The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-10
KANSAS NEWS.
Captain Clark Writes Interest
ingIy of Manila.
Tells of the Old Wall and the
DraWbridge.
MONEY PUZZLES HIM.
Sometimes Gets Much More
Than He Should.
Again He Thinks the Willy
Native Cheats Him.

observation-disclosures, in Manila, of which
the following is an extract. He says:
There is a mail going out tomorrow
and I will try to write my first impress
sions of Manila.
I missed the steam launch SO I had
to go ashore on one of the little row
boats which are dug out of log and
rowed by native Filipinos. We We're
about two hours an making it. We
passed a large stone wall out in the
bay; the boatman got out on the wall
and pulled US up the walled Pasig river
and got off near the wall of the city.
We then took a native cab, drawn by
a horse about the size of a large dog.
The cab was just large enough for four
and we had to lean forward to keep
from lifting the horse into the air. We
then passed through the wall of Old
Manila across a drawbridge. and
through an archway exactly depicted in
Scott's Marmion.
The wall is a mass of masonry about
twenty feet high and as many wide.
1t is literally covered with green ivy
and is very romantic in appearance.
Within the wall are dark dungeons,
some of which were sealed up with
prisoners and have not since been
opened.
We passed through a portion of the
walled city which is nearly all large
stone buildings. These are churches or
barracks. There are some 10000 Span
ish soldiers, prisoners of war, who are
kept in the city. However, during the
day they go all over the city, any place
they please. OF course they have no
arms, and the insurgents would take
care of them if they left the city, and
we would be glad enough to get out of
feeding them if they would go away.
They, however, are very willing to stay,
as they never Jared as well as they
are faring now. The revenues of the
port are said to be $4,000 per day, so
when we get rid of them we will all
have fine barracks, and the income of
the island will easily maintain the
army and run the government. Return
ing to our trip; we passed through the
wall and out of old Manila into New
Manila; that is, out of one place three
centuries behind the times into one two
centuries ditto.
Just outside the wall is an immense
stone monument to the discoVerer of
the island, who was killed there. Near
this, along the river, the natives were
doing their washing. They wash by
standing down in the river and pound
ing the clothes on the rocks and beat
ing them with clubs or boards. Chill
dren of both sexes to the number of
six or more were helping, who did not
have a stitch of clothing on. They
were hanging their washing on lines
tied to the aforesaid monument, nearly
obscuring it.
We then crossed the Pasig river on
the bridge of Spain, and went into
restaurant and had an eight course
dinner 1t was very good, but was
somewhat different from anything had
yet seen. But when it came to paying
for the dinner was where my troubles
gold piece; after deducting his one dol
lar he gave me in return nineteen full
sized silver dollars. Unfortunately,
had no wheelbarrow, so 1 had to carry
the stuff as best could, part in each
pocket and hat full besides; but this
was only the beginning. L then went
to the postoffice and bought a One-cent
stamp to send a newspaper home. He
gave me in change a half dollar, two
twenty-cent pieces, four coppers the
size of an American half dollar and one
the size of a quarter. 1t certainly re-
quired a financier to figure out the
change. For instance, bought five
cent newspaper, threw down a half dol
lar and received two dimes as change
and the change was correct. Again, a
nickle pays the ferry for four persons
across the Pasig river and you get six
After dinner we took a look at the city,
or rather the business center, i. e., the
Escolta, which resembles very much
Chinatown in San Francisco.
English is spoken by no one except
American soldiers and not one store in
ten has anyone who can speak or make
any effort to speak English. I can use
a few words in Spanish and L hope soon
! orally spoken
| visited again the walled city and
also the police court where civil priS-
oners were being tried. OF course mar
| tial law is in. vogue and they were tried
| by an artillery major There was a
| Spanish and Chinese interpreter and
American justice was being dealt out.
One fellow was fined seven dollars for
! striking a Chinaman. If the fine be not
paid they go to Jail and get so cents
per day for working; another, an old
! man, was up for beating a horse. He
| looked very troubled. l suppose he had
| never heard of such thing as that
being a crime. 1t developed that the
| horse belonged to his employer. The
| old man was released with the injunc-
/ ton to go and remember that as long
! as Americans were running the city he
must not treat horses so. There are
/ at least ], 800 civil prisoners.
! We then went back to New Manila
/ and took the governments steam
| launch for the Indiana and on the
| way out we came near having
| had just unloaded the Tennessee
| officers and were steaming
for the Indiana and on the way out we
/ came near having a chance to swim.
Our launch had just unloaded the Ten
/ neSSee officers and we were steaming
| along the side of the Zealandia. Just
| as we cleared her bow another steam
launch was coming along at a lively
| rate and as a result there was col
| lision; but, as our boat struck her
| rather lightly than otherwise, nothing
| happened except that the other boat got
| a bad scare, as she had the speed. If
she had struck we would have been
capSized and might have had a chance
| to play with the sharks. 1t is told for
| straight here that the SpaniardS had
| their bands instructed as to what piece
! to play as they brought in the Yankee
pigs, but history does record that they