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| Letter of January 22 |
Dear Mother,
Finished work yesterday, then threw all my things together, loaded it and me onto a 2 1/2 ton vehicle, and moved to another area. Living in tents is quite a luxury for us -- much different from those mud-lined foxholes with fresh running rain.
Don't think I've ever mentioned much about the bamboo tree; -- it has many uses. There is a great abundance of it -- and it grows only in thickets which are almost impossible to penetrate. (The Japanese, unfortunately, have a favorite habit of emplacing themselves in these terrible thickets. Perhaps you remember reading about Shoe-String Hill -- where the Japs gave us such hell; -- only we called it Bamboo Ridge. [see Chapter 49]
The bamboo pole is made up of water-tight compartments -- each between one and two feet in length. By breaking open all but the last compartment, the natives -- with a pole ten feet long, or so -- have a means of carrying their water. The poles are very light and strong -- and it makes an excellent mast for the sailboats. Then it's used for making beds, floors, cups, the frame for a "house" -- and it can be split open and used like boards. Almost forgot -- its most popular use in the states -- the fishing pole.
Much love,
Franklin
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