The Portland daily press., 1898-05-11


They are wiry, tough, and bad little
giants, who yield only to such civilization
as is introduced by powder ana ball
These fierce tribes swarm all over The LIZ U
islands in the group, and venture o
say that not one half of them have ever
been under the Spanish yoke.
The Tagals, who live on the larger
Stands, like. Luzon and Alindano, are
rather peaceful people and do llttie
farming between cock fights. Then comes
| the Bisayans, who are great fishermen
and live on the water between the islands
They carry on desultory soru of COM
merce and stir up reyolts. The Malay
Indians form the majority of the Iopu
lation under Spanish rule. with the Fa'
| puans good second. Native whites and
Europeans are about 400, 900 strong, while
the Chinese and the half-castes of In dia,
who have been drifting into the Philip
pines for ages, number, collectively. about
125. coo. So, you see, the Caucasian, Mon
| golian, and Ethiopian divisions of the
human family have all contributed a
share to the islands
| Now, the natives are lazy to superla-
tive degree. It's the way in all the Kama
| ka islands, and the generous way iu
which good Mother Nature has provided
for them is enough to excuse their shift.
| lessnesS. go out and lie down under
the first tree at night and enjoy a sleep.
In the morning roll over on your back,
| shy your boot up into the tree and down
comes breakfast. That's their way OF
reasoning 1t out and most Of them prac-
tlce IL. Their laZineSs and general i'm
providence the Chinese have been quick
to seize upon and turn to advantageous
opportunity ever escaped Chinaman.
He is active, capable and unceasing In his
efforts when he turns his hand to labor OF
mechanics. In commerce he is the most
astute merchant on the face of the globe.
In finance he is without superior. So
the Chinese have become the mechanics,
clerks, traders, shopkeepers and. bankers
| of the islands, and therefore the real
power Their energy and capacity made
them Indispensable to the Dons. In re-
turn for their faithful offices and the
| handsome presents they bestow upon the
| Spanish officials, the Chinese were al.
lowed to have civil regulations and q
police of their own. Ostensihly they ao-
knowledged, his Ministry and advisory
| juntas and bowed down before it in hum
BILE self-abnegation; but in their wids
sleeves they snickered and sneered at it.
"Hated, despised, but wholly envied by
the natives the Chinese have never
sought to placate their enemies, but have
aided the Spanish government in main.
tanning that balance Of opposing interests
on which the Dons relied for the support
of their own institutions. Thus they have
gone on for years fattening upon the
great wealth of the Philippines. giving
large sums to the Spanish rulers for con-
cessions worth ten time what they have
paid and stripping the natives of lands,
products, and labor until conditions be-
came unbearable even for the easy going
tribes, and the rebellions followed. The
ultimate triumph of the insurgents would
mean the annihilauion of the Chinese,
for like all the Malays the natives are
supine and inactive in peace, but unre-
lenting and tiroless when bent on re.
venge.
| ''If the United States will hold on to
Manila or take possession of the entire
| Philippine group they will confer un-
/ bounded benefit upon the American mer-
chants engaged in the Pacific trade, and
| add considerable to the revenues of our
country. Besides the cost of the war could
1 soon be- repaid into our treasury from the
tax on imports and exports imposed at
Manila alone. I don pretend to discuss
| the vast advantage that port offers as a
coaling station and general Government
| depot in the far East, which is subject
| for the consideration of statesman, but
argue from the point and experience of
| an old trader with an eye to business.
| There is no calculating the wealth of the
islands. Most of the products brought to
this country are coffee, indigo, sugar cane
| tobacco Ia Government monopoly, spices,
| pepper, pima lienen made from the pine
apple fibre, hats and cordage. But locked
| up in the many mountains OF the islands
| are millions OF tons of iron, copper, coal
and sulpher. AS for the timber, there is
| nothing to equal it's quality and quantity.
The Spanish have never been able to de :
velop the islands, and the Chinese had
not sufficient means. to put their full
productiveness to the test. There is some
gold to be found in the sands of the hun
dreds Of rivers, but the Philippines are
not exactly Klondike. With American
methods, improvements, and good Yam
kee business sagacity, venture to assert
that the islands could be made to yield
ten times as much as they do at present.
| ''Of course, the climate is hot and ener-
waiting. There is only one plaoe that can
send the mercury higher, but that is not
of this world. Still generally prevailing
moisture tempers the fierce heat, and there
is constant alienation of land and sea
breezes. 1t makes me mad to hear folks
say who are opposed TO sending a large
land force to assist Commodore Dewey
that the climate is unhealthtuI. 1t is not
SO by any means. There is no place in the
| tropics whicn Is more healthful or where
the rate of mortality is lower, and our
gallant hero would net Jose man ex-
cept by the accidents of war and causes
which obtain OF home
MANY of the islands are constantly in
vibra tion, owing to the earthquakes, and
the group is within range OF the monsoon,
which makes hurricanes common, but
these are disadvantages you must expect
in the kanaka Islands. There is rare
hunting in the woods and jungles OF
many Of the islands. The jungles swarm
with hummingbirds, parrots, and many
birds of brilliant plumage, which opens
up prospects for a great leather trade for
the Americans. The .hummingbirds are
fierce little creatures.
81 landed one time with hunting
party on the island of Mindoro and pene-
trated a jungle in search of rare birds
One of our men branched off from the
party and we temporarily lost sight OF
| him. Presently we were startled by cries
| of terror, and saw the man boating his
way towards us through the thick, strang-
ling swamp growth. Above him was a
futtering cloud. AS he came within a few
feet of us we discovered that a swarm of
thousands of hummingbirdS had ATTACK ad