The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1909-05-20
TIKKIA AT WAR"
INCONSISTENT BATTLE WITH A
MALE FILIPINO.
Dusky Young Toiler at One Dollar a
Month Finally Decides to
Wed Romoldo.
BY MARY II, FEE,

| ant. When the Bureau of Education
in Manila saw fit to send me to the
| town of Capiz, on the north coast Of
the Island of Panay, to teach the
| young Filipino idea how to shoot,
| decided that it might be wise to take
| with me something in the way of
civilized, or at least partially civilized,
native to act as cook and general fac
totum in my contemplated household.
/ didn't have time to look for such
an article in Manila, but when / ar,
rived in Iloilo, en- route to Capiz, Ro-
moldo came upon the scene and fell
into his place among my belongings
as naturally as If 1t had been fore
ordained that he should do So He had
no references and l had no way Of
knowing what he could, or could not
do, but l liked his looks so l decided
to take him along with me to Capiz,
and l found myself able to make ar
rangements for doing so without the
slightest difficulty.
AS a matter of fact Romoldo could
not cook nor did he know anything
about the routine of an American
household, but found him generally
capable youth, actively anxious to
learn things, and it wasn't long before
l was able to entrust him with the
office Of chief cook and only bottle
washer. We had not been keeping
house long, however, before he came
to me one evening with delicate in
timation that it was not proper for
me to live without female attendant
and said that he had a friend-a young
woman recently orphaned-who need
ed work and would be glad to have
the position. l was sufficiently unso-
phisticated in Filipino ways to take
this at it's face value. AS the orphan
was willing to labor in my household
for the consideration of one dollar
gold per month and place to sleep,
the experiment could not be an expen-
sive one.
So the orphan duly arrived, escorted
by Romoldo. He also carried her
trunk, which consisted of several gar
ments tied up in a clean handker-
chief. Her name was Tikkia, and l
could have wished she had been hand
somer-and younger. She was heavy
browed, pock-marked female, with a
mass of cocoanut oiled tresses stream
ing down her back, and one leg, bare
to the knee, rather obtrusively dis.
playing its skinny shin. This was
caused by her dress being looped up
and tucked in at the waist for convent
ence. She had no petticoat and her
chimesette ended two inches below the
waist line. AS it was not belted down
it crept out and hung over her skirt
with a comical suggestion of the
zouave jacket. She understood not one
word of Spanish or English.
On the first night of her occupation
l ordered" fried chicken and mashed
potatoes for dinner, then went out to
the kitchen to prepare them myself
Romoldo displayed an intelligent in
terest in the cooking lesson, but Tx
kia seemed terribly bored. When at
last the potatoes were done l gave
them to her to mash. Romoldo was
then in the dining room setting the
table. | told her in my best mixed
, Spanish and Visayan to mash them
, and to then put them on the stove Ia
dry out any water that might happen
to be in them. She understood just
that one word water" and when
returned, after being out of the kitchen
for minute, the potatoes were swim
ming in a quart of 1t and Tikkia was
busy initiating my motion of mashing
and thereby turning the mess into g
lumpy soup. | dined on fried chicken
Romoldo being rather young and
: attractive looking hombre and Tikkia
, such female pirate, I~insist that my
: failure to suspect a romance was al
: least partially justified. Certainly
! never by word or glance did they evel
betray the slightest interest in eact
other. But some days after my estab
lishment had begun to run with some
. thing like smoothness, one of the mill
tary ladies', whose husband was sta
toned in Capiz asked me to dinner
The punka string was pulled by mos
A murderous looking ex-insurrecto, whC
4 fixed me with basilisk glance, hal
0 entreaty, half reproach. 1t became 81
T.. painful that toward the end of diEne
e l asked my hostess if it were due t.
Z his general frame of mind or to {
special antagonism toward pedagogues
She replied that he was probably brae
ing himself to approach me on topit
which was consuming his vitals. Tx
> kia was his matrimonial and /, tn,
/ maestro, had taken her and given he
!, to Romoldo, and the twain lived in m!
n | IN II