The Cortland Democrat, Friday, December 15, 1899.
FROM MANILA.
Interesting Letters From Morgan McAllister, U. S. M. C.
The following are extracts from letters written since the 3d of September by Morgan McAllister to his sister, Mrs. B. H. Lyon of South Cortland, which we hope will be of interest to readers of the DEMOCRAT:
Iloilo, P. I., Sept. 3.—Dear Sister—Yesterday we were on shore for target practice, shooting with rifle and pistol. I did fairly well, considering the fact that I never shot that kind of a rifle at a target before, but expect to do some good work with it after a little practice, which I am sadly in need of, as I have had more practice with a six-pounder, and can do very good work with that gun.
The natives where we landed were very peaceable and brought cocoanuts to sell to us, twelve for a Mexican dollar, equal to forty-eight cents of our money. We are paid in Mexican money out here.
We have had mail once since we came here, but I did not get any letter this time. The Solas, a transport formerly used as a hospital ship, came in to-day, and I hope she brings mail, as I am looking for my newspaper which I subscribed for, and I also sent for an English-Spanish and a Spanish-English dictionary. A few Spanish people came on board to-day to visit the ship. They were very fine looking, especially the girls, who were positively handsome. A great many of the soldiers come to the ship every day. We do not have much rain here now.
I wish you could see the native boats sailing about this harbor. The speed they make in a fair breeze is wonderful. They have what they call one, two, three, four and five-man breezes on their canoes. They are out-breakers or arms running out from the sides of the canoe, and when under way they run out on these arms to prevent the canoe from capsizing in a strong breeze. If the wind is blowing hard four or five men may be seen on these arms, if not a strong wind, only one or two are required to keep the boat right side up. Their boats sail past us while we lie here at anchor at the rate of ten or fifteen knots an hour. I hope we shall stay here for some time so that my sea service will be all in by the time I get to the states, as I will then be transferred to the barracks. I am tired of man-of-war life at sea, for we get more salt meat than I care to eat in this climate, where little else than fruit should be eaten.
Iloilo is much nicer than Manila, for the air here is always cool and fresh, while it is either hot or rainy in Manila; at that place it even gets chilly enough at night during the rainy season that one needs a blanket to sleep under. It is not so here.
How I wish you could once look upon these islands as we see them from the sea, and on shore also. Always fresh and green, fertile and picturesque in every part and place, with the old Spanish fortifications, which have stood since the sixteenth century unmoved by time or storm.
We all have troubles of our own on board a man of war. For the last four or five days I have had the 4 to 6 and 6 to 8 watch, which prevents me from getting a chance to wash clothes. For this reason I am a trifle cranky when I have this watch, and to make it worse, I have a six-pounder (which I shoot) to polish the brass work on, and I cannot say that I fancy the job.
I suppose you heard about the Morgan City. She was a transport bringing troops to Manila from the states, and was sunk off the coast of Japan. All the soldiers were saved. Four hundred bags of mail were on board, and only ninety were saved. Our little gunboat Origineta has been captured by the insurgents. All hands on board are prisoners in their hands. We had a typhoon last week lasting 48 hours, one steady blow.
Oct. 2.—On September 24 the Monterey, Zafiro, Charleston and Concord bombarded Subig Bay and destroyed the six-inch Krupp gun which was mounted there and belonged to the insurgents. Eighteen marines under Capt. Myers of the U. S. S. Baltimore landed under a heavy fire of Mausers from the enemy's lines. They captured six bags of powder belonging to the large gun, and also a two-inch Busset loading brass field piece. They fired nuts, bolts and pieces of iron. All the ships opened fire on the entrenchments and forced the enemy to leave and run into the jungles and old Spanish warehouses. After they got them on the move Gunner Olson and a company of blue-jackets landed about 600 yards below where the six-inch gun was located. Then Gunner Olson advanced towards where it was, while the enemy's bullets flew all around him, and ran up to the gun with fifty pounds of dry gun cotton on his person, and fixed the first charge, which exploded, blowing away six feet of the muzzle. The next charge blew out the breech block, and the third blew the gun to atoms. By this time the Monterey got the range with her big guns and commenced to throw in some very large shells, and then the trees and houses did fly and no mistake. The gun they destroyed was a modern Krupp breech loading rifle cannon, 25 feet in length.
I spoke before of our little Gunboat Origineta which was captured by the insurgents. She was commanded by Cadet Wood, an officer off this ship. The crew was composed of 14 men. She was one of the 13 small gunboats we bought from Spain after the war. It carried one six-pounder, two Norden Felts and some guns besides each man a rifle. She had left Manila and was going up the Pampanga River. After she passed the narrowest place in the river, the black devils filled an old canoe or some sort of a boat with sand and rock, floated it out into the narrowest place and sunk it in order to blockade the channel, thus making it impossible for them to pass out again. When the Origineta was found, the masts had been cut short to the deck, smoke stack cut off, short alley destroyed, shaft taken out, deck houses torn off and at last scuttled and sunk.
HONG KONG, Oct. 31.—On the 19th I returned to the ship from liberty. Hong Kong is a most wonderful city. I was ashore six days and seven nights. The Chinese tried to sell me a girl, 18 years old. She was very handsome, but I did not care to buy at present. They only wanted $300 Mexican or $130 in our money. Another fellow tried to sell me a twelve year old girl, Mexican money, also others seven and eight years old for $30 with wardrobe. The size of their wardrobe makes a difference in the price. All the women here work the same as the men do in the States. It is the custom in both China and Japan. A woman is a slave to her master. She does not call him husband. Rich men have as many wives as they can keep. There is no law here to prevent a man from taking a dozen women for wives. Parents rent their girls for four, five, six or eight years, to make money to help support the rest of the family. Some of the Japanese girls are very attractive and smart, as a usual rule. Any one can buy girls in either China or Japan. So you see if any one cannot get a wife to suit him in the States, he can find one in Japan, and they make better wives than some girls in our own country, as they are willing to work and try to please their masters, so I shall never lose any sleep over any girl in America, for all I have to do is get a home and take my pick out here. Ha! Ha!
Everything is very cheap here in Hong Kong, especially silks and cashmeres. The city is policed by Europeans, Chinese and Sikes (a very large class of men from India.) The place is well fortified, and a great many men-of-war always lie in this port.
Your Loving Brother, MORGAN MCALLISTER, U. S. M. C., U. S. S. Oregon, Hong Kong, China.
CORTLAND POSTOFFICE.
A New Postmarker's Machine Introduced—Will Facilitate the Work of the Office.
Postmaster A. S. Brown, who is continually striving to give the people of Cortland the best and most expeditious mail service, received on Wednesday an invention known as the Dormus Postmarker's machine for cancelling stamps. By this machine the hurry of making up the mails is much facilitated, the work of cancelling the stamps being done very rapidly and accurately.
Under the new time-table on the Lackawanna road which goes into operation on Sunday, several changes are necessary in the time of closing the mails, due notice of which will be given the public.
RURAL CEMETERY.
Dedication of the Cortland Rural Cemetery, August 11, 1854.
The beautiful burial spot known as the Cortland Rural Cemetery, the pride of the village, was dedicated on Friday, August 11, 1854, nearly a half century ago. It will certainly be interesting to all DEMOCRAT readers to be reminded of the order of exercises for the dedication and to read the beautiful ode prepared for the occasion. The program for the day was as follows:
Reading of Scriptures—Rev. L. D. Davis.
Anthem, "The Great Jehovah Fills the Place"—Choir.
Dedicatory Prayer—Rev. H. R. Dunham.
Hymn composed for the occasion, original music by J. R Blodgett—Choir.
Introductory—Rev. Dr. Bowen.
Dedicatory Address—Rev. D. W. Bristol.
Reading of ode.
Singing by full choir.
Benediction—Rev. Henry Bowen.
The ode composed for the occasion was written by Miss Elisabeth L. Hathaway and was as follows:
We call them to their homes—our cherished dead,
Away from the heart of the busy town;
Where the idle word, and the careless tread,
Pass not their rest, we lay them down.
We call them to these shades, with us to share,
All things they loved—the balmy Summer air,
The bending sky, the sunlight showers—
The shadowing clouds, the hazy autumn hours.
Not banish'd to some lone, uncultured spot,
By the living shunn'd, neglected or forgot,
But where the grand old woods—their shadows throw,
And, broad and green, the meadows sweep below;
Where birds may sing, blossoms their fragrance shed,
Here make we beautiful the mansions of our dead,
It is in vain to say they feel it not.
To us, their presence is around the spot,
All we know of the parted for the spirit shore,
Is linked with the earthly forms they wore.
And if we would, we may not cast away,
That which forever binds us to their clay.
We would not banish them, from home and heart,
Of half forgotten memories apart,
But so familiar keep with those we love,
That not as strangers shall we meet above,
But as those who at the gates may smiling stand,
To welcome us to the celestial land,
Not vague, cold, and far as yon firmament,
The spirit world, with this of ours is blent.
When dim'd by sin, to man, its glory set,
It pass'd not away, it is around us yet.
Beheld in its serene and holy light,
Earth's proud and vain distinctions fade from sight,
Its pageantries become an idle show,
Its noblest, best ambition, is but low,
And all we gain, within those mortal years,
Unworth the struggles of our hopes and fears.
But if we look, as angels look on men,
As those who'll slumber here, will look again.
Nor for the outward, walk the world alone,
But in all things, listen for the spirit tone,
Into infinity, boundless, vast, sublime,
We shall unknowing pass the verge of time;
The earthly drop so gently, day by day,
The spirit shall scarcely conscious glide away.
HERE AND THERE.
The stores are well filled with holiday customers.
There was something of a snow storm yesterday.
Turkey dinners and suppers have been numerous in town this week.
Tramps are becoming more numerous in Cortland lately than for several months.
Rev. Dr. O. A. Houghton will preach in the Homer-ave. M. E. church next Sunday morning.
Old age necessitated the removal of a magnificent tree in front of C. W. Stoker's residence this week.
The Memorial Baptist church and society are holding a fair at No. 97 Main-st., opening Wednesday and closing this evening.
C. F. Thompson has relieved his clerks of considerable back-aching labor by placing in his store a small motor for grinding coffee.
We don't know whether you have noticed it or not, but the old year is getting close to the date of its passing into the Usedtobe.
The Y. W. C. T. U. will meet with the president, Mrs. Eva Townsend. 20 1/2 Madison-st., Friday evening, Dec. 15. A full attendance is desired.
The entertainment given Wednesday evening at Normal hall by the Ariel Ladies Sextet was very pleasing to the large audience, the readings by Miss Marguerite Smith being especially fine.
People who have books and magazines which they are willing to donate to the soldiers and sailors at the Philippine Islands are kindly requested to leave them at the home of Mrs. Fred Caswell, 13 Venette-st., and they will be forwarded.
Weather permitting, the public will have an opportunity to enjoy the sight of a lunar eclipse to-morrow evening. The moon will enter the shadow here in Cortland at about 5:47 P. M. and will leave it about [10:58]. The eclipse will be almost total.
In a stroll about the village after the snow storm of last week, it was plainly apparent that shoveling snow has become one of the lost arts in Cortland, more than half the walks not having been touched. Perhaps the suggestion of a friend that Cortland is such a live town that its people cannot find time to shovel snow may be a good one.
Manufacturers of toys are far behind their orders. The demand is unprecedented, the dealers say. Indications are that the Christmas trade will be the greatest ever known. Foreign toys are reported to be losing their market here. Domestic productions are much favored, a higher grade of goods than usual is wanted. Dolls are the only toys of foreign manufacture that retain their popularity. The small boy realizes the war with Spain is over and has returned to ways of peace. Hence the military toys are not so eagerly sought as they were a year ago.
In some sections of the country the question is being discussed whether women should not remove their hats in churches as well as in theaters. The man who in order to see the minister at all is compelled to keep time with an aggregation of nodding plumes each Sunday in the seat directly in front of him will readily answer this question in the affirmative. Really there is no reason why women should wear their hats in public places and men be compelled to remove theirs. It is simply a custom of long standing which probably originated from the fact that a woman's head dress is not so easily taken off and put on as a man's. It is stated that in some places the women have voluntarily adopted the practice out of regard for the comfort and convenience of others.
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| Dr. Mary E. Walker. |
Personal.
Dr. Mary Walker of Oswego was in Cortland last Saturday.
Miss Clara Van Marter of Summer Hill spent Saturday at H. E. Andrews.
Attorney H. L. Bronson was in Ithaca Monday in attendance at supreme court.
Mrs. W. T. Page and daughter of Athens, Pa., have been spending the week at T. P. Bristol's.
S. J. Parmiter leaves to-day for Oswego, where he will visit his son J. Alfred Parmiter. He will return Monday.
Dr. K. C. French of Lisle was in Cortland Wednesday. He expects to locate here soon to practice his profession.
W. C. T. U. Work in Cortland County.
The proceedings of the annual convention of the State Woman's Christian Temperance Union, held in Binghamton, printed in book form including reports from the several special departments of that organization, have been received in Cortland, and from its pages one may learn the progress and work of the union, the results of which are especially gratifying to members in this county.
The vice-president of the state organization is Miss Libbie Robertson of Cortland, and there are two life members, viz.: Mrs. Lydia M. Allen of Homer, and Mrs. N. A. Briggs of Preble. The delegate to the next national convention from the district composed of Cortland and Broome is Mrs. M. H. Yale of this village.
The state W. C. T. U. was organized twenty-five years ago, and in 1898 had a paid up membership of 21,158. The Cortland county union was organized September, 1885, and the present number of paying members is 249, with 35 honorary members. The amount of money raised last year was $369.94, and over 3,500 pages of literature were circulated in this county alone.
The department of systematic giving was reported by Mrs. Kate Greenman, who announced that 65 persons in the county practice tithing.
For the department of fair work, Miss Libbie Robertson reported that no superintendent had been appointed, but that considerable effective work was done at the late county fair, as the union cleared $155.33 from the sale of refreshments, ice cream, etc.
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