The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-25
WEAPONS OFF NATIVE FILIPINOS.
A Museum of Curios at Manila Collected by
tho Spanish.

From the Manila Freedom.
There 10 located In Manila a place that 10 tho
Mecca and delight OF relic hunters. 1t contains
everything conceivable In the shape OF crude
weapons OF warfare. and Is the one spot In the
city for relics OF standardization. some OF
which show genius in the manner Of imitation.
The collection has been accommodating for
over two centuries. and there is no part OF 1t
not represented by, tn" arms typical Of the
tribe from which they came When q tribe
was conquered Is munitions OF war were
seized and brought to this junk-room for safe
Perhaps the weapons universally used
.hroughout the rarchipelago are the bolo and
and machete. There is stock OF them that
contans every description OF the weapons
made There is the big awkward mechete that
among the natives not only for lighting but for
cutting cane, &c. With II or the 6olo a native
perform any kind Of archltectursl feat. He 10
handy with it. and 10 dangerous enemy at
close qqaarts5s There are G0ssby aitE differ
Some are more fancy than others and are in
cased in handsome leather sheaths. Those
large or formidable as the bolos that the rank
and file carried.
Perhaps the. most interesting, collection In
non. made in imitation Of the artillery Of the
Europeans. 1t Is not likely that they aver did
engines OF war. for they appear to be capable
Of doing more execution to those operating
y,
There Is one kind made from one-inch to
three tnch pipe. strongly secured to stock Of
weed in crude manner Some were bound
inventor. ever intended that there should be
any recoil. and consequently it was difficult for
ton In the rebel art illery must have been very
dangerous and unpleasant.
There are some cannon made entirely OF
bamboo. The wood is bound together by
iron; IN some instances. and II this was not
ssrailaeis wooden bands h made s out Of BAN.
cannon run all tho way from two to six
inches.
are made ofthe lava Of volcanoes. and when that
was not available. stones OF nearly circular
shape, were used. There are none OF them that
would cause much commoton among the
enemy. but they represent the crude attempt
Of people to combat the modern methods Of
The stands and shelves are lined with every
kind OF 0ld;iashionsd intlock used in early
days by the sPSanards and St,srwara tell into
limitations OF those. among which is that OF the
f!nt. Instead OF using flint, the improved gun
boo BY forcing pointed stick made OF bam-
boo UP and down, this groove. like the Amori-
will fy and com municate with tho pan whore
the printing lays. The barrels OF the guns
made e by the natives we're composed OF Gaspipe
The sabres and swords in the collection are
all well tempered. although the most Of them
OF old Span lsh swords, which they came by as
they came by everything that Is useless
The spears are all OF the same make and are
possibly the most unique and credtable that
the islands produce. They are highly fin ished
the wood used being ebony. The iron prongs
are polished and have very striking appear
ance, The poles are about six feet long and 1t
is said that the warriors could use those
weapons very dexterously.
The blow gun Of the mountain tribes finds a
small place in the collection. There was a
large collection at ono time, but the demand
for them was so great that they soon dsap-
peared.
There Is also in the collection a number OF
models that belonged to the office OF patents.
that represent tho crude attempts Of the natives
the model Of a rice grinder that is very clever,
and It 10 said that the maehineiis now in use in
some parts OF the isand. Tho other models
are improvements on dcrrcks. cane grinders
and a few machines for working iron. They
are all somemha unique and interesting, as
they represent attempts made by a race two
centuries behind the times to better their con
dition.