The Portland daily press., 1898-06-22
MANILA MEN In LOUISIANA.
The Life OF The Philippines.
Faithfully Reproduced in the s,s
Near New Orleans.

Faithfully Reproduced in the sr.,s
Near New Orleans
louisiana Letter in New York s,r
Should the United States decide To ho1a
the Philippines even for short tive -
Americans would be brought into COW
munication with race, the Malavs on
Tagalas, of which they know little tor
nothing. They are well acquainted 1-;tt
the Chinese, japanese, and even with tha
Kanaka, hut. the census returns show fov,
Malays, especially Philippine MaIavs
living in the country. In Louisiana
however there are four large colonies Of
them. These colonies have been estah,
lished here from time immemorial and
their members have lived SO exactly lito
the Philippine islanders that sketch of
their villages would easily pass muster
for scene in the native quarter OF Manila
or in the interior of Luzon or Mindanao
1t is because they keep to themselves so
much, because they lie hidden away
among the swamps or wilder regions of
southern Louisiana, that although thew
are only a,.few miles from the city of New
Orleans, very little is known of them.
These towns or camps are seldom visited
and they are close-mouthed, living ao.
cording to their own laws, never appeal
ing to American Justice, ipunishingso
and offence, even to the death penalty :.
without word of the proceedings ever
reaching the outside world. But, if a
man wishes to understand the Philippine
islands, IT he wants to visit Luzon with
out the trouble of trip across the Pacific
he can do so by a journey of few hours
from New Orleans, if he can secure the
services of a guide who speaks Spanish
and will lead him to ST Malo, the largest
Of the Philippines settlements The
Malays or.iPhilippine islanders, settled
near New Orleans, are popularity known
as Manila men. The word Philippines is
never heard in connection with them I'M
til after death, when the Philippine
Union, Ella Union Philippine" of New
Orleans takes charge Of their bodies and
sees that they are buried.
There is no record OF when this Manila
colony was established. 1t is known to be
SO years old, and Is probably older III
may have been there century ago, dur
ing the days of the Spanish dominion in
Louisiana, when both that colony and
the Philippines were owned by Spain.
The name st. Malo suggests this, for ST.
Malo, France, was the birthplace of the
Louisiana smuggler and pirate Laftte,
and the bayou and settlement there were
probably named by him-and the Manila
men are even to-day given to smugglin, /.
The fact that the Manila men settled
where they did would indicate the early
origin of the colony. st. Malo is in st.
Bernard parish, which Immediately ad-
joins New Orleans. The original
white settlers there being from the
Canary islands. "Istenos," they called
themselves: islanders or "Islengues, >"
the word has been corrupted in the
creole tongues. AS the original language
of ST Bernard was Spanish, it is natural
that the Manila men speak tn tongue
should have settled there. Women are
prohibited from landing in ST. Malo, on
the ground that they are likely to
demoralize the population and arouse
strife and trouble, and the men are quick
enough with their creeses when they are
aroused or apgered. This prohibition is
the result of experience. Some years ag .
some OF the Manila men of St MaIo took
wives to themselves. The chief of the
island had young and very handsome
wife, half breed from Manila, who
showed in her complexion and bearing
her Castilian ancestry. The woman
proved false, and soon St. Malo was in
the midst Of a bitter quarrel which
threatened to destroy the settlement
There were several men killed. ana peace
was not restored until the woman had
disappeared. What became of her was
never definitely known, but tradition
declares that she was under Judgment of
the council of elders, tied to a stake in
the neighboring marshes until either the
mosquitoes sucked out her life blood or
she starved to death. There is another
story that she was behe AIDED by the out
ragged husband and her body sunk in
Lake Borgue. However it occurred, the
fact remains that she disappeared and
there seems to be little reason to doubt,
from the character of the Manila men,
that she was murdered; but no one has
inquired into her fate The colony of st.
Malo has been allowed to execute its laws
in accordance with the traditions and
practices of the Philippine islands.
The Manilaa men who leave St. Malo
live in solitary tents in the midst of the
swamps. Occasionally one of them
wanders to New Orleans and makes that
they are as rare in New Orleans as in
other parts of the country.
A few months ago the authorities of ST
Bernard parish rescued from one of these
Malay settlements beautiful girl of six
or seven years, a perfect type of tie eau
casian. The mother had wandered into
the camp, whence no one knows, and
died there, leaving her child behind. The
Manila men were trying to bring the
girl up properly, but the authorities were
convinced that they could not do so, and
that it would be a great mistake to let
such child remain in a settlement of
wild and desperate men. So they took
her away from her adopted father and
brought her to New Orleans, where she
has been put 10 an asylum. Both the
old Malay and his ward wept bitterly and
protested against the parting. 1t was
one of the few cases where the Manila
men have been interfered with by the
authorities. AS for the mother, she was
probably one of q hundred or more
women who have sought refuge from the
world in this island. 1t is almost within
sight of the spires of New Orleans, yet in
It's life and ideas more than 10000 miles
and 5000 years away. AS the Malays are
not mechanics but simply fishermen, they
usually induce one white man to take
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