The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-12-21

These Islands May Is, Considered {, Lotus
I.;tny 'topia.


Thtr. were ,>,n verse cutmic, than
thusc in he lurm Of snakes, and every
day wien went for my sea bath |
had to send IL little native into The
any sharks about On the her baud
the vegetation was >up' rh onc
almost forravc the heat for he >.k-
Of The beautiful flowers aud i"lIarr II
produced.
The native is Indecent in th" cx
creme, never tired Of s4latting down
and gazing at nothing III particular
He works 40 many days to find him
self in rice, then takes a rest for s."
many more days. lie can obtain
almost all his requirements direct
from the hands Of nature, and procure
labor, a large amount Of comfort.
The cocoa plant supplies him with
food and drink, and with material
necessary for the construction nf his
hut and the manufacture Of various
articles he uses, and also with oil
The hipa palm aleo flourshcs in brack
ish water, and its leaves arc cxtrrmcl!
useful for roof thatchiDg. Sugar,
brandy und vinegar are made from he
sap. The ayes Of the Pandnnus
tree are employed for making na.s
and baskets. l'amboos, with their
luxuriant lcafy tops, grow plcn fully.
Nature has endowed these splendid
plants, which surpass all others III
beauty, with many useful qualities,
and so ready for imm. date use that Il
few sharp cuts suffice to convert them
into all kinds Of articles Of domestic
value. The bamboo possesses, in
proportion TO its liphtncss, an sxtra-
ordinary strength, the parallel posi-
zion and touphncss Of it's fibers render
it easy to split, and when split it,.
pieces are wonderfully pliable and
elastic On account Of it's unsurpa~s
ed floating power, it is pre- cminrntly
fitted for locomolion in country poor
in roads, but licl in water courses
OF all the countries in the world.
the Philippines have the greatest
claim 10 be considered lotuS.calng
Utopia. \ native frequently may be-
seen floating down the stream asleep
on heap Of cocnanuts. When the
nuts run ashore The sleeper rou>rs
himself sufficiently to push himself
off with long bamboo. and content
edly rclapscs into slumbcr, as his &C
centric raft rcgains the current Of he
river. The way the raft is formed is
by placing the loose nuts in the cen
ter and by binding them round with
some Of the husks which hive been
previously detached
Rice fields abound. They yearly
receive fresh layer Of fertile soil, !,
washed down from thc mount ,ins aud
spread over their surface by che over
fowing Of the rivers. Sugar. coffee,
nlaizc chocolate and tobacco are
greatly grown: also the famous hemp
from which is made cordnrc, and the
iincr kinds into mstrriai for dress pur
poses. Pima, the most beautiful fab.
ric there is, is made from the leaf uf
che pnearrlc TO prepare the lbcr
Tor weaving, 4 woman places a board
on shc ground, aud upon it pincap-
pie leaf, with the hollow side upwards.
and, sitting at one cnd of the board,
she holds the leaf firmly with her toes
and scrapcs its outer surface with
shell and reduces the leaf to rags In
this manner Il stratum of course longi-
tudinal fiber is disclosed, which the
operator lifts up most carefully in "A
compact strip; then, turning it round,
she scrapes it again down to The layer
of fiber, which she draws to it's full
length, Next it is washed and dried
IN the sun, and afterwards combcd.
The betcl nut, too, is largely cult
vatcd, as itA leaf, when coated with
lime made from oyster shells, aud
folded up, is used to coil round the
areca nut, the whole forming the buyo
(betcl.) which the natives chew A
Dative can go for hours without food
if he has his bc,cl. and after many
years devoted to chewing the habit
becomes almost necessity, as is the
case with opium. 1t is displcasing
sight to see o,cwer, for his lips and
teeth appear to be smcarcd with blood.
The cotton grown is used for pill
lows; it is useless for spinning as the
staple is extremely short. The islands
arornsinafkable for rich timber trees,
and gold, copper, iron and coal are
found. The gold washing in the
rivers is mostly done by women, who
use fat wooden dish. When the