The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1903-01-09
Uuder the Southern Cross.
Puerto Princesa, Pasagua, p. I

Nov. 6, 1902.
AS this Is "Manana" land or the land
q tomorrow, where life glides along
very smoothly and we are all affected
~ that prevalent feeling OF laziness,
which impels one to do nothing today
that can possibly be postponed till
tomorrow, have not written you
slnee reaching the Philippines. There
1re few things In and about Manila
that may be of interest to your readers,
- Will describe them as l saw them.
Manila Bay 1 should judge to be
shout twenty miles wide by twenty
I've Ia length, about the size of Lake
- Clair and owing to its extent affords
very poor shelter In typhoon. True,
there is a breakwater extending out q
nile or SO, but it cannot accommodate
an the large vessels, so ours dropped
anchor out about two miles, early In
she morning of May 20. We we're
howe yer unable to land that day, owing
% high winds, but the next morning,
performance of variety of acrobatic
stunts by all concerned, we boarded
ME launch and finally headed toward
Rand.
Tbn the course OF few minutes we
en- sered the mouth OF the PaSig and
siyMmed up probably mile before
hAisdipg. The river as 1t passes through
the City is three or four times as wide
rs the ShiawasSee at Main street and
& crowded with all kinds OF craft.
Steam launches, cascos and lorchas,
crude affairs, used for conveying
height to and fro between the city
md vessels In the bay. Native canoes
dug out of solid logs with bamboo
aEtriggers and among all the rest, the
Waterfront, an old unwleldy stern
wheeler, making more noise and fuss
ahan any Of her more pretentious
siSters, comes splaShing down remind
ing me OF navigation on the Miss
ksippi.
Aner getting nicely located at the
Aotel, we spent few days in most
seIightful sight seeing, the city being
especially rich in objects OF historic
interest, the chief being the walls,
monuments and churches. The monu-
neDts Of a city ought to suggest the
history OF that city and In this respect
Abe public works of this kind in
Manila are quite instructive.
One OF the first objects that meets
Dnes gaze on crossing the bridge of
Spain, is stone shaft with two
acrobatic dolphins at It's base, stand
ing on their heads and swapping their
tails in the air. The shaft is sur
mounted by globe girdled by word
sbat only Santos Dumont with his
French flying machine could hope to
aecipher accurately by flying around
it, But this shaft inartistic as it is,
was erected in memory Of one of the
world S greatest navigators, one who
Bath but a few poor vessels and a
handful OF men, pushed south and
8Ib1uu SdpC ohu COdoulDS HOt
10 the latitude OF the "Spice Islands, +"
dared to face the setting sun and start
across that waste Of waters, the Pacific
Ocean, heretofore uncut by the prov Of
N European ship.
The undertaking was holder one
shaD he imagined. He supposed that
the islands were distant only week
or twos sail from the mainland, but
Cine ship sailed on and on and 1t
seemed that there was no end to that
heaviDg expanse.
The provisions ran short and they
ayen ate all the shoes on board. Many
Il the sailors died and those who re-
uained were reduced to mere skele-
tsDs. But not for an instant did their
intrepid leader think of turning back.
Finally land was sighted-Guam or