The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-20
MANILA BETTER THAN CIRCUS
Plenty of Fun Not Advertised There
for Bright-Witted Soldiers.

F1enty of Fun Not Advertised There
for BriGht-Witted Soldiers.
Correspondence of the st. Louis Globe
Democrat,
II man wants a circus, he can have It
any time by SIMPLY watching the way
these natives do things In everyday life. 1
saw one of them carrying a pig the other
day, and the way he was doing it would be
a credit to any clown. He had pole with
a basket on each end and the pig was in
one basket and a big rock in the other
to balance IT, They carry everything on
poles, and yesterday l saw two of them
trottngs along the street carrying pole,
on the>center of which was coiled an euor-
nous snake. It was very quiet but every
American they passed would suddenly
jump SAX feet sideways.
Then there is the way they handle the
big water buffalo that they use for haul
ing loads They drive with one line that is
attached to a ring in the animaFs nose,
and they make him go ahead by jerking
back on the line. az the same time making
a noise like a Missouri farmer driving
hogs These animals are well named water
buffalo. as they delight In wallowng in
mud and water like hog. In fact, II they
don get this bath regularly they become
CRANKY ana are HdDiG 70 run diHhtht anu
then there is a circus. These runaways
have become commonplace affairs with us
now. First there is a commotion and
cloud of dust up the street, and next
crazy buffalo and bowling native come
tearing by, while everybody jumps Usual
ly they scatter the load all over the coun-
try. These animals are as large as Amer
lean oxen, have enormous horns and look
dangerous, as indeed they are in their
rag do h fg I1af
falo he ties It's nose high up In the air and
pours rice into its mouth. They say that
prevents waste.
The natives are born shopkeepers and
their little fruit-stands are favorite ioung
ing places for the soldiers. They all want
to learn English, and II Is quite natural
that they learn some from the soldiers that
Is not found I'm the English. grammar.
They pick up all kinds of slang and one
of their women rather startled our chap
lain by telling him to "sit down, but don't
get gay" Cock fighting is their great
amusement, and they VIII stake their last
cent on IL. The soldiers have caught the
fever, and now every company has its
game cocks. They have frequent matches
with the natives, with the usual result
that our boys have chicken for dinner.
Both the natives and Spaniards are abb
stemious and / have never seen one Of
them drunk. Possibly It would be different
with the Spanish soldiers If they had any
money
1t seems most remarkable that with
three centuries of Spanish rule bull fight
ing has never gained a foothold. They
say il has been tried, but for some reason
they never happened to have the right
kind OF bulls or bull fighters. They have
every other form of Spanish barbarity
the cemeteries being one of them. A
&c "a largo fpp1Oqltpa
rounded by double wall. Around the in
terror of the wall are rows of tombs,
which we learned are there for rent"
A person cannot be laid away there unless
there Is FIVE years rent paid In advance.
At the end of five years, " the rent is
not again forthcoming, the remains are
hauled out and dumped over between
the two walls We went through one
that had skeletons piled in promiscously
20 the depth of ten feet, and one of our
men who evidently wanted a real curio
carried away a Spanish skull and cross
bones which ne declares shall decorate a
certain barroom IN Frisco.
one thing noticeable about Manila Is
the absence Of secret societies. In all the
city there is not a single lodge OF Masons,
odd Fellows or K. P.s. II IL well known,
| though, that Masonry has a foothold
among the insurgents About a month
ago an insurgent officer was killed in Ca
wife, and among his blood-stained papers
was found small passport that greatly
Interested some OF our officers who are
Masons. It showed the drawing of the
floor of a Masonic lodge and under Il lot
of Spanish words, of which all l could
make out was Santa Hirim." The ma
| lives tell US Of a lodge Of Masons, num-
bering 800, that meets near here, but we
have been unable TO find It. It is con-
/ Mill no fhav
| say that many a man has been executed
! for no other reason than because he was
| a Mason However, II appears that those
| days are over now, and that with the
! advent OF American missionaries,
churches, etc, the secret orders will bios
| som as plentifully as in the land of the
| free. hf