The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1917-07-12

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Cracklc Of rrSinouS knots in
the great fireplace. The air was
cool and bracing. Outside. the
hrcc2cS stirred the giant pines whose
mastlikc trunks reached high into the
air In n vain attempt to look over the
1,OOO-foot clln against which our log
r"sthouSe nestles In a bed OF ferns,
writes Maynard owen Williams to the
Christian Herald.
We are on the mountain trail of
Rcnguct, In northern Luzon, in the
Philippines, resting In n rcSthousc
which deserves the name. R%Oughing II
In northern Luzon Is what Irwin Cobb
would call ode luxe Rich, flavorE
oyster stew, fricasSced chicken, tender
peas, sweet potatoes. tea, blucbcrrics
and hot biscuit and honey are all we
have>hnd for lunch. but we had all we
could eat, and the Filipino cook Is the
best cook and the tidiest housekecpcr
In the Philippines, which Is going some.
To appreciate the cool shade of the
lofty pines and the clean, rustic charm
of our pine palace OF repose. we must
shoot back to Manila and begin our
trip by auto In the delightful cool of
morning.
Several men with whom ] had ex-
pected to have interviews were either
out of Manila or In the hospital, and
things seemed to be moving In n circle.
Then. one morning. I read that Direc-
tor Of Education Narquardt. Prof. II.
NJ. McElroy Of Princeton and others
were to make n tour Of inspection Of
the schools in the Igorrote and Ifugao
districts north Of Baguio, and I pro-
ceeded, as automatically as possible,
TO butt in"
We are travelling in the wilds, where
a few years ago hcad-hunters made
grueSomc collections. There are
pythons here and wild boar and other
game in plenty, none Of which l have
seen trace of N yet.
Motoring on Fine Roads.
II Is ten hours by auto from Manila
TO the summer capital Of the Philip
pines at Bagulo, 175 miles away and
5000 feet higher up, where blankets
are needed In summer.
For 80 kilometers from Manila the
big seven-pnssenger car In which Mr..
Miller, his t~welve-year-old son, Pro-
fcssor McElroy and myself Travelled,
rolled luxuriously over the fine
roads through towering arches of CO.
conut palms. mango trees and fire
trees (Which become n mass of red
blossoms) over old Spanish bridges
and modern concrete ones spanning
shady, curving streams in which der
ricklike fishing nets rose above the
boats, which lay idly at anchor In the
warm radiance of the morning light,
We passed thousands of nipa huts,
with matched roofs, built up on stills
90 as 20 keep them dry In the heavy
rains. and to afford n shady retreat
for the razor-backed porkers with long
SHOUTS like their wild ancestors, and
the spindly legged game ROSTERS with
shiny plumage, slender necks and
heads, and boastfulv crows-the sport
Ing animals of the islands.
In every town there Is n Catholic
church, its steeple topping the view
and its whitcwaShcd or calcimincd
walls crumbling through the ravnges
Of time in u humid climate. Farther
on, towns are fewer, and the heat
beats into ones face in hot gusts,
while the baked fields seem almost
barren, except for cogon grass or
weeds. For miles we did not see Il
house, and the only sign of life was
the wavering rush of crowded motor.
cars, which dash by at frenzled speed.
After passing a toll bridge, which col.
lapses when the rainy season makes
heavy bamboo RATS necessary, we
turned aside from the main road and
visited the North Luzon Agricultural
college at Las Munos.
Teaching the Natives Farming.
The school Is not n show place. but
n workshop, and Its director, Mr.. Moe,
n graduate OF the University of Wis
cousin, Is working with Ideas rather
than expensive equipment. Tuition
is free, and each boy earns his food
by working ut productive labor Mt the
ute of three cents al hour, with meals
costing four cents each. The boys not
only build their W buildings, but
have set up II machine shop with a
discarded traction engine, which cost
$50, dismOunted and made to drive
the machines. The moving picture
machine and the s%tereOpticon are used
regularly, and six miles OF irrigation
canahs bring water from the nearby
hills.
As yet It is a barren place, for II
only one farm irrigates, the bug popu'
lation Of the county hold u convention
and festival In It's crop beds; but by
cooperating with the homesteaders
additional fields are now being IT.
rigated, and an era OF prosperity Is
setting In. Nicholas Ruiz. a former