Willmar tribune., 1900-01-17

A PHILIPPINE ROMANCE
The Brown Woman at Jaro Who
Married u Soldier.

nRIVATE SEVENSPOT, of COM
pany Y, 'Steenth United States in
fantry, sat in a carved mahogany
rocker beneath the portico of the COM
pany quarters at Jaro, in the island
of Panay, and honed his razor His
eyes blinked, dazzled by the glaring
sunlight, when now and again he
paused in his task to stare across the
plaza. The prospect, as viewed by
Sevenspot, was not pleasing, and he
kept up running mutter of criti-
cism.
"Just luck at tn sun-baked coun-
thry, will yez," said he, gesticulating
with the razor. "Av tn town were a
mess of Philadelphia scrapple it
could not be done browner. Luck at
tn wades an brush in thot desert av
q plaza. An luck at tn toy min, av
yes call thin min. I call thin brown
rats. "Tis waste av good gunpowder
to shoot at tn loikes av thin. Shure,
we should be arrumed with pop-guns.
Faugh!"
And with castor-oil countenance,
Sevenspot spat upon the ground.
A little brown woman-she was a
woman, although she weighed no
more than the average American
schoolgirl of 12-shuffled barefooted
down the street. To unaccustomed
American eyes she was a mere Carl
cature on womankind. A couple of
yards of bright-red calico were gath
cred tightly about her waist and
reached to her knees. The makeshift
garment was wound snugly about her,
outlining every curve and showing the
motion of every muscle as she moved.
Her brown legs and feet were bare.
A white shirt waist was caught over
one shoulder and had slipped off the
other, exposing barred neck. A
white towel with bright red edging
served as a sunbonnet. She walked
or shufaed with knees far advanced
SO that she seemed in danger of fall
ing backward. AS she shuff1ed along
she puffed a huge cigar, that in color,
length and circumference matched her
naked forearm. And the lips that
poised the cigar were stained bright
red and green from chewing betel
nuts and leaves. But Margarita was
a shapely little dab of femininity. Her
face was saucy and fascinatingly i'm
pudent. Her eyes were alluring. And
she chartered pigeon-English viva
ciously, with graceful little gestures
of babyish brown hands and pretty
puckerings of betel-stained lips.
nd ho 4e
little head was birdlike.
"Now, luck at thot!" exclaimed
Sevenspot, indicating Margarita with
another wave of his razor. ':Just tell
me phwat does Big Bill want av a
brown-skinned pocket-pace loike thot.
Shure, av she wanst got lost in tn
tall grass av tn plaza there, Bill
couldn't foind hur with a - tiliscope.
Av he'd dab her well. with -four an
carry bur under, his arrum, he'd re-
simble wan av thin Eyetalians phwat
peddle little statooaries in New York.
Think av six-futter loike Bill snayk-
in off an violatin' rigilashuns by
marryin' a little brown imp; av, a,
woman no bigger than a cheeno cigar
lilo. Faugh!" And again Sevenspot
spat upon the ground-his counte-
nance expressive of castor oil and quiz
nine. :f. ... ,ss&2 @% :,
q Along the southern boundary of
Jaro there ran a stream, during the
rainy season a river, during the dry
season a rivulet. Along the southern
bank of the stream there was mar
row strip of scattered woodland, be-
5yond that q three-mile strip of roll
ing prairie, and then ridge sur
mounted by another bit Of timber.
Five miles beyond the ridge on lit
tie eminence clustered the town Of
Santa Barbara. It was an insurgent
strong hold, and its assault and cap-
ture were the first work Of the au-
tumn campaign cut out for the little
detac hlmtent of American troops quar-
tered ct Jaro. The American outpost,