of quaran-
tine, were not permitted to come
aboard our boat.
I succeeded in getting some shells,
but felt delicacy in buying anything
else on account Of bubonic plague pre-
there. Not being able to go
ashore cannot tell you anything of
the interior. The only familiar thing
that I saw were palm trees. Wnen
saw these my heart went back to you
all and South Carolina. We left Guam
at o'clock in the afternoon, and the
rest Of the voyage was uneventful, ex-
cept for typhoon on the oath, which
made 1t very rough. On the 25th we
the San Bernardino strait and
came up the coast Of southern Luzon.
The strait Is very tortuous one, which
gave me an opportunity to see a great
number of the islands. We anchored in
Manila bay about noon on the 26th, and
then our troubles began. No one was
allowed to go ashore except the COM
manding officer; but all the officers got
ashore the next day.
1 think I have already written you
about our day Of confusion and orders,
quarantine, ETC., so will not repeat. At
present only those men who have not
had measles are in quarantine; but un-
til yesterday we were all restricted TO
the limits Of the camp. Our camp Is
within a stones throw Of the luneta,
the prettiest part Of Manila.
The luneta Is a drive around a little
park, and every evening some Of the
regimental bands give a concert, which
makes it very popular place. think
every one In Manila who mas convey
ance, from an ox-cart to an automo-
bile, comes out for a drive. Not until
the last few weeks has there been an
here, and I think only two
now, and when they go by it Is funny
to watch the natives stare. I suppose
though that they are about even with
me, for know everything here Is just
IS strange to me as an automobile Is to
them.
However, I am very much pleased,
and, so far, everything has surpasse ]
my expectation except the native; and
am sorry to say that he is not as
good as I expected to find him. He is
different from any nationality I have
ever seen, ana I am at loss to know
where to put him. Many Of them have
| striking resemblance, so much so that
t is hard for one to identify them.
others who live under the same condi- |
ions and environments, look entirely
iifferent. l am unable to account for
t, but such is the case. The majority |
G L. IL