The New America and the Far East : a picturesque and historic description of these lands and peoples

,

'

Courtyard to CMnese Temple, Canton

w~r

Ntm )\mrrira w4t 1J1ar tEant .

~

AND

A Pictltresque a1ld Hisloric D escription

of these Lallds alld Peoples

By G.

,W ALDO l?OWNE A ufllOr of" Paradise of Ilu Pac!fic," ,fj;arl of IIIe Oriellt," etc.

W ith a General In troduction by EDW ARD S. EL LI S, ,A. M .

AulllOr lif " H isI01Y of Ollr em",tr),," "People's Ifislo!)' of the United Stales," " Yolt/lt's .fItJ"tOJJ' of tIle Ullited Sta.tes," etc.

U'ith Ilit followillg Special Arlides

14alUatt Bv the Honorable HENRY C ABOT LODG E J

. IDqr ,qiltpptnrn

By Major-General JOSEPH WHEE LE R

lIapun

By His Excellency KOGORO TAKAHIRA

arqtna By the Honorable JOHN D. L ONG

aruha

By General L EONA RD WOOD

'orto muo By the Honorable CHARLES H. ALLEN lllustrated by about 1,200 Photogravures, Colored Plates, EngraVings 6- Maps

MARSHALL

JONES BOSTON

COMPANY

RiV..V 12s sog '81(" Iqbt

v· I

By

. CopyrigJ't, I 90J & CO M PANY

DANA ESTES

Copyrig ltt. I907

By MARSHALL JO NES CO MPANY

<!iuiol1iul IIrl'llS E lectrotyped and Printed by C. H . Simond. &: Co. BOlton. U , S. A.

CONTENTS VOLUME II

THE PHILIPPINES PAGE

CHAPTER

TH E PHILIPPINE I SLA NDS, BY MAJ.-GEN. JOSE PH "V H EELER J APA N, BY 1(OGORO TAK AHIRA

I.

II. III. I V.

V.

VI. VII. VIII. IX.

x.

TH E P EARLS OF T H E ORIENT TH E P EOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES .

TH E Al\'lMAL KI NGDOM S PA N ISH DISCOVERY AND Dmn l\'lON RIVALRY OF C HURCH AND STATE COLON I AL WARS RESOURCES AND C OMM ERCE Mos!!' NOTED T OWNS STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. AM ERICA I N THE ORIENT

xi xv

193 208 220 227 236 245 256 269 278 289

J APAN

1.

II. III. IV.

V. VI. VII.

307 315 322 334 347 355 363

THE L AND OF 1'HE GODS THE GA<I' EWAY OF THE ORIENT FIRST GLIMPSES THE I MPERIAL ROADS THE M0DERN CAP ITA L CUS<FOMS AN D COSTUMES. CITY AND COUNTRY

ill

FULL PAGE ENGRAVINGS V OLU ;\'IR IT

COURTYARD TO CHINESE TEMPLE,

Photogravure

SUSPE NSION BRIDG E CONNE CTI NG OL D AN D NEW M ANILA WATER FRONT AT MANILA

Fronti slJiece Facing Page 200

"

NATIVE MILK P E DDLERS I N T H E SU B UR BS OF i\I AN ILA SA NTA CRUZ PLAZA , MA NILA NATIVE 'FH E ATRE , T AGU IG G ENERAL OTIS AN D S T AF F A'l' TH E GOVERl\OR'S P ALACE , M AN ILA RAINY S E ASON I N TH E E RE Ml'fA DISTRI CT HA W AHA N FLOW E RS , COLOURE D PRI NCI P AL G ATE WAY, O LD M ANILA HA WA IIA N FLOWE RS, Colou,-ed M ANILA FIRE D E PART MENT GROUP OF I NSUR GEN'f S, TAK EN PRISONERS C IGAR F ACTORY , MA N ILA A C OMPA N Y OF I NSU RGENTS GRAVES OF T H E A STOR B ATT E R Y R E ADQU ARTERS, P ASIG HA WAllA N FLOW E RS, Colou,-ed THREE LITTLE MAIDS, Coloured FUJIYAMA FROM MAEDA VILLA GE , TOKAIDO PEO NY GARDEN , KA N AZAWA THE B E AUTIFU L IRIS BLUFF GARDEN , YOKOH AI O HRYS ANTH E MUMS WALKI NG COSTU ME , Colou,'ed TEA-HoUSE GARDEN,

On, TOKIO

A TYPICAL JAPA NE SE LADY PLA NTI N ~ RICE KIRIFURI CASCADE, NIKKO

208 216 224 230 235 236 242 246 250 258 266 274 282 290 294 298 310 314 322 330 338 346 354 358 362 366 370

COLOURED MAPS

Facing Page 193

THE PHILIPPINES

"

JAP AN

v

307

"

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOLUi\IE II PAGE

PAGE

LANDSCAPE ON EAST SIDE OF MINDANAO MAIL STATION ON BAY OF ULUGAN VOLCAN0 OF Apo VOLCAN0 OF MAYON , LUZON LOOKING UP PASIG RIVER AT PRETIL J UST ABOVE MANILA NA'PIVE VILhAGE, ISLA ND OF NEGROS BAMBB0 lBRIDGE, ILOILO CONS'JlRUWFION 0F A PHILIPP I NO BAMBOO YARD NATIVE HOUSES VI'L LAGE ON MINDANAO GEN®RAL VIEW @F ILOILO MAN~LA STREE'!', RAINY SEASON MANILA STREE'I', RAINY SEASON

TYPES OF MALA YS NEGRI 'JlOS NATIVE WARRIOR FROM INTERIOR

SULU PRAU SWL'IlAN OF SULl:)" I Nfl'ERVI'EWING EUROP IMN VISl'l'ORS MOHAMMED, SUL'l'AN OF SULU

232

WAN

233 234

ARSENAL

AT

PUERTO

PRIN CESSA,

237

PALI\WAN

203 204 205 206 208 209

213 214

DRAWBRIDGE OLD

ARMY

22i

V!I'LLAGE ON THE I SLAND OF GUI-

222

223

OF

OLD

238 ON

SEA-WALL

AT

MANJLA

A NC IENT GATE AT M ANILA A TAGALO BU NGA LOW IN LUZON PHILIPPINO GIRL

239 240 241 242 243 244

CHUR CH AND EQUARE AT MALOLOS

245

OLD STONE BRIDGE NEAR MANILA

246

MANILA STREET, RAINY SEASON

247 248

MANILA STREET, RAINY SEASON THE NATI VE MARumT AT MA NILA ON THE WALL OF THE OLD CITY OF BOATS

249 250

MANILA ON

P ASIG

ABOVE

HRIDGE OF SPAIN R ITA I SLAND, B,AY OF ULUGAN

251 252

CAVITE ARSENA L AND SHIPYARD BATH I NG PLACE AT MANILA

253

216

217

GATE

RIVER SCENE NEA R ILOILO ' SPANISH PRIEST

215 218

AND

CITY CANNON

N A'!'lVE

LGORROTE PIPES

MARAS :

230

VILLAGE OF BAHELE, PALAWAN OLDEST CHURCH IN MA NILA

198 199

lG0RR01l'ES

SIJ1R>E'E T- CARS I N MANILA

229

MERCHANT VE SSELS, PASIG RIVER,

197

212

PINO LI<D'Y MES'JlIZ0S

RIVER SCENE ON MI N DANAO MINDA NAO WARRIOR MOUTH OF RIVER COIHULO, PALA-

WEALTHY 'El'ALF-CASTE PHILI'P -

CARABk0S TRANSPORTING SIJ10RI!)S

VILLAGE ON MINDANAO

210 211

OF M I NDANAO PHILIPPINO FRUlI!' GliRL A

PEACOCK

193 194 195 196

200 201 202

HOUSE

224 224 225 227 228

YOUNG WILD GOAT CALAO BIRD '

THE PHILIPPINES

A TAGALO FAM I LY OUT FOR A DRIVE I N A CARETELA TIM VEL I N RAINY SEASON VOIcCAN0 OF Apo SCENE IN BULACAN

vii

254 256 258

257 259

viii

LIST

OF ILLUS T RATIONS PAGE

PLANTATIO N ON M I N DA NAO S CEN E AT PUERTO P~NCESSA, PALAWA N CIGAR DEALER S TREET I N OLD iVIANILA TRAI N

ON l\1A N ILA RAILWAY

M ANIL A

AND

AND

D AGU PIN

260 261 263 264

BOAR

266

GREETLNG SCENERY AMONG THE PI NE ISLA N DS FUJIYAMA A FARMER

RA I LWAY

VILLAGE I N THE SUBURBS OF MAN IL A

267 269 270

STREET I N BUSI NESS SECTION OF MA!'<,LA

271

ON

PROi'l'lENADE

SAN

nfIGUEL, MANILA CAV I'1'B ARSENAL SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT

SCHOOLHO USE VILLAGE OF OLAS PINAS, O N OUTSKIR'r S OF M Al'IILA D AGAU PA N, RIO HORNO SU LU WOMA N A

NATI VE OF

A GUI NALDO,

L EA DE R

1899 lI10U:\l' AI N CATARACT SEN'l'RY POST ON T H E L UNETA ROAD S CEN E I N SUBUBBS OF MA N IL A A GUINA LD O'S

U, S, S . B.~L1'nIORE TH E BA1vrLE OF MAN I LA B A Y MAJOR- GENERAL WESLEY M ERRl TT OHOUP OF OFFI CERS, L EA DER I NSURRECTION, 1899

G ENEB AL OTIS F.

276 278 279

SUBURBAN TEA - HOUSES A VEGETABLE D EA LE R LA KEVIsrl'A I N G EK'l'LEMAN'SGAR.DEN

280

GEN{.PL"Eil\'JAN 'S

DOUBLE BRID GE I N ]MPE RIAL OAR-

A MASSEUR SOBUItBA N

335 337 338 340

THE GA1'E WAY IN AN OLD GARDEN OF TOKYO

282 WI STA RIA BUS H 283 TH E "GARDEN OF 284 KY 01' 0 285 A TRlMM E D JAPANESE

TH E

320 323 325 326 . 328 330 33] 332

V r uLA~ ,

BA NCH O

LAJ\: E/'

f INE-T R EE

341 344

ROCKER Y AND CASCADE, FUKIAGE

287 290 29 1 292 293 20 4 295 296

GARD EN EXAMPLES OF

345 QUA I NT AR CHITEC-

TURE STONE LA N'l}.ElRN

3§Q

352 353 356 357 359 360

CHRYSAN'J1HEMUM SELLER L ADIES' Co ~'Ui\ms TH E COMBAT \YUH SW0RDS A HAIR- DRESSER

EXTERIOR OF I NSURGENT S' CAPI1' OL AT MALOLOr. , 1899 MU SHROOM I SLANDS

302 303

34\'l

WAT E R MILL, COLENBA

NIACARON I AND TEA

PLAZA ALFONSO X II. , ILOILO IVIo UNTAI N I NN , J. . UZON

Ap-

PROA CH 'liO A SIUtINE

298

299 300 301

347 IVIARKING

CHERRY BA NK, TO KY O

297

AGONCILLO, ENVOY OF I N URGENTS

317 318

DEN

281

307 308 31(i) 3ffi2 313 315

YOKO-

J I NRIKIS HA S S TREET SCENE, YOKOHAMA Box SHOP

01'

GEKERAL AUGUSTI I S LETS OF CA LAMIA NES GROUP , BETWEEN l\1J N DORO ANO· P ALAWAN

WATER- FROKT,

274 275

FAMII: Y AN D RELA-

TIVES ADMIRAL GEORGE D EWEY U , S , S, OLnIPIA

STREET ON

LOTUS LAKE, i\IY EKO

OF

I NSURRECTION OF 1899 CA:"1NON USED BY I NSU RGENTS I N

YOKOHAMA H ARBOUR A J UNK

272 273

MALA BON AND HIS

FAi\lILY

EM ILIO

J APAN

HAi\IA

UNDER

S P AN I SH R EGIME

304 3(i)5

GULA ::aIVER, 'l\1iINDANA0

DA GU PIN

STATION GOVERNOR' S PALA CE, iVIANILA

F OUNTAIN

PAGE

'WATERFALL AND RAPIDS ON TA¥-

3tH

LADIES AT DINNER SClJENE I N N 1KKO PLA NTING R ICE VEGETABLE: SELLEB EVERGRElENS J\ N D WATER-"rEEDS

AUTUMN FOLIAGE KIVAWA

A~'

363 366 367 369

'l'AK[-NO-

370

THE PHI LIPPINE ISLANDS. BY

MAJ.- GEN. JOSEPH W HEELER.

, VIffiN th e heart of th e American peoIlle was touch ed by the cruelty and terrors which were being enacted in the island of Cuba, and, added to this, came the d istress caused by the harrowiug t idings of th e destr uction of the battle-ship jl1aine with the iustant d eath of 267 of h er gallant crew, hut on'e thought pervaded the American mind, and a demand came f rom every town and hamlet, that t his great republic do its duty to sufferiug hmnanity, and st rike a decisive blow in defence of national h onour.

Th e glorious victories which followed the American flag on land and sea, and, almost at the same t ime, in hoth hemispheres, resul t ing in t he treaty of peace which was con¡ cluded at P a ris, placed upon our country the responsihilities with which we are now confronted.

N ew conditions therefore are presented with which it is t he d uty of the A merican uepubl'ic t o derul.

A few years ago t he exercise of sovereign power beyond our P acillc shores h ad not been a mat ter of consideration hy our government.

During that short period, the logic of events has given us islands with harbours which place the great P acillc Ocean, wit h its wonderful commercial ad vantages, very largely under our control.

In a speech in Bost on a short time before his death, the great naturalist, P rofessor Agassiz, referred t o a work by H um boldt as descriptive but not comparative; and he expl",ined, with ma1:vellous clearness, that in order t o be of value, a: statemeut of facts or a description must be compared with something with which we are fam iliar.

It is equally important, in considering t hat policy which will be best for th e welfa re of our own people and ",Iso of those witlh whose d estiny we have so much to do, th",t we keep in m"nd t he fact th at our wondrous growth ",nd inc reased power dming t he last half centmy h",ve whohly chauged Our rel ations with th e other nations of the earth.

W e all revere the t raditions of our country and have profound ;espect for t he expressiol!s of the great statesmen whose wisdom gave us thi s spleud id governmen t under which we live. W e mnst, however, recognise the vastly changed condit ions, and t he rules which th,~y laid down for our guidance should he construed in t he ligh t of the preseut day. Many policies which would have been good a century, or even half a cent ury ago, would be f atal to our conntry's welfnre to.day. xi

l>:ii

I NTROil])i(JCWI @N.

During that period, we h ave chwnged from one of ,the wealkest to tne most powemul na,tion on t he globe.

Fifty yeats ago, the monarchs who go,Terned ""hat were then the leading n!lltions of the earth establisb.ed diplomatic relat-ions with scavcely a though,t of the young republic on the western shore of the Atlantic. Now, t he powerful nwtiolls of the world seek our friendship, and 110M venture wny illlpoxtant diplomacy wilihout first learning whether it will be acceptable to t h,is great republ~c.

'J'he words of wisdom and advice from Washillgton, iJieffel'son, lI>ndJ Jackson weFe uttered when we were essentially an agricultural people. The question of our ma.nu¡ factures being used in fOl'eign lauds h ad h rurd'ly been considered, ooclJ in tnose ea.r1y days but few of our fa.rm prod ucts were sent beyond our sh oFes. Now, in the products of our farms and factories, we far excel t he greatest commercial nations.

Our production of coal, steel, pig iron, finish ed i.ron, iron ore, copper, cotton, wheat, corn, and petrol eum far exceeds the production of t hose stapl e rurticles lily any oth er na.tion.

H alf the population of the world is in what we caN the Grient. '1'heir p"od ucts lI>lle very largely articles which the world needs and which can only there be prolluced, 0:1', at least, can better be produced in those 10ca1ities thll>n elsewhere. This gives this vast population a great purchasing power, and the leading nations of the world are e"el'cising every possible influence to establish with ~hem favourable commercial relations.

Producing, as we do, half the st!llple products of the earth, whi,l e ,,'e have but one. twentieth of the population, these markets are mOl'e essential to the U n.i ted States than to any other nation.

The needs of all people increase as they ad vance in cj,vil,i sation. iRa,ihoad:s and locomotives will be needed by the people of the Orient in numbe1:s far beyond OUI' pr esent conception. Electric and gas plants for lighting cities and houses will be den:tandec1. Water-works, sanitary, telegraphic, and telephonic equipm ents, agricultural implements, sewing.machines, ty pewriters, wnd a t lu>usand articles which we manufac. ture, these people will purchase.

Probably the greatest advantage to our country will be t h e mllJrket we shouh:l! seCUl'e for our cotton goods. We now prod uce eighty per cent. of the raw cotton which finds its way to the worlc1's markets. It brings us in its rww state an llJnnua:1 i'etum of about three h und red mill'ions of dollal's. When transformed into the ch ea.pest cotton cloth, its value is enhanced nea.rly foUl' lold, rund when ma!llufacturedi into thread and fine goods, its increased val ue is t en, twen.ty, and eÂĽen ~hi rty f otd.

Since our country crume into existence as wn inclepend'ent sovereignty, d1plomatic corn pl i.cations h ave frequently rurisen, a sol ution of which has, in all l'espects, heen cl'editahle to us as a nation, and no American can doubt {OF a moment thrut the 1P1'0blem now confronting us will he sol ved in a way that wm ad v!llnee the canse of civilisation and work ont results n ot only to our ad'v:antage, but a:lso to the matel;jwl betterment of all who are bl'ought under American control and: inflluen.ce.

INTIWDUCTION.

x iii

If Cuba is called the " Gem of the Antill es,'" surely the beautiful Philippiues should be cailed the "'Gem of th e Orient."

As Cuba stands the gateway to the G ulf of MexICo, so do the Philippines, witn their magnificent harbonrs, supply a gate way to the people and mar vellous reSo urces of China and the Indies.

From north to south, their extent is equal to the dista nce from Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico.

Their s urface in cl udes the low f ert il e land s wh ere rice, sugar, and oth er tropical products a re cultivated ; the tabl e-land s where we finel a climate and products simila r to those of the t emperate zone ; also high mountain s, which are, as yet, un explored.

Virgin forests of the most valuable timber are ext ensive, and nead y all minerals are more or less abundant.

The people are surprisingly intelligent, con sid ering that th ey have suffered nea rly f our centuries of Spanish misrule and oppression.

They are very devot ed to t hflir religion, and it is my fi rm belief thJ1t, under a wise, nnmane, and just government, 1ll0St of them will become industriou s, loyal Am ericans.

JOS EPH ' ''BE E LE R .

"

J A PAN. BY

KOGORO TAKAHIRA. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States.

THE ra,pid progress which the J apanese Empire has made within a comparatively brief period seems to be a source of snrprise to foreign ,observers. They apparently believe that J apan has sprung almost at a single bouud from medireval barbarism to model'll civilisation. Only. two score and ten years ago Europeans and Americans hacl nothing but the vaguest ideas concerning the Empire and its people. It is perhaps natural that they should now be astoni slled when they behold J apan in full enjoyment of the comity of nations, amply proving her capaoity to administer constitutional government and justifying her title to all international rights aud privileges.

Yet no edifice of any permanence can be built upon a foundation of sand. The present advance of J apan, however marvellous it may appear at first sight, is nothing more tha,n the normal development of th e national life, facilitated by favourable environment and acceleratecl by opportuue circumstances. It seems unfortunate, however, thflJt the exploits of arms which have markecl her recent history should be apparently the principal cause of the worlel's discovery that her obscurity was undeserved; because it may very easil~ happen thflJt in the over-zealous estimation of such martial achieve, meJ;lts otber and equally meritorious attributes of the empire's general progress will be either forgotten or ignored.

The J apanese Empire had origiually great advautages over other Asiat ic States in several respects. Its foundation is peculiar and unique, and owes nothing to conquest Ol' aggression.

The !Elm pire is established upon the concord of th e goveming and th e govemed: the bonndless l ove and benevolent care of the Throne and the loyal deference and c1igni;fied obedience of the people. The lineal succession of one dynasty has continued unbreken for 2,560 years, from the coronation of the first Emperor down to the present sovereign, during which long period the country, thongh not quite free from occ~sional disturbances of its prosperity, has never been confronted by anything like rev01ution in its proper senSe. Such a catastrophe as a Norman in vasion 01' Napoleonic devastation has been unknown; nor has an English Commonwealth or French Directory ever been dreamed of. With what affection and vigilance the sovereigns nave interested themsehes in the welfare of their subjects is fully exemplified in the conduct of Emperor Nintoku, who endured privation in a dilapidated xv

xvi

JAPAN.

palace for the space of three years in order to relieve his snbjects of the burden of taxes; graciously declaring that the poverty of the people should, be his poverty, as the prospel'ity of the nation was his own. Such self-denial on the part of a monarch always accustomed to l uxury and pomp could not fail to create in the hearts of the people profound veneration and intense devotion. The C1'own being t hus identified with the nation, loyalty is but the synonym for patriotism, and the people would l'eadily sacrifice their earthly pleasures, even their very l,ives, ~ox the samety of the Emperor and the glory of the Empi're. I t is this mlUtual attachment t lullt has cherished the sentiments of honour, justice, and fidelity which permeate evel"Y aspi!ration of the J apanese for progress and amelioration in matters mruteriaJi and spN¡ituail. Without this concord between the head and the masses which constitute a State, neither steady ad vance nor uniform develop~ent would be possible, as witness the history of other Oriental countries.

While it is undoubtedly t rue t hat Confucian philosophy and Buddhism played an inlportant part in moulding Japan' s ci"'ilisation, it is also a fact t hat even before their introduction the peculiar l'elations between the goveming and the governed already alluded to had led to the creation of an administrative system based upon ideas almost al~in to the principles underlying enlightened model'll governments, Even as early as the epoch when Europe was inunda,ted by a barbaq'ian del uge this system had taken definite form, the conduct of public affairs Qeing partitioned among eight separate departm ents, the I mperial Householdt Generail Administration, Civi~ and l\'[ilitary Affairs, Justice, Finance, Archives, and Ceremonies, all under the direct control of the Emperor. At that tinle, also, Emperor Tenchi, tbe Japanese Ju stinia,n, had instructed learned men to compile t he code of laws which subsequently became the fundamental constitution of th e realm and was known as the Taiho Statutes. It cou sisted of twelve vol umes, iucluding, among oth er things, regulations for official establishmeuts, census, assessment of lands and taxes, ed ucatiou, marriage and succession, complaints and disputes, etc. And long before t he nahan Rena,issrunce began to dawn, J apan's enlightenm ent had reached so high a level as the creation of an university at t he Capital, where history, classics, law and mrutnematics were ta ugiJJt, as well as public schools in: t he various lecallit ies th roughout the provinces. Even during the period of the feudal system, - which, t hough sinliUrur in fomn to that of EUl'ope, was entil'ely different therefrom in that it was the conseqnence of bhe ascendency of military chieftains, but not the resul t of conquest by foreign enemies, as was often the case in the Occident, - the study of literature never failed to receive general encouragement, L eal'lled men and clerkly priests were el evated by the comparatively rude military classes to the positi on of 3idvisers, al ways monopolising all functions connected with books and documents ; while poetry flourished uniformly in the Capital, undisturbed by the vicissitudes of the times. The present constitution of J apan, though apparently modelled upon constitutionrul f orms adopted by western States, was in reality based t o no small extent 'l\pon ment rul principies existing from

,\

JAPAN.

xvii

time immemorial; and was granted by the free will of His Majesty the Emperor, who, in a solemn declara~ion macle at the time of the R estoration thirty-three years ago, enunciated a programme of which t he present govel'llmental system and general progress in other directions are the direct and logical results.

Thus it will be seen that the Japanese stem, already old and l ong cultivated, has been sturdy enough to receive and nourish successfully the grafting of Occidental civilisation; and that all the achievements . of the last fifty years,. precipitate aud extraordinary as they may seem, are nothing more than the gradual outcome of deeply implanted ideas and well directed d esigns.

So favomed by Providence in its fonndation as well as in its devel opment, the mission of the J apanese Empire must be at once grave and glorious. The present is the age of peace, in aspiration at least, if uot iu practice. Electricity and steam have almost flJllnihilated space, and the nations of the -world have been brought into cl osest touch with each other. Under these circum stqnces nothing can be more conducive to the general welfare than the preservation of peace and common accord. This the government and the people of J apan fully realise. They recognise no nobler duty and no surer safeg uard against the designs of selfish ambition tlian the unremitting effort to promote good will and cord ial relations with aU nations. This they believe is especiaHy true as regards their immediate neighbours, to whom they are always ready to lend a h elping hamd along the path of progress they themselves are treading. And since none have a more vital interest in all that affects the welfa re of the Orient than theirs) they do not apprehend that tllis sentim ent will not be mi snnderstood, or th at due weight will not be accorded to J apan's unique position and just aspirations.

â&#x20AC;˘

JP'MIJllLJlIfDl(DJII~JE1 J,]ยงIL.&.NIDยง ------

SI .. I"\ellllc.,lt(j'IJ,,.h.

"

.'

Il.u,,"~ , l>lIIl.Alft1l

J,:11~~'d ........

1',(1

IN'l'JUW Gliif}';N}f;J:, J3J~r, =n.~tIT.t..

o

E

JlI ]) 0 E

MARS~ALL

JeNES COMPANY,

PUBLISRERS. BOSTeN

!oJoJ

โ ข :Il .. j

I,,~lI.

::lII

M

LANDSC APE ON EAST S I D E OF MI ND A NAO.

THE FAR EAST. THE PHI LIPPINES. CHAPTER 1.

THE P EARLS OJ)' THE ORIENT .

ANY geologists believe that a vast contilll>nt, rivalling in area any now e.ri, ting, once extended from New Zealand on the south to t he Matiana (Ladrones) and H aw,tiian Islands on t he nor th; from the most eastern of t he Polynesiwn I slands to the China and Sulu Seas on t he west . According to t his theory, the i, lan ds of the South Sea, includilElg ~h.e extensive,. Archipelago of the Philippines, are the uplifted mountain lllewks and highlands of t he suhmerged hemisphere, Granting the Flwnsibility of tfus asser tion, the evidence remains t hat a large percentage

M

193

194

T BliEl FAiR ElAS'F.

of t hese islaJllcils are of cor, I 01' v@leal1ie ]O>FInarti011. 'Fh@se ~mder c@liIsidel'ation belong largely t o the hlitter class .

So little is actua.lly known of rthe entire Paci1/ic c@a.s1;, thrut only aN approximate estimate can be g iveN 0f the siq;e anrit si1Ju1lltion @] Mae Philippin e I slands, variously supposecil to numbel' iir01iR sioc ;1;0 twelve hlllldred. A conservative calcula.tion places the lallld area 1IIt a littJle less than 115,000 square mil es, equal to the State of Ariz@na, @F 'llellll'ly tlile same as the combined areas of the six New Englan01 Stwtes WJl(Ji New Ymk. This collection of fragmentary lands, ly ing to tJhe s@lil,t heast oji

M A IL S TATION ON BA짜 OF U L UGAN.

Asia, extends from 4째 45" to 20 째 38" north l at~tude, a distanee @I (i)VeF a thousand mil es ; and from 117 째 to 126,0 east lONgitude, or sill!. Imn.clred miles east and west.

The en tire surfa,ce of the numerOlilS islands is broken, wn@J Mae C(i)astline irregular, the 'seas cutting in wild making Jire<tuent bays, g;uiLfs, isthmuses and peninsulas . The only JDlwins ,1'e to be Jiolmd along the rivel's near the1r mouth s, except the in1;erv1IIles between the m01'1aat 3lilJls, which are inclin ed to trend nOl,th 1IIn d s01ilth. These 10.w13lncils M'e lIiol1 with the al!luvial deposits of ages. Between the [slands are l0ng stl'etcnes of canals and passages, though not many of then1 are navig3lble. OWling "

THE PHILIPPINES.

195

to the existence of volcanic fires and t he occasional overflow of hot water from the boilers of these mountain furnaces, coral growth is uLlcommon, although nearl y all of . the other islands in the South Pacific abound in its formartion.

The l)rincipal islands are twelve in uumber, in size and situation as follows, according to the Spanish official returns: Luzon, the most northerly, and containing the capital of t he Archipelago, Manila, having an area of 41,000 square miles, equal to t he State of Ohio ; Mindanao, the most sontherly, with 'an extent of 37,500 miles, a t rifle larger than the State of Indiana; Samar, on the central east, 5,300 miles in area;

VOL CANO OF APO.

Panay, near the centre of the group, 4,600 miles; Palawan (Paragua), a long strip 01) the southwest, 4,1 00 miles; Mindoro, on the central west, 4,(j)50 miles; Leyte, 3,0()0 miles; Negros, 2,~ 00 miles; Cebu, 1,650, Masbate, 1,3 UI, Bohol, 925, Cantanduanes, 450 ,square mile' each .

'I'he two first named are probably as large as all the others combined .

E verywhere is seen the evidence of t he volcanic formation of the islwnds, wnd a continual cll<1Jnge in the topography of some of them is yet gomg @11 wirth surprising rapidity. Open water now exists where a few years since were inhabited islands. On the other hand, habitable lands now rise ahove the surface of the sea where not long ago the brown-skinI\ed boatman plied his slight craft along an unin terrnpted course. Many of the islwnds, taking Cebu for an example, wear yet

196

.THE lJ'AR EAST.

their caps of limestone, indisputaJble Froof <llf thei.r lDimtlh [Ill tike seaJ. On others a re the cones of extinct volcaJnoes, lava beds, aJEla the boiling geysers, living remind.ers of those days wThen the <ll@ea~l ~@r thousands of miles was lighted by these internall fu~l'Haces. Ner aJ;e all of the volcanoes burned out, as witness t:hat giaJnt Awe <lln like island of Mindanao, with an estimatea height of @ver ten th@Hsana feet; on Negros the Canloon, measuring ever eight th@usand! freet, wh~le the active volcano, Mayon, on LU'lon, is the grand.est s[,>ecimen , ~'ising

to a summit of eight t housand and two hunmrem ~eet. '['he latte1' mas a perfe'ct cone in constant activity, its last eruption haJviltlg ilall!ien []ilTace in 1888. The premium of dailllaJge done wuthin tJhe n1ist@l'Y <llf mam, however, belongs to Tawl, which lies in the midst of aJ foresu-wwte1' lwke, thirty-four miles sOtlth of Mwuila, though sixty as it is ~'eacTh.ed lliy travel. This famous volcano has been active from tilUe imlNemoriwl, and its hi. tory is as closely associwted with the ishvnril as Vesu'Villls tis with the fortunes of Naples. During the eighrtieenth centm-y 1il@ [esB thaJn five noteworthy erupt i@ns occUirrea, tihe n10st staJrtlmg C'lf tThem "

THE PHILIPPINES.

197

mei'Ng m 1754, when Mile town of Talil was entirely destroyed, and several other places suffered seriously. Property fifteen miles away -WaJS lai<!l in rtlil1s, and flying cinders fell m Manila.

The outbreak Jasted for eight days, which were 'as dark as midnight, so that the inh ab~talilits of t he <!listant capital dined at midday with lighted lamp, and plodded blindly along the streets amazed and terrified, believing that the end of 1Ihe world had come. The smell of sulphur and decay1,n g deIDris lasted for six months, when such a malignant fev er followed as to car!'y off half of the inhabitants of the province. The road from Tawl to Balayan was impassable on account of the lava, and the town which had ~een t he capital was destroyed with all the government Thuilc1il~gS. BaJtangas, on the coast, then became the centre of govern-

LOOKING UP PASIG RIVER AT P RETIL JUST ADOVE MANILA.

ment. The enlption contmtled for six mOliths and seventeen days.

At its last explosion this volca.no blew off its head, and now stands less thaJn nine hl1>ndred feet in height, the lowest active volcano in the w0rld _ The Falawan group on the southwest is free from volcanic signs and fr@m eal,th<i[uaJkes.

B'esides the volcanic ccmes and peaks; there are man!}' moun tams, some o£ res]lectable height, among tlhem being Mt. Ha.lcon, on t he island of Mind0ro, 8,900 feet; San CristobJal, Luzon, 7,400 feet; Isa,rog, LUZ011, 6,424 feet; Gi,tllig Giting, Simuyan, 6,642 feet; Banajao, Luzon, 7,333 feet.

Tillie mouJil,t allls of this class are generally covered with magnificent £0l'ests CDf stately bees, set off with the rich f@liage of the tropics and 1;1Ie mright-c@iomred flora o£ a SUll]),y clime. Exceptions to this are t Ile

198

THE F A~ EAST.

bare crowns of Mt. H alcon and Giting Giting, the two like grim giamts standing, amid broad vistas of tmpical country, teenM!lilg wi<tih tihe prodigal gifts of a nature which knows no m@lNlds to its ra1'e oOl!lnties, with uncovered heads. Like many 0f the otTh.er !islaJilds @f the S@11th ii3eas, it would seem as if the dispenser' 0f eatrth's gifts let sfp here t11e stxi,n g from his horn of plenty tQ make this a m@dern Eillen.

Rivers and small streams are nUmel'O~lS thtoughont the isla:nills, man§' of the larger being navigable. Among' these are the iJ1i@ iPasig, wn.i«ih has its source in the Bay Lagoon, atnd after flowing n ~neteen miles c1'is-

NATIVE VIL-LAGE, IS LA ND OF NEi:GHO S .

charges its water into Manila Bay. The largest, the Rio Grande de Cagayan, rising in the mountains of Eastern Luzon, Hows nearly the ~ength of the island, or two hnndred miles, and falls into the Ofu.ma Sea. It annually overflows its banks, anill along its course, as weN as that @] iihe Pasig, are found some of the richest tobacco ill,istricts in the isratJilills. The Rio de Grande de la Pampanga is another noticelUble strewnl, thlJ1eadmg great tracts of forests, extensive fields @f rice and pianliati0ns 0:£ s1!lgatrcane, thrifty vil1ages and towns, in the ]ertile lUnd melUutuHl vaHey wh~ch gives it its name, and aftel' a pleas1!l!re triJp @] t hirty-eigTht 1l1jij,es enters Manila Bay J!>y twen,t y creeks. The Rio Augnsan, lc;m ger li:imam , anw of them, cuts Mindalllao I sland alm.ost il~ twati'l1 , t hough l1aJvigaTh'Je f @I less

'1'l'lE

~HILIPPIN ES .

199

thaJH f0UQ' milles. Tlte Abra, rising in t he slopes opposite to the Agno Granme, a]ter a race of nearly nimety miles over the siUnd-bars of Butao, N~oig, aJnd Dile, surrenders its floods to the China Sea. There are many ethers more 0 1' less known.

There are several htmdreds of islands in the Archipelago covered wit h thousiUHds 0f squa,re miles of tropical forests, abundant with valuable woods, such as ceda·r, ebony, ironwood, mahogany, lpgwood, sapan-wood, gum-trees, and fifty other kinds of woods unknown ill America. In eertain localities gutta-percha is found, while in others is the cocos

B Al~IBOO

BRID G-E, lLOILO.

1'I!Ucifera, every part of which, including trunk, branches, leaves, fruit, shelil., anm husk, has a v3tlue. Bamboo and a?'eca l)alm a,re common and 0] grea;t util~ty. The banaAJe and malave are two woods pri zed for t heir l1lrol1lerties of resisting the acmon of wa;ter for centuries.

The most attractive a;nd , next to the cocoaHut-palm, most useful tree is the l!>am'b0o, gn)Wing on the pla,ins, a,l ong the ba;nks of rivers, under t:lte shad'0ws 0f boundless forests, around the homes of th e na,tives, in £act everyw1J.ere excel1lt in ma;rshes and on the hills, With light, fea,thery crests. tnat swa,y gracefull y in the sl'iglrrtest breeze, t he more majestic I.'ising to the ¥ery digni'fied height of fifty feet, they give a matchless

200

THE FAR EAST.

charm to the forest scene. Their slender trunks set in joints, each section strengthened by an inside web, ]lresent an odd runay of :forest pillars as seen in a collection of any size. :Besides these there a.re maJlilY smaller varieties, which the natives cultivatte for the young shoots tha.t alw'ays command a good price in the market. Brumboo is a greilit building material in the constrnction of huts, houses, and even churches, allld fr om it are made the mats, chairs, baskets, v;essels ÂŁ01' holding l~quoL's, measures for grain, in short, every kind of household utelilsii needed, organs and musical instruments in general, while outside it is made into carts to move merchandise, rafts to float on the ri:vers, palings for catrrying . poles, blow-pipes fOl' fl!ll"llaCeS, matts to be W0rll 011 the head of its ingenious worker, until it seems to be iIil everytJrnng small and greatt, the most valuable of a.11 in building bridges hundreds 0f feet in length atnd so strong tha.t CONSTHUCT JON OF .A PHILIPPINO nOUSE.

a dro ve of buffa-

loes can pass safely over it. The leaves atre eaten by horses and cattle, and its tender shoots by man. In a certain variety of the ca.ne is fOlilnd a stone which the native believes is a panacea f0r llilalllY eviills 0] tlile flesh.

In another kind is a sticky substrunce good for inflammation of the eyes, which is very prevalent under the rays of the t orrid sun.

If not applied to as many uses as the bamboo, the cocoamut-pailm is of greater value, it being the leading source of income to t he nrutive iJJhfllbitants. Plantattions of these trees rure f0un<!l seatl;tered a)U over the Archipehl,go. The {nut is always in demand! for the fOl'eign marlcet, and, as witb the bamboo, every part of the tree is utilised. From its smooth body the native constructs the framework of hi. dwelling, coveF. rit with its leaves, and furnishes it with chairs, d.ivatns, a.nd twble. made hom it. "

"

THE PHILIPPINES.

201

WClol!1. Tl1e mats upon whieh he sleeps, the brushes that he uses, are made from its fibr es . Fl!om its nuts he gets his meat, and a drink called out of C0l!l!l¡tesy mllk, which becomes a good vinegar if left to become add, while f1'0ID Vhe shells 0f these he carves his household utensils. From its sa,p "he 0btains an ON which is indispensable at home a nd in great dem:1nd alb1'0ad , ];n th e temperate climate it becomes a solid, amd is converted il])t0 sGlap all1d candles . On the islands it r emains in a thinner state, and ris ~lsed for lighting his home, cooking his food, and is an excellent lubrica.ting stlbstance for machinery. In that land of perpetual fe~r of an <imtb1'ea,k f1'0m an ewrtlilquake, the matter of light is of no small illlporta;nce . In every hut a;l1d house a smalQ vessel is partiaJlly fin e d w,j,t h water, Gln whicll a qual1tiJty 0£ COC0al1ut Gl:iil is lDoL1l'ed, ,I])(il a wick fi Gla;ting on t 0P is lighted a:md kept b ell' n i. ]I g :Ii l' @m twiligli1t unti] dawn, a B A MBOO YARD. 1Yin!y fu'efly la.mp, but very usefu~ at the lea;st wa;rning of danger. Besides all tbis, obtai]lmg from its fl@wering stalk a delicious bevera,ge he calls tttba, and d0thri.ng his b0tly fl.'@m ra,iment made of its fine fibrous particles, the 1I?h!iliiFFin@ @wes 11is u:mdyil'lg allegia;nce t o his beloved palm , :A:m exceed1ngl~ useful a:mel common plail1t is th e bej~tCO, or rattan, a sort {)l ThNsh [,0Fe, which has been known to grow to the grea;t length of one ilI.01!lSa;lla feet . It is notliling un1![su:al t o fi'n d a specimen t hree or four Imnd'l'ed feet ~@ng. The aFpiication 0i this plant is almost as numerous .as t:llat of the bamThCl0, and it is often used ~n conjuncti0n witb t he other. lIt is the I'latul'al coud with which to bind t ogether whatever has becom ~ IDr0~en Glr I'leeds Futting together ill the hGlme, Cln th e wlantation, in t he s1!reet Gll' [Ollest, 8h0]:> or wflmeb0use. The thickest is used for making rafts

202

'FNE FAR EAST.

and cables, wnd with the bamboo helps to make sllspelilSici))il IDr~dges. ~t has delicate fibres out of which c10ths wre woven am€lln.wts Il!la€le.

Among the fruits the mwngo. ranks first. ]t gr0ws f~om fOUF t@ silx: inches in length, is oval shaped, 'fiatteFleC!l on b0th siciles, ailld ye~low tin colour when ripe. It bas a large stome in the centFe, all1d the meat is rich and delicious. The tree grows to grerut size, a majest-ie spe@}men 0] the wealthy woods in its da.rk green fo~iwge, aI1cil espe@iaJD1y beal~ti!fiur dming its flow ering period. It is nothing u\l:msual to get tn.l1ee piekings of fruit during a year, and two are the rule.

The banana grows wild and is cu1tivateC!l with pmfiit, there be1ng as

NATIVE HOUSES.

many as fifty varieties. The banruna (1I111se6 pa1'c6disiaca), acc0rd~ng il@ an Arabic legend, is belie"ed to be the plantai·n from wllli@h Adanll aNd Eve made their aprons, as well as baving been the f0rbiC!ldelill fru~t e] Elillen.

The papaw tree also grows wild here. '!Ehis attains w fueigllt ef tweNty,five feet, and has leaves from two to three feet in [ength. 'iFhe fru~t, 0l a deep olive-green until ripe, when it is yellow, is in shrupe aJ'lild t!av0uF like the melon, very delicious in its native la.nd , GU1J,vas ame [<'mnd wiJl'cil ~':m great abundance, while tamal'incils, with a fnt,it resemMillllg beams, alhc;l1rnC!l plentifully in a wiM stilite. There is wls@ a l)a1iive ]mi , beM'i!ng III cle1·igntful aroma but flavou rless, which hws the IllppeW])IllEl@e 0I @l!U' Fea0h. !Pineapples grow abHnC!latnt in the southern islands, IDHt lihe [nlJ.,~t is n0t illS fine as in other countries, and, being dlllngel1011s te elllt in tlliatt cli'm aie, [s n@t

THE PHILIPPINES.

203

cuttiva;ted, except for its leaves, which have delicate fi bres utilised in t he mltnufacture of It costly texture known ItS pina and worn very much by t he women of the weltlthy class.

Two kinds of lemons, the Pomelo orange, of very htrge size, and two or three smaller varieties, the custard apple, cit ron, breadfrui t, st rawberry of a;n inferior size and qultlity, wit h other fr ui ts peculiar to. the t ropics, all :lil.ourish here. The d~lrien, about the size of t he common pineappl e and delicious ea;ting, but bearing only once in twenty years, thrive in the western islands.

Numerous plants and herbs of medicinal value grow almost everywhere,

VIL LA q E ON MI N DA NA. O.

the most commonly used remedy being the bark of the dita t ree, which is used by the natives in ca,se of fever. From this is obtai ned Itn alkaloid called ditavne, which resembles. in a mild degree quinin e. From the flowers or the ylang-ylang is extracted a highly prized perfume.

The flora of the islands is rich in variety and magnitude. A general description of this, any more than that of the forests, cannot do it justice, 0 1' cc;mvey to the imaginary beholder but a slight portion of the exquisite pleasure of him who gazes on the virgillal landscape ' basking under t he magical influences of a tropical climate. On the island of Mindanao, which

204

THE FAR EAST.

means" Man of the Lake," grows the largest known1lower , which is often from three to four feet in diameter. '!rhe Fh[I~IPIJines ha>'e few, [if any, of the barren lava plai ns of Hawaii; none of the bare, desolalte shoJ'es of northern coasts; but from the great storehouse of natural treasures of Luzon, the largest and richest of these IJearls of the Pacific, to the bundreds of smaller gems, all resple.n dent in a vegetation which clothes not only the plains and the lowlands but t he mountw~ns <lJnd the seash0l1es

G l~ NERAL

V IEW OF lLQ l LO.

with a verdure of mwny hues and never-fading gloss, here the flo rist fi nds bis paradjse, and the botanist bis wonderlamd.

Tbe staple food raised is rice, though in some localities maize holds thi. a good second. Potatoes, peas, and wheat are cultiv<IJted successfully on the highlands. So rapidly do crops grow fun d malttwe th, t it is a comm.01i1 sight to see three stages of growth existiug on the same plot of land, tIle planting, cultivati ng, and harvesting going on in altermttion accordingly as the wor k had been begun.

The extensive coast li nes of the islands afilord mlbny goom luwbours, Mae

"

TH E PHILIPPINES.

205

best lm0wN of which are Manih and Sual, on the west shore of Luzon ; Lloi!lo and Cebu, the ports of cities 'by those names situated res pectively on the east side of t he islands of Panayand Cebu. The Hrst n<Llneel is one of the HiJ1est in the worlel, and is about one hunch'eel and twenty mil es in cireum~erence . In stormy weather safe anchorage is to be had off Cavite, about eight miies ];)y wate~' to the southwest, which place has become noted as the seeNe of Admiral Dewey's first victory in the capture of the capital.

H@ilo, next in importance, is about two hundred and fifty miles in a dil'ect Lime from Manila . Studded with bays and creeks formin g natural harb Otll'S, still tlue western coasts of Cebu , Negros, Mindoro, and the Palawan

MA N IL A ST R t:lEfll) RA I NY

S ~ ASO N.

]slalFlds have no sUlfe anchorages for any but small craft, the water being sh, !low, wit h many dangerous reefs.

Whhle some of the streams teach the sea at flat or swampy places through man:)' Bl0~lths, others have cut their way through passages d@~'l1 Wecipit@us hillsieles, mak~Ng deep, narr@w defiles with steep banks f Norway, only here, instead of naked N0t 1'l,n hke t he i.icturesqne fj ords @ clliiffs @ l l"@cks, atre eaTth-cli,ffs clothed wit11 the glossy foliage of a vegetati01l mav@urer1 with the w,ul"IDth , nd moistme of the equatorial zone.

Cilwmg t@the great leNgth of the grcD1ilP, which ex tends from within about i(!)1n- lllegrees of the Eql'lator to within the same cli"stance of the Tl'@pie @f <CaNeeF, the is'l ands have c@lilsirileraMe variet:), of elimate, t hough

206

THE F AR EAST.

'without losing its tropical influences . The Spanish ironically d.escri1>ed the seasons as "six months of mud, six months of dust, SL'C months of everything ! " In fact, there are wha;t a re denominated the "wet" and " dry " periods, with a gradual change :h'om one to the other. Taking tfue vicinity of Manila as an example, the hottest season is from March to June, the highest temperature coming in ' the I)"lOnth of May, before the rainy season sets in. The thermometer then registers from 8(j) to ](j)(j) degrees in the shade. The coolest time is in December and J a;nuary, when the temperature stands from 60 to 65 degrees at night, and. seldom a;bove

MA N ILA STR E ET , Il:A JNY, SEASON .

75 in the daytime. From November to February the sky is bright, the atmosphere cool and invigomting, the weather delightful.

The northe1'l1 islands lie in the track of tile typhoons which sweep 0ver the China Sea, and may be expected a ny time between May a;nd November, being the most frequent during July, Augu t, and September. Iu 1875 a storm of th is kind destroyed nearly four thoua;nd houses, Iild hUed three hundred people. Earthquakes are of common occurrence, a;nd otiten do vast amounts of damage to proper ty and cause many' deaths. One in 1 863 destroyed the larger part of Ma;nila, and killed or injured over three thousand of the inhabitants.

During the heavy raills t he rivers are swollen so as to overflow their ba;nks, and the lakes overrUll the slllToundhng COllntL,}" the 'floods often. ,I

TI-IE PI-IILIPPINES.

207

doing great damage. A tidal wave in 1897 swept over the islallJ of [,e.ÂĽlle, causing ecx:tensive destruction of life and property. The rainfall at Marula aVieFages from seventy-five to one htmdred and twenty inches a yewr, while ~n the southern portion of t he irchipelago the meelium is one hunch'eel and forty-tw0 inches, or almost twelve feet . From local reasons e<msidera:bJle diifference is often known, amI the earth of one island may be dry 1IInd parched for long intervals, while another in sight may be deluged w<itlh raioID. . A motmtarn rwnge sometimes m>llkes a grewt variation, while those 0f tb.e Al'chipelago bordering on the Pacific have a climate quite the 0FFos~te of those next the Indiwn Ocean. If one cared, he could move albotit so as to escape the rains altogether. Though fever, malaria, and other diseases, peculiar to a tropical clime >lire prevalent, the Philippines are not as u])Iheallthy as might be ~xpected. The foreign-born citizen finds tb.e heat very oppressive, and un.der its influence he soon finds his northern energy slipIJing away from him. vVomen and children feel most the dangers of the climate. Still, with good sanitary conditions about tb.e U0WllS, alid a clearing away of large tracts of the dense and malariabl'eediling forests, the ArchipeJago will, no doubt, show a far better health condition.

The islands hruve been aptly termed the" Pearl of t he Orient," but it is all unIJ@ lished ilewel, which only American energy can bring to its propel' hllStre. 'Ehe~r geographical position being such as not to bring them in the dfurect liNe 0f c@mmunicwtion with t he Fwr East, as has been the case with 'the i1Iaw1IIuan Islands, the Archipelago has long remained unrevealed to tb.e rest @f tb.e world. It Iilas been a realm by itself, an object of strange aceolillts aNd mysterious traditions even as known at H ong Kong six hundred miiles away. Here, unknown wnd unckeamed of elsewhere, h,l,ve been ellaeted over anc,t¡ @ver S0me .of the m@st cne] wrongs and darkest t ragecillies in the checkered drama of colonisation, Spanish secrecy and resistance t@ progress wlways holding iu the dark this laRd of the distant seas.

TY PE S

Olo~

i\[ALAYS .

CHAPTER II. TH E P EOPLE OF T HE P HILIPPINES .

X TENDING as the Archipelago does over a vast extent of surface, it is not strange that t he islands are inhabited by malDY races of people. No better beginning into a d escr~pti on of their ethnological relations can be made than by dividing them in to four distinct races, le,wing for further consideration, if one cares to continue the subject t @ completion, nearly a hundred subdivisions and tribes of mixed bloo(1.1 The Aetas or Negritos (" little Negroes "), which are [o,md in the mountains and backgrounds of every l)eoflled isl!l!EHil , , j'e no ~l o ubt the descendants of t he original inhabitants, - the one race holding supremacy over the en tire Archipelago before the invasions of the foreign elements, During t he centuries of Spanish occupation they have ch!l!nged the least of any race, and wbether it was Moslem, Malay, Chinese, J a]>!l!nese, 0 11 Spaniard, t hey have never been conquered. This has not been from any great prowess as warriors, for t hey are cowardly. Instead of ,tanding up in a square fight, t hey retreat to the deme j11l1g1es, aFld b om bebind bl1eastworks of t rees shoot down with l)oisoned arrows whoever has !l!ttempted to invade their rendezvous. As the tide of civilis,ttion a,pproached, they retreated in to t he darker depths of t he wiliilerness. 11his situa:tion Ili:lJS existed longer t han written histor y C!l!U show.

E

1 'uch read Cl'I:i arc I'eferred to ' Vall ace1s

208

II

l't'1allu,y .A l'citipelago."

THE PHILIPPINES.

209

The Negrito is dark-skinned, many of them as black as a t.rue Negro, of which they !l;re doubtless descended ; his hair is short and curly; he is slight in stature; is content to clothe his body in a, sin gle gar me nt made of the bark of a tree and covering only his loins; be is a fleet nmner, and can climb a tree like a monkey; he is low in intellect, and cannot be domesticated to an extent which will make him a t rusty servant; in religion he has a sort of spirit worship, which teaches him to be respectful to his friends and reverential to the dead. The man is far from good-

NEGIUTOS.

l00king, though hale in appearance until he begins to show bis age, which is early in llife, when he soon lDecomes emaciated in person.

The woman is not superior to the mam, and is satisfi ed if her dress is simply a short skirt about the hips. The Negrito maid, with her fi a,shing black eyes, wRd coal-black, closely knotted hair, and well-roullCl ed figure, is picturesque if not pretty; but the matron of a few years later is far from attractive.

They live in ba.mboo huts, and subsist mostly on fish, RU ts, and mountai,n rice, alternated with beef when they can find a cha.nce to steal the catHe of the planters. They make a feint at agriculture by scratching the surface of the ground and scattering about a little seed. If it grows

210

THE FAR EAST.

it means more rice for them; if it fails, then a little more stealring will be required. In this respect they are disagreeable neighbours. The whole race is decreasing slowly, and before the advance of a progressive civilisation must eventually fade away.

The Negritos were formerly masters of the island of Luzon, and held power over the. Malays, who came first about eight centuries ago. As the latter race rnclleased, they were forced to retire to the highlands 3Jnd leave to their usmpers the valleys and rich lowlands along the coast. So far and successfully did the newcomers spread out that to-d ay t heir descendants number not less than five millions, and are the m0st inteHigent â&#x201A;ŹJf the islanders.

Accordin g to tradition, their early ancestors emigratecl. from the Malay peninsula, south of Asia, and fi,r st settled on some of the larger islands to the east of t he continent. They fowncl. al.ready there t he Polyue ian ' race, but these hutter , un IDle to cope with them, escawedl to the smaller islands of the NAT I VE WAURIOR }~nOl\l I NTER rOR OF l\IJ NJ) I\NA O .

Pacific, going as far north as Hawaii. The two races are enti'r ely distinct. ]11'0111 Sumwtra, Jiava, and other islands, these Malayans eventually reached the Pbili']llp.iJnes, settling principally 0 11 t he two htrgest. In the course of time they were overpowered by the Spaniards, whose excessive tY~'anny has so tempel'eel their warlike spirit as to make the pFesent Tag<tlogs the m,jldest an(!] most submissive of the semibarbarous races.

The men are seldom much n.boye fi ve feet in stature, of supple figlll'e,

THE PEIILIPPINES.

211

bright eyes, high cheek-bones, and countemmces that display ve ry little personal spirit or character. The richer class dress showily in trousers, with blouses worn outside, both garments made of Manila hemp, or abaca.

Another suit of silken textme is made of a fabric woyen f rom the leaf of the pin.eapple, and called pina. Of a white or vivid yellow, t his is often inteFwo';'en with blue or green silk, and sometimes -embroidered with flowers.

They encase then' feet in sandals or patent leather shoes, unless the owner {)hooses to go barefooted, which is not consjdered bad f orm. A hat plaited from the ?Lito or liana, ornamente<il. with ·a wide band ·of emlim'lidered cloth, or fancy work in silver, covers the head.

His poorer brother imitates his style, but his clothes are made of a coarser material, and there is more likelihood that his feet will have uo shoes.

The women are better natliuTed and more viva{)ious . tharn the men, but as a rule are not pretty. pnJl. II' (' ( NQ (' U(TIT GIRL .

Like the females· of all warm climates, they have a tendency to obesity as they grow older, though they a re more industrious than their male consorts.

Bright colours delight her, a skirt of burning red, with a many-h uell undervest, over which is worn the waist of silken texture, dark, and ornamented with the gay and beautiful pina, fringed with embroidery, thrown ],ightly across the shoulders. The raven hair falls from under a snowy mantle, while the toes, but not the instep of the brown foot, are encased in

212

THE FAR E AST.

a heelless slipper. The Philippino is an apt scholar, but indolent by nature; loves music, but is sadly lacking many of t he finer sensibilities of a higher civilisation. Long centuries of Spanish oppression leave him <iliscon tented with his lot, and ever looking for am opportunity to strike a blow in retaliation, as well he might after t he neachings along such lines for mamy generations. A voluntary act of yielding in amy way to him, h0wev;er wen meant 1lhe intenti<!n1, is looked uIDon by him as am indication of weakness on the part of his . benefactor , and a fitting opportunity to move on the aggressive. Th e Spaniards long since learned this, and it has had something to do with their relentless meaS1!lres .

The race is s¡t ron g m family affections, loves children, but 'the maj01'ity are superstitious to a great degree, t hough the only people on the islands who have the . credit of being converted to t hat Christianity spread so assiduously by t he fonowers of Arneta, the pi01'leell of the Catholic Church in the iIPl~iil.L A W EALT HY HA L F-CAS T E P11ILIP PI NO LADY. ippines. Among the ideas of their original reli gion is a belief that when the per son is asleep his soul is absent from his body, anu to awaken a sleeper sudden11 will not give t he spirit time to retul'l1 to its proper place. The Philippino has been described on the whole" as an incomprehensible phenomenon, the mMnspl'ing of ,,-ho. e lin e of thought and the guiding moti\7e of whose actions have never yet been, 'and perlutps never will be, discovered." A~ter yed's of apparent faithh lln ess, he may, without any valid reason, tUI'll against his master, hesitating at no crime . This tr!llit may have beem b01'n ill'herent in

THE PHILIPPINES.

213

him; it may have been largely acquired from the influences surrouuding his unhappy life.

Above the pUl"e native in intellect, better looking, more interesti ng, in one case with a higher grade of morality, all1d with greater influence in business and politics, are two classes of half -breeds, or mestizos. The first .a;nd better element of these are the descendants of native mo thers who married Spanish husbands. This i s really a fin e race, though, if the alliatnce with European blood is not kept up beyond one generation, t he distinctive traits begin to fade away. As a rule the mestiza girls are very beautiful, with soft complexions, white teeth, bewitching black eyes, graceful deportment, and they are noted as fin e dancers. Many of them 1I1re educated in the convents, !lind have good musical tatlent, which is everywhere encouraged .

The second class of mixed bloods are of Philippi no-Chinese extFaction, native mothel"s and Chinese fathers. These are ca,lled mestizos - Chinese, and the men of this race are among the shrewdest merchants a,nd MESTI ZOS. most skilful mechanics, hut they have been troublesome factors in the affairs of government, and more than all other classes combined have been instrumental in the revolts and upl"isings which have been so frequent. They were the original " FelDels," whom others, equally diss!lltisfied with Spanish l"ule, hesitated to j@~ll ill a fight for freedom, fe!\Tring them more than the Spaniards.

About the beginning of the sixteenth century, or just before the Spanish discovery of the islands, a warlike, pira,tical people ovelTan the island of Basil!lln, in the southern part of the Archipelago, and soon spread to the adjoining islands, sweeping them clear of the native race wherever they

214

THE FAiR !El.A:ST.

went. The Spanish c3Jlled them JJ'lfOTOS, or M@ol!s, IlInd. they 3Jre s~l'l~p@sed to have been descended from the Mussw1ma,n i1DY3Jks 0] B0rmeo. '!Fl1emhistory here is one almost continH3Jl war:liare w~th the ]la't i,e !Faces llI]ld Spaniards, until the latter were glad to c@mpromise witll s@ f@l'm.licil3JIDie ilia enemy. For over two centuries their war-jli\lllks c3lrl!iea terr@l' t@· tlli.e inhabitants of all parts of the Archipelago. Wh01e t@Wl1S were 1·3Je:ed., plantations ravaged, and the people dl'iven back mt@ the [@rests . S@

SULU PRAU.

complete was their work of devastation th3Jt ool'e poverty [0lli.@iWecl rn. tille paths of their raids . .

But it was not alone for pltloJ1der that this was done. WIle1!l tihe (lJhU'l:cl~ of Spain undertook to conve rt to its fol'l owing the 13J1!laticall MiQs~em, it stilTed up 3J people it could neither l~elJsl!lade nor JPllt a@wlil. '['he li!.3Jill'ed of the Mussulmans for the Ohristians was eCiJ.~lail t@ t1h t @f tlile f01ilQwers or Mahomet in the religious wars whicID. del~lgea Europe in lUll:)' M@od. :Helle, in the South Seas, was enaoted the S3Jme 1i>i1'lter stri£e, aIDa, as rtjlli.el;e, lil@ !'e3J~ victory W3JS gained on either side. iJ!I@remam, in bris "Eiis~ory @I the iPl~i!l-

THE PHnIPPINES.

215

ippines," says: " From the time the Spaniards first interfered with the Mussu!lmans there was continual warfare. Expeditions ag,~in st t he pirates were constantly being fitted out by each s~lccee ding governor . Pi riLeY was iudeed a;n incessant scourge and plague on the colony, and it cost the Spamiards rivers of blood and millions of dollars only to keep it in check."

In the present century, the Musswmans appeared even in the Bay of ManNa. There are persons yet living who have been in Mussulman captivity. There are hundreds who still remember with ang uish the

SU LTA N OF SU L O I NTER VIEWING EU HOl'EAN VI S IT ORS .

insecurity to wh.ich th.eir Ii ves a;nd property were eX:pos~d. The Spaniards were quite unable to cope with sllch a prod igiolls calamity. The coast villagers bHilt forts for their defence, and many ,m old stone watch-tower is still to be seen 011 Hhe islands south of Luzo,n.

This race now extends over Mindanao I sland and the Sulu group, about ninety islands in alil, with. a popwa;tion of 110,000 on the Sulu Sulta;nate alone. The population of Mindanao is unknown. There 1IIre about 125,000 of the fll1ith in Luzon.

These people are generally ra;ther prepossessing in ll1ppea,rance, the men very robust, lithe, and active. Brave and bold when occasion demands, they

)

THE FAIR.

216

EAS~I.',

a r e yet careful and cOlilservative .i!l1 tilltei,,' phuns,

'ili'key are

~ea.dess,

slciillm:l'l

navigato rs, amil, armed with swords, la111ees, k~'ises, ~nei'L' bc;)(d,i es [(!n'0teetecil! with shields and armour, , n of thei,r own mwke, are i1i0rmitit' b~e aclrv.ersaries in battle,

All m ales 0ver sixteen years of age are 01>1iged tCil i!>eatr

arms, and t h ey have an IlIrmy of over twenty tTh.0USatnril 0111 the Suol"l gl'CilU}j> a lone, Fond of bright colours, both men and W0melil rilress sO I1!le~vh at eiatID01'mtely , 1rke fCilrmer . wear tight -iiitt ing Ineeenes 0~ a scarlet kue, aJ w a~stc@at, a nd! jacket w~tk smaH sleeves, ' i[!Ji filimee garmelil,ts dec0rmtea ~1Jh

r0WS Cilf furigM

1>~~tt0111s,

ama

h e C0vers h is h ead wi,t!lill t!Th.e T mkisk tl!l'r ban; t he latter elilcase t!hevr m0d'es in a gI0ve-ntti'lilg bociliice, 00veL'ed witH ar Bes<]~l e desigms, and! which is m et BiY tHe baggy dual n etih er gatrm el1lts tha t seem a patrt of 1;)lli.eir fmirtill, Olil theiT h earils tikey dlr aw a

}j>ec.~l,ja/ll

ID.00d, cmnecil t he

ma~le with a long s]d!lt which fallis aown

jabtbb, amJj

MOHAm"<:D, SUL'JlAN OF SULU .

the siriles wililelil l1Cilt lh.eM u }j> ill1~ler the awms, 'ili\he M0r0S ha~re a: iegenril! tlil.81t

man was a g ian t ill his emrly days, mnd t h8lt he is grariLu8l]ly gJJ0W[];}g sm all er , though his miud ll1Creases in power as tine b 0ril~ de01'eases, Thew staple crops are rice, sugar-can e, m atize, indigo, atllcil 00fi'ee, 'Dhe [priiJl0iJila,~ export is pearl s, to secure whioh t hey o~ten d~ye a 1~,undQ'eGl meet, The Sulta,n, or "Statlll[ess One," is the desp01Ji0 head O] the StMe a.nd Church, His palace, constnlCtea of wood, statntils the eel1tl'e 0] rtl~e new catpita,l of Mayl~un, ,lIe displays c0n sidel' hIe iP0mp. ancll! lives in ease atJilGl luxury, StllT0un(l]'ed my a thl'ong 0f sultan as, This poweL' llOlas mat]]y sl aves,

rn

o

"

THE PFIIUPPINES. I

217

ca,ptives obta~liled in their wars, or children born of them. With this fanattical people it wouM seem the American government is likely to have its most serious trol1@le, when brought into direct contact with them. At present an a rmistice or compromise has been arranged by which they are t o l'emain under thei.r local a uthority, but ac kmowledging fealty to the l1epublic, How 10lilg this will last or how cred itable it is to republican ideas of govern ment remains to be seen.

On t he southern islands are the visCtyCts, a half-breed people composed of the bloods of the Taga10gs atlild the Mussllimans or Sulus. They are a suillen, satvage, thievish race, wmose alilcestors were atmong tl~e criminals of the 10wJa,lilfils of Negros amd the sugar plamta,ti0ns of LUZ0l1, dri~Ten out by the Spa,lilish amd married to SU[1ll wom.en. Th ey a,ppeal' to illave inherited all 0] the W0FSt qual.i ties of their pr0ge\il;itors without alil~ 0li theia' better Na·t ures.

Tille S}'>a,nisIQ ha"e had seFious troul~le witih them, a,l1cl the wai'S at1'e rec0rds ®] the most cruel cleeds 0n bo~h IGOHnQlI'ES. sirlles.

Am01ilg t he less Numerous raees may be meliltiol1ed "t he Gaddanes, of the ~~0 \'t11westenl part 0f i!L1,lzon. This is at dadc, pihtuQ'esque people, w;e3IF~mg [ong ha,i1'; taking t he scaips of tbe'ir victill1S in war, a.nd offering them as a marriatge d0wry and proof of their v, lour. They still meet amnua,l[y tl1n de.r Vhe bllFsting bmcls of the fi.re-tree, aNd offer t hei'l' collecti®ns 0f tro]Jlliies 0f wilIr with l'tlde rituatl rites to thei r gods.

A®0tlQer mce stiill 1QnSilfucl,uec1 is t11e I gorrotes, of the nqrthern half of 1!ae satIlile islwlila . These jDeople are coppe1'-liJJeled, l!i!1~e the North American

218

THE FAR EAST.

Indians, and, like them and the Gaddanes, take the scalp of those they slay in battle. They are pagans of a fanatical type, but conceal theu' gods and g raven idols in the caverns of the mountains.

The Tinguianes live in the territQry of EI Abra, in Luzon, a,nd, while professing a certain sort of allegIance to a civilised government, hold t heir privilege to live under laws of their own making and chiefs of 1ihei~' @wn race. The head of the village, on accepting his 0ffice, swears !htimse1f by the following queer oath: "May a blast of the tempest wither me, may the lightning kill me, or the alligator ea,t me while [ sleep, if I am unfaithful to my trust."

Even a partial enumeration of the different peoples, each with its peculiar characteristics, would . not be complete without mention of the Clrinese, who have come early a,nd late, of whom there are now, in spite of many wholesale massacres ana most violent measures of sUI]jlpression, someth in g like a IGORROTE PlPES. hundred thousallld. They have secret organisations, guilds, and oourts, whose objects are to alford them snch protection as may 'be secured from a power unfriendly to them, while they have representatives in the government. They have inter married to a considerable extent, and in tll'is way more than all ' others gained a foothold. As I shall tre3it of them quri.te fully in my description of the Spanish conquest, no more Reed be saia here.

The population of the Philippines is supposed to be in tb.e vicinity of eight million, the bulk of which belongs to the native element, w~tJh its eighty odd t ril)es scattered over a hundred islands. H e who would learn very much of them from personal observation must travel extensively, and often with every precaution. against danger to his life. It will be observed from what is written that the Philippinos, or descendants of the Malays, are the only race or tribe t he Spanish have succeeded in bringing into anything like a state of subservience to tb.e method~ of a civilised government ana church. B~lt the light of Chl'istiauity fell on them [~ke

THE PHILIPPINES.

219

the burning embers of freedom smoulderin g to darkness, and t he powers of t he state were huge pilla.rs mised on the ruins of that liberty so dear to them. They follow ed but slowly and with averted fa.ces the way lTI3!rked out by the black-robed Fftthers of the Far "Vest, with eyes closed to the prospect a,h eftcl, and t he clark Inquisition behind:

CHAPTER III. TTIE AN IM.lL KlN GD O;\[.

NLIKE t he island of Borneo, the Pnilippines arre not speci3Jl1ly' favoured with animal life. There 3Jre few wild creartures, and only three that are reall y antagonistic to hum3Jn life. These 3Jre the wildcat, wild boa,r, which the natives hold in cOl1sider3Jble fea,r, , nd the cambao, a species of bufblo, drungerous only when al'oused. Wild '\;)c;>ars are found the most num erous on the isl3Jnd of Tawi Tawi. Domesticwted hogs are to be found in every native village, looking ,iery much like thell' kindred of the wilds. Three or fou r vlLrieties of deer roam the mounta.in sides, affording excellent hunting for th e sportsmen and a good portion of the meat eaten. Monkeys abound in t11e f(!)l'ests, am1 among the seyer< I. species is one of a pure white.

The most impor tant animal is the . ca.rahao, or buffa.lo, which is eas ily domesticated if caught yotmg. St3Jlking the wild c3Jr3Jbao by moonlight, creeping upon the unsuspecting brute from behind a tam e rullimal of its kind trained for the purpose, is considered the rrurest sport of 1Vae Philqppine hun tsman . When close upon his grume t he hunter lerups f~om nis covert, and with his machete (stout knife) hrumstrin gs his victim w11;h two swift, unerrin g blows. H e kn ows tlHlit jf he misses his life will have to pay for his mistwke, for the wounded buffalo is a terrible enemy . Its shor t, sharp horn is a weapon to liJe dreaded, a.nd t here is nothill'\g sh0rt of death or victory in ,t fight with a carahao.

In its domestici\,ted state the carabao becomes the plougn-horse of the primitive pl3Jntel'. Hitched to a plough of t he most crud e pattern, being simply a long sharpened stick for point, fastened hy ralita.n thongs !l<t IOn angle of fOJ'ty-five degl'ees to a pole wh 'ch &nswel'S ÂŁ01' beMn, with a perpendj cular pi ece lashed on for a handle, it move, s1 0wl~y over the groulld.

H e is faithful to the sli o¡hte. t command, but c!llnnot work dming the hottest part of the day, and he C3Jnnot live wi thout his dail y mud batJh.

U

220

TEE PHILIP PINES.

221

H e performs his a,blutions by throwing himself ' on one side in some miry p(l)ol, r0lling and plunging about until he is plastered wit h the sticky substaJl1ce. When he has dried himself in the sun he loo ks like an ugly image of clay in his mud shell. Natme in t his way provides him with a means of safety from the stings of millions of insects which swarm about him as he feeds among the rank vegetation. He is an ampb.ibious animal, and gets a consideraJble pa,rt of his food from a plant growing at the bottom of streams. If docile and attentive to his native master, he

CARABAOS TRAN SPOlHrlNG ARMY STORES.

has an overmastering fear of foreigners, and the mere sight of a white man has been known to stampede every buffaio in town. The meat of tihe cara1>a0 is eaten by the na.tives.

Besides the species just described, tbere is another kind of buffalo on tbe isla.nd 0ÂŁ Miimloro, which is a cmious Mtle lbnimal ],iving only in the dense jungles, and called the tima;ra~b. It is a morta.l enemy to tbe carabao, and wiJl attack the other upon sight, generatl1y coming off tIle victor. Its flesh is geod eatti~)g, burt it cannot 1>e t!lJmed, and is seldom hunted, on account of its ferociousness.

222

TrIEl FAR EAST.

Wild cattle are fO~lll dl 0111 several lslalllGls, an<il t he cil0m:estiearte<il kirute aTe extensively raised for beef, which is 0f ]lOG1' Ci[1!lality, 0wing to a; cerba;~Jil h erb on which they feed . What is t rue 0:ÂŁ tae beef 1ltlP]l~ies t(i) the flesh of fish and fow l, all of which has a G lisagr eeaJble taste to the Americal!l a;1!l~1 European. The cattle are a small, lmllliplliacl\ied variety, 0n a few is[anGls used for dranght purposes. Milk is e:verywhere very scaJ'ce, aJildl bes~l butter and cheese not t o be had.

Though not natives, wild horses are met wi,t h in di,fferent ~arts 0:ÂŁ the Arch ipelago . They ar e descended ]1'01l!l tue Andalusian h (i)rse aJJild t ae Chinese mare, mere ponies il!l size an<il nClt used as beasts 0] bUl'l7den. Stiilil,

VILLA GE ON 'fiRE ISLAND OF GU Il\J AR AS.

they are strong fo r their size, and quite fleet of fOGt. Tlliey a:re l1@W made to draw the str eet-cars of ManHa, amI, sure-footed arlil<il swift, notlilli.ng save a strong h ead wind seems capable of st(i)ppiBg them , linl)lt t rmffie lfuas to suspend while the gale lasts.

Other domestic animals are d0gs, cats, pigs, g0ats, a;n<i\ liIilon~eys, a~l (i)l which are to be seen in a wil d! st an,e , The 'first two are ['11~eri011 ii'll size and looks to American cats and dogs, the fOL'mer beil1g JiJilamlted! Thy a peculiar twist to the tail .

Of reptiles an<il venomous insects the re is a s~lq'illei,t . 'iJi'he llil(i)st JW@IiI!l!inent a:re begs, lizards, Sll WK.eS, centitPerlles, en@l'l!llellS spill1e'l's, ta.1'!IIntl1~as,

THE PHILIPPINES.

223

h or nets, beetles, ants, horned toads, and huge bats 1U numerous colonies .

Some of t he last named measure fi ve or six feet from tip to t ip of their wings, and they have bodies as large as cats. Europeans hunt them for their soft skins, ' while natives eat thei.r flesh . Excepting the l1wnapo, which haunts the rice-fields, and whose bite is fa,tal if not immediately ca;uterised, the snakes are usually harmless. Mighty boa-constrictors are the kings of serpents in the Philippines, but are seldom seen, and t hen not so much dreaded as the manapo with its deadly sting. Leeches a re

STR'EEfI' - CARS IN MANILA.

a;nother disagreeable inha;bitant of t he wild woods ansi stagnant pool , l eaping upon the intruder whell least expected, beginning to fill up on the blood of its viotim at Ollce. Crocodiles of great size swilrn in the bodies of fresh water and streams, though until one has tasted h uman flesh it is not muoh feared. But once one of them has broken t he rule amI becomes .a man-eater, he is the most dreaded creature known in iVIindanao . Cobras are occasionally seen in Samar and Mindanao, wIllie small-sized pythons are found almost everywhere, and ' atre kept for sale as rat catchers in the laJlger towns.

224

THE iF All EAS'F.

Ants and mosquitoes are t he greatest pests of the islands. No bed is lacking its mosGluito net, wit!I'lOut wliieh thel'e W (!)U~ !!I be n@ sl ee[~ mGlF ;the occupant . There is a species of white ants which feed upon d.ry wood in every shape and condition, eating into ]Urnitl1re, household urten si~ s, wnd even the frame of the building in which the owner lives, actually ewhng him @ut (j)f ~(j)mse amd' home. The natives t ell strange and mamvelloHs st@ries 0:ÂŁ t heir depTedatiolls. It is related tllat an elegant chair, owned by a wealthy mwn, WIleD l')l'j,zec!l ~t fC!Jl' its associations with the nobility of his nwtive land, sudrlenly .c01lapsed as a visitor sea,ted himYOUNG WJ LD GOAT. self upon it . On exa,mm ati011, it was fou nd that the whole stnlctmre was liI (!)th~n g bH.t a sheH, tiThe wb..~te ants having eaten away . all else. They had not been seen, for though blind themselves, t hey always manage to keep Gl ut of sight, wor bug sil ently in the d,uk until t he hardest piece of wood, wit hout showing any signs of t he havoc wrought, is but a husk.

The greatest pest is yet the locust, which resembles a large grasshopper, and comes every few years in vast num bers, sW;l,nning over every green field until laying bare and desolate acres on acres of growing crops.

The hemp plantation is exempt from t heir depred.wtions, but nearly every other crop is in CA'U,O nmn. danger from them. Upon the, approach of t hese ravenous ere3Jtures in grewt clouds, winging theil' flight from plaee to plaee, the nwtirves assemble 3Jbout the threwtenedfield, and make ali the noise they can, or make a dense smoke by burning da,mp fuel. These efforts IDay be partiwlQy

I

"

THE PHILIPPINES.

225

\

successful, but a locust flight is always marked by a wide path of ruined crops.

Still, it is "an ill wind that blows nobody good," and th~ poorer class of inhabitants consider the locust a lux ury for their table, and they lay t heir plans 1;0 catch all they can. In some cases the parish priest has been besought to pray tha,t this scourge of t he plant.er might come often and stay long wi,tlh tillem.

In ]851 some martins were imported fl:om China by th e government, it being claimed that they were great enemies to the locust. Th e newcomers were received wi th great enthusiasm, and treated with the utmost veneration. They Ilave thrived well in their new home, while the locusts have not seemed t@ lose atnything by them.

Mosquitoes have enemies in the newt amd chacon. The last is a sort of lizard, homely and ugly-looking enough to frighten away even mosquitoes. The newt is liked by the inhabitants, and is spared with par" >:ACOCK . ticular attention . A shy (}1'eatme, he has a peculJiar haJbit, if caught by the tail \ of shaking that appendage off and scampering away minus the ornament. Fish of numerous killds swim in the surrounding, seas, while sharks add zest to the excitement of ' the fisher.

If showing rather an unfavourable inventory of mammals and carnivorous animals, the Philippines are fortun ate in the number and variety of bj,rds, No less thM~ six hundred species are found on the islands. Some of them are @f rare beauty, but among them 3111 t here is llot ,a sweet-voiced s@ngster. Tile g3lme birds 3!re snipe, pheasant, pigeons, ducks, woodcocks,

22@

THE F AEt EAST.

and other waherf0wls. Hawks, crames, her@ns, [l.Dal'F0ts, aJlld ]larQllIuets are peculiar to the Al'chipelago . Roman ic acc@unts aFe gi>ven @I strange birds and t heir habits. Amomg them it is toM @] a bFigbt l~ttle lliil'tIl til t immediately dies upon being captm-e<il.; another is a smalil, daJrK-c010l!l>ved bird which builds its nests in the tails 0:£ wild h@Fses; a,n@thel' ihtas the colours of the rainbow, and can imitate the cl'ies @f an others 0! tlile ~eat.h­ ered t ribe; still another is a pigeon with a crimson sptash @n ~ts breast as if t he blood had gathered there from a WQuntii. 'Fhe <iI.'t'lSKy·J'meQ I cr@w, known the world oveF, t he brillia,nt coclmt00, the saucy bngJiishml, arnd the poet's turtledo"l'e are all found heFe. There is a species @f swift w.b.@se nests are highly valued 'as an article of food. These ai'e m.ade from tJb.e salivary excretions comil)g from the builder, and! are foun<il. in caves 01' on the sides of steelj cliffs, where it is <il.angerous for man h@ clrimb. The first nest for the season made by the bird!, l!lsuaill1y in IDecember, is !.lluFe m' its material, and when dry bec0mes hal'd and .looks like glue. It is claimed to be worth its weight in' gohl. But after the biFd has been Fobbelil ONce or twice she begins to include for eign matter in its constlmcti@ll. Nesthunting is a paying vocation, the Chinese being the pFillcipal Imyers.

At night, during the dry season, very briil1'iamt fireflies ID.@ver amd fiutter around some of the native trees like moths arrol!ll1d a caudae, un il tile entire foliage is illuminated as if by th0usands of tilny l·amlPs sway-ilng ~lil and out among t he branches, making it a fascina,ting picture,

VrLLAGE ON

i'\ IINDA ~AO.

CHAPTER IV. SPANISH DISOOVERY AND DOMINION.

T the dawning of the sixteent h century, while the Philippinos were ind0lently whiliUng away lives that were less than scratches in the sand s of time, their greatest concern the state of the activity of the nea,r-by volcano, t heir onl y care to be prepared for the terrible typhoon which came wi;th. equ~noctial regularity, or the earthquake which mlS likely to l1>reak upon them as a thief in the night, and t heir most severe exertion a skirmish with some rival t ribe, Spain and Portugal were quarrelil!ing over the supremacy of the world . It mattered J1(~t if these European powers, in thei~' ignora,nce of the land and sea, dreamed not of these island kin ~lets. Their fates hung in the balance of these ambitious nations.

Anxi0us to court the mutual :!iav0urs of the rivwls, Pope Al exander VI., styled " the vicar of God on earth," sou ght to eud the intense feeling by issuing in 1494 a {lapal bull which declared that the globe should be ~lli'V i(!]ed int0 two hemisjDheres, the meridian of Cape Verde Islands and the same degree of longitude on the 0pposite side of the sphere to be the

A

227

228

THE FAR EAST.

dividing lines of the na~ion s . To Spain was decreed the western: hemisphere, while on Portugal was bestowed that on the east, each to lliwe the right to claim and colonise all hea,then lands they might discover wi.thin their respective allotmen ts.

The Spanish government, on the 10th of April, 1495, grant ed its royal sanction to all who wisbed to search for lands in the unexpl0l'ed ¡quarters of the globe. This done, in the excitement of the Cilis@0Vel'ies of C0\umbus, the rivalry was transferred from the courts 0f roya1ty to the shilps of the adventurous navigators, who pushed out more boldly than ever into the far

Itl VER SC E N I': ON MINDANAO.

and unknown seas. Among these was Vasco Nunez de Balllioa, wh0se rihiscovery on the 26th of September, 1513, of an ocean on the western shore of America created widespread interest . But if De Balboa gazed on the broad Pa@ific, it was fL-om the moU!ntai.n-top, wi.th his ships tal? IDehiE.d him, and how to get them across to t he newly discovered waters was a mystery and enterprise left to be solved by that prince of c~rcumnavigators, H ernando de M;aghallanes, a Portuguese n0ble by birth.

Maghaillanes had accompanied an expedition fitlled out IDy Fortl~gal 110 visit Moluccas or Spice Islands, with which that cOlmtl'y had opelled trade some years before, and on that voyage the islands of Tidor !lind Badau

THE PHILIPPINES.

229

were discovered, suggesting to him an inkling of what might lie in t he sea extendling into the Fatr East. But 1>ef0re he could carry ont his project of further exploration in t ba.t direction he had trouble with his king of such a serioHs nature that he renounced his birthright, and became, by narturalisattion, a citizen of Sp a in , and his name was chatnge~l to Ferdinand Magella;n. King Charles listened with favo ur to his scheme, and fi tted him out with five vessels, which set saJil on their long v0yage th e 10th of . August, 1519.

Crossing the Atlantic in four months, the little squadron reached Rio J aneiro safely on tke 13th 0f December. Standing t~en away to t he south, in the hope of fulding a passage to the Pacific, Magellan S00n found himself obliged to res0rt to strenU0US measures in 0rder to prevent atn outbreatk among his followers, some of whom objected -to the course t aken by him. Unfavourable weatheF succeeding, a sh0rt stop was made at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata (Silver River), then named Rio Solis, in honMI NDANAO WARlnOR. our 0f one of his ca;ptains who met his dea;th 1:Ih ere. 80011 after resuming his adn nee, one of Ids vessels was wrecke~ and another deserted him, so that only three ships of his little fleet were left him wheu, on the 28th of October, 1520, he entered the channel since known by his name, and on November 26th, stood bravely out into t he vast Pacific, with no knowledge of what lay in his pathway.

23 0

TillE FAR EASil.

F ollowi1lg a nor thwest erly direction , the Mariana, (!)r ['ad'];@lile I sla.Jil(ils, wer e discoveI'ecl on the l @th of March, 152l!, where a s1H~ rt st(!)J)l was ~nad e .

The natives crowded around th e sh 'ps ilil SUOll lilUln1!lel's that a ;fierce fight ensued, and as they seemed d e te r m~n ed to slleal everything t aey c@~lM, tl~ e pl ace was g iven the name which ill Elilgl~sh m.ea.l1S " ]it(!)b1!lel!s' ]sIa,nGls." Sailing westwa rd from this point , Miagelhm next reached one 0£ tne largest of t he Philippine I slands, Minaanao.

Anchor was cast at the mouth of BUttUl1lil Rive1', an<!l. the v.essel s la:¥ 0:fi£ shore, while cro wds of br0wu-tinted natives swa rm.ed ar(!)tIDdi them, belliev-

ing that the light-skinned new cornel'S in their mighty sh~ps wel'e messengers of ligh t co ming from the l!1Jnd of dawn. The da,y of aise0ve.ry illiavil11g been that dedicated to St. L!1JZfllnlS, iJhe risl, nd was rnJ.alilled in 'lil.Ci) lil0~U' (;)f th at patron of the Church, a name !1Jfterwflll'd! extendea jj(;) c(!)veur t lle w.m.(!)ie Archipel!1Jgo. The n!1Jtives proiVlllg friendly, the. Sp!1JIDiislli 1i0(;)tc 1~0ssessi @11 in the name of Charles 1. withol!lt bloodshed!, a.lila ~t beiug E astel! week they proceeded t o con seCl!!1Jte t he 1lew P(;)sSeSSiOlil il@ G(!)a and tlle Cwtln(!)llic Churoh wit h all the dazzling display 0f th e ritualist ~' j,tes .

Then , inducing t he BllhulIl1 chief to mec(!)me mis piil'(!)t, MiagelJl wn s8Ji~.e d 1;0 th e island of Cebu, whien he lilad been told was l'iCaeF <hh8JIl! t h e (!)ne fi1~'st seen. fliere he was greeted with a gl'ewter mun1!ler 0] l18Jtives than a efore, ,\

NA'Jl I VE T H EA 'DRE, TAG,U IG .

TillE PHI],I PiJ?INlES.

231

aJ~l 0f wil<Dm were armed with spefllrs aTl~l carried shields. A few words {reID tke iBntualll chief, l'lowever, convinced the inhabitai1ts that the visitors .we1'e dispo~ed to be friendly, when the chief of Cebu consented to a. treaty of IDeace, provi<;Iing it CQuid be carried out according to Cebuan idefliS of l'atification. This was to draw blood from the breast of each man, alU.d fr<Dm as m1l!ny natives, one to drink th1l!t of the other.

The cOlU.ditiOliJ. was accepted by Magel1lam, fIInd the ceremony denominated by the Spfllniarcls as Pacto cle sCllngTe, or " brotherhood of blood," completed, tmey proceeded to d'iselIJlbark. A hut was then erected on the shore, when t The impressive scene of mass followed. Looking on with awe, the king and his men accepted the bfllptism, and swore allegiance to Spain.

AU of this out slightly llnderstood by the natives, Spanish rule at once began.

Up(!)n 1eamilIDg tha;t ·theN' new subjects were at war with t he inhabitants ef an<Dther island, cal'led Magtan, Magellan offered himself and _men as al'l~es, seei>ng £urther visions <Df eonquest, and it might be of riches.

His offer was gladly accepted; but at the first~ skirmish with the enemy Magella;n was mortally- wounded by a poisoned arrow on the 25th of April, 1521', when time aHied :fi01'ces retreaked in disord er.

TUllS mise1'ably perished, at the. very zenith of his glory, a man worthy ef a Ibetter fate . In his untimely fate Spain lost her most illustrious and deserv~ng naviga;tor, Colh.u nb1!ls alQne excepted.

Both of these were not native-b<Drn, but ado]i>ted ci,tizens. The deeds of the great P ortuguese are c(!)Jnmem0rated by a mG)l1ument, erected, it is believed, where he fell on the islalU.d <Df Ma;gtalil. @a the sh(!)re 0] Celm is an obelisk markin g the beach where he first lamled on tme island, while in front <Df the city of Manila, 0lU. the le:fit 1JalU.k 0'£ t he lPasig ~iver, stands a third tes~i monial to the mell1lQry 0f t he ciIIisc0verer 0f the PllIDlippi'lles. \ ONe 0£ MageFlan's subordin3ltes assumed command of thk squadron, but this ~. eade~·, Duarte €Ie lBfIIl'bosa, wlith twenty-five of his cd\m panioTIs, W~tS kiihlecl at a; fualU.quet given by the KiJllg of Celm. A Sl~aniard named Serrano was a\0ne spare<;l of 3111 0n vl'le shore at the t ime, and he was h eld for a l!a;nSellil 0] two Cmnn0.1ilS from tln.e ships. [H tine Thope of d·riving the Span[a;llds 1;0 tbeID.' terms, tliJ.,js cajiltive was maucke(!l uiJil and dowlU. \the beach in [Jillaiml sight 0f ~[S C01!1~1JryrNen . !En aceordance with Serrano's Isignals, and ffiea.ring rIi(!) ~'emflli!n 101ilger in tha;t vicinity, tbe SlDaHiards weighed anchor,

232

THE F Aft EAS1'.

and sailed away from the island, leaving tllei,r ut:liÂŁorbullatne cOl]i!llFade /;0 alii unrecoraed fate.

The history of this expecUition, the fil'st voyage aF@~l l!lcrn ~he gl@be, and the greatest which ha,d beeN made at that time, o.s fililed iW~tih a series 01 misfortunes and m is,l;dvent11l'es which give it a melamc1i@iy iNterest.

Their numbers now reduced to less than one ihI ullcioreill, w~ich was t@o small to navigate the three vessels, after d,ivicilii'Ng the seamen betweel!l two of them, one was burned off the coast Qf Ceb~l. 'Fhe remmtlil,t @f the little sq uadron, which b.aa sailed so pr@tlaily out 0] tThe home 1jl@rt,

MOOTH OF RrVER C01RULO, PALAWAN.

now headed for the island of iBorne@, whieh was kmlwn to the P ortuguese.

On their way thither the island of Falawan was diisc0~Tereill, IDut s@me of the seamen were lost, t he ships were ser>arated, and adite1' 1'l!l any il1@lle misfortun es and great hardships, three yellirs iirom the tioroe @f tlilei1' departure a mere' handful of the original Rlluuhers - se,ven1Jeen sl~eletons of hardy men, ragged, and famished - wallked batrefooted t%Jl'@llgh tJb.e streets -of Seville ,t hat they might rea,eh the catb.eda'aJ] al!la @fie1' thew thanks to God for their safe return, bet0Fe receivillg jjb.e l~omaJge @ÂŁ their countrymen over the acb:ievemC)lts of 1lhebl' !.'emM:l~aJole v@yage.

Elcano, the commander, was gramted a l'lle IDel~sion, lCNiglil<tecl llDy the exultant King Charles, and given permission to I~l ace on rus coat of arms a globe havi,ng the mo,tt@, "P9'imt!tS cW'(Jumc~edli~ me." '!Ji\he J1Cmaining shi,p of Magellan's squaa,r @n had ~allU.en ~nto t~le hatnds @]j tihe Portuguese, llifter being disaibled ana most of tJlle seamel1 lost. '!File

THE PBILrPPIN Ei:l.

:333

survivors were sent to Lisbon, which t hey reached five years from the time of t heil' depa.rture on the memorable expedition.

Aroused by the discoveri es of Magellan, Charles fitted out other expeditions, none of which accomplished a.nything worthy of note. Dr "i illabos, the commander of one, renanned the islands in honour of the king's son, Philip, heir apparent to the throne of Castile, the Philippines .

Philil~ Ill., wib.0 sl!lcceeded to the throne on the abdica,tion of his father in 155&, was a religious bigot. He immediately fitted out a squadron of four ships 'and a frigate, with eight hundred soldiers allcl six priests,

w~th the avowetil purp0se of subjugating the natives of the Philippines atnd bringing them unmer t he influences of the Church . A famous Basque naviga;tor, na;med Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, was placed ' in command. In tl\.e due course of time the fleet appea,rea off the coast of Minda nao, to the wonder and terror of the inhabitants. The king set a watch over the mysterious comers, who soon proclaimed that they were men of mighty stature, with white faces and long beards; that they blew smoke and fiL'e out, of their nostrils, ate stones (sea biscuits), commanded the tHunder and lightning, allld were no doubt powerful gods. Thi s announcement was received with dismay, and the natives received the

234 Spaniards III a friendly manner, as thei~' fathers .baa Magelaan atnd his followexs. They ga,ve t hem glowi'Elg aCC0lmts 0] tile p<:lwer an.a riches of Cebu, lying to the south. Legaspi resolved . to ~'ec01'Hil! ~e r t his islana and add it again to the r eatlms of the king.

But tire Cebuans resisted the new arrivails on every hanril, atn.d w!itel~ they could not cope with them in 0pen. battle retireril t @tb.e <!leer> I@rest surrounding the town, and waged a preaat@l1Y warfame. ffi'liatlJassecil thus, L egaspi sEiveral times thougb.t to amandc)J1 tne 6J!l!lest, but me Dlila;\Qy captured the city, and, winning over to his side some @f the leacilring l~f\Jtives,

OLDEST

cuulton

IN l\lANILA.

made a firm stanril. The island was <!leclared to belOl'lg to 1l!b e ClJ@Wll 0!

Castile, and its inhabitants to be subjects 01 Spatitn. A messelilger was despat ch ed back to the mother country with the mews of their success.

The natives began to fi@ck to the statmdard of their c@lilCitl!ler01JS; the King's daughter married one of the SFatniards, and several IEa:nces by matrriage were afterward made.

In the midst of the good f0rtunes 0f these ~o reign in~raders, tThe P,@lJtuguese, who, ever since their discovel1Y my Magel1la'lil, lilaCU cl3limed tbat tThey belonged to them, accorcil~n g t o p<il:ntirfical 31ppoin1tment, atppe3lrelil 0n the scene to dispute tbe a:ut h0rity of tbe new c13lima:nts. ]3ut they prove<!l

'\

'i'HE PHILIPPINES.

235

wewker thrun tke~r rivals and we re obliged to . withdraw, whereupon Legaspi bu.iJ.t a fortress aNa lwid out streets on which th e Spanish began to lDuild houses. In 157(i) intelligence reached Legaspi that the King of Castile had declal1ed h~m governor-general of all the islands he might disco'Viel" ruB€! hoM. He thereupon proclaimed Cebu a Spanish capital, .arnd sent run expedition to bring the island of Luzon, of which he had heard much, un€!er his jurisdictiOll, giving the command to his grandson, the you,t hful Jua.n Salcedo. l'he appearamce of the warlike strangers before Manila, then called Mianyla, the ancient ca.pital o£ Lu zon, caused the natives to capitulate wi,t hout resistance. The island of Mindoro was next seized, and the governor-geneval apprised of the conquests. On the a,rrival of Legaspi at Manila the foliln wing year, that city was declared to be the capital (j)f the whole Arch~p elago , run€! the sovereignty of the king was pronouNce€! over the entire group of islands. Govern or-General Legaspi died on t he 20th of August, 1572, and hts wa r-worn body was given burial m the St. Augustine Chapel of San Fausto tn Manila, where the sta.nda!l"a of Sp~nish royalty and the armorial bearings of the couqueror reIID.a,~n e€! untj] tne occupa.tion of the car>ital by t he English nearly two hlu,ndre€! years later.

'DIms, with what was relatively a mere handful of follow ers, this [)persevering a,na honom-aiDle champi@n of Spain won almost without blood£hed one of hel" richest colonial possessions, and establi shed Spanish ]lower in tihe Far East.

CHAPTER V. RIVALRY

I

~b'

CHURCH Al"D STATE .

F wiuning control of the Allchipebgo with lirttle t r0uble at tJb.e outset,

the Spanish were soon called upon to defend their newly acquired domains against the successive attacks of O1'ganised leagues of pirwtes and adven turers then terrorisiijlg the islands of the South Seas. AIil10ng the most dreaded of these was a Chinese corsair named Li-ma-hong, wh0 had been outlawed from his native land. H e had organised a fleet 0f si;dy-two junks, manned by over tw@ th0usal1d sailors, anril carry~ng nearly three t housal}d soldiers, besides fifteen htmdred artisans and women with which to found a colony in the rich Philippines. With t his fo rmidable array of war-ships and armed warFiors, this crafty pirate suddenly appeared before t he walls of Mfllnila on the 29th 0:ÂŁ Novemher, 1594. So secretly and adroitly had this entrance into the harbour been made t hat the armed horde swarmed through vhe gates of rthe city beLove t he Spaniards were a ware of their danger.

A desperate fight ensued, and t he invaders would have captured the city but for the timely arrival of Captain Salcedo with fresh sQldiers, whQ met t he foe in a hand-to-hand enconnter, as tJhey were makiag theil.' second attack led by Li-ma-hong il~ person . It was an hom Jiraugn t \vith an outcome which meant European or Asiatic supremacy o;ver t he . islands of t he South Sea. Th e Chinese, fired by the ~mp ass ion ed speeclles of t heil' leader t.o stake t heir lives on the tide of IDatttle, ]@ughit everywhere like fiends incarnate, but, t hroLlgh the bravery of Salceuo and his men, they wel'e finally repulsed,. and the sm'vivors driven in wild disorder back to their junks.

Not discouraged by his defeat here, the Chinese rover went to another part of the island, and in the pL'ovince of Pwgasinan found ed his dream of all1 empire in t he islands, w ~t l~ himsel~ as g~'an d m(i)glill. 'li'lb.e Spatnisll tried in vain to eli. lodge him from his capital, and it begatn to look as jlf a serious outcome was imminent, wheu t he news reached <the Emperor of 236

¡ THE PHILIPPINES.

237

China of wha;t was taking place. An expedition was at once fitted out to be semt against t he outlaw, upon lem'niug of 'which Li-ma-hong abandoned his ambition and disappeared from the scene. A pardon of his followers, who were left behind, fled to the fi elds, where some of their descendants a re yet to be found.

The history of those trying periods is fill ed with conflicting acco unts of battles with trhe pin1ltes of the seas. A dependency of New Spain, as AmeriC<t was then called, the only course of communication between the islands and Spain wa;s by way of Mexico, and the galleons coming from

.:

AHSENAL AT PUJo: HTO PHIN CESSA, PALAWAN.

hit her, lam en with the manufactured gooms and money needed b;: t he colony, or returning with the rich cargoes of the tropics, were te~npt in g prizes fo.r the outlaws of the ocean. Thus the memory of t he defence against the Chinese was still vivid in the minds of the Span ish when Dutch buccaneers appeared in t he smrounding wftters. Seclll'ely ql1artered on the iVE01uccas, these freebooters ventured forth on conquests in which mercy was nei¡ther shown nor expected. The gailleolls of Spa;in were rut hlessly seized, the last defend er put to death, and the valuable prize borne away in t riumph : So ineffectual was Spain's resistance that the colony was ~lespoil ed of gold, silver, a;nd treasures of value beyond estimate.

238

THE FAR EAST.

Finally, grown bold in t heir pimtical warfare, t he pirates stationed a squadron of their ships off Manila Bay. A war then existing between Spain and H olland was t hus carried to the Philippines. Had t hese corsairs besieged t he city at once, it is evident they might have captured t he islands, a nd t hus they would have passed into the same pewer which to t his day c on t r 0 1 s J ava.

Bu t th ey da/llied, content with captu Fin g such merchantmen as came in their way, un til the Spaniards had collected t heir forGes. Then Juan de Siha, tJlle governer- general, under s!llnction of the Church, which had declared the Dutch to be <infidels (they were Protestants), went forth to drive t he freebootells fr0m the bay, whille mass was said in !Ill ! t he churches, DRA WBR IDGE AN D G ATF. OF OLD OITY. bell were tolJed, and images of t he patron saints were borne through the streets of old Man ila.

F ired by the zeal of t he Church , t he Sp!lln ish were determined to win at a.ll odds, while t he Dutch were confident of victory . The battle that followed, which has since been denominated as t he famous victol'] of Playa Honda, was waged until the corsaills were utterly annihilated, 1lhei~'

THE PHILIPP I NES.

239

ships destroyed, and plunder to the value of over three hundred t housand dollars taken. Other struggles took place between t he enemies in the Philippines, until Holland gained her independence in 1648, but t his was t he decisive contest as far as the islands were concerned. T he Dutch began to devote their energies toward developing their possessions in the East Inlll'ies, ancllet the Spaniards alone.

1ÂŁ freed in a gr erut measure from t he depredations of .ocean outlaws, ,v.hose temerity equalled only their cunning, the Spanish found themselves wit h all upon hand that . t hey could attend to. The policy of Spain and her representatives from the beginning showed no organised effor t to discover or develop the natural resources of the colony. J uan Salcedo estrublished thesystem of letting the nati ve chiefs !lind oheir m:tle successors rule over their respective tribes as long as they acknowledged a1legiance to the OLD CANNON ON S EA-WA T.L AT M ANJ L A. Spanish monarch, and rendered such tributes as were demanded. This practice was followed for over three hundred years. More t han fro m any other source t he '[Deace of the c(])lony was assailed by dishonest officiaJs and unscr upulous friars. A faulty constitution, constructed on lines similar with t hat of Mexico, and but poorly understood, gave encouragement rath er than held in check contentions long and often bitter 1>etween the state and the Church.

Wherever the sword of Spain hewed t he path for the royal standal'd, t he cross of the pontifi cal followers was planted on t he battlefields ere the blood of t he slain was dry . It was so wherever the {ol'tune-seeking courtiers penetm ted, whether amid t he copper-hued na;tives of North America, the semi-civilised legions of the Aztec

T1'D.Jl: F A.R EAST.

240 princes, the Children of the E ast.

S~lFI,

0r the

beter(!)geJue0~ls

races of

t~~e

iF'ar

The conversion o£ the natives to the L·eiJ.'igi0us riloctrines (!)£ tJhe Catlir®1ie Church was the paramount obj,ect of Plitihp U . iO!l seliHling tllie L egas:pli expedition to the PhilipIJines. Accordingly, a f3!itJMml ~eiLriler ill tlite sam'e<!ll cause, who had been in Mexico, na med l\Jrdanate, 3!nd hal'[ a ril 0zelil Al11gtlSt in ian friars, were the pioneers of r eligious teaokers ilFl tllie A I'cIQi]le~'ag0.

These Augustinians 'were soon followed by 1Jlite re;WresentaiYirves @f 0thel' orders, Dominicans, Franciscans, and the iRecolet@s, @1" a 3!L'e]Ooteril mGmks.

No doubt, these religious fathers, whlle o]ten }'es@rtimg t@ met h c;)(ils pec;mliarly

RIVEn. SCl<:N E NEAR ILOI LO.

crude and often governed by anything but a Ch'L'istian spiri,t , di!!l! C0nsicl erable good in lifting up the moral standard 0] the bel;tlghted races .

On the other hand, bonnd together 1n the b0nds 0f aI un ited! bL'0therhCilQriI, when this clerical corporation undertook to medrille i.n tIre affairs 0:fi go<vernment, serious struggles began, whtich have existed ~s it@l!1g as SjllaL1Qsh rule in the islands. Ecclesiastical antlitority was olaimeril oJ' the }!>riestJN@@ci1 to be superior to. civil governm ent, and ..so intel!1se became tlite 0@ntelil.tiCil Il between the rival factions that an appeall was marile UCil the king.

This lSrought ab()~lt the first real action Qf the k~ng ~n ~'egal'ci1 t@ llhe conduct of affairs of the colony. This rileC1'ee, framea j;0 lDlamllte alS ~arr as possible the ill-feeling between the two jDowe1"s, ]ill'0~aea tll at a call1ae<il~'a] should be erected at Manila, and that fCilrty Augustin' an !friars shIDuld! be added to the clericall f@L'ce, while the wa;nrile r~ug meEi!1icamts, W'ftID haril liJeen causing considerable clisturliJance, s1l.0ulcil be eXi[i>eitIe<il from t ile islal!1ci1s. Aijij

THE PHIUPPINES.

241

siaVies then existing in the colony should be set free, and the pernicious cllst0m te> eID.a. The city was to be strengthened by furth er' fortifications ; '[e>ur penitentiaries sh0uld be established ; a number of strongly equipped wwr-vessels should be addea to the defence of the city; ftnd all soldiers and emp10yees of the state should have fixed salaries. To meet these expenses, ~m']i>ort ftnd export c'Luties were to be levied, and the na,tiyes to be taxed. The sum thus raised was to be divided into equal pwrts f@r the state. Clm rch, and wrmy .

This acti(m checked, lmt <ilid iI'lot eID.a, the ~liss~nsion between the opposing bodies, while it fomentea strife in obher directie>ns. The system of taxwtion was early wbused, and s@ inexorably apfllied t hat the native populwtion suffereGl unt@ld indignities. The pareID.ts of the chlild were taxed wt 1MS bil·th, ana his children at Iris G lewtih; between the two events every act 0f ills life was subject t@ the swme c@lllector. 'ili'here was no escafle, and if @ilce he got ~ll a:rrewrs IMs punSPAN f S H P IUE S'f . . isbment was @f the lID.ost brutal bud. Women, f@l' the simple offence of selling produce of their own raising with0ut a liceID.se, which they had no money to buy, wer~ publicly whipped.

Mien were sent to ailmgeons that held horrors exceeqing death for no greater crime than having all@wea a sick buffa10 to die on th eir hands.

Ta:x c011ecte>rs, callea gobemctdo1'ciUoes, were aJ)poil1ted for certain districts, alld welle heM responsible fOl! the an10unts of taxes ordered to he collected.

Wha·t ever defiicieID.?y existed at the time of settle~ent they were obliged to maiK'e 'll<F £r0m their own pr@perty. These had theil' d<fputy collectors, wh@ were li!~ewise held l?esp0nsible to them, wnd if they biled to render

242

THE F A:R EAST.

tlle expected returns their prepel'ty was seized, and! ]r0m tlle pl'0eeetits 0] a forced sale the balance made lllp. n this d<id! "'Hilt eql'l.a~ iilli.e],l' indel:!lte~­ ness they were sent to prison. It has beel! n0 U!llusua~ sight t e see rul:!llebodied men, who had once been planters 0f means, lil'espQ)i1led Q)f 1illei1' CJ;0JIlS and animals, even their homes, raggea lIma peJmitless, OR their way rt;Q) imprisonment for some paltry sum, while their famiilJies iWere ~eft to ~Q)ok out for themselves.

This situation is better understood when the actual p@wer oii the Churen is considered. This ecclesiastical corporatti0n, when amlayed against a;n individual, was invincible. It was always for t he interest of j;lhis Th0d~ that t be tribute demanded from the people sbQ)uld l:!le made . So liI0t allQ)Re were the weak ana middae elasses marile he-> suf£er, I:mt oiiten men @£ grea;t weat1th were ealll'ed up0n t@ mai~e contrilmtions 1l0wa;rd enrichiNg the 01'rilel'. 1£ (lme da'r ea to refl'lse in ever S0 sl~gl~ a ma;Rner, ANC IENT GATE A lF MANILA. he ·rinvlliria1>ly lost, not only the amount demanded, but atlong with ~t his ID.@me, atnd 0f~en his freedom, glad to escape with his lUfe. Agents of the Inquisition held powers in t he FhiltipJIlines the same a;s in the other colonies of Spain, to watch over t11e lives of whomever might me placed u!1der suspicion, and repol'tea accordingly i,f he c0mmitte<il atny act considered under the pale of reLigious condemnation. [t was @rlil'eleril tha;t the names of the victims should be rearil in p~l\ii];ic every three yewl:s, a;nd twice, in 1669 and again in 1718: this was done.

Not only did troul.!lle early arise between Chllllcn atI'ld sta;te, liJu.t each body soon began to quarrel within itself. T~~e rerlFesentattives (!)f severwl orders tha;t had come to the islands, tnough l:!lelongiI'lg to 0ne reL'igion, became jeal@us of each other, wnd arilderil t(!) t he str],:£e between cilvil al'lciJ. ecclesiastical powers were the petty' contentions amQ)ng the rriallS. In (!)ne "

,

Hawaiian Flowers T.

Noni

J.

H()i

2.

!,Vi//wili

.f..

Ohin¡ni

THE PHILIPPINES.

243

thing these monks presented a wlited front, and that was in opposition to ev~ry reform. Education for the masses was the least desired of all objects by them, as on the superstition of the natives depended their prestige. The mere rudiments of knowledge they sanctioned were given a religious bearing in unison with their teachings, and the press was always under a rigid censorship, while the colleges and the Uni versity of ]vbniila were maae the exponents of their narrow doctrines.

A cause of ill-feeling between the public and the chm-ches was the fact that the superiors of the¡ convents were making serious demands on society by the great numbers of young, marri" geable women they were

A

TA G-ALO B UNGA LOW IN LUZO N.

coercing into taking the veil and leadill g secluded lives. It was demanded on the¡pa>rt of the people tha,t the number should be greatly lessened and fixed at a regula>l' quota. ]t is rela,ted that as late as 1750 a nun of Samta Oatalina, falling in love with a Spania,rd, whom she had met occasionally, asked, that she be relieved of her obligations. This being refused by the fri ars, the governor, as vice-regal patron, was appeatled to for succour. He decided favourably to the request, but even he was opposed. Thereupon he ordered the tr@0jils to be placed under arms, and the cannon to be pointed upon the nunnery, with instructions to the gunners to rase the building if t he freedom of the girl was longer denied. Upon tbis threat the fri ars allowed the gj,1'J to leave the plaee, bUit she was i@dged in the Oollege of Santa

244

THE FlHZ EAS'!L'.

Potenciana until the question of giving her complete release was sett'led.

The arclabishop being now appealed to, his 0rder to set he1' ifj~'ee was ignored, and an appeal w,us next made to t he Eisnop of Cebu. iJHje Geei[l];l.e(i)J to enter into the quarrel, and the l\.rchl!lishoJil of Mexic0 was tbelil ca!.!leCil upon. It was necessary that the nun shoula 3!ppea:1' IDe]ore the eeclesiastical COtllr t of that C0tllliltry.

Thus, acc0llilJil< uliea b:y !a~I' htlSbanr1, ]0l' she had im:JD11oved a;n oJilPortun~ty to get marri.ed, slae went to Mexico, where, after ,t long a'Nd vexati01tlS cl:elay, she was ded1tred free, and laeF marriage proclail1'led va~ia. lFhis result, wit h l~ its aelays al!llil vexatioEls, cou[d not have been aceomp~ishetil had she Hot beeJiJJ aided by strong friemls [n state and court.

Royal [lecrees OJ; Cbmch edicts c01.l1d not en[01'Ce h0nesty in the llliHlrnagement 0] puiDlic ,.ÂŁfairs, wh,ich e0 ntil11~ ecl to grow W0rse through t11e sucJ' J-TILT PP I N O G IHL. cessive administratiol!ls.

As early as the reign of Philip III., a ro:ya1 commissiolil was apP0]ntedi to iijQvestigate and report some way of avoiding or rectifying tTh.e gross misc0nduct of affairs. This commissi.on advised the albandonmel!lt 0f the iislam<il! colonies, declaring that they 'were unprofitable and the 1>0ne of contention in serious disputes. The king was prevented from acce~hng to 1i1le l'eCOIDmendation by the advice of a missionwry from the islands, a;nd made to exclaim th<Lt his conscience would not allow hiQ'U to Cilise0nti'lrHle tJlile work of salvation wUlong the benighted l'aces UQltil t he :t;l[exiea;m tlleaS\!llr y was depleted.

CHURCH A i" J) S QUAHE AT l\tALO'LO ,s .

CHAPTER VI. COLONIAL WARS.

A

MONG the critical lDeriods in t he existence of the l'ising govemments

in the Far East, was ],one more tragic and striking in its outcome t halll that cOlmected with the fate of the martyred saints in J apan.

At an earTy m3lte the J aipanese entered into commercial relations with t he ionh Iili,tamts of Luzon. 1\Th.e emperor, UI)OJil learniJilg of the Spanish occup3lncy of tl'le isl3lnds, at @nce sent a demand to the goverpor-general to surrender at @Jilce fli]ll ~'ights alUm powers to him. Too weak to cope with so poweu:fin.[ am eJilemy, llhe SpaJilisb. received the royal representative from J a]lam wiVa eve!'y aEJpearaJilce @f friendliness, professing a desire to treat with b.~s Highness. According,ly, the J apanese ambassador retumed to his COUlltL'y accG>Hlp,3111'ied by a S}'larnsh envoy. An amicaJble settlement was reached, hut iUllof@rtunaJtely the SlDanish emissa'ries were lost at s~a on their journey home, wb.ich left the si,t uation in as critical a sitilation" as before. Two 1!el~gi@us embassies were next sellt to Jal~an , with t he double purpose of renewing Vhe tueaty and of c0nverting the people to tlile Catholic Church .

1Fhe fi,r st o1>ject was eas~ly acc0mpiished, and the Fria,r BautiRha, choiet @] lihe emba;ssy, G>btamec1 permissi011 t@ bu]]~l a ch.a pel, which was o])lened with great cereHlOllial m,jsplay ion i1!594. If th e e~ peror failed to ~ol'esee tIle L;esu[lt, the Fort1ilguese, ever @n the alert f@ l' their interests in 245

246

THE FAR EAST.

that vicinity, saw that Spanish slJ,prerpacy was sme to fo]l1ow the establishment of the Church, wllioh meant danger t (!) thern. 'rhe ern r>er@r was warned, and seeing at once the peril menacin g his 1P0We1', should these wily foreigners sncceed, he issued a mandate forbidd1ng any more proselyting for converts to a faith at variance with his own ancient religion .

In their zeal to carryon their work of converting the Japfllne'se, t he priests disregarded the royal order, and in cemsequence were seized and senll back to Manila.

Fra Bautista was not to be deterred from ills pious purpose, ahd he retumed to Japan with a body of twenty Franciscans, to resliIne the work

OLD STONE BR1DGE 'NEAH MAN lL A.

of conversion . The emperor was now thoroughly indignant, and he ordered the arrest of the foreigners. W1th a few J ap3tnese who had meen converted, twenty-six in all were condemned to death. Bef0re t hei'r exeoution, in the hope of deterring others from following in their footsteps, the ears and noses of t he victims were cut off, and they were marched through the neighbouring towns as a warning .to all others. On the breast of eaoh hung a board describing t he reason of their treatment. They were plilit to death by spears.

Great excitement stirred the colony, 3tnd many other priests, moue zealous than wise, undertook to take up the holy work 0f the unfo rtunate Franciscans, !lin of whom perished as unmercifulLy as Baut iRt!ll and his I'

I'

'll'RE PHILIPPINES.

247

c0mpaRi0ns, until finally j apan refused to allow Spanish priests to land OR Jiapalllese s@i~, or to t reat with t he islands allY longer. If a harsh measlJll'e, it is liJ:uite certain that it alon~ saved the empire and its religion from a speedy end.

Li,lm JapaiTI, China early megan an intercourse with the natives of t he Philippines, though the ' semi-ba rbarous inhabitants of t he islands were feared :by the Chinese, who conducted their transactions with them ' from their junks, prepared to move away at an instant's warning. Under Spanish dominion the Chinese gained confidence, so t hat they went ashore, and

MANI LA Sq'RBET, TIA I NY SEASON.

eventually 'bec!llme imp0rtant factors in t he development of the colony.

They penetrated farther into the interior of the islands than the Spaniards, :lind increased ii'll Num1lers, until it was deemed necessary to regulate the :lIm@uNt @f fuusiness done my them. Thus a large b~lding, called the alCeTCe?'ict, was erected umiler the supervision of the government in 1580.

'FINs stI'tleture being fi'nall~ destr@yed my an erurthquake, another, larger, t@ aC~0U1m@drute tlheir in 0reas~g trade, was constructed fo r them within the ~ity 0f Malilila, and kn@wn as the P curian, a Mexican word for m!llL'.Ket-place.

A:l'l tills enc0lU:agement was given the ChiNese under th.e correct unll erstatlillil.!i.ng tll:llt, wilta@ut these l~rudent business men and industrious work-

248

THE F AR EAS'l'.

ers in all crafts and trades, the colony could not have existed. Jua,n €Ie la Couception , a Spanish wri ter of un doubted veracity, said: "Lacking the trade and commerce of the Chinese, the colony could not ha,ve pl·ospered."

H e places the number of t he Chinese t here in 1638 a,t 33,000. Not only as t raders and mechanics were t hey needed, but also as common la/bourers.

Without t he rivalry they offered, scarcely a native cOl!lila hruve IDeen inC!1ucea to work at any price. The needs of his life haa J.ilot pre¥[0l!ls1y cailled £@r it, and he was not likely to begin under t he dictation of 'aJ £@reigner . . When t he Spaniards began to realise the mpid growth of the Celesti Is

i\I AN IL A STHEE T , RA I N Y Sl-:ASON.

their .dominion, both in numbers and power, they IDega,n to realr them, lest they should attempt to seize the government. The J1lilltives !;,ecrume jealous of them, and were anxious to ha,ve them driven !;,ack to their 0W:n coun t ry . Massacres of the Chinese on the most flimsy pretences 0ccurred in 1603, in 1639, a,nd again in 1660 . But for t hese unwatrranted abuses it soon looked as if the Spanish were to be paid back in th e~i' own coin in the latte r pa rt of the seventeenth century. Immedia,tely following the great Tartar invasion of China, a cer tain mandarin, namea Koxinga, driven from his native land by the invaders, wrested t he island of F0rmosa fr0m the Dutch, and establi,'hed him. elf as emperor of the isla,nd. H e had a hundred t housand 3Jrmed warrior s IDebina him, atnd baving r0U!ted tlJl~ e 1D

';t'HE PHILIPPINES.

249

Dutch without trouble, he sent am embassy to Manila, demanding tribute from the colony 0f Spa.·in.

'Fhe Chinese ambassador was an Italian Dominican frial' named Vittoni0 Riccio, who, if the representative of an adventnrer, was received with marke<il respect by the Spaniards 011 account of his religious affiliation. There was d,iplomacy, too, in showing open honours to this Chinese mandarin. WThile th~y dallied with him, such preparations weTe made to avert vhe NIllDencJ~ng ruin of the colony as could be. The governor issued OJ;ders to destroy several forts on the other islands, while the work of fortifying ~hn il<1J was carried f0rward as secretly and rapidly as possible.

Eight tlul)Usarnd soldliers, besides a small body of cavalry, were put in

reaciliiness ; the comtents of the public treasury were removed to safer qua~·ters; the OhilHesE': ill the 't own were put under strict surveillance, and tw@ masneus @E ju~s were seized. It was the plilln of the Spanish to massacre every Chinese em 1ihe islands, out first they wished to provoke their il'ttelilded victims to s@me act iWhich Sh01l1d give them \30 plaillsible excuse for cil0ing so. bl the~r alarm, tlle Chinese, who numbere€l over ten th~usand , attempted alQs0rts of devices to escape. 'Fhose wko felt like j0ining their coul1trymeH in tke intended attack on the SpaFlia,rds sought to reach them by sWWlming @ut t@ their canoes lY['Flg off the c@ast, the major~ty of these Jueting cilea;th ~H tile water. €l.nl}' a De;w reached the hosts of tke daring K@xiJ~ga,.. Some fieri! to tlle m€mntains, but furry nme th'ousand waited amxioHsly tlije devel0lDment @f the si,tNatti@u. Th'[s was pre~ipitated by the

250

THE FAR EAST.

killing of a Spaniard by one of their number. Attacks ON. every hatnd quickly followed, fUnd the wildest excitememt reig;mea '@ lil every halla. ]hlt the governor soon found that the surprise had not been as complete >US he had atnticipatecl, and the Chinese began to win .

In 1>his d'ilemma he as ked for a cessation of hostilities, until some terms of peace could lle atrrfUnged. RicCIO consented, but while lle was 0 liltatill in g patra@n ÂŁ@1' tlite so-call ed rebels ' they killed the priest left with t hem, when the massaere begam in earnest, Thoug h it was the original intention of the SpaJlillisID. t@ killl eve r y Chinam a n on the islillnds, some of ON 'NIE WALL O.F TH E OI. D OITY OF MAN ILA. the "riser ones pointed out the inevitable harm which was likel~ to [ol[@w sM.ch a wh@lesale slaughter of the tradesmen and mechanics, wh@m t he city could il!l afford to lose, so it was agl'eed to pfUrdon aU who would sign the papers of his Catholic Majesty and lay down their arms. All the others welie slain, and it is claimed that the waters of the Pasig ran red fo r many days.

Ha,waiia'il Flowers /.

A ka/a

.1.

-/-.

i',ra upnka ll(ltlhd~

'PHE PHILIPPINES.

251

While Koxinga was preparing to devastate the Philippines in return for this terrible treatmellt of his COUNt rymen, he fell ill of fever and died .

A rebellion soon ~0][0we«!l , and F01'1nosa, fa)lling into t he hands of the Tartars, became a pa;rt 0f the n ew dy nasty of the Far E ast.

In spite of th e opposition tu t hem, tile Chinese soon began to come to the islands wgruin, until in 1755 it was resolved to expel the race entirely from th e PhiliFPlliles. Bhllt as bef0r e, the only merchants were the Chinese, with the excepti0n of a few Europeans alld a dozen Asiatics. Wit h the welfare of thl;) CllUl:ch aIrways in min«!l, it was decided to exempt all Chris-

NA ICI V,E BOA"liS ON F ASIG AB OV E BRTDGE OF S PA IN .

tian Chil'lese. '['his caused man:y ~o esp6Hlse the Cath@lic f!llith, but over two thOlclsand were 11lanis·hed ]])@m Manila OIl the 30th of June, 1755, and a more rigid cerisorsh4:p was mMl1Jta;i!lled over the entFance of Chinese into the islail1 ~ls .

Seven years 1ater, when the Clu,irnese became i'lilv01ved ill lihe t rouble of Great BritaiR wiotllthe Ph~ppmes, 0ver sille tll@~lsarn«!l of them were murdered uuritm' 1ille O1'der @f t he ~0t0 rious Simon d'AnEl'a, Yet once more a who'lesale 'sl!ll1!lgliter was attelJlJptea, willen gl'ewt NUJilll11lers 0f tlle nat i¥eJl were ayi~g of tine clu0jera [n 1!'l2(i). '!File Clu,~t1amen ana other ~orejgt1ers were accused of pois@t1,i ng tihle I!h'in.k[ng water, all1di NOt eveN the I;)XertioNs of tke Friests !lIN<iI. IFl0St ~nii!ll!lel'lt i al] citi.zens c@ullil dlisaJ1mse rtlue lli@ters 0f

252

THE FAR EAST.

their mistake, 1!101til ma;ny 0f th e Chj.nese 311;1([ a; few ilBrj.tish sufunects nad been kiBed in and a,round Manila and Oa;viM. Notwithstanding 3111 this oflFositiQn a;Nd o[!lpression, tl~e M0ug@i race Iilas persisted in ce>mj.ng. to the Philippines, c@ntent to Fay big tributes O],t ell for the bare privilege of hvil~ g . Se>me have pr@]essed t he 8rutlnoJ.ie ~a1Jtlh in order to give th em ru better s@ciatl stand,jn g, aNd con-trachea TlHIIFriage with na tive women. T o the CI1li,nese belQngs the credllirt; of litav1ng stimulated the natives tel the limited industries they haJVe gained; they taugHt the Philippinos the method of ex tl1a cti,n g th e juice of the ea;ne, and buillt

R ITA i SLAND , BAY. OF ULUGAN.

for them the first sugar mill , with stone crushers aNd .a'on ID@i!lliong"Fans.

They also showed them how to w0rk wr@ught ir@n. In return the)}' have .been invited to take hlp agriculture, but the Celestials al'e @f ru eQmmel'0iall bent of ' mind. The towns, too, offered them grea;ter secU1'~t!Y tl1a,n the isolated districts, where th ei~' crops wel'e liali>le t @ l!Je pl'tmillere<il by ill0re tlu'iftless neighIDou.rs. The Spa-nish did not hesi,tflte to aeeuse tlilem @ÂŁ IDej,ng robbers themselves, rus t hey slaved and stiilllteril tllemselWes ,~hi le 0n rtihe isla;nds that they might callTY back to theil' home 11l1nd will 0] thei'l' ecwnilings t here. Thus there has never been, al1a is n0t rU@-day, ,'lilY hallm0ny roetween th e races so di ssimi~a-u, - t he PI~il!iFpi'n e-M!rulays, "dJIil M'J.eir l~~ter lack of care for vhe morrow or alIDbitiol1 to rise aJbove tlliei:r present [)osition, a;nd

THE PHILIPPINES.

253

the frugal Mongols, who are content to work or trade at wll il,t el'er price they may get.

Just how many Chinese there are on the islands now it is impossible to say, but the best authOTities place their number as high as one hunch'ed thousand, nearly all men, and over forty t housand dwelling in and around Manila. As severely as t hey have fared under Splwish domin ion, their condition would be even worse under a nati ve government, for one of the avowed purposes of the Tagalog revolutionists has been a complete exclusion of the race from the Philil)pines.

CAY l TE ARSF.XAL A"ND S HIPY ;.. no .

Besides ' their trouble with the Chinese, h11ms ed lUore or less by the Dutch, iP@rtugllese, and other enemies, as well as internecine contention, t he S1Danish continued to stTeBgthen their hold on the island colony until the war of Great Britain agail1St France and Spain brought t hem the most formidable enemy they had to meet.

The Bl'itish had capt ured H avana" amd, acting under the advice of Col@nel Draper, who had visited t he Spanish. East India, sent an expedition under the joint command of him and Admiral Dra.per to seize Manila.

Infe rior in force and equipments, t he Spaniards, sUlDported by five thousand natives who ra,llied around. them, made a stubborn defence.

StiH the defenders were soon routed, and the city fell into t he hands of

254

THE ]!'AR EAST.

-the British, who closed the doors of the cOlilvents and nUiJilneries, and allowed their solcliers t@]Dillage the town. The English tr(i)o]Ds, it is sarid, behaved very well, but over two thousand SelJoys =der DraFer stopped at no crime. The archbishop, who was at that time acting in the double capacity of governm-general and pontifical head, pleaa so earrnestly for a restoration of order that the supplication was finally heeded, but n@t until a wrong had been committed which placed an everlasting stain (1)n the reputation of the invaders.

PalJers of capitulation were drawn up, which stated that the territory _

UATArNG PLACE A rr l\fANII.A.

given over to the British included the entire Archipelago, but in rearlity they obtained possession of only Manila and its immediate surroundings.

Even in this they were not long left ill peaceful occupation. A Spanish justice by the name of Simon d' Anda escaped from Manill,~, carrrying with him half a ream of paper bea-ring the officiarl goverlilment staJIDp. UpON. this paper he sent out proclamations declarin g himself Governor-GeneFa1 of the Philippines . Troops flocked al'Oulld him, allla two or three ineffectual attempts were made to rout the British. In the midst of this a conspiracy among the Chinese in the province of Pampanga to assassinarte him was

THE PHILIPPINES.

255

riI,iscoYered, when he turned his vengeance on the Mongols, putting to death thousands w,h@ were innocent of any thoughts of sedition .

The Bri,tish clatimed an iNdemillty of four million doll ars as an offset against giving up the city as pillage¡ground , which the Spanish agreed to pay. But on]ya :fiourth of this was really paid, and, harassed by attacks Jirom outside and quarrels within the ranks, the English were having an ullc@IDofortable experience, when word came that the war was at an end. The terms of the Peace of Patris, concluded on the 10th of February, ];763, pro;vided for the evacuation of Manila by the British forces .

The iBritish noW agreed to accept one million dollars as indemnity, but more tJhan ha:lf of this was never paid, and quibbling and quarrelling arose as to who was the rightful person to make settlement. D' Anda was making S0me headway toward getting affairs under his control, seeking a delay unriler pretelilce of wishing . to get news of the cessation of hostilities by way of Madrid. In the meantime a govern or-general was sent over :firGnn 1Spatin, who proved his authority, and t he British withclTew. Peace was Not restored iIi the islands untrl March, 1765 . This struggle C(i)st seventy lives 0n the part of the Spanish, and one hundred a.nd forty mlitives, whille over teN thousand of the rebels perished.

About two mi'les south of , the city, near a point of land where t he British first effected a landing, and where the American t roops in 1898 did the same, stands a small, squatre fort of masonory called the Pavel'ina, (i)]) P(i)w&er Magavi,ne. Agamst tills General Draper directed an assault, and @ll the walls of the aliloient strncttll'e are yet to be seen the indentaiions oli the I3rit ish caJilnOn-IDa][s, while alollgside of t hem are t he recent effects to be seelil from 1111e shells of Admiral Dewey's fleet .

Another m(i)ll1!llllellt of that stilTing episorile, hom which the Spanish have since claimed much g10ry, stands nefllr the north end of t hat fashionaMe promenade, P asc@ (be liucia, and can be seen by the vessels passing t ~ and down the river.

Tlliis is a pl!oud obelisk proclaiming in glowirig terms the eXJpulsion of the British from th e Philippines by the heroic Spa!l1iarrils, ~ed by that great prutri@t, Sim(i)n riI'Anda. So much for the accumulatted val om' of a. hunch'ed years,.

Fl'c;jm iine evac\!l~tion 0] the Bri,tish in 1764' no great event occurred in the eheckered history of the islaml e010ny for one lmndred and twenty-five yeal's, which pel'iod enrils with that most ID0ment0l1S l'evolution of 1896.

A

TAGALO

FAMILY OUT

FOH A

CHAPTER

DRLVE I.N

A CAUE'I'J1LA.

vn.

RElSOUR,CES AND COMMEn.CE.

XPLORERS and discoverers are imbued with- t he sp:m:it of great reward for t heir hazardous adventures lying somewhere just bey~md their range of knowl edge; the mldisC0"vereCi realm in !imagination is peopled with strange races of beings, and its wilderne;;s is the storehouse of marvellous treasures. The first supp0sition has proven correct in the case of t he Pilllippines; 110W near the other is to the Feal sitmlition remains yet to a great extent fcir Y wnkee enterprise to solrve. Twking the island of Luzon for the wrist, the Palawan line 0f islands ÂŁ01' the thumb, and we have a mighty right hand, clothed in the rich verdure of the t ropics, laid palm up on the heaving bosom of old ocea,n. In lihe hollow- of that hand, . which Spain has guarded as a miser does ills h0al!d, is laid the lavish offerings of the great Southern Pacific.

The wealth of the forests has been briefly described, but the de]i>0s~ts of ore of varions kinds remain to be considered. Gold is found in flhe mountainous districts of Luzon, Mindanao, Mindor0, a,nril 0t:l'1er !islands.

In the early days of its discovel:y by the Europea,ns stories of its great abundance were hera,lded abroad, and fortune-seekers flocked here a,s they did to America, and later to Austrail!ia. Here were repea,ted the scenes o:fi

E

256

THE PHILIPPINES.

257

human sac~'ifice in a greed for gold such as had beeu enacted in the land of tlite A.ztecs and b cas. Wi,t h their- wash-board and a wooden bowl of unknown antiquity, t he nativ;es had dug and washed the precious ore for time bey@nd the comput,vtion @f the historian, and necklets, bracelets, and alnklets of pl1l1"e gold were worn by them as comm on ornaments. Thus when tile sailors of Spain found their way hither, galleon after galleon went hO[l1e f!l>irly laden with tlite golden treasure, and not alone did Spain, but malny of the semi-corsairs of Old Englamd, seize on ill-gotten gains.

TRAVEL IN RAINY SEASON.

S:i.J: FralRcis Dralke, in his famous voyage around the world, captured -two of t hese prize-ships of the P hilippines, which he sent I10me " und er sails @f damask and cordage @f silk." A.nson's fleet im t he las,t century hovered lor yealrs in the southern waters, eagerly watching for tQe gold-laden galleons which fu@m time 1;@ time crossed his path. Longer than they will ackn@wl e~ge, the Chinese have s@ught in the fastness of tl~ e wilderness the Ili<ilden wealth of the mines, all 01 wn,ich ore has been tr<ld;}sportecl to the h@me ['alml, a steady revenue for centuries. Abandoned mines worked in years long since l~assed are to be :6ound here and there. But this gold has Rot been ail! ]>r@fit t@ Spain. Vast sums, aggregating nearly a million and a

258

THE FAR EAST.

ha,u of doll!brs, have been ex,pended in Spanish ways tCl work tlaese mi> nes, without realDing on e dollar in profit. The natives laave been !b'Verse to cooperating with them, and the fri<1lrs h!bve found greater lDenefit in ~'esist­ ing all attempts to open up the placer deposits of the mountain streams .

One great reason of th e failure has been Spain's indifference to build suitable roads in order to reach the scenes of operation and to make transporta tion easier and cheaper . Unthl the interi@r of tlae g0l<il-pr0aueirng islands has been eX]ll@l'ea, the v!blue of t his kind of miner!bl must remarin unknown.

The islands 0] Cefuu anti!

Masbrute have fueds 0:£ [ignirte of very good qual!ity, those of t he last named island being estimated to affora aboat t~v:eR>ty 1ih@usana t0J1lS to t he acr e. :mat t n e cOall is not believed t o be found in arny consider!bble deposits.

Iron ore, @n t he 0t11er h<1ln a, is aJli>mld!bRlt ami! of exceJ.ileJ1lt quatlity. . There <1I1'e <1Il so many rich deposits of zinc and copper. In the vicinity of the ancient volcatnoes su1ph~]>f is r <!Hlm ] in smtfiioien VOLCANO OF A PO. quatntities to matlee its mrning profi table with better means of transportation . . As an illustmtion of t he methods of dealing with lliny mining or other enterprise, it is related that in 1750 a Spaniard by t he name of Salvaa@r, !bfter ag];eerng to pay enormOllS bounties to the govel'nmentli, got possessi0R of the iron mine of Santa Ines in MOl'€>:ng. The llext d.ifficullty wbich c@nf ronted him was to. obtain latbourer. . Finding t h!bt he could not get the natives to work, he hired some Chinese. Thereupon the Church interfered, denying him t he right to hire infidel help. 'Finrully, he W!bS compelleEl to

THE PHILIPPINES.

259

send ' the Chinese home at his own expense. Then, when he had got his ore into the market, the royal stores refused to buy it on t he ground that it had been worked by men who were not Christians! H e was thus obliged to give up the enterprise, and the governmen t claimed renewed possession, leaving him a ruined man . Though really a valuable mine, nothing has ever been done with it since.

Another story is told by Foreman, where in the Bulacan province an

SCI9NE TN UULACAN.

ll'on mine was attempted by a couple of Englishmen at the hegimung of the present century . They erected at great expense machinery necessary to carryon the work, and then engaged' all tbe bead men r Olmd about tbe count ry to hire help for them at a fixed salary . For a time tbis scheme worked well ; then the agents began to demand their wages in advance and grew importunate, though the number of the miners was steadily decreasing. In vain the Englishmen tuied to secure a sufficient number of labourers to catrry on their under taking, and finall y, having spent over twenty million

260

THE FAR EAST.

dollars without any promise of success, they hired a native to paddle them out to sea in his canoe, where both blew out their brains with pistols.

Everywbere t he short-sighted policy of Spain has ' held in check all progress; the mines have been deserted; the forests abandoned; only the native, too indolent to profit by them, kn ows atnything of the undeveloped riches stored in the unexlDlored districts . Under Amerierun enterprise it is not rash to predict that highways will soon penetrate to the grerut heart of these islands, and the shriek of the iron horse will awaken the solitude

PLANTAl'lON ON MINDANAO .

of far-reaching wildwoods where now the foot (i)f ma;n lli.a;s Never marile its imprint.

Of the value of the mines and forests tb e natives have had J,ittle concern. As with all primitive people, the cultivation of the soil has been and is the main occnpa,tion. The Philippino does not take up mannfact ure with enough determimLtion to make it a success, except it is the rollIng of tobacco leaves into cigars and cigarettes . Many thousands of Natives are employed ~t this in Manila. I have spoken of c0nvert,ing split bamboo into hats and utili sing certain par ts of the palm for marketable pr0duchs.

I n Il oil o is manufactured a coarse cloth from hemp ÂŁbl'es, amd :iirom M>le

THE PHILIPPINE S.

261

pineapple is woven the pina muslin , ~o highly prized by the better class .

The chief industries are the raising of rice, sugar, and hemp.

The stapie fo od of the people, the rice crop, is grown in every province, and is really the Qnly product of agriculture the Philippino knows how to cu~,tivate successfully . Formerly it was ra ised in such quantities t hat large shipments wel'e made to China, but of late years suga.r-cane has so supplanted it that not enough is now raised for home consumption . The rea~ on of tihe decline is that it is not profitable. As a rule, only one crop a ye3!r can be raised, the annual yield being from fifty to one hund red fold.

SCE-NE A l l P U E R T O P IU N C ESSA , P AL AWAN.

The species of sllg3!r-Cane most successfully cuLt ivated lfifl'ers from that of the W est '[ndiies, ami is of the kind grown in the Polyne' ian Archipelago amd M3!laysia . The best sl'Igar land is on the island of Negros, where it is sold. fQr fifty do]l]ars an acre. LaRu patrtiaUy W 0 m but situated near to Manila is consideFed worth @ver one hundred dollars an acre. The differenee in pl'ice is owing to the location, and not the quality of lbhe soil, whi ch is infjel'i@r to t.b.e ot'her. Railroads would open up good lands in the interi@f and. tenlll to equwlise the IJl'ices . The methods of cultivation and malllNactlill1e atre v;ery pr~mi,tive . Much' 0f the saccharine subst ance is lost

262

TITlE FAI-/; EAST.

and the sugar produced of a POOl' quaility; but tl1e yielt!l is la.rge ama 1!lilldel' proper manag'ement might IDe made very ]!lroliitalble. 'J!'1tere all'e g@@~ camefields and unimproved lands OID. the islanas of CelDu, i1Pan.ay, Negros, i1L1lZGJI'I, and others, in the centml Arc.htipelag@ . '['he r>lanta:tioms are [a.rge anlil small, according to the capital of tile OWHer, bl!lJt as a rule do 11@t i[!l1'QQ1~l(i)e more than a thol!lsand tons each anI'l,mlJlly . The plam.tells are genel'a]]:v 0] the Malay race, and their lalilourers are from t Llem: peolDle very ~ai'gely.

These last live in little bamboo huts, clothed in t1lte most []1J1'~mitiye attire, with rice and fish almost elutirely tbe~r diet. Few @1 them sa:Ne al1~' [Dart of their low witges, ¡while their employers are equa:li1y im]DrQvidell,t , ofteN owing l)1Qre th 3ln they are wortlu, and cQmr>elITed fr0m ye: l ' n0 yea1' 1l@ mortgage th eir cr ops in aclvance . The wealthy specula1i<!J1's , ndl eXl]!lQrters let them have money at exorbitant rates, aNd in the majQrity oli cases eventually get possession of their plantatioms. Tile manufactut'e ¡ ~s rllo'l!1e in a.n equally slovenly and unbusiness-like manner, which alas mafl1.e wluat might have been a: profitable industry a discouraging @utl@@l. RI!mg11 cutting mills with cylinders of wood are l!lsed in the s@1!ltlitel'l1 isiwnc1s, 3ImGl wbeels of iron have been common in the north, b@th ililltroail!lcetil lliy Mile Chinese. Of late, however, iron rollers, ['evolved! b~ bl!lflialQes, amrll' ste3lm mills have been introduced.

Of more importimce thwn t he sugar-cane @r a:my @tluer plamt Qf t~le Philippines is a species of plantain, caliled by the ma:tives waaeru, It resembles the bana.na so closely as to deceive tfu.e caS11, i[ observer, 01!lt tlle tree does not attain the height of the other, [ts leaves a:re @r a cila:l'l~er green, while its fruit is not l?al at~b le. Whart 1t lades in the last 1'espeet it. more than ll1a}ces up in affo rding that ll1Qst valll!1a1lDle 0] wN 'f:i~l'es ~@1' binding purposes, the world-fanlous Manila Th.ell1]D. It is a tree-like h erb, growing on the ll10unta:i1n slopes ~Bclij,'I!1eiil to lDe riiFy, and will not flourish in sW3Impy dli stricts. It reae.htes tlle 'lle]gM. 0] i\;en feet, at the end of tbree years' growth sending l!~Jil a ee'l!1ifi1.:ail steBl whick produces flowers, a:nd later ~ L'I!1~t. But t he latt el' is n@t ailQ0we<il 1)0 aJ:lpeal', the stem being r emoyed and the stwlk of leaves t@rn ['Iilrt0 str~i1ls 0f ifih'e Ql! six inch es in width and usually alIDOl!1 as malmy Jieet ~11 lemgt14. iFr@m t%ese long pieces C0me the fibre mesired, w~'t ic:ll fuas to be ,'Cl!WIDedl @] the ii>u~ around it !lind left to dry in the sun for tiive @1' six Iwt'Ulls. 'J.'l'le ~lewn[lElg as done by hand, alna neady 0ne-tllira 0] the filn'e is spoilled b:y tile pU0cess. ,\

THE PHILIPPINES.

263

The best hemp raised so far has been on the islands of Leyte and Marinduque, and the districts of Gubat and Sorogon, Luzon, and the province of Albay, on the same island.

Manila coffee is as highly prized in Spain as hemp is in the United States. Coffee was introduced by the Spanish in the early part of the present century, but its raising as an industry has been sadly neglected, and what might have proved a profitable industry was lost through indif-

OIG AR DEALER.

ference. From the trees first planted on the island of L\lZOn have sprung coffee-bushes all over that islamd, a small animal resembling the weasel having scattered the seeds. From these plants and the original trees planted nearly a hundred years ago, many thousand pounds of berries have been gathered annually.

The missionaries introduced maize, wheat, potatoes, peas" beans, onions, cucumbers, a,nd other vegetables, all of which are grown witJh more or less success, which depends very largely on. the way the crops are tended. In

264

THE FAR EAST.

some of the southern islands, maize, or Indian corn, is raised as a substitute for rice; but t here is no foreign market f@l' ~t, al1d its enltiva,tiQ~ is thus limited. Wheat and rye have both been grown successfnilly.

The cacao-tree, imported from Mexico in the seventeenth century, grows well in the Philippines, and from its beans is obtained a good chocolate.

The castor-bean grows wild here, and its oil is an article of export.

Cinnamon of a poor qua,lity, gctbi, a tarnip-shaped plant @f l,ilttle vahle, and others of more or less worth are raised.

Owing to the restrictions which have been placed on wha,t lrittre ambition they may have possessed, few natives own pla,ntatiOlls or lands of any extent. In order to do so he must not only keep a suitable stock, such as cattle, at least one pig, a dozen hens a,nd cock, but he must platnt trees adapted to the soil, a,nd raise cereals and vegeta.bles of ,H kinds. In most cases the land has been taken from him at bhe emIl! @ÂŁ two yea,rs. Spatnish progress has consisted principally in putting a premium on iuaolence.

The cultivation of tobacco ought to have been made profitable in the Philippines, where everybody smokes, .a,nd at all times, except a,t the short time spent a,t coffee. The Phili]lpino smokes a,t his place of business,

THE PflILIPPINES.

265

smokes over his work, smokes whil e he rests, smokes at the opera between acts a;nd while he waits for the audience to gather, smokes while attending divine worship, in fact seems to smoke at all times, at home and abroad. With the feminine sex it is almost the same, for women of all ranks and degrees of wealth and poverty, young and old, pretty and plaiD, are to be seen puffing away at their ciga?·illos, a kind of cigar made expressly for t hem. Neither do they always stop to get these, but heip t hemsel ves to brands smoked by husband, brother, or father.

The history of t he isla;nd commerce is on the same line of Spanish mismanagement as that of t he development of the inland industries. From the organisation of the colonial government in 1571, to the rebellion in Mexic0 in 1811, a sol itary galleon , of fifteen hundred tons burden, made an annual trip to the Philippines and returned, the rouud trip taking about a year. This vessel came from the islands laden with a cargo of baled Chines.e goods, which had been obtained from them in exchange for the produce paid into the treasury as taxes from the natives, and was known as the trilm te of the Philippines. R~turnin g, this same galleon to the Philippines bore slmdry articIes · of manufacture the colonist needed, some stores, and coin for circulation,· principally with the Chinese. This comprised the Spanish commerce with its rich colony for nearly t wo hundred and fifty years .

Besides lIms the isla;nds had more or less trade with India and Persia, while still greater t raffic was had with China. But no Spaniard was permitted to seek either country for business, aI\d must content himself with buying wha;t was brought his way, and at the price the seller chose to fix.

As it has been stated, these treasure-ships were tem,pting prey for the c0Fsairs 0f the ·southern seas, and ma;ny of them fell into the hands of these watchful freebooters. Whenever this happened another galleon was sent to take the place of the one lost. But even then there were periods 0f nearly three years in length, when no ga;lleon visited the Philippines.

Upon the expulsion of the Chinese in 1755, the closing of their shops brought abont a stagnation in business, which took a qua·r ter of a century to revive, and cost the government over twenty-five thousand dollars a year in taxes. The ·collapse of business cansed the Spanish to form a large stock corpora,ti0n to handle goods, but t his snffered with the dry rot of all Spanish enterprises, and fina;lly failed.

266

THE FAR EAST.

Spain's persistent efforts to secure a m<ilDopolly of the t rade, as in the matter of the industries, always worked against herseN as well as other po·wers. It was not until 1807 that the first foreign h0use was pel?lIl!ittea to establish trade with the Phili:[ilpines, wnen an Bng.lish fi~'m opened business in Manila. The permission was so restricted that nothing came of it, until five years later, when it becarme more general. In 1834 such freedom was granted that the development of tile naturail resom'ces 0f rlihe islands was manifes ted, and the island colony was opened to the commer ce of the world.

This beguu, or in fruir way of pl'ogress, stupid S]llar~n began to burden

TRAIN ON i\(ANTL A AND DAGUP I N RAlLWAY.

foreign t rade with enormous duties, most of which collections went into the pockets of customs officials rather tnan into Iler tl·eaS~l[·y . Every pliet ext seemed to be taken to mruke these taxes onerous, and to put the trader to every inconvenience possible. It is relarted that a certain American merchant was heavily fi1'led for hav~Hg a C!1Jrg0 a stone sh01't 0~ whart it was expected to be.

Decrees antagonistic to each other, but unanimous in having an object toward driving away foreign t rade, were issued Jirom tne to time, until a royal decree was put forth declaring all others snouild be sub0rci\~uate to that, which abolished export duties rund the stiTl more peruici0us port charges . But this did not seem to remedy tIle evil , !l>nd in 1886 it was

THE PHILIPPINES.

267

cl.eclared that foreign trade was detrimental to the best interests of Spain and her colony .

In addition t.o the short-sighted policy of Spain, which has ever been centuries behmcl. the progress of the world, the Philippinos h"ve never had any real idea of values, aNd they have clung to the belief that the market was ruled by the whims of the buye r. This came naturally from their intercourse with the Chinese, who understoocl. them, and always 'fixed a scale or£ prices which they could well afford to reduce, and the native felt thart he had made a good trade if he had caused the seller to drop from his orig~nal price, no matter how high that may have been. As well as laeking in judgment, he £ails to realise t he importamce of making good any agreement, "nd his word is never taken to mean literally whart it expresses.

An0ther sei'ious drawback to business has been the fauIty facilities of transportati0n, as has already been mentioliled .

SUCll roacl.s as there arre, during the 1'ainy seaSONS ar.e rendered IilifiicuIt of Farssarge, if not impassal\1.-\.1\I LA AND DAGUP I N RA TLWAY S TATlON. @le, while COfliSt navigati@n art these times is dan ge1'ous. Only @ne I'ai1road on the islands has been b1i11ilt , llind that connects Manila wth Palilgfllilil~n, ,at distance of one hnndueiill ancl. twenty-three mi!les. It is of singre track, of · fairly good constmlCtioN, and e@nnects the capitrul with the riee-gl'owing districts. 'fhe pr~ncipa,l stalDles @f exp@rt harve beeB hemp, sugar, coffee, cocoa, amu t0bacc0, raw arnc1 maB'u[actureril . The chief imports h"ve been rice, fl0lW, dvess g00ds, wines, c@llil, ana iDetroleum. The tot, I in1ports into the !slarnms art the bFe,.king out of the ];evolution in 18~6 were valued at $1063 1, 25@; t he eXID0Fts for the sarme ye3lI' fIIm0111nted to $2(i),175,0(i)O. The greart baiJ.iK 0£ f0reiglil trade was received by the Americarns ~ll1til the recent tll@l!1Mes miJh <Cu!lDa, ilust bef@re the last Spanish-Americwl1 W3lr, aroused the

268

THE FAR EAST.

Spaniards to such abuses as to drive the Americam representative from the Philippines, and England profited by the otheF's l@ss.

Public revenue is in round numbers twelve million clollal's per amnum, raised mostly from direct taxation , customs, monopolies, and lotteries.

The basis of the financial system is the porI-tax, wmch every male and female under SL"ty has to pay . The wllmses amd @ppressions a,r1sing fr@m this system burdened the common people, until they became unbeaJllaJThle.

But neither Spain nor the islands profited by it to any extent. '!I'he prime obj ect of the officials from the esta:blishment of the colony t@ the time of its loss to Spain seemed to be to reap the spoils of office. A native historian, Lala, in speaking of this, says : "More money was set aside for the t ransportation of priests than fo r t he building of railroads, while ten t imes the sum was donated to the support of the MaUila Cathedral than was spent for improvements amI fOJ; public instrlJlction . Regarding the officials, fro m the governor-generwl down to t he l@west Hnclerhng, they seem t o have devoted t hemselves industl!i@11s1y to ro'liJlDing the i!Jeopie with one hand and t he government w~th tb e other, sowing a crop or .~atreril of the Spaniard and of Spanish rule, which had its harvest in the frerce insurrection of 1896- 98." All of w'hich is too evident to 'liJe disputed.

For three centuries lotteries, cock-fights,. and gambling were the most popular sources of recreation and speculation . The suppression of t hem cost t he government enormous loss in revenue. The licenses on cockfights alone amoanted to $ 150,000 per annum. The portion that fell to t he state from the mon thly government lotteries reached $600,000 a yea1'.

These lotteries were not only popular with the Spaniards and Philirppinos, but with the English at Manila, H ong Kong', and ÂŁingwp@re. A sel'ies of graduated prizes was offered for tickets costing ten ril@liars, IÂťr(!)portional parts for fractional por tions of the same. 'il'he gra1l1d prize (!)f $ 500,000 was a bait. Every merchant deemed it a part of his business to invest ten dollars at every drawing. The smaller prizes usually made up a portion of his investment, and the fascination of the fortune which headed the list tempted him to try again .

GOYEnNOH's PALA C E, MANlLA.

CHAPTER VIII. MOST NOTED TOWNS.

F the ~ities and towns of ~he .Philippi~es, Manila, the c.apital ~f th~ Archipelago, ranks first lD sIze and Illlpor ta nce. ThIs Vemce of the Far East sta.nds on both ba.nks of the Rio Pasig, on a wide, fel!tllie plain slightly elevated above the water. Along the banks of the stl!eam are still to be seen countless remains of mussel-shells, of a kind still existing in the surrounding sea. The city is commonly spoken of as " old and new Manila," by which it is to be inferred that the town ha.s known two stages of constructi0n .

That portion which claims precedence on account of 'its ea.rlier existence is a walled town, called by its Mala.y founders, before ! the Spa.nish occupati0n in 157], "Intra.mruros," aRd is situatted on a. peninsula, so it is nearly sum;lUncled by water. The Pasig River fl ows in frout or on the north, the ~ea being on the west, while the remaining sides are flanked by m0ats. The fortifications were built about 1590 by Chinese labour, and aone to protect J}be town from the depredations of the seal pirates, theu a great menace to the safety of the early inhabitants of the islands. The

O

269

THE FAR EAST.

27(i)

moats are connected with the river and sea by sluices, so the city could be isolated ,tt short notice. There are six gates, three to the north on tile road to the river, and as maillY more on the land side, all well defended by bastions. The public entrance is now throngh the first of the gates on the river road and call1ecil. the Parian.

'Fhe sll\ilieeways have become so filled with stagnant water as to be a menace to the health of t he people.

The streets of Manila are murrow, and ha.ve a dark, oppressive, m0nastic wtmosphere, seeming decicil.edly gloomy in these modern days. Religious processions alie ab0ut the only relief afforded t he secluded, mONotonous lufe of the t0wn, tine sole 0bject of w hose bl1iil ~l­ ers seems to have IN T H I'; S UBURDS MANILA. been t hat of se]lfdefence. It is, perhaps, needless to say that these precautionary works are not such as to prove very effective in modern warfare, thol'lgh they have served a good purpose in the protection of the city against the real or threatened attacks of the many enemies of Spanish peace in the years gone by.

It does not take the stranger long to see >11]] that interests 11im i;u Vl~LAGF.

O}~

THE PHILIPPINES.

271

the old mart, and he must cross over the river if he wishes to catch a glimpse of l'ife and progress. The drawbridge between t he two parts 0f the city was faithfully closed at nightfall as late as 1852, glVlllg to the waIlea town the of one of the feudal cities of the , appearance . midcilJle ages.

The business section of Manila is the suburb of Binondo, situated o'pposite the 0lder portion elf the town, though the streets are as narrow arnd p00rly paved as in the other part. But along the main thOl'<'lUglrlare, linea with its commercial warehouses, bazaars, and shops

STREEll' I N BUS I N'ESS SJÂŁCfl'l0N 0 .1' lII ANILA.

0f varions kinds, it [s estimated thrut ten thousamdl people pass and repass da-ily. In Binondo are the large t0bacco factories, which employ ten thousamd men, womelil, 3ind children, earrung on l n average about fiditeen cents a day . But wi,t h l0w rents and chea;p rateiS of living, they manage t@ get al0ng quite comfortably 0n even this. The clothing for the melilJ is merely a jj>alr 0f thin trousers, 3ind f@!Ot~e women an equally simple attiFe. Chinese shojj>s and hadel'S are everywhere ,seen, and some @] t.hese Celestiall m~1ocl1ants are veFY rich.

A su'b~lF'D ca][eril T0J'ldo is the dweaing-place of many OD the labouring class, Mite extensiwe co][ecti0ns @f tl~eil' hUlts, thatched with nipa, pl'esent-

272

THE FAR EAST.

ing a picturesque appearance. But the drainage around these dwellingll is poor, and this pallt of the c:Lty is very lM'lhealtlry.

Beyond Binondo is the suburb of Sarn Miguel, the residential r>art @f Manila for the most wealthy class, where many of the g0vernment officials and European merchants reside in elegant dwellings.

Connected to t he walled tow n on the south by the Luneta, or beautiful public promenade by the old sea-wall, arre the twi'l!l su:lmrms 0f Ermita ancil Malete. Of- the many celebrllited 3Jnd attractive dlrives 0f Mal!lilla, the Luneta sta nds fi rst, a fashionable resort teeming with life and merl1iment in the cool summer evening, and yet overhung with an au: pervaded with tragic memories. It was here hundreds of prisoners talken in the IDsurreetioN 0f 18,!Hi were e:&eCl!ltei!l, w'hhle b3Jnds played ail's of lively interest, and the most fashion¡ able of the Sp3Jnish inhabitants wavecil ]Qrul1<ilkel'olliefs 3Jnd cheered in grim m0ckery over the fate of the hapless n3Jtives facing the sea from the top 0f the anFOU':'TArN ON l'IlO"ENADE ~AN " IGUEr., MANILA. cient Wail!, with the1r backs to t he firing squad but waiting the signal to shoot them dmvn like dogs.

It is often the case that many rebels must die before t heir comrades in arms can become patriots.

Before the recent warlike disturbances, it was a common sight to see the banks of the river, which is not navigab'le ÂŁ01' the mig ocean steamships, lined with schooners, Chinese junks, long C3Jn0eS hewn fr0m tne trunk of some mighty tree, small dugouts with shades 0f n~pa palm leaves and out riggers of bamboo, ferry-boats, 3Jnd other craft 0f various kinds and sizes, each doing its part in tbe passenger and business traffic of the provinces. All the sma/ner craft were ID3Jnnecil by Trugal0gs, naked above the waist, or we3Jring 3J shil't rullowed to fallI ol!ltside of theil' thin p3Jntaloons. The anchorage for the vessels visiting the port is about two miles sout hwest from the entrance 0f the river, and ships at anchor communi c,~te with the shore by b03Jts or ste3Jm-launches,

THE PHILIPPINES.

27 3

the handling of their cargoes bein g done by lighters. H aving a circumference of one hundred and twenty nautical miles, Manila Bay is too large to a,llow proper protection to ships. A few years ago all repairs made on vessels had to be done at Hong Kong, but the patent slip near Cavite a,ffords sufficient facilities now .

Previous to 1893 the streets of Manila were lighted by petroleum [amps or cocoanut oill, but the year mentioned an electric light plant wa,s est~~blis hed, and the old way of lighting the streets succeeded by more modern methods. The river is spanned by three bridges, one of

CAVl'F~

ARSENAL.

them constructea of stone and iron . Along the stre'ets rattle vehicles of many J~ inas a,nd various degrees cif antiquity, the most respectable of which is the carruage, or two-horse barouche, reJ ted by the most wealthy; the quelis is a small, square two-wheeled trap, the dri ver seated high up in front, with seats for four inside; the em¡omata, a native cart drawn by one poor specimen of a pony in a rope harness . This ancientstyled concern is a two-wheeled affair, which reels and groans as it staggers along the . way with its load of natives, Chinese, or sailors.

The rikiver's place is with his passengers, and if the seats are filled, it is not consiaered improper for him to sit in some one's lap.

274

THE F A l~ EAST.

Tram-cars, of which there are two l~nes, cross the @riage C011l1eeting the old and new towns, and for four cents one can go anywhere within t,heir limits. These cars, built after t he p!1lttern of @ther crinmtl'ies, aFe drawn by small ponies, plucky and hardy, but ill-used and incapable of pulling the load often demanded of them.

Th e buildings of Manila, outside of t he churches and cathedral, are not of striking or imposing appearance, a fact due largely 1;0 the eomm@n

SOClAL ENTERTATNME-NT UN DRR S PANISH REGIME .

occurrence of earthquakes. A building " bove two stories lU height is rarely seen.

The church edifices, however, are of interest from their arch:itecture and their historic associations. The cathec1.tal, founded in 1570, h!1ls been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt several times. The imposing structme now seen was bu¡i1t on the ruins of the dId 0JiJe wl'lich wa destroyed by an earthquake in ' 1880. It is built of stone amd brick at a cost of over balf a million do!lall's, a!I1ltl rlJbe most n@tewortby building on the islands. It is in the heart of old l\1:!1Inila, and the great religious processions ] 01' which the town [s famous rulil st!1lrt here, ama finally corn e back here to break up.

THE PHILIPPINES.

275

The oldest church blulding, also in old Manila, is the Church of San Francisco, under the patronage of the Franciscans. This IS one of the finest edifices to be found any where.

The Rom<vn Catholic is the est<vblished church of t he Phi lippin es, and it has one a!'chiepiscopal see and three bishoprics. The various religious orders, Dominicans, Franciscans, Augnstinians, and others, have been the reail power belllnd t he t hrone in the management of affairs, and to them

SCl:IOor.nOUSE.

\

is due largely the m[sconduct of the officiarls. It is far behind modern ideas of pr0gress, <vnd in its selfishness has retarded rather than helped to advrunce t he enlightenment of the native races. As a rule priests and fria,rs from Spruiu, who have come to stay, have been sincere in their purpose, though their overzeal for the welfare of the Church has paused them to commit many grave mi~takes. The work has been left largely to lla,th'e priests, elevated from the common classes, who could not be expected to live strictly up to the severe monastic vows, and to them crun be tra0ed greater evils than to their superiors. If they have sought

276

THE FAR EAST.

consolation in diversions not a,l together clerical, it shows they were m0re human than divine.

Education has been sadly neglected, and perhaps here has been the greatest blame that can be attached to the Church. It is true tlae schools have been under the jurisdiction of tlae stane, b ~l t the Church has been pow¡eriul enough to have raised their standrurd if it had eh0sen.

Nearly every town and village has j,ts government school, ['JUt tlhe methGlGs atre antiqu1lIted, and tllle results far from being satisfactory.

Next to the promenade on the Luneta, the people flock to witness an execution, where the condemned IS borne in the draped de1llth-cart, followed by a long processiol1, and accompanied by several priests to his place 0ÂŁ d00m. 'DJrr.is is a r, ised platform, on which is a rude seat that the victim accepts with a grim stoicism peculiar to his race. He is then bound to a post behind him, a heavy brass collar, the deadly g1llrrote, fastened aroand his necll: with a click. The executioller stel1ls to one side, the [llriests cease t heir VILLAGE 0 1; OLAS PIN AS, ON OOTSJURTS OF weird chants, the popwlaee f0l!

MANILA. a moment h01d their breath; then the crucifix ' is lifted, the chant resumed, the doomed w])etch tries to smile and say his prayers at the same time, the officer ratises one hand, the executioner twists the screw, a shiver, a groan, and the spectllltors turn away with a merriment jarring sadly on the solemn scene.

The population of M1lInila is not far from 300,000, of which ove]) twothirds, or 200,000, are natives, nearl~ one-sixth, or 50,@00, alre Chinese half-castes, 40,000 are Chinese, 5,OQO are Spanish, or SW1lln<isla Creoles, 4,000 Spanish half-castes, 1lInd less than 50(i) Eur0peans aJl1d 01Jher whiite

THE PHILIPPINES.

277

foreigners. i'llanila is connected with H ong Kong by cable and by a line of steamers. A line of steamers running to Liverpool maintains a monthly service to Europe, tonching at Singapore, Colombo, Aden, by way of Suez, Port Said, and Barcelona. Several local steamers ply between MW\l>iJa. an.d the ports of t he other islands. The Philippine capital is 7,050 miles from San Fnvncisco, 9,465 miles from Cad iz, and 625 mil es from Hong Kong.

On !lhe whole, Mmlila has its many a,ttractions, like all great centres of population, its unpleasant features, most charmingly surrounded by a scenery of tropical picturesqueness.

Second only in importance to Nbnila, and with brighter prospect under American government, is Iloilo, the capital of the province of Panay, and situa.ted 250 miles south of the form er city. He\'e is an excellent ha,rbour, well protected, one of the leading seaports of the islands. Owing to constant sea breezes, it is . cooler and 1110re healthy than at Manila, while ~yphoons a re less common, and earthquakes or very seldom occurrence.

Surrounding is a fertile country, which is good sugar-cane laud, but Hoilo is a manufacturing town, many cloths and fine fabrics being woven here . At present the facilities for transportation from different parts of the islamd are in a bad state. This has been a port more t han any other visited by American ships, and it ie destined to be a great commerciaL centre. It represents the district of the large islands of Pa,nay, Cebu, and Negros, with several smaller islands. A large part of the t raders are 111estizos-Chinos, many of whom have accumulated considerable property.

The third city 0] importance is Cebn, the capital of the. island by that name, a.nd was the fi'r st city found ed by the Spanish . It has the most celebrated cathedral on the islands, many thousands of l pilgrims visiting annually the shrine of the Holy Child of Oebu. The best roads in the Philippines are to be found on this isla,nd , but the inhabit~nts have lacked the energy and thrift to make Oebn the port it should be.

DAGAUPAN, lHO llOlU"-O.

CHAPTER I X .

STRUGG LES F OR LIBERT Y.

O far the situation has been viewed from the vantage-ground of the Spanish ; but there is another side to these centuries 0] Doreign e@ionisation, anothel' and deeper shade to t be scenes of tyranny and revolution. Over six-millions of native born inhabitants, though of mixed races, and nearly one-fourth of th em outla ws of the jl1lngles, ~a,g00]l]S , 1I!l1l d the mountains, have a story of their own waiting fol' the historian to do i,t justice. It is not a-record that l:edoun.ds wholly to their credit. " Whom the gods would destroy they fh:st make mad," seems to have been the policy of t he Spaniards in their t reatment of the 1?biJ.:iJppinos, and the serv1l!nt must have been otber than human bad he not ret!liliated in t he manner of his master.

As has been st1l!ted, at no time bas the sO~Te L'eign ty of Sp!1liu been complete over the Archipelago, oi' anyway perm alDent wbere it has reached. The Malay, or Philippino, is really the only race Spain has

S

278

THE PHILIPPINES.

279

domestlcated. It may have subdued certain individuals of other nationalities, but the tribe as a whole still roams the wilderness aJS fierce and untam1lible as its ancestors in tIle days of Magellan and his followers.

In no sense road-builders, the Spaniards had no way of penetrating the tropic1li1 jungles, where at all times lurked the revengeful Negritos, the patriots of Pampanga, the Moslems of the Mindanao, and the Sulu Swl a,n te, al'l contestants for .a liberty a forei gn power would wrest from them, rising in rebellion first ' on one island and then on another, one generation after 1Iinother carrying on the long struggle for liberty. Still the preSSlU'e of the government W811t on, drafting young men into fighting for ri ghts which they were far from enjoying, ens11living t hem in labour, such as felling the heavy timber of the in terior districts, without hope of a reward for their arduous ton', while their wives were tortured for the tribute they could not be expected to raise, and th eir homes left to despoliation ; still the tyranny of the Church, which not only robbed them of worshipping SU LU WOMA.N. according to their own desires, but made them suppoTt liberally a religion they did not believe in, continued from century to centu ry.

An insnrrection caused by 'r eligious oppression took place on the island of Bohol in 1662, when the mttives erected a temple in the wilderness and proposed to worship a god of their OWI1, and to escape p1liying tribute to 0ne wij1ich t hey diG l not know. Th ey were finally routed, but the exactions of the J esuitical priests a century later brought about another uprising in 177 4. So strongly did the rebels rally t his tinle that for thirty-five years

280

THE F AR EAST.

they maintained their independence, and the J esuits were driven from the colony.

At the time of the Bohol revolt another was ripe in Leyte, when the natives rose in a vain attempt to t hrow off the Spanish yoke. Upon the capture of the native chief, his head was decapi> t ated and placed att t he end of a long pole carried about the town in ordel' to strike terror to

A N A TI VE OF M A LAB ON AN D IUS

F'\ :\II' L~' .

the hearts of the vanquished rebels. Another was burneÂŤil at the stake, by a pe0ple who professed t o be Christian!

Seven years later an attempt was made in eastern Mindana0 to esca,pe Spanish dominion, and t hree yelj.rs of bush 'warfare were required to put down t he rebeUion, during which four villages were bmned aud as many priests put to death .

I p. 1649 a series of riots opened, owing to a refusal 0n' the pa,rt of the natives to cut the government timber withont pay. These revol> t s a,l1e filled with deeds too da,rk a,nd in huma1!l to be descuibed, the savage cruelty

THE PHILIPPINES.

281

of the natives ailways more than equalled by the barbarities of their Spanish oppressors.

A serious outbreak occurred in 1872, instigated by som e friars in the hope of obta;i~ing the banishment of some families with ,~iews too liberal to suit their fanatical ideas. Besides these, which are only a few specim ens shorn of their awful indignities, the list might be continued, always with the same grievance of Church and state tyranny, closing with identical barbaric chastisement, but each time with added strength on the part of the insurgents.

Stories of Spa;nish atrocities in Cuba and Porto Rico came often to the knowledge of American and European countries, but the gr~at Pacific Archipelago was too far removed from the celillt res of modern civilisation to attract attention, until th.e revolution of 1896 was an appeal heard arotmd the world.

The causes which had led up to this were the same as heretofore, the tyranny of the ruling pal!ty, the dema;nds , of the Church, the burdens of an exorbitant taxation, and heavy EMILIO AGUINALDO, LEADER OF L.~ S URR E CTJON OF 1899, fees of many kmds. IN ordeF to unite themselves for protection, the insurgents had form ed a secret organisation c3l11ed the Katigntnan . Upon learning of this mysterious body, with its strength and numbers unknown, for the first time the priesthood became allarmed. This league really numbered over fifty thousand men ready to strike a blow when the moment came, aud the province of Cavite becoming the muster-ground of the rebel forces, gatherings o.f the uprisers S@Ol!l bec3Il!lile CQmmon¡ iq} the province of ]\atangas. The headquarters of the first body was fixed !\it Silan, where a; young schoolmaster by the name of Emilio Aguina1do laid aside his text-books to te!j>ch to this uuarmed rabble

â&#x20AC;˘

282

THE F Al{ EAS'!F.

of discontented pe@ple the manual 0:£ arms a;n!!ll rt@ unite them imtt@ cl@sel' bonds of union by the inspiration ,@f b is ,0wn passion £0r ;fi'l'eedom. iliI@rn at , !mus in 1869, this zealous adv@cate @f 1~lDerty, then lDut twenty-seven yeal's old, at once showed grealter powelis of organisati(m and <illiscbp,Jine t.han anf of the sQ-can ed leaders before ,him. InteUigence l'eac'liing rum tllat di e priests had discovered the, secret of the rhas@)il,ic' league ammng, ~is c@untrymen, and that the Spanish were ' pFemeditati'Bg meaSUl'es t@ ea;ptl!liFe the leaders, Aguinaldo, on the 31st of August, HH%i, issued his Jiirst 'malN,ii£est@, which was simply a stirring appeal to his cl@wntrodden race t@ m lll:y iN a desperate fight for freedom.

The for esight or good fortune of the ins$'gents i<11 estwblois'hmg them-

CANNON USED BY <NSU.R,GEN1:S ,

"

"J< i899 .

selves in the situation th~t they did is shown by the p(i)siti0N 0] the stF@nghold of that island, Cavit e. The Bay of Maui!lw is tlniorty miiles i11 leNglJh, running north and south, and is newrly twenty-five' in wirilmn, to(i) Iwrge to afford ample protection 'to ships witkin its wa;tel's. Bnt tihe e1'l!t!!anee t@ tihls port is between the perpendiculwr sides of tW(i) v0lcaJilie m@1!I'Iltati~'s. '!li'he island of Corregidor, rising above the wa;ter six 1ll!1'llllihea ana r@rliy feet, lies in the channel, ~hille just l!Jey0nd is tne islatnd of Cwb lij@, ]@Ull nl!l,ndred: and twenty feet iiJ'il height, both wen [oJ!tidied, alnd ib.avmg ~ig'htJllt@1!Ises .

Com~anding the passage ' to the bay al'e the i@rtid!icalti@ns 0] Cavite, ten miles distant from the calpital. Cawte nas a: !p(i)l)lulati(i)n @f :£i\re lJn(i)usalnd,

"

THE PHILIPPINES.

283

a garrison of fi ve hundred men, and a patent slip where needed repairs couid be m;tde to disabled vessels. Cavite, then, was the key to Manila.

Immediately after issuing his manifesto simultaneously from Novaleta and San Francisco de Malabon, Aguinald0 marched t he insm¡gent a rm y aga in s t Imus, and on the 1st of September he captUl"ed t h a t town, securing thirteen priests as pri so n er s .

Th ese we r e t reated most inhumanely. Oue w as c u t to pieces; another _ spitted on bamb oo st i c k s, bathed in oil, and set on fire.

Th e t rea,tment acc0raed t he remwining prisoners need not be described. The hear tless execution of th eir MOUNT A I N CAT A R A CT. countrymen on the wall of Luneta was sti],] fresh in their minds, and t he compact made by Spanish officers at a recent banq.uet in Manila, " to shoot the savages like wild beasts in their lair, without showiug quarter," was still rllinkling in their breasts. One crime does not atone for another,

284

THE FAR EJAS'tI.'.

but as yet the Spaniard , with his thumb-screw, stlllke, and rack, ha~ shown himself the greater savage.

Some captives who fell into Aguinaldo's personllll keeping shaved h0nest treatment, and it was evident th~t he was more humane than his fellowers, if powerless or disinclined to interfere with the pnnishment inflicted on the captives of those under him.

The village of lmus. amonnted to littl~, being a£~w ru.de huts, w1th one fortified house belonging to the Religious Corporation, but its situllition and the capture of the priests who had fled there for fancied security were important. Establishing themselves here, while mabng :i£urther ,intrench-

SF.NTU Y POST ON THE LUNETA R OAD.

ments at Novaleta, the insurgents seized two towns, Las Pmas and Paranaque, nearer to Manila, which was alID0Ut fourteen ·mi'les £Fein iImus.

Astonished at this daring manceuvre of the rebels, General BIanco, at the head of five thousand Spanish troops, hesitated about trying to relDel the insurgents, claiming thart t o do so w0uld leave the c1ty ex:posed WiithCim t sufficient protection.

Soon, however, the Spanish forces were increased to about twenty thousand, and the insurgents, many of them without llIrms, were checked in theu: triumphal march, amd obliged to retreart to ~he mc;mn4laius near tihe capital, where they began to intrench themselves. Their force now numbered about seven thouslllnd, not more ' tharn one in four or them ha,ving

'TITE ¡P HIMPl"tN-ES.

285

firearms . In the provinces of Bulacam and Pampanga a legion of three thousand or more had rallied under the leadership of a half-breed, named Llaneros.

In October, 1896, the Republic of Taga,l wa,s organised, and Andreas Bonifacio was declared its Presid~nt. Bonifacio did not live long to hold his honours, and immedia,tely after his dea,th Aguinaldo was chosen President and .commander-in-chief 6ÂŁ ~he army.

At this time was being enacted one of the most romantic and melancholy tragedies of the bloody and protracted drama of insllrFection. A.m(mg the ma;ny friends and sympathisers of the illsurgents outside of their ranks wa,s the presiaent of the Manila University, and physician ~nd statesman, named Jose Rizal. Doctor Rizal had been educated in Europe, travelled extensively, and written two . books on the situation in the Phi~~PFi:nes, one of them intended to arouse the dormant paTtriotism 0:r the subjugated race. This so a,roused the priesthood thfllt a, systema;tic seizllre of his proJlerty was begun, which Oll'ly ended when SCENE IN sunu nB S OF 1\1 A XI LA. he had been despoiled of everything in his h@me and his house burned over his heaa.. He was then declared to be at the head of a conspiracy to raise a company of emigrants to found a; republic on ihe island of Borneo, and arrested. After a brief tri1ll1 he was sentenced to be exiled 'to the island of Matapan, where he ];emained u[l~il abo?t the time of the brea;king out of th'e revolution of 1896.

Natul1aihly ex,pecting that he would re~ent the tre1lltment he had received, fllnd fearing so able a man, he was again arrested, under the charge of

286

THE EoAR · EAST.

being concerned in the rebellion. Though his sympa,thies were with the insurgents, it is very doubMul if he .advised a l'es0rt to arms. In spi,t e @] his protests of innocence, at what was merely a trial in appea,rance, he was condemned to b'e shot on the '3bth 'of December; 189'6.

Doctor Rizal had many friends and sympatllisers ih his misfor't unes outside of the insurgents, and the most loyal of tllem was a woman, young and beautifuL H er name was Josephi~e ' BraclteR, aJ'~m she was the da,~lg11,tel' ,0£ an Irish sergeant in the British army, who at the end @f his milit<1lr y service settled at Hong' K'ong, where she was born. Her father falling under the medical treatment of Ductor Rizal , she met the latter, f),nm ill mutual attachment sprang 'up bet~reen theIn, so that they were e])gaged to ,: be married at the time of pis last ~rE'st. ',' .. Nearijr £ra'rltic oyer her ~ov,el'~i\:-~'~Dtence, iVtiss 'BrackeR did IItJll in her power to save him., But her ,efforts availed nothing. Finding this to be t he case, to S!lOW he!:: faith in: hi!p., and that she might better fight fa)' his good name, she Pl'0posec1 that they be married eveR under the shadow of death . . Thus on th,! £~teful :morning of the gOtll., at five A. M., rtlb.e unhappy lovers were united in ~a'l:riage by the chal~laill of the forces. and in the presence of the officers of the gual!d. It was a most affecting scene, and an hoUl' later the d'Oomed bridegroom was marched under an escort of the artillery regiment to the Campo de Bagumbayarll, b~. ck 0f the Llmeta, • Manila's most beautiful and yet most tragical spot.

It lacked an hour of the time appointed for the execution, but under the preteuce that an uprising was likely to take place in order to rescue the prisoner, the unfortunate man was bound hand a,nd ' foot, placed near one of the lamp-posts', with his face to the.'sea and his back to his executi0ners, t~ . Jj~ sh0t like a common tr<l!itor . . &30' pel~i~hed!, wit ll0ut any evicilence 0f guilt of wrong, the noblest and most intellectual patriot of the iPhilip)!lines. 'r Following the. sad t~J;lJlin:ation of her bl!ief married life, Madame Rizal joined the insl1l'gents at Inius, where 'she was greeted as a modern Joan of Arc. Accepting the command of a comwany 'a t the rebels, she showed' her brave!'y and prowess with arms, by leading them to seve!'al victories 01.'er the hated enemy.

During the sueceeding yea,r a desUltory wa.rfare was kept up, so favow'able in its general Tesults that the Spanish, on the 14th of Decembel1,1897, gladly signed a 1Jl1eaty of peace, known 'as the Pact of iBiaonai;Jato, from t.ne

THE PHILIPPINES.

287

town where the instrument was drawn. By the terms of this pact Aguinaldo, as the commander-in-chief, ,was to receive in trust four hundred thousand pesetal', to be placed in the Bank 0& Hong Kong as a fund, the accnmnlation of which was to be devoted toward giving native youth an English education. Such reforms as the disorganisation of religious orders, native representation in the Cortes, eq ual justice in court with the Spanish, unity of foreign apd domestic.laws, the Phihppino to share in the

AGUINALDO'SF ;\MILY AND RELATIVES.

offices, the matter of taxation to be equalised and lightened, the llldividual rights of natives to be allowed, the liberty of the press and general amnesty, were conceded.

On the part of the insurgents, Aguinaldo and the most prominent leaders with him agreed to leave t.he Archipelago for three years, and that t hey would make 110 trouble for the colony during that time. Their followers laid d0wI!l their arms, forts were surrendered, ammunition given up, and

288

THE FAR El:A>S'.Ii'.

all advantages so far gained abandoned by the rebels. The first stage of the rebellion ended here.

General Emilio Aguinaldo y Fa;rriy is the son 0f a Flanter in humble circumstances. He was educated at the College of St. J ea;n de Lateran ailld the University of St. Thomas in Manila. He proved a dull scholar, a;nd upon 'the death of his father, before he had c01npleted his full] C0urse, wa;s obliged to return home.

Soon after he was suspected of being at the head, or among the leaders, of the order of Katipunan, which was belie;yed to have a membershiij!) of a quarter of a million. In this league were many freemasons, who were among the most bitter against the friars, who have ever been a;t enmity with that fraternity. Not many years since three thousand masons were seized on a slight pretext, and placed in ir0ns. It was now fea;red oy the priests t hat this ordel' would join with the native league, and active measures were taken to crush out the latter. A squad of native soldiers under command of a Spanish officer was sent to capture Aguinald0. liJpon being met by the demand to surrender, he quickly felled the captain, and then induced his followers to fly to the mountains with him. Nothing serious seemed to come of this affair, and he came t@ the [r@nt at the very outset of the struggle around Manila. So fiercely did the Spanish hate him that a reward of twenty-five thousand dollars was offered for his head.

It is, perhaps, somewhat singular that no one in his ranks attempted to betray him or take his life.

Like all of the Philippinos, he is short in figure, but with a closely knit frame. He has a swarthy skin, coal-black hair which he we3Jrs pOillpadotw, and a countenance which gives little iif any expression of his trtle feelings.

H e has surrounded himself with shrewd advisers, though seldom listening to their cptillsels. That he is a man of great influence over his countrymen has been evident born the beginning. No one has ever 6@Llated his bravery, many have extolled his patriotism, but the depth of his sincerity remains to be proven .

CHAPTER X .

AMERICA IN THE ORIENT.

N the 25th of April, 1&Q8, war was, formally declared between the United States and Spain, and on the following day Co=odore Dewey, Gommander of the American fleet then lying in the harbour of Hong Kong, received this message:

O

"WASHINGTON, April 26.

"DEWEY, Asiatic Sq~tad1'on,' - Commence ope~'ations at once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture or destroy them. " McKINLEY." This squadron, which had just exchanged its coat of white for the gray of war, every officer and seaman of which was impatient to move against the enemy, consisted of the flagship OlAj1npia, Captain Charles V. Gridley G@mmand,ing, with Commodore' Dewey on board; Boston, Captain Frank Wi!ldes; Gonem'd, Commander Asa Walker; P etTel,. E. P . Wood; joined by the Raleigh, umler comma;nd of Captain J. B. C:oghlan, and the B altimOTe, Capta;in N. M. Dye1' commanding. No time was lost in heading for Ma;nila, and @ll the 30th @f April the island of Luzon was sighted. K eeping 1n the lDackground until after nightfall, the fleet advanced in single file, the myrnpia leading, slowly and cautiouslyapproaching the sonthern and m0re narr@w entrance to the bay. The lights on the ships had all been extinguishea, eXiceFt the one astern, but the sub-tropic mo.on, flooding their paiihway w~th a yeli0wish light tluit on the calm sea lo@ked like a foil pf . g@ld, made the scene sufficiently bright for them. \ A constant lo@kout f0r tile Spanish fleet supposed to be moored some~here in that vicmity was main.tained , but no sign of t he enemy was seen, aJ!Ld the American fleet kept on, iNcreasing ~ts speed so as to get as far inside as iJilos.sible bE}ÂŁore being a~sc0vered. The men were at the guns ready for ~bsta;Il!t action, while l!lUchal.!lenged the lrne of war-shlps sped along the [fleril0l!ls passage, mined with its submariJ!Le explosives, the grim device 289

290

THE FAR EA:S'!L'.

of destruct10n liable to explode 3ft 3fny moment witih the ~@weF to hwl them all into eternity. The commaillder had learned his P3fFt unaer the indomitable Farragut, and, as on the memoraMe oeeasion taat made the other famous, Commodore Dewey calmly awaited the resu~t IDf his hazardIDus

ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEÂĽ.

dash past the frowning rampwrts IDf the Spanish f@rtj,ficllitions IDn tile isle of Corregidor, reganilless of the torpedoes set to ca,t ca tile unwary.

Past the d~rk fortress @f CQlFl'egidor swept the s~uad'r0n withvut raising an alarm, until a cloud of sp&rks, flying ÂŁ,r IDm the smoke-stadt ot the McCulloch, a c~mvoy wiith tWID trilJnsports,.lITashan llind Zcupir(), gave tile "

â&#x20AC;¢

I

,\

'filE PHILIPPINES.

291

first w3ir:!ling to the Spanish. A bugle sou'llded the alarm on the shore, f0110wed by a sh~>ihl whistle and the boom of a .cannon. This was the ~pening shot "0f the 'battle of Cavit~ and of the war. It was then a qililarter 'past eleven.

N0t untiJl tne' Spanish had' fired their third , shot, with their usual <inaccuracy, did the Boston fire the first gun on the part of the Americans.

A\R0ther missile fr0ID the s'hoFe hurtled ov~r their heads, and the Concord sent a ·six-inch· sne1l into ' the battery, which silenced the guns. In the ,

..

u. s. S. OLYMPM.. .\

gray l-ignt @f ID0rning the, Spanish s<i[uadron was discovered at anchor Cavite. ]n @uder to get a knowledge of the true po'sition 0f th~ enemy, Commodore-,Dewey m@ved steadily acrc;iss the bay, and swin gJlg about led the way on <jJhe :first ciFcuH. of the inl3ind waters' · ~t six minutes past five, on SURday m@:t!ni.n.g, Miay 1st. '['he ()lyrnrpia was f0110wed in Ulilbroken line b:y the BaZtim@re, Raleigh, P etreZ, (Joncord, amd Boston, .'Yh,i c~ order was mallintai,ne!i1 thJJ0ugh(mt the 'action. Old Glory was streaming bom every mllistfuead, and tine 'patFi@tic 31irs 0f the drum 'rang far a-n~ wiqe on the sti!Jj] atmosphere of that Sa:bb3itli m0rn, as the loittle fl.ee~ bore down l~pon the sul[en sli,i:ps @f SP3lin. Tw@mines eKploded ahead 0f the Olym.pia, ~ff

292

TIm WAR EAST.

but, undeterFed, the squadroN continued to adv;a;nce~ lmti<l at fOl1ty~ne minutes past five it swept witrun four th(!)Usana yaras of fhe eNemy, ;when at the signal the cannon of the sitx ships sent thei,r missilles wiA;a c;leaa1lf aim into the Spanish fleet.

The answer was given with a terrific .reiHl/r, but t:he :5Fanoisn. gB'NNe.r.s failed to make a single effective shot, ..whille tae AmeFiean shiws SWi1!Nlg" around in the circle to give another broaasiae at the right time. As tlley passed the battery on the west a closer fil.'e than that d;rom the sRiFs was:

u. s.

S. BALl'lMORE.

directed upon them, but with line unbr0ken the Americarn fleet made its second round, passing this time within tbree 1ihc;msaEld yallas @! the bewildel,ed Spaniards, giving a, m0re destruotive earnnonade iililalll oef0lle.

Wild disorder now reigned everywhere among tlle enem:y. 'File Spatnish admiral's flagship, Reina CM'isUna, was on fi'Fe, amcil ~t had to The FBI!): 1I;shore riear the fort of CaviM. Admiml M0ntojo's flag was tllansJiel'l'ea to the Castillt;t, which was already disaJbJed. aBa sank a rew m~B1jl>tes ~atteF. Other ships of the squad,l'Oll were on fiFe OJ) sinking, S0 t:hat a lruttle past seven the only Spanish ship in fighting orael' was the JiJon .AtCf//1} de Awstria. The smoke no.w hung S0 dense over 1!he seene thatt it was impossible to see eiother friend @1' r@e.

"

THE PHILIPPINES.

293

The three batteries at Manila, o~e at the entra nce of t he Pasig River, the second on the south bastion of the walled tOW Il , and the third at Malate, about half a mile farther sout h, had all kept up their firing, which had not been answered. But no\v Commodore Dewey sent a message to the governor-general t hat if he did not cease firin g he should shell t he city. The guns immediately became sil ent, and at a signal the Americans stopped firing. Then, at thir ty-five minutes past seven, the six ships

T H E HATl'LE OF MAN IL A BA \' .

stood off toward the eastern side of the bay, where all hands were piped to a welil-earned breakfast. .\ At a quarter past eleven the attack was resumed, but it proved that the brunt of t he battle had been borne. The entire Spanish squadron was in flames, and inside of three-fourths of an hour t he American fleet returned and anchored off Manila, with the exception of the P et1¡el, left to .C<!lmplete the destruction of the gunboats. The gallant commaJ!1der-inchief was then able to send his graphic despatch to Washington: " 1 have executed yuur orde-rs ! " Then he proceeded to cut the cables.

The "luss on the part of the Spanish was heavy, t hough not exactly known. Three vessels were sunk, R eina Christina, Castilla, Don An-

1'1,

t. ' · ,

.,

'I

, THE FAR E:AST. ,

294

tonio de' Ulloa;- seven were burnelili, ViiZ'l' I-sla de, C/ub(/t, IsZa de !liuzon, Geneml 'Lezo, Ma;rquis del DueT-a, EZ (torr,e@, ifTalasc@, 3111d ,IsZa de Mindanao, a transport. Sev~ral sm~m la>unches 31nd! tW(;) t~g§, the lfJapid@ a,nd H enf,ules, ~ere captured: The Ameri~ans did i(Hilt lo.se a lI),all, whi!le but seven wel1e 'w ounded , 0.ti)mmodore Dewey's ~'ictory at Cavite at ,,"

(;)n~e

sh(;)wea that, in (;)Fdel1 t(;) f(;)!a'@w ' U'J!l the aaw3Intages S(;) 'l'ar ea'l1ued, it was Ne~essaTy t(;) augmeNt the navall [Qmee witlil aJ l1ein[(;)l1cement 0E land t1'oo;('ls, belone the capture of Manwla RInd the island OJ'L Luzon c0111d! me attemp>teil1. SaN Filiallwisc(;) w:as selected as the best [(;)cateiil mlilstel1ing-gr01ma, and s(;) ]1l1'(;)mptly did t he United StaJtes g0v;elmmeJ!l,t aet tlh3Jt t:he fi,l'S t iliegimel1t

(;)f vohmieers, the Sec(;)]ld Oreg(;)n, reac1ted SaJJ!I Francisco on t1te 13Ub. of Miay, lI!lB§8, 'lI'hree daJY:s ~a.ter Miajor-@eneEal MAJOR-GENERAL WESLEY MERRJl1T.

W eslllY MieEl'itt ,waJs pla(Jed in !;lomula1'ld o~

the Department of the P acinc, On the 30th of J~ne ~he liirst e~]1led,iti0J!1 t(;) the Phil ippmes, under Brigadier-Generail 'Fh(;)rnas M. A;l!lders(;)l!l, arl'i:vedL 0fi' Manila ; July 17th the second expedj,tion, under RFi.gadlier-Genel'GlJE JJ1. v,.

Greene, joined the other; and on the 3iLst of JIu[y the th.ird ileet 0f tmNsports, with troops iN co mmaJnd (;)] Brigad1iel?-Genel1al Artlhlil'l1 ¥cArtJ!l:ul1, reach ed the scene of action. 'fhe three expe~~,tions 3Jggregated a [@l1ee 01 470 officers, and [O,464 enlisted men, Meanwhile C(;)mm0dore Dewey llema.i,nea m aJster (;)1 the hay 0Ji MIltJ!lila., "

295

THE PHILIPPINES.

his ships passing to and £r0 1m molested by the Spanish. . Aguinaldo had returned from Hong· Kong 0n the 24th of May, and offere~ to cooperate with the Americans in their campaign against the Spanish. The latter had broken. their pact with him, and he declared himself dictator of the island,. forbidding his people from malting any further 'terms with the Spaniards.

Under the stimuJus of Dewey's first victol'y,.ih e-iDsurgents rallied under

G HOUP OF OFF I CERS, LE AD J!jHS OF J NSUn. I~ ECfJ' JON,

1899.

their old leader, and inside of a month they had capttll'E(d the province of Cavite, with sixteen hundred Spanish prisoners, two batteries, and over four thous.:md rifles. Other victories succeeded, and in' July Aguinaldo ann0unced himself President of the Philippine Republic. At the time of the arrival of the third expedition from the United States he had established his headquarters at Bacoor, had organised executive and legislative departmen~s, and tl:[us came into control of an independent government.

Aguinaldo, in a correspondence with the commander of the United States f01'ces, was profuse in his declarations of assistance to them in

•

THE FAR EAST.

296

every way possible, but stipulated that the Ametican ttOOps sh0u1d not land on territory which had been seized by the insUfgents. This correspondence ended with t his declaration on the 24th of JUly. The insurgen ts occupying the territory between the American tr00ps under Generrul Greene and the Spanish, made it impossible for our forces to advance without breaking t his demand made my the insurgent chief. Fiillai1ly, h owever, Aguinaldo's consent was ,gained, and the t re0]!ls advanced he a posi tien in :!iron t 0f 1iha,t taken by the insmgents.

This brought about the engagement on t he night of July 31st, when six men of the Tenth Pennsylvania and four ¡men of other regiments were kilIed, i>l1cludt'ia:lg Oaptruiu iRitellieF 0f the First OaM0rnia.

The construction of trenches was now vigorously pushed, the transports landed under grea.t difficulties, so that on the 7th of August Genera.l Merritt a.nd Admiral Dewey together requested the surrender of iMa.noiJa, GENERAL A UG USTl . under threa.t 0f ru bombardment of the town with,in forty-eight hours. The Sp1vuish delaying t heir repiy under one pretence ,and another, on the 13th, according to t he' understanding between the navy a.nd the troops on shore, the former opened a bombardment upon the line of the Sprunish intrenchments. After an hour of this a.ttack, the troops under Generals Greene and McArthur occupied, though not without some erul1nest nghting, the line of the enemy for a consider3Jble dista;uce. As the Sp3Jnish retreathed

â&#x20AC;˘

THE PHILIPPINES.

297

toward the walled city, they blew up or burned their works. The flag of trnce soon followed the retreat of the 'Spaniards, and General Merritt immediately proceeded to meet Commander-General J audanes at the government building, where terms of capitulation were hastily ,drafted .and. signed.

Fearing with good reasons that if the insurgents were allowed to enter the city they would commit outrages and depredations foreign to civilised warfare, the Americans took every precaution to prevent them from doing it. 'This was done so successfully that no crime was committed , The Spanish were still holding in check the lines most distant from the

ISL R'fS OF C ALAMIANES GROUP, BETW EEN MI NOO Ru &"ol.l) PALAWAN.

city, and these were relieved the next day, when the American capture of Manila was complete. B aving virtually paralysed the power of Spain in the PhiJippines, the Americans suddenly found themselves confronted by a new antagonist, that not only ignored the favour just done them in freeing them from the Spanish yoke, but demanded protection witllQut being willing to make any concession to the new . power in the Orient.

How far their claims were based oil. equitable footin g yet remains a m00ted question . .

The provisional government which, under the dictation of Aguinaldo, assumed control of affairs in the Philippines, upon the overthrow of the

298

THE FAR iEAST.

Spanish domination, was a miMary des]l0tism. The iJDresident was general of the armed forces, and the 0ffices 0f the government jjnr0ug'h 0ut the 'islands were filled by miliota;ry men under him. In justice to the leader of this regime, it should be Fecognised tha;t he claimed this prer0gative only as long as war should last, eut at the sa;me ti me it ~ay ~n his province to place upon the people under him a: yollie as gaHing as tlha;t which the Americans, not his followers, had thr0wB 0fli. M0W well t'his FF0mise 0£ the insurgent cni ef would have st00d the cruciall test of Feace is not liKely to be shown ..

Aguina;]&0 obtaimed 11is imFOI-tance am0l'l g jjh e Phi1ippiBOS £.r om the ~hlt~m that he was the accredlited agent whom tne United St8ltes was at tne 0ut set wililing to meet im tne esta1>lishment 0f ill go¥erlilment [01' the Ar(}lliipeia.g0.

This mistake flas eeem pr0'1'el'l, bNt so far his jlle0Fle nave ral ~,ied 81rownd biro i'lil the bh nd h0jlle to ]omnd ill gc:werB" Inent. I n the s0ber judgment of disinterested lawmake1's, I the ~agal s, wh0m AguiBaJlcl0 GEr: ERAL 01' 15. rejllresents, fOFm But a: sma;ll] portion of the inhabitants, and it wc:mld seem 'a W0rse fate ~harn Spa;n,ish rule to yield the islands up to t he dictation of this young, a;mbitious adventurer. ' Should this same Aguina;ldo be placed in c0~11t1'01 0f af£aiil's, it is not improbable that within a few months ruMer meR w0uld d is~p11'te wit h hi m for a supremacy, rund S00n or ' b te the Phil~PFi nes w0uM i1>e embroiled in continua;l dissensions and rev0]iUti0RS. He SROWS his (!li!ead of t his by t he continual jealousy he display:s of his ass0cia:tes.

Brigadier-Generall Elwell S. Otis succeeded 1;0 tne c0mmamd 0f jjhe America;n forces; which wel'e inm'eased to t wenty tJh0usamd men, amd

H d W, / ffiltl

Ffowers

I.

Poh uduu

3.

N~h ~

2.

fllno

-f.

K llioko/(1

"

THE PHILIPPINES.

299

preparations were begun to bring about peace as soon as possible, by diplomatic means if possible; if not, by armed troops.

In December, 1898, General Otis appointed a commission of three conservative men, Gen. R. P. Hughes, provost-marshal of Manila, Col. E. H. Crowder, judge-advocate general, Col. J . F. Smith, of the First California Regimsnt, to meet a s~mila.z' number of representatives¡¡.selected by General Aguinatldo t o confer in regard to an amicable settlement of the unpleasant situation in the Philippines.

This co= ission was in session until the last days of January without corning to any agreement . The Philippinos seemed to have no settled policy, and their only term was absolute independence for t he islall1ds, with protection from t he United States, which should have no control in public affairs. ' The representatives of the insurgent leader refused to acknowledge t he unfairness of such a proposition, and refused all overtures offered by the Americans.

This per verse action came F . A GO N CILLO, EN V OY OF I N SU lt G J.: N TS . from a complete misunderstanding of t he real situation . It would seem t hat, however sincere and patriotic Aguinaldo's motives had l]een at the outset, he was now actuated by t he blindest sort of an ambition to place himself at the head of another revolution rather t han yield in the least t o American dictation. H e had fired his countrymen wi th the idea that nothing would be gained by exch:l!Dging Spanish rule for that of the new power in the Far East . H e discounted their fighting qualities so far as to declare that they could whip them as easily as their ancient enemy.

The conilict between the Americans and the insurgents was opened by

300

THE FAR EAST.

a shot fired on the evening of February 4, 1899, by a sentry named Grayson, belonging to a Nebraska regiment. General Otis had given an order not to allow a Philippino to pass the lines after nightfllill, and this order had been . confirmed by Agllinaldo. Thus the Philippino who met his d'eath by thi~ shot in trying to pass ,the sentinel knew the risk he was taking. Firing all along tlle line, from 'rondo on the north to Mallllte on the sout h, was begun within half an !lour.

Thrown at first upon the defensive, the Americans the followin g day assumed the aggressive, and on the 7th had driven the insurgents from their trenches, t hus gaining possession of all the suburbs of Manila. During the three days of almost intermittent fighting, the Philippinos had fully

PLAZA ALFONSO

XII., ILOILO.

two thousand men kill ed, while the slain on the American side were four officers and fifty-two soldiers, with eight offi cers and tW0 hunared IlInd seven men wounded. The force of the first numbered t wenty tlhoasallld ; tD.a;t 0f the Americans thirteen thousand . The great loss of tile insurgents was due to the fact that they had not yet learned the rilifference between Spamish and American means and met hods of fighting, a;nd they stubboFnly stood their ground until so hard pressed they had to retreat. They lea;rned a lesson they have not forgotten, and since they have retreated ea'r ly enough in the fray to escape with a smaller list of the dead. Thus far this has been the greatest battle of the war, and while the Americans fired the first shot, the Philippinos were really responsible for it. N0 doubt Aguinaldo was planning to attack the city directly in the h0pe 0] winning

THE PHILIPPINES.

301

a victory before the treaty between the United States and Spain had been perfected, . but the overconfidence and impetuosity of his followers, who believed it an easy matter to outdo their new adversary, precipitated the fight.

The day following t he opening of hostilities, Aguinaldo issued a stirriJilg appeal to his countrymen to flock to his standard, and declaru1g in illtteut, if not words, that he meant war.

The battle of C"lcoocan, in which the navy took an important part, occmred on t he lOth, resulting for the Americans in establishing a complete cordon of more t han thirty-five miles in length arouud Manila .

General Otis cabled on the 12th, " If regular troops en 1"oute w'ere here, could probably end war or all determined twenty opposition III days." But his forces were inadequate to maintain sufficient protection f0r the cioty, a,nd send out expeditions to follow up . the advantages won.

The insurgents Improved the companlitive MOUNTA IN INN, L t!ZON. inactivity of the American army for awhile by .keeping up a guerilla warfare. On the 15th of February an order was secretly issued from Malolos to assassinate every foreigner im. Manila, . but the design was cliscovered in season and the infrumolils scheme never tried. Seven days later the rebels made an ruttempt to burn the city, but t hrough a miscarriage of this desperate plan only Tondon, the suburb inhabited by the Philippinos, suffered.

This wanton act cost t he homes of over a thousand of their count rymen, and the loss of property to the amouut of a hundred thousand dollars. Some fightin g took place at this time, and immediately General Otis issued his famous order which forbade any person without a passport to enter the town after dark. This proved effectual.

Generall Lawton' arrived at Manila Ma,rch 10th with 'r einforcements, alJild on the 13th Wheaton's flying column was sent to the Pasig. Other

302

THE FAR EAST.

expeditions into the interior f<Dllowed nilltil well in,t<D ~he m<Dnth <Df P..ngust, when the wet season had fairly set in alild fudher Jjll1<Dgl1ess was checked.

The insurgents were routed on every halild, but Aguinalril<D aJlways managed to rally his forces at some m<Dre remote place, and make anethel1 stand. He had changed his capital to suit his convenience, iBacoor having been his first seat of so-called government, and .when he found that t<D<D uncomfortable, he moÂĽed to Malolos. Genel1al MCM~hUl1's d,i~isi<D1il <Df troops soon pressing him too hard for his safetij', lile, again shifted his aase.

The Americans now held the territory as far north as ,salil Isidrr'o, on tl!te east to Santa Cruz and Longes, and to the south as far as !Perez cilas Marinas, on the west to the bay.

EXT ERIOR OF I NS URGENTS' CAP Ill0L AT MALOLOS,

1899.

So far Luzon has \Jeen the battle-ground of the insurgents, botn against Spain and the United States. The inhabitants <Df tne islands to the south have been more disposed to fri endliness, <Dr, at least, indiÂŁfel1elilt tID the change iu ruling powers. H ad it not been f<Dr the emissavies <Df Aguinaldo misrepresenting the true si,t uation tID them and coaxing 01' coercing the people into disputing their sovereignty, it is quite safe tID say that the Americ3ins would have met with :Little, :idi alil:Y, opp<Dsiti0n.

As it is, the better class of Philippinos 01' Visayrons in the soutnel1n grol!lps are in sympathy with the establishment of a repu1l>lican g0iVernment.Tn.e contest in Luzon over, the brnnt of the figntmg w~n De d0ne.

Doilo was t aken on the 11th of February by a l3ind and sea t011Ce under General Miller. Since then there have been several skiormishes wirlllil tlle

THE PHILIPPINES.

303

insurgents allied with the lawless tribes of the interior, in which the natives have suffel'ed severe .losses, th9ugh a few wounded comprise the casualties on the American side . . A part of the town was burned by the insurgents, but it is being rebuilt wi,t h better houses than before.

General R. P . Hughes has b~en appointed governor-general of the Visayan province, with his headquarters at TIoilo.

So far no appearance of a disturbance in the Palawan island has been apparent, and none is looked' for from the present indication of .the situation.

An agreement has been reached with the Moslems of the Sulu group,

MUSHROO1\[ IS LANDS .

whereby they are to acknowledge allegiance to the United States, but be allowed to govern themselves as heretofore. This assures peace for the present, if not for all time.

On the whole, the situation is very hopeful, both for the interest of the colony and the United States. With Aguinaldo removed from active campaigning, the war would undoubtedly end in a few weeks. That he can hold out much longer, with the reinforcements being sent to the Ameriea;n forces and the determination on the part of the leaders to liming the whole unpleasant affair to a speedy termination, seems improbable . '['he Philippinos have now obtained arms such as are used by American troops, w~th a few antiquated cannon. But their national weapon is the

304

'l'][E FAR EAST.

bola,' or native knife, used in peace and war , t'ne 0ne weap0n aJb0iVe al~ .others with which they gained such ad-vantage as they ilia with the Spanish. i[t has no regulati0n size or sbape. 'Fhe I1!10st C0mm0n tYl'le used in wadalle is between two aJl!la f;h,r,ee ~eet il!l' reng'th, including the haJl!ldJle,' and nas a wide, th,i ck blaae eage!!lJ lJi:ke a gtJoilHotme.

When wielded 1Jy a frantic Phri!l.[ppino in the heat 0f batMe, ~t is a formiaa1Jle instrument 0I death, which is capaMe @ÂŁ cutting a l1l'l'liIHIJl'l head dewr ]rom ~ts seat at w single b10w, spht Vne ID0c1y fl'0l!'l shoulder to hip, @r cleave the. skull in rtwa1n. At lih.e cali[ to charge, these na,tive trQ@ps disc!lll'Q . 3111 other weappllS' wnd spring to the willd . attack' llian<il 1;@ iaaRd, wield!ing tJile mola wi1ih w terri1Jle effect.

On April 4, 18@9, the war 1Jetweell Sp!llilll. a,na the Uni1;ed StaJtes was ]0l'1I1 a1lilty and officiall1ly enclea by the ratilicakion of thetrewtr 0f peace. By 0ne 0] the 11Ji@visions . 0f tn,is t'lle lwtte,r C01!1nWATERFALL A"'D RAPIDS ON TAYGULA RIVER, :r.HNDANAO. try was 1;0 jilay twenty II!IUJlil1i01l dQllars as indemnity for the Phiilippines, wnd more aetive l1!leaSUFes tEIwn before were begun to take possessi0n of the islands. The lwuCil m@Fces ha~ now reached t wenty-two th'ousand men, wllille the wrmy, billil Jilassed 0l!l jjh.e .

1st of March gave t he President power 1;0 caJil. for thi!l,ty-five th.01!1swndi men.

The scene of acti0n has been [lllacticallily Fem0ved! [l'Om the navwl to the

THE PHILIP PINES.

305

land force. The splendid achievements of t he form er have covered it with and its gallant chief, Admiral Dewey, has been received at home, after a continuous stay at Manila of thirteen mon t hs, with such honours as have been showered upon few men.

A Philippine commission, consisting of Dr. J acob G. Schurm an, Prof.

Dean C. ' ;Vorcester, Hon. Charles Denby, Admiral George Dewey, and Gen. E. S. Otis, lleld their first meeting at Manila on the 4th of April , 1899, g~ory,

HOAR.

2>nd issued a p];oclamation setting forth the intentions of the United States government. This was answered by Aguinaldo on the 28th by as king for a truce and close of hostilities . General Otis demanded full surrender, when the Phllippin.e commission was recalled by Aguinaldo, to be followed by others. Still, nothing satisfactory could be obtained from them, and the Amel)icans despaired of reaching any peaceful settlement.

Doubtless the American commission will make a report at no distant day which will throw considera;ble light on the situation. As it is, its pl1esident, Doctor Schurman, has given to the public some interesting facts concerning the people of the islands, in which he points out the fact that the population is made up of many :t:aces. "Over sixty Clifferent languages are spoken in the Archipelago, and, though the majority of the tribes are small, there are at least a dozen each having over a quarter of a million

306

TcEl"E F AFt EAST . â&#x20AC;˘

members. 'The languages of these J!leople alre as distil'lct ÂŁ110Il'l one all1Grt:b.el' as French and SJ!lanish or Italian, so tllat tile speed\' oli q;I'lY one tllibe is unintelligible to its neighbours." He also shows that there alre 'Various degrees of so-called civilisation and Christialuity, which willI lIequil1e a lemg time of "the inspiration of American civ1lisation" to mail'llt3!in its S01'ereignty. If the burden is heavier than was antic1p3!tea, it Canl'l0t wel~ he laid aside.

S CA LES. S ' a h"~

F

c

l lll".,

a ". , , ••~ .

~1 " '"""" "' ~ ,

C3pi' 31. of Countriu

@

I••b.

C31'it31s of

K~n

- ..:;;:..~~ ~:.:'~:<~ ~~~:;"...~.-

-" MARSHALl!. JONES COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON

F •

0

â&#x20AC;¢

GREtETING.

THE FAR EAST. J A P A N. CHAPTER 1.

THE LAND OF THE GODS.

EACHING from below the Tropic of Cancer on the south to within a few degrees of the Arctic Circle on the north, an irregular chain of islands rises out of the sea, off the eastern coast of Asia, with so much of physical beauty and softness of atmosphel'ic influences as to be poetically styled the Lanel of the Gods. Nature, indeed, bestowed her rarest gifts in b ~nign skies, smiling seas, and picturesque landscapes, so it is easy to accept the fancy of the sentimentalist and picture these Isles of Nippon as the crystal droppings of the Creator's spear, invested with life in its fairest phases by a generous God. In comparison with this fanciful belief~ the verdict of the more practical 0lilserver lilecomes harsh and stern. To him, each lofty peak bears the

R

307

308

THE 'IJlArt EAS'!L'.

symbol of th~t fiery force which liftea it fu;@m tJlile c!l'el~ths @] tNe ill'aeii/iie Ocean, the mother of isla~ds,' and he feels iiJiI eael{ th1!011l .0f the lava-cia@: mountains evidence that their forge fi,r es awe ID0t yet sl~el~t . Sb, ili£ Messedl! on the one hand w:ith the bounties 0.£ ~' mun~,fiieel<lt give~', tJllliis ~siand Paradise has , been a fr~qllent sufferer ' frOID t1le s~0liad.,ie beats 0] [·ts 0Wlil volcanic hC;)art, and ever ~t the mercy ~f th'a t p0Wel' wibich liaised. it £~0m the deep se~: These outbreaks, com~ng less if\ :eql!lently with t·l1e suece~@.ij,l<lg

centuries, and never wide-spreading enough to be m@l'e tb3ln l@call ca,lamities, are ascribed, l1ly those who love to Fietu,r e tlile brig-Ih£est side,]@ tlire agency of a mighty fish lyil'lg asleep under the sea,. TllFmng tin nis slumber, now and then, this monster sets t;l1e 0Ce3ll<l in a uaJge, aJEtd tne latter retali3ltes l1ly sending its waves mOl1l<l.tfuin Iiliigh UffiJon tl't.e mR@eent land.

Reason, as well as sllperstitiGm, is sh0Wll if'01; tlilis belief, [@1' each sl!leceeCling shock comes (l)ceanwa,rd [rOID the !Ii~1!t'IT1i iPr@m0nt0IY, aJl1l@1!lt miiclLwaJY "

JAPAN.

309

on the eastern coast of the l:nain island. From this point a pendant chain (llf v@lcatn,ic forces, connecting the islands of the Northern Pacific with th@se of the Indian 'Ocean, lies fathoms deep beneath the sea. These sunken craters a,re tile forge fires tllat keep a]jve the vital energy which shakes the Isles of Nippon from the Kuriles on the ' north to the Ryukyus on the s@uth. Very few active volcanoes are to be found on the islands, aiBa these are not to be feared, for a volcano in action is an object of w@nder rather than fear. It is only when it ceases to send forth its m@lten debris that it becomes a ' source of da,n ger, and it remains so until it Ilas founa some_new vent by which to discharge its accumulated m/Lsses.

'Ii'he truth of this commonly expressed belief 'was most vividly impressed upon the minas of the spectators who wit nessed the unheralded outburst (i)f tile Banaaisail1 Mountain after a slumber of over a t housand years. Its fires had apparently blumed out centuries ago, and its lava-scarred sides had become c0vered with forests, which had steadily crept upwa rd unt il reaching; Ph'e 'very brink 0f the cratei'. FOllo'wing the example of Nature, man venhlred Nearer and n~arer, until his hamlets were scattered far and high over its verdant slopes. Then, a~ if to show fu.rther proof of its peacefuln ess, aNa t@attrach man hither, a spring of water burst out from near its crest. 'il'his, cnargea with tile sulphurous gases, was believed to possess great mecl.~c1n a:l value, s@ that invalids began to flock to the place, flying to ills (i)f whiGh they never d,rea/med, in 'their anxiety to escape the pains o.f the flesh. Early on a summer morning in 1887, a convulsion suddenly shook the mighty f0rm, swiftly followed by the explosion of a miue in its i,nteri01', and the whole n@rthern sh0ulder was torn asunder. The noise, t he viofeUGe, the c@nifusion, amd the result cannot be described. It was estimated tJhat nearly a b1lljon t0ns of earth and rocks aBd molten mass were thrown aut like a baN from a mighty cannon. The loss to tue and property was appa],]ing. As it was with Banaaisan, after its long rest, so it has been \ mth many others of lesser or greater extent; so it is likely to be with maIl!Y more nntiJI the end of this islana-builcl.ing. Fortunately, these voleaniG dlisturbances are less bequent and violent mth the passage of time.

Wio1Jh a streteh of territory touching all of the zones, lt he Isles of Nippon iJ1atmalJJ.y possess a gvaduated elimate, running born a tem perature of perj1letliall summer to continual winter. In the largest ishlnds, the central p@l1tian, and w,hat might be aptly called the body of this colossal figure,

310

THE FAR EAST.

the small isles forming its Iimbs, spring, summer, autumn, and winter in turn prevail, a rainy period following the second, while snow faills to ID considerable depth in the hlitter. But the extremes of temperature are not as great as in New England, the greatest heat coming in August. The wet season is accompanied by high winds, and sometimes hurricanes rage.

In the more 'sout herly regions the mORsoon swee}'ls sea and land, th0Hgh less frequently, and with less fury thain off the coast of China.' The 1>almy sout h winds of the Pacific prevail generally, so bright sunny days are the

rule in the central islands. H ere the seasons change with clockwork regularity, and the altern~ting breezes of morning and evening make a delightfi.ll climate. Except t he two weeks of' rain alDd the burdensome sllltriness of the do-yo, or August dog-days, there is rulm0st d!liHy sunshine from April to November. Even in the month of Decembell, though tile nights are cold, the days ,Lre warm, and by ¡t he time of the March s01stice t he flower gardens begin to blossom like 'the rose, alDrl t ne fruit-trees put on their decorations, while the inhabitants don their light and white summ er garbs. ,I

\

\

JAPAN.

311

Upon a closer examination, we find that Dai Nippon, as the natives of Hills island realm call it, occupies an important positi0n in the configuration of the world's political powers. Lying in the form of a ' huge letter S along the coast of Asia, it makes a sort of outer guard for that continent, at four points,- SllUmshu Island, off Kamchatka, on the north; Hokkaido, off Saghalien, formerly belonging to this empire; on the central north ; the isles 0f the Strait of Corea on the central south; and Formosa, off China, on the south, - within easy canoe trip of the mainland. Directly eastward the Pacific rolls between its shores and the continent of North America, its placidity unvexed by a point of land for over four thousand miles, while on the northern boundary the Aleutian Isles form the frozen links in the stupendous chain running to Alaska.

The entire area of these numerous islands is, in round numbers, 150,000 square miles, of which the numberless isles lying to the north and sout h, in about equal quantities, comprise less than ten thousand square miles .

This reduces the number to the four largest islands, which, named in the order of their size, are Rondo, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku; the group containing about the same a'r ea as our States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ma,ine, and Maryland. Two-thirds of this sUl'face consist of mountain land, that of the second in the group being almost entirely a masยง of mountains. On the foUl' islands there are as many as seventy-five summits over three thousand feet iu height, - Fujiyama, the Peerless Mountain, reaching an altitude of thirteen thousand feet above the sea, which washes its feet. Hondo, on which this stands, has a solid backbone of mountain running its entire length, amoug its most noteworthy being Orenge-yama, 9,750 feet in height;, Yatsugardaka, over nine thousand: feet 111 height; Nan-tai-san, in the Nikko rRinge, a little over eight thousand feet; Arikeyama, about fi ve thousand feet. Only one of these;' the fi,r st, shows at present any V0lcarnc activity . It is eyident that these four islands at one time were as one, and their shores nowl.extend abruptly down into one of the deepest seas in the world, so that " Old Fuji " Rind his sate]lites, when considered as pillars, rising nearly perpendicular from the hard fioor of the Inland Sea, form the grandest group among the many mountains of the Far East.

The population of this island empire is about forty-two m\illions, nearly the same as that of the United States twenty-five years ago. About equal

312

THE FAR EAST.

in numbers to the population of Great Britain and Ireland at this time.

A striking resemblance ' exists betwe'en the size and shape of the two archipelagoes situated on opposite coasts of the great eastern continent.

There are abbut forty cities with ,a 'popuhvtion of tw enty~five thousan<I1 0r over, Tokyo, the present 'eatp!i.tal, kea<iliillg tlhe ~ist with nearly two million s0uls, It might as well be said here that the preceding description of the size , and situation of his beloved Dai NiJppon WOl!l[<I1 llQ)t IDe accepted by the native inhabitamt as truthful. He kas been taught to know his homeland as l yi n g in the journey of the sun, which rises at one end and sets at the other. This !is ex]il]a~ned, Flot att Vhe expense 0.ÂŁ a;EY 0J!lA FARMEH. ticatl i~ll'llsion, burt from the fact that the really inhabited portion of the isla;nds, the wea;l,t h and historic body, lies between the thirtieth a;nd fortieth pa;rallels, leaviillg out entirely the second island in size, Hokkaido, until recently called Yezo, all of the long string of isles northward, and a corresponding line on the sout h . Even this is a libefilll wllowance of space, for we ca,n draw the lines still closer without serious sacrifice, and so have only a terrj,tory two hundred miles in width, llJnd a totatllength, 'runn!i.n g east a,nd west, of SIX

"

JAPAN.

313

hundred miles. We have nolV the extent of the island empire as the loyal :sons see it, and it is this Dai Nippon , " Land of t he Rising Stln," he is thinking of when he sees the crimson of dawn kiss its eastern shore, and the silver of sunset burnish the peaks of Kyusbu on the west.

It is within this limit the historian must look for his data, the scholar his classics, the mariner his harbolU's and ports, the divine teacher his :sac rea shrmes ,ma holy temples, the husbandman ills fields and plantations, the fortune-seeker his mines; in fact, here are the storehouses of the empire, the centres of population, the seats of political power, a nd , better

'YOKOHAMA

HA nn OU H- .

yet, tile birthplaces of her best <lind strongest of the human bmily, her ed'l1c<lltoI'S, her warriors, her priests. A gl<llnce at the map a,nd a look at her talbl e of population <lind statistics of industries show th <llt , beginning on the east and following the ocean coast in nearly a westerly course, l1ere are ten of the most prosperous and powerful cities of the empire, the majority situated at the head of as many bays. Tokyo, the modern capital, grown with amazing rapidity from an armed camp to a population, in round numbers, of two millions; Yokohama, the New York of the Far East, witll a population of 145,000; Odawatra, ancient seat of governm ent, with twentY-BYe tIiousall1a; Ha.mamatsu, port of extemsive gener"l trade, twenty-

314

n1iE PAR E AST.

five thousamd ; Na.goya., wirtJh sil k, pottery, aJilil.m If\l~'ge gelllerall j;~'a.tile, two' 1l1l1>nd red tlitousalilcl; Osaka, t;he Mapches er 0f th e Fat' Ea.st , 1ii37,3@3; Kobe, fo reign t rea.ty port al1d extensive trame, 15ID,@g!1); Obywma., 01!lltilet for g reat rice districts, 51,@72 ; F,{i.rosllii,m a, a.rmy h eatilqil!la.rte~·s tillU'iling Ohin ese war , ninet y-eight th0usllind; Shimonoseki, [prrnci])lw] gl'Mn iJP0rt (i):fj' the South, thirty thousllin!il .

J apan, the na:me by which this ell1lpi,r e is best Im0wB to the M'01,lcil art large, wa.s derived fro m th e Dutch Jipen, wl'lick wa.s C0Fl'Upte!il, horn Vne· term bestowed long ago by China. Ta king t];le ter m 1>:y w hiich the ,iliruJila-· nese designates t he ar-:;nipela.go, NipPGu, or Ni-k0N, t h.e {iollst sY'llaib~e lneaJ'blS· sw~, and t he last oTigin; taken t ogether, "slH1"origiN." ]lI'l tke ime0gll I)llhie signs forming th e written and pri nted larngaages of t he tw@ countries, J7i means the same in the Ohinese th at ~Ni does in the J'apanese, hence fli@JIl1 J ihon the Dutch obtained J ipen, according to th.eir pr onunciwti01il, and: from that th e t ransition t o J a.pan was easy. In this c(1)]1l1eetion iot rmay iIlle well to men tion that the inha1>itants of J a.pa n Never ab1Hdle t® t lliemse!li¥e.s in that way, but speak of themsehTes as dVihon-j·iJn, rthrut is, "ii>eop~e 0f Nihon ." This last n ame' is ofteN given by t118 map-ma.kers to t he ~argest island, but this a.pplies tG t he entire gl'O"lllIP, alilill H0nm G, which mealils. li terally" the t rue region," desigmlltes t hat .

1\

A .JUNK.

CHAPTER II. TilE GA.TEWA.Y OF TilE ORIENT.

J

AP AN is wonderfully favoured in the matter of harbours, there being over half a hunch'ed ' in which large craft may find safe ent rance.

In one of these, on the western coast of t he island of Tsnshima, a navy might be secreted, and the water close to tue shore is so deep that ships can be fastened to the trunks of huge trees growing to the water's very edge, t heir trenchant branches dipped into the placid tide. The most fa,mons harbour, according to the world's reckoning, is t hat of Nagasaki, and this ana the port of Yokohama are the two which are the {iestination of foreign steamers of travel. Another noted place is Shimoda, formerly a port of treaty; and then there a re Toba, Matoya, and Shimidzu, a.ll on the Pacific coast. In the InlaIid Se!t are the sheltered bays of Miitarai, Tatkamatsu,. and the naval station of K1n'e; in the far north are the ports of Mororan and H akodate . On the western coast are fo und Bado, Ilci, and the one first mentioned. These are only a few of those best knoWl) at the present time. Others will soon share with them in receiving the ships qf commerce from all parts of t he world.

315

316

TilliE FAiR EAST.

With this genel'al knowled ge of tke [slamd! eBlji>i're, ana litaving selected.

Yokohama as OUil: objective po~nt, il1 ce1npaJil[onsh~lD with other t(j)l!u'~sts from every quarter of the globe, we emlDioy t11e lejS1.Vlle ef a leJilg 0eeMl voyage, where no sail is sighted £01' eVier f01!lr tl~el'lsat1ld miiJ.es, which, though made between the 4~th amd 3i!i't1. lD<lIralllels, is net ol'eken ef its monotony by a single iceberg, in watching tiile ari.a.n @tll;];iues e£ tile sThac10wy shores of the chain 0f 1nh@slDitable isles om V1Je norlilli, 01' [liste11lil1g wi.th romantic fer vour for the howl of the p0et's wold' 0] 1lJ~lalals lcaJ !

If we are somewkat rudely distmlDe«l in this [ast lilarmJess alJil11ilsement by the deolaration th&t the nearest appFoach t@ a w@i\f e,'e1' seen. en lihe islands is t he blue fox, raised by the iMhalDi,t ants f0r j,t s IDeit, auril iih, t the real brute and its" prolonged ho.wl " exist ())n~y !in "p@etierul llicense," the loss is not long remembered, nor is any iilll-wi1[ lai«l up agabnst tlite [Doet.

The gladdening sight of the sacred islaJild of a surnqier cllime, Kinkwa2ia1il, in the glistening Bay of Sendai, brings 1!lS in go@d-Natmed lhn sh~p wi1lh all the world. We should not be human did we fail to ge imlt0 rWID1i1!l'res over the gold-tinted waters, the pearly sa,nds of the seaskol'e, the litUe lighthouse at the point of lalld, its flying flag, the W ls i,n the lDaokgrG~lIBa decked out in their most becoming suit 0] easteFn pines; aJb0iVe these t11e "mountain . of the golden fl0wer," and over rull the matchless sky 0f alJil afternoon in the Far East . Vl e have seen J alDan! Thjs picturesque spot, wruch seems designed @n ]l-t]lJ']lose 1;0 calDtivate the approaching seafarer, is preem.illeri,t l), tJlqe saillor 's haven . Hiel'e, 1!ll'l.rilel' t he 0lcfn3gime of spiritual rule OIl earth, lived the sea ~leity ~'hese <ilil!l.ty it was to give the waters of the golden shm'es th0se rare hues @f I)lil'l.k ana bronze, green and purple, the uJtramfllrin.e ama i'l'idescellit tinms t@un~ nowhere else by the mari,nel'. H ere, befol'e ~ts tiny shnbiles, h e 1'etlwns thanks to the God of the Sea for rull t he 1D1essings he Iilas besto;we~l ~llD 0n him, and prays for a continuance of his di'Villle faVG~l1's . Amid!. tinese saered!. groves the deer roams at wiU, fen' t his is hallowed grollJilcil , where the ~and of man is lifted against no living creattu'e, tlli.0ugh in «lays Iil())t yet grewn gray with the passing years, uo W@IDaJlil was all owed to ellher here lest her presence desecra,te the holy retrea,t . Ha]lpily th is has changed, amli W0man has risen, if not to the glory of her Western sisteli, to a respectwb[e pos~ti0n. in J apa,n.

We leave Sendai bwtlled in the ~ft light~r@lD es 0] Vhe settiug SlilL1, wm!

JAPAN.

317

the following morning get a second glimpse of the Island Paradise we shan never forget. Again it would seem as if there had been some special arrangement or understanding between the sun and t he island that we should see the latter under the most bvoumble condition possible. Later ' on we find it is the ruling passion in J apan to make the most of everything, both on the pWl't of man and nature.

As we gl ide over the Jillacid sea, reflecting t he gorgeol}s hues of t he rising sun like a vast sheet of brilliant foil, a delicate gray cloud in the hazy

STREET ON WATER - FRONT , YOKOHAMA.

distance rapid.]y assumes the shape and suhstance of- a pink and white pillar rising high into the transparent sky from out of the darkn ess below.

"Old Fuji, the Peerless!" some one exclaims, and instantly all begin to watch and admire the mingling tints of early sunrise blending in the pearl of the snowy cre~t and the deep green of its pine-clad sides. A queenly s@vel'eign looks this majestic mOUNtain, fu lly cl eserv~ng all the ho~age proid her in this land of t he chrysant hemum and cherry blossom, the country where the. lordly stork is the feather ed kin g o~ clay, and the dusky raven, of lu ght, which the foreigner is prone to desdibe with unreal admirati@n or real misundel¡sta,ncling.

318

THE FAR EAST.

Flljiyama's spell is soon broken by the sight of t he picturesque shore oji Yedo, when the approaching spectwtors il!re kept blUSY willtehing the sl~ri:ÂŁtll1g scenes of sea and land, - the large, square white sails dottiNg here and there the one, the deep-g reen hills marking t he other; the clumsy-looking junks of the Japanese, manned by crews of undersized saiil0ra, dressed in blue and W hit e l'o])es, eit her fla\Dping in the air or tucked up under the w a i s t ban ril ; overhead a sky of Orien tall purity.

Now on Ollr right I\,re the brok en l)rovinces 0] AWl\! and Kazusa, the two fOl'lni,n g a peninsula, made so );)y the Gnlf of Tokyo, whieh thl'l1sts i s fl attened head well into the vilIlney between Vhe mount wins on eithe1' side.

On om left the province of Saglt pushes w bl<umt end LAKE, M\" ÂŁNO. into the sea of Sagani, and in plain sight is the village of Uraga, dewr to every Americ,~n hea,rt as t he town opposite which Commodol'e Perry ilInehored his squadron of steamers on the 7th of Jul y, 1853, and boldly demanded a,n lnten 'iew witl'! the ruling power ,of J apan. Tbe historic spot now beillrs the n wme he fittingly gave it, Reception Bay. Jllst albove is an island bewring his name, while beyond is another isle desigm.ted as ViTebster Islailld. Newl'l)' opposite is a spot of more melancholy interest tID ti~e incoJl1JiQijg .Ameriean .

This is t he blll'iai water of the wa1'- teamer One:icla, which was run down l~OTUS

JAPAN .

319

alld stm k by the British mail stefl,rn er Bombay on J amuwy 23, 1870. The sad i'l1cident proved how ullgmteful and forgetfu l of its dead one grefl,t nation can be, while showing t he disregard of the other in not offering any reparation; but if th ose most coucern ed in the welfare of the unfortunate victims were careless of them, J apan has shown herself more thoughtful and sympathetic. ' Vithin a few ye:lJ'S a p,trty of J apan ese gent lemen have bought the wrec k, rescued th e bones of the poor s}"tilors who went down with her, and, tak ing these ashore, buried them beside the remains (!)f their comrades who hael been recovered soon after the disaster. Not content with doing this, the humane body made preparations for a magnificent requiem, calleel 8egaki, or Feast for Hungry Spirits, which was performed in a Buddhist church, all foreigners in the city being invited to witness the ceremonies. Our own Admiral Belknap, with his 0fficers and men, was present. III his geuerosity he offered to share the expense, only to be met with a courteous, but firm refusal on the part 0f the philanthropists, who thus rememiJereel t he long-neglected stmng'rs who had founel untimely gmves by their shore.

Ten miles farther down the bay is a spot oE h.istoric interest to Englishme l~, Mile' !!Ielightful resort of Yokosu ka . H ere "is the grave of Will Ada.ms, the ,f1Lsi Englishman to visit Japan. H e went th ere as pilot of a Dutch trading vessel in 1@10, and was detained on the isl'a nel by the J ,1panese on account 0f his skill in shipbuilding and his knowledge of mathemat ics .

He gamed nhe friendship of the shogun, but was never allowed to return to his naJtive land. Finally he marrieel a Japanese wife, and lived with he1' limtill he die~l, twenty yeall's lahel;. His grave is now poin ted out on a hintop, as a spot of interest, ano, from its" sightly" sitLU1tion, one of the Nnest views in the country is to be (!)btained.

We ai'e again reminded of tbe frequency of American names in this ' faraw'ay place by having our attention called bo the lilt;tle bay of Mississippi and Treaty Point, wh ere Commodore P erry won his triumph by establisillng international relations with the ruling powers. VIre are now withm five maes of our destination, and the wa ters ,11'e fairl y filleel with smlllU boats, t~le rowers standing upuight anel sculling, while in the distall ce a1'e to be seen the wa,r-ships of many nations, presenti'n g a somew hat fOl'bidding feature t(!) what is otherwise a pictl1l'e of plea,sure. Bnt the monsters 0f destraction appear lill1concerned at our coming, anel we give

320

THE FA R EAST.

them onl y a passing glaHce, while we gaze u1ilon our S1UTOUl1<!1i~~gs ~In a bewild er ed way .

The first thing we notice wbout these ID@atmen sWilirmoiang Wr0l1iliUil l~ S is their scantiness of clothing, and then their <!liuI).hllUtive sta,j;m e. TIle :tii~'st is amply compensated for by t he well~l"(i:llVDc1 e dli!ITI bs, 0D wluck t~le m~lscles stand out sharply defin ed, and ther e is prollilise of gl'eat strength amI endurance in the small fxwmes . TIle majority of t hem al'e y01ll1lilg men,

D OU B LE D nlD GI-: I N [MP E R[AI. GA U D EN.

and as tlley sweep th eir boat s t oward llS, IDel1dialg aH ~l rising witlQ each movement, their band-like garments W01'n wb0u,t the ioins Ji!,l,l ·t er in 1ihe bre3ze, Ii ke so many banners.

But no one feature of vhe sceHe holds our a.tten<ti(;m £@1' ,lJ gl'eat ~en gth of time, so we find our gaze wandering far nmd near over vhe e \re1' shidmilllg pan orama. It all seems so strarnge to llS, so nove~, so lll>lwea!] becwtlse unusual, t hat we quite lose ouu' sel '-possession, <lind ralm i },t @ ecstas ies @;ve~' the rare sights . The gre3ltest c])<II1'1n, aJit el' all , is the rem, rlullble blJiglltnes,' and beauty of the light Wild '"t;m ospl~el·e . 'fhese, MeH<l,ul1g ~ l~ a hllll ] Y "

J APAN .

321

combination that fascinates and all ures us on, are alone sufficient proof that we have entered a new realm of existence. Forgotten in a moment t lije two weeks of imprisonment on the palace of the deep, forgotten the many EttIe unpleasant incidents of our long voyage, in t he joy of this beautiful awakening. And while we gaze, and ad mire, and wonder, the E mpTess of the P acific steams alongside of t he hatoba, or landi ng-place, when we realise that we have passed t he gateway of the Orient, that we are in front of what was forty years ago a small fi shing hamlet, but which is to-day the bustling, cosmopolitan city of 145,000 inhabitants, Yokohama, t he New York of Japan.

CHAPTER III. FIRST GLIMPSES .

T

HOSE troublesome factors of foreign travel, customs @fficers, arrest our attention in the midst of our sight-seeing, but we get rid @f th em here more easily than anywhere else. Dut ies are low, the government not being allowed to go abo,'e five Fer cent., and its l'epresentatives courteous an'd considerate, s@ that we wre soon free wnd wandeTing at our will. As we pa~s on, however, we hear the angry w@ras 0] a n opiuI11 smuggler denouncing what he deems wn unjust discrimin3ition against his nefarious business.

Weare quickly reminded of t he hackmen at home by the rnsh made by a score, more or less, of coolies sweeping down ap@n us with their oaellooking t wo-wheeled vehicles for transporting people about, tlhe " Pn]l]-man car of the Far East," as s o~n e one facetiously named it. This simple carriage, draw n by its human horse, is another reminder of America, its inventor having been a missionary from this country, who was with Commodore Perry on his eventful voyage. This is the most popul:lJl', 3ind may be said to be t he usual mode of conveywnce in J apan .

The JinTikis hc6, or k1ÂŁ1'Urna, as the J apwnese prefer to call it, is, as lias been said, a t wo-wheeled affair, with shafts, and a cu~llioned seat, wit h a receptacle underneath to hold parcels belonging to t he travel'ler. Tile body is painted black, and is usually without OrDwments . In case of 1'31in, there is a hood which can be put up, and, in event of a hot sun, this serves as a means of protection quite as desirable. Tile rider is wlso sheltered from getting wet by an oil-paper lap-robe. The sel1s<tti@n of being jogger1 along by a human horse in one of t hefle siingular vehicles is likely to be remembered.

Next to his kurum a, the "rickshaw man," as he has been nam e~l by Americwns, is an object of interest. H e is usually a spllire person, with mu 'cles well developed, clothed in sh@rt blue cott@l1 tights, and overshil1t of the s<tme material, with wide-flowing sleevp~, allld open &t the neck. A 322

JAPAN.

323

strip of cotton cloth is worn about the forehead, and, when it is very hot, he covers this head with a wjde-rimme~l straw hat of prodigious size and shaped like a huge mushroom. Sandals made of straw, with a loop for the great toe, protect his feet from the hard. smooth roads. H e trots along at an easy gait of five miles an hour. If the person he is drawing is uncommonly heavy, or the way hilly: a second coolie j~ ins him either ~n pa}ling or pushing, which amounts to the same t hing, and the passenger is called upon for an ~xtra sum of fom' cents . At night-time the rickshaw

J'tNRIKISHAS.

man catrllies a ]a;ntiern to I'ighten Illis path, and to see one of them coming in the distance is to imagine one sees a firefl y bobbing aJlong the road.

As human labour is chea;per than that of the horse, the lilltter is seldom utilised in the milltter of conveyance, and not to any great extent in the agricultural! pm'suits. Thus the jinrikisha Ulnd the rickshaw man ,lire in gueUlt rilemand . He cUln be hi red by the day for about fo rty cents, or seventy-five yens, as he reckons it. He will cover his twenty-five or t hirty miles between suns, with a speed and endurance that is surprising to the stranger . There are nearly three hundred thousand jinrikisbas now used in J apan, though the vehicle has been in existence only a third of a

324

THl!: I!'Al{ EAST.

century. China has ,ulso adopted it as a commOR means of conveyamee, while it has been introduced successfully iRtO Ina'ia.

A large percenta,ge of the business of Yokohama is carried on by means of canals, which intersect t he city in almost every direction, and the carrying trade is done on sampans, boats built for tha;t especial purp0se.

P assing along ~n e of the streets, the visitor is struck with the nummer 0'ÂŁ trades and crafts which are plied here, - the COo l;)e~'s, the masket mamers, t he makers of dolls, idols, clogs, wooden pill ows, straw hats, rain-coa.ts, sandals, fans, toys of all kinds, rockets, and lanterns, the weavers of towels, and t he followers of other trades too nl;merous to mention, !lind mauy of which we conld not name if we tried. 'Dllen thel'e I.'e the tl'acilers in all classes of goods, and. the venders of atrtieles thart w0ulcil be ifu.al'd to classify.

Th e cosmopolitan character of people and objects is apparent to the llewest comer. H ere are to be seen the representartives of lll!liny races of n~en, - the Chinese III his odd, loose-fitting cost~lIne, the Corearn in his bright, attractive dress, t he Greeli: priest of Russia in his blaCK cassoelt, t he nun of Southern Europe in her dark robes, the J ew illl his t hread ba,re suit of blac k, th e Bri tish soldier III his red coat) the soldier 0f France in his coat of blue, t he American tourist in his jallDty oi,lting suit, arnd others more picturesque, if less important. Vying with the noise and con[usion of the street, rin gs t he medl ey of voices of many latnds, wh iaa a/o0ÂĽe atia !lil'e ll eard t he lond tongues of the push-cart men. Yokohatma is not one of t he most attractive cities of J apan, but it is a busy place, an easy steppingstone from the bustle and excitement of our own business' m, I.'ts to the other cities of the Orient. IV e are especially reminderi! 0i homehtnd by the lawyers' signs, those of doctors ana dentists, newspapel' omees, arnri! barber shops, where for (1 trifle one can hatve his hair eut ill either Engl1ish, French, or J apanese style.

For purposes of local distinction, the city is div ided into t hree pa.rts or d istricts : " Th e Bluffs," a half-cil'cle 0f bills where fo reign residents live; "The Settlement,'" or main portion of mixed' iiHllam itaJl!l~s; ana "The Native" quatrter, where the J apanese congregate. This ~ast, of course, contains the great bulk of the people, though there are ne1llrly ten thousand fo reigners now in the city, made up principa,lly of Chinese, English, American, . German, French, Russiarn, Dutch, Danish, Ita}ia;n, Belgia;n,

JAPAN .

325

Hungarian, Spanish, Swerilish, Norwegian, Swiss, Portuguese, with a sprinklilJ!lg @f other nati@nall ities .

The streets are wide, a,nd well pa,ved with concrete or white stones, which seem nearly indestructible. The most co mmon mea,ns of transportation along these is the push-cart, made with two wheels that need no tires, a fiwt b0ttom, -shafts -a nd cross-bar in front, and !L beam behind, pr0peliled by four lusty fellows, one pa.ir in frorit and the other at the rear.

S'FHEI~T

SC ":N E. YOI\O II A:'i rr\..

The amlimnt @f shGlUtil1g they do al11d t he load they will move are somewhat astoJllish~ng to the neWC0me r.

The" l3Toal!lway" of this EasterN New York is Main Street, wh ere fine¡ st0ne-ir(!mtea stores with a ]liberal SNow of. plate-glass i\rindows are to be seen, Fl'os,j!lerou s bl1lNks, houses of commerce, hotels ,s omewhat 01) t he Occiaental l~la!l'J, res ta'lU'a lol'ts,. and places 0f trade, where m0re d'isplay of goods is t@ IDe ]01.1 Thm t11111n eisewbere ~n Japan. One of the finest streets is " The i1Bl!llID.a," which l'l!1I1S along the water-Jiront, and bas a stone wall of s@lil!l mills@nry on t11a.t side, its entire length.

IJIlle business Inel1 oÂŁ J <liFaliJ @fie1' no lilazzl ~llg display o'f their wares in sa@F '&rol1ts. '['his CllSG@m so f0 reign to our own sprang f rom the low

326

THE FAR EAST.

estimate formerl y placed upon trade as a means of e~lIFning a lJiveBo0d, and from the inherent disposition of the Japanese to avoid what seems to him vulgar show . The artist who portrays his skill in the details of a work of art in decoration and technique by the e0nS~1'mmate aci!e,p tn ess Thywhich he conceals' rather than suggests his SKill, by a design intended ~or that purpose, has t he same principle at heart. It requires the eye and the knowledge of a H artist to appreciate a work of J ruprunese art. One of the best illustrations of t hi idea carried out in trade is to be 'seen at Kyoto,

BOX S HOP.

the ancient capital, where one of the h"rgest and richest stol'es is hidden behind an old, weather-stained building, that seems little more than a lattice-work front sadly out of repa ir. Once this unin viting exteri(;}r 'is passed, the visitor is ushered into spaciolls quarters, where <lire to liJe found tastefully ornamented wrurerOOI1lS, elegant snowl'@@ms, charining gardens, and large fire-proof warehouses. Close beside this is to be found a place having yet more of the old style. The entrance to this weaJlthy establishment is indicated only by 1)he bustle and activity going @ID, w'nire inside there is an utter l acl~ of businesslike methods, the salesrooms being nothing more than small back-ch ambers, with vistas of rockeries IIInd

JAPAN.

327

shrubberies in the background. Tokyo, the modern capital, with less of traditi(m !lind mQre of boldness, has placed her Mammon in a greater conspicuousness, and has changed to a greater degree the methods of her tradesmen; but .even here t he seeker after trade does not parade his wares with alllY particular daring for public inspection, and the day is still distant when J apan shall 'so far forget her natural modesty a. to display the temptation of the Occidental mart.

An import!lint place for the foreign visitor is the Benton Dori, or one of the money exchanges on Main Street, where for a trifle he can get his ClU'l'ency !lind bank-notes changed into the fractional coins he must of necessity have in t his country. The J apanese denominations of money are based UpON the decimal system, the yen, at par, being equal to the American dollwl'. This yen is divided into one hundred sens, corresponding to the cents of America. These sens are divided into ten l'ins each, whose vwlue is the same as our mill. For several years the paper yen has suffered a depreciation in valLIe, so one of them is about equal to fifty cents ~n goltil. Thi.s .ÂŁact should be borne 1'n mind in estimating values.

Yokohama h318 little scenery to attract the newcomer . . Its beaut:y spot is "The Bluff," where are to be seen the fine residences of the wealthy f0reigners who have . taken up their homes in this city. Here, too, the diplQm!lits from different countries have chose~ to live rather than at the caFital, Tokyo. The place is reached by a tortuous road, but no sooner 3Ire the heights gained tb il'n an extensive and beautiful panorama of country is unfolded to the admiring gaze. The avenues are all bordered with trees and flowering shrubs. Flower gardens stocked with native and foreign plants !lire managed with skilful care. Qne of these boasts of a hu,udlFed varieties of peonies, while another has a display of chrysanthemums unequalled elsewhere in the world until very recently. The houses are not albove two stories in height, but are commodious and attractive without and comfortable within. They command a fi)1e view of the bay, with i.ts sparkling waters !lind fleets of boats, junks, and steamers; the plains, wi,th their br-reaching fields of crops; the rivers, forests, and mount!liins, crowned by that matchless gem, silver-tipped Fuji.

H ere is to be seen the oldest tea-house in Yokohama, named Fujita, in honour of the sacred mountain standing out in such bold relief against the clea,r sky. This Io:lity building is reached by a stairway of a hundred stone

328

'l'H'E IfAR EAST.

steps, concerning the ascent of whic11 the foll 0 wing st0ry is t0M: 80me years since, a circus ~'ide1', grown weary 0f t he wppla!l1se W0H iii! 1Jhe ring, undertook a tour of the c0untry, '\\lith the express [lmrp0Se of ~'icllj,lilg d0Wlil the stone steps of every shrine h e shou!ld visi,t , h(Dpi,ng hly- t1J,is recklessliless to gain the fav,our of the gods belonging tCD tne salme.

iIil!l the C0u,r se 0r ilis

wanderings he came to FHjita, a nd acc0mpaJl!l ied. hl!)i' his <!laJHghter r@tile '1!I1p th e hundred steps.

Then, as if tel CDutdo hiomsel!f, lite l'0de til0wn the St0l!le

SUDUHBAN 'n : r\.-1I0 tlS t:S.

stair way standin g upon hi s h eacl 011 the back of his il01'se, h0ldi1ng hletween his uplifted feet a fan .

If

s uccess~lll

here, 1J1~e st0ry goes 01il 1i0 say tJmalt

he soon after m et his cleaJth by a :ÂŁalll from his hOllse.

Whethe1' his 'lli!ol1se

blllndel'(3cl, or the gods withdrew their favour, th e na:na,tol' <!loes IUOt say.

The post-office is on Main Str eet, tlir01TI W11U 0h ¡ mari~s to 'Elu,roJjle ~eave every week, and to ArHerica 0nce in ten clays.

ili3lJllan ael@ngs 110 line

P ostal UHion, a uniform l'ilite for fo1'e18'0 letters being fi~e sen [01' aJ [etter whose weight cloes not exceed fliteen gUaJm~.

"

The late :ti@l' aJ lette1' 0f

JAPAN.

329

. one-fourth ounce is two sen for any part of the empire. A telegraph office is nellir by, and a message can be sent to any part of Japan for a charge of about a cent a character. If sent in a foreign language, the expense is five sen a word. There are three cable routes to Europe, t he cost being from two to three dollars a word to New York.

The" native quarter " .of Yo.kohama, is an interesting locality to learn s0mething of 'a Tace that we know only iu onr ignorance . "Ve have been taught to expect everything done here in a manuel' entirely different from that we have known in the homeland. We build sky-scrapers for dwellings, while the J apanese never go above two stories ; we apply the power of na;ture and beast to our mills and vehicles, and, until we taught them sometbing of our art, t hey depended wholly on man-power; our workmen use their tools with movements away from them, and theirs toward them; we furnish our houses with great care and pride, while they keep theirs bare of furni,t ure, and sleep upon the fl oor ; we sit upon chairs and eat from a ta;1i>le; while they s1t on the fioor, with their food placed beside them; we sleep in the aalrk, but they keep lights bU1'l1ing from dusk to dawn; we , wear ha;ts, while they go with heads uncovel!ed; we pass vehicles by turning to the right, they to the left; we kiss our friends, they never salute with the lips; we shake hands, while they bow; we write to our correspondents with pen a,nd ink, in characters running from left to ri ght, and across the page, while they indite their letters with brush and paint, run- , ning from right to left, and up and down; our young women consider their matrimoninll market good at twenty-five, while theirs blacken their teeth at twenty-four, as an annOlmcement that they have passed the marriagea,ble age; we dress to display, while they endeavour fio conceal the quali ty 0] tae goods, and the 0l!LtsiCle of <), dress worn by a Jap1llnese lady of the better class is plain, .though the inside is elaborately trimmed with silk, which is seen only when she puts the outer garment off and hangs it up .

As a race, tbe J apanese get their growth at a younger age than the people of Caucasian descent, but 'they never attain the size of the latter, except in rare cases. The average height of the male with them is but a little over fiv e feet, and the weight 125 pounds. The females are correspondingly sJll1ll11er, averaging a height of four feet and eight inches, and a weight OD one hundred ,pounds. The majority of the people, t hat is, the wOl!kil!lg class, arre strong 1IIna rolmst, but many of tae upper class 1IIre

330

THE FAR EAST.

puny . In proportion to the body and limbs, the head is hlll'ge. The CQuntenance is long and murrow, theugJa a: ii¡rut Iilose gives i,£ , n !lippelllF!liIilCe 0] width. The forehead is low ; the mouth, as a rule, smaJl1 and shapely, though sometimes abnormally huge . The eye is dark, it s lids showing aJn apparent obliqueness it does not really possess, fr0m the fact that the skin of the forehead is not creased at the 'corners, as in tlle case of 0theF races.

The cheeks !lire broad and flart, meeting a nrulTOW 0110]1'1 ruNa GQliltl'aGting HIDW. The skin is of a light yellowish hue, often not da,rker than thart of tIle

A VRGF.'JlABLE DEALEU.

races of Southern Europe. The growth of hair is not abunaall1t, and this turns gray at an early age, though baldness is ailmost unknown. '['he 10weF limbs are short in proportion to the body, and with0ut grll,ce of movement; but the arms and neck are well formed, and the former fJ0sSeSl! a wondeFful ease and grace of action.

The home of the J a['Janese offers a ]Dretty picture OD fami1:y [[fe, tine pride and autocrat being the child under six. Immed,iately !lifter that age, this little member is swiftly and mysteriously traillsformed into a youthJiul adult, with the caJres and realisation 01 a home-maker, rather tha:n the CaJFelessness of an infant. In the J aJpanese nUFsery thel'e is n0 EaJUilt-finding, ,\

JAPAN.

331

no hint of disgrace; the parent becomes the model which the child follows, and, followin g, in its wanton glee, is always welcome, always l0ved, - spoiJed, if loving does that, but ever com ing out a bright, obedient Y0uth 01' maid. If the latter, soon emerging into womanhood's uoblest state, taught from infancy" to love, yield, help others, and forget self."

Under such benign influences the youn g heart waxes pure and strong, ready to make any sacrifice, and brave enough to bear any cross. The

LAKE V1 STA IN G ENT LEMAN 'S GAROEN.

'saddest feature is the rapidity with which age comes on, and the Japanese maid declares she is old at twenty, and, f0ur years Iwter, must give up her a.mbition to get married, if she has not been fortunate enough to have secured this end in life before that time.

Sh0uld there be no child in a family some time united, then it is doubt1ess because the grim angel has visited this simple h<!lme, and now a sam-eyed mother m,oves about so as to keep her gaze away from the little players across the yard. Before a wooden taJblet bearil'lg the name given

332

THE FAR EAST.

the baby at birth, and holding the little garments he wore, she reverently places a t iny dish of rice, and fish, wit h daikon. She spea,ks of him now, when she speaks at all, by the new name that ca.me to him as he passed over the heavenly bridge leading to s pirit~h\l1d.

A more pathetic picture than even t his is t he home presided over by an aged O.Dllple, who have lost the.i r family treaSUl"es and are left alone in t he world. They may be the relics of th0se who started Glut together i'n ea.rly life, hand in hand, and who have seen their loved ones removed, one by

A

;\I ASSEU It.

one; or they may be those still more sad people who, b,wi,n g lost t heir 31]1], have joi ned their pitiable fort unes in a home where the t hi ef cam fi nd nothing to steal should he break in . A union of t his kind is known by t he distinctive term of " pa rty fo r m,~kin g tea."

Especially fo rtunate are t he men who have reached t hree score years and one, when it is expected t hey will lay as ide tlie burdens of life, and pass their remaining days ih peace iIInd rest. Thei,r child ren or gram<ilchil<ilren are expected to support t hem, new clonhes are gif\re n t hem, nheir hewl h is d1"l:ltnk in the best of wine, and congra,tulations a re hewped upon them from all.

If for no other reason, one is pretty sure to remember bis fi rst evenil1g

JAPAN.

333

1n any Japan city from bearing the low, plaintive call of the bli nd shampooer under his window. If this is not heeded it \yill soon move on, gradna,lly grow ing f<tinter and more melancholy, until it dies out in the distance. The sightless mctS Se!~1 ', or shampooer, as he is known, belongs to a sort of nationa,l guild, as J apan ma kes special effort to protect her liJl1incl , wlijo are very numerous. Tbis is done by allow ing them a monopoly of 1Jhe profita,ble occupation of massage, wbich is clone by a dexterous maillipula,tion of the skin ,wcl muscles, and has .a very beneficial effect.

F ew deny themselves this healthful indulgence, so the soi.lrce of ¡income to those who live by t his means is considera ble. The sightless shampooer, with his heavy oaken staff in hand, ancl the whistle by which he annOLlnces his coming at his lips, groping his way along the streets, is frequently seen and hea,rd after nightfall.

CHAPTER IV. THE IMPERIAL ROADS .

J

APAN is in constant moti0n, hom the v01canic f0rces uml.eFllea;nh, but this movement is not observable under ordina;FY circumstlllnces. In fact, four distinct sources of danger continual]]y menace the safety of the J apanese, which they denominate, jishin , ea;rthqulllkes, kamina1'i, thunderbolts, kwaji, fires, ovaji, fathers.

It would be naturally expected, under this condition, that they would stand in perpetual fear ef these secret enemies, the more to be dreaded because of their stealthy approach; but in no land! is peril trea;ted more lightly, or sorrow more philosophically. They buila theilr dwellings invariably of light wooden rnateria;l, ana never a1i>(we 0ne story. ;Light shutters are closed at night, a:nd th ese S0 lumg that, at the sllightest warning of danger, the occupamt win ifind the least hindFllInce to flight possible. This simplicity of style has n0t developed a'ny particulror arch i. tectuml skill , and a J apanese city is picturesque in its simplicity, being but a rambling collection of toy-like shanties. In ancient structures, however, they have shown greater ade:ptness, and have evolved a roof curve t hat is the admiration of the rest of the world.

Second in the list of evils is the fire, a,na a vivid presentllltiell of the loss and danger from this element is made when it said that 'Fokyo, the capital, is estimated to be laid in ashes every twenty-five yealis. This does not mean destroyed by the sweep 0f one conflaga'ati011, bl~.t t hat in a quar ter of a century a number of dwellin'g s and business houses, eql!lai rto t he entire munber of the city, have been oblit era,ted . Whlllt is true of Tokyo in tIllS respect applies to any other city. Yet the peeple . mile at t he thought of fear, laugh at the cla,ngour of the fu'e-bell, ana style the fire" the fl ower of the capitaJl." By this it must not be undeFstood that the J llIplllnese fails to real~ se the loss to himself or his country, 01' that be puts on IlIny fllllse bravad0.

The earnings of a lifetime may have vlllnished in the smoke of a n ve334

JAPAN.

33'>

minute fire, leaving him penniless as well as homeless. Still, with his family fllomiciled close by the smoking ruins, he sets himself cheerfully to work to build anew . He lives under the inspiration that he has no right to thrust his. sorrows or burdens on another. It is a part of the common lot to suffer thus, and this experience has held in check -the increase of t.he wealth of the island empire.

When we look to ¡the origin of this second evil, we find that it is largely

GENTLEMAN'S SUBURB AN V ILLA , BAN c n o.

due to tile first; is an indirect result, from t he reason that the dwellings the first compels the people to build are poorly constructed to resist the ravages of the fire-fiend. With the introduction of modern appliances for fighting the flames, the loss from fire has been decreased somewhat, but wilt h t1~e majority of towns, and in the mem0ry of t11e inhabita nts, it has 0nl)' been modified, not materially changed . . Though we came with only the faintest smattering of the J apanese language, we are really congratulating ourselves on the readiness with which we are picking up phrases, and even sentences. We can say quite

336

THE FAR EASIT'.

glibly, ohayyo, "good morning;" rnata-i1'asshai, "please come again; kon-ni-chi-wa? " how do you do ?" At parti,ng we bi<d OUT h0st say@nam, " good-bye." Another term we hear frequently is maido, which we find to mean" road," with the added distinction thwt it \'efers als0 to the <district t.hrough which the highway passes, do 'being equiv&lent to the last signification. Thus the island of Hondo is di vided into fi ve " roads," imperial coach roads, and these are subdivided into' several imperial by-ways.

The first class of these famous ancient roadways are known as t he Toka,ido, or East Sea road; the Tosa,ndo, or East M01!1nta,in road; H0ku-I'o-klil-do, or Northern Land road; the Sanyodo, or Outer Mountain road; and the Sanindo, or Inner Mountain road. Ou tside of these grand nt'un,k roads of Hondo are the Hok-kaido, or North Sea regi(m, the Saik&ido, or Western Sea road, which embraces the islands of the south, and the Na,nkaido, or South Sea country, in Shikoku. Until recently the idea has prevailed that only one route was open to the travelling visitor,_ but it will be seen by this t hat several courses are open, to h.im wh0 wishes to view the in terior of the islauds.

All of the principal cities and districts of J apan are c0nnecte<d by railways, t here being over two thousand mi[es of com[)lleted I.l oaâ&#x201A;Źll, an<d 1I10re than half as many more in course of COllstruction. These are all operated by J apanese workmen and officials.

'We soon find that while we cam visit the capital witho1!1t a passp0rt, the treaty regulations provide that no foreigner shall go more than twenty-five miles from any treaty port, and it is worse than useless to try to d0 i,t.

H e cannot even buy a railroad ticket to any place in the interior, &nd if he s.hould try to get t here by some other method of tra,rel, he w0uJd invariably find him self in trouble the moment he a,ppelwed at a plilb l~c­ hOll se, for no innkeeper would entertain him without a passport, but send for a policeman to take the intrud er back to the treaty blDumdary. Pilavimg once broken the rules he would be denied a passport ever after. But tro uble of this kind is very ea,sily and quickly. aV0icte<i1l, as a passport, good for a year to all parts of J apan, except FOl'mosa, caB be obta~ned of tile United Consulate fol' a fee of one yen. This }leed not take mOFe tban two hours' time, pl'ovid~ng tb e &ppl<ication is made iB peFS0Fl. The iffil'itish Consulate l~fford s e<iJual privileges, upon the pay ment of two yen. These passports are not traJnsfera,ble, but must be returned to the consuJ&te

JAPAN'.

337

trom which they were obtained at the expirat ion of the specified t ime. It is needless to say the rules aNd regulations are very ~trict to those who try t @evade them, but qu ite sa,tisfactory to Lim who <wcepts them in good faith.

Next to a pa,ss)Dort , the tourist who would see t he country to t he best ad va,n t <tge, es p eciall y if he desires to get out of the .bea,ten paths, needs a native companion to act as guide, interp ret er, a!ld adVJser . One can be obt a i n e d ,i'll ose charge will be regulat ed somewhat by the size of the par ty, and these J apanese are nea,rly a,l ways found to be t he mQst enj oyable companions t o be met with a n y wh e r e .

They are keen-witted, courteous, and ever willing to ent ertain wit h stories and legends, from a fo u ntai n t hat seems inexhaustiIhle. 'Eruly, J apan is the h'lll1a. of rOHlance, <lind everywher e one goes he fin Cls s@me f I1lciful tale @r bit of pictnr esque histo ry.

A'1realily we l1ave ileaI'd m~lch of the bea,uty <lIl1d historic interest of the region to 0 UF soutih amI west, reaching on t o Kyoto, 1Jhe ancient capital, and! indliudcing what bas been aptly styled " the hear t of J apan." But, fj1rst (j)f aliI, we wish .t(j) see the capital of t he shog uns, Tokyo, and from th el1('~e penetrate t ile mountainous country of the nOTth, viewing, on our

338

THE FAR EAS'r.

way, famous Nikko, "the c~ty of temples." We may come back to this place before visiting the Tokaido, or we may run do wn t he coast of the Sea of Japan. That does not matter now . It is seld01ll best to tFavel with plans too rigidly prepared beforehand.

Tokyo is sit uated about eighteen miles northward of ÂĽ 0k0hama, atn!!l t he railroad COllI!lectil!lg the tw@ cities was the fu'st buillt in ,il'atpan. It was done by Englush capUtatl,ists, who took adv!llntage of tlle ign@ranee @~ the J apanese and oh, rged am ex@rbitan t price. This 1'0bbeJ'y was never repeated, however, as since t;ha.t tl~ey h!!ive b u i 1 t their own ~'0aas, ama the country being level, . ana grading easy, the cost has been very [ow. AU the l'oaas are narrow ga'1!lge, three ~eet I N A N- OLD GAHl) EN OF TOKYO. wide, !lind Fun on the English plan of first, second, and t1hil'd C0l111Dartment. 1Fhe staii@ns are all neatly kept, contain separate apartments for men ana women, amd everything about th em is orderly . The officiwls !lire ne!lll'ly allw!lIYs Ja1ilanese, but they invariillbly wear European dress.

The catpital of J !lIpan was origi'n ally a iishi,n g ihwmlet, which was taKen for the tenting ground of the armed followers of the shogull, from which bas sprung the present capital, the largest WIld the most sought e~ty ion J apan. It covers wn area of a hundred square miles, mostly level country,

II

JAPAN.

339

contains nearly 250,000 houses, over three thousand temples, and a popuJartioJil variously estimated at from one to two millions, probably nearrer the lartter number , though it may fall shor t of it. As has been hinted, its growth in recent years has been rapid , but old ideas and ancient landmarks have not yielded to modern progress to the extent which would make Tokyo an example of foreign innovation only and n@t a picture of the past as well. Its people are pleased to ride' in the steam-car or on the horse-railway, while t hey no longer look upon the telephone and electric lights as wonders beyond comparison. It has hotels kept in European style, good restaurants, museums, t heatres, bazaars, and public parks famous for the beauty of their scenery and historic interest. A stroll along the length of th~ Gin za, the Broadway of Tokyo, by day or evening, is an event to the newcomer, a swift succession of dramatical amusements, acrobatic feats, displays of physical prowess, and outdoor entertainments of many and wonderful varieties, a most friendly rivalry .existing on every hand . At eventide, crowds of merrymaking jDeople are constantly passing between rows of booths ablaze with torches 3ind lantern-lights, the deep crimson of the one vying with the pale yell ow of the other, while toys of innumerable patterns, plants, flowers, fruits, sweets, ailld fl\lntastic trinkets of unknown names dazzle the beholder into buying. Everywhere is to be seen the delicate touch of adept fin gers and the aesigns of 3in 3irtistic eye.

It is an inborn charracteristic of the J apanese to m3ike lUuch of a little.

With the few flowers which have graced t heir gardens, fo r instance, they have made bright their lives . Among the colours consid ered to be t he best combination are red and gold, red and white coming next. Black is looked upon with ill-favour. As an emblem of constancy, the dried halJioti s is c@nsiaered the happiest selection. It has the double signification of s111gleness of affection and continui ty of that love, as the dried haliotis carn be drawn out to an extraordinary length, like India rnbber.

The single mollu~ k is also typical of fidelity. ~h e stag, in the language 0f emblems, aenotes happiness; the stork, long life; the tortoise is emb'Lemartical of riches ; the hawk is a symbol of daring; the carp swimming up a waterfall, of perseverance; th e bear, of endurance.

On every hand is seen evidence tlH~t tlle J apan ese possess two natures designed to be antagonistic to each other. One is a love for the grace and

340

THE FAl{ EAST.

b eauty of peace, the other is the worship of glamour and power of arms.

When we loo k closely into his inner m e, we find t hese o'ermastering. s pirits dwelling together in remarkable harmony. If he deiights to lJea.utify and <l dorn his temples with the tender grace of ear thly gifts, and softens the frowns of the fortress walls into the smiles of the garrlen, it is that he may better atppreciate his home land, ~ nd " w,lken in his llireast a deeper patriotism and veneration for it. The teachings of his race ~<Dr unnumbered geuerations have taught this happy combination of t ile

WlS'I'A HIA

Bu~n.

h armony of the warlike pageantry and the beal!lti[~ll amd pict~lIIesC['Ue ()fferings of Nature. This ha,s been a fruit of feudatlism.

With this in the mind, it is easy to understand the two distinct classes of citizens: 't he shizok~., patricians, or military class; t he heiJrnin, civilians, or commoners. At the founding of Kyoto, t he ancient catpitatl, before the supremacy of the sword had placed in the front ra.nk of powe1' at riva;l dynasty, the difference between the upper a nd lower strata of populaMol1 was less marked. Th e subj ect ¡l ived neal1er to llis s0vereign. Bu t t his conditi on gradually changed as the .. hogun grew in inifluence, ulitil the l1ll1nerou clatss comprising the tilQers of t he soil , tIl e fishermen, the

JAPAN.

341

traders and traffickei's of c0mmodities, had nothing in common with t he al:istocratic patricians who had ass umed the reins of government by annecil force. The con;llnon er came to kn ow nothing of the a mbiLi on of mi'1it3lry glory, of the pleasW'e of office, and pride in t he dazzling COl' Leges (!)f war. He even l ost desire for competition in the intell ectual pursuits which tend to elevate humanity, and he grew content to be as inferior in

TIiE

,t

GA HD EX OF 'l'H E -LAK E,"

KY Q'r Q.

melltai c,~pacity as his humble dwellings \v:ere inferior to t he impressive. castles (i)f his sllperiors. iJi'Jll(i)F t(i) the Feign of Emper(i)r Kwammu, 782-805 A . D. , it had been Cl1st0Ir.lary [or each stlcceed~n g rnler to select his royal residence wherever his own com' enience su:iJted him. Thus the castle of the emperor was naturaHy cn(!)sen for his royal palace, and in this way many towns b ecame~ i,n them t1l!lm, tile site (i)f the imperial g(i)vernment. Owing to the extrem~ simptici,t y of the l'@yal tra~n, this change of ab0de did not incur great expense Qr inconvenience. The lue (i)f the sovereign was little different ;ii~o m tl'U\;t of his peQj1lle. iJ:t thus happened that the capital itself was

342

THE FAiR EASIF.

subj ect to change, and even the Un~Deri al C01:U't .was s®Jll1et imes nwvecli tw;o or three times during the reign of a single mOBarch.

With the ad vance of oiviilisation, increase ®f P0IRP, and gr®wth ®f commercial interests, an, with their increasillg expeBs~ anrll gl'@Wiing intricacies of government, ris~l'lg, by grad.nal stages, b0m alm0st pr~ll1eval simplicity to a scale of Imugnifieence wnd spl el'ldour ' rlliffiClllllt to cl'erllii>t j;@ that period, at t he begin ning (9f the eighth cenhu'y the ealDita] was established at Nara by the Empress Gemmy®. Thus tihe fame al'lcil ]l0'Wer of womankind in J apan was awakened by the associati0Il! of the name (91 one of the sex with the initial tribute ®f d<isfJlay ancil iligmty (9ffereGl! t® royalty.

Seven successive sovereigns held their conl11ts at Nara, anciL it WaiS ~@@keil! upon as the permanent capital, when EmjDercll' KWailTI!mU decided! tih3ft it. was not favoura;hly situated as the centre 0] admi-nistvative ]l@wer. Wi·tlil great ceremonial displwy be moved tbe iilll]!leriail eOUirt to liMa;, in tine province of Yamosbiro . Tl~is act was received as a matter f01' nati0naJ1 rejoicing, and the llew 'capital wa,s named Rieiau"j0, which meant" Citatilel of Tranquillity." • But if the choice of the people, - a city of peaee, - the new capit ~ was not adapted to the gr0wing ]!lower of the mili,t avy regents. '!rhe situatioll was not convenient to ma.intwin a watch alld eontv(9i @'¥eJ.' the river-ways leading into the interior, so the sb(9gn.n [o0ked a:b@ut [or a spot better suited to his aims and amhition. One Oba i1D0kan, aJmcmt 1460, built a fortress at Yedo, though even he did not dream. tnat tn.is mde beginning was to lay the fonndati@n £0r the £utu~'e se3ft ®£ govevllment.

The fortifi cation st00d ilipart.from the smaN c0l!lecti0ll. (9] ifiishermeni s ih~lltS marking the place, and was SUrFoUinded by a vast eX]!l3fnse (9] reed pl3fi,ns, where it would be easy t (9 deploy tl:'fe army. SU'IT0unaed b:y a gl..earo sevies of rivers, and flanked by a range of mountains, with tihe saClleGl! FhjlyaIIila as the snow-crowned sentinel, tne s.ituat ion pr@ved very sa-tisfaet®vy t(9 rtlae military regents, who conti.nued to strengthen themselves in this !I!l(9silbion, holding the passes to the interi<!ll' aga~nst 1Ilie enemies ~velm tae southl3!NclI. The welfaFe ell' the desire of 1Ihe r>e0ple never once en;tieviiJilg iute tI'ie I,ilians of the builders, from t,he rough £(9vtress oil 0 ta !ID0kan was evolkretill VJle stronghold that made Yedo a p0we1'£1l1 citadel ait the cl(Dse (91 liIae sL,{;jieen1lh century. "

JAPAN.

343

h. }590 .8.. D., as the reward of t he warlike genius of Japan' s Napoleon, Gene ral I yeyasu, Yedo became the capital of eight provinces, uuder t he first of the Tokugawa regents. Regardless of the privileges of the commou ~e@pl e, colossal fortresses were erecte,d wherever it was deemed expedient, un,t iJ, had it ll.Qt been for the kindness of Nature in allowing the big rivers t@ extend the ~and out into the sea by a deposit of their debris, there wO~lld not have been room enough for t he million of inhabitants who l'eared t heir simple dweIJings under the walls of the frowning battlements without a thol1ght of what th.ey portended.

Tile shogun, with his increasing prestige, sought display of his IJower all.d }!ll'osFerity on every hand. H e surrounded the war]jke castle by a triple line of huge fosses, the outermost one of which measured nine and a bal\ÂŁ miles in length, whil e t hat of the inside was one and a half miles.

Their sC3lrps were built of mighty blocks of granite that had been brought lltmclil'ems of mNes over sea and land, to be set in their lofty position by such rude contrivances as . to create wonder over the wo rk in this age of impr,o'Vements. Deep banks of ear th topped the huge walls of masonry, tlleir slo}!les carefully c@vered with a sward of Core(1,n grasses. Seeds of the pine were then planted in regular rows, and t he shobts were trained s@ that the evergreen branches of the trees reached down toward t he broad moats, throngh which flowed streams of water, conveyed hither in aqueducts from a river a score of ' miles away. These ditches varied hl width from sixty to five hundred feet . Along with the pride and the arrtifice of the trained warrior were to be seen the peaceful symbols of the artist arnd the }!leacemaker, Not only were the dark reflections of the pimles .shown in the silvery waters, but the moats became the pleasure s~enes 0f fldeks 0f beautiful ducks and wild birds of matchless plumage, or they found Feaceful rest in lakes of tranquil charm under the very shade 0f the battlements. Not 0nly did the lawn-like slopes under their veivety carpets aff0rd a happy contrast to the trampled earth of the city streets, l;mt [otus flowers, gvowing in the crevices of the rocky walls, p0rtvayed, to the emarFtmed observer, in unwritten language, love's imagery of the }!leace :tnd vep0se thrown over the ]rowning ramparts of a " city of w3Jr," whene the n0bler gilts of man had converted the frowns of a ~01'tvess into the smffiles 0f a gavden. ]1r.0m this }!leriod 1S tQ JiJe da,tetil the wonderful outgrowth of landscape-

.344

TI-IE FAR EAST . \

gardening, III which respect J apan sta;nds without a; riva;1. That they might not ignore or forget their allegiance to the "eastern capital," as the camp of the military uegents was called out of distincti0n t(i) the capital of the imperial line at Kyoto, which was designated as " the western capital," the provincial barons, or chief sl!1pporbers (i)f tke shog~llls, were required to live in Yedo, since named Tokyo, one-half 0f each yea;r. It thus became necessary for them to build homes ]@1' themselves and

A

THIMMED .JAI' .-\ XES E

l I KE - ']1 nEF.. '

numerous retainers. In carrying out this idea, a strong riva;lry spnmg up between the respective nobles, which resulted in a gain to tJhe city.

Many commodious mansions were erected, and numerous pictllres<lue parks were laid out and beautified from year to yea;r. It is ' tme these were carefully protected from the vulgar gaze of the public, and the average citizen knew little, if anything, of them, but in the c~JUrse of tW(i) a;ud a half centuries the city beca;me a veritable garden. The work and loving skill bestowed upon them was beyond estima;tion. Their equal was not t(i) be seen elsewhere.

JAPAN.

340

l'n 01'Gier to fulfil his dream of such a place, the J apanese gardener must ha;ve l'ocks upon which to train his flowering vines, - rocks for t he beds of eascades, Focks f0r the angles of corners and hillsides, rocks for ma rgins t@ ~akes -and streams, rocks for the edges of sill:ubberies, rocks to border tae paths, in sh(i)rt, rocks everywhere, all arnmged with skill and alluring effect. These rocks had all to be brought from distant provinces and faraway is1illllds. As well as pebbles a,n d boulders, some of the last as large

R OCKERY AND C ASCADE,

FU KIA GE GAHD I¡jN.

as haM a dozen men could ra;ise from the gr@und, were massive blocks of g.rrunj,te, many- of them weighing tons each, and' requiring -the united efforts <'rfi seveFaJl yoke Ol oxen and 100~g lines of coolies to move to the - plaees selected lor their use.

Within tJhese cost1y ana bea;utiful parks were the dwellings of the mi!l'j,tary l'epresentatives of feudailism, living in houses that were marvels @f vae¡ skilll of the @uilders, a!l(~ the mrutehless purity of the wood from wihich tihey were e0nstructea . Here, though filled with the armed retainers 0l the feudail Jjl0wer, was to be seen very little indication of warLike

346

THE FAR EAST.

preparation, except that near to the g3!te stood rows of long, low sheds, their ontward walls marked at intervals with lleavily barred windows, while the most prominent article of furniture in all the ' rooms was the rack for the swords.

These buildings were the barracks of each haron's men-at-al'mll, ailld. ~he streets were so lined with them, al~d so thr~ nged with these al'medJ l"etainers strutting about with their sW0Ilds g'i.!"t to them, tkat, d.tu¡iD.g the era of feudalism , Tokyo, the eastern c3!pital, in spite of the hngu~c1 l)eace hovering over the pine-scented ¡ embattlements, the green carpet of its terraces, the wild birds floating dreamily aloElg its waterways, the fantastic drapery of its rockeries, its picturesque parks alllc1 gardens, bore tmmistakable signs of its true origin and purpose.

With t he march of succeeding rulers from this military fend.alism to the s hizo h~, or hegemony, which rul es progressive Japan to-cJay, a radic3!l transition has taken place in the appear3lnce of this city of imperia1'ism, though the contrast between the upper amd the ~0wer spheres has remai,n ed the same . The battlements of the alilciimt [ortx:esses weve s~lffered to tumble down, and the bush and creeping vine find foothold whe1"e erstwb.~le stood the flanking tower; the broad fosse.s of the citadel allowed to fin with debris and become the sites of peaceful dwellings; the ponderous gate opening upon the fortress rusted from its hinges, while the citadel itself became the residence of a civilian. With the disappearance of all this vanished the fine baronies, the street pageants of marching men; the graceful parks have been despoiled of their treasures, the rockelJies ravaged, until the dazzling evidence of feudal glory that once was paFamount in Tokyo is now eloquent only by ~ts silence and the emptiness of space where its monuments stood.

EXAi\IPLES OF QUAINT AH C HI TEC T U RE.

CHAPTER V. THE 110DERN CAPITAL .

W

.

HEN Japan awoke from her long sleep through that morning

drQwse, called the jll{eiji era, - begmnmg of Improvement, - she mowed sl(!lwly, in changing old ways for new, and continued to earry Q~lt her system of education, developed new organisations of government, enlarged her ideas of industry, and enforced her laws from official qualiters as simple and banen of ornament as before. These buildings w;ere plain, recta;ngllla;l' structures, without any relief given their..wa;lls by pO)1¡tico, fagade, veranda, balcony,.or lordly steeple, until foreign architectUlJe a1'0Se on the ruins of a power lost with the departed greatness of a l;ine of ruJel's giving way to another. So pretentious piles of stone and brick - go.vernmental buildings of modern grandness, a court-house, banks, mllnic~pat ed~fices, ministerial residences, hotels, and club-rooms - have l¡isen with remarka;ble quickness in plain sight of acres and acres of the old sty:le, including communal sch001s, telegraph offices, flost-office, and police barFacKs. Thus 'F0kyo presents a marked example 0] modern progress, a;nd, at the same ;time, a singular compound of the 0ld and tke new. It has been a 34,7

348

THE FAH EAST.

rule that whenever Hew buildings should be ra,ised on a nalTow street, the latter should be widened. As fast as fire has obli tera.t ed a, certain portion, t he houses erected have been set back, until t heue are br0aa, ambitious streets, but with the same lack of ÂŁ0reign archiltectl!l,r e as in the days of the shogun . This plainness of style is particulaJrly noticeaJlil'Le in the poorer portions, where fires are the most common. In this manmer Tokyo sho'ws, a,~ no other city does, a n impl'essi'Ve pictme of the trall1sition of Japan from the despotism of the past to t he im peri,~lislll of t he present . . No city has suffered as t his has from earthqua,kes. iIin il!'j@3 tbi.rtyseven thousand people perished under crumbling houses or from t he overflow of the sea. In 1855 this ter ri lJle loss was doubled, amI seventeen thousand buildings were thrown clown or burned. Bl~1t it has ROW beeR nearly fifty years since there has been any widespread Ulh~rlll.

The average tourist, upon ~ntering a strange city, first looks about for some spot where he can comrnand a view of the whole scene at a single sweep of the vision. Tokyo has a most favoUl'ali>le height :lior this smt 0f sigbtseeing, and as he begins to ascend the 1000g st<:me snairway leading to it. summit, he is confronted by "n "l'chitectumi g"tewUIJ built of gnl,ni te, which immedi"tely "nests his steps. This is c<L1J ea il~ Ja,pUluese the t01'ii, me"ning literally" the bird's nest." F rom 1;his it is cUl'rentty accepted to h"ve had its origin in the intention of " hUIl1 U1ne people to afford a resting-place for the feathered creatures t hey loved S0 well Be this the c"se 01' not, futher b"ck into the past ' than history or tradition goes, it has m"rked t he "ppl'oach to " temple or shrine emblelUwtical of the old Shin to faith or religion. Two upright shafts are met "nd crossed "t t he top by horizontal bars, the rude fratme li>eing constrlleted 0] wood, gmnite, 01' bronze, "s t he builder chose. As simpl e as they are in construction, seen everywhere in Ja,pwn, even the fo reigner S00n begins to "dmil'e them, "nd then to look f0r them. No haJ~d J~as ever beeR known to mutih.te one of them, and when long double rows of them le"d under the overhanging arms of J "paJnese pines, with lilIes of stone .lanterns lightil~g the sceFie by H,ight, they rec"lI , in !I,n [miPFessi<ve manner, the hallowed scene of devo Led band-s 0ti men silently seeking t ile shrine of some deity whom they sought to propitia.te by suitable offerings a,nd prayers.

JAPAN.

349

Passing under this particular torii, with a deep feeling of religious Yenemtioll in spite of our modern doubts of a ncient belief, we slowly a 'cend to t he summit. The panorama spread out before us is something too vast for comprehension . What strikes us most fo rcibly at first is the t rut h of the common expression t hat Tokyo i a" city of magnificent di ¡tances."

One of the noted objects t hat lYe t ry to discover is the emperor's palace, which very appropria,tely stands on an eminence that lifts it f<1.r ,~ b ove the

S ll'ONE LANTEHN MARliiNG A llP HQA C H TO A S BHINE.

noisy streets and buildings around the moat. But as high as its strong walls are raised, the pines surrounding th em lift still higher their 1'00ÂŁ of evergreen, completely overshadowing them. Below, where their gnarled a nd rugged bodies stand Olit in bold relief, smaller trees and shrubs fill in the spaces, as if it were forbidden tlmt the curiolls gaze of the sightseer should look upon the palace within. High walls encircle t he hill, a gate now and then offering entrance to the imperial grounds. Lower down, green banks slope away to the edge of the moat, wl1Pl'e flocks of wild ducks swim and ifloat on the bright waters without fear, for no shot is

350

THE FAR EAST.

allowed to be fired within sound of the royall palace embowered 10 the pines and cherries.

A place of interest, which no tourist fails to visit, is Aasakusa Park, where is to be seen that Chil1'ese im}Jortation, the pag(!)da, and the gveat tower, with its bell that is rung at regtllar intervals ul1til its resonant tone is heard all over the city . H ere is to be found the Temple of Aasakusa, dedicat ed to Kwannon, an image of unknClwn antiqu,i,ty, never-'Seen, but worshipped with great display of reverence. It is satid to have been

CH ERRY B ..\ N K, TO I(YO .

caught in the net of a uobleman fishing off the coast, and is (;m[y an incn and t hree-folll'ths in height. Perhaps the remarkable difference between the size of the deity and the greatness of the temple is the most observed feature of the place.

Another place of note and beauty lS the cherry bank of Koganei, an avenue two <l.nd a half miles in length along the c!ITn!ITl, and lined with cherry-trees. In April, when t hese flowerin g trees are radQant wtith blossoms, no fairer sight can be seen even in J apan . No other people can appreciate them as the J apanese, and for centuries theiL' poets have snng their praises and their artists painted their beauties. What the rose is to

JAPAN.

351

the pe0pie of America, the cherry is to the Land of the Rising Sun, and the time of their blossoming is made a season of national festival. Vast num1i>el's of ad miring men, women, and children come from far and near to feast t heN' sight upon the white and pink blossoms unfolding to the spril'lg ai~'. The world is young again with the blooming of the cherry, and heaFts that were sad a short time since become light, for it is a gala seaS0n with men as well as Nature. Boats laden with happy pleasureseekells glicle along the level stream overhung by the trees, that look like huge flowering plants, while the occupants gaze dreamily up into the meslles of fl(!)wers with their settings of light-green leaves. Others wander ~oEgingly (!)n the banks, intent on the happiness and beauty of the day and scene.

Ii[ Tokye's gFeatest fetes are held und er the cherry blossoms, with the clear blli.le ef the April sky overhead, when Uyeno Park and Mukojima R~ver ar.e c0nverted into floral paradises beyond the Occidental comparison 0] bea;uty, .these ca;rnivals find a close rival in the festival of the great w.istaria at Kameido Temple in May, when that ancient vine puts forth flowe1's three and four feet in rength. A month later the iris gardens of Heri Kiri afford a rare flower-show, calling out large crowds of admirers.

AligUSt offers another candidate for public favour in the sacred lotus fl(!)Wel', wl!t(!)se broad leaves cover the moats in Tokyo, and are to be found ioEl ~0vely 10ttls ponds of acres in extent. These plants are often four feet in dia;1l1eter, amI the flowers from twelve to sixteen inches across . These j!lilBk arlla whilte MOSSOlliS, emanating from muddy, stagnant water with a matcMess ]!lU<rity and freshness, are looked upon as a symbol of religious Me. [t is a saying of the Bnddhist priests that th011gh one" is born in a h@vel, 11e caE have virtue, like the lotus flower springing from the slime." ]t is the one flo¡wer of the faith of Bu<ildha, about which is associated the hidden mysteries of mortal and spiritual existence. Statues of Buddha hav:e gel'leFal1y as a pedestal a skilfulrly car ved lotus-leaf in stone or bronze, w'hlle on the altrurs a;re vases of bronze filled with t hese flowers ~ade of the same metal. The lotus also grows wild in the rural districts, but does [1(!)t e(ilHai here the size of the flower and leaf of India, ana these are called the" fi@wers of death," hecilJuse they have become a funeral adjunct.

G.reater thilJE any of these festivals. of fl.0wers is tha;t of the national flower, rtil!te ehrysaEthemum, which opens in the Dangozaika section, the last

.352

THE FAR EAST.

of October. This is beyond doubt the greatest exh~bi,tion of the l( ~J1HiI in the world, and no fancier of fl uwers dreams of the beauties a,nd the possibilities of this Japanese favourite until he has see!) it at the zenith of its glory in its native land. It has beel1 §,ttingly <ilescrilbe<il !liS a !1't(i)(lle] of symmetry whose" shape well fits it to symbolise the compleheness oli perfection which t he Mikado, the Son of Heaven , mundanely represents.

It typifies, too, the fullness of the year. It may be of almost alllY kue,

WATER MJI , L , COLJo:N IlA .

. and, within the general limits of a circle, of any form. Now it is a chariot wh eel, with petals for spokes, while a,no ther kind seems the button of some natural legion of honour, and still al10tlher a pinwheel i,n Nature's own day firework s."

Dnring the chrysanthemUIll festival e\"erything !lit the comt of Tokyo is made emblematica,l of th e national flower, wnd even the imperiai communications are made upon clu-ys!lInthemmn p!llper . . iffiveryw l1ere one sees the bright round splash, which looks more like a drop fallen from the golden censer than an i<lllit¡ ~tiun ~f the flower of the season, which Ilshers

JAPA.1Y

353

in a gala day for the capital. It is arranged to have the exhibit at its height u~on the birthday of the emperor, on t he 3d of November, and rejoicing reigns on every hanGl. Masters of the ar t of landscape-gardening as they are, the J apanese ¡ have paid especial care to t he cul tiyation and improvement of the chrys31nthemum until they han brought it nea.rer to perfectio n than anybody else . They have produced plants tha.t bear more than foul' hundred perfect fl owers, and it IS not infrequent to see half a dozen varieties

CHR YSAN TU Jo; M U;\I SEI.LE It.

gvowing @n a single plant. The different varieties, in all, number over two hundred and fifty . Its flowering period being longer than t hat of most flowers, they have naturally assigned to it the attribute of lougevity, ailld one river, which receives on its placid bosom many of these fa.lling leaves, is believed to hold in its waters the charm to give him who drinks it long a B@! be!liutifullife.

In our interest in t hese festivals of t he flowers, we qui te overlooked !lin other holiday, which comes in September, and marks the end of t he summer b03it-life. This is what is called " moon viewing," and t he same t aste !lind skill t hwt has decked the walls of the palaces amd sacred build-

354

THE FAR EAST.

ings with festoons of vines and flow ering plants, i'IInd concei'llled the forbidding palisades of the war fortresses by the same ,happy means, has constructed the moon-gazer's arbours. Here he lies and dreams, while his poetical fancy finds expression in some felicitous song: " A sycamore boat ou a sea of mi st, 'rl,e moon sa il s, coasting by isl es of Mllbel', And trembles now, in my cup, I wist, And stand s poised over my leafy chamber.

"The shadows brea.k on t he waves af 3!r, Cool blows the breeze from the forest yonder; And forth, con voyed by many a star, In the open h eaven, she goes, - a wonder!"

Walking Costume

"

CHAPTER VI. CUSTmrs A~']) 60STU~IE S.

T canmlt. be trllly s3lid that Tokyo has a fashionable promenade, w'bere the well-dressed seek to displ ay the latest style; but along allY of tile main streets the emperor and his suite may pass any day, while at the p3lJ;ade ground of Hibiya the sovereign amI his court are seen 31t the]r best . Another place to witness fashionable and spor ting life is rthe mce-course of Uyeno, or that of Kud an, where the free a nd careless elements 0f society hold h.igh carnival in spring and autumn. But 111 Japan, as in 0ther countries, it is necessary to go among the people at nome t ID get a correct i<i!ea of their customs and costumes. ''''hen, a few years since, the government directeu that all officials on <i!illty ad0pt the chess of Europe, it looked as t houg h the old styles peculiar U0 the c0~lntry were doomed to be supplanted. A tidal wave had already set in aga~nst the )~ 1~tive fashion, in favour of Pa risiau or Berlin styles. lJnti:l then, U86, the empress had stoutly resisted all attemp ts to introdru ce tne dress of forei g)~ ers, which, if it did not detract from the native Theruuty of the women, did seriously interfere with their comfort . Th en t he rag e :£01' f0reign cost~lmes bec3Jme general, until no J apanese lady was consi€lered anything but a do·wdy who did not hamper her comely person wiith a gown of the (i)ccident. This craze prevailed for a few years, when a reacti0n [ollm'l(ed. N0W it does not seem improb1Lble t hat there may be a c@m]lliete retl1>rn to the original costum e of th e peopl e. It is to he ho-Wed so, fQr D ID @ther style of dress seems so much a part of t he great jlll1Vll 0'1; mlit ure to enhauce the beauty of features, gestures, and personal g race.

1i'liie €ll1!ess ]01' tl~ e men consists of a. loin-cloth of muslin, a silk or cotton sllirt, and the kimono, a sort of go~~' n suspended from the sh0ulders .and g~'<i!'e€l 1lIt tne watist by a sNken be1t. If the weather is cold, this gown is wa€l61ed, and moue t han one worn if necessary. Over all of these the wear.er cll@Hs tl~ e h(flk(I/J;~(b, 0 1· divided skirt, which is fastened by coxds run-

I

355

356

THE FAR EAST.

ning a.round the ~waist. To the last is .hen added the hao1路i, a sort of cloak tied in front by ,t knotted silken cord. Both of these last ga,rments are made of the finest material, and are generally laid aside when tbe wearer enters his borne, as we should doff omr tOp-C03Jt in tbe honse. 1ihe hao ri, made of black silk, bears the crest of the wearer 0n the back of the sleeves. The ha kama is made generally of a striped material.

The foot lS 1l1cased iu a low soc k, whi c h reaches to the auId e, ,wd is c,Llled the tabi. It has a separate part for the g reat toe, as our gloves have for t he thumb.

These socks are of blue or white cotton, made thicker a nd stronger on the soles. Slippers made of straw are worn aboll t the house, while for short walks t he LADIES' OOSllUMeS. geta, or wooden clog, is worn after 路t.he manuel' of sandals. At the doors of all shop. , rows of these clogs are hung outside the door, a,nd visitors are expected to put on a pair before entering.

Until the introduction of foreign ca ps a,nd hats, which are now fav0111"ably received, no covering was generally W0rn on tJhe heaGl, the fall. being used to protect the cran ium from the hot Slln. vVirle-rimmed, mushroomshaped hats at路e now frequently worn by t.he nati, 路es .

357

JAPAN.

When 1nmoors the ytdwt(~, or bath-gown , often takes th e place of the kim0lil0, alDd the gentleman sits for a long time at his ease before or after 11:is wbllutions, wh.ich are invariably performed neal' the close of the day.

A large tub of water, heated as warm as the hand ca,n bear it, is placed 0ver a bloiler so that the liqnid may be kept to its proper tempera,t ure thl0Ughout the b<1lth.

Tn olden times every Japanese gentleman, when out-of-doors, wore his tW0 swords, which he laid aside upon entering his dwelling. These war-

â&#x20AC;˘

'FHI!) CO MDA 'r

WITH

S W O HO S.

llil~e iBstrmnents have now been supplaNted by those articles of less offence anm defence, th.e tobacco-pipe, atTId pouch. This indulgence is everywhere p0l?ul<11r, in a!11 classes iLnd with both men and women: The pipes generaJ~ly have stems from six to ten inches in length, with bowls of sufficient si'Ze to hold merely tClbacc0 enough for a coup1e of whiffs. So the J apanese smoker spenCils more time in Riling his pipe than in enjoying its fragrant Iheath. 'Drus methoCil was ~ntroduced by t he Portuguese at the beginning 0~ the 17.th centuy. CigilJl:s iL~e now considered fashionab le, and cigarettes have roecome favoll¡6 tes with m3lny. Minions of the ~atter are now COl1-

TIlE iFAR iffiAS':I?

358

sumed mO!ilJthly in tThe lar ge cities, tyke lea] :fr@lTh ~",hiGh ti~ey !lir e maae being raised in the southern ]!mOV~lilces.

Jit is 1'10 lUlc0mrlil0lil sig;ht to see

little groups of women, drawn .If! ar@und t11e iillreJ!liaces, eJllj@ying tJheil' pipes, often made of silver , while they g@ss~J!l anti! exch!lllil.ge pl'etty st@J?ies.

Coming back to the matter of (['r ess, mell 0f rthe i@WieJ? GTas.ses Thave a custom of displaying on the backs @i their!' gilimne.lilhs a ~!lII:ge iae@gl'aj!lR, which i11Clicates their occupation, or t heir !11,~ster 's. 11ilime. invariab ly marked in this mamner.

(\)!lIrpentelis are

A close-fittrng l1UiJ1noliki W0J?n rub01!lt

the ~highs, a gaiter of dark-b~ue c@tton, a straw hart, shiliped [~ke an ~.lilverfiet!l! punch-bowl, trimmed with a bhle banel, alld str aw sa:lil.ti!ilils, G@illprise the g~rb of a large percentage of the w@rk~ng class .

'Fl~e c0oiies, whe.lileVier

out of sight of the officials ;w110 ,1;re instructed t@ preil'ent it, st~'i:}il off eiVcerything but the loin-cloth the greater part of the yea·r.

The costume of tl~e WOm,t11 is but slightly a,iffel'e.lilt Jlr@ID bhart of :fuer male companion.

An apron, or short l~ettic@at, IDel!ha;IDS two, a;l'e W@l'll

beneath her kimono, a cord a,round the waJist keep1ng s@ J1ll!l!lcl~ @f fuel: a~'ess . in place.

As the weather grows cooler, an extm kim.@n@tis ]ll!1t @.lil e;v:el' tJhe

fil'St, anel t his is repeated until sOI1'let1mes siX' 01' eight al'e beiHg Wi@l'l!l, a.lilcB.J the very outli nes of the figure of t11e weal'er aJre lost . .An

@ b~,

or beEt, a ]@@t

and a half wide and often a aozen feet tin lelil.gt1J" is W@U>l1<i1 @~re r a~l e:ti these.

It should be said that t he obi is an @bgect @f great lDel!S@na] ~Dri<ie, ' c@sti>l1g as high as seventy-five d011ars, so that the lady's whole OlllJtfi..t, to say l'ilot1\.ing of the jewelry and t rinkets she may weal', efiten C0Sts tw@ huncil 'ed dollars.

But the J apanese Imsbiliuel is selaom 0PlDosea .t@ this @1!lMay, as

the true gentlem a:n is anxious his wife sRouM 1>e weill alJ7essed, eyelij iif he goes shabby himself.

In the mattel" of dressing her h air, the J , ]!l!llnese woman ;t;al~es espe0i!lll care and pride, a proJiessionai hilii.r -dresser bei11g em[JD1@:yed ana: j;w@ B@l:lITS taken in which to perfo1'ln the task,

llil h@ld~l1g the Ia:rge mass @f <'l0ias

a nd knots in position, large metal jlliO<18 wirth G@J?, 11ijeaCi.-pie<'les aL'e c0m'ffi0lil1tY u sed . The hair is loaded! w~th @i~ ana 1>a:lila@i,~e, rtlo !ij@lci! it ~n iD1ace, 31m!]! on account of the amount of work rellJiuwe<!l t@ a'FeSS i-i , ·is ll@t ta;·l\;e.lil a0wn but once a week,

For this L'eason the sleepilijg-li>leck el <'lUl'veti! w@0d,

sh aped to fit the neck, is used IITt Bight for a ]l~llr@w .

The children are not subject t@ aB!)' st'l!i<'lt l1ule as t@ oeillilg c@ve1'ea, That when they lITre conside red @M enoaga tCiJ ~eave nud'ty llielij,~nti! 'Wirth iiheir

JAPAN.

359

chiQdhdocil, they ~loh garments afte r the plan of the.ir parents. Needless to say, t hese are accep1ied under protest.

The J apalllese consider it no disgrace that their ancestors lived on t he plainest (i)f fare, eamed at t he cost of extreme hard labour, so they make their presents to their fFiends acc(i)mpanied by a symb(i)l of seaweed and aried fish, which was t he great staple fO(i)d of their fo refathers. It is this frug, lity wh~ch has enrubled the race to rise slowly from the plame (i)f p(i)ver ty to the present height of cOlnprurative prosper~ty.

It is a.]so this saJille simlpHcity im the manner of [i v i n g which has kept their bodies so free frq m tbe conmlOm ills (i)f the flesh. t(i) which other races are prone.

No meal is served in J 3Ipan, wit h (i) u t 31 C(i)Ul'se of rice at its A H A IR - nUESSE R. con c 111 S i 0 ]I) , or if sen'ied without, it is not c(i)nsidere~l complete. Tllis cereal is thus the 0lile great a;rticle of diet throughout t he empire.· Whatever else is eruten is accepted as so much to [i>repare the way £0L' rice.. This need n(i)t lie takeN to mea;n th3lt any part of th e food or drink is of a stimulat~g [la;Dm·e.

IDN the pri'ncipaJl cities ancil villages t he f0reign style of [00d, as well 3JS the fm'eign manner 0f serving it, has been la'l'gely adopted. H 0W soon

360

THE FAR EAST.

t his custom becomes uni versal remains to be seen, but it will be bett.er for the native population if the change is acceptetil slowly.

After fruits and sweets have been served first, not last, according to our way, fish follows, and then an omelet, a chicken fricasseed to ,~ nicety, raw mullet, 01' sea-bream; all this washed down by swltl~, a iNholesome beverage obtai ned from rice. The wine is then removed, and rice appelllrs, accompanied by a cup of tea. It shoulld be obsel've<il tha.t tJllie b, bi,t of <ilrimllc~il1lg sake or wine at meals is not universal, and tha,t the beverage contains IDUt

MACARONI AND TEA.

little alcohol. With the poorer class but one course precedes ilhe rice, and that is either broiled fish or vegetable soup. Beef is not eaten generally, and less frequently than formerly. Pou~try is considel'ed t00 eX]ilensive, and pork is looked upon as being unclean. ,Vhen a foreigner first introduced pork hash it aroused a storm of horror and indignwtion . Eggs are extensively eaten, and a.re kept in stock, lII~ter being lh.wl,rllcJlJ@i!l.ed, at Iq wayside booths.

The dishes commonly included in a set festivaJI or IDftnq;uet are bewn Cl1['d soup, pounded fish baked as a roll or Cl1t into slices, 10tllS roots boiled in soy, stewed chestnuts, the nasu, or eggpllllnt, tender shoots of the bamboo,

JAPAN.

361

radishes, and the never-to-be-missed claikon, a native vegeta.ble with an odour few foreigners can toJerate kindly. Instead of the knife and fork, chopsticks a,re furnished at all inns, and .they will be fo und on the tray ¡ holding the f09d enclosed in a paper napkin. They are separated, except by a bit of wood at the to];>, and upon being pulled apart a toothpick is found secreted within . They are thrown away after being used once. 'iPrave]"]ers in J apan must not expect to obtain meats to any extent, butter.

LADIES AT

DlJ.~N)i}R.

milk, bread, or wholesome water. His diet will be mainly rice, fi sh, and eggs, his ch'ink, tea or sake.

Green tea is the universal beverage in J apan. It is drunk very wea,k, without sugar or milk. E yery travell er pass ing through a village .01' town is offered a, cup without thought of recompense on the part of the g iver , though if tribute is tendere¢l it is accepted with a COlll"teous acknowledgment (i)f the donor's generosity. If the Europea,n 01' the Am erican is not satisfied with this simple diet at first, he eventually finds that he IS benefited by it.

The Japanese housewife takes as much prid e in the way she sets her tiny table, ca,ll ed zen, as any of her American sisters, while perfect decorum

362

'F11E FAR EAST.

exists throughout the meal. The J <lJpanese is by nature extremely polite, and nowhere does be exhibi t this good breed<ing to better adv11lntage than at t he dim.ner-tiuble. He seldom laughs @ver tJl~e blnnclers 0Ji a [@Feigner <lit his t<lJble, and is quick to condemn the fauits of one ~f his counlirymen.

No matter under what circumstances a strange!: meets him, he is exceedingly. pleasant, never forgetting or . emitting his low, graci@1!1s CtH"tse3" On entering his house, the visitor is expected to remove his shoes, lUnd he walks in his stockings over fl oors as smooth and clean as the tops of tlllhles in other lands.

The marriage relation is more of a civil tha'ii of a reJ<igious 0blig<lJti0n, though the last sentiment is entering deeper in to the ceremony. It hlllS always been the rule for nu one to m,1;lTY out of rank, and the gentleman belonging to the military class could n@t retai,n hjs s@ciall staHd'ing by becoming t he spouse of the daughter of a trader or merchant, nor could the latter marry one beneath her caste and keep her position. But aill this is gmdually losing ground in these c0smeW01<it3JH (bys. ]n jihe t¡i~'ID.es of feud<tlism, nobles and chiefs could not contract the ties of mllltr1mony 'without the consent of the court.

Under t he old customs the housewife was at the head ef the b.clUsehold, nominally, but she really held a position inferior to her nusband. If she was honoured lllS the mistress of the home, she was not allowed to sit with her master, the 81w,jin, except at evening meal. Nor were her children given greater privilege. This, thanks very Jlllrgely to the iEFnpl'ess H aruko, has materillllly changed, until no woman in 11111 t he Far East is more respected, or accorded greater privileges, tJhan the tender, l@ving wife and mother of a J apanese household. She is a ITI0me] e] c1 earn~W!ess, of faithfulness to her duties, and in economicarl mamagement. Bright, vivacious, pretty, petite, with an innate refinement and modest demeanour that is sure to attract atten tion, J a'panese w@men deserve III the rec0gl1ition shown them. While children are loved arnd weIll treated, llllrge fllirnilles are an exception, the average household numbering less thllin five.

A TYPl C AL JAl)ANE S E LADY.

SC E~E

I N N JI\KQ .-

CHAPTER VII. OITY ' AND OOU N TRY.

E m'e constamtly hearing praises sung of a village lying in the heart of tue northern mountains call ed Nikko, " the city of temples ." Nowhere else shall we find SUeLl shrines of worship lIInm 110;where else such magnificent scenery. In f(Wt, t he use of that adjective re'millQis us of the saying which has become a J apanese proverb, which nllJjJS ~~ke tm.is; " Nikko wo 'ffIfinai uchi WCt, ' kekko ' to ~ti na ! " Given a free translwtion tills means: " Until you have seen Nikko, the W(i)l1Q 'magnificent ' is meaningless."

The annual 1nats~vri is S00n due at this sa<;ll'ed retreat; thousands of eXlcHrsi0nists 3;])e planning 1;0 twke aJ trip northwarQi, al1ld report comes in flhat ~ aJrge FllIrties 0f .Ii>i~grims are already on their way by foot to the famous, w1ace. 80 we decide t o Fostp0ne further sightseeing in Tokyo al1ld go witTi tm.e cr0vyd. But we have to wait until another Qiay, and that

W

363

364

THE FAR EAST.

evening we catch a vivid picture of the" flower of Yedo," so th!lit we !lire glad we had n0t l'ullstened ou,r fllight from the capitall.

There have been some disastrous fires of late, which fact is made pl!liil]) to t he most casual observers by the acres of charred and blackened building sites. Under t he bane of this fiery curse, it is no wonder Tokye, a city of paper, bamboo, and wood, has not ou,tgr0wn faster its poverty mwrks. The wonder is that it has reaGbecl its present gigantic cilimensioBs. Not long since, the firemen had to depend on the hancl-bucke~ ana a supply of water from some near-by moat; but now the fire-engine takes t he place of tills method. Still the manner of figbting fire is yet s~me­ what primitive compared to ours. Outside of each ' engine-h~use a tall ladder is set perpendicularly, wit~ a raiQed IPI!lltform !lit t1lae t0P, l00king like the crow's-uest of a man.-of-war in bygone days . A . bronze bem is hung from a beam within reach of this, and. a watchman is expected t o keep a close sur vey over the city as far as he can see, and, at the outbreak of fl ames wit hin his range of vision, to ring the belL If tbe fire is in his imm ediate neighbourhood he strikes this but once; ~;f it is fa1'theF away, twice; and so on, until he has indic!llted the distance and tbe d~'rec­ tion. The sight of this wiry little fireman swinging between h ewve~l and earth, like a huge spider hanging from some lofty perch, is one to m!llke 't he timid watcher shudder fo r his safety at :first look. This is swiiftly forgotten as the bell sencls out its .w!llrning, eSl~ecia]ijy id! it st0ps S1\.01't at the fir~t stroke. Then there is bustle and hustle, for the fire is near at haud, and it may be our own. home will become its prey.

Under t he old system a singular code of customs sprwng up ar0und the liYes of t he primitive firemen that was both pictnresque !lind apl?~·opri illte.

They were not allowed to appear 3It a fire except in !lI pallltJieuJar 008t um e, which was made of bright colours, and highly ornamented. A sort of religious hym n was sung by tbe firemen, while companions stood at a safe di stance on adjoining ),oofs with g rotesque bulletins, on whioh had been pwiuted sacred and demoniacllli images, beld over t heir beams to tem'ify off the legions of fl!llme's. In th0se €bys, it is cla,imecil that ll0t a ni.gbt, t0F a quarter of a cent m y, passed over Tokyo without a ,fire ion some pa1't of the city.

Were it liot for the ewrthquake, more substantial hOll. es wouIcl be burlt than these of infl!llmmable wood !lind lighter m,~terial. But the orick house

JAPAN.

365

is more to be feared in case of the shock, and so the people keep on raising dwel1iQ)gs, which seem li ttle more t han torches for the flames.

This fire, whose alarm so aroused our interest, proves to be a slight affair, so we return to our couches, and dream of forests, of temples, aud shrines, with long columns of pilgrims, footsore and weary, marching to 0ffer their anmulil tribute to some god whose favour is especially sought.

Nikko lies ninety-one miles north of Tokyo, and is reached by a railroad running through one of t he fin est agricultural districts of all J apan. The country is just broken enough to give it variety without injuring its farming vah.1 e. Everywhere the fe rtile plains, irrigated from t il e streams wind~llg acr0SS thei.r bosoms like ribbons of silver, are dotted with thatch-roofed farmhouses, one an exact imitation of another, a.nd this uniformity characterises the size of t he farms, all of them being small.

The largest is not more than an acre in extent, <tnd the smallest but a few rods ~n area, one and a;]l outlined by ditches, along the rim of which the loÂŁtus Mts its beamtiful crest. Not a foot of land is all owed to go to waste in this country where nothing is lost, though everything seems to be made on a miniature plan, - tiny houses, tiny carriages, tiny gardens, tiny farms, tiny animals, tiny people - but, taken altogether, apparently as pl'osperous and happy as those of larger stature and doing business on a; aroadeF sc Ie. And well they may ae, for t he grand whole of these uniting mi tes make acres of rice-fielcls, acres of tea plantations, acres of fine fruit orchards, acres of vineyards, - the grape-vines trained to cover bamboo frames, and even the pear-trees made to rest over trellises. Everywhere and on everyVhing is 'displayed the cunning handiwork of the skilful and ~ndu si;ri0us husaandman.

Nature, too, is seen at her best, modestly offering such matchless fancy work as she can affo rd only TIl J apan. Hillsides are festooned, and river banks, fringed with t he deep green bamboo, while. the ridges between the rice-fields, the very ditches, and the thatched F00fs, the only places availaJble for them, are decked with flow ers of many hues. Among t hese fi0ral b0unties is a lily of bright crimson, whose bl0od-red tassels, tossed by t housands in the erurly <lIutUJ1)n breeze, present a vivid picture.

The corn-field of J apal} is the field of rice. This cereal grows abundantly, south vf the 38th parallel, and five milEons of people are engaged

366

'FI['E FAlt !EJAS'J!'.

in its c1!1~ti'vati01i1, ili,reetly 0 1' ~lThdli'l"e0tlly . lEo ten tilulee t~mes 3J day f@1' 365 days ~n a, year, wa,th am amdeli1' may every yeal' !in IOU , theFe is S1;1\] a SU1'plus to selil€l aJmr(!)ad, aN@ the rice eXffi>0Ft tvame is getti,n g j;@ Ibe somet hing of an item. The l1l@st pr01iJic fields 3Jre [0l'IJI!1d il11 t he dis1;ric'tis at Tokaido and Sauy6do , th0Ugh tbe crp l~ yiel<!l s weT Wheliev,el' grlllwn .

Rice is star teril in 3J umsel'Y, wneFe it expllllilrils ~l a«le by Iblade ~B1;0 a m osslike lRass. Then, in a 1l11l1nt h or t wa, each rootJlet has till be caref!:llily sep3Jrat,ed al1d t ransplal!l,t ed 0 a larger be€1. iJL3JteL', 3JS the S1!11l1mel' cQlues

PL ANTING RI CE .

on, the tender ShCl0tS are ag3Jin changed, vllis t'ime [ ralD t1lei1' IllI'lJilay f(!)llIting t@ bJe set in. Illlng r0WS acr@ss the lD(!)ist 10W[3Jlilds. 'ill'hei' gWIlI,w1Jl1 ~FQ 1l1 . t his t ime is surprisingly rapid, 3Jud soou the wruviug ii3Jssels are firuNl ting ion t he breeze. Th~ h3Jrvest 0f the gll3JUl ilS am im19ll1rt3JH1t IlI I~e, - Sill [mpllIr tam t t h3Jt the 0'wner counts his riches not by hard doiITams but Ib5' l'1 is mnl!lber 0£ koku, 01' brugs of l'ice. This ce rea.~ is r 1aJEl'iieril 3Jt dliffe~'ell t t/ liQeS, 80 t heL'e are severru~ h'1Il' vests. vVh ille rice is tl1e sta.pl e ~0Il1 d , wna eJ'lQugh is rerunly ~'ai sed to sl'liPWllIr t t he iuh bj,t3Jl1!ts, wi,llh ru SlWr 1us to send alb l'llIa€l, lV~lewt wnd b3Jrley 3Jre g.t'IlIW11 till

JAPAN.

367

a GOBsidellaJbie extent. In the extreme north barley bread forms a large [paJrt ~f the cLiet. MiJllet is sometimes eaten instead of rice . This custom pl'evai~ed more ilil ancient times than now.

Besides the above crops, maize is grown ilil . the southern pTovinces; also oats and vetches, as provendeF f~r the stoGk. Among t he vegetaJbles t he yam ranks easily first, growin g abundantly in Vne s0uthern islands of Kyushu and the Satsuma conntry, which is :liam~Hs for its p~ttery.

In some districts, where the inhabitants live too

VEG ETA DLE SE LLER.

far fr0Il1 the seashore to get ÂŁsh, and too far removed from the markets to buy them, they subsist alm@st entirely on rice or millet, . and a big white radlish, caUed .by tfuem dflli kon. Th,is last often attains a length of nearly thi'ee feet. As might Iile expected, the soil and climate of J apan al'e [avQ1N!able 1;0 the gr~wth of several kinds of vegetables unknown in this G0tllil:try. 'FheFe is an eggjDlant, a pear-shaped fruit 0f a Iilright lmrple <lo10u.F, wruich is veFY edilille whelil boiled. A species of fern has tops which 3!Fe sweet aBd tender if eaten when they are young. There are als0 beets 3illCl t0mat<!leS in. the c8ntFwl regious, with melons amd cucum.bers in the

368

T Niffi

!FA~

!EAST .

south. Sugar-clline is rolso cl!lH:i;vateo in tlike last regi0l!l 1i@ <lJ!l!l~te ron extent.

In the matter ef fl'l11it, eit her the g0ds tJ111j,t are cred~ted!. wWh mrokiil'lg t he Land of the Rising Sun wer e net ]llatrtial t@ this lu x~try, 01' they C0J:1]" mitted ,a grievonls oversight, as Ja]llllllil mas heen trea;ted n~0st niggatDdlly illil th at r espect . It is true t here are ifnl ~ktrees el'lOuglil., sl!lch as they llIre, hut with the exception of tiRe orange, t hey are ]l ~tiabl e fatilt l1l'es. '!I'lleFe aFe p ears, apples, peaches, a pricots, ,m c;l] s@ on, but they ame t1'ue 01il~y im name.

The size is inferior, and t he flaV0H>r is miss~g . l'Ilence marn:Y 0:fi tIi'lem, noticeably the pea r, ar e prized fer t hei,r bloss<DnJs l'llItliler tkam tlileu., btl>im.

This defi ciency, however , is being; suppl1ied by tra nslDlall'ltii\ilg fl'l!l~t-tl'ees from th e United States a nd other countries . 'ill'he seiru wnd!. ci~'l;natte seem adapted to t he gro wth of th ese, and befere many yeatrs JaIDatl!l w~1 be a fruit -growing land.

Nat ive grape-vines grow abl!lndant'ly, wnd aFe 0£tel1 seen nraii1il1g <D¥er t h.e ent rance to some d welhng. The Oaliifonlli a grape, int J'ec1uceo ro !Eew yeall's since, t hrives exceedingly well, and al~'eady hal!lds01l1e ;v;j,n eyards aDe me be seen . The fruit has been put 011 th e mrorket , amI fi'Hds ro read!.y demarlil<!l .

On t he whole, t he em pire of tIle Far E ast is :fiatil'ly weN sUi]llpllied!. wi1Jh ~ts sh are of the world's edibl es, a nd t he cOlil<!lirtiOll @f the 0l1~tivlllt011S has cel!lt inue¢l to improve from generation to generatiel'l, ti]lQugh it ~las l!lot ~ et r eached t he grand results bel<Dngililg t o th e gl'eatt clross. Nerorly ro~~ ef tile farmers own their llGlmesteads . .

In regard t o its groves of oFlHtmental tl'ees and m@rests ef t imher, !Jj, pan h as been liberally endowed. Owing to t he gl'eatt n ammel' e1 evel'g!;eentrees, t he woods a re never denuded of t hei,l' £0l~ age . The mCIJtsu fPritJ1IMS sylvestris) find s a congenia;l soil a nd a heror ty welceme by the ~lil~l ibitants alrrlOst everywhere. Next to this; t he sl@]jles of the U01'th!roHd ewe tJheir perpetual mantle to th e r ed fir, whQch grmvs IJol@r e sjDwrse1y now-rolld tlihe south . Valuroble as t im ber, being mucu use<ill f@l' masts eli j~l~~ks , t he la.1'Cb. is an est eemed favourite. The wax-tr ee is prizecill f@l' ~ts use 1!1!l'liless in roffo rding a strong vegetaible cement, whij je t he to ;wer~ng crolil1eU~a is hugh!y esteemed for its seeds, which yield an oi!l d esire~1 ]el' Vhe Jjluripese ef ~igl'lt­ ing houses atnd pubiic places. W Whelrut the In'ulmeF1'y-t J1ee, Japllln ~"' 01!l[dJ. [10t be a silk-plled-ueing country. ' VllOever has tr.aversed tl~e h.ij ~hway:s 1Jh.FougliI H ondo, lined {<D r m iles lilY t win l'O \V;S ef t!lQse n(i)Ii)le patl'iarens, W[lll i\ilevet' ,\

JAPAN.

369

f@rget the G?'yrptome?'icb .jctrpoIlJica. In the south the camphor-tree occupies a kug'h place among the woods used in ca!binet-work.

1'ts bri.ght green in summer, anel ha,ppy brilliant colouring in autumn, l)el;je v ~ng with IDeatltiful effect the da;rk hues of t he fir and pine, the maple is t he royal queen of the great green woods of the Far East, and a;n appreci3Jteel ~'ival of the chrysa;ut hemum for t he honours of state , J apan is pl'eemimlent:ly the lQ@me 0f the m,tple. America boasts of some ten

species 0f this tl'ee; E~l rope something hke twenty; but here a re almost [@m' hllndl'ed distinct v3Jrie11ies. Think of a :forest of four hundred species @] mapies deckied in t heia' gorgeous plumage of autumn!

Eeginning with a deep green in the springtinle, Mother Natm'e grad.ually invests the <Ittueen 0f her forests and groves wit h .a robe 0f softer hue, until in the SUi!ilset @I the seasons she decks her out j,11 the brightest livery of fa;iq-land, as id: she w@u[d j,ml~ress llpOB her admi.r ers Vhe fact that in the sniHing scenes she l~as l~Ot l(!Jst her vivaciolls spj,rit. The" frost q,ueen

370

THE FAR EAST.

maple," that species which dons with a cheerfulness m01'e tha.n -human the glory of t he dying days, is beyond description the ha.ppiest image of radiant life that exists in the realm of the forest world. There is, among the numerous varieties, one that bears star-shaped leaves, whose f0liage, changing early to .a, brilliant crimson, contl'Itsts beautifully with the deep green of her sisters.

In ancient clays the maples of Mount Tanmke welle esp eci a]1~7 ID0te!ili f0r

AU'FUMN FQLIA&E AT TAKI-NO-KWAWA.

tbeil" beauty, and thus it was the custom each returning autl!lmn to take figures woven of silk to the Shinto shrine on the mountain, as a.n offering of gratitude for the splenclours of the forest llIt this season. This caused the great poet of that age, Michizane, who beli eved t he gods ought to be satisfied 'with whlllt natUl'e had done fo r them, to exelaim : '''T is hardly for poor me To bring a beggar's g~ft, whellJ 1.'rumJ keyalua spl'eads

K I RIFU IU

OASCADE, 1' 1I\ J\O.

JAl'AN.

371

rvniles of red maple damask Before the glad immortals."

The J apa,nese express their inherent lo\·e and admiration for the maple in many wa,ys, through maple picnics, and the introduction of maples in 31rt ilind ·song; , nd, more enduring than an y of t hese, in th eir pictures and 0!lirvi,ngs, their artistic we!livings ~I'l costly robes, and dra wings on rich wine cups. But o~'er these fair symbols of beauty and brilliancy is the halo of a light that is fad ing rather than the sign ifi cation of endu rance typified by the pine !lind bamboo. A few clap of brilliant reign in her matchless foli!lige, and the mftple sends her magnificent gl or~' away OIl the wings of ~he fi.cl~e w ~nl!ls, - whick is ever Vhe rule with the gfL)' and fnl,gile.

"The warp is h oar·frost and the woof is dew, ~ T oo frail, alas! the warp aGd the woof to be: F or scarce the woods t heir damaRk robes endue, When, torn and soiled, they fl utter o'er t he lea."