Willmar tribune., 1909-12-01
<RAN HOZIJES a. WA72XE,3 -

Va ~ AOASA6A OuuuluS III no Wise lcS-
senlng the uncivilized appearance of
the whole. Rising behind the town is
Mount Dajo, made famous by the won
derful assault and capture of it by our
troops. Cotabato, Parang- -Parang and
Malabang, on the Celebes sea, were
next touched at, and then afts- an
other stop at Zamboanga and again at
Camp Overton the course lay toward
Cebu in the Visays.
Cebu Is prosperous town and q
Great trade center, hemp and coal be-
ing Its chief exports. Shells of every
description are for sale, but otherwise
there is little one cares to buy. Here
IN the Church of Santo Nino is pre-
served little black statue of the Holy
Cnl:1 which was brought over by Ma
gellaa. The collection of jewels for
1t Is said to be priceless. They were
stored In Hongkong during the tnsur-
rectlon, and they remain there, as the
duty is too high to permit of their be-
Ing brought lack. Across the strait is
the little island of Mactan, where Ma
gellan was killed.
On leaving Cebu we stopped at Or
moe in Leyte and then anchored for a
snort While in Carigura bay to unload
provisions for Tacloban. At Calbayog.
Samar, we stepped for a couple of
hours only, and then made for home,
and were met in Verde passage by the
steam launch from Batangas, which
brought us to land In two hours.
With visions OF waving palms and
bamboos and riotous burst of color
In your mental picture at the tropics.
Manila is disappointing reality. as it
lies low and business-lika along the
water front. The dolce far niente Of
southern climes seems to have no
place in this commercial METROPOLIS.
where everything is life and hustle.
The great bay is large enough to &C.
commodate the fleets of the world and
an enormous breakwater built out
from the mainland gives shelter to at
least forty large vessels. At all times
the roadstead is filled with ships. and
the clanking Of chains, the footing of
Whistles and the rapid liquid speech
o. the native coolies working along the
water front create a lively scene.
The houses are raised high above
the ground to avoid the DANGEROUS
earth vapors which the Tagals call
"alimoon," and seek to avoid at the
beginning of the rainy reason; the
walls are fitted with slides of lattice
work into which shells are inserted in
stead of glass, and with these drawn
back the house looks like an open pa-
vilion. The ground floor is occupied
by shops or used as grain store room
or carriage shed, and not infrequensly
as stable, in which case the walls
are dispensed with. These native
houses are built of hard wood, mostly
of mahogany, which is disfigured with
whitewash and paint, some of them be-
ing resplendent in pink. blue or yel-
low. The living rooms are reached
by a flight Of stone steps running
up on the outside. Rents in Manila
are high, 200 or 300 pesos (s10O or
$3.50 being the average price per
month for dwelling Of moderate
size.
The city of Manila proper is a huge
fortress, surrounded by high stone
walls and bastions and bulwarks on
the landward side and protected by a
moat which may be flooded by means
of sluices to cut of the city. Fort San
tiago, the citadel, guards the entrance
to the Pasig, which divides Manila into
two parts-the walled city just de-
scribed and the commercial centers.
The Escolta in Binondo is the prin-
cipal shopping street and it is pros
porous looking with its many pedes-
trians, its trolley cars and electric
lights; the shops are up to date and
almost all desires can be satisfied If
you are willing to pay Manila prices.
Here, as everywhere in the islands.
John Chinaman absorbs large part
of the trade and is the picture of con-
tentment as he lazily smokes his pipe
in the doorway.