Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-05-04
A PHILIPPINE GENE ERY.
The Reason why Graves Are Not Dug in
the Ground.

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Paco cemetery, near Manila, is a
characteristic burying ground, small
circular piece of land with two thick
and high concentric walls some dis
tance apart, the outer one enclosing
the cemetery. In these walls, and not
in the ground, the dead are buried, in
innumerable narrow inches running
deep into the wall. When the body
is once put in, the niche is walled up
and tablet is placed to mark the
spot. The reason that graves are not
dug in the ground is that at depth
of two feet water is found. The
cemetery is managed on the plan of a
boarding house. The deceased's
frieEds pay his board for four years,
and if at the end of that time they do
aot pay again the niche is broken
open and the remains are thrown into
the bone-pit. Sometimes not even
this courtesy is shown to the dead,
for saw coffin and part of corpse
thrown over the back wall of ceme-
terry into somebody's rice field.
On the first of November, towards
evening, Paco cemetery is a very in
teresting sight The two concentric
rings of walls blaze with the light Of
thousands of candles and small lamps.
About these two blazing rings great
crowd moves. individuals stop now
and then before the niche of some
dead friend, as, on the promenade of
any European watering-place, people
stop to speak to each other.
never knew before what became
OF all the Derby hats of bygone years,
but now I know that they are sent
out to the Philippines. Little native
men, in spick and span shirts with the
tails floating to the wind, wear Derbys
of every conceivable shape, some
perched on the top Of their heads af-
ter the fashion of the Irish music hall
comedian, some covering their faces
and ears with voluminous curved
brims. Little Philippine women will
stiff clean pima dresses and black
gauze voils over their heads, looking
neat and wholesome, swing along with
that peculiar undulatory motion OF
the body which reminds one little
of the snake. Mestiza girls, in cos
tunes which are not quite Philippine,
and certainly not European, hold their
heads high and sniff at the common
people as BELTS their superior caste.
Spanish women, in dresses after the
Paris fashions in the sixties, hang in
dolently on the arms of gallant Span
ish officers who carry themselves with
the naughty pride of conquerers.
And, finally, Jimmy Green. in an ILL
fitting brown duck suit with flannel
shirt and q campaign hat, slouches
along to see the sights.
At the end of the cemetery is a
chapel, where for small considera-
ton masses will be said to get the
suffering souls out of purgatory. In
deed, "All-Souls' Day" is the only
day in the year when souls in purga-
tory have chance to get out. Back
of the church is the "bone-yard," a
long trench where the skulls and bones
of people that have failed to pay their
rent are thrown. A rather pretty
Filipino girl, nonchalantly smoking a
cigarette at the end of this pit, gave q
light TO one or our party. Her es-
cort climbed down into the "bone-
yard" and picking up skull, NUT
tered something in Tagalo. 1t might
have been "Alasl poor Yorick!" for
all we knew. The relic-hunter among
us asked the man, in Spanish, to give
him the skull to take home as G me-
mento.
'Oh, senor," answered the Tagalo.
''if you take it home, it will jump
about at night, and give you no rest
until you either break it or bring it
bring it back here!"
''But if get the padre to sprinkle
holy watar on it?" asked the relic
hunter.
''Bah! What can the padre do?"
replied the irreverent Tagalo. = HGr-
per's Weekly.