Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-01
BON JOUR, PHILIPPINE
A Visit to the Land Of Tobacco,
Rope and Earthquakes.
MANILA AND ITS PEOPLE.
The Goal OF GalleOns In Olden TSmes-
The Divided TOwn-A Cock.Eixhsinx
People-Interessing Reminiscenccs-
Among the Natives.


Nv 1t is q sort of sailing sidewise through
~ cross-currents and into the favorite
| haunt and very Matching place Of the dreadful
typhoon. Moreover. Manila is not the easiest
place in the world to find. Its position IL
wrong on the charts, SO my skipper assured
me, and they would not find 1t unless they knew
better themselves. II is, too, one of the most
earthquaky places in the world When q
British scientific and surveying expedition
came some years ago to the Philippines and
wished, among other things, to determine the
precise latitude and longitude once for all,
although they waited for a couple Of weeks the
islands were never steady enough to
AFFORD . satisfactory base for the instru-
ments. The earthquake season was on,
and they we're wobblng about the whole time!
For myself, however, Manila will always be re-
| membered as the place where for the first time
had my pockets publicly and officially
searched. As soon we anchored guard of
soldiers came on board and assisted the custom
house officials in infinitely examining every
thing In ones baggage. When this was over
was stopped at the head of the gangway by the
Lieutenant in command and courteously in
formed that before could land he must be
permitted to see what had in my pockets
When 1t came to my pocket-book he turned il
over, separating every piece of paper in it. A
bystander informed me that all this was to
prevent the introduction of Mexican dollars.
on which there is a high premium, and q
pamphlet attacking the priests, recently pub
lshed in Hong Kong. l tried to rile this off,
Ger by assuring him that had copies of the
forbidden pamphlet in my boots, but, like the
prig, he only answered with a silent smile. s.
MANILA's GOLDEN DAY.
In the most conspicuous spot in Manila
stands statue to Magellan, who discovered the
Philippine Islands in his famous first circum-
navigation of the globe. The came Manila q
golden days. 1t was the goal of the galleon-
imagination striving name-that made its ro-
mantle voyages from Spain. deep loaded with
treasure. The galleons are gone, the wars of
which they were the constant prey are as for
gotten as the men who fought them and 1.-The
most fortunately situated city in the world" as
La Perouse called it, is far off in its lonely
ocean, days distant from any of the great routes
OF commerce, unheeded by the world in which
1t was once so renowned. unvisited even by the
ubiquitous globe trotter Yet there is some
thing in the aspect of Manila suggestive Of ro-
mance-something more picturesque than other
places show. The first thing saw was native
drifting down the river fast asleep OF heap
OF cocoanuts. Then the streets are dazzling
with their flowers of fre"-large trees ablaze
with scarlet blossoms.
THE NATIVES.
The olive-skinned mestizas, half-caste de-
scendants of emigrated Spaniard and native
Indian, step daintily along on bare feet encased
| In chinelas, embroidered heelless slippers with
gay fiuttering garments of just, a woven mix
ture OF silk and pine fiber. their loose, jet
black hair reaching sometimes almost to the
ground-one woman was pointed out to me
whose hair was said to be so inches long-and
their deep, dark eyes passing over you in Ian
| guld surprise. The native men are q com.
| munity which has forgotten to tuck its shirt
| INTO its trousers. Their costume consists OF a
| pair of white trousers and On eIaborately
pieated and starched shirt, with the tails left
| flying about. Every one is smoking a cheroot
and every other one has game cock under his
arm, a constant companion and chief treasure
and sometimes chief source of income too, until
! the deadly spur on the heel of a stronger or
pluckier rival turns all its pride and brilliapce
into shapeless heap of blood and feathers in
| the dust, while thousand voices execrate its
memory.
THE TWO PARTS OF THE CITY
The city OF Manila consists of two parasitic
Spanish walled city, called the parish Of Intra
Muros, and the general settlement outside.
The former is crowded with Spanish houses:
the streets are SO narrow that in many of them
two carriages could not pass each other; their
overhanging upper stories make a perpetual
twilight; the inhabitants go out little and the
whole places leaves upon you an impression of
darkness OF silence. of semi-stagnation. Out
side the walls are the wharyes, all the ware
houses and business offices, the hotels many
large residences OF the wealthy haif-caste popu-
laton. and as the city gradually merges in the
country the charming riverside bungalows of
the foreign residents the club, the race course.
| and so on, till you reach the squalid but pic
turesque outlying native villages. Inside the
city you cannot take hundred steps without
coming upon striking evidence of the earth
quakes. Here is a church half broker down by the
Commissions of such year; there are the grass.
grown ruins of the government palace destroyed
by another historic outburst; think it was
In the great cathedral itself that they showed
me the lofty ROOF of the transept split and
cracked in an alarming fashion. On the shore
OF the bay there is an extensive and well laid
out boulevard or embankment called the
Luneta, where all fashionable Manila walks
or drives in the evening to the music of tile
military band. Behind this are the forts.
moss-covered antiquities of masonry, armed
with rusty and harmless pieces which might
have come from the gun deck Of some old
gal.eon.
MILITARY DISCIPLINE.
The military authorities, however, make up
Al stflctheSs OF feguiation what they lack IN
effectiveness of armament, for the foreign ten
mis- club was refused permission to play upon a
piece of land within hypothetical range of
these guns on the ground that it was within
| the military zone" and l myself was told,
though with great courtesy, by H. E., the cap
| tain general, that he must refuse me permits
sion to take any photograph in which a part
OF the foruhcations appeared. 1t was, Of
course, only for their ancient picturesQueness
that wished to photograph them-a mop Wig
| orously twirled would be about as effective for
defense. In one fort at another place there
are two decent modern guns nearly surrounded
by brittle masonry, and OF these purchased a
large and excellent photograph taken from in
! side and showing every detail. Manila how.
ever, If the information is of interest to any
body, could be reduced with ease by a couple
| OF gun boats.
| CONSIDERED AS A COMMUNITY,
Manila is an interesting example OF the social
| product of the Roman Catholic church when
unrestrained by any outside influence. Here
the church has free sway, uninterrupted by
| alien faith, undeterred by secular criticism.
All is i'll the hands OF the priests The great mon.
| asteries, with their high barred windows tel
the power, the wealth. the knowledge of the
| community. The Dominicans with their
archbishop, the Augustinians, the Recoletanos
and the Franciscans divide the people among
them, their influence being in the order have
stated them. Wise in the knowledge of thai
which they have created, their own wealth il
invested In foreign banks, chiefly in Hong
Kong, that OF the Dominicans, richest of all
| being intrusted to the Agra bank The people
| are plunged In superstition and their principal