Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-11-20
WEATHER IN MANILA
A FALL OF SIX FEET OF RAIN IN ONE
MONTH.
Record For the Month Of July Was
Nearly AZ Inches, Equalled Only
Once Since Records Have Been
Kept.

Nearly AZ Inches, Equa11ed Only
Once Since Records Have Been
Kept.
1t never rains in the United States
except at Utica, in the State of New
York, and sometimes in the State Of
Oregon. 1t has been known to sprinkle
II the Borough of Manhattan, and
here Is on occasion a heavy mist in
Brooklyn. But at Manila, when the
'ainmakerS take off their coats and 60
At 1t in earnest, there Is a precipita-
lion that makes the rain gauges mt the
observatory get busy with themselves,
md stay busy for sometimes a week
1t spell. There is no language of hy-
perbole in speaking of rain there. Not
)nly does it rain to beat the band and
.he cars and the Dutch and all the rest
'f the push, but it keeps on raining
ifter it has got them all beaten block.
That is the part that jars.
There We're days when it seemed to
he casual observer, who had just float
I'd in at headquarters by the banca
quite or in n casco, that the campaign
was being delayed by undue depth Of
water in the neghborhood of the cam
)atgners. There were supply ships in
.he bay that no casco went near for al
most three weeks. The wind howled,
the rain scared, the waves rose, and
f Washington did its duty by Manila,
here went forth from the national cap
tai the information that the insurrec-
ion in the Philippines would not be
suppressed until the rainy season was
over The veterans of last year sat
around and said: "Oh, you ought to
aave been at Camp Dewey. There was
where it rained bit on it's own hook.
Why, | have walked up time and time
again just in time to catch my grip
sack with everything | had in the
world with me floating out under the
:ent flap. Why, this is only gentle
lew to what we got down there"
In Manila the vendors of grass for
he ponies delivered it in bancas skill
'ully nayigated along the streams at
he sides of the streets. Along the line
he men on outpost duty stood their
ours in trees or in boats, and some
times had to swim TO their posts.
According to the records at the OBJ
;ervatory the month of July was pecul-
ar in several particulars. Its rainfall
was almost unprecedented, and nearly
Ill of 1t occurred in the three weeks be-
;ween the I'd and ODD. In that per-
od the city was under the influence of
various cyclonic centres that traversed
,ither the Pacific or the China seas.
There wer three distinct typhoons. The
first was on the Pacific side of LuzOn,
and drifted up around the north end of
he island, passing ON to Formosa and
The westernmost of the Japanese Isl
lnds. Curiously it was the influence
Of this disappearing storm that on the
9th and 10th gave Manila a taste of
zeal ability to rain, the precipitation
FOR those two days being fourteen and
half inches.
The signals were hardly down after
this storm than they went up again for
4 new one that had formed in the
China sea to the west of LuZon and
marched slap bang into the continent
Of Asia.
Then came the star of the whole ag-
sregation OF this the observatory bull
letin for July says:
"1his storm, perhaps the most re-
markable of the month, affected the
weather of Manila more especially on
the 18th. 10Th and Goth. On the 18th
The storm was y. f.. and far distant
from LuZon, and its cyclonic influence
rcached out at the same time to Japan
and the Philippines: the centre seemed
to move then with n marked tendency
to westward toward the island OF For
nosa. but on and after the 10Th 1t in
,lined northward. and on the 2lst the
centre was off Shanghai. where the
storm ragged with great intensity do
ng considerable damage. The barom-
eter fell to 20 inches.'
In the three days thus specified Ma
aila caught terrific downpour Near
Iy two feet of water fell, and the town.
that had been travelling in rowboats
during the first typhoon began to con-
template the advisability of getting in
few arks of modern design and ap-
proved accommodation for a long stay.
Then the real joy of life in Manila be-
gan to show itself in the blue mold
that grew to phenomenal dimensions
on ones clothing. If you watched your
boots for little while you could see it
start, and over night it would attain
length that would entitle 1t to enter
waving match with n North Dakota
wheat field just ready for the self
binder. With four pounds of pure
:amphor in every compartment of your
wardrobe the mold attacked undaunt-
ed. 1t advanced ON both fianks, front
and rear at the same time. Nothing
could withstand it. Oiled paper was a
laughing stock. 1t pervaded even the
sacred precincts of zinc-lined trunks
and tin boxes built especially to keep
II out. Alcohol lamps. kept burning in
the wardrObes at the imminent risk
of the total destruction Of the contents
by fire. made faint impressions on the
persistent mold. There was nothing to
do but wait for the sun and swear that
If you ever got out of this country moth
ing would induce you to come back.
The observatory has been keeping
statistics of rainfall and other things
since 1863. and in all that time there
has been only one month that was wet
ter than the one just passed. That was
September, 1867, when 1908 milli-
meters or 61.672 inches fell.
February has the smallest average
IF all the twelve, it being only 1.6 nm
Only six times in the thirty three years
has the February record gone above
20, al d just as many times it has been
DO Nineteen times the precipitation
| was less than ten millimptrps Ton