The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-05-19
The Every day Folks In Luxon.

The Evening Reporter, Woonsocket,
prints a letter written by Mr.. w. >.
solomon who lived at Woonsocket, but
who has gone to live in Luzon. The
letter is very interesting because the
writer, in very simple way, just told
what he saw. how the people was dress
ed, and how they acted. In fact. IL tells
so much about just what we wished to
kno that insert few sections OF the
letter itself.
Mr.. Solomon went overland to San
Francisco, thence by steamer to Manila,
where he arrived March 14th. These
are his descriptions:
AFTER we were duly inspected by the
custom house officials and the doctors;
we were taken ashore about p m.' s, anc
Sasry Iay or sr'rs rwo. presume we looked like
the farmer that went to New YORK,
gawking and rubbsrinE at everytnints i,rarts
ones attention Is the walled city told
Maniia), Its ancient buildings, 800 ana
400 years old. their peculiar architecture.
city. built In, 1880 which at some places
Is Is Aeet high. and almost as thick, and
completely surrounds the city. The ola
boxes sa ss %a must have
been an insurmountable barrier to the
enemy in those days. as just outside or
this massive. wall is a canal about "
feet wide which, in the event OF war. was
filled with water from the bay. and the
enemy must first ford that before they
can get to the wall Probably the next
noticeable popularity Is the dress or the
natives, which Is so noticeable because
Of the insufficient amount of clothing
they wear. Children UP TO and years
of age. as q rule. don't wear anything.
and men wear = pair of knee breeches and
women a skirt TO the knees and a rag
hung over the shoulders.
Another of the Interesting sights are
the domestic animals. the most useful
and peculiar of which is the cariboa,
which is an animal about the size of our
COW, but heavier. and has very large
drawing two-wheeled carts and sleds
don't think by this that they have snow
down here). which IL the general means
slow as a snail and have to be led in
TO the water in the heat OF the day, or
they won't work. These animals live to
be nonsr yssrs 9a 9ss phe hv nstye
horses or mules you see are those that
wero brought here by the American sol
diers. 1t seems strange to see all the
men riding horseback on them. and still
more so TO see a street car pulled by two
or four of them. They have one or two
backwoods car lines that run once In two
'.The mosquitoes I'm Manila are some
thing fierce. The first two or three nights
Just saved By he company issiing cano..
pics. Out here we have hardly any AMI
don't have TO use any netting The Ian
guage most generally used here is Span
four languages OF their own. It Is anus
ing TO see the Americans trying to buy
somtthing or talk with them. They, are
compelled TO use their hands and head
more than their Jaws. The money is
principally Mexican, American and Chi
ncse. all of which Is passable IL is
strange what heavy burdens the men car
ry on their shoulders by means of a stick,
and the women on their heads.
Another popularity here IL that all
pedestrians. teams. etc. turn to the left
rather confuses a newcomer. and every
BODY smokes IL Is common sight TO see
a woman come down the street with y
basket OF goods on top of her head and
q cigar I'm her mouth.
While I'm Manila We were auartered In
what were formerly Spanish officers
city AFFORDS. The new city OF Manila is
just outside of the walled city. az well
as the largest part. We remained I'm the
city shout a week. when two OF US were
ordered to these stations, about $50 miles
in the interior. We left Manila bv train.
small narrow-gauge AFFAIR. which Is
about the 1850 United States type. and
which runs about rs miles an hour. When
about 100 miles from the city 90 miles
from our destination by railway we ran
into n wreck and were delayed a day. 50
We left in a freight car that night and
reached Bautista the next day. being two
days going the ITO miles. We stayed there
two days and were then ordered 10 20
out with the hull train tho next morning,
and that night we slept on a pile of sacks
of rice. and mt 2.5o in the morning start
ed out with the bull train for Rosales
There were 20 or carts in the train, ali
drawn BY a caribso. with Filipino rid
ing on his back. driving by means OF n
rope through hts nose. We with tho
rnard hyked alongside and N took about
eight hours 20 go the Il miles. The train
was nearly two miles long While In
Iautista we were quartered IN bamboo
house next 10 Gen. NacArthur's head
nuarfers We laid over another day I'm
HOsaies and then proceeded by mule train
10 Hunpingar. u miles. where ! left my
eompanfon \ stayed there over night
and slept IN What Wa "a be hts office
IN With WAS nothing but ourselves and
two collins. ard ] don't know whether
they were empty or not. In the night
~ awokc me and said there was some
thing crawling around his feet. A. We
had no light we dropped on TO sleep again.
fupposfng II was either rats or lizards.
The latter are very plentiful here and
orually crawl on the ceiling
The next day I met q signal repair