The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1904-08-27

| no for the Philippines. The chef isl
anls are LuZon. MlnGanao Sanar,
Mindora. Panay. Leyte. Nr@roS. Ccbu,
etc. Manila is the capital and chief
port. and has Il population of 100000.
Th" climate is the best known i'll the
tropics and the soil wonderfully fertile.
The principal products are hemp. to-
hacco. sugar. coffee. indigo, cotton.
corn, bananas. oranges. piueapples. co
COanuts. mangos, etc. Straw ana chip
hats. together with hides. form the
chief exports Vast forests of the most
valuable timber exist all over the isl
anGS. The timber includes ebony, san
dal. camphor, teak. sapan. etc, while
rich mineral deposits exist in various
parts Of the archipelago. Gold and
copper have been located in Luzon
Petroleum and coal are being worked
in Iloilo. Cciu. and Leyte is destined
70 become famous for sulphur ASiatic
cholera was prevalent on the islands
from March. 1902, to July, 1902. Dur
ing that short period there were H.
81 cases, with S:i.2S2 deaths. showing
a mortality OF siXty-three per cent. III
the city Of Manila 4tSO cases and Sill
deaths. The six tribes which have
shown the most adaptability and intel
ligence are the Ta@alogs, Macabnhes,
NicOls. llocanos. CagayanS and NiSay-
ans. The TagalOgS are the most nll-
merOus Of any of the tribes. ana were
the principal ones involved in tie past
iasurrection. They live principally in
the provinces of BLlacan, Rial and tie
city Of Manila. part of southern Luzon
and also on the Island Of MinGora.
Their language * known as Tagaio..
any other native tongue. Tie Maca-
b2bcs do not belong to Il distinct tribe,
as is supposed by many. They are
Pampangans, and live within Il small
section Of about thirty square miles
in the Province of l'atnpanga, near tie
mouth Of the Rio Gran,ic River. They
occupy only two large towns and num-
Der about 40,WtD. The origin Of these
people is somewhat obscure. but III
somt Old archives in possession of the
Spanish friarS it is recorded that about
200 years ago there was religious up
rising in Japan, and that many Of tie
Japanese We're either killed or com
PEELED to leave the island. Ii says that
about 400 of these cxiles came to the
Philippine Islands and settled at the
town Of Macahcbe. where they re-
intermarryinS with the ma
tives. The Macabebcs have served as
soldiers on expeditions with Generals
LawtOn, Young. Bell, Schwan, Wheat
on. and assisted General Funston in
the capture of Aguiilaldo. They have
always shown loyalty and great quail
tications as soldiers. The Vicols are
from the south, Camarines Province
and Sarsogon, and have their own Ian
guage.
The Ilocanos are larger in stature
than any of the other tribes, darker in
color and not as smooth in appearance.
They are hard workers ard make ex-
cellent soldiers. They are considered
loyal to the American Government.
They have shown themselves in battle
to be cOnquerOrs and are amenable to
discipline. They never forget a wrong
done them, and will avenge themselves
at the first opportunity. The Ilocanos
NOrte and 1lOcas Sur. These provinces
are on the extreme northwestern coast
of LllzOn, Oh the China Sea. The ca
gayanS inhabit the Province of Caga-
yam, which is most fertile section in
northern Luzon. and produces large
quantities Of tobacco. They are peace
ably inclined and are extensive farm
ars. The Visayans iphabit the Visayan
Islands, which are south Of LuZOn.
They are Samar. Leyte, Panay. Negros.
Cebu and Bahal. They also have their
own language. The Filipinos are pc
,uliar class and hard to understand
They belong to the Malay race. There
are eightytive different dialects spo-
ken on the islands. Spanish is spoken
by the educated class, which is very
small.
The most interesting scene is the vol
,ano Mayor. Towering $500 feet above
the level Of the sea, Mayor is the loft
est active volcano in the Philippines
md among those of greatest altitude
n the world. TO the timber line it is
covered with dense tropical vegetation.
md thence to the summit is a tortuous
distance OF almost impossible gorges.
acre of broken rock and there of vol |
eanic sand and pumice gorges. some
hundreds and others thousands of feet |
ieep. above which hang crumblins
masses of rock and sand. death trans |
rom whose depths constantly rise pale
columns Of dust, the residue of ava
anches hurled into the depths below.
rhs ascent of the nearly perpendicular
'ldes to the summit was for centuries |
considered an impossible feat. But
his was accomplished in March 1902
y two Americans, Lieutenant Barton.
Ninth United States Cavalry. and Mr..
'ubar. The next previous attempt was
made by a German scientist who. Wis
ting LeSaspi, a town at the base Of the
fountain. declared his intention Of
making the ascent. The Spanish COM
nandant sent sergeant and two SOL