The Washington herald., 1907-10-06


rope of Il, was known not only at the
founding Of ancient Carthage and the
settlement Of the Dutch in the State of
New York, but was played by the Span
iards in establishing the city OF Manila,
is only one Of the interesting traditions
recorded by DIT. Berthold Laufer, in
paper just published by the Smithsonian
Institution, entitled THE Relation Of the
Chinese 90 the Philippine Islands"
This account is based upon a study Of
original official Chinese documents, which
contain much material relative to the
early history of the Philippines hitherto
unpublished in any except the Chinese
language.
Philippine historians. so far as is
known, have, without exception, to the
present time gained their information
from early Spanish sources.
According to Tradition.
In connection with the founding Of
Manila. the tradition recorded in the Of
fcial annals Of the Ming dynasty IS
translated by Dr. Laufer as follows:
The Spanish Franks surpassed the peo-
pie OF LuzOn in strength, and for q
long time interchanged commerce with
them When they perceived that the
country was weak and could be occu-
pied. they bestowed rich presents. on the
king and demanded a plot OF hHd as
big as an OK hide for building houses
and living there The king did not sus-
pect any trickery and assented. These
men thereupon cut the hide OF a. OK
into narrow strips, pieced these together
until they extended the length Ot a
thousand fathorls, and in this way en-
compassed the whole land OF LuzOn.
which they then claimed, in accordance
with their agreement The king was
exceedingly taken abaCk but as he had
al-eady given his promise there was no
Way out OF it but 10 yield % their de-
maud. Thus these men obtained the
land, erected houses, and built a city.
where they planted firearms and safe
guarded It against the attacks Of nigh
wsymen. Finally. they took advantage
Of the kings unpTepareduCSs. came upon
him unawaTes. killed him and his people.
and took their country. the name OF
which was thenceforth Luzon- Spanish
Franks"
This account Of Philippine history is
narrative Of embassies and quarrels. of
voyages of discovery and massaCres by
natives and others
As early as the beginning Of the thir-
teenth century 90 years before the
Spaniards came 20 the Orient. the Chi
nese knew about Spain. A member OF
the imperial family at this time collector
OF customs al an important Chinese port
wrote a book upon information gained
from Indian, Persian, Assyrian, and
Arabian merchants, I'm which he described
Spain and Portugal. The Island Of I.u-
zGn. OF course. was known 10 them long
before the Spaniards reached the Orient
and while America was ruled by the an
Cestors Of the Indians. Not until 1872
however, says the historian. did the first
embassy from the Philippines arrive in
China with tribute. but this fact points
10 long commercial intercourse between
the two peoples
Here is a thirteenth-centurv Chinese
description Of what has been recognized
as several Of the Philippine Islands, one
Of them probably Luzon:
Natives Ready TO Battle.
''On each island lives a different tribe
Each tribe consists OF about thousand
families. As soon as foreign shin
comes IN sight, the natives approach it To
barter. They live in rush huts. As there
are no springs in the mountains. the
women carry two or three jugs at the
same time on their heads. in which they
fetch water from the springs I'm the
plain, and with this load they ascend
the mountains as easily as II they were
walking on level ground. In the most
hidden valleys live people called Haitian
'NegritoSl. They are Of small stature
have round brown eyes and frizzled hair
aIrra #h..fH.
They live up in the tops OF trees. where
they dwell in families Of from three TO
FIVE individuals Crawling through the
thickets of the forests, they shoot from
ambush at passers by; wherefore they
are much dreaded; but if porcelain cup
is thrown toward them they rush on it,
shouting with joy, and escape with their
spoil"
Perhaps a still earlier official mention
of Filipinos. says DR.. Laufer, IS the
following
Near the Formosans is the land of
the Pi-sia-ye Nisaya), whose language
is not understood. They go naked and
from the way they stare, one would say
they are not Ike other people. IN the
latter part of the twelfth century the
chief OF that country daringIy took some
hundreds of his men and appeared IN
the Bay OF Fuhkien Province. in sew
eral villages they committed outrages
and murder. In their plundeying they
looked chiefly for iron implements.
spoons, and chOp-sticks. When people
shut their doors, they desisted and only
cut off the rings Of the d0Orknobs. When
spoons and chOp-sticks were thrown 10
them they stopped to gather them. When
they saw rider clad in iron, they strug-
gled among themselves to cut off his
armor. then, joining forces. they slew
him mercilessly. In close combat they
availed themselves of spears. to which
a rope of more than a hundred feet in
length was attached, with which to han
die the weapon, for they save their iron
and do not Tecklessly throw it aside.
They had no boats or cars. but RATS
made OF bamboo poles tied together Hur-
riedly they carried these of jointly, set
them afioat. and disappeared"
The interesting story of a big voyage
Of discovery ints the Indian Ocean. many
times more stUpendous than the trip of
Columbus, is told as follows:
In 1907 Chang-ho undertook a memo /
rable expedition. accompanied by a feet
of sIXtytwo large ships, carrying q. 500 /
soldiers; and on his crusades repeated /
several times In the space Of about thirty |
years, he visited a number of countries |
in the Indian Ocean. as far as the Ara /
bian Gulf, and obtained the nominal al (
legiance of their rulers.
on Cape Good Hope.
Then Vasco de Cana had not Yet
navigated around the Cape Of Good Hope; /
no European sail had yet been visible on
the Pacific and Indian oceans, of which /
the Chinese and the Arabs were the un- /
restricted masters. and the only repre- /
sentatives Of an immense trade II, !
therefore. seems not impossible that in /