The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-06-24
EATS RICE AND PLANTAlN
His Defense is Two Dogs and Balo,
A Large Knife.
EVERY HOME HAS A CRUClFX
with Education, Enlghtment and Civilization
He Will Grow Better, Broader and
Wiser" He win Never Again
be Ruled by Spain.
Headquarters, 18th Infantry,

Sara, Isle of Panay, p. /.
Living in his little shack, constructed
of nipa leaves and bamboo, tucked away
under the shadow of monstrous noun
tain, or in the shade of bamboo thicket
surrounded by a motley array of banana
trees and cocoanut palms, lives the Fill
pino and his family.
His children, his dogs, his chickens.
his carabou and his hog, all OCCUPY the
same building or a portion thereof. The
home of his carabou is under his hut,
which is always as high as five feet from
the ground. Under here his carabou is
tied where he can be watched by his
owner else he would be stolen. One
dog is outside with the carabou and he
warns his master of the approach of night
providers, and another is in the house.
The mans only defence is his two dogs
and his bolo. With his bolo he earns
his living to a great extent, and with it
cuts everything from grass, cane and
bamboo (Which he appropriates to all pur-
poses) to the wood which he uses for
cooking and trees which he uses for
building. The bolo is merely very large,
long, heavy knife, which the native usu-
ally makes himself, by taking a piece OF
steel two to four inches in diameter, in
which he puts handle and sharpens on
one side, until sometimes sharp enough
to shave a man. With this instrument
he makes his living by cutting sugar cane,
and defends himself from others Of his
tribe When he fights it is never with
his fists. nor with gun, for he has none,
but invariably it is with his bolo and
with this weapon he has learned to carve
his fellows with great alacrity.
His hog lives under the house with the
carabou, while inside the house in one
corner is partitioned off a small square
in which roost his chickens. All his
worlds possessions are near him and
where he can see them, for looking be-
tween the bamboo Stats one inch wide
and one inch apart, which form the floor
CT his house he can see his carabou, his
hog and his Watchdog and circled about
him above are his children and his wife.
while on the floor, near his right hand is
his bolo.
Follow me for a moment up to and into
this home.
Near his house, which resembles some
what a huge pile of dry grass pointed
at the top and moulded into square.
are playing several nude and dirty chill
dren. AS we approach the dog snarls
and then begins to bark and skulks away.
He is not a pretty beast and he has no
accomplishments other than to bark. The
children arise and gaze in wonderment
and the head of the household comes out
to meet u.s. AS we draw near we de-
tect an odor 1t is that of the carabou
wallow and hogpen beneath his house. A
bamboo ladder hangs down from the door
above to the ground below and by means
of this we Chamber upward and enter. We
see no beds, we see no chairs and no ta-
bles. In one corner we notice his cook
ing apparatus, which consists of a trough
two feet square and six inches deep, which
is filled with dirt. On top of this dirt
are two rocks projecting six or eight
inches above the surface. Between these
rocks he builds his fire and cooks his
meagre diet. The water and all refuse
from his cooking is poured through the
floor by the side of his cooking machine,
where it drops beneath into the home OF
the hogs and carabou. The cooking uten-
sils are limited to one cast iron flying pan
and one earthen jar in which he cooks
his rice. When the rice is cooked it is
emptied into a square, shallow wicker
basket and the meal is prepared. The
older ones eat first. With this wicker
basket in the center and all sitting in a
circle on the floor, each one starts in for
himself. Every grain of rice stands apart
and is almost as dry apparently as it
was before it was cooked. With the fin
gers they dig into the pile, and picking
up all they can hold, squeeze it into a
solid mass and then tossing the head
back, throw it into the mouth. Should
they have bananas or plantains, these
are boiled separately and eaten sepa-
rately. Plantans and bananas are good
but nothing can take the place of rice.
OF meat they know little or nothing,
rarely eating it except when the carabou
grows too old to work, at which time
he is killed and the meat, which is a blu
ish- black in color and tough, elastic and
tasteless, is dried in the sun and laid
by. Looking to the other side of the room
we notice q log four feet long and in the
center of this log a circular hole one
foot in diameter running downward to
point Putting the grain into this hole
it is beaten with blunt ended pole until
the grain is separated from the hull.
Milling rice is the duty Of the women and
children. and the man cannot degrade
himself to do this work.
In front of the window is loom
Though crude and primitive in character,
with this loom is made three kinds OF
cloth. The principal kind is aboca, made
from fibre of the banana tree. second
kind is made from ordinary cotton fibre
which is procured from the Chinaman;
and the third q beautiful delicate cream
coldred material, is made from the fibre
Of the pine apple, and called "pina" af-
ter that fruit.
This variety is only used by the better
classes. The peasant makes it but he
never uses it. The garb of the peasant
woman is low cut waist of aboca which
seems to cling to her in loose and UNI
tidy manner, while as a skirt she uses
piece of red cotton cloth, which is