Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-04-24
The Hopkins Letters
Fifteen Years Ago
Manila, Dec. 2, 1898.
Mrs. F. P. Hopkins,

NdlCi tSNh, ~. ~ .-.H"' .E. #e@-.
Dear Mother:
Since writing you last l have re-
ceived your letters of October 21st
and 18th in the order named. l note
what you say about curry l certain
ly think that if we had been on board
the transport much longer we would
have had scurvy and everything else.
| notice that the troops recently ar
rived are in a great deal better shape
thar we were. They are fat and
healthy. l guess the Quartermaster
Department also the Medical Depart
ment has took a tumble" to them
selves. At the present time we are
ed. We have a great deal of guard
duty to do. | was on guard three
times the last s days, but l am strong
and healthy and can stand it.
No, l do not go hungry. AS long as
we are at the base of supplies l do
not think we will go hungry and when
We are away money would be of no
use as one cannot buy anything of
the natives that a white man would
care to eat.
| notice that you seem to think that
this climate is a great deal like Ari-
zona. There is the difference of be-
tween LuZon and Arizona. We have
been here three months now and do
not think there have been more than
six days but what it has rained more
or less.
You also seem to think that you
would like to be here. My impression
is that after you got here you would
not be able to get away quick enough.
The conditions" here are a little too
much mixed for me.
l just read the portion of your let
ter where you speak of the soldiers
4 quietly starving to Lieut.. Adams. He
y says he has a kodak picture Of me
quietly" starving. l am one of the
most notorious grub rustlers in the
regiment. I am still well and we go
and buy some little stuff of the com
missary and have a big feed. What
money we do not spend for grub, we
buy curios with. Next pay day ! am
going to buy you and Laura both an
India silk crepon shawl. These shawls
are quite cheap here but I understand
+hav arc pnitn nynonciyo ~, tho ctotoe
l have got a machete and a dagger
| do not know what ! am going to dc
with all my truck. l guess we will
have to club together and ship lots
of our stuff home. / hope you will
not worry about me as l will manage
to scrub along somehow. Army of.
ticials are finding out how to do things
and then they are scared to death for
ear they will lose their jobs. Every
time a man gets sick now he is taken
care of; if any of the rations are
spoiled they don't insist on our taking
them, but replace them with fresh
rations. l think our company lives
better than most of the companies.
We quite often have sweet potatoes
oatmeal, applesauce and once in a
while chicken.
We get them by changing, buying
and selling around. For instance, we
trade our flour to the bakers for bread
and the result is that we have baking
ipowder to sell, also, we sell our bacon
and SOW belly to the Chinamen. All
tin cans are collected and sold to the
Cinnamon also, who make lanterns
and various other things III of them
Everything here has a value. Our
good living is largely due to the en-
ergy and push of our quartermaster
Sergeant, MacCosham. He is a hust
Ter, Mac is.
Well, non-commissioned officers
school has just come to an end and
guess l had better esume. We are
studying army regulations now. Oh,
I'll be a wise guy when I get home
I'll know all about drill regulations,
but you can bet your life they'll never
get me to bite but one While ]
think ! am as patriotic as ever, the
enemy, Spanish or anyone else will
have to camp on my trail before they
get any more war out of me. They