The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-12-04
LIFE AMONG THE FILIrINos
Some OF Their Peculiar some
Scenes In ManiIa-Americans Rush
ing In.
Manila, October srd.

WHICH are ali CdInOilc, In the Hnllp-
pine Islands, and one is the burying of
their dead. When a man or woman dies
who are poo and not able to pay their
padre" their friends act as mourners
and stay at the MESA houses all night,
setting up a discordant noise which
would brighten all the dogs in America.
When b time comes for burial the
next day he or she is wrapped up in
the bed clothes in which they died by
rolling them over and over. Then the
attendants are called on from the
church who bring with them a coffin
shaped % wherein the party is placed
and carried to the church, where the
padre sprinkles a few drops of water
on and at the same time uttering a
few words in some unknown tongue.
Then the corpse is carried from the
church, borne on a frame supported by
four or five friends of the deceased
who are paid about 1 or 2 pesos. The
body is then carried to the Durying
ground and taken out Of the coffin and
placed in it's hole. The collins are used
over and over again until they are so
OAo NAASy &AAAA AAOAN @AAA Al1
new mes are made.
Things vary somewhat in burial of
rich ones, for the ceremony is conduct
ed at the house of the deceased and
from there proceeds to the church, the
coffin being lighted up by candles and
headed by a band of music which is
playing a lively tune. Then follow
the mournerS who are dressed in black
wells who are usually the friends of the
deceased. They, after leaving the
church, proceed to the burial grounds
and the coffin sometimes is placed in
a kind of a vault which consists of a
bri * wall which is quite thick, that
surrounds an old church.. The deceaS-
ed is then placed in the vault or wall
and sealed up by a slab usually giving
name Of deceased. Fol- the use of this
vault a stipulated sum is paid the
church which goes to help pay the ex-
penses of the padre who in addition
receives from n to two hundre pesos.
Another one of their customs is on
Fiesta" Or a. kind of holiday when they
parade their ST. Joseph or John at
night around the pueblo which means
city in Spanish. They r usually
headed by a band playing lively tunes,
followed by their saints which are fol-
lowed by about a hudred young girls
holding candles and usually wearing
wells. This is a very pretty and novel
sight to see and the daughter of the
richest man in town leads the process
sion. The padre" is usually carried
aroun in a kind of stretcher, borne by
four men, and all natives take their
hats off to him when he passes, there
by showing their submission and re-
spect to him.
The natives devotion to his church is
astounding, and 1 dare say if Ameri-
cans could have pre- vailed on the
Asna draC' m Sfnn this uTar f
would have soon been over, for
the greater portion accept his word as
gospel and obey it thinking if they
do not they will be cursed and consid-
cred no good by him.
Their marriage customs somewhat
tally with ours. JUS a few days 6
civil government was established here
by u commanding general, Grant who
came from Angels, bringing with him
u regimental band. To show how
these people feel towards Jul policies 1
will say out of a population of between
20, 900 or 80, 900 the mayor or lei Calda."
as it is called, received only sixty
votes, this being the total amount cast.
1t will take years to subdue these peo-
pie fully and as long as the United
States hold them they will have to
maintain between 10000 and 80. 900
troops here to establish order. The
prisons are continually fired upon by
instructors, whom Americans who try
to make this fighting look as if it has
stopped, call ladrones but of they are
ladroneS why don't they attack small
err towns and not large ones as is al
ways the case 1t happens now and
then that the railroad is torn UP so as
to derail the train, but as these trains
do not run fast enough he engineer
has time to stop them before the bro
ken rail is reached.
The rainy season is now here and we
ave to go about town in small boats;
bridges all washed away and Transport
tation is almost impossible, except by
water. Going into the church tower
you can see but very little land; it
seems as if it were a large ocean dotted
by small boats which the mesa houses
represent. They are built a good dis
lance off the ground thereby saving
them from the harm of the flood.
But now we look from the inland
town to the metropolis OF Manila. 1t
seems more like New York than Ma
Mia, only the streets are, with the ex-
ception of a few, very narrow. On the
main street in Manila the provost
guards have> to form the Garage in
line so they can ass each other and
sometimes you can discern a procession
almost half a mile long but their pecu-
liar feat is they always go to the left
anu not 10 the tight as IN our country.
Americans are thickly swarnunS into
Manila and officers who exp2:r to stay
some time over here are bringing their
fsmilies and it is not q rare case to see
officers and young LADY friends taking
their afternoon ride to the "Luneta" as
the speedway is called, where bands at
both ends are playing, sometimes sad
ard sometimes fast music. Even Off
GERS are getting married and you can
often pick up a paper giving an ac-
count of lieutenant or captain So and
Sos marriage and ball. And even
lo6ges are being organized sIIch as
Knights Of Pythias and Red Men and
so forth. Everything seems to be So
cially inclined. Young Mems Christian
Associations are opened to every ore
feels inclined TO attend Soldiers
are furnished lodging and given baths
for the sum of $25 cents per head.
There are also some good hotels ana
you can secure lodging and meals from
75c up to IS; but then he bright points
OF Manila are Offset by barrooms where
in one place in the caty you can see
from so to 100 soldiers drinking their
beer, some asleep, some drunk and
GONE sober arguing over some fight or