The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-07-14
ONE PHILIPPINE SCHOOL.

Ing but few prayers in Spanish. When
I entered the school In the morning all
the boys stood up and yelled good morn.
ming" Then they sat down and all be-
gan to patter Hail Marys" and the cseed
in an undertone- The school sounded like
a hive of angry bees. The native teacher
would call up boy after boy and listen
while he rectied prayers and the creed
over and over He kept that up for six
hours day Just that and practically
nothing more He did not even take the
trouble to teach. them the meaning OF
the Spanish words they recited. In fact
under Spanish rule the full-blooded ma
tives We're never taught Spanish and We're
not permitted to speak it. If native
saluted a Spanish with "Buenos dias" his
hat was promptly knocked off.
I found that there were just three boys
in the school to whom the native maestro
was teaching a little arithmetic and
Latin. And those boys did not know the
grammar of their own language! The
only books in the schools were catechisns
and prayer books in Spanish. There were
no pencils, pens, ink, paper or states.
There was no blackboard, no chalk 1t
was case of patter prayers all day.
1 went to the president of the puesao
md told him I wanted a blackboard, and
{ wante1 it quick. He said he had never.
heard of such a thing and couldn't fur
lish one. told him to trot out carpen-
ter and a painter at double time or he
would hear from the military governor.
IL got my blackboard. I found there was
40 chalk in the pueblo save that In the
Ibillard hall. I took it all and now the
natives spit on their cues instead of
chalking them.
Speakng of that billiard hall reminds
me that some museum man should have
the one table it contains. I've seen some
pretty rocky billiard tables in country
towns ir. the states, but this one peats
the record. 1t is the identical table on
which Solomon and the queen of Sheba
played pin pool When the balls rumble
across it the noise reminds me of the game
of ten pins in RIP, Van Wrinkle" When
a ball hits a cushion it leaps foot to-
wards the ceiling and when it relands on
the table it stands dead still. The native
) game is sort of pin pool with nine
pins. It takes any player from four to-
eight hours to play a game. When.
| native makes up his mind to take hand
in the game he lays off work for the day.
I've seen a native shut up shop and go
!: into a pool game and stay there four and
five hours His native customers could
come to the shop and call to his wife
who lived over it. She would explain that
Cinon was in a game of pool down the
+ street. The natives would sit on the
bamboo bench in-front. of the shop and
wait there patiently for, three or four
hours At last Cinon would return and
the natives would file into the shop. The
first would want cents worth of cocoa
, nut oil and would throw down half a
, dollar, Mexican. Cinon would Indifferent
, ly toss it back and say:
mo change"
Out of a dozen customers eight or nine
would be turned away because the shop
keeper had no change. Then Cinon would
shut up shop again and go to cock fight.
To get back to my schools. After get
:, ting my blackboard and chalk, I promptly
went after pens, ink, paper and blank
books in the same way. I talked to that
native president in a way that made his
. hair stand. I told him that in America
a school teacher stood next to the secre-
tary Of war and that when one of them
wanted something and didn't get it the
census Of widows and orphans increased
by geometrical progression I go what
wanted and now have a school that is
equipped as well as some crossroads
schools in the states-books excepted.
hadn't been schoolmaster week when
invitations to social functions began to
come in from all directions. First came
one from Senior Ramon Gasataya. Casa
taya had once been appointed heap mill
tary'' of the pueblo. It took three days
, to- discover that he was furnishing rice
to the insurgents. There was just a loop
hole of a doubt, SO we didn't shoot him.
Since then he has been the most affable
native on the island. His casa is big
two-story nipa house with a split bamboo
floor. He invited me to dance there. And
to dance on a split bamboo floor is like
dancing on corrugated rubber. The guests
at the ball were all full-blooded natives.
The dancing began at II o'clock in the
/, morning and continued for two days and
nights. The music was from a clarionet
and two guitaritas. The dances were the
polka, the waltz and the rigadon. The
rigadon is a sort of quadrille. It was
danced but a, few times, most Of the time
being devoted to waltzes and polkas Much
to my discomfort I found that I was a
sort of specially honored guest. j..
1t is this way. When the music starts
delaga-that's native for senorita-and
poke your elbow at her. She grabs it
and you proceed to whirl around on the
bamboo floor like an intoxicated rubber
ball. The floor not only bounds, but is
ribbed and as hard to waltz on as 1t is to
climb mountain. The delagas wear
!. slippers without heels on their bare feet,
and at every third whirl off comes slip
knees until you find it. And the senorita
shoves her bare brown foot into it and
you resume bobbing around. Your collar
willis. Your white ducks drip. Your
breath comes in gasps. You offer up a
silent prayer that the nipa nut may catch
fire and thus release YOU. For you are
up against the Filipino idea Of good man
ners. which dictates that you must not
cease waltzing with partner until on
can turn her over to another. And all
the natives have partners. Finally. in
4 desperation you ask her if she is not tired
and she beams up at you and says:
4 "Indi! Salamatw (No, thank your 81
I After three-quarters of an hour of vio-
4 lent exercise tired nature rebels and you
escort your delaga to a seat and fall into
one beside her, utterly exhausted. Your
s partners round face 1engthens out a foot.
i Senior Gasataya rushes over to you with
!. Iprofuse apologies for having found you
! an uncongenial partner. And he does his
best to drag you out OF your seat. and
lover to another delaga. Meanwhile the
!. waltz continues for full half-hour more.
AS matter Of fact, a waltz never ends
: there until the musicians rebel. This is the
! way they do it. After patiently footing
] and stunning one tune for an hour and