Mesa free press., 1898-09-09
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Facts Regarding These Much Dane
cussed Dots in the Pacific.


spanish soldiers march bare-footed.
The natives bathe three times day.
Water buffaloes are used for plow.
ing.
Manila was founded by Legaspi in
1871.
All the inhabitants fall asleep at mid
day.
knives and forks are unknown in the
islands.
Freedom of speech is absolutely pro-
hibited.
Manila paid 100000 to England as
a ransom.
Manila is pronounced Mah-nee-la by
the natives.
Indians and Chinese patronize the
horse car lines.
A fashionable delicacy for the menu
Is the grasshopper.
Electricity Is used for Illuminating
purposes In Manila.
The poorer classes robe themselves
In one yard Of cloth.
In 1645 the city was nearly destroy
ed by an earthquake.
Mosquitoes are more formidable
than Spanish gunboats.
The common laborer receives as
much as IL cents day.
The yearly output of cigars from the
Philippines is 14O,O00,00O.
The chief occupation of some of the
savage natives Is murder.
The streets Of the capital city are
under water much Of the time.
Manila is considered commercially
equal to Calcutta and Batavia.
The bushmen are more dreaded than
earthquakes, typhoons or plaques.
The high quality Of the indigo is ac-
knowledged throughout the world.
In 1897 the United States took Al per
cent. Of the Manila hemp exported.
Visitors to the islands are not nu-
merous. The earliest was Magellan.
The oil of the cocoa is used for light
Ing purposes throughout the islands.
Horses are curiosity. The few that
are raised In the islands are too small
to brand. v
The insurrection was caused by op-
pressive greed and crushing rate Of
taxation.
The streets of Manila are unpaved.
During the rainy season they are i'm
passable.
Hundreds Of persons have been sent
to the penal settlements, and even de-
prived Of life.
Delinquent taxpayers are whipped at
the post, banished, and their property
conf1scated.
The male half-caste wears trousers
and shirt. The latter is not confined
in the trousers.
The atmosphere of Manila has been
likened to the SAVIOR Of cachous and the
bite of red peppers.
1t is estimated that there are 1,2OO
islands in the group. There has been
no official counting.
The British captured Manila in 1852
with feet of fourteen ships and held
1t for fifteen months.
The capital of the Philippines Is Ma
llAd. IL Ado q PORNAcA ~ ~~NN'N~N ~-~~>-
over 10000 in the suburbs.
For three years the United States
imports from these islands have aver
aged over $7,0O0,0O0 year.
The land is fertile, but the natives
are too indolent and ignorant to culti-
vate 1t with the best results.
In the Philippines they have butter
flies as large as bats. Their color is
fawn and they have ruby eyes.
Primo de Rivera, Governor Of the
tune out of gambling licenses.
The wealth of the man who owns a
shirt is estimated by the fineness of it's
texture and the way 1T Is worn.
The typhoon and earthquake have
been the most frequent and dreaded
visitors up to the appearance of Dewey.
The streets Of the city are lined with
massive stone houses, somber church
es, and airy cottages in tropical groves.
For two or three hundred years in
surgents in the islands have been In
creasing in numbers and strength Of
purpose.
Gen. Weyler was Governor OF the
islands for four years. He saved ST.
100000 out of his annual salary OF
$4,000.
The chief diversion Of Manila Is the
cock fight. The pit is as big as a cir
Gus. Four thousand spectators can be
accommodated.
Houses are raised on posts to per-
NIT the water to flow under them in
rainy seasons. They are built to with
stand earthquakes.
The orchid, found In the jungles, and
difficult Of access, sometimes COM
mands $1,000 apiece. 1t takes months
to stalk the demon flowers"
The mestiza of the islands Is super.
stitious and languorous. She has been
called the human butterfly. Her gar
ments are silk, very thin, and very
loose.
Spain's troublesome and impecunious
mobiles have always been sent to Cuba
and the Philippines. 1t is not consid-