The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-26
EVERYDAY LIFE IN MANILA

cago Record 1.-THE Chlnaman hereabouts
is queer creature, as indeed, he Is wher-
ever he may be. When we reached singa-
por we had our first sight OF him IN mis-
native element, the real coolie being much
in evidence.
The Cinnamon loaded coal aboard the
ship, two carrying a basket swung from
the bamboo poles on their shoulders As
they passed an overseer who sat by pair
of scales he occasionally weighed basket
and If 1t was too light they failed to get
the cent piece which otherwise was hand-
ed to each OF them. Whenever one OF them
had finally acquired 40 cents he stopped
work, apparently not tired, but satisfied
and went of and squatted down 10 chat-
ter with those of his fellows who had
also earned enough The rickshaws were
all drawn by coolies. One OF these get
ting angry about something and dropping
the shafts OF my ricksllaw in rage was
set upon by petty official Of some de-
gree or other standing near by and was
given dreadful beating.
mad never seen a wretch beaten who
did not dare either to retaliate or try to
escape. This poor creature wore no cloth
ing but q cloth about his loins, and as the
rattan came down singing upon his Shout
ders he ducked his head and crouched,
with his arms Rugged tight, uttering a
sort of whine or whimper like a dog, and
simply stood and took the blows. 1t was
the lowest descent ! have ever witnessed
in humanity, for he was much larger and
more powerful than the fellow who was
beating him.
There are many Chinese here, and today
a very funny one has taken charge OF our
uess. l asked him his name and he re-
piled in good English, my name All Fou
but that no matter. You call him what
ever you like"
He says there are here about $500 Can
ton Cinnamon, including those from Hong
Kong and other places in that vicinity,
and when l asked him what was The diff
ference between Canton Chlnanan aud
any other he sald
'Oh, Canton Chinaman no coolls. No
much work hard. Annoy Chinamau be no
know much anything. He work hard,
coolie.' And l SAIL: How can | tell a
Canton Chinaman from an Annoy China
man?" to which he replied
"Oh, Canton Chinaman, ne wear lorg
hair, all same me, be own bair Annoy
Chinaman not much hair He wear other
mans hair Canton ChinamSn he wear
shoe sock, all same me- Annoy Chlraman
he no can wear shoe, he fall down. and
the grin that engulfed his couutenauce
was vast
So it seems, from his pont Of view,
Canton Chinaman are aristocrucy, and pre-
sumahly these creatures that we see naked
Cinnamon There are plenty IF them and
they work with crudest Implements at all
occupations-as tinsmiths, carpenters, shoe
makers market men, fishermen, bull driv-
ers or any other occupation where money
is TO be made. The wage Is the merest
pittance, 1t would seem to us, bit they live
on rice and prosper.
All Fou has in a few hours pro zen him
self to be very lively, cheerful and enter
tanning, and as he has brought us a second
10y who seems sedate and serious we
4'hNt hdllldI iItlu NNh duI JuuSt.
In many respects the Filipino women are
attractive, that is, at mid range, the rover
of attraction varying. am told, invorsely
with the square OF the distance. But as
you go along the street you ARE certain to
be pleased with their invarllble neatness
Of dress. To he sure the costume would
seen, bria ror Laro,. ..
Shore drive, but out here il is quite the
fashion for a woman's dress to reach oLly
to her knees, and she doesn't wear stock
ings' The skirt is ordinarily rol1rei, Of
calico or some similar light weigh. ma
terial. and reds OF different tiuts are varied
with black. The waist is Of thinaer
gau2y material over an underEai5 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 burdens
upon it, The hair is pulled straight back
and knotted behind, and when the wearer
gets through combing il she sticks a com
mon comb straight in it for an ornament
and wears it there projecting on either side
she never wears hat and that. | sup
pose, is one reason why the Filipinos can
live so cheaply 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 ia always freshly dressed and
her clothing immaculate and stfly
her carriage is erect and her feat
ures ordinarily regular and pleasing. so
about this time you are apt to have made
up your mind that she is attractive. Bur
Just then the lady spits and YOU are .
shocked. She then happens to turn toward .
you ana you observe in her other hand a
DIE cigar, which she now puts in her mouth
ana as Tom Sawyer says, "the charm
busted 1t seems too bad to go on and
''ander her but il she should chance TO
smile az you her teeth, you will observe
are discolored and her lips are very red
rom chewing betel nut so you accept her
~ distance and prefer TO have her in a
picture for she is picturesque
~
some OF the men about headquarters have
required small dog 1t is not difficult
20 acquire a dog out here. Indeed, the
is to avoid getting one. This
d " H H.