Rain continuous. Spent the entire morning on Root’s book. If this keeps up I shall soon master surveying. Not that it is so extremely difficult. The men are eating large quantities of fruit, chiefly bananas which seem to be the only kind ripe. Also many are boiling down the sugar which is stored here in great quantities and making molasses from it, of which they eat enormous quantities, some drinking it. The result of all this is that some eight or ten of them have been sent to the hospital with diarrhea. It is noticeable that they all blame the climate. I do not notice any difference in the ration. It is the same, I am sure, that is furnished the troops in the States. The 51st Iowa came in from Collulit [Calulut] this morning. They are about the last of the State Volunteers out here and expect to go home in a few days. We furnish a headquarters guard this morning. I mention these things to show the variety of duty we are capable of. The detail I was on is still at Apalit.
