John Stuart Thomson

“ I did remember the heavy, creaking wheel, made of one solid piece of wood.
“They never need an iron rim,” added Fil’s father; “and so are not as heavy as they look.”
“Why, here’s a low sleigh, being made out of bamboo poles, runners and boards. Do you have winter here after all?” I asked.
“No, nothing but hottest summer always. But we have much rain, and our roads are not all paved with rock,” explained Fil’s father. “If we used those high wheels on the muddy roads, they would sink so far down that the buffalo or bullock could not pull out the cart that was loaded with rice or sugar.” ”

“ Its wood is so strong and pliable, that your violin was made from part of one.”
“Here’s a skipping rope,” exclaimed Filippa.
“No, a boat rope,” explained Fil.
“That is really the bejuco rattan vine,” remarked the Padre, who knew botany and the lore of nature. “It is three hundred feet long, as long as a city block, if you pull it out of the jungle and away from the tree tops, where it has climbed like a huge snake. We can use it for bridge or carriage ropes, or we can divide the strands and make cloth, or hats, or cord out of it.” ”

“ The Padre explained it by saying: “The sun throws more direct rays here; and they pierce through thin hats, and especially through black clothes. It is best to wear thick, white paper helmets. Moreover, our climate is more damp than is America’s climate.
“That is why you feel somewhat dreamy; and that is why everything in Nature, such as trees, fruits, flowers, ferns, and even animals and birds, grow so richly; and why the flowers shed influences and perfumes on the air. It all appeals to the warmth, color, and dreaminess in your happy imagination. ”

“ Fil’s father, who was a planter of wide acres, replied:
“The cocoa bean and the coconut are two very different plants. Do not confuse them. The cocoa bean, out of which you grind cocoa powder and chocolate for a drink, for bonbons, and for puddings, comes out of a fruit shaped like a large red cucumber. This fruit grows on a tender bush, which must be shaded by a thick banana palm. In each fruit are twenty of these seeds, or cocoa beans.
“They have hard skins, and are very bitter and stimulating. When eaten, they excite the heart, and thus make a person feel active and alive. ”

“ Moro eagerly intruded. “The oddest use for a smoothed half of a coconut shell, is to use it as a rat-guard, to shed off rats from our strings of dried fruit hanging from the roof. As the rat comes down the rattan rope, the halved coconut shell tips, and down he falls from its smooth surface, to the floor, and misses the hanging fruit. ”

“ Then I turned to Fil’s playmate, Moro, and asked him what his rolling name could mean. Moro was even more eager and darker than Fil. He replied, as he bravely touched his toy sword:
“I, too, am of the Malay race, but of a different religion from Fil. I am a Mohammedan; [3] that is, I reverence the same prophets whom the Turks worship. I come from the southern islands of the Philippines. There we spend most of our time roving in boats, and hunting over the hills. The first white man who met us saw that we were as dark, and had the same religion, as the tribes of Morocco in Africa. ”

“ What he told about his religion was very different, very interesting, very new.
“There are good things in your religion,” said the kind Padre, as he placed his hand gently on Moro’s dark head.
“You despise the use of intoxicating liquor. You teach the duty of giving alms and of being charitable to the poor, the unfortunate, and the sick. You teach that every one is his brother’s keeper, and should help his brother to succeed in life. You teach that cleanliness and plain living are almost a part of religion. And we Christians agree with you, Moro, in all these grand ideas ”

“ Fil looked at Moro and smiled. I saw that they both pitied my ignorance in a strange land. Then Fil said kindly:
“Don’t you see the man walking steadily [53] along the running board, from the front to the back of the boat? Well, he is pushing on a long pole, and that power moves the boat against the tide. The pole reaches down to the bottom, through the shallow water. If the boat is loaded, and if the cargo is very heavy, two men push on each pole. The pole is a thick bamboo stick.” ”

“ You weave the bales of fiber into bags, cloth, hawser ropes, canvas, tents, and cordage. We Filipinos, also, split the fiber and weave it into many kinds of cloth. Sometimes we mix silk or cotton with the abacá hemp.”
“I am sure our friend would like to learn about sugar,” remarked Fil, who had a sweet tooth for candy. [25]
Fil’s father took up this part of the story, and said:
“Sugar of course comes from a sweet cane, which is grown on high land. The cane is cut down. A pony or a water buffalo is harnessed to a roller. We feed the ripened cane into the rollers. ”

“ Moro frankly said: “Yes, but as our house is so cheap, we can build a new one easily. However, in this warm climate we cook in a separate house, and we bathe out of doors. We do not smoke within our nipa houses; it is too dangerous.”
“Tell our friend from across the purple ocean how we use the bamboo and the nipa plants, for other purposes besides building,” remarked little Fil.
Moro continued: “From the sap of the nipa palm, we distill alcohol. From the hollow bamboo we make pipes for carrying water. We boil the tender new shoots of bamboo, and eat them like celery. ”

“ Her father explained: “We add sugar and vanilla, to the brown cocoa bean paste.”
“Just think of practically growing chocolate bonbons on a tree, beneath the window of your nipa huts, in these wonderful Philippine Islands,” I added, and every one smiled.
“It is really true, when one adds the sugar,” remarked the Padre.
“Now tell me please about coffee, also,” I begged.
Fil’s father continued:
“The coffee comes from another low bush. You choose a hillside, for, although the plant likes our heavy rains in the Philippines, it does not like to keep its roots long in water. ”

“ The Padre replied: “Even a volcano produces some good. This melted rock, when it becomes cold, forms a light, porous stone, which is used for polishing. You use it in your bathroom, to rub ink off your hands. Lava stone is easily ground into powder. When mixed with soap, this ground lava becomes a useful cleaning and polishing powder.”
“Nature is always useful, as well as grand [8] and beautiful,” remarked Fil’s father, who, dressed in a white silk suit and abacá hat, had just then come up the path. ”

“ They never break, because they give way a little, like a spring. They are elastic, yet strong,” explained Fil’s father.
“And they cost only a few cents,” added the Padre.
“We don’t care when they burn up,” remarked Fil, who received from his father a stern look, and the order not to joke too much.
As we walked home, we passed a man who carried a bamboo over one shoulder. At one end of the pole hung a thick piece of hollow bamboo. At the other end of the pole hung an earthenware jug, tied in a net of rattan. Behind him followed a herd of goats. ”

“ It all comes from the leaf of this Philippine palm.”
“Wonderful and beautiful and useful islands,” I confessed. “But how do you make a leaf into a cord, a hawser, a sail, or a bag?”
The Padre continued: “This big plant with leaves taller than a man, grows on a hill. We do not let it flower. The huge leaves are cut near the root, and new leaves grow up at once. All through the leaf run long tough ribs. We drag this over a big rough knife that is fastened in a board; and thus we scrape away the soft pulp without breaking the fiber. The wet fibers, we hang over a fence in the sun, to dry. ”

“ Moro, way up on the buffalo’s neck, heard me and laughed: “He can’t reach me with his rubber tail.”
“But I’ll reach you, Sir, if you don’t get down soon from your dangerous perch,” said Fil’s father.
The Padre explained: “We sometimes call these animals carabao. We use them for plowing, for drawing our sugar to market, for pressing our hemp mill, for turning our water wheels and sugar rollers, for pulling the huge logs of hardwood out of the thick forest. When the roads are too muddy for wheeled carts, we make a mud sleigh with runners ”

“ If the wind dies down, the sailor has to paddle the heavy boat home. Then he sits over on the side opposite the out-rigger, so as to balance it. But when he has hoisted sail, he sits on the out-rigger, as the sail balances the boat on the sailing side, opposite the wind. The boat easily rolls over, because it has no sharp keel going down into the water. ”

“ Then we mix it with chalk and sulphur; and behold, afterwards we roll out your automobile tire,” explained the wise Padre.
“Could you pull the rubber tree out as high as the stars, and would it snap back again?” asked joking Moro.
“Stop your joking,” replied Fil’s mother. “You know very well that the rubber tree itself is not pure gum, any more than the maple tree in America is pure sugar. It is the gum of the rubber tree that becomes the rubber.” [40]
[Contents]
Chapter X Minerals
“It is not only what towers above us, that makes our islands rich. ”

“ This juice is heated several times, and stirred, and purified by bone charcoal. The white crystals separate from the dark molasses sirup. We sometimes feed the molasses to cattle and pigs, to make them fat for market.”
Fil’s eyes looked very longingly as he listened to this tale of good things; so I passed him a penny or two.
“Is not sugar made also from very sweet, dark beets?” I inquired.
“Not in these islands,” replied the Padre. “We find that the sugar cane gives a sweeter and a more nutritious product. The beet sugar is made in Europe and in the western states of America.” ”

“ Fil’s mother answered. Then I realized that every person, every race, and every nation, and every color of mankind have their faults as well as their virtues, weak points as well as strong and good ones. There is something good in even the worst of us ”

“ The manila hemp, or abacá plant, is a nearer cousin of the banana palm. You [24] cannot make a sail or tie up a bag of potatoes, without using our manila hemp, or abacá. It is the strongest fiber known; it does not weaken in water. The great hawsers that are used to pull the great ships, are made out of it. ”

“ Filippa eagerly inquired.
“Soon,” laughed her mother.
“Here is a more wonderful tree, from the gum of which we make automobile tires, rubber heels, elastic bands, hot water bags, rain coats, rubber shoes, hose, and so on,” exclaimed the Padre.
I looked; and surely enough, there was the identical rubber tree which we see in florists’ [39] shops or in the greenhouse at home; only this tree was larger. Its thick leaves were nearly as large as a hat.
Weaving
“We cut a hole in the bark, and, when the yellow gum oozes out, we boil it down thick, till it is dark colored. ”

“ So, when he reaches a beam, he [50] and all the other brother ants eat out the heart of it; but they do not break the shell, which is painted. The people in the house do not know anything about this, for the ants of course make no noise, and the painted outside surface of the beam is unbroken.
“Suddenly there is a strain during a typhoon, or a jar is caused by some person walking overhead; and down comes the whole house, like a person whose bones suddenly give way and become powder. The ants have escaped, because they have eaten the whole beam and have gone elsewhere for food.” ”

“ If we wish to go back we must turn around, so as to keep our chinelas on our toes. The young people do not wear stockings in our warm climate, where one lives close to Nature,—too close sometimes, when the snake bites. ”

“ We have no altars in our mosques or churches.
“Our mosques are immense, plain structures, with only large Arabic letters of texts, painted on the walls and ceiling. Five times a day, the [13] Muezzin priest mounts the outside of the mosque tower, and calls the faithful to prayer. Each Mohammedan carries his own praying mat. After placing it on the tile floor beneath the thin pillars, he kneels and bows upon his mat, facing Mecca, where our prophet was born. We do not use music or organs.”
Moro’s Father
All this Moro explained to us. ”

“ The birds and winds and rains drop seeds; and at once lavish plants grow up. You will soon become used to our warmer climate, because you will need to eat less meat and butter, which is the fuel that keeps you warm. ”

“ The rough covering of the shell is woven into mats, brushes, ropes, and bags. The fibers of the leaves make a fine cloth. The dried leaves make a roof-thatch. The trunk makes foundation poles. The coconut itself is fruit and drink. When the white meat is dried, it is shredded for pastry and candy. ”

“ Every one must bathe once a day at least.
During the great heat of the day, after lunch, or “tiffin” as it is called, everyone sleeps a restful hour or two. Therefore visiting and dinners are carried on long into the night, when it is cooler. ”

“ The pliant bamboo root we make into whips. We make bridges, fences, window blinds, furniture, and carriages out of bamboo. We even make blow guns and shoot our arrows at birds, through the bamboo stalk. ”

“ Contents Chapter Page I. Names. 4 II. Climate, Typhoons, Volcano 6 III. At Worship 10 IV. Houses 14 V. Cocoa and Coffee 16 VI. Hemp and Sugar 19 VII. The Coconut 21 VIII. Indigo; Mango; Guava; Durian 23 IX. The Forest 26 X. Minerals 29 XI. Water Buffalo 31 XII. Bats; Cattle; Horses; Cats; Monkeys 33 XIII. Flying Ants; Locusts 35 XIV. Boats and Fish 37 XV. Saw Mill; Mudsleighs; Wooden Plows 39 XVI. Umbrellas; Chairs; Milk-bottle; Milkman 42 XVII. Home Life 44 XVIII. Dress 47 XIX. The “Adios” Feast 49 [viii]
[Contents] Persons Fil, a Filipino boy. ”