Manila P.I.                                                                                                                 Dec., 17th 1898
                                                                                                         July 26th 1898

Dear Aunt Dilla

I will wright you a few lines to let you know that I am well and so are all of the Okobojo and Onida boys. There is not much to wright about as there is nothing new happens here at all it is the same old thing all the time. It is about the coldest time of the year here now. It was 71 degrees above zero the other morning and when I woke up I was chilled all through with a wool blanket over me. And it was only about three weeks ago that it was 122 in the shade and 150 and 160 in the sun. The average tempiture here is 105 degrees above zero. The latter part of Jan. Feb. and the first of March is the hotest weather here, it gets as hot as 138 in the shade here then. We have been having a little Insirgence scare here for the last week or two but it is about over now. The officers were about all that was scared, they had some of us guarding their quarters for two or three nights. Please exuse this poor wrighting and mistakes miss spelled words as I seem to be nervice to night and there is a good deal of noise and tairing around. We stand a good show of going back to the States by the Suez Canal, but I suppose some thing will turn up that we wont. I suppose if we did we would go to Washington and be reviewed and then be mustered out there. There is a Methodist missionary minister here now by the name of Owen. I am going to send you a silk handkerchief for a New Years present but I suppose it will get there kind of late for New Years but as I want to send you a New Years greeting so I guess it will be better late than never. I would like to wright you a long letter but cant think of any thing to wright about, so I will close for this time hoping you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from your Nephew,
                                                                                 Jesse W. Owen.