The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-12-09
IHE|E CHINESE in MAN[DL A.

Chino" that he Is 'IocO' (crazy); that
gives him to understand that you are
ready for the fray, and both summon all
their battle forces Of cunning and patti
enee until the bargain Is concluded The
China is bound to sell, and will hang
on to you till the last moment. On the
Rosario there Is always a man who
stands on the sidewalk In front of; the
shop to grab the passers by and thrust
which they are expected to pay. Hesita-
ton IS fatal; 1t means tug of war be-
fore the Chino" can be got rid OF.
For a number Of years one OF the most
[remarkabie characteIs M Mani1a has been
a CnfnaMan called Felanca. That is not
his real name, but IT is the one he goes
by. In every city or town In the Philip
pines where there are "a number of Chi
nese these people choose one OF their
number to be what Is called "the captain
of the Chinese" Tt is a. responsible posi-.
ton, and one OF honor. Tt means that the
Individual chosen is one OF the most
Eprominent Of his countrymgn In that
place. All their differences are laid be-
fore him, and he acts not only as their
adviser, but as the go-between when There
is any dispute with the authorities. Incl
dsntally, the office is lucrative. as such
officers are e, Hlsefy to be. Fe1anca was the
captain OF the Chinese TN Manila, ana
| amassed a fortune OF millions,
| In his way the man is a genius. In
| some mysterious fashion he not only kept
friendly with his own people, so as to
continue In this place year after year.
| but succeeded In propitiating the Spanish
| government. THUS he was able to profit
on all his numerous DEALS Certain taxes
were decreed which were given to pc
lanca to collect. with the understanding
that he needn't bubble over the exact
| amount The taxes were exorbftant
that the government could mot collect
Thorn from the 'Chinos" direct, but Pc
lanca managed to squeeze out two or
three times the amount required, and
-Docketed the surplus This was one OF
his many methods employed TN the ac-
formulation of his fortune. ~ s.
Poor Pelanca has not been happy since
the Americans have come in: he longs for
the good old days; when there were so
many brilliant pecuniary openings for a
man or brains and is doing his best to in
gratiate himself with the new authorities.
One would think that by this time the
old fellow might have accumulated a suf-
| ficient' sum for his rainy day, but he
seems to be afflicted with a restless am
bit1on, and perhaps a love Of power; he
4 has held the rains SO long that he does
not ike to see them slipping out of his
l:grasp.
The "Chinos' are always being abused
@yet they have, besides their untiring In
dustry, many good qualities. When in
I trouble they will always stand by each
other. The poorest cody, who makes nc
| more than 20 cents a day, If arrested ant
admitted to bail, can always find
] Chino friend to help him out I'm q
| short time the heavy Mex money Is
brought to court and deposited with tht
! judge They rarely forfeit their bail, a.
so many of their more civilized brother.
would do under the same circumst ances
They calculate pretty closely on most
questions, and on this they conclude thai
| 1t is better to take their punishment
whatever it is, and have the matter over
During this period Of waiting many
J amusing stories go the rounds. While The
{; Hooker, the. cable boat, was here, "a mum
| Der OF men from her were sent down the
Pasig to the Iaguna de Bay to lay some
cables. They We're on large launch, or
| which they were to live until the opera
'tion was finished, and as an extra precau
'tion an armed guard was detailed to &C
| company them. During the night they
! 'moored themselves to buoy of goodly
size while they slept, though one of thu
| soldiers was supposed to be on the watch
1t SO happened that one night, however
| suddenly awakened by slight noise i
is IN almost universal human character
| istfc to experience a feeling Of bewilder
| nent, If mot sof fear, when Weakened sud
denly out '0f "a sound sleep lin the deaG
1 Of night II you are in an enemy's ;coun
try this feeling is intensified.
Tt will be appreciated, therefore, thai
! the men on this little launch, so far away
from the security Of outside aid, were
justified In a certain feeling of ALARM
when they. apparently saw approaching
them a native canoe bristling with armed
men. The approach was rapid, hui
stealthy. The fumes Of sleep were in.
! stantly cleared from their brains. land
one ssr,d all set about to die as brave men
and Americans should, The guns wer'
seized. and shots resounded on the nlgh
air IN rapid succession. The advance wa
strained their ewes, now grown more uset
to the darkness. to If the shots ha a
taken effect, when one, whose eyeslgn
was perhaps q little sharper tnan tAa ~, y
\ Tho others. burst into foolish laugh. Tn
formidable object before them, whicl
i thew had SO we'll peppered with goo
Yankee ammunition, was the nuoy
which they were tied.
l.