The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-05-18

Ildll Cd-SlcudlIFeS anu SAIl1CSC, anu AheAAN~-
ial typhoid, which chooses the careless
foreign resident for its attentions. The
black plague has never reached the Phi
lippines, but cholera used to decmate Ma
nila's native population before generous
benefactor gave the city its present good
water supply system. Since then that
dread disease has kept away. and the NOR
taIfty in that center of $50, 900 Malays,
half castles. Chinese and Europeans does
not probably exceed per cent per an
mum. In largest proportion of the city's
population come the Malay half caste
type and faces of swarthy color, high
cheek bones. almond eyes. straight black
hair, an dthe absence of whiskers show
mixtures of Chinese. Malay and Spanish
blood. The Chinese in Manila are $1,000
strong. and, though hated by the native,
are the ma1nstay o fthe local business
community. Europeans, outside of Span
ish troops, may number 5000 souls, but
the number of England's sons would
scarce reach three figures and OF Anne
ricas two.
December, January and February, with
their northeast winds. are months OF
little rain, warm days. cool afternoos, and
cold nights: March, April and May are so
hot. dry and dusty that the American or
Briton is apt to say with the poet:
Where the ladtude's mean and the long
tude's low,
Where the hot winds of summer peren-
nially blow,
Where the mercury chokes the thermome-
ter's throat,
And the dust is as thick as the hair on a
goat,
Where ones throat is as dry as a mum
my accursed,
There lieth the land Of perpetual thirst."
Each day at noon the mercury climbs
to Sc degrees in the shade, but the nights,
though warm, are not uncomfortable.
''The heat spell begins to end with the
tremendous thunder storms of May and
June that each afternoon send the lightn-
ing dancing over the iron roofs and drop
a foot OF water into undrained streets in
Is minutes. These heavy rain storms
gradually merge into the wet weatGr of
the rainy season, and in July. August and
September those circular disturbances, the
typhoons, hold meetings down in the seas
southeast fthe Philippines, and send del
egates whooping u pthe east coast with
instructions to move as many houses as
possible from one town to the next. These
storms generally avoid passing directly
over Manila, but give it bad enough
blow with their outside rim to upset s.
900 houses and cast a fleet of vessels on
the beach. In October and November
the elements quiet down with the change
of wind from southwest to northeast, and
start Experimenting with the good Wea-
Their that follows in December.
"Of all the sections into which Manila
is divided either by artificial boundaries
or natural ones, the old walled town is the
most interesting, and at this period prob
ably the most useful. The river bounds it
on the north. the bay and promenade on
the west, and a long line of boulevards on
the southeast. This leaves an irregular
triangle, whose sides are each about a
mile long, to be surrounded by those old
moss covered walls rising out of moats
over grown with weeds. At the three cor
ners of the triangle are the main batteries,
and down at the apex, which is formed by
river, is the grim old fort known as the
Black Hole, in which three score of pri-
soners were inadvertently smothered to
death during the early days fthe pre-
sent revolution. In front o fthe fortifica-
tons. facing west toward the bay. runs
the Malecon promenade, and. in peaceful
times. on its mile Of smooth road that just
tops the beach, I have often met General
Blanco, then governor general, taking his
afternoon constitutional in the midst OF
scores of those perip3tetic padres who
have been sent out from Spain to study
morals and make Manila the priest ridden
capital that it is. In the roadway loitered
carriages Of all sorts filled with natives
and foreigners in their afternoon dress,
and now and then hats all along the line
were DOTTED as the archbishop dashed by
in his closed barouche drawn by four
white ponies From all the low gates OF
the dark walls poured carriages that rat
tied over the shaky plaza at the south
end OF the Malecon was filed with the
fashion OF Manila. out 20 hear the band
and TO enjoy the breeze blowing over from
Cavite through the shipping.
row and the buttressed houses stufy. Pom
derous churches squeeze themselves in cor
ners and ruined arches show the work OF
earthquakes. In those hot days and nights
o fthe dry season no breath Of air seems
20 reach the pavements in old Manilas
streets but IL troublous times like these,
when 10.00o natives are thirsting 10 throw
OUT SPANS priests and officials. and are
crowding u pto the only thoroughfares
o fine capital those weedy moats around
old Manila those heavy walls those dra "
bridges and creaking gates Will all serve
as they have served before 20 prevent a
general massacre. The guns Of our feet
which escaped unsecured in that naval bat
tie of Cavite. can knock the walls 10
splintres and i'll tie meats with battered
fragments. but the few marines on the
American ships are powerless TO stop sub
urban massacre when once the natives
taste OF blood and run amuck'
IN spite OF what people who have never
been 70 the Philippines may say. the eli
mate % Manila. even in summer. IS hea-
lthy and free from danger 70 The white
race. American troops could want TO more
saluorious watering place than a camp on
that island of Corregidor, by which sweep
I'll me fresh breezss that blow from Ma
mia Bay and ,he China sea But L ws
hold the Philippines we nave yes % fight
long and trying. and perhaps unen5ing,
battles % civilization. in 90 Islands with
more than &ooo. 900 peaople"