The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-11-29
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS
OF THE BATTLEFIELD
PEN PICTURES OF LIFE IN
THE ISLAND OF LUzoN.
Perplexities of the English Lang
auge to Those who Don't Know it.
Swapping Jokes in Unknown Ton
gues-only One Killed-An Every
Day Incident of Quiet Yankee
uaro;a,,,

Day Incident of Quiet Yankee
Heroism.
From the Philippine Correspondence OF
the Chicago Record.
We have great times trying to speak
Spanish and we do not always meet
with the success our sincere efforts de-
serve. The natives are trying to learn
English. but it is slow work on both
sides. The padre came to me a day or
two ago and said he should like to
know what to do when he was out at
night and was challenged by a sentinel.
He said the sentinel said something
that sounded like Hop" and he had
looked up the word in the dictionary,
but it puzzled him, and when a sentinel
came at him with his rifle in that
threatening position and said "Hop!"
he didn't know what to do. explained
wat the word was Halt" and he had
qr't7 a laugh over it.
| wonder if you would find anything
pathetic as do in seeing men of all
ages, old, middle-aged and young,
stuying English from little incorrect
primers got up in Spanish Tagalo and
English, and with n fourth column Civ
ing as nearly as they can our pronun-
citation of English words. AS 1 go
along the street a common sight is one
of our soldiers leaning over the coun.
ter of a little "tienda" or booth ex-
planning simple expressions to eager
students. I have never before found
anything especially affecting in MARY
had a little lamb" "I have Johns
po ig ho IL
sister is a good girl" Sometimes stop
and try to explain our inexplicablc
English pronunciation of, words such
as cough, enough. through and PLOUGH
and the poor Flipinos usually end by
saying "Oh. ell Ingles es mucho ira
bajo." They are right-Englsh is
much work. and how would you like
it if you had to begin such a work in
order to be able to converse with a
new race that came in to take and
govern your home? In Spanish every
vowel is pronounced separately, and
when a Filipino has laborious'y master
ed the word said" and points to 1t
with satisfaction and calls it "saheed"
I feel as though I ought to apologize
FOR speaking such Il language and par
ticularly as there is no such sound as
our short in either Tagalog or Span
ish and I can tell him he is wrong,
and cannot even write anything that
suggests the sound of said to him. Here
is a great opening for our philanthro.
pists. Let them look up a lot of COM
petent teachers and send them over
here to teach English. They will find
ample opportunity and willing pupils.
A house occupi as an offi e Is owned
by a native woman whom I commend
as one of the most cheerful ladies I
have ever met. She came in one morn
Ing and introduced herself by saying
mo sabe EspanOl" to which I replied
Neither do !; SO we are even" Put
she sabcd Tagalog and l sabed English,
so the difficulty was not inconsiderable
However, she didn't seem to mind, and
she chatted away at me in the cheeriost
manner possible, while / had not the
faintest notion what she was talking
about. AS she talked she went to
work cleaning house and mopping the
floors, and she would throw her head
back and laugh and tell me something
that must have been the funniest I
ever heard. 1t was infectious, and l
thought up an old joke or two of mine,
for I propose not to be outdone by
these people in matters of entertain
ment; and she seemed just as much
pleased over them as I was. Really, I
never before have assisted at such an
idiotic performance in my life as that
was. The house cleaning took some
time and | should have run out Of
stories if it had not been for a copy
of Life that had come in the mail, and
read her nearly all of it's editorial
page. You should have heard her
laugh. Before she finished two other
officers who were present had nearly
hurt themselves with laughter, and
they assured me I had been a more
ludicious idiot than they had ever
chanced to meet before. All the same,
! don't intend to let any plain old Ia
gallo jokes run here without opposition.
Incidentally, too, I gave her peseta
for her work and some coppers for the
pckanirnies, and if l did make a fool
of myself it did me good to have such
laugh.
But the life here is not all a joke.
A few days ago a reconnaissance was
made toward Novaleta. Two batta-
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