The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-05-30
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Continued from Page ID


yam standpoint, but the boys and girls
in this pueblo are beginning to speak col
loquial English quite fiuently.
There are two public schools here,
one for the boys and one for the girls
l soon found that these free schools
were patronized by the full-blooded Fill
pinos only. The mestiZos considered it
beneath their dignity to send their chill
dren to the public schools and referred
to them as the poor schools" Howev-
er, | found many of the boys and a few
of the girls very apt. l found that in the
past the maestros mad taught the children
nothing but few prayers in Spanish
When 1 entered the school in the morn
ing all the boys stood up and yelled good
morning." Then they sat down and ali
began to patter Hail Marys' and the
creed in an undertone. The school sound
ed like hive of angry bees. The native
teacher would call up boy after boy and
listen while he recited prayers and the
creed over and over. He kept that up
for six hours day. Just that and prac-
tically nothing more. He did not even
take the trouble to teach them the meah-
ing of the Spanish words they recited
In fact, under Spanish rule the full
FLOODED natives Were never taught Span
ism and We're not permitted to speak it
If a native saluted a Spaniard with "Bue-
nos dlas his hat was promptly knocked
/ found that there We're just three boys
in the school to whom the native macs
fro was teaching little arithmetic and
Latin. And those boys did not know the
grammar of their own language! The
only books in the schools were cate
cnlsms and prayer books in Spanish
There were no pencils, pens, ink paper
or states. There was no blackboard, no
chalk 1t was a case of patter prayers
all day.
L went to the President of the pueblo
and told him L wanted black board, and
| wanted it quick. He said he had never
heard of such a thing and couldn't fur
nish one. i told him to trot out car
penter and a painter at double time or
he would hear from the Military Govern
or. got my blackboard. l found there
was no, no chalk in the pueblo save that In
the billiard hall. / took it all and now
the natives spit on their cues instead of
chalking them
Speaking of that billiard hall reminds
me that some museum man should have
the one table 1t contains. I've seen some
pretty rocky billiard tables in country
towns in the States, but this one beats
tne record. 1t is the identical table on
Whlch Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
played pin pool. When the balls rumble
across 1t the noise reminds me of the
game OF ten pins in RIP Van Wrinkle
When ball hits a cushion it leans a |
loot toward the ceiling and when it re- |
lands on the table it stands dead still |
me native game is a sort OF pin pool |
with nine pins. 1t takes any player from |
-FOUR 10 elght hours to play game When |
a native makes up his mind to take a |
mana IN game he lays off work for the |
udS: L We seen 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 ex- |
plain that Cinon was in a game of pool |
down the street. The natives would sit |
on the bamboo bench before the shop |
ana wait there patiently for three or four |
hours. At last Cinon would return and |
the customers would file into the shop |
The first would want three cents worth /
of cocoanut oil and would throw down
half a dollar. Mexican. Cinon would in
differently toss it back anu say: NO |
change!'
Out of dozen customers eight or nine
would be turned away because the store |
Keeper had no change Then Cinon would
shut up shop again and go to a cock |
fight.
To get back to my schools After get
ting my blackboard and chalk, l prompt
ly went after pens, ink, paper and blank
DOCKS IN the same way. L talked to that
native President in a way that made his
hair stand. l 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 | got what
wanted and now have a school that is
EQUIPPED as well as some cross roads
SchoolS IN the StateS-books executed
| hadn't been schoolmaster week
when invitations to social functions be-
gan TO come in from all directions. First
came one from Senior Ramon Gasatava
Gasataya had once been appointed "Hean
Military of the pueblo. 1t took three
days to discover that he was furnishing
icophole OF doubt so we didn't shoot
MN. Since then he has been the most
aftable native on the island His casa is |
Dig two-story nipa house with a split |
bamboo floor. He invited me to a dance
there. And to dance on a split bamboo
moor Is like dancing on corrugated rub- |
per Inc guests at the ball were all full !
piooaed natives. The dancing began at /
ii O'Clock in the morning and continued
Tor TWO days and nights. The music was
from clarionet and two guitaritas The
uahceS were the polka, the waltz and the
rleadon. The rigadon is a sort of quar-
Grille. 1t was danced but few times
most or the time being devoted to waltzes
and polkas. Much to my discomfort
ored guest. mn
1t is this way. When the music starts
up you are expected to dash over to
delaga-thats native for senorita-and
POKE your elbow at her. She grabs II
ana you proceed to whirl around on the
bamboo floor like intoxicated rubber
pan: Inc floor not only bounds but it
Is rloped and as hard to waltz on as it |
Is TO climb a mountain. The delaf-as |
wear slippers without heels on their Ia
1eet anu at every third whirl off comes a
supper. Ihen you grovel around on Your
shoves her bare brown foot into it and
you resume your bobbng around. Your
colar willis. Your white ducks drin
our breath comes in gasps. You offer
up silent prayer that the nipa hut NAV
eaten ire and thus release YOU For Won
are up against the Filipino idea of GOOD
which dictates that Won must
not cease Waiting with a partner until
you can turn her over to another. And
all the natives have partners Finally in
desperation you venture to ask her IL CHI
is not tired and she beams up at Won and
says: y" anu
lndi! Salamat!" (No, thank youD
After three- quarters of an hour of yio-