автордың кітабын онлайн тегін оқу  The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes

Tomás de Comyn

The Former Philippines Thru Foreign Eyes

Edited by Austin Craig

Copyright, 1916, by Austin Craig

Preface

Among the many wrongs done the Filipinos by Spaniards, to be charged against their undeniably large debt to Spain, one of the greatest, if not the most frequently mentioned, was taking from them their good name.

Spanish writers have never been noted for modesty or historical accuracy. Back in 1589 the printer of the English translation of Padre Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza’s “History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China” felt it necessary to prefix this warning: * * * the Spaniards (following their ambitious affections) do usually in all their writings extoll their own actions, even to the setting forth of many untruthes and incredible things, as in their descriptions of the conquistes of the east and west Indies, etc., doth more at large appeare.

Of early Spanish historians Doctor Antonio de Morga seems the single exception, and perhaps even some of his credit comes by contrast, but in later years the rule apparently has proved invariable. As the conditions in the successive periods of Spanish influence were recognized to be indicative of little progress, if not actually retrogressive, the practice grew up of correspondingly lowering the current estimates of the capacity of the Filipinos of the conquest, so that always an apparent advance appeared. This in the closing period, in order to fabricate a sufficient showing for over three centuries of pretended progress, led to the practical denial of human attributes to the Filipinos found here by Legaspi.

Against this denial to his countrymen of virtues as well as rights, Doctor Rizal opposed two briefs whose English titles are “The Philippines A Century Hence” and “The Indolence of the Filipino.” Almost every page therein shows the influence of the young student’s early reading of the hereinafter-printed studies by the German scientist Jagor, friend and counsellor in his maturer years, and the liberal Spaniard Comyn. Even his acquaintance with Morga, which eventually led to Rizal’s republication of the 1609 history long lost to Spaniards, probably was owing to Jagor, although the life-long resolution for that action can be traced to hearing of Sir John Bowring’s visit to his uncle’s home and the proposed Hakluyt Society English translation then mentioned.

The present value and interest of these now rare books has suggested their republication, to make available to Filipino students a course of study which their national hero found profitable as well as to correct the myriad misconceptions of things Philippine in the minds of those who have taken the accepted Spanish accounts as gospel truths.

Dr. L. V. Schweibs, of Berlin, made the hundreds of corrections, many reversing the meanings of former readings, which almost justify calling the revised Jagor translation a new one. Numerous hitherto-untranslated passages likewise appear. There have been left out the illustrations, from crude drawings obsolete since photographic pictures have familiarized the scenes and objects, and also the consequently superfluous references to these. No other omission has been allowed, for if one author leaned far to one side in certain debatable questions the other has been equally partisan for the opposite side, except a cerement on religion in general and discussion of the world-wide social evil were eliminated as having no particular Philippine bearing to excuse their appearance in a popular work.

The early American quotations of course are for comparison with the numerous American comments of today, and the two magazine extracts give English accounts a century apart. Virchow’s matured views have been substituted for the pioneer opinions he furnished Professor Jagor thirty years earlier, and if Rizal’s patron in the scientific world fails at times in his facts his method for research is a safe guide.

Finally, three points should constantly be borne in mind: (1) allowance must be made for the lessening Spanish influence, surely more foreign to this seafaring people than the present modified Anglo-Saxon education, and so more artificial, i.e., less assimilable, as well as for the removal of the unfavorable environment, before attempting to from an opinion of the present-day Filipino from his prototype pictured in those pages; (2) foreign observers are apt to emphasize what is strange to them in describing other lands than their own and to leave unnoted points of resemblance which may be much more numerous; (3) Rizal’s judgment that his countrymen were more like backward Europeans than Orientals was based on scientific studies of Europe’s rural districts and Philippine provincial conditions as well as of oriental country life, so that it is entitled to more weight than the commoner opinion to the contrary which though more popular has been less carefully formed.

University of the Philippines,

Manila, March 11th, 1916.

Contents

Jagor’s Travels in the Philippines      1

(The out-of-print 1875 English translation corrected from the original German text)

State of the Philippines in 1810. By Tomas de Comyn      357

(William Walton’s 1821 translation modernized)

Manila and Sulu in 1842. By Com. Chas. Wilkes, U.S.N.      459

(Narrative of U. S. Exploring Expedition 1838–42, Vol. 5)

Manila in 1819. By Lieut. John White, U.S.N.      530

(From the “History of a Voyage to the China Sea”)

The Peopling of the Philippines. By Doctor Rudolf Virchow      536

(O. T. Mason’s translation; Smithsonian Institution 1899 Report)

People and Prospects of the Philippines. By An English Merchant, 1778, and A Consul, 1878      550

(From Blackwood’s and the Cornhill Magazine)

Filipino Merchants of the Early 1890s. By F. Karuth, F.R.G.S.      552

Index

The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes

Jagor’s Travels in the Philippines

I

Difference from European time.When the clock strikes twelve in Madrid,1 it is 8 hours, 18 minutes, and 41 seconds past eight in the evening at Manila; that is to say, the latter city lies 124° 40′ 15″ to the east of the former (7 hours, 54 minutes, 35 seconds from Paris). Some time ago, however, while the new year was being celebrated in Madrid, it was only New Year’s eve at Manila.

Magellan’s mistake in reckoning.As Magellan, who discovered the Philippines in his memorable first circumnavigation of the globe, was following the sun in its apparent daily path around the world, every successive degree he compassed on his eastern course added four minutes to the length of his day; and, when he reached the Philippines, the difference amounted to sixteen hours. This, however, apparently escaped his notice, for Elcano, the captain of the only remaining vessel, was quite unaware, on his return to the longitude of his departure, why according to his ship’s log-book, he was a day behind the time of the port which he had reached again by continuously sailing westward.23

Change to the Asian day.The error remained also unheeded in the Philippines. It was still, over there the last day of the old year, while the rest of the world was commencing the new one; and this state of things continued till the close of 1844, when it was resolved, with the approval of the archbishop, to pass over New Year’s eve for once altogether.4 Since that time the Philippines are considered to lie no longer in the distant west, but in the far east, and are about eight hours in advance of their mother country. The proper field for their commerce, however, is what is to Europeans the far west; they were colonized thence, and for centuries, till 1811, they had almost no other communication with Europe but the indirect one by the annual voyage of the galleon between Manila and Acapulco. Now, however, when the eastern shores of the Pacific are at last beginning to teem with life, and, with unexampled speed, are pressing forward to grasp their stupendous future, the Philippines will no longer be able to remain in their past seclusion. No tropical Asiatic colony is so favorably situated for communication with the west coast of America, and it is only in a few matters that the Dutch Indies can compete with them for the favors of the Australian market. But, Future in American and Australian trade.on the other hand, they will have to abandon their traffic with China, whose principal emporium Manila originally was, as well as that with those westward-looking countries of Asia, Europe’s far east, which lie nearest to the Atlantic ports.56

Commercially in the New World.When the circumstances mentioned come to be realized, the Philippines, or, at any rate, the principal market for their commerce, will finally fall within the limits of the western hemisphere, to which indeed they were relegated by the illustrious Spanish geographers at Badajoz.

The Pope’s world-partitive.The Bull issued by Alexander VI,7 on May 4, 1493, which divided the earth into two hemispheres, decreed that all heathen lands discovered in the eastern half should belong to the Portuguese; in the western half to the Spaniards. According to this arrangement, the latter could only claim the Philippines under the pretext that they were situated in the western hemisphere. The demarcation line was to run from the north to the south, a hundred leagues to the south-west of all the so-called Azores and Cape de Verde Islands. In accordance with the treaty of Tordesillas, negotiated between Spain and Portugal on June 7, 1494, and approved by Julius II, in 1506, this line was drawn three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape de Verde Islands.

Faulty Spanish and Portuguese geography.At that time Spanish and Portuguese geographers reckoned seventeen and one-half leagues to a degree on the equator. In the latitude of the Cape de Verde Islands, three hundred and seventy leagues made 21° 55′. If to this we add the longitudinal difference between the westernmost point of the group and Cadiz, a difference of 18° 48′, we get 40° 43′ west, and 139° 17′ east from Cadiz (in round numbers 47° west and 133° east), as the limits of the Spanish hemisphere. At that time, however, the existing means for such calculations were entirely insufficient.

Extravagant Spanish claims thru ignorance.The latitude was measured with imperfect astrolabes, or wooden quadrants, and calculated from very deficient tables; the variation of the compass, moreover, was almost unknown, as well as the use of the log.8 Both method and instruments were wanting for useful longitudinal calculations. It was under these circumstances that the Spaniards attempted, at Badajoz, to prove to the protesting Portuguese that the eastern boundary line intersected the mouths of the Ganges, and proceeded to lay claim to the possession of the Spice Islands.

Spain’s error in calculation.The eastern boundary should, in reality, have been drawn 46½° further to the east, that is to say, as much further as it is from Berlin to the coast of Labrador, or to the lesser Altai; for, in the latitude of Calcutta 46½° are equivalent to two thousand five hundred and seventy-five nautical miles. Albo’s log-book gives the difference in longitude between the most eastern islands of the Archipelago and Cape Fermoso (Magellan’s Straits), as 106° 30′, while in reality it amounts to 159° 85′.

Moluccan rights sold to Portugal.The disputes between the Spaniards and the Portuguese, occasioned by the uncertainty of the eastern boundary—Portugal had already founded a settlement in the Spice Islands—were set at rest by an agreement made in 1529, in which Charles V. abandoned his pretended rights to the Moluccas in favor of Portugal, for the sum of 350,000 ducats. The Philippines, at that time, were of no value.

Foreign mail facilities.The distance from Manila to Hongkong is six hundred fifty nautical miles, and the course is almost exactly south-east. The mail steamer running between the two ports makes the trip in from three to four days. This allows of a fortnightly postal communication between the colony and the rest of the world.9

Slight share in world commerce.This small steamer is the only thing to remind an observer at Hongkong, a port thronged with the ships of all nations, that an island so specially favored in conditions and fertility lies in such close proximity.

Little commerce with Spain.Although the Philippines belong to Spain, there is but little commerce between the two countries. Once the tie which bound them was so close that Manila was wont to celebrate the arrival of the Spanish mail with Te Deums and bell-ringing, in honor of the successful achievement of so stupendous a journey. Until Portugal fell to Spain, the road round Africa to the Philippines was not open to Spanish vessels. The condition of the overland route is sufficiently shown by the fact that two Augustinian monks who, in 1603, were entrusted with an important message for the king, and who chose the direct line through Goa, Turkey, and Italy, needed three years for reaching Madrid.10

Former Spanish ships mainly carried foreign goods.The trade by Spanish ships, which the merchants were compelled to patronize in order to avoid paying an additional customs tax, in spite of the protective duties for Spanish products, was almost exclusively in foreign goods to the colony and returning the products of the latter for foreign ports. The traffic with Spain was limited to the conveyance of officials, priests, and their usual necessaries, such as provisions, wine and other liquors; and, except a few French novels, some atrociously dull books, histories of saints, and similar works.

Manila’s fine bay.The Bay of Manila is large enough to contain the united fleets of Europe; it has the reputation of being one of the finest in the world. The aspect of the coast, however, to a stranger arriving, as did the author, at the close of the dry season, falls short of the lively descriptions of some travellers. The circular bay, one hundred twenty nautical miles in circumference, the waters of which wash the shores of five different provinces, is fringed in the neighborhood of Manila by a level coast, behind which rises an equally flat table land. The scanty vegetation in the foreground, consisting chiefly of bamboos and areca palms, was dried up by the sun; while in the far distance the dull uniformity of the landscape was broken by the blue hills of San Mateo. In the rainy season the numerous unwalled canals overflow their banks and form a series of connected lakes, which soon, however, change into luxuriant and verdant ricefields.

City’s appearance mediaeval European.Manila is situated on both sides of the river Pasig. The town itself, surrounded with walls and ramparts, with its low tiled roofs and a few towers, had, in 1859, the appearance of some ancient European fortress. Four years later the greater part of it was destroyed by an earthquake.

The 1863 earthquake.On June 3, 1863, at thirty-one minutes past seven in the evening, after a day of tremendous heat while all Manila was busy in its preparations for the festival of Corpus Christi, the ground suddenly rocked to and fro with great violence. The firmest buildings reeled visibly, walls crumbled, and beams snapped in two. The dreadful shock lasted half a minute; but this little interval was enough to change the whole town into a mass of ruins, and to bury alive hundreds of its inhabitants.11 A letter of the governor-general, which I have seen, states that the cathedral, the government-house, the barracks, and all the public buildings of Manila were entirely destroyed, and that the few private houses which remained standing threatened to fall in. Later accounts speak of four hundred killed and two thousand injured, and estimate the loss at eight millions of dollars. Forty-six public and five hundred and seventy private buildings were thrown down; twenty-eight public and five hundred twenty-eight private buildings were nearly destroyed, and all the houses left standing were more or less injured.

Damage in Cavite.At the same time, an earthquake of forty seconds’ duration occurred at Cavite, the naval port of the Philippines, and destroyed many buildings.

Destruction in walled city.Three years afterwards, the Duc d’Alencon (Lucon et Mindanao; Paris, 1870, S. 38) found the traces of the catastrophe everywhere. Three sides of the principal square of the city, in which formerly stood the government, or governor’s, palace, the cathedral, and the townhouse, were lying like dust heaps overgrown with weeds. All the large public edifices were “temporarily” constructed of wood; but nobody then seemed to plan anything permanent.

Former heavy shocks.Manila is very often subject to earthquakes; the most fatal occurred in 1601; in 1610 (Nov. 30); in 1645 (Nov. 30); in 1658 (Aug. 20); in 1675; in 1699; in 1796; in 1824; in 1852; and in 1863. In 1645, six hundred12, or, according to some accounts, three thousand13 persons perished, buried under the ruins of their houses. Their monastery, the church of the Augustinians, and that of the Jesuits, were the only public buildings which remained standing.

Frequent minor disturbances.Smaller shocks, which suddenly set the hanging lamps swinging, occur very often and generally remain unnoticed. The houses are on this account generally of but one story, and the loose volcanic soil on which they are built may lessen the violence of the shock. Their heavy tiled roofs, however, appear very inappropriate under such circumstances. Earthquakes are also of frequent occurrence in the provinces, but they, as a rule, cause so little damage, owing to the houses being constructed of timber or bamboo, that they are never mentioned.

Scanty data available.M. Alexis Perrey (Mém. de l’Académie de Dijon, 1860) has published a list, collected with much diligence from every accessible source, of the earthquakes which have visited the Philippines, and particularly Manila. But the accounts, even of the most important, are very scanty, and the dates of their occurrence very unreliable. Of the minor shocks, only a few are mentioned, those which were noticed by scientific observers accidentally present at the time.

The 1610 catastrophe.Aduarte (I. 141) mentions a tremendous earthquake which occurred in 1610. I briefly quote his version of the details of the catastrophe, as I find them mentioned nowhere else.

“Towards the close of November, 1610, on St. Andrew’s Day, a more violent earthquake than had ever before been witnessed, visited these Islands; its effects extended from Manila to the extreme end of the province of Nueva Segovia (the whole northern part of Luzon), a distance of 200 leagues. It caused great destruction over the entire area; in the province of Ilocos it buried palm trees, so that only the tops of their branches were left above the earth’s surface; through the power of the earthquake mountains were pushed against each other; it threw down many buildings, and killed a great number of people. Its fury was greatest in Nueva Segovia, where it opened the mountains, and created new lake basins. The earth threw up immense fountains of sand, and vibrated so terribly that the people, unable to stand upon it, laid down and fastened themselves to the ground, as if they had been on a ship in a stormy sea. In the range inhabited by the Mendayas a mountain fell in, crushing a village and killing its inhabitants. An immense portion of the cliff sank into the river; and now, where the stream was formerly bordered by a range of hills of considerable altitude, its banks are nearly level with the watercourse. The commotion was so great in the bed of the river that waves arose like those of the ocean, or as if the water had been lashed by a furious wind. Those edifices which were of stone suffered the most damage, our church and the convent fell in, etc., etc.”

1 New York noon is Manilla 1:04 next morning.—C.

2 Navarrete, IV, 97 Obs. 2a.

3 According to Albo’s ship journal, he perceived the difference at the Cape de Verde Islands on July 9, 1522; “Y este día fué miercoles, y este día tienen ellos pot jueves.” (And this day was Wednesday and this day they had as Thursday.)

4 In a note on the 18th page of the masterly English (Hakluyt Society) translation of Morga, I find the curious statement that a similar rectification was made at the same time at Macao, where the Portuguese, who reached it on an easterly course, had made the mistake of a day the other way.

5 Towards the close of the sixteenth century the duty upon the exports to China amounted to $40,000 and their imports to at least $1,330,000. In 1810, after more than two centuries of undisturbed Spanish rule, the latter had sunk to $1,150,000. Since then they have gradually increased; and in 1861 they reached $2,130,000.

6 The Panama canal prevents this.—C.

7 Navarrete, IV, 54 Obs. 1a.

8 According to Gehler’s Phys. Lex. VI, 450, the log was first mentioned by Purchas in an account of a voyage to the East Indies in 1608. Pigafetta does not cite it in his treatise on navigation; but in the forty-fifth page of his work it is said: “Secondo la misura che facevamo del viaggio colla cadena a poppa, noi percorrevamo 60 a 70 leghe al giorno.” This was as rapid a rate as that of our (1870) fastest steamboats—ten knots an hour.

9 The European mail reaches Manila through Singapore and Hongkong. Singapore is about equidistant from the other two places. Letters therefore could be received in the Philippines as soon as in China, if they were sent direct from Singapore. In that case, however, a steamer communication with that port must be established, and the traffic is not yet sufficiently developed to bear the double expense. According to the report of the English Consul (May, 1870), there is, besides the Government steamer, a private packet running between Hongkong and Manila. The number of passengers it conveyed to China amounted, in 1868, to 441 Europeans and 3,048 Chinese; total, 3,489. The numbers carried the other way were 330 Europeans and 4,664 Chinese; in all, 4,994. The fare is $80 for Europeans and $20 for Chinamen.

10 Zuñiga, Mavers, I, 225.

11 Dr. Pedro Pelaez, in temporary charge of the diocese and dying in the cathedral, was the foremost Filipino victim. Funds raised in Spain for relief never reached the sufferers, but not till the end of Spanish rule was it safe to comment on this in the Philippines.—C.

12 Zuñiga, XVIII, M. Velarde, p. 139.

13 Captain Salmon, Goch., S. 33.

II

Customhouse red tape.The customs inspection, and the many formalities which the native minor officials exercised without any consideration appear all the more wearisome to the new arrival when contrasted with the easy routine of the English free ports of the east he has just quitted. The guarantee of a respectable merchant obtained for me, as a particular favor, permission to disembark after a detention of sixteen hours; but even then I was not allowed to take the smallest article of luggage on shore with me.

Shelter for shipping.During the south-west monsoon and the stormy season that accompanies the change of monsoons, the roadstead is unsafe. Larger vessels are then obliged to seek protection in the port of Cavite, seven miles further down the coast; but during the north-east monsoons they can safely anchor half a league from the coast. All ships under three hundred tons burden pass the breakwater and enter the Pasig, where, as far as the bridge, they lie in serried rows, extending from the shore to the middle of the stream, and bear witness by their numbers, as well as by the bustle and stir going on amongst them, to the activity of the home trade.

Silting up of river mouth.In every rain-monsoon, the Pasig river sweeps such a quantity of sediment against the breakwater that just its removal keeps, as it seems, the dredging machine stationed there entirely occupied.

Few foreign vessels.The small number of the vessels in the roadstead, particularly of those of foreign countries, was the more remarkable as Manila was the only port in the Archipelago that had any commerce with foreign countries. It is true that since 1855 three other ports, to which a fourth may now be added, had gotten this privilege; but at the time of my arrival, in March, 1859, not one of them had ever been entered by a foreign vessel, and it was a few weeks after my visit that the first English ship sailed into Iloilo to take in a cargo of sugar for Australia.1

Antiquated restrictions on trade.The reason of this peculiarity laid partly in the feeble development of agriculture, in spite of the unexampled fertility of the soil, but chiefly in the antiquated and artificially limited conditions of trade. The customs duties were in themselves not very high. They were generally about seven per cent. upon merchandise conveyed under the Spanish flag, and about twice as much for that carried in foreign bottoms. When the cargo was of Spanish production, the duty was three per cent. if carried in national vessels, eight per cent. if in foreign ships. The latter were only allowed, as a rule, to enter the port in ballast.2

Discouragements for foreign ships.As, however, the principal wants of the colony were imported from England and abroad, these were either kept back till an opportunity occurred of sending them in Spanish vessels, which charged nearly a treble freight (from £4 to £5 instead of from £1½, to £2 per ton), and which only made their appearance in British ports at rare intervals, or they were sent to Singapore and Hongkong, where they were transferred to Spanish ships. Tonnage dues were levied, moreover, upon ships in ballast, and upon others which merely touched at Manila without unloading or taking in fresh cargo; and, if a vessel under such circumstances landed even the smallest parcel, it was no longer rated as a ship in ballast, but charged on the higher scale. Vessels were therefore forced to enter the port entirely devoid of cargo, or carrying sufficient to cover the expense of the increased harbor dues; almost an impossibility for foreign ships, on account of the differential customs rates, which acted almost as a complete prohibition. The result was that foreign vessels came there only in ballast, or when summoned for some particular object.

Export taxes.The exports of the colony were almost entirely limited to its raw produce, which was burdened with an export duty of three per cent. Exports leaving under the Spanish flag were only taxed to the amount of one per cent.; but, as scarcely any export trade existed with Spain, and as Spanish vessels, from their high rates of freight, were excluded from the carrying trade of the world, the boon to commerce was a delusive one.3

Laws drove away trade.These inept excise laws, hampered with a hundred suspicious forms, frightened away the whole carrying trade from the port; and its commission merchants were frequently unable to dispose of the local produce. So trifling was the carrying trade that the total yearly average of the harbor dues, calculated from the returns of ten years, barely reached $10,000.

Manila’s favorable location.The position of Manila, a central point betwixt Japan, China, Annam, the English and Dutch ports of the Archipelago and Australia, is in itself extremely favorable to the development of a world-wide trade.4 At the time of the north-eastern monsoons, during our winter, when vessels for the sake of shelter pass through the Straits of Gilolo on their way from the Indian Archipelago to China, they are obliged to pass close to Manila. They would find it a most convenient station, for the Philippines, as we have already mentioned, are particularly favorably placed for the west coast of America.

The 1869 reform.A proof that the Spanish Ultramar minister fully recognizes and appreciates these circumstances appears in his decree, of April 5, 1869, which is of the highest importance for the future of the colony. It probably would have been issued earlier had not the Spanish and colonial shipowners, pampered by the protective system, obstinately struggled against an innovation which impaired their former privileges and forced them to greater activity.

Bettered conditions.The most noteworthy points of the decree are the moderation of the differential duties, and their entire extinction at the expiration of two years; the abrogation of all export duties; and the consolidation of the more annoying port dues into one single charge.

Pre-Spanish foreign commerce.When the Spaniards landed in the Philippines they found the inhabitants clad in silks and cotton stuffs, which were imported by Chinese ships to exchange for gold-dust, sapan wood,5 holothurian, edible birds’ nests, and skins. The Islands were also in communication with Japan, Cambodia, Siam,6 the Moluccas, and the Malay Archipelago. De Barros mentions that vessels from Luzon visited Malacca in 1511.7

Early extension under Spain.The greater order which reigned in the Philippines after the advent of the Spaniards, and still more the commerce they opened with America and indirectly with Europe, had the effect of greatly increasing the Island trade, and of extending it beyond the Indies to the Persian Gulf. Manila was the great mart for the products of Eastern Asia, with which it loaded the galleons that, as early as 1565, sailed to and from New Spain (at first to Navidad, after 1602 to Acapulco), and brought back silver as their principal return freight.8

Jealousy of Seville monopolists.The merchants in New Spain and Peru found this commerce so advantageous, that the result was very damaging to the exports from the mother country, whose manufactured goods were unable to compete with the Indian cottons and the Chinese silks. The spoilt monopolists of Seville demanded therefore the abandonment of a colony which required considerable yearly contributions from the home exchequer, which stood in the way of the mother country’s exploiting her American colonies, and which let the silver of His Majesty’s dominions pass into the hands of the heathen. Since the foundation of the colony they had continually thrown impediments in its path.9 Their demands, however, were vain in face of the ambition of the throne and the influence of the clergy; rather, responding to the views of that time the merchants of Peru and New Spain were forced, in the interests of the mother country, to obtain merchandise from China, either directly, or through Manila. The inhabitants of the Philippines were alone permitted to send Chinese goods to America, but only to the yearly value of $250,000. The return trade was limited to $500,000.10

Prohibition of China trading.The first amount was afterwards increased to $300,000, with a proportionate augmentation of the return freight; but the Spanish were forbidden to visit China, so that they were obliged to await the arrival of the junks. Finally, in 1720, Chinese goods were strictly prohibited throughout the whole of the Spanish possessions in both hemispheres. A decree of 1734 (amplified in 1769) once more permitted trade with China, and increased the maximum value of the annual freightage to Acapulco to $500,000 (silver) and that of the return trade to twice the amount.

Higher limit on suspension of galleon voyages.After the galleons to Acapulco, which had been maintained at the expense of the government treasury, had stopped their voyages, commerce with America was handled by merchants who were permitted in 1820, to export goods up to $750,000 annually from the Philippines and to visit San Blas, Guayaquil and Callao, besides Acapulco.

British occupation inspired new wants.This concession, however, was not sufficient to compensate Philippine commerce for the injuries it suffered through the separation of Mexico from Spain. The possession of Manila by the English, in 1762, made its inhabitants acquainted with many industrial products which the imports from China and India were unable to offer them. To satisfy these new cravings Spanish men-of-war were sent, towards the close of 1764, to the colony with products of Spanish industries, such as wine, provisions, hats, cloth, hardware, and fancy articles.

Manila oppositions to trade innovations.The Manila merchants, accustomed to a lucrative trade with Acapulco, strenuously resisted this innovation, although it was a considerable source of profit to them, for the Crown purchased the Indian and Chinese merchandise for its return freights from Manila at double their original value. In 1784, however, the last of these ships arrived.

Subterfuges of European traders.After the English invasion, European vessels were strictly forbidden to visit Manila; but as that city did not want to do without Indian merchandise, and could not import it in its own ships, it was brought there in English and French bottoms, which assumed a Turkish name, and were provided with an Indian sham-captain.

The “Philippine Company” monopoly.In 1785, the Compañía de Filipinas obtained a monopoly of the trade between Spain and the colony, but it was not allowed to interfere with the direct traffic between Acapulco and Manila. The desire was to acquire large quantities of colonial produce, silk, indigo, cinnamon, cotton, pepper, etc., in order to export it somewhat as was done later on by the system of culture in Java; but as it was unable to obtain compulsory labor, it entirely failed in its attempted artificial development of agriculture.

Losses by bad management.The Compañía suffered great losses through its erroneous system of operation, and the incapacity of its officials (it paid, for example, $13.50 for a picul of pepper which cost from three to four dollars in Sumatra).

Entrance of foreign ships and firms.In 1789 foreign ships were allowed to import Chinese and Indian produce, but none from Europe. In 1809 an English commercial house obtained permission to establish itself in Manila.11 In 1814, after the conclusion of the peace with France, the same permission, with greater or less restrictions, was granted to all foreigners.

Trade free but port charges discriminating. In 1820 the direct trade between the Philippines and Spain was thrown open without any limitations to the exports of colonial produce, on the condition that the value of the Indian and Chinese goods in each expedition should not exceed $50,000. Ever since 1834, when the privileges of the Compañía expired, free trade has been permitted in Manila; foreign ships, however, being charged double dues. Four new ports have been thrown open to general trade since 1855; and in 1869 the liberal tariff previously alluded to was issued.

Port’s importance lessened under Spain. Today, after three centuries of almost undisturbed Spanish rule, Manila has by no means added to the importance it possessed shortly after the advent of the Spaniards. The isolation of Japan and the Indo-Chinese empires, a direct consequence of the importunities and pretensions of the Catholic missionaries,12 the secession of the colonies on the west coast of America, above all the long continuance of a distrustful commercial and colonial policy—a policy which exists even at the present day—while important markets, based on large capital and liberal principles, were being established in the most favored spots of the British and Dutch Indies; all these circumstances have contributed to this result and thrown the Chinese trade into other channels. The cause is as clear as the effect, yet it might be erroneous to ascribe the policy so long pursued to short-sightedness. The Spaniards, in their schemes of colonization, had partly a religious purpose in view, but the government discovered a great source of influence in the disposal of the extremely lucrative colonial appointments. The crown itself, as well as its favorites, thought of nothing but extracting the most it could from the colony, and had neither the intention or the power to develop the natural wealth of the country by agriculture and commerce. Inseparable from this policy, was the persistent exclusion of foreigners.13 It seemed even more necessary in the isolated Philippines than in America to cut off the natives from all contact with foreigners, if the Spaniards had any desire to remain in undisturbed possession of the colony. In face, however, of the developed trade of today and the claims of the world to the productive powers of such an extraordinarily fruitful soil, the old restrictions can no longer be maintained, and the lately-introduced liberal tariff must be hailed as a thoroughly well-timed measure.

Galleon story sidelight on colonial history. The oft-mentioned voyages of the galleons betwixt Manila and Acapulco hold such a prominent position in the history of the Philippines, and afford such an interesting glimpse into the old colonial system, that their principal characteristics deserve some description.

Chinese part in galleon trade. In the days of Morga, towards the close of the sixteenth century, from thirty to forty Chinese junks were in the habit of annually visiting Manila (generally in March); towards the end of June a galleon used to sail for Acapulco. The trade with the latter place, the active operations of which were limited to the three central months of the year, was so lucrative, easy, and safe, that the Spaniards scarcely cared to engage in any other undertakings.

Favoritism in allotment of cargo space. As the carrying power of the annual galleon was by no means proportioned to the demand for cargo room, the governor divided it as he deemed best; the favorites, however, to whom he assigned shares in the hold, seldom traded themselves, but parted with their concessions to the merchants.

Division of space and character of cargo.According to De Guignes,14 the hold of the vessel was divided into 1,500 parts, of which the majority were allotted to the priests, and the rest to favored persons. As a matter of fact, the value of the cargo, which was officially limited to $600,000, was considerably higher. It chiefly consisted of Indian and Chinese cottons and silk stuffs (amongst others fifty thousand pairs of silk stockings from China), and gold ornaments. The value of the return freight amounted to between two and three millions of dollars.

Profit in trade.Everything in this trade was settled beforehand; the number, shape, size, and value of the bales, and even their selling price. As this was usually double the original cost, the permission to ship goods to a certain amount was equivalent, under ordinary circumstances, to the bestowal of a present of a like value. These permissions or licenses (boletas) were, at a later period, usually granted to pensioners and officers’ widows, and to officials, in lieu of an increase of salary; these favorites were forbidden, however, to make a direct use of them, for to trade with Acapulco was the sole right of those members of the Consulado (a kind of chamber of commerce) who could prove a long residence in the country and the possession of a capital of at least $8,000.

Evasion of regulations.Legentil, the astronomer, gives a full description of the regulations which prevailed in his day and the manner in which they were disobeyed. The cargo consisted of a thousand bales, each composed of four packets,15 the maximum value of each packet being fixed at $250. It was impossible to increase the amount of bales, but they pretty generally consisted of more than four packets, and their value so far exceeded the prescribed limits, that a boleta was considered to be worth from $200 to $225. The officials took good care that no goods should be smuggled on board without a boleta. These were in such demand, that, at a later period, Comyn16 saw people pay $500 for the right to ship goods, the value of which scarcely amounted to $1,000. The merchants usually borrowed the money for these undertakings from the obras pias, charitable foundations, which, up to our own time, fulfil in the Islands the purposes of banks.17 In the early days of the trade, the galleon used to leave Cavite in July and sail with a south-westerly wind beyond the tropics, until it met with a west wind at the thirty-eighth or Route outward. fortieth parallel.18 Later on the vessels were ordered to leave Cavite with the first south-westerly winds to sail along the south coast of Luzon, through San Bernardino straits, and to continue along the thirteenth parallel of north latitude19 as far to the east as possible, until the north-easterly trade wind compelled them to seek a north-west breeze in higher latitudes. They were then obliged to try the thirtieth parallel as long as possible, instead of, as formerly, the thirty-seventh. The captain of the galleon was not permitted to sail immediately northward, although to have done so would have procured him a much quicker and safer passage, and would have enabled him to reach the rainy zone more rapidly. To effect the last, indeed, was a matter of the greatest importance to him, for his vessel, overladen Water-supply crowded out by cargo. with merchandise, had but little room crowded out for water; and although he had a crew of from four hundred to six hundred hands to provide for, he was instructed to depend upon the rain he caught on the voyage; for which purpose, the galleon was provided with suitable mats and bamboo pails.20

Length of voyage.Voyages in these low latitudes were, owing to the inconstancy of the winds, extremely troublesome, and often lasted five months and upwards. The fear of exposing the costly, cumbrous vessel to the powerful and sometimes stormy winds of the higher latitudes, appears to have been the cause of these sailing orders.

California landfall.As soon as the galleon had passed the great Sargasso shoal, it took a southerly course, and touched at the southern point of the Californian peninsula (San Lucas), where news and provisions awaited it.21 In their earlier voyages, however, they must have sailed much further to the north, somewhere in the neighborhood of Cape Mendocino, and have been driven southward in sight of the coast; for Vizcaino, in the voyage of discovery he undertook in 1603, from Mexico to California, found the principal mountains and capes, although no European had ever set his foot upon them, already christened by the galleons, to which they had served as landmarks.22

Speedy return voyage.The return voyage to the Philippines was an easy one, and only occupied from forty to sixty days.23 The galleon left Acapulco in February or March, sailed southwards till it fell in with the trade wind (generally in from 10° to 11° of north latitude), which carried it easily to the Ladrone Islands, and thence reached Manila by way of Samar.24

Galleon’s size and armament.A galleon was usually of from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred tons burden, and carried fifty or sixty guns. The latter, however, were pretty generally banished to the hold during the eastward voyage. When the ship’s bows were turned towards home, and there was no longer any press of space, the guns were remounted.

Capture of “Santa Anna”.San Augustin says of the Santa Anna, which Thomas Candish captured and burnt in 1586 off the Californian coast: “Our people sailed so carelessly that they used their guns for ballast; .... the pirate’s venture was such a fortunate one that he returned to London with sails of Chinese damask and silken rigging.” The cargo was sold in Acapulco at a profit of 100 per cent., and was paid for in silver, cochineal, quicksilver, etc. Value of return freight The total value of the return freight amounted perhaps to between two and three million dollars,25 of which a quarter of a million, at least, fell to the king.

Gambling rather than commerceThe return of a galleon to Manila, laden with silver dollars and new arrivals, was a great holiday for the colony. A considerable portion of the riches they had won as easily as at the gaming table, was soon spent by the crew; when matters again returned to their usual lethargic state. It was no unfrequent event, however, for vessels to be lost. They were too often laden with a total disregard to seaworthiness, and wretchedly handled. It was favor, not capacity, that determined the patronage of these lucrative appointments.26 Many galleons fell into the hands of English and Dutch cruisers.27 “Philippine Company” and smugglers cause change.But these tremendous profits gradually decreased as the Compañía obtained the right to import Indian cottons, one of the principal articles of trade, into New Spain by way of Vera Cruz, subject to a customs duty of 6 per cent; and when English and American adventurers began to smuggle these and other goods into the country.28 Spanish coins in circulation on China coast.Finally, it may be mentioned that Spanish dollars found their way in the galleons to China and the further Indies, where they are in circulation to this day.

1 The opening of this port proved so advantageous that I intended to have given a few interesting details of its trade in a separate chapter, chiefly gathered from the verbal and written remarks of the English Vice-Consul, the late Mr. N. Loney, and from other consular reports.

2 In 1868, 112 foreign vessels, to the aggregate of 74,054 tons, and Spanish ships to the aggregate of 26,762 tons, entered the port of Manila. Nearly all the first came in ballast, but left with cargoes. The latter both came and left in freight. (English Consul’s Report, 1869.)

3 In 1868 the total exports amounted to $14,013,108; of this England alone accounted for $4,857,000, and the whole of the rest of Europe for only $102,477. The first amount does not include the tobacco duty paid to Spain by the colony, $3,169,144. (English Consul’s Report, 1869.)

4 La Pérouse said that Manila was perhaps the most fortunately situated city in the world.

5 Sapan or Sibucao, Caesalpinia Sapan. Pernambuco or Brazil wood, to which the empire of Brazil owes its name, comes from the Caesalpinia echinat and the Caesalpinia Braziliensis. (The oldest maps of America remark of Brazil: “Its only useful product is Brazil (wood).”) The sapan of the Philippines is richer in dye stuff than all other eastern asiatic woods, but it ranks below the Brazilian sapan. It has, nowadays, lost its reputation, owing to its being often stupidly cut down too early. It is sent especially to China, where it is used for dyeing or printing in red. The stuff is first macerated with alum, and then for a finish dipped in a weak alcoholic solution of alkali. The reddish brown tint so frequently met with in the clothes of the poorer Chinese is produced from sapan.

6 Large quantities of small mussel shells (Cypraea moneta) were sent at this period to Siam, where they are still used as money.

7 Berghaus’ Geo. hydrogr. Memoir.

8 Manila was first founded in 1571, but as early as 1565, Urdaneta, Legaspi’s pilot, had found the way back through the Pacific Ocean while he was seeking in the higher northern latitudes for a favorable north-west wind. Strictly speaking, however, Urdaneta was not the first to make use of the return passage, for one of Legaspi’s five vessels, under the command of Don Alonso de Arellano, which had on board as pilot Lope Martin, a mulatto, separated itself from the fleet after they had reached the Islands, and returned to New Spain on a northern course, in order to claim the promised reward for the discovery. Don Alonso was disappointed, however, by the speedy return of Urdaneta.

9 Kottenkamp I., 1594.

10 At first the maximum value of the imports only was limited, and the Manila merchants were not over scrupulous in making false statements as to their worth; to put an end to these malpractices a limit was placed to the amount of silver exported. According to Mas, however, the silver illegally exported amounted to six or eight times the prescribed limit.

11 La Pérouse mentions a French firm (Sebis), that, in 1787, had been for many years established in Manila.

12 R. Cocks to Thomas Wilson (Calendar of State Papers, India, No. 823) .... “The English will obtain a trade in China, so they bring not in any padres (as they term them), which the Chinese cannot abide to hear of, because heretofore they came in such swarms, and are always begging without shame.”

13 As late as 1857 some old decrees, passed against the establishment of foreigners, were renewed. A royal ordinance of 1844 prohibits the admission of strangers into the interior of the colony under any pretext whatsoever.

14 Vide Pinkerton.

15 Each packet was 5 × 2½ × 1½ = 18.75 Spanish cubic feet. St. Croix.

16 Vide Comyn’s comercio exterior.

17 The obras pias were pious legacies which usually stipulated that two-thirds of their value should be advanced at interest for the furtherance of maritime commercial undertakings until the premiums, which for a voyage to Acapulco amounted to 50, to China 25, and to India 35 per cent., had increased the original capital to a certain amount. The interest of the whole was then to be devoted to masses for the founders, or to other pious and benevolent purposes. A third was generally kept as a reserve fund to cover possible losses. The government long since appropriated these reserve funds as compulsory loans, “but they are still considered as existing.”

When the trade with Acapulco came to an end, the principals could no longer be laid out according to the intentions of the founders, and they were lent out at interest in other ways. By a royal ordinance of November 3, 1854, a junta was appointed to administer the property of the . The total capital of the five endowments (in reality only four, for one of them no longer possessed anything) amounted to nearly a million of dollars. The profits from the loans were distributed according to the amounts of the original capital, which, however, no longer existed in cash, as the government had disposed of them.

18 Vide Thevenot.

19 According to Morga, between the fourteenth and fifteenth.

20 Vide De Guignes, Pinkerton XI, and Anson X.

21 Vide Anson.

22 Randolph’s History of California.

23 In Morga’s time, the galleons took seventy days to the Ladrone Islands, from ten to twelve from thence to Cape Espiritu Santo, and eight more to Manila.

24 A very good description of these voyages may be found in the 10th chapter of Anson’s work, which also contains a copy of a sea map, captured in the Cavadonga, displaying the proper track of the galleons to and from Acapulco.

25 De Guignes.

26 The officer in command of the expedition, to whom the title of general was given, had always a captain under his orders, and his share in the gain of each trip amounted to $40,000. The pilot was content with $20,000. The first lieutenant (master) was entitled to 9 per cent on the sale of the cargo, and pocketed from this and from the profits of his own private ventures upwards of $350,000. (Vide Arenas.)

27 The value of the cargoes Anson captured amounted to $1,313,000, besides 35,682 ounces of fine silver and cochineal. While England and Spain were at peace, Drake plundered the latter to the extent of at least one and a half million of dollars. Thomas Candish burnt the rich cargo of the Santa Anna, as he had no room for it on board his own vessel.

28 For instance, in 1786 the San Andres, which had a cargo on board valued at a couple of millions, found no market for it in Acapulco; the same thing happened in 1787 to the San Jose, and a second time in 1789 to the San Andres.

III

The walled city of Manila.The city proper of Manila, inhabited by Spaniards, Creoles, the Filipinos directly connected with them, and Chinese, lies, surrounded by walls and wide ditches, on the left or southern bank of the Pasig, looking towards the sea.1 It is a hot, dried-up place, full of monasteries, convents, barracks, and government buildings. Safety, not appearance, was the object of its builders. It reminds the beholder of a Spanish provincial town, and is, next to Goa, the oldest city in the Indies. Foreigners reside on the northern bank of the river; in Binondo, the headquarters of wholesale and retail commerce, or in the pleasant suburban villages, which blend into a considerable whole. Population.The total population of city and suburbs has been estimated, perhaps with some exaggeration, at 200,000. Bridges.A handsome old stone bridge of ten arches serves as the communication between the two banks of the Pasig, which, more recently, has also been spanned by an iron suspension bridge.2 Very little intercourse exists between the inhabitants of Manila and Binondo. Friction between classes.Life in the city proper cannot be very pleasant; pride, envy, place-hunting, and caste hatred, are the order of the day; the Spaniards consider themselves superior to the creoles, who, in their turn, reproach the former with the taunt that they have only come to the colony to save themselves from starvation. A similar hatred and envy exists between the whites and the mestizos. This state of things is to be found in all Spanish colonies, and is chiefly caused by the colonial policy of Madrid, which always does its best to sow discord between the different races and classes of its foreign possessions, under the idea that their union would imperil the sway of the mother country.3

Few large landowners.In Manila, moreover, this state of things was rendered worse by the fact that the planter class, whose large landed possessions always give it a strong interest in the country of its inhabitance, was entirely wanting. At the present day, however, the increasing demand for the produce of the colony seems to be bringing about a pleasant change in this respect. Spaniards transient.The manner in which the Spanish population of the Islands was affected by the gambling ventures of the galleons, at one time the only source of commercial wealth, is thus described by Murillo Velarde (page 272):—“The Spaniards who settle here look upon these Islands as a tavern rather than a permanent home. If they marry, it is by the merest chance; where can a family be found that has been settled here for several generations? The father amasses wealth, the son spends it, the grandson is a beggar. The largest capitals are not more stable than the waves of the ocean, across the crests of which they were gathered.”

Discomforts and the high cost of living.There is nothing like the same amount of sociability amongst the foreigners in Binondo as prevails in English and Dutch colonies; and scarcely any intercourse at all with the Spaniards, who envy the strangers and almost seem to look upon the gains the latter make in the country as so many robberies committed upon themselves, its owners. Besides all this, living is very expensive, much more so than in Singapore and Batavia. To many, the mere cost of existence seems greatly out of proportion to their official salaries. The (European style) houses, which are generally spacious, are gloomy and ugly, and not well ventilated for such a climate. Instead of light jalousies, they are fitted with heavy sash windows, which admit the light through thin oyster shells, forming small panes scarcely two square inches in area, and held together by laths an inch thick. The ground floors of the houses are, on account of the great damp, sensibly enough, generally uninhabited; and are used as cellars, stables, and servant’s offices.

Native houses comfortable and unchanged.The unassuming, but for their purposes very practical houses, of boards, bamboos, and (nipa) palm leaves, are supported on account of the damp on isolated beams or props; and the space beneath, which is generally fenced in with a railing, is used as a stable or a warehouse; such was the case as early as the days of Magellan. These dwellings4 are very lightly put together. La Pérouse estimates the weight of some of them, furniture and all, at something less than two hundred pounds. Nearly all these houses, as well as the huts of the natives, are furnished with an azotea, that is, an uncovered space, on the same level as the dwelling, which takes the place of yard and balcony. The Spaniards appear to have copied this useful contrivance from the Moors, but the natives were acquainted with them before the arrival of the Europeans, for Morga mentions similar batalanes.

Neglected river and canals offensive.In the suburbs nearly every hut stands in its own garden. The river is often quite covered with green scum; and dead cats and dogs surrounded with weeds, which look like cabbage-lettuce, frequently adorn its waters. In the dry season, the numerous canals of the suburbs are so many stagnant drains, and at each ebb of the tide the ditches around the town exhibit a similar spectacle.

Dreary and unprogressive life.Manila offers very few opportunities for amusement. There was no Spanish theatre open during my stay there, but Tagalog plays (translations) were sometimes represented. The town possessed no club, and contained no readable books. Never once did the least excitement enliven its feeble newspapers, for the items of intelligence, forwarded fortnightly from Hongkong, were sifted by priestly censors, who left little but the chronicles of the Spanish and French courts to feed the barren columns of the local sheets.5 The pompously celebrated religious festivals were the only events that sometimes chequered the wearisome monotony.

Cock-fighting.The chief amusement of the Filipinos is cock-fighting, which is carried on with a passionate eagerness that must strike every stranger. Nearly every man keeps a fighting cock. Many are never seen out of doors without their favorite in their arms; they pay as much as $50 and upwards for these pets, and heap the tenderest caresses on them. The passion for cock-fighting can well be termed a national vice; but the practice may have been introduced by the Spaniards, or the Mexicans who accompanied them, as, in a like manner, the habit of smoking opium among the Chinese, which has become a national curse, was first introduced by the English. Probably Malay Custom.It is, however, more probable that the Malays brought the custom into the country. In the eastern portion of the Philippines, cock-fighting was unknown in the days of Pigafetta. The first cock-fight he met with was at Palawan. “They keep large cocks, which from a species of superstition, they never eat, but keep for fighting purposes. Heavy bets are made on the upshot of the contest, which are paid to the owner of the winning bird.”6 The sight is one extremely repulsive to Europeans. The cockpit.The ring around the cockpit is crowded with men, perspiring at every pore, while their countenances bear the imprint of the ugliest passions. Each bird is armed with a sharp curved spur, three inches long capable of making deep wounds, and which always causes the death of one or both birds by the serious injuries it inflicts. If a cock shows symptoms of fear and declines the encounter, it is plucked alive. Incredibly large sums, in proportion to the means of the gamblers, are wagered on the result. Its bad influence.It is very evident that these cock-fights must have a most demoralising effect upon a people so addicted to idleness and dissipation, and so accustomed to give way to the impulse of the moment. Their effect is to make them little able to resist the temptation of procuring money without working for it. The passion for the game leads many to borrow at usury, to embezzlement, to theft, and even to highway robbery. The land and sea pirates, of whom I shall speak presently, are principally composed of ruined gamesters.7

Feminine attractiveness.In the comeliness of the women who lend animation to its streets Manila surpasses all other towns in the Indian Archipelago. Mallat describes them in glowing colors. A charming picture of Manila street life, full of local color, is given in the very amusing Aventures d’un Gentilhomme Breton.8

Mestizas.How many of the prettiest Filipinas are of perfectly unmixed blood, it is, I confess, difficult to decide. Many of them are very fair and of quite an European type, and are thereby easily distinguished from their sisters in the outlying provinces. The immediate environs of Manila can boast many beautiful spots, but they are not the resort of the local rank and fashion, the object of whose daily promenade is the display of their toilettes, and not the enjoyment of nature. In the hot season, all who can afford it are driven every evening along the The Luneta.dusty streets to a promenade on the beach, which was built a short time back, where several times a week the band of a native regiment plays fairly good music, and there walk formally up and down. All the Spaniards The Angelas.are in uniform or in black frock coats. When the bells ring out for evening prayer, carriages, horsemen, pedestrians, all suddenly stand motionless; the men take off their hats, and everybody appears momentarily absorbed in prayer.

Botanical gardens.The same governor who laid out the promenade established a botanical garden. It is true that everything he planted in it, exposed on a marshy soil to the full heat of a powerful sun, soon faded away; but its ground was enclosed and laid out, and though it was overgrown with weeds, it had at least received a name. At present it is said to be in better condition.9

Pretty girls in gay garments.The religious festivals in the neighborhood of Manila are well worth a visit, if only for the sake of the numerous pretty Filipinas and mestizas in their best clothes who make their appearance in the evening and promenade up and down the streets, which are illuminated and profusely decked with flowers and bright colors. They offer a charming spectacle, particularly to a stranger lately arrived from Malaysia. The Filipinas are very beautifully formed. They have luxuriant black hair, and large dark eyes; the upper part of their bodies is clad in a homespun but often costly material of transparent fineness and snow-white purity; and, from their waist downwards, they are wrapped in a brightly-striped cloth (saya), which falls in broad folds, and which, as far as the knee, is so tightly compressed with a dark shawl (lapis), closely drawn around the figure, that the rich variegated folds of the saya burst out beneath it like the blossoms of a pomegranate. This swathing only allows the young girls to take very short steps, and this timidity of gait, in unison with their downcast eyes, gives them a very modest appearance. On their naked feet they wear embroidered slippers of such a small size that their little toes protrude for want of room, and grasp the outside of the sandal.10

Dress of the poorer women.The poorer women clothe themselves in a saya and in a so-called chemise, which is so extremely short that it frequently does not even reach the first fold of the former. In the more eastern islands grown-up girls and women wear, with the exception of a Catholic amulet, nothing but these two garments, which are, particularly after bathing, and before they get dried by the sun, nearly transparent.

Men’s clothing.A hat, trousers, and a shirt worn outside them, both made of coarse Guinara cloth, compose the dress of the men of the poorer classes. The shirts worn by the wealthy are often made of an extremely expensive home-made material, woven from the fibers of the pineapple or the banana. Some of them are ornamented with silk stripes, some are plain. They are also frequently manufactured entirely of jusi (Chinese floret silk), in which case they will not stand washing, and can only be worn once. The hat (salacot), a round piece of home-made plaiting, is used as both umbrella and sunshade, and is often adorned with silver ornaments of considerable value. The “Principales”.The principalia class enjoy the special privilege of wearing short jackets above their shirts, and are usually easily recognizable by their amusing assumption of dignity, and by the faded cylindrical hats, yellow with age, family heirlooms, constantly worn. The dandies.The native dandies wear patent leather shoes on their naked feet, tight-fitting trousers of some material striped with black and white or with some other glaringly-contrasted colors, a starched plaited shirt of European make, a chimney-pot silk hat, and carry a cane in their hands. The servants.The servants waiting at dinner in their white starched shirts and trousers are by no means an agreeable spectacle, and I never realised the full ludicrousness of European male costume till my eye fell upon its caricature, exemplified in the person of a “Manila dandy.”

Mestiza costume.The mestizas dress like the Filipinas, but do not wear the tapis, and those of them who are married to Europeans are generally clad in both shoes and stockings. Many of the mestizas are extremely pretty, but their gait drags a little, from their habit of wearing slippers. As a rule they are prudent, thrifty, and Clever business women.clever business women, but their conversation is often awkward and tedious. Their want of education is, however, not the cause of this latter failing, for Andalusian women who never learn anything but the elementary doctrines of Christianity, are among the most charming creatures in the world, in their youth. Ill at ease in society.Its cause lies rather in this equivocal position; they are haughtily repelled by their white sisters, whilst they themselves disown their mother’s kin. They are wanting in the ease, in the tact, that the women of Spain show in every relation of existence.

Mestizos.The mestizos, particularly those born of Chinese and Tagal mothers, constitute the richest and the most enterprising portion of the native population. They are well acquainted with all the good and bad qualities of the Filipino inhabitants, and use them unscrupulously for their own purposes.

1 In 1855 its population consisted of 586 European Spaniards, 1,378 Creoles, 6,323 Malay Filipinos and mestizos, 332 Chinamen, 2 Hamburgers, 1 Portuguese, and 1 Negro.

2 The earthquake of 1863 destroyed the old bridge. It is intended, however, to restore it; the supporting pillars are ready, and the superincumbent iron structure is shortly expected from Europe (April, 1872).—The central span, damaged in the high water of 1914, was temporarily replaced with a wooden structure and plans have been prepared for a new bridge, permitting ships to pass and to be used also by the railway, nearer the river mouth.—C.

3 Roescher’s Colonies.

4 A brief description of a nipa house, accompanying an illustration, is here omitted.—C.

5 The following figures will give an idea of the contents of the newspapers. I do not allude to the Bulletin Official, which is reserved for official announcements, and contains little else of any importance. The number lying before me of the Comercio (Nov. 29, 1858), a paper that appears six times a week, consists of four pages, the printed portion in each of which is 11 inches by 17; the whole, therefore, contains 748 square inches of printed matter. They are distributed as follows:—

Title, 27½ sq. in.; an essay on the population of Spain, taken from a book, 102½ sq. in.; under the heading “News from Europe,” an article, quoted from the Annals of La Caridad, upon the increase of charity and Catholic instruction in France, 40½ sq. in.; Part I, of a treatise on Art and its Origin (a series of truisms), 70 sq. in.; extracts from the official sheet, 20½ sq. in.; a few ancient anecdotes, 59 sq. in. Religious portion (this is divided into two parts—official and unofficial). The first contains the saints for the different days of the year, etc., and the announcements of religious festivals; the second advertises a forthcoming splendid procession, and contains the first half of a sermon preached three years before, on the anniversary of the same festival, 99 sq. in., besides an instalment of an old novel, 154, and advertisements, 175 sq. in.; total, 748 sq. in. In the last years, however, the newspapers sometimes have contained serious essays, but of late these appear extremely seldom.

6 Vide Pigafetta.

7 Cock-fighting is not alluded to in the “Ordinances of good government,” collected by Hurtado Corcuera in the middle of the seventeenth century. In 1779 cock-fights were taxed for the first time. In 1781 the government farmed the right of entrance to the galleras (derived from gallo, rooster) for the yearly sum of $14,798. In 1863 the receipts from the galleras figured in the budget for $106,000.

A special decree of 100 clauses was issued in Madrid on the 21st of March, 1861, for the regulation of cock-fights. The 1st clause declares that since cock-fights are a source of revenue to the State, they shall only take place in arenas licensed by the Government. The 6th restricts them to Sundays and holidays; the 7th, from the conclusion of high mass to sunset. The 12th forbids more than $50 to be staked on one contest. The 38th decrees that each cock shall carry but one weapon, and that on its left spur. By the 52nd the fight is to be considered over when one or both cocks are dead, or when one shows the white feather. In the London Daily News of the 30th June, 1869, I find it reported that five men were sentenced at Leeds to two months’ hard labor for setting six cocks to fight one another with iron spurs. From this it appears that this once favorite spectacle is no longer permitted in England.

8 The raw materials of these adventures were supplied by a French planter, M. de la Gironiere, but their literary parent is avowedly Alexander Dumas.

9 Botanical gardens do not seem to prosper under Spanish auspices. Chamisso complains that, in his day, there were no traces left of the botanical gardens founded at Cavite by the learned Cuellar. The gardens at Madrid, even, are in a sorry plight; its hothouses are almost empty. The grounds which were laid out at great expense by a wealthy and patriotic Spaniard at Orotava (Teneriffe), a spot whose climate has been of the greatest service to invalids, are rapidly going to decay. Every year a considerable sum is appropriated to it in the national budget, but scarcely a fraction of it ever reaches Orotava. When I was there in 1867, the gardener had received no salary for twenty-two months, all the workmen were dismissed, and even the indispensable water supply had been cut off.

10 For a proof of this vide the Berlin Ethnographical Museum, Nos. 294–295.

IV

Native distrust of Europeans.A Scotch merchant to whom I brought a letter of introduction invited me with such cordiality to come and stay with him, that I found myself unable to refuse. While thus living under the roof and protection of one of the wealthiest and most respected men in the city, the cabmen I employed insisted on being paid beforehand every time I rode in their vehicles. This distrust was occasioned by the scanty feeling of respect most of the Europeans in Manila inspired in the minds of the natives. Many later observations confirmed this impression. What a different state of things exists in Java and Singapore! The reason, however, is easily explained.

Dutch and English stand well in their colonies.The Dutch are as little able as the English to acclimatize themselves in tropical countries. They get all they can out of countries in which they are only temporary sojourners, the former by forced service and monopoly, the latter by commerce. In both cases, however, the end is accomplished by comparatively few individuals, whose official position and the largeness of whose undertakings place them far above the mass of the population. In Java, moreover, the Europeans constitute the governing classes, the natives the governed; and even in Singapore where both races are equal before the law the few white men understand how to mark the difference of race so distinctively that the natives without demur surrender to them, though not by means of the law, the privileges of a higher caste. The difference of religion does but widen the gap; and, finally, every European there speaks the language of the country, while the natives are totally ignorant of that spoken by the foreigners.

Dutch colonials well educated.The Dutch officials are educated at home in schools specially devoted to the East Indian service. The art of managing the natives, the upholding of prestige, which is considered the secret of the Dutch power over the numerous native populations, forms an essential particular in their education. The Dutch, therefore, manage their intercourse with the natives, no matter how much they intend to get out of them, in strict accordance with customary usage (adat); they never wound the natives’ amor propio and never expose themselves in their own mutual intercourse, which remains a sealed book to the inhabitants.

Spanish officials undesirables.Things are different in the Philippines. With the exception of those officials whose stay is limited by the rules of the service, or by the place-hunting that ensues at every change in the Spanish ministry, few Spaniards who have once settled in the colony ever return home. It is forbidden to the priests, and most of the rest have no means of doing so. A considerable portion of them consist of subaltern officers, soldiers, sailors, political delinquents and refugees whom the mother-country has got rid of; and not seldom of adventurers deficient both in means and desire for the journey back, for their life in the colony is far pleasanter than that they were forced to lead in Spain. These latter arrive without the slightest knowledge of the country and without being in the least prepared for a sojourn there. Many of them are so lazy that they won’t take the trouble to learn the language even if they marry a daughter of the soil. Their servants understand Spanish, and clandestinely watch the conversation and the actions, and become acquainted with all the secrets, of their indiscreet masters, to whom the Filipinos remain an enigma which their conceit prevents them attempting to decipher.

Spanish lack of prestige deserved.It is easy to understand how Filipino respect for Europeans must be diminished by the numbers of these uneducated, improvident, and extravagant Spaniards, who, no matter what may have been their position at home, are all determined to play the master in the colony. Social Standing of Filipinos thus enhanced.The relative standing of the Filipinos naturally profits by all this and it would be difficult to find a colony in which the natives, taken all in all, feel more comfortable than in the Philippines. They have adopted the religion, the manners, and the customs of their rulers; and though legally not on an equal footing with the latter, they are by no means separated from them by the high barriers with which, not to mention Java, the churlish reserve of the English has surrounded the natives of the other colonies.

Spanish-Filipino bonds of union.The same religion, a similar form of worship, an existence intermixed with that of the indigenous population, all tend to bring the Europeans and the Indians together. That they have done so is proved by the existence of the proportionately very numerous band of mestizos who inhabit the Islands.

Latin races better for colonists in the tropics.The Spaniards and the Portuguese appear, in fact, to be the only Europeans who take root in tropical countries. They are capable of permanent and fruitful amalgamation1 with the natives.2

Initiative and individuality missing.The want of originality, which among the mestizos, appears to arise from their equivocal position, is also to be found among the natives. Distinctly marked national customs, which one would naturally expect to find in such an isolated part of the world, are sought for in vain, and again and again the stranger remarks that everything has been learned and is only a veneer.

A compromise civilization.As Spain forcibly expelled the civilization of the Moors, and in Peru that of the Incas, so in the Philippines it has understood how to set aside an equally well-founded one, by appropriating in an incredible manner, in order to take root itself the more quickly, all existing forms and abuses.3

Imitation instilled and self-respect banished.The uncivilized inhabitants of the Philippines quickly adopted the rites, forms, and ceremonies of the strange religion, and, at the same time, copied the personal externalities of their new masters, learning to despise their own manners and customs as heathenish and barbarian. Nowadays, forsooth, they sing Andalusian songs, and dance Spanish dances; but in what sort of way? They imitate everything that passes before their eyes without using their intelligence to appreciate it. It is this which makes both themselves and their artistic productions wearisome, devoid of character, and, I may add, unnatural, in spite of the skill and patience they devote to them. These two peculiarities, moreover, are invariably to be found amongst nations whose civilization is but little developed; the patience so much admired is often nothing but waste of time and breath, quite out of proportion to the end in view, and the skill is the mere consequence of the backward state of the division of labor.

Educated Filipino unnatural.If I entered the house of a well-to-do Filipino, who spoke Spanish, I was received with the same phrases his model, a Spaniard, would employ; but I always had the feeling that it was out of place. In countries where the native population remains true to its ancient customs this is not the case; and whenever I have not been received with proper respect, I have remarked that the apparent fact proceeded from a difference in social forms, not more to be wondered at than a difference in weights and measures. In Java, and particularly in Borneo and the Moluccas, the utensils in daily use are ornamented with so refined a feeling for form and color, that they are praised by our artists as patterns of ornamentation and afford a proof that the labor is one of love, and that it is presided over by an acute intelligence. Native art-sense spoiled.Such a sense of beauty is seldom to be met with in the Philippines. Everything there is imitation or careless makeshift. Even the piña embroideries, which are fabricated with such wonderful patience and skill, and are so celebrated for the fineness of the work, are, as a rule, spiritless imitations of Spanish patterns. One is involuntarily led to these conclusions by a comparison of the art products of the Spanish-American communities with those of more barbarous races. The Berlin Ethnographical Museum contains many proofs of the facts I have just mentioned.

Indolence from absence of incentive.The oars used in the Philippines are usually made of bamboo poles, with a board tied to their extremities with strips of rattan. If they happen to break, so much the better; for the fatiguing labor of rowing must necessarily be suspended till they are mended again.

Carelessness from lack of responsibility.In Java the carabao-carts, which are completely covered in as a protection against the rain, are ornamented with many tasteful patterns. The roofless wagons used in the Philippines are roughly put together at the last moment. When it is necessary to protect their contents from the wet, an old pair of mats is thrown over them, more for the purpose of appeasing the prejudices of the “Castilians” than really to keep off the rain.

Weakened character and want of dignity.The English and the Dutch are always looked upon as strangers in the tropics; their influence never touches the ancient native customs which culminate in the religion of the country. But the populations whom the Spaniards have converted to their religion have lost all originality, all sense of nationality; yet the alien religion has never really penetrated into their inmost being, they never feel it to be a source of moral support, and it is no accidental coincidence that they are all more or less stamped with a want of dignity....

Spanish rule not benevolent, but beneficial.With the exception of this want of national individuality, and the loss of the distinguishing manners and customs which constitute the chief charm of most eastern peoples, the Filipino is an interesting study of a type of mankind existing in the easiest natural conditions. The arbitrary rule of their chiefs, and the iron shackles of slavery, were abolished by the Spaniards shortly after their arrival; and peace and security reigned in the place of war and rapine. The Spanish rule in these Islands was always a mild one, not because the laws, which treated the natives like children, were wonderfully gentle, but because the causes did not exist which caused such scandalous cruelties in Spanish America and in the colonies of other nations.

Circumstances have favored the Filipinos.It was fortunate for the Filipinos that their islands possessed no wealth in the shape of precious metals or valuable spices. In the earlier days of maritime traffic there was little possibility of exporting the numerous agricultural productions of the colony; and it was scarcely worth while, therefore, to make the most of the land. The few Spaniards who resided in the colony found such an easy method of making money in the commerce with China and Mexico, by means of the galleons, that they held themselves aloof from all economical enterprises, which had little attraction for their haughty inclinations, and would have imposed the severest labor on the Filipinos. Taking into consideration the wearisome and dangerous navigation of the time, it was, moreover, impossible for the Spaniards, upon whom their too large possessions in America already imposed an exhausting man-tax, to maintain a strong armed force in the Philippines. The subjection, which had been inaugurated by a dazzling military exploit, was chiefly accomplished by the assistance of the friar orders, whose missionaries were taught to employ extreme prudence and patience. The Philippines were thus principally won by a peaceful conquest.

Have fared better than the Mexicans.The taxes laid upon the peoples were so trifling that they did not suffice for the administration of the colony. The difference was covered by yearly contributions from Mexico. The extortions of unconscientious officials were by no means conspicuous by their absence. Cruelties, however, such as were practised in the American mining districts, or in the manufactures of Quito, never occurred in the Philippines.

A land of opportunity.Uncultivated land was free, and was at the service of any one willing to make it productive; if, however, it remained untilled for two years, it reverted to the crown.4

Low taxes.The only tax which the Filipinos pay is the poll-tax, known as the tributo, which originally, three hundred years ago, amounted to one dollar for every pair of adults, and in a country where all marry early, and the sexes are equally divided, really constituted a family-tax. By degrees the tribute has been raised to two and one-sixteenth dollars. An adult, therefore, male or female, pays one and one-thirty-second dollar, and that from his sixteenth to his sixtieth year. Besides this, every man has to give forty days’ labor every year to the State. This vassalage (polos y servicios) is divided into ordinary and extraordinary services: the first consists of the duties appertaining to a watchman or messenger, in cleaning the courts of justice, and in other light labors; the second in road-making, and similar heavier kinds of work, for the benefit of villages and provinces. The little use, however, that is made of these services, is shown by the fact that any one can obtain a release from them for a sum which at most is not more than three dollars. No personal service is required of women. A little further on, important details about the tax from official sources, which were placed at my disposal in the colonial office, appear in a short special chapter.

Fortunate factors.In other countries, with an equally mild climate, and an equally fertile soil, the natives, unless they had reached a higher degree of civilization than that of the Philippine Islanders, would have been ground down by native princes, or ruthlessly plundered and destroyed by foreigners. In these isolated Islands, so richly endowed by nature, where pressure from above, impulse from within, and every stimulus from the outside are wanting, the satisfaction of a few trifling wants is sufficient for an existence with ample comfort. Of all countries in the world, the Philippines have the greatest claim to be considered a lotos-eating Utopia. The traveller, whose knowledge of the dolce far niente is derived from Naples, has no real appreciation of it; it only blossoms under the shade of palm-trees. These notes of travel will contain plenty of examples to support this. One trip across the Pasig gives a foretaste of life in the interior of the country. Low wooden cabins and bamboo huts, surmounted with green foliage and blossoming flowers, are picturesquely grouped with areca palms, and tall, feather-headed bamboos, upon its banks. Sometimes the enclosures run down into the stream itself, some of them being duck-grounds, and others bathing-places. The shore is fringed with canoes, nets, rafts, and fishing apparatus. Heavily-laden boats float down the stream, and small canoes ply from bank to bank between the groups of bathers. The most lively traffic is to be seen in the tiendas, large sheds, corresponding to the Javanese harongs, which open upon the river, the great channel for traffic.

River resorts.They are a source of great attraction to the passing sailors, who resort to them for eating, drinking, and other convivialities; and while away the time there in gambling, betel chewing, and smoking, with idle companions of both sexes.

Sleeping pilots.At times somebody may be seen floating down the stream asleep on a heap of coconuts. If the nuts run ashore, the sleeper rouses himself, pushes off with a long bamboo, and contentedly relapses into slumber, as his eccentric raft regains the current of the river. One cut of his bolo-knife easily detaches sufficient of the husk of the nuts to allow of their being fastened together; in this way a kind of wreath is formed which encircles and holds together the loose nuts piled up in the middle.

Labor-saving conditions.The arduous labors of many centuries have left as their legacy a perfect system of transport; but in these Islands man can obtain many of his requirements direct with proportionately trifling labor, and a large amount of comfort for himself.

Easy food.Off the Island of Talim, in the great Lagoon of Bay, my boatmen bought for a few cuartos several dozens of fish quite twelve inches long; and those which they couldn’t eat were split open, salted, and dried by a few hours’ exposure to the heat of the sun on the roof of the boat. When the fishermen had parted with their contemplated breakfast, they stooped down and filled their cooking-vessels with sand-mussels (paludina costata, 2.a G.), first throwing away the dead ones from the handfuls they picked up from the bottom of the shallow water.

River’s importance.Nearly all the dwellings are built by the water’s edge. The river is a natural self-maintaining highway, on which loads can be carried to the foot of the mountains. The huts of the people, built upon piles, are to be seen thickly scattered about its banks, and particularly about its broad mouths. The appropriateness of their position is evident, for the stream is at once the very center of activity and the most convenient spot for the pursuit of their callings. At each tide the takes of fish are more or less plentiful, and at low-water the women and children may be seen picking up shell-fish with their toes, for practice has enabled them to use their toes as deftly as their fingers, or gathering in the sand-crabs and eatable seaweed.

Riverside gaiety. The riverside is a pretty sight when men, women, and children are bathing and frolicking in the shade of the palm-trees; and others are filling their water-vessels, large bamboos, which they carry on their shoulders, or jars, which they bear on their heads; and when the boys are standing upright on the broad backs of the carabaos and riding triumphantly into the water.

Coco-palms.It is here too that the coco-palm most flourishes, a tree that supplies not only their food and drink, but also every material necessary for the construction of huts and the manufacture of the various articles which they use. While the greatest care is necessary to make those growing further inland bear even a little fruit, the palm-trees close to the shore, even when planted on wretched soil, grow plentiful crops without the slightest trouble. Has a palm-tree ever been made to blossom in a hothouse? Thomson5 mentions that coco-trees growing by the sea-side are wont to incline their stems over the ocean, the waters of which bear their fruit to desert shores and islands, and render them habitable for mankind. Thus the coco-tree would seem to play an essential part in the ocean vagabondage of Malaysia and Polynesia.

Nipa-palms.Close to the coco-trees grow clumps of the stunted nipa-palms, which only flourish in brackish waters;6 their leaves furnish the best roof-thatching. Sugar, brandy, and vinegar are manufactured from their sap. Three hundred and fifty years ago Pigafetta found these manufactures in full swing, but nowadays they seem to be limited to the Philippines. Besides these, the pandanus-tree, from the leaves of which the softest mats are woven, is always found in near proximity to the shore.

Fertile fields.Towards the interior the landscape is covered with rice-fields, which yearly receive a fresh layer of fertile soil, washed down from the mountains by the river, and spread over their surface by the overflowing of its waters; and which in consequence never require any fertilizer. The carabao.The carabao, the favorite domestic animal of the Malays, and which they keep especially for agricultural purposes, prefers these regions to all others. It loves to wallow in the mud, and is not fit for work unless permitted to frequent the water.

Bamboo.Bamboos with luxuriant leafy tops grow plentifully by the huts in the rice-fields which fringe the banks of the river. In my former sketches of travel I have endeavored to describe how much this gigantic plant contributes to the comfort and convenience of tropical life. Since then I have become acquainted with many curious purposes to which it is turned, but to describe them here would be out of place.7 I may be allowed, however, to briefly cite a few examples showing what numerous results are obtained from simple means. Nature has endowed these splendid plants, which perhaps surpass all others in beauty, with so many useful qualities, and delivered them into the hands of mankind so ready for immediate use, that a few sharp cuts suffice to convert them into all kinds of various utensils. Strength.The bamboo possesses, in proportion to its lightness, an extraordinary strength; the result of its round shape, and the regularity of the joints in its stem. The parallel position and toughness of its fibers render it easy to split, and, when split, its pieces are of extraordinary pliability and elasticity. To the gravelly soil on which it grows it owes its durability, and its firm, even, and always clean surface, the brilliancy and color of which improve by use. Convenience.And finally, it is a great thing for a population with such limited means of conveyance that the bamboo is to be found in such abundance in all kinds of localities and of all dimensions, from a few millimeters to ten or fifteen centimeters in diameter, even sometimes to twice this amount; and that, on account of its unsurpassed floating power, it is pre-eminently fitted for locomotion in a country poor in roads but rich in watercourses. A blow with a bolo is generally enough to cut down a strong stem. Usefulness.If the thin joints are taken away, hollow stems of different thicknesses can be slid into one another like the parts of a telescope. From bamboos split in half, gutters, troughs, and roofing tiles can be made. Split into several slats, which can be again divided into small strips and fibers for the manufacture of baskets, ropes, mats, and fine plaiting work, they can be made into frames and stands. Two cuts in the same place make a round hole through which a stem of corresponding diameter can be firmly introduced. If a similar opening is made in a second upright, the horizontal stem can be run through both. Gates, closing perpendicularly or horizontally in frames moving without friction on a perpendicular or horizontal axis, can be made in this way.

Two deep cuts give an angular shape to the stem; and when its two sides are wide enough apart to admit of a cross-stem being placed between them, they can be employed as roof-ridges or for the framework of tables and chairs; a quantity of flat split pieces of bamboo being fastened on top of them with chair-cane. These split pieces then form the seats of the chairs and the tops of the tables, instead of the boards and large bamboo laths used at other times. It is equally easy to make an oblong opening in a large bamboo in which to fit the laths of a stand.

A couple of cuts are almost enough to make a fork, a pair of tongs or a hook.

If one makes a hole as big as the end of one’s finger in a large bamboo close under a joint, one obtains by fastening a small piece of cloth to the open end, a syphon or a filter. If a piece of bamboo is split down to the joint in strips, and the strips be bound together with others horizontally interlaced, it makes a conical basket. If the strips are cut shorter, it makes a peddler’s pack basket. If a long handle is added, and it is filled with tar, it can be used as a signal torch. If shallower baskets of the same dimensions, but with their bottoms cut off or punched out, are placed inside these conical ones, the two together make capital snare baskets for crabs and fish. If a bamboo stem be cut off just below the joint, and its lower edge be split up into a cogged rim, it makes, when the partition of the joint is punched out, an earth-auger, a fountain-pipe, and many things of the kind.

Pleasures of travel.Strangers travelling in the interior have daily fresh opportunities of enjoying the hospitality of nature. The atmosphere is so equitably warm that one would gladly dispense with all clothing except a sun-hat and a pair of light shoes. Should one be tempted to pass the night in the open air, the construction of a hut from the leaves of the palm and the fern is the work of a few minutes; Village rest houses.but in even the smallest village the traveller finds a “common house” (casa real), in which he can take up his quarters and be supplied with the necessaries of life at the market price. There too he will always meet with semaneros (those who perform menial duties) ready to serve him as messengers or porters for the most trifling remuneration. But long practice has taught me that their services principally consist in doing nothing. On one occasion I wanted to send a man who was playing cards and drinking tuba (fresh or weakly-fermented palm-sap) with his companions, on an errand. Pleasant prison life.Without stopping his game the fellow excused himself on the ground of being a prisoner, and one of his guardians proceeded in the midst of the intense heat to carry my troublesome message. Prisoners have certainly little cause to grumble. Frequent floggings little regarded.The only inconvenience to which they are exposed are the floggings which the local authorities very liberally dispense by the dozens for the most trifling offences. Except the momentary bodily pain, however, these appear in most cases to make little impression on a people who have been accustomed to corporal punishment from their youth upwards. Their acquaintances stand round the sufferers, while the blows are being inflicted, and mockingly ask them how it tastes.

Change from Malayan character.A long residence amongst the earnest, quiet, and dignified Malays, who are most anxious for their honor, while most submissive to their superiors, makes the contrast in character exhibited by the natives of the Philippines, who yet belong to the Malay race, all the more striking. The change in their nature appears to be a natural consequence of the Spanish rule, for the same characteristics may be observed in the natives of Spanish America. The class distinctions and the despotic oppression prevalent under their former chiefs doubtless rendered the Filipinos of the past more like the Malays of today.

1 Bertillon (Acclimatement et Acclimatation, Dict. Encycl. des Science, Médicales) ascribes the capacity of the Spaniards for acclimatization in tropical countries to the large admixture of Syrian and African blood which flows in their veins. The ancient Iberians appear to have reached Spain from Chaldea across Africa; the Phoenicians and Carthaginians had flourishing colonies in the peninsula, and, in later times, the Moors possessed a large portion of the country for a century, and ruled with great splendor, a state of things leading to a mixture of race. Thus Spanish blood has three distinct times been abundantly crossed with that of Africa. The warm climate of the peninsula must also largely contribute to render its inhabitants fit for life in the tropics. The pure Indo-European race has never succeeded in establishing itself on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, much less in the arid soil of the tropics.

In Martinique, where from eight to nine thousand whites live on the proceeds of the toil of 125,000 of the colored race, the population is diminishing instead of increasing. The French creoles seem to have lost the power of maintaining themselves, in proportion to the existing means of subsistence, and of multiplying. Families which do not from time to time fortify themselves with a strain of fresh European blood, die out in from three to four generations. The same thing happens in the English, but not in the Spanish Antilles, although the climate and the natural surroundings are the same. According to Ramón de la Sagra, the death-rate is smaller among the creoles, and greater among the natives, than it is in Spain; the mortality among the garrison, however, is considerable. The same writer states that the real acclimatization of the Spanish race takes place by selection; the unfit die, and the others thrive.

2 An unnecessary line is here omitted.—C.

3 Depons, speaking of the means employed in America to obtain the same end, says, “I am convinced that it is impossible to engraft the Christian religion on the Indian mind without mixing up their own inclinations and customs with those of Christianity; this has been even carried so far, that at one time theologians raised the question, whether it was lawful to eat human flesh? But the most singular part of the proceeding is, that the question was decided in favor of the anthropophagi.”

4 As a matter of fact, productive land is always appropriated, and in many parts of the Islands is difficult and expensive to purchase. Near Manila, and in Bulacan, land has for many years past cost over $225 (silver) an acre.

5 Ind. Arch. IV; 307.

6 In Buitenzorger’s garden, Java, the author observed, however, some specimens growing in fresh water.

7 Boyle, in his Adventures among the Dyaks, mentions that he actually found pneumatic tinder-boxes, made of bamboo, in use among the Dyaks; Bastian met with them in Burmah. Boyle saw a Dyak place some tinder on a broken piece of earthenware, holding it steady with his thumb while he struck it a sharp blow with a piece of bamboo. The tinder took fire. Wallace observed the same method of striking a light in Ternate.

V

The familiar field for travellers.The environs of Manila, the Pasig, and the Lagoon of Bay, which are visited by every fresh arrival in the colony, have been so often described that I have restricted myself to a few short notes upon these parts of the country, and intend to relate in detail only my excursions into the south-eastern provinces of Luzon, Camarines, and Albay, and the islands which lie to the east of them, Samar and Leyte. Before doing this, however, it will not be out of place to glance at the map and give some slight description of their geographical conditions.

Archipelago’s great extent.The Philippine Archipelago lies between Borneo and Formosa, and separates the northern Pacific Ocean from the China Sea. It covers fourteen and one-half degrees of latitude, and extends from the Sulu Islands in the south, in the fifth parallel of north latitude, to the Babuyans in the north in latitude 19° 30′. If, however, the Bashee or Batanes Islands be included, its area may be said to extend to the twenty-first parallel of north latitude. But neither southwards or northwards does Spanish rule extend to these extreme limits, nor, in fact, does it always reach the far interior of the larger islands. From the eastern to the western extremity of the Philippines the distance is about nine degrees of longitude. Two islands, Luzon, with an area of two thousand, and Mindanao, with one of more than one thousand five hundred square miles, are together larger than all the rest. The seven next largest islands are Palawan, Samar, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Negros, and Cebu; of which the first measures about two hundred and fifty, and the last about one hundred square miles. Then come Bohol and Masbate, each about half the size of Cebu; twenty smaller islands, still of some importance; and numerous tiny islets, rocks, and reefs.

Favored by position and conditions.The Philippines are extremely favored by their position and conditions. Their extension from north to south, over 16° of latitude, obtains for them a variety of climate which the Dutch Indies, whose largest diameter, their extent in latitude north and south of the equator being but trifling, runs from the east to the west, by no means enjoy. The advantages accruing from their neighborhood to the equator are added to those acquired from the natural variety of their climate; and the produce of both the torrid and temperate zones, the palm-tree and the fir, the pine-apple, the corn ear and the potato, flourish side by side upon their shores.

Harbors and water highways.The larger islands contain vast inland seas, considerable navigable rivers, and many creeks running far into the interior; they are rich, too, in safe harbors and countless natural ports of refuge for ships in distress. Another attribute which, though not to be realized by a glance at the map, is yet one of the most fortunate the Islands possess, is the countless number of small streams which pour down from the inland hills, and open out, ere they reach the ocean, into broad estuaries; up these watercourses coasting vessels of shallow draught can sail to the very foot of the mountains and take in their cargo. Soil and sea alike productive.The fertility of the soil is unsurpassed; both the sea around the coasts and the inland lakes swarm with fish and shell-fish, while in the whole archipelago there is scarcely a wild beast to be found. It seems that only two civets happen to appear: Miro (paradoxurus philippinensis Tem.) and galong (viverra tangalunga Gray). Luzon surpasses all the other islands, not only in size, but in importance; and its fertility and other natural superiority well entitle it to be called, as it is by Crawfurd, “the most beautiful spot in the tropics.”

Luzon.The mainland of the isle of Luzon stretches itself in a compact long quadrangle, twenty-five miles broad, from 18° 40′ north latitude to the Bay of Manila (14° 30′); and then projects, amid large lakes and deep creeks, a rugged promontory to the east, joined to the main continent by but two narrow isthmuses which stretch east and west of the large inland Lagoon of Bay. Many traces of recent upheavals betoken that the two portions were once separated and formed two distinct islands. The large eastern promontory, well-nigh as long as the northern portion, is nearly cut in half by two deep bays, which, starting from opposite points on the south-eastern and north-western coasts, almost merge their waters in the center of the peninsula; the Bay of Ragay, and the Bay of Sogod. In fact, the southern portion of Luzon may be better described as two small peninsulas lying next to one another in parallel positions, and joined together by a narrow neck of land scarcely three miles broad. Two small streams which rise nearly in the same spot and pour themselves into the two opposite gulfs, make the separation almost complete, and form at the same time the boundary between the province of Tayabas on the west, and that of Camarines on the east. The western portion, indeed, consists almost entirely of the first-named district, and the eastern is divided into the provinces of North Camarines, South Camarines, and Albay. The first of these three is divided from Tayabas by the boundary already mentioned, and from South Camarines by a line drawn from the southern shore of the Bay of San Miguel on the north to the opposite coast. The eastern extremity of the peninsula forms the province of Albay; separated from South Camarines by a line which runs from Donzol, on the south coast, northwards across the volcano of Mayon, and which then, inclining to the west, reaches the northern shore. A look at the map will make these explanations clearer.

The monsoons.There are two seasons in the Philippines, the wet and the dry. The south-west monsoon brings the rainy season, at the time of our summer, to the provinces which lie exposed to the south and west winds. On the northern and eastern coasts the heaviest downpours take place (in our winter months) during the north-eastern monsoons. The ruggedness of the country and its numerous mountains cause, in certain districts, many variations in these normal meteorological conditions. The dry season lasts in Manila from November till June (duration of the north-east monsoon); rain prevails during the remaining months (duration of the south-west monsoon). The heaviest rainfall occurs in September; March and April are frequently free from rain. From October to February inclusively the weather is cool and dry (prevalence of N.W., N., and N.E. winds); March, April, and May are warm and dry (prevalence of E.N.E., E., and E.S.E. winds); and from June till the end of September it is humid and moderately warm.

There has been an observatory for many years past in Manila under the management of the Jesuits. The following is an epitome of the yearly meteorological report for 1867, for which I am indebted to Professor Dove: Barometrical readings.—The average height of the mercury was, in 1867, 755.5; in 1865, 754.57; and in 1866, 753.37 millimeters.

In 1867 the difference between the highest and lowest barometrical readings was not more than 13.96 millimetres, and would have been much less if the mercury had not been much depressed by storms in July and September. The hourly variations amounted to very few millimeters. Daily reading of the barometer.—The mercury rises in the early morning till about 9 a.m., it then falls up to 3 or 4 p.m., from then it rises again till 9 p.m., and then again falls till towards day-break. Both the principal atmospheric currents prevalent in Manila exercise a great influence over the mercury in the barometer; the northern current causes it to rise (to an average height of 756 millimeters), the southern causes it to fall (to about 753 millimeters). Temperature.—The heat increases from January till the end of May, and then decreases till December. Average yearly temperature, 27.9° C. The highest temperature ever recorded (on the 15th of April at 3 p.m.) was 37.7° C.; the lowest (on the 14th of December and on the 30th of January at 6 a.m.), 19.4° C. Difference, 18.3° C.1 Thermometrical variations.—The differences between the highest and lowest readings of the thermometer were, in January, 13.9°; in February, 14.2°; in March, 15°; in April, 14.6°; in May, 11.1°; in June, 9.9°; in July, 9°; in August, 9°; in September, 10°; in October, 11.9°; in November, 11.8°; and in December, 11.7°. Coolest months.—November, December and January, with northerly winds. Hottest months.—April and May. Their high temperature is caused by the change of monsoon from the north-east to the south-west. The state of the temperature is most normal from June to September; the variations are least marked during this period owing to the uninterrupted rainfall and the clouded atmosphere. Daily variations of the thermometer.—The coolest portion of the day is from 6 to 7 a.m.; the heat gradually increases, reaches its maximum about 2 or 3 p.m., and then again gradually decreases. During some hours of the night the temperature remains unchanged, but towards morning it falls rapidly.

Winds.The direction of the wind is very regular at all seasons of the year, even when local causes make it vary a little. In the course of a twelvemonth the wind goes around the whole compass. In January and February north winds prevail; in March and April they blow from the south-east; and in May, June, July, August, and September, from the south-west. In the beginning of October they vary between south-east and south-west, and settle down towards the close of the month in the north-east, in which quarter they remain tolerably fixed during the two following months. The two changes of monsoon always take place in April and May, and in October. As a rule, the direction of both monsoons preserves its equilibrium; but in Manila, which is protected towards the north by a high range of hills, the north-east monsoon is often diverted to the south-east and north-west. The same cause gives greater force to the south-west wind.

Sunshine and rain.The sky is generally partially clouded; entirely sunny days are of rare occurrence, in fact, they only occur from January to April during the north-east monsoons. Number of rainy days in the year, 168. The most continuous and heaviest rain falls from June till the end of October. During this period the rain comes down in torrents; in September alone the rainfall amounted to 1.5 meters, nearly as much as falls in Berlin in the course of the whole year, 3,072.8 millimeters of rain fell in the twelve month; but this is rather more than the average.

The evaporation only amounted to 2,307.3 millimeters; in ordinary years it is generally about equal to the downfall, taking the early averages, not those of single months.

The average daily evaporation was about 6.3 millimeters.

Storms.The changes of monsoons are often accompanied with tremendous storms; during one of these, which occurred in September, the velocity of the wind was as much as thirty-seven or thirty-eight meters per second. An official report of the English vice-consul mentions a typhoon which visited the Islands on September 27, 1865, and which did much damage at Manila, driving seventeen vessels ashore.

Provinces and districts.The Philippines are divided into provinces (P), and districts (D), each of which is administered by an alcalde of the 1st (A1), 2nd (A2), or 3rd class (A3) (de termino, de ascenso, de entrada); by a political and military governor (G), or by a commandant (C). In some provinces an alcalde of the 3rd class is appointed as coadjutor to the governor. These divisions are frequently changed.

Population.The population is estimated approximately at about five millions.

Language and dialects.In spite of the long possessions of the Islands by the Spaniards their language has scarcely acquired any footing there. A great diversity of languages and dialects prevails; amongst them the Bisayan, Tagalog, Ilocano, Bicol, Pangasinan, and Pampangan are the most important.

Luzon Provinces and their languages and populations.

Island of Luzon

Rank of Official

Rank of District

Name

Prevailing Dialect

Population

Pueblos

G.

P.

Abra

Ilocano

34,337

5

A1.

P.

Albay

Bicol

330,121

34

A2.

P.

Bataan

Tagalog, Pampangan

44,794

10

A1.

P.

Batangas

Tagalog

280,100

D.

Benguet

Igorot, Ilocano, Pangasinan

8,465

D.

Bontoc

Suflin, Ilocano, Igorot

7,052

A1.

P.

Bulacan

Tagalog

240,341

23

A1.

P.

Cagayan

Ibanag, Itanes, Idayan, Gaddan, Ilocano, Dadaya, Apayao, Malaneg

64,437

16

A2.

P.

Camarines Norte

Tagalog, Bicol

25,372

7

A2(?)

P.

Camarines Sur

Bicol

81,047

31

A3.

P.

Cavite

Spanish, Tagalog

109,501

17

A1.

P.

Ilocos Norte

Ilocano, Tinguian

134,767

12

A1.

P.

Ilocos Sur

Ilocano

105,251

18

C.

D.

Infanta

Tagalog

7,813

2

G.

P.

Isabela

Ibanag, Gaddan, Tagalog

29,200

9

A1.

P.

Laguna

Tagalog, Spanish

121,251

25

D.

Lepanto

Igorot, Ilocano

8,851

48

3A1.

P.

Manila

Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese

323,683

23

C.

D.

Morong

Tagalog

44,239

12

A2.

P.

Nueva Ecija

Tagalog, Pangasinan, Pampangan, Ilocano

84,520

12

A3.

P.

Nueva Vizcaya

Gaddan, Ifugao, Ibilao, Ilongote

32,961

8

A1.

P.

Pampanga

Pampangan, Ilocano

193,423

24

A1.

P.

Pangasinan

Pangasinan, Ilocano

253,472

25

D.

Porac

Pampangan

6,950

1

C.

D.

Principe

Tagalog, Ilocano, Ilongote

3,609

3

D.

Saltan

Gaddan

6,540

A2.

P.

Tayabas

Tagalog, Bicol

93,918

17

D.

Tiagan

Different Igorot dialects

5,723

G.

P.

Union

Ilocano

88,024

11

A2.

P.

Zambales

Zambal, Ilocano, Acta, Pampangan, Tagalog, Pangasinan

72,936

16

Bisayas.

Islands between Luzon and Mindanao

G a3.

P.

Antique (Panay)

Bisayan

88,874

13

G a3.

P.

Bohol

Bisayan

187,327

26

C.

Burias

Bicol

1,786

1

G a3.

P.

Capiz (Panay)

Bisayan

206,288

26

G a2.

P.

Cebu

Bisayan

318,715

44

G a3.

P.

Iloilo (Panay)

Bisayan

565,500

35

G a3.

P.

Leyte

Bisayan

170,591

28

D.

Masbate, Ticao

Bisayan

12,457

9

A2.

P.

Mindoro

Tagalog

23,050

10

G a3.

P.

Negros

Cebuan, Panayan, Bisayan

144,923

31

D.

Romblon

Bisayan

21,579

4

G a3.

P.

Samar

Bisayan

146,539

28

Mindanao.

Mindanao

D.

Cotabato

Spanish, Manobo

1,103

1

G a3.

D.

Misamis (J)

Bisayan

63,639

14

G a3.

D.

Surigao (J)

24,104

12

D.

Zamboanga (J)

Mandaya, Spanish

9,608

2

G a3.

D.

Davao

Bisayan

1,537

Outlying Islands.

Distant Islands

G a3.

P.

Batanes

Ibanag

8,381

6

G a3.

P.

Calamianes

Coyuvo, Agutaino Calamiano

17,703

5

G.

P.

Marianas

Chamorro, Carolino

5,940

6

Unreliability of government reports.The statistics of the above table are taken from a small work, by Sr. [Vicente] Barrantes, the Secretary-General of the Philippines; but I have arranged them differently to render them more easily intelligible to the eye. Although Sr. Barrantes had the best official materials at his disposal, too much value must not be attributed to his figures, for the sources from which he drew them are tainted with errors to an extent that can hardly be realized in Europe. For example, he derives the following contradictory statements from his official sources:—The population of Cavite is set down as 115,300 and 65,225; that of Mindoro as 45,630, and 23,054; that of Manila as 230,443, and 323,683; and that of Capiz as 788,947, and 191,818.

1 Centigrade is changed to Fahrenheit by multiplying by nine-fifths and adding thirty-two.—C.

VI

To Bulacan by steamer. My first excursion was to the province of Bulacan, on the northern shore of the Bay of Manila. A couple of hours brought the steamer to the bar of Binuanga (not Bincanga as it is called in Coello’s map), and a third to Bulacan, the capital of the province, situated on the flat banks of an influent of the Pampanga delta. I was the only European passenger, the others were composed of Tagalogs, mestizos, and a few Chinese; the first more particularly were represented by women, who are generally charged with the management of all business affairs, for which they are much better fitted than the men. As a consequence, there are usually more women than men seen in the streets, and it appears to be an admitted fact that the female births are more numerous than the male. According, however, to the church-record which I looked through, the reverse was, at any rate in the eastern provinces, formerly the case.

Carromatas. At the landing-place a number of carromatas were waiting for us,—brightly painted, shallow, two-wheeled boxes, provided with an awning, and harnessed to a couple of horses, in which strangers with money to spend are quickly driven anywhere they may desire.

Town of Bulacan. The town of Bulacan contains from 11,000 to 12,000 inhabitants; but a month before my arrival, the whole of it, with the exception of the church and a few stone houses, had been burnt to the ground. All were therefore occupied in building themselves new houses, which, oddly enough, but very practically, were commenced at the roof, like houses in a drawing. Long rows of roofs composed of palm-leaves and bamboos were laid in readiness on the ground, and in the meantime were used as tents.

Frequence of fires. Similar destructive fires are very common. The houses, which with few exceptions are built of bamboo and wood, become perfectly parched in the hot season, dried into so much touchwood by the heat of the sun. Their inhabitants are extremely careless about fire, and there are no means whatever of extinguishing it. If anything catches fire on a windy day, the entire village, as a rule, is utterly done for. During my stay in Bulacan, the whole suburb of San Miguel, in the neighborhood of Manila, was burnt down, with the exception of the house of a Swiss friend of mine, which owed its safety to the vigorous use of a private fire-engine, and the intermediation of a small garden full of bananas, whose stems full of sap stopped the progress of the flames.

To Calumpit by carriage. I travelled to Calumpit, a distance of three leagues, in the handsome carriage of an hospitable friend. The roads were good, and were continuously shaded by fruit-trees, coco and areca palms. The aspect of this fruitful province reminded me of the richest districts of Java; but the pueblos here exhibited more comfort than the desas there. The houses were more substantial; numerous roomy constructions of wood, in many cases, even, of stone, denoted in every island the residence of official and local magnates. But while even the poorer Javanese always give their wicker huts a smart appearance, border the roads of their villages with blooming hedges, and display everywhere a sense of neatness and cleanliness, there were here far fewer evidences of taste to be met with. I missed too the alun-alun, that pretty and carefully tended open square, which, shaded by waringa trees, is to be met with in every village in Java. And the quantity and variety of the fruit trees, under whose leaves the desas of Java are almost hidden, were by no means as great in this province, although it is the garden of the Philippines, as in its Dutch prototype.

Calumpit. I reached Calumpit towards evening, just as a procession, resplendent with flags and torches, and melodious with song, was marching round the stately church, whose worthy priest, on the strength of a letter of introduction from Madrid, gave me a most hospitable reception. Calumpit, a prosperous place of 12,250 inhabitants, is situated at the junction of the Quingua and Pampanga rivers, in an extremely fruitful plain, fertilized by the frequent overflowing of the two streams.

Mt. Arayat. About six leagues to the north-west of Calumpit, Mount Arayat, a lofty, isolated, conical hill, lifts its head. Seen from Calumpit, its western slope meets the horizon at an angle of 20°, its eastern at one of 25°; and the profile of its summit has a gentle inclination of from 4° to 5°.

Picking fish. At Calumpit I saw some Chinese catching fish in a peculiar fashion. Across the lower end of the bed of a brook which was nearly dried up, and in which there were only a few rivulets left running, they had fastened a hurdle of bamboo, and thrown up a shallow dam behind it. The water which collected was thrown over the dam with a long-handled winnowing shovel. The shovel was tied to a bamboo frame work ten feet high, the elasticity of which made the work much easier. As soon as the pool was emptied, the fisherman was easily able to pick out of the mud a quantity of small fish (Ophiocephalus vagus). These fishes, which are provided with peculiar organisms to facilitate respiration, at any rate, enabling them to remain for some considerable time on dry land, are in the wet season so numerous in the ditches, ponds, and rice-fields, that they can be killed with a stick. When the water sinks they also retire, or, according to Professor Semper, bore deeply into the ooze at the bottom of the watercourses, where, protected by a hard crust of earth from the persecutions of mankind, they sleep away the winter. This Chinese method of fishing seems well adapted to the habits of the fish. The circumstances that the dam is only constructed at the lower end of the watercourse, and that it is there that the fish are to be met with in the greatest numbers, seem to indicate that they can travel in the ooze, and that as the brooks and ditches get dried up, they seek the larger water channels.

To Baliwag. Following the Quingua in its upward and eastward course as it meandered through a well-cultivated and luxuriantly fertile country, past stone-built churches and chapels which grouped themselves with the surrounding palm-trees and bamboo-bushes into sylvan vignettes, Father Llano’s four-horsed carriage brought me to the important town of Baliwag, the industry of which is celebrated beyond the limits of the province.

Board houses and their furniture. I visited several families and received a friendly reception from all of them. The houses were built of boards and were placed upon piles elevated five feet above the ground. Each consisted of a spacious dwelling apartment which opened on one side into the kitchen, and on the other on to an open space, the azotea; a lofty roof of palm-trees spread itself above the dwelling, the entrance to which was through the azotea. The latter was half covered by the roof I have just mentioned. The floor was composed of slats an inch in width, laid half that distance apart. Chairs, tables, benches, a cupboard, a few small ornaments, a mirror, and some lithographs in frames, composed the furniture of the interior. The cleanliness of the house and the arrangement of its contents testified to the existence of order and prosperity.

Tapis weaving. I found the women in almost all the houses occupied in weaving tapis, which have a great reputation in the Manila market. They are narrow, thickly-woven silk scarves, six varas in length, with oblique white stripes on a dark-brown ground. They are worn above the sarong.

Petaca cigar cases. Baliwag is also especially famous for its petaca1cigar-cases, which surpass all others in delicacy of workmanship. They are not made of straw, but of fine strips of Spanish cane, and particularly from the lower ends of the leaf-stalks of the calamusart, which is said to grow only in the province of Nueva Ecija.

Preparation of material. A bundle of a hundred selected stalks, a couple of feet long, costs about six reals. When these stalks have been split lengthways into four or five pieces, the inner wood is removed, till nothing but the outer part remains. The thin strips thus obtained are drawn by the hand between a convex block and a knife fixed in a sloping position, and between a couple of steel blades which nearly meet.

Costly weaving. It is a task requiring much patience and practice. In the first operation, as a rule, quite one-half of the stems are broken, and in the second more than half, so that scarcely twenty per cent of the stalks survive the final process. In very fine matting the proportionate loss is still greater. The plaiting is done on wooden cylinders. A case of average workmanship, which costs two dollars on the spot, can be manufactured in six days’ uninterrupted labor. Cigar-cases of exceptionally intricate workmanship, made to order for a connoisseur, frequently cost upwards of fifty dollars.

Volcanic stone quarries. Following the Quingua from Baliwag up its stream, we passed several quarries, where we saw the thickly-packed strata of volcanic stone which is used as a building material. The banks of the river are thickly studded with prickly bamboos from ten to twelve feet high. The water overflows in the rainy season, and floods the plain for a great distance. Hence the many shells of large freshwater mussels which are to be seen lying on the earth which covers the volcanic deposit. The country begins to get hilly in the neighborhood of Tobog, a small place with no church of its own, and dependent for its services upon the priest of the next parish. The gentle slopes of the hills are, as in Java, cut into terraces and used for the cultivation of rice. Except at Lucban I have never observed similar sawas anywhere else in the Philippines. Several small sugar-fields, which, however, the people do not as yet understand how to manage properly, show that the rudiments of agricultural prosperity are already in existence. The roads are partly covered with awnings, beneath which benches are placed affording repose to the weary traveller. I never saw these out of this province. One might fancy oneself in one of the most fertile and thickly-populated districts of Java.

A convento and the parish priest.I passed the night in a convento, as the dwelling of the parish priest is called in the Philippines. It was extremely dirty, and the priest, an Augustinian, was full of proselytish ardor. I had to undergo a long geographical examination about the difference between Prussia and Russia; was asked whether the great city of Nuremberg was the capital of the grand-duchy or of the empire of Russia; learnt that the English were on the point of returning to the bosom of the Catholic Church, and that the “others” would soon follow, and was, in short, in spite of the particular recommendation of Father Llanos, very badly received. Some little time afterwards I fell into the hands of two young Capuchins, who tried to convert me, but who, with the exception of this little impertinence, treated me capitally. They gave me pâtés de foie gras boiled in water, which I quickly recognized by the truffles swimming about in the grease. To punish them for their importunity I refrained from telling my hosts the right way to cook the pâtés, which I had the pleasure of afterwards eating in the forest, as I easily persuaded them to sell me the tins they had left. These are the only two occasions on which I was subjected to this kind of annoyance during my eighteen months’ residence in the Philippines.

Arrangements for travellers.The traveller who is provided with a passport is, however, by no means obliged to rely upon priestly hospitality, as he needs must do in many isolated parts of Europe. Every village, every hamlet, has its commonhouse, called casa real or tribunal, in which he can take up his quarters and be supplied with provisions at the market price, a circumstance that I was not acquainted with on the occasion of my first trip. The traveller is therefore in this respect perfectly independent, at least in theory, though in practice he will often scarcely be able to avoid putting up at the conventos in the more isolated parts of the country. In these the priest, perhaps the only white man for miles around, is with difficulty persuaded to miss the opportunity of housing such a rare guest, to whom he is only too anxious to give up the best bedroom in his dwelling, and to offer everything that his kitchen and cellar can afford. Everything is placed before the guest in such a spirit of sincere and undisguised friendliness, that he feels no obligation, but on the contrary easily persuades himself that he is doing his host a favor by prolonging his stay. Upon one occasion, when I had determined, in spite of an invitation from the padre, to occupy the casa real, just as I was beginning to instal myself, the priest appeared upon the scene with the municipal officials and a band of music which was in the neighborhood pending the preparations for a religious festival. He made them lift me up, chair and all, and with music and general rejoicing carried me off to his own house.

Kupang iron-foundry.On the following day I paid a visit to Kupang, an iron-foundry lying to the N.N.E of Angat, escorted by two armed men, whose services I was pressed to accept, as the district had a bad reputation for robberies. After travelling three or four miles in a northerly direction, we crossed the Banauon, at that time a mere brook meandering through shingle, but in the rainy season an impetuous stream more than a hundred feet broad; and in a couple of hours we reached the iron-works, an immense shed lying in the middle of the forest, with a couple of wings at each end, in which the manager, an Englishman, who had been wrecked some years before in Samar, lived with his wife, a pretty mestiza. If I laid down my handkerchief, my pencil, or any other object, the wife immediately locked them up to protect them from the kleptomania of her servants. These poor people, whose enterprise was not a very successful one, had to lead a wretched life. Two years before my visit a band of twenty-seven robbers burst into the place, sacked the house, and threw its mistress, who was alone with her maid at the time, out of the window. She fortunately alighted without receiving any serious hurt, but the maid, whom terror caused to jump out of the window also, died of the injuries she received. The robbers, who turned out to be miners and residents in Angat, were easily caught, and, when I was there, had already spent a couple of years in prison awaiting their trial.

A negrito family.I met a negrito family here who had friendly relations with the people in the iron-works, and were in the habit of exchanging the produce of the forest with them for provisions. The father of this family accompanied me on a hunting expedition. He was armed with a bow and a couple of arrows. The arrows had spear-shaped iron points a couple of inches long; one of them had been dipped into arrow-poison, a mixture that looked like black tar. The women had guitars (tabaua) similar to those used by the Mintras in the Malay peninsula. They were made of pieces of bamboo a foot long, to which strings of split chair-cane were fastened.2

Unwelcome hospitality.Upon my return, to avoid spending the night at the wretched convento where I had left my servant with my luggage, I took the advice of my friends at the iron-works and started late, in order to arrive at the priest’s after ten o’clock at night; for I knew that the padre shut up his house at ten, and that I could therefore sleep, without offending him, beneath the roof of a wealthy mestizo, an acquaintance of theirs. About half-past ten I reached the latter’s house, and sat down to table with the merry women of the family, who were just having their supper. Suddenly my friend the parson made his appearance from an inner room, where with a couple of Augustinian friars, he had been playing cards with the master of the house. He immediately began to compliment me upon my good fortune, “for had you been but one minute later,” said he, “you certainly wouldn’t have got into the convento.”

1 Tylor (Anahuac 227) says that this word is derived from the Mexican petlatl, a mat. The inhabitants of the Philippines call this petate, and from the Mexican petla-calli, a mat “house,” derive petaca, a cigar case.

2 Four lines, re an omitted sketch, left out.—C.

VII

The Lagoon of Bay.My second trip took me up the Pasig to the great Lagoon of Bay. I left Manila at night in a banca, a boat hollowed out of a tree-trunk, with a vaulted roof made of bamboo and so low that it was almost impossible to sit upright under it, which posture, indeed, the banca-builder appeared to have neglected to consider. A bamboo hurdle placed at the bottom of the boat protects the traveller from the water and serves him as a couch. Jurien de la Gravière1 compares the banca to a cigar-box, in which the traveller is so tightly packed that he would have little chance of saving his life if it happened to upset. The crew was composed of four rowers and a helmsman; their daily pay was five reals apiece, in all nearly seven pesos, high wages for such lazy fellows in comparison with the price of provisions, for the rice that a hard-working man ate in a day seldom cost more than seven centavos (in the provinces often scarcely six), and the rest of his food (fish and vegetables), only one centavo. We passed several villages and tiendas on the banks in which food was exposed for sale. My crew, after trying to interrupt the journey under all sorts of pretences, left the boat as we came to a village, saying that they were going to fetch some sails; but they forgot to return. At last, with the assistance of the night watchman I succeeded in hauling them out of some of their friends’ houses, where they had concealed themselves. After running aground several times upon the sandbanks, we entered the land and hill-locked Lagoon of Bay, and reached Jalajala early in the morning.

The Pasig.The Pasig forms a natural canal, about six leagues long, between the Bay of Manila and the Lagoon of Bay, a fresh water lake, thirty-five leagues in circumference, that washes the shores of three fertile provinces, Manila, Laguna and Cavite. Formerly large vessels full of cargo used to be able to sail right up to the borders of the lake; now they are prevented by sandbanks. Even flat-bottomed boats frequently run aground on the Napindan and Taguig banks.2 Were the banks removed, and the stone bridge joining Manila to Binondo replaced by a swing bridge, or a canal made round it, the coasting vessels would be able to ship the produce of the lagoon provinces at the very foot of the fields in which they grow. The traffic would be very profitable, the waters would shrink, and the shallows along the shore might be turned into rice and sugar fields. A scheme of this kind was approved more than thirty years ago in Madrid, but it was never carried into execution. The sanding up of the river has, on the contrary, been increased by a quantity of fish reels, the erection of which has been favored by the Colonial Waterways Board because it reaped a small tax from them.

A famous plantation.Jalajala, an estate which occupies the eastern of the two peninsulas which run southward into the lake, is one of the first places visited by strangers. It owes this preference to its beautiful position and nearness to Manila, and to the fantastic description of it by a former owner, De la Gironnière. The soil of the peninsula is volcanic; its range of hills is very rugged, and the watercourses bring down annually a quantity of soil from the mountains, which increases the deposits at their base. The shore-line, overgrown with grass and prickly sensitive-plants quite eight feet high, makes capital pasture for carabaos. Behind it broad fields of rice and sugar extend themselves up to the base of the hills. Towards the north the estate is bounded by the thickly-wooded Sembrano, the highest mountain in the peninsula; on the remaining sides it is surrounded with water. With the exception of the flat shore, the whole place is hilly and overgrown with grass and clumps of trees, capital pasture for its numerous herds—a thousand carabaos, one thousand five hundred to two thousand bullocks, and from six to seven hundred nearly wild horses. As we were descending one of the hills, we were suddenly surrounded by half-a-dozen armed men, who took us for cattle-thieves, but who, to their disappointment, were obliged to forego their expected chance of a reward.

Los Baños hot springs.Beyond Jalajala, on the south coast of the Lagoon of Bay, lies the hamlet of Los Baños, so called from a hot spring at the foot of the Makiling volcano. Even prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the natives used its waters as a remedy,3 but they are now very little patronized. The shore of the lake is at this point, and indeed all round its circumference, so flat that it is impossible to land with dry feet from the shallowest canoe. It is quite covered with sand mussels. North-west of Los Baños there lies a small volcanic lake fringed with thick woods, called Dagatan (the enchanted lagoon of travellers), to distinguish it from Dagât, as the Tagals call the great Lagoon of Bay. I saw nothing of the crocodiles which are supposed to infest it, but we flushed several flocks of wild fowl, disturbed by our invasion of their solitude. From Los Baños I had intended to go to Lupang Puti (white earth), where, judging from the samples shown me, there is a deposit of fine white silicious earth, which is purified in Manila and used as paint. I did not reach the place, as the guide whom I had with difficulty obtained, pretended, after a couple of miles, to be dead beat. From the inquiries I made, however, I apprehend that it is a kind of solfatara. Several deposits of it appear to exist at the foot of the Makiling.4

Talim island.On my return I paid a visit to the Island of Talim, which, with the exception of a clearing occupied by a few miserable huts, is uninhabited and thickly overgrown with forest and undergrowth. In the center of the Island is the Susong-Dalaga (maiden’s bosom), a dolerite hill with a beautifully formed crest. Upon the shore, on a bare rock, I found four eggs containing fully developed young crocodiles. When I broke the shells the little reptiles made off.

M. de la Gironnière.Although the south-west monsoons generally occur later in Jalajala than in Manila, it was already raining so hard that I decided to go to Calauan, on the southern shore of the lake, which is protected by Mount Makiling, and does not experience the effect of the rainy monsoons till later in the season. I met M. de la Gironnière in Calauan, the “gentilhomme Breton” who is so well known for telling the most terrible adventures. He had lately returned from Europe to establish a large sugar manufactory. His enterprise, however, was a failure. The house of the lively old gentleman, whose eccentricity had led him to adopt the dress and the frugal habits of the natives, was neither clean or well kept, although he had a couple of friends to assist him in the business, a Scotchman, and a young Frenchman who had lived in the most refined Parisian society.

Llanura de Imuc.There were several small lakes and a few empty volcanic basins on the estate. To the south-west, not very far from the house, and to the left of the road leading to San Pablo, lies the Llanura de Imuc, a valley of dolerite more than a hundred feet deep. Large blocks of basalt enable one to climb down into the valley, the bottom of which is covered with dense growths. The center of the basin is occupied by a neglected coffee plantation laid out by a former proprietor. The density of the vegetation prevented my taking more precise observations. There is another shallower volcanic crater to the north of it. Its soil was marshy and covered with cane and grass, but even in the rainy season it does not collect sufficient water to turn it into a lake. It might, therefore, be easily drained and cultivated. To the south-west of this basin, and to the right of the road to San Pablo, lies the Tigui-mere.Tigui-mere. From a plain of whitish-grey soil, covered with concentric shells as large as a nut, rises a circular embankment with gently-sloping sides, intersected only by a small cleft which serves as an entrance, and which shows, on its edges denuded of vegetation, the loose rapilli of which the embankment is formed. The sides of this natural amphitheatre tower more than a hundred feet above its flat base. A path runs east and west right through the center. The northern half is studded with cocopalm trees and cultivated plants; the southern portion is full of water nearly covered with green weeds and slime. The ground consists of black rapilli.

Leaf imprints in lava. From the Tigui-mere I returned to the hacienda a bank formed of volcanic lava two feet in thickness and covered with indistinct impressions of leaves. Their state of preservation did not allow me to distinguish their species, but they certainly belonged to some tropical genus, and are, according to Professor A. Braun, of the same kind as those now growing there.

There are two more small lakes half a league to the south-east. The road leading to them is composed of volcanic remains which cover the soil, and large blocks of lava lie in the bed of the stream.

Maycap Lake. The first of the two, the Maycap Lake, is entirely embanked with the exception of a small opening fitted with sluices to supply water to a canal; and from its northern side, which alone admits of an open view, the southern peak of San Cristobal may be seen, about 73° to the north-east. Its banks, which are about eighty feet high, rise with a gentle slope in a westerly direction, till they join Mount Maiba, a hill about 500 feet high. The soil, like that of the embankments of the other volcanic lakes, consists of rapilli and lava, and is thickly wooded.

Lake Palakpakan. Close by is another lake, Palakpakan, of nearly the same circumference, and formed in a similar manner (of black sand and rapilli). Its banks are from thirty to one hundred feet high. From its north-western edge San Cristobal lifts its head 70° to the northeast. Its waters are easily reached, and are much frequented by fishermen.

Palm brandy. About nine o’clock, a.m., I rode from Calauan to Pila, and thence in a northeasterly direction to Santa Cruz, over even, broad, and well-kept roads, through a palm-grove a mile long and a mile and a half broad, which extends down to the very edge of the lagoons. The products of these palm trees generally are not used for the production of oil but for the manufacture of brandy. Their fruit is not allowed to come to maturity; but the buds are slit open, and the sweet sap is collected as it drips from them. It is then allowed to ferment, and subjected to distillation.5 As the sap is collected twice a day, and as the blossoms, situated at the top of the tree, are forty or fifty feet above the ground, bamboos are fastened horizontally, one above the other, from one tree to another, to facilitate the necessary ascent and descent. The sap collector stands on the lower cross-piece while he holds on to the upper.

Bought by government.The sale of palm-brandy was at the time of my visit the monopoly of the government, which retailed it in the Estanco (government sale rooms) with cigars, stamped paper, and religious indulgences. The manufacture was carried on by private individuals; but the whole of the brandy was of necessity disposed of to the administration, which, however, paid such a high price for it that the contractors made large profits.

Profit in manufacture.I afterwards met a Spaniard in Camarines who, according to his own account, must have made considerable and easy gains from these contracts. He had bought palm-trees at an average price of five reals apiece (they usually cost more, though they can be sometimes purchased for two reals). Thirty-five palms will furnish daily at least thirty-six quarts of tuba (sugar-containing sap), from which, after fermentation and distillation, six quarts of brandy of the prescribed strength can be manufactured. One man is sufficient to attend to them, and receives for his trouble half the proceeds. The administration pays six cuartos for a quart of brandy. My friend the contractor was in annual receipt, therefore, from every thirty-five of his trees, of 360 × ½ × 5 cuartos = $40.50. As the thirty-five trees only cost him $21.875, his invested capital brought him in about 200 per cent.

Wine and liquor monopoly a failure. The proceeds of this monopoly (wines and liquors) were rated at $1,622,810 in the colonial budget for 1861; but its collection was so difficult, and so disproportionately expensive, that it nearly swallowed up the whole profit. It caused espionage, robberies of all sorts, embezzlement, and bribery on a large scale. The retail of the brandy by officials, who are paid by a percentage on the consumption, did a good deal to injure the popular respect for the government. Moreover, the imposition of this improper tax on the most important industry of the country not only crippled the free trade in palms, but also the manufacture of raw sugar; for the government, to favor their own monopoly, had forbidden the sugar manufacturers to make rum from their molasses, which became in consequence so valueless that in Manila they gave it to their horses. The complaints of the manufacturers at last stirred up the administration to allow the manufacture of rum; but the palm-brandy monopoly remained intact. The Filipinos now drank nothing but rum, so that at last, in self-defence, the government entirely abandoned the monopoly (January, 1864). Since that, the rum manufacturers pay taxes according to the amount of their sale, but not upon the amount of their raw produce. In order to cover the deficit occasioned by the abandonment of the brandy monopoly, the government has made a small increase in the poll-tax. The practice of drinking brandy has naturally much increased; it is, however, a very old habit.6 With this exception, the measure has had the most favorable consequences.

Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a lively, prosperous place (in 1865 it contained 11,385 inhabitants), through the center of which runs a river. As the day on which we passed through it was Sunday, the stream was full of bathers, amongst them several women, their luxuriant hair covered with broad-brimmed hats to shade them from the sun. From the ford the road takes a sharp turn and inclines first to the east and then to the south-east, till it reaches Magdalena, between which and Majaijai the country becomes hilly. Just outside the latter, a viaduct takes the road across a deep ravine full of magnificent ferns, which remind the traveller of the height—more than 600 feet—above the sea level to which he has attained. The spacious convento at Majaijai, built by the Jesuits, is celebrated for its splendid situation. The Lagoon of Bay is seen to extend far to the north-east; in the distance the Peninsula of Jalajala and the Island of Talim, from which rises the Susong-Dalaga volcano, terminate the vista. From the convento to the lake stretches an endless grove of coco-trees, while towards the south the slope of the distant high ground grows suddenly steeper, and forms an abruptly precipitous conical hill, intersected by deep ravines. This is the Banajao or Majaijai volcano, and beside it Mount San Cristobal rears its bell-shaped summit.

Scenery along Lucban-Maubon road.As everybody was occupied with the preparations for an ensuing religious festival, I betook myself, through Lucban on the eastern shore, to Mauban, situated amidst deep ravines and masses of lava at the foot of Mount Majaijai. The vegetation was of indescribable beauty, and the miserable road was enlivened with cheerful knots of pedestrians hastening to the festival.7

Lucban.I reached Lucban in three hours; it is a prosperous place of 13,000 inhabitants, to the north-east of Majaijai. A year after my visit it burnt to the ground. The agricultural produce of the district is not very important, owing to the mountainous nature of the country; but considerable industrial activity prevails there. The inhabitants weave fine straw hats from the fibre of the leaf of the buri palm-tree (corypha sp.), manufacture pandanus mats, and carry on a profitable trade at Mauban with the placer miners of North Camarines. The entire breadth of the road is covered with cement, and along its center flows, in an open channel, a sparkling rivulet.

Java-like rice fields.The road from Lucban to Mauban, which is situated on the bay of Lamon, opposite to the Island of Alabat, winds along the narrow watercourse of the Mapon river, through deep ravines with perpendicular cliffs of clay. I observed several terrace-formed rice-fields similar to those so prevalent in Java, an infrequent sight in the Philippines. Presently the path led us into the very thick of the forest. Nearly all the trees were covered with aroides and creeping ferns; amongst them I noticed the angiopteris, pandanus, and several large specimens of the fan palm.

Mapon river. Three leagues from Lucban the river flows under a rock supported on prismatically shaped pillars, and then runs through a bed of round pebbles, composed of volcanic stone and white lime, as hard as marble, in which impressions of shell-fish and coral can be traced. Further up the river the volcanic rubble disappears, and the containing strata then consist of the marble-like pebbles cemented together with calcareous spar. These strata alternate with banks of clay and coarse-grained soil, which contain scanty and badly preserved imprints of leaves and mussel-fish. Amongst them, however, I observed a flattened but still recognizable specimen of the fossil melania. The river-bed must be quite five hundred feet above the level of the sea.

Bamboo raft ferry.About a league beyond Mauban, as it was getting dusk, we crossed the river, then tolerably broad, on a wretched leaking bamboo raft, which sank at least six inches beneath the water under the weight of our horses, and ran helplessly aground in the mud on the opposite side.

Visitors to festival.The tribunal or common-house was crowded with people who had come to attend the festival which was to take place on the following day. The cabezas wore, in token of their dignity, a short jacket above their shirts. A quantity of brightly decorated tables laden with fruit and pastry stood against the walls, and in the middle of the principal room a dining-table was laid out for forty persons.

Hospitality of tribunal.A European who travels without a servant—mine had run away with some wages I had rashly paid him in advance—is put down as a beggar, and I was overwhelmed with impertinent questions on the subject, which, however, I left unanswered. As I hadn’t had the supper I stood considerably in need of, I took the liberty of taking a few savory morsels from the meatpot, which I ate in the midst of a little knot of wondering spectators; I then laid myself down to sleep on the bench beside the table, to which a second set of diners were already sitting down. When I awoke on the following morning there were already so many people stirring that I had no opportunity of performing my toilet. I therefore betook myself in my dirty travelling dress to the residence of a Spaniard who had settled in the pueblo, and who received me in the most hospitable manner as soon as the description in my passport satisfied him that I was worthy of a confidence not inspired by my appearance.

Trade in molaze.My friendly host carried on no trifling business. Two English ships were at that moment in the harbor, which he was about to send to China laden with molave, a species of wood akin to teak.

Butucan waterfall.On my return I visited the fine waterfall of Butucan, between Mauban and Lucban, a little apart from the high road. A powerful stream flows between two high banks of rocky soil thickly covered with vegetation, and, leaping from a ledge of volcanic rock suddenly plunges into a ravine, said to be three hundred and sixty feet in depth, along the bottom of which it is hurried away. The channel, however, is so narrow, and the vegetation so dense, that an observer looking at it from above can not follow its course. This waterfall has a great similarity to that which falls from the Semeru in Java. Here, as there, a volcanic stream flowing over vast rocky deposits forms a horizontal watercourse, which in its turn is overshadowed with immense masses of rock. The water easily forces its way between these till it reaches the solid lava, when it leaves its high, narrow, and thickly-wooded banks, and plunges into the deep chasm it has itself worn away. The pouring rain unfortunately prevented me from sketching this fine fall. It was raining when I reached the convento of Majaijai, and it was still raining when I left it three days later, nor was there any hope of improvement in the weather for another month to come. “The wet season lasts for eight or nine months in Majaijai, and during the whole period scarcely a day passes without the rain falling in torrents.”—Estado geograph.

Majaijai.To ascend the volcano was under such circumstances impracticable. According to some notes written by the Majaijai priest, an ascent and survey of Mount Banajao was made on the 22nd of April, 1858, by Senors Roldan and Montero, two able Spanish naval officers, specially charged with the revision of the marine chart of the archipelago. From its summit they took observations of Manila cathedral, of Mayon, another volcano in Albay, and of the Island of Polillo. They estimated the altitude of Banajao to be seven thousand and twenty Spanish feet, and the depth of its crater to be seven hundred. The crater formerly contained a lake, but the last eruption made a chasm in its southern side through which the water flowed away.8

Calauan.I reached Calauan in the pouring rain, wading through the soft spongy clay upon wretched, half-starved ponies, and found I must put off my water journey to Manila till the following day, as there was no boat on the lake at this point. The next morning there were no horses to be found; and it was not till the afternoon that I procured a cart and a couple of carabaos to take me to Santa Cruz, whence in the evening the market-vessel started for Manila. One carabao was harnessed in front; the other was fastened behind the cart in order that I might have a change of animals when the first became tired. Carabao number one wouldn’t draw, and number two acted as a drag—rather useless apparatus on a level road—so I changed them. As soon as number two felt the load it laid down. A few blows persuaded it to pick itself up, when it deliberately walked to the nearest pool and dropped into it. It was with the greatest trouble that we unharnessed the cart and pushed it back on to the road, while our two considerate beasts took a mud bath. At last we reloaded the baggage, the carabaos were reharnessed in the original positions, and the driver, leaning his whole weight upon the nose-rope of the leading beast, pulled with might and main. To my great delight the animal condescended to slowly advance with the cart and its contents. Pila.At Pila I managed to get a better team, with which late in the evening, in the midst of a pouring rain, I reached a little hamlet opposite Santa Cruz. The market-vessel had left; our attempts to get a boat to take us across to the village only led to barefaced attempts at extortion, so I entered one of the largest of the hamlet’s houses, which was occupied by a widow and her daughter. After some delay my request for a night’s lodging was granted. I sent for some oil, to give me a little light, and something to eat. The women brought in some of their relations, who helped to prepare the food and stopped in the house to protect its owners. The next morning I crossed the river, teeming with joyous bathers, to Santa Cruz, and hired a boat there to take me across the lake to Pasig, and from thence to Manila. A contrary wind, however, forced us to land on the promontory of Jalajala, and there wait for the calm that accompanies the dawn. Earthquake evidences.Betwixt the extreme southern point of the land and the houses I saw, in several places, banks of mussels projecting at least fifteen feet above the surface of the water, similar to those which are so frequently found on the sea-coast;—a proof that earthquakes have taken place in this neighborhood.

1 Voyage en Chine, vol. II., page 33.

2 According to the report of an engineer, the sand banks are caused by the river San Mateo, which runs into the Pasig at right angles shortly after the latter leaves the Lagoon; in the rainy season it brings down a quantity of mud, which is heaped up and embanked by the south-west winds that prevail at the time. It would, therefore, be of little use to remove the sandbanks without giving the San Mateo, the cause of their existence, a direct and separate outlet into the lake.

3 They take baths for their maladies, and have hot springs for this purpose, particularly along the shore of the king’s lake (Estang du Roy, instead of Estang de Bay by a printer’s mistake apparently), which is in the Island of Manila.—Thevenot.

4 “One can scarcely walk thirty paces between Mount Makiling and a place called Bacon, which lies to the east of Los Baños, without meeting several kinds of natural springs, some very hot, some lukewarm, some of the temperature of the atmosphere, and some very cold. In a description of this place given in our archives for the year 1739, it is recorded that a hill called Natognos lies a mile to the south-east of the village, on the plateau of which there is a small plain 400 feet square, which is kept in constant motion by the volume of vapor issuing from it. The soil from which this vapor issues is an extremely white earth; it is sometimes thrown up to the height of a yard or a yard and a half, and meeting the lower temperature of the atmosphere falls to the ground in small pieces.”—Estado geograph., 1865.

5 Pigafetta says that the natives, in order to obtain palm-wine, cut the top of the tree through to the pith, and then catch the sap as it oozes out of the incision. According to Regnaud, Natural History of the Coco-tree, the negroes of Saint Thomas pursue a similar method in the present day, a method that considerably injures the trees and produces a much smaller quantity of liquor. Hernandez describes an indigenous process of obtaining wine, honey, and sago from the sacsao palm, a tree which from its stunted growth would seem to correspond with the acenga saccharifera. The trees are tapped near the top, the soft part of the trunks is hollowed out, and the sap collects in this empty space. When all the juice is extracted, the tree is allowed to dry up, and is then cut into thin pieces which, after desiccation in the sun, are ground into meal.

6 Pigafetta mentions that the natives were in the habit of making oil, vinegar, wine, and milk, from the coco-palm, and that they drank a great deal of the wine. Their kings, he says, frequently intoxicated themselves at their banquets.

7 A number of the Illustrated London News, of December, 1857, or January, 1858, contains a clever drawing, by an accomplished artist, of the mode of travelling over this road, under the title, “A macadamized road in Manila.”

8 Erd and Picketing, of the United States exploring expedition, determined the height to be 6,500 English feet (7,143 Spanish), not an unsatisfactory result, considering the imperfect means they possessed for making a proper measurement. In the Manila Estado geografico for 1865, the height is given, without any statement as to the source whence the estimate is derived, as 7,030 feet. The same authority says, “the large volcano is extinct since 1730, in which year its last eruption took place. The mountain burst into flames on the southern side, threw up streams of water, burning lava, and stones of an enormous size; traces of the last can be observed as far as the village of Sariaya. The crater is perhaps a league in circumference, it is highest on the northern side, and its interior is shaped like an egg-shell: the depth of the crater apparently extends half-way down the height of the mountain.”

VIII

To Albay by schooner.Towards the end of August I started from Manila for Albay in a schooner which had brought a cargo of hemp and was returning in ballast. It was fine when we set sail; but on the following day the signs of a coming storm increased so rapidly that the captain resolved to return and seek protection in the small but secure harbor of Mariveles, a creek on the southern shore of Bataan, the province forming the western boundary of Manila bay. We reached it about two o’clock in the night after cruising about for fourteen hours before the entrance; and we were obliged to remain here at anchor for a fortnight, as it rained and stormed continuously for that period.

Mariveles.The weather obliged me to limit my excursions to the immediate neighborhood of Mariveles. Unfortunately it was not till the close of our stay that I learnt that there was a colony of negritos in the mountains; and it was not till just before my departure that I got a chance of seeing and sketching a couple of them, male and female. The inhabitants of Mariveles have not a very good reputation. The place is only visited by ships which run in there in bad weather, when their idle crews spend the time in drinking and gambling. Some of the young girls were of striking beauty and of quite a light color; often being in reality of mixed race, though they passed as of pure Tagal blood. This is a circumstance I have observed in many seaports, and in the neighborhood of Manila; but, in the districts which are almost entirely unvisited by the Spaniards, the natives are much darker and of purer race.

Storm-bound shipping.The number of ships which were seeking protection from the weather in this port amounted to ten, of which three were schooners. Every morning regularly a small pontin1 used to attempt to set sail; but it scarcely got a look at the open sea before it returned, when it was saluted with the jeers and laughter of the others. It was hunger that made them so bold. The crew, who had taken some of their own produce to Manila, had spent the proceeds of their venture, and had started on their return voyage scantily provided with provisions, with the hope and intention of soon reaching their home, which they could have done with any favorable wind. Such cases frequently occur. A few natives unite to charter a small vessel, and load it with the produce of their own fields, which they set off to sell in Manila.

The straits.The straits between the Islands resemble beautiful wide rivers with charming spots upon the banks inhabited by small colonies; and the sailors generally find the weather gets squally towards evening, and anchor till the morning breaks.

Filipino hospitality.The hospitable coast supplies them with fish, crabs, plenty of mussels, and frequently unprotected coconuts. If it is inhabited, so much the better. Filipino hospitality is ample, and much more comprehensive than that practised in Europe. The crews are accommodated in the different huts. After a repast shared in common, and washed down by copious draughts of palm-wine, mats are streched on the floor; the lamps—large shells, fitted with rush wicks—are extinguished, and the occupants of the hut fall asleep together. Once, as I was sailing into the bay of Manila after a five day’s cruise, we overtook a craft which had sailed from the same port as we had with a cargo of coconut oil for Manila, and which had spent six months upon its trip. It is by no means uncommon for a crew which makes a long stay in the capital to squander the whole proceeds of their cargo, if they have not done it before reaching town.

Coasting Luzon.At last one evening, when the storm had quite passed away, we sailed out of Mariveles. A small, volcanic, pillar-shaped rock, bearing a striking resemblance to the Island of the Cyclops, off the coast of Sicily, lies in front of the harbor—like there, a sharp pyramid and a small, flat island. We sailed along the coast of Cavite till we reached Point Santiago, the southwestern extremity of Luzon, and then turned to the east, through the fine straits that lie between Luzon to the north and the Bisayan islands to the south. As the sun rose, a beautiful spectacle presented itself. To the north was the peak of the Taal volcano, towering above the flat plains of Batangas; and to the south the thickly-wooded, but rock-bound coast of Mindoro, the iron line of which was broken by the harbor of Porto Galera, protected from the fury of the waves by a small islet lying immediately before it. The waters around us were thickly studded with vessels which had taken refuge from the storm in the Bisayan ports, and were now returning to Manila.

Importance of straits.These straits, which extend from the south-east to the northwest, are the great commercial highway of the Archipelago, and remain navigable during the whole year, being protected from the fury of the north-easterly winds by the sheltering peninsula of Luzon, which projects to the south-east, and by Samar, which extends in a parallel direction; while the Bisayan islands shield them from the blasts that blow from the south-west. The Islands of Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Cebu and Bohol, which Nature has placed in close succession to each other, form the southern borders of the straits; and the narrow cross channels between them form as many outlets to the Sea of Mindoro, which is bounded on the west by Palawan, on the east by Mindanao, and on the south by the Sulu group. The eastern waters of the straits wash the coasts of Samar and Leyte, and penetrate through three small channels only to the great ocean; the narrow straits of San Bernardino, of San Juanico, and of Surigao. Several considerable, and innumerable smaller islets, lie within the area of these cursorily explained outlines.

Batangas coast.A couple of bays on the south coast of Batangas offer a road-stead, though but little real protection, to passing vessels, which in stormy weather make for Porto Galera, in the Island of Mindoro, which lies directly opposite. A river, a league and a half in length, joins Taal, the principal port of the province, to the great inland sea of Taal, or Bombon. This stream was formerly navigable; but it has now become so sanded up that it is passable only at flood tides, and then only by very small vessels.

Batangas exports.The province of Batangas supplies Manila with its best cattle, and exports sugar and coffee.

A hilly range bounds the horizon on the Luzon side; the striking outlines of which enable one to conjecture its volcanic origin. Most of the smaller islands to the south appear to consist of superimposed mountainous ranges, terminating seaward in precipitous cliffs. The lofty and symmetrical peak of Mount Mayon is the highest point in the panoramic landscape. Towards evening we sighted Mount Bulusan, in the south-eastern extremity of Luzon; and presently we turned northwards, and sailed up the Straits of San Bernardino, which separate Luzon from Samar.

Bulusan like Vesuvius.The Bulusan volcano, “which appears to have been for a long time extinct, but which again began to erupt in 1852,”2 is surprisingly like Vesuvius in outline. It has, like its prototype, a couple of peaks. The western one, a bell-shaped summit, is the eruption cone. The eastern apex is a tall, rugged mound, probably the remains of a huge circular crater. As in Vesuvius, the present crater is in the center of the extinct one. The intervals between them are considerably larger and more uneven than the Atrio del Cavallo of the Italian volcano.

San Bernardino current.The current is so powerful in the Straits of San Bernardino that we were obliged to anchor twice to avoid being carried back again. To our left we had continually in view the magnificent Bulusan volcano, with a hamlet of the same name nestling at the foot of its eastern slope in a grove of coco-trees, close to the sea. Struggling with difficulty against the force of the current, we succeeded, with the assistance of light and fickle winds, in reaching Legaspi, the port of Albay, on the following evening. Our skipper, a Spaniard, had determined to accomplish the trip as rapidly as possible.

A native captain.On my return voyage, however, I fell into the hands of a native captain; and, as my cruise under his auspices presented many peculiarities, I may quote a few passages relating to it from my diary.... The skipper intended to have taken a stock of vegetables for my use, but he had forgotten them. He therefore landed on a small island, and presently made his reappearance with a huge palm cabbage, which, in the absence of its owner, he had picked from a tree he cut down for the purpose.... On another occasion the crew made a descent upon a hamlet on the north-western coast of Leyte to purchase provisions. Instead of laying in a stock for the voyage at Tacloban, the sailors preferred doing so at some smaller village on the shores of the straits, where food is cheaper, and where their landing gave them a pretext to run about the country. The straits of San Juanico, never more than a mile, and often only eight hundred feet broad, are about twenty miles in length: yet it often takes a vessel a week to sail up them; for contrary winds and an adverse current force it to anchor frequently and to lie to for whole nights in the narrower places. Towards evening our captain thought that the sky appeared very threatening, so he made for the bay of Navo, of Masbate. An intermittent voyage.There he anchored, and a part of the crew went on shore. The next day was a Sunday; the captain thought “the sky still appeared very threatening;” and besides he wanted to make some purchases. So we anchored again off Magdalena, where we passed the night. On Monday a favorable wind took us, at a quicker rate, past Marinduque and the rocky islet of Elefante, which lies in front of it. Elefante appears to be an extinct volcano; it looks somewhat like the Iriga, but is not so lofty. It is covered with capital pasture, and its ravines are dotted with clumps of trees. Nearly a thousand head of half-wild cattle were grazing on it. They cost four dollars a-piece; and their freight to Manila is as much more, where they sell for sixteen dollars. They are badly tended, and many are stolen by the passing sailors. My friend the captain was full of regret that the favorable wind gave him no opportunity of landing; perhaps I was the real obstacle. “They were splendid beasts! How easy it would be to put a couple on board! They could scarcely be said to have any real owners; the nominal proprietors were quite unaware how many they possessed, and the herd was continually multiplying without any addition from its masters. A man lands with a little money in his pocket. If he meets a herdsman, he gives him a dollar, and the poor creature thinks himself a lucky fellow. If not, so much the better. He can do the business himself; a barrel of shot or a sling suffices to settle the matter.”

Plunder.As we sailed along we saw coming towards us another vessel, the Luisa, which suddenly executed a very extraordinary tack; and in a minute or two its crew sent up a loud shout of joy, having succeeded in stealing a fishbox which the fishermen of Marinduque had sunk in the sea. They had lowered a hook, and been clever enough to grapple the rope of the floating buoy. Our captain was beside himself with envy of their prize.

Legaspi.Legaspi is the principal port of the province of Albay. Its road-stead, however, is very unsafe, and, being exposed to the north-easterly storms, is perfectly useless during the winter. The north-east wind is the prevailing one on this coast; the south-west breeze only blows in June and July. The heaviest storms occur between October and January. They generally set in with a gentle westerly wind, accompanied with rain. The gale presently veers round to the north or the south, and attains the height of its fury when it reaches the north-east or the south-east. After the storm a calm generally reigns, succeeded by the usual wind of the prevailing monsoon. The lightly-built elastic houses of the country are capitally suited to withstand these storms; but roofs and defective houses are frequently carried away. The traffic between Manila and Legaspi is at its height between January and October; but during the autumn months all communication by water ceases. The letter-post, which arrives pretty regularly every week, is then the only link between the two places. At this season heavy packages can be sent only by a circuitous and expensive route along the south coast, and thence by water to Manila. Much more favorably situated for navigation is the port of Sorsogon.Sorsogon, the mouth of which opens to the west, and is protected by the Island of Bagalao, which lies in front of it. Besides its security as a harbor, it has the advantage of a rapid and unbroken communication with the capital of the archipelago, while vessels sailing from Legaspi, even at the most favorable time of the year, are obliged to go round the eastern peninsula of Luzon, and meet the principal current of the Straits of San Bernardino, frequently a very difficult undertaking; and, moreover, small vessels obliged to anchor there are in great danger of being captured by pirates. The country about Sorsogon, however, is not so fertile as the neighborhood of Legaspi.

A worthy official.I took letters of introduction with me to both the Spanish authorities of the province; who received me in the most amiable way, and were of the greatest use to me during the whole of my stay in the vicinity. I had also the good fortune to fall in with a model alcalde, a man of good family and of most charming manners; in short, a genuine caballero. To show the popular appreciation of the honesty of his character, it was said of him in Samar that he had entered the province with nothing but a bundle of papers, and had left it as lightly equipped.

1 From ponte, deck; a two-masted vessel, with mat sails, of about 100 tons burden.

2 Estado Geogr., p. 314.

IX

Daraga.My Spanish friends enabled me to rent a house in Daraga,1 a well-to-do town of twenty thousand inhabitants at the foot of the Mayon, a league and a half from Legaspi. The summit of this volcano was considered inaccessible until two young Scotchmen, Paton and Stewart by name, demonstrated the contrary.2 Since then several natives have ascended the mountain, but no Europeans.

Ascent of Mayon.I set out on September 25th, and passed the night, by the advice of Señor Muños, in a hut one thousand feet above the level of the sea, in order to begin the ascent the next morning with unimpaired vigor. But a number of idlers who insisted on following me, and who kept up a tremendous noise all night, frustrated the purpose of this friendly advice; and I started about five in the morning but little refreshed. The fiery glow I had noticed about the crater disappeared with the dawn. The first few hundred feet of the ascent were covered with a tall grass quite six feet high; and then came a slope of a thousand feet or so of short grass succeeded by a quantity of moss; but even this soon disappeared, and the whole of the upper part of the mountain proved entirely barren. We reached the summit about one o’clock. It was covered with fissures which gave out sulphurous gases and steam in such profusion that we were obliged to stop our mouths and nostrils with our handkerchiefs to prevent ourselves from being suffocated. We came to a halt at the edge of a broad and deep chasm, from which issued a particularly dense vapor. Apparently we were on the brink of a crater, but the thick fumes of the disagreeable vapor made it impossible for us to guess at the breadth of the fissure. The absolute top of the volcano consisted of a ridge, nearly ten feet thick, of solid masses of stone covered with a crust of lava bleached by the action of the escaping gas. Several irregular blocks of stone lying about us showed that the peak had once been a little higher. When, now and again, the gusts of wind made rifts in the vapor, we perceived on the northern corner of the plateau several rocky columns at least a hundred feet high, which had hitherto withstood both storm and eruption. I afterwards had an opportunity of observing the summit from Daraga with a capital telescope on a very clear day, when I noticed that the northern side of the crater was considerably higher than its southern edge.

The descent.Our descent took some time. We had still two-thirds of it beneath us when night overtook us. In the hope of reaching the hut where we had left our provisions, we wandered about till eleven o’clock, hungry and weary, and at last were obliged to wait for daylight. This misfortune was owing not to our want of proper precaution, but to the unreliability of the carriers. Two of them, whom we had taken with us to carry water and refreshments, had disappeared at the very first; and a third, “a very trustworthy man,” whom we had left to take care of our things at the hut, and who had been ordered to meet us at dusk with torches, had bolted, as I afterwards discovered, back to Daraga before noon. My servant, too, who was carrying a woolen blanket and an umbrella for me, suddenly vanished in the darkness as soon as it began to rain, and though I repeatedly called him, never turned up again till the next morning. We passed the wet night upon the bare rocks, where, as our very thin clothes were perfectly wet through, we chilled till our teeth chattered. As soon, however, as the sun rose we got so warm that we soon recovered our tempers. Towards nine o’clock we reached the hut and got something to eat after twenty-nine hours’ fast.

A suspicious medal.In the Trabajos y Hechos Nolables de la Soc. Econom. de los Amigos del Pais, for September 4th, 1823, it is said that “Don Antonio Siguenza paid a visit to the volcano of Albay on March 11th,” and that the Society “ordered a medal to be struck in commemoration of the event, and in honor of the aforesaid Siguenza and his companions.” Everybody in Albay, however, assured me that the two Scotchmen were the first to reach the top of the mountain. It is true that in the above notice the ascent of the volcano is not directly mentioned; but the fact of the medal naturally leads us to suppose that nothing less can be referred to. Arenas, in his memoir, says: “Mayon was surveyed by Captain Siguenza. From the crater to the base, which is nearly at the level of the sea, he found that it measured sixteen hundred and eighty-two Spanish feet or four sixty-eight and two-third meters.” A little further on, he adds, that he had read in the records of the Society that they had had a gold medal struck in honor of Siguenza, who had made some investigations about the volcano’s crater in 1823. He, therefore, appears to have had some doubt about Siguenza’s actual ascent.

An early friar attempt.According to the Franciscan records a couple of monks attempted the ascent in 1592, in order to cure the natives of their superstitious belief about the mountain. One of them never returned; but the other, although he did not reach the summit, being stopped by three deep abysses, made a hundred converts to Christianity by the mere relation of his adventures. He died in the same year, in consequence, it is recorded, of the many variations of temperature to which he was exposed in his ascent of the volcano.

Estimates of heightSome books say that the mountain is of considerable height; but the Estado Geografico of the Franciscans for 1855, where one could scarcely expect to find such a thoughtless repetition of so gross a typographical error, says that the measurements of Siguenza give the mountain a height of sixteen hundred and eighty-two feet. According to my own barometrical reading, the height of the summit above the level of the sea was twenty-three hundred and seventy-four meters, or eighty-five hundred and fifty-nine Spanish feet.

1 Officially called Cagsaua. The old town of Cagsaua, which was built higher up the hill and was destroyed by the eruption of 1814, was rebuilt on the spot where formerly stood a small hamlet of the name of Daraga.

2 I learnt from Mr. Paton that the undertaking had also been represented as impracticable in Albay. “Not a single Spaniard, not a single native had ever succeeded in reaching the summit; in spite of all their precautions they would certainly be swallowed up in the sand.” However, one morning, about five o’clock, they set off, and soon reached the foot of the cone of the crater. Accompanied by a couple of natives, who soon left them, they began to make the ascent. Resting half way up, they noticed frequent masses of shining lava, thrown from the mouth of the crater, gliding down the mountain. With the greatest exertions they succeeded, between two and three o’clock, in reaching the summit, where, however, they were prevented by the noxious gas from remaining more than two or three minutes. During their descent, they restored their strength with some refreshments Sr. Muñoz had sent to meet them; and they reached Albay towards evening, where during their short stay they were treated as heroes, and presented with an official certificate of their achievement, for which they had the pleasure of paying several dollars.

X

An accident and a month’s rest.I sprained my foot so badly in ascending Mayon that I was obliged to keep the house for a month. Under the circumstances, I was not sorry to find myself settled in a roomy and comfortable dwelling. My house was built upon the banks of a small stream, and stood in the middle of a garden in which coffee, cacao, oranges, papayas, and bananas grew luxuriantly, in spite of the tall weeds which surrounded them. Several over-ripe berries had fallen to the ground, and I had them collected, roasted, mixed with an equal quantity of sugar, and made into chocolate; an art in which the natives greatly excel. With the Spaniards chocolate takes the place of coffee and tea, and even the mestizos and the well-to-do natives drink a great deal of it.

CacaoThe cacao-tree comes from Central America. It flourishes there between the 23rd parallel north and the 20th south latitude; but it is only at its best in the hottest and dampest climates. In temperate climates, where the thermometer marks less than 23° C., it produces no fruit.

High quality.It was first imported into the Philippines from Acapulco; either, according to Camarines, by a pilot called Pedro Brabo de Lagunas, in 1670; or, according to Samar, by some Jesuits, during Salcedo’s government, between 1663 and 1668. Since then it has spread over the greater part of the Island; and, although it is not cultivated with any excessive care, its fruit is of excellent quality. The cacao of Albay, if its cheapness be taken into consideration, may be considered at least equal to that of Caracas, which is so highly-prized in Europe, and which, on account of its high price, generally is largely mixed with inferior kinds.1 The bushes are usually found in small gardens, close to the houses; but so great is the native laziness that frequently the berries are allowed to decay, although the local cacao sells for a higher price than the imported. At Cebu and Negros a little more attention is paid to its cultivation; Scanty production.but it does not suffice to supply the wants of the colony, which imports the deficiency from Ternate and Mindanao. The best cacao of the Philippines is produced in the small Island of Maripipi, which lies to the north-west of Leyte; and it is difficult to obtain, the entire crop generally being long bespoke. It costs about one dollar per liter, whereas the Albay cacao costs from two to two and a half dollars per “ganta” (three liters).

Culture.The natives generally cover the kernels, just as they are beginning to sprout, with a little earth, and, placing them in a spirally-rolled leaf, hang them up beneath the roof of their dwellings. They grow very rapidly, and, to prevent their being choked by weeds, are planted out at very short intervals. This method of treatment is probably the reason that the cacao-trees in the Philippines never attain a greater height than eight or ten feet, while in their native soil they frequently reach thirty, and sometimes even forty feet. The tree begins to bear fruit in its third or fourth year, and in its fifth or sixth it reaches maturity, when it usually yields a “ganta” of cacao, which, as I have mentioned, is worth from two to two and a half dollars, and always finds a purchaser.2

Neglect.The profits arising from a large plantation would, therefore, be considerable; yet it is very rare to meet with one. I heard it said that the Economical Society had offered a considerable reward to any one who could exhibit a plantation of ten thousand berry-bearing trees; but in the Society’s report I found no mention of this reward.

Damage by storms.The great obstacles in the way of large plantations are the heavy storms which recur almost regularly every year, and often destroy an entire plantation in a single day. In 1856 a hurricane visited the Island just before the harvest, and completely tore up several large plantations by the roots; a catastrophe that naturally has caused much discouragement to the cultivators.3 One consequence of this state of things was that the free importation of cacao was permitted, and people were enabled to purchase Guayaqual cacao at fifteen dollars per quintal while that grown at home cost double the money.

Diseases and pests.The plant is sometimes attacked by a disease, the origin of which is unknown, when it suffers severely from certain noxious insects.4 It is also attacked by rats and other predatory vermin; the former sometimes falling upon it in such numbers that they destroy the entire harvest in a single night. Travellers in America say that a well-kept cacao plantation is a very picturesque sight. In the Philippines, however, or at any rate in East Luzon, the closely-packed, lifeless-looking, moss-covered trees present a dreary spectacle. Their existence is a brief one. Their oval leaves, sometimes nearly a foot long, droop singly from the twigs, and form no luxuriant masses of foliage. Their blossoms are very insignificant; they are of a reddish-yellow, no larger than the flowers of the lime, and grow separately on long weedy stalks. The fruit ripens in six months. When it is matured, it is of either a red or a yellow tint, and is somewhat like a very rough gherkin. Only two varieties appear to be cultivated in the Philippines.5 The pulp of the fruit is white, tender, and of an agreeable acid taste, and contains from eighteen to twenty-four kernels, arranged in five rows. These kernels are as large as almonds, and, like them, consist of a couple of husks and a small core. This is the cacao bean; which, roasted and finely ground, produces cacao, and with the addition of sugar, and generally of spice, makes chocolate. Till the last few years, every household in the Philippines made its own chocolate, of nothing but cacao and sugar. The natives who eat chocolate often add roasted rice to it. Nowadays there is a manufactory in Manila, which makes chocolate in the European way. The inhabitants of the eastern provinces are very fond of adding roasted pili nuts to their chocolate.6

Chocolate.Europeans first learnt to make a drink from cacao in Mexico, where the preparation was called chocolatl.7 Even so far back as the days of Cortes, who was a tremendous chocolate drinker, the cacao-tree was extensively cultivated. The Aztecs used the beans as money; and Montezuma used to receive part of his tribute in this peculiar coin. It was only the wealthy among the ancient Mexicans who ate pure cacao; the poor, on account of the value of the beans as coins, used to mix maize and mandioca meal with them. Even in our own day the inhabitants of Central America make use of the beans as small coins, as they have no copper money, nor smaller silver coins than the half-real. Both in Central America and in Orinoco there yet are many unpenetrated forests which are almost entirely composed of wild cacao-trees. I believe the natives gather some of their fruit, but it is almost worthless. By itself it has much less flavor than the cultivated kinds. Certainly it is not picked and dried at the proper season, and it gets spoilt in its long transit through the damp woods.

An uncertain venture.Since the abolition of slavery, the crops in America have been diminishing year by year, and until a short time ago, when the French laid out several large plantations in Central America, were of but trifling value. According to F. Engel, a flourishing cacao plantation required less outlay and trouble, and yields more profit than any other tropical plant; yet its harvests, which do not yield anything for the first five or six years, are very uncertain, owing to the numerous insects which attack the plants. In short, cacao plantations are only suited to large capitalists, or to very small cultivators who grow the trees in their own gardens. Moreover, as we have said, since the abolition of slavery most of the plantations have fallen into decay, for the freed slaves are entirely wanting in industry.

Use in Europe.The original chocolate was not generally relished in Europe. When, however, at a later period, it was mixed with sugar, it met with more approbation. The exaggerated praise of its admirers raised a bitter opposition amongst the opponents of the new drink; and the priests raised conscientious scruples against the use of so nourishing an article of food on fast days. The quarrel lasted till the seventeenth century, by which time cacao had become an everyday necessity in Spain. It was first introduced into Spain in 1520; but chocolate, on account of the monopoly of the Conquistadores, was for a long time secretly prepared on the other side of the ocean. In 1580, however, it was in common use in Spain, though it was so entirely unknown in England that, in 1579, an English captain burnt a captured cargo of it as useless. It reached Italy in 1606, and was introduced into France by Anne of Austria. The first chocolate-house in London was opened in 1657, and in 1700 Germany at last followed suit.8

Coffee.The history of coffee in the Philippines is very similar to that of cacao. The plant thrives wonderfully, and its berry has so strongly marked a flavor that the worst Manila coffee commands as high a price as the best Java. In spite of this, however, the amount of coffee produced in the Philippines is very insignificant, and, until lately, scarcely deserved mention. According to the report of an Englishman in 1828, the coffee-plant was almost unknown forty years before, and was represented only by a few specimens in the Botanical Gardens at Manila. It soon, however, increased and multiplied, thanks to the moderation of a small predatory animal (paradoxurus musanga), which only nibbled the ripe fruit, and left the hard kernels (the coffee beans) untouched, as indigestible. The Economical Society bestirred itself in its turn by offering rewards to encourage the laying out of large coffee plantations. In 1837 it granted to M. de la Gironnière a premium of $1,000, for exhibiting a coffee plantation of sixty thousand plants, which were yielding their second harvest; and four premiums to others in the following year. But as soon as the rewards were obtained the plantations were once more allowed to fall into neglect. From this it is pretty evident that the enterprise, in the face of the then market prices and the artificially high rates of freight, did not afford a sufficient profit.

Exports.In 1856 the exports of coffee were not more than seven thousand piculs; in 1865 they had increased to thirty-seven thousand, five hundred and eighty-eight; and in 1871, to fifty-three thousand, three hundred and seventy. This increase, however, affords no criterion by which to estimate the increase in the number of plantations, for these make no returns for the first few years after being laid out. In short, larger exports may be confidently expected. But even greatly increased exports could not be taken as correct measures of the colony’s resources. Not till European capital calls large plantations into existence in the most suitable localities will the Philippines obtain their proper rank in the coffee-producing districts of the world.

Highest grades.The best coffee comes from the provinces of Laguna, Batangas and Cavite; the worst from Mindanao. The latter, in consequence of careless treatment, is very impure, and generally contains a quantity of bad beans. The coffee beans of Mindanao are of a yellowish-white color and flabby; those of Laguna are smaller, but much firmer in texture.

French preference.Manila coffee is very highly esteemed by connoisseurs, and is very expensive, though it is by no means so nice looking as that of Ceylon and other more carefully prepared kinds. It is a remarkable fact that in 1865 France, which imported only $21,000 worth of hemp from the Philippines, imported more than $200,000 worth of Manila coffee, a third of the entire coffee produce of the Islands.9 Manila coffee is not much prized in London, and does not fetch much more than good Ceylon ($15 per cwt.).10 This, however, is no reproach to the coffee, as every one acquainted with an Englishman’s appreciation of coffee will allow.

Prices.California, an excellent customer, always ready to give a fair price for a good article, will in time become one of its principal consumers.11 In 1868, coffee in Manila itself cost an average of $16 per picul.12 In Java, the authorities pay the natives, who are compelled to cultivate it, about $3.66 per picul.

Philippine exports.Although the amount of coffee exported from the Philippines is trifling in comparison with the producing powers of the colony, it compares favorably with the exports from other countries.

Javan and Ceylon crops.In my Sketches of Travel, I compared the decrease of the coffee produced in Java under the forced system of cultivation with the increase of that voluntarily grown in Ceylon, and gave the Javanese produce for 1858 as sixty-seven thousand tons, and the Cingalese as thirty-five thousand tons. Since that time the relative decrease and increase have continued; and in 1866 the Dutch Indies produced only fifty-six thousand tons, and Ceylon thirty-six thousand tons.13

Amateur scientists.During my enforced stay in Daraga the natives brought me mussels and snails for sale; and several of them wished to enter my service, as they felt “a particular vocation for Natural History.” At last my kitchen was always full of them. They sallied forth every day to collect insects, and as a rule were not particularly fortunate in their search; but this was of no consequence; in fact, it served to give them a fresh appetite for their meals. Some of the neighboring Spaniards paid me almost daily visits; and several of the native and mestizo dignitaries from a distance were good enough to call upon me, not so much for the purpose of seeing my humble self as of inspecting my hat, the fame of which had spread over the whole province. It was constructed in the usual judicious mushroom shape, covered with nito,14 and its pinnacle was adorned with a powerful oil lamp, furnished with a closely fitting lid, like that of a dark lantern, so that it could be carried in the pocket. This last was particularly useful when riding about on a dark night.

Nito cigar cases.In the neighboring pueblo cigar-cases were made out of this nito. They are not of much use as an article of commerce, and usually are only made to order. To obtain a dozen a would-be purchaser must apply to as many individuals, who, at the shortest, will condescend to finish one in a few months. The stalk of the fern, which is about as thick as a lucifer match, is split into four strips. The workman then takes a strip in his left hand, and, with his thumb on the back and his forefinger on the edge, draws the strips up and down against the knife blade until the soft pithy parts are cut away, and what remains has become fine enough for the next process. The cases are made on pointed cylindrical pieces of wood almost a couple of feet long. A pin is stuck into the center of the end of the cylinder, and the workman commences by fastening the strips of fern stalk to it. The size of the case corresponds to the diameter of the roller, and a small wooden disk is placed in the bottom of the case to keep it steady while the sides are being plaited.

A Filipino theater.When my ankle began to get better, my first excursion was to Legaspi, where some Filipinos were giving a theatrical performance. A Spanish political refugee directed the entertainment. On each side of the stage, roofed in with palm leaves, ran covered galleries for the dignitaries of the place; the uncovered space between these was set apart for the common people. The performers had chosen a play taken from Persian history. The language was Spanish, and the dresses were, to say the least, eccentric. The stage was erected hard by a public street, which itself formed part of the auditorium, and the noise was so great that I could only catch a word here and there. The actors stalked on, chattering their parts, which not one of them understood, and moving their arms up and down; and when they reached the edge of the stage, they tacked and went back again like ships sailing against the wind. Their countenances were entirely devoid of expression, and they spoke like automatons. If I had understood the words, the contrast between their meaning and the machine-like movements of the actors would probably have been droll enough; but, as it was, the noise, the heat, and the smoke were so great that we soon left the place.

An indifferent performance.Both the theatrical performance and the whole festival bore the impress of laziness, indifference, and mindless mimicry. When I compared the frank cheerfulness I had seen radiating from every countenance at the religious holidays of Europe with the expressionless and immobile faces of the natives, I found it difficult to understand how the latter were persuaded to waste so much time and money upon a matter they seemed so thoroughly indifferent to.

Interest in festival.Travellers have remarked the same want of gaiety amongst the Indians of America; and some of them ascribe it to the small development of the nervous system prevalent among these peoples, to which cause also they attribute their wonderful courage in bearing pain. But Tylor observes that the Indian’s countenance is so different from ours that it takes us several years to rightly interpret its expression. There probably is something in both these explanations. And, although I observed no lively expression of amusement among my native friends at Legaspi, I noticed that they took the greatest possible pleasure in decorating their village, and that the procession which formed part of the festival had extraordinary charms for them. Every individual was dressed in his very best; and the honor of carrying a banner inspired those who attained it with the greatest pride, and raised an amazing amount of envy in the breasts of the remainder. Visitors poured in from all the surrounding hamlets, and erected triumphal arches which they had brought with them ready-made and which bore some complimentary inscription. I am obliged to confess that some of the holiday-makers were very drunk. The inhabitants of the Philippines have a great love for strong drink; even the young girls occasionally get intoxicated. When night came on, the strangers were hospitably lodged in the dwellings of the village. On such occasions native hospitality shows itself in a very favorable light. The door of every house stands open, and even balls take place in some of the larger hamlets. The Spanish and mestizo cavaliers, however, condescend to dance only with mestiza partners, and very seldom invite a pretty native girl to join them. The natives very rarely dance together; but in Samar I was present on one occasion at a by no means ungraceful native dance where “improvised” verses were sung. The male dancer compared his partner with a rose, and she answered he should be careful in touching it as a rose had thorns. This would have been thought a charming compliment in the mouth of an Andalusian.

Servant subterfuges.The idle existence we spent in Daraga was so agreeable to my servants and their numerous friends that they were anxious I should stay there as long as possible; and they adopted some very ingenious means to persuade me to do so. Twice, when everything was prepared for a start the next morning, my shoes were stolen in the night; and on another occasion they kidnapped my horse. When a native has a particularly heavy load to carry, or a long journey to make, he thinks nothing of coolly appropriating the well-fed beast of some Spaniard; which, when he has done with it, he turns loose without attempting to feed it, and it wanders about till somebody catches it and stalls it in the nearest “Tribunal.” There it is kept tied up and hungry until its master claims it and pays its expenses. I had a dollar to pay when I recovered mine, although it was nearly starved to death, on the pretence that it had swallowed rice to that value since it had been caught.

Petty robberies.Small robberies occur very frequently, but they are committed—as an acquaintance, a man who had spent some time in the country, informed me one evening when I was telling him my troubles—only upon the property of new arrivals; old residents, he said, enjoyed a prescriptive freedom from such little inconveniences. I fancy some waggish native must have overheard our conversation, for early the next morning my friend, the old resident, sent to borrow chocolate, biscuits, and eggs of me, as his larder and his hen-house had been rifled during the night.

Daraga market.Monday and Friday evenings were the Daraga market nights, and in fine weather always afforded a pretty sight. The women, neatly and cleanly clad, sat in long rows and offered their provisions for sale by the light of hundreds of torches; and, when the business was over, the slopes of the mountains were studded all over with flickering little points of brightness proceeding from the torches carried by the homeward-bound market women. Besides eatables, many had silks and stuffs woven from the fibers of the pine-apple and the banana for sale. These goods they carried on their heads; and I noticed that all the younger women were accompanied by their sweethearts, who relieved them of their burdens.

1 From 36,000,000 to 40,000,000 lbs. of cacao are consumed in Europe annually; of which quantity nearly a third goes to France, whose consumption of it between 1853 and 1866 has more than doubled. In the former year it amounted to 6,215,000 lbs., in the latter to 12,973,534 lbs. Venezuela sends the finest cacaos to the European market, those of Porto Cabello and Caracas. That of Caracas is the dearest and the best, and is of four kinds: Chuao, Ghoroni, O’Cumar, and Rio Chico. England consumes the cacao grown in its own colonies, although the duty (1d per lb.) is the same for all descriptions. Spain, the principal consumer, imports its supplies from Cuba, Porto Rico, Ecuador, Mexico, and Trinidad. Several large and important plantations have recently been established by Frenchmen in Nicaragua. The cacao beans of Soconusco (Central America) and Esmeralda (Ecuador) are more highly esteemed than the finest of the Venezuela sorts; but they are scarcely ever used in the Philippines, and cannot be said to form part of their commerce. Germany contents itself with the inferior kinds. Guayaquil cacao, which is only half the price of Caracas, is more popular amongst the Germans than all the other varieties together.

2 C. Scherzer, in his work on Central America, gives the cacao-tree an existence of twenty years, and says that each tree annually produces from 15 to 20 ounces of cacao. 1,000 plants will produce 1,250 lbs. of cacao, worth $250; so that the annual produce of a single tree is worth a quarter of a dollar. Mitscherlich says that from 4 to 6 lbs. of raw beans is an average produce. A liter of dried cacao beans weighs 630 grains; of picked and roasted, 610 grains.

3 In 1727 a hurricane destroyed at a single blast the important cacao plantation of Martinique, which had been created by long years of extraordinary care. The same thing happened at Trinidad.—Mitscherlich.

4 F. Engel mentions a disease (mancha) which attacks the tree in America, beginning by destroying its roots. The tree soon dies, and the disease spreads so rapidly that whole groves of cacao-trees utterly perish and are turned into pastures for cattle. Even in the most favored localities, after a long season of prosperity, thousands of trees are destroyed in a single night by this disease, just as the harvest is about to take place. An almost equally dangerous foe to cultivation is a moth whose larva entirely destroys the ripe cacao beans; and which only cold and wind will kill. Humboldt mentions that cacao beans which have been transported over the chilly passes of the Cordilleras are never attacked by this pest.

5 G. Bornoulli quotes altogether eighteen kinds; of which he mentions only one as generally in use in the Philippines.

6 Pili is very common in South Luzon, Samar, and Leyte; it is to be found in almost every village. Its fruit, which is almost of the size of an ordinary plum but not so round, contains a hard stone, the raw kernel of which is steeped in syrup and candied in the same manner as the kernel of the sweet pine, which it resembles in flavor. The large trees with fruit on them, “about the size of almonds and looking like sweet-pine kernels,” which Pigafetta saw at Jomonjol were doubtless pili-trees. An oil is expressed from the kernels much resembling sweet almond oil. If incisions are made in the stems of the trees, an abundant pleasant-smelling white resin flows from them, which is largely used in the Philippines to calk ships with. It also has a great reputation as an anti-rheumatic plaster. It is twenty years since it was first exported to Europe; and the first consignees made large profits, as the resin, which was worth scarcely anything in the Philippines, became very popular and was much sought in Europe.

7 The general name for the beverage was Cacahoa-atl (cacao water). Chocolatl was the term given to a particular kind. F. Hernandez found four kinds of cacao in use among the Axtecs, and he describes four varieties of drinks that were prepared from them. The third was called chocolatl, and apparently was prepared as follows:—Equal quantities of the kernels of the pochotl (Bombaz ceiba) and cacahoatl (cacao) trees were finely ground, and heated in an earthen vessel, and all the grease removed as it rose to the surface. Maize, crushed and soaked, was added to it, and a beverage prepared from the mixture; to which the oily parts that had been skimmed off the top were restored, and the whole was drunk hot.

8 Berthold Seemann speaks of a tree with finger-shaped leaves and small round berries, which the Indians sometimes offered for sale. They made chocolate from them, which in flavor much surpassed that usually made from cacao.

9 Report of the French consul.

10 Mysore and Mocha coffees fetch the highest prices. From $20 to $22.50 per cwt. is paid for Mysore; and as much as $30, when it has attained an age of five or six years, for Mocha.

11 In 1865–66–67 California imported three and one-half, eight and ten million lbs. of coffee, of which two, four and five millions respectively came from Manila. In 1868 England was the best customer of the Philippines.

12 Report of the Belgian consul.

13 Coffee is such an exquisite beverage, and is so seldom properly prepared, that the following hints from a master in the art (Report of the Jury, Internat. Exhib., Paris, 1868) will not be unwelcome:—1st. Select good coffees. 2nd. Mix them in the proper proportions. 3rd. Thoroughly dry the beans; otherwise in roasting them a portion of the aroma escapes with the steam. 4th. Roast them in a dry atmosphere, and roast each quality separately. 5th. Allow them to cool rapidly. If it is impossible to roast the beans at home, then purchase only sufficient for each day’s consumption. With the exception of the fourth, however, it is easy to follow all these directions at home; and small roasting machines are purchasable, in which, with the aid of a spirit lamp, small quantities can be prepared at a time. It is best, when possible, to buy coffee in large quantities, and keep it stored for two or three years in a dry place.

14 A creeping, or rather a running fern, nearly the only one of the kind in the whole species.

XI

Change of season.During the whole time I was confined to the house at Daraga, the weather was remarkably fine; but unfortunately the bright days had come to an end by the time I was ready to make a start, for the north-east monsoon, the sure forerunner of rain in this part of the Archipelago, sets in in October. In spite, however, of the weather, I determined to make another attempt to ascend the mountain at Bulusan. I found I could go by boat to Bacon in the Bay of Albay, a distance of seven leagues, whence I could ride to Gubat, on the east coast, three leagues further, and then in a southerly direction along the shore to Bulusan. An experienced old native, who provided a boat and crew, had appointed ten o’clock at night as the best time for my departure. Just as we were about to start, however, we were told that four piratical craft had been seen in the bay. In a twinkling, the crew disappeared, and I was left alone in the darkness; and it took me four hours with the assistance of a Spaniard to find them again, and make a fresh start. About nine o’clock in the morning we reached Bacon, whence I rode across a very flat country to San Roque, where the road leading to Gubat took a sharp turn to the south-east, and presently became an extremely bad one. After I had passed Gubat, my way lay along the shore; and I saw several ruined square towers, made of blocks of coral, and built by the Jesuits as a protection against the Moro pirates.Moros, or “Moors”—a term here applied to the pirates, because, like the Moors who were formerly in Spain, they are Mahometans. They come from Mindanao and from the north-west coast of Borneo. At the time of my visit, this part of the Archipelago was greatly infested with them; and a few days before my arrival they had carried off some fishermen, who were busy pulling their fish-stakes, close to Gubat. A little distance from the shore, and parallel to it, ran a coral reef, which during the south-west monsoon was here and there bare at low tide; but, when the north-east wind blew, the waves of the Pacific Ocean entirely concealed it. Upon this reef the storms had cast up many remains of marine animals, and a quantity of fungi, amongst which I noticed some exactly resembling the common sponge of the Mediterranean. They were just as soft to the touch, of a dark brown tint, as large as the fist, and of a conical shape. They absorbed water with great readiness, and might doubtless be made a profitable article of commerce. Samples of them are to be seen in the Zoological Museum at Berlin. As I went further on, I found the road excellent; and wooden bridges, all of which were in good repair, led me across the mouths of the numerous small rivers. But almost all the arches of the stone bridges I came to had fallen in, and I had to cross the streams they were supposed to span in a small boat, and make my horse swim after me. Just before I reached Bulusan, I had to cross a ravine several hundred feet deep, composed almost entirely of white pumice stone.

Bulusan.Bulusan is so seldom visited by strangers that the “tribunal” where I put up was soon full of curiosity-mongers, who came to stare at me. The women, taking the places of honor, squatted round me in concentric rows, while the men peered over their shoulders. One morning when I was taking a shower-bath in a shed made of open bamboo work, I suddenly noticed several pairs of inquisitive eyes staring at me through the interstices. The eyes belonged exclusively to the gentler sex; and their owners examined me with the greatest curiosity, making remarks upon my appearance to one another, and seeming by no means inclined to be disturbed. Upon another occasion, when bathing in the open air in the province of Laguna, I was surrounded by a number of women, old, middle-aged, and young, who crowded round me while I was dressing, carefully inspected me, and pointed out with their fingers every little detail which seemed to them to call for special remark.

Storm damage.I had travelled the last part of the road to Bulusan in wind and rain; and the storm lasted with little intermission during the whole night. When I got up in the morning I found that part of the roof of the tribunal had been carried away, that the slighter houses in the hamlet were all blown down, and that almost every dwelling in the place had lost its roof. This pleasant weather lasted during the three days of my stay. The air was so thick that I found it impossible to distinguish the volcano, though I was actually standing at its foot; and, as the weather-wise of the neighborhood could hold out no promise of a favorable change at that time of the year, I put off my intended ascent till a better opportunity, and resolved to return. A former alcalde, Peñeranda, was reported to have succeeded in reaching the top fifteen years before, after sixty men had spent a couple of months in building a road to the summit; and the ascent was said to have taken him two whole days. But an experienced native told me that in the dry season he thought four men were quite sufficient to open a narrow path to the plateau, just under the peak, in a couple of days; but that ladders were required to get on to the actual summit.

Arrival of assistance.The day after my arrival the inspector of highways and another man walked into the tribunal, both of them wet to the skin and nearly blown to pieces. My friend the alcalde had sent them to my assistance; and, as none of us could attempt the ascent, they returned with me. As we were entering Bacon on our way back, we heard the report of cannon and the sound of music. Our servants cried out “Here comes the alcalde,” and in a few moments he drove up in an open carriage, accompanied by an irregular escort of horsemen, Spaniards and natives, the latter prancing about in silk hats and shirts fluttering in the wind. The alcalde politely offered me a seat, and an hour’s drive took us into Sorsogon.

Albay roads and bridges.The roads of the province of Albay are good, but they are by no means kept in good repair: a state of things that will never be remedied so long as the indolence of the authorities continues. Most of the stone bridges in the district are in ruins, and the traveller is obliged to content himself with wading through a ford, or get himself ferried across upon a raft or in a small canoe, while his horse swims behind him. The roads were first laid down in the days of Alcalde Peñaranda, a retired officer of the engineer corps, whom we have already mentioned, and who deserves considerable praise for having largely contributed to the welfare of his province, and for having accomplished so much from such small resources. He took care that all socage service should be duly rendered, or that money, which went towards paying for tools and materials, should be paid in lieu of it. Many abuses existed before his rule; no real services were performed by anybody who could trace the slightest relationship to any of the authorities; and, when by chance any redemption money was paid, it went, often with the connivance of the alcalde of the period, into the pockets of the gobernadorcillos, instead of into the provincial treasury. Similar abuses still prevail all over the country, where they are not prevented by the vigilance of the authorities. The numerous population, and the prosperity which the province now enjoys, would make it an easy matter to maintain and complete the existing highways. The admirable officials of the district are certainly not wanting in good-will, but their hands are tied. Nowadays the alcaldes remain only three years in one province (in Peñaranda’s time, they remained six); their time is entirely taken up with the current official and judicial business; and, just as they are beginning to become acquainted with the capabilities and requirements of their district, they are obliged to leave it. Handicapped officials.This shows the government’s want of confidence in its own servants. No alcalde could now possibly undertake what Peñaranda accomplished. The money paid in lieu of socage service, which ought to be applied to the wants of the province in which the socage is due, is forwarded to Manila. If an alcalde proposes some urgent and necessary improvement, he has to send in so many tedious estimates and reports, which frequently remain unnoticed, that he soon loses all desire to attempt any innovation. Estimates for large works, to carry out which would require a considerable outlay, are invariably returned from headquarters marked “not urgent.” Funds diverted to Spain.The fact is not that the colonial government is wanting in good-will, but that the Caja de Comunidad (General Treasury) in Manila is almost always empty, as the Spanish government, in its chronic state of bankruptcy, borrows the money and is never in a position to return it.

Sorsogon earthquake.In 1840 Sorsogon suffered severely from an earthquake, which lasted almost continuously for thirty-five days. It raged with the greatest fury on the 21st of March. The churches, both of Sorsogon and of Casiguran, as well as the smallest stone houses, were destroyed; seventeen persons lost their lives, and two hundred were injured; and the whole neighborhood sank five feet below its former level.

Casiguran.The next morning I accompanied the alcalde in a falua (felucca), manned by fourteen rowers, to Casiguran, which lies directly south of Sorsogon, on the other side of a small bay, of two leagues in breadth, which it took us an hour and a half to cross. The bay was as calm as an inland lake. It is almost entirely surrounded by hills, and its western side, which is open to the sea, is protected by the Island of Bagalao, which lies in front of it. As soon as we landed, we were received with salutes of cannon and music, and flags and shirts streamed in the wind. I declined the friendly invitation of the alcalde to accompany him any further; as to me, who had no official business to transact, the journey seemed nothing but a continually recurring panorama of dinners, lunches, cups of chocolate, music, and detonations of gunpowder.

Quicksilver.In 1850 quicksilver was discovered on a part of the coast now covered by the sea. I examined the reported bed of the deposit, and it appeared to me to consist of a stratum of clay six feet in depth, superimposed over a layer of volcanic sand and fragments of pumice stone. An Englishman who was wrecked in this part of the Archipelago, the same individual I met at the iron works at Angat, had begun to collect it, and by washing the sand had obtained something like a couple of ounces. Somebody, however, told the priest of the district that quicksilver was a poison; and, as he himself told me, so forcibly did he depict the dangerous nature of the new discovery to his parishioners that they abandoned the attempt to collect it. Since then none of them have ever seen a vestige of mercury, unless it might be from some broken old barometer. Towards evening Mount Bulusan in the south-east, and Mount Mayon in the north-west, were visible for a short time. They are both in a straight line with Casiguran.

Sea’s encroachments.Every year the sea makes great inroads upon the coast at Casiguran; as far as I could decide from its appearance and from the accounts given me, about a yard of the shore is annually destroyed. The bay of Sorsogon is protected towards the north by a ridge of hills, which suddenly terminate, however, at its north-eastern angle; and through this opening the wind sometimes blows with great fury, and causes considerable havoc in the bay, the more particularly as its coast is principally formed of clay and sand.

Pirate rumors and robberies.When I reached Legaspi again in the evening I learnt that the alarm about the pirates which had interrupted my departure had not been an idle one. Moros they certainly could not have been, for at that season none of the Mahometan corsairs could reach that part of the coast; but they were a band of deserters and vagabonds from the surrounding country, who in this part of the world find it more agreeable to pursue their freebooting career on sea than on land. During my absence they had committed many robberies and carried off several people.1

Real pirates.The beginning of November is the season of storms; when water communication between Albay and Manila entirely ceases, no vessel daring to put out to sea, even from the south coast. On the 9th of the month, however, a vessel that had been given up for lost entered the port, after having incurred great perils and being obliged to throw overboard the greater part of its cargo. Within twelve days of its leaving the straits of San Bernardino behind it, a sudden storm compelled it to anchor amongst the Islands of Balicuatro. One of the passengers, a newly-arrived Spaniard, put off in a boat with seven sailors, and made for four small vessels which were riding at anchor off the coast; taking them for fishermen, whereas they were pirates. They fired at him as soon as he was some distance from his ship, and his crew threw themselves into the water; but both he and they were taken prisoners. The captain of the trading brig, fearing that his vessel would fall into their clutches, slipped anchor and put out to sea again, escaping shipwreck with the greatest difficulty. The pirates, as a rule, do not kill their prisoners, but employ them as rowers. But Europeans seldom survive their captivity: the tremendous labor and the scanty food are too much for them. Their clothes always being stripped off their back, they are exposed naked to all sorts of weather, and their sole daily support is a handful of rice.

1 The official accounts stated that they had kidnapped twenty-one persons in a couple of weeks.

XII

Camarines.No favorable change in the weather was expected in Albay before the month of January. It stormed and rained all day. I therefore determined to change my quarters to South Camarines, which, protected from the monsoon by the high range of hills running along its north-eastern boundary, enjoyed more decent weather. The two provinces of Camarines form a long continent, with its principal frontage of shore facing to the north-east and to the south-west; which is about ten leagues broad in its middle, and has its shores indented by many bays. From about the center of its north-eastern shore there boldly projects the Peninsula of Caramuan, connected with the mainland of Camarines by the isthmus of Isarog. The north-eastern portion of the two provinces contains a long range of volcanic hills; the south-western principally consisted, as far as my investigations permitted me to discover, of chalk, and coral reefs; in the midst of the hills extends a winding and fertile valley, which collects the waters descending from the slopes of the mountain ranges, and blends them into a navigable river, on the banks of which several flourishing hamlets have established themselves. This river is called the Bicol. The streams which give it birth are so abundant, and the slope of the sides of the valley, which is turned into one gigantic rice-field, is so gentle that in many places the lazy waters linger and form small lakes.

A chain of volcanoes.Beginning at the south-eastern extremity, the volcanoes of Bulusan, Albay, Mazaraga, Iriga, Isarog, and Colasi—the last on the northern side of San Miguel bay—are situated in a straight line, extending from the south-east to the north-west. Besides these, there is the volcano of Buhi, or Malinao, a little to the north-east of the line. The hamlets in the valley I have mentioned are situated in a second line parallel to that of the volcanoes. The southern portion of the province is sparsely inhabited, and but few streams find their way from its plateau into the central valley. The range of volcanoes shuts out, as I have said, the north-east winds, and condenses their moisture in the little lakes scattered on its slopes. The south-west portion of Camarines, therefore, is dry during the north-east monsoon, and enjoys its rainy season during the prevalence of the winds that blow from the south-west. The so-called dry season which, so far as South Camarines is concerned, begins in November, is interrupted, however, by frequent showers; but from January to May scarcely a drop of rain falls. The change of monsoon takes place in May and June; and its arrival is announced by violent thunderstorms and hurricanes, which frequently last without cessation for a couple of weeks, and are accompanied by heavy rains. These last are the beginning of the wet season proper, which lasts till October. The road passes the hamlets of Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao, Oas and Polangui, situated in a straight line on the banks of the river Quinali, which, after receiving numerous tributary streams, becomes navigable soon after passing Polangui. Here I observed a small settlement of huts, which is called after the river. Each of the hamlets I have mentioned, with the exception of the last, has a population of about fourteen thousand souls, although they are situated not more than half a league apart.

Priestly assistance.The convents in this part of the country are large, imposing buildings, and their incumbents, who were mostly old men, were most hospitable and kind to me. Every one of them insisted upon my staying with him, and, after doing all he could for me, passed me on to his next colleague with the best recommendations. I wished to hire a boat at Polangui to cross the lake of Batu, but the only craft I could find were a couple of barotos about eight feet long, hollowed out of the trunks of trees and laden with rice. To prevent my meeting with any delay, the padre purchased the cargo of one of the boats, on the condition of its being immediately unladen; and this kindness enabled me to continue my journey in the afternoon.

The priests’ importance.If a traveller gets on good terms with the priests he seldom meets with any annoyances. Upon one occasion I wished to make a little excursion directly after lunch, and at a quarter past eleven everything was ready for a start; when I happened to say that it was a pity to have to wait three-quarters of an hour for the meal. In a minute or two twelve o’clock struck; all work in the village ceased, and we sat down to table: it was noon. A message had been sent to the village bell-ringer that the Señor Padre thought he must be asleep, and that it must be long past twelve as the Señor Padre was hungry. Il est l’heure que votre Majesté désire.

Franciscan friars.Most of the priests in the eastern provinces of Luzon and Samar are Franciscan monks (The barefooted friars of the orthodox and strictest rule of Our Holy Father St. Francis, in the Philippine Islands, of the Holy and Apostolic Province of St. Gregory the Great), brought up in seminaries in Spain specially devoted to the colonial missions. Formerly they were at liberty, after ten years’ residence in the Philippines, to return to their own country; but, since the abolition of the monasteries in Spain, they can do this no longer, for they are compelled in the colonies to abandon all obedience to the rule of their order, and to live as laymen. They are aware that they must end their days in the colony, and regulate their lives accordingly. On their first arrival they are generally sent to some priest in the province to make themselves acquainted with the language of the country; then they are installed into a small parish, and afterwards into a more lucrative one, in which they generally remain till their death. Most of them spring from the very lowest class of Spaniards. A number of pious trusts and foundations in Spain enable a very poor man, who cannot afford to send his son to school, to put him into a religious seminary, where, beyond the duties of his future avocation, the boy learns nothing. If the monks were of a higher social grade, as are some of the English missionaries, they would have less inclination to mix with the common people, and would fail to exercise over them the influence they wield at present. The early habits of the Spanish monks, and their narrow knowledge of the world, peculiarly fit them for an existence among the natives. This mental equality, or rather, this want of mental disparity, has enabled them to acquire the influence they undoubtedly possess.

Young men developed by responsibility.When these young men first come from their seminaries they are narrow-brained, ignorant, frequently almost devoid of education, and full of conceit, hatred of heretics, and proselytish ardor. These failings, however, gradually disappear; the consideration and the comfortable incomes they enjoy developing their benevolence. The insight into mankind and the confidence in themselves which distinguish the lower classes of the Spaniards, and which are so amusingly exemplified in Sancho Panza, have plenty of occasions to display themselves in the responsible and influential positions which the priests occupy. The padre is frequently the only white man in his village, probably the only European for miles around. He becomes the representative not only of religion, but of the government; he is the oracle of the natives, and his decisions in everything that concerns Europe and civilization are without appeal. His advice is asked in all important emergencies, and he has no one whom he in his turn can consult. Such a state of things naturally develops his brain. The same individuals who in Spain would have followed the plough, in the colonies carry out great undertakings. Without any technical education, and without any scientific knowledge, they build churches and bridges, and construct roads. Poor architects.The circumstances therefore are greatly in favor of the development of priestly ability; but it would probably be better for the buildings if they were erected by more experienced men, for the bridges are remarkably prone to fall in, the churches look like sheep-pens, and the roads soon go to rack and ruin. I had much intercourse in Camarines and Albay with the priests, and conceived a great liking for them all. As a rule, they are the most unpretending of men; and a visit gives them so much pleasure that they do all in their power to make their guest’s stay as agreeable as possible. Life in a large convent has much resemblance to that of a lord of the manor in Eastern Europe. Nothing can be more unconstrained, more unconventional. A visitor lives as independently as in an hotel, and many of the visitors behave themselves as if it were one. I have seen a subaltern official arrive, summon the head servant, move into a room, order his meal, and then inquire casually whether the padre, who was an utter stranger to him, was at home.

The priests of the Philippines have often been reproached with gross immorality. They are said to keep their convents full of bevies of pretty girls, and to lead somewhat the same sort of life as the Grand Turk. This may be true of the native padres; but I myself never saw, in any of the households of the numerous Spanish priests I visited, anything that could possibly cause the least breath of scandal. Their servants were exclusively men, though perhaps I may have noticed here and there an old woman or two. Ribadeneyra says:—“The natives, who observe how careful the Franciscan monks are of their chastity, have arrived at the conclusion that they are not really men, and that, though the devil had often attempted to lead these holy men astray, using the charms of some pretty Indian girl as a bait, yet, to the confusion of both damsel and devil, the monks had always come scathless out of the struggle.” Ribadeneyra, however, is a very unreliable author; and, if his physiological mistakes are as gross as his geographical ones (he says somewhere that Luzon is another name for the island of Cebu!), the monks are not perhaps as fireproof as he supposes. At any rate, his description does not universally apply nowadays. The younger priests pass their existence like the lords of the soil of old; the young girls consider it an honor to be allowed to associate with them; and the padres in their turn find many convenient opportunities. They have no jealous wives to pry into their secrets, and their position as confessors and spiritual advisers affords them plenty of pretexts for being alone with the women. The confessional, in particular, must be a perilous rock-a-head for most of them. In an appendix to the “Tagal Grammar” (which, by-the-bye, is not added to the editions sold for general use) a list of questions is given for the convenience of young priests not yet conversant with the Tagal language. These questions are to be asked in the confessional, and several pages of them relate exclusively to the relations between the sexes.

Superiority over government officials.As the alcaldes remain only three years in any one province, they never understand much of its language; and, being much occupied with their official business, they have neither the time nor the desire to become acquainted with the peculiarities of the districts over which they rule. The priest, on the other hand, resides continually in the midst of his parishioners, is perfectly acquainted with each of them, and even, on occasion, protects them against the authorities; his, therefore, is the real jurisdiction in the district. The position of the priests, in contradistinction to that of the government officials, is well expressed by their respective dwellings. The casas reales, generally small, ugly, and frequently half-ruined habitations, are not suited to the dignity of the chief authority of the province. The convento, on the contrary, is almost always a roomy, imposing, and well-arranged building. In former days, when governorships were sold to adventurers whose only care was to enrich themselves, the influence of the minister of religion was even greater than it is now.1

Former legal status.The following extract from the General Orders, given by Le Gentil, will convey a clear idea of their former position:—

“Whereas the tenth chapter of the ordinances, wherein the governor of Arandia ordained that the alcaldes and the justices should communicate with the missionary priests only by letter, and that they should never hold any interview with them except in the presence of a witness, has been frequently disobeyed, it is now commanded that these disobediences shall no longer be allowed; and that the alcaldes shall make it their business to see that the priests and ministers of religion treat the gobernadorcillos and the subaltern officers of justice with proper respect, and that the aforesaid priests be not allowed either to beat, chastise, or ill-treat the latter, or make them wait at table.”

Alcaldes formerly in trade.The former alcaldes who, without experience in official business, without either education or knowledge, and without either the brains or the moral qualifications for such responsible and influential posts, purchased their appointments from the State, or received them in consequence of successful intrigues, received a nominal salary from the government, and paid it tribute for the right to carry on trade. Arenas considered this tribute paid by the alcaldes as a fine imposed upon them for an infringement of the law; “for several ordinances were in existence, strenuously forbidding them to dabble in any kind of commerce, until it pleased his Catholic Majesty to grant them a dispensation.” The latter sources of mischief were, however, abolished by royal decree in September and October, 1844.

Their borrowed capital.The alcaldes were at the same time governors, magistrates, commanders of the troops, and, in reality, the only traders in their province.2 They purchased with the resources of the obras pias the articles required in the province; and they were entirely dependent for their capital upon these endowments, as they almost always arrived in the Philippines without any means of their own. The natives were forced to sell their produce to the alcaldes and, besides, to purchase their goods at the prices fixed by the latter.3 In this corrupt state of things the priests were the only protectors of the unfortunate Filipinos; though occasionally they also threw in their lot with the alcaldes, and shared in the spoil wrung from their unfortunate flocks.

Improvement in present appointees.Nowadays men with some knowledge of the law are sent out to the Philippines as alcaldes; the government pays them a small salary, and they are not allowed to trade. The authorities also attempt to diminish the influence of the priests by improving the position of the civil tribunals; a state of things they will not find easy of accomplishment unless they lengthen the period of service of the alcaldes, and place them in a pecuniary position that will put them beyond the temptation of pocketing perquisites.4

In Huc’s work on China I find the following passage, relating to the effects of the frequent official changes in China, from which many hints may be gathered:—

Similarity with Chinese conditions.“The magisterial offices are no longer bestowed upon upright and just individuals and, as a consequence, this once flourishing and well-governed kingdom is day by day falling into decay, and is rapidly gliding down the path that leads to a terrible and, perhaps, speedy dissolution. When we seek to discover the cause of the general ruin, the universal corruption which too surely is undermining all classes of Chinese society, we are convinced that it is to be found in the complete abandonment of the old system of government effected by the Manchu dynasty. It issued a decree forbidding any mandarin to hold any post longer than three years in the same province, and prohibiting any one from possessing any official appointment in his native province. One does not form a particularly high idea of the brain which conceived this law; but, when the Manchu Tartars found that they were the lords of the empire, they began to be alarmed at their small numbers, which were trifling in comparison with the countless swarms of the Chinese; and they dreaded lest the influence which the higher officials would acquire in their districts might enable them to excite the populace against their foreign rulers.

Unidentified with country.“The magistrates, being allowed to remain only a year or two in the same province, lived there like strangers, without acquainting themselves with the wants of the people they governed; there was no tie between them. The only care of the mandarins was to amass as much wealth as possible before they quitted their posts; and they then began the same game in a fresh locality, until finally they returned home in possession of a handsome fortune gradually collected in their different appointments. They were only birds of passage. What did it matter? The morrow would find them at the other end of the kingdom, where the cries of their plundered victims would be unable to reach them. In this manner the governmental policy rendered the mandarins selfish and indifferent. The basis of the monarchy is destroyed, for the magistrate is no longer a paternal ruler residing amongst and mildly swaying his children, but a marauder, who arrives no man knows whence, and who departs no one knows whither. The consequence is universal stagnation; no great undertakings are accomplished; and the works and labors of former dynasties are allowed to fall into decay. The mandarins say to themselves: ‘Why should we undertake what we can never accomplish? Why should we sow that others may reap?’... They take no interest in the affairs of the district; as a rule, they are suddenly transplanted into the midst of a population whose dialect even they do not understand. Dependence on interpreters.When they arrive in their mandarinates they usually find interpreters, who, being permanent officieals and interested in the affairs of the place, know how to make their services indispensable; and these in reality are the absolute rulers of the district.”

Importance of interpreters in Philippines. Interpreters are especially indispensable in the Philippines, where the alcaldes never by any chance understand any of the local dialects. In important matters the native writers have generally to deal with the priest, who in many cases becomes the virtual administrator of authority. He is familiar with the characters of the inhabitants and all their affairs, in the settlement of which his intimate acquaintance with the female sex stands him in good stead. An eminent official in Madrid told me in 1867 that the then minister was considering a proposal to abolish the restriction of office in the colonies to three years.5

Fear of officials’ popularity.The dread which caused this restriction, viz., that an official might become too powerful in some distant province, and that his influence might prove a source of danger to the mother country, is no longer entertained. Increased traffic and easier means of communication have destroyed the former isolation of the more distant provinces. The customs laws, the increasing demand for colonial produce, and the right conceded to foreigners of settling in the country, will give a great stimulus to agriculture and commerce, and largely increase the number of Chinese and European residents. Then at last, perhaps, the authorities will see the necessity of improving the social position of their officials by decreasing their number, by a careful selection of persons, by promoting them according to their abilities and conduct, and by increasing their salaries, and allowing them to make a longer stay in one post. The commercial relations of the Philippines with California and Australia are likely to become very active, and liberal ideas will be introduced from those free countries. Then, indeed, the mother country will have earnestly to consider whether it is advisable to continue its exploitation of the colony by its monopolies, its withdrawal of gold, and its constant satisfaction of the unfounded claims of a swarm of hungry place-hunters.6

Different English and Dutch policy.English and Dutch colonial officials are carefully and expressly educated for their difficult and responsible positions. They obtain their appointments after passing a stringent examination at home, and are promoted to the higher colonial offices only after giving proofs of fitness and ability. What a different state of things prevails in Spain! When a Spaniard succeeds in getting an appointment, it is difficult to say whether it is due to his personal capacity and merit or to a series of successful political intrigues.7

1 Le Gentil, in his Travels in the Indian Seas, (1761) says: “The monks are the real rulers of the provinces.... Their power is so unlimited that no Spaniard cares to settle in the neighborhood.... The monks would give him a great deal of trouble.”

2 St. Croix.

3 St. Croix.

4 There are three classes of alcaldeships, namely, entrada, ascenso, and termino (vide Royal Ordinances of March, 1837); in each of which an alcalde must serve for three years. No official is allowed, under any pretence, to serve more than ten years in any of the Asiatic magistracies.

5 The law limiting the duration of appointments to this short period dates from the earliest days of Spanish colonization in America. There was also a variety of minor regulations, based on suspicion, prohibiting the higher officials from mixing in friendly intercourse with the colonists.

6 A secular priest in the Philippines once related to me, quite of his own accord, what had led him to the choice of his profession. One day, when he was a non-commissioned officer in the army, he was playing cards with some comrades in a shady balcony. “See,” cried one of his friends, observing a peasant occupied in tilling the fields in the full heat of the sun, “how the donkey yonder is toiling and perspiring while we are lolling in the shade.” The happy conceit of letting the donkeys work while the idle enjoyed life made such a deep impression on him that he determined to turn priest; and it is the same felicitous thought that has impelled so many impecunious gentlemen to become colonial officials. The little opening for civil labor in Spain and Portugal, and the prospect of comfortable perquisites in the colonies, have sent many a starving caballero across the ocean.

7 The exploitation of the State by party, and the exploitation of party by individuals, are the real secrets of all revolutions in the Peninsula. They are caused by a constant and universal struggle for office. No one will work, and everybody wants to live luxuriously; and this can only be done at the expense of the State, which all attempt to turn and twist to their own ends. Shortly after the expulsion of Isabella, an alcalde’s appointment has been known to have been given away three times in one day. (Prussian Year-Book, January, 1869.)

XIII

Batu.In an hour and a half after leaving Polangui we reached Batu, a village on the north-western shore of the lake of the same name. The inhabitants, particularly the women, struck me by their ugliness and want of cleanliness. Although they lived close to the lake, and drew their daily drinking water from it, they never appeared to use it for the purpose of washing. The streets of the village also were dirty and neglected; a circumstance explained, perhaps, by the fact of the priest being a native.

The lake.Towards the end of the rainy season, in November, the lake extends far more widely than it does in the dry, and overflows its shallow banks, especially to the south-west. A great number of water-plants grow on its borders; amongst which I particularly noticed a delicate seaweed1, as fine as horse hair, but intertwined in such close and endless ramifications that it forms a flooring strong enough to support the largest waterfowl. I saw hundreds of them hopping about and eating the shell fish and prawns, which swarmed amidst the meshes of the net-like seaweed and fell an easy prey to their feathered enemies. The natives, too, were in the habit of catching immense quantities of the prawns with nets made for the purpose. Some they ate fresh; and some they kept till they were putrid, like old cheese, and then used them as a relish to swallow with their rice. These small shell-fish are not limited to the Lake of Batu. They are caught in shoals in both the salt and the fresh waters of the Philippine and Indian archipelagos, and, when salted and dried by the natives, form an important article of food, eaten either in soup or as a kind of potted paste. They are found in every market, and are largely exported to China. I was unable to shoot any of the waterfowl, for the tangles of the seaweed prevented my boat from getting near them.

A neglected product.When I revisited the same lake in February, I found its waters so greatly fallen that they had left a circular belt of shore extending all around the lake, in most places nearly a hundred feet broad. The withdrawal of the waters had compressed the tangled seaweed into a kind of matting, which, bleached by the sun, and nearly an inch thick, covered the whole of the shore, and hung suspended over the stunted bushes which, on my first visit, had been under water. I have never either seen elsewhere, or heard any one mention, a similar phenomenon. This stuff, which could be had for nothing, was excellent for rifle-stoppers and for the stuffing of birds, so I took a great quantity of it with me. This time the bird-hunting went well, too.

The native priest of Batu was full of complaints about his parishioners, who gave him no opportunities of gaining an honest penny. “I am never asked for a mass, sir; in fact, this is such a miserable hole that it is shunned by Death itself. In D., where I was for a long time coadjutor, we had our couple of burials regularly every day at three dollars a head, and as many masses at a dollar apiece as we had time to say, besides christenings and weddings, which always brought a little more grist to the mill. But here nothing takes place, and I scarcely make anything.” This stagnant state of things had induced him to turn his attention to commerce. The average native priest, of those I saw, could hardly be called a credit to his profession. Generally ignorant, often dissipated, and only superficially acquainted with his duties, the greater part of his time was given over to gambling, drinking, and other objectionable amusements. Little care was taken to preserve a properly decorous behavior, except when officiating in the church, when they read with an absurd assumption of dignity, without understanding a single word. The conventos are often full of girls and children, all of whom help themselves with their fingers out of a common dish. The worthy padre of Batu introduced a couple of pretty girls to me as his two poor sisters, whom, in spite of his poverty, he supported; but the servants about the place openly spoke of these young ladies’ babies as being the children of the priest.

The native clergy.The guiding principle of Spanish colonial policy—to set one class against another, and to prevent either from becoming too powerful—seems to be the motive for placing so many native incumbents in the parsonages of the Archipelago. The prudence of this proceeding, however, seems doubtful. A Spanish priest has a great deal of influence in his own immediate circle, and forms, perhaps, the only enduring link between the colony and the mother-country. The native priest is far from affording any compensation for the lack of either of these advantages. He generally is but little respected by his flock, and certainly does nothing to attach them to Spain; for he hates and envies his Spanish brethren, who leave him only the very worst appointments, and treat him with contempt.

Nabua.I rode from Batu to Nabua over a good road in half an hour. The country was flat, with rice-fields on both sides of the road; but, while in Batu the rice was only just planted, in Nabua it already was almost ripe. I was unable to obtain any explanation of this incongruity, and know not how to account for such a difference of climate between two hamlets situated in such close proximity to one another, and separated by no range of hills. The inhabitants of both were ugly and dirty, and were different in these respects from the Tagalogs. Nabua, a place of 10,875 inhabitants, is intersected by several small streams, whose waters, pouring down from the eastern hills, form a small lake, which empties itself into the river Bicol. Just after passing the second bridge beyond Nabua the road, inclining eastwards, wends in a straight line to Iriga, a place lying to the south-west of the volcano of the same name.

Remontados.I visited a small settlement of pagans situated on the slope of the volcano. The people of the plains call them indifferently Igorots, Cimarrons, Remontados, Infieles, or Montesinos. None of these names, however, with the exception of the two last, are appropriate ones. The first is derived from the term applied in the north of the Island to the mixed descendants of Chinese and Filipino parents. The word Cimarron (French, marrow) is borrowed from the American slave colonies, where it denoted negroes who escaped from slavery and lived in a state of freedom; but here it is applied to natives who prefer a wild existence to the comforts of village life, which they consider are overbalanced by the servitude and bondage which accompany them. The term Remontado explains itself, and has the same signification as Cimarron. As the difference between the two states—on account of the mildness of the climate, and the ease with which the wants of the natives are supplied—is far less than it would be in Europe, these self-constituted exiles are more frequently to be met with than might be supposed; the cause of their separation from their fellowmen sometimes being some offence against the laws, sometimes annoying debts, and sometimes a mere aversion to the duties and labors of village life. Every Filipino has an innate inclination to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields; and it is only the village prisons and the priests—the salaries of the latter are proportionate to the number of their parishioners—that prevent him from gradually turning the pueblos into visitas,2 and the latter into ranchos. Until a visit to other ranchos in the neighborhood corrected my first impression, I took the inhabitants of the slopes of the Iriga for cross-breeds between the low-landers and negritos. The color of their skin was not black, but a dark brown, scarcely any darker than that of Filipinos who have been much exposed to the sun; and only a few of them had woolly hair. The negritos whom I saw at Angat and Mariveles knew nothing whatever about agriculture, lived in the open air, and supported themselves upon the spontaneous products of nature; but the half-savages of the Iriga dwell in decent huts, and cultivate several vegetables and a little sugar-cane. No pure negritos, as far as I could ascertain, are to be met with in Camarines. A thickly-populated province, only sparsely dotted with lofty hills, would be ill-suited for the residence of a nomadic hunting race ignorant of agriculture.

Iriga settlements.The ranchos on the Iriga are very accessible, and their inhabitants carry on a friendly intercourse with the lowlanders; indeed, if they didn’t, they would have been long ago exterminated. In spite of these neighborly communications, however, they have preserved many of their own primitive manners and customs. The men go about naked with the exception of a cloth about the loins; and the women are equally unclad, some of them perhaps wearing an apron reaching from the hip to the knee.3 In the larger ranchos the women were decently clad in the usual Filipino fashion. Their household belongings consisted of a few articles made of bamboo, a few calabashes of coconut-shell, and an earthen cooking-pot, and bows and arrows. Poison arrows.These latter are made very carefully, the shaft from reeds, the point from a sharp-cut bamboo, or from a palm-tree, with one to three sharp points. In pig-hunting iron-pointed poison arrows are used. Crucifixes.Although the Igorots are not Christians, they decorate their huts with crucifixes, which they use as talismans. If they were of no virtue, an old man remarked to me, the Spaniards would not employ them so numerously.4 The largest rancho I visited was nominally under the charge of a captain, who, however, had little real power. At my desire he called to some naked boys idly squatting about on the trees, who required considerable persuasion before they obeyed his summons; but a few small presents—brazen earrings and combs for the women, and cigars for the men—soon put me on capital terms with them.

Mt. Iriga.After a vain attempt to reach the top of the Iriga volcano I started for Buhi, a place situated on the southern shore of the lake of that name. Ten minutes after leaving Iriga I reached a spot where the ground sounded hollow beneath my horse’s feet. A succession of small hillocks, about fifty feet high, bordered each side of the road; and towards the north I could perceive the huge crater of the Iriga, which, in the distance, appeared like a truncated cone. I had the curiosity to ascend one of the hillocks, which, seen from its summit, looked like the remains of some former crater, which had probably been destroyed by an earthquake and split up into these small mounds.

Advertising. When I got to Buhi the friendly priest had it proclaimed by sound of drum that the newly-arrived strangers wished to obtain all kinds of animals, whether of earth, of air, or of water; and that each and all would be paid for in cash. The natives, however, only brought us moths, centipedes, and other vermin, which, besides enabling them to have a good stare at the strangers, they hoped to turn into cash as extraordinary curiosities.

A church procession. The following day I was the spectator of a gorgeous procession. First came the Spanish flag, then the village kettle-drums, and a small troop of horsemen in short jackets and shirts flying in the wind, next a dozen musicians, and finally, as the principal figure, a man carrying a crimson silk standard. The latter individual evidently was deeply conscious of his dignified position, and his countenance eloquently expressed the quantity of palm wine he had consumed in honor of the occasion. He sat on his horse dressed out in the most absurd manner in a large cocked hat trimmed with colored paper instead of gold lace, with a woman’s cape made of paper outside his coat, and with short, tight-fitting yellow breeches and immense white stockings and shoes. Both his coat and his breeches were liberally ornamented with paper trimmings. His steed, led by a couple of cabezas, was appointed with similar trappings. After marching through all the streets of the village the procession came to a halt in front of the church.

Papal concessions to Spain.This festival is celebrated every year in commemoration of the concession made by the Pope to the King of Spain permitting the latter to appropriate to his own use certain revenues of the Church. The Spanish Throne consequently enjoys the right of conferring different indulgences, even for serious crimes, in the name of the Holy See. This right, which, so to speak, it acquired wholesale, it sells by retail to its customers (it formerly disposed of it to the priests) in the estanco, and together with its other monopolies, such as tobacco, brandy, lottery tickets, stamped paper, etc., all through the agency of the priests; without the assistance of whom very little business would be done. The receipts from the sale of these indulgences have always been very fluctuating. In 1819 they amounted to $15,930; in 1839 to $36,390; and in 1860 they were estimated at $58,954. In the year 1844–5 they rose to $292,115. The cause of this large increase was that indulgences were then rendered compulsory; so many being alloted to each family, with the assistance and under the superintendence of the priests and tax-collectors who received a commission of five and eight per cent on the gross amount collected.5

Lake Buhi.The Lake of Buhi (300 feet above the sea-level) presents an extremely picturesque appearance, surrounded as it is on all sides by hills fully a thousand feet high; and its western shore is formed by what still remains of the Iriga volcano. I was informed by the priests of the neighboring hamlets that the volcano, until the commencement of the seventeenth century, had been a closed cone, and that the lake did not come into existence till half of the mountain fell in, at the time of its great eruption. This statement I found confirmed in the pages of the Estado Geografico:—“On the fourth of January, 1641—a memorable day, for on that date all the known volcanoes of the Archipelago began to erupt at the same hour—a lofty hill in Camarines, inhabited by heathens, fell in, and a fine lake sprang into existence upon its site. The then inhabitants of the village of Buhi migrated to the shores of the new lake, which, on this account, was henceforward called the Lake of Buhi.”

1628 Camarines earthquake.Perrey, in the Mémoires de l’Académie de Dijon, mentions another outbreak which took place in Camarines in 1628: “In 1628, according to trustworthy reports, fourteen different shocks of earthquake occurred on the same day in the province of Camarines. Many buildings were thrown down, and from one large mountain which the earthquake rent asunder there issued such an immense quantity of water that the whole neighborhood was flooded, trees were torn up by the roots, and, in one hour, from the seashore all plains were covered with water (the direct distance to the shore is two and one-half leagues).6

A mistranslation.It is very strange that the text given in the footnote does not agree with A. Perrey’s translation. The former does not mention that water came out of the mountains and says just the contrary, that trees, which were torn up by the roots, took the place of the sea for one hour on the shore, so that no water could be seen.

Unreliable authorities.The data of the Estado Geografico are apt to create distrust as the official report on the great earthquake of 1641 describes in detail the eruptions of three volcanoes, which happened at the same time (of these two were in the South of the Archipelago and one in Northern Luzon) while Camarines is not mentioned at all. This suspicion is further strengthened by the fact that the same author (Nierembergius) whose remarks on the eruptions of 1628 in Camarines are quoted, gives in another book of his a detailed report on the events of 1641 without mentioning this province. If one considers the indifference of the friars toward such events in Nature, it is not improbable that the eruptions of 1641 when a mountain fell in in Northern Luzon and a lake took its place, has been transferred on the Iriga. To illustrate the indifference it may be mentioned that even the padres living at the foot of the Albay could not agree upon the dates of its very last eruptions.

Another attempt at mountain climbing.When I was at Tambong, a small hamlet on the shore of the lake belonging to the parochial district of Buhi, I made a second unsuccessful attempt to reach the highest point of the Iriga. We arrived in the evening at the southern point of the crater’s edge (1,041 meters above the level of the sea by my barometrical observation), where a deep defile prevented our further progress. Here the Igorots abandoned me, and the low-landers refused to bivouac in order to pursue the journey on the following day; so I was obliged to return. Late in the evening, after passing through a coco plantation, we reached the foot of the mountain and found shelter from a tempest with a kind old woman; to whom my servants lied so shamelessly that, when the rain had abated, we were, in spite of our failure, conducted with torches to Tambong, where we found the palm-grove round the little hamlet magically illuminated with bright bonfires of dry coconut-leaves in honor of the Conquistadores del Iriga; and where I was obliged to remain for the night, as the people were too timorous or too lazy to cross the rough water of the lake.

Pineapple fiber preparations.Here I saw them preparing the fiber of the pine-apple for weaving. The fruit of the plants selected for this purpose is generally removed early; a process which causes the leaves to increase considerably both in length and in breadth. A woman places a board on the ground, and upon it a pine-apple-leaf with the hollow side upwards. Sitting at one end of the board, she holds the leaf firmly with her toes, and scrapes its outer surface with a potsherd; not with the sharp fractured edge but with the blunt side of the rim; and thus the leaf is reduced to rags. In this manner a stratum of coarse longitudinal fiber is disclosed, and the operator, placing her thumb-nail beneath it, lifts it up, and draws it away in a compact strip; after which she scrapes again until a second fine layer of fiber is laid bare. Then, turning the leaf round, she scrapes its back, which now lies upwards, down to the layer of fiber, which she seizes with her hand and draws at once, to its full length, away from the back of the leaf. When the fiber has been washed, it is dried in the sun. It is afterwards combed, with a suitable comb, like women’s hair, sorted into four classes, tied together, and treated like the fiber of the lupi. In this crude manner are obtained the threads for the celebrated web nipis de Piña.Piña, which is considered by experts the finest in the world. Two shirts of this kind are in the Berlin Ethnographical Museum (Nos. 291 and 292). Better woven samples are in the Gewerbe Museum of Trade and Commerce. In the Philippines, where the fineness of the work is best understood and appreciated, richly-embroidered costumes of this description have fetched more than $1,400 each.7

Rain prevents another ascent.At Buhi, which is not sufficiently sheltered towards the north-east, it rained almost as much as at Daraga. I had found out from the Igorots that a path could be forced through the tall canes up to the summit; but the continual rain prevented me; so I resolved to cross the Malinao, returning along the coast to my quarters, and then, freshly equipped, descend the river Bicol as far as Naga.

Mountaineers’ arrow poison.Before we parted the Igorots prepared for me some arrow poison from the bark of two trees. I happened to see neither the leaves nor the blossoms, but only the bark. A piece of bark was beaten to pieces, pressed dry, wetted, and again pressed. This was done with the bare hand, which, however, sustained no injury. The juice thus extracted looked like pea-soup, and was warmed in an earthen vessel over a slow fire. During the process it coagulated at the edges; and the coagulated mass was again dissolved, by stirring it into the boiling fluid mass. When this had reached the consistency of syrup, a small quantity was scraped off the inner surface of a second piece of bark, and its juice squeezed into the vessel. This juice was a dark brown color. When the mass had attained the consistency of a thin jelly, it was scraped out of the pot with a chip and preserved on a leaf sprinkled with ashes. For poisoning an arrow they use a piece of the size of a hazel-nut, which, after being warmed, is distributed uniformly over the broad iron point; and the poisoned arrow serves for repeated use.

Sapa river.At the end of November I left the beautiful lake of Buhi, and proceeded from its eastern angle for a short distance up the little river Sapa8, the alluvial deposits of which form a considerable feature in the configuration of the lake. Across a marshy meadow we reached the base of the Malinao or Buhi mountain, the slippery clay of the lower slope merging higher up into volcanic sand. Leeches.The damp undergrowth swarmed with small leeches; I never before met with them in such numbers. These little animals, no stouter when streched out than a linen thread, are extraordinarily active. They attach themselves firmly to every part of the body, penetrating even into the nose, the ears, and the eyelids, where, if, they remain unobserved, they gorge themselves to such excess that they become as round as balls and look like small cherries. While they are sucking no pain is felt; but afterwards the spots attacked often itch the whole day long.9 Fig-trees.In one place the wood consisted for the most part of fig-trees, with bunches of fruit quite six feet in length hanging from the stems and the thicker branches; and between the trees grew ferns, aroids, and orchids. After nearly six hours’ toil we reached the pass (841 meters above the sea level), and descended the eastern slope. The forest on the eastern side of the mountain is still more magnificent than that on the west. From a clearing we obtained a fine view of the sea, the Island of Catanduanes, and the plain of Tabaco. Prison as hotel. At sunset we reached Tibi, where I quartered myself in the prison. This, a tolerably clean place, enclosed with strong bamboos, was the most habitable part of a long shed which supplied the place of the tribunal destroyed in a storm two years before. At Tibi I had an opportunity of sketching Mount Malinao (called also Buhi and Takit), which from this side has the appearance of a large volcano with a distinct crater. From the lake of Buhi it is not so clearly distinguishable.

Igabo hot spring.Not far from Tibi, exactly north-east of Malinao, we found a small hot spring called Igabo. In the middle of a plot of turf encircled by trees was a bare spot of oval form, nearly a hundred paces long and seventy wide. The whole space was covered with stones, rounded by attrition, as large as a man’s head and larger. Here and there hot water bubbled out of the ground and discharged into a little brook; beside it some women were engaged in cooking their food, which they suspended in nets in the hottest parts of the water. On the lower surfaces of some of the stones a little sulphur was sublimated; of alum hardly a trace was perceptible. In a cavity some caolin had accumulated, and was used as a stain.

Naglegbeng silicious springs.From here I visited the stalactite springs, not far distant, of Naglegbeng.10 I had expected to see a calcareous fountain, but found the most magnificent masses of silica of infinite variety of form; shallow cones with cylindrical summits, pyramidal flights of steps, round basins with ribbed margins, and ponds of boiling water. One spot, denuded of trees, from two to three hundred paces in breadth and about five hundred in length, was, with the exception of a few places overgrown with turf, covered with a crust of silicious dross, which here and there formed large connected areas, but was generally broken up into flaky plates by the vertical springs which pierced it. In numerous localities boiling hot mineral water containing silica was forcing itself out of the ground, spreading itself over the surface and depositing a crust, the thickness of which depended on its distance from the center point. In this manner, in the course of time, a very flat cone is formed, with a basin of boiling water in the middle. The continuous deposit of dross contracts the channel, and a less quantity of water overflows, while that close to the edge of the basin evaporates and deposits a quantity of fine silicious earth; whence the upper portion of the cone not only is steeper than its base, but frequently assumes a more cylindrical form, the external surface of which on account of the want of uniformity in the overflow, is ribbed in the form of stalactites. When the channel becomes so much obstructed that the efflux is less than the evaporation, the water ceases to flow over the edge, and the mineral dross, during the continual cooling of the water, is then deposited, with the greatest uniformity, over the inner area of the basin. When, however, the surface of the water sinks, this formation ceases at the upper portion of the basin; the interior wall thickens; and, if the channel be completely stopped up and all the water evaporated, there remains a bell-shaped basin as even as if excavated by the hand of man. The water now seeks a fresh outlet, and bursts forth where it meets with the least obstruction, without destroying the beautiful cone it has already erected. Many such examples exist. In the largest cones, however, the vapors generated acquire such power that, when the outlet is completely stopped up, they break up the overlying crust in concentrically radiating flakes; and the water, issuing anew copiously from the center, deposits a fresh crust, which again, by the process we have just described is broken up into a superimposed layer of flakes. In this manner are formed annular layers, which in turn are gradually covered by fresh deposits from the overflowing water. After the pyramid of layers is complete and the outlet stopped up, the water sometimes breaks forth on the slope of the same cone; a second cone is then formed near the first, on the same base. In the vicinity of the silicious springs are seen deposits of white, yellow, red, and bluish-grey clays, overlaying one another in narrow strata-like variegated marl, manifestly the disintegrated produce of volcanic rocks transported hither by rain and stained with oxide of iron. These clays perhaps come from the same rocks from the disintegration of which the silicious earth has been formed. Similar examples occur in Iceland and in New Zealand; but the products of the springs of Tibi are more varied, finer, and more beautiful than those of the Iceland Geysers.

A world wonder.The wonderful conformations of the red cone are indeed astonishing, and hardly to be paralleled in any other quarter of the world.11

1 According to Grunow, Cladophona arrisgona Kuetzing—Conferva arrisgona Montague.

2 A visita is a small hamlet or village with no priest of its own, and dependent upon its largest neighbor for its religious ministrations.

3 Pigafetta mentions that the female musicians of the King of Cebu were quite naked, or only covered with an apron of bark. The ladies of the Court were content with a hat, a short cloak, and a cloth around the waist.

4 Perhaps the same reason induced the Chinese to purchase crucifixes at the time of their first intercourse with the Portuguese; for Pigafetta says: “The Chinese are white, wear clothes, and eat from tables. They also possess crucifixes but it is difficult to say why or where they got them.”

5 One line here omitted.—C.

6 Apud Camarines quoque terrain eodem die quator decies contremuisse, fide dignis testimoniis renuntiatum est: multa interim aedificia diruta. Ingentem montem medium crepuisse immani hiatu, ex immensa vi excussisse arbores per oras pelagi, ita ut leucam occuparent aequoris, nec humor per illud intervallum appareret. Accidit hoc anno 1628.—S. Eusebius Nieremberqius, Historia Naturae, lib. xvi., 383. Antwerpiae, 1635.

7 At Fort William, Calcutta, experiments have proved the extraordinary endurance of the pine-apple fibre. A cable eight centimeters in circumference was not torn asunder until a force of 2,850 kilogrammes had been applied to it.—Report of the Jury, London International Exhibition.

8 Sapa means shallow.

9 To the extraordinary abundance of these annulates in Sikkin, Hooker (Himalayan Journal, i, 167) ascribes the death of many animals, as also the murrain known as rinderpest, if it occurred after a very wet season, when the leech appears in incredible numbers. It is a known fact that these worms have existed for days together in the nostrils, throat, and stomach of man, causing inexpressible pain and, finally, death.

10 Gemelli Careri has already mentioned them.

11 I discovered similar formations, of extraordinary beauty and extent, in the great silicious beds of Steamboat Springs in Nevada.

XIV

Quinali river.On my second journey in Camarines, which I undertook in February, I went by water from Polangui, past Batu, as far as Naga. The Quinali, which runs into the south-eastern corner of the lake of Batu, runs out again on the north side as the Bicol River, and flows in a north-westerly direction as far as the Bay of San Miguel. It forms the medium of a not inconsiderable trade between Albay and Camarines, particularly in rice; of which the supply grown in the former province does not suffice for the population, who consume the superfluity of Camarines. The rice is conveyed in large boats up the river as far as Quinali, and thence transported further on in carabao carts; and the boats return empty. During the dry season of the year, the breadth of the very tortuous Bicol, at its mouth, is a little over sixty feet, and increases but very gradually. There is considerable variety of vegetation upon its banks, and in animal life it is highly attractive. I was particularly struck with its numerous monkeys and water-fowl. Plotus water-fowl.Of the latter the Plotus variety was most abundant, but difficult to shoot. They sit motionless on the trees on the bank, only their thin heads and necks, like those of tree-snakes, overtopping the leaves. On the approach of the boat they precipitate themselves hastily into the water; and it is not until after many minutes that the thin neck is seen rising up again at some distance from the spot where the bird disappeared. The Plotus appears to be as rapid on the wing as it is in swimming and diving.

Naga.In Naga, the chief city of South Camarines, I alighted at the tribunal, from which, however, I was immediately invited by the principal official of the district—who is famed for his hospitality far beyond the limits of his province—to his house, where I was loaded with civilities and favors. This universally beloved gentleman put everybody under contribution in order to enrich my collections, and did all in his power to render my stay agreeable and to further my designs.

Nueva Caceres.Naga is the seat of a bishopric and of the provincial government. In official documents it is called Nueva Caceres, in honor of the Captain-General, D. Fr. de Sande, a native of Caceres, who about 1578 founded Naga (the Spanish town) close to the Filipino village. At the beginning of the seventeenth century it numbered nearly one hundred Spanish inhabitants; at the present time it hardly boasts a dozen. Murillo Velarde remarks (xiii, 272), in contrast to the state of things in America, that of all the towns founded in the Philippines, with the exception of Manila, only the skeletons, the names without the substance, have been preserved. The reason is, as has been frequently shown, that up to the present time plantations, and consequently proper settlers, have been wanting. Formerly Naga was the principal town of the whole of that district of Luzon lying to the east of Tayabas, which, on account of the increased population, was divided into the three provinces of North and South Camarines and Albay. The boundaries of these governmental districts, those between Albay and South Camarines more especially, have been drawn very arbitrarily; although, the whole of the territory, as is shown by the map, geographically is very well defined. Land of the Bicols.The country is named Camarines; but it might more suitably be called the country of the Bicols, for the whole of it is inhabited by one race, the Bicol-Filipinos, who are distinguished by their speech and many other peculiarities from their neighbors, the Tagals on the west, and the Bisayans on the islands to the south and east.

The Bicols.The Bicols are found only in this district and in a few islands lying immediately in front of it. Of their coming hither no information is to be obtained from the comprehensive but confused histories of the Spanish monks. Morga considers them to be natives of the island; on the other hand, it is asserted by tradition that the inhabitants of Manila and its vicinity are descended from Malays who have migrated thither, and from the inhabitants of other islands and more distant provinces.1 Their speech is midway between that of the Tagalogs and the Bisayans, and they themselves appear, in both their manners and customs, to be a half-breed between these two races. Physically and mentally they are inferior to the Tagalogs, and superior to the inhabitants of the eastern Bisayan Islands. Bicol language.Bicol is spoken only in the two Camarines, Albay, Luzon, the Islands of Masbate, Burias, Ticao, and Catanduanes, and in the smaller adjoining islands. The inhabitants of the volcanic mountain Isarog and its immediate neighborhood speak it in the greatest purity. Thence towards the west the Bicol dialect becomes more and more like Tagalog, and towards the east like Bisayan, until by degrees, even before reaching the boundaries of their ethnographical districts, it merges into these two kindred languages.

Rice cultivation.In South Camarines the sowing of the rice in beds begins in June or July, always at the commencement of the rainy season; but in fields artificially watered, earlier, because thus the fruit ripens at a time when, the store in the country being small, its price is high. Although the rice fields could very well give two crops yearly, they are tilled only once. It is planted out in August, with intervals of a hand’s-breadth between each row and each individual plant; and within four months the rice is ripe. The fields are never fertilized, and but seldom ploughed; the weeds and the stubble being generally trodden into the already soaked ground by a dozen carabaos, and the soil afterwards simply rolled with a cylinder furnished with sharp points, or loosened with the harrow (sorod). Besides the agricultural implements named above, there are the Spanish hatchet (azadon) and a rake of bamboo (kag-kag) in use. The harvest is effected in a peculiar manner. The rice which is soonest ripe is cut for ten per cent, that is, the laborer receives for his toil the tenth bundle for himself. At this time of year rice is very scarce, want is imminent, and labor reasonable. The more fields, however, that ripen, the higher become the reapers’ wages, rising to twenty, thirty, forty, even fifty per cent; indeed, the executive sometimes consider it to be necessary to force the people to do harvest by corporal punishment and imprisonment, in order to prevent a large portion of the crop from rotting on the stalk. Nevertheless, in very fruitful years a part of the harvest is lost. The rice is cut halm by halm (as in Java) with a peculiarly-formed knife, or, failing such, with the sharp-edged flap of a mussel2 found in the ditches of the rice-fields, which one has only to stoop to pick up.

Rice land production.A quiñon of the best rice land is worth from sixty to one hundred dollars ($5.50 to $9 per acre). Rice fields on rising grounds are dearest, as they are not exposed to devastating floods as are those in the plain, and may be treated so as to insure the ripening of the fruit at the time when the highest price is to be obtained.

The harvest.A ganta of rice is sufficient to plant four topones (1 topon = 1 loan); from which 100 manojos (bundles) are gathered, each of which yields half a ganta of rice. The old ganta of Naga, however, being equal to a modern ganta and a half, the produce may be calculated at 75 cavanes per quiñon, about 9¾ bushels per acre.3 In books 250 cavanes are usually stated to be the average produce of a quiñon; but that is an exaggeration. The fertility of the fields certainly varies very much; but, when it is considered that the land in the Philippines is never fertilized, but depends, for the maintenance of its vitality, exclusively upon the overflowing of the mud which is washed down from the mountains, it may be believed that the first numbers better express the true average. In Java the harvest, in many provinces, amounts to only 50 cavanes per quiñon; in some, indeed, to three times this amount; and in China, with the most careful culture and abundant manure, to 180 cabanes.4 Sweet potatoes. Besides rice, they cultivate the camote (sweet potato, Convolvulus batatas). This flourishes like a weed; indeed, it is sometimes planted for the purpose of eradicating the weeds from soil intended for coffee or cacao. It spreads out into a thick carpet, and is an inexhaustible storehouse to its owner, who, the whole year through, can supply his wants from his field. Gabi (Caladium), Ubi (Dioscorea), maize, and other kinds of grain, are likewise cultivated.

Cattle and horses.After the rice harvest the carabaos, horses, and bullocks, are allowed to graze in the fields. During the rice culture they remain in the gogonales, cane-fields which arise in places once cultivated for mountain-rice and afterwards abandoned. (Gogo is the name of a cane 7 to 8 feet high, Saccharum sp.). Transport then is almost impossible, because during the rainy season the roads are impassable, and the cattle find nothing to eat. The native does not feed his beast, but allows it to die when it cannot support itself. In the wet season of the year it frequently happens that a carabao falls down from starvation whilst drawing a cart. A carabao costs from $7 to $10; a horse $10 to $20; and a cow $6 to $8. Very fine horses are valued at from $30 to $50, and occasionally as much as $80; but the native horses are not esteemed in Manila, because they have no stamina. The bad water, the bad hay, and the great heat of the place at once point out the reason; otherwise it would be profitable to export horses in favorable seasons to Manila, where they would fetch twice their value. According to Morga, there were neither horses nor asses on the Island until the Spaniards imported them from China and New Spain.5 They were at first small and vicious. Horses were imported also from Japan, “not swift but powerful, with large heads and thick manes, looking like Friesland horses;”6 and the breed improved rapidly. Those born in the country, mostly cross-breeds, drive well.

Black cattle.Black cattle are generally in the hands of a few individuals; some of whom in Camarines possess from 1000 to 3000 head; but they are hardly saleable in the province, although they have been exported profitably for some years past to Manila. The black cattle of the province are small but make good beef. They are never employed for labor, and the cows are not milked. The Filipinos, who generally feed on fish, crabs, mussels, and wild herbs together with rice, prefer the flesh of the carabao to that of the ox; but they eat it only on feastdays.

Sheep.The old race of sheep, imported by the Spaniards previous to this century, still flourishes and is easily propagated. Those occasionally brought from Shanghai and Australia are considered to be deficient in endurance, unfruitful, and generally short-lived. Mutton is procurable every day in Manila; in the interior, however, at least in the eastern provinces, very rarely; although the rearing of sheep might there be carried on without difficulty, and in many places most profitably; the people being too idle to take care of the young lambs, which they complain are torn to pieces by the dogs when they wander about free. The sheep appear to have been acclimatized with difficulty. Morga says that they were brought several times from New Spain, but did not multiply; so that in his time this kind of domestic animal did not exist. Swine.Pork is eaten by wealthy Europeans only when the hog has been brought up from the litter at home. In order to prevent its wandering away, it is usually enclosed in a wide meshed cylindrical hamper of bamboo, upon filling which it is slaughtered. The native hogs are too nauseous for food, the animals maintaining themselves almost entirely on ordure.

Guesses at history from language.Crawfurd observes that the names of all the domestic animals in the Philippines belong to foreign languages, Those of the dog, swine, goat, carabao, cat, even of the fowl and the duck, are Malay or Javanese; while those of the horse, ox, and sheep, are Spanish. Until these animals were first imported from Malaysia, the aborigines were less fortunate in this respect than the Americans, who at least had the alpaca, llamanda, vicuña. The names likewise of most of the cultivated plants, such as rice, yams, sugar-cane, cacao and indigo, are said to be Malay, as well as those for silver, copper, and tin. Of the words relating to commerce, one-third are Malay; to which belong most of the terms used in trades, as well as the denominations for weights and measures, for the calendar—so far as it exists—and for numbers, besides the words for writing, reading, speaking, and narrative. On the other hand, only a small number of terms which refer to war are borrowed from the Malay.

Ancient Filipino civilization.Referring to the degree of civilization which the Philippines possessed previous to their intercourse with the Malays, Crawfurd concludes from the purely domestic words that they cultivated no corn, their vegetable food consisting of batata(?) and banana. They had not a single domestic animal; they were acquainted with iron and gold, but with no other metal, and were clothed in stuffs of cotton and alpaca, woven by themselves. They had invented a peculiar phonetic alphabet; and their religion consisted in the belief in good and evil spirits and witches, in circumcision, and in somewhat of divination by the stars. They therefore were superior to the inhabitants of the South Sea, inasmuch as they possessed gold, iron, and woven fabrics, and inferior to them in that they had neither dog, pig, nor fowl.

Progress under Spain.Assuming the truth of the above sketch of pre-Christian culture, which has been put together only with the help of defective linguistic sources, and comparing it with the present, we find, as the result, a considerable progress, for which the Philippines are indebted to the Spaniards. The influence of social relations has been already exhibited in the text. The Spaniards have imported the horse, the bullock, and the sheep; maize, coffee, sugar-cane, cacao, sesame, tobacco, indigo, many fruits, and probably the batata, which they met with in Mexico under the name of camotli.7 From this circumstance the term camote, universal in the Philippines, appears to have had its origin, Crawfurd, indeed, erroneously considering it a native term. According to a communication from Dr. Witmack, the opinion has lately been conceived that the batata is indigenous not only to America, but also to the East Indies, as it has two names in Sanscrit, sharkarakanda and ruktaloo.

Slight industrial progress.With the exception of embroidery, the natives have made but little progress in industries, in the weaving and the plaiting of mats; and the handicrafts are entirely carried on by the Chinese.

Rice and abaca exported.The exports consist of rice and abaca. The province exports about twice as much rice as it consumes; a large quantity to Albay, which, less adapted for the cultivation of rice, produces only abaca; and a fair share to North Camarines, which is very mountainous, and little fertile. The rice can hardly be shipped to Manila, as there is no high road to the south side of the province, near to the principal town, and the transport by water from the north side, and from the whole of the eastern portion of Luzon, would immediately enhance the price of the product. Chinese monopolize trade. The imports are confined to the little that is imported by Chinese traders. The traders are almost all Chinese who alone possess shops in which clothing materials and woolen stuffs, partly of native and partly of European manufacture, women’s embroidered slippers, and imitation jewelry, may be obtained. The whole amount of capital invested in these shops certainly does not exceed $200,000. In the remaining pueblos of Camarines there are no Chinese merchants; and the inhabitants are consequently obliged to get their supplies from Naga.

Land for everybody.The land belongs to the State, but is let to any one who will build upon it. The usufruct passes to the children, and ceases only when the land remains unemployed for two whole years; after which it is competent for the executive to dispose of it to another person.

Homes.Every family possesses its own house; and the young husband generally builds with the assistance of his friends. In many places it does not cost more than four or five dollars, as he can, if necessary, build it himself free of expense, with the simple aid of the forest-knife (bolo), and of the materials to his hand, bamboo, Spanish cane, and palm-leaves. These houses, which are always built on piles on account of the humidity of the soil, often consist of a single shed, which serves for all the uses of a dwelling, and are the cause of great laxity and of filthy habits, the whole family sleeping therein in common, and every passer-by being a welcome guest. A fine house of boards for the family of a cabeza perhaps costs nearly $100; and the possessions of such a family in stock, furniture, ornaments, etc. (of which they are obliged to furnish an annual inventory), would range in value between $100 and $1,000. Some reach even as much as $10,000, while the richest family of the whole province is assessed at $40,000.

People not travellers.In general it may be said that every pueblo supplies travellers, its own necessaries, and produces little more. To the indolent native, especially to him of the eastern provinces, the village in which he was born is the world; and he leaves it only under the most pressing circumstances. Were it otherwise even, the strictness of the poll-tax would place great obstacles in the way of gratifying the desire for travel, generated by that oppressive impost.

Meals.The Filipino eats three times a day—about 7 a.m., 12, and at 7 or 8 in the evening. Those engaged in severe labor consume at each meal a chupa of rice; the common people, half a chupa at breakfast, one at mid-day, and half again in the evening, altogether two chupas. Each family reaps its own supply of rice, and preserves it in barns, or buys it winnowed at the market; in the latter case purchasing only the quantity for one day or for the individual meals. The average retail price is 3 cuartos for 2 chupas (14 chupas for 1 real). To free it from the husk, the quantity for each single meal is rubbed in a mortar by the women. This is in accordance with an ancient custom; but it is also due to the fear lest, otherwise, the store should be too quickly consumed. The rice, however, is but half cooked; and it would seem that this occurs in all places where it constitutes an essential part of the sustenance of the people, as may be seen, indeed, in Spain and Italy. Salt and much Spanish pepper (capsicum) are eaten as condiments; the latter, originally imported from America, growing all round the houses. To the common cooking-salt the natives prefer a so-called rock-salt, which they obtain by evaporation from sea-water previously filtered through ashes; and of which one chinanta (12 lbs. German) costs from one and one-half to two reals. The consumption of salt is extremely small.

Buyo and cigars.The luxuries of the Filipinos are buyo8 and cigars—a cigar costing half a centavo, and a buyo much less. Cigars are rarely smoked, but are cut up into pieces, and chewed with the buyo. The women also chew buyo and tobacco, but, as a rule, very moderately; but they do not also stain their teeth black, like the Malays; and the young and pretty adorn themselves assiduously with veils made of the areca-nut tree, whose stiff and closely packed parallel fibers, when cut crosswise, form excellent tooth-brushes. They bathe several times daily, and surpass the majority of Europeans in cleanliness. Every native, above all things, keeps a fighting-cock; even when he has nothing to eat, he finds money for cock-fighting.

Household affairs.The details of domestic economy may be summarized as follows:

For cooking purposes an earthen pot is used, costing between 3 and 10 cuartos; which, in cooking rice, is closed firmly with a banana-leaf, so that the steam of a very small quantity of water is sufficient. No other cooking utensils are used by the poorer classes; but those better off have a few cast-iron pans and dishes. In the smaller houses, the hearth consists of a portable earthen pan or a flat chest, frequently of an old cigar-chest full of sand, with three stones which serve as a tripod. In the larger houses it is in the form of a bedstead, filled with sand or ashes, instead of a mattress. The water in small households is carried and preserved in thick bamboos. In his bolo (forest-knife), moreover, every one has an universal instrument, which he carries in a wooden sheath made by himself, suspended by a cord of loosely-twisted bast fibers tied round his body. This, and the rice-mortar (a block of wood with a suitable cavity), together with pestles and a few baskets, constitute the whole of the household Furniture.furniture of a poor family; sometimes a large snail, with a rush wick, is also to be found as a lamp. They sleep on a mat of pandanus (fan-palm, Corypha), when they possess one; if not, on the splittings of bamboo, with which the house is floored. By the poor oil for lighting is rarely used; but torches of resin, which last a couple of days, are bought in the market for half a cuarto.

Clothing.Their clothing requirements I ascertained to be these: A woman wears a camisa de guinára (a short shift of abacá fiber), a patadíon (a gown reaching from the hip to the ancles), a cloth, and a comb. A piece of guinára, costing 1 real, gives two shifts; the coarsest patadíon costs 3 reals; a cloth, at the highest, 1 real; and a comb, 2 cuartos; making altogether 4 reals, 12 cuartos. Women of the better class wear a camisa, costing between 1 and 2 r., a patadíon 6 r., cloth between 2 and 3 r., and a comb 2 cu. The men wear a shirt, 1 r., hose, 3 r., hat (tararura) of Spanish cane, 10 cu., or a salacot (a large rain-hat, frequently decorated), at least 2 r.—often, when ornamented with silver, as much as $50. At least three, but more commonly four, suits are worn out yearly; the women, however, taking care to weave almost the whole quantity for the family themselves.

Wages.The daily wages of the common laborer are 1 real, without food; and his hours of work are from 6 to 12, and from 2 to 6 o’clock. The women, as a rule, perform no field labor, but plant out the rice and assist in the reaping; their wages on both occasions being equal to those of the men. Wood and stone-cutters receive 1.5 r. per day, and calkers 1.75 r.

Land leases.The Tercio is a pretty general contract in the cultivation of the land. The owner simply lets arable land for the third part of the crop. Some mestizos possess several pieces of ground; but they are seldom connected together, as they generally acquire them as mortgages for sums bearing but a small proportion to their real value.

Family income.Under the head of earnings I give the income of a small family. The man earns daily one real, and the woman, if she weaves coarse stuff, one-fourth real, and her food (thus a piece of guinára, occupying the labor of two days, costs half a real in weavers’ wages). The most skilful female weaver of the finer stuffs obtains twelve reals per piece; but it takes a month to weave; and the month, on account of the numerous holy-days, must be calculated at the most as equal to twenty-four working days; she consequently earns one-fourth real per day and her food. For the knitting of the fibers of the ananas for the piña web (called sugot) she gets only an eighth of a real and her food.

Schools.In all the pueblos there are schools. The schoolmaster is paid by the Government, and generally obtains two dollars per month, without board or lodging. In large pueblos the salary amounts to three dollars and a half; out of which an assistant must be paid. The schools are under the supervision of the ecclesiastics of the place. Reading and writing are taught, the writing copies being Spanish. The teacher, who has to teach his scholars Spanish exactly, does not understand it himself, while the Spanish officers, on the other hand, do not understand the language of the country; and the priests have no inclination to alter this state of things, which is very useful to them as a means of influence. Almost the only Filipinos who speak Spanish are those who have been in the service of Europeans. A kind of religious horn-book is the first that is read in the language of the country (Bicol); and after that comes the Christian Doctrine, the reading-book called Casayayan. On an average, half of all the children go to school, generally from the seventh to the tenth year. They learn to read a little; a few even write a little: but they soon forget it again. Only those who are afterwards employed as clerks write fluently; and of these most write well.

Some priests do not permit boys and girls to attend the same school; and in this case they pay a second teacher, a female, a dollar a month. The Filipinos learn arithmetic very quickly, generally aiding themselves by the use of mussels or stones, which they pile in little heaps before them and then count through.

Marriage age.The women seldom marry before the fourteenth year, twelve years being the legal limit. In the church-register of Polángui I found a marriage recorded (January, 1837) between a Filipino and a Filipina having the ominous name of Hilaria Concepción, who at the time of the performance of the marriage ceremony was, according to a note in the margin, only nine years and ten months old. Frequently people live together unmarried, because they cannot pay the expenses of the ceremony.9

Woman’s work.European females, and even mestizas, never seek husbands amongst the natives. The women generally are well treated, doing only light work, such as sewing, weaving, embroidery, and managing the household; while all the heavy labor, with the exception of the beating of the rice, falls to the men.10

A patriarch.Instances of longevity are frequent amongst the Filipinos, particularly in Camarines. The Diario de Manila, of March 13th, 1866, mentions an old man in Darága (Albay) whom I knew well—Juan Jacob, born in 1744, married in 1764, and a widower in 1845. He held many public posts up to 1840, and had thirteen children, of whom five are living. He has one hundred and seventy direct descendants, and now, at one hundred and twenty-two years of age, is still vigorous, with good eyes and teeth. Extreme unction was administered to him seven times!

Snake bite and rabies remedy.The first excretion of a new-born child is carefully preserved, and under the name of triaca (theriacum) is held to be a highly efficacious and universal remedy for the bites of snakes and mad dogs. It is applied to the wound externally, and at the same time is taken internally.

Infant mortality.A large number of children die in the first two weeks after birth. Statistical data are wanting; but, according to the opinion of one of the first physicians in Manila, at least one-fourth die. This mortality must arise from great uncleanliness and impure air; since in the chambers of the sick, and of women lying-in, the doors and windows are so closely shut that the healthy become sick from the stench and heat, and the sick recover with difficulty. Every aperture of the house is closed up by the husband early during travail, in order that Patianac may not break in—an evil spirit who brings mischief to lying-in women, and endeavors to hinder the birth. The custom has been further maintained even amongst many who attach no belief to the superstition, but who, from fear of a draught of air through a hole, have discovered a new explanation for an old custom—namely, that instances of such practices occur amongst all people. The itch.One very widely-spread malady is the itch, although, according to the assurance of the physician above referred to, it may be easily subdued; and, according to the judgment of those who are not physicians and who employ that term for any eruptions of the skin, the natives generally live on much too low a diet; the Bicols even more than the Tagalogs.11 Under certain conditions, which the physicians, on being questioned, could not define more precisely, the natives can support neither hunger nor thirst; of which fact I have on many occasions been a witness. It is reported of them, when forced into such a situation as to suffer from unappeased wants, that they become critically ill; and thus they often die.

Imitation mania.Hence arises the morbid mania for imitation, which is called in Java Sakit-latar, and here Mali-mali. In Java many believe that the sickness is only assumed, because those who pretend to be afflicted with it find it to their advantage to be seen by newly arrived Europeans. Here, however, I saw one instance where indeed no simulation could be suspected. My companions availed themselves of the diseased condition of a poor old woman who met us in the highway, to practice some rough jokes upon her. The old woman imitated every motion as if impelled by an irresistible impulse, and expressed at the same time the most extreme indignation against those who abused her infirmity.

The sickness in Siberia.In R. Maak’s “Journey to the Amour,” it is recorded:—“It is not unusual for the Maniagri to suffer also from a nervous malady of the most peculiar kind, with which we had already been made acquainted by the descriptions of several travellers.12 This malady is met with, for the most part, amongst the wild people of Siberia, as well as amongst the Russians settled there. In the district of the Jakutes, where this affliction very frequently occurs, those affected by it, both Russians and Jakutes, are known by the name of ‘Emiura;’ but here (that is, in that part of Siberia where the Maniagri live) the same malady is called by the Maniagri ‘Olon,’ and by the Argurian Cossacks ‘Olgandshi.’ The attacks of the malady which I am now mentioning consist in this, that a man suffering from it will, if under the influence of terror or consternation, unconsciously, and often without the smallest sense of shame, imitate everything that passes before him. Should he be offended, he falls into a rage, which manifests itself by wild shrieks and raving; and he precipitates himself at the same time, with a knife or any other object which may fall to his hand, upon those who have placed him in this predicament. Amongst the Maniagri, women, especially the very aged, are the chief sufferers from this malady; and instances, moreover, of men who were affected by it are likewise known to me. It is worthy of remark that those women who returned home on account of this sickness were notwithstanding strong, and in all other respects enjoyed good health.”

Running amuck.Probably it is only an accidental coincidence that in the Malay countries Sakit-latar and Amok exist together, if not in the same individual, yet amongst the same people. Instances of Amok seem to occur also in the Philippines.13 I find the following account in the Diario de Manila of February 21, 1866: In Cavite, on February 18, a soldier rushed into the house of a school-teacher, and, struggling with him, stabbed him with a dagger, and then killed the teacher’s son with a second stab. Plunging into the street, he stabbed two young girls of ten and twelve years of age and wounded a woman in the side, a boy aged nine in the arm, a coachman (mortally) in the abdomen, and, besides another woman, a sailor and three soldiers; and arriving at his barracks, where he was stopped by the sentry, he plunged the dagger into his own breast.

Regard for the sleeping.It is one of the greatest insults to stride over a sleeping native, or to awaken him suddenly. They rouse one another, when necessity requires, with the greatest circumspection and by the slowest degrees.14

Sense of smell.The sense of smell is developed amongst the natives to so great a degree that they are able, by smelling at the pocket-handkerchiefs, to tell to which persons they belong (“Reisesk.,” p. 39); and lovers at parting exchange pieces of the linen they may be wearing, and during their separation inhale the odor of the beloved being, besides smothering the relics with kisses.15

1 Arenas thinks that the ancient annals of the Chinese probably contain information relative to the settlement of the present inhabitants of Manila, as that people had early intercourse with the Archipelago.

2 Probably the Anodonta Purpurea, according to V. Martens.

3 1 ganta = 3 liters. 1 quiñon = 100 loànes = 2.79495 hectares = 6.89 acres. 1 caban = 25 gantas.

4 Scherzer, Miscellaneous Information.

5 More than one hundred years later, Father Taillandier writes:—“The Spaniards have brought cows, horses, and sheep from America; but these animals cannot live there on account of the dampness and inundations.”—(Letters from Father Taillandier to Father Willard.)

6 At the present time the Chinese horses are plump, large-headed, hairy, and with bushy tails and manes; and the Japanese, elegant and enduring, similar to the Arabian. Good Manila horses are of the latter type, and are much prized by the Europeans in Chinese seaport towns.

7 Compare Hernandez, Opera Omnia; Torquemada, Monarchia Indica.

8 Buyo is the name given in the Philippines to the preparation of betel suitable for chewing. A leaf of betel pepper (Chavica betel), of the form and size of a bean-leaf, is smeared over with a small piece of burnt lime of the size of a pea, and rolled together from both ends to the middle; when, one end of the roll being inserted into the other, a ring is formed, into which a smooth piece of areca nut of corresponding size is introduced.

9 Twelve lines are omitted here.—C.

10 4 lines are omitted.—C.

11 In the country it is believed that swine’s flesh often causes this malady. A friend, a physiologist, conjectures the cause to be the free use of very fat pork; but the natives commonly eat but little flesh, and the pigs are very seldom fat.

12 Compare A. Erman, Journey Round the Earth Through Northern Asia, vol. iii, sec i, p. 191.

13 According to Semper, p. 69, in Zamboanga and Basilan.

14 The fear of waking sleeping persons really refers to the widely-spread superstition that during sleep the soul leaves the body; numerous instances of which occur in Bastian’s work. Amongst the Tinguianes (North Luzon) the worst of all curses is to this effect: “May’st thou die sleeping!”—Informe, i. 14.

15 Lewin (“Chittagong Hill Tracks,” 1869, p. 46) relates of the mountain people at that place: “Their manner of kissing is peculiar. Instead of pressing lip to lip, they place the mouth and nose upon the cheek, and inhale the breath strongly. Their form of speech is not ‘Give me a kiss,’ but ‘Smell me.’ ”

XV

A scientific priest-poet.From Naga I visited the parish priest of Libmanan (Ligmanan), who, possessing poetical talent, and having the reputation of a natural philosopher, collected and named pretty beetles and shells, and dedicated the most elegant little sonnets. He favored me with the following narrative:—

Prehistoric remainsIn 1851, during the construction of a road a little beyond Libmanan, at a place called Poro, a bed of shells was dug up under four feet of mould, one hundred feet distant from the river. It consisted of Cyrenae (C. suborbicularis, Busch.), a species of bivalve belonging to the family of Cyclades which occurs only in warm waters, and is extraordinarily abundant in the brackish waters of the Philippines. On the same occasion, at the depth of from one and a half to three and a half feet, were found numerous remains of the early inhabitants—skulls, ribs, bones of men and animals, a child’s thighbone inserted in a spiral of brass wire, several stags’ horns, beautifully-formed dishes and vessels, some of them painted, probably of Chinese origin; striped bracelets, of a soft, gypseous, copper-red rock, gleaming as if they were varnished;1 small copper knives, but no iron utensils; and several broad flat stones bored through the middle;2 besides a wedge of petrified wood, embedded in a cleft branch of a tree. The place, which to this day may be easily recognized in a hollow, might, by excavation systematically carried on, yield many more interesting results. What was not immediately useful was then and there destroyed, and the remainder dispersed. In spite of every endeavor, I could obtain, through the kindness of Señor Fociños in Naga, only one small vessel. Similar remains of more primitive inhabitants have been found at the mouth of the Bigajo, not far from Libmánan, in a shell-bed of the same kind; and an urn, with a human skeleton, was found at the mouth of the Perlos, west of Sitio de Poro, in 1840. At the time when I wrote down these statements of the priest, neither of us was familiar with the discoveries made within the last few years relating to the lake dwellings (pile villages); or these notes might have been more exact, although probably they would not have been so easy and natural.

Ancient Chinese jar.Mr. W. A. Franks, who had the kindness to examine the vessel, inclines to the opinion that it is Chinese, and pronounces it to be of very great antiquity, without however, being able to determine its age more exactly; and a learned Chinese of the Burlingame Embassy expressed himself to the same effect. He knew only of one article, now in the British Museum, which was brought from Japan by Kaempfer, the color, glazing, and cracks in the glazing, of which (craqueles) corresponded precisely with mine. According to Kaempfer, the Japanese found similar vessels in the sea; and they value them very highly for the purpose of preserving their tea in them.

Morga writes:—

Used as tea canisters. “On this island, Luzon, particularly in the provinces of Manila, Pampánga, Pangasinán, and Ilócos, very ancient clay vessels of a dark brown color are found by the natives, of a sorry appearance; some of a middling size, and others smaller; marked with characters and stamps. They are unable to say either when or where they obtained them; but they are no longer to be acquired, nor are they manufactured in the islands. The Japanese prize them highly, for they have found that the root of a herb which they call Tscha (tea), and which when drunk hot is considered as a great delicacy and of medicinal efficacy by the kings and lords in Japan, cannot be effectively preserved except in these vessels; which are so highly esteemed all over Japan that they form the most costly articles of their show-rooms and cabinets. Indeed, so highly do they value them that they overlay them externally with fine gold embossed with great skill, and enclose them in cases of brocade; and some of these vessels are valued at and fetch from two thousand tael to eleven reals. The natives of these islands purchase them from the Japanese at very high rates, and take much pains in the search for them on account of their value, though but few are now found on account of the eagerness with which they have been sought for.”

Strict search in Japan.When Carletti, in 1597, went from the Philippines to Japan, all the passengers on board were examined carefully, by order of the governor, and threatened with capital punishment if they endeavored to conceal “certain earthen vessels which were wont to be brought from the Philippines and other islands of that sea,” as the king wished to buy them all.

Prized by Japanese.“These vessels were worth as much as five, six, and even ten thousand scudi each; but they were not permitted to demand for them more then one Giulio (about a half Paolo).” In 1615 Carletti met with a Franciscan who was sent as ambassador from Japan to Rome, who assured him that he had seen one hundred and thirty thousand scudi paid by the King of Japan for such a vessel; and his companions confirmed the statement. Carletti also alleges, as the reason for the high price, “that the leaf cia or tea, the quality of which improves with age, is preserved better in those vessels than in all others. The Japanese besides know these vessels by certain characters and stamps. They are of great age and very rare, and come only from Cambodia, Siam, Cochin-China, the Philippines, and other neighboring islands. From their external appearance they would be estimated at three or four quatrini (two dreier).... It is perfectly true that the king and the princes of that kingdom possess a very large number of these vessels, and prize them as their most valuable treasure and above all other rarities .... and that they boast of their acquisitions, and from motives of vanity strive to outvie one another in the multitude of pretty vessels which they possess.3

Found in Borneo.Many travellers mention vessels found likewise amongst the Dyaks and the Malays in Borneo, which, from superstitious motives, were estimated at most exaggerated figures, amounting sometimes to many thousand dollars.

$3,500 for a jarSt. John4 relates that the Datu of Tamparuli (Borneo) gave rice to the value of almost $3,500 for a jar, and that he possessed a second jar of almost fabulous value, which was about two feet high, and of a dark olive green. The Datu fills both jars with water, which, after adding plants and flowers to it, he dispenses A speaking jar.to all the sick persons in the country. But the most famous jar in Borneo is that of the Sultan of Brunei, which not only possesses all the valuable properties of the other jars but can also speak. St. John did not see it, as it is always kept in the women’s apartment; but the sultan, a credible man, related to him that the jar howled dolefully the night before the death of his first wife, and that it emitted similar tones in the event of impending misfortunes. St. John is inclined to explain the mysterious phenomenon by a probably peculiar form of the mouth of the vessel, in passing over which the air-draught is thrown into resonant verberations, like the Aeolian harp. The vessel is generally enveloped in gold brocade, and is uncovered only when it is to be consulted; and hence, of course, it happens that it speaks only on solemn occasions. St. John states further that the Bisayans used formerly to bring presents to the sultan; in recognition of which they received some water from the sacred jar to sprinkle over their fields and thereby ensure plentiful harvests. When the sultan was asked whether he would sell his jar for $100,000, he answered that no offer in the world could tempt him to part with it.

Morga’s description.Morga’s description suits neither the vessel of Libmánan nor the jar of the British Museum, but rather a vessel brought from Japan a short time ago to our Ethnographical Museum. This is of brown clay, small but of graceful shape, and composed of many pieces cemented together; the joints being gilt and forming a kind of network on the dark ground. How highly ancient pots of a similar kind, even of native origin, are esteemed in Japan down to the present day, is shown by the following certificate translated by the interpreter of the German Consulate:—

A consecrated jar.“This earthen vessel was found in the porcelain factory of Tschisuka in the province of Odori, in South Idzumi, and is an object belonging to the thousand graves.... It was made by Giogiboosat (a celebrated Buddhist priest), and after it had been consecrated to heaven was buried by him. According to the traditions of the people, this place held grave mounds with memorial stones. That is more than a thousand years ago. ....In the pursuit of my studies, I remained many years in the temple Sookuk, of that village, and found the vessel. I carried it to the high priest Shakudjo, who was much delighted therewith and always bore it about with him as a treasure. When he died it fell to me, although I could not find it. Recently, when Honkai was chief priest, I saw it again, and it was as if I had again met the spirit of Shakudjo. Great was my commotion, and I clapped my hands with astonishment; and, as often as I look upon the treasure, I think it is a sign that the spirit of Shakudjo is returned to life. Therefore I have written the history, and taken care, of this treasure.—Fudji Kuz Dodjin.”

Baron Alexander von Siebold communicates the following:—

Tea societies.The value which the Japanese attach to vessels of this kind rests upon the use which is made of them by the mysterious tea societies called Cha-no-yu. Respecting the origin of these societies, which still are almost entirely unknown to Europeans, different legends exist. They flourished, however, principally during the reign of the emperor Taikosama, who, in the year 1588, furnished the society of Cha-no-yu at Kitano near Myako with new laws. In consequence of the religious and civil wars, the whole of the people had deteriorated and become ungovernable, having lost all taste for art and knowledge, and holding only rude force in any esteem; brute strength ruling in the place of the laws. The observant Taikosama perceived that, in order to tame these rough natures, he must accustom them to the arts of peace, and thus secure prosperity to the country, and safety for himself and his successors. With this in view he recalled the Cha-no-yu society anew into life, and assembled its masters and those acquainted with its customs around him.

Their object.The object of the Cha-no-yu is to draw man away from the influences of the terrestrial forces which surround him, to plant within him the feeling of complete repose, and to dispose him to self-contemplation. All the exercises of the Cha-no-yu are directed to this object.

Ceremonies.Clothed in light white garments, and without weapons, the members of the Cha-no-yu assemble round the master’s house, and, after resting some time in the ante-room, are conducted into a pavilion appropriated exclusively to these assemblies. This consists of the most costly kinds of wood, but is without any ornament which could possibly be abstracted from it; without color, and without varnish, dimly lighted by small windows thickly overgrown with plants, and so low that it is impossible to stand upright. The guests tread the apartment with solemn measured steps, and, having been received by him according to the prescribed formulas, arrange themselves in a half-circle on both sides of him. All distinctions of rank are abolished. The ancient vessels are now removed with solemn ceremonies from their wrappings, saluted and admired; and, with the same solemn and rigidly prescribed formulas, the water is heated on the hearth appropriated to the purpose, and the tea taken from the vessels and prepared in cups. The tea consists of the young green leaves of the tea-shrub rubbed to powder, and is very stimulating in its effect. The beverage is taken amidst deep silence, while incense is burning on the elevated pedestal of honor, toko; and, after the thoughts have thus been collected, conversation begins. It is confined to abstract subjects; but politics are not always excluded.

Reward of valor.The value of the vessels employed in these assemblages is very considerable; indeed, they do not fall short of the value of our most costly paintings; and Taikosama often rewarded his generals with vessels of the kind, instead of land, as was formerly the practice. After the last revolution some of the more eminent Daimios (princes) of the Mikado were rewarded with similar Cha-no-yu vessels, in acknowledgment of the aid rendered to him in regaining the throne of his ancestors. The best of them which I have seen were far from beautiful, simply being old, weather-worn, black or dark-brown jars, with pretty broad necks, for storing the tea in; tall cups of cracked Craquelé, either porcelain or earthenware, for drinking the infusion; and deep, broad cisterns; besides rusty old iron kettles with rings, for heating the water: but they were enwrapped in the most costly silken stuffs, and preserved in chests lacquered with gold. Similar old vessels are preserved amongst the treasures of the Mikado and the Tycoon, as well as in some of the temples, with all the care due to the most costly jewels, together with documents relating to their history.

Yamtik and Visita Bicul. From Libmánan I visited the mountain, Yamtik (Amtik, Hantu),5 which consists of lime, and contains many caverns. Six hours westward by water, and one hour S.S.W. on foot, brought us to the Visita Bícul, surrounded by a thousand little limestone hills; from which we ascended by a staircase of sinter in the bed of a brook, to a small cavern tenanted by multitudes of bats, and great long-armed spiders of the species Phrynus, known to be poisonous.6

Ant activities.A thick branch of a tree lying across the road was perforated from end to end by a small ant. Many of the natives did not venture to enter the cave; and those who did enter it were in a state of great agitation, and were careful first to enjoin upon each other the respect to be observed by them towards Calapnitan.7

Superstitions.One of the principal rules was to name no object in the cave without adding “Lord Calapnitan’s.” Thus they did not bluntly refer to either gun or torch, but devoutly said “Lord C.’s gun,” or “Lord C.’s torch.” At a thousand paces from this lies another cave, “San Vicente,” which contains the same insects, but another kind of bat. Both caves are only of small extent; but in Libmánan a very large stalactite cave was mentioned to me, the description of which, notwithstanding the fables mixed up with it, could not but have a true foundation. Our guides feigned ignorance of it; and it was not till after two days’ wandering about, and after many debates, that they came to the decision, since I adhered to my purpose, to encounter the risk; when, to my great astonishment, they conducted me back to Calapnitan’s cave; from which a narrow fissure, hidden by a projection of rock, led into one of the most gorgeous stalactite caves in the world. Its floor was everywhere firm and easy to the tread, and mostly dry; and it ran out into several branches, the entire length of which probably exceeds a mile; and the whole series of royal chambers and cathedrals, with the columns, pulpits, and altars which it contained, reflected no discredit upon its description. No bones or other remains were to be found in it. My intention to return subsequently with laborers, for the purpose of systematic excavation, was not carried out.

Unsuccessful climb.I was not lucky enough to reach the summit of the mountain, upon which was to be found a lake, “from where else should the water come?” For two days we labored strenuously at different points to penetrate the thick forest; but the guide, who had assured the priest in Libmanan that he knew the road, now expressed himself to the contrary effect. I therefore made the fellow, who had hitherto been unburdened, now carry a part of the baggage as a punishment; but he threw it off at the next turning of the road and escaped, so that we were compelled to return. Stags and wild boars are very numerous in these forests; and they formed the principal portion of our meals, at which, at the commencement of our expedition, we had as many as thirty individuals; who, in the intervals between them, affected to search for snails and insects for me, but with success not proportionate to their zeal.

A clever pilfering servant.Upon my departure from Daraga I took with me a lively little boy, who had a taste for the calling of a naturalist. In Libmanan he was suddenly lost, and with him, at the same time, a bundle of keys; and we looked for him in vain. The fact was, as I afterwards came to learn, that he went straight to Naga, and, identifying himself by showing the stolen keys, got the majordomo of my host to deliver to him a white felt hat; with which he disappeared. I had once seen him, with the hat on his head, standing before a looking-glass and admiring himself; and he could not resist the temptation to steal it.

Trip with Internal Revenue Collector.In the beginning of March I had the pleasure of accompanying the Collector (Administrador) of Camarines and a Spanish head-man, who were travelling across Daet and Mauban to the chief town. At five p.m. we left Butungan on the Bicol River, two leagues below Naga, in a falúa of twelve oars, equipped with one 6-pounder and two 4-pounders, and reinforced by armed men; and about six we reached Cabusao, at the mouth of the Bicol, whence we put to sea about nine. The falua belonged to the collector of taxes, and had, in conjunction with another under the command of the alcalde, to protect the north coast of the province against smugglers and pirates, who at this time of the year are accustomed to frequent the hiding-places of the bay of San Miguel. Two similar gun-boats performed the duty on the south coast of the province.

Four volcanos.Both the banks of the Bicol River are flat, and expand into broad fields of rice; and to the east are simultaneously visible the beautiful volcanos of Mayon, Iriga, Malina, and Isarog.

At daybreak we reached the bar of Daet, and, after two hours’ travelling, the similarly named chief city of the province of North Camarines, where we found an excellent reception at the house of the alcalde, a polished Navarrese; marred only by the tame monkey, who should have welcomed the guests of his master, turning his back towards them with studiously discourteous gestures, and going towards the door. However, upon the majordomo placing a spirit flask preserving a small harmless snake on the threshold, the monkey sprang quickly back and concealed himself, trembling, behind his master. A danceless ball.In the evening there was a ball, but there were no dancers present. Some Filipinas, who had been invited, sat bashfully at one end of the apartment and danced with one another when called upon, without being noticed by the Spaniards, who conversed together at the other end.

Spanish prejudice against bathing.Our departure hence was delayed by festivities and sudden showers for about two days, after which the spirited horses of the alcalde carried us within an hour on a level road north-west, to Talisáy, and in another hour to Indang, where a bath and breakfast were ready. Up to this time I had never seen a bath-room in the house of a Spaniard; whereas with the Northern Europeans it is never wanting. The Spaniards appear to regard the bath as a species of medicine, to be used only with caution; many, even to the present day, look upon it as an institution not quite Christian. At the time of the Inquisition frequent bathing, it is known, was a characteristic of the Moors, and certainly was not wholly free from danger. In Manila, only those who live near the Pasig are the exceptions to the rule; and there the good or bad practice prevails of whole families bathing, in the company of their friends, in the open air.

An unfortified fort.The road ends at Indáng. In two boats we went down the river till stopped by a bar, and there at a well-supplied table prepared for us by the kindness of the alcalde we awaited the horses which were being brought thither along a bad road by our servants. In the waste of Barre a tower, surrounded by two or three fishermen’s huts and as many camarines, has been erected against the Moros, who, untempted by the same, seldom go so far westward, for it consists only of an open hut covered with palm-leaves—a kind of parasol—supported on stakes as thick as one’s arm and fifteen feet high; and the two cannons belonging to it ought, for security, to be buried. We followed the sea-shore, which is composed of silicious sand, and covered with a carpet of creeping shore plants in full bloom. On the edge of the wood, to the left, were many flowering shrubs and pandanus with large scarlet-red flowers. After an hour we crossed the river Longos in a ferry, and soon came to the spur of a crystalline chain of mountains, which barred our road and extended itself into the sea as Point Longos. The horses climbed it with difficulty, and we found the stream on the other side already risen so high that we rode knee-deep in the water. After sunset we crossed singly, with great loss of time, in a miserable ferry-boat, over the broad mouth of the Pulundaga, where a pleasant road through a forest led us, in fifteen minutes, over the mountain-spur, Malanguit, which again projected itself right across our path into the sea, to the mouth of the Paracale. The long bridge here was so rotten that we were obliged to lead the horses over at wide intervals apart; and on the further side lies the place called Paracale, from which my companions continued their journey across Mauban to Manila.

Red lead.Paracale and Mambulao are two localities well known to all mineralogists, from the red lead ore occurring there. On the following morning I returned to Longos; which consists of only a few miserable huts inhabited by gold-washers, who go about almost naked, probably because they are laboring during the greater part of the day in the water; but they are also very poor.

Gold mining.The soil is composed of rubbish, decomposed fragments of crystalline rock, rich in broken pieces of quartz. The workmen make holes in the ground two and one-half feet long, two and one-half broad, and to thirty feet deep. At three feet below the surface the rock is generally found to contain gold, the value increasing down to eighteen feet of depth, and then again diminishing, though these proportions are very uncertain, and there is much fruitless search. The rock is carried out of the holes in baskets, on ladders of bamboo, and the water in small pails; but in the rainy season the holes cannot possibly be kept free from water, as they are situated on the slope of the mountain, and are filled quicker than they can be emptied. The want of apparatus for discharging water also accounts for the fact that the pits are not dug deeper.

A primitive rock breaker.The breaking of the auriferous rock is effected with two stones; of which one serves as anvil, and the other as hammer. The former, which is slightly hollowed in the center, is laid flat upon the ground; and the latter, four by eight by eight inches in dimensions, and therefore of about twenty-five pounds weight, is made fast with rattan to the top of a slender young tree, which lies in a sloping position in a fork, and at its opposite end is firmly fixed in the ground. The workman with a jerk forces the stone that serves for hammer down upon the auriferous rock, and allows it to be again carried upwards by the elasticity of the young tree.

An arrastre.The crushing of the broken rock is effected with an apparatus equally crude. A thick stake rises from the center of a circular support of rough-hewn stones (which is enclosed in a circle of exactly similar stones) having an iron pin at its top, to which a tree, bent horizontally in the middle, and downwards at the two ends, is fixed. Being set in motion by two carabaos attached in front, it drags several heavy stones, which are bound firmly to it with rattans, round the circle, and in this manner crushes the broken rock, which has been previously mixed with water, to a fine mud. The same apparatus is employed by the Mexican gold-washers, under the name of Rastra. Gold-washing.The washing-out of the mud is done by women. They kneel before a small wooden gutter filled with water up to the brim, and provided with boards, sloping downwards, in front of the space assigned to each woman; the gutter being cut out at these places in a corresponding manner, so that a very slender stream of water flows evenly across its whole breadth downwards over the board. With her hand the work-woman distributes the auriferous mud over the board, which, at the lower edge, is provided with a cross-piece; and, when the light sand is washed away, there remains a stratum consisting chiefly of iron, flint, and ore, which is taken up from time to time with a flat piece of board, and laid on one side; and at the end of the day’s work, it is washed out in a flat wooden dish (batea), and, for the last time, in a coco-shell; when, if they are lucky, a fine yellow dust shows itself on the edge.8 During the last washing the slimy juice of the Gogo is added to the water, the fine heavy sand remaining suspended therein for a longer time than in pure water, and thus being more easily separated from the gold-dust.9

The clean-up.It is further to be mentioned that the refuse from the pits is washed at the upper end of the water-gutter, so that the sand adhering to the stones intended for pounding may deposit its gold in the gutter or on the washing-board. In order to melt the gold thus obtained into a lump, in which form it is bought by the dealers, it is poured into a small heart-shell (cardium), and, after being covered with a handful of charcoal, placed in a potsherd; when a woman blows through a narrow bamboo-cane on the kindled coals, and in one minute the work is completed.10

The result of many inquiries shows the profit per head to average not more than one and one-half reals daily. Further to the south-west from here, on the mountain Malaguit, are seen the ruins of a Spanish mining company; a heap of rubbish, a pit fifty feet deep, a large house fallen to ruin, and a stream-work four feet broad and six feet high. The mountain consists of gneiss much decomposed, with quartz veins in the stream-work, with the exception of the bands of quartz, which are of almost pure clay earth with sand.

Edible bird’s nests.On the sides hung some edible nests of the salangane, but not of the same kind as those found in the caverns on the south coast of Java. These, which are of much less value than the latter, are only occasionally collected by the Chinese dealers, who reckon them nominally at five cents each. We also found a few of the nest-building birds (Collocalia troglodytes, Gray).11

Abandoned workings.Around lay so large a number of workings, and there were so many little abandoned pits, wholly or half fallen to ruin, and more or less grown over, that it was necessary to step between with great caution. Some of them were still being worked after the mode followed at Lóngos, but with a few slight improvements. The pits are twice as large as those excavated there, and the rock is lifted, up by a pulley to a cylindrical framework of bamboo, which is worked by the feet of a lad who sits on a bank higher up.

Lead and mica.Ten minutes north of the village of Malaguit is a mountain in which lead-glance and red lead have been obtained; the rock consisting of micaceous gneiss much decomposed. There is a stream-work over one hundred feet in length. The rock appears to have been very poor.

The highly prized red-lead ores have been found on the top of this same hill, N. 30° W. from the village. The quarry was fallen to ruin and flooded with rain, so that only a shallow hollow in the ground remained visible; and after a long search amongst the bushes growing there a few small fragments were found, on which Chrome-lead ore.chrome-lead ore was still clearly to be recognized. Captain Sabino, the former governor of Paracale, a well-informed Filipino, who, at the suggestion of the alcalde, accompanied me, had for some years caused excavations to be carried on, in order to find specimens for a speculator who had in view the establishment of a new mining company in Spain; but the specimens which were found had not been removed, as speculation in mines in the Philippines had, in the interval, fallen into discredit on the Exchange of Madrid; and as yet only a little box full of sand, out of a few small drusy cavities, has been fixed upon and pounded, to be sold as variegated writing-sand, after being carefully sifted.

A pretty fan-palm.A peculiarly beautiful fan-palm grows on this hill. Its stem is from thirty to forty feet high, cylindrical and dark-brown, with white rings a quarter of an inch broad at distances of four inches, and, at similar intervals, crown-shaped bands of thorns two inches long. Near the crown-leaf the stem passes into the richest brown of burnt sienna.

Rooming in a powder-magazine.Notwithstanding a very bad road, a pleasant ride carried us from Paracale to the sea-shore, and, through a beautiful wood, to Mambulao, which lies W. by N. I alighted at the tribunal, and took up my lodgings in the room where the ammunition was kept, as being the only one that could be locked. For greater security, the powder was stored in a corner and covered with carabao-hide; but such were my arrangements that my servant carried about a burning tallow light, and his assistant a torch in the hand. When I visited the Filipino priest, I was received in a friendly manner by a young girl who, when I offered my hand, thanked me with a bow, saying, “Tengo las sarnas” (“I have the itch”). The malady, which is very common in the Philippines, appears to have its focus in this locality.

Gneiss and crystalline rock.A quarter of a league N.N.E. we came upon the ruins of another mining undertaking, the Ancla de Oro. Shaft and water-cutting had fallen in, and were thickly grown over; and only a few of the considerable buildings were still standing; and even those were ready to fall. In a circle some natives were busily employed, in their manner, collecting grains of gold. The rock is gneiss, weathered so much that it cannot be recognized; and at a thousand paces on the other side is a similar one, clearly crystalline.

Hornblende and hornblende slate.Half a league N. by E. from Mambulao is the lead-mountain of Dinianan. Here also all the works were fallen in, choked with mud and grown over. Only after a long search were a few fragments found with traces of red-lead ore. This mountain consists of hornblende rock; in one place, of hornblende slate, with very beautiful large crystals.

Copper.A league and a half S. from Mambulao a shallow hollow in the ground marks the site of an old copper-mine, which must have been eighty-four feet deep. Copper ores are found in several places in Luzon; and specimens of solid copper were obtained by me at the Bay of Luyang, N. of the Enseñada de Patag, in Caramuan.

Unsuccessful copper-mining.Very considerable beds of copper ore occur in Mancayán, in the district of Lepanto, and in the central mountain-range of Luzon between Cagayán and Ilocos, which have been worked by a mining company in Manila since 1850; but the operations seem to have been most unsuccessful. In 1867 the society expended a considerable capital in the erection of smelting furnaces and hydraulic machinery; but until a very recent date, owing to local difficulties, particularly the want of roads, it has not produced any copper.12

Paying minus dividends.In 1869 I heard, in London, that the undertaking had been given up. According to my latest information, however, it is certainly in progress; but the management have never, I believe, secured a dividend. The statement of 1872, in fact, shows a loss, or, as the Spaniards elegantly say, a dividendo pasivo.

Igorot-mining successful.What Europeans yet appear unable to accomplish, the wild Igorots, who inhabit that trackless range of mountains, have carried on successfully for centuries, and to a proportionally larger extent; and this is the more remarkable as the metal in that district occurs only in the form of flints, which even in Europe can be made profitable only by particular management, and not without expense.

Long-established and considerable.The copper introduced into commerce by the Igorots from 1840 to 1855, partly in a raw state, partly manufactured, is estimated at three hundred piculs yearly. The extent of their excavations, and the large existing masses of slag, also indicate the activity of their operations for a long period of time.

Copper kettles attributed to Negritos.In the Ethnographical Museum at Berlin is a copper kettle made by those wild tribes. Meyer, who brought it, states that it was made by the Negritos in the interior of the island, and certainly with hammers of porphyry, as they have no iron; and that he further found, in the collection of the Captain General of the Philippines, a large shallow kettle of three and one-half feet in diameter, which had been bought for only three dollars; whence it may be inferred that, in the interior of the island, the copper occurs in large masses, and probably solid; for how could those rude, uncultivated negritos understand the art of smelting copper?

Copper-working a pre-Spanish art.The locality of these rich quarries was still unknown to the Governor, although the copper implements brought thence had, according to an official statement of his in 1833, been in use in Manila over two centuries. It is now known that the copper-smiths are not Negritos but Igorots; and there can be no question that they practiced this art, and the still more difficult one of obtaining copper from flint, for a long period perhaps previous to the arrival of the Spaniards. They may possibly have learnt them from the Chinese or Japanese. The chief engineer, Santos13, and many others with him, are of opinion that this race is descended from the Chinese or Japanese, from whom he insists that it acquired not only its features (several travellers mention the obliquely placed eyes of the Igorots), its idols, and some of its customs, but also the art of working in copper. At all events, the fact that a wild people, living isolated in the mountains, should have made such progress in the science of smelting, is of so great interest that a description of their procedure by Santos (essentially only a repetition of an earlier account by Hernandez, in the Revista Minera, i. 112) will certainly be acceptable.

The Igorots’ Method.The present mining district acquired by the society mentioned, the Sociedad Minero-metalurgica Cantabrofilipina de Mancayan, was divided amongst the Igorots into larger or smaller parcels strictly according to the number of the population of the adjacent villages, whose boundaries were jealously watched; and the possessions of each separate village were again divided between certain families; whence it is that those mountain districts exhibit, at the present day, the appearance of a honeycomb. To obtain the ore, they made cavities, in which they lighted fires in suitable spots, for the purpose of breaking the rock into pieces by means of the elasticity of the heated water contained in the crevices, with the additional assistance of iron implements. The first breaking-up of the ore was done in the stream-work itself, and the dead heaps lay piled up on the ground, so that, in subsequent fires, the flame of the pieces of wood always reached the summit; and by reason of the quality of the rock, and the imperfection of the mode of procedure, very considerable down-falls frequently occurred. The ores were divided into rich and quartziferous; the former not being again melted, but the latter being subjected to a powerful and persistent roasting, during which, after a part of the sulphur, antimony, and arsenic had been exhaled, a kind of distillation of sulphate of copper and sulphate of iron took place, which appeared as “stone,” or in balls on the surface of the quartz, and could be easily detached.14

The Smelter.The furnace or smelting apparatus consisted of a round hollow in clayey gound, thirty centimeters in diameter and fifteen deep; with which was connected a conical funnel of fire-proof stone, inclined at an angle of 30°, carrying up two bamboo-canes, which were fitted into the lower ends of two notched pine-stems; in these two slips, covered all over with dry grass or feathers, moved alternately up and down, and produced the current required for the smelting.

Smelting.When the Igorots obtained black copper or native copper by blasting, they prevented loss (by oxidation) by setting up a crucible of good fire-proof clay in the form of a still; by which means it was easier for them to pour the metal into the forms which it would acquire from the same clay. The furnace being arranged, they supplied it with from eighteen to twenty kilograms of rich or roasted ore, which, according to the repeated experiments of Hernandez, contained twenty per cent of copper; and they proceeded quite scientifically, always exposing the ore at the mouth of the funnel, and consequently to the air-drafts, and placing the coals at the sides of the furnace, which consisted of loose stones piled one over another to the height of fifty centimeters. The fire having been kindled and the blowing apparatus, already described, in operation, thick clouds of white, yellow, and orange-yellow smoke were evolved from the partial volatilization of the sulphur, arsenic, and antimony, for the space of an hour; but as soon as only sulphurous acid was formed, and the heat by this procedure had attained its highest degree, the blowing was discontinued and the product taken out. This consisted of a dross, or, rather, of the collected pieces of ore themselves, which, on account of the flinty contents of the stones composing the funnel, were transformed by the decomposition of the sulphurous metal into a porous mass, and which could not be converted into dross nor form combinations with silicious acid, being deficient in the base as well as in the requisite heat; and also of a very impure “stone,” of from four to five kilograms weight, and containing from fifty to sixty per cent of copper.

The copper “stone”.Several of these “stones” were melted down together for the space of about fifteen hours, in a powerful fire; and by this means a great portion of the three volatile substances above named was again evolved; after which they placed them, now heated red-hot, in an upright position, but so as to be in contact with the draught; the coals, however, being at the sides of the furnace. After blowing for an hour or half-an-hour, they thus obtained, as residuum, a silicate of iron with antimony and traces of arsenic, a “stone” containing from seventy to seventy-five per cent of copper, which they took off in very thin strips, at the same time using refrigerating vessels; and at the bottom of the hollow there remained, according as the mass was more or less freed from sulphur, a larger or smaller quantity (always, however, impure) of black copper.

Purifying the product.The purified stones obtained by this second process were again made red-hot by placing them between rows of wood, in order that they might not melt into one another before the fire had freed them from impurities.

The black copper obtained from the second operation, and the stones which were re-melted at the same time, were then subjected to a third process in the same furnace (narrowed by quarry stones and provided with a crucible); which produced a residuum of silicious iron and black copper, which was poured out into clay moulds, and in this shape came into commerce. This black copper contained from ninety-two to ninety-four per cent of copper, and was tinged by a carbonaceous compound of the same metal known by its yellow color, and the oxide on the surface arising from the slow cooling, which will occur notwithstanding every precaution; and the surface so exposed to oxidation they beat with green twigs. When the copper, which had been thus extracted with so much skill and patience by the Igorots, was to be employed in the manufacture of kettles, pipes, and other domestic articles, or for ornament, it was submitted to another process of purification, which differed from the preceding only in one particular, that the quantity of coals was diminished and the air-draught increased according as the process of smelting drew near to its termination, which involved the removal of the carbonaceous compound by oxidation. Santos found, by repeated experiment, that even from ores of the mean standard of twenty per cent, only from eight to ten per cent of black copper was extracted by the third operation; so that between eight to twelve per cent still remained in the residuum or porous quartz of the operation.

Tagalog women traders.It was difficult to procure the necessary means of transport for my baggage on the return journey to Paracale, the roads being so soaked by the continuous rains that no one would venture his cattle for the purpose. In Mambulao the influence of the province on its western border is very perceptible, and Tagalog is understood almost better than Bicol; the Tagalog element being introduced amongst the population by women, who with their families come here, from Lucban and Mauban, in the pursuit of trade. They buy up gold, and import stuffs and other wares in exchange. The gold acquired is commonly from fifteen to sixteen carats, and a mark determines its quality. The dealers pay on the average $11 per ounce; but when, as is usually the case, it is Miners uncertain returns.offered in smaller quantities than one ounce, only $10.15 They weigh with small Roman scales, and have no great reputation for honesty.

North Camarines is thinly inhabited, the population of the mining districts having removed after the many undertakings which were artificially called into existence by the mining mania had been ruined. The goldwashers are mostly dissolute and involved in debt, and continually expecting rich findings which but very seldom occur, and which, when they do occur, are forthwith dissipated;—a fact which will account for champagne and other articles of luxury being found in the shops of the very poor villagers.

Malaguit and Matango, during the dry season, are said to be connected by an extremely good road; but, when we passed, the two places were separated by a quagmire into which the horses sank up to their middle.

Labo.In Labo, a little village on the right bank of the river Labo (which rises in the mountain of the same name), the conditions to which we have adverted are repeated—vestiges of the works of former mining companies fast disappearing, and, in the midst, little pits being worked by the natives. Red lead has not been found here, but gold has been, and especially “platinum,” which some experiments have proved to be lead-glance. The mountain Labo appears from its bell-shape and the strata exposed in the river bed to consist of trachytic hornblende. Half a league W.S.W., after wading through mud a foot deep, we reached the mountain Dallas where lead-glance and gold were formerly obtained by a mining company; and to the present day gold is obtained by a few natives in the usual mode.

Wild Cat Mining.Neither in the latter province, nor in Manila, could I acquire more precise information respecting the histories of the numerous unfortunate mining enterprises. Thus much, however, appears certain, that they were originated only by speculators, and never properly worked with sufficient means. They therefore, of necessity, collapsed so soon as the speculators ceased from their operations.

Small output.North Camarines yields no metal with the exception of the little gold obtained by the natives in so unprofitable a manner. The king of Spain at first received a fifth, and then a tenth, of the produce; but the tax subsequently ceased. In Morga’s time the tenth amounted on an average to $10,000 (“which was kept quite secret”); the profit, consequently, to above $100,000. Gemelli Carreri was informed by the governor of Manila that gold to the value of $200,000 was collected annually without the help of either fire or quicksilver, and that Paracale, in particular, was rich in gold. No data exist from which I could estimate the actual rate of produce; and the answers to several inquiries deserve no mention. The produce is, at all events, very small, as well on account of the incompleteness of the mode of procedure as of the irregularity of labor, for the natives work only when they are compelled by necessity.

Indang.I returned down the stream in a boat to Indang, a comparatively flourishing place, of smaller population but more considerable trade than Daet; the export consisting principally of abacá, and the import of rice.

Storms.An old mariner, who had navigated this coast for many years, informed me that the same winds prevail from Daet as far as Cape Engaño, the north-east point of Luzon. From October to March the north-east wind prevails, the monsoon here beginning with north winds, which are of short duration and soon pass into the north-east; and in January and February the east winds begin and terminate the monsoon. The heaviest rains fall from October to January, and in October typhoons sometimes occur. Beginning from the north or north-east, they pass to the north-west, where they are most violent; and then to the north and east, sometimes as far as to the south-east, and even to the south. In March and April, and sometimes in the beginning of May, shifting winds blow, which bring in the south-west monsoon; but the dry season, of which April and May are the driest months, is uninterrupted by rain. Thunder storms occur from June to November; most frequently in August. During the south-west monsoon the sea is very calm; but in the middle of the north-east monsoon all navigation ceases on the east coast. In the outskirts of Baler rice is sown in October, and reaped in March and April. Mountain rice is not cultivated.

1 Probably pot-stone, which is employed in China in the manufacture of cheap ornaments. Gypseous refers probably only to the degree of hardness.

2 In the Christy collection, in London, I saw a stone of this kind from the Schiffer Islands, employed in a contrivance for the purpose of protection against rats and mice. A string being drawn through the stone, one end of it is suspended from the ceiling of the room, and the objects to be preserved hang from the other. A knot in the middle of the string prevents its sliding below that point, and, every touch drawing it from its equilibrium, it is impossible for rats to climb upon it. A similar contrivance used in the Viti Islands, but of wood, is figured in the Atlas to Dumont D’Urville’s “Voyage to the South Pole,” (i. 95).

3 “Carletti’s Voyages,” ii. 11.

4 “Life in the Forests of the Far East,” i. 300.

5 According to Father Camel (“Philisoph. Trans. London,” vol. xxvi, p. 246), hantu means black ants the size of a wasp; amtig, smaller black; and hantic, red ants.

6 According to Dr. Gerstaecker, probably Phrynus Grayi Walck Gerv., bringing forth alive. “S. Sitzungsb. Ges. Naturf. Freunde, Berl.” March 18, 1862, and portrayed and described in G. H. Bronn, “Ord. Class.,” vol. v. 184.

7 Calapnit, Tagal and Bicol, the bat; calapnitan, consequently, lord of the bats.

8 In only one out of several experiments made in the Berlin Mining College did gold-sand contain 0.014 gold; and, in one experiment on the heavy sand remaining on a mud-board, no gold was found.

9 The Gogo is a climbing Mimosa (Entada purseta) with large pods, very abundant in the Philippines; the pounded stem of which is employed in washing, like the soap-bark of Chili (Quillaja saponaria); and for many purposes, such as baths and washing the hair of the head, is preferred to soap.

10 A small gold nugget obtained in this manner, tested at the Berlin Mining College, consisted of—

Gold

77.4

Silver

19.0

Iron

0.5

Flint earth

3.

Loss

0.1

100.

11 The nest and bird are figured in Gray’s “Genera of Birds”; but the nest does not correspond with those found here. These are hemispherical in form, and consist for the most part of coir (coco fibers); and, as if prepared by the hand of man, the whole interior is covered with an irregular net-work of fine threads of the glutinous edible substance, as well as the upper edge, which swells gently outwards from the center towards the sides, and expands into two wing-shaped prolongations, resting on one another, by which the nest is fixed to the wall. Dr. v. Martens conjectures that the designation salangane comes from langayah, bird, and the Malay prefix sa, and signifies especially the nest as something coming from the bird.—(“Journal of Ornith.,” Jan., 1866.)

12 Spanish Catalogue of the Paris Exhibition, 1867.

13 “Informe sobre las Minas de Cobre,” Manila, 1862.

14 According to the Catalogue, the following ores are found:—Variegated copper ore (cobre gris abigarrado), arsenious copper (c. gris arsenical), vitreous copper (c. vitreo), copper pyrites (pirita de cobre), solid copper (mata cobriza), and black copper (c. negro). The ores of most frequent occurrence have the following composition—A, according to an analyzed specimen in the School of Mines at Madrid; B, according to the analysis of Santos, the mean of several specimens taken from different places:—

A

B

Silicious Acid

25.800

47.06

Sulphur

31.715

44.44

Copper

24.640

16.64

Antimony

8.206

5.12

Arsenic

7.539

4.65

Iron

1.837

1.84

Lime

in traces

—

Loss

0.263

0.25

——

——

100.000

100.00

15 According to the prices current with us, the value would be calculated at about $12; the value of the analyzed specimen, to which we have before referred, $14.50.

XVI

On foot to San Miguel bay.Sending my baggage from Daet to Cabusao in a schooner, I proceeded on foot, by the road to that place, to the coast on the west side of the Bay of San Miguel. We crossed the mouth of the river in a boat, which the horses swam after; but they were soon abandoned from unfitness. At the mouth of the next river, Sacavin, the water was so high that the bearers stripped themselves naked and carried the baggage over on their heads. In simple jacket and cotton hose, I found this precaution needless; indeed, according to my experience, it is both refreshing and salutary to wear wet clothes, during an uniformly high temperature; besides which, one is thereby spared many a spring over ditches, and many a roundabout course to avoid puddles, which, being already wet through, we no longer fear. After having waded over eight other little rivers we were obliged to leave the shore and pursue the road to Colasi along steep, slippery, forest paths, the place lying right in the middle of the west side of the bay. The sea-shore was very beautiful. Instead of a continuous and, at the ebb, ill-smelling border of mangroves, which is never wanting in those places where the land extends into the sea, the waves here reach the foot of the old trees of the forest, many of which were washed underneath. Amongst the most remarkable was a fringe of stately old Barringtoni, covered with orchids and other epiphytes—gorgeous trees when in flower; the red stamens, five inches long, with golden yellow anthers like tassels, depending from the boughs; and their fruit, of the size of the fist, is doubly useful to the fisherman, who employs them, on account of their specific gravity, in floating his nets, and beats them to pieces to stupefy the fish. The foremost trees stood bent towards the sea, and have been so deflected probably for a long time, like many others whose remains still projected out of the water. The destruction of this coast appears to be very considerable. Amongst the climbing palms one peculiar kind was very abundant, the stem of which, as thick as the arm, either dragged itself, leafless, along the ground, or hung in arches above the branches, carrying a crown of leaves only at its extremity; while another, from its habitat the common calamus, had caryota leaves. Wild boars are very plentiful here; a hunter offered us two at one real each.

Colasi.The direction of the flat coast which extends N.N.W. to S.S.E. from the point of Daet is here interrupted by the little peak of Colasi, which projects to the east, and has grown so rapidly that all old people remember it to have been lower. In the Visita Colasi, on the northern slope of the mountain, the sea is so rough that no boat can live in it. The inhabitants carry on fishing; their fishing-grounds lie, however, on the southern slope of the mountain, in the sheltered bay of Lalauigan, which we reached after thee hours’ journey over the ridge.

By sea to Cabusao.A four-oared baroto, hired at this place, as the weather was favorable, was to have conveyed us in two hours to Cabusao, the port of Naga; but the wind swung round, and a storm ensued. Thoroughly wet and not without loss, we ran to Barceloneta, a visita situated at a third of the distance. The intelligent Teniente of Colasi, whom we met here, also confirmed the fact of the rapid growth of the little peak.

Unreliable excuses.In opposition to my wish to ascend the mountain, great obstacles were said to exist when every one would be occupied in preparations for the Easter festival, which would hardly occur during the succeeding weeks. As these objections did not convince me, a more substantial reason was discovered the next morning. Inland shoes are excellent for the mud, and particularly for horseback; but for climbing mountains, or rough ground, they would not last a day; and the one remaining pair of strong European shoes, which I reserved for particular purposes, had been given away by my servant, who did not like climbing mountains, on the pretext they were very much too heavy for me.

A shipwrecked family.The shore from Barceloneta to Cabusao is of the same character as the Daet-Colasi but running north and south; the ground, sandy clay, is covered with a thick stratum of broken bivalves. The road was very difficult, as the high tide forced us to climb between the trees and thick underwood. On the way we met an enterprising family who had left Daet with a cargo of coconuts for Naga, and had been wrecked here; saving only one out of five tinajas of oil, but recovering all the nuts.1 They were living in a small hastily-run-up hut, upon coconuts, rice, fish, and mussels, in expectation of a favorable wind to return. There were several varieties of shore-birds; but my gun would not go off, although my servant, in expectation of a hunt, had cleaned it with especial care. As he had lost the ramrod whilst cleaning it, the charge was not withdrawn before we reached Cabusao, when it was discovered that both barrels were full of sand to above the touchhole.

Making palm-sugar.The coast was still more beautiful than on the preceding day, particularly in one place where the surge beat against a wood of fan-palms (Corypha sp.). On the side facing the sea, in groups or rows stood the trees, bereft of their crowns, or lying overthrown like columns amid the vast ruins of temples (one of them was three feet in diameter); and the sight immediately reminded me of Pompeii. I could not account for the bareness of the trunks, until I discovered a hut in the midst of the palms, in which two men were endeavoring to anticipate the waves in their work of destruction by the preparation of sugar (tunguleh). For this purpose, after stripping off the leaves (this palm flowering at the top), the upper end of the stem is cut across, the surface of the incision being inclined about five degrees towards the horizon, and, near its lower edge, hollowed out to a very shallow gutter. The juice exudes over the whole surface of the cut, with the exception of the intersected exterior petioles, and, being collected in the shallow channel, is conducted by a piece of banana-leaf, two inches broad, and four inches long, into a bamboo-cane attached to the trunk. In order to avert the rain from the saccharine issue, which has a faint, pleasantly aromatic flavor as of barley-sugar, all the trees which have been tapped are provided with caps formed of bent and folded palm-leaves. The average daily produce of each tree is four bamboos, the interior of which is about three inches and a half in diameter. When removed, they are full to about eighteen inches; which gives somewhat more than ten quarts daily.

The money side.The produce of each tree of course is very unequal. Always intermittent, it ceases completely after two months—at the utmost, three months; but, the proportion of those newly cut to those cut at an earlier date being the same, the yield of the incisions is about equal. The juice of thirty-three palms, after evaporation in an iron pan immediately upon each collection, produces one ganta, or (there being four such collections) four gantas, daily; the weekly result being twenty gantas, or two tinajas of sugar, each worth two dollars and a half on the spot. This statement, derived from the people themselves, probably shows the proportion somewhat more unfavorable than it really is; still, according to the opinion of an experienced mestizo, the difference cannot be very considerable. Assuming the above figures as correct, however, one of these magnificent trees would give about one dollar and two-thirds, or, after deducting the laborers’ wages one real per diem, about a thaler and two-thirds; not a large sum truly; but it is some consolation to know that, even if man did not interfere, these trees would in process of time fall victims to the breakers, and that, even if protected against external ravages, they are doomed to natural extinction after once producing fruit.

Neglected roads.Cabusao lies in the southern angle of San Miguel Bay which is, almost on every side, surrounded by high mountains, and affords good anchorage for ships. From here I repaired across Naga to the south coast. Four leagues from Naga, in the heart of Ragay, on the southern border of Luzon, is the small but deep harbor of Pasacao; and two hours by water conducted us to the intermediate Visita Pamplona, whence the route is pursued by land. The still-existing remnant of the old road was in a miserable condition, and even at that dry season of the year scarcely passable; the bridges over the numerous little ditches were broken down, and in many places, right across the road, lay large stones and branches of trees which had been brought there years before to repair the bridges, and, having been unused, have ever since continued to obstruct the road.

A French planter.In Quitang, between Pamplona and Pasacao, where two brooks unite themselves into one little river debouching at the latter place, a young Frenchman had established a hacienda. He was contented and hopeful, and loudly praised the industry and friendliness of his people. Probably because they make fewer exactions, foreigners, as a rule, seem to agree better with the natives than Spaniards. Of these exactions, the bitterest complaints are rife of the injustice of the demands made upon the lower classes in the settlement of their wages; which, if they do not immediately find the necessary hands for every employment, do not correspond with the enhanced value of the products; and, according to them, the natives must even be driven from public employments, to labor in their service.2

The Filipino as a laborer.The Filipino certainly is more independent than the European laborer, because he has fewer wants and, as a native landowner, is not compelled to earn his bread as the daily laborer of another; yet, with reference to wages, it may be questioned whether any colony whatever offers more favorable conditions to the planter than the Philippines. In Dutch India, where the prevalence of monopoly almost excludes private industry, free laborers obtain one-third of a guilder—somewhat more than one real, the usual wages in the wealthy provinces of the Philippines (in the poorer it amounts to only the half); and the Javanese are not the equals of the Filipinos, either in strength, or intelligence, or skill; and the rate of wages in all the older Slave States is well known. For the cultivation of sugar and coffee, Mauritius and Ceylon are obliged to import foreign laborers at great expense, and to pay them highly; and yet they are successful.

Pasacao.From Quitang to Pasacao the road was far worse than it had heretofore been; and this is the most important road in the province! Before reaching Pasacao, evident signs are visible, on the denuded sides of the limestone, of its having been formerly washed by the sea. Pasacao is picturesquely situated at the end of the valley which is intersected by the Itulan, and extends from Pamplona, between wooded mountains of limestone, as far as the sea. The ebb tides here are extremely irregular. From noon to evening no difference was observable, and, when the decrease just became visible, the tide rose again. Immediately to the south, and facing the district, the side of a mountain, two thousand feet high and above one thousand feet broad, had two years ago given way to the subterranean action of the waves. The rock consists of a tough calcareous breccia, full of fragments of mussels and corals; but, being shoeless, I could not remain on the sharp rock sufficiently long to make a closer examination.

A beautiful coast.For the same reason, I was obliged to leave the ascent of the Yamtik, which I had before vainly attempted from Libmanan, unaccomplished from this point, although I had the advantage of the company of an obliging French planter in a boat excursion in a north-westerly direction along the coast. Here our boat floated along over gardens of coral, swarming with magnificently colored fishes; and after two hours we reached a cavern in the limestone, Suminabang, so low that one could stir in it only by creeping; which contained a few swallows and bats. On the Calebayan river, on the further side of Point Tanaun, we came upon a solitary shed, our night-quarters. Here the limestone range is interrupted by an isolated cliff on the left bank of the little river, consisting of a crystalline rock chiefly composed of hornblende; which moreover, on the side exposed to the water, is surrounded completely by limestone.

Cattle.The surrounding mountains must swarm with wild boars. Under the thatched roof of our hut, which serves as a shelter to occasional hunters, more than a hundred and fifty lower jaw-bones were set up as hunting trophies. The place appeared as if created for the breeding of cattle. Soft with fodder grass, and covered with a few groups of trees, with slopes intersected by rustling brooks, it rose up out of the sea, and was encompassed by a steep wall of rock in the form of a semicircle; and here cattle would find grass, water, shade, and the protection of an enclosing rampart. While travelling along the coast, we had remarked a succession of similar localities, which however, from lack of enterprise and from the dread of pirates, were not utilized. As soon as our supper was prepared, we carefully extinguished our fire, that it might not serve as a signal to the vagabonds of the sea, and kept night watches.

A delusive cave.On the following morning we intended to visit a cave never before entered; but, to our astonishment, we found no proper cavern, but only an entrance to a cavern a few feet in depth. Visible from a distance, it must often have been passed by the hunters, although, as we were assured by our companions—who were astonished at the delusion—-no one had ventured to enter it from stress of superstitious terror.

Isolation of fertile regions.The north coast of Camarines, as I have frequently mentioned, is, during the north-east monsoon, almost unapproachable; while the south coast, screened by the outlying islands, remains always accessible. The most fertile districts of the eastern provinces, which during summer export their produce by the northern ports, in the winter often remain for months cut off from all communication with the chief town, because there is no road over the small strip of land to the south coast. How much has been done by Nature, and how little by man, to facilitate this intercourse, is very evident when we reflect upon the condition of the road to Pasacao, lately described, in connection with the condition of matters in the east, as shown by the map.

River highways.Two rivers, one coming from the north-west, and the other from the south-east, and both navigable before they reach the borders of the province, flow through the middle of it in a line parallel with the coast (taking no account of its windings), and, after their junction, send their waters together through the estuary of Cabusao into the Bay of San Miguel. The whole province, therefore, is traversed through its center by two navigable rivers, which, as regards commerce, form only one.

Cabusao and Pasacao harbors.But the harbor of Cabusao, at the bottom of the Bay of San Miguel, is not accessible during the north-east monsoon, and has this further disadvantage, that the intercourse of the whole of the eastern part of Luzon with Manila can be carried on only by a very circuitous route. On the south coast, on the other hand, is the harbor of Pasacao, into which a navigable little river, above a mile in width, discharges itself; so that the distance between this river highway and the nearest point of the Bicol River amounts to a little more than a mile. The road connecting the two seas, laid out by an active alcalde in 1847, and maintained up to 1852, was however, at the date of my inquiry, in so bad a condition that a picul of abacá paid two reals freight for this short distance, in the dry season; and in the wet season it could not be forwarded for double the price.3

Bad roads raise freights.Many similar instances may be brought forward. In 1861 the English vice-consul reported that in Iloilo a picul of sugar had risen more than 2 r. in price (as much as the cost of freight from Iloilo to Manila), in consequence of the bad state of the road between the two places, which are only one league asunder.

Social and political reasons for bad roads.If, without reference to transport by sea, the islands were not favored in so extraordinary a manner by innumerable rivers with navigable mouths, a still greater proportion of their produce would not have been convertible into money. The people, as well as the local authorities, have no desire for roads, which they themselves construct by forced labor, and, when completed, must maintain by the same method; for, when no roads are made, the laborers are so much more easily employed in private operations. Even the parish priests, generally, are as little favorable to the planning of commercial intercourse, by means of which trade, prosperity, and enlightenment would be introduced into the country, and their authority undermined. Indeed the Government itself, up to within a short time since, favored such a state of affairs; for bad roads belong to the essence of the old Spanish colonial policy, which was always directed to effect the isolation of the separate provinces of their great transmarine possessions, and to prevent the growth of a sense of national interest, in order to facilitate their government by the distant mother country.

Spanish economic backwardness.Besides, in Spain itself matters are no better. The means of communication there are so very deficient that, as an instance, merchandise is sent from Santander to Barcelona, round the whole Iberian peninsula, in preference to the direct route, which is partly accomplished by railway.4 In Estremadura the hogs were fed with wheat (live animals can be transported without roads), while at the same time the seaports were importing foreign grain.5 The cause of this condition of affairs in that country is to be sought less in a disordered state of finance, than in the enforcement of the Government maxim which enjoins the isolation of separate provinces.

1 In Daet at that season six nuts cost one cuarto; and in Nags, only fifteen leagues away by water, they expected to sell two nuts for nine cuartos (twenty-sevenfold). The fact was that in Naga, at that time, one nut fetched two cuartos—twelve times as much as in Daet.

2 N. Loney asserts, in one of his excellent reports, that there never is a deficiency of suitable laborers. As an example, at the unloading of a ship in Iloilo, many were brought together at one time, induced by the small rise of wages from one to one and one-half reales; even more hands than could be employed. The Belgian consul, too, reports that in the provinces where the abacá grows the whole of the male population is engaged in its cultivation, in consequence of a small rise of wages.

3 An unfinished canal, to run from the Bicol to the Pasacao River, was once dug, as is thought, by the Chinese, who carried on commerce in great numbers.—Arenas, p. 140.

4 La Situation Economique de l’Espagne.

5 Lesage, “Coup d’Oeil,” in Journal des Economistes, September, 1868.

XVII

Mt. Isaróg.The Isaróg (pronounced Issaró) rises up in the middle of Camarines, between San Miguel and Lagonoy bays. While its eastern slope almost reaches the sea, it is separated on its western side by a broad strip of inundated land from San Miguel Bay. In circumference it is at least twelve leagues; and its height 1,966 meters.1 Very flat at its base, it swells gradually to 16°, and higher up to 21° of inclination, and extends itself, in its western aspect, into a flat dome-shaped summit. But, if viewed from the eastern side, it has the appearance of a circular chain of mountains rent asunder by a great ravine. On Coello’s map this ravine is erroneously laid down as extending from south to north; its bearing really is west to east. Right in front of its opening, and half a league south from Goa, lies the pretty little village of Rungus, by which it is known. The exterior sides of the mountain and the fragments of its large crater are covered with impenetrable wood. Respecting its volcanic eruptions tradition says nothing.

Primitive mountaineers.The higher slopes form the dwelling-place of a small race of people, whose independence and the customs of a primitive age have almost entirely separated them from the inhabitants of the plain. One or two Cimarrons might occasionally have been attracted hither, but no such instance is remembered. The inhabitants of the Isaróg are commonly, though mistakenly, called Igorots; and I retain the name, since their tribal relationship has not yet been accurately determined; they themselves maintaining that their ancestors always dwelt in that locality. There are some who, in the opinion of the parish priest of Camarines, speak the Bicol language in the purest manner. Their manners and customs are very similar, in many respects, to what they were on the arrival of the Spaniards; and sometimes they also remind one of those prevailing among the Dyaks of Borneo at the present day.2 These circumstances give rise to the conjecture that they may be the last of a race which maintained its independence against the Spanish rule, and probably also against the little tyrants who ruled over the plain before the arrival of the Europeans. When Juan de Salcedo undertook his triumphal march round North Luzon he found everywhere, at the mouths of the rivers, seafaring tribes living under many chieftains who, after a short struggle, were slain by the superior discipline and better arms of the Spaniards, or submitted voluntarily to the superior race; but he did not succeed in subduing the independent tribes in the interior; and these are still to be found in all the larger islands of the Philippine group.

Similarity to Indian Archipelago conditions.Similar conditions are found in many places in the Indian Archipelago. The Malays, carrying on trade and piracy, possess the shore, and their language prevails there; the natives being either subdued by them, or driven into the forests, the inaccessibility of which ensures to them a miserable but independent existence.3

Policy of non-intercourse with heathens.In order to break down the opposition of the wild races, the Spanish Government forbade its subjects, under the penalty of one hundred blows and two years of forced labor, “to trade or to have any intercourse with the heathens in the mountains who pay no tribute to his Catholic Majesty, for although they would exchange their gold, wax, etc., for other necessaries, they will never change for the better.” Probably this law has for centuries directly contributed to save the barbarians, notwithstanding their small numbers, from complete extermination; for free intercourse between a people existing by agriculture, and another living principally by the chase, speedily leads to the destruction of the latter.

Christian Mountaineers’ villages.The number of the Igorots of the Isaróg however, been much diminished by deadly battles between the different ranchos, and by the marauding expeditions which, until a short time since, were annually undertaken by the commissioners of taxes, in the interest of the Government monopoly, against the tobacco fields of the Igorots. Some few have been “pacified” (converted to Christianity and tribute); in which case they are obliged to establish themselves in little villages of scattered huts, where they can be occasionally visited by the priest of the nearest place; and, in order to render the change easier to them, a smaller tax than usual is temporarily imposed upon such newly-obtained subjects.

Tobacco monopoly wars.I had deferred the ascent of the mountain until the beginning of the dry season of the year; but I learned in Naga that my wish was hardly practicable, because the expeditions against the ranchos of the mountain, which I have already mentioned, usually occurred about this time. As the wild people could not understand why they should not cultivate on their own fields a plant which had become a necessity to them, they saw in the Cuadrilleros, not functionaries of a civilized State, but robbers, against whom they were obliged to defend themselves by force; and appearances contributed no less to confirm them in their error; for these did not content themselves with destroying the plantations of tobacco, but the huts were burnt to the ground, the fruit-trees hewn down, and the fields laid waste. Such forays never occurred without bloodshed, and often developed into a little war which was carried on by the mountaineers for a long time afterwards, even against people who were entirely uninterested in it—Filipinos and Europeans. The expedition this year was to take place in the beginning of April; the Igorots consequently were in a state of great agitation, and had, a few days previously, murdered a young unarmed Spaniard in the vicinity of Mabotoboto, at the foot of the mountain, by bringing him to the ground with a poisoned arrow, and afterwards inflicting twenty-one wounds with the wood-knife (bolo).

A policy of peace.Fortunately there arrived soon after a countermand from Manila, where the authorities seemed to have been gradually convinced of the harmful tendency of such violent measures. It could not be doubted that this intelligence would quickly spread amongst the ranchos; and, acting upon the advice of the commandant (upon whom, very much against his inclination, the conduct of the expedition had devolved), I lost no time in availing myself of the anticipated season of quiet. The Government have since adopted the prudent method of purchasing the tobacco, which is voluntarily cultivated by the Igorots, at the ordinary rate, and, where practicable, encouraging them to lay out new fields, instead of destroying those in existence.

A populous fertile district.The next day at noon I left Naga on horseback. The pueblos of Mogarao, Canaman, Quipayo, and Calabanga, in this fertile district follow so thickly upon one another that they form an almost uninterrupted succession of houses and gardens. Calabanga lies half a league from the sea, between the mouths of two rivers, the more southerly of which is sixty feet broad and sufficiently deep for large trading vessels.4

A bare plain and wretched village.The road winds round the foot of the Isaróg first to the north-east and then to the east. Soon the blooming hedges cease, and are succeeded by a great bare plain, out of which numerous flat hillocks raise themselves. Both hills and plain, when we passed, served for pasturage; but from August to January they are sown with rice; and fields of batata are occasionally seen. After four hours we arrived at the little village of Maguiring (Manguirin), the church of which, a tumble-down shed, stood on an equally naked hillock; and from its neglected condition one might have guessed that the priest was a native.

Many mountain water courses.This hillock, as well as the others which I examined, consisted of the débris of the Isaróg, the more or less decomposed trachytic fragments of hornblende rock, the spaces between which were filled up with red sand. The number of streams sent down by the Isaróg, into San Miguel and Lagonoy bays, is extraordinarily large. On the tract behind Maguiring I counted, in three-quarters of an hour, five considerable estuaries, that is to say, above twenty feet broad; and then, as far as Goa, twenty-six more; altogether, thirty-one: but there are more, as I did not include the smallest; and yet the distance between Maguiring and Goa, in a straight line, does not exceed three miles. This accounts for the enormous quantity of steam with which this mighty condenser is fed. I have not met with this phenomenon on any other mountain in so striking a manner. One very remarkable circumstance is the rapidity with which the brimming rivulets pass in the estuaries, enabling them to carry the trading vessels, sometimes even ships, into a main stream (if the expression may be allowed), while the scanty contributions of their kindred streams on the northern side have scarcely acquired the importance of a mill-brook. These waters, from their breadth, look like little rivers, although in reality they consist of only a brook, up to the foot of the mountain, and of a river’s mouth in the plain; the intermediate part being absent.

Comparison with Javan Mountain district.The country here is strikingly similar to the remarkable mountain district of the Gelungúng, described by Junghuhn;5 yet the origin of these rising grounds differs in some degree from that of those in Java. The latter were due to the eruption of 1822, and the great fissure in the wall of the crater of the Gelungúng, which is turned towards them, shows unmistakably whence the materials for their formation were derived; but the great chasm of the Isaróg opens towards the east, and therefore has no relation to the numberless hillocks on the north-west of the mountain. Behind Maguiring they run more closely together, their summits are flatter, and their sides steeper; and they pass gradually into a gently inclined slope, rent into innumerable clefts, in the hollows of which as many brooks are actively employed in converting the angular outlines of the little islands into these rounded hillocks. The third river behind Maguiring is larger than those preceding it; on the sixth lies the large Visita of Borobod; and on the tenth, that of Ragay. The rice fields cease with the hill country, and on the slope, which is well drained by deep channels, only wild cane and a few groups of trees grow. Passing by many villages, whose huts were so isolated and concealed that they might remain unobserved, we arrived at five o’clock at Tagunton; from which a road, practicable for carabao carts, and used for the transport of the abacá grown in the district, leads to Goa; and here, detained by sickness, I hired a little house, in which I lay for nearly four weeks, no other remedies offering themselves to me but hunger and repose.

Useful friends.During this time I made the acquaintance of some newly-converted Igorots, and won their confidence. Without them I would have had great difficulty in ascending the mountains as well as to visit their tribe in its farms without any danger.6 When, at last, I was able to quit Goa, my friends conducted me, as the first step, to their settlement; where, having been previously recommended and expected, I easily obtained the requisite number of attendants to take into their charge the animals and plants which were collected for me.

A heathen Mountaineers’ settlement.On the following morning the ascent was commenced. Even before we arrived at the first rancho, I was convinced of the good report that had preceded me. The master of the house came towards us and conducted us by a narrow path to his hut, after having removed the foot-lances, which projected obliquely out of the ground, but were dexterously concealed by brushwood and leaves.7 A woman employed in weaving, at my desire, continued her occupation. The loom was of the simplest kind. The upper end, the chain-beam, which consists of a piece of bamboo, is fixed to two bars or posts; and the weaver sits on the ground, and to the two notched ends of a small lath, which supplies the place of the weaving beam, hooks on a wooden bow, in the arch of which the back of the lath is fitted. Placing her feet against two pegs in the ground and bending her back, she, by means of the bow, stretches the material out straight. A netting-needle, longer than the breadth of the web, serves instead of the weaver’s shuttle, but it can be pushed through only by considerable friction, and not always without breaking the chains of threads. A lath of hard wood (caryota), sharpened like a knife, represents the trestle, and after every stroke it is placed upon the edge; after which the comb is pushed forward, a thread put through, and struck fast, and so forth. The web consisted of threads of the abacá, which were not spun, but tied one to another.

A giant fern hedge.The huts I visited deserve no special description. Composed of bamboos and palm-leaves, they are not essentially different from the dwellings of poor Filipinos; and in their neighborhood were small fields planted with batata, maize, caladium and sugar-cane, and enclosed by magnificent polypody ferns. One of the highest of these, which I caused to be felled for the purpose, measured in the stem nine meters, thirty centimeters; in the crown, two meters, twelve centimeters; and its total length was eleven meters, forty-two centimeters or over thirty-six feet.

Simple stringed instruments.A young lad produced music on a kind of lute, called baringbau; consisting of the dry shaft of the scitamina stretched in the form of a bow by means of a thin tendril instead of gut. Half a coco shell is fixed in the middle of the bow, which, when playing, is placed against the abdomen, and serves as a sounding board; and the string when struck with a short wand, gave out a pleasing humming sound, realizing the idea of the harp and plectrum in their simplest forms. Others accompanied the musician on Jews’ harps of bamboos, as accurate as those of the Mintras on the Malay Peninsula; and there was one who played on a guitar, which he had himself made, but after a European pattern. The hut contained no utensils besides bows, arrows, and a cooking pot. The possessor of clothes bore them on his person. I found the women as decently clad as the Filipino Christian women, and carrying, besides, a forest knife, or bolo. As a mark of entire confidence, I was taken into the tobacco fields, which were well concealed and protected by foot-lances; and they appeared to be carefully looked after.

The people and their crops.The result of my familiarity with this people, both before and after this opportunity, may be briefly summed up: They live on the higher slopes of the mountain, never, indeed, below 1,500 feet; each family by itself. It is difficult to ascertain how many of them there may now be, as but little intercourse takes place amongst them. In the part of the mountain belonging to the district of Goa, their number is estimated at about fifty men and twenty women, including the children: but twenty years before the population was more numerous. Their food consists principally of batata, besides some gabi (caladium). A little maize is likewise cultivated, as well as some ubi (dioscorea), and a small quantity of sugar-cane for chewing.

Batatas.In laying out a batata field, a wood is partially cleared, the earth loosened with the blunt forest knife (bolo), and the bulbs or layers then planted; and within four months the harvest begins, and continues uninterruptedly from the time the creeping plant strikes root and forms tubers. Rotation of crops.After two years, however, the produce is so much diminished that the old plants are pulled up, in order to make room for new ones obtained from the runners. The field is then changed, or other fruits cultivated thereon, but with the addition of manure. A piece of land, fifty brazas long, and thirty wide, is sufficient for the support of a family. Only occasionally in the wet season does this resource fail, and then they resort to gabi, which appears to be as easily cultivated on wet as on dry ground, but is not so profitable as batata. The young shoots of the gabi are planted at distances of a vara, and if consumed in a proper manner, ought not to be cropped till after a year. Each family kills weekly one or two wild hogs. Stags are rare, although I obtained a fine pair of horns; and they do not use the skin. Bows and arrows are used in hunting; some poisoned, and some not. Every rancho keeps dogs, which live principally on batata, and also cats to protect the fields against rats; and they also have poultry, Game cocks a Spanish innovation.but no game cocks; which, having been first introduced into the Philippines by the Spaniards are seldom if ever, wanting in the huts of the Filipinos; but the inhabitants of the Isaróg are as yet free from this passion.

Trade.The few products of a more advanced civilization which they require, they obtain by the sale of the spontaneous productions of their forests, chiefly wax and resin (pili),8 apnik, dagiangan (a kind of copal), and some abacá. Wax, which is much in request for church solemnities, fetches half a dollar per catty; and resin averages half a real per chinanta. Business is transacted very simply. Filipinos, having intercourse with the Igorots, make a contract with them; and they collect the products and bring them to a place previously agreed on, where the Filipinos receive them, after paying down the stipulated price.

Religion.Physicians and magicians, or persons supposed to be possessed of secret powers, are unknown; every one helps himself. In order to arrive at a clear understanding of their religious views, a longer intercourse would be necessary. But they certainly believe in one God, or, at least, say so, when they are closely questioned by Christians; and have also loosely acquired several of the external practices of Catholicism, which they employ as spells.

Respect for women and aged.Hunting and hard labor constitute the employment of man in general, as well as in the Philippines. The practice of employing women as beasts of burden—which, although it exists among many of the peoples of Europe, for example, the Basques, Wallachians, and Portuguese, is almost peculiar to barbarous nations,—seems to have been lost in the Philippines as far back as the time of its discovery by the Spaniards; and even among the wild people of the Isaróg, the women engage only in light labor, and are well treated. Every family supports its aged and those unfit for labor. Medicine.Headaches and fevers were stated to me as the prevalent maladies; for which burnt rice, pounded and mixed to a pap with water, is taken as a remedy; and in case of severe headache they make an incision in the forehead of the sufferer. Their prevalence is explained by the habit of neutralizing the ill effects of drinking water in excess, when they are heated, by the consumption of warm water in large doses; and the rule holds with regard to coco-water; the remedy for immoderate use of which is warm coco-water. Their muscular power is small, and they are not able to carry more than fifty pounds weight to any considerable distance.

Manufactures.Besides the chase and agriculture, their occupations are restricted to the manufacture of extremely rude weapons, for which they purchase the iron, when required, from the Filipinos, and of the coarse webs made by the women, and of wicker work. Every father of a family is master in his own house, and acknowledges no power higher than himself. In the event of war with neighboring tribes, the bravest places himself at the head, and the rest follow him as long as they are able; there is no deliberate choosing of a leader.

Death customs.On the whole, they are peaceful and honorable towards each other, although the idle occasionally steal the fruits of the fields; and, should the thief be caught, the person robbed punishes him with blows of the rattan, without being under any apprehensions of vengeance in consequence. If a man dies, his nearest kinsmen go out to requite his death by the death of some other individual, taken at random. The rule is strictly enforced. For a dead man a man must be killed; for a woman a woman; and for a child a child. Unless, indeed, it be a friend they encounter, the first victim that offers is killed. Latterly, however, owing to the unusual success attained by some of them in representing the occurrence of death as an unavoidable destiny, the custom is said to have fallen into desuetude; and the relatives do not exact the satisfaction. This was easy in the case of the deceased being an ordinary person; but, to the present day, vengeance is required in the event of the death of a beloved child or wife. If a man kills a woman of another house, her nearest kinsman endeavors to kill a woman of the house of the murderer; but to the murderer himself he does nothing; and the corpse of the victim thus slain as a death-offering is not buried, nor is its head cut off; and her family, in their turn, seek to avenge the death by murder. This is reckoned the most honorable course. Should the murderer, however, be too strong to be so overcome, any weaker person, be it who it may, is slain in retaliation; and hence, probably, the comparatively small number of women.

Marriage.Polygamy is permitted; but even the most courageous and skilful seldom or never have more than one wife. A young man wishing to marry commissions his father to treat with the father of the bride as to the price; which latterly has greatly increased; but the average is ten bolos, costing from four to six reals each, and about $12 in cash; and the acquisition of so large a sum by the sale of wax, resin, and abacá, often takes the bridegroom two years. The bride-money goes partly to the father, and partly to the nearest relations; every one of whom has an equal interest. If there should be many of them, almost nothing remains for the father, who has to give a great feast, on which occasion much palm-wine is drunk.

Sexual crimes.Any man using violence towards a girl is killed by her parents. If the girl was willing, and the father hears of it, he agrees upon a day with the former, on which he is to bring the bride’s dowry; which should he refuse to do, he is caught by the relations, bound to a tree, and whipped with a cane. Adultery is of most rare occurrence; but, when it does take place, the dowry is returned either by the woman, who then acquires her freedom, or by the seducer, whom she then follows. The husband has not the right to detain her, if he takes the money, or even if he should refuse it; but the latter contingency is not likely to arise, since that sum of money will enable him to buy for himself a new wife.

Basira ravine.In the afternoon we reached a vast ravine, called “Basira,” 973 meters above Uacloy, and about 1,134 meters above the sea, extending from south-east to north-west between lofty, precipitous ranges, covered with wood. Its base, which has an inclination of 33°, consists of a naked bed of rock, and, after every violent rainfall, gives issue to a torrent of water, which discharges itself violently. Here we bivouacked; and the Igorots, in a very short time, built a hut, and remained on the watch outside. At daybreak the thermometer stood at 13.9° R.9

At the summit.The road to the summit was very difficult on account of the slippery clay earth and the tough network of plants; but the last five hundred feet were unexpectedly easy, the very steep summit being covered with a very thick growth of thinly leaved, knotted, mossy thibaudia, rhododendra, and other dwarf woods, whose innumerable tough branches, running at a very small height along the ground and parallel to it, form a compact and secure lattice-work, by which one mounted upwards as on a slightly inclined ladder. The point which we reached * * * was evidently the highest spur of the horseshoe-shaped mountain side, which bounds the great ravine of Rungus on the north. The top was hardly fifty paces in diameter, and so thickly covered with trees that I have never seen its like; we had not room to stand. My active hosts, however, went at once to work, though the task of cutting a path through the wood involved severe labor, and, chopping off the branches, built therewith, on the tops of the lopped trees, an observatory, from which I should have had a wide panoramic view, and an opportunity for taking celestial altitudes, had not everything been enveloped in a thick mist. The neighboring volcanoes were visible only in glimpses, as well as San Miguel Bay and some lakes in the interior. Immediately after sunset the thermometer registered 12.5° R.10

The descent.On the following morning it was still overcast; and when, about ten o’clock, the clouds became thicker, we set out on our return. It was my intention to have passed the night in a rancho, in order next day to visit a solfatara which was said to be a day’s journey further; but my companions were so exhausted by fatigue that they asked for at least a few hours’ rest.

Ferns and orchids.On the upper slope I observed no palms with the exception of calamus; but polypodies (ferns) were very frequent, and orchids surprisingly abundant. In one place all the trees were hung, at a convenient height, with flowering aërids; of which one could have collected thousands without any trouble. The most beautiful plant was a Medinella, of so delicate a texture that it was impossible to preserve it.

Carbonic acid spring.Within a quarter of an hour north-east of Uacloy, a considerable spring of carbonic acid bursts from the ground, depositing abundance of calcareous sinter. Our torches were quickly extinguished, and a fowl covered with a cigar-box died in a few minutes, to the supreme astonishment of the Igorots, to whom these phenomena were entirely new.

Farewell to mountaineers.On the second day of rest, my poor hosts, who had accompanied me back to Uacloy, still felt so weary that they were not fit for any undertaking. With naked heads and bellies they squatted in the burning sun in order to replenish their bodies with the heat which they had lost during the bivouac on the summit; for they are not allowed to drink wine. When I finally left them on the following day, we had become such good friends that I was compelled to accept a tamed wild pig as a present. A troop of men and women accompanied me until they saw the glittering roofs of Maguiring, when, after the exchange of hearty farewells, they returned to their forests. The natives whom I had taken with me from Goa had proved so lazy and morose that nearly the whole task of making the path through the forest had fallen upon the Igorots. From sheer laziness they threw away the drinking water of which they were the porters; and the Igorots were obliged to fetch water from a considerable distance for our bivouac on the summit. In all my troublesome marches, I have always done better with Cimarrons than with the civilized natives. The former I have found obliging, trustworthy, active and acquainted with localities, while the latter generally displayed the opposite qualities. It would, however, be unjust to form a conclusive opinion as to their comparative merits from these facts; for the wild people are at home when in the forest; what they do is done voluntarily, and the stranger, when he possesses their confidence, is treated as a guest. Forced labor.But the Filipinos are reluctant companions, Polistas, who, even when they receive a high rate of wages, consider that they are acting most honorably when they do as little as possible. At any rate, it is no pleasure to them to leave their village in order to become luggage-porters or beaters of roads on fatiguing marches in impracticable districts, and to camp out in the open air under every deprivation. For them, still more than for the European peasant, repose is the most agreeable refreshment. The less comfort any one enjoys at home, the greater is the reluctance with which he leaves it; and the same thing may be observed in Europe.

A petition for liquors.As the Igorots were not permitted to have cocoa-palms for the preparation of wine, vinegar and brandy, so that they might not infringe the monopoly of the government, they presented me with a petition entreating me to obtain this favor for them. The document was put together by a Filipino writer in so ludicrously confused a manner that I give it as a specimen of Philippine clerkship.11 At all events, it had the best of results, for the petitioners were accorded twice as much as they had prayed for.

Winds and planting season.The south-west monsoon lasts in this region (district of Goa) from April to October. April is very calm (navegación de señoras). From June to August the south-west winds blow steadily; March, April, and May are the driest months; there are shifting winds in March and the beginning of April; while from October to December is the time of storms; “S. Francisco (4th October) brings bad weather.” Rice is planted in September and reaped in February.

1 From barometrical observations—

m.

Goa, on the northern slope of the Isaróg

32

Uacloy, a settlement of Igorots

161

Ravine of Baira

1,134

Summit of the Isarog

1,966

2 The skull of a slain Igorot, as shown by Professor Virchow’s investigation, has a certain similarity to Malay skulls of the adjoining Islands of Sunda, especially to the skulls of the Dyaks.

3 Pigafetta found Amboyna inhabited by Moors (Mohammedans) and heathens; “but the first possessed the seashore, the latter the interior.” In the harbor of Brune (Borneo) he saw two towns; one inhabited by Moors, and the other, larger than that, and standing entirely in the salt-water, by heathen. The editor remarks that Sonnerat (“Voyage aux Irides”) subsequently found that the heathen had been driven from the sea, and had retired into the mountains.

4 On Coello’s map these proportions are wrongly stated.

5 “Java, seine Gestalt (its formation)” II. 125.

6 An intelligent mestizo frequently visited me during my sickness. According to his statements, besides the copper already mentioned, coal is found in three places, and even gold and iron were to be had. To the same man I am indebted for Professor Virchow’s skull of Caramuan, referred to before, which was said to have come from a cavern in Umang, one league from Caramuan. Similar skulls are also said to be found at the Visita Paniniman, and on a small island close to the Visita Guialo.

7 They are made of bamboo.

8 The fruit of the wild pili is unfit for food.

9 17.375 Cent. or 63 Far.—C.

10 15.6 Cent. or 60 Far.—C.

11 Sor Inspector por S. M.

Nosotros dos Capnes actuales de Rancherias de Lalud y Uacloy comprension del pueblo de Goa prov. a de Camarines Sur. Ante los pies de vmd postramos y decimos. Que por tan deplorable estado en que nos hallabamos de la infedelidad recienpoblados esta visitas de Rancherias ya nos Contentamos bastantemente en su felis llegada y suvida de este eminente monte de Isarog loque havia con quiztado industriamente de V. bajo mis consuelos, y alibios para poder con seguir a doce ponos (i.e. arboles) de cocales de mananguiteria para Nuestro uso y alogacion a los demas Igorotes, o montesinos q. no quieren vendirnos; eta utilidad publica y reconocer a Dios y a la soberana Reyna y Sofa Doña Isabel 2a (que Dios Gue) Y por intento.

A. V. pedimos, y suplicamos con humildad secirva proveer y mandar, si es gracia segun lo q. imploramos, etc. Domingo Tales†. Jose Laurenciano†.