The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-20
COUNTRY ABOUT MANILA
LOCATION or THE TOWNS MEN
TONED IN WAR DISPATCHES.
The Old and the New City-Where the
Railway Runs-The Water Sup
pIy-River Pasig and the Bay.
mos X. F,iske. in St. Louis Republic.

/ Mia win give interest to a more detailed
description of the city and its surroundings
| than has yet appeared. The Island of Lu-
zon is, in this latitude, from seventy to
eighty miles wide, but the Bay Of Manila
cuts into its western side about thirty miles
and the Laguna de Bahia, in the interior,
occupies more than twenty miles of its
width. The Pasig river runs from the la
guna or lake, through the city into the
bay, and its winnings make it about fifteen
miles long, but the bend between bay and
| lake, south of the river, from Old Manila
to Cavite, is less than ten miles wide
The naval, arsenal and land defenses at
Cavite are on a point or hook which projects
| in d curved fashion into the large bay,
partly inclosing the small bay of Bacoor,
across which and on the road to Manila is
the considerable town of Bacoor. There
| Aguinaldo first established his headquar-
tiers, proclaimed his provisional government
and rallied his forces after being set ashore
by Admiral Dewey subsequent to the naval
! battle Of May l.
Though it is only about seven miles in a
direct line across the water from Cavite to
Manila, it is fifteen miles by the road, which
winds along the coast and passes through a
number of villages. The last of these on the
! way IS MdldIe, ABOUT q mile ana IIIte-
| quarters from the old walled city Of Manila
| which is on the south bank of the River
Pasig at its very mouth. At Malate the
! Spaniards had barracks for both infantry
and cavalry, and it was from there that
they attacked our troops when they made
their advance from Cavte at the end Of
July and the beginning of August. The
place was taken by our soldiers after these
attacks, and was made a base for their adj
vance upon the city when the refusal to
surrender made the assault of Aug. 10 nee
essary. The fortified ncosure in the angle
| between the south bank of the Pasig and
the bay is the Manila OF history, founded
! by Legaspy in 1871. The massive walls,
somewhat shaken and cracked by earth
! quakeS, run for mile along the bay and an
| equal distance along the river, and connect
| around on the land side by an Irregular
! curve. giving the inclosed space nearly
| triangular form. Outside of this landward
| barrier there was originally a deep moat
| into which water could be let from both
| river and bay. 1t is still there as broad
| ditch, clogged with unwholesome deposits.
THE OLD CITY.
At the northwest angle Of the walls near
the junction of river and bay, is the Royal
Fort" of Santiago, with it's gloomy ram
parts and dismal dungeons and it's anti
quated ordnance. There are three gates
along the river, flanked by bastions and
from these in old times drawbridges crossed
the river and were raised at night when
| the gates were also securely closed. In
front of the eastern end of this wall facing
the river, is the Paseo de Magalhanes, or
Promenade of Magellan, graced by monu-
ment of the famous Portuguese navigator
| who first acquired the Philippines for Spain
and got himself killed near the island Of
! Cebu There are only three Fashioned gate
| ways in the wall on the landward side of
fhn TT1 1sNx Dor
and Santa Lucia. Two of these are on the
eastern and one on the southern segment Of
| the curved barrier Near the southern point
| the Royal Gate (Puerta Read Is Hanked by
| the bastion of San Diego and protected by
the San Gregorio battery.
| city, which contains about 10 600 inhabitants
vas the seat of the secular and ecclesiastical
| authority of SpainS Philippine colony for
| three centuries and a quarter On the plaza
near the fort is the cathedral which replaced
! the one shattered by the earthquake Of 1863
and fronting on the same space, which is
adorned by the statue of Carlos w was the
! governor generals palace and near by the
official residence of the archbishop.
In the old city, with its many stone build
! ings and its paved streets, are also the
! royal Court of Chancery, the churches and
| converts of San Augustin and of the Reco-
| letoS OF San Francisco, covering a broad
area; the spacious grounds and substantial
! structures of the Royal and Pontifical Uni
versity of st. Thomas, which. has a fine
! physical laboratory; the Municipal Athe-
! neum, which is an educational institution in
charge Of the Jesuits, and has not only a
| physical laboratory but natural history
museum and a well-equipped astronomical
and meteorological observatory. There are
also the large and well-managed Hospital
| OF San Juan de Dios and military hospital
with beds for 1000 patients. Old Manila is
monument of the Spanish power of the
| sixteenth and seventeeth centuries. Out
| side Of the walls on the bay side, opposite
| Fort Santiago is monument to Anda the
doughty old judge who resisted the English
| occupation when the chief judicial officer
| shared power with the archbishop and the
| governor general. From that along the
shore the Paseo Malecon, or dixie prone
| made, leads to the Luneta, beyond the south
wall, where the beauty and chivalry of Ma
| Mia used to take their evening drives, while
listened to the military band which dis
| coursed music from a stand within the clip
teal space about which the drive ran like a
MODERN MANILA.
But the modern commercial Manila, with
| it's swarming population of nearly 100000 is
across the bridges, on the northern shore OF
the Pasig and has grown. from the CO.
alescence Of several pueblos or villages and
suburban districts, into one municipality.
The fiat area is divided by creeks and es-
tuares which make their way to the river
and form natural boundary lines to several
sections and are crossed by many bridges
Directly across the river from the old
walled town is the great business district of
| Blonde, which grew out of the Alcayceria
TO which the Chinese traders were confined
| in the early days when the Spanish hidaI-
| goes scorned trade for themselves, but
| forced tribute from it for their own sup
port. The street chiefly occupied by
| business houses concerned in foreign trade
! or conducted by Europeans is the Escolta
near the river and parallel to It, while the
! Rosario running through the heart of the
/ business district, is thronged with the shops
and bazaars of the ever-busy Chinaman.
/ Beyond BinondO and stretching along the
| bay front on low ground, is Tondo, which is
made up of long, narrow streets, now
/ muddy and now dusty, according to the
| season. lined with humble Nipa-thatched
| shanties of a swarm of native Malays They
| mostly stand on short stills of palm trees
I and are made of bamboo and covered, top
and sides with the frowsy thatch of Nipa
| leaves. Here. if anywhere, are the slums Of
! the city, but in Tondo there are a good
| market place, small theater and fine
church.
Outlying Binondo, on the east and extend
/ ing along the river toward the lake are
| the quarters, or puebos. known as Santa
! Cruz, Quiapo and San Miguel, which con-
tain most of the better residences and sub
! urban villas. In Santa Cruz are a flower
| market and a theater and it contains with
in it's limits the famous leper hospital of
! the FrancisCanS. while in its confines is a
| cemetery for Chinese and other ''infleles"
/ or nfidels. QuiapO contains some fine build
ings, including the market Of Qunta and
| the establishment of the Recoletos of San
| Augustin, with its sanctuary Of San Sebas-
tian and here a suspension bridge $50 feet
| long across the Pasig. Crossing a wooden
| bridge over the Estero de San Miguel or
| Sanu Miguel estuary, one passes from
! QuiapO to San Miguel. where there are an
extensive barracks and many comfortable