The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the
Philippines, by Isabel Anderson
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines
The Spell Series
Author: Isabel Anderson
Release Date: November 23, 2012 [EBook #41451]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ***
Produced by Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
THE SPELL OF THE
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND
THE PHILIPPINES
THE SPELL SERIES
_Each volume with one or more colored plates
and many illustrations from original drawings
or special photographs. Octavo, decorative
cover, gilt top, boxed._
_Per volume, net $2.50; carriage paid $2.70_
BY ISABEL ANDERSON
THE SPELL OF BELGIUM
THE SPELL OF JAPAN
THE SPELL OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND THE PHILIPPINES
BY CAROLINE ATWATER MASON
THE SPELL OF ITALY
THE SPELL OF SOUTHERN SHORES
THE SPELL OF FRANCE
BY ARCHIE BELL
THE SPELL OF CHINA
THE SPELL OF EGYPT
THE SPELL OF THE HOLY LAND
BY KEITH CLARK
THE SPELL OF SPAIN
THE SPELL OF SCOTLAND
BY W. D. MCCRACKAN
THE SPELL OF TYROL
THE SPELL OF THE ITALIAN LAKES
BY EDWARD NEVILLE VOSE
THE SPELL OF FLANDERS
BY BURTON E. STEVENSON
THE SPELL OF HOLLAND
BY JULIA DE W. ADDISON
THE SPELL OF ENGLAND
BY NATHAN HASKELL DOLE
THE SPELL OF SWITZERLAND
THE PAGE COMPANY
53 Beacon Street
Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: _Mount Mayon_ (_See page 308_)]
The SPELL of
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
AND THE PHILIPPINES
_Being an Account of the Historical and Political Conditions
of Our Pacific Possessions, together with Descriptions of the
natural Charm and Beauty of the Countries and the strange and
interesting Customs of their Peoples._
_BY_
_Isabel Anderson_
_Author of "The Spell of Japan," "The Spell of Belgium," etc._
ILLUSTRATED
BOSTON
THE PAGE COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1916, by_
THE PAGE COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
Published in November, 1916
Second Impression, June, 1917
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK WITH LOVE
TO THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER
WILLIAM F. WELD
WHOSE SHIPS SAILED UPON THESE
TROPICAL SEAS
FOREWORD
It is my hope that this book about our islands in the Pacific ocean may
be of some interest, if for no other reason than that there is at
present so much discussion as to whether or not we should keep the
Philippines.
Soon after the close of the Civil War my father, who was a naval
officer, was sent on a cruise on the Pacific and stopped for a time both
at Honolulu and Manila. During this cruise he took part in the
occupation and survey of Midway Island, as it is now called--_our first
possession in Pacific waters_. Many years later, when my husband and I
started on our first trip to the East, I asked my father if he would
give us letters of introduction to his many friends there. He replied,
"It is a long time since I visited the islands in the Pacific; if my
friends have forgotten me letters would do no good, and if they remember
me letters are not necessary." Needless to say, they did remember him
and extended to us the most cordial hospitality.
The charm of Hawaii will linger forever in our memory--those happy
flower islands where the air is sweet with perfume and gay with the
musical strains of the ukulele. We lived there for a time before the
Islands were annexed to the United States and, on another visit, we had
the privilege of accompanying the Secretary of War, Hon. J. M.
Dickinson, so that we had exceptional opportunities of seeing both
Hawaii and the Philippines, and of making the acquaintance of leaders
among the Americans and the natives.
We found the Philippines especially fascinating on account of the great
variety they provide. The old world plazas, the flowering Spanish
courtyards, and the pretty women in their distinctive costume of piña
are all enchanting. Nowhere else in the Far East are the
_mestizos_--those of mixed blood--socially above the natives. The
Filipinos are unique in that they are the only Asiatics who are
Christians. Among the hills, near civilization, live the savages who
indulge in the exciting game of head-hunting. The Moros, the Mohammedans
of the southern islands, stand quite by themselves. They are very
picturesque and absolutely unlike their neighbours.
Secretary Dickinson and Governor Forbes we can never thank enough for
the thousand and one strange sights we saw, as enchanting as the tales
which Scheherezade told during those far-off Arabian Nights. I only wish
I could describe them in her delightful style! Of all the spells what is
more puissant than the spell of the tropics--the singing of dripping
water, the rustle of the palm in the breeze. In this land you forget all
trouble and dream of love and happiness, while the Southern Cross gleams
brightly in the sky.
There it is indeed true that
"The flower of love has leisure for growing,
Music is heard in the evening breeze,
The mountain stream laughs loud in its flowing,
And poesy wakes by the Eastern Seas."
I wish especially to say how grateful I am to those who have helped me
in one way or another, with this book: Admiral George Dewey, General
Thomas Anderson, Major J. R. M. Taylor, Major William Mitchell, Mr.
William R. Castle, Jr., and Mr. C. P. Hatheway. Mr. R. K. Bonine was
also very kind in allowing me to reprint some of his photographs of
Hawaii. My thanks are also due to Miss Helen Kimball, Miss C. Gilman,
Miss K. Crosby, and my husband, and to all the others who have been so
good as to encourage me in writing the "Spell of the Hawaiian Islands
and the Philippines."
CONTENTS
FOREWORD vii
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE BRIGHT LAND 3
II MYTHS AND MELES 29
III THE FIVE KAMEHAMEHAS 48
IV SERVANT AND SOIL 81
V IN AND OUT 103
THE PHILIPPINES
I MANILA AS WE FOUND IT 123
II THE PHILIPPINES OF THE PAST 148
III INSURRECTION 180
IV FOLLOWING THE FLAG 206
V HEALING A NATION 224
VI DOG-EATERS AND OTHERS 245
VII AMONG THE HEAD-HUNTERS 270
VIII INSPECTING WITH THE SECRETARY OF WAR 296
IX THE MOROS 325
X JOURNEY'S END 353
BIBLIOGRAPHY 363
INDEX 365
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
MOUNT MAYON (_in full colour_) (_See page 308_) _Frontispiece_
MAP OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 3
ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL 6
HON. SANFORD B. DOLE 9
SURF-BOATING (_in full colour_) 17
MAKING POI (_in full colour_) 27
INTERIOR OF HAWAIIAN GRASS HOUSE 33
ANCIENT TEMPLE INCLOSURE 37
A HULA DANCER (_in full colour_) 40
QUEEN EMMA 65
KING KALAKAUA AND STAFF 73
"THE TINY PLANTATION RAILWAY AMONG THE WAVING GREEN STALKS" 82
PINEAPPLE PLANTATION, ISLAND OF OAHU 88
LEPER COLONY, ISLAND OF MOLOKAI 105
SILVERSWORD IN BLOOM, IN THE CRATER OF HALEAKALA 108
FIRE HOLE, KILAUEA 110
ON THE SHORES OF KAUAI, THE "GARDEN ISLAND" 115
MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES 121
GOVERNOR GENERAL CAMERON FORBES 125
THE PASIG RIVER (_in full colour_) 128
MALACAÑAN PALACE 136
MRS. ANDERSON IN FILIPINA COSTUME 139
"UNDER THE BELLS" 155
JOSE RIZAL 170
FORT SANTIAGO 172
A GROUP OF FILIPINA LADIES 182
AGUINALDO'S PALACE AT MALOLOS 191
SAN JUAN BRIDGE 194
GENERAL LAWTON 196
BENGUET ROAD 212
FIRST PHILIPPINE ASSEMBLY 215
OSMEÑA, THE SPEAKER OF THE FIRST ASSEMBLY 217
A CARABAO (_in full colour_) 225
PENAL COLONY ON THE ISLAND OF PALAWAN 239
THE PARTY AT BAGUIO 246
IGOROT SCHOOL GIRL WEAVING 251
IGOROT OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE 253
ILONGOT IN RAIN-COAT AND HAT OF DEERSKIN 258
ILONGOTS RETURNING FROM THE CHASE 260
WOMAN OF THE BATAN ISLANDS WITH GRASS HOOD 264
CONSTABULARY SOLDIERS 283
RICE TERRACES 287
IFUGAO COUPLE 289
IFUGAO HEAD DANCE 293
WEAPONS OF THE WILD TRIBES 295
LANDING AT TOBACO 309
A MORO _DATO_ AND HIS WIFE, WITH A RETINUE OF ATTENDANTS 325
A MORO GRAVE 329
A MORO _DATO'S_ HOUSE 336
BAGOBO MAN WITH POINTED TEETH 339
BAGOBOS WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 345
BAGOBO WITH NOSE FLUTE 348
MORO BOATS 350
ONE DAY'S CATCH OF FISH 356
VIEW IN ILOILO, ILOILO, SHOWING HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS 358
THE OLD AUGUSTINIAN CHURCH, MANILA 361
[Illustration]
THE SPELL OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND THE PHILIPPINES
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
CHAPTER I
THE BRIGHT LAND
On our first trip to Hawaii we sailed from San Francisco aboard the
_Gaelic_ with good, jolly Captain Finch. He was a regular old tar, and
we liked him. We little thought that in 1914 he would have the
misfortune to be in command of the _Arabic_ when it was torpedoed in the
Atlantic. He showed great gallantry, standing on the bridge and going
down with his ship, but I take pleasure in adding that he was saved.
We had an ideal ocean voyage: calm, blue seas, with a favouring trade
wind, a glorious moon, and strange sights of huge turtles, tropic birds,
and lunar rainbows. We had, too, an unusual company on board--Captain
Gridley, of Manila Bay fame, then on his way to take command of the
_Olympia_; Judge Widemann, a German who had lived for many years in
Honolulu, and had married a Hawaiian princess; Mr. Irwin, a
distinguished American with a Japanese wife--all old friends of my
father, who, as a naval officer, made several cruises in the
Pacific--Dr. Furness of Philadelphia, a classmate of my husband's at
Harvard, who was going out to study the head-hunters of Borneo; and Mr.
Castle, grandson of one of the early missionaries to Hawaii. He has
since written a charming book on the Islands.
After six days on the smooth Pacific, we caught sight of Oahu, the fairy
island on which Honolulu is situated. Diamond Head stretches far out
into the blue, like a huge lizard guarding its treasure--a land of
fruits and flowers, of sugar-cane and palm. The first view across the
bay of the town with its wreath of foliage down by the shore, just as
the golden sun was setting over the mountain range, was a picture to be
remembered. And in the distance, above Honolulu, the extinct crater
called Punchbowl could be seen, out of which the gods of old no doubt
drank and made merry.
An ancient Hawaiian myth of the creation tells how Wakea, "the
beginning," married Papa, "the earth," and they lived in darkness until
Papa produced a gourd calabash. Wakea threw its cover into the air, and
it became heaven. The pulp and seeds formed the sky, the sun, moon and
stars. The juice was the rain, and out of the bowl the land and sea were
created. This country they lived in and called it Hawaii, "the Bright
Land." There are many legends told of Papa by the islanders of the
Pacific. She traveled far, and had many husbands and children, among
whom were "the father of winds and storms," and "the father of forests."
As we approached the dock, we forgot to watch the frolicking porpoises
and the silver flying fish, at sight of the daring natives on their
boards riding the surf that broke over the coral reef. The only familiar
face we saw on the wharf as we landed was Mr. George Carter, a friend of
my husband's, who has since been Governor of the Islands.
Oahu is a beautiful island, and the town of Honolulu at once casts its
spell upon you, with the luxuriance of its tropical gardens. There is
the spreading Poinciana regia, a tree gorgeous with flowers of flame
colour, and the "pride of India," with delicate mauve blossoms; there
are trees with streaming yellow clusters, called "golden showers," and
superb date and cocoanut and royal palms, and various kinds of acacia.
Bougainvilleas, passion-flowers, alamanders and bignonias drape verandas
and cover walls. There are hedges of hibiscus and night-blooming cereus,
and masses of flowering shrubs. Everywhere there is perfume, colour and
profusion, the greatest wealth of vegetation, all kept in the most
perfect freshness by constant little passing showers--"marvelous rain,
that powders one without wetting him!" Honolulu is well named, the word
meaning "abundance of peace," for we found the gardens of the town
filled with cooing doves. It is said the place was called after a chief
by that name in the time of Kakuhihewa, the only great king of Oahu who
is mentioned before Kamehameha I.
At the time of this visit, in 1897, the total isolation of the Islands
was impressive, absolutely cut off, as they were, except for steamers.
Sometimes, moreover, Hawaii was three weeks without an arrival, so that
the coming of a steamer was a real event. To cable home, one had to send
the message by a ship to Japan and so on around the world.
After a night at the old Royal Hawaiian Hotel, big and rambling, in the
center of a pretty garden, we started housekeeping for ourselves in a
little bungalow on the hotel grounds, with a Chinaman for maid of all
work. Here we lived as if in a dream, reveling in the beauty of land and
sea, of trees and flowers, enjoying the hospitality for which the
Islands are famous, and exploring as far as we could some of the
enchanting spots of this heaven on earth.
[Illustration: ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL.]
We were pleased with our little house, with its wide veranda, or
_lanai_, as it is called there, which we made comfortable and pretty
with long wicker chairs and Chinese lanterns. Mangoes falling with a
thump to the ground outside, and lizards and all sorts of harmless
creatures crawling or flying about the house, helped to carry out the
tropical effect.
In the four visits that we have made on different occasions we have
found the climate perfect; the temperature averages about 73 degrees.
The trade winds blowing from the northeast across the Pacific are
refreshing as well as the tiny showers, which follow you up and down the
streets. There is not a poisonous vine or a snake, or any other creature
more harmful than the bee; but I must confess that the first night at
the old hotel, the apparently black washstand turned white on my
approach as the water bugs scuttled away. Nothing really troubled us but
the mosquitoes, which, by the way, did not exist there in the early
days, so must have been taken in on ships.
The Islands have been well called "the Paradise of the Pacific" and "the
playground of the world." The five largest in the group, and the only
important ones, are Hawaii, about the size of Connecticut, Maui, Oahu,
Kauai and Molokai. The small ones are not worth mentioning, as they have
only cattle and sheep and a few herdsmen upon them. They are formed of
lava--the product of numberless volcanic eruptions--and the action of
the sea and the rain, combined with the warm climate and the moisture
brought by the trade winds, has resulted in the most varied and
fascinating scenery. Mark Twain, who spent many months there, said of
them, "They are the loveliest group of islands that ever anchored in an
ocean," and indeed we were of his opinion.
At that time the Islands formed an independent republic, under Sanford
B. Dole as President, the son of Rev. Daniel Dole, one of the early
missionaries. He was educated at Punahou, meaning new spring, now called
Oahu College, and at Williams College in the States. He came to Boston
to study law, and was admitted to the bar. But Hawaii called him, as if
with a forecast of the need she would have of his services in later
days, and he went back to Oahu, where he took high rank among the
lawyers in the land of his birth, and became judge of the Supreme Court.
After the direct line of Kamehameha sovereigns became extinct, and the
easy-going rule of their successors culminated in the high-handed
attempt of Queen Liliuokalani to restore the ancient rites and also to
turn the island into a Monte Carlo, Judge Dole was the one man who
understood both parties and had the confidence of both, and he was the
unanimous choice of the best element of the population for president.
[Illustration: HON. SANFORD B. DOLE.]
Of course we visited the buildings and localities in Honolulu that were
of interest because of their connection with the existing government or
their history in the past. The Executive Building--the old palace, built
by King Kalakaua and finished in the finest native woods--and the Court
House, which was the Government Building in the days of the kings; the
big Kawaiahao Church, built of coral blocks in 1842, and the Queen's
Hospital, all are in the city, but they have often been described, so I
pass them by with only this mention. The first frame house ever erected
in the Islands deserves a word, as it was sent out from Boston for the
missionaries. It had two stories, and in the early days its tiny rooms
were made to shelter four mission families and twenty-two native
children, who were their pupils.
Oahu College, too, interested us. It was built on the land given by
Chief Boki to Hiram Bingham, one of the earliest missionaries, who
donated it to his coworkers as a site for a school for missionary
children. The buildings stand in a beautiful park of ninety acres, in
which are superb royal palms and the finest algaroba trees in Honolulu.
Long ago, in the days of the rush for gold to California, boys were sent
there for an education from the Pacific Coast.
The great aquarium at Waikiki, the bathing suburb of Honolulu, I found
particularly fascinating. There does not exist in the world an aquarium
with fishes more peculiar in form or colouring than those at Waikiki,
unless the new one in the Philippines now surpasses it. About five
hundred varieties of fish are to be found in the vicinity of the
Islands. The fish are of many curious shapes and all the colours of the
rainbow. Some have long, swordlike noses, and others have fins on their
backs that look like feathers. One called the "bridal veil" has a lovely
filmy appendage trailing through the water. The unusual shapes of the
bodies, the extraordinary eyes and the fine colouring give many of them
a lively and comical appearance. Even the octopus, the many-armed sea
creature, seemed wide awake and gazed at the onlookers through his glass
window.
An afternoon was spent in the Bishop Museum, which is very fine and well
equipped, its collection covering all the Pacific islands. I was chiefly
interested in the Hawaiian curios,--the finely woven mats of grass work
and the implements of the old days. Here, too, was the famous royal
cloak of orange, made of feathers from the _mamo_ bird.[1] It was a work
of prodigious labour, covering a hundred years. This robe is one of the
most gorgeous things I have ever seen and is valued at a million
dollars. There were others of lemon yellow and of reds, besides the
plumed insignia of office, called _kahili_, which were carried before
the king. Our guide through the museum was the curator, Professor
Brigham, who had made it the greatest institution of its kind in the
world.
This museum is a memorial, created by her husband, to Bernice Pauahi
Bishop, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I and the last descendant of
his line. Bernice Pauahi was the daughter of the high chief Paki and
the high chieftainess Konia. She was born in 1831, and was adopted in
native fashion by Kinau, sister of Kamehameha III, who at that time had
no daughters of her own. Her foster sister, Queen Liliuokalani, said of
her, "She was one of the most beautiful girls I ever saw."
At nineteen she married an American, Hon. Charles R. Bishop, who was
collector of customs in Honolulu at that time. She led a busy life, and
used her ability and her wealth to help others. She understood not only
her own race but also foreigners, and she used her influence in bringing
about a good understanding between them.
In 1883, the year before her death, she bequeathed her fortune to found
the Kamehameha School for Hawaiian boys and girls. This school has now a
fine group of stone buildings not far from Honolulu.
The Lunalilo Home was founded by the king of that name for aged
Hawaiians. When we visited it, we were particularly interested in one
old native who was familiar with the use of the old-time musical
instruments. This man, named Keanonako, was still alive two years ago.
He was taught by his grandfather, who was retained by one of the old
chiefs. He played on three primitive instruments--a conch shell, a
jew's-harp and a nose flute. The last is made of bamboo, and is open at
one end with three perforations; the thumb of the left hand is placed
against the left nostril, closing it. The flute is held like a clarinet,
and the fingers are used to operate it. Keanonako played the different
notes of the birds of the forest, and really gave us a lovely imitation.
The musical instruments in use to-day are the guitar, the mandolin, and
the _ukulele_. The native Hawaiians are very musical and sing and play
well, but the music is now greatly mixed with American and European
airs.
It was always entertaining to drive in the park, where we listened to
the band and watched the women on horseback. In those days the native
women rode astride wonderfully well and looked very dignified and
stately, but one does not see this superb horsemanship and the old
costumes any more. They did indeed make a fine appearance, with the
_paus_, long flowing scarfs of gay colours, which some of them wore
floating over their knees and almost reaching the ground, while their
horses curvetted and pranced.
One of the amusements was to go down to the dock to see a steamer off
and watch the pretty custom of decorating those who went away with
_leis_--wreaths of flowers--which were placed around the neck till the
travelers looked like moving bouquets and the whole ship at last became
a garden. When large steamers sailed the whole town went to the wharf,
and the famous Royal Hawaiian Band--which Captain Berger, a German, led
for forty years--played native airs for an hour before the time of
sailing. It was an animated and pretty sight at the dock, for the
natives are so fond of flowers that they, too, wear leis continually as
bands around their hats, and they bring and send them as presents and in
compliment. Steamers arriving at the port were welcomed in the same
charming fashion.
Judge Widemann kindly asked us to dine and view his wonderful hedge of
night-blooming cereus. The good old Judge who had married the Princess
had three daughters; two of the girls were married to two brothers, who
were Americans. All the daughters were attractive, and the youngest, who
was the wife of a German, was remarkably pretty. It was strange at first
to see brown-skinned people in low-necked white satin dinner gowns, and
to find them so cultured and charming.
We dined with Mr. and Mrs. Castle, also with old Mrs. Macfarlane at
Waikiki. We enjoyed our evening there immensely. Sam Parker, "the prince
of the natives," and Paul Neumann, and Mrs. Wilder, too, all great
characters in those days, were very kind to us. Many of them have passed
away, but I shall always remember them as we knew them in those happy
honeymoon months.
All the mystic spell of those tropical evenings at Waikiki lives in
these lines by Rupert Brooke:
"Warm perfumes like a breath from vine and tree
Drift down the darkness. Plangent, hidden from eyes,
Somewhere an eukaleli thrills and cries
And stabs with pain the night's brown savagery.
And dark scents whisper; and dim waves creep to me,
Gleam like a woman's hair, stretch out, and rise;
And new stars burn into the ancient skies,
Over the murmurous soft Hawaiian sea."
I took great pleasure in going to Governor Cleghorn's place. He is a
Scotchman who married a sister of the last king, and was at one time
governor of this island. Many years ago, my father brought home a
photograph of their beautiful daughter, then a girl of fourteen, who
died not long after. Mr. Cleghorn's grounds were superb--old avenues of
palms and flowering shrubs, and shady walks with Japanese bridges, and
pools of water filled with lilies. A fine view of the valley opened out
near the house. There were really two connected houses, which were large
and built of wood, with verandas. One huge room was filled with
portraits of the Hawaiian royal family and some prints of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert. There were knickknacks everywhere, and teak-wood
tables and chairs, _poi_ bowls made by hand, and primitive stone tools.
We were served with lemonade by two Japanese servants in the pretty
costume of their land, while tea was served by a picturesque Chinese
woman at a table on the veranda.
Besides these informal entertainments, there were various official
functions. One was a delightful musicale at President Dole's house, in
the midst of his lovely tropical garden; also a dinner at the Consul
General's, besides several parties on the naval vessels at the station.
Captain Book gave us a dinner and dance on his ship, the _Marian_. We
had breakfast one day on the flagship _Philadelphia_ with Admiral and
Mrs. Beardsley--the Admiral was in command of the station. Captain
Cotton of the _Philadelphia_ also gave us a boating party by moonlight,
followed by a little dance aboard ship.
[Illustration: _Surf-Boating_]
After lunching with the American Minister, Mr. Sewall, one day, we sat
on his lanai at Waikiki and watched the surf-boating, which was
most exciting, even from a distance, as the canoes came in at racehorse
speed on the crest of the breakers. That day L. and I put our bathing
suits on, as we did indeed several times, got into an outrigger canoe
with two native boys to handle it, and started for the reef. They
skilfully paddled the boat out between the broken waves, waiting for the
chance to move on without meeting a foaming crester, and then hurrying
to catch a smooth place. At last we got out far enough and turned,
watching over our shoulders for a big fellow to come rolling in. Then
the boys paddled wildly and allowed the crest, as it broke, to catch and
lift the boat and rush it along on top of the roaring foam, right up to
the beach. On one of our trips our oarsmen were a little careless and we
were upset. But instead of swimming in shore we swam out to sea and
pushed the boat until we were well beyond the breakers, where we could
right it again and get in--which, for those not used to it, is not a
particularly easy thing to accomplish. The people on the shore became
frightened about us and sent out another boat to pick us up, for we were
quite far out and there were many sharks around.
By the way, one hears it questioned even to-day whether sharks really
do eat men, notwithstanding two men were bitten lately while bathing as
far north as on the New Jersey coast. I will simply say I have seen a
black diving boy at Aden with only one leg, as the other was bitten off
by a shark, and have myself even worn black stockings when bathing in
tropical seas because it is said sharks prefer white legs to black.
An old friend of mine, an admiral in the navy, tells this extraordinary
story--that a sailor was lost overboard from his ship, and that inside a
shark caught the very same day was found the sailor's head. Here is
another story even more remarkable than that, taken from Musick's book
on Hawaii:
"Why, sharks are the most tractable creatures in the world when you know
how to handle them. It takes a great deal of experience and skill to
handle a good-sized shark, one of the man-eating species, but the Kanaka
boys know exactly how to master them. I used to have a fish pond over on
the other side of Oahu, and at high tide sometimes as many as half a
dozen full-grown sharks would come in the pond at a time, and when it
was low tide it left them in the pond, which would be so shallow the
sharks could not turn over. The native boys used to go to that pond,
jump astride the sharks and ride them through the water. It was great
amusement to see them riding races around the pond on the backs of the
sharks.
"Now, if you don't believe this story, if you will charter the ship I
will take the whole party to the very pond in which the sharks are
ridden for horses. If I can't show you the pond, I will pay the expense
of the ship."
A long drive up into the mountains back of the town one morning, took us
to Mt. Tantalus, two thousand or more feet high, from which there are
splendid views of the plain below and the sea beyond and mountain ranges
on each side. To-day there are many pretty summer villas built on its
slopes. While we were looking down on the town and harbour far below us,
we saw little puffs of white smoke, and long after could just hear the
booming of the guns of the warships, American, English, and Japanese,
saluting in honour of the President of this little island republic, who
was visiting one of the vessels. Then we climbed higher yet, through
woods of _koa_ trees, bordered by thickets of the lantana, with its
many-coloured flowers, up till we could look down into the dead crater
of Punchbowl and over Diamond Head, and far off across the sparkling
ocean, while the steeply ravined and ribbed mountains seemed to fall
away suddenly beneath our feet.
Punchbowl, where in the early days the natives offered human sacrifices,
"is for the most part as red as clay, though a tinge of green in its
rain-moistened chinks suggests those bronzes of uncertain antiquity." On
this mountain top a myth tells us how a human being was first made--a
man to rule over this island. The gods molded him from the clay of the
crater, and as they were successful and he came to life, they made from
his shadow a woman to keep him company. Indeed, many of the natives
still believe in gods and fairies, in shark men, owls, and ghosts, and
they will tell you stories of the goddess of the crater even to-day.
When we last visited this island thirteen years later with our Secretary
of War, Mr. Dickinson, we saw many changes. We were taken to the
Alexander Young Hotel in the center of the town, and to the great hotel
at Waikiki. The old hotel, where we stayed years before, had changed
hands and was sadly run down. How pretty and green everything was, and
how marvelous were the flowers! Many new and rare species had been
planted.
The changes have been gradual, but to-day Honolulu is a modern,
up-to-date American town, with business blocks of brick. The Makapuu
Point Light is one of the largest in the world, and Diamond Head crater
has been made into one of the strongest fortifications of modern times.
Great men-of-war are to be seen off Honolulu, and Pearl Harbour has been
dredged. The army quarters on this island are quite fine. There are good
golf links, and on the polo field you see excellent players; the field
is also used for aviation. The finely equipped Children's Hospital, the
Normal School, and the McKinley High School were interesting
institutions that had sprung up since our first visit.
To-day, out of a total population in all the Islands of 209,830,
Honolulu has over 50,000. Many new houses and beautiful gardens are to
be seen. The island now has, of course, cable and wireless communication
with the mainland, electric cars and lights, telephones, the telegraph
and numberless motors--in fact, every luxury is to be found. There are a
number of clubs, of which the University is especially popular, and the
Pacific, or British, Club is the oldest. The graduates of women's
colleges have formed a club of their own. Schools and charitable
institutions and missionary societies are numerous, and the Y. M. C. A.
building is very prominent.
The city now has many churches, which are well attended. The Episcopal
cathedral, of stone brought from England, is especially fine. The
Catholic cathedral and convent have long been established. It was a
Catholic priest who first brought the algaroba tree from Central America
sixty years ago and planted it in the city of Honolulu. The descendants
of that one tree have reclaimed great sandy wastes and clothed them with
fodder for cattle.
Our motor trip to Pearl Harbour took us past Mr. S. M. Damon's charming
new place with its delightful Japanese garden. We motored to the Pali, a
precipice that drops one thousand feet to the plains which stretch to
the sea, where in the old days we had gone so often. Now, a stone tablet
on its summit bears the following inscription:
"Erected by the Daughters of Hawaii in 1907 to commemorate the battle of
Nuuanu, fought in this valley in 1795, when the invading Kamehameha I
drove the forces of Kalanikupule, king of Oahu, to the Pali and hurled
them over the precipice, thus establishing the Kamehameha dynasty."
In these days of aeroplanes, I gather this myth of the Bird-man of the
Pali from "Legends of old Honolulu," by Westervelt:
Namaka was a noted man of Kauai, but he left that island to find some
one whom he would like to call his lord. He excelled in spear-throwing,
boxing, leaping and flying. He went first to Oahu, and in Nuuanu Valley
he met Pakuanui, a very skilful boxer, and they prepared for a contest
at the Pali. Pakuanui could not handle Namaka, who was a "whirlwind
around a man," so he became angry and planned to kill him. Namaka was as
"slimy as a fish." "The hill of the forehead he struck. The hill of the
nose he caught." Like a rainbow bending over the _hau_-trees he was, as
he circled around Pakuanui. At a narrow place Pakuanui gave him a kick
that knocked him over the precipice, expecting him to be dashed to
pieces. "But Namaka flew away from the edge.... The people who were
watching said, ... He flew off from the Pali like an Io bird, leaping
into the air ... spreading out his arms like wings!"
This panorama is one of the wonders of the world; land and sea, coral
reef and mountains, green meadow and shining sand, spread out before
one's eyes at the Pali. As the road makes a sharp turn and begins to
descend toward the valley, we encounter the full force of the trade
winds, for through this pass a gale is always blowing. To quote from
Charles W. Stoddard, "If you open your mouth too wide, you can't shut it
again without getting under the lee of something--the wind blows so
hard."
From the Pali we went on to Pearl Harbour, where the United States
Government is constructing a great naval station. This harbour, the
finest in the Islands, is a deep lagoon, entered from the ocean by a
narrow channel three miles in length. At the inner end it expands and
divides into two "lochs," which are from thirty to sixty feet deep and
with a shore line of some thirty miles. Algaroba forests cover the
shores, and the fertile countryside, in which are rice, sugar and banana
plantations, promises abundant supplies for the troops stationed here.
Pearl Harbour has really been in our possession ever since the
Reciprocity Treaty with Hawaii was signed in Harrison's
administration.[2] As it covers ten square miles, the whole navy of this
country could find anchorage there, and be in perfect safety. Not only
has the bar that obstructed the entrance to the channel been removed,
the long, narrow channel straightened, and a huge drydock constructed in
which our largest ships of war could be repaired, but barracks, repair
shops, a power house, hospitals, a powder magazine, and all the other
buildings needed to make a complete station have been erected at a cost
of more than ten millions of dollars. Before the drydock was finished it
was partially destroyed by an upheaval. The natives' explanation was
that the dock was built over the home of the Shark-god, and that he
resented this invasion of his domain.
The island of Oahu will soon be a second Gibraltar, we hope. The channel
from the sea is guarded by Fort Kamehameha. Fort Ruger is at the foot of
Diamond Head, Fort DeRussy near Waikiki Beach; at Moanalua is Fort
Shafter, and at the entrance of Honolulu Harbour, Fort Armstrong. There
are more than eleven thousand troops stationed there to-day, consisting
of field artillery, cavalry, infantry, engineers, signal corps,
telephone and telegraph corps, and it is said there will soon be fifteen
thousand or more.[3]
A Hawaiian feast, such as they had in the old days, was given in honour
of the Secretary of War, so we were taken to the house of a member of
the royal family. I was surprised to see how fine these residences were.
This man was only part native, and really one would not have suspected
from his appearance that he had any Hawaiian blood at all. His wife was
a fat native in a _holoku_--a mother hubbard--who directed the feast,
but did not receive.
The bedroom in which we took off our wraps opened out of the big ball
room. There was a bright-coloured quilt on the bed, and on the walls
were many photographs and cheap prints. Here were also royal feather
plumes in vases and more polished poi bowls.
The inclosure where we feasted--or had the _luau_ or "bake"--which led
out of the ball room, was half open with a cover of canvas and banana
leaves. It contained a long table covered with flowers and fruit, bowls
and small dishes. There were no forks nor spoons, nor anything but one's
fingers to eat with. At the end of the meal a wooden dish was passed for
us to wash our fingers. Some of the dishes contained raw fish with a
sauce. A cocoanut shell held rock salt, the kind that is given to
cattle, and a small bowl was filled with a mixture of sweet potato and
cocoanut. That was the best dish of all. The roasted sweet potato was
good, too, and pork, sewed up in _ti_ leaves and roasted with hot
stones, was another delicacy. The drink was made of fruits and was very
sweet. And, of course, we had poi.
[Illustration: _Making Poi_]
Poi is described as "one-finger" or "two-finger" poi--thick or thin.
Native Hawaiians like it a few days old, when it is sour. Fortunately,
as this was only one day old, I was able to put one finger-full of the
pasty stuff in my mouth, and, on a dare, I ventured another. Poi is made
from the taro root, which is boiled till soft, then pounded and mixed
with water. Why I was not ill after this feast I don't know, as I tried
mangoes, grapes, watermelon, and pineapple, as well as all the other
things. Leis of pink carnations were put about our necks. Hawaiian music
with singing went on during the meal, and afterward we danced.
The company was certainly cosmopolitan. One of the people who interested
me most was a Hawaiian princess, really very pretty, dressed in the
height of fashion. Her father was English. Another interesting person
was the daughter of a full-blooded Chinaman, her mother being half
Hawaiian. Her husband was an American. She told me with great pride that
her boys were both very blond. A wild Texan army man also roused my
interest, from the point of view of character study; and I must not
forget an Englishwoman, who said, on departure, "Us is going now." We
found it all very diverting and the people so kind and hospitable that
we enjoyed every minute of our stay.
CHAPTER II
MYTHS AND MELES
Native Hawaiians--big, generous, happy, good-looking folk, athletic and
fond of music--are in physical characteristics, in temperament, in
language, traditions and customs, so closely related to the Samoans, the
Maoris of New Zealand, and the other inhabitants of Polynesia, that it
is clear they belong to the same race. Although Hawaii is two thousand
miles from any other land, the people are so much like the natives of
the South Sea Islands that I do not see how the relationship can be
questioned. Distance, too, means little, for we hear that only lately a
Japanese junk was caught in a storm and the mast destroyed, yet it was
swept along by the Japan current and in an exceedingly short time was
washed up on the shore near Vancouver, with most of the sailors still
alive. The adventurous boatmen who first landed on the island of Hawaii,
however, must not only have crossed two thousand miles of ocean in their
canoes but crossed it in the face of opposing trade winds and ocean
currents.
The Polynesians of those early days, like the ancient Chaldeans, studied
the heavenly bodies, and so, on their long voyages, were able to guide
their course by the stars. Their vessels, which were double canoes, like
those of the modern Samoans, were from fifty to one hundred feet long
and carried a large company of people, with provisions, animals, idols,
and everything that was needed for a long voyage or for colonizing a
strange island.
The legends of that earliest time tell of Hawaii-loa, who sailed from
the west to the Islands, which he named for himself. The coming of Wakea
and Papa also belonged to that period. While they are mentioned as the
creators of the earth, they are said in another version of the story to
have come from Savaii in Samoa. They brought with them the _tabu_, which
is common to all Polynesia.
Little is to be learned, however, of the history of Hawaii from the
folklore of Pacific Islanders until about the year 1000 A. D. If we
may believe their traditions, this was a time of great restlessness
throughout all Polynesia, when Hawaii was again visited and held
communication with other islands, peopled by the same race. It is
interesting to remember that this was the century when the Norsemen were
striking out across the Atlantic, showing that there were daring
navigators on both sides of the globe.
Paao, one of the heroes from Samoa, who settled in Hawaii, became high
priest. He introduced the worship of new gods and increased the number
of tabus. The great temple built by him was the first in the shape of a
quadrangle--previously they had been three-sided. Afterward, he went
back to Samoa and returned with Pili, whom he made ruler, and from whom
the Kamehamehas were descended.
From the Hawaiian _meles_, or songs, we may picture their life. The men
were skilful fishermen, using hooks of shell, bone, or tortoise shell,
nets of _olona_-fiber or long spears of hard wood. The bait used in
shark fishing was human flesh. When it was thrown into the water and the
shark was attracted to it, the fishermen sprang overboard and fought the
fish with knives of stone and sharp shark's teeth. No doubt it was an
extremely exciting sport.
Along the shores of the Islands are the walls of many fish-ponds, some
of which, though very old, are still in use and bid fair to last for
centuries longer. Usually they were made by building a wall of lava rock
across the entrance to a small bay, and the fish were kept in the
inclosure. The wall was built loosely enough to allow the water to
percolate through it, and sluice gates were added, which could be opened
and closed. They were at first owned by kings and chiefs, and were
probably built by the forced labour of the people. Tradition has it that
the wall of Wekolo Pond at Pearl Harbour was built by natives who formed
a line from shore to mountain and passed lava rock from hand to hand
until it reached the shores over a mile away, without once touching the
ground. Some of the ponds in the interior of the Islands have been
turned into rice fields and taro patches, especially on Oahu.
The sports and games of the Hawaiians, of which there were many, were
nearly all associated with gambling. Indeed, it was the betting that
furnished most of the excitement connected with them. At the end of a
day of games, many of the people would have staked and lost everything
they owned in the world.
Boxing, surf-riding and hurling the _ulu_--a circular stone disk, three
or four inches in diameter--were some of the favourite amusements, as
well as tobogganing, which is interesting as a tropical adaptation of
something that we consider a Northern sport. The slide was laid out on a
steep hillside, that was made slippery with dry _pili_ grass. The
sled, of two long, narrow strips of wood joined together by wicker work,
was on runners from twelve to fourteen feet long, and was more like our
sleds than modern toboggans. The native held the sled by the middle with
both hands, and ran to get a start. Then, throwing himself face
downward, he flew down the hill out upon the plain beyond, sometimes to
a distance of half a mile or more.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF HAWAIIAN GRASS HOUSE.]
The old Hawaiians were not bad farmers, indeed, I think we may call them
very good farmers, when we consider that they had no metal tools of any
description and most of their agricultural work was done with the _o-o_,
which was only a stick of hard wood, either pointed at one end or shaped
like a rude spade. With such primitive implements they terraced their
fields, irrigated the soil, and raised crops of taro, bananas, yams,
sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane.
Most of the houses of primitive Hawaiians were small, but the grass
houses of the chiefs were sometimes seventy feet long. They were all
simply a framework of poles thatched with leaves or the long grass of
the Islands. Inside, the few rude belongings--mats, calabashes, gourds,
and baskets for fish--were all in strange contrast to the modern luxury
which many of their descendants enjoy to-day. The cooking was done
entirely by the men, in underground ovens. Stones were heated in these;
the food, wrapped in ti leaves, was laid on the stones and covered with
a layer of grass and dirt; then water was poured in through a small
opening to steam the food.
The mild climate of Hawaii makes very little clothing necessary for
warmth, and before the advent of the missionaries the women wore only a
short skirt of _tapa_ that reached just below the knees, and the men a
loin-cloth, the _malo_. Tapa, a sort of papery cloth, is made from the
bark of the paper mulberry.
Hawaiians say that in the earliest days their forefathers had only
coverings made of long leaves or braided strips of grass, until two of
the great gods, Kane and Kanaloa, took pity upon them and taught them to
make _kiheis_, or shoulder capes.
Tapa making was an important part of the work of the women. It was
sometimes brilliantly coloured with vegetable dyes and a pattern put on
with a bamboo stamp. Unlike the patterns which our Indians wove into
their baskets and blankets, each one of which had its meaning, these
figures on the tapa had no special significance, so far as is known. By
lapping strips of bark over each other and beating them together, the
tapa could be made of any desired size or thickness.
In the old legends, Hina, the mother of the demi-god Maui, figures as
the chief tapa maker. The clouds are her tapas in the sky, on which she
places stones to hold them down. When the winds drive the clouds before
them, loud peals of thunder are the noise of the rolling stones. When
Hina folds up her clouds the gleams of sunlight upon them are seen by
men and called the lightning.
The sound of the tapa beating was often heard in the Islands. The story
is told, that the women scattered through the different valleys devised
a code of signals in the strokes and rests of the mallets by which they
sent all sorts of messages to one another--a sort of primitive
telegraphy that must have been a great comfort and amusement to lonely
women.
In the early days, marriage and family associations fell lightly on
their shoulders, and even to-day they are somewhat lax in their morals.
The seamen who visited the Islands after their discovery by Captain Cook
brought corruption with them, so that the condition of the natives when
the first missionary arrived was indescribable. A great lack of family
affection perhaps naturally followed from this light esteem of
marriage. The adoption and even giving away of children was the
commonest thing, even among the high chiefs and kings, and exists more
or less to-day.
There were three distinctly marked classes even among the ancient
Hawaiians--chiefs, priests, and common people--proving that social
distinctions do not entirely depend upon civilization. The chief was
believed to be descended from the gods and after death was worshiped as
a deity.
The priestly class also included sorcerers and doctors, all called
_kahuna_, and were much like the medicine men among the American
Indians. As with most primitive peoples--for after all, when compared
they have very similar tastes and customs--diseases were supposed to be
caused by evil spirits, and the kahuna was credited with the power to
expel them or even to install them in a human body. The masses had
implicit belief in this power, and "praying to death" was often heard of
in the old days.[4]
Ancient Hawaiians wrapped their dead in tapa with fragrant herbs, such
as the flowers of sugar-cane, which had the property of embalming
them. They were sometimes buried in their houses or in grottoes dug in
the solid rock, but more frequently in natural caves, where the bodies
were dried and became like mummies. Sometimes the remains were thrown
into the boiling lava of a volcano, as a sacrifice to Pele.
[Illustration: ANCIENT TEMPLE INCLOSURE.]
It is said no Hawaiians were ever cannibals, but in the early days
man-eaters from the south visited these Islands and cooked their victims
in the ovens of the natives. Human bones made into the shape of fish
hooks were thought to bring luck, especially those of high chiefs, so,
as only part of Captain Cook's body was found and he was considered a
god, perhaps his bones were used in this way.
The _heiaus_, or temples, developed from Paao's time into stone
platforms inclosed by walls of stone. Within this inclosure were sacred
houses for the king and the priests, an altar, the oracle, which was a
tall tower of wicker work, in which the priest stood when giving the
message of his god to the king, and the inner court--the shrine of the
principal idol. One of the most important heiaus, which still exists,
although in ruins, is the temple of Wahaula on the island of Hawaii.
There was much that was hard and cruel about this religion. The idols
were made hideous that they might strike terror to the worshipers. Human
sacrifices were offered at times to the chief gods. The idols of the
natives were much like those of the North American Indians, but the
Kanakas are not like the Indians in character.
The oppressive tabu was part of the religion, and the penalty for
breaking it was death. The word means prohibited, and the system was a
set of rules, made by the chiefs and high priests, which forbade certain
things. For instance, it was tabu for women to eat with men or enter the
men's eating house, or to eat pork, turtles, cocoanuts, bananas and some
kinds of fish. There were many tabu periods when "no canoe could be
launched, no fire lighted, no tapa beaten or poi pounded, and no sound
could be uttered on pain of death, when even the dogs had to be muzzled,
and the fowls were shut up in calabashes for twenty-four hours at a
time." Besides the religious tabus there were civil ones, which could be
imposed at any time at the caprice of king or chiefs, who would often
forbid the people to have certain things because they wished to keep
them for themselves.
One is apt to think that in those early days the natives of these
heavenly islands must have been happy and free-living, without laws and
doing as they wished, with plenty of fruit and fish to eat; but it was
not so at all, for they were obliged to crawl in the dust before their
king; they were killed if they even crossed his shadow.
As a pleasant contrast to all these grim features, the Hawaiians, like
the ancient Israelites, had cities of refuge, of which there were two on
the island of Hawaii. Here the murderer was safe from the avenger, the
tabu-breaker was secure from the penalty of death, and in time of war,
old men and women and children could dwell in peace within these walls.
The curious belief in a second soul, or double, and in ghosts, the
doctrines of a future state, and the peculiar funeral rites, all of
which formed part of the native religion, seem strange to many
present-day Christian Hawaiians.
In all Polynesia the four great gods were Kane, "father of men and
founder of the world,"[5] Kanaloa, his brother, Ku, the cruel one, and
Lono, to whom the New Year games were sacred. These four were also the
chief deities of Hawaiians.
Besides the great gods there was a host of inferior deities, such as the
god of the sea, the god of the fishermen, the shark god, the goddess of
the tapa beaters, Laka, the goddess of song and dance, who was very
popular, and Pele, the goddess of volcanoes. Still lower in the scale
were the demi-gods and magicians of marvelous power, like Maui, for whom
the island of Maui is said to be named, who pulled New Zealand out of
the sea with his magic fish hook and stole the secret of making fire
from the wise mud hens. His greatest achievement was that of lassoing
the sun and forcing him to slacken his speed. He was a hero throughout
Polynesia, and his hook is said to have been still preserved on the
island of Tonga in the eighteenth century.
Like most primitive peoples, the Hawaiians danced in order that their
gods might smile upon them and bring them luck, or to appease the
dreaded Pele and the other gods of evil. The much-talked of _hula_ began
in this way as a sacred dance before the altar in a temple inclosure,
while the girls, clad in skirts of grass and wreaths of flowers, chanted
their songs. There was grace in some of the movements, but on the
whole the dances are said to have been "indescribably lascivious." After
the missionaries arrived, the hula was modified, and to-day it has
almost died out.
[Illustration: _A Hula Dancer_
_With some concession in costume to Western conventions_]
Many of the old chants were addressed to Laka, sometimes called the
"goddess of the wildwood growths." These meles had neither rime nor
meter and were more like chants or recitatives, as the singers used only
two or three deep-throated tones. Curiously enough the verses suggest
the modern _vers libre_. The chants include love songs, dirges and name
songs--composed at the birth of a child to tell the story of his
ancestors--besides prayers to the gods and historical traditions. As
some of these early songs have real vigour and charm, I give a few
examples.
The following is a very old chant of Kane, Creator of the Universe:
"The rows of stars of Kane,
The stars in the firmament,
The stars that have been fastened up,
Fast, fast, on the surface of the heaven of Kane,
And the wandering stars,
The tabued stars of Kane,
The moving stars of Kane;
Innumerable are the stars;
The large stars,
The little stars,
The red stars of Kane. O infinite space!
The great Moon of Kane,
The great Sun of Kane
Moving, floating,
Set moving about in the great space of Kane.
The Great Earth of Kane,
The Earth squeezed dry by Kane,
The Earth that Kane set in motion.
Moving are the stars, moving is the Moon,
Moving is the great Earth of Kane."[6]
I find the meles to Laka especially pretty, such as these, taken from
Emerson's "Unwritten Literature of Hawaii":
"O goddess Laka!
O wildwood bouquet, O Laka!
O Laka, queen of the voice!
O Laka, giver of gifts!
O Laka, giver of bounty!
O Laka, giver of all things!"
"This is my wish, my burning desire,
That in the season of slumber,
Thy spirit my soul may inspire,
Altar dweller,
Heaven guest,
Soul awakener,
Bird from covert calling,
Where forest champions stand,
There roamed I too with Laka."
This one from the same collection is interesting in its simplicity and
strength:
"O Pele, god Pele!
Burst forth now! burst forth!
Launch a bolt from the sky!
Let thy lightnings fly!...
Fires of the goddess burn.
Now for the dance, the dance,
Bring out the dance made public;
Turn about back, turn about face;
Dance toward the sea, dance toward the land,
Toward the pit that is Pele,
Portentous consumer of rocks in Puna!"
The Hawaiian myths, I find, are not nearly so original or so full of
charm as the Japanese and Chinese stories, and the long names are
tiresome. They have, moreover, lost their freshness, their individuality
and their primitive quality in translation and through American
influence. They had been handed down entirely by word of mouth until the
missionaries arrived. Many of the myths bear some resemblance to Old
Testament stories as well as to the traditions told by the head-hunters
of the Philippines. The legends of the volcano seem more distinctly
Hawaiian.
There are many legends of Pele as well as chants in her honour, which
generally represent her as wreaking her vengeance on mortals who have
been so unfortunate as to offend her. I quote one that is told to
account for the origin of a stream of unusually black lava, which long,
long ago flowed down to the coast on Maui:
"A withered old woman stopped to ask food and hospitality at the house
of a dweller on this promontory, noted for his penuriousness. His _kalo_
(taro) patches flourished, cocoanuts and bananas shaded his hut, nature
was lavish of her wealth all around him. But the withered hag was sent
away unfed, and as she turned her back on the man she said, 'I will
return to-morrow.'
"This was Pele, goddess of the volcano, and she kept her word, and came
back the next day in earthquakes and thunderings, rent the mountain, and
blotted out every trace of the man and his dwelling with a flood of
fire."
Another story goes that in the form of a maiden the goddess appeared to
a young chief at the head of a toboggan slide and asked for a ride on
his sled. He refused her, and started down without her. Soon, hearing a
roar as of thunder and looking back, he saw a lava torrent chasing him
and bearing on its highest wave the maiden, whom he then knew to be the
goddess Pele. Down the hill and across the plain his toboggan shot,
followed by the flaming river of molten rock. The chief, however,
reached the ocean at last and found safety in the waters.
This condensed story of the Shark King is also a typical Hawaiian tale:
The King Shark, while sporting in the water, watched a beautiful maiden
diving into a pool, and fell in love with her. As king sharks can
evidently take whatever form they please, he turned himself into a
handsome man and waited for her on the rocks. Here the maiden came one
day to seek shellfish, which she was fond of eating. While she was
gathering them a huge wave swept her off her feet, and the handsome
shark man saved her life. As a matter of course, she straightway fell in
love with him. So it happened that one day they were married; but it was
only when her child was born that the shark man confided to her who he
really was, and that he must now disappear. As he left, he cautioned her
never to give their child any meat, or misfortune would follow.
The child was a fine boy, and was quite like other children except that
he bore on his back the mark of the great mouth of the shark. As he grew
older he ate with the men instead of the women, as was the custom, and
his grandfather, not heeding the warning but wishing to make his
grandson strong, so that some day he might become a chief, gave him the
forbidden meat. When in company, the boy wore a cape to cover the scar
on his back, and he always went swimming alone, but when in the water he
remembered his father, and it was then that he would turn into a shark
himself. The more meat the boy ate the more he wanted, and in time it
was noticed that children began to disappear. They would go in bathing
and never return. The people became suspicious, and one day they tore
the boy's mantle off him and saw the shark's mouth upon his back. There
was great consternation, and at last he was ordered to be burned alive.
He had been bound with ropes and was waiting for the end, but while the
fire was kindling he called on his father, King Shark, for help, and so
it was that he was able to burst the ropes and rush into the water,
where he turned into a shark and escaped.
The mother then confessed that she had married the Shark King. The
chiefs and the high priests held a council and decided that it would be
better to offer sacrifices to appease him rather than to kill the
mother. This they did, and for that reason King Shark promised that his
son should leave the shores of the island of Hawaii forever. It was
true, he did leave this island, but he visited other islands and
continued his bad habits, until one day he was really caught just as he
was turning from a man into a shark on the beach in shallow water. He
was bound and hauled up a canyon, where they built a fire from the
bamboo of the sacred grove. But the shark was so large that they had to
chop down one tree after another for his funeral pyre, until the sacred
grove had almost disappeared. This so angered the god of the forest that
he changed the variety of bamboo in this region; it is no longer
sharp-edged like other bamboo on the Islands.
CHAPTER III
THE FIVE KAMEHAMEHAS
Hawaiian myths and traditions are confused and unreliable, and we know
little real history of the "Bright Land," the "Land of Rainbows," before
the coming of Captain Cook, in 1778. We do know, however, that, in those
early days, the different tribes continually carried on a savage warfare
among themselves. Not until the latter part of the eighteenth century
did there arise a native chieftain powerful enough to subdue all the
islands under his sway and bring peace among the warring tribes. This
chief was Kamehameha I, or Kamehameha the Great, often called the
Napoleon of the Pacific. The authentic history of Hawaii really begins
with his reign. His portrait in the Executive Building in Honolulu shows
him as a stern warrior.
The Japanese, as well as the Spaniards, had long known of the existence
of islands in that part of the Pacific Ocean. Tradition tells of some
shipwrecked Spanish sailors and some Japanese who settled there at a
very early date. These Islands were, however, brought to the notice of
the civilized world for the first time by Captain Cook.
The Englishmen were received by the simple natives with awe and wonder,
Captain Cook himself was declared by the priests to be an incarnation of
Lono, god of the forest and husband of the goddess Laka, and abundant
provisions were brought to the ship as an offering to this deity. Had
the natives been even decently treated, there would have been no tragic
sequel to the story, but Cook's crew were allowed complete and
unrestrained license on shore. As it was, there was no serious trouble
during their first visit, but when they returned in a few months and
again exacted contributions the supplies were given grudgingly. The
English vessel sailed away, but was unfortunately obliged to put back
for repairs, and it was then that the fight occurred between the
foreigners and the natives in which Captain Cook met his death. It was
this famous voyager who gave the name of Sandwich Islands to the group,
in honour of his patron, Lord Sandwich. They were known by that name for
many years, but it was never the official designation, and is now seldom
used.
The discovery of the Islands by Englishmen and Americans was fraught
with evil consequences to the natives, as they brought with them new
diseases, and they also introduced intoxicating liquors, and it soon
became the custom for whaling vessels in the Pacific to call there and
make them the scene of debauchery and licentiousness. It has been said
that at that time sea captains recognized no laws, either of God or man,
west of Cape Horn. We must not fail to note, however, that even in those
early days there were a few white men who really sought the good of the
Hawaiians.
Isaac Davis and John Young were two of these men. When the crew of an
American vessel was massacred these two were spared, and they continued
to live in the Islands until their death. They were a bright contrast to
most seamen who visited Hawaii at that period. They accepted the
responsibility imposed by their training in civilization, exerting a
great influence for good, and were even advisers and teachers of King
Kamehameha I.
Captain George Vancouver, who visited the Islands three times in the
last decade of the eighteenth century under commission from the British
Government, was another white man whose work there was wholly good. He
landed the first sheep and cattle ever seen there, and induced the king
to proclaim them tabu for ten years so that they might have time to
increase, after which women were to be allowed to eat them as well as
men. He introduced some valuable plants, such as the grapevine, the
orange and the almond, and brought the people seeds of garden
vegetables. He refused them firearms. Under his direction the first
sailing vessel was built there and called the _Britannia_. Vancouver so
won over the natives by his kind treatment that the chiefs ceded the
Islands to Great Britain and raised the British flag in February, 1794.
He left them with a promise to come again and bring them teachers of
Christianity and the industries of civilization. His death, however,
prevented his return, and Great Britain never took formal possession.
Kamehameha I, who, at the time of Cook's arrival, was only a chief on
the island of Hawaii, joined in the tribal wars, conquered the other
chiefs of that island, and became king. While this conquest was in
progress, an eruption of Kilauea destroyed a large part of the opposing
army and convinced Kamehameha that Pele was on his side.
The subjugation of Maui and Oahu followed. At the great battle fought in
the Nuuanu Valley, the king of Oahu was defeated and driven with his
army over the Pali. Kamehameha was twice prevented from invading Kauai,
but some years later it was ceded to him by its ruler.
After the conquest of Oahu was completed, in 1795, it was Kamehameha's
work to build up a strong central government. According to the feudal
system that had existed in the Islands up to that time, all the land was
considered to belong to the king, who divided it among the great chiefs,
these in turn apportioning their shares among the lesser chiefs, of whom
the people held their small plots of ground. All paid tribute to those
above them in rank. Kamehameha I, in order to increase his own power and
destroy that of the chiefs, distributed their lands to them in widely
separated portions rather than in large, continuous tracts, as had been
the custom previously.
Kamehameha was elected by the chiefs as king of all the Hawaiian
Islands, and founded the dynasty called by his name, under which his
people had peace for nearly eighty years. He adroitly used the tabu to
strengthen his power, and availing himself of the wise advice of the few
benevolent foreigners whom he knew, he sought in every way to further
the best interests of his people. He has been called "one of the
notable men of the earth."
The bronze statue of Kamehameha I stands in front of the Judiciary
Building in Honolulu. The anniversary of the birthday of the great ruler
occurs in June, and is celebrated by the natives far and near. His
statue is dressed in his royal cape of bird feathers and decorated with
leis of flowers by the sons and daughters of Hawaii.
The strength of character of Kamehameha I is shown in many ways, but
especially in the stand he took in regard to liquor, which was having a
disastrous effect on his people. When he became convinced that alcoholic
drinks were injurious, he decided never to taste them again.
Before the close of his life, he made a noble effort to prevent the use
of liquor by his people. All the chiefs on the island of Hawaii were
summoned to meet in an immense grass house, which he had ordered built
at Kailua, the ancient capital, solely for this council. When they were
all assembled the King entered in his magnificent cape of mamo bird
feathers, and drawing himself up to his full height, uttered this
command:
"Return to your homes, and destroy every distillery on the island! Make
no more intoxicating liquors!"
At the death of Kamehameha I, in 1819, his son Liholiho succeeded him as
Kamehameha II. Unfortunately, he did not carry out his father's wishes.
He was like his father in nothing but name, being weak and dissipated,
and easily influenced by the unscrupulous foreigners who surrounded him.
Many changes took place in his reign, but so strong had the government
been made by his father that it survived them all. Fortunately, too, an
able woman, one of the wives of the first Kamehameha, was associated
with the King as Queen Regent.
Before the end of the year 1819 the Hawaiians had burned their idols and
abolished tabu. It was the influence of Europeans that had led to these
radical changes. Early in the nineteenth century the trade in sandalwood
sprang up, in return for which many manufactured articles were imported,
especially rum, firearms and cheap ornaments. This trade brought
increased numbers of foreigners to the Islands, and their sneers
undermined the faith of the people in their old gods without offering
them any other religion as a substitute.
In this connection, we are told that twice Kamehameha I made an effort
to learn something about Christianity. When he heard that the people of
Tahiti had embraced the new faith, he inquired of a foreigner about it,
but the man could tell him nothing. Again, just before his death, he
asked an American trader to tell him about the white man's God, but, as
a native afterward reported to the missionaries, "He no tell him." This
greatest of the Hawaiians prepared the way, but he himself died without
hearing of Christ.
The Hawaiians had now swept their house clean, and they were ready for
an entirely new set of furnishings. In a land far away beyond the
Pacific these were preparing for them, and the short reign of this
second Kamehameha was made memorable not only by the changes already
mentioned but also by the coming of the missionaries, in 1820.
Obookiah, whose real name was Opukahaia, was a young Hawaiian who
shipped as seaman on a whaler about 1817, and was taken to New Haven,
where he found people who befriended him and undertook to give him an
education. They sent him to the Foreign Mission School which had been
established at Cornwall, Connecticut, for young men from heathen lands.
Among his mates were four others from his native islands. It had been
his purpose to carry the Christian religion to his home, but he was
taken seriously ill at the school and on his death-bed he pleaded with
his new friends not to forget his country. His appeal led the first
missionaries to embark for those far-away shores. Three young Hawaiians
from the school went with them as assistants.
When the Christian teachers arrived, it is said that the captain of the
ship sent an officer ashore with the Hawaiian boys. After awhile they
returned, shouting out their wonderful news:
"Liholiho is king. The tabus are abolished. The idols are burnt. There
has been war. Now there is peace."
The missionaries received a cordial welcome from some of the natives of
high station. The former high priest met them with the words,
"I knew that the wooden images of gods carved by our own hands could not
supply our wants, but I worshiped them because it was a custom of our
fathers.... My thought has always been, there is only one great God,
dwelling in the heavens."
The chief Kalaimoku, neatly dressed in foreign clothes, boarded the
ship, accompanied by the two queen dowagers, and welcomed each of the
newcomers in turn with a warm hand clasp. One of the queens asked the
American women to make her a white dress while they were sailing along
the coast, to wear on meeting the King. When she went ashore in her new
white mother hubbard, a shout greeted her from hundreds of throats!
Because the gown was so loose that she could both run and stand in it,
the natives called it a holoku, meaning "run-stand." It became the
national dress. The queens afterward sent the missionaries sugar-cane,
bananas, cocoanuts and other foods, as a token of their pleasure.
The Americans were received kindly by the King after explaining their
mission and were allowed to remain in the Islands. They had many trials
and privations, but they were strong in their faith, and within twenty
years they had the joy of baptizing thousands of converts.
Kamehameha II, fearing the Russians--one trader had actually gone so far
as to hoist the Russian flag over some forts that he had built--visited
the United States with his queen and then went on to England to ask for
protection, which was promised them by George IV. They both died there,
in 1824, and their remains were sent home in a British man-of-war,
commanded by Lord Byron, cousin of the poet.
When Kamehameha III was made ruler, all the unprincipled white men in
Oahu immediately set to work to lead him into every form of dissipation,
but they were not to succeed with him as they had with his predecessor.
There were men of ability in that band of missionaries, and they had
great influence with him. These faithful advisers had a large share in
framing the liberal constitution which he granted.
It is of special interest to note that, the year before the constitution
was adopted, a Bill of Rights was promulgated, which set forth the
fundamental principles of government and is often called the Hawaiian
Magna Charta. An eminent writer has given us the provisions of this
document.
It asserts the right of every man to "life, limb, liberty, freedom from
oppression, the earnings of his hand, and the productions of his mind,
not however, to those who act in violation of the laws. It gave natives
for the first time the right to hold land in fee simple; before that the
King had owned all the land, and no one could buy it. In this document
it is also declared that 'protection is hereby secured to the persons of
all the people, together with their lands, their building lots and all
their property while they conform to the laws of the kingdom,' and that
laws must be enacted for the protection of subjects as well as rulers."
A commission was also formed to determine the ownership of the land. By
this commission one-third of all the land was confirmed to the King,
one-third to the chiefs, and one-third to the common people. As far as
possible the people's share was so divided that each person received the
piece of ground that he was living on. The King and many of the chiefs
turned over one-half of their share to the Government, which soon held
nearly one-third of all the landed property in the kingdom.
The first constitution was framed in 1840. About ten years later an
improved one was adopted. The legislature was to meet in two houses. The
nobles were to be chosen by the King for life, and were not to be more
than thirty in number. There were to be not less than twenty-four
representatives, who were to be elected by the people. The Supreme Court
was to be composed of three members--a chief justice and two associate
justices. Four circuit courts were to be established, and besides the
judges for these, each district was to have a judge who should settle
petty cases.
It was in 1825, early in the reign of Kamehameha III, that Kapiolani,
daughter of the high chief Keawe-mauhili, of Hilo, defied the power of
Pele. Having become a Christian, she determined to give her people an
object lesson on the powerlessness of their gods. With a retinue of
eighty persons she journeyed, most of the way on foot, one hundred miles
to the crater of Kilauea. When near the crater, she was met by the
priestess of Pele, who threatened her with death if she broke the tabus.
But Kapiolani ate the sacred _ohelo_ berries without first offering some
to the goddess, and undaunted, made her way with her followers down five
hundred feet to the "Black Ledge." There, on the very margin of the
fiery lake of Halemaumau, she addressed her followers in these ringing
words:
"Jehovah is my God. He kindled these fires.... I fear not Pele. If I
perish by the anger of Pele, then you may fear the power of Pele; but if
I trust in Jehovah, and he should save me from the wrath of Pele, then
you must fear and serve the Lord Jehovah. All the gods of Hawaii are
vain!" Then they sang a hymn of praise to Jehovah, and wended their way
back to the crater's rim in safety.
It was during the reign of Kamehameha III that the United States, France
and Great Britain recognized the independence of the Hawaiian Islands.
Before this news reached the Pacific, however, Lord George Paulet, a
British naval officer, took possession and hoisted the British flag,
because the King refused to yield to his demands. Five months later,
Admiral Thomas, in command of Great Britain's fleet in the East,
appeared at Honolulu and restored the country to the natives. In
recognition, an attractive public park was named for him. At the
thanksgiving service held on that day, the King uttered the words which
were afterward adopted as the motto of the nation, the translation of
which is: "In righteousness is the life of the land."
The independence of Hawaii was only once again threatened by a foreign
power, when a French admiral took possession of the fort and the
government buildings at Honolulu for a few days. Indeed, that
independence was not only recognized but guaranteed by France, England
and the United States.
Many of the missionaries settled in Hawaii, and their descendants have
become rich and prominent citizens. Hawaii owes much to them. So far as
lay in their power, they taught the people trades and introduced New
England ideals of government and education. Two years after they arrived
a spelling book was printed, and a few years later the printing office
sent out a newspaper in the native language. The first boarding school
for boys was started by Lorrin Andrews in 1831, on Maui, and it was not
long after that one was established for girls. The Hilo boarding school,
which came later, was the one that General Armstrong took many
suggestions from for his work for the coloured people, at Hampton
Institute in Virginia. Indeed, so eager were the Hawaiians to learn of
their new teachers that whole villages came to the mission stations,
gray-haired men and women becoming pupils, and the chiefs leading the
way.
As early as 1835, Hoapili, governor of Maui, made the rule that all
children over four years of age should attend school, and no man or
woman who was unable to read and write should hold office or receive a
license to marry. Soon after that laws were passed making attendance at
school compulsory. Any man who had a child under eight years of age, and
did not send him to school, was to suffer various penalties, among them
to forfeit the right to cut the kinds of timber that the king set apart
for the use of the people. To make this provision emphatic, the
following sentence was added: "All those kinds of timber are tabu to
those parents who send not their children to school." An anecdote of
this transition period is found in a book written by one who styled
himself simply _Haole_ (a foreigner). In the valley of Halawa, on the
island of Molokai, he was entertained at the house of the district
judge, a full-blooded Hawaiian. Among the furnishings of the house were
a table, a bedstead, some chairs, even a rocking chair. He gives an
amusing description of his evening meal in this house.
"First of all, the table was covered with a sheet just taken off the
bed. The table service consisted of a knife, fork and spoon, procured
from the foot of a long woolen stocking, a single plate, a tumbler, and
a calabash of pure water from a neighbouring spring. The eatables were
composed of fresh fish, baked in wrappers of the ti leaf, a couple of
boiled fowls, a huge dish of sweet potatoes, and another of boiled tara
(taro?).... The last thing served upon the table was something which the
family had learned to designate by the name of 'tea' in English. This
was emptied into large bowls, and was intended for the family group,
myself included....
"The cook was a strapping Kanaka, rather more than six feet in height,
and would have weighed nearly three hundred pounds. While I was the only
occupant of the table, the family had formed a circle on their mats,
where they were discussing their supper with the utmost eagerness. _He_
devoted his entire attention to me. He was a good specimen of a well
poi-fed native. I could see his frame to advantage, for his sole dress
consisted of a short woolen shirt and the malo; and his head of hair
resembled that of the pictured Medusa. When I first sat down to the
table, he took up my plate, and with a mouthful of breath, which was
really a small breeze, he blew the dust from it.
"This act occasioned me no small merriment. But when, in supplying me
with 'tea,' he took up a bowl and wiped it out with the corner of his
flannel shirt, I could refrain no longer. I laughed until my sides
fairly ached and the tears streamed down my face.... For a moment the
family were taken by surprise, and so was this presiding deity of
culinary operations. But on a second outburst from myself, they felt
reassured, and joined with me in my laughter. The cook, however, seemed
to feel that I had laughed at some one of his blunders; so he dipped the
bowl in a calabash of water, washed it out with his greasy fingers, and
again wiped it out with that same shirt lap. This was done three times,
in answer to the laughter it was impossible for me to restrain. And
when he had filled the bowl with tea, and saw that it remained untasted,
he put a large quantity of sugar into the huge tea-kettle, shook it up,
placed it at my right elbow, and told me to drink _that_!
"The evening was closed with solemn devotions. The best bed in the house
was placed at my disposal; and upon it was replaced the sheet on which I
had just before supped, and on which I slept during that night. The bed
was carefully stuffed with a soft downy substance, resembling raw silk,
but called by the natives _pulu_, and culled from the tree-fern. The
pillows were stuffed with the same material."
[Illustration: QUEEN EMMA.]
Kamehameha III was succeeded by his nephew and adopted son Kamehameha
IV. Although he had a violent temper, he had many good qualities. His
wife was Queen Emma, granddaughter of John Young, who was very English
in her tastes. It was in her honour that the King founded the Queen's
Hospital, and it was probably due to her influence that he started the
Anglican mission and made an excellent translation of the English prayer
book into the Hawaiian language. The harbour of Honolulu was enlarged by
him and other improvements were made, and the cultivation of rice was
introduced. After his death, which occurred in San Francisco, Queen Emma
made an attempt to obtain the crown, but was unsuccessful.
It was about this time, thirty years before my first visit to Hawaii,
that my father, Lieutenant Perkins of the U. S. S. _Lackawanna_, was
ordered to the Pacific, and for two years was stationed at Honolulu. He
spent much of his spare time in traveling over the Islands, even to
their remotest corners. He enjoyed visiting the ranches and joining in
the exciting though perilous occupation of driving wild cattle down from
the mountains, where one's safety depended almost wholly on skilful
horsemanship. He ascended to the great crater of Kilauea, went to every
interesting locality, studied the natives, attended their feasts and
learned their customs. These things were described in his letters, and
such a newspaper bit as the following gives a glimpse of the duties of a
naval officer.
"The whaling bark, _Daniel Wood_, of New Bedford, was wrecked on the
French Frigates Shoal, April 14th. Captain Richard and a portion of the
crew arrived at Honolulu after a passage of 450 miles in an open boat.
The U. S. S. _Lackawanna_ immediately sailed for the scene of the wreck
to rescue the remainder of the crew."
Another clipping records this amusing incident: "The Commander of the
British war vessel _Chanticleer_, at Honolulu, set his band playing
'Dixie,' alongside the United States steamer _Lackawanna_. The latter
retorted with 'Wearing of the Green.'"
While the _Lackawanna_ was at Honolulu, an event occurred which was
referred to in the discussions of Congress with regard to Hawaiian
matters in the session of 1892-1893, as illustrating the policy of our
Government. The official record of the Government affords a very
complete story of how the United States became the possessor of what is
now called Midway Island. It was first known as Brooks Island, but was
renamed by our navy department, principally on the unofficial suggestion
of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, in recognition of its
geographical position on the route from Hawaii to Japan.
The attention of Mr. Welles, then Secretary of the Navy, was called to
this island as possibly destined to prove of early importance as a
coaling station for United States vessels cruising in these waters.
Secretary Welles issued an order to Rear Admiral Thatcher, commanding
the _Lackawanna_ or some other suitable vessel to search for the island
and having found it, to take possession in the name of the United
States.
My father's letters give an account of this trip. August 4th, 1867, he
wrote:
"Just now we are sailing along quietly, although we have been
greatly startled and had a few moments of terrible anxiety. One of
the men, while furling the top-gallant sail, lost his hold and fell
overboard. Of course, falling from such a height, we all thought he
was killed. The life buoys were cut away, and the ship hove to, and
the boat sent for him, which picked him up and found him but little
hurt after all. It was such a narrow escape, we were all greatly
relieved when we got him aboard all right. Except this, we are
sailing along day after day in perfect monotony, and for two months
or more we shall not see a strange face or hear a word of news from
home. But the weather is delightful, and my health is good."
"August 24th.
"Breakers have been reported from the masthead, and I hope it is
the island we are looking for."
"August 27th.
"Yes, it proved to be the land we were seeking, and now we are
lying at anchor off Brooks Island, called after the captain who
discovered it a few years ago; and probably never before or since
has there been any one there. It is low and sandy, about six miles
long, and its inhabitants are only sea gulls and other sea birds,
seals and turtles. Never having seen human beings before, they are
not in the least afraid of us, and we can catch as many of them as
we wish. I have been fishing and caught a boatload of fish and
eleven turtles, each one of the latter weighing two hundred pounds
and over. We are going to remain here and survey the island, but
to-day it has come on to rain, and we are all cooped up on board
the ship."
"August 28th.
"Pleasant weather has come again, and I have been out hunting and
fishing. Shot seventeen curlew, hauled the seine, caught a boatload
of fish and three large turtles; hunted for shells, but could not
find any.
"We are going to have quite a ceremony and take possession of the
islands for the United States."
Captain William Reynolds, the officer in command of the _Lackawanna_,
was very proud of having been concerned in taking possession of the
first island beyond our own shores ever added to the dominion of the
United States. In his report he well describes the somewhat dramatic and
spectacular performance.
"I have the honour to report that on Wednesday, the 28th of August,
1867, in compliance with the orders of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy of
May 28th, I took formal possession of Brooks Island and reefs for the
United States. Having previously erected a suitable flagstaff I landed
on that day, accompanied by all the officers who could be spared from
the ship, with six boats armed and equipped, and under a salute of
twenty-one guns, and with three cheers, hoisted the national ensign, and
called on all hands to witness the act of taking possession in the name
of the United States.
"The ceremony of taking possession over, the howitzers and small-arm men
and marines were exercised at target-firing. Having hauled the seine and
procured an abundant supply of fish, the men cooked their dinner on
shore, and the rest of the day was spent pleasantly, picnic fashion upon
the island.... I sincerely hope that this will by no means be the last
of our insular annexations. I venture to name the only harbour at this
island after the present Hon. Secretary of the Navy, and to call its
roadstead after the present Hon. Secretary of State (Seward)."
"In 1869," writes C. S. Alden, in his life of Commodore Perkins,
"Congress appropriated $50,000 for deepening the entrance of the
harbour; the work was begun, but the amount proved insufficient for
completing the plan. One hundred miles to the west, Lieutenant-Commander
Sicard, of the U. S. S. _Saginaw_, who had the duties of inspecting and
assisting in this work, had the misfortune to wreck his ship on a reef.
The hazardous voyage of Lieutenant Talbot with three men in a small boat
sailing over 1500 miles to Kauai, Hawaiian Islands, to gain succour, and
the drowning of all but one of the men just as they reached their
destination and were pushing through the surf to make a landing, is one
of the thrilling tales of the sea. Nothing further seems to have been
done by our Government until three or four decades later, when it sought
to insure safety to navigation by establishing there a lighthouse and
buoys. After the visits of the _Lackawanna_ and the _Saginaw_, the
islands were deserted until the Pacific Commercial Cable Company placed
there a station in the San Francisco-Manila line, maintaining about
forty men. This is the intermediate station between Honolulu and
Guam."[7]
Kamehameha V was the older brother of the last King, and a man of
autocratic temper, who promulgated a new constitution that increased the
powers of the king and decreased those of the people. He was called
Prince Lot before he came to the throne. During his reign the leper
colony on Molokai was started, in an effort to stop the spread of
leprosy. As every one knows, it was here that Father Damien, the
Catholic priest, devoted his life to caring for the sufferers and
finally succumbed to the disease. The King died in 1872, the last of his
line. Just before his death, he turned to Mrs. Bishop and asked her to
become queen. She refused, thinking she could serve her people better in
some other way, and the King passed away without naming his successor.
It was suggested that either the sister of Kamehameha V or one of the
high chiefs should be placed on the throne, but Prince Lunalilo, the
nearest male relative, was elected in 1874 by the people. He was thus
the first Hawaiian monarch to be chosen by popular vote. His reign,
however, lasted little more than a year.
[Illustration: KING KALAKAUA AND STAFF.]
David Kalakaua, a high chief, was the choice of the people to succeed
Lunalilo. The Reciprocity Treaty with the United States was the great
commercial event of this reign. By this sugar and some other products
were admitted into America free of duty.
This last of all the kings sought continually to regain the authority
lost by the crown when the first constitution was granted, and his
government kept growing more arbitrary and corrupt. Finally, so much
feeling was roused that the foreign element compelled Kalakaua to
proclaim a new constitution, by which he lost the power he had
previously possessed and white men gained more control of the
government. Two years later, the "Wilcox rebellion," headed by Robert W.
Wilcox, a half-breed, was the unsuccessful attempt of the natives to
assert themselves against the whites. It was, however, promptly put
down.
Kalakaua was kind-hearted, popular, and possessed a dignity and ease of
manner that made him at home in any society, although he was dissipated
and corrupt and could be "hail fellow well met" with carousers. Captain
Lucien Young says of him in his book, "Real Hawaii":
"Kalakaua was only a high chief, in no way related to the extinct royal
family, and was reputed to be the illegitimate son of a negro cobbler,
who had emigrated to the Islands from Boston."
On the other hand, the sister of Kalakaua, Liliuokalani, who followed
him, gives the following account of their pedigree:
"My father's name was Kapaakea; my mother was Keohokalole; the latter
was one of the fifteen counselors of the King, Kamehameha III. My
great-grandfather Keawe-a-Heulu, the founder of the dynasty of the
Kamehamehas, and Keona, father of Kamehameha I, were own cousins, and my
great-grandaunt was the celebrated Queen Kapiolani, one of the first
converts to Christianity."
King Kalakaua was the author of the Hawaiian national hymn, which was
set to music by Captain Berger, leader of the Royal Hawaiian Band. It
certainly testifies to a firm belief in the "divine right of kings."
"Hawaii's very own,
Look to your sovran Lord,
Your chief that's heaven-born,
Who is your King;
"Men of Hawaii's land,
Look to your native chiefs,
Your sole, surviving lords,
The nation's pride.
"Men of Hawaiian stock,
My nation ever dear,
With loins begirt for work,
Strive with your might.
REFRAIN:
"Protector, heaven-sent,
Kamehameha great,
To vanquish every foe,
With conquering spear."
Kalakaua died in San Francisco and his body was taken home in a United
States man-of-war. His funeral was one of barbaric splendour with kahili
bearers, superb feather cloaks, and as was the custom, with bearers who
had shaved half their faces and heads.
Under the kings the Hawaiians had a coat of arms. It had on the first
and fourth quarters of the shields eight red, white and blue stripes,
which represented the eight inhabited islands. On the yellow background
of the second and third quarters were the tabu sticks--white balls with
black staffs. These were a sign of protection, as well as of tabu. In
the center of the shield is a triangular flag, the _puela_, lying
across two spears. This also was a sign of tabu and protection. The
background represents a royal mantle. At the sides are the supporters in
feather cloaks and helmets, the one on the right carrying a spear, the
one on the left a kahili, or staff used only on state occasions. Above
the shield is the crown, ornamented with twelve taro leaves. Below is
the national motto.
Notwithstanding she had married an American, John C. Dominis of
Massachusetts, Liliuokalani was even more determined than her brother
had been to restore the ancient privileges of the monarch. She revived
the old Hawaiian customs, and decided to proclaim a new constitution
giving to herself increased power. The English Minister and his
followers were on the Queen's side, but those who composed the American
mission element were distinctly the best citizens, and this element
conquered.
A Citizen's Committee of Safety was formed, then a Provisional
Government was established, and a delegation sent to Washington to
request annexation to the United States. A treaty of annexation was
drawn up, but it was not acted upon by the Senate before President
Harrison's term of office ended and President Cleveland's began. In the
meantime, Mr. Stevens, our Minister to Hawaii, had, at the request of
the Provisional Government, put the Islands under the protection of the
Government of the United States. Emissaries of the Queen told their
story to President Cleveland, who sent a special Commissioner to the
Islands to report on conditions there. After receiving his report, which
was far from impartial, the President sent an urgent request--really a
demand--to the Provisional Government to restore the Queen to power. It
was impossible for free-born Americans to accede to such a demand, and
they replied through Hon. S. B. Dole that the Government "respectfully
and unhesitatingly declines to entertain the proposition of the
President of the United States that it should surrender its authority to
the ex-Queen." Then, in 1894, despairing of immediate annexation, they
formed a republic with Mr. Dole as president.
It was proposed by some of the people that Princess Kaiulani, Mr.
Cleghorn's daughter and the Queen's niece, should be proclaimed queen,
and a Regency with Mr. Dole at its head established until the Princess
came of age. But the American element did not feel that an honest
government would be insured by this means. Kaiulani, who was being
educated in England, came here and issued an appeal to Americans, but
was unable to awaken sympathy. She died soon after.
The new Republic of Hawaii thus began its history under the leadership
of the man of whom it is said that he "throughout his life had been
identified with all that was least partizan and most upright in the
Islands." It is interesting to note that a vast amount of political
wire-pulling was guarded against in the constitution then adopted by the
provision that the President at the close of his term of six years
should be "ineligible to reëlection for the next succeeding term."
The last native uprising, said to have been instigated by the ex-Queen,
occurred in 1895, but was quickly put down. Among the few who lost their
lives at this time was Charles L. Carter, brother of Governor Carter.
Liliuokalani was tried for treason, with nearly two hundred of her
followers, but having formally renounced all claim to the Hawaiian
monarchy and taken the oath of allegiance to the republic, she was
pardoned. None of the rebels were executed, their sentence being
commuted in various ways.
At this time, trouble arose over the large immigration from Japan; the
Japanese contract labourers showed a bad spirit; a Japanese man-of-war
appeared and also a British war vessel; and it was seen that only
annexation to the United States could prevent the Islands from falling
into the hands of some foreign power. They were formally annexed to the
American republic in 1898. The Territory of Hawaii--this is now the
official title of the Islands--has the same form of government as the
other territories of the United States.[8]
As was indeed fitting, the first governor of Hawaii was Hon. S. B. Dole.
The governor and the secretary of the territory are appointed by the
President. Of the fifty senators and thirty members of the House of
Representatives about one-half are Hawaiians. There are two official
delegates to Washington, one of whom is Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole,
usually called Prince Cupid.
A series of able men have succeeded Mr. Dole, who in 1903 was appointed
to another office.[9] Hon. George R. Carter was the next governor until
his resignation in 1907. Judge Walter F. Frear held the position from
that time until 1913, when Governor Pinkham was appointed, who is still
at the head of affairs in the territory.
CHAPTER IV
SERVANT AND SOIL
As Americans have always been leaders in the Islands, so they were the
first to begin the cultivation of sugar, which is the chief occupation.
They commenced by using their own capital, and then gradually interested
capitalists from the mainland. The Reciprocity Treaty between the United
States and the Islands in 1876 gave a great impetus to the sugar
industry. Capital, particularly from this country, was invested in the
Islands, until at present crops of more than 600,000 tons are shipped
away in a year.
One of the largest sugar plantations in the world is that of the
Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company on the island of Maui. It was Mr.
Claus Spreckles who bought crown land of the Hawaiian Princess Ruth and
by his influence with King Kalakaua secured irrigation water for this
tract at a nominal rental, then formed a stock company to carry on the
plantation. The yearly product of these miles of cane fields alone is
60,000 tons.
On Maui, Kauai and Hawaii skilfully engineered tunnels have brought down
the water needed for sugar raising. On Oahu artesian wells have reached
"the water of magic power."
We enjoyed an excursion to Judge Widemann's plantation of Waianae on
Oahu. Here we saw a sugar-cane mill and wide meadows and brakes of the
thick growth, and the whole process of the work--the crushing of the
cane into molasses, the refining into sugar--and rode on the tiny
plantation railway among the waving green stalks, while the blue sea
sparkled on one side, and bare, gaily coloured mountains rose above us
on the other.
Sugar raising in Hawaii probably furnishes the most perfect example of
scientific agriculture to be found under the flag of the United States.
"Think of always plowing two feet deep," writes a friend, "and not
having to wait for rain, but telephoning to the engineer to start the
pumps--of knowing at the end of a crop just what elements and the amount
of each have been taken from the soil--of searching the world for
parasites to destroy the insect enemies of the cane--of collecting and
recording the life history of all the insects found in countries
bordering the Pacific and all the islands within its borders, so that
when some new pest appears, its origin and characteristics will be
known--of sending men out to wherever sugar-cane is grown, in order to
study and record its diseases, and giving the planter coloured
illustrations of symptoms, so that he may know them in advance of their
arrival and be able to check the pest--of the skilful manipulation of
the soil, so that there is a constant increase in the production."
[Illustration: "THE TINY PLANTATION RAILWAY AMONG THE WAVING GREEN
STALKS."]
In harvesting the cane a path is first opened through the jungle, then
the men, armed with knives like butchers' cleavers, go in among the
dense growth to cut the stalks. After they have "stripped" a field in
this way, the cane must be sent to the mill within twenty-four hours, or
the juice will ferment.
Here the Japanese women play their part--for, among the Japanese, the
women as well as the men work on the plantations. They gather up the
stalks, which are not very heavy but are decidedly unwieldy, and if the
field is on high land take them to wooden flumes through which water is
run from the irrigation ditches. The women toss the great twelve-foot
stalks into the rapid stream which carries them down to a loading place
for cane-cars. Here the flume branches into five "fingers," at the head
of which stands a man who opens one finger after another, until the
cars standing under them are filled in turn.
Inside the cars are men who stack the cane as it tumbles in, so that
each car carries a maximum load, laid in good order for the next process
at the mill. Here, too, is an automatic "giant-hand" on an endless belt,
the "fingers" of which, as it revolves, clutch the stalks of cane like
jackstraws and pass them up to a wide belt that extracts every drop of
juice so completely that the refuse is fit only for fuel for the
furnaces. After the various processes of boiling down, evaporating,
crystallizing and drying, the raw sugar is shoveled into gunny-sacks,
which are filled to weigh exactly one hundred pounds each. Again the
women take hold, and sew up the bags. The cost of raising and marketing
sugar is from forty-five to seventy-five dollars a ton.
Japanese women who work on the sugar plantations may be seen sometimes
knee-deep in muddy-watery soil near the flumes, or again out in the
driest, hottest part of a newly plowed field. They have discarded their
usual Japanese dress for a mixed costume, consisting of a close-fitting
waist of dark, figured, Japanese cotton crêpe, a scant skirt to the
knee, khaki gaiters, and their own heavy cotton "bootees." To protect
their hair from dust and their necks from the sun, they wear a piece of
Japanese toweling, which is tied across the back of the head and hangs
down on the shoulders. On top of this is perched a cheap American sailor
hat. The effect is certainly startling. Some take their tiny babies in
bright-figured swaddling clothes with them, and put up a little shelter
tent of cloth and sticks, where the youngsters lie and sleep.
Most of the women who do agricultural work are Japanese. A few years
ago, when a ship-load of people came from Madeira, the women told the
immigration authorities that they had come to work on the plantations.
But, after a very short time, they retired from this sort of labour for
the much pleasanter and more remunerative business of making Madeira
embroidery. Among the Chinese the women rarely go out of their own homes
to work, although Oriental servants prevail all over these Islands. Some
of the younger generation of Portuguese girls go out as nursemaids in
white families, but the majority of that race make sewing and
dressmaking or "clerking" their means of support. It is surprising,
indeed, to see how few of the employees in any store are "white";
bookkeepers, clerks, etc., are usually young part-Hawaiians or
part-Chinese.
From the beginning, when sugar was ready for export, it was rarely
shipped from the Hawaiian Islands in any but American bottoms. The
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company--the largest fleet sailing under the
Stars and Stripes and numbering twenty-eight vessels--the Oceanic
Steamship Company, and the Matson Navigation Company, were all formed
largely because of the favourable contracts they were able to make for
carrying sugar, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, which plied
between California and the Far East, stopped at Honolulu because of the
profit to be made by carrying freight from the Islands. American
shipping on the Pacific, however, has always been at a disadvantage,
because foreign ships can be built more cheaply than ours and are
usually subsidized.
As if these drawbacks were not enough, during the present Congress the
Seaman's Act, somewhat modified now to be sure, has had a disastrous
effect on American shipping on the Pacific Ocean. The American boats
used to carry crews of well trained Chinamen. Under this act the
majority of the crew must be English-speaking sailors and they cannot be
procured in sufficient numbers nor can such boats generally be run with
sufficient economy to compete with foreign flags. So trans-Pacific trade
has been given over almost entirely to the Japanese, who have especially
fine passenger ships on that route to-day. As, according to our laws,
these boats are not permitted to carry passengers or freight between
American ports, the service between the Islands and the United States
has been seriously crippled with consequent increase in rates of
carriage. A resident in the Islands writes, "When the last Pacific Mail
steamer sailed from Honolulu Harbour, all flags were at half mast and
Hawaii was in mourning."
Still, the planters are cheerful. For 1916, they look forward to an
estimated production of 603,000 tons and a continuance of the present
high prices, which will enable them not only to pay good dividends but
also to install labour-saving machinery and to make other improvements,
by which they will produce sugar more cheaply when the present era of
high prices is over. The shipments of raw sugar from Hawaii for the year
ending June 30, 1915, sold for more than $51,000,000.
Next in importance to the sugar industry is the production of
pineapples. These are raised only on the higher ground. The land is as
carefully prepared as a garden, and the soil thoroughly pulverized. The
plants are set in furrows, and there are sometimes as many as twelve
thousand to the acre. They mature their fruit in about two years. When
the pineapple ripens, from the lower part of the stump suckers appear,
which bear fruit one year later. These in turn grow suckers that come
into bearing the following year. Besides these there are slips, that
spring from the upper part of the parent plant. New plants are grown not
only from suckers and slips, but also from the crowns of the fruit, and
growers consider them all about equally good. The plants almost never
produce seeds, and when found, they are used for experimental purposes
only.
There are 24,000 acres of land in the pineapple plantations of the
Islands, and most of them are on Oahu. There is never any frost, and as
there are no serious insect pests which attack the fruit the crop is a
very fine one. Nor is irrigation necessary, so that thousands of acres
unavailable for sugar have brought in millions of dollars to those who
own or rent these plantations.
[Illustration: PINEAPPLE PLANTATION, ISLAND OF OAHU.]
The fields are carefully picked over every day or two, and only
perfectly ripe fruit is gathered. Hawaiian pineapples are rich in sugar
when fully matured, but if picked green, they contain little sugar, and
gain none after they are taken from the plant. Extensive experiments
have shown that the Smooth Cayenne variety is far superior to all
others, and it is now the only one grown in the Islands. In no instance
are the fields more than a few miles from the cannery, and the fruit is
put in the tins as soon as possible after it is picked. The Hawaiian
canneries are equipped with labour-saving machinery. Aside from grading
the slices and filling the cans, all the work is done by machines. The
employees who handle the fruit wear rubber gloves with gauntlets, and
the most modern sanitary methods are observed throughout. Every night
everything in the factory is washed, steamed and scrubbed as clean as
possible.
When the fruit arrives at the cannery, it passes into a machine which
first cuts off both ends, then takes out the core and removes the rind.
It is then conveyed to another, which slices the whole pineapple in one
operation. From here it passes on a moving belt in front of a line of
workers, who select the perfect cylindrical pieces for the first grade.
From the packing table the tins go to the syrup machine, where the fruit
is covered with a syrup made of clear water and granulated sugar, thence
to the exhaust box and double sealer, where it is heated and the cover
sealed on the can. Then the can is conveyed to the cooker, where it is
submerged in boiling water from twenty to thirty-five minutes, after
which it is left in the cooling room about twelve hours, and then
stacked in the warehouse until required for shipment.
The history of this industry is interesting. Only small amounts were
canned previous to the year 1901. There has been a steady increase ever
since, with a total output in 1914 of over 2,000,000 cases from nine
canneries. Nothing like this rapid increase in production and
distribution has ever been known before in the canned-fruit trade.
California, as every one knows, is the greatest fruit-producing section
in the world, and her canned fruits are found in practically every
market, yet her average total pack, of every variety except apples, from
1901 to 1910, was only about one-third more than the pack of Hawaiian
pineapples alone in 1914. The total value of those shipped to the United
States for the year ending June 30, 1915, was nearly $6,000,000.
Besides the other important staples raised by the planters for export,
coffee and rice are produced in large quantities--over 3,000,000 pounds
of each. The coffee grown in the district of Kona is famous. The Chinese
are especially good at market gardening. The Hawaiians also plant taro
for poi, which, although now manufactured by machinery, is still their
favourite food, and is also eaten by the whites. Doctors pronounce it
most digestible and strengthening. Duke Kahanamoku, a native who has
always lived on poi, is the champion swimmer of the world. It is true
that not only poi but also the climate is favourable to our race as
well, for white boys brought up in Hawaii have proved themselves to be
strong, all those who have gone into athletics in American colleges
having made fine records.
In addition to the products of the large plantations, wool, hides and
skins from the ranches are exported to a considerable extent. The
Shipman stock ranch, near Hilo, has been carried on for more than forty
years. The Parker ranch, however, is the largest, having 18,000 head of
cattle--Herefords and Holsteins. The long pods of the algaroba tree
furnish a large part of the feed for cattle and horses. This is the
carob tree of the New Testament, the pods of which were the husks that
the Prodigal Son fed to the swine he tended. In the earlier days, guano
from the bird islands was exported, for use as a fertilizer.
While plantation life in the Islands may be monotonous for the resident,
it is full of interest for the tourist who really takes time to see it.
An effort is made by the planters to furnish recreation for their
labourers. At Waialua on Oahu a large hall has been built, where
moving-picture shows are given at intervals, political meetings are
held, and there are dances for the white colony. The latter have tennis
courts near their homes and hold tournaments, to which they invite
players from other plantations. As work is over at four o'clock--the
hours being from five to eleven in the morning and two to four in the
afternoon--the men who work in mill, store or office can play every
afternoon.
The Portuguese, Japanese and Hawaiian boys have formed a baseball team,
which represents the plantation in a league of such teams. There are
match games by this league at different places every Sunday. The
Japanese at Waialua have a theater, the occasional performances at which
are announced during the day by a man who drives through all parts of
the plantation in a hack covered with Japanese signs, beating a drum.
The native Hawaiians in country districts often present "tableaux" for
the benefit of their church or some charity fund. A friend of mine told
me she had once gone to a representation of "Adam and Eve" which would
have seemed either sacrilegious or ridiculous if done by any but these
ingenuous, grown-up children. The minister of the church played the part
of Satan, in a bright red union suit with a long tail; a large native,
in flowing white robes, with a Santa Claus beard and mask, took the part
of the Deity and banished Adam and Eve, in brown union suits the colour
of their skin, from the Garden of Eden. Other tableaux gave very vivid
portrayals of scenes from ancient days of royalty, with its attendant
pomp and ceremony, and old Hawaiian legends. One of these was about
Paahana, a young Hawaiian girl, who was afraid of the white settlers,
and ran away to the mountains, building herself a shelter of grass among
the bushes. Finally she was discovered by the white missionaries, who
tried to approach her, but she was wild with fear, and vanished from
sight into the forest. This story was told in verse, sung to the tune of
"Mauna Kea," a hula dance.
These entertainments are never complete without a dance for young and
old, to music sung and played by a quintette of native boys. Besides the
ukulele and the taro-patch, which is a large ukulele with five strings
instead of four, they use the mandolin, violin, guitar and bass-viol.
The Hawaiians, being naturally musical, have a keen sense of time and
rhythm. The Filipinos are also fond of dancing, and in the Libby,
McNiel and Libby pineapple cannery, where many of this nationality are
employed, dances are held to make them more contented with their
isolated life.
Among the plantation labourers there is never the abject poverty that is
known in the Far East for, in addition to steady wages, houses, water,
fuel and doctor's services are all provided for them. Although the
climate is semi-tropical sunstroke is unknown. The men who work around
the machinery and the boiling sugar wear as few clothes as possible, and
the women who sew up the bags of sugar as fast as they are filled, have
adopted the cool and comfortable but hideous Hawaiian garb of the
holoku. The heat from the great boilers in the mill is sometimes hard
for the white men to bear, but I have never heard of a case of
heat-prostration. As a large part of the school work must be done on
the plantations I insert the following description, given me by one of
the teachers of the school at Waialua, Oahu, the largest outside of
Honolulu.
"As the pupils are almost entirely foreign, the first grade has three
divisions, to accommodate the number who enter it until they are able to
speak enough English to be properly graded. Sometimes one finds here
children of twelve to fourteen years who have just come to Hawaii. As a
rule, they work hard to get out of the 'baby-grade,' and are quickly
promoted.
"I was the only white teacher in the school besides the principal. The
other teachers were Hawaiian, half-white and Chinese Hawaiian girls who
had gone through the Honolulu Normal School. They are good teachers,
kind and patient, and can instruct children in the same slow manner in
which they themselves learn. There was also a young Hawaiian man, a
Normal graduate, who could help in many extra ways, such as map-drawing,
chorus-leading, games, etc.
"Fifteen nationalities were represented in the various grades--Hawaiian,
Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino, Spanish, Korean, Porto Rican,
and a few Scotch, English, Canadians, Germans and Americans, as well as
Russians and Italians. Besides the pure bloods there were many mixtures,
such as American-Hawaiian, Chinese-Hawaiian, Japanese-Portuguese,
German-Hawaiian, etc.
"The Japanese and Chinese were the best pupils in every way. The
Hawaiians were tractable, but stupid; Portuguese, smart but mischievous.
School hours were from nine to twelve, and from half past twelve to two.
Most of the children came from long distances, and after the plantation
school was dismissed, the Japanese children went to a Japanese school
for two hours.
"In the first grade, I taught reading, writing and 'rithmetic; also
nature-study, in simple form, story-work, folk songs and dances. These
last helped them a great deal in the new vocabulary, as they loved that
part of the day's program.
"It was interesting to note the habits of the different nationalities at
recess, especially in regard to their luncheon. The Japanese usually
were together out in the yard. They each had their little tin pail with
top and bottom section, in which they carried fish and cold rice. I
never got a very close look at it, to know how the fish was cooked, but
I could smell it afar off! They seemed very shy, and would try to hide
their lunch as I walked past. The Chinese were even shyer about their
lunch, for they never gathered together, as the other nationalities did,
but went to some secluded spot and nibbled away at an orange or
something else.
"The Portuguese usually brought long rolls of bread, which had been cut
open and a red jelly-like substance spread all along the inside. They
also had fruit, and especially the mango in its season.
"A little Japanese store nearby kept cakes and pastries, which were very
popular when the children had money, but the greatest delicacy sold
there seemed to be a rubbery substance, which looked like a piece of
resin, but could be shaved in long strips. They called it dry squid, but
it did not seem like the dry squid I've tried to masticate at native
luaus, and I never did find out just what it was.
"The schools are all supported by the territorial government, which in
turn receives the plantation taxes, so the plantations themselves do not
directly support the schools, although the children of the labourers
comprise nine-tenths of the pupils outside Honolulu.
"There is compulsory attendance until the age of fourteen, and at
Waialua a school policeman--a Hawaiian--went all over the plantations
on horseback and found out if any of the children were ill or playing
truant."
Each nationality is housed more or less by itself in small, one-story
houses built in rows, each group called a camp. The white men employed
as chemists, bookkeepers and clerks in the general store usually live in
a group near the buildings where they are employed. They are German,
Scotch, Norwegian, English and Danish. Few Americans go into this work
now, although a number did in years past start out as time-keepers and
have become managers. The Kanaka does not make a good manager, but if he
has some one to direct him he works well, and he can learn almost any
trade; of course he is at his best as a sailor, and he is such a
wonderful rider that he makes an excellent cowboy.
At Waialua there is a small hospital where the labourers are treated
free, and in at least one of the outlying camps there is a small cottage
that is used as a dispensary. The plantation doctor has charge of the
school children, vaccinating all that need it at the opening of the
school year and watching them for signs of trachoma or leprosy.
Social work on plantations has not been carried on with a central
organization as yet, and the welfare of the labourers depends on the
attitude of the managers, who all belong to the Sugar Planters'
Association. This holds yearly meetings of a week or more in Honolulu,
when managers from all the Islands talk over questions pertaining to
their interests.
The agricultural situation in the Islands has been carefully studied by
the Bureau of Agriculture and Forestry, which reports that there are no
other crops than sugar and pineapples which can be recommended as a
reliable industry for the territory. This is true for several important
reasons.
In the first place, from an agricultural point of view Hawaii is not a
tropical country, and the strictly tropical crops do not find optimum
climatic conditions. Neither has Hawaii a temperate climate, and the
staple products of the temperate zone cannot be relied upon.
The distance from the mainland markets imposes a serious handicap.
Moreover, both inter-island and inter-community transportation is
difficult and expensive, because Hawaii is a group of comparatively
small, mountainous islands with very few harbours.
It should be borne in mind, moreover, that the area of cultivated land
in Hawaii is very small, the amount reclaimable still smaller, while
the needs of a growing population must be met. This, of course, means
intensive cultivation and a high average rate of wealth production per
acre. In the ten-year period from 1900 to 1910, the population increased
24.6 per cent and the area of tillable land 3.6 per cent. The census
reports also show that Hawaii is already cultivating its land far more
intensively than the mainland states; for example, it supports
twenty-two times as many persons per acre of improved arable land as the
agricultural state of North Dakota. Clearly, the problem in Hawaii is
peculiarly difficult.
It is true, also, that practically all tropical industries demand a
plentiful supply of cheap labour. Labour in Hawaii is neither cheap nor
plentiful. In this respect, the Islands are at a disadvantage compared
with nearly all tropical countries, but much money has been spent on the
industries, and the results are certainly encouraging.
How to secure cheap labour has always been a serious question for the
planters. The Bureau of Immigration was established in 1876. When the
Reciprocity Treaty with the United States was signed, several thousand
Portuguese were sent for by the government and the planters, and many
of them have remained in the country and become good citizens. About the
year 1888, however, it was decided that the Chinese and the Japanese
should be encouraged to come, because the cost of transportation for
them was so much less. For some years the larger part of the labourers
were of these two nationalities. The Japanese are still far in excess of
all others, numbering over 93,000. After annexation, when the Congress
of the United States prohibited immigration by the yellow races, Hawaii
was obliged to seek a supply from other sources. Filipinos, of whom
there are only 8,000, are next in number to the Japanese; Portuguese,
Chinese, Spaniards, and Porto Ricans stand next.
After the expenses of the voyage were paid, the labourers did not always
keep their agreement to work, so contract labour was introduced.
Although some objections have been made to the contract system in
Hawaii, it must have proved fairly satisfactory to both parties, for in
those days a large number of labourers would sign a second contract on
the same terms, showing at least that they were well treated and paid
according to agreement.
In some cases, Chinese and Japanese labourers remained in the Islands
after their contract expired, and settled there permanently. Many of
the Chinese became merchants. The Portuguese went into fruit raising,
and the Japanese kept mostly to the coffee plantations. In those days,
the Japanese had labour unions, and they were sometimes troublesome.
Hawaii, owing to the lack of coal and iron and other minerals, can never
be a manufacturing country, hence must always depend largely upon the
United States for such goods. The Islands spend a large part of
$60,000,000 yearly for imported articles, although, since Hawaii is a
territory of the United States, goods received from the American
mainland are not classified in census returns as imports.
With the opening of the Panama Canal, the Hawaiian Islands are a
necessary coaling station between the Atlantic Coast and the Far East.
In anticipation of increased traffic, the harbours have been enlarged,
new wharves built, a floating drydock installed, the channel widened and
deepened in the harbour of Honolulu, breakwaters built at Hilo and
Kahului, modern freight- and coal-handling apparatus provided, and fuel
oil depots established.
CHAPTER V
IN AND OUT
Honolulu itself the traveler may perhaps be able to see in a day, with
American rush, while the steamer stops on the way to Japan. To take
trips on Oahu, go surf-riding, indulge in a luau, visit the plantations,
and make an excursion to the volcanoes in the other islands, you must
stay at least a few weeks, so that you may really see it all and have
time to dream of its wonderful beauties.
Honolulu is the oldest, and so by far the most attractive, town in the
Islands. Besides visits to Waikiki, the Pali, and Punchbowl, there are
many delightful excursions on the island of Oahu. The Trail and Mountain
Club has made excellent paths to the mountain tops, where you can get
superb views. The lovely falls of Kaliuwaa are especially celebrated,
while a trip to Hauula is pleasant. The coral gardens are entrancing,
and near these one can see the largest wireless station in the Islands.
In the great pineapple district, Wahiawa, there is a good hotel and
fine bass fishing, and not far away is a big military camp.
To-day the excursion to the other islands is made fairly comfortable on
the steamers of the Inter-Island Navigation Company, and one can motor
to the very brink of Kilauea. But at the time of our first visit the
journey was something to be endured, for the sake of the wonders at the
end. The story has been often told by travelers, yet it may be worth
while to recount our own experiences.
The trip certainly could not be recommended for pleasure in those days.
The tiny boat was loaded down with pigs and cattle and sickly smelling
sugar. The crossings were far worse than the English Channel, and our
wretched little steamer reeled before the winds and tossed upon the
waves. To add to our discomfort, the boat was by no means swift, and
hours were consumed between the innumerable small landing-places. When
we had the pleasure of stepping on solid earth once more, we found very
poor hotels, if you could call them by that name, and finally, we were
disappointed in the volcano itself, which was not active enough to suit
us.
[Illustration: LEPER COLONY, ISLAND OF MOLOKAI.]
At our departure from Honolulu, we were quite covered with leis by the
kind friends who gathered at the dock to see us off. Our boat plunged
almost immediately into the high seas of the channel between Oahu and
Molokai. As we passed the latter island, we had a distant view of the
leper colony, on a triangle of level land, at the foot of a precipice
three thousand feet high that effectually guards the patients from the
landward side.
At first the lepers resisted the attempt to banish them to the colony,
and their relatives, who seemed to have no fear of the disease,
concealed those who were afflicted, but this opposition decreased as the
natives learned that the lepers were to be supported in comfort by the
Government. They have a school, a library, newspapers, musical
instruments, a theater, even moving-picture shows now, I am told--in
short, everything is done to make their lives as pleasant and
comfortable as possible.
Mark Twain writes of a beautiful custom in the colony. "Would you
expect," he says, "to find in that awful leper settlement a custom
worthy of transplanting to your own country? When death sets open the
prison door of life there the band salutes the very soul with a burst of
golden music."
On this island where the natives have retained their primitive habits
and beliefs more than on the others of the group, the Poison God was
saved at the time the idols were destroyed, a hundred years ago. It was
kept here in charge of kahunas until near the end of the last century,
and it is not definitely known whether it may not even now be in
existence. This hideous image seems to have had the power to kill those
who handled it. It has been suggested that it was made of some poisonous
wood, and only the priests knew how to hold it without harm.
The boat reeled on through another rough passage to the double island of
Maui, consisting of two great mountain peaks joined by a low isthmus of
lava, which by degrees filled up the channel between the two original
islands. We made endless stops, and by means of small boats took on and
off freight, cattle, and passengers--native, Chinese and Japanese.
Our first landing was at Lahaina, once the capital of the group and the
rendezvous for all the whaling ships in the Pacific. Now it is a
dilapidated village, attractive only for its beautiful situation.
At Wailuku, at the northern end of the isthmus, was the home of "Father
Alexander," well known as one of the early missionaries. The name
Wailuku means "Water of Destruction." A great battle was fought near
here by Kamehameha the Great.
Unfortunately we were unable to see the Ditch Trail, so well described
by Jack London, or visit the famous Iao Valley, of which we had read
such glowing descriptions. The entrance to this "gulch" is by a dark,
wooded gorge that broadens out into an amphitheater surrounded by
precipices as lofty as those of the Yosemite. These cliffs are covered
with masses of trees, shrubs, and graceful, feathery ferns, which are
veiled in turn by the mists from a thousand waterfalls. At the head of
the valley stands the Needle, a natural watch-tower--of rock, but green
with a luxuriant vegetation--to which the defeated army retreated in the
battle of the Wailuku.
East Maui consists entirely of the huge extinct volcano of Haleakala,
"house built by the sun." This, the largest extinct volcano on the
surface of the globe, lifts its enormous crater, twenty miles in
circumference, to the height of ten thousand feet above the sea. Some
titanic eruption blew off the top of the mountain and scooped it out to
the depth of two thousand feet. From the bottom of this vast cavity rise
many cones--the largest a hill of seven hundred feet--and there are two
great gaps in the walls, through which lava flows once made their way
down to the plain. Here and there on the desert that forms the floor of
the crater are scattered clumps of silversword, with long leaves shining
in the sun. This plant grows only at a high altitude. Hunting for it is
like hunting for the edelweiss in Switzerland. Its nearest botanical
relative is found in the Himalaya Mountains. From the highest point of
the rim of Haleakala these plants are said to appear about the size and
brightness of silver dollars.
Glad enough we were to land at Hilo--Hawaiian for "new moon." It takes
its name from the superb crescent of the bay, two miles in length,
perhaps the most beautiful on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. At one
end of the semicircle is Cocoanut Island, crowded with glorious palms
that seem eager for the salt water, stretching their heads far out over
it, as if they would drink it up. As it is on the windward side of the
island, the trade winds bring Hilo a yearly rainfall of 150 inches, and
the result is seen in the luxuriance of the vegetation, which nearly
hides the buildings of the little city in its depths. With the bay in
front, the dense forest belt in the rear, and the towering masses of
Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in the background, the situation of Hilo is
glorious in its beauty.
[Illustration: SILVERSWORD IN BLOOM, IN THE CRATER OF HALEAKALA.]
On the thirty-mile trail to the crater we passed first between the
brakes of cane plantations, then through a fine tropical forest. Among
the trees we could see many gay and beautiful flowers, curious fruits
and enormous tree ferns, while in the interior were lovely glades and
the little bungalows of the coffee planters. But the island was only
just being developed, so there were numbers of ranches in the first
stages of raw newness.
A search through the forests on some of the islands would disclose the
beautifully coloured landshells. These exquisite little creatures grow
on the leaves of the trees. Many of the native birds have become
extinct; there were originally seventy varieties. Game birds, however,
have been introduced from America and China, and from other countries
both north and south, including wild turkeys, quail, pheasants and
ducks.
We arrived at the crater late at night, to find only a miserable hotel
with a drunken proprietor. (Liars had told us it was good.) We were
forced to pass the night there, but stayed the next day only long enough
to visit the crater.
Kilauea was for us a great disappointment. It is not imposing in its
situation, lying low on the gradual slope of Mauna Loa. We had been
thrilled by pictures of the great pit of Halemaumau, the "house of
everlasting fire."[10] We had read of fountains of fire thrown a
thousand feet into the air, of great fissures from which burst clouds of
deadly sulphurous vapours, of indescribable terrors as huge billows of
glowing lava surged against the rim of the pit, of changing colours,
marvelous beauty, of ropes and serpents of cooling rock in a myriad
writhing and contorted shapes, of raging floods pouring down to the
plain in rivers of fire from one-half to two miles in width. But alas!
none of these wonders were for us. We saw only a far-stretching lake of
cold, black lava, over which we could walk for miles, as safe as if we
were at home. Out of a pit in the center rose a column of white
vapour--which did not even smell infernal. Pele was sleeping.
We had three days to wait in Hilo until our steamer should be ready to
return to Honolulu. The hotel was a funny little one, near the sea, but
we were fairly comfortable, and amused ourselves in various ways. For
one thing, we tried several of the delicious tropical fruits that were
to be had here--water-lemons, mangoes, papayas, mountain apples and
guavas. We went on a picnic, and some one was kind enough to lend me a
riding habit and a pony that had won some races. I rode astride, in
native fashion. This was my first but by no means my last experience of
this most natural and comfortable mode of riding. Then I had an old
native woman to _lomi-lomi_ me--Hawaiian for massage--as I was very lame
from my long rides, and I was as much amused by her as benefited by her
treatment.
[Illustration: FIRE HOLE, KILAUEA.]
We decided this was our opportunity to see a hula, and asked the
coachman at the hotel to make arrangements for us at a native house. As
part of the preparations, he gave the performers some wine, so the dance
was in full swing when we arrived. They had made leis, which they put on
us and also on themselves. A fat but good looking native woman in a
holoku danced, while some others played. Another pretty native woman
said she was dying to dance, but her husband, a white man, was not
willing, and the last time she did it he beat her, so she did not dare
to try again. It was a strange scene--the native house, the dim lights,
and the wild, suggestive dance.
The trip back to Honolulu, though only two hundred miles in length,
occupied two nights and a day of rough and tumble sailing, after which
we were happy to get to our bungalow and Chinaman once more.
Now, the Inter-Island boats leave Honolulu twice a week for Hilo and
once a week for Kona and Kau, on the lee side of the island. It is quite
a different trip from that in the old days. On the way to Hilo the first
landing is usually at Kawaihae, an insignificant village, of no interest
except for the great heiau of Kamehameha I, the last heathen temple
erected in the Islands, dating from 1791. It is over two hundred feet
long and one hundred feet wide, and the walls are twelve feet thick at
the base. When this temple was dedicated to the favourite war-god of the
King, besides vast quantities of fruit and great numbers of hogs and
dogs, eleven human beings were sacrificed on the altar.
Hilo is to-day a modern city of 10,000 people, and the shipping point
for all the sugar raised on the windward side of the island. A
breakwater now in process of construction will make its harbour a
perfectly safe anchorage for merchant ships.
One may make the entire circuit of the island by motor from Hilo. On a
branch road from the highway to Kilauea is Green Lake, an emerald-tinted
sheet of water occupying an old crater. In the forest surrounding this
lake the rare pink begonia, an exquisite plant, used to grow, but I am
told by Mr. Castle it has become extinct.
Continuing to the southwest, the road passes through the district of Kau
to Kona. Here, indeed, is the "Paradise of the Pacific." Protected from
the trade winds by the huge mountain masses of Mauna Loa and Hualalai,
it enjoys mild breezes from the west, which blow in from the sea all day
long but give place at sunset to a wind from the mountain that cools the
night. The Hawaiians have a saying that in Kona "people never die; they
dry up and blow away." Daily showers toward sunset and at night keep the
vegetation ever fresh and green, and make this a rich agricultural
region.
Honaunau, in Kona, contains the largest of the "cities of refuge," in
the walls of which are stones weighing several tons raised as high as
six feet from the ground. Within these massive walls were three large
heiaus, also houses for the priests and refugees. The gates were always
open, and the fugitive who had crossed the threshold was absolutely
safe. Old men, women, little children, defeated soldiers, all were
received here, and when once the great gods had taken them under their
protection, they were safe even, when they returned to their homes.
It was on the coast of Kona, at Kaawaloa, that Captain Cook was killed
by the natives. A monument has been erected there, which bears this
inscription: "In Memory of the Great Circumnavigator Captain James Cook,
R. N., who discovered these islands on the 18th of January, A. D. 1778,
and fell near this spot on the 14th of February, A. D. 1779. This
monument was erected in November, A. D. 1874, by some of his fellow
countrymen."
At Kailua, a seashore village further north, is the old palace of the
kings of the islands. This is far from imposing in its appearance. At
this place one may watch a primitive method of shipping cattle. With
their horns tied to the side of a rowboat, the poor creatures are
dragged through the water to the steamer, then are hoisted on board by
pulleys.
The road passes next through the Kohala district, in which the town of
that name is of interest as the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great. The
Kohala ditch, twenty-five miles long, brings water from the mountains to
the sugar plantations, fifteen miles of the way through tunnels. One may
leave the main road here and take a horseback ride along this ditch,
from which one can enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Waipio and
Waimanu valleys, enormous "gulches," separated by sheer precipices
hundreds of feet in height.
[Illustration: ON THE SHORES OF KAUAI, THE "GARDEN ISLAND."]
The trip to Kauai, the "Garden Island," from Honolulu, requires but a
single night, but is a rough passage. At Waimea Captain Cook made his
first landing on the Islands. Here, too, is the ruined fort built by a
Russian trader, and over which the Russian flag was raised.
The trip through the Waimea Gulch, which is called a miniature Grand
Canyon of the Colorado, rewards the traveler with magnificent scenery.
At the deepest part the cliffs are 3,000 feet high and the valley is a
mile in width. It is said that "in the decomposing rocks the colours are
as vivid as though volcanic fires were still at work."
On the shore, at the extreme western point of the island, are the
Barking Sands, a row of sand dunes. "The wind on the sands makes them
rustle like silk; to slide down them produces a sound like thunder; to
stamp on them makes them cry out in different cadences." Not far away is
an old bathing beach, where a bath was supposed to bring good luck.
At Hanalei River is one of the most ancient of the deep-water fish
ponds. According to an old tradition, this was built in a single night
by Menehunes, a mythical race of dwarfs, who were noted for their
industry and mechanical skill and their feats of engineering.
Everywhere one is struck by the preponderance of Japanese among the
inhabitants. Since this great war broke out, Japan has taken from
Germany the Ladrone Islands, just north of Guam, on the way to the
Philippines. She has also taken the Marshall Islands, which bring her
outposts fifteen hundred miles nearer to the Pacific coast of America.
If we are inclined to be a bit pessimistic over the future fate of
Hawaii, perhaps a piece of recent news from Nippon may encourage us.
Japan has just passed a law permitting Japanese to become American
citizens. As nearly half the present inhabitants of the Islands are
Japanese and 4,000 Japanese children are born there in a year, this is
an interesting consideration when difficulties between Japan and America
are talked of. The Japanese-American Citizens' Association was organized
by a few Japanese who are citizens by right of birth, and has grown to a
membership of more than fifteen hundred. It takes an interest in
municipal affairs, discusses the questions of the day, and teaches young
Hawaiian-born Japanese the principles and duties of good citizenship.
Rev. S. Sokabe, of Honolulu, gives its members the following advice:
"Hawaiian-born Japanese have a great mission to-day. The Japanese of
Hawaii must become the pacificators should trouble come between Japan
and America.... You owe it to yourselves to do this. Learn to be good
American citizens, and then you will be able to help in case of trouble.
You can do more to keep peace than ambassadors and ministers.... If
trouble should come with Japan, you must remember that you are the sons
of the President, not the sons of the Emperor."
Under the old Japanese law Japanese born in Hawaii were still subjects
of Japan. Under the law lately enacted by the Diet and House of Peers of
Japan, which went into effect June 1, 1916, all Japanese born in a
foreign country have the right at the age of fifteen to decide whether
they will become subjects of Japan or of the country of their birth;
they must, however, first get the consent of their parents before giving
up their citizenship in Japan.
Patriotic Americans should no longer think of Hawaii as she was eighteen
years ago at the time of annexation. Then the Japanese labourer on the
sugar plantations was an alien and un-American. Now he is a factor and
his children a greater factor in the American civilization of the
Pacific!
Moreover, to show how American and patriotic most of the islanders are,
I give an account of the celebration of Washington's Birthday, when a
splendid parade took place. It included the military and naval forces of
the Islands, as well as Hawaiians, Chinese and Japanese--all helping to
make it a success.
The native police led the procession on horseback. In quick succession
the troops of the cavalry rode by, saluting the Governor as they passed
the reviewing stand. The First Field Artillery followed, with their
guns. Then the "Dough Boys"--as the infantry men are called--companies
from the Second and the Twentieth United States Infantry; after these
came the bluejackets from the four United States warships lying in the
harbour, with their field pieces, each manned by a gun crew; then the
marines and the Red Cross brigade. The cadets of the school for young
Hawaiians and the National Guard of Hawaii presented a fine military
appearance.
One of King Kalakaua's descendants, Prince Kuhio, and his brother's son,
little Prince Kalakaua, were among the leaders; also the so-called
Island Princesses, all on horseback. They were chosen to represent the
five large islands, and had escorts of young girls on horseback dressed
in the pau, followed by some lively cowboys on ponies.
Then came the floats, from which confetti were thrown. One float
represented an elaborate tableau of a battle between the new Chinese
republic and the old Manchu dynasty. Some took the part of the new army
with their modern uniforms, and others in the old costumes lay very
realistically dead behind their guns.
As evening came on the Japanese people began to assemble in the park
down in the Oriental quarter, and from there marched to the palace
grounds, then past the four American battleships at the docks, where
they gave their _banzai_ for the sailors, and were given in return a
hearty American "three cheers," showing the good feeling between the two
countries.
In view of the strategic value of the Islands, which, for more than
fifty years, American naval officers have endeavoured to impress upon
our Government, it is pleasant to learn of the loyalty and whole-hearted
Americanism of the people of Hawaii. If Oahu, Guam and the Panama Canal
are well fortified and sufficient numbers of troops and warships are
stationed at these posts they will protect our Pacific coast better
than any number of harbour defenses.
And now, with the banzai of these newest Americans ringing in our ears,
we must say our "_Aloha_," to these dream Islands, almost too perfect to
be real. We say farewell, but the Spell of Hawaii will always be upon
us.
[Illustration: PHILIPPINE ISLANDS]
THE PHILIPPINES
CHAPTER I
MANILA AS WE FOUND IT
High on the bridge of the Pacific Mail Steamer _Siberia_ we stood as we
passed through the Boca Chica--the narrow channel--into the historic
waters of Manila Bay. On one side was the mountainous island of
Corregidor, rising steeply out of the sea and masking in its tropic
growth many batteries and guns, on the other was the splendid mountain,
Mariveles, and in the distance fine ranges rising from the sparkling
ocean. Far away on the horizon, across the huge bay, lay Manila, the
capital of the Philippine Islands.
Three weeks before we had left Hawaii, two days later we had steamed by
Midway Island. Then we passed a few days in Japan, and coasted along the
superb island of Formosa, rightly named "the beautiful"--where great
mountains dipped down into the still sea--and now we were entering the
Philippines, the real objective point of the official party--there were
eight of us--in which we were so fortunate as to be included. We were
at last going to see the interesting results of Spanish rule for three
centuries, upon which were being grafted all the energy and scientific
and social knowledge of the twentieth-century American.
Although both Hawaii and the Philippines are under American rule, they
are like different worlds. The Land of the Palm and Pine is a much
bigger problem for the United States than Hawaii. The latter is nearer
home, a smaller group of islands, and is quite Americanized. It is the
commercial hub of the Pacific, an important coaling station, an outlying
protection for the California coast. The natives are of Polynesian
extraction and American education; they are quite unlike the Filipinos
in character, who are Malaysian and have had centuries of Spanish
influence. The Filipinos clamour for independence, the Moros and the
wild tribes must be carefully handled, while the Hawaiian is contented
with his lot. Besides the necessity of maintaining an army in the
Philippines so far from home, one hundred and one other difficulties are
to be considered. With these facts in mind, we looked forward to
interesting experiences in the Islands, and we were not disappointed.
[Illustration: GOVERNOR GENERAL CAMERON FORBES.]
As we approached Manila, some small scout boats, all flag bedecked,
came out and joined us, and fell in behind in procession, then larger
boats, one bringing the excellent Constabulary Band, which played gaily.
Another, which had officials on board, exchanged greetings with us
across the water, and others with unofficial people added their welcome.
Quarantine was made easy, and all difficulties with customs officials
were spared us. When we reached the dock it was massed with the people
who had landed from the boats and with crowds from the town.
At once Governor General Cameron Forbes came on board to greet the
Secretary of War, and then followed a reception, the guests ranging from
the apostolic delegate in his robes, the consular officials and insular
officers, and the army and navy in spotless gold-braided uniforms, to
the leading citizens, very intelligent looking and well mannered, and
members of the Assembly. The dock was lined with troops, who paid the
military honours.
After the reception on shipboard the Secretary and Mrs. Dickinson and
the official members of the party were whirled off in autos, with a
squadron of cavalry clattering along as escort. Another motor was
waiting for us, and we soon joined the procession as it moved to the
palace.
We were much interested in the sights in the streets. There were
numbers of _carromatos_, little covered two-wheeled carriages, drawn by
stocky Filipino ponies. The streets in this part of the town are wide,
and the houses have overhanging balconies, in Spanish style. In honour
of the Secretary, the buildings were draped with flags. Near the wharf
the land had lately been filled in, and great docks were in
construction. There was a new boulevard near the old Luneta, and an
avenue named after President Taft, besides a big hotel and a hospital
that had then just been finished. The harbour was filled with vessels,
electric cars were running, and autos were to be seen, so at first it
all looked quite up to date, until you met a carabao slowly swaying down
the street, hitched to a two-wheeled cart, with a brown boy in red
trousers, _piña_ shirt and a big straw hat sitting on his back--"carry
boy," as Secretary Dickinson named the animal. The "carry boys" do not
like white people, and sometimes charge them, stamping and goring them
with their horns, but a small Filipino boy seems to have perfect control
of them, and if they are allowed occasionally to wade in a puddle, which
cools them off, they do not "go _loco_," or crazy.
It was in the palace of Malacañan, or Government House, as it is
sometimes called, that Secretary and Mrs. Dickinson and ourselves
stayed with the Governor General. This is a large, rambling structure in
a garden by the Pasig River. Under the porte-cochère we entered a stone
hall, off which were offices, then went up a long flight of stairs to a
big hall looking into a court. This hall was hung with oil paintings of
Spanish governors, quite well done by native artists, and in the center
stood a huge one-piece table of superb _nara_ wood, covered with
gleaming head-axes and spears, _bolos_, _krisses_, _campilans_, and
_lantankas_, used by the wild tribes and Moros.
Our rooms were large and empty, as was the entire palace--indeed, so are
all the houses on account of the heat. The polished floors, too, are
made of huge planks, sometimes of such valuable tropical woods as
rosewood and mahogany, and are left bare. It took a little time to
accustom ourselves to the hard beds with rattan bottoms, covered only by
two sheets. They were carved and four-posted, and draped with mosquito
netting. Two little brown lizards squeaked at us in a friendly manner,
and crept down the walls, out of curiosity, no doubt, little ants kept
busily crawling across the room in a line, and the mosquitoes that hid
in my clothes in the rack during the daytime buzzed about at night. The
heat was great, notwithstanding the electric fan, but the sliding
screens that formed the sides of the room gave us some relief. These
shutters are like Japanese _shoji_, made of small panes of an opalescent
shell to soften the intensity of tropic sunlight, with green slit bamboo
shades pulled halfway down.
When I used to write or read I sat on my rattan bed under the mosquito
netting; there I could look out of the parted sides of the house to the
red hibiscus border of the garden stretching along the narrow Pasig.
Boatmen, in conical straw hats, perched at the ends of their _bancas_,
paddled the hollowed-out logs rapidly through the water, or floated idly
by, smoking their cigarettes; these boats were loaded to the gunwale
with green grasses, and had canopies of matted straw. Launches, too,
came chugging past, towing the big high poops covered with
straw-screened _cascos_. Over beyond the river was a flat all in a green
tangle, with the thatched _nipa_ houses on their stilts. For the palace
stands outside the more thickly settled parts of the city, which in turn
surround the walled town.
[Illustration: _The Pasig River_]
Manila to-day is a curious mixture of native _nipa_ shacks and old
Spanish churches and forts with the up-to-date American buildings and
improvements. There are the different quarters, as in all cities of
the Orient--Chinese, native and so on--and each has its own distinctive
sights. The street smells, which are never lacking in a city, reminded
us of India.
The walled city has picturesque gates breaking through the old gray
battlements--the massive wall was begun in 1590--and ancient sentry
houses at the corners, while behind rise the white balconies of old
convents and monasteries, and buildings now used for government
purposes, and towers of churches. The old moats have been filled up for
sanitary reasons and are being made into wide sweeps of lawn and flower
gardens, and the famous Malecon, the drive beneath the city walls, which
was once upon the sea front, has been removed too far inland by the
filling of the harbour to retain its old charm.
"Intramuros" (within the walls) more than half the land belongs to the
Church, and church buildings abound. These are really inferior, compared
with those we saw in Mexico, but some of them are very old. The
Augustinian Church, finished in 1605, has enormously thick walls and a
stone crypt of marvelous strength.
In the center of the town is Plaza McKinley, but the main business
street is the narrow Escolta, made to look still narrower by the
overhanging second stories of the buildings.
We visited the botanical gardens, a shaded park with winding paths
beneath acacias and mango trees. We drove, too, through the narrow
streets of the suburb of San Miguel, where we looked into tangled
gardens of tropical plants, behind which were houses with broad verandas
and wide-opening sides, covered by a wonderful screen of a sort of mauve
morning glory, which blooms, however, all day long.
The native houses are built of bamboo with braided grass walls and
thatched roofs, and are raised on stilts because of the rainy season. We
went to order some embroidery one day of a Tagalog woman. Climbing a
ladder into a small house, we saw the whole family sitting on the floor,
working over a long frame. In some of these shacks they have a small
room for visitors, with chairs and a table, and cheap prints of the
Virgin on the walls. Under the house are kept usually a pig and a pony.
One woman was very successful--she not only had waist patterns to show
and to sell, but had a standing order from Marshall Field, in Chicago.
We also visited a still more prosperous embroidery house, built of
stucco, with a courtyard. These people were Spanish _mestizos_.
A visit to the cigarette factory to which we were taken by Mr. Legarda
showed us one of the characteristic industries of the city and gave us
an idea of the deftness and quickness of those who are employed in this
work. The little women who pack the cigarettes can pick up a number of
them and tell in a twinkle by the feeling just how many they hold, and
the cigar wrappers work with greatest rapidity and sureness and make a
perfect product. It was all very clean and fresh, with hundreds of
employees in the large, airy rooms. A band played as we went through the
building, and we had a generous luncheon and received innumerable
presents from the managers.
Opportunity was given us for sundry little exploring trips into the
suburbs of Manila.[11] We rode on horseback, in company with Secretary
Dickinson, Governor Forbes and General Edwards, among little native
shacks, through overgrown lanes beyond the city, and along the beach,
where we saw fishermen's huts and men mending their nets, to the Polo
Club. The Governor, who was most generous in giving money of his own to
benefit the Islands, not only built the clubhouse and laid out the field
at his own expense, but even imported Arabian horses and good Western
ponies. This club is a fine thing to keep army officers in good
condition and give them exercise and amusement, as well as to bring good
horses into the Islands. The clubhouse, of plaited grasses, bamboo and
wood, is on the edge of the beach, from which one can see the beautiful
sunsets across the bay and catch the faint line of the mountains in the
distance. It all seemed very far-away and tropical and enchanting.
The English-speaking residents of Manila have various other clubs, among
which the Army and Navy, the English, and the University are perhaps the
most important. The Officers' Club, at Fort McKinley (seven miles from
Manila) has a superb situation, commanding a fine view of the mountains.
As we landed in Manila early Sunday morning, we were in time for service
in the Episcopal cathedral, which had just been built. This is a
handsome building in the Spanish style, large and airy, with an
effective altar. It was erected by an American friend of Bishop Brent,
the Episcopal bishop, who has done fine work in the Islands. According
to a story that is related of this good man, he made a journey at one
time into the interior of Luzon, where he found the natives sadly in
need of instruction in ways of personal cleanliness. As soon as he
reached the mail service again, he wrote to America for a ton of soap,
which was duly shipped to him and used for the purification of the
aborigines.
I was glad to visit also Bishop Brent's orphan school, consisting
principally of American-mestizo children. The native women, when
deserted by their white lovers, generally marry natives, who often
ill-treat these half-white children, and sometimes sell them as slaves.
Miss Sibley, of Detroit, was in charge of this school, which was in a
big, comfortable house near the native shacks on the edge of the town,
and had twelve pupils at that time.
A convent of Spanish nuns on a small island in the river, interested me
greatly. It was then under the supervision of the government, for it was
at that time not only a convent but also a poorhouse, a school for
orphans, an asylum for insane men and women, and a reformatory for bad
boys. The embroidery done at the convent was better than that made by
the natives in their houses, as the thread used was finer. The nuns
charged more than the natives, but they would also cut and sew, thus
finishing the garments. Articles embroidered by native women were never
made up by them, but had to be taken to a Chinese tailor.
The linen must first be bought, however, so I tried to do a little
shopping in the city, but found it very unsatisfactory. The shops are
poor, and, as one traveler has said, you can get nothing you want in
them, but plenty of things you don't want, for which you can pay a very
high price.
One day I was taken to a cockpit, where a cockfight was to come off.
This is one of the characteristic amusements of the Filipinos, which
they have engaged in since the year 1500. It is so popular that it would
be difficult to put a stop to it all at once, but it has been restricted
by the government to Sundays and legal holidays, which is something of a
victory. (They are also passionately fond of horse racing, in regard to
which other restrictions have been made.) Outside, beggars, old and
blind, were crawling over the ground; natives strolled around, petting
their birds, which they carried under their arms; and vendors with dirty
trays of sweetmeats wandered about. We bought our tickets and passed
into the rickety amphitheater.
Cocks were crowing, and such a howling as went on, the audience all
looking toward us as we entered. It seemed as if they were angry with us
for stepping into the arena, and yet there was no other way to reach the
seats. Our guides pointed to a shaky ladder that led into a gallery, but
we preferred to sit far back in the chairs about the pit. There were
natives, Chinese, and mestizos present. We soon discovered that they
were not angry with us, but we had entered at a moment when the betting
was going on, and the cocks in the ring were so popular that there was
great excitement.
Each cock was allowed to peck the neck of the other and get a taste of
blood, while they were still held under their owners' arms. The fighting
cocks did not look quite like ours. They were armed for the fray with
sharp "slashers" attached to their spurs. When the betting had subsided
the cocks were left to themselves in the ring, and they generally went
for each other at once. What a hopping and scuttling! Feathers flew, the
crowd cheered, and the cocks went at each other again and again until
they were hurt or killed. The referee then decided upon the victor.
Sometimes the cocks did not seem to interest the crowd, and then their
owners would take them out of the ring before fighting; at times the
cocks refused to fight. It was not so exciting as I had expected, and
when we considered that the birds were to be eaten anyway, it did not
seem so cruel and terrible as I thought it would.
Speaking of cocks being eaten, the principal foods of the Filipinos are
fowls and eggs, as well as rice, fish and carabao meat, but as the
"carry-boys" are good workers they are not often eaten. Pigs are kept by
the Filipinos, and are put on a raised platform for about six weeks
before killing, so as to keep them clean and fatten them with good food.
Salads, crawfish and trout, as well as cocoanut milk, red wine and wild
coffee, are among the things they live on. Army people in the Islands
often have, in addition, wild deer and wild boar which are shot by the
American officers, besides excellent game birds, such as the minor
bustard, jungle fowl, wild chicken, quail, snipe and duck.
[Illustration: MALACAÑAN PALACE.]
I was asked to receive with the Secretary and Mrs. Dickinson and General
and Mrs. Edwards, at the Governor General's reception at Malacañan,
where we stood in line and shook hands with some seventeen hundred
persons. It was a remarkable scene. The palace, which opens up
handsomely, and the terrace overhanging the river, were outlined by a
myriad electric lights, while launches came and went with guests, and
the Philippine Constabulary Band played in the interior court. The papal
delegate was there in his canonicals, with his accompanying monsignors,
and barefooted friars in cowls. There were foreign consuls in their
uniforms, and many Filipina women, with pretty manners and dainty ways,
some in their native dress, which is so quaint and gaily coloured.
Insurrecto generals came, too, who looked like young boys, and members
of the high courts, very wise and dignified.
After most of the guests had arrived, there was a _rigodon_ of honour,
in which all took part. The rigodon is the dance of the Filipinos, and
of so much importance to them that it was considered essential that the
Secretary and his party should be able to join in it. Accordingly, we
had all practised it on the ship before reaching Manila. It is said that
ex-President Taft won much of his way into the hearts of these island
people by his skill and evident delight in this dance, which is
something like a graceful and dignified quadrille, with much movement
and turning.
To show that traveling in an official party is not "all play and no
work," I may just note the program carried out by the men on the day
following this reception. Rising at six o'clock and taking an early
breakfast, they went on board the commanding general's yacht and cruised
across Manila Bay to visit the new defenses on the island of Corregidor,
which rises a sheer five hundred feet out of the water. For hours they
moved from one place to another in the heat, inspecting huge guns and
mortars and barracks and storehouses, all hidden away so as not to be
seen from the sea, although great gashes in the cliffs showed where the
trolley roads and the inclined planes ran. It is really the key to our
possessions in the Far East. Thousands of men were working like ants all
over the place. It was two o'clock before the party reached the tip-top,
where they had a stand-up luncheon at the quarters of the commanding
officer. Then they came back to the yacht, and fairly tumbled down just
wherever they happened to be for a siesta. They were then taken to
Cavite, ten miles away, which is one of the two naval stations. There
they landed again and visited the picturesque old Spanish fortifications
and the quarters.
[Illustration: MRS. ANDERSON IN FILIPINA COSTUME.]
A _baile_, or ball, was given in honour of the Secretary by the
Philippine Assembly, at their official building, where all the ladies of
our party wore the Filipina dress. This is ordinarily made of piña
cloth, a cheap, gauzy material, manufactured from pineapple fiber. The
waist, called _camisa_, is made with winglike sleeves and a stiff
kerchief-like collar, named _panuela_. The skirt may be of any material,
quite often a handsome brocade, and among the Tagalogs a black silk
open-work apron finishes the costume. The white suits and uniforms of
the men and the bright-coloured dresses made this ball a gay and lively
scene. The band played incessantly, and after the Secretary and Mrs.
Dickinson had stopped receiving at the head of the stairs, there was a
rigodon, which we all danced in as stately a manner as we could. But my
most vivid recollection of the ball is of the heat and the pink
lemonade, which poisoned a hundred people and made me deadly ill all
that night.
The Governor General gave a big dinner for the Secretary of War at the
palace one evening. We assisted also at the opening of the new
theater--which is called the finest in the Far East--at which Marshall
Darrach gave recitations from Shakespeare. I must not forget the gala
performance at the new theater, too, which was arranged by the society
people of the city. All the performers were amateurs, so we rather
dreaded the evening, which promised to be interminable, but everything
was so good that the time passed quickly. The little ladies sang quite
acceptably, and played the violin and the piano; and a lot of tiny tots,
children of the best people, gave an amusing vaudeville that really was
exceedingly funny and was much applauded. We could hardly believe that
it was all amateur.
The Government Dormitory for Girls, which we visited, I found most
interesting. There were one hundred and fifty, eight sleeping in each
room. These girls came from different provinces all over the Islands. As
there are so many distinct dialects, some of them could understand one
another only in English, and no other language is allowed to be spoken.
One of the girls made a speech in English welcoming the Secretary and
did it extremely well. Having learned, among other things, to cook, they
gave us delicious tea and cakes and candies on a half-open veranda among
the vines and Japanese lanterns. Some were taking the nurses' course,
which seemed to be the most popular. These pretty girls danced for us in
their stiff, bright-coloured costumes, swaying and waving their hands,
and turning and twirling in their languid but dignified manner. It
appeared to be a mixture of a Spanish and a native dance, and was
altogether quite charming.
A morning with Mr. Worcester at the Bureau of Science was most
delightful. This bureau is so much more than a museum of scientific
specimens that I cannot begin to do justice to it in a single paragraph.
It was started at first as a Bureau of Government Laboratories in charge
of the chemical and biological work of the government, the departments
of zoölogical and botanical research were subsequently added, and
finally the Bureau of Ethnology and the Bureau of Mines were
incorporated with it. Not only were all these departments coördinated
under one head, preventing overlapping and securing economy and
efficiency of administration, but this work was correlated with that of
the Philippine General Hospital and the College of Medicine and Surgery.
When this comprehensive plan was formed all the scientific work of the
government was carried on in "a hot little shack," and the scheme was
commonly referred to as "Worcester's Dream," but at the time of our
visit the dream had come true. The departments were manned by thoroughly
trained men from the States, and the Bureau of Science was one of the
world's greatest scientific institutions.
The Philippine Bureau of Science "is now dead." When the Democratic
Administration took charge it was announced that all theoretical
departments, such as ethnology, botany, ornithology, photography and
entomology (!) were to be "reduced or eliminated." It was afterward made
plain that all work which was considered practical would be continued,
but the mischief had been done, the men who made the institution had
left, and under present conditions it is impossible to secure others who
are equally competent in their place. Our only consolation is to be
derived, as Mr. Worcester himself says, "from contemplating the fact
that pendulums swing."
Though so recently established, the museum contained in 1910 a wonderful
exhibit of the plants and animals of the Islands. We took a peep into
the butterfly room, where we admired some rare and lovely ones with a
feathery velvet sheen the colour of the sea. We saw also the huge brown
Atlas moth touched with coral, like a cashmere shawl, with eyes of
mother-of-pearl on his wings. We noticed that the females were larger
than the males, and even those of the same variety often differed
greatly in colour. In one case a female was big, and brown and violet
in colour, while her mate was small, and blue and yellow.
In the next room were beetles, some of which were like the matrix of
turquoise, and others had shimmering, changeable shades of green and
bronze. There were beetles like small turtles, and long, horned beetles
like miniature carabaos.
Afterward we visited the birds. Bright-coloured sun birds, with long
beaks, which feed on the honey of flowers; clever tailor birds, small
and brown, with green heads and gray breasts, which sew leaves together
with vegetable fiber to make their nests; birds of whose nests the
Chinese make their famous soup, and the blue kingfishers, of whose
brilliant feathers these same Chinese make jewelry; fire-breasted birds,
too, and five-coloured birds. There were birds that build their nest
four feet or more under the ground, and hornbills, that wall up their
wives in holes in the trees while they are hatching their eggs, the
males bringing them food and dropping it through a small opening. There,
too, I saw the fairy bluebird.
Near by, we visited an orchid garden, and passed under gates and bamboo
trellises dripping with every kind of orchid. The Philippines are the
paradise of these remarkable plants, and many are the adventures that
collectors of them have had in the interior of these Islands.
Then we passed into the Jesuit chapel and museum. We were greeted at the
door by several black-robed priests, who smiled and bowed and talked all
at once. They escorted us first to the museum, where there were cases of
shells--heart-shaped shells, trumpet shells, scalloped shells big enough
for a bathtub--all kinds of shells, and the paper nautilus, which is not
a shell but an egg case. Then there were land shells, polished red and
green, Venus' flower baskets, exquisite glass sponges, corals of all
kinds--fine branches of the red and the white--and an enormous turtle
that weighed fifteen hundred pounds.
In the cases at the side of the room were animals of the country--flying
monkeys, with sucking pads on their toes to help them climb the trees,
big, furry bats and flying lizards. A tiny buffalo, which was discovered
only a few years ago up in the hills, and a small spotted deer were in
the collection. A big monkey-catching eagle, white and brown, was here,
and the paroquet that carries leaves for her nest in her red tail, as
well as a pigeon with ruffs of green and blue about her neck, and a
bald crown, which was caused, the natives say, by flying so high that
her head hit the sky.
Numerous entertainments and receptions were crowded into that too short
visit to Manila. July 25th had been declared a national holiday. A
musical program was given in honour of the Secretary by five thousand
Manila school children. One afternoon Mrs. Dickinson received some of
the Filipina ladies, who sang and played on the piano quite well.
Another day the officers and ladies at Fort McKinley entertained the
party at luncheon at the Officers' Club. Before luncheon there was a
military review in which the troops from all over the islands
participated, followed by some good shell firing out in the chaparral,
as under war conditions, and a display of wireless work. A special drill
was given by Captain Tom Anderson--the son of General Anderson--whose
company was one of the best drilled in the army, and went through the
manual and marching with only one order given, counting to themselves in
silence the whole seventeen hundred counts, all in perfect unison.[12]
In the Secretary of War's speech that afternoon he took occasion to say,
"General Duvall, you have not said too much in favour of the Army. You
have not overdrawn the picture, for a steadier moving column or brighter
eyed men and a more soldierly set of men I have never seen anywhere."
The reception by General and Mrs. Duvall was a brilliant affair, chiefly
of the army and navy. The handsome house with its wide verandas stood in
a garden overlooking Manila Bay.
On the Luneta there was, one evening, the largest gathering that had
assembled on that historic plaza since the days of the "Empire," for the
Secretary of War was expected to be there. The people hoped that he
brought with him a proclamation of immediate independence to be
announced at that time. The Luneta had once been at the edge of the
water, but a great space had been filled in beyond it, and buildings
were going up--a large hotel, which would make all the difference in the
world to tourist travel in the Philippines, and a huge Army and Navy
Club--so that it was planned to remove the Luneta farther out some day,
again to the water's edge. On this particular evening, the oval park was
crowded with picturesque people, almost all the men in white, the
soldiers in their trig khaki, and the women in their gaily coloured
dresses and panuelas. Rows of carriages circled round and round, as the
two bands played alternately. After a time we left our automobiles and
walked in the throng. A magnificent sunset was followed by the gorgeous
tints of the afterglow, and dusk came on and evening fell while we
watched and were watched. Soon a thousand electric lights, that were
carried in rows around the plaza and over the kiosks of the bands,
sparkled out in the darkness. The beauty of the scene, the animation of
the crowd, driving or walking in groups, and the refreshing coolness
after the heat of the day, made this a lasting memory.
CHAPTER II
THE PHILIPPINES OF THE PAST
How have the Philippines come to present such a unique combination of
Spanish and Malay civilization? Let us look into their past. We find for
the early days myths and legends, preserved by oral tradition. Two
quaint stories told by the primitive mountain people, which show how
they believe the Islands first came into being and how the first man and
woman entered into this world, are worth transcribing for their naïve
simplicity:
"A long time ago there was no land. There were only the sea and the sky.
A bird was flying in the sky. It grew tired flying. It wanted something
to rest upon. The bird was very cunning. It set the sea and sky to
quarreling. The sea threw water up at the sky. The sky turned very dark
and angry. Then the angry sky showered down upon the sea all the
Islands. That is how the Islands came."
This second tale is even more child-like:
"A great bamboo grew on one of the Islands. It was very large around,
larger than any of the others. The bird lit on the ground and began to
peck the bamboo. A voice inside said, 'Peck harder, peck harder.' The
bird was frightened at first, but it wanted to know what was inside. So
it pecked and pecked. Still the voice said, 'Peck harder, peck harder.'
At last a great crack split the bamboo from the bottom to the top. Out
stepped a man and a woman. The bird was so frightened that it flew away.
The man bowed very low to the woman, for they had lived in different
joints of the bamboo and had never seen each other before. They were the
first man and woman in the world."
These natives believe there are good and evil spirits, and they invoke
the agency of the latter to explain the mystery of death. They say the
first death occurred when the evil spirit lightning became angry with
man and hurled a dangerous bolt to earth.
The first suggestion of real history is found in the traditions that
tell of Malays from the south who came and settled on these islands. It
is said a race of small black people were already here--the
Negritos--who resembled the African negroes, and who retired into the
hills before the invaders.
Next we hear of a Mohammedan priest who came to the southern
Philippines and gave the people his religion. His followers have to this
day been called Moros.
It was more than two centuries before Captain Cook visited Hawaii, that
white men discovered the Philippines. Magellan, the famous Portuguese
navigator, while sailing in the service of Spain, landed on Mindanao and
Cebu, and took possession of the group in the name of the Spanish king.
Before starting from Seville on this voyage around the world, Magellan
had already spent seven years in India and sailed as far as Sumatra, so
he already knew this part of the world. This time he was in search of
the Spice Islands and of a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean. He had touched first at Teneriffe and then crossed the Atlantic
to Brazil, making his way along the coast of South America. There were
many hardships and difficulties to contend with, and mutiny in the fleet
resulted in several deaths. But, as we all know, he persevered, and on
the 15th of October, 1520, discovered the straits which were named after
him.
The Ladrones were reached after fourteen tedious weeks, and on St.
Lazarus' day, in 1521, the Philippines were sighted and named by him for
the saint. In the early times they were sometimes referred to by the
Spaniards as the Eastern, and later as the Western, Islands. They were
finally named the Philippines by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, after his
king, Philip the Second.
Magellan was quite unlike Captain Cook, whose visit to Hawaii has been
mentioned. He was a nobleman and full of the religious enthusiasm that
fired the Spaniards of his day. He was accompanied by several friars,
who at once began missionary work among the natives, and only a week
after his arrival the Cebuan chief and his warriors were baptized into
the Christian faith. Unfortunately, Magellan took sides with the Cebuans
in their warfare against a neighbouring tribe, and in the battle he was
killed. After his death, the same chieftain turned on Magellan's
followers, but some escaped to their ships. Out of two hundred and fifty
men who had set sail three years before, only eighteen, after suffering
incredible hardships on the long journey by way of India and the Cape of
Good Hope, returned safely to Spain.
The next explorer who touched at the Islands was the Englishman, Sir
Francis Drake, of Spanish Armada fame, who sailed in 1570 on a voyage
round the world. We also hear of another Briton, William Dampier, a
noted free-booter, who, in 1685, tried to cross the Isthmus of Panama
with Captain Sharp. Three times he sailed round the world, and touched
at the northern as well as the southern Philippine Islands.
Magellan, Drake and Dampier gave the western world much knowledge of the
Far East, but did not remain long enough in the Islands to have any
great or lasting influence over the natives. The work of civilizing them
was left to Legaspi and the Spanish friars, who were the first real
settlers.
In 1565, the Philippines were occupied by an expedition under Miguel
Lopez de Legaspi, _alcalde_ of the City of Mexico, who was charged to
open a new route to Java and the Southern Islands. On his return voyage
he was to examine the ports of the Philippines, and, if expedient, to
found a colony there. In any case he was to establish trade with the
Islands. The viceroy of Mexico charged him that the friars with the
expedition were to be treated with the utmost consideration, "since you
are aware that the chief thing sought after by His Majesty is the
increase of our holy Catholic faith and the salvation of the souls of
those infidels."
Cebu was occupied, and Manila was taken and made the seat of
government. The occupation of the Islands was not exactly by force of
arms, for there was no fighting, although they found the islands well
populated and the people more or less armed. The natives seemed to
recognize and submit to a better government and religion than they had
ever known. The reports of the Spaniards of the time speak of the
success of small expeditions of perhaps a hundred men, who took over
whole provinces. These soldiers were accompanied by Spanish priests, who
settled among the people, preaching Christianity in the native tongues.
The friars persuaded them to give up their continual feuds and submit to
the central authority which the friars represented.
Legaspi brought with him from Mexico four hundred Spanish soldiers.
Later eight hundred more arrived, and civilian Spaniards, both married
and single, sailed to the Islands as settlers. In 1591, according to the
records of Spanish grants, there were 667,612 natives under Spanish
rule, and twenty-seven officials to enforce the laws and preserve order.
It was reported that in a majority of the grants there was peace,
justice and religious instruction. There were Augustinian, Dominican and
Franciscan friars as well as secular clergy. These men were not only
priests but also fighters and organizers, and did fine work for many
years, until long-continued possession of power gradually made the
orders corrupt and grasping.
Upon their first arrival, the Spaniards found the people established in
small villages, or _barangays_, where the chief lived surrounded by his
slaves and followers. It was considered wise to continue this system,
ruling the villages through the local chieftain, whom the Spaniards
called _cabeza de barangay_. Churches were erected, convent houses were
built about them, and the natives were urged to gather near by. It was
ordered that "elementary schools should be established, in which the
Indians will be taught not only Christian doctrine and reading and
writing but also arts and trades, so that they may become not only good
Christians but also useful citizens."
So at the end of the sixteenth century the Philippines were at peace.
The natives were allowed to move from one town to another, but they were
required to obtain permission, in order to prevent them from wandering
about without religious instruction. The tendency of the Malays is to
separate into small groups, and they have never been dwellers in large
towns. The Spanish priests, therefore, found a constant effort
necessary to keep them concentrated about the churches "under the
bells."
[Illustration: "UNDER THE BELLS."]
The fervour of religious reform which started in Germany was followed by
an equal fervour within the Roman Catholic Church. The period of Julius
II and Leo X was over; the Council of Trent had met. Ignatius Loyola had
seen his visions and sent forth his company, and Spain was full of
priests eager to serve God with the same stern energy which the previous
generation had shown in the search for lands and gold and fabulous gems.
No duty was so grave as that of conformity to the Church, no stigma so
galling as that of heretic. To convert the heathen was an obligation
binding upon all men. All Spanish colonies were missions; the
Philippines were always rather a mission than a colony.
Until the revolt of 1896, Spain never found it necessary to hold the
Islands by armed force; her dominion there was based rather on her
conquest of the minds and souls of men. There had been a few uprisings,
however, and early in the eighteenth century a Spanish governor and his
son were murdered by a mob. But notwithstanding occasional difficulties,
in the main there was peace until the civil service of the Philippines
was assimilated with that of Spain. Then officials became dependent upon
their supporters at home, and were changed with every change of the
ministry. Some Spaniard writing at the time said that with the opening
of the Suez Canal Spanish office holders descended on the Islands like
locusts.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the Spanish army had grown to
17,859 of all ranks, only 3,005 of whom were Spaniards, and there was a
constabulary of over 3,000 officers and men, who were almost entirely
natives. The rule of Spain was secured by a native army. There could
have been no widespread discontent, or that army would not have remained
true to its allegiance, especially as its recruits were obtained by
conscription.
The chronicles remind us, however, that the Spaniards did not have
things all their own way. In the early days, they were at first friendly
with the Chinese, and Mexico carried on a flourishing trade with China
by way of Manila until the pirate Li Ma Hong raided the Islands. The
Spaniards were on good terms with the Japanese until the latter
massacred the Jesuit friars in Japan. When the Shogun Iyeyasu expelled
the priests he sent away even those who were caring for the lepers, and
as a final insult, he sent to Manila three junks loaded with lepers,
with a letter to the governor general of the Philippines, in which he
said that, as the Spanish friars were so anxious to provide for the poor
and needy, he sent him a cargo of men who were in truth sore afflicted.
Only the ardent appeals of the friars saved these unfortunates and their
contaminated vessels from being sunk in Manila Bay. Finally the governor
yielded, and these poor creatures were landed and housed in the leper
hospital of San Lazaro, which was then established for their reception
and which remains to-day.
The Spanish governors were also hampered by the lack of effective
support from the older colony of Mexico, which was so much nearer than
the home land that they naturally turned to it for aid. One of them
wrote pathetically to the King of Spain:
"And for the future ... will your Majesty ordain that Mexico shall
furnish what pertains to its part. For, if I ask for troops, they send
me twenty men, who die before they arrive here, and none are born here.
And if I ask for ammunition, they laugh at me and censure me, and say
that I ask impossible things. They retain there the freight money and
the duties; and if they should send to this state what is yours, your
Majesty would have to spend but little from your royal patrimony."
The Portuguese were a source of anxiety to the colonists until Portugal
fell into the hands of Spain. The Dutch, too, who were growing powerful
in the Far East, even took Formosa, which brought them altogether too
near, but they were driven out of that island by the great Chinese
pirate Koxinga.[13]
From the time of Legaspi to the end of Spanish rule there were
occasional attacks upon the Chinese residing in the archipelago, who
were never allowed to live in the Islands without exciting protest and
dislike, based partly upon religious, partly upon commercial grounds.
During the last one hundred years of Spanish supremacy, the greatest
danger to their power was the presence of the Chinese. Efforts to
exclude them were never effective or long enduring, and yet it was felt
that the men who came as labourers and traders were the advance guard of
an innumerable host. In business the Malay has never been the equal of
the shrewd Chinaman, and although the latter might be converted and take
a Spanish name, yet it was always gravely suspected that a search would
find joss sticks smoldering in front of the tutelary deity of commerce
hidden behind the image of the Virgin in his chapel.
So the Chinaman, like the Jew in medieval Europe, carried on his trade
in constant danger of robbery and murder. This antipathy did not,
however, extend to Filipina women, many of whom married the foreigners.
Among the leaders in the Filipino insurrection against the United
States, Aguinaldo, two of his cabinet, nine of his generals, and many of
his more important financial agents were of Chinese descent.
In 1762 the English swooped down upon Manila, but they held the capital
only two years, for, by the Treaty of Paris, the lands they had taken
were returned to Spain. It is said the English conquest, brief as it
was, brought good results to the Islands.
Before going on to the struggle against the friars, I wish to quote
from my father's letters describing his experiences in the Philippines
twenty years before American occupation.
"At Sea, December 2, 1878.
"Yesterday I left Manila, where I have been since the 6th of last
month.... Our first days there were spent in firing salutes and
exchanging visits, and going through all the forms which are customary
when a government vessel comes into a foreign port. Admiral Patterson
sent me here to settle a stabbing affray on board the American barque
_Masonic_, and that took up my attention at first. In the evenings I
went to the opera, and visited the sights of the city. On account of
earthquakes, all the buildings are but one story high. The customs,
fashions, etc., are Spanish. Every one was polite and I found it very
pleasant; but, as you might expect, after a little while I grew
restless. I heard that there was some beautiful scenery in the interior,
and I resolved to go on an investigating trip and see it. Our
vice-consul, Mr. Yongs, and another gentleman went with me.
"From Manila we went in a boat up a short river, which had its rise in a
large lake, about twenty-five miles long, that we crossed in a steamer.
I think I never saw such quantities of two things as were on that
lake--namely, ducks and mosquitoes.
"From the lake we continued our journey in two-horse vehicles, like the
_volantes_ of Havana, and in these we went from village to village, on
our way to the mountains. We were very well treated. The Spanish
authorities at Manila provided us with whatever we required. The
villages were clusters of thatched huts around a church, and the
religion seemed to be a curious mixture of Roman Catholic Christianity
and pagan superstition, as I concluded from the style of the pictures
with which the churches were adorned. These were chiefly representations
of hell and its torments. Devils, with the traditional tails and horns,
and armed with pitchforks, were turning over sinners in lakes of burning
brimstone....
"We found the natives very musical; they sang and played on a variety of
instruments, and they were rather handsome. The women had, without
exception, the longest and most luxuriant hair I ever saw in all my
travels. You know it is a rare thing among us for a woman to have hair
that sweeps the ground, but here the exception is the other way; nearly
every woman I saw had hair between five and six feet in length.
"I was told that back among the mountains there existed tribes whom the
Spaniards have never been able to conquer, and no one dares to venture
among them, not even the priests. Our road was constantly ascending, and
as we advanced toward the interior the scenery became beautiful. Peaks
of mountains rose all about us; plains and valleys stretched out,
covered with tropical vegetation; picturesque villages, clustering
around their churches, were visible here and there; and in the distance
were glimpses of the sea, sparkling and bright in the sun.
"I was told of a wonderful ravine among the mountains that was worth
seeing and I decided to visit it, especially as it was a favourable
time; the river, by which it had to be approached, was then high, and
its fifteen cascades, which usually had to be climbed past, dragging the
canoe, were reduced to four. I took three natives with me, and we
ascended successfully. I have called it a ravine, but a gorge would be a
better term, for it is worn directly through the mountain by a large
river, and the rock rises up on each side, as sheer and straight as if
cut by machinery.
"After I had ascended a certain distance, I stopped for a time to
examine all the wild magnificence about me. The rocky wall on each side
was so high that when I looked up I could see the stars shining in that
bright noonday, as if it were night. Huge birds came flapping up the
gorge far above my head; and yet they were far below the top of the
mountain of rock. I do not know how many feet it rose, but I never saw
any precipice where the impression of height was so effectually
given--it seemed immense.
"Beneath us was the deep, broad stream, looking very dark in the
twilight that such a shadow made, and I could not help feeling
awestruck. But the opening of the gorge framed as smiling and cheerful a
landscape as could possibly be devised, to contrast with the inner
gloom. It was a wide, varied and splendid view of the country beyond,
sloping to the distant sea, and all of it as aglow with light and colour
as sea and land could be, beneath a tropic sun.
"Descending the river on our way out, I had a characteristic adventure,
which will make me satisfied for a time. We had passed two of the rapids
in safety, but as we approached the third, the canoe struck on a rock or
something in the current, bow on, and swinging round, half filled with
water. The natives in the end of the canoe nearest the rock sprang out
and clung to the vines which hung over its sides, but the other man and
I went over the fall in the half-swamped canoe, and were wholly at the
mercy of the stream, with an unusually good prospect of getting a good
deal more of it.
"The fall once passed through, the current drove us toward the shore, if
that is what you would call a precipice of rock, running straight down
far below the surface of the water. I succeeded in grasping the vines
and pulling the canoe after me by my feet. The water was quite close by
the rock, and the other two men, crawling down to us, hung on with me,
and bailed out the boat till it was safely afloat, and then we went down
the rest of the way without accident."
Before the middle of the last century, life in the Philippines must have
been, for Spaniards and natives alike, one long period of siesta. The
sound of the wars and the passing of governments and kings in Europe
must have seemed to these loiterers in a summer garden like the drone of
distant bees. After that period conditions changed rapidly. In 1852, the
Jesuits returned to the Philippines; in 1868, the reactionary Queen
Isabella II fled from Spain, because of the rise of republicanism; in
1869, the Suez Canal was opened. All these events had their influence,
but the return of the Jesuits was of dominating importance.
Throughout the nineteenth century the sole idea of the Tagals was to get
rid of the friars, and for several reasons, which I will explain as
briefly as possible. The Roman Catholic clergy are divided into regular
and secular. Members of the secular clergy are subordinate to the
bishops and archbishops, through whom the decrees of the Holy See are
promulgated. The regular clergy, monks and friars, are subordinate to
provincials elected for comparatively short terms of office by members
of their own order. The Jesuits form a group by themselves but belong
rather to the regular than the secular.
Over three hundred years after the conversion of the Filipinos, the
Spanish monks and friars considered it still unsafe to admit natives
into the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. _The secular clergy were
mostly natives, the regular clergy were Spaniards._ Naturally this
condition of affairs in time produced friction.
To understand the case in regard to the Jesuits, it is necessary to go
back nearly a century. In 1767, the King of Spain issued a decree
expelling the Jesuits from his possessions. Their property was
confiscated, their schools were closed, and they were treated as enemies
of the state. They had been among the earliest missionaries in the
Philippines, and were probably the wealthiest and most influential of
all the clergy there. Their departure left no priests for the richest
parishes in the provinces of Cavite and Manila, which had been their
sphere of influence. The question at once arose as to who would succeed
them, and as it happened, the Archbishop of Manila who had to answer it
was a member of the secular clergy, a Spanish priest to be sure, but of
liberal tendencies. Consequently, he filled the parishes with native
priests, who continued to occupy them until the return of the Jesuits.
Now the parish priest was the most influential man in the community. As
native priests used this influence to build up the prestige of the
seculars, the ecclesiastical feuds which arose became embittered by
racial antagonism.
When a royal order was received permitting the return of the Jesuits it
became at once necessary to find places for them in the ecclesiastical
government. Spain decided that the parishes of Cavite and Manila should
be henceforth filled by members of the order of Recollets, who were to
transfer their missions in Mindanao to the Jesuits. The Archbishop
protested against this increase in the power of the regular clergy, and
the Governor General assembled his council to act upon the protest. All
the members of the council who were born in Spain voted against the
Archbishop. All those born in the Philippines voted for him. The
regulars gained another victory over the seculars; the native was
publicly informed that he was not fit to administer the parishes of his
own people, and he saw himself definitely assigned to the position of
lay brother or of curate. Whatever threads of attachment there had been
between the opposing factions broke on the day of that decision, and
every native priest from that moment became a center of disaffection and
of the propaganda of hatred of the friars. This was perhaps the real
beginning of the movement which continued, now secretly, now openly,
until it broke out in actual revolt in 1872. The Spaniards put down this
uprising of the Tagalogs with such cruelty that they feared a later
retaliation, and sought help from the friars. This the friars gave them,
in return for added wealth and power, which was granted, of course, at
the expense of the vanquished natives.
Worcester writes in one of his earlier books, "During the years 1890-93,
while traveling in the archipelago, I everywhere heard the mutterings
that go before a storm. It was the old story: compulsory military
service; taxes too heavy to be borne, and imprisonment or deportation
with confiscation of property for those who could not pay them; no
justice except for those who could afford to buy it; cruel extortion by
the friars in the more secluded districts; wives and daughters ruined;
the marriage ceremony too costly a luxury for the poor; the dead refused
burial without payment of a substantial sum in advance; no opportunity
for education; little encouragement for industry and economy, since to
acquire wealth meant to become a target for officials and friars alike;
these and a hundred other wrongs had goaded the natives and half-castes
until they were stung to desperation."
The dissensions in the Philippines which ended in the rebellion of
1896-7 began with disagreements among the Spaniards themselves. A
progressive party arose before which the clerical or conservative party
slowly but steadily lost ground, and the legislation of modern Spain was
by degrees introduced into the Islands. The country was not able to
endure the taxation which would have been necessary to raise the
revenues to carry out this legislation. Hence laws which were passed
against the advice of the Spanish clergy in the Philippines were left
largely in their hands for execution, not because they were loved or
trusted, but because they were the only Spanish functionaries who knew
the language and the people and whose residence in the Islands was a
permanent one. If the friars had used their power wisely and
unselfishly, there would have been no trouble, but they used it too
often simply to keep the people down and extort money, for which they
gave little return.
By degrees the mestizos took sides. The Chinese mestizos soon grew
restive under this priestly government, and aided the progressive
Spanish party in Manila. As time passed they had it borne in upon them
that revolution might pay.
The insurrection of 1896-7 was planned and carried out under the
auspices of a society local to the Philippines, called the "Katipunan,"
the full title of which may be translated as "Supreme Select Association
of the Sons of the People." According to Spanish writers on the subject,
it was the outgrowth of a series of associations of Freemasons formed
with the expressed purpose of securing reforms in the government of the
Philippines, but whose unexpressed and ultimate object was to obtain
the independence of the archipelago. As if to accomplish this purpose,
a systematic attack was made on the monastic orders in the Philippines,
to undermine their prestige and to destroy their influence upon the
great mass of the population. The honorary president of the Katipunan
was José Rizal, whose name was used, without his permission, to attract
the masses to the movement.
Rizal was born in 1861 not far from Manila. He came of intelligent
stock. After his early training at the Jesuit school in Manila and the
Dominican university, Rizal went to Spain, where he took high honors at
the University of Madrid in medicine and philosophy. Post-graduate work
in France and Germany followed.
He was an ardent patriot, and in order to awaken his countrymen to the
need of reform, although he was a Roman Catholic, he published while in
Germany his book called "Noli Me Tangere,"--Touch Me Not--which dealt
with the immoral life of the friars. An English translation has been
issued with the title, "The Social Cancer." The circulation of the book
in the Islands was forbidden, but it was read by most of the educated
Filipinos. In reading it, one is again and again struck by the author's
clear comprehension of the needs and the difficulties of the Filipinos,
and the calm, unprejudiced way in which their problems are discussed.
[Illustration: JOSE RIZAL.]
In 1891, Rizal began the practice of medicine in Hongkong. Meanwhile,
the Spanish authorities, in their desire to get him into their power,
worked upon his feelings by persecuting his mother. The trick was
successful, and he returned to Manila, where he was soon arrested, and
banished to the island of Mindanao.
The most powerful leader of the insurrection was Andres Bonifacio, a
passionate and courageous man of little education. He sent an agent to
Dr. Rizal to aid him in escaping from his place of exile and to request
him to lead the Katipunan in open revolt. Rizal refused, believing that
the Filipinos were not yet ready for independence. Bonifacio resolved to
proceed without him.
Bonifacio assured his audience that when he gave the signal the native
troops would join them. It was of great importance to the success of his
plan that the army, as in 1872, was engaged in operations against the
Moros. There were available in Manila only some three hundred Spanish
artillery, detachments amounting to four hundred men, including seamen,
and two thousand native soldiers. The plot was discovered, but Bonifacio
escaped from Manila, and sent out orders for an uprising in that part
of Luzon which had been organized by the Katipunan. Manila was attacked,
but the rebels were repulsed. Martial law was proclaimed in eight
provinces of Luzon, followed by wholesale executions. Many of those
arrested on suspicion "were confined in Fort Santiago, one batch being
crowded into a dungeon for which the only ventilation was a grated
opening at the top, and one night the sergeant of the guard carelessly
spread his sleeping-mat over this, so the next morning some fifty-five
asphyxiated corpses were hauled away."
Just before the outbreak, Rizal received permission to join the army in
Cuba as surgeon, but on the way there was arrested and brought back to
Manila. His fate was now sealed. The trial by court-martial was a farce.
On a December day in 1896 he was led to execution.
Rizal was undoubtedly the noblest and most unselfish of the Filipino
leaders, and his execution was not only a crime but a blunder on the
part of the Spanish authorities. From his prison he issued an address to
the Filipinos remarkable for its moderation and its condemnation of the
"savage rebellion," stating that the education of the people must
precede any truly beneficial reforms, and urging them to go back to
their homes. The Spanish officials deemed this not sufficiently
"patriotic" to be published, and sentenced its author to the death of a
traitor by shooting in the back. To-day he is the national hero of the
Filipinos.
[Illustration: FORT SANTIAGO.]
The seacoast towns were under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, a
young radical, who was already a recognized leader among the local
disaffected. The Spaniards had not expected this outbreak in Cavite.
Aguinaldo had personally assured the governor of the province of his
devotion to Spain, but when fighting began isolated Spanish officers
were killed and their families carried into captivity. The difficulties,
of the Spaniards were increased by the fact that the defense of Manila
and Cavite until reinforcements arrived, would be largely in the hands
of native troops, among whom the Katipunan was known to have been at
work. But the troops of the old native regiments--the men who for years
had followed Spanish officers--were on the whole faithful, and it was
largely due to them that Manila and Cavite were held.
The leaders in the insurrection were of that class who called themselves
_ilustrados_, enlightened, a class whose blood is, in almost every case,
partly Spanish or partly Chinese. The supremacy of the friars was
passing, and men of this class intended to be the heirs to their
domain. The idea of forming a republic and even of adopting the titles
appropriate to a republic to designate the functionaries of a Malay
despotism was an afterthought.
Reinforcements arrived from Spain, and by June 10, 1897, the
insurrection was broken, and Aguinaldo with his remaining adherents had
taken refuge at Biacnabato, some sixty miles from Manila. He was now
without a rival, for Bonifacio had dared to attempt his life, had been
brought before a court-martial, had been condemned to death and had
disappeared.
Aguinaldo, who now called himself not only Generalissimo of the Army of
Liberation but President of the Revolutionary Government, had adopted
guerilla warfare, and the Spanish commands were forced to follow an
enemy who was never dangerous to large bodies, but who always was to
small ones--an enemy who, wearing no uniform, upon the approach of a
large body became peaceful labourers in the fields along the road, but
were ready to pick up their rifles or bolos and use them against a small
party or a straggler. Still, whatever they had fought for at first, the
insurgent leaders were now fighting for their own safety.
The governor general sought in various ways to gain the support of the
country. He called for Filipino volunteers, and, curiously enough, they
responded with enthusiasm. The rapidity with which they were recruited
was probably largely due to the activity of the friars. This added to
the hatred of them felt by the class of natives represented by
Aguinaldo.
Between June and December, 1897, the time was spent in an obscure
bargaining, the outcome of which was the so-called Treaty of Biacnabato,
which Primo de Rivera--the governor general--has stated was merely a
promise to pay a money bribe to the insurgents if they would cease a
combat in which they had lost hope of success but which they could still
prolong to the detriment of the resources and the prestige of Spain.
The result of the bargainings was that Spain agreed to pay eight hundred
thousand Mexican dollars for the surrender of Aguinaldo and his
principal leaders and the arms and ammunition in their possession. An
amnesty was proclaimed. Aguinaldo and his leaders were sent to Hongkong
under escort, where they declared themselves loyal Spanish subjects.
Primo de Rivera returned to Spain. As he received in return for the
money only about two hundred rifles and a little ammunition, it is not
probable that he made any of the promises of changes in the government
of the archipelago which the Filipinos have insistently stated since
then were the real objects of the agreement.
Whatever may have been the true motives which actuated the Spanish
governor general in adopting this method of terminating a successful
campaign, he succeeded in purchasing only an armistice and not a peace.
On January 23, 1898, a Te Deum was sung in the cathedral of Manila to
mark the reëstablishment of peace in the archipelago.
The insurgent leaders had been bought off and their followers had
surrendered their arms.
As Spanish dominion in the Philippines was now about to close, let us
stop a moment to inquire what it had brought to the Islands. It may have
been hard and utterly unprogressive, but it turned the tribes of Luzon
and the Visayas from tribal feuds and slave-raiding expeditions to
agriculture.
To accomplish these results required untiring energy and a high
enthusiasm among the missionaries. They had lived among savages,
speaking their tongue, until they had almost forgotten their own. Spain
had ceased to be everything to them; their order was their country.
Spanish officials came and went, but the ministers of the Church
remained, and as they grew to be the interpreters of the wants of the
people, in many cases their protectors against spoliation, power fell
into their hands. It is rather interesting to learn that in 1619, in the
reign of Philip III, it was proposed to abandon the Philippines on
account of their useless expense to Spain, but a delegation of friars
from the Islands implored him not to abandon the twenty thousand
Christians they had converted, and the order was countermanded.
Spanish dominion left the people Christians, whereas, if the Islands had
not been occupied by Spain, their people would in all probability to-day
be Mohammedan. The point of view of the Spanish friars may not be ours,
but when their efforts are judged by the good rather than the evil
results, it can still be said that Spain gave Christianity and a long
term of peace to the Philippine archipelago. The Filipinos are the only
Christian Asiatics.
But Philippine history was to take an unexpected turn. The
Spanish-American war broke out, and a new factor appeared upon the scene
in the shape of Commodore Dewey and his fleet. We all know the story of
the battle of Manila Bay, but we may just recall it briefly.
It was the night of April 30, 1898, that the American Asiatic squadron,
which had received its orders at Hongkong, arrived off the Philippines.
They took a look first into Subig Bay, but seeing no enemy, they made
their way into Manila Bay by the Boca Grande entrance. There were
rumours of mines in the channel and big guns in the forts, but Dewey
took the chance, and the fleet steamed in at night. The ships formed two
columns, the fighting ships all in one line, and the auxiliary vessels
about twelve hundred yards behind. They moved at the rate of their
slowest vessel.
Black thunder clouds at times obscured even the crescent moon that
partially lighted their course, but occasional lightning flashes gave
the bold Americans a glimpse of frowning Corregidor and the sentinel
rock of El Fraile. The ships were dark except for one white light at the
stern of each as a guide to the vessel next in line. As the _Olympia_
turned toward El Fraile her light was seen by a Spanish sentry. A sheet
of flame from the smokestack of the _McCulloch_, a revenue cutter
attached to the fleet, also betrayed its presence to the enemy at the
same moment. El Fraile and a battery on the south shore of the bay at
once opened fire, which was returned by the ships to such good purpose
that the battery was silenced in three minutes. Slowly, steadily,
Dewey's ships steamed on, and at dawn discovered the gray Spanish
vessels lying in front of the naval arsenal at Cavite, over on the
distant shore to the right. Admiral Montojo's flagship, the _Reina
Cristina_, and the _Castilla_, and a number of smaller vessels, formed a
curved line of battle, which was protected in a measure by the shore
batteries. The Spaniards had one more ship than the Americans, but the
latter had bigger guns.
Silently the American squadron advanced across the bay, with the Stars
and Stripes flying from every ship. At quarter past five on the morning
of May 1st, the Spanish ships fired their first shots. When less than
six thousand yards from their line, Dewey gave the famous order to
Captain Gridley, in command of the _Olympia_: "You may fire when you're
ready, Gridley."
Two hours later, the _Reina Cristina_ had been burned, the _Castilla_
was on fire, and all but one of the other Spanish vessels were abandoned
and sunk. Dewey gave his men time for breakfast and a little rest, then
shelled and silenced the batteries at Cavite. Soon after noon the
Spaniards surrendered, having lost 381 men and ten war vessels. Seven
Americans were slightly wounded, but none were killed. So ended this
famous battle.
CHAPTER III
INSURRECTION
Admiral Dewey took a great liking to General Anderson, "Fighting Tom"
(L.'s cousin), the first military officer to command the American forces
in the Philippines. On one occasion the Admiral fired a salute well
after sundown (contrary to naval regulations) to compliment him on his
promotion to the rank of major general, and scared the wits out of some
of the good people ashore. General Anderson has given me a few notes
about his experiences at that time, which are of special interest.
"When in the latter part of April, 1898, I received an order relieving
me from duty in Alaska and ordering me to the Philippines, I was engaged
in rescuing a lot of people who had been buried by an avalanche in the
Chilcoot Pass. I took my regiment at once to San Francisco, and there
received an order placing me in command of the first military expedition
to the Philippines. This was the first American army that ever crossed
an ocean. We were given only two days for preparation. We were not given
a wagon, cart, ambulance, or a single army mule, nor boats with which to
land our men. I received fifty thousand dollars in silver and was
ordered to render what assistance I could. I had never heard of
Aguinaldo at that time, and all I knew of the Philippines was that they
were famous for hemp, earthquakes, tropical diseases and rebellion.
"We stopped at Honolulu on the way over, although the Hawaiian Islands
had not been annexed. The Kanakas received us with enthusiasm and
assured us that the place was a paradise before the coming of the
missionaries and mosquitoes. From there we went to Guam, where we found
nude natives singing 'Lucy Long' and 'Old Dan Tucker,' songs they had
learned from American sailors.
"When we reached Cavite the last day of June, Admiral Dewey asked me to
go ashore and call on Aguinaldo, who, he assured me, was a native chief
of great influence. Our call was to have been entirely informal, but
when we approached the house of the Dictator we found a barefooted band
in full blare, the bass-drummer after the rule of the country being the
leader. The stairway leading to Aguinaldo's apartment was lined on
either side by a strange assortment of Filipino warriors. The Chief
himself was a small man in a very long-tailed frock coat, and in his
hand he held a collapsible opera hat. I saw him many times afterward and
always thus provided. He asked me at once if I could recognize his
assumption. This I could not do, so when a few days later I invited him
to attend our first Fourth of July he declined. He further showed his
displeasure by failing to be present at the first dinner to which we
American officers were invited. There for the first time we met Filipina
ladies. They were bare as to their shoulders, yet in some mysterious way
their dresses remained well in place. In dancing there was a continuous
shuffling on the floor because their slippers only half covered their
light fantastics, rendering them more agile than graceful.
"In returning from visiting the Tagalog Chief we saw a headless statue
of Columbus. I asked a native to explain how Christopher had lost his
head. The reply was that they beheaded him because they did not wish to
be discovered.
"Soon after I got to Cavite, I was invited with the officers of my staff
to attend a dinner given in my honour. At the symposium I was asked
to state the principles upon which the American government was founded.
I answered, 'The consent of the governed, and majority rule.'
Buencamino, the toastmaster, replied, 'We will baptize ourselves to that
sentiment,' upon which he emptied his champagne glass on his head. The
others likewise wasted their good wine.
[Illustration: A GROUP OF FILIPINA LADIES.]
"When General Merritt arrived he first came ashore at a village behind
the line we had established where Aguinaldo was making his headquarters.
Rain was falling in torrents at the time, but Aguinaldo, who must have
known of the presence of the new Governor General, failed to ask him to
take shelter in his headquarters. Naturally General Merritt was
indignant and directed that thereafter any necessary business should be
conducted through me. This placed me in a very disagreeable position. At
first I thought I could conciliate and use the Filipinos against the
Spaniards, but General Merritt brought an order from President McKinley
directing that we should only recognize the Filipinos as rebellious
subjects of Spain. Aguinaldo reproached me bitterly for my change of
conduct toward him, but because of my orders I could not do otherwise,
nor could I explain the cause.
"We soon drifted into open hostility. I found but one man who appeared
to understand the situation, and he was the much hated Archbishop
Nozaleda. After we took Manila he invited me to come to see him. He
remarked in the course of our conversation that when we took the city by
storm he expected to see our soldiers kill the men and children and
violate the women. But instead he praised us for having maintained
perfect order. For reply I quoted the Latin, '_Parcere subjectis, et
debellare superbos._' Which prompted him to say in Spanish to a Jesuit
priest, 'Why, these people seem to be civilized.' To which the Jesuit
replied, 'Yes, we have some colleges in their country.'
"The statement that we seemed to be civilized calls for an explanation.
I found many Filipinos feared American rule might prove more severe on
them than the Spanish control. In a school book that I glanced at in a
Spanish school was the enlightening statement that the Americans were a
cruel people who had exterminated the entire Indian population of North
America."
The battle of Manila Bay was fought and won, as we well remember, on May
Day. Through the kind offices of the British consul the Spanish admiral
came to an understanding with Dewey. Surgeons were sent ashore to
assist in the care of the wounded Spaniards, and sailors to act as
police. The cable was cut, and the blockade was carried into effect at
once. The foreign population was allowed to leave for China. German
men-of-war kept arriving in the harbour, until there were five in all.
It was known that Germany sympathized with Spain, and only the timely
arrival of some friendly English ships, and the trenchant diplomacy of
our admiral, prevented trouble.
All the rest of that month, and the next, and still the next, the fleet
lay at anchor, threatening the city with its guns, but making no effort
to take it. The people lived in constant fear of bombardment from the
ships which they could so plainly see from the Luneta on their evening
promenades. But they could not escape, for Aguinaldo's forces lay
encamped behind them in the suburbs. In fact, the refugees were seeking
safety within the walls of the city, instead of fleeing from it, for
while they had no love for the Spaniards, and were fellow countrymen of
the rebel chieftain, they preferred to take their chances of bombardment
rather than risk his method of "peaceful occupation."
Of course there was no coöperation between the Americans and the
Filipinos, although both wanted the same thing and each played somewhat
into the other's hand. Admiral Dewey refused to give Aguinaldo any naval
aid, and the _insurrectos_ on at least two occasions found it profitable
to betray our plans to the common enemy.
The delay in taking the city was caused by Dewey's shortage of troops.
He could have taken it at any time, but could not have occupied it. The
Spanish commander made little attempt at defense. A formal attack on one
of the forts satisfied the demands of honour. When the city surrendered,
on August 13th, the Americans were in the difficult position of guarding
thirteen thousand Spanish soldiers, of keeping at bay some fourteen
thousand plunder-mad Filipinos, and of policing a city of two hundred
thousand people--all with some ten thousand men!
The way in which it was accomplished is in effective contrast with
European methods. When our troops broke the line of trenches encircling
Manila they pressed quickly forward through the residence district to
the old walled town, which housed the governmental departments of the
city. Here they halted in long lines, resting calmly on their arms until
the articles of capitulation were signed. It took but an hour or so to
arrange for the disposition of our troops among the various barracks and
for the removal of the disarmed Spanish garrison to the designated
places of confinement. Then command was passed along by mounted officers
for the several regiments to proceed to their quarters for the night. In
columns of four they marched off with the easy swing and unconcern of
troops on practice march. A thin cordon of sentinels appeared at easy
hailing distance along the principal streets, and the task was
accomplished.
By noon next day they had a stability as great as though they had been
there for years. Not a woman was molested, not a man insulted, and the
children on the street were romping with added zest to show off before
their new-found friends. The banks felt safe to open their vaults, and
the merchants found a healthily rising market. The ships blockaded and
idling at anchor in the harbour discharged their cargoes, the customs
duties being assessed according to the Spanish tariff by bright young
volunteers, aided by interpreters. The streets were cleaned of their
accumulated filth, and the courts of law were opened. All this was done
under General Anderson's command, and it seems to me is much to his
credit.
A daughter of General Anderson's, who was there at the time with her
father, writes: "Days of intense anxiety followed the opening of
hostilities. The Filipinos were pushed back more and more, but we feared
treachery within the city. We heard that they were going to poison our
water supply, that they were going to rise and bolo us all, that every
servant had his secret instructions. Also, that Manila was to be burned.
There proved to be something in this, for twice fires were started and
gained some headway, and we women were banished to the transports
again."
Aguinaldo had demanded at least joint occupation of the city, and his
full share of the loot as a reward for services rendered. We can imagine
his disgust at being told that Americans did not loot, and that they
intended to hold the city themselves. If there had been no other reason
for refusing him, the conduct of his troops in the suburbs would have
furnished a sufficient one, for they were utterly beyond control,
assaulting and plundering their own brother Filipinos and neutral
foreigners, as well as Spaniards, and torturing their prisoners. But
this refusal, justifiable as it certainly was, marked the real beginning
of the insurrection against American rule, though there was no
immediate outbreak.
Aguinaldo was a mestizo school teacher when, in 1896, he became leader
of the insurrection against Spain. The money with which Spain hoped to
purchase peace was to be paid in three instalments, the principal
condition being that the Filipino leaders should leave the Islands. This
they did, going to Hongkong, where the first instalment was promptly
deposited in a bank. The second instalment, to Aguinaldo's great
disgust, was paid over to Filipinos left in the Islands, and the last
one was not paid at all. This was just as well for him, because his
fellow insurrectionists were already demanding of him an accounting for
the funds in Hongkong, and had him summoned to court for the purpose.
This proceeding he wisely avoided by leaving for Europe in disguise.
He got only as far as Singapore, however, for there--in April of '98--he
heard of the probability of American interference in the Islands and
interviewed our consul. The go-between for this interview was an
unscrupulous interpreter, whose intrigues were destined to have
far-reaching effects for us. It has been charged that both our consul at
Singapore and the one at Hongkong committed this nation to a policy
favouring Philippine independence, but the whole question of American
pledges finally resolves itself into a choice between the word of an
American admiral and a Chinese mestizo.
When Spain had failed to pay over to Aguinaldo the balance of the peace
money, he had promptly gone to work to organize another revolution from
the safe harbourage of Hongkong. His flight to Singapore had interrupted
this, but now, with the Americans so conspicuously there to "help," it
was a simple matter to put his plans in operation.
A month after the battle of Manila Bay Aguinaldo proclaimed himself
"president" (in reality military dictator) of the "Filipino Republic."
But this republic existed only on paper. Dewey accurately states the
condition of affairs when he says, "Our fleet had destroyed the only
government there was, and there was no other government; there was a
reign of terror throughout the Philippines, looting, robbing,
murdering." A form of municipal election was held, but if a candidate
not favoured by the insurgents was elected, he was at once deposed. One
candidate won his election by threatening to kill any one who got the
office in his place. Persons "contrary minded" were not allowed to
vote. These happenings hardly suggest a republican form of government,
but they are typical of conditions at that time.
[Illustration: AGUINALDO'S PALACE AT MALOLOS.]
Naturally the self-styled president was not recognized by the American
officials, and they were justified, as is shown by the fact that before
the year was up Aguinaldo himself had come to realize that he could not
maintain order among his people, and tried to resign from his office.
Meanwhile his lack of recognition by the Americans, and his exclusion
from the spoils of war, so far as Manila was concerned, showed him that
his only hope of achieving his ambitions lay in driving these
interlopers from the Islands. But for the time being, while awaiting a
propitious moment for attack, he occupied himself and his men by
conquering the Spaniards in the outlying provinces. Since there was no
coöperation among the Spanish forces, he was quite successful. Having
proclaimed the republic with himself at the head, he felt justified in
maintaining, with the aid of his booty, a truly regal state in his
palace at Malolos, aping the forms and ceremonies of the Spanish
governors in Manila.
As fast as Church property, or property belonging to Spaniards, fell
into his hands, it was confiscated and turned over to the State--if
Aguinaldo can be considered the State. His houses and those of his
generals were furnished from Spanish possessions, all title deeds were
systematically destroyed or hidden, and administrators were appointed
for the property.
At the beginning of the new year (1899), he turned his attention to the
Americans, and Manila. Because our forces seemed reluctant to fight, the
Filipinos, like the Mexicans to-day, believed that they must be cowards
and afraid to meet them. A Mexican paper has recently told its readers
what a simple matter it would be, if war were declared, for their troops
to cross the border and crush such slight opposition as may be offered
to the capture of Washington. So it is no wonder that the Filipinos felt
confident of success, especially after their victories over the
Spaniards in the outlying regions.
By January, Admiral Dewey, General Anderson and General Merritt had left
the Philippine Islands and General Otis was in command. He announced
that the government of the United States would be extended over the
islands of the archipelago. Next day Aguinaldo retorted with what was
virtually a declaration of war. From then on he and his advisers
hastened their preparations for the conflict. Members of the native
militia who were living in Manila under the protection of the American
garrison were warned to stand ready to receive the signal which should
start the sack and pillage of the city and the massacre of its
inhabitants. By the end of January there were about thirty thousand
Filipinos under arms fronting the American lines outside the city, all
keyed up for the moment when they should be let loose to drive the
Americans into the sea. This time the spoils of Manila should not be
snatched from them!
The signal for the advance was to be a conflagration in Manila. Ten
thousand militiamen were to rise, set fire to the city, free the Spanish
prisoners of war, arm them with arms stored in the arsenal, and attack
the Americans. They were to be promptly aided in this last detail by the
thirty thousand Filipinos waiting outside, who, surrounding the city,
would drive back the fourteen thousand American soldiers upon their
burning citadel and upon the two hundred thousand Filipinos, who would
by this time have joined their countrymen. If everything had worked out
as he had planned, Aguinaldo might very probably have entered the city.
He chose a night early in February, at a time when he knew the American
reinforcements which had been ordered could not yet have arrived. Firing
began about nine o'clock in the evening, near the San Juan bridge, and
continued during the night. Meanwhile, the militia in the city tried to
assemble, but the groups were promptly fired on and dispersed. In the
morning the ships of Dewey's fleet opened fire from the flanks of the
American line. A little later our troops sprang forward and swept their
antagonists before their fierce attack. In this encounter the Filipinos
lost about eight hundred, and the Americans two hundred and fifty.
For a week the insurgents were quite demoralized, and no wonder, for
this was not the way they had expected the "cowardly" Americans to act.
But when they saw that our men did not follow up their advantage by
pursuit, their courage revived and they began once more to believe those
things which they wished to believe. Our troops had to stay where they
were because they had not sufficient transportation to take them
anywhere else, because the enemy within the city still needed their
attention, and because their reinforcements had not arrived.
When these came, General Otis divided his forces. General MacArthur
began a movement from his right against the insurgents, who contested
every village and locality capable of defense, and burned every train
before abandoning it to American hands. The insurgent capital, Malolos,
was occupied. In April, General Lawton took Santa Cruz. The American
casualties during these operations were about ten thousand officers and
men, but the sick report listed fifteen per cent of the expedition,
mostly from heat prostration.
[Illustration: SAN JUAN BRIDGE.]
General Lawton, who went out early in 1899, and was killed in December
of the same year at San Mateo, is believed to have been perhaps the most
able of our commanders.
Uniformly the Filipinos lost, but when their courage waned their
officers would announce that they had won a big victory somewhere else.
In one day, they reported, we had lost twenty-eight thousand men, in a
region where in the entire month we had lost but fifty-six. On another
occasion they announced that two thousand colonels had been killed. They
must have thought our troops were all from Kentucky.
All summer and into the fall this more or less formal and regular
warfare continued. But by that time Aguinaldo had decided that while a
concentrated field army might appear more impressive to foreigners and
be better for advertising purposes, it was not effective for his
purpose, and some change must be made. The discontent among the
conservative men who still had anything to lose was increasing, while
the labourers in the fields, the fishermen, and the great masses of the
people were growing weary of the war and the exactions of the commanders
of their troops. The spell which Aguinaldo had cast over Luzon was
almost broken. The war was nearly over, it seemed--in a civilized
country it would have been over.
To the Americans it appeared that the insurrection had been destroyed,
and that all they now had to do was to sweep up the remnants of the
insurgent forces by a system of police administration not likely to be
either difficult or dangerous. In November, MacArthur had his force
ready to strike anything within reach, but there seemed to be nothing
within reach to strike. He soon came to the conclusion that there was no
organized resistance left, that the insurgent army had broken into
fragments which would soon become banditti. The disbandment of the
insurgent field forces, which the American authorities took to mean the
coming of a general submission to our rule, was followed by a long
period of inactivity. This, of course, strengthened the impression, but
the time was being used by the Filipinos to prepare for a new method
of warfare and to organize for resistance by means of a general banding
of the people together in support of the guerillas in the field.
[Illustration: GENERAL LAWTON.]
To obtain this necessary coöperation the leaders announced the
inflexible principle that every native residing within the limits of the
archipelago owed active individual allegiance to the insurgent cause.
This was enforced by severe penalties, including burial alive, which
were systematically exacted. There was little resistance on the part of
the victims, who accepted the new policy with a curious combination of
loyalty, apathy, ignorance and timidity.
In this way there arose a strange system of dual government, in many
cases the town officials openly serving the Americans while they were
secretly aiding the insurrection, and with apparently equal solicitude
for both. Each town was the base for the neighbouring guerillas, and
when a band was too hard pressed it would dissolve and take refuge in
its own community. This was easy enough to accomplish, with the aid of
the people, for it took very little to transform a Filipino soldier into
a good imitation of a peaceful native.
Several months before the formal declaration of guerilla warfare in
November of 1899, the Filipino commanders had adopted a policy of
occupying a succession of strong defensive positions and forcing our
army to a never ending repetition of tactical deployments. This they did
with such skill that they were for a time successful. The native force
would hover within easy distance of the American camps, but would avoid
close conflict and temporarily disband. This would not be regarded by
them as a calamity, but simply as a change from one form of action to
another, and even a positive advantage.
By February of 1900, General Bates had succeeded in scattering the
larger bodies in the south of Luzon, and while some of the Filipino
leaders and their followers abandoned the cause, which they saw was
hopeless, others returned to the life of bandits, which in many cases
had probably been their profession before the war. When their guns were
gone they took up the knife and the torch. They did not cease to call
themselves soldiers of the republic, but they were not in reality.
By September General MacArthur, who had succeeded General Otis in
command of the American forces in the Islands, realized that the
opposition to American control came from the towns, and that the
guerilla bands could not exist without their support. At first he
thought that on account of the efficiency of his troops, the natives
would be actuated both by conviction and self-interest to support him.
But four months later he saw that further pressure was needed to secure
this. So he ordered that all persons suspected of contraband traffic
with insurgent organizations should be arrested and sent to Manila. In
January, 1901, he ordered the deportation to Guam of twenty-six Filipino
leaders, sympathizers, and agents, who were to remain there until peace
had been formally declared. Two months later, Aguinaldo was captured by
the dare-devil Funston of "the Suicide Squad."
The effect of this measure was to alarm the leaders, of course, who now
realized that they could be held responsible for their acts. Orders were
also issued that all men who surrendered should be disarmed but released
at once, while those captured in the field or arrested in the towns
should be held in custody till the end of the war. A letter was found,
written by a bandit leader, in March, saying that he was ordered to
"proceed more rapidly" with his operations, "as Bryan ordered Emilio
(Aguinaldo) to keep the war going vigorously until April." However true
that may have been, it is certain that the encouragement which the
insurgents received from the country they were fighting much prolonged
hostilities and caused the loss of many lives on both sides.
It is hard to realize at this distance the lengths to which the
anti-imperialists went, or were willing to go, in those days. Governor
Pack told me of an experience he had with one of them--a New Englander
of good family and American antecedents. Pack was on his way out to the
Islands at the time, and on arriving at Hongkong received the tidings of
McKinley's assassination. He was surprised to see this man, a
fellow-passenger, rush up to a Filipino with the news and shake his
hand, congratulating him on what had happened. The Governor, then a
young civilian, could not forget the shocking incident and later, when
they shared the same stateroom on the small boat for Manila, he
discovered papers which proved that his companion intended to furnish
aid and encouragement to any natives who wished to fight against
American "tyranny." This discovery gave Pack his appointment as one of
the seven lieutenant governors of the hill tribes. But the other man was
punished only by being refused entrance to the Islands. It was the
stupid and foolish fashion in America then--as indeed it still is--to
call this particular form of treason Idealism, and be lenient with it.
Our soldiers found it difficult to take seriously the bands of half
naked men, who, they knew, had been pillaging the villages of their own
race. It was true that these bands were difficult to pursue and capture,
but an army which fought only from ambush, whose detachments fell only
upon stragglers and carefully avoided the main body of its enemy, and
which showed no regard for the sacredness of a flag of truce, could not
inspire much respect. Plunder appeared to be the sole excuse for its
existence, and the pompous titles assumed by its commanders were amusing
for the leaders of robbers. The Americans followed the retreating
bandits without hatred and without fear. But they became weary of the
eternal pursuit, and felt a growing irritation.
The Filipinos, however, felt very differently about their soldiers, and
it is only fair to give their side too, especially as it may throw some
light on the Mexican situation. Even the richest and most highly
educated men found nothing to laugh at in these poor bands which were
after all composed of their own people fighting and suffering for a
cause which they could at least understand, whether or not they
sympathized with it. They did not regard the pillaging, tortures, and
murders to which the Filipinos subjected their own people as we did.
They called the robbery "collecting contributions for the support of the
war." As for the murders--in the Orient to kill is an immemorial right
of the rulers of men. What if they did fight disguised as peaceful
country folk? They were a weak people fighting against a strong. They
were naked and they were hungry, and they were fighting for a cause.
Their arms were often of little use, and they made powder out of match
heads and cartridge shells out of the zinc roofs of parish buildings,
and even then they had only ammunition enough to fire a few volleys and
then run. But men so armed had forced the United States to send out
nearly seventy thousand well equipped soldiers to subdue them. To the
native Filipino, as perhaps to the Mexican to-day, the ragged and half
savage figures of the guerillas stood for their vision of a united race.
But it was natural that our troops could not understand this, and that
they should gradually become embittered against their antagonists. The
officers, by the necessary division of our forces, found themselves
confronted with conditions utterly alien to their experience. They had
to live in native houses or churches, in the midst of four or five
thousand people whose language they did not speak, and whose thoughts
were not their thoughts. Most of them were young men. They came from all
over the United States, and were neither monsters nor saints, but good
examples of their time and country.
When these officers learned that the dignified Asiatics who called upon
them daily, who drank with them, who talked with them, and who held
offices under our government, were also spies of the guerilla leaders,
secretly aiding those who were anxious to win the price set on their
heads, they were hardly pleased. When they found that every movement of
the guerillas was reported to them just too late to be of any use, while
every movement of their own small forces was promptly made known to the
enemy, and when they were present at the disinterment of the twisted
bodies of the men who had been buried alive because they were loyal to
us, they decided that stricter measures were necessary. This was a state
of war. Within wide limits their will was law. Upon their judgment hung
not merely their lives and those of their men, but the honour of their
country and their regiment. Perhaps in some cases they met cruelty with
cruelty, but they at least tried to be honest and just. And the people
came to realize this, and also that they were not afraid, with the
result that whole communities transferred their allegiance from their
own guerilla leaders to a single young American, not because he
understood them or sympathized with them, but because he was a man whom
they could trust and respect.
It was July of 1902, four years after our taking of Manila, before the
Islands could be officially declared pacified. Let us hope that the
lessons which we learned then may not be forgotten in our dealings with
Mexico.[14]
CHAPTER IV
FOLLOWING THE FLAG
They taught Filipinos the right way to work,
And they taught as if teaching were fun;
They taught them to spell and to build themselves roads,
And the best way to handle a gun.
Were their salaries so big that the task was worth while?
Did they save a centavo of pay?
Have the average men an account with the bank?
Never a cent--not they.
So we haven't a job and we haven't a cent,
And nobody cares a damn;
But we've done our work and we've done it well,
To the glory of Uncle Sam,
And we've seen a lot, and we've lived a lot
In these islands over the sea--
Would we change with our brothers grown rich at home?
Praise be to God--not we.
_From "The Swan Song," in the Manila Bulletin._
It is, strangely enough, to the influence of that arch anti-imperialist,
William Jennings Bryan, that we owe the ratification of the Treaty of
Paris, which not only ended the war with Spain but expressly provided
for the purchase of the Philippine Islands. The Democrats were opposed
to the treaty and were powerful enough in the Senate to have held it
up, had not Bryan used his authority to secure the two-thirds vote
needed for its ratification. It is amusing to note that a year later,
after enabling us to acquire the islands, he used all his power to
prevent our keeping them. He was at this time in need of a popular plank
in his third presidential platform, and the sorrows of the Filipinos
suited his purpose admirably.
Soon after the Treaty of Paris, and long before the end of the
insurrection, McKinley appointed a commission of experts to go out to
the Islands and report to him on conditions there. They found a country
whose civilization was, to put it hopefully, at a standstill. It was too
big a problem to be straightened out by a few ambitious Filipinos. The
Commission returned to America convinced of the necessity of our
occupation.
Congress soon passed a special organic act for the organization of a
civil government in the Islands, to succeed the military rule then in
force. In 1900, President McKinley appointed the second Commission,
headed by Mr. Taft, which was instructed to assume control of the
Islands, gradually relieving the army wherever conditions allowed of
their doing so.
This Commission had five members, three of them lawyers (two of whom
had been on the bench), and two professors. Its functions were at first
legislative and judicial, but in 1901, when the president of the
Commission, Mr. Taft, became Governor General of the Islands, the other
members were given the portfolios of the different departments and
executive power in the pacified parts of the Islands. Dean C. Worcester,
a member of the earlier Commission and already an authority on the
Philippines, became the first Minister of the Interior; Luke E. Wright,
the Vice Governor, had the Department of Commerce and Police; H. C. Ide,
former Chief Justice of Samoa, had charge of Finance and Justice, while
Professor Moses was put at the head of Public Instruction. Governor Taft
became really the "Father of the Philippines," for when he left the
Islands in 1904 to become Secretary of War he had even higher authority
over them than he had had as governor, while still later, as President
of the United States, he was able to see that the same high standard of
appointments was maintained.[15]
McKinley charged this Commission that their work was "_not to subjugate,
but to emancipate_." We made many mistakes, for we were new to the
business and dealing with a strange people, but until very lately even
the selfishness which is supposed to be inherent in party politics has
been absent in our dealings with this people, whom we considered our
sacred charge. No one ever asked an American official in the Islands
what his politics were. Even the governorship itself was out of the
reach of the spoilsman. Of the five governors who were appointed by the
Republican administrations, only one besides the first governor belonged
to the dominant party, and he was in office but a few months.
Since the Taft Commission first organized, several changes have taken
place. Filipino members have been added, and it has acquired the
character of an upper house, rather than a legislature. The work of a
lower house is done by the Assembly, made up of eighty-one members
chosen by the people of the Christian tribes. They have no authority
over the Moro and other non-Christian tribes, which are legislated for
by the Commission directly. To-day the Filipinos control their
municipal and county governments, but their finances are kept under
supervision.
The problems which the Commissioners had to solve were many and varied.
Trade was at a standstill. During the last normal year under Spain the
exports from the Islands had amounted to about sixteen million dollars.
By 1912 they had more than trebled. There was also a currency problem.
Coins from everywhere--Mexico, China, America, India--were in common
circulation, with almost daily fluctuations in value. The Islands now
have their own money on a gold basis. Then, close on the heels of the
insurrection, came a famine. Locusts swept over the land and destroyed
what little grain the war had left. The natives in some parts of the
archipelago ate the locusts, however, and liked them, making the work of
the officials more difficult. Grain shipped from America decayed in the
storehouses before it could be distributed, and, as if that were not
enough, carabaos died by the thousand from rinderpest.
But the most difficult of all was the problem of the friar lands.
Thousands of acres of valuable land had been acquired during Spanish
rule by the different orders of monks, and held by them with great
profit. One of the chief causes of Aguinaldo's rebellion was the
exactions of these wealthy churchmen, which galled a patient people into
final revolt, and during the ascendancy of the insurgent government
resulted in the confiscation of Church property and the flight of the
friars. These men took refuge in Manila, and petitioned the new
government for a settlement of their claims. Their legal rights were not
to be disputed, but to return them to their property and protect them
there would have brought on us the increased enmity of a people whose
friendship we were trying to win. The friends of the friars were no
friends of the people. It was decided to have the Philippine Government
buy these lands from the Church, which was accordingly arranged. Even
this was not a popular solution, but seems to have been the best that
could be done under the circumstances. One-third of these lands are
still vacant.
Road building was one of the most baffling of the problems. The people
had no appreciation of the necessity for good roads, and would not pay
for them nor help keep them in repair when they were built. For years
the Commission toiled at the seemingly hopeless task, and it was not
until Governor Forbes went out there from Boston that anything definite
was accomplished. His native city should be very proud of his
brilliantly successful administration, the proofs of which met us at
every turn during our stay in the archipelago, and convinced us of the
fatal mistake it is to allow such a position as Governor of the
Philippines to become the prize of politicians. To the native mind his
name became inseparably connected with roads. _Caminero_ means a road
man, and Cameron Forbes is of course known to the Filipino as "Caminero
Forbays." He had been a commissioner five years when made governor
general, which office he held for four more. When Mr. Wilson became
president, Governor Forbes was advised not to tender his resignation,
for it was believed the new administration would wish to keep the
Islands clear of the spoil system.
Suddenly out of a clear sky, the Governor General received this
cablegram from the Insular Bureau:
"Harrison confirmed August 21st. The President desires him to sail
September 10th. Will it be convenient to have your resignation accepted
September 1st. Harrison to accept and take the oath of office September
2nd. The President desires to meet your convenience. Should Harrison
take linen, silver, glass, china and automobiles? What else would you
suggest? Wife and children will accompany him. Please engage for him
servants you leave."
[Illustration: BENGUET ROAD]
Worst of all, it was given out to the papers before the Governor
received it, so that certain anti-American sheets in Manila had the
pleasure of flaunting the news on their front pages for him to read.
Surely some more considerate and courteous method of retiring a fine
administrator might have been devised than this abrupt and rude
dismissal, and it would seem that petty household matters might have
been kept separate.
Secretary Worcester, also a native of New England, who is the greatest
living authority on the Islands, and whose achievements with the wild,
non-Christian tribes had been marvelous--to say nothing of his other
excellent work--had also of course to resign. Forbes, by the way, is not
a Republican, but neither is he a Democrat, and Independents are not
politically useful.
The work of the administration immediately preceding that of Governor
Harrison is worth at least a partial summary. Besides building roads,
establishing a good health resort at Baguio, systematizing the work of
the government, reducing the number of bureaus, cutting down expenses
and eliminating duplication of work, and numerous other public services,
Governor Forbes succeeded in accomplishing the following:
The reorganization of the merchant marine.
The construction of aids to navigation--buoys, lighthouses and beacons,
wharves and harbours.
The removal of restrictions from shipping.
The establishment of a policy for the exclusive use of permanent
materials in construction, practically all the construction in the
Islands being done of reinforced concrete and selected woods.
The passage of a law providing for proper development of irrigation,
laying aside an annual sum for that purpose.
The establishment of a cadastral law for registering law titles. "Under
this system it was possible to get land titles settled, one of the most
difficult and important problems confronting any government and one
bearing directly on the welfare of the people in various ways.
"A general system was adopted of loaning to provinces and municipalities
to encourage them in the construction of public works, particularly
those of a revenue-bearing nature; most especially markets, which
improved the sanitary condition of the food supply and proved both
popular with the people and profitable for the municipalities; these
markets usually paid for themselves in five years from the increased
revenues.
[Illustration: FIRST PHILIPPINE ASSEMBLY.]
"The Governor's influence was used throughout to make the instruction in
the schools practical in its nature; children were taught to make things
that would prove to be salable and which would give them a living. The
dignity of labour was emphasized. Encouragement was given to foster the
construction of railroads.
"The establishment of a postal savings bank encouraged the children to
invest. Prizes were given for that child or school which showed the best
record." (Governor Forbes took an especial interest in the latter.)
The first general election was held in the Islands on the third of July,
1907, to choose delegates for the Assembly. Before that the Philippine
Commission had been the sole legislative body. The delegates were chosen
from the thirty-five Christian provinces. At that time only a minute
percentage of the population, even among the Filipinos, was qualified to
meet the simple conditions which would enable them to vote, and to-day
the percentage is far from large. The electorate consists mainly of two
classes, the ilustrados, or educated natives and mestizos,[16] and the
_taos_, or peasants. The latter are not only ignorant but indifferent,
with no vision beyond what their eyes can see, and no interest in who
governs them, so long as crops are good and taxes low. One of the tasks
of our representatives is to educate and awaken these people to
responsible citizenship. It is a task still far from accomplishment.
It must be admitted that the work of the Assembly to-day, after eight
years of fair trial, does not encourage Filipinization of the service.
It is fortunate--at times--that the two legislative bodies have equal
power not only to initiate legislation but to block the passage of each
other's bills. In this way the Commission has been able to hold up some
of the freak legislation sent up to it by the lower body. The Manila
_Times_ has published a list of the laws which were wanted by the
Filipino assemblymen recently. They spent the valuable time of the
entire first session talking them over and the Commission refused to
concur. One was to increase their own salaries, of course. Another
was to erect monuments to all the ilustrados who had cried "_Bajo los
Americanos_" most loudly. Others wanted to fly the Philippine flag above
the American on all masts, to make a legal holiday of the birthday of
Rizal's grandmother, and to free all prisoners, no matter what their
crimes.
[Illustration: OSMEÑA, THE SPEAKER OF THE FIRST ASSEMBLY.]
As may be imagined, a body of men which can pass such bills is quite
capable of blocking the sane legislation which comes to them for
approval, and unfortunately they have the power to do this. The way in
which the slavery question was handled illustrates their methods.
Slavery was known to exist in the Islands, and to take two
forms,--actual slavery, where one person was sold by another, and a sort
of semi-slavery, or peonage, where a man sold his services for debt.
The peon was given his keep, but the interest on his debt was added
faster than he could earn. He was really a slave, except that he had
sold himself rather than been sold by another. But his debts might be
bought and sold, so that it amounted to the same thing in the end.
Interest was sometimes as high as ten per cent a month, while fifty
cents a month was allowed for his services. Worcester in his book tells
of a man who borrowed $1.25, which he and his wife and children worked
several years in the effort to repay; but by that time the amount had
become $37.50!
Spain had nominally abolished slavery long before, but it had continued
in force in both the Christian and non-Christian provinces. The
legislators themselves held peons. The law of Congress creating the
Philippine Government prohibited slavery, but there are no penalties
attached, so it could not be enforced.
The Filipinos denied that slavery existed in the Islands. Worcester made
a careful investigation, and an exhaustive report on both slavery and
peonage. All but a few copies of this report were burned by a Filipino
official. It was a subject which neither the Filipino politician nor
their self-styled friends the anti-imperialists wished to see discussed
in print. The Manila papers had been absolutely silent on the subject,
and even the anti-slavery legislation which was finally forced through,
after having been tabled again and again without so much as the briefest
formality of discussion, passed unnoticed. It was a sore subject, and
the Filipino method of treating a sore subject is not to heal it, but to
refrain from discussing it.
There is no question but we have given the Filipinos too much power for
their own good. They now, under the Democratic Administration, have five
members in the Commission, to America's four. They have to-day much
power--only colonies such as Canada and Australia have more, while Egypt
has been given less in a generation than the Filipinos have received in
ten years.
The present governor, Francis Burton Harrison, has been severely
criticized. His party was pledged to a rapid Filipinization which has
proved disastrous, for it was devised by men wholly ignorant of the
situation. The destruction of the wonderful civil service system so
carefully built up in the early days as an object lesson to Spanish-bred
politicians, is only one of many changes which have been brought about.
We have certainly lost prestige in the Islands under the Democratic
Administration. Filipinos no longer remove their hats during the playing
of the Star Spangled Banner on the Luneta, so Governor Harrison finally
tried to discontinue the playing of the national anthem. The American
community would not stand this, however, so it was resumed. In many
other ways the Filipinos have become "cocky." This of course does not
apply to the tao, who plods along regardless of politics.
A friend wrote me recently, "I don't think I could give you a more
accurate idea of what most Americans and British, and even intelligent
natives, think of this Democratic administration than to repeat a
conversation I overheard in the Fort McKinley cars one morning between
two coloured American soldiers. They began by laughing at Harrison's
'give them what they want' speech, and speaking of the Filipinos as
'spoiled children.' 'Well,' said one dusky brave, 'we have one more year
of this rotten administration, then, thank Gawd, we'll have a white
man's government!'"
Professor Thomas Lindsey Blayney writes in one of the magazines: "I
talked with business men, native and foreign educators, clergymen, army
and navy officers, editors American and British, and many Filipinos of
undoubted patriotism and intelligence, and I do not hesitate to assure
you that the demoralizing tendency of the policies of the present
American administration in the Islands is deserving of the widest
publicity." The situation, he says, "is bidding fair to become a
national disgrace if we allow politics and sentiment to take the place
of reason and justice." He goes on to say, "There is no phenomenon of
our national life more passing strange than that which induces many of
our good people to accept the statements of paid emissaries of the
Filipino junto, or some of our new and inexperienced officials at
Manila, rather than those of our fellow countrymen of long
administrative experience in the Islands.... The loss of men like
Governor Forbes, Mr. Worcester, Dr. Heiser, and others, is looked upon
as a distinct setback in the development of better and more stable
institutions in the entire Orient in the interest of humanity as a
whole."
All of which only bears out what Lord Cromer told Mr. Forbes--"If your
personnel employed in the administration of dependencies at a distance
becomes subject to change with changing political parties, you are
doomed to failure in your effort to govern countries overseas."
There has recently been a great financial depression in the Islands, due
partly to hoarding against threatened independence, and partly to the
difficulty the new Filipino officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue
find in collecting the usual amount. A slump in real estate followed
quickly upon the news that we might shortly leave the Islands.
Rinderpest, the cattle plague which had worked such havoc and which had
finally been conquered after tremendous expenditure of money and energy,
broke out again immediately upon the substitution of Filipinos for
white men in the service. Some time the good people at home will learn
that giving a child candy because it cries for candy is not always the
best thing for the child. The Filipinos are in many ways children,
delightful ones, with charming manners, but needing a firm and even rule
till they come of age and take over their own affairs. Most Filipinos of
intelligence realize this. In fact, they have of late been rushing in
petitions signed by their best and most influential citizens urging the
retention of the Islands in their present standing.
What the Filipino wishes for himself depends upon the man. Only one in
ten, among the civilized tribes, knows anything about the discussion of
independence. The taos would like independence if they believe it to be
what their politicians have told them--freedom to do as they please, and
exemption from taxes. Otherwise they are not interested.
When the Jones bill was being discussed a Moro elevator boy at the War
Department in Washington was asked, "If the Filipinos are given their
independence, how will you feel?" "I am an American now," he answered,
"but if that happen--I go back, and with the Moros fight the
Filipinos!"
Most people fail to realize that the Islands are no financial burden to
this country. They are, and have always been, wholly self-supporting.
Their revenues pay their bills, and their taxes, incidentally, are the
lowest in the civilized world. We keep soldiers there but only the cost
of their transportation is extra.
Our rule in the Philippines has been the greatest of all paradoxes, a
benevolent despotism working ardently for its own destruction. This is
very unusual, and rather fine. We ought to be proud of what we have
done, and very anxious to see the work well finished. Good men have
given their lives for it, and few of those who lived have come out after
years of thankless toil in a tropical land, with as much as they had
when they went into the service. We owe it to them and to our helpless
wards, as well as to our national honour, to see the thing through.
CHAPTER V
HEALING A NATION
The sanitary conditions which existed in the Islands twenty odd years
ago would seem to us appalling, but perhaps they were no worse than
those of some other tropical countries at that time. Even the most
progressive colonizers, like the English, had given up trying radical
reforms, contenting themselves with making passably healthful
conditions, especially for the European part of the towns. The
combination of climate and native inertia seemed to them one which it
was difficult and almost hopeless to combat. So it remained for us to
prove that the thing could be done--that a tropical country could be
made sanitary and hygienic for all its inhabitants, whether they were
white or brown or yellow, and whether they wanted it made so or not. If
we had done nothing else for our restless dependency, that achievement
would be a sufficient crown of glory.
Manila was then, as it still is, the most highly civilized spot in the
Islands. As I have said, much of the walled city was built of stone
and plaster, but many of the natives in the suburbs lived in one-room
houses made of wood and raised on stilts. No provision whatever was made
for drainage or for the removal of garbage. Each house was a law unto
itself and very often an offense unto its neighbours.
[Illustration: _A Carabao_]
A large part of the city drained, directly or indirectly, into the Pasig
River. Here, also, the carabao, which is not a fastidious animal, went
for his mud baths, and the women washed their clothes. This river
furnished drinking water for all who lived near enough to share the
privilege. It was said to have a flavour like the Ganges, which they
sorely missed later on when a purer supply was substituted.
The medieval wall, which allowed for many damp, unhealthy corners,
interfered with municipal ventilation. No cleansing winds can sweep
through a city whose every street ends in a high wall. Outside was a
stagnant moat which made a convenient breeding place for the industrious
mosquito.
The local market used to be a community dwelling for all the vendors,
who lived there, reveling in their filth. Their children were born
there, also their dogs, pigs, cats, and chickens. It was so vile
smelling that no American dared go into it. Never being cleaned, it was
the center from which disease was spread to the city.
These markets were the first places to be cleaned by the Americans. The
first step was always to burn up the entire shed, and then build an iron
and concrete structure, which could be washed down every night with a
hose. Only the night watchman was allowed to live there.
This is only typical of changes made in every department, from market to
school, from custom house to palace. To tell a long story very shortly,
gaps have been opened in the city walls to let in the air, the moat has
been filled in with soil dredged from the bay to make a field for
sports, nearby marshes have been reclaimed and old wells filled up,
while a sewerage system and a method of collecting refuse have of course
been established. The new water system has cut the death rate from
water-borne diseases in half. To stop an epidemic whole districts of
huts which could not be fumigated were burned and others were sprayed
with strong disinfectants by fire engines. Slowly the people are being
taught the rules of hygiene. The new and up-to-date medical school is
turning out very good doctors, and the school of nursing, most excellent
nurses, who are gentle, cheerful and dainty.
The modern hospitals were at first regarded with suspicion by the
natives, who went with the greatest reluctance for treatment. But to-day
the difficulty is to keep them out. A toothache is excuse enough for a
week's sojourn with free board. The native doctor often is a skilful
grafter, and has to be watched, otherwise he may pass in all his poor
relations, more to give them food and rest than for illness. A friend
was much annoyed while sick in a Manila hospital by some Filipina girls
in pink and lilac hospital gowns who were romping through the corridors.
Her nurse explained that they were passed in by the native doctor. One
of these physicians had every bed in his ward filled with patients who
were not ill but just enjoying themselves. Some of these doctors abuse
their authority in other ways. One of them, it was discovered, used to
go to San Lazaro, the hospital for contagious diseases, and take friends
who were detained there with leprosy to ride in public vehicles.
But aside from occasional abuses by natives, the work which has been
done for the public health in Manila is an example of what has been
accomplished elsewhere. In many of the provincial towns the introduction
of artesian wells has brought the death rate tumbling down to half its
former size. The work was carried on under disadvantages at first, for
it was the butt of much ridicule and abuse--the former from abroad, the
latter from the native press. Medical authorities in other parts of the
Far East laughed at our efforts to create better conditions for the
Filipinos, and told us that Orientals were incapable of sanitary
reforms. Before long, these same men were seeking to learn by what magic
we had accomplished what they had hardly dared even attempt, and were
sending delegates to Manila to study our methods.[17]
When Americans went there they found the Filipinos a race of
semi-invalids. Those who had managed to survive the various scourges
which were constantly sweeping the Islands were often infected with
hookworm or similar parasites which sapped their vitality. Many of them
were tubercular, and most of them were under-fed. The laziness which
made several Filipino workmen equal to one American was much of it due
to actual physical weakness. As a people, they are showing a marked
improvement in energy and activity. It was from changes of this sort
that the would-be benevolent anti-imperialists laboured to save them.
Of course, a great deal remains for us to do. Half the babies still die
before they are a year old. Only a beginning has been made in stamping
out tuberculosis. The people have not yet been educated out of that
fatalism which makes them prefer acceptance of evil to fighting it. But
as fast as they learn English they come under our educative influence
more and more.
Dr. Richard P. Strong, whom we knew when we were in the Islands and who
is now at the Harvard Medical School lecturing on tropical diseases, has
done many notable things in various parts of the world. We all know
about his wonderful work in the northern part of China, when the
pneumonic plague[18] was raging there a few years ago, and still later
his heroism among the typhus-stricken soldiers of Serbia. But we do not
all know that, among other things, he has discovered a cure for a
dreadful skin disease called yaws, which has been prevalent in the
Philippines. A doctor in Bontoc cured a case with a single injection of
salvarsan. The "case" was so delighted that he escaped from the
hospital before a second injection could be given him, rushed home to
his native village, and returned a day or so later with a dozen or more
of his neighbours who were suffering from the same trouble.
We were fortunate in traveling through the Islands with Dr. Heiser, who
had entire control of the health conditions there for many years--in
fact, until the Democratic administration. To him is largely due the
practical disappearance of smallpox from the Philippines. When the
Americans took over the country there were sometimes over fifty thousand
deaths a year from this one disease. The change is the direct result of
the ten million vaccinations which were performed by American officials.
An effort was made to entrust the vaccinating to Filipino officials, but
epidemics kept breaking out, and it was discovered that their work was
being done chiefly on paper.
In a recent letter a friend writes, "The other day one of our servants,
Crispin, was ill. I tried to get him to go to the hospital, but he
insisted he was not sick. I did not enjoy having him wait on the table,
for I thought he had measles. So I took him to the hospital myself and
told him to do what the doctor said. When I returned home a telephone
call summoned us to the hospital to be vaccinated at once, for Crispin
had the smallpox! They sent him to San Lazaro, where he had a good time,
and came home smiling, while we spent a miserable ten days waiting to
see what was going to happen to us. The native _saindados_ came promptly
to disinfect, but all they did was to put a bucket of something in the
center of the room. I soon saw that they were not going to be thorough,
so after ten minutes, just as they were going away, I called them back
and telephoned to the board of health, asking if no American sanitary
officer was coming. They said no, that Filipinos had been put in all the
white men's places. So I went to work myself, burning bedding, clothes
and hangings, and opening every trunk and closet. It was a revelation to
those two little natives, who thought they had done enough before."
Apparently the natives had the same aversion to the preventive method of
vaccination that some of our own countryfolk have, for Dr. Heiser writes
of the early work in the field: "Formerly ... the lives of the
vaccinators were seriously threatened by persons who refused to be
vaccinated. However, after much persuasion, a considerable number of the
inhabitants were vaccinated. Shortly afterwards smallpox was introduced
and the death rate among the unvaccinated became alarming; the people
themselves then noted that in spite of the fact that the vaccinated
persons frequently came in constant contact with the disease they did
not contract it, while the unvaccinated died in large numbers. This led
to urgent request being made for vaccination and the vaccinators who
previously found their lives in constant danger were welcomed."
But perhaps Dr. Heiser's greatest work has been done in freeing the
Islands of the worst-feared disease of all times and nations--leprosy. I
was walking along the street with him one day when he noticed the
swollen ear lobes of a man near by. It was one of the first symptoms of
leprosy. He stopped and spoke to the man and walked with him to the
hospital. The disease is not really so much to be feared as people
think, for it is seldom inherited and is not easily contagious.
We had planned to go to Culion, the beautiful island where thousands of
lepers have been taken to live or to die, and where they have every care
and comfort that science and unselfish devotion can give them.
Unfortunately for us, the Secretary of War was obliged to cut the trip
short, owing to official business in Manila, so we did not go there. We
heard so much about the place that this was a real disappointment.
The island is a day's sail from Manila. It is well forested, and has
hills and fertile valleys and a fine harbour. The more important
buildings of the town which the authorities knew would be needed by the
thousands of lepers then at large, were built from the foundations
entirely of concrete, for sanitary reasons and economy. Besides hundreds
of houses, one finds there to-day a theater, a town hall, a school,
dining halls, hospitals, stores, docks and warehouses. Water, lighting
and sewerage systems were also constructed, and a separate settlement
was built for the non-leprous employees.
Culion is really a leper's heaven. The people have perfect freedom, and
live normal lives, farming or fishing when they are able, carrying on
their own government, having their own police force, playing in the band
if they are musical, giving theatrical performances. They have social
distinctions, too--those better born take the place denied them in the
outer world because of their affliction. Here they are again Somebody.
When Americans took possession of the Islands there were six thousand
lepers at large. Two things evidently had to be done--first, prevent a
further spread of the disease; and second, cure those who already had
it, if this were possible.
Segregation of all known cases, as fast as accommodations could be
provided for them, was the immediate necessity. The colony at Culion was
opened in 1906 with five hundred patients. These went reluctantly to
their new abode, but once settled there, found it so much to their
liking that they wrote home enthusiastically, and after that the
authorities had no difficulty in persuading others to go. Indeed, the
plight of these poor outcasts had been pitiful enough. They were so
neglected that in one of the larger cities they had been known to go
into the markets and handle the produce, as a protest against their
treatment.
More than eight thousand have been transferred to Culion in all, and
to-day every known leper in the Philippines is there. New cases are
still occasionally found, but even the worst provinces are now
practically free from the historic scourge. It was that remarkable man,
Dr. Heiser, who not only organized and carried out this great
undertaking, but who himself saw to the smallest details. Many times he
is known to have carried the loathsome patients in his own arms.
The second problem, that of finding a cure, was not so easily solved.
But it has been found, and our nation had the credit of finding it--"the
first definite cure ever established," Dr. Heiser says. Two methods were
tried out very carefully, both with some success. The first was the
x-ray, which brought a marked improvement in most of the cases where it
was used, and an apparent cure in one case. The other method was the use
of chaulmoogra oil. This remedy had been known and used in the Far East
for some time, but it could rarely be given long enough to produce much
effect, because it was so unpleasant to swallow. Our doctors, however,
devised ways of injecting it, after mixing it with resorcin and
camphorated oil, so that there were no ill effects. Already several
cures have resulted.
Ten years ago there were forty thousand users of opium in the Islands.
In five years that number was reduced ninety-five per cent, and most of
those still addicted to the drug are Chinese. In the last few years,
moreover, cholera and bubonic plague have been practically wiped out,
but, of course, a few other tropical diseases still exist.
The Philippine Assembly recently conceived the brilliant idea of cutting
down expenses by halving the health appropriation. Dr. Heiser got
permission to speak before them, but instead of talking a few minutes,
as they expected, he spoke for three days. He told them that if they did
not give him the money he needed for the work, he would be forced to
economize by setting free the criminally insane, who, he promised,
should be given tags stating that they had been set free by order of the
Assembly. Also, he said, he would have to send back many of the lepers
to their friends. It proved to be the way to deal with the child-like
legislators, who in the end gave him what he wanted. Since that,
however, he has resigned, and his loss will be sadly felt. Indeed, there
has already been an outbreak of cholera since he left.
Regenerative work among the Filipinos has by no means been confined to
their bodies, however, for besides the educational advance that has been
made in their schools, which I have mentioned elsewhere, their prisons
have become sources of light instead of darkness. It is true that
penology in the Philippines has gone ahead with great strides.
In Bontoc, for instance, there is a prison which the commissioner in
charge of the province proudly called his "university." Its inmates are
men of the mountains. In the old days they would have been sent to
Bilibid prison in Manila, where few of them lived over two years. A
longer term meant practically a death sentence. This provincial jail is
situated in the high and healthy capital of the province, and is kept
clean and sanitary by the prisoners themselves. The men are well fed and
cared for, and they are taught trades, and made to work at them, too, so
that they learn industry along with technical skill.
Bilibid prison is a huge institution. It occupies several acres of land
in the heart of the city of Manila, its buildings radiating from a
common center, so that the guard in the high tower at the hub can
overlook anything that occurs. High walls surround the whole, patrolled
by watchful guards and mounted with gatling guns. It is an extraordinary
institution, inherited from Spanish rule, but, like everything else,
completely changed since then. The wives of men committed there were
considered widowed in those days, since so few survived a long term, and
were free to marry again. There has been some confusion of late years,
because most of the prisoners not only come out alive, but healthier
than when they went in. So prison "widows" who remarried found that
they had not counted on American methods. Bilibid, though in many ways
still rather experimental, is a great success.
There are extensive shops, and the prisoners are kept at work all the
time. Some make silverware, carriages, and furniture, while others do
the cooking and washing for the prison, make their clothes, and run a
laundry, not only for their own use, but for outside custom. Many are
employed in road building and on fortifications. Each man learns a trade
during his term of imprisonment, and so is better able to earn an honest
livelihood than when he entered. I have been told that Bilibid
"graduates" are in demand because of their honesty and industry. No
better recommendation for a prison could be desired.
Besides the shops, there is a school in which they are taught English.
The day we visited the prison we saw a teacher there who had been a
guest at the Governor's table, but as he had forged a check he was
paying the penalty. Most of the attendants in the up-to-date prison
hospital were Spaniards who were in for life sentences and who made very
good nurses. Part of this institution is devoted to consumptives, of
whom there are so many in the Islands, and they receive treatment
according to the best and latest methods.
[Illustration: PENAL COLONY ON THE ISLAND OF PALAWAN.]
We were much interested in the kitchens, and the manner in which food
was issued to several thousands in only six minutes. It was all
wonderfully systematized.
Late in the afternoon we went up into the central tower to watch the
"retreat." The prisoners' band, which had played for us as we entered
the prison gates, now took its place in the courtyard below and began to
play. Out of the workrooms trooped hundreds of convicts, who were
searched for hidden implements and then released to take their position
in military formation. The different groups marched to their quarters
and, standing outside, went through a series of exercises to the music
of the band. They seemed to enjoy this very much, and later, still to
the music, marched gaily off to get their rations.
A long-term prisoner with two years of good conduct to his credit is
given the privilege of going to the penal colony on the island of
Palawan. This island is one of the more southern ones, and is the place
where the Spanish sent their convicts in the old days. But the present
colony, which was established by Governor Forbes, is very different from
the former one. It was once a malarial jungle, but now is a healthy,
thoroughly up-to-date and successful reform institution.
Our visit to this place was one of the most interesting features of our
whole trip. Palawan itself is a curiosity, for it has an underground
river which has been explored for two miles beneath a mountain. But the
penal settlement is unique.
Leaving the steamer at Puerto Princessa, a quaint little town with
charming old Spanish gardens, we were met by a launch which took us up
the Iwahig River to the colony. This launch, which was gaily decked with
flags, was manned by convicts, the engineer himself being under a
sentence of nineteen years for murder. After an hour's sail up the
tropical river, we reached our destination. At the wharf we were greeted
by Mr. Lamb, superintendent of the colony, a Dominican priest, and a
crowd of prisoners who were enjoying a holiday.
We were driven to headquarters, near a pretty plaza with hedges and
flowers, surrounded by several two-story barracks built of bamboo and
nipa, where the prisoners live. As we walked about the plaza we visited
the hospital and the chapel, as well as the main office and the
superintendent's house.
The penal settlement is located on a reservation of two hundred and
seventy square miles. At the time of our visit there were in all eleven
hundred convicts--Filipinos for the most part, with a few Moros--and
only three white men to keep them in order. The prisoners had all come
from Bilibid prison.
In its management, the colony is somewhat like the George Junior
Republic for boys in America. The prisoners elect their own judges and
make some of their own laws, subject to the approval of the
superintendent. A majority verdict will convict, but the superintendent
has the right to veto any measures. Men who break the laws are locked
up, but can be released on bail.
The police force is composed of convicts, of course. The chief of police
when we were there was a murderer who had earned his pardon but
preferred to remain in the settlement. If a prisoner tries to escape he
is followed, and occasionally one is shot. The attempt is seldom made,
for it is difficult to get away, and the men are, moreover, quite
content to live there. Once thirty-five convicts did make a break for
liberty, but beyond the confines of the settlement they found themselves
in the midst of the savage Mangyans, by whom some were killed. Of the
rest, those who were not captured alive returned of their own free will
and were consigned again to Bilibid, which is considered a great
punishment.
For good behaviour, convicts may earn the right to have a house of their
own, with their family, one bull or carabao, and a little farm to
cultivate. There were then a hundred and eighty of these farmers, who
raised their crops on shares, the government receiving half. They had to
report to headquarters by telephone every other day and undergo a weekly
inspection as well. Every year they were obliged to plant cocoanuts,
which in a few years were expected to bring in large returns. Already
great quantities of yams were being shipped to Bilibid, and in a short
time enough cattle would be delivered there to supply, in part at least,
the meat demand of that prison. The colony suggests the possible
solution of the meat question for the American army in the Philippines,
as they were successfully raising calves from native cows by Indian
bulls.
Although the majority of the prisoners were engaged in farming, they
were often given the privilege of selecting the kind of work that they
preferred, and were divided accordingly, their hats and the signs on the
sleeves of their prison clothes showing what grade of convict they
belonged to and what work they did. They were paid in the money of the
colony, which was good nowhere else.
There were about forty women on the reservation. The men might marry if
they earned the privilege, or if already married, they might have their
wives and children come to live with them. There were six marriages the
year we were there. After receiving their pardons, they could remain on
the island if they wished, their work being credited toward the purchase
of their farms, but they had to continue under the laws of the colony.
At the main office we saw four prisoners who were about to be pardoned.
Governor Forbes very kindly asked me to hand them their pardons and ask
any questions I wished. One, a _bandolero_, or brigand, was small and
wizened. Another, who looked much like him, when asked what crime he had
committed, laughed and answered, "Bigamy!" A third, a stolid, thickset
fellow, had the best face of them all, but showed no emotion whatever
when I gave him his pardon. He also had been a brigand.
The convicts gave an exhibition fire drill for us at the barracks. The
natives are born climbers, and scramble down the poles with the agility
of monkeys. They also play baseball, of course. They are remarkably
musical and have a good band.
We had luncheon with Mr. and Mrs. Lamb in their pretty bamboo and nipa
cottage. Mrs. Lamb was a frail little woman, but strong in spirit, for
she did not seem at all afraid to live in this land of evil men. She
told us that the three murderers whom she had as servants were very
efficient, and were devoted to her little four-year-old son.
When our visit ended we were driven in a wagon to the river, accompanied
by a troop of prisoners who ran alongside shouting good-bys. At the
wharf they lined up while Mr. Lamb and the priest bowed us politely
aboard the launch.
These intrepid countrymen of ours, who are healing and uplifting a whole
people, seem to me to be true missionaries. The time may come when the
work which they are doing will set a standard for us stay-at-homes to
follow, that is, if we send the right kind of men out there. As the song
says,
"Ah, those were the days when the best men won,
The survival of those that were fit--
When the work to be done counted everything,
And politics nary a bit."
CHAPTER VI
DOG-EATERS AND OTHERS
The natives of the Philippines are Malays, as I have said, but they are
sometimes classified as Christian, Pagan and Mohammedan Malays. The
Christian and educated tribes live near the coast on the lowlands and
are called Filipinos. They have intermarried greatly with the Spaniards
and Chinese. There are twenty-seven non-Christian tribes in the
Islands--about four hundred thousand in number in the Mountain Province
of Luzon alone. These hill people are seldom seen, although during the
last few years most of the tribes have come under government influence
and head-hunting has been more or less given up. These dwellers in the
mountains include the aborigines who were driven out of the valleys by
the Malays, and also the Malays of the earlier migration, who refused to
embrace the Mohammedanism of the Moros of the southern islands or the
Christianity of the Spaniards.
We were fortunate in having the opportunity to see some of the
dog-eaters and other hill people. Our party was divided, and while
several of the men went into the heart of the head-hunting country, the
rest of us took the train to Baguio, the mountain capital. What a night
it was! The heat was frightful, and swarms of mosquitoes added to the
torture. But at sunrise, as I sat on the back platform while the train
steamed through rows of cocoanut palms, past little huts and stations, I
was reminded of this verse:
"Mighty, luminous and calm
Is the country of the palm,
Crowned with sunset and sunrise,
Under blue unbroken skies,
Waving from green zone to zone,
Over wonders of its own;
Trackless, untraversed, unknown,
Changeless through the centuries."
Leaving the tropics behind, we climbed up, up among the glorious
mountains. At last the train stopped at a little station, and we took
the motors that were waiting and went on higher and higher into
cloudland, where the tall pines grew and the mountains rose into the
sky. We had indeed ascended "into Paradise from Purgatory." As one
resident in Manila expressed it: "The heavenly coolness, the sweet
pine air and the exquisite scenery give you new life after the years
spent in the heat, glare, dust and smells of the lowlands."
[Illustration: THE PARTY AT BAGUIO.]
We were passing over the far-famed Benguet Road, one of the finest
highways in the world, which wound in and out through the gorges of the
mountains, repeatedly crossing the river that roared beneath. For twenty
miles we zigzagged up the slopes, with widening views of great hills
opening before us, and cascades bursting out from beneath the mountains,
till we came out on the plateau of Baguio, five thousand feet above the
sea.
This road, which has been a favourite theme for discussion by
politicians, was opened to traffic in 1905. It is true that the cost of
the roadway was beyond what anybody had anticipated, on account of the
many bridges that had to be repaired each year after the rainy season,
and also after the destructive typhoons that sweep over the island--one
in 1911 brought a rainfall of forty-six inches in twenty-four
hours--which hurl avalanches of débris from the mountain slopes. For
this reason a new road from Bauang to Baguio has been commenced, not
nearly so direct but requiring only a few bridges, and it is to be hoped
will prove successful and more economical than the other.
Baguio, in the midst of glorious mountain scenery, where the temperature
never goes above eighty and the nights are deliciously cool, really is
an ideal health resort for a tropical country. The Philippines have Mr.
Worcester and Mr. Forbes to thank for this blessing. Government
buildings were erected, and the whole force of the government was moved
up there for the hot season, with the rich return of the improved health
and greater efficiency of the employees. A hospital for tuberculosis was
built, and a much needed school for American children, the Jesuit
observatory was established, and Camp John Hay was laid out as a
permanent military post. Many people bought land and put up little
bungalows. A teachers' camp was started by the Bureau of Education for
American teachers from all over the Islands, where they had not only
rest and recreation but the mental brushing up of good lectures after
months in lonely stations.
When the Democratic Administration began its changes in the Philippines,
government offices were ordered to be kept in Manila throughout the
year, consequently only the higher officials were able to go to Baguio,
with a result patent to every one in the lessened efficiency of the
force. But within the last two or three years, the Filipinos have come
to appreciate the place, which was a revelation to them. Now rich and
poor manage to go there, and they have taken possession. The benefits of
Baguio and the Benguet Road are felt even in Manila, where Americans are
beginning to get fresh garden peas, summer squash, wax beans and real
strawberries(!). A friend writes, "If the time ever comes when we can
have real cow's milk and cream, then our food will be as good as
anywhere in the States."
We had a glorious week at Topside, Governor Forbes's attractive
bungalow, and speedily became as enthusiastic in our praises of Baguio
as every one else who has ever been there. I rode all day long on Black
Crook, the most perfect polo pony in the world, through the mists and
the sunlight and into the rainbow shades of the setting sun, where the
clouds turned the colour of cockatoos' wings and the tints of the fish
from the China Sea.
"Cloud Maidens that float on forever,
Dew-sprinkled, fleet bodies, and fair,
Let us rise from our Sire's loud river,
Great Ocean, and soar through the air
To the peaks of pine-covered mountains
Where the pines hang as tresses of hair."
I played my first polo game at Baguio on the club grounds. Squash Pie,
Calico Pie and other delightful names were given to the native ponies,
which are small but very strong.
We went to the government stock farm, where they are trying experiments
in breeding horses. They had a native pony there that had been well fed
and taken care of for some time, in order to show the difference between
it and the forlorn animals that one might see anywhere in the towns. The
native Spanish pony has greatly degenerated. At this farm they had a
beautiful Arabian stallion and a Morgan stallion from Vermont. It is
said that the first generation of American horses does well in the
Philippines, but after that the climate and the change in food cause
them to deteriorate. Besides, they are rather too big for mountain
cavalry. The Arabian stallion and the native mare are said to breed the
best kind of horse for this country. Black Scotch cattle and Australian
cattle, which are raised at the government farm, do well. Sheep do not
pay, for, to begin with, there is no market for the wool. Goats do well,
and goats' milk is in great demand. The natives use principally the
carabao and the native cattle, which look like small Jersey cows but are
not very good.
Another day, Mrs. Whitmarsh, from Boston, gave us a tea in a little
house hung with orchids and Japanese lanterns, and we visited Mr.
Whitmarsh's gold mine. Some of us went on horseback down into the valley
to see the tunnels. We washed a pan of ore in the brook and found at the
bottom little fine gold specks. The Benguet Igorots have mined gold for
centuries.
[Illustration: IGOROT SCHOOL GIRL WEAVING.]
At Baguio we visited missionary and government schools and Camp John
Hay, where Captain Hilgard gave us a reception. At the government school
the Igorot boys are taught, among other things, to make attractive
mission furniture, while the girls learn to weave, and very pretty
things they make. These girls wear short blue skirts and little jackets,
and have their hair in two long black braids that hang on either side of
their faces. A Turkish towel, worn as a turban, on which to rest
burdens, seemed to be the fashion in head gear with them. Loads are also
carried by the Igorots on their backs, hung by straps over the forehead.
It was an Igorot child in this school who wrote the following article
upon Mrs. Dickinson's visit at Baguio:
"It was yesterday morning very early when we started from here to the
Post Office to meet a lady named Mrs. Dickinson. So early we all went
down the brook to take our bath. After we had taken our bath we had
breakfast. I was late so Ina scolded me, but I am glad she did it so
that some day I won't do it again. Then we were all line up in two by
two. When we got up to the Post Office she was not there so we waited
for her an hour or two. After waiting for them they arrived suddenly.
There were some ladies who accompanied Mrs. Dickinson. We were very much
pleased to see her and she was much pleased too. The first time that she
came in the Philippine Islands from America and she is soprice
(surprised). We sang three songs and the National Anthem and waving our
flags on the road. When we finished singing they clapped their hands. I
gave her a bouquet of pink flowers. This we did it for our honour of
Mrs. Dickinson not because she is more kind or lovely lady but because
she is the wife of Mr. Dickinson. This Secretary of War is the leader of
those who have authorities. He is responsible of them. After that we
came right back. Miss B. came for school. We cleaned the schoolroom and
the yard so that they will be so tidy when they come to see the school
at three o'clock. We fixed the two bridges and we trimmed the road
little bit for their automobiles to dance on. But they left them on the
road yonder because they afraid might the bridges will do them
damage. So they walked from there to here, and when they went back, they
walked from here to there again, making them a journey."
[Illustration: IGOROT OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE.]
Doctor White, the missionary at Baguio, and his sister took me one day
to the tombs of the Igorots. High on the hills looking toward the sea
are great natural rocks with cracks in them, one of which looked like
the Sphinx. Here we got off our ponies, tied them, and entered on foot a
tangled path leading to a cavern. In the faint light that sifted through
we saw a coffin, some baskets and some hats, and farther on, concealed
and yet overlooking a fine view, were more wooden coffins. Some of these
had fallen apart so that we could see the remains of bones and clothes.
When an Igorot dies the body is usually tied in a sitting position on
the top of a pole in the house and smoked for several days over a fire
built underneath it. Meanwhile, the family kill and cook all the pigs
and carabaos and ponies, if the man owned any, and then gather around
and have what they call a _cañao_, or feast. Afterward the bones and
skulls of the carabaos are hung about the house to show their neighbours
what a rich man he was.
Some of us went one day to Mirador, the typhoon station, on a high hill
overlooking the sea. It is in charge of a Jesuit priest, who predicts
the approach of typhoons and puts up storm signals, in this way
preventing great loss of life. We were shown the instruments, which give
warning of earthquakes as well as typhoons, and given sherry that was
fifty years old, delicious cake, and flowers from his garden, and we saw
his goats climbing up the steep crags. He told us with a chuckle that he
had traded his dog to an Igorot for a cow.
On Sunday we visited the dog market, but alas! we saw no dogs, as on
account of cholera in the vicinity, it was forbidden to sell any. A few
days before we had seen several men leading a number of lean and lanky
ones along the road, and these were all for sale, to be killed and
eaten. Long-haired canines are not popular, the short-haired kind are
preferred.
Vice-Governor Gilbert had a cañao, or feast, in front of his house one
morning. A line of partly dressed dog-eaters arrived, bowing as they
passed. They proved to be the chiefs or head men, who had put on what
clothes they possessed for this occasion. They were brown, bare-legged
men with gee strings, as they call the woven cloth hanging about their
waists. Some had coats on, but nothing underneath, and only an old hat
to complete the costume.
The Benguet Igorots, or dog-eaters, are small but strong, and remind one
of our American Indians. They are peaceful farmers now, but in days gone
by they fought their neighbours on the north, and so lances and shields
are still to be found among them. "The first American civil provincial
government established in the Philippines was in Benguet, and
governmental control has been continuously exercised there since
November 23, 1900. They are gladly availing themselves of the
opportunity now afforded for the education of their children, but insist
that this education be practical."
In order to show the progress that had been made in the Philippines, a
party of Igorots were brought to the St. Louis Exposition. Part of the
exhibit was a model schoolroom. Visitors were amazed at the bright,
eager little children, and at their keen interest in their lessons. But
they were even more amazed one day to see these same model pupils when a
dog suddenly barked outside. For the school simply went to pieces, the
children making for the nearest door. The last seen of them, they were
in full cry after the unfortunate dog.
Although we found the dog-eaters interesting, there are other tribes of
far greater interest, such as the Negritos, the warlike Ilongots and
the Tingians, as well as the people of the Bashee rocks of the north,
who are hardly ever seen.
The Negritos are diminutive and uncivilized black people who live to-day
in a few mountain areas. They are the aborigines of the islands in this
part of the world, and are as primitive as the Australian blacks, having
no social or political organization but that of the family. They live in
hollow trees or under little lean-tos of grass and brush, and subsist
principally by hunting and fishing, at which they are very expert. Their
weapons are poisoned arrows and the blow gun. The poison, which is made
either from the leaf of a tree or from decomposed meat, is placed in the
arrow-head of hollow bone. On striking, it injects the poison into the
flesh as a hypodermic needle would do, quickly resulting in death.
The only agricultural implement of the Negritos is a pointed stick
hardened in the fire. To prepare the ground for cultivation, on the
space they wish to clear they girdle the trees, which will soon die.
They are then set on fire and the ashes distributed over the soil.
Later, holes are made with the pointed sticks, and _camotes_, sugar-cane
and tobacco are planted.
These people are very timid, and if their suspicions are aroused in the
slightest manner, they immediately disappear into the forest. Very
little success has attended any effort to civilize them. Their religion
is nature worship with many local divinities and good and bad spirits of
all sorts.
They ornament their bodies with scar patterns, made by cutting the skin
with sharp pieces of bamboo and then rubbing dirt into the wounds. In
this respect they are like no other tribes in the Islands but resemble
the most primitive of the native Africans, who also make scar patterns.
The men often shave the crowns of their heads in order, they say, "to
let the heat out." The Negritos, like the Bagobos of the south,
sometimes point their front teeth, but not by filing them as one might
suppose. They are chopped off with a bolo.
Worcester says the Negritos "believe that each family must take at least
one head per year or suffer misfortune in the form of sickness, wounds,
starvation or death." Heads are buried in the ground under the "houses"
of the men who take them.
In regard to the Tingians of northern Luzon I also quote from Worcester,
who has given us the most reliable account of them:
"The women of this tribe ornament their arms with a series of bracelets
and armlets, which often extend from wrist to shoulder. They constrict
the middle of the forearm during early girlhood and continue to wear
tight armlets on the constricted portion throughout life, so that their
forearms become somewhat hourglass-shaped, this being considered a mark
of great beauty in spite of the unsightly swelling of the wrists which
results....
"Their cooking utensils are taken to the river and scrubbed with sand
after every meal. If a wife offers her husband dirty or soggy rice to
eat, the offense is said to afford ground for divorce....
"When a man dies, whether his death be natural or due to violence, the
other members of his family repair by night to some village of their
enemies, cut pieces from their turbans, and throw them down on the
ground. This is interpreted as an intimation that they will return and
take heads sometime within six months, and they believe that the dead
man knows no peace until this is done."
The Ilongots, who live in the province of Nueva Viscaya, are especially
wild and great head-hunters. They are striking figures in their deerskin
rain-coats. No young man can take to himself a bride until he has
brought back a head to prove his prowess. The favourite time for
these gruesome excursions of the tribe is when the blossoms of the fire
tree show their red beacons on the mountain sides. As an especial mark
of beauty and valour, because a good deal of pain has to be endured in
the process, the men cut off the upper front teeth on a line with the
gums.
[Illustration: ILONGOT IN RAIN-COAT AND HAT OF DEERSKIN.]
Woe betide the man who rides a white horse into the Ilongot country, for
above all things white hair is desired, and unless he stands guard over
it, he will find its mane missing and its tail cropped to the skin.
Most of the mountain people still retain their ancient myths and
traditions. Even among these Ilongots there are tales of the long ago
when they came across a "great water" to their present abode. This, of
course, merely explains the general migration of the Malay tribes. By
the way, this Malay migration is still in progress, and is exemplified
by the Samal boatmen who come from Borneo and further south in Malaysia
to the southern Philippines.
All the wild people have customs of their own, which distinguish them,
especially the manner in which they cut their hair and wear their loin
cloths. They have slightly different methods of fighting, some fighting
singly with a kind of sword, others in pairs with spears and arrows,
while the sword is used only to decapitate the fallen enemy. Others
display considerable ability in organization and operate large bands,
under especially designated chiefs. All are very fond of dancing and
have different dances to represent war, love and the chase.
They have their own explanations for everything, and their stories about
the creation of the various birds and animals are quite interesting and
not unlike those found among some tribes of aborigines in North America.
One of them relates that one day the Creator was making the different
birds. Before him lay bodies, wings, necks, heads and feet. He would
begin with the body and build it up with appropriate parts, so that it
could apply itself to the purpose for which it was intended. In every
case, the Creator was particular not to put on the wings before the bird
was complete, for fear that it would take flight in an imperfect
condition. One day while he was engaged in making an especially fine
specimen of the feathered world, the evil spirit approached and engaged
the Good Spirit in conversation. Ordinarily he would have attacked the
Evil One and quickly put him to flight, but as the bird was nearly
finished and already imbued with the spark of life he wished to complete
him. But the Creator's anger that the Evil One should overlook his work,
became so great that, without thinking, he put on the wings before the
legs had been fitted. Instantly the bird flew off. In haste the Creator
grabbed the first pair of legs he could lay his hands on and threw them
at it. They attached themselves exactly where they struck the bird, near
the tail. This is the reason, so the story goes, that the loon's legs
are so far back that he cannot walk in an upright position on land. His
peculiarly sad cry is a lament because he must stay in the water
practically all the time and cannot enjoy himself on land as other good
birds do.
[Illustration: ILONGOTS RETURNING FROM THE CHASE.]
Many of the people who live along the foot of the mountain ranges,
although Christianized sufficiently to contribute to the Roman Catholic
churches, still retain many of their aboriginal customs, especially
those pertaining to marriage, birth and death.
Beyond the shores of Luzon, stretching northward for nearly two hundred
miles, is an interesting archipelago of diminutive islands known as the
Bashee Rocks, the Batan and the Babuyan Islands.[19] The natives still
retain many of the characteristics which were observed by Dampier in his
visit to these islands in the seventeenth century.
The inhabitants of the Batan group are like those living on the Japanese
island of Botel Tobago, which is only sixty miles north of our most
northern possession.[20] No missionaries or other persons had been
allowed by the natives to land on their shores until a few Japanese
police arrived in 1909. They are mentioned in passing because they are a
present-day example of what the people in the northern islands of the
Philippine group were before the coming of the white men and the friars.
Their dwellings are very peculiar. Each family has a stone-paved court
surrounded by a low wall of stone. Within this enclosure they have three
houses: one with its sides sunk down into the ground, in order to give
protection from high winds; one with ordinary walls for use during
normal weather; and a third built on poles about ten feet above the
ground for use during the hot season. From these elevated houses a
constant watch is maintained for schools of fish. The people are expert
fishermen and make excellent nets, and they have beautiful boats with
high bows and sterns.
In Dampier's day the people were friendly and hospitable, as they are at
the present time. They valued iron more than gold, and gladly exchanged
it for iron. The ancient diggings are still to be seen, but the "pay
dirt" is of such a low grade that it is not worth while to work it. The
precious metal is washed out by the natives in cocoanut shells, which
take the place of our prospectors' "gold pan." Many gold ornaments of
attractive design are still to be found in these islands. Some of those
taken from graves remind one strongly of Chaldean work.
The graves of the ancient inhabitants were placed high upon the
mountains, some near the smoking craters of the volcanoes, others on the
crests of the non-volcanic hills. It is supposed that the graves near
the smoking craters were those of persons who had a bad reputation in
the community, while those on the tops of the ridges contained the
bodies of the good, and that by this method of burial the ideas of
heaven and hell were carried out in a practical manner. The bodies were
placed in _ollas_, or earthenware jars, some of which had a high glaze
and were profusely ornamented. The corpse was inserted into the jar in a
sitting position, and the orifice was sealed by placing an inverted olla
over the mouth of the first. These jars were then placed on end and a
small pyramid of stones built around them, on the top of which a little
tree was planted. A number of these graves ranged around the edge of a
smoking sulphur crater are an uncanny sight, which the natives take good
care to avoid.
The women of the Batan Islands, when walking or working out of doors,
wear a distinctive headdress, consisting of a long grass hood, which
stretches from the forehead to below the hips. It protects the head and
back from the sun, wind and rain, so that it is worn at all times and in
all seasons. It is one of the most original and useful of all primitive
garments.
During the dry season but little rain falls in these islands, and as
there are few streams or springs, every means is employed to catch
the least drop. Even the trees in the yards have pieces of rattan
twisted around their trunks and larger branches, to make the water drop
off into earthen jars.
[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE BATAN ISLANDS WITH GRASS HOOD.]
During the autumn migration of hawks and eagles from the north, men are
stationed on the thatched roofs of the high dwellings to seize the birds
by the feet as soon as they alight. Great numbers are caught in this
manner every year and form quite an element of the food supply.
Many of the islands are excellent places for the production of cattle.
Itbayat Island, unique because its shores are higher than the interior,
has many thousand head of excellent cattle. The coast is so precipitous
that when they are exported they have to be lowered to the water's edge
by means of a block and tackle, as at Tangier. They then have to swim
out to the waiting ship, where they are hoisted by their horns to the
deck.
Another of the cattle islands is called Dalupiri. This beautiful spot
was given in its entirety to Aldecoa and Company of Manila by the
Spanish government. In fact, when the United States first took
possession of the Philippines, this company claimed sovereignty over the
island, but this, of course, was not recognized by the United States
Government. The cattle that are pastured here are a cross between the
black Spanish bulls of fighting lineage and the humped cattle of India.
Great care is taken that the stock be well kept up, and for this purpose
there is a constant weeding out of undesirables. The method in which
this is done is both interesting and very exciting. The cattle roam at
will and are very wild and hard to approach; as a result they have to be
hunted with great care. About twenty men are employed in their capture,
all of whom are mounted on hardy little horses. Four of them are
lassoers and the rest huntsmen. The lassos are nooses attached to the
ends of bamboo poles about twelve feet long. The rope from the noose, to
the length of about twenty-five feet, is coiled around the bamboo pole
and tied to it four feet from the lower end. When the lasso is thrown
over an animal's head the pole is dropped by the rider, the rope unwinds
and drags the pole along the ground, until it catches on a rock or a
bush and stops the mad career of the animal.
"We started out early one morning," Major Mitchell writes me, "to cut
several young bulls out of a herd of about five hundred cattle. Led by
the manager of the island, we galloped over the rough surface of the
coral-bound hilltops and through deep, waving grass until one of the
huntsmen signaled that the herd was in sight. A careful inspection was
made of the herd with a telescope, and the animals for capture were
selected and carefully pointed out to the lassoers, who immediately took
up their posts in concealment beside a little plain. The huntsmen then
proceeded under cover to points around the herd which would enable them
to drive the cattle on to the little plain where the lassoers could get
in their work. After a wait of about a half hour, the horn of the chief
huntsman pealed forth and was answered by the yells of his companions;
the herd, unable to go in another direction, dashed for the little
plain, followed by its pursuers. Crouching behind some low bushes the
lassoers waited until the cattle, now in full stampede, had come within
fifty yards, when in a twinkling they dashed into the midst of the
galloping herd.
"After a terrific race one lasso held true on a fine young bull, while
the rest scampered off into the ravines and water courses. The dragging
bamboo pole soon brought him to a stop, and after several charges at his
captors, two more lassos were placed on him, and he was securely
fastened and dragged to a tree, against which his head was tied. A
little saw was produced from somewhere, and his gallant horns were cut
off short. An old, sedate carabao, who seemed to be perfectly at home,
made his appearance, the young bull was tied to the carabao's harness
and towed off toward the corral. At first he tried frantically to gore
the carabao, but as his horns had been removed no harm resulted. The
carabao did not mind it in the least but continued tranquilly on his
way. Three more bulls were captured on that day; each furnished
exceedingly fast and interesting sport. I have seen mounted work of a
great many kinds, such as pig sticking, stag hunting, and hunting of
many kinds of game, including our own fox hunting and polo, but never
have I seen any mounted work which required more dash, nerve, good
judgment and endurance than that displayed by these herdsmen of the
northern islands."
Although these islands are bounded on the north by the Balintan Channel,
through which some of the shipping passes from America to the southern
part of China, they are seldom visited. This is because, as I have said
before, there are no ports, not even good anchorages. During the typhoon
season they are exposed to the full force of these great hurricanes,
while the waters are infested with hidden rocks and coral ledges. The
U. S. cruiser _Charleston_ ran aground on a coral reef east of the
island of Camaguin in 1900 and sank immediately. During the
Russo-Japanese war the fleet of the Russian Admiral Rojesvenski passed
on either side of Batan Island. The Japanese had observers on the summit
of Mt. Iraya on this island, who are supposed to have signaled by
heliograph to Mt. Morrison in Formosa of the coming of the fleet. The
great armada could be seen from this mountain for more than one hundred
miles.
CHAPTER VII
AMONG THE HEAD-HUNTERS
When the Americans first came to the Philippines, most of the mountain
country could be reached only on foot over dangerous trails. Very large
tracts were unexplored, and the head-hunting tribes, who are found
nowhere but in this northern part of Luzon, pillaged the neighbouring
towns. A state of order has now been established, except in parts of
Kalinga and Apayao.
The Mountain Province, the home of the head-hunters, includes the
sub-provinces of Benguet, Lepanto, Amburayan, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kalinga
and Apayao. The officers of the provinces are a governor, a
secretary-treasurer, a supervisor in charge of the road and trail work
and the construction of public buildings, and seven lieutenant
governors. All these officers are appointed by the governor general.
They live on horseback, undergo great hardships and also take great
risks.
The manners and customs of these head-hunting tribes differ somewhat.
Each one, for instance, has a different mode of treating the captured
head when it is brought in, but all celebrate a successful hunt with a
cañao, or festival. The Ifugaos place the head upon a stake and hold
weird ceremonial dances around it, followed by speech making and the
drinking of _bubud_, as they call their wine; afterward the skull of the
victim is utilized as a household ornament. Venison and chicken are
served at such feasts and the large fruit-eating bats, which are
considered delicacies. If one of the tribe has been so unfortunate as to
have his head taken, they berate the spirit at the funeral, "asking him
why he had been careless enough to get himself killed."
The most picturesque of the head-hunting tribes that my husband saw were
the Kalingas, who are different from all other natives of Luzon. It is
said that the Spaniards took fifteen hundred Moros into this part of the
country more than a hundred years ago, so they may have founded this
tribe. At all events, the Kalingas are superbly developed, tall and
slight, some of the men having handsome and almost classical features.
Neither the men nor the women cut the hair, which, in the case of the
men, is banged in front and tied up with rags behind, some wearing nets
to keep it out of their eyes. Although the women have abundant hair they
use "switches," into which they stick beautiful feathers. The men also
decorate themselves in the same way. On the back of the head they often
wear little caps woven of beautifully stained rattan and covered with
agate beads, and these are used as pockets in which small articles are
carried. Great holes are pierced in the lobes of their ears, into which
are thrust wooden ear plugs, with tufts of red and yellow worsted.
Almost every Kalinga woman wears a pair of heavy brass ear ornaments and
sometimes a solid piece of mother-of-pearl cut like a figure eight.
The Kalingas are particularly warlike, their very name meaning "enemy"
or "stranger," and endeavours to bring them under government control
were begun only a few years ago. There are still some _rancherias_ which
the lieutenant governor has not yet visited, as it seemed best to wait
and bring the people to terms by peaceful means.
While we were enjoying ourselves at Baguio, the Secretary of War,
Governor Forbes, Secretary Worcester, General Edwards, and my husband
started north into the mountains to see some of the strange tribes that
were gathering from far and wide to meet the great _Apo_, or chief, as
they called Secretary Dickinson. I give the account of the trip in my
husband's own words:
On Saturday night, July 31st, after the Assembly baile, we motored to
the docks and went aboard the transport _Crook_ for the trip northward.
We were made very comfortable on this big transport, with deck cabins,
but we all slept on the open deck by preference and had a pleasant run
till in the morning we were entering Subig Bay, a splendid vast harbour
between great mountains, the narrow entrance guarded by Isola Grande.
Here we landed and visited the batteries, and although it was a small
island it was a stewing hot walk about it--especially as the Secretary
sets a great pace--till a torrential shower came up and drove us to the
commanding officer's house, where we had a bite of breakfast--and all
the breakfasts at the posts which we have visited have been so good!
General Duvall had come up from Manila on his yacht _Aguila_, and on
board of her we crossed the bay to Olongapo, where there is the present
naval station. The great hulk of the famous floating dock _Dewey_ was
looming up there, just floated again after her mysterious sinking
which, even now, they do not seem to be able to explain.
The guard was out with the band, and the honours were paid and the
marines paraded, but soon another severe tropical storm broke, and drove
some of us back to the ship while the others went on to another
breakfast at the Officers' Club. This storm suggested a typhoon, but
there had been no warning from the Jesuit observatory at Manila, and so
we rejoined the _Crook_ out by Isola Grande and went to sea without
fear.
This is the rainy and typhoon season but the warnings of severe storms
are so carefully given that they have lost their terrors now-a-days; and
this year, so far, there hasn't been a disturbance, much to our comfort,
as it has permitted the carrying out of all our plans. It is a most
unusual thing for such good weather to continue. The hot season is over,
and this is called the intermediate, but it is the time of rains on this
coast, the seasons differing slightly on the different coasts and in the
different islands. So all that night we cruised up the coast through
showers of rain and lightning, passing by Bolinao Light, which we had
first sighted as we approached the Philippines.
Before daylight we stopped off Tagudin, and through the darkness could
be seen the dim shadow of land and mountains, and a light burning on the
beach as a beacon. With dawn we saw a wonderful tropical shore develop
before us, of low land fringed with palm, surrounded by beautiful
mountain ranges, a tiny village on the beach, and a crowd of people
gathered together. Soon a surf-boat put out and brought aboard the
governors of the nearby provinces--Early and Gallman, brave, ready men,
who have taken these wild people in hand and become demi-gods among
them--and after a bite of breakfast we were all taken ashore through the
surf, very handily, and the Secretary was welcomed by a native band and
the chief men of the neighbourhood and crowds of half naked natives.
The Ilocanos of the northwest coast of Luzon are a fine, kindly race,
but there had also come down from the interior a lot of small brown men
to pack in our baggage, Bontoc Igorots, head-hunters and dog-eaters, of
whom we were to see more in their own country. These little fellows at
first seemed like dwarfs; but soon after, as we saw them better, they
proved small but well formed and well nourished, strong, gentle little
people. They ran forward and seized our packages and disappeared down
the trail in a wild, willing manner. Off they trotted while we were
packed into carromatos, dragged by weedy, diminutive native horses,
which are wonderfully powerful for their size. We went, after greeting
the people, off down the trail, through the outskirts of Tagudin (we
didn't go into the town, which was somewhat to one side, as there had
been some cholera there), with its nipa houses of plaited grass, perched
up above the ground, many decorated in honour of the occasion. We
rattled along an excellent road (for we have certainly done wonders in
road-building here), past paddy fields, where the slow carabao grazed
with little children perched on their backs, past troops of natives,
with their loads, standing alongside.
Governor General Forbes had made the most wonderful preparations for the
trip. It was the first time that any American officials (only Insular
officials previously) had gone in to these wild people, and of course
the Secretary is the highest in rank that can visit the Islands since he
is the one through whom the President governs the Philippines and the
President can never come. The trip was unique and all the arrangements
were extraordinary. For a new trail had been planned into the mountains
but was not due to be done for eight months, and yet thousands of these
wild men had been called in and helped to finish the road so much the
more quickly (for we were the first party to pass over it, and some of
the bridges had only been finished the night before we passed), eagerly
and willingly, when they were told that the great Apo was coming in to
visit them. Forbes had sent to Hongkong for some rick'shaws and had had
men trained to pull and push them, but these had not stood the test well
and we didn't have the need or the chance to use them; he also had had
palanquin chairs brought over from China and men taught in a way to
carry them, and these we did use on some of the steep descents. But we
rode horses, excellent ones, from Forbes's own stable, almost all the
way.
Every three kilometers, companies of Igorots and Ifugaos were stationed
to act as _cargadores_ and rush along the baggage by relays, and this
they did with shouts and cheers as quickly as we traveled. Tiffin and
breakfasts had been prepared all along the way. Every eventuality had
been anticipated, and it was really too well done, for it made our
traveling seem so easy that we had to think hard to realize into what
out-of-the-way places we were going. A few days before it would have
been necessary to work our way over the perpendicular old trails, with
difficulty finding bearers for our packs, and we would have been
compelled to carry our own food, a severe trip and a hard undertaking.
We went in absolutely unarmed and without escort, and yet nearly every
native that we saw, after we reached the hills, carried his spear and
head ax; but there wasn't a suggestion of danger. People were brought
together on this occasion from different tribes who two years ago would
have killed each other at sight, and yet to-day were dancing with each
other.
We were accompanied by the governors of the sub-provinces as we passed
through them, and an unarmed orderly and Sergeant Doyle, who had charge
of Governor Forbes's horses, and generally by a shouting horde of
natives. The Secretary proved a wonder; well mounted, as he was, he led
on at a great pace, till it seemed a sort of endurance test. I was more
than pleased to find that I stood it as I did, for we traveled four days
out of the five for forty miles a day, and rode most of it a-horseback.
I came out finally in much better form than when I went in.
And so, from the beach where we landed, the carromatos carried us across
the low coast plain, over new bridges on which the inscriptions stated
that they had been finished for the passage of the Secretary and his
party, and under triumphal arches made of bamboo which welcomed him; all
the natives whom we passed saluted, and many wished to shake hands or
only touch the hand as we passed, till we came into the foothills, and
over them into a little village of nipa huts among the bamboo and
tropical trees, where we found our horses waiting. Here we mounted and
started off at a good pace over the well built road that trailed around
cliff and crag as we worked into the mountains, a procession, a
cavalcade, winding in and out. We traveled along the valley of a river,
that later became a gorge with steep cliffs and precipitous sides; all
the natives were out to greet the Secretary; and finally we came to a
tiny village where we had a drink of refreshing cocoanut water, all the
people standing about or hanging out of the windows of the simple
houses, which looked very clean and neat. We trailed on along the narrow
road, cut into the rock in many places, really a remarkable road, and up
the gorge with the rushing river below us. The mountains rose high and
opened up in lovely velvety greens, and shaded away into the blues of
distance. We stopped at a little native rest house, above a ford in the
river, where we found a luncheon prepared for us, but it was a hurried
luncheon, and on we went climbing a winding trail that zigzagged up the
steep mountainside, through tropical tangle of bamboo and fern and great
overhanging trees with trailing parasites--the ghost tree, the hard
woods, and some with a beautiful mauve flower at the top that even Mr.
Worcester couldn't tell me the name of (he said he had been so busy
inventing names for the birds that he hadn't had time yet to find names
for trees). And below the views opened up wider and more splendid, and
range on range of mountains rose above each other, while the precipices
grew deeper and more terrifying.
And suddenly, as we came to a turn in the trail, there appeared above us
a most picturesque sight against the skyline, some Ifugao warriors,
lithe, beautifully formed men, whose small size was lost in their
symmetry, with spears in their hands, turbans of blue wrapped about
their heads, and loin cloths of blue with touches of red and yellow in
their streaming ends that hung like an apron before and like a tail
behind; their handsome brown bodies like mahogany. They had belts made
of round shells from which hung their bolos. These were the head men of
a company of Ifugaos who had come this far to greet the party and they
stood so gracefully on the point above us; and around the turn we found
the rest of the band, stunning looking fellows, standing at attention in
line behind their lances, which were stuck in a row in the ground. Here
we had another tiffin, while these warriors seized and scampered off
with our luggage.
From this time on, as we traveled, we found reliefs of these picturesque
people, waiting their turn at carrying, and then all would join in the
procession, and shouting a cheer like American collegians, their war
cry, they would rush on and frighten us to death with the risk of going
over the steep places. Away off in the distance, reëchoing through the
valleys, we could hear the cheers and cries, very musical, of others of
our party as they traveled along. Soon we began to be greeted by the
tom-toms of natives who had come out to honour the Secretary, and by
their singing as we approached, and then they would dance round in a
strange way as we passed on.
The Ifugaos had come to meet the Secretary from several days' journey
away, mostly through Bontoc Igorot country, all armed, and yet there
hadn't been a sign of trouble. And these Ifugaos, who two years ago were
wild head-hunters, have been brought into wonderful control by their
governor, Gallman. There are some one hundred and twenty thousand of
these picturesque people, among whom head-hunting is now nearly stamped
out; though there are sporadic cases doubtless. These little savages,
too, appear most gentle and tractable, most willing and laughing, in the
rough tumbling of the trail; and they have proved very clever, for they
were the builders of the roads over which we traveled (we were told that
they could drill rock better than Americans, on a few months' practice,
and that they have sat for a few days and watched Japanese bricklayers
set brick, and then done it as well as the Japanese). But indeed their
_sementeras_--their paddy fields--their terracing, which they have
practised for hundreds of years, is the most wonderful in the world, and
there is nothing even in Japan to compare with their work of this kind.
Their great game of head-hunting has taught them cleverness, and they
are full of snap and go.
The Ifugao is a great talker and has all the gestures of an orator. When
he begins a speech he first gives a long call to attract attention, then
climbs a stand fifteen feet high by means of a ladder. He generally
begins his remarks by stating that he is a very rich man, and goes on
to praise himself and his tribe, and at the end of his harangue he often
himself leads off in the applause by loudly clapping his hands. He has
become a fine rifleman and is a fearless fighter. In clout, coat and
cap, and a belt of ammunition, with legs bare, he travels incredible
distances and makes a good constabulary soldier. The Governor General is
anxious to form them into a militia, but they lose their grip, we were
told, when they are taken down from the hills to the plain.
[Illustration: CONSTABULARY SOLDIERS.]
And so we went on up to over four thousand feet, to where the pass broke
through the mountain, and there before us was a vast valley with a
splendid plain beyond, and in the middle of it, on a prominence, we
could see Cervantes, where we were to stop our first night. It seemed so
near and yet proved many miles away as we traced our way down the steep
coasts of the valley and the view of the plain below widened and the
ranges of mountains beyond rose into finer heights. We twisted and
trailed zigzag down the pine-clad slopes, for the change of vegetation
(due to the mountain range, which divided a different climate on either
side of it) in passing over the ridge had been remarkable, and though we
had seen rare orchids and begonias as we mounted, we descended from the
same height through pine and pasture.
When finally we reached the plateau and had crossed a river bed we were
met by the people of the village of Cervantes--many girls in gay dress
riding astride on their midget ponies, and men and boys on their rugged
little mounts. These escorted the party under the triumphal arches into
the grass streets of the pretty village, where the simple public
buildings were decorated, and the local band played, till we finally
were taken to the houses where we were to spend the night, the Secretary
and the Governor and Clark and myself going to the Lieutenant
Governor's. He was married to a Filipina wife. And here I must say that
we met several of these Filipina wives of white men, and they had most
perfect manners and self possession and real grace (and this one was a
good cook). The house was a best class native house and more comfortable
than we had anticipated, though there were sounds and smells that rather
disturbed us. There was a reception and baile at the municipal building
in the evening, where we had to go and dance a rigodon, each partnered
off with some dainty little Filipina lady. And then we did hurry home to
rest, for we had been up since half after four that morning and were to
start next morning a little after five.
The next day's trail was very fine, for we started off over a river
which we crossed on a flying bridge, a swinging car on a cable, while
the horses were forded; and then we had splendid but slow climbing up
the gorge of one river after another, coasting the mountainside, where
we could see the mark of the trail many miles ahead above us and part of
our procession trailing along in single file or rushing along with
distant shout, as the little willing native cargadores carried their
loads up and up. Above us rose Mount Data, with its mysterious waterfall
that seems to come right out of its peak, and clouds circled about us,
and below the valleys streaked away into the distance and the ranges
rose higher and higher, and the play of light and shadow was beautiful
on the greens and grays and browns and blues of the distances. We began
to see rancherias, the native villages, perched up on the hills, the
thatched roofs like haystacks, with blue smoke at times coming through;
and paddy fields began to climb the upper valleys in their terraces,
with the pale green rice, and fringes of the banana palm of which the
hemp is made. In places the red croton was planted on the terraces for
luck, and in the ravines which we crossed there were cascading falls
and pools.
We rose higher and higher over another range, and at the tip-top of the
trail another group of Igorots were dancing and playing their tom-toms
as we passed, and rushed alongside to touch fingers. Soon we passed
through a village built in a stony gorge where a river ran down. The
houses consisted of conical thatched roofs supported on four wooden
piers with ladders leading up into the roofs where the people lived. The
foundations were terraced in stone and the paths were stone-terrace, and
it all looked very neat and clean. On our way back we stopped for tiffin
at this same village and had the women come and show us how they weave,
for it was a place famed for its weaving. This time our tiffin was
farther on, at a rest-house with a splendid view, and it had been laid
out so prettily with temporary flower beds and bamboo arches. The
Belgian priest from a town nearby had come to join us at luncheon, and
although he spoke no English I had a pleasant time with him in French,
for he proved to be a sort of relative of our cousins the de Buisserets;
his name was Padre Sepulchre, one of a band of Belgians belonging to no
order but educated highly for missionary priesthood, who have been
sent out, since our occupation, by the Pope, and many of whom are rich
and gentlemen born. This one had already in two years spent some twenty
thousand dollars gold of his own money in his town. Another such
missionary we met at Bontoc, and several at other places, and all are
said to do good work.
[Illustration: RICE TERRACES.]
We started off after tiffin on the long trail that wound down the gorge
of El Chico de Cagayan River, on our way to Bontoc. Villages became more
numerous and were very picturesque, on the spurs of mountain above the
river, or embowered in coffee trees, where the mountain coasts were
patched with pineapple plantations. And the paddy fields grew in terrace
after terrace, most splendid engineering by these primitive people,
rising above each other up into the clouds, fitting into the contours of
the mountainsides, the terrace walls overgrown with green, and the pale
green paddy within, and little cascades carrying the water down from
terrace to terrace, most lovely, like some great hanging gardens; little
brown people were stooping at work in them, all naked, but with their
clothes covered by leaves and balanced on their heads, to be kept dry;
for there were showers and cloud effects that added to the beauty of
the panorama as we passed. The terraces add beauty and interest to the
eye by their succession of levels, and as we traveled into the country
they became more frequent and complete. Curiously enough, the Bontoc
Igorots have forest laws and a forest service of their own. The
mountainsides of their rough country are sparsely timbered with pine,
which has grown very scarce near some of the larger settlements. Forests
in the vicinity of such settlements are divided up into small private
holdings claimed by individuals, whose right thereto is recognized by
the other members of the tribe. In many places it is forbidden to cut
trees until they have reached a large size, although the lower branches
are constantly trimmed off and used for firewood. Forest fires are kept
down to facilitate reforestation, and young trees are planted. Such
foresight on the part of a primitive people is certainly unusual.
So we trailed all day, till toward half after five we turned a point and
came to Bontoc, after a procession of natives had come streaming out
some miles up the gorge to meet the party. Bontoc is the capital of the
Mountain Province and was the goal of our journey.
The native town is very dirty and is acknowledged to be one of the worst
of the native villages; in the more savage places the towns are said
to be cleaner. We walked through it, where the terraced stone walks pass
by stone pits where the pigs wallow, and by thatched houses which have
no exit for the smoke and so are filthy and in dreadful condition. We
saw the communal shacks in which the unmarried and widowed members live
with their peculiar rights, and the sties where the old men resort to
talk, and we stood outside the wretched place where the skulls are kept,
and some heads, all black and smoked, were brought out in a basket from
the secret recesses for us to see.
[Illustration: IFUGAO COUPLE.]
Some of these Bontoc Igorots are skilful smiths, and they make excellent
earthen pots and clay pipes. They have interesting athletic sports of
their own and take to those of the Americans. They are especially fond
of beads, which are wound in their hair or hung about the neck, and
greatly value large white stones, caring little for agates, so highly
prized by the Kalingas.
Into Bontoc for this great occasion had been brought warriors and women
from the Kalingas and Ifugaos, with Igorots from about, some from a
distance of several days' travel; and for the first time these warring
tribes, who only two years before were taking each other's heads, came
peacefully together, and watched each other with as much interest as
they watched us.
The adventures of the American lieutenant governors read like romances,
and here they were before us with their following: the Kalingas more
dangerous and warlike than the Ifugaos, and the Ifugaos more picturesque
and interesting than the Igorots, and all together making a
never-to-be-forgotten scene.
There were, too, several small companies of native constabulary, for
these hill men make splendid soldiers and take great pride in their arms
and uniform, and have proved loyal to the death. All the different
tribes and the constabulary had turned out to receive the Secretary, and
it was a vociferous and noisy yelling crowd that streamed about in
irregular procession. We were, some of us, taken to a government house
that was comfortable, and took our meals at a club which the officials
have built and which is quite pathetically complete, and that evening we
did little before turning in--the first evening since we had landed in
the Islands when we were able to turn in at a reasonable hour with the
prospect of sleeping as late as we pleased next day.
Next day was a day of festivities, a cañao, for from morning till night
there was dancing by these fantastic peoples, whom so few white men
have ever seen. We were waked early enough, alas! by the _ganzas_--the
tom-toms--and there were parades of the different tribes through the
town. A small grandstand had been erected in the plaza, and there we
stood with the Secretary and the few white teachers and the missionaries
from about, while the procession was reviewed.
The constabulary came first, dressed only in loin cloths of different
colours below the waist, but with the regulation khaki uniform blouse
and cap above. They are officered by Americans and a few natives, and
are most military, notwithstanding the strange appearance of their bare
legs. Some companies were very well drilled, and they gave exhibitions
of different manuals as well as any regular white soldiers might have
done.
The wild Kalingas came past next, most picturesque, with their feather
headdresses of red and yellow, and spears and head axes, and their
brightly coloured loin cloths, and the women in scant but gay garments,
and not at all ashamed in their nakedness. And these gave their
characteristic dances, with outstretched arms, hopping and prancing
about in a circle, all the time looking down into the center of the
circle about which they dance (where the head of the decapitated is
supposed to be). There were innumerable tom-toms, which they play with
variations, so as to make much rhythm and movement, and the women joined
in the dancing, more moderately, some with big cigars in their mouths
and looking extremely indifferent. Then, when they danced in a circle,
some would prance into the center with shield and ax and pretend attacks
upon each other, and leap about and grow excited; and this sort of thing
they kept up all day (and part of the night, too) off and on.[21]
[Illustration: IFUGAO HEAD DANCE.]
The Ifugaos followed and passed by, and gave their dances, which are the
same with a difference, but each was ended with a mighty shout, after
which one of the head men would step forward and deliver a rattling
speech, and they greeted the Secretary variously but cordially--for they
like our American rule, indeed, they have never had any other, for the
Spaniards never attempted to come in and control them.
Then the Bontoc Igorots followed and gave exhibitions with noisy
demonstrations, and two _presidentes_, or chiefs, who six months before
were trying to kill each other, danced and pranced together, while the
tom-toms beat and others hopped and circled round. Most of the men were
tattooed, each tribe in its own peculiar manner, certain marks
indicating that their bearer had killed his man and taken a head--some
bore marks of many heads; one man dancing was known to have taken
seventeen. Many of the women, too, were tattooed with a feather-like
pattern.
And so the dances went on. In some the participants postured fighting
and then represented wounded men; in others all were head men together;
some were rapid in motion, some slow, but all had real grace, that grace
of the wild man; and all were finely formed and well-nourished and
healthy looking. When the dancing was over, the groups of savages in
their fantastic dress squatting around the plaza behind their spears
stuck in the ground, with bolo and head-ax and tom-tom, and the women
standing about, made a wonderful scene.
After the dances and speeches the head men came up to the Secretary and
handed him weapons as gifts, sometimes their own, with which they had
often fought. Mr. Dickinson, of course, received the chiefs and the head
men and women afterward, and presented them with shells and blankets and
plumes in return. The bartering among them was rather amusing, as they
tried to exchange what they had received and didn't want.
[Illustration: WEAPONS OF THE WILD TRIBES.]
At the club in the evening of the second day, they gave us a remarkable
dinner; all the Americans in the district were present; and the few
Filipinos entertained us at a baile, and so our day was finished.
We started out at daylight next morning and hiked back by the same
trail; but the views seemed finer in their repetition than even when we
first passed through them. We had had most superb weather, although it
was the rainy season, and had enjoyed the grand panoramas to the full;
but the last afternoon it came on to pour down in torrents, which we
enjoyed too as an experience, for we came safely to Tagudin, where the
people and the band joined in sending us off, as they had received us,
and we were safely taken out through quite a heavy surf and put on board
the Coast Guard boat _Negros_, and had a glass with ice in it again.
CHAPTER VIII
INSPECTING WITH THE SECRETARY OF WAR
August thirteenth is a holiday in the Philippine Islands, for it is
"Occupation Day," the anniversary of the fall of Manila and its
occupation by the American army. The special event is a "camp fire" in
the evening at the theater, when the Philippine war veterans gather
together and have addresses and refreshments. After a dinner with Tom
Anderson at the Army and Navy Club, with its picturesque quarters in an
old palace, intramuros, we attended this performance, sitting in the
Governor's box and listening to the happy self-laudation of the
"veterans," who all wore the blue shirt and khaki of war times.
It was toward midnight when we finally left and went out to our vessel,
for we were off for a trip among the southern islands on the cable
steamer _Rizal_. We sailed by the light of a full moon, and for a while
had a merry bobbery of it outside, after passing Corregidor. Soon,
though, we turned a point and had the monsoon following. In the morning
we woke to find ourselves steaming past the fine scenery of southern
Luzon, with the volcano of Taal in the distance. Several times during
the Spanish occupation this volcano dealt death and destruction, and as
late as 1911 it claimed many victims.
Our first landing place was at Kotta, on Luzon, where we started ashore
in a small launch. It was a beautiful river of palms, but our boat got
stuck in the mud and we were delayed. We finally reached the shore and
were put into automobiles. Then it was that I began to feel as if I had
joined a circus parade. Escorted by bands and soldiers, our motors moved
slowly along the streets. Everywhere people lined the way, while the
windows of the houses fairly dripped with heads.
We passed many little villages that looked prosperous, and processions
of carts, showing that the people were active and busy. The road ran
over picturesque bridges, for part of it was an old Spanish trail
rejuvenated. At all the villages they had made preparations to receive
the Secretary, bands were out, the children stood by the roadside and
waved, and the women stood in rows to greet us. The municipal buildings
were decorated, the piazzas hung with festoons and lanterns. They all
wanted to give us _comida_ and let off speeches, but it was impossible
to live through such hospitalities, so we only halted at each place a
few minutes to shake hands.
The stop for the night was Lucena, the home of Mr. Quezon, Philippine
Commissioner to the United States Congress. He traveled with us, and we
found him very attractive. The general opinion was that Quezon, Legarda,
and Osmeña were "playing to the gallery" for political capital, but at
the same time they were supporting our administration. It is a good deal
like some of our friends in Congress, who make speeches along lines that
they know are absolutely untenable.
After climbing into a bandstand, where we stood surrounded by people
peering up at us, flowery speeches began, demanding independence. They
were the first of the kind we had heard. The Filipinos are good speakers
and keen politicians. Among other remarks, an orator said: "Many things
occur to my mind, each of which is important, but among them there is
one which constitutes a fundamental question for the Filipinos and the
Americans. It is a question that interests equally the people of the
United States and the people of the Philippine Islands. It is a question
of life or death for our people, and it is a question also of justice,
for the people of the United States. The fundamental question is
evidently, gentlemen, the question of a political finality of my
country....
"We are very grateful for your visit, Mr. Secretary, and we hope that
the joy that we felt on your arrival may not be clouded, that it may not
be tempered, but rather that it shall be heightened, by seeing in you a
true interpretation of the desires of the Philippine people, hoping that
on your return to the United States after your visit to the Philippine
Islands, you will tell the truth as regards the aspirations of the
Philippine people."
In answering, the Secretary talked about the different subjects of
interest, such as the agricultural bank, land titles, etc. He continued:
"It is very gratifying to me, coming from America, and representing the
Government in the position in which I stand, to hear such testimonials
as you have given in regard to the men that America has sent to assist
you in advancing your interests.... America has been careful to send men
in whom confidence can be reposed according to their previous character;
and I want to say to you further, that America has given you here just
as good government as she has given to her people at home.[22] In all
established governments fair and just criticism is welcome and I shall
not therefore bear any spirit that would be resentful of any just
criticism.
"I shall be very glad while I am here to meet those who have the real
welfare of the Islands at heart and the development of this country. I
have many things to do and the time is comparatively short, but I shall
endeavour so to conduct affairs as to be able to give audience to all
law-abiding people who may desire to make any representations to me. I
shall be at convenient periods here where I shall be accessible, and any
communications which are addressed to me personally will receive proper
consideration. Now that states in a general way the object of my visit
and the disposition that I propose to make of my time while here.
General Edwards, who is with me, as you know, is the Chief of the
Insular Bureau. Certainly he, more than any other man in America,
understands conditions in the Philippines, and his whole time, thought
and mind are concentrated upon the problems connected with your
welfare, and he is working all the time to advance your interests. His
familiarity with conditions from the time of America's occupation, the
establishment of civil government, the settling of the various
commercial questions that have arisen from time to time, make him the
most effective champion for the Philippine interests in America, and he
has not hesitated in Congress whenever your interests are at stake, to
stand up and contend for your interests with vehemence that ought to
make him eligible to all option as a Philippine citizen....
"You have there a brilliant representative (Mr. Quezon), who is capable
of presenting your views and aspirations, and of enforcing your wishes
with the most cogent arguments of which your cause is susceptible....
"Now as to immediate independence: we Americans understand by immediate,
right away--to-day. Do you want us to get up and leave you now--to
depart from your country? You would find yourselves surrounded by graver
problems than have hitherto confronted you, if we should do so. I don't
positively assert, but I suggest that you yourselves pause, and think
whether you might not be reaching forth and grasping a fruit which, like
the dead sea fruit, would turn to ashes upon your lips."[23]
It was at Lucena that my husband and I went to Captain and Mrs. S.'s
house for the night. We sat on the piazza by moonlight, among beautiful
orchids, listening to the band playing in the distance, and gossiping. I
was interested in the servant problem, and Mrs. S. had much to tell me
that was new.
"Our native servants would much rather have a pleasant 'thank you' than
a tip," she said; "if a tip is offered, the chances are that it will be
refused, for the boys feel that they would do wrong to accept it. They
are very keen, though, about their _aguinaldos_--presents--at Christmas.
Every native who has done a hand's turn for me during the year will turn
up Christmas Day to wish me a _feliz Pasquas_, and I am expected to give
him a present. My whole day is for my servants and their children, who
seem to multiply at that time. When I asked my _cochero_, 'Lucio, how
many _niños_ have you?' he answered, 'Eleven, señora.' 'But how many
under fourteen, Lucio?' 'Eleven, señora!' He wanted all the presents
that he could get," she laughed.
"But if they don't take tips, do they get good wages?" I asked.
"Not according to American ideas. A Filipino boy will work for small
pay, and stay a long time, in a cheerful home atmosphere. They are good
servants, too," she continued, "if you take the trouble to train them. I
trained a green boy to be a good cook by taking an American cook book
and translating it into Spanish. They have a great reverence for books,
and that boy thought he was very scientific. I've had him many years. We
loaned him money to build his hut near us. He was a year paying it off,
but he paid off every cent. Now he has four children for Christmas
gifts. When I went away on a visit, he asked me to bring him a gold
watch from America. So many years with us gave him that privilege. As we
were gone some time I think he feared we might not return, so he wrote
us a letter." Seeing my interest, she got the letter and read it to me:
"My Dear Sir Capt.:
"In accompany the great respect to you would express at the bottom.
It is a long time since our separation and I'm hardly to forget you
because I have had recognized you as a best master of maine. So I
remit best regard to you and Mrs. and how you were getting along
both, and if you wish to known my condition, why, I'm well as
ever.
"Sir Capt. If you will need me to cook for Mrs. why I'll be with
you as soon as I can find some money.
"Please Sir Capt.
"Will you answer this letter for me?
"Very respectfully
"Yours, PEDRO."
"On returning from the United States I took Pedro back," Mrs. S. went
on, "but I found I needed extra house boys. The first who presented
himself was Antonio, aged seventeen. He was a very serious, hard-working
boy, whose only other service had been a year on an inter-island
merchant ship. I took him at once, for servants from boats are usually
well trained. He turned out well, and in a few months asked if he could
send for his little brother to be second boy to help him. I said he
could, so in due time Crispin smilingly presented himself. No questions
passed as to salary or work. He was installed on any terms that suited
me. A few weeks later, Antonio asked if he could bring his cousin in
just to learn the work, so that he could find a place. I consented, and
in time came Sacarius, gentle and self-effacing, and apparently intent
on learning, and always handy and useful. Again a favour was asked, this
time that the father of Antonio might come as a visitor for a three
weeks' stay. He was very old, would not eat in my house, only sleep in
the servants' room, so again I consented. Father must have already been
on his way, permission taken for granted, for his arrival was almost
simultaneous. I found him sitting in my kitchen in very new and very
clean white clothes, the saintliest old tao, with no teeth, white hair,
and a perpetual smile. He rose and bowed low to me, but he couldn't
speak Spanish or English, so called his son to him to salute me for him
formally. I returned it and made him welcome to my house. He bade them
tell me he had journeyed far to tell me of his gratitude for my goodness
to his family and that he had such _confienza_ in me that he had
instructed his sons never to leave me. The old fellow enjoyed himself
thoroughly, and spent so much of his son's money that Antonio shipped
him home in a week."
"Are they spoiled by living with Americans?"
"Yes, but it shows most in their clothes. Antonio dresses almost as well
as his master," laughed Mrs. S. "But he does not attempt to work in his
best clothes, wearing the regulation _muchacho_ costume without
objection, even though some of the army officers' muchachos are allowed
to dress like fashion plates, and clatter round the polished floors in
their russet shoes. A muchacho will spend his whole month's pay for a
single pair of American russet shoes. They love russet, and the shoe
stores flourish in consequence."
"How about their amusements?" I inquired.
"Whenever they can get off they go to baseball games and the movies. The
little girls wear American-made store dresses now, and great bunches of
ribbon in their hair, white shoes, and silk stockings. Some families who
in the early days had hardly a rag on their backs now own motors. I
don't believe you could force independence on them! The señoritas trip
home from normal school with their high-heeled American pumps, and paint
enough on their faces to qualify for Broadway. The poor children have to
swelter in knitted socks, knitted hoods, and knitted sweaters, just
because they come from America. Filipino children are wonderful,
though--they never cry unless they are ill. They are allowed absurd
liberty, but they don't seem to get spoiled. The Filipina women love
white children intensely; the fair skins seem to charm them, and they
really can't resist kissing a blond child."
We certainly enjoyed our stay at Lucena. Mrs. S.'s house was so clean
and homelike, with its pretty dining room and its broad veranda, and the
big shower bath which felt so refreshing. We went to sleep that night
watching the palm leaves waving in the moonlight.
In the early morning we all got into automobiles again and ran over fine
roads built since the American occupation. We left the China Sea and
crossed the island to the Pacific, climbing a wonderful tropical
mountain, where, by the way, we nearly backed off a precipice because
our brakes refused to work, and we frightened a horse as we whizzed on
to Antimonan. The churches here had towers something like Chinese
pagodas, and the big lamps inside were covered with Mexican silver. All
these island towns have a presidente and a board of governors, called
_consejales_, and each province has a governor.
Manila hemp is one of the principal products of this prosperous
province, and it is chiefly used to make rope. The plant from which this
hemp is made looks very much like a banana plant. The stalk is stripped
and only the tough fibers are used. They employ the cocoanut a good
deal to make oil, which is obtained from the dried meat, called copra.
They had a procession of their products here at Antimonan, which was
very interesting.
The hemp and cigar importations were first carried on by Salem captains
in the fifties. The great American shipping firm in those days was
Russell, Sturgis, Oliphant and Company. The Philippines were out of the
line of travel, however, and few people went there except for trade. In
fact, as far as I know, only one book was written by an American about
the islands before the American occupation.
On the _Rizal_ next morning, when I looked out of my porthole at dawn,
it seemed to me as if I were gazing at an exquisite Turner painting.
Mount Mayon[24] was standing there majestically, superb in its cloak of
silver mist, which changed to fiery red. It is the most beautiful
mountain in the world, more perfect in outline than Fuji. Mrs. Dickinson
was so inspired by its beauty that she wrote a poem, a stanza of which I
give:
"Mount Mayon, in lonely grandeur,
Rises from a sea of flame,
Type of bold, aggressive manhood,
Lifting high a famous name
'Bove the conflict of endeavour
Ranging round its earthly base,
Where heartache and failure ever
Stand hand-clasped face to face."
[Illustration: LANDING AT TOBACO.]
Our landing at Tobaco was made in the most novel way. As the water was
shallow and the _Rizal_ could not get into the dock, three carabaos
hitched to a wagon waded out till only their noses could be seen; we
stepped on to the two-wheeled cart and sat in state on chairs while we
wiggle-waggled through the water to the shore. There we went to the town
hall and had a banquet with many brown men and a few little brown women.
The governor of the province spoke, and General Bandholtz responded in
Spanish for the Secretary, who had gone ahead to close a government coal
mine that was not proving successful. After the banquet we had an
enchanting automobile ride, through quaint villages at the foot of the
great mountain to Albay, where a review of the scouts was held by the
Secretary in the setting sun.
When our party dispersed for dinner L. and I were "farmed out" to the
superintendent of schools, Mr. Calkins. The houses built for Americans
were all of wood with broad piazzas, much like summer cottages at home,
with the hall in which we dined in the center and the bedrooms leading
off it.
So much has been written about the schools and the wonders in education
in the Philippines that I shall not try to enlarge on this interesting
theme, other than to add my tribute to the government and the teachers,
and also to the people who are wise enough to take advantage of the
opportunities offered. Each little Juan and Maria, with their desire to
learn, may soon put to shame little John and Mary, if the latter are not
careful.
"It has not been a fad with them, as we feared it would be," one of the
teachers told me; "they have stuck to it. Many grown-ups in the family
make real sacrifices to keep their juniors in school. My little Filipina
dressmaker is educating all her sister's children and sending her
brother to the law school. At first, too, we feared there would only be
a desire to learn English and the higher branches, but with a very
little urging they are learning domestic science and the trades, showing
that they have a mind for practical matters after all."
I begged her to tell me more about the natives, since she understood the
people so well, and what she said is worth repeating.
"Even in his grief the Filipino is a cheerful creature," she began;
"curiously enough, too, a death in the family is an occasion for general
and prolonged festivities. An orchestra is hired for as many days as the
wealth of the family permits, and a banquet is spread continuously at
which all are welcome, even former enemies of the deceased. Strangers
from the street can come; I've often wondered if the beggars imposed on
this custom, but there are very few of them, and they seem to respect
it. The music drones on day after day. Sometimes only one instrument
will be left, the other players going out to smoke, or eat, or rest; but
they reassemble from time to time and keep it going. There is always
much dancing, for the natives are great dancers and were not the last to
learn the one-step and hesitation. Even in their heel-less slippers they
are very graceful. Of course masses are said, for they firmly believe
that these will take their departed to heaven. With this belief they are
so happy, knowing the dear one is better off in heaven than here, that
Chopin's funeral march is quickly turned into waltz time, and the
_fiesta_ waxes merry!
"In Spanish times each district had its band, which always played at the
church festivals. Each church had its patron saint, and there was
always a saint's day fiesta going on in some district. In the churchyard
booths were spread as at our country fairs. Everything from toys to all
kinds of chance games, of which they are so fond, was sold. The band
played continuously and the people came in crowds. The Americans have
catered to this spirit in the yearly carnival which is given every
February. This carnival is more than a fiesta, though, for it is also an
exhibition of their produce and handiwork. Their hats have always been
famous, as has their needlework, and under American encouragement the
basket-work exhibit has become one of the finest in the world. Some hemp
baskets, woven in colours, look as if they were made of lustrous silk. I
can't say which I like best, the finest of our Alaskan Indian, or
Apache, or Filipino baskets. Their shell work is lovely, too, and their
buttons are coming into the world's market for the first time.
"The Filipinos are also learning at the School of Arts and Trades to
carve their magnificent woods most skilfully, and are making furniture
which will soon be coming to the States. In the early days a few
Chinamen had the monopoly of furniture carving and making. They copied
the very ornate pieces brought to Manila by the Spaniards from Spain
and France in the native mahogany called nara, and in a harder and very
beautiful wood called _acle_, or in a still harder one known as
_camagon_, a native ebony. American women soon began to search the
second-hand stores and pawn shops for the originals, and had them
polished and restored at Bilibid Prison. The expense, considering, was
small. A single-piece-top dining table of solid mahogany is often nearly
eight feet in diameter and two or three inches thick."
Another of the teachers told me something of her experiences in the
early days, when she went out with her father, who was one of the first
American army officers there.
"When we landed we lived in an old Spanish palace," she said, "which of
course we proceeded to clean. That was the first thing all Americans did
on landing. We took eleven army dump-cart loads from the palace of every
kind of dirt conceivable. Then we began washing windows and mirrors and
lamps, which I am sure had never been touched with water before. The
servants were so amazed that they were of very little use. They were
mostly Chinese, and had never seen white women work before. The sight of
such energy staggered them. Just when we got things running smoothly,
father was called home, and our cleaned house fell to his successor's
wife, who wept and said she had never been put in such a dirty place.
"It was after this that my real adventures began. Father McKimmon was
opening public schools, and wanted English taught. So he went among the
army girls and just begged us to give up a few of our good times and do
some of this work. I didn't see how I could teach people when I didn't
know their language, but he explained how simple it would be, and we
could learn Spanish at the same time.
"It was fun to work with the Spanish nuns. They were so interested in
us, and their quaint, old-fashioned methods with the children amused me
constantly. Arms were always folded when they rose to recite, and it was
always 'Servidor de usted'--at your service--before they could sit down.
The nuns soon became pupils of ours, too. When the Spanish prisoners
liberated by our men from the Filipinos were brought to Manila they were
quartered in our school for a hospital. I never saw such starved wrecks.
Many of them--young men--had no teeth left.
"More Americans were arriving on every transport, and a most delightful
society was forming of army and navy people, government officials, and
naval officers of every nation, in addition to the original Spanish
population and the small colonies of many countries. There were parties
of all kinds, and as we trained our cooks into our own ways we ventured
on dinner parties. I shall never forget the first dinner I went to that
was cooked in Spanish style. There was every kind of wine I ever heard
of, but no water. I wanted some, but it was not to be had. My host
apologized for not having provided any, but no one dared drink the city
supply. We sat down to table at nine and rose at twelve, and when the
men joined us at one they were all much amazed that I made the move to
go home.
"I left Manila to visit my brother in the provinces. Traveling in those
days was very different from what it is now. After leaving the
Manila-Dagupan Railroad there were no motors to go up the mountain;
instead of that, I rode an ancient American horse till I was tired and
burning with the sun. Then my brother put me in a bull cart, and I sat
on the floor of that till the sun was preferable to the bumping. I
arrived at four in the afternoon and was put down in an empty room with
my trunk and a packing box. Being a good army girl, that packing box
had all the elements of comfort, but first there was cleaning to be
done. My brother was the commanding officer in that town, his house
being at the corner of the Plaza, and an outpost. So he sent me a police
party--that is, ten native prisoners and an American sentry; they were
armed with brooms and buckets. I said, 'Sentry, this room is very dirty.
The Captain sent these men here to clean it for me.' 'Yes, mam,' said
the sentry. 'Well,' I told him, 'I want the ceiling cleaned first, even
the corners!' He turned to his gentle prisoners with 'Here, _hombres_,
you shinny up that pole and _limpia_ those corners!' He didn't know much
Spanish, but limpia means clean, and is the one essential word. I soon
unpacked my box and turned it into an organdie-draped dressing table,
after out of it had come all that made the room livable.
"That night I was sleeping the sleep of the very tired when I was
awakened by a blood-curdling shout, a gun was thrown to the floor, and a
man's voice yelled for help. I simply froze--I couldn't move hand or
foot. The voice was in the outpost guard room, just under my own. Of
course, I was sure the whole guard was overpowered and being boloed. I
waited for them to come to me as I lay there. Then I heard a man's
voice call from an upstairs window, 'What's the matter down there?' and
the answer, 'Number Four had a nightmare, sir--thought there was a goat
on his bunk.' Just as I was going to sleep again I threw out my hand in
my restlessness, and to my horror, clasped it round a cold, shiny
boa-constrictor. Every large house has one in the garret to keep down
the rats. This time I gave the scream and sprang out of bed. But no
snake was to be found, and I decided it must have been the bed post. But
what a night that was!"
We reëmbarked at Legaspi and sailed on to the island of Samar, which is
in the typhoon belt. Catbalogan is a town which has been visited by very
severe typhoons and terrible plagues, but by very few people. It is a
small place, far away and forgotten, but the island of Samar is where
the massacre of the Ninth Infantry occurred--the massacre at Balangiga
by the natives in 1902. There were triumphal arches of bamboo and
flowers, and speeches in the town hall, Governor Forbes speaking in both
English and Spanish. Afterward eight small boys and girls dressed in
red, white and blue danced for us enchantingly the Charcca and the Jota,
clicking their little heels and snapping their little fingers in true
Spanish style. Delicious sweetmeats were offered on the veranda, real
native dishes, and we drank cocoanut milk and ate cocoanut candy,
preserves, nuts and cakes. Two half-Chinese girls who spoke English took
very good care of us.
As we left we looked out over the sea to the setting sun and watched a
lonely fisherman standing on a rock throwing his net.
Next morning from the _Rizal_, we saw across a stretch of calm water the
blue ranges of the mountains of Bohol. Native bancas glided silently
about, and a straw-sailed boat drifted idly round the point, where the
picturesque gray walls of the oldest Spanish fort in the Philippines
stood guard. Its sentinel houses at the corners were all moss grown, and
pretty pink flowers were breaking out of the crevices of the rocks.
We landed at Cebu, which is the oldest town in the Islands, and passed
down a street lined with ancient houses whose second stories arcaded the
sidewalk. They were all in good condition, in spite of their age, for
they were built of the wonderful hard woods that last forever. In fact,
Cebu has the look of a new and prosperous place, for there have been
fires which burnt up many of the ramshackle houses and gave a chance to
widen the streets and replace the old structures with permanent looking
buildings. The American government has done wonders in deepening the
harbour and building a sea wall, behind which concrete warehouses are
going up.
There was a scramble to a review near the barracks, then another
scramble to a reception at the house of the colonel commanding--a very
nice but hot occasion--and then still another scramble to the dedication
of a really excellent schoolhouse.
A young priest took us to see the famous idol, the small black infant
Christ. We went to the convent of the Dominicans near the church, and
passed through its pretty, unkempt court, up a staircase with treads and
handrail richly carved in a wood which was hard as iron, and black with
age. It was handsome work, such as we had been looking for and hadn't
seen before. In the sacristy, too, and the robing room, there were
screens and paneling with richly detailed carvings. Passing down the
galleries of the convent, where we could see some of the friars at work,
we entered the special chapel where this holy image is kept. Several
doors were taken off a rather gaudily gilded altar, until at last the
little figure was revealed. Its back was toward the room and it had to
be carefully turned--a small, brown, wooden doll, all dressed in cloth
of gold, and bejeweled like the Bambino of Rome. It is considered a most
sacred and wonderful heaven-sent idol.[25]
As we had heard speeches by Filipinos and head hunters, I was curious to
know what the Chinese would have to say, and that night there was an
opportunity to find out, for we were invited to a dinner given by the
Chinese merchants. I quote from the speech made by Mr. Alfonso Zarata Sy
Cip, which was specially interesting:
"The Chinese have traded with these Islands since long before Confucius
and Mencius," said Mr. Sy Cip; "and for centuries we have been coming
here and assimilating with the Filipinos, and to-day we are deeply
interested in the welfare of the country. The Chinese have been called a
nation of traders, the Jews of the East, but we are more than traders.
We are labourers, artisans, farmers, manufacturers, and producers.
"A very large percentage of the growth and development of the commerce
and material interests of the Islands is due to the efforts of our
countrymen.
"The infusion of Chinese blood has strengthened and improved the
Filipino people.
"Chinese labour is recognized all over the world as the best cheap
labour in existence. Since American occupation of these Islands you have
excluded our labour from entering. Why? Not for the reason that it would
tend to lower the standard of living among Filipino labourers, because
the standard of living among Chinese labourers in the Philippines is
higher than among the Filipino labourers. Hence the introduction of
Chinese labourers would tend rather to improve conditions in this
regard. You do not exclude him for the reason that he works for lower
wages than the labourers of the country, because, on the contrary, the
Chinese labourer in the Philippines receives higher wages than the
native labourer, hence the introduction of Chinese labourers would tend
rather to improve the condition of the native labourers as far as wages
are concerned. You do not exclude him for the reason that he will not
become assimilated with the natives of the country, because centuries of
experience have shown that Filipinos and Chinese do assimilate and
readily amalgamate, and the result, as I have already said, is an
improvement of the Filipino people. If you are excluding Chinese
labourers from the Philippines because of political reasons then I
confess such reasons, if they exist, have been carefully guarded as
secrets from the public.
"Lack of room is not a reason for excluding Chinese labourers, nor is
lack of need for their services. In the great island of Mindanao alone
it is doubtful if five per cent of the tillable land is under
cultivation, and in other places it is the same. A large part of the
rice consumed in these Islands is imported from other countries, yet we
have here the finest tropical climate in the world and the most
productive soil. Let a sufficient number of Chinese labourers come into
the Philippines and we will guarantee that in ten years we will be
sending rice to the gates of Pekin and Tokyo."
Toward night we sailed on the _Rizal_ from Cebu for the land of the
Moros. Out in the Sulu Sea, one felt very near heaven when the sky
turned hazy gray in the afterglow, and the distant islands mauve, only
their peaks flaming like volcanoes from the hidden sun. Then the big
stars came out, like Japanese lanterns, and left a comet-like trail
upon the dancing waters.
From their holes below the cabin boys, Ah Sing and Sing Song, would pop
out like slim white mice with their long black pigtails, with little cot
beds tucked under their arms which they would place in rows upon the
deck. Ah Sing would say, "Cheih ko koe" (that will do), and Sing Song
would answer, "Hsiao hsin" (be careful). Later, when the moon rose out
of the sea and the Southern Cross appeared on the horizon, shadowy forms
glided silently up the companionway. But the silence did not last. Some
one would call to Sing Song in pidgin English:
"Boy! go catchy whiskey, Tansan; top side, talky man little more fat!"
And some one else would say to Ah Sing,
"You fool boy, you catchy me one bath."
Ah Sing seemed to understand. He would wag his head and answer, "You
good man, no talky all the time, makey me sick." And he would disappear.
At sight of a tall, genial man, the people in their cots would sing out,
"Doctor Heiser's a friend of mine, a friend of mine, a friend of mine,"
etc. American judges, and Filipino congressmen and generals were of the
company. Occasionally a whisper, very often a giggle, sometimes a
clinking of glasses, and good night kisses, were heard, and then the
sand man closed our eyes.
[Illustration: A MORO _DATO_ AND HIS WIFE, WITH A RETINUE OF
ATTENDANTS.]
CHAPTER IX
THE MOROS
On reaching Mindanao, the land of the Moros, we went ashore at Camp
Overton, where we were met by army officers and dougherties drawn by
teams of six mules. After a hand-shake at the commanding officer's home,
we were furnished with a big escort of cavalry and started climbing up,
up, among the hills. Soldiers were hidden in the tall grass all along
the way to make sure that nothing would happen to "the great White
Sultan with the big Red Flag," as the Moros called the Secretary. Army
men could not go out alone, even in those days, for they were attacked
by bands and killed, principally to get their weapons, which the Moros
were very keen to possess. The _datos_, the head men of the Moro tribes,
were allowed to have guns, but none of the other natives. A storm came
up, however, not long ago on Lake Lanao, at Camp Keithley, and for fear
that his boat would upset, General Wood had a great deal of ammunition
thrown overboard, which, it was discovered, was subsequently fished up
by the natives.
The Moros are Mohammedan Malays. They came in their boats from islands
further south, and in 1380 were converted to Islam by an Arab wise man,
Makadum,[26] who made his way to Sulu and Mindanao.
One hears then of Raja Baginda, who came from Sumatra in 1450; his
daughter married Abu Bahr, the law giver, who established the Mohammedan
Church and, after his father-in-law's death, became sultan and founded a
dynasty. In the old days the Moros were all pirates and slave traders.
Both Spanish and American authorities have tried to suppress slavery,
but it still exists. It is said a woman will bring about forty pesos.
A dato's slaves to-day are well treated, and form part of the family. A
slave, moreover, has a chance to rise in the social scale, for Piang,
whom we met, was once a slave, but became a powerful chief and a friend
of the Americans.
The ruler of all the Moros is the Sultan of Sulu, whom we did not see
because he was in Europe at the time we were in the Islands. It is said
that a few years ago he would sometimes appear in the market on the
back of a slave, with an umbrella held over his head. Here he would stay
while the people kissed his hands and feet. He may have changed his
customs since his trip.
Dampier, who visited the northern islands of the Philippines, has also
left us notes of his stay on Mindanao, which are still true in the main.
He says:
"The island of Mindanao is divided into small states, governed by
hostile sultans, the governor of Mindanao being the most powerful. The
city of Mindanao stood on the banks of the river, about two miles from
the sea. It was about a mile in length, and winded with the curve of the
river. The houses were built on posts from fourteen to twenty feet high,
and in the rainy season looked as if built on a lake, the natives going
their different ways in canoes. The houses are of one story, divided
into several rooms, and entered by a ladder or stair placed outside. The
roofing consists of palm or palmetto leaves.... The floors of the
habitations are of wicker-work or bamboo.
"A singular custom, but which facilitated intercourse with the natives
and vice versa, was of exchanging names and forming comradeship with a
native, whose house was thenceforth considered the home of the
stranger."
Alimund Din's name stands out in this meager Moro history beyond all
others, for he was the first and only Christian ruler in this land. Even
before he became a Christian he was a reformer, and suppressed piracy.
He not only coined money but had both an army and a navy, and lived in
such splendour as probably has not existed since those days, among the
Moros.
Alimund Din ruled about the middle of the eighteenth century, in the
time of Philip V of Spain. In return for ammunition to enable the
Spanish to keep down piracy, he allowed the Jesuit fathers to enter his
country. In time, however, they caused trouble among the Moros, and
civil war broke out, as Bautilan, a relative of Alimund Din's, preferred
the Mohammedan religion to the new ideas of the Jesuits. Alimund Din and
his followers took flight in boats, and in time reached Manila, where
they interceded for Spanish protection. The Spaniards showered him with
presents, gave him a royal entrance into the city, and finally converted
him to Christianity. Later, he was sent back, escorted by Spanish ships,
but Bautilan's fleet attacked them. As the Spaniards suspected Alimund
Din of becoming a Christian not entirely for Christianity's sake,
they threw him into prison. The throne was restored to him in 1763 by
the English, who occupied this part of the island for a short time.
[Illustration: A MORO GRAVE.]
The Moros are not supposed to eat meat or drink wine, although they have
been known to drink whiskey and soda with Americans, as well as eat pork
and beans on occasions. There are no mosques in this region or holy
dancing-girls (who can do no wrong) but there are Moro priests or
_panditas_ who go from house to house. They have little education, but
some of them have traveled. It is the custom for a relative of the
deceased to watch and protect a Moro grave for many months. Such a
mourner can sometimes be seen squatting near by under a yellow umbrella.
The Moros have as many wives as they can afford, but not more than they
can afford, for it is an insult to speak of a man's wife as "begging
bread."
The Moros are smaller than the East Indian Mohammedans, but are strong
and slight, and have fine features. They appear especially cruel and
determined because their teeth are black from _buyo_. In war time, many
of the women fought beside the men, and it is supposed to be they who
mutilated the Americans found dead on the field after battle. The
people whom we met on the road with their ponies loaded with hemp
seldom smiled and did not bow, but they looked us straight in the eye,
and there was no touch of sulkiness about them.
It is very difficult to distinguish the men from the women, as they
dress much alike. But you see few of the latter on the road, for being
Mohammedans, most of them are kept at home. They are not veiled like
other Moslem women, except when first married.
The costumes of the Moros differ to such a degree--and for no reason
that I could discover--that it is difficult to describe them. Many wear
tight trousers, which are something like those of the Spaniards--so
tight that they are sewn on the men and never come off until worn
out--and are often bright red or yellow in colour. On the other hand,
some wear very loose, baggy trousers or skirts of different shades.
Indeed, they are the most gaily dressed people I have ever seen, and
their brown skins set off the vivid yellows and greens and reds and
magentas and purples of which their trousers and jackets and turbans and
handkerchiefs are made. The jackets have a Chinese appearance. The
turbans might be old Aunt Dinah's of the South. The sashes, which are
woven in the Moro houses, are of silk, bright green and dark red being
the predominant colours. They are knotted on one side, generally a kriss
or a bolo being held in the knot, and are tied about the waist so
tightly that the men look almost laced, and perhaps that accounts for
their womanish appearance.
When the American army first occupied this region they treated the Moros
well and found them friendly. Take for instance Zamboanga in the south,
an especially interesting region. When the American soldiers entered,
the Spanish guard left the garrison, and the Spanish population and the
priests followed. The Americans found outside the town gates a large
barbed wire bird cage, where the Moros had been compelled to leave their
arms before entering the town at night, to avoid an uprising. The
government of Zamboanga at this time was reorganized by the American
officers. A Filipino presidente was appointed, a dato to head the Moros,
and a Captain Chinese, as he was called, to manage his people, who were
mostly merchants and pearl fishers.
Mindanao was under a military-civil government that worked wonders, for
in a few years many of the Moros were brought under control, and they
became loyal Americans, although they had always been bitter enemies of
the Filipinos and the Spaniards. They say they have found the Americans
brave, and have not been lied to by them, and so they seek our
protection. Although the Moro and the head-hunter are so different, they
are alike in one respect--if they care for an official and have
confidence in him they do not want him changed. It is the man they are
willing to obey rather than the government. Of course, there are
thousands of them, fierce as ever, back in the mountains, and they are
still fanatic and wild. Even among those who are under control, the
greatest care has to be exercised, for they have the hatred of the
Christian deep in their hearts, and they may run amuck at any moment and
kill till they are killed; but this is a part of their faith, they ask
no quarter, and nothing stops them but death.
Besides the danger of their attack by religious mania they have a great
desire for rifles, as I have said, and they are always "jumping" the
constabulary, attacking small parties suddenly from ambush and cutting
them down with their knives, or killing sentries; so that constant care
has to be used, and the sentinels walk at night in twos, almost back to
back, so as to have eyes on all sides. A few weeks before we arrived
there had been several cases of "jumping."
An American army officer told me the fights with the Moros generally
occurred on the trails among the hills; as the foliage is so thick, it
is easy for the natives to conceal themselves on either side, sometimes
in ditches, and give the Americans a surprise. For this reason, a drill
was found necessary for single file fighting. Every other soldier was
taught to respond to the order of one and two. When an attack was made,
the "ones" shot to the right, the "twos" to the left. This proved
successful. The same officer said the Moros would often use decoys to
lead the troops astray. Seeing fresh tracks, they would hasten on in
pursuit, and be led away from their supplies, while their enemy would be
left behind to attack them in the rear. Walking on the mountain trails
was very hard on the soldiers' shoes, and on one of these expeditions
their boots gave out, so they were obliged to make soles for their shoes
out of boxes and tie them on with leather straps.
Up, up we drove; the clatter of the cavalry could be heard in front and
behind, and the dougherty, how it did rattle! It was a pretty sight to
see the party traveling through the tropical forests and winding across
the green uplands, with their pennons and the Secretary's red flag
(which made a great impression on the natives, we heard), and the wagons
rumbling along, with a rearguard behind and the scouts in the distance.
John, the coloured man, snapped his whip, and the mules trotted along,
and the air became cooler, and we drove over a plain where real mountain
rice was planted. Occasionally a Moro shack could be seen in the
distance.
At an outpost, where we stopped to change mules, we saw a beautiful
waterfall, perhaps the loveliest that I had ever seen, called Santa
Maria Cristina. From a greater height than Niagara it plunged down into
a deep valley of giant trees. It reminded me of a superb waterfall near
Seattle.
At last we reached Camp Keithley, on the mountain plain, a forlorn lot
of unpainted houses with tin roofs and piazzas, but beautifully
situated, like some station in the Himalayas. There was splendid
mountain scenery disappearing into the distances, and views of the ocean
far away, and, on the other side, the great lake of Lanao, an inland sea
more than two thousand feet above the ocean, with imposing ranges about.
This lake, which has always been the center of Moro life, is surrounded
by native villages, and the military post is important and much liked
by the officers quartered there.
The Secretary, my husband and I were billeted on Major Beacom, the
commanding officer--Mrs. Dickinson had not felt quite equal to the trip.
The Major's house was very attractive, and his little German housekeeper
gave us excellent food and made the orderlies fly about for our comfort.
We went almost at once to the market place, which was intensely
interesting. The gorgeous colours and gold buttons of the costumes were
magnificent. Brass bowls for chow were for sale, and betel-nut boxes
inlaid with silver, and round silver ones with instruments attached to
clean the ears and nose. There are four compartments in these betel-nut
boxes--for lime, tobacco, the betel nut, and a leaf in which to wrap the
mixture called buyo.
Here we saw the spear and shield dance. The dancer had a headdress that
covered his forehead and ears, making him look quite ridiculous,
absolutely as though he were on the comic opera stage. With shield and
spear he danced as swiftly and silently as a cat, creeping and springing
until your blood ran cold, especially as you knew he had killed many a
man.
In the afternoon, after reviewing the troops and inspecting the
quarters, we crossed a corner of the lake and landed at a Moro village.
It was raining hard and the mud was deep. We waded through a street,
followed by the people in their best clothes--one in a black velvet
suit, another in a violet velvet jacket. I saw only two women in the
streets; they were not veiled nor brilliantly dressed, but had red
painted lips and henna on their nails. The Moro constabulary here wore
red fezzes and khaki, and the officer in command at the time was of
German birth.
After we had passed through a bamboo trail, we came into a little open
place with three fine Moro houses about, set up above the ground on
great posts made of tree trunks. Unlike Filipino houses, they had
façades all carved in a rough and handsome sort of arabesque, painted in
bright reds and blues, and with pointed roofs and coloured cloths
fluttering out of the open spaces, they made fine effects. The long
cracks in the walls served as peepholes, where the snapping black eyes
of the many wives of the datos were peering out at us. In front, in the
little green space, pennons were planted and there was a huge
Chinese-looking sea serpent, or dragon, on wheels, with a body of gaily
coloured stuffs, and a rearing movable head. This cavorted about in
time to the endless noise of the tom-toms. A crowd of natives stood
round in their fanciful raiment.
[Illustration: A MORO _DATO'S_ HOUSE.]
Into one of these houses we were invited. We mounted the ladder to the
one large room in the front, into which the sliding panel shutters
admitted the air freely, so that it was cool and shaded. Here sat the
wives and the slaves in a corner, playing on a long wooden instrument
with brass pans, which they struck, producing high and low sounds, with
a little more tune than the Igorots. The big room was bare, except for a
long shelf on which was some woven cloth and a fine collection of the
native brass work, for this is the center of the brass-workers.
We moved on through the little town of nipa houses to visit old Dato
Manilibang, whose house was not as fine as those we had seen before, but
where we were admitted into two rooms. From the entrance we streaked
muddy feet across the bamboo-slatted floor into his reception room,
where a sort of divan occupied one side--on which the Secretary was
asked to sit. Behind this cushioned seat were piled the boxes with the
chief's possessions, and here he sits in state in the daytime and sleeps
at night. The women, who were huddled together on one side of the room,
wore bracelets and rings, and one was rather pretty.
At dawn we were up and off again. What a day! We had two hours on a boat
crossing a lovely lake, surrounded by mountains, on the shore of which
some of the wildest Moros live. Our boat was a big launch, a sort of
gunboat, which, strangely enough, the Spaniards had brought up here and
sunk in the lake when the war came on, we were told, and which had been
resurrected successfully. It was a steep climb up the opposite side of
the lake, but most of us scrambled up on horses, till we topped the
ridge and came to Camp Vickers, a station with fine air and outlook but
rather small and pathetic.
The picturesque Moros had gathered here to greet the Secretary, and
their wail of welcome was something strange and weird. A dato would come
swinging by, followed in single file by his betel-box carrier, chow
bearer and slaves. Some of the chiefs rode scraggly ponies, on high
saddles, with their big toes in stirrups of cord almost up under their
chins, and with bells on the harness that rattled gaily. And, of course,
the tom-toms kept up their endless music.
We had two more hours of horseback riding--we hoped to see a boar hunt,
but owing to some misunderstanding, it did not come off. Then, after
a stand-up luncheon at Major Brown's, we started down the trail again in
a dougherty.
[Illustration: BAGOBO MAN WITH POINTED TEETH.]
It was a beautiful drive through this forest on the island of Mindanao.
We first crossed open grassy uplands, then dipped down through the great
glades of the most tropical forest I have ever seen, with towering hard
woods and tree ferns, with bamboos and clinging air plants and orchids,
and there was mystery and wonder about the giant growths. The trees
seemed taller than the elms of New England or the cedars of Oregon. They
dripped with huge-leaved, clinging vines, which grew higgledy-piggledy,
covering everything. The grass, too, with waving purple tassels, grew
higher than a man's head, twice as high as the pigmy brown people who
have their houses in these trees.
The tree-dwellers just referred to are the Manobos and the Bagobos with
pointed teeth--for Mindanao is not entirely inhabited by Moros; there
are supposed to be no less than twenty-four tribes on this island alone.
They build in trees, to escape the spear thrusts of their neighbours
through the bamboo floors. We were to make their acquaintance later.
A drenching rain came on that afternoon, through which the escort jogged
along, while we clung in our dougherties, nearly shaken to pieces, and
reached Malabang, on the other side of the island, as much fatigued as
if we had been on horseback all the way. The military post here was most
attractive, with the prettiest of nipa houses for the officers, and the
parade lined with shading palms, and flower-bordered walks--a charming
station. We were quartered with Lieutenant Barry and his wife, a
delightful young couple, in their thatched house, and dined with Major
Sargent, the commanding officer, who has written some good books on
military topics.
The Celebes Sea was calm and lovely when we left Malabang. We passed
along the coast of Mindanao toward a long lowland that lay between the
high mountains of the island. This was the plain of the Cotobato, a
great river which overflows its banks annually like the Nile and has
formed a fertile valley that could be turned to good account. The mouth
of the river is shallow, so that we were transferred to a stern-wheel
boat that was waiting, and began to work our way up, against the rapid
current, past low, uninteresting banks that were proving rather
monotonous, when suddenly we turned a point and saw the town of
Cotobato.
The Moros and the other tribes were in their full splendour here. Soon,
down this tropical river, where crocodiles dozed and monkeys chattered
and paroquets shrieked, there came a flotilla from the Arabian Nights,
manned by galley slaves. On the masts and poles of one of the barges
floated banners, and under the canopy of green sat a real Princess. Some
of the boats were only dugouts with outriggers, but they were decorated,
too, and all the tribes were dressed in silks and velvets of the
brightest colours.
There was great excitement and much cheering as we approached the
landing stage, and the troops stood at attention, while the rest of the
shore was alive with the throng of natives in all the colours of the
rainbow. The Secretary inspected the troops, and we saw for the first
time the Moro constabulary, wearing turbans and sashes, but with bare
legs; nevertheless, they looked very dashing. Indeed, the Moros were so
different in character and appearance from any people we had seen before
that they might as well have come down from the stars.
The Secretary was taken to meet the datos, as they stood in line
beneath the great trees, with the motley crowds of retainers behind
them, in such a medley of colours as I had never imagined before. The
sunlight filtered through the trees upon the barbaric costumes, while
the gaily dressed women stood behind the men and peered over them. The
brown men looked dignified and very self-respecting, too, although the
scene was like the setting of a comic opera, where the imagination had
been allowed to run riot.
There we saw Dato Piang and Gimbungen, a very fat dato--what a
delightful bug-a-boo name--also Ynock, whose ear had been cut off in a
fight, we were told; but strange as it may seem, he said he had clapped
it onto his face again and tied it on, and it had grown there. So it
hung attached somewhere down on his cheek, and gave him a very peculiar
appearance. When the Moros conquered the Filipinos, this dato had the
captured women stripped and made to walk before him, and then took them
off to the mountains. When he was taken prisoner later by the Filipinos,
he was compelled to work in chains in the streets.
Under a canopy the Princess received us, a native woman whose descent
was traced for many hundreds of years--said to be a pure Moro, although
she looked rather Chinese--and who was recognized as of the highest
social superiority, but had little political power. She herself was
draped in varied colours, while her chamberlain wore a brocade coat of
crimson and gold cloth. Behind her stood her maids bearing the gold
betel-nut boxes and chow trays and umbrellas of her rank.
Our luncheon with the commanding officer, Major Heiberg, and his wife,
was eaten in delightful little kiosks of nipa and bamboo, which had been
built in a small palm grove. The dancing girls of the Princess, who had
long nails protected by silver covers, gave us a performance afterward.
Curiously enough, their dance was very Japanese in character. Then some
Manobos, picturesque in short, skin-tight trousers and bolero jackets,
with bags and boxes beautifully worked in bright beads, danced a
graceful, monotonous step. The women have a swaying, snake-like dance
with waving arms and jingling of bracelets and "hiplets," if I may be
allowed to coin the word.
At last, after so many adventures, we found ourselves again on board the
_Rizal_. An enchanting spot on this boat was a projection over the bow,
on which one could sit curled up high above the water. On this perch we
felt like the red-winged sea gulls that circled far above us. We passed
over a sea of polished jade, which at night shone with phosphorescence
like gleaming silver.
Next morning, August 23d, we approached Zamboanga. Five American ships,
all decorated, came steaming out to meet us and fell in behind in order,
making a lovely sight on the bright, smooth seas. As we neared the town,
we suddenly saw a large flotilla of native boats, with tom-toms beating
and thousands of flags fluttering--such a gay sight! Banners of all
shapes, streaming and flapping and waving, and such colours and
combinations of colours--stripes of green and purple and orange in
designs of lemon and red and magenta, serpentine flags and square ones,
hung in all sorts of ways, and brightly coloured canopies under which
sat the sultans, and green umbrellas and yellow and--bang! off went
their small lantankas, tiny native-made cannon--a most exciting
reception!
We landed under triumphal arches and were driven in state carriages
through lines of school children, who sang and threw us flowers from old
Spanish gardens. The post was really beautiful, for it had much left
from old Spanish times, and what had been done over had been done
with taste. The green parade had a terraced canal passing through it,
and avenues of palm; the officers' quarters, smothered in flowering
plants and fronting out over the glittering blue sea, were large and
airy and finer than any we had seen before. It is considered one of the
best posts in the Philippines, and seemed cool and pleasant.
[Illustration: BAGOBOS WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.]
There was the usual procession--first, the troops of the garrison and
the constabulary, then thousands of visiting Moros, Bagobos and Manobos,
of every colour of skin and clothes, many of them whooping and leaping,
and then a tiresome following of hundreds of Filipinos, who had joined
in to make a political demonstration. It is said the Filipinos did not
wish the Moros to take part in the procession.
Exciting times followed at the meeting after this parade, where both
Filipino and Moro speakers were heard. Said a Filipino, addressing the
Secretary:
"You have just visited our province and have just learned its
conditions; at such places in it through which you have passed you must
have seen quite a number of Moros, but I believe that a separation ...
could very well be established, to the end that both people, the
Christian Filipino and the Filipino Moro, might have the government
that corresponds respectively to each of them, for it is a very
regrettable thing that on account of the presence of the latter we
Christians should be unable to enjoy the liberties that reason and right
would grant us....
"I think it is my duty to advise you that the Moros who filed past the
grandstand were brought from remote and distant places with the
exclusive purpose of giving greater éclat to your reception. Moreover,
it must be borne in mind always, in dealing with the affairs of this
province, that the Moros have no political influence, possess no
property, nor help pay the expense of the government."
Then Dato Mandi spoke:
"I am here, El Raja Mura Mandi, representing the Moros. As I look about,
I see far more Moros than the Filipino contingent, and if that is so,
that is the reason it is called the Moro Province. (Tremendous applause
from the Moros.)
"When first the Americans came here, from the very beginning, whatever
they asked me to do I did. I was loyal to them ever. Now I have heard a
rumour that we Moros are in the hands of the Filipinos....
"If the American Government does not want the Moro Province any more
they should give it back to us. It is a Moro province. It belongs to
us." (Tremendous applause by the Moros.)
Dato Sacaluran threw down the Moro challenge:
"I am an old man. I do not want any more trouble. But if it should come
to that, that we shall be given over to the Filipinos, I still would
fight." (Applause.)
But Hadji Nangnui, who spoke of himself as "a Samal," made the clearest
statement of the Moro position:
"The Secretary of War must look the matter in the face. We are a
different race; we have a different religion; we are Mohammedans. And if
we should be given over to the Filipinos, how much more would they treat
us badly, than they treated even the Spanish badly who were their own
mothers and their own fathers in generations? How did they treat them?
Think about it! Think twice! We far prefer to be in the hands of the
Americans, who are father and mother to us now, than to be turned over
to another people." (Applause.)
In the evening we dined delightfully at the Pershings'. After dinner,
the Moros danced in the garden the spear and shield dance, and the
Bagobo women gave the scarf dance. The Bagobos still offer human
sacrifices. Their caps, if tied in a certain way, show how many men they
have killed. Their dress is made of cloth which they weave from
carefully selected and dyed fibers of Manila hemp, and it is treated
with wax in such a way as to make it very smooth and durable. In the
glow of the red light from Chino Charlie's famous lanterns, their
picturesque costumes, gleaming with bead work, added much to the
brilliancy of the scene. They love music and make some large stringed
instruments. They also play the flute from the nose, with one nostril
stopped up, like the Hawaiians.
The dancing under the palms in the garden, by the rippling seas, where
the moonlight flooded down radiantly, was quite like a strange dream.
At this dinner I was told the story given by Dean Worcester by which the
Moros explain why they do not eat pork:
"Mahamoud had a grandson and a granddaughter.... As he was king of the
world, Christ came to his house to visit him. Mahamoud, jealous of him,
told him to prove his power by 'divining' what he had in a certain room,
where, in fact, were his grandchildren. Christ replied that he had no
wish to prove his power, and would not 'divine.' Mahamoud then vowed
that if he did not answer correctly, he should pay for it with his life.
Christ responded, 'You have two animals in there, different from
anything else in the world.' Mahamoud replied, 'No, you are wrong, and I
will now kill you.' Christ said, 'Look first, and see for yourself.'
Mahamoud opened the door, and out rushed two hogs, into which Christ had
changed his grandchildren."
[Illustration: BAGOBO WITH NOSE FLUTE.]
Some verses recited at General Pershing's dinner showed the feeling of
army officers about their life in the Philippines. A stanza runs:
"What is it makes us fret so hard
In this benighted land?
It isn't lack of courage
And it isn't lack of 'sand.'
It isn't fear of Moros
Or Bagobos from the hills--
It's the many great discomforts
And the many, many ills."
It is interesting to read in a recent number of the Manila _Times_ that
Zamboanga, which seemed so like a picture handed down from Spanish days,
has absorbed a good share of American progressiveness and is said to
stand in a class by itself among Philippine towns. Waterworks and a
hydro-electric plant are under construction, the water for which is to
be brought along the mountainside, a part of the way through tunnels. To
dig these, "experienced Igorot tunnel makers from Benguet were
imported," who are getting along amicably with the Moros.
At Jolo, or Sulu, we were again greeted by a Moro fleet and some diving
girls and boys.
This seemed the culmination of the picturesque in our trip. The
mountains of the island are not high but rather cone-shaped, and as we
approached the town we could see behind it the forested slopes of steep
Bud Dajo, where the great fight took place in 1906 and many Moros were
killed in the crater top of the volcano, to which they had retreated,
and from which they challenged and threatened the American forces. It is
an island of fierce, piratical Moros, and even the Americans had not
tried to do much there. It was dangerous to go outside the little walled
town at all, and all the natives coming in were searched for their
weapons, which were taken away at the gates. Only a few months before, a
fanatic Moro tried to attack the gate guard, but fortunately was killed
before fatally injuring any one.
[Illustration: MORO BOATS.]
The walled town is a most artistic little Spanish place, built once
upon a time by the exiled Spanish Governor Asturia, who made it a gem of
a town, with small balustraded plazas and a hanging-garden sea wall, and
a miniature wall with battlements and gates, and streets set out with
shading trees. The pretty Officers' Club and quarters overhung the wall.
The gates of the town are closed at night, and all the natives must
leave for their houses outside before the "retreat," but there is a
native market and a town built out on piles over the water, which we
visited. We drove out to a plain, palm-fringed and backed by mountains,
that overlooked the sea, where there was a review of the cavalry and a
large company of mounted Moros, who carried many American flags among
their waving banners. Within the walls, in a grandstand in the little
plaza, where the natives thronged, there was a meeting between the
Secretary and the chief datos; and the Hadji, who had been Vizier of the
Sultan, made a wise speech, full of promise of loyalty. Our Governor had
won the good will of the people about him and the Hadji said that when
his people were certain of our good intentions they would come in
willingly and be loyal--but, for so many years, they had been misled by
previous rulers.
We amused ourselves by going to Chino Charlie's and buying lanterns,
and lunched at the Officers' Club. Afterward we went out on the pier
inhabited by the Chinese and looked for pearls--Jolo pearls are
famous--but we saw none of real value. We watched the Chinamen drying
copra, and went through their market, where water slugs were for sale.
Finally, we sailed across the bay. Our visit to the Moros was full of
colour to the end, for the sun was setting gorgeously as we put out to
sea.
CHAPTER X
JOURNEY'S END
The little coral island of Bancoran lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea,
quite outside the usual routes of travel. It is inhabited only by birds,
and people seldom or never go there. But we wanted to obtain, if we
could, some new species of gulls or terns for the Bureau of Science at
Manila, and also to enjoy the mysterious sea gardens which are found
among the southern reefs. Just after tiffin the island was sighted,
lying quite alone by itself in milky green water. The ship stopped and
launches were dropped overboard, and a glass-bottomed boat which had
been brought along for our use.
The afternoon was ideal--the sky blue and fleeced with snowy clouds
piled high, while the intense sun shining on the water flashed back a
hundred shades of blue and green and mauve. On one side of the island,
which floated like an emerald among sapphires, outstanding rocks chafed
the seas into foaming surf, while on the other a long, narrow beach lay
shimmering, pale yellow in the sunlight. The island itself was covered
with a thick jungle of trees, which were dotted with thousands of
resting birds. As we drew nearer they saw us and were afraid, rising and
soaring and circling in the clear, pure air, and crying out at us. Flock
after flock of sea fowl flew wonderingly over our small craft, their
white breasts tinted green with the light reflected from the water.
It was like a Robinson Crusoe island, lost out there in the lonely sea.
But there were shells of huge turtles, and bones of birds, which
suggested that sometime a feast must have been held there, so it was not
wholly undiscovered and unexplored. Among the great roots of the trees
the birds had built their nests from leaves. The eggs in some of them
were white and about the size of hens' eggs. Several varieties of
boobies and terns were found, some brown with green-blue eyes, others
ivory-white. A few specimens were shot, and one or two were taken back
alive to the _Rizal_ for the museum. Previous to this visit the
ornithologists had never known to what islands the boobies and frigate
birds came to nest, although the scientists had long been searching for
the place, so the expedition was well worth while.
But the sea gardens interested me more than the birds or even the
island. If Alice could have had her choice in entering Wonderland, she
would surely have selected a doorway leading through a glass-bottomed
boat, instead of dropping down a rabbit's hole. Beneath the water, which
was crystal clear, we could see a strange country with new flowers and
peculiar creatures. Where it was sandy and shallow we saw below us
fields of green sea grass, on which the fairies must surely have used
lawn-mowers, it was so neatly kept.
Interspersed among the fields were beds of feathery, lace-like
vegetation unnamed in the language of our party. Passing one expanse
after another of this submarine pasturage, we saw depressions in the
coral, where tiny fishes played or unknown water creatures had
established a little world for themselves and were living in its narrow
confines quite unconscious of what went on in the surrounding vastness.
Drifting on into deeper water, we came to a ghost-like gray world of
curls and feathers, trembling with life, a forest of pale trees and
swaying brown ones, of high hills and dark valleys, made by coral reefs.
Pretty rock gardens came into view, where there were cabbages with blue
edges, sea anemones and purple fans, a huge toadstool, a giant fungus,
and a cactus plant--at least, that is what they looked like to us. There
were rainbow shells, too, half hidden, and great blue starfish clinging
to the rocks. In and out among the sponges and the brown coral branches,
which were so much like antlers, swam curious fishes. Such gorgeous
colours--so vivid and in such brilliant combinations! Some were big
green fellows, with needle noses; others were electric blue and silver;
there were black and yellow ones, too, and striped fishes that looked
like sly prisoners dodging their keepers.[27]
[Illustration: ONE DAY'S CATCH OF FISH.]
We passed the greater part of the afternoon marooned on this far-away
island, some of us going bathing off the shallow, sandy beaches in the
clear water. As evening came on we regretfully left the fairy island of
Bancoran, and sailed away by the rising moon.
The Penal Colony on Palawan, which I have described in another chapter,
was our next point of interest. We left there behind schedule and met a
stronger current than we had expected, sweeping down the coast of Panay,
so that it was no wonder that we were late in approaching Iloilo. This
was especially unfortunate, for very generous preparations had been made
there for the Secretary's reception and an interesting series of events
arranged, all of which was upset by the delay.
It was sunset when we finally sighted the town. As we cruised up the
steeply palisaded coast, with the low-lying foreground of Panay on the
other side, backed by its fine ranges of mountains, the effects were
most beautiful. The old Spanish fort on its point looked mysterious in
the afterglow, and the skies were magnificently alight. A fleet of much
beflagged launches and steamers came out to meet the Secretary,
whistling a welcome, and turning, escorted the _Rizal_.
Next to Manila, Iloilo is the most important port in the Islands, and
has a better climate than its rival. The people here are supposed to be
wealthier and more aristocratic than elsewhere. The Payne bill, which
had been in operation only a short time, had brought such a return of
prosperity to the land, and especially to the planters of this fertile
province, that they were all very enthusiastic about Americans, and did
all they could to express their gratitude.
We were invited for dinner at half after seven, but it was an hour later
before we sat down to the long table in the large and rather empty room,
with its handsome Venetian mirrors at either end, and its sliding
shutters wide open to the night. There were no ladies present except
those of our party. We could never tell how things would be
arranged,--sometimes there would be Filipina ladies, and sometimes there
would not; sometimes the ladies would all be placed together at one side
of the table, and again they would be seated next to the men. While
waiting for dinner to be announced, we sat about in an airy room, with
half-dressed servants peeping in at us, and a phonograph playing
Caruso records.
[Illustration: VIEW IN ILOILO, ILOILO, SHOWING HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS.]
After dinner we had a long drive out through the town, which seemed
quite business-like and prosperous. They had rebuilt some of the fine,
large, wide-open houses, most of which had been destroyed by the
insurrectos. (On the nearby island of Negros, we were told, there were
many fine _haciendas_ with great houses full of carved work which I was
sorry not to see.) Passing through suburbs of nipa houses standing up on
their stilts in the moonlight, we came to a plaza gaily illuminated, and
to our destination, a mansion approached by a triumphal arch. In the
best houses the living rooms are on the second floor, just as in the
poorer ones they are raised above the ground on stilts. So here we went
upstairs to a great room hung with festoons of flags, where the little
women in their bright and varied dresses passing and repassing made a
gay scene. It was here, indeed, that we saw some of the prettiest and
best dressed women whom we met on our trip.
Most of the following day was spent cruising along the coast of Panay,
passing between its fine outlying islands, which reminded us of the
Inland Sea of Japan. In the afternoon we came to the entrance of the
river on which Capiz is located. The Secretary crossed overland on the
first train to run on the new railway, in order to drive in the silver
spikes that completed the line.
No dinners had been planned there for those of us who had come by ship,
so we did not start up river until half after eight. Capiz is only four
miles from the mouth, but they were the longest miles we had ever
experienced, for by some mistake the pilot did not arrive, so we went in
a _Rizal_ launch without one. We just struggled along as well as we
could in the dark till the moon came up, which only mystified us the
more with its deceptive shadows. Half a dozen times we ran deep into mud
banks, and the sailormen were forced to jump overboard and shove us off.
They did not appear to enjoy doing this, and no wonder, for it was a
crocodile river.
Swarms of fireflies, which gathered on favourite trees, made a very
Christmas-like effect with their throbbing lights. They were lovely,
too, in the dark shore shadows, and made sparkling reflections in the
black river stream. Watching them we could almost forget our troubles.
[Illustration: THE OLD AUGUSTINIAN CHURCH, MANILA.]
Finally, after much winding round and backing off, we turned a bend and
saw a line of little twinkling lights strung along the shore and on
floating barges, giving quite a Venetian effect and showing us the town
by their reflection. Landing, we walked across the grassy square to the
provincial building, with its open courtyards, where there was to be a
ball. We danced a rigodon as usual, and stopped late with the Governor
General, who liked to show his interest in these functions, of which the
Filipinos think so much. There were three bands, which vied with each
other for applause.
Next morning we got away early on our last leg for Manila and the end of
our never-to-be-forgotten journey in the Land of Pine and Palm--that
far-away, unfamiliar country where your head gets full of strange
thoughts, your body of queer feelings, and your heart has great
longings.
We crowded everything we could into those few last days in Manila, for
we were loath to think of leaving anything undone. Besides packing and
shopping, there were teas and dinners, and the army and navy reception.
This was lovely, for it was held in the courtyard filled with trees
which were hung with dim lanterns. The good looking officers with their
white duck uniforms and brass buttons added to the attractiveness of the
scene. The men of our party were even busier than we, for they had
several banquets to which we were not invited. In my husband's journal I
find the chronicle of a typical day. After describing the events of a
busy morning, he says: "In the afternoon, there was a reception to meet
the constabulary, at four; the opening of the new hospital, a most
complete and wonderful one, at half after four; the laying of the corner
stone at five for the new hotel, which is a very ambitious project and
will make all the difference in the world as far as touring in the
Philippines is concerned; in the evening, a dinner, and after that a
reception, and a dance."
Manila seemed more picturesque, and to have even more atmosphere, as I
came to know it better. The old walls and churches and plazas and
corners and quarters; the Pasig with its cascos and bancas plying about;
the narrow streets winding through the suburbs, with old moss-covered
walls, and peeps of tangled gardens within, and balustraded terraces,
and the bowers of the pink blossoming "chain of love." It is indeed
well-named the Pearl of the Orient.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ATKINSON, F. W.: The Philippine Islands
ALEXANDER, MARY C.: The Story of Hawaii
ALEXANDER, W. D.: Brief History of the Hawaiian People
AMERICAN GIRL, AN: Seven Weeks in Hawaii
BANCROFT, HUBERT H.: The New Pacific
BRIGGS, CHARLES W.: Progressive Philippines
BLAIR, EMMA H.: The Philippine Islands
BARRON, DAVID: History of the Philippines
BISHOP, ISABELLA L.: The Hawaiian Archipelago
BLACKMAN, WILLIAM F.: The Making of Hawaii
COAN, TITUS: Life in Hawaii
COAN, T. M.: Climate of Hawaii
---- Hawaiian Ethnography
CASTLE, WILLIAM R., JR.: Hawaii Past and Present
CHAMBERS, H. E.: Constitutional History of Hawaii
CROW, CARL: America and the Philippines
CHAMBERLIN, FREDERICK: The Philippine Problem
DAUNCEY, MRS. CAMPBELL: The Philippines
DEVENS, JOHN B.: An Observer in the Philippines
DAY, MRS. E. F.: Princess of Manoa
EMERSON, N. B.: Unwritten Literature of Hawaii
FEE, MARY H.: A Woman's Impressions of the Philippines
FOREMAN, J.: The Philippine Islands
FORNANDER, ABRAHAM: The Polynesian Race
HAWAIIAN ANNUAL for 1915
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, Report of Commission of Agriculture and Forestry
HAWAII, a Primer--answers to queries
HITCHCOCK, C. H.: Hawaii and its Volcanoes
JERNEGAN, PRESCOTT F.: A Short History of the Philippines
JORDAN AND EDERMANN: Aquatic Resources of Hawaii
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: List of books on Hawaii
LINDSEY, FORBES: The Philippines
LE ROY, JAMES A.: Philippine Life in Town and Country
---- Americans in the Philippines
LAWRENCE, MARY S.: Old Time Hawaiians and their Wok
LYMAN, H. M.: Hawaiian Yesterdays
MOSES, MRS. M. E. B.: Unofficial Letters of an Official's Wife
MAUS, L. M.: An Army Officer on Leave in Japan
MUSICK, JOHN R.: Hawaii: our New Possession
MATHER, HELEN: One Summer in Hawaii
ROBINSON, ALBERT G.: The War and the People
STODDARD, C. W.: South-sea Idyls
SAWYER, FREDERICK H.: The Inhabitants of the Philippines
STEVENS, J. E.: Yesterdays in the Philippines
TAFT, MRS. WILLIAM H.: Recollections of Full Years
WESTERVELT, W. E.: Legends of Old Honolulu
WORCESTER, DEAN C.: The Philippines, Past and Present
WILLIAMS, D. R.: The Odyssey of the Philippine Commission
YOUNG, LUCIEN: The Real Hawaii
INDEX
A
Agriculture and Forestry, Bureau of, 99
Aguinaldo, Emilio, 159, 173-175, 181-183, 188-193, 195-196, 199, 204
Aldecoa and Company, 265
Alden, C. S. (quoted), 71
Alexander Young Hotel, 20
Amburayan, 270
Anderson, General Thomas, 72, 145, 180, 187, 192
Captain Tom, 145, 296
Andrews, Louis, 62
Antipolo, 320
Apayao, 270
Archbishop of Manila, 166
Armstrong, Fort, 25
General, 62
Army and Navy Club, 146, 296
Assembly, 125, 138, 209, 215-217, 236
Asturia, Governor, 351
Atimonan, 307, 308
Augustinian Church, 129
B
Babuyan Islands, the, 261
Baginda, Raja, 326
Bagobos, the, 257, 339, 345, 348
Baguio, 213, 246-249, 251, 253, 272
Bahr, Abu, 326
Balangiga, 317
Balintan Channel, 268
Bancoran, 353, 357
Bandholtz, General, 309
Barry, Lieutenant, 340
Bashee Rocks, 261, 262
Batan (islands), 261, 262, 264, 269
Bates, General, 198
Bauang, 247
Bautilan, 328
Bay, Lake of, 131
Beacom, Major, 335
Beardsley, Admiral and Mrs., 16
Benguet, 270
Road, 247, 249
Berger, Captain, 14, 74
Biacnabato, 174
Treaty of, 175
Bilibid Prison, 237-239, 241, 242, 313
Bill of Rights, 58
Bingham, Hiram, 10
Bishop, Bernice Pauahi, 11, 72
Hon. Charles R., 12
Museum, 11
Black Crook, 249
Blayney, Professor Thomas
Lindsey (quoted), 220
Boca Chica, 123
Boca Grande, 178
Bohol, 318
Boki, Chief, 10
Bolinao Light, 274
Bonifacio, Andres, 171, 174
Bontoc, 229, 236, 270, 287-289
Book, Captain, 16
Botel Tobago, 262
Brent, Bishop, 132
Brigham, Professor, 11
_Britannia_, the, 51
Bryan, William Jennings, 199, 206-207
Bud Dajo, 350
Buencamino, 183
C
Cagayan, 131
Calkins, Mr., 309
Capiz, 360
Carter, General W. H., 26
Charles L., 78
George R., 78, 79
Mr. George, 5
Castle, Mr., 4, 14, 112
Mrs., 14
_Castilla_, the, 179
Catbalogan, 317
Cavite, 138, 166, 173, 179, 181, 182, 204
Cebu, 150, 152, 318, 320, 322
Celebes Sea, 340
Cervantes, 283, 284
Charcca, the, 317
_Charleston_, the, 269
Chinese, the (in the Philippines), 159
Chino Charlie, 352
Cleghorn, Governor, 15
Cleveland, President, 77
College of Medicine and Surgery, 141
Commission, the (first), 207
Commission, the second (or Taft), 207, 209-211, 215, 216, 219
Constabulary Band, 125, 137
Cook, Captain (James), 35, 37, 48, 49, 114, 115, 150
Corregidor, 123, 138, 178, 296
Cotobato (river), 340
town, 341
Cotton, Captain, 16
Cromer, Lord, 221
_Crook_, the, 273, 274
Culion, 232-235
D
Dalupiri, 265
Damien, Father, 72
Dampier, William, 152, 262, 327
Darrach, Marshall, 139
Data, Mount, 285
Daughters of Hawaii, the, 22
Davis, Isaac, 50
DeRussy, Fort, 25
Dewey, Admiral, 177-181, 184, 186, 192
(quoted), 190
_Dewey_, the (dock), 273
Diamond Head, 4, 19, 25
Dickinson, Mr. (Secretary of War), 20, 125, 126, 127, 131, 136, 139,
145, 146, 232, 252, 272, 273, 277, 278, 279, 295, 299, 325, 337, 341
Mrs., 125, 127, 136, 139, 140, 145, 251, 252, 308, 336
Din, Alimund, 328
Ditch Trail, 107
Dole, Rev. Daniel, 8
Sanford B., 8, 9, 16, 77-79
Dominis, John C., 76
Doyle, Sergeant, 278
Drake, Sir Francis, 151
Duvall, General, 146, 273
Mrs., 146
E
Early, 275
Education, Bureau of, 248
Edwards, General, 131, 272, 300
El Chico de Cagayan River, 287
El Fraile, 178
Emerson (quoted), 42
Emma, Queen, 65, 66
Escolta, the, 130
Ethnology, Bureau of, 141
F
"Father Alexander," 106
"Filipino Republic," the, 190
Filipinos, 124, 136, 137, 171, 183, 185-189, 193, 195-196, 201, 215,
219, 222, 241, 245, 298, 342
Finch, Captain, 3
Forbes, Governor General Cameron, 125, 127, 131, 139, 212-215, 221,
239, 243, 248, 272, 276, 277, 283, 317, 361
Fornander, A. (quoted), 42
Frear, Judge Walter F., 80
French Frigatis Shoal, 66
Funston (General), 25, 199
Furness, Dr., 4
G
Gallman, 275, 280
Gilbert, Vice-Governor, 254
Gimbungen (dato), 342
Government Dormitory for Girls, 140
Government Laboratories, Bureau of, 141
Green Lake, 112
Gridley, Captain, 3, 179
Guam, 72, 119, 199, 262
H
Halawa, 63
Haleakala, 107
Halemaumau, 60, 110
Hanalei River, 115
Harrison, Governor General, 212, 213, 219
Hauula, 103
Hawaii (island of), 8, 39, 82
Republic of, 78
Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company, 81
Hawaiians (ethnology of), 29
Heiberg, Major, 343
Heiser, Dr., 221, 230-232, 234-236, 323
Hilgard, Captain, 251
Hilo, 60, 62, 91, 102, 108, 110, 112
Hina, 35
Hoapili, 62
Honaunau, 113
Honolulu, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 21, 25, 65, 67, 72, 102, 103, 104, 181
Hualalai, 113
I
Iao Valley, 107
Ide, H. C., 208
Ifugao, 270
Ifugaos, the, 271, 277, 280-283, 289, 293
Igorots, the, 251, 253, 255, 277, 286, 288-290, 294, 337
Ilocanos, the, 275
Iloilo, 357-358
Ilongots, the, 255, 258-259
Immigration, Bureau of, 100
Inter-Island Navigation Company, 104
boats, 112
Internal Revenue, Bureau of, 221
Iraya, Mt., 269
Irwin, Mr., 4
Isabella II, Queen, 164
Isola Grande, 273, 274
Itbayat Island, 265
Iwahig River, 240
Iyeyasu, Shogun, 156
J
Japanese-American Citizens' Association, 116
Japanese (women laborers), 83-85
as Hawaiians, 116-118
Jesuits, the, 164, 165, 166
John Hay, Camp, 248, 251
Jones Bill, the, 222
Jota, the, 317
K
Kaawaloa, 114
Kahanamoku, Duke, 91
Kahului, 102
Kailua, 53, 114
Kaiulani, Princess, 77
Kakuhihewa, 6
Kalaimoku, 56
Kalakaua, King, 9, 73-75, 81, 118
Prince, 118
Kalamba, 131, 204
Kalanianaole, Prince Jonah Kuhio, 79
Kalanikupule, 22
Kalinga, 270
Kalingas, the, 271, 272, 289-292
Kaliuwaa, falls of, 103
Kamehameha I (the Great), 6, 11, 22, 48, 50-54, 106
heiau of, 112
birthplace of, 114
Kamehameha II, 54, 55, 57
Kamehameha III, 6, 12, 57, 59, 65
Kamehameha IV, 65
Kamehameha V, 72
Kamehameha, Fort, 25
Kamehameha School, 12
Kamehamehas, the, 31
Kanaloa, 34, 39
Kane, 34, 39, 41, 42
Kapiolani, 59, 60, 74
Katipunan, the, 169, 170-173
Kau, 112, 113
Kauai, 8, 71, 82, 115
Kawaiahao Church, 9
Kawaihae, 112
Keanonako, 12, 13
Keawe-Mauhili, 60
Keithley, Camp, 325, 334
Kilauea, 51, 60, 66, 104, 109, 112
Kinau, 12
Kohala, 114
ditch, 114
Kona, 91, 112, 113, 114
Konia, 12
Kotta, 297
Koxinga, 158
Ku, 39
Kuhio, Prince, 118
L
_Lackawanna_, the, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71
Ladrone Islands, the, 116, 150
Lahaina, 106
Laka, 40, 41, 42, 49
Lamb, Mr., 240, 244
Mrs., 244
Lanao, Lake, 325, 334
Lawton, General, 195
Legarda, Mr., 131, 298
Legaspi, Miguel Lopez de, 152, 153, 158
Legaspi, 317
Lepanto, 270
Liholiho, 56
Liliuokalani, Queen, 9, 12, 75-78
Li Ma Hong, 156
Lono, 39, 49
Los Banos, 131
Lucena, 298, 302, 307
Lunalilo Home, 12
Prince, 73
Luneta, the, 126, 146, 185
Luzon, 133, 172, 176, 196, 198, 245, 257, 261, 271, 275, 297
M
MacArthur, General, 194, 196, 198
Macfarlane, Mrs., 15
Macomb, General M. M., 25
Magellan, 150, 151
Makadum, 326
Makapuu Point Light, 21
Malabang, 340
Malacañan, Palace of, 126, 136
Malays, 149, 154, 245, 326
Malolos, 191, 195
Mandi, Dato, 346
Mangyans, 241
Manila, 123, 124, 128, 152, 156, 157, 159, 160, 166, 171, 173, 186,
193, 199, 222, 227, 249, 314, 315, 328
sight-seeing in, 128-147, 361-362
Manila Bay, 3, 123, 138, 157, 178
Battle of, 177, 184
Manila-Dagupan Railroad, 315
Manilibang, Dato, 337
Manobos, the, 339, 343, 345
_Marian_, the, 16
Mariveles, 123
Marshall Islands, 116
Maui Island, 8, 40, 44, 51, 62, 81, 82, 106
East, 107
demi-god, 35, 40
Mauna Kea, 108
Mauna Loa, 108, 109, 113
Mayon, Mount, 308
_McCulloch_, the, 178
McKimmon, Father, 314
McKinley, Fort, 132, 220
President, 183, 200, 207, 209
Menehunes, the, 116
Merritt, General, 183, 192
Mexico, 152, 153, 156, 157, 204
Mexicans, 192
Midway Island (Brooks), 67, 69, 70, 123
Mindanao, 150, 166, 171, 322, 325-327, 331, 339, 340
Mines, Bureau of, 141
Mirador, 253
Mitchell, Major, 266
Moanalua, 25
Molokai, 8, 63, 73, 105
Montojo, Admiral, 179
Moros, the, 124, 150, 171, 209, 222, 241, 245, 322, 325-339, 341, 342,
345-348, 350-352
Moro Province, 346
Moses, Professor, 208
Mountain Province, the, 270, 288
Musick (quoted), 18
N
Namaka, 23
Nangnui, Hadji, 347, 351
Negritos, 149, 253, 256-257
_Negros_, the, 295
island of, 359
Neumann, Paul, 15
"Noli Me Tangere" ("The Social Cancer"), 170
Nozaleda, Archbishop, 184
Nueva Viscaya, 258
Nuuanu, battle of, 22
valley, 23, 51
O
Oahu, 4, 5, 6, 8, 18, 25, 32, 51, 52, 82, 88, 103, 119
College, 8, 9
Obookiah (Opukahaia), 55
Ocampo, Pablo, 204
"Occupation Day," 296
Olongapo, 273
_Olympia_, the, 4, 178, 179
Osmeña, Mr., 298
Otis, General, 192, 194, 198
Overton, Camp, 325
P
Paahana, 93
Paao, 31, 37
Pack, Governor, 200
Pagsanjan, 131
Paki, 12
Pakuanui, 23
Palawan, 239, 240, 357
Pali, the, 22, 23, 24, 52, 103
Panama Canal, 100, 119
Panay, 357, 359
Papa, 5, 30
Parker, Sam, 15
Pasig River, 127, 128, 225
Patterson, Admiral, 160
Paulet, Lord George, 61
Payne Bill, 358
Pearl Harbour, 21, 22, 24, 32
Pele, 37, 40, 43, 44, 51, 60, 110
Perkins, Commodore, 71
Pershing, General, 349
_Philadelphia_, the, 16
Philip II, 151
Philip III, 177
Philip V, 328
Philippine General Hospital, 141
Piang, Dato, 326, 342
Pili, 31
Pinkham, Governor, 80
Plaza McKinley, 129
Poison God, the, 105
Polo Club, 131
Polynesia, 30, 39, 40
Polynesians, 29, 30
Puerto Princessa, 240
Punahou, 8
Punchbowl, 4, 19, 20, 103
Q
Queen's Hospital, 9, 65
Quezon, Mr., 298, 301
R
Reciprocity Treaty, 24, 73, 81, 100
_Reina Christina_, the, 179
Reynolds, Captain William, 69
Rivera, Primo de, 175
Rizal, 131, 170-172
Rizal, the, 296, 308, 309, 318, 322, 343, 354, 358
Rojesvenski, Admiral, 269
Root, Elihu, 300
Royal Hawaiian Band, 14, 74
Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the, 6
Ruger, Fort, 25
Russell, Sturgis, Oliphant and Company, 308
Ruth, Princess, 81
S
Sacaluran, Dato, 347
_Saginaw_, the, 71
Samar, 317
Sandwich Islands, 49
San Lazaro, 157, 227, 231
San Mateo, 195
San Miguel, 130
Santa Cruz, 195
Santa Maria Cristina, 334
Santiago, Fort, 172
Sargent, Major, 340
School of Arts and Trades, the, 312
Science, Bureau of, 141, 142, 353
Seaman's Act, 86
Sepulchre, Padre, 286
Sewall, Mr., 16
Shafter, Fort, 25
Shark King (story of), 45-47
Sibley, Miss, 133
Sicard, Lieutenant-Commander, 71
Sokabe, Rev. S. (quoted), 117
Spain, 155, 156, 158, 159, 167, 168, 175, 218
Spreckles, Mr. Claus, 81
Stevens, Mr. (Minister to Hawaii), 76
Stoddard, Charles W. (quoted), 24
Strong, Dr. Richard P., 229
Subig Bay, 178, 273
Suez Canal, the, 156, 164
Sugar Planters' Association, 99
Sulu, 326, 350
Sea, 322, 353
Sultan of, 326
Sy Cip, Mr. Alfonso Tarata, 320
T
Taft, President, 126, 137, 207-209
Tagalogs, the (Tagals), 139, 165, 167
Tagudin, 274, 276, 295
Talbot, Lieutenant, 71
Tantalus, Mt., 19
Thatcher, Rear Admiral, 67
Thomas, Admiral, 61
_Times_, the Manila, 216, 349
Tingians, the, 256, 257
Tobaco, 309
Topside, 249
Trail and Mountain Club, 103
Treaty of Paris, the (c. 1762), 159
1899, 206, 207
Twain, Mark (quoted), 8, 105
V
Vancouver, Captain George, 50, 51
Villaloboz, Ruy Lopez de, 151
Visayas, the, 176
W
Wahaula (temple of), 37
Wahiawa, 103
Waialua, 92, 95, 97, 98
Waianae, 82
Waikiki, 10, 15, 17, 20, 25, 103
Wailuku, 106
Waimanu (valley), 115
Waimea, 115
Gulch, 115
Waipio (valley), 115
Wakea, 4, 5, 30
Wekolo Pond, 32
Welles, Mr., 67
White, Dr., 253
Whitmarsh, Mrs., 250
Mr., 251
Widemann, Judge, 4, 14, 82
Wilcox, Robert W., 73
rebellion, 73
Wilder, Mrs., 15
Wilson, President, 79, 212
Wisser, General J. P., 26
Wood, General, 325
Worcester, Mr. Dean C., 141, 142, 208, 213, 218, 228, 248, 272, 286, 300
(quoted), 167, 217, 221, 257, 292, 348, 356
Wright, Luke E., 208
Y
Ynock, 342
Yongs, Mr., 160
Young, Captain Lucien, 74
Young, John, 50
Z
Zamboanga, 331, 343, 349
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When the mamo became rare the natives began to substitute the light
yellow feathers growing under the wings of the _o-o_. This bird is now
extinct.
[2] In the first Reciprocity Treaty with Hawaii, which was signed in
Grant's administration, there was no reference to Pearl Harbour. It was
when the treaty was renewed in a revised form during the administration
of President Harrison, that Hawaii ceded Pearl Harbour to the United
States as a naval base.
[3] General M. M. Macomb was in command from 1911 to 1913, General
Frederick Funston during 1914, General W. H. Carter followed and General
J. P. Wisser is there in command to-day.
[4] Even to a late date this custom has been known in civilized
countries. In France a figure of one's enemy was modeled in wax and was
slowly melted before the fire while being "prayed to death."
[5] The legend which ascribes the creation of man to Kane is only one of
many Hawaiian creation myths, in which other gods figure as fathers of
the human race.
[6] A. Fornander, "The Polynesian Race."
[7] Guam belonged to Spain until Colonel Thomas Anderson stopped there
on his way to the Philippines with the first United States troops. The
Spanish governor had not even heard that war was declared, and when the
ships fired, he thought it was a salute in his honour. He surrendered
the fifteen small islands; fourteen were given back to Spain in the
Treaty of Paris and they were sold to Germany. Guam has an excellent
harbour. It is under the control of the United States Navy at present.
Marines are stationed there.
[8] The party at present in power in the United States appears to have
given very little attention to the Islands, except as a source of income
for deserving Democrats, if we may judge from the latest Democratic
platform. That document contains the promise, "as soon as practicable,
to give a territorial form of government to Hawaii." For eighteen years
they have had it!
[9] When Mr. Dole's term as United States judge expired a few months
ago, President Wilson refused to reappoint him, though all Hawaii
petitioned for him. The position was given to a Democrat.
[10] Castle says Halemaumau really means, "home of the _Maumau_ fern,"
this fern having a leaf much like the curled and twisted lava in shape.
[11] A trip to the Lake of Bay should be taken and to the fertile valley
of the Cagayan. The gorge of Pagsanjan is very beautiful. Los Banos is
an old bathing establishment not far from Kalamba, where Rizal was born.
It is part of a day's trip from Manila to this hot mineral spring, which
was a fashionable resort in days gone by. Now an American military
hospital has been built there.
[12] The American coloured troops in the Philippines certainly deserve
mention. They were among the best fighters we sent out there.
[13] Koxinga was really one of the most noted characters of the Orient
at that time. He was the son of a Japanese mother and a Chinese father,
and seldom has China had a man to compare with him in courage,
enterprise and ability. At the age of twenty-two, he held one of the
highest military commands in his country. With his courage and natural
ability it was his purpose to carve out a kingdom for himself. Being as
shrewd as he was bold, Koxinga made the acquaintance of a Dominican
friar in Amoy, whom he converted into an ambassador and sent to Manila.
Fortunately for the Spaniards, Koxinga's career was cut short by his
early death, in 1662, while still under forty years of age, and just as
he was making preparations to invade the Philippines.
[14] To-day Aguinaldo seems to be a thoroughly "reconstructed rebel," as
this incident told by General Anderson's daughter shows:
"While spending the day with friends who have a sugar estate near
Kalamba, our party was augmented by Aguinaldo, Pablo Ocampo and another
ilustrado whose name I've forgotten. They had come over from Cavite,
where Aguinaldo has his farm, to see this estate with its modern sugar
machinery. After going over the farm very thoroughly with the party I
found myself next the former General at lunch. Conversation was
difficult, as he spoke no English and not very fluent Spanish. I timidly
asked him in desperation of something to say, if he remembered my
father. On learning that he was the first Americano General to fight
him, over fifteen years before, he became most interested, and asked
very warmly to be remembered. When I told him my father was also retired
and settled on his little farm he was pleased and said it was the real
life. I think he is sincerely a farmer and will not be lured back to the
hazards of political life. He is a modest, quiet, diffident little
native of the pure Filipino type. He assured me that his children were
making good progress in English and were at school working hard."
[15] After Mr. Taft had made his journey to Rome to arrange the friar
land question, he received a remarkable ovation upon his return to the
Philippines. When he was appointed Secretary of War, Manila was flooded
with posters bearing the words, in various languages, "We want Taft,"
and such a host of petitions from influential citizens was sent to
Washington that Mr. Roosevelt canceled the appointment. It was not until
some time later that it was renewed and Mr. Taft left the Philippines to
take his seat in the Cabinet at Washington.
[16] It is difficult to realize the importance of the mestizo class in
the Philippines. There are about seventy-five thousand Spanish mestizos
and half a million Chinese mestizos.
[17] Any one who is inclined to regret American rule in the Islands is
cordially invited to read chapter sixteen in Dean Worcester's book, "The
Philippines, Past and Present."
[18] The cause of the pneumonic plague is so little known that it may be
interesting to mention it here. The disease, it is said, is carried by
marmots. It had not broken out since the fourteenth century, because
Manchu hunters had for generations been taught not to kill marmots for
this very reason. But in late years, with the great demand for furs, new
hunters who knew nothing of this, killed the diseased marmots and so
caused an epidemic.
[19] The name "Bashee," originally applied to the Batan Islands, was
derived from an intoxicating drink of that name made from sugar-cane and
berries. It is still used very liberally, especially on all festal
occasions. When Dampier's ships first touched these shores the _Bashee_
was highly regarded by these ancient mariners.
[20] Although we think of Japanese territory as far away from ours, here
it approaches within sixty miles, as I have said, and within twenty-four
miles of Guam the Japanese have lately occupied the former German
islands of the Mariana group. In Bering Straits we are within three
miles of Russian territory. There are two islands, the Diomedes, in the
center of the strait, one of which is owned by Russia and the other by
the United States. We usually consider both Japan and Russia very far
off, but their possessions are in fact almost as near ours as Canada and
Mexico.
[21] An interesting passage from Worcester describes this Kalinga dance
with more detail:
"Into the ring steps the hero of the occasion, dressed in his best
clothes, decked with his gaudiest ornaments, and bearing the shield,
lance and head-ax used in the recent fights. Behind him there creeps
along the ground a strange, shrinking figure, clad in soiled garments,
with a dirty cotton blanket pulled over its head. The hero attracts
attention to himself by emitting a squall which resembles nothing so
much as the yell of a puppy when its tail is heavily trodden upon. He
then begins to speak in a monotonous and highly artificial voice, the
tone and cadences of which are strongly suggestive of those of a
Japanese actor. With word and gesture he describes his recent exploit,
using the shrinking figure beside him as a dummy to represent his fallen
foe. When he stops for breath the ganzas strike up again, and when their
clangour ceases he resumes his narrative. After concluding his
pantomimic discussion of his latest exploit, he describes and boasts of
previous achievements. Incidentally he indulges in high stepping and
high jumping and displays deadly skill in the manipulation of his
weapons. The crowd grows even more excited and, during the intervals
while the ganzas are playing, shrieks its approval and shrills its
monotonous war cry. Finally when his voice has grown hoarse and his
muscles are tired, the principal actor retires and another takes his
place. As darkness comes on, a blazing fire is lighted within the cañao
circle.
"Ultimately the young and vigorous warriors who participated in the
recent fight are succeeded by the old men, who have been kept at home by
the burden of years and infirmities. Strong drink has caused the dying
fire in their veins to flare up for the moment. Each of them has a
history of warlike deeds, which he proceeds to recount. The crowd
already knows his story by heart, and when the forgetfulness of age or
that of intoxication causes him to falter, prompts him and shouts with
laughter at the joke.
"Gradually the _basi_ begins to exert its stupefying effect; but so long
as the music and dancing, and the shouting continue every one manages to
keep awake. At last, food is passed, and in the interval during which it
is being consumed the liquor gets a fair chance to work. As the east
begins to glow with the coming dawn, men and women fall asleep in their
places, or hasten to their homes, and the cañao ends, for the time being
at least."
[22] It is not so well known in this country as in the Far East that the
fine code of laws which we have given the Philippines was drafted by our
great statesman, Elihu Root, with the aid of some suggestions from Mr.
Worcester.
[23] I have taken a few remarks from several speeches.
[24] The ascent of Mt. Mayon is dangerous except for experienced
mountain climbers. The vista from the summit is said to surpass even the
famous view from Mt. Ætna.
[25] The Santo Niño of Cebu has a famous rival in the village of
Antipolo where "Our Lady of Peace and Prosperous Voyages" is found. This
image was brought to the Islands in 1626 by the Spanish government. It
is said the Virgin has crossed the Pacific eight times to and from
Mexico and each time "calmed a tempest."
[26] This great missionary is buried on the island of Sibutu.
[27] Worcester writes in regard to fishing: "There are barracudas of
seven different species, some of which attain a length of six feet and
weigh a hundred pounds or more. Bonitos of four different species have
been taken, and afford fine sport. Croakers and groupers (locally known
as _lapu-lapu_) are found in great variety. Hardtails and leather-jacks,
commonly called _dorados_, are also very abundant. They take the spoon
freely and fight well. There are also several species of mackerel and
_pampano_, which are excellent table fish; and snappers, of which we
have thirty-four known species. The large red snappers fight well.
Sea-bass of two distinct species are common. Specimens weighing fifty to
seventy-five pounds are frequently seen in the markets. The largest
specimen as yet recorded from the Islands weighed three hundred
thirty-four and a fourth pounds.
"Swordfish, nine feet or more in length, may be taken during the cooler
months. Tarpons up to five feet in length may be taken at the proper
season, off the mouths of large streams. The species are distinct from
that found in Atlantic waters, and the young take the fly freely.
"The great, or leaping, tunas are met with in large schools during the
winter months. The natives call them _cachareta_."
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and
the Philippines, by Isabel Anderson
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ***
***** This file should be named 41451-8.txt or 41451-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/4/5/41451/
Produced by Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809
North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email
contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
