Burtis McGie Little

“ Demons and various kinds of evil spirits began to inhabit this inner fiery region, and they have been known to come out through the craters of volcanoes to trouble the people who live near by. The smoke and gases that are so often seen coming from volcanoes, or from cracks in the ground, are from the burning bodies of wicked people whom these demons have caught and carried away. And so, Francisco, if you are wise, you will be a good boy and do just as your father and mother tell you, or you may be taken from the outside to the inside of this wonderful coconut. ”

“ Numberless towns were attacked and plundered by these dreaded pirates who, with their swift sailing praos (prä′-ōs) , or boats, would swoop down upon a town, kill the men, burn the houses, and carry away the women and children either to be sold into slavery or held for ransom. The Spanish government used all the powers at its command to suppress this piracy, but with only partial success.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the people of the Philippines were greatly troubled by invasions of Dutch and English fleets, echoes of larger wars in Europe between these countries and Spain. ”

“ When people are traveling in the Philippines [37] and become thirsty, a man fastens a strap or cord to his feet so that they will be about as far apart as the diameter of the tree, and with this aid in bracing himself, he climbs easily up the long straight trunk to the leafy crown where the nuts hang in clusters. He cuts off and drops to the ground as many nuts as are wanted, and then slides down the tree. With his bolo he strikes a slice from the husk of a nut so deftly that a small hole is opened in the shell and the liquid, cool, sweet, and refreshing, is easily drunk. ”

“ You must not think that Filipinos spend all their time in planting rice, harvesting abaca, or climbing coconut trees. On the contrary, they are fond of amusements, and they find many ways of gratifying this very natural desire. There were several boys of about the same age as Francisco, who lived close by, and they played together most of their spare time. The American soldiers and teachers had shown the older boys how to play baseball, and the game had become very popular. ”

“ Much remains to be done before conditions are exactly as they should be, but the establishment of free public schools from one end of the archipelago to the other, the decrease in crime and disorder, the almost complete prevention of the terrible plagues of cholera and smallpox, and the removal of all lepers to one island where the disease cannot be given to others, are important results of the new era in the Philippine Islands, for which the Filipinos should be grateful to the United States. ”

“ For example, if Francisco wanted a banana he would call for a “batag” (bä′-täg) , but the Manila Filipinos would probably not understand him, as their word for banana is “saging” (sä′-ging) . Due to the widespread influence of the American schools, one can find English spoken in even remote parts of the Philippines, and hence in spite of sixty different native languages, the people now have a common method of speech which can be understood in all sections of the islands. ”

“ For about two years, from 1762 till 1764, the English held Manila, but when peace was finally declared, the British flag was hauled down and the islands returned to Spain.
Wars with pirates, and with the Dutch and English, were not the only causes of distress in the Philippines, however. Numberless times in the history of the islands crops have been damaged and houses destroyed by terrific storms and earthquakes, cattle have been carried off in great numbers by disease, while cholera and smallpox have claimed thousands of human lives, and leprosy has spread itself alarmingly. ”

“ Manila is one of the most interesting cities in the world, not only because it is the meeting place of the Far East and the Far West, but also because the present and the remote past are to be found side by side, and such excellent opportunity is offered for the study of history at first hand. ”

“ Almost every language known to man may be heard on the streets and in the shops, and the Filipino, the Japanese, the Chinese, and the East Indian rub elbows with the American, the European, and the African as they all move along the crowded narrow streets.
Francisco found that he must depend upon his knowledge of the English language in order to make his way in Manila; he knew very [98] little Spanish, and his native tongue, Bicol, was almost useless. The Filipinos in this part of the islands speak a language called Tagalog (Tȧ-găl′-ȯg) , which is strikingly different from Bicol. ”

“ Every town has its musicians, and often excellent music is made by a group of bare-footed players whom you would hardly suspect of being skilled in anything. Sometimes when better instruments cannot be secured, the boys organize a bamboo band; generally, however, the instruments are those which are commonly used the world over. The great Constabulary Band of Manila, conducted by an American negro, Captain W. H. Loving, ranks among the first musical [52] organizations of the world and has several times made tours in the United States.
Filipinos are very fond of plays. ”

“ Corrupt men got into power and used their offices to enrich themselves. A system of taxation was followed for many years, by which the collectors were able to [77] work great injustice upon the Filipinos. Commerce was so restricted that the islands, instead of developing their natural wealth, remained poor. A very strict rule governing the production and sale of tobacco required that a man’s crop be sold only to the government, and at a price which the government fixed. ”

“ Filipino boys and girls do not buy their own books; the government furnishes the required texts and the pupils are allowed the use of them while they are attending school. Each child gives a receipt for all the books that are issued to him, and when school is over he returns them to his teacher and the receipt is destroyed. In case he has lost a book or has badly used it, he is required to pay for it.
When Francisco entered school he knew a few English words and sentences that he had learned from soldiers and from older boys who went to school. ”

“ At sunset the people reluctantly leave the ring and return to their homes, the winners jingling their gains, the losers hoping for better luck [47] next time, and the owners of birds either proudly showing off their conquering heroes or tenderly carrying home the limp bodies of their pets to be boiled for hours in the vain hope of making their hard muscles tender for the table. Much time and money are wasted on this cruel and rather disgusting sport, and it is to be hoped that it may decrease from year to year and finally die out entirely. ”

“ Francisco began his work in what is known as a barrio (băr′-rĭō) school. A Philippine town includes all the outlying villages for a distance of several miles around, and each of these villages is called a barrio. Every barrio has its own little bamboo schoolhouse where the elementary subjects are taught. As the boys and girls become farther advanced in their work, they go in to the central town, where there is a school doing work of a higher [60] grade and having several teachers. ”

“ The siesta habit is a very general one in the Philippines. For an hour or more before and after noon, shops are closed, business stops, and the streets are deserted, while behind drawn shutters, the people are peacefully sleeping after their midday meal. About two o’clock, they take up their regular duties again, thoroughly rested from the morning’s exertions and the extreme heat of noontime. The custom is almost a necessity in tropical countries, and would undoubtedly be a valuable habit for the busy, hurrying American to practice, if he could only feel that the time could be spared for it. ”

“ A province in the Philippine Islands is similar to a county in the United States, and each one maintains a high school which any boy or girl living in the province may attend, after he has completed the work of the lower grades and has passed satisfactory examinations. Courses are offered in the history and government of the United States and the Philippine Islands, in literature, in grammar and composition, in mathematics, drawing, music, cooking, sewing, manual training, agriculture, and, when called for, Spanish and other subjects. ”

“ There is an interesting story current in various parts of the Philippine Islands, which advances a new theory to account for the smoking of volcanoes. It is said that many years ago an old man lived in the crater of the mountain and ruled all the country round its base. He permitted the people to use the land part way up the mountainside, but drew a line beyond which they might not go. He disappeared for a long time, however, and the people forgot his ruling, planting tobacco all the way to the summit. ”

“ Filipinos were displeased at this, for they desired their independence, and the insurrection was continued for several years. However, as the people came to see the real purpose of the United States government,—to stamp out disease and crime, to establish schools over the islands, to develop the natural resources of the country, and to train the people for the art of self-government,—the resistance came gradually to an end, and conditions are now peaceful throughout practically the whole of the Philippines. ”

“ If you had watched these small boys playing, you would have heard Francisco shout as he struck at the ball and missed it,—“Sarong (sä′-rōng) strike!”—“Duang (du′-äng) strike!—Foul!!” “Tolong (tō′-lōng) strike!” “Aco (ä′-cō) out!” sarong meaning one, duang, two, tolong, three, and aco, I.
Filipinos have a game of ball, quite different from baseball, that is much enjoyed by young and old. The ball is of woven rattan, about four inches in diameter and very light. As many as wish to play form a ring, the ball is thrown into the air, and as it comes down, some one sends it flying upward again. ”

“ A Gale Blowing in from Manila Bay
Even if the storm is not severe enough to [85] blow a house over, the thatched roof is sometimes lifted so that the rain pours in, soaking clothing and furniture. While a baguio is in progress the people often gather in one room of their house and pray for safety, chanting their prayer in a most mournful wail that rises and falls with the gusts of wind. ”

“ A number of years have elapsed since the American people took up the white man’s burden in the Orient, and although thousands of Americans have visited our new possessions during this time, there are still many persons who think vaguely of the Philippines as a tiny group of islands somewhere in the Pacific, inhabited by half savage people who wear little or no clothing and prefer dog meat to all other kinds of food. ”

“ Francisco used to go with his father and uncles to the rice fields, where he would watch the carabao while the men worked. A great deal of hard labor is necessary to raise a crop of rice. First, the seed must be sown in a plot of ground called a seed bed, where it is left alone for five or six weeks until the plants have grown several inches high. During this time the men are busy plowing the field and getting the ground ready for the second planting. ”

“ Each carabao had a strand of twisted rattan through its nose, and by means of a cord fastened to this, it could be led and driven very easily. Filipinos often pull very hard upon these cords, and many carabao have their noses badly torn by careless or cruel drivers. When well treated, however, they are valuable and necessary beasts of burden, strong, patient, and able to endure heavy work in a hot climate. ”

“ Gases and steam arise from cracks in the ground constantly, as if some great kettle were boiling just beneath the surface of the earth. At times the mountain smokes, sending up thin, fine wisps that curl lazily into the air or wind in graceful circles about the crater. Wise men who understand volcanoes say that it is a good sign when the mountain smokes, because it means that the [90] gases are escaping, and that an eruption is not so likely to occur as when the crater is closed and the steam is confined. ”

“ Each province has a governor and various other officers to enforce the laws, collect taxes, and do the public work. There is a court, called the Court of First Instance, for trying violations of the law. There are also an engineer to keep roads and bridges in repair and arrange for the erection of public buildings, a division superintendent of schools who, under the director of education at Manila, has charge of public education in his province, and other legal, financial, and military officials. ”

“ The [7] stove was a large square platform about four feet high, covered with soil packed down till it was almost as hard as rock, and having on it several stones. When Francisco’s mother wished to cook rice or boil a chicken, she made a little fire on this platform, drew two or three of the stones near it, and placed the pot or kettle on them and over the flames. Filipino houses never have chimneys, but the smoke finds its way out through the cracks in the bamboo walls. ”

“ The house contained several sleeping rooms with bamboo beds. Francisco preferred to sleep on the floor wrapped in a petate (pe-tä′-te) , or grass mat. The beds were very simply made with bamboo legs and a bottom of woven rattan much like a cane-seated chair. José had learned at school that mosquito bites cause fever, and therefore he had arranged his own bed to be covered with mosquito [6] netting; but the others of the family slept as Francisco did, completely wrapped in their petates.
Making Bamboo Beds
The kitchen was a very different sort of place from those in American homes. ”