Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-06-05

terprising American to start a room
ing house on large scale and up-to-
date but the property is owned princi-
pally by the United States govern
ment and the priests or padres of the
different orders here
April IL. 1902.
The mail from the Peru" and the
Warren" having arrived 1 have been
kept awfully busy and did not get
chance to finish your letter the same
day l started it but will try to do so
now.
The cholera epidemic here is not as
fierce as they really expected it al
though it is quite bad. about twenty
deaths a day are reported and good
ness knows how many more occur that
are not reported. The natives try to
hide the bodies of any relatives that
die so that they will not be quarantine
ed and in number of cases they are
successful. 1t was only yesterday af-
| ternoon that two bodies were washed
up on the shore along Malacon drive
with stones tied to them, the condition
of which lead the surgeons to think
that they are cases of cholera that
have been thrown in the bay from
"cascoes" to avoid the quarantine reg
ulations. This of course is a very fool
/ ish piece of business but the natives
are an ignorant set and think that the
authorities are only doing this to try
and show their authority. How true
it is do not know but the chief sur
geon of the army here states that chol-
era cannot be caught from contact;
that it must come from something TAX
/ en- inwardly 1t does not look to me
| though as if that were the case. Sew
/ eral cases have occurred here where
| the people have dropped down in the
4 streets without moments notice. 1t
was only last Monday I was going
down street and noticed a Chinaman
| in front of me. He had only walked
perhaps 800 yards when down he went
! in commissions and it was only few
moments until he was dead. Guess /
4 didn't get away from there in hurry
Although | did not know he had the
cholera didn't stop to investigate the
matter but left that for some one else
to do. Don't catch me taking any
4 chances in the matter at all.
Had letter from one of the boys in
&C. Troop of the 18th Cav. the other
day; they are down in Salceda, Samar,
where all the trouble is going on. He
stated they had had no trouble to
amount to anything as yet; had one
/ little scrap and killed three "gugus"
and captured five.
/ | did not go down to Mindanao as
contemplated on account of the mail
coming in on both boats about the
same time and it was a heavy one. We
will be three or four days yet in get
ting rid of it. | mean the official mail
from Washington when l speak Of
mail.
Things are progressing very nicely
here, new buildings going up every day
and some of them quite modern. The
government is putting up a large
4 printing office which will employ
about 5000 persons and also different
government buildings of all classes.
The city is erecting large city hos
pital just short distance from head
i quarters.
i Have heard many express them
selves that they thought the number
of men in the islands would soon be
4 cut down to quite an extent but 1T is
my opinion that the number over here
will hardly be below $4,000 for many
years to come. The government is
now preparing to commence to build
large barracks here in Manila for the
post of Manila which will accommo-
Fdate several companies of Infantry and
besides that they are figuring now on
building barracks or rather regular
military reservations in several diff
/ ferent localities in the islands, princi-
pally one at Vigan, Ilocos, which will
accommodate seven, and this is only
] just a starter. Nothing further has
/ turned up down in the Sulu Islands
where the Moros had started the trou-
BILE, guess they got scared out the
same as all the rest do. No captures
of any Importance has occurred late
!, ly, small squads of insurgents are be-
ing gathered up daily but they do not
/ amount to very much. General Luck
ban was the last important parsonage
CAPTURED General Bell states that 1t
4 will only be matter of a short time
/ till he has about thousand of them
cornered where they will either have
! to surrender or fight and if they fight
!, that will end them right there because
General Bell is out for blood and never
gives in. II there is one man in the
island that has done good work, Gener-
al Bell is the man. His record shows
that he has captured more than any
other Brigadier General in the field.
Troops are still coming over here,
the Hancock with the Tenth infantry
Zone battalion) and recruits was due
here yesterday but she struck on the
rocks at Iba about $50 miles from here
and at this writing, Z p. M, she has
not been taken off; other inter-island
transports have gone to her assistance
. and lighters have been sent to unload
part of her cargo and so expect she
will be in here about tomorrow or the
next day. Well my dear parents
must stop now as am really tired out.
1 expect to hear from you by one of
l the mails shortly and trust you will be
! well and hearty when this reaches
! you. With kindest regards to all my
/ friends and love to you and the boys,
!. remain as ever, Your loving son,
I John.
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, os LoIeI;no T,uN of Thepo Nat