Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-09

religiously for every holy day and feast
day in the Roman Catholic church, and
the number seems unlimited. When
those fail, lie generally has a funeral or
two of some relative or friend TO at
tend. Holy week, preceding Easter
Sunday, is the great time of the year
for the Tagalo. Unless his living liter
ally depends on it, he will not work On
Good Friday or the Saturday following.
This present year marked the first time
in the history of Manila that the street
cars were run on Good Friday. The
strong arm of American military au-
thority forced the puny little native
drivers and conductors to attend to
their business.
Permit me to qualify the statement
that the Tagalo has no ambition, He
has one that absorbs his little mind
during the first two months of each
year. 1t is to get a new shirt for holy
week. It is as much to him as to the
fashionable American lady is her new
Easter bonnet. His shirt is his most
gorgeous article Of attire. On it he
spends the anxious thought of days and
nights, and perhaps a months wages,
About the LIST of March your cook or
coachman will ask you for a months
wages in advance to buy him a new
shirt for holy week. His shirt is his
outer upper garment, in every case
worn outside of his trousers. For a Ia
gallo to wear his shirt inside of his
trousers would be a breach of etiquette
objectionable in the eyes of his race.
The Tagalo's everyday apparel CON
sists of an undershirt and trousers, with
q pair of wooden soled toe slippers
handy and comfortable for a hot eli
mate. If the weather is very warm or
if he has only one undershirt, he omits
that garment and walks forth with only
the thin lawn shirt on the upper half
of his body. his brown hide shining
through and giving to the tout ensem-
BILE hat tint of different color consid-
cred so artistic in Worth and Redfern
creations. On Good Friday the Tagalo
steps forth in his new holy week shirt.
If he has any money left over after
paying fer it. then the females and
children appear in new garments too.
IL Nv lnSdlo ia1N otlNiAp III -
not superior to the specimens here, then
it must be on the road to extinction.
The children are the scrawniest, for
lornest samples of infancy enc car pic
ture to himself. A native child a year
and a half old at our house is no taller
than the healthy well grown American
baby of Z months that its mother has
just brought from San Francisco, The
American child is much heavier than
the native one, which cannot walk yet
in spite of its Is months ~sojourn in this
weary world.
If, however, the little Tagalo girl
cannCt walk, it will not be long till she
, can smoke cigarettes. She will quite
{ possibly be able to smoke as soon as she
can walk. The first and finest accom-
, plishment Of the infant native is ciga-
rette smoking. Everybody-man, WON
an and child-is addicted to it. | have
seen a skinny little girl looking no more
than A years old putting at a cigarette
that was longer than her own hand
e prouder of it than a white boy is wheI
!, he first has his long curls cut off.
/ Undoubtedly the Roman church ha'
striven faithfully for 800 years to en-
graft monogamy on the Philippine Is
landers; but, speaking in the terms O.
!. vaccination, it has not ''taken.' Ii
. spite of all the terrors and thunders O
both law and theology your Tagalo can
not understand why he should not rui
ly every man in the place, by the de
scription given him at Chicago, ant
by the middle of the following weel
This wealthy citizen had been notified
from headquarters hat he would b
held mp on the mex Saturday night
Doc was at his post, and as the Ion
horseman came down the road tn
highwayman stepped out from In
shadows of a jack oak and covere'
, his man That night the gang dram
up the best part of $3.50 and vote
!, Doc "a G game TOUGHER"
The verdancy of the gang he had Z
deal with made Docs work compare