The times., 1899-02-28
A Philippine Cemetery.

tfrOm liarperS NeekiY.l
Paco Cemetery is characteristic Fill
pino burying ground. small circular piece
of land with two thick and high concentric
walls some distance apart. the outer one
enclosing the cemetery In these walls,
and not In the ground. the dead are buried,
in innumerable narrow inches running deep
into the wall When the body is once put
in, the niche is walled up and tablet is
placed to mark the spot. The reason that
graves are not dug in the ground is that
at depth of two feet water is found. The
cemetery is managed on the plan of n
boarding house. The deceased's friends
pay his board for four years. and if at the
end of that time they do not pay again the
niche is broken open and the remains are
thrown into the bone pit. Sometimes not
even this courtesy Is shown to the dead,
| for l saw a coffin and part of a corpse
thrown over the back wall of the ceme-
terry into somebody's rice field.
On the 1st of November. towards even
ing, Paco Cemetery is, a very interesting
sight. The two concentric rings Of walls
blaze with the light of thousands of can
dies and small lamps. About these two
| blazing rings a great crowd moves. In
| diyidualS stop now and then before the
niche of some dead friend, as. on the
promenade OF any European watering
place. people stop to speak to each other.
the derby hats OF bygone years. but now
know that they are sent cut to the Philip
! pines. Little native men, in spik and span
! shirts with the tails floating to the wind,
wear derbys OF every conceivable shape.
4 some perched on the top OF their heads
! after the fashion of the Irish music-hail
| comedian, some covering their faces and
/ ears with voluminOus curved brim5. Littla
/ Philippine women. with stiff, clean pima
] dresses hpir
heads looking neat and wholesome. swing
/ along with that peculiar undulatory mo-
( tion OF the body which reminds one of the
snake. MestiZa girls, in costumes which
are not quite Philippine. and certainly not
! European hold their heads high and sniff
! at the common people as BELTS their su
I perior caste Spanish women. in dresses
| after the Paris fashions in the sixties. hang
indolently on the arms of gallant Spanish
officers, who carry themselves with the
naughty pride of conquerors. And, finally
Jimmy Green. in an ill-fitting brown duck
suit with a flannel shirt and campaign
hat. slouches along TO see the sights.
At one end of the cemetery is a chapel
where for small consideration masses will
! be said to get the suffering souls out of
purgatory. Indeed. ''All-Soul's Day is the
only day IN the year when souls in purga-
tory have chance to get out Back OF
the church is the ''boneyard," a long trench
where the skulls and bones of people that
! have failed to pay their rent are thrown.
A rather pretty Filipino girl, nonchalantly
smoking cigarette at the edge of this pit
gave light 10 one of our party. Her
escort climbed down into the ''boneyard, -
and picking up skull, muttered some
| thing in Tagalo 1t might have been Alas
poor Torick." for all we knew. The relic
hunter among US asked the man, in Span
ish. to give him the skull to take home as
a memento.
oh. senior" answered the Tagalo "if
you take it home it will jump about at
night, and give you no rest until you either
break it or bring it back here!''
But il | get the padre to sprinkle holy
water on to- asked the relic hunter
Bah, What can the padre do" replied
the irreyerent Tagalo.