The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-01
EVERY DAY LIFE IN MANILA.
The Women and Their Attractive
and Non-Attractive Features.
B. H. A.. in Chicago Record)


Oh. II. A, in Chicago Record)
In many respects the Filipino women
are attractive, that is, at mid-range.
the power of attraction varying, 1 am
told, inversely with the square of the
distance. But as you go along the
street you are certain to be pleased
with their invariable neatness of dress.
To be sure, the costume would seem
brief for Broadway or the Lake Shore
drive, but out here it is quite the fash
ion for a woman's dress to reach only
to her knees. and she doesn't wear
stockings. The skirt is ordinarily col
ored, of calico or some similar light
weight material and reds of different
tints are varied with black. The waist
is of thinner, gauzy material over an
underWaist of white, and the large
puffy sleeves reach only to the elbow.
The garment is cut quite low on the
shoulder and straight across, and Is
always down, exposing one shoulder
and full round neck. The head is
carried as erect as possible, owing to
the habit of bearing baskets and bur-
denS upon it the hair is pulled straight
back and knotted behind, and when the
wearer gets through combing it she
sticks a common comb straight in it for
an ornament and wears il there pro-
jecting on either side. She never wears
hat, and that. 1 suppose, is one rea-
son why the Filipinos can live so cheap
ly and support the war. Her shoes, too,
are inexpensive, and don't seem to
change in style; they are of wood, and
she scuffs them along the walk as she
moves her feet. for they are suspended
only by a cloth band across the toes.
This costume probably seems odd, but
her hair is always freshly dressed and
her clothing immaculate and stiffiy
starched, her carriage is erect and her
features ordinarily regular and pleas
ing, so about this time you are apt to
have made up your mind that she is at
tractive. But just then the lady spits
and you are shocked. She then hap
pens to turn toward you and you OBJ
serve in her other hand a big cigar.
which she now puts in her mouth, and
as Tom Sawyer says, 1.-The charm s
busted" 1t seems too bad to go on
and SANDER her, but if she should
chance to smile at you her teeth, you
will observe, are discolored, and her
lips are very red from chewing betel
and prefer to have her in picture, for
she is picturesque.
Some of the men about headquarters
have acquired a small dog. 1t is not
difficult to acquire a dog here. Indeed,
the difficulty is to avoid getting one.
This particular dog is in breed princi-
pally cur, like most of those about Ma
Mia. They have named him Aguinaldo
and-worthy successor to that name
he takes to the hills and banks when
ever anybody approaches him. AS he
also disturbS the night with his noise
the opinion seems growing that Aguin-
aldo will have to be suppressed, and
before this reaches America his fate
may be sealed. L say, before this
reaches America" for / am under the
impression this is not America, al
though it seems to be a part of the
United States. Will some person we'll
up in such matters please tell us
whether we are in the the United States
of America, and, as Captain Cuttle's
friend, Jack Brunsby, the oracle, used
to say, Wherefore, and if so, why
not?"
You would be amused at a Filipino
laundry unless your own clothes were
concerned. AS you go along the street
almost anywhere you can see at a by
drant woman squatting down and
beating wet clothes upon the broad, fiat
stone of circular shape that answers
as washtub for the inhabitants of sew
eral blocks. She pounds and flaps while
one of the numerous available picka-
ninnies turn on the water. That word
and is used to designate almost any
thing small, Chinese shoemaker as
surfing one of our ladies the other day
that he could not make her shoes with
''pickaninny toes" The laundry is in
evidence wherever water is available,
and at several places along the river
front you can see all the morning num-
bers of women standing in the water,
pounding and beating the clothes which
tA iaIr 70
on the grass. Among the washerwomen
a water buffalo occasionally will go
wading and swimming, hardly improv-
ing the cleanness of the water, but
otherwise not disturbing proceedings.
A few days ago, on the lookout for
laundry, l was attracted by the sign,
American Laundry, Run by Soldiers
for Soldiers" 1 found no soldiers about
the place and no evidence of any, but
the sign was almost right, just the
same, for 1 very nearly had to take
hold and run the place myself in order
TO get back the articles 1 gave to be
washed. The only person who did any
thing in the way of management was a
cheerful gentleman, with his shirt-tail
very stiff, and he worked up and pre-
served quite a state of excitement dur
ing the half hour that he chased about
with my wash list, saying in very queer
accents. Three cuff, Three cuff, Three
cuff" When he finally found the three
lost cuffs at the bottom of a basket of
freshly washed clothes in quite another
part of the house he changed his song
to "One cap covert One cap cover, One
cap covert" and 1 was assured he had
no idea what cap cover was. Finally
l drew him picture of white cap and
told him the top came off, and in his
delight he dashed off and upset every
thing washed and unwashed. ironed and
not ironed, in the house, and ultimately
secured the cap cover. At the final
roundup about a dozen pieces were
found to be. still unlaundered, and /
took what We're finished and shall go