The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1902-07-17
Letter From R. O. DonlsOn.
Sibonga Island of Cebu, Philippine
Island Anril 90 1909.

Sibonga Island of Cebu, Philippine
Island, April 20, 1902.
Dear Parents and Sisters II am
fat and hearty. Have been work
| ing like a Turk for a month, re-
building lines. Sergt. Whiteworth
and 1 surely have had our share Of
hot sun work. Never saw it so
hot. Am now running another
line from Sibonga to Carcar, 9
miles. I don't know what ] will
do when this line is completed. !
have been in the sun so much that
/ am hardly recognizable as a
white man, (but / am a white man
tanned.) Had two weeks work in
Argso. Had to go out to work
every morning on horseback but
soon got used to it. We got our
dinner on the line and when we
asked the natives for chickens
they all said they had none and we
could gee their chickens running
around everywhere. We took our
guns and shot as many as we want
ed and then paid for them. Only
from four to six cents apiece.
One night Sergt. and were COM
ing from Carcar and wanted to
buy chicken, but the natives
would not sell us any 30 we just
threw our pinchers at them and
killed 8, which we cooked when
we got to Sibonga. There are
more dogs here than were ever in
Jerusalem and they annoy us very
much by their almost incessent
barking.
1 have only been in one house
since / came here in which there
are no kids less than ten months
old. Every shack you go into you
will see "pick-a-ninnie" and in
some families you will see from 8
to 10 from six months to twelve
years of age.
The old Filipino general who
has been trying to raise another
insurrection on this island, was
captured a few days ago. HE
name is Garding and he is bad
man. Another insurrecto, General
Maxilome, and his son were cap
tured here by Ross, the constabu
larry officer. Maxilome was to be
taken to Cebu on the launch Phila-
delphia. He got on the boat and
grabbed bayonet from gun and
made stab at the captain of the
boat and jumped into the sea and
was going to swim to shore, but
the soldiers shot him before he got
twenty feet from the launch. His
father was taken overland to Cebu.
These two men had few followers
at Bosok about miles from here
and the police found it out. The
President (the same as a mayor in
our towns) sent out eight police to
capture them but when they ar
rived at Bosok the insurrectos were
gone, but they got an iron cannon
about 100 years old and of Spanish
make. There are about 18 more
rifles out and the constabulary are
after them and no doubt will soon
| find them.
| In celebrating the resurrection
of Christ a few weeks ago by firing
little brass cannon, one man had
his head shot off. The cannon ex-
ploded. Three weeks from today
I will have one year in. Goodbye,
Nago, Cebu, May 16, 1902
DearTParents and Sisters Il an
we'll. No more line work for mt
now for am stationed at Nago
twenty miles north of Sibonga.
was working with gang, putting
up new line from Cebu to Argos
y when 1 got a message to go t.
! Nago and relieve the operate
there. / was 6 miles from Sibong,
. and 20 from Nago. Had a bum
+ full of blankets, pillows, etc.
u which I had to carry and 1 got YER
. tired and hired a native to carr
: them to Sibonga for "pecos."
stayed in Sibonga all night an
hired "plecha" (wagon) and
horse to take me to Nago. Thi
y is a fine place. I board with tn
q mon of the hospital corns TheT