Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-10-11
LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
The Easy Going Natives aud Their Large
Families.

AihAtiNss
The seekers Of strange modes Of life and
the student OF the habits ~ people who
have had attie contact with civilization
and have primitive homes can be satisfied
/ by "A wit 90 almost any Of The other larger
islands than Lulon IN tho Philippine
archipelago a. t1r instance Negros Pala-
wan Mindau3o and ~amas n any II
these islands there can Doe found tens II
thousands II natives vino like generations
Of their ancestors, have never lctt their III.
Tie island homes and have not the iaintcst
idea that there is any world beyond their
islands Here the race /, mixed ana the
residents are almost If a. light complex
tons ~ The residents # Manila The
young mtu aud women are comedy ana
great many ui the women between The ages
of % and ~ are ut striking Ocauty ON
many islands there live tle Boclls. who
are supposed 90 Doe the abarigluc, of the
archipelago and o. Dee 0t Malay origin
Ihcy arc an interesting race Tor any an
thropoogI,t 90 study Travellers who have
trOtted about rhe globe say that the Bocals
IN the Philippine islands and the Pauays
n Borneo dte about The --latest people that
I've They dq absolutely nothing that Is
unnecessary Tor living and dreaming
They have immense iamilcs-Oitcn 20
children IN house and there are a nul.
titude Of cases Of parents having ID and ;
boys and girl, Every family Aa, lis own
house, but - Will build a large and SUI
perior bamboo hut. and 81 viii make
better domlcile than thousands Of the BO-
calls own The whole family nc matter
how numerous, j. crowded into one room
at night the slecpers reclining On heaps Of
dried banana leaves. strange 10 say, the
b.. 1..s L..
every day and are expert swimmers. They
are proud of their teeth and take pains TO
frequently polish them with rude brushes
made OF the areca tree The poorer people
have no other cooking utensils than an
earthen pot, and the aristocrats have "a few
cast iron pans and big rough carthcn dishes.
The substitute for cotton and wooden
goods is called mouilla cloth and it is |
made from the moullla plant which is IA
species of hemp. The fiber of this plant is
coarse, stiti and not at all pllable. IL Is
the white inner surface of the long, thin
shoots that Is used. The natives pull the !
fiber out, wet the finger and twist The
thread, which, as "A consequence, l. uneven |
and fun II little punches. Very little /
mouilla cloth j. exported from the island, |
as il has an extensive domestic use. 1t I
takes an industrious woman several weeks /
to make a strip Of mouiila cloth 10 feet |
long and 3 feet wide. Flax being almost
unknown on the islands, the only other /
material for cloth IS silk. The Philippine /
forests are full Of mulbcrricS and silk was 1
woven long before white men came To the /
Islands. some OF the Philippine silk j. as
fine a. the finest china silk Much of IL Is /
deliberately brucudcd, although the process /
requires an immense amount of time, as
the threads which form the pattern have .
10 be- tied up each time separately. The .
nanhilla, a square piece of brocaded silk, I
form, the principal garment of the richer .
natives on the smaller islands This j. .
feet wide by Z feet long and requires .
about II months for its manufacture. \ .
Philippine weaver takes her child on her
back and weayes for half an hour, then she /
goes down TO the stream and draws "a jug .
of water or down TO the >ea,hore for
swim in the surf After weaving a few .
minutes more. she again goes 10 the brook .
or 10 the shore and washes out some sin.
gle article OF clothing never washing more /
than one garment at a time so that dur
ing the day she probably puts in about six
hours at the loom. Manila Letter IN New
York Times