The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-07
RAILROAD NEWS.
Union Pacific Officials Search
for Filipino God.
Was Lost Out of Freight Car
in Kansas.
FOR THE EXPOSITION.
Deity Now Found and on Its
Way to st. Louis.
Forty Carloads Of Filipino Ex-
hibits Pass Through.

Kansas City, Mo, March Union
Pacific railroad officials have had a
long search on the plains of Kansas for
a Filipino river god, which was lost
from a train carrying a shipment of
materials for the exhibit of the Philip
pine islands at the Louisiana Purchase
exposition at St. Louis next summer
and fall. The river god did not walk or
fly away. 1t is not endowed with life.
1t is merely a piece of wood carved and
painted in the fantastic manner of the
Filipino savages. An American who
was not well informed on the deities
of the Filipinos might at first sight call
the god a fencepoSt.
The god was loaded into one of forty
bOxcars, in which were being shipped
the island exhibit. The careless freight
handler at San Francisco threw the de-
flied post loosely into the car. After
leaving Denver the car door was
broken open in some way unexplained.
and the god rolled out upon the right
of way. Its loss was discovered when
the train reached the Armstrong yards.
Word was passed back along the line
to start a search for the missing river
deity, and for several days there was
commotion along the 636 miles of track.
The search was finally rewarded,
when a section man carried the idol
into the nearest Kansas station. 1t was
then forwarded to Kansas City and re-
stored to the collection.
The river god is strange figure
| carved from a log of wood. 1t has lit
tie resemblance to man. The arms
lie close to the body. The idol is paint
ed with large, round, staring eyes. and
a mouth which extends across the face
from ear to ear. 1t will be seen at
the exposition.
The forty cars containing a part of
the exhibit from the Philippine islands
for the Worlds fair in st. Louis this
summer are being held in the Union
Pacific railway yards at Armstrong,
Kan, until the yards in st. Louis can
be cleared of freight congestion. In the
cars are many strange and interesting
objects. Most of the cars are loaded
with bamboo, out of which houses will
be built There are also eight boats
from the island of Jolo.
| These boats are each so feet long with
a 15-foot BEAM Two fiat cars are re-
quired to carry each of the boats. In
| appearance they resemble Chinese
junk. They have fiat bottoms. are
! ing down and back from deck to keel
like the front end of a flat boat While
these boats are 80 feet from end to end
on deck they are only go feet from end
to end on the keel Each boat is built of
boards hewn out with knives and axes.
The boats are to be guided by large
steering oar. They are painted in gay
colors; red, green and yellow predomi-
mating. Each boat has an eye painted
on the bow. This is a precaution to
avoid accidents, as the boatmen of Jolo
argue IF a boat has not an eye how
can it see where it is going?"
| The most interesting parts of the
boats, however, are the sails. These are
made of a thick interviewer grass and
are tied with grass rope to the bamboo
mast Each boat has two masts and
one or two sails on each mast. Bamboo
oars are also provided. The sails and
| oars are shipped in a separate car.
| Much of the bamboo is cut and ready
for building houses. On other cars are
placed the grass roofs of these houses
which are to form the Philippine viii
lage at the fair. This grass is tightly
bound together so it will keep out the
drenching rain and the rays of the
tropical sun. But little idea of the ap-
pearance of the houses when built car
be formed from the material on the
cars. There is the side of a small house
with a sliding window all made of BAN
bee and tied together with string, Which
is used in place of nails.