The Calumet news., 1912-09-17
FORMER HANCOCK TEACHER, IN
PHILIPPINES, WRITES OF ISLANDS
GIVES INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS
NATIVE

I
coasts IN small towns on along the
rivers. Soil is wondermlly productive
hut Americans fail because they can
not secure laborers 4 native prefers
as rude, TO be Idle ana have little than
10 work and have comforts.
Funds for school work are lacking
and we need moro new schools To civ g
efficient service Schools are usually
old shacks. devoid of all furniture save
wooden benches and often with yer,
leaky roofs. However new schools are
fast being substituted. and, while at
present the pedagogical requirements
are iive days of work teac hers are
given opportunities I'm Institutes, sum
mer schools and normals TO improve.
! Schools in tho Larrios have three
grades Larger schools like the one
here have four grades. la capitals ana
important places, seven grades are Civ.
en-. Cities have high schools. The de
partment of education Is efficient and
puts forth strenuous efforts TO improve
the service, especially in industries.
!
the plumb line, anvil and carpenters
square so little seen that a taste of
American enterprise is the thing most
needed.
The idea is often noted that a bolo
Is an instrument of murder, In fact
] expected when arrived i'm wild
Mindirao TO f'nd the natives lined up
with bolos 10 give me warm recep~
tion. However. they are too lazy to
| fight, but the bolo is used for every
thinS else-iack knife, axe. hatchet,
hoe. plow. all are combined in the bolo.
A poor and ignorant people
Self government is absurd, except
as boys practice self government i'm
schools. Still conditions are improving.
| The American regime is really forcing
ambition into the natives and they are
growing more self reliant There are
few Spaniards here. but many mesti-
zas or half breeds. some Chinese and
many Americans They are the bright
est element of the population.
IL might write much more on this.
but must say something of my work.
As supervisor of a double district I
have charge of ten schools. scattered
along forty miles of sea coast. Travel
| is by baroto. canoe followed out of
a log. IL mas bamboo poles tied at
the sides as out-riggers to prevent the
boat from capsiZing. These boats are
padded by three men. and | sit some
times all day seated on a couple Of
bamboo poles feet In the water, ana
often drenched with g spray. | am
often forced to wade ashore and one
night we sank in the bay when it was
too dark to see ashore. The water
was fortunately shallow and we pushed
our way to safety through a heavy
rain. Commonly a sea gets rough in
from FIVE to- fifteen minutes when far
from shore
II sleep wherever | can find room
sometimes ON a cot more commonly
ON bamboo bench. floor, or even out
doors | carry two light blankets and
piece Of mosquito netting to shield my
face from these pests. One evening
We were passing n rock coast. with
waves rising, no landing place. d9rk-
ness growing and a thunder storm
coming up. How eagerly l booked for
a stretch of beach may be imagined
At length we sighted a light reached
IL or a little stream's delta and found
q house consisting of n small room
! the floor of whicE was covered with
sleeping persons The house too, was
more of pen than a dwelling. The
storm had now passed the stars were
shining so | had the boat drawn up
on the shore, flied the bottom with
nipa palm and on that ,aid my blank
cts for p bed. ! woke up al midnight,
with waves dashing over the boat ana
rain beginning TO fan. tried TO col
lect my belongings and rush for shell
ter but lost one Of my shoes Which
fell on the ground and spent twenty
minutes looking fer IT, There were no
lights except wood torches which
would net burn outside a house. but :
finally located the shoe and spent the
next few hours on the edge of the
floor. -
mountain ranges. where the footing is
difficult and precarious. but there are
pretty water falls and some times won
derful hot springs TO reward the effort.
There is one trip which lies mp a river
and is truly worth a long travel. All
day long mountaineers pole us up
through a roaring rapids past high
mountains and forested slopes. on
the next day we go mp I'm quiet water
past foliage SO dense that the bank
.s a green precipice. rising a hundred
feet. The banks are completely Gov
cred. but sometimes we see monkeys,
parrots, white herons. geese in enorm-
Gus numbers. curious colored birds and
sillihawns or large. long neckcd birds
which often swim in the wafer with
their heads just above the surface. Mr..
Varrian, wiry reckless man. wha
shot many large birds and some monk
eys, was my companion on my first
trip throughs this region. With him
crossed beautiful Lake Mainet, which
about forty miles in circumference lies
IN q mountain basin Crossing, we
visited a tribe of Mamanas. "A people
closely related to the negro. am
Informed that J am the first teacher
who had ever been there and one of
n.