Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-05-08
PHILIPPINE HOUSEKEEPING.
An American Army OhRcer'sWife Re-
Iates Her Experience with =
PuzzIing Problem.

For a few days we all took oul
meals at the general mess. Then be-
gan housekeeping in earnest. We were
obliged to keep three servants, all
men, and send all our washing out, for
each man or "muchacho" in che Phil
ippipes will do only one kind of work.
We, therefore, had a Filipino cook,
waiter and houseboy. The cook asked
for an assistant, and was firmly but
politely refused. In our small house
I was literally falling over men serv-
ants, and did not care to trip over
their boy assistants, writes an army
officer in the New York Post.
The average Filipino cook gets SO
gold month and his food, and the
waiter and houseboy each Sc. During
the Spanish regime the latter two re-
ceived SIS each a year, with clothes and
food. They calmly tell you this.
All cooks go to market daily, and
found it unwise to give ours large
piece of money, as small piece
brought home nearly the same guam
tity of food. A little experience and
a personal visit or two to the market
taught me to give him so many mo
tors for each vegetable. A motor is
a copper piece, and eight are equal to
five cents in our money.
Juan, who for time was tableboy,
and whom later l made cook, for cook
number one carried off too many edi-
bles under his fancy coat, was of a
surly disposition. l never had any real
fear of him, or of any of the Others,
though I have been quite alone in the
house with them. An amusing thing
occurred one day in this connection. l
had bought several Chickens from my
regular woman, and they were care
fully put in the room below the kitch-
en- through a hole in the floor. Our
Filipino landlord, like some home land
lords, would not mend the broken
boards. The chickens escaped intothe
yard next door, where a tailor lived
noted for ugly disposition. Juan was
sent for the chickens, but returned
empty handed and in a great temper.
The following conversation occurred
in Spanish of very mixed character.
Being translated, it ran somewhat a s
follows:
Lady, went for your chickens, but
the tailor called me a, 'ladrone' (mean-
ing thief, and an epithet man natu-
rally hates to have applied to- him). Il
am not thief, and 1 came for my boIo.
am going over to fight him"
"Juan," 1 answered, calmly, looking
up from my book; 81 sent you for the
chickens, and ifShe called you a thief.
he meant me. Go to the kitchen and
get lunch; it is Late
NO, no." Juan said, I'm not a
ladrone," and he went away, returning
IN moment to the door with a bOlO,
long and clean and sharp as razor.
I had heard him sharpening it many a
time on the patio tiles preparatory
to going below to cut wood for his
stove.
/ Lady, I am going over to fight the
tailor, and maybe kill him.
Juan, you're not"
Lady, am"
By this time the tearswer running
down his cheeks, he was SO angry.
"Come here, JUAN" / said.
He came nearer. with the bolo steel
shining in the sunlight. 81 told you to
get lunch. Now, I want you to put
that bolo away and mind me-" All the
time looked him straight in the eyes.
tive tongue, looked at the sharp bolo,
then at me, and finally went to his
kitchen. The tailor remained whole
man.
Juan had scruples gainst carrying
basket to the market. suppose his
pride stood in the way. When l asked
him why he did not take a basket when
1 saw him appear with the marketing
wrapped in big handkerchief, he al
ways answered that he had forgotten
| Ut.
/ The air of candor with which he told
me this day after day was fairly as
| tonishing. Another characteristic of
the Filipino is his incessant smoking.
almost believe he smokes in his sleep.
The servants were forbidden to smoke
inside the house, but as they were com
paratively good men, 1 pretended not
TO have any sense of SMELL
One day on going suddenly into the
kitchen 1 found Juan with cigar a
foot long in his mouth while he broiled
the meat. 1t was the last straw.
spoke out in kitchen Spanish, and the
cook benefited by the same and Incl
| ientally burned the meat. I believe
that muchacho was truly sorry for me
| or he did not smoke again for two OF
| three days. He was too good a cooI
to discharge, and really one kind OF
smoke isn't much worse than another
n the kitchen.
Diseases Known by Numbers.