The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-04-20
CUIDITI0NS IN MANILA.
Nuts to Be Cracked In Ameri.
canizing the Filipinos.
THEIR QUEER HABITS AND oUsTOMs


at Manila. writing under the date of
Feb. about the habits and customs in
the city and their effect on the Ameri.
canization Of the natives, says
Horses are not used in Manila for
draft animals, and freight trucks,
spring wagons, ETC.. are unknown
Everything is on two wheels in the We
hicle line except the victoria pleasure
carriages and these all have an under
cut for the forward wheels Narrow
streets render this imperative If the
Americans introduce trucks, only the
light, undercut style will be practical
BILE. The art Of carrying burdens upon
the head-for 1t certainly is an art
must be hereditary Children practice
1t at an early age. and when 10 years
old are already experts. l have seen
women carry jars 19 inches tall in this
way without touching them with the
hands, and have seen basket project
far over to one side, balanced by a
heavy object in the other end. Any.
thing under 80 pounds always goes on
top of the head.
Next in the scale of burden bearers
are the cargadores, or Chinese and Fill.
pino coolies, who carry heavy articles
suspended from poles across the shoul
ders What the thousands of men en-.
gagged in this work in the city can ac-
complish in moving heavy goods is truly
wonderful Everything bought in the
stores is carried home in this way if
it weighs less than 300 pounds or is
not too bulky to be handled Even this
limit of weight is exceeded by having
several cargadores work together. /
have seen four of them trotting along
the street with a piano swinging from
ropes between them. Sideboards huge
marble topped tables, iron sofas, cases
of beer, bales Of hemp and an infinite
variety Of things are handled in the
same way Ten cents for short dis
tance, equal to nickel of our money,
is all they ask for their services In this
way several thousand men do the work
of 100 delivery wagons A family on
the move locks like Roman triumph
with the soldiers carrying the loot of a
captured city. Nothing is covered up
and a complete inventory may be had
of the movers household effects.
Everything not practicable for the
cargadores to handle is carried on two
wheeled drags drawn by water buffaloes
or carabaos. These are short legged
stocky animals somewhat resembling
cows, with hide the color of an ele-
phant and almost devoid of hair The
neck is long and the head slender and
crowned with huge. deeply wIinkled
horns forming a perfect crescent. The
patient OK of our country is hysterical
in comparison with the utter calm of
the water buffalo 1t could win q slow
race from tortoise, yet it accomplish
90 wonders in transporting goods. A
plain bow Of wood on straight shafts
lies loosely across its neck A small
hempen cord tied to its nose or to one
Of its horns completes its harness, and
with this its master drives it, by some
system have not yet mastered, though
apparently by merely shaking the rope
on the side toward which he wishes it
to turn. or if riding it by slapping it
on tne DacK with the hand.
Slowly and majestically it plods
along, shaking its crescent horned head
from side to side and in a way almost
marvellous avoiding locking the points
into the wheels Of passing vehicles
Why there are not many accidents
cannot understand, for have myself
only escaped implement several times
by my agility; but, except when on
rare occasions one of them becomes
frightened and starts down the street
at numbering gait, they are less dan
gerous to pedestrians than the little
ponies drawing passenger vehicles
The buffalo loves the water and may
often be seen taking bath, with just
its nose and horns projecting above the
surface. Without it the skin gets dry
and hard in the hot sun. and the brute
lies down in the street until its comfort
is ministered to with a few buckets Of
water from hydrant 1t may easily
be imagined what an obstruction to
traffic in the narrow streets of the bust
ness part of town these buffalo carts
have become The American papers de-
mand that they be confined to the less
Travelled streets, but this effort at Amer
icanization has not thus far been sue
cessful one reason for which being that
the main thoroughfares are often the
only connecting links between different
parts Of the city To drive them from
these might require them to make quite
detour with the result that they
would arrive the day after tomorrow
instead Of tomorrow as they do now
Next in the upward scale is the Fill
pino pony. used almost exclusively for
passenger purposes This diminutive
and much abused animal accomplishes
more in proportion to his size than any
class of horses | ever saw before have
seen him pull loads that an ordinary
American horse of twice his size would
sea oely be able to move Two of them
at5g ched to street car seem TO bear
the same proportion of size as the mice
that drew Cinderellas s pumpkin coach,
yet they trot along with the car at good
speed, and when ii is ready to start
after a halt, they tug and strain at it
as though they would pull themselves
out of the harness
Their great defect is a somewhat ugly
temper and an obstinacy that makes
them balk frequently but this, think
is due to the fact of never having beer
properly broken and to the ignorance Of
the native drivers OF the art of handling
horses Two troops Of cavalry have been
mounted ON these ponies, and they seem
to be doing excellently with them,
though il is somewhat smile proyol,ino