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diff --git a/41451-0.txt b/41451-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a790c82 --- /dev/null +++ b/41451-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9006 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41451 *** + + THE SPELL OF THE + HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND + THE PHILIPPINES + + + + + THE SPELL SERIES + + _Each volume with one or more colored plates + and many illustrations from original drawings + or special photographs. Octavo, decorative + cover, gilt top, boxed._ + + _Per volume, net $2.50; carriage paid $2.70_ + + + BY ISABEL ANDERSON + THE SPELL OF BELGIUM + THE SPELL OF JAPAN + THE SPELL OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND THE PHILIPPINES + + BY CAROLINE ATWATER MASON + THE SPELL OF ITALY + THE SPELL OF SOUTHERN SHORES + THE SPELL OF FRANCE + + BY ARCHIE BELL + THE SPELL OF CHINA + THE SPELL OF EGYPT + THE SPELL OF THE HOLY LAND + + BY KEITH CLARK + THE SPELL OF SPAIN + THE SPELL OF SCOTLAND + + BY W. D. MCCRACKAN + THE SPELL OF TYROL + THE SPELL OF THE ITALIAN LAKES + + BY EDWARD NEVILLE VOSE + THE SPELL OF FLANDERS + + BY BURTON E. STEVENSON + THE SPELL OF HOLLAND + + BY JULIA DE W. ADDISON + THE SPELL OF ENGLAND + + BY NATHAN HASKELL DOLE + THE SPELL OF SWITZERLAND + + + THE PAGE COMPANY + 53 Beacon Street + Boston, Mass. + + + + + [Illustration: _Mount Mayon_ (_See page 308_)] + + + + + The SPELL of + THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS + AND THE PHILIPPINES + + _Being an Account of the Historical and Political Conditions + of Our Pacific Possessions, together with Descriptions of the + natural Charm and Beauty of the Countries and the strange and + interesting Customs of their Peoples._ + + + _BY_ + _Isabel Anderson_ + + _Author of "The Spell of Japan," "The Spell of Belgium," etc._ + + + ILLUSTRATED + + + BOSTON + THE PAGE COMPANY + PUBLISHERS + + + + + _Copyright, 1916, by_ + THE PAGE COMPANY + + _All rights reserved_ + + + Published in November, 1916 + Second Impression, June, 1917 + + + THE COLONIAL PRESS + C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A. + + + + + I DEDICATE THIS BOOK WITH LOVE + TO THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER + + WILLIAM F. WELD + + WHOSE SHIPS SAILED UPON THESE + TROPICAL SEAS + + + + +FOREWORD + + +It is my hope that this book about our islands in the Pacific ocean may +be of some interest, if for no other reason than that there is at +present so much discussion as to whether or not we should keep the +Philippines. + +Soon after the close of the Civil War my father, who was a naval +officer, was sent on a cruise on the Pacific and stopped for a time both +at Honolulu and Manila. During this cruise he took part in the +occupation and survey of Midway Island, as it is now called--_our first +possession in Pacific waters_. Many years later, when my husband and I +started on our first trip to the East, I asked my father if he would +give us letters of introduction to his many friends there. He replied, +"It is a long time since I visited the islands in the Pacific; if my +friends have forgotten me letters would do no good, and if they remember +me letters are not necessary." Needless to say, they did remember him +and extended to us the most cordial hospitality. + +The charm of Hawaii will linger forever in our memory--those happy +flower islands where the air is sweet with perfume and gay with the +musical strains of the ukulele. We lived there for a time before the +Islands were annexed to the United States and, on another visit, we had +the privilege of accompanying the Secretary of War, Hon. J. M. +Dickinson, so that we had exceptional opportunities of seeing both +Hawaii and the Philippines, and of making the acquaintance of leaders +among the Americans and the natives. + +We found the Philippines especially fascinating on account of the great +variety they provide. The old world plazas, the flowering Spanish +courtyards, and the pretty women in their distinctive costume of piña +are all enchanting. Nowhere else in the Far East are the +_mestizos_--those of mixed blood--socially above the natives. The +Filipinos are unique in that they are the only Asiatics who are +Christians. Among the hills, near civilization, live the savages who +indulge in the exciting game of head-hunting. The Moros, the Mohammedans +of the southern islands, stand quite by themselves. They are very +picturesque and absolutely unlike their neighbours. + +Secretary Dickinson and Governor Forbes we can never thank enough for +the thousand and one strange sights we saw, as enchanting as the tales +which Scheherezade told during those far-off Arabian Nights. I only wish +I could describe them in her delightful style! Of all the spells what is +more puissant than the spell of the tropics--the singing of dripping +water, the rustle of the palm in the breeze. In this land you forget all +trouble and dream of love and happiness, while the Southern Cross gleams +brightly in the sky. + +There it is indeed true that + + "The flower of love has leisure for growing, + Music is heard in the evening breeze, + The mountain stream laughs loud in its flowing, + And poesy wakes by the Eastern Seas." + +I wish especially to say how grateful I am to those who have helped me +in one way or another, with this book: Admiral George Dewey, General +Thomas Anderson, Major J. R. M. Taylor, Major William Mitchell, Mr. +William R. Castle, Jr., and Mr. C. P. Hatheway. Mr. R. K. Bonine was +also very kind in allowing me to reprint some of his photographs of +Hawaii. My thanks are also due to Miss Helen Kimball, Miss C. Gilman, +Miss K. Crosby, and my husband, and to all the others who have been so +good as to encourage me in writing the "Spell of the Hawaiian Islands +and the Philippines." + + + + +CONTENTS + + + FOREWORD vii + + THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS + + CHAPTER PAGE + I THE BRIGHT LAND 3 + II MYTHS AND MELES 29 + III THE FIVE KAMEHAMEHAS 48 + IV SERVANT AND SOIL 81 + V IN AND OUT 103 + + THE PHILIPPINES + + I MANILA AS WE FOUND IT 123 + II THE PHILIPPINES OF THE PAST 148 + III INSURRECTION 180 + IV FOLLOWING THE FLAG 206 + V HEALING A NATION 224 + VI DOG-EATERS AND OTHERS 245 + VII AMONG THE HEAD-HUNTERS 270 + VIII INSPECTING WITH THE SECRETARY OF WAR 296 + IX THE MOROS 325 + X JOURNEY'S END 353 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 363 + + INDEX 365 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + MOUNT MAYON (_in full colour_) (_See page 308_) _Frontispiece_ + MAP OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 3 + ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL 6 + HON. SANFORD B. DOLE 9 + SURF-BOATING (_in full colour_) 17 + MAKING POI (_in full colour_) 27 + INTERIOR OF HAWAIIAN GRASS HOUSE 33 + ANCIENT TEMPLE INCLOSURE 37 + A HULA DANCER (_in full colour_) 40 + QUEEN EMMA 65 + KING KALAKAUA AND STAFF 73 + "THE TINY PLANTATION RAILWAY AMONG THE WAVING GREEN STALKS" 82 + PINEAPPLE PLANTATION, ISLAND OF OAHU 88 + LEPER COLONY, ISLAND OF MOLOKAI 105 + SILVERSWORD IN BLOOM, IN THE CRATER OF HALEAKALA 108 + FIRE HOLE, KILAUEA 110 + ON THE SHORES OF KAUAI, THE "GARDEN ISLAND" 115 + MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES 121 + GOVERNOR GENERAL CAMERON FORBES 125 + THE PASIG RIVER (_in full colour_) 128 + MALACAÑAN PALACE 136 + MRS. ANDERSON IN FILIPINA COSTUME 139 + "UNDER THE BELLS" 155 + JOSE RIZAL 170 + FORT SANTIAGO 172 + A GROUP OF FILIPINA LADIES 182 + AGUINALDO'S PALACE AT MALOLOS 191 + SAN JUAN BRIDGE 194 + GENERAL LAWTON 196 + BENGUET ROAD 212 + FIRST PHILIPPINE ASSEMBLY 215 + OSMEÑA, THE SPEAKER OF THE FIRST ASSEMBLY 217 + A CARABAO (_in full colour_) 225 + PENAL COLONY ON THE ISLAND OF PALAWAN 239 + THE PARTY AT BAGUIO 246 + IGOROT SCHOOL GIRL WEAVING 251 + IGOROT OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE 253 + ILONGOT IN RAIN-COAT AND HAT OF DEERSKIN 258 + ILONGOTS RETURNING FROM THE CHASE 260 + WOMAN OF THE BATAN ISLANDS WITH GRASS HOOD 264 + CONSTABULARY SOLDIERS 283 + RICE TERRACES 287 + IFUGAO COUPLE 289 + IFUGAO HEAD DANCE 293 + WEAPONS OF THE WILD TRIBES 295 + LANDING AT TOBACO 309 + A MORO _DATO_ AND HIS WIFE, WITH A RETINUE OF ATTENDANTS 325 + A MORO GRAVE 329 + A MORO _DATO'S_ HOUSE 336 + BAGOBO MAN WITH POINTED TEETH 339 + BAGOBOS WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 345 + BAGOBO WITH NOSE FLUTE 348 + MORO BOATS 350 + ONE DAY'S CATCH OF FISH 356 + VIEW IN ILOILO, ILOILO, SHOWING HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS 358 + THE OLD AUGUSTINIAN CHURCH, MANILA 361 + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE SPELL OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND THE PHILIPPINES + + + + +THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE BRIGHT LAND + + +On our first trip to Hawaii we sailed from San Francisco aboard the +_Gaelic_ with good, jolly Captain Finch. He was a regular old tar, and +we liked him. We little thought that in 1914 he would have the +misfortune to be in command of the _Arabic_ when it was torpedoed in the +Atlantic. He showed great gallantry, standing on the bridge and going +down with his ship, but I take pleasure in adding that he was saved. + +We had an ideal ocean voyage: calm, blue seas, with a favouring trade +wind, a glorious moon, and strange sights of huge turtles, tropic birds, +and lunar rainbows. We had, too, an unusual company on board--Captain +Gridley, of Manila Bay fame, then on his way to take command of the +_Olympia_; Judge Widemann, a German who had lived for many years in +Honolulu, and had married a Hawaiian princess; Mr. Irwin, a +distinguished American with a Japanese wife--all old friends of my +father, who, as a naval officer, made several cruises in the +Pacific--Dr. Furness of Philadelphia, a classmate of my husband's at +Harvard, who was going out to study the head-hunters of Borneo; and Mr. +Castle, grandson of one of the early missionaries to Hawaii. He has +since written a charming book on the Islands. + +After six days on the smooth Pacific, we caught sight of Oahu, the fairy +island on which Honolulu is situated. Diamond Head stretches far out +into the blue, like a huge lizard guarding its treasure--a land of +fruits and flowers, of sugar-cane and palm. The first view across the +bay of the town with its wreath of foliage down by the shore, just as +the golden sun was setting over the mountain range, was a picture to be +remembered. And in the distance, above Honolulu, the extinct crater +called Punchbowl could be seen, out of which the gods of old no doubt +drank and made merry. + +An ancient Hawaiian myth of the creation tells how Wakea, "the +beginning," married Papa, "the earth," and they lived in darkness until +Papa produced a gourd calabash. Wakea threw its cover into the air, and +it became heaven. The pulp and seeds formed the sky, the sun, moon and +stars. The juice was the rain, and out of the bowl the land and sea were +created. This country they lived in and called it Hawaii, "the Bright +Land." There are many legends told of Papa by the islanders of the +Pacific. She traveled far, and had many husbands and children, among +whom were "the father of winds and storms," and "the father of forests." + +As we approached the dock, we forgot to watch the frolicking porpoises +and the silver flying fish, at sight of the daring natives on their +boards riding the surf that broke over the coral reef. The only familiar +face we saw on the wharf as we landed was Mr. George Carter, a friend of +my husband's, who has since been Governor of the Islands. + +Oahu is a beautiful island, and the town of Honolulu at once casts its +spell upon you, with the luxuriance of its tropical gardens. There is +the spreading Poinciana regia, a tree gorgeous with flowers of flame +colour, and the "pride of India," with delicate mauve blossoms; there +are trees with streaming yellow clusters, called "golden showers," and +superb date and cocoanut and royal palms, and various kinds of acacia. +Bougainvilleas, passion-flowers, alamanders and bignonias drape verandas +and cover walls. There are hedges of hibiscus and night-blooming cereus, +and masses of flowering shrubs. Everywhere there is perfume, colour and +profusion, the greatest wealth of vegetation, all kept in the most +perfect freshness by constant little passing showers--"marvelous rain, +that powders one without wetting him!" Honolulu is well named, the word +meaning "abundance of peace," for we found the gardens of the town +filled with cooing doves. It is said the place was called after a chief +by that name in the time of Kakuhihewa, the only great king of Oahu who +is mentioned before Kamehameha I. + +At the time of this visit, in 1897, the total isolation of the Islands +was impressive, absolutely cut off, as they were, except for steamers. +Sometimes, moreover, Hawaii was three weeks without an arrival, so that +the coming of a steamer was a real event. To cable home, one had to send +the message by a ship to Japan and so on around the world. + +After a night at the old Royal Hawaiian Hotel, big and rambling, in the +center of a pretty garden, we started housekeeping for ourselves in a +little bungalow on the hotel grounds, with a Chinaman for maid of all +work. Here we lived as if in a dream, reveling in the beauty of land and +sea, of trees and flowers, enjoying the hospitality for which the +Islands are famous, and exploring as far as we could some of the +enchanting spots of this heaven on earth. + +[Illustration: ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL.] + +We were pleased with our little house, with its wide veranda, or +_lanai_, as it is called there, which we made comfortable and pretty +with long wicker chairs and Chinese lanterns. Mangoes falling with a +thump to the ground outside, and lizards and all sorts of harmless +creatures crawling or flying about the house, helped to carry out the +tropical effect. + +In the four visits that we have made on different occasions we have +found the climate perfect; the temperature averages about 73 degrees. +The trade winds blowing from the northeast across the Pacific are +refreshing as well as the tiny showers, which follow you up and down the +streets. There is not a poisonous vine or a snake, or any other creature +more harmful than the bee; but I must confess that the first night at +the old hotel, the apparently black washstand turned white on my +approach as the water bugs scuttled away. Nothing really troubled us but +the mosquitoes, which, by the way, did not exist there in the early +days, so must have been taken in on ships. + +The Islands have been well called "the Paradise of the Pacific" and "the +playground of the world." The five largest in the group, and the only +important ones, are Hawaii, about the size of Connecticut, Maui, Oahu, +Kauai and Molokai. The small ones are not worth mentioning, as they have +only cattle and sheep and a few herdsmen upon them. They are formed of +lava--the product of numberless volcanic eruptions--and the action of +the sea and the rain, combined with the warm climate and the moisture +brought by the trade winds, has resulted in the most varied and +fascinating scenery. Mark Twain, who spent many months there, said of +them, "They are the loveliest group of islands that ever anchored in an +ocean," and indeed we were of his opinion. + +At that time the Islands formed an independent republic, under Sanford +B. Dole as President, the son of Rev. Daniel Dole, one of the early +missionaries. He was educated at Punahou, meaning new spring, now called +Oahu College, and at Williams College in the States. He came to Boston +to study law, and was admitted to the bar. But Hawaii called him, as if +with a forecast of the need she would have of his services in later +days, and he went back to Oahu, where he took high rank among the +lawyers in the land of his birth, and became judge of the Supreme Court. +After the direct line of Kamehameha sovereigns became extinct, and the +easy-going rule of their successors culminated in the high-handed +attempt of Queen Liliuokalani to restore the ancient rites and also to +turn the island into a Monte Carlo, Judge Dole was the one man who +understood both parties and had the confidence of both, and he was the +unanimous choice of the best element of the population for president. + +[Illustration: HON. SANFORD B. DOLE.] + +Of course we visited the buildings and localities in Honolulu that were +of interest because of their connection with the existing government or +their history in the past. The Executive Building--the old palace, built +by King Kalakaua and finished in the finest native woods--and the Court +House, which was the Government Building in the days of the kings; the +big Kawaiahao Church, built of coral blocks in 1842, and the Queen's +Hospital, all are in the city, but they have often been described, so I +pass them by with only this mention. The first frame house ever erected +in the Islands deserves a word, as it was sent out from Boston for the +missionaries. It had two stories, and in the early days its tiny rooms +were made to shelter four mission families and twenty-two native +children, who were their pupils. + +Oahu College, too, interested us. It was built on the land given by +Chief Boki to Hiram Bingham, one of the earliest missionaries, who +donated it to his coworkers as a site for a school for missionary +children. The buildings stand in a beautiful park of ninety acres, in +which are superb royal palms and the finest algaroba trees in Honolulu. +Long ago, in the days of the rush for gold to California, boys were sent +there for an education from the Pacific Coast. + +The great aquarium at Waikiki, the bathing suburb of Honolulu, I found +particularly fascinating. There does not exist in the world an aquarium +with fishes more peculiar in form or colouring than those at Waikiki, +unless the new one in the Philippines now surpasses it. About five +hundred varieties of fish are to be found in the vicinity of the +Islands. The fish are of many curious shapes and all the colours of the +rainbow. Some have long, swordlike noses, and others have fins on their +backs that look like feathers. One called the "bridal veil" has a lovely +filmy appendage trailing through the water. The unusual shapes of the +bodies, the extraordinary eyes and the fine colouring give many of them +a lively and comical appearance. Even the octopus, the many-armed sea +creature, seemed wide awake and gazed at the onlookers through his glass +window. + +An afternoon was spent in the Bishop Museum, which is very fine and well +equipped, its collection covering all the Pacific islands. I was chiefly +interested in the Hawaiian curios,--the finely woven mats of grass work +and the implements of the old days. Here, too, was the famous royal +cloak of orange, made of feathers from the _mamo_ bird.[1] It was a work +of prodigious labour, covering a hundred years. This robe is one of the +most gorgeous things I have ever seen and is valued at a million +dollars. There were others of lemon yellow and of reds, besides the +plumed insignia of office, called _kahili_, which were carried before +the king. Our guide through the museum was the curator, Professor +Brigham, who had made it the greatest institution of its kind in the +world. + +This museum is a memorial, created by her husband, to Bernice Pauahi +Bishop, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I and the last descendant of +his line. Bernice Pauahi was the daughter of the high chief Paki and +the high chieftainess Konia. She was born in 1831, and was adopted in +native fashion by Kinau, sister of Kamehameha III, who at that time had +no daughters of her own. Her foster sister, Queen Liliuokalani, said of +her, "She was one of the most beautiful girls I ever saw." + +At nineteen she married an American, Hon. Charles R. Bishop, who was +collector of customs in Honolulu at that time. She led a busy life, and +used her ability and her wealth to help others. She understood not only +her own race but also foreigners, and she used her influence in bringing +about a good understanding between them. + +In 1883, the year before her death, she bequeathed her fortune to found +the Kamehameha School for Hawaiian boys and girls. This school has now a +fine group of stone buildings not far from Honolulu. + +The Lunalilo Home was founded by the king of that name for aged +Hawaiians. When we visited it, we were particularly interested in one +old native who was familiar with the use of the old-time musical +instruments. This man, named Keanonako, was still alive two years ago. +He was taught by his grandfather, who was retained by one of the old +chiefs. He played on three primitive instruments--a conch shell, a +jew's-harp and a nose flute. The last is made of bamboo, and is open at +one end with three perforations; the thumb of the left hand is placed +against the left nostril, closing it. The flute is held like a clarinet, +and the fingers are used to operate it. Keanonako played the different +notes of the birds of the forest, and really gave us a lovely imitation. +The musical instruments in use to-day are the guitar, the mandolin, and +the _ukulele_. The native Hawaiians are very musical and sing and play +well, but the music is now greatly mixed with American and European +airs. + +It was always entertaining to drive in the park, where we listened to +the band and watched the women on horseback. In those days the native +women rode astride wonderfully well and looked very dignified and +stately, but one does not see this superb horsemanship and the old +costumes any more. They did indeed make a fine appearance, with the +_paus_, long flowing scarfs of gay colours, which some of them wore +floating over their knees and almost reaching the ground, while their +horses curvetted and pranced. + +One of the amusements was to go down to the dock to see a steamer off +and watch the pretty custom of decorating those who went away with +_leis_--wreaths of flowers--which were placed around the neck till the +travelers looked like moving bouquets and the whole ship at last became +a garden. When large steamers sailed the whole town went to the wharf, +and the famous Royal Hawaiian Band--which Captain Berger, a German, led +for forty years--played native airs for an hour before the time of +sailing. It was an animated and pretty sight at the dock, for the +natives are so fond of flowers that they, too, wear leis continually as +bands around their hats, and they bring and send them as presents and in +compliment. Steamers arriving at the port were welcomed in the same +charming fashion. + +Judge Widemann kindly asked us to dine and view his wonderful hedge of +night-blooming cereus. The good old Judge who had married the Princess +had three daughters; two of the girls were married to two brothers, who +were Americans. All the daughters were attractive, and the youngest, who +was the wife of a German, was remarkably pretty. It was strange at first +to see brown-skinned people in low-necked white satin dinner gowns, and +to find them so cultured and charming. + +We dined with Mr. and Mrs. Castle, also with old Mrs. Macfarlane at +Waikiki. We enjoyed our evening there immensely. Sam Parker, "the prince +of the natives," and Paul Neumann, and Mrs. Wilder, too, all great +characters in those days, were very kind to us. Many of them have passed +away, but I shall always remember them as we knew them in those happy +honeymoon months. + +All the mystic spell of those tropical evenings at Waikiki lives in +these lines by Rupert Brooke: + + "Warm perfumes like a breath from vine and tree + Drift down the darkness. Plangent, hidden from eyes, + Somewhere an eukaleli thrills and cries + And stabs with pain the night's brown savagery. + And dark scents whisper; and dim waves creep to me, + Gleam like a woman's hair, stretch out, and rise; + And new stars burn into the ancient skies, + Over the murmurous soft Hawaiian sea." + +I took great pleasure in going to Governor Cleghorn's place. He is a +Scotchman who married a sister of the last king, and was at one time +governor of this island. Many years ago, my father brought home a +photograph of their beautiful daughter, then a girl of fourteen, who +died not long after. Mr. Cleghorn's grounds were superb--old avenues of +palms and flowering shrubs, and shady walks with Japanese bridges, and +pools of water filled with lilies. A fine view of the valley opened out +near the house. There were really two connected houses, which were large +and built of wood, with verandas. One huge room was filled with +portraits of the Hawaiian royal family and some prints of Queen Victoria +and Prince Albert. There were knickknacks everywhere, and teak-wood +tables and chairs, _poi_ bowls made by hand, and primitive stone tools. +We were served with lemonade by two Japanese servants in the pretty +costume of their land, while tea was served by a picturesque Chinese +woman at a table on the veranda. + +Besides these informal entertainments, there were various official +functions. One was a delightful musicale at President Dole's house, in +the midst of his lovely tropical garden; also a dinner at the Consul +General's, besides several parties on the naval vessels at the station. +Captain Book gave us a dinner and dance on his ship, the _Marian_. We +had breakfast one day on the flagship _Philadelphia_ with Admiral and +Mrs. Beardsley--the Admiral was in command of the station. Captain +Cotton of the _Philadelphia_ also gave us a boating party by moonlight, +followed by a little dance aboard ship. + +[Illustration: _Surf-Boating_] + +After lunching with the American Minister, Mr. Sewall, one day, we sat +on his lanai at Waikiki and watched the surf-boating, which was +most exciting, even from a distance, as the canoes came in at racehorse +speed on the crest of the breakers. That day L. and I put our bathing +suits on, as we did indeed several times, got into an outrigger canoe +with two native boys to handle it, and started for the reef. They +skilfully paddled the boat out between the broken waves, waiting for the +chance to move on without meeting a foaming crester, and then hurrying +to catch a smooth place. At last we got out far enough and turned, +watching over our shoulders for a big fellow to come rolling in. Then +the boys paddled wildly and allowed the crest, as it broke, to catch and +lift the boat and rush it along on top of the roaring foam, right up to +the beach. On one of our trips our oarsmen were a little careless and we +were upset. But instead of swimming in shore we swam out to sea and +pushed the boat until we were well beyond the breakers, where we could +right it again and get in--which, for those not used to it, is not a +particularly easy thing to accomplish. The people on the shore became +frightened about us and sent out another boat to pick us up, for we were +quite far out and there were many sharks around. + +By the way, one hears it questioned even to-day whether sharks really +do eat men, notwithstanding two men were bitten lately while bathing as +far north as on the New Jersey coast. I will simply say I have seen a +black diving boy at Aden with only one leg, as the other was bitten off +by a shark, and have myself even worn black stockings when bathing in +tropical seas because it is said sharks prefer white legs to black. + +An old friend of mine, an admiral in the navy, tells this extraordinary +story--that a sailor was lost overboard from his ship, and that inside a +shark caught the very same day was found the sailor's head. Here is +another story even more remarkable than that, taken from Musick's book +on Hawaii: + +"Why, sharks are the most tractable creatures in the world when you know +how to handle them. It takes a great deal of experience and skill to +handle a good-sized shark, one of the man-eating species, but the Kanaka +boys know exactly how to master them. I used to have a fish pond over on +the other side of Oahu, and at high tide sometimes as many as half a +dozen full-grown sharks would come in the pond at a time, and when it +was low tide it left them in the pond, which would be so shallow the +sharks could not turn over. The native boys used to go to that pond, +jump astride the sharks and ride them through the water. It was great +amusement to see them riding races around the pond on the backs of the +sharks. + +"Now, if you don't believe this story, if you will charter the ship I +will take the whole party to the very pond in which the sharks are +ridden for horses. If I can't show you the pond, I will pay the expense +of the ship." + +A long drive up into the mountains back of the town one morning, took us +to Mt. Tantalus, two thousand or more feet high, from which there are +splendid views of the plain below and the sea beyond and mountain ranges +on each side. To-day there are many pretty summer villas built on its +slopes. While we were looking down on the town and harbour far below us, +we saw little puffs of white smoke, and long after could just hear the +booming of the guns of the warships, American, English, and Japanese, +saluting in honour of the President of this little island republic, who +was visiting one of the vessels. Then we climbed higher yet, through +woods of _koa_ trees, bordered by thickets of the lantana, with its +many-coloured flowers, up till we could look down into the dead crater +of Punchbowl and over Diamond Head, and far off across the sparkling +ocean, while the steeply ravined and ribbed mountains seemed to fall +away suddenly beneath our feet. + +Punchbowl, where in the early days the natives offered human sacrifices, +"is for the most part as red as clay, though a tinge of green in its +rain-moistened chinks suggests those bronzes of uncertain antiquity." On +this mountain top a myth tells us how a human being was first made--a +man to rule over this island. The gods molded him from the clay of the +crater, and as they were successful and he came to life, they made from +his shadow a woman to keep him company. Indeed, many of the natives +still believe in gods and fairies, in shark men, owls, and ghosts, and +they will tell you stories of the goddess of the crater even to-day. + +When we last visited this island thirteen years later with our Secretary +of War, Mr. Dickinson, we saw many changes. We were taken to the +Alexander Young Hotel in the center of the town, and to the great hotel +at Waikiki. The old hotel, where we stayed years before, had changed +hands and was sadly run down. How pretty and green everything was, and +how marvelous were the flowers! Many new and rare species had been +planted. + +The changes have been gradual, but to-day Honolulu is a modern, +up-to-date American town, with business blocks of brick. The Makapuu +Point Light is one of the largest in the world, and Diamond Head crater +has been made into one of the strongest fortifications of modern times. +Great men-of-war are to be seen off Honolulu, and Pearl Harbour has been +dredged. The army quarters on this island are quite fine. There are good +golf links, and on the polo field you see excellent players; the field +is also used for aviation. The finely equipped Children's Hospital, the +Normal School, and the McKinley High School were interesting +institutions that had sprung up since our first visit. + +To-day, out of a total population in all the Islands of 209,830, +Honolulu has over 50,000. Many new houses and beautiful gardens are to +be seen. The island now has, of course, cable and wireless communication +with the mainland, electric cars and lights, telephones, the telegraph +and numberless motors--in fact, every luxury is to be found. There are a +number of clubs, of which the University is especially popular, and the +Pacific, or British, Club is the oldest. The graduates of women's +colleges have formed a club of their own. Schools and charitable +institutions and missionary societies are numerous, and the Y. M. C. A. +building is very prominent. + +The city now has many churches, which are well attended. The Episcopal +cathedral, of stone brought from England, is especially fine. The +Catholic cathedral and convent have long been established. It was a +Catholic priest who first brought the algaroba tree from Central America +sixty years ago and planted it in the city of Honolulu. The descendants +of that one tree have reclaimed great sandy wastes and clothed them with +fodder for cattle. + +Our motor trip to Pearl Harbour took us past Mr. S. M. Damon's charming +new place with its delightful Japanese garden. We motored to the Pali, a +precipice that drops one thousand feet to the plains which stretch to +the sea, where in the old days we had gone so often. Now, a stone tablet +on its summit bears the following inscription: + +"Erected by the Daughters of Hawaii in 1907 to commemorate the battle of +Nuuanu, fought in this valley in 1795, when the invading Kamehameha I +drove the forces of Kalanikupule, king of Oahu, to the Pali and hurled +them over the precipice, thus establishing the Kamehameha dynasty." + +In these days of aeroplanes, I gather this myth of the Bird-man of the +Pali from "Legends of old Honolulu," by Westervelt: + +Namaka was a noted man of Kauai, but he left that island to find some +one whom he would like to call his lord. He excelled in spear-throwing, +boxing, leaping and flying. He went first to Oahu, and in Nuuanu Valley +he met Pakuanui, a very skilful boxer, and they prepared for a contest +at the Pali. Pakuanui could not handle Namaka, who was a "whirlwind +around a man," so he became angry and planned to kill him. Namaka was as +"slimy as a fish." "The hill of the forehead he struck. The hill of the +nose he caught." Like a rainbow bending over the _hau_-trees he was, as +he circled around Pakuanui. At a narrow place Pakuanui gave him a kick +that knocked him over the precipice, expecting him to be dashed to +pieces. "But Namaka flew away from the edge.... The people who were +watching said, ... He flew off from the Pali like an Io bird, leaping +into the air ... spreading out his arms like wings!" + +This panorama is one of the wonders of the world; land and sea, coral +reef and mountains, green meadow and shining sand, spread out before +one's eyes at the Pali. As the road makes a sharp turn and begins to +descend toward the valley, we encounter the full force of the trade +winds, for through this pass a gale is always blowing. To quote from +Charles W. Stoddard, "If you open your mouth too wide, you can't shut it +again without getting under the lee of something--the wind blows so +hard." + +From the Pali we went on to Pearl Harbour, where the United States +Government is constructing a great naval station. This harbour, the +finest in the Islands, is a deep lagoon, entered from the ocean by a +narrow channel three miles in length. At the inner end it expands and +divides into two "lochs," which are from thirty to sixty feet deep and +with a shore line of some thirty miles. Algaroba forests cover the +shores, and the fertile countryside, in which are rice, sugar and banana +plantations, promises abundant supplies for the troops stationed here. + +Pearl Harbour has really been in our possession ever since the +Reciprocity Treaty with Hawaii was signed in Harrison's +administration.[2] As it covers ten square miles, the whole navy of this +country could find anchorage there, and be in perfect safety. Not only +has the bar that obstructed the entrance to the channel been removed, +the long, narrow channel straightened, and a huge drydock constructed in +which our largest ships of war could be repaired, but barracks, repair +shops, a power house, hospitals, a powder magazine, and all the other +buildings needed to make a complete station have been erected at a cost +of more than ten millions of dollars. Before the drydock was finished it +was partially destroyed by an upheaval. The natives' explanation was +that the dock was built over the home of the Shark-god, and that he +resented this invasion of his domain. + +The island of Oahu will soon be a second Gibraltar, we hope. The channel +from the sea is guarded by Fort Kamehameha. Fort Ruger is at the foot of +Diamond Head, Fort DeRussy near Waikiki Beach; at Moanalua is Fort +Shafter, and at the entrance of Honolulu Harbour, Fort Armstrong. There +are more than eleven thousand troops stationed there to-day, consisting +of field artillery, cavalry, infantry, engineers, signal corps, +telephone and telegraph corps, and it is said there will soon be fifteen +thousand or more.[3] + +A Hawaiian feast, such as they had in the old days, was given in honour +of the Secretary of War, so we were taken to the house of a member of +the royal family. I was surprised to see how fine these residences were. +This man was only part native, and really one would not have suspected +from his appearance that he had any Hawaiian blood at all. His wife was +a fat native in a _holoku_--a mother hubbard--who directed the feast, +but did not receive. + +The bedroom in which we took off our wraps opened out of the big ball +room. There was a bright-coloured quilt on the bed, and on the walls +were many photographs and cheap prints. Here were also royal feather +plumes in vases and more polished poi bowls. + +The inclosure where we feasted--or had the _luau_ or "bake"--which led +out of the ball room, was half open with a cover of canvas and banana +leaves. It contained a long table covered with flowers and fruit, bowls +and small dishes. There were no forks nor spoons, nor anything but one's +fingers to eat with. At the end of the meal a wooden dish was passed for +us to wash our fingers. Some of the dishes contained raw fish with a +sauce. A cocoanut shell held rock salt, the kind that is given to +cattle, and a small bowl was filled with a mixture of sweet potato and +cocoanut. That was the best dish of all. The roasted sweet potato was +good, too, and pork, sewed up in _ti_ leaves and roasted with hot +stones, was another delicacy. The drink was made of fruits and was very +sweet. And, of course, we had poi. + +[Illustration: _Making Poi_] + +Poi is described as "one-finger" or "two-finger" poi--thick or thin. +Native Hawaiians like it a few days old, when it is sour. Fortunately, +as this was only one day old, I was able to put one finger-full of the +pasty stuff in my mouth, and, on a dare, I ventured another. Poi is made +from the taro root, which is boiled till soft, then pounded and mixed +with water. Why I was not ill after this feast I don't know, as I tried +mangoes, grapes, watermelon, and pineapple, as well as all the other +things. Leis of pink carnations were put about our necks. Hawaiian music +with singing went on during the meal, and afterward we danced. + +The company was certainly cosmopolitan. One of the people who interested +me most was a Hawaiian princess, really very pretty, dressed in the +height of fashion. Her father was English. Another interesting person +was the daughter of a full-blooded Chinaman, her mother being half +Hawaiian. Her husband was an American. She told me with great pride that +her boys were both very blond. A wild Texan army man also roused my +interest, from the point of view of character study; and I must not +forget an Englishwoman, who said, on departure, "Us is going now." We +found it all very diverting and the people so kind and hospitable that +we enjoyed every minute of our stay. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MYTHS AND MELES + + +Native Hawaiians--big, generous, happy, good-looking folk, athletic and +fond of music--are in physical characteristics, in temperament, in +language, traditions and customs, so closely related to the Samoans, the +Maoris of New Zealand, and the other inhabitants of Polynesia, that it +is clear they belong to the same race. Although Hawaii is two thousand +miles from any other land, the people are so much like the natives of +the South Sea Islands that I do not see how the relationship can be +questioned. Distance, too, means little, for we hear that only lately a +Japanese junk was caught in a storm and the mast destroyed, yet it was +swept along by the Japan current and in an exceedingly short time was +washed up on the shore near Vancouver, with most of the sailors still +alive. The adventurous boatmen who first landed on the island of Hawaii, +however, must not only have crossed two thousand miles of ocean in their +canoes but crossed it in the face of opposing trade winds and ocean +currents. + +The Polynesians of those early days, like the ancient Chaldeans, studied +the heavenly bodies, and so, on their long voyages, were able to guide +their course by the stars. Their vessels, which were double canoes, like +those of the modern Samoans, were from fifty to one hundred feet long +and carried a large company of people, with provisions, animals, idols, +and everything that was needed for a long voyage or for colonizing a +strange island. + +The legends of that earliest time tell of Hawaii-loa, who sailed from +the west to the Islands, which he named for himself. The coming of Wakea +and Papa also belonged to that period. While they are mentioned as the +creators of the earth, they are said in another version of the story to +have come from Savaii in Samoa. They brought with them the _tabu_, which +is common to all Polynesia. + +Little is to be learned, however, of the history of Hawaii from the +folklore of Pacific Islanders until about the year 1000 A. D. If we +may believe their traditions, this was a time of great restlessness +throughout all Polynesia, when Hawaii was again visited and held +communication with other islands, peopled by the same race. It is +interesting to remember that this was the century when the Norsemen were +striking out across the Atlantic, showing that there were daring +navigators on both sides of the globe. + +Paao, one of the heroes from Samoa, who settled in Hawaii, became high +priest. He introduced the worship of new gods and increased the number +of tabus. The great temple built by him was the first in the shape of a +quadrangle--previously they had been three-sided. Afterward, he went +back to Samoa and returned with Pili, whom he made ruler, and from whom +the Kamehamehas were descended. + +From the Hawaiian _meles_, or songs, we may picture their life. The men +were skilful fishermen, using hooks of shell, bone, or tortoise shell, +nets of _olona_-fiber or long spears of hard wood. The bait used in +shark fishing was human flesh. When it was thrown into the water and the +shark was attracted to it, the fishermen sprang overboard and fought the +fish with knives of stone and sharp shark's teeth. No doubt it was an +extremely exciting sport. + +Along the shores of the Islands are the walls of many fish-ponds, some +of which, though very old, are still in use and bid fair to last for +centuries longer. Usually they were made by building a wall of lava rock +across the entrance to a small bay, and the fish were kept in the +inclosure. The wall was built loosely enough to allow the water to +percolate through it, and sluice gates were added, which could be opened +and closed. They were at first owned by kings and chiefs, and were +probably built by the forced labour of the people. Tradition has it that +the wall of Wekolo Pond at Pearl Harbour was built by natives who formed +a line from shore to mountain and passed lava rock from hand to hand +until it reached the shores over a mile away, without once touching the +ground. Some of the ponds in the interior of the Islands have been +turned into rice fields and taro patches, especially on Oahu. + +The sports and games of the Hawaiians, of which there were many, were +nearly all associated with gambling. Indeed, it was the betting that +furnished most of the excitement connected with them. At the end of a +day of games, many of the people would have staked and lost everything +they owned in the world. + +Boxing, surf-riding and hurling the _ulu_--a circular stone disk, three +or four inches in diameter--were some of the favourite amusements, as +well as tobogganing, which is interesting as a tropical adaptation of +something that we consider a Northern sport. The slide was laid out on a +steep hillside, that was made slippery with dry _pili_ grass. The +sled, of two long, narrow strips of wood joined together by wicker work, +was on runners from twelve to fourteen feet long, and was more like our +sleds than modern toboggans. The native held the sled by the middle with +both hands, and ran to get a start. Then, throwing himself face +downward, he flew down the hill out upon the plain beyond, sometimes to +a distance of half a mile or more. + +[Illustration: INTERIOR OF HAWAIIAN GRASS HOUSE.] + +The old Hawaiians were not bad farmers, indeed, I think we may call them +very good farmers, when we consider that they had no metal tools of any +description and most of their agricultural work was done with the _o-o_, +which was only a stick of hard wood, either pointed at one end or shaped +like a rude spade. With such primitive implements they terraced their +fields, irrigated the soil, and raised crops of taro, bananas, yams, +sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane. + +Most of the houses of primitive Hawaiians were small, but the grass +houses of the chiefs were sometimes seventy feet long. They were all +simply a framework of poles thatched with leaves or the long grass of +the Islands. Inside, the few rude belongings--mats, calabashes, gourds, +and baskets for fish--were all in strange contrast to the modern luxury +which many of their descendants enjoy to-day. The cooking was done +entirely by the men, in underground ovens. Stones were heated in these; +the food, wrapped in ti leaves, was laid on the stones and covered with +a layer of grass and dirt; then water was poured in through a small +opening to steam the food. + +The mild climate of Hawaii makes very little clothing necessary for +warmth, and before the advent of the missionaries the women wore only a +short skirt of _tapa_ that reached just below the knees, and the men a +loin-cloth, the _malo_. Tapa, a sort of papery cloth, is made from the +bark of the paper mulberry. + +Hawaiians say that in the earliest days their forefathers had only +coverings made of long leaves or braided strips of grass, until two of +the great gods, Kane and Kanaloa, took pity upon them and taught them to +make _kiheis_, or shoulder capes. + +Tapa making was an important part of the work of the women. It was +sometimes brilliantly coloured with vegetable dyes and a pattern put on +with a bamboo stamp. Unlike the patterns which our Indians wove into +their baskets and blankets, each one of which had its meaning, these +figures on the tapa had no special significance, so far as is known. By +lapping strips of bark over each other and beating them together, the +tapa could be made of any desired size or thickness. + +In the old legends, Hina, the mother of the demi-god Maui, figures as +the chief tapa maker. The clouds are her tapas in the sky, on which she +places stones to hold them down. When the winds drive the clouds before +them, loud peals of thunder are the noise of the rolling stones. When +Hina folds up her clouds the gleams of sunlight upon them are seen by +men and called the lightning. + +The sound of the tapa beating was often heard in the Islands. The story +is told, that the women scattered through the different valleys devised +a code of signals in the strokes and rests of the mallets by which they +sent all sorts of messages to one another--a sort of primitive +telegraphy that must have been a great comfort and amusement to lonely +women. + +In the early days, marriage and family associations fell lightly on +their shoulders, and even to-day they are somewhat lax in their morals. +The seamen who visited the Islands after their discovery by Captain Cook +brought corruption with them, so that the condition of the natives when +the first missionary arrived was indescribable. A great lack of family +affection perhaps naturally followed from this light esteem of +marriage. The adoption and even giving away of children was the +commonest thing, even among the high chiefs and kings, and exists more +or less to-day. + +There were three distinctly marked classes even among the ancient +Hawaiians--chiefs, priests, and common people--proving that social +distinctions do not entirely depend upon civilization. The chief was +believed to be descended from the gods and after death was worshiped as +a deity. + +The priestly class also included sorcerers and doctors, all called +_kahuna_, and were much like the medicine men among the American +Indians. As with most primitive peoples--for after all, when compared +they have very similar tastes and customs--diseases were supposed to be +caused by evil spirits, and the kahuna was credited with the power to +expel them or even to install them in a human body. The masses had +implicit belief in this power, and "praying to death" was often heard of +in the old days.[4] + +Ancient Hawaiians wrapped their dead in tapa with fragrant herbs, such +as the flowers of sugar-cane, which had the property of embalming +them. They were sometimes buried in their houses or in grottoes dug in +the solid rock, but more frequently in natural caves, where the bodies +were dried and became like mummies. Sometimes the remains were thrown +into the boiling lava of a volcano, as a sacrifice to Pele. + +[Illustration: ANCIENT TEMPLE INCLOSURE.] + +It is said no Hawaiians were ever cannibals, but in the early days +man-eaters from the south visited these Islands and cooked their victims +in the ovens of the natives. Human bones made into the shape of fish +hooks were thought to bring luck, especially those of high chiefs, so, +as only part of Captain Cook's body was found and he was considered a +god, perhaps his bones were used in this way. + +The _heiaus_, or temples, developed from Paao's time into stone +platforms inclosed by walls of stone. Within this inclosure were sacred +houses for the king and the priests, an altar, the oracle, which was a +tall tower of wicker work, in which the priest stood when giving the +message of his god to the king, and the inner court--the shrine of the +principal idol. One of the most important heiaus, which still exists, +although in ruins, is the temple of Wahaula on the island of Hawaii. + +There was much that was hard and cruel about this religion. The idols +were made hideous that they might strike terror to the worshipers. Human +sacrifices were offered at times to the chief gods. The idols of the +natives were much like those of the North American Indians, but the +Kanakas are not like the Indians in character. + +The oppressive tabu was part of the religion, and the penalty for +breaking it was death. The word means prohibited, and the system was a +set of rules, made by the chiefs and high priests, which forbade certain +things. For instance, it was tabu for women to eat with men or enter the +men's eating house, or to eat pork, turtles, cocoanuts, bananas and some +kinds of fish. There were many tabu periods when "no canoe could be +launched, no fire lighted, no tapa beaten or poi pounded, and no sound +could be uttered on pain of death, when even the dogs had to be muzzled, +and the fowls were shut up in calabashes for twenty-four hours at a +time." Besides the religious tabus there were civil ones, which could be +imposed at any time at the caprice of king or chiefs, who would often +forbid the people to have certain things because they wished to keep +them for themselves. + +One is apt to think that in those early days the natives of these +heavenly islands must have been happy and free-living, without laws and +doing as they wished, with plenty of fruit and fish to eat; but it was +not so at all, for they were obliged to crawl in the dust before their +king; they were killed if they even crossed his shadow. + +As a pleasant contrast to all these grim features, the Hawaiians, like +the ancient Israelites, had cities of refuge, of which there were two on +the island of Hawaii. Here the murderer was safe from the avenger, the +tabu-breaker was secure from the penalty of death, and in time of war, +old men and women and children could dwell in peace within these walls. + +The curious belief in a second soul, or double, and in ghosts, the +doctrines of a future state, and the peculiar funeral rites, all of +which formed part of the native religion, seem strange to many +present-day Christian Hawaiians. + +In all Polynesia the four great gods were Kane, "father of men and +founder of the world,"[5] Kanaloa, his brother, Ku, the cruel one, and +Lono, to whom the New Year games were sacred. These four were also the +chief deities of Hawaiians. + +Besides the great gods there was a host of inferior deities, such as the +god of the sea, the god of the fishermen, the shark god, the goddess of +the tapa beaters, Laka, the goddess of song and dance, who was very +popular, and Pele, the goddess of volcanoes. Still lower in the scale +were the demi-gods and magicians of marvelous power, like Maui, for whom +the island of Maui is said to be named, who pulled New Zealand out of +the sea with his magic fish hook and stole the secret of making fire +from the wise mud hens. His greatest achievement was that of lassoing +the sun and forcing him to slacken his speed. He was a hero throughout +Polynesia, and his hook is said to have been still preserved on the +island of Tonga in the eighteenth century. + +Like most primitive peoples, the Hawaiians danced in order that their +gods might smile upon them and bring them luck, or to appease the +dreaded Pele and the other gods of evil. The much-talked of _hula_ began +in this way as a sacred dance before the altar in a temple inclosure, +while the girls, clad in skirts of grass and wreaths of flowers, chanted +their songs. There was grace in some of the movements, but on the +whole the dances are said to have been "indescribably lascivious." After +the missionaries arrived, the hula was modified, and to-day it has +almost died out. + +[Illustration: _A Hula Dancer_ +_With some concession in costume to Western conventions_] + +Many of the old chants were addressed to Laka, sometimes called the +"goddess of the wildwood growths." These meles had neither rime nor +meter and were more like chants or recitatives, as the singers used only +two or three deep-throated tones. Curiously enough the verses suggest +the modern _vers libre_. The chants include love songs, dirges and name +songs--composed at the birth of a child to tell the story of his +ancestors--besides prayers to the gods and historical traditions. As +some of these early songs have real vigour and charm, I give a few +examples. + +The following is a very old chant of Kane, Creator of the Universe: + + "The rows of stars of Kane, + The stars in the firmament, + The stars that have been fastened up, + Fast, fast, on the surface of the heaven of Kane, + And the wandering stars, + The tabued stars of Kane, + The moving stars of Kane; + Innumerable are the stars; + The large stars, + The little stars, + The red stars of Kane. O infinite space! + The great Moon of Kane, + The great Sun of Kane + Moving, floating, + Set moving about in the great space of Kane. + The Great Earth of Kane, + The Earth squeezed dry by Kane, + The Earth that Kane set in motion. + Moving are the stars, moving is the Moon, + Moving is the great Earth of Kane."[6] + +I find the meles to Laka especially pretty, such as these, taken from +Emerson's "Unwritten Literature of Hawaii": + + "O goddess Laka! + O wildwood bouquet, O Laka! + O Laka, queen of the voice! + O Laka, giver of gifts! + O Laka, giver of bounty! + O Laka, giver of all things!" + + "This is my wish, my burning desire, + That in the season of slumber, + Thy spirit my soul may inspire, + Altar dweller, + Heaven guest, + Soul awakener, + Bird from covert calling, + Where forest champions stand, + There roamed I too with Laka." + +This one from the same collection is interesting in its simplicity and +strength: + + "O Pele, god Pele! + Burst forth now! burst forth! + Launch a bolt from the sky! + Let thy lightnings fly!... + Fires of the goddess burn. + Now for the dance, the dance, + Bring out the dance made public; + Turn about back, turn about face; + Dance toward the sea, dance toward the land, + Toward the pit that is Pele, + Portentous consumer of rocks in Puna!" + +The Hawaiian myths, I find, are not nearly so original or so full of +charm as the Japanese and Chinese stories, and the long names are +tiresome. They have, moreover, lost their freshness, their individuality +and their primitive quality in translation and through American +influence. They had been handed down entirely by word of mouth until the +missionaries arrived. Many of the myths bear some resemblance to Old +Testament stories as well as to the traditions told by the head-hunters +of the Philippines. The legends of the volcano seem more distinctly +Hawaiian. + +There are many legends of Pele as well as chants in her honour, which +generally represent her as wreaking her vengeance on mortals who have +been so unfortunate as to offend her. I quote one that is told to +account for the origin of a stream of unusually black lava, which long, +long ago flowed down to the coast on Maui: + +"A withered old woman stopped to ask food and hospitality at the house +of a dweller on this promontory, noted for his penuriousness. His _kalo_ +(taro) patches flourished, cocoanuts and bananas shaded his hut, nature +was lavish of her wealth all around him. But the withered hag was sent +away unfed, and as she turned her back on the man she said, 'I will +return to-morrow.' + +"This was Pele, goddess of the volcano, and she kept her word, and came +back the next day in earthquakes and thunderings, rent the mountain, and +blotted out every trace of the man and his dwelling with a flood of +fire." + +Another story goes that in the form of a maiden the goddess appeared to +a young chief at the head of a toboggan slide and asked for a ride on +his sled. He refused her, and started down without her. Soon, hearing a +roar as of thunder and looking back, he saw a lava torrent chasing him +and bearing on its highest wave the maiden, whom he then knew to be the +goddess Pele. Down the hill and across the plain his toboggan shot, +followed by the flaming river of molten rock. The chief, however, +reached the ocean at last and found safety in the waters. + +This condensed story of the Shark King is also a typical Hawaiian tale: + +The King Shark, while sporting in the water, watched a beautiful maiden +diving into a pool, and fell in love with her. As king sharks can +evidently take whatever form they please, he turned himself into a +handsome man and waited for her on the rocks. Here the maiden came one +day to seek shellfish, which she was fond of eating. While she was +gathering them a huge wave swept her off her feet, and the handsome +shark man saved her life. As a matter of course, she straightway fell in +love with him. So it happened that one day they were married; but it was +only when her child was born that the shark man confided to her who he +really was, and that he must now disappear. As he left, he cautioned her +never to give their child any meat, or misfortune would follow. + +The child was a fine boy, and was quite like other children except that +he bore on his back the mark of the great mouth of the shark. As he grew +older he ate with the men instead of the women, as was the custom, and +his grandfather, not heeding the warning but wishing to make his +grandson strong, so that some day he might become a chief, gave him the +forbidden meat. When in company, the boy wore a cape to cover the scar +on his back, and he always went swimming alone, but when in the water he +remembered his father, and it was then that he would turn into a shark +himself. The more meat the boy ate the more he wanted, and in time it +was noticed that children began to disappear. They would go in bathing +and never return. The people became suspicious, and one day they tore +the boy's mantle off him and saw the shark's mouth upon his back. There +was great consternation, and at last he was ordered to be burned alive. +He had been bound with ropes and was waiting for the end, but while the +fire was kindling he called on his father, King Shark, for help, and so +it was that he was able to burst the ropes and rush into the water, +where he turned into a shark and escaped. + +The mother then confessed that she had married the Shark King. The +chiefs and the high priests held a council and decided that it would be +better to offer sacrifices to appease him rather than to kill the +mother. This they did, and for that reason King Shark promised that his +son should leave the shores of the island of Hawaii forever. It was +true, he did leave this island, but he visited other islands and +continued his bad habits, until one day he was really caught just as he +was turning from a man into a shark on the beach in shallow water. He +was bound and hauled up a canyon, where they built a fire from the +bamboo of the sacred grove. But the shark was so large that they had to +chop down one tree after another for his funeral pyre, until the sacred +grove had almost disappeared. This so angered the god of the forest that +he changed the variety of bamboo in this region; it is no longer +sharp-edged like other bamboo on the Islands. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE FIVE KAMEHAMEHAS + + +Hawaiian myths and traditions are confused and unreliable, and we know +little real history of the "Bright Land," the "Land of Rainbows," before +the coming of Captain Cook, in 1778. We do know, however, that, in those +early days, the different tribes continually carried on a savage warfare +among themselves. Not until the latter part of the eighteenth century +did there arise a native chieftain powerful enough to subdue all the +islands under his sway and bring peace among the warring tribes. This +chief was Kamehameha I, or Kamehameha the Great, often called the +Napoleon of the Pacific. The authentic history of Hawaii really begins +with his reign. His portrait in the Executive Building in Honolulu shows +him as a stern warrior. + +The Japanese, as well as the Spaniards, had long known of the existence +of islands in that part of the Pacific Ocean. Tradition tells of some +shipwrecked Spanish sailors and some Japanese who settled there at a +very early date. These Islands were, however, brought to the notice of +the civilized world for the first time by Captain Cook. + +The Englishmen were received by the simple natives with awe and wonder, +Captain Cook himself was declared by the priests to be an incarnation of +Lono, god of the forest and husband of the goddess Laka, and abundant +provisions were brought to the ship as an offering to this deity. Had +the natives been even decently treated, there would have been no tragic +sequel to the story, but Cook's crew were allowed complete and +unrestrained license on shore. As it was, there was no serious trouble +during their first visit, but when they returned in a few months and +again exacted contributions the supplies were given grudgingly. The +English vessel sailed away, but was unfortunately obliged to put back +for repairs, and it was then that the fight occurred between the +foreigners and the natives in which Captain Cook met his death. It was +this famous voyager who gave the name of Sandwich Islands to the group, +in honour of his patron, Lord Sandwich. They were known by that name for +many years, but it was never the official designation, and is now seldom +used. + +The discovery of the Islands by Englishmen and Americans was fraught +with evil consequences to the natives, as they brought with them new +diseases, and they also introduced intoxicating liquors, and it soon +became the custom for whaling vessels in the Pacific to call there and +make them the scene of debauchery and licentiousness. It has been said +that at that time sea captains recognized no laws, either of God or man, +west of Cape Horn. We must not fail to note, however, that even in those +early days there were a few white men who really sought the good of the +Hawaiians. + +Isaac Davis and John Young were two of these men. When the crew of an +American vessel was massacred these two were spared, and they continued +to live in the Islands until their death. They were a bright contrast to +most seamen who visited Hawaii at that period. They accepted the +responsibility imposed by their training in civilization, exerting a +great influence for good, and were even advisers and teachers of King +Kamehameha I. + +Captain George Vancouver, who visited the Islands three times in the +last decade of the eighteenth century under commission from the British +Government, was another white man whose work there was wholly good. He +landed the first sheep and cattle ever seen there, and induced the king +to proclaim them tabu for ten years so that they might have time to +increase, after which women were to be allowed to eat them as well as +men. He introduced some valuable plants, such as the grapevine, the +orange and the almond, and brought the people seeds of garden +vegetables. He refused them firearms. Under his direction the first +sailing vessel was built there and called the _Britannia_. Vancouver so +won over the natives by his kind treatment that the chiefs ceded the +Islands to Great Britain and raised the British flag in February, 1794. +He left them with a promise to come again and bring them teachers of +Christianity and the industries of civilization. His death, however, +prevented his return, and Great Britain never took formal possession. + +Kamehameha I, who, at the time of Cook's arrival, was only a chief on +the island of Hawaii, joined in the tribal wars, conquered the other +chiefs of that island, and became king. While this conquest was in +progress, an eruption of Kilauea destroyed a large part of the opposing +army and convinced Kamehameha that Pele was on his side. + +The subjugation of Maui and Oahu followed. At the great battle fought in +the Nuuanu Valley, the king of Oahu was defeated and driven with his +army over the Pali. Kamehameha was twice prevented from invading Kauai, +but some years later it was ceded to him by its ruler. + +After the conquest of Oahu was completed, in 1795, it was Kamehameha's +work to build up a strong central government. According to the feudal +system that had existed in the Islands up to that time, all the land was +considered to belong to the king, who divided it among the great chiefs, +these in turn apportioning their shares among the lesser chiefs, of whom +the people held their small plots of ground. All paid tribute to those +above them in rank. Kamehameha I, in order to increase his own power and +destroy that of the chiefs, distributed their lands to them in widely +separated portions rather than in large, continuous tracts, as had been +the custom previously. + +Kamehameha was elected by the chiefs as king of all the Hawaiian +Islands, and founded the dynasty called by his name, under which his +people had peace for nearly eighty years. He adroitly used the tabu to +strengthen his power, and availing himself of the wise advice of the few +benevolent foreigners whom he knew, he sought in every way to further +the best interests of his people. He has been called "one of the +notable men of the earth." + +The bronze statue of Kamehameha I stands in front of the Judiciary +Building in Honolulu. The anniversary of the birthday of the great ruler +occurs in June, and is celebrated by the natives far and near. His +statue is dressed in his royal cape of bird feathers and decorated with +leis of flowers by the sons and daughters of Hawaii. + +The strength of character of Kamehameha I is shown in many ways, but +especially in the stand he took in regard to liquor, which was having a +disastrous effect on his people. When he became convinced that alcoholic +drinks were injurious, he decided never to taste them again. + +Before the close of his life, he made a noble effort to prevent the use +of liquor by his people. All the chiefs on the island of Hawaii were +summoned to meet in an immense grass house, which he had ordered built +at Kailua, the ancient capital, solely for this council. When they were +all assembled the King entered in his magnificent cape of mamo bird +feathers, and drawing himself up to his full height, uttered this +command: + +"Return to your homes, and destroy every distillery on the island! Make +no more intoxicating liquors!" + +At the death of Kamehameha I, in 1819, his son Liholiho succeeded him as +Kamehameha II. Unfortunately, he did not carry out his father's wishes. +He was like his father in nothing but name, being weak and dissipated, +and easily influenced by the unscrupulous foreigners who surrounded him. +Many changes took place in his reign, but so strong had the government +been made by his father that it survived them all. Fortunately, too, an +able woman, one of the wives of the first Kamehameha, was associated +with the King as Queen Regent. + +Before the end of the year 1819 the Hawaiians had burned their idols and +abolished tabu. It was the influence of Europeans that had led to these +radical changes. Early in the nineteenth century the trade in sandalwood +sprang up, in return for which many manufactured articles were imported, +especially rum, firearms and cheap ornaments. This trade brought +increased numbers of foreigners to the Islands, and their sneers +undermined the faith of the people in their old gods without offering +them any other religion as a substitute. + +In this connection, we are told that twice Kamehameha I made an effort +to learn something about Christianity. When he heard that the people of +Tahiti had embraced the new faith, he inquired of a foreigner about it, +but the man could tell him nothing. Again, just before his death, he +asked an American trader to tell him about the white man's God, but, as +a native afterward reported to the missionaries, "He no tell him." This +greatest of the Hawaiians prepared the way, but he himself died without +hearing of Christ. + +The Hawaiians had now swept their house clean, and they were ready for +an entirely new set of furnishings. In a land far away beyond the +Pacific these were preparing for them, and the short reign of this +second Kamehameha was made memorable not only by the changes already +mentioned but also by the coming of the missionaries, in 1820. + +Obookiah, whose real name was Opukahaia, was a young Hawaiian who +shipped as seaman on a whaler about 1817, and was taken to New Haven, +where he found people who befriended him and undertook to give him an +education. They sent him to the Foreign Mission School which had been +established at Cornwall, Connecticut, for young men from heathen lands. +Among his mates were four others from his native islands. It had been +his purpose to carry the Christian religion to his home, but he was +taken seriously ill at the school and on his death-bed he pleaded with +his new friends not to forget his country. His appeal led the first +missionaries to embark for those far-away shores. Three young Hawaiians +from the school went with them as assistants. + +When the Christian teachers arrived, it is said that the captain of the +ship sent an officer ashore with the Hawaiian boys. After awhile they +returned, shouting out their wonderful news: + +"Liholiho is king. The tabus are abolished. The idols are burnt. There +has been war. Now there is peace." + +The missionaries received a cordial welcome from some of the natives of +high station. The former high priest met them with the words, + +"I knew that the wooden images of gods carved by our own hands could not +supply our wants, but I worshiped them because it was a custom of our +fathers.... My thought has always been, there is only one great God, +dwelling in the heavens." + +The chief Kalaimoku, neatly dressed in foreign clothes, boarded the +ship, accompanied by the two queen dowagers, and welcomed each of the +newcomers in turn with a warm hand clasp. One of the queens asked the +American women to make her a white dress while they were sailing along +the coast, to wear on meeting the King. When she went ashore in her new +white mother hubbard, a shout greeted her from hundreds of throats! +Because the gown was so loose that she could both run and stand in it, +the natives called it a holoku, meaning "run-stand." It became the +national dress. The queens afterward sent the missionaries sugar-cane, +bananas, cocoanuts and other foods, as a token of their pleasure. + +The Americans were received kindly by the King after explaining their +mission and were allowed to remain in the Islands. They had many trials +and privations, but they were strong in their faith, and within twenty +years they had the joy of baptizing thousands of converts. + +Kamehameha II, fearing the Russians--one trader had actually gone so far +as to hoist the Russian flag over some forts that he had built--visited +the United States with his queen and then went on to England to ask for +protection, which was promised them by George IV. They both died there, +in 1824, and their remains were sent home in a British man-of-war, +commanded by Lord Byron, cousin of the poet. + +When Kamehameha III was made ruler, all the unprincipled white men in +Oahu immediately set to work to lead him into every form of dissipation, +but they were not to succeed with him as they had with his predecessor. +There were men of ability in that band of missionaries, and they had +great influence with him. These faithful advisers had a large share in +framing the liberal constitution which he granted. + +It is of special interest to note that, the year before the constitution +was adopted, a Bill of Rights was promulgated, which set forth the +fundamental principles of government and is often called the Hawaiian +Magna Charta. An eminent writer has given us the provisions of this +document. + +It asserts the right of every man to "life, limb, liberty, freedom from +oppression, the earnings of his hand, and the productions of his mind, +not however, to those who act in violation of the laws. It gave natives +for the first time the right to hold land in fee simple; before that the +King had owned all the land, and no one could buy it. In this document +it is also declared that 'protection is hereby secured to the persons of +all the people, together with their lands, their building lots and all +their property while they conform to the laws of the kingdom,' and that +laws must be enacted for the protection of subjects as well as rulers." + +A commission was also formed to determine the ownership of the land. By +this commission one-third of all the land was confirmed to the King, +one-third to the chiefs, and one-third to the common people. As far as +possible the people's share was so divided that each person received the +piece of ground that he was living on. The King and many of the chiefs +turned over one-half of their share to the Government, which soon held +nearly one-third of all the landed property in the kingdom. + +The first constitution was framed in 1840. About ten years later an +improved one was adopted. The legislature was to meet in two houses. The +nobles were to be chosen by the King for life, and were not to be more +than thirty in number. There were to be not less than twenty-four +representatives, who were to be elected by the people. The Supreme Court +was to be composed of three members--a chief justice and two associate +justices. Four circuit courts were to be established, and besides the +judges for these, each district was to have a judge who should settle +petty cases. + +It was in 1825, early in the reign of Kamehameha III, that Kapiolani, +daughter of the high chief Keawe-mauhili, of Hilo, defied the power of +Pele. Having become a Christian, she determined to give her people an +object lesson on the powerlessness of their gods. With a retinue of +eighty persons she journeyed, most of the way on foot, one hundred miles +to the crater of Kilauea. When near the crater, she was met by the +priestess of Pele, who threatened her with death if she broke the tabus. +But Kapiolani ate the sacred _ohelo_ berries without first offering some +to the goddess, and undaunted, made her way with her followers down five +hundred feet to the "Black Ledge." There, on the very margin of the +fiery lake of Halemaumau, she addressed her followers in these ringing +words: + +"Jehovah is my God. He kindled these fires.... I fear not Pele. If I +perish by the anger of Pele, then you may fear the power of Pele; but if +I trust in Jehovah, and he should save me from the wrath of Pele, then +you must fear and serve the Lord Jehovah. All the gods of Hawaii are +vain!" Then they sang a hymn of praise to Jehovah, and wended their way +back to the crater's rim in safety. + +It was during the reign of Kamehameha III that the United States, France +and Great Britain recognized the independence of the Hawaiian Islands. +Before this news reached the Pacific, however, Lord George Paulet, a +British naval officer, took possession and hoisted the British flag, +because the King refused to yield to his demands. Five months later, +Admiral Thomas, in command of Great Britain's fleet in the East, +appeared at Honolulu and restored the country to the natives. In +recognition, an attractive public park was named for him. At the +thanksgiving service held on that day, the King uttered the words which +were afterward adopted as the motto of the nation, the translation of +which is: "In righteousness is the life of the land." + +The independence of Hawaii was only once again threatened by a foreign +power, when a French admiral took possession of the fort and the +government buildings at Honolulu for a few days. Indeed, that +independence was not only recognized but guaranteed by France, England +and the United States. + +Many of the missionaries settled in Hawaii, and their descendants have +become rich and prominent citizens. Hawaii owes much to them. So far as +lay in their power, they taught the people trades and introduced New +England ideals of government and education. Two years after they arrived +a spelling book was printed, and a few years later the printing office +sent out a newspaper in the native language. The first boarding school +for boys was started by Lorrin Andrews in 1831, on Maui, and it was not +long after that one was established for girls. The Hilo boarding school, +which came later, was the one that General Armstrong took many +suggestions from for his work for the coloured people, at Hampton +Institute in Virginia. Indeed, so eager were the Hawaiians to learn of +their new teachers that whole villages came to the mission stations, +gray-haired men and women becoming pupils, and the chiefs leading the +way. + +As early as 1835, Hoapili, governor of Maui, made the rule that all +children over four years of age should attend school, and no man or +woman who was unable to read and write should hold office or receive a +license to marry. Soon after that laws were passed making attendance at +school compulsory. Any man who had a child under eight years of age, and +did not send him to school, was to suffer various penalties, among them +to forfeit the right to cut the kinds of timber that the king set apart +for the use of the people. To make this provision emphatic, the +following sentence was added: "All those kinds of timber are tabu to +those parents who send not their children to school." An anecdote of +this transition period is found in a book written by one who styled +himself simply _Haole_ (a foreigner). In the valley of Halawa, on the +island of Molokai, he was entertained at the house of the district +judge, a full-blooded Hawaiian. Among the furnishings of the house were +a table, a bedstead, some chairs, even a rocking chair. He gives an +amusing description of his evening meal in this house. + +"First of all, the table was covered with a sheet just taken off the +bed. The table service consisted of a knife, fork and spoon, procured +from the foot of a long woolen stocking, a single plate, a tumbler, and +a calabash of pure water from a neighbouring spring. The eatables were +composed of fresh fish, baked in wrappers of the ti leaf, a couple of +boiled fowls, a huge dish of sweet potatoes, and another of boiled tara +(taro?).... The last thing served upon the table was something which the +family had learned to designate by the name of 'tea' in English. This +was emptied into large bowls, and was intended for the family group, +myself included.... + +"The cook was a strapping Kanaka, rather more than six feet in height, +and would have weighed nearly three hundred pounds. While I was the only +occupant of the table, the family had formed a circle on their mats, +where they were discussing their supper with the utmost eagerness. _He_ +devoted his entire attention to me. He was a good specimen of a well +poi-fed native. I could see his frame to advantage, for his sole dress +consisted of a short woolen shirt and the malo; and his head of hair +resembled that of the pictured Medusa. When I first sat down to the +table, he took up my plate, and with a mouthful of breath, which was +really a small breeze, he blew the dust from it. + +"This act occasioned me no small merriment. But when, in supplying me +with 'tea,' he took up a bowl and wiped it out with the corner of his +flannel shirt, I could refrain no longer. I laughed until my sides +fairly ached and the tears streamed down my face.... For a moment the +family were taken by surprise, and so was this presiding deity of +culinary operations. But on a second outburst from myself, they felt +reassured, and joined with me in my laughter. The cook, however, seemed +to feel that I had laughed at some one of his blunders; so he dipped the +bowl in a calabash of water, washed it out with his greasy fingers, and +again wiped it out with that same shirt lap. This was done three times, +in answer to the laughter it was impossible for me to restrain. And +when he had filled the bowl with tea, and saw that it remained untasted, +he put a large quantity of sugar into the huge tea-kettle, shook it up, +placed it at my right elbow, and told me to drink _that_! + +"The evening was closed with solemn devotions. The best bed in the house +was placed at my disposal; and upon it was replaced the sheet on which I +had just before supped, and on which I slept during that night. The bed +was carefully stuffed with a soft downy substance, resembling raw silk, +but called by the natives _pulu_, and culled from the tree-fern. The +pillows were stuffed with the same material." + +[Illustration: QUEEN EMMA.] + + +Kamehameha III was succeeded by his nephew and adopted son Kamehameha +IV. Although he had a violent temper, he had many good qualities. His +wife was Queen Emma, granddaughter of John Young, who was very English +in her tastes. It was in her honour that the King founded the Queen's +Hospital, and it was probably due to her influence that he started the +Anglican mission and made an excellent translation of the English prayer +book into the Hawaiian language. The harbour of Honolulu was enlarged by +him and other improvements were made, and the cultivation of rice was +introduced. After his death, which occurred in San Francisco, Queen Emma +made an attempt to obtain the crown, but was unsuccessful. + +It was about this time, thirty years before my first visit to Hawaii, +that my father, Lieutenant Perkins of the U. S. S. _Lackawanna_, was +ordered to the Pacific, and for two years was stationed at Honolulu. He +spent much of his spare time in traveling over the Islands, even to +their remotest corners. He enjoyed visiting the ranches and joining in +the exciting though perilous occupation of driving wild cattle down from +the mountains, where one's safety depended almost wholly on skilful +horsemanship. He ascended to the great crater of Kilauea, went to every +interesting locality, studied the natives, attended their feasts and +learned their customs. These things were described in his letters, and +such a newspaper bit as the following gives a glimpse of the duties of a +naval officer. + +"The whaling bark, _Daniel Wood_, of New Bedford, was wrecked on the +French Frigates Shoal, April 14th. Captain Richard and a portion of the +crew arrived at Honolulu after a passage of 450 miles in an open boat. +The U. S. S. _Lackawanna_ immediately sailed for the scene of the wreck +to rescue the remainder of the crew." + +Another clipping records this amusing incident: "The Commander of the +British war vessel _Chanticleer_, at Honolulu, set his band playing +'Dixie,' alongside the United States steamer _Lackawanna_. The latter +retorted with 'Wearing of the Green.'" + +While the _Lackawanna_ was at Honolulu, an event occurred which was +referred to in the discussions of Congress with regard to Hawaiian +matters in the session of 1892-1893, as illustrating the policy of our +Government. The official record of the Government affords a very +complete story of how the United States became the possessor of what is +now called Midway Island. It was first known as Brooks Island, but was +renamed by our navy department, principally on the unofficial suggestion +of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, in recognition of its +geographical position on the route from Hawaii to Japan. + +The attention of Mr. Welles, then Secretary of the Navy, was called to +this island as possibly destined to prove of early importance as a +coaling station for United States vessels cruising in these waters. +Secretary Welles issued an order to Rear Admiral Thatcher, commanding +the _Lackawanna_ or some other suitable vessel to search for the island +and having found it, to take possession in the name of the United +States. + +My father's letters give an account of this trip. August 4th, 1867, he +wrote: + + "Just now we are sailing along quietly, although we have been + greatly startled and had a few moments of terrible anxiety. One of + the men, while furling the top-gallant sail, lost his hold and fell + overboard. Of course, falling from such a height, we all thought he + was killed. The life buoys were cut away, and the ship hove to, and + the boat sent for him, which picked him up and found him but little + hurt after all. It was such a narrow escape, we were all greatly + relieved when we got him aboard all right. Except this, we are + sailing along day after day in perfect monotony, and for two months + or more we shall not see a strange face or hear a word of news from + home. But the weather is delightful, and my health is good." + + + "August 24th. + + "Breakers have been reported from the masthead, and I hope it is + the island we are looking for." + + + "August 27th. + + "Yes, it proved to be the land we were seeking, and now we are + lying at anchor off Brooks Island, called after the captain who + discovered it a few years ago; and probably never before or since + has there been any one there. It is low and sandy, about six miles + long, and its inhabitants are only sea gulls and other sea birds, + seals and turtles. Never having seen human beings before, they are + not in the least afraid of us, and we can catch as many of them as + we wish. I have been fishing and caught a boatload of fish and + eleven turtles, each one of the latter weighing two hundred pounds + and over. We are going to remain here and survey the island, but + to-day it has come on to rain, and we are all cooped up on board + the ship." + + + "August 28th. + + "Pleasant weather has come again, and I have been out hunting and + fishing. Shot seventeen curlew, hauled the seine, caught a boatload + of fish and three large turtles; hunted for shells, but could not + find any. + + "We are going to have quite a ceremony and take possession of the + islands for the United States." + + +Captain William Reynolds, the officer in command of the _Lackawanna_, +was very proud of having been concerned in taking possession of the +first island beyond our own shores ever added to the dominion of the +United States. In his report he well describes the somewhat dramatic and +spectacular performance. + +"I have the honour to report that on Wednesday, the 28th of August, +1867, in compliance with the orders of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy of +May 28th, I took formal possession of Brooks Island and reefs for the +United States. Having previously erected a suitable flagstaff I landed +on that day, accompanied by all the officers who could be spared from +the ship, with six boats armed and equipped, and under a salute of +twenty-one guns, and with three cheers, hoisted the national ensign, and +called on all hands to witness the act of taking possession in the name +of the United States. + +"The ceremony of taking possession over, the howitzers and small-arm men +and marines were exercised at target-firing. Having hauled the seine and +procured an abundant supply of fish, the men cooked their dinner on +shore, and the rest of the day was spent pleasantly, picnic fashion upon +the island.... I sincerely hope that this will by no means be the last +of our insular annexations. I venture to name the only harbour at this +island after the present Hon. Secretary of the Navy, and to call its +roadstead after the present Hon. Secretary of State (Seward)." + +"In 1869," writes C. S. Alden, in his life of Commodore Perkins, +"Congress appropriated $50,000 for deepening the entrance of the +harbour; the work was begun, but the amount proved insufficient for +completing the plan. One hundred miles to the west, Lieutenant-Commander +Sicard, of the U. S. S. _Saginaw_, who had the duties of inspecting and +assisting in this work, had the misfortune to wreck his ship on a reef. +The hazardous voyage of Lieutenant Talbot with three men in a small boat +sailing over 1500 miles to Kauai, Hawaiian Islands, to gain succour, and +the drowning of all but one of the men just as they reached their +destination and were pushing through the surf to make a landing, is one +of the thrilling tales of the sea. Nothing further seems to have been +done by our Government until three or four decades later, when it sought +to insure safety to navigation by establishing there a lighthouse and +buoys. After the visits of the _Lackawanna_ and the _Saginaw_, the +islands were deserted until the Pacific Commercial Cable Company placed +there a station in the San Francisco-Manila line, maintaining about +forty men. This is the intermediate station between Honolulu and +Guam."[7] + +Kamehameha V was the older brother of the last King, and a man of +autocratic temper, who promulgated a new constitution that increased the +powers of the king and decreased those of the people. He was called +Prince Lot before he came to the throne. During his reign the leper +colony on Molokai was started, in an effort to stop the spread of +leprosy. As every one knows, it was here that Father Damien, the +Catholic priest, devoted his life to caring for the sufferers and +finally succumbed to the disease. The King died in 1872, the last of his +line. Just before his death, he turned to Mrs. Bishop and asked her to +become queen. She refused, thinking she could serve her people better in +some other way, and the King passed away without naming his successor. + +It was suggested that either the sister of Kamehameha V or one of the +high chiefs should be placed on the throne, but Prince Lunalilo, the +nearest male relative, was elected in 1874 by the people. He was thus +the first Hawaiian monarch to be chosen by popular vote. His reign, +however, lasted little more than a year. + +[Illustration: KING KALAKAUA AND STAFF.] + +David Kalakaua, a high chief, was the choice of the people to succeed +Lunalilo. The Reciprocity Treaty with the United States was the great +commercial event of this reign. By this sugar and some other products +were admitted into America free of duty. + +This last of all the kings sought continually to regain the authority +lost by the crown when the first constitution was granted, and his +government kept growing more arbitrary and corrupt. Finally, so much +feeling was roused that the foreign element compelled Kalakaua to +proclaim a new constitution, by which he lost the power he had +previously possessed and white men gained more control of the +government. Two years later, the "Wilcox rebellion," headed by Robert W. +Wilcox, a half-breed, was the unsuccessful attempt of the natives to +assert themselves against the whites. It was, however, promptly put +down. + +Kalakaua was kind-hearted, popular, and possessed a dignity and ease of +manner that made him at home in any society, although he was dissipated +and corrupt and could be "hail fellow well met" with carousers. Captain +Lucien Young says of him in his book, "Real Hawaii": + +"Kalakaua was only a high chief, in no way related to the extinct royal +family, and was reputed to be the illegitimate son of a negro cobbler, +who had emigrated to the Islands from Boston." + +On the other hand, the sister of Kalakaua, Liliuokalani, who followed +him, gives the following account of their pedigree: + +"My father's name was Kapaakea; my mother was Keohokalole; the latter +was one of the fifteen counselors of the King, Kamehameha III. My +great-grandfather Keawe-a-Heulu, the founder of the dynasty of the +Kamehamehas, and Keona, father of Kamehameha I, were own cousins, and my +great-grandaunt was the celebrated Queen Kapiolani, one of the first +converts to Christianity." + +King Kalakaua was the author of the Hawaiian national hymn, which was +set to music by Captain Berger, leader of the Royal Hawaiian Band. It +certainly testifies to a firm belief in the "divine right of kings." + + "Hawaii's very own, + Look to your sovran Lord, + Your chief that's heaven-born, + Who is your King; + + "Men of Hawaii's land, + Look to your native chiefs, + Your sole, surviving lords, + The nation's pride. + + "Men of Hawaiian stock, + My nation ever dear, + With loins begirt for work, + Strive with your might. + + REFRAIN: + + "Protector, heaven-sent, + Kamehameha great, + To vanquish every foe, + With conquering spear." + +Kalakaua died in San Francisco and his body was taken home in a United +States man-of-war. His funeral was one of barbaric splendour with kahili +bearers, superb feather cloaks, and as was the custom, with bearers who +had shaved half their faces and heads. + +Under the kings the Hawaiians had a coat of arms. It had on the first +and fourth quarters of the shields eight red, white and blue stripes, +which represented the eight inhabited islands. On the yellow background +of the second and third quarters were the tabu sticks--white balls with +black staffs. These were a sign of protection, as well as of tabu. In +the center of the shield is a triangular flag, the _puela_, lying +across two spears. This also was a sign of tabu and protection. The +background represents a royal mantle. At the sides are the supporters in +feather cloaks and helmets, the one on the right carrying a spear, the +one on the left a kahili, or staff used only on state occasions. Above +the shield is the crown, ornamented with twelve taro leaves. Below is +the national motto. + +Notwithstanding she had married an American, John C. Dominis of +Massachusetts, Liliuokalani was even more determined than her brother +had been to restore the ancient privileges of the monarch. She revived +the old Hawaiian customs, and decided to proclaim a new constitution +giving to herself increased power. The English Minister and his +followers were on the Queen's side, but those who composed the American +mission element were distinctly the best citizens, and this element +conquered. + +A Citizen's Committee of Safety was formed, then a Provisional +Government was established, and a delegation sent to Washington to +request annexation to the United States. A treaty of annexation was +drawn up, but it was not acted upon by the Senate before President +Harrison's term of office ended and President Cleveland's began. In the +meantime, Mr. Stevens, our Minister to Hawaii, had, at the request of +the Provisional Government, put the Islands under the protection of the +Government of the United States. Emissaries of the Queen told their +story to President Cleveland, who sent a special Commissioner to the +Islands to report on conditions there. After receiving his report, which +was far from impartial, the President sent an urgent request--really a +demand--to the Provisional Government to restore the Queen to power. It +was impossible for free-born Americans to accede to such a demand, and +they replied through Hon. S. B. Dole that the Government "respectfully +and unhesitatingly declines to entertain the proposition of the +President of the United States that it should surrender its authority to +the ex-Queen." Then, in 1894, despairing of immediate annexation, they +formed a republic with Mr. Dole as president. + +It was proposed by some of the people that Princess Kaiulani, Mr. +Cleghorn's daughter and the Queen's niece, should be proclaimed queen, +and a Regency with Mr. Dole at its head established until the Princess +came of age. But the American element did not feel that an honest +government would be insured by this means. Kaiulani, who was being +educated in England, came here and issued an appeal to Americans, but +was unable to awaken sympathy. She died soon after. + +The new Republic of Hawaii thus began its history under the leadership +of the man of whom it is said that he "throughout his life had been +identified with all that was least partizan and most upright in the +Islands." It is interesting to note that a vast amount of political +wire-pulling was guarded against in the constitution then adopted by the +provision that the President at the close of his term of six years +should be "ineligible to reëlection for the next succeeding term." + +The last native uprising, said to have been instigated by the ex-Queen, +occurred in 1895, but was quickly put down. Among the few who lost their +lives at this time was Charles L. Carter, brother of Governor Carter. +Liliuokalani was tried for treason, with nearly two hundred of her +followers, but having formally renounced all claim to the Hawaiian +monarchy and taken the oath of allegiance to the republic, she was +pardoned. None of the rebels were executed, their sentence being +commuted in various ways. + +At this time, trouble arose over the large immigration from Japan; the +Japanese contract labourers showed a bad spirit; a Japanese man-of-war +appeared and also a British war vessel; and it was seen that only +annexation to the United States could prevent the Islands from falling +into the hands of some foreign power. They were formally annexed to the +American republic in 1898. The Territory of Hawaii--this is now the +official title of the Islands--has the same form of government as the +other territories of the United States.[8] + +As was indeed fitting, the first governor of Hawaii was Hon. S. B. Dole. +The governor and the secretary of the territory are appointed by the +President. Of the fifty senators and thirty members of the House of +Representatives about one-half are Hawaiians. There are two official +delegates to Washington, one of whom is Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, +usually called Prince Cupid. + +A series of able men have succeeded Mr. Dole, who in 1903 was appointed +to another office.[9] Hon. George R. Carter was the next governor until +his resignation in 1907. Judge Walter F. Frear held the position from +that time until 1913, when Governor Pinkham was appointed, who is still +at the head of affairs in the territory. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SERVANT AND SOIL + + +As Americans have always been leaders in the Islands, so they were the +first to begin the cultivation of sugar, which is the chief occupation. +They commenced by using their own capital, and then gradually interested +capitalists from the mainland. The Reciprocity Treaty between the United +States and the Islands in 1876 gave a great impetus to the sugar +industry. Capital, particularly from this country, was invested in the +Islands, until at present crops of more than 600,000 tons are shipped +away in a year. + +One of the largest sugar plantations in the world is that of the +Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company on the island of Maui. It was Mr. +Claus Spreckles who bought crown land of the Hawaiian Princess Ruth and +by his influence with King Kalakaua secured irrigation water for this +tract at a nominal rental, then formed a stock company to carry on the +plantation. The yearly product of these miles of cane fields alone is +60,000 tons. + +On Maui, Kauai and Hawaii skilfully engineered tunnels have brought down +the water needed for sugar raising. On Oahu artesian wells have reached +"the water of magic power." + +We enjoyed an excursion to Judge Widemann's plantation of Waianae on +Oahu. Here we saw a sugar-cane mill and wide meadows and brakes of the +thick growth, and the whole process of the work--the crushing of the +cane into molasses, the refining into sugar--and rode on the tiny +plantation railway among the waving green stalks, while the blue sea +sparkled on one side, and bare, gaily coloured mountains rose above us +on the other. + +Sugar raising in Hawaii probably furnishes the most perfect example of +scientific agriculture to be found under the flag of the United States. +"Think of always plowing two feet deep," writes a friend, "and not +having to wait for rain, but telephoning to the engineer to start the +pumps--of knowing at the end of a crop just what elements and the amount +of each have been taken from the soil--of searching the world for +parasites to destroy the insect enemies of the cane--of collecting and +recording the life history of all the insects found in countries +bordering the Pacific and all the islands within its borders, so that +when some new pest appears, its origin and characteristics will be +known--of sending men out to wherever sugar-cane is grown, in order to +study and record its diseases, and giving the planter coloured +illustrations of symptoms, so that he may know them in advance of their +arrival and be able to check the pest--of the skilful manipulation of +the soil, so that there is a constant increase in the production." + +[Illustration: "THE TINY PLANTATION RAILWAY AMONG THE WAVING GREEN +STALKS."] + +In harvesting the cane a path is first opened through the jungle, then +the men, armed with knives like butchers' cleavers, go in among the +dense growth to cut the stalks. After they have "stripped" a field in +this way, the cane must be sent to the mill within twenty-four hours, or +the juice will ferment. + +Here the Japanese women play their part--for, among the Japanese, the +women as well as the men work on the plantations. They gather up the +stalks, which are not very heavy but are decidedly unwieldy, and if the +field is on high land take them to wooden flumes through which water is +run from the irrigation ditches. The women toss the great twelve-foot +stalks into the rapid stream which carries them down to a loading place +for cane-cars. Here the flume branches into five "fingers," at the head +of which stands a man who opens one finger after another, until the +cars standing under them are filled in turn. + +Inside the cars are men who stack the cane as it tumbles in, so that +each car carries a maximum load, laid in good order for the next process +at the mill. Here, too, is an automatic "giant-hand" on an endless belt, +the "fingers" of which, as it revolves, clutch the stalks of cane like +jackstraws and pass them up to a wide belt that extracts every drop of +juice so completely that the refuse is fit only for fuel for the +furnaces. After the various processes of boiling down, evaporating, +crystallizing and drying, the raw sugar is shoveled into gunny-sacks, +which are filled to weigh exactly one hundred pounds each. Again the +women take hold, and sew up the bags. The cost of raising and marketing +sugar is from forty-five to seventy-five dollars a ton. + +Japanese women who work on the sugar plantations may be seen sometimes +knee-deep in muddy-watery soil near the flumes, or again out in the +driest, hottest part of a newly plowed field. They have discarded their +usual Japanese dress for a mixed costume, consisting of a close-fitting +waist of dark, figured, Japanese cotton crêpe, a scant skirt to the +knee, khaki gaiters, and their own heavy cotton "bootees." To protect +their hair from dust and their necks from the sun, they wear a piece of +Japanese toweling, which is tied across the back of the head and hangs +down on the shoulders. On top of this is perched a cheap American sailor +hat. The effect is certainly startling. Some take their tiny babies in +bright-figured swaddling clothes with them, and put up a little shelter +tent of cloth and sticks, where the youngsters lie and sleep. + +Most of the women who do agricultural work are Japanese. A few years +ago, when a ship-load of people came from Madeira, the women told the +immigration authorities that they had come to work on the plantations. +But, after a very short time, they retired from this sort of labour for +the much pleasanter and more remunerative business of making Madeira +embroidery. Among the Chinese the women rarely go out of their own homes +to work, although Oriental servants prevail all over these Islands. Some +of the younger generation of Portuguese girls go out as nursemaids in +white families, but the majority of that race make sewing and +dressmaking or "clerking" their means of support. It is surprising, +indeed, to see how few of the employees in any store are "white"; +bookkeepers, clerks, etc., are usually young part-Hawaiians or +part-Chinese. + +From the beginning, when sugar was ready for export, it was rarely +shipped from the Hawaiian Islands in any but American bottoms. The +American-Hawaiian Steamship Company--the largest fleet sailing under the +Stars and Stripes and numbering twenty-eight vessels--the Oceanic +Steamship Company, and the Matson Navigation Company, were all formed +largely because of the favourable contracts they were able to make for +carrying sugar, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, which plied +between California and the Far East, stopped at Honolulu because of the +profit to be made by carrying freight from the Islands. American +shipping on the Pacific, however, has always been at a disadvantage, +because foreign ships can be built more cheaply than ours and are +usually subsidized. + +As if these drawbacks were not enough, during the present Congress the +Seaman's Act, somewhat modified now to be sure, has had a disastrous +effect on American shipping on the Pacific Ocean. The American boats +used to carry crews of well trained Chinamen. Under this act the +majority of the crew must be English-speaking sailors and they cannot be +procured in sufficient numbers nor can such boats generally be run with +sufficient economy to compete with foreign flags. So trans-Pacific trade +has been given over almost entirely to the Japanese, who have especially +fine passenger ships on that route to-day. As, according to our laws, +these boats are not permitted to carry passengers or freight between +American ports, the service between the Islands and the United States +has been seriously crippled with consequent increase in rates of +carriage. A resident in the Islands writes, "When the last Pacific Mail +steamer sailed from Honolulu Harbour, all flags were at half mast and +Hawaii was in mourning." + +Still, the planters are cheerful. For 1916, they look forward to an +estimated production of 603,000 tons and a continuance of the present +high prices, which will enable them not only to pay good dividends but +also to install labour-saving machinery and to make other improvements, +by which they will produce sugar more cheaply when the present era of +high prices is over. The shipments of raw sugar from Hawaii for the year +ending June 30, 1915, sold for more than $51,000,000. + +Next in importance to the sugar industry is the production of +pineapples. These are raised only on the higher ground. The land is as +carefully prepared as a garden, and the soil thoroughly pulverized. The +plants are set in furrows, and there are sometimes as many as twelve +thousand to the acre. They mature their fruit in about two years. When +the pineapple ripens, from the lower part of the stump suckers appear, +which bear fruit one year later. These in turn grow suckers that come +into bearing the following year. Besides these there are slips, that +spring from the upper part of the parent plant. New plants are grown not +only from suckers and slips, but also from the crowns of the fruit, and +growers consider them all about equally good. The plants almost never +produce seeds, and when found, they are used for experimental purposes +only. + +There are 24,000 acres of land in the pineapple plantations of the +Islands, and most of them are on Oahu. There is never any frost, and as +there are no serious insect pests which attack the fruit the crop is a +very fine one. Nor is irrigation necessary, so that thousands of acres +unavailable for sugar have brought in millions of dollars to those who +own or rent these plantations. + +[Illustration: PINEAPPLE PLANTATION, ISLAND OF OAHU.] + +The fields are carefully picked over every day or two, and only +perfectly ripe fruit is gathered. Hawaiian pineapples are rich in sugar +when fully matured, but if picked green, they contain little sugar, and +gain none after they are taken from the plant. Extensive experiments +have shown that the Smooth Cayenne variety is far superior to all +others, and it is now the only one grown in the Islands. In no instance +are the fields more than a few miles from the cannery, and the fruit is +put in the tins as soon as possible after it is picked. The Hawaiian +canneries are equipped with labour-saving machinery. Aside from grading +the slices and filling the cans, all the work is done by machines. The +employees who handle the fruit wear rubber gloves with gauntlets, and +the most modern sanitary methods are observed throughout. Every night +everything in the factory is washed, steamed and scrubbed as clean as +possible. + +When the fruit arrives at the cannery, it passes into a machine which +first cuts off both ends, then takes out the core and removes the rind. +It is then conveyed to another, which slices the whole pineapple in one +operation. From here it passes on a moving belt in front of a line of +workers, who select the perfect cylindrical pieces for the first grade. + +From the packing table the tins go to the syrup machine, where the fruit +is covered with a syrup made of clear water and granulated sugar, thence +to the exhaust box and double sealer, where it is heated and the cover +sealed on the can. Then the can is conveyed to the cooker, where it is +submerged in boiling water from twenty to thirty-five minutes, after +which it is left in the cooling room about twelve hours, and then +stacked in the warehouse until required for shipment. + +The history of this industry is interesting. Only small amounts were +canned previous to the year 1901. There has been a steady increase ever +since, with a total output in 1914 of over 2,000,000 cases from nine +canneries. Nothing like this rapid increase in production and +distribution has ever been known before in the canned-fruit trade. +California, as every one knows, is the greatest fruit-producing section +in the world, and her canned fruits are found in practically every +market, yet her average total pack, of every variety except apples, from +1901 to 1910, was only about one-third more than the pack of Hawaiian +pineapples alone in 1914. The total value of those shipped to the United +States for the year ending June 30, 1915, was nearly $6,000,000. + +Besides the other important staples raised by the planters for export, +coffee and rice are produced in large quantities--over 3,000,000 pounds +of each. The coffee grown in the district of Kona is famous. The Chinese +are especially good at market gardening. The Hawaiians also plant taro +for poi, which, although now manufactured by machinery, is still their +favourite food, and is also eaten by the whites. Doctors pronounce it +most digestible and strengthening. Duke Kahanamoku, a native who has +always lived on poi, is the champion swimmer of the world. It is true +that not only poi but also the climate is favourable to our race as +well, for white boys brought up in Hawaii have proved themselves to be +strong, all those who have gone into athletics in American colleges +having made fine records. + +In addition to the products of the large plantations, wool, hides and +skins from the ranches are exported to a considerable extent. The +Shipman stock ranch, near Hilo, has been carried on for more than forty +years. The Parker ranch, however, is the largest, having 18,000 head of +cattle--Herefords and Holsteins. The long pods of the algaroba tree +furnish a large part of the feed for cattle and horses. This is the +carob tree of the New Testament, the pods of which were the husks that +the Prodigal Son fed to the swine he tended. In the earlier days, guano +from the bird islands was exported, for use as a fertilizer. + +While plantation life in the Islands may be monotonous for the resident, +it is full of interest for the tourist who really takes time to see it. +An effort is made by the planters to furnish recreation for their +labourers. At Waialua on Oahu a large hall has been built, where +moving-picture shows are given at intervals, political meetings are +held, and there are dances for the white colony. The latter have tennis +courts near their homes and hold tournaments, to which they invite +players from other plantations. As work is over at four o'clock--the +hours being from five to eleven in the morning and two to four in the +afternoon--the men who work in mill, store or office can play every +afternoon. + +The Portuguese, Japanese and Hawaiian boys have formed a baseball team, +which represents the plantation in a league of such teams. There are +match games by this league at different places every Sunday. The +Japanese at Waialua have a theater, the occasional performances at which +are announced during the day by a man who drives through all parts of +the plantation in a hack covered with Japanese signs, beating a drum. + +The native Hawaiians in country districts often present "tableaux" for +the benefit of their church or some charity fund. A friend of mine told +me she had once gone to a representation of "Adam and Eve" which would +have seemed either sacrilegious or ridiculous if done by any but these +ingenuous, grown-up children. The minister of the church played the part +of Satan, in a bright red union suit with a long tail; a large native, +in flowing white robes, with a Santa Claus beard and mask, took the part +of the Deity and banished Adam and Eve, in brown union suits the colour +of their skin, from the Garden of Eden. Other tableaux gave very vivid +portrayals of scenes from ancient days of royalty, with its attendant +pomp and ceremony, and old Hawaiian legends. One of these was about +Paahana, a young Hawaiian girl, who was afraid of the white settlers, +and ran away to the mountains, building herself a shelter of grass among +the bushes. Finally she was discovered by the white missionaries, who +tried to approach her, but she was wild with fear, and vanished from +sight into the forest. This story was told in verse, sung to the tune of +"Mauna Kea," a hula dance. + +These entertainments are never complete without a dance for young and +old, to music sung and played by a quintette of native boys. Besides the +ukulele and the taro-patch, which is a large ukulele with five strings +instead of four, they use the mandolin, violin, guitar and bass-viol. +The Hawaiians, being naturally musical, have a keen sense of time and +rhythm. The Filipinos are also fond of dancing, and in the Libby, +McNiel and Libby pineapple cannery, where many of this nationality are +employed, dances are held to make them more contented with their +isolated life. + +Among the plantation labourers there is never the abject poverty that is +known in the Far East for, in addition to steady wages, houses, water, +fuel and doctor's services are all provided for them. Although the +climate is semi-tropical sunstroke is unknown. The men who work around +the machinery and the boiling sugar wear as few clothes as possible, and +the women who sew up the bags of sugar as fast as they are filled, have +adopted the cool and comfortable but hideous Hawaiian garb of the +holoku. The heat from the great boilers in the mill is sometimes hard +for the white men to bear, but I have never heard of a case of +heat-prostration. As a large part of the school work must be done on +the plantations I insert the following description, given me by one of +the teachers of the school at Waialua, Oahu, the largest outside of +Honolulu. + +"As the pupils are almost entirely foreign, the first grade has three +divisions, to accommodate the number who enter it until they are able to +speak enough English to be properly graded. Sometimes one finds here +children of twelve to fourteen years who have just come to Hawaii. As a +rule, they work hard to get out of the 'baby-grade,' and are quickly +promoted. + +"I was the only white teacher in the school besides the principal. The +other teachers were Hawaiian, half-white and Chinese Hawaiian girls who +had gone through the Honolulu Normal School. They are good teachers, +kind and patient, and can instruct children in the same slow manner in +which they themselves learn. There was also a young Hawaiian man, a +Normal graduate, who could help in many extra ways, such as map-drawing, +chorus-leading, games, etc. + +"Fifteen nationalities were represented in the various grades--Hawaiian, +Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino, Spanish, Korean, Porto Rican, +and a few Scotch, English, Canadians, Germans and Americans, as well as +Russians and Italians. Besides the pure bloods there were many mixtures, +such as American-Hawaiian, Chinese-Hawaiian, Japanese-Portuguese, +German-Hawaiian, etc. + +"The Japanese and Chinese were the best pupils in every way. The +Hawaiians were tractable, but stupid; Portuguese, smart but mischievous. +School hours were from nine to twelve, and from half past twelve to two. +Most of the children came from long distances, and after the plantation +school was dismissed, the Japanese children went to a Japanese school +for two hours. + +"In the first grade, I taught reading, writing and 'rithmetic; also +nature-study, in simple form, story-work, folk songs and dances. These +last helped them a great deal in the new vocabulary, as they loved that +part of the day's program. + +"It was interesting to note the habits of the different nationalities at +recess, especially in regard to their luncheon. The Japanese usually +were together out in the yard. They each had their little tin pail with +top and bottom section, in which they carried fish and cold rice. I +never got a very close look at it, to know how the fish was cooked, but +I could smell it afar off! They seemed very shy, and would try to hide +their lunch as I walked past. The Chinese were even shyer about their +lunch, for they never gathered together, as the other nationalities did, +but went to some secluded spot and nibbled away at an orange or +something else. + +"The Portuguese usually brought long rolls of bread, which had been cut +open and a red jelly-like substance spread all along the inside. They +also had fruit, and especially the mango in its season. + +"A little Japanese store nearby kept cakes and pastries, which were very +popular when the children had money, but the greatest delicacy sold +there seemed to be a rubbery substance, which looked like a piece of +resin, but could be shaved in long strips. They called it dry squid, but +it did not seem like the dry squid I've tried to masticate at native +luaus, and I never did find out just what it was. + +"The schools are all supported by the territorial government, which in +turn receives the plantation taxes, so the plantations themselves do not +directly support the schools, although the children of the labourers +comprise nine-tenths of the pupils outside Honolulu. + +"There is compulsory attendance until the age of fourteen, and at +Waialua a school policeman--a Hawaiian--went all over the plantations +on horseback and found out if any of the children were ill or playing +truant." + +Each nationality is housed more or less by itself in small, one-story +houses built in rows, each group called a camp. The white men employed +as chemists, bookkeepers and clerks in the general store usually live in +a group near the buildings where they are employed. They are German, +Scotch, Norwegian, English and Danish. Few Americans go into this work +now, although a number did in years past start out as time-keepers and +have become managers. The Kanaka does not make a good manager, but if he +has some one to direct him he works well, and he can learn almost any +trade; of course he is at his best as a sailor, and he is such a +wonderful rider that he makes an excellent cowboy. + +At Waialua there is a small hospital where the labourers are treated +free, and in at least one of the outlying camps there is a small cottage +that is used as a dispensary. The plantation doctor has charge of the +school children, vaccinating all that need it at the opening of the +school year and watching them for signs of trachoma or leprosy. + +Social work on plantations has not been carried on with a central +organization as yet, and the welfare of the labourers depends on the +attitude of the managers, who all belong to the Sugar Planters' +Association. This holds yearly meetings of a week or more in Honolulu, +when managers from all the Islands talk over questions pertaining to +their interests. + +The agricultural situation in the Islands has been carefully studied by +the Bureau of Agriculture and Forestry, which reports that there are no +other crops than sugar and pineapples which can be recommended as a +reliable industry for the territory. This is true for several important +reasons. + +In the first place, from an agricultural point of view Hawaii is not a +tropical country, and the strictly tropical crops do not find optimum +climatic conditions. Neither has Hawaii a temperate climate, and the +staple products of the temperate zone cannot be relied upon. + +The distance from the mainland markets imposes a serious handicap. +Moreover, both inter-island and inter-community transportation is +difficult and expensive, because Hawaii is a group of comparatively +small, mountainous islands with very few harbours. + +It should be borne in mind, moreover, that the area of cultivated land +in Hawaii is very small, the amount reclaimable still smaller, while +the needs of a growing population must be met. This, of course, means +intensive cultivation and a high average rate of wealth production per +acre. In the ten-year period from 1900 to 1910, the population increased +24.6 per cent and the area of tillable land 3.6 per cent. The census +reports also show that Hawaii is already cultivating its land far more +intensively than the mainland states; for example, it supports +twenty-two times as many persons per acre of improved arable land as the +agricultural state of North Dakota. Clearly, the problem in Hawaii is +peculiarly difficult. + +It is true, also, that practically all tropical industries demand a +plentiful supply of cheap labour. Labour in Hawaii is neither cheap nor +plentiful. In this respect, the Islands are at a disadvantage compared +with nearly all tropical countries, but much money has been spent on the +industries, and the results are certainly encouraging. + +How to secure cheap labour has always been a serious question for the +planters. The Bureau of Immigration was established in 1876. When the +Reciprocity Treaty with the United States was signed, several thousand +Portuguese were sent for by the government and the planters, and many +of them have remained in the country and become good citizens. About the +year 1888, however, it was decided that the Chinese and the Japanese +should be encouraged to come, because the cost of transportation for +them was so much less. For some years the larger part of the labourers +were of these two nationalities. The Japanese are still far in excess of +all others, numbering over 93,000. After annexation, when the Congress +of the United States prohibited immigration by the yellow races, Hawaii +was obliged to seek a supply from other sources. Filipinos, of whom +there are only 8,000, are next in number to the Japanese; Portuguese, +Chinese, Spaniards, and Porto Ricans stand next. + +After the expenses of the voyage were paid, the labourers did not always +keep their agreement to work, so contract labour was introduced. +Although some objections have been made to the contract system in +Hawaii, it must have proved fairly satisfactory to both parties, for in +those days a large number of labourers would sign a second contract on +the same terms, showing at least that they were well treated and paid +according to agreement. + +In some cases, Chinese and Japanese labourers remained in the Islands +after their contract expired, and settled there permanently. Many of +the Chinese became merchants. The Portuguese went into fruit raising, +and the Japanese kept mostly to the coffee plantations. In those days, +the Japanese had labour unions, and they were sometimes troublesome. + +Hawaii, owing to the lack of coal and iron and other minerals, can never +be a manufacturing country, hence must always depend largely upon the +United States for such goods. The Islands spend a large part of +$60,000,000 yearly for imported articles, although, since Hawaii is a +territory of the United States, goods received from the American +mainland are not classified in census returns as imports. + +With the opening of the Panama Canal, the Hawaiian Islands are a +necessary coaling station between the Atlantic Coast and the Far East. +In anticipation of increased traffic, the harbours have been enlarged, +new wharves built, a floating drydock installed, the channel widened and +deepened in the harbour of Honolulu, breakwaters built at Hilo and +Kahului, modern freight- and coal-handling apparatus provided, and fuel +oil depots established. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +IN AND OUT + + +Honolulu itself the traveler may perhaps be able to see in a day, with +American rush, while the steamer stops on the way to Japan. To take +trips on Oahu, go surf-riding, indulge in a luau, visit the plantations, +and make an excursion to the volcanoes in the other islands, you must +stay at least a few weeks, so that you may really see it all and have +time to dream of its wonderful beauties. + +Honolulu is the oldest, and so by far the most attractive, town in the +Islands. Besides visits to Waikiki, the Pali, and Punchbowl, there are +many delightful excursions on the island of Oahu. The Trail and Mountain +Club has made excellent paths to the mountain tops, where you can get +superb views. The lovely falls of Kaliuwaa are especially celebrated, +while a trip to Hauula is pleasant. The coral gardens are entrancing, +and near these one can see the largest wireless station in the Islands. +In the great pineapple district, Wahiawa, there is a good hotel and +fine bass fishing, and not far away is a big military camp. + +To-day the excursion to the other islands is made fairly comfortable on +the steamers of the Inter-Island Navigation Company, and one can motor +to the very brink of Kilauea. But at the time of our first visit the +journey was something to be endured, for the sake of the wonders at the +end. The story has been often told by travelers, yet it may be worth +while to recount our own experiences. + +The trip certainly could not be recommended for pleasure in those days. +The tiny boat was loaded down with pigs and cattle and sickly smelling +sugar. The crossings were far worse than the English Channel, and our +wretched little steamer reeled before the winds and tossed upon the +waves. To add to our discomfort, the boat was by no means swift, and +hours were consumed between the innumerable small landing-places. When +we had the pleasure of stepping on solid earth once more, we found very +poor hotels, if you could call them by that name, and finally, we were +disappointed in the volcano itself, which was not active enough to suit +us. + +[Illustration: LEPER COLONY, ISLAND OF MOLOKAI.] + +At our departure from Honolulu, we were quite covered with leis by the +kind friends who gathered at the dock to see us off. Our boat plunged +almost immediately into the high seas of the channel between Oahu and +Molokai. As we passed the latter island, we had a distant view of the +leper colony, on a triangle of level land, at the foot of a precipice +three thousand feet high that effectually guards the patients from the +landward side. + +At first the lepers resisted the attempt to banish them to the colony, +and their relatives, who seemed to have no fear of the disease, +concealed those who were afflicted, but this opposition decreased as the +natives learned that the lepers were to be supported in comfort by the +Government. They have a school, a library, newspapers, musical +instruments, a theater, even moving-picture shows now, I am told--in +short, everything is done to make their lives as pleasant and +comfortable as possible. + +Mark Twain writes of a beautiful custom in the colony. "Would you +expect," he says, "to find in that awful leper settlement a custom +worthy of transplanting to your own country? When death sets open the +prison door of life there the band salutes the very soul with a burst of +golden music." + +On this island where the natives have retained their primitive habits +and beliefs more than on the others of the group, the Poison God was +saved at the time the idols were destroyed, a hundred years ago. It was +kept here in charge of kahunas until near the end of the last century, +and it is not definitely known whether it may not even now be in +existence. This hideous image seems to have had the power to kill those +who handled it. It has been suggested that it was made of some poisonous +wood, and only the priests knew how to hold it without harm. + +The boat reeled on through another rough passage to the double island of +Maui, consisting of two great mountain peaks joined by a low isthmus of +lava, which by degrees filled up the channel between the two original +islands. We made endless stops, and by means of small boats took on and +off freight, cattle, and passengers--native, Chinese and Japanese. + +Our first landing was at Lahaina, once the capital of the group and the +rendezvous for all the whaling ships in the Pacific. Now it is a +dilapidated village, attractive only for its beautiful situation. + +At Wailuku, at the northern end of the isthmus, was the home of "Father +Alexander," well known as one of the early missionaries. The name +Wailuku means "Water of Destruction." A great battle was fought near +here by Kamehameha the Great. + +Unfortunately we were unable to see the Ditch Trail, so well described +by Jack London, or visit the famous Iao Valley, of which we had read +such glowing descriptions. The entrance to this "gulch" is by a dark, +wooded gorge that broadens out into an amphitheater surrounded by +precipices as lofty as those of the Yosemite. These cliffs are covered +with masses of trees, shrubs, and graceful, feathery ferns, which are +veiled in turn by the mists from a thousand waterfalls. At the head of +the valley stands the Needle, a natural watch-tower--of rock, but green +with a luxuriant vegetation--to which the defeated army retreated in the +battle of the Wailuku. + +East Maui consists entirely of the huge extinct volcano of Haleakala, +"house built by the sun." This, the largest extinct volcano on the +surface of the globe, lifts its enormous crater, twenty miles in +circumference, to the height of ten thousand feet above the sea. Some +titanic eruption blew off the top of the mountain and scooped it out to +the depth of two thousand feet. From the bottom of this vast cavity rise +many cones--the largest a hill of seven hundred feet--and there are two +great gaps in the walls, through which lava flows once made their way +down to the plain. Here and there on the desert that forms the floor of +the crater are scattered clumps of silversword, with long leaves shining +in the sun. This plant grows only at a high altitude. Hunting for it is +like hunting for the edelweiss in Switzerland. Its nearest botanical +relative is found in the Himalaya Mountains. From the highest point of +the rim of Haleakala these plants are said to appear about the size and +brightness of silver dollars. + +Glad enough we were to land at Hilo--Hawaiian for "new moon." It takes +its name from the superb crescent of the bay, two miles in length, +perhaps the most beautiful on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. At one +end of the semicircle is Cocoanut Island, crowded with glorious palms +that seem eager for the salt water, stretching their heads far out over +it, as if they would drink it up. As it is on the windward side of the +island, the trade winds bring Hilo a yearly rainfall of 150 inches, and +the result is seen in the luxuriance of the vegetation, which nearly +hides the buildings of the little city in its depths. With the bay in +front, the dense forest belt in the rear, and the towering masses of +Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in the background, the situation of Hilo is +glorious in its beauty. + +[Illustration: SILVERSWORD IN BLOOM, IN THE CRATER OF HALEAKALA.] + +On the thirty-mile trail to the crater we passed first between the +brakes of cane plantations, then through a fine tropical forest. Among +the trees we could see many gay and beautiful flowers, curious fruits +and enormous tree ferns, while in the interior were lovely glades and +the little bungalows of the coffee planters. But the island was only +just being developed, so there were numbers of ranches in the first +stages of raw newness. + +A search through the forests on some of the islands would disclose the +beautifully coloured landshells. These exquisite little creatures grow +on the leaves of the trees. Many of the native birds have become +extinct; there were originally seventy varieties. Game birds, however, +have been introduced from America and China, and from other countries +both north and south, including wild turkeys, quail, pheasants and +ducks. + +We arrived at the crater late at night, to find only a miserable hotel +with a drunken proprietor. (Liars had told us it was good.) We were +forced to pass the night there, but stayed the next day only long enough +to visit the crater. + +Kilauea was for us a great disappointment. It is not imposing in its +situation, lying low on the gradual slope of Mauna Loa. We had been +thrilled by pictures of the great pit of Halemaumau, the "house of +everlasting fire."[10] We had read of fountains of fire thrown a +thousand feet into the air, of great fissures from which burst clouds of +deadly sulphurous vapours, of indescribable terrors as huge billows of +glowing lava surged against the rim of the pit, of changing colours, +marvelous beauty, of ropes and serpents of cooling rock in a myriad +writhing and contorted shapes, of raging floods pouring down to the +plain in rivers of fire from one-half to two miles in width. But alas! +none of these wonders were for us. We saw only a far-stretching lake of +cold, black lava, over which we could walk for miles, as safe as if we +were at home. Out of a pit in the center rose a column of white +vapour--which did not even smell infernal. Pele was sleeping. + +We had three days to wait in Hilo until our steamer should be ready to +return to Honolulu. The hotel was a funny little one, near the sea, but +we were fairly comfortable, and amused ourselves in various ways. For +one thing, we tried several of the delicious tropical fruits that were +to be had here--water-lemons, mangoes, papayas, mountain apples and +guavas. We went on a picnic, and some one was kind enough to lend me a +riding habit and a pony that had won some races. I rode astride, in +native fashion. This was my first but by no means my last experience of +this most natural and comfortable mode of riding. Then I had an old +native woman to _lomi-lomi_ me--Hawaiian for massage--as I was very lame +from my long rides, and I was as much amused by her as benefited by her +treatment. + +[Illustration: FIRE HOLE, KILAUEA.] + +We decided this was our opportunity to see a hula, and asked the +coachman at the hotel to make arrangements for us at a native house. As +part of the preparations, he gave the performers some wine, so the dance +was in full swing when we arrived. They had made leis, which they put on +us and also on themselves. A fat but good looking native woman in a +holoku danced, while some others played. Another pretty native woman +said she was dying to dance, but her husband, a white man, was not +willing, and the last time she did it he beat her, so she did not dare +to try again. It was a strange scene--the native house, the dim lights, +and the wild, suggestive dance. + +The trip back to Honolulu, though only two hundred miles in length, +occupied two nights and a day of rough and tumble sailing, after which +we were happy to get to our bungalow and Chinaman once more. + +Now, the Inter-Island boats leave Honolulu twice a week for Hilo and +once a week for Kona and Kau, on the lee side of the island. It is quite +a different trip from that in the old days. On the way to Hilo the first +landing is usually at Kawaihae, an insignificant village, of no interest +except for the great heiau of Kamehameha I, the last heathen temple +erected in the Islands, dating from 1791. It is over two hundred feet +long and one hundred feet wide, and the walls are twelve feet thick at +the base. When this temple was dedicated to the favourite war-god of the +King, besides vast quantities of fruit and great numbers of hogs and +dogs, eleven human beings were sacrificed on the altar. + +Hilo is to-day a modern city of 10,000 people, and the shipping point +for all the sugar raised on the windward side of the island. A +breakwater now in process of construction will make its harbour a +perfectly safe anchorage for merchant ships. + +One may make the entire circuit of the island by motor from Hilo. On a +branch road from the highway to Kilauea is Green Lake, an emerald-tinted +sheet of water occupying an old crater. In the forest surrounding this +lake the rare pink begonia, an exquisite plant, used to grow, but I am +told by Mr. Castle it has become extinct. + +Continuing to the southwest, the road passes through the district of Kau +to Kona. Here, indeed, is the "Paradise of the Pacific." Protected from +the trade winds by the huge mountain masses of Mauna Loa and Hualalai, +it enjoys mild breezes from the west, which blow in from the sea all day +long but give place at sunset to a wind from the mountain that cools the +night. The Hawaiians have a saying that in Kona "people never die; they +dry up and blow away." Daily showers toward sunset and at night keep the +vegetation ever fresh and green, and make this a rich agricultural +region. + +Honaunau, in Kona, contains the largest of the "cities of refuge," in +the walls of which are stones weighing several tons raised as high as +six feet from the ground. Within these massive walls were three large +heiaus, also houses for the priests and refugees. The gates were always +open, and the fugitive who had crossed the threshold was absolutely +safe. Old men, women, little children, defeated soldiers, all were +received here, and when once the great gods had taken them under their +protection, they were safe even, when they returned to their homes. + +It was on the coast of Kona, at Kaawaloa, that Captain Cook was killed +by the natives. A monument has been erected there, which bears this +inscription: "In Memory of the Great Circumnavigator Captain James Cook, +R. N., who discovered these islands on the 18th of January, A. D. 1778, +and fell near this spot on the 14th of February, A. D. 1779. This +monument was erected in November, A. D. 1874, by some of his fellow +countrymen." + +At Kailua, a seashore village further north, is the old palace of the +kings of the islands. This is far from imposing in its appearance. At +this place one may watch a primitive method of shipping cattle. With +their horns tied to the side of a rowboat, the poor creatures are +dragged through the water to the steamer, then are hoisted on board by +pulleys. + +The road passes next through the Kohala district, in which the town of +that name is of interest as the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great. The +Kohala ditch, twenty-five miles long, brings water from the mountains to +the sugar plantations, fifteen miles of the way through tunnels. One may +leave the main road here and take a horseback ride along this ditch, +from which one can enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Waipio and +Waimanu valleys, enormous "gulches," separated by sheer precipices +hundreds of feet in height. + +[Illustration: ON THE SHORES OF KAUAI, THE "GARDEN ISLAND."] + +The trip to Kauai, the "Garden Island," from Honolulu, requires but a +single night, but is a rough passage. At Waimea Captain Cook made his +first landing on the Islands. Here, too, is the ruined fort built by a +Russian trader, and over which the Russian flag was raised. + +The trip through the Waimea Gulch, which is called a miniature Grand +Canyon of the Colorado, rewards the traveler with magnificent scenery. +At the deepest part the cliffs are 3,000 feet high and the valley is a +mile in width. It is said that "in the decomposing rocks the colours are +as vivid as though volcanic fires were still at work." + +On the shore, at the extreme western point of the island, are the +Barking Sands, a row of sand dunes. "The wind on the sands makes them +rustle like silk; to slide down them produces a sound like thunder; to +stamp on them makes them cry out in different cadences." Not far away is +an old bathing beach, where a bath was supposed to bring good luck. + +At Hanalei River is one of the most ancient of the deep-water fish +ponds. According to an old tradition, this was built in a single night +by Menehunes, a mythical race of dwarfs, who were noted for their +industry and mechanical skill and their feats of engineering. + +Everywhere one is struck by the preponderance of Japanese among the +inhabitants. Since this great war broke out, Japan has taken from +Germany the Ladrone Islands, just north of Guam, on the way to the +Philippines. She has also taken the Marshall Islands, which bring her +outposts fifteen hundred miles nearer to the Pacific coast of America. +If we are inclined to be a bit pessimistic over the future fate of +Hawaii, perhaps a piece of recent news from Nippon may encourage us. + +Japan has just passed a law permitting Japanese to become American +citizens. As nearly half the present inhabitants of the Islands are +Japanese and 4,000 Japanese children are born there in a year, this is +an interesting consideration when difficulties between Japan and America +are talked of. The Japanese-American Citizens' Association was organized +by a few Japanese who are citizens by right of birth, and has grown to a +membership of more than fifteen hundred. It takes an interest in +municipal affairs, discusses the questions of the day, and teaches young +Hawaiian-born Japanese the principles and duties of good citizenship. +Rev. S. Sokabe, of Honolulu, gives its members the following advice: + +"Hawaiian-born Japanese have a great mission to-day. The Japanese of +Hawaii must become the pacificators should trouble come between Japan +and America.... You owe it to yourselves to do this. Learn to be good +American citizens, and then you will be able to help in case of trouble. +You can do more to keep peace than ambassadors and ministers.... If +trouble should come with Japan, you must remember that you are the sons +of the President, not the sons of the Emperor." + +Under the old Japanese law Japanese born in Hawaii were still subjects +of Japan. Under the law lately enacted by the Diet and House of Peers of +Japan, which went into effect June 1, 1916, all Japanese born in a +foreign country have the right at the age of fifteen to decide whether +they will become subjects of Japan or of the country of their birth; +they must, however, first get the consent of their parents before giving +up their citizenship in Japan. + +Patriotic Americans should no longer think of Hawaii as she was eighteen +years ago at the time of annexation. Then the Japanese labourer on the +sugar plantations was an alien and un-American. Now he is a factor and +his children a greater factor in the American civilization of the +Pacific! + +Moreover, to show how American and patriotic most of the islanders are, +I give an account of the celebration of Washington's Birthday, when a +splendid parade took place. It included the military and naval forces of +the Islands, as well as Hawaiians, Chinese and Japanese--all helping to +make it a success. + +The native police led the procession on horseback. In quick succession +the troops of the cavalry rode by, saluting the Governor as they passed +the reviewing stand. The First Field Artillery followed, with their +guns. Then the "Dough Boys"--as the infantry men are called--companies +from the Second and the Twentieth United States Infantry; after these +came the bluejackets from the four United States warships lying in the +harbour, with their field pieces, each manned by a gun crew; then the +marines and the Red Cross brigade. The cadets of the school for young +Hawaiians and the National Guard of Hawaii presented a fine military +appearance. + +One of King Kalakaua's descendants, Prince Kuhio, and his brother's son, +little Prince Kalakaua, were among the leaders; also the so-called +Island Princesses, all on horseback. They were chosen to represent the +five large islands, and had escorts of young girls on horseback dressed +in the pau, followed by some lively cowboys on ponies. + +Then came the floats, from which confetti were thrown. One float +represented an elaborate tableau of a battle between the new Chinese +republic and the old Manchu dynasty. Some took the part of the new army +with their modern uniforms, and others in the old costumes lay very +realistically dead behind their guns. + +As evening came on the Japanese people began to assemble in the park +down in the Oriental quarter, and from there marched to the palace +grounds, then past the four American battleships at the docks, where +they gave their _banzai_ for the sailors, and were given in return a +hearty American "three cheers," showing the good feeling between the two +countries. + +In view of the strategic value of the Islands, which, for more than +fifty years, American naval officers have endeavoured to impress upon +our Government, it is pleasant to learn of the loyalty and whole-hearted +Americanism of the people of Hawaii. If Oahu, Guam and the Panama Canal +are well fortified and sufficient numbers of troops and warships are +stationed at these posts they will protect our Pacific coast better +than any number of harbour defenses. + +And now, with the banzai of these newest Americans ringing in our ears, +we must say our "_Aloha_," to these dream Islands, almost too perfect to +be real. We say farewell, but the Spell of Hawaii will always be upon +us. + + + + +[Illustration: PHILIPPINE ISLANDS] + + + + +THE PHILIPPINES + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MANILA AS WE FOUND IT + + +High on the bridge of the Pacific Mail Steamer _Siberia_ we stood as we +passed through the Boca Chica--the narrow channel--into the historic +waters of Manila Bay. On one side was the mountainous island of +Corregidor, rising steeply out of the sea and masking in its tropic +growth many batteries and guns, on the other was the splendid mountain, +Mariveles, and in the distance fine ranges rising from the sparkling +ocean. Far away on the horizon, across the huge bay, lay Manila, the +capital of the Philippine Islands. + +Three weeks before we had left Hawaii, two days later we had steamed by +Midway Island. Then we passed a few days in Japan, and coasted along the +superb island of Formosa, rightly named "the beautiful"--where great +mountains dipped down into the still sea--and now we were entering the +Philippines, the real objective point of the official party--there were +eight of us--in which we were so fortunate as to be included. We were +at last going to see the interesting results of Spanish rule for three +centuries, upon which were being grafted all the energy and scientific +and social knowledge of the twentieth-century American. + +Although both Hawaii and the Philippines are under American rule, they +are like different worlds. The Land of the Palm and Pine is a much +bigger problem for the United States than Hawaii. The latter is nearer +home, a smaller group of islands, and is quite Americanized. It is the +commercial hub of the Pacific, an important coaling station, an outlying +protection for the California coast. The natives are of Polynesian +extraction and American education; they are quite unlike the Filipinos +in character, who are Malaysian and have had centuries of Spanish +influence. The Filipinos clamour for independence, the Moros and the +wild tribes must be carefully handled, while the Hawaiian is contented +with his lot. Besides the necessity of maintaining an army in the +Philippines so far from home, one hundred and one other difficulties are +to be considered. With these facts in mind, we looked forward to +interesting experiences in the Islands, and we were not disappointed. + +[Illustration: GOVERNOR GENERAL CAMERON FORBES.] + +As we approached Manila, some small scout boats, all flag bedecked, +came out and joined us, and fell in behind in procession, then larger +boats, one bringing the excellent Constabulary Band, which played gaily. +Another, which had officials on board, exchanged greetings with us +across the water, and others with unofficial people added their welcome. +Quarantine was made easy, and all difficulties with customs officials +were spared us. When we reached the dock it was massed with the people +who had landed from the boats and with crowds from the town. + +At once Governor General Cameron Forbes came on board to greet the +Secretary of War, and then followed a reception, the guests ranging from +the apostolic delegate in his robes, the consular officials and insular +officers, and the army and navy in spotless gold-braided uniforms, to +the leading citizens, very intelligent looking and well mannered, and +members of the Assembly. The dock was lined with troops, who paid the +military honours. + +After the reception on shipboard the Secretary and Mrs. Dickinson and +the official members of the party were whirled off in autos, with a +squadron of cavalry clattering along as escort. Another motor was +waiting for us, and we soon joined the procession as it moved to the +palace. + +We were much interested in the sights in the streets. There were +numbers of _carromatos_, little covered two-wheeled carriages, drawn by +stocky Filipino ponies. The streets in this part of the town are wide, +and the houses have overhanging balconies, in Spanish style. In honour +of the Secretary, the buildings were draped with flags. Near the wharf +the land had lately been filled in, and great docks were in +construction. There was a new boulevard near the old Luneta, and an +avenue named after President Taft, besides a big hotel and a hospital +that had then just been finished. The harbour was filled with vessels, +electric cars were running, and autos were to be seen, so at first it +all looked quite up to date, until you met a carabao slowly swaying down +the street, hitched to a two-wheeled cart, with a brown boy in red +trousers, _piña_ shirt and a big straw hat sitting on his back--"carry +boy," as Secretary Dickinson named the animal. The "carry boys" do not +like white people, and sometimes charge them, stamping and goring them +with their horns, but a small Filipino boy seems to have perfect control +of them, and if they are allowed occasionally to wade in a puddle, which +cools them off, they do not "go _loco_," or crazy. + +It was in the palace of Malacañan, or Government House, as it is +sometimes called, that Secretary and Mrs. Dickinson and ourselves +stayed with the Governor General. This is a large, rambling structure in +a garden by the Pasig River. Under the porte-cochère we entered a stone +hall, off which were offices, then went up a long flight of stairs to a +big hall looking into a court. This hall was hung with oil paintings of +Spanish governors, quite well done by native artists, and in the center +stood a huge one-piece table of superb _nara_ wood, covered with +gleaming head-axes and spears, _bolos_, _krisses_, _campilans_, and +_lantankas_, used by the wild tribes and Moros. + +Our rooms were large and empty, as was the entire palace--indeed, so are +all the houses on account of the heat. The polished floors, too, are +made of huge planks, sometimes of such valuable tropical woods as +rosewood and mahogany, and are left bare. It took a little time to +accustom ourselves to the hard beds with rattan bottoms, covered only by +two sheets. They were carved and four-posted, and draped with mosquito +netting. Two little brown lizards squeaked at us in a friendly manner, +and crept down the walls, out of curiosity, no doubt, little ants kept +busily crawling across the room in a line, and the mosquitoes that hid +in my clothes in the rack during the daytime buzzed about at night. The +heat was great, notwithstanding the electric fan, but the sliding +screens that formed the sides of the room gave us some relief. These +shutters are like Japanese _shoji_, made of small panes of an opalescent +shell to soften the intensity of tropic sunlight, with green slit bamboo +shades pulled halfway down. + +When I used to write or read I sat on my rattan bed under the mosquito +netting; there I could look out of the parted sides of the house to the +red hibiscus border of the garden stretching along the narrow Pasig. +Boatmen, in conical straw hats, perched at the ends of their _bancas_, +paddled the hollowed-out logs rapidly through the water, or floated idly +by, smoking their cigarettes; these boats were loaded to the gunwale +with green grasses, and had canopies of matted straw. Launches, too, +came chugging past, towing the big high poops covered with +straw-screened _cascos_. Over beyond the river was a flat all in a green +tangle, with the thatched _nipa_ houses on their stilts. For the palace +stands outside the more thickly settled parts of the city, which in turn +surround the walled town. + +[Illustration: _The Pasig River_] + +Manila to-day is a curious mixture of native _nipa_ shacks and old +Spanish churches and forts with the up-to-date American buildings and +improvements. There are the different quarters, as in all cities of +the Orient--Chinese, native and so on--and each has its own distinctive +sights. The street smells, which are never lacking in a city, reminded +us of India. + +The walled city has picturesque gates breaking through the old gray +battlements--the massive wall was begun in 1590--and ancient sentry +houses at the corners, while behind rise the white balconies of old +convents and monasteries, and buildings now used for government +purposes, and towers of churches. The old moats have been filled up for +sanitary reasons and are being made into wide sweeps of lawn and flower +gardens, and the famous Malecon, the drive beneath the city walls, which +was once upon the sea front, has been removed too far inland by the +filling of the harbour to retain its old charm. + +"Intramuros" (within the walls) more than half the land belongs to the +Church, and church buildings abound. These are really inferior, compared +with those we saw in Mexico, but some of them are very old. The +Augustinian Church, finished in 1605, has enormously thick walls and a +stone crypt of marvelous strength. + +In the center of the town is Plaza McKinley, but the main business +street is the narrow Escolta, made to look still narrower by the +overhanging second stories of the buildings. + +We visited the botanical gardens, a shaded park with winding paths +beneath acacias and mango trees. We drove, too, through the narrow +streets of the suburb of San Miguel, where we looked into tangled +gardens of tropical plants, behind which were houses with broad verandas +and wide-opening sides, covered by a wonderful screen of a sort of mauve +morning glory, which blooms, however, all day long. + +The native houses are built of bamboo with braided grass walls and +thatched roofs, and are raised on stilts because of the rainy season. We +went to order some embroidery one day of a Tagalog woman. Climbing a +ladder into a small house, we saw the whole family sitting on the floor, +working over a long frame. In some of these shacks they have a small +room for visitors, with chairs and a table, and cheap prints of the +Virgin on the walls. Under the house are kept usually a pig and a pony. +One woman was very successful--she not only had waist patterns to show +and to sell, but had a standing order from Marshall Field, in Chicago. +We also visited a still more prosperous embroidery house, built of +stucco, with a courtyard. These people were Spanish _mestizos_. + +A visit to the cigarette factory to which we were taken by Mr. Legarda +showed us one of the characteristic industries of the city and gave us +an idea of the deftness and quickness of those who are employed in this +work. The little women who pack the cigarettes can pick up a number of +them and tell in a twinkle by the feeling just how many they hold, and +the cigar wrappers work with greatest rapidity and sureness and make a +perfect product. It was all very clean and fresh, with hundreds of +employees in the large, airy rooms. A band played as we went through the +building, and we had a generous luncheon and received innumerable +presents from the managers. + +Opportunity was given us for sundry little exploring trips into the +suburbs of Manila.[11] We rode on horseback, in company with Secretary +Dickinson, Governor Forbes and General Edwards, among little native +shacks, through overgrown lanes beyond the city, and along the beach, +where we saw fishermen's huts and men mending their nets, to the Polo +Club. The Governor, who was most generous in giving money of his own to +benefit the Islands, not only built the clubhouse and laid out the field +at his own expense, but even imported Arabian horses and good Western +ponies. This club is a fine thing to keep army officers in good +condition and give them exercise and amusement, as well as to bring good +horses into the Islands. The clubhouse, of plaited grasses, bamboo and +wood, is on the edge of the beach, from which one can see the beautiful +sunsets across the bay and catch the faint line of the mountains in the +distance. It all seemed very far-away and tropical and enchanting. + +The English-speaking residents of Manila have various other clubs, among +which the Army and Navy, the English, and the University are perhaps the +most important. The Officers' Club, at Fort McKinley (seven miles from +Manila) has a superb situation, commanding a fine view of the mountains. + +As we landed in Manila early Sunday morning, we were in time for service +in the Episcopal cathedral, which had just been built. This is a +handsome building in the Spanish style, large and airy, with an +effective altar. It was erected by an American friend of Bishop Brent, +the Episcopal bishop, who has done fine work in the Islands. According +to a story that is related of this good man, he made a journey at one +time into the interior of Luzon, where he found the natives sadly in +need of instruction in ways of personal cleanliness. As soon as he +reached the mail service again, he wrote to America for a ton of soap, +which was duly shipped to him and used for the purification of the +aborigines. + +I was glad to visit also Bishop Brent's orphan school, consisting +principally of American-mestizo children. The native women, when +deserted by their white lovers, generally marry natives, who often +ill-treat these half-white children, and sometimes sell them as slaves. +Miss Sibley, of Detroit, was in charge of this school, which was in a +big, comfortable house near the native shacks on the edge of the town, +and had twelve pupils at that time. + +A convent of Spanish nuns on a small island in the river, interested me +greatly. It was then under the supervision of the government, for it was +at that time not only a convent but also a poorhouse, a school for +orphans, an asylum for insane men and women, and a reformatory for bad +boys. The embroidery done at the convent was better than that made by +the natives in their houses, as the thread used was finer. The nuns +charged more than the natives, but they would also cut and sew, thus +finishing the garments. Articles embroidered by native women were never +made up by them, but had to be taken to a Chinese tailor. + +The linen must first be bought, however, so I tried to do a little +shopping in the city, but found it very unsatisfactory. The shops are +poor, and, as one traveler has said, you can get nothing you want in +them, but plenty of things you don't want, for which you can pay a very +high price. + +One day I was taken to a cockpit, where a cockfight was to come off. +This is one of the characteristic amusements of the Filipinos, which +they have engaged in since the year 1500. It is so popular that it would +be difficult to put a stop to it all at once, but it has been restricted +by the government to Sundays and legal holidays, which is something of a +victory. (They are also passionately fond of horse racing, in regard to +which other restrictions have been made.) Outside, beggars, old and +blind, were crawling over the ground; natives strolled around, petting +their birds, which they carried under their arms; and vendors with dirty +trays of sweetmeats wandered about. We bought our tickets and passed +into the rickety amphitheater. + +Cocks were crowing, and such a howling as went on, the audience all +looking toward us as we entered. It seemed as if they were angry with us +for stepping into the arena, and yet there was no other way to reach the +seats. Our guides pointed to a shaky ladder that led into a gallery, but +we preferred to sit far back in the chairs about the pit. There were +natives, Chinese, and mestizos present. We soon discovered that they +were not angry with us, but we had entered at a moment when the betting +was going on, and the cocks in the ring were so popular that there was +great excitement. + +Each cock was allowed to peck the neck of the other and get a taste of +blood, while they were still held under their owners' arms. The fighting +cocks did not look quite like ours. They were armed for the fray with +sharp "slashers" attached to their spurs. When the betting had subsided +the cocks were left to themselves in the ring, and they generally went +for each other at once. What a hopping and scuttling! Feathers flew, the +crowd cheered, and the cocks went at each other again and again until +they were hurt or killed. The referee then decided upon the victor. +Sometimes the cocks did not seem to interest the crowd, and then their +owners would take them out of the ring before fighting; at times the +cocks refused to fight. It was not so exciting as I had expected, and +when we considered that the birds were to be eaten anyway, it did not +seem so cruel and terrible as I thought it would. + +Speaking of cocks being eaten, the principal foods of the Filipinos are +fowls and eggs, as well as rice, fish and carabao meat, but as the +"carry-boys" are good workers they are not often eaten. Pigs are kept by +the Filipinos, and are put on a raised platform for about six weeks +before killing, so as to keep them clean and fatten them with good food. +Salads, crawfish and trout, as well as cocoanut milk, red wine and wild +coffee, are among the things they live on. Army people in the Islands +often have, in addition, wild deer and wild boar which are shot by the +American officers, besides excellent game birds, such as the minor +bustard, jungle fowl, wild chicken, quail, snipe and duck. + +[Illustration: MALACAÑAN PALACE.] + +I was asked to receive with the Secretary and Mrs. Dickinson and General +and Mrs. Edwards, at the Governor General's reception at Malacañan, +where we stood in line and shook hands with some seventeen hundred +persons. It was a remarkable scene. The palace, which opens up +handsomely, and the terrace overhanging the river, were outlined by a +myriad electric lights, while launches came and went with guests, and +the Philippine Constabulary Band played in the interior court. The papal +delegate was there in his canonicals, with his accompanying monsignors, +and barefooted friars in cowls. There were foreign consuls in their +uniforms, and many Filipina women, with pretty manners and dainty ways, +some in their native dress, which is so quaint and gaily coloured. +Insurrecto generals came, too, who looked like young boys, and members +of the high courts, very wise and dignified. + +After most of the guests had arrived, there was a _rigodon_ of honour, +in which all took part. The rigodon is the dance of the Filipinos, and +of so much importance to them that it was considered essential that the +Secretary and his party should be able to join in it. Accordingly, we +had all practised it on the ship before reaching Manila. It is said that +ex-President Taft won much of his way into the hearts of these island +people by his skill and evident delight in this dance, which is +something like a graceful and dignified quadrille, with much movement +and turning. + +To show that traveling in an official party is not "all play and no +work," I may just note the program carried out by the men on the day +following this reception. Rising at six o'clock and taking an early +breakfast, they went on board the commanding general's yacht and cruised +across Manila Bay to visit the new defenses on the island of Corregidor, +which rises a sheer five hundred feet out of the water. For hours they +moved from one place to another in the heat, inspecting huge guns and +mortars and barracks and storehouses, all hidden away so as not to be +seen from the sea, although great gashes in the cliffs showed where the +trolley roads and the inclined planes ran. It is really the key to our +possessions in the Far East. Thousands of men were working like ants all +over the place. It was two o'clock before the party reached the tip-top, +where they had a stand-up luncheon at the quarters of the commanding +officer. Then they came back to the yacht, and fairly tumbled down just +wherever they happened to be for a siesta. They were then taken to +Cavite, ten miles away, which is one of the two naval stations. There +they landed again and visited the picturesque old Spanish fortifications +and the quarters. + +[Illustration: MRS. ANDERSON IN FILIPINA COSTUME.] + +A _baile_, or ball, was given in honour of the Secretary by the +Philippine Assembly, at their official building, where all the ladies of +our party wore the Filipina dress. This is ordinarily made of piña +cloth, a cheap, gauzy material, manufactured from pineapple fiber. The +waist, called _camisa_, is made with winglike sleeves and a stiff +kerchief-like collar, named _panuela_. The skirt may be of any material, +quite often a handsome brocade, and among the Tagalogs a black silk +open-work apron finishes the costume. The white suits and uniforms of +the men and the bright-coloured dresses made this ball a gay and lively +scene. The band played incessantly, and after the Secretary and Mrs. +Dickinson had stopped receiving at the head of the stairs, there was a +rigodon, which we all danced in as stately a manner as we could. But my +most vivid recollection of the ball is of the heat and the pink +lemonade, which poisoned a hundred people and made me deadly ill all +that night. + +The Governor General gave a big dinner for the Secretary of War at the +palace one evening. We assisted also at the opening of the new +theater--which is called the finest in the Far East--at which Marshall +Darrach gave recitations from Shakespeare. I must not forget the gala +performance at the new theater, too, which was arranged by the society +people of the city. All the performers were amateurs, so we rather +dreaded the evening, which promised to be interminable, but everything +was so good that the time passed quickly. The little ladies sang quite +acceptably, and played the violin and the piano; and a lot of tiny tots, +children of the best people, gave an amusing vaudeville that really was +exceedingly funny and was much applauded. We could hardly believe that +it was all amateur. + +The Government Dormitory for Girls, which we visited, I found most +interesting. There were one hundred and fifty, eight sleeping in each +room. These girls came from different provinces all over the Islands. As +there are so many distinct dialects, some of them could understand one +another only in English, and no other language is allowed to be spoken. +One of the girls made a speech in English welcoming the Secretary and +did it extremely well. Having learned, among other things, to cook, they +gave us delicious tea and cakes and candies on a half-open veranda among +the vines and Japanese lanterns. Some were taking the nurses' course, +which seemed to be the most popular. These pretty girls danced for us in +their stiff, bright-coloured costumes, swaying and waving their hands, +and turning and twirling in their languid but dignified manner. It +appeared to be a mixture of a Spanish and a native dance, and was +altogether quite charming. + +A morning with Mr. Worcester at the Bureau of Science was most +delightful. This bureau is so much more than a museum of scientific +specimens that I cannot begin to do justice to it in a single paragraph. +It was started at first as a Bureau of Government Laboratories in charge +of the chemical and biological work of the government, the departments +of zoölogical and botanical research were subsequently added, and +finally the Bureau of Ethnology and the Bureau of Mines were +incorporated with it. Not only were all these departments coördinated +under one head, preventing overlapping and securing economy and +efficiency of administration, but this work was correlated with that of +the Philippine General Hospital and the College of Medicine and Surgery. +When this comprehensive plan was formed all the scientific work of the +government was carried on in "a hot little shack," and the scheme was +commonly referred to as "Worcester's Dream," but at the time of our +visit the dream had come true. The departments were manned by thoroughly +trained men from the States, and the Bureau of Science was one of the +world's greatest scientific institutions. + +The Philippine Bureau of Science "is now dead." When the Democratic +Administration took charge it was announced that all theoretical +departments, such as ethnology, botany, ornithology, photography and +entomology (!) were to be "reduced or eliminated." It was afterward made +plain that all work which was considered practical would be continued, +but the mischief had been done, the men who made the institution had +left, and under present conditions it is impossible to secure others who +are equally competent in their place. Our only consolation is to be +derived, as Mr. Worcester himself says, "from contemplating the fact +that pendulums swing." + +Though so recently established, the museum contained in 1910 a wonderful +exhibit of the plants and animals of the Islands. We took a peep into +the butterfly room, where we admired some rare and lovely ones with a +feathery velvet sheen the colour of the sea. We saw also the huge brown +Atlas moth touched with coral, like a cashmere shawl, with eyes of +mother-of-pearl on his wings. We noticed that the females were larger +than the males, and even those of the same variety often differed +greatly in colour. In one case a female was big, and brown and violet +in colour, while her mate was small, and blue and yellow. + +In the next room were beetles, some of which were like the matrix of +turquoise, and others had shimmering, changeable shades of green and +bronze. There were beetles like small turtles, and long, horned beetles +like miniature carabaos. + +Afterward we visited the birds. Bright-coloured sun birds, with long +beaks, which feed on the honey of flowers; clever tailor birds, small +and brown, with green heads and gray breasts, which sew leaves together +with vegetable fiber to make their nests; birds of whose nests the +Chinese make their famous soup, and the blue kingfishers, of whose +brilliant feathers these same Chinese make jewelry; fire-breasted birds, +too, and five-coloured birds. There were birds that build their nest +four feet or more under the ground, and hornbills, that wall up their +wives in holes in the trees while they are hatching their eggs, the +males bringing them food and dropping it through a small opening. There, +too, I saw the fairy bluebird. + +Near by, we visited an orchid garden, and passed under gates and bamboo +trellises dripping with every kind of orchid. The Philippines are the +paradise of these remarkable plants, and many are the adventures that +collectors of them have had in the interior of these Islands. + +Then we passed into the Jesuit chapel and museum. We were greeted at the +door by several black-robed priests, who smiled and bowed and talked all +at once. They escorted us first to the museum, where there were cases of +shells--heart-shaped shells, trumpet shells, scalloped shells big enough +for a bathtub--all kinds of shells, and the paper nautilus, which is not +a shell but an egg case. Then there were land shells, polished red and +green, Venus' flower baskets, exquisite glass sponges, corals of all +kinds--fine branches of the red and the white--and an enormous turtle +that weighed fifteen hundred pounds. + +In the cases at the side of the room were animals of the country--flying +monkeys, with sucking pads on their toes to help them climb the trees, +big, furry bats and flying lizards. A tiny buffalo, which was discovered +only a few years ago up in the hills, and a small spotted deer were in +the collection. A big monkey-catching eagle, white and brown, was here, +and the paroquet that carries leaves for her nest in her red tail, as +well as a pigeon with ruffs of green and blue about her neck, and a +bald crown, which was caused, the natives say, by flying so high that +her head hit the sky. + +Numerous entertainments and receptions were crowded into that too short +visit to Manila. July 25th had been declared a national holiday. A +musical program was given in honour of the Secretary by five thousand +Manila school children. One afternoon Mrs. Dickinson received some of +the Filipina ladies, who sang and played on the piano quite well. + +Another day the officers and ladies at Fort McKinley entertained the +party at luncheon at the Officers' Club. Before luncheon there was a +military review in which the troops from all over the islands +participated, followed by some good shell firing out in the chaparral, +as under war conditions, and a display of wireless work. A special drill +was given by Captain Tom Anderson--the son of General Anderson--whose +company was one of the best drilled in the army, and went through the +manual and marching with only one order given, counting to themselves in +silence the whole seventeen hundred counts, all in perfect unison.[12] + +In the Secretary of War's speech that afternoon he took occasion to say, +"General Duvall, you have not said too much in favour of the Army. You +have not overdrawn the picture, for a steadier moving column or brighter +eyed men and a more soldierly set of men I have never seen anywhere." + +The reception by General and Mrs. Duvall was a brilliant affair, chiefly +of the army and navy. The handsome house with its wide verandas stood in +a garden overlooking Manila Bay. + +On the Luneta there was, one evening, the largest gathering that had +assembled on that historic plaza since the days of the "Empire," for the +Secretary of War was expected to be there. The people hoped that he +brought with him a proclamation of immediate independence to be +announced at that time. The Luneta had once been at the edge of the +water, but a great space had been filled in beyond it, and buildings +were going up--a large hotel, which would make all the difference in the +world to tourist travel in the Philippines, and a huge Army and Navy +Club--so that it was planned to remove the Luneta farther out some day, +again to the water's edge. On this particular evening, the oval park was +crowded with picturesque people, almost all the men in white, the +soldiers in their trig khaki, and the women in their gaily coloured +dresses and panuelas. Rows of carriages circled round and round, as the +two bands played alternately. After a time we left our automobiles and +walked in the throng. A magnificent sunset was followed by the gorgeous +tints of the afterglow, and dusk came on and evening fell while we +watched and were watched. Soon a thousand electric lights, that were +carried in rows around the plaza and over the kiosks of the bands, +sparkled out in the darkness. The beauty of the scene, the animation of +the crowd, driving or walking in groups, and the refreshing coolness +after the heat of the day, made this a lasting memory. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE PHILIPPINES OF THE PAST + + +How have the Philippines come to present such a unique combination of +Spanish and Malay civilization? Let us look into their past. We find for +the early days myths and legends, preserved by oral tradition. Two +quaint stories told by the primitive mountain people, which show how +they believe the Islands first came into being and how the first man and +woman entered into this world, are worth transcribing for their naïve +simplicity: + +"A long time ago there was no land. There were only the sea and the sky. +A bird was flying in the sky. It grew tired flying. It wanted something +to rest upon. The bird was very cunning. It set the sea and sky to +quarreling. The sea threw water up at the sky. The sky turned very dark +and angry. Then the angry sky showered down upon the sea all the +Islands. That is how the Islands came." + +This second tale is even more child-like: + +"A great bamboo grew on one of the Islands. It was very large around, +larger than any of the others. The bird lit on the ground and began to +peck the bamboo. A voice inside said, 'Peck harder, peck harder.' The +bird was frightened at first, but it wanted to know what was inside. So +it pecked and pecked. Still the voice said, 'Peck harder, peck harder.' +At last a great crack split the bamboo from the bottom to the top. Out +stepped a man and a woman. The bird was so frightened that it flew away. +The man bowed very low to the woman, for they had lived in different +joints of the bamboo and had never seen each other before. They were the +first man and woman in the world." + +These natives believe there are good and evil spirits, and they invoke +the agency of the latter to explain the mystery of death. They say the +first death occurred when the evil spirit lightning became angry with +man and hurled a dangerous bolt to earth. + +The first suggestion of real history is found in the traditions that +tell of Malays from the south who came and settled on these islands. It +is said a race of small black people were already here--the +Negritos--who resembled the African negroes, and who retired into the +hills before the invaders. + +Next we hear of a Mohammedan priest who came to the southern +Philippines and gave the people his religion. His followers have to this +day been called Moros. + +It was more than two centuries before Captain Cook visited Hawaii, that +white men discovered the Philippines. Magellan, the famous Portuguese +navigator, while sailing in the service of Spain, landed on Mindanao and +Cebu, and took possession of the group in the name of the Spanish king. +Before starting from Seville on this voyage around the world, Magellan +had already spent seven years in India and sailed as far as Sumatra, so +he already knew this part of the world. This time he was in search of +the Spice Islands and of a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific +Ocean. He had touched first at Teneriffe and then crossed the Atlantic +to Brazil, making his way along the coast of South America. There were +many hardships and difficulties to contend with, and mutiny in the fleet +resulted in several deaths. But, as we all know, he persevered, and on +the 15th of October, 1520, discovered the straits which were named after +him. + +The Ladrones were reached after fourteen tedious weeks, and on St. +Lazarus' day, in 1521, the Philippines were sighted and named by him for +the saint. In the early times they were sometimes referred to by the +Spaniards as the Eastern, and later as the Western, Islands. They were +finally named the Philippines by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, after his +king, Philip the Second. + +Magellan was quite unlike Captain Cook, whose visit to Hawaii has been +mentioned. He was a nobleman and full of the religious enthusiasm that +fired the Spaniards of his day. He was accompanied by several friars, +who at once began missionary work among the natives, and only a week +after his arrival the Cebuan chief and his warriors were baptized into +the Christian faith. Unfortunately, Magellan took sides with the Cebuans +in their warfare against a neighbouring tribe, and in the battle he was +killed. After his death, the same chieftain turned on Magellan's +followers, but some escaped to their ships. Out of two hundred and fifty +men who had set sail three years before, only eighteen, after suffering +incredible hardships on the long journey by way of India and the Cape of +Good Hope, returned safely to Spain. + +The next explorer who touched at the Islands was the Englishman, Sir +Francis Drake, of Spanish Armada fame, who sailed in 1570 on a voyage +round the world. We also hear of another Briton, William Dampier, a +noted free-booter, who, in 1685, tried to cross the Isthmus of Panama +with Captain Sharp. Three times he sailed round the world, and touched +at the northern as well as the southern Philippine Islands. + +Magellan, Drake and Dampier gave the western world much knowledge of the +Far East, but did not remain long enough in the Islands to have any +great or lasting influence over the natives. The work of civilizing them +was left to Legaspi and the Spanish friars, who were the first real +settlers. + +In 1565, the Philippines were occupied by an expedition under Miguel +Lopez de Legaspi, _alcalde_ of the City of Mexico, who was charged to +open a new route to Java and the Southern Islands. On his return voyage +he was to examine the ports of the Philippines, and, if expedient, to +found a colony there. In any case he was to establish trade with the +Islands. The viceroy of Mexico charged him that the friars with the +expedition were to be treated with the utmost consideration, "since you +are aware that the chief thing sought after by His Majesty is the +increase of our holy Catholic faith and the salvation of the souls of +those infidels." + +Cebu was occupied, and Manila was taken and made the seat of +government. The occupation of the Islands was not exactly by force of +arms, for there was no fighting, although they found the islands well +populated and the people more or less armed. The natives seemed to +recognize and submit to a better government and religion than they had +ever known. The reports of the Spaniards of the time speak of the +success of small expeditions of perhaps a hundred men, who took over +whole provinces. These soldiers were accompanied by Spanish priests, who +settled among the people, preaching Christianity in the native tongues. +The friars persuaded them to give up their continual feuds and submit to +the central authority which the friars represented. + +Legaspi brought with him from Mexico four hundred Spanish soldiers. +Later eight hundred more arrived, and civilian Spaniards, both married +and single, sailed to the Islands as settlers. In 1591, according to the +records of Spanish grants, there were 667,612 natives under Spanish +rule, and twenty-seven officials to enforce the laws and preserve order. +It was reported that in a majority of the grants there was peace, +justice and religious instruction. There were Augustinian, Dominican and +Franciscan friars as well as secular clergy. These men were not only +priests but also fighters and organizers, and did fine work for many +years, until long-continued possession of power gradually made the +orders corrupt and grasping. + +Upon their first arrival, the Spaniards found the people established in +small villages, or _barangays_, where the chief lived surrounded by his +slaves and followers. It was considered wise to continue this system, +ruling the villages through the local chieftain, whom the Spaniards +called _cabeza de barangay_. Churches were erected, convent houses were +built about them, and the natives were urged to gather near by. It was +ordered that "elementary schools should be established, in which the +Indians will be taught not only Christian doctrine and reading and +writing but also arts and trades, so that they may become not only good +Christians but also useful citizens." + +So at the end of the sixteenth century the Philippines were at peace. +The natives were allowed to move from one town to another, but they were +required to obtain permission, in order to prevent them from wandering +about without religious instruction. The tendency of the Malays is to +separate into small groups, and they have never been dwellers in large +towns. The Spanish priests, therefore, found a constant effort +necessary to keep them concentrated about the churches "under the +bells." + +[Illustration: "UNDER THE BELLS."] + +The fervour of religious reform which started in Germany was followed by +an equal fervour within the Roman Catholic Church. The period of Julius +II and Leo X was over; the Council of Trent had met. Ignatius Loyola had +seen his visions and sent forth his company, and Spain was full of +priests eager to serve God with the same stern energy which the previous +generation had shown in the search for lands and gold and fabulous gems. +No duty was so grave as that of conformity to the Church, no stigma so +galling as that of heretic. To convert the heathen was an obligation +binding upon all men. All Spanish colonies were missions; the +Philippines were always rather a mission than a colony. + +Until the revolt of 1896, Spain never found it necessary to hold the +Islands by armed force; her dominion there was based rather on her +conquest of the minds and souls of men. There had been a few uprisings, +however, and early in the eighteenth century a Spanish governor and his +son were murdered by a mob. But notwithstanding occasional difficulties, +in the main there was peace until the civil service of the Philippines +was assimilated with that of Spain. Then officials became dependent upon +their supporters at home, and were changed with every change of the +ministry. Some Spaniard writing at the time said that with the opening +of the Suez Canal Spanish office holders descended on the Islands like +locusts. + +At the end of the nineteenth century, the Spanish army had grown to +17,859 of all ranks, only 3,005 of whom were Spaniards, and there was a +constabulary of over 3,000 officers and men, who were almost entirely +natives. The rule of Spain was secured by a native army. There could +have been no widespread discontent, or that army would not have remained +true to its allegiance, especially as its recruits were obtained by +conscription. + +The chronicles remind us, however, that the Spaniards did not have +things all their own way. In the early days, they were at first friendly +with the Chinese, and Mexico carried on a flourishing trade with China +by way of Manila until the pirate Li Ma Hong raided the Islands. The +Spaniards were on good terms with the Japanese until the latter +massacred the Jesuit friars in Japan. When the Shogun Iyeyasu expelled +the priests he sent away even those who were caring for the lepers, and +as a final insult, he sent to Manila three junks loaded with lepers, +with a letter to the governor general of the Philippines, in which he +said that, as the Spanish friars were so anxious to provide for the poor +and needy, he sent him a cargo of men who were in truth sore afflicted. +Only the ardent appeals of the friars saved these unfortunates and their +contaminated vessels from being sunk in Manila Bay. Finally the governor +yielded, and these poor creatures were landed and housed in the leper +hospital of San Lazaro, which was then established for their reception +and which remains to-day. + +The Spanish governors were also hampered by the lack of effective +support from the older colony of Mexico, which was so much nearer than +the home land that they naturally turned to it for aid. One of them +wrote pathetically to the King of Spain: + +"And for the future ... will your Majesty ordain that Mexico shall +furnish what pertains to its part. For, if I ask for troops, they send +me twenty men, who die before they arrive here, and none are born here. +And if I ask for ammunition, they laugh at me and censure me, and say +that I ask impossible things. They retain there the freight money and +the duties; and if they should send to this state what is yours, your +Majesty would have to spend but little from your royal patrimony." + +The Portuguese were a source of anxiety to the colonists until Portugal +fell into the hands of Spain. The Dutch, too, who were growing powerful +in the Far East, even took Formosa, which brought them altogether too +near, but they were driven out of that island by the great Chinese +pirate Koxinga.[13] + +From the time of Legaspi to the end of Spanish rule there were +occasional attacks upon the Chinese residing in the archipelago, who +were never allowed to live in the Islands without exciting protest and +dislike, based partly upon religious, partly upon commercial grounds. +During the last one hundred years of Spanish supremacy, the greatest +danger to their power was the presence of the Chinese. Efforts to +exclude them were never effective or long enduring, and yet it was felt +that the men who came as labourers and traders were the advance guard of +an innumerable host. In business the Malay has never been the equal of +the shrewd Chinaman, and although the latter might be converted and take +a Spanish name, yet it was always gravely suspected that a search would +find joss sticks smoldering in front of the tutelary deity of commerce +hidden behind the image of the Virgin in his chapel. + +So the Chinaman, like the Jew in medieval Europe, carried on his trade +in constant danger of robbery and murder. This antipathy did not, +however, extend to Filipina women, many of whom married the foreigners. +Among the leaders in the Filipino insurrection against the United +States, Aguinaldo, two of his cabinet, nine of his generals, and many of +his more important financial agents were of Chinese descent. + +In 1762 the English swooped down upon Manila, but they held the capital +only two years, for, by the Treaty of Paris, the lands they had taken +were returned to Spain. It is said the English conquest, brief as it +was, brought good results to the Islands. + +Before going on to the struggle against the friars, I wish to quote +from my father's letters describing his experiences in the Philippines +twenty years before American occupation. + + + "At Sea, December 2, 1878. + +"Yesterday I left Manila, where I have been since the 6th of last +month.... Our first days there were spent in firing salutes and +exchanging visits, and going through all the forms which are customary +when a government vessel comes into a foreign port. Admiral Patterson +sent me here to settle a stabbing affray on board the American barque +_Masonic_, and that took up my attention at first. In the evenings I +went to the opera, and visited the sights of the city. On account of +earthquakes, all the buildings are but one story high. The customs, +fashions, etc., are Spanish. Every one was polite and I found it very +pleasant; but, as you might expect, after a little while I grew +restless. I heard that there was some beautiful scenery in the interior, +and I resolved to go on an investigating trip and see it. Our +vice-consul, Mr. Yongs, and another gentleman went with me. + +"From Manila we went in a boat up a short river, which had its rise in a +large lake, about twenty-five miles long, that we crossed in a steamer. +I think I never saw such quantities of two things as were on that +lake--namely, ducks and mosquitoes. + +"From the lake we continued our journey in two-horse vehicles, like the +_volantes_ of Havana, and in these we went from village to village, on +our way to the mountains. We were very well treated. The Spanish +authorities at Manila provided us with whatever we required. The +villages were clusters of thatched huts around a church, and the +religion seemed to be a curious mixture of Roman Catholic Christianity +and pagan superstition, as I concluded from the style of the pictures +with which the churches were adorned. These were chiefly representations +of hell and its torments. Devils, with the traditional tails and horns, +and armed with pitchforks, were turning over sinners in lakes of burning +brimstone.... + +"We found the natives very musical; they sang and played on a variety of +instruments, and they were rather handsome. The women had, without +exception, the longest and most luxuriant hair I ever saw in all my +travels. You know it is a rare thing among us for a woman to have hair +that sweeps the ground, but here the exception is the other way; nearly +every woman I saw had hair between five and six feet in length. + +"I was told that back among the mountains there existed tribes whom the +Spaniards have never been able to conquer, and no one dares to venture +among them, not even the priests. Our road was constantly ascending, and +as we advanced toward the interior the scenery became beautiful. Peaks +of mountains rose all about us; plains and valleys stretched out, +covered with tropical vegetation; picturesque villages, clustering +around their churches, were visible here and there; and in the distance +were glimpses of the sea, sparkling and bright in the sun. + +"I was told of a wonderful ravine among the mountains that was worth +seeing and I decided to visit it, especially as it was a favourable +time; the river, by which it had to be approached, was then high, and +its fifteen cascades, which usually had to be climbed past, dragging the +canoe, were reduced to four. I took three natives with me, and we +ascended successfully. I have called it a ravine, but a gorge would be a +better term, for it is worn directly through the mountain by a large +river, and the rock rises up on each side, as sheer and straight as if +cut by machinery. + +"After I had ascended a certain distance, I stopped for a time to +examine all the wild magnificence about me. The rocky wall on each side +was so high that when I looked up I could see the stars shining in that +bright noonday, as if it were night. Huge birds came flapping up the +gorge far above my head; and yet they were far below the top of the +mountain of rock. I do not know how many feet it rose, but I never saw +any precipice where the impression of height was so effectually +given--it seemed immense. + +"Beneath us was the deep, broad stream, looking very dark in the +twilight that such a shadow made, and I could not help feeling +awestruck. But the opening of the gorge framed as smiling and cheerful a +landscape as could possibly be devised, to contrast with the inner +gloom. It was a wide, varied and splendid view of the country beyond, +sloping to the distant sea, and all of it as aglow with light and colour +as sea and land could be, beneath a tropic sun. + +"Descending the river on our way out, I had a characteristic adventure, +which will make me satisfied for a time. We had passed two of the rapids +in safety, but as we approached the third, the canoe struck on a rock or +something in the current, bow on, and swinging round, half filled with +water. The natives in the end of the canoe nearest the rock sprang out +and clung to the vines which hung over its sides, but the other man and +I went over the fall in the half-swamped canoe, and were wholly at the +mercy of the stream, with an unusually good prospect of getting a good +deal more of it. + +"The fall once passed through, the current drove us toward the shore, if +that is what you would call a precipice of rock, running straight down +far below the surface of the water. I succeeded in grasping the vines +and pulling the canoe after me by my feet. The water was quite close by +the rock, and the other two men, crawling down to us, hung on with me, +and bailed out the boat till it was safely afloat, and then we went down +the rest of the way without accident." + + +Before the middle of the last century, life in the Philippines must have +been, for Spaniards and natives alike, one long period of siesta. The +sound of the wars and the passing of governments and kings in Europe +must have seemed to these loiterers in a summer garden like the drone of +distant bees. After that period conditions changed rapidly. In 1852, the +Jesuits returned to the Philippines; in 1868, the reactionary Queen +Isabella II fled from Spain, because of the rise of republicanism; in +1869, the Suez Canal was opened. All these events had their influence, +but the return of the Jesuits was of dominating importance. + +Throughout the nineteenth century the sole idea of the Tagals was to get +rid of the friars, and for several reasons, which I will explain as +briefly as possible. The Roman Catholic clergy are divided into regular +and secular. Members of the secular clergy are subordinate to the +bishops and archbishops, through whom the decrees of the Holy See are +promulgated. The regular clergy, monks and friars, are subordinate to +provincials elected for comparatively short terms of office by members +of their own order. The Jesuits form a group by themselves but belong +rather to the regular than the secular. + +Over three hundred years after the conversion of the Filipinos, the +Spanish monks and friars considered it still unsafe to admit natives +into the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. _The secular clergy were +mostly natives, the regular clergy were Spaniards._ Naturally this +condition of affairs in time produced friction. + +To understand the case in regard to the Jesuits, it is necessary to go +back nearly a century. In 1767, the King of Spain issued a decree +expelling the Jesuits from his possessions. Their property was +confiscated, their schools were closed, and they were treated as enemies +of the state. They had been among the earliest missionaries in the +Philippines, and were probably the wealthiest and most influential of +all the clergy there. Their departure left no priests for the richest +parishes in the provinces of Cavite and Manila, which had been their +sphere of influence. The question at once arose as to who would succeed +them, and as it happened, the Archbishop of Manila who had to answer it +was a member of the secular clergy, a Spanish priest to be sure, but of +liberal tendencies. Consequently, he filled the parishes with native +priests, who continued to occupy them until the return of the Jesuits. + +Now the parish priest was the most influential man in the community. As +native priests used this influence to build up the prestige of the +seculars, the ecclesiastical feuds which arose became embittered by +racial antagonism. + +When a royal order was received permitting the return of the Jesuits it +became at once necessary to find places for them in the ecclesiastical +government. Spain decided that the parishes of Cavite and Manila should +be henceforth filled by members of the order of Recollets, who were to +transfer their missions in Mindanao to the Jesuits. The Archbishop +protested against this increase in the power of the regular clergy, and +the Governor General assembled his council to act upon the protest. All +the members of the council who were born in Spain voted against the +Archbishop. All those born in the Philippines voted for him. The +regulars gained another victory over the seculars; the native was +publicly informed that he was not fit to administer the parishes of his +own people, and he saw himself definitely assigned to the position of +lay brother or of curate. Whatever threads of attachment there had been +between the opposing factions broke on the day of that decision, and +every native priest from that moment became a center of disaffection and +of the propaganda of hatred of the friars. This was perhaps the real +beginning of the movement which continued, now secretly, now openly, +until it broke out in actual revolt in 1872. The Spaniards put down this +uprising of the Tagalogs with such cruelty that they feared a later +retaliation, and sought help from the friars. This the friars gave them, +in return for added wealth and power, which was granted, of course, at +the expense of the vanquished natives. + +Worcester writes in one of his earlier books, "During the years 1890-93, +while traveling in the archipelago, I everywhere heard the mutterings +that go before a storm. It was the old story: compulsory military +service; taxes too heavy to be borne, and imprisonment or deportation +with confiscation of property for those who could not pay them; no +justice except for those who could afford to buy it; cruel extortion by +the friars in the more secluded districts; wives and daughters ruined; +the marriage ceremony too costly a luxury for the poor; the dead refused +burial without payment of a substantial sum in advance; no opportunity +for education; little encouragement for industry and economy, since to +acquire wealth meant to become a target for officials and friars alike; +these and a hundred other wrongs had goaded the natives and half-castes +until they were stung to desperation." + +The dissensions in the Philippines which ended in the rebellion of +1896-7 began with disagreements among the Spaniards themselves. A +progressive party arose before which the clerical or conservative party +slowly but steadily lost ground, and the legislation of modern Spain was +by degrees introduced into the Islands. The country was not able to +endure the taxation which would have been necessary to raise the +revenues to carry out this legislation. Hence laws which were passed +against the advice of the Spanish clergy in the Philippines were left +largely in their hands for execution, not because they were loved or +trusted, but because they were the only Spanish functionaries who knew +the language and the people and whose residence in the Islands was a +permanent one. If the friars had used their power wisely and +unselfishly, there would have been no trouble, but they used it too +often simply to keep the people down and extort money, for which they +gave little return. + +By degrees the mestizos took sides. The Chinese mestizos soon grew +restive under this priestly government, and aided the progressive +Spanish party in Manila. As time passed they had it borne in upon them +that revolution might pay. + +The insurrection of 1896-7 was planned and carried out under the +auspices of a society local to the Philippines, called the "Katipunan," +the full title of which may be translated as "Supreme Select Association +of the Sons of the People." According to Spanish writers on the subject, +it was the outgrowth of a series of associations of Freemasons formed +with the expressed purpose of securing reforms in the government of the +Philippines, but whose unexpressed and ultimate object was to obtain +the independence of the archipelago. As if to accomplish this purpose, +a systematic attack was made on the monastic orders in the Philippines, +to undermine their prestige and to destroy their influence upon the +great mass of the population. The honorary president of the Katipunan +was José Rizal, whose name was used, without his permission, to attract +the masses to the movement. + +Rizal was born in 1861 not far from Manila. He came of intelligent +stock. After his early training at the Jesuit school in Manila and the +Dominican university, Rizal went to Spain, where he took high honors at +the University of Madrid in medicine and philosophy. Post-graduate work +in France and Germany followed. + +He was an ardent patriot, and in order to awaken his countrymen to the +need of reform, although he was a Roman Catholic, he published while in +Germany his book called "Noli Me Tangere,"--Touch Me Not--which dealt +with the immoral life of the friars. An English translation has been +issued with the title, "The Social Cancer." The circulation of the book +in the Islands was forbidden, but it was read by most of the educated +Filipinos. In reading it, one is again and again struck by the author's +clear comprehension of the needs and the difficulties of the Filipinos, +and the calm, unprejudiced way in which their problems are discussed. + +[Illustration: JOSE RIZAL.] + +In 1891, Rizal began the practice of medicine in Hongkong. Meanwhile, +the Spanish authorities, in their desire to get him into their power, +worked upon his feelings by persecuting his mother. The trick was +successful, and he returned to Manila, where he was soon arrested, and +banished to the island of Mindanao. + +The most powerful leader of the insurrection was Andres Bonifacio, a +passionate and courageous man of little education. He sent an agent to +Dr. Rizal to aid him in escaping from his place of exile and to request +him to lead the Katipunan in open revolt. Rizal refused, believing that +the Filipinos were not yet ready for independence. Bonifacio resolved to +proceed without him. + +Bonifacio assured his audience that when he gave the signal the native +troops would join them. It was of great importance to the success of his +plan that the army, as in 1872, was engaged in operations against the +Moros. There were available in Manila only some three hundred Spanish +artillery, detachments amounting to four hundred men, including seamen, +and two thousand native soldiers. The plot was discovered, but Bonifacio +escaped from Manila, and sent out orders for an uprising in that part +of Luzon which had been organized by the Katipunan. Manila was attacked, +but the rebels were repulsed. Martial law was proclaimed in eight +provinces of Luzon, followed by wholesale executions. Many of those +arrested on suspicion "were confined in Fort Santiago, one batch being +crowded into a dungeon for which the only ventilation was a grated +opening at the top, and one night the sergeant of the guard carelessly +spread his sleeping-mat over this, so the next morning some fifty-five +asphyxiated corpses were hauled away." + +Just before the outbreak, Rizal received permission to join the army in +Cuba as surgeon, but on the way there was arrested and brought back to +Manila. His fate was now sealed. The trial by court-martial was a farce. +On a December day in 1896 he was led to execution. + +Rizal was undoubtedly the noblest and most unselfish of the Filipino +leaders, and his execution was not only a crime but a blunder on the +part of the Spanish authorities. From his prison he issued an address to +the Filipinos remarkable for its moderation and its condemnation of the +"savage rebellion," stating that the education of the people must +precede any truly beneficial reforms, and urging them to go back to +their homes. The Spanish officials deemed this not sufficiently +"patriotic" to be published, and sentenced its author to the death of a +traitor by shooting in the back. To-day he is the national hero of the +Filipinos. + +[Illustration: FORT SANTIAGO.] + +The seacoast towns were under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, a +young radical, who was already a recognized leader among the local +disaffected. The Spaniards had not expected this outbreak in Cavite. +Aguinaldo had personally assured the governor of the province of his +devotion to Spain, but when fighting began isolated Spanish officers +were killed and their families carried into captivity. The difficulties, +of the Spaniards were increased by the fact that the defense of Manila +and Cavite until reinforcements arrived, would be largely in the hands +of native troops, among whom the Katipunan was known to have been at +work. But the troops of the old native regiments--the men who for years +had followed Spanish officers--were on the whole faithful, and it was +largely due to them that Manila and Cavite were held. + +The leaders in the insurrection were of that class who called themselves +_ilustrados_, enlightened, a class whose blood is, in almost every case, +partly Spanish or partly Chinese. The supremacy of the friars was +passing, and men of this class intended to be the heirs to their +domain. The idea of forming a republic and even of adopting the titles +appropriate to a republic to designate the functionaries of a Malay +despotism was an afterthought. + +Reinforcements arrived from Spain, and by June 10, 1897, the +insurrection was broken, and Aguinaldo with his remaining adherents had +taken refuge at Biacnabato, some sixty miles from Manila. He was now +without a rival, for Bonifacio had dared to attempt his life, had been +brought before a court-martial, had been condemned to death and had +disappeared. + +Aguinaldo, who now called himself not only Generalissimo of the Army of +Liberation but President of the Revolutionary Government, had adopted +guerilla warfare, and the Spanish commands were forced to follow an +enemy who was never dangerous to large bodies, but who always was to +small ones--an enemy who, wearing no uniform, upon the approach of a +large body became peaceful labourers in the fields along the road, but +were ready to pick up their rifles or bolos and use them against a small +party or a straggler. Still, whatever they had fought for at first, the +insurgent leaders were now fighting for their own safety. + +The governor general sought in various ways to gain the support of the +country. He called for Filipino volunteers, and, curiously enough, they +responded with enthusiasm. The rapidity with which they were recruited +was probably largely due to the activity of the friars. This added to +the hatred of them felt by the class of natives represented by +Aguinaldo. + +Between June and December, 1897, the time was spent in an obscure +bargaining, the outcome of which was the so-called Treaty of Biacnabato, +which Primo de Rivera--the governor general--has stated was merely a +promise to pay a money bribe to the insurgents if they would cease a +combat in which they had lost hope of success but which they could still +prolong to the detriment of the resources and the prestige of Spain. + +The result of the bargainings was that Spain agreed to pay eight hundred +thousand Mexican dollars for the surrender of Aguinaldo and his +principal leaders and the arms and ammunition in their possession. An +amnesty was proclaimed. Aguinaldo and his leaders were sent to Hongkong +under escort, where they declared themselves loyal Spanish subjects. +Primo de Rivera returned to Spain. As he received in return for the +money only about two hundred rifles and a little ammunition, it is not +probable that he made any of the promises of changes in the government +of the archipelago which the Filipinos have insistently stated since +then were the real objects of the agreement. + +Whatever may have been the true motives which actuated the Spanish +governor general in adopting this method of terminating a successful +campaign, he succeeded in purchasing only an armistice and not a peace. +On January 23, 1898, a Te Deum was sung in the cathedral of Manila to +mark the reëstablishment of peace in the archipelago. + +The insurgent leaders had been bought off and their followers had +surrendered their arms. + +As Spanish dominion in the Philippines was now about to close, let us +stop a moment to inquire what it had brought to the Islands. It may have +been hard and utterly unprogressive, but it turned the tribes of Luzon +and the Visayas from tribal feuds and slave-raiding expeditions to +agriculture. + +To accomplish these results required untiring energy and a high +enthusiasm among the missionaries. They had lived among savages, +speaking their tongue, until they had almost forgotten their own. Spain +had ceased to be everything to them; their order was their country. +Spanish officials came and went, but the ministers of the Church +remained, and as they grew to be the interpreters of the wants of the +people, in many cases their protectors against spoliation, power fell +into their hands. It is rather interesting to learn that in 1619, in the +reign of Philip III, it was proposed to abandon the Philippines on +account of their useless expense to Spain, but a delegation of friars +from the Islands implored him not to abandon the twenty thousand +Christians they had converted, and the order was countermanded. + +Spanish dominion left the people Christians, whereas, if the Islands had +not been occupied by Spain, their people would in all probability to-day +be Mohammedan. The point of view of the Spanish friars may not be ours, +but when their efforts are judged by the good rather than the evil +results, it can still be said that Spain gave Christianity and a long +term of peace to the Philippine archipelago. The Filipinos are the only +Christian Asiatics. + +But Philippine history was to take an unexpected turn. The +Spanish-American war broke out, and a new factor appeared upon the scene +in the shape of Commodore Dewey and his fleet. We all know the story of +the battle of Manila Bay, but we may just recall it briefly. + +It was the night of April 30, 1898, that the American Asiatic squadron, +which had received its orders at Hongkong, arrived off the Philippines. +They took a look first into Subig Bay, but seeing no enemy, they made +their way into Manila Bay by the Boca Grande entrance. There were +rumours of mines in the channel and big guns in the forts, but Dewey +took the chance, and the fleet steamed in at night. The ships formed two +columns, the fighting ships all in one line, and the auxiliary vessels +about twelve hundred yards behind. They moved at the rate of their +slowest vessel. + +Black thunder clouds at times obscured even the crescent moon that +partially lighted their course, but occasional lightning flashes gave +the bold Americans a glimpse of frowning Corregidor and the sentinel +rock of El Fraile. The ships were dark except for one white light at the +stern of each as a guide to the vessel next in line. As the _Olympia_ +turned toward El Fraile her light was seen by a Spanish sentry. A sheet +of flame from the smokestack of the _McCulloch_, a revenue cutter +attached to the fleet, also betrayed its presence to the enemy at the +same moment. El Fraile and a battery on the south shore of the bay at +once opened fire, which was returned by the ships to such good purpose +that the battery was silenced in three minutes. Slowly, steadily, +Dewey's ships steamed on, and at dawn discovered the gray Spanish +vessels lying in front of the naval arsenal at Cavite, over on the +distant shore to the right. Admiral Montojo's flagship, the _Reina +Cristina_, and the _Castilla_, and a number of smaller vessels, formed a +curved line of battle, which was protected in a measure by the shore +batteries. The Spaniards had one more ship than the Americans, but the +latter had bigger guns. + +Silently the American squadron advanced across the bay, with the Stars +and Stripes flying from every ship. At quarter past five on the morning +of May 1st, the Spanish ships fired their first shots. When less than +six thousand yards from their line, Dewey gave the famous order to +Captain Gridley, in command of the _Olympia_: "You may fire when you're +ready, Gridley." + +Two hours later, the _Reina Cristina_ had been burned, the _Castilla_ +was on fire, and all but one of the other Spanish vessels were abandoned +and sunk. Dewey gave his men time for breakfast and a little rest, then +shelled and silenced the batteries at Cavite. Soon after noon the +Spaniards surrendered, having lost 381 men and ten war vessels. Seven +Americans were slightly wounded, but none were killed. So ended this +famous battle. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +INSURRECTION + + +Admiral Dewey took a great liking to General Anderson, "Fighting Tom" +(L.'s cousin), the first military officer to command the American forces +in the Philippines. On one occasion the Admiral fired a salute well +after sundown (contrary to naval regulations) to compliment him on his +promotion to the rank of major general, and scared the wits out of some +of the good people ashore. General Anderson has given me a few notes +about his experiences at that time, which are of special interest. + +"When in the latter part of April, 1898, I received an order relieving +me from duty in Alaska and ordering me to the Philippines, I was engaged +in rescuing a lot of people who had been buried by an avalanche in the +Chilcoot Pass. I took my regiment at once to San Francisco, and there +received an order placing me in command of the first military expedition +to the Philippines. This was the first American army that ever crossed +an ocean. We were given only two days for preparation. We were not given +a wagon, cart, ambulance, or a single army mule, nor boats with which to +land our men. I received fifty thousand dollars in silver and was +ordered to render what assistance I could. I had never heard of +Aguinaldo at that time, and all I knew of the Philippines was that they +were famous for hemp, earthquakes, tropical diseases and rebellion. + +"We stopped at Honolulu on the way over, although the Hawaiian Islands +had not been annexed. The Kanakas received us with enthusiasm and +assured us that the place was a paradise before the coming of the +missionaries and mosquitoes. From there we went to Guam, where we found +nude natives singing 'Lucy Long' and 'Old Dan Tucker,' songs they had +learned from American sailors. + +"When we reached Cavite the last day of June, Admiral Dewey asked me to +go ashore and call on Aguinaldo, who, he assured me, was a native chief +of great influence. Our call was to have been entirely informal, but +when we approached the house of the Dictator we found a barefooted band +in full blare, the bass-drummer after the rule of the country being the +leader. The stairway leading to Aguinaldo's apartment was lined on +either side by a strange assortment of Filipino warriors. The Chief +himself was a small man in a very long-tailed frock coat, and in his +hand he held a collapsible opera hat. I saw him many times afterward and +always thus provided. He asked me at once if I could recognize his +assumption. This I could not do, so when a few days later I invited him +to attend our first Fourth of July he declined. He further showed his +displeasure by failing to be present at the first dinner to which we +American officers were invited. There for the first time we met Filipina +ladies. They were bare as to their shoulders, yet in some mysterious way +their dresses remained well in place. In dancing there was a continuous +shuffling on the floor because their slippers only half covered their +light fantastics, rendering them more agile than graceful. + +"In returning from visiting the Tagalog Chief we saw a headless statue +of Columbus. I asked a native to explain how Christopher had lost his +head. The reply was that they beheaded him because they did not wish to +be discovered. + +"Soon after I got to Cavite, I was invited with the officers of my staff +to attend a dinner given in my honour. At the symposium I was asked +to state the principles upon which the American government was founded. +I answered, 'The consent of the governed, and majority rule.' +Buencamino, the toastmaster, replied, 'We will baptize ourselves to that +sentiment,' upon which he emptied his champagne glass on his head. The +others likewise wasted their good wine. + +[Illustration: A GROUP OF FILIPINA LADIES.] + +"When General Merritt arrived he first came ashore at a village behind +the line we had established where Aguinaldo was making his headquarters. +Rain was falling in torrents at the time, but Aguinaldo, who must have +known of the presence of the new Governor General, failed to ask him to +take shelter in his headquarters. Naturally General Merritt was +indignant and directed that thereafter any necessary business should be +conducted through me. This placed me in a very disagreeable position. At +first I thought I could conciliate and use the Filipinos against the +Spaniards, but General Merritt brought an order from President McKinley +directing that we should only recognize the Filipinos as rebellious +subjects of Spain. Aguinaldo reproached me bitterly for my change of +conduct toward him, but because of my orders I could not do otherwise, +nor could I explain the cause. + +"We soon drifted into open hostility. I found but one man who appeared +to understand the situation, and he was the much hated Archbishop +Nozaleda. After we took Manila he invited me to come to see him. He +remarked in the course of our conversation that when we took the city by +storm he expected to see our soldiers kill the men and children and +violate the women. But instead he praised us for having maintained +perfect order. For reply I quoted the Latin, '_Parcere subjectis, et +debellare superbos._' Which prompted him to say in Spanish to a Jesuit +priest, 'Why, these people seem to be civilized.' To which the Jesuit +replied, 'Yes, we have some colleges in their country.' + +"The statement that we seemed to be civilized calls for an explanation. +I found many Filipinos feared American rule might prove more severe on +them than the Spanish control. In a school book that I glanced at in a +Spanish school was the enlightening statement that the Americans were a +cruel people who had exterminated the entire Indian population of North +America." + +The battle of Manila Bay was fought and won, as we well remember, on May +Day. Through the kind offices of the British consul the Spanish admiral +came to an understanding with Dewey. Surgeons were sent ashore to +assist in the care of the wounded Spaniards, and sailors to act as +police. The cable was cut, and the blockade was carried into effect at +once. The foreign population was allowed to leave for China. German +men-of-war kept arriving in the harbour, until there were five in all. +It was known that Germany sympathized with Spain, and only the timely +arrival of some friendly English ships, and the trenchant diplomacy of +our admiral, prevented trouble. + +All the rest of that month, and the next, and still the next, the fleet +lay at anchor, threatening the city with its guns, but making no effort +to take it. The people lived in constant fear of bombardment from the +ships which they could so plainly see from the Luneta on their evening +promenades. But they could not escape, for Aguinaldo's forces lay +encamped behind them in the suburbs. In fact, the refugees were seeking +safety within the walls of the city, instead of fleeing from it, for +while they had no love for the Spaniards, and were fellow countrymen of +the rebel chieftain, they preferred to take their chances of bombardment +rather than risk his method of "peaceful occupation." + +Of course there was no coöperation between the Americans and the +Filipinos, although both wanted the same thing and each played somewhat +into the other's hand. Admiral Dewey refused to give Aguinaldo any naval +aid, and the _insurrectos_ on at least two occasions found it profitable +to betray our plans to the common enemy. + +The delay in taking the city was caused by Dewey's shortage of troops. +He could have taken it at any time, but could not have occupied it. The +Spanish commander made little attempt at defense. A formal attack on one +of the forts satisfied the demands of honour. When the city surrendered, +on August 13th, the Americans were in the difficult position of guarding +thirteen thousand Spanish soldiers, of keeping at bay some fourteen +thousand plunder-mad Filipinos, and of policing a city of two hundred +thousand people--all with some ten thousand men! + +The way in which it was accomplished is in effective contrast with +European methods. When our troops broke the line of trenches encircling +Manila they pressed quickly forward through the residence district to +the old walled town, which housed the governmental departments of the +city. Here they halted in long lines, resting calmly on their arms until +the articles of capitulation were signed. It took but an hour or so to +arrange for the disposition of our troops among the various barracks and +for the removal of the disarmed Spanish garrison to the designated +places of confinement. Then command was passed along by mounted officers +for the several regiments to proceed to their quarters for the night. In +columns of four they marched off with the easy swing and unconcern of +troops on practice march. A thin cordon of sentinels appeared at easy +hailing distance along the principal streets, and the task was +accomplished. + +By noon next day they had a stability as great as though they had been +there for years. Not a woman was molested, not a man insulted, and the +children on the street were romping with added zest to show off before +their new-found friends. The banks felt safe to open their vaults, and +the merchants found a healthily rising market. The ships blockaded and +idling at anchor in the harbour discharged their cargoes, the customs +duties being assessed according to the Spanish tariff by bright young +volunteers, aided by interpreters. The streets were cleaned of their +accumulated filth, and the courts of law were opened. All this was done +under General Anderson's command, and it seems to me is much to his +credit. + +A daughter of General Anderson's, who was there at the time with her +father, writes: "Days of intense anxiety followed the opening of +hostilities. The Filipinos were pushed back more and more, but we feared +treachery within the city. We heard that they were going to poison our +water supply, that they were going to rise and bolo us all, that every +servant had his secret instructions. Also, that Manila was to be burned. +There proved to be something in this, for twice fires were started and +gained some headway, and we women were banished to the transports +again." + +Aguinaldo had demanded at least joint occupation of the city, and his +full share of the loot as a reward for services rendered. We can imagine +his disgust at being told that Americans did not loot, and that they +intended to hold the city themselves. If there had been no other reason +for refusing him, the conduct of his troops in the suburbs would have +furnished a sufficient one, for they were utterly beyond control, +assaulting and plundering their own brother Filipinos and neutral +foreigners, as well as Spaniards, and torturing their prisoners. But +this refusal, justifiable as it certainly was, marked the real beginning +of the insurrection against American rule, though there was no +immediate outbreak. + +Aguinaldo was a mestizo school teacher when, in 1896, he became leader +of the insurrection against Spain. The money with which Spain hoped to +purchase peace was to be paid in three instalments, the principal +condition being that the Filipino leaders should leave the Islands. This +they did, going to Hongkong, where the first instalment was promptly +deposited in a bank. The second instalment, to Aguinaldo's great +disgust, was paid over to Filipinos left in the Islands, and the last +one was not paid at all. This was just as well for him, because his +fellow insurrectionists were already demanding of him an accounting for +the funds in Hongkong, and had him summoned to court for the purpose. +This proceeding he wisely avoided by leaving for Europe in disguise. + +He got only as far as Singapore, however, for there--in April of '98--he +heard of the probability of American interference in the Islands and +interviewed our consul. The go-between for this interview was an +unscrupulous interpreter, whose intrigues were destined to have +far-reaching effects for us. It has been charged that both our consul at +Singapore and the one at Hongkong committed this nation to a policy +favouring Philippine independence, but the whole question of American +pledges finally resolves itself into a choice between the word of an +American admiral and a Chinese mestizo. + +When Spain had failed to pay over to Aguinaldo the balance of the peace +money, he had promptly gone to work to organize another revolution from +the safe harbourage of Hongkong. His flight to Singapore had interrupted +this, but now, with the Americans so conspicuously there to "help," it +was a simple matter to put his plans in operation. + +A month after the battle of Manila Bay Aguinaldo proclaimed himself +"president" (in reality military dictator) of the "Filipino Republic." +But this republic existed only on paper. Dewey accurately states the +condition of affairs when he says, "Our fleet had destroyed the only +government there was, and there was no other government; there was a +reign of terror throughout the Philippines, looting, robbing, +murdering." A form of municipal election was held, but if a candidate +not favoured by the insurgents was elected, he was at once deposed. One +candidate won his election by threatening to kill any one who got the +office in his place. Persons "contrary minded" were not allowed to +vote. These happenings hardly suggest a republican form of government, +but they are typical of conditions at that time. + +[Illustration: AGUINALDO'S PALACE AT MALOLOS.] + +Naturally the self-styled president was not recognized by the American +officials, and they were justified, as is shown by the fact that before +the year was up Aguinaldo himself had come to realize that he could not +maintain order among his people, and tried to resign from his office. + +Meanwhile his lack of recognition by the Americans, and his exclusion +from the spoils of war, so far as Manila was concerned, showed him that +his only hope of achieving his ambitions lay in driving these +interlopers from the Islands. But for the time being, while awaiting a +propitious moment for attack, he occupied himself and his men by +conquering the Spaniards in the outlying provinces. Since there was no +coöperation among the Spanish forces, he was quite successful. Having +proclaimed the republic with himself at the head, he felt justified in +maintaining, with the aid of his booty, a truly regal state in his +palace at Malolos, aping the forms and ceremonies of the Spanish +governors in Manila. + +As fast as Church property, or property belonging to Spaniards, fell +into his hands, it was confiscated and turned over to the State--if +Aguinaldo can be considered the State. His houses and those of his +generals were furnished from Spanish possessions, all title deeds were +systematically destroyed or hidden, and administrators were appointed +for the property. + +At the beginning of the new year (1899), he turned his attention to the +Americans, and Manila. Because our forces seemed reluctant to fight, the +Filipinos, like the Mexicans to-day, believed that they must be cowards +and afraid to meet them. A Mexican paper has recently told its readers +what a simple matter it would be, if war were declared, for their troops +to cross the border and crush such slight opposition as may be offered +to the capture of Washington. So it is no wonder that the Filipinos felt +confident of success, especially after their victories over the +Spaniards in the outlying regions. + +By January, Admiral Dewey, General Anderson and General Merritt had left +the Philippine Islands and General Otis was in command. He announced +that the government of the United States would be extended over the +islands of the archipelago. Next day Aguinaldo retorted with what was +virtually a declaration of war. From then on he and his advisers +hastened their preparations for the conflict. Members of the native +militia who were living in Manila under the protection of the American +garrison were warned to stand ready to receive the signal which should +start the sack and pillage of the city and the massacre of its +inhabitants. By the end of January there were about thirty thousand +Filipinos under arms fronting the American lines outside the city, all +keyed up for the moment when they should be let loose to drive the +Americans into the sea. This time the spoils of Manila should not be +snatched from them! + +The signal for the advance was to be a conflagration in Manila. Ten +thousand militiamen were to rise, set fire to the city, free the Spanish +prisoners of war, arm them with arms stored in the arsenal, and attack +the Americans. They were to be promptly aided in this last detail by the +thirty thousand Filipinos waiting outside, who, surrounding the city, +would drive back the fourteen thousand American soldiers upon their +burning citadel and upon the two hundred thousand Filipinos, who would +by this time have joined their countrymen. If everything had worked out +as he had planned, Aguinaldo might very probably have entered the city. + +He chose a night early in February, at a time when he knew the American +reinforcements which had been ordered could not yet have arrived. Firing +began about nine o'clock in the evening, near the San Juan bridge, and +continued during the night. Meanwhile, the militia in the city tried to +assemble, but the groups were promptly fired on and dispersed. In the +morning the ships of Dewey's fleet opened fire from the flanks of the +American line. A little later our troops sprang forward and swept their +antagonists before their fierce attack. In this encounter the Filipinos +lost about eight hundred, and the Americans two hundred and fifty. + +For a week the insurgents were quite demoralized, and no wonder, for +this was not the way they had expected the "cowardly" Americans to act. +But when they saw that our men did not follow up their advantage by +pursuit, their courage revived and they began once more to believe those +things which they wished to believe. Our troops had to stay where they +were because they had not sufficient transportation to take them +anywhere else, because the enemy within the city still needed their +attention, and because their reinforcements had not arrived. + +When these came, General Otis divided his forces. General MacArthur +began a movement from his right against the insurgents, who contested +every village and locality capable of defense, and burned every train +before abandoning it to American hands. The insurgent capital, Malolos, +was occupied. In April, General Lawton took Santa Cruz. The American +casualties during these operations were about ten thousand officers and +men, but the sick report listed fifteen per cent of the expedition, +mostly from heat prostration. + +[Illustration: SAN JUAN BRIDGE.] + +General Lawton, who went out early in 1899, and was killed in December +of the same year at San Mateo, is believed to have been perhaps the most +able of our commanders. + +Uniformly the Filipinos lost, but when their courage waned their +officers would announce that they had won a big victory somewhere else. +In one day, they reported, we had lost twenty-eight thousand men, in a +region where in the entire month we had lost but fifty-six. On another +occasion they announced that two thousand colonels had been killed. They +must have thought our troops were all from Kentucky. + +All summer and into the fall this more or less formal and regular +warfare continued. But by that time Aguinaldo had decided that while a +concentrated field army might appear more impressive to foreigners and +be better for advertising purposes, it was not effective for his +purpose, and some change must be made. The discontent among the +conservative men who still had anything to lose was increasing, while +the labourers in the fields, the fishermen, and the great masses of the +people were growing weary of the war and the exactions of the commanders +of their troops. The spell which Aguinaldo had cast over Luzon was +almost broken. The war was nearly over, it seemed--in a civilized +country it would have been over. + +To the Americans it appeared that the insurrection had been destroyed, +and that all they now had to do was to sweep up the remnants of the +insurgent forces by a system of police administration not likely to be +either difficult or dangerous. In November, MacArthur had his force +ready to strike anything within reach, but there seemed to be nothing +within reach to strike. He soon came to the conclusion that there was no +organized resistance left, that the insurgent army had broken into +fragments which would soon become banditti. The disbandment of the +insurgent field forces, which the American authorities took to mean the +coming of a general submission to our rule, was followed by a long +period of inactivity. This, of course, strengthened the impression, but +the time was being used by the Filipinos to prepare for a new method +of warfare and to organize for resistance by means of a general banding +of the people together in support of the guerillas in the field. + +[Illustration: GENERAL LAWTON.] + +To obtain this necessary coöperation the leaders announced the +inflexible principle that every native residing within the limits of the +archipelago owed active individual allegiance to the insurgent cause. +This was enforced by severe penalties, including burial alive, which +were systematically exacted. There was little resistance on the part of +the victims, who accepted the new policy with a curious combination of +loyalty, apathy, ignorance and timidity. + +In this way there arose a strange system of dual government, in many +cases the town officials openly serving the Americans while they were +secretly aiding the insurrection, and with apparently equal solicitude +for both. Each town was the base for the neighbouring guerillas, and +when a band was too hard pressed it would dissolve and take refuge in +its own community. This was easy enough to accomplish, with the aid of +the people, for it took very little to transform a Filipino soldier into +a good imitation of a peaceful native. + +Several months before the formal declaration of guerilla warfare in +November of 1899, the Filipino commanders had adopted a policy of +occupying a succession of strong defensive positions and forcing our +army to a never ending repetition of tactical deployments. This they did +with such skill that they were for a time successful. The native force +would hover within easy distance of the American camps, but would avoid +close conflict and temporarily disband. This would not be regarded by +them as a calamity, but simply as a change from one form of action to +another, and even a positive advantage. + +By February of 1900, General Bates had succeeded in scattering the +larger bodies in the south of Luzon, and while some of the Filipino +leaders and their followers abandoned the cause, which they saw was +hopeless, others returned to the life of bandits, which in many cases +had probably been their profession before the war. When their guns were +gone they took up the knife and the torch. They did not cease to call +themselves soldiers of the republic, but they were not in reality. + +By September General MacArthur, who had succeeded General Otis in +command of the American forces in the Islands, realized that the +opposition to American control came from the towns, and that the +guerilla bands could not exist without their support. At first he +thought that on account of the efficiency of his troops, the natives +would be actuated both by conviction and self-interest to support him. +But four months later he saw that further pressure was needed to secure +this. So he ordered that all persons suspected of contraband traffic +with insurgent organizations should be arrested and sent to Manila. In +January, 1901, he ordered the deportation to Guam of twenty-six Filipino +leaders, sympathizers, and agents, who were to remain there until peace +had been formally declared. Two months later, Aguinaldo was captured by +the dare-devil Funston of "the Suicide Squad." + +The effect of this measure was to alarm the leaders, of course, who now +realized that they could be held responsible for their acts. Orders were +also issued that all men who surrendered should be disarmed but released +at once, while those captured in the field or arrested in the towns +should be held in custody till the end of the war. A letter was found, +written by a bandit leader, in March, saying that he was ordered to +"proceed more rapidly" with his operations, "as Bryan ordered Emilio +(Aguinaldo) to keep the war going vigorously until April." However true +that may have been, it is certain that the encouragement which the +insurgents received from the country they were fighting much prolonged +hostilities and caused the loss of many lives on both sides. + +It is hard to realize at this distance the lengths to which the +anti-imperialists went, or were willing to go, in those days. Governor +Pack told me of an experience he had with one of them--a New Englander +of good family and American antecedents. Pack was on his way out to the +Islands at the time, and on arriving at Hongkong received the tidings of +McKinley's assassination. He was surprised to see this man, a +fellow-passenger, rush up to a Filipino with the news and shake his +hand, congratulating him on what had happened. The Governor, then a +young civilian, could not forget the shocking incident and later, when +they shared the same stateroom on the small boat for Manila, he +discovered papers which proved that his companion intended to furnish +aid and encouragement to any natives who wished to fight against +American "tyranny." This discovery gave Pack his appointment as one of +the seven lieutenant governors of the hill tribes. But the other man was +punished only by being refused entrance to the Islands. It was the +stupid and foolish fashion in America then--as indeed it still is--to +call this particular form of treason Idealism, and be lenient with it. + +Our soldiers found it difficult to take seriously the bands of half +naked men, who, they knew, had been pillaging the villages of their own +race. It was true that these bands were difficult to pursue and capture, +but an army which fought only from ambush, whose detachments fell only +upon stragglers and carefully avoided the main body of its enemy, and +which showed no regard for the sacredness of a flag of truce, could not +inspire much respect. Plunder appeared to be the sole excuse for its +existence, and the pompous titles assumed by its commanders were amusing +for the leaders of robbers. The Americans followed the retreating +bandits without hatred and without fear. But they became weary of the +eternal pursuit, and felt a growing irritation. + +The Filipinos, however, felt very differently about their soldiers, and +it is only fair to give their side too, especially as it may throw some +light on the Mexican situation. Even the richest and most highly +educated men found nothing to laugh at in these poor bands which were +after all composed of their own people fighting and suffering for a +cause which they could at least understand, whether or not they +sympathized with it. They did not regard the pillaging, tortures, and +murders to which the Filipinos subjected their own people as we did. +They called the robbery "collecting contributions for the support of the +war." As for the murders--in the Orient to kill is an immemorial right +of the rulers of men. What if they did fight disguised as peaceful +country folk? They were a weak people fighting against a strong. They +were naked and they were hungry, and they were fighting for a cause. +Their arms were often of little use, and they made powder out of match +heads and cartridge shells out of the zinc roofs of parish buildings, +and even then they had only ammunition enough to fire a few volleys and +then run. But men so armed had forced the United States to send out +nearly seventy thousand well equipped soldiers to subdue them. To the +native Filipino, as perhaps to the Mexican to-day, the ragged and half +savage figures of the guerillas stood for their vision of a united race. + +But it was natural that our troops could not understand this, and that +they should gradually become embittered against their antagonists. The +officers, by the necessary division of our forces, found themselves +confronted with conditions utterly alien to their experience. They had +to live in native houses or churches, in the midst of four or five +thousand people whose language they did not speak, and whose thoughts +were not their thoughts. Most of them were young men. They came from all +over the United States, and were neither monsters nor saints, but good +examples of their time and country. + +When these officers learned that the dignified Asiatics who called upon +them daily, who drank with them, who talked with them, and who held +offices under our government, were also spies of the guerilla leaders, +secretly aiding those who were anxious to win the price set on their +heads, they were hardly pleased. When they found that every movement of +the guerillas was reported to them just too late to be of any use, while +every movement of their own small forces was promptly made known to the +enemy, and when they were present at the disinterment of the twisted +bodies of the men who had been buried alive because they were loyal to +us, they decided that stricter measures were necessary. This was a state +of war. Within wide limits their will was law. Upon their judgment hung +not merely their lives and those of their men, but the honour of their +country and their regiment. Perhaps in some cases they met cruelty with +cruelty, but they at least tried to be honest and just. And the people +came to realize this, and also that they were not afraid, with the +result that whole communities transferred their allegiance from their +own guerilla leaders to a single young American, not because he +understood them or sympathized with them, but because he was a man whom +they could trust and respect. + +It was July of 1902, four years after our taking of Manila, before the +Islands could be officially declared pacified. Let us hope that the +lessons which we learned then may not be forgotten in our dealings with +Mexico.[14] + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +FOLLOWING THE FLAG + + They taught Filipinos the right way to work, + And they taught as if teaching were fun; + They taught them to spell and to build themselves roads, + And the best way to handle a gun. + Were their salaries so big that the task was worth while? + Did they save a centavo of pay? + Have the average men an account with the bank? + Never a cent--not they. + + So we haven't a job and we haven't a cent, + And nobody cares a damn; + But we've done our work and we've done it well, + To the glory of Uncle Sam, + And we've seen a lot, and we've lived a lot + In these islands over the sea-- + Would we change with our brothers grown rich at home? + Praise be to God--not we. + + _From "The Swan Song," in the Manila Bulletin._ + + +It is, strangely enough, to the influence of that arch anti-imperialist, +William Jennings Bryan, that we owe the ratification of the Treaty of +Paris, which not only ended the war with Spain but expressly provided +for the purchase of the Philippine Islands. The Democrats were opposed +to the treaty and were powerful enough in the Senate to have held it +up, had not Bryan used his authority to secure the two-thirds vote +needed for its ratification. It is amusing to note that a year later, +after enabling us to acquire the islands, he used all his power to +prevent our keeping them. He was at this time in need of a popular plank +in his third presidential platform, and the sorrows of the Filipinos +suited his purpose admirably. + +Soon after the Treaty of Paris, and long before the end of the +insurrection, McKinley appointed a commission of experts to go out to +the Islands and report to him on conditions there. They found a country +whose civilization was, to put it hopefully, at a standstill. It was too +big a problem to be straightened out by a few ambitious Filipinos. The +Commission returned to America convinced of the necessity of our +occupation. + +Congress soon passed a special organic act for the organization of a +civil government in the Islands, to succeed the military rule then in +force. In 1900, President McKinley appointed the second Commission, +headed by Mr. Taft, which was instructed to assume control of the +Islands, gradually relieving the army wherever conditions allowed of +their doing so. + +This Commission had five members, three of them lawyers (two of whom +had been on the bench), and two professors. Its functions were at first +legislative and judicial, but in 1901, when the president of the +Commission, Mr. Taft, became Governor General of the Islands, the other +members were given the portfolios of the different departments and +executive power in the pacified parts of the Islands. Dean C. Worcester, +a member of the earlier Commission and already an authority on the +Philippines, became the first Minister of the Interior; Luke E. Wright, +the Vice Governor, had the Department of Commerce and Police; H. C. Ide, +former Chief Justice of Samoa, had charge of Finance and Justice, while +Professor Moses was put at the head of Public Instruction. Governor Taft +became really the "Father of the Philippines," for when he left the +Islands in 1904 to become Secretary of War he had even higher authority +over them than he had had as governor, while still later, as President +of the United States, he was able to see that the same high standard of +appointments was maintained.[15] + +McKinley charged this Commission that their work was "_not to subjugate, +but to emancipate_." We made many mistakes, for we were new to the +business and dealing with a strange people, but until very lately even +the selfishness which is supposed to be inherent in party politics has +been absent in our dealings with this people, whom we considered our +sacred charge. No one ever asked an American official in the Islands +what his politics were. Even the governorship itself was out of the +reach of the spoilsman. Of the five governors who were appointed by the +Republican administrations, only one besides the first governor belonged +to the dominant party, and he was in office but a few months. + +Since the Taft Commission first organized, several changes have taken +place. Filipino members have been added, and it has acquired the +character of an upper house, rather than a legislature. The work of a +lower house is done by the Assembly, made up of eighty-one members +chosen by the people of the Christian tribes. They have no authority +over the Moro and other non-Christian tribes, which are legislated for +by the Commission directly. To-day the Filipinos control their +municipal and county governments, but their finances are kept under +supervision. + +The problems which the Commissioners had to solve were many and varied. +Trade was at a standstill. During the last normal year under Spain the +exports from the Islands had amounted to about sixteen million dollars. +By 1912 they had more than trebled. There was also a currency problem. +Coins from everywhere--Mexico, China, America, India--were in common +circulation, with almost daily fluctuations in value. The Islands now +have their own money on a gold basis. Then, close on the heels of the +insurrection, came a famine. Locusts swept over the land and destroyed +what little grain the war had left. The natives in some parts of the +archipelago ate the locusts, however, and liked them, making the work of +the officials more difficult. Grain shipped from America decayed in the +storehouses before it could be distributed, and, as if that were not +enough, carabaos died by the thousand from rinderpest. + +But the most difficult of all was the problem of the friar lands. +Thousands of acres of valuable land had been acquired during Spanish +rule by the different orders of monks, and held by them with great +profit. One of the chief causes of Aguinaldo's rebellion was the +exactions of these wealthy churchmen, which galled a patient people into +final revolt, and during the ascendancy of the insurgent government +resulted in the confiscation of Church property and the flight of the +friars. These men took refuge in Manila, and petitioned the new +government for a settlement of their claims. Their legal rights were not +to be disputed, but to return them to their property and protect them +there would have brought on us the increased enmity of a people whose +friendship we were trying to win. The friends of the friars were no +friends of the people. It was decided to have the Philippine Government +buy these lands from the Church, which was accordingly arranged. Even +this was not a popular solution, but seems to have been the best that +could be done under the circumstances. One-third of these lands are +still vacant. + +Road building was one of the most baffling of the problems. The people +had no appreciation of the necessity for good roads, and would not pay +for them nor help keep them in repair when they were built. For years +the Commission toiled at the seemingly hopeless task, and it was not +until Governor Forbes went out there from Boston that anything definite +was accomplished. His native city should be very proud of his +brilliantly successful administration, the proofs of which met us at +every turn during our stay in the archipelago, and convinced us of the +fatal mistake it is to allow such a position as Governor of the +Philippines to become the prize of politicians. To the native mind his +name became inseparably connected with roads. _Caminero_ means a road +man, and Cameron Forbes is of course known to the Filipino as "Caminero +Forbays." He had been a commissioner five years when made governor +general, which office he held for four more. When Mr. Wilson became +president, Governor Forbes was advised not to tender his resignation, +for it was believed the new administration would wish to keep the +Islands clear of the spoil system. + +Suddenly out of a clear sky, the Governor General received this +cablegram from the Insular Bureau: + +"Harrison confirmed August 21st. The President desires him to sail +September 10th. Will it be convenient to have your resignation accepted +September 1st. Harrison to accept and take the oath of office September +2nd. The President desires to meet your convenience. Should Harrison +take linen, silver, glass, china and automobiles? What else would you +suggest? Wife and children will accompany him. Please engage for him +servants you leave." + +[Illustration: BENGUET ROAD] + +Worst of all, it was given out to the papers before the Governor +received it, so that certain anti-American sheets in Manila had the +pleasure of flaunting the news on their front pages for him to read. +Surely some more considerate and courteous method of retiring a fine +administrator might have been devised than this abrupt and rude +dismissal, and it would seem that petty household matters might have +been kept separate. + +Secretary Worcester, also a native of New England, who is the greatest +living authority on the Islands, and whose achievements with the wild, +non-Christian tribes had been marvelous--to say nothing of his other +excellent work--had also of course to resign. Forbes, by the way, is not +a Republican, but neither is he a Democrat, and Independents are not +politically useful. + +The work of the administration immediately preceding that of Governor +Harrison is worth at least a partial summary. Besides building roads, +establishing a good health resort at Baguio, systematizing the work of +the government, reducing the number of bureaus, cutting down expenses +and eliminating duplication of work, and numerous other public services, +Governor Forbes succeeded in accomplishing the following: + +The reorganization of the merchant marine. + +The construction of aids to navigation--buoys, lighthouses and beacons, +wharves and harbours. + +The removal of restrictions from shipping. + +The establishment of a policy for the exclusive use of permanent +materials in construction, practically all the construction in the +Islands being done of reinforced concrete and selected woods. + +The passage of a law providing for proper development of irrigation, +laying aside an annual sum for that purpose. + +The establishment of a cadastral law for registering law titles. "Under +this system it was possible to get land titles settled, one of the most +difficult and important problems confronting any government and one +bearing directly on the welfare of the people in various ways. + +"A general system was adopted of loaning to provinces and municipalities +to encourage them in the construction of public works, particularly +those of a revenue-bearing nature; most especially markets, which +improved the sanitary condition of the food supply and proved both +popular with the people and profitable for the municipalities; these +markets usually paid for themselves in five years from the increased +revenues. + +[Illustration: FIRST PHILIPPINE ASSEMBLY.] + +"The Governor's influence was used throughout to make the instruction in +the schools practical in its nature; children were taught to make things +that would prove to be salable and which would give them a living. The +dignity of labour was emphasized. Encouragement was given to foster the +construction of railroads. + +"The establishment of a postal savings bank encouraged the children to +invest. Prizes were given for that child or school which showed the best +record." (Governor Forbes took an especial interest in the latter.) + +The first general election was held in the Islands on the third of July, +1907, to choose delegates for the Assembly. Before that the Philippine +Commission had been the sole legislative body. The delegates were chosen +from the thirty-five Christian provinces. At that time only a minute +percentage of the population, even among the Filipinos, was qualified to +meet the simple conditions which would enable them to vote, and to-day +the percentage is far from large. The electorate consists mainly of two +classes, the ilustrados, or educated natives and mestizos,[16] and the +_taos_, or peasants. The latter are not only ignorant but indifferent, +with no vision beyond what their eyes can see, and no interest in who +governs them, so long as crops are good and taxes low. One of the tasks +of our representatives is to educate and awaken these people to +responsible citizenship. It is a task still far from accomplishment. + +It must be admitted that the work of the Assembly to-day, after eight +years of fair trial, does not encourage Filipinization of the service. +It is fortunate--at times--that the two legislative bodies have equal +power not only to initiate legislation but to block the passage of each +other's bills. In this way the Commission has been able to hold up some +of the freak legislation sent up to it by the lower body. The Manila +_Times_ has published a list of the laws which were wanted by the +Filipino assemblymen recently. They spent the valuable time of the +entire first session talking them over and the Commission refused to +concur. One was to increase their own salaries, of course. Another +was to erect monuments to all the ilustrados who had cried "_Bajo los +Americanos_" most loudly. Others wanted to fly the Philippine flag above +the American on all masts, to make a legal holiday of the birthday of +Rizal's grandmother, and to free all prisoners, no matter what their +crimes. + +[Illustration: OSMEÑA, THE SPEAKER OF THE FIRST ASSEMBLY.] + +As may be imagined, a body of men which can pass such bills is quite +capable of blocking the sane legislation which comes to them for +approval, and unfortunately they have the power to do this. The way in +which the slavery question was handled illustrates their methods. + +Slavery was known to exist in the Islands, and to take two +forms,--actual slavery, where one person was sold by another, and a sort +of semi-slavery, or peonage, where a man sold his services for debt. + +The peon was given his keep, but the interest on his debt was added +faster than he could earn. He was really a slave, except that he had +sold himself rather than been sold by another. But his debts might be +bought and sold, so that it amounted to the same thing in the end. +Interest was sometimes as high as ten per cent a month, while fifty +cents a month was allowed for his services. Worcester in his book tells +of a man who borrowed $1.25, which he and his wife and children worked +several years in the effort to repay; but by that time the amount had +become $37.50! + +Spain had nominally abolished slavery long before, but it had continued +in force in both the Christian and non-Christian provinces. The +legislators themselves held peons. The law of Congress creating the +Philippine Government prohibited slavery, but there are no penalties +attached, so it could not be enforced. + +The Filipinos denied that slavery existed in the Islands. Worcester made +a careful investigation, and an exhaustive report on both slavery and +peonage. All but a few copies of this report were burned by a Filipino +official. It was a subject which neither the Filipino politician nor +their self-styled friends the anti-imperialists wished to see discussed +in print. The Manila papers had been absolutely silent on the subject, +and even the anti-slavery legislation which was finally forced through, +after having been tabled again and again without so much as the briefest +formality of discussion, passed unnoticed. It was a sore subject, and +the Filipino method of treating a sore subject is not to heal it, but to +refrain from discussing it. + +There is no question but we have given the Filipinos too much power for +their own good. They now, under the Democratic Administration, have five +members in the Commission, to America's four. They have to-day much +power--only colonies such as Canada and Australia have more, while Egypt +has been given less in a generation than the Filipinos have received in +ten years. + +The present governor, Francis Burton Harrison, has been severely +criticized. His party was pledged to a rapid Filipinization which has +proved disastrous, for it was devised by men wholly ignorant of the +situation. The destruction of the wonderful civil service system so +carefully built up in the early days as an object lesson to Spanish-bred +politicians, is only one of many changes which have been brought about. + +We have certainly lost prestige in the Islands under the Democratic +Administration. Filipinos no longer remove their hats during the playing +of the Star Spangled Banner on the Luneta, so Governor Harrison finally +tried to discontinue the playing of the national anthem. The American +community would not stand this, however, so it was resumed. In many +other ways the Filipinos have become "cocky." This of course does not +apply to the tao, who plods along regardless of politics. + +A friend wrote me recently, "I don't think I could give you a more +accurate idea of what most Americans and British, and even intelligent +natives, think of this Democratic administration than to repeat a +conversation I overheard in the Fort McKinley cars one morning between +two coloured American soldiers. They began by laughing at Harrison's +'give them what they want' speech, and speaking of the Filipinos as +'spoiled children.' 'Well,' said one dusky brave, 'we have one more year +of this rotten administration, then, thank Gawd, we'll have a white +man's government!'" + +Professor Thomas Lindsey Blayney writes in one of the magazines: "I +talked with business men, native and foreign educators, clergymen, army +and navy officers, editors American and British, and many Filipinos of +undoubted patriotism and intelligence, and I do not hesitate to assure +you that the demoralizing tendency of the policies of the present +American administration in the Islands is deserving of the widest +publicity." The situation, he says, "is bidding fair to become a +national disgrace if we allow politics and sentiment to take the place +of reason and justice." He goes on to say, "There is no phenomenon of +our national life more passing strange than that which induces many of +our good people to accept the statements of paid emissaries of the +Filipino junto, or some of our new and inexperienced officials at +Manila, rather than those of our fellow countrymen of long +administrative experience in the Islands.... The loss of men like +Governor Forbes, Mr. Worcester, Dr. Heiser, and others, is looked upon +as a distinct setback in the development of better and more stable +institutions in the entire Orient in the interest of humanity as a +whole." + +All of which only bears out what Lord Cromer told Mr. Forbes--"If your +personnel employed in the administration of dependencies at a distance +becomes subject to change with changing political parties, you are +doomed to failure in your effort to govern countries overseas." + +There has recently been a great financial depression in the Islands, due +partly to hoarding against threatened independence, and partly to the +difficulty the new Filipino officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue +find in collecting the usual amount. A slump in real estate followed +quickly upon the news that we might shortly leave the Islands. +Rinderpest, the cattle plague which had worked such havoc and which had +finally been conquered after tremendous expenditure of money and energy, +broke out again immediately upon the substitution of Filipinos for +white men in the service. Some time the good people at home will learn +that giving a child candy because it cries for candy is not always the +best thing for the child. The Filipinos are in many ways children, +delightful ones, with charming manners, but needing a firm and even rule +till they come of age and take over their own affairs. Most Filipinos of +intelligence realize this. In fact, they have of late been rushing in +petitions signed by their best and most influential citizens urging the +retention of the Islands in their present standing. + +What the Filipino wishes for himself depends upon the man. Only one in +ten, among the civilized tribes, knows anything about the discussion of +independence. The taos would like independence if they believe it to be +what their politicians have told them--freedom to do as they please, and +exemption from taxes. Otherwise they are not interested. + +When the Jones bill was being discussed a Moro elevator boy at the War +Department in Washington was asked, "If the Filipinos are given their +independence, how will you feel?" "I am an American now," he answered, +"but if that happen--I go back, and with the Moros fight the +Filipinos!" + +Most people fail to realize that the Islands are no financial burden to +this country. They are, and have always been, wholly self-supporting. +Their revenues pay their bills, and their taxes, incidentally, are the +lowest in the civilized world. We keep soldiers there but only the cost +of their transportation is extra. + +Our rule in the Philippines has been the greatest of all paradoxes, a +benevolent despotism working ardently for its own destruction. This is +very unusual, and rather fine. We ought to be proud of what we have +done, and very anxious to see the work well finished. Good men have +given their lives for it, and few of those who lived have come out after +years of thankless toil in a tropical land, with as much as they had +when they went into the service. We owe it to them and to our helpless +wards, as well as to our national honour, to see the thing through. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HEALING A NATION + + +The sanitary conditions which existed in the Islands twenty odd years +ago would seem to us appalling, but perhaps they were no worse than +those of some other tropical countries at that time. Even the most +progressive colonizers, like the English, had given up trying radical +reforms, contenting themselves with making passably healthful +conditions, especially for the European part of the towns. The +combination of climate and native inertia seemed to them one which it +was difficult and almost hopeless to combat. So it remained for us to +prove that the thing could be done--that a tropical country could be +made sanitary and hygienic for all its inhabitants, whether they were +white or brown or yellow, and whether they wanted it made so or not. If +we had done nothing else for our restless dependency, that achievement +would be a sufficient crown of glory. + +Manila was then, as it still is, the most highly civilized spot in the +Islands. As I have said, much of the walled city was built of stone +and plaster, but many of the natives in the suburbs lived in one-room +houses made of wood and raised on stilts. No provision whatever was made +for drainage or for the removal of garbage. Each house was a law unto +itself and very often an offense unto its neighbours. + +[Illustration: _A Carabao_] + +A large part of the city drained, directly or indirectly, into the Pasig +River. Here, also, the carabao, which is not a fastidious animal, went +for his mud baths, and the women washed their clothes. This river +furnished drinking water for all who lived near enough to share the +privilege. It was said to have a flavour like the Ganges, which they +sorely missed later on when a purer supply was substituted. + +The medieval wall, which allowed for many damp, unhealthy corners, +interfered with municipal ventilation. No cleansing winds can sweep +through a city whose every street ends in a high wall. Outside was a +stagnant moat which made a convenient breeding place for the industrious +mosquito. + +The local market used to be a community dwelling for all the vendors, +who lived there, reveling in their filth. Their children were born +there, also their dogs, pigs, cats, and chickens. It was so vile +smelling that no American dared go into it. Never being cleaned, it was +the center from which disease was spread to the city. + +These markets were the first places to be cleaned by the Americans. The +first step was always to burn up the entire shed, and then build an iron +and concrete structure, which could be washed down every night with a +hose. Only the night watchman was allowed to live there. + +This is only typical of changes made in every department, from market to +school, from custom house to palace. To tell a long story very shortly, +gaps have been opened in the city walls to let in the air, the moat has +been filled in with soil dredged from the bay to make a field for +sports, nearby marshes have been reclaimed and old wells filled up, +while a sewerage system and a method of collecting refuse have of course +been established. The new water system has cut the death rate from +water-borne diseases in half. To stop an epidemic whole districts of +huts which could not be fumigated were burned and others were sprayed +with strong disinfectants by fire engines. Slowly the people are being +taught the rules of hygiene. The new and up-to-date medical school is +turning out very good doctors, and the school of nursing, most excellent +nurses, who are gentle, cheerful and dainty. + +The modern hospitals were at first regarded with suspicion by the +natives, who went with the greatest reluctance for treatment. But to-day +the difficulty is to keep them out. A toothache is excuse enough for a +week's sojourn with free board. The native doctor often is a skilful +grafter, and has to be watched, otherwise he may pass in all his poor +relations, more to give them food and rest than for illness. A friend +was much annoyed while sick in a Manila hospital by some Filipina girls +in pink and lilac hospital gowns who were romping through the corridors. +Her nurse explained that they were passed in by the native doctor. One +of these physicians had every bed in his ward filled with patients who +were not ill but just enjoying themselves. Some of these doctors abuse +their authority in other ways. One of them, it was discovered, used to +go to San Lazaro, the hospital for contagious diseases, and take friends +who were detained there with leprosy to ride in public vehicles. + +But aside from occasional abuses by natives, the work which has been +done for the public health in Manila is an example of what has been +accomplished elsewhere. In many of the provincial towns the introduction +of artesian wells has brought the death rate tumbling down to half its +former size. The work was carried on under disadvantages at first, for +it was the butt of much ridicule and abuse--the former from abroad, the +latter from the native press. Medical authorities in other parts of the +Far East laughed at our efforts to create better conditions for the +Filipinos, and told us that Orientals were incapable of sanitary +reforms. Before long, these same men were seeking to learn by what magic +we had accomplished what they had hardly dared even attempt, and were +sending delegates to Manila to study our methods.[17] + +When Americans went there they found the Filipinos a race of +semi-invalids. Those who had managed to survive the various scourges +which were constantly sweeping the Islands were often infected with +hookworm or similar parasites which sapped their vitality. Many of them +were tubercular, and most of them were under-fed. The laziness which +made several Filipino workmen equal to one American was much of it due +to actual physical weakness. As a people, they are showing a marked +improvement in energy and activity. It was from changes of this sort +that the would-be benevolent anti-imperialists laboured to save them. + +Of course, a great deal remains for us to do. Half the babies still die +before they are a year old. Only a beginning has been made in stamping +out tuberculosis. The people have not yet been educated out of that +fatalism which makes them prefer acceptance of evil to fighting it. But +as fast as they learn English they come under our educative influence +more and more. + +Dr. Richard P. Strong, whom we knew when we were in the Islands and who +is now at the Harvard Medical School lecturing on tropical diseases, has +done many notable things in various parts of the world. We all know +about his wonderful work in the northern part of China, when the +pneumonic plague[18] was raging there a few years ago, and still later +his heroism among the typhus-stricken soldiers of Serbia. But we do not +all know that, among other things, he has discovered a cure for a +dreadful skin disease called yaws, which has been prevalent in the +Philippines. A doctor in Bontoc cured a case with a single injection of +salvarsan. The "case" was so delighted that he escaped from the +hospital before a second injection could be given him, rushed home to +his native village, and returned a day or so later with a dozen or more +of his neighbours who were suffering from the same trouble. + +We were fortunate in traveling through the Islands with Dr. Heiser, who +had entire control of the health conditions there for many years--in +fact, until the Democratic administration. To him is largely due the +practical disappearance of smallpox from the Philippines. When the +Americans took over the country there were sometimes over fifty thousand +deaths a year from this one disease. The change is the direct result of +the ten million vaccinations which were performed by American officials. +An effort was made to entrust the vaccinating to Filipino officials, but +epidemics kept breaking out, and it was discovered that their work was +being done chiefly on paper. + +In a recent letter a friend writes, "The other day one of our servants, +Crispin, was ill. I tried to get him to go to the hospital, but he +insisted he was not sick. I did not enjoy having him wait on the table, +for I thought he had measles. So I took him to the hospital myself and +told him to do what the doctor said. When I returned home a telephone +call summoned us to the hospital to be vaccinated at once, for Crispin +had the smallpox! They sent him to San Lazaro, where he had a good time, +and came home smiling, while we spent a miserable ten days waiting to +see what was going to happen to us. The native _saindados_ came promptly +to disinfect, but all they did was to put a bucket of something in the +center of the room. I soon saw that they were not going to be thorough, +so after ten minutes, just as they were going away, I called them back +and telephoned to the board of health, asking if no American sanitary +officer was coming. They said no, that Filipinos had been put in all the +white men's places. So I went to work myself, burning bedding, clothes +and hangings, and opening every trunk and closet. It was a revelation to +those two little natives, who thought they had done enough before." + +Apparently the natives had the same aversion to the preventive method of +vaccination that some of our own countryfolk have, for Dr. Heiser writes +of the early work in the field: "Formerly ... the lives of the +vaccinators were seriously threatened by persons who refused to be +vaccinated. However, after much persuasion, a considerable number of the +inhabitants were vaccinated. Shortly afterwards smallpox was introduced +and the death rate among the unvaccinated became alarming; the people +themselves then noted that in spite of the fact that the vaccinated +persons frequently came in constant contact with the disease they did +not contract it, while the unvaccinated died in large numbers. This led +to urgent request being made for vaccination and the vaccinators who +previously found their lives in constant danger were welcomed." + +But perhaps Dr. Heiser's greatest work has been done in freeing the +Islands of the worst-feared disease of all times and nations--leprosy. I +was walking along the street with him one day when he noticed the +swollen ear lobes of a man near by. It was one of the first symptoms of +leprosy. He stopped and spoke to the man and walked with him to the +hospital. The disease is not really so much to be feared as people +think, for it is seldom inherited and is not easily contagious. + +We had planned to go to Culion, the beautiful island where thousands of +lepers have been taken to live or to die, and where they have every care +and comfort that science and unselfish devotion can give them. +Unfortunately for us, the Secretary of War was obliged to cut the trip +short, owing to official business in Manila, so we did not go there. We +heard so much about the place that this was a real disappointment. + +The island is a day's sail from Manila. It is well forested, and has +hills and fertile valleys and a fine harbour. The more important +buildings of the town which the authorities knew would be needed by the +thousands of lepers then at large, were built from the foundations +entirely of concrete, for sanitary reasons and economy. Besides hundreds +of houses, one finds there to-day a theater, a town hall, a school, +dining halls, hospitals, stores, docks and warehouses. Water, lighting +and sewerage systems were also constructed, and a separate settlement +was built for the non-leprous employees. + +Culion is really a leper's heaven. The people have perfect freedom, and +live normal lives, farming or fishing when they are able, carrying on +their own government, having their own police force, playing in the band +if they are musical, giving theatrical performances. They have social +distinctions, too--those better born take the place denied them in the +outer world because of their affliction. Here they are again Somebody. + +When Americans took possession of the Islands there were six thousand +lepers at large. Two things evidently had to be done--first, prevent a +further spread of the disease; and second, cure those who already had +it, if this were possible. + +Segregation of all known cases, as fast as accommodations could be +provided for them, was the immediate necessity. The colony at Culion was +opened in 1906 with five hundred patients. These went reluctantly to +their new abode, but once settled there, found it so much to their +liking that they wrote home enthusiastically, and after that the +authorities had no difficulty in persuading others to go. Indeed, the +plight of these poor outcasts had been pitiful enough. They were so +neglected that in one of the larger cities they had been known to go +into the markets and handle the produce, as a protest against their +treatment. + +More than eight thousand have been transferred to Culion in all, and +to-day every known leper in the Philippines is there. New cases are +still occasionally found, but even the worst provinces are now +practically free from the historic scourge. It was that remarkable man, +Dr. Heiser, who not only organized and carried out this great +undertaking, but who himself saw to the smallest details. Many times he +is known to have carried the loathsome patients in his own arms. + +The second problem, that of finding a cure, was not so easily solved. +But it has been found, and our nation had the credit of finding it--"the +first definite cure ever established," Dr. Heiser says. Two methods were +tried out very carefully, both with some success. The first was the +x-ray, which brought a marked improvement in most of the cases where it +was used, and an apparent cure in one case. The other method was the use +of chaulmoogra oil. This remedy had been known and used in the Far East +for some time, but it could rarely be given long enough to produce much +effect, because it was so unpleasant to swallow. Our doctors, however, +devised ways of injecting it, after mixing it with resorcin and +camphorated oil, so that there were no ill effects. Already several +cures have resulted. + +Ten years ago there were forty thousand users of opium in the Islands. +In five years that number was reduced ninety-five per cent, and most of +those still addicted to the drug are Chinese. In the last few years, +moreover, cholera and bubonic plague have been practically wiped out, +but, of course, a few other tropical diseases still exist. + +The Philippine Assembly recently conceived the brilliant idea of cutting +down expenses by halving the health appropriation. Dr. Heiser got +permission to speak before them, but instead of talking a few minutes, +as they expected, he spoke for three days. He told them that if they did +not give him the money he needed for the work, he would be forced to +economize by setting free the criminally insane, who, he promised, +should be given tags stating that they had been set free by order of the +Assembly. Also, he said, he would have to send back many of the lepers +to their friends. It proved to be the way to deal with the child-like +legislators, who in the end gave him what he wanted. Since that, +however, he has resigned, and his loss will be sadly felt. Indeed, there +has already been an outbreak of cholera since he left. + +Regenerative work among the Filipinos has by no means been confined to +their bodies, however, for besides the educational advance that has been +made in their schools, which I have mentioned elsewhere, their prisons +have become sources of light instead of darkness. It is true that +penology in the Philippines has gone ahead with great strides. + +In Bontoc, for instance, there is a prison which the commissioner in +charge of the province proudly called his "university." Its inmates are +men of the mountains. In the old days they would have been sent to +Bilibid prison in Manila, where few of them lived over two years. A +longer term meant practically a death sentence. This provincial jail is +situated in the high and healthy capital of the province, and is kept +clean and sanitary by the prisoners themselves. The men are well fed and +cared for, and they are taught trades, and made to work at them, too, so +that they learn industry along with technical skill. + +Bilibid prison is a huge institution. It occupies several acres of land +in the heart of the city of Manila, its buildings radiating from a +common center, so that the guard in the high tower at the hub can +overlook anything that occurs. High walls surround the whole, patrolled +by watchful guards and mounted with gatling guns. It is an extraordinary +institution, inherited from Spanish rule, but, like everything else, +completely changed since then. The wives of men committed there were +considered widowed in those days, since so few survived a long term, and +were free to marry again. There has been some confusion of late years, +because most of the prisoners not only come out alive, but healthier +than when they went in. So prison "widows" who remarried found that +they had not counted on American methods. Bilibid, though in many ways +still rather experimental, is a great success. + +There are extensive shops, and the prisoners are kept at work all the +time. Some make silverware, carriages, and furniture, while others do +the cooking and washing for the prison, make their clothes, and run a +laundry, not only for their own use, but for outside custom. Many are +employed in road building and on fortifications. Each man learns a trade +during his term of imprisonment, and so is better able to earn an honest +livelihood than when he entered. I have been told that Bilibid +"graduates" are in demand because of their honesty and industry. No +better recommendation for a prison could be desired. + +Besides the shops, there is a school in which they are taught English. +The day we visited the prison we saw a teacher there who had been a +guest at the Governor's table, but as he had forged a check he was +paying the penalty. Most of the attendants in the up-to-date prison +hospital were Spaniards who were in for life sentences and who made very +good nurses. Part of this institution is devoted to consumptives, of +whom there are so many in the Islands, and they receive treatment +according to the best and latest methods. + +[Illustration: PENAL COLONY ON THE ISLAND OF PALAWAN.] + +We were much interested in the kitchens, and the manner in which food +was issued to several thousands in only six minutes. It was all +wonderfully systematized. + +Late in the afternoon we went up into the central tower to watch the +"retreat." The prisoners' band, which had played for us as we entered +the prison gates, now took its place in the courtyard below and began to +play. Out of the workrooms trooped hundreds of convicts, who were +searched for hidden implements and then released to take their position +in military formation. The different groups marched to their quarters +and, standing outside, went through a series of exercises to the music +of the band. They seemed to enjoy this very much, and later, still to +the music, marched gaily off to get their rations. + +A long-term prisoner with two years of good conduct to his credit is +given the privilege of going to the penal colony on the island of +Palawan. This island is one of the more southern ones, and is the place +where the Spanish sent their convicts in the old days. But the present +colony, which was established by Governor Forbes, is very different from +the former one. It was once a malarial jungle, but now is a healthy, +thoroughly up-to-date and successful reform institution. + +Our visit to this place was one of the most interesting features of our +whole trip. Palawan itself is a curiosity, for it has an underground +river which has been explored for two miles beneath a mountain. But the +penal settlement is unique. + +Leaving the steamer at Puerto Princessa, a quaint little town with +charming old Spanish gardens, we were met by a launch which took us up +the Iwahig River to the colony. This launch, which was gaily decked with +flags, was manned by convicts, the engineer himself being under a +sentence of nineteen years for murder. After an hour's sail up the +tropical river, we reached our destination. At the wharf we were greeted +by Mr. Lamb, superintendent of the colony, a Dominican priest, and a +crowd of prisoners who were enjoying a holiday. + +We were driven to headquarters, near a pretty plaza with hedges and +flowers, surrounded by several two-story barracks built of bamboo and +nipa, where the prisoners live. As we walked about the plaza we visited +the hospital and the chapel, as well as the main office and the +superintendent's house. + +The penal settlement is located on a reservation of two hundred and +seventy square miles. At the time of our visit there were in all eleven +hundred convicts--Filipinos for the most part, with a few Moros--and +only three white men to keep them in order. The prisoners had all come +from Bilibid prison. + +In its management, the colony is somewhat like the George Junior +Republic for boys in America. The prisoners elect their own judges and +make some of their own laws, subject to the approval of the +superintendent. A majority verdict will convict, but the superintendent +has the right to veto any measures. Men who break the laws are locked +up, but can be released on bail. + +The police force is composed of convicts, of course. The chief of police +when we were there was a murderer who had earned his pardon but +preferred to remain in the settlement. If a prisoner tries to escape he +is followed, and occasionally one is shot. The attempt is seldom made, +for it is difficult to get away, and the men are, moreover, quite +content to live there. Once thirty-five convicts did make a break for +liberty, but beyond the confines of the settlement they found themselves +in the midst of the savage Mangyans, by whom some were killed. Of the +rest, those who were not captured alive returned of their own free will +and were consigned again to Bilibid, which is considered a great +punishment. + +For good behaviour, convicts may earn the right to have a house of their +own, with their family, one bull or carabao, and a little farm to +cultivate. There were then a hundred and eighty of these farmers, who +raised their crops on shares, the government receiving half. They had to +report to headquarters by telephone every other day and undergo a weekly +inspection as well. Every year they were obliged to plant cocoanuts, +which in a few years were expected to bring in large returns. Already +great quantities of yams were being shipped to Bilibid, and in a short +time enough cattle would be delivered there to supply, in part at least, +the meat demand of that prison. The colony suggests the possible +solution of the meat question for the American army in the Philippines, +as they were successfully raising calves from native cows by Indian +bulls. + +Although the majority of the prisoners were engaged in farming, they +were often given the privilege of selecting the kind of work that they +preferred, and were divided accordingly, their hats and the signs on the +sleeves of their prison clothes showing what grade of convict they +belonged to and what work they did. They were paid in the money of the +colony, which was good nowhere else. + +There were about forty women on the reservation. The men might marry if +they earned the privilege, or if already married, they might have their +wives and children come to live with them. There were six marriages the +year we were there. After receiving their pardons, they could remain on +the island if they wished, their work being credited toward the purchase +of their farms, but they had to continue under the laws of the colony. + +At the main office we saw four prisoners who were about to be pardoned. +Governor Forbes very kindly asked me to hand them their pardons and ask +any questions I wished. One, a _bandolero_, or brigand, was small and +wizened. Another, who looked much like him, when asked what crime he had +committed, laughed and answered, "Bigamy!" A third, a stolid, thickset +fellow, had the best face of them all, but showed no emotion whatever +when I gave him his pardon. He also had been a brigand. + +The convicts gave an exhibition fire drill for us at the barracks. The +natives are born climbers, and scramble down the poles with the agility +of monkeys. They also play baseball, of course. They are remarkably +musical and have a good band. + +We had luncheon with Mr. and Mrs. Lamb in their pretty bamboo and nipa +cottage. Mrs. Lamb was a frail little woman, but strong in spirit, for +she did not seem at all afraid to live in this land of evil men. She +told us that the three murderers whom she had as servants were very +efficient, and were devoted to her little four-year-old son. + +When our visit ended we were driven in a wagon to the river, accompanied +by a troop of prisoners who ran alongside shouting good-bys. At the +wharf they lined up while Mr. Lamb and the priest bowed us politely +aboard the launch. + +These intrepid countrymen of ours, who are healing and uplifting a whole +people, seem to me to be true missionaries. The time may come when the +work which they are doing will set a standard for us stay-at-homes to +follow, that is, if we send the right kind of men out there. As the song +says, + + "Ah, those were the days when the best men won, + The survival of those that were fit-- + When the work to be done counted everything, + And politics nary a bit." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +DOG-EATERS AND OTHERS + + +The natives of the Philippines are Malays, as I have said, but they are +sometimes classified as Christian, Pagan and Mohammedan Malays. The +Christian and educated tribes live near the coast on the lowlands and +are called Filipinos. They have intermarried greatly with the Spaniards +and Chinese. There are twenty-seven non-Christian tribes in the +Islands--about four hundred thousand in number in the Mountain Province +of Luzon alone. These hill people are seldom seen, although during the +last few years most of the tribes have come under government influence +and head-hunting has been more or less given up. These dwellers in the +mountains include the aborigines who were driven out of the valleys by +the Malays, and also the Malays of the earlier migration, who refused to +embrace the Mohammedanism of the Moros of the southern islands or the +Christianity of the Spaniards. + +We were fortunate in having the opportunity to see some of the +dog-eaters and other hill people. Our party was divided, and while +several of the men went into the heart of the head-hunting country, the +rest of us took the train to Baguio, the mountain capital. What a night +it was! The heat was frightful, and swarms of mosquitoes added to the +torture. But at sunrise, as I sat on the back platform while the train +steamed through rows of cocoanut palms, past little huts and stations, I +was reminded of this verse: + + "Mighty, luminous and calm + Is the country of the palm, + Crowned with sunset and sunrise, + Under blue unbroken skies, + Waving from green zone to zone, + Over wonders of its own; + Trackless, untraversed, unknown, + Changeless through the centuries." + +Leaving the tropics behind, we climbed up, up among the glorious +mountains. At last the train stopped at a little station, and we took +the motors that were waiting and went on higher and higher into +cloudland, where the tall pines grew and the mountains rose into the +sky. We had indeed ascended "into Paradise from Purgatory." As one +resident in Manila expressed it: "The heavenly coolness, the sweet +pine air and the exquisite scenery give you new life after the years +spent in the heat, glare, dust and smells of the lowlands." + +[Illustration: THE PARTY AT BAGUIO.] + +We were passing over the far-famed Benguet Road, one of the finest +highways in the world, which wound in and out through the gorges of the +mountains, repeatedly crossing the river that roared beneath. For twenty +miles we zigzagged up the slopes, with widening views of great hills +opening before us, and cascades bursting out from beneath the mountains, +till we came out on the plateau of Baguio, five thousand feet above the +sea. + +This road, which has been a favourite theme for discussion by +politicians, was opened to traffic in 1905. It is true that the cost of +the roadway was beyond what anybody had anticipated, on account of the +many bridges that had to be repaired each year after the rainy season, +and also after the destructive typhoons that sweep over the island--one +in 1911 brought a rainfall of forty-six inches in twenty-four +hours--which hurl avalanches of débris from the mountain slopes. For +this reason a new road from Bauang to Baguio has been commenced, not +nearly so direct but requiring only a few bridges, and it is to be hoped +will prove successful and more economical than the other. + +Baguio, in the midst of glorious mountain scenery, where the temperature +never goes above eighty and the nights are deliciously cool, really is +an ideal health resort for a tropical country. The Philippines have Mr. +Worcester and Mr. Forbes to thank for this blessing. Government +buildings were erected, and the whole force of the government was moved +up there for the hot season, with the rich return of the improved health +and greater efficiency of the employees. A hospital for tuberculosis was +built, and a much needed school for American children, the Jesuit +observatory was established, and Camp John Hay was laid out as a +permanent military post. Many people bought land and put up little +bungalows. A teachers' camp was started by the Bureau of Education for +American teachers from all over the Islands, where they had not only +rest and recreation but the mental brushing up of good lectures after +months in lonely stations. + +When the Democratic Administration began its changes in the Philippines, +government offices were ordered to be kept in Manila throughout the +year, consequently only the higher officials were able to go to Baguio, +with a result patent to every one in the lessened efficiency of the +force. But within the last two or three years, the Filipinos have come +to appreciate the place, which was a revelation to them. Now rich and +poor manage to go there, and they have taken possession. The benefits of +Baguio and the Benguet Road are felt even in Manila, where Americans are +beginning to get fresh garden peas, summer squash, wax beans and real +strawberries(!). A friend writes, "If the time ever comes when we can +have real cow's milk and cream, then our food will be as good as +anywhere in the States." + +We had a glorious week at Topside, Governor Forbes's attractive +bungalow, and speedily became as enthusiastic in our praises of Baguio +as every one else who has ever been there. I rode all day long on Black +Crook, the most perfect polo pony in the world, through the mists and +the sunlight and into the rainbow shades of the setting sun, where the +clouds turned the colour of cockatoos' wings and the tints of the fish +from the China Sea. + + "Cloud Maidens that float on forever, + Dew-sprinkled, fleet bodies, and fair, + Let us rise from our Sire's loud river, + Great Ocean, and soar through the air + To the peaks of pine-covered mountains + Where the pines hang as tresses of hair." + +I played my first polo game at Baguio on the club grounds. Squash Pie, +Calico Pie and other delightful names were given to the native ponies, +which are small but very strong. + +We went to the government stock farm, where they are trying experiments +in breeding horses. They had a native pony there that had been well fed +and taken care of for some time, in order to show the difference between +it and the forlorn animals that one might see anywhere in the towns. The +native Spanish pony has greatly degenerated. At this farm they had a +beautiful Arabian stallion and a Morgan stallion from Vermont. It is +said that the first generation of American horses does well in the +Philippines, but after that the climate and the change in food cause +them to deteriorate. Besides, they are rather too big for mountain +cavalry. The Arabian stallion and the native mare are said to breed the +best kind of horse for this country. Black Scotch cattle and Australian +cattle, which are raised at the government farm, do well. Sheep do not +pay, for, to begin with, there is no market for the wool. Goats do well, +and goats' milk is in great demand. The natives use principally the +carabao and the native cattle, which look like small Jersey cows but are +not very good. + +Another day, Mrs. Whitmarsh, from Boston, gave us a tea in a little +house hung with orchids and Japanese lanterns, and we visited Mr. +Whitmarsh's gold mine. Some of us went on horseback down into the valley +to see the tunnels. We washed a pan of ore in the brook and found at the +bottom little fine gold specks. The Benguet Igorots have mined gold for +centuries. + +[Illustration: IGOROT SCHOOL GIRL WEAVING.] + +At Baguio we visited missionary and government schools and Camp John +Hay, where Captain Hilgard gave us a reception. At the government school +the Igorot boys are taught, among other things, to make attractive +mission furniture, while the girls learn to weave, and very pretty +things they make. These girls wear short blue skirts and little jackets, +and have their hair in two long black braids that hang on either side of +their faces. A Turkish towel, worn as a turban, on which to rest +burdens, seemed to be the fashion in head gear with them. Loads are also +carried by the Igorots on their backs, hung by straps over the forehead. + +It was an Igorot child in this school who wrote the following article +upon Mrs. Dickinson's visit at Baguio: + +"It was yesterday morning very early when we started from here to the +Post Office to meet a lady named Mrs. Dickinson. So early we all went +down the brook to take our bath. After we had taken our bath we had +breakfast. I was late so Ina scolded me, but I am glad she did it so +that some day I won't do it again. Then we were all line up in two by +two. When we got up to the Post Office she was not there so we waited +for her an hour or two. After waiting for them they arrived suddenly. +There were some ladies who accompanied Mrs. Dickinson. We were very much +pleased to see her and she was much pleased too. The first time that she +came in the Philippine Islands from America and she is soprice +(surprised). We sang three songs and the National Anthem and waving our +flags on the road. When we finished singing they clapped their hands. I +gave her a bouquet of pink flowers. This we did it for our honour of +Mrs. Dickinson not because she is more kind or lovely lady but because +she is the wife of Mr. Dickinson. This Secretary of War is the leader of +those who have authorities. He is responsible of them. After that we +came right back. Miss B. came for school. We cleaned the schoolroom and +the yard so that they will be so tidy when they come to see the school +at three o'clock. We fixed the two bridges and we trimmed the road +little bit for their automobiles to dance on. But they left them on the +road yonder because they afraid might the bridges will do them +damage. So they walked from there to here, and when they went back, they +walked from here to there again, making them a journey." + +[Illustration: IGOROT OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE.] + +Doctor White, the missionary at Baguio, and his sister took me one day +to the tombs of the Igorots. High on the hills looking toward the sea +are great natural rocks with cracks in them, one of which looked like +the Sphinx. Here we got off our ponies, tied them, and entered on foot a +tangled path leading to a cavern. In the faint light that sifted through +we saw a coffin, some baskets and some hats, and farther on, concealed +and yet overlooking a fine view, were more wooden coffins. Some of these +had fallen apart so that we could see the remains of bones and clothes. +When an Igorot dies the body is usually tied in a sitting position on +the top of a pole in the house and smoked for several days over a fire +built underneath it. Meanwhile, the family kill and cook all the pigs +and carabaos and ponies, if the man owned any, and then gather around +and have what they call a _cañao_, or feast. Afterward the bones and +skulls of the carabaos are hung about the house to show their neighbours +what a rich man he was. + +Some of us went one day to Mirador, the typhoon station, on a high hill +overlooking the sea. It is in charge of a Jesuit priest, who predicts +the approach of typhoons and puts up storm signals, in this way +preventing great loss of life. We were shown the instruments, which give +warning of earthquakes as well as typhoons, and given sherry that was +fifty years old, delicious cake, and flowers from his garden, and we saw +his goats climbing up the steep crags. He told us with a chuckle that he +had traded his dog to an Igorot for a cow. + +On Sunday we visited the dog market, but alas! we saw no dogs, as on +account of cholera in the vicinity, it was forbidden to sell any. A few +days before we had seen several men leading a number of lean and lanky +ones along the road, and these were all for sale, to be killed and +eaten. Long-haired canines are not popular, the short-haired kind are +preferred. + +Vice-Governor Gilbert had a cañao, or feast, in front of his house one +morning. A line of partly dressed dog-eaters arrived, bowing as they +passed. They proved to be the chiefs or head men, who had put on what +clothes they possessed for this occasion. They were brown, bare-legged +men with gee strings, as they call the woven cloth hanging about their +waists. Some had coats on, but nothing underneath, and only an old hat +to complete the costume. + +The Benguet Igorots, or dog-eaters, are small but strong, and remind one +of our American Indians. They are peaceful farmers now, but in days gone +by they fought their neighbours on the north, and so lances and shields +are still to be found among them. "The first American civil provincial +government established in the Philippines was in Benguet, and +governmental control has been continuously exercised there since +November 23, 1900. They are gladly availing themselves of the +opportunity now afforded for the education of their children, but insist +that this education be practical." + +In order to show the progress that had been made in the Philippines, a +party of Igorots were brought to the St. Louis Exposition. Part of the +exhibit was a model schoolroom. Visitors were amazed at the bright, +eager little children, and at their keen interest in their lessons. But +they were even more amazed one day to see these same model pupils when a +dog suddenly barked outside. For the school simply went to pieces, the +children making for the nearest door. The last seen of them, they were +in full cry after the unfortunate dog. + +Although we found the dog-eaters interesting, there are other tribes of +far greater interest, such as the Negritos, the warlike Ilongots and +the Tingians, as well as the people of the Bashee rocks of the north, +who are hardly ever seen. + +The Negritos are diminutive and uncivilized black people who live to-day +in a few mountain areas. They are the aborigines of the islands in this +part of the world, and are as primitive as the Australian blacks, having +no social or political organization but that of the family. They live in +hollow trees or under little lean-tos of grass and brush, and subsist +principally by hunting and fishing, at which they are very expert. Their +weapons are poisoned arrows and the blow gun. The poison, which is made +either from the leaf of a tree or from decomposed meat, is placed in the +arrow-head of hollow bone. On striking, it injects the poison into the +flesh as a hypodermic needle would do, quickly resulting in death. + +The only agricultural implement of the Negritos is a pointed stick +hardened in the fire. To prepare the ground for cultivation, on the +space they wish to clear they girdle the trees, which will soon die. +They are then set on fire and the ashes distributed over the soil. +Later, holes are made with the pointed sticks, and _camotes_, sugar-cane +and tobacco are planted. + +These people are very timid, and if their suspicions are aroused in the +slightest manner, they immediately disappear into the forest. Very +little success has attended any effort to civilize them. Their religion +is nature worship with many local divinities and good and bad spirits of +all sorts. + +They ornament their bodies with scar patterns, made by cutting the skin +with sharp pieces of bamboo and then rubbing dirt into the wounds. In +this respect they are like no other tribes in the Islands but resemble +the most primitive of the native Africans, who also make scar patterns. +The men often shave the crowns of their heads in order, they say, "to +let the heat out." The Negritos, like the Bagobos of the south, +sometimes point their front teeth, but not by filing them as one might +suppose. They are chopped off with a bolo. + +Worcester says the Negritos "believe that each family must take at least +one head per year or suffer misfortune in the form of sickness, wounds, +starvation or death." Heads are buried in the ground under the "houses" +of the men who take them. + +In regard to the Tingians of northern Luzon I also quote from Worcester, +who has given us the most reliable account of them: + +"The women of this tribe ornament their arms with a series of bracelets +and armlets, which often extend from wrist to shoulder. They constrict +the middle of the forearm during early girlhood and continue to wear +tight armlets on the constricted portion throughout life, so that their +forearms become somewhat hourglass-shaped, this being considered a mark +of great beauty in spite of the unsightly swelling of the wrists which +results.... + +"Their cooking utensils are taken to the river and scrubbed with sand +after every meal. If a wife offers her husband dirty or soggy rice to +eat, the offense is said to afford ground for divorce.... + +"When a man dies, whether his death be natural or due to violence, the +other members of his family repair by night to some village of their +enemies, cut pieces from their turbans, and throw them down on the +ground. This is interpreted as an intimation that they will return and +take heads sometime within six months, and they believe that the dead +man knows no peace until this is done." + +The Ilongots, who live in the province of Nueva Viscaya, are especially +wild and great head-hunters. They are striking figures in their deerskin +rain-coats. No young man can take to himself a bride until he has +brought back a head to prove his prowess. The favourite time for +these gruesome excursions of the tribe is when the blossoms of the fire +tree show their red beacons on the mountain sides. As an especial mark +of beauty and valour, because a good deal of pain has to be endured in +the process, the men cut off the upper front teeth on a line with the +gums. + +[Illustration: ILONGOT IN RAIN-COAT AND HAT OF DEERSKIN.] + +Woe betide the man who rides a white horse into the Ilongot country, for +above all things white hair is desired, and unless he stands guard over +it, he will find its mane missing and its tail cropped to the skin. + +Most of the mountain people still retain their ancient myths and +traditions. Even among these Ilongots there are tales of the long ago +when they came across a "great water" to their present abode. This, of +course, merely explains the general migration of the Malay tribes. By +the way, this Malay migration is still in progress, and is exemplified +by the Samal boatmen who come from Borneo and further south in Malaysia +to the southern Philippines. + +All the wild people have customs of their own, which distinguish them, +especially the manner in which they cut their hair and wear their loin +cloths. They have slightly different methods of fighting, some fighting +singly with a kind of sword, others in pairs with spears and arrows, +while the sword is used only to decapitate the fallen enemy. Others +display considerable ability in organization and operate large bands, +under especially designated chiefs. All are very fond of dancing and +have different dances to represent war, love and the chase. + +They have their own explanations for everything, and their stories about +the creation of the various birds and animals are quite interesting and +not unlike those found among some tribes of aborigines in North America. +One of them relates that one day the Creator was making the different +birds. Before him lay bodies, wings, necks, heads and feet. He would +begin with the body and build it up with appropriate parts, so that it +could apply itself to the purpose for which it was intended. In every +case, the Creator was particular not to put on the wings before the bird +was complete, for fear that it would take flight in an imperfect +condition. One day while he was engaged in making an especially fine +specimen of the feathered world, the evil spirit approached and engaged +the Good Spirit in conversation. Ordinarily he would have attacked the +Evil One and quickly put him to flight, but as the bird was nearly +finished and already imbued with the spark of life he wished to complete +him. But the Creator's anger that the Evil One should overlook his work, +became so great that, without thinking, he put on the wings before the +legs had been fitted. Instantly the bird flew off. In haste the Creator +grabbed the first pair of legs he could lay his hands on and threw them +at it. They attached themselves exactly where they struck the bird, near +the tail. This is the reason, so the story goes, that the loon's legs +are so far back that he cannot walk in an upright position on land. His +peculiarly sad cry is a lament because he must stay in the water +practically all the time and cannot enjoy himself on land as other good +birds do. + +[Illustration: ILONGOTS RETURNING FROM THE CHASE.] + +Many of the people who live along the foot of the mountain ranges, +although Christianized sufficiently to contribute to the Roman Catholic +churches, still retain many of their aboriginal customs, especially +those pertaining to marriage, birth and death. + +Beyond the shores of Luzon, stretching northward for nearly two hundred +miles, is an interesting archipelago of diminutive islands known as the +Bashee Rocks, the Batan and the Babuyan Islands.[19] The natives still +retain many of the characteristics which were observed by Dampier in his +visit to these islands in the seventeenth century. + +The inhabitants of the Batan group are like those living on the Japanese +island of Botel Tobago, which is only sixty miles north of our most +northern possession.[20] No missionaries or other persons had been +allowed by the natives to land on their shores until a few Japanese +police arrived in 1909. They are mentioned in passing because they are a +present-day example of what the people in the northern islands of the +Philippine group were before the coming of the white men and the friars. +Their dwellings are very peculiar. Each family has a stone-paved court +surrounded by a low wall of stone. Within this enclosure they have three +houses: one with its sides sunk down into the ground, in order to give +protection from high winds; one with ordinary walls for use during +normal weather; and a third built on poles about ten feet above the +ground for use during the hot season. From these elevated houses a +constant watch is maintained for schools of fish. The people are expert +fishermen and make excellent nets, and they have beautiful boats with +high bows and sterns. + +In Dampier's day the people were friendly and hospitable, as they are at +the present time. They valued iron more than gold, and gladly exchanged +it for iron. The ancient diggings are still to be seen, but the "pay +dirt" is of such a low grade that it is not worth while to work it. The +precious metal is washed out by the natives in cocoanut shells, which +take the place of our prospectors' "gold pan." Many gold ornaments of +attractive design are still to be found in these islands. Some of those +taken from graves remind one strongly of Chaldean work. + +The graves of the ancient inhabitants were placed high upon the +mountains, some near the smoking craters of the volcanoes, others on the +crests of the non-volcanic hills. It is supposed that the graves near +the smoking craters were those of persons who had a bad reputation in +the community, while those on the tops of the ridges contained the +bodies of the good, and that by this method of burial the ideas of +heaven and hell were carried out in a practical manner. The bodies were +placed in _ollas_, or earthenware jars, some of which had a high glaze +and were profusely ornamented. The corpse was inserted into the jar in a +sitting position, and the orifice was sealed by placing an inverted olla +over the mouth of the first. These jars were then placed on end and a +small pyramid of stones built around them, on the top of which a little +tree was planted. A number of these graves ranged around the edge of a +smoking sulphur crater are an uncanny sight, which the natives take good +care to avoid. + +The women of the Batan Islands, when walking or working out of doors, +wear a distinctive headdress, consisting of a long grass hood, which +stretches from the forehead to below the hips. It protects the head and +back from the sun, wind and rain, so that it is worn at all times and in +all seasons. It is one of the most original and useful of all primitive +garments. + +During the dry season but little rain falls in these islands, and as +there are few streams or springs, every means is employed to catch +the least drop. Even the trees in the yards have pieces of rattan +twisted around their trunks and larger branches, to make the water drop +off into earthen jars. + +[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE BATAN ISLANDS WITH GRASS HOOD.] + +During the autumn migration of hawks and eagles from the north, men are +stationed on the thatched roofs of the high dwellings to seize the birds +by the feet as soon as they alight. Great numbers are caught in this +manner every year and form quite an element of the food supply. + +Many of the islands are excellent places for the production of cattle. +Itbayat Island, unique because its shores are higher than the interior, +has many thousand head of excellent cattle. The coast is so precipitous +that when they are exported they have to be lowered to the water's edge +by means of a block and tackle, as at Tangier. They then have to swim +out to the waiting ship, where they are hoisted by their horns to the +deck. + +Another of the cattle islands is called Dalupiri. This beautiful spot +was given in its entirety to Aldecoa and Company of Manila by the +Spanish government. In fact, when the United States first took +possession of the Philippines, this company claimed sovereignty over the +island, but this, of course, was not recognized by the United States +Government. The cattle that are pastured here are a cross between the +black Spanish bulls of fighting lineage and the humped cattle of India. +Great care is taken that the stock be well kept up, and for this purpose +there is a constant weeding out of undesirables. The method in which +this is done is both interesting and very exciting. The cattle roam at +will and are very wild and hard to approach; as a result they have to be +hunted with great care. About twenty men are employed in their capture, +all of whom are mounted on hardy little horses. Four of them are +lassoers and the rest huntsmen. The lassos are nooses attached to the +ends of bamboo poles about twelve feet long. The rope from the noose, to +the length of about twenty-five feet, is coiled around the bamboo pole +and tied to it four feet from the lower end. When the lasso is thrown +over an animal's head the pole is dropped by the rider, the rope unwinds +and drags the pole along the ground, until it catches on a rock or a +bush and stops the mad career of the animal. + +"We started out early one morning," Major Mitchell writes me, "to cut +several young bulls out of a herd of about five hundred cattle. Led by +the manager of the island, we galloped over the rough surface of the +coral-bound hilltops and through deep, waving grass until one of the +huntsmen signaled that the herd was in sight. A careful inspection was +made of the herd with a telescope, and the animals for capture were +selected and carefully pointed out to the lassoers, who immediately took +up their posts in concealment beside a little plain. The huntsmen then +proceeded under cover to points around the herd which would enable them +to drive the cattle on to the little plain where the lassoers could get +in their work. After a wait of about a half hour, the horn of the chief +huntsman pealed forth and was answered by the yells of his companions; +the herd, unable to go in another direction, dashed for the little +plain, followed by its pursuers. Crouching behind some low bushes the +lassoers waited until the cattle, now in full stampede, had come within +fifty yards, when in a twinkling they dashed into the midst of the +galloping herd. + +"After a terrific race one lasso held true on a fine young bull, while +the rest scampered off into the ravines and water courses. The dragging +bamboo pole soon brought him to a stop, and after several charges at his +captors, two more lassos were placed on him, and he was securely +fastened and dragged to a tree, against which his head was tied. A +little saw was produced from somewhere, and his gallant horns were cut +off short. An old, sedate carabao, who seemed to be perfectly at home, +made his appearance, the young bull was tied to the carabao's harness +and towed off toward the corral. At first he tried frantically to gore +the carabao, but as his horns had been removed no harm resulted. The +carabao did not mind it in the least but continued tranquilly on his +way. Three more bulls were captured on that day; each furnished +exceedingly fast and interesting sport. I have seen mounted work of a +great many kinds, such as pig sticking, stag hunting, and hunting of +many kinds of game, including our own fox hunting and polo, but never +have I seen any mounted work which required more dash, nerve, good +judgment and endurance than that displayed by these herdsmen of the +northern islands." + +Although these islands are bounded on the north by the Balintan Channel, +through which some of the shipping passes from America to the southern +part of China, they are seldom visited. This is because, as I have said +before, there are no ports, not even good anchorages. During the typhoon +season they are exposed to the full force of these great hurricanes, +while the waters are infested with hidden rocks and coral ledges. The +U. S. cruiser _Charleston_ ran aground on a coral reef east of the +island of Camaguin in 1900 and sank immediately. During the +Russo-Japanese war the fleet of the Russian Admiral Rojesvenski passed +on either side of Batan Island. The Japanese had observers on the summit +of Mt. Iraya on this island, who are supposed to have signaled by +heliograph to Mt. Morrison in Formosa of the coming of the fleet. The +great armada could be seen from this mountain for more than one hundred +miles. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +AMONG THE HEAD-HUNTERS + + +When the Americans first came to the Philippines, most of the mountain +country could be reached only on foot over dangerous trails. Very large +tracts were unexplored, and the head-hunting tribes, who are found +nowhere but in this northern part of Luzon, pillaged the neighbouring +towns. A state of order has now been established, except in parts of +Kalinga and Apayao. + +The Mountain Province, the home of the head-hunters, includes the +sub-provinces of Benguet, Lepanto, Amburayan, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kalinga +and Apayao. The officers of the provinces are a governor, a +secretary-treasurer, a supervisor in charge of the road and trail work +and the construction of public buildings, and seven lieutenant +governors. All these officers are appointed by the governor general. +They live on horseback, undergo great hardships and also take great +risks. + +The manners and customs of these head-hunting tribes differ somewhat. +Each one, for instance, has a different mode of treating the captured +head when it is brought in, but all celebrate a successful hunt with a +cañao, or festival. The Ifugaos place the head upon a stake and hold +weird ceremonial dances around it, followed by speech making and the +drinking of _bubud_, as they call their wine; afterward the skull of the +victim is utilized as a household ornament. Venison and chicken are +served at such feasts and the large fruit-eating bats, which are +considered delicacies. If one of the tribe has been so unfortunate as to +have his head taken, they berate the spirit at the funeral, "asking him +why he had been careless enough to get himself killed." + +The most picturesque of the head-hunting tribes that my husband saw were +the Kalingas, who are different from all other natives of Luzon. It is +said that the Spaniards took fifteen hundred Moros into this part of the +country more than a hundred years ago, so they may have founded this +tribe. At all events, the Kalingas are superbly developed, tall and +slight, some of the men having handsome and almost classical features. + +Neither the men nor the women cut the hair, which, in the case of the +men, is banged in front and tied up with rags behind, some wearing nets +to keep it out of their eyes. Although the women have abundant hair they +use "switches," into which they stick beautiful feathers. The men also +decorate themselves in the same way. On the back of the head they often +wear little caps woven of beautifully stained rattan and covered with +agate beads, and these are used as pockets in which small articles are +carried. Great holes are pierced in the lobes of their ears, into which +are thrust wooden ear plugs, with tufts of red and yellow worsted. +Almost every Kalinga woman wears a pair of heavy brass ear ornaments and +sometimes a solid piece of mother-of-pearl cut like a figure eight. + +The Kalingas are particularly warlike, their very name meaning "enemy" +or "stranger," and endeavours to bring them under government control +were begun only a few years ago. There are still some _rancherias_ which +the lieutenant governor has not yet visited, as it seemed best to wait +and bring the people to terms by peaceful means. + +While we were enjoying ourselves at Baguio, the Secretary of War, +Governor Forbes, Secretary Worcester, General Edwards, and my husband +started north into the mountains to see some of the strange tribes that +were gathering from far and wide to meet the great _Apo_, or chief, as +they called Secretary Dickinson. I give the account of the trip in my +husband's own words: + +On Saturday night, July 31st, after the Assembly baile, we motored to +the docks and went aboard the transport _Crook_ for the trip northward. +We were made very comfortable on this big transport, with deck cabins, +but we all slept on the open deck by preference and had a pleasant run +till in the morning we were entering Subig Bay, a splendid vast harbour +between great mountains, the narrow entrance guarded by Isola Grande. +Here we landed and visited the batteries, and although it was a small +island it was a stewing hot walk about it--especially as the Secretary +sets a great pace--till a torrential shower came up and drove us to the +commanding officer's house, where we had a bite of breakfast--and all +the breakfasts at the posts which we have visited have been so good! + +General Duvall had come up from Manila on his yacht _Aguila_, and on +board of her we crossed the bay to Olongapo, where there is the present +naval station. The great hulk of the famous floating dock _Dewey_ was +looming up there, just floated again after her mysterious sinking +which, even now, they do not seem to be able to explain. + +The guard was out with the band, and the honours were paid and the +marines paraded, but soon another severe tropical storm broke, and drove +some of us back to the ship while the others went on to another +breakfast at the Officers' Club. This storm suggested a typhoon, but +there had been no warning from the Jesuit observatory at Manila, and so +we rejoined the _Crook_ out by Isola Grande and went to sea without +fear. + +This is the rainy and typhoon season but the warnings of severe storms +are so carefully given that they have lost their terrors now-a-days; and +this year, so far, there hasn't been a disturbance, much to our comfort, +as it has permitted the carrying out of all our plans. It is a most +unusual thing for such good weather to continue. The hot season is over, +and this is called the intermediate, but it is the time of rains on this +coast, the seasons differing slightly on the different coasts and in the +different islands. So all that night we cruised up the coast through +showers of rain and lightning, passing by Bolinao Light, which we had +first sighted as we approached the Philippines. + +Before daylight we stopped off Tagudin, and through the darkness could +be seen the dim shadow of land and mountains, and a light burning on the +beach as a beacon. With dawn we saw a wonderful tropical shore develop +before us, of low land fringed with palm, surrounded by beautiful +mountain ranges, a tiny village on the beach, and a crowd of people +gathered together. Soon a surf-boat put out and brought aboard the +governors of the nearby provinces--Early and Gallman, brave, ready men, +who have taken these wild people in hand and become demi-gods among +them--and after a bite of breakfast we were all taken ashore through the +surf, very handily, and the Secretary was welcomed by a native band and +the chief men of the neighbourhood and crowds of half naked natives. + +The Ilocanos of the northwest coast of Luzon are a fine, kindly race, +but there had also come down from the interior a lot of small brown men +to pack in our baggage, Bontoc Igorots, head-hunters and dog-eaters, of +whom we were to see more in their own country. These little fellows at +first seemed like dwarfs; but soon after, as we saw them better, they +proved small but well formed and well nourished, strong, gentle little +people. They ran forward and seized our packages and disappeared down +the trail in a wild, willing manner. Off they trotted while we were +packed into carromatos, dragged by weedy, diminutive native horses, +which are wonderfully powerful for their size. We went, after greeting +the people, off down the trail, through the outskirts of Tagudin (we +didn't go into the town, which was somewhat to one side, as there had +been some cholera there), with its nipa houses of plaited grass, perched +up above the ground, many decorated in honour of the occasion. We +rattled along an excellent road (for we have certainly done wonders in +road-building here), past paddy fields, where the slow carabao grazed +with little children perched on their backs, past troops of natives, +with their loads, standing alongside. + +Governor General Forbes had made the most wonderful preparations for the +trip. It was the first time that any American officials (only Insular +officials previously) had gone in to these wild people, and of course +the Secretary is the highest in rank that can visit the Islands since he +is the one through whom the President governs the Philippines and the +President can never come. The trip was unique and all the arrangements +were extraordinary. For a new trail had been planned into the mountains +but was not due to be done for eight months, and yet thousands of these +wild men had been called in and helped to finish the road so much the +more quickly (for we were the first party to pass over it, and some of +the bridges had only been finished the night before we passed), eagerly +and willingly, when they were told that the great Apo was coming in to +visit them. Forbes had sent to Hongkong for some rick'shaws and had had +men trained to pull and push them, but these had not stood the test well +and we didn't have the need or the chance to use them; he also had had +palanquin chairs brought over from China and men taught in a way to +carry them, and these we did use on some of the steep descents. But we +rode horses, excellent ones, from Forbes's own stable, almost all the +way. + +Every three kilometers, companies of Igorots and Ifugaos were stationed +to act as _cargadores_ and rush along the baggage by relays, and this +they did with shouts and cheers as quickly as we traveled. Tiffin and +breakfasts had been prepared all along the way. Every eventuality had +been anticipated, and it was really too well done, for it made our +traveling seem so easy that we had to think hard to realize into what +out-of-the-way places we were going. A few days before it would have +been necessary to work our way over the perpendicular old trails, with +difficulty finding bearers for our packs, and we would have been +compelled to carry our own food, a severe trip and a hard undertaking. +We went in absolutely unarmed and without escort, and yet nearly every +native that we saw, after we reached the hills, carried his spear and +head ax; but there wasn't a suggestion of danger. People were brought +together on this occasion from different tribes who two years ago would +have killed each other at sight, and yet to-day were dancing with each +other. + +We were accompanied by the governors of the sub-provinces as we passed +through them, and an unarmed orderly and Sergeant Doyle, who had charge +of Governor Forbes's horses, and generally by a shouting horde of +natives. The Secretary proved a wonder; well mounted, as he was, he led +on at a great pace, till it seemed a sort of endurance test. I was more +than pleased to find that I stood it as I did, for we traveled four days +out of the five for forty miles a day, and rode most of it a-horseback. +I came out finally in much better form than when I went in. + +And so, from the beach where we landed, the carromatos carried us across +the low coast plain, over new bridges on which the inscriptions stated +that they had been finished for the passage of the Secretary and his +party, and under triumphal arches made of bamboo which welcomed him; all +the natives whom we passed saluted, and many wished to shake hands or +only touch the hand as we passed, till we came into the foothills, and +over them into a little village of nipa huts among the bamboo and +tropical trees, where we found our horses waiting. Here we mounted and +started off at a good pace over the well built road that trailed around +cliff and crag as we worked into the mountains, a procession, a +cavalcade, winding in and out. We traveled along the valley of a river, +that later became a gorge with steep cliffs and precipitous sides; all +the natives were out to greet the Secretary; and finally we came to a +tiny village where we had a drink of refreshing cocoanut water, all the +people standing about or hanging out of the windows of the simple +houses, which looked very clean and neat. We trailed on along the narrow +road, cut into the rock in many places, really a remarkable road, and up +the gorge with the rushing river below us. The mountains rose high and +opened up in lovely velvety greens, and shaded away into the blues of +distance. We stopped at a little native rest house, above a ford in the +river, where we found a luncheon prepared for us, but it was a hurried +luncheon, and on we went climbing a winding trail that zigzagged up the +steep mountainside, through tropical tangle of bamboo and fern and great +overhanging trees with trailing parasites--the ghost tree, the hard +woods, and some with a beautiful mauve flower at the top that even Mr. +Worcester couldn't tell me the name of (he said he had been so busy +inventing names for the birds that he hadn't had time yet to find names +for trees). And below the views opened up wider and more splendid, and +range on range of mountains rose above each other, while the precipices +grew deeper and more terrifying. + +And suddenly, as we came to a turn in the trail, there appeared above us +a most picturesque sight against the skyline, some Ifugao warriors, +lithe, beautifully formed men, whose small size was lost in their +symmetry, with spears in their hands, turbans of blue wrapped about +their heads, and loin cloths of blue with touches of red and yellow in +their streaming ends that hung like an apron before and like a tail +behind; their handsome brown bodies like mahogany. They had belts made +of round shells from which hung their bolos. These were the head men of +a company of Ifugaos who had come this far to greet the party and they +stood so gracefully on the point above us; and around the turn we found +the rest of the band, stunning looking fellows, standing at attention in +line behind their lances, which were stuck in a row in the ground. Here +we had another tiffin, while these warriors seized and scampered off +with our luggage. + +From this time on, as we traveled, we found reliefs of these picturesque +people, waiting their turn at carrying, and then all would join in the +procession, and shouting a cheer like American collegians, their war +cry, they would rush on and frighten us to death with the risk of going +over the steep places. Away off in the distance, reëchoing through the +valleys, we could hear the cheers and cries, very musical, of others of +our party as they traveled along. Soon we began to be greeted by the +tom-toms of natives who had come out to honour the Secretary, and by +their singing as we approached, and then they would dance round in a +strange way as we passed on. + +The Ifugaos had come to meet the Secretary from several days' journey +away, mostly through Bontoc Igorot country, all armed, and yet there +hadn't been a sign of trouble. And these Ifugaos, who two years ago were +wild head-hunters, have been brought into wonderful control by their +governor, Gallman. There are some one hundred and twenty thousand of +these picturesque people, among whom head-hunting is now nearly stamped +out; though there are sporadic cases doubtless. These little savages, +too, appear most gentle and tractable, most willing and laughing, in the +rough tumbling of the trail; and they have proved very clever, for they +were the builders of the roads over which we traveled (we were told that +they could drill rock better than Americans, on a few months' practice, +and that they have sat for a few days and watched Japanese bricklayers +set brick, and then done it as well as the Japanese). But indeed their +_sementeras_--their paddy fields--their terracing, which they have +practised for hundreds of years, is the most wonderful in the world, and +there is nothing even in Japan to compare with their work of this kind. +Their great game of head-hunting has taught them cleverness, and they +are full of snap and go. + +The Ifugao is a great talker and has all the gestures of an orator. When +he begins a speech he first gives a long call to attract attention, then +climbs a stand fifteen feet high by means of a ladder. He generally +begins his remarks by stating that he is a very rich man, and goes on +to praise himself and his tribe, and at the end of his harangue he often +himself leads off in the applause by loudly clapping his hands. He has +become a fine rifleman and is a fearless fighter. In clout, coat and +cap, and a belt of ammunition, with legs bare, he travels incredible +distances and makes a good constabulary soldier. The Governor General is +anxious to form them into a militia, but they lose their grip, we were +told, when they are taken down from the hills to the plain. + +[Illustration: CONSTABULARY SOLDIERS.] + +And so we went on up to over four thousand feet, to where the pass broke +through the mountain, and there before us was a vast valley with a +splendid plain beyond, and in the middle of it, on a prominence, we +could see Cervantes, where we were to stop our first night. It seemed so +near and yet proved many miles away as we traced our way down the steep +coasts of the valley and the view of the plain below widened and the +ranges of mountains beyond rose into finer heights. We twisted and +trailed zigzag down the pine-clad slopes, for the change of vegetation +(due to the mountain range, which divided a different climate on either +side of it) in passing over the ridge had been remarkable, and though we +had seen rare orchids and begonias as we mounted, we descended from the +same height through pine and pasture. + +When finally we reached the plateau and had crossed a river bed we were +met by the people of the village of Cervantes--many girls in gay dress +riding astride on their midget ponies, and men and boys on their rugged +little mounts. These escorted the party under the triumphal arches into +the grass streets of the pretty village, where the simple public +buildings were decorated, and the local band played, till we finally +were taken to the houses where we were to spend the night, the Secretary +and the Governor and Clark and myself going to the Lieutenant +Governor's. He was married to a Filipina wife. And here I must say that +we met several of these Filipina wives of white men, and they had most +perfect manners and self possession and real grace (and this one was a +good cook). The house was a best class native house and more comfortable +than we had anticipated, though there were sounds and smells that rather +disturbed us. There was a reception and baile at the municipal building +in the evening, where we had to go and dance a rigodon, each partnered +off with some dainty little Filipina lady. And then we did hurry home to +rest, for we had been up since half after four that morning and were to +start next morning a little after five. + +The next day's trail was very fine, for we started off over a river +which we crossed on a flying bridge, a swinging car on a cable, while +the horses were forded; and then we had splendid but slow climbing up +the gorge of one river after another, coasting the mountainside, where +we could see the mark of the trail many miles ahead above us and part of +our procession trailing along in single file or rushing along with +distant shout, as the little willing native cargadores carried their +loads up and up. Above us rose Mount Data, with its mysterious waterfall +that seems to come right out of its peak, and clouds circled about us, +and below the valleys streaked away into the distance and the ranges +rose higher and higher, and the play of light and shadow was beautiful +on the greens and grays and browns and blues of the distances. We began +to see rancherias, the native villages, perched up on the hills, the +thatched roofs like haystacks, with blue smoke at times coming through; +and paddy fields began to climb the upper valleys in their terraces, +with the pale green rice, and fringes of the banana palm of which the +hemp is made. In places the red croton was planted on the terraces for +luck, and in the ravines which we crossed there were cascading falls +and pools. + +We rose higher and higher over another range, and at the tip-top of the +trail another group of Igorots were dancing and playing their tom-toms +as we passed, and rushed alongside to touch fingers. Soon we passed +through a village built in a stony gorge where a river ran down. The +houses consisted of conical thatched roofs supported on four wooden +piers with ladders leading up into the roofs where the people lived. The +foundations were terraced in stone and the paths were stone-terrace, and +it all looked very neat and clean. On our way back we stopped for tiffin +at this same village and had the women come and show us how they weave, +for it was a place famed for its weaving. This time our tiffin was +farther on, at a rest-house with a splendid view, and it had been laid +out so prettily with temporary flower beds and bamboo arches. The +Belgian priest from a town nearby had come to join us at luncheon, and +although he spoke no English I had a pleasant time with him in French, +for he proved to be a sort of relative of our cousins the de Buisserets; +his name was Padre Sepulchre, one of a band of Belgians belonging to no +order but educated highly for missionary priesthood, who have been +sent out, since our occupation, by the Pope, and many of whom are rich +and gentlemen born. This one had already in two years spent some twenty +thousand dollars gold of his own money in his town. Another such +missionary we met at Bontoc, and several at other places, and all are +said to do good work. + +[Illustration: RICE TERRACES.] + +We started off after tiffin on the long trail that wound down the gorge +of El Chico de Cagayan River, on our way to Bontoc. Villages became more +numerous and were very picturesque, on the spurs of mountain above the +river, or embowered in coffee trees, where the mountain coasts were +patched with pineapple plantations. And the paddy fields grew in terrace +after terrace, most splendid engineering by these primitive people, +rising above each other up into the clouds, fitting into the contours of +the mountainsides, the terrace walls overgrown with green, and the pale +green paddy within, and little cascades carrying the water down from +terrace to terrace, most lovely, like some great hanging gardens; little +brown people were stooping at work in them, all naked, but with their +clothes covered by leaves and balanced on their heads, to be kept dry; +for there were showers and cloud effects that added to the beauty of +the panorama as we passed. The terraces add beauty and interest to the +eye by their succession of levels, and as we traveled into the country +they became more frequent and complete. Curiously enough, the Bontoc +Igorots have forest laws and a forest service of their own. The +mountainsides of their rough country are sparsely timbered with pine, +which has grown very scarce near some of the larger settlements. Forests +in the vicinity of such settlements are divided up into small private +holdings claimed by individuals, whose right thereto is recognized by +the other members of the tribe. In many places it is forbidden to cut +trees until they have reached a large size, although the lower branches +are constantly trimmed off and used for firewood. Forest fires are kept +down to facilitate reforestation, and young trees are planted. Such +foresight on the part of a primitive people is certainly unusual. + +So we trailed all day, till toward half after five we turned a point and +came to Bontoc, after a procession of natives had come streaming out +some miles up the gorge to meet the party. Bontoc is the capital of the +Mountain Province and was the goal of our journey. + +The native town is very dirty and is acknowledged to be one of the worst +of the native villages; in the more savage places the towns are said +to be cleaner. We walked through it, where the terraced stone walks pass +by stone pits where the pigs wallow, and by thatched houses which have +no exit for the smoke and so are filthy and in dreadful condition. We +saw the communal shacks in which the unmarried and widowed members live +with their peculiar rights, and the sties where the old men resort to +talk, and we stood outside the wretched place where the skulls are kept, +and some heads, all black and smoked, were brought out in a basket from +the secret recesses for us to see. + +[Illustration: IFUGAO COUPLE.] + +Some of these Bontoc Igorots are skilful smiths, and they make excellent +earthen pots and clay pipes. They have interesting athletic sports of +their own and take to those of the Americans. They are especially fond +of beads, which are wound in their hair or hung about the neck, and +greatly value large white stones, caring little for agates, so highly +prized by the Kalingas. + +Into Bontoc for this great occasion had been brought warriors and women +from the Kalingas and Ifugaos, with Igorots from about, some from a +distance of several days' travel; and for the first time these warring +tribes, who only two years before were taking each other's heads, came +peacefully together, and watched each other with as much interest as +they watched us. + +The adventures of the American lieutenant governors read like romances, +and here they were before us with their following: the Kalingas more +dangerous and warlike than the Ifugaos, and the Ifugaos more picturesque +and interesting than the Igorots, and all together making a +never-to-be-forgotten scene. + +There were, too, several small companies of native constabulary, for +these hill men make splendid soldiers and take great pride in their arms +and uniform, and have proved loyal to the death. All the different +tribes and the constabulary had turned out to receive the Secretary, and +it was a vociferous and noisy yelling crowd that streamed about in +irregular procession. We were, some of us, taken to a government house +that was comfortable, and took our meals at a club which the officials +have built and which is quite pathetically complete, and that evening we +did little before turning in--the first evening since we had landed in +the Islands when we were able to turn in at a reasonable hour with the +prospect of sleeping as late as we pleased next day. + +Next day was a day of festivities, a cañao, for from morning till night +there was dancing by these fantastic peoples, whom so few white men +have ever seen. We were waked early enough, alas! by the _ganzas_--the +tom-toms--and there were parades of the different tribes through the +town. A small grandstand had been erected in the plaza, and there we +stood with the Secretary and the few white teachers and the missionaries +from about, while the procession was reviewed. + +The constabulary came first, dressed only in loin cloths of different +colours below the waist, but with the regulation khaki uniform blouse +and cap above. They are officered by Americans and a few natives, and +are most military, notwithstanding the strange appearance of their bare +legs. Some companies were very well drilled, and they gave exhibitions +of different manuals as well as any regular white soldiers might have +done. + +The wild Kalingas came past next, most picturesque, with their feather +headdresses of red and yellow, and spears and head axes, and their +brightly coloured loin cloths, and the women in scant but gay garments, +and not at all ashamed in their nakedness. And these gave their +characteristic dances, with outstretched arms, hopping and prancing +about in a circle, all the time looking down into the center of the +circle about which they dance (where the head of the decapitated is +supposed to be). There were innumerable tom-toms, which they play with +variations, so as to make much rhythm and movement, and the women joined +in the dancing, more moderately, some with big cigars in their mouths +and looking extremely indifferent. Then, when they danced in a circle, +some would prance into the center with shield and ax and pretend attacks +upon each other, and leap about and grow excited; and this sort of thing +they kept up all day (and part of the night, too) off and on.[21] + +[Illustration: IFUGAO HEAD DANCE.] + +The Ifugaos followed and passed by, and gave their dances, which are the +same with a difference, but each was ended with a mighty shout, after +which one of the head men would step forward and deliver a rattling +speech, and they greeted the Secretary variously but cordially--for they +like our American rule, indeed, they have never had any other, for the +Spaniards never attempted to come in and control them. + +Then the Bontoc Igorots followed and gave exhibitions with noisy +demonstrations, and two _presidentes_, or chiefs, who six months before +were trying to kill each other, danced and pranced together, while the +tom-toms beat and others hopped and circled round. Most of the men were +tattooed, each tribe in its own peculiar manner, certain marks +indicating that their bearer had killed his man and taken a head--some +bore marks of many heads; one man dancing was known to have taken +seventeen. Many of the women, too, were tattooed with a feather-like +pattern. + +And so the dances went on. In some the participants postured fighting +and then represented wounded men; in others all were head men together; +some were rapid in motion, some slow, but all had real grace, that grace +of the wild man; and all were finely formed and well-nourished and +healthy looking. When the dancing was over, the groups of savages in +their fantastic dress squatting around the plaza behind their spears +stuck in the ground, with bolo and head-ax and tom-tom, and the women +standing about, made a wonderful scene. + +After the dances and speeches the head men came up to the Secretary and +handed him weapons as gifts, sometimes their own, with which they had +often fought. Mr. Dickinson, of course, received the chiefs and the head +men and women afterward, and presented them with shells and blankets and +plumes in return. The bartering among them was rather amusing, as they +tried to exchange what they had received and didn't want. + +[Illustration: WEAPONS OF THE WILD TRIBES.] + +At the club in the evening of the second day, they gave us a remarkable +dinner; all the Americans in the district were present; and the few +Filipinos entertained us at a baile, and so our day was finished. + +We started out at daylight next morning and hiked back by the same +trail; but the views seemed finer in their repetition than even when we +first passed through them. We had had most superb weather, although it +was the rainy season, and had enjoyed the grand panoramas to the full; +but the last afternoon it came on to pour down in torrents, which we +enjoyed too as an experience, for we came safely to Tagudin, where the +people and the band joined in sending us off, as they had received us, +and we were safely taken out through quite a heavy surf and put on board +the Coast Guard boat _Negros_, and had a glass with ice in it again. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +INSPECTING WITH THE SECRETARY OF WAR + + +August thirteenth is a holiday in the Philippine Islands, for it is +"Occupation Day," the anniversary of the fall of Manila and its +occupation by the American army. The special event is a "camp fire" in +the evening at the theater, when the Philippine war veterans gather +together and have addresses and refreshments. After a dinner with Tom +Anderson at the Army and Navy Club, with its picturesque quarters in an +old palace, intramuros, we attended this performance, sitting in the +Governor's box and listening to the happy self-laudation of the +"veterans," who all wore the blue shirt and khaki of war times. + +It was toward midnight when we finally left and went out to our vessel, +for we were off for a trip among the southern islands on the cable +steamer _Rizal_. We sailed by the light of a full moon, and for a while +had a merry bobbery of it outside, after passing Corregidor. Soon, +though, we turned a point and had the monsoon following. In the morning +we woke to find ourselves steaming past the fine scenery of southern +Luzon, with the volcano of Taal in the distance. Several times during +the Spanish occupation this volcano dealt death and destruction, and as +late as 1911 it claimed many victims. + +Our first landing place was at Kotta, on Luzon, where we started ashore +in a small launch. It was a beautiful river of palms, but our boat got +stuck in the mud and we were delayed. We finally reached the shore and +were put into automobiles. Then it was that I began to feel as if I had +joined a circus parade. Escorted by bands and soldiers, our motors moved +slowly along the streets. Everywhere people lined the way, while the +windows of the houses fairly dripped with heads. + +We passed many little villages that looked prosperous, and processions +of carts, showing that the people were active and busy. The road ran +over picturesque bridges, for part of it was an old Spanish trail +rejuvenated. At all the villages they had made preparations to receive +the Secretary, bands were out, the children stood by the roadside and +waved, and the women stood in rows to greet us. The municipal buildings +were decorated, the piazzas hung with festoons and lanterns. They all +wanted to give us _comida_ and let off speeches, but it was impossible +to live through such hospitalities, so we only halted at each place a +few minutes to shake hands. + +The stop for the night was Lucena, the home of Mr. Quezon, Philippine +Commissioner to the United States Congress. He traveled with us, and we +found him very attractive. The general opinion was that Quezon, Legarda, +and Osmeña were "playing to the gallery" for political capital, but at +the same time they were supporting our administration. It is a good deal +like some of our friends in Congress, who make speeches along lines that +they know are absolutely untenable. + +After climbing into a bandstand, where we stood surrounded by people +peering up at us, flowery speeches began, demanding independence. They +were the first of the kind we had heard. The Filipinos are good speakers +and keen politicians. Among other remarks, an orator said: "Many things +occur to my mind, each of which is important, but among them there is +one which constitutes a fundamental question for the Filipinos and the +Americans. It is a question that interests equally the people of the +United States and the people of the Philippine Islands. It is a question +of life or death for our people, and it is a question also of justice, +for the people of the United States. The fundamental question is +evidently, gentlemen, the question of a political finality of my +country.... + +"We are very grateful for your visit, Mr. Secretary, and we hope that +the joy that we felt on your arrival may not be clouded, that it may not +be tempered, but rather that it shall be heightened, by seeing in you a +true interpretation of the desires of the Philippine people, hoping that +on your return to the United States after your visit to the Philippine +Islands, you will tell the truth as regards the aspirations of the +Philippine people." + +In answering, the Secretary talked about the different subjects of +interest, such as the agricultural bank, land titles, etc. He continued: + +"It is very gratifying to me, coming from America, and representing the +Government in the position in which I stand, to hear such testimonials +as you have given in regard to the men that America has sent to assist +you in advancing your interests.... America has been careful to send men +in whom confidence can be reposed according to their previous character; +and I want to say to you further, that America has given you here just +as good government as she has given to her people at home.[22] In all +established governments fair and just criticism is welcome and I shall +not therefore bear any spirit that would be resentful of any just +criticism. + +"I shall be very glad while I am here to meet those who have the real +welfare of the Islands at heart and the development of this country. I +have many things to do and the time is comparatively short, but I shall +endeavour so to conduct affairs as to be able to give audience to all +law-abiding people who may desire to make any representations to me. I +shall be at convenient periods here where I shall be accessible, and any +communications which are addressed to me personally will receive proper +consideration. Now that states in a general way the object of my visit +and the disposition that I propose to make of my time while here. +General Edwards, who is with me, as you know, is the Chief of the +Insular Bureau. Certainly he, more than any other man in America, +understands conditions in the Philippines, and his whole time, thought +and mind are concentrated upon the problems connected with your +welfare, and he is working all the time to advance your interests. His +familiarity with conditions from the time of America's occupation, the +establishment of civil government, the settling of the various +commercial questions that have arisen from time to time, make him the +most effective champion for the Philippine interests in America, and he +has not hesitated in Congress whenever your interests are at stake, to +stand up and contend for your interests with vehemence that ought to +make him eligible to all option as a Philippine citizen.... + +"You have there a brilliant representative (Mr. Quezon), who is capable +of presenting your views and aspirations, and of enforcing your wishes +with the most cogent arguments of which your cause is susceptible.... + +"Now as to immediate independence: we Americans understand by immediate, +right away--to-day. Do you want us to get up and leave you now--to +depart from your country? You would find yourselves surrounded by graver +problems than have hitherto confronted you, if we should do so. I don't +positively assert, but I suggest that you yourselves pause, and think +whether you might not be reaching forth and grasping a fruit which, like +the dead sea fruit, would turn to ashes upon your lips."[23] + +It was at Lucena that my husband and I went to Captain and Mrs. S.'s +house for the night. We sat on the piazza by moonlight, among beautiful +orchids, listening to the band playing in the distance, and gossiping. I +was interested in the servant problem, and Mrs. S. had much to tell me +that was new. + +"Our native servants would much rather have a pleasant 'thank you' than +a tip," she said; "if a tip is offered, the chances are that it will be +refused, for the boys feel that they would do wrong to accept it. They +are very keen, though, about their _aguinaldos_--presents--at Christmas. +Every native who has done a hand's turn for me during the year will turn +up Christmas Day to wish me a _feliz Pasquas_, and I am expected to give +him a present. My whole day is for my servants and their children, who +seem to multiply at that time. When I asked my _cochero_, 'Lucio, how +many _niños_ have you?' he answered, 'Eleven, señora.' 'But how many +under fourteen, Lucio?' 'Eleven, señora!' He wanted all the presents +that he could get," she laughed. + +"But if they don't take tips, do they get good wages?" I asked. + +"Not according to American ideas. A Filipino boy will work for small +pay, and stay a long time, in a cheerful home atmosphere. They are good +servants, too," she continued, "if you take the trouble to train them. I +trained a green boy to be a good cook by taking an American cook book +and translating it into Spanish. They have a great reverence for books, +and that boy thought he was very scientific. I've had him many years. We +loaned him money to build his hut near us. He was a year paying it off, +but he paid off every cent. Now he has four children for Christmas +gifts. When I went away on a visit, he asked me to bring him a gold +watch from America. So many years with us gave him that privilege. As we +were gone some time I think he feared we might not return, so he wrote +us a letter." Seeing my interest, she got the letter and read it to me: + + "My Dear Sir Capt.: + + "In accompany the great respect to you would express at the bottom. + It is a long time since our separation and I'm hardly to forget you + because I have had recognized you as a best master of maine. So I + remit best regard to you and Mrs. and how you were getting along + both, and if you wish to known my condition, why, I'm well as + ever. + + "Sir Capt. If you will need me to cook for Mrs. why I'll be with + you as soon as I can find some money. + + "Please Sir Capt. + "Will you answer this letter for me? + "Very respectfully + "Yours, PEDRO." + +"On returning from the United States I took Pedro back," Mrs. S. went +on, "but I found I needed extra house boys. The first who presented +himself was Antonio, aged seventeen. He was a very serious, hard-working +boy, whose only other service had been a year on an inter-island +merchant ship. I took him at once, for servants from boats are usually +well trained. He turned out well, and in a few months asked if he could +send for his little brother to be second boy to help him. I said he +could, so in due time Crispin smilingly presented himself. No questions +passed as to salary or work. He was installed on any terms that suited +me. A few weeks later, Antonio asked if he could bring his cousin in +just to learn the work, so that he could find a place. I consented, and +in time came Sacarius, gentle and self-effacing, and apparently intent +on learning, and always handy and useful. Again a favour was asked, this +time that the father of Antonio might come as a visitor for a three +weeks' stay. He was very old, would not eat in my house, only sleep in +the servants' room, so again I consented. Father must have already been +on his way, permission taken for granted, for his arrival was almost +simultaneous. I found him sitting in my kitchen in very new and very +clean white clothes, the saintliest old tao, with no teeth, white hair, +and a perpetual smile. He rose and bowed low to me, but he couldn't +speak Spanish or English, so called his son to him to salute me for him +formally. I returned it and made him welcome to my house. He bade them +tell me he had journeyed far to tell me of his gratitude for my goodness +to his family and that he had such _confienza_ in me that he had +instructed his sons never to leave me. The old fellow enjoyed himself +thoroughly, and spent so much of his son's money that Antonio shipped +him home in a week." + +"Are they spoiled by living with Americans?" + +"Yes, but it shows most in their clothes. Antonio dresses almost as well +as his master," laughed Mrs. S. "But he does not attempt to work in his +best clothes, wearing the regulation _muchacho_ costume without +objection, even though some of the army officers' muchachos are allowed +to dress like fashion plates, and clatter round the polished floors in +their russet shoes. A muchacho will spend his whole month's pay for a +single pair of American russet shoes. They love russet, and the shoe +stores flourish in consequence." + +"How about their amusements?" I inquired. + +"Whenever they can get off they go to baseball games and the movies. The +little girls wear American-made store dresses now, and great bunches of +ribbon in their hair, white shoes, and silk stockings. Some families who +in the early days had hardly a rag on their backs now own motors. I +don't believe you could force independence on them! The señoritas trip +home from normal school with their high-heeled American pumps, and paint +enough on their faces to qualify for Broadway. The poor children have to +swelter in knitted socks, knitted hoods, and knitted sweaters, just +because they come from America. Filipino children are wonderful, +though--they never cry unless they are ill. They are allowed absurd +liberty, but they don't seem to get spoiled. The Filipina women love +white children intensely; the fair skins seem to charm them, and they +really can't resist kissing a blond child." + +We certainly enjoyed our stay at Lucena. Mrs. S.'s house was so clean +and homelike, with its pretty dining room and its broad veranda, and the +big shower bath which felt so refreshing. We went to sleep that night +watching the palm leaves waving in the moonlight. + +In the early morning we all got into automobiles again and ran over fine +roads built since the American occupation. We left the China Sea and +crossed the island to the Pacific, climbing a wonderful tropical +mountain, where, by the way, we nearly backed off a precipice because +our brakes refused to work, and we frightened a horse as we whizzed on +to Antimonan. The churches here had towers something like Chinese +pagodas, and the big lamps inside were covered with Mexican silver. All +these island towns have a presidente and a board of governors, called +_consejales_, and each province has a governor. + +Manila hemp is one of the principal products of this prosperous +province, and it is chiefly used to make rope. The plant from which this +hemp is made looks very much like a banana plant. The stalk is stripped +and only the tough fibers are used. They employ the cocoanut a good +deal to make oil, which is obtained from the dried meat, called copra. +They had a procession of their products here at Antimonan, which was +very interesting. + +The hemp and cigar importations were first carried on by Salem captains +in the fifties. The great American shipping firm in those days was +Russell, Sturgis, Oliphant and Company. The Philippines were out of the +line of travel, however, and few people went there except for trade. In +fact, as far as I know, only one book was written by an American about +the islands before the American occupation. + +On the _Rizal_ next morning, when I looked out of my porthole at dawn, +it seemed to me as if I were gazing at an exquisite Turner painting. +Mount Mayon[24] was standing there majestically, superb in its cloak of +silver mist, which changed to fiery red. It is the most beautiful +mountain in the world, more perfect in outline than Fuji. Mrs. Dickinson +was so inspired by its beauty that she wrote a poem, a stanza of which I +give: + + "Mount Mayon, in lonely grandeur, + Rises from a sea of flame, + Type of bold, aggressive manhood, + Lifting high a famous name + 'Bove the conflict of endeavour + Ranging round its earthly base, + Where heartache and failure ever + Stand hand-clasped face to face." + +[Illustration: LANDING AT TOBACO.] + +Our landing at Tobaco was made in the most novel way. As the water was +shallow and the _Rizal_ could not get into the dock, three carabaos +hitched to a wagon waded out till only their noses could be seen; we +stepped on to the two-wheeled cart and sat in state on chairs while we +wiggle-waggled through the water to the shore. There we went to the town +hall and had a banquet with many brown men and a few little brown women. +The governor of the province spoke, and General Bandholtz responded in +Spanish for the Secretary, who had gone ahead to close a government coal +mine that was not proving successful. After the banquet we had an +enchanting automobile ride, through quaint villages at the foot of the +great mountain to Albay, where a review of the scouts was held by the +Secretary in the setting sun. + +When our party dispersed for dinner L. and I were "farmed out" to the +superintendent of schools, Mr. Calkins. The houses built for Americans +were all of wood with broad piazzas, much like summer cottages at home, +with the hall in which we dined in the center and the bedrooms leading +off it. + +So much has been written about the schools and the wonders in education +in the Philippines that I shall not try to enlarge on this interesting +theme, other than to add my tribute to the government and the teachers, +and also to the people who are wise enough to take advantage of the +opportunities offered. Each little Juan and Maria, with their desire to +learn, may soon put to shame little John and Mary, if the latter are not +careful. + +"It has not been a fad with them, as we feared it would be," one of the +teachers told me; "they have stuck to it. Many grown-ups in the family +make real sacrifices to keep their juniors in school. My little Filipina +dressmaker is educating all her sister's children and sending her +brother to the law school. At first, too, we feared there would only be +a desire to learn English and the higher branches, but with a very +little urging they are learning domestic science and the trades, showing +that they have a mind for practical matters after all." + +I begged her to tell me more about the natives, since she understood the +people so well, and what she said is worth repeating. + +"Even in his grief the Filipino is a cheerful creature," she began; +"curiously enough, too, a death in the family is an occasion for general +and prolonged festivities. An orchestra is hired for as many days as the +wealth of the family permits, and a banquet is spread continuously at +which all are welcome, even former enemies of the deceased. Strangers +from the street can come; I've often wondered if the beggars imposed on +this custom, but there are very few of them, and they seem to respect +it. The music drones on day after day. Sometimes only one instrument +will be left, the other players going out to smoke, or eat, or rest; but +they reassemble from time to time and keep it going. There is always +much dancing, for the natives are great dancers and were not the last to +learn the one-step and hesitation. Even in their heel-less slippers they +are very graceful. Of course masses are said, for they firmly believe +that these will take their departed to heaven. With this belief they are +so happy, knowing the dear one is better off in heaven than here, that +Chopin's funeral march is quickly turned into waltz time, and the +_fiesta_ waxes merry! + +"In Spanish times each district had its band, which always played at the +church festivals. Each church had its patron saint, and there was +always a saint's day fiesta going on in some district. In the churchyard +booths were spread as at our country fairs. Everything from toys to all +kinds of chance games, of which they are so fond, was sold. The band +played continuously and the people came in crowds. The Americans have +catered to this spirit in the yearly carnival which is given every +February. This carnival is more than a fiesta, though, for it is also an +exhibition of their produce and handiwork. Their hats have always been +famous, as has their needlework, and under American encouragement the +basket-work exhibit has become one of the finest in the world. Some hemp +baskets, woven in colours, look as if they were made of lustrous silk. I +can't say which I like best, the finest of our Alaskan Indian, or +Apache, or Filipino baskets. Their shell work is lovely, too, and their +buttons are coming into the world's market for the first time. + +"The Filipinos are also learning at the School of Arts and Trades to +carve their magnificent woods most skilfully, and are making furniture +which will soon be coming to the States. In the early days a few +Chinamen had the monopoly of furniture carving and making. They copied +the very ornate pieces brought to Manila by the Spaniards from Spain +and France in the native mahogany called nara, and in a harder and very +beautiful wood called _acle_, or in a still harder one known as +_camagon_, a native ebony. American women soon began to search the +second-hand stores and pawn shops for the originals, and had them +polished and restored at Bilibid Prison. The expense, considering, was +small. A single-piece-top dining table of solid mahogany is often nearly +eight feet in diameter and two or three inches thick." + +Another of the teachers told me something of her experiences in the +early days, when she went out with her father, who was one of the first +American army officers there. + +"When we landed we lived in an old Spanish palace," she said, "which of +course we proceeded to clean. That was the first thing all Americans did +on landing. We took eleven army dump-cart loads from the palace of every +kind of dirt conceivable. Then we began washing windows and mirrors and +lamps, which I am sure had never been touched with water before. The +servants were so amazed that they were of very little use. They were +mostly Chinese, and had never seen white women work before. The sight of +such energy staggered them. Just when we got things running smoothly, +father was called home, and our cleaned house fell to his successor's +wife, who wept and said she had never been put in such a dirty place. + +"It was after this that my real adventures began. Father McKimmon was +opening public schools, and wanted English taught. So he went among the +army girls and just begged us to give up a few of our good times and do +some of this work. I didn't see how I could teach people when I didn't +know their language, but he explained how simple it would be, and we +could learn Spanish at the same time. + +"It was fun to work with the Spanish nuns. They were so interested in +us, and their quaint, old-fashioned methods with the children amused me +constantly. Arms were always folded when they rose to recite, and it was +always 'Servidor de usted'--at your service--before they could sit down. +The nuns soon became pupils of ours, too. When the Spanish prisoners +liberated by our men from the Filipinos were brought to Manila they were +quartered in our school for a hospital. I never saw such starved wrecks. +Many of them--young men--had no teeth left. + +"More Americans were arriving on every transport, and a most delightful +society was forming of army and navy people, government officials, and +naval officers of every nation, in addition to the original Spanish +population and the small colonies of many countries. There were parties +of all kinds, and as we trained our cooks into our own ways we ventured +on dinner parties. I shall never forget the first dinner I went to that +was cooked in Spanish style. There was every kind of wine I ever heard +of, but no water. I wanted some, but it was not to be had. My host +apologized for not having provided any, but no one dared drink the city +supply. We sat down to table at nine and rose at twelve, and when the +men joined us at one they were all much amazed that I made the move to +go home. + +"I left Manila to visit my brother in the provinces. Traveling in those +days was very different from what it is now. After leaving the +Manila-Dagupan Railroad there were no motors to go up the mountain; +instead of that, I rode an ancient American horse till I was tired and +burning with the sun. Then my brother put me in a bull cart, and I sat +on the floor of that till the sun was preferable to the bumping. I +arrived at four in the afternoon and was put down in an empty room with +my trunk and a packing box. Being a good army girl, that packing box +had all the elements of comfort, but first there was cleaning to be +done. My brother was the commanding officer in that town, his house +being at the corner of the Plaza, and an outpost. So he sent me a police +party--that is, ten native prisoners and an American sentry; they were +armed with brooms and buckets. I said, 'Sentry, this room is very dirty. +The Captain sent these men here to clean it for me.' 'Yes, mam,' said +the sentry. 'Well,' I told him, 'I want the ceiling cleaned first, even +the corners!' He turned to his gentle prisoners with 'Here, _hombres_, +you shinny up that pole and _limpia_ those corners!' He didn't know much +Spanish, but limpia means clean, and is the one essential word. I soon +unpacked my box and turned it into an organdie-draped dressing table, +after out of it had come all that made the room livable. + +"That night I was sleeping the sleep of the very tired when I was +awakened by a blood-curdling shout, a gun was thrown to the floor, and a +man's voice yelled for help. I simply froze--I couldn't move hand or +foot. The voice was in the outpost guard room, just under my own. Of +course, I was sure the whole guard was overpowered and being boloed. I +waited for them to come to me as I lay there. Then I heard a man's +voice call from an upstairs window, 'What's the matter down there?' and +the answer, 'Number Four had a nightmare, sir--thought there was a goat +on his bunk.' Just as I was going to sleep again I threw out my hand in +my restlessness, and to my horror, clasped it round a cold, shiny +boa-constrictor. Every large house has one in the garret to keep down +the rats. This time I gave the scream and sprang out of bed. But no +snake was to be found, and I decided it must have been the bed post. But +what a night that was!" + +We reëmbarked at Legaspi and sailed on to the island of Samar, which is +in the typhoon belt. Catbalogan is a town which has been visited by very +severe typhoons and terrible plagues, but by very few people. It is a +small place, far away and forgotten, but the island of Samar is where +the massacre of the Ninth Infantry occurred--the massacre at Balangiga +by the natives in 1902. There were triumphal arches of bamboo and +flowers, and speeches in the town hall, Governor Forbes speaking in both +English and Spanish. Afterward eight small boys and girls dressed in +red, white and blue danced for us enchantingly the Charcca and the Jota, +clicking their little heels and snapping their little fingers in true +Spanish style. Delicious sweetmeats were offered on the veranda, real +native dishes, and we drank cocoanut milk and ate cocoanut candy, +preserves, nuts and cakes. Two half-Chinese girls who spoke English took +very good care of us. + +As we left we looked out over the sea to the setting sun and watched a +lonely fisherman standing on a rock throwing his net. + +Next morning from the _Rizal_, we saw across a stretch of calm water the +blue ranges of the mountains of Bohol. Native bancas glided silently +about, and a straw-sailed boat drifted idly round the point, where the +picturesque gray walls of the oldest Spanish fort in the Philippines +stood guard. Its sentinel houses at the corners were all moss grown, and +pretty pink flowers were breaking out of the crevices of the rocks. + +We landed at Cebu, which is the oldest town in the Islands, and passed +down a street lined with ancient houses whose second stories arcaded the +sidewalk. They were all in good condition, in spite of their age, for +they were built of the wonderful hard woods that last forever. In fact, +Cebu has the look of a new and prosperous place, for there have been +fires which burnt up many of the ramshackle houses and gave a chance to +widen the streets and replace the old structures with permanent looking +buildings. The American government has done wonders in deepening the +harbour and building a sea wall, behind which concrete warehouses are +going up. + +There was a scramble to a review near the barracks, then another +scramble to a reception at the house of the colonel commanding--a very +nice but hot occasion--and then still another scramble to the dedication +of a really excellent schoolhouse. + +A young priest took us to see the famous idol, the small black infant +Christ. We went to the convent of the Dominicans near the church, and +passed through its pretty, unkempt court, up a staircase with treads and +handrail richly carved in a wood which was hard as iron, and black with +age. It was handsome work, such as we had been looking for and hadn't +seen before. In the sacristy, too, and the robing room, there were +screens and paneling with richly detailed carvings. Passing down the +galleries of the convent, where we could see some of the friars at work, +we entered the special chapel where this holy image is kept. Several +doors were taken off a rather gaudily gilded altar, until at last the +little figure was revealed. Its back was toward the room and it had to +be carefully turned--a small, brown, wooden doll, all dressed in cloth +of gold, and bejeweled like the Bambino of Rome. It is considered a most +sacred and wonderful heaven-sent idol.[25] + +As we had heard speeches by Filipinos and head hunters, I was curious to +know what the Chinese would have to say, and that night there was an +opportunity to find out, for we were invited to a dinner given by the +Chinese merchants. I quote from the speech made by Mr. Alfonso Zarata Sy +Cip, which was specially interesting: + +"The Chinese have traded with these Islands since long before Confucius +and Mencius," said Mr. Sy Cip; "and for centuries we have been coming +here and assimilating with the Filipinos, and to-day we are deeply +interested in the welfare of the country. The Chinese have been called a +nation of traders, the Jews of the East, but we are more than traders. +We are labourers, artisans, farmers, manufacturers, and producers. + +"A very large percentage of the growth and development of the commerce +and material interests of the Islands is due to the efforts of our +countrymen. + +"The infusion of Chinese blood has strengthened and improved the +Filipino people. + +"Chinese labour is recognized all over the world as the best cheap +labour in existence. Since American occupation of these Islands you have +excluded our labour from entering. Why? Not for the reason that it would +tend to lower the standard of living among Filipino labourers, because +the standard of living among Chinese labourers in the Philippines is +higher than among the Filipino labourers. Hence the introduction of +Chinese labourers would tend rather to improve conditions in this +regard. You do not exclude him for the reason that he works for lower +wages than the labourers of the country, because, on the contrary, the +Chinese labourer in the Philippines receives higher wages than the +native labourer, hence the introduction of Chinese labourers would tend +rather to improve the condition of the native labourers as far as wages +are concerned. You do not exclude him for the reason that he will not +become assimilated with the natives of the country, because centuries of +experience have shown that Filipinos and Chinese do assimilate and +readily amalgamate, and the result, as I have already said, is an +improvement of the Filipino people. If you are excluding Chinese +labourers from the Philippines because of political reasons then I +confess such reasons, if they exist, have been carefully guarded as +secrets from the public. + +"Lack of room is not a reason for excluding Chinese labourers, nor is +lack of need for their services. In the great island of Mindanao alone +it is doubtful if five per cent of the tillable land is under +cultivation, and in other places it is the same. A large part of the +rice consumed in these Islands is imported from other countries, yet we +have here the finest tropical climate in the world and the most +productive soil. Let a sufficient number of Chinese labourers come into +the Philippines and we will guarantee that in ten years we will be +sending rice to the gates of Pekin and Tokyo." + +Toward night we sailed on the _Rizal_ from Cebu for the land of the +Moros. Out in the Sulu Sea, one felt very near heaven when the sky +turned hazy gray in the afterglow, and the distant islands mauve, only +their peaks flaming like volcanoes from the hidden sun. Then the big +stars came out, like Japanese lanterns, and left a comet-like trail +upon the dancing waters. + +From their holes below the cabin boys, Ah Sing and Sing Song, would pop +out like slim white mice with their long black pigtails, with little cot +beds tucked under their arms which they would place in rows upon the +deck. Ah Sing would say, "Cheih ko koe" (that will do), and Sing Song +would answer, "Hsiao hsin" (be careful). Later, when the moon rose out +of the sea and the Southern Cross appeared on the horizon, shadowy forms +glided silently up the companionway. But the silence did not last. Some +one would call to Sing Song in pidgin English: + +"Boy! go catchy whiskey, Tansan; top side, talky man little more fat!" +And some one else would say to Ah Sing, + +"You fool boy, you catchy me one bath." + +Ah Sing seemed to understand. He would wag his head and answer, "You +good man, no talky all the time, makey me sick." And he would disappear. + +At sight of a tall, genial man, the people in their cots would sing out, +"Doctor Heiser's a friend of mine, a friend of mine, a friend of mine," +etc. American judges, and Filipino congressmen and generals were of the +company. Occasionally a whisper, very often a giggle, sometimes a +clinking of glasses, and good night kisses, were heard, and then the +sand man closed our eyes. + +[Illustration: A MORO _DATO_ AND HIS WIFE, WITH A RETINUE OF +ATTENDANTS.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE MOROS + + +On reaching Mindanao, the land of the Moros, we went ashore at Camp +Overton, where we were met by army officers and dougherties drawn by +teams of six mules. After a hand-shake at the commanding officer's home, +we were furnished with a big escort of cavalry and started climbing up, +up, among the hills. Soldiers were hidden in the tall grass all along +the way to make sure that nothing would happen to "the great White +Sultan with the big Red Flag," as the Moros called the Secretary. Army +men could not go out alone, even in those days, for they were attacked +by bands and killed, principally to get their weapons, which the Moros +were very keen to possess. The _datos_, the head men of the Moro tribes, +were allowed to have guns, but none of the other natives. A storm came +up, however, not long ago on Lake Lanao, at Camp Keithley, and for fear +that his boat would upset, General Wood had a great deal of ammunition +thrown overboard, which, it was discovered, was subsequently fished up +by the natives. + +The Moros are Mohammedan Malays. They came in their boats from islands +further south, and in 1380 were converted to Islam by an Arab wise man, +Makadum,[26] who made his way to Sulu and Mindanao. + +One hears then of Raja Baginda, who came from Sumatra in 1450; his +daughter married Abu Bahr, the law giver, who established the Mohammedan +Church and, after his father-in-law's death, became sultan and founded a +dynasty. In the old days the Moros were all pirates and slave traders. +Both Spanish and American authorities have tried to suppress slavery, +but it still exists. It is said a woman will bring about forty pesos. + +A dato's slaves to-day are well treated, and form part of the family. A +slave, moreover, has a chance to rise in the social scale, for Piang, +whom we met, was once a slave, but became a powerful chief and a friend +of the Americans. + +The ruler of all the Moros is the Sultan of Sulu, whom we did not see +because he was in Europe at the time we were in the Islands. It is said +that a few years ago he would sometimes appear in the market on the +back of a slave, with an umbrella held over his head. Here he would stay +while the people kissed his hands and feet. He may have changed his +customs since his trip. + +Dampier, who visited the northern islands of the Philippines, has also +left us notes of his stay on Mindanao, which are still true in the main. +He says: + +"The island of Mindanao is divided into small states, governed by +hostile sultans, the governor of Mindanao being the most powerful. The +city of Mindanao stood on the banks of the river, about two miles from +the sea. It was about a mile in length, and winded with the curve of the +river. The houses were built on posts from fourteen to twenty feet high, +and in the rainy season looked as if built on a lake, the natives going +their different ways in canoes. The houses are of one story, divided +into several rooms, and entered by a ladder or stair placed outside. The +roofing consists of palm or palmetto leaves.... The floors of the +habitations are of wicker-work or bamboo. + +"A singular custom, but which facilitated intercourse with the natives +and vice versa, was of exchanging names and forming comradeship with a +native, whose house was thenceforth considered the home of the +stranger." + +Alimund Din's name stands out in this meager Moro history beyond all +others, for he was the first and only Christian ruler in this land. Even +before he became a Christian he was a reformer, and suppressed piracy. +He not only coined money but had both an army and a navy, and lived in +such splendour as probably has not existed since those days, among the +Moros. + +Alimund Din ruled about the middle of the eighteenth century, in the +time of Philip V of Spain. In return for ammunition to enable the +Spanish to keep down piracy, he allowed the Jesuit fathers to enter his +country. In time, however, they caused trouble among the Moros, and +civil war broke out, as Bautilan, a relative of Alimund Din's, preferred +the Mohammedan religion to the new ideas of the Jesuits. Alimund Din and +his followers took flight in boats, and in time reached Manila, where +they interceded for Spanish protection. The Spaniards showered him with +presents, gave him a royal entrance into the city, and finally converted +him to Christianity. Later, he was sent back, escorted by Spanish ships, +but Bautilan's fleet attacked them. As the Spaniards suspected Alimund +Din of becoming a Christian not entirely for Christianity's sake, +they threw him into prison. The throne was restored to him in 1763 by +the English, who occupied this part of the island for a short time. + +[Illustration: A MORO GRAVE.] + +The Moros are not supposed to eat meat or drink wine, although they have +been known to drink whiskey and soda with Americans, as well as eat pork +and beans on occasions. There are no mosques in this region or holy +dancing-girls (who can do no wrong) but there are Moro priests or +_panditas_ who go from house to house. They have little education, but +some of them have traveled. It is the custom for a relative of the +deceased to watch and protect a Moro grave for many months. Such a +mourner can sometimes be seen squatting near by under a yellow umbrella. +The Moros have as many wives as they can afford, but not more than they +can afford, for it is an insult to speak of a man's wife as "begging +bread." + +The Moros are smaller than the East Indian Mohammedans, but are strong +and slight, and have fine features. They appear especially cruel and +determined because their teeth are black from _buyo_. In war time, many +of the women fought beside the men, and it is supposed to be they who +mutilated the Americans found dead on the field after battle. The +people whom we met on the road with their ponies loaded with hemp +seldom smiled and did not bow, but they looked us straight in the eye, +and there was no touch of sulkiness about them. + +It is very difficult to distinguish the men from the women, as they +dress much alike. But you see few of the latter on the road, for being +Mohammedans, most of them are kept at home. They are not veiled like +other Moslem women, except when first married. + +The costumes of the Moros differ to such a degree--and for no reason +that I could discover--that it is difficult to describe them. Many wear +tight trousers, which are something like those of the Spaniards--so +tight that they are sewn on the men and never come off until worn +out--and are often bright red or yellow in colour. On the other hand, +some wear very loose, baggy trousers or skirts of different shades. +Indeed, they are the most gaily dressed people I have ever seen, and +their brown skins set off the vivid yellows and greens and reds and +magentas and purples of which their trousers and jackets and turbans and +handkerchiefs are made. The jackets have a Chinese appearance. The +turbans might be old Aunt Dinah's of the South. The sashes, which are +woven in the Moro houses, are of silk, bright green and dark red being +the predominant colours. They are knotted on one side, generally a kriss +or a bolo being held in the knot, and are tied about the waist so +tightly that the men look almost laced, and perhaps that accounts for +their womanish appearance. + +When the American army first occupied this region they treated the Moros +well and found them friendly. Take for instance Zamboanga in the south, +an especially interesting region. When the American soldiers entered, +the Spanish guard left the garrison, and the Spanish population and the +priests followed. The Americans found outside the town gates a large +barbed wire bird cage, where the Moros had been compelled to leave their +arms before entering the town at night, to avoid an uprising. The +government of Zamboanga at this time was reorganized by the American +officers. A Filipino presidente was appointed, a dato to head the Moros, +and a Captain Chinese, as he was called, to manage his people, who were +mostly merchants and pearl fishers. + +Mindanao was under a military-civil government that worked wonders, for +in a few years many of the Moros were brought under control, and they +became loyal Americans, although they had always been bitter enemies of +the Filipinos and the Spaniards. They say they have found the Americans +brave, and have not been lied to by them, and so they seek our +protection. Although the Moro and the head-hunter are so different, they +are alike in one respect--if they care for an official and have +confidence in him they do not want him changed. It is the man they are +willing to obey rather than the government. Of course, there are +thousands of them, fierce as ever, back in the mountains, and they are +still fanatic and wild. Even among those who are under control, the +greatest care has to be exercised, for they have the hatred of the +Christian deep in their hearts, and they may run amuck at any moment and +kill till they are killed; but this is a part of their faith, they ask +no quarter, and nothing stops them but death. + +Besides the danger of their attack by religious mania they have a great +desire for rifles, as I have said, and they are always "jumping" the +constabulary, attacking small parties suddenly from ambush and cutting +them down with their knives, or killing sentries; so that constant care +has to be used, and the sentinels walk at night in twos, almost back to +back, so as to have eyes on all sides. A few weeks before we arrived +there had been several cases of "jumping." + +An American army officer told me the fights with the Moros generally +occurred on the trails among the hills; as the foliage is so thick, it +is easy for the natives to conceal themselves on either side, sometimes +in ditches, and give the Americans a surprise. For this reason, a drill +was found necessary for single file fighting. Every other soldier was +taught to respond to the order of one and two. When an attack was made, +the "ones" shot to the right, the "twos" to the left. This proved +successful. The same officer said the Moros would often use decoys to +lead the troops astray. Seeing fresh tracks, they would hasten on in +pursuit, and be led away from their supplies, while their enemy would be +left behind to attack them in the rear. Walking on the mountain trails +was very hard on the soldiers' shoes, and on one of these expeditions +their boots gave out, so they were obliged to make soles for their shoes +out of boxes and tie them on with leather straps. + +Up, up we drove; the clatter of the cavalry could be heard in front and +behind, and the dougherty, how it did rattle! It was a pretty sight to +see the party traveling through the tropical forests and winding across +the green uplands, with their pennons and the Secretary's red flag +(which made a great impression on the natives, we heard), and the wagons +rumbling along, with a rearguard behind and the scouts in the distance. +John, the coloured man, snapped his whip, and the mules trotted along, +and the air became cooler, and we drove over a plain where real mountain +rice was planted. Occasionally a Moro shack could be seen in the +distance. + +At an outpost, where we stopped to change mules, we saw a beautiful +waterfall, perhaps the loveliest that I had ever seen, called Santa +Maria Cristina. From a greater height than Niagara it plunged down into +a deep valley of giant trees. It reminded me of a superb waterfall near +Seattle. + +At last we reached Camp Keithley, on the mountain plain, a forlorn lot +of unpainted houses with tin roofs and piazzas, but beautifully +situated, like some station in the Himalayas. There was splendid +mountain scenery disappearing into the distances, and views of the ocean +far away, and, on the other side, the great lake of Lanao, an inland sea +more than two thousand feet above the ocean, with imposing ranges about. +This lake, which has always been the center of Moro life, is surrounded +by native villages, and the military post is important and much liked +by the officers quartered there. + +The Secretary, my husband and I were billeted on Major Beacom, the +commanding officer--Mrs. Dickinson had not felt quite equal to the trip. +The Major's house was very attractive, and his little German housekeeper +gave us excellent food and made the orderlies fly about for our comfort. + +We went almost at once to the market place, which was intensely +interesting. The gorgeous colours and gold buttons of the costumes were +magnificent. Brass bowls for chow were for sale, and betel-nut boxes +inlaid with silver, and round silver ones with instruments attached to +clean the ears and nose. There are four compartments in these betel-nut +boxes--for lime, tobacco, the betel nut, and a leaf in which to wrap the +mixture called buyo. + +Here we saw the spear and shield dance. The dancer had a headdress that +covered his forehead and ears, making him look quite ridiculous, +absolutely as though he were on the comic opera stage. With shield and +spear he danced as swiftly and silently as a cat, creeping and springing +until your blood ran cold, especially as you knew he had killed many a +man. + +In the afternoon, after reviewing the troops and inspecting the +quarters, we crossed a corner of the lake and landed at a Moro village. +It was raining hard and the mud was deep. We waded through a street, +followed by the people in their best clothes--one in a black velvet +suit, another in a violet velvet jacket. I saw only two women in the +streets; they were not veiled nor brilliantly dressed, but had red +painted lips and henna on their nails. The Moro constabulary here wore +red fezzes and khaki, and the officer in command at the time was of +German birth. + +After we had passed through a bamboo trail, we came into a little open +place with three fine Moro houses about, set up above the ground on +great posts made of tree trunks. Unlike Filipino houses, they had +façades all carved in a rough and handsome sort of arabesque, painted in +bright reds and blues, and with pointed roofs and coloured cloths +fluttering out of the open spaces, they made fine effects. The long +cracks in the walls served as peepholes, where the snapping black eyes +of the many wives of the datos were peering out at us. In front, in the +little green space, pennons were planted and there was a huge +Chinese-looking sea serpent, or dragon, on wheels, with a body of gaily +coloured stuffs, and a rearing movable head. This cavorted about in +time to the endless noise of the tom-toms. A crowd of natives stood +round in their fanciful raiment. + +[Illustration: A MORO _DATO'S_ HOUSE.] + +Into one of these houses we were invited. We mounted the ladder to the +one large room in the front, into which the sliding panel shutters +admitted the air freely, so that it was cool and shaded. Here sat the +wives and the slaves in a corner, playing on a long wooden instrument +with brass pans, which they struck, producing high and low sounds, with +a little more tune than the Igorots. The big room was bare, except for a +long shelf on which was some woven cloth and a fine collection of the +native brass work, for this is the center of the brass-workers. + +We moved on through the little town of nipa houses to visit old Dato +Manilibang, whose house was not as fine as those we had seen before, but +where we were admitted into two rooms. From the entrance we streaked +muddy feet across the bamboo-slatted floor into his reception room, +where a sort of divan occupied one side--on which the Secretary was +asked to sit. Behind this cushioned seat were piled the boxes with the +chief's possessions, and here he sits in state in the daytime and sleeps +at night. The women, who were huddled together on one side of the room, +wore bracelets and rings, and one was rather pretty. + +At dawn we were up and off again. What a day! We had two hours on a boat +crossing a lovely lake, surrounded by mountains, on the shore of which +some of the wildest Moros live. Our boat was a big launch, a sort of +gunboat, which, strangely enough, the Spaniards had brought up here and +sunk in the lake when the war came on, we were told, and which had been +resurrected successfully. It was a steep climb up the opposite side of +the lake, but most of us scrambled up on horses, till we topped the +ridge and came to Camp Vickers, a station with fine air and outlook but +rather small and pathetic. + +The picturesque Moros had gathered here to greet the Secretary, and +their wail of welcome was something strange and weird. A dato would come +swinging by, followed in single file by his betel-box carrier, chow +bearer and slaves. Some of the chiefs rode scraggly ponies, on high +saddles, with their big toes in stirrups of cord almost up under their +chins, and with bells on the harness that rattled gaily. And, of course, +the tom-toms kept up their endless music. + +We had two more hours of horseback riding--we hoped to see a boar hunt, +but owing to some misunderstanding, it did not come off. Then, after +a stand-up luncheon at Major Brown's, we started down the trail again in +a dougherty. + +[Illustration: BAGOBO MAN WITH POINTED TEETH.] + +It was a beautiful drive through this forest on the island of Mindanao. +We first crossed open grassy uplands, then dipped down through the great +glades of the most tropical forest I have ever seen, with towering hard +woods and tree ferns, with bamboos and clinging air plants and orchids, +and there was mystery and wonder about the giant growths. The trees +seemed taller than the elms of New England or the cedars of Oregon. They +dripped with huge-leaved, clinging vines, which grew higgledy-piggledy, +covering everything. The grass, too, with waving purple tassels, grew +higher than a man's head, twice as high as the pigmy brown people who +have their houses in these trees. + +The tree-dwellers just referred to are the Manobos and the Bagobos with +pointed teeth--for Mindanao is not entirely inhabited by Moros; there +are supposed to be no less than twenty-four tribes on this island alone. +They build in trees, to escape the spear thrusts of their neighbours +through the bamboo floors. We were to make their acquaintance later. + +A drenching rain came on that afternoon, through which the escort jogged +along, while we clung in our dougherties, nearly shaken to pieces, and +reached Malabang, on the other side of the island, as much fatigued as +if we had been on horseback all the way. The military post here was most +attractive, with the prettiest of nipa houses for the officers, and the +parade lined with shading palms, and flower-bordered walks--a charming +station. We were quartered with Lieutenant Barry and his wife, a +delightful young couple, in their thatched house, and dined with Major +Sargent, the commanding officer, who has written some good books on +military topics. + +The Celebes Sea was calm and lovely when we left Malabang. We passed +along the coast of Mindanao toward a long lowland that lay between the +high mountains of the island. This was the plain of the Cotobato, a +great river which overflows its banks annually like the Nile and has +formed a fertile valley that could be turned to good account. The mouth +of the river is shallow, so that we were transferred to a stern-wheel +boat that was waiting, and began to work our way up, against the rapid +current, past low, uninteresting banks that were proving rather +monotonous, when suddenly we turned a point and saw the town of +Cotobato. + +The Moros and the other tribes were in their full splendour here. Soon, +down this tropical river, where crocodiles dozed and monkeys chattered +and paroquets shrieked, there came a flotilla from the Arabian Nights, +manned by galley slaves. On the masts and poles of one of the barges +floated banners, and under the canopy of green sat a real Princess. Some +of the boats were only dugouts with outriggers, but they were decorated, +too, and all the tribes were dressed in silks and velvets of the +brightest colours. + +There was great excitement and much cheering as we approached the +landing stage, and the troops stood at attention, while the rest of the +shore was alive with the throng of natives in all the colours of the +rainbow. The Secretary inspected the troops, and we saw for the first +time the Moro constabulary, wearing turbans and sashes, but with bare +legs; nevertheless, they looked very dashing. Indeed, the Moros were so +different in character and appearance from any people we had seen before +that they might as well have come down from the stars. + +The Secretary was taken to meet the datos, as they stood in line +beneath the great trees, with the motley crowds of retainers behind +them, in such a medley of colours as I had never imagined before. The +sunlight filtered through the trees upon the barbaric costumes, while +the gaily dressed women stood behind the men and peered over them. The +brown men looked dignified and very self-respecting, too, although the +scene was like the setting of a comic opera, where the imagination had +been allowed to run riot. + +There we saw Dato Piang and Gimbungen, a very fat dato--what a +delightful bug-a-boo name--also Ynock, whose ear had been cut off in a +fight, we were told; but strange as it may seem, he said he had clapped +it onto his face again and tied it on, and it had grown there. So it +hung attached somewhere down on his cheek, and gave him a very peculiar +appearance. When the Moros conquered the Filipinos, this dato had the +captured women stripped and made to walk before him, and then took them +off to the mountains. When he was taken prisoner later by the Filipinos, +he was compelled to work in chains in the streets. + +Under a canopy the Princess received us, a native woman whose descent +was traced for many hundreds of years--said to be a pure Moro, although +she looked rather Chinese--and who was recognized as of the highest +social superiority, but had little political power. She herself was +draped in varied colours, while her chamberlain wore a brocade coat of +crimson and gold cloth. Behind her stood her maids bearing the gold +betel-nut boxes and chow trays and umbrellas of her rank. + +Our luncheon with the commanding officer, Major Heiberg, and his wife, +was eaten in delightful little kiosks of nipa and bamboo, which had been +built in a small palm grove. The dancing girls of the Princess, who had +long nails protected by silver covers, gave us a performance afterward. +Curiously enough, their dance was very Japanese in character. Then some +Manobos, picturesque in short, skin-tight trousers and bolero jackets, +with bags and boxes beautifully worked in bright beads, danced a +graceful, monotonous step. The women have a swaying, snake-like dance +with waving arms and jingling of bracelets and "hiplets," if I may be +allowed to coin the word. + +At last, after so many adventures, we found ourselves again on board the +_Rizal_. An enchanting spot on this boat was a projection over the bow, +on which one could sit curled up high above the water. On this perch we +felt like the red-winged sea gulls that circled far above us. We passed +over a sea of polished jade, which at night shone with phosphorescence +like gleaming silver. + +Next morning, August 23d, we approached Zamboanga. Five American ships, +all decorated, came steaming out to meet us and fell in behind in order, +making a lovely sight on the bright, smooth seas. As we neared the town, +we suddenly saw a large flotilla of native boats, with tom-toms beating +and thousands of flags fluttering--such a gay sight! Banners of all +shapes, streaming and flapping and waving, and such colours and +combinations of colours--stripes of green and purple and orange in +designs of lemon and red and magenta, serpentine flags and square ones, +hung in all sorts of ways, and brightly coloured canopies under which +sat the sultans, and green umbrellas and yellow and--bang! off went +their small lantankas, tiny native-made cannon--a most exciting +reception! + +We landed under triumphal arches and were driven in state carriages +through lines of school children, who sang and threw us flowers from old +Spanish gardens. The post was really beautiful, for it had much left +from old Spanish times, and what had been done over had been done +with taste. The green parade had a terraced canal passing through it, +and avenues of palm; the officers' quarters, smothered in flowering +plants and fronting out over the glittering blue sea, were large and +airy and finer than any we had seen before. It is considered one of the +best posts in the Philippines, and seemed cool and pleasant. + +[Illustration: BAGOBOS WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.] + +There was the usual procession--first, the troops of the garrison and +the constabulary, then thousands of visiting Moros, Bagobos and Manobos, +of every colour of skin and clothes, many of them whooping and leaping, +and then a tiresome following of hundreds of Filipinos, who had joined +in to make a political demonstration. It is said the Filipinos did not +wish the Moros to take part in the procession. + +Exciting times followed at the meeting after this parade, where both +Filipino and Moro speakers were heard. Said a Filipino, addressing the +Secretary: + +"You have just visited our province and have just learned its +conditions; at such places in it through which you have passed you must +have seen quite a number of Moros, but I believe that a separation ... +could very well be established, to the end that both people, the +Christian Filipino and the Filipino Moro, might have the government +that corresponds respectively to each of them, for it is a very +regrettable thing that on account of the presence of the latter we +Christians should be unable to enjoy the liberties that reason and right +would grant us.... + +"I think it is my duty to advise you that the Moros who filed past the +grandstand were brought from remote and distant places with the +exclusive purpose of giving greater éclat to your reception. Moreover, +it must be borne in mind always, in dealing with the affairs of this +province, that the Moros have no political influence, possess no +property, nor help pay the expense of the government." + +Then Dato Mandi spoke: + +"I am here, El Raja Mura Mandi, representing the Moros. As I look about, +I see far more Moros than the Filipino contingent, and if that is so, +that is the reason it is called the Moro Province. (Tremendous applause +from the Moros.) + +"When first the Americans came here, from the very beginning, whatever +they asked me to do I did. I was loyal to them ever. Now I have heard a +rumour that we Moros are in the hands of the Filipinos.... + +"If the American Government does not want the Moro Province any more +they should give it back to us. It is a Moro province. It belongs to +us." (Tremendous applause by the Moros.) + +Dato Sacaluran threw down the Moro challenge: + +"I am an old man. I do not want any more trouble. But if it should come +to that, that we shall be given over to the Filipinos, I still would +fight." (Applause.) + +But Hadji Nangnui, who spoke of himself as "a Samal," made the clearest +statement of the Moro position: + +"The Secretary of War must look the matter in the face. We are a +different race; we have a different religion; we are Mohammedans. And if +we should be given over to the Filipinos, how much more would they treat +us badly, than they treated even the Spanish badly who were their own +mothers and their own fathers in generations? How did they treat them? +Think about it! Think twice! We far prefer to be in the hands of the +Americans, who are father and mother to us now, than to be turned over +to another people." (Applause.) + +In the evening we dined delightfully at the Pershings'. After dinner, +the Moros danced in the garden the spear and shield dance, and the +Bagobo women gave the scarf dance. The Bagobos still offer human +sacrifices. Their caps, if tied in a certain way, show how many men they +have killed. Their dress is made of cloth which they weave from +carefully selected and dyed fibers of Manila hemp, and it is treated +with wax in such a way as to make it very smooth and durable. In the +glow of the red light from Chino Charlie's famous lanterns, their +picturesque costumes, gleaming with bead work, added much to the +brilliancy of the scene. They love music and make some large stringed +instruments. They also play the flute from the nose, with one nostril +stopped up, like the Hawaiians. + +The dancing under the palms in the garden, by the rippling seas, where +the moonlight flooded down radiantly, was quite like a strange dream. + +At this dinner I was told the story given by Dean Worcester by which the +Moros explain why they do not eat pork: + +"Mahamoud had a grandson and a granddaughter.... As he was king of the +world, Christ came to his house to visit him. Mahamoud, jealous of him, +told him to prove his power by 'divining' what he had in a certain room, +where, in fact, were his grandchildren. Christ replied that he had no +wish to prove his power, and would not 'divine.' Mahamoud then vowed +that if he did not answer correctly, he should pay for it with his life. +Christ responded, 'You have two animals in there, different from +anything else in the world.' Mahamoud replied, 'No, you are wrong, and I +will now kill you.' Christ said, 'Look first, and see for yourself.' +Mahamoud opened the door, and out rushed two hogs, into which Christ had +changed his grandchildren." + +[Illustration: BAGOBO WITH NOSE FLUTE.] + +Some verses recited at General Pershing's dinner showed the feeling of +army officers about their life in the Philippines. A stanza runs: + + "What is it makes us fret so hard + In this benighted land? + It isn't lack of courage + And it isn't lack of 'sand.' + It isn't fear of Moros + Or Bagobos from the hills-- + It's the many great discomforts + And the many, many ills." + +It is interesting to read in a recent number of the Manila _Times_ that +Zamboanga, which seemed so like a picture handed down from Spanish days, +has absorbed a good share of American progressiveness and is said to +stand in a class by itself among Philippine towns. Waterworks and a +hydro-electric plant are under construction, the water for which is to +be brought along the mountainside, a part of the way through tunnels. To +dig these, "experienced Igorot tunnel makers from Benguet were +imported," who are getting along amicably with the Moros. + +At Jolo, or Sulu, we were again greeted by a Moro fleet and some diving +girls and boys. + +This seemed the culmination of the picturesque in our trip. The +mountains of the island are not high but rather cone-shaped, and as we +approached the town we could see behind it the forested slopes of steep +Bud Dajo, where the great fight took place in 1906 and many Moros were +killed in the crater top of the volcano, to which they had retreated, +and from which they challenged and threatened the American forces. It is +an island of fierce, piratical Moros, and even the Americans had not +tried to do much there. It was dangerous to go outside the little walled +town at all, and all the natives coming in were searched for their +weapons, which were taken away at the gates. Only a few months before, a +fanatic Moro tried to attack the gate guard, but fortunately was killed +before fatally injuring any one. + +[Illustration: MORO BOATS.] + +The walled town is a most artistic little Spanish place, built once +upon a time by the exiled Spanish Governor Asturia, who made it a gem of +a town, with small balustraded plazas and a hanging-garden sea wall, and +a miniature wall with battlements and gates, and streets set out with +shading trees. The pretty Officers' Club and quarters overhung the wall. +The gates of the town are closed at night, and all the natives must +leave for their houses outside before the "retreat," but there is a +native market and a town built out on piles over the water, which we +visited. We drove out to a plain, palm-fringed and backed by mountains, +that overlooked the sea, where there was a review of the cavalry and a +large company of mounted Moros, who carried many American flags among +their waving banners. Within the walls, in a grandstand in the little +plaza, where the natives thronged, there was a meeting between the +Secretary and the chief datos; and the Hadji, who had been Vizier of the +Sultan, made a wise speech, full of promise of loyalty. Our Governor had +won the good will of the people about him and the Hadji said that when +his people were certain of our good intentions they would come in +willingly and be loyal--but, for so many years, they had been misled by +previous rulers. + +We amused ourselves by going to Chino Charlie's and buying lanterns, +and lunched at the Officers' Club. Afterward we went out on the pier +inhabited by the Chinese and looked for pearls--Jolo pearls are +famous--but we saw none of real value. We watched the Chinamen drying +copra, and went through their market, where water slugs were for sale. +Finally, we sailed across the bay. Our visit to the Moros was full of +colour to the end, for the sun was setting gorgeously as we put out to +sea. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +JOURNEY'S END + + +The little coral island of Bancoran lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea, +quite outside the usual routes of travel. It is inhabited only by birds, +and people seldom or never go there. But we wanted to obtain, if we +could, some new species of gulls or terns for the Bureau of Science at +Manila, and also to enjoy the mysterious sea gardens which are found +among the southern reefs. Just after tiffin the island was sighted, +lying quite alone by itself in milky green water. The ship stopped and +launches were dropped overboard, and a glass-bottomed boat which had +been brought along for our use. + +The afternoon was ideal--the sky blue and fleeced with snowy clouds +piled high, while the intense sun shining on the water flashed back a +hundred shades of blue and green and mauve. On one side of the island, +which floated like an emerald among sapphires, outstanding rocks chafed +the seas into foaming surf, while on the other a long, narrow beach lay +shimmering, pale yellow in the sunlight. The island itself was covered +with a thick jungle of trees, which were dotted with thousands of +resting birds. As we drew nearer they saw us and were afraid, rising and +soaring and circling in the clear, pure air, and crying out at us. Flock +after flock of sea fowl flew wonderingly over our small craft, their +white breasts tinted green with the light reflected from the water. + +It was like a Robinson Crusoe island, lost out there in the lonely sea. +But there were shells of huge turtles, and bones of birds, which +suggested that sometime a feast must have been held there, so it was not +wholly undiscovered and unexplored. Among the great roots of the trees +the birds had built their nests from leaves. The eggs in some of them +were white and about the size of hens' eggs. Several varieties of +boobies and terns were found, some brown with green-blue eyes, others +ivory-white. A few specimens were shot, and one or two were taken back +alive to the _Rizal_ for the museum. Previous to this visit the +ornithologists had never known to what islands the boobies and frigate +birds came to nest, although the scientists had long been searching for +the place, so the expedition was well worth while. + +But the sea gardens interested me more than the birds or even the +island. If Alice could have had her choice in entering Wonderland, she +would surely have selected a doorway leading through a glass-bottomed +boat, instead of dropping down a rabbit's hole. Beneath the water, which +was crystal clear, we could see a strange country with new flowers and +peculiar creatures. Where it was sandy and shallow we saw below us +fields of green sea grass, on which the fairies must surely have used +lawn-mowers, it was so neatly kept. + +Interspersed among the fields were beds of feathery, lace-like +vegetation unnamed in the language of our party. Passing one expanse +after another of this submarine pasturage, we saw depressions in the +coral, where tiny fishes played or unknown water creatures had +established a little world for themselves and were living in its narrow +confines quite unconscious of what went on in the surrounding vastness. + +Drifting on into deeper water, we came to a ghost-like gray world of +curls and feathers, trembling with life, a forest of pale trees and +swaying brown ones, of high hills and dark valleys, made by coral reefs. +Pretty rock gardens came into view, where there were cabbages with blue +edges, sea anemones and purple fans, a huge toadstool, a giant fungus, +and a cactus plant--at least, that is what they looked like to us. There +were rainbow shells, too, half hidden, and great blue starfish clinging +to the rocks. In and out among the sponges and the brown coral branches, +which were so much like antlers, swam curious fishes. Such gorgeous +colours--so vivid and in such brilliant combinations! Some were big +green fellows, with needle noses; others were electric blue and silver; +there were black and yellow ones, too, and striped fishes that looked +like sly prisoners dodging their keepers.[27] + +[Illustration: ONE DAY'S CATCH OF FISH.] + +We passed the greater part of the afternoon marooned on this far-away +island, some of us going bathing off the shallow, sandy beaches in the +clear water. As evening came on we regretfully left the fairy island of +Bancoran, and sailed away by the rising moon. + +The Penal Colony on Palawan, which I have described in another chapter, +was our next point of interest. We left there behind schedule and met a +stronger current than we had expected, sweeping down the coast of Panay, +so that it was no wonder that we were late in approaching Iloilo. This +was especially unfortunate, for very generous preparations had been made +there for the Secretary's reception and an interesting series of events +arranged, all of which was upset by the delay. + +It was sunset when we finally sighted the town. As we cruised up the +steeply palisaded coast, with the low-lying foreground of Panay on the +other side, backed by its fine ranges of mountains, the effects were +most beautiful. The old Spanish fort on its point looked mysterious in +the afterglow, and the skies were magnificently alight. A fleet of much +beflagged launches and steamers came out to meet the Secretary, +whistling a welcome, and turning, escorted the _Rizal_. + +Next to Manila, Iloilo is the most important port in the Islands, and +has a better climate than its rival. The people here are supposed to be +wealthier and more aristocratic than elsewhere. The Payne bill, which +had been in operation only a short time, had brought such a return of +prosperity to the land, and especially to the planters of this fertile +province, that they were all very enthusiastic about Americans, and did +all they could to express their gratitude. + +We were invited for dinner at half after seven, but it was an hour later +before we sat down to the long table in the large and rather empty room, +with its handsome Venetian mirrors at either end, and its sliding +shutters wide open to the night. There were no ladies present except +those of our party. We could never tell how things would be +arranged,--sometimes there would be Filipina ladies, and sometimes there +would not; sometimes the ladies would all be placed together at one side +of the table, and again they would be seated next to the men. While +waiting for dinner to be announced, we sat about in an airy room, with +half-dressed servants peeping in at us, and a phonograph playing +Caruso records. + +[Illustration: VIEW IN ILOILO, ILOILO, SHOWING HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS.] + +After dinner we had a long drive out through the town, which seemed +quite business-like and prosperous. They had rebuilt some of the fine, +large, wide-open houses, most of which had been destroyed by the +insurrectos. (On the nearby island of Negros, we were told, there were +many fine _haciendas_ with great houses full of carved work which I was +sorry not to see.) Passing through suburbs of nipa houses standing up on +their stilts in the moonlight, we came to a plaza gaily illuminated, and +to our destination, a mansion approached by a triumphal arch. In the +best houses the living rooms are on the second floor, just as in the +poorer ones they are raised above the ground on stilts. So here we went +upstairs to a great room hung with festoons of flags, where the little +women in their bright and varied dresses passing and repassing made a +gay scene. It was here, indeed, that we saw some of the prettiest and +best dressed women whom we met on our trip. + +Most of the following day was spent cruising along the coast of Panay, +passing between its fine outlying islands, which reminded us of the +Inland Sea of Japan. In the afternoon we came to the entrance of the +river on which Capiz is located. The Secretary crossed overland on the +first train to run on the new railway, in order to drive in the silver +spikes that completed the line. + +No dinners had been planned there for those of us who had come by ship, +so we did not start up river until half after eight. Capiz is only four +miles from the mouth, but they were the longest miles we had ever +experienced, for by some mistake the pilot did not arrive, so we went in +a _Rizal_ launch without one. We just struggled along as well as we +could in the dark till the moon came up, which only mystified us the +more with its deceptive shadows. Half a dozen times we ran deep into mud +banks, and the sailormen were forced to jump overboard and shove us off. +They did not appear to enjoy doing this, and no wonder, for it was a +crocodile river. + +Swarms of fireflies, which gathered on favourite trees, made a very +Christmas-like effect with their throbbing lights. They were lovely, +too, in the dark shore shadows, and made sparkling reflections in the +black river stream. Watching them we could almost forget our troubles. + +[Illustration: THE OLD AUGUSTINIAN CHURCH, MANILA.] + +Finally, after much winding round and backing off, we turned a bend and +saw a line of little twinkling lights strung along the shore and on +floating barges, giving quite a Venetian effect and showing us the town +by their reflection. Landing, we walked across the grassy square to the +provincial building, with its open courtyards, where there was to be a +ball. We danced a rigodon as usual, and stopped late with the Governor +General, who liked to show his interest in these functions, of which the +Filipinos think so much. There were three bands, which vied with each +other for applause. + +Next morning we got away early on our last leg for Manila and the end of +our never-to-be-forgotten journey in the Land of Pine and Palm--that +far-away, unfamiliar country where your head gets full of strange +thoughts, your body of queer feelings, and your heart has great +longings. + +We crowded everything we could into those few last days in Manila, for +we were loath to think of leaving anything undone. Besides packing and +shopping, there were teas and dinners, and the army and navy reception. +This was lovely, for it was held in the courtyard filled with trees +which were hung with dim lanterns. The good looking officers with their +white duck uniforms and brass buttons added to the attractiveness of the +scene. The men of our party were even busier than we, for they had +several banquets to which we were not invited. In my husband's journal I +find the chronicle of a typical day. After describing the events of a +busy morning, he says: "In the afternoon, there was a reception to meet +the constabulary, at four; the opening of the new hospital, a most +complete and wonderful one, at half after four; the laying of the corner +stone at five for the new hotel, which is a very ambitious project and +will make all the difference in the world as far as touring in the +Philippines is concerned; in the evening, a dinner, and after that a +reception, and a dance." + +Manila seemed more picturesque, and to have even more atmosphere, as I +came to know it better. The old walls and churches and plazas and +corners and quarters; the Pasig with its cascos and bancas plying about; +the narrow streets winding through the suburbs, with old moss-covered +walls, and peeps of tangled gardens within, and balustraded terraces, +and the bowers of the pink blossoming "chain of love." It is indeed +well-named the Pearl of the Orient. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +ATKINSON, F. W.: The Philippine Islands + +ALEXANDER, MARY C.: The Story of Hawaii + +ALEXANDER, W. D.: Brief History of the Hawaiian People + +AMERICAN GIRL, AN: Seven Weeks in Hawaii + +BANCROFT, HUBERT H.: The New Pacific + +BRIGGS, CHARLES W.: Progressive Philippines + +BLAIR, EMMA H.: The Philippine Islands + +BARRON, DAVID: History of the Philippines + +BISHOP, ISABELLA L.: The Hawaiian Archipelago + +BLACKMAN, WILLIAM F.: The Making of Hawaii + +COAN, TITUS: Life in Hawaii + +COAN, T. M.: Climate of Hawaii + +---- Hawaiian Ethnography + +CASTLE, WILLIAM R., JR.: Hawaii Past and Present + +CHAMBERS, H. E.: Constitutional History of Hawaii + +CROW, CARL: America and the Philippines + +CHAMBERLIN, FREDERICK: The Philippine Problem + +DAUNCEY, MRS. CAMPBELL: The Philippines + +DEVENS, JOHN B.: An Observer in the Philippines + +DAY, MRS. E. F.: Princess of Manoa + +EMERSON, N. B.: Unwritten Literature of Hawaii + +FEE, MARY H.: A Woman's Impressions of the Philippines + +FOREMAN, J.: The Philippine Islands + +FORNANDER, ABRAHAM: The Polynesian Race + +HAWAIIAN ANNUAL for 1915 + +HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, Report of Commission of Agriculture and Forestry + +HAWAII, a Primer--answers to queries + +HITCHCOCK, C. H.: Hawaii and its Volcanoes + +JERNEGAN, PRESCOTT F.: A Short History of the Philippines + +JORDAN AND EDERMANN: Aquatic Resources of Hawaii + +LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: List of books on Hawaii + +LINDSEY, FORBES: The Philippines + +LE ROY, JAMES A.: Philippine Life in Town and Country + +---- Americans in the Philippines + +LAWRENCE, MARY S.: Old Time Hawaiians and their Wok + +LYMAN, H. M.: Hawaiian Yesterdays + +MOSES, MRS. M. E. B.: Unofficial Letters of an Official's Wife + +MAUS, L. M.: An Army Officer on Leave in Japan + +MUSICK, JOHN R.: Hawaii: our New Possession + +MATHER, HELEN: One Summer in Hawaii + +ROBINSON, ALBERT G.: The War and the People + +STODDARD, C. W.: South-sea Idyls + +SAWYER, FREDERICK H.: The Inhabitants of the Philippines + +STEVENS, J. E.: Yesterdays in the Philippines + +TAFT, MRS. WILLIAM H.: Recollections of Full Years + +WESTERVELT, W. E.: Legends of Old Honolulu + +WORCESTER, DEAN C.: The Philippines, Past and Present + +WILLIAMS, D. R.: The Odyssey of the Philippine Commission + +YOUNG, LUCIEN: The Real Hawaii + + + + +INDEX + + + A + + Agriculture and Forestry, Bureau of, 99 + + Aguinaldo, Emilio, 159, 173-175, 181-183, 188-193, 195-196, 199, 204 + + Aldecoa and Company, 265 + + Alden, C. S. (quoted), 71 + + Alexander Young Hotel, 20 + + Amburayan, 270 + + Anderson, General Thomas, 72, 145, 180, 187, 192 + Captain Tom, 145, 296 + + Andrews, Louis, 62 + + Antipolo, 320 + + Apayao, 270 + + Archbishop of Manila, 166 + + Armstrong, Fort, 25 + General, 62 + + Army and Navy Club, 146, 296 + + Assembly, 125, 138, 209, 215-217, 236 + + Asturia, Governor, 351 + + Atimonan, 307, 308 + + Augustinian Church, 129 + + + B + + Babuyan Islands, the, 261 + + Baginda, Raja, 326 + + Bagobos, the, 257, 339, 345, 348 + + Baguio, 213, 246-249, 251, 253, 272 + + Bahr, Abu, 326 + + Balangiga, 317 + + Balintan Channel, 268 + + Bancoran, 353, 357 + + Bandholtz, General, 309 + + Barry, Lieutenant, 340 + + Bashee Rocks, 261, 262 + + Batan (islands), 261, 262, 264, 269 + + Bates, General, 198 + + Bauang, 247 + + Bautilan, 328 + + Bay, Lake of, 131 + + Beacom, Major, 335 + + Beardsley, Admiral and Mrs., 16 + + Benguet, 270 + Road, 247, 249 + + Berger, Captain, 14, 74 + + Biacnabato, 174 + Treaty of, 175 + + Bilibid Prison, 237-239, 241, 242, 313 + + Bill of Rights, 58 + + Bingham, Hiram, 10 + + Bishop, Bernice Pauahi, 11, 72 + Hon. Charles R., 12 + Museum, 11 + + Black Crook, 249 + + Blayney, Professor Thomas + Lindsey (quoted), 220 + + Boca Chica, 123 + + Boca Grande, 178 + + Bohol, 318 + + Boki, Chief, 10 + + Bolinao Light, 274 + + Bonifacio, Andres, 171, 174 + + Bontoc, 229, 236, 270, 287-289 + + Book, Captain, 16 + + Botel Tobago, 262 + + Brent, Bishop, 132 + + Brigham, Professor, 11 + + _Britannia_, the, 51 + + Bryan, William Jennings, 199, 206-207 + + Bud Dajo, 350 + + Buencamino, 183 + + + C + + Cagayan, 131 + + Calkins, Mr., 309 + + Capiz, 360 + + Carter, General W. H., 26 + Charles L., 78 + George R., 78, 79 + Mr. George, 5 + + Castle, Mr., 4, 14, 112 + Mrs., 14 + + _Castilla_, the, 179 + + Catbalogan, 317 + + Cavite, 138, 166, 173, 179, 181, 182, 204 + + Cebu, 150, 152, 318, 320, 322 + + Celebes Sea, 340 + + Cervantes, 283, 284 + + Charcca, the, 317 + + _Charleston_, the, 269 + + Chinese, the (in the Philippines), 159 + + Chino Charlie, 352 + + Cleghorn, Governor, 15 + + Cleveland, President, 77 + + College of Medicine and Surgery, 141 + + Commission, the (first), 207 + Commission, the second (or Taft), 207, 209-211, 215, 216, 219 + + Constabulary Band, 125, 137 + + Cook, Captain (James), 35, 37, 48, 49, 114, 115, 150 + + Corregidor, 123, 138, 178, 296 + + Cotobato (river), 340 + town, 341 + + Cotton, Captain, 16 + + Cromer, Lord, 221 + + _Crook_, the, 273, 274 + + Culion, 232-235 + + + D + + Dalupiri, 265 + + Damien, Father, 72 + + Dampier, William, 152, 262, 327 + + Darrach, Marshall, 139 + + Data, Mount, 285 + + Daughters of Hawaii, the, 22 + + Davis, Isaac, 50 + + DeRussy, Fort, 25 + + Dewey, Admiral, 177-181, 184, 186, 192 + (quoted), 190 + + _Dewey_, the (dock), 273 + + Diamond Head, 4, 19, 25 + + Dickinson, Mr. (Secretary of War), 20, 125, 126, 127, 131, 136, 139, + 145, 146, 232, 252, 272, 273, 277, 278, 279, 295, 299, 325, 337, 341 + Mrs., 125, 127, 136, 139, 140, 145, 251, 252, 308, 336 + + Din, Alimund, 328 + + Ditch Trail, 107 + + Dole, Rev. Daniel, 8 + Sanford B., 8, 9, 16, 77-79 + + Dominis, John C., 76 + + Doyle, Sergeant, 278 + + Drake, Sir Francis, 151 + + Duvall, General, 146, 273 + Mrs., 146 + + + E + + Early, 275 + + Education, Bureau of, 248 + + Edwards, General, 131, 272, 300 + + El Chico de Cagayan River, 287 + + El Fraile, 178 + + Emerson (quoted), 42 + + Emma, Queen, 65, 66 + + Escolta, the, 130 + + Ethnology, Bureau of, 141 + + + F + + "Father Alexander," 106 + + "Filipino Republic," the, 190 + + Filipinos, 124, 136, 137, 171, 183, 185-189, 193, 195-196, 201, 215, + 219, 222, 241, 245, 298, 342 + + Finch, Captain, 3 + + Forbes, Governor General Cameron, 125, 127, 131, 139, 212-215, 221, + 239, 243, 248, 272, 276, 277, 283, 317, 361 + + Fornander, A. (quoted), 42 + + Frear, Judge Walter F., 80 + + French Frigatis Shoal, 66 + + Funston (General), 25, 199 + + Furness, Dr., 4 + + + G + + Gallman, 275, 280 + + Gilbert, Vice-Governor, 254 + + Gimbungen (dato), 342 + + Government Dormitory for Girls, 140 + + Government Laboratories, Bureau of, 141 + + Green Lake, 112 + + Gridley, Captain, 3, 179 + + Guam, 72, 119, 199, 262 + + + H + + Halawa, 63 + + Haleakala, 107 + + Halemaumau, 60, 110 + + Hanalei River, 115 + + Harrison, Governor General, 212, 213, 219 + + Hauula, 103 + + Hawaii (island of), 8, 39, 82 + Republic of, 78 + + Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company, 81 + + Hawaiians (ethnology of), 29 + + Heiberg, Major, 343 + + Heiser, Dr., 221, 230-232, 234-236, 323 + + Hilgard, Captain, 251 + + Hilo, 60, 62, 91, 102, 108, 110, 112 + + Hina, 35 + + Hoapili, 62 + + Honaunau, 113 + + Honolulu, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 21, 25, 65, 67, 72, 102, 103, 104, 181 + + Hualalai, 113 + + + I + + Iao Valley, 107 + + Ide, H. C., 208 + + Ifugao, 270 + Ifugaos, the, 271, 277, 280-283, 289, 293 + + Igorots, the, 251, 253, 255, 277, 286, 288-290, 294, 337 + + Ilocanos, the, 275 + + Iloilo, 357-358 + + Ilongots, the, 255, 258-259 + + Immigration, Bureau of, 100 + + Inter-Island Navigation Company, 104 + boats, 112 + + Internal Revenue, Bureau of, 221 + + Iraya, Mt., 269 + + Irwin, Mr., 4 + + Isabella II, Queen, 164 + + Isola Grande, 273, 274 + + Itbayat Island, 265 + + Iwahig River, 240 + + Iyeyasu, Shogun, 156 + + + J + + Japanese-American Citizens' Association, 116 + + Japanese (women laborers), 83-85 + as Hawaiians, 116-118 + + Jesuits, the, 164, 165, 166 + + John Hay, Camp, 248, 251 + + Jones Bill, the, 222 + + Jota, the, 317 + + + K + + Kaawaloa, 114 + + Kahanamoku, Duke, 91 + + Kahului, 102 + + Kailua, 53, 114 + + Kaiulani, Princess, 77 + + Kakuhihewa, 6 + + Kalaimoku, 56 + + Kalakaua, King, 9, 73-75, 81, 118 + Prince, 118 + + Kalamba, 131, 204 + + Kalanianaole, Prince Jonah Kuhio, 79 + + Kalanikupule, 22 + + Kalinga, 270 + + Kalingas, the, 271, 272, 289-292 + + Kaliuwaa, falls of, 103 + + Kamehameha I (the Great), 6, 11, 22, 48, 50-54, 106 + heiau of, 112 + birthplace of, 114 + + Kamehameha II, 54, 55, 57 + + Kamehameha III, 6, 12, 57, 59, 65 + + Kamehameha IV, 65 + + Kamehameha V, 72 + + Kamehameha, Fort, 25 + + Kamehameha School, 12 + + Kamehamehas, the, 31 + + Kanaloa, 34, 39 + + Kane, 34, 39, 41, 42 + + Kapiolani, 59, 60, 74 + + Katipunan, the, 169, 170-173 + + Kau, 112, 113 + + Kauai, 8, 71, 82, 115 + + Kawaiahao Church, 9 + + Kawaihae, 112 + + Keanonako, 12, 13 + + Keawe-Mauhili, 60 + + Keithley, Camp, 325, 334 + + Kilauea, 51, 60, 66, 104, 109, 112 + + Kinau, 12 + + Kohala, 114 + ditch, 114 + + Kona, 91, 112, 113, 114 + + Konia, 12 + + Kotta, 297 + + Koxinga, 158 + + Ku, 39 + + Kuhio, Prince, 118 + + + L + + _Lackawanna_, the, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71 + + Ladrone Islands, the, 116, 150 + + Lahaina, 106 + + Laka, 40, 41, 42, 49 + + Lamb, Mr., 240, 244 + Mrs., 244 + + Lanao, Lake, 325, 334 + + Lawton, General, 195 + + Legarda, Mr., 131, 298 + + Legaspi, Miguel Lopez de, 152, 153, 158 + Legaspi, 317 + + Lepanto, 270 + + Liholiho, 56 + + Liliuokalani, Queen, 9, 12, 75-78 + + Li Ma Hong, 156 + + Lono, 39, 49 + + Los Banos, 131 + + Lucena, 298, 302, 307 + + Lunalilo Home, 12 + Prince, 73 + + Luneta, the, 126, 146, 185 + + Luzon, 133, 172, 176, 196, 198, 245, 257, 261, 271, 275, 297 + + + M + + MacArthur, General, 194, 196, 198 + + Macfarlane, Mrs., 15 + + Macomb, General M. M., 25 + + Magellan, 150, 151 + + Makadum, 326 + + Makapuu Point Light, 21 + + Malabang, 340 + + Malacañan, Palace of, 126, 136 + + Malays, 149, 154, 245, 326 + + Malolos, 191, 195 + + Mandi, Dato, 346 + + Mangyans, 241 + + Manila, 123, 124, 128, 152, 156, 157, 159, 160, 166, 171, 173, 186, + 193, 199, 222, 227, 249, 314, 315, 328 + sight-seeing in, 128-147, 361-362 + + Manila Bay, 3, 123, 138, 157, 178 + Battle of, 177, 184 + + Manila-Dagupan Railroad, 315 + + Manilibang, Dato, 337 + + Manobos, the, 339, 343, 345 + + _Marian_, the, 16 + + Mariveles, 123 + + Marshall Islands, 116 + + Maui Island, 8, 40, 44, 51, 62, 81, 82, 106 + East, 107 + demi-god, 35, 40 + + Mauna Kea, 108 + + Mauna Loa, 108, 109, 113 + + Mayon, Mount, 308 + + _McCulloch_, the, 178 + + McKimmon, Father, 314 + + McKinley, Fort, 132, 220 + President, 183, 200, 207, 209 + + Menehunes, the, 116 + + Merritt, General, 183, 192 + + Mexico, 152, 153, 156, 157, 204 + Mexicans, 192 + + Midway Island (Brooks), 67, 69, 70, 123 + + Mindanao, 150, 166, 171, 322, 325-327, 331, 339, 340 + + Mines, Bureau of, 141 + + Mirador, 253 + + Mitchell, Major, 266 + + Moanalua, 25 + + Molokai, 8, 63, 73, 105 + + Montojo, Admiral, 179 + + Moros, the, 124, 150, 171, 209, 222, 241, 245, 322, 325-339, 341, 342, + 345-348, 350-352 + + Moro Province, 346 + + Moses, Professor, 208 + + Mountain Province, the, 270, 288 + + Musick (quoted), 18 + + + N + + Namaka, 23 + + Nangnui, Hadji, 347, 351 + + Negritos, 149, 253, 256-257 + + _Negros_, the, 295 + island of, 359 + + Neumann, Paul, 15 + + "Noli Me Tangere" ("The Social Cancer"), 170 + + Nozaleda, Archbishop, 184 + + Nueva Viscaya, 258 + + Nuuanu, battle of, 22 + valley, 23, 51 + + + O + + Oahu, 4, 5, 6, 8, 18, 25, 32, 51, 52, 82, 88, 103, 119 + College, 8, 9 + + Obookiah (Opukahaia), 55 + + Ocampo, Pablo, 204 + + "Occupation Day," 296 + + Olongapo, 273 + + _Olympia_, the, 4, 178, 179 + + Osmeña, Mr., 298 + + Otis, General, 192, 194, 198 + + Overton, Camp, 325 + + + P + + Paahana, 93 + + Paao, 31, 37 + + Pack, Governor, 200 + + Pagsanjan, 131 + + Paki, 12 + + Pakuanui, 23 + + Palawan, 239, 240, 357 + + Pali, the, 22, 23, 24, 52, 103 + + Panama Canal, 100, 119 + + Panay, 357, 359 + + Papa, 5, 30 + + Parker, Sam, 15 + + Pasig River, 127, 128, 225 + + Patterson, Admiral, 160 + + Paulet, Lord George, 61 + + Payne Bill, 358 + + Pearl Harbour, 21, 22, 24, 32 + + Pele, 37, 40, 43, 44, 51, 60, 110 + + Perkins, Commodore, 71 + + Pershing, General, 349 + + _Philadelphia_, the, 16 + + Philip II, 151 + + Philip III, 177 + + Philip V, 328 + + Philippine General Hospital, 141 + + Piang, Dato, 326, 342 + + Pili, 31 + + Pinkham, Governor, 80 + + Plaza McKinley, 129 + + Poison God, the, 105 + + Polo Club, 131 + + Polynesia, 30, 39, 40 + + Polynesians, 29, 30 + + Puerto Princessa, 240 + + Punahou, 8 + + Punchbowl, 4, 19, 20, 103 + + + Q + + Queen's Hospital, 9, 65 + + Quezon, Mr., 298, 301 + + + R + + Reciprocity Treaty, 24, 73, 81, 100 + + _Reina Christina_, the, 179 + + Reynolds, Captain William, 69 + + Rivera, Primo de, 175 + + Rizal, 131, 170-172 + + Rizal, the, 296, 308, 309, 318, 322, 343, 354, 358 + + Rojesvenski, Admiral, 269 + + Root, Elihu, 300 + + Royal Hawaiian Band, 14, 74 + + Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the, 6 + + Ruger, Fort, 25 + + Russell, Sturgis, Oliphant and Company, 308 + + Ruth, Princess, 81 + + + S + + Sacaluran, Dato, 347 + + _Saginaw_, the, 71 + + Samar, 317 + + Sandwich Islands, 49 + + San Lazaro, 157, 227, 231 + + San Mateo, 195 + + San Miguel, 130 + + Santa Cruz, 195 + + Santa Maria Cristina, 334 + + Santiago, Fort, 172 + + Sargent, Major, 340 + + School of Arts and Trades, the, 312 + + Science, Bureau of, 141, 142, 353 + + Seaman's Act, 86 + + Sepulchre, Padre, 286 + + Sewall, Mr., 16 + + Shafter, Fort, 25 + + Shark King (story of), 45-47 + + Sibley, Miss, 133 + + Sicard, Lieutenant-Commander, 71 + + Sokabe, Rev. S. (quoted), 117 + + Spain, 155, 156, 158, 159, 167, 168, 175, 218 + + Spreckles, Mr. Claus, 81 + + Stevens, Mr. (Minister to Hawaii), 76 + + Stoddard, Charles W. (quoted), 24 + + Strong, Dr. Richard P., 229 + + Subig Bay, 178, 273 + + Suez Canal, the, 156, 164 + + Sugar Planters' Association, 99 + + Sulu, 326, 350 + Sea, 322, 353 + Sultan of, 326 + + Sy Cip, Mr. Alfonso Tarata, 320 + + + T + + Taft, President, 126, 137, 207-209 + + Tagalogs, the (Tagals), 139, 165, 167 + + Tagudin, 274, 276, 295 + + Talbot, Lieutenant, 71 + + Tantalus, Mt., 19 + + Thatcher, Rear Admiral, 67 + + Thomas, Admiral, 61 + + _Times_, the Manila, 216, 349 + + Tingians, the, 256, 257 + + Tobaco, 309 + + Topside, 249 + + Trail and Mountain Club, 103 + + Treaty of Paris, the (c. 1762), 159 + 1899, 206, 207 + + Twain, Mark (quoted), 8, 105 + + + V + + Vancouver, Captain George, 50, 51 + + Villaloboz, Ruy Lopez de, 151 + + Visayas, the, 176 + + + W + + Wahaula (temple of), 37 + + Wahiawa, 103 + + Waialua, 92, 95, 97, 98 + + Waianae, 82 + + Waikiki, 10, 15, 17, 20, 25, 103 + + Wailuku, 106 + + Waimanu (valley), 115 + + Waimea, 115 + Gulch, 115 + + Waipio (valley), 115 + + Wakea, 4, 5, 30 + + Wekolo Pond, 32 + + Welles, Mr., 67 + + White, Dr., 253 + + Whitmarsh, Mrs., 250 + Mr., 251 + + Widemann, Judge, 4, 14, 82 + + Wilcox, Robert W., 73 + rebellion, 73 + + Wilder, Mrs., 15 + + Wilson, President, 79, 212 + + Wisser, General J. P., 26 + + Wood, General, 325 + + Worcester, Mr. Dean C., 141, 142, 208, 213, 218, 228, 248, 272, 286, 300 + (quoted), 167, 217, 221, 257, 292, 348, 356 + + Wright, Luke E., 208 + + + Y + + Ynock, 342 + + Yongs, Mr., 160 + + Young, Captain Lucien, 74 + + Young, John, 50 + + + Z + + Zamboanga, 331, 343, 349 + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[1] When the mamo became rare the natives began to substitute the light +yellow feathers growing under the wings of the _o-o_. This bird is now +extinct. + +[2] In the first Reciprocity Treaty with Hawaii, which was signed in +Grant's administration, there was no reference to Pearl Harbour. It was +when the treaty was renewed in a revised form during the administration +of President Harrison, that Hawaii ceded Pearl Harbour to the United +States as a naval base. + +[3] General M. M. Macomb was in command from 1911 to 1913, General +Frederick Funston during 1914, General W. H. Carter followed and General +J. P. Wisser is there in command to-day. + +[4] Even to a late date this custom has been known in civilized +countries. In France a figure of one's enemy was modeled in wax and was +slowly melted before the fire while being "prayed to death." + +[5] The legend which ascribes the creation of man to Kane is only one of +many Hawaiian creation myths, in which other gods figure as fathers of +the human race. + +[6] A. Fornander, "The Polynesian Race." + +[7] Guam belonged to Spain until Colonel Thomas Anderson stopped there +on his way to the Philippines with the first United States troops. The +Spanish governor had not even heard that war was declared, and when the +ships fired, he thought it was a salute in his honour. He surrendered +the fifteen small islands; fourteen were given back to Spain in the +Treaty of Paris and they were sold to Germany. Guam has an excellent +harbour. It is under the control of the United States Navy at present. +Marines are stationed there. + +[8] The party at present in power in the United States appears to have +given very little attention to the Islands, except as a source of income +for deserving Democrats, if we may judge from the latest Democratic +platform. That document contains the promise, "as soon as practicable, +to give a territorial form of government to Hawaii." For eighteen years +they have had it! + +[9] When Mr. Dole's term as United States judge expired a few months +ago, President Wilson refused to reappoint him, though all Hawaii +petitioned for him. The position was given to a Democrat. + +[10] Castle says Halemaumau really means, "home of the _Maumau_ fern," +this fern having a leaf much like the curled and twisted lava in shape. + +[11] A trip to the Lake of Bay should be taken and to the fertile valley +of the Cagayan. The gorge of Pagsanjan is very beautiful. Los Banos is +an old bathing establishment not far from Kalamba, where Rizal was born. +It is part of a day's trip from Manila to this hot mineral spring, which +was a fashionable resort in days gone by. Now an American military +hospital has been built there. + +[12] The American coloured troops in the Philippines certainly deserve +mention. They were among the best fighters we sent out there. + +[13] Koxinga was really one of the most noted characters of the Orient +at that time. He was the son of a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, +and seldom has China had a man to compare with him in courage, +enterprise and ability. At the age of twenty-two, he held one of the +highest military commands in his country. With his courage and natural +ability it was his purpose to carve out a kingdom for himself. Being as +shrewd as he was bold, Koxinga made the acquaintance of a Dominican +friar in Amoy, whom he converted into an ambassador and sent to Manila. +Fortunately for the Spaniards, Koxinga's career was cut short by his +early death, in 1662, while still under forty years of age, and just as +he was making preparations to invade the Philippines. + +[14] To-day Aguinaldo seems to be a thoroughly "reconstructed rebel," as +this incident told by General Anderson's daughter shows: + +"While spending the day with friends who have a sugar estate near +Kalamba, our party was augmented by Aguinaldo, Pablo Ocampo and another +ilustrado whose name I've forgotten. They had come over from Cavite, +where Aguinaldo has his farm, to see this estate with its modern sugar +machinery. After going over the farm very thoroughly with the party I +found myself next the former General at lunch. Conversation was +difficult, as he spoke no English and not very fluent Spanish. I timidly +asked him in desperation of something to say, if he remembered my +father. On learning that he was the first Americano General to fight +him, over fifteen years before, he became most interested, and asked +very warmly to be remembered. When I told him my father was also retired +and settled on his little farm he was pleased and said it was the real +life. I think he is sincerely a farmer and will not be lured back to the +hazards of political life. He is a modest, quiet, diffident little +native of the pure Filipino type. He assured me that his children were +making good progress in English and were at school working hard." + +[15] After Mr. Taft had made his journey to Rome to arrange the friar +land question, he received a remarkable ovation upon his return to the +Philippines. When he was appointed Secretary of War, Manila was flooded +with posters bearing the words, in various languages, "We want Taft," +and such a host of petitions from influential citizens was sent to +Washington that Mr. Roosevelt canceled the appointment. It was not until +some time later that it was renewed and Mr. Taft left the Philippines to +take his seat in the Cabinet at Washington. + +[16] It is difficult to realize the importance of the mestizo class in +the Philippines. There are about seventy-five thousand Spanish mestizos +and half a million Chinese mestizos. + +[17] Any one who is inclined to regret American rule in the Islands is +cordially invited to read chapter sixteen in Dean Worcester's book, "The +Philippines, Past and Present." + +[18] The cause of the pneumonic plague is so little known that it may be +interesting to mention it here. The disease, it is said, is carried by +marmots. It had not broken out since the fourteenth century, because +Manchu hunters had for generations been taught not to kill marmots for +this very reason. But in late years, with the great demand for furs, new +hunters who knew nothing of this, killed the diseased marmots and so +caused an epidemic. + +[19] The name "Bashee," originally applied to the Batan Islands, was +derived from an intoxicating drink of that name made from sugar-cane and +berries. It is still used very liberally, especially on all festal +occasions. When Dampier's ships first touched these shores the _Bashee_ +was highly regarded by these ancient mariners. + +[20] Although we think of Japanese territory as far away from ours, here +it approaches within sixty miles, as I have said, and within twenty-four +miles of Guam the Japanese have lately occupied the former German +islands of the Mariana group. In Bering Straits we are within three +miles of Russian territory. There are two islands, the Diomedes, in the +center of the strait, one of which is owned by Russia and the other by +the United States. We usually consider both Japan and Russia very far +off, but their possessions are in fact almost as near ours as Canada and +Mexico. + +[21] An interesting passage from Worcester describes this Kalinga dance +with more detail: + +"Into the ring steps the hero of the occasion, dressed in his best +clothes, decked with his gaudiest ornaments, and bearing the shield, +lance and head-ax used in the recent fights. Behind him there creeps +along the ground a strange, shrinking figure, clad in soiled garments, +with a dirty cotton blanket pulled over its head. The hero attracts +attention to himself by emitting a squall which resembles nothing so +much as the yell of a puppy when its tail is heavily trodden upon. He +then begins to speak in a monotonous and highly artificial voice, the +tone and cadences of which are strongly suggestive of those of a +Japanese actor. With word and gesture he describes his recent exploit, +using the shrinking figure beside him as a dummy to represent his fallen +foe. When he stops for breath the ganzas strike up again, and when their +clangour ceases he resumes his narrative. After concluding his +pantomimic discussion of his latest exploit, he describes and boasts of +previous achievements. Incidentally he indulges in high stepping and +high jumping and displays deadly skill in the manipulation of his +weapons. The crowd grows even more excited and, during the intervals +while the ganzas are playing, shrieks its approval and shrills its +monotonous war cry. Finally when his voice has grown hoarse and his +muscles are tired, the principal actor retires and another takes his +place. As darkness comes on, a blazing fire is lighted within the cañao +circle. + +"Ultimately the young and vigorous warriors who participated in the +recent fight are succeeded by the old men, who have been kept at home by +the burden of years and infirmities. Strong drink has caused the dying +fire in their veins to flare up for the moment. Each of them has a +history of warlike deeds, which he proceeds to recount. The crowd +already knows his story by heart, and when the forgetfulness of age or +that of intoxication causes him to falter, prompts him and shouts with +laughter at the joke. + +"Gradually the _basi_ begins to exert its stupefying effect; but so long +as the music and dancing, and the shouting continue every one manages to +keep awake. At last, food is passed, and in the interval during which it +is being consumed the liquor gets a fair chance to work. As the east +begins to glow with the coming dawn, men and women fall asleep in their +places, or hasten to their homes, and the cañao ends, for the time being +at least." + +[22] It is not so well known in this country as in the Far East that the +fine code of laws which we have given the Philippines was drafted by our +great statesman, Elihu Root, with the aid of some suggestions from Mr. +Worcester. + +[23] I have taken a few remarks from several speeches. + +[24] The ascent of Mt. Mayon is dangerous except for experienced +mountain climbers. The vista from the summit is said to surpass even the +famous view from Mt. Ætna. + +[25] The Santo Niño of Cebu has a famous rival in the village of +Antipolo where "Our Lady of Peace and Prosperous Voyages" is found. This +image was brought to the Islands in 1626 by the Spanish government. It +is said the Virgin has crossed the Pacific eight times to and from +Mexico and each time "calmed a tempest." + +[26] This great missionary is buried on the island of Sibutu. + +[27] Worcester writes in regard to fishing: "There are barracudas of +seven different species, some of which attain a length of six feet and +weigh a hundred pounds or more. Bonitos of four different species have +been taken, and afford fine sport. Croakers and groupers (locally known +as _lapu-lapu_) are found in great variety. Hardtails and leather-jacks, +commonly called _dorados_, are also very abundant. They take the spoon +freely and fight well. There are also several species of mackerel and +_pampano_, which are excellent table fish; and snappers, of which we +have thirty-four known species. The large red snappers fight well. +Sea-bass of two distinct species are common. Specimens weighing fifty to +seventy-five pounds are frequently seen in the markets. The largest +specimen as yet recorded from the Islands weighed three hundred +thirty-four and a fourth pounds. + +"Swordfish, nine feet or more in length, may be taken during the cooler +months. Tarpons up to five feet in length may be taken at the proper +season, off the mouths of large streams. The species are distinct from +that found in Atlantic waters, and the young take the fly freely. + +"The great, or leaping, tunas are met with in large schools during the +winter months. The natives call them _cachareta_." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and +the Philippines, by Isabel Anderson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41451 *** |