The herald., 1898-11-09
THE FUNERAL OF A FILIPINO
A Lively Waltz Instead of a Dirge.
Smiles Take the Place of Tears.
Not So Serious

who is here In command OF the collier bru-
tus, on the street quite frequently. f. W.
Little, who was with Major A. 5. Kimbali
when the department headquarters were IN
Los Angeles, is here with the quartermas-
ter's department.
A few days ago l met Fred Coleman,
formerly of the Los Angeles Times, but
lately with the Portland Oregonian. lie is
in Company X of the Second Oregon volun-
teer infantry.
Ed Turner class '96, Los Angeles high
school. is out here with Company A OF the
Thirteenth Minnesota, and then there are
General H. G. Otis and Lieutenant Brad
bury of his staff. General OTIS headquar-
tiers are at Cavite, but there are two boats
each way daily and he is frequent visitor
at department headquarters.
The Philippine circus is now in full opera
tion, but, as will appear from the program,
the performance is hardly one that would
come under that head in the United States.
LAST weeks program was as follows:
One-Overture by the band.
Two-Triple trapeze.
Three-Hand juggling.
Four-The English perch.
Tive-Balancing with the feet.
Six-Roman rings.
Seven-C0mic antics by the clowns.
Part Two: One-Overture by the band.
Two-Somersaults by the company.
Three-Slack wire performance by lady.
Four-The mysterious ball.
Five-Trapeze combination.
Six-Triple horizontal bars.
Seven-Pantomine.
The band played American music, | sup
pose to honor the audience which was al
most entirely composed of American sol
diers, and was just about such an aggrega-
ton of talent as one finds dispensing sounds
for the American public in our own circuses.
In juggling and balancing feats the natives
are quite clever, but in other respects the
bill would not compare favorably with sim
liar turns on the stage of the Los Angeles
Orpheum. The performance is nearly two
hours in length, and although one would
hardly care to visit it often, it serves very
nicely to pass the time, and time is at pres
ent an article that the average American
has more OF than he knows what to do with.
The insurgents have moved baci, some ten
or twelve miles from the city, at the request
OF Major General Otis, but still keep their
outposts within sight of those of the Amer
can forces. An interesting fact showing the
state OF feeling among the insurgent generals
NAV be noted from the following incident
There is, as is undoubtedly known. a Ger
tain faction that wishes to form a free anc
independent government at once, and were
even willing to undertake war with the
Americans to obtain this result, and to set
tie the matter a consultation of insurgent
generals was called. The subject was dis
cussed in its various phases and finally put
to vote, the ballot standing twenty three
to seven in favor of American rule in what
ever manner the United States should de-
eide.
l was talking with colonel of the in
slrgent army this afternoon and he told me
that the insurgents would abide by any de-
cision the United States might make, pro-
vided the islands were not returned to
Spain. To be left under the dominion OF
Spain seems to be the only possible result
of which they are afraid and they say that
this they will never submit to.
Last Wednesday / had the pleasure, if
such an adventure can be termed pleasure,
of attending a funeral. / was strolling along
a side street of Manila, and hearing the
music of a guitar and mandolin in house
across the way, stopped moment to lis
ten. l had hardly been there a minute when
a Filipino, who | afterwards learned was
the father of the dead child, came out, beck
oned to me and asked me to come inside; his
face was wreathed in smiles, and his jolIity,
coupled with the fact that the orchestra
was at that time playing lively waltz, led
me to believe that there must be some kind
of party in progress.
| entered and it was not until had gone
upstairs and into the main room that / dis
covered the true nature of the celebration,
for by no other name could it well be called.
At the center Of one side of the room was
the family altar, without which no native
house is complete, and on a table immedi-
ately in front, feet toward the altar, head
slightly raised so that if the eyes were open
ed the first object to meet the gaze would be
the cross, was the body Of girl of 10 or 70
years, dressed in white and with wreath
of white flowers on her brow. The assem-
bled company, some thirty or thrty-fve
men, women, boys and girls, were all in
gala attire, and in the intervals between
the musical numbers laughed and chatted
much as an American audience would at a
reception or musical, and none laughed OF
chatted more gaily than did the host and
father of the dead child and his wife. The
orchestra played waltzes, polllas ant
marches of the liveliest kind, two of three
of the senoritas present sang little love
songs and it really seemed to me that wa:
the saddest one of all.
Cigars, cigarettes, lemonade and anisett,
were passed around, and later in the even
ing light lunch was served, and during i
all there was never a tear or a sad wore
spoken, and except for the presence of tn,
dead in the room, one would take it for tn
celebration of a wedding or other happ,
event.
I have wondered since If, among the FL
ipinos, a death is the occasion for JOY, o
if the gaiety in this instance was all as
snmed, but | can get no farther than tha
ii it was only mask put on to cover thci
real feelings it was the finest piece of actin
it has ever been my good fortune to witness
ROBERT B. PARSONS.