The Coolidge examiner., 1931-08-07

though painted with blue and pink
Opaque cOlOrs; variegated ChaetO-
dons, called "sea butterflies" by the
natives; trunkfishes with horns and
armOr, leOpard-spOtted groupers,
hideOus-looking, warty tOadfishes,
armed with poisonous spines, much
dreaded by the natives, and a black
fish with a spur on its forehead.
AS many young fish unfit for food
are destroyed by this process, the
Spanish government forbade this
method of fishing, tut since the
American occupation of the island
the practice has been revived.
In the mangrOve swamps when
the tide is low hundreds of little
fishes with prOtruding eyes may be
seen hopping about in the mud and
climbing among the roots of the
RhiZOphOra and Bruguiera. These
belong to a group of fishes inter
eSting from the fact that their air
bladder has assumed in a measure
the function of lungs, enabling the
animals to breathe atmospheric air.
Natives of Good Appearance.
The natives of Guam are, as a
rule, of good physique and pleas
ing appearance. Owing TO their
mixed blood, their complexion va
rieS from the white of a Caucasion
to the brown of a Malay. Most Of
them have glossy black hair, which
is either straight or slightly curly.
1t is worn short by the men and
long by the women, either braided,
cOiled, or dressed after the styles
prevailing in Manila.
Though the natives of Guam are
naturally intelligent and quick to
learn, little was done for their edu-
cation until comparatively recent
years. The college of San Juan de
Letran was founded by Queen
Maria Anna of Austria, widow of
Philip ", who settled upon it an
annual endowment of 5000 pesos.
Through misrepresentation and dis
honesty the annual income of the
college gradually dwindled to about
1000 pesos. The greater part of
this was absorbed by the rector,
who was usually the priest sta
toned at Agana, and by the run
ming expenses of the school, which
were the subsistence and wages
paid to janitor, porter, steward,
doctor, and the lighting of the
building.
The people are essentially agri-
cultural. There are few masters
and few servants on the island. AS
a rule the farms are not too exten-
sive to be cultivated by the family,
all of whom, even the .ittle children.
lend hand. Often the owners of
neighbOring farms work together in
communal fashion, one day on AS
corn, the next day on BIS, and so
on, laughing, singing and skylark-
ing at their work and stopping
whenever they feel so inclined to
take drink of tuba from a bamboo
vessel hanging to neighboring CO.
conut tree.
Each does his share without con-
straint, nor will be indulge so free
ly in tuba as to incapacitate him
self for work, for experience has
taught the necessity of temperance.
and every one must do his share
if the services are to be reciprocal.
In the evening they separate, each
going TO his own rancho to feed his
bullock, pigs and chickens. After
good supper they lie down for the
do i
over an elastic platform of split
bamboo.
All Raise Crops.
None of the natives depends for
his livelihood on his handiwork or
trade alone. There are men who
can make shoes, tan leather, and
cut stone for building purposes, but
such a thing as a ChamOrrO shoe
maker, tanner, stone mason, or mer-
chant who supports his family by
his trade is unknown. In the midst
of building a stone wall the man
who has consented to help do the
work will probably say, Excuse me
Senor, but | must go to my rancho
for three or four days; the weeds
are getting ahead of my corn" And
when lime is needed the native to
whom one is directed may say
After l have finished gathering nv
cOconutS for cOpra l will get nv
boys to cut wood and gather lime
stone TO make a kiln. Never fear.
Senor, you shall have your lime
within six weeks"
On one occasion a blacksmith
was delayed two weeks in making
a plOw owing to the fact that the
man from whom he got his charcoal
had been so busy supplying visit
ing vessels with fruits and vege-
tables that he could not find time
to burn it.
Agana, the seat of government
and principal town, is about eight
miles from Apra harbor, a fine an
chOrage but closed to all foreign
ships, Guam is a lonely spot. see
ing only an occasional army or
navy transport, the mail steamers.
and a few American commercial
ships. Tourists are unknown.
The official currency Of the island
is that of the United States. but
the old Spanish code of laws.
slightly modified, still is effective
English, Spanish and native Ian
guageS are spoken. The schools
are conducted in English. The prin-
cipal exports are cOpra and coco
nut oil.
The governor of the island. a
naval officer appointed by the
president, takes precedence over
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