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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42726 ***
+
+                         THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
+
+                                   By
+                            RAMON REYES LALA
+                           A Native of Manila
+
+
+                              Illustrated
+
+
+                               MDCCCXCIX
+
+                     Continental Publishing Company
+                        25 Park Place, New York
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                   TO
+                          REAR-ADMIRAL DEWEY,
+                  WHOSE RECENT GREAT VICTORY OVER THE
+                             SPANISH FLEET
+             HAS BEGUN A NEW ERA OF FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY
+                            FOR MY COUNTRY,
+                                 AND TO
+                          PRESIDENT MCKINLEY,
+                   IN WHOSE HAND LIES THE DESTINY OF
+                      EIGHT MILLIONS OF FILIPINOS,
+                        THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+Preface                                                              23
+
+
+Early History of the Islands.
+
+Discovery and Conquest--Adventures of Juan Sebastian Elcano-Legaspi,
+the first Governor-General--Li-ma-hong, the Chinese Pirate--The Dutch
+appear upon the Scene--The Japanese, and the Martyred Saints      29-48
+
+
+The British Occupation.
+
+General Draper's Expedition--The British demand an Indemnity--Intrigues
+against the British                                               49-56
+
+
+The Spanish Colonial Government.
+
+The Encomiendoros and the Alcaldes--The Present Division and
+Administration--The Taxes and what became of Them--Dilatory and
+Abortive Courts--A New Yorker's Experience                        57-70
+
+
+The Church in the Colony.
+
+Priesthood and the People--Conflicts between Church and State--Clashing
+among the Friars--The Monks opposed to Reform                     71-79
+
+
+The Various Tribes of the Philippines.
+
+Character of the Natives--A Native Wedding--Dress and Manners--The
+Half-Breeds, or Mestizos--Savage Tribes in the Interior: the Aetas,
+or Negritos--The Gaddanes--The Igorrotes--The Igorrote-Chinese--The
+Tinguianes--The Chinese: Hated but Indispensable                 80-106
+
+
+The Mohammedans of Sulu.
+
+Cross or Crescent?--The Sultan's State--The Dreaded Juramentados--The
+Extent of Mohammedan Rule--Sulu Customs                         107-118
+
+
+Manila.
+
+The Old City--Binondo and the Suburbs--Educational and Charitable
+Institutions--The Cathedral and the Governor-General's Palace--The
+Beautiful Luneta; the Sea Boulevard                             119-137
+
+
+Other Important Cities and Towns.
+
+Iloilo; Capital of the Province of Panay--Cebú, a Mecca for many
+Filipinos--General Topography of the Islands                    138-150
+
+
+Natural Beauty of the Archipelago.
+
+A Botanist's Paradise--A Diadem of Island Gems--The Magnificence of
+Tropical Scenery--The Promise of the Future                     151-158
+
+
+A Village Feast.
+
+The Morning Ceremonies--How the Afternoon is Spent--The Evening
+Procession--The Entertainment at Home--The Moro-Moro and the
+Fire-works                                                      159-173
+
+
+History of Commerce in the Philippines.
+
+The Spanish Policy--The Treasure-Galleons--Disasters to Spanish
+Commerce--Other Nations enter into Competition--Fraud and
+Speculation--The Merchants of Cádiz--Royal Restrictions on
+Trade                                                           174-187
+
+
+Commerce During the Present Century.
+
+The Royal Company--The Restrictions are gradually Abolished--Vexatious
+Duties on Foreign Imports--Duties made Uniform--Spanish Opposition
+to Foreign Trade--Trade with the Natives--The Decline of American
+Trade--Recent Measures and Statistics--Bad Results of Spanish
+Rule                                                            188-198
+
+
+Agriculture: The Sugar and Rice Crops.
+
+Agriculture, the Chief Industry--The Principal Products of the
+Colony--The Cultivation of Sugar-cane--Methods of Manufacturing
+Sugar--The Several Systems of Labor--The Rice Crop--Methods of
+Rice-Cultivation--Primitive Machines, and Importance of the Rice
+Crop                                                            199-213
+
+
+The Hemp Plant and its Uses.
+
+Description of the Abacá--The Process of Manufacture--Some Facts
+about Hemp-growing--Difficulties with Native Labor--Tricks of the
+Natives--Competition with Other Lands--Experience of a Planter--What
+the Hemp is used for                                            214-226
+
+
+Culture and Use of Tobacco.
+
+The Cultivation of Tobacco, a State Monopoly--Oppressive Conditions
+in Luzon--How Speculators take Advantage of the Natives--The Quality
+of Manila Tobacco--Methods of Preparing the Tobacco Leaf--Smoking,
+a Universal Habit                                               227-236
+
+
+The Cultivation of Coffee.
+
+The Origin of the Industry--Indifference of
+Coffee-planters--Speculation in Coffee--Methods of Cultivation--Harsh
+Methods of the Government                                       237-242
+
+
+Betel-Nut, Grain, and Fruit-Growing.
+
+The Areca Palm and the Betel Nut--The Nipa Palm and Nipa Wine--Various
+Fruits of the Islands--Cereals and Vegetables--Cotton and Indigo
+Planting--The Cocoa Industry--The Traffic in Birds' Nests      243-250
+
+
+Useful Woods and Plants.
+
+The Huge Forests--The Bamboo Plant and its Uses--The Bejuco Rope--The
+Useful Cocoanut Palm--Oppressive Regulations of the Government--The
+Early Missionaries Beneficial to the Natives                    251-259
+
+
+Mineral Wealth of the Islands.
+
+Early Search for Gold--The Mining Laws and Methods of the Colony--Where
+the Precious Metal is Found--The Whole Country a Virgin Mine--Precious
+Stones and Iron--Peculiar Method of Mining Copper--Other Materials
+and the Coal Fields,                                            260-272
+
+
+Animal Life in the Colony.
+
+The Useful Buffalo, and Other Domestic Animals--Reptiles, Bats, and
+Insects--A Field for the Sportsman--The Locust Scourge--The Chief
+Nuisances: Mosquitoes and Ants                                  273-283
+
+
+Struggle of the Filipinos for Liberty.
+
+Early Insurrections Against the Spaniards--The Burgos Revolt--The
+Present Rebellion--The Katipunan--The Black Hole of Manila--The
+Forbearance of the Natives--The Rebel Army--The Tagál Republic
+Proclaimed--Treachery of the Spaniards--Dr José Rizal and his wife
+Josephine--Execution of Rizal--The Philippine Joan of Arc--Rizal's
+Farewell Poem--Aguinaldo Confers with Admiral Dewey--Aguinaldo as
+Dictator: His Proclamations--Triumphant Progress of the Rebels--The
+Spaniards Fortify Manila--Sketch of Aguinaldo                   284-309
+
+
+Dewey at Manila.
+
+The White Squadron--Declaration of War, and Journey to the
+Philippines--Luzon Sighted, and Preparations for Battle--The Fleet
+Sails by Corregidor--First Shot of the War--The Spanish Fleet is
+Sighted--Dewey Attacks the Enemy--The Fate of the Reina Cristina--The
+Commodore Pipes all Hands to Breakfast--The Americans Renew the
+Battle--The Yankees are Victorious                              310-325
+
+
+The American Occupation.
+
+Merritt and the Expedition--The Battle of Malate--Capture of
+Manila--Capitulation of the Philippines--Awaiting the Peace
+Commission--Instructions to Merritt                             326-342
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+The absolute present necessity for accurate information by the people
+of the United States respecting the Philippines has been met in no
+more satisfactory manner than by this book.
+
+The author, Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala, is a Filipino and was born
+in Manila. His collegiate education was completed in England and
+Switzerland. A long sojourn in Europe has instructed him in European
+thought, tendencies, and methods. He has lived in the United States
+for many years, and has become, by naturalization, a citizen of
+this country.
+
+He collected the historical material for this work largely from the
+Spanish archives in Manila before the last rising of the people of
+Luzon in rebellion against Spain. His mastery of the English language
+is that of the thorough scholar. His qualifications for his work
+are those of the student, trained by many studies. He possesses
+by nativity the gift, incommunicable to any alien, of giving a
+true color and duly proportioned form to his delineations of his
+own people. These endowments have enabled him to produce a work of
+striking and permanent value.
+
+The most meritorious feature of Mr. Lala's book is unquestionably
+its impartiality of statement and judgment. This is particularly
+apparent in his descriptions of the moral and intellectual character
+of his countrymen. No defect is extenuated, nor is there any patriotic
+exaggeration of merits. The capacities and limitations of the Filipinos
+are plainly and photographically depicted. The difficulties and
+the facilities of their political control by the United States are
+weighed in a just balance by the reader himself in considering these
+portrayals of national character.
+
+This colorless truth of statement appears not alone in Mr. Lala's
+special descriptions of the character of his people. It is also
+manifest, as it is incidentally displayed, in his many expositions of
+the systems and methods of labor, of social usages, of domestic life,
+of civil administration, of military capacity, of popular amusements
+and of religious faith. The result is that he has communicated to
+the reader an unusually distinct conception of national and ethnic
+character. This is always a very difficult task. The most graphic
+portrayal in this respect most commonly enables the reader merely to
+perceive indistinctly, but not clearly to see.
+
+The book is of a most practical character. Its statements of commercial
+history and methods, and of past and present business and industrial
+conditions, are most satisfactory. Such an exposition is at this time
+most indispensably needed. Everybody knows, in a general way, that the
+Philippine Islands produce sugar, rice, hemp, tobacco, coffee, and
+many other agricultural staples, and that they are rich in minerals
+and valuable woods. But heretofore it has been very difficult to
+obtain specific information upon these subjects. Mr. Lala has given
+this information. The practical man, the farmer, the manufacturer, the
+merchant, the miner is here informed concerning resources, methods,
+prices, labor, wages, profits, and roads. While this information is
+not technical, it is instructively full and is evidently reliable.
+
+The descriptions of the processes of cultivating and preparing hemp,
+sugar, coffee, rice, and tobacco, and the suggestions of the ways
+by which these methods can be easily improved, and the products made
+more profitable, are, in every way, most satisfactory.
+
+The Philippines began to come under European control with the
+administration of Legaspi, the first Governor-General, in 1565,
+long before the English had colonized any portion of North America.
+
+For about three hundred and fifty years the Spanish system has been
+in contrast with that of every other colonizing nation. It has been
+worse than the worst of any of these. While there is no elaborate
+contrast of these systems in Mr. Lala's book, he nevertheless
+depicts so thoroughly the manifold and inveterate rapacity, cruelty,
+corruption, and imbecility of Spanish colonial administration, that he
+also discloses the vast possibilities of the better contrasted systems.
+
+No war was ever yet waged in the interests of humanity, as the war
+against Spain unquestionably was, that did not produce consequences
+entirely unforeseen at its beginning. This truth was never more
+convincingly confirmed than by the war just ended. The United States
+demanded the evacuation by Spain of Cuba and Cuban waters. Compliance
+by Spain would have limited the consequences to the evacuation. She
+did not comply. She chose the arbitrament of war, and the result was
+her extirpation from her insular possessions in the West Indies and
+the Philippines.
+
+This providential and revolutionary event imposed upon the United
+States duties unforeseen, but none the less imperious. As to the
+Philippines, those duties are complicated by the irresistible
+tendencies which seem to make certain the dismemberment of China,
+and the subjection of that immemorial empire to all the influences of
+Western civilization. This is an event not inferior in importance to
+the discovery of America by Columbus, and the interest of the United
+States in its consequences is of incalculable importance. With this
+interest its relations to the Philippines is inseparably connected,
+and those relations present for consideration policies which disenchant
+the situation of all idealism and make it intensely practical. To this
+possible result the war waged against the United States by Aguinaldo
+and his followers has decisively contributed.
+
+But, in any event, whatever the relations of the United States to the
+Philippines may finally become, the book of Mr. Lala will undoubtedly
+influence and assist the considerate judgment of those whose duty shall
+call them to determine the momentous questions which are now enforcing
+themselves for solution upon the attention of the American people.
+
+
+    Cushman K. Davis
+
+    Washington, March 22d, 1899.
+
+
+[Cushman Kellogg Davis, U. S. Senate, Minnesota, 1887 to ----; Chairman
+Committee on Foreign Relations; Member of the Commission that met at
+Paris, September 1898, to arrange terms of peace between the United
+States and Spain.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+About twenty years ago, when a student at St. John's College, London,
+I was frequently asked by people I met in society for information
+regarding the Philippines and the Filipinos. Many also, who showed
+considerable interest, and who wished, for various reasons, to carry
+their investigations further, complained that there was in English no
+good book on the subject. Afterward, when I continued my studies at
+a French college in Neûchatel, Switzerland, I met with many similar
+inquiries, and here too in America I found demand for a comprehensive,
+reliable work upon my country.
+
+But it was not until I had traveled considerably through Europe,
+studying the history of the various States and peoples, that the
+idea of writing a history of my own fatherland occurred to me. It was
+mortifying then to think that the glories of my native land were no
+better known. Accordingly, I resolved to become the chronicler, and I
+began at once to collect material for a work on the Philippines, that
+should, I trusted, be deemed a permanent contribution to historical
+literature.
+
+Upon my return to Manila from Europe, I immediately began a study of
+the Colonial archives in the office of the Governor-General. From
+these I gathered many valuable data about the early history of the
+colony, and also much information that would be locked to the curious
+traveler. And on account of my knowledge of Spanish, and because of my
+friendship with the Governor-General Moriones, I was enabled to do this
+thoroughly. Thus I gradually laid the foundation for the present work.
+
+When, a few years later,--in 1887,--because of my sympathy with the
+rising cause of the insurgents, Spanish tyrants banished me from
+my country and my kindred, I carried away all the manuscripts I had
+already written, resolved to finish the task I had set before me amid
+a more congenial environment.
+
+I came to the United States. Of this country I, in due time, became
+a citizen. However, I kept up my relations with friends in Manila;
+for I still felt an interest in the fate of my native land. Though I
+have since revisited the Orient, I preferred to retain my American
+citizenship, rather than again put myself under the iron yoke of
+Spain. I have, nevertheless, kept pace with the march of events in
+the colony, and had, indeed, about completed my history when Dewey's
+grand victory denoted a new era for the Filipinos, and, hence, made
+the addition of several chapters necessary. I have thus added much
+of supreme interest to Americans; bringing the book to the capture
+of Manila by the American forces.
+
+My acquaintance with the leading insurgents,--Rizal, Aguinaldo,
+Agoncillo, the Lunas, and others,--has also enabled me to speak with
+authority about them and the cause for which they have fought.
+
+In writing this work I have consulted all previous historians,
+the old Spanish chroniclers, Gaspar de San Agustin, Juan de la
+Concepcion, Martinez Zuñiga, Bowring, Foreman, and various treatises,
+anthropological and historical, in French, Spanish, and English.
+
+To all these writers I am indebted for many valuable facts.
+
+It has been my aim to give--rather than a long, detailed account--a
+concise, but true, comprehensive, and interesting history of the
+Philippine Islands; one, too, covering every phase of the subject,
+and giving also every important fact.
+
+And my animating spirit of loyalty for my own countrymen makes me
+feel that I cannot more clearly and fully manifest my affection for
+them and my native land than by writing this book.
+
+Many of the pictures are photographs taken by myself. The rest were
+selected from a great number of others, that were accessible, as
+being most typical of Philippine life and scenery.
+
+The student of history, and he that would learn something about the
+customs of the people, and the natural resources of the country, may,
+I trust, find the perusal of this work not without profit and interest.
+
+I desire to attest here my gratitude for the many courtesies shown me,
+and for the hearty manner in which I have been received, in this great,
+free country.
+
+Everywhere it was the same.
+
+And I would say to all loyal, ardent Filipinos, that I believe that
+they eventually will not regret the day when Commodore Dewey sundered
+the galling chains of Spanish dominance, and when General Merritt,
+later, hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the Archipelago.
+
+They will, rather, most surely live to recognize and appreciate
+the unsullied manifold advantages and benefits incident to American
+occupation and to a close contact with this honest, vigorous type
+of manhood.
+
+
+    The Author.
+
+    New York December, 1898.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+EARLY HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS.
+
+
+Discovery and Conquest.
+
+When Magellan in the spring of 1521 took formal possession of Mindanao,
+one of the largest of the Philippine group, he was surrounded
+by crowds of the curious brown-skinned natives of that island;
+with sensations of awe, they watched their strange white visitors,
+believing them to be angels of light. It was Easter-week, and the
+Spanish discoverers, with all the ritualistic splendor of the mass,
+dedicated the newly-found islands to God and the Church.
+
+The natives, too, manifested great friendliness to the tempest-tossed
+mariners. Indeed, one of their most prominent chieftains himself
+piloted the exploring party to Cebú, where thousands of natives,
+arrayed in all the barbarous paraphernalia of savagery, stood on the
+beach, and, with their spears and shields, menaced the strangers.
+
+The Mindanao chieftain, who had acted as pilot, thereupon went on
+shore and volunteered an explanation: these strange voyagers were
+seeking rest and provisions, having been many weary months away from
+their own country.
+
+A treaty of amity was then ratified according to their native custom,
+each party thereto simultaneously drawing and drinking blood from the
+breast of the other. Magellan then caused a rude chapel to be built
+on this new and hospitable shore, and here the natives witnessed
+the first rites of that Church that, within a century, extended its
+oppressive sway from one end of the Archipelago to the other.
+
+The King and Queen of the natives were soon persuaded to accept the
+rite of baptism. This they seemed to enjoy greatly. To persuade the
+good-natured savages to take the oath of allegiance to the King of
+far-away Spain was but a step farther. One ceremony was probably as
+intelligible to them as the other; and thus the first two links in
+the fetters of the Filipinos had been forged.
+
+With characteristic arrogance the Spaniards henceforth conducted
+themselves as the rightful masters of both the confiding natives and
+their opulent country.
+
+It appears, now, that the natives of Cebú were engaged in war with
+another tribe on the island of Magtan. The adventurous Magellan,
+beholding an opportunity for conquest, and, perhaps, for profit,
+accompanied his allies into battle, where he was mortally wounded by
+an arrow.
+
+Thus perished the brave and brilliant discoverer, in the very bloom
+of life, when both fame and fortune seemed to have laid their most
+precious offerings at his feet.
+
+Posterity has erected a monument on the very spot where this hero was
+slain. Cebú also boasts an obelisk that commemorates the discovery;
+while on the left bank of the Pasig river, Manila, stands another
+testimonial to the splendid achievements of the intrepid Magellan.
+
+Duarte de Barbosa was now chosen leader of the expedition, and he,
+with twenty-six companions, was invited to a banquet by Hamabar,
+the King of the island. In the midst of the royal festivities the
+Spaniards were treacherously murdered. Juan Serrano alone--so the old
+chronicles relate--was spared. He had, in some way, secured the favor
+of the natives, and now, stripped of his clothing and his armor, he
+was made to walk up and down the beach, in full view of his companions
+on board the ships.
+
+For his person the natives shrewdly demanded a ransom of two of the
+Spanish cannon. A consultation was held among the Spaniards, and it
+was decided that it was better that one should perish than that the
+lives of all be jeoparded. And so Serrano was left to his fate.
+
+
+
+
+Adventures of Juan Sebastian Elcano.
+
+Reduced, at last, to about 100 men and two ships, the Spaniards decided
+to return home. The captain of one of these--of the Victoria--was
+Juan Sebastian Elcano. This gallant sailor, after losing many brave
+companions and meeting many thrilling adventures, at last brought
+his ship safely to a Spanish port--three years after he had embarked,
+en route to the Moluccas, under his first commander, the unfortunate
+Magellan.
+
+When Elcano and his seventeen companions landed in Spain, they were
+mere skeletons, so reduced were they by hunger and disease. Everywhere
+they were received with acclamations of joy, and upon their arrival
+in Seville they straightway proceeded to the Cathedral, where, amid
+grand Te Deums, they gave thanks to God for their return.
+
+It must, indeed, have been a strange sight to see this remnant, these
+gaunt survivors of the splendid company of adventurers that had left
+that city but three years before,--flaming with zeal for the spread
+of the Church, and glowing in the desire of conquest,--these few
+half-starved wretches, now walking barefooted, with lighted candles,
+through the streets,--all that was left of that eager throng.
+
+And yet, pitiable as they were, they must have been conscious of
+an achievement that meant glory for their country and immortality
+for themselves.
+
+Nor were they unrewarded. All received food and money, and Elcano,
+the leader, was voted a life-pension of 500 ducats; and, in token of
+his great accomplishment in having first circumnavigated the globe,
+the King knighted him, awarding him, as his escutcheon, a globe with
+the motto: "Primus circundedit me."
+
+The cargo of the Victoria consisted of 26-1/2 tons of cloves and other
+spices: cinnamon, sandalwood, nutmegs, and so forth. It is said that
+one of the Tidor islanders, brought back with the expedition, who
+was presented to the King, was never permitted to return to his home,
+because he had committed the blunder of making inquiry regarding the
+value of spices in the Spanish markets.
+
+The Trinidad, the other vessel of this remarkable expedition, after
+many terrible hardships, fell into the hands of the Portuguese, who
+sent the survivors to Lisbon. They reached that port five years after
+their departure with Magellan.
+
+The enthusiasm of the Spanish monarch and his subjects on account of
+these remarkable discoveries was unbounded. Other expeditions to the
+islands were soon fitted out. One, under the leadership of Ruy Lopez
+de Villalobos, gave to them the name of the Philippine Islands. This
+was in honor of Philip, Prince of Austria, the son of King Charles I.,
+heir-apparent to the throne of Castile; to which, in 1555, upon the
+abdication of his father, he succeeded as Philip II.
+
+This bigot, convinced by his religious advisers of the importance of
+winning the newly-discovered islands for the Church, caused another
+expedition to be fitted out from Navidad, in the South Sea.
+
+
+
+
+Legaspi, the First Governor-General.
+
+Accordingly, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, a well-known Basque navigator,
+of great piety, and with a reputation for probity and ability, set
+out with four ships and one frigate, all well armed and carrying
+800 soldiers and sailors. Six priests also accompanied them. One was
+Urdaneta, who had formerly sailed as a captain to the Moluccas. The
+avowed object of the expedition was to subjugate and to Christianize
+the benighted natives of those islands.
+
+After a propitious voyage, not without incident, General Legaspi
+resolved to cast anchor at Cebú, a safe port. On the way the ships
+stopped at the port of Dapitan, on the island of Mindanao. Prince
+Pagbuaya, the ruler of this island, was so astonished at the sight
+of these large ships off the coast of his country, that he commanded
+one of his subjects, who had some reputation for boldness, to observe
+their movements and to report his observations.
+
+He did. They were manned, he said, by enormous men with long,
+pointed noses; that these strange beings were dressed in fine robes,
+and actually ate stones (hard sea-biscuits); most wonderful of all,
+they drank fire, and blew smoke out of their mouths and through their
+nostrils--referring, of course, to their drinking and smoking. He also
+said that they could command the thunder and the lightning--meaning
+their fire-arms;--that their proud bearing, their bearded faces,
+and splendid attire, moreover, surely proclaimed them to be gods.
+
+Having heard this report, the Prince, accordingly, thought it not
+unwise to treat with these wonderful beings. Legaspi not only succeeded
+in obtaining provisions--in barter for European wares--from this chief,
+but he also obtained much useful information about his destination,
+Cebú. He learnt that it was considered a powerful kingdom, whose
+greatness was much feared by other States, and that its port was not
+only safe, but also favorably situated.
+
+The General, therefore, determined to annex it to the Crown of
+Castile at the earliest opportunity. He landed at Cebú April 27th,
+1565, and immediately began negotiations with the natives.
+
+These, however, remembering their successful resistance to
+Magellan's party but a generation before, opposed every advance of
+the Spaniards. The latter, notwithstanding, finally took possession of
+the town, and sacked it; but for months they were so harassed by the
+chief and his subjects that they were several times on the point of
+retiring. Legaspi, however, decided to remain, and the natives, growing
+accustomed to their presence, gradually yielded to the new order of
+things; and thus the first step in the conquest of the islands was
+made. The people were declared Spanish subjects. Happy at his success,
+Legaspi determined to send the news at once to Spain. Urdaneta was
+therefore commissioned to bear the despatches. In due time he arrived
+at his destination.
+
+Legaspi, meanwhile, steadily and successfully pursued the conquest
+of Cebú and surrounding islands. He succeeded most admirably also in
+winning the confidence of the natives. Their dethroned King Tupas
+was baptized, and his daughter married one of the Spaniards. Other
+alliances also were made, which bound the two races together.
+
+The Portuguese, the natural enemies of Spanish exploration and
+conquest, now appeared on the scene and attempted, in vain, to dispute
+the possession of the successful invaders. The Spaniards then built
+a fort, and plots of land were marked out for the building of houses
+for the colonists. In 1570 Cebú was declared a city, and Legaspi, by
+special grant from the King, received the title of Governor-General
+of all the lands that he might be so fortunate as to conquer.
+
+Soon afterward, Captain Juan Saicedo, Legaspi's grandson, was sent
+to the island of Luzon to reconnoiter the territory and to bring
+it into subjection to Spain. Martin de Goiti and a few soldiers
+accompanied him. They were well received by the various chiefs they
+visited. Among these were King Lacandola, the Rajah of Tondo, and
+his nephew, the stern young Rajah Soliman, of Manila. Intimidated by
+the countenances of the warlike-looking foreigners, and awed by the
+mysterious symbols of their priests, these superstitious chiefs agreed
+forever, for no consideration, and without reservation, to yield up
+their independence, to pay tribute, and to aid in the subjugation
+of their own countrymen. A treaty of peace having been made, the
+Spaniards acted as if they were the natural owners of the soil.
+
+Young Soliman, however, soon found occasion to demonstrate that he,
+at least, had no intention of carrying out his part of this enforced
+contract. He sowed the seeds of insurrection broadcast among the
+various surrounding tribes, and not only carried on an offensive
+warfare against the invaders, but set fire to his capital, Manila,
+that it might not become the spoil of the invaders. Soliman and his
+little army were put to flight by Salcedo, who generously pardoned the
+young chief upon his again swearing fealty to the King of Spain. Then,
+while Goiti with his forces remained in the vicinity of Manila, Salcedo
+pursued his adventurous way as far as the Taal district. All the
+country of the Batangas province was also subdued by him. About this
+time Salcedo himself, severely wounded by an arrow, returned to Manila.
+
+Legaspi being informed of the occurrences in Luzon, soon joined
+Salcedo at Cavité, where chief Lacondola gave his submission. Legaspi,
+continuing his journey to Manila, was there received with much pomp and
+acclamation. He not only took formal possession of all the surrounding
+territory, but also declared Manila to be the capital of the whole
+Archipelago. He next publicly proclaimed the sovereignty of the King
+of Spain over all the islands.
+
+Speaking of this period, the old chronicler, Gaspar de San Agustin,
+says: "He (Legaspi) ordered them (the natives) to finish the building
+of the fort in construction at the mouth of the river (Pasig),
+so that His Majesty's artillery might be mounted therein for the
+defense of the port and the town. He also ordered them to build a
+large house inside the battlement walls for Legaspi's own residence,
+and another large house and church for the priests.
+
+"Besides building these two large houses, he told them to erect 150
+dwellings of moderate size for the remainder of the Spaniards to live
+in. All this they promptly promised to do; but they did not obey;
+for the Spaniards were themselves obliged to complete the work of
+the fortifications."
+
+The City Council of Manila was constituted on the 24th June,
+1571. On the 20th of August of the following year Miguel Lopez de
+Legaspi died. His was a most eventful, arduous life. His career was
+honorable, and he occupied a prominent place in the colonial history
+of his country. He was buried in the Augustine chapel of San Fausto
+in Manila, where his royal standard and armorial bearings hung until
+the occupation of the city by the British in 1763.
+
+
+
+
+Li-ma-hong, the Chinese Pirate.
+
+Guido de Lavezares succeeded Legaspi as Governor of the islands,
+and had not long taken possession when he had to defend them against
+the assaults of the celebrated Chinese corsair, Li-ma-hong.
+
+This redoubtable Celestial had early shown a martial spirit, and
+became a member of a band of pirates that for many years infested
+the seas. Here he so distinguished himself by his prowess and cruelty
+that, upon the death of the leader, he was at once elected chief of
+the buccaneers. At length this Celestial Viking essayed an attack
+on the Philippines. It is said that he first heard of the remarkable
+wealth of the islands from the crew of a Chinese merchantman returning
+from Manila. After committing a few depredations along the coast,
+this Captain Kidd of the Chinese Main appeared before Manila on the
+29th of November, 1594, with a fleet of 62 armed junks, manned by
+more than 2,000 sailors. Twenty-five hundred soldiers were also on
+board for effective warfare, and more than 2,000 Chinese artisans and
+women, with which he intended to found the colony that was to be the
+capital of his new Empire.
+
+So secret was the landing of the Chinese, and so sudden was their
+attack, that they were already within the gates of the city before
+the Spaniards knew that they were at hand.
+
+Martin de Goiti, second in command to the Governor, was the first to
+receive their attack; and, after a brave defense, he was killed with
+many of his soldiers. The flames from his burning residence gave the
+Governor himself his first intimation of the enemy's presence. Flushed
+with success, Sioco, the Japanese leader of the buccaneers, then
+stormed the Fort of Santiago, where many Spanish soldiers had taken
+refuge. A small body of fresh troops coming to the aid of the besieged,
+the Chinese, after considerable loss, retreated, fearing that other
+reinforcements might follow and cut off their return to the ships.
+
+It was now reported that Li-ma-hong himself, who, with the greater
+part of his force, was at Cavité, would lead the next assault. The
+inhabitants of Manila, therefore, awaited him in great terror.
+
+Fortunately, however, that intrepid warrior, Juan Salcedo, fresh from
+his conquests in the north, now came to the city's aid. Just about
+sunrise on the 3d of December the Chinese squadron again appeared
+in the bay near the capital. The Celestials disembarked, and, it is
+said, their leader, in an eloquent speech, incited his followers to
+the assault, with glowing promises of plunder.
+
+Meantime, while the Chinese were forming into battle-line, within the
+walls of the city the drums and the trumpets of the Spaniards kept
+up an inspiring din, and all that were able to bear arms hastened
+to the defense. It was an important moment in the history of the
+colony,--an hour big with fate; for the coming battle would decide
+for either European or Asiatic domination.
+
+Again Li-ma-hong chose his trusted lieutenant to lead the attack;
+and fifteen hundred picked troops, armed to the teeth, followed him,
+swearing to take the fort or leave their corpses as a testimonial to
+their valor.
+
+The city was then set on fire in several places, and in three divisions
+the Chinese advanced to the attack, Li-ma-hong himself from the outside
+supporting them with a well-directed cannonade against the walls.
+
+After a spirited assault, Sioco succeeded in entering the fort,
+and here a bloody hand-to-hand conflict took place. Again and again
+the Spaniards forced their fierce assailants over the walls; again
+and again the Chinese poured into the breaches, while the trembling
+non-combatants within the city awaited the result in agonized suspense.
+
+Salcedo was at the front and everywhere. Time and again, with
+indomitable courage, he rallied his men; and splendidly did they
+respond to his magnificent leadership. The old Governor himself was
+at the front, shouting encouragement; and many prominent citizens also
+distinguished themselves by feats of remarkable heroism. The Chinese,
+once more, gathering their shattered numbers together, plunged into
+the ranks of their enemies, and it was not until after the loss of
+their daring leader that the few that remained turned their repulse
+into a disorderly flight, and Manila and the Philippines were saved
+to Spain and America. Salcedo now eagerly took the offensive and
+pursued the panic-stricken fugitives back to their ships, killing
+great numbers on the way.
+
+In vain Li-ma-hong tried to regain his advantage. Troop after troop
+were sent ashore, only to join the rout and return confused and
+disorganized back to the fleet. The Spaniards had conquered.
+
+Li-ma-hong, nevertheless, was determined to found his Empire and to
+set up his capital in another part of the islands--in the province of
+Pangasinan. Salcedo was accordingly despatched against him, but was
+unable to dislodge him. Hearing, however, that the Chinese Emperor
+also was about to send an expedition against him, the wily pirate
+secretly departed, leaving his Spanish enemies not at all displeased
+at being thus cheaply rid of his presence.
+
+The friars, ever on the lookout for their own interests, attributed
+their deliverance to the aid of St. Andrew. He, therefore, was declared
+the Patron Saint of Manila--high mass in his honor being celebrated
+at 8 A. M. in the Cathedral every 30th of November.
+
+The old chroniclers relate that some of the native chiefs took
+advantage of the disturbance to foment a rebellion against their
+Spanish conquerors; but all other disturbances were speedily quelled.
+
+Civil disturbances, civil conflicts, now followed in the wake of these
+struggles against foreign aggression and domestic insurrection. In
+these internal dissensions, all branches of the Government took
+part. It was the Governor-General against the Supreme Court, the
+Supreme Court against the Clergy, the Clergy against All.
+
+The Governor was censured for alleged undue exercise of arbitrary
+authority. The Supreme Court, patterned after the one in Mexico, was
+also accused of seeking to overstep the limits of its functions. Every
+law was reduced to the practise of a quibble, every quibble was
+administered with a dilatoriness that was destructive not only to all
+legitimate industry, but also to the encouragement and maintenance of
+order. To make matters even worse, the clergy, with their pretense
+of immunity from all State-control, interfered in all matters that
+promised profit. Indeed, there were few things out of which these
+wily friars were unable to extract a generous tithe.
+
+
+
+
+The Dutch Appear upon the Scene.
+
+The Chinese pirate had been taught a severe lesson, and had
+departed. The memory of his ravages, however, was still fresh in the
+minds of his conquerors when other buccaneers, far mere formidable
+and dangerous, appeared in the waters of the Philippines, threatening
+the peace and safety of the colonists.
+
+Kindling with a desire for vengeance on their ancient foes the
+Spaniards, and flaming with greed for the richly-freighted Spanish
+argosies, the Dutch made repeated sallies from their secure retreat
+in the Moluccas, spreading terror in their wake. The galleons full of
+silver from Mexico, the ships laden with the comforts and luxuries
+of far-away Spain, fell a delightful prey into the hands of these
+remorseless freebooters, that never gave nor asked quarter. Many were
+the conflicts with these ruthless invaders, and many a rich prize did
+they tow away from the Philippine waters, while the angry Spaniards
+on shore stood transfixed,--in helpless misery.
+
+Millions of dollars intended for the salaries of the Government
+officials and the troops, were thus stolen, and though the colonists
+were often victorious, yet the enemy, with characteristic Dutch
+audacity, refused to be defeated; in fact, he invariably reappeared
+with a new demonstration of bloody rapacity.
+
+Upon one occasion a Dutch squadron anchored at the entrance of
+Manila Bay. It remained several months, seizing from time to time
+the merchantmen on their way to the Manila market. It thus secured
+an immense booty; its presence, too, becoming extremely prejudicial
+to trade and to the interests of the colony.
+
+Juan de Silva, the Governor, therefore began to prepare an armament to
+drive these freebooters from the bay. One night he dreamt that St. Mark
+had offered to help him. Awaking, he consulted a priest about his
+dream, who interpreted it to be an omen of victory. On St. Mark's day,
+accordingly, the Spaniards sallied forth to meet their hereditary foe;
+they sailed from Cavité with ten ships, carrying twenty guns. Over
+1,000 Europeans and a large number of natives manned this fleet,
+the latter being religiously told that the Dutch were infidels, and,
+therefore, deserved extermination.
+
+Once more the possession of the colony was to be decided. This
+time the conflict was to be between two rival nations from the same
+continent,--between Protestant and Catholic. The clergy, hence, were
+keenly alive to its importance: mass was said in all the churches,
+bells were tolled, and images of the Patron Saints of the colony were
+daily paraded through the streets.
+
+The Governor himself took command, and incited his followers to martial
+order by proclaiming St. Mark's promised intercession. From his ship
+he unfurled the royal standard,--on which the image of the Virgin was
+conspicuously embroidered,--to give encouragement to the eyes of the
+faithful. He then gave the signal for the advance, and they swiftly
+bore down upon the enemy. The Dutch were quietly awaiting the attack,
+and the conflict was fierce and sanguinary. It was a calm, beautiful
+day; but the calmness soon gave place to the thundering turbulence
+of battle, and the beauty soon became the ugliness of war.
+
+The contest lasted about six hours, and the Dutch, unable longer to
+cope against odds so overwhelming, were finally vanquished; their
+three ships were destroyed, and their flags, artillery, and plundered
+merchandise to the value of $300,000 were seized.
+
+This important struggle is known in the history of the islands as
+the battle of Playa Honda. Had it ended otherwise, it is probable
+that the Philippines would have been for the Dutch another Java,
+and a most interesting problem would not have sought solution at the
+hands of the American people.
+
+Several other engagements with the Dutch occurred at different times;
+first one, then the other side being victorious. And thus for over a
+century the contest continued, until by the Peace of Westphalia, in
+1648, Holland's independence was fully established, her impoverished
+and weakened foe being forced to a tardy recognition of what had been
+an obstinate fact for many years.
+
+
+
+
+The Japanese, and the Martyred Saints.
+
+The struggling colony was menaced by yet another foe. Early commercial
+relations had been entered into with the Japanese, who had established
+one or two trading-settlements in different parts of Luzon. It was
+not long, therefore, before the news of the Spanish occupation of
+the Philippines reached the Emperor of Japan. Accordingly, in 1593,
+he sent an ultimatum to the Governor-General, demanding his surrender,
+and that he acknowledge him as his liege lord.
+
+The Japanese Ambassador, Farranda Kiemon, was received with great
+honor, and treated with all the deference due to a royal envoy: the
+colonists were not yet strong enough to manifest a high degree of
+independence when threatened by so powerful a foe. So the Governor
+prudently resorted to diplomacy. He replied, that, being but a vassal
+of the King of Spain, a most powerful and opulent sovereign, he was
+prevented from giving homage to any other monarch; that his first duty,
+naturally, was to defend the colony against invasion; that he should,
+however, be happy to make a Treaty of Commerce with His Majesty,
+and would, accordingly, send several envoys to his capital to treat
+concerning the same.
+
+This done, it is related, the Spaniards were received in great
+state. The treaty was then adjusted to the satisfaction of both
+parties.
+
+Unfortunately, however, these envoys, returning homeward, were drowned,
+and shortly afterward two religious embassies were sent to Japan to
+renew the treaty and to convert the benighted inhabitants of that
+country to God and the true Church. After thirty days, sailing they
+arrived at their destination. The friar Pedro Bautista, chief of the
+embassy, was now presented to the Emperor Taycosama, and the treaty
+was renewed. The most important feature of this agreement was the
+permission to build a chapel at Meaco, near Osaka. This was opened
+with ceremonial pomp in 1594.
+
+Now the chief of the Jesuits--the sect were by royal favor allowed to
+follow their calling among the Portuguese traders in Nagasaki--bitterly
+opposed what he deemed the exclusive right of his order, conceded by
+Pope Gregory XIII., and confirmed by Imperial decree.
+
+The Portuguese traders, foreseeing that the arrival of Bautista and his
+priests was but a prelude to Spanish domination,--when they, naturally,
+would be the sufferers,--forewarned the Governor of Nagasaki.
+
+The Emperor was alarmed; for he now also became convinced that the
+Philippine Ambassadors were actuated to missionary zeal by ulterior
+motives; and, fearing that the priests, by their doctrines, might
+pollute the fountain of his ancient religion,--thus paving the way for
+their domination and his own ultimate ruin,--he at once commanded
+that all attempts to convert the natives must cease. Bautista,
+in holy zeal, not heeding the Imperial injunction, was expelled,
+and retired to Luzon, leaving several of his embassy behind. Some of
+these also, obstinately persisting in violating the Imperial mandate,
+were arrested and imprisoned.
+
+Upon his arrival in Manila, Bautista fitted out another expedition,
+and soon again landed in Japan with a company of Franciscans.
+
+The indignant Emperor, convinced of the duplicity of the Spaniards,
+caused them to be seized and cast into prison. A few natives, who had
+forsaken the religion of their forefathers for the discord-breeding
+doctrines of the foreigners, were also apprehended. All--twenty-six in
+number--were then condemned to death. After their ears and noses had
+been cut off, they were exhibited in various towns, as a warning to
+the other foreigners and to the populace. Upon the breast of each hung
+a board, that announced the sentence of the wearer and the reasons
+for his punishment. They were then crucified, and, after lingering
+for several hours in great agony, were speared to death.
+
+The colony was much perturbed when the news of the sad fate of the
+zealous Franciscans reached Manila. Special masses were said, and
+processions of monks daily paraded through the streets.
+
+The Governor was finally prevailed on to send a deputation to
+Japan for the bodies of the executed priests; for the relics of
+these martyrs were fraught with too many possibilities of profit to
+their co-religionists to be left in a foreign country in ignominious
+sepulture. It is related, also, that these envoys were entertained
+most royally, and the Emperor gave them a long letter to the Governor,
+justifying with many reasons the late execution and his vigorous
+policy. It seems, however, that the relics were lost on the homeward
+voyage. Notwithstanding, many priests soon ventured to Japan, to
+court a martyr's doom and to furnish relics for the adoration of
+their superstitious countrymen. Hence, it is not surprising that a
+great many other similar executions afterward took place.
+
+Incensed at these frequent and persistent violations of his
+well-founded prohibition, the Emperor finally refused to treat with the
+embassies sent from the colony; and, as he and his successors continued
+to enforce their stern decrees, the transportation of Spanish priests
+to Japan was finally prohibited. Had the Japanese been less severe,
+less astute, it is highly probable that all the evil consequences
+that they foresaw,--as a result of the Christian propaganda,--would
+really have taken place. As it was, they saved both their religion
+and their Empire.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
+
+
+General Draper's Expedition.
+
+The affairs of the colony--now directed by custom and precedence
+into the narrow channel of official routine--flowed placidly along in
+undisturbed monotony. But in 1762 another enemy appeared before the
+walls of Manila; an enemy more powerful than any that had heretofore
+threatened the peace of that tropical capital. War had been declared
+by Spain against England, and the enterprising inhabitants of that
+little isle were not slow in following their traditional policy of
+striking the first blow. Rodney and Monckton were sent to Havana. This
+they took without great difficulty, and soon a British squadron,
+composed of thirteen ships, under the command of Admiral Cornish,
+was despatched to Manila.
+
+It was the evening of the 22nd of September when the English fleet
+arrived in the bay, and the following morning Admiral Cornish sent an
+officer to the Governor, demanding the surrender of the citadel. At
+this peremptory proceeding the haughty Spaniard was highly incensed,
+and his refusal was couched in terms no less indignant than defiant.
+
+Words having signally failed to bring the Spanish to terms, a
+demonstration of force was decided upon, and Brigadier-General Draper
+was sent on shore with a large body of troops. The garrison, however,
+treated this display with counter demonstrations, and Draper's threats
+with lofty disdain. Draper therefore resolved to parley no longer,
+and the bombardment began the next day.
+
+The British forces consisted of 1600 European troops, nearly 3000
+seamen, and about 800 Sepoys--about 5000 fighting men. The forces
+in Manila, on the other hand, were only 603 Spaniards and 77 small
+guns. In the meantime, the ardor of the British had been inflamed by
+the capture of a Spanish galleon containing $2,500,000 in specie.
+
+The Archbishop, Manuel Antonio Rojo, who acted also as Governor,--the
+seat of that functionary being vacant at the time,--seeing the
+hopelessness of the conflict, and desiring to avert unavailing
+bloodshed, counseled surrender. But the soldiers in the garrison,
+under their fiery leader Simon de Anda, were utterly intractable,
+and prepared vigorously for the defense. After a few unsuccessful
+sorties, the Spanish batteries, on the 24th September, began a
+rapid but harmless cannonade. Again a company sallied forth from
+the garrison to attack the invaders, but this also was repulsed,
+with considerable loss to the Spanish. The English now renewed the
+bombardment, and terrific havoc was made among the ranks of the
+enemy. Some two thousand natives, in three columns, advanced toward
+the three improvised redoubts held by the British, and were driven
+back with great loss and confusion. Panic-stricken, the natives fled
+back to their villages, and on the 5th of October the besieging forces
+entered the walled city. The bombardment, meanwhile, continued. Nor
+did it cease until the forts were demolished and most of the Spanish
+artillerymen killed. It is estimated that 20,000 cannon-balls and
+5000 shells were thrown into the city.
+
+The military men among the Spanish now counseled surrender. The
+civilians, contrariwise, were eager to continue the defense. But as
+most of the fortifications were destroyed, and since "confusion worse
+confounded" already reigned in the city, many fled to the surrounding
+villages.
+
+The opposing civilians having barricaded and otherwise obstructed the
+streets, the British advanced into the heart of the city, clearing
+the way before them with a raking fire of musketry.
+
+General Draper now sent Colonel Monson to the Archbishop, demanding
+instant and absolute surrender. The Archbishop appeared and offered
+himself as a prisoner, also presenting terms of capitulation. These
+provided for the free exercise of religion, the security of private
+property, unrestricted commerce between the Spaniards and the natives,
+and the English support of the Supreme Court in its attempts to
+preserve order.
+
+
+
+
+The British Demand an Indemnity.
+
+General Draper readily granted these terms, but demanded an indemnity
+of $4,000,000. To this the Spanish agreed, and these terms were then
+signed by both parties to the compact.
+
+When the Union Jack was first unfurled from Fort Santiago, it is said
+that the British burst forth into a chorus of ringing cheers.
+
+But their joy was not unmixed with sensations of sorrow; for,
+it is reported, over 1500 men, and many gallant officers, were
+lost in the assault. The city was then given over to the mercy
+of the victorious troops, and a riotous scene of pillage ensued;
+many excesses were committed, the Sepoys, in particular, committing
+many atrocities. General Draper forthwith gave the command that these
+outrages should cease; and guards were at once placed at the doors of
+the convents and the nunneries to prevent outrages on the women. A
+few thieving Chinamen, who had taken advantage of the confusion to
+add to their own profit, were hanged; and the General, it is said,
+with his own hand cut down a soldier that he caught stealing after
+his inhibition had been proclaimed.
+
+The English now demanded the payment of the stipulated indemnity,
+but the enforced contributions from the wealthy inhabitants, with
+the silver from the churches--all that the Spaniards professed to be
+able to collect--amounted to only a little more than half a million
+dollars,--but one-eighth of the stipulated sum. Threat and force
+were alike unavailing to produce the other monies promised, although
+the friars, it is believed, had secreted immense sums, determined at
+all hazards to preserve their accumulated store from the rapacity of
+their Protestant enemy.
+
+By the terms of the capitulation the entire Archipelago had been
+surrendered to the British; but Simon de Anda, who commanded the
+Spanish forces during the siege, had now established himself in
+Bulacan as Provisional Governor, in opposition to the authority
+of the Archbishop who had bitterly denounced the surrender. The
+clergy, however, were the more influential part of the Colonial
+Government, and General Draper accordingly treated with them alone,
+obtaining their consent to a cession of all the islands to the King
+of England. Draper himself then returned to England, leaving behind
+a Provisional Military Government.
+
+Admiral Cornish now demanded the payment of the million dollars that
+the British had finally decided to accept as full indemnity.
+
+The Spaniard, however, continued to plead poverty, and the money was
+not forthcoming. Several thousands of dollars were eventually unearthed
+in the convent where the friars had hidden it. The British, though
+convinced of the deception that these holy brethren had practised
+to save these dollars,--wrung from the hearts of the poor,--were,
+however, unable to lay their hands upon the treasure.
+
+Simon de Anda, the self-constituted Governor, now became unusually
+active in the provinces, and several expeditions were sent out to
+quell the various insurrections that he had been stirring up. One of
+these, numbering 600 men, under the leadership of Captain Eslay, in the
+province of Bulacan, assaulted and took a fortified convent. They were
+also victorious in some engagements with a body of natives, several
+thousand strong, under the command of Lieutenant Bustos, a Spanish
+officer. As several Austin friars had been found among the slain, the
+British rightly believed that their order had been conspiring against
+them. Many, therefore, were arrested. Eleven were sent back to Europe.
+
+Naturally suspicious of all the friars, the English now entered the
+Augustine convent and found that these priests had been no less
+deceitful than their brethren in the other orders. Six thousand,
+five hundred dollars in coin were found hidden in the garden, and
+large quantities of wrought silver elsewhere. The convent itself was
+then searched and all the valuables found therein taken.
+
+About this time the Spaniards professed to have discovered a conspiracy
+among the Chinese in the province of Pampanga, the object being,
+they said, to murder Anda and his Spanish followers. The Chinese had
+raised extensive fortifications, saying that these preparations were
+all made as a defense against an expected attack from the British.
+
+The Spaniards, however, suspecting sympathy with their enemies,
+attacked the Celestials and a general massacre of the Chinese
+followed. Many thousands, too, were killed that had taken no part in
+the war.
+
+Admiral Cornish, disgusted and infuriated with their obvious deception
+and palpable dilly-dallying, again demanded the payment of the
+indemnity. But he was forced to content himself with a bill on the
+Madrid Treasury.
+
+Anda now appointed Bustos Alcalde of Bulacan: he hoped great things
+of his seditious and unscrupulous lieutenant; he knew that he would
+resort to every means to harass the enemy: he therefore, accordingly,
+ordered him to recruit and train troops.
+
+For Anda still cherished the hope of confining the British, perhaps,
+even, of driving them from the colony. So, with practiced subtlety
+and with masked deviltry, he set about accomplishing his grim purpose.
+
+
+
+
+Intrigues Against the British.
+
+The British were now kept busy suppressing the numerous intrigues
+against their power that sprang up among the Spanish residents
+everywhere. Many sorties also were made to dislodge the persistent and
+irrepressible Anda and his lieutenant Bustos, now encamped at Malinta,
+a village a few miles from Manila. Most of those assaults, however,
+proved indecisive and ineffectual. The priests proved troublesome,
+and were the cause of much bloodshed, teaching the natives that the
+British were infidels.
+
+The Augustine friars were especially hostile, many laying aside the
+cowl for the helmet. At Masilo, indeed, the British were defeated
+by an Austin friar, who, with a small band of natives, attacked them
+from ambush.
+
+The Austin friars, however, had some cause for grievance. For,
+according to a recent historian, they had lost nearly a quarter of
+a million dollars, fifteen of their convents were destroyed, several
+valuable estates despoiled, ten of the members killed in the battle,
+and nineteen were taken prisoners and sent as exiles to India and
+Europe.
+
+On the 23d of July, 1763, an English vessel brought news of an
+armistice between the conflicting Powers. And in the latter part
+of August the British Commander received notice of the articles of
+peace, by which Manila was to be evacuated (Peace of Paris, 10th of
+Feb., 1763).
+
+It was several months, however, before peace was finally established
+in the island, fierce quarrels having arisen among the rival factions
+of the Spaniards as to who should be Governor and receive the city
+officially from the British. The Archbishop having died, Anda, who
+was in actual command of the troops, was fully recognized by the
+British as Governor. Don Francisco de La Torre arriving at this time
+from Spain with a commission as Governor-General, Anda resigned the
+Government to him on the 17th of March, 1764. Several serious quarrels
+now took place, due to jealousy among the English officers; but Anda,
+on behalf of the new Governor, formally received the city from the
+British, who embarked for India, after having met all claims that
+could be justly established against them.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.
+
+
+The Encomiendoros and the Alcaldes.
+
+In the early days of the colony there were, besides the
+Governor-General, the sub-governors, known as Encomiendoros, who
+rented their provinces at so much per annum, called Encomiendas,
+from the General Government. These Encomiendoros were usually men of
+wealth, that entered into politics as a speculation. More properly,
+I should say, as a peculation; for it became their policy to fleece
+the natives and to extort as much money as possible during the term of
+their incumbency. Few, indeed, left the scene of their civil brigandage
+without full coffers; and as enormous fortunes were to be made during
+a few years sojourn in the islands, no wonder that this office was
+eagerly sought after in Spain.
+
+This imitation of the methods of the Roman tax-payers, however,
+became so demoralizing to the morale of the Spaniards themselves, and
+so ruinous to the colony and to the natives, that a more equitable
+policy was introduced. The Encomiendoros were succeeded by Judicial
+Governors, called Alcaldes, to whom was paid a small salary, from
+$300 upward a year, according to the prominence of the province.
+
+This office, however, proved almost equally remunerative to the
+holders; for, by means of a Government license to trade, they were
+able to create, to their own advantage, monopolies in every line
+of industry, thus freezing out all competitors. Though each was
+responsible to the Central Government for the taxes of his provinces,
+yet this did not prevent the shrewd and unprincipled from finding
+profit here also. For, by a system of false weights and measures,
+the native, who, in lieu of silver, brought his produce in payment
+for taxes, was shamefully defrauded, the Alcalde sending the indebted
+amount to the Government storehouse and selling the rest to his own
+profit. In addition, many of these Alcaldes, by arbitrary decrees
+and despotic methods, conducted a system of public robbery that in a
+few years enriched them at the expense of the long-suffering natives;
+for them there was no redress, inasmuch as each Alcalde was also the
+head of the Legal Tribunal in his own province. These abuses, however,
+became so flagrant that the Alcaldes were finally forbidden to trade;
+but as this measure was not as effectual as had been expected,
+sweeping reforms were instituted.
+
+To recount what these were; to mention in detail what malignant
+opposition was manifested by a large body of natives and resident
+Spaniards toward the purposed overthrow of the old system, would be
+only to reiterate well-known characteristics and abnormalities of
+the Spanish nature; placed, too, in but a slightly different setting.
+
+I will merely add that these Alcaldes, these perpetrators and
+beneficiaries of wholesale misrule and dishonor, yielded finally
+to the reform-wave, and, accordingly, fell away before their own
+judicial perversion. And the new system, it must be confessed, is a
+great improvement upon the old.
+
+But the evil wrought upon the Filipino mind and character was
+deep-planted. For, by the despotic and summary disposing of his
+labor and chattels, in the name of the King,--abetted frequently,
+too, by seemingly supernatural means,--respect for the Spaniard and
+the white man in general had fled, fear and distrust supplanting it.
+
+In the new order of things,--instituted by a decree from the
+Queen-Regent Maria Cristina, the 26th of February, 1886,--18 Civil
+Governorships were created, and the Alcaldes' functions were confined
+to their Judgeships. And thus the former frightful distortion of
+justice was overcome and banished.
+
+So, too, under this law of 1886 each Civil Governor has a Secretary,
+who serves as a check upon his chief, if he be illegally inclined.
+
+Accordingly, two new official safeguards were thus erected in the
+fabric of Colonial Administration in these 18 different provinces.
+
+
+
+
+The Present Division and Administration.
+
+The colony was then divided into 19 civil provinces, including Sulu,
+and into 3 grand military divisions.
+
+As before, at the head was the Governor-General,--the supervising and
+executive officer of the province,--directly responsible to Spain. His
+salary is $40,000 a year. He is assisted by an Executive Cabinet and
+by an Administrative Council. The Provincial Governor, the successor
+to the Alcalde, must be a Spaniard, and at least 30 years old. He
+is the direct representative of the Governor-General and it is his
+duty to execute his decrees and to maintain order. He also has the
+power of appointment and removal, presides over provincial elections,
+controls the civil and local guard, interprets the laws,--usually
+to suit his own profit or convenience,--supervises the balloting
+for military conscription, can assess fines to the amount of $50,
+or imprison for 30 days, is Superintendent of Public Instruction,
+issues licenses and collects taxes. It is his duty also to furnish
+statistics and to control the Postal and Telegraph service. He is the
+Superintendent of health, prisons, charities, agriculture, forestry,
+and of manufactures. It will thus be seen that his duties are as
+diverse as they are important. He is now allowed no percentage, nor
+other emolument than his salary. At the same time, a shrewd Governor
+is yet able to reap a golden harvest. This, however, can be done only
+in conjunction with other Government officers.
+
+Owing to the extreme shortness of his term of office--three years
+only--there is no incentive for the improvement of his province, as
+his successors would reap the results as well as the credit of his
+industry. Besides, he has no reason to hope that a good work begun
+will be a good work continued; for the next Governor may be averse
+to exertion, or may be at variance with his policy.
+
+Most of the Governors live in good style; as a rule they spend about
+two hours a day in Government employ. Is it to be wondered at, then,
+that this office is so eagerly sought after in Spain?
+
+There are about 750 towns in the colony; each governed by a
+Gobernadorcillo, "Little Governor," called Capitan; usually a native
+or half-caste. This office is elected every two years, and is to the
+Provincial Governor what the latter is to the Governor-General. He is
+the tax-collector of his district, and is, furthermore, responsible for
+the amount apportioned to his district. If he fails to collect this,
+he must make the deficit good out of his own pocket. Under him are
+a number of deputies, called Cabezas, each likewise responsible for
+another division of the population called a Barangay,--a collection
+of forty or fifty families. If the individuals of this group are
+unable to pay, the property is distrained and sold by the deputy,
+who would otherwise have to make good the amount himself. If the
+proceeds of the sale fail to equal the indebtedness of the delinquent,
+he is cast into prison.
+
+I have often seen respectable men deported to the penal settlements;
+and for no other offense than inability to pay the oppressive tax laid
+upon their shoulders, regardless of the season,--whether productive
+or not. Their families, meanwhile, left without a head, were thrown
+into the most woeful destitution.
+
+The Gobernadorcillo gets the munificent salary of $200 a year, though
+his expenses, for clerk-hire, for presents to his chief, and for
+entertainments in his honor, are often many times greater. A shrewd
+Gobernadorcillo, however, manages to make something out of the place,
+which, in some districts, is eagerly sought after by rich planters. The
+official dress of this worthy is a short black jacket, the tail worn
+over the trousers. He also carries a stick as a sign of authority. To
+him is entrusted the apprehension of criminals, and he has command
+of the local guards, or cuadrilleros, the police of the towns.
+
+
+
+
+The Taxes and What Became of Them.
+
+It can easily be guessed that the taxes are not inconsiderable, when
+I simply mention a few things that are assessed: There is a tax on
+the ownership and sale of live-stock and vehicles, on realty, and
+on all private industries and manufactures. Opium, liquors, stamps,
+tobacco, and lotteries yield an immense revenue. Then there is a
+Community-fund, which is usually several hundred thousand dollars a
+year in each province, and is supposed to be spent in the interest
+of the community. The Chinese Capitation tax also brings in a large
+amount. But the most common and onerous tax of all is that arising
+from the Government sale of Cédulas, or documents of identity, which
+is a poll-tax from $25 down. The individual paying less than $3.50 is
+subject to 15 days' hard labor each year and to a fine of 50 cents for
+each day that he shall fail to work. Those whose cédulas have cost
+more than $3.50 must also pay a municipal tax of $1.50. The cédula
+is also used as a passport, and must be brought into court to render
+legal instruments effective.
+
+From this brief and imperfect survey of the system of provincial
+taxation, it can easily be gathered that the revenues are considerable;
+and yet, of the hundreds of thousands of dollars extorted from the
+natives in each province, under the plausible pretexts of an avaricious
+policy, it is safe to say that not a dollar is expended for any local
+improvements. No building of bridges, no constructing of highways,
+no public schools, nor halls of justice must mar the stagnant serenity
+of provincial life. Nothing is ever repaired; a system of "let alone"
+blights every aspiration, and is fatal to the extension of commerce
+and industry. Consequently, in the wet season, for vehicles, the
+public roads are impassable, and, in many parts of the country,
+for months transportation is practically at a stand-still. As if
+effectually to close every door to progress, private individuals,
+too, are forbidden by law to repair the highways.
+
+Did any government ever foster a more imbecile and iniquitous policy
+for its own damnation?
+
+Although the speculations in the colony are not so enormous as
+formerly, yet there is no doubt that they still amount to several
+millions annually; mostly, however, at the seat of Government in
+Manila. It is indeed notorious that General Weyler, during his brief
+incumbency of the office, succeeded in placing several millions of
+dollars to his credit--I should have said to his dishonor!
+
+
+
+
+Dilatory and Abortive Courts.
+
+Perhaps no feature of Colonial life is fraught with more evil and
+is so disgusting, as the process of the courts. The Supreme Court of
+the early years of the colony was modeled after the one in Majorca,
+and on several occasions when the Governorship has been left vacant,
+it has assumed the functions of the executive--pro-tem.
+
+There are two Supreme Law Courts in the colony: one in Manila;
+the other in Cebú. The President of the one in Manila has a salary
+of $7,000 a year; that of Cebú, $6,000. There are also 41 Superior
+Courts, of various degrees of importance, the salary of the judges
+ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 per annum. The department of Justice
+alone costs the colony about $350,000 a year.
+
+The dilatoriness of the courts has become proverbial. It is, in fact,
+years before a case can be brought to a close. Meantime, the litigant
+has been fleeced out of an amount perhaps a hundred times the value
+of the article under litigation. The islands are full of native
+pettifoggers from the law schools of Manila, who have learned too well
+the meaning of the Spanish mañana. A suit can never be considered as
+disposed of; for another judge, scenting the faint possibility of a
+fee, may again have it retried. Thus I have seen the lives of acquitted
+persons again brought into jeopardy by the meddlesome officiousness
+and the grasping greed of a new judge. He that goes to court in the
+Philippines must not do so without reckoning the cost.
+
+Commenting on this, a recent English traveler says: "Availing one
+self of the dilatoriness of the Spanish law, it is possible for a man
+to occupy a house, pay no rent, and refuse to quit on legal grounds
+during a couple of years or more." A person who has not a cent to lose
+can persecute another by means of a trumped up accusation, until he is
+ruined by an "informacion de pobreza"--a declaration of poverty--which
+enables the persecutor to keep the case going as long as he chooses,
+without needing money for fees.
+
+
+
+
+A New Yorker's Experience.
+
+The following experience of an American friend of mine, whom I knew
+very well in Manila, will bring out in a graphic way the course of
+justice in the Philippines. Nor is his experience uncommon. It is,
+in fact, the usual one of the stranger or the native who goes to the
+fountain of Justice for the redress of a grievance.
+
+I quote part of his letter written to a common friend:
+
+
+    In 1871 I joined Mr. William Morton Clark of Philadelphia, who
+    had a large timber business on the island of Luzon, and started
+    cutting some timber contracted for by the Chinese government.
+
+    I soon discovered that I was interfering with the business of a
+    certain priest, who was also in the same line of business.
+
+    Shortly before this, this priest and an inspector of roads had
+    loaded the Spanish bark Santa Lucia for Hong-Kong, and had made
+    things so disagreeable for others who had tried to ship merchandise
+    that foreigners were becoming afraid to risk their capital.
+
+    Mr. Clark finding how things were going on soon abandoned the
+    enterprise, and I then determined to fight the thing out on my
+    own account.
+
+    At this time I had 25,000 cubic feet of hard timber, cut and
+    squared, for a foreign market, eighty-two buffaloes for hauling,
+    and a plant of machinery and appliances valued at $7,000.
+
+    I had a license for carrying on my business, duly granted by the
+    superior government, and in 1874 chartered a vessel at Manila to
+    carry my timber to Hong-Kong, and then went to the port of Love,
+    where my timber was, taking with me $940 in gold to prepare for
+    the vessel's arrival and to continue cutting.
+
+    Upon arriving at Love I found that during my absence at Manila a
+    portion of my timber had been forcibly taken possession of and had
+    been shipped on board the Spanish bark Teresa by Joaquin Barcello,
+    the captain of the Teresa, who was then on his way to Hong-Kong. I
+    also learned that my buffaloes, stock and rice had been removed,
+    and that Juan Gaal, my foreman, whom I had left in charge of
+    my property, was all subject to the orders of this Barcello,
+    and that my choppers had been bribed into the service of Padre
+    Fidel Moreno, the priest of the town.
+
+    When I complained of this I was confronted with a document signed
+    by the Adelantado of Love, to the effect that no notice should
+    be taken of my complaints, to give no testimony in my behalf
+    (thereby shutting me out of my legal rights), and that my foreman,
+    Juan Gaal, should look after the interests of Captain Barcello
+    until the captain's return from China.
+
+    I then applied to the Governor, protesting against the robbery
+    of my timber and the appropriation of my property by Captain
+    Barcello and Juan Gaal, but was merely told that the commandante
+    had so ordered and that there would be no interference.
+
+    Seeing there was no justice to be had at home, I sought to regain
+    my rights at Manila and so left the next morning for Manila
+    on the bark Industria, taking with me all my private papers,
+    contracts, &c.
+
+    That night we encountered a terrible typhoon in which the vessel
+    was wrecked, and all that I was able to save was the clothes I
+    then wore.
+
+    Upon my arrival at Manila I put in a complaint against Captain
+    Barcello, and also against Padre Moreno and the commandante of
+    the district, as accomplices in the above fraud and robbery.
+
+    The case dragged along, as is customary in Spanish countries,
+    and about a year later my funds were all exhausted. At this
+    time a Spanish friend at Manila, acquainted with my misfortunes,
+    took me to his home and lent me some money, shortly afterwards
+    sailing for Europe.
+
+    With this money I returned to Love, expecting to find at least
+    a portion of my timber left which I intended to ship. Upon
+    arriving at Love I found that Captain Barcello had been there
+    before me and had seized and shipped everything but a few
+    worm-eaten logs. Barcello had even hauled the timber I had cut
+    in the mountains, and aided by his accomplices had cleaned me
+    out entirely during my absence.
+
+    I saw it was no use to complain further, and so I set to work to
+    cut some more timber, and after much trouble and expense got two
+    cargoes ready and left for Manila, intending to go from there to
+    Hong-Kong to sell what I had last cut.
+
+    Learning that Barcello was in Manila and was about to leave for
+    Hong-Kong, I applied to the Alcalde, Señor Torranco, who had
+    my suit in charge, to stop Barcello from leaving the country,
+    as my case against him had not yet been decided.
+
+    This didn't benefit me much, as the Alcalde wouldn't grant my
+    request, and although a case of robbery and fraud was pending
+    against him, Barcello was allowed to leave without hindrance.
+
+    I then applied for my passport, but to my surprise this was
+    refused me, on the ground that my suit should first be decided.
+
+    I then returned to Love, having authorized Charles Germain to
+    charter for me, and in due time I had despatched three cargoes
+    to Hong-Kong, but finding that my presence in Hong-Kong would be
+    absolutely necessary for the success of my business I applied a
+    second time for my passport, and was again refused.
+
+    Thinking that if I offered security I would be allowed to leave
+    the town, I named a friend who was willing to go on my bond, but
+    the Alcalde shut me off from this chance by sending his clerk to
+    my friend's house, and succeeded in so frightening him that my
+    friend withdrew his name as my bondsman.
+
+    I know that this act was done deliberately, as at this time,
+    and during the whole of my suit, the Alcalde was on the most
+    intimate terms with Captain Barcello.
+
+    My next step was to protest against Señor Torranco trying or
+    hearing my case, as I showed conclusively that he was hand and
+    glove with Barcello. This had the desired effect, and the case
+    was transferred to another Alcalde. Torranco had, however, served
+    his friend well: he had stopped my passport at a vital point in
+    my business on a frivolous pretext.
+
+    I was a foreigner, and that was enough, and not being able to
+    obtain permission to leave the country, all my efforts being
+    frustrated by those in power, although I was the aggrieved and
+    injured party, I was held a captive in Manila, my business,
+    meantime, going to ruin abroad.
+
+    This state of affairs continued for months, with no signs of any
+    beneficial change in my circumstances, and so I finally brought
+    the matter officially before the American Consul, who wrote to
+    the Captain-General, stating my case in full, and advised me to
+    abandon my suit, which I did, the Consul officially notifying
+    the Captain-General of the fact.
+
+    From that day to this I have been sustained by my friends. My
+    means were exhausted, and I was compelled to leave the hotel a
+    beggar on the streets, with my resources all gone and heavy debts
+    pressing upon me.
+
+
+Mr. Collins was never able to get justice, though he tried
+frequently. His experience is no uncommon one. The establishment of
+a pure judiciary and the purification of the courts should be one of
+the first reforms undertaken by the Americans.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CHURCH IN THE COLONY.
+
+
+Priesthood and the People.
+
+The hierarchy of the colony consists of an Archbishop, resident
+in Manila, and four bishops. The Archbishop lives in a Palace,
+and has a salary of $12,000 a year, while the annual expenses of
+the Cathedral in Manila are not less than $60,000. It was not till
+several years after the founding of Manila, in 1578, that the first
+bishop was consecrated and a Cathedral was built. Not long afterward,
+the Manila See was raised to an Archbishopric.
+
+The present hierarchy costs the Government about $800,000 a year. The
+salaries of the priests range from $500 to $2500 per annum; but,
+in addition, they derive a large income from the sale of masses,
+indulgences, marriage, burial and baptismal-fees, and from the
+various commissions incident to their calling. They receive all,
+and give nothing.
+
+The several orders have immense revenues from investments in the
+islands and in Hong-Kong. They possess magnificent estates; but,
+notwithstanding their enormous wealth, they are hard task-masters,
+grinding the poor to the paying of the last penny. Their injustice
+and tyranny have of late aroused bitter complaint, and are a chief
+cause of the late insurrection.
+
+And yet the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. The
+friars have, also, in many places, the confidence of the natives,
+and, on the whole, surely influence them for the repression of their
+vicious and brutal instincts. A half-barbarous people can be led only
+by superstition, and a semi-sacerdotal government is most effective
+among an ignorant people.
+
+The friar is usually from a lowly family, and is, therefore, able at
+once to enter into sympathy with the humble life of the people. He
+is doctor, architect, engineer, and adviser; in all things truly the
+father of the community, the representative of the white race and of
+social order. Such is the ideal village-curate, and many such--good
+men and true--are to be found. There, are, however, many black sheep
+among them. And the gross immorality of those that should be examples
+in virtue, has been a great impediment to the work of the Church among
+the thinking natives. There are, also, some Chinese and native friars;
+but, owing to the various insurrections, in which some of these were
+involved, they are no longer trusted; in fact, a native can no longer
+become a priest.
+
+So great is the paternal influence of the priests, that I have often
+seen delinquent parishioners flogged for non-attendance at mass.
+
+The Chinese often adopt Christianity for social or business reasons,
+or that they may marry the daughter of a native.
+
+All over the islands are shrines to which the people make
+long pilgrimages; such pilgrimages, however, partaking more of
+the character of feasts than of fasts. The self-denial and the
+self-imposed hardships of the European devotee have never found
+fruitful soil in the native character. He is never so glad as when a
+holy-day furnishes him with a pretext for an elaborate feast, and,
+in truth, the feast-days alone relieve the gloom of his monotonous
+life. Two of the most famous shrines are the Holy Child of Cebú and
+the Virgin of Antipolo,--thousands visiting them yearly.
+
+
+
+
+Conflicts Between Church and State.
+
+A book might be written, and an interesting one, too, about the
+various contests between Church and State during this period of the
+colony's history.
+
+The Archbishops--with an exaggerated idea of their own importance--soon
+became exceedingly troublesome to the Civil Power, by reason of
+their excessive claims. This was never more manifest than in their
+pretended immunity from all State-control. Upon one occasion the
+Governor demanded of the Archbishop to produce several persons
+charged with capital and other crimes, who had found asylum in a
+convent. The Archbishop promptly refused, claiming the prerogative
+of Sanctuary. The accused not only openly defied the Governor,
+but armed themselves, intending to resist, should he endeavor to
+apprehend them. The Governor, learning this, arrested the Archbishop,
+and confined him and the priests that had been his abettors in prison,
+charging them with conspiracy against the Government.
+
+The news spread over the province with incredible swiftness, and
+hundreds of priests, collecting hordes of natives on the way,
+marched with riotous demonstrations and violent clamor to the
+Palace. Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians forgot their fierce
+rivalry and joined together in the shout, "Long live the church!" "Long
+live King Philip V!"
+
+The mob burst open the doors of the Palace, and, the terror-stricken
+guards having fled, they forced their way to the Governor, who calmly
+awaited them, standing with a loaded musket in his hand. He then
+ordered the rabble to retreat, but with wild shrieks, incited by
+the priests that accompanied them, they rushed on him. The Governor
+pulled the trigger, but his flint failing to strike fire he defended
+himself with his bayonet. He was finally surrounded; and insulted,
+beaten, and stabbed, he was dragged to jail.
+
+The son of the Governor, running to his father's aid, was severely
+wounded by the rebels. Attempting, nevertheless, to cut his way
+through, he was killed, and his body horribly mutilated.
+
+The mob then broke open the door of the fortress where the Archbishop
+was confined, and liberated him. This worthy was then escorted with
+much acclamation to the Palace, and assumed charge of the Government,
+which he held for four years.
+
+This is only one of many exciting conflicts between these two factions,
+sometimes one, sometimes the other, being victorious. On four different
+occasions the Governorship of the colony was vested in the Archbishop.
+
+Every Governor-General that has attempted to introduce a liberal
+policy has been recalled; for the friars' combined influence
+is all-powerful. Not even the Archbishop has been able to prevail
+over the corporation of the friars; and if he would retain his see,
+he must not oppose their traditional prerogatives, nor work for that
+reform that would mean the decline of the orders. Indeed, only a few
+years ago, one Archbishop, who had made several ineffectual attempts
+to correct the abuses in the orders, was one morning found dead in
+his bed. His successors have taken good care to profit by his example.
+
+
+
+
+Clashings among the Friars.
+
+Interesting is the story of the bitter rivalries between the different
+orders, who, though of one religion, were extremely jealous of
+one another, showing little of that charity and forbearance that
+Christianity, above all, is supposed to inculcate.
+
+On account of several clashes with the civil power, a priest had
+early been sent to Spain by the Church party to gain redress of
+grievances. Chief of these was their inability to guide the entire
+affairs of the colony into a narrow ecclesiastical groove. The result
+was, the introduction of new laws so favorable to the clergy, that,
+within three or four years, the colony swarmed with mendicant friars,
+whose habits, say the old chroniclers, placed the Spaniards and their
+vaunted religion in a most ridiculous light before the natives.
+
+As most of these monks belonged to a different order from the bishop,
+who was an Augustinian, and as they often boldly defied his authority,
+he became greatly alarmed at their expanding power. But, after a
+fierce struggle, he succeeded in so curtailing their privileges that
+he still retained his pre-eminence in the colony.
+
+Urdaneta and his Austin friars were the pioneers in the islands, and
+following them came a horde of Dominicans and Franciscans, and the
+Recoletos, or bare-foot monks. As the saving of souls was the chief
+policy of Philip II., the co-operation of the friars was eagerly
+welcomed by the early Colonial Government, and it must be admitted
+that without their influence the lot of the natives would have been
+a far harder one. For the substitution of the rites of paganism for
+those of Christianity, even in so crude a form as taught by the friars,
+was, in the main, beneficial. Religion--though not of a very exalted
+kind--was put on an ethical basis, and the self-denial, obedience,
+and sacrifice that formed the foundation of the new doctrine, somewhat
+reconciled the conquered races to the loss of their primal freedom.
+
+
+
+
+The Monks Opposed to Reform.
+
+These orders, presenting the united front of a corporation, were
+extremely powerful, and practically unassailable. When arrayed
+against an individual, it always resulted in his defeat,--that is,
+his expulsion or imprisonment. They practically had their way in
+all things and under all circumstances. Nothing could withstand
+them; for, to attack one friar was to attack his whole order. Thus,
+much injustice was occasioned. I have known a highly respectable man,
+possessed of great wealth, cheated out of house and home--yes, his very
+liberty--through the intrigues of a friar that desired to enrich his
+order. Such societies are a cancer in the body politic,--a constant
+enemy to good government, a menace to justice, and a foe to liberty.
+
+In the future history of the islands, this will be found one of
+the hardest problems to solve. The easiest and most effective plan,
+it seems to me, is to cut the Gordian knot--that is, to expel the
+whole body of friars from the islands. By so doing, much shedding of
+blood will be saved. For I do not believe that these good brethren
+will soon cease to foment insurrection against the hated Protestant
+conqueror. They have ever been breeders of mischief under the
+congenial rule of Catholic Spain: what won't they do under the régime
+of enlightened America, whose first thought is the liberty that means
+death to extortion and oppression--the cardinal principles of their
+order. By this, I do not mean a propaganda against the Catholic
+Church; for I am a Catholic myself, and firmly believe that this
+religion is far better suited to the character of our people than
+any form of Protestantism. But the appointment of secular Spanish or
+American priests to the parishes would do away with the evils of the
+other system, without doing violence either to the Church or to the
+conscience of the natives.
+
+The monks have opposed every attempt at reform. Their policy has ever
+been the policy of ignorance, knowing that their livelihood depended
+upon its perpetuation. It has been their aim chiefly to limit public
+instruction to the mere rudiments of knowledge--giving to every
+subject a religious bias. Even the colleges and the University of
+Manila are not free from their narrow supervision; while they have
+ever maintained a rigid censorship over the press.
+
+The natives, however, are gradually breaking through the network of
+superstition that centuries of priestcraft have woven round them. That
+they are open to conviction,--to the light of reason and the hope of
+truth,--deeds bear witness.
+
+None but the most enlightened natives, of course, recognize, as yet,
+their spiritual wants or desire a higher moral state, but many of
+them, privately, attest their waning belief in the Church monopoly
+of all things temporal in their lives.
+
+Still, owing to the reasons previously stated, those that thus impugn
+and combat ecclesiastical preponderance, do so rarely except by secret
+word or in a limited conclave.
+
+But the enlightening and invigorating effects incidental to American
+occupation will inevitably loose their tongues and rally recruits to
+their new standard of thought.
+
+Of this I hope and expect great results.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE VARIOUS TRIBES OF THE PHILIPPINES.
+
+
+Character of the Natives.
+
+To judge of the character of one's own people is extremely
+difficult. One is likely to be either too severe or too
+complimentary. However, I believe, that--after a residence of many
+years in England and on the Continent, and a subsequent stay of eleven
+years in America, with frequent visits to the Philippines--I am able
+to judge in the abstract, and, in fact, comparatively to look upon
+my own countrymen with the eye of a thorough cosmopolitan.
+
+The natives of the islands are a branch of the Malay race, and may
+be divided into three large groups,--the Tagalogs, the Visayos, and
+the Sulus,--each group subject to modifications and exceptions. The
+Tagalogs inhabit Luzon, the northern islands of the Archipelago,
+and it is with these that we have mainly to deal, as they are by far
+the most numerous and the most intelligent part of the population,
+forming, as they do, also the majority of the inhabitants in Manila
+and in the largest ports.
+
+The first thing that in the native character impresses the traveler is
+his impassive demeanor and imperturbable bearing. He is a born stoic,
+a fatalist by nature. This accounts for his coolness in moments of
+danger, and his intrepid daring against overwhelming odds. This feature
+of the Malay character has often been displayed in the conflicts
+of the race with the Europeans in the East Indies. Under competent
+leadership the native, though strongly averse to discipline, can be
+made a splendid soldier. As sailors, too, I do not believe they can be
+equalled. For, lithe, active, and fond of the water, the Malays have
+ever shown their inclination for the sea. Their pirates, coursing
+in their prahus, have, till a few years ago, for centuries infested
+the bays and inlets of the eastern Archipelagos, looting the towns
+and villages on shore and taking as booty such foreign merchantmen as
+they were able to overcome. On account of the ravages of these fierce
+eastern Vikings, Europeans have come to regard the whole Malay race as
+cruel and bloodthirsty. But these were pirates in their own waters,
+and preyed upon their own countrymen, by whom they were feared no
+less than were the Spanish and English freebooters of old by their
+countrymen. Why, then, should their outrages and rapacity be taken
+as indicative of the Malay character any more than are the atrocities
+of the Caucasian corsair of their race?
+
+The natives are all excellent swimmers, and are absolutely fearless in
+the water. I have seen groups of boys diving thirty or forty feet for
+pennies, dropped into the sea by foreign officers on ships anchored in
+the bay. Many swim miles with the greatest ease; and it is no uncommon
+sight in the outlying districts to see groups of naked men plunging
+with drawn dagger among a shoal of sharks, with whom they fight with
+a fierceness that always results in the victory of the native.
+
+Along the beach at Manila, on a summer evening, at the close of the
+day's labor, hundreds of hands from the various tobacco factories--men,
+women, and children, of all ages and sizes, married and unmarried--may
+be seen disporting themselves, with peals of laughter and squeals of
+delight, in the cool surf.
+
+As a result of the stoicism of the native character, he never bewails a
+misfortune, and has no fear of death. When anything happens he merely
+says, It is fate, and calmly goes about his business as if nothing
+had happened.
+
+Europeans often seem to notice in them what they deem a lack of
+sympathy for the misfortunes of others; but it is not this so much
+as resignation to the inevitable. This, it must be confessed, saves
+them many a bitter pang. The educated native, however, impregnated
+with the bitter philosophy of the civilized world, is by no means so
+imperturbable. While more keenly alive to the sufferings of others,
+he is also more sensitive to his own sorrows. After all, whether he
+is any happier for his wisdom, is a question.
+
+Incomprehensible inconsistencies obtain in nearly every
+native. Students of character may, therefore, study the Filipinos for
+years, and yet, at last, have no definite impression of their mental or
+moral status. Of course those living in the cities are less baffling to
+the physiognomist and the ethnologist; for endemic peculiarities have
+been rubbed off or so modified, that the racial traits are not obvious.
+
+But observe the natives in the wilds, in their primitive abodes, where
+civilizing forces have not penetrated! You will then be amazed at the
+extraordinary mingling and clashing of antithetical characteristics
+in one and the same person; uncertain as to when the good or the bad
+may be manifested. Like the wind, the mood comes and goes,--and no
+one can tell why.
+
+I myself, with all the inherited feelings, tastes, and tendencies of
+my countrymen,--modified and transmuted, happily,--have stood aghast
+or amused at some hitherto unknown characteristic suddenly manifesting
+itself in an intimate acquaintance; and after I had been for years,
+too, wholly ignorant of his being so possessed or obsessed. And
+after that, the same mental or moral squint would be displayed at
+irregular intervals.
+
+It is said by some that the native is shiftless and improvident.
+
+It is true that he is not noted for foresight and energy, as are the
+peoples of the temperate zones; but his indolence is the result of
+generations of tropical ancestors. Even the most energetic Europeans
+yield, in a few years, to the enervating effects of the climate,
+and are unable to shake off the lassitude bred by the heat. Besides,
+deprived by the Spaniards from all active participation in affairs of
+the Government, and robbed of the fruits of industry, all incentive to
+advancement and progress was taken away. He, therefore, yields with
+composure to the crushing conditions of his environment, preferring
+the lazy joys of indolence rather than labor for the benefit of his
+oppressors. Naturally. Recent events, however, show that, given the
+stimulant of hope, even the "indolent natives" of the Philippines
+can achieve and nobly dare.
+
+Some Spaniards also have asserted that the Filipinos are naturally
+disloyal and treacherous, and that their word is not to be depended on.
+
+Now, the whole world knows that they have every reason to be disloyal
+to the Spaniard, who has for centuries so cruelly oppressed them. The
+devotion to the cause of freedom, however, which has recently made
+Rizal and hundreds of others martyrs to Spanish cruelty, shows that
+they also have the stuff that heroes are made of, and that they can
+be loyal to an animating principle.
+
+In many places the natives are unwilling to work without pay in
+advance, and this has been a great drawback to investors. For, after
+receiving their money, they frequently refuse to perform a stroke of
+work, knowing that their employer has no remedy except in the dilatory
+process of the courts, which would only increase his expense and
+exaggerate his troubles. This has no terrors for the native. While,
+of course, this is to be deprecated, it may be remedied by gaining
+the confidence of the natives; for it is undoubtedly the result of
+generations of Spanish robbery, where these people were forced to labor
+for their employers,--frequently the priests,--having no reward save
+the lash or promises of a golden crown in heaven. They, therefore,
+naturally look upon investors with some suspicion. However, in the
+more civilized districts, where modern and humane business methods
+prevail, hundreds of thousands are employed, to the profit both of
+themselves and their employers.
+
+Though calm, the native is not secretive, but often loquacious. He is
+naturally curious and inquisitive, but always polite, and respectful
+withal--especially to his superiors. He is passionate, and, in common
+with all half-civilized races, is cruel to his foes. The quality of
+mercy, like the sentiment--as distinguished from the passion--of love,
+is perhaps more the product of the philosophy of civilization than a
+natural attribute of the human heart. The romantic history of Mediæval
+Europe, as compared with the placid present, is proof of this.
+
+All travelers unite in attributing to the natives extreme family
+affection. They are very fond of their children, who, as a rule, are
+respectful and well-behaved. The noisy little hoodlums of European and
+American cities are utterly unknown. The old are tenderly cared for,
+and are venerated; while in almost every well-to-do household are one
+or two poor relatives who, while mere hangers-on, are, nevertheless,
+always made welcome to the table of their host. Indeed, the hospitality
+of the Filipinos is proverbial. A guest is always welcome, and welcome
+to the best. The better class, too, gladly embrace every opportunity
+to feast their neighbors or the stranger within their gates.
+
+As a rule, the people are superstitious and very credulous; but how
+could they be otherwise? For three hundred years they have been denied
+even the liberty of investigation; when no light, save the dim glimmer
+of priestcraft pierced the utter darkness of their lot. Those that
+have been educated, however, have proved apt converts--only too apt
+say the priests and the Spaniards--to the conclusions of Science and
+of modern research.
+
+The native is rarely humorous and seldom witty. He is not easily moved
+to anger, and when angry does not often show it. When he does, like
+the Malay of Java, he is prone to lose all control of himself, and,
+with destructive energy, slays all in his path. This is infrequent,
+however, but is a contingency that may occur at any time.
+
+If a native has been unjustly punished, he will never forget it,
+and will treasure the memory of his wrong until a good opportunity
+for revenge presents itself.
+
+Like all courageous people, he despises cowardice and pusillanimity. He
+has, therefore, but little regard for the meek and humble Chinaman, who
+will pocket an insult rather than avenge himself. He greatly esteems
+the European, who is possessed of the qualities that he admires,
+and will follow him into the very jaws of death. He is easily awed
+by a demonstration of superior force, and is ruled best by mild but
+firm coercion,--based upon justice. He is not often ambitious, save
+socially, and to make some display, being fond of ceremony and of the
+pomp and glitter of a procession. He is sober, patient, and always
+clean. This can be said of few peoples. He easily adjusts himself to
+new conditions, and will soon make the best of his surroundings. As
+servants they are honest, obedient, and will do as they are told.
+
+It must be said that they enjoy litigation more than is good for
+them or for the best interests of the colony. There must be some
+psychological reason for this. It doubtless gives some play to the
+subtlety of the Oriental mind. It is said that he lacks the sense of
+initiative; and to some extent this may be true. The recent conduct
+of Aguinaldo--a full-blooded native--proves, notwithstanding, that
+he is not wholly deficient in aggressiveness nor in organizing power.
+
+Though not as artistic as the Japanese, the Filipinos have shown many
+evidences of art talent. This is seen in the embroidery of the women,
+as well as in the work of the native painters and sculptors. Some
+of these have been honored with high prizes at the Art Exhibition
+in Madrid. I remember particularly the brothers Luna: one educated
+in Spain, and there distinguished by his remarkable talent with the
+brush; the other known for his wonderful virtuosity.
+
+Moreover, in nothing are the Filipinos so proficient as in music. Every
+village has its orchestra, and in the evening the whole district
+turns out to enjoy its playing.
+
+All the people are, in fact, born musicians; even little boys and girls
+of five or six years of age play the harp, the guitar, or the piano
+as if by instinct; while their elders show a proficiency that, when
+their opportunities are considered, is truly astonishing. The clergy,
+appreciating that music is the foe of vice and a promoter of virtue,
+have wisely encouraged the natives in this art. It is now taught in
+all the higher schools in the colony.
+
+At the many feasts, religious and secular, which are the delight of
+the natives, music is always the most enjoyable feature, the bands
+playing for hours together, both performers and listeners being so
+engrossed as to be wholly unconscious of the lapse of time.
+
+
+
+
+A Native Wedding.
+
+The native usually marries early,--the brides often but eleven or
+twelve years of age. A marriage-feast is entered into with pomp and
+ceremony. It is a not unimportant occasion for the priest also, who
+usually sets the day, and expects a large fee,--dependent upon the
+wealth of the contracting parties. The evening before the ceremony,
+both bride and groom go to confession, to receive absolution. About
+five o'clock the following morning they leave the house of the bride,
+joined by a long procession of relatives.
+
+After mass has been said, the bride and groom stand before the priest,
+who places over their shoulders a thick mantle, which is to typify
+the bodily union. He then recites his formula and asks the usual
+questions. To these both respond in the same low voice characteristic
+of such replies the world over. As the wedded pair are leaving the
+church, a bowl of coin is passed to them. The new husband stops, takes
+a handful and gives it to his wife, who receives it and returns it to
+the bowl. This is a token that he gives to her his worldly goods. All
+then solemnly return to the paternal residence, where, meanwhile,
+a banquet has been prepared.
+
+This feast is called Catapusan which means a gathering of friends. All
+the notables of the village, as well as all the relatives on both
+sides, are invited to it. The table is loaded with the good things of
+the season. Light liquors, chocolate, and sweetmeats are then offered
+to the guests, with betel-nuts and cigars and cigarettes.
+
+The dancing now begins. A youth and a maiden stand facing each other,
+both singing a sentimental song. Then follows a musical dialogue, while
+both dance round each other, keeping step to the music furnished by
+the native orchestra. A young woman then steps into the middle of the
+floor,--her long hair flowing down her back, her eyes sparkling. The
+music begins in a low plaintive key, that gradually becomes more and
+more forlorn, while her languid movements express various degrees of
+sorrow. Gradually the strain flows into a livelier measure, and she
+becomes more and more animated, until at last she sinks down in a
+whirl of delirious passion. Then, again, a girl dances with a glass
+of water on her head; or some other form of entertainment is given.
+
+After the dancing, the men and women retire to their respective
+quarters.
+
+The marriage is always arranged by the parents of the two young
+persons, who go through an established etiquette of advance and refusal
+before the dowry terms are arranged. If the parents of the young man
+are poor and he can offer no dowry, he often enters the household of
+his intended on probation,--as Jacob did to win Rachael.
+
+The wedding-feast is always given by the father of the groom, who
+also furnishes the dowry for the bride. The young married couple then
+live with the parents of one of the parties. The wife always remains
+mistress of her own property, and the husband can in no event inherit
+it. The children often add the surname of the mother to that of the
+father, thus making the woman of greater prominence.
+
+Before the middle of the century there were no distinct family
+surnames, and there were, consequently, no complications of families
+possible. To introduce greater simplicity into the laws of inheritance,
+the names of distinguished Spanish families were introduced into the
+colony,--each family receiving a distinct appellation.
+
+
+
+
+Dress and Manners.
+
+The men are usually of medium height, lithe, and of a rich brown color,
+with large cheek-bones, bright eyes and immobile countenances. The
+better kind dress in loose shirts, or blouses, worn outside the
+trousers and of native manufacture, made of abacá, or Manila hemp;
+or of the airy, delicate, and almost transparent piña,--a texture of
+pine-apple leaf, as choice as the finest lace.
+
+This is of white, or light yellow, and often interwoven with red, green
+or blue silk, or embroidered with flowers. The white or light-colored
+trousers are fastened round the waist with a belt. The feet are
+sometimes bare, or protected by sandals or patent-leather shoes. On the
+head is usually worn a salacot--a large round hat, strongly plaited
+with gray-and-black intersecting patterns of nito or liana fibre,
+the brim ornamented with a band of embroidered cloth or silver.
+
+The dress of the poorer class is very similar--the material being
+coarser, the colors red and orange predominating.
+
+The woman wears a flowing skirt of gay colors--bright red, green
+or white--with a silken saya or sarong of many colors. Over this is
+a narrower waist-cloth usually of silk and of a darker color. Over
+the breast and shoulders is generally thrown a starched neckcloth of
+beautiful embroidered piña--folded triangularly, the points fitting
+in the hollow of the V-shaped chemisette. On the head is worn a white
+mantle, from which the rippling cataract of raven hair falls in massy
+folds almost to the ground. The toes of the naked feet are enveloped in
+chinelas,--a heelless slipper, which is shuffled with languorous grace.
+
+Many of the women are pretty, and all are good-natured and
+smiling. Their complexion, of light brown, is usually clear and smooth;
+their eyes are large and lustrous, full of the sleeping passion of
+the Orient. The figures of the women are usually erect and stately,
+and many are models of grace and beauty.
+
+The women of every class are far more industrious than the men, and
+also more cheerful and devout. Adultery is almost unheard of. The men,
+however, are exceedingly jealous. The natives believe that during sleep
+the soul is absent from the body, and they say that if one be suddenly
+wakened they fear the soul may not be able to return. Therefore,
+they are extremely careful not to waken anyone rudely or suddenly,
+but always call with softly-rising and falling tones, to bring the
+sleeper gradually to consciousness.
+
+The preceding observations concerning the Tagalogs, the natives of
+the north, are also, in the main, true of the Visayos, their southern
+brethren. The latter, however, are not so cheerful or so hospitable,
+and are more ostentatious and aggressive. Their women, too, are more
+vain and avaricious. These slight differences are perhaps due to the
+fact that they have far less intercourse with the civilized world
+than the Tagalogs.
+
+
+
+
+The Half-breeds, or Mestizos.
+
+No less interesting, and even more influential than the natives,
+are the half-breeds, or mestizos. They form a large percentage of
+the population. These are usually of native mothers and of Spanish or
+Chinese fathers. The Spanish fathers are, however, a distinct class
+from the Chinese fathers, and rank much higher socially, exchanging
+visits with the pure Spanish. They are, most always, a handsome race,
+and more intelligent than the pure natives, and far more energetic and
+ambitious. Among them are many leading merchants and men of influence.
+
+The mestiza girls are, as a rule, often of wonderful beauty. They are
+lithe and graceful and of a soft olive complexion, with red lips,
+pearly teeth, and ravishing black eyes, whose long lashes droop
+coquettishly in response to the admiring glance of a stranger. Their
+dancing is justly famed, and those educated in the convents are musical
+and often accomplished in other ways. The peculiar characteristics
+and the increase of energy due to this infusion of European blood,
+however, disappear if no further admixture takes place in the second
+generation. It is more lasting, on the other hand, where the Malay
+has been crossed with the Chinese. This is probably due to the great
+similarity of the two races.
+
+These Malays, with an infusion of Chinese, are called
+mestizo-Chinos. They also are more intelligent than the pure Malay, and
+far more shrewd. Many of the leading merchants of Manila are of this
+mixture. They do not, however, enjoy the confidence of the people,
+and are a tricky and disturbing element in the population. They
+have the mongrel stamp and a cunning, shifty look. They are full
+of intrigue too, and it was, indeed, because they formed so large
+a part of the rebels that the high-class natives hesitated so long
+about joining the insurgents; not wishing to combine even with the
+despised mestizo-Chinos against the hated Spanish; for the government
+of the latter was preferable to that of the former.
+
+
+
+
+Savage Tribes in the Interior: Aetas, or Negritos.
+
+Over all the islands are scattered a mountain tribe called Aetas,
+or Negritos. These are supposed to be the aborigines. They are very
+dark, some being as black as negroes. They are doubtless of African
+descent and are said to resemble the natives of New Guinea. Their hair
+is black, curly, and matted. They go almost naked, and have but little
+self-respect. They are also puny, stupid, and ugly, and of a low order
+of intellect, incapable of improvement, and deficient in judgment and
+in aggressiveness. They are, on the other hand, remarkably fleet of
+foot. They subsist mainly by hunting. Their usual weapons are a lance
+of bamboo, a palm-wood bow, and a quiver of poisoned arrows.
+
+About fifty families commonly live together, and their villages of
+rude, thatched huts, raised on bamboo poles high from the ground,
+present a curious appearance. They were the original lords of the
+islands, and when the first Malays settled here, they, with unfailing
+regularity, exacted tribute from the newcomers. The latter, however,
+soon became too powerful, and the Negritos are now either employed
+by the Tagalogs as servants, or they have fled to their retreats in
+the mountains. But they are fast disappearing, and, hence, before
+many generations, will have perished before the destructive blast
+of progress.
+
+Their principal food is fish, roots, fruits, and rice. They are
+notorious cattle-thieves, swooping down upon the valley and carrying
+their prey to their fastnesses in the mountains. Their agricultural
+skill consists in scratching the soil with a stick and throwing in
+the seed. They rarely ever spend more than one season in one locality,
+thus constantly moving from place to place.
+
+Their religion seems to consist in a deification of the supernatural
+and of the mysterious. When the railroad was first constructed from
+Manila to Dagupan, these Negritos constantly appeared along the track,
+which they regarded with feelings of awe.
+
+When the trial journey of the first locomotive took place, and that
+huge iron salamander appeared thundering down the track, it is related
+that they all fell upon their knees in abject terror, worshiping the
+strange monster as some new and powerful deity.
+
+Unlike most savages, they care tenderly for their aged, and are full
+of reverence for their dead.
+
+As a rule, too, they are independent of Spanish domination, and
+neither pay taxes nor submit to enumeration for the census.
+
+A few years ago the Government started a mission in Pampanga; a
+great many Negritos were herded together, and were given a year's
+provisions and tools to work with. Teachers were also provided, and
+all went well as long as the provisions lasted. They refused to work,
+however, and were averse to all restraint, and the second year they
+returned to their native haunts.
+
+They have a curious marriage custom. After a young man has shown his
+passion for a girl, and his advances have been well received by the
+parents of his intended, he catches her in his arms. She breaks loose,
+however, and runs. He follows hard behind. Again he catches her. She
+resists, and once more frees herself, running away from the eager
+arms of her ardent lover. After this play of struggle and chase have
+been kept up a little while, she finally yields, and he leads her
+triumphantly back to her home.
+
+The father of the bride now drags the youth up a rude ladder to
+the floor of the elevated hut; the mother likewise leads up her
+daughter. They are then made to kneel down, when the old man throws
+a cocoanut-shell full of water over the pair. He then bumps their
+heads together, and they are adjudged man and wife. They spend their
+honeymoon in the mountains, where, in undisturbed and shelterless
+connubial bliss, they remain five days and nights. Then they return
+to the commonplace life of the village.
+
+
+
+
+The Gaddanes.
+
+In the northwestern part of Luzon is a fierce, unsubdued tribe
+known as the Gaddanes. They are very dark and strong, and present
+a fine appearance, armed with long, sharp spears and with bows and
+arrows. They wear their hair down to their shoulders, and, like the
+American Indians, take the scalps of their enemies slain in battle;
+these the young men present to the fathers of their intended as a
+proof of their valor.
+
+This takes place when the fire-tree bursts into bloom; its fiery
+blossoms have, to their minds, a certain religious significance. It
+is then they collect all trophies of war, and perform the rude rites
+of their nature-worship. They subsist on fish, game, and fruit.
+
+
+
+
+The Igorrotes.
+
+A fine race are the Igorrotes, spread over the northern half of
+Luzon. They are copper-colored, and also wear their hair long. A
+few are bearded. Their shoulders are broad, and their limbs brawny
+and powerful. Because of their high cheek-bones, flat noses, and
+thick lips, they would not, however, by a European or an American,
+be considered good-looking.
+
+They cultivate sugar-cane, rice, and sweet-potatoes, but have never
+been able to give up their savage customs for civilization. Their
+houses are not unlike the huts of the Esquimaux. Polygamy sometimes
+exists, but adultery is almost unknown. Murder is said to be frequent,
+and family feuds often take off great numbers.
+
+Their depredations in the interior are often of great annoyance to
+the domesticated natives; for they carry off their cattle and their
+crops. Many expeditions have, from time to time, been made by the
+Spaniards against them; but all have signally failed. The Igorrotes
+obstinately refuse to be civilized. Spanish dominion holds for these
+liberty-loving people few advantages; Catholicism offers them little
+peace; while they maintain that the traditional heaven of the European
+would not at all suit them.
+
+Upon one occasion a Catholic priest was horrified when an Igorrote
+asked him why it was that no black man ever became a white man's
+Saint? When told that it was possible, he refused to believe it,
+saying that he, for his part, was content with the religion of his
+ancestors, and did not intend to bend his knees in adoration of the
+gods of the pale-faces.
+
+
+
+
+The Igorrote-Chinese.
+
+The Igorrote-Chinese are the descendants of the Chinese that the
+pirate Li-ma-hong left behind him when he suddenly quitted his
+colony in the province of Pangasinan in 1574. These, to escape the
+advancing Spaniards, hid in the hills, where they intermarried with the
+Igorrotes, their descendants, whom they much resemble, with, however,
+some important differences. For, with the cunning and the shrewdness
+of their Chinese ancestors, they combine the Igorrote fierceness and
+independence. Many of these have been domesticated.
+
+
+
+
+The Tinguianes.
+
+In the district of El Abra, in Luzon, are the Tinguianes, who are
+semi-civilized and under the control of the Spaniards. They prefer,
+however, their own laws to those of the Spanish code, and usually abide
+by them. If a man is accused of a crime and he denies it, the head-man
+of his village, who is also the judge, causes a handful of straw to
+be burnt in his presence. The accused then holds up an earthen pot
+and says: "May my belly be changed to a pot like this if I am guilty
+of the crime of which I am accused." If he remains unchanged in body,
+the judge declares him innocent.
+
+The head-man himself, upon assuming his office, takes the following
+curious oath: "May a destructive whirlwind kill me, may the lightning
+strike me, and may an alligator devour me when I am asleep if I fail
+to do my duty."
+
+They are pagans, and they believe that their gods will answer
+prayer. For worship, they resort to their caves in the mountains. When
+a child is to be named, it is carried to the woods, where the priest
+raises a knife over its head, at the same time pronouncing a name. He
+then, with the knife, strikes a tree. If sap flows forth, the name
+is deemed good; if not, he goes through the same ceremony until the
+desired result is produced; the god, then, is supposed to have given
+his consent.
+
+They are very intelligent, and are a well-formed race, and many are
+handsome, with aquiline noses. On the crown of the head they wear
+a tuft of hair, like the Japanese. Like the domesticated natives,
+they are very fond of music and of dress. They tattoo their bodies
+and also black their teeth, and are supposed to have descended from
+the shipwrecked Japanese cast upon the island.
+
+
+
+
+The Chinese: Hated but Indispensable.
+
+Long before the Spanish occupation, Chinese trading-junks stopped at
+the Philippine Islands; and, after the founding of Manila, being well
+received by the Spaniards, who depended upon them for many necessities,
+they established trading-posts in various parts of the colony.
+
+In 1580 the Government built the Alcayceria--a large building that was
+used as a kind of Chinese market. Here were situated all the Chinese
+shops, which it was thought better to confine to one locality: they
+might be regulated the more easily.
+
+The Alcayceria proved too small, however, and the shops were soon in
+every part of the Binondo. Other centres were soon provided for them,
+where the Government protected and even encouraged the enterprise of
+the Chinamen.
+
+The native and the Spanish merchants becoming alarmed at the increase
+of the Celestials, began an agitation, whose object was to limit their
+number to 6,000; but the movement received little encouragement from
+the Government, which drew a large revenue from the Chinamen.
+
+In 1755 this agitation was renewed, and it was resolved to expel all
+non-Christian Chinese. The day before the law went into effect 515
+asked for and obtained baptism, while over 1100 desired to stay, that
+they might study the mysteries of the Christian religion. More than
+2,000 were banished from the colony. In 1603 two Chinese mandarins,
+accompanied by a large retinue, came to Manila to make inquiries
+concerning a mountain of gold that some of their countrymen had said
+was located near Cavite. They were received with much ceremony, and
+the Governor-General allowed them to pursue their quest. It proved
+fruitless, of course.
+
+Persuaded that they had been deceived, they sailed away, leaving
+the colony in a fever of speculation as to the real object of their
+visit. Various rumors sprang up in Manila; all to the effect that
+the Chinese Emperor contemplated the conquest of the colony, and
+that the Chinese population were fomenting an insurrection to aid his
+designs. They were also accused of secreting arms, and many outbreaks
+from time to time arose against them, until finally the poor Chinese,
+beset on every hand, and hourly menaced by secret assassination and
+open violence, were forced to assume the offensive. Accordingly, they
+raised fortifications, and on the eve of St. Francis' day they opened
+hostilities by attacking one of the suburbs of the city. With the
+beating of gongs and the flying of colors they next besieged Binondo
+itself, burning houses and committing many other outrages on the way.
+
+The Spaniards gallantly advanced to repel them, and Dasmariñas, the
+ex-Governor-General, led the attack with the flower of his countrymen;
+but the odds against them were too great, and scarcely a man was left
+to tell the tale of their defeat.
+
+The Chinese, flushed with success, now besieged the city itself, but,
+running short of provisions,--which the natives were, of course,
+unwilling to furnish them,--they were finally compelled to give up
+the siege.
+
+As they retreated, the Spaniards, constantly reinforced by bands of
+natives, pursued them, killing thousands on the way. They were then
+finally driven into the interior, where the same fate awaited them--of
+whom not less than 24,000 were killed and taken prisoners.
+
+In 1639 some Chinese traders, in the town of Calamba, Laguna province,
+exasperated beyond endurance by the insults and outrages heaped upon
+them by the Spanish Governor, killed this official and one or two of
+his subordinates, and flew to open rebellion. The Chinese all over
+the colony joined the rebels, and it is estimated that not less than
+30,000 Chinese were under arms. This lasted nearly a year, and resulted
+in the surrender of the Chinese; most of whom, however, were spared.
+
+In 1660 there was another rising and a massacre. The Chinese,
+nevertheless, were still allowed to remain. They were so important
+a part of the commercial life of the province they could not long
+be spared. For more than a century the Chinese now pursued their
+avocations in absolute security.
+
+When, however, in 1763 they joined the British invaders, little mercy
+was shown them by the Spaniards, who killed several thousands.
+
+In 1820 the natives began the massacre of the Chinese and other
+foreigners, whom they accused of poisoning the drinking water, thus
+producing an epidemic of cholera.
+
+Only since 1843 have the Chinese shops been opened on the same terms
+as those of other foreigners. But there is no doubt that the Chinese
+have been a great boon to the colony. They have had, in the main,
+a civilizing influence on the natives, and have taught them many
+important things: as the working of iron and the manufacture of sugar
+from the juice of the sugar-cane. They have also ever been the leaders
+in commerce and the chief middlemen of the colony; and, for this reason
+mainly they have been deemed an unwelcome necessity; for, without them,
+trade would almost be brought to a standstill, and, in consequence,
+labor would suffer and living be rendered dearer to every class.
+
+By their superior shrewdness and unscrupulous cunning they have, on
+the other hand, excited the hatred of the natives, who despise them
+for their cowardice. Thus, from time to time, the feeling against
+them is very bitter.
+
+Another objection against the Celestial is that he underbids
+all competitors, working for what others deem less than living
+wages. Furthermore, he spends little, and all that he saves he carries
+to his own country. Their expulsion, however, would be as unwise as it
+is impracticable, and the only remedy that meets the case is a proper
+State-control. The employment of coolie labor, notwithstanding, is
+at present impossible, on account of the hatred that the lower-class
+natives feel toward them.
+
+In Manila there are at present no less than 40,000 Chinese, while
+the whole colony contains about 100,000. They have their own courts,
+their guilds, and secret societies, which are necessary for their
+self-protection, and they choose representative deputations to
+represent them in the Government.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE MOHAMMEDANS OF SULU.
+
+
+Cross or Crescent?
+
+In the lower part of the Philippine group, in the islands of Sulu
+and Mindanao, the Catholic Spanish conqueror early came into conflict
+with a religion not less intense and fanatical than his own. The story
+of this fierce struggle between Malay Mussulman and Spanish Catholic
+reads not unlike the more celebrated conflict between Christian and
+Mohammedan in the days of good King Ferdinand and pious Isabella. Here,
+too, was waged that dire battle of the creeds that deluged half of
+Europe with holy blood. Here, too, was mutual advance and retreat,
+but no reconciliation--no conversion.
+
+The island of Sulu, on account of its position between Mindanao
+and Borneo, became, in this wise, populated by the followers of
+the Prophet: About three centuries ago Paguian Tindig, a Borneo
+chief, quarreled with his brother and was forced to flee for his
+life. He landed on Sulu Island, where he soon achieved great fame
+as a warrior. His cousin, Adasaolan, who had accompanied him, had
+taken up his abode in Basilan. Here he lorded it over the natives,
+but acknowledged the suzerainty of the Spaniards.
+
+Adasaolan married a Mahometan princess--a daughter of the King
+of Mindanao, where, it appears, Islamism had been carried by Arab
+missionaries.
+
+Soon afterward, Adasaolan, longing for the possession of the fat acres
+of Sulu, attacked his cousin Tindig, and vanquished that intrepid
+soldier, who died fighting bravely. However, Rajah Bongso, and not
+Adasaolan, succeeded Tindig. Nevertheless, Adasaolan had, with the
+aid of friends from Borneo and Mindanao, introduced Mahometanism into
+Sulu, which has since become the Mecca of the Philippines.
+
+In 1596 the Spaniards sent an expedition to Mindanao, but were
+repulsed. Their ravages and constant desire for conquest embittered the
+Mohammedans,--who, retaliating, began to fit out expeditions against
+their Christian enemies; like birds of prey they hovered round the
+bays with their prahus, penetrating every inlet. These pirates soon
+became the terror of the Spanish coasts, and were as brave as they were
+merciless. For three centuries they preyed upon Spanish merchantmen,
+pillaged the northern towns and villages, massacring the old and
+helpless, leading thousands of Christian women into concubinage, and
+tens of thousands of able-bodied men into slavery. Myriads were thus
+murdered, and incalculable damage done, all because of the continued
+attempt of the Spaniards to win their southern neighbors to their
+own faith.
+
+In 1750 the Sultan Mahamed Alimudin, having been deposed by his
+brother, Prince Bantilan, visited Manila. He was lavishly entertained
+by the Priest-Governor, who was unceasing in his efforts to persuade
+him to embrace Christianity. The Sultan at last yielded and was
+baptized. He was christened Ferdinand I. of Sulu. The rank of a
+Spanish Lieutenant-General was also accorded him.
+
+All this was done with great pomp and ceremony. Te Deums were sung
+in all the churches; glittering processions marched daily through
+the streets; comedies were acted on the streets, for the benefit of
+the populace, who shared in the general rejoicing: bull-fights and
+other equally delightful and harmless recreations were also the order
+of the day--all given at the expense of the Church, which regarded
+the conversion of the Head of the hated Mussulmans as an event of no
+ordinary importance.
+
+
+
+
+The Sultan's State.
+
+The Sultan lived in great state. He had a retinue of sixty persons,
+and was accompanied by many of the princes of the blood. All lived
+on the generous bounty of Spain.
+
+Measures were now apparently begun to restore the deposed monarch
+to his throne. But the Spaniards pretended to discover that the
+Sultan harbored designs against them, and that he possessed a secret
+preference for the Mussulman faith. For this crime he, with all his
+relatives and retainers, 160 in number, was cast into prison, where
+he was confined several years.
+
+A decree of extermination was then declared against the Mohammedans. A
+fleet of ships, carrying 2000 men, at once proceeded to Sulu, which
+the natives defended most ably. The Spanish campaign proved a dismal
+failure, and awful were the reprisals of the infuriated Mussulmans.
+
+In 1755 most of the Sultan's suite was sent back to Sulu, though the
+Sultan himself was still kept in close confinement.
+
+The wily Mohammedan again professed Christianity; but, though the
+Sultan was henceforth treated with greater leniency, he was not
+released: he remained captive in Manila until the occupation of the
+British, in 1763, who restored him to his throne in Sulu.
+
+As might be expected, Mahamed lost no opportunity to avenge the insults
+that his hereditary enemies had for so many years been heaping upon
+him; accordingly, he led several incursions against them.
+
+I have not space here to recount the various expeditions of the
+Spaniards against their southern neighbors. I shall, instead, mention
+only the more prominent ones of recent years.
+
+In 1851, Sulu Town, the capital of Sulu, was attacked and razed by
+the Spaniards. Their advantage, however, proved but temporary. The
+Mohammedans now changed their capital to Maybun on the south coast,
+which is far less accessible.
+
+In 1860, Governor-General Norzagaray led another expedition against
+the Mohammedans. This also met with some success; but none of it was
+decisive. On account of the persistent renewals of the hated Sulu
+piracy in 1876, another expedition, under Vice-Admiral Malcampo,
+pierced the interior of Sulu, where he was ambushed and attacked by
+a body of juramentados,--formidable fanatics, armed with javelins
+and the deadly kris. He returned to Manila having sustained great loss.
+
+
+
+
+The Dreaded Juramentados.
+
+These juramentados are Mohammedans, who, having taken an inviolable
+oath to shed the blood of the hated Christian, and, having absolutely
+no fear of death, are as dangerous as they are fanatical.
+
+By the laws of Sulu, the bankrupt debtor is the slave of his creditor;
+and not only he, but likewise his wife and children, whom he can free
+only by the sacrifice of his life--by enrolling himself in the ranks of
+the juramentados, who combine the performance of a religious duty with
+the patriotic pleasure of killing their Christian enemy. The panditas,
+or priests, encourage him in this resolve until he is brought to a very
+frenzy of enthusiasm. In their meetings the priests sing to these sworn
+assassins impassioned chants, that hold out the most entrancing visions
+of the joys of Paradise, perpetual happiness, and the honeyed kisses
+and rapturous embraces of beautiful houris. Similar to the Druids of
+old, they, too, stand like avenging deities in the religious gloom of
+the forests, and incite these fanatics to the destruction of their
+enemies: they promise eternal reward; holding up to their excited
+imaginations delightful pictures of sensual enjoyment.
+
+Thus lashed into a fury of madness, the juramentado becomes more
+beast than human, and is forever lusting for murder. He oils his
+supple limbs and rushes ferociously into the conflict. Nothing
+can stay him. He knows that he is going to certain death--that is
+but the door to Paradise! In his excitement he feels no pain; and,
+though severely wounded, he will continue his furious onset until
+killed. Hence, he cares not how many oppose him; the more the better;
+he will probably succeed in doing greater execution.
+
+A distinguished French scientist, Dr. Montano, gives a vivid
+description of the entry of eleven juramentados into the village of
+Tianzgi. Divided into three or four bands they secretly entered the
+town, by concealing themselves, with their krises, in loads of fodder
+that they pretended to have for sale. After stabbing the guards they
+rushed up the street,--striking at all whom they met.
+
+The soldiers in the garrison, hearing the cry "Los
+juramentados!" seized their guns and advanced to meet them.
+
+The mad Mahometans rushed blindly on them, cutting and slashing right
+and left. Again and again, though shot and shattered by the hail
+of bullets, they rose and flung themselves upon their enemies. One
+of them, though transfixed by a bayonet, remained erect,--struggling
+fiercely to reach the soldier that had impaled him. Nor would he cease
+his furious efforts till another soldier had blown his brains out
+with a pistol. Before all of the juramentados could be killed, they
+had hacked fifteen soldiers to pieces, besides wounding many others.
+
+"And what wounds!" says Dr. Montano; "the head of one corpse is cut
+off as clean as if it had been done with a razor; another soldier is
+cut almost in two. The first of the wounded to come under my hand
+was a soldier of the Third Regiment, who was mounting guard at the
+gate through which some of the assassins entered. His left arm was
+fractured in three places; his shoulder and breast were literally
+cut up like mince-meat; amputation appeared to be the only chance
+for him; but in that lacerated flesh there was no longer a spot from
+which could be cut a shred."
+
+
+
+
+The Extent of Mohammedan Rule.
+
+The Mussulmans are, indeed, over the whole of the island
+of Mindanao. It is under the Sultanate of Sulu, there being two
+Sultanates in the island. Not more than a fourth of Mindanao is under
+Spanish rule, although by an old treaty, never enforced, Spain claimed
+suzerainty over all the territory subject to the Sultan of Sulu. This
+treaty was formally recognized at the close of the war of 1876.
+
+In the interior of Mindanao are many fierce and savage tribes,
+owning allegiance to no government, controlled only by their own
+fierce passions.
+
+A bagani, or man of might, is one that has won recognition by having
+cut off sixty heads. This entitles him to wear a scarlet turban. No
+one not a bagani can be a chief. Thus, murder and assassination are
+legalized and honored.
+
+The Mandayas, to escape from the baganis, are wont to build their
+huts in the branches of lofty trees, thirty or forty feet from the
+ground. Here they climb when attacked, defending themselves by hurling
+stones upon their assailants. The baganis usually attempt to take
+them by surprise, shooting burning arrows at the ærial habitation,
+that they may set it on fire. Sometimes, it is said, the bagani
+will climb up to the hut with their shields locked together above
+them. Then, cutting down the posts that support this abode in the
+tree-tops, they soon bring the besieged to terms. The captives are
+then divided among the besiegers--the heads of the dead and of the
+wounded, and of all the grown males, are cut off, and the women and
+children are carried away captives.
+
+Such is the interior of Mindanao; and from this description it can
+readily be seen how ineffective has been the Spanish occupation of
+that island.
+
+In 1877 a protocol was signed by England and Germany recognizing
+Spain's rights to the Tawi-Tawi group and the chain of islands from
+Sulu to Borneo.
+
+In 1885 the heir to the Sultanate, having failed to appear in Manila,
+where he had been cited to receive his investiture at the hands of
+the Governor-General, as had for some years been the custom, another
+chief, Datto Harun, was selected by the Spanish Government to take
+his place. He took the oath of allegiance to the King of Spain, and
+was supported in his office. Two years later several chiefs found
+another pretext for rebellion, but they were finally compelled to
+yield their submission. Over this trifling victory the Spaniards made
+a great display.
+
+Hardly had the Mohammedan chiefs submitted, when war broke out afresh
+and Colonel Arolas was sent to the scene of the disturbance. He
+defeated the natives in several engagements, and, at last, a permanent
+peace was established. The Sulu protectorate comprises Sulu Mindanao,
+and about 140 other islands; many of these are uninhabited. Next to
+Luzon, Mindanao is the largest island in the Archipelago. Sulu is
+about 35 miles long and 12 miles broad. The population of Mindanao
+is unknown. Luzon contains about 125,000 Mohammedans, many of whom
+are slaves.
+
+
+
+
+Sulu Customs.
+
+The fierce and conservative nature of the people, the peculiar
+and long-rooted feudal laws, the presence of an ancient dynasty,
+and of an ineradicable, fanatical belief,--these are a few phases
+of the complex problem to be met now. So far, the Spaniards have
+succeeded in maintaining their protectorate only by a protracted
+military occupation, which, as I have said, has by no means been
+always effective.
+
+The Sulu Islanders dress with great taste. The women are fond of bright
+colors and love to adorn themselves with jewelry. They have the baggy
+nether dual-garment, so dear to all other women of their faith. Their
+tight-fitting bodice is usually covered with arabesque designs. In
+embroidering them they show great skill. For a head-covering they
+wear the jabul, a long strip of stuff, sewn like a deep narrow sack,
+open at the sides. This, if allowed to fall, would reach down to the
+feet; the end, however, is always held under the arm. The women are
+usually very graceful, and many are also pretty.
+
+The men wear tight breeches, usually a scarlet, or of some other
+bright, color. On the sides are rows of shining buttons, that
+give a very dazzling effect. A buttoned waistcoat, a jacket with
+close-fitting sleeves, and a turban complete a costume that is as
+picturesque as it is unique. The men are handsome and very robust,
+lithe and active. Their complexion is a dusky bronze, and they have
+piercing black eyes. Their forehead is low, and their black hair
+falls in glossy waves upon the neck. Though brave and daring to an
+extraordinary degree, they are conservative and cautious--no less quick
+in mind than agile in body, and always sober and self-contained. They
+are extremely suspicious, and as merciless when angry as they are
+obstinate and vindictive. They are far more artistic than their
+Christian neighbors in the north. Their coats of mail, krises,
+lances, swords, and other weapons are of their own making. They are
+most skilful navigators, too, which accounts for their success as
+pirates. All males over sixteen years of age bear arms. The office
+of chief is hereditary. When a chief dies, the pandita, or priest,
+chants a requiem, while the attendants beat a hollow piece of wood
+that serves as a gong. The neighbors rush in, and shout and stamp
+their feet while the body is sprinkled with salt. A successor is
+then proclaimed. The panditas have great power over their flocks,
+inciting them to frequent fasts and to furious flagellations. Many
+and varied are the ceremonials of their belief.
+
+The Spanish Government derives no taxes from the Sulu Protectorate,
+but gives the Sultan a pension of $2,400 a year. The Sultan is called
+the Stainless One, and is the chief of both Church and State. He is an
+irresponsible despot, and the head of the feudal system. The Sultanate
+is hereditary under the Salic law. The Sultan has his Advisory Council
+and his Ministers. He lives in considerable state in the centre of
+the new capital, Maybun, in a large well-constructed palace of wood.
+
+The roomy vestibule is always lined with an abundant display of
+indigenous plants and shrubs, dazzling to the eye and intoxicating
+to the senses. It is, indeed, as if the entire tropic realm had
+been ravished of its richest, rarest, and most gorgeous specimens of
+plant-life to glorify this spacious entrance-way. From there on to
+the throne-room is of but little interest.
+
+Of course, letters, despatches, or verbal requests of foreigners
+have all to be transmitted through the official interpreter, servants
+meanwhile flitting about, in the gayest and most ludicrous costumes,
+offering betel-nut to each and everyone,--to the bevy of Sultanas
+and to foreign guests, all seated on silken and highly embroidered
+cushions scattered on the floor.
+
+In the town of Maybun there is nothing to be seen of any note, but
+the country round about is magnificent.
+
+Slavery exists by birth and conquest. Rice, Indian corn, sugar-cane,
+indigo, and coffee are the common products of the Sultanate. The
+chief export is pearls, for which the natives dive often a hundred
+feet. They frequently attack sharks, which they fight with the deadly
+kris, never failing to come off victors.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+MANILA.
+
+
+The Old City.
+
+Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is situated on the island of
+Luzon, at the mouth, and on the left bank, of the river Pasig. It
+is in N. lat. 14° 36', by E. long., 20° 57'. The city was founded
+in 1571. The present fortifications and the walls and battlements
+of the old city were built by Chinese labor in 1590, in the time of
+Governor-General Gomez Perez Dasmariñas. The walls are 2-1/4 miles
+long and are mounted with old and useless cannon. These, however, were
+quite formidable in the early days of the colony, and did great service
+against the successive invaders that threatened its peace and safety.
+
+The old city is almost surrounded by water. On the north is the Pasig;
+on the west the sea; while moats flank the other two sides. These
+moats are connected with the river by sluices; but they are sadly
+in need of repair, and are filled with stagnant water and putrid
+matter,--a continual menace to the health of the city.
+
+Until 1852 the drawbridge, connecting the old city with the new, was
+raised at night and the city closed, presenting the curious fact of
+a feudal Spanish city in the heart of the tropics. In the citadel are
+the Government offices; also the Post, Telegraph, and Custom offices,
+various convents and colleges, an Artillery depot, the Cathedral, and
+eleven other churches. This part of the city presents a dilapidated
+and mediæval appearance. The dull, narrow streets have a sombre,
+monastic aspect; and one, therefore, is not surprised to find that the
+gloomy superstitions of the 15th century hold Cimmerian sway here,
+undisturbed by the dawn of Science. It seems the fit capital of a
+despotism, a suitable home for tyranny and priestcraft.
+
+Manila Bay is thirty miles from north to south, and about twenty-five
+miles wide. On each side the entrance are steep volcanic mountains. Ten
+miles from Manila, near the entrance of the bay, lies Cavité, which
+contains about 5,000 people. Here also is the arsenal, a patent
+slip, and a garrison of 500 men. In the channel lies the island of
+Corregidor, 640 feet high, and just beyond, the island of Caballo, 420
+feet high, both fortified. On each island stands a lighthouse. Other
+fortified points are San José and Tibonis.
+
+Manila, however, is, like Batavia and Calcutta, a great
+trade-centre. But I must leave the old city to find any signs of life
+and progress.
+
+
+
+
+Binondo and the Suburbs.
+
+Binondo, on the northern shore of the Pasig, and opposite the old
+city, is the business quarter. Here are the large tobacco factories,
+which employ about 10,000 men, women, and children. One factory alone,
+indeed, employs 2,000. The Manila wrappers and Manila cheroots and
+cigars are famed the world over. The employees in these factories earn
+on an average about 15 cents a day. With this they are able to live
+very well; for food is cheap, and rent is even cheaper. Most of the
+boys and men in these factories wear only a thin pair of trousers,
+being naked from the waist up. The girls also have but a slight
+covering. In the midst of every group of girls sits an old woman,
+who acts as a kind of combined overseer and chaperon.
+
+The main street of Binondo is the Escolta, and here are situated the
+commercial warehouses, the bazaars, and the European shops. In the
+Rosario are the Chinese shops. These are very small, and a dozen or
+more are usually grouped together. In each, on the little counter,
+sits a Chinaman, casting accounts with the ancient abacus. Another
+stands behind the counter and acts as salesman; a third is in front
+drumming up customers, very much after the manner of Moses Cohn, Baxter
+street, New York. These Chinese traders are exceedingly shrewd, and it
+is almost useless for the buyer to attempt to secure a reduction in
+price; they have a uniform scale, agreed upon by themselves. Many of
+these Chinese merchants are fabulously rich; and all are prosperous
+and progressive, the natives and the Europeans not being able to
+compete against them.
+
+In the Escolta are many fine shops owned by Spaniards, mestizos,
+Germans, English, and Americans. The Escolta, in the daytime, presents
+an animated appearance: about ten thousand carriages pass here daily,
+and a great volume of business is transacted. The commerce is yearly
+increasing, too. The principal articles of export are honey, tobacco,
+cigars, sugar, coffee, and indigo.
+
+The laboring class live in Tondo, another suburb. Their dwellings are
+covered with roofs of nipa thatch. The drainage around these huts
+is very bad, and under them are pools of stagnant water, the cause
+of great mortality among the natives. The endemic diseases of the
+islands are swamp-fever, diarrhoea, beri-beri, and typhoid.
+
+The traffic on the river along the Binondo shore is considerable. The
+river is not navigable by the large ocean-liners; only by boats of
+light draught.
+
+The streets of Manila, for the most part, are badly paved and still
+more badly lighted, though some of the public gardens have been
+recently much improved in this respect.
+
+Beyond Binondo lies the aristocratic suburb, San Miguel, where live the
+wealthy European merchants and many of the Government officials. Here
+are many elegant and imposing residences.
+
+It is a unique sight to pass these white bungalows at night, and
+hear the merry chatter or the sweet music of the happy people on
+the wide, cool verandas; men and women, boys and girls, all smoking
+cigarillos. For everybody smokes--from the Spanish grandee down to
+his native postilion.
+
+A more contented people than the Filipinos surely do not
+exist. Naturally averse to exertion, and possessing few wants,
+they accept the dispensations of Providence with a philosophic
+acquiescence not far removed from indifference. One day differs
+little from another. Upon rising, early in the morning, they take a
+cup of chocolate or coffee. At eight o'clock they partake of a light
+breakfast, consisting of two or three dishes and a dessert. The
+head of the family then goes to his work, the women, meanwhile,
+attending to their household duties. From twelve to one is tiffin--a
+heavy lunch, consisting of soup, fish, meat, dessert, and coffee,
+including rice and curry. From one to four all enjoy the luxury of a
+siesta, after which, from four to five, they have chocolate and cakes
+served, exchange visits, go out riding, or take some other kind of
+recreation. Dinner is at eight. This is usually an elaborate meal,
+consisting of meats, fruits, and various native delicacies. After
+dinner, different diversions, such as music and dancing, make the
+evening an agreeable one. About eleven o'clock, the entire family
+goes to bed.
+
+"Bed" consists of a fine mat, and one narrow and one long pillow. There
+are no sheets. Both men and women sleep in their stockings and
+pajamas. Mosquito curtains are, of course, a necessity.
+
+All this, of course, applies to the better class of natives, whose
+residences are often fine and commodious. Very few houses are more
+than one story above the ground floor. If so, the extra story is
+uninhabited or serves as a sleeping-place for the servants, or as a
+coach-house. The roofs are usually of tin or iron, which makes them
+extremely hot in summer. For this reason many houses are also covered
+with a thin layer of nipa-palm, which is cooler. The ground-story is
+usually of stone or brick; the upper of wood, with sliding windows
+of opaque sea-shells. The bath-house is really the greatest personal
+necessity in Manila. For a daily bath is almost indispensable to
+health and comfort.
+
+
+
+
+Educational and Charitable Institutions.
+
+Most of the educational institutions of the colony are in Manila,
+where the Department of Education has its headquarters. Many of the
+native graduates of the various colleges go into the professions;
+many of the poorer kind into teaching. The village schoolmaster
+receives, on an average, about 180 dollars a year, and out of even
+this miserable stipend he has to pay his own expenses to and from the
+city once every month, to receive his salary. Thus, it can readily be
+surmised that the cause of public education is not in as prosperous a
+condition as it might be. The children of the wealthy are sometimes
+sent abroad--to Spain, France, or England--to be educated. I myself
+went to St. John's College, London, and, afterward, to Pension Roulet,
+Neûchatel, Switzerland.
+
+The Royal and Pontifical University of St. Thomas, in Manila, is
+maintained by the Dominicans. It has schools of theology and church
+law, jurisprudence, notarial law, medicine, and pharmacy. In the
+undergraduate department are 40 free scholarships for Spanish boys.
+
+The college of San José gives instruction in medicine and pharmacy. The
+Dominican college of San Juan de Letran is justly celebrated for its
+excellent equipment, and for its fine museums of history and of the
+arts. It is attended exclusively by the sons of the natives.
+
+The Cambobong Orphan Asylum, under the care of the Augustinians,
+furnishes elementary instruction, and is a preparatory school for
+the University. It also teaches book-keeping, and provides a good
+business education.
+
+The Mandaloya Asylum, of the same order and of the same grade, is
+for girls, and teaches the proper performance of household duties
+and the various feminine accomplishments.
+
+Poor and demented children find shelter in the St. Joseph's Home;
+while the Hospital of San Juan de Dios, founded in 1595, is open
+to all. This institution has two chaplains, one head nurse, six
+physicians, eight resident medical students, one pharmaceutist,
+and a corps of trained nurses.
+
+The Hospital of San Lazaro is for lepers. It was founded in 1578
+by the Franciscans, under rather peculiar and not uninteresting
+circumstances. The Emperor of Japan, full of resentment at the attempts
+of the Spaniards to convert his subjects to Christianity, sent the
+infant colony a ship-load of lepers with his compliments, saying,
+sarcastically, that he had no doubt but that the good brethren to whose
+care he felt called upon to send these useless subjects of his kingdom,
+would, in their exceeding love for souls, receive them most gratefully.
+
+The Spaniards, however, needless to say, were by no means delighted,
+and were at first inclined to send the lepers back. Pity and Christian
+feeling, however, at last prevailed, and this hospital was built to
+receive them.
+
+One of the most important organizations is the Chamber of
+Commerce. There are also several good banks and a savings bank. Under
+the Department of Charity and Health are several subordinate boards,
+all conducive to public improvement.
+
+The Royal Polytechnic Society has for its object the promotion of
+the arts and the sciences. The Musical Society, the Spanish Casino,
+the Manila Club, the German Casino, the Gun, Jockey, Lawn-tennis and
+Bicycle clubs are highly successful social organizations. At Santa
+Mesa, on the outskirts of the city, is a race-course, which in the
+spring is very popular.
+
+The mint is only for the striking of subsidiary coins. It has been
+in operation but a few years.
+
+There are six daily papers: El Diario de Manila, and La Oceania
+Española, both issued in the morning. The evening papers are: El
+Comercio, La Voz de España, El Español, and El Noticero.
+
+Tramways of a very primitive kind run in the principal streets. There
+are also electric lights in the public parks, along the Luneta, and
+in the finest business houses. A telephone system extends throughout
+the city, and there is a railway--the only one in the province--to
+Dagupan. It is a single track, and is 123 miles long. It was opened to
+traffic November 23, 1892. An Englishman has secured the contract, and
+English engines are used, whose speed is 45 miles an hour. This road
+has paid more than ten per cent. to the shareholders. There is also a
+steam road to Dagupan. Another branch railroad is under construction
+by the Government. Manila being on low peat-ground,--considerably
+lower in fact than the lake of Laguna, whose overflow forms the Pasig
+river,--in the wet season it seems an Oriental Venice; for the numerous
+creeks and canals that intersect the city and its suburbs are then
+flooded with water and thronged with native boats. Drinking-water
+is carried to the city through pipes from Santolan, on the river
+Pasig. Fountains are also distributed at convenient places throughout
+the city, to which the poorer people have access.
+
+A new harbor is now under construction. For the payment of it special
+dues have from time to time been imposed upon the trade of the port:
+2 per cent. on imports, 1 per cent. on exports, a tonnage tax, and
+a duty on fishing-boats.
+
+There are several theatres in Manila, but they are very inferior. The
+opera is very popular, and is well supported. Foreign celebrities
+sometimes visit Manila, when the audiences are most enthusiastic
+and whole scenes are encored. In the theatre every one smokes, from
+the fashionable ladies and gentlemen in full dress, to the half-naked
+gallery-gods in the loft. Between the acts pretty mestiza flower-girls
+pass to and fro offering their fragrant wares to the onlookers. A
+theatre-night in Manila is one of unrestrained gayety--and the
+fun-loving Filipinos rarely miss an opportunity to attend a show. In
+the Palacio Square is a statue of Charles IV., and in front of the
+Variedades is one of Queen Isabella.
+
+
+
+
+The Cathedral and the Governor-General's Palace.
+
+The churches are well worthy of a visit, being picturesque and
+interesting. The Cathedral was founded in 1570, and has several
+times been destroyed by earthquakes. The new Cathedral, on the site
+of the old, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 1880, cost a
+half-million dollars. It is an immense structure of brick and stone
+and is the most imposing building in the colony. It is in old Manila,
+and is celebrated for the splendor of its interior decorations and
+its gorgeous altars. Here start and end most of the great religious
+processions for which Manila is so noted. The cost of maintaining
+the Cathedral, including the salaries of the officiating priests,
+is not far from $60,000 per annum.
+
+The Church of San Francisco--also in old Manila--is the oldest church
+in Manila. It is under the patronage of the Franciscans and is very
+wealthy. The magnificence of its interior is unrivalled.
+
+The Governor-General's Palace is in Malacanan, a suburb of new
+Manila. It is a low massive structure and occupies an immense area. It
+is in the midst of a large garden--a veritable Paradise. It is on
+the bank of the river Pasig, in a healthful locality, and commands
+a fine view of the city and the river. The garden is famed for
+its luxuriance. Here grow, in rich profusion, cocoanuts, bananas,
+lemons, mangoes, and a wealth of flowers: the white champaca, the
+yellow ilang-ilang with its exquisite perfume, gigantic orchids,
+and a thousand other blooms. Among the trees and shrubbery of this
+gorgeous Eden, wind broad garden paths paved with sea-shells.
+
+Facing the river is a large balcony from which the Governor views the
+yearly boat-race that takes place on the birthday of the King. This
+boat-race is one of the great events of the year and is usually rowed
+by native champions.
+
+The interior of the Palace is of unusual splendor, and there is
+evidence on every hand of great pomp and ceremony. A host of liveried
+servants and numerous guards in showy uniforms are everywhere
+apparent. There is an excellent library and a spacious ball-room,
+where receptions are held, to which, several times a year, the élite
+of the city and distinguished visitors are invited.
+
+The Governor rides in a carriage drawn by four horses, with
+several outriders, who, by means of a shrill whistle, announce his
+approach. All streets are instantly cleared and traffic suddenly
+ceases, every one standing still to make respectful obeisance. On,
+on, they come, the dashing four, with the postilions in scarlet
+jackets. The Governor, dressed in civilian's dress, sits within--the
+picture of dignity. He bows right and left, in that perfunctory
+way characteristic of public dignitaries the world over, and the
+carriage passes on, while the citizens resume their wonted demeanor
+and avocations.
+
+The Jesuits support and manage a fine observatory. And there is
+a large botanical garden, now neglected; but it could easily be
+made the finest in the world. The English Club, in the suburbs, is
+noted for its hospitality and for the delightful personality of its
+members. Most of the hotels are bad, with poor accommodations. The
+Hotel de Oriente, however, is a noteworthy exception.
+
+The police of the city are natives, and are under military
+discipline. The department of police is known as the Municipal
+Guard. From 10 o'clock at night until 5 o'clock in the morning
+night-watchmen patrol the city.
+
+One is struck by the number of carriages in the thoroughfares, drawn
+by pretty ponies of mixed Chinese and Andalusian breed. There are
+also many hacks to hire. The drivers, too, are as civil in address as
+they are moderate in their charges. There are three days in the year
+when the ponies are given absolute rest. These are Holy Wednesday,
+Thursday, and Good Friday,--when no traffic is permitted, only the
+Archbishop and the doctors being allowed to ride in carriages. On
+these days the church-bells are muffled, and the people, dressed in
+sombre black, walk solemnly in the various religious processions. A
+vast concourse assembles in the several squares to await the toll that
+shall announce the end of the fast and of this enforced abstinence
+from labor and worldly care. As soon as the first stroke is given,
+there is a mighty rush in every direction, a thousand ponies are
+trotted through the streets, ten thousand natives renew their daily
+traffic with clamorous zeal, which shows how feeble was the bond that
+kept them under restraint.
+
+On the streets of the city are many wayside native restaurants. Here
+the employees of the huge tobacco factories come at noon for their
+"quick lunch" or for a refreshing drink. Most of these establishments
+are very primitive, and little more than rice, fruit, or meat is for
+sale. The charges are the merest pittance. For two cents a sumptuous
+meal can be had. It may, therefore, be understood that few people in
+Manila go hungry.
+
+The water-girls or the peddlers of milk or cocoa are also worthy of
+mention; inasmuch as they, with their rude jars, have a most Oriental
+look. One, too, is likely, almost any time, to encounter a religious
+procession, such as The Feast of the Twelve Apostles, or The Feast
+of Corpus Christi, when the companies of friars, in their long robes
+of black, blue, white, or brown, alternate with long lines of solemn
+natives dressed in their sombre clothes. There are, in fact, forty
+holidays in the year, and, as each of these is distinguished by some
+feast or religious ceremonial, it can readily be seen how large an
+influence the Church has upon the people. The Archbishop is a greater
+man than the Governor-General, and as he passes through the streets
+in his carriage drawn by four white horses, every head is bared. There
+are 4,000 priests in Manila alone.
+
+An execution in Manila is an interesting, though a gruesome,
+sight. The populace always flock to see one, and the condemned,
+with the stoicism natural to their race, as a rule seem perfectly
+indifferent to their fate. The garrote is the instrument usually
+employed. There is the pomp and ceremony incident to all Spanish
+functions of State: a procession of soldiers, a solemn death-cart,
+draped in mourning, on which sits the culprit apparently enjoying
+his last ride, two or three priests chanting a dolorous refrain, and
+the executioner,--all slowly approach the place of execution. Here
+is a raised platform, on which is a rude seat; against the back
+of it is an upright post. To this the condemned is firmly bound,
+and the deadly brass collar--the garrote--that is attached thereto,
+closes with a click around his neck. The executioner now takes his
+place behind, the priests elevate the crucifix and continue their
+chant, while the victim, half-bewildered, smiles a last farewell or
+mumbles a hasty prayer. The commanding officer gives the signal; the
+executioner gives a twist to the screw, that just touches the base of
+the prisoner's brain; there is a convulsive shiver and a groan, and all
+is over. And the spectators, laughing and chattering, turn homeward.
+
+But no street scene is more interesting than a native
+funeral. The hearse is a rude wagon, drawn by white horses. A most
+melancholy-looking person is the driver, who, clad in black and a high
+beaver hat, sits aloft in mournful dignity. In front is a brass band,
+playing a lively march, while a long line of carriages follow slowly
+behind. On account of the heat, the burial is nearly always on the same
+day as the death. The bodies of the well-to-do are usually deposited
+in a vault in the church as long as the relatives of the deceased
+pay the priests well for the privilege. When this tribute ceases,
+the remains are dumped without ceremony into a huge pit at the back
+of the church, where perhaps are the bones of a thousand others. The
+pit, it is safe to say, is the ultimate destiny of all.
+
+Bull-fights have never made the headway in the Philippines that they
+have in Cuba. In the suburb of Paco is a bull-ring; but it is not
+attended by the better classes, and it offers but a sorry spectacle.
+
+
+
+
+The Beautiful Luneta: the Sea-boulevard.
+
+There are many drives and promenades in the city of Manila. The
+principal one, and the most celebrated, is the Luneta, which is by
+the old sea-wall. Here in the cool summer evening is stationed the
+Governor's fine military band, and all Manila comes out to see and to
+be seen. Thousands of people, natives and foreigners, pair in careless
+promenade. Here comes a group of English Jack Tars, from some British
+Man-of-War in the harbor. The sailors are flirting vigorously with a
+number of bewitching mestiza-girls, just behind. These olive-cheeked
+damsels, whose long raven hair, red lips, and pearly teeth are
+cunningly displayed in daring coquetry, are all laughing merrily,
+smoking betimes a dainty cigarette. Here comes a whole native-family,
+trooping along with almost stolid demeanor, yet listening keenly to
+the stirring music. And then follow Chinamen, in their national dress,
+Englishmen in white drill, and Spaniards in European costume,--all
+walking with the leisurely manner of the tropics, as if to the climate
+born. And so thousands pass by, bowing and smiling, with never one
+careworn face in the vast throng.
+
+Here, too, were enacted some of the most horrible tragedies in the
+recent rebellion. Hundreds of native prisoners were here executed. And
+such an execution was made occasion of great rejoicing. The fashionable
+Spanish element, men and women, was not wanting to witness it; and
+while the band discoursed a lively air, the poor fellows were made
+to stand on the sea-wall, facing the sea; at a given signal the
+firing-squad discharged a volley, and they fell dead or mortally
+wounded, while the onlookers cheered for tyranny and Spain.
+
+Though Manila lies very low, it is by no means unhealthy. It is a
+pleasant city to live in, but not nearly so pleasant as it might
+be made to be. The climate is thus described by an old Spanish
+proverb: "Six months of dust; six months of mud; six months of
+everything." The spring months are December, January, and February;
+the climate then is most agreeable. In March, April, and May the heat
+is very oppressive. In June, July, August, and September occur heavy
+rains. October and November are either wet or dry. The population
+of Manila is not far from 300,000, of which 70 per cent. are pure
+natives, 15 per cent. Chinese, 14 per cent. mestizo Chinos, and one
+per cent. Europeans and Creoles.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OTHER IMPORTANT CITIES AND TOWNS.
+
+
+Iloilo, Capital of the Province of Panay.
+
+In the province of Iloilo, in the southern part of the island of Panay,
+is the town of Iloilo. It is on the sea, and is built on a low, marshy
+plain. Iloilo is the capital of the province in which it is situated,
+and it is also one of the principal sea-ports of the colony. The harbor
+is excellent, being well-protected by the island of Guimaras, which
+lies just beyond. This island is much higher than the mainland, with
+which it forms a kind of funnel, so that there is a constant breeze,
+which makes Iloilo much cooler and healthier than Manila. During the
+spring-tides the whole town is covered with water.
+
+Iloilo is a manufacturing town. Its principal product is piña, a fine
+cloth made from the fibre of the pineapple-leaf. Jusi--another fabric
+made from silk and woven into various colors--is also manufactured
+here.
+
+The country around the town is very fertile, and is extensively
+cultivated. The facilities for transportation to and from the interior
+of the island are very poor. This, of course, is a great bar to the
+development of the commerce. However, over 1,000,000 piculs of sugar
+are raised around Iloilo; also a great amount of tobacco; much rice,
+too, is raised here. The town is doubtless destined to become a great
+commercial centre. It is about 250 miles from Manila. Typhoons are
+not uncommon, though earthquakes are infrequent. Most of the traders
+are Chinese Mestizos. Some of them are very wealthy.
+
+The port of Iloilo is of recent date, its opening being wholly due to
+foreigners. The produce shipped from there comes mostly in American
+sailing vessels to the United States. Iloilo has become the shipping
+centre for the crops of sugar and sapan-wood of the islands of Negros
+and Panay, and the opening up of this port has greatly encouraged
+agriculture in the Visayas district. Manila is too far away. The
+Iloilo district includes the large islands of Panay, Negros, Cebú,
+and others, and has a second port of rising importance, Cebú, on the
+island of that name.
+
+Cavité is a fortified town, on a small peninsula, in the bay of
+Manila, about ten miles from the capital. To it a steamboat runs twice
+daily. The Government arsenal and the only shipyard in the colony are
+located here, and it is, therefore, the chief naval station in the
+islands. Cavité is also the residence of most of the Spanish naval
+officers and of many foreigners: their handsome bungalows are on the
+outskirts of the town. Some fine shops, a theatre, a few cafés, and
+the old Cathedral are the most noteworthy objects of interest in the
+town itself. The Cathedral is large and imposing, and its architecture
+is characteristic of most of the churches of the colony. The houses
+in Cavité were formerly of wood, but since a fire, in 1754, which
+destroyed the town, most of them are built of stone or brick. But
+even this did not save the town; for the earthquake of 1880 again
+laid it waste.
+
+Cavité was taken by the British in 1763, and has always been deemed
+the key to the capital. It was the seat of the rebellion of 1872,
+when the rebels seized and plundered the arsenal. This insurrection,
+however, was put down, and the leaders executed or deported. Cavité,
+on account of its strategic value, was the first place taken by Admiral
+Dewey after the battle. As elsewhere described, it then became the
+headquarters for Aguinaldo and the insurgents. Under a humane and an
+advanced government of the islands, Cavité should become a large city.
+
+Majajay is a picturesque mountain-town, in Luzon; it contains several
+fine streets and many charming residences. The church and the convent
+are striking; the scenery in the vicinity is magnificent. The waterfall
+of Botócan is well worth a visit. It is about 600 feet high, and 60
+feet wide. The view is impressive.
+
+Lúgbang, near Majajay, is a thousand feet higher. Around it are
+extensive rice-fields. In the town are several fine canals, some
+good streets, and many commodious residences. A stone church and a
+convent front the little plaza. On the other side is the Tribunal,
+an imposing government building.
+
+Tayabas is the capital of Tayabas province. In some of the streets
+are canals. Besides the houses of the wealthy planters, there are the
+usual church and convent. In the vicinity of Tayabas are extensive
+timber-yards.
+
+Laguimanoc, a small town on the coast of Luzon, is also a port. The
+mail steamers stop there. The chief trade is in building-timber; for
+around the town are magnificent forests. The harbor is an excellent
+one, and, with increase of trade, the place should have a great future.
+
+Lipa is the capital of the Batangas province, Luzon. It is a centre of
+the coffee-trade. Besides, the temperature there is cooler than that of
+most of the Philippine towns. It is noted for its large church and its
+convent--among the most remarkable in the colony. Most of the houses
+are three stories high, and many wealthy planters live in the vicinity.
+
+Taal is one of the principal towns of Luzon. It is situated on a
+hill upon the left bank of the Pansipit river. On the opposite side
+is the town of Lemeri. A bridge connects the two.
+
+Taal was formerly on the shore of the Lake of Taal, near the volcano,
+but the old town was destroyed by the earthquake of 1754. The new
+town is hilly, and is surrounded by sugar-cane plantations and
+great forests. The streets are lined with modern shops and spacious
+residences. Many of the inhabitants are of Japanese origin; but the
+Chinese, strange to say, are not tolerated. As there is considerable
+trade in sugar, in coffee, and cotton stuffs, trading-steamers ply
+between Taal and Manila. The population of the town and its suburbs
+is about 50,000.
+
+Batangas, another town in Luzon, is the capital of the province of
+that name. It is near the sea, and is the residence of the Governor
+and the other chief officials of the province. There is a beautiful
+park in the centre of the town, and a fine drive, where the European
+residents are wont to meet. In and around the town are many pretty
+bungalows and some large sugar-factories.
+
+Santa Cruz de Malabon is a town in the rice-district of Luzon. It is
+a charming little place, and some wealthy natives live there. Near the
+town are several water-power rice-husking mills, that give employment
+to hundreds of natives. The country all around is low and flat,
+but not lacking in beauty.
+
+Silan is also in Luzon, and is a good-sized town. It is noted for its
+religious feasts and fairs. The church and the convent are celebrated,
+and are among the handsomest in the colony.
+
+Carmona, Perez Dasmariñas, and Viñan, are flourishing towns in the
+vicinity of Silan. All are well worthy of a visit.
+
+At the foot of the Maquiling mountain is Calamba, a market-town. Nearly
+all the land thereabouts is owned by the Dominicans, who rent it to
+the native rice and sugar-planters.
+
+Below the Maquiling mountain, which is a crater, are hot springs. Near
+them is the town of Los Baños, or the Baths. These springs are
+beneficial in curing rheumatism and other ills. A hospital, therefore,
+has been erected there, which is dedicated to our Lady of the Holy
+Waters.
+
+Other objects of interest are a vapor bath-house and the remains of
+several large public buildings. Los Baños was once a popular resort,
+and was under the administration of the Franciscans. The Government,
+however, desiring a share of the profits, gradually, by onerous
+exactions, caused the ruin of the place. If some enterprising American
+would get hold of it, Los Baños could be made a great resort.
+
+A few miles from Los Baños, on the Malanin river, about 1200 feet
+above the sea, is the boiling lake of Natungos. This, too, possesses
+wonderful medicinal properties.
+
+Santa Cruz is the capital of the Laguna province. It is a market-town
+of considerable size and importance, and contains a fine church and
+one or two impressive government buildings. The principal street is
+also called the Escolta. Santa Cruz is the centre of the cocoanut
+trade, and is a meeting-place for stock-dealers.
+
+Pagsanjan, a small old town near Santa Cruz, contains some elegant
+residences. It has, however, an air of fallen grandeur. And well
+it may! for it was once an important place. Around it are extensive
+forests of cocoanut palms.
+
+Puerta is on Palaúan Island, and has an excellent harbor. Near it is
+a lighthouse and a naval station. It is a penal settlement, and is
+surrounded by large sugar-estates, worked by the convicts. The town
+is pretty, and the suburbs are delightful.
+
+The principal port of Mindanao is Zamboanga, a small but interesting
+town. Sulu is the principal port of Sulu, and is the centre of the
+pearl trade.
+
+The capital of Negros is Bacólod. It contains, besides a church and
+a government house, some handsome residences belonging to the chief
+traders and to the government officials. The town is on the coast,
+but, as the water is very shallow, steamers are obliged to anchor
+a half-mile from the shore. Bacólod is a good field for investors,
+as it is in the very heart of the sugar and rice-district of Negros,
+and its trade is constantly growing.
+
+Mataban, Talisay, Silay, Sarávia and Victoria are rising towns in the
+same province. Cádiz Nuevo, a small town just beyond Victoria, has
+some fine streets, and many large shops owned by the irrepressible
+Chinamen. The new stone church and convent of the town are the
+handsomest on the island. In the country round about live many wealthy
+native-planters, famed for their hospitality.
+
+
+
+
+Cebú: a Mecca for Many Filipinos.
+
+Cebú is the capital of the island of Cebú, and ranks next to Iloilo
+among the ports of the Philippines. The town is well-constructed,
+and is surrounded by fine roads. The people are conservative, and
+lack thrift and enterprise. The principal exports are hemp and sugar,
+most of which comes from the large plantations of the neighboring
+islands of Leyte, Camaguin, and Mindanao. The cathedral of Cebú is
+one of the most celebrated in the islands. It contains the shrine of
+the Holy Child of Cebú, which thousands of pilgrims visit yearly.
+
+
+
+
+General Topography of the Islands.
+
+The Philippines, with the Sulu Protectorate, number about 600 habitable
+islands, that lie all the way from 4° 45' to 21° N. latitude.
+
+The area of the eleven largest islands is variously computed to be
+somewhere between 55,000 and 150,000 square miles. It is probably
+not far from the latter sum. All the islands together are about as
+large as the combined area of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
+Maryland, and Delaware.
+
+The eleven largest islands are: Luzon, Mindanao, Sámar, Panay, Negros,
+Palaúan, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebú, Masbate, and Bojol. Luzon and Mindanao
+are probably as large as all the others combined.
+
+All the islands are mountainous and of volcanic formation.
+
+Here is a list of the principal peaks:
+
+
+     Halcon, (Mindoro)                8,868 feet above sea.
+     Apo, (Mindanao)                  8,804 feet above sea.
+     Mayon: active volcano, (Luzon)   8,283 feet above sea.
+     San Cristobal, (Luzon)           7,375 feet above sea.
+     Isarog, (Luzon)                  6,443 feet above sea.
+     Banájao (Luzon)                  6,097 feet above sea.
+     Labo (Luzon)                     5,090 feet above sea.
+     South Caraballo, (Luzon)         4,720 feet above sea.
+     Caraballo del Baler (Luzon)      3,933 feet above sea.
+     Maquiling, (Luzon)               3,720 feet above sea.
+
+
+In the interior of the islands are magnificent forests of stately
+trees, splendid with luxuriant foliage and the glorious flora of
+the tropics. Here are gigantic creepers and gorgeous festoons,--the
+splendid parasites of this opulent clime. Luscious fruits in rich
+clusters hang from pendent boughs of myriad trees, inviting the
+passer-by to pluck.
+
+One that has never seen it, can form no idea of the splendor of such
+a tropical forest--teeming with all that is brilliant and grand in
+nature. It would seem as if the Creator had emptied the cornucopia of
+his gifts over this garden-spot of the world, making it a veritable
+Eden.
+
+There are many rivers throughout the islands,--some navigable. The
+Pasig river, in Luzon, empties into Manila Bay. Vessels drawing
+thirteen feet of water enter the Pasig river. In the same island,
+the Rio Grande de Cagayan is also navigable and runs through the
+Cagayan valley northward. It yearly overflows its banks. On them
+are the richest tobacco-districts in the colony. The Rio Grande
+de la Pampanga flows southward through the glorious valley of
+Pampanga, emptying by twenty mouths into Manila Bay. On the banks
+of this river are extensive rice-fields and sugar-cane plantations,
+and great forests; among them gleam numerous towns and villages,
+full of a thriving population. The Rio Agno, which flows southward,
+past the port of Dagupan and the Bicol river--which flows from Bato
+lake to the bay of San Miguel--is also in Luzon, and navigable.
+
+In Mindanao, the Rio Agusan cuts the island almost in two. It is
+navigable only a few miles. In Negros Island, the Danao is navigable.
+
+The Bay lake (Luzon)--Laguna de Bay,--is 25 miles long and 12 miles
+broad. It is higher than Manila, and its overflow is the Pasig river.
+
+In the centre of Bombon lake is an active volcano called Taal, which
+is no less famed in the history of the colony than is Vesuvius in
+the history of Naples. It has had many celebrated eruptions, some
+very destructive. In 1754 several towns were overwhelmed by a flood of
+burning lava, which was thrown as far as fifteen miles from the crater,
+causing great damage, even at that distance. It is said that cinders
+fell in Manila, 34 miles away. There was a smell of sulphur in the air
+for months; the lake was full of dead fish; and the earth, for miles,
+was heaped with burning lava and ashes. This eruption lasted nearly
+six months. The town of Taal was entirely destroyed, and most of the
+inhabitants perished. On that day darkness hung over the whole sky,
+and the air was full of cries and lamentations. It seemed as if the
+end of the world had come.
+
+The Mayon volcano, in Albay, has also had several destructive
+eruptions. Its crest is always fiery. In 1814, 2,500 natives were
+killed and wounded. During the last eruption, in 1888, fifteen lives
+were lost, and many cattle.
+
+Near the volcano of Mayon are the sulphur springs of Albay, noted for
+their wonderful medicinal properties. Here, no doubt, some enterprising
+American will soon build a resort, or a sanitarium. And a most splendid
+location indeed it would be!
+
+Though in the heart of the tropics, the Philippines are by no means
+unhealthy. The year is divided into the wet and the dry monsoons;
+the west coast being dry, the eastern coast wet, and vice-versa. The
+annual rainfall is about 90 inches. Mosquitoes and white ants are the
+most troublesome pests. Terrific tornados are common, and earthquakes
+are as plentiful as blackberries in an Alabama cemetery. In 1875 a
+typhoon destroyed 4000 houses and killed about 300 people. In 1863
+an earthquake destroyed the greater part of Manila--3000 people were
+killed and injured. The earthquake of 1880 was also very destructive.
+
+That of '63 occurred at night, and I remember it well. I was then a
+little boy, but the horrors of that night I can never forget. The
+earth trembled and seemed to rise and fall; huge fissures opened
+in the ground, and dull rumblings were heard everywhere, while the
+shrieks of tens of thousands arose on every hand. Many were buried
+in the ruins of their houses.
+
+For weeks afterward, the people slept in the streets; for the greater
+part of the city was destroyed.
+
+The earthquake of 1880 occurred while the people were at tiffin, or
+lunch. Hence the number of casualties was not so great; for most of the
+people were able to leave their houses before they were shaken down.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE ARCHIPELAGO.
+
+
+A Botanist's Paradise.
+
+The preceding chapters give but a faint idea of the great wealth of
+plant-life in the Philippine Islands, of the richness and abundance
+of the fruits, the variety and usefulness of the trees, the multitude
+of growths that add to the comfort and convenience of human life. Yet,
+after all is said, every description of the plant-life there gives but
+an inadequate idea of the real luxuriance and beauty of the group, and
+its value from a botanical point of view. These rich and multitudinous
+islands, seated in the midst of a tropical sea, form, in reality,
+a botanist's paradise, a region in which an ardent naturalist might
+browse for years, and still have new treasures to find.
+
+I am no scientist. Indeed, I have often wished I were, when journeying
+through these lush tropical forests with their interminable variety of
+forms of plant-life; many of them of the greatest beauty, some odd and
+bizarre in appearance, numbers of them unknown to science; the whole
+presenting the appearance of a virgin wilderness, keeping its treasures
+intact for the one that can appreciate them. The Spaniard looks upon
+nature with a lazy eye, troubling himself little about anything that
+cannot be put to some immediate use. And he has jealously guarded the
+islands against alien footsteps, putting annoying obstacles in the
+way of all that sought to explore their interior. In consequence,
+the Philippines may be said to be in a large measure unexplored,
+waiting for the botanist to discover their treasures, the poet to
+sing their beauties, the practical man to develop their resources.
+
+Energy and enterprise are sadly needed, and it will require the
+go-ahead American spirit to bring about the possibilities of those
+fertile tropical lands.
+
+
+
+
+A Diadem of Island Gems.
+
+And the earth possesses no scenes more beautiful than those to be
+found in this verdant and blooming Archipelago,--from its northern
+to its southern verge, this magnificent rosary of glowing islands,
+that Nature has hung above the heaving bosom of the warm Pacific. Of
+them all, none is more beautiful than Luzon. the largest and the
+richest of the whole, with its vast variety of attractive scenery,
+mountain and plain, lake and stream, everywhere rich with glossy
+leafage, clustered growths of bamboo and palm, fields of yellow cane,
+and verdant coffee-groves. Everywhere is wealth of trees, clothing
+the mountains to their summits, and bordering the long green miles
+of ocean-shore.
+
+On a smaller scale, but not less beautiful than lordly Luzon, are
+the many minor islands, such as Panay, Negros, Cebú, Sámar, and
+others of names that would be strange to foreign ears. Here there
+are no stretches of barren lands, no drought-stricken shores, as in
+some of the isles of the West, no flat and chalky fields like those
+of Barbadoes; and even the loveliest of the Antilles must yield the
+palm of beauty to these charming isles of the eastern ocean. Here
+an abundant rainfall, an equable climate, a rich soil, and the warm
+influences of the equatorial waters combine to yield a luxuriant
+beauty and variety of scenery that must be observed to be appreciated.
+
+
+
+
+The Magnificence of Tropical Scenery.
+
+Tropical scenery cannot be pictured in words. It must be seen
+to be comprehended. One need not, too, go beyond the environs of
+Manila--that Venice of the East, with its labyrinth of canals and
+estuaries,--through which the tides of the broad bay daily ebb and
+flow,--and with its wealth of brilliant flowers and tropic verdure--to
+imagine oneself in a new world. Its surroundings are a dream of beauty.
+
+Take any of the roads that run outward from the city. Say, starting
+from the Malecon promenade: one passes through stretches of country
+verdant with groves of graceful bamboos, lofty cocoanut palms,
+flowing-leaved plantains, and all the wonderful variety and luxuriance
+of tropical vegetation. Upon it the eye gazes unsated, the leaves and
+flowers alike being rich and gorgeous in tint and form. Often have I
+wandered, entranced, up the eddying Pasig, enraptured by the beauty
+of its scenery and the charm of its coloring, viewing, also from its
+leafy banks the splendors of sunset skies, grand and glowing to a
+degree seldom seen in temperate zones.
+
+Further inland the mountain scenery never fails to charm, with the
+varied pictures presented by its forest-growth. A grotesqueness of form
+is often assumed by the trunks and limbs of tropical trees, and this,
+with the glossy green foliage, the rich hues and attractive shapes
+of the blossoms, the novel forms and colors of the fruits, the dash
+and sparkle of mountain streams, here and there breaking into lovely
+cascades, all co-ordinated to the eye, compose a spectacle of beauty
+seldom excelled.
+
+Of all those plants, the tall and graceful bamboo ranks among the most
+beautiful. Everywhere it is found, growing in groups and clusters,
+scattered with great profusion and variety over hill and plain, along
+the streams, and around the native huts and villages. At the slightest
+breeze its fleecy tops and supple branches wave gracefully in the air,
+giving to the foliage the charm of perpetual motion. In addition,
+too, to its almost endless variety of uses, it has a mission beyond
+that of utility,--the mission of beauty, and it may justly be viewed
+as one of the choicest decorations of the island scenery.
+
+The bamboo never grows monotonous. It presents forms and colors of
+wonderful attractiveness and variety, and so fully dealt with has
+it been by the brush of the painter and the pen of the poet, that it
+might well be given a fine-art gallery and a library of its own.
+
+In the depths of the forest, and along the streams, beautiful orchids
+abound; here clustered on stately trees so dense of growth that
+the sun's rays scarcely penetrate their foliage; there giving life
+and color to the ground, and of such odd and amazing forms, that one
+often seems looking rather upon flowering birds and insects than upon
+plants. Here and there one finds oneself amid the spreading roots of
+the balete tree (Ficus Indica), from whose broad buttresses rises the
+mighty trunk, of such girth and even rotundity, that the natives make
+cart-wheels from sections of it. Down from the boughs, sixty feet in
+air, hang the rope-like lianes, descending, like nature's cordage,
+to the ground, while to the limbs cling orchids and other foreign
+growths, until the entire great tree seems a botanical world in itself.
+
+I have passed hours wandering spellbound in the forest, or gazing
+with eyes of wonder and delight into its silent depths. Yes, little
+of the poet as I have in my make-up, I, too, have been taken prisoner
+by a beauty and a grandeur that I found it difficult to tear myself
+away from.
+
+And these scenes are not merely local. Indeed, wherever one goes
+into the rural regions of the islands he finds the same amazing
+prodigality of tropic growth. There are thousands of square miles
+of dense forest within which the foot of the white man has rarely
+ever set; thousands perhaps upon which none but the natives have ever
+gazed; costly woods, whose value can be reckoned only in millions of
+dollars. Valuable herbs, medicinal plants, and hot springs abound;
+and the naturalist and the economic botanist alike are sadly needed
+to open up this luxuriant land to the world.
+
+
+
+
+The Promise of the Future.
+
+Under new control I expect to see, in the twentieth century, a new
+destiny for this noble group of islands. Whether the people be given
+their freedom under the protection and influence of the United States,
+or the islands become a direct appanage of that or of some other
+enterprising nation of the West, a turn in the tide of Philippine
+affairs can hardly fail to set in, and the possibilities of the land
+be developed to an extent undreamed of under the effete rule of Spain.
+
+I expect to see an invasion of this island-realm by three classes of
+modern enterprise. The scientist is sure to find his way there, and
+tell the world of the new and the strange in the animal, vegetable,
+and mineral kingdoms. With him will come the engineer, opening up
+roads right and left, laying a network of iron rails, where now only
+the buffalo-cart drags along, introducing the latest machinery for
+mining and farming-industries, and starting a hum of activity in every
+quarter of the long-slumbering land. With these also will enter the
+practical economist, in search, not of the new, but of the useful,
+prospecting the forests for plants of economic value, seeking for
+new mines of coal and iron, tracing the gold placer-beds up to their
+mother-veins, seeking everywhere for what the Philippines have to
+add to the useful productions of the world.
+
+These will be the twentieth century pioneers of this promising
+Archipelago, the results of their labors being exploited by
+the merchant and the manufacturer. The seas shall teem with ships
+carrying the products of the islands to foreign shores, and bringing
+back full cargoes to supply the demands of the islanders, commerce
+steadily growing in amount as civilization awakens the natives to
+the perception of new wants.
+
+Examples of a similar rejuvenation could easily be pointed out, and
+there is no conceivable reason why the Philippines should not be added
+to the list. These islands have been lavishly dealt with by nature;
+they have an industrious population; yet they have been allowed to
+remain for centuries in a semi-savage industrial condition; they still
+await the touch of the magic hand of modern enterprise to arouse them
+from their state of decadence, and swing them into the tide of human
+progress. Under this influence prosperity and activity must come to
+them, as it has come to other lands, and those long-neglected and
+abused islands be made to "bud and blossom like the rose."
+
+Certainty of conviction and opinion, too, leads me to affirm that,
+with sanitary arrangements in all the cities, with hygienic living,
+and American enterprise, philanthropy, and valor in the islands,
+and free educational facilities eventually,--all will manifestly
+increase the morale of the islanders and develop a just appreciation
+of the natural beauties of their bounteous realm; hence, what is
+now confusedly enjoyed and but vaguely beheld in nature, will, in
+a comparatively brief period, become simple, clear, sympathetic,
+and clearly formulated to their apprehension.
+
+And all this, as well as many other allied benefits co-existent with
+a permanent American occupation, will come with personal education,
+personal elevation; and without lessening the labor-producing quality
+of the native, or the outward physical radiation that constitutes
+his health and vigor. Health, like knowledge, will come to him in
+ever-widening circles, and Nature, in full festival--as she is during
+the greater part of the Philippine year--will also appeal to him as
+she has never appealed before.
+
+All this may be hazardous prophecy; it may appear optimistic, æsthetic,
+and fanciful, but I have talked with many rude untutored natives,
+that, frankly, astonished me with the unwitting revelation of latent
+poetry, love of imagery, and spiritual longings in their nature.
+
+Knowing all this, and also the adaptability of the cultured native,
+hence the rosy view of the possible development of the Philippine
+Islands' native population.
+
+The vivid contrasts, the checkered scenery, and the pulchritudinous
+beauty of the islands would ravish the soul of the impressionistic
+painter, and inspire his brush to masterpieces. There forest and
+plain, sky and sea, unroll in unexpected beauty or marvelous grandeur
+at every turn; until, after visiting the interior or skirting the
+shores of many islands, one has a kind of kaleidoscopic memory,
+yet none the less brilliant, perfectly formed, and orderly--each
+in harmonious sequence--of long lines of shadowy hills, majestic
+mountain-ranges, with forest-clad slopes verging toward the sea;
+pretty rambling creeks and gurgling rivulets, cliff-bound coasts,
+cultivated plain and rugged hill; here and there shaded dells with
+mountain torrents roaring, unseen; a glorious sunset, or a splendid
+sunrise present in the memory-pictures of mountain, sea, and plain.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+A VILLAGE FEAST.
+
+
+The Morning Ceremonies.
+
+Nothing in the life of the people of the Philippine Islands is more
+interesting to the foreigner than the village feasts; nothing is more
+indicative of the character of the people, who are exceedingly fond
+of ornament and display. Every village has its own feasts, to which
+all the natives in the surrounding district contribute;--in which
+all alike take part.
+
+These feasts are always of a religious character, and are encouraged
+by the clergy, who find them not only lucrative, but also conducive
+to religious feeling.
+
+Come with me and visit the busy morning-scene of a fiesta in a
+populous village near the capital. As we enter the broad roadway,
+winding with serpentine folds among the gleaming bungalows, we see
+everywhere signs of unusual activity; groups of smiling natives,
+dressed in their Sunday best, hurry by, chattering gaily. Here comes
+a long line of carromatas (small carts) drawn by wiry ponies, driven
+by well-to-do native planters: with the lofty consciousness of worldly
+prosperity they sit erect in imperturbable dignity.
+
+We join a passing group and follow them past the low, airy houses,
+all decorated now with gorgeous bunting and gay festoons. Flags and
+streamers flutter on every house-top; the whole village presents
+a scene of picturesque animation; for the tropical luxuriance of
+the trees and the myriad flowers of gorgeous hue, form a brilliant
+background.
+
+We arrive at the village-green, and here stands a motley assemblage,
+constantly reinforced by the throngs that come in by every path and
+roadway. An expression of eager anticipation is on the faces of all as
+they gaze in the direction of the little church that fronts the crowded
+court. The church is a low, massive, white building, with large pillars
+in front, that give it a semi-classic appearance; it forms a curious,
+but not uninteresting, contrast to the many-gabled bungalows.
+
+The bells in the campanile begin to toll slowly, and from the midst of
+the crowd instantly comes a burst of glorious music. The village-band
+stationed there renders effectively an operatic air as the natives
+slowly enter the church. After all are seated, the priest preaches
+a short sermon, full of pith and of pertinent suggestion about the
+Saint whom the day commemorates. The audience is then dismissed with
+a benediction; and to the lively music of some composer it files
+leisurely out. The natives see nothing incongruous in the introduction
+of operatic music into divine worship. They are moved to devotion
+no less by the stirring strains of one of Sousa's military marches
+or a languorous waltz of Strauss, than by the solemn Te Deums of the
+Catholic ritual. To them all music is divine.
+
+We stop a few minutes to watch the cura,--the parish priest,--as he
+dispenses blessings to his devout parishioners, who now crowd round
+him with every appearance of reverential affection.
+
+Our friend the cura is a veritable father to his people. As he listens
+to the ingenuous confidences of his flock, his face beams with that
+rare benevolence born of godliness; there is a whisper of domestic
+sorrow that he needs must hear, a story of happiness or a tale of
+wrong. For each and all he has a word of kindly affection, and as he
+sees us waiting near the entrance, he approaches with outstretched
+hand and invites us to the grand procession in the evening.
+
+The people have dispersed, and have returned to their homes. Already
+the sun is high in the sky, pouring a deluge of heat upon the
+landscape. From the horizon, mountain after mountain springs airily
+into the heavens, their blue peaks suggesting a place of perpetual
+coolness, upon which the eye loves to linger amid the oppressive
+blaze of the tropic sun.
+
+Surrounding the village are forests of majestic trees, of indescribable
+grandeur, and of unparalleled magnificence. Among these the white
+houses of the planters nestle peacefully.
+
+Each house has its own tiny garden, fenced in with reeds, and forms
+a miniature paradise, where are flowers of splendid hue, creepers
+with purple blossoms, red-coral blooms, and trees of palm, mango,
+orange, lanzon, santol, and giant bananas, whose rich fruits, in
+giant clusters, tempt the eye of the beholder. Here the native is a
+petty king: for his own little domain, for nine months of the year,
+yields sufficient for his wants. Nature, indeed, gives him a golden
+harvest for only the reaping.
+
+We have been invited to spend the day with a well-to-do native planter,
+who, at the conclusion of the service, has sought us out. He lives
+on the outskirts of the village, and we are soon with him in his
+carromata, speeding leisurely over the highway.
+
+We approach his home--a typical native dwelling; the body of the
+house is raised about six feet from the ground, and is mounted
+on thick pieces of stone. This allows the air to circulate freely
+beneath, and prevents the entrance of snakes and insects, and is
+in every way conducive to health and comfort. We mount the wide
+stairway, that connects the house with the ground, and enter upon a
+broad open piazza facing the street, called a cahida. The sides of
+this are formed of sliding windows, composed of small square panes
+of mother-of-pearl, opaque to the heat, but admitting the rays of
+light. Here we are introduced to the various members of the family,
+who receive us kindly and offer sugared dainties and a cigarette.
+
+Beyond is a large room, with walls of window and with sliding
+doors. Here are some chairs and a table, covered with a handsomely
+embroidered cloth. Upon the walls, which are covered with cloth
+instead of plaster, are various bric-a-brac, artistically arranged upon
+scrolls; while several engravings of religious subjects and one or two
+family portraits hang between. From the centre of the ceiling hangs
+a crystal chandelier with globes of colored glass; a small oratory,
+supporting the brazen image of some Saint, stands in the corner. The
+broad floor-planks, daily scrubbed and polished with plantain leaves,
+are as smooth and clean as a mirror.
+
+Opening from this main room are several smaller rooms, used as
+bedrooms. A narrow passage-way leads to the bath-room and to the
+kitchen--in a separate building. The design of the whole domicile
+seems to aim at cleanliness and coolness,--both essentials of comfort
+in this hot, moist climate.
+
+The roof is patched with nipa palm, and the outside walls of
+bamboo--painted white and striped with green and blue--are covered with
+grotesque carvings. This, with the broad eaves and the wide balconies,
+gives the house a most picturesque appearance.
+
+We note with gratification the many signs of family affection
+around us. The father, kind and considerate; the mother, sweet and
+sympathetic; the children, quiet, obedient, and well-behaved--a picture
+of domestic happiness that is representative rather than exceptional.
+
+
+
+
+How the Afternoon is Spent.
+
+After tiffin, each retires to his own room to enjoy the siesta;
+and thus we sleep soundly through the heavy afternoon hours.
+
+The siesta over, we venture into the village. Through the streets
+are hurrying scores of men, nearly every one with a cock under his
+arm. They are going to the cock-pit. We follow, and soon we come to
+our destination.
+
+Imagine a large bamboo building with a thatched roof, wherein hundreds
+of natives have gathered, for, what is to them, the supreme enjoyment
+of life. Around the door are one or two guards in Spanish uniform;
+but everything appears so decorous and orderly that it is indeed
+difficult to realize that we are in a gigantic gambling den. Nearly
+every native has with him his fighting-cock, which he loves as
+devotedly as one of his own children, and upon which he has spent much
+care and interest. The "farmer," often a Chinaman, who has secured a
+license from the Government to run the cock-pit, stands in the middle
+of the ring, around him a group of natives excited and eager.
+
+Two fighting-cocks, each armed with a steel spur three or four inches
+long, are in the hands of their respective owners. Every eye is riveted
+upon the prospective contestants. The farmer, or proprietor, announces
+that the contest is about to begin, and from every hand dollars rain
+into the ring, each person staking a certain amount upon his favorite.
+
+This done, all is breathless expectation, and at the word "Casada"
+(meaning matched), and at "Largo" (let go), the fowls are let loose.
+
+The fight waxes hot and furious; the two cocks are as pugnacious as
+bull-pups. But it is soon over; for, at a well-directed thrust from
+the steel spur, one of the contestants lies dead.
+
+The crier now announces the name of the winner, and all the winners
+come down into the middle of the ring and pick up their own stakes,
+as well as the amount won by the wager.
+
+Strangers often remark how unusual it is that amid so much confusion,
+and where there is apparently boundless opportunity for cheating,
+there should be so much honesty and good faith.
+
+However, every man is to be trusted. I have never known but one
+exception--he was instantly hacked to pieces with knives. There are
+over a hundred of these gambling pits around Manila. It is the natives'
+greatest diversion. Opposition to this sport would almost create a
+rebellion; and so the Spanish Government wisely makes the best of it,
+pocketing almost a million dollars a year from the licenses.
+
+
+
+
+The Evening Procession.
+
+It is night. Against the sombre gloom of the heavens twinkle millions
+of stars: they too are a part of the grand illumination that is to be
+the climax of the whole fiesta. Again the village-green in front of
+the church! It is alive with the happy villagers, decked in all their
+finery--the men and boys in airy, colored shirts and white trousers,
+the women and girls in splendid skirts and brilliant chemisettes.
+
+All are standing bareheaded. The band is discoursing sweet music,
+and the people stand entranced. Not a sound is heard till the tune is
+ended; then, on every hand, arises a decorous murmur of delight. Here
+comes the cura. He at once proceeds to arrange the procession, which is
+the event of the feast, and to which the villagers have been looking
+forward, with joyous anticipation, for many months. Mysterious groups
+are issuing from the church. These are assigned to their respective
+positions by the father, who, in this, as in all else, is the master
+of ceremonies. Let us, however, leave the crowd and move a little
+way up the street, where, before long, the procession is to pass.
+
+Over the roadway, from airy arches, gaily decorated with bunting,
+are suspended Chinese lanterns. On the gateways to the houses, on
+all the fences that line the street, hang little fat-pots, whose pale
+flicker, multiplied a thousand-fold, produces a most romantic effect,
+to which the lights on the arches and the many-colored illuminated
+lamps in the windows add a subdued splendor.
+
+We have not long to wait; for the procession has been speedily
+arranged, and is already making its way up the street, the band,
+at the head, playing an operatic air.
+
+Behind come the happy participants, two by two; men and women
+alternating. All carry torches, whose glow throws over their grave
+faces a gleam of soft light, that harmonizes well with the nature of
+the occasion.
+
+And now comes the spangled image of some old Saint borne aloft
+on a litter; while a murmur of applause bursts from the admiring
+onlookers. From every house rockets are shot into the heavens,
+showering on the dusky night constellations of colored stars.
+
+Thus, Saint after Saint, martyr after martyr, is majestically borne
+along, till near the end of the procession appears the image of the
+Virgin, herself "decked with jewels bright and with glory crowned."
+
+Now the murmur rises to a shout of devout acclaim: the Queen of the
+festive night, Our Lady, passes on.
+
+Thus, through every street, winds the brilliant procession under the
+lighted arches, returning finally to the village-court, whence it
+started. Here the priest pronounces a benediction, and with a clash
+of triumphant music the participants are dismissed.
+
+
+
+
+The Entertainment at Home.
+
+Again we accompany our host back to his hospitable mansion, where
+a generous meal has been prepared for us. We partake heartily of
+the good things: roast-pig, chicken, many kinds of native fruits,
+and rice. At the close, cigarettes are passed round,--both men and
+women smoking,--and we soon enter into conversation while the newer
+arrivals are being served.
+
+It is our host's grand reception night. A hundred guests have
+partaken of his bounty, and the veranda and the sitting-room are
+crowded with friends and neighbors,--invited and uninvited; all are
+equally welcome. Cigars and cigarettes are passed round, and now the
+fun begins. A girl--a wonderfully sweet and pretty creature--with
+glowing black eyes and long, loose black hair--advances to the centre
+of the room, and croons a low, plaintive air, reminiscent of unrequited
+love. She accompanies her music with a weird dance, impressive through
+its very simplicity. Gradually her tones grow louder and her movements
+quicker, signifying all the varying degrees of advance and refusal. Her
+supple body glides into a thousand graceful curves, each eloquent of
+beauty. Her pale olive face becomes mantled with a rich crimson tide
+as she lashes herself into a fury of passion. She feigns anger, and,
+stamping her pretty feet, now in petulant disdain, now in a paroxysm
+of wrath, stands the incarnation of beautiful rage. It is a picture
+full of tragic power, of deep significance.
+
+She is approaching the climax of her passion. Her voice is sharp and
+shrill as it trembles with scorn or defiance. Forward and backward
+her body sways with a rhythmic swing that compels the attention of
+every beholder. Many, in fact, accompany her every motion with the
+sympathetic movement of unconscious imitation: their faces mirror
+the feelings of the dancer.
+
+And now a note of triumph rings out, and the singer's face glows with
+an expression of ecstasy; while, bounding forward, her splendid hair
+trailing its waves of ebony, she seems transformed,--the apotheosis
+of joy. Then slowly decreasing in volume, her voice sinks to a low
+whisper of serene content, and, blushing modestly at the applause,
+she retires to give place to others.
+
+Two young men and a girl now come forward, and a scene of desperate
+rivalry on the part of the men, and of tantalizing coquetry on the
+part of the maiden, is enacted. This is by means of a series of
+intricate dance-movements, no less striking than original. A pretty
+tableau truly! And one not lacking in sentiment and in spontaneous
+expression. A foreigner would believe that these lithe young natives
+were in terrible earnest, and that they were rehearsing a passion
+of the heart! Such, indeed, is often the case, and many a girl has,
+through the license of this dance, shown her preference. Many a youth,
+too, has seen his hopes blasted, and his rival exalted, by a dainty
+pirouette.
+
+This dance is followed by another, in which an exquisite girl and
+a fat young man take part. It is an Oriental rhapsody; a sort of
+couchee-couchee,--very suggestive and voluptuous, according to Western
+ideas. There are wrigglings and writhings, and clasps and embraces;
+all the sweet contortions of secret love, that the natives take as
+a matter of course, just as Europeans regard the waltz.
+
+Dance after dance follows, and it is getting late. But another
+entertainment is in store for us; and so once more we venture forth
+into the night--en route to the village-green.
+
+
+
+
+The Moro-Moro, and the Fireworks.
+
+Here has been hastily erected a large booth, around which hundreds of
+natives are standing in an attitude of profound interest. A moro-moro
+play is going on. This is a sort of Philippine miracle-play, in which
+kings and queens and soldiers, and various persons with Biblical names,
+contend together. There is rivalry, ruin, and despair; there is death,
+murder, and awful retribution. It is a tumultuous tragedy; in which,
+too, are some subtle and refined elements, and a kind of gross humor,
+represented by the stage-fool and by the lads that take the female
+parts. There is, however, no coarseness; not a suggestion of it.
+
+Love and religious persuasion and devotion mark the greatest number
+of moro-moro performances, and while some of the plays are fairly
+good,--not judging from too lofty a standpoint,--yet, on the other
+hand, it is indeed amusing to note how little in this line, how thin
+a texture, pleases the people, bombast and fury, honeyed accents
+and unnecessary vicarious suffering, false and flagrant violations
+of dramatic art--all alike are viewed with breathless interest,
+and applauded, or stoically witnessed as the occasion demands. The
+entire play is given in the Tagal language.
+
+The native spectators, indeed, enter into the action of the play with,
+as it were, a grim earnest; as if all their mental faculties were
+judging complex emotions and nice situations.
+
+Nothing, indeed, in the native character is more remarkable than
+its unvarying decorum. Here the happy crowd has been standing for
+three hours, agape with delight, drinking in the rude splendors of
+tinsel potentates.
+
+Here, too, they would be willing to stand for several hours more;
+but it is nearly midnight, and a sudden illumination on the other
+side of the square announces that the time for departure is almost
+at hand. It is seen that the villagers have constructed a miniature
+castle, now ablaze with fire-works. Various designs are traced by the
+spreading glow, and scores of rockets shoot into the sky, dropping a
+shower of brilliant stars. Ever and anon, at some unusual display,
+a murmur of applause rises from the admiring throng. Entranced,
+they stay until the last rocket has been drowned in the vast ocean
+of Night. Then all leave as silently as they came, and the village
+square is soon deserted; while the lamps and lanterns are allowed to
+burn till their glow is quenched in the brightness of the morrow's sun.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+HISTORY OF COMMERCE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
+
+
+The Spanish Policy.
+
+Commerce has its two forms, the extensive and the intensive; one that
+considers the world at large, and one that seeks to confine itself to
+the interests of a nation. The latter, before the nineteenth century,
+was everywhere the type of colonial commerce. The nations held their
+colonies in leading strings; cramped and crowded them in their natural
+growth, and so checked their development that they lost the benefit
+that they might have gained from a more liberal policy. Of all the
+nations, Spain pursued this short-sighted policy most rigidly. Not only
+in commerce, but in everything else, she cramped her colonies. Foreign
+trade was so sternly prohibited that, in her period of supremacy,
+she put to death any alien merchant that ventured into one of her
+ports. Her colonies were her cows; no one could milk them but herself;
+but she milked them so dry as to starve them of their natural yield.
+
+Spain never learned the lesson that the other nations were taking
+to heart. In the nineteenth century her policy with her colonies
+was as illiberal as in the eighteenth. As a result, rebellions
+everywhere broke out; one by one the colonies became free, and
+the country whose possessions covered more than a continent at
+the beginning of the century, held, at the end, but a shred of her
+once-splendid dominion. Spain's treatment of the Philippine Islands
+in their commercial interests, forms a marked example of what I have
+previously said, and an extended account of this remarkable method
+of trade cannot fail to be of interest.
+
+The Philippines, at first, in 1569, were too far away to be dealt
+with directly, and were made an appanage of the intermediate colony
+of Mexico, through which they were reached and controlled. The
+method was curious. The natives were no sooner subdued and put under
+Spanish governors than they were required to pay roundly in taxes
+and tribute to the royal treasury. All this belonged to the crown,
+but some of it had to be devoted to the government of the colony;
+and the Spanish grandees that exiled themselves to that far land,
+took good care to pay themselves well for the penance.
+
+For many years the taxes were paid to the treasury wholly in colonial
+produce, and for many more years, partly so. This material was
+exchanged for Chinese wares, junks from the Celestial kingdom visiting
+the islands each spring, and bartering silks and diverse goods of
+China for the rice, hemp, and other produce of the islands, which
+had been collecting during the year in the royal stores at Manila.
+
+
+
+
+The Treasure-galleons.
+
+The method of dealing with the goods thus received was, to say the
+least, peculiar. They were done up each year in bales, always just
+fifteen hundred in number, and of exactly the same size and shape,
+for shipment to Mexico. From the first year after the formation of
+the colony until the year 1811, a fixed process was maintained. Every
+year a State-galleon left Manila for Mexico, bearing the baled Chinese
+goods, which represented the Philippine tribute. Every year the ship
+returned with a portion of the proceeds to the starting-point, this
+being known as the Mexican subsidy. One galleon and no more. For two
+centuries, and longer, this rigid system was kept up, the commerce of
+the islands being limited to this conveyance of tribute across the
+seas. Navidad was at first the Mexican port of call. Then Acapulco
+was chosen, and for more than two hundred years the State-galleon,
+Naos de Acapulco, yearly came and went across the Pacific, carrying
+tribute for Spain. The ships employed were very different from modern
+commercial craft. Short of length, wide of beam, and light of draught,
+with high elevation in bow and stern, above water they presented
+something of the outline of a crescent moon. They were of about 1,500
+tons burden, had four decks, and were provided with guns; for, the
+waters they crossed were not secure from hostile craft, and Spain
+not infrequently had the loss of one of her rich galleons to mourn.
+
+Thus it continued, until the rebellion in Mexico put an end to the
+traffic, the last of the treasure-galleons leaving for Mexico in
+1811. The last for Manila set sail in 1815. There were other reasons
+than the war to put an end to the old traffic. The expense had become
+too great and the profit too small. Spain's finances had fallen
+into a lamentable state, and the Naos de Acapulco was, perforce,
+withdrawn. Needy politicians, who knew little about seamanship, but
+much about perquisites, had forced themselves into the galleon, whose
+commander received an annual salary of $40,000, the chief executive
+officer $25,000, and the quartermaster nine per cent. of the cargo,
+the total of which was no small sum.
+
+It was an odd idea to restrict the commerce of a group of the richest
+islands of the tropic seas, to a single vessel carrying the annual
+tribute of the island. In fact, it was not quite so restricted. The
+tribute-cargo did not fill the ship. There was some space left, and
+the use of this was given to a few favored merchants, the Consulado,
+as they were called, a trading ring, each member of which must have
+resided a certain number of years in the Philippines, and have a
+fortune of at least $8,000. This surplus freight was regulated by
+the issue of boletas,--documents that long did duty as paper money,
+passing from hand to hand. The demand for space much exceeded the
+supply, and the right to ship on the annual galleon often went to
+favored hands, merchants being set aside by churchmen, officials,
+and others with grasping palms.
+
+It may be that the idea of adding to the island-trade by supplying
+more ships, never penetrated the thick official cuticle of Spain. At
+all events, the single galleon sailed back and forth year after year,
+until the years lengthened into centuries, and while other nations were
+sending their deeply-freighted craft to all the ports of the earth. It
+was odd and lamentable to see this pitiful travesty of commercial
+enterprise kept up until after the dawn of the busy nineteenth century.
+
+The yearly value of the official cargo sent from Manila was at
+first limited to $250,000. But such was the demand for the goods
+in Mexico, that one hundred per cent. was usually realized on the
+sales. The return-trade was not permitted to exceed the value of the
+proceeds,--$500,000, in coin or stores. In this way Mexican dollars,
+the recognized coin of the colony, made their way thither in large
+quantities. They were largely absorbed by China, where they were highly
+welcome. A certain sum was necessary to maintain the colony. This--the
+royal subsidy (Real Situado)--was fixed by decree from time to time,
+coming out of the proceeds of the annual tribute.
+
+In saying that the annual galleon conveyed all the commerce of
+the Philippines, I should have confined this statement to Western
+trade. There was some commerce with the East. Indian and Persian goods
+reached Manila in considerable quantities. The same was the case,
+as I have stated, with Chinese wares. But the absurd restrictions of
+Spain hampered this trade. No Spaniard was permitted to go to China
+to buy his own goods. He must wait for the Chinese junks, and content
+himself with what they chose to bring.
+
+The sailing of the annual galleon took place usually in July; and
+the voyage occupied about five months. The route to be followed was
+strictly laid down, and even the vagaries of the winds were scarcely
+an excuse for deviating from it. As has been said, all was carefully
+arranged as to size and number of bales and weight of cargo. For a
+century and a half there was practically no competition in this trade,
+and everything could be officially regulated, even to the selling-price
+of the goods in the Mexican market. The departure and arrival of
+the galleon at Manila formed the great events of the year. At these
+single dates the bars of exclusion were thrown down,--goods left,
+and wealth returned to, the colony; new faces appeared, and rejoicing
+was general. Te Deums were chanted in the churches, musicians paraded
+the streets, filling the air with melody, and bunting by day and
+illumination by night testified to the public joy.
+
+Life was an easy affair with the merchants of Manila. Business was
+never a distressing occupation. One or two days in each week were
+Saint's days--to be strictly kept. While the galleon was away, there
+was little to do except to await the Chinese junks and prepare the
+bales for shipment. There was no rise or fall of market-price, no
+need of smartness, tact, or enterprise, and only three months in the
+year when active labor was needed. During the remaining nine months
+the merchants were cut off from the world, and enjoyed life in their
+quiet way, with little regard to the doings of mankind.
+
+
+
+
+Disasters to Spanish Commerce.
+
+Now and then, however, a change came over the spirit of their
+dreams. The seas are notoriously uncertain, and ship-captains appointed
+by favor are not overmuch to be trusted. Disasters came. Galleons
+went to sea and never came to port; shattered bones lay on some
+inhospitable coast or found a grave on the bottom of the ocean. And
+as time went on, hostile ships visited the Pacific and made prizes of
+the rich galleons of Spain. Now the remittance from the Philippines
+failed to reach Mexico. Now the scores of broad dollars sent back,
+vanished on the seas.
+
+The loss of the invincible Armada in 1588 put an end to Spain's naval
+supremacy, and the richly-freighted American galleons often became
+the prey of British buccaneers. The colony of the Philippines had
+then just been formed, and was not disturbed until the series of
+Anglo-Spanish wars before 1760, when its treasure-laden galleons
+were frequently swept away. This was notably the case after 1743,
+when Admiral Anson's fleet infested the coast and became the terror of
+the Spanish islanders. His exploits filled Manila with consternation,
+and councils were held to devise some method of getting rid of him;
+but he set all their efforts at naught. The captured galleon Pinar put
+a million and a half of dollars into his treasure-chest: the Covadouga
+yielded him immense wealth. Spies upon high promontories watched the
+seas for the dreaded British ships; the people of Manila were held
+ready to defend the city from assault; every one was on the alert.
+
+For each lost galleon another was sent, and in some instances several
+galleons had to be despatched in a single year. Yet there were three
+or four occasions in which no galleon reached the Philippines for two
+or three years; while, after the capture of the Covadouga six years
+passed without a ship reaching the islands. The effect was disastrous:
+coin grew scarce, misery prevailed, the Chinese traders broke into open
+rebellion. There were other sources of revenue besides the Mexican
+subsidy, but the officials felt their incomes seriously straitened
+in these periods of want.
+
+
+
+
+Other Nations Enter Into Competition.
+
+Spain lost not only through war, but through peace. Her inelastic
+commerce invited competition, and British, Dutch, and other merchants
+began to cut down the great profits of the Philippine trade. These
+nations sent their ships to Canton, established factories, and bought
+goods for themselves, cutting off the Spanish monopoly of the traffic
+with the East. In 1731 foreign ships expended over $3,000,000 of
+Mexican coin in China for goods. These were smuggled into New Spain,
+not without help from Spaniards on shore. This proved a serious
+competition. The old hundred-per-cent. profit was no longer to be
+had. Acapulco was so beset with smugglers, whose merchandise found
+its way clandestinely to the city of Mexico, that, at times, buyers
+could not be found for the galleon-goods except at much reduced rates.
+
+
+
+
+Fraud and Speculation.
+
+Fraud now stepped in. Goods of inferior quality were sent and offered
+at old prices. Government inspectors were appointed at Manila to
+examine goods; but they filled their own pockets at the expense of the
+public service, and the frauds went on. Contraband goods were taken
+on the State-galleon itself, concealed in water-jars. The misfortunes
+that came to the Manila merchants in consequence, were due largely
+to their own fault: they had "sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind."
+
+There were certain public funds in Manila that offered themselves to
+speculative uses. These--known as the Obras Pias--were legacies left
+by pious persons whose interest was to be used to pay for masses for
+their souls. Two-thirds were to be lent at interest to traders, the
+remainder being held to cover losses. The Casa Misericordia was another
+pious fund that was lent at 40 per cent., sinking to 20 per cent. as
+trade grew less profitable. In the end, speculative ventures made way
+with much of this accumulated cash; sorely, it may be, to the misery
+of the poor souls in Purgatory, waiting to be prayed into Paradise.
+
+
+
+
+The Merchants of Cádiz.
+
+A new competition with Philippine commerce came into play at the
+beginning of the eighteenth century,--that of the merchants of
+Cádiz, who had grown jealous of the shipments from Manila to Mexico,
+which they claimed were injurious to the home-trade. Petitions were
+therefore sent to the King, who, in response, put a new curb on
+the scanty island-commerce, prohibiting trade with China in woven
+goods, skins, silk, and clothing, except fine linen. The imports from
+China were limited to fine linen, porcelain, wax, pepper, cinnamon,
+and cloves. Six months' grace was given, after which all stocks of
+prohibited goods in Manila were to be burned, and all sent to Mexico
+to be confiscated. There was nothing strange in this decree. England
+was at that time practising the same restriction toward her American
+colonies, though she did not order any goods to be burned.
+
+
+
+
+Royal Restrictions on Trade.
+
+Decree followed decree during the ensuing years, all pointing to the
+same end. In 1720 it was decreed that in future two galleons might
+annually be sent to Mexico, but these were to be of only 500 tons,
+and their cargoes to be valued at $300,000, made up of non-prohibited
+goods. Ecclesiastics and foreigners were forbidden to have anything
+to do with trade. In 1726 the prohibition on silks was removed, but
+only one galleon was permitted to cross. A protest arose from Spain
+against the Philippine trade in woven goods, which was declared to be
+ruinous to the Spanish weaving industries, particularly as the galleons
+took back Mexican coin instead of Spanish goods. As a result, the 1720
+decree was restored in 1731, to the dismay of the Philippine merchants
+and the people of Mexico. For they had to pay higher prices for Spanish
+goods, while their coffers were drained to meet the Philippine deficit.
+
+Other Royal decrees were issued from time to time, favoring or
+injuring trade, and all with the general effect sure to arise from
+interference with the natural course of commerce. Among these were
+enactments intended to prevent Mexican capital from being invested
+in the Philippines. All was done that could be to keep the islands
+in a state of poverty and decadence.
+
+To mention one further example of Spanish blindness--the priests. Their
+meddling proved worse than that of the King. Through their influence
+the non-Christian Chinese were expelled from the islands in 1755, and
+with them went an industry that caused a deficit of $30,000 a year in
+the taxes. Trade grew stagnant in consequence of the loss of these
+active shopkeepers, and the Philippines experienced what Spain had
+experienced when Philip II. banished the Moorish agriculturists and
+artisans. In both cases this concession to bigotry threw the country
+into a deplorable state, and years passed before prosperity returned.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+COMMERCE DURING THE PRESENT CENTURY.
+
+
+The Royal Company.
+
+The closing of the Chinese shops in Manila and the expulsion of the
+Chinese merchants was the beginning of a new state of things in the
+islands. A joint-stock company was formed to buy clothing and staple
+goods for the Philippines, and sell at 30 per cent. advance. But the
+Spaniards lacked the keenness at bargaining that their predecessors
+possessed, and the company soon failed. Another company followed, under
+the favor of the King of Spain, who took a large block of its shares
+and gave it abundant privileges and monopolies. It--the Royal Company
+of the Philippines, fully organized in 1785--was given exclusive
+rights of trade, aside from the galleon trade with Acapulco. Foreign
+ships were not allowed to bring goods from Europe to the Philippines,
+though they could land Chinese and Indian goods.
+
+There were old treaties that prohibited Spain from seeking the Pacific
+by the eastern route, her trade being via Cape Horn and Mexico. Charles
+III. quashed these treaties in favor of the Royal Company, whose
+ships were allowed to sail by way of the Cape of Good Hope. No one
+seriously objected--Spanish commerce was not worth an objection. With
+its large capital and its privileges the Royal Company should have
+flourished. But it never did. Yet it benefited the Philippines, and
+gave a great impulse to agriculture, on which large sums of money were
+expended. The culture of sugar, tobacco, cotton, indigo, and pepper was
+much developed, and these long remained the staples of many provinces.
+
+The company had splendid opportunities, but failed to make the most of
+them. It broke down the vexatious prohibition to trade with the East
+and with Spain, which had checked Philippine enterprise, but the dry
+rot of Spanish incapacity caused its decay. Influence and intrigue
+brought men into the company that lacked ability, but received large
+salaries. As a result, it lost the power to compete with experts,
+while the contraband trade ate into its profits, and the merchants
+of Manila opposed its monopolies. Finally, in 1830, its privileges
+were taken away, and the island-colony was opened to the trade of
+the world. Five years afterward the Company ceased to exist.
+
+
+
+
+The Restrictions Are Gradually Abolished.
+
+Early in the nineteenth century foreigners made their way past
+the bars of restriction. A Mr. Butler first asked the privilege
+of residing in Manila, and opening up trade with Europe; but his
+humble petition was rejected as something monstrous,--an innovation
+that would put an end to the political security of the colony. Yet
+the needs of commerce forced Spain out of this illiberal attitude,
+and an American firm, Russell and Sturgis, was soon after admitted
+by favor of the Governor-General. Then Mr. Butler came back. Many
+others have since followed, and there are, to-day, about a dozen
+British and as many German and Swiss firms in the ports of Manila,
+Iloilo, and Cebú, together with firms of other nations.
+
+The house of Russell & Sturgis was long prominent in Philippine
+trade. It opened up the sugar culture in the isle of Negros, invested
+a large amount of money in agriculture, and was long the mainspring
+of Philippine enterprise. But it was, in the end, victimized by the
+natives, to whom its capital had been largely advanced, and in 1875,
+to the amazement and consternation of the people, the great firm
+failed. For a time its failure paralyzed trade, but the minor firms it
+had overshadowed soon expanded, and business grew brisker than before.
+
+
+
+
+Vexatious Duties on Foreign Imports.
+
+But while foreign merchants were thus forcing their way into the
+Philippines, they had to contend against the peculiar Spanish ideas
+of commercial enterprise. The customs duties--at that time seven
+per cent. on goods in Spanish ships--were double that in foreign
+vessels. And the most vexatious regulations prevailed. Thus there
+was a system of levying tonnage-dues on foreign vessels in addition
+to duties, a cargo-ship being charged double the dues of one in
+ballast. If a ship in ballast should land the smallest parcel, it was
+at once charged the higher rate. And it is said that the officials
+sometimes bribed a sailor to carry a small bundle on shore, to give
+them a pretext to make the higher charge. The story is told, that,
+one shipmaster, who had brought a cargo of cobble-stones to Manila,
+was severely fined because his cargo proved to be one stone short of
+the number on his manifest.
+
+In 1896 the collector of customs at Manila made $82,000 in this way,
+all of which went into his private purse. By exactions like these
+the Spanish officials managed to make their positions profitable,
+but they drove away trade, foreign shippers avoiding Manila.
+
+
+
+
+Duties Made Uniform.
+
+In 1869 a Royal decree was passed, making all decrees uniform,
+abolishing export duties, and doing away with the obnoxious
+port-charges. Since then foreign trade has been less hampered by
+Spanish privilege.
+
+To-day subsidized Spanish steamers have most of the import trade,
+though the export trade is done mainly by foreign vessels. These carry
+cargoes to Asiatic ports, discharge them, and proceed in ballast to
+the islands. No foreigner is permitted to own a vessel trading between
+Spain and any of her colonies, or between one colony and another, or
+doing a coast-trade from island to island. But this law is readily
+evaded, by foreigners giving to Spaniards the nominal ownership of
+their vessels. In this way a large part of the internal trade of the
+Philippines has fallen into foreign hands.
+
+
+
+
+Spanish Opposition to Foreign Trade.
+
+Despite the fact that foreign trade has forced its way into the
+Philippines, every step has been gained against Spanish distrust and
+opposition. Spain is not a mercantile nation, and its commercial
+ideas are centuries behind the age. Only constant pressure forced
+the Philippine authorities into more liberal measures, yet the
+island-trade remained deplorably fettered, as compared with
+general commerce. Proposed reforms, demands to introduce modern
+improvements, were alike unwelcome, the Church especially resisting
+innovation. Useless and obstructive formalities stood in the way of
+trade; vexatious delays were made; and the development of the colony
+seems to have been the last thought in the Governor-General's mind.
+
+By a Royal decree, in 1844, strangers were excluded from the interior
+of the islands. In 1857 old decrees were used to prevent foreign
+establishments in the colony. In 1886 foreign trade was declared
+prejudicial to the "material interests of the country."
+
+
+
+
+Trade with the Natives.
+
+The conservatism and ignorance of the natives have similarly
+stood in the way of commercial progress. They could not be made to
+understand that the change in quotations was not due to the caprice
+of buyers. Many of them lost by withholding goods when the quotations
+did not please them. Only in 1884, when the whole world was affected
+by the crisis in the sugar trade, could they be made to perceive that
+quotations were quite beyond the control of the merchants.
+
+Accustomed to deal with the Chinese, the natives have no fixed prices
+for their products. The Chinese understand them, and put prices on
+their goods that will allow for a large reduction. In the end, the
+native goes away contented, though the shrewd Chinaman has usually
+the best of the bargain. Even important mercantile houses seldom
+state prices, business being conducted on the shifting Asiatic
+scale. Foreign capitalists distrust trade with the natives, whose
+word usually cannot be depended upon, and employ middlemen to collect
+produce. These are persons born in the colony, who understand at once
+the business methods of the foreigner and the shifty customs of the
+natives. And they generally bring the opposite parties to terms.
+
+The only real basis of wealth in the Philippines is the raw material
+of agriculture and the forest. Nothing has been done to foster the
+industrial arts, and the manufactures are insignificant, the cigar
+product being the principal one.
+
+
+
+
+The Decline of American Trade.
+
+From the opening of the large export trade until recently, Americans
+were supreme. But the failure of the great house of Russell & Sturgis
+made a change. Other traders rose upon their ruins, and of late years
+England has gained the bulk of the trade. The downfall of the Americans
+was completed after the outbreak of the Cuban troubles in 1895. The
+Spanish hatred of the Yankee was reflected in these far-off islands,
+and, by petty annoyances that soon became intolerable, the last
+American firms were crowded out.
+
+
+
+
+Recent Measures and Statistics.
+
+In 1891 a protective tariff was laid by Spain on the trade of the
+Philippines. This diverted to the home-country most of the traffic
+formerly enjoyed by England and other countries. Iron goods and
+hardware are now furnished principally by Germany and Switzerland,
+but the Manchester cotton goods are supplemented by similar fabrics
+made in Barcelona. The imports from the United States are chiefly
+kerosene oil and flour.
+
+As an indication of the growth of Philippine trade since the intrusion
+of foreign shippers put an end to the mediæval obstructions of Spain,
+some figures may be quoted:
+
+In 1841 the imports of the islands aggregated in value $3,230,000, the
+exports, $4,370,000. In 1885 the imports had increased to $19,171,468;
+the exports to $24,553,686. In 1893 the imports aggregated $25,500,000;
+the exports $30,000,000. These figures are estimated, however, in
+Mexican dollars, the currency of the islands, which is at a large
+discount elsewhere.
+
+In 1895 the principal exports of the Philippines were: Hemp,
+$14,517,000; sugar, $10,975,000; tobacco, $3,159,000; cocoanuts,
+$356,000. This fell off greatly in 1896, on account of the increased
+scale of export duties, hemp declining to $7,500,000, and sugar
+to $10,975,000.
+
+On August 21, 1897, a decree went into effect that imposed an
+extraordinary customs duty of 6 per cent. ad valorem on all merchandise
+imports, without regard to the country whence they came.
+
+The trade of the United States with the Philippines has been steadily
+on the decline within recent years. In 1888 their imports from
+the islands were valued at $10,268,278; in 1897, at $4,383,760. The
+export trade has always been insignificant, as compared with European
+countries. In 1889 it aggregated $165,903; in 1897 it was only
+$94,567. During the same period the exports of Spain to the islands
+increased from $890,000 to $7,972,583. These were principally cotton
+fabrics. The exports from the United States embraced mineral oil,
+bread stuffs, cotton goods, chemicals, iron and steel goods. Of the
+imports, the most important were Manila hemp and sugar; other imports
+include cigars, tobacco, woods, hides, shells, indigo, and coffee.
+
+
+
+
+Bad Result of Spanish Rule.
+
+The foreign trade of the Philippines has always been subject to great
+fluctuations, owing to insecurity under the Spanish administration,
+the dissatisfaction of the native population, and to the frequent
+insurrections. These influences have stood seriously in the way of
+developing the wealth of the islands. Under a new and progressive
+administration, there seems nothing to hinder this fertile region
+from becoming one of the garden spots of the earth.
+
+The possession of the Philippines, on the other hand, has not been
+a bonanza for Spain. The expenses cut so deeply into the revenues
+that only a few hundred thousand dollars were left yearly for the
+Crown. The bulk of the proceeds fell into the hands of the clergy and
+the hidalgos sent out to rob and misgovern the islands. In addition
+to the revenue to the King, a few Spanish noblemen receive pensions
+from the islands. Among them are the Duke of Veragua and the Marquis
+of Barboles, both descendants of Columbus, and, as such, entitled to
+the consideration of the United States.
+
+The Spanish receipts were obtained from everything that could be
+taxed. In truth, the people were crowded wherever possible, and kept
+in a state of chronic irritation. This made them ready at any time
+to break into rebellion.
+
+As regards the expenditure of money raised by taxes and duties, while
+little came to the King, little also was spent on the islands. It was
+estimated that in 1897 $611,145 were expended on public works. If so,
+the result was not visible in the Philippines. If a bridge was needed,
+the neighboring nations had to raise the money to build it. More money
+was set aside for the transportation of priests than for the building
+of railroads, while ten times the sum was donated to the support
+of the Manila Cathedral than was spent for new improvements and for
+public instruction. Regarding the officials, from the Governor-General
+down to the lowest underling, they seem to have devoted themselves
+industriously to robbing the people with one hand and the Government
+with the other, sowing a crop of hatred of the Spaniard and of Spanish
+rule, which had its harvest in the fierce insurrection of 1896-98.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+AGRICULTURE: THE SUGAR AND RICE CROPS.
+
+
+Agriculture--The Chief Industry.
+
+The land is the mainstay of the Philippines, and farming is the native
+occupation. Manufacture is a diversion to which the natives do not
+take kindly. The only industrial art that has made any progress is
+the rolling of tobacco into cigars and cigarettes. Many thousands
+of people are engaged in this occupation at Manila, but, otherwise,
+manufacture is almost at a standstill. A little cordage is made;
+some straw or split-bamboo hats are fashioned and shipped; in some
+provinces split-cane and Neto hats and straw mats are made. Iloilo
+yields a rough cloth,--sinamay, made from selected hemp fibre. Piña
+muslin, made of pure pine-leaf fibre, and husi, of mixed pine-leaf and
+hemp, are fabricated. Those, with a few other articles, make up the
+native manufactured products. They do not occupy the attention of the
+people, the greater part of the population getting their livelihood
+from the fields.
+
+Plantation life is the industrial unit of the islands. The soil is
+divided up into plantations, large and small, according to the capital
+and enterprise of the planter. As a rule, the planters are of the Malay
+race, and the work of the fields is done by other Malays, as many as
+five or six hundred being employed on large plantations. The laborers
+live in little bamboo houses, the planters furnishing them both food
+and clothing. The food consists of rice and fish,--very cheap provender
+in the Philippines,--and the clothing is of a primitive character,
+that costs little. Yet, at the end of the season, the laborer has
+usually exhausted his wages and may be in debt to the planter.
+
+On the other hand, though the planter holds the land, he is
+generally obliged to borrow the capital to work it. This he obtains
+from a middleman, who stands between him and the great merchants,
+the exporters of the island-produce. The middlemen are generally
+mestizos. They contract for the crop in advance, on behalf of the rich
+exporters, from whom they obtain the money lent to the planters. This
+capital is lent at an interest-rate of from ten to twelve per
+cent. They, in turn, lend it to the planters at a considerable
+advance,--say, twenty to thirty, and often as much as fifty, per
+cent. I have heard of even one hundred per cent. being demanded. Thus
+the planter is ground between the upper and nether millstone,--the
+exporter and the middlemen. They alone make any money, the producer
+being normally in debt, as his laborers are likewise to him.
+
+
+
+
+The Principal Products of the Colony.
+
+The products of the islands are various, including maize, rice, cotton,
+coffee, tobacco, sugar-cane, the cocoanut, the abacá, or manila hemp
+plant, and a large number of dye-woods, medicinal, and other useful
+plants, such as ebony, sapan-wood, tamarind, bamboo, numerous palms,
+fibrous plants, etc. But I am now concerned only with the agricultural
+products, and shall therefore confine this chapter to a consideration
+of two of the more important--rice and sugar.
+
+In former years, the few that faced the obstacles to agriculture in an
+unworked country succeeded in obtaining fair returns in wealth from
+the cultivation of the main staples. But those palmy days exist no
+longer: prices have declined to one-third their former level, while
+the wages of the laborers have risen. The buffalo, the indispensable
+aid of the farmer, could then be obtained for one-fifth its present
+cost, on account of the limited demand. Trade in those days was much
+less than at present, but the native producers and traders occupied
+a sounder position, and comfort existed, where penury now prevails.
+
+Of late years, hundreds have gone into agriculture with much too little
+capital. They hold the land, but frequently without the deeds to show
+for it. Hence, their property is not negotiable, and they are thrown
+into the hands of the money-lender, who squeezes the life-blood from
+the unlucky planter. As agriculture yields less than thirty per cent.,
+and this or more has to be paid in interest on capital, the contract is
+likely to end in the money-lender getting the land. Few of the planters
+succeed in saving their estate and throwing off their load of debt.
+
+
+
+
+The Cultivation of Sugar-cane.
+
+The species of sugar-cane cultivated in the Philippines (saccharum
+violaceum) differs from that grown in the west, but it is the same as
+that found throughout Malaysia and Polynesia generally. The culture and
+manufacture are conducted in a very slovenly fashion, consequently
+the sugar produced is coarse of grain and poor in quality. The
+yield, however, is large, and leaves, after the demands of the
+islands are supplied, some 250,000 tons annually for export. With
+proper cultivation this could be very much increased and its quality
+greatly improved.
+
+The culture of the cane extends through the islands of Negros,
+Panay, Cebú, Luzon, and, in some measure, throughout the entire
+Archipelago. The yellow variety is grown in Pampanga (Luzon), the
+purple in Panay and Negros. The price of cane-land varies considerably,
+according to its facilities for drainage, transportation, and the
+like. Thus, in the province of Bulacan, adjoining Manila, whose soil
+has been exhausted by long cultivation,--the yield being but 20 tons
+per acre,--land is held at the high figure of $115 per acre. In the
+more distant province of Pampanga, land can be had for $75, though
+the yield per acre is 30 tons. Nueva Eciji, still farther away, and
+presenting difficulties of transportation, yields 35 tons to the acre,
+yet the land-price is little over $30. The development of an extensive
+railroad-system would change all this.
+
+The high price of land in Bulacan is due mainly to sentimental
+considerations. The cane plantations there were laid out centuries
+ago, and have been held in the same families for many generations. In
+consequence, the natives cling to them with the strength of hereditary
+affection, and will part with the family estates only for fancy
+prices. Nature has made the soil of the Philippines so wonderfully
+rich and fertile, that artificial fertilizers are never employed, the
+land being expected, year after year, and century after century, to do
+its duty and yield its full return. In view of these considerations,
+it need hardly be said that American capital and enterprise would
+make a remarkable change in the land.
+
+The finest sugar-cane region is the island of Negros, in the Visaya
+district. This island is about equal to Porto Rico in size. The
+culture of the cane began there about 1850, in which year the crop
+was 625 tons. Not more than half its area is cultivated, from lack
+of capital, but it now sends to the port of Iloilo over 80,000 tons
+of sugar for exportation. Uncleared sugar-land there is held at $35
+per acre, cleared land at $70, the average yield being estimated at
+40 tons per acre on new, and 30 tons on old, estates. But the latter
+give sugar of much higher grade, and need less labor in handling,
+so that there is no loss in the value of the crop.
+
+
+
+
+Methods of Manufacturing Sugar.
+
+The process of manufacture differs in the north and the south. In
+Negros the cane-juice is evaporated to that point of concentration
+in which the molasses is incorporated with the grain. Then the liquid
+is placed in wooden troughs of about eight by four feet in size, and
+stirred with shovels until cooled sufficiently not to form a solid
+mass. When cold, the lumps are pounded and broken up, and the whole
+is packed in grass-bags for shipment. In the north the process is
+carried further, efforts being made to get rid of the molasses. When
+the boiled mass has set, the pots containing it are put over pots
+into which the molasses drains. If left thus for six months, twenty
+per cent. of the original weight will drain off. The molasses is
+sold to distillers to make alcohol, and there is some demand for it
+to mix with water for horses.
+
+The Iloilo sugar generally comes to the United States, being shipped
+in the raw state, to be refined there. In Manila the manufacture of
+sugar has been more developed, and a quantity of crystal grain is
+produced there for export to Spain. The old method of grinding the
+cane, introduced by the Chinese, consists in the use of two rough
+vertical cutting mills,--cylinders of wood being used in the south;
+of stone in the north. These are fitted with wooden teeth, between
+which the grain is crushed. Mills of this primitive kind are still in
+use in parts of the country, but are being superseded by iron rollers
+sent from England, and, like the former, revolved by buffaloes. Steam
+mills are also being introduced. In Negros, where foreign influence
+is predominant, nearly all the mills are of European make.
+
+It may be said, further, in this connection, that the sugar-estates
+are generally small, not a dozen in the country yielding more
+than 1,000 tons of raw sugar a year. One that yields 500 tons is
+declared large. And the lack of transportation, too, greatly checks
+enterprise. In Negros there are no canals or railroads to the coast,
+and the annual crop needs to be painfully hauled in buffalo carts, to
+be loaded on schooners, for carriage to the port of Iloilo. Buffaloes
+on this island, five years old, bring $30. In Luzon they can be
+bought for half that price. The wages paid to laborers average about
+one and a half dollars weekly. But, in estimating the comparative
+comfort to be derived from this, we must consider the low price of
+food and clothing, and the primitive habits of the islanders.
+
+The highest table-lands are most suitable for cane-planting,
+good drainage being a necessity of the situation. The shoots are
+planted in February, and the cane is cut in the following December
+or January. In the West Indies the canes are planted widely, and the
+ratoons, or root-stocks, last from five to twenty years, sending up
+new shoots annually. In the Philippines, however, the planting is
+renewed annually, the canes being set much closer. After cutting,
+the milling should be done in ten weeks, delay causing much loss in
+sugar. The whole process of milling and planting should be completed
+by the middle of March, the remainder of the year being left to the
+growth and culture of the crop.
+
+
+
+
+The Several Systems of Labor.
+
+In the north the co-operative principle of labor is largely employed,
+each tenant being provided with the necessary buffaloes and implements,
+and attending to the cane as if it were his own. He provides the hands
+for cane-crushing and sugar-making, while the land-owner supplies other
+necessaries, and has to take the risk of typhoons, droughts, locusts,
+and the like. The tenants receive, as their share, from a third to a
+half of the crop, according to the bargain made. Nevertheless, they
+are generally in debt to the owner and are looked upon as his servants.
+
+In the south the plantations are worked on the wage system. Here
+great vigilance is needed to keep the men properly to their tasks,
+overseers being employed, who have an interest in the crop. The
+overseer in some instances provides his own capital, and receives
+two-thirds of the yield as his share. In 1877 a British company,
+with large capital, organized, to buy the cane-juice and to extract
+from it highly-refined sugar. Every preparation was made, but from the
+first the enterprise was a failure, and the concern wound up in 1880,
+the stockholders suffering severely for their faith. Yet fortunes have
+been made in Philippine sugar, and until 1883 the crop could usually be
+depended on to pay a good profit to the capitalist and leave something
+for the borrower. The custom introduced in Europe, in 1884, of paying
+subsidies to the beet-root cultivator, proved ruinous to the islanders,
+and interest on capital is now the only return to be looked for.
+
+
+
+
+The Rice Crop.
+
+Turning now from the sugar to the rice crop, I may say that it is the
+staple food of the people, the crop upon which the very existence of
+the people depends. It is grown in every province, rice-cultivation
+being the only branch of agriculture that the people thoroughly
+understand, and into which they enter with the zest of evident
+enjoyment. Rice, a native plant of the East, has from time immemorial
+been the leading food-product of all the nations of Eastern Asia. The
+wild plant, from which all the cultivated varieties have been derived,
+is still plentiful in the marshy, tropical countries of southern Asia
+and northern Australia; while the people of India, China, and the
+islands of the ocean live very largely on this nutritive grain. It
+is known by as many as 1,300 different local names, and it is said
+that Bengal alone has displayed 4,000 distinct forms of rice. These
+differences are in color, shape, and size, and may be all referred to
+a few well-marked varieties of Oryza sativa, the rice plant. In India
+and the Philippines rice in the husk is called paddy, and this word
+comes constantly into play in speaking of the cultivation of the plant.
+
+Formerly, rice was the main crop of the Philippines; a considerable
+quantity being exported. Twenty years ago Sual was an important
+port for the shipment of rice to China. It has now declined to an
+insignificant village. In fact, the extension of sugar culture has
+so reduced that of rice, that not enough is now produced for use, and
+large quantities are imported from Siam, Burmah, and China. Pangasinan
+is still a large rice-growing province, but all its product is consumed
+within the country. Sugar is a much better-paying crop, its minimum
+profit being equal to the maximum profit on rice. Rice-planting, in
+fact, is not profitable, and few carry it on largely; yet, inasmuch
+as it is necessary for the subsistence of the populace, some degree
+of attention compels its culture.
+
+
+
+
+Methods of Rice-cultivation.
+
+There are over twenty different kinds of rice-paddy grown in the
+Philippines. These constitute two groups,--the highland rice, grown in
+localities where inundation cannot be used, and the lowland, with which
+inundation is easy. The latter, known as Macan, is of much the finer
+quality, the most esteemed variety being that of white grain. Paga,
+or highland rice, is in large proportion of red grain. Its return is
+but half that of the Macan rice, but only one crop of the latter can be
+grown annually, while usually three crops of Paga rice are raised. One
+difficulty in Paga rice-cultivation is the presence of a fly that
+sucks the flower and prevents seeding. These the planters whisk off
+morning and evening with a bunch of straw, tied to the end of a stick.
+
+The Macan grain is sown in June, in a plot set aside for seeding,
+and saturated with water until it is a mass of mud. Here in six weeks
+the plants grow to the height of a foot. They are then pulled up by
+the roots and transplanted in the flooded fields, in which the final
+growth is to be attained. Around these fields banks of earth are raised
+to prevent the water from flowing off. The men raise and separate
+the plants, and the women set them out again, one plant at a time,
+wading through the soft mud, in which they often sink to the knees. The
+process seems a tedious one, but I have often been surprised to see the
+rapidity with which the natives perform it. It is a process in which
+they are thoroughly trained, and at which they are remarkably quick.
+
+Four months more are needed for the ripening of the grain, during
+which the fields are kept clear of weeds, the natives wading back and
+forth through the mud in their task. After cutting and heaping, the
+paddy is made into stacks. In six weeks more the grain is separated
+from the straw by treading or by the use of the flail, or by causing
+ponies to trot over it. It may be said that there is nothing in
+nature more beautiful than a valley of green ripening rice in the
+midst of verdant hills. In the flood of rich color beneath my eyes,
+I have gazed upon such a scene with inexpressible delight.
+
+
+
+
+Primitive Machines, and Importance of the Rice Crop.
+
+No rice-husking, winnowing or pearling-machines are in use in the
+Philippines other than some small ones for domestic use. The great
+number of kinds of rice-paddy hinders their use on a large scale,
+since the mill adapted to one field would not clean the crop of
+another. The grain is generally husked in a large hard-wood mortar,
+where it is beaten with a pestle, several men and women at times
+working over one mortar. There is also in use a primitive wooden mill
+worked by buffaloes. In this a series of pins engage with each other,
+causing a column to lift and fall, thereby serving as a pestle as it
+falls. Steam and water-power have recently been brought into use in
+some localities.
+
+It is said that one quinon (about seven acres) of land will yield
+from 250 to 300 cavans (about 96 pounds each) of rice, but the yield
+could be greatly increased if a system of irrigation were generally
+in use. At present, the dependence is largely on the rains. The yield
+from seed varies from 40 to 100 grains of crop to one seed, 50 grains
+being a good average. A family of five persons will consume about
+250 pounds of rice per month. It is used in almost every native dish,
+and takes the place of bread. The paddy, or unhulled rice, is to feed
+horses, cattle, and fowls.
+
+It may be said in conclusion, that the rice and sugar planters have
+many insect enemies to contend against. One of the worst is the locust,
+which makes its appearance at times in overwhelming multitudes, and
+whose ravages I have elsewhere described. In some degree it replaces
+the food it destroys, the natives cooking and eating their foes,
+and in some districts, looking upon them as a luxury whose coming is
+worth praying for.
+
+The average annual production of rice is a million and a half piculs,
+and almost a million piculs are imported.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE HEMP PLANT AND ITS USES.
+
+
+Description of the Abacá.
+
+First and foremost among the useful plants of the Philippines stands
+musa textilis, a species of plantain that grows wild in many of the
+islands and is the source of the well-known Manila hemp, the most
+valuable of all fibres for cordage. The native name for the plant is
+abacá. In appearance it is not easy to distinguish it from the plant
+of the same genus that yields us that useful and agreeable fruit,
+the banana. The only visible difference really is that the banana
+tree is taller and its leaves are of a lighter green. The most marked
+distinction is in the fruit, that of the abacá being small and unfit
+for eating.
+
+Properly considered, the abacá, like all the plantains, is an herb,
+not a tree; that is, it bears flowers and fruit once only, then
+perishes. The root survives, however, and a new plant springs up. The
+abacá attains an average height of ten feet, though it sometimes grows
+much higher. Its favorite location is on hilly land, and it refuses
+to grow in swampy situations. I have often found it growing wild on
+mountain slopes of volcanic formation, where the little depth of soil
+scarcely gave it room to root.
+
+The value of this plant lies in its leaves, the petioles, or
+leaf-stalks, containing a long and strong fibre, for which it is
+widely cultivated. Little attention is given to the plant during
+its three years of growth. At the end of that time it sends up a
+central stem, upon which flowers appear. Now comes the work of the
+cultivator. Fruit is not permitted to appear, the flower-stem being
+cut away and the leaf-stalks that surround it torn into strips five
+or six inches wide, their length being over six feet.
+
+
+
+
+The Process of Manufacture.
+
+Bast, the name by which these strips are known, is made up of
+hemp-fibre and a soft pulpy substance enclosing it. The process
+of manufacture is a very simple one,--consisting in scraping this
+soft substance from the fibre. This work is done by the natives in
+a primitive fashion. Nevertheless, no one, so far, has been able to
+improve upon it.
+
+The scraping instrument consists of a dull knife, which is attached by
+a hinge to a block of wood. To this is connected a treadle worked by
+the foot, by whose aid the operator scrapes the fresh leaf-strips under
+the knife, with the degree of force that may be thought necessary. The
+bast is drawn along between the knife and the block, forcing out
+the pulp, which remains on the side of the knife, while the fibre,
+as it is set free, is wound by the operator round a stick of wood.
+
+Only one further process is necessary. The fibre in its fresh state is
+very moist, containing about fifty-six per cent. of water. To dispose
+of this, it is laid in the sun to dry and left for about five hours,
+when it is considered ready for use. All that remains to be done,
+then, is to prepare it for shipment, which is done by packing tightly
+in bales and binding with hoops of iron or rattan.
+
+The method of cleaning the bast, as described, has long been practised
+by the islanders. Many attempts have been made to improve upon it, but
+with no shining success. In fact, the various machines that have been
+devised for the removal of the pulp usually have done more harm than
+good. A machine that seeks to clean the whole length of a strip of
+bast at once, is sure to break the fibre, which is not strong enough
+to bear the strain. In the machines a cylinder takes the place of the
+hand and the stick of the operator, and those cylinders, whether of
+steel or of glass, are always found to discolor the fibre, and thus
+reduce its marketable value. The only machine I know of that avoids
+this defect is the invention of Don Abelardo Cuesta, a Spaniard,
+brought out in 1886. This yielded excellent results, but required so
+many hands to run it that it did not pay. The result is, nearly all
+the fibre that is shipped is cleaned by the old native hand-process.
+
+
+
+
+Some Facts about Hemp-growing.
+
+Hemp-growing is the least troublesome of the agricultural operations
+in the Philippines, and gives the best returns for the expense
+involved. In starting a plantation the colonist chooses forest land,
+clearing away the smaller growth, but leaving the large trees to
+shade the plants and the young shoots. Where the soil is virgin,
+each shoot occupies, at first, a space of ground thirty-six Spanish
+square feet in extent. When the original plant is felled, the suckers
+come up anywhere, growing spontaneously from the parent root, and
+yielding a much denser plantation.
+
+The abacá can be raised from seed; in which case it requires
+four years to flower. Planters, however, generally transplant the
+six-months-suckers, which, as I have said, reach maturity in three
+years. Maturity, for commercial purposes, signifies the flowering
+stage. In no case is the plant allowed to bear fruit, because
+fruit-bearing weakens the outer fibre.
+
+Ample capital is necessary for success in hemp-growing, inasmuch as
+three years or more must pass before any profit can be had. After that,
+the grower can depend upon an annual yield. But even then, when he is
+the owner of a flourishing plantation, he has serious difficulties to
+contend with. The amount of waste is enormous, some thirty per cent. of
+the fibre being lost through carelessness and negligence. The natives
+often cut the leaf-stalks before they reach maturity. In other cases,
+they fail to do so till they have rotted on the plant.
+
+Inefficiency takes still other forms, but, despite this, there is
+abundant margin for gain, since no agricultural operation is conducted
+with less risk. The dense protecting forest-growth shields the plants
+from hurricanes, while the high land on which they grow is safe from
+inundation. Fire can make no headway among their green leaves and
+moist stems. Locusts will not touch the hemp plant, and beetles and
+other insects harm it but little. As the crop comes to maturity at
+successive periods, it can be leisurely gathered, from time to time,
+the year round. No ploughing is needed, and therefore there is no
+live-stock to be purchased, fed, and cared for. There is no expensive
+machinery, and no highly-priced machinists needed to run it. Weeding
+must be carefully attended to, but this is the work of the natives,
+and is done very cheaply. The enemies of the hemp planter are an
+occasional drought when his plants are in the ground, and the danger
+of fire to his dried bales before they reach their destination. His
+greatest annoyance must come from the steady thirty per cent. of what
+seems like unnecessary waste, due to the causes stated.
+
+
+
+
+Difficulties with Native Labor.
+
+Work on an abacá estate is performed on the co-operative plan. The
+laborers are paid not in money but in kind, they receiving half
+the fibre they clean, while the other half goes to the owner of the
+estate. The workman, however, is not required to take the fibre for
+his pay, but receives, instead, its current cash value--if not cheated,
+which he frequently is. The law of the Philippines, however, is cheat
+for cheat, the native having become quite as tricky as his master. The
+value of the fibre depends upon its whiteness and its strength, and
+both are reduced by the indolence and dishonesty of the hands. My
+experience with the islanders is, I admit, that they are none too fond
+of work. A laborer on a hemp plantation, who finds himself pressed for
+money, is likely to take some method like the following to obtain it:
+he will seek an abacá plant, strip a few of its leaf-stalks, and leave
+them exposed to the rain and the air. As a result, the bast grows soft
+and rotten, and is more easily cleaned, but the fibre is weakened and
+discolored. In cleaning it, he uses a toothed knife,--a form forbidden
+by the trade, since it adds to the discoloration. As the fibre is sold
+by weight, the dishonest manipulator is careful to leave some of the
+pulp to dry upon it and so increase the number of pounds. Carrying
+his bundle of coarse, partly-cleaned, discolored, and weak fibre, he
+seeks the dealer at night, that he may be deceived as to the color of
+the fibre. These tricks are well known to the planter, his manager,
+and to the acopiadores, or dealers at large, and do not often succeed.
+
+The plantation-owners make every effort to force the natives to use
+knives without teeth, in order that the fibre may be fine, perfectly
+clean, and white. The Filipino, though, if not closely watched,
+persists in using his serrated knife, because if he uses one with a
+smooth edge he loses in weight. He is too ignorant to perceive that
+the fibre properly treated is of higher value. It is quite possible,
+as is often claimed, that there is a difference in plants, some giving
+a whiter fibre than others. But it is generally conceded that if
+the natives would cut the plant only at maturity, cleanse the fibre
+under a toothless knife the same day, place the strips in a clean
+place, and sun-dry at once, the waste would be materially lessened,
+and there would be little third-class matter.
+
+In other words, what the hemp-planter needs are honest, reliable
+hands and an efficient manager.
+
+On some of the islands inspectors are appointed by the Governor,
+whose duty it is to travel about from place to place, intimidating
+hemp-laborers in the name of the law. But so far their efforts seem to
+have met with but little success, the plantations owned by foreigners
+being large, remote, and difficult to reach; they are, indeed, nearly
+always on the sides of mountains. In the extraction of the fibre the
+natives work in couples: one man strips the bast, another draws it
+under the knife. A fair week's work for the two, including selection
+and felling of plants, and cleansing and drying of bast, is 2-1/7
+piculs--about 300 pounds. First-quality fibre brings in Manila $8.50
+a picul, and third-quality $7.25; but while the former price remains
+firm, the latter falls as the poor quality increases. Nevertheless,
+as may be seen, the native gets good wages even for a poor quality
+of hemp.
+
+The work of the laborers is by no means confined to treating the
+fibre, they being expected to devote some time every day to weeding the
+plants, and clearing out brushwood. This is part of their regular work
+and is not paid for extra. The baling of the fibre is done by means
+of a press, at which men and boys work, their rate of payment varying
+from 12-1/2 to 50 cents a day. Transportation from the plantations to
+the shipping points, such as Manila and Cebú, is also to be considered
+in estimating the outlay of the planter.
+
+
+
+
+Tricks of the Natives.
+
+I have not yet told all the tricks of the natives. They cheat also
+in the planting, by not making deep enough holes for setting out the
+shoots. In consequence, planters no longer pay at once for shoots and
+labor, as formerly, but reserve payment for three years, or until full
+growth is attained. Then $10 are paid for each hundred of live plants.
+
+In addition to the large planters, many of the Filipinos produce bast
+in a small way, selling it to Chinese dealers. Or a Chinaman may,
+for a petty sum, gain the right to work a native plantation for a
+fixed term of years. With but one thought in mind--that of immediate
+gain--he strips the plants in their immature stage, producing a white
+but weak fibre, and returns the plantation to its owner ruined for
+the time being. The Chinese are, in consequence, held under suspicion,
+and their bast is severely inspected before purchase.
+
+In fact, the whole process of hemp-production, from the proprietor
+down to the lowest laborer, seems permeated with fraud; and between
+efforts to cheat on the one hand, and efforts to escape being cheated
+on the other, life on a hemp plantation is not a state of beatitude.
+
+
+
+
+Competition with Other Lands.
+
+Manila hemp never fails of a market, particularly in the United
+States, where it is most largely used. No other fibre known is so
+valuable for cordage, and the production might be greatly increased
+without overstocking the market. To the various frauds practised in
+its production may be added another employed by the manufacturers of
+cordage: the free adulteration of the pure Philippine fibre by the
+admixture of New Zealand flax and Russian hemp.
+
+The cultivation of the plant has been attempted outside the
+Philippines, but with no satisfactory result. Abacá planting,
+it is true, was tried successfully in the botanical gardens at
+Saigon, Cochin China, but the experiment was abandoned, for some
+reason unexplained. Abacá has also been planted in British India,
+and flourished as well there as at Saigon, but the effort to produce
+hemp from it failed through ignorance of the proper method of the
+drawing of the fibre.
+
+The mode of extraction tried was that practised with the ordinary
+hemp of India, excepting that the stems were first passed through
+a sugar-cane mill, to get rid of the sap. By this means fifty per
+cent. of the whole weight was squeezed out; the stems were then
+immersed in water and left to rot for ten or more days; afterward
+they were washed by hand and dried in the sun. Less than two pounds
+of fibre were thus gained from one hundred pounds of stems, and this
+bad in color and lacking in strength.
+
+This method is very unlike that employed in the Philippines, and the
+natives of the islands need have no fear of Indian competition under
+such conditions. The fibre will not bear the pressure of cylinders
+without damage in color, while the soaking of the stems is sure to
+weaken it. The experiments in India failed to distinguish between the
+Indian hemp and Manila hemp plants, which belong to different families,
+and require radically different treatment.
+
+The islands of Leyte and Marinduque, and certain districts in the
+large island of Luzon yield the finest quality of hemp. The province
+of Albay, the leading hemp-district of Luzon, cannot be surpassed in
+quantity and quality of yield, its annual hemp-crop averaging about
+20,000 tons. Before 1825 the demand was little, and the hemp-yield
+insignificant. Since then, the growing demand has greatly developed
+the culture, the crop of 1840 being about 8,500 tons, in 1880 about
+50,000 tons. It has been steadily on the increase.
+
+The United States receives the greatest proportion of this product,
+nearly all the remainder going to Great Britain and her Australian
+colonies. Manila is the principal port of shipment: the bales are
+sent thither from the plantations.
+
+
+
+
+Experience of a Planter.
+
+For those that desire statistics, I may repeat the statement made to
+me in person by an Albay planter. The plantation of this gentleman,
+in which he had invested a capital of $60,000, embraced 1800 acres,
+planted at the time of purchase with shoots of two years' growth, and
+therefore needing one year more before cutting. There was a store-house
+on the estate capable of holding 5000 piculs, or 695,000 pounds of hemp
+(a picul is 139 pounds). The purchase also included a bale-press and
+shed, a plot prepared for sun-drying, two horses, and a vehicle.
+
+The working expenses of this plantation, including the various items
+of salaries to overseers, clerks, and storekeepers, wages to natives,
+living and traveling expenses of overseer, fire insurance, office
+expenses, freight to Manila, loading, commission, storage, and minor
+items, were $10,000. In this were included some loss by stealing,
+and several hundred dollars loss by waste.
+
+In one year the planter received in Manila $27,000 for his dried bales
+of hemp-fibre, making a net profit of thirty per cent. on invested
+capital. It must be remembered, however, that in Albay province the
+conditions for the investor in abacá-planting are of the best. Equal
+results cannot be expected elsewhere.
+
+
+
+
+What the Hemp Is Used For.
+
+Manila hemp is principally used in the manufacture of mats, sail
+cloth, and cordage. Out of the old ropes the well-known stout brown
+wrapping-paper is made--the Manila paper of commerce. In Paris the
+imported hemp-fibre is used in the manufacture of carpets, tapestry,
+net-work, hammocks; and even in the making of bonnets.
+
+The natives obtain small quantities of very fine hemp-fibre from
+the carefully-selected edges of the petiole, or leaf-stalk, and
+from this they weave an exquisite, fine, silky material, suitable
+for gowns. This fibre is worth twice as much as first-class cordage
+hemp. The difficulties with the weave lie in the fragility, and,
+consequently, the frequent breakages of the thread; hence the expense
+of the material. On one of the islands a fabric is made from fine hemp
+and pine-leaf fibre. This the natives endeavor to sell to foreigners
+for pure piña, which is as fine and soft as Bengal muslin. The fraud
+is detected by the lack of flexibility in the material, it having a
+horse-hair stiffness. Any one that has ever touched a soft, silky,
+pine-leaf fibre handkerchief, for instance, would easily distinguish
+the difference.
+
+Lastly, in enumerating the valuable qualities of manila hemp, I
+may state that the poorer classes of the natives of the Philippine
+Islands wear clothes that they manufacture from the ordinary fibre;
+and that even the bags in which the fresh coffee-beans are sent from
+the islands to foreign markets are made from the same material.
+
+I may say, in concluding this subject, that hemp is the most important
+article of Philippine product, and that its production is capable of
+being greatly increased. The official documents that I have examined in
+Manila show that within the last decade the United States has received
+fully forty per cent. of all the hemp-product of the islands. In
+the ten years previous to 1898 a single firm in Boston bought 79,000
+tons of hemp, paying for it an average price of 3 cents a pound in the
+Manila market. During this period the total export of hemp was 914,100
+tons. The import to the United States during the same time averaged
+in value $2,400,000 a year. A liberal and progressive administration
+will soon increase this tenfold.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CULTURE AND USE OF TOBACCO.
+
+
+The Cultivation of Tobacco, a State Monopoly.
+
+The seed of the tobacco plant was introduced into the Philippines from
+Mexico by Spanish missionaries. It is an annual, grows to the height of
+five or six feet, and varies greatly in flavor, not only in different
+provinces, but in different places in the same province. Luzon has
+always been more directly under the control of the Spaniards than any
+other part of the Archipelago. As it contains the capitol--literally
+the seat of Government--it is from this island that every unjust and
+cruel edict has proceeded since the time of the conquest. Indeed,
+Spain has never tried to govern more than half a dozen of the islands;
+and while all of the Philippines are nominally under her suzerainty,
+there are at least two hundred of them filled with fierce and
+intractable tribes--and these she has not even explored. But it is
+Luzon that, from first to last, has felt most heavily the weight of
+her iron hand. On that island, in 1781, the cultivation of tobacco
+was formally declared a State monopoly.
+
+This lasted just a year and a century. The Government, after long
+debate on the subject, decided that, on the whole, it would be more
+profitable and less troublesome to demand a high license, and place
+the enterprise in the hands of private dealers.
+
+The monopoly was accordingly abolished, December 31st, 1882. The
+natives fought against this. They had suffered horribly from State
+regulations. They feared to suffer more from private persecution. The
+friars, however, the real rulers of the Philippines, decided against
+the monopoly; and, notwithstanding that it was the largest source of
+public revenue on the islands, it was abolished.
+
+
+
+
+Oppressive Conditions in Luzon.
+
+From 1781 to 1882, then, in Luzon the following conditions prevailed:
+First, in the Philippines natives were never allowed to own land,--the
+property of the State. By paying for the privilege they might receive
+permission to cultivate the soil. During the continuance of the
+monopoly, in certain districts in northern Luzon, only tobacco plants
+were permitted to be placed in the ground. Not one foot of his poor
+little plot could the native use for his own subsistence. Moreover,
+he was forced to contract with the Government to raise 4000 plants
+a year; not one leaf of which could he call his own.
+
+Every family was bound to produce a given quantity annually; while a
+shortage in returns was punished with beating, fines, confiscation,
+or imprisonment.
+
+In some of the districts selected the islanders were too wild and
+insubordinate to follow directions in the planting, the preparing,
+and in the drying of the leaf. Emigrants were therefore sent from
+the vicinity of Manila, and were provided with land, homes, food,
+and clothing.
+
+Their subsequent fate was pitiable. Spies of the Government visited
+the native houses at all hours, in search of concealed tobacco. Every
+nook and corner of the little dwelling would be ransacked time and
+again, and the women of the family subjected to rude and insulting
+personal inspection.
+
+And these harassing visits were made at disquieting intervals;
+sometimes two or three days in succession; so that the easy and
+indolent Filipino was kept in haunting terror of incursions.
+
+At the Government headquarters of the district, the dried leaves were
+carefully examined by the Inspector. Those that he approved he paid
+for; the rest were burned.
+
+If an Indian were caught smoking one of his own cigars, within a few
+steps of his own airing-sheds, he was seized and fined. The offence,
+arrest, and conviction cost him dear: about $8.00 if he were smoking
+a cigar; about $2.00, if a cigarette.
+
+In a country where the monotony of life is mitigated by the soothing
+effects of the leaf, and where men and women smoke as inevitably--and
+almost as naturally--as they eat, these constant and harassing
+exactions became maddening. The burning of the rejected bundles was
+felt to be especially cruel and unnecessary. But the Inspector was
+inexorable.
+
+All these combined causes, and particularly the insults to women,
+frequently brought about bloody encounters between the people and
+the servants of the State.
+
+There are numberless cases where Indians live on the land cultivated
+by their ancestors, and cling to it; and, in their ignorance, feel it
+to be their own. The Government, however, with its usual treachery,
+finally took advantage of this attachment, and, while exacting full
+returns from the natives, paid them only in part, or in depreciated
+currency.
+
+
+
+
+How Speculators Take Advantage of the Natives.
+
+Sharpers from Manila made their way into the tobacco districts as
+soon as this was known, buying large sums in Treasury notes for
+small quantities of specie; and so needy were the natives, and so
+rooted their distrust of Spain, that they made the exchange eagerly,
+glad to get into their hands the smallest quantity of the money they
+were familiar with--genuine gold.
+
+Every effort was made to confine the growth of tobacco to certain
+selected districts controlled by the State, but, in spite of this,
+concealed plantations were continually being cultivated in remote
+provinces, and a large body of picked men and many revenue cutters
+were constantly in the employ of the Government. It was their duty to
+discover and destroy these plantations, punish the growers, confiscate
+the leaf, and break up the smuggling.
+
+But, despite these precautions and drastic measures, the initiated
+always knew where to obtain a good cigar for about one-fourth of
+what was paid for it in a Manila shop. Expedition after expedition
+was sent to distant islands, to discover and punish the growers
+and manufacturers of illicit tobacco, and stubborn fights ensued,
+the friars invariably being on the side of the natives.
+
+These were the abuses and revolts that finally led to the abolition
+of the monopoly.
+
+Private enterprise in the islands has its own hard ways to accomplish
+its own unscrupulous ends, and whether Company, individual, or
+Government is in power, the result is always the same--the native is
+cheated, suffers, is pushed to the wall.
+
+
+
+
+The Quality of Manila Tobacco.
+
+Since 1882 it is a matter of common complaint that there is not so
+much care taken in the preparing of the leaf: this requires great
+skill and unwearied attention to detail, inasmuch, as if overheated,
+or left too long in the airing-sheds, something precious is lost in
+quality and in aroma.
+
+Cuban cigars are not sold in the colony, and the old residents
+believe the flavor of their own tobacco incomparable. The outside
+world, however, gives the preference to the Cuban brand. Indeed, at
+one time the Government tried to introduce seed from Cuba, but, owing
+to mismanagement, the scheme failed. Such an inferior quality of leaf
+sometimes finds its way into Manila, and is sold for such low prices,
+that one wonders what profit there can be in cultivating it. This is,
+of course, worked off on the poorer natives.
+
+The tobacco trade is still a monopoly in Spain, and the Philippines
+are under contract to provide the home factories with 98,000 cwt. of
+dried leaf per annum. Enormous fortunes are made in a short time in
+this product.
+
+When the infamous Weyler was Governor-General of the Philippines,
+his two brothers were in this business in Binondo. They went back to
+Madrid in a few years, and lived like princes.
+
+The fact remains, however, that while a very superior article of cigar
+and cigarette is made in the factories of Manila and its vicinity,
+if the colony wishes to compete with other countries, the tobacco
+planters must raise the standard of quality all along the line.
+
+
+
+
+Methods of Preparing the Tobacco Leaf.
+
+There are several large tobacco factories in Binondo, the trading
+centre of Manila; one in particular employing 15,000 men, women,
+and children, at an average wage of 15 cents a day. The working hours
+are from seven to twelve in the morning, and from two to five in the
+afternoon. Just at sunset, I have often seen the operatives leave
+this factory in droves, and thousands of them immediately plunge into
+the waters of Manila Bay, where they swam about in the surf, rolling,
+tumbling, and shouting like children.
+
+I have repeatedly gone through the factories, following the leaf from
+bale to finish; and it is an interesting sight. Color and quality
+are decided by a lightning expert, and quick and thorough is the
+whole process, till the finished cigars are packed in cedar boxes,
+labeled for the market. Cedar-wood seems part of the charm.
+
+Innumerable efforts have been made to use other and less expensive
+woods in packing, but without avail: either the cedar conserves the
+aroma better, or, more likely, it adds a special quality of its own,
+which, through long habit, the confirmed smoker finds indispensable
+to his enjoyment.
+
+The Escalante region is noted for the fine tobacco grown there,
+though sugar, of course, is the most important crop. The tobacco is
+rich-flavored, and by many experts is deemed the most desirable leaf
+in all the Visayas.
+
+But it is generally agreed that the best quality of Island tobacco
+is that grown in the provinces of northern Luzon, the most valued
+coming from Cagayan and La Isabela.
+
+Old residents invariably prefer Island tobacco; but the English,
+as the Americans, and the peninsular Spaniard choose, instead,
+the famous Vuelto Abajo of Cuba, and think they get it. Millions of
+"Havana" cigars, made of Philippine leaf, are sold in Manila under
+the name of this brand. In fact, the two styles--Manila and Cuban--are
+manufactured in almost equal quantities, differing in size and shape,
+but not in quality. The expert, at the selecting table, divides his
+heap into many different colors. Only five, however, are known to the
+trade. They are: Maduro, Colorado Maduro, Colorado, Colorado Claro,
+and Claro.
+
+The filling of a cigar is called tripa, or tripe; the wrapper, capa,
+or overcoat. From the factory I have mentioned, alone, a million and
+a half of cigars are shipped to Europe every month. The strong, dark
+brands go to Spain. England takes every kind. The lighter colors are
+preferred in America.
+
+Tobacco-leaves for cigarettes are cut into thread--generally
+called "long cut,"--and the whole process of making is done by one
+machine. I have seen nine of these hard at work, each turning out
+12,000 cigarettes a day, making 38,000,000 in a year.
+
+
+
+
+Smoking, a Universal Habit.
+
+Smoking goes on in the Philippines everywhere but in church--in the
+hotel dining-room as soon as coffee is served, and at the theatre or
+opera while the audience is gathering, and between the acts. Even your
+cab-driver will offer you a cigar, if he thinks you have none. Spanish
+women of wealth and rank--grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and nieces
+sit on the balconies of their beautiful residences in the capital,
+puffing away at their cigarillos,--a tiny brand made especially for
+feminine consumption; while in some homes men and women help themselves
+from the same box.
+
+It is an incongruous sight, and one hostile to the accepted ideas
+of a splendid type of primitive man, to see in the depths of remote
+provinces native men and women, young and old, of striking physical
+proportions, the men nude but for the flimsy breech-clout, smoking
+away at cigars, cigarettes, and even pipes; and at every possible
+and impossible angle of incidence.
+
+For cigars and cigarettes have for many years been sold everywhere
+throughout the colony,--in even the remotest hamlets.
+
+Besides, considerable stimulus has been given to the smoking habit in
+the wildest provinces by travelers, who, to ingratiate themselves with
+the half-savage natives of distant provinces, or to keep them from
+speculating whether one is a Spaniard or not, and thereby arousing
+their ire, bountifully dispense cigars and cigarettes wherever they go.
+
+And so the dominant and absorbing habit of the Filipinos is to smoke.
+
+Indeed, the common habit of smoking makes it possible to realize the
+Arabian Nights' stories of fabulous fortunes made in the Philippines
+in a short time from the cultivation, preparation, and manufacture
+of the fragrant leaf.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CULTIVATION OF COFFEE.
+
+
+The Origin of the Industry.
+
+In the early part of the nineteenth century several Spaniards began
+the cultivation of coffee in a little valley away at the north end
+of Luzon. The trees they planted were the first coffee plants ever
+known on the island. A small wild animal, somewhat like a weasel,
+somewhat like a fox, began eating and scattering the growing berries,
+until in this way myriads of the little creatures had unwittingly
+sown coffee seeds over all the island.
+
+Some of these original plants still bear fruit, thousands of pounds
+being gathered from the wild bushes. Plantation owners in that
+vicinity, the province of Batangas, have, indeed, assured me that the
+trees possessed by their grandfathers are still vigorous; while it is
+also a well-known fact that in many other coffee-producing colonies
+the plants are quite exhausted by the end of the thirtieth year.
+
+Manila coffee is highly prized in Spain and her dependencies. They
+have, of course, nothing so rich in flavor as the Mocha bean of Arabia,
+but a kind, called caracolillo, that resembles it in taste and in
+shape. It has only one seed to the berry, while, on the other hand,
+all other varieties have two.
+
+The merchants in Manila are extremely cautious in their dealings with
+the provincial planters, giving the preference to coffee from Cavité,
+Batangas, and La Laguna. In Mindanao coffee is sent to the market
+without being looked over, the result being a distasteful compound
+of good and bad beans. This is sold to the unfastidious natives at
+very low prices, but is wholly unfit for European consumption.
+
+
+
+
+Indifference of Coffee-planters.
+
+Cavité planters--whether Spaniard or Indian--show an indifference to
+a dozen details that their competitors in the other provinces named
+are extremely particular about. They are careless in the selecting of
+sites for their plantations, which should be on hilly ground; careless
+in the choice of the soil, of the seed, in pruning, in attention to
+the ripe fruit; in detaching the bean from its outer coating; and,
+above all, in many places, careless to separate the good beans from
+the bad. All this is due to the inertness of the planter and to the
+indolence of his laborers.
+
+And while this continues, the Philippines will never be known as
+one of the great coffee-producing countries of the world; though its
+possibilities in that direction are simply incalculable.
+
+
+
+
+Speculation in Coffee.
+
+Coffee is a good deal of a speculation in the islands. Collectors
+drive about paying for crops still ungathered. Moreover, if the large
+planters do not produce enough to fill their contracts, they depend
+upon the small plots of the natives,--which will account for much
+variety in the bean, and for the occasional extremely-poor quality
+already spoken of. The money advanced is always gauged by the price
+per picul that coffee brought the year before in the Manila market.
+
+For instance, if it then cost $12 a picul, $8 will be advanced to
+the planter on the crops in the ground. The collector always tries
+to protect himself by a pretty good margin. He occasionally loses,
+however. In one case, some years ago, coffee advanced to $31 a picul,
+and enormous fortunes were made.
+
+Fluctuations are constantly occurring in the coffee market, owing to
+the peculiar nature of the transactions, as purchases are invariably
+made before the crop has come to fruition. But a startling rise like
+the one mentioned, is unprecedented in the history of the trade,
+and is hardly likely to occur again.
+
+
+
+
+Methods of Cultivation.
+
+A coffee-site, as I have said, should be chosen on high ground, and
+on the side of a hill; for the reason that, while the body of the
+plant requires a great degree of moisture, which is given by the heavy
+rains of the country, the roots, on the other hand, must be kept dry.
+
+The ground is cleared--generally by fire--and fenced in. Like hemp,
+the coffee tree needs careful shading, and to insure this the next
+process is to plant slips of the madre cacao, in straight rows, about
+one Spanish yard apart. When these reach the height of three feet,
+the coffee-shoots are placed at intervals in the holes prepared for
+them, having been soaked for two or three days in water.
+
+As the plantation becomes too thick, trees and plants are removed--care
+being taken, however, to preserve the symmetrical appearance of
+the whole, as it is imperative for the health of the tree that no
+coffee-shoots or branches should touch one another.
+
+In its natural state, the tree grows to the height of twenty-five feet,
+but constant pruning is necessary, and the tree, when properly cared
+for, is kept down to seven or eight feet. Returns are expected four
+years after planting.
+
+There are few things more beautiful than a well-ordered coffee estate
+in full bloom. Straight and stately avenues cross each other in
+every direction. The plant has long glossy leaves, like the laurel;
+the blossoms are snowy-white, and in shape resemble the jasmine,
+and their fragrance is exquisite; while overhead the madre foliage
+grows dense, protecting the more delicate plant from too much sun,
+too pelting a storm, too wild a blast. The fruit, when ripe, is of a
+dark scarlet color, and the ordinary berry contains two seeds, glued
+together and covered with a membrane. The mocha of Arabia and the
+caracolillo of Manila are richer in flavor than the other varieties,
+and, as already stated, have but one bean, thus differing in shape
+from those of the ordinary berry.
+
+The neighborhood of Lipa is noted for its wealth and for many coffee
+estates round about. A number of the planters there have sedulously
+done all in their power to attain perfection in the growing, dressing,
+sorting, and marketing of the bean. Along their own lines, too, they
+have overcome obstacles, and have effected certain success. And some of
+the estates are beautiful and most prosperously ordered. I have driven
+through them and ridden over them, and have invariably admired them,
+and, admiring, I have marveled at the landscape-gardening effects
+produced on what was seemingly so commercial a basis. Ruskin's
+own ideas of beauty in every-day life and in lowly occupation can
+not find a more delightful and satisfying illustration than in the
+environment in which masses of laborers delve and toil upon some of
+the Lipa coffee estates.
+
+In the Philippines the coffee berries are gathered by hand from the
+trees,--men, women, and children assisting in the process. The fruit
+is then put aside in heaps, and in a few days is washed. In this way
+much of the pulp is detached and discarded. The remainder is placed in
+a mortar and pounded until the clean bean emerges, which, in the bulk,
+forms the coffee of commerce. This is sent, in coarse bags of hemp,
+to Manila for sale.
+
+The ripe berries, when sun-dried, lose over 50 per cent. of moisture.
+
+
+
+
+Harsh Methods of the Government.
+
+The Government at Madrid, with its usual heavy, tyrannous policy,
+has imposed extra licenses on the planting of coffee, and laid a
+heavy import duty on the machinery lately introduced and used to
+prepare the bean for market.
+
+The formation of the Philippine Archipelago is peculiarly adapted to
+the cultivation of coffee and hemp. To say it once more: Both need
+high altitudes, and to be grown on the sides of hills or mountains. On
+most of the islands a range runs north and south, rising sometimes
+to the height of nine thousand feet.
+
+The laborers on a coffee estate expect to receive one-half
+the produce for their work in caring for the crop, which
+includes ploughing,--something essential to the health of the
+tree,--cultivating, picking, and drying the fruit, and preparing the
+bean for transport to Manila.
+
+The hard methods of the Government regarding the coffee bean,
+the difficulties of the grower in obtaining reliable assistance,
+and the fluctuations of the trade will probably account for the
+small quantity produced under Spanish auspices. The island of Negros
+alone is so accessible that the coffee production there ought to be
+enormous. In 1897 the exportation amounted to about $250,000. Under
+almost any other government it would have reached $3,000,000.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BETEL NUT, GRAIN, AND FRUIT-GROWING.
+
+
+The Areca Palm and the Betel Nut.
+
+Every wild country, it appears, has its favorite soporific, and in
+the Philippines the fruit of the areca palm is a necessity to most
+of the natives, just as opium is to the average East Indian, but
+it is far less deleterious. The manner of its use is as follows:
+A slice of the nut is wrapped in a buyo leaf, covered with lime,
+made from oyster shells, and then chewed. The whole is called betel,
+and the betel-eater is constantly spitting what seems arterial blood;
+this, together with the sanguinary appearance of his gums, teeth,
+and lips, makes him disgusting to contemplate.
+
+The areca palm for its nut, and the buyo palm for its leaf, are
+carefully and extensively cultivated. The latter must be used fresh,
+and quantities of the green leaves are sold in the markets daily. The
+effects of betel-chewing seems to be similar to that of the coca
+of Peru; in moderation, the stimulus to the stomach is excellent;
+and in both cases it is possible to labor for hours without food, if
+only the native--Philippine or Peruvian--has an ample supply of his
+favorite drug. Temperate use of either is positively beneficial. Abuse,
+in both cases, produces delirium and death.
+
+There are nearly one thousand warehouses and retail shops in Manila
+for the sale of the areca nut, or for the fresh buyo leaf and lime
+necessary in its preparation; or for the slices wrapped and ready
+for immediate use. The buyo leaf is hot to the taste. When bruised
+and placed on the wound it is an antidote to the bite of the most
+venomous snakes. It is useful in cholera; and water in which the
+leaf has been steeped, is used by mothers as an outside application
+in cases of infant colic.
+
+
+
+
+The Nipa Palm and Nipa Wine.
+
+The nipa palm looks like a gigantic fern. It grows in swamps, and
+its leaves are deemed invaluable for the thatching of native huts. A
+tall grass, called cógon, is also used for this purpose. From the
+fruit-stalks of the nipa a wine is distilled that is a Government
+monopoly; and the art of manufacturing brandy from sugar-cane seems
+to be aboriginal. The inhabitants of the most distant islands and
+provinces have a patient, slow, inglorious way of making their
+favorite drink. The fermented juice is boiled in four-gallon jugs;
+the steam then escapes through bamboo pipes, is cooled, and condensed
+by a primitive arrangement overhead, running water passing through
+a hollow log,--and the liquor falls into another large stone jug. It
+is extremely strong and pure, and small quantities of the drink are
+not unhealthful. The natives of the Philippines, as I have said so
+often, hate to trouble themselves about anything, and are impatient
+of slow processes; they will, however, take infinite pains in the
+distillation of sugar-cane brandy. The rewards, though slow, are
+definite, enchanting, and, above everything else, personal.
+
+
+
+
+Various Fruits of the Islands.
+
+The fruits of the Philippines include many varieties well-known in
+American markets,--bananas, shaddocks, oranges, lemons, citrons,
+and pineapples. Others are the usual ones found in the tropics, and
+nowhere else; and none is to be compared to the apple, peach, grape,
+cherry, and strawberry of the temperate zone.
+
+The durian, however, is extremely luscious. It is large as a pineapple,
+and has a delicious white pulp. It requires a great deal of courage to
+open it, as the rough outside-skin has a monstrous odor of decaying
+flesh.
+
+The favorite fruit is the mango. Of this, quantities are partaken
+daily in the season.
+
+Guava, from which jelly is made, grows wild.
+
+The pawpaw tree also grows wild, and is valuable to the natives. The
+bruised leaves exude a saponaceous liquid, that is used in the washing
+of clothes, and has the cleansing effect of soap. The fruit is cooling,
+but tasteless. It is said to contain pepsin, and is used by invalids
+with weak digestion.
+
+Bananas are both wild and cultivated; seventy-seven varieties are
+found on the islands. The fruit is a staple article of food; and a
+cloth is woven from the fibre that natives make up into garments. A
+coarse paper is also made of it.
+
+
+
+
+Cereals and Vegetables.
+
+A native cannot own land. He may hold it under certain conditions. What
+these are in the tobacco districts has been stated. The regulations
+outside these districts are as follows:--
+
+He must plant useful trees, suitable to the soil; raise wheat,
+rye, maize, vegetables, cotton, pepper; maintain every species of
+appropriate cattle; keep fruit growing in his orchards and around his
+house; have at least twelve hens, one cock, and a sucking pig. Failing
+in these impossible conditions, the land may be confiscated at the
+end of two years.
+
+The missionaries have always helped the natives to divide their farms,
+plan their cultivation, and garner their harvests; they introduced
+the useful maize and wheat, as well as melons and garden-truck--peas,
+beans, cucumbers, onions, and other vegetables. Potatoes are very much
+in demand, but, so far, have not been successfully cultivated; being
+literally what the Americans call "small potatoes and few in a hill."
+
+
+
+
+Cotton and Indigo-planting.
+
+Cotton is cheaply produced, and in quantities sufficient to supply
+the domestic trade. There is no reason why it should not be made a
+matter of large foreign export.
+
+Indigo plants grow in the wildest luxuriance throughout the
+Philippines. Owing to the richness of the soil but little labor is
+required in their cultivation, and annual returns are expected of
+50 per cent. on the capital employed. There are people now living
+magnificently in Paris and Madrid that owe their revenues to indigo
+plantations in the colony; the Alvarado family, for instance, whose
+immense estate is on the island of Sámar, and whose income from this
+source is nearly $55,000 a year.
+
+There was once a prejudice against Manila indigo among European
+purchasers. This, however, has been removed by improved processes and
+greater care on the part of growers and manufacturers. The crops
+are not so certain as those of hemp, tobacco, or coffee. They
+are likely also to be injured by hurricanes and eaten by
+caterpillars. Nevertheless, the estate-owners seem to flourish.
+
+
+
+
+The Cocoa Industry.
+
+Cocoa and chocolate are the product of the cacao tree, introduced
+early in the history of the islands by missionaries from Mexico. The
+fruit is red in color and shaped like a large cucumber. The beans,
+or kernels, are arranged in regular rows through the pulp, varying
+in size and in number. They average twenty to the single fruit,
+and generally have the size, and always the appearance, of almonds,
+with hard skins. They are also very bitter. Whether dried in the sun
+or roasted in ovens, the process must be done as soon as the fruit is
+gathered, else the flavor of the kernel is injured. The beans are very
+oily, and in manufacturing cocoa much of the fat is extracted. This
+makes the drink more suitable for children and invalids.
+
+To make chocolate, the beans are dried, the skins removed, and the
+mass is pounded in a mortar, then placed upon a rolling board and
+rolled. Quantities of sugar are added to neutralize the bitterness of
+the kernel, with vanilla to give the whole flavor. This makes a paste
+that is a great favorite with all classes of Spaniards and natives,
+both as a confection and when made into a beverage; yet but little
+more of the fruit is grown on the islands than is necessary for home
+consumption. The dried bean is safe as an export, but the cacao tree
+has many enemies; and when the crop has come to ripening, in spite
+of threatened disease and destroying vermin, it may be ruined by a
+tempest in a single hour. These vicissitudes discourage the planter,
+who seldom tries to do more than secure enough of the cacao bean for
+family use. The trees are usually planted in gardens near the house,
+and the chocolate-paste is made at home. A small quantity of the bean
+is sent annually to Spain; and there is a chocolate factory in Manila
+for the benefit of those that do not care to trouble themselves with
+either the growth of the fruit or the preparation of the kernel. The
+oil of the cocoa is used also for lighting the houses and streets.
+
+It is impossible to find better chocolate than that made by the friars
+of the Philippines. Special pains are taken with the cacao tree, which
+is planted in the orchards and gardens of the monasteries, and in
+the manufacture of the paste and in the making of the beverage. Care
+must be used in the selection of soil and locality; the tree must
+be shaded by the taller banana; the planter must be able to risk the
+loss of an occasional harvest, caused by vermin, disease, or tempest;
+and in good years the planter will get a return of 90 per cent. on his
+capital. The fact remains, however, that few colonists are willing to
+take chances in a crop, that, at the last minute, can be easily ruined.
+
+
+
+
+The Traffic in Birds' Nests.
+
+The Philippine Islands are rich in growths that would seem strange
+to an American--edible birds'-nests, roots, nuts, grasses, fruits,
+and the like. The bird's nest is sold in large quantities to the
+Chinese, who make a soup of it,--nauseous, indeed, to foreigners. It
+is built by a little creature resembling the swallow; is pasty-white
+in appearance, dotted with red spots. The nests are found high up,
+in almost inaccessible caves, on cliffs above the sea. Nest-gathering
+is an occupation by itself, very dangerous, and followed by natives
+of only extreme hardihood and agility. The birds are robbed of their
+nests as soon as they are completed, and this first gathering is sold
+to the Chinese at enormous prices. The bird patiently builds another
+home, and is again despoiled. The second gathering, however, is deemed
+second-class in the market; and the third gathering is even more
+inferior. And 'tis only the approach of the rainy season that protects
+the bird in the laying of its eggs and in the care of its young.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+USEFUL WOODS AND PLANTS.
+
+
+The Huge Forests.
+
+There are great forests of costly woods in the colony, mahogany,
+sapan-wood, log-wood, iron-wood, ebony, and cedar; beside fifty
+varieties not known to European markets, but eagerly sought for by
+merchants from China. The cedar is almost exclusively used in making
+cigar boxes; and I have seen beautiful knotted and polished war clubs
+of iron-wood used by the remoter savages in their battles with other
+tribes; they are as black as ebony, and nearly as hard as steel. These
+various woods yield logs from eighteen to seventy feet in length. The
+molave is especially valuable: the sea-worm cannot bore it, the white
+ant eat it; nor is it affected by water or by climate. It is used for
+the frames of vessels, and would be unsurpassed for railroad ties,
+being practically invulnerable.
+
+The palma brava is used in the making of bridges, piles, and
+piers--wherever, in short, resistance to water is necessary.
+
+Lanete-wood is useful in carving and in the making of musical
+instruments, or elsewhere where delicacy is required, as well as
+strength.
+
+From sapan a rich crimson dye is extracted. This is obtained by
+cutting the smaller branches into little pieces and soaking them in
+boiling water. This dye is much esteemed, but is not so permanent as
+that made from cochineal.
+
+There are many hundreds of islands in the Philippines with thousands of
+miles of virgin forests, with woods suitable for ship-building, houses,
+cars, fittings, furniture, wharves, bolts, axe-handles, carriages,
+wheels, and everything else that timber is used for; besides some
+exquisite pink, red, yellow, and veined varieties, capable of high
+polish, and suitable for veneering and for dye-woods. The saps of
+many trees, also, give a hard, durable glaze.
+
+Magnificent orchids abound in all parts of the Philippines. One
+specimen was recently sold for $500. And there are rubber trees that
+have hardly been worked, but have, nevertheless, a future of great
+importance.
+
+
+
+
+The Bamboo Plant and its Uses.
+
+The most beautiful plant in the colony is bamboo. It grows everywhere
+except in marshy places--on the hills, along the banks of rivers, in
+open spaces, and in woods. Groups of bamboos are invariably cultivated
+by the natives in the vicinity of their homes. It has a light,
+feathery, tufted top, that waves in the slightest breeze and gives
+a spirited look to the landscape. It frequently grows to the height
+of fifty or sixty feet, is from five to eight inches in diameter,
+and strongly jointed, every joint strengthened by an inside web.
+
+There are also many smaller kinds.
+
+The plant is constantly propagated by the natives from young shoots;
+for bamboo-sticks always bring their price in Manila markets, according
+to size and season. There are several varieties; and the uses to which
+they are put are endless, the wood being tough, flexible, and elastic.
+
+From bamboo-sticks huts, houses, and churches are made; and even roofed
+and thatched. For the latter, however, nipa palm and cógon grass are
+preferred. Bridges are constructed of them several hundred feet in
+length, over which a drove of elephants could safely cross; they are
+used in the making of furniture, walls, flooring, rafts, scaffolding,
+carts, baskets, vessels to contain liquid, and measures for wheat,
+organs, and small instruments, and every kind of household utensil
+used by the natives. They are used, also, for weapons, for cordage,
+for hats, for mats, for palings, for carrying poles, for blowers
+to a furnace, and for condensing-pipes in making brandy,--and for a
+hundred other articles of amusement or convenience.
+
+Bamboo-leaves are eaten by horses and cattle, and its tender shoots by
+man. In one variety of the cane a stone is occasionally found. This
+the Indians believe will heal sickness. In another kind is a white
+substance used to allay inflammation of the eye. This disease is very
+common in the colony, owing to the intensity of the sun-rays.
+
+The rattan, or calamus family, is very much like the bamboo, and
+its varieties are only a little less useful. One kind, the bojo,
+is used for much the same things that the lighter bamboo is.
+
+
+
+
+The Bejuco Rope.
+
+The bejuco, or bush rope, a rattan, is sometimes three hundred feet
+long; indeed, it is said to have been found on one of the islands
+three times that length. It is used for rope, cords, or cable; to bind
+hemp-bags, sugar-bales, and bundles; to lash together whatever breaks
+down or gives way, in house, harness, carriage, cart, machinery, or
+package; in the city street, in the country, on the mountain, in the
+wilderness. The thickest bejuco is used for rafts and cables, and,
+in conjunction with bamboo, for the making of suspension bridges. And
+the delicate fibres are woven into cloth, and even made into hats
+and cigar cases.
+
+
+
+
+The Useful Cocoanut Palm.
+
+Cocoanut plantations are among the surest sources of revenue in
+the Philippines. The fruit is in demand in every market in the
+world--as much so as oranges and lemons; and every part of the tree
+can be sold. It thrives best on sandy soil, near the sea-shore,
+and cocoanut-groves are expected to produce a profit of $250 an
+acre annually.
+
+In many provinces this palm is cultivated for the oil only, which
+is then used either at home or is shipped to Europe. In the European
+climate it is solid and is made into soap and candles. In the islands
+the heat reduces it to a liquid, which is used for oiling machinery,
+for lighting, and for cooking purposes. The nightly terror of the
+region is a possible impending earthquake, and so in every house
+or hut a tiny light burns from dark to dawn: a glass is half-filled
+with water; on top is poured a small quantity of cocoanut oil, and in
+this floats a wick, protected by a strip of tin. This arrangement has
+the illuminating qualities of a brilliant firefly, but in cases of
+illness or fright other lamps can be lighted quickly, and the panic
+of darkness averted.
+
+The majority of the inhabitants use cocoanut oil from reasons
+of economy. The factories are small bamboo huts, and the process
+primitive. The nuts are first dried, then halved and scraped,--an easy
+process while the pulp is fresh. The mass is then pressed, to express
+the oil, and the refuse boiled in order to obtain what is left of the
+fatty substance. This is skimmed off. The whole is then packed into
+kegs, and is ready for the markets of Manila or Madrid. The meat of
+the nut is eaten as food by the natives, or made into sweets. The
+milk, or water, is a refreshing and harmless drink, and makes good
+vinegar also. The shell is carved into household utensils, and when
+burnt makes a valuable dye. Every part of the tree is used. The native
+dwells in a house made of the trunk and thatched with the leaves. From
+it he obtains light, fire, rope, brushes, mats, furniture, clothing,
+and, in fact, all the necessaries of life. In Europe and America the
+coir, or outer covering of the cocoanut shell, is made into ropes
+and cocoa-matting.
+
+Besides all this, the sap of the tree forms a delightful beverage,
+called tuba. Incisions are made high up in the flowering stalk,
+and underneath these cuts, vessels are hung to the tree, in order to
+catch the liquor as it falls. This is removed at sunrise and sunset,
+and is served fresh at the different houses. For it there is a daily
+demand. The dealer, too, has it for sale in the market-place.
+
+A distilled wine is also made from this, called cocoa-wine. Tuba trees
+are never used for fruit, as the loss of the sap deprives them of
+their producing-power. And tuba-gathering is extremely dangerous. The
+natives are obliged to climb to a great height to make the incisions
+and gather the liquor, and a false step means certain death.
+
+
+
+
+Oppressive Regulations of the Government.
+
+The Government is very jealous of foreign growers. There is a
+well-known case of a young Englishman that invested in a cocoanut
+grove, a few years ago, not far from Manila. He was ruined in a short
+time by taxes and exactions--on the score that he was not a native. The
+real reason, however, was the fear that his success would draw round
+him a British colony.
+
+On the other hand, Spaniards and natives find no difficulty to obtain
+concessions from the Government, under promise of cultivating the land
+so taken. The regulations are so vague or so impossible, that they are
+inevitably broken. The proprietor, too, is never sure of his land:
+it can be forfeited by disobedience; and lawsuits are constantly
+going on between the individual and the State.
+
+This condition of affairs is of course annoying to everyone concerned,
+yet no one ever thinks of changing the laws. To a Spaniard, what was
+good enough for his grandfather is quite good enough for himself.
+
+
+
+
+The Early Missionaries Beneficial to the Natives.
+
+The early missionaries from Mexico were of the greatest benefit to
+the Filipinos, both in the religious and in the practical affairs of
+life. They introduced the use of wheat and maize, taught the natives
+how to cultivate these articles of food, and, when ripe, how to make
+them into bread. But there were many stubborn prejudices to overcome;
+and for a long time wheat was eaten by the natives only in the holy
+wafer used in the sacrament of the Church.
+
+Now, wheat-patches are common, and in many districts maize is as much
+a staple article of food as rice is in others, and roasted ears of
+corn are sold as a delicacy in the markets. There are three crops of
+maize grown in a year, but only for family use.
+
+The missionaries also introduced the art of weaving, and all
+through the islands a primitive bamboo-loom is one of the commoner
+implements of the smallest hut. Here are woven fabrics of cotton,
+silk, hemp, bamboo, and piña,--the fibre of the pineapple leaf. The
+merely well-to-do and poorer classes wear clothes woven of cotton,
+silk, and piña, or of piña and hemp, or of hemp or bamboo. But the
+glory of the wealthy, Spaniard or Mestizo, man or woman, are their
+garments of pure pineapple-leaf fibre, called jusi. This is durable
+and almost priceless. A small jusi handkerchief is worth $50. So
+delicate is the thread, that, in weaving, it is protected by gauze
+from the gentlest breeze. The costliness of the material, therefore,
+is due to the difficulties of the weaver and to the time and patience
+necessary to produce even a single inch.
+
+The missionaries, as well, taught the native the arts of living;
+of being more comfortable in his house, and out of it; of making
+bricks and tiles, and of building and adorning churches. And thus
+they stood between an exacting Government and the helpless natives,
+and were often the only Providence of which the latter were aware.
+
+Herbs and medicinal plants abound in the islands. The bark of the ditá
+tree greatly resembles that known as Peruvian Bark, and is used by
+the natives to reduce fever. From it an alkaloid is extracted that
+is called by Manila chemists, ditaïne. Its effects are like those
+produced by swallowing quinine, only not so marked.
+
+A perfume called Ylang-Ylang, is made from the flowers of a tree of
+that name that grows in the Philippines.
+
+Large quantities of wax are found there, and are used in the functions
+of the Church. Indeed, the poor priests constantly gather candle-ends
+at the close of each service, and sell them to be remoulded. The
+small sums of money thus gained are deemed a part of their perquisites.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+MINERAL WEALTH OF THE ISLANDS.
+
+
+Early Search for Gold.
+
+Mining for gold was unquestionably practiced in the Philippines long
+before the time of Magellan, and incredible stories were told by
+Spanish conquerors of the rich deposits on the islands, and of the
+weight and beauty of the bracelets, necklets, and anklets of pure
+metal worn by the natives. But the cruelty and robberies of Mexico
+and Peru were repeated there, and the Indians yielded their jewels
+and hoards to the ruthless conqueror.
+
+Galleon after galleon sailed to Spain laden with the precious dust,
+and enormous rewards were bestowed upon pilot and captain that should
+convoy the treasure safely home. Winds, waves, and rocks were not the
+only enemies of the Spanish mariner, either. England has always had a
+hankering for the Philippines, and her fleets accordingly went out of
+their way many a time to despoil Spain. In his voyage round the world,
+Sir Francis Drake seized two prize-ships filled with island-gold,
+in token of whose riches one of his cruisers swaggered into the port
+of London with damask sails and silken cordage. And in the eighteenth
+century Anson's fleet hovered for years in the neighborhood of the
+Philippines, a rich prize occasionally his reward.
+
+
+
+
+The Mining Laws and Methods of the Colony.
+
+The mining laws of the colony are extremely liberal in character;
+almost any one--Spaniard, native, or foreigner--that discovers a mine,
+and reports it to the Government, is allowed to work it. Certain
+regulations exist, however, that must be strictly observed. The mine
+has to be worked uninterruptedly eight months of the year; no less
+than eight laborers shall be employed at a time; and it must be under
+the inspection of the Mining Department of the State.
+
+The gold of these islands is produced by washing and digging. The tools
+that the natives use--a washing-board and a wooden bowl--are of great
+antiquity, and are invariably seen among the household utensils in
+the gold regions. Large deposits of gold are found in the beds of
+streams, and sometimes, after heavy rains, grains of the precious
+metal may be picked up in the streets of the small villages.
+
+No Indian ever works systematically, or lays up anything for a possible
+future time of need. The tax-gatherer is at hand, and in a desultory
+way the native manages to get sufficient of the wherewithal to satisfy
+his greed. Or a holiday approaches, and there must be a few dollars
+to gamble away in the cock-pit. All this is done in the intervals of
+other work,--the planting of his own land, or the gathering of the
+rice-harvest for his employer. The gold lies about him, upon which
+he can draw at pleasure for his extra relaxations or needs. It is
+always there, has always been, will always be there. Why should he
+trouble himself further?
+
+Mining, scientifically considered, as carried on in Europe and in
+America, is unknown in the Philippines. Nevertheless, from the first,
+so far as draining is concerned, operations have been conducted on
+sound engineering principles. The natives cling to ancient customs,
+and reject explosives of every sort, using instead the work of myriads
+of human hands; but they have been rewarded by obtaining thousands
+of ounces of gold.
+
+For instance, in draining the mines, the shafts are filled with
+men that bail out the water with small buckets made of palm leaf,
+and holding about two gallons. These are passed from hand to hand,
+and this seems to serve their purpose quite as well as a more modern
+method. To an Anglo-Saxon the slowness of the process would, of course,
+be intolerable. The natives wash the river-sands, or grind the alluvial
+deposits between stones. In the latter instance the whole mass is
+thrown into grates, when the metal sinks to the bottom. In the mines
+the rocks are broken with hammers, and the quartz pulverized between
+mill-stones; then dissolved. By this means the gold is separated.
+
+The inhabitants of one province cut a basin in the top of a mountain
+and conducted water to it through canals of palm-leaf. As they dug,
+the stratifications of gold revealed themselves and the quartz was
+detached. In another province a hillock has been cut down to sea-level,
+and large quantities of paying quartz must have been obtained, as
+the natives never work long without reward.
+
+Mambulao is on the island of Luzon. It means in Bicol language,
+"the place of gold." Here is an abandoned mine, worked by the ancient
+methods. The records say that, in its time, it produced weekly sales
+of gold, amounting to one thousand ounces.
+
+On the other hand, the Spaniards have conducted their mining
+operations without enterprise and without ingenuity, and during the
+last twenty-five years they have spent nearly a million and a half
+dollars, with results that are totally unsatisfactory.
+
+There are several reasons for this state of affairs: The gold mines
+are mostly in remote provinces of the colony, and there are no
+practical roads. The natives that are employed--because they live in
+the vicinity of the mines--are half-subjected, totally uncivilized,
+and frequently nomadic. They accordingly resent interference with
+property that they deem their inalienable rights. And in this they
+are supported by the friars: they also dislike change.
+
+Since 1894 the agents of the Philippines' Mineral Syndicate--an English
+concern--have been vigorously exploring for gold and the other metals,
+and in time American capital and intelligence will probably do what
+Spanish ignorance and inertness have failed to accomplish.
+
+
+
+
+Where the Precious Metal is Found.
+
+Till now, much of the gold found has been near the coast, and
+accessible. The principal districts are Mambulao, in Luzon, the
+islands of Cion, Mindoro, Mindanao, and Panaon, a small island north
+of Mindanao. It is a well-known fact that the natives in the interior
+of Luzon, a district only partly explored, traffic in gold. And it
+is believed that the mountains in the centre of the island are the
+sources of the alluvial deposits so freely gathered. In the districts
+mentioned there is not a stream--however small--that does not bear
+in its sands some evidence of the presence of gold; and heavy nuggets
+are occasionally brought in from the interior.
+
+For the present, however, only the edges of the gold districts
+can be worked. The absence of roads must long prove an insuperable
+obstacle even to English and American capital and inventiveness. To
+the Indians this is no obstacle at all. They march along contentedly,
+in single file, cutting their way with bowie-knives through dense and
+almost impenetrable forests, their burden the primitive instruments of
+their ancestors; their power lying in numbers, and in the invincible
+strength of the naked hand.
+
+But modern methods require machinery, and machinery requires roads for
+its transportation and for bridges, and for all the costly engineering
+staff and outfit. The proper development of the gold districts of the
+islands will therefore, necessarily, be a thing of the future. English
+or American enterprise, if devoted to this purpose, must find its
+reward near the coast, and in the vicinity of harbors and navigable
+rivers.
+
+So far, gold is known only in placer-deposits, and these not very rich,
+as compared with the golden sands of California or the gravel pits
+of Alaska. Personally, I know but little about these gold gravels,
+having seen only some of their results. They are so widely distributed,
+and are worked in so desultory a manner, that their actual richness
+is a matter of guess-work.
+
+But, as is well known, the gold of streams comes from quartz-veins
+in the mountains, which have been worn away and washed down by
+the rains during the long ages, then carried down stream, with the
+mud and the gravel of the rock débris, and gradually sinking to the
+bottom. There may be rich rock-veins in the interior, at the head of
+those gold-paved water channels. But I have made no search for these
+mother-beds; neither have the Spanish.
+
+Many Chinese enter the gold districts, penetrating into the most
+distant parts, and exchanging their wares for gold, which is sent
+to China in ways known to themselves alone. Paracale is a prosperous
+village in the interior of Luzon, and "Paracale" gold is well known
+in Manila on account of its shape,--the metal being melted in shells,
+that give it form. Every small shell bears the mark of the Chinese
+testing-auger; its fineness seldom exceeds sixteen carats. Paracale
+is near the Mambulao district, already mentioned, and is famous for
+its abandoned mine and for its gold-washings.
+
+
+
+
+The Whole Country a Virgin Mine.
+
+In fact, the whole country waits in virgin richness to be exploited
+by a wide-awake people, and now the outcome of the land falls into the
+hands of the Americans. In my own mind I am convinced that gold is to
+be had in paying quantities for the mining, if hunted for by some of
+that enterprising people that have recently dug up such wealth in the
+frozen river-beds of the Yukon. Spain held California for centuries,
+and picked up not even an ounce of gold from its broad acres. The
+Americans, on the other hand, found it teeming with gold; and in the
+first year of their possession too.
+
+The same may be said of Alaska. Russia found it hardly worth the
+keeping, and sold it at a low price to the United States. To-day it
+could not be bought back for a hundred times the price paid for it.
+
+Such may prove to be the case with the Philippines. They wait to be
+exploited. Spain has held them for centuries, and knows next to nothing
+about them. I venture to affirm that the United States would not hold
+them ten years before they would be veritable mines of wealth. I am
+satisfied, too, that they are far richer in gold, iron, coal, and
+some other minerals than is suspected. But this can be proved only
+by a stirring people, that will cut their way through the tropical
+jungles, explore the hill-country from base to summit, and cover the
+islands with a network of rails,--the iron nerves of modern enterprise.
+
+The country sadly needs opening up and developing. It is running over
+with rich possibilities. But it wants brains and hands. I know that
+it can be made enormously prolific if proper energy be devoted to
+the task.
+
+
+
+
+Precious Stones and Iron.
+
+An English engineer, in the employ of the Mineral Syndicate,
+told me that in some gold alluvial-deposits brought to him by
+the aborigines in the interior of Luzon, he had discovered small
+stones. Subsequent investigations and tests proved them to be rubies
+and hyacinths. Granted. But I have never heard of precious stones
+outside of that district; nor do I believe they exist in any quantity
+there.
+
+There is plenty of iron, of excellent quality, in Luzon and in the
+other islands. There are some deserted mines near Manila that were
+once worked by the Government; but they have been idle for more than a
+century. About the year 1750, by promises of great concessions to the
+State, a Spaniard named Salyado obtained possession of a large iron
+mine in the district of Mórong. Finding the Indians too indolent to
+help him, he hired Chinese. He was then attacked by the Church, on
+the score of employing infidel labor, and eventually he was obliged
+to send his workmen back to China at his own expense. He was further
+refused a market for his ore, because, it was said, it was the result
+of infidel labor. Hence, he found himself ruined. The Government thus
+adopted a plan to get the valuable mine into its own hands again,
+after which its interest ceased.
+
+Near Angat, early in this century, two Englishmen introduced expensive
+machinery, and proceeded to mine for iron. They were so cheated by
+the natives, and received so little in return for the large sums
+expended, that they simultaneously committed suicide, by blowing out
+their brains.
+
+
+
+
+Peculiar Methods of Mining Copper.
+
+Copper is found in many parts of the Philippines, but in very small
+quantities. In the mountain-ranges in the centre of Luzon, however,
+deposits have been worked by the natives from a time long before that
+of the Spaniards. They soften the rocks by wood fires and then make
+excavations, separating the ore according to quality. Their furnaces
+are holes lined with clay, and they use blowers of bamboo to produce
+the necessary draught.
+
+The Spaniards recently took hold of the mines, introducing the most
+expensive machinery and the latest methods; but they failed where the
+natives had succeeded, and their enterprise collapsed. The Indians
+still work them on a small scale.
+
+The engineers of the syndicate also found a very curious deposit
+of copper in one of their concessions. This consists of round or
+pear-shaped nuggets of the metal, with traces of both gold and silver
+in their composition.
+
+
+
+
+Other Minerals and the Coal-fields.
+
+The Archipelago is said to be of volcanic formation, and unlimited
+quantities of sulphur exist on many of the islands. Red lead, silver,
+and gypsum were also found, and marble, capable of a high polish.
+
+There are extensive coal fields in Luzon and Cebú, but it is mostly of
+a poor quality, known by the trade as lignite. It is used in coaling
+steamers, but not when long voyages are to be taken. Five thousand tons
+per month could be procured in Cebú alone, if carriage were provided;
+yet nearly all the coal used is imported from Australia.
+
+A few years ago an American vessel was wrecked on the coast of
+Mindoro. The captain and his men crossed to a port on the east
+coast, over the mountains, living for seventeen days in the woods
+on nuts. They reported great ledges of out-cropping coal in the
+hill-country, and that thousands of tons had broken off and fallen to
+the foot of the cliffs. The Spanish Government immediately confiscated
+the lands;--and that was the last of the matter.
+
+The coal field in Luzon lies in the southern part. A lead cropping
+out at Gatho is from ten to twenty feet in thickness. This has proved
+useful for steamboat service. The coal of Cebú was first discovered in
+1827. It is found on the western slopes of the island, and seemingly
+extends under the straits, appearing again on the eastern slopes of
+the neighboring island, Negros. At least five beds have been opened,
+which vary in quality and thickness; but exploration has not been
+actively conducted.
+
+Once more: The Spanish masters of the island have done little to
+develop its mineral resources. It is therefore impossible to say how
+rich it may be in coal. The find reported by the American captain
+lies fallow, no effort having been made even to prove its truth or
+to test its value. It was in the mountainous interior, and, hence,
+would demand railroads and other public improvements for its working,
+and the Spanish find it more convenient to enjoy life lazily in Manila
+than to disturb their easy existence by any such activity.
+
+To those minerals mentioned I may add quicksilver, lead, sulphate, and
+vermilion. As yet, the veins of lead and quicksilver have yielded no
+results of value, and probably they possess none. But they have been
+discovered in many localities and may be found in others; possibly,
+too, of greater richness.
+
+Perhaps the iron of the Philippines offers the best opening for
+enterprise. As I have said, it occurs in many sections, and is of
+excellent quality, pure and rich, but it was actually worked a century
+ago with more energy than it is to-day. It is capable of yielding
+great results to an enterprising people. The Philippines fell like
+a rich jewel into the hands of Spain, but have been left by them in
+their uncut state. They remain like a rough diamond, needing only
+the work of the lapidary--America--to show to the world their full
+beauty and value.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ANIMAL LIFE IN THE COLONY.
+
+
+The Useful Buffalo, and Other Domestic Animals.
+
+Among the domesticated animals of the Philippines the buffalo stands
+first; the delight and pride of the low-class native being in his
+carabao, as he designates this animal. It is easily domesticated,
+and is regarded with affection by its owner, being a very different
+animal from the wild buffalo of the Asiatic and African wilds,--one
+of the most savage of beasts.
+
+At six years of age the tamed buffalo is put to work as a draught
+animal, and when twelve years old it remains strong enough for five
+years more of light labor. The buffalo is the plough-horse of the
+islands. The plough is a very primitive affair--a heavy stick of wood
+sharpened to a point at one end, with a beam attached by rattan thongs,
+about two feet above the point to which the buffaloes are hitched,
+and with a handle for the ploughman at the right end, consisting of
+a round bar of wood, inserted in an auger hole.
+
+The buffalo is amphibious in habit, and if left to itself will spend
+a considerable part of the time in mud and water. It is capable of
+keeping its head under water for two minutes at a time, exploring the
+bottom of streams or pools for certain favorite plants. To it a daily
+mud-bath is one of the necessities of life. He will fling himself on
+his side in the mire, and shuffle round and round until he is covered
+to the eyes with a mortar-like substance. When he has dried himself
+in the sun he looks like a huge clay image. This strange habit is not
+without its useful purpose. Millions of stinging flies swarm among
+the rank vegetation of his habitat, and till his mud-coat peels off
+the animal is impregnable to their vicious attacks.
+
+At work in the field he has certain feathered companions,--usually
+five or six white herons,--that follow him and feed on the worms and
+insects that his heavy tread brings to the surface. A more friendly
+attendant is a small black bird, that hops on the back of the great
+creature, and cleanses its ears of the vermin that harbor there.
+
+By the native owner the buffalo is treated with the utmost kindness,
+a warm affection existing between the family and their patient,
+docile laborer. Easy to train, and slow in movement, it can be guided
+by a child three years old, and will move or halt with readiness at
+the call of any of the family. Yet, strong as it is, it cannot work
+for more than two hours without rest, and cannot exist at a distance
+from streams.
+
+Epidemic diseases sometimes break out among these animals and destroy
+thousands of them. An old acquaintance of mine once lost in this
+way nearly the whole of his live-stock in one season. Buffaloes are
+not much needed in the hemp districts, where there is no ploughing
+done, but are very necessary on the sugar plantations. Their
+price varies accordingly. Wild ones, when caught young, are easily
+tamed and trained by kindness, which the low-class native bestows
+freely. Buffalo-hunting is very dangerous; for the animal in his
+native jungle fights to kill or be killed; therefore, only the calves
+are captured alive. Buffalo-meat makes excellent food, and its flesh,
+cut into strips, and sun-dried, is much relished by the natives.
+
+Horses are not native to the islands. The ponies that are found
+there in large quantities are descended from the Andalusian horse and
+the Chinese mare. They are swift and strong when cared for, but are
+treated with horrible cruelty by the natives. These ponies, having
+an Arab strain, are sensitive and nervous, easily guided by kindness;
+whereas, on the other hand, they are infuriated by mismanagement. The
+native riders often first goad them to madness and then punish them
+viciously. This seems to arise more from a misunderstanding between
+the two animals than from definite cruelty on one hand and obstinacy
+on the other; and the contests witnessed daily in the streets of
+Manila are not more painful than ridiculous.
+
+The oxen sold in Manila markets do not yield very palatable beef,
+being fattened on an herb that they are very fond of, but that gives
+to the flesh a taste the reverse of agreeable.
+
+In fact, neither fish, flesh, nor fowl has the same taste as those of
+Europe and America, and newcomers to Manila have to acquire a taste
+for these viands. Of course they are all right with those "to the
+manner born."
+
+Sheep are not indigenous to the soil, and do not thrive there,
+languishing and dying within a few months.
+
+The other domestic animals include goats, dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys,
+and the ordinary fowls. The dogs and cats are of inferior breed,
+a peculiarity in the cats being twisted tails. Among the viands
+that foreigners seem to approve, is stewed monkey, but the natives
+will not touch it except as a medicine, they deeming it of value in
+cutaneous diseases.
+
+
+
+
+Reptiles, Bats, and Insects.
+
+Reptiles and insects abound both in the jungles and in the villages. In
+the latter they are, indeed, more numerous than is agreeable to
+strangers. Among them are lizards, frogs, snakes, centipedes,
+tarantulas, spiders of great size, hornets, beetles, ants, and
+myriad other inmates of the minor world. The snakes while usually
+harmless are not always so; one species,--the manapo,--found in the
+rice-fields, haunts the mud and the tall rice-blades; its bite is
+fatal if not immediately cauterized. Leeches are numerous in swamps
+and stagnant pools, and one tiny species, found in dense forests only,
+has the disagreeable habit of leaping from the trees upon passers-by,
+and at once beginning its blood-imbibing habit.
+
+Boa-constrictors are the giant members of the serpent family. They
+are rare, and when caught are caged. Large as they are, little dread
+is felt of them, they being far less dangerous than the manapo,
+the small tenant of the rice-fields.
+
+Bats are numerous, and some of them are of enormous size, measuring
+five feet from tip to tip of the wings, and with a body almost as
+large as a cat. One of these uncanny creatures, gone astray from its
+native haunts, flew into the dining-room of a Manila hotel once where I
+was dining. Its appearance was appalling: women shrieked and fainted,
+men rolled under the tables, and an earthquake could hardly have made
+more commotion. These huge bats are much hunted by Europeans, and their
+soft skins are eagerly purchased by those that are returning home.
+
+
+
+
+A Field for the Sportsman.
+
+The Philippines abound in game; deer and wild boars being plentiful;
+while the game-birds include pheasants, snipe, pigeons, woodcock,
+ducks, and other water-fowl. There are also hawks, cranes, herons,
+parrots, parroquets, and many species peculiar to the islands. Among
+the latter, we are told of a small black bird of the swallow-kind
+that makes its nest in the tails of wild horses,--a story more
+easily told than believed. Other fables concerning birds are extant,
+one describing the "solitary" bird, which dies when captured; one,
+the calayo, which has a large, transparent bill, and crows like a
+cock; one, the bocuit, a bird of seven colors and the sweetest of
+notes. There is a curious pigeon with a crimson spot on the breast,
+which looks like a blood-stain from a wound.
+
+Of aquatic creatures, tortoises are of considerable commercial
+importance. They march in from the sea in great numbers, and the
+natives turn them on their backs to prevent them from escaping, leaving
+them in this helpless state until they are ready to remove them.
+
+Quantities of small fish are caught in the rice-paddy fields when
+they are flooded; and the rich Indians are fond of a curious kind
+of beetle found in stagnant waters, which will bring in the markets,
+in the season, as high as fifty cents a dozen. They eat many things
+that would be repulsive to a foreigner.
+
+Among the lizards there is a little creature, known as the guiko,
+that frequents houses, and whose noise is very annoying. It is not a
+fair representative of the "cricket on the hearth." It has its value,
+however, being useful in destroying vermin. It clings with remarkable
+tenacity, even when dying, to the piece of timber on which it is
+placed, the soles of its feet seeming to be provided with suckers.
+
+There are few scenes in nature more beautiful than a bush or tree when
+lighted with the brilliant fireflies that illuminate the forests at
+night. They seem almost to have a system of fire-telegraphy, answering,
+as they do, each other by a sudden glow of a delicate green hue,
+which gleams in quick succession from point to point of the bush.
+
+
+
+
+The Locust Scourge.
+
+The great scourge of the Philippines is the locust. It will not touch
+the hemp plantations, but menaces and devastates almost everything
+else green or growing. In 1851 the Government imported some martins
+from China, for the extermination of the pest. They were received
+by a procession of soldiers, with a band of music, and the cages
+containing them were carried in state to Santa Mesa, where the birds
+were turned loose. The severest penalties were then prescribed for
+any person that should kill a martin. According to latest accounts,
+however, the locusts still flourish.
+
+The injury done by these pests to cultivated lands is always serious,
+often disastrous. Miles of ripened crops may be devoured in a single
+night. When the locust-army makes its descent by day, preparing to
+attack a planted field, the natives do their best to drive it away by
+dint of noise and glare, beating tin cans, rattling bamboo-choppers,
+waving scarlet flags. Others make a dense smoke, by setting fire to
+damp straw and other fuel. The insects are very sensitive to noise,
+and the firing of small mortars, which the natives use at feasts,
+is a very useful locust-dispeller.
+
+In general appearance the locust looks like a large grasshopper;
+of a light reddish-brown hue in the males, and a darker brown in
+the females. The eggs are laid in the ground, which is pierced to
+the depth of an inch by the auger-like ovipositor of the female. She
+continues this process of egg-laying every few days, if allowed to
+settle. Two or three weeks are necessary for the hatching. The grubs
+cannot be driven to flight, as their wings do not sprout for about ten
+days, and they set themselves diligently to work to eat their fill,
+making havoc in the growing crops. Though they cannot fly, they can
+jump, and the plan adopted to dispose of them is to form a barrier of
+sheet-iron at one side of the field, dig a pit before it, and set a
+number of men to beat up the small game around the other three sides
+of the field. In this way the young locusts may be driven in heaps
+into the pit, and there destroyed. I have seen instances where tons
+of these destructive pests were thus slain.
+
+Locusts have been known to travel as far as sixty miles out to sea. It
+is a curious fact, that, they avoid for several years a province
+where large quantities of their number have been swallowed up and
+destroyed by an earthquake.
+
+Aside from their destroying growing-crops, these insects are perfectly
+harmless; little children play with them, and older people eat them,
+fried locust being esteemed a great delicacy by the poor-class
+natives. I can vouch for one instance in which the inhabitants of a
+certain village offered to pay the parish priest if he would say mass
+for the continuance of this luxury. The scourge is thus a terror to
+the planter, but a boon to his poor laborers.
+
+
+
+
+The Chief Nuisances: Mosquitoes and Ants.
+
+To repeat: Among the chief nuisances in the Philippines are mosquitoes
+and ants. The ordinary bed is a hemp mat, without sheets, but never
+without ample mosquito nets, in the absence of which sleep would be
+banished. The white ants are indeed formidable; not like the locusts,
+feeding on green things growing, but destroying dry wood and vegetable
+fibre, wherever found. They can literally devour a house; and I have
+been gravely told that even the surface of iron is not safe from
+their ravages.
+
+Many anecdotes are extant concerning the silent, hidden, and rapid
+ravages of these aggressive insects, working entirely out of sight, yet
+finding their way by a sure instinct to anything that will serve them
+for food. In one aggravating instance, happening in 1838, the priests
+of a certain town had packed away, in a trunk of narra-wood, the
+various articles used in the service of the mass, including the robes,
+priests' garments, and so forth. The following day, March 19th, they
+were taken out and used, and in the evening restored to the trunk. On
+the 20th some dirt was seen near this receptacle, and it was opened. To
+the horror of all the priests, their sacred vestments had vanished;
+nothing was left of them but a layer of dust and the gold and silver
+lace, this being tarnished by a filthy deposit. Yet not an ant was to
+be found in the trunk, nor in any part of the church; and five days
+elapsed before it was discovered how they had reached their prey. It
+was then found that they had eaten through a beam six inches thick,
+making a small hole, through which they obtained access to the trunk.
+
+Blind though they are, their other senses seem to be remarkably
+developed. They work from underground, never appearing at the surface,
+and will excavate a piece of furniture until it is a mere shell, and
+falls at a touch, yet not show the least vestige of a tunnel outside.
+
+One ignorant servant-girl had lent her earnings, in hard silver
+dollars, to a relative, and on asking to be repaid was gravely informed
+that the money no longer existed--the white ants had eaten it. This
+preposterous story was believed by the girl, who was ready to accept
+any marvel that the white ants were credited with.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+STRUGGLE OF THE FILIPINOS FOR LIBERTY.
+
+
+Early Insurrections Against the Spaniards.
+
+Many and notable have been the struggles of the Filipinos to escape
+the yoke of the Spanish tyrant. But in all cases European intelligence
+and Spanish treachery proved too strong for the simple natives, and
+thus, after every revolt, the chains of servitude were riveted only
+more firmly.
+
+As early as 1622 there was a revolt on Bojol island, which was speedily
+quelled. The same year saw a great insurrection in Leyte, which was put
+down only after great difficulty. The leaders were all executed: some
+were garroted, others shot with arrows, and many burnt at the stake.
+
+Despite these extreme punishments, a rising took place in Surigao,
+in the eastern part of Mindanao, in 1629, which lasted for three
+years. At last, weary of the tyranny of the church, the natives
+rose en masse and killed the priests. Expedition after expedition
+was sent from Manila; and after much loss on the Spanish side,
+and a vigorous resistance on the part of the rebels themselves,
+the rebellion was brought to an end. But the peace that followed
+was destined to be of short duration. In 1649 the Governor-General
+put into effect the odious press-law, which caused a general protest
+and a formidable revolt. A native, Sumoroy by name, killed a priest
+that had grievously wronged him, and led the insurrection. The Spanish
+soldiers, unable to apprehend him, discovered his mother, and literally
+tore her to pieces. Sumoroy, goaded into a very frenzy of vengeance,
+pursued his enemies with merciless hate, and many fell a victim to his
+cruelty. He was finally betrayed by his own people and beheaded. His
+head was stuck on a pole and paraded through the province. Other
+chiefs then surrendered, on the condition of receiving a full pardon;
+but the Spaniards forgot their fair promises, and promptly hanged
+them as soon as they had them in hand. This rebellion also extended
+to other provinces, but was quelled by the proclamation of a general
+amnesty. All those that took part in it, however, were, finally,
+executed or imprisoned.
+
+In 1660 there was another rising in Pampanga, where the natives were
+forced to cut down timber without payment. In Pangasinan province
+Andres Malong, a native, was declared King. He advanced toward the
+capital with a large army, gathering reinforcements on the way,
+till he had with him about 40,000 men. These were met by a small but
+well-armed Spanish force, and were routed. Most of the chiefs were
+captured and hanged.
+
+In 1744 a Jesuit parish priest, Morales, by his despotic manner and
+arrogance, embittered the natives of his flock. One of these, whose
+brother's body was left uninterred because his family could not furnish
+enough money to satisfy the unjust demands of the avaricious priest,
+led a party of natives against him. Morales was captured and executed,
+and his own body left in the sun. Dagohoy then raised the standard
+of revolt, and was joined by many thousands of his countrymen. He and
+his people thus maintained their independence for thirty-five years,
+when they finally submitted and were pardoned. On account of the
+strength and the multitude of the offenders in this insurrection the
+Spaniards were afraid to visit upon them the customary punishment;
+they feared to provoke another rebellion.
+
+In 1823 a creole, Andres Novales, conspired to seize the capital and
+to control the Government. He and his fellow-conspirators, however,
+were seized and executed.
+
+In 1827 there was a small rebellion in Cebú, which was quelled by
+the friars. Another insurrection took place in Negros in 1844, when
+the Governor of the province was killed, because he made the natives
+work for his own private purpose.
+
+
+
+
+The Burgos Revolt.
+
+In 1872 the friars were again the cause of a great revolt. Dr Joseph
+Burgos, a prominent native, led a party that urged the exclusion of
+the friars from parochial incumbencies. This had been promised at
+the council of Trent. The night of a suburban feast was the time
+agreed upon by the natives for the attack. The native soldiers of
+the garrison were also in the plot; and thus the arsenal was taken
+almost without a struggle, while the Europeans were now made the
+object of the attack. The latter rallied, however, and drove out the
+invaders. The arsenal was re-taken and many rebels were killed and
+taken prisoners. Burgos himself, with three other native priests,
+was apprehended and executed on the old sea-wall by the Luneta,
+that spot so richly sanctified by the blood of patriot-heroes.
+
+Many others of the native clergy were banished. And ever since this
+revolt the native priests have been under suspicion, and native
+youths are no longer allowed to study for the priesthood. In this
+instance the insurgents had planned a revolutionary government, which,
+if successfully carried out, would have reflected great honor upon
+the leaders.
+
+
+
+
+The Present Rebellion.
+
+In August, 1896, the present rebellion was begun. The causes of this
+uprising were similar to those that caused the preceding insurrections;
+the arrogance and the exactions of the friars, the oppressive taxes,
+the licenses and numerous fees, and other extortions practised by
+the Government officials were again the source of much discontent
+among the people. The natives, furthermore, were compelled to submit
+to usurious loans whenever they wished to raise money to carry on the
+various kinds of domestic enterprise. If a native was unable to satisfy
+the claims against him, his property was immediately confiscated by
+the Government. This power of confiscation was used most effectively
+against the well-to-do-natives, who thus were fleeced by the officials
+on the slightest pretext.
+
+
+
+
+The Katipunan.
+
+Smarting under these grievances, the natives formed a secret
+Revolutionary League, called the Katipunan, which soon numbered not
+less than 50,000 men. Cavité was the rebel stronghold, and from the
+day of its inception till the present time the rebellion has steadily
+grown; the barbarity and inhumanity of the Spaniards, now proverbial,
+have caused similar retaliations on the part of the rebels. And while
+this is not surprising, it is, nevertheless, surely to be deplored.
+
+If the civilized and religious Spaniard tortured his prisoners,--by
+burning, smothering, disemboweling, and otherwise mutilating,--what
+was to be expected of the half-civilized ignorant native. He,
+however, displayed far more mercy and greater magnanimity than his
+European enemy. The Spaniards, indeed, revived all the horrors of the
+inquisition,--the thumbscrew, the stake, and the rack. Is it a wonder
+that the Filipinos, rankling with the memory of a recent outrage and
+an ancient wrong, sometimes inflicted the same punishments on the
+unfortunate Spaniards that fell into their hands?
+
+
+
+
+The Black Hole of Manila.
+
+For the rebels well knew that a policy of extermination had been
+declared against them. Was it not at a banquet in Manila that the
+Spanish officers made a compact to kill the savages like wild beasts in
+their lairs, and to show quarter to none! We yet shudder when we think
+of the black hole of Manila, in which one hundred prisoners were thrust
+one night, of whom sixty were found dead the next morning--because
+the one door that admitted air into the dungeon had been shut. We
+remember with horror, too, the executions of the rebels in Manila.
+
+The day of an execution was made a day of jubilee, when the élite
+of the city came out to grace the general rejoicing. It was eagerly
+looked forward to, and, in honor of the great event, all the prominent
+houses were decked in flags and bunting--the whole city, in fact,
+assumed a holiday aspect.
+
+The execution usually took place in the cool of the morning, when
+the Luneta would be thronged with thousands of people, who came to
+witness this grand vindication of the honor of Spain. Nor was the
+fair sex lacking in these demonstrations of loyalty. Here come the
+victims, stolid and indifferent; behind them march the soldiers,
+with measured tread.
+
+The condemned are then made to stand upon the old sea-wall, and,
+facing the sea, await their doom. The suspense becomes intense;
+a hush falls over the expectant multitude, and a succession of
+sharp commands falls upon the morning air. An answering click and
+a scattered volley of shots, and the grim figures standing mutely
+on the sea-wall fall headlong to the ground, many stark and stiff,
+others writhing in agony. Hardly have the echoes of the shots died
+away, when a jubilant cheer bursts from the assembled multitude. Men
+toss their hats into the air; and ladies, beautiful and fashionably
+dressed, are waving their handkerchiefs and clapping their hands in
+an ecstasy of enthusiasm. The band bursts into triumphal music, and
+there is great rejoicing. But ten thousand natives go back to their
+homes with murder in their hearts.
+
+
+
+
+The Forbearance of the Natives.
+
+And yet, notwithstanding this severe provocation, the rebels rarely
+attacked non-combatants, and seldom injured private property--an
+example of their self-restraint and their remarkable forbearance. This,
+too, is seen in their refraining from molesting the only railroad
+in the colony, whose traffic was, of course, an advantage to the
+Spaniards. This railroad is owned by an English company, and this
+fact alone saved it from destruction.
+
+It is also said that when the insurgents had made their plans to attack
+Manila, a list of all the foreigners and non-combatants was carefully
+prepared by their leaders. This, as may be supposed, was done so that
+these might be guarded from the pillage and slaughter that was sure
+to follow a successful assault of the thousands of infuriated natives,
+thirsting for the blood of their Spanish oppressors. It would also be
+no exaggeration to say, that the great majority of all the foreigners
+in the islands--Germans, English, Dutch, and Americans--were secretly
+in sympathy with the cause of the insurgents. And this is no cause
+for wonder, when one thinks of the many and various impositions that
+the Spanish Government and its unscrupulous officials have at every
+shadow of an opportunity practised upon them. The rebellion began in
+the province of Cavité, and was made formidable by the thousands of
+refugees driven away from their rude bamboo huts and tiny rice-fields
+by the Spaniards, come to pacify the province.
+
+
+
+
+The Rebel Army.
+
+At first, the rebels were successful; but when a large army, between
+15,000 and 20,000 fresh Spanish conscripts from the Peninsula, was
+sent against them, they were forced to retire; and, accordingly,
+they entrenched themselves in the mountains near the capital. Here
+they built a considerable fortress, and though the greater part of
+the troops were without arms of any kind, they were, nevertheless,
+made subject to the most rigid discipline. Many of them, indeed, were
+engaged in the attempt to make their own fire-arms, and it can readily
+be surmised how crude and indifferent such weapons were. Those that
+could not secure guns, however, armed themselves with some other
+weapon; and thus in the rebel army were to be seen all sorts and
+styles of instruments for offensive warfare, from the deadly native
+bolo to the large steel mowing scythe of European make. Only 1200
+of the 7000 men that composed this camp possessed rifles; yet, even
+thus poorly equipped, for more than eighteen months they kept up a
+desultory but harassing war against 15,000 well-armed Spanish troops.
+
+Most interesting is the manifesto of the rebel leaders. Part of this
+document read as follows:
+
+
+    We make no distinction of race. We appeal to all honorable men--to
+    all who desire national dignity. All suffer alike, Filipinos and
+    Asiatics, Americans and Europeans. We call upon all to help a
+    down-trodden and tormented race--to restore a country destroyed,
+    to raise a land degraded. We welcome all--excepting not even a
+    Spaniard; for with us are some noble Spaniards, lovers of justice,
+    and free from prejudice, who support our demands for individuality
+    and national honor.
+
+
+
+
+The Tagal Republic Proclaimed.
+
+The Tagal Republic was proclaimed in October, 1896, and Andreas
+Bonifacio was chosen President. When Bonifacio died, a few months
+later, Aguinaldo was elected President and commander-in-chief.
+
+When General Primo de Rivera arrived from Spain to quell the rising
+insurrection, he attempted to end the insurrection by making various
+concessions, having been unable to do so by force. The rebel leaders
+were accordingly approached, and these, relying upon the fair promises
+of the Spaniards, made a treaty known as the Pact of Biacnabato, so
+named after the village where it was signed, December 14th, 1897. In
+this pact the following reforms are promised:
+
+
+    The banishment, or at least, the disbanding, of the religious
+    orders; Philippine representation in the Cortes; the same
+    administration of justice for the natives as for the Spaniards;
+    unity of laws between the Philippines and Spain; the natives to
+    share the chief offices of the Philippine civil administration;
+    rearrangement of the property of the friars and of the taxes in
+    favor of the natives; recognition of the individual rights of
+    the natives, with liberty of public meeting and of the press,
+    and a general amnesty.
+
+
+In return for these concessions, Aguinaldo and the other leaders
+promised that if Rivera fulfilled these promised reforms, they would
+leave the country for three years; and that they would stir up no
+insurrection against the Spanish Government during this period. The
+rebels then laid down their arms and surrendered their forts and
+ammunition, and, according to other provisions of the treaty, Aguinaldo
+received 400,000 pesetas, which were deposited in the Hong-Kong and
+Shanghai Bank at Hong-Kong; not for his own personal use, but as a
+fund, the interest of which, if the Spaniards carried out their part
+of the agreement, was to be devoted to the education of native youth
+in England.
+
+In case the agreement was not carried out by the Spaniards, the money
+was to be used for arms and to renew the rebellion.
+
+
+
+
+Treachery of the Spaniards.
+
+And how did the Spaniards fulfil their part of the pact? Rivera at
+no time proclaimed a general amnesty; he denied the existence of
+the pact, and shot several leaders, who, relying on his promises,
+had returned to Manila. The rebellion was therefore renewed.
+
+Only lately, Aguinaldo has again been approached by the Spanish
+leaders, who promised to carry out the reforms stated in the pact if
+he would combine with them against the Americans. The Captain-General,
+indeed, went so far as to create a Legislative Council, to which he
+appointed some of the leading men in the Tagal Republic. Aguinaldo
+treated his overtures with scorn; for he well knew that these fair
+promises would, like those made before, be broken at the first
+opportunity.
+
+The most powerful political organization in the islands is the
+Katipunan Society, already referred to, which has a membership of
+50,000. Each member of this body made a weekly contribution to the
+revolutionary fund. Among the Katipunans are a great many Freemasons,
+who are most bitter in their opposition to the friars. And not without
+reason; for at one time more than 3,000 Masons were imprisoned by
+the friars, and fettered with irons.
+
+
+
+
+Dr. José Rizal and His Wife, Josephine.
+
+The rebels were greatly encouraged by the presence in their ranks of
+many women, who not only incited them to battle, but often also took
+part themselves. Among these was Josephine Rizal, the wife of the
+unfortunate and lamented Dr. Rizal,--one of the leaders in this revolt.
+
+Rizal was a native of high scientific acquirements, and had
+considerable fame as a physician. He was also the president of the
+Manila University, and was deemed a leader in social and educational
+circles. But above all he was a patriot, and desired beyond all else
+the freedom of his country. He soon became the most ardent, as well
+as the most prominent, among the revolutionists, who looked upon him
+with awe. However, he was suspected, and he was exiled to Perin,
+on the island of Dapitan. There he performed a most difficult and
+successful operation on a patient,--an Irishman,--whose daughter
+fell violently in love with him. Rizal was similarly affected, and
+the lovers were soon engaged.
+
+Not long after, Rizal was taken back to Manila for trial. He was
+condemned to death. On the morning of his execution, December 6th,
+1896, his fiancée came to visit him. It was an affecting meeting--that
+last hour they were together. A sadder trysting-place surely could
+not be imagined than that damp cell, over which the glimmering light
+of dawn cast a sepulchral gloom.
+
+And there, in that dreadful hour, on the brink of the grave, the
+unhappy pair were united.
+
+They remained together, kneeling, till the executioners came to lead
+the bridegroom away.
+
+Rizal's speech, at the place of execution, was powerful, dignified,
+eloquent. He spoke without a tremor, and said that he forgave his
+enemies, even as he himself hoped for forgiveness. He then predicted
+that the Spanish power would fall within the next ten years. He also
+asserted pride in his martyrdom, and said he was only sorry he did
+not have another life to offer for his country.
+
+
+
+
+Execution of Rizal. The Philippine Joan of Arc.
+
+At a signal from their commanding officer, the soldiers, that were
+drawn up back of the hero, fired a volley. Rizal fell forward on
+his face, pierced by seven Spanish bullets. The hero-martyr of the
+Philippines was dead.
+
+His widow instantly set out for the rebel camp at Imus, where she
+was hailed as a modern Joan of Arc. She was made commander of a
+body of insurgents, armed with rifles, and she showed her ability by
+winning victory after victory over the Spanish troops. Her camp was
+at Naic--near Cavité. Since then, Mrs. Rizal has paid a visit to the
+United States, where she has been endeavoring to work up an agitation
+in behalf of her country.
+
+
+
+
+Rizal's Farewell Poem.
+
+A few hours before his death, Dr. Rizal wrote a farewell poem, entitled
+"Mi Ultimo Pensamiento," the following translation of which was first
+given in the New York Herald:
+
+Translation.
+
+
+MY LAST THOUGHT.
+
+Farewell, adored fatherland! Our Eden lost, farewell!
+  Farewell, O sun's lov'd region, pearl of the Eastern sea!
+Gladly I die for thy dear sake: Yea, thou knowest well
+Were my sad life more radiant far than mortal tongue could tell
+  Yet would I give it gladly, joyously for thee.
+
+On bloodstained fields of battle, fast locked in madd'ning strife,
+  Thy sons have dying blest thee, untouched by doubt or fear.
+No matter wreaths of laurel; no matter where our life
+Ebbs out, on scaffold, or in combat, or under torturer's knife.
+  We welcome Death, if for our hearths, or for our country dear.
+
+I die while dawn's rich iris-hues are staining yet the sky,
+  Heralds of the freer day still hidden from our view
+Behind the night's dark mantle. And should the morning nigh
+Need crimson, shed my heart's blood quickly, freely, let it dye
+  The new-born light with th' glory of its ensanguined hue.
+
+My dreams when yet were ling'ring my childhood's careless years.
+  My dreams, my hopes, when vigor pulsed in my youthful heart,
+Were that one day, gem of the East, thine eyes, undimmed with tears,
+Might darkly glow, that I might see unwrinkled, free from fears,
+  Thy lofty brow wherefrom for aye all blushes should depart.
+
+Hail unto thee, dreams of my life! My dying soul doth cry
+  All hail to thee! And ye I hail, my aspirations deep
+And ardent! Oh, how sweet it is to fall beneath thy sky,
+To die that thou mayst live, and, for thy welfare high,
+  In thine enchanted bosom eternally to sleep!
+
+If on my grave, midst the thick grass, thou shouldst see spring one day
+  A simple, humble flow'ret, Life victor over Death,
+Sweet symbol of my loving soul, ah, kiss the dew away.
+Approach to it thy gentle lips, that in my cold tomb I may
+  Feel on my brow thy tender sigh, the soft warmth of thy breath.
+
+Let o'er my grave the placid moon shed its soft tranquil light;
+  Let cool dawn's fleeting splendor shine on my resting place;
+Let the deep murmur of the wind caress it in the night;
+And if above my lonely cross it stay its restless flight,
+  'T will breathe a prayer of peace and chant a canticle of grace.
+
+Oh, let the rain rise pure to heav'n beneath the sun's hot rays
+  And carry to the throne of God my loving, last request.
+Let friendly souls weep for my end, and in the after days,
+On evenings clear, when o'er my tomb some gentle being prays,
+  Pray also thou, O Fatherland, for my eternal rest.
+
+Pray for all those who died alone, betrayed, in wretchedness.
+  For those who suffered for thy sake torments and misery,
+For our poor, loving mothers' hearts, who weep in bitterness,
+For widows, tortured captives, orphans in deep distress,
+  And pray for thy dear self that thou may'st finally be free.
+
+And when dark night enshrouds in gloom the silent cemetery,
+  When but the lonely dead are left watching by the sea,
+Disturb not their repose, nor dispel the mystery,
+Perchance then shalt thou hear cithern or psaltery
+  Well tuned, 'tis I, O my dear country, 'tis I singing to thee.
+
+And when the memory of my grave has faded from the mind,
+  When my tomb bears nor cross nor stone to mark where I lie dead,
+Plough o'er the spot, turn up the earth, and scatter to the wind
+My ashes ere they return to naught; let them go unconfined
+  To form thy rolling meadows and thy flower-covered glade.
+
+No matter then, if all forget, still, still shall I be near,
+  Still shall I breathe thy od'rous air, still wander in thy ways.
+And dwell in space, a thrilling note loud sounding in thine ear;
+I shall be perfume, light and shade, sound, color, refrain clear,
+  Telling forever of my faith and singing thy dear praise.
+
+Farewell, adored country! I leave my all with thee,
+  Beloved Filipinas, whose soil my feet have trod,
+I leave with thee my life's love deep. I go where all are free,
+I go where are no tortures, where th' oppressor's power shall be
+  Destroyed, where faith kills not, where He who reigns is God.
+
+Farewell, my parents, brothers, friends of my infancy,
+  Dear fragments of my heart, once to my bosom pressed
+Round our lost hearth. Give thanks to God in glad tranquillity
+That after day's long, weary hours I sleep eternally.
+  Farewell lov'd beings, stranger sweet; to die is but to rest.
+
+
+
+
+Aguinaldo Confers with Admiral Dewey.
+
+It was in December, 1897, that hostilities in the Philippines,
+between the Spaniards and the rebels, ceased. Just before the recent
+Hispano-American war began, Aguinaldo was in Singapore, where, it is
+said, he entered into secret political relations with Admiral Dewey,
+who was then at Hong-Kong. The Spaniards having broken the conditions
+of the pact, Aguinaldo, of course, was at perfect liberty to renew
+his attempts against his old enemy.
+
+As a result of these negotiations with the Admiral, the rebel leader
+offered to co-operate with the Americans in their occupation of Manila,
+by assailing the capital with his forces on land; he also guaranteed
+to maintain order and discipline among the native troops, to conduct
+the war in a humane manner, and to prevent the natives from committing
+outrages on defenseless non-combatants. He also declared his ability
+to establish a responsible government on liberal principles.
+
+
+
+
+Aguinaldo as Dictator: His Proclamations.
+
+Upon his return to the Philippines, May 24th, Aguinaldo issued three
+proclamations. The first explained that he had returned as dictator
+because the Spaniards had not carried out their promised reforms. He
+had previously surrendered, he said, his arms and disbanded his army,
+believing that the Spaniards were sincere in their protestations and
+promises of reform, being led to such belief not by any consistency
+in the past, but by the several guarantees they had given as pledges
+of their good faith. The reforms, however, ended where they began,
+on paper, and the Government seemed helpless in the hands of the
+friars, who, fearful of the light of truth and knowledge, placed every
+obstacle in the way of progress. As the great and powerful Republic,
+the United States, had offered protection, and were desirous that
+the natives might gain their longed-for liberty and their country's
+independence, he had come back to resume his command of the army, and
+he now purposed to establish a dictatorship, with an Advisory Council,
+until the islands were completely pacified and won. A republican
+constitution could then be established and a legislature elected. To
+this he would hand over the command of the army.
+
+In a second proclamation, Aguinaldo forbade all attempts at
+negotiations for peace, between the rebels and the Spaniards since
+all previous negotiations had proved but a deceptive lure to lead the
+insurgents to their destruction. All Spaniards, therefore, coming
+to parley without a flag of truce and the customary credentials,
+would be shot as spies. On the other hand, any native that undertook
+such a mission would be regarded as a traitor, and hanged, with a
+placard attached to his body, inscribed with the words: "Traitor to
+his country."
+
+The third proclamation shows the rebel leader's humane intentions,
+and is remarkable when we reflect that it was written by one of "the
+cruel and bloodthirsty savages" that the Spanish soldiery had sworn
+to exterminate. I give this entire:
+
+
+    The great North American nation, a lover of true liberty, and
+    therefore desirous of liberating our country from the tyranny and
+    despotism to which it has been subjected by its rulers, has shown
+    us decided disinterested protection, considering us sufficiently
+    able and civilized to govern this unhappy shore.
+
+    In order to retain this high opinion of the never
+    too-highly-praised and great nation of North America, we should
+    abominate such acts as pillage and robbery of every description
+    and acts of violence against persons and property.
+
+    To avoid international complications during the campaign,
+    I order:--
+
+    First, lives and property of all foreigners are to be respected,
+    including Chinese and those Spaniards who neither directly nor
+    indirectly have taken up arms against us.
+
+    Secondly, the lives and property of our enemies who lay down
+    their arms are to be equally respected.
+
+    Thirdly, in the same way, all hospitals and all ambulances,
+    together with the persons and effects therein, as well as their
+    staffs, are to be respected unless they show themselves hostile.
+
+    Fourthly, those who disobey what is set forth in the three former
+    articles, will be tried by summary court-martial and shot, if
+    by such disobedience there has been caused assassination, fires,
+    robbery or violence.
+
+
+
+
+Triumphant Progress of the Rebels.
+
+Dewey's victory wonderfully increased the morale of the rebel army;
+while the Spaniards daily lost hope. In two weeks after landing,
+Aguinaldo had assembled a force of 3000 men with arms, and fought
+many skirmishes. He had also captured two strong batteries, and taken
+the whole province of Cavité. He had made sixteen hundred Spanish
+prisoners, and supplied his men with over 4000 rifles and with several
+field-guns captured from the enemy.
+
+On May 30th the Spaniards attacked the rebels, intrenched in a strong
+position at Zapote. The engagement was a very severe one and lasted
+ten hours, the Spaniards being forced to retire with a loss of 500
+killed and wounded.
+
+The rebels, now numbering about 5000, full of enthusiasm, and
+well-armed, then attacked the Fourth, Sixth, and Eleventh Cazadores,
+and several companies of the Sixty-eighth and Seventy-fourth
+regiments. The natives in the last regiment deserted, after first
+killing their own officers. The Spaniards were beaten back with severe
+losses, and the rebels, with important reinforcements, then routed
+the enemy, taking many prisoners. Not long after, the capital of the
+province of Batangas was taken by the insurgents, and the Governor
+attempted to commit suicide. The Governor of the province of Malabra
+was also taken prisoner, and town after town, province after province,
+yielded to the victorious rebels, who daily grew stronger and gradually
+closed in on the capital. Outside, in the bay, was anchored Dewey's
+victorious American squadron, calmly awaiting reinforcements from
+home. With these he would aid Aguinaldo to prosecute the war on land.
+
+
+
+
+The Spaniards Fortify Manila.
+
+Meanwhile, the Spaniards displayed great energy in improving the
+defences of Manila. The moat was deepened, and all the shrubbery
+wherein an enemy might lurk and find cover was destroyed. For,
+as a last resource, the Spaniards intended to shut themselves in
+their grim old fortress, as if they thought to find security there,
+although a few ten-inch shells from the fleet would lay the whole city
+in ruins. Everywhere facing the bay trenches were dug, and modern
+9 pounder Krupp field-pieces were mounted, and mountain batteries
+brought from the interior.
+
+But, notwithstanding these elaborate preparations, the Spaniards were
+lacking in good modern ordnance and in accurate marksmanship.
+
+Another great source of Spanish weakness was their native
+allies. However, these professed great loyalty to the Spaniards,
+asserting that they wished to fight to preserve the Catholic
+religion. These natives had responded to a proclamation of the
+Captain-General, in which he called them brothers, and appealed to them
+to help defend their faith from the Yankee pigs who would desecrate
+"the holy Catholic church."
+
+A few days after this proclamation, Spanish faith in these professions
+of loyalty was rudely shaken; for some priests were barbarously
+murdered by the natives. The following day, several companies of
+these sworn allies, armed with Mauser rifles, attacked Bacora,
+a small town between Cavité and Manila, and, after a few hours,
+captured the place and drove the garrison back to the capital. In
+this engagement several hundred Spaniards were killed. The natives
+of a regiment distinguished for its loyalty, massacred their officers
+and joined the insurgents. It is said that the latter lost more than
+2000 men; but thousands were ready to take their places, eager for
+an opportunity to join against the common oppressor.
+
+It was to quell a threatened mutiny of these troops in Manila,
+that the friars handed over $1,000,000 of their immense hoard to
+the Captain-General, that he might satisfy long-standing arrears of
+pay. At the same time, the insurgents received some field-guns, 5000
+magazine rifles, and 200,000 rounds of ammunition from Admiral Dewey;
+and Aguinaldo and his forces continued their victorious advance step
+by step, the Spaniards daily growing more discouraged.
+
+In the latter part of June a body of United States troops landed and
+took possession of Cavité; and in July Aguinaldo proclaimed himself
+President of the Revolutionary Republic.
+
+
+
+
+Sketch of Aguinaldo.
+
+General Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy is a little more than thirty years
+of age. He was born in Imus, a village near Cavité. His father was
+a planter, and the son was sent first to the College of St. Jean de
+Lateran, then to the University of St. Tomas in Manila. The youth's
+education cost his father much privation, for the cost of pursuing a
+course of study at these institutions is not less than 1200 francs
+a year, and the elder Aguinaldo had great difficulty to make both
+ends meet.
+
+At St. Jean de Lateran the student is drilled in Spanish and Latin
+and the classics; and when he is able to translate the masterpieces of
+Rome with facility, he is ready for the University of St. Tomas. This,
+like the College, is under the Dominicans. In the University, the
+principal studies are physics, metaphysics, theology, jurisprudence,
+law, and medicine.
+
+Aguinaldo was adjudged a very dull student, and gave no promise
+of distinction. In fact, the Dominicans finally sent him home in
+sheer despair. Aguinaldo then entered the Normal school of the
+Jesuits. Here he made some progress; but at this time his father
+died, when the youth was forced to return home to take care of his
+patrimony, which was threatened by the lawsuits instituted by the
+order of the Recollectos--an organization composed of the greatest
+land-proprietors of the colony. It was in 1893 that Dr. Rizal created
+the Philippine League, the object of which was to unite politically
+the various parts of the Archipelago.
+
+Rizal was banished, but shortly afterward the order of the Katipunan
+was formed, which soon had more than 250,000 members. The object of
+this society was co-operation for the protection of the colonists.
+
+The Government then fearing an alliance of this society with the
+Freemasons and the various secret orders hostile to Spanish rule, began
+to take active measures against it. Aguinaldo was suspected of being
+one of the leaders. A Spanish officer, with a squad of native soldiers,
+came to arrest him. Aguinaldo, when confronted by the officer, promptly
+shot him, then eloquently appealed to his companions to leave the
+service of their foreign oppressors and strike a blow for liberty.
+
+The soldiers received his words with acclaim, and instantly chose
+him as their leader. He then sought the fastnesses of the forest,
+where he was soon joined by thousands of his countrymen--all flaming
+to join the standard of revolt.
+
+Aguinaldo is short of stature, with a well-knit figure. He has the
+Japanese cast of face, and wears a black pompadour, which heightens
+that impression. His countenance is imperturbable; it is notable for
+its serious expression. During the rebellion he was in hourly fear
+of assassination. For, a reward of $25,000 had been offered by the
+Spaniards for his head; and this prize had brought into his camp a
+host of mercenaries, that were only seeking a convenient opportunity
+to gain the coveted reward.
+
+Aguinaldo's headquarters were in the former home of a rich native
+in Cavité. With him were his staff and his mother and several of
+his relatives. These he kept with him to secure them from Spanish
+vengeance.
+
+The house is described as broad, low, and roomy. In front is a paved
+court; on each side a trusted number of stalwart insurgents constantly
+kept guard. The uniform of these soldiers was a cheap native homespun;
+their arms were of the crudest description; but they made up in
+loyalty what they lacked in training.
+
+The General himself usually wore a spotless suit of white linen,
+a white shirt, with a well-polished front, a high collar and a
+black necktie. He wore red velvet slippers, embroidered in gold. In
+his office was a modern desk,--piled high with documents,--a large
+mirror, two large, strong, iron boxes,--which served as a safe for
+the moneys of the insurgent government,--and a grand piano of Spanish
+make. Against a hat-rack leaned the rebel standard, and on the wall
+hung a map of the province. This the General used to scan eagerly,
+tracing the movements and the disposition of his troops.
+
+Aguinaldo was usually surrounded by various members of his staff, none
+of whom, however, was as impressive as himself. I believe Aguinaldo
+to be sincere and patriotic. He is courageous, and has surely proved
+himself an able general.
+
+He has unbounded influence with his countrymen, and while, as stated,
+$25,000 was offered for his head, no one betrayed him or attempted
+to make an assault upon his life.
+
+He is bravery personified, and inasmuch as the Filipinos admire this
+above all other attributes, Aguinaldo is always at the head. He is a
+born leader, and has just enough tact to adopt expediencies and make
+compromises, yet not seem to do so.
+
+And in so doing he, nevertheless, rarely appears to infringe upon
+his own original plans.
+
+In everything he takes the initiative; in no event does he consult
+any one. He brooks no opposition; he has had no rivals in reality:
+there have been one or two would-be-ones, but they could not withstand
+him. He is perhaps not always scrupulous as to the attainment of
+his ends, yet his proclamations are wise and moderate, his conduct
+all one would desire in even a European dictator. Moreover, few have
+shown themselves so modest and so merciful.
+
+There is a tremendous magnetism about the man, and whenever he
+addresses his troops, he holds them with a grip that would be
+spellbound but for the rapt attention and for the devotion that is
+vociferously manifested.
+
+The natives, too, seem to be unable, as well as unwilling, to get
+away from his power; and, to all appearances, he is to the islanders
+the man of the hour.
+
+Of course I do not agree with him in everything he does, but,
+knowing his sincerity, and believing that he makes his spectacular
+display merely to impress the natives, and so hold their allegiance,
+I therefore admire him and hope that the Americans will co-operate
+with him to give us a stable Philippine Government.
+
+At all events, the man's strong personality, and his large following,
+cannot, I believe, well be ignored by the American Government.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+DEWEY AT MANILA.
+
+
+The White Squadron.
+
+It was the 19th of April. An American fleet lay in the harbor of
+Hong-Kong, where it had been anchored for nearly a month, impatiently
+awaiting the command that should send it to battle.
+
+There was feverish expectation of war, and bustle of preparation,
+and Commodore Dewey nervously walked the deck; for, every moment the
+longed-for order was expected.
+
+It was the 19th of April, and the White Squadron lay gleaming in
+the sunlight,--and yet by the night of the 20th the White Squadron
+was no more; for she had exchanged the snowy garb of peace for the
+sombre gray of war. The ships' painters had, in this short time,
+given the entire fleet a significant coating of drab.
+
+The English steamer Nanshan, with over three thousand tons of
+Cardiff coal, and the Steamer Zafiro, of the Manila-Hong-Kong line,
+carrying 7,000 tons of coal and provisions, had just been bought
+by the Commodore, in anticipation of a declaration of neutrality,
+which would preclude such purchases, and thus two more vessels were
+added to the fleet, Lieutenant Hutchins being made commander of the
+Nanshan, and Ensign Pierson of the Zafiro. The Zafiro was then made
+a magazine for the spare ammunition of the fleet.
+
+Hong-Kong, for strategic reasons, had been chosen as a place of
+rendezvous for the Asiatic Squadron.
+
+
+
+
+Declaration of War, and Journey to the Philippines.
+
+On April 25th war was declared between the United States and Spain,
+and, at the request of the acting-Governor of Hong-Kong, the American
+fleet steamed away to Mirs Bay, about thirty miles from Hong-Kong. On
+April 26th the revenue cutter McCulloch, which had been left at
+Hong-Kong, brought the desired message. It read as follows:
+
+
+    Washington, April 26th.
+
+    Dewey, Asiatic Squadron: Commence operations at once, particularly
+    against the Spanish fleet. You must capture or destroy them.
+
+    McKinley.
+
+
+"Thank God!" said the Commodore. "At last we've got what we want. We'll
+blow them off the Pacific Ocean."
+
+And now the fleet was headed direct for Manila, a distance of 628
+miles; and, with hearts beating high with hope, the sailors cheered
+lustily for Old Glory and the Navy Blue.
+
+In the squadron were the following vessels: Olympia, flagship, Captain
+C. V. Gridley, commanding; Boston, Captain Frank Wildes; Concord,
+Commander Asa Walker, and the Petrel, Commander E. P. Wood. The
+Raleigh, Captain J. B. Coughlan, commanding, and the Baltimore,
+commanded by Captain N. M. Dyer, also joined the squadron.
+
+All these vessels were cruisers. The single armored ship in the
+squadron was the Olympia; and the armor--four inches thick--was around
+the turret guns.
+
+In making the journey to the Philippines a speed of only eight knots
+was maintained; for the transport ships could not make fast headway
+against the rolling sea.
+
+During this run, gun-drills and other exercises kept the men busy,
+and every minute was employed in earnest preparation for what all
+knew was to come.
+
+
+
+
+Luzon Sighted, and Preparations for Battle.
+
+It was on Saturday morning, April the 30th, that Luzon was sighted, and
+final preparations for the battle were immediately made. Impedimenta
+of all kinds were thrown overboard,--chairs, tables, chests and
+boxes,--and the ships were stripped and made ready for action. It
+was intensely warm, and the most ordinary evolutions proved exhausting.
+
+The Boston, the Concord, and the Baltimore were now sent ahead to
+discover whether the Spanish fleet was anywhere around.
+
+After looking in at Bolinao Bay, these three vessels cautiously
+approached Subig Bay, about 30 miles from Manila. However, only a
+few small trading-vessels were here discovered, though it had been
+reported that the enemy intended to give the Americans battle there.
+
+When the scouting ships reported that the enemy was nowhere in sight,
+the Commodore replied: "All right, we shall meet them in Manila Bay." A
+war-council was then held on the Olympia, and the American commander
+told his officers that he intended to enter Manila Bay that very night.
+
+The squadron then slowly proceeded in the direction of Manila. It was
+a sultry evening, and the yellow moon paved the waves with a pathway
+of gold, that seemed like a glorious avenue to victory.
+
+Fearing that they might come upon the enemy at any moment, the men
+were posted at their guns, and, with the greatest quietness, the fleet
+steamed stealthily forward. The lights on all the ships were put out,
+save the one at the stern, and so the squadron slipped into the bay,
+each moment dreading a challenge from the strongly-fortified batteries
+that the Americans had been taught to believe were located at every
+point along the entrance.
+
+The speed was now increased to eight knots; for the Commodore wished
+to be as far inside as possible before his presence was discovered.
+
+Through the dangerous channels, mined with death-hurling torpedoes,
+swept the silent squadron, grim and spectre-like. Well did the
+Americans know the dangers of this undertaking; and few there were
+that did not momentarily expect some exploding mine to hurl them
+into eternity.
+
+Then Corregidor Island, with its lofty lighthouse, came within view,
+and the ships swept into the chief channel, known as the Boca Grande.
+
+The Commodore, having so far failed to discover the presence of the
+enemy, naturally concluded that the Spanish fleet was lying at Cavité,
+where it would have the advantage of the protection of the forts and
+the shore-batteries.
+
+
+
+
+The Fleet Sails by Corregidor.
+
+And thus, with a full appreciation of the thousand and one dangers,
+known and unknown, that beset his path, Dewey kept straight by
+Corregidor.
+
+It was eleven o'clock, and the men of the fleet, which was now
+almost past the island, were congratulating themselves that they were
+undiscovered when a solitary rocket soared over the lofty lighthouse;
+there was an answering light from the shore, and every moment the
+Americans expected the boom of the Spanish guns, long primed with a
+deadly welcome for the "Yankee pigs."
+
+The narrowest part of the inlet had been passed, and still no sign
+that the entering fleet had been discovered. Impressive, indeed, was
+that long line of gloomy hulls, steering for battle, and courting
+destruction. The Olympia, the Baltimore, the Raleigh, the Petrel,
+the Concord, and the Boston, with the two transports the Nanshan
+and the Zapiro, convoyed by the McCulloch, on the flag-ship's port
+quarter--all kept on in the same straight course, while the men on
+board were partaking of light refreshment. For all felt that a great
+day's work was before them.
+
+But where are the enemy? was the thought uppermost in every mind. For
+to the Americans themselves it seemed that they were surely making
+enough noise to be heard by the sentries on the shore. Doubtless they
+were asleep, dreaming a Spanish dream of mañana.
+
+It was shortly past eleven o'clock, when from the smokestack of the
+convoy McCulloch flew a shower of sparks. A fireman had thrown open
+the furnace-doors and shoveled in a few pounds of soft coal.
+
+This was evidently seen by some one on shore, for it was just fourteen
+minutes past eleven when a bugle sounded an alarm, and from the west
+came a blinding glare, a shrill whistle overhead, and the heavy boom
+of a cannon.
+
+
+
+
+First Shot of the War.
+
+It was the first shot of the war, and it was fired with characteristic
+Spanish inaccuracy.
+
+Again the battery thundered; and then a third time, before there was
+a reply from the American fleet. The Raleigh, which was the third
+vessel in the line, was the first to speak for the American side,
+and then the Boston followed, with stentorian roar, and the battle
+was on. Again the battery sent its deadly missive over the fleet,
+and this time the Concord, taking its aim by the flash, responded by
+throwing a six-inch shell into the Spanish fort. A crash and a cry
+and all was still. It was learned afterward that considerable damage
+was done by this wonderfully accurate shot, several of the Spanish
+gunners being killed.
+
+The Boston and the McCulloch fired another round or two; but the
+forts had evidently had enough of it: they were no longer heard from.
+
+Meanwhile, the squadron continued its course, though its speed was
+reduced to about three knots an hour, the Commodore not wishing to
+arrive at Manila before dawn.
+
+A gray darkness hung over the harbor as the gray procession glided
+noiselessly in. Had a Spanish scout been on the lookout, it would
+scarcely have been possible for him to have distinguished his
+approaching enemy. A strict lookout was kept for the Spanish ships
+and for the dreaded torpedo boats, while most of the men lay down by
+their guns to get a little sleep. But with the terrible fate of the
+Maine vivid in their memories, the more imaginative ones conjured up
+a shuddering sense of insecurity in a harbor supposed to be literally
+planted with destructive mines.
+
+
+
+
+The Spanish Fleet is Sighted.
+
+This invisible foe--and not the longed-for and expected combat with the
+enemy's fleet--was feared by the brave Americans, and when the morning
+sun, in all his tropical splendor, rose right before the Americans,
+under the guns of Cavité lay the Spanish fleet. The Americans were
+at last face to face with the enemy.
+
+The commander-in-chief of the Spanish squadron was Rear-Admiral
+Patricio Montojo y Pasaron; the second in command was the Commandante
+General Enrique Sostoa y Ordennez.
+
+Under Admiral Montojo's command were the following vessels:
+
+Reina Cristina, flagship, armored cruiser, Captain L. Cadarso
+commanding, 3,500 tons; battery six 6.2-inch; two 2.7-inch; six
+6-pounders; and six 3-pounder rapid-fire guns; speed, 17.5 knots;
+crew 400 officers and men.
+
+Castilla, Captain A. M. de Oliva, commanding; 3,334 tons; battery,
+four 5.9-inch; two 4.7-inch; two 3.3-inch; four 2.9-inch, and eight
+6-pounder rapid-fire guns; speed, 14 knots; crew, 300.
+
+Isla de Cuba, Captain J. Sidrach, and Isla de Luzon, Captain J. de
+la Herian; 1,030 tons each; battery, four 4.7 inch; four 6-pounder
+and two 3-pounder rapid-fire guns; speed, 14 knots; crew, 200 men each.
+
+General Lezo, Commander R. Benevento, and Marques del Duero, Commander
+S. Morena Guerra; the former was 524, the latter 500 tons; batteries,
+two 4.7 inch; one 3.5 inch, and two 3-pounder rapid-fire guns; speed,
+11 knots; crew, 100.
+
+Altogether the Americans had four cruisers, two gunboats, one cutter,
+fifty-seven classified big guns, seventy-four rapid-firing guns and
+machine guns, and 1808 men.
+
+On the other side were seven cruisers, five gunboats, two torpedo
+boats, fifty-two classified big guns, eighty-three rapid-firing and
+machine guns, and 1,948 men.
+
+It will thus be seen that the Americans had a few more heavy guns;
+but the Spanish had several more ships and over a hundred more
+men. They were also assisted by the powerful land-batteries, and
+by the knowledge of the exact distance of the American ships. For
+the latter had no range-marks with which to determine the proper
+elevation to be given to their sights. In the American squadron,
+moreover, was not a single armored cruiser; besides, the Spaniards
+were at their base of supplies, while Commodore Dewey was more than
+six thousand miles away from all aid.
+
+Such were the numbers and the disposition of the combatants now about
+to fight.
+
+
+
+
+Dewey Attacks the Enemy.
+
+With Old Glory flying at every masthead, and with the beating of
+drums, the American squadron, after a brief reconnoitering detour
+in the harbor, sailed in a straight line past the fleet of the
+enemy. Each ship was to hold its fire until near enough to inflict
+the most damage, when as many shots should be fired as possible. Then
+to steam as quickly as possible out of effective range; to wheel and
+return--keeping close to the opposite shore--to the original point
+of starting, when the same manoeuvre was to be repeated--and so again
+and again till the enemy was destroyed or defeated.
+
+On the Spanish fleet, too, all was bustle and preparation; the national
+flag, that symbol of mediæval tyranny, floated from every masthead, the
+Admiral's flag on the Reina Cristina being the cynosure of all eyes.
+
+The Americans had left their supply-ships behind, and their
+fleet, according to pre-arranged plan, steamed slowly past the
+enemy. Meanwhile, the batteries of Cavité kept up an incessant roar,
+and now Montojo's flagship thundered a deadly welcome; while over the
+American flagship was hoisted a code-flag, with the watchword "Remember
+the Maine!" This was the signal for a concerted yell from the sailors
+in the fleet. And thus with colors flying, and with fire reserved
+till a closer range should make it more effective, the Commodore and
+his brave officers bore down toward the Spaniards, who were awaiting
+their approach with curiosity not unmixed with alarm, at the same time
+they sent a thunderous fusillade as a greeting to the hated Yankees.
+
+But the Americans, undeterred, grimly kept their course,
+notwithstanding one or two mines exploded beneath the water,--one
+near the Raleigh and one beside the Baltimore. Again and again the
+Spanish guns thundered, until the roar became incessant and shells
+were bursting all around.
+
+When about six thousand yards the Commodore shouted to Captain
+Gridley, who was in the conning tower: "Fire, as soon as you get
+ready, Gridley."
+
+Hardly had he given the word--which also was passed down the line--when
+the whole ship shivered, and the eight-inch gun in the front turret
+burst into a sheet of flame, while a dull muffled roar belched forth,
+that awoke the apparent torpor of the whole fleet to instant activity.
+
+The Baltimore and the Boston now took up the cue, and sent
+their tremendous shells crashing into the enemy, who replied
+vociferously. The din was deafening, and over and around all the
+American ships was the shriek and scream of terrifying shells. Some
+of these fell upon the decks, some smashed into the woodwork; but--as
+if providentially--not an American was hit.
+
+"Open with all the guns," signaled the Commodore; and all the ships
+joined together in a roaring chorus, as if Cerberus and all the dogs
+of hell had opened their mighty throats.
+
+And thus with incessant firing, the battle-line passed the whole
+length of the stationary Spanish fleet, then slowly swang round and
+began the return to its starting-point, keeping up the same flash
+and clatter, the Spaniards responding furiously. It was at this time
+that a shot passed clean through the Baltimore, though, fortunately,
+no one was hurt. Lieutenant Brumbuys had the signal halyard shot out
+of his hands; while on the Boston a shell burst in the state-room of
+Ensign Dodridge, and another passed through the Boston's foremast.
+
+During the third round the Raleigh was carried by the strong current
+against the bows of two of the Spanish cruisers, where all aboard
+seemed too bewildered to take advantage of their opportunity. Captain
+Coughlan, however, did not lose his presence of mind, but poured a
+destructive broadside into the enemy. His vessel was then carried
+back into the line.
+
+
+
+
+The Fate of the Reina Cristina.
+
+While this fierce combat was waging, the Reina Cristina moved out of
+the Spanish line and made direct for the American flagship, which
+hurled a perfect tornado of lead into the approaching cruiser,
+her immense hulk being soon riddled with large holes, where the
+eight-inch shells had entered. The port-bridge, where Admiral Montojo
+was standing, was also struck; but he bravely stuck to his post,
+while ton after ton of steel fell upon the deck.
+
+No ship, however, could withstand such a fire, and the gallant Reina
+Cristina turned round and made for the shore. As she swang round,
+Captain Gridley gave her a parting shot, that caused her to tremble
+and stagger, while the 250-pound shell crashed through the bowels of
+the ship and there exploded, hurling its deadly contents all round,
+while from the shattered deck rose columns of steam, mingled with
+human fragments. The ship, now completely disabled, continued her
+retreat. Sixty of her crew had been killed, and had she continued
+longer within the Americans' range, all would have met a like fate.
+
+Meanwhile, the little Petrel was engaged in a duel with two Spanish
+torpedo boats, headed for the American line. One of these she chased
+to the shore, where the crew sought shelter in the woods, while their
+abandoned vessel was blown into pieces by the daring American. The
+other advanced to within 500 yards of the Olympia, braving the storm
+of shot and shell that threatened to overwhelm her. As it was, a shell
+ploughed its way into her middle, where it exploded. From stern to
+beam she shivered, gave a forward plunge, and sank beneath the waves.
+
+The Baltimore, too, was engaged in an encounter with the Castilla,
+that resulted most disastrously to the latter; for she was soon a
+blazing wreck.
+
+Five times the American fleet passed in front of the enemy, keeping
+up the same deadly fire, that showed only too well the results of
+American training and marksmanship. And though the Spanish guns in
+the ships and the forts ceased rattling not one instant, they neither
+disconcerted nor damaged in the least the Americans. It was now a
+quarter of eight, and so dense was the smoke hanging over the waters,
+that it was impossible for the Americans to distinguish not alone
+the enemy's ships, but their own vessels, and the signals, too.
+
+
+
+
+The Commodore Pipes All Hands to Breakfast.
+
+The Commodore now wisely concluded to stop for awhile the fighting,
+and allow his men a chance to take some breakfast; for the brave
+fellows, after their morning's hard work, were hungry as wolves;
+so the signal "cease firing" was given, and the ships were headed
+for the eastern side of the bay, near the transport ships.
+
+It is related that the Spaniards were exceedingly relieved when they
+saw the Americans in--as they thought--full retreat, and many of them
+stood on the decks and cheered, thinking they had gained the victory.
+
+When the various commanders came on board to report to Commodore Dewey,
+it was found that not a ship was disabled, not a gun out of order, not
+a man killed or injured. It is true, Frank B. Randall, the engineer
+of the McCulloch, died from heart-disease as the fleet steamed past
+Corregidor, but this was not in any wise due to the engagement. Many
+miraculous escapes, indeed, are related; and it is really wonderful
+that no serious casualties took place. The sailors, as may easily be
+imagined, were nearly wild with joy; and as all hands were piped to
+breakfast, the decks were gay with merry jackies improvising a dance
+of victory; while the strains of Yankee Doodle and the Star-Spangled
+Banner filled the morning air. Cheery was that breakfast, and sweet,
+ah, sweet was the three hours' rest so nobly earned.
+
+
+
+
+The Americans Renew the Battle.
+
+At 10.45 the boatswains' whistles and the drums announced the renewal
+of the battle. Instantly every man was at his post, eager to finish
+the job so well begun. Again the American squadron was headed to ward
+the enemy's battle line; but several of the Spanish ships were now
+almost disabled, the Cristina and the Castilla were both on fire,
+and the Mindanao beached not far from Cavité.
+
+Admiral Montojo had meanwhile transferred his flags to the Isla de
+Cuba; and the Baltimore, leaving the American line, made straight
+for his former flagship, which threw a torrent of shells toward
+the intrepid American. The Baltimore, however, notwithstanding
+that a few of these deadly missiles exploded on her deck, wounding
+eight of her crew, continued her course till within 2500 yards
+of her antagonist. Then from her decks she fired a broadside at
+the Spaniard. There was an ominous silence for a minute or two,
+and both Spaniards and Americans waited anxiously for the smoke to
+lift. Suddenly, all saw a sight that struck every man in both fleets
+with terror, for it seemed the probable fate of all. The Cristina shot
+into the air and then fell back upon the waves with a thunderous crash,
+while a thousand fragments of men and timbers--promiscuously mingled
+in awful confusion--were whirling through the air. Down into the waves
+she sank--that gallant man-of-war--the pride of the Spanish fleet--down
+into the deep blue sea. Upon the surface, amid tons of floating débris,
+a hundred sailors struggled for life; many sank to rise no more;
+some, however, succeeded in reaching one of the adjacent consorts.
+
+The Baltimore, aided by the Olympia and the Raleigh, now kept up
+a deadly fire on the Juan de Austria; which answered this terrible
+fusillade with intermittent volleys, that spoke well for the courage,
+but poorly for the aim, of her gunners.
+
+It was at this moment that the Raleigh sent a shell crashing through
+the other's centre, exploding her magazine; in an instant she seemed
+a crater of flame, and sank back like the Cristina, a total wreck. Her
+flying fragments also inflicted such damage upon the gunboat El Correo,
+which lay beside her, that she was completely disabled. The Petrel
+gave her a finishing shot, that closed her brief career. Another
+Spanish gunboat, the General Lezo, also set out to accomplish great
+things, but the Concord, with a few good shots, put a quietus upon
+her warlike ambition, and, like her sister ships, she too was soon
+a floating wreck.
+
+Meanwhile, the Boston was engaged in a duel with the Velasco. Captain
+Wildes, of the former, stood on the bridge of his ship vigorously
+fanning with a palm-leaf fan; for it was a hot morning and it was the
+captain's policy to keep cool. The Velasco responded to the Boston's
+broadsides but feebly. Then with a plunge she careened to one side
+and sank heavily, her crew having scarcely enough time to escape to
+the adjacent shore. The Castilla had already been set on fire and
+scuttled by her crew, to prevent her magazine from exploding.
+
+The Don Antonia de Ulloa, which was engaged with the Olympia and
+the Boston, though riddled with shells and on fire in a dozen places,
+refused to surrender. Her gallant commander Robion stuck to his ship to
+the very last; then she sank with colors flying, a signal example of
+Spanish bravery. Another vessel had hauled down her flag, but when a
+boat's crew from the McCulloch approached to take possession of her,
+she treacherously fired on them. Suddenly, from every ship in the
+American fleet there thundered a swift and awful retribution. There
+was darkness around her shivering hull, there was a dull explosion
+and a lurid glare; and when the smoke had rolled away nothing but a
+few floating fragments were left to indicate the traitor's fate.
+
+Thus ship after ship of the Spanish fleet met a like fate, until
+Admiral Montojo, on the deck of the deserted and almost-useless Isla
+de Cuba, took down his colors, and, with a few surviving officers,
+escaped to the shore.
+
+
+
+
+The Yankees Are Victorious.
+
+But, notwithstanding the destruction and the surrender of the Spanish
+fleet, the batteries kept up an incessant fire. The Americans now
+turned their attention to these, and speedily silenced them. The
+Petrel was left behind to complete the destruction of the smaller
+gunboats. This she did most effectually.
+
+As the Cavité Arsenal unfurled the white flag, the command "Cease
+firing" was given, and the various American commanders once more
+gathered on the flagship, their men cheering themselves hoarse.
+
+A most extraordinary victory, truly! Not one man lost, and only six men
+slightly wounded, all on the Baltimore; while the Baltimore, Olympia,
+and Raleigh suffered injuries that could be repaired in a few hours.
+
+The Spanish, on the other hand, were almost annihilated, and
+lost the following vessels: Sunk: Reina Cristina, Castilla,
+Don Antonia de Ulloa. Burnt: Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Luzon,
+Isla de Cuba, General Lezo, Marquis del Duero, El Correo, Velasco,
+and Isla de Mindanao. Captured: Manila, and several tugs and small
+launches. Besides this, the enemy lost more than 600 men.
+
+On the day following the engagement, the squadron returned to
+Cavité, where it took up a permanent position until the arrival
+of the transports from America. On the third of May the Spanish
+evacuated Cavité Arsenal, which was then held by a detachment from the
+fleet. The same day the batteries on Corregidor Island surrendered
+to the Raleigh and the Baltimore. And thus ended the greatest naval
+battle in American history.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION.
+
+
+Merritt, and the Expedition.
+
+The Spanish fleet had been destroyed; Cavité had been taken; and
+Admiral Dewey lay in the harbor awaiting the reinforcements that were
+on the way.
+
+These reinforcements had been sent out in three expeditions: the first
+expedition, Brigadier-General Anderson commanding, consisted of 115
+officers and 2,386 enlisted men; the second, under Brigadier-General
+Greene, of 158 officers and 3,428 enlisted soldiers; the third, under
+command of General McArthur, consisted of 197 officers, and 4,650
+men. With these expeditions went the Astor Battery and Major-General
+Wesley Merritt, who had been chosen Commander-in-chief of the United
+States forces in the Philippines. In all, over 11,000 men were on
+their way to Manila, and a fourth expedition, consisting of 1,763 men,
+under Brigadier-General H. G. Otis, was soon to follow.
+
+It was the cruiser Charleston, which conveyed the transports of one
+of these expeditions, that stopped to have a little fun, by way of
+profitable diversion, at the island of Guam, one of the Ladrones.
+
+Thirteen shells from the Charleston went thundering against the
+fortress of Santa Cruz. But even thirteen proved insufficient to
+provoke a Spanish reply. However, a half-hour after the bombardment
+began, the captain of the port, Lieutenant Commander José Garcia
+y Gutierrez, of the Spanish navy, accompanied by one or two other
+Spanish officers, were rowed to the Charleston, and, having been
+taken on board, apologized for their seeming discourtesy; they said
+that lack of ammunition at the fortress made it impossible for them
+to return the American salute. They were, in fact, unaware that war
+had been declared between the United States and Spain, and were,
+therefore, much surprised when Captain Henry Glass informed them
+that they were prisoners of war. They were sent ashore and ordered
+to convey to the Governor Don Juan Marina the command that he come
+upon the Charleston. He replied that, under Spanish law, he was not
+allowed to go aboard a foreign man-of-war.
+
+Captain Glass then sent Lieutenant Brannersreuther to the Governor,
+demanding an immediate and unconditional surrender. A half-hour was
+allowed for the consideration of the demand. The Governor expressed
+great surprise at these peremptory proceedings; but twenty-five
+minutes after this demand he, nevertheless, made the unconditional
+surrender of everything Spanish in and around the Ladrones. The guns,
+ammunition, and flags of the Spaniards, as well as the garrison and
+all the Spanish officers, were then taken aboard one of the transports,
+and the expedition continued its journey Manila-ward.
+
+It is said that, great was the rejoicing on board the cruiser and
+the transports as the Stars and Stripes were unfurled from the Fort
+of Santa Cruz; and, while the Charleston fired a salute of 21 guns,
+Captain Glass formally declared the Ladrones to be possessions of
+the United States.
+
+Upon his arrival at Manila, by the transport Newport,--July
+26th,--General Merritt immediately reported to Admiral Dewey, and,
+establishing his headquarters in the Cavité Arsenal, he assumed command
+of all the American land-forces. He was officially recognized by a
+salute of 13 guns. The three expeditions, respectively, arrived a
+few days after one another, and all were now awaiting the word of
+the Commander-in-chief. He at once proceeded to inform himself of
+the situation.
+
+Meantime, General Aguinaldo had removed his headquarters to Malolos. He
+had also consolidated the divers insurrectionary parties in the
+northeast provinces, by which he had gained an additional force
+of 5,000 men, and obtained control of the entire northern part of
+Luzon. The insurgents, too, kept up a desultory fight, and were
+gradually driving the Spaniards back. The latter possessed still a
+few outposts, but these were for the most part but feebly defended,
+and it was indeed a question of but a few days when the enemy would
+be driven within the walls of the city. The insurgents were already
+building trenches on the northern part of the city; they also held
+the water-works; and this, inasmuch as the dry season was approaching,
+was most important.
+
+
+
+
+The Battle of Malate.
+
+On the night of Sunday, July 31st, occurred the first loss of life of
+the Americans in the Philippine Islands. They had thrown up earth-works
+not far from the Spanish trenches, which, soon after dark, kept up
+a desultory fire.
+
+The Americans began to reply in the American fashion, the men standing
+up and exposing themselves to the Spanish fire. The most dangerous
+place, of course, was the open ground just behind the trenches;
+and here the greatest loss was incurred; for the reinforcements,
+when crossing this open space, were wholly unprotected.
+
+It has been said that there was no need to reply to the Spanish fire,
+as the intrenchment was sufficient protection. However, the First
+Colorado and the First Nebraska regiments, who threw up the trenches,
+suffered no loss whatever. No attention was paid to the Spanish fire
+at that time; and it is a pity that this contemptuous indifference
+on the part of the Americans was not maintained.
+
+Subsequently, about the middle of July, the First Battalion of
+the Californians pitched their tents at Tambo. This soon came to
+be known as Camp Dewey. The Californians were soon joined by the
+other American regiments, and outposts were stationed far in front,
+near the insurgent line. The insurgents at this time were between the
+Spaniards and the Americans; but, at General Merritt's solicitation,
+Aguinaldo moved his position over to Pasai, while the Americans
+advanced to the insurgent trenches.
+
+These were soon found untenable, and it was Lieutenant-Colonel McAvoy,
+who commanded the Colorado battalions, that was the first to assume
+a position in front of the enemy. He advanced the line to an old
+Capuchin chapel, that stood in the middle of the field, between the
+Spanish position and the insurgent trenches.
+
+The Colorado and Nebraska men, who threw up the new breast-works at
+the point that Colonel McAvoy had chosen, were occasionally fired
+at by the Spaniards, who had a good view of what the Americans were
+doing. The breast-work was about seven feet high, with notches and
+peepholes for the lookouts. Inside the parapet was a parallel elevation
+of about two feet--for the men to stand on when they wished a shot
+at the enemy. The old chapel itself was in the line of defense, and
+was used for cover; though it was nearly wrecked by the many shells
+that had been thrown against it.
+
+Saturday, July 30th, two batteries were placed in position: they were
+A and B of the Utah Battalion. The guns of the former were placed on
+the right, those of the latter on the left, of the chapel.
+
+It was, accordingly, near Pasai, about ten o'clock the same day,
+that the first American blood was spilt. The First Colorado regiment
+had just been relieved by the men from Nebraska, and were returning
+to camp, when a Spanish bullet hit Private W. H. Sterling of Company
+K. in the upper part of the left arm. The wound, however, was very
+slight, and Sterling was soon back in the ranks.
+
+Saturday night the Spaniards began a lively fusillade. But this did
+no damage--the men were safe inside the newly-finished parapet. The
+rain, in fact, made things far more uncomfortable than the Spanish
+bullets. It fell in torrents, but the inventive Yankees tore up the
+floor of the old chapel, and hastily built shelters, which effectually
+kept off the water.
+
+The Spanish trench was about 800 yards from the American
+breast-works. It extended northeast, just in front of the old fort
+at Malate, and was strengthened with rocks and sandbags. The land
+between the two trenches was low and level. On Sunday night Spaniards
+advanced beyond their works, began a heavy fire against the Americans,
+and drove in the pickets of the Tenth Pennsylvania. The bullets
+began to fall among the Americans, and the guns of Malate roared
+continuously. The night is described as awful. From the skies fell
+tons of water, while the wind blew with the force of a cyclone,
+howling and shrieking through the swaying trees.
+
+Major Cuthbertson was in command of the Pennsylvanians, and when the
+pickets came in and reported that the enemy was trying to flank the
+Americans, he ordered K and B companies into the trench, and also
+commanded Major Bierer, who commanded companies D and E, to the front.
+
+The Spaniards, meanwhile, with their Mausers, kept up a terrific fire,
+but the Americans and their Springfields soon began a vociferous
+reply. The Utah artillerymen displayed remarkable coolness, and
+worked their four guns like veterans. Though there was a perfect hail
+of bullets, only one man was hit, and he but slightly wounded. The
+Spanish fire was now concerted, and their bullets whistled, sang, and
+fell all round the Americans. Most of them, however, were too high,
+though they sounded dangerously near.
+
+Across the open field, to the rear of the American trenches, now came
+two companies, under the command of Major Bierer. It was here in this
+unprotected field, swept by Mauser bullets, that the first American
+lost his life. Corporal W. E. Brown, of Company D, Tenth Pennsylvania,
+was the hero. He was shot through the body. Many others around him were
+wounded, and, a few minutes later, Private William E. Stillwagon was
+also killed. The men, notwithstanding, kept right on, and continued
+to shoot; though, on account of the darkness, they could not see the
+enemy; their fire, therefore, was not effective.
+
+At this juncture gallant Captain O'Hara, in command of the Third
+Artillery, still in camp, who knew that the boys in front must soon be
+in want of ammunition, ordered his command to the rescue. And they came
+in the nick of time. For the soldiers in the trenches had but a few
+rounds of cartridges left. Many of the men, too, were shooting wild;
+others, also, were somewhat demoralized; for the darkness, the danger,
+and the uncertainty of the enemy were most disconcerting to raw troops;
+but the example of Lieutenant Krayenbuhl and his regulars, who kept up
+a steady fire, had good effect upon the volunteers; they soon recovered
+themselves, and, with a rousing cheer, the whole command moved onward.
+
+Meanwhile, General Greene sent other reinforcements to the
+front,--Colonel Smith, with part of his regiment, the First
+California. As Boxton's battalion of Californians advanced
+through the open field, they received the terrible Spanish fire,
+and many were shot, and were left by the way. It was here that
+Captain Reinhold Richter, of Company I, was fatally shot; and here,
+too, First Sergeant Morris Jurth, of Company A, was killed. It was
+said that these Californians, not knowing of the presence of the
+Pennsylvanians and of the regulars in front, fired three volleys at
+them before the mistake was discovered. It is believed, however, that
+no damage was done by the firing; but it was a mistake that might
+have cost the Americans dearly. Meanwhile, two men were killed in
+the trenches: Sergeant McIlrath, of Battery H., Tenth Pennsylvania,
+who had recklessly exposed himself upon the parapet, and Private
+Brady of Company I, the same regiment.
+
+It was at this time that Private Finlay of Company C, First California,
+gave proof of remarkable bravery. Finlay belonged to Major Jones'
+Transportation Department, and, on account of his knowledge of
+Spanish, he had been put in charge of the ammunition-train that was
+sent forward. In the train were eight carromatas, each in charge of
+a native driver. Right through the open fields, where the bullets
+fell thickest, he drove with his carromatas. The canvas-tops of the
+carts were soon ripped into shreds, and one or two of the natives were
+wounded; but the intrepid American kept right on toward the trenches,
+and delivered his cartridges. But before he reached his destination
+one of the ponies was killed. He merely took it out of the cart,
+and, with the native driver, he pulled the cart up to the place
+occupied by the others. On his return-journey he stopped to pick up
+the dead and wounded that he found lying along the way, taking them
+to the field-hospital in the rear, then received orders to take ten
+carromatas and to go after all the wounded. This he did as coolly
+as if he were loading his wagons with hay. Still, all were tenderly
+cared for. The eight dead were buried in the yard of the old convent
+of Maribacan, back of the camp. Every man was sewed up in his blanket;
+to it was attached a tag with his name for identification. The bodies
+were then all buried in one trench, and above the grave of each man
+a headboard with his name.
+
+The chaplain of the Tenth Pennsylvania made careful observation of
+the place, and of each grave.
+
+About 2 o'clock the Spaniards began to cease firing. The Americans,
+on the other hand, kept up a lively rattle for a quarter of an hour
+longer; but the engagement was about over; and General Greene, who had
+followed the men to the front, returned to the camp. A few desultory
+skirmishes took place for a day or two longer, in which two men were
+killed; but the Spanish advance had been checked by the first night's
+work, and by Monday morning the battle of Malate was practically
+over. Altogether, the Americans lost ten killed and forty-six wounded.
+
+
+
+
+Capture of Manila.
+
+Nothing of importance occurred for several days after the battle
+of Malate. Troops were landed on the Bacoor shore, and the foreign
+warships took up their respective positions: the British and the
+Japanese vessels near the American fleet, the French and the German
+vessels on the other side of the bay. An ominous quiet brooded
+over all.
+
+On August 7th, the following letter was sent by General Merritt and
+Admiral Dewey to General Jandenes:
+
+
+    To the General-in-Chief commanding the Spanish Forces at Manila:
+
+
+    Sir: We have the honor to notify Your Excellency that operations
+    of the land and naval forces of the United States against the
+    defenses of Manila may begin at any time after the expiration of
+    forty-eight hours from the receipt by you of this communication,
+    or sooner if made necessary by attack on your part.
+
+    This notice is given to afford you an opportunity to remove all
+    non-combatants from the city.
+
+
+    Yours Respectfully,
+    Wesley Merritt, Major-General U. S. A.,
+    Commanding.
+    George Dewey, Rear-Admiral U. S. N.,
+    Commanding.
+
+
+To this the Spanish general replied in a polite note; that on account
+of the fact that he was surrounded by the insurgents he was without
+"a place of refuge for the increased number of wounded, sick, women,
+and children" within the walls. He doubtless hoped that his mention
+of this fact would put off the attack altogether.
+
+And it did delay it for several days. However, General Merritt then
+issued the following order, which was translated into Spanish:
+
+
+    In view of the extraordinary conditions under which this army is
+    operating, the commanding general desires to acquaint the officers
+    and men with the expectations he entertains as to their conduct.
+
+    You are assembled on foreign soil, situated within the western
+    confines of a vast ocean, separating you from your native
+    land. You have come not as despoilers or oppressors, but simply
+    as the instrument of a strong, free government, whose purposes
+    are beneficent, and which declared itself in this war champion
+    of those oppressed by Spanish misrule.
+
+    It is therefore the intention of this order to appeal directly
+    to your pride in your position as representatives of a high
+    civilization, in the hope and with the firm conviction that you
+    will so conduct yourself in your relation with the inhabitants
+    of these islands as to convince them of the lofty nature of the
+    mission you have come to execute.
+
+    It is not believed any acts of pillage, rapine or violence will be
+    committed by soldiers or others in the employ of the United States,
+    but should there be persons with this command who prove themselves
+    unworthy of this confidence, their acts will be considered not
+    only as crimes against the sufferers, but as direct insults to
+    the United States Flag, and be punished on the spot with the
+    maximum penalties known to military law.
+
+
+It was decided to begin the attack on Saturday morning, August 13th.
+
+Accordingly, a little before nine o'clock the fleet began to move in
+close to the city. The Olympia led the way, followed by the Raleigh
+and the Petrel, while the Callao and the launch Barcelo hugged the
+shore. The Monterey, with the Baltimore, Charleston, and Boston
+formed the reserve. The ships were all cleared for action, and moved
+majestically and silently forward. It was raining heavily.
+
+Suddenly at twenty-five minutes of ten, the Olympia opened with her
+8-inch guns. The first four shells were aimed at the Spanish fort
+at Malate--known as San Antonia de Abad. On account of the rain it
+was difficult to get the range, and so these first shells all fell
+short. The Raleigh, Petrel, and Callao also opened upon the fort,
+and as soon as the range was determined, the shots did great havoc,
+the fort soon being rendered untenable.
+
+The Callao, under Lieutenant Tappan, and the launch Barcelo, which
+were nearer inshore, threw their shells among the Spanish riflemen,
+who replied but feebly.
+
+General Merritt and his staff and the color guard of the First Oregon
+were on the despatch boat Zafiro.
+
+General Anderson directed the operations on shore.
+
+About twenty minutes after the bombardment began, General Greene,
+with the left wing, began the land-attack, the advance being made
+toward Malate, under cover of a heavy fire from the Utah Battery.
+
+The troops, with colors flying, marched rapidly up the beach. The bands
+were playing and the men rushed forward with a cheer. Six companies
+of the Colorado regiment leaped over the enemy's breast-work and took
+position behind some low hedges but a few hundred feet from the Spanish
+line. General McArthur led the right wing, and was ably supported
+by the Astor Battery, under Captain March. It shelled a Spanish
+block-house with its Hotch-kiss Mountain guns, and then gallantly
+charged the position with revolvers. It lost three men killed.
+
+Meanwhile, the bombardment had ceased, and the Colorados, the
+Californians, and the Eighteenth Regulars drove back the Spaniards
+from Malate, and occupied the position, where the Californians at
+once raised the Stars and Stripes.
+
+In the suburbs of Malate and Ermita, where the Spaniards had erected
+street barricades, there was now considerable street-fighting, and
+the Californians, under Colonel Smith, advanced as far as the Luneta,
+within 300 yards of the citadel. At this moment General Greene,
+with several members of his staff, came galloping up the Luneta, a
+scattering fire playing upon him and his companions from the adjoining
+houses, until a white flag was raised above the southwest corner of
+the fort.
+
+At this,--and while the Americans were standing at rest,--the
+Spaniards in the citadel opened fire upon them, fatally wounding two
+Californians: privates Dunsoupe and Lamerson. This has never been
+satisfactorily explained, but it was probably due to the confusion
+of the moment; for 2000 Spaniards, retreating from Santa Ana before a
+large body of insurgents, that were shooting at them, just then came
+up, and it was to aid these that the Spaniards behind the walls fired
+a volley after the flag of surrender had been raised.
+
+General Greene then ordered the retreating Spaniards inside the
+walls, as a letter from the Captain-General was received inviting the
+American commander within for a consultation. General Greene himself,
+with Adjutant-General Bates, entered the city.
+
+When General Merritt, on the Zafiro, saw the white flag, he sent
+General Whittier, with Flag-Lieutenant Thomas M. Bramley, ashore to
+meet the Captain-General to discuss the terms of surrender.
+
+General Whittier found the Spanish officials much disturbed. Because
+of the Spaniards seeking refuge in the city from the insurgents,
+it was believed the Americans were continuing the attack.
+
+When General Merritt himself entered the city, about three o'clock,
+the situation was explained, and a conference with General Jandenes
+resulted in the following terms of capitulation.
+
+
+
+
+Capitulation of the Philippines.
+
+Officers allowed to retain their swords and personal effects, but
+not their horses during their stay at Manila.
+
+Prisoners of war surrendering their arms are to have necessary supplies
+provided from the treasury; when that is exhausted the Americans to
+make provision.
+
+All public property is surrendered. Future disposition of Spanish
+troops surrendered is to be determined by negotiations between the
+respective governments.
+
+Arms may be returned at General Merritt's discretion.
+
+Banks will continue to operate under existing regulations, subject
+to change by the United States Government.
+
+
+General Jandenes, it is said, was found in the sacristy of a church,
+which was filled with women and children. The capitulation, however,
+was made and signed in the adjacent municipal buildings.
+
+The terms of capitulation were formally signed by the American
+commissioners: General Greene, Colonel Whittier, Colonel Crowder,
+and Captain Lamberton; and the Spanish commissioners Colonel San José
+Maria Laguen, Felix Don Carlos Reye, and General Don Nicolas de la
+Pena y Cuellas.
+
+The insurgents were barred from the city. At dusk General Augustin,
+the Captain-General of the Islands, and his family, escaped on a
+German cruiser to Hong-Kong.
+
+Lieutenant Bramley lowered the Spanish flag on Fort Santiago, and
+raised the Stars and Stripes. It is said that while this momentous
+ceremony was performing, many of the Spaniards looking on wept;
+while the American band played the Star-Spangled Banner, and the
+surrounding American troops presented arms.
+
+The Americans suffered a loss of eight killed and forty wounded. The
+exact Spanish loss has never been ascertained, but it was probably
+not far from 500 killed and wounded. The Americans took 20,000
+Mauser rifles, 3,000 Remingtons, a large number of cannon and 11,000
+prisoners; 7,000 of them Spanish regulars.
+
+American sentries were at once placed on the battlements and along
+the Pasig, and perfect order was maintained.
+
+It was found, further, that the stories of starvation were grossly
+exaggerated; both the inhabitants and the soldiers were looking very
+well. Most of them, in fact, seemed to be pleased that the surrender
+had been made so soon, without great loss of life, and before a
+continued bombardment had reduced the city to ruins.
+
+General Merritt and chief of staff, General Babcock, deserved great
+credit for their plan of attack, which was carried out successfully
+under great disadvantages. The conduct of the Americans, officers
+and men alike, army and navy, was most creditable.
+
+Because the protocol establishing peace between the United States
+and Spain had been signed a few hours before the capture of Manila,
+it was believed that the United States was bound by the third article
+of the protocol, which reads:
+
+
+    The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay, and
+    harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace,
+    which shall determine the control, disposition, and government
+    of the Philippines.
+
+
+
+
+Awaiting the Peace Commission.
+
+Thus Spain was to remain the nominal possessor of the Archipelago,
+until the decision of the Peace Commission.
+
+Pending the conclusion of the peace negotiations, and the disposition
+of the islands, it was settled that the authority of the United
+States was to be supreme. Both Spaniards, and insurgents were thus
+to have no share in the Government. The Americans were conquerors;
+the Spaniards, as the conquered, had lost all right to a voice in
+public affairs. There was, however, some doubt on the part of the
+American commands as to the status of the insurgents; who, though
+they had but little part in the capture of Manila, had done effective
+work in other parts of Luzon, having driven the common enemy step by
+step to the gates of the capital. The revolution, too, was spreading,
+and new complications arose every day.
+
+In reply to their joint-message for instructions, General H. C. Corbin
+cabled General Merritt as follows:
+
+
+
+    INSTRUCTIONS TO MERRITT.
+
+
+    Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C., August 17, 1898.
+
+
+    Major-General Merritt, Manila, Philippine Islands:--The President
+    directs that there must be no joint-occupation with the insurgents.
+
+    The United States is in the possession of Manila city, Manila
+    bay and harbor, and must preserve the peace and protect persons
+    and property within the territory occupied by their military and
+    naval forces.
+
+    The insurgents and all others must recognize the military
+    occupation and authority of the United States and the cessation
+    of hostilities proclaimed by the President.
+
+    Use whatever means in your judgment are necessary to this end. All
+    law-abiding people must be treated alike.
+
+    By order of the Secretary of War.
+
+
+    H. C. CORBIN, Adjutant-General.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Philippine Islands, by Ramon Reyes Lala
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42726 ***