New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-23


~ the ,nsurgent territory. we had an excellent
cnnortunity Of studying the life OF the natives.
vndisturbed as II now is. by the turmoil Of the
revolution.
THE PEASANT IN THE INTERIOR.
Here the peasant bears all the marks of
rural tiller OF the soil. The type is stronger,
trife coarser and more brutal than is met with
On the neighbOrhood OF Manila. and there is
notabIe mixture OF Chinese blood in the race.
He is industrious. frugal and. up to certain
noint. possesses the quick. keen Intelligence OF
,be true Oriental. The prominent characters
It, - his nature make him an excellent and
CAPABLE workman He learns easily. has dis
tinct talents for mechanical work and In his
love for music. in his prediction TO acquire
What is not strictly his own. and in his trading
instincts reminds one a little OF the gypsy or
Europe The women at least those of pure
Indian stock. are often decidedly comely They
have wide oval face. rather a fiat profile. with
a wel-formed but broad nose. fine cut mouth
with excellent teeth. well-set dark and EXPIRES
sive eyes a strong but small chin, and low
forehead from which the sleek black hair Is
drawn tightly hack and twisted into a simple
knot.
petticoat Of bright oored stuff, with an over
skirt Of dark color made OF a rectangular piece
Of cotton stuff wound around and tucked In at
the waist in the same way that one fastens
towel in n Turkish bath. A white cotton
chemise. low-neCked and short -seeVed. covers
the body and outside this is commonly worn
a broad. lOOSo-SIecNeQ Jacket or tne tnIilItS'
possible pima cloth. supplemented In fulI Dress
by a large kerchief of the same material. Very
few ornaments are seen among them; indeed
IN the provinces visited there were few or
no personal decorations to be seen except a
few rings and bangles. The men dress accord
ing 10 their station. the laborers often wearing
all day long in the hot sun nothing more than
a hreeChcloth and those in the villages affect-
ing loose trousers and simple Jackets, always OF
white cotton. Both men and women habituaiy
60 barefooted. but the former often make use
ri II.
Women are never seen with hat or any more
protection 20 the head than the baskets or
bundles they carry with exquisite grace ana
ease but the men sometimes even push the
fashion Of headgear as far as the exaggerated
umbrella like palm-leaf disks which the coolies
wear
The native house Of the common type is
small structure built entirely Of bamboo. and
matched with palm leaves ingeniously folded
over bits Of stick and tied 10 the rafters 10y rat
tan. The caves are broad, and the window
openings which innocent of glass or OF the
shell easements in use in the better class or
houses. are provided with palm-leaf shutters
hung at the top ana propped open. shading the
interior from the sun and shedding the rain.
At night all are closed up tightly. There are
usually two rooms in the house and the fur
niture consists chiefly Of sleeping mats pillows
and few wicker stools. perhaps. The simplest
and most primitive utensils in use in the
kitchen. The stove is earthen affair like
a brazier with projecting knuCkles to hold the
cooking vessel. Frequently this simple dwell
ing-which is. indeed. rule. clean and
tended. according to the taste or ingenuity OF
the owner. into quite elaborate arrangement
Of platforms, little storerOoms and shelters.
The whole structure Is built around tall posts,
which. is the with all the houses here.
with the elaborate and expensive bunga-
lows. are firmly fixed in the ground. and extend
o. the wal-plate supporting the rafteTs. The
living and sleeping rooms are. ! have be-
fore remarked. raised five or six feet above the
ground. custom which prevails in all the
ar hitecture here. Sometimes the space under
the house is inclOsed by mats but il is oftener
left open and is used a. a storehOuse for the
large earthen water-iars and the great fiat
Washtubs followed out OF a large block Of wood.
CLEANLINESS OF THE PEOPLE.
one thing always strikes even the casual OBJ
server and that is the cleanliness Of the people.
They are always bathing and washing. and 1t is
the rarest thing to see soiled garments. Even
the beggars are clean. II is in consequence of
these Commendahe habi that so few annoying
pests Of insect life met with. Although
have during my two months stay In the coun-
Try slept in all sorts of places from the meanest
hut of the peasant 10 the G0vernOr-Generals
palace. l have never had my rest disturbed by
anything more annoying than mosquitoes, which
are mild and unenterprising enough as com
pared with the breed which infests most places
in America ard many resorts in Europe. The
writers on the Philippines have almost unani-
mousy declared the country 10 be the home OF
all sorts Of insects and reptiles which make life
burdensome. But one soon finds that the limo
cent little lizards which run over the walls are
engaged in catching flies and mosquitoes. that
the great beetles are harmless as grasshoppers.
ard that there is here. indeed remarkable i'm
munty from the petty annOyanCes which one
expects 20 find in a sOjOurn in the tropics.
But TO return TO our excursion There assem-
hled at dinner not only our party. but quite
number OF natives. men end women residents of
the village. whose perfect deCOrum and gentle.
simple manners quite Captivated us. They spoke
Spanish with and fuencv, and. the women
d: least. had the grace Of the Castilians. An
orchestra of ten native musicians, who played
with skill and taste all sorts OF classic music
and encouraged us to join in the dance which
naturally followed. was a surprise, not to say
delight When the party broke up and the
guests from the village and the orchestra
strolled away the lawn in the clear soft
moonlight singing as they went a fascinating
native air. the effect was simply enchanting.
and We hung over the balcony and watched the
white figures disappear among the palms and
listened to the vanishing strains OF the song
III II became faint that il was drowned BY
the chrpirG ~ the crickets and the shrill call Of
the tree frogs.
The next morning we ran over the remaining
twenty odd miles 10 the terminus, Dagnpan, on
the Gulf Of Lingayen. a 1Ourishing little town
with the usual religious institution. the iron
rooted warehouses. and the clustering native
huts Here the station, riddled by shot and
shell had been burned and was in a state OF
complete ruin. The insurgents were in large
force there. a detachment OF two or three hun
dred already boarding a special train 10 con-
Vey them TO Tarlac In the town the officers
stopped and questioned us, and on being in
formed Of our mission permitted us free crcu-
lation. They all seemed to be In state of eX-
u!tatiOn because the news had just reached
them that the Spanish had just evacuated the
town Of Nigan. important port in the prov
ince Of South Ilocan, and had put out To sea IN
local vessels with eight hundred Spanish troops
and twelve hundred natives, presumably en-
route for the Province Of Cagayan. the extreme
northeastery point Of the island or Lnzcn,
where the Rio Grande Of Cagayan, the largest
river OF the island. flows through the valley OF
the same name among the Caraballos Noun
tains.