The Chipley banner. (Chipley, Washington County, Fla.) 1893-1943, 1899-12-23

several acting GovernorS appointed
who have kept law and order In the
island, but have allowed publ, works
and buildings to fall into disrepair.
They are not altogether to blimc. for
during the past year they have been
in o state OF uncertainty, There have
been rumors on the island that Guam
was to be returned to Spain, and no
man cared to bo overzealous in hia
loyalty to tho United States for fear
that he would suffer for it il Spain re-
sumed her rule. Their doubts arc
now set ut rest by the arrival Of Gov
ernor Leary aud the PRONUNCIATION OF
his proclan alton. The people are glad
to be under American rule, and al
ready arches are going up in the
streets and committees are beng
formed to welcome the Governor when
he takes up his official residence in
Agana.
The natives are peaceful and gent!o
in disposition. The Filipino con-
victs, sent here from Manila, seem to
be the only disturbing element on the
island. These Filipinos tried 10 in
augurate q revolution last March, but
the plot was nipped in the bud by the
naval officer in charge here at the
time. There are several schools on
thu island, but education is not gen.
eral. The native is indolent, and he
can see no benefit in education. He
works if he pleases, and after few
days knocks off with money enough to
keep him the rest Of the year. 1t
costs him nothing to build his house,
and il he is out of work and out of
funds there are the breadfruis trees,
the cocoanuts and the bananas grow
ing wild. Why should he disturb his
siesta? In the past there was an cd.
ditional reason why he should not
work; he was taxed heavily for every.
thing he owned.
When the natives cultivate the
fields, they rarely live On the land
they till. Instead they prefer to
group themselves in little villages, of
which there are a number scattered
about the island. When 1t comes
harvesting time, oil the men assemble
on one plantation, build hut, and
live and work together gathering in
tho crop. When they have finished,
the whole body Of them move to the
next plantation. It is also an occa-
sion 70: merry making, in which la
tuba plays an important part. There
is rarely any disorder, but when
necessary to quell o disturbance the
force is furnished by company Of
native artillery, the only military
force on tho island between the
evacuation by the Spanish troops and
the arrival OF the Yosemite. Every
one unites in praising these native
soldiers. Their behavior is excellent,
and their appearance is surprisingly
neat and military.
Guam is an island of great posi-.
bilities. Strateqically. it is important
in being link in the chain between
San Francisco and Manila. CONNER
cially, it may be important, but at
present little is known Of its re-
sources, as the island has never been
developed. 1t is known, however,
that the land is extremely fertile
coffee, cocoanuts, lemons, lines, corn,
sugar cane, all grow with but little at
tention further than the planting.
Few other vegetables or cereals have
been tried, but there is little doubt
tht the experime nts to beundertaken
will prove that the productivity OF the
land is general. Cattle Of the water
buffalo variety thrive well, but horses
do not. In fact there are only twen-
ty-two horses on the whole Island,
and they are owned only by the
wealthy class. II is not an uncom-
mon sight to see q native astraddle OF
q buffalo, galloping unconcernedly
along the muddy paths. Goats, pigs
and deer roam wild all over the ISL
and.
Copra, the dried kernel Of the CO.
coanut, is the principal article OF ex-
port. The other products are raised
for home consumption only. tits not
known what minerals there are in the
island, because nobody hos ever tried
to find out. Building material is
plentiful; lime is made by burning
the coral in q kiln, and this, mixed
with the broken coral stone, can be
shaped or plastered. and becomes
hard when exposed to tho air. This
is the material used for the walls OF
the houses. For the roadbeds the
coral Is mixed with the red clay, and
when smoothed down hardens and be.
comes like o cemented road.
There are several kinds Ct lumber,
the most valuable being the iron.
wood. This is used in the floors OF
the houses, the rafters, etc. 1t is cx-
ceedingly hard and heavy, and resists
all insects, even the teredo when used
for piles in the wharves. Some OF the
inhabitants say that the floors in their
houses are more than one hundred
years old, and there appears no neces.
sity for removal. The woodwork Of
house takes longer to complete than
the masonry. There are no sawmiils,
and every plank must be cut out by
hand. In fact, the natives idea OF
architecture and OF agriculture are OF
the most primitive order. A saw and
a Ratchet for the first, the forK OF q
tree as q pillow and machete for farm.
ing are his idea OF tools, and with