Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-02-15
LIFE IN PANAY,
An Augusta Boy Writes Of
Many Things.
earthquakes. dealing Out Quinine
NATIVE Slavery.
Little Friction Between Teacher and
A Little Friction Between Teacher and
Military Authority.
Leon, Panay. p r. Dec. % 1901

Leon, Panay. P. T., Dec. 90, 1901.
Editors kennebec Journal:-We are
having some splendid weather here
row. The dry season has just begun,
usually there is little rain in November,
and none in December with the eXcep-
| ton of en- occasional shower but this
year the dry season has been very
| backward. indeed for the first half of
Dc cember we had more rain than dur
! ing any half month since l landed at
Manila. December is the coolest month
| of the year here, and the nights are in
| deed quite cool, cool enough so that the
heavy army blankets are none too
warm, but the days are quite warm On
| the whole it reminds me very much of
exceptionally pleasant weather in Sep
TENDER at home. 1t can be readily seen
| that the weather is somewhat different
| from the December weather at home
when l say that l am sitting here in
my room in white ducks. in my shirt
sleeves, while my mucharcho has the
windows ali open where he is printing
pictures few feet away and I get
just breeze enough to be perfectly COM
fCrtable. December and January are
for Americans. though the natives
with their scanty clothing seem to
think they are a trifle cool for COM
| fort.
AS I have written before we have an
earthquake served up for breakfast
about every morning. True it is so
slight that one can barely perceive it,
| hut there can be no question about the
| meaning of the tremor, but week ago
yesterday morning we had a little
something more than the regulate
almost imperceptibe tremor. for we
had a distinct shock lasting for perhaps
| five minutes, at about I A. NJ. While
not sufficient to do any damage what
ever here it is said to have been
| much more severe at Manila,
causing the collapse of more or
less masonry. but doing no great
amount of damage nor destroying any
life. AS this was my first experience
with a genuine earthquake amounting
1 to anything it was quite Interesting to
me. / had heard many stories about
the bravest men running out of the
house at the first shock and I will adj
nit that it gives man a peculiar
1 sensation though none of us run out
on account of it, For the sight Of mother
nature waking up from her sleep and
Il stirring things up is well calculated to
startle anyone before they get used to
it. At Manila, where the shock was
much more severe, and where the
buildings are mostly built of stone,
II Americans and natives are said to have
bothered little about the order of their
II going. Some of the Americans left
their homes in decidedly negligee cos
L tunes, and while the shock was on
no one seemed to notice it; on their re-
turn to their homes ''th1 got the laugh
on all Sides
| For the past day or two I have been
| acting as 'medico" and dealing out
III quinine. AS is well known the people
OF Panay owing mainly to the cattle
| diseases which took off a large part OF
the cariboas. thus preventing the put
ting in of the crops. are very poor
L Thousands have died of starvation or
/ insufficient food. And the fevers have
/ attacked them in their weakened con-
dition taking them off by the tens of
thousands. They have no regard
whatever for sanitary conditions, liv-
ing on the second floor of their houses
while their cariboas. hogs, etc, are kept
ur der the houses and the accumulated
filth is never cleaned out, indeed in
some cases where American officers
have ordered the filth to be cleaned out
from under houses the people have
come and begged that it need not be
done as anything of that sort was bad
sign. This city has population OF
perhaps 1900 and the death report as
vouched for by the presidente for the
months of October and November
amounted to a total of S72 persons.
/ nearly all of fevers, and this town is by
no means one of the worst. Some time
ago the provincial authorities author
lied the department sanitary inspec-
tor to purchase quinine to be given out
to the sick. He was in this town.
Saturday, and promised him to see to
the distribution here as best I could.
He left about 800 worth at wholesale
rates. and before Sunday noon that had
all been given out and I had to turn
away hundreds who came for more, as
this was given out in amounts not to
exceed five doses for each sick person
the number of those who received the
medicine can be estimated.
1t is a sad sight to see the poverty
and misery Of these people, but it
would not be an easy task to alleviate
lit They have no feeling of compass
lsion. comparatively speaking. and they
cannot understand it at all. A rich ma
tive might see another starving next
ldoor but on no account would he give him
a cents worth of rice without his quid
pro quo And perhaps we should not
censure him too harshly for this, for
tic poor native would not expect it Of
him, in the first place, but if he did
once give him a bit. the next time the
poverty stricken native got hard up he
would calmly walk up and demand
flee of his rich neighbor, and not get
ting it he would curse him roundly.
Now native never thinks of being
thankful for anything. If the govern
ment will give quinine and it will save
the lives Of members of the family
Ithey will walk few blocks to get it.
but they will never think of being
grateful for it. approve of the giving
out of medicine and believe it should be
continued in the future, but in many
places the government has given out
| rood ,r1 T,fhipk thiQ &c a Doubtful