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London: Chapman & Hall.

Stosi&raUs Irtag1 Estai% 66 Charing Crass lando:

TRAVELS

PH ILI PPINES

By F. JAGOR.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP.

LONDON:
CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY.
1875-

PEEFACE.

The travels which form the subject of the following pages were
undertaken in the years 1859 and 1860, but were suddenly
interrupted by unforeseen circumstances long before the objects
which had been aimed at had been accomplished. Although
the hope that was entertained of subsequently continuing the
half-finished work could not be realised, yet it led to further
studies, which made the author acquainted with many facts
which had previously been but little known, and showed at
the same time how scanty and incorrect was all the information
about this beautiful country, and especially about the provinces in
which he had made the longest stay.
The author has to thank the Spanish Colonial Minister, who
readily placed his archives at his disposal, for some valuable
information, especially as regards the government, the taxes, and
the duties. Among these archives the author found a work by
D. Ormacheo, which treated of the history of commerce, tribute,
and the regulations of the tobacco trade ; and the " Apuntes para
la Razon general," by Nutzen: both of which proved highly
useful to him. The libraries of Berlin and London also provided
much material, which had to be gathered by the careful and toil
some perusal of ponderous tomes and monkish chronicles. In
this way a very considerable stock of information was gathered
together, the most essential part of which it has been the object
of the author to communicate to the public in a condensed form.
b

vi PREFACE.
Copious notes, made on the spot, have served as the basis of
that part of the work which refers to the travels. After such a
long lapse of time this appears all the more necessary, inasmuch
as the memory is so apt to convert its impressions of occur
rences into highly coloured pictures and interesting adventures ;
whereas it is not so much amusement as a faithful description that
is aimed at in these pages.
A portion of the work, especially part of the twentieth chapter,
has already appeared in Bastian and Hartmann's Ethnological
Journal. The author owes the most interesting portion of this volume, in
a scientific point of view, to two communications which the
friendship of Professors Roth and Virchow placed at his disposal.
Few countries are so little known and so seldom visited as the
Philippine Islands, although there is no more pleasant one to visit
than that lavishly endowed island-kingdom. In scarcely any other
region can the lover of Natural History find a larger store of
unexplored treasures, and the expenses of a visit would be easily
covered by the sale of the collections which might be accumulated.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE I.
Introductory Remarks. pa«b
Difference of Time.— Commercial Relations of the Philippines. — Partition of
the World. — First Aspect of Manilla. — Earthquakes  1
CHAPTER II.
The Roadstead. — Custom Duties. — History of Trade. — Spanish Colonial Policy.
— Voyages of the Galleons  9
CHAPTER III.
Manilla. — Life in Town and Suburb. — Cock-fights. — Dress of the Different
Classes  23
CHAPTER IV.
Comparative Position of Europeans and Natives in English, Dutch, and
Spanish Colonies. — Influence of Spanish Colonial Policy on the Manners
and Customs of the Natives.— The Comforts of Philippine Life.— Cocoa-
Palm Trees, Bamboos  34
CHAPTER V.
Geography of the Philippines. — Their Meteorology. — Internal Adrninistration.
— Population. — Dialects  49
CHAPTER VI.
Excursion to Bulacan.— Frequent Fires.— Fertility of the Soil.— Cigar Cases —
A Spanish Priest.— Hospitality.— Robberies  57

viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAOT
The Province of Laguna.— Banca-travelling — Sand-banks in the Pasig — The
Lake of Bay.— Lake near Calauan.— Palm-wine.— Travelling without »
Servant.— The Majaijai Volcano.— Buffalo-transit  67
CHAPTER VIII.
A Trip to Albay — Mariveles.— Ship Trafiic between the Islands.— The San

Bernardino Straits.— The Bulusan Volcano.— Legaspi.— Sorsog6n

82

CHAPTER IX.
The Volcano of Mayon or Albay, and its Eruptions  90
CHAPTER X.
Cacao. — Coffee. — Religious Festivals. — Life in Daraga  94
CHAPTER XI.
Excursions to Bulusan and Sorsog6n. — Road-Making. — Pirates  107
CHAPTER XII.
Excursions in South Camarmes. — Spanish Priests. — Alcaldes and Mandarins . 115
CHAPTER XIII.
Excursions to South Camarines (oontinued). — Lake Batu. — Indian Priests. —
Savage Settlements. — Lake of Buhi. — The Yriga Volcano. — Pine-apple
Fibres. — Arrow Poison. — Leeches. — The Gravel Fountains of Tibi . . . 127
CHAPTER XIV.
Manners and Customs of the Bicol Indians  143
CHAPTER XV,
Pre-historic Remains. — The High Value of Ancient Vessels, — Stalactite
Caverns in Yamtik. — Travels in North Camarines. — Mining. — Gold. 
Lead-glance. — Red-lead, — Copper. — Smelting Process of the Ygorrotes. —
Edible Bird's-nests ,  ,  182.
CHAPTER XVI.
Journey along the Coast of Camarines. — Encroachments of the Sea. — Destroyed
Palm Forest. — Pasacao. — Bad Roads  189

CONTENTS. ix
CHAPTER XVII. paoe
The Ysarog and its Inhabitants  200
CHAPTER XVIII.
Ascent of the Yriga and Mazaraga. — Pirates and Highway Robbers. — Water
Plants from Berlin to the Philippines. — My servant Pepe . . . .219
CHAPTER XIX.
Travels in Samar. — Weather. — Election of Officials.— North Coast.— Catba-
16gan. — The Flying Lemur. — Serpent Tamers. — Tertiary Petrifactions. —
The Rapids of the Loquil6cun. — The Mago  230
CHAPTER XX.
Travels in Samar (continued). — South-sea Islanders cast away by Storms. —
Burial Caverns and Funeral Customs of the Ancient Bisayans. — Crocodiles.
— Ignatius Beans. — Cocoa-nut Oil  253
CHAPTER XXI.
The Island'of Leyte. — Locusts. — A Solfatara. — Sulphur Produce.— Lake Bito.
—Crocodiles  273
CHAPTER XXII.
Manners and Customs of the Bisayan Indians  285
CHAPTER XXIII.
The New Ports of Customs. — Pit-coal in Cebu. — Yloilo. — Inducements to the
Cultivation of Sugar  300
CHAPTER XXIV.
Abaca, or Manilla Hemp  308
CHAPTER XXV.
The Tobacco Monopoly  324
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Chinese  343
CHAPTER XXVII.
Epitome. — Concluding Observations  370

EXPLANATION OP FOEEIGN TEEMS OP FEEQTTENT
OCCURRENCE.
Abacd, Manilla hemp, fibre of the Musa textilis.
Alkatde, Governor of a province.
Bdnca, Small boat.
Barangdy, Group of from forty to fifty families under the government of a
cabeza.
Bolo, Head surveyor of forests.
But/o, A piece of areca-nut, enclosed in a leaf of the betel-pepper, rolled up
and smeared with burnt lime.
Cabeza, A chief ; petty chief.
Oasa real, Eesidence of the governor, mayor, or alcalde ; also means a tri
bunal.
Camdte, Sweet potatoes, Convolvulus batatas.
Castila, The Spaniards, as well as the Europeans, are generally known under
this name.
Cirnarrdn, A native living in a state of freedom.
Convento, Eesidence of the clergyman, not a convent.
Cuadrillero, A soldier connected with the revenue ; policeman.
dM., M.
Estdnco, Stores in which articles included in the Government monopolies are
sold.
Falua, Felucca.
Odbi, Caladium with edible tubers.
Oobernadorcillo, Petty governor ; head man of a village.
Guindra, Texture woven from abaca.
Hacienda, Estate ; the financial administration ; the State treasury or ex
chequer.
Indier, Indios, The natives are generally called by this name, but particularly
those subject to the Spanish Govemment, in contradistinction to the
Cimarrons.
L, Legua, League ; an hour's walk ; about 3 miles.
M, German mile, which is equal to 4-iag- English miles.
Polista, Compulsory labourer.
Pdlos, Doing service in socage.
Pueblo, A district.
Principalia, Native nobility.
B. C, Redl Cedula, Eoyal letters patent.
B. D., Bedl Decreto, Eoyal decree signed by the sovereign himself.
B. 0., Bedl Orden, Decree signed only by the minister.
Sdya, A woman's petticoat, extending from the hips to the ankles.
Sm., A maritime mile, equal ff ordinary mile.
Sundang, Forest surveyor.
Tdpis, A cloth twisted round the upper part of the saya.
TeniSnte, Lieutenant.
Tribundl, also casa real, The session house.
Tributo, Capitation or poll-tax.
Tiiba, Fermented palm sap.
Visita, Affiliated parochial district.

THE

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
DIFFERENCE OF TIME. — COMMERCIAL RELATIONS OF THE PHILIPPINES. — PARTITION OF
THE WORLD. — FIRST ASPECT OF MANILLA. — EARTHQUAKES.
When the clock strikes twelve in Madrid, it is 8 hours, 18
minutes, and 41 seconds past eight in the evening at Manilla ;
that is to say, the latter city lies 124° 40' 15" to the east of the
former (7 hours, 54 minutes, 35 seconds from Paris). Some
time ago, however, while the new year was being celebrated in
Madrid, it was only New Year's eve at Manilla.
"When Magellan, who discovered the Philippines in his memorable
first circumnavigation of the globe, was following the sun in its
apparent daily path around the world, every successive degree he
compassed on his eastern course added four minutes to the length
of his day ; and, when he reached the Philippines, the difference
amounted to sixteen hours. This, however, apparently escaped
his notice, for Elcano, the captain of his only remaining vessel,
was quite unaware, on his return to the longitude of his departure,
that, according to his ship's log-book, he was a day behind the
time of the port his long-continued westward course had brought
him back to.*
* According to Albo's ship journal, he perceived the difference at the Cape de
Verde Islands on the 9th of July, 1522; "Y este dia fue miercoles, y este dia
tienen ellos por jueves." B

z THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The error remained also unnoticed in the Philippines. It was
still, over there, the last day of the old year, while the rest of the
world was commencing the new one ; and this state of things con
tinued till the close of 1844, when it was resolved, with the
approval of the archbishop, to pass over New Year's eve for
once altogether.*
Since that time the Philippines lie no longer in the distant
west, but in the far east, and are about eight hours in advance of
their mother country.
The proper field for their commerce, however, is what is to us
the far west ; they were colonised thence, and for centuries they
had no communication with Europe but an indirect one, by the
annual voyage of the galleon between Manilla and Acapulco.
Now, however, when the eastern shores of the Pacific are at last
beginning to teem with life, and, with unexampled speed, are
pressing forward to grasp their stupendous future, the Philippines
will no longer be able to remain in their past seclusion. No
tropical Asiatic colony is so favourably situated for communication
with the west coast of America ; and it is only in a few matters
that the Dutch Indies can compete with them for the favours of
the Australian market. But, on the other hand, they will have
to abandon their traffic with China, whose principal emporium
Manilla originally was, as well as that with those westward-looking
countries of Asia, our own far east, which lie the nearest to the
Atlantic ports, t
Had the circumstances we have mentioned been left unnoticed,
* In a note on the 18th page of the masterly English translation of Morga, 1
find the curious statement that a Bimilar rectification was made at the same time
at Macao, where the Portuguese, who reached it on an easterly course, had made the
mistake of a day the other way.
t Towards the close of the sixteenth century the duty upon the exports to China
amounted to 40,000 dollars, and their imports to at least 1,330,000 dollars.
In 1810, after more than two centuries of undisturbed Spanish rule, the latter had
sunk to 1,150,000 dollars. Since then they have gradually increased; and in 1861
tbey reached 2,130,000 dollars.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 3
the Philippines, or at any rate, the principal market for their
commerce, would have fallen within the limits of the western
hemisphere, to which indeed they were relegated by the illustrious
Spanish geographers at Badajoz.
The Bull issued by Alexander VI. on the 4th of May, 1493,
which divided the world into two hemispheres, decreed that all
heathen lands discovered in the eastern half should belong to the
Portuguese ; in the western half to the Spaniards. According to
this arrangement, the latter could only claim the Philippines under
the pretext that they were situated in the western hemisphere.
The demarcation line was to run from the north to the south, a
hundred leagues to the south-west of all the so-called Azores and
Cape de Yerde islands. In accordance with a treaty negotiated
between Spain and Portugal on the 7th of June, 1494, and
approved by Julius II. in 1506, this line was drawn 370 leagues
west of the Cape de Verde islands.
At that time Spanish and Portuguese geographers reckoned 171
leagues to a degree on the equator. In the latitude of the Cape
de Verde Islands, 370 leagues made 21° 55'. If to this we add
the longitudinal difference between the westernmost point of the
group and Cadiz, a difference of 18° 48', we get 40° 43' west,
and 139° 17' east from Cadiz (in round numbers 47° west and
133° east), as the limits of the Spanish hemisphere. At that
time, however, the existing means for such calculations were
entirely insufficient.
The latitude was measured with imperfect astrolabes, or wooden
quadrants, and calculated from very deficient maps ; the variation
of the compass, moreover, was almost unknown, as well as the use
of the log.* Both method and instruments were wanting for
* According to Gehler's " Phys. Lex." the log was first mentioned by
Purchas in an account of a voyage to the East Indies in 1608. Pigafetta does not
cite it in his treatise on navigation ; but in the forty-fifth page of his work it is
said : " Secondo la misura che facevamo del viaggio colla cadena a poppa, noi
percorrevamo 60 a 70 leghe al giorno." This was as rapid a, rate as that of o*ur
fastest steamboats — ten knots an hour.

4 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
useful longitudinal calculations. It was under these circumstances
that the Spaniards attempted, at Badajoz, to prove to the pro
testing Portuguese that the eastern boundary line intersected" the
mouths of the Ganges, and proceeded to lay claim to the posses
sion of the Spice Islands.
The eastern boundary should, in reality, have been drawn 46-|°
further to the east, that is to say, as much further as it is from
London to the coast of Labrador, or to the lesser Altai ; for, in the
latitude of Calcutta 461° are equivalent to 2,575 nautical miles.
Albo's log-book gives the difference in longitude between the
most eastern islands of the Archipelago and Cape Fermoso
(Magellan's Straits), as 106° 30', while in reality it amounts to
159° 85'.
The disputes between the Spaniards and the Portuguese, oc
casioned by the uncertainty of the eastern boundary — Portugal
had already founded a settlement in the Spice Islands — were set at
rest by an agreement made in 1529, in which Charles V. abandoned
his pretended rights to the Moluccas in favour of Portugal, for
the sum of 350,000 ducats. The Philippines at that time were of
no value. ?ff TPt *P ?P£ V
Manilla lies 650 nautical miles south-east of Hongkong, a
distance that the mail steamer running between the two ports
accomplishes in from three to four days. This allows of a fort
nightly postal communication between the colony and the rest of
the world.*
* The European post reaches Manilla through Singapore and Hong-Kong.
Singapore is about equidistant from the other two places. Letters therefore could
be received in the Philippines as soon as in China, if they were sent direct from
Singapore. In that case, however, «, steam communication with that port must be
established, and the traffic is not yet sufficiently developed to bear the double
expense. According to the report of the English Consul (May, 1870), there is,
besides the Government steamer, a private packet running between Hongkong and
Manilla. The number of passengers it conveyed to China amounted, in 1868, to
441 Europeans and 3,048 Chinese; total, 3,489. The numbers carried the other
way were 330 Europeans and 4,664 Chinese; in all, 4,994. The fare is 80 dollars
for Europeans and 20 for Chinamen.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 5
This small steamer is the only thing to remind an observer at
Hongkong, a port thronged with the ships of all nations, that
an island, so specially favoured in organisation and fertility, lies
in such close proximity.
Although the Philippines belong to Spain, there is but little
commerce between the two countries-. Once the tie which bound
them was so close that Manilla was wont to celebrate the arrival
of the Spanish mail with Te Deums and bell-ringing, in honour of
the successful achievement of so stupendous a journey. Until
Portugal fell to Spain, the road round Africa to the Philippines
was not open to Spanish vessels. Its advantages, as compared
with those of the overland route, are shown by the fact that in
1603 two Augustine monks, who were entrusted with an important
message for the king, and who chose the direct line through
Groa, Turkey, and Italy, took three years in reaching Madrid.
The heavy tax which the Spanish flag imposed upon trade had
the effect, in spite of the protective duty in favour of national
products, of restricting the imports of the colony to the merchandise
of alien countries, and the consignment of its exports to foreign
ports. The traffic with Spain was limited to the conveyance of
officials, priests, and their usual necessaries, such as provisions,
wine and other liquors ; and, except a few French novels, some
atrociously dull books, histories of saints, and similar works.
The Bay of Manilla is large enough to contain the united fleets
of Europe ; it has the reputation of being one of the finest in
the world. The aspect of the coast, however, to a stranger arriving,
as did the author, at the close of the dry season, falls short of
the lively descriptions. of some travellers. The circular bay, 120
nautical miles in circumference, the waters of which wash the
shores of five different provinces, is fringed in the neighbourhood
of Manilla by a level coast, behind which rises an equally flat table
land. The scanty vegetation in the foreground, consisting chiefly of
bamboos and areca palms, was dried up by the sun; while in the

6 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
far distance the dull uniformity of the landscape was broken by
the blue hills of San Mateo.
In the rainy season the numerous bankless canals overflow their
borders and form a series of connected lakes, which soon, however,
change into luxuriant and verdant rice-fields.
Manilla is situated on both sides of the river Pasig. The town
itself, surrounded with walls and ramparts, with its low tiled
roofs and scattered towers, had, in 1859, the appearance of some
ancient European fortress. Four years later the greater part of
it was destroyed by an earthquake.
On the 3rd of June, 1863, at thirty-one minutes past seven in
the evening, after a day of tremendous heat while all Manilla
was busy in its preparations for the festival of Corpus Christi, the
ground suddenly rocked to and fro with great violence. The
firmest buildings reeled visibly, walls crumbled, and beams
snapped in two. The dreadful shock lasted half a minute ; but
this little interval was enough to change the whole town into a
mass of ruins, and to bury alive hundreds of its inhabitants. A
letter of the Governor-General, which I have seen, states that
the cathedral, the government-house, the barracks, and all the
public buildings of Manilla were entirely destroyed, and that the
few private houses which remained standing threatened to fall in.
Later accounts speak of four hundred killed and two thousand
injured, and estimate the loss at eight millions of dollars. Forty-
six public and five hundred and seventy private buildings were
thrown down ; twenty-eight public, five hundred and twenty-eight
private buildings were nearly destroyed, and all the houses left
standing were more or less injured.
At the same time, an earthquake of forty seconds' duration
occurred at Cavite, the naval port of the Philippines, and destroyed
several buildings.
Three years afterwards, the Duke of Alencon (Luzon and
Mindanao; Paris, 1870) found the traces of the catastrophe

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 7
everywhere. Three sides of the principal square of the city, in
which formerly stood the government-house, the cathedral, and
the town-house, were lying like dust heaps overgrown with weeds.
All the large public edifices were " temporarily " constructed of
wood ; but no one appeared to have thought of building anything
permanent. Manilla is very often subject to earthquakes ; the most fatal
occurred in 1601 ; in 1610 (Nov. 30th) ; in 1645 (Nov. 30th) ; in
1658 (Aug. 20th) ; in 1675 ; in 1699 ; in 1796 ; in 1824 ; in
1852 ; and in 1863. In 1645, 600, or, according to some accounts,
3,000 persons perished, buried under the ruins of their houses.
The monastery, the church of the Augustines, and that of the
Jesuits, were the only public buildings which remained standing.
Smaller shocks, which suddenly set the hanging lamps swinging,
occur very often and generally remain unnoticed. The houses
are on this account generally of but one story, and the loose
volcanic soil on which they are built tends to lessen the violence
of the shock. Their heavy tiled roofs, however, appear very
inappropriate under the circumstances. Earthquakes are also of
frequent occurrence in the provinces, but they, as a rule, cause so
little damage, owing to the houses being constructed of timber or
bamboo, that they are never. mentioned,
M. Alexis Perrey gives, in the memoirs" of the Dijon Academy
for 1850, a catalogue, collected with much diligence from every
accessible source, of the earthquakes which have visited the
Philippines, and particularly Manilla. But the accounts, except
of the most important, are very scanty, and the dates of their
occurrence very unreliable. Of the minor shocks, only a few are
mentioned, those which were noticed by scientific observers
accidentally present at the time.
Aduarte mentions a tremendous earthquake which occurred in
1610. I briefly quote his version of the details of the catastrophe,
as I find them mentioned nowhere else.

8 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
" Towards the close of November, 1610, on St. Andrew's Day,
a more violent earthquake than had ever before been witnessed,
visited this island ; its effects extended from Manilla to the
extreme end of the province of New Segovia (in the far north of
Luzon), a distance of 200 leagues. It caused great destruction
over the whole area ; in the province of Ilocos it swallowed up
palm trees, and left only the tops of their branches above the
earth's surface; its shock dashed hills on the opposite sides of
valleys together, threw down many buildings, and killed a great
number of people. Its fury was greatest in New Segovia, where it
rent mountains asunder, and created new lake basins. The earth
threw up immense fountains of sand, and vibrated so terribly that
the people, unable to stand upon it, laid down and fastened them
selves to the ground, as if they had been on a ship in a stormy
sea. In the range inhabited by the Mendayas a mountain fell in,
crushing a village and destroying its inhabitants. An immense
portion of the cliff sank into the river ; and now, where the
stream was formerly bordered by a range of hills of equal altitude,
its banks are level with the watercourse. The commotion was so
great in the bed of the river that waves arose like those of the
ocean, or as if the water had been lashed by a furious wind.
Those edifices which were of stone suffered the most damage, our
church and the convent fell in, &c, &c  "

Breakwater on the Pasig, Manilla.

CHAPTER II.
THE ROADSTEAD. — CUSTOM DUTIES.  HISTORY OF TRADE. — SPANISH COLONIAL POLICY. 
VOYAGES OF THE GALLEONS.
The ordeal at the custom-house, and the many formalities which
the native minor officials exercised without any attempt at dis
cretion, appeared all the more wearisome to me when contrasted
with the easy routine of the English free ports of the east I had
just quitted. The guarantee of a respectable merchant obtained
for me, as a particular favour, the permission to disembark after
a detention of sixteen hours ; but even then I was not allowed to
take the smallest article of luggage on shore with me. During
the south-west monsoon and the stormy season that accompanies
the change of monsoons, the roadstead is unsafe. Vessels are
then obliged to seek protection in the port of Cavite, seven miles
further down the coast ; but during the north-east monsoons they
can safely anchor half a league from the coast. All ships under
300 tons burden pass the breakwater and enter the Pasig, where,
as far as the bridge, they lie in serried rows, extending from the
shore to the middle of the stream, and bear witness by their
numbers, as well as by the bustle and stir going on amongst them,
to the activity of the home trade.
The small number of the vessels in the roadstead, particularly

io THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
of those of foreign countries, was the more remarkable, as
Manilla was the only port in the Archipelago that had any com
merce with foreign countries. It is true that since 1855 three
other ports, to which a fourth may now be added, have laid claim
to this distinction ; but at the time of my arrival, in March, 1859,
not one of them had ever been entered by a foreign vessel, and it
was a few weeks after my visit that the first English ship sailed
into Iloilo to take in a cargo of sugar for Australia.*
The reason of this peculiarity laid partly in the feeble develop
ment of agriculture, in spite of the unexampled fertility of the
soil, but chiefly in the antiquated and artificially limited conditions
of trade. The customs duties were in themselves not very high.
They were generally about seven per cent, upon merchandise
conveyed under the Spanish flag, and about twice as much for that
carried in foreign bottoms. "When the cargo was of Spanish pro
duction, the duty was three per cent, if carried in national vessels,
eight per cent, if in foreign ships. The latter were only allowed,
as a rule, to enter the port in ballast, t
As, however, the principal wants of the colony .were imported
from England and abroad, these were either kept back till an
opportunity occurred of sending them in Spanish vessels, which
charged nearly a treble freight (from £4 to £5 instead of from
£1| to £2 per ton), and which only made their appearance in
British ports at rare intervals, or they were sent to Singapore and
Hongkong, where they were reshipped under the Spanish flag.
Tonnage dues were levied, moreover, upon ships in ballast, and
upon others which merely touched at Manilla without unloading or
* The opening of. this port proved so advantageous that I intended to have given
a few interesting details of its trade in a separate chapter, chiefly gathered from
the verbal and written remarks of the English Vice-Consul, the late Mr. N. Loney,
and from other consular reports.
f In 1868 112 foreign vessels, to the aggregate of 74,054 tons, and Spanish ships
to the aggregate of 26,762 tons, entered the port of Manilla. Nearly all the first
came in ballast, but left with cargoes. The latter both came and left in freight.
(English Consul's Eeport, 1869.)

FORMER CUSTOMS DUTIES. 1 1
taking in fresh cargo ; and if a vessel under such circumstances
landed even the smallest parcel, it was no longer rated as a ship
in ballast, but charged on the higher scale. Vessels were there
fore forced to enter the port entirely devoid of cargo, or carrying
sufficient to cover the expense of the increased harbour dues ;
almost an impossibility for foreign ships, on account of the differ
ential customs rates, which acted almost as a complete prohibition.
The result was that foreign vessels came- there only in ballast, or
when summoned for some particular object
The exports of the colony were almost entirely limited to its
raw produce, which was burdened with an export duty of three
per cent. Exports leaving under the Spanish flag were only taxed
to the amount of one per cent. ; but, as scarcely any export trade
existed with Spain, and as Spanish vessels, from their high rates
of freight, were excluded from the carrying trade of the world,
the boon to commerce was a delusive one.*
These eccentric excise laws, hampered with a hundred sus
picious forms, frightened away the whole carrying trade from the
port ; and its commission merchants were frequently unable to
dispose of the local produce. So trifling was the carrying trade
that the total yearly average of the harbour dues, calculated from
the returns often years, barely reached 10,000 dollars.
The position of Manilla, a central point betwixt Japan, China,
Annam, the English and Dutch ports of the Archipelago and
Australia, is in itself extremely favourable to the development of
a world-wide trade.f At the time of the north-eastern monsoons,
during our winter, when vessels for the sake of a fair wind pass
through the Straits of Gilolo on their way from the Indian Archi-
* In 1868 the total exports amounted to 14,013,108 dollars; of this England
alone accounted for 4,857,000 dollars, and the whole of the rest of Europe for only
102,477 dollars. The first amount does not include the tobacco duty paid to Spain
fey the colony, 3,169,144 dollars. (English Consul's Eeport, 1869.)
t Laperouse said that Manilla was perhaps the most fortunately Situated city in
the world.

iz THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
pelago to China, they are obliged to pass close to Manilla. They
would find it a most convenient station, for the Philippines, as we
have already mentioned, are particularly favourably placed for the
west coast of America.
The important decree — important, that is to say, for the future
of the colony — issued on the 5th of April, 1869, and which would
have appeared sooner had not the Spanish and colonial ship
owners, spoilt by the protective system, obstinately opposed any
innovation which touched the privileges they had hitherto enjoyed,
and compelled them to be more energetic, proves that the colonial
ministry was perfectly aware of these circumstances, and had
drawn their own conclusions.
The most noteworthy points of the decree are the moderation of
the differential duties, and their entire extinction at the expiration
of two years ; the abrogation of all export duties ; and the con
solidation of the more annoying port dues into one single charge.
When the Spaniards landed at the Philippines they found the
inhabitants clad in silks and cotton stuffs, which were imported
from China in exchange for gold-dust, sapan wood,* holothurian,
edible birds' nests, and skins, t The islands were also in com
munication with Japan, Cambodia, Siam,+ the Moluccas, and the
Malay Archipelago. De Barros mentions that vessels from Luzon
visited Malacca in 151 1.§
* Sapan or Bibucao, Csesalpinia Sapan. Pernambuco or Brazil wood, to which the
empire of Brazil owes its name, comes from the Ca?salpinia echinata and the
Csesalpinia Braziliensis. (The oldest maps of America remark of Brazil : " Its
only useful product is Brazil (wood).") The sapan of the Philippines is richer in
dye stuff than all other eastern woods, but it ranks below the Brazilian sapan. It
has nowadays lost its reputation, owing to its being often stupidly cut down too
early. It is sent especially to China, where it is used for dyeing or printing in
red. The stuff is first macerated with alum, and then for a finish dipped in a weak
alcoholic solution of alkali. The reddish brown tint so frequently met with in the
clothes of the poorer Chinese is produced from sapan.
t An interesting catalogue of the Chinese imports is given in the Appendix.
\ Large quantities of small mussel shells (Cypraja moneta) were sent at this period
to Siam, where they are still used as money.
\ Berghaus' " Geo.-hydrogr. Memoir."

MANILLA'S COMMERCE. 13
The greater order which reigned in the Philippines after the
advent of the Spaniards, and still more the commerce they opened
with America and indirectly with Europe, had the effect of greatly
increasing the island trade, and of extending it beyond the Indies
to the Persian Gulf. Manilla was the great mart for the products
of the East, with which it loaded the galleons that, as early as
1565, sailed to and from New Spain (at first to Navidad, after
1602 to Acapulco), and brought back silver as their principal
return freight.*
The merchants in New Spain and Peru found this commerce
so advantageous, that the result was very damaging to the exports
from the mother country, whose manufactured goods were unable
to compete with the Indian cottons and the Chinese silks. The
spoilt monopolists of Seville demanded therefore the abandon
ment of a colony which required considerable yearly contributions
from the home exchequer, which stood in the way of the mother
country's gains in her American settlements, and which forced
his Catholic Majesty's silver to remain in the hands of the heathen.
Since the foundation of the colony they had continually thrown
impediments in its path.f Their demands, however, were vain in
face of the ambition of the throne and the influence of the clergy ;
but the public opinion of the time forced the Government to
forbid the Peruvian and New Spanish merchants, in the interests
of the mother country, to obtain merchandise from China, either
directly, or through Manilla. The inhabitants of the Philippines
* Manilla was first founded in 1571, but as early as 1565, Urdaneta, Legaspi's
pilot, had found the way back through the Pacific Ocean while he was seeking in
the higher northern latitudes for a favourable north-west wind. Strictly speaking,
however, Urdaneta was not the first to make use of the return passage, for one of
Legaspi's five vessels, under the command of Don Alonso de Arellano, which had
on board as pilot one Lope Martin, a mulatto, separated itself from the fleet after
they had reached the island, and returned to New Spain on a northern course,
in order to claim the promised reward for the discovery. Don Alonso was dis
appointed, however, by the speedy return of Urdaneta.
t Kottenkamp I., 1594.

r4 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
were alone permitted to send Chinese goods to America, but only
to the yearly value of 250,000 dollars. The return trade was
limited to 500,000 dollars.*
The first amount was afterwards increased to 300,000 dollars,
with a proportionate augmentation of the return freight ; but the
Spanish were forbidden to visit China, and were obliged to await
the arrival of the junks. Finally, in 1720, Chinese goods were
entirely prohibited in the whole of the Spanish possessions in both
hemispheres. A decree of 1754 (amplified in 1769) once more
permitted trade with China, and increased the maximum value of
the annual freightage to Acapulco to 500,000 silver dollars, and
that of the return trade to twice the amount.
At last the expense to the State put an end to the regular
voyages to Acapulco (the last galleon left Manilla in 1811, and
the last departure from Acapulco took place in 1815) ; and the
commerce with America was carried on by means of merchant
vessels, which were permitted in 1820 to export from the Philip
pines to the annual value of 750,000 dollars, and to trade, not only
with Acapulco, but with San Bias, Guyaquil, and Callao. This
concession, however, was not sufficient to compensate Philip
pine commerce for the injuries it suffered through the separation
of Mexico from Spain. The possession of Manilla by the English
in 1762 made its inhabitants acquainted with many industrial
products which the imports from China and India were unable to
offer them. To satisfy these new cravings Spanish men-of-war
were sent, towards the close of 1764, to the colony with articles of
home manufacture, such as wine, provisions, hats, cloth, hardware,
and ornamental objects.
The Manilla merchants, accustomed to a lucrative trade with
* At first the maximum value of the imports only was limited, and the Manilla
merchants were not over scrupulous in making false statements as to their worth ;
to put an end to these malpractices a limit was placed to the amount of silver
exported. According to Mas, however, the silver illegally exported amounted to
six or eight times the prescribed limit.

RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE. 15
Acapulco, strenuously resisted this innovation, although it was a
considerable source of profit to them, for the Crown purchased the
Indian and Chinese merchandise for its return freights from
Manilla at double their original value. In 1784, however, these
men of war made their last trip.
After the English invasion, European vessels were forbidden to
visit Manilla ; but as that city was unable to do without Indian
merchandise, and was forbidden to import it in its own ships, it
was brought there in English and French bottoms, which assumed
a Turkish name, and were provided with a sham Indian captain.
In 1785, the "Compania " of the Philippines obtained a monopoly
of the trade between Spain and the colony, but it was not allowed
to interfere with the direct traffic between Acapulco and Manilla.
The desire was to acquire large quantities of colonial produce,
silk, indigo, cinnamon, cotton, pepper, &c, in order to export it ;
but as it was unable to obtain compulsory labour, it entirely
failed in its attempted artificial development of agriculture.
The " Compania " suffered great losses through its erroneous
system of operation, and the incapacity of its officials (it paid,
for example, 13| dollars for pico pepper, which cost from 3 to 4
dollars in Sumatra).
In 1789 foreign ships were allowed to import Chinese and
Indian produce, but none from Europe. In 1809 an English
commercial house obtained permission to establish itself in
Manilla.* In 1814, after the conclusion of the peace with France,
the same permission, with greater or less restrictions, was granted
to all foreigners. In 1820 the direct trade between the Philip
pines and Spain was thrown open, without any limitations to the
export of colonial produce, on the condition that the value of the
Indian and Chinese goods in each expedition should not exceed

* Laperouse mentions a French firm that, in 1787, had been for many years
established in Manilla.

1 6 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
50,000 dollars. Ever since 1834, when the privileges of the
" Compania " expired, free trade has been permitted in Manilla ;
foreign ships, however, being charged double dues. Four new
ports have been thrown open to general trade since 1855 ; and in
1869 the liberal tariff previously alluded to was issued.
After three centuries of almost undisturbed Spanish rule, Manilla
has by no means added to the importance it possessed shortly after
the advent of the Spaniards. The isolation of Japan and the Indo-
Chinese empires, a direct consequence of the importunities and
pretensions of the Catholic missionaries,* the secession of the
colonies on the west coast of America, above all the long con
tinuance of a distrustful commercial and colonial policy — a policy
which exists even at the present day — while important markets,
based on large capital and liberal principles, were being estab
lished in the most favoured spots of the British and Dutch Indies ;
all these circumstances have contributed to this result and thrown
the Chinese trade into other channels. The cause is as clear as
the effect, yet it might be erroneous to ascribe the policy so long
pursued to shortsightedness. The Spaniards, in their schemes of
colonisation, had partly a religious purpose in view, but the
government discovered a great source of influence in the disposal of
tfhe extremely lucrative colonial appointments. The crown itself,
as well as its favourites, thought of nothing but extracting the
most it could from the colony, and had neither the intention or
the power to develop the natural wealth of the country by
agriculture and commerce. Inseparable from this policy, was the
persistent exclusion of foreigners.! It seemed even more neces
sary in the isolated Philippines than in America to cut off the
* E. Cocks to Thomas Wilson (calendar of State Papers, India, No. 823) ....
"The English will obtain a trade in China, so they bring not in any padrese (as
they term them), which the Chinese cannot abide to hear of, because heretofore they
came in such swarms, and are always begging without shame."
f As late as 1857 some old decrees, passed against the establishment of foreigners
were renewed. A royal ordinance of 1844 prohibits the admission of strangers into
the interior of the colony under any pretext whatsoever.

VOYAGES OF THE GALLEONS. 17
natives from all contact with foreigners, if the Spaniards had any
desire to remain in undisturbed possession of the colony. In
face, however, of the developed trade of to-day and the claims of
the world to the productive powers of such an extraordinarily
fruitful soil, the old restrictions can no longer be maintained, and
the lately introduced liberal tariff must be hailed as a thoroughly
well-timed measure.
* * * * * - *
The oft-mentioned voyages of the galleons betwixt Manilla and
Acapulco hold such a prominent position in the history of the
Philippines, and afford such an interesting glimpse into the old
colonial system, that their principal characteristics deserve some
description. In the days of Morga, towards the close of the sixteenth
century, from thirty to forty Chinese junks were in the habit of
annually visiting Manilla (generally in March) ; towards the end of
June a galleon used to sail for Acapulco. The trade with the
latter place, the active operations of which were limited to the
three central months of the year, was so lucrative, easy, and
certain, that the Spaniards scarcely cared to engage in any other
undertakings. As the carrying power of the annual galleon was by no means
proportioned to the demand for cargo room, the Governor divided
it as he deemed best ; the favourites, however, '^to w-hom he
assigned shares in the hold, seldom traded themselves, but parted
with their concessions to the merchants. According to De
Guignes,* the hold of the vessel was divided into 1,500 parts, of
which the majority were allotted to the priests, and the rest to
distinguished persons. As a matter of fact, the value of the cargo,
which was officially limited to 600,000 dollars, was considerably
higher. It chiefly consisted of Indian and Chinese cottons and
silk stuffs (amongst others 50,000 pairs of silk stockings from
* Vide. Pinkerton.

1 8 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
China), and gold ornaments. The value of the return freight
amounted to between two and three millions of dollars.
Everything in this trade was settled beforehand ; the number,
shape, size, and value of the bales, and even their selling price.
As this was usually double the original cost, the permission to
ship goods to a certain amount was equivalent, under ordinary
circumstances, to the bestowal of a present of a like value.
These permissions or licences (boletas) were, at a later period,
usually granted to pensioners and officers' widows, and to officials,
in lieu of an increase of salary ; these favourites of fortune were
forbidden however to make a direct use of them, for to trade with
Acapulco was the sole right of those members of the Consulado
(a kind of chamber of commerce) who could boast a long
residence in the country and the possession of a capital of at
least 8,000 dollars.
Legentil, the astronomer, gives a full description of the regu
lations which prevailed in his day and the manner in which they
were disobeyed. The cargo consisted of a thousand bales, each
composed of four packets,* the maximum value of each packet
being fixed at 250 dollars. It was impossible to add to the
amount of bales, but they pretty generally consisted of more than
four packets, and their value so far exceeded the prescribed limits,
that a boleta was considered to be worth from 200 to 225 dollars.
The officials took good care that no goods should be smuggled on
board without a boleta. These were in such demand, that, at a
later period, Comynf had to pay 500 dollars for the right to ship
goods, the value of which scarcely amounted to 1,000. The
merchants usually borrowed the money for these undertakings from
the obras pirn, pious endowments, which, up to our own time,
fulfil in the islands the purposes of banks. + In the early days of
* Each packet was 6x2^x1^=18-75 Span. cub. ft. St. Croix.
t Vide Comyn's " Comercio exterior."
% The obras pias were pious legacies which usually stipulated that two-thirds of

VOYAGES OF THE GALLEONS. ig
the trade, the galleon used to leave Cavite in July and sail with
a north-westerly wind beyond the tropics, until it met with a west
wind between the thirtieth and fortieth parallel.* Later on the
vessels were ordered to leave Cavite with the first south-westerly
wind, to sail along the south coast of Luzon, through the St.
Bernardino straits, and to continue along the thirteenth parallel
of north latitudef as far to the east as possible, until the north
easterly trade wind compelled them to seek a north-west breeze in
higher latitudes. They were then obliged to try the thirtieth
parallel as long as possible, instead of as formerly the thirty-
seventh. The - captain of the galleon was not permitted to sail
immediately northward, although to have done so would have
procured him a much quicker and safer passage, and would have
enabled him to reach the rainy zone more rapidly. To effect
the last, indeed, was a matter of the greatest importance to him,
for his vessel, overladen with merchandise, had but little room
left for water ; and, although he had a crew of from 400 to 600
hands to provide for, he was instructed to depend upon the rain
he caught on the voyage ; for which purpose, the galleon was
provided with suitable mats and bamboo pails. §
their value should be advanced at interest for the furtherance of maritime commercial
undertakings until the premiums, which for » voyage to Acapulo amounted to 50,
to China 25, and to India 35 per cent., had increased the original capital to a certain
amount. The interest of the whole was then to be devoted to masses for the
founders, or to other pious and benevolent purposes. A third was generally
kept as a reserve fund to cover possible losses. The Government long since
appropriated these reserve funds as compulsory loans, *' but they are still considered
as existing."
When the trade with Acapulco came to an end, the principals could no longer
be laid out according to the intentions of the founders, and they were lent out at
interest in other ways. By a royal ordinance of the 3rd November, 1854, a junta
was appointed to administer the property of the obrat pids. The total capital of the
five endowments (in reality only four, for one of them no longer possessed anything)
amounted to nearly a million'of dollars. The profits from the loans were distributed
according to the amounts of the original capitals, which, however, no longer existed
in cash, as the Government had disposed of them.
* Vide " Thevenot."
t According to Morga, between the fourteenth and fifteenth-
j Vide De Guignes, Pinkerton, and Anson.
c 2

20 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Voyages in these low latitudes were, owing to the inconstancy.
of the winds, extremely troublesome, and often lasted five months'
and upwards. The fear of exposing the costly cumbrous vessel to
the powerful and frequently stormy winds of the higher latitudes,
appears to have been the cause of these sailing orders.
As soon as the galleon had passed the great Sargasso shoal, it
took a southerly course, and touched at the southern point of the
Californian peninsula (Saint Lucas), where news and provisions
awraited it.* In their earlier voyages, however, they must have
sailed much further, to the north, somewhere in the neighbour
hood of Cape Mendocino, and have been driven southward
in sight of the coast ; for Vizcaino, in the voyage of discovery he
undertook m 1603, from Mexico to California, found the principal
mountains and capes, although no European had ever set his
foot upon them, already christened by the galleons, to which they
had served as landmarks.!
The return voyage to the Philippines was an easy one, and
only occupied from forty to sixty days. J The galleon left
Acapulco. in February or March, sailed southwards till it fell in
with the trade wind (generally in from 10° to 11° of north
latitude), which carried it easily to the Ladrone Islands, and
thence reached Manilla by way of Samar. §
A galleon was usually of 'from 1,200 to 1,500 tons burden, and
carried fifty or sixty guns. The latter, however, were pretty
generally banished to the hold during the eastward voyage..
When the ship's bows were turned towards home, and there was
no longer any press of space, the guns were remounted.
Fray Gaspar says of the Santa Anna, which Thomas Candish
* Vide Anson.
t Eandolph's " History of California."
% In Morga's time the galleons took seventy days to the Ladrone islands, from
ten to twelve from thence to Cape Espiritu Santo, and eight more to Manilla.
§ A very good description of these voyages may be found in the 10th chapter of
Anson's work, which also contains a copy of a sea map, captured in the Cavadonga,
displaying the proper track of the galleons to and from Acapulco.

VOYAGES OF THE GALLEONS. zr
Captured and burnt in 1586 off the Californian coast: "Our
people sailed so carelessly that they used their guns for ballast ;
. . . the pirate's venture was such a fortunate one that he returned
to London with sails of Chinese damask and silken rigging."
The cargo was sold in Acapulco at a profit of 100 per cent., and
was paid for in silver, cochineal, quicksilver, &c. The total
value of the return freight amounted perhaps to between two and
three million dollars,* of which a quarter of a million, at least, fell
to the king.
The return of a galleon to Manilla, laden with silver dollars
and new arrivals, was a great holiday for the colony. A con
siderable portion of the riches they had won as easily as at the
gaming table, was soon spent by the crew ; when matters returned
to their usual lethargic state. It was no unfrequent event,
however, for vessels to be lost. They were too often laden with a
total disregard to seaworthiness, and wretchedly handled by
officers who disobeyed their orders and set caution at defiance.
It was favour not capacity that determined the patronage of these
lucrative appointments.! Many galleons fell into the hands of
English and Dutch cruisers. + But these tremendous profits
gradually decreased when the Compania (as it did later) ob
tained the right to import Indian cottons, one of the principal
articles of trade, into New Spain by way of Vera Cruz, subject to
a customs duty of 6 per cent. ; and when English and American
adventurers began to smuggle these and other goods into the
* De Guignes.
t The officer in command of the expedition, to whom the title of general was
given, had always a captain under his orders, whose share in the gain of each trip
amounted to 40,000 dollars. The pilot was content with 20,000. The first lieutenant
(master) was entitled to 9 per cent, on the sale of the cargo, and pocketed from this
and from the profits of his own private ventures upwards of 350,000 dollars. (Vide
Arenas.) J The value of the cargoes Anson captured amounted to 1,313,000 dollars, besides
35,682 ounces of fine silver and cochineal. While England and Spain were at peace,
Drake plundered the latter to the extent of at least one and a half million of dollars.
Thomas Candish burnt the rich cargo of the Santa Anna, as he had no room for it
on board his own vessel.

22 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
country.* This chapter may end with the remark that Spanish
dollars found their way in the galleons to China and the further
Indies, where they are in circulation to this day.
* For instance, in 1786 the San Andres, which had a cargo on board -valued at a
couple of millions, found no market for it in Acapulco ; the same thing happened in
1787 to the San Jose, and a second time in 1789 to the San Andre's.

^m&.

fifiSS

Bi§

PsL-

A Manilla barge.

,5V

House with Balcony on the Pasig.

CHAPTER III.

MANILLA. -

-LIFE IN TOWN AND. SUBURB. — COCK-FIGHTS.-
CLASSES.

-DRESS OF THE DIFFERENT

The city proper of Manilla, inhabited by Spaniards, Creoles, the
natives directly connected with them, and Chinese, lies, sur
rounded by walls and wide ditches, on the left or southern bank
of the Pasig, looking towards the sea.* It is a hot dried-up
place, full of monasteries, convents, barracks, and Government
buildings. Safety, not appearance, was the object of its builders.
It reminds the beholder of a Spanish provincial town, and is, next
to Goa, the oldest city in the Indies. Foreigners reside on the
northern bank of the river ; in Binondo, the headquarters of
wholesale and retail commerce, or in the pleasant suburban
villages, which blend into a considerable whole. The total popu
lation of city and suburbs has been estimated, perhaps with some
* In 1855 its population consisted of 686 European Spaniards, 1,378 Creoles, 6,323
Indians and half-castes, 332 Chinamen, 2 Hamburghers, 1 Portuguese, and 1 Negro.

24 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
exaggeration, at 200,000. A handsome old stone bridge of ten
arches serves as the communication between the two banks of the
Pasig, which, more recently, has been spanned by an iron
suspension bridge.* Very little intercourse exists between the
inhabitants of Manilla and Binondo. Life in the city proper
cannot be very pleasant ; pride, envy, place- hunting, and caste
hatred, are the order of the day; the Spaniards consider them
selves superior to the Creoles, who, in their turn, reproach the
former with the taunt that they have only come to the colony for
the sake of filling their pockets. A similar hatred and envy exists
between the whites and the half-castes. This state of things
is to be found in all Spanish colonies, and is chiefly caused by
the colonial policy of Madrid, which always does its best to sow
discord between the different races and classes of its foreign
possessions, under the idea that their union would imperil the
sway of the mother country.!
In Manilla, moreover, this state of things was rendered worse
by the fact that the planter class, whose large landed possessions.
always give it a strong interest in the country of its inhabitance,
was entirely wanting. At the present day, however, the increas
ing demand for the produce of the colony seems to be bringing
about a pleasant change in this respect. The manner in which
the Spanish population of the islands was affected by the
gambling ventures of the galleons, at one time the only source of
commercial wealth, is thus described by Murillo Velarde (page
272) : — " The Spaniards who settle here look upon these islands
as a tavern rather than a permanent home. If they marry, it is
by the merest chance ; where can a family be found that has been,
settled here for several generations? The father amasses
wealth, the son spends it, the grandson is a beggar. The largest
* The earthquake of 1863 destroyed the old bridge. It is intended, however, to
restore it ; the supporting pillars are ready, aud the superincumbent iron structure
id shortly expected from Europe (April, 1872).
f Eoseher's " Colonies."

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.

25

capitals are not more stable than the waves of the ocean, across
the crests of which they were gathered."
There is nothing like the same amount of sociability amongst
the foreigners in Binondo as that which prevails in English and
Dutch colonies; and scarcely any intercourse at all with the
Spaniards, who envy the strangers and almost seem to look upon
the gains the latter make in the country as so many robberies
committed upon themselves, its owners. Besides all this, living

Bamboo-house in the Trozo Suburb.
The beams which support it are generally made of the stems of the nibong palm 'caryota) \
these are interlaced with poles of bamboo. The whole framework of the house is composed of
these bamboos fastened together with canework. The flooring is made of bamboo-laths, the
walls of pandanus leaves, and the window-shutters of the leaves of the fan palm-tree (corypha),
held together with thin strips of bamboo. The flooring of the azotea is formed of entire, and its
sides of split, bamboos. The roof is thatched with the nipa palm, and at its summit its ridges are
fastened together with laths of bamboo.
is very expensive, much more so than in Singapore and Batavia.
To many, the mere cost of existence seems greatly out of propor
tion to their official salaries. The houses, which are generally
spacious, are gloomy and ugly, and badly ventilated for such
climates. Instead of light jalousies, they are fitted with heavy
sash windows, which admit the light through thin oyster shells,
forming small panes scarcely two square inches in area, and held
together by laths an inch thick. The ground floors of the

26. THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
houses are, on account of the great damp; sensibly enough,
generally uninhabited ; and are used as cellars, stables, and
servants' offices.
These unassuming, but for their purpose very practical houses,
of planks, bamboos, and palm leaves, are supported on account of
the damp on isolated beams or props; and the space beneath,
which is generally fenced in with a railjng, is used as a stable or
a warehouse ; such was the case as early as the days of Magellan.
. These dwellings are very lightly put together. Laperouse
estimates the weight of some of them, furniture and all, at some
thing less than two hundred pounds. Nearly all these houses, as
well as the huts of the natives, are furnished with an azotea ; that
is, an uncovered space, on the same level as the dwelling, which
takes the place of yard and balcony. The Spaniards appear to
have copied these useful contrivances from the Moors, but the
natives were acquainted with them before the arrival of the
Europeans, for Morga mentions (page 140) similar batalanes.
In the suburbs nearly every hut stands in its own garden. The
drinking water, with the exception of that collected in cisterns,
is extremely bad. It is taken from the river above the city and
brought down for the use of the inhabitants in flat boats. The
stream is often quite covered with green scum ; and dead cats and
dogs surrounded with weeds, like eggs in a dish of spinach,
frequently adorn its waters. In the dry season, the numerous
canals of the suburbs are so many stagnant drains, and at each
ebb of the tide the ditches around the town exhibit a similar
spectacle. Manilla offers few opportunities for amusement. There was no
Spanish theatre open during my stay there, but Tagalish plays
(translations) were sometimes represented. The town possessed
no club, and contained no readable books. Never once did the least
excitement enliven its feeble newspapers, for the items of intelli
gence, forwarded fortnightly from Hongkong, were sifted by priestly

COCK-FIGHTS. 2?
censorsj who left little but the chronicles of the Spanish and
French courts to feed the barren columns of the local sheets.*
The pompously celebrated religious festivals were the only events
that sometimes chequered the wearisome monotony. The chief
amusement of the natives is cock-fighting, which is carried on
with a passionate eagerness that must strike every stranger.
Nearly every Indian keeps a fighting cock. Many are never seen
out of doors without their favourite in their arms ; they pay as
much as 50 dollars and upwards for these pets, and heap the
tenderest caresses on them. The passion for cock-fighting can
well be termed a national vice ; but the practice may -have been
introduced by the Spaniards, or the Mexicans who accompanied
them, as, in a like manner, the habit of smoking opium among
the Chinese, which has become a national curse, was first intro
duced by the English. It is, however, more probable that the
Malays brought the custom into the country. In the eastern
. portion of the Philippines, cock-fighting was unknown in the days
of Pigafetta. The first cock-fight he met with he saw at Paluan.
"They keep large cocks, which from a species of superstition,
they never eat, but keep for fighting purposes. Heavy bets are
* The following figures will give an idea of the contents of the newspapers. I do
not allude to the Boletin Official, which is reserved for official announcements, and
contains little else of any importance. The number lying before me of the Comercio
(Nov. 29, 1858), a paper that appears six times a week, consists of four pages, the
printed portion in each of which is 11 inches by 17 ; the whole, therefore, contains
748 square inches of printed matter. They are distributed as follows : —
Title, 27J sq. in. ; an esBay on the population of Spain, taken from a book,
102£ sq. in. ; under the heading, " News from Europe," an article, quoted from the
Annals of La Caridad, upon the increase of charity and Catholic instruction in France,
40J sq. in. ; Part I. of a treatise on Art and its Origin (a series of truisms), 70 sq. in. ;
extracts from the official sheet, 20£ sq. in. ; a few ancient anecdotes, 69 sq. in.
Beligious portion (this is divided into two parts — official and unofficial. The first
contains the saints for the different days of the year, etc., and the announcements
of religious festivals ; the second advertises a forthcoming splendid procession, and
contains the first half of a sermon preached three years before, on the anniversary of
the same festival, " a sermon so beautiful that it deserved being reissued to our
readers at full length,"), 99 sq. in.; an instalment of an old novel, 154, and adver
tisements, 175 sq. in. ; total, 748 sq. in. In former years the newspapers sometimes
contained long serious essays, but of late these appear extremely seldom.

28 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
made on the upshot of the contest, which are paid to the owner
Of the winning animal."* The sight is one extremely re-
pulsive to Europeans. The ring around the cockpit is' crowded
with natives, perspiring at every pore, while their countenances
bear the imprint of the ugliest, passions. Each birdis armed with
a sharp curved spur, three inches long, capable of making deep
wounds, and which always causes the death of one or both birds
by the serious injuries it inflicts. If a cock shows symptoms of
fear and declines the encounter, it is plucked alive. Incredibly
large sums, in proportion to the means of the gamblers, are
betted on the result. It is very evident, that these cock-fights
must have a most demoralising effect upon a people so addicted to
idleness and dissipation, and so accustomed to give way to the
impulse of the moment. Their effect is to make them little able
to resist the temptation of procuring money without working for
.it. The passion for the game leads many to borrow at usury,
to embezzlement, to theft, and even to highway robbery. The
land and sea pirates, of whom I shall speak presently, are prin
cipally composed of ruined gamesters.!
In the comeliness of the women who lend animation to its
streets Manilla surpasses all other towns in the Indian Archi-
* Vide Pjgafetta.
t Cock-fighting is not alluded to in the ordinances of Buen Gobierno, collected
by Hurtado Corcuero in the middle of the seventeenth century. In 1779 cock
fights were taxed for the first time. In 1781 the Government farmed the right of
entrance to the galleras (cock-pits) for the yearly sum of 14,798 dollars. In 1863
the receipts from the galleras figured in the budget for 106,000 dollars.
A special decree of 100 clauses was issued in Madrid on the 21st of March,
1861, for the regulation of cock-fights. The 1st clause declares that since cock-fights
are a source of revenue to the State, they shall only take place in arenas licensed by
the Government. The 6th restricts them to Sundays and holidays; the 7th, from
the conclusion of high mass to sunset. The 12th forbids more than 50 dollars to be
staked on one contest. The 38th decrees that each cock shall carry but one weapon,
and that on its left spur. By the 52nd the fight is to be considered over when one
cr both cocks are dead, or when one shows the white feather. In the Baity News of
the 30th June, 1869, 1 find it reported that five men were sentenced at Leeds to two
months' hard labour for setting six cocks to fight one another with iron spurs. From
this it appears that this once favourite spectacle is no longer permitted in England.

PUBLIC PROMENADES. 29
pelago. Mallat describes them in glowing colours. A charming
picture of Manilla street life, full of local colour, is given in the
very amusing "Aventures d'un gentilhomme Breton."*
How many of the prettiest " Indians " are of perfectly unmixed
blood, it is, I confess, difficult to decide. Many of them are very
fair and of quite an European type, and are thereby easily dis
tinguished from their sisters in the outlying provinces. The
immediate environs of Manilla can boast many beautiful spots,
but they are not the resort of the local rank and fashion, the
object of whose daily promenade is the display of their toilettes,
and not the enjoyment of nature. In the hot season, all who 'can
afford it are driven every evening along the dusty streets to a
scanty promenade on the beach, where several times a week the
band of a native regiment plays some capital music, and there
walk formally up and down. All the Spaniards are in uniform or
in black frock coats. When the bells ring out for evening prayer, •
carriages, horsemen, pedestrians, all suddenly stand motionless ;
the men take off their hats, and everybody appears momentarily
absorbed in prayer.
The same governor who laid out the promenade established a
botanical garden. It is true that everything he planted in it,
exposed on a marshy soil to the full heat of a powerful sun, soon
faded away ; but its ground was enclosed and laid .out, and though
it Was overgrown with weeds, it had at least received a name. At
present it is probably in a better condition.!
* The raw materials of these adventures were supplied by a French planter, M.
de la Gironiere, but their literary parent is avowedly Alexander Dumas.
+ Botanical gardens do not seem to prosper under Spanish auspices. Chamisso
complains that, in his day, there were no traces left of the botanical gardens founded
at Cavite by the learned Cuellar. The gardens at Madrid, even, are in a sorry
plight ; its hothouses are almost empty. The grounds which were laid out at great
expense by a wealthy and patriotic Spaniard at Orotava (Teneriffe), a spot whose
climate has been of the greatest service to invalids, are rapidly going to decay.
Every year a considerable sum is appropriated to it in the national budget, but
scarcely a fraction of it ever reaches Orotava. When I was there in 1867, the gardeners
had received no salary for twenty-two months, all the workmen were dismissed, and
even the indispensable water supply had been cut off.

3°

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

The religious festivals in the neighbourhood of Manilla are well
worth a visit, if only for the sake of the numerous pretty Indian
and half-caste women who make their appearance in the evening
and walk up and down the streets, which are illuminated and pro
fusely decked with flowers and bright colours. They offer a
charming spectacle, particularly to a stranger lately arrived from
Malaysia. The Indian women
are very beautifully formed.
They have luxuriant black hair,
and large dark eyes ; the upper
part of their bodies is clad in a
homespun but often costly ma
terial of transparent fineness and
snow-white purity; and, from
their waist downwards, they are
wrapped in a brightly-striped
cloth (say a), which falls in
broad folds, and which, as
far as the knee, is so tightly
compressed with a dark shawl
(tapis), closely drawn around
the figure, that the rich varie
gated folds of the saya burst out
beneath it like the blossoms of
a pomegranate. This swathing
only allows the young_ girls to
take very short steps, and this timidity of gait, in unison with
their downcast eyes, gives them a very modest appearance. On
their naked feet they wear embroidered slippers of such a small
size that their little toes ¦ protrude for want of room, and grasp
the outside of the sandal.*
The poorer Indian women clothe themselves in a saya, and in a
* For a proof of this vide the Berlin " Ethnographical Museum," Nos. 294 295.

Tagal Girl,
Dressed in sarong, tapis, chemise, and
shoulder-cloth.

NATIVE COSTUME.

31

so-called shirt, which is so extremely short that it frequently
does not even reach the first fold of the former. In the more
eastern islands grown-up girls and women wear, with the excep
tion of a Catholic amulet, nothing but these two garments, which
are, particularly after bathing, and before they get dried by the
sun, nearly transparent.
A hat, trousers, and a shirt worn outside them, both made of
coarse Guinara cloth, compose the dress of the men of the poorer

Tagals.

Manilla dandy.

classes. The shirts worn by the wealthy are often made of an
extremely expensive home-made material, woven from the fibres
of the pine-apple or the banana. Some of them are ornamented
with silk stripes, some are plain. They are also frequently manu
factured entirely of Jusi (Chinese floret silk), in which case they
will not stand washing, and can only be worn once. The hat
(salacot), a round piece of home-made plaiting, is used as both
umbrella and, sunshade, and is often adorned with silver ornaments

32 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
of considerable value. The Principalia enjoys the Rpecial privilege
of wearing a short jacket above' her shirt, and is usually easily
recognisable by her amusing assumption of dignity, and by the faded
old yellow cylindrical hat, a family heirloom she constantly wears..
The native dandies wear patent leather shoes on their naked feet,
tight-fitting trousers of some material striped . with black and
white or with some other glaringly-contrasted colours, a starched
plaited shirt of European make, a chimney-pot silk hat, and carry
a cane in their hands. The servants waiting at dinner in their
white starched shirts and trousers are by no means an agreeable

Tagal Girl (from a Photo.).
spectacle, and I never realised the full ludicrousness of European
male costume till my eye fell upon its caricature, exemplified in
the person of a " Manilla dandy."
The half-caste women dress like the Indian women, but do not
wear the tapis, and those of them who are married to Europeans
are generally clad in both shoes and stockings. Many of the
half-castes are extremely pretty, but their gait drags a little, from
their habit of wearing slippers. As a rule they are prudent,
thrifty, and clever business women, but their conversation is often
awkward and tedious. Their want of education is, however, not

HALF-CASTES. 33
the cause of this latter failing, for Andalusian women who never
learn anything but the elementary doctrines of Christianity, are
among the most charming creatures in the world. Its cause lies
rather in the equivocal position of half-castes ; they are haughtily
repelled by their white sisters, whilst they themselves disown
their mother's kin. They are wanting in the ease, in the tact,
that the women of Spain show in every relation of existence.
The half-castes, particularly those born of Chinese and Tagal
mothers, constitute the richest and the most enterprising portion
of the native population. They are well acquainted with all the
good and bad qualities of the native inhabitants, and use them
unscrupulously for their own purposes.

CHAPTER IV.
COMPARATIVE POSITION OF EUROPEANS AND NATIVES IN ENGLISH, DUTCH, AND
SPANISH COLONIES. — INFLUENCE OF SPANISH COLONIAL POLICY ON THE MANNERS
AND CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES. — THE COMFORTS OF PHILIPPINE LIFE. — COCOA-
PALM TREES, BAMBOOS.
A Scotch merchant to whom I brought a letter of introduction
invited me with such cordiality to come and stay with him, that
I found myself unable to refuse. While thus living under the
roof and protection of one of the wealthiest and most respected
men in the city, the cabmen I employed insisted on being paid
beforehand every time I rode in their vehicles. This distrust was
occasioned by the scanty feeling of respect most of the Europeans
in Manilla inspired in the minds of the natives. Many later
observations confirmed this impression. What a different state of
things exists in Java and Singapore ! The reason, however, is
easily explained.
The Dutch are as little able as the English to acclimatise them
selves in tropical countries. They get all they can out of countries
in which they are only temporary sojourners, the former by slavery
and monopoly, the latter by commerce. In both cases, however,
the end is accomplished by comparatively few individuals, whose
official position and the largeness of whose undertakings place
them far above the mass of the population. In Java, moreover,
the Europeans constitute the governing classes, the natives the
governed ; and even in Singapore the humblest white man so
thoroughly understands the art of keeping the natives at a distance,
that custom, if not the law, allows him all the privileges of a

SPANISH OFFICIALS. 3S
higher caste. The difference of religion does but widen the gap ;
and, finally, every European there speaks the language of the
country, while the natives are totally ignorant of that spoken by
the foreigners.
The Dutch officials are educated at home in schools specially
devoted to the East Indian service. The art of managing the
natives, the upholding of prestige, which is considered the secret
of the Dutch power over the numerous native populations, forms
an essential particular in their education. The Dutch, therefore,
manage their intercourse with the natives, no matter how much
they intend to get out of them, in strict accordance with cus
tomary usage (adaf) ; they never offend their sense of honour,
and never expose themselves in their own mutual intercourse,
which remains a sealed book to the inhabitants.
Things are different in the Philippines. With the exception
of those officials whose stay is limited by the rules of the service,
or by the place-hunting that ' ensues at every change in the
Spanish ministry, few Spaniards who have once settled in the
colony ever return home. It is forbidden to the priests, and most
of the rest have no means of doing so. A considerable portion
of them consist of subaltern officers, soldiers, sailors, political
delinquents and refugees whom the mother-country has got rid of ;
and not seldom of adventurers deficient both in means and desire
for the journey back, for their life in the colony is far pleasanter
than that they were forced to lead in Spain. These latter
arrive without the slightest knowledge of the country and without
being in the least prepared for a sojourn there. Many of them
are so lazy that they won't take the trouble to learn the language
even if they marry a daughter of the soil. Their servants under
stand Spanish, and clandestinely watch the conversation and the
actions, and become acquainted with all the secrets, of their indis
creet masters, to whom the natives remain an enigma which their
conceit prevents them attempting to decipher.
n 2

36 , THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
It is easy to understand how the native respect for Europeans
must be diminished by the numbers of these uneducated, improvi
dent, and extravagant Spaniards, who, no matter what may have
been their position at home, are all determined to play the master
in the colony. The relative standing of the natives naturally
profits by all this, and it would be difficult to find a colony in
which the natives, taken all . in all, feel more comfortable than in
the Philippines. They have adopted the religion, the manners,
and the customs of their rulers ; and though legally not on an
equal footing with the latter, they are by no means separated
from them by the high barriers, with which, except in Java,
the churlish reserve of the English has surrounded the natives of
the other colonies.
The same religion, a similar form of worship, an existence inter
mixed with that of the indigenous population, all tend to
strengthen the ties between the Europeans and the Indians.
That they have done so is proved ¦ by the existence of the propor
tionately numerous band of half-castes who inhabit the islands.
The Spaniards and the Portuguese appear, in fact, to be the
only Europeans who take root in tropical countries. They are
capable of permanent and fruitful amalgamation with the natives,
a result contributed to in no small degree by the celibacy of the
priesthood.* * Bertillon (Acclimatement and Acclimatatipn, Diet. Encycl. des Sciences Medi-
cales) ascribes the capacity of the Spaniards for acclimatisation in tropical countries
to the large admixture of Syrian and African blood which flows in their veins. The
ancient Iberians appear to have reached Spain from Chaldea across Africa ; the
Phoenicians and Carthaginians had flourishing colonies in the peninsula, and, in
later times, the Moors possessed a large portion of the country for a century, and
ruled with great splendour, a state of things leading to a mixture of race. Thus
Spanish blood has three distinct times been abundantly crossed with that of Afrioa.
The warm climate of the peninsula must also largely contribute to render its inha
bitants fit for hfe in the tropics. The pure Indo-European race has never succeeded
in establishing itself on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, much less in the
arid soil of the tropics.
In Martinique, where from eight to nine thousand whites live on the proceeds of
fhe toil of 125,000 of the coloured race, the population' is diminishing instead of

NATIVE MIMICRY. 37
The want of originality, which among the half-castes appears to
arise from their equivocal position, is also to be found among the
Indians. Distinctly marked national customs, which one would
naturally expect to find in such an isolated part of the world, are
sought for in vain.
As Spanish Catholicism forcibly expelled the civilisation of the
Moors, and in Peru that of the Incas, so in the Philippines it has
understood how to set aside an equally well founded one, by
appropriating in an incredible manner, in order to take root
itself the more quickly, all existing forms and abuses.*
The uncivilised inhabitants of the Philippines quickly adopted
the rites, forms, and ceremonies of this strange religion, and, at
the same time, copied the personal externalities of their new
masters, learning to despise their own manners and customs as
heathenish and barbarian. Nowadays, forsooth, they sing Anda
lusian songs, and dance Spanish dances ; but in what sort of way ?
They imitate everything that passes before their eyes without
possessing the intelligence to appreciate it. It is this which makes
both themselves and their artistic productions wearisome, devoid
of character, and, I may add, unnatural, in spite of the skill and
patience they devote to them. These two peculiarities, moreover,
are invariably to be found amongst nations whose civilisation is
increasing. The French Creoles seem to have lost the power of maintaining them
selves, in proportion to the existing means of subsistence, and of multiplying.
Families which do not from time to time fortify themselves with a strain of fresh
European blood, die out in from three to four generations. The same thing happens
in the English, but not in the Spanish Antilles, although the climate and the natural
surroundings are the same. According to Bamon de la Sagra, the death-rate is
smaller among the Creoles, and greater among the natives, than it ii in Spain ;
the mortality among the garrison, however, is considerable. The sirne writer
states that the real acclimatisation of the Spanish race takes place by selection ; the
unfit die, and the others thrive.
* Depons, speaking of the means employed in America 1o obtain the same end,
says, "I am convinced that it is impossible to engraft the Christian religion on the
Indian mind without mixing up their own inclinations and customs with those of
Christianity ; this has been even carried so far, that at one time theologians raised
the question, whether it was lawful to eat human flesh ? But the most singular part
of tho proceeding is, that the question was decided in favour of the anthropophagi."

3 8 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
but little developed ; the patience so much admired is often
nothing but waste of time and breath, quite out of proportion to
the end in view, and the skill t is the mere consequence of the
backward state of the division of labour.
If I entered the house of a well-to-do native, who spoke
Spanish, I was received with the same phrases his model, a
Spaniard, would employ ; but I always had the feeling that it was
out of place. In countries where the native population remains
true to its ancient customs this is not the case ; and whenever I
have not been received with proper respect, I have remarked that
the apparent fact proceeded from a difference in social forms, not
more to be wondered at than a difference in weights and measures.
In Java, and particularly in Borneo and the Malaccas, the utensils
in daily use are ornamented with so refined a feeling for form and
colour, that they are praised by our artists as patterns of ornamen
tation, and afford a proof that the labour is one of love, and that
it is presided over by an acute intelligence. Such a sense of beauty
is seldom to be met with in the Philippines. Everything there is
imitation or careless makeshift. Even the Pina embroideries,
which are fabricated with such wonderful patience and skill, and
are so celebrated for the fineness of the work, are, as a rule, spirit
less imitations of Spanish patterns. One is involuntarily led to
these conclusions by a comparison of the art products of the
Spanish-American communities with those of more barbarous races.
The Berlin Ethnographical Museum contains many proofs of the
facts I have just mentioned.
The oars used in the Philippines are usually made of bamboo
poles, with a board tied to their extremities with strips of rattan.
If they happen to break, so much the better ; for the fatiguing
labour of rowing must necessarily be suspended till they
are mended again.
In Java the buffalo cars, which are completely covered in as a
protection against the rain, are ornamented with many tasteful

SPANISH COLONIAL POLICY. 39
patterns. The roofless waggons used in the Philippines are
roughly put together at the last moment. When it is necessary
to protect their contents from the wet, the natives throw an old
pair of mats over them, more for the purpose of appeasing the
prejudices of the " Castilians," than really to keep off the rain.
The English and the Dutch are always looked upon as strangers
in the tropics ; their influence never touches the ancient native
customs which culminate in the religion of the country. But the
populations whom the Spaniards have converted to Catholicism
have lost all originality, all sense of nationality ; yet the alien
religion has never really penetrated into their inmost being,
they never feel it to be a source of moral support, and it is
no accidental coincidence that they are all more or less stamped
with a want of dignity, with a frailty, and even with a looseness
of life.
With the exception of this want of national idiosyncrasy, and
the loss of the distinguishing manners and customs which con
stitute the chief charm of most eastern peoples, the native of the
Philippines is an interesting study of a type of mankind existing'
in the easiest natural conditions. The arbitrary rule of their chiefs,
and the iron shackles of slavery, were abolished by the Spaniards
shortly after their arrival ; and peace and security reigned in the
place of war and rapine. The Spanish rule in these islands was
always a mild one, not because the laws, which treated the
Indians like children, were wonderfully gentle, but because the
causes did not exist which caused such scandalous cruelties in
Spanish America 'and in the colonies of other nations.
It was fortunate for the natives that their islands possessed no
wealth, in the shape of precious stones or costly spices. In the
earlier days of maritime traffic there was little possibility of
exporting the numerous agricultural productions of the colony ;
and it was scarcely worth while, therefore, to make the most of the
land. The few Spaniards who resided in the colony found such

4.0 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
an easy method of making money in the commerce with China
and Mexico, that they held themselves aloof from all economical
enterprises, which had little attraction for their haughty inclinations,
and would have imposed the severest labour on the natives. Taking
into consideration the wearisome and dangerous navigation of the
time, it was, moreover, impossible for the Spaniards, upon whom
their too large possessions in America already imposed an exhaust
ing man-tax, to maintain a strong armed force in the Philippines.
The subjection, which had been inaugurated by a dazzling military
exploit, was chiefly accomplished by the assistance of the monastic
orders, whose missionaries were taught to employ extreme prudence
and patience. The Philippines were thus principally won by a
peaceful conquest.
The taxes laid upon the natives were so trifling that they did
not suffice for the administration of the colony. The difference
was covered by yearly contributions from Mexico. The extortions
of unconscientious officials were by no means conspicuous by their
absence. Cruelties, however, such as were practised in the American
mining districts, or in the manufactures of Quito, never occurred in
the Philippines.
Uncultivated land was free, and was at the service of any one
willing to make it productive ; if, however, it remamed untilled
for two years, it reverted to the crown.*
The only tax which the Indians pay is the poll-tax, known as
the " Tribute," which originally, three hundred years ago, amounted
to one dollar for every pair of adults, and in a country where all
marry early, and the sexes are equally divided, 'really constituted
a family-tax. By degrees the tribute has been raised to 2tV
dollars. An adult, therefore, male or female, pays lvSr dollar, and
that from his sixteenth to his sixtieth year. Besides this, every man
* As a matter of fact, productive land is always appropriated, and in many parts
of the island is difficult and expensive to purchase. Near Manilla, and in Bulacan,
land has for many years past cost over 150 thalers an acre.

POLOS Y SEP VICIOS. 41
has to give forty days' labour every year to the State. This vassal
age (Polos y servicios) is divided into ordinary and extraordinary
services : the first consists of the duties appertaining to a watch
man or messenger, in cleaning the courts of justice, and in other
light labours ; the second in road-making, and similar heavier
kinds of work, for the benefit of villages and provinces. The
little use, however, that is made of these services, is shown by the
fact that any one can obtain a release from them for a sum which
at most is not more than three dollars. No personal service is
required of women. I have collected in a short special chapter,
a little further on, some important details about the tax from some
official sources, which were placed at my disposal in the Colonial
Office. In other countries, with an equally mild climate, and an equally
fertile soil, the natives, unless they had reached a higher degree of
civilisation than that of the Philippine islanders, would have been
ground down by native princes, or ruthlessly plundered and de
stroyed by foreigners. In these isolated islands, so richly endowed by
nature, where pressure from above, impulse from within, and every
stimulus from the outside are wanting, the satisfaction of a few
trifling wants is sufficient for an existence with ample comfort. Of
all countries in the world, the Philippines have the greatest claim to
be considered a lotos-eating Utopia. The traveller whose knowledge
of the dolce far niente is derived from Naples, has no real apprecia
tion of it ; it only blossoms under the shade of palm-trees. These
notes of travel will contain plenty of examples to support this.
One trip across the Pasig gives a foretaste of life in the interior of
the country. Low wooden cabins and bamboo huts, surmounted
with green foliage and blossoming flowers, are picturesquely
grouped with areca palms, and tall, feather-headed bamboos, upon
its banks. Sometimes the enclosures run down into the stream
itself, some of them being duck-grounds, and others bathing-
places. The shore is fringed with canoes, nets, rafts, and fishing

42 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
apparatus. Heavily laden boats float down the stream, and small
canoes ply from bank to bank between the groups of bathers.
The most lively traffic is to be seen in the tiendas, large, sheds,
corresponding to the Javanese harongs, which open upon the river,
the great channel for traffic.
They are a source of great attraction to the passing sailors, who
resort to them for eating, drinking, and other convivialities ; and
while away the time there in gambling, betel chewing, and smoking,
with idle companions of both sexes.
Sometimes a native may be seen floating down the stream asleep
on a heap of cocoa-nuts. If the nuts run ashore, the sleeper rouses
himself, pushes himself off with a long bamboo, and contentedly
relapses into slumber, as his eccentric raft regains the current of
the river. One cut of a pruning-knife easily detaches sufficient
of the husk of the nuts to allow of their being fastened together ;
in this way a kind of wreath is formed which encircles and holds
together the loose nuts piled up in the middle.
The arduous labours of many centuries have left as their legacy
a perfect system of transport; but in these islands man can
obtain many of his requirements direct from the hands of nature,
and procure for himself, with proportionately trifling labour, a
large amount of comfort.
Off the island of Talim, in the great lake of Bay, my boatmen
bought for a few cuartos several dozens of fish quite twelve
inches long ; and those which they couldn't eat were split open,
salted, and dried by a few hours' exposure to the heat of the sun
on the roof of the boat. When the fishermen had parted with
their contemplated breakfast, they stooped down and filled their
cooking-vessels with sand-mussels, first throwing away the dead
ones from the handfuls they picked up from the bottom of the
shallow water. Nearly all the dwellings are built by the water's
edge. The river is a natural self-maintaining highway, on which
loads can be carried to the foot of the mountains. The huts of

THE PALM-TREE. 43
the natives, built upon piles, are to be seen thickly scattered about
its banks, and particularly about its broad mouths. The appro
priateness of their position is evident, for the stream is at once
the very centre of activity and the most convenient spot for the
pursuit of their callings. At each tide the takes of fish are more
or less plentiful, and at low- water the women and children may be
seen picking up shell-fish with their toes, which practice has
enabled them to use as deftly as their fingers, or gathering in the
sand-crabs and eatable seaweed.
The river- side is a pretty sight when the men, women, and
children are bathing and frolicking in the shade of the palm-trees ;
when the young girls are filling their water- vessels, large bamboos,
which they carry on their shoulders, or jars, which they bear on
their heads : and when the boys are standing upright on the broad
backs of the buffaloes and riding triumphantly into the water.
It is here too that the cocoa-palm most flourishes, a tree that sup
plies them not only with meat and drink, but with every material
necessary for the construction of their huts and the manufacture of
the various articles in use amongst them. While the greatest care
is necessary to make those growing further inland bear even a
little fruit ; the palm-trees close to the shore, even when planted
on wretched soil, grow plentiful crops without the slightest
trouble. Has no palm-tree been ever made to blossom in a hot
house P Tiiomson* mentions that cocoa-trees growing by the
sea-side are wont to incline their stems over the ocean, the
waters of which bear their fruit to desert shores and islands, and
render them habitable for mankind. Thus the cocoa-tree would
seem to play an essential part in the ocean vagabondage of Ma
laysia and Polynesia.
Close to the cocoa-trees grow clumps of the stunted nipa-
palms, which only flourish in brackish waters ;]¦ their leaves
* "Travels in the Indian Archipelago."
f In Buitenzorger's garden, Java, the author observed, however, some specimens
growing in fresh water.

44 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
furnish the best roof-thatching. Sugar, brandy, and vinegar are
manufactured from their sap. Three hundred and fifty years ago
Pigafetta found these manufactures in full swing, but nowadays
they seem to be limited to the Philippines. Besides these, the
pundanus-tree, from the leaves of which the softer mats are
woven, is always found in near proximity to the shore.
Towards the interior the landscapa is covered with rice-fields,
which yearly receive a fresh layer of fertile soil, washed down
from the mountains by the river, and spread over their surface by
the overflowing of its waters ; and which in consequence never
require any manure. The buffalo, the favourite domestic animal
of the Malays, and which they keep especially for agricultural
purposes, prefers these regions to all others. It loves to wallow
in the mud, and is not fit for work unless permitted to frequent
the water. Bamboos with luxuriant leafy tops grow plentifully
by the huts in the rice-fields which fringe the banks of the
river. In my former sketches of travel I have endeavoured to
describe how much this gigantic plant contributes to the comfort
and convenience of tropical life. Since then I have become
acquainted with many curious purposes to which it is turned, but
to describe them here would be out of place.* I may be allowed,
however, to briefly cite a few examples showing what numerous
results are obtained from simple means. Nature has endowed these
splendid plants, which perhaps surpass all others in beauty, with
so many useful qualities, and delivered them into the hands of
mankind so ready for immediate use, that a few sharp cuts suffice
to convert them into all kinds of various utensils. The bamboo
possesses, in proportion to its lightness, an extraordinary strength ;
* Boyle, in his " Adventures among the Dyaks," mentions that he actually
found pneumatic tinder-boxes-, made of bamboo, in use among the Dyaks ; Bastian
met with them in Burmah. Boyle saw a Dyak place some tinder on a broken piece
of earthenware, holding it steady with his thumb while he struck it a sharp blow
with a piece of bamboo. The tinder took fire. Wallace observed the same method,
of striking a light in Ternate.

BAMBOOS.

45

the result of its round shape, end the regularity of the joints in
its stem. The parallel position and toughness of its fibres render
it easy to split, and when split its pieces are
of extraordinary pliability and elasticity. To
the gravelly soil on which it grows it owes its
durability, and its firm, even, and always clean
surface, the brilliancy and colour of which im
prove by use. And finally, it is a great thing
for a population with such limited means of
conveyance that the bamboo is to be found in
such abundance in all kinds of localities and
of all dimensions, from a few millimetres to ten
or fifteen centimetres in diameter, even some
times to twice this amount ; and that, on account
of its unsurpassed floating power, it is pre-eminently fitted for loco
motion in a country poor in roads but rich in watercourses. A blow
with a pruning-knife is generally enough to cut down a strong
stem. If the thin joints are taken away, hollow stems of different
thicknesses can be slid into one another like the parts of a tele
scope. From bamboos split in half, gutters, troughs, and roofing tiles

Bamboo Plant.

can be made. Split into several laths, which can be again divided
into small strips and fibres for the manufacture of baskets, ropes,

46 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
mats, and fine plaiting work, they can be made into frames and
stands. Two cuts in the same place make a round hole through
which a stem of corresponding diameter can be firmly intro
duced (a) . If a similar opening is made in a second upright, the
horizontal stem can be run through both (b). Gates, closing
perpendicularly or horizontally in frames moving without friction
on a perpendicular or horizontal axis, can be made in this way.
Two deep cuts give an angular shape to the stem (c) ; and
when its two sides are wide enough apart to admit of a cross-
stem being placed between them, they can be employed as roof-
ridges (d), or for the framework of tables and chairs ; (e), a quantity
of flat split pieces of bamboo being fastened on top of them with
chair-cane. These split pieces then form the seats of the chairs
and the tops of the tables, instead of the boards and large
bamboo laths (/) used at other times. It is equally easy to make
an oblong opening in a large bamboo in which to fit the laths of
a stand (g).
A couple of cuts are almost enough to make a fork, a pair of
tongs (h), or a hook (i).
If one makes a hole as big as the end of one's finger in a large
bamboo close under a joint, one obtains by fastening a small piece
of cloth to the open end, a syphon or a filter (k). If a piece of
bamboo is split down to the joint in strips, and the strips be
bound together with others horizontally interlaced, it makes a
conical basket (I). If the strips are cut shorter, it makes a pedlar's
pack basket. If a long handle is added, and it is filled with tar,
it can be used as a signal torch (m) . If shallower baskets of the
same dimensions, but with their bottoms cut off or punched out,
are placed inside these conical ones, the two together make capital
snare baskets for crabs and fish (n). If a bamboo stem be cut off
just below the joint, and its lower edge be split up into a cogged
rim, it makes, when the partition of the joint is punched out,
an earthborer (o), a fountain-pipe, and many things of the kind.

TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS.

47

The drawings on pages 177, 193, and 210 of my " Sketches of
Travel " show several ingenious samples of bamboo construction.
Strangers travelling in the interior have daily fresh opportunities
of enjoying the hospitality of nature. The atmosphere is so
equitably warm that one would gladly dispense with all clothing
except a solar hat and a pair of light shoes. Should one be
tempted to pass the night in the open air, the construction of a
hut from the leaves of the palm and the fern is the work of a
few minutes ; but in even the smallest village the traveller finds
a " common house " (casa real), in which he can take up his
quarters and be supplied with the necessaries of life at the market

Saft, with Sinking Nets ; the whole of Bamboo.

price. There too he will always meet with Semaneros (those who
perform m.enial duties) ready to serve him as messengers or porters
for the most trifling remuneration. But long practice has taught
me that their services principally consist in doing nothing. On
one occasion I wanted to send a man who was playing cards and
drinking tuba (fresh or weakly-fermented palm-sap) with his
companions, on an errand. Without stopping his game the fellow
excused himself on the ground of being a prisoner, and one of
his guardians, leaving his charge to enjoy himself in the shade,
proceeded in the midst of the intense heat to carry my trouble
some message. Prisoners have certainly little cause to grumble.

48 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The only inconvenience to which they are exposed are the floggings
which the local authorities very liberally dispense for the most
trifling offences. Except the momentary bodily pain, however,
these appear in most cases to make little impression on the natives,
who have been accustomed to corporal punishment from their
youth upwards. Their acquaintances stand round the sufferers,
while the blows are being inflicted, and mockingly ask them how
it tastes. A long residence amongst the earnest, quiet, and dignified
Malays, who are most anxious for their honour, while most sub
missive to their superiors, makes the contrast in character
exhibited by the natives of the Philippines, who yet belong to the
Malay race, all the more striking. The change in their nature
appears to be a natural consequence of the Spanish rule, for the
same characteristics may be observed in the natives of Spanish
America. The class distinctions and the despotic oppression
prevalent under their former chiefs doubtless rendered the
Philippinians of the past more like the Malays of to-day.

CHAPTER V.
GEOGRAPHY OF TUB PHILIPPINES. — THEIR METEOROLOGY. — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION.
— POPULATION. — DIALECTS.
The environs of Manilla, the Pasig, and the Lake of Bay, which
are visited by every fresh arrival in the colony, have been so often
described that I have restricted myself to a few short notes upon
these parts of the country, and intend to relate in detail only my
excursions into the south-eastern provinces of Luzon, Camarines,
and Albay, and the islands which lie to the east of them, Samar
and Leyte. Before doing this, however, it will not be out of
place to glance at the map and give some slight description of
their geographical positions.
The Philippinian Archipelago lies between Borneo and For
mosa, and separates the northern Pacific Ocean from the Chinese
Sea. It covers 14J° of latitude, and extends from the Sulu Islands
in the south, in the fifth parallel of north latitude, to the Babu-
yans in the north in latitude 19° 30'. If, however, the Bashee or
Batanes Islands be included, its area may be said to extend to the
twenty-first parallel of north latitude. But neither southwards or
northwards does Spanish rule extend to these extreme limits, nor,
in fact, does it always reach the far .interior of the larger islands.
From the eastern to the western extremity of the Philippines
the distance is about 9° of longitude. Two islands, Luzon, with
an area of two thousand, and Mindanao, with one of more than
one thousand five hundred square miles, are together larger than
all the rest. The next seven largest islands are Palawan, Samar,
E

50 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Negros, and Cebu ; of which the first
measures about two hundred and fifty, and the last about one
hundred square miles. Then come Bojol and Masbate, each about
half the size of Cebu ; twenty smaller islands, still of some little
importance ; and numerous tiny islets, rocks, and reefs.*
The Philippines are extremely favoured by their position and
organisation. Their extension from north to south over 16° of
latitude, obtains for them a variety of climate which the Dutch
Indies, whose largest diameter, their extent in latitude north and
south of the equator being but trifling, runs from the east to the
west, by no means enjoy. The advantages accruing from their
neighbourhood to the equator are added to those acquired from
the natural variety of their climate ; and the produce of both the
torrid and temperate zones, the palm-tree and the fir, the pine
apple, the wheat ear, and the potato, flourish side by side upon
their shores.
The larger islands contain vast inland seas, considerable navi
gable rivers, and many creeks running far into the interior ; they
are rich, too, in safe harbours and countless natural ports of
refuge for ships in distress. Another attribute which, though
not to be realised by a glance at the map, is yet one of the most
fortunate the islands possess, is the countless number of small
streams which pour down from the inland hills, and open out, ere
they reach the ocean, into broad estuaries ; up these water-courses
coasting vessels of shallow draught can sail to the very foot of the
mountains and take in their cargo. The fertility of the soil is
unsurpassed ; both the sea around the coasts and the inland lakes
swarm with fish and shell-fish, while in the whole archipelago
there is scarcely a wild beast to be found. Luzon surpasses all the
other islands, not only in size, but in importance ; and its fertility
and other natural superiority well entitle it to be called, as it is
by Crawfurd, " the most beautiful spot in the tropics."
* The dimensions of the isolated islands are given in the Appendix.

GEOGRAPHICAL PECULIARITIES. 51
The mainland of the isle of Luzon stretches itself in a compact,
long quadrangle, twenty-five miles broad, from 18° 40' north
latitude to the Bay of Manilla (14° 30') ; and then projects, amid
large lakes and deep creeks, a rugged promontory to the east,
joined to the main continent by but two narrow isthmuses which
stretch east and west of the large inland Lake of Bay. Many
traces of recent upheavals betoken that the two portions were
once separated and formed two distinct islands. The large eastern
promontory, well nigh as long as the northern portion, is nearly
cut in half by two deep bays, which, starting from opposite points
on the south-eastern and north-western coasts, almost merge their
waters in the centre of the peninsula ; the Bay of Ragay, and the
Bay of Sogod. In fact, the southern portion of Luzon may be
better described as two small peninsulas lying next to one another
in parallel positions, and joined together by a narrow neck of land
scarcely three miles broad. Two small streams which rise nearly
in the same spot and pour themselves into the two opposite
gulfs, make the separation almost complete, and form at the
same time the boundary between the province of Tayabas on the
west, and that of Camarines on the east. The western portion,
indeed, consists almost entirely of the first-named district, and
the eastern is divided into the provinces of North Camarines,
South Camarines, and Albay. The first of these three is divided
from Tayabas by the boundary already mentioned, and from
South Camarines by a line drawn from the southern shore of the
Bay of San Miguel on the north to the opposite coast. The
eastern extremity of the peninsula forms the province of Albay ;
separated from South Camarines by a line which runs from Donzol,
on the south coast, northwards across the volcano of Mayon, and
which then, inclining to the west, reaches the northern shore.
A look at the map will make these explanations clearer.
There, are two seasons in the Philippines, the wet and the dry.
The south-west monsoon brings the rainy season, at the time of
e2

52 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
our summer, to the provinces which lie exposed to the south and
west winds. On the northern and eastern coasts the heaviest
downpours take place (in our winter months) during the north
eastern monsoons. The ruggedness of the country and its nume
rous mountains cause, in certain districts, many variations in
these normal meteorological conditions. The dry season lasts in
Manilla from November till June (duration of the north-east
monsoon) ; rain prevails during the remaining months (duration
of the south-west monsoon). The heaviest rainfall occurs in
September ; March and April are frequently free from wet. From
October to February inclusively the weather is cool and dry (pre
valence of N.W., N., and N.E. winds) ; March, April, and May
are warm and dry (prevalence of E.N.E., E., and E.S.E. winds) ;
and from June till the end of September it is humid and mode
rately warm.
There has been an observatory for many years past in Manilla
under the management of the Jesuits. The following is an epitome
of the yearly meteorological report for 1867, for which I am in
debted to Professor Dove : * —
Barometrical Readings. — The average height of the mercury
was, in 1867, 755-5 ; in 1865, 754-57 ; and in 1866, 753-37 milli
metres. In 1867 the difference between the highest and lowest baro
metrical readings was not more than 13-96 millimetres, and
would have been much less if the mercury had not been much
depressed by storms in July and September. The hourly varia
tions amounted to very few millimetres.
Daily reading of the Barometer. — The mercury rises in the
early morning till about 9 a.m., it then falls up to 3 or 4 p.m. ;
from then it rises again till 9 p.m., and then again falls till
towards day-break. Both the principal atmospheric currents
* A table of the variations in the weather, and one containing the observations
taken during a period of five years (1865—1869), are given in the Appendix.

METEOROLOGY.

53

prevalent in Manilla exercise a great influence over the mercury
in the barometer ; the northern current causes it to rise (to an
average height of 756 millimetres), the southern causes it to fall
(to about 753 millimetres).
Temperature. — The heat increases from January till the end of
May, and then decreases till December. Average yearly tempera
ture, 27°.9 C. The highest temperature ever recorded (on the 15th
of April at 3 p.m.) was 37.7 C. ; the lowest (on the 14th of
December and on the 30th of January at 6 a.m.), 19°.4 C.
Difference, 18°.3 C.
Thermometrical Variations. — The differences between the highest
and lowest readings of the thermometer were, in January, 13°.9 ;
in February, 14°.2 ; in March, 15° ; in April, 14°.6 ; in May,
ll°.l; in June, 9°.9 ; in July, 9°; in August, 9°; in September,
10° ; in October, 11°.9 ; in November, 11°.8; and in December,
11°.7. Coldest Months. — November, December, and January, with
northerly winds.
Hottest Months. — April and May. Their high temperature is
caused by the change of monsoon from the north-east to the
south-west. The state of the temperature is most normal from June
to September ; the variations are least marked during this period
owing to the uninterrupted rainfall and the clouded atmosphere.
Daily Variations of the Thermometer. — The coldest portion of
the day is from 6 to 7 a.m. ; the heat gradually increases, reaches
its maximum about 2 or 3 p.m., and then again gradually de
creases. During some hours of the night the temperature remains
unchanged, but towards morning it falls rapidly.
The direction of the wind is very regular at all seasons of the
year, even when local causes make it vary a little. In the course
of a twelvemonth the wind goes round the whole compass. In
January and February north winds prevail ; in March and April
they- blow from the south-east ; and in May, June, July, August,

54 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
and September, from the south-west. In the beginning of Octo
ber they vary between south-east and south-west, and settle down
towards the close of the month in the north-east, in which quarter
they remain tolerably fixed during the two following months.
The two changes of monsoon always take place in April and
May, and in October. As a rule, the direction of both monsoons
preserves its equilibrium ; but in Manilla, which is protected
towards the north by a high range of hills, the north-east mon
soon is often diverted to the south-east and north-west. The same
cause gives greater force to the south-west wind.
The sky is generally partially clouded ; entirely hot days are
of rare occurrence, in fact, they only occur from January to April
(during the north-east monsoons). Number of rainy days in the
year, 168. The most continuous and heaviest rain falls from June
till the end of October. During this period the rain comes down
in torrents ; in September alone the rainfall amounted to 1-5 metre,
nearly as much as falls in London in the course of the whole year,
•3,072-8 millimetres of rain fell in the twelvemonth ; but this is
rather more than the average.
The evaporation only amounted to 2,307-3 millimetres ; in
ordinary years it is generally about equal to the downfall (taking
the yearly averages, not those of single months).
The average daily evaporation was about 6-3 millimetres.
The changes of monsoons are often accompanied with tremendous
storms ; during one of these, which occurred in September, the
velocity of the wind was as much as 37 or 38 metres per second.
(An official report of the English vice-consul mentions a typhoon
which visited the island on the 27th September, 1865, and which
did much damage at Manilla, driving 17 vessels ashore.)
* # * * *
The Philippines are divided into provinces (P), and districts
(D), each of which is administered by an alcalde of the 1st (Al),
2nd (A2), or 3rd class (A3) (de termino, de ascenso, de entrada) ;

DIALECTS.

55

by a political and military governor (G), and by a commandant
(C). In some provinces an alcalde of the 3rd class is appointed
as coadjutor to the governor. These divisions are frequently
changed. The population is estimated approximately at about five
millions. 4
In spite of the long possession of the islands by the Spaniards
their language has scarcely acquired any footing there. A great
diversity of languages and dialects prevails ; amongst them, the
Bisaya, Tagalo, Ilocano, Bicol, Pagasinan, and Pampango are the
most important. ISLAND OF LUZON.

Bank of

oB

G. Al.A2.Al.

Al.Al.
A2. A2(?)A3.
Al. Al.C.G.Al.3A1.C.
A2.A3.Al.Al.

A 2.
G.
¦Ai.

Name.

Abra .
Albay .
Bataan .

Bengufit Bontoc .
Bulacan Cagayan

Camarines Norte
Camarines Sur .
Cavite . .
I16cos Norte
I16cos Sur,
Infanta
Isabela .
LagunaLepantoManila .
Mor6ngNueva Ecija
Nueva Vizcaya
PampangaPangasinan
P6rac .
Principe
Saltan .
TayabasTiaganUni6n .
Zambales

Prevailing Dialect.

Ilocano 
Bicol 
Tagalo, Pampango 
Tagalo 
Igorrote, Ilocano, Pangasinan . . .
Suflin, Ilocano, Igorrote 
Tagalo. 
Ibanag, Itanes, Idayan, Gaddan, Ilocano,
Dadaya, Apayao, Malaneg . . . .
Tagalo, Bicol 
Bicol 
Spanish, Tagalo 
Ilocano, Tinguian 
Ilocano 
Tagalo 
Ibanag, Gaddan, Tagalo 
Tagalo, Spanish 
Igorrote, Ilocano 
Tagalo, Spanish, Chinese 
Tagalo 
Tagalo, Pangasinan, Pampango, Ilocano
Gaddan, Ifugao, Ibilao, Ilongote . . .
Pampango, Ilocano 
Pangasinan, Ilocano 
Pampango 
Tagalo, Ilocano, Ilongote 
Gaddan 
Tagalo, Bicol 
Different Igorrote dialects .....
Ilocano 
Zambal, Ilocano, Aeta, Pampanga,
Tagalo, Pangasinan 

Popula tion.

34,337
330,121 44,794
280,100 8,465 7,052
240,341 64,437 26,37281,047
109,501134,767105,251 7,813
29,200
121,251 8,851
323,683 41,239
84,520
32,961
193,423
263,472 6,950
3,6096,640
93,918 5,723
88,024

23 16 7
31 17
1218 29
26
48 281212 8
2426 1
3
17 11

72,936 !16

5 6 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
ISLANDS BETWEEN LUZON AND MINDANAO.

G a3.
G a3.
C.
G a3.
G a2.
G a3.
G a3.
A2.
G a3.
G a3.

D. D.D.
D.
G a3. D.

G a3
G a3

G a3.
G a3.
G.

Antique (Panay)
Bojol . . .
Burias . . .
Capiz (Panay)
Cebti . . .
Iloilo (Panay)
Leite . . .
Masbate, Ticao
Mind6ro . -
N6gros . . .
Rombl6n . .
Samar . . .

Cotabatu .
Misamis j . .
Surigao j . .
Zamboanga j .
Davao . . .

Batanes .
Calamianes(Marianas)

Bisaj-a .
Bisaya .
Bicol .
Bisaya .

Bisaya .
Bisaya .
Bisaya .
Tagalo .
Cebuano, Panayano, Bisaya
Bisaya .

MINDANAO.
Spanish, Manobo . .

Mandaya, Spanish .
Bisaya . . . .

DISTANT ISLANDS.

Ibanag 
Coyuvo, Agutaino Calamiano
Chamorro, Carolino . . .

88,874
187,327 1,786
206,288318,715
565,500 170,591 12,457
23,050
144,923 21,579
146,539 1,103
63,63924,104 9,608 1,537

8,381
17,703 5,940

13
26 1
26
44 3528 9
10
31 4
28

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

Fishermen's Suts near Bulacan.

CHAPTER VI.

EXCURSION TO BULACAN. — FREQ.UENT PIRES. — FERTILITY OF THE SOIL.-
— A SPANISH PRIEST. — HOSPITALITY. — ROBBERIES.

-CIGAR CASES.

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

58 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
us. Brightly painted, shallow, two- wheeled boxes, provided with
an awning, and harnessed to a couple of horses, in which strangers
with money to spend are quickly driven anywhere they may
desire. The town of Bulacan contains from 11,000 to 12,000 inhabi
tants ; but a month before my arrival, the whole of it, with the
exception of the church and a few stone houses, had been burnt to
the ground. All were therefore occupied in building themselves
new houses, which, oddly enough, but very practically, were
commenced at the roof, like houses in a drawing. Long rows of
roofs composed of palm-leaves and bamboos were laid in read!
on the ground, and in the meantime were used as tents.
Similar destructive fires are very common. The houses, wHch
with few exceptions are built of bamboo and wood, become per
fectly parched in the hot season, dried into so much touchwood by
the heat of the sun. Their inhabitants are extremely careless
about fire, and there are no means whatever of extinguishing it.
If anything catches fire on a windy day, the entire village, as a
rule, is utterly done for. During my stay in Bulacan, the whole
suburb of San Miguel, in the neighbourhood of Manilla, was burnt
down, with the exception of the house of a Swiss friend of mine,
which owed its safety to the vigorous use of a private fire-engine,
and the intermediation of a small garden full of bananas, whose"
stems full of sap stopped the progress of the flames.
I travelled to Calumpit, a distance of three leagues, in the
handsome carriage of an hospitable friend. The roads were good,
and were continuously shaded by fruit-trees, cocoa and areca palms.
The aspect of this fruitful province reminded me of the richest
districts of Java ; but the pueblos here exhibited more comfort than
the desas there. The houses were more substantial ; numerous
roomy constructions of wood, in many cases, even, of stone, denoted
in every island the residence of officials and local magnates. But
while even the poorer Javanese always give their osier huts a smart

ABSENCE OF TASTE. 59
appearance, border the roads of their villages with blooming hedges,
and display everywhere a sense of neatness and cleanliness, there
were here far fewer evidences of taste to be met with. I missed
too the alun-alun, that pretty and carefully tended open square,
which, shaded by waringa trees, is to be met with in every village in
Java. And the quantity and variety of the fruit trees, under whose
leaves the desas of Java are almost hidden, were by no means so
striking in this province, although it is the garden of the Philip
pines, as in those of its Dutch prototype. I reached Calumpit
towards evening, just as a procession, resplendent with flags and
toBjhes, and melodious with song, was marching round the stately
ehWch, whose worthy priest, on the strength of a letter of intro-
ducfron from Madrid, gave me a most hospitable reception.

Mount Arayat.
Calumpit, a prosperous place of 12,250 inhabitants, is situated at
the junction of the Qningoa and Pampanga rivers, in an extremely
fruitful plain, fertilised by the frequent overflowing of the two
streams. About six leagues to the north-west of Calumpit, Mount Arayat,
a lofty, isolated, conical hill, lifts its head. Seen from Calumpit,
its western slope (a b) meets the horizon at an angle of 20°, its
eastern at one of 25° ; and the profile of its summit (b c) has a
gentle inclination of from 4° to 5°.
At Calumpit I saw some Chinese catching fish in their own
peculiar fashion. Across the lower end of the bed of a brook
which was nearly dried up, and in which there were only a few
rivulets left running, they had fastened a hurdle of bamboo, and
thrown up a shallow dam behind it. The water which collected

60 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
was thrown over the dam with a long-handled winnowing shovel.
The shovel was tied to a bamboo framework ten feet high, the
elasticity of which made the work much easier. As soon as the
pool was emptied, the fisherman was easily able to pick out of the
mud a quantity of small fish (Ophiocephalus vagus) . These fishes,
which are provided with peculiar organisms, intended perhaps to
facilitate respiration, and which, at any rate, enable them to remain
for some considerable time on dry land, are in the wet season so
numerous in the ditches, ponds, and rice-fields, that they can be
killed with a stick. When the water sinks they also retire, or,
according to Professor Semper, bore deeply into the ooze at ithe
bottom of the watercourses, where, protected by a hard crusSpf
earth from the persecutions of mankind, they sleep awaythe
winter. This Chinese method of fishing seems well adapted to
the habits of the fish. The circumstances that the dam is only con
structed at the lower end of the watercourse, and that it is there
that the fish are to be met with in the greatest numbers, seem to
indicate that they can travel in the ooze, and that as the brooks
and ditches get dried up, they seek the larger water channels.
Following the Quingoa in its upward and eastward course as it
meandered through a well- cultivated and luxuriantly fertile
country, past stone-built churches and chapels which grouped
themselves with the surrounding palm-trees and bamboo-bushes
into sylvan vignettes, Father Llano's four-horsed carriage
brought me to the important town of Balivag, the industry of
which is celebrated beyond the limits of the province.
I visited several families and received a friendly reception from
all of them. The houses were built of planks, and were placed
upon piles elevated five feet above the ground. They consisted of a
spacious dwelling apartment which opened on one side into the
kitchen, and on the other on to an open space, the azotea ; a lofty
roof of palm-trees spread itself above the dwelling, the entrance
to which was through the azotea. The latter was half covered

CIGAR-CASES. bi
by the roof I have just mentioned. The floor was composed of
laths an inch in width, laid down at intervals of half that distance.
Chairs, tables, benches, a cupboard, a few small ornaments, a
mirror, and some lithographs in frames, composed the furniture
of the interior. The cleanliness of the house and the arrange
ment of its contents testified to the existence of order and
prosperity. I found the women in almost all the houses occupied in weaving
tapis, which have a great reputation in the Manilla market. They
are narrow, thickly-woven silk scarves, six varas in length, with
oblique white stripes on a dark-brown ground. They are worn
aWfve the sarong (see p. 30).
balivag is also especially famous for its Petaca* cigar-cases,
which surpass all others in delicacy of workmanship. They are

not made of straw, but of fine strips of Spanish cane, and par
ticularly from the lower ends of the leaf-stalks of the calamusart,
which is said to grow only in the province of New Ecija.
A bundle of a hundred selected stalks, a couple of feet long,
costs about six reals. When these stalks have been split length
ways into four or five pieces, the inner wood is removed, so that
nothing but the outer part remains. The thin strips thus obtained
are drawn by the hand between a convex porcelain block and a
knife fixed in a sloping position, and again between a couple of
steel blades which nearly meet.
* Tylor says that this word is derived from the Mexican petlatl, a mat. The
inhabitants of the Philippines call this petate, and from the Mexican petla-calli, a
mat case, derive petaca, a cigar case.

62 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
It is a manufacture requiring much patience and practice. In
the first operation, as a rule, quite one half of the stems are
broken, and in the second more than half, so that scarcely twenty
per cent, of the stalks survive the final process. In very fine
matting the proportionate loss is still greater. The plaiting is
done on wooden cylinders. A case of average workmanship,
which costs a couple of dollars on the spot, can be manufactured
in six days' uninterrupted labour. Cigar-cases of exceptionally
intricate workmanship, made to order for a connoisseur, frequently
cost upwards of fifty dollars.
Following the Quingoa from Balivag up its stream, we passed
several quarries, where we saw the thickly-packed strata* of
volcanic stone which is used as a building material. The banks of
the river are thickly studded with prickly bamboos from ten to
twelve feet high. The water overflows in the rainy season, and
floods the plain for a great distance. Hence the many shells of
large freshwater mussels which are to be seen lying on the earth
which covers the volcanic deposit. The country begins to get hilly
in the neighbourhood of Tobog, a small place with no church of
its own, and dependent for its religion upon the priest of the
nearest parsonage. The gentle slopes of the hills are, as in Java,
cut into terraces and used for the cultivation of rice. Except at
Lucban I have never observed similar sawas anywhere else in the
Philippines. Several small sugar-fields, which, however, the
natives do not as yet understand how to manage properly, show
that the rudiments of agricultural prosperity are already in
existence. The roads are partly covered with awnings, beneath
which benches are placed affording repose to the weary traveller.
I never saw these out of this province. One might fancy oneself
in one of the most fertile and thickly-populated districts of
Java. I passed the night in a convento ; the dwellings of the priests
are so called in the Philippines. It was extremely dirty, and the

CONVENTOS AND TRIBUNALS. 63
priest, an Augustine, was full of proselytish ardour. I had to
undergo a long geographical examination about the difference
between Prussia and Russia ; was asked whether the great city of
Nuremberg was the capital of the grand-duchy or of the empire
of Russia ; learnt that the English were on the point of returning
to the bosom of the Catholic Church, and that the " others "
would soon follow, and was, in short, in spite of the particular
recommendation of father Llanos, very badly received. Some
little time afterwards I fell into the hands of two young Capuchins,
who tried to convert me, but who, with the exception of this little
impertinence, treated me capitally. They gave me pates de foies
gras, boiled in water, which I quickly recognised by the truffles
swimming about in the grease. To punish them for their impor
tunity I refrained from telling my hosts the right way to cook the
pates, which I had the pleasure of afterwards eating in the forest,
as I easily persuaded them to sell me the tins they had left. These
are the only two occasions on which I was subjected to this kind
of annoyance during my eighteen months' residence in the
Philippines. The traveller who is provided with a passport is, however, by no
means obliged to rely upon priestly hospitality, as he needs must
do in many isolated parts of Europe. Every village, every
hamlet, has its common-house, called casa real or tribunal, in which
he can take up his quarters and be supplied with provisions at the
market price, a circumstance that I was not acquainted with on
the occasion of my first trip. The traveller is therefore in this
respect perfectly independent, at least in theory, though in practice
he will often scarcely be able to avoid putting up at the conventos
in the more isolated parts of the country. In these the priest,
perhaps the only white man for miles around, is with difficulty
persuaded to miss the opportunity of housing such a rare guest,
to whom he is only too anxious to give up the best bedroom in
his dwelling, and to offer everything that his kitchen and cellar

64 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
can afford. Everything is placed before the guest in such a spirit
of sincere and undisguised friendliness, that he feels no obli
gation, but on the contrary easily persuades himself that he is
doing his host a favour by prolonging his stay. Upon one occa
sion, when I had determined, in spite of an invitation from the
padre, to occupy the casa real, just as I was beginning to instal
myself, the priest appeared upon the scene with the municipality
and a band of music, which was in the neighbourhood pending
the preparations for a religious festival. He made them lift me
up chair and all, and with music and general rejoicing carried me
off to his own house.
On the following day I paid a visit to Kupang, an iron-foundry
lying to the N.N.E. of Angat, escorted by a couple of armed men,
whose services I was pressed to accept, as the district had a bad
reputation for robberies. After travelling three or four miles in a
northerly direction, we crossed the Banavon, at that time a mere
brook meandering through shingle, but in the rainy season an
impetuous stream more than a hundred feet broad ; and in a couple
of hours we reached the iron- works, an immense shed lying in
the middle of the forest, with a couple of wings at each end, in
which the manager, an Englishman, who had been wrecked a
twelvemonth previously in Samar, lived with his wife, a pretty
half-caste. If I laid down my purse, my pencil, or any other
object, the wife immediately locked them up to protect them from
the kleptomania of her servants. These honest people, whose
enterprise was not a very successful one, must have passed a
wretched life. Two years before my visit a band of twenty-seven
robbers burst into the place, sacked the house, and threw its
mistress, who was alone with her maid at the time, out of the
window. She fortunately alighted without receiving any serious
hurt, but the maid, whom terror caused to jump out of the window
also, died of the injuries she received. The robbers, who turned
out to be miners and residents in Angat, were easily caught, and

A NEGRO FAMILY. 65
when I was there, had already spent a couple of. years in prison
waiting their trial.
I met a negro family here who had friendly relations with the
people in the iron-works, and were in the habit of exchanging
the produce of the forest with them for provisions. The father
of this family accompanied me on a hunting expedition. He was
armed with a bow and a couple of arrows. The arrows had spear-
shaped iron points a couple of inches long ; one of them had been
dipped into arrow-poison, a mixture that looked like black tar.
The women had guitars (tabaua) similar to those used by the
Mintras in the Malay peninsula. They were' made of pieces of
bamboo a foot long, to which strings of split chair-cane were
fastened. The following sketch is not a likeness of one of these
negroes, of whom I only possess some imperfect drawings, but is

Negrita of Panay.
taken from a capital photograph of one of a family living-
farther to the north.
Upon my return, to avoid spending the night at the wretched
convento where I had left my servant with my luggage, I took
the advice of my friends at the iron-works and started late, in
order to arrive at the priest's after ten o'clock at night ; for I
knew that the padr£ shut up his house at ten, and that I could
therefore sleep, without offending him, beneath the roof of a
wealthy half-caste, an acquaintance of mine. About half -past ten
I reached the latter's house, and sat down to table with the merry
F

66 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
women of the family, who were just having their supper. Sud
denly my friend the parson made his appearance from an inner
room, where, with a couple of Augustine monks, he had been
playing cards with the master of the house. He immediately
began to compliment me upon my good fortune, " for had you
been but one minute later," said he, " you certainly wouldn't have
got into the convento."

View of Jalajala, from the Island of Talim.

CHAPTER VII.
THE PROVINCE OF LAGUNA. — BANCA-TRAVELLING. — SANDBANKS IN THE PASIG. — THE
LAKE OF BAY. — LAKE NEAR CALAUAN.  PALM-WINE. — TRAVELLING WITHOUT A
SERVANT. — THE MAJAIJAI VOLCANO.  BUFFALO-TRANSIT.

My second trip took me across the Pasig to the great Lake of Bay.
I left Manilla at night in a banca, a boat made out of a hollow
tree, with a vaulted roof made of bamboo and so low that it was
almost impossible to sit upright under it, which posture, indeed,
the banca-builder appeared to have neglected to consider. A
bamboo hurdle placed at the bottom of the boat protects the
traveller from the water and serves him as a couch. Jurien de la
Graviere * compares the banca to a cigar-box, in which the
traveller is so tightly packed that he would have little chance of
saving his life if it happened to upset. The crew was composed of
four rowers and a helmsman ; their daily pay was five reals apiece,
in all four and a-half thalers, high wages for such lazy fellows in
comparison with the price of provisions, for the rice that a hard
working man ate in a day seldom cost more than from one to one
and a half silver groschen (in the provinces often scarcely three
pence), and the rest of his food (fish and cabbage), only a penny.
* Voyage en Chine.
f2

68 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
We passed several villages and tiendas on the banks in which food
was exposed for sale. My crew, after trying to interrupt the
journey under all sorts of pretences, left the boat as we came to a
village, saying that they were going to fetch some sails ; but they
forgot to return. At last, with the assistance of the night watch
man, I succeeded in hauling them out of some of their friends'
houses, where they had concealed themselves. After running
aground several times upon the sandbanks, we entered the land
and hill-locked Lake of Bay, and reached Jalajala early in the
morning. The Pasig forms a natural canal, about six leagues long, between
the Bay of Manilla and the Lagoon of Bay, a freshwater lake, thirty-
five leagues in circumference, that washes the shores of three fertile
provinces, Manilla, Laguna, and Cavite. Formerly large vessels
full of cargo used to be able to sail right up to the borders of the
lake ; now they are prevented by sandbanks. Even flat- bottomed
boats frequently run aground on theNapindan and-Tagufg banks.*
Were the banks removed, and the stone bridge joining Manilla to
Binondo replaced by a swing bridge, or a canal made round it,
the coasting vessels would be able to ship the produce of the
lagoon provinces at the very foot of the fields in which they grow.
The traffic would be very profitable, the waters would shrink, and
the shallows along the shore might be turned into rice and sugar
fields. A scheme of this kind was approved more than thirty
years ago in Madrid, but it was never carried into execution. The
sanding up of the river has, on the contrary, been increased by a
quantity of fish reels, the erection of which has been favoured by
the Colonial Naval Board because it reaped a small tax from them.
* According to the report of an engineer, the sandbanks are caus* d by the river
San Mateo, which runs into, the Pasig at right angles shortly after the latter leaves
the Lagoon j in the rainy season it brings down a quantity of mud, which is heaped
up and embanked by the south-weBt winds that prevail at the time. It would
therefore be of little use to remove the sandbanks without giving the San Mateo
the cause of their existence, a direct and separate outlet into the lake.

JALA/ALA.

6q

Jalajala, an estate which occupies the eastern of the two
peninsulas which run southward into the lake, is one of the first
places visited by strangers. It owes this preference to its beauti
ful position and propinquity to Manilla, and to its fantastic descrip
tion by its former owner, De la Gironniere. The soil of the
peninsula is volcanic ; its range of hills is very rugged, and the
watercourses bring down ' annually a quantity of soil from the
mountains, which increases the deposits at their base. The shore
line, overgrown with grass and prickly sensitive-plants quite eight
feet high, makes a capital pasture-ground for buffaloes. Behind
it broad fields of rice and sugar extend themselves up to the base
of the hills. Towards the north the estate is bounded by the

**r "*- A

Maquiling volcano from the north-east.

thickly-wooded Sembrano, the highest mountain in the peninsula ;
on the remaining sides it is surrounded with water. With the
exception of the flat shore, the whole place is hilly and overgrown
with grass and clumps of trees, capital pasture for its numerous
herds, — a thousand buffaloes, one thousand five hundred to two
thousand bullocks, and from six to seven hundred nearly wild
horses. As we were descending one of the hills, we were suddenly
surrounded by half-a-dozen armed men, who took us for cattle-
thieves, but who, to their disappointment, were obliged to forego
their expected chance of a reward.
Beyond Jalajala, on the south coast of the Lake of Bay, lies the
hamlet of Los Banos, so called from a hot spring at the foot of the

70 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Maquiling volcano. Even prior to the arrival of the Spaniards,
the natives used its waters as a remedy,* but they are now very
little patronised. The shore of the lake is at this point, and
indeed all round its circumference, so flat that it is impossible to
land with dry feet from the shallowest canoe. It is quite covered
with sand mussels. North-west of Los Banos there lies a small
volcanic lake fringed with thick woods, called Dagatan (the
enchanted lagoon of travellers), to distinguish it from Dagat, as
the Tagals call the great Lake of Bay. I saw nothing of the
crocodiles which are supposed to infest it, but we put up several
flocks of wild-fowl, disturbed by our invasion of their solitude.
From Los Banos I had intended to go to Lupang, where, judg
ing from the samples shown me, there is a deposit of fine
white silicious earth, which is purified in Manilla and used as
paint. I did not reach the place, as the guide whom I had with
difficulty obtained, pretended, after a couple of miles, to be dead
beat. From the inquiries I made, however, I apprehend that
it is a kind of solfatara. Several deposits of it appear to exist at
the foot of the Maquiling. t
On my return I paid a visit to the island of Talim, which,
with the exception of a clearing occupied by a few miserable huts,
is uninhabited and thickly overgrown with forest and undergrowth.
In the centre of the island is the Soson-Dalaga (maiden's bosom),
a dolerite hill with a beautifully formed crest. Upon the shore I
* They take bathg for their maladies, and have hot springs for this purpose,
particularly along the shore of the king's lake (Estang du Eoy, instead of Estang de
Bay by a printer's mistake apparently), which is in the island of ManiUa. — Thevenot.
t " One can scarcely walk thirty paces between Mount Maquiling and a place
called Bacon, which hes to the east of Los Banos, without meeting several kinds of
natural springs, some very hot, some lukewarm, some of the temperature of the
atmosphere, and some very cold. In a description of this place given in our
archives for the year 1739, it is recorded that a hill called Natognos lies a mile to the
south-east of the village, on the plateau of which there is a small plain 400 feet
square, which is kept in constant motion by the volume of vapour issuing from it.
The soil from which this vapour issues is an extremely white earth ; it is sometimes
thrown up to the height of a yard or a yard and a half, and meeting the lower tempera
ture of the atmosphere falls to the ground in small pieces." — Estado geograph, 1865.

M. DE LA GIRONNIERE. 71
found four eggs containing young crocodiles. When I broke the
shells the little reptiles made off.
Although the south-west monsoons generally occur later in
Jalajala than in Manilla, it was already raining so hard that I
decided to go to Calauan, on the southern shore of the lake, which
is protected by the Maquiling, and does not experience the effect
of the rainy monsoons till later in the season. I met M. De la
Gironniere in Calauan, the " gentilhomme Breton " who is so well
known by his thrilling adventures. He had lately returned from
Europe to establish a large sugar manufactory. His enterprise,
however, was a failure. The house of the lively old gentleman,
whose eccentricity had led him to adopt the dress and the frugal
habits of the natives, was neither clean or well kept, although he
had a couple of friends to assist him in the business, a Scotchman,
and a young Frenchman who had lived in the most refined
Parisian society.
There were several small lakes and a few empty volcanic basins
on the estate. To the south-west, not very far from the house,
and to the left of the road leading to San Pablo, lies the Llanura
de Imuc, a valley of dolerite more than a hundred feet deep.
Large blocks of basalt enable one to climb down into the
valley, the bottom of which is covered with dense growths. The
centre of the basin is occupied by a neglected coffee plantation
laid out by a former proprietor. The density of the vegetation
prevented my taking more precise observations. I found another
shallower volcanic crater to the north of it. Its soil was marshy
and covered with cane and grass, but even in the rainy season it
does not collect sufficient water to turn it into a lake. It might,
therefore, be easily drained and cultivated. To the south-west of
this basin, and to the right of the road to San Pablo, lies the
Tigui-mere. From a plain of whitish-grey soil covered with
concentric shells as large as a nut, rises a circular embankment
with gently-sloping sides, intersected only by a small cleft which

72 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
serves as an entrance, and which shows, on its edges denuded of
vegetation, the loose rapilli of which the embankment is formed.
The sides of this natural amphitheatre tower more than a hundred
feet above its flat base. A path runs east and west right through
the centre. The northern half is studded with cocoa-palm trees
and cultivated plants ; the southern portion is full of water nearly
covered with green weeds and slime. The ground consists of
black rapili.
From the Tigui-mere I returned to the hacienda along a bank .
formed of volcanic lava two feet in thickness and covered with
indistinct impressions of leaves. Their state of preservation did
not allow me to distinguish their species, but they certainly
belonged to some tropical genus, and are, according to Professor
A. Braun, of the same kind as those now growing there.
There are two more small lakes half a league to the south-east.
The road leading to them is composed' of volcanic remains which
cover the soil, and large blocks of lava lie in the bed of the
stream. The 'first of the two, the Maycap Lake, is entirely embanked
with the exception of a small opening fitted with sluices to supply
water to a canal ; and from its northern side, which alone admits of
an open view, the southern peak of San Cristoval may be seen,
about 73° to the north-east. Its banks, which are about eighty
feet high, rise with a gentle slope, in a westerly direction, till they
join Mpunt Maiba,.a hill about 500 feet high. The soil, like that
of the embankments of the other volcanic lakes, consists of rapilli
and lava, and is thickly wooded,
Close by is another lake, that of Palakpakan, of nearly the
same circumference, and formed in a similar manner (of black
sand and rapilli). Its banks are from thirty to one hundred feet
high, Frora its north-western edge San Cristoval lifts its head
709 to the north-east. Its waters are easily reached, and are much
frequcntad by fishermen,

PALM-WINE. 73
About nine o'clock, a.m., I rode from Calauan to Pila, and then
in a north-easterly direction to Santa Cruz, over even, broad, and
well-kept roads, through a palm-grove a mile long and a mile and
a half broad, which extends down to the very edge of the lagoons.
These palm-trees produce brandy chiefly and not oil. Their fruit
is not allowed to come to maturity ; but the buds are slit open, and
the sweet sap is collected as it drips from them. It is then allowed
to ferment, and subjected to distillation* As the sap is collected
twice a day, and as the blossoms, situated at the top of the tree,
are forty or fifty feet above the ground, bamboos are fastened
horizontally, one above the other, from one tree to another, to
facilitate the necessary ascent and descent. The sap collector
stands on the lower crosspiece while he holds on to the upper.
The sale of palm -brandy was at the time of my visit the
monopoly of the government, which retailed it in the Estanco
(government sale rooms) with cigars, stamped paper, and religious
indulgences. The manufacture was carried on by private indi
viduals ; but the whole of the brandy was of necessity disposed of
to the administration, which, however, paid such a high price for
it that the contractors made large profits.
I afterwards met a Spaniard in Camarines who, according to
his own account, must have made considerable and easy gains from
these contracts. He had bought palm-trees at an average price of
five reals apiece (they usually cost more, though they can be some
times purchased for two reals) . Thirty -five palms will furnish daily
* Pigafetta says that the natives, in order to obtain palm-wine, cut the top of the
tree through to the pith, and then catch the sap as it oozes' out of the incision.
According to Begnaud (Natural HisLory of the Cocoa-tree), the negroes of Saint
Thomas pursue a similar method in the present day, a method that consider
ably injures the trees and produces a much smaller quantity of liquor. Hernandez
describes an indigenous process of obtaining wine, honey, and sago from the sacsac
palm, a tree which from its stunted growth would seem to correspond with the
arenga saccharifera. The trees are .tapped near the top, the soft part of the trunks
is hollowed out, and the sap collects in this empty space. When all the juice is
extracted, the tree is allowed to dry up, and is then cut into thin pieces which, after
desiccation in the sun, are ground into meal.

74 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
at least thirty-six quarts of tuba (sugar-containing sap), from
which, after fermentation and distillation, six quarts of brandy of
the prescribed strength can be manufactured. One man is sufficient
to attend to them, and receives for his trouble half the proceeds.
The administration pays six cuartos for a quart of brandy. My friend
the contractor was in annual receipt, therefore, from every thirty-
five of his trees, of 360 x -| X 6 cuartos = 401 dollars. As the
thirty-five trees only cost him 21^- dollars, his invested capital
brought him in about 200 per cent.
The proceeds of this monopoly (wines and liquors) were rated
at 1,622,810 dollars in the colonial budget for 1861 ; but its
collection was so difficult, and so disproportionately expensive, that
it nearly swallowed up the whole profit. It caused espionage,
robberies of all sorts, embezzlement, and bribery on a large scale.
The retail of the brandy by officials, who are paid by a per centage
on the consumption, did a good deal to injure the popular respect for
the government. Moreover, the imposition of this improper tax
on the most important industry of the country, not only crippled
the free trade in palms, but also the manufacture of raw sugar ;
for the government, to favour their own monopoly, had forbidden
the sugar manufacturers to make rum from their molasses, which
became in consequence so valueless, that in Manilla they were
given to the horses. The complaints of the manufacturers at last
stirred up the administration to allow the manufacture of rum ;
but the palm-brandy monopoly remained intact. The Indians now
drank nothing but rum, so that at last, in self-defence, the
government entirely abandoned the monopoly (January, 1864).
Since that, the rum manufacturers pay taxes according to the
amount of their sales, but not upon the amount of their raw pro
duce. In order to cover the deficit occasioned by the abandon
ment of the brandy monopoly, the government has made a
small increase in the poll-tax. The practice of drinking brandy
has naturally much increased; it is, however, a very old

THE MAJAIJAI CONVENTO.

75

habit.* With this exception, the measure has had the most
favourable consequences.
Santa Cruz is a lively, prosperous place (in 1865 it contained
11,385 inhabitants), through the centre of which runs a river.
Although the day on which we passed through it was a Sunday,
the stream was full of bathers, amongst them several women, their
luxuriant hair covered with broad-brimmed hats to shade them
from the sun. From the ford the road takes a sharp turn and
inclines first to the east and then to the south-east, till it reaches

Church and Convento, Majaijai.
Magdalena, between which and Majaijai the country becomes
hilly. Just outside the latter, a viaduct takes the road across a
deep ravine full of magnificent ferns, which remind the traveller
of the height; — more than 600 feet — above the sea level to which
he has attained. The spacious convento at Majaijai, built by the
Jesuits, is celebrated for its splendid situation. The Lake of Bay
is seen to extend far to the north-east ; in the distance the
* Pigafetta mentions that the natives were in the habit of making oil, vinegar,
wine, and milk, from the cocoa-palm, and that they drank a great deal of the wine.
Their kings, he says, frequently intoxicated themselves at their banquets.

76 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
peninsula of Jalajala and the island of Talim, from which rises
the Soson-Dalaga volcano, terminate the vista. From the convento
to the lake stretches an endless grove of cocoa-trees, while
towards the south the slope of the distant high ground grows
suddenly steeper, and forms an abruptly precipitous conical hill,
intersected by deep ravines. This is the Banajao or Majaijai
volcano, and beside it Mount San Cristoval rears its bell-shaped
summit. As everybody was occupied with the preparations for an ensuing
religious festival, I betook myself, through Lucban on the eastern
shore, to Mauban, situated amidst deep ravines and masses of lava
at the foot of Mount Majaijai. The vegetation was of indescribable

beauty, and the miserable road was enlivened with, cheerful knots
of pedestrians hastening to the festival.*
I reached Lucban in three hours ; it is a prosperous place of
13,000 inhabitants, to the north-east of Majaijai. A year before
my visit it had been burnt to the ground. The agricultural
produce of the district is not very important, owing to the
mountainous nature of the country ; but considerable industrial
activity prevails there. The inhabitants weave fine straw hats
from the fibre of the ieaf of the buri palm-tree (Corypha sp.),
manu/acture pandanus mats, and carry on a profitable trade at
Mauban with the gold- washers of North Camarines. The entire
breadth of the road is covered with cement, and along its centre
flows, in an open channel, a sparkling rivulet.
* A number of the Illustrated London News, of December 1857 or January 1858
contains a clever drawing, by an accomplished artist, of the mode of travelling over
this roadj under the title, " A Macadamized road in Manilla."

TRIBUNAL ACCOMMODATION. 77
The road from Lucban to Mauban, which is situated in the bay
of Lamon, opposite to the island of Alabat, winds along the
narrow watercourse of. the Mapon river, through deep ravines
with perpendicular cliffs of clay. I observed several terrace-
formed rice-fields similar to those so prevalent in Java, an infre
quent sight in the Philippines. Presently the path led us into the
very thick of the forest. Nearly all the trees were covered with
aroides and creeping ferns ; amongst them I noticed the angiopteris,
pandanus, and several large specimens of the fan palm.
Three leagues from Lucban the river flows under a rock sup
ported on prismatically shaped pillars, and then runs through a
bed of round pebbles, composed of volcanic stone and white lime,
as hard as marble, in which impressions of shell-fish and coral
can be traced. Further up the river the volcanic rubble disap
pears, and the containing strata then consist of the marble-like
pebbles cemented together with calcareous spar. These strata
alternate with banks of clay and coarse-grained soil, which con
tain scanty and badly preserved imprints of leaves and mussel-
fish. Amongst them, however, I observed a flattened but still
recognizable specimen of the fossil melania. The river-bed must
be quite five hundred feet above the level of the sea.
About a league beyond Mauban, as it was getting dusk, we
crossed the river, then tolerably broad, on a wretched leaking
bamboo raft, which sank quite six inches beneath the water under
the weight of our horses, and ran helplessly aground in the mud
on the opposite side.
The tribunal or common-house was crowded with people who
had come to attend the festival which was to take place on the
following day. The cabezas wore, as token of their dignity, a short
jacket above their shirts. A quantity of brightly decorated tables
laden with fruit and pastry stood against the walls, and in the
middle of the principal room a dining-table was laid out for forty
persons.

78 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
A European who travels without a servant — mine had run away
with some' wages I had rashly paid him in advance — is put down
as a beggar, and I was overwhelmed with impertinent questions on
the subject, which, however, I left unanswered. As I hadn't had the
supper I stood considerably in need of, I took the liberty of taking
a few savoury morsels from the meat-pot, which I ate in the
midst of a little knot of wondering spectators ; I then laid myself
down to sleep under the groaning table, to which a second set of
diners were already sitting down. When I awoke on the following
morning there were already so many people stirring that I had no
opportunity of performing my toilette. I therefore betook myself
in my dirty travelling dress to the residence of a Spaniard who
had settled in the pueblo, and who received me in the most hos
pitable manner as soon as the description in my passport satisfied
him that I was worthy of a confidence not inspired by my
appearance. My friendly host carried on no trifling business. Two English
ships were at that moment in the harbour, which he was about to
send to China laden with moldve, a species of wood akin to teak.
On my return I visited the fine waterfall of Butucan, between
Mauban and Lucban, a little apart from the high road. A
powerful stream flows between two high banks of rocky soil
thickly covered with vegetation, and, leaping from a ledge of
volcanic rock suddenly plunges into a ravine, said to be three
hundred and sixty feet in depth, along the bottom of which it is
hurried away. The channel, however, is so narrow, and the vege
tation so dense, that an observer looking at it from above can
scarcely follow its course. This waterfall has a great similarity to
that which falls from the Semeru in Java. Here, as there, a
volcanic stream flowing over vast rocky deposits forms a horizontal
watercourse, which in its turn is overshadowed with immense
masses of rock. The water easily forces its way between these
till it reaches the solid lava, when it leaves its high, narrow,

THE BANAJAO VOLCANO. 79
and thickly-wooded banks, and plunges into the deep chasm
it has itself worn away. The pouring rain unfortunately pre
vented me from sketching this fine fall. It was raining when
I reached the convento of Majaijai, and it was still raining when
I left it three days later, nor was there any hope of improvement
in the weather for another month to come. " The wet season
lasts for eight or nine months in Majaijas, and during the
whole period scarcely a day passes without the rain falling in
torrents." — Estado geograph.
To ascend the volcano was under such circumstances imprac
ticable. According to some notes written by the Majaijai priest,
an ascent and survey of Mount Banajao was made on the 22nd of
April, 1858, by Senors Roldan and Montero, two able Spanish
naval officers, specially charged with the revision of the marine
chart of the archipelago. From its summit they took observa
tions of Manilla cathedral, of- the May on, another volcano in
Albay, and of the island of Polillo. They estimated the altitude
of the Banajao to be 7,020 Spanish feet, and the depth of its
crater to be 700. The crater formerly contained a lake, but
the last eruption made a chasm in its southern side through which
the water flowed away.*
I reached Calauan in the pouring rain, wading through the
soft spongy clay upon a wretched, half- starved pony, and found I
must put off my water journey to Manilla till the following day,
* Erd and Pickering, of the United States exploring expedition, determined the
height to be 6,500 English feet (7,143 Spanish), not an unsatisfactory result, consider
ing the imperfect means they possessed for making a proper measurement. In the
Manillan Estado geographico for 1865, the height is given, without any statement as
to the source whence the estimate is derived, as 7,030 feet. The same authority
says, " the large volcano is extinct since 1730, in which year its last eruption took
place. The mountain burst into flames on the southern side, threw up streams of
water, burning lava, and stones of an enormous size ; traces of the last can be
observed as far as the village of Sariaya. The crater is perhaps a league in circum
ference, it is highest on the northern side, and its interior is shaped like an egg
shell : the depth of the crater apparently extends half way down the height of the
mountain."

80 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
as there was no boat on the lake at this point. The next morning
there were no horses to be found ; and it was not till the afternoon
that I procured a cart and a couple of buffaloes to take me to
Santa Cruz, whence in the evening the market-vessel started for
Manilla. One buffalo was harnessed in front ; the other was
fastened behind the cart in order that I might have a change of
animals when the first became tired. Buffalo number one
wouldn't draw, and number two acted as a drag — rather a useless
apparatus on a level road — so I changed them. As soon as
number two felt the load it laid down. A few blows persuaded it
to pick itself up, when it deliberately walked to the nearest pool
and dropped, into it. It was with the greatest trouble that we
unharnessed the cart and pushed it back on to the road, while our
two considerate beasts took a mud bath. At last we reloaded the
baggage, the buffaloes were reharnessed in their original positions,
and the driver, leaning his whole weight upon the nose-rope of
the leading beast, pulled at it might and main. To my great
delight the animal condescended to slowly advance with the cart
and its contents. At Pila I managed to get a better team, with
which, late in the evening, in the midst of a pouring rain, I
reached a little hamlet opposite Santa Cruz. The market- vessel
had left ; our attempts to get a boat to take us across to the village
only led to barefaced attempts at extortion, so I entered one of the
largest of the hamlet's houses, which was occupied by a widow and
her daughter. After some delay my request for a night's lodging was
granted. I sent for some oil, to give me a little light, and something
to eat.. The women brought in some of their relations, who helped
to prepare the food and stopped in the house to protect its owners.
The next morning I crossed the river, teeming with joyous
bathers, to Santa Cruz, and hired a boat there to take me across
the lake to Pasig, and from thence to Manilla. A contrary wind,
however, forced us to land on the promontory of Jalajala, and
there wait for the calm that accompanies the dawn. Betwixt the

TRACES OF EARTHQUAKES. 81
extreme southern point of the land and the houses I saw, in several
places, banks of mussels projecting at least fifteen feet above the
surface of the water, similar to those which are so frequently
found on the sea-coast ; a proof that earthquakes have taken place
in this neighbourhood.

CHAPTER VIII.
A TRIP TO ALBAY. — MARIVELES. — SHIP TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE ISLANDS. — THE SAN
BERNARDINO STRAITS. — THE BULUSAN VOLCANO. — LEGASPI.— SORSOGON.

Towards the end of August I started from Manilla for Albay in
a schooner which had brought a cargo of hemp and was returning
in ballast. It was fine when we
set sail; but on the following day
the signs of a coming storm in
creased so rapidly that the captain
resolved to return and seek pro
tection in the small but secure har
bour of Mariveles, a creek on the
southern shore of Bataan, the
province forming the western
boundary of the bay of Manilla.
We reached it about two o'clock
in the night, after cruising about
for fourteen hours in search of the
entrance ; and we were obliged to
remain here at anchor for a fort
night, as it rained and stormed
continuously for that period.
The weather obliged me to limit
my excursions to the immediate neighbourhood of Mariveles.
Unfortunately it was not till the close of our stay that I learnt
that there was a colony of negritos in the mountains ; and it

Negrito of Mariveles.
The back of his head is shorn ; and he
wears gaiters of wild boar's bristles.

FAIR NATIVES.

83

was not till just before my departure that I got a chance of
seeing and sketching a couple of them, male and female. The
inhabitants of Mariveles have not a very good reputation. The
place is only visited by ships which run in there in bad weather,
when their idle crews spend the time in drinking and gambling.
Some of the young girls were of striking beauty and of quite
a light colour; often being in reality of mixed race, though

they passed as of pure Tagal blood. This is a circumstance
I have observed in many sea-ports, and in the neighbourhood of
Manilla ; but, in the districts which are almost entirely unvisited
by the Spaniards, the natives are much darker and of purer race.
The number of ships which were .seeking protection from the
weather in this port amounted to ten, of which three were
schooners. Every morning regularly a small pontin* used to
* From ponte, deck ; a two-masted vessel, with mat sails, of about 100 tons burden .
G 2

8+ THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
attempt to set sail ; but it scarcely got outside into the open sea
before it returned, when it was saluted with the jeers and laughter
of the others. It was hunger that made them so bold. The crew,
who had taken some of their own produce to Manilla, had spent
the proceeds of their venture, and had started on their return
voyage scantily provided with provisions, with the hope and inten
tion of soon reaching their home, which they would doubtless have
done with a favourable wind. Such cases frequently occur. A few -
natives unite to charter a small vessel, and load it with the produce
of their own fields, which they set off to sell in Manilla.
The straits between the islands resemble beautiful wide rivers
with charming spots upon the banks inhabited by small colonies ;
and the sailors generally find the weather get squally towards
evening, and anchor till the morning breaks.
The hospitable coast supplies them with fish, crabs, plenty of
mussels, and frequently unprotected cocoa-nuts. If it is inha
bited, so much the better. Indian hospitality is ample, and
much more comprehensive than that practised in Europe. The
crews are accommodated in the different huts. After a repast
shared in common, and washed down by copious draughts of
palm-wine, mats are stretched on the floor; the lamps — large
shells, fitted with rush wicks — are extinguished, and the occu
pants of the hut fall asleep. Once, as I was sailing into the bay
of Manilla after a five days' cruise, we overtook a craft which had
sailed from the same port as we had with a cargo of cocoa-nut
oil for Manilla, and which had spent six months upon its trip.
It is by no means uncommon for a crew which makes a long
stay in the capital to squander the whole proceeds of their cargo.
At last one evening, when the storm had quite passed away, we
sailed out of Mariveles. A small, volcanic, pillar-shaped rock,
bearing a striking resemblance to the island of the Cyclops, off
the coast of Sicily, lies in front of the harbour. We sailed along
the coast of Cavite till we reached Punta Santiago, the south-

THE SAN BERNARDINO STRAITS. 85
western extremity of Luzon, and then turned to the east, through
the fine straits that lie between Luzon to the north and the island
of Bisaya to the south. As the sun rose, a beautiful spectacle
presented itself. To the north was the peak of the Taal volcano,
towering above the flat plains of Batangas ; and to the south the
thickly-wooded, but rock-bound coast of Mindoro, the iron line of
which was broken by the harbour of Porto Galera, protected from
the fury of the waves by a small islet lying immediately before it.
The waters around us were thickly studded with vessels which had
taken refuge from the storm in the ports of Bisaya, and were now
returning to Manilla.
These straits, which extend from the south-east to the north
west, are the great commercial highway of the Archipelago,
and remain navigable during the whole "year, being protected
from the fury of the north-easterly winds by the sheltering
peninsula of Luzon, which projects to the south-east, and by
Samar, which extends in a parallel direction ; while the island of
Bisaya shields them from the blasts that blow from the south-west.
The islands of Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Cebu, and Bojol, which
Nature has placed in close succession to each other, form the
southern borders of the straits; and the narrow cross channels
between them form as many outlets to the Sea of Mindoro, which
is bounded on the west by Palauan, on the east by Mindanao, and
on the south by the Sulu group. The eastern waters of the straits
wash the coasts of Samar and Leyte, and penetrate through three
small channels only to the great ocean ; the narrow straits of San
Bernardino, of San Juanico, and of Surigao. Several considerable,
and innumerable smaller, islets lie within the area of these
cursorily explained outlines.
A couple of bays on the south coast of Batangas offer a road
stead, though but little real protection, to passing vessels, which
in stormy weather make for Porto Galera, in the island of
Mindoro, which lies directly opposite. A river, a league and a

86 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS,
half in length, joins Taal, the principal port of the province, to
the great inland sea of Taal, or Bombon. This stream was
formerly navigable ; but it has now become so sanded up that it
is passable only at flood tides, and then only by very small vessels.
The province of Batangas supplies Manilla with its best cattle,
and exports sugar and coffee.
A hilly range bounds the horizon on the Luzon side ; the strik
ing outlines of which enable one to conjecture its volcanic origin.
Most of the smaller islands to the south appear to consist of
superimposed mountainous ranges, terminating seawards in pre
cipitous cliffs. The lofty and symmetrical peak of Mount Mayon
is the highest point in the panoramic landscape. Towards even
ing we sighted Mount Bulusan, in the south-eastern extremity of
Luzon ; and presently' we turned northwards, and sailed up the
straits of San Bernardino, which separate Luzon from Samar.
The Bulusan volcano, " which appears to have been for a long
time extinct, but which again began to erupt in 1852,"* is sur
prisingly like Vesuvius in outline. It has, like its prototype, a
couple of peaks. The western one, a bell-shaped summit, is the
eruption cone. The eastern apex is a tall rugged mound, ^probably
the remains of a huge circular crater. As in Vesuvius, the
present crater is in the centre of the extinct one. The intervals
between them are considerably larger and more uneven than the
"Atrio del Cavallo" of the Italian volcano.
The current is so powerful in the straits of San Bernardino
that we were obliged to anchor twice to avoid being carried back
again. To our left we had continually in view the magnificent
Bulusan volcano, with a hamlet of the same name nestling
at the foot of its eastern slope in a grove of cocoa-trees, close
to the sea. Struggling with difficulty against the force of the
current, we succeeded, with the assistance of light and fickle
winds, in reaching Legaspi, the port of Albay, on the following
* Estado Geogr., p. 314.

A NATIVE SKIPPER. 87
evening. Our skipper, a Spaniard, had determined to accomplish
the trip as rapidly as possible.
On my return voyage, however, I fell into the hands of a
native captain ; and, as my cruise under his auspices presented
many peculiarities, I may quote a few passages relating to it
from my diary  The skipper intended to have taken a
stock of vegetables for my use, but he had forgot them. He
therefore landed on a small island, and presently made his
reappearance with a huge palm cabbage, which, in the absence of
its owner, he had picked from a tree he cut down for the purpose.
.... On another occasion the crew made a descent upon a hamlet
on the north-western coast of Leyte to purchase provisions. Instead
of laying in a stock for the voyage at Tacloban, the sailors pre
ferred doing so at some smaller village on the shores of the
straits, where food is cheaper, and where their landing gave them
a pretext to run about the country. The straits of San Juanico,
never more than a mile, and often only a thousand feet broad, are
about twenty miles in length : yet it often takes a vessel a week to
sail up them ; for contrary winds and an adverse current force it
to anchor frequently, and to lie to for whole nights in the nar
rower places. . Towards evening our captain thought that the sky
appeared very threatening, so he made for the bay of Navo,
off Masbate. There he anchored, and a part of the crew went on
shore. The next day was a Sunday ; the captam thought " the
sky still appeared very threatening ; " and besides he wanted to
make some purchases. So we anchored again off Magdalena,
where we passed the night. On Monday a favourable wind took
us, at a quicker rate, past Marinduque and the rocky islet of
Elefante, which lies in front of it. Elefante appears to be an
extinct volcano ; it looks somewhat like the Yriga, but is not
so lofty. It is covered with capital pasture, and its ravines are
dotted with clumps of trees. Nearly a thousand head of half-
wild cattle were grazing on it. They cost four dollars a-piece ;

88 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
and their freight to Manilla is as much more, where they sell for
sixteen dollars. They are badly tended, and many are stolen by
the passing sailors. My friend the captain was full of regret that
the favourable wind gave him no opportunity of landing ; perhaps
I was the real obstacle. " They were splendid beasts ! How
easy it would be to put a couple on board ! They could scarcely
be said to have any real owners ; the nominal proprietors were
quite unaware how many they possessed, and the herd was con
tinually multiplying without any addition from its masters. A
man lands with a little money in his pocket. If he meets a herds
man, he gives him a dollar, and the poor creature thinks himself
a lucky fellow. If not, so much the better. He can do the busi
ness himself; a barrel of shot or a sling suffices to settle the
matter." As we sailed along we saw coming towards us another vessel,
which suddenly executed a very extraordinary tack ; and in a
minute or two its crew sent up a loud shout of joy, having
succeeded in stealing a fish-box which the fishermen of Marin-
duque had sunk in the sea. They had lowered a hook, and been
clever enough to grapple the rope of the floating buoy. Our
captain was beside himself with envy of their prize.
Legaspi is the principal port of the province of Albay. Its road
stead, however, is very unsafe, and, being exposed to the north
easterly storms, is perfectly useless during the winter. The north-
north-east wind is the prevailing one on this coast ; the south-west
breeze only blows in June and July. The heaviest storms occur
between October and January. They generally set in with a
gentle westerly wind, accompanied with rain. The gale presently
veers round to the north or the south, and attains the height of its
fury when it reaches the north-east or the south-east. After the
storm a calm generally reigns, succeeded by the usual wind of
the prevailing monsoon. The lightly-built elastic houses of the
country are capitally suited to withstand these storms • but roofs

A MODEL ALCALDE. 89
and defective houses are frequently carried away. The traffic
between Manilla and Legaspi is at its height between January
and October ; but during the autumn months all communication
by water ceases. The letter-post, which arrives pretty regularly
every week, is then the only link between the two places. At
this season heavy packages can be sent only by a circuitous and
expensive route along the south coast,, and thence by water
to Manilla. Much more favourably situated for navigation is the
port of Sorsogon, the mouth of which opens to the west, and is
protected by the island of Bagalao, which lies in front of it.
Besides its security as a harbour, it has the advantage of a rapid
and unbroken communication with the capital of the Archipelago,
while vessels sailing from Legaspi, even at the most favourable
time of the year, are obliged to go round the eastern peninsula of
Luzon, and meet the principal current of the Straits of San
Bernardino, frequently a very difficult undertaking ; and, more
over, small vessels obliged to anchor there are in great danger of
being captured by pirates. The country about Sorsogon, however,
is not so fertile as the neighbourhood of Legaspi.
I took letters of introduction with me to both the Spanish
authorities of the province ; who received me in • the most
amiable way, and were of the greatest use to me during the
whole of my stay in the vicinity. I had also the good fortune to
fall in with a model Alcalde, a man of good family and of most
charming manners ; in short, a genuine caballero. To show the
popular appreciation of the honesty of his character, it was said of
him in Samar that he had entered the province With nothing but
a bundle of papers, and would leave it as lightly equipped.

CHAPTER IX.
THE VOLCANO OF MA.YON OR ALBAY, AND ITS ERUPTIONS.
My Spanish friends enabled me to rent a house in Daraga,* a
well-to-do town of 20,000 inhabitants at the foot of the Mayon,
a league and a half from Legaspi. The summit of this volcano
was considered inaccessible until two young Scotchmen, Paton
and Stewart by name, demonstrated the contrary, t Since then
several natives have ascended the mountain, but no Euro
peans. I set out on the 25th of September and passed the night, by the
advice of Senor Mufioz, in a hut 1,000 feet above the level of the
sea, in order to begin the ascent the next morning With unim
paired vigour. But a number of idlers who insisted on following
* Officially called Cagsaua. The old town of Cagsaua, which was built higher up
the hill and was destroyed by the eruption of 1814, was rebuilt on the spot where
formerly stood a small hamlet of the name of Daraga.
t I learnt from Mr. Paton that the undertaking had also been represented as
impracticable in Albay. "Not a single Spaniard, not a single native had ever suc
ceeded in reaching the summit ; in spite of all their precautions they would cer
tainly be swallowed up in the sand." However, one morning about five o'clock, they
set off, and soon reached the foot of the cone of the crater. Accompanied by a
couple of natives, who soon left them, they began to make the ascent. Resting
half way lip, they noticed frequent masses of shining lava, thrown from the mouth
of the crater, gliding down the mountain. "With the greatest exertions they suc
ceeded, between two and three o'clock, in reaching the summit ; where, however, they
were prevented by the noxious gas from remaining more than two or three minutes.
During their descent, they restored their strength with some refreshments Senor
Mufioz had sent to meet them; and they reached Albay towards evening, where
during their short stay they were treated as heroes, and presented with an official
certificate of their achievement, for which they had the pleasure of paying several
dollars.

Wt0

. ^£^^

¦i '"PP- ^ .-'¦'¦' ii[;- >*J;,'.

THE ALBAY OE MA YON VOLCANO.
(Taken from the Convento of Daraga.)

ASCENT OF A VOLCANO. 91
me, and who kept up a tremendous noise all night, frustrated the
purpose of this friendly advice ; and I started about five in the
morning but little refreshed. The fiery glow I had noticed about
the crater disappeared with the dawn. The first few hundred feet
of the ascent were covered with a tall grass quite six feet high ;
and then came a slope of 1,000 feet or so of short grass succeeded
by a quantity of moss : but even this soon disappeared, and the
whole of the upper part of the mountain proved entirely barren.
We reached the summit about one o'clock. It was covered with
'fissures which gave out sulphurous gases and steam in such
profusion that we were obliged to stop our mouths and nostrils
with our handkerchiefs to prevent ourselves from being suffocated.

We came to a halt at the edge of a broad and deep chasm, from
which issued a particularly dense vapour. Apparently we were on
the brink of a crater, but the thick fumes of the disagreeable
vapour made it impossible for us to guess at the breadth of the
fissure. The absolute top of the volcano consisted of a ridge,
nearly ten feet thick, of solid masses of stone covered with a crust
of lava bleached by the action of the escaping gas. Several
irregular blocks of stone lying about us showed that the peak
had once been a little higher. When, now and again, the gusts of
wind made rifts in the vapour, we perceived on the northern
corner of the plateau several rocky columns at least a hundred feet
high, which had hitherto withstood both storm and eruption. • I
afterwards had an opportunity of observing the summit from

9z THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Daraga with a capital telescope on a very clear day, when I
noticed that the northern side of the crater was considerably
higher than its southern edge.
Our descent took some time. We had still two-thirds of it
beneath us when night overtook us, In the hope of reaching the
hut where we had left our provisions, we wandered about till
eleven o'clock, hungry and weary, and at last were obliged to
wait for daylight. This misfortune was owing not to our want of
proper precaution, but to the unreliability of the Indians. Two of
them, whom we had taken with us to carry water and refresh
ments, had disappeared at the very first ; and a third, " a very
trustworthy man," whom we had left to take care of our things
at the hut, and who had been ordered to meet us at dusk with
torches, had bolted, as I afterwards discovered, back to Daraga
before noon. My servant, too, who was carrying a woollen coat and
an umbrella for me, suddenly vanished in the darkness as soon as
it began to rain, and, though I repeatedly called him, never
turned up again till the next morning. We passed the wet
night upon the bare rocks, where, as our very thin clothes were
perfectly wet through, we froze till our teeth chattered. As soon,
however, as the sun rose we got so warm that we soon recovered
our tempers. Towards nine o'clock we reached the hut and got
something to eat after twenty-nine hours' fast.
In the " Trabajos y Hechos Notables de la Soc. Econom. de los
Amigos del Pais," for the 4th of September 1823, it is said that
" Don Antonio Siguenza paid a visit to the volcano of Albay on
the 11th of March, and that the Society ordered a medal to be
struck in commemoration of the event, and in honour of the
aforesaid Siguenza and his companions." Everybody in Albay,
however, assured me that the two Scotchmen were the first to
reach the top of the mountain. It is true that in the above
notice the ascent of the volcano is not directly mentioned ; but the
fact of the medal naturally leads us to suppose that nothing less

FRANCISCAN ENTERPRISE. 93
can be referred to. Arenas, in his memoir, says : " The Mayon
was surveyed by Captain Siguenza. Erom the crater to the base,
which is nearly at the level of the sea, he found that it measured
1,682 Spanish feet (468,66 metres)." A little further on he adds
that he had read in the records of the Society that they had had
a gold medal struck in honour of Siguenza, who had made some
investigations about the volcano's crater in 1823. He, therefore,
appears to have had some doubt about Siguenza's actual ascent.
According to the Franciscan records a couple of monks attempted
the ascent in 1592, in order to cure the natives of their superstitious
belief about the mountain. One of them never returned ; but
the other, although he did not reach the summit, being stopped by
three deep abysses, made a hundred converts to Christianity by
the mere relation of his adventures. He died in the same year,
in consequence, it is recorded, of the many variations of tempera
ture to which he was exposed in his ascent of the volcano.
Some books say that the mountain is of considerable height ;
but the " Estado Geografico " of the Franciscans for 1855, where
one could scarcely expect to find such a thoughtless repetition
of so gross a typographical error, says that the measurements
of Siguenza give the mountain a height of 1,682 feet. According
to my own barometrical reading, the height of the summit above
the level of the sea was 2,374 metres (8,559 Spanish feet).

CHAPTER X.
CACAO. — COFFEE. — -RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS. — LIFE IN DARAGA.
I sprained my foot so badly in ascending the Mayon that I was
obliged to keep the house for a month. Under the circumstances,
I was not sorry to find myself settled in a roomy and comfortable
dwelling. My house was built upon the banks of a small stream,
and stood in the middle of a garden in which coffee, cacao,
oranges, papayas, and bananas grew luxuriantly, in spite of the
tall weeds which surrounded them. Several over-ripe berries had
fallen to the ground, and I had them collected, roasted, mixed
with an equal quantity of sugar, and made into chocolate ; an
art in which the natives greatly excel. With the Spaniards
chocolate takes the place of coffee and tea, and even the half-castes
and the well-to-do natives drink a great deal of it.
The cacao-tree comes from Central America. It flourishes
there between the 23rd parallel of north and the 20th of south
latitude ; but it is only at its best in the hottest and dampest
climates. In temperate climates, where the thermometer marks
less than 23° C, it produces no fruit.
It was first imported into the Philippines from Acapulco ;
either, according to Camarines, by a pilot called Pedro Brabo de
Lagunas, in 1670 ; or, according to Samar, by some Jesuits,
during Salcedo's government, between 1663 and 1668. Since
then it has spread over the greater part of the island ; and,
although it is not cultivated with any excessive care, its fruit is
of an excellent quality. The cacao of Albay, if its cheapness be
taken into consideration, may be considered at least equal to that

THE CACAO-TREE. 95
of Caracas, which is so highly prized in Europe, and which, on
account of its high price, generally is largely mixed with inferior
kinds.* The bushes are usually found in small gardens, close
to the houses ; but so' great is the laziness of the Indians that
they frequently allow the berries to decay, although the native
cacao sells for a higher price than that imported. At Cebu and
Negros a little more attention is paid to its cultivation ; but it does
not suffice to supply the wants of the colony, which imports the
deficiency from Ternate and Mindanao. The best cacao of the
Philippines is produced in the small island of Maripipi, which
lies to the north-west of Leyte ; and it is difficult to obtain, the
entire crop generally being long bespoke. It costs about one dollar
per litre, whereas the Albay cacao costs from two to two and a half
dollars per "ganta" (three litres).
The Indians generally cover the kernels, just as they are
beginning to sprout, with a little earth, and, placing them in a
spirally rolled leaf, hang them up beneath the roof of their dwel
lings. They grow very rapidly, and, to prevent their being
choked by weeds, are planted out at very short distances. This
method of treatment is probably the reason that the cacao-trees
in the Philippines never attain a greater height than eight or ten
feet, while in their native soil they frequently reach thirty, and
* From 36,000,000 to 40,000,000 lbs. of cacao are consumed in Europe annu
ally ; of which quantity nearly a third goes to France, whose consumption of it
between 1853 and 1866 has more than doubled. In the former year it amounted to
6,215,000 lbs., in the latter to 12,973,534 lbs. Venezuela sends the finest cacaos to
the European market, those of Porto Cabello and Caracas. That of Caracas is the
dearest and the best, and is of four kinds ; Chuao, Ghoroni, O'Cumar, and Rio
Chico. England consumes the cacao grown in its own colonies, although the
duty (Id. per lb.) is the same for all descriptions. Spain, the principal consumer,
imports its supplies from Cuba, Porto Rico, Ecuad6r, Mexico, and Trinidad. Several
large and important plantations have recently been established by Frenchmen in
Nicaragua. The cacao beans of Soconusco (Central America) and Esmeralda
(Ecuad6r) are more highly esteemed than the finest of the Venezuela sorts; but they
are scarcely ever used in the Philippines, and cannot be said to form part of their
commerce. Germany contents itself with the inferior kinds. Guayaquil cacao,
which is only half the price of Caracas, is more popular amongst the Germans than
all the other varieties together.

g 6 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
sometimes even forty feet. The tree begins to bear fruit in its
third or fourth year, and in its fifth or sixth it reaches maturity,
when it usually yields a " ganta" of cacao, -which, as I have men
tioned, is worth from two to two and a half dollars, and always
finds a purchaser.*
The profits arising from a large plantation would, therefore,
be considerable ; yet it is very rare to meet with one. I heard it
said that the Economical Society had offered a considerable
reward to any one who could exhibit a plantation of ten thousand
berry-bearing trees; but in the Society's report I found no mention
of this reward.
The great obstacles in the way of large plantations are the
heavy storms which recur almost -regularly every year, and
often destroy an entire plantation in a single day. In 1856 a
hurricane visited the island just before the harvest, and com
pletely tore up several large plantations by the roots; a catas
trophe that naturally has caused much discouragement to the
cultivators, f One consequence of this state of things was that
the free importation of cacao was permitted, and people were
enabled to purchase Guayaquil cacao at fifteen dollars per quintal,
while that grown at home cost double the money.
The plant is sometimes attacked by a disease, the origin of
which is unknown, when it suffers severely from certain noxious
insects. + It is also attacked by rats and other predatory
* 0. Scherzer, in his work on Central America, gives the cacao-tree an existence
of twenty years, and says that each tree annually produces from 15 to 20 ounces
of cacao. 1,000 plants will produce 1,250 lbs. of cacao, worth 250 dollars; so that
the annual produce of a single tree is worth a quarter of a dollar. Mitscherlich says
that from 4 to 6 lbs. of raw beans is an average produce. A litre of dried cacao
beans weighs 630 grains ; of picked and roasted, 610 grains.
t In 1727 a hurricane destroyed at a single blast the important cacao plantation
of Martinique, which had been created by long years of extraordinary care. The
same thing happened at Trinidad.— Mitscherlich.
% F. Engel mentions a disease (inancha) which attacks the tree in America be<rin-
ning by destroying its roots. The tree soon dies, and the disease spreads so rapidly
that whole forests of cacao-trees utterly perish and are turned into pastures fa-
cattle. Even in the most favoured localities, after a long season of prosperity

THE CACAO BEAN. 97
vermin ; the former sometimes falling upon it in such numbers
that they destroy the entire harvest in a single night. Travellers in
America say that a well-kept cacao plantation is a very picturesque
sight. In the Philippines, however, or at any rate in East Luzon,
the closely-packed, lifeless-looking, moss-covered trees present a
dreary spectacle. Their existence is a brief one. Their oval
leaves, sometimes nearly a foot long, droop singly from the twigs,
and form no luxuriant masses of foliage. Their blossoms are very
insignificant ; they are of a reddish-yellow, no larger than the
flowers of the lime, and grow separately on long weedy stalks.
The fruit ripens in six months. When it is matured, it is of
either a red or a yellow tint, and is somewhat like a very rough
gherkin. Only two varieties appear to be cultivated in the
Philippines.* The pulp of the fruit is white, tender, and of an
agreeable acid taste, and contains from eighteen to twenty-four
kernels, arranged in five rows. These kernels are as large as
almonds, and, like them, consist of a couple of husks and a small
core. This is the cacao bean ; which, roasted and finely ground,
produces cacao, and with the addition of sugar, and generally of
spice, makes chocolate. Till the last few years, every household
in the Philippines made its own chocolate, of nothing but cacao and
sugar. The Indians who eat chocolate often add roasted rice to it.
Nowadays there is a manufactory in Manilla, which makes choco
late in the European way. The inhabitants of the eastern pro
vinces are very fond of adding roasted pili nuts to their choco
late, f
thousands of trees are destroyed in a single night by this disease, just as the harvest
is about to take place. An almost equally dangerous foe to cultivation is a moth
whose larva entirely destroys the ripe oacao beans; and which only cold and
wind will kill. Humboldt mentions that cacao beans which have been trans
ported over the chilly passes of the Cordilleras are never attacked by this pest.
* G. Bernoulli quotes altogether eighteen kinds ; of which he mentions only
one as generally in use in the Philippines.
t Pili is very common in South Luzon, Samar, and Leyte ; it is to be found in
almost every village. Its fruit, which is almost of the size of an ordinary plum but
not so round, contains a hard stone, the raw kernel of which is steeped in syrup and
H

9 8 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Europeans first learnt to. make a drink from cacao in Mexico,
where the preparation was called chocolatl* Even so far back as
the days of Cortes, who was a tremendous chocolate drinker, the
cacao-tree was extensively cultivated. The Aztecs used the beans
as money ; and Montezuma used to receive part of his tribute in
this peculiar coin. It was only the wealthy among the ancient
Mexicans who ate pure cacao ; the poor, on account of the
value of the beans as coins, used to mix maize and mandioca meal
with them. Even in our own day the inhabitants of Central
America make use of the beans as small coins, as they have no
copper money, and no smaller silver coins than the half-real. Both
in Central America and in Orinoco there yet are many unpene-
trated forests which are almost entirely composed of wild cacao-
trees. I believe the natives gather some of their fruit, but it is
almost worthless. By itself it has much less flavour than the
cultivated kinds. Certainly it is not picked and dried at the
proper season, and it gets spoilt in its long transit through the
damp woods.
Since the abolition of Slavery, the crops in America have been
candied in the same manner as the kernel of the sweet pine, which it resembles
in flavour. The large trees with fruit on them, "about the size of almonds and
looking like sweet-pine kernels," which Pigafetta saw at Jomonjol were doubtless
pili-tTeeB. An oil is expressed from the kernels much resembling sweet almond oil.
If incisions are made in the stems of the trees, an abundant pleasant-smelling white
resin flows from them, which is largely used in the Philippines to calk ships with.
It also has a great reputation as an anti-rheumatic plaister. It is twenty years
since it was first exported to Europe ; and the first consignees made large profits, as
the resin, which was worth scarcely anything in the Philippines, became very popular
and was much sought in Europe.
* The general name for the beverage was Cacahoa-atl (cacao water). Choco
latl was the term given to a particular kind. F. Hernandez found four kinds of
cacao in use among the Aztecs, and he describes four varieties of drinks that were
prepared from them. The third was called chocolatl, and apparently was pre
pared as follows :^An equal quantity of the kernels of the pochotl (Bombax
ceiba) and cacahoatl (cacao) trees was finely ground, and heated in an earthen vessel,
and all the grease removed as it rose to the surface. Maize, crushed and soaked,
was added to it, and a beverage prepared from the mixture ; to which the oily parts
that had been skimmed off the top were restored, and the whole was drunk
hot. .

CHOCOLATE. 99
diminishing year by year, and, until a short time ago,- when the
French laid out several large plantations in Central America, were
of but trifling value. According to F. Engel, a flourishing cacao
plantation requires less outlay and trouble, and yields more profit
than any other tropical plant ; yet its harvests, which do not yield
anything for the first five or six years, are very uncertain, owing
to the numerous insects which attack the plants. In short, cacao
plantations are only suited to large capitalists, or to very small
cultivators who grow the trees in their own gardens. Moreover,
as we have said, since the abolition of Slavery, most of the planta
tions have fallen into decay, for the manumitted slaves are entirely
wanting in industry.
The original chocolate was not generally relished in Europe.
When, however, at a later period, it was mixed with sugar, it met
with more approbation. The exaggerated praise of its admirers
raised a bitter opposition amongst the opponents of the new drink ;
and the priests levied conscientious scruples against the use of so
nourishing an article of food on fast days. The quarrel lasted till
the seventeenth century, by which time cacao had become an every
day necessary in Spain. It was first introduced into Spain in 1520';
but chocolate, on account of the monopoly of the Conquistadores,
was for a long time prepared on the other side of the ocean. In
1580, however, it was in common use in Spain, though it was so
entirely unknown in England that, in 1579, an English captam
burnt a captured cargo of it as useless. It reached Italy in 1606,
and was introduced into France by Anne of Austria. The first
chocolate-house in London was opened in 1657, and in 1700
Germany at last followed suit.*
The history of coffee in the Philippines is very similar to that of
cacao. The plant thrives wonderfully, and its berry has so strongly
* Berthold Seemann speaks of a tree with finger-shaped leaves and small round
berries which the Indians sometimes offered for sale. They made chocolate from
them, which in flavour much surpassed that usually made from cacao.
H 2

,00 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
marked a flavour that the worst Manilla coffee commands as high
a price as the best Java. In spite of this, however, the amount of
coffee produced in the Philippines is very insignificant, and^ until
lately, scarcely deserved mention. According to the report of
an Englishman in 1828, the coffee-plant was almost unknown
forty years before, and was represented only by a few specimens
in the Botanical Gardens at Manilla. It soon, however, increased
and multiplied, thanks to the moderation of a small predatory
animal (paradoxurus musanga), which only nibbled the ripe fruit,
and left the hard kernels (the coffee beans) untouched, as indi
gestible. The Economical Society bestirred itself in its turn by
offering rewards to encourage the laying out of large coffee plan
tations. In 1837 it granted to M. de la Gironniere a premium of
1,000 dollars, for exhibiting a coffee plantation of 10,000 plants,
which were yielding their second harvest ; and four premiums to
another in the following year. But as soon as the rewards were
obtained the plantations were once more allowed to fall into
neglect. From this it is pretty evident that the enterprise, in the
face of the then market prices and the artificially high rates of
freight, did not afford a sufficient profit.
In 1856 the exports of coffee were not more than 7,000 picos ;
in 1865 they had increased to 37,588 ; and in 1871, to 53,370.
This increase, however, affords no criterion by which to estimate
the increase in the number of plantations, for these make no returns
for the first few years after being laid out. In short, larger exports
may be confidently expected. But even greatly increased exports
could not be taken as correct measures of the colony's resources.
Not till European capital calls large plantations into existence in
the most suitable localities will the Philippines obtain their proper
rank in the coffee-producing districts of the world.
The best coffee comes from the provinces of Laguna, Batangas
and Cavite ; the worst from Mindanao. The latter, in consequence
of careless treatment, is very impure, and generally contains a

COFFEE. ,01
quantity of bad beans. The coffee beans of Mindanao are of a
yellowish white colour and flabby ; those of Lagdna are smaller,
but much firmer in texture.
Manilla coffee is very highly esteemed by connoisseurs, and is
very expensive, though it is by no means so nice looking as that
of Ceylon and other more carefully prepared kinds. It is a remark
able fact that in 1865 France, which imported only 105,000
francs' worth of hemp from the Philippines, imported more than
1,000,000 francs' worth of Manilla coffee, a third of the entire
coffee produce of the islands.* Manilla coffee is not much prized
in London, and does not fetch much more than good Ceylon
(60s. per cwt.).t This, however, is no reproach to the coffee, as
every one acquainted with an Englishman's appreciation of coffee
will allow.
California, an excellent customer, always ready to give a fair
price for a good article, will in time become one of its principal
consumers.+ In 1868 coffee in Manilla itself cost on an average
16 dollars per piliul.% In Java the authorities pay the natives,
who are compelled to cultivate it, about 3f dollars per pikut.
Although the amount of coffee exported from the Philippines
is trifling in comparison with the producing powers of the colony,
it compares favourably with the exports from other countries.
In my "Sketches of Travel," I compared the decrease of
the coffee produced in Java under the forced system of cultiva
tion with the increase of that voluntarily grown in Ceylon,
and gave the Javanese produce for 1858 as 67,000 tons, and the
Cingalese as 35,000 tons. Since that time the relative decrease
* Report of the French consul.
t Mysore and Mocha coffees fetch the highest prices. From 80 to 90 shillings
per cwt. is paid for Mysore ; and as much as 120 shillings, when it has attained an
age of five or six years, for Mocha.
X In 1865-66-67 California imported 3£, 8, and 10 million lbs. of coffee, of
which 2, 4, and 5 millions respectively came from Manilla. In 1868 England
was the best customer of the Philippines.
§ Report of the Belgian consul.

102 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
and increase have continued ; and in 1866 the Dutch Indies
produced only 56,000 tons, and Ceylon 36,000 tons*
During my enforced stay in Daraga the natives brought me
mussels and snails for sale ; and several of them wished to enter
my service, as they felt " a particular vocation for Natural History."
At last my kitchen was always full of them. They sallied forth
every day to collect insects, and as a rule were not particularly
fortunate in their search ; but this was of no consequence ; in fact,
it served to give them a fresh appetite for their meals. Some of
the neighbouring Spaniards paid me almost daily visits ; and several
of the native and half-caste dignitaries from a distance were good
enough to call upon me, not so much for the purpose of seeing
my humble self as of inspecting my dwelling, the fame of which
had spread over the whole province. It was constructed in the
usual judicious mushroom shape, covered with nito,f and its
pinnacle was adorned with a powerful oil lamp, furnished with
a closely fitting lid, like that of a dark lantern, so that it could be
carried in the pocket. This last was particularly useful when
riding about on a dark night.
In the neighbouring pueblo cigar-cases were made out of this
nito. They are not of much use as an article of commerce, and
usually are only made to order. To obtain a dozen a would-be
purchaser must apply to as many individuals, who, at the shortest,
* Coffee is such an exquisite beverage, and is so seldom properly prepared, that
the following hints from a master in the art (Report of the Jury, Internal Exhib.,
Paris, 1868) will not be unwelcome : — 1st. Select good coffees. 2nd. Mix them in
the proper proportions. 3rd. Thoroughly dry the beans; otherwise in roasting them
a portion of the aroma escapes with the steam. 4th. Roast them in a dry atmosphere,
and roast each quality separately. 5th. Allow them to cool rapidly. If it is
impossible to roast the beans at home, then purchase only sufficient for each day's
consumption. With the exception of the fourth, however, it is easy to follow all
these directions at home ; and small roasting machines are purchaseable, in which,
with the aid of a spirit lamp, small quantities can be prepared at a time. It is best,
when possible, to buy coffee in large quantities, and keep it stored for two or
three years in a dry place.
t A creeping, or rather a running fern, nearly the only one of the kind in the
whole species.

A NATIVE THEATRE. 103
will condescend to finish one in a few months. The stalk of the
fern, which is about as thick as a lucifer match, is split into four
strips. The workman then takes a strip in his left hand, and, with
his thumb on the back and his forefinger on the edge, draws the
"strips up and down against the blade until the soft pithy parts are
cut away, and what remains has become fine
enough for the next process. The cases are
made on pointed cylindrical pieces of wood
almost a couple of feet long. A pin is stuck
into the centre of the end of the cylinder, and
the workman commences by fastening the
strips of fern stalk to it. The size of the case
corresponds to the diameter of the roller, and
a small wooden disk is placed in the bottom of the case to
keep it steady while the sides are being plaited.
When my ancle began to get better, my first excursion was to
Legaspi, where some Indians were giving a theatrical performance.
A Spanish political refugee directed the entertainment. On each
side of the stage, roofed in with palm leaves, ran covered galleries
for the dignitaries of the place ; the uncovered space between
which was set apart for the common people. The performers had
chosen a play taken from Persian history. The language was
Spanish, and the dresses were, to say the least, eccentric. The
stage was erected hard by a public street, which itself formed
part of the auditorium, and the noise was so great that I could
only catch a word here and there. The actors stalked on,
chattering their parts, which not one of them understood, and
moving their arms up and down ; and, when they reached the edge
of the stage, they tacked and went back again like ships sailing
against the wind. Their countenances were entirely devoid of
expression, and they spoke like automatons. If I had understood
the words, the contrast between their meaning and the machine
like movements of the actors would probably have been droll

104 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
enough ; but, as it was, the noise, the heat, and the smoke were
so great that we soon left the place.
Both the theatrical performance and the whole festival bore the
impress of laziness, indifference, and mindless mimicry. When
I compared the frank cheerfulness I had seen radiating from
every countenance at the religious holidays of Europe with the
.expressionless and immobile faces of the Indians, I found it
difficult to understand how the latter were persuaded to waste so
much time and money upon a matter they seemed so thoroughly
indifferent to.
Travellers have remarked the same want of gaiety amongst the
Indians of America ; and some of them ascribe it to the small
development of the nervous system prevalent among these
peoples, to which cause also they attribute their wonderful
courage in bearing pain. But Tylor observes that the Indian's
countenance is so different from ours that it takes us several years
to rightly interpret its expression. There probably is something
in both these explanations. And, although I observed no lively
expression of amusement among my native friends at Legaspi, I
noticed that they took the greatest possible pleasure in decorating
their village, and that the procession which formed part of the
festival had extraordinary charms for them. Every individual
was dressed in his very best ; and the honour of carrying a fighting
cock inspired those who attained it with the greatest pride, and
raised an amazing amount of envy in the breasts of the remainder.
Visitors poured in from all the surrounding hamlets, and erected
triumphal arches which they had brought with them ready-made,
and which bore some complimentary inscription. I am obliged
to confess that some of the holiday-makers were very, drunk.
The inhabitants of the Philippines have a great love for strong
drink ; even the young girls occasionally get intoxicated. When
night came on, the strangers were hospitably lodged in the
dwellings of the village. On such occasions native hospitality

A NATIVE DANCE. 105
shows itself in a very favourable light. The door of every house
stands open, and even balls take place in some of the larger
hamlets. The Spanish and half-caste cavaliers, however, con
descend to dance only with" half-caste partners, and very seldom
invite a pretty Indian girl to join them. The natives very rarely
dance together ; but in Samar I was present on one occasion when
a by no means ungraceful native dance was improvised on the spot.
The men sang verses, and one of the dancers presented his partner
with a rose, " begging her to be careful how she handled it, as
no rose was without a thorn." This would have been thought a
charming compliment in the mouth of an Andalusian.
The idle existence we spent in Daraga was so agreeable to my
servants and their numerous friends that they were anxious I
should stay there as long as possible ; and they adopted some very
ingenious means to persuade me to do so. Twice, when everything
was prepared for a start the next morning, my shoes were stolen
in the night ; and on another occasion they kidnapped my horse.
When an Indian has a particularly heavy load to carry, or a long
journey to make, he thinks nothing of coolly appropriating the
well-fed beast of some Spaniard ; which, when he has done with it,
he turns loose without attempting to feed it, and it wanders about
till somebody catches it and stalls it in the nearest "Tribunal."
There it is kept tied up and hungry until its master claims it and
pays its expenses. I had a dollar to pay when I recovered mine,
although it was nearly starved to death, on the pretence that it
had swallowed rice to that value since it had been caught.
Small robberies occur very frequently, but they are com
mitted — as an acquaintance, a man who had spent some time in
the country, informed me one evening when I was telling him my
troubles — only upon the property of new arrivals ; old residents,
he said, enjoyed a prescriptive freedom from such little incon
veniences. I fancy some waggish native must have overheard
our conversation, for early the next morning my friend, the old

io6

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

resident, sent to borrow chocolate, biscuits, and eggs of me, as his
larder and his hen-house had been rifled during the night.
Monday and Friday evenings were the Daraga market nights,
and in fine weather always afforded a pretty sight. The women,
neatly and cleanly clad, sat in long rows and offered their pro
visions for sale by the light of hundreds of torches ; and, when the
business was over, the slopes of the mountains were studded all over
with flickering little points of brightness proceeding from the
torches carried by the homeward-bound market women. Besides
eatables, many had silks and stuffs woven from the fibres of the
pine-apple and the banana for sale. These goods they carried on
their heads ; and I noticed that all the younger women were accom
panied by their sweethearts, who relieved them of their burdens.

A Naturalist in rainy weather.
The hat made of palm leaves and the stalks of the nilo ; the coat of bark.

BULUSAN, FEOM THE S.S.W.
(Taken prom our Point op Anchorage.)

BULUSAN, FEOM THE EAST.
(Taken on our Passage.)

CHAPTER XL
EXCURSIONS TO BULUSAN AND SOB90GON. — ROAD MAKING. — PIEATES.
During the whole time I was confined to the house at Daraga, the
weather was remarkably fine ; but unfortunately the bright days
had come to an end by the time I was ready to make a start, for the
north-east monsoon, the sure forerunner of rain in this part of the
Archipelago, sets in in October. In spite, however, of the weather,
I determined to make another attempt to ascend the mountain at
Bulusan. I found I could go by boat to Bacon in the Bay of
Albay, a distance of seven leagues, whence I could ride to
"Gubat on the east coast, three leagues further, and then in a
southerly direction along the shore to Bulusan. An experienced
old native, who provided a boat and crew, had appointed ten o'clock
at night as the best time for my departure. Just as we were
about to start, however, we were told that four piratical craft
had been seen in the bay. In a twinkling, the crew disappeared,
and I was left alone in the darkness ; and it took me four hours with
the assistance of a Spaniard to find them again, and make a fresh
start. About nine o'clock in the morning we reached Bacon,
whence I rode across a very flat country to San Roque, where the
road leading to Gubat took a sharp turn to the south-east, and
presently became an extremely bad one. After I had passed
Gubat, my way lay along the shore ; and I saw several ruined
square towers, made of blocks of coral, and built by the Jesuits
as a protection against the Moors, — a term here applied to the
pirates, because, like the Moors who were formerly in Spain, they

,o8

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

are Mahometans. They come from Mindanao and from the
north-west coast of Borneo. At the time of my visit, this part of
the Archipelago was greatly infested with them ; and a few days
before my arrival they had carried off some fishermen close to
Gubat. A little distance from the shore, and parallel to it, ran
a coral reef, which during the south-west monsoon was here and
there bare at low tide ; but, when the north-east wind blew, the

TRUNK OP A FIG-TREE NEAR BACON.

waves of the Pacific Ocean entirely concealed it. Upon this reef
the storms had cast up many remains of marine animals, and a
quantity of fungi, amongst which I noticed some exactly resembling
the common sponge of the Mediterranean. They were just as soft
to the touch, of a dark brown tint, as large as the fist, and of a
conical shape. They absorbed water with great readiness, and might
doubtless be made a profitable article of commerce. Samples of
them are to be seen in the Zoological Museum at Berlin. As I went

FEMALE CURIOSITY. 109
further on, I found the road excellent ; and wooden bridges, all
of which were in good repair, led me across the mouths of the
numerous small rivers. But almost all the arches of the stone
bridges I came to had fallen in, and I had to cross the streams
they were supposed to span in a small boat, and make my horse
swim after me. Just before I reached Bulusan, I had to cross a
ravine several ' hundred feet deep, composed almost entirely of
white pumice stone.
Bulusan is so seldom visited by strangers that the " tribunal "
where I put up was *soon full of curiosity -mongers, who came to
stare at me. The women, taking the places of honour, squatted
round me in concentric rows, while the men peered over their
shoulders. One morning when I was taking a shower-bath in a
shed made of open bamboo work, I suddenly noticed several pairs
of inquisitive eyes staring at me through the interstices. The
eyes belonged exclusively to the gentler sex; and their owners
examined me with the greatest curiosity, making remarks upon
my appearance to one another, and seeming by no means inclined
to be disturbed. Upon another occasion, when bathing in the
open air in the province of Laguna, I was surrounded by a
number of women, old, middle-aged, and young, who crowded
round me while I was dressing, carefully inspected me, and
pointed out with their fingers every little detail which seemed to
them to call for special remark.
I had travelled the last part of the road to Bulusan in wind
and rain ; and the storm lasted with little intermission during the
whole night. When I got up in the morning I found that part
of the roof of the tribunal had been carried away, that the slighter
houses in the hamlet were all blown down, and that almost every
dwelling in the place had lost its roof. This pleasant weather
lasted during the three clays of my stay. The air was so thick
that I found it impossible to distinguish the volcano, though I
was actually standing at its foot ; and, as the weather-wise of the

no THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
neighbourhood could hold out no promise of a favourable change
at that time of the year, I put off my intended ascent till a better
opportunity, and resolved to return. A worthy alcalde was reported
to have succeeded in reaching the top fifteen years before, after
sixty men had spent a couple of months in looking for the right
path ; and the ascent was said to have taken him two whole
day's. But an experienced native told me that in the dry season
he thought four men were quite sufficient to reach the plateau,
just under the peak, in a couple of days ; but that ladders were
required to get on to the actual summit.
The day after my arrival the inspector of highways and another
man walked into the tribunal, both of them wet to the skin and
nearly blown to pieces. My friend the alcalde had sent them
to my assistance ; and, as none of us could attempt the ascent,
they returned with me. As we were entering Bacon on our way
back, we heard the report of cannon and the sound of music.
Our servants cried out " Here comes the alcalde," and in a few
moments he drove up in an open carriage, accompanied by a mob
of horsemen, Spaniards and natives, the latter prancing about in
silk hats and shirts fluttering in the wind. The alcalde politely
offered me a seat, and an hour's drive took us into Sorsogon.
The roads of the province of Albay are good, but they ar-e by
no means kept in good repair : a state of things that will never be
remedied so long as the indolence of the authorities continues.
Most of the stone bridges in the district are in ruins, and the
traveller is obliged to content himself with wading through a ford,
or get himself ferried across upon a raft or in a small canoe,
while his horse swims behind him. The roads were first laid
down in the days of the Alcalde Peneranda, a capital engineer,
whom we have already mentioned, and who deserves considerable
praise for having largely contributed to the welfare of his pro
vince, and for having accomplished so much from such small
resources. He took care that all socage service should be

ADMINISTRA FIVE ABUSES. 1 1 1
duly rendered, or that money, which went towards paying for
tools and materials, should be paid in lieu of it. Many abuses
existed before his rule ; no real services were performed by any
body who could trace the slightest relationship to any of the
authorities ; and, when by chance any redemption money was paid,
it went, often with the connivance of the alcalde of the period,
into the pockets of the Gobernadorcillos, instead of into the pro
vincial treasury. Similar abuses still prevail all over the country,
where they are not prevented by the vigilance of the authorities.
The numerous population, and the prosperity which the province
now enjoys, make it an easy matter to maintain and complete
the existing highways. The admirable officials of the district are
certainly not wanting in goodwill, but their hands are tied.
Nowadays the alcaldes remain only three years in one province
(in Peiieranda's time, they remained six) ; their time is entirely
taken up with the current official and judicial business ; and, just
as they are beginning to appreciate the capabilities and require
ments of their district, they are obliged to leave it. This shows
the government's want of confidence in its own servants. No
alcalde could now possibly undertake what Pefieranda accom
plished. The money paid in lieu of socage service, which ought
to be applied to the wants of the province in which the socage is
due, is forwarded to Manilla. If an alcalde proposes some urgent
and necessary improvement, he has to send in so many tedious
estimates and reports, which frequently remain unnoticed, that he
soon loses all desire to attempt any innovation. Estimates for
large works, to carry out which would require a considerable
outlay, are invariably returned from head-quarters marked " not
urgent." The fact is, not that the colonial government is
wanting in good-will, but that the " Caja de Comunidad " (General
Treasury) in Manilla is almost always empty, as the Spanish
Government, in its chronic state of bankruptcy, borrows the money
and is never in a position to return it.

i,2 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
In 1840 Sorsogon suffered severely from an earthquake, which
lasted almost continuously for thirty-five days. It raged with
the greatest fury on the 21st of March. The churches, both of
Sorsogon and of Casiguran, as well as the smallest stone houses,
were destroyed ; seventeen persons lost their lives, and two
hundred were injured ; and the whole neighbourhood sank five
feet below its former level.
The next morning I accompanied the alcalde in a falua
(felucca), manned by fourteen rowers, to Casiguran, which hes
directly south of Sorsogon, on the other side of a small bay of two
leagues in breadth; which it took us an hour and a half to cross.
The bay was as calm as an inland lake. It is almost entirely
surrounded by hills, and its western side, which is open to the
sea, is protected by the island of Bagalao, which lies in front
of it. As soon as we landed, we were received with . salutes of
cannon and music, and flags and shirts streamed in the wind. I
' declined the friendly invitation of the alcalde to accompany him
any further ; as to me, who had no official business to transact,
the journey seemed nothing but a continually recurring panorama
of dinners, lunches, cups of chocolate, music, and detonations of
gunpowder. In 1850 quicksilver was discovered on a part of the coast
now covered by the sea. I examined the reported bed of the
deposit, and it appeared to me to consist of a stratum of clay six
feet in depth, superimposed over a layer of volcanic sand and
fragments of pumice stone. An Englishman who was wrecked in
this part of the Archipelago, the same individual I met at the
ironworks at Angat, had begun to collect it, and by washing the
sand had obtained something like a couple of ounces. Some
body, however, told the priest of the district that quicksilver
was a poison ; and, as he himself told me, so forcibly did he
depict the dangerous nature of the new discovery to his parish
ioners that they abandoned the attempt to collect it. Since

FREEBOOTERS. 113
then none of them have ever seen a vestige of mercury, unless
it might be from some broken old barometer. Towards evening
Mount Bulusan in the south-east, and Mount Mayon in the north
west, were visible for a short time. They are both in a straight
line with Casiguran.
Every year the Fea makes great inroads upon the coast at
Casiguran ; as far as I could decide from its appearance and
from the accounts given me, about a yard of the shore is annually
destroyed. The bay of Sorsogon is protected towards the north
by a ridge of hills, which suddenly terminate, however, at its
north-eastern angle ; and through this opening the wind some
times blows with great fury, and causes considerable havoc in
the bay, the more particularly as its coast is principally formed
of clay and sand.
When I reached Legaspi again in the evening I learnt that the
alarm about the pirates which had interrupted my departure had
not been an idle one. Moors they certainly could not have been,
for at that season none of the Mahometan corsairs could reach that
part of the coast ; but they were a band of deserters and vaga
bonds from the surrounding country, who in this part of the
world find it more agreeable to pursue their freebooting career on
sea than on land. During my absence they had committed many
robberies and carried off several people.*
The beginning of November is the season of storms ; when
water communication between Albay and Manilla entirely ceases,
no vessel daring to put out to sea, even from the south coast. On
the 9th of the month, however, a vessel that had been given up
for lost entered the port, after having incurred great, perils and
being obliged to throw over-board the greater part of its cargo.
Within twelve days of its leaving the straits of San Bernardino
in the rear, a sudden storm compelled it to anchor amongst the
* The official accounts stated that they had kidnapped twenty-one persons in a
couple of weeks.

ii4 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
islands of .Balicuatro. One of the passengers, a newly arrived
Spaniard, put off in a boat with seven sailors, and made for four
small vessels which were riding at anchor off the coast ; taking
them for fishermen, whereas they were pirates. They fired at him as
soon as he was some distance from his ship, and his crew threw them
selves into the water ; but both he and they were taken prisoners.
The captain of the trading brig, fearing that his vessel would
fall into their clutches, slipped anchor and put out to sea again,
escaping shipwreck with the greatest difficulty. The pirates, as
a rule, do not kill their prisoners, but employ them, as rowers.
But Europeans seldom survive their captivity : the tremendous
labour and the scanty food are too much for them. Their clothes
always being stripped off their backs, they are exposed naked to all
sorts of weather, and their sole daily support is a handful of rice.

CHAPTER XII.
EXCURSIONS IN SOUTH CAMARINES. — SPANISH PRIESTS. — ALCALDES AND MANDARINS.
No favourable change in the weather was expected in Albay
before the month of January. It stormed and rained all day. I
therefore determined to change my quarters to South Camarines,
which, protected from the monsoon by the high range of hills
running along its north-eastern boundary, enjoyed more decent
weather. The two provinces of Camarines form a long continent,
with its principal frontage of shore facing to • the north-east and
to the south-west ; which is about ten leagues broad in its middle,
and has its shores indented by many deep bays. From about the
centre of its north-eastern shore there boldly projects the penin
sula of Caramuan, connected with the mainland of Camarines by
the isthmus of Ysarog. The north-eastern portions of the two
provinces contain a long range of volcanic hills ; the south
western principally consisted, as far as my investigations per
mitted me to discover, of chalk and coral reefs. In the midst of
the hills extends a winding and fertile valley, which collects the
waters descending from the slopes of the mountain ranges, and
blends them into a navigable river, on the banks of which
several flourishing hamlets have established themselves. This
river is called the Bicol. The streams which give it birth are so
abundant, and the slope of the sides of the valley, which is
turned into one gigantic rice-field, is so gentle that in many
places the lazy waters linger and form small lakes.
Beginning at the south-eastern extremity, the volcanoes of
i 2

n 6 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Bulusan, Albay, Mazaraga, Yriga, Ysarog, and Colasi — the last
on the northern side of the bay of San Miguel — are situated in a
straight line, extending from the south-east to the north-west.
Besides these, there is the volcano of Buhi, or Malinao, a little to
the north-east of the line. The hamlets in the valley I have
mentioned are situated in a second line parallel to that of the
volcanoes. The southern portion of the province is sparsely
inhabited, and but few streams find their way from its plateau
into the central valley. The range of volcanoes shuts out, as I
have said, the north-east winds, and condenses their moisture in
the little lakes scattered on its slopes. The south-west por
tion of Camarines, therefore, is dry during the north-east mon
soon, and enjoys its rainy season during the prevalence of the
winds that blow from the south-west. The so-called dry season,
which, so far as South Camarines is concerned, begins in November,
is interrupted, however, by frequent showers ; but from January
to May scarcely a drop of rain falls. The change of monsoon takes
place in May and June ; and its arrival is announced by violent
thunderstorms and hurricanes, which frequently last without
cessation for a couple of weeks, and are accompanied by heavy
rains. These last are the beginning of the wet season proper,
which lasts till October. The road passes the hamlets of
Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao, Oas, and Polangui, situated in a
straight line on the banks of the river Quinali, which, after
receiving numerous tributary streams, becomes navigable soon
after passing Polangui. Here I observed a small settlement of
huts, which is called after the river. Each of the hamlets I
have mentioned, with the exception of the last, has a population
of about fourteen thousand souls, although they are situated not
more than half a league apart.
The convents in this part of the country are large, imposing
buildings, and their incumbents, who were mostly old men were
most hospitable and kind to me. Every one of them insisted

PRIESTLY HOSPITALITY. . uf
upon my staying with him, and, after doing all he could for me,
passed me on to his next colleague with the best recommenda
tions. I wished to hire a boat at Polangui to cross the lake of
Batu, but the only craft I could find were a couple of barotos
about eighty feet long, hollowed out of the trunks of trees and
laden with rice. To prevent my meeting with any delay, the
padre purchased the cargo of one of the boats, on the condition
of its being immediately unladen ; and this kindness enabled me
to continue my journey in the afternoon.
If a traveller gets on good terms with the priests he seldom
meets with any 'annoyances. Upon one occasion I wished to
make a little excursion directly after lunch, and at a quarter past
eleven everything was ready for a start ; when I happened to say
that it was a pity to have to wait three quarters of an hour for the
meal. In a minute or two twelve o'clock struck ; all work in the
village ceased ; and we sat down to table : it was noon. A mes
sage had been sent to the village bell-ringer that the Senor
Padre thought he must be asleep, and that it must be long past
twelve as the Senor Padre was hungry. " II est l'heure que
votre Majeste desire."
Most of the priests in the eastern provinces of Luzon and
Samar are Franciscan monks, brought up in seminaries in
Spain specially devoted to the colonial missions. Formerly
they were at liberty, after ten years' residence in the Philippines,
to return to their own country ; but, since the abolition of the
monasteries in Spain, they can do this no longer, for they are
compelled in the colonies to abandon all obedience to the rules of
their order, and to live as laymen. They are aware that they
must end their days in their new home, and regulate their lives
accordingly. On their first arrival they are generally sent to
some priest in the province to make themselves acquainted with
the language of the country ; then they are installed into a
small cure, and afterwards into a more important one, in which

Ji8

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

they generally remain till their death. Most of them spring
from the very lowest class of Spaniards. A number of pious
trusts and foundations enable a very poor man, who cannot
afford to send his son to
school, to put him into a
religious seminary, where,
beyond the duties of his
future avocation, • the boy
learns nothing. If the
monks were of a higher
social grade, as are some of
the English missionaries,
they would have less incli
nation to mix with the com
mon people, and would fail
to exercise over them the
influence they wield at
present. The early habits
of the Spanish monks, and
their narrow knowledge of
the world, peculiarly fit them for an existence among the natives.
This mental equality, or, rather, this want of mental disparity,
has enabled them to acquire the influence they undoubtedly
possess. When these young men first come from their seminaries they
are narrow-brained, ignorant, frequently almost devoid of educa
tion, and full of conceit, hatred of heretics, and proselytish ardour.
These failings, however, gradually disappear ; the consideration
and the comfortable incomes they enjoy developing their benevo
lence. The insight into mankind and the confidence in them
selves which distinguish the lower classes of the Spaniards, and
which are so amusingly exemplified in Sancho Panza, have plenty
of occasions to display themselves in the responsible and influ-

A viUage clock.
A hollowed tree-stem struck with a pendent log.

PRIES TL Y I NFL UENCE. 1 1 9
•
ential positions which the priests occupy. The padre is frequently
the only white man in his village, probably the only European
for miles around. He becomes the representative not only of
religion, but of the Government ; he is the oracle of the Indians,
and his decisions in everything that concerns Europe and civili
sation are without appeal. His advice is asked on all important
semergencies, and he has no one whom he in his turn can consult.
Such a state of things naturally developes his brain. The same
individuals who in Spain would have followed the plough, in the
colonies carry out great undertakings. Without any technical
education, and without any scientific knowledge, they build
churches and bridges, and construct roads. The circumstances
therefore are greatly in favour of the development of priestly
ability ; but it would probably be better for the buildings if they
were erected by more experienced men, for the bridges are re
markably prone to fall in, the churches* look like sheep-pens, and
the roads soon go to rack and ruin. I had much intercourse in
Camarines and Albay with the priests, and conceived a great
liking for them all. As a rule, they are the most unpretending of
men ; and a visit gives them so much pleasure that they do all in
their power to make their guest's stay as agreeable as possible.
Life in a large convent has much resemblance to that of a lord
of the manor in Eastern Europe. Nothing can be more uncon
strained, more unconventional. A visitor lives as independently
as in an hotel, and many of the visitors behave themselves as if it
were one. I have seen a subaltern official arrive, and, without
inquiring of the major-domo if he could have a room, order his
dinner at once ; after which he contented himself with carelessly
inquiring if the padre, who was an utter stranger to him, was at
home. The priests of the Philippines have often been reproached with
gross immorality. They are said to keep their convents full of
bevies of pretty girls, and to lead somewhat the same sort of life

120 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
m
as the Grand Turk. This may be true of the native padres ; but
I myself never saw, in any of the households of the numerous
Spanish priests I visited, anything that could possibly cause the
least breath of scandal. Their servants were exclusively men,
though perhaps I may have noticed here and there aa old
woman or two. Ribadeneyra says : — " The Indians, who observe
how careful the Franciscan monks are of their chastity, have
arrived at the conclusion that they are not really men, and that,
though the devil had often attempted to lead these holy men
astray, using the charms of some pretty Indian girl as a bait, yet,
to the confusion of both damsel and devil, the monks had always
come scathless out of the struggle." * Ribadeneyra, however, is
not an over- reliable author ; and, if his physiological mistakes are
as gross as his geographical ones (he says somewhere that Luzon
is another name for the island of Cebu !), the monks are not
perhaps as fireproof as he supposes. At any rate, his description
does not universally apply nowadays.. The younger priests pass
their existence like the lords of the soil of old ; the young girls
consider it an honour to be allowed to associate with them ; and
the padres in their turn find many convenient opportunities.
They have no jealous wives to pry into their secrets, and their
position as confessors and spiritual advisers affords them plenty of
pretexts for being alone with the women. t The confessional, in
particular, must be a perilous rock-a-head for most of them. In
an appendix to the " Tagal Grammar " (which, by-the-bye, is not
added to the editions sold for general use) a list of questions is
given for the convenience of young priests not yet conversant
with the Tagal language. These questions are to be asked in the
confessional, and several pages of them relate exclusively to the
relations between the sexes.
* History of the Islands.
t St. Croix says that in his day tho priests' households consisted wholly of young
girls. A Franciscan who lived near the Lake of Bay kept twenty of them and had
a couple of them always at his side.

PRIES TL Y INFL UENCE. 1 2 1
As the alcaldes remain only three years in any one province,
they never understand much of its language ; and, being much
occupied with their official business, they have neither the time
nor the desire to become acquainted with the peculiarities of the
districts over which they rule. The priest, on the other hand,
resides continually in the midst of his parishioners, is perfectly
acquainted with each of them, and even, on occasion, protects
them against the authorities ; his, therefore, is the real juris
diction in the district. The position of the priests, in contra
distinction to that of the Government officials, is well expressed
by their respective dwellings. The casas rentes, generally small,
ugly, and frequently half-ruined habitations, are not suited to
the dignity of the chief authority of the province. The convento,
on the contrary, is almost always a roomy, imposing, and well-
arranged building. Informer days, when governorships were sold
to adventurers whose only care was to enrich themselves, the in
fluence of the minister of religion was even greater than it is now.*
The following passage from the General Orders, given by
Legentil, will convey a clear idea of their former position : —
" Whereas the tenth chapter of the ordinances, wherein the
governor of Arandia ordained that the alcaldes and the justices
should communicate with the missionary priests only by' letter,
and that they should never hold any interview with them except
in the presence of a witness, has been frequently disobeyed, it is
now commanded that these disobediences shall no longer be
allowed; and that the alcaldes shall make it their business to
see that the priests and ministers of religion treat the goberna-
dorcillos and the subaltern officers of justice with proper respect,
and that the aforesaid priests be not allowed either to beat,
chastise, or ill-treat the latter, or make them wait at table."
* Legentil, in his," Travels- in the Indian Seas," says : " The monks are the real
rulers of the proalincelv . *.. . JFheir p"bwer is so unlimited that no Spaniard cares to
settle in the neighbourhood  The monks would give him a great deal of
trouble."

,22 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The former alcaldes, who, without experience in official busi
ness, without either education or knowledge, and without either
the brains or the moral qualifications for such responsible and
influential posts, purchased their appointments from the State, or
received them in consequence of successful intrigues, received a
nominal salary from the government, and paid it tribute for the
right to carry on trade. Arenas considered this tribute paid by
the alcaldes as a fine imposed upon them for an infringement of
the law ; " for several ordinances were in existence, strenuously
forbidding them to dabble in any kind of commerce, until it
pleased his Catholic Majesty to grant them a dispensation." The
latter sources of mischief were, however, abolished by royal decree
in September and October, 1844.
The alcaldes were at the same time governors, magistrates,
commanders of the troops, and, in reality, the only traders in
their province.* They purchased with the resources of the obras
pias the articles required in the province ; and they were entirely.
dependent for their capital upon these endowments, as they almost
always arrived in the Philippines without any means of their own.
The natives were forced to sell their produce to the alcaldes and,
besides, to purchase their goods at the prices fixed by the latter, t
In this corrupt state of things the priests were the only protectors
of the unfortunate Indians ; though occasionally they also threw
in their lot with the alcaldes, and shared in the spoil wrung from
their unfortunate flocks.
Nowadays men with some knowledge of the law are sent out to
the Philippines as alcaldes ; the government pays them a small
salary, and they are not allowed to trade. The authorities also
attempt to diminish the influence of the priests by improving
the position of the civil tribunals ; a state of things they will
not find easy of accomplishment unless they lengthen the period
of service of the alcaldes, and place them in a pecuniary
* Si. Croix. f St. Croix.

A CHINESE COMPARISON. 123
position that will put them beyond the temptation of pocketing
perquisites.* In Hue's work on China I find the following passage relating to
the effects of the frequent official changes in China ; from which
many hints may be gathered : —
" The magisterial offices are no longer bestowed upon upright
and just individuals, and, as a consequence, this once flourishing
and well-governed kingdom is day by day falling into decay, and
is rapidly gliding down the path that leads to a terrible and,
perhaps, speedy dissolution. When we seek to discover the cause
of the general ruin, the universal corruption which too surely is
undermining all classes of Chinese society, we are convinced that
it is to be found in the complete abandonment of the old
system of government effected by the Mantschu dynasty. It
issued a decree forbidding any mandarin to hold any post longer
than three years in the same province, and prohibiting any one
from possessing any official appointment in his native province.
One does not form a particularly high idea of the brain which
conceived this law : but, when the Mantschu Tartars found that they
were the lords of the empire, they began to be alarmed at their
small numbers, which were trifling in comparison with the count
less swarms of the Chinese ; and they dr_eaded"lest the influence
which the higher officials would -acquire in their districts might
enable them to excite .the jpopulace against their foreign rulers.
" The magistrates, being allowed to remain only a year or two
in the same province, lived there like strangers, without making
themselves acquainted with the wants of the people they governed ;
there was no tie between them. The only care of the mandarins
was to amass as much wealth as possible before they quitted their
posts; and they then began the same game in a fresh locality, until
* There are three classes of alcaldeships, namely, entrada, ascenso, and termino
(vide Royal Ordinances of March, 1837) ; in each of which an alcalde must serve for
three years. No official is allowed, under any pretence, to serve more than ten
years in any of the Asiatic magistracies.

124 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
finally they returned home in possession of a handsome fortune
gradually collected in their different appointments. They were
only birds of passage. What did it matter ? The morrow would
find them at the other end of the kingdom, where the cries of
their plundered victims would be unable to reach them. In this
manner the governmental policy rendered the mandarins selfish
and indifferent. The basis of the monarchy is destroyed, for the
magistrate is no longer a paternal ruler residing amongst and
mildly swaying his children, but a marauder, who arrives no man
knows whence, and who departs no one knows whither. The
consequence is universal stagnation ; no great undertakings are
accomplished"; and the works and labours of former dynasties are
allowed to fall into decay. The mandarins say to themselves,
' Why should we undertake what we can never accomplish ? Why
should we sow that others may reap ?'.... They take no in
terest in the affairs of the district ; as a rule, they are suddenly
transplanted into the midst of a population whose dialect even
they do not understand. When they arrive in their mandarinates
they usually find interpreters, who, being permanent officials and
interested in the affairs of the place, know how to make their
services indispensable ; and these in reality are the absolute rulers
of the district."
Interpreters are especially indispensable in the Philippines,
where the alcaldes never by any chance understand any of the
local dialects. In important matters the native writers have
generally to deal with the priest, who in many cases becomes the
virtual administrator of authority. He is familiar with the
characters of the inhabitants and all their affairs, in the settle
ment of which his intimate acquaintance with the female sex
stands him in good stead. An eminent official in Madrid told
me in 1867 that the then minister was considering a proposal to
abolish the restriction of office in the colonies to three years.*
* The law limiting the duration of appointments to this short period dales from

OFFICIAL MALADMINISTRATION. 125
The dread which caused this restriction, viz., that an official
might become too powerful in some distant province, and that
his influence might prove a source of danger to the mother
country, is no longer entertained. Increased traffic and easier
means of communication have destroyed the former isolation of
the more distant provinces. The new customs laws, the increasing
demand for colonial produce, and the right ceded to foreigners of
settling in the country, will give a great stimulus to agriculture
and commerce, and largely increase the number of Chinese and
European residents. Then at last, perhaps, the authorities will
see the necessity of improving the social position of their officials
by decreasing their number, by a careful selection of persons, by
promoting them according to their abilities and conduct, and by
increasing their salaries, and allowing them to make a longer
stay in one post. The commercial relations of the Philippines
with California and Australia are likely to become very active,
and liberal ideas will be introduced from those free countries.
Then, indeed, the mother country will have earnestly to consider
whether it is advisable to continue its exploitation of the colony
by its monopolies, its withdrawal of gold, and its constant satis
faction of the unfounded claims of a swarm of hungry place-
hunters.* English and Scotch colonial officials are carefully and expressly
the earliest days of Spanish colonisation in America. There was also a variety of
minor regulations, based on suspicion, prohibiting the higher officials from mixing
in friendly intercourse with the colonists.
* A secular priest in the Philippines once related to me, quite of his own accord,
what had led him to the choice of his profession. One day, when he was a subaltern
in the army, he was playing cards with some comrades in a shady balcony.
" See," cried one of his friends, observing a peasant occupied in tilling the fields
in the full heat of the sun, "how the donkey yonder is toiling and perspiring while
we are lolling in the shade." The happy conceit of letting the donkeys work while
the idle enjoyed life made such a deep impression on him that he determined to
turn priest ; and it is the same felicitous thought that has impelled so many
impecunious gentlemen to become colonial officials. The little opening for civil
labour in Spain and Portugal, and the prospect of comfortable perquisites in the
colonies, have sent many a starving caballcro across the ocean.

126 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
educated for their difficult and responsible positions. They obtain
their appointments after passing a stringent examination at home,
and are promoted to the higher colonial offices only after giving
proofs of fitness and ability. What a different state of things
prevails in Spain ! When a Spaniard succeeds in getting an
appointment, it is difficult to say whether it is due to his personal
capacity and merit or to a series of successful political intrigues.*
* The exploitation of the State by party, and the exploitation of party by indivi
duals, are the real secrets of all revolutions in the Peninsula. They are caused by a
constant and universal struggle for office. No one will work, and everybody wants
to live luxuriously ; and this can only be done at the expense of the State, which
all attempt to turn and twist to their own ends. Shortly after the expulsion of
Isabella, an alcalde's appointment has been known to have been given away three
times in one day.

The Tribunal.

The village of Bitu.

Bamboo.

CHAPTER XIII.
EXCURSIONS IN SOUTH CAMARfNES (continued). — LAKE BATU. — INDIAN PRIESTS. —
SAVAGE SETTLEMENTS. — LAKE OP BUHI. — THE YRfGA VOLCANO. — PINE-APPLE
FIBRES. — ARROW POISON. — LEECHES. — THE GRAVEL POUNTAINS OP TIBI.

In an hour and a half after leaving Polangui we reached Batu,
a village on the north-western shore of the lake of the same name.
The inhabitants, particularly the women, struck me by their ugli
ness and want of cleanliness. Although they lived close to the
lake, and drew their daily drinking water from it, they nevei
appeared to use it for the purposes of washing. The streets of the
village also were dirty and neglected ; a circumstance explained,
perhaps, by the fact of the priest being a native.
Towards the end of the rainy season in November, the lake
extends far more widely than it does in the dry, and overflows
its shallow banks, especially to the south-west. A great
number of water-plants grow on its borders ; amongst which
I particularly noticed a delicate seaweed, as fine as horsehair,
but intertwined in such close and endless ramifications that it

iz8 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
forms a flooring strong enough to support the largest waterfowl. I
saw hundreds of them hopping about and eating the shell fish and
prawns, which swarmed amidst the meshes of the net-like seaweed
and fell an easy prey to their feathered enemies. The natives,
too, were in the habit of catching, immense quantities of the
prawns with nets made for the purpose. Some they ate fresh ;
and some they kept till they were putrid, like old cheese, and then
used them as a relish to swallow with their rice. These small
shell-fish are not limited to the Lake of Batu. They are caught
in shoals in both the salt and the fresh waters of the Philip
pine and Indian archipelagos, and, when salted and dried by the
natives, form an important article of food, eaten either in soup or
as a kind of potted paste. They are found in every market, and
are largely exported to China. I was unable to shoot any of the
waterfowl, for the tangles of the seaweed prevented my boat from
getting near them.
When I revisited the same lake in February, I found its waters
so greatly fallen that they had left a circular belt of shore
extending all round the lake, in most places nearly a hundred feet
broad. The withdrawal of the waters had compressed the tangled
seaweed into a kind of matting, which, bleached by the sun, and
nearly an inch thick, covered the whole of the shore, and hung
suspended over the stunted bushes which, on my first visit, had
been under water. I have never either seen elsewhere, or heard
any one mention, a similar phenomenon.
The native priest of Batu was full of complaints about his
parishioners, who gave him no opportunities of gaming an honest
penny. "lam never asked for a mass, sir ; in fact, this is such
a miserable hole that it is shunned by Death itself. In D.,
where I was for a long time coadjutor, we had our couple of
burials regularly every day at three dollars a head, and as many
masses at a dollar apiece as we had time to say, besides christen
ings and weddings, which always brought a little more grist to

.NATIVE PRIESTS. 129
the mill. But here nothing takes place, and I scarcely make
anything." This stagnant state of things had induced him to
turn his attention to commerce. Native priests, as a rule, do little
credit to their profession. Extraordinarily ignorant, extremely
dissipated, and only superficially acquainted with their duties, they
pass the greater part of their time in gambling, drinking, and
other sinful amusements ; and they take little care to preserve a
properly decorous behaviour, except when officiating in the church,
when they read with an absurd assumption of dignity, without
understanding a single word. The conventos are often full of
girls and children, all of whom help themselves with their fingers
out of a common dish. The worthy padre of Batu introduced a
couple of pretty girls to me as his two poor sisters, whom, in spite
of his poverty, he supported ; but the servants about the place
openly spoke of these young ladies' babies as being the children of
the priest.
The guiding principle of Spanish colonial policy — to set one class
against another, and to prevent either from becoming too powerful
¦ — seems to be the motive for placing so many native incumbents
in the parsonages of the Archirjelago. The prudence of this pro
ceeding, however, seems doubtful. A Spanish priest has a great
deal of influence in his own immediate circle, and forms, perhaps, the
only enduring link between the colony and the mother-country.
The native priest is far from affording any compensation for the
lack of either of these advantages. He generally is but little
respected by his flock, and certainly does nothing to attach them to
Spain ; for he hates and envies his Spanish brethren, who leave him
only the very worst appointments, and treat him with contempt.
I rode from Batu to Nabua over a good road in half an hour.
The country was flat, with" rice-fields on both sides of the road ;
but, while in Batu the rice was only just planted, in Nabua it
already was almost ripe. I was unable to obtain any explanation of
this incongruity, and know not how to account for such a difference
K

,3o THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
of climate between two hamlets situated in such close proximity
to one another, and separated by no range of hills. The inha
bitants of both were ugly and dirty, and were different in these
respects from the Tagals. Nabua, a place of 10,875 inhabitants,
is intersected by several small streams, whose waters, pouring
down from the eastern hills, form a small lake, which empties
itself into the river Bicol. Just after passing the second bridge
beyond Nabua the road, inclining eastwards, wends in a straight
line to Yriga, a place lying to the south-west of the volcano of
the same name.
I visited a small settlement of pagan natives situated on the
slope of the volcano. The people of the plains call them indiffer
ently Ygorrotes, Oimarrons, Remontados, Infieles, or Montesinos.
None of these names, however, with the exception of the two last,
are appropriate ones. The first is derived from the term applied
in the north of the island to the mixed descendants of Chinese and
Indian parents. The word Cimarron is borrowed from the Ameri
can slave colonies, where it denotes negroes who have escaped from
slavery and are living in a state of freedom ; but here it is applied
to natives who prefer a wild existence to the comforts of village
life, which they consider are overbalanced by the servitude and
bondage which accompany them. The term Remontado explains
itself, and has the same signification as Cimarron. As the difference
between the two states — on account of the mildness of the climate,
and the ease with which the wants of the natives are supplied — is
far less than it would be in Europe, these self-constituted exiles
are more frequently to be met with than might be supposed ; the
cause of their separation from their fellow-men sometimes being
some offence against the laws, and sometimes a mere aversion to the
duties and labours of village life. Every Indian has an innate incli
nation to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the
woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields ; and it is
only the village prisons and the priests — the salaries of the latter

YRlGA NATIVES. 13,
are proportionate to the number of their parishioners — that pre
vent him from gradually turning the puiblos into visitas* and
the latter into ranchos. Until a visit to other ranchos in the
neighbourhood corrected my first impression, I took the inha
bitants of the slopes of the Yriga for cross-breeds between Indians
and negritos. The colour of their skin was not black, but a dark
brown, scarcely any darker than that of Indians who have been
much exposed to the sun ; and only a few of them had woolly hair.
The negritos whom I saw at Angat and Mariveles knew nothing
whatever about agriculture, lived in the open air, and supported
themselves upon the spontaneous products of Nature ; but the half-
savages of the Yriga dwell in decent huts, and cultivate several
vegetables and a little sugar-cane. No pure negritos, as far as I
could ascertain, are to be met with in Camarines. A thickly
populated province, only sparsely dotted with lofty hills, would be
ill-suited for the residence of a nomadic hunting race ignorant of
agriculture. The ranchos on the Yriga are very accessible, and their inha
bitants carry on a friendly intercourse with the Indians ; indeed,
if they did not, they would have been long ago exterminated. In
spite of these neighbourly communications, however, they have
preserved many of their own primitive manners and customs.
The men go about naked with the exception of a cloth about the
loins ; and the women are equally unclad, some of them perhaps
wearing an apron reaching from the hip to the knee.f In the
larger ranchos the women were decently clad in the usual Indian
fashion. Their furniture consisted of a few articles made of bamboo,
a few calabashes of cocoa-nut-shell, and an earthen cooking-pot.
Although the Ygorrotes are not Christians, they decorate their huts
* A visita is a small hamlet or village with no priest of its own, and dependent
upon its largest neighbour for its religious ministrations.
t Pigafetta mentions that the female musicians of the King of Cebu were quite
naked, or only covered with an apron of bark. The ladies of the Court were content
with a hat, a short cloak, and a cloth around the waist.
K 2

'3*

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

with crucifixes, which they use as talismans. If they were of no
virtue, an old man remarked to me, the Spaniards would not employ
them so numerously.* The largest rancho I visited was nominally
under the charge of a captain, who, however, had little real
power. At my desire he called to some naked boys idly squatting
about on the trees, who required considerable persuasion before
they obeyed his summons : but a few small presents — brazen
earrings and combs for the women, and cigars for the men — soon
put me on capital terms with them.
After a vain attempt to reach the top of the Yriga volcano I
started for Buhi, a place situated on the southern shore of the
lake of that name. Ten minutes after leaving Yriga I reached a
spot where the ground sounded hollow beneath my horse's feet.
A succession of small hillocks, about fifty feet high, bordered
each side of the road ; and towards the north I could perceive
the huge crater of the Yriga, which, in the distance, appeared
like a truncated cone. I had the curiosity to ascend one of the
hillocks, whiqh, seen from its summit, looked like the remains
of some former crater, which had probably been destroyed by an
earthquake and split up into these small mounds.
When I got to Buhi the friendly priest had it proclaimed
by sound of drum that the newly arrived strangers wished to
obtain all kinds of animals, whether of earth, of air, or of water ;
and that each and all would be paid for in cash. The natives,
however, only brought us moths, centipedes, and other vermin,
which, besides enabling them to have a good stare at the strangers,
they hoped to turn into cash as extraordinary, curiosities.
The following day I was the spectator of a gorgeous procession.
First came the Spanish flag, then the village kettle-drums, and a
small troop of horsemen in short jackets and shirts flying in the
* Perhaps the same reason induced the Chinese to purchase crucifixes at the time
of their first intercourse with the Portuguese ; for Pigafetta says : "The Chinese
are white, wear clothes, and eat from tables. They also possess crucifixes, but it is
difficult to say why or where they got them."

A CHURCH FESTIVAL. 133
wind, next a dozen musicians, and finally, as the principal figure,
a man carrying a crimson silk standard. The latter individual
evidently was deeply conscious of his dignified position, and his
countenance eloquently expressed the quantity of palm wine he
had consumed in honour of the occasion. He sat on his horse
dressed out in the most absurd manner in a large cocked hat
trimmed with coloured paper instead of gold lace, with a woman's
cape made of paper outside his coat, and with short, tight-fitting
yellow breeches and immense white stockings and shoes. Both
his coat and his breeches were liberally ornamented with paper
trimmings. His steed, led by a couple of cabezas, was appointed
with similar trappings. After marching through all the streets
of the village the procession came to a halt in front of the
church. This festival is celebrated every year in commemoration of the
concession made by the Pope to the King of Spain, permitting
the latter to appropriate to his own use certain revenues of the
Church. The Spanish Throne consequently enjoys the right of con
ferring different indulgences, even for serious crimes, in the name
of the Holy See. This right, which, so to speak, it acquired whole
sale, it sells by retail to its customers (it formerly disposed of it to
the priests) in the estanco, and together with its other monopo
lies, such as tobacco, brandy, lottery tickets, stamped paper, &c,
all through the agency of the priests ; without the assistance of
whom very little business would be done. The receipts from the
sale of these indulgences have always been very fluctuating. In
1819 they amounted to 15,930 dollars ; in 1839 to 36,390 dollars;
and in 1860 they were estimated at 58,954 dollars. In the year
1844-5 they rose to 292,115 dollars. The cause of this large
increase was that indulgences were then rendered compulsory ;
so many being allotted to each family, with the assistance and
under the superintendence of the priests and tax-collectors who
received a commission of five and eight per cent, on the gross

,34 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
amount collected ; — one of the most shameless abuses of an
infamous system.
The Lake of Buhi (300 feet above the sea-level) presents an
extremely picturesque appearance, surrounded as it is on all sides
by hills fully a thousand feet high ; and its western shore is formed
by what still remains of the Yriga volcano. I was informed by
the priests of the neighbouring hamlets that the volcano, until the
commencement of the seventeenth century, had been completely
conical, and that the lake did not come into existence till half of
the mountain fell in, at the time of its great eruption. This state
ment I found confirmed in the pages of the "Estado Geografico " : —
" On the fourth of -January, 1641 — a memorable day, for on that
date all the known volcanoes of the Archipelago began to erupt
at the same hour — a lofty hill in Camarines, inhabited by heathens,
fell in, and a fine lake sprang into existence upon its site. The
then inhabitants of the village of Buhi migrated to the shores of
the new lake, which, on this account, was henceforward called the
lake of Buhi."
Perrey, in the " Memoires de l'Academie de Dijon," mentions
another outbreak which took place in Camarines in 1628 : " In
1628, according to trustworthy reports, fourteen different shocks
of earthquake occurred on the same day in the province of
Camarines. Many buildings were thrown down, and from one
large mountain which the earthquake rent asunder there issued
such an immense quantity of water that the whole neighbourhood
was flooded, trees were torn up by the roots, and three miles from
the sea-coast the country was one vast sheet of water." In a
note Perrey gives the original text of his authority, which, oddly
enough, does not exactly tally with his account.*
_ * Apud Camarines quoque terram eodem die quatuor decies contremuisse, fide
dignis testimoniis renuntiatum est: multa interim a?dificia diruta. Ingentem
montem medium crepuisse immani hiatu, ex immensa vi excussisse arbores per
oras pelugi, ita ut leucam occuparent asquoris, nee humor per illud intervallum
appare.et. Accidit hoc anno 1628.— «. Eusebius Nierembergius, Eistoria Natures
lib. xvi. 383. Antwerpias, 1635.

TAMBONG.

135

When I was at Tambong, a small hamlet on the shore of the
lake belonging to the parochial diocese of Buhi, I made a
second unsuccessful attempt to reach the highest point of the
Yriga. We arrived in the evening at the southern point of the
crater's edge (1,041 metres above the level of the sea by my

The Yriga Volcano, from the south-east.
barometrical observation), where a deep defile prevented our fur
ther progress. Here the Ygorrotes abandoned me, and the Indians
refused to bivouac in order to pursue the journey on the following
day ; so I was obliged to return. Late in the evening, after

The Yriga Volcano, from the south-west.
passing through a cocoa plantation, we reached the foot of the
mountain and found shelter from a tempest with a kind old
woman ; to whom my servants lied so shamelessly that, when the
rain had abated1, we were, in spite of our failure, conducted with
torches to Tambong, where we found the palm-grove round the

, 36 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
little hamlet magically illuminated with bright bonfires of dry
cocoa-nut-leaves in honour of the " Conquistadores del Yriga ; "
and where I was obliged to remain for the night, as the people
were too timorous or too lazy to cross the rough water of the lake.
Here I saw them preparing the fibre of the pine- apple for weav
ing. The fruit of the plants selected for this purpose is generally
removed early ; a process which causes the leaves to increase con
siderably both in length and in breadth. A woman places a
board on the ground, and upon it a pine-apple-leaf with the hollow
side upwards. Sitting at one end of the board, she holds the leaf
firmly with her toes, and scrapes its outer surface with a potsherd;
not with the sharp fractured edge but with the blunt side of the
rim ; and thus the leaf is reduced to rags. In this manner a
stratum of coarse longitudinal fibre is disclosed, and the operator,
placing her thumb-nail beneath it, lifts it up, and draws it away
in a compact strip ; after which she scrapes again until a second
fine layer of fibre is laid bare. Then, turning the leaf round,
she scrapes its back, which now lies upwards, down to the layer of
fibre, which she seizes with her hand and draws at once, to its
full length, away from the back of the leaf. When the fibre
has been washed, it is dried in the sun. It is afterwards
combed, with a suitable comb, like women's hair, sorted into four
classes, tied together, and treated like the fibre of the lupi. In
this crude manner are obtained the threads for the celebrated web
Nipis de Piiia, which is considered by experts the finest in the
world. In the Philippines, where the fineness of the work is best
understood and appreciated, richly embroidered costumes of this
description have fetched more than 2,000 thalers each.*
At Buhi, which is not sufficiently sheltered towards the north -
* At Port William, Calcutta, experiments have proved the extraordinary endu
rance of the pine-apple fibre. A cable eight centimetres in ciscumference was not
torn asunder until a force of 2,550 kilogrammes had been applied to it. — Report of
the Jury, London International Exhibition.

ARROW POISON. 137
east, it rained almost as much as at Daraga. I had found out
from the Ygorrotes that a path could be forced through the tall
canes up to the summit ; but the continual rain prevented me ;
so I resolved to cross the Malinao, returning along the coast to my
quarters, and then, freshly equipped, descend the river Bicol as
far as Naga.
Before we parted the Ygorrotes prepared for me some arrow
poison from the bark of two trees. I happened to see neither
the leaves nor the blossoms, but only the bark. A piece of bark
was beaten to pieces, pressed dry, wetted, and again pressed. This
was done with the bare hand, which, however, sustained no injury.
The juice thus extracted looked like pea-soup, and was warmed
in an earthen vessel over a slow fire. During the process it
coagulated at the edges ; and the coagulum was again dissolved,
by stirring- into the boiling fluid mass. When this had reached
the consistency of syrup, a small quantity was scraped off the
inner surface of a second piece of bark, and its juice squeezed
into the vessel. This juice was a dark brown colour. When
the mass had attained the consistency of a thin jelly, it was
scraped out of the pot with a chip and preserved on a leaf
sprinkled with ashes. For poisoning an arrow they use a piece
of the size of a hazel-nut, which, after being warmed, is dis
tributed uniformly over the broad iron point ; and the poisoned
arrow serves for repeated use.
At the end of November I left the beautiful lake of Buhi, and
proceeded from its eastern angle for a short distance up the little
river Sapa,* the alluvial deposits of which form a considerable
feature in the configuration of the lake. Across a marshy meadow
we reached the base of the Malinao or Buhi mountain, the slippery
clay of the lower slope merging higher up into volcanic sand. The
damp undergrowth swarmed with small leeches ; I never before
met with them in such numbers. These little animals, no stouter
* Sapa means shallow.

,38 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
when stretched out than a linen thread, are extraordinarily active.
They attach themselves firmly to every part of the body, penetrating
even into the nose, the ears, and the eyelids, where, if they remain
unobserved, they gorge themselves to such excess that they become
as round as balls and look like small cherries. While they are
sucking no pain is felt ; but afterwards the spots attacked often itch
the whole day long.* In one place the wood consisted for the
most part of fig-trees, with bunches of fruit quite six feet in length
hanging from the stems and the thicker branches ; and between the
trees grew ferns, aroids, and orchids. After nearly six hours' toil
we reached the pass (841 metres above the sea level), and descended

34 -

The point a, as visible from Tibi, lies S. 49° 7' ; 6, 54° 8' ; d, 64" 2' ; e, 67° W. ; the eavi'.y c,
S. 59° 5' W.
the eastern slope. The forest on the eastern side of the mountain
is still more magnificent than that on the west. From a clearing
we obtained a fine view of the sea, the island of Catanduanes, and
the plain of Tabaco. At sunset we reached Tibi, where I
quartered myself in the prison. This, a tolerably clean place,
enclosed with strong bamboos, was the most habitable part of a
long shed which supplied the place of the tribunal destroyed
in a storm two years before. At Tibi I had an opportunity of
sketching mount Malinao (called also Buhi and Takit), which
from this side has the appearance of a large volcano with a
* To the extraordinary abundance of these annulates in Sikkim, Hooker (" Hima
layan Journal," i. 167) ascribes the death of many animals, as also the murrain known
as rinderpest, if it occurred after a, very wet season, when the leech appears in
incredible numbers. It is a known fact that these worms have existed for days
together in the nostrils, throat, and stomach of man, causing inexpressible pain and,
finally, death.

STALACTITE SPRINGS.

'39

distinct crater. From the lake of Buhi it is not so clearly
distinguishable .
Not far from Tibi, exactly north-east of Malinao, we found a
small hot spring called Igabo. In the middle of a plot of turf
encircled by trees was a bare spot of oval form, nearly 100 paces
long and 70 wide. The whole space was covered with stones,
rounded by attrition, as large as a man's head and larger. Here
and there hot water bubbled out of the ground and discharged into
a little brook; at which some women were engaged in cooking
their food, which they suspended in nets in the hottest parts of
the water. On the lower surfaces of some of the stones a little
sulphur was sublimated ; of alum hardly a trace was perceptible.

Eed Cone.

White Cone.
Silicious Spring at Tibi.

From here I visited the stalactite springs, not far distant, of
Naglegbeng.* I had expected to see a calcareous fountain, but
found the most magnificent masses of silica of infinite variety of
form ; shallow cones with cylindrical summits, pyramidal flights of
steps, round basins with ribbed margins, and ponds of boiling water.
One spot, denuded of trees, from two to three hundred paces in
breadth and about five hundred in length, was, with the exception
of a few places overgrown with turf, covered with a crust of silicious
dross, which here and there formed large connected areas, but
was generally broken up into flaky plates by the vertical springs
which pierced it. In numerous localities boiling hot mineral water
* Gemelli Careri has already mentioned them.

,40

THE PHILLPPINE ISLANDS.

containing silica was forcing itself out of the ground, spreading
itself over the surface and depositing a crust, the thickness of
which depended on its distance from the centre point. In this
manner, in the course of time, a very flat cone is formed, with a
basin of boiling water in the middle. The continuous deposit of
dross contracts the channel, and a less quantity of water overflows,
while that close to the edge of the basin evaporates and deposits
a quantity of fine silicious earth ; whence the upper portion of
the cone not only is steeper than its base, but frequently assumes
a more cylindrical form, the external surface of which, on account
of the want of uniformity in the overflow, is ribbed in the form

Tim White Cone.
of stalactites. When the channel becomes so much obstructed
that the efflux is less than the evaporation, the water ceases to flow
over the edge, and the mineral dross, during the continual cool
ing of the water, is then deposited, with the greatest uniformity,
over the inner area of the basin. When, however, the surface
of the water sinks, this formation ceases at the upper portion of
the basin ; the interior wall thickens ; and, if the channel be
completely stopped -up and all the water evaporated, there
remains a bell-shaped basin as even as if excavated by the
hand of man. In my sketch of the white cone the three Indian
females are standing on the edge of such a cone ; and a still
finer example may be observed on the right-hand summit of

SPRING FORMATIONS.

141

the red cone. The water now seeks a fresh outlet, and bursts
forth where it meets with the least obstruction, without destroy
ing the beautiful cone it has already erected. Many such
examples exist. In the largest cones, however, the vapours
generated acquire such power that, when the outlet is completely
stopped up, they break up the overlying crust in concentrically
radiating flakes ; and the water, issuing afresh copiously from the
centre, deposits a fresh crust, which again, by the process we have
just described, is broken up into a superimposed layer of flakes.
In this manner are formed annular layers, which in turn are
gradually covered by fresh deposits from the overflowing water.
In the two large cones, the "white" and the "red," shown in

The Red Cone.

the illustrations, this layer formation is seen completed ; in many
other places I observed it was in the act of commencing. After
the pyramid of layers is complete and the outlet stopped up, the
water sometimes breaks forth on the slope of the same cone ; a
second cone is then formed near the first, on the same base. The
preceding illustrations show formations of this kind at their
commencement ; the sketch of the red cone shows one at its
completion. In the vicinity of the silicious springs are seen
deposits of white, yellow, red, and bluish-grey clays, overlaying one
another in narrow strata-like variegated marl, manifestly the dis
integrated produce of volcanic rocks transported hither by rain
and stained with oxide of iron. These clays perhaps come
from the same rocks, from the disintegration of which the silicious

142 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
earth has been formed. Similar examples occur in Iceland and
in New Zealand ; but the products of the springs of Tibi are more
varied, finer, and more beautiful than those of the Iceland Geysers.
The wonderful conformations of the red cone are indeed astonish
ing, and hardly to be paralleled in any other quarter of the
world.* * 1 discovered similar formations, of extraordinary beauty and extent, in the great
silicious beds of Steamboat Springs, Nevada Territory.

A Pavavd.
The frame and body of bamboo ; the collar and noseband of the buffalo, of chair-cane ; and the
root* of pandanus -leaves.

CHAPTER XIV.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BfcOL INDIANS.
On my second journey in Camarines, which I undertook in Feb
ruary, I went by water from Polangui, past Batu, as far as Naga.
The Quinali, which runs into the south-eastern corner of the lake
of Batu, runs out again on the north side as the Bicol River, and
flows in a north-westerly direction as far as the Bay of San MigueL
It forms the medium of a not inconsiderable trade between Albay
and Camarines, particularly in rice ; of which the supply grown
in the former province does not suffice for the population, which
¦ consumes the superfluity of Camarines. The rice is conveyed
in large boats up the river as far as Quinali, and thence trans
ported further on in buffalo carts ; and the boats return empty.
During the dry season of the year, the breadth of the very tortuous
Bicol, at its mouth, is a little over sixty feet, and increases but very
gradually. There is considerable variety of vegetation upon its
banks, and in animal life it is highly attractive. I was parti
cularly struck with its numerous monkeys and water-fowl. Of
the latter the Plotus variety was most abundant, but difficult
to shoot. They sit motionless on the trees on the bank, only

,44 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
their thin heads and necks, like those of tree- snakes, overtopping
the leaves. On the approach of the boat they precipitate them
selves hastily into the water ; and it is not until after many minutes
that the thin neck is seen rising up again at some distance from
the spot where the bird disappeared. The Plotus appears to be
as rapid on the wing as it is in swimming and diving.
In Naga, the chief city of South Camarines, I alighted at the
tribunal, from which, however, I was immediately invited by
the principal official of the district — who is famed for his hospi
tality far beyond the limits of his province — to his house, where I
was loaded with civilities and favours. This universally beloved
gentleman put everybody under contribution in order to enrich
my collections, and did all in his power to render my stay agree
able and to further my designs.
Naga is the seat of a bishopric and of the provincial Govern:
ment. In official documents it is called Nueva- Caceres, in honour
of the Captain- General, D. Fr. de Sande, a native of Caceres,
who about 1578 founded Naga (the Spanish town) close to the
Indian village. At the beginning of the seventeenth century it
numbered nearly one hundred Spanish inhabitants ; at the present
time it hardly boasts a dozen. Murillo Velarde remarks (xiii.
272), in contrast to the state of things in America, that of all the
towns founded in the Philippines, with the exception of Manilla,
only the skeletons, the names without the substance, have been
preserved. The reason is, as has been frequently shown, that up
to the present time plantations, and consequently proper settlers,
have been wanting. Formerly Naga was the principal town of
the whole of that district of Luzon lying to the east of Tayabas,
which, on account of the increased population, was divided into the
three provinces of North and South Camarines and Albay. The
boundaries of these governmental districts, those between Albay
and South Camarines more especially, have been drawn very arbi
trarily ; although, the whole of the territory, as is shown by the map,

THE BICOLS. ,45
geographically is very well defined. The country is named Cama
rines ; but it might more suitably be called the country of the
Bicols, for the whole of it is inhabited by one. race,- the Bicol
Indians, who are distinguished by their speech and many
other peculiarities from their neighbours, the Tagals on the
west, and the Bisayans on the islands to the south and east. The
Bicols are found only in this district and in a few islands lying
immediately in front of it. Of their coming hither no informa
tion is to be obtained from the comprehensive but confused his
tories of the Spanish monks. Morga considers them to be natives
of the island ; on the other hand, it is asserted by tradition that
the inhabitants of Manilla and its vicinity are descended from
Malays who have migrated thither, and from the inhabitants of
other islands and more distant provinces.* Their speech is mid
way between that of the Tagals and the Bisayans, and they them
selves appear, in both their manners and customs, to be a half-
breed between these two races. Physically and mentally they
are inferior to the Tagals, and superior to the inhabitants of the
eastern Bisayan islands. Bicol is spoken only in the two Cama
rines, Albay, Luzon, the islands of Masbate, Burias, Ticao, and
Catanduanes, and in the smaller adjoining islands. The inhabit
ants of the volcanic mountain Ysarog a"nd its immediate neigh
bourhood speak it in the greatest purity. Thence towards the
west the Bicol dialect becomes more and more like the Tagal,
and towards the east like the Bisay, until by degrees, even
before reaching the boundaries of their ethnographical districts,
it merges into these two kindred languages.
In South Camarines the sowing of the rice in beds begins in
June or July, always at the commencement of the rainy season ;
but, in fields artificially watered, earlier, because thus the fruit ripens
* Arenas thinks that the ancient annals of the Chinese probably contain informa
tion relative to the settlement of the present inhabitants of Manilla, as that people
had early intercourse with the Archipehigo. L

,46

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

at a time when, the store in the country being small, its price is
Although the rice fields could very well give two crops

high

Arado, tlie Plough,
Differs very little from that Btill used in Spain. With the exception of d and e, all is of wood, even
the nails : a, tokod, Om. 71 ; b, timon, Om. 21 ; c, oaballo, lm. 67 ; d, lipia, in length Om. 21, in
breadth, above, Om. 16, below, Om. 11 ; e, sodsod, Om. 21 in length, and Om. 16 in breadth ; g,
pakanap, Om. 71 ; — cane connecting d -with a, and g with a and c.
yearly, they are tilled only once. It is planted out in August, with
intervals of a hand's-breadth between each row and each individual
plant ; and within four months the rice is ripe. The fields are

Fig.4 c
Agricultural implements of the Bicol Indians.
Figs. 1 and 2, Sortd (harrow) : a, tampong, of bamboo, Om. B2 ; b, badas, of Caryota, Om. 68 ; c,
papan, of the very hard w:tod of Camagon, Om. 73 long, and Om. 12 thick ; d, tagiak, of knotted
branches for pulling in the buffalo ; e, nipon (tooth), of Caryota, Om. 31 ; /, bands of cane. Figs. 3
and 4, Azad6n (hatchet). Figs. 5 and 6, Kag-hag (rake) ; entirely of bamboo: length of teeth,
Om. 16.
never manured, and but seldom ploughed ; the weeds and the
stubble being generalty trodden into the already soaked ground

RICE CULTIVATION.

H7

by a dozen buffaloes, and the soil afterwards simply rolled with a
cylinder furnished with sharp points, or loosened with the
harrow (sorod). Besides the agricultural implements named above,
there are the Spanish hatchet (azadon) and a rake of bamboo
(kag-kag) in use. The harvest is effected in a peculiar manner.
The rice which is soonest ripe is cut for ten per cent., that is,
the labourer receives for his toil the tenth bundle for him
self. At this time of year rice is very scarce, Want is immi
nent, and labour reasonable. The more fields, however, that
ripen, the higher become the reapers' wages, rising to twenty,
thirty, forty, even to fifty per cent. ; indeed, the Executive
sometimes consider it to be neces
sary to force the people to the
harvest by corporal punishment
and imprisonment, in order to
prevent a large portion of the crop
from rotting on the stalk. Never
theless, in very fruitful years a
part of the harvest is lost. The
rice is cut halm by halm (as in
Java) with a peculiarly formed
knife, or, failing such, with the sharp- edged flap of a mussel*
found in the ditches of the rice-fields, which one has only to
stoop to pick up.
A qainon of the best rice land is worth from sixty to one hundred
dollars (eight to thirteen thalers per acre). Rice fields on rising
grounds are dearest, as they are not exposed to devastating floods
as are those in the plain, and may be treated so as to insure the
ripening of the fruit at the time when the highest price is to be
obtained. A gania of rice is sufficient to plant four toponcs (1 topon= 1 loan);
from which 100 mdnojos (bundles) are gathered, each of which

Rice Knife.

* Probably the Anodonta Purpurea, according to V. Maitens.

,48 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
yields half a ganta of rice. The old ganta of Naga, however,
being equal to a modern ganta and a half, the produce may be
calculated at 75 cabanes per quiiion, about 9f bushels per acre.*
In books 250 cabanes are usually stated to be the average pro
duce of a quiiion : but that is an exaggeration. The fertility of
the fields certainly varies very much ; but, when it is considered
that the land in the Philippines is never manured, but depends,
for the maintenance of its vitality, exclusively upon the over
flowing of the mud which is washed down from the mountains,
it may be believed that the first numbers better express the true
average. In Java the harvest, in many provinces, amounts to
only 50 cabanes per quiiion ; in some, indeed, to three times
this amount ; and in China, with the most careful culture and
abundant manure, to 180 cabanes. t Besides rice, they cultivate
the camote (sweet potatoe, Convolvulus batatas). This flourishes
like a weed ; indeed, it is sometimes planted for the purpose of
eradicating the weeds from soil intended for coffee or cacao. It
spreads out into a thick carpet, and is an inexhaustible store
house to its owner, who, the whole year through, can supply
his wants from his field. Gobi (Caladium), Ubi (Dioscorea),
maize, and other kinds of grain, are likewise cultivated.
After the rice harvest the buffaloes, horses, and bullocks, are
allowed to graze on the fields. During the rice culture they
remain in the gogonales — cane-fields which arise in places once
cultivated for mountain-rice and afterwards abandoned. [Gogo
is the name of a cane 7 to 8 feet high, Saccharum sp.~]. Trans
port then is almost impossible, because during the rainy season
the roads are impassable, and the cattle find nothing to eat.
The Indian does not feed his beast, but allows it to perish from
hunger when it cannot support itself. In the wet season of the
* 1 ganta = 3 litres. 1 quinon = 100 loanes = 2-79495 hectares = 6-89 acres.
1 cabdn — 25 gantas.
t Scherzer, "Miscellaneous Information."

CATTLE. 1 49
year it frequently happens that a buffalo falls down from starvation
whilst drawing a cart. A buffalo costs from 7 to 10 dollars ; a horse
10 to 20 ; and a cow 6 to 8. Very fine horses are valued at from
30 to 50 dollars, and occasionally as much as 80- dollars ; but the
native horses are not esteemed at Manilla, because they have no
stamina. The bad water, the bad hay, and the great heat of the
place at once point out the reason ; otherwise it would be profit
able to export horses in favourable seasons to Manilla, where they
would fetch twice their value. According $o Morga, there were
neither horses nor asses on the island until the Spaniards imported
them from China and New Spain.* They were at first small and
vicious. Horses were imported also from Japan, "not swift but
powerful, with large heads and thick manes, looking like Fries-
land horses ; " t and the breed improved rapidly. Those born in
the country, mostly cross-breeds, drive well. Black cattle are
generally in the hands of a few individuals ; some of whom in
Camarines possess as many as 3,000 head ; but they are hardly
saleable in the province, although they have been exported profit
ably for some years past to Manilla. The black cattle of the
province are small but nutritious. They are never employed for
labour, and the cows are not milked. The Indians, who gene
rally feed on fish, crabs, mussels, and wild herbs instead of rice,
prefer the flesh of the buffalo to that of the ox : but they eat it
only on feast-days.
The old race of sheep, imported by the Spaniards previous to
this century, still flourishes and is easily propagated. Those occa
sionally brought from Shanghai and Australia are considered to
* More than one hundred years later, Father Taillandier writes :— " The Spa
niards have brought cows, horses, and sheep from America ; but these animals
cannot live there on account of the dampness and inundations." — [Letters from
Father Taillandier to Father AVillard.]
t At the present time the Chinese horses are plump, large-headed, hairy, and
with bushy tails and manes; and the Japanese, elegant and enduring, similar to the
Arabian. Good Manilla horses are of the latter type, and are much prized by the
Europeans in Chinese sea- port towns.

•iSo THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
be deficient in endurance, unfruitful, and generally short-lived.
Mutton is procurable every day in Manilla ; in the interior, how
ever, at least in the eastern provinces, very rarely ; although the
rearing of sheep might there be carried on without difficulty,
and in many places most profitably ; the people being too idle
to take care of the young lambs, which they complain are torn
to pieces by the dogs when they wander about free. The sheep
appear to have been acclimatized with difficulty. Morga says
that they were brought several times from New Spain, but did-
not multiply ; so that in his time this kind of domestic animal
did not exist. Pork is eaten by wealthy Europeans only when
the hog has been brought up from the litter at home. In order
to prevent its wandering away, it is usually enclosed in a wide-
meshed, cylindrical hamper of bamboo, upon filling which it is
slaughtered. The native hogs are too nauseous for food, the
animals maintaining themselves almost entirely on human excre
ment. Crawford observes that the names of all the domestic animals
in the Philippines belong to foreign languages. Those of the dog,
swine, goat, buffalo, cat, even of the fowl and the duck, are Malay
or Javanese ; while those of the horse, ox, and sheep, are Spanish.
Until these animals were first imported from Malay, the aborigines
were less fortunate in this respect than the Americans, who at
least had the alpaca, llama, and vicuna. The names likewise
of most of the cultivated plants, such as rice,- yams, sugar-cane,
cacao and indigo, are Malay, as well as those for silver, copper,
and tin. Of the words relating to commerce, one-third is Malay ;
to which belong most of the terms used in trades, as well as
the denominations for weights and measures, for the calendar —
so far as it exists, — and for numbers, besides the words for
writing, reading, speaking, and narrative. On the other hand,
only a small number of terms which refer to war are borrowed
from the Malay.

EARLY CULTURE. 1 5 1
Referring to the degree of civilisation which the Philippines
possessed previous to their intercourse with the Malays, Craw
ford concludes from the purely domestic words that they culti
vated no corn, their vegetable food consisting of batata (?) and
banana. They had not a single domestic animal ; they were
acquainted with iron and gold, but with no other metal,
and were clothed in stuffs of cotton and alpaca, woven by them
selves. They had invented a peculiar phonetic alphabet ; and
their religion consisted in the belief in good and evil spirits
and witches, in circumcision, and in somewhat of divination by
the stars. They therefore were superior to the inhabitants of the
South Sea, inasmuch as they possessed gold, iron, and woven
fabrics, and inferior to them in that they had neither dog, pig,
nor fowl.
Assuming the truth of the above sketch of pre-Christian culture,
which has been put together only with the help of defective
linguistic sources, and comparing it with the present, we find, as
the result, a considerable progress, for which the Philippines are
indebted to the Spaniards. The influence of social relations has
been already exhibited in the text. The Spaniards have imported
the horse, the bullock, and the sheep ; maize, coffee, sugar-cane,
cacao, sesame, tobacco, indigo, many fruits, and probably the
batata, which they met with in Mexico under the name of
camotli. * From this circumstance the term camote, universal
in the Philippines, appears to have had its origin, — Crawford,
indeed, erroneously considering it a native term. (According to a
communication from Dr. Witmack, the opinion has lately been
conceived that the batata is indigenous not only to America, but
also to the East Indies, as it has two names in Sanscrit, sharkara-
kanda and ruktaloo.)
With the exception of embroidery, the natives have made but
little progress in industries, in the weaving arid the plaiting
* Compare Hernandez, " Opera Omnia" ; Torqucmada, " Monarchia Indica."

iS2 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
of mats ; and the handicrafts are entirely carried on by the
Chinese. The exports consist of rice and abaca. The province exports
about twice as much rice as it consumes ; a large quantity to
Albay, which, less adapted for the cultivation of rice, produces
only abaca ; and a fair share to North Camarines, which is very
mountainous, and little fertile. The rice can hardly be shipped to
Manilla, as there is no highroad to the south side of the province,
near to the principal town, and . the transport by water from the
north side, and from the whole of the eastern portion of Luzon,
would immoderately enhance the price of the product. The imports
are confined to the little that is imported by Chinese traders.
The traders are almost all Chinese, who alone possess shops in
which clothing materials and woollen stuffs, partly of native and
partly of European manufacture, women's embroidered slippers,
and counterfeit jewellery, may be obtained. The whole amount
of capital invested in these shops certainly does not exceed
200,000 dollars. In the remaining pueblos of Camarines there
are no Chinese merchants ; and the inhabitants are consequently
obliged to get their supplies from Naga.
The land belongs to the State, but is let to any one who will
build upon it. The usufruct passes to the children, and ceases
only when the land remains unemployed for two whole years ;
after which it is competent for the Executive to dispose of it to
another person.
. Every family possesses its own house ; and the young husband
generally builds with the assistance of his friends. In many
places it does not cost more than four or five dollars, as he can, if
necessary, build it himself free of expense, with the simple aid of
the wood knife (boh), and of the materials to his hand, bamboo,
Spanish cane, and palm-leaves. These houses, which are always
built on piles on account of the humidity of the soil, often
consist of a single shed, which serves for all the uses of a dwell'

SOCIAL LIFE. iS3
ing, and are the cause of great laxity and of foul habits, the
whole family sleeping therein , in common, and every passenger
being a welcome guest. A fine house of boards for the family
of a Cabeza perhaps costs nearly 100 dollars ; and the possessions
of such a family in stock, furniture, ornaments, &c. (of which
they are obliged to furnish an annual inventory), would range in
value between 100 and 1,000 dollars. Some reach even as much
as 10,000, while the richest family of the whole province is
assessed at 40,000 dollars.
In general it may be said that every pueblo supplies its own
necessaries, and produces little more. To the indolent Indian,
especially to him of the eastern provinces, the village in which
he was born is the world ; and he leaves it only under the most
pressing circumstances. "Were it otherwise even, the strictness of
the poll-tax would place great obstacles in the way of gratifying
the desire for travel, generated by that oppressive impost.
The Indian eats three times a day — about 7 a.m., 12, and at 7
or 8 in the evening. Those engaged in severe labour consume
at each meal a chupa of rice ; the common people, half a chupa at
breakfast, one at mid-day, and half again in the evening, altogether
two chupas. Each family reaps its own supply of rice, and pre
serves it in barns, or buys it winnowed at the market ; in the
latter case purchasing only the quantity for one day or for the
individual meals. The average retail price is 3 cuartos for
2 chupas (14 chupas del Rev for 1 real). To free it from the
husk, the quantity for each single meal is rubbed in a mortar
by the women. This is in accordance with ancient custom ; but
it is also due to the fear lest, otherwise, the store should be too
quickly consumed. The rice, however, is but half cooked ; and it
would seem that this occurs in all places where it constitutes an
essential part of the sustenance of the people, as may be seen,
indeed, in Spain and Italy. Salt and much Spanish pepper
(capsicum) tire eaten as condiments ; the latter, originally im-

,54 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
ported from America, growing all round the houses. To the
common cooking-salt the natives prefer a so-called rock-salt,
which they obtain by evaporation from sea-water previously
filtered through ashes ; and of which one chinanta (121bs. Ger
man) costs about 2 reals. The consumption of salt is extremely
small. The luxuries of the Indians are buyo * and cigars — a cigar
costing 1 cuarto, and a buyo much less.- Cigars are rarely
smoked, but are cut up into pieces, and chewed with the buyo.
The women also chew buyo and tobacco, but, as a rule, very
moderately ; but they do not also stain their teeth black, like the
Malays ; and the young and pretty adorn themselves assiduously
with veils made of the areca-nut tree, whose stiff and closely
packed parallel fibres, when cut crosswise, form excellent tooth
brushes. They bathe several times daily, and surpass the majority
of Europeans in cleanliness. Every Indian, above all things,
keeps a fighting-cock ; even when he has nothing to eat, he finds
money for cock-fighting.
The details of domestic economy may be narrated as follows : —
For cooking purposes an earthen pot is used, costing between
3 and 10 cuartos; which, in cooking rice, is closed firmly with a
banana-leaf, so that the steam of a very small quantity of water
is sufficient. No other cooking utensils are used by the poorer
classes ; but those better off have a few cast-iron pans and dishes.
In the smaller houses, the hearth consists of a portable earthen
pan or a flat chest, frequently of an old cigar-chest full of sand,
with three stones which serve as a tripod. In the larger houses
it is in the form of a bedstead, filled with sand or ashes, instead
* Buyo is the name given in the Philippines to the preparation of betel suitable
for the mouth. A leaf of betel pepper (Chavica betel), of the form and size of a
bean-leaf, is smeared over with a small piece of burnt lime of the size of a pea, and
rolled together from both ends to the middle; when, one end of the roll being
inserted into the other, a ring is formed, into which a smooth piece of areca nut of
corresponding size is introduced.

DOMES TLC ECONOMY. 155
of a.mattrass. The water in small households is carried and
preserved in thick bamboos. In his bolo (wood-knife), moreover,
every one has an universal instrument, which he carries in a
wooden sheath made by himself, suspended by a cord of loosely-
twisted bast fibres tied round his body. This, and the rice-
mortar (a block of wood with a similar cavity), together with
pestles and a few baskets, constitute the whole of the household
furniture of a poor family ; sometimes a large snail, with a rush
wick, is also to be found as a lamp. They sleep on a mat of
pandanus (fan -palm, Corypha), when they possess one ; if not, on
the splittings of bamboo, with which the house is floored. By the
poor oil for lighting is rarely used ; but torches of resin, which
last a couple of days, are bought in the market for half, a cuarto.
Their clothing requirements I ascertained to be these. A
woman wears a camisa de guinara (a short shift of abaca fibre),
a patadion (a gown reaching from the hip to the ancles), a cloth,
and a comb. A piece of guinara, costing 1 real, gives two shifts ; the
coarsest patadion costs 3 reals ; a cloth, at the highest, 1 rleal ; and
a comb, 2 cuartos ; making altogether 4 reals, 12 cuartos. Women
of the "better class wear a camisa, costing between 1 and 2 r.,
a patadion 6 r., cloth between 2 and 3 r., and a comb 2 cu. The
men wear a shirt, 1 r., hose, 3 r., hat (tararura) of Spanish ca'ne,
10 cu., or a salacot (a large rain-hat, frequently decorated), at
least 2 r. — often, when ornamented with silver, as much as 50
dollars. At least three, but more commonly four, suits are worn
out yearly ; the women, however, taking care to weave almost
the whole quantity for the family themselves.
The daily wages of the common labourer are 1 real, without
food ; and his hours of work are from 6 to 12, and from 2 to 6
o'clock. The women, as a rule, perform no field labour, but plant
out the rice and assist in the reaping ; their wages on both occa
sions being equal to those of the men. Wood and stone-cutters
receive L5 r. per day, and calkcrs L75 r. 1

1 56 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The Tercio is a pretty general contract in the cultivation of the
land. The owner simply lets arable land for the third part of the
crop. Some mestizoes possess several pieces of ground ; but they
are seldom connected together, as they generally acquire them
as mortgages for sums bearing but a small proportion to their
real value.
Under the head of earnings I give the income of a small
family. The man earns daily 1 r., and the woman, if she weaves
coarse stuff, \ r. and her food (thus a piece of guinara, occupying
the labour of two days, costs half a real in weavers' wages). The
most skilful female weaver of the finer stuffs obtains 12 r. per
piece ; but it takes a month to weave ; and the month, on account
of the numerous holy-days, must be calculated at -the most as
equal to twenty four working days ; she consequently earns \ r. per
day and her food. For the knitting of the fibres of the ananas
for the pina web (called sugot) she gets only an eighth of a real
and her food.
In all the pueblos there are schools. The schoolmaster is paid
by the Government, and generally obtains two dollars per month,
without board or lodging. In large pueblos the salary amounts
to three dollars and a half; out of which an assistant must be
paid. The schools are under the supervision of the ecclesiastics
of the place. Reading and writing are taught, the writing copies
being Spanish. The teacher, who has to teach his scholars Spanish
exactly, does not understand it himself, while the Spanish officers,
on the-other hand, do not understand the language of the country ;
and the priests have no inclination to alter this state of things,
which is very useful to them as a means of influence. Almost
the only Indians who speak Spanish are those who have been in
the service of Europeans.. A kind of religious horn-book is the
first that is read in the language of the country (Bicol) ; and after
that comes the Christian Doctrine, the reading-book called Casa-
yayan. On an average, half of all the children go to school,

DOMESTIC LIFE. 157
generally from the seventh to the tenth year. They learn to
read a little ; a few even write a little : but they soon forget it
again. Only those who are afterwards employed as clerks write
fluently ; and of these most write well.
Some priests do not permit boys and girls to attend the
same school ; and in this case they pay a second teacher, a
female, a dollar a month. The Indians learn arithmetic very
quickly, generally aiding themselves by the use of mussels or
stones, which they pile in little heaps before them and then
count through.
The women seldom marry before the fourteenth year, twelve
years being the legal limit. In the church-register of Polangui I
found a marriage recorded (January, 1837) between an Indian and
an Indian woman having the ominous name of Hilaria Concepcion,
who at the time of the performance of the marriage ceremony
was, according to a note in the margin, only nine years and ten
months old. Usually people live together unmarried, because
they cannot pay the expenses of the ceremony. Girls who have
children by Europeans esteem it quite as an honour ; and still
greater is it when the priest is the parent, the cura always
maintaining his children, though under an assumed name. In
cases of matrimonial infidelity, which not seldom occur, the
guilty woman generally is cudgelled, and the seducer escapes
scot-free ; appeal being rarely made to the law for redress. The
men are for the most part debauched. One woman induced the
paramour of her husband, by great persuasion, to confess her
guilt ; and thereupon, with the scissors which she had ready to
her hand, she cut off the whole of her hair; and this was the
only instance of revenge which had occurred during the previous
year. European females, and even mestizes, never seek hus
bands amongst the Indians. The women generally are well
treated, doing only light work, such as sewing, weaving,
embroidery, and managing the household ; while all the heavy

i58 • THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
labour, with the- exception of the beating of the rice, falls to
the men. The public maidens associate with the wives, and
often get married themselves ; and sometimes fathers offer their
daughters to Europeans in seeking a loan ; whereupon they are
taken into the house as sempstresses.
Instances of longevity are frequent amongst the Indians, par
ticularly in Camarines. The Journal of Manilla, of the 13th
March, 1866, mentions an. old man in Daraga (Albay) whom I
knew well — Juan Jacob, born in 1744, married in 1764, and a
widower in 1845. He held many public posts up to 1840, and had
thirteen children, of whom five are living. He has one hundred and
seventy direct descendants, and now, at one hundred and twenty-
two years of age, is still vigorous, with- good eyes and teeth.
Extreme unction was administered to him seven times !
The first excrement of a new-born, child is carefully pre
served, and under the name of triaca (theriacum) is held to be a
highly efficacious and universal remedy for the bites of snakes and
mad dogs. It is applied to the wound externally, and at the
same time is taken internally.
A large number of children die in the first two weeks after
birth. Statistical data are wanting ; but, according to the opinion
of one of the first physicians in Manilla, at least one-fourth die.
This mortality must arise from great uncleanliness and impure
air ; since in the chambers of the sick, and of women lying-in, the
doors and windows are so closely shut that the healthy become
sick from the stench and heat, and the sick recover with difficulty.
Every aperture of the house is closed up by the husband early
during travail, in order that Patianac may not break in— an evil
spirit who brings mischief to lying-in women, and endeavours
to hinder the birth. The custom has been further maintained
even amongst many who attach no belief to the superstition, but
who, from fear of a draught of air through a hole, have dis
covered a new explanation for an old custom, — namely, that

IMITATIVE MANIA. 159
instances of such practices occur amongst all people. One very
widely-spread malady is the itch, although, according to the
assurance of the physician above referred to, it may be easily
subdued; and, according to the judgment of those who are not
physicians and who employ that term for any eruptions of the
• skin, the natives generally live on much too low a diet ; the
Bicol Indians even more than the Tagal.* Under certain condi
tions, which the physicians, on being questioned, could not define
more precisely, the natives can support neither hunger nor thirst ;
of which fact I have on many occasions been a witness. It is
reported of them, when forced into such a situation as to suffer
from unappeased wants, that they become critically ill ; and thus
they often die.
Hence arises the morbid mania for imitation, which is called in
Java Sakit-latar, and here Mali-mali. In Java many believe that the
sickness is only assumed, because those who pretend to be afflicted
with it find it to their advantage to be seen by newly arrived
Europeans. Here, however, I saw one instance where indeed no
simulation could be suspected. My companions availed them
selves of the diseased condition of a poor old woman who met us
in the highway, to practise some rough jokes upon her. The old
woman imitated every motion as if impelled by an irresistible
impulse, and expressed at the same time the most extreme indig
nation against those who abused her infirmity.
In R. Maak's " Journey to the Amour," it is recorded : —
" It is not unusual for the Maniagri to suffer also from a nervous
malady of the most peculiar kind, with which we had already
been made acquainted by the descriptions of several travellers, t
This malady is met with, for the most part, amongst the wild
* In the country it is believed that swine's flesh often causes this malady. A
friend, a physiologist, conjectures the cause to be the free use of very fat pork ;
but the Indians commcnly eat but little flesh, and the pigs are very seldom fat.
t Compare A. Erman, " Journey Round the Earth through Northern Asia,"
vol. iii. sec. i. p. 191.

160 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
people of Siberia, as well as amongst the Russians settled there.
In the district of the Jakutes, where this affliction very frequently
occurs, those affected by it, both Russians and Jakutes, are
known by the name of ' Emiura ;' but here (that is, in that part
of Siberia where the Maniagri live) the same malady is called by
the Maniagri ' Olon,' and by the Argurian Cossacks ' Olgandshi.'
The attacks of the malady which I am now mentioning consist in
this, that a man suffering from it will, if under the influence
of terror or consternation, unconsciously, and often without the
smallest sense of shame, imitate everything that passes before
him. Should he be offended, he falls, into a rage, which manifests
itself by wild shrieks and raving ; and he precipitates himself at
the same time, with a knife or any other object which may fall to
his hand, upon those who have placed him in this predicament.
Amongst the Maniagri, women, especially the very aged, are the
chief sufferers from this malady ; and instances, moreover, of
men who were affected by it are likewise known to me. It is
worthy of remark that those women who returned home on
account of this sickness were notwithstanding strong, and in all
other respects enjoyed good health."
Probably it is only an accidental coincidence that in the Malay
countries Sakit-latar and Amok exist together, if not in the same
individual, yet amongst the same people. Instances of Amok
seem to occur also in the Philippines.* I find the following-
account in the Diario de Manila of the 21st February, 1866 : —
In Cavite, on the 18 th February, a soldier rushed into the house
of a school-teacher, and, struggling with him, stabbed him with a
dagger, and then killed the teacher's son with a second stab.
Plunging into the street, he stabbed two young girls of ten and
twelve years of age and wounded a woman in the side, a boy aged
nine in the arm, a coachman (mortally) in the belly, and, besides
another woman, a sailor and three soldiers ; and arriving at his
* According to Semper, p. 69, in Zumboanga and Basilan.

NASAL ACUTENESS. 161
barracks, where he was stopped by the sentry, he plunged the
dagger into his own breast.
It is one of the greatest insults to stride over a sleeping native,
or to awaken him suddenly. They rouse one another, when
necessity requires, with the greatest circumspection and by the
slowest degrees.* The sense of smell is developed amongst the
Indians to so great a degree that they are able, by smelling at
the pocket-handkerchiefs, to tell to which persons they belong
-(" Reisesk.," p. 39) ; and lovers at parting exchange pieces of the
linen they may be wearing, and during their separation inhale the
odour of the beloved being, besides smothering the relics with
kisses, t
* The fear of waking sleeping persons really refers to the widely-spread super
stition that during sleep the soul leaves the body ; numerous instances of which
occur in Bastian's work. Amongst the Tinguianes (North Luzon) the worst of all
curses is to this effect : " May'st thou die sleeping ! " — Informc, i. 14.
t Lewin ("Chittagong Hill Tracks," 1869, p. 46) relates of the mountain people
at that place : " Their manner of kissing is peculiar. Instead of pressing lip to lip,
they place the mouth and nose upon the cheek, and inhale the breath strongly.
Their form of speech is not ' Give me a kiss,' but ' Smell me.' "

M

CHAPTER XV.
pre-hi6t0ric remains. — the high value of ancient vessels. — stalactite
caverns in yamtik. — travels in north camarines.  mining. — gold. — lead-
glance. — red-lead. — copper. — smelting process op the ygorrotes. — edible
bird's-nests.
From Naga I visited the cura of Libmanan (Ligmanan), who,
possessing poetical talent, and having the reputation of a natural
philosopher, collected and named pretty beetles and shells, and
dedicated the most elegant little sonnets. He favoured me with
the following narrative : —
In 1851, during the construction of a road a little beyond
Libmanan, at a place called Poro, a bed of shells was dug up
under four feet of mould, one hundred feet distant from the river.
It consisted of Cyrense (C. suborbicularis, Busch.), a species of
bivalve belonging to the family of Cyclades which occurs only
in warm waters, and is extraordinarily abundant in the brackish
waters of the Philippines. On the same occasion, at the depth of
from one and a half to three and a half feet, were found numerous
remains of the early inhabitants — skulls, ribs, bones of men and
animals, a child's thigh-bone inserted in a spiral of brass wire,
several stags' horns, beautifully-formed dishes and vessels, some
of them painted, probably of Chinese origin ; striped bracelets,
of a soft, gypseous, copper-red rock, glancing as if they were
varnished ; * small copper knives, but no iron utensils ; and
several broad flat stones bored through the middle ; t besides a
* Probably pot-stone, which is employed in China in the manufacture of cheap
ornaments. Gypseous refers probably only to the degree of hardness.
t In the Christy collection, in London, I saw a stone of this kind from the

PRE-HIS TOPIC REMAINS. 163
wedge of petrified wood, embedded in a cleft branch of a tree.
The place, which to this day may be easily recognised in a
hollow, might, by excavation systematically carried on, yield
many more interesting results. What was not immediately
useful was then and there destroyed, and the remainder dis
persed. In spite of every endeavour, I could obtain, through
the kindness of Herr Focinos in Naga, only one small vessel.
Similar remains of more primitive inhabitants have been found
at the mouth of the Bigajo, not far from Libmanan, in a shell-
bed of the same kind ; and an urn, with a human skeleton, was

A third of the size of the vessel represented ; w'.iich, with the exception of the base, is covered
with a salad-green glaze.
found at the mouth of the Perlos, west of Sitio de Poro, in 1840.
At the time when I wrote down these statements of the pastor,
neither of us was familiar with the discoveries made within the
last few years relating to the lake dwellings (pile villages) ;
or these notes might have been more exact, although probably
they would not have been so easy and natural.
Mr. W. A. Franks, who had the kindness to examine the vessel,
inclines to the opinion that it is Chinese, and pronounces it to
Schiffer Islands, employed in a contrivance for the purpose of protection against rnts
and mice. A string being drawn through the stone, one end of it is suspended from
the ceiling of the room, and the objects to be preserved hang from the other. A
knot in the middle of the string prevents its sliding below that point, and, every
touch drawing it from its equilibrium, it is impossible for rats to climb upon it.
A similar contrivance used in the Viti Islands, but of wood, is figured in the Atlas
to Dumont D'Urville's " Voyage to the South Pole " (i. 95).
m2

1 64 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
be of very great antiquity, without, however, being able to
determine its age more exactly ; and a learned Chinese of the
Burlingame Embassy expressed himself to the same effect. He
knew only of one article, now in the British Museum, which
was brought from Japan by Kampfer, the colour, glazing, and
cracks in the glazing, of which (craqueles) corresponded precisely
with mine. According to Kampfer, the Japanese found similar
vessels in the sea ; and they value them very highly for the pur
pose of preserving their tea in them.
Morga writes : —
" On this island, Luzon, particularly in the provinces of
Manilla, Pampanga, Pangasinan, and Ylocos, very ancient clay
vessels of a dark brown colour are found by the natives, of a
sorry appearance ; some of a middling size, and others smaller ;
marked with characters and stamps. They are unable to say
either when or where they obtained them ; but they are no
longer to be acquired, nor are they manufactured in the islands.
The Japanese prize them highly, for they have found that the
root of a herb which they call Tscha (tea), and which when
drunk hot is considered as a great delicacy and of medicinal
efficacy by the kings and lords in Japan, cannot be effectively
preserved except in these vessels ; which are so highly esteemed
all over Japan that they form the most costly articles of their
show-rooms and cabinets. Indeed, so highly do they value them
that they overlay them externally with fine gold embossed with
great skill, and enclose them in cases of brocade ; and some of
these vessels are valued at and fetch from 2,000 tael to 11 reals.
The natives of these islands purchase them from the Japanese at
very high rates, and take much pains in the search for them on
account of their value, though but few are now found on account
of the eagerness with which they have been sought for."
When Carletti, in 1597, went from the Philippines to Japan, all
the passengers on board were examined carefully, by order of the

RARE JARS. 165
governor, and threatened with capital punishment if they en
deavoured to conceal " certain earthen vessels which were wont to
be brought from the Philippines and other islands of that sea,"
as the king wished to buy them all. . . . "These vessels
were worth as much as 5, 6, and even 10,000 scudi each ; but
they were not permitted to demand for them more than one Giulio
(about a half Paolo)." In 1615 Carletti met with a Franciscan
who was sent as ambassador from Japan to Rome, who assured
him that he had seen 130,000 scudi paid by the king of Japan
for such a vessel ; and his companions confirmed the statement.
Carletti also alleges, as the reason for the high price, " that the
leaf cia or tea, the quality of which improves with age, is pre
served better in those vessels than in all others. The Japanese
besides know these vessels by certain characters and stamps.
They are of great age and very rare, and come only from
Cambodia, Siam, Cochin China, the Philippines, and other neigh
bouring islands. From their external appearance they would be
estimated at three or four quatrini (two dreier). . . . It is perfectly
true that the king and the princes of that kingdom possess a very
large number of these vessels, and prize them as their most valu
able treasure and above all other rarities . . . and that they
boast of their acquisitions, and from motives of vanity strive to
outvie one another in the multitude of pretty vessels which they

Many travellers mention vessels found likewise amongst the
Dyaks and the Malays in Borneo, which, from superstitious
motives, were estimated at most exaggerated figures, amounting
sometimes to many thousand dollars.
St. John t relates that the Datu of Tamparuli (Borneo) gave
rice to the value of almost £700 for a jar, and that he possessed a
second jar of almost fabulous value, which was about two feet
* " Cavletti's Voyages," ii. 11.
t " Life in the Forests of the Far East," i. :j00.

1 66 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
high, and of a dark olive green. The Datu fills both jars with
water, which, after adding plants and flowers to it, he dispenses
to all the sick persons in the country. ' But the most famous jar in ¦
Borneo is that of the Sultan of Brunei, which not only possesses
all the valuable properties of the other jars but can also speak.
St. John did not see it, as it is always kept in the women's apart
ment ; but the sultan, a credible man, related to him that the
jar howled dolefully the night before the death of his first wife,
and that it emitted similar tones in the event of impending
misfortunes. St. John is inclined to explain the mysterious
phenomenon by a probably peculiar form of the mouth of the
vessel, in passing over which the air-draught is thrown into
resonant verberations, like the .ZEolian harp. The vessel is
generally enveloped in gold brocade, and is uncovered only when
it is to be consulted ; and hence, of course, it happens that it
speaks only on solemn occasions. St. John states further that the
Bisayans used formerly to bring presents to the sultan ; in recog
nition of which they received some water from the sacred jar to
sprinkle over their fields and thereby ensure plentiful harvests.
When the sultan was asked whether he would sell his jar for
£20,000, he answered that no offer in the world could tempt him
to part with it.
Morga's description suits neither the vessel of Libmanan nor
the jar of the British Museum, but rather a vessel brought from
Japan a short time ago to our Ethnographical Museum. This
is of brown clay, small but of graceful shape, and composed of
many pieces cemented together ; the joints being gilt and forming
a kind of network on the dark ground. How highly ancient pots
of a similar kind, even of native origin, are esteemed in Japan
down to the present day, is shown by the following certificate
translated by the interpreter of the German Consulate : —
"This earthen vessel was found in the porcelain factory of
Tschisuka in the province of Odori, in South Idzumi, and is an

THE TEA-SOCIETIES. 167
object belonging to the thousand graves ... It was made by
Giogiboosat (a celebrated Buddhist priest), and after it had been
consecrated to heaven was buried by him. According to the tradi
tions of the people, this place held grave mounds with memorial
stones. That is more than a thousand years ago. ... In the pur
suit of my studies, I remained many years in the temple Sookuk,
of that village, and found the vessel. I carried it to the high
priest Shakudjo, who was much delighted therewith and always
bore it about with him as a treasure. When he died it fell to me,
although I could not find it. Recently, when Honkai was chief
priest, I saw it again, and it was as if I had again met the spirit
of Shakudjo. Great was my commotion, and I clapped my hands
with astonishment ; and, as often as I look upon the treasure, I
think it is a sign that the spirit of Shakudjo is returned to life.
Therefore I have written the history, and taken care, of this
treasure. Fudji Kuz Dodjin."
Baron Alexander von Siebold communicates the following : —
The value which the Japanese attach to vessels of this kind rests
upon the use which is made of them by the mysterious tea societies
called " Cha-no-yu." Respecting the origin of these societies, which
still are almost entirely unknown to Europeans, different legends
exist. They flourished, however, principally during the reign of
the emperor Taikosama, who, in the year 1588, furnished the
society of Cha-no-yu at Kitano near Myako with new laws. In
consequence of the religious and civil wars, the whole of the people
had deteriorated and become ungovernable, having lost all taste
for art and knowledge, and holding only rude force in any esteem ;
brute strength ruling in the place of the laws. The observant
Taikosama perceived that, in order to tame these rough natures, he
must accustom them to the arts of peace, and thus secure prosperity
to the country, and safety for himself and his successors. With this
view he recalled the Cha-no-yu society anew into life, and assembled
its masters and those acquainted with its customs around him.

1 68 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The object of the Cha-no-yu is to draw man away from the
influences of the terrestrial forces which surround him, to plant
within him the feeling of complete repose, and to dispose him
to self- contemplation. All the exercises of the Cha-no-yu are
directed to this object.
Clothed in light white garments, and without weapons, the
members of the Cha-no-yu assemble round the master's house,
and, after resting some time in the ante- room, are conducted into
a pavilion appropriated exclusively to these assemblies. This
consists of the most costly kinds of wood, but is without any orna
ment which could possibly be abstracted from it ; without colour,
and without varnish, dimly lighted by small windows thickly
overgrown with plants, and so low that it is impossible to stand
upright. The guests tread the apartment with solemn measured
steps, and, having been received by him according to the pre
scribed formulas, arrange themselves in a half-circle on both
sides of him. All distinctions of rank are abolished. The ancient
vessels are now removed with solemn ceremonies from their
wrappings, saluted and admired ; and, with the same solemn and
rigidly prescribed formulas, the water is heated on fke hearth
appropriated to the purpose, and the tea taken from the vessels and
prepared in cups. The tea consists of the young green leaves of
the tea- shrub rubbed to powder, and is very stimulating in its
effect. • The beverage is taken amidst deep silence, while incense
is burning on the elevated pedestal of honour, " toko ;" and, after
the thoughts have thus been collected, conversation begins. It
is confined to abstract subjects ; but politics are not always
excluded. The value of the vessels employed in these assemblages is very
considerable ; indeed, they do not fall short of the value of our
most costly paintings ; and Taikosama often rewarded his generals
with vessels of the kind, instead of land, as was formerly the
practice. After the last revolution some of the more eminent

THE "LORD OF THE BATS." 169
Daimios (princes) of the Mikado were rewarded with similar
Cha-no-yu vessels, in acknowledgment of the aid rendered to
him in regaining the throne of his ancestors. The best of them
which I have seen were far from beautiful, simply being old,
weather-worn, black or dark-brown jars, with pretty broad necks,
for storing the tea in ; tall cups of cracked Craquele, either
porcelain or earthenware, for drinking the infusion; and deep,
broad cisterns ; besides rotten old iron kettles with rings, for heat
ing the water : but they were enwrapped in the most costly silken
stuffs, and preserved in chests lacquered with gold. Similar old
vessels are preserved amongst the treasures of the Mikado and
the Tycoon, as well as in some of the temples, with all the care
due to the most costly jewels, together with documents relating
to their history.
From Libmanan I visited the mountain, Yamtik (Amtik,
Hantu),* which consists of lime, and contains many caverns.
Six hours westward by water, and one hour S.S.W. on foot,
brought us to the Visita Bical, surrounded by a thousand little
limestone hills ; from which we ascended by a staircase of sinter
in the bed of a brook, to a small cavern tenanted by multitudes
of bats, and great long-armed spiders of the species Phrynus,
known to be poisonous, f
A thick branch of a tree lying across the road was perforated
from end to end by a small ant. Many of the natives did not
venture to enter the cave ; and those who did enter it were in a
state of great agitation, and were careful first to enjoin upon each
other the respect to be observed by them towards Calapnitan.%
One of the principal rules was to name no object in the cave
• According to Father Camel (" Philosoph. Trans. London," vol. xxvi. p. 246),
hantu means black ants the size of a wasp ; amtig, smaller black ; and hantic, red ants.
f According to Dr. Gerstacker, probably Phrynus Grayi Walck Gerv., bringing
forth alive. " S. Sitzungsb. Ges. Naturf. Frennde, Berl." 18th March, 1862, and
pourtrayed and described in G. H. Bronn, " Ord. Class.," vol. v. 184.
X Calapnit, Tagal and Bicol, the bat; calapnitan, consequently, lord of the bats.

170 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
without adding " Lord Calapnitan's." Thus they did not bluntly
refer to either gun or torch, but devoutly said " Lord C.'s gun,"
or " Lord C.'s torch." At a thousand paces from this lies another
cave, " San Vicente," which contains the same insects, but another
kind of bat. Both caves are only of small extent ; but in Lib
manan a very large stalactite cave was mentioned to me, the
description of which, notwithstanding the fables mixed up with
it, could not but have a true foundation. Our guides feigned
ignorance of it ; and it was not till after two days' wandering
about, and after many debates, that they came to the decision,
since I adhered to my purpose, to encounter the risk ; when,
to my great astonishment, they conducted me back to Calapnitan's
cave ; from which a narrow fissure, hidden by a projection of
rock, led into one of the most gorgeous stalactite caves in the
world. Its floor was everywhere firm and easy to the tread, and
mostly dry ; and it ran out into several branches, the entire
length of which probably exceeds a mile ; and the whole series
of royal chambers and cathedrals, with the columns, pulpits, and
altars which it contained, reflected no discredit upon its descrip
tion. No bones or other remains were to be found in it. My
intention to return subsequently with labourers, for the purpose
of systematic excavation, was not carried out.
I was not lucky enough to reach the summit of the mountain,
upon which was to be found a lake, " whence the water formerly
came here." For two days we laboured strenuously at different
points to penetrate the thick forest ; but the conductor, who had
assured the cura in Libmanan that he knew the road, now ex
pressed himself to the contrary effect. I therefore made the fellow,
who had hitherto been unburdened, now carry a part of the
baggage as a punishment ; but he threw it off at the next turning
of the road and escaped, so that we were compelled to return.
Stags and wild boars are very numerous in these forests ; and
they formed the principal portion of our meals, at which, at the

A YOUNG SCAMP. 171
commencement of our expedition, we had as many as thirty
individuals ; who, in the intervals between them, affected to search
for snails and insects for me, but with success not proportionate
to their zeal.
Upon my departure from Daraga I took with me a lively
little boy, who had a taste for the calling of a naturalist. In
Libmanan he was suddenly lost, and with him, at the same time,
a bundle of keys ; and we looked for him in vain. The fact was,
as I afterwards came to learn, that he went straight to Naga, and,
justifying himself by showing the stolen keys, got the major-
domo of my guest to deliver to him a white felt hat ; with which
he disappeared. I had once seen him, with the hat on his head,
standing before a looking-glass and admiring himself; and he
could not resist the temptation to steal it.
In the beginning of March I had the pleasure of accompany
ing the Minister (Administrador) of Camarines and a Spanish
head-man, who were travelling across Daet and Mauban to the
chief town. At five p.m. we left Butiingan on the Bicol River,
two leagues below Naga, in a falua of twelve oars, equipped with
one 6-pounder and two 4-pounders, and reinforced by armed
men ; and about six we reached Cabusao, at the mouth of the
Bicol, whence we put to sea about nine. The falua belonged to
the administrator of taxes, and had, in conjunction with another
under the command of the alcalde, to protect the north coast of the
province against smugglers and pirates, who at this time of the
year are accustomed to frequent the hiding-places of the bay of
San Miguel. Two similar gun-boats performed the duty on the
south coast of the province.
Both the banks of the Bicol River are flat, and expand into
broad fields of rice; and to the east are simultaneously visible
the beautiful volcanoes of Mayon, Yriga, Malinao, and Ysarog.
At daybreak we reached the bar of Da^t, and, after two hours'
travelling, the similarly named chief city of the province of North

172

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

Camarines, where we found an excellent reception at the house of
the alcalde, a polished Navarrese ; marred only by the tame
monkey, who should have welcomed the guests of his master,

Mountains of Bacacdy, from the Bar of Daet.
turning his back towards them with studiously uncourteous ges
tures, and going towards the door. However, upon the major-
domo placing a spirit flask preserving a small harmless snake on
the threshold, the monkey sprang quickly
back and • concealed himself, trembling,
behind his master.
In the evening there was a ball, but
there were no dancers present. Some
Indian women, who had been invited, sat
bashfully at one end of the apartment
and danced with one another when called
upon, without being no.ticed by the
Spaniards, who conversed together at the
other end.
Our departure hence was delayed by
festivities and sudden showers for about
two days, after which the spirited horses
of the alcalde carried us within an hour,
on a level road north-west, to Talisay,
and in another hour to Indang, where a
bath and breakfast were ready. Up to
this time I had never seen a bath-room
in the house of a Spaniard ; whereas with the Northern Europeans
it is never wanting. The Spaniards appear to regard the bath as
a species of medicine, to be used only with caution ; many, even

An Indian Woman dancing
the Bulaquena.

-^-j">w

LIFE IN THE WATER.

BATHING.

'73

to the present day, look upon it as an institution not quite Chris
tian. At the time of the Inquisition frequent bathing, it is
known, was a characteristic of the Moors, and certainly was not
wholly free from danger. In Manilla, only those who live near
the Pasig are the exceptions to the rule ; and there the bad prac
tice prevails of whole families bathing, in the company of their
friends, in the open air.
The road ended at Indang, and at the well-supplied table of the
amiable alcalde we awaited the horses which had been brought

The" Castle" of Barre.

hither along a bad route by our servants. In the waste of Barre
a castle, surrounded by two or three fishermen's huts and as many
casuarines, has been erected against the Moors, who, untempted
by the same, seldom go so far westward, for it consists only of an
open hut covered with palm-leaves — a kind of parasol — supported
on stakes as thick as one's arm and fifteen feet high ; and the two
cannons belonging to it ought, for security, to be buried. We
followed the sea-shore, which is composed of silicious sand, and
covered with a carpet of creeping shore plants in full bloom.
On the edge of the wood, to the left, were many flowering

174 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
shrubs and pandanus with large scarlet-red flowers. After an
hour we crossed the river Longos in a ferry, and soon came to
the spur of a crystalline chain of mountains, which barred our
road and extended itself into the sea as Point Longos. The
horses climbed it with difficulty, and we found the stream on the
other side already risen so high that we rode knee-deep in the
water. After sunset we crossed singly, with great loss of time,
in a miserable ferry-boat, over the broad mouth of the Pulun-
daga, where a pleasant road through a forest led us, in fifteen
minutes, over the mountain-spur, Malanguit, which again pro
jected itself right across our path into the sea, to the mouth of
the Paracali. The long bridge here was so rotten that we
were obliged to lead the horses over at wide intervals apart ;
and on the further side lies the place called Paracali, from
which my companions continued their journey across Mauban to
Manilla. Paracali and Mambulao are two localities well known to all
mineralogists, from the red lead ore occurring there. On the
following morning I returned to Longos ; which consists of only
a few miserable huts inhabited by gold-washers, who go about
almost naked, probably because they are labouring during the
greater part of the day in the water ; but they are also very poor.
The soil is composed of rubbish, decomposed fragments of
crystalline rock, rich in broken pieces of quartz. The workmen
make holes in the ground 2 \ feet long, 2 J broad, and to 30 feet
deep. At 3 feet below the surface the rock is generally found to
contain gold, the value increasing down to 18 feet of depth, and
then again diminishing, though these proportions are very uncer
tain, and there is much fruitless search. The rock is carried out of
the holes in baskets, on ladders of bamboo, and the water in small
pails ; but in the rainy season the holes cannot possibly be kept
free from water, as they are situated on the slope of the mountain,
and are filled quicker than they can be emptied. The want of

GOLD- WA SHING. 1 7 5
apparatus for discharging water also accounts for the fact that
the pits are not dug deeper.
The breaking of the auriferous rock is effected with two stones ;
of which one serves as anvil, and the other as hammer. The
former, which is slightly hollowed in the centre, is laid flat upon
the ground ; and the latter, 4x8x8 inches in dimensions, and
therefore of about 25 pounds weight, is made fast with rattan to
the top of a slender young tree, which lies in a sloping position in
a fork, and at its opposite end is firmly fixed in the ground. The
workman with a jerk forces the stone that serves for hammer
down upon the auriferous rock, and allows it to be again carried
upwards by the elasticity of the young tree.
The crushing of the broken rock is effected with an apparatus
equally rude. A thick stake rises from the centre of a circular
support of rough-hewn stones (which is enclosed in a circle of
exactly similar stones) having an iron pin at its top, to which
a tree, bent horizontally in the middle, and downwards at the
two ends, is fixed. Being set in motion by two buffaloes attached
in front, it drags several heavy stones, which are bound firmly
to it with rattans, round the circle, and in this manner crushes
the broken rock, which has been previously mixed with water, to
a fine mud. The same apparatus is employed by the Mexican
gold- washers, under the name of Rastra. The washing-out of the
mud is done by women. They kneel before a small wooden
gutter filled with water up to the brim, and provided with boards,
sloping downwards, in front of the space assigned to each woman ;
the gutter being cut out at these places in a corresponding
manner, so that a very slender stream of water flows evenly across
its whole breadth downwards over the board. With her hand
the work-woman distributes the auriferous mud over the board,
which, at the lower edge, is provided with a cross-piece ; and,
when the light sand is washed away, there remains a stratum
consisting chiefly of iron, flint, and ore, which is taken up from

176

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

time to time with a flat piece of board, and laid on one side ; and
at the end of the day's work, it is washed out in a flat wooden
dish (batea), and, for the last time, in a cocoa-shell; when, if they
are lucky, a fine yellow dust shows itself on the edge.* During
the last washing the slimy juice of the Gogo is added to the
water, the fine heavy sand remaining suspended therein for a
longer time than in pure water, and thus being more easily sepa
rated from the gold-dust, t
It is further to be mentioned that the refuse from the pits is
washed at the upper end of the water-gutter, so that the sand
adhering to the stones intended for pounding may deposit its
gold in the gutter or on the washing-board. In order to melt
the gold thus obtained into a lump, in which form it is bought by
the dealers, it is poured into a small heart-shell (cardium), and,
after being covered with a handful of charcoal, placed in a pot
sherd ; when a woman blows through a narrow bamboo-cane on
the kindled coals, and in one minute the work is completed. +
The result of many inquiries shows the profit per head to be
on an average not more than 1|. r. daily. Further to the south
west from here, on the mountain Malaguit, are seen the ruins of
a Spanish mining company ; a heap of rubbish, a pit fifty feet
deep, a large house fallen to ruin, and a stream-work four feet
* In only one out of several experiments made in the Berlin Mining College did
gold-sand contain 0-014 gold ; and, in one experiment on the heavy sand
remaining on the mud-board, no gold was found.
f The Gogo is a climbing Mimosa (Entada purseta) with large pods, very
abundant in the Philippines ; the pounded stem of which is employed in washing,
like the soap-bark of Chili (Quillaja saponaria) ; and for many purposes, such as
baths and washing the hair of the head, is preferred to soap.
X A small gold nugget obtained in this manner, tested at the Berlin Mining
College, consisted of —
Gold .. .. .. .. 77-4

SilverIronFlint earth
Loss

19-0 0-5 3-
0-1

100-

MALAGUIT. 177
broad and six feet high. The mountain consists of gneiss much
decomposed, with quartz veins in the stream-work, with the
exception of the bands of quartz, which are of almost pure clay
earth with sand.
On the sides hung some edible nests of the salangane, but not
of the same kind as those found in the caverns on the south coast
of Java. These, "which are of much less value than the latter, are
£j&2

The Nests of the C'ollocalia troglodytes.
[The illustration is one-third the size of the original.]
only occasionally -collected by the Chinese dealers, who reckon
them nominally at five cents each. We also found a few of the
nest-building birds (Collocalia troglodytes, Gray).*
Around lay so large a number of Indian labourers, and there
were so many little abandoned pits, wholly or half fallen to ruin,
and more or less grown over, that it was necessary to step between
with great caution. Some of them were still being worked after
the mode followed at Longos, but with a few slight improve
ments. The pits are twice as large as those excavated there, and
the rock is lifted up by a pulley to a cylindrical framework of
bamboo, which is worked by the feet of a lad who sits on a bank
higher up.
* The nest and bird are figured in Gray's " Genera of Birds " ; but the nest
does not correspond with those found here. These are hemispherical in form, and
consist for the most part of coir (cocoa fibres) ; and, as if piepared by the hand of
man, the whole interior is covered with an irregular net-work of fine threads of the
glutinous e lible substance, as well as the upper edge, which swells gently outwards
from the centre towards the sides, and expands into two wing-shaped prolongations,
resting on one another, by which the nest is fixed to the wall. The drawing is one-
third of the size of the original which is in the Berlin Zool. Mus. under B 3333.
Dr. v. Martens conjectures that the designation salangane comes from langayan,
bird, and the Malay prefix sa, and signifies especially the nest as something coming
from the bird.— ("Journal of Ornith.," Jan., 1866.)
N

178 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Ten minutes north of the village of Malaguit is a mountain in
which lead-glance and red lead have been obtained ; the rock
consisting of micaceous gneiss much decomposed. There is a
stream- work over one hundred feet in length. The rock appears
to have been very poor.
The highly prized red-lead ores have been found on the top of
this same hill, N. 30° W. from the village. The quarry was
fallen to ruin and flooded with rain, so that only a shallow hollow
in the ground remained visible ; and after a long search amongst
the bushes growing there a few small fragments were found, on
which chrome-lead ore was still clearly to be recognised. Captain
Sabino, the former governor of Paracali, a well-informed Indian,
who, at the suggestion of the alcalde, accompanied me, had for
some years caused excavations to be carried on, in order to find
specimens for a speculator who had in view the establishment of
a new mining company in Spain ; but the specimens which were
found had not been removed, as speculation in mines in the
Philippines had, in the interval, fallen into discredit on the
Exchange of Madrid ; and as yet only a little box full of sand,
out of a few small drusy cavities, has been fixed upon and pounded,
to be sold as variegated writing-sand, after being carefully sifted.
A peculiarly beautiful fan-palm grows on this hill. Its stem is
from thirty to forty feet high, cylindrical and dark-brown, with
white rings a quarter of an inch broad at distances of four inches,
and, at similar intervals, crown-shaped bands of thorns two inches
long. Near the crown-leaf the stem passes into the richest brown
of burnt sienna.
Notwithstanding a very bad road, a pleasant ride carried us
from Paracali to the sea-shore, and, through a beautiful wood, to
Mambulao, which lies W. by N. I alighted at the tribunal, and
took up my lodgings in the room where the ammunition
was kept, as being the only one that could be locked. For
greater security, the powder was stored in a corner and covered

LEAD AND COPPER MINES. ,79
with buffalo-hide ; but such were my arrangements that my
servant carried about a burning tallow light, and his assistant
a torch in the hand. When I visited the native priest, I was
received in a friendly manner by a young girl who, when I
offered my hand, thanked me with a bow, saying, " Tengo las
sarnas " (" I have the itch "). The malady, which is very common
in the Philippines, appears to have its focus in this locality.
A quarter of a league N.N.E. we came upon the ruins of
another mining undertaking, the Ancla de Oro. Shaft and water-
cutting had fallen in, and were thickly grown over ; and only a
few of the considerable buildings were still standing ; and even
those were ready to fall. In a circle some Indians were busily
employed, in their manner, collecting grains of gold. The rock
is gneiss, weathered so much that it cannot be recognised ; and
at a thousand paces on the other side is a similar one, clearly
crystalline. Half a league N. by E. from Mambulao is the lead-mountain
of Dinianan. Here also all the works were fallen in, choked
with mud and grown over. Only after a long search were a few
fragments found with traces of red-lead ore. This mountain
consists of hornblende rock ; in one place, of hornblende slate,
with very beautiful large crystals.
A league and a half S. from Mambulao a shallow hollow in the
ground marks the site of an old copper-mine, which must have
been eighty-four feet deep. Copper ores are found in several
places in Luzon ; and specimens of solid copper were obtained by
me at the Bay of Luyang, N. of the Ensenada de Patag, in
Caramuan. Very considerable beds of copper ore occur in Mancayan, in
the district of Lepanto, and in the central mountain-range of
Luzon between Cagayan and Ilocos, which have been worked by a
mining company in Manilla since 1850 ; but the operations seem
to have been most unsuccessful. In 1867 the society expended a
n 2

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

considerable capital in the erection of smelting furnaces and
hydraulic machinery ; but until a very recent date, owing to local
difficulties, particularly the want of roads, it has not produced any
copper.* In 1869 I heard, in London, that the undertaking had been
given up. According to my latest information, however, it is
certainly in progress ; but the management have never, I believe,
secured a dividend. The statement of 1872, in fact, shows a loss,
or, as the Spaniards elegantly say, a dividendo pasivo.
What Europeans yet appear unable to accomplish, the wild
Ygorrotes, who inhabit that trackless range of mountains, have
carried on successfully for centuries, and to a proportionally larger
extent ; and this is the more remarkable as the metal in that
district occurs only in the form of flints, which even in Europe
can be made profitable only by particular management, and not
without expense.
The copper introduced into commerce by the Ygorrotes, from
1840 to 1855, partly in a raw state, partly manufactured, is
estimated at 300 picos yearly.
The extent of their excava
tions, and the large existing
masses of slag, also indicate the
activity of their operations for
a long period of time.
The drawing shows a copper
kettle made by those wild tribes,
which is now in the Ethno
graphical Museum at Berlin.
Meyen, who brought it, states
that it was made by the ne
gritos in the interior of the island, and certainly with hammers
of porphyry, as they have no iron ; and that he further found, in
* Spanish Catalogue of the Paris Exhibition, 1867.

Height, 17 cm.; diameter at top, 19 cm.; extreme
circumference, 71 cm.

EARLY COPPER-SMITHS. 1S1
the collection of the Captain General of the Philippines, a large
shallow kettle of 3 J feet in diameter, which had been bought for
only 3 dollars ; whence it may be inferred that, in the interior of
the island, the copper occurs in large masses, and probably solid ;
for how could those rude uncultivated negroes understand the art
of smelting copper ?
The locality of these rich quarries was still unknown to the
Governor, although the copper implements brought thence had,
according to an official statement of his in 1833, been in use in
Manilla over two centuries. It is now known that the copper
smiths are not negritos but Ygorrotes ; and there can be no ques
tion that they practised this art, and the still more difficult one of
obtaining copper from flint, for a long period perhaps previous to
the arrival of the Spaniards. They may possibly have learnt them
from the Chinese or Japanese. The chief engineer, Santos,* and
many others with him, are of opinion that this race is descended
from the Chinese or Japanese, from whom he insists that it
acquired not only its features (several travellers mention the
obliquely placed eyes of the Ygorrotes), its idols, and some of its
customs, but also the art of working in copper. At all events,
the fact that a wild people, living isolated in the mountains,
should have made such progress in the science of smelting, is of
so great interest that a description of their procedure by Santos
(essentially only a repetition of an earlier account by Hernandez,
in the "Revista Minera," i. 112) will certainly be acceptable.
The present mining district acquired by the society mentioned,
the "Sociedad Minero-metalurgica Cantabro-filipina de Man-
cay an," was divided amongst the Ygorrotes into larger or smaller
parcels strictly according to the number of the population of the
adjacent villages, whose boundaries were jealously watched; and
the possessions of each separate village were again divided between
certain families ; whence it is that those mountain districts
* " Informe sobre las Minas de Cobre," Manila, 1862.

1 82 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
exhibit, at the present day, the appearance of a honeycomb. To
obtain the ore, they made cavities, in which they lighted fires in
suitable spots, for the purpose of breaking the rock into pieces by
means of the elasticity of the heated water contained in the
crevices, with the additional assistance of iron implements. The
first breaking-up of the ore was done in the stream-work itself,
and the dead heaps lay piled up on the ground, so that, in sub
sequent fires, the flame of the pieces of wood always reached the
summit ; and by reason of the quality of the rock, and the imper
fection of the mode of procedure, very considerable down-falls
frequently occurred. The ores were divided into rich and
quartziferous ; the former not being again melted, but the latter
being subjected to a powerful and persistent roasting, during
which, after a part of the sulphur, antimony, and arsenic had been
exhaled, a kind of distillation of sulphate of copper and sulphate
of iron took place, which appeared as " stone," or in balls on the
surface of the quartz, and could be easily detached.*
The furnace or smelting apparatus consisted of a round hollow
in clayey ground, 30 centimetres in diameter and 15 deep ; with
which was connected a conical funnel of fire-proof stone, inclined
at an angle of 30°, carrying up two bamboo-canes, which were
* According to the Catalogue, the following ores are found : — Variegated copper
ore (cobre gris abigarrado), arsenious copper (c. gris arsenical), vitreous copper (c.
vitreo), copper pyrites (pirita de cobre), sohd copper (mata cobriza), and black copper
(c. negro) . The ores of most frequent occurrence have the following composition —
A, according to an analyzed specimen in the School of Mines at Madrid ; B, accord
ing to the analysis of Santos, the mean of several specimens taken from different
places : — Silicious Acid ...
Sulphur . . ...
Copper ....
Antimony . . . .
Arsenic . .
IronLime . . . .
Loss . . 100-000 100-00

A

B

25-800

47-06

31-715

44-44

24-640

16-64

8-206

5-12

7-539

4-65

1-837

1-84

in traces

—

0-263

0-25

NA TIVE SCIENCE. 1 8 3
fitted into the lower ends of two notched pine-stems ; in which
two slips, covered all over with dry grass or feathers, moved
alternately up and down, and produced the current required for
the smelting.
When the Ygorrotes obtained black copper or native copper
by blasting, they prevented loss (by oxidation) by setting up a
crucible of good fire-proof clay in the form of a still ; by which
means it was easier for them to pour the metal into the forms
which it would acquire from the same clay. The furnace be~ng
arranged, they supplied it with from 18 to 20 kilogrammes of rich
or roasted ore, which, according to the repeated experiments of
Hernandez, contained 20 per cent, of copper ; and they proceeded
quite scientifically, always exposing the ore at the mouth of the
funnel, and consequently to the air-drafts, and placing the coals
at the sides of the furnace, which consisted of loose stones piled
one over another to the height of 50 centimetres. The fire having
been kindled and the blowing apparatus, already described, in
operation, thick clouds of white, yellow, and orange-yellow smoke
were evolved from . the partial volatilization of the sulphur,
arsenic, and antimony, for the space of an hour ; but as soon as
only sulphurous acid was formed, and the heat by this procedure
had attained its highest degree, the blowing was discontinued
and the product taken out. This consisted of a dross, or, rather,
of the collected pieces of ore themselves, which, on account of the
flinty contents of the stones composing the funnel, were trans
formed by the decomposition of the sulphurous metal into a porous
mass, and which could not be converted into dross nor form
combinations with silicious acid, being deficient in the base as
well as in the requisite heat ; and also of a very impure "stone,"
of from 4 to 5 kg. weight, and containing from 50 to 60 per
cent, of copper.
Several of these " stones " were melted down together for the
space of about fifteen hours, in a powerful fire ; and by this means

1 84 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
a great portion of the three volatile substances above named
was again evolved ; after which they placed them, now heated
red-hot, in an upright position, but so as to be in contact with
the draught ; the coals, however, being at the sides of the furnace.
After blowing for an hour or half-an-hour, they thus obtained,
as residuum, a silicate of iron with antimony and traces of arsenic,
a " stone " containing from 70 to 75 per cent, of copper, which
they took off in very thin strips, at the same time using refrigerat
ing vessels ; and at the bottom of the hollow there remained,
according as the mass was more or less freed from sulphur, a
larger or smaller quantity (always, however, impure) of black
copper. The purified stones obtained by this second process were again
made red-hot by placing them between rows of wood, in order
that they might not melt into one another before the fire had
freed them from impurities.
The black copper obtained from the second operation, and the
stones which were re-melted at the same time, were then
subjected to a third process in the same furnace (narrowed by
quarry stones and provided with a crucible) ; which produced a
residuum of silicious iron and black copper, which was poured
out into clay moulds, and in this shape came into commerce.
This black copper contained from 92 to 94 per cent, of copper, and
was tinged by a carbonaceous compound of the same metal known
by its yellow colour, and the oxide on the surface arising from the
slow cooling, which will occur notwithstanding every precaution ;
and the surface so exposed to oxidation they beat with green
twigs. When the copper, which had been thus extracted with so
much skill and patience by the Ygorrotes, was to be employed in
the manufacture of kettles, pipes, and other domestic articles, or
for ornament, it was submitted to another process of purification,
which differed from the preceding only in one particular, that the
quantity of coals was diminished and the air-draught increased

GOLD MANIA. 185
according as the process of smelting drew near to its termination,
which involved the removal of the carbonaceous compound by
oxidation. Santos found, by repeated experiment, that even from
ores of the mean standard of 20 per cent., only from 8 to 10
per cent, of black copper was extracted by the third operation ; so
that between 8 and 12 per cent, still remained in the residuum
or porous quartz of the operation.
It was difficult to procure the necessary means of transport for
my baggage on the return journey to Paracali, the roads being
so soaked by the continuous rains that no one would venture his
cattle for the purpose. In Mambulao the influence of the province
on its western border is very perceptible, and Tagal is under
stood almost better than Bicol ; the Tagal element being intro
duced amongst the population by pretty women, who with their
families come here, from Lucban and Mauban, in the pursuit of
trade. They buy up gold, and import stuffs and other wares in
exchange. The gold acquired is commonly from 15 to 16 carats, x
and a mark determines its quality. The dealers pay- on the
average 11 dollars per ounce ; but when, as is usually the case, it
is offered in smaller quantities than one ounce, only 10 dollars.*
They weigh with small Roman scales, and have no great re
putation for honesty.
North Camarines is thinly inhabited, the population of the
mining districts having removed after the many undertakings
which were artificially called into existence by the mining mania
had been ruined. The gold-washers are mostly dissolute and
involved in debt, and continually expecting rich findings which
but very seldom occur, and which, when they do occur, are
forthwith dissipated ; — a fact which will account for champagne
and other articles of luxury being found in the shops of the very
poor villagers.
* According to the prices current with us, the value would be calculated at about
12 dols. ; the value of the analyzed specimen, to which we have before referred, at
~\\\ dols.

i86

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

Malaguit and Matango, during the dry season, are said to be
connected by an extremely good road ; but, when we passed, the
two places were separated by a quagmire into which the horses
sank up to their middle.
In Labo, a little village on the right bank of the 'river Labo
(which rises in the mountain of the same name), the conditions

The Mountains of Bacacdy , from the Tribun&l of Labo.
to which we have adverted are repeated — vestiges of the works
of former mining companies fast disappearing, and, in the midst,
little pits being worked_byJhe_Indians. Red lead has not been
found here, but gold has been, and especially " platinum," which
some , experiments have proved to be lead-glance. The mountain
Labo appears from its bell-shape and the strata exposed in the
river bed to consist of trachytic hornblende. Half a league
W.S.W., after wading through mud a foot deep, we reached the
mountain Dallas, where lead-glance and gold were formerly
obtained by a mining company ; and to the present day gold is
obtained by a few Indians in the usual mode.
Neither in the latter province, nor in Manilla, could I acquire
more precise information respecting the histories of the numerous
unfortunate mining enterprises. Thus much, however, appears
certain, that they were originated only by speculators, and never
properly worked with sufficient means. They therefore, of neces
sity, collapsed so soon as the speculators ceased from their opera
tions.

WIND AND WEATHER. !g7
North Camarines yields no metal with the exception of the
little gold obtained by the Indians in so unprofitable a manner.
The king of Spain at first received a fifth, and then a tenth, of
the produce ; but the tax subsequently ceased. In Morga's
time the tenth amounted on an average to 10,000 dollars (" which
was kept quite secret"); the profit, consequently, to above
100,000 dollars. Gemelli Carreri was informed by the governor
of Manilla that gold to the value of 200,000 dollars was collected
annually without the help of either fife_o:r .quicksilver, and that
Paracali, in particular, was rich in gold. No data exist from
which I could estimate the actual rate of produce ; and the answers
to several inquiries deserve no mention. The produce is, at all
events, very small, as well on account of the incompleteness of
the mode of procedure as of the irregularity of labour, for the
Indians work only when they are compelled by necessity.
I returned down the stream in a boat to Indang, a com
paratively flourishing place, of smaller population but more con
siderable trade than Da£t ; the export consisting principally of
abaca, and the import, of rice.
An old mariner, who had navigated this coast for many
years, informed me that the same winds prevail from Daet as far
as Cape Engafio, the north-east point of Luzon. From October to
March the north-east wind prevails, the monsoon here beginning
with north winds, which are of short duration and soon pass into
the north-east; and in January and February the east winds
begin . and terminate the monsoon. The heaviest rains fall from
October to January, and in October typhoons sometimes occur, c
Beginning from the north or north-east, they pass to the north
west, where they are most violent ; and then to the north and east,
sometimes as far as to the south-east, and even to the south. In
March and April, and sometimes in the beginning of May, shift
ing winds blow, which bring in the south-west monsoon ; but the
dry season, of which April and May are the driest months, is

1 88. THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
uninterrupted by rain. Thunder storms occur from June to
November ; most frequently in August. During the south-west
monsoon the sea is very calm ; but in the middle of the north-east
monsoon all navigation ceases on the east coast. In the outskirts
of Baler rice is sown in October, and reaped in March and April.
Mountain rice is not cultivated.

CHAPTER XVI.
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF CAMARINES. — ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA. —
DESTROYED PALM FOREST. — PASAcAo. — BAD ROADS.
Sending my baggage from Da£t to Cabusao in a schooner,
I proceeded on foot, by the road to that place, to the coast on
the west side of the Bay of San Miguel. We crossed the mouth
of the river in a boat, which the horses swam after ; but they
were soon abandoned from unfitness. At the mouth of the
next river, Sacavin, the water was so high that the bearers
stripped themselves naked and carried the baggage over on their
heads. In simple jacket and cotton hose, I found this precaution
needless ; indeed, according to my experience, it is both ref resh-
-ing and salutary to wear wet clothes, during an uniformly high
temperature ; besides which, one is thereby spared many a spring
over ditches, and many a roundabout course to avoid puddles,
which, being already wet through, we no longer fear. After
having waded over eight other little rivers we were obliged to leave
the shore and pursue the road to Colasi along steep, slippery, forest
paths, the place lying right in the middle of the west side of the
bay. The sea-shore was very beautiful. Instead of a continuous
and, at the ebb, ill-smelling border of mangroves, which is never
wanting in those places where the land extends into the sea, the
waves here reach the foot of the old trees of the forest, many of
which were washed underneath. Amongst the most remarkable
was a fringe of stately old Barringtoni, covered with orchids
and other epiphytes — gorgeous trees when in flower ; the red

i9o THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
stamens, five inches long, with golden yellow anthers like tassels,
depending from the boughs ; and their fruit, of the size of
the fist, is doubly useful to the fisherman, who employs them,
on account of their small specific gravity, in floating his nets, and
beats them to pieces to stun the fish. The foremost trees stood bent
towards the sea, and have > been so deflected probably for a long
time, like many others whose remains still projected out of the
water. The destruction of this coast appears to be very con-
siderable. Amongst the climbing palms one peculiar kind was
very abundant, the stem of which, as thick as the arm, either
dragged itself, leafless, along the ground, or hung in arches above

179°2 S. 1°7 5° 6°5
I f

Peak Coldsi, from the Visita Coldsi.

the branches, carrying a crown of leaves only at its extremity ;
while another, from its habitat the common calamus, had caryota

Peak Colasi. The Little Peak.
From the Visita Lalauinan.

leaves. Wild boars are very plentiful here ; a hunter offered us
two at one real each.
The direction of the flat coast which extends N.N.W. to S.S.E.

A COMMERCIAL WRECK. 191
from the point of Daet is here interrupted by the little peak of
Colasi, which projects to the east, and has grown so rapidly that
all old people remember it to have been lower. In the Visita
Colasi, on the northern slope of the mountain, the sea is so rough
that no boat can live in it. The inhabitants carry on fishing ;
their fishing-grounds lie, however, on the southern slope of the
mountain, in the sheltered bay of Lalauigan, which we reached
after three hours' journey over the ridge.
A four-oared baroto, hired at this place, as the weather was
favourable, was to have conveyed us in two hours to Cabusao, the
port of Naga ; but the wind swung round, and a storm ensued.
Thoroughly wet and not without loss, we ran to Barcelonete, a
Visita situated at a third of the distance. The intelligent
Teniente of Colasi, whom we met here, also confirmed the fact of
the rapid growth of the little peak.
In opposition to my wish to ascend the mountain, great ob
stacles were said to exist ; which would hardly occur during the
succeeding weeks, when every one would be occupied in prepara
tions for the Easter festival. As these objections did not con
vince me, a more substantial reason was discovered the next
morning. Inland shoes are excellent for the mud, and particu
larly for horseback ; but for climbing mountains, or rough
ground, they would not last a day ; and the one remaining pair of
strong European shoes, which I reserved for particular purposes,
had been given away by my servant, who did not like climbing
mountains, on the pretext they were much too small for me.
The shore from Barceloneta to Cabusao is of the same charac
ter as that between Daet and Colasi ; but its direction is N.S. ;
and the ground, a sandy clay, is covered with a thick stratum of
broken bivalves. The road was very difficult, as the high tide
forced us to climb between the trees and thick underwood. On
the way we met an enterprising family who had left Da£t with
a cargo of cocoa-nuts for Naga, and had been wrecked here ; saving

1 92 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
only one out of five tinajas of oil, but recovering all the nuts.*
They were living in a small hastily-run-up hut, upon cocoa-nuts,
rice, fish, and mussels, in expectation of a favourable wind to
return. There were several varieties of shore-birds ; but my gun
would not go off, although my servant, in expectation of a hunt,
had cleaned it with especial care. As he had lost the ramrod
whilst cleaning it, the charge was not withdrawn before we
reached Cabusao, when it was discovered that both barrels were
full of sand to above the touchhole.
The coast was still more beautiful than on the preceding day,
particularly in one place where the surge beat against a wood of
fan-palms (Corypha sp.). On the side facing the sea, in groups
or rows stood the trees, bereft of their crowns, or lying over
thrown like columns amid the vast ruins of temples (one of
them was three feet in diameter) ; and the sight immediately
reminded me of Pompeii. I could not account for the bareness
of the trunks, until I discovered a hut in the midst of the palms,
in which two men were endeavouring to anticipate the waves in
their work of destruction by the preparation of sugar (tunguleh).
For this purpose, after stripping off the leaves (this palm flowering
at the top), the upper end of the stem is cut across, the surface of
the incision being inclined about five degrees towards the horizon,
and, near its lower edge, hollowed out to a very shallow gutter.
The juice exudes over the whole surface of the cut, with the
exception of the intersected exterior petioles, and, being collected
in the shallow channel, is conducted by a piece of banana- leaf, two
inches broad, and four inches long, into a bamboo-cane attached
to the trunk. In order to avert the rain from the saccharine issue,
which has a faint, pleasantly aromatic flavour as of barley-sugar,
all the trees which have been tapped are provided with caps formed
* In Daet at that season six nuts cost 1 cuarto ; and in Naga, only fifteen
leagues away by water, they expected to sell two nuts for 9 cuartos, (twenty-
sevenfold). The fact was that in Naga, at that time, one nut fetched 2 cuarto; —
twelve times as much as in Daet.

PALM SUGAR.

'93

of bent and folded palm-leaves. The average daily produce of
each tree is four bamboos', the interior of which is about three
inches and a half in diameter. When removed, they are full
to about eighteen inches ; which gives somewhat more than ten
quarts daily.
The produce of each tree of course is very unequal. Always

intermittent, it ceases completely after two months — at the
utmost, three months ; but, the proportion of those newly cut
to those cut at an earlier date being the same, the yield of the
incisions is about equal. The juice of thirty- three palms, after
evaporation in an iron pan immediately upon each collection,
produces one ganta, or (there being four such collections) four
gantas, daily ; the weekly result being twenty gantas, or two
o

194 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
tinajas of sugar, each worth two dollars and a half on -the spot.
This statement, derived from the people themselves, probably shows
the proportion somewhat more unfavourable than it really is ; still,
according to the opinion of an experienced mestizo, the difference
cannot be very considerable. Assuming the above numbers as
correct, however, one of these magnificent trees would give about
one dollar and two-thirds, or, after deducting the labourers' wages
(1 r. per diem), about a thaler and two thirds ; not a large sum
truly ; but it is some consolation to know that, even if man did
not interfere, these trees would in process of time fall victims to
the breakers, and that, even if protected against external ravages,
they are doomed to natural extinction after once producing fruit.
Cabusao lies in the southern angle of the Bay of San Miguel,
which is, almost on every side, surrounded by high mountains,
and affords good anchorage for ships. From here I repaired
across Naga to the south coast. Four leagues from Naga, in the
heart of Ragay, on the southern border of Luzon, is the small but
deep harbour of Pasacao ; and two hours by water conducted
us to the intermediate Visita Pamplona, whence the route is
pursued by land. The still- existing remnant of the old road was
in a miserable condition, and even at that dry season of the year
scarcely passable; the bridges over the numerous little ditches
were broken down, and in .many places, right across the road,
lay large stones and branches of trees which had been brought
there years before to repair the bridges, and, having been unused,
have ever since continued to obstruct the road.
In Quitang, between Pamplona and Pasacao, where two brooks
unite themselves into one little river debouching at the latter
place, a young Frenchman had established a hacienda. He was
contented and hopeful, and loudly praised the industry and
friendliness of his people. Probably because they make fewer
exactions, foreigners, as a rule, seem to agree better with ''the
natives than Spaniards. Of these exactions, the bitterest com-

PASACAO. 195
plaints are rife of the injustice of the demands made upon the
lower classes in the settlement of "their wages; which, if they
do not immediately find the necessary hands for every employ
ment, do not correspond with the enhanced value of the products ;
and, according to them, the natives must even be driven from
public employments, to labour in their service.*
The Indian certainly is more independent than the European
labourer, because he has fewer wants and, as a native landowner,
is not compelled to earn his bread as the daily labourer of another ;
yet, with reference to wages, it may be questioned whether any
colony whatever offers more favourable conditions to the planter
than the Philippines. In Dutch India, where the prevalence
of monopoly almost excludes private industry, free labourers
obtain 3 guilder — somewhat more than 1 r., the usual wages in
the wealthy provinces of the Philippines (in the poorer it amounts
to only the half) ; and the Javanese are not the equals of the
Filipinos, either in strength, or intelligence, or skill ; and the
rate of wages in all the older Slave States is well known. For
the cultivation of sugar and coffee, Mauritius and Ceylon are
obliged to import foreign labourers at great expense, and to pay
them highly ; and yet they are successful.
From Quitang to Pasacao the road is far worse than it has
heretofore been; and this is the most important road in the
province ! Before reaching Pasacao, evident signs are visible,
on the denuded sides of the limestone, of its having been
formerly washed by the sea. Pasacao is picturesquely situated
at the end of the valley which is intersected by the Itulan, and
extends from Pamplona, between wooded mountains of limestone,
* N. Loney asserts, in one of his excellent reports, that there never is a deficiency
of suitable labourers. As an example, at the unloading of a ship in Yloilo, many
wera brought together at one time, induced by the small rise of wages from 1 to 1 J r. ;
even more hands than could be employed. The Belgian consul, too, reports that
in the provinces where the abaca grows the whole of the male population is engaged
in its cultivation, in consequence of a small rise of wages.
0 2

1 96 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
as far as the sea. The ebb tides here are extremely irregular.
From noon to evening n® difference was observable, and,
when the decrease just became visible, the tide rose again.
Immediately to the south, and facing the district, the side of a
mountain, two thousand feet high and above two thousand feet
broad, had two years ago given way to the subterranean action of
the waves. The rock consists of a tough calcareous breccia, full
of fragments of mussels and corals ; but, being shoeless, I could
not remain on the sharp rock sufficiently long to make a closer
examination. For the same reason, I was obliged to leave the ascent of the
Yamtik, which I had before vainly attempted from Libmanan,
unaccomplished from this point, although I had the advantage of
the company of an obliging French planter in a boat excursion in
a north-westerly direction along the coast. Here our boat floated
along over gardens of coral, swarming with magnificently coloured
fishes ; and after two hours we reached a cavern in the limestone,
" Suminabang," so low that one could stir in it only by creeping ;
which contained a few swallows and bats. On the river Cale-
bayan, on the further side of the point Tanaun, we came upon a
solitary shed, our night-quarters. Here the limestone range is
interrupted by an isolated cliff on the left bank of the little river,
consisting of a crystalline rock chiefly composed of hornblende ;
which moreover, on the side exposed to the water, is surrounded
completely by limestone.
The surrounding mountains must swarm with wild boars.
Under the thatched roof of our hut, which serves as a shelter to
occasional hunters, more than a hundred and fifty lower jaw-bones
were set up as hunting trophies. The place appeared as if
created for the breeding of cattle. Soft with fodder grass, and
covered with a few groups of trees, with slopes intersected by
rustling brooks, it rose up out of the sea, and was' encompassed
by a steep wall of rock in the form of a semicircle ; and here

DEFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. 197
cattle would find grass, water, shade, and the protection of an
enclosing circumvallation. While travelling along the coast, we
had remarked a succession of similar localities, which however,
from lack of enterprise and from the dread of pirates, were not
utilised. As soon as our supper was prepared, we carefully
extinguished our fire, that it might not serve as a signal to
the vagabonds of the sea, and kept night watches.
On the following morning we intended to visit a cave never
before entered ; but, to our astonishment, we found no proper
cavern, but only an entrance to a cavern a few feet in depth.
Visible from a distance, it must often have been passed by the
hunters, although, as we were assured by our companions — who
were astonished at the delusion — no one had ventured to enter
it from stress of superstitious terror.
The north coast of Camarines, as I have frequently mentioned,
is, during the north-east monsoon, almost unapproachable ; while
the south coast, screened by the outlying islands, remains always
accessible. The most fertile districts of the eastern provinces,
which during summer export their produce by the northern ports,
in the winter often remain for months cut off from all communi
cation with the chief town, because there is no road over the small
strip of land to the south coast. How much has been done by
Nature, and how little by man, to facilitate this intercourse, is
very evident when we reflect upon the condition of the road to
Pasacao, lately described, in connection with the condition of
matters in the east, as shown by the map.
Two rivers, one coming from the north-west, and the other from
the south-east, and both navigable before they reach the borders of
the province, flow through the middle of it in a line parallel with
the coast (taking no account of its windings), and, after their
junction, send their waters together through the estuary of
Cabusao into the Bay of San Miguel. The whole province,
therefore, is traversed through its centre by two navigable rivers,

198 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
which, as regards commerce, form only one. But the harbour of
Cabusao, at the bottom of the Bay of San Miguel, is not accessible
during the north-east monsoon, and has this further disadvantage,
that the intercourse of the whole of the eastern part of Luzon with
Manilla can be carried on only by a very circuitous route. On
the south coast, on the other hand, is the harbour of Pasacao, into
which a navigable little river, above a mile in width, discharges
itself; so that the distance between this river highway and -the
nearest point of the Bicol River amounts to a little more than a
mile. The road connecting the two seas, laid out by an active alcalde
in 1847, and maintained up to 1852, was however, at the date of
my inquiry, in so bad a condition that a pico of abaca paid 2 r.
freight for this short distance, in the dry season ; and in the wet
season it could not be forwarded for double the price.*
Many similar instances may be brought forward. In 1861 the
English vice-consul reported that in Yloilo a pico of sugar had risen
more than 2 r. in price (as much as the cost of freight from Yloilo
to Manilla), in consequence of the bad state of the road between
the two places, which are only one league asunder.
If, without reference to transport by sea, the islands were not
favoured in so extraordinary a manner by innumerable rivers with
navigable mouths, a still greater proportion of their produce would
not have been convertible into money. The natives, as well as the
local authorities, have no desire for roads, which they themselves
construct by forced labour, and, when completed, must maintain
by. the same method ; for, when no roads are made; the labourers
are so. much more easily employed in private operations. Even
the curas, generally, are as little favourable to the planning of
commercial intercourse, by means of which trade, prosperity, and
* An unfinished canal, to run from the Bicol to the Pasacao River, was once dug,
as is thought, by the Chinese, who carried on intercourse in great numbers. —
Arenas, p. 140.

SPANISH POLICY. 199
enlightenment would be introduced into the country, and their
authority undermined. Indeed the Government itself, up to within
a short time since, favoured such a state of affairs ; for bad roads
belong to the essence of the old Spanish colonial policy, which was
always directed to effect the isolation of the separate provinces of
their great transmarine possessions, and to prevent the growth
of a sense of national interest, in order to facilitate their govern
ment by the distant mother country.
Besides, in Spain itself matters are no better. The means of
communication there are so very deficient that, as an instance,
merchandise is sent from Santander to Barcelona, round the whole
Iberian peninsula, in preference to the direct route, which is partly
accomplished by railway.* In Estremadura the hogs were fed
with wheat (live animals can be transported without roads), while
at the same time the sea-ports were importing foreign corn.f
The cause of this condition of affairs in that country is to be
sought less in a disordered state of finance, than in the enforce
ment of the Government maxim which enjoins the isolation of
separate provinces.
* "The Economical Position of Spain," Delmarre, p. 7.
t Lesage, " Coup d'CEil," in Journ. des Economistes, September, 1868.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE YSAROG AND ITS INHABITANTS.

The Ysarog (pronounced Issaro) rises up in the middle of Cama
rines, between the bays of San Miguel and Lagonoy. While its
eastern slope almost reaches the sea, it is separated on its western
side by a broad strip of inundated land from the Bay of San
Miguel. In circumference it is at least twelve leagues ; and its height
1,966 metres * Very flat at its base, it swells gradually to 16°,
and higher up to 21° of inclination, and extends itself, in its
western aspect, into a flat dome-shaped summit. But, if viewed
from the eastern side, it has the appearance of a circular chain
of mountains rent asunder by a great ravine. On Coello's map
this ravine is erroneously laid down as extending from south to
north ; its bearing really is west to east. Right in front of its
opening, and half a league south from Goa, lies the pretty little
village of Rungus, by which it is known. The exterior sides of the
mountain and the fragments of its large crater are covered with
impenetrable wood. Respecting its volcanic eruptions tradition
says nothing.
The higher slopes form the dwelling-place of a small race of
people, whose independence and the customs of a primitive age
have almost entirelj separated them from the inhabitants of the
* From my barometrical observations — m.
Goa, on the northern slope of the Ysar6g ... 32
• Uacl6y, a settlement of Ygorrotes . . . 161
Ravine of Basira . . . . . 1,134
Summit of the Ysarog . . . 1,966

EARLY HISTORY. 201
plain. One or two Cimarrons might occasionally have been
attracted hither, but no such instance is remembered. The in
habitants of the Ysarog are commonly, though mistakenly, called
Ygorrotes ; and I retain the name, since their nationality has not
yet been accurately determined ; they themselves maintaining that
their ancestors always dwelt in that locality. There are some
who, in the opinion of the pastor of Camarines, speak the Bicol
.language in the purest manner. Their manners and customs are
very similar, in many respects, to what they were on the arrival of
the Spaniards ; and sometimes they also remind one of those pre
vailing among the Dyaks of Borneo at the present day* These
circumstances give rise to the conjecture that they may be the last
of a race which maintained its independence against the Spanish
rule, and probably also against the little tyrants who ruled over
the plain before the arrival of the Europeans. When Juan de
Salcedo undertook his triumphal march round North Luzon he
found everywhere, at the mouths of the rivers, seafaring tribes
living under many chieftains who, after a short struggle, were
slain by the superior discipline and better arms of the Spaniards,
or submitted voluntarily to the superior race ; but he did not
succeed in subduing the independent tribes in the interior ; and
these are still to be found in all the larger islands of the Philippine
group. Similar conditions are found in many places in the Indian
Archipelago. The Malays, carrying on trade and piracy, possess
the shore, and their language prevails there ; the natives being either
subdued by them, or driven into the forests, the inaccessibility
of which ensures to them a miserable but independent existence, t
* The skull of a slain Ygorrote, as shown by Professor Virchow's investigation,
has a certain similarity to Malay skulls of the adjoining islands of Sunda, especially
to the skulls of the Dyaks.
t Pigafetta found Amboyna inhabited by Moors (Mohammedans) and heathens ;
" but the first possessed the seashore, the latter the interior." In the harbour of
Brune (Borneo) he saw two towns ; one inhabited by Moors, and the other, larger than

202 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
In order to break down the opposition of the wild races, the
Spanish Government forbade its subjects, under the penalty of
one hundred blows and two years of forced labour, " to trade or
to have any intercourse with the heathens in the mountains who
pay no tribute to his Catholic Majesty, for although they would
exchange their gold, wax, &c, for other necessaries, they will
never change for the better."
Probably this law has for centuries directly contributed to
save the barbarians, notwithstanding their small numbers, from
complete extermination; for free intercourse between a people
existing by agriculture, and another living principally by the.
chase, speedily leads to the destruction of the latter.
The number of the Ygorrotes of the Ysarog has, however,
been much diminished by deadly battles between the different
ranchos, and by the marauding expeditions which, until a Bhort
time since, were annually undertaken by the commissioners of
taxes, in the interest of the Government monopoly, against the
tobacco fields of the Ygorrotes. Some few have been "pasiftsirt "
(converted to Christianity and tribute) ; in which case they are
obliged to establish themselves in little villages of scattered huts,
where they can be occasionally visited by the clergyman of
the nearest place ; and, in order to render the change easier to
them, a smaller tax than usual is temporarily imposed upon
such newly-obtained subjects.
I had deferred the ascent of the mountain until the beginning
of the dry season of the year ; but I learned in Naga that my
wish was hardly practicable, because the expeditions against the
ranchos of the mountain, which I have already mentioned, usually
occurred about this time. As the barbarians could not understand
why they should not cultivate on their own fields a plant which
that, and standing entirely in the salt-water, by heathens. The editor remarks that
Sonnerat (" Voy. aux Indes ") subsequently found that the heathens had been
driven from the sea, and had retired into the mountains.

OPPRESSION OF THE YGORROTES. 203
had become a necessity to them, they saw in the Ciiadrilleros, not
functionaries of a civilised State, but robbers, against whom they
were obliged to defend themselves by force ; and appearances con
tributed no less to confirm them in their error ; for they did not
content themselves with destroying the plantations of tobacco, but
the huts were burnt to the ground, the fruit-trees hewn down, and
the fields laid waste. Such forays never occurred without blood
shed, and often developed into a little war which was carried on by
the mountaineers for a long time afterwards, even against people
who were entirely uninterested in it — Indians and Europeans.
The expedition this year was to take place in the beginning of
April ; the Ygorrotes consequently were in a state of great agita
tion, and had, a few days previously, murdered a young unarmed
Spaniard in the vicinity of Mabotoboto, at the foot of the moun
tain, by striking him to the earth with a poisoned arrow, and
afterwards inflicting twenty-one wounds with the wood-knife.
Fortunately there arrived soon after a countermand from
Manilla, where the authorities seemed to have been gradually
convinced of the harmful tendency of such violent measures.
It could not be doubted that this intelligence would quickly spread
amongst the ranchos ; and, acting upon the advice of the com
mandant' (upon whom, very much against his inclination, the con
duct of the expedition had devolved), I lost no time in availing
myself of the anticipated season of quiet. The Government have
since adopted the prudent method of purchasing the tobacco,
which is voluntarily cultivated by the Ygorrotes, at the ordinary
rate, and, where practicable, encouraging them to lay out new
fields, instead of destroying those in existence.
The next day at noon I left Naga on horseback. The pueblos
of Mogarao, Canaman, Quipayo, and Calabanga, in this fertile
district follow so thickly upon one another that they form an
almost uninterrupted succession of houses and gardens. Cala
banga lies half a league from the sea, between the mouths of

204

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

two rivers, the more southerly of which is sixty feet broad and
sufficiently deep for large trading vessels.*
The road winds round the foot of the Ysarog first to the north
east and then to the east. Soon the blooming hedges cease,
and are succeeded by a great bare plain, out of which numerous
flat' hillocks raise themselves. Both hills and plain, when we
passed, served for pasturage ; but from August to January they
are sown with rice; and fields of batata are occasionally seen.

The Belfry of Calabdnga.
[A similar Mexican structure is engraved in Oviedo y Valde's " Hist. gen. y nat., de las Indias."]
After four hours we arrived at the little village of Maguiring
(Manguirin), the church of which, a tumble-down shed, stood on
an equally naked hillock ; and from its neglected condition one
might have guessed that the priest was a native.
This hillock, as well as the others which I examined, consisted
* On Coello's map these proportions are wrongly stated.

MAGUIRING. 205
of the debris of the Ysarog, the more or less decomposed trachytic
fragments of hornblende rock, the spaces between which were
filled up with red sand. The number of streams sent down by
the Ysarog, into the bays of San Miguel and Lagonoy, is
extraordinarily large. On the tract behind Maguiring I counted,
in three-quarters of an hour, five considerable estuaries, that
is to say, above twenty feet broad ; and then, as far as Goa,
twenty-six more ; altogether, thirty-one : but there are more, as
I did not include the smallest ; and yet the distance between
Maguiring and Goa, in a straight line, does not exceed three miles.
This accounts for the enormous quantity of steam with which this
mighty condenser is fed. I have not met with this phenomenon on
any other mountain in so striking a manner. One very remarkable
circumstance is the rapidity with which the brimming rivulets
pass in the estuaries, enabling them to carry the trading vessels,
sometimes even ships, into a main stream (if the expression may
be allowed), while the scanty contributions of their kindred
streams on the northern side have scarcely acquired the impor
tance of a mill-brook. These waters, from their breadth, look
like little rivers, although in reality they consist of only a brook,
up to the foot of the mountain, and of a river's mouth in the
plain ; the intermediate part being absent.
The country here is strikingly similar to the remarkable moun
tain district of the Gelungung, described by Junghuhn ; * yet
the origin of these rising grounds differs in some degree from
that of those in Java. The latter were due to the eruption of
1822, and the great fissure in the wall of the crater of the
Gelungung, which is turned towards them, shows unmistakably
whence the materials for their formation were derived ; but the
great chasm of the Ysarog opens towards the east, and therefore
has no relation to the numberless hillocks on the north-west
of the mountain. Behind Maguiring they run more closely
* "Java, its Formation.'' II. 125

206 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
together, their summits are flatter, and their sides steeper ; and.
they pass gradually into a gently inclined slope, rent into
innumerable clefts, in the hollows of which as many brooks are
actively employed in converting the angular outlmes of the little
islands into these rounded hillocks. The third river behind
Maguiring is larger than those preceding it ; on the sixth lies
the large Visita of Borobod ; and on the tenth, that of Ragay.
The rice fields cease with the hill country, and on the slope, which
is well drained by deep channels, only wild cane and a few
groups of trees grow. Passing by many villages, whose huts
were so isolated and concealed that they might remain unob
served, we arrived at five o'clock at Tagunton; from which a
road, practicable for buffalo carts, and used for the transport of
the abaca grown in the district, leads to Goa ; and here, detained
by an attack of diarrhoea, I hired a little house, in wnich I lay
for nearly four weeks, no other remedies offering themselves to
me but hunger and repose.
During this time I made the acquaintance of some newly con
verted Ygorrotes, and won their confidence, except that I had some
difficulty subsequently in attaining my purpose of climbing the
mountain, and seeking out their kindred confederates in the
ranchos.* When, at last, I was able to quit Goa, my friends
conducted me, as the first step, to their settlement ; where,
having been previously recommended and expected, I easily
obtained the requisite number of attendants to take into their
charge the animals and plants which were collected for me.
On the following morning the ascent was commenced. Even
before we arrived at the first rancho, I was convinced of the good
* An intelligent mestizo frequently visited me during my sickness. According
to his statements, besides the copper already mentioned, coal is found in three
'places, and even gold and iron were to be had. To the same man I am indebted
for Professor Virchow's skull of Cararmian, referred to before, which was said to
have come from u. cavern in Umang, one league from Caramuan. Similar skulls
are also said to be found at the Visita Paniniman, and on a small island close to the
Visita Guialo.

NATIVE WEAVING.

207

report that had preceded me. The master of the house came
towards us and conducted us by a narrow path to his hut, after
having removed the foot-lances, which projected obliquely out of
the ground, but were dexterously concealed by brushwood and
leaves.* A woman employed in weaving, at my desire, continued
her occupation. The loom was of the simplest kind. The upper
end, the chain-beam, which consists of a piece of bamboo, is fixed
to two bars or posts ; and the weaver sits on the ground, and

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to the two notched ends of a small lath, which supplies the place
of the weaving beam, hooks on a wooden bow, in the arch of
which the back of the lath is fitted. Placing her feet against two
pegs in the ground and bending her back, she, by means of the
bow, stretches the material out straight. A netting-needle, longer
than the breadth of the web, serves instead of the weaver's
shuttle, but it can be pushed through only by considerable fric-
* They are formed of bamboos.

208 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
tion, and not always without breaking the chains of threads. A
lath of hard wood (caryota), sharpened like a knife, represents the
trestle, and after every stroke it is placed upon the edge ; after
which the comb is pushed forward, a thread put through, and
struck fast, and so forth. The web consisted of threads of the
abaca, which were not spun, but tied one to another.
The huts I visited deserve no special description. Composed
of bamboos and palm-leaves, they are not essentially different
from the dwellings of poor Indians ; and in their neighbour
hood were small fields planted with batata, maize, caladium and
sugar-cane, and enclosed by magnificent polypodies. One of. the
highest of these, which I caused to be felled for the purpose,
measured in the stem 9 metres, 30 centimetres ; in the crown,
2 metres, 12 centimetres ; and its total length was 11 metres, 42
centimetres (36'38 feet Rh.)
A young lad produced music on a kind of lute, called baringbau ;
consisting of the dry shaft of the scitamina stretched in the form
of a bow by means of a thin tendril instead of gut. Half a
cocoa shell is fixed in the middle of the bow, which, when
playing, is placed against the belly, and serves as a sounding
board ; and the string, when struck with a short wand, gave out a
pleasing humming sound, realising the idea of the harp and
plectrum in their simplest forms. Others accompanied the
musician on Jews'-harps of bamboos, as accurate as those of the
Mintras on the Malay Peninsula ; and there was one who played
on a guitar, which he had himself made, but after a European
pattern. The hut contained no utensils besides bows, arrows,
and a cooking pot. The possessor of clothes bore them on his
person. I found the women as decently clad as the Indian
Christian women, and carrying, besides, a wood knife. As a mark
of entire confidence, I was taken into the tobacco fields, which
were well concealed and protected by foot-lances ; and they
appeared to be carefully looked after.

DOMESTIC LIFE. 209
The result of my familiarity with this people, both before and
after this opportunity, may be briefly summed up.
They live on the higher slopes of the mountain, never,
indeed, below 1,500 feet ; each family by itself. It is difficult to
ascertain how many of them there may now be, as but little
intercourse takes place amongst them. In the part of the
mountain belonging to the district of Goa, their number is
estimated at about fifty men and twenty women, including the
children : but twenty years before the population was more
numerous. Their food consists principally of batata, besides
some gabi (caladium). A little maize is likewise cultivated, as
well as some ubi (dioscorea), and a small quantity of sugar-cane
for chewing.
In laying out a batata field, a wood is partially cleared, the
earth loosened with the blunt wood knife, and the bulbs or layers
then planted ; and within four months the harvest begins, and
continues uninterruptedly from the time the creeping plant strikes
root and forms tubers. After two years, however, the produce is
so much diminished that the old plants are pulled up, in order to
make room for new ones obtained from the runners. The. field
is then changed, or other fruits cultivated thereon, but with the
addition of manure. A piece of land, fifty brazas long, and thirty
wide, is sufficient for the support of a family. Only occasionally
in the wet season does this resource fail, and then they resort to
gabi, which appears to be a3 easily cultivated on wet as on dry
ground, but is not so profitable as batata. The young shoots of
the gabi are planted at distances of a vara, and if consumed in a
proper manner, ought not to be cropped till after a year. Each
family kills weekly one or two wild hogs. Stags are rare,
although I obtained a fine pair of horns ; and they do not use
the skin. Bows and arrows are used in hunting ; some poisoned,
and some not. Every rancho keeps dogs, which live principally on
batata, and also cats to protect the fields against rats ; and they
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caryota wood, in /;, E only the base, which is made fast to the shaft, and in which a bamboo lance is rather loosely fixed. O has three heads of
caryota, to each of which the whip-like tail of a calamus, armed with sharp hooks, is attaohed. ff, a how of caryota ; the string of abaca 3 mm.
thick. The arrows have particular names; A, buldg, B, bold, a, serapong, ]>, gafaigai, E=S. Besides the weapons here represented they
also use lances (pica) with (bought) iron points of 42 om., anda total length of2 m. 27 o. ; round shields (kalisag) of wood, oovered at the
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DEGREE OF CIVILISATION.

ever, wanting in the huts of the Indians ; but the inhabitants of
the Ysarog are as yet free from this passion.
The few products of a more advanced civilisation which they
require, they t»btain by the sale of the spontaneous productions
of their forests, chiefly wax and resin (pili),* apnik, dagian-
gan (a kind of copal), and some abaca. "Wax, which is much in
request for church solemnities, fetches half a dollar per katti ;
and resin averages half a real per chinanta. Business is transacted
very simply. Indians, having intercourse with the Ygorrotes,
make a contract with them ; and they collect the products and
bring them to a place previously agreed on, where the Indians
receive them, after paying down the stipulated price.
Physicians and magicians, or persons supposed to be possessed of
secret powers, are unknown ; every one helps himself. In order
to arrive at a clear understanding of their religious views, a longer
intercourse would be necessary. But they certainly believe in one
God, or, at least, say so, when
they are closely questioned as
to Christ ; and have also loosely
acquired several of the exter
nal practices of Catholicism,
which they employ as spells.
Hunting and hard labour
constitute the employments of
man in general, as well as in
the Philippines. The practice
of employing women as beasts
of burden — which, although it exists among many of the
peoples of Europe, for example, the Basques, Wallachians, and
Portuguese, is almost peculiar to barbarous nations, — seems
to have been unknown in the Philippines as far back as the
time of its discovery by the Spaniards; and even among the
* The fruit of the wild pili is unfit for food.
p 2

Ygorrote of Tsardg. The hair is somewhat
curled.

212 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
barbarians of the Ysarog, the women engage only in light labour,
and are well treated. Every family supports its aged and those
unfit for labour. Headaches and fevers were stated to me as the
prevalent maladies ; for which burnt rice, pounded and mixed to
a pap with water, is taken as a remedy ; and in case of severe
headache they make an incision in the forehead of the sufferer.
Their prevalence is explained by the habit of neutralising the ill
effects of drinking water in excess, when they are heated, by the
consumption of warm water in large doses ; and the rule holds
with regard to cocoa- water ; the remedy for immoderate use of
which is warm cocoa- water. Their muscular power is small, and
they are not able to carry more than fifty pounds weight to any
considerable distance.
Besides the chase and agriculture, their occupations are restricted
to the manufacture of extremely rude weapons, for which they
purchase the iron, when required, from the Indians, and of the
coarse webs made by the women, and of wicker work. Every
father of a family is master in his own house, and acknowledges
no power higher than himself. In the event of war with neigh
bouring tribes, the bravest places himself at the head, and the
rest follow him as long as they are able ; there is no deliberate
choosing bf a leader.
On the whole, they are peaceful and honourable towards each
other, although the idle occasionally steal the fruits of the fields ;
and, should the thief be caught,' the person robbed punishes
him with blows of the rattan, without being under any apprehen
sions of vengeance in consequence. If a man dies, his nearest
kinsmen go out to requite his death by the death of some other
individual, taken at random. The rule is strictly enforced. For
a dead man a man must be killed ; for a woman a woman ; and
¦ for a child a child. Unless, indeed, it be a friend they encounter,
the first victim that offers is killed. Latterly, however, owing to
the unusual success attained by some of them in representing the

STRANGE. CUSTOMS.

2'3

occurrence of death as an unavoidable destiny, the custom is
said to have fallen into desuetude ; and the relatives do not exact
the satisfaction.' This was easy in the case of the deceased being
an ordinary person ; but, to the present day, vengeance is required
in the event of the death of a beloved child or wife. If a man
kills a woman of another house, her nearest kinsman endeavours
to kill a woman of the house of the murderer ; but to the murderer
himself he does nothing ; and the corpse of the victim thus slain

Ygorrote Girls.
as a death-offering is not buried, nor is its head cut off ; and
her family, in their turn, seek to avenge the death by murder.
This is reckoned the most honourable course. Should the
murderer, however, be too strong to be so overcome, any weaker
person, be it who it may, is slain in retaliation ; and hence, pro
bably, the comparatively small number of women.
Polygamy is permitted ; but even the most courageous and
skilful seldom or never have more than one wife. A young man
wishing to marry commissions his father to treat with the
father of the bride as to the price ; which latterly has greatly
increased : but the average is ten wood knives, costing from 4 to 6
reales, and about 12 dollars in cash ; and the acquisition of so
large a sum by the sale of wax, resin, and abaca, often takes the
bridegroom two years. The bride-money goes partly to the father,
and partly to the nearest relations ; every one of whom has an

214 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
equal interest. If there should be many of them, almost nothing
remains for the father, who has to give a great feast, on which
occasion much palm- wine is drunk.
Any man using violence towards a girl is killed by her parents.
If the girl likes him, and the father hears of it, he agrees upon
a day with the former, on which he is to bring the bride's dowry ;
which should he refuse to do, he is caught by the relations, bound
to a tree, and whipped with a cane. Adultery is of most rare
occurrence ; but, when it does take place, the dowry is returned
either by the woman, who then acquires her freedom, or by the
seducer, whom she then follows. The husband has not the right
to detain her, if he takes the money, or even if he should refuse
it : but the latter contingency is not likely to arise, since that sum
of money, will enable him to buy for himself a new wife.
In the afternoon we reached a vast ravine, called "Basira,"
973 metres above Uacloy, and about 1,134 metres above the sea,
extending from south-east to north-west between lofty, precipitous
ranges, covered with wood. Its base, which has an inclination of
33°, consists of a naked bed of rock, and, after every violent rain
fall, gives issue to a torrent of water, which discharges itself
violently. Here we bivouacked; and the Ygorrotes, in a very
short time, built a hut, and remained on the watch outside. At
daybreak the thermometer stood at 13-9° R.
The road to the summit was very difficult on account of the
slippery clay earth and the tough network of plants ; but the
last 500 feet were unexpectedly easy, the very steep summit
being covered with a very thick growth of thinly leaved, knotted,
mossy thibaudia, rhododendra, and other dwarf woods, whose
innumerable tough branches, running at a very small height
along the ground and parallel to it, form a compact and secure
lattice-work, by which one mounted upwards as on a slightly
inclined ladder. The point which we reached, as may be seen
by the illustration, was evidently the highest spur of the horse-

FLOWERING AERIDS. 215
shoe-shaped mountain side, which bounds the great ravine of
Rungus on the north. The top was hardly fifty paces in diameter,
and so thickly covered with trees that I have never seen its like ;
we had not room to stand. My active hosts, however, went at once
to work, though the task of cutting a path through the wood
involved severe labour, and, chopping off the branches, built
therewith, on the tops of the lopped trees, an observatory, from
which I should have had a wide panoramic view, and an oppor
tunity for taking celestial altitudes, had not everything been
enveloped in a thick mist. The neighbouring volcanoes were
visible only in glimpses, as well as the Bay of San Miguel and
some lakes in the interior. Immediately after sunset the ther
mometer registered 12-5° R.
On the following morning it was still overcast ; and when,
about ten o'clock, the clouds became thicker, we set out on our
return. It was my intention to have passed the night in a
rancho, in order next day to visit a solfatara which was said to
be a day's journey further ; but my companions were so exhausted
by fatigue that they asked for at least one day's rest.
On the upper slope I observed no palms, with the exception of
calamus ; but polypodies were very frequent, and orchids surpris
ingly abundant. In one place all the trees were hung, at a con
venient height, with flowering aerids ; of which one could have
collected thousands without any trouble. The most beautiful
plant was a Medinella, of so delicate a texture that it was impos
sible to preserve it.
Within a quarter of an hour north-east of Uacloy, a consider
able spring of carbonic acid bursts from the ground, depositing
abundance of calcareous sinter. Our torches were quickly
extinguished, and a fowl covered over with a cigar-box died in a
few minutes, to the supreme astonishment of the Ygorrotes, to
whom these phenomena were entirely new.
On the second day of rest, my poor hosts, who had accompanied

2l6

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

me back to Uacloy, still felt so weary that they were not fit for
any undertaking. With naked heads and bellies they squatted in
the burning sun in order to replenish their bodies with the heat
which they had lost during the bivouac on the summit ; for they
are not allowed to drink wine. When I finally left them on the
following day, we had become such good friends that I was com
pelled to accept a tamed wild pig as a present. A troop of men
and women accompanied me until they saw the glittering roofs
of Maguiring, when, after the
exchange of hearty farewells,
they returned to their forests.
The Indians whom I had
taken with me from Goa had
proved so lazy and morose that
nearly the whole task of mak
ing the path through the forest
had fallen upon the Ygorrotes.
From sheer laziness they threw
away the drinking water of
which they were the porters ;
and the Ygorrotes were oblig
ed to fetch water from a con
siderable distance for our
bivouac on the summit. In
all my troublesome marches,
I have always done better with
Cimarrons than with Indians.
Cuadriiiero. The former I have found
An armed escort fu^equ^d^l-t, shirt, drawers, obliging; trustworthy, active
and acquainted with localities,
while the latter generally displayed the opposite qualities. It
would, however, be unjust to form a conclusive opinion as to their
comparative merits from these facts; for the barbarians are at

A YGORROTE PETITION. 217
home when in the forest ; what they do is done voluntarily, and
the stranger, when he possesses their confidence, is treated as a
guest. But the Indians are reluctant companions, Polistas, who,
even when they receive a high rate of wages, consider that they
are acting most honourably when they do as little as possible. At
any rate, it is no pleasure to them to leave their village in order to
become luggage-porters or beaters of roads on fatiguing marches
in impracticable districts, and to camp out in the open air under
every deprivation. For them, still more than for the European
peasant, repose is the most agreeable refreshment. The less
comfort any one enjoys at home, the greater is the reluctance
with which he leaves it ; and the same thing may be observed in
Europe. As the Ygorrotes were not permitted to have cocoa-palms for
the preparation of wine, vinegar and brandy, so that they might
not infringe the monopoly of the hacienda, they presented me
with a petition entreating me to obtain this favour for them. The
document was put together by an Indian writer in so ludicrously
confused a manner that I give it as a specimen of Philippine
clerkship.* At all events, it had the best result, for the peti
tioners were accorded twice as much as they had prayed for.
The south-west monsoon lasts in this region (district of Goa)
from April to October. April is very calm (navegacion de senoras).
From June to August the south-west winds blow steadily ;
* Sor Inspector por S. M.
Kosotros dos Cannes actuales de Rancerias de Lalud y Uacloy comprension del
pueblo de Goa prova de Camarines Sur. Ante los pies de vmd postramos y decimos.
Que portan de plornble estado en que nos hallabamos de la infedelidad recien-
poblados esta visitas de Rancerias ya nos Contentamos bastantemente en su felis
llegada y suvida de este eminente mohte de Ysarog loque havia con quiztado
industriamente de V. bajo mis consuelos, y alibios para poder con seguir a doce
ponos (i.e. arboles) de cocales de mananguiteria para Nuestro uso y alogacion a los
demas Ygorotes, o montesinos q. no quieren vendirnos ; eta utilidad publica y
reconocer a Dios y a la soberana lieyna y Sora Dona Isabel 2a (que Dios Gue) Y
por intento.
A. V. pedimos, y suplicamos con humildad secirva proveer y mandar, si es gracia
segun lo q. imploramos, etc. Domingo Tales t- J°se Laurenciano f.

2i 8 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
March, April, and May are the driest months ; there are shifting
winds in March and the beginning of April ; while from October.
to December is the time of storms ; " S. Francisco (4th October)
brings bad weather." Rice is planted in September and reaped
in February.

Our Passage through the Bog.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ASCENT OF THE YRIGA AND MAZABAGA. — PIRATES AND HIGHWAY ROBBERS.— WATER
PLANTS FEOM BERLIN TO THE PHILIPPINES. — MY SEEVANT PEPE.
From the Ysarog I returned through Naga and Nabua to Yriga,
the ascent of which I at length accomplished.
The chief of the Montesinos had received daily rations for
twenty-two men, with whom he professed to make a road to the
summit ; but when, on the evening of the third day, he came
himself to Yriga, in order to fetch more provisions, on the pre
text that the work still required some time for execution, I
explained that I should endeavour to ascend the mountain on
the following morning, and requested him to act as guide. He
consented, but disappeared, together with his companions, during
the night ; the Indians in the tribunal having been good enough
to hold out the prospect of severe punishment in case the work
performed should not correspond to the working days. After
fruitless search for another guide, we left Buhi in the afternoon,
and passed the night in the rancho, where we had previously
been so hospitably received. The fires were still burning, but
the inhabitants, on our approach, had fled. About six o'clock on
the following morning the ascent began. After we had gone
through the forest, by availing ourselves of the path which we
had previously beaten, it led us through grass three or four feet

220 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
in height, with keen-edged leaves ; succeeded by cane, from seven
to eight feet high, of the same habitat with our Arundo phrag^
mites (but it was not in flower), which occupied the whole of
the upper part of the mountain as far as the edge. Only in the
ravine did the trees attain any height. The lower declivities were
covered with aroids and ferns f towards the summit were tendrils
and mosses ; and here I found a beautiful, new, and peculiarly
shaped orchid.* The Cimarrons had cut down some cane ; and,
beating down our road for ourselves with wood-knives, we arrived
at the summit a little before ten o'clock. It was very foggy. In
the hope of a clear evening or morning I caused a hut to be
erected, for which purpose the cane was well fitted. The Indians
were too lazy to erect a lodging for themselves, or to procure
wood for a watch-fire. They squatted on the ground, squeezed
close to one another to warm themselves, ate cold rice, and
suffered thirst because none of them would fetch water. Of the
two water-carriers whom I had taken with me, one had " inad
vertently" upset his water on the road, and the other had thrown
it away " because he thought we should not require it."
I found the highest points of the Yriga to be 1,212 metres,
1,120 metres above the surface of the Buhi Lake. From Buhi I
went to Batu.
The Batu Lake (111 metres above the sea) had sunk lower since
my last visit in February. The carpet of algas had increased
considerably in breadth, its upper edge being in many places
decomposed ; and the lower passed gradually into a thick ¦ con
sistency of putrid water-plants (charse, algae, pontederite, valisnerise,
pistise, &c), which encompassed the surface of the water so that
only through a few gaps could one reach the bank. Right across
the mouth of the Quinali lies, in the lake, a bar of black mud,
the softest parts of which were indicated by some insignificant
channels of water. As we could not get over the bar in a large
* Dendrobium ceraula, u. sp., Reichenbach fil,

THE MAZARAGA. 221
boat, two small skiffs were bound together with a matting of
bamboo, and provided with an awning. By means of this con
trivance, which was drawn by three strong buffaloes (the whole
body of men with evident delight and loud mirth Wading knee-
deep in the black mud and assisting by pushing behind) we suc
ceeded, as if on a sledge, in getting over the obstacle into the
river ; which on my first visit overflowed the fields in many places,
in so far that the huts of the natives rose out of the water like so
many ships : but now (in June) not one of its channels was full.
We were obliged in consequence to continue our sledge journey
until we were near to Quinali.
At Ligao I alighted at a friendly Spaniard's, a great part
of the place, together with the tribunal and convent, having
been burnt down since my last visit. After making the neces
sary preparations, I went in the evening to Barayong, a little
rancho of Cimarrons at the foot of the Mazaraga, and, together
with its inhabitants, ascended the mountain on the following
morning. The women also accompanied us for some distance,
and kept the company in good humour ; and when, on the road,
an Indian who had been engaged for the purpose wished to give
up carrying a bamboo full of water, and, throwing it away, ran
off, an old woman stepped forward in his stead, and dragged
the water cheerfully along up to the summit. This mountain
was moister than any I had ever ascended, the Semeru in
Java, in some respects, excepted ; and half-way up I found some
rotten rafflesia.* Two miserable-looking Cimarron dogs drove a
young stag towards us, which was slain by one of the people with
a blow of the wood-knife. The path ceased at a third of the
height, but it was not difficult to get through the wood. The
upper portion of the mountain, however, being thickly overgrown
with cane, again presented great obstacles. About twelve we
reached the summit-level, which, pierced by no crater, is almost
* Rafflesia Cumingii R. Brown, according to Dr. Kuhn.

222 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
horizontal, smoothly arched, and thickly covered with cane. Its
height is 1,354 metres. In a short time the indefatigable Cimar-
rons built a fine large hut of cane : one room for myself and the
baggage, a large assembly-room for the people, and a special
apartment for cooking. Unfortunately the cane was so wet that
it would not burn. In order to procure firewood to cook the rice,
thick branches were got Out of the wood, and their comparatively
dry pith extracted with great labour. The lucifer-matches, too,
were so damp that the phosphorus was rubbed away in friction ;
but, being collected on blotting-paper, and kneaded together with
the sulphurous end of the match-wood, it became dry and was
kindled by friction. Not a trace of solid rock was to be seen.
All was obstructed by a thick overgrowth from where the path
ceased, and the ground covered with a dense bed of damp wood-
earth. The following morning was fine, and showed a wide
panorama; but, before I had completed my drawing, it again
became misty ; and as, after several hours of waiting, the heavens
were overspread with thick rain-clouds, we set out on our return.
Numerous butterflies swarmed around the summit. We could,
however, catch only a few, as the passage over the cane-stubble
was too difficult for naked feet ; and, the badly-stitched soles of
two pairs of new shoes which I had brought from Manilla having
dropped off some time before I reached the summit, I was com
pelled to perform the journey to Ligao barefoot.
On the following day my Spanish host went twice to the
tribunal to procure the buffalo carts which were necessary for the
furtherance of my collections. His courteous request was unsuc
cessful ; but the command of the cura, who personally informed
the Gobernadorcillo in his house, was immediately obeyed. The
native authorities have, as a rule, but little respect for private
Spanish people, and treat them not seldom with open contempt.
An official recommendation from the alcalde is usually effectual,
but not in all the provinces ; for many alcaldes do hurt to their

PIRATES. 223
own authority by engaging the assistance or connivance of the
native magistrates in the furtherance of their personal inte
rests. I here shot some panikes, great bats with wings nearly five feet
wide when extended, which in the day time hang asleep from the
branches of trees, and, among them, two mothers with their
young sucking ones uninjured. It was affecting to see how the
little animals clung more and more firmly to the bodies of their
dying parents, and how tenderly they embraced them even after
they were dead. The apparent feeling, however, was only self-
interest at bottom, for, when their store of milk was exhausted,
the old ones were treated without respect, like empty bottles.
As soon as the young ones were separated, they fed on bananas,
and lived several days, until I at length placed them in spirits.
Early in the morning I rode on the pastor's horse to Legaspi,
' and in the evening through deep mud to the alcalde at Albay.
We were now (June) in the middle of the so-called dry season,
but it rained almost every day ; and the road between Albay
and Legaspi was worse than ever. During my visit information
arrived from the commandant of the faluas on the south coast
that, as he was pursuing two pirate vessels, six others suddenly
made their appearance, in order to cut off his return ; for which
reason he had quickly made his way back. The faluas are very
strongly manned, and provided with cannon, but the crews fur
nished by the localities on the coast are entirely unpractised in
the use of fire-arms, and moreover hold the Moors in such dread
that, if the smallest chance offers of flight, they avail themselves
of it te ensure their safety by making for the land. The places
on the coast, destitute of other arms than wooden pikes, were
completely exposed to the pirates, who had firmly established
themselves in Catanduanes, Biri, and several small islands, and
seized ships with impunity, or robbed men on the land. Almost
daily fresh robberies and murders were announced from the vil-

224 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
lages on the shore. During a plundering expedition the men
caught while employed at the oars are finally sold as slaves ; and,
on the division of the spoil, one of the crew falls to the share of
the dato who fitted out the vessel.* The coasting vessels in
these waters, it is true, are mostly provided with artillery, but it
is generally placed in the hold of the ship, as no one on board
knows how to use it. If the cannon be upon deck, either the
powder or the shot is wanting ; and the captain promises to be
better prepared next time.f The alcalde reported the outrages
of the pirates by every post to Manilla, as well as the great injury
done to trade, and spoke of the duty of the Government to protect
its subjects, especially as the latter were not permitted to use
fire-arms ; + and from the Bisaya Islands came the same cry for
help. The Government, however, was powerless against the
evil. If the - complaints were indeed very urgent, they would
send a steamer into the waters most infested ; but it hardly ever •
came in sight of pirates, although the latter were carrying on
their depredations close in front and behind.
At Samars, the principal town, I subsequently met with a
Government steamer, 'which for fourteen days past had been
nominally engaged in cruising against the pirates ; for the latter,
generally forewarned by "their spies, perceive the smoke of the
steamers sufficiently soon to slip away in their flat boats ; and the
* According to E. Bernaldez (" Guerra al Sur") the number of Spaniards and
Indians kidnapped and killed within thirty years amounted to twenty thousand.
t The richly laden Nao acted in this way.
X Extract from a letter of the alcalde to the captain-general, 20th June, '60 : —
" " For ten days past ten pirate vessels have been lying undisturbed at the island of
S. Miguel, two leagues frorn Tabaco, and interrupt the communication with the
island of Catanduanes and the eastern part of Albay .... They have committed
several robberies, and carried off six men. Nothing can be done to resist them as
there are no fire-arms in the villages, and the only two faluas have been detained in
the roads of San Bernardino by stress of weather."
Letter of 25th June : — " Besides the above pirate ships four large pancos and fcur
small vintas have made their appearance in the straits of Bernardino  Their
force amounts from four hundred and fifty to five hundred men  Already
they have killed sixteen men, kidnapped ten, and captured one ship."

GUN-BOATS. . 225
officers knew beforehand that their cruise would have no other
result than to show the distressed provinces that their outcry was
not altogether unnoticed.*
Twenty small steam gunboats of light draught had shortly
before been ordered from England, and were nearly ready. The
first two indeed arrived soon after in Manilla (they had to be
transported in pieces round the Cape), and were to be followed
by the rest ; and they were at one time almost successful in
delivering the archipelago from these burdensome pests ; t at least,
from the proscribed Moors who came every year from the Solo
Lake, mostly from the island of Tavitavi, arriving in May at the
Bisayas, and continuing their depredations in the archipelago
until the change of the monsoon in October or November com-
pelled them to return.* In the Philippines they derived new
* In Chamisso's time it was even worse. " The expeditions in armed vessels,
which were sent from Manilla to cruise against the enemy (the pirates) . . . serve
only to promote smuggling, and Christians and Moors avoid one another with
equal diligence on such occasions" ("Observations and Views," p. 73) 
Mas (i. iv. 43) reports to the same effect, according to notices from the secretary-
general's office at Manilla, and adds that the cruisers sold even the royal arms and
ammunition, which had been entrusted to them, whence much passed into the hands
of the Moors. The alcaldes were said to influence the commanders of the cruisers,
and the latter to overreach the alcaldes ; but both usually made common cause.
Laperouse also relates (ii., p. 357), that the alcaldes bought a very large number of
persons who had been made slaves by the pirates (in the Philippines) ; so that the
latter were not usually brought to Batavia, where they were of much less value.
t According to the Diario de Manila, 14th March, 1866, piracy on the seas had
diminished, but had not ceased. Paragua, Calamianes, Mindoro, Mindanao, and
the Bisayas still suffer from it. Robberies and kidnapping are frequently carried on
as opportunity favours ; and such casual pirates are to be extirpated only by extreme
severity. According to my latest accounts, piracy is again on the increase.
X The Spaniards attempted the conquest of the Sulu Llands in 1628, 1629,
1637, 1731, and 1746; and frequent expeditions have since taken place by way of
reprisals. A great expedition was likewiso sent out in October, 1871, against Sulu,
in order to restrain the piracy which recently was getting the upper hand ;
indeed, a year or two ago, the pirates had ventured as far as the neighbourhood
of Manilla; but in April of this year (1872) the fleet returned to Manilla without
having effected its object. The Spaniards employed in this expedition almost the
whole marine forces of the colony, 14 ships, mostly steam gunboats; and they
bombarded the chief town without inflicting any particular damage, while the
Moors withdrew into the interior, and awaited the Spaniards (who, indeed, did not
venture to land) in a well-equipped body of five thousand men. After months of
Q

226 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
recruits among vagabonds, deserters^ runaway criminals, and
ruined spendthrifts ; and from the same sources were made up the
bands of highway robbers (tulisanes), which sometimes started
up, and perpetrated acts of extraordinary daring. Not long before
my arrival they had made an inroad into a suburb of Manilla,
and engaged with the military in the highways. Some of the
latter are regularly employed in the service against the tulisanes.
The robbers are not, as a rule, cruel to their victims when no
opposition is offered.*
In Legaspi I found awaiting me several chests with tin lining,
which had been sixteen months on their passage by overland
route, instead of seven weeks, having been conveyed from Berlin
by way of Trieste, on account of the Italian war. Their con
tents, which had been intended for use in the Philippines exclu
sively, were now for the most part useless. In one chest there
were two small flasks with glass stoppers, one filled with moist
charcoal, and the other with moist clay, both containing seeds of
the Victoria Regia and tubers of red and blue nymphse (water-
lily). Those in the first flask were spoiled, as might have been
expected ; but in that filled with moist clay two tubers had thrown
out shoots of half an inch in length, and appeared quite sound. I
planted them at once, and in a few days vigorous leaves were
developed. One of these beautiful plants, which had been ori-
inactivity the Spaniards burnt down an unarmed place on the. coast, committing
many barbarities on the occasion, but drew back when the warriors advanced to the
combat. The ports of the Sulu archipelago are closed to trade by a decree, although
it is questionable whether all navigators will pay any regard to it. Not loDg since
the sovereignty of his district was offered by the Sultan of Sulu to the King of
Prussia ; but the offer was declined.
* The Diario de Manila of 4th June, 1866, states:— "Yesterday the military com
mission, established by ordinance of the 3rd August, 1865, discontinued its functions.
The ordinary tribunals are again in force. The numerous bands of thirty, forty, and
more individuals, armed to the teeth, which have left behind them their traces of
blood and fire at the doors of Manilla and in so many other places, are annihilated.
 More than fifty robbers have expiated their crimes on the gallowB, . and
one hundred and forty have been condemned to preBidio (forced labour) or to other
punishments."

FLORICULTURE. 227
ginally intended for the Buitenzprg Garden in Java, remained
in Legaspi ; the other I sent to Manilla, where, on my return,
I saw it in full bloom. In the charcoal two Victoria seeds had
thrown out roots above an inch in length, which had rotted off.
Most likely they had been torn up by the custom-house inspec
tors, and had afterwards rotted, for the neck of the bottle was
broken, and the charcoal appeared as if it had been stirred. I
communicated the brilliant result of his mode of packing to the
Inspector of the Botanical Gardens at Berlin, who made a second
consignment direct to Java, which arrived in the best condition ;
so that not only the Victoria, but also the one which had been
derived in Berlin from an African father and an Asiatic mother,
now adorn the water-basins of Java with red pond-roses (the
latter plants probably those of the Philippines also) .
Being compelled by the continuous rain to dry my collections
in two ovens before packing them, I found that my servant had
burned the greater part, so that the remains found a place in a
roomy chest which I purchased for a dollar at an auction. This
unfortunately lacked a lid ; to procure which I was obliged, in
the first place, to liberate a carpenter who had been imprisoned
for a small debt ; secondly, to advance money for the purchase
of a board and the redemption of his tools out of pawn ; and even
then the work, when it was begun, was several times broken off
because previous claims of violent creditors had to be discharged
by labour. In five days the lid was completed, at the cost of
three dollars. It did not last long, however, for in Manilla I had
to get it replaced by a new one.
At Legaspi I availed myself of an opportunity to reach the
island of Samar in a small schooner. It is situated south-east
from Luzon, on the farther side of the Strait of San Bernardino,
which is three leagues in breadth. At the moment of my depar
ture, to my great regret, my servant left me, "that he might
rest a little from his fatigue,"' for Pepe was good-natured, very
g.2

228 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
skilful, and always good-tempered. He -had learned much from
the numerous Spanish soldiers and sailors resident in Cavite, his
native place, where he used to be playfully called the " Spaniard
of Cavite." Roving from one place to another was his delight ;
and he quickly acquired acquaintances. He knew especially how
to gain the favour of" the ladies, for he possessed many social
accomplishments, being equally able to play the guitar and to
milk the buffalo-cows. When we came to a pueblo, where a
mestize, or even a " daughter of the country " (creole), dwelt,
he would, when practicable, ask permission to milk a cow; and
after bringing the senora some of the milk, under pretext of
being the interpreter of my wishes, he would maintain such a flow
of ingeniously courteous conversation, praising the beauty and
graces of the lady, and" most modestly allowing his prodigious
travelling adventures to be extracted from him, that both knight
and esquire beamed with brilliant radiance. A present was
always welcome, and brought us many a little basket of oranges ;
and buffalo milk is excellent with chocolate : but it seemed as if
one seldom has the opportunity of milking a cow. Unfortunately
Pepe did not like climbing mountains, and when he was to have
gone with me he either got the bellyache or gave away my strong
shoes, or allowed them to be stolen ; the native ones, however,
being allowed to remain untouched, for he knew well that they
were fit only for riding, and derived comfort from the fact. In
company with me he worked quickly and cheerfully ; but, when
alone, it became tedious to him. Particularly he found friends
who hindered him, and then he would abandon his skinning of
the birds, which therefore became putrid and had to be thrown
away. Packing was still more disagreeable to him, and conse
quently he did it as quickly as possible, though not always with
sufficient care, as on one occasion he tied up, in one and the same
bundle, shoes, arsenic-soap, drawings, and chocolate. Notwith
standing trifling faults of this kind, he was very useful and

PEPE THE ACCOMPLISHED.

220

agreeable to me ; but he did not go willingly to such an unci
vilised island as Samar ; and when he received his wages in full
for eight months all in a lump, and so became a small capitalist,
he could not resist the temptation to rest a little from his labours.

[Riiifi

A Spanish- Tagal Mestize.

CHAPTER XIX.
TRAVELS IN SAMAR. — WEATHER. — ELECTION OF OFFICIALS. — NORTH COAST.— CATBA-
L6GAN. — THE FLYING LEMUR. — SERPENT TAMERS. — TERTIARY PETRIFACTIONS. —
THE RAPIDS OF THE L0QUIL6CUN. — THE MAGO.
The island of Samar, which is of nearly rhomboidal outline, and
with few indentations on its coasts, stretches from the north-west
to the south-east from 12° 37' to 10° 54' N. ; its mean length
being twenty-two miles, its breadth eleven, and its area two
hundred and twenty square miles. It is separated on the south
by the small strait of San Juanico from the island of Leyte, with
which it was formerly united into one province. At the present
time each island has its separate governor.
By the older authors the island is called Tendaya, Ybabao, -and
also Achan and Philippina. In later times the eastern side was
called Ybabao, and the western Samar, which is now the official
denomination for the whole island, the eastern shore being distin
guished as the Contracosta.*
As on the eastern coasts of Luzon, the north-east monsoon here
exceeds that from the south-west in duration and force, the vio
lence of the latter being arrested by the islands lying to the south-
* According to Arenas (" Memorias," 21) Albay was formerly called Ibalon ;
Tabayas, Calilaya ; Batangas, Comintan ; Negros, Buglas ; Cebu, Sogbu ; Mindoro,
Mait ; Samar, Ybabao ; and Basilan, Taguima. Mindanao is called Cesarea by B.
' dela Torre, and Samar, by R. Dudleo "Arcano del Mare" (Florence, 1761), Cam-
laia. In Hondiv's map of the Indian islands (Purchas, 605) Luzon is Luconia;
Samar, Achan; Ley te, Sabura ; Camarines, Nebui. In Albo's " Journal," Cebu is
called Suba ; and Leyte, Seilani. Pigafetta describes a city called Cingapola in
Zubu, and Leyte, on his map, is in the north called Baybay, and in the south
Ceylon.

THE SEASONS. 231
west, while the north-east winds break against the coasts of these
easterly islands with their whole force, and the additional weight
of the body of water which they bring with them from the open
ocean. In October winds fluctuating between north-west and
north-east occur ; but the prevalent ones are northerly. In the
middle of November the north-east is constant ; and it blows, with
but little intermission, from the north until April. This is likewise
the rainy season, December and January being the wettest, when
it sometimes rains for 14 days without interruption. In Lauang,
on the north coast, the rainy season lasts from October to the end
of December. From January to April it is dry ; May, June, and
July are rainy ; and August and September, again, are dry ; so
that here there are two wet and two dry seasons in the year.
From October to January violent storms (baguios or typhoons)
sometimes occur. Beginning generally with a north wind, they
pass to the north-west, -accompanied by a little rain, then back
to the north, and with increasing violence to the north-east and
east, where they acquire their greatest power, and then moderate
to the south. Sometimes, however, they change rapidly from the
east to the south, in which quarter they first acquire their greatest
force. From the end of March to the middle of June inconstant
easterly winds (N.E.E. and S.E.) prevail, with a very heavy sea on
the east coast. May is usually calm ; but in May and June
there are frequent thunder-storms, introducing the south-west
monsoon, which though it extends through the months of July,
August, and September, is not so constant as the north-east. The
last-named three months constitute the dry season, which, how
ever, is often interrupted by thunder-storms. Not a week^ndeed,
passes without rain ; and in many years a storm arises every after
noon. At this season of the year ships can reach the east coast ;
but during the north-east monsoon navigation there is impossible.
These general circumstances are subject to many local devia-

232 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
tions, particularly on the south and west coasts, where the'
uniformity of the air currents is disturbed by the mountainous
islands lying in front of them. According to the " Estado geo-
grafico " of 1855, an extraordinarily high tide, called dolo, occurs
every year at the change of the monsoon in September or October.
It rises sometimes sixty or seventy feet, and dashes itself with
fearful violence against the south and east coasts, doing great
damage, but not lasting for any length of time. The climate
of Samar and Leyte appears to be very healthy on the coasts;
in fact, to be the best of all the islands of the archipelago.
Dysentery, diarrhoea, and fever occur less frequently than in
Luzon, and Europeans also are less subject to their attacks than
in that place.
The resident civilised Indians live almost solely on its coasts,
and there are also Bisayans who differ in speech and manners
from the Bicols in about the same -degree that the latter
do from the Tagalese. Roads and villages are almost entirely
wanting in the interior, which is covered with a thick wood, and'
affords sustenance to independent tribes, who carry on a little
tillage (vegetable roots and mountain rice), and collect the
products of the woods, particularly resin, honey, and wax, in
which the island is very rich.
On the 3rd of July we lost sight of Legaspi, and, detained by
frequent calms, crawled as far as Point Montufar, on the northern
edge of Albay, then onwards to the small island of Viri, and
did not reach Lauang before the evening of the 5th. The moun
tain range of Bacon (thePocdol of Coello), which on my previous
journeys had been concealed by night or mist, now revealed
itself to us in passing as a conical mountain ; and beside it
towered a very precipitous, deeply-cleft mountain-side, apparently
the remnant of a circular range. After the pilot, an old Indian
and native of the country, who had made the journey fre
quently before, had conducted us, to begin with, to a wrong port,

LAUANG.

*33

he ran the vessel fast on to the bar, although there was suffi
cient water to sail into the harbour conveniently.
The district of Lauang (Lahuan), which is encumbered with
more than four thousand five hundred inhabitants, is situated
at the altitude of forty feet, on the south-west shore of the small
island of the same name, which is separated from Samar by an
arm of the Catubig. According to a widely-spread tradition,
the settlement was originally in Samar itself, in the middle of the
rice-fields, which continue to the present day in that place, until

Lauang.

the repeated inroads of sea-pirates drove the inhabitants, in the
face of the inconvenience attending it, to protect- themselves by
settling on the south coast of the little island, which rises steeply
out of the sea.* The latter consists of almost horizontal banks of
tuff, from eight to twelve inches in thickness. The strata being
continually eaten away by the waves at water-mark, the upper
layers break off; and thus the uppermost parts of the strata,
which are of a tolerably uniform thickness, are cleft by vertical
* No mention is made of it in the " Estado geogr." of the Franciscans, published
at Manilla in 1855.

23+ THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
fissures, and -look like the walls of a fortress. Pressed for space,"
the church and the convent have taken up every level bit of the
rock at various heights ; and the effect of this accommodation of
architecture to the requirements of the ground, though not
designed by the architect, is most picturesque.
The place is beautifully situated ; but the' houses are not so
frequently as formerly surrounded by little gardens, while there
is a great want of water, and foul odours prevail. Two or three
scanty springs afford a muddy, brackish water, almost at the
level of the sea, with which the indolent people are content so
that they have just enough. Wealthy people have their water
brought from Samar, and the poorer classes are sometimes com
pelled, by the drying-up of the springs, to have recourse to the
same place. The spring-water is not plentiful for bathing pur
poses ; and, sea-bathing not being in favour, the people conse
quently are very dirty. Their clothing is the same as in Luzon ;
but the women wear no tapis, only a camisa (a short shirt, hardly
covering the breast), and a saya, mostly of coarse, stiff guinara,
which forms ugly folds, and when not coloured black is very
transparent. Dirt and a filthy existence form a better protection
than tight garments. The inhabitants of Lauang rightly, indeed,
enjoy the reputation of being very idle. Their industry is limited
to a little tillage, even fishing being so neglected that frequently
there is a scarcity of fish. In the absence of roads by land, there
is hardly any communication by water ; and trade is mostly carried
on by mariners from Catbalogan, who exchange the surplus of
the harvests for other produce.
From the cod vent a view is had of part of the island of Samar,
the mountain forms of which appear to be a continuation of the
horizontal strata. In the centre of the district, at the distance
of some miles, a table mountain, famous in the history of the
country, towers aloft. The natives of the neighbouring village
of Palapat retreated to it after having killed their pastor, a too

ELECTION OF OFFICIALS. 235
covetous Jesuit father, and for years carried on a guerilla war
fare with the Spaniards until they were finally vanquished by
treachery. The interior of the country is difficult to traverse from the
absence of roads, and the coasts are much infested by pirates.
Quite recently several pontins -and four schooners, laden with
abaca, were captured, and the crews cruelly murdered, their bodies
having been cut to pieces. This, however, was 'opposed to their
general practice, for the captives are usually employed at
the oars during the continuance of the foray, and afterwards
sold as slaves in the islands of the Solo, Lake. It was well
that we did not encounter the pirates, for, although we carried
four small cannons on board, nobody understood how to use
them.* The governor, who was expected to conduct the election of
the district officials in person, but was prevented by illness,
sent a deputy. As the annual elections are conducted in the same
manner over the whole country, that at which I was present
may be taken as typical of the rest. It took place in the common
hall ; the governor (or his deputy) sitting at the table, with the
pastor on his right hand, and the clerk on his left, — the latter
also acting as interpreter; while Cabezas de Barangay, the
gobernadorcillo,. and those who had previously filled the office,
took their places all together on benches. First of all, six cabezas
and as many gobernadorcillos are chosen by lot as electors ; the
actual gobernadorcillo is the thirteenth, and the rest quit the
hall. After .the reading of the statutes by the president, who
* Small ships which have no cannon should be provided with pitchers filled with
water and the fruit of the sacchariferous arenga, for the purpose of besprinkling
the pirates, in the event of an attack, with the corrosive mixture, which causes a
burning heat. Dumont d'Urville mentions that the inhabitants of Solo had, during
his visit, poisoned the wells with the same fruit. The kernels preserved in sugar
are an agreeable confection.

236

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

exhorts the electors to the conscientious performance of their
duty, the latter advance singly to the table, and write three
names on a piece of paper. Unless a valid protest be made either
by the pastor or by the electors, the one who has the most votes
is forthwith named gobernadorcillo for the coming year, subject

Constable. Gobernadorcillo.
After a Tagal Sketch.
to the approval of the superior jurisdiction at Manilla ; which,
however, always consents, for the influence of the cura would
provide against a disagreeable election. The election of the other
functionaries takes place in the same manner, after the now
gobernadorcillo has been first summoned into the hall, in order
that, if he have any important objections to the officers then

A PERILOUS JOURNEY, 237
about to be elected, he may be able to make them. The whole
affair was conducted very quietly and with dignity.*
On the following morning, accompanied by the obliging pastor,
who was followed by nearly all the boys of the village, I crossed
over in a large boat to Samar. Out of eleven strong baggage
porters whom the governor's representative had selected for me,
four took possession of some trifling articles and sped away with
them, three others hid themselves in the bush, and four had
previously decamped at Lauang. The baggage was divided and
distributed amongst the four porters who were detained, and the
little boys who had accompanied us for their own pleasure. We
followed the sea-shore in a westerly direction, and at a very late
hour reached the nearest visita, where the cura was successful,
after much difficulty, in supplying the places of the missing
porters. On the west side of the mouth of the Pambujan a
neck of land projects into the sea, which is a favourite resort
of the sea-pirates, who from their shelter in the wood com
mand the shore which extends in a wide curve on both sides, and
forms the only communication between Lauang and Catarman.
Many travellers had already been robbed" in this place ; and the
father, who -was n'bw accompanying me thus far had, with the
greatest difficulty, escaped the same danger only a few weeks
before. The last part of our day's journey was performed very
cautiously. A messenger who had been sent on had placed boats
at all the mouths of rivers, and, as hardly any other Europeans
besides ecclesiastics are known in this district, I was taken in the
* There were also elected a teniente may6r (deputy of the gobernadorcillo), a
juez mayor (superior judge) for the fields, who is always an ex-captain ; a second
judge for the police ; a third judge for disputes relating to cattle ; a second and
third teniente ; and first and second policemen ; and finally, in addition, a
teniente, a judge, and a policeman for each visita. All three of the judges can
be ex-capitanos, but no ex-capitano can be teniente. The first teniente must
be taken from the higher class, the others may belong either to that or to the
common people. The policemen (alguacils) are always of the latter class.

233 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
darkness for a Capuchin in travelling attire ; the men lighting me
with torches during the passage, and the women pressing forward
to kiss my hand. I passed the night on the road, and on the
following day reached Catarman (Caladman on Coello's map),
a clean, spacious locality numbering 6,358 souls, at the mouth-
of the river of the same name. Six pontins from Catbalogan
awaited their cargoes of rice for Albay. The inhabitants of the
north coast are too indifferent sailors to export their products
themselves, and leave it to the people of Catbalogan, who,
having no rice-fields, are obliged to find employment for their
activity in other places.
The river Catarman formerly debouched further to the east,
and was much choked with mud. In the year 1851, after a con
tinuous heavy rain, it worked for itself, in the loose soil which
consists of quartz sand and fragments of mussels, a new and
shorter passage to the sea — the present harbour, in which ships
of two hundred tons can load close to the land ; but in doing so
it destroyed the greater part of the village, as well as the stone
church and the priest's residence. In the new convent there are
two saloons, one 16-2 by 8-8, the other 9 by 7-6 paces in dimen
sions, boarded with planks from a single branch of a diptefo-
carpus (guiso). The pace is equivalent to 30 inches ; and,
assuming the thickness of the boards, inclusive of waste, to be
one inch, this would give a solid block of wood as high as a
table (2 1 feet), the same in breadth, 18 feet in length, and of
about 110 cubic feet.* The houses are enclosed in gardens ; but
some of them only by fencing, within which weeds luxuriate.
At the rebuilding of the village, after the great flood of water,
the laying out of gardens was commanded ; but the industry which
is required to preserve them is often wanting. Pasture grounds
* G. Squier (" States of Central America," 1S2) mentions a block of mahogany,
17 ft. in length, which, at its lowest section, measured 5 ft. 6 in. square, and con
tained altogether 550 cubic feet.

CA T ARM AN.

239

extend themselves, on the south side of the village, covered with
fine short grass ; but, with the exception of some oxen and
sheep belonging to the cura, there are no cattle.
Still without servants, I proceeded with my baggage in two
small boats up the river, on both sides of which rice-fields and
cocoa-groves extended ; but the latter, being concealed by a
thick border of Nipa palms and lofty cane, are only visible occa
sionally through the gaps. The sandy banks, at first flat, became
gradually steeper, and the rock soon showed itself close at hand,
with firm banks of sandy
clay containing occasional
traces of indistinguishable
petrifactions. A small mus
sel* has pierced the clay
banks at the water-line, in
such numbers that they look
like hpneycombs. About
twelve we cooked our rice
in an isolated hut, amongst
friendly people. The women
whom we surprised in dark
ragged clothing of guinara
drew back ashamed, and _|p
soon after appeared in clean a-lotk&ic.
chequered sayas, with ear
rings of brass and tortoise-shell combs. When I drew a little
naked girl, the mother forced her to put on a shirt. About two
"we again stepped into the boat, and after rowing the whole night
reached a small visita, Cobocobo, about nine in the forenoon.
The rowers had worked without interruption for . twenty -four
* According to Dr. V. Martens, Modiola striatula, Hanley, who found the same
bivalve at Singapore, in brackish water, but considerably larger. Reeve also delineates
the species collected by Cumming in the Philippines, without precise mention of
the locality, as being larger (38uun), that from Catarman being 17mm.

240 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
hours, exclusive of the two hours' rest at noon, and though some
what tired were in good spirits.
At half -past two we set out on the road over the Salta Sangley
(Chinese leap) to Tragbucan, which, distant about a mile in a
straight line, is situated at the place where the Calbayot, which
debouches on the west coast at point Hibaton, becomes navigable
for small boats. By means of these two rivers and the short hut
troublesome road, a communication exists between the important
stations of Catarman on the north coast, and Calbayot on the west
coast. The road, which at its best part is a small path in the
thick wood uninvaded by the sun, and frequently is only a track,
passes over slippery ridges of clay, disappearing in the mud
puddles in the intervening hollows, and sometimes running
into the bed of the brooks. The water-shed between the Catar
man and Calbayo/ is formed by the Salta Sangley already
mentioned, a flat ridge composed of banks of clay and sandstone,
which succeed one another ladder-wise downwards on both its
sides, and from which the water collected at the top descends in
little cascades. In the most difficult places rough ladders of
bamboo are fixed. I counted fifteen brooks on the north-east
side which feed the Catarman, and about the same number of
feeders of the Calbayot on the south-west. side. About forty
minutes past four we reached the highest point of the Salta
Sanglev, about ninety feet above the sea ; and at half-past six
we got to a stream, the highest part of the Calbayot, in the bed
of which we wandered until its increasing depth forced us, in the
dark, laboriously to beat out our path through the underwood
to its bank ; and about eight o'clock we found ourselves opposite
the visita Tragbucan. The river at this place was already six feet
deep, and there was not a boat. After shouting entreaties and
th.rea.ts for a long time, the people, who were startled out of sleep by
the report from a revolver, agreed to construct a raft of bamboo,
on which they placed ourselves and our baggage. The little

A WATER JOURNEY.

2 + 1

place, which consists of only a few poor huts, is prettily situated,
surrounded as it is by wooded hillocks on a plateau of sand fifty
feet above the reed-bordered river.
Thanks to the activity of the teniente of Catarman who
accompanied me, a boat was procured without delay, so that we
were able to continue our journey about seven o'clock. The banks
were from twenty to forty feet high ; and, with the exception of
the cry of some rhinoceros birds which fluttered from bough to

Boat with Outriggers of Bamboo.
The upper edge consists only of a loose tresswork of palm-leaves, held together by
strips of bamboo.
bough on the tops of the trees, we neither heard nor saw a trace of
animal life. About half-past eleven we reached Taibago, a small
visita, and about half -past one a similar one, Magubay ; and after
two hours' rest at noon, about five o'clock, we got into a current
down which we skilfully floated, almost without admitting any
water. The river, which up to this point is thirty feet broad,
and on account of many projecting branches of trees difficult to
navigate, here is twice as broad. About eleven at night we reached
the sea, and in a complete calm rowed for the distance of a league
R

242 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
along the coast to Calbayot, the convent at which place affords a
commanding view of the islands lying before it.
A thunderstorm obliged us to postpone the journey to the
chief town, Catbalogan (or Catbalonga), which was seven leagues
distant, until the afternoon. In a long boat, formed out of the
stem of one tree, and furnished with outriggers, we travelled
along the shore, which is margined by a row of low-wooded hills
with many small visitas ; and as night was setting in we rounded
the point of Napalisan, a rock of trachytic conglomerate shaped
by perpendicular fissures with rounded edges into a series of pro
jections like towers, which rises up out of the sea to the height
of sixty feet, like a knight's castle. At night we reached Catba
logan, the chief town of the island, with a population of six
thousand, which is picturesquely situated in the middle of the
western border, in a little bay surrounded by islands and necks
of land, difficult to approach and, therefore, little guarded. Not
a single vessel was anchored in the harbour.
The houses, many of which are of boards, are neater than those
in Camarines ; but the people, though idle, are more modest, more
honourable, more obliging, and of cleaner habits, than the inhabi
tants of South Luzon. Through the courtesy of the governor
I quickly obtained a roomy dwelling, and a servant who under
stood Spanish. Here I also met a very intelligent Indian who
had acquired great skill in a large variety of crafts. With the
simplest tools he improved in many points on my instruments
and apparatus, the purpose of which he quickly comprehended
to my entire satisfaction, and gave many proofs of considerable
intellectual ability.
In Samar the flying monkey or lemur (the kaguang of the
Bisayans — galeopithecus) is not rare. These animals, which
are of the size of the domestic cat, belong to the quadrumana ;
but, like the flying squirrels, they are provided with a volucral
membrane, which, commencing at the neck, and passing over

THE KAGUANG. 243
the fore and hinder limbs, reaches to the tail ; by means of which
they are able to glide from one tree to another at a very obtuse
angle.* Body and membrane are clothed with a very short fur, which
nearly equals the chinchilla in firmness and softness, and is on
that account in great request. While I was there, six live
kaguangs arrived as a present for the pastor (three light grey,
one dark brown, and two greyish brown ; all with irregularly dis
tributed spots) ; and from these I secured a little female with her
young. It appeared to be a very harmless, awkward animal. When
liberated from its fetters, it remained lying on the ground with
all its four limbs stretched out, and its belly in contact with the
earth, and then hopped in short awkward leaps, without thereby
raising itself from the ground, to the nearest wall, which was of
planed boards. Arrived there, it felt about it for a long time
with the sharp claw, which is bent inwards, of its fore-hand,
until at length it realised the impossibility of climbing it at any
part. It succeeded by means of a corner or an accidental crevice
in climbing a foot upwards, and fell down again immediately,
because it had abandoned the comparatively secure footing of its
hinder limbs before its fore-claws had obtained a firm hold. It
received no hurt, as the violence of the fall was broken by the
flying membrane which was rapidly extended. These attempts,
which were continued with steady perseverance, showed an as
tonishing deficiency of judgment, the animal endeavouring to do
much more than was in its power to accomplish. All its endea
vours, therefore, were unsuccessful, though made without doing
itself any hurt — thanks to the parachute with which Nature had
* In Sumatra Wallace saw, in the twilight, a lemur run up the trunk of a tree,
and then glide obliquely through the air to another trunk, by which he nearly
reached the ground. The distance between the two trees amounted to 210 feet, and
the difference of height was not above 35 or 40 feet ; consequently, less than 1 : 5,
— (" Malay Archipelago," i. 211).
R2

244 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
provided it. Had the kaguang not been in the habit of relying
so entirely on this convenient contrivance, it probably would have
exercised its judgment to a greater extent, and formed a more
correct estimate of its ability. The animal repeated its fruitless
efforts so often that I no longer took any notice of it, and after
some time it disappeared :• but I found it again in a dark corner,
under the roof, where it would probably have waited for the night
in order to continue its flight. Evidently it had succeeded in
reaching the upper edge of the boarded wall by squeezing its
body between this and the elastic covering of bamboo hurdle-
work which lay firmly imposed upon it ; so that the poor creature,
which I had rashly concluded was stupid and awkward, had,
under the circumstances, manifested the greatest possible skill,
prudence, and perseverance.
A padre who was present on a visit from Calbigan promised me
so many wonders in his district — abundance of the rarest animals,
and Cimarronese uncivilised in the highest degree — that I accom
panied him, on the following day, in his journey home. In an
hour after our departure we reached the little island of Majava,
which consists of perpendicular strata of a hard, fine-grained, vol
canic tuff, with small, bright crystals of hornblende. The island
of Buat (on Coello's map) is called by our mariners Tubigan. In
three hours we reached Umauas, a dependency of Calbigan. It is
situated, fifty feet above the sea, in a bay, before which (as is so
often the case on this coast) a row of small picturesque islands
succeed one another, and is exactly four leagues from Catbalogan.
But Calbigan, which we reached towards evening, is situated two
leagues N.N.E. from Umauas, surrounded by rice-fields, forty feet
above the river of the same name, and almost a league and a half
from its mouth. A tree with beautiful violet-blue panicles of
blossoms is especially abundant on the banks of the Calbigan,
and supplies a most valuable wood for building purposes in the
Philippines. It is considered equal to teak, like which it belongs

SERPENT- CHARMERS. 24s
to the class verbenaceas ; and its inland name is molave ( Vitex
geniculata, Blanco).*
According to the statements of credible men, there are serpent-
tamers in this country. They are said to pipe the serpents out of
their holes, directing their movements, and stopping and handling
them at will, without being injured by them. The most famous
individual amongst them, however, had been carried off by the
sea-pirates a short time before ; another had run away to the Cimar-
ronese in the mountains ; and the third, whose reputation did not
appear to be rightly established, accompanied me on my excur
sion, but did not justify the representations of his friends. He
caught two poisonous serpents, t which we encountered on the
road, by dexterously seizing them immediately behind the head,
so that they were incapable of doing harm ; and, when he com
manded them to lie still, he took the precaution of placing his
foot on their necks. In the chase I hurt my foot so severely
against a sharp-pointed branch which was concealed by the mud
that I was obliged to return to Catbalogan without effecting my
object. The inhabitants of Calbigan are considered more active
and circumspect than those on the west coast, and they are
praised for their honesty. I found them very skilful ; and they
seemed to take an evident pleasure in making collections and
preparing plants and animals, so that I would gladly have taken
with me a servant from the place ; but they are so reluctant to
leave their village that all the efforts of the pastor to induce one
to ride with us were fruitless.
At a short distance north-west from Catbalogan a most luxu-
rimt garden of corals is to be observed in less than two fathoms,
at the ebb. On a yellow carpet of calcareous polyps and sponges,
groups of leather-like stalks, finger-thick, lift themselves up like
* The specimens which were sent to the Herbarium at Berlin are not to be
found. -f According to W. Peters, Tropidolantits Philippinensis, Gray.

246 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS-
stems of vegetable growth ; their upper ends thickly covered with
polyps (Sarcophyton pulmo Esp.), which display their roses of
tentacul'a wide open, and resplendent with the most beautiful
varying colours, looking, in fact, like flowers in full bloom. Very
large serpulites extend from their calcareous tubes, elegant red,
blue, and yellow crowns of feelers, and, while little fishes of
marvellously gorgeous colour dart about in this fairy garden, in
their midst luxuriantly grow delicate, feathered plumularise.
Bad weather and the flight of my servant, who had gambled
away some money with which he had been entrusted at a cock
fight, having detained me some days in the chief town, I pro
ceeded up the bay, which extends southwards from Catbalogan
and from west to east as far as Paranas. Its northern shore con
sists of ridges of earth, regular and of equal height, extending from
north to south, with gentle slopes towards the west, but steep declivi
ties on the east, and terminating abruptly towards the sea. Nine
little villages are situated on this coast between Catbalogan and
Paranas. From the hollows, amidst cocoa and betel palms, they
expand in isolated groups of houses up the gentle western slopes,
and, on reaching the summit, terminate in a little castle, which
hardly affords protection -against the pirates, but generally forms
a pretty feature in the landscape. In front of the southern edge
of the bay, and to the south-west, many small islands and wooded
rocks are visible, with the mountains of Leyte in the high-ground,
constituting an ever-shifting series of views.
As the men, owing to the sultry heat, the complete calm, and
almost cloudless sky, slept quite as much as they rowed, we did
not reach Paranas before the afternoon. It is a clean village,
situated on a declivity between twenty and a hundred and fifty
feet above the sea. The sides, which stand perpendicularly in the
sea, consist of grey banks of clay receding landwards, and over
spread with a layer of fragments of mussels, the intervals between
which are filled up with clay, and over the latter is a solid breccia,

LOQUILOCUN. 247
anniented with lime, composed of similar fragments. In the
clay banks are well-preserved petrifactions, so similar in colour,
habitat, and aspect to many of those in the German tertiary for
mations that they might be taken for them. The breccia also
is fossil, probably also tertiary ; at all events, the identity of the
few species which were recognisable in it — Cerithium, Pecten,
and Venus — with living species could not be determined.*
On the following morning I proceeded northwards by a small
canal, through a stinking bog of rhizophora (mangroves), and
then continued my journey on land to Loquilocun, a little village
which is situated in the forest. Half-way we passed through a
river, twenty feet broad, flowing east to west, with steep banks
rendered accessible by ladders. As I still continued lame (wounds
in the feet are difficult to heal in warm countries), I caused my
self to be carried, part of the way in the manner which is
customary hereabouts. The traveller lies on a loose mat, which
is fastened to a bamboo frame. A III represents the contrivance ;
the middle stroke is the hanging mat, and the two others are the
frame, the projecting ends of which are borne on the shoulders of
four robust polistas. About every ten minutes the bearers are
relieved by others. As a protection against sun and rain, the
frame is furnished with a light roof of pandanus.
The roads were pretty nearly as bad as those at the Salta
Sangley ; and, with the exception of the sea-shore, which is some
times available, there appear to be none better in Samar. After
three hours we reached the Loquilocun, which, coming from the
north, here touches its most southerly point, and then flows south
east to the great ocean. Through the kind care of the governor,
I found two small boats ready, which were propelled with wonder-
* V. Martens identified amongst the tertiary mussels of the banks of clay the
following species, which still live in the Indian Ocean : — Venus (Semitapes) hian-
tina, Lam.; V. squamosa, L. ; Area eecillei, Phil. ; A. incequivalvis, Brug. ; A. chal-
canthum, Rv., and the genera Yoldia, Pleurotoma, Cuvieria, Dentalium, without being
able to assert their identity with living species.

248 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
ful dexterity by two men squatted at the extreme ends, and
glided between the branches of the trees and rocks into the bed
of the rapid mountain torrent. Amidst loud cheers both the
boats glided down a cascade of a foot and a half in height without
shipping any water.
The little village of Loquilocun consists of three groups of
houses on three hillocks. The inhabitants were very friendly,
modest, and obliging, and so successful in collecting that the
spirits of wine which I had with me was quickly consumed. In
Catbalogan my messengers were able with difficulty to procure
a few small flasks. Through the awkward arrangements of a
too obliging friend, my own stores, having been sent to a wrong
address, did not reach me until some months afterwards ; and the
palm- wine, which was to be bought in Samar, was too weak. One
or two boats went out daily to fish for me ; but I obtained only a
few specimens, which belonged to almost as many species and
genera. Probably the bad custom of poisoning the water in order
to kill the fish (the pounded fruit of a Barringtonia here being
employed for the purpose) is the cause of the river being so
empty of fish.
After a few days we left the little place about half -past nine in
the forenoon, packed closely in two small boats ; and, by seven
minutes past one when we reached an inhabited hut in the forest,
we had descended more than forty streams of a foot and a foot
and a half and more in depth. The more important of them
have names which are correctly given on Coello's map ; and the
following are their distances by the watch : — At ten o'clock we
came to a narrow, rocky chasm, at the extremity of which the
water falls several feet below into a large basin ; and here we
unloaded the boats, which hitherto had, under skilful manage
ment, wound their way, like well-trained horses, between all the
impediments in the bed of the river and over all the cascades and
waves, almost without taking any water ; only two men remain-

RAPIDS. 249
i«g in each boat, who, loudly cheering, shot downwards ; in doing
which the boats were filled to the brim.
Opposite this waterfall a bank of rubbish had been formed by
the alluvium, in which, besides fragments of the subjacent rock,
were found well-rounded pieces of jasper and porphyry, as well as
some bits of coal containing several pyrites, which had probably
been brought during the rain from higher up the river. Its origin
was unknown to the sailors. From fifty-six minutes past eleven
to twelve o'clock there was an uninterrupted succession of rapids,
which were passed with the greatest dexterity, without taking
in water. Somewhat lower down, at about three minutes past
twelve, we took in so much water that we were compelled to land
and bale it out. At about fifteen minutes past twelve, we pro-
. ceeded onwards, the river now being on the average sixty feet
broad. On the edge of the wood some slender palms, hardly
ten feet high, were remarkable by their frequency, and many
phalaenopses by their display of blossoms, which is of rare occur
rence. Neither birds, nor apes, nor serpents were observed ; but
large pythons, as thick as one's leg, are said to be not unfrequent.
About thirty-six minutes past twelve we reached one of the
most difficult places — a succession of waves, with many rocks pro
jecting out of the water, between which the boats, now in full
career, and with rapid evolutions, glided successfully. The ad
venture was accomplished with equal skill by the two crews,
who exerted their powers to the utmost. At seventeen minutes
past one we arrived at Dini, the most considerable waterfall in
the whole distance ; and here we had to take the boats out of the
water; and, availing ourselves of the lianas which hung down
from the lofty forest trees like ropes, we dragged them over the
rocks. At twenty-one minutes past two we resumed our journey ;
and from twenty-two minutes past to half-past eight we descended
an irregular stair composed of several ledges, shipping much
water. Up to this point the Loquilocun flowed in a rocky bed,

2 50 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
with (for the most part) steep banks, and sometimes for a long
distance under a thick canopy of boughs, from which powerful
tendrils and ferns, more than a fathom in length, were suspended.
Here the country was to some extent open ; flat Mllocks, with
low underwood, came to view, and, on the north-west, loftier
wooded mountains. The last two hours were notable for a
heavy fall of rain, and, about half-past five, we reached a solitary
house occupied by friendly people, where we took up our quarters
for the night.
On the following morning the journey was continued down the
river. Within ten minutes we glided down the last waterfall,
between white calcareous rocks of a kind of marble, covered
with magnificent vegetation. Branches, completely covered with
phalaenopses (P. Aphrodite, Reichb. fls.), projected over the river, .
their flowers waving like large gorgeous butterflies over its foam
ing current. Two hours later the stream became two hundred
feet broad, and, after leaping down a ladder of fifty metres in
height from Loquilocun, it steals away in gentle windings through
a flat inundated country to the east coast ; forming a broad
estuary, on the right bank of which, half a league from the sea,
the district of Jubasan or Paric (population 2,300) is situated.
The latter give their names to the lower portion of the stream.
Here the excellent fellows of Loquilocun left me in order to
begin their very arduous return journey.
Owing to bad weather, I could not embark for Tubig (popula
tion 2,858), south of Paric, before the following day ; and, being
continually hindered by difficulties of land transit, I proceeded
in the rowboat along the coast to Borongan (population 7,685),
with the equally intelligent and obliging pastor of which I
remained some days, and then continued my journey to Guiuan
(also Guiuang, Guiguan), the most important district in Samar
(population 10,781), situated on a small neck of land which pro
jects from tho south-east point of the island into the sea.

SARONG-DYEING.

25'

^Oose to the shore at the latter place a copious spring bursts
out of five or six openings, smelling slightly of sulphuretted
hydrogen. It is covered by the sea during the flow, but is
open during the ebb, when its salt taste is hardly perceptible.
In order to test the water, a well was formed by sinking a deep
bottomless jar, and from this, after the water had flowed for the
space of half an hour, a sample was taken, which, to my regret,

The church. The clergy-house. An ordinary house. The house of a
The belfry. mestize.
The Visita of Loquilocun.
was afterwards lost. The temperature of the water of the spring,
at eight o'clock in the forenoon, was 27-7°; of the atmosphere,
28-7°; of the sea-water, 31-2'' C. The spring is used by the
women to dye their sarongs. The materials, after being steeped
in the decoction of a bark abounding in tannin (materials made
of the abaca, are first soaked in a calcareous preparation), and
dried in the sun, are placed in the spring during the ebb, taken
out during the flow, re-dried, dipped in the decoction of bark,

252 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
and again, while wet, placed in the spring ; and this is repeated
for the space of three days; when the result is a durable, but
ugly inky black (gallussaures, oxide of iron) .
At Loquilocun and Borongan I had an opportunity of pur
chasing two live macaucos.* These extremely delicate and rare
little animals, which belong to the class of semi-apes, are, as I was
assured in Luzon and Leyte, to be found only in Samar, and live
exclusively on charcoal. My first mago was, in the beginning,
somewhat voracious, but he disdained vegetable food, and was
particular in his choice of insects, devouring live grasshoppers
with delight. t
It was extremely ludicrous, when he was fed in the daytime, to
see the animal standing, perched up perpendicularly on his two
thin legs with his bare tail, and turning his large head — round as
a ball, and with very large, yellow, owl-like eyes — in every direc
tion, looking like a dark lantern on a pedestal with a circular
swivel. Only gradually did he succeed in fixing his eyes on the
object presented to him ; but, as soon as he did perceive it, he
immediately extended his little arms sideways, as though some
what bashful, and then, like a delighted child, suddenly seizing
it with hand and mouth at once, he deliberately tore the prey to
pieces. During the day the mago was sleepy, short-sighted,
and, when disturbed, morose ; but with the decreasing daylight
he expanded his pupils, and moved about in a lively and agile
manner, with rapid noiseless leaps, generally sideways. He soon
became tame, but to my regret died after a few weeks; and I
succeeded only for a short time in keeping the second little
animal alive.
* Tarsias spectrum, Tom.; in the language of the country — mago.
t The old Father Camol mentions that the little animal is said to live only on
coal, but that it was an error, for he ate the ficus Indica (by which we here
understand him to mean the banana) and other fruits. (Camel de quadruped.
Phil. Trans., 1706—7. London.) Camel also gives (p. 194) an interesting account
of the kaguang, which is accurate at the present day. — Ibid., ii. S. 2197.

CHAPTER XX.
TRAVELS IN SAMAR (CONTINUED).  SOUTH-SEA ISLANDERS CAST AWAY HY STORMS 
BURIAL CAVERNS AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OP THE ANCIENT BISAYANS. — CROCO
DILES. — IGNATIUS REANS. — COCOA-NUT OIL.
In Guiuan I was visited by some Mikronesians, who for the last
fourteen days had been engaged at Sulangan on the small neck
of land south-east from Guiuan, in diving for pearl mussels
(mother-of-pearl), having undertaken the dangerous journey
for the express purpose.*
They had sailed from Uleai (Uliai, 7° 20' N, 143° 57' E. Gr )
in five boats, each of which had a crew of nine men and carried
forty gourds full of water, with cocoa-nuts and batata. Every man
received one cocoa-nut daily, and two batatas, which they baked in
the. ashes of the cocoa shells ; and they caught some fish on the
way, and collected a little rain-water. During the day they
directed their course by the sun, and at night by the stars. A
storm destroyed the boats. Two of them sank, together with
their crews, before the eyes of their companions, and of these,
only one — probably the sole individual rescued — two weeks
afterwards reached the harbour of Tandag, on the east coast
* The following communication appeared for the first time in the reports of a
session of the Anthropological Society of Berlin ; but my visitors were there deno
minated Palao islanders. But, as Prof. Semper, who spent a long time on the true
Palaos (Pelew) islands, correctly shows in the " Corresp.-Bl. f. AnthropoL," 1871,
No. 2, that Uliai belongs to the group of the Carolinas, I have here retained the
more common expression, Mikronesian, although those men, respecting whose arrival
from "Uliai no doubt existed, did not call themselves Caroline islanders, but Palans.
As communicated to me by Dr. Graffe, who hved many years in Mikroneeia, Palaos
is a loose expression like Kanaka and many others, and does not, at all events,
apply exclusively to the inhabitants of the Pelew group.

2S4 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
of Mindanao. The party remained at Tandag two weeks,
working in the fields for hire, and then proceeded northwards
along the coast to Cantilang, 8° 25' N. ; Banouan (called erro
neously Bancuan by Coello), 9° Y N. ; Taganaan, 9° 25' N-;
thence to Surigao, on the north point of Mindanao ; and then,
with an easterly wind, in two days, direct to Guiuan.
In the Gorman translation of Captain Salmon's " History of
the Oriental Islands" (Altona, 1733), it is stated that —
" Some other islands on the east of the Philippines have
lately been discovered which have received the name of
the New Philippines because they are situated in the neigh
bourhood of the old, which have been already described.
Father Clan (Clain), in a letter from Manilla, which has been
incorporated in the " Philosophical Transactions," makes the
following statement respecting them : — It happened that when he
was in the town of Guivam, on the island of Samar, he met
twenty-nine Palaos (there had been thirty, but one died soon
after in Guiuan), or natives of certain recently discovered islands,
who had been driven thither by the east winds, which prevail
from December to May. According to their own statement, they
were driven about by the winds for seventy days, without getting
sight of land, until they arrived opposite to Guivam. When they
sailed from their own country, their two boats were quite full,
carrying thirty-five souls, including their wives and children ;
but several had died miserably on the way from the fatigue
which they had undergone. When some one from Guivam
wished to go on board to them, they were thrown into such a
state of terror that all who were in one of the boats sprang over
board, along with their wives and children. However, they
at last thought it best to come into the harbour ; so they came
ashore on the 28th December, 1696. They fed on cocoa-nuts
and roots, which were charitably supplied to them, but refused
even to taste cooked rice, which is the general food of the Asiatic

CASTAWAYS. 255
m
nations. Two women ivho had previously been cast away on the same
islands acted as interpreters for them  The people of the
country went half naked, and the men painted their bodies with
spots and all kinds of devices  As long as they were on the
sea they lived on fish, which they caught in a certain kind of
fish-basket, with a wide mouth but tapering to a point at the
bottom, which was dragged along underneath the boats ; and rain
water, when they could catch it (or, as is stated in the letter itself,
preserved in the shells of the cocoa-nut), served them for drink.
When they were about to be taken into the presence of the
Father, whom, from the great respect which was shown to him,
they took for the governor, they coloured their bodies entirely
j'ellow, an operation which they considered highly important, as
enabling them to appear as persons of consideration. They are
very skilful divers, and now and then find pearls in the mussels
which they bring up ; which, however, they throw away as use
less things."
But one of the most important parts of Father Clain's letter
has been omitted by Capt. Salmon : — " The oldest of these strangers
had once before been cast away on the coast of the province of Caragan,
on one of our islands (Mindanao) ; but as he found only heathens
(infidels), who lived in the mountains or on the desert shore, he
returned to his own country."
In a letter from Father Cantova to Father d'Aubenton, dated
from Agdana (i.e. Agana, of the Marianne Islands), 20th March,
1722, describing the Carolina and Pelew Islands, it is said : —
" The fourth district lies to the west. Yap (9° 25' N, 138° 1' E.
Gr.),* which is the principal island, is more than forty leagues in
circumference. Besides the different roots which are used by the
natives of the island instead of bread, there is the batata, which
they call camote, and which they have acquired from the Philip-
* Dumont d'Urville, " Voyage to the South Pole," v. 206, remarks that the
natives call their island Gouap or Ouap, but never Yap ; and that the husbandry
in that place was superior to anything he had seen in the South Sea. •

256 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
pines, as I was informed by one of our Carolina Indians, who is a
native of the island. He states that his father, named Coorr, ....
three of his brothers, rind himself had been cast away in a storm on
one of the provinces in the Philippines, which was called Bisayas ;
that a missionary of our society (Jesus) received them in a
friendly manner .... that on returning to their own island they
took with them the seeds of different plants, amongst others the
batata, which multiplied so fast that they had sufficient to supply
the other islands of the Archipelago with them."
Murillo Velarde states that in 1708 some Palaos were wrecked
in a storm on Palapag (north coast of Samar) ; and I personally
had the opportunity, in Manilla, of photographing a company of
Palaos and Carolina islanders, who had been the year before cast
on the coast of Samar by foul weather. Apart from the question
of their transport, whether voluntary or not, these simply were
six examples, such as still occur occasionally, of Mikronesians
cast up on the shore of the Philippines ; and probably it would
not be difficult to find several more ; but how often, both before and
after the arrival of the Spaniards, might not vessels from those
islands have come within the influence of the north-east storms,
and been driven violently on the east coasts of the Philippines
without any record of such facts being preserved ? * Even as, on
the west side of the Archipelago, the type of the race seems to
have been modified by its long intercourse with China, Japan,
Lower India, and later with Europe, so likewise may Polynesian
influences have operated in a similar manner on the east side ; and
the further circumstance that the inhabitants of the Ladronesf
and the Bisayans + possess the art of colouring their teeth black,
seems to point to early intercourse between the Bisayans and the
Polynesians. §
* The voyages of the Polynesians were also caused by the tyranny of the victo
rious parties, which compelled the vanquished to emigrate.
t Pisafetta, p. 51. X Morgn, f. 127.
§ " The Bisayans cover their teeth with a shining varnish, which is either black,

A BEAUTIFUL STRAIT. 257
At Guiuan I embarked on board an inconveniently cranky,
open boat, which was provided only with an awning of three
feet square, for Tacloban, the chief town of Leyte. After first
experiencing an uninterrupted calm, we incurred great danger in
a sudden tempest, so that we had to retrace the whole distance
by means of the oars. The passage was very laborious for the
crew, who were not protected by an awning (temperature in the
sun 35° R., of the water 25° R.), and lasted thirty-one hours, with
few intermissions ; the party voluntarily abridging their intervals
of rest in order to get back quickly to Tacloban, which keeps up
an active intercourse with Manilla, and has all the attractions of
a luxurious city for the men living on the inhospitable eastern
coast. It is questionable whether the sea anywhere washes over a
spot of such peculiar beauty as the narrow strait which divides
Samar from Leyte. On the west itris enclosed by steep banks
of tuff, which tolerate no swamps of mangroves on their borders.
There the lofty primeval forest approaches in all its sublimity
close to the shore, interrupted only here and there by groves of
cocoas, in whose sharply defined shadows solitary huts are to be
found ; and the steep hills facing the sea, and numerous small
rocky islands, are crowned with little castles of blocks of coral.
At the eastern entrance of the strait the south coast of Samar
consists of white limestone, like marble, but of quite modern
date, which in many places forms precipitous cliffs.*
At Nipa-Nipa, a small hamlet two leagues from Basey, they
or of the colour of fire, and thus their teeth become either black, or red like cinna
bar ; and they make a small hole in the upper row, which they fill with gold, the
latter shining all the more on the black or red ground." — (Thevenot, Religieux,
54). Of a king of Mindanao, visited by Magellan at Massana, it is written : — " In
every tooth he had three machie (spots f) of gold, so that they had the appearance of
being tied together with gold;" which Ramusio interprets — "On each finger he
had three rings of gold." — Pigafetta, p. 66; and compare also Carletti, "Voyages,"
i. 153. * In one of these cliffs, sixty feet above the sea, beds of mussels were found:
ostrea, pinna, chama ; according to Dr. V. M. — 0. denficulata, Bron. ; 0. cornu
copia, Chemn.; 0. rosacea, Desh.; Chama sulfurea, Reeve ; Pinna Nigrina, Lam. (?).
S

25« THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
project into the sea in a succession of picturesque rocks, above
one hundred feet in height, which, rounded above like a dome,
thickly covered with vegetation, and corroded at the base by
the waters of the sea, rise out of the waves like gigantic mush
rooms. A peculiar atmosphere of enchantment pervades this
locality, whose influence upon the native mariner must be all the
more powerful when, fortunately escaping from the billows out
side and the buffeting of the north-east wind, he suddenly
enters this tranquil place of refuge. No wonder that superstitious
imagination has peopled the place with spirits.

Rocks in the Sea near Nipa-Nipa.
In the caverns of these rocks the ancient Pintados interred the
corpses of their heroes and ancestors in well-locked coffins, sur
rounded by those objects which had been held in the highest
regard by them during life. Slaves were also sacrificed by them
at their obsequies, in order that they might not be without attend
ance in the world of shadows ; * and the numerous coffins, imple-
* In the Athenmum of 7th January, 1871, Captain Ullmann describes a funeral
ceremony (tiwa) of the Dyaks, which corresponds in many points with that of the
ancient Bisayans. The coffin is cut out of the branch of a tree by the nearest male
kinsman, and it is so narrow that the body has to be pressed down into it, lest
another member of the family should die immediately after to fill up the gap. As
many as possible of his effects must be heaped on the dead person, in order to prove
his wealth and to raise him in the estimation of the spirit world ; and under the
coffin are placed two vessels, one containing rice and the other water.
One of the principal ceremonies of the tiwa consisted formerly (and does still in
some places) in human sacrifices. Where the Dutch Government extended these
were not permitted ; but sometimes buffaloes or pigs were killed in a cruel manner,
with the blood of which the high priest smeared the forehead, breast, and arms of
the head of the family. Similar sacrifices of slaves or pigs were practised amongst
the' ancient Philippinese, with peculiar ceremonies by female priests (Catalonas).

SUPERSTITION INVADED. 259
ments, arms, and trinkets, protected by superstitious terrors,
continued to be undisturbed for centuries. No boat ventured to
cross over without the observance of a religious ceremony, derived
from heathen times, to propitiate the spirits of the caverns who
were believed to punish the omission of it with storm and ship
wreck. About thirty years ago a zealous young ecclesiastic, to whom
these heathen practices were an abomination, determined to extir
pate them by the roots. With several boats well equipped with
crosses, banners, pictures of saints, and all the approved
machinery for driving out the Devil, he undertook the expedi
tion against the haunted rocks, which were climbed amidst the
sounds of music, prayers, and the reports of fireworks. A whole
pailful of holy water first having been thrown into the cave for
the purpose of confounding the evil spirits, the intrepid priest
rushed in with elevated cross, and was followed by his faithful
companions, who were fired with his example. A brilliant
victory was the reward of the well-contrived and carefully exe
cuted plot. The coffins were broken to fragments, the vessels
dashed to pieces, and the skeletons thrown into the sea ; and the
remaining caverns were stormed with like results. The objects
of superstition have indeed been annihilated, but the supersti
tion itself survives to the present day.
I subsequently learned from the pastor at Basey that there were
still some remains on a rock, and a few days afterwards the
worthy man surprised me with several skulls and a child's coffin,
which he had had brought from the place. Notwithstanding the
great respect in which he was held by his flock, he had to exert
all his powers of persuasion to induce the boldest of them to
engage in so daring an enterprise. A boat manned by sixteen
rowers was fitted out for the purpose ; with a smaller crew they
would not have ventured to undertake the journey. On their
return home a thunderstorm broke over them, and the sailors,
s2

260

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

believing it to be a punishment for their outrage, were prevented
only by the fear of making the matter worse from throwing
coffin and skulls into the sea. Fortunately the land was near, and
they rowed with all their might towards it ; and, when they
arrived, I was obliged to take the objects out of the boat myself,
as no native was permitted to touch them.
Notwithstanding, I was the next morning successful in finding
some resolute individuals who accompanied me to the caverns.
In the first two which we examined we found nothing ; the third
contained several broken coffins, some skulls, and- potsherds of
glazed and crudely painted earthenware, of which, however, it
was impossible to find
two pieces that belonged
to each other. A narrow
hole led from the large
cavern into an obscure
space, which was so small
that one could remain in
it only for a few seconds
with the burning torch.
This circumstance may
explain the discovery, in
a coffin which was eaten to pieces by worms, and quite mould
ered away, of a well-preserved skeleton, or rather a mummy,
for in many places there were carcases clothed with dry fibres
of muscle and skin. It lay upon a mat of pandanus, which
was yet recognisable, with a cushion under the head stuffed
with plants, and covered with matting of pandanus. There
were no other remains of woven material. The coffins were
of three shapes and without any ornament. Those of the first
form, which were of excellent molave-wood, showed no trace
of worm-holes or decay, whereas the others had entirely fallen
to dust ; and those of the third kind, which were most nume-

MORTUARY CAVERNS. 261
rous, were distinguishable from the first only by a less curved form
and inferior material.
No legend could have supplied an enchanted royal sepulchre
with a more suitable approach than that to the last of these
caverns. The rock rises out of the sea with perpendicular sides of
marble, and only in one spot is to be observed a natural open
ing made by the water, hardly two feet high, through which the
boat passed at once into a spacious court, almost circular, and
over-arched by the sky, the floor of which was covered by the sea,
and adorned with a garden of corals. The steep sides are thickly
hung with lianas, ferns, and orchids, by help of which one climbs
upwards to the cavern, sixty feet above the surface of the water.
To add to the singularity of the situation, we also found at the
entrance to the grotto, on a large block of rock projecting two
feet above the ground, a sea-snake, which tranquilly gazed at us,
but which had to be killed, because, like all genuine sea-snakes,
it was poisonous. Twice before I had found the same species in
crevices of rock on the dry land, where the ebb might have left
it ; but it was strange to meet with it in this place, at such a
height above the sea. It now reposes, as Platurus fasciatus Daud.,
in the Zoological Museum of the Berlin University.
In Guiuan I had an opportunity of purchasing four richly
painted Chinese dishes which came from a similar cavern, and a
gold signet ring ; the latter consisting of a plate of gold, originally
bent into a tube of the thickness of a quill with a gaping seam,
and afterwards into a ring as large as a thaler, which did not
quite meet. The dishes were stolen from me at Manilla.
There are similar caverns which have been used as burial-places
in many other localities in this country ; on the island of Andog,
in Borongan (a short time ago it contained skulls) ; also at Batin-
guitan, three hours from Borongan, on the banks of a little brook ;
and in Guiuan, on the little island of Monhon, which is difficult of
approach by reason of the boisterous sea. In Oat ubi g trinkets of

262 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
gold have been found, but they have been converted into modern
articles of adornment. One cavern at Lauang, however, is famous
over the whole country on account of the gigantic, flat, com
pressed skulls, without sutures, which have been found in it*
It will not be uninteresting to compare the particulars here
described with the statements of older authors; and for this
reason I submit the following extracts : —
Mas (Informe, i. 21), who does not give the sources of his infor
mation, thus describes the customs of the ancient inhabitants of
the archipelago at their interments: — They sometimes embalmed
their dead with aromatic substances  and placed those
who were of note in chests carved out of a branch of a tree, and
furnished with well-fitted lids  The coffin was placed,
in accordance with the wish of the deceased, expressed before
his death, either in the uppermost room of the house, where
articles of value were secreted, or under the dwelling-house, in a
kind of grave, which was not covered, but enclosed with a rail
ing ; or in a distant field, or on an elevated place or rock on the
bank of a river, where he might be venerated by the pious. A
watch was set over it for a certain time, lest boats should cross
over, and the dead person should drag the living after him.
According to Gaspar, the dead were rolled up in cloths, and
placed in clumsy chests, carved out of a block of wood, and
buried under their houses, together with their jewels, gold rings,
and some plates of gold over the mouth and eyes, and furnished
with provisions, cups, and dishes. They were also accustomed to
bury slaves along with men of note, in order that they might be
attended in the other world.

* In the chapter " De monstris et quasi monstris" ... of Father Camel, "Lon
don Philos. Trans.," p. 2269, it is stated that in the mountains between Guiuan and
Bor6ngan, footsteps, three times as large as those of ordinary men, have been found.
Probably the skulls of Lauang, which are pressed out in breadth, and covered with
a thick crust of calcareous sinter, the gigantic skulls (skulls of giants) have given
rise to the fable of the giants' footsteps.

IDOLATRY OF THE DEAD. 263
Their chief idolatry consisted in the worship of those of their
ancestors who had most distinguished themselves by courage and
genius, whom they regarded as deities  They called them
humalagar, which is the same as manes in the Latin  Even
the aged died under this conceit, choosing particular places, such
as one on the island of Leyte, which allowed of their being interred
at the edge of the sea, in order that the mariners who crossed
over might acknowledge them as deities, and pay them respect.
(Thevenot, Religieux, p. 2.)
They did not place them (the dead) in the earth, but in coffins
of very hard, indestructible wood  Male and female slaves
were sacrificed to them, that they should not be unattended in the
other world. If a person of consideration died, silence was imposed
upon the whole of the people, and its duration was regulated
by the rank of the deceased; and under certain circumstances
it was not discontinued imtil his relations had killed many other
persons to appease the spirit of the dead. (Ibid., p. 7.)
For this reason (to be worshipped as deities) the oldest of them.
chose some remarkable spot in the mountains, and particularly on
headlands projecting into the sea, in order to be worshipped by
the sailors. (Gemelli Careri, p. 449.)
From Tacloban, which I chose for my head-quarters on account
of its convenient tribunal, and because it is well supplied with
provisions, I returned on the following day to Samar, and then to
Basey, which is opposite to Tacloban. The people of Basey are
notorious over all Samar for their laziness and their endowments,
but are advantageously distinguished from the inhabitants of Tac
loban by their purity of manners. Basey is situated on the delta
of the river, which is named after it. We proceeded up a small
arm of the principal stream, which winds, with a very slight fall,
through the plain ; the brackish water, and the fringe of nipa-
palms which accompanies it, consequently extending several
leagues into the country. Cocoa plantations stretch behind

264 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
them ; and there the floods of water (avenldas), which sometimes
take place in consequence of the narrow rocky bed of the
upper part of the river, cause great devastation, as was evident
from the mutilated palms which, torn away from their stand
ing-place, rise up out of the middle of the river. After five hours'
rowing we passed out of the flat country into a narrow valley,
with steep sides of marble, which progressively closed in and
became higher. In several places they are underwashed, cleft,
and hurled over each other, and with their naked side-walls
form a beautiful contrast to the blue sky, the clear, greenish river,
and the luxuriant lianas, which, attaching themselves to every
inequality to which they could cling, hung in long garlands over
the rocks.
The stream became so rapid and so shallow that the party dis
embarked and dragged the boat over the stony bed. In this
manner we passed through a sharp curve, twelve feet in height,
formed by two rocks thrown opposite to each other, into a tran
quil oval-shaped basin of water enclosed in a circle of limestone
walls, inclining inwards, of from sixty to seventy feet in height ;
on the upper edge of which a circle of trees permitted only a
misty sunlight to glimmer through the thick foliage. A magni
ficent gateway of rock, fifty to sixty feet high, and adorned with
numerous stalactites, raised itself up opposite the low entrance ;
and through it we could see, at some distance, the upper portion
of the river bathed in the sun. A cavern of a hundred feet in
length, and easily climbed, opened itself in the left side of the oval
court, some sixty feet above the surface of the water ; and it
ended in a small gateway, through which you stepped on to a
projection like a balcony, studded with stalactites. From this point
both the landscape and the rocky cauldron are visible, and the
latter is seen to be the remains of a stalactitic cavern, the roof
of which has fallen in. The beauty and peculiar character of the
place have been felt even by the natives, who have called it

BASEY. 265
Sogoton (properly, a bay in the sea). In the very hard lime
stone, which is like - marble, I observed traces of" bivalves and
multitudes of spines of the sea-urchin, but no well-defined remains
could be knocked off. The river could still be followed a short
distance further upwards ; and in its bed there were disjointed
fragments of talcose and chloritic rocks.
A few small fishes were obtained with much difficulty; and
amongst them was a new and interesting species, viviparous.*
An allied species (H. fluviatilis, Bleeker) which I had two years
previously found in a limestone cavern on Nusa Kumbangan, in
Java, likewise contained living young ones.
The net employed in fishing appears to be suited to the
locality, which is a shallow river, full of transparent blocks.
It is a fine-meshed, longish, four-cornered net, having its ample
sides fastened to two poles of bamboo, which at the bottom were
provided with a kind of wooden shoes, which curve upwards
towards the stems when pushed forwards. The fisherman, taking
hold of the upper ends of the poles, pushes the net, which is held
obliquely before him, and the wooden shoes cause it to slide over
the stones, while another person drives the fish towards him.
On the right bank, below the cavern, and twenty feet above the
surface of the water, there are beds of fossils, pectunculus, tapes,
and placuna, some of which, from the fact of their barely adhering
by the tip, must be of very recent date. I passed the night in
a small hut, which was quickly erected for me, and on the follow
ing day attempted to pass up the river as far as the limits of the
crystalline rock, but in vain. In the afternoon we set out on
our return to Basey, which we reached at night.
Basey is situated on a bank of clay, about fifty feet above the sea,
which towards the west elevates itself into a hill several hundred
feet in height, and with steep sides. At twenty-five to thirty feet
above the sea I found the same recent beds of mussels as in the
* Hemirmnphus ciciparus, W. Peters (Berlin Monatsb., 16th March, 1865).

266 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
stalactitic cavern of Sogoton. From the statements of the cura
and of other persons, a rapid elevation of the coasts seems to be
taking place in this country. Thirty years ago ships could lie
alongside the land in three fathoms of water at the flood, whereas
the depth at the same place now is not much more than one
fathom. Immediately opposite to Basey lie two small islands,
Genamok and Tapontonan, which, at the present time, appear
to be surrounded by a sandbank at the lowest ebb-tide. Twenty
years ago nothing of the kind was to be seen. Supposing these
particulars to be correct, we must next ascertain what proportion
of these changes of level is due to the floods, and how much to
volcanic elevation; which, if we may judge by the neighbouring
active solfatara at Leyte, must always be of considerable amount.
As the pastor assured us, there are crocodiles in the river Basey
over thirty feet in length, those in excess of twenty feet being
numerous. The obliging father promised me one of at least
twenty-four feet, whose skeleton I would gladly have secured ;
and he sent out some men who are so practised in the capture of
these animals that they are dispatched to distant places for the
purpose. Their contrivance for capturing them, which I, how
ever, never personally witnessed, consists of a light raft of
bamboo, with a stage, on which, several feet above the water, a
dog or a cat is bound. Alongside the animal is placed a strong
iron hook, which is fastened to the swimming bamboo by means
of fibres of abaca. The crocodile, when it has swallowed the bait
and the hook at the same time, endeavours in vain to get away,
for the pliability of the raft prevents its being torn to pieces,
and the peculiar elasticity of the bundle of fibres prevents its
being bitten through. The raft serves likewise as a buoy for
the captured animal. According to the statements of the hunters,
the large crocodiles live far from human habitations, generally
selecting the close vegetation in an oozy swamp, in which their
bellies, dragging heavily along, leave trails behind them which

THE IGNATIUS BEAN. 267
betray them to the initiated. After a week the pastor mentioned
that his party had sent in three crocodiles, the largest of which,
however, measured only eighteen feet, but that he had not kept
one for me, as he hoped to obtain one of thirty feet. His expecta
tion, however, was not fulfilled.
In the environs of Basey the Ignatius bean grows in remarkable
abundance, as it also does in the south of Samar and in some other
of the Bisayan islands. It is not met with in Luzon, but it is
very likely that I have introduced it there unwittingly. Its sphere
of propagation is very limited ; and my attempts to transplant it
to the Botanical Garden of Buitenzorg were fruitless. Some large
plants intended for that purpose, which during my absence arrived
for me at Daraga, were incorporated by one of my patrons into
his own garden ; and some, which were collected by himself and
brought to Manilla, were afterwards lost. Every effort to get
these seeds (kernels), which are used over the whole of Eastern
Asia as medicine, to germinate miscarried ; they having been
boiled before transmission, ostensibly for their preservation, but
most probably to secure the monopoly of them.
According to Fliickinger,* the gourd-shaped berry of the
climbing shrub (Ignatia amara, L. Strychnos Ignatii, Berg. Igna-
tiana Philippinica, Lour.) contains twenty-four irregular egg-
shaped seeds of the size of an inch which, however, are not so
poisonous as the Ignatius beans, which taste like crack-nuts.
In these seeds strychnine was found by Pelletier and Caventou
in 1818, as it subsequently was in crack-nuts. The former con
tained twice as much of it as the latter, viz. 1| per cent. ; but, as
they are four times as dear, it is only produced from the latter.
In many households in the Philippines the dangerous drug
is to be found as a highly prized remedy, under the name of
Pepita de Catbalonga. Gemelli Careri mentions it, and quotes
thirteen different uses of it. Dr. Rosenthal (" Synopsis Plantarum
* Compendium of the " Pharmacopreia of the Vegetable Kingdom," p. 698.

268 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Diaphor." p. 363) says: — "In India it has been employed as a
remedy against cholera under the name of Papeeta." Papeeta is
probably a clerical error. In K. Lall Dey's " Indigenous Drugs
of India," it is called Papeeta, which is pronounced Pepita in
English ; and Pepita is the Spanish word for the kernel of a fruit.
It is also held in high estimation as an antidote for the bite of
serpents. Father Blanco ('' Flora of the Philippines," 61), states
that he has more than once proved its efficacy in this respect in
his own person ; but he cautions against its employment "internally,
as it had been fatal in very many cases. It should not be taken
into the mouth, for should the spittle be swallowed, and vomiting
not ensue, death would be inevitable. The pastor of Tabaco, how
ever, almost always carried a pepita in his mouth. From 1842
he began occasionally to take an Ignatius bean into his mouth
as a protection against cholera, and so gradually accustomed
himself to it. When I met him in 1860 he was quite well, and
ascribed his health and vigour expressly to that habit. Accord
ing to his communication, in cases of cholera the decoction was
successfully administered in small doses introduced into tea ; but
it was most efficacious when, mixed with brandy, it was applied
as a liniment.
Hue also (" Thibet," i. 252) commends the expressed juice of the
kouo-kouo \Faba Ign. amar.), both for internal and external use,
and remarks that it plays a great part in Chinese medicine, no
apothecary's shop being without it. Formerly the poisonous
drug was considered a charm, as it is still by many. Father
Camel* states that the Catbalogan or Bisayan-bean, which the
Indians call Igasur or Mananaog (the victorious), was generally
worn as an amulet round the neck, being a preservative against
poison, contagion, magic, and philtres, so potent, indeed, that the
Devil in propria persona could not harm the wearer. Especially
efficacious is it against a poison communicated by breathing upon
* " Philos. Trans." 10911, No. 249, pp. 44, 87.

MANUFACTURE OF COCOA-NUT OIL. 269
one, for not only does it protect the wearer, but it kills the
individual who wishes to poison him. Camel further mentions a
series of miracles which superstition ascribed to the Ignatius bean.
On the southern half of the eastern border, on the shore from
Borongan by Lauang as far as Guiuan, there are considerable
plantations of cocoa, which are most imperfectly applied to
the production of oil. From Borongan and its visitas 12,000
pitchers of cocoa-nut oil are yearly exported to Manilla, and the
nuts consumed by men and pigs would suffice for at least 8,000
pitchers. As 1,000 nuts yield eight pitchers and a half, the
vicinity of Borongan alone yields annually 6,000,000 nuts ; for
which, assuming the average produce at 50 nuts, 120,000 full-
bearing palms are required. The statement that their number
in the above-mentioned district amounts to several millions must
be an exaggeration.
The oil is obtained in a very rude manner. The kernel is
rasped out of the woody shell of the nut on rough boards, and left
to rot ; and a few boats in a state of decay, elevated on posts in
the open air, serve as reservoirs, the oil dropping through their
crevices into pitchers placed underneath ; and finally the boards
are subjected to pressure. This operation, which requires several
months for its completion, yields such a bad, dark-brown, and
viscid product that the pitcher fetches only two dollars and a
quarter in Manilla, while a superior oil costs six dollars.*
Recently a young Spaniard has erected a factory in Borongan
for the better preparation of oil. A winch, turned by two,
buffaloes, sets a number of rasps in motion by means of toothed
wheels and leather straps. They are somewhat like a gimlet
in form, and consist of five iron plates, with dentated edges,
which are placed radiating on the end of an iron rod, and close
together, forming a blunt point towards the front. The other
* At Borongan the tinajaof 12 gantas cost 6r. (one quart about ]0d.), the pot 2r.,
the freight to Manilla 3r., or, if the product is carried as cargo (matrose), 1\r. The
price at Manilla refers to the tini'ija of 16 gantas.

270 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
end of the rod passes through the centre of a disk, which com
municates the rotary motion to it, and projects beyond it. The
workman, taking a divided cocoa-nut in his two hands, holds its
interior arch, which contains the oil-bearing nut, with a firm
pressure against the revolving rasp, at the same time urging
with his breast, which is protected by a padded board, against
the projecting end of the rod. The fine shreds of the nut remain
for twelve hours in flat pans, in order that they may be partially
decomposed. They are then lightly pressed in hand-presses ; and
the liquor, which consists of one-third oil and two-thirds water,
is caught in tubs, from which, at the end of six hours, the oil,
floating on the surface, is skimmed off. It is then heated in iron
pans, containing 100 litres, until the whole of the water in it
has evaporated, which takes from two to three hours. In order
that the oil may cool rapidly, and not become dark in colour, two
pailfuls of cold oil, freed from water, are poured into it, and the
fire quickly removed to a distance. The compressed shreds are once
more exposed to the atmosphere, and then subjected to a powerful
pressure. After these two operations have been twice repeated, the
rasped substance is suspended in sacks between two strong ver
tical boards and crushed to the utmost by means of clamp screws,
and repeatedly shaken up. The refuse serves as food for pigs.
The oil which runs from the sacks is free from water, and is
consequently very clear, and is employed in the cooling of that
wrhich is obtained in the first instance.*
The factory produces 1,500 tinajas of oil. It is in operation
only nine months in the year ; from December to February the
transport of nuts being prevented by the tempestuous seas, there
* Newly prepared cocoa-nut oil serves for cooking, but' quickly becomes rancid.
It is very generally used for burning. In Europe, where it seldom appears in
a fluid state, as it does not dissolve until 16° R., it is used in the manufacture
of tapers, but especially for soap, for which it is peculiarly adapted. Cocoa-nut
soap is very haid, and brilliantly white, and is dissolved in salt water more easily
than any other soap. The oily nut has lately been imported from Brazil into
England under the name of " copperah," and pressed after heating.

NATIVE SUGAR. 271
being no land communication. The manufacturer was not suc
cessful in procuring nuts from the immediate vicinity in sufficient
quantity to enable him to carry on his operations without interrup
tion, nor, during the favourable season of the year, could he lay
up a store for the winter months, although he paid the com
paratively, high price of three dollars per thousand.
While the natives manufactured oil in the manner just described,
they obtained from 1,000 nuts 3 J pots, which, at 6r. each, fetched
21 r. ; that is 3 r. less than was offered them for the raw nuts.
These data, which are obtained from the manufacturers, are
probably exaggerated, but they are in the main well founded ;
and the traveller in the Philippines often has the opportunity of
observing similar anomalies. For example, in Daet, North Cama
rines, I bought six cocoa-nuts for one cuarto, at the rate of nine
hundred and sixty for one dollar, the common price there. On
my asking why no oil-factory had been erected, I received for
answer that the nuts were cheaper singly than in quantities.
In the first place, the Indian sells only when he wants money ;
but he knows that the manufacturer cannot well afford to have his
business suspended ; so, careless of the result, he makes a temporary
profit, and never thinks of ensuring for himself a permanent source
of income.
In the province of Laguna, where the Indians prepare coarse
brown sugar from sugar-cane, the women carry it for leagues to
the market, or expose it for sale on the country roads, in small
loaves (panoche), generally along with buyo. Every passenger
chats with the seller, weighs the loaf in the hand, eats a bit, and
probably passes on without buying any. In the evening the
woman returns to her home with her wares, and the next day
repeats the same process.
Particular instances have escaped my recollection ; but I re
member that in two cases at least the price of the sugar in these
loaves was cheaper than in the pico. Moreover, the Government

2 72 . THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
of the day anticipated the Indians in setting the example, by
selling cigars cheaper singly than in quantities.
In Europe a speculator generally can calculate beforehand, with
the greatest certainty, the cost of production of any article ; but
in the Philippines it is not always so easy. Independently of
the uncertainty of labour, the regularity of the supply of raw
material is disturbed, not only by laziness and caprice, but also
by jealousy and distrust. The Indians, as a rule, do not wil
lingly see Europeans settle amongst them and engage successfully
in local operations which they themselves do not understand how
to execute ; and in like manner the Creoles are reserved with
foreigners, who generally are superior to them in capital, skill,
and activity. Besides jealousy, suspicion also plays a great part,
and this influences the native as well against the mestize as against
the Castilian. Enough takes place to the present day to justify
this feeling; but formerly, when the most thriving subjects could
buy governorships, and shamelessly fleece their provinces, such
outrageous abuses are said to have been permitted that, in process
of time, suspicion has become a kind of instinct amongst the
Indians.

From a drawing by a Tagalcse.

m ^™_

The Harbour of Tacloban.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE ISLAND OP LEYTE. — LOCUSTS.-

-A SOLFATARA. -
CROCODILES.

-SULPHUR PRODUCE. — LAKE BITO. —

The island of Leyte, between 9° 49' and 11° 34' N, and 124° 7' and
125° 9 E. Gr., is above 25 miles in length, and almost 12 miles
broad, and contains 170 square miles. As I have already re
peated, it is divided from Samar only by the small strait of San
Juanico. The chief town, Tacloban, or Taclobang, lies at the
eastern entrance of this strait, with a very geod harbour and
uninterrupted communication with Manilla, and has consequently
become the chief emporium of trade to Leyte, Biliran, and
' South and East Samar.*
The local governor likewise showed me much obliging atten
tion ; indeed, almost without exception I have, since my return,
retained the most agreeable reminiscences of the Spanish officials ;
and, therefore, if fitting opportunity occurred, I could treat of
the improprieties of the Administration with greater impartiality.
In the afternoon of the day after my arrival at Tacloban, on a
* On Pigafetta's map Leyte is divided into two parts, the north being called
Baibay, and the south Ceylon. When Magellan in Massana (Limasana) inquired
after 'the most considerable places of business, Ceylon (i.e. Leyte), Calagan
(Caraga), and Zubu (Cebu) were named to him. Pigaf., 70.
T

274 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS,
sudden there came a sound like the rush of a furious torrent ;
the air became dark, and a large cloud of locusts swept over the
place.* I will not again recount that phenomenon, which has been so
often described, and is essentially the same in all quarters of the
globe, but will simply remark that the swarm, which was more
than five hundred feet in width, and about fifty feet in depth, its
extremity being lost in the forest, was- not thought a very consider
able one. It caused vigilance, but not consternation. Old and
young eagerly endeavoured to catch as many of the delicate
creatures as they could, with cloths, nets, and flags, in order, as
Dampier relates, " to roast them in an earthen pan over fire until
their legs and wings drop off, and their heads and backs assume
the colour of boiled crabs ;" after which process he says they had
a pleasant taste. In Birmah, at the present day, they are con
sidered as delicacies, t
The locusts are one of the greatest plagues of the Philippines,
and sometimes destroy the harvest of entire provinces. The
" Legislacion Ultramarina" (iv. 604) contains a special edict
respecting the extirpation of these devastating pests. As soon as
they appear, the population of the invaded localities are to be
drawn out in the greatest possible numbers, under the conduct
of the authorities, in order to effect their destruction. The
most approved means for the attainment of this object are set
forth in an official document referring to the adoption of extra
ordinary measures in cases of public emergency ; and in this the
* According to Dr. Gerstacker ; (Edipoda subfasciata, Haan, Acridium Mani-
lense, Meyen. The designation of Meyen, which the systemists must have over
looked, has the priority of Haan's; but it requires to be altered to CEdipoda
Manilensis, as the species does not belong to the genus acridium in the modern
sense. It occurs also in Luzon and in Timor, and is closely allied to our European
migratory locusts, (Edipoda migratoria.
t After the king had withdrawn ..." sweetmeats and cakes in abundance were
brought, and also roasted locusts, which were pressed upon the guests as great
delicacies." — "Col. Fytche's Mission to Mandalay Parliament," Papers, June, 1869.

LOCUSTS.

275

locusts are placed midway between sea-pirates and conflagrations.
Of the various means which have been contrived against the
destructive creatures, that sometimes appear in incredible num
bers, but which have been as frequently ineffectual as otherwise,
only one shall be now mentioned. On the 27th April, 1824, the
Sociedad Economica determined to import the bird, the martin
(Gracula sp.), " which feeds by instinct on locusts." In the
autumn of the following year the first consignment arrived from
China ; in 1829 a second ; and in 1852 again occurs the item of
1,311 dollars for martins.
On the following day I proceeded with the pastor of Dagami
(there are roads in Leyte) from Tacloban southwards to Palos and
Tanauan, two flourishing places on the east coast. Hardly half a
league from the latter place, and .close to the sea, a cliff of crystal

The Tribunal of Burduen.
a, Kaparasanan, N. 175° 5' S. ; b, N. 179° 2' 8. ; c, Manacagan, S. 2° V N. ; d, the passage to the
solfatara, S. 12° N. ; e, Kasihoi, S. 15° 2' N.
line rock rises up out of the sandy plain, which was level up
to this point, "it is of a greyish-green quartzose chlorite schist,
from which the enterprising Father had endeavoured, with a per
severance worthy of better success, to procure lime by burning.
After an ample breakfast in the convent, we proceeded in the
afternoon to Dagami, and, on the next day, to Burauen.*
* The names of these two localities, on Coello's map, are confounded. Burauen
lies south of Dagami.
t2

276 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The country was still flat. Cocoa-groves and rice-fields here
and there interrupted the thick forest ; but the country is thinly
inhabited, and the people appear more cheerful, handsomer, and
cleaner than those of Samar. South of Burauen rises the moun
tain ridge of Manacagan, on the further slope of which is a large
solfatara, which yields sulphur for the powder manufactory in
Manilla, and for commerce. A Spanish seaman accompanied me.
Where the road passed through swamp we rode on buffaloes.
The pace of the animals is not unpleasant, but the stretching of
the thighs across the broad backs of the gigantic buffaloes of the
Philippines is very fatiguing. A quarter of an hour beyond
Burauen we crossed the Daguitan, which flows south-west to
north-east, and is a hundred feet broad, its bed being full of
large volcanic blocks ; and, soon after, a small river in a broad
bed ; and, some hundred paces farther, one of a hundred and
fifty feet in breadth ; the two latter being arms of the Burauen.
They flow from west to east, and enter the sea at Dulag. The
second arm was originated only the preceding year, during a
flood. We passed the night in a hut on the northern slope of the
Manacagan, which the owner, on seeing us approach, had volun
tarily quitted, and with his wife and child sought- other lodgings.
The custom of the country requires this when the accommoda
tion does not suffice for both parties ; and payment for the same
is neither demanded nor, except very rarely, tendered.
About six o'clock on the following morning we started; and
about half-past six climbed, by a pleasant path through the forest,
to the ridge of the Manacagan, which consists of trachytic horn
blende ; and about seven o'clock we crossed two small rivers
flowing north-west, and then, by a curve, reached the coast at
Dulag. From the ridge we caught sight, towards the south, of the
great white heaps of debris of the mountain Danan glimmering
through the trees. About nine o'clock we came through the

SULPHUR WORKS.

277

thickly-wooded crater of the Kasiboi, and, further south, to some
sheds in which the sulphur is smelted.
The raw material obtained from the solfatara is paid for in
three kinds : firstly, sulphur already melted to crusts ; secondly,
sublimated, which contains much condensed water in its inter
stices ; and thirdly, in the clay, which is divided into the more or
less rich, from which the greatest quantity is obtained. Cocoa-
nut oil, which is thrown into flat iron pans holding six arrobas,

A Hut in the Crater of Kasiboi.

is added to the sulphurous clay, in the proportion of six quarts to
four arrobas, and it is melted and continually stirred. The clay
which floats on the surface, now freed from the sulphur, being
skimmed off, fresh sulphurous clay is thrown into the cauldron, and
so on. In two or three hours six arrobas of sulphur, on an ave
rage, may be obtained in this manner from twenty-four arrobas of
sulphurous clay, and poured into wooden chests it is moulded into
blocks of about four arrobas. Half the oil employed is recovered
by throwing the clay which has been saturated with it into a frame

278 THE PHILLPPLNE ISLANDS.
formed by two narrow bamboo hurdles, placed at a sharp angle.
The oil drops into a sloping gutter of bamboo which is placed
underneath, and from that flows into a pot. The price of the
sulphur at Manilla varies between 1J and 4J dollars per pico. I
saw the frames, full of clay, from which the oil exuded; but
the operation itself I did not, unfortunately, then witness, and
I cannot explain in what manner the oil is added. From some
experiments made on a small scale, therefore under essentially
different conditions, and never with the same material, it appeared
that the oil accelerates the separation of the sulphur, and retards
the access of the air to the sulphur. In these experiments, the
sulphur contained in the bottom of the crucible was always
coloured black by the separation of charcoal from the oil, and it
was necessary to purify it by distillation beforehand. Of this,
however, the smelters at Leyte made no mention, and they
even had no apparatus for the purpose, while their sulphur was
of a pure yellow colour.
Some hundreds of paces further south, a hot spring (50° R.),
twelve feet broad, flows from the east, depositing silicious sinter
at its edges.
As we followed a ravine stretching from North to South,
with sides one hundred to two hundred feet in height, the
vegetation gradually ceased, the rock being of a dazzling white,
or coloured by sublimated sulphur. In numerous places thick
clouds of vapour burst from the ground, with a strong smell of
sulphurated water. At some thousand paces further, the ravine
bends round to the left (east), and expands itself to the bay ;
and here numerous silicious springs break through the loose
clay-earth, which is permeated with sulphur. This solfatara must
formerly have been much more active than it is now. The ravine,
which has been formed by its destruction of the rock, and is full
of lofty heaps of debris, may be one thousand feet in breadth,
and quite five times as long. At the east end there is a number

A LAKE OF TERROR. 279
of small, boiling quagmires, which, on forcing a stick into the
matted ground, send forth water and steam. In some deep spots
further west, grey, white, red, and yellow clays have been de
posited in small beds over each other, giving them the appearance
of variegated marls.
To the south, right opposite to the ridge which leads to
Burauen, may be seen a basin twenty-five feet broad, in a cavern
in the white decomposed rock, from which a petrifying water
containing silicious acid flows abundantly. The roof of the
cavern is hung with stalactites, which either are covered with
solid sulphur, or consist entirely of that substance.
On the upper slope of the Danan mountain, near to the summit,
so much sulphur is deposited by the vapours from the sulphurated
water that it may be collected with cocoa-nut shells. In some
crevices, which are protected against the cooling effects of the
atmospheric air, it melts together in thick, brown crusts. The
solfatara of Danan is situated exactly south of that below, at the
end of the ravine of the Kasiboi. The clay earth, from which
the silicic acid has been washed out by the rains, is carried into
the valley, where it forms a plain, the greater part of which is
occupied by a small lake, Malaksan (sour), slightly impregnated
with sulphuric acid. Its surface, which, by reason of the very
flat banks, is protected against the weather, I found to be about
five hundred paces long and one hundred broad. From the
elevation of the solfatara, a rather large fresh- water lake, sur
rounded by wooded mountains, is seen through a gap, exactly
south, which is named Jaruanan. The night was passed in a
ruined shed at the south-east of the lake Malaksan ; and on the
following morning we climbed the south side of the mountain
ridge and, skirting the solfatara of the Danan, arrived in an
hour and a half at lake Jaruanan.
This lake, as well as the Malaksan, inspires the natives with
superstitious fear on account of the suspicious neighbourhood of

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

the solfatara, and therefore has not been profaned by either
mariner, fisher, or swimmer, and was very full of fish. For the
purpose of measuring its depth, I had a raft of bamboos con
structed ; and when my companions saw me floating safely on the
lake, they all, without exception, sprang into it, and tumbled
about in the water with infinite delight and loud outcries, as if
they wished to indemnify themselves for their long abstinence ;
so that the raft was not ready before three o'clock. The sound
ings at the centre of the basin, which was, at the southern edge,
steeper than on the north, gave 13 brazas =z 21-7 of depth ; the
greatest length of the lake amounted to nearly 800 varas (668
metres), and the breadth to about
half as much. As we returned
in the evening, by torchlight,
over the crest of the mountain
to our night-quarters at the sour
lake, we passed by the very
modest dwelling-place of a
married pair. Three branches,
projecting outwards from the
principal trunk of a tree, and
lopped at equal points, sustained
a hut of bamboos and palm-leaves of eight feet square. A hole
in the floor formed the entrance, and it was divided into a
chamber and ante-chamber, and four bamboo poles supported,
above and below, two layers of bamboos, one of which furnished
a balcony, and the other a shop on which betel was sold.
The day after my return to Burauen an obliging Spanish
merchant drove me through the fertile plain of volcanic sand, on
which rice, maize, and sugar-cane were cultivated, to Dulag,
which lies directly to the west, on the shore of the tranquil sea.
The distance (according to Coello three leagues) hardly amounts
to two leagues. From this place, Point Guiuan, the south point

THE RIVER BITO. 281
of Samar, appears like an island separated from the mainland,
and further south (N. 102° A> to 103° 65' S.) Jomonjol is seen, the
first island of the Archipelago sighted by Magellan on 16th
April, 1521. At Dulag, my former companion joined us in order
to accompany us on the journey to the Bito Lake. The arrange
ment of the means of advance and of provisions, and, still more,
the due consideration of all the propositions of three individuals,
each of whose claims were entitled to equal respect, occupied
much time and required some address. We at length sailed in a
large casco (barge) southwards along the coast to the mouth of the
river Mayo, which, according to the map and the information
there given, is said to come from the Bito Lake. We proceeded
upwards in a boat, but were informed at the first hut that the lake
could be reached only by making a long circuit through swampy
forest ; when most of our party proposed to return. Various
reasons besides the want of unanimity in the conduct of our
adventure, which had proceeded thus far, delayed our arrival at
Abuyog until eleven o'clock at night. In the first place, on our
way, we had to cross a small branch of the Mayo, and after that
the Bito River. The distance of the latter from Abuyog (extrava
gantly set down on Coello's map) amounts to fourteen hundred
brazas, according to a measurement of the gobernadorcillo, which
is probably correct.*
The following day, as it rained heavily, was employed in
making inquiries respecting the road to the Bito Lake. We
received very varied statements as to the distance, but all agreed
in painting the road thither in a discouraging light. A trouble
some journey of at least ten hours appeared to us to be what most
probably awaited us.
On the morrow, through a pleasant forest road, we reached in
an hour the Bito River, and proceeded in boats, which we met
there, up the river between flat sandy banks covered with tall
* A small river enters the sea on the south of the Castle of Abuyog.

282 THE PHILLPPINE ISLANDS.
cane and reeds. In about ten minutes, some trees thrown right
across the stream compelled us to make a circuit on land, which
in half an hour brought us again to the river, above the obstacles.
Here we constructed rafts of bamboo, upon which, immersed to
the depth of half a foot, the material being very loosely adjusted,
we reached the lake in ten minutes. We found it covered with
green confervas ; a double border of pistia and broad-leaved reed
grasses, six to seven feet high, enclosing it all round. On the
south and west some low hillocks rose up, while from the middle
it appeared to be almost circular, with a girdle of forest. Coello
makes the lake much too large (four instead of one square mile),
and its distance from Abuyog can be only a little over a league.
With the assistance of a cord of lianas tied together, and rods
placed in a line, we found its breadth 585 brazas = 977 metres
(in the broadest part it might be a little over 1,000 metres) ; and
the length, as computed from some imperfect observations, 1,007
brazas (1,680 metres), 'consequently less than one square mile.
Soundings showed a gently inclined basin, 8 brazas (13-3) deep
in the middle. I would gladly have determined the proportions
with more accuracy ; but want of time, the inaccessibility of the
edge of the bank, and the miserable condition of our raft, allowed
of only a few rough measurements.
Not a trace of human habitations was observable on the shore ;
but at a quarter of an hour's distance from the northern edge we
found a comfortable hut, surrounded by deep mud and prickly
calamus, the tenants of which, however, were living in plenty,
and with greater conveniences than many dwellers in the villages.
We were very well received and had fish in abundance, as well
as tomatoes, and capsicum to season them with, and dishes of
English earthenware out of which to eat them.
The abundance of wild swine had led the settlers to invent a
peculiar contrivance, by which they are apprised of their approach
even when asleep, and guided to their trail in the darkness. A

A SECRET OCCUPATION. 283
rope made of strips of banana tied together, and upwards of a
thousand feet in length, is extended along the ground, one end of
which is attached to a cocoa-nut shell, full of water, which is sus
pended immediately over the sleeping-place of the hunter. When
a pig comes in contact with the rope, the water is overturned by
the jerk upon the sleeper, who, seizing the rope in his hand, is
thereby conducted to his prey. The principal employment of our
hosts appeared to be fishing, which is so productive that the
roughest apparatus is sufficient. There was not a single boat, but
only loosely-bound rafts of bamboo, on which the fishers, sinking,
as we ourselves did on our raft, half a foot deep, moved about
amongst the crocodiles, which I never beheld in such numbers
and of so large a size as in this lake. Some swam about on the
surface with their backs projecting out of the water. It was
striking to see the complete indifference with which even two little
girls waded in the water in the face of the great monsters.
Fortunately the latter appeared to be satisfied with their ample
rations of fish. Four kinds of fish are said to be found in the
lake, amongst them an eel ; but we got only one.*
Early on the following morning our native attendants were
already drunk. This led to the discovery of another occupation
of the settlers, which I do not hesitate to disclose now that the
Government monopoly has been abolished. They secretly distilled
palm-brandy, and carried on a considerable trade in it ; and this
also explained to me why the horrors of the road to the Mayo
River and to Abuyog had been painted in such warm colours, t
We returned on our rafts to the place where we had found
them, a distance of about fifteen hundred feet ; and onwards,
through wild cane with large clusters of flowers (Saccharum sp.),
sixteen feet high, east by north, we got to our boats, and then to
* Gobius giuris Buch. Ham.
t The lake at that time had but one outlet, but in the wet season it may be in
connection with the Mayo, which, at its north-eaBt side, is quite flat.

284 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
the bar, whence, after a march of an hour and a half, we reached
Abuyog. From Abuyog we returned by water to Dulag, and
by land to Burauen, where we arrived at night, sooner than our
hostlers had expected, for we caught them sleeping in our beds.
At no distant date much tobacco was cultivated in this
country, and was allowed to be sold to the peasantry under certain
conditions ; but recently it was forbidden to be sold, except by
the Government, who themselves determined its value at so very
low a rate that the culture of tobacco has almost entirely ceased.
As the tobacco company, however, had already erected stores
and appointed collectors, the initiated rightly perceived before
hand that these steps would be followed by compulsory labour,
even as it occurred in other places.
The east coast of Leyte is said to be rising, while the west is
being destroyed by the sea, and at Ormog the sea is said to have
advanced about fifty ells in six years.

CHAPTER XXII.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BISATAN INDIANS.
The Bisayans — at least the inhabitants of the islands of Samar
and Leyte (I have not become closely acquainted with any others)
— belong to one race.* They are, physically and intellectually,
in character, dress, manners and customs, so similar that my
notes, which were originally made at different points of the two
islands, have, after removal of the numerous repetitions, fused
into one, which affords a more complete picture, and affords, at
the same time, opportunity for the small differences, where they
do occur, to stand out more conspicuously.
There are no negritos either in Samar or Leyte, but many Cimar-
ronese, who pay no tribute, and who do not live in villages, but
independently in the forests. Unfortunately I have had no per
sonal intercourse with them, and what I have learned respecting
* Pintados or Bisayos, according to a native word denoting the same, must be the
inhabitants of the islands, between Luzon and Mindanao, and must have been
so named by the Spaniards from their practice of tattooing themselves. Crawford
("Diet." 339) thinks these facts not firmly established, and they are certainly not
mentioned by Pigafetta ; who, however, writes, p. 80 : — " He (the king of Zubu)
was . . . painted in various ways with fire." Purchas (" Pilgrimage," fo. i. 603) —
" The king of Zubut had his skinne painted with a hot iron pensill ; '' and Morga,
fo. 4 — " Traen todo il cuerpo labrado con fuego." From this they appear to have
tattooed themselves in the manner of the Papuas, by burning in spots and stripes
into the skin. But Morga states in another place (f. 138)—" They are distin
guished from the inhabitants of Luzon by their hair, which the men cut into a
pigtail after the old Spanish manner, and paint their bodies in many patterns, with
out touching the face." ,The custom of tattooing, which appears to have ceased
with the introduction of Christianity, for the clergyman so often quoted (Thevenot,
p. 4) describes it as unknown, cannot be regarded as a characteristic of the
Bisayans ; and tribes of the northern pait of Luzon tattoo at the present day.

286

THE- PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

them from the Christian inhabitants of Samar is too uncertain
to be repeated. But it does seem that all these Cimarronese or
their ancestors have traded with the Spaniards, and that their
religion has appropriated many Catholic forms. Thus, when
planting rice, and, according to ancient practices, setting apart
some of the seed to be offered in the four corners of the field as
sacrifice, they are accustomed
to repeat some mutilated Ca
tholic prayers, which they ap
pear to consider as efficacious
as their old heathenish ones.
Some have their children bap
tized as well, as it costs no
thing ; but, save in these re
spects, they perform no other
Christian or civil obligations.
They are very peaceable,
neither making war with one
another, nor having poisoned
arrows. Instances of Cimar
ronese, who go over to Christi
anity and village life, together
with tribute and servitude, are
extremely rare ; and the num
ber of the Indians, who re
turn to the forests in order
to become Cimarronese, is, on the other hand, very incon
siderable indeed — still smaller than in Luzon, as the natives,
from the dull, almost vegetating life which they lead, are not
easily brought into such straitened circumstances as to be com
pelled to leave their village, which, still more than in Luzon, is all
the world to them.
The culture of rice follows the seasons of the year. In some

Camisa of guinara ; saya of European cotton ;
and hat of Nito (lygadiuih).

RICE CULTIVATION. 287
places where there are large fields the plough (arado) and the sod-
sod (here called surod) are employed ; but, almost universally, the
rice-field is only trodden over by buffaloes in the rainy season.
Sowing is done on the west coast in May and June, planting in
July and August, and reaping from November to January. One
ganta of seed-corn gives two, sometimes from three to four,
cabanes (i.e., fifty, seventy-five, and a hundred fold). In the
chief town, Catbalogan, there are but very few irrigated fields
(tubigan, from tubig, 'water), the produce of which does not
suffice for the requirements, and the deficiency is made up from
other places on the coasts of the island. On the other hand,
Catbalogan produces abaca, cocoa-nut oil, wax, balate (edible
holothuria, sea cucumber), dried fish, and woven stuffs. On the
north and east coasts sowing takes place from November to
January, and reaping six months later. During the remaining
six months the field serves as pasture for the cattle ; but in many
places rice culture goes on even during these months, but on
other fields. A large portion of this rice is frequently lost on
account of the bad weather.
Purchases of land are seldom made, it being generally acquired
by cultivation, by inheritance, or forfeiture. In Catbalogan the
best rice land was paid for at the rate of one dollar for a ganta
of seed-corn, and, on the north coast of Lauang, a field producing
yearly one hundred cabanes was purchased for thirty dollars.
Reckoning, as in Naga, one ganta of seed-corn at four loanes, and
seventy-five cabanes of produce at one quiiion, the eastern rice
land costs, in the first instance, three thalers and a third, in the
second three thalers. The owner lets the bare property out on
leases, and receives one-half the harvest as rent.*
The cultivation of rice in Leyte is conducted as in Samar, but
it. has given way to the cultivation of abaca ; the governors, while
they were allowed to trade, compelled the natives to devote a
* Mezzeria (Italian) ; metayer (French).

288 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
part of their fields and of their labour to it. Should a peasant
be in arrears, it is the prevalent custom in the country for him
to pay to the dealer double the balance remaining due at the
next harvest.
Rice culture, which in Catbalogan is almost the only harvest
gained, requires no other implement of agriculture than the wood
knife, to loosen the soil somewhat, and a sharp stick for making
holes at distances of six inches for the reception of five or six
grains of rice. Sowing is done from May to June, weeding twice,
and five months later it is cut stalk by stalk ; the reaper receiv
ing half a real daily wages and food. The produce is Between
two and three cabanes per ganta, or fifty to seventy fold. The
land costs nothing, and wages amount to nearly five reals per
ganta of seed-corn. After a good harvest the caban fetches four
reals ; but just before the harvest the price rises to one dollar,
and often much higher. The ground is used only once for dry
rice ; camote (batata), abaca, and caladium being planted on it
after the harvest. Mountain rice is more remunerative than rice
of the valley, about in the proportion of nine to eight.
Next to rice the principal articles of sustenance are camote
(convolvulus batatas), ubi (dioscorea), gabi (caladium), palauan (a
large arum, with taper leaves and spotted stalk). Camote can be •
planted all the year round, and ripens in four months ; but it takes
place generally when the rice culture is over, when little labour
is available. When the cultivation of camote is retained, the
old plants are allowed to multiply by their runners, and only the
tubers are taken out of the ground. But larger produce is
obtained by cleaning out the ground and planting anew. From
eight to fifteen gantas may be had for half a real, and a sack for
about three to six sgr.*
Although there are large plantations of abaca, during my
* With us the sack of potatoes costs on the average, in the country, ten, in the
town, twenty sgr.

OIL AND WAX. 289
visit it was but little cultivated, the price not being sufficiently
remunerative. Tobacco also is cultivated. Formerly it might be sold in the
country, but now it has to be delivered at the hacienda.
A resinous oil, balao or malapdjo, is found in Samar and Albay,
probably also in other provino.es. It is obtained from a diptero-
carpus (ap'iton), one of the loftiest trees of the forest, by cutting
in the trunk a wide hole, half a foot deep, hollowed out into
the form of a basin, and from time to time lighting a fire in it,
so as to free the channels through which it flows of obstructions.
The oil thus drained is collected daily and comes into commerce
without any further preparation. Its chief application is in the
preservation of iron in ship-building. Nails dipped in the oil of
the balao, before being driven in, will, as I have been assured
by credible individuals, defy the action of rust for ten years ; but
it is principally used as. a varnish for ships, which are painted
with it both within and without, and it also protects wood against
termites and other insects. The balao is sold in Albay at four
reals for the tinaja of ten- gantas (the litre at eight pence). A
cement formed by the mixture of burnt lime, gum elemi, and
cocoa-nut oil, in such proportions as to form a thick paste before
application, is used for the protection of the bottoms of ships ;
and the coating is said to last a year.* *"*
Wax is bartered by the Cimarronese. The whole of Samar
annually yields from two hundred to three hundred picos, whose
value ranges between twenty-five and fifty dollars per pico, while
in Manilla the price is generally five to ten dollars higher ; but it
fluctuates very much, as the same product is brought from many
other localities and at very irregular intervals of time.
There is hardly any breeding of cattle, notwithstanding the
* In China an oil is procured from the seeds of vernicia montana, which, by the
addition of alum, litharge, and steatite, with a gentle heat, easily forms a valuable
varnish, which, when mixed with resin, is employed in rendering the bottoms of
vessels watertight. P. Champion, " Indust. Anc. et Mod. de l'Emp. Chiuois," 114.
U

2 go THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
luxuriant growth of grasses and the absence of destructive
animals. Horses and buffaloes are very rare, and are said to
have been introduced late, not before the present century. As
in Samar there are hardly any other country roads than the sea
shore and the shallow beds of rivers (it is better in the north of
Leyte), the buffalo is used only once every year in treading over the
earth of the rice-field. During the rest of the year he roams at
large on the pastures, in the forest, or on a small island, where
such exists, in the neighbourhood. It is very rare to see several
buffaloes, attached to the large trunk of a tree, dragging it to
the village, and their number, therefore, is extremely small.
Buffaloes which tread the rice land well are worth as much as ten
dollars. The mean price is three dollars for a buffalo-bull, and
five to six dollars for a buffalo -cow- Horned cattle are only
occasionally used as victims at festivals. The property of several
owners, they are very limited in number, and live half-wild in
the mountains. There is hardly any trade in them, but the
average price is three dollars for a heifer, and five or six dollars
for a cow. Almost every family possesses a pig ; some, three or
four of them. A fat pig costs six or seven dollars, even more
than a cow. Many Indian tribes abstain strictly from beef ; but
pork is essential to their feasts. Grease, too, is so dear that
from three to four dollars would, under favourable circumstances,
be got on that account for a fat animal. Sheep and goats thrive
well, and propagate easily, but also exist only in small numbers,
and are hardly utilised either for their wool or their flesh.
Creoles and mestizes are for the most part too idle even to keep
sheep, preferring daily to eat fowls. The sheep of Shanghai,
imported by the governor of Tacloban, also thrive and propagate
famously. A laying hen costs half a real, a cock the same, and
a game cock as much as three dollars, often considerably more.
Six or eight hens, or thirty eggs, may be bought for one real.
A faniily consisting of father, mother, and five children

DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 291
requires daily nearly twenty-four chupas of palay (rice in the
husk), which, after winnowing, comes to about twelve chupas.
This at the average price of four reals per caban costs about half
a real. The price, however, varies. Sometimes, after the harvest,
it is three reals per caban ; before it, ten ; and in Albay, even
about thirty reals. Then about three cuartos are wanted for extras
(as fish, crabs, vegetables, etc.), which, however, are generally
collected by- the children ; and, lastly, for oil two cu., buyo one cu.,
tobacco three cu. (three leaves for one cu.), the latter being smoked,
not chewed. A woman consumes half as much buyo and tobacco
as a man. Buyo and tobacco are less used in Leyte than in
Samar. For clothing a . man requires yearly — four rough shirts of
guinara, costing from one to two reals ; three or four hose, at
one to two and a half reals ; two handkerchiefs for the head, at
one and a half real (hats are not worn on the south and west
coasts), and for the church festivals generally one pair of shoes,
seven reals ; one fine shirt, a dollar or more ; and fine hose, four
reals. A woman requires — four to six camisas of guinara, at one
real ; two to three sayas of guinara, at three to four reals, and
one or two sayas of European printed cotton, at five reals ; two
handkerchiefs, at one and a half to two reals ; and one or two pairs
of slippers (chinelas) to go to mass in, at two reals and upwards.
The women generally have, besides, a fine camisa costing at
least six reals ; a mantilla for churchgoing, six reals (it lasts
four years) ; and a comb, two cu. Many also have under-petticoats
(nabuas), two pieces at four reals, and earrings of brass and a
rosary, which last articles are purchased once for all. In the
poorer localities, Lauang for instance, only the home-woven
guinaras are worn ; and there a man requires — three shirts and
three hose, which are cut out of three pieces of guinara, at two
reals, and a salacot (hat) , generally home- made, worth half a real ;
while a woman uses yearly — four sayas, value six reals ; and a
u2

292 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
camisa, with a finer one for the feasts, eight reals. Under-
petticoats are not worn ; and the clothing of the children may be
estimated at about half of the above rates.
For household furniture a family has a cooking pot* of
unglazed burnt clay, imported by ships from Manilla, the cost
of which is fixed by the value of its contents in rice ; a supply
of bamboo-canes ; seven plates, costing between two and five
cu. ; a carahai (iron pan), three to four reals ; -cocoa-nut shells
serving for glasses ; a few small pots, altogether half a real ; a
sundang, four to six reals, or a bolo (large wood knife), one
dollar; and a pair of scissors (for the women), two reals. The
loom, which every household constructs for itself of bamboo,
of course costs nothing.
The rate of daily wages, in the case of native employers, is
half a real, without food ; but Europeans always have to give one
real and food, unless, by favour of the gobernadorcillo, they get
polistas at the former rate, which then regularly goes into the
public coffers. An ordinary carpenter earns from one to two
reals ; a skilful man, three reals daily. The hours of work are
from six to noon, and from two to six in the evening.
Almost every village has a rude smith, who understands the
making of sundangs and bolos ; but the iron and the coal required
for the purpose must be supplied with the order. No other
work in metal is executed. With the exception of a little ship
building, hardly any other pursuit than weaving is carried on ;
the loom is rarely wanting in a household. Guinara, i.e., stuff
made of the abaca, is manufactured, as well as also some pina,
or figured silk stuffs, the silk being brought from Manilla, and
of Chinese origin. All these fabrics are made in private homes ;
there is no factory.
In places where rice is scarce the lower class of people catch
* Petzholdt (" Caucasus," i. 203) mentions that in Bosslewi the price of a clay
vessel is determined by its capacity of maize.

COMMERCIAL LIFE. 293
fish, salt and dry them, and barter them for rice. In the chief
towns purchases are made with the current money ; but, in the
interior, where there is hardly any money, fabrics and dried fish
are the most usual means of exchange. Salt is obtained by
evaporating the sea-water in small iron hand-pans (carahais),
without previous evaporation in the sun. The navigation between
Catbalogan and Manilla continues from December to July, and in
the interval between those months the ships lie dismantled under
sheds. There also is communication by the coast eastwards to
Guiuan, northwards to Catarman, and sometimes to Lauang.
The crews consist partly of natives, and partly of foreigners, as
the natives take to the sea with great reluctance ; indeed, almost
only when compelled to leave their villages. Samar has scarcely
any other means of communication besides the navigation of the
coast and rivers, the interior being roadless ; and burdens have
to be conveyed on the shoulders. An able-bodied porter, who
receives a real and a half without food, will carry three arrobas
(seventy-five pounds at most) six leagues in a day, but he cannot
accomplish the same work on the following day, requiring at
least one day's rest. A strong man will carry an arroba and a
half daily for a distance of six leagues for a whole week.
There are no markets in Samar and Leyte ; so that whoever
wishes to buy seeks what he requires in the several houses, and
in like manner the seller offers his goods.
An Indian seeking to borrow money has to give ample security
and pay interest at the rate of one real for every dollar per
month (twelve and a half per cent, monthly) ; and it is not easy
for him to borrow more than five dollars, for which sum only
he oan be legally imprisoned. Trade and credit are less developed
in eastern and northern Samar than in the western part of the
island, which keeps up a more active communication with the
other inhabitants of the Archipelago. There current money is
rarely lent, but only its value in goods is advanced at the rate of

294 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
a real per dollar per mensem. If the debtor fails to pay within
the time appointed, he frequently has to part with one of his
children, who is obliged to serve the lender for his bare food,
without wages, until the debt has been extinguished. I saw a
young man who had so served for the term of five years, in
liquidation of a debt of five dollars which his father, who had
formerly been a gobernadorcillo in Paranas, owed to a mestize
in Catbalogan ; and on the east coast a pretty young girl, who,
for a debt of three dollars due by her father, had then, for two
years, served a native, who had the reputation of being a spend
thrift. I was shown in Borongan a cocoa-nut plantation of three
hundred trees, which was pledged for a debt of ten dollars
about twenty years ago, since which period it had been used by
the creditor as his own property ; and it was only a few years
since that, upon the death of the debtor, his children succeeded,
with great difficulty, in paying the original debt and redeeming
the property. It is no uncommon thing for a native to borrow
two- dollars and a half from another in order to purchase his
exemption from the forty days of annual service, and then, failing
to repay the loan punctually, to serve his creditor for a whole
year.* The inhabitants of Samar and Leyte, who are at once idler
and filthier than those of Luzon, seem to be as much behind the
Bicols as the latter are behind the Tagalese. In Tacloban, where
a more active intercourse with Manilla exists, these qualities are
less pronounced, and the women, who are agreeable, bathe fre
quently. For the rest, the inhabitants of the two islands are
* As usual, these abuses spring from the non-enforcement of a statute passed in
1848 (Leg. ult , i. 144), which prohibits usurious contracts with servants or assist
ants, and threatens with heavy penalties all those who, under the pretext of having
advanced money, or of having paid debts or the poll-tax or exemption from
service, keep either individual natives or whole families in a continual state of
dependence upon them, and always secure the iucroase of their obligations to them
by not allowing them wages sufficient to onuble them to satisi'y the claims against
them.

SOCIAL LIFE. 295
friendly, obliging, tractable, and peaceable. Abusive language
or violence very rarely occurs, and, in case of injury, informa
tion is laid against the offender at the tribunal. Great purity of
manners seems to prevail on the north and west coasts, but not on
the east coast, nor in Leyte. External piety is universally con
spicuous, through the training imparted by the priests ; the
families are very united, and great influence is wielded by the
women, who are principally engaged in household employments,
and are tolerably skilful in weaving, and to whom only the lighter
labours of the field are assigned. The authority of the parents
and of the eldest brother is supreme, the younger sisters never
venturing to oppose it ; women and children are kindly treated.
The natives of Leyte, clinging as strongly to their native soil
as those of Samar, like them, have no partiality for the sea,
though their antipathy to it is not quite so manifest as that
of the inhabitants of Samar.*
There are no benevolent institutions in either of the two islands.
Each family maintains its own poor and crippled, and treats them
tenderly. In Catbalogan, the chief town of the island, with five
to six thousand inhabitants, there were only eight recipients of
charity ; but in Albay mendicants are not wanting. In Lauang,
when a Spaniard, on a solemn festival, had caused it to be pro
claimed that he would distribute rice to the poor, not a single
applicant came forward. The honesty of the inhabitants of
Samar is much commended. Obligations are said to be con
tracted almost always without written documents, and never
forsworn, even when they make default in payment. Robberies
are of rare occurrence in Samar, and thefts almost unknown.
There are schools also here in the pueblos, which accomplish quite
as muoh as they do in Camarines.
* Formerly it appears to have been different with them. " These Bisayans are a
people little disposed to agriculture, but practised in navigation, and eager for war
and expeditions by sea, on account of the pillage and prizes, which they call ' man-
gubas,' which is the same as taking to the field in order to Bteal." — Morga, f. 138.

296 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Of the public amusements cock-fighting is the chief, but it
is not so eagerly pursued as in Luzon. At the church festivals
they perform a drama translated from the Spanish, generally of a
religious character ; and the expense of the entertainment is
defrayed by voluntary contributions of the wealthy. The chief
vices of the population are play and drunkenness ; in which
latter even women and young girls occasionally indulge. The
marriage feasts, combining song and dance, often continue for
several days and nights together, where they have a sufficient
supply of food and drink. The suitor has to serve in the house
of the bride's parents two, three, and even five years, before he
takes his bride home ; and money cannot purchase exemption
from this onerous restriction. He boards in the house of the
bride's parents who furnish the rice, but he has to supply the
Vegetables himself.*
At the expiration of his term of service he builds, with the
assistance of his relations and friends, the house for the family
which is about to be newly established.
Though adultery is frequent, jealousy is rare, and never leads to
violence. The injured individual generally goes with the culprit
to the minister, who, with a severe lecture to one, and words of
consolation to the other, sets everything straight again. Married
women are more easily accessible than girls, whose prospect of
marriage, however, is hardly diminished by a false step during
single life. While under parental authority girls, as a rule, are
kept under rigid control, doubtless in order to prolong the time
of servitude of the suitor. External appearance is more strictly
regarded among the Bisayans than by the Bicols and Tagalese.
* Ill-usage prevails to a great extent, although prohibited by a stringent law ;
the non-enforcement of which by the alcaldes is charged with a penalty of 100 dollars
for every single case of neglect. In many provinces the bridegroom pays to
the bride's mother, besides the dower, an indemnity for the mother's milk whioh
Jm& bride has enjoyed (bigay susu). According to Colin ('* Labor Evangelico,"
p. 129) ihe penhimuyat, the present which the mother received, for night-watching
and care during the bringing up of the bride, amounted to one-fifth of the dowry.

NATIVE CULTURE.

297

Here also the erroneous opinion prevails, that the number of the
women exceeds that of the men. Instances occur of girls of
twelve being mothers ; but they are rare ; and the women bear
twelve or thirteen children, many of whom, however, do not live.
So much so is this the case, that families of more than six or
eight children are very rarely met with.
Superstition is rife. Besides the little Catholic images of
the Virgin, which every female Indian wears by a string round
the neck, many also have heathen amulets, of which I had an
opportunity of examining one that had been taken from a very
daring criminal. It consisted of a small ounce flask, stuffed full of
vegetable root fibres, which appeared to have been fried in oil.
This flask, which is prepared by the heathen tribes, is accredited
with the virtue of making its owner strong and courageous.
The capture of this individual was very difficult ; but, as soon as
the little flask was taken from him, he gave up all resistance, and
allowed himself to be bound. In almost every large village there
are one or more Asuan families who are generally dreaded and
avoided, and regarded as outlaws, and who can marry only
amongst themselves. They have the reputation of being cannibals.
Perhaps they are descended from such tribes ? At any rate, the
belief is very general and firmly rooted ; and intelligent old
Indians, when questioned by me on the subject, answered that
they certainly did not believe that the Asuans ate men at the
present time, but that their forefathers had assuredly done so.*
Of ancient legends, traditions, or ballads, it is stated that there
are none. It is true they have songs at their dances, but these
are spiritless improvisations, and mostly in a high key, They
have not preserved any memorials of former civilisation. " The
* Veritable cannibals are not mentioned by the older authors on the Philippines.
Tigafelta (p. 127) heard that a people lived on a river at Cape Benuian (north of
Mindanao) who ate only the hearts of their captured enemies, along with lemon-
juice ; and Dr. Semper ("Philippines," 62) found the same custom, with the excep
tion of the lemon-juice, on the east coast of Mindanao. '.

298 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
ancient Pintados possessed no temples, every one performing his
anitos in his own house, without any special solemnity" — (Morga,
f. 145 v). Pigafetta (p. 92) certainly mentions that the King of
Cebu, after his conversion to Christianity, caused many temples
built on the seashore to be destroyed ; but these might only have
been structures of a very perishable kind. On certain occasions
the Bisayans celebrated a great festival, called Pandot, at which
they worshipped their gods in huts, which were expressly built
for the purpose, covered with foliage, and adorned with flowers
and lamps. They called these huts simba or simbahan (the
churches are so called to the present day), "and this is the only
thing which they have similar to a church or a temple" — (In-
forme, I. i., 17). According to Gemelli Careri they prayed to
some particular gods, derived from their forefathers, who are
called by the Bisayans Davata (Divata), and by the Tagalese
Anito ; one anito being for the sea and another for the house, to
watch over the children.* In the number of these anitos they
placed their grandfathers and great grandfathers, whom they
invoked in all their necessities, and in whose honour they pre
served little statues of stone, wood, gold, and ivory, which they
called liche or laravan. Amongst their gods they also reckoned
all who perished by the sword, or were killed by lightning, or
devoured by crocodiles, believing that their souls ascended to
heaven on a bow which they called balangas. Pigafetta thus
describes the idols which were seen by him : — " They are of
wood, and concave, or hollow, without any hind quarters, with
their arms extended, and their legs and feet bent upwards. They
have very large faces, with four powerful teeth like boars' tusks,
and are painted all over." t
* The Anito occurs amongst the tribes of the Malayan Archipelago as Antu, but
the Anito of the Philippines is essentially a protecting spirit, while the Malayan
Antu is rather of a demoniacal kind.
t These idol images have never come under my observation. Those figured in
Bastian and Hartmann's " Journal of Ethnology " (b. i. pi. viii. " Idols from the

EARLY RELIGION. 299
In conclusion, let me take a brief account of the religion of the
ancient Bisayans from Fr. Gaspar : —
The daemon, or genius, to whom they sacrificed was called by
them Divata, which appears to denote an antithesis to the Deity,
and a rebel against him. Hell was called Solad, and Heaven
(in their highly figurative language) Ologan .... The souls
of the departed go to a mountain in the province of Oton, called
Medias, where they are well entertained and served.
The creation of the universe is thus explained. A vulture
hovering between heaven and earth finds no place to settle himself
upon, and the water rises towards heaven ; whereupon Heaven,
in its wrath, creates islands. The vulture splits a bamboo, out of
which spring man and woman, who beget many children, and,
when their number becomes too great, drive them out with blows.
Some conceal themselves in the chamber, and these become the
Datos ; others in the kitchen, and these become the slaves. The
rest go down the stairs and become the people.
Philippines)," whose originals are in the Ethnographical Museum of Berlin, were
certainly acquired in the Philippines, but, according to A. W. Franks, undoubtedly
belong to the Solomon Islands. Sections ii. to viii., p 46, in the catalogue of the
Museum at Prague are entitled : — " Four heads of idols, made of wood, from the
Philippines, contributed by the Bohemian naturalist Thaddaus Hanke, who was
commissioned by the King of Spain, in the year 1817, to travel in the islands of the
South Sea." The photographs, which were obligingly introduced here at my desire
by the direction of the museum, do not entirely correspond to the above description,
pointing rather to the west coast of America, the principal field of Hanke's
researches. The Reliquice Botanical, from his posthumous papers, likewise afford no
information respecting the origin of those idols.

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE NEW PORTS OP CUSTOMS. — PIT-GOAL IN CEBtj. — YLOILO. — INDUCEMENTS TO THE
CULTIVATION OP SUGAR.
Ln 1830 seven new ports were opened as an experiment, but
owing to great frauds in the tolls were soon afterwards closed
again. In 1831 a custom-house was established at Zamboanga, on
the south-west point of Mindanao ; and in 1855 Sual, in the Gulf of
Lingayen, one of the safest harbours on the west coast of Luzon,
and Yloilo in Panay, were thrown open ; and in 1863 Cebu, on
the island of the same name, for the direct communication with
foreign countries.
Before 1635 the Spaniards had established a fort at Zamboanga,
which, although it certainly could not wholly prevent the piratical
excursions against the colonies, yet considerably diminished them.*
Until 1848 from eight hundred to fifteen hundred individuals are
stated to have been carried off by the Moors, t The establishment
of this custom-house has, therefore, been based upon political rather
than commercial motives, it being found desirable to open an
easily accessible place to the piratical states of the Solo Sea for the
disposal of their products. Trade, up to the present date, is but
of very inconsiderable amount, the exports consisting chiefly of a
little coffee (in 1871 nearly 6,000 picos), which, from bad manage-
* As an example, in anticipation of an attack on Cogseng, all the available forces,
including those of Zamboanga, were collected round Manilla, and the Moors
attacked the island with sixty ships, whereas formerly their armaments used not to
exceed six or eight ships. Torrubia, p. 363.
t Hakl. Morga, Append. 360.

CEBU. 301
ment, is worth thirty per cent, less than Manilla coffee, and of
the collected products of the forest and of the water, such as wax,
birds'-nests, tortoise-shell, pearls, mother-of-pearl, and edible holo-
thuria. This trade, as well as that with Solo, is entirely in the
hands of the Chinese, who alone possess the patience, adaptive-
ness, and adroitness which are required for the purpose.
Sual is specially important for its exports of rice ; and its
foreign trade is therefore affected by the results of the harvests
in Saigon, Birmah, and China. In 1868, when the harvests in
those countries turned out good, Sual carried on only a coasting
trade; Cebu (with a population of 34,000) is the chief town of the
island of the same name, the seat of Government and of the
bishop of the Bisayans, and within forty-eight hours from
Manilla by steamer. It is as favourably situated with regard
to the eastern portion of the Bisayan group as Yloilo is for the
western, and is acquiring increased importance as the emporium
for its products. Sugar and tobacco are obtained from Bojol ;
rice from Panay ; abaca from Leyte and Mindanao ; and coffee,
wax, Spanish cane, and mother-of-pearl from Misamis (Min
danao). Its distance from Samar is twenty-six, from Leyte two
and a half, from Bojol four, and from Negros eighteen miles.
The island of Cebti extends over seventy-five square miles. A
lofty mountain range traverses it from north to south, dividing
the east from the west side, and its population is estimated at
340,000, — 4,533 to the square mile. The inhabitants are peaceable
and docile; thefts occur very seldom, and robberies never. Their
occupations are agriculture, fishing, and weaving for home con
sumption. Cebti produces sugar, tobacco, maize, rice, &c, and
in the mountains potatoes ; but the rice produced does not suffice
for their requirements, there being only a little level land, and
the deficiency is imported from Panay.
The island possesses considerable beds of coal, the full yield of

302 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
which may now be looked for, as the duty on export was
abandoned by a decree of the 5th May, 1869.* While in Luzon
and Panay the land is for the most part the property of the
peasantry, in Cebu it mostly belongs to the mestizes, and is let
out by them, in very small allotments, upon lease. The owners
of the soil know how to keep the peasants in a state of depen
dence by usurious loans ; and one of the results of this abuse
is that agriculture in this island stands lower than in almost any
other part of the archipelago.! The entire value of the exports
in 1868 amounted to 1,181,050 dollars; of which sugar to the
value of 481,127 dollars, and abaca, to the value of 378,256 dollars,
went to England, abaca amounting to 112,000 to America, and
tobacco to 118,260 dollars to Spain. The imports of foreign
goods, mostly by the Chinese, come through Manilla, where they
purchase from the foreign import houses. The value of these
imports amounted in 1868 to 182,522 dollars ; of which 150,000
dollars were for English cotton stuffs. The entire imports of the
island were estimated at 1,243,582 dollars, and the exports at
226,989 dollars. Among the importations were twenty chests of
images, a sign of the deeply-rooted worship of the Virgin. For-
* According to the Mineral Review, Madrid, 1886, xvii. 244, the coal from the
mountain of Alpaco, in the district of Naga, in Cebu, is dry, pure, almost free
of Bulphur pyrites, burns easily, and with a strong flame. In the experiments
made at the laboratory of the School of Mines in Madrid it yielded four per cent.
of ashes, and a heatiiig power of 4,825 caloria ; i.e., by the burning of one part
by weight 4,825 parts by weight of water were heated to 1° C. Good pit-coal
gives 6,000 cal. The first coal pits in Cebu were excavated in the Massanga valley ;
but the works were discontinued in 1859, after considerable outlay had been made
on them. Four strata of considerable thickness were subsequently discovered in
the valley of Alpac6 and in the mountain of Oling, in Naga  " The coal of
Cebti is acknowledged to be better than that of Australia and Labuan, but has not
sufficient heating power to be used, unmixed with other coal, on long sea voyages."
According to the Catalogue of the Products of the Philippines (Manilla, 1866), the
coal strata of Cebu have, at many places in the mountain range which runs from
north to south across the whole of the island, an average thickness of two miles.
The coal is of middling quality, and is burnt in the Government steam works after
being mixed with Cardiff coal. The price in Cebti is on the average six dollars.
per ton.
t English Consular Report, 217.

THE PORT OF YLOfLO. 303
merly the products for exportation were bought up by the foreign
merchants, mostly through Chinese mestizes ; but now they are
bought direct from the producers, who thus obtain better prices
in consequence of the abolition of the high brokerages. To this
and to the energy of the foreign merchants, under favourable
circumstances, is the gradual improvement of agriculture princi
pally to be ascribed.
Yloilo is the most important of the newly opened ports, being
the central point of the Bisayan group, and situated in one of the
most thickly populated and industrious provinces. N. Loney
estimates the export of goods woven from the fibre of the pine,
from Yloilo and the neighbouring provinces, at about one million
dollars annually.
The harbour is excellent, being completely protected by an
island which lies immediately before it ; and at high tide there is
about twelve feet of water close in shore for vessels to lie in. On
account of the bar, however, ships of a deeper draught than this
are obliged to complete their loading outside.
Previous to the opening of the new harbours, all the provinces
were compelled as well to bring their products intended for
exportation to Manilla, as to receive from the same place their
foreign imports ; the cost of which therefore was greatly increased
through the extra expenses incurred by the double voyage, re
loading, brokerage, and wharfage charges. According to a written
account of N. Loney, it is shown how profitable, even after a few
years, the opening of Yloilo has been to the provinces imme
diately adjoining — the islands of Panay and Negros.
The higher prices which can be obtained for directly exported
sugar, combined with the facility and security of the trade as
contrasted with the late monopoly enjoyed by Manilla, have
occasioned a great extension of the cultivation of that article.
Not only in Yloilo, but also in Antique and Negros, many new
plantations have arisen, and the old ones have been enlarged as

304 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
much as possible ; and not less important has been the progress
in the manufacture.
In 1857 there was not one iron mill to be found on the island ;
so that, in working with the wooden mill, about thirty per cent.
of the sap remained in the cane, even after it had thrice passed
through. The old wooden presses, which were worked by steam
or buffaloes, have now been supplanted by new ones ; and
these the native planters have no difficulty in obtaining, as they
can get them on credit from the warehouses of the English
importers. Instead of the old Chinese cast-iron pans which were
in use, far superior articles have been imported from Europe ;
and many large factories worked by steam-power and with all
modern improvements have been established. In agriculture,
likewise, creditable progress is noticeable. Improved ploughs,
carts, and farming implements generally, are to be had in
plenty. These changes naturally show how important it was to establish
at different points, extending over two hundred miles of the
Archipelago, commercial centres, where it was desirable that
foreigners should settle. Without these latter, and the facilities
afforded to credit which thereby ensued, the sudden rise and
prosperity of Yloilo would not have been possible, inasmuch as the
mercantile houses in that capital would have been debarred from
trading with unknown planters in distant provinces, otherwise
than for ready money.
A large number of half-castes, too, who before traded in manu
factured goods purchased in Manilla, were enabled after this to
send their goods direct to the provinces, to- the foreign firms
settled there ; and as, ultimately, neither these latter nor the
Chinese retail dealers could successfully compete with them, the
result has been that, as much to their own profit as to that of
the country, they have betaken themselves to the cultivation of
sugar.

RESULTS OF FREE TRADE. 305
In this manner important plantations have been established in
Negros, which are managed by natives of Yloilo : but there
is a scarcity of labourers on the island.
Foreigners now can legally acquire property, and possess a
marketable title ; in which respect the law, until a very recent
period, was of an extremely uncertain nature.
Land is to be obtained by purchase, or, when not already taken
up, by "denuncia" (i.e. priority of claim). In such case, the
would-be possessor of the land must enter into an undertaking in
the nearest of the native Courts to cultivate and keep the said
land in a fit and serviceable condition. Should no other claim be
put in, notice is thereupon given of the grant, and the magistrate
or alcalde concludes the compact without other cost than the
usual stamp duty. Many half-castes and natives, not having
the necessary capital to carry on a large plantation successfully,
sell the fields which they have already partially cultivated to
European capitalists, who are thus relieved of all the preliminary
tedious work. Evidently the Colonial Government is now
sincerely disposed to favour the laying out of large plantations.
The want of good roads is particularly felt : but, with the increase
of agriculture, this defect will naturally be remedied ; and, more
over, most of the sugar factories are situated on rivers which are
unnavigable even by flat freight boats.
The value of land in many parts of the country has doubled
within the last ten years.*
Up to 1850 the pico of sugar was worth in Yloilo from 1 dol. 5 c.
to 1 dol. 25 c, and seldom over 2 dols. in Manilla ; in 1866,
3 dols. 25 c. ; and in 1868, 4 dols. 75 c. to 5 dols. in Yloilo.

* In Jar6 the rents have increased threefold in six years : and cattle which were
worth 10 dols. in 1860, fetched 25 dols. in 1866. Plots of land on the " Ria," in
Yloilo, have risen from 100 dols. to 500 dols., and even as high as 800 dols. (Diario,
February, 1867). These results are to be ascribed to the sugar trade, which,
through free exportation, has become extremely lucrative.
X

306 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The business in Yloilo therefore shows an increase of 1 dol. 75
per pico.*
At the end of 1866 there were as many as twenty Europeans
established on the island of Negros as sugar planters, besides a
number of half-castes. Most of them were working with steam
machinery and vacuum pans. The general rate of pay is from
2 dols. 5 c. to 3 dols. per month. On some plantations the prin
ciple of " acsa," i.e. part share, is in operation. The owner lets
out a piece of ground, providing draught cattle and all necessary
ploughing implements, to a native, who works it, and supplies the
mill with the cut cane, receiving as payment a share, generally a
third, of the product.
In Negros the violet cane is cultivated, and in Manilla the
white (Otaheiti). The land does not require manuring. On new
ground, or what we may term virgin soil, the cane often grows to
a height of thirteen feet. A vast improvement is to be observed
in the mode of dress of the people. Pina and silk stuffs are
becoming quite common. Advance in luxury is always a favour
able sign ; according to the increase of requirements, industry
flourishes in proportion.
As I have already mentioned, California, Japan, China, and
Australia appear designed by nature to be the principal consumers
of the products of the Philippine Islands. Certainly at present
England is the best customer ; but nearly half the account is for
sugar, in consequence of their own custom duties.
Sometimes it happens that not more than one-fourth of the
sugar crop is sufficiently refined to compete in the Australian and
Californian markets with the sorts from Bengal, Java, and the
Mauritius; the remaining three-fourths, if particularly white,
must perforce undertake the long voyage to England, despite the
* In 1855 Yloilo took altogether from Negr6s 3,000 piens out of 11,700 ; in 1860
as much as 90,000 picos; in 1863. 176,000 picos (in twenty-seven foreign ships) ; in
J866, 250,000 picos ; in 1871, 312,379 picos from both islands.

SUGAR. 307
high freight and certain loss on the voyage of from ten to twelve
per cent, through the leakage of the molasses.
The inferior quality of the Philippine sugar is at once perceived
by the English refiners, and is only taxed at 8s. per cwt., while
purer sorts pay 10s. to 12s.* In this manner the English customs
favour the inferior qualities of manufactured sugar.
The colonial Government did not allow those engaged in the
manufacture of sugar to distil rum from the molasses until the
year 1862. They had, therefore, little inducement to extract,
at a certain expense, a substance the value of which they were
not permitted to realise : but under ordinary circumstances the
distillation of the rum not only covered the cost of refining, but
gave, in addition, a fair margin of profit.
* The sugar intended for the English market cost in Manilla, iu the years 1868
and 1869, from £15 to £16 per ton, and fetched in London about £20 per ton. The
best refined sugar prepared in Manilla for Australia was, on account of the higher
duty, worth only £3 per ton more in London ; but, being £5 dearer than the
irfferior quality, it commanded a premium of £2. Manilla exports the sugar chiefly
from Pangasinan, Pampanga, and Laguna. — (From private information.)

x 2

CHAPTER XXIV.

ABACA, OR MANILLA HEMP.

One of the most interesting productions of the island is Manilla
hemp, so called by the French ; but hardly any use is made of it.
On account of its peculiar silky appearance, it is also known as
the " brilliant silk-plant."
The natives call it the bandala seed, and in commerce (gene
rally speaking) abaca, as the plant is obtained from it.
The latter is a wild species of banana growing on one of the
Philippine Islands, known also as Arbol de Cafiamo (hemp-tree),
Musa textilis, Lin. It does not differ in appearance to any great
extent from the edible banana (Musa paradisiaca) , one of the most
important plants of the torrid zone, and familiar to us as being
one of our most beautiful hot-house favourites.
Whether this and the " musse " (M. troglodytarum, M. sylvestris,
and others), frequently known, too, as M. textilis, are of the same
species, has not yet been determined. The species Musaceae are
herbaceous plants only. The outer stem consists of crescent-
shaped petioles crossing one another alternately, and encircling
the thin main stem. These petioles contain a quantity of bast
fibre, which is used as string, but otherwise is of no commercial
value. The serviceable hemp fibre has, up to the present time,
been exclusively obtained from the southern portion of the Philip
pines. The provinces of Camarines and Albay are favourably
adapted for the cultivation of this plant, as are also the islands of

ABACA CULTIVATION. 309
Samar and Leyte, and the adjacent islands ; and Cebu likewise,
although a portion of the Cebu hemp comes from Mindanao. In
Negros the best banana thrives only in the south, not in the north;
and Yloilo, which produces much of the weaving hemp (guinara),
is obliged to import the raw material from the eastern district, as
it does not flourish in the island of Panay.
In Capiz, it is true, some abaca may be noticed growing, but
it is of trifling value. Hitherto all attempts, strenuous though
the efforts were, to acclimatize the growth of hemp in the western
and northern provinces have failed. The plants rarely grow as
high as two feet, and the trouble and expense are simply unremu-
nerative. This failure may be accounted for by the extreme dry
ness prevailing during many months of the year, whereas in the
eastern provinces plentiful showers fall the whole year round.
The great profit which the Manilla hemp has yielded in the few
years since its production, however, has given encouragement to
still further experiments ; so that, indeed, it will shortly be
shown whether the cultivation of abaca is to be confined to its
present limited area, while the edible species of banana has
spread itself over the whole surface of the earth within the
tropics. On the volcanic mountains of Western Java a species of the
Musacese grows in great luxuriance. The Government has not,
however, made any real effort to cultivate it, and what has been
done in that respect has been effected, up to the present date, by
private enterprise.
Various writers have stated that abaca, is to be obtained in
the north of the Celebes. Bickmore, however, says positively
that the inhabitants having made great efforts in attempting its
successful cultivation, have abandoned it again in favour of the
cultivation of coffee, which is found to be far more profitable.*
According to previous statements, Guadaloupe appears to be
* "The Islands of the East Indian Archipelago," 1868, p. 340.

3io THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
able to produce abaca (fibre of the M. textilis ?) ; * and Pondi
cherry and Guadaloupe have produced fabrics woven from abaca,
and French Guiana stuffs from the fibre of the edible banana ; f
All these, however, are only experiments. Royle affirms that the
Manilla hemp (abaca, fibre) excels the Russian in firmness, light
ness, and strength in tension, as well as in cheapness, and that
rope prepared from the latter becomes stiff in wet weather, and
continues so afterwards ; which doubtless may be avoided by an
improvement in the manner of spinning, and subsequent judicious
treatment. J Through the better preparation of the raw material
in Manilla by means of adequate machinery, these difficulties
have been overcome ; but abaca no longer has the advantage of
superior cheapness, as the demand has increased much faster than
the supply. During the year 1859 it was worth from £22 to
£25 per ton ; in 1868, £45 to £50 per ton ; while Russian hemp
fetched £31 per ton. Thus in nine years it rose to double its
value. In Albay there are about twelve varieties of the best
banana cultivated, which are particularly favoured by the quali
ties of the soil. The cultivation is extremely simple, and entirely
independent of the seasons.
The plants thrive best on the slopes of the volcanic mountains
(in which Albay and Camarines abound), in open spaces of the
woods protected by the trees, which cast their shadows to an
extent of about sixty feet. In exposed level ground they do not
thrive so well, and in marshy land not at all. In the laying out
of a new plantation the young shoots are generally made use of,
which sprout so abundantly from the roots that each individual
* Exhibition Catalogue; section, French Colonies, 1867, p. 80.
t Report of the Commissioners, Exhibition 1867, iv. 102. The South American
Indians have for a long time past employed the banana fibre in the manu
facture of clothing material ; — (The Technologist, September, 1865, p. 89, from
unauthenticated sources,) and in Lu-tschu the banana fibre is the only kind in use
(" Faits Commerciaux, No. 1614." p. 36).
X Abaca not readily taking tar is, consequently, only used for running, and not
standing, rigging.

PLANTING. 311
one soon becomes a perfect plant. In favourable ground the
custom is to allow a distance of about ten feet between each plant ;
in poor ground six feet. The only care necessary is the ex
termination of the weeds, and clearing away the underwood
during the first season ; later on, the plants grow so luxuriantly
and strongly that they entirely prevent the growth of anything
else in their vicinity. The protection afforded by the shade of the
trees at this period is no longer required, the young buds finding
sufficient protection against the sun's rays under cover of the fan
like leaves. Only in exceptional cases, contrary to the usual
practice, are the plants raised from seed. The fruit, when ready,
is cut off and dried, though care must be taken that it is not over
ripe ; otherwise the kernels are found to be in an unsuitable
condition. These latter are about the size of peppercorns ; and the extrac
tion of them in the edible species almost always brings about decay.
Two days before sowing, the kernels are taken out of the fruit,
and steeped overnight in water ; on the following day they are
dried in a shady place ; and on the third day they are sown in
holes an inch deep in fresh, unbroken, and well-shaded forest
ground, allowing six inches distance between each plant and row.
After a year the seedlings, which are then about two feet high,
are planted out, and tended in the same way as the suckers.
While many of the edible bananas bear fruit after one year, and a
few varieties even after six months, the abaca plant requires on an
average three years to produce its fibre in a proper condition ;
when raised from suckers four years ; and when raised from year-
old seedlings, even under the most favourable conditions, two
years. On the first crop, only one stalk is cut from each bush ;
but later on the new branches grow so quickly that they can be
cut every two months.*
* A plant in full growth produces annually 30 cwt. bandala to the acre, whereas
from an acre of flax not more than from 2 to 4 cwt. of pure flax, and from 2 to 8
cwt. seed can be obtained.

3i2 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
After a few years the plants become so strong and dense that it
is scarcely possible to push through them. Bast is in its best
condition at the time of blossoming; but, when the price of
the fibre happens to stand high in the market, this particular
time is not always waited for.
Plants which have blossomed cease to be profitable in any way,
by reason of the fibre becoming too weak — a matter of too great
nicety for the unpractical consumers on the other side of the
Atlantic to decide upon, and one in which, despite inquiries and
careful inspections, they might be deceived. There really is no
perceptible reason why the fibre should become weaker through
fructification, which simply consists in the fact of the con
tents of the vascular cells changing into soluble matter, and
gradually oozing away, the consequence of which is that the cells
of the fibre are not replenished. These, on the contrary, acquire
additional strength with the age of the plant, because the
emptied cells cling so firmly together, by means of a certain
resinous deposit, that it is impossible to obtain them unbroken
without a great deal of trouble. The idea may have erroneously
arisen from the circumstance that, previously to drying, as with
hemp, the old plants were picked out, and allowed to be thrown
away, though not without considerably increasing the rate of pay,
which already consumed the greater part of the general expenses.*
In order to preserve the bast, the stalk above ground is closely
pruned and freed from leaves and other encumbrances ; each leaf
is then singly divided into strips — a cross incision being made
through the membrane on the inner or concave side, and con
nected by means of the pulpy parts (the parenchym) clinging
together. In this manner as much as possible of the clear outer
skin only remains behind.
* As Dr. Wittmack communicated to me, only fibre or seed can be obtained from
hemp, as when the hemp is ripe, i.e. run to seed, the fibre becomes then both brittle
and coarse. Possibly, in the flax cultivation, you may obtain frequently both seed
and fibre ; but, after all, they are both of very little value.

MODE OF OBTAINING THE FIBRE. 313
Another method is to strip the bast from the undivided stem.
To effect this the operator makes an oblique incision in the skin
by the under part of the stalk, drawing the knife gradually to
the tip, and stripping off the whole length as broad a piece as
possible ; and the operation is repeated as many times as prac
ticable. This method of handling is more productive than the one pre
viously described ; but, on the other hand, it takes considerably
more time, and for that reason is not often practised.
The strips of bast are then drawn under a knife, the blade of
which is three inches broad by six long, fastened at one end
to the extremity of a flexible stick so that it is suspended per
pendicularly over a well-smoothed block, and at the other end to
a handle connected by means of a cord to a treadle, which can be
pressed firmly down, as occasion requires. The workman draws
the bast, without any regard to quality, between the knife
and block, commencing in the middle, and then from side to
side. The knife must be free from notches, or all indentations,
according to the direction of Father Blanco.* This work
requires three men, whose pay generally is about 2 r. per day.
One worker cuts up the stalks, strips off the leaves, and attends
to the supply ; the second,' frequently a boy, spreads out the
strips ; and the third draws them under the knife. A single
plant has been known to yield as much as two pounds of fibre ;
but the most favourable average rarely affords more than one
pound, and plants grown in indifferent soil scarcely a sixth
of that quantity. The plantations are worked either by the
owner or by day-labourers, who, when the market prices are
very low, take half share of the crop harvested by them. In
these cases an industrious workman may obtain as much as one
pico in a week. During my stay exceptionally low prices ruled
— 16-5 r. per pico, undelivered. The workman could, therefore,
* " Flora of the Philippines."

314 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
in six days earn half the amount, viz., 8-25 r., at a rate of 1-375 r.
per day.
The day's pay at that time was 0-50 r., and board 0'25 r.,
making together 0-75 r. By daily pay. Half share.
The workman therefore earned daily  0'75 r. or 1-375 r.
Wages amounted to per pico  12- 6r. or 8- 25 r.
Profit of the planters, after deduction of the wages . 3- 9 r. or 8- 25 r.
The edges of the petioles, which contain much finer fibre than
the middle parts, are separately divided into strips an inch wide,
and with strong pressure are drawn several times under the knife.
This substance, which is called lupis, is in high request, being
employed in the native weaving ; while bandala is chiefly used
for ships' rigging.*
Ltipis, according to the fineness of the fibre, is sorted into four
classes — first, Binani ; second, Totogna ; third, Sogotan ; and
fourth, Cadaclan. A bundle of these is then taken up in the
left hand, and, while with the right the first three sorts are
inserted between the fingers, the fourth is held between the
thumb and forefinger. This last description is no longer used
in fine weaving, and is therefore sold with bandala.
After the fine sorts have been pounded in a rice-mortar, in order
to render the fibre soft and pliable, they are severally knotted
into one another, and converted into web. Generally the first sort
is worked as woof with the second as warp, and the third as warp
with the second as woof. The fabrics so woven are nearly as fine
as pine-stuffs (Nipis de Pina), and almost equal the best quality of
cambric ; and, notwithstanding the many little nodules occasioned
by the tangling of the fibre, which may be discerned on close

* In 1868, £100 per ton was paid for lupis, although only imported in small
quantities — about five tons per annum — and principally used at one time in France
in the manufacture of a particular kind of underclothing. The fashion soon, how
ever, died out. Quitol, a less valuable sort of lupis, could be sold at £75 per ton.

WORKING DETAILS. 3>5
inspection, are clearer and stouter, and possess a warmer yellowish
tint.* In respect of these last three qualities — purity, flexibility,
and colour — they stand in relation to cambric somewhat as card-
bqard to tissue-paper. In weaving such stuffs the fibres fre
quently break on account of their having been twisted instead of
spun; and the repair in these cases is exceedingly trouble
some. The finest stuffs require so great an amount of dexterity,
patience, and time in their preparation, and for that reason are so
expensive, that they can find no purchasers when in competition
with the cheap, machine-worked goods of Europe. Their fine,
warm yellowish colour also is objected to by the European women,
who are accustomed to linen and calicoes strongly blued in the
washing. In the country, however, they are esteemed very
highly by the rich half-castes, who understand the real goodness
of their qualities.
The fibres of the inner petioles, which are softer but not so
strong as the outer, are called tupus, and sold with bandala, or
mixed with tapis and used in the native weaving. Bandala also
serves for weaving purposes ; and, in that portion of the Archi
pelago where the native abaca plantations are, the entire dress of
both sexes is made of coarse guinara. Still coarser and stronger
fabrics are prepared for the European market, such as crinoline
and stiff muslin used by dressmakers. Before the arrival of the
Spaniards the natives produced stuffs from abaca ; which became an
important article of export only some few decades since. This is
in great measure due to the enterprising spirit of two American
firms, and would not have been attained without great persever
ance and liberal pecuniary assistance.
The plants flourish without any care or attention, the only
* Inflexibility is peculiar to all fibres of the Monokotyledons, because they con
sist of coarsely rounded cells. On the other hand, the true bast fibres — the Diko-
tyledons (flax, for instance)— are the reverse.

3«6 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
trouble being to collect the fibre ; and, the bounteousness of Nature
having provided them against want, the natives shirk even this
trouble when the market price is not very enticing.
In general low prices are scarcely to be reckoned on, on account
of the utter indifference of the Indians, over whom the traders do
not possess any influence to keep them at work. Advances to
them are made both in goods and money, which the creditor must
repay either by produce from his own plantation or by giving
an equivalent in labour.*
As long as the produce stands high in price, everything goes on
pretty smoothly, although even then, through the dishonesty of
the Indians, and the laziness, extravagance, and mercantile incapa
city of the middle men, considerable loss frequently ensues. If,
however, prices experience any considerable fall, then the Indians
seek in any and every way to get out of their uncomfortable
position, whilst the percentage of profit secured to the middle man
is barely sufficient to cover the interest of his outlay. Never
theless, they must still continue the supplies, inasmuch as they
possess no other means of securing payment of their debt in the
future. The Indians, in their turn, bring bitter complaints against the
agents, to the effect that they are forced to severe labour, unpro
fitable to themselves, through their acceptance of advances made
to them at most exorbitant rates ; and the agents (generally half-
castes or Creoles) blame the crafty, greedy, extortionate foreigners,
* By agricultural means, also, the half-castes and Indians secure the work of
their countrymen by making these advances, and renewing them before the old
ones are paid off. These thoughtless people consequently fall deeper and deeper
into debt, and become virtually the slaves of their creditors, it being impossible for
them to escape in any way from their position. The " part-share contract " is
much the same in its operative effects, the landlord having to supply the farmer
with agricultural implements and draught-cattle, and often in addition supplying
the wdiole family with clothing and provisions ; and, on division of the earnings, the
farmer is unable to cover his debt. It is true the Indians are responsible legally to
the extent of five dollars only, a special enactment prohibiting these usurious bar
gains. As a matter of fact, however, they are generally practised.

LOCAL OBSTRUCTIONS. 3 '7
who shamelessly tempt the lords of the soil with false promises,
and effectuate their utter ruin. As a general rule, the "crafty
foreigner" experiences a considerable diminution of his capital.
It was just so that one of the most important firms suffered the loss
of a very large sum. At length, however, the Americans, who had
capital invested in this trade, succeeded in putting an end to the
custom of advances, which hitherto had prevailed, erected stores
and presses on their own account, and bought through their agents
direct from the growers. All earlier efforts tending in this direc
tion had been effectually thwarted by the Spaniards and Creoles,
who considered the profits derived from the country, and espe
cially the inland retail trade, to be their own by prescriptive right.
They are particularly jealous of the foreign intruders, who enrich
themselves at their expense ; consequently they place every obstacle
in their way. If it depended upon the will of these people, all
foreigners would be ejected from the country — the Chinese alone,
as workmen (coolies), being allowed to remain.*
The same feeling was exhibited by the Indians towards the
Chinese, whom they hated for being industrious and trustworthy
workers. All attempts to carry out great undertakings by means
of Chinese labour were frustrated by the native workmen intimi
dating them, and driving them away either by open violence
or by secret persecution ; and the Colonial authorities were re
proached for not affording suitable protection against these and
similar outrages. That, as a rule, great undertakings did not
succeed in the Philippines, or at least did not yield a profit
commensurate with the outlay and trouble, is a fact beyond
dispute, and is solely to be ascribed to many of the circumstances
related above. There are those, however, who explain these
mishaps in other ways, and insist upon the fact that the Indians
work well enough when they are punctually and sufficiently paid.
* This feeling of jealousy had very nearly the effect of closing the new harbours
immediately after they were opened.

318 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The Government, at any rate, appear gradually to have come to
the conclusion that the resources of the country cannot be pro
perly opened up without the assistance of the capital and enter
prise of the foreigners ; and therefore, of late years they have
not in any way interfered with their establishment. In 1869
their right of establishment was tardily conceded to them by
law. At this period the prospects of the abaca cultivation
seemed very promising ; and since the close of the American
war, which had the effect of causing a considerable faU in
the value of this article in America, the prices have been
steadily increasing.
It is stated (on authority) that, in 1840, 136,034 picos of abaca,
to the value of 397,995 dollars, were exported, the value per pico
being reckoned at about 2 dollars 9 cents. The rate gradually
rose and stood between 4 and 5 dollars — and, during the civil
war, reached the enormous sum of 9 dollars per pico — the export of
Russian hemp preventing, however, a further rise. This state of
affairs occasioned the laying out of many new plantations, the
produce of which, when it came on the market, after three years,
was valued at 3 dollars 50 cents per pico, in consequence of the
prices having returned to their normal condition ; and even then
it paid to take up an existing plantation, but not to lay out a
new one. This rate continued until 1860, since which time it has
gradually risen (only during the American war was there any
stoppage), and it now stands once more as high as during the
civil war ; and there is no apparent prospect of a fall so long as
the Philippines have no competitors in the trade.
In 1866 the pico in Manilla never cost less than 7 dollars,
which two years previously was the maximum value ; and it rose
gradually, until 9 dollars 50 cents was asked for ordinary qua
lities. The production in many provinces had reached the
extreme limit ; and a further increase, in the former at least, is
impossible, as the work of cultivation occupies the whole of the

COMMERCIAL RESULTS.

319

male population — an evidence surely that a suitable recompense
will overcome the natural laziness of the natives.*
An examination of the following table will confirm the accuracy
of these views : — EXPORT OF ABACA (in pioos).

To

1861.

1864.

1866.

1868.

1870.

1871.

Great Britain . .
North America, |
Atlantic Ports j
California . . .
Europe . . . .
Australia .
Singapore . . .
China . .

198,954158,610 6,600 901 16
2,648
5,531

226,258
249,106 9,426 1,134
5,194 1,932 302

96,000
280,000

125,540
294,728 14,200 200
21,244 3,646

131,180
327,728 15,900 244
11,434 1,202 882

143,498
285,112 22,500 640
6,716 2,992
2,294

Total .

273,260
Commer cial
Eeport.

493,352
Prussian
Consular Report.

406,682 Belgian
Consular Report.

460,558 English
Consular Report.

488,57b 463,752
 Y  .
Market Report,
T. H. & Co.

The consumption in the country is not contained in the above
schedule, and is difficult to ascertain ; but it must certainly be
very considerable, as the natives throughout entire provinces are
clothed in guinara, the weaving of which for the family require
ments generally is done at home. Sesal, also sesal-hemp, or, as
it is sometimes known, Mexican grass, has for some years past
been used in the trade in increasing quantities as a substitute for
abaca, which it somewhat resembles in appearance, though want
ing that fine gloss which the latter possesses. It is somewhat
weaker, and costs from £5 to £10 less per ton ; it is only used for
ships' rigging. The refuse from it has been found an extremely
useful adjunct to the materials ordinarily used in the manufacture
of paper. The Technologist for July, 1865, calls attention to the
origin of this substitute, in a detailed essay differing essentially
from the representations contained in the " U.S. Agricultural
Report " published at "Washington in 1870 ; and the growing

* "Bapport Consulaire Beige," XIV., 68.

320 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
importance of the article, and the ignorance prevailing in London
as to its extraction, may render a short account of it acceptable.
The description shows the superior fineness of the abaca, fibre, but
not its greater strength.*
Sesal-hemp, which is named after the export harbour of Sisal
(in the N. W. of the peninsula), is by far the most important
product of Yucatan ; and this rocky, sun-burnt country seems
peculiarly adapted to the growth of the fibre. In Yucatan the
fibre is known as " jenequem," as indeed the plant is obtained
from it. Of the latter there are seven sorts or varieties for pur
poses of cultivation ; only two, the first and seventh, are also to
be found in a wild state. First, Chelem, apparently identical
with Agave angustifolia ; this ranks first. Second, Yaxci (pro
nounced Yachki; from yax, green, and tri, agave), the second in
order ; this is used only for fine weaving. Third, Sacci (pro
nounced Sakki ; sack, white), the most important and productive,
supplying almost exclusively the fibre for exportation ; each plant
yields annually 25 leaves, weighing 25 lbs., from which is
obtained 1 lb. of clear fibre. Fourth, Chucumci, similar to
No. 3, but coarser. Fifth, Babci ; the fibre very fair, but the
leaves rather small, therefore not very productive. Sixth,
Citamci (pronounced Kitamki ; kitam, hog) ; neither good nor
productive. Seventh, Cajun or Cajum, probably Fourcroya
cubensis ; leaves small, from four to five inches long. The cultiva
tion of sesal has only in recent times been prosecuted vigorously ;
and the extraction of the fibre from the leaves, and the subsequent
spinning for ships' rigging, are already done by extensive steam-
machinery. This occupation is especially practised by the Maya
* In the Agricultural Report of 1869, p. 232, another fibre was highly mention'ed,
belonging to a plant very closely related to sesal (Bromelia Sylvestris), perhaps
even a variety of the same. The native name, "jxtle," is possibly derived from
the fact of their curiously flattened, spiky-edged leaves, resembling the dentated
knives formed from volcanic stone (obsidian) possessed by the Aztecs, and termed
by them " iztli."

BANANA TREES. 3* '
Indians, a memorial of the Toltecs, who brought it with them
upon their emigration from Mexico, where it was in vogue long
before the arrival of the Spaniards.
The sesal cultivation yields an annual profit of 95 per cent. A
mecate, equal to 576 square yards (varas), contains 64 plants,
giving 64 lbs. of clear fibre, of the value of 3 dollars 84 cents ;
which, after deducting 1 dollar 71 cents, the cost of obtaining
it, leaves 2 dollars 13 cents remaining. The harvesting com
mences from four to five years after the first laying out of the
plantation, and continues annually for about fifty or sixty years.
In tropical countries there is scarcely a hut to be seen without
banana trees surrounding it ; and the idea presented itself to
many to utilise the fibre of these plants, at that time entirely
neglected, which might be done by the mere labour of obtaining
it ; besides which, the little labour required for their proper
cultivation is quickly and amply repaid by their abundant
fruitfulness.* This idea, however, under the existing circum
stances, would certainly not be favourable to the Philippines,

* The banana trees are well known to be among the most valuable of plants to man
kind. In their unripe state they afford starch-flour ; and when mature, they supply an
agreeable and nutritious fruit, which, although partaken of freely, will produce
neither unpleasantness nor any injurious after-effects. One of the best of the edible
species bears fruit as early as five or six months after being planted, suckers in the
meantime constantly sprouting from the roots, so that a continual fructification is
going on, the labour of the growers merely being confined to the occasional cutting
down of the old plants and to gathering in the fruit. The broad leaves afford to other
young plants the shade which is so requisite in tropical countries, and are employed
in many useful ways about the house. Many a hut, too, has to thank the banana
trees surrounding it for protecting it from the conflagration, which, generally speak
ing, lays the village in ashes. I should here like to make an observation upon a
mistake which has spread rather widely. In Bishop Pallegoix's excellent work,
" Description du Royaume Thai ou Siam," I. 144, he says : " L'arbre a. vemis qui
est une espece de banauier, et que les Simaios appellent ' rak,' fouruit ce beau vernis
qu'on admire dans les petits meubles qu'on apporte de Chine." When I was in
Bangkok, I called the attention of the amiable white-haired, and at that time nearly
nonogenarian, bishop to this curious statement. Shaking his head, he said he
could not have written it. I showed him the very passage. "Ma foi, j'ai dit une
betise ; j'en ai dit bien d'autres," whispered he in my ear, holding up his hand
as if afraid somebody might overhear him.

322 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
as it does not pay to obtain bast from the genuine abaca plant
as soon as it has borne fruit. The fibre of the edible banana
might very well be used as material for paper-making, though
obtaining it would cost more than the genuine bandala. In the
Report of the Council of the Society of Arts, London, May 11th,
1860, attention was called to a machine invented by F. Burke, of
Montserrat, for obtaining fibre from banana and other endogenous
plants. While all the earlier machines worked the fibre parallelwise,
this one operated obliquely on it ; the consequence of which was
that it was turned out particularly clear. With this machine,
from seven to nine per cent, of fibrous substance may be obtained
from the banana. The Tropical Fibre Company have sent these
machines to Demerara, also to Java and other places, with the
design of spinning the fibre of the edible banana, and also to
utilise some portions of the plant as materials in the manufacture
of paper. Proofs have already been brought forward of fibre
obtained in this manner in Java, the value of which to the spinner
has been reckoned at from £20 to £25. It does not appear, how
ever, that these promising experiments have led to any important
results ; at least, the consular reports which have come to hand
contain no information on the subject. In the obtaining of
bandala in the Philippines this machine has not yet been used ;
nor has it even been seen, though the English consul, in his
latest report, complains that all the hitherto ingeniously con
structed machines have proved virtually useless. The bast of
the edible banana continues still to be used in the Philippines,
notwithstanding that the plants, instead of being grown, as in
many parts of America, in large well-tended gardens, are here
scattered around the huts : but the forwarding of the raw material,
the local transport, and the high freightage will always render
this material too expensive for the European market (considering
always its very ordinary quality) — £10 per ton at the very least ;

PAPER MATERIAL. 323
while "Sparto grass" (Lygceam spartnm, Lceffl.), which was im
ported some few years since in considerable quantities for the
purposes of paper-making, costs in London only £5 per ton.
The jute (Corchorus casularis) coffee-sacks supply another
cheap paper material. These serve in the fabrication of strong
brown packing paper, as the fibre will not stand bleaching.
According to P. Symmonds, the United States in recent years
have largely used bamboo. The rind of the Adansonia digitata
also yields an extremely good material ; in particular, paper
made entirely from New Zealand flax deserves consideration,
being, by virtue of its superior toughness, eminently suited for
" bill paper."
It must not be overlooked that, in the manufacture of paper,
worn linen and cotton rags are the very best materials that can
be employed, and make the best paper. Moreover, they are gene
rally to be had for the trouble of collecting them, after they
have once covered the cost of their production in the form of
clothing materials ; when, through being frayed by repeated
washings, they undergo a preparation which particularly adapts
them to the purposes of paper-making.
The more paper-making progresses, the more are ligneous fibres
brought forward, particularly wood and straw, which produce
really good pastes ; all the raw materials being imported from a
distance. That England takes so much sparto is easily explained
by the fact that she has very little straw of her own, for most of
the corn consumed by her is received from abroad in a granulated
condition. * In 1862, England took from Spain 156 tons ; 1863, 18,074 tons ; 1866, 66,913
tons; 1868, 95,000 tons; and the import of rags fell from 24,000 tons in 1866 to
17,000 tons in 1868. In Algiers a large quantity of sparto (Alfa) grows, but the
cost of transport is too expensive to admit of sending it to France.

Y 2

CHAPTER XXV.

THE TOBACCO MONOPOLY.

Of all the productions of the country tobacco is the most
important, so far (at least) as concerns the Government, who
have made the cultivation of this plant, its manipulation, and sale,
the subjects of an extensive and strictly guarded monopoly, and
who derive a very considerable portion of their revenue there
from.* As to the objections raised against this revenue on the score
of its being opposed to justice and morality, many other sources
of revenue in the colonial budget might be condemned (such as
the poll-tax, gaming and opium licences, the brandy trade, and
the sale of indulgences) ; yet none is so invidious and pernicious
as the tobacco monopoly.
Often in the course of this narrative of my travels I have
had occasion to commend the clemency of the Spanish Govern
ment. In glaring contrast therewith, however, stands the man
agement of the tobacco regulations.
* The English Consul estimates the receipts from this monopoly for the year
1866-7 at 8,418,939 dollars, after an expenditure of 4,519,866 dollars ; thus leaving
a clear profit of 3,899,073 dollars. In the colonial budget for 1867 the profit on
tobacco was estimated at 2,627,976 dollars, while the total expenditure of the
colony, after deduction of the expenses occasioned by the tobacco management, was
set down at 7,033,576 dollars.
According to the official tables of the chief of the Administration in Manilla,
1871, the total annual revenue derived from the tobacco management between the
years 1865 and 1869 amounted, on an average, to 5,367,262 dollars. By reason of
proper accounts being wanting an accurate estimate of the expenditure cannot be
delivered ; but it would be at least 4,000,000 dollars, so that a profit of only
1,367,262 dollars remains.

TOBACCO REGULATIONS. 3-^S
They appropriated the fields of the peasantry without the
slightest indemnification — fields which had been brought under
cultivation for their necessary means of sustenance ; forced them,
under penalty of bodily punishment, to raise, on the confiscated
property, an article which required an immense amount of trouble
and attention, and which yielded a very uncertain crop; and
they then valued the harvested leaves arbitrarily and without any
appeal, and, in the most favourable case, paid for them at a
nominal price fixed by themselves. To be paid at all, indeed,
appears to have been a favour, for it has not been done in full
now for several years in succession. Spain regularly remains
indebted to the poor unlucky peasants in the amount of the miser
able pittance allowed, from one year's end to another. The
Government ordered the officials to exact a higher return from
the impoverished population of the tobacco districts; and they
even rewarded informers who, after pointing out to them fields
already owned, but which were considered suitable to the cultiva
tion of tobacco, were installed into possession of the proclaimed
lands in the place of the original owners. For proofs of these
accusations, one need only peruse a few paragraphs contained
in the following stringent regulations, entitled " General Instruc
tions,"* and, further, a few extracts from the official dispatches
of Intendant-General Agius to the Colonial Minister : — f
Cap. 25, § 329, The compulsory system of cultivation in
Cagayan, New Yizcaya, Gapan, Ygorrotes, and Abra to remain
in force.
§ 331. The Director-General of the Government is authorised
to extend compulsory labour to the other provinces, or to abolish
it where already introduced. These instructions may be altered
wholly or in part as occasion requires.
* Instruccion general para la Direccion, Administracion, y Intervencion de las
Rentas Estancadas, 1849.
t "Memoria sobre el Desestanco del Tabaco en las Islas Filipinas." Don J. S.
Agius, Binondo (Manilla), 1871.

326 THE. PHILLPPINE ISLANDS.
§ 332. Prices may be either increased or lowered.
§ 337. Claims or actions concerning the possession of tobacco
lands pending before the usual tribunal shall not prevent such
lands from being used for the purposes of tobacco cultivation, the
present proprietor being under strict obligation to continue the
cultivation either in person or by substitute. (If he omits to do so,
the magistrate or judge takes upon himself to appoint such
substitute.) § 351. The collectors have received " denuncias," i.e. informa
tion, that land adapted to tobacco growing is lying fallow, and
that it is private property. In case such land is really suitable to
the purposes of tobacco cultivation, the owners thereof are hereby
summoned to cultivate the same with tobacco in preference to
anything else. At the expiration of a certain space of time the
land in question is to be handed over to the informer. Be it
known, however, that, notwithstanding these enactments, the
possessory title is not lost to the owner, but he is compelled to
relinquish all rights and usufruct for three years.
Cap. 27, § 357. An important duty of the collector is to insure
the greatest possible extension of the tobacco cultivation upon all
suitable lands, but in particular upon those which are specially
convenient and fertile. Lands which, although suitable for
tobacco growing, were previously planted with rice or corn, shall,
as far as practicable, be replaced by forest clearings, in order, as
far as possible, to prevent famine and to bring the interests of
the natives into harmony with those of the authorities.
§ 361. In order that the work which the tobacco cultivation
requires may not be neglected by the natives, and that they may
perform the field work necessary for their sustenance, it is ordered
that every two persons working together shall, between them,
cultivate 8,000 square varas, that is, 2i acres of tobacco land.
§ 362. Should this arrangement fail to be carried out either
through age, sickness, or death, it shall be left to the priest of the

TOBACCO REGULATIONS. 327
district to determine what quantity of work can be accomplished
by the little children, having regard to their strength and
number. § 369. Every collector who consigns from his district 1,000
fardos more than in former years, shall receive for the overplus
a double gratuity, but this only where the proportion of first-
class leaves has not decreased.
§ 370. The same gratuity will be bestowed when there is no
diminution in bulk, and one-third of the leaves is of first-class
quality. The following sections regulate the action of the local authori
ties : —
§ 379. Every governor must present annually a list, revised by
the priest of the district, of all the inhabitants in his district of
both sexes, and of those of their children who are old enough to
help in the fields.
§ 430. The officers shall forward the emigrants on to Cagayan
and New Biscay, and will be entrusted with 5 dollars for that
purpose, which must be repaid by each individual, as they cannot
be allowed to remain indebted in their province.
§ 436. Further it is ordered by the " Buen Gobierno " (good
governor) that no Indian shall be liable for a sum exceeding
5 dollars, incurred either as a loan or a simple debt. Thus the
claim of a higher sum can not impede the emigration.
§ 437. The Hacienda (Exchequer) shall pay the passage
money and the cost of maintenance from Ilocos.
§ 438. They are to be provided with the means of procuring
cattle, tools, &c, until the first harvest (although the Indian is
only liable for 5 dollars).
§ 439. Such advances are, it is true, personal and individual ;
but, in the case of death or flight of the debtor, the whole village
is to be liable for the amount due.
Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum, L.) was introduced into the Philip-

328 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
pines soon after the arrival of the Spaniards by the missionaries,
who brought the seed with them from Mexico.* The soil and
climate being favourable to its production, and the pleasure
derived from it being speedily discovered by the natives, naturally
assisted in its rapid adoption. Next to the Cuban tobacco and a
few sorts of Turkishf it is admitted to be the best ; and in the
colony it is asserted by competent judges that it would soon
surpass all others, if the existing regulations were abolished and
free trade established.
There can be no doubt in the minds of impartial observers that
the quality and quantity of the produce might be considerably
increased by such a change ; on the other hand, many of the
prejudiced officials certainly maintain the direct contrary. The
real question is, to what extent these expectations may be
realised in the fulfilment of such a measure ; of course, bearing
in mind that the judgment is swayed by a strong desire for the
abolition of a system which interferes at present with their
prospects of gain. But the fact is that, even now, the native
* The tobacco in China appears to have come from the Philippines. " The memo
randa discovered in "Wang-tao leave no possible doubt that it was first introduced
into South China from the Philippine Islands in the , sixteenth and seventeenth
century, most probably by way of Japan." — (Notes and Queries, China and Japan,
May 31st, 1867.)
From Schlegel, in Batavia, it was brought by the Portuguese into Japan some
where between the years 1573 and 1591, and spread itself so rapidly in China that
we find eveo as early as 1638, that the sale of it was forbidden under penalty of
beheading. According to Notes and Queries, China and Japan, 31st July, 1867, the use of
tobacco was quite common in the " Mantchu " army. In a Chinese work, Natural
History Miscellany, it is written : " Yen t'sao (literally smoke plant) was introduced
into Fukion about the end of the Wan-li Government, between 1573 and 1620,
and was known as Tan-pa-ku (from Tombaku)."
t West Cuba produces the best tobacco, the famous Vuelta abajo, 400,000 cwt. at
from 20 to 140 thalers the cwt. ; picked sorts being valued at from 800 to 1,000
thalers per cwt. Cuba produces 640,000 cwt. The cigars exhibited in the Paris
Exhibition of 1867 were worth from 35 to 570 thalers per thousand. The number
of cigars annually exported is estimated at about 5,000,000. (Jury Report, v., 375.)
In Jenidje-Karasu (Salonica) 17,500 cwt, are obtained annually, of which 2,500
cwt. are of the first quality ; the cost is 7s. the oka (about 3s. per lb.). Picked sorts
are worth los. per lb., and even more.— Saladin Bey, La Turquie a I' Exposition, p. 91.

MANLLLA TOBACCO. 329
grown tobacco, notwithstanding all the defects inseparable from
an illicit trade, is equal to that produced by the Government
officials in their own factories, and is valued at the same rate
with many of the Habana brands ; and the Government cigars of
the Philippines are preferred to all others throughout Eastern
Asia. Indeed, rich merchants, to whom a difference of price is
no object, as a rule take the Manilla cigars before Habanas.
According to Agius (" Memoria," 1871), in the European
market the Manilla tobacco was admitted to be without any rival,
with the sole exception of the Yuelta abajo of Cuba ; and most
certainly in the Asiatic and Oceanic ports its superior quality
was undisputed, as the Habana tobacco loses its flavour on the
long voyage to these countries ; but now, from year to year, it
is surely losing its reputation. If, then, the Manilla cigars have
not hitherto succeeded in making themselves acceptable in Europe
on account of their inferiority, the blame is attributable simply
to the system of compulsory labour, and the chronic insolvency
of the Colonial Exchequer, whilst the produce of other tobacco
countries has steadily progressed in quality in consequence of
free competition. The fame of the Manilla cigars may also have
suffered in some slight measure from the wide-spread, though
perfectly erroneous, idea that they contained opium.
How greatly the produce might be increased by means of free
trade is shown under other circumstances by the example of Cuba.
At the time when the Government there monopolised the tobacco
trade, the crops were only partly sufficient to cover the home
consumption ; whereas, at the present time, Cuba supplies all the
markets of the world.*
The decision of the Captain- General of Gandara upon this
* " In Cuba the tobacco industry is entirely free. The extraordinary increase of
the trade and the improved quality of the tobacco are, in great measure, to be ascribed
to the honest competition existing between the factories, who receive no other
protection from the Government than a recognition of their operations." — (Jury
Report, 1867, v., 375.)

330 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
question is in the highest degree worthy of notice. In a MS.
Report to the Colonial Minister, March, 1868, concerning a
measure for rendering the regulations of the tobacco monopoly
still more stringent, he says : " If the tobacco cultivation is
placed without restriction into the hands of private traders, we
shall most probably, in a few years, be in a position to command
nearly all the markets in the world." Most of the islands pro
duce tobacco. According to the quality of the produce, the
tobacco provinces rank in the following order : 1st, Cagayan and
Ysabel ; 2nd, Ygorrotes ; 3rd, Island of Mindanao ; 4th, Bisayas ;
5th, New Ecija.
From the Government Order, dated 20th November, 1625, it
is evident that even at that early period the sale of betel nut,
palm spirit (toddy), tobacco, &c, was a Government monopoly :
but it does not seem to have been very strictly carried out. The
tobacco monopoly, as it stands at present, the whole trade of
which from the sowing of the seedling plants to the sale of the
manufactured article is exclusively in the hands of the Govern
ment, was first introduced by Captain- General Jose Basco y
Burgas. And a Government Order, under date 9th January,
1780 (confirmed by Departmental Regulations, 13th December,
1781), further enacted that the tobacco regulations should be
extended to the Philippine Islands, in like manner as in all
Spanish possessions in this and the other hemisphere (de uno y
otro mondo).
Before the administration of this very jealous Governor, for
a period of two hundred years the colony received annual
contributions from New Spain (Situado de Nueva Espafia). In
order to relieve the Spanish Exchequer from this charge, Basco
introduced (at that time national economic ideas prevailed of
making the natural resources of a State supply its immediate
wants) a plan upon which, fifty years later, Java modelled its
" Culture System." In the Philippines, however, the conditions

GOVERNMENT MONOPOLY. 331
for this system were less favourable. In addition to the very
slight submissiveness of the population, there were two great
obstacles in the opposition of the priests and the want of trust
worthy officials. Of all the provincial trades brought into
existence by the energy of Basco, the indigo cultivation is the
only, one that remains in the hands of private individuals, the
tobacco trade still being a Government monopoly.* Basco first
of all confined the monopoly to the provinces immediately con
tiguous to the capital, in all of which the cultivation of tobacco
was forbidden under penalty of severe punishment, except by
persons duly authorised and in the service of the Government, t
In the other provinces the cultivation was to a certain extent per
mitted ; but the supply remaining after deduction of what was
consumed in each province was allowed to be sold to the Govern
ment only.
In the Bisayas the magistrates purchased the tobacco for the
Government and paid for it at the rate previously fixed by the
Government factories at Manilla ; and they were allowed to employ
the surplus money of the Government treasury chest for this pur
pose. A worse system than this could scarcely be devised. Offi
cials, thinking only of their own private advantage, suffered no
competition in their provinces, employed their official power to
oppress the producer to the utmost extent, and thereby naturally
checked the production ; and the Government treasury chest
consequently suffered frequent losses through bankruptcies, inas
much as the magistrates, who drew a salary of 600 dollars, and
paid a license of from 100 to 300 dollars for the right of trading,
* Basco also introduced the cultivation of silk, and had 4,500,000 mulberry trees
planted in the Camarines. This industry, immediately upon his retirement, was
allowed to fall into decay.
t According to Laperouse, this measure occasioned a revolt in all parts of the
island, which had to be suppressed by force of arms. In the same manner the
monopoly introduced into America at the same time brought about a dangerous
insurrection, and was the means of reducing Venezuela to a state .of extreme
poverty, and, in fact, was the cause of the subsequent downfall of the colony.

332 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
in order to make money quickly, engaged in the most hazardous
speculations. In 1814 this stupid arrangement was first put an end to; and
forthwith the tobacco supplies from the Bisayas increased,
through the competition of the private dealers, who then, for
the first time, had the power of purchase ; and from 1839 the
planters were empowered to obtain higher prices than those
afforded by the greedy monopolising magistrates. At present,
the following general regulations are in force, subject, however,
to continual variation in details.
By a Departmental Order, 5th September, 1865, the cultivation
of tobacco was permitted in all the provinces, though the produce
was allowed to be sold only to the Government at the price regu
lated by them. The wholesale purchases are made in Luzon and
the adjacent islands in fardos,* by " colleccion," that is, direct
through the finance officials, who have the management of the
plants from the sowing ; but in the Bisayas by " acopio ; " that is,
the Government officials buy up the tobacco tendered by the
growers or speculators by the cwt.
In the Bisayas and in Mindanao everybody is allowed to
manufacture cigars for his own particular use, though trade
therein is strictly prohibited ; and advances to the tobacco
growers are also made there ; while in Luzon and the neigh
bouring islands the Government provides seed and seedling plants.
Here, however, no land which is adapted to the cultivation of
tobacco is allowed to be. used for any other purpose of agri
culture. As the Financial Administration is unable to classify the
tobacco at its true value, as might be done were free competition
permitted, they have adopted the expedient of determining the
price by the size of the leaves ; the care necessary to be bestowed
* A fardo (pack) contains 40 manos (bundles); 1 mano = 10 manojitos, 1
manojito = 10 leaves. Regulations, § 7.

PRLCES of tobacco.

333

upon the training of the plants in order to produce leaves of
the required size being at least a guarantee of a certain amount
of proper attention and handling, even if it be productive of no
other direct good.*
It is well known at Madrid how the tobacco monopoly, by
oppressing the wretched population, interferes with the prosperity
of the colony ; yet, to the present day, the Government measures
* The following regulations are in'force throughout Luzon: — 1st. Four classes of
tobacco will be purchased. 2nd. These classes are thus specified: the first to con
sist of leaves at least 18 inches long (Om 418) ; the second of leaves between 14 and
18 inches (Om 325) ; the third of leaves between 10 and 14 inches (Om 232) ; and
the fourth of leaves at least 7 inches in length (Om 163). Smaller leaves will not be
accepted. This last limitation, however, has recently been abandoned, so that the
quality of the tobacco is continually depreciating , in the hands of the Government,
who have added two other classes.
A fardo, 1st class, weighs 60 lbs., and in 1867 the Government rate of pay
was as follows : —
1 Fardo, 1st class, 60 lbs  9-50 dollars.
„ 2nd „ 46 „  . 6-00 „
3rd „ 33 „ .  2-75 „
„ 4th „ 18 „  1-00 „
— English Consular Report.
The following table gives the different brands of cigars manufactured by the
Government, and the prices at which they could be bought in 1867 in Estanco (i.e.
a place privileged for the sale) : —

Menas (Classes).

Corresponding Habana
Brands.

Price.

Per
arroba/

Per
1000.

Per
cigar.

Number of
cigars in an
arroba.

Imperiales 
Prima Veguero . . .
Segunda do 
Prima superi6r Filipino
Segunda do. do. .
Tercera do. do. .
Prima Filipino . . .
Segunda do 
Prima Cortado . . .
Segunda do 
Mista 
Prima Batido, larga
Segunda do. do. . .

The same.
Do.
Regalia. Do.
None.
Londres.
Superi6r Habano.
Segunda superior }
Habano. )
The same.
Do.
Segunda Batido.
None. None.

Dols.
37-50 37-50

38-00 21-0024-0021-00 24-0020-50 18-7518-75

Dols.
30-00 30-0026-CO26-00 190015-10 15-00 8-57s
15-00 8-57

Cents. 4

1400
2800 1400
2800 18003750

* Arroba, 35 lbs.

334 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
have been so arranged as to exact a still larger gain from this
very impolitic source of revenue.
A Government Order of January, 1866, directed the tobacco
cultivation in the Philippines to be extended as much as possible,
in order to satisfy the requirements of the colony, the mother
country, and also the export trade ; and in the memorial already
quoted, " reforms " are proposed by the Captain- General, in the
spirit of the story of the goose with golden eggs. By grafting
new monopolies upon those already existing, he believes that
the tobacco produce can be increased from 182,102 cwt. (average
of the years 1860 to 1867) to 600,000, and even 800,000 cwt.
Meantime, with a view to obtaining increased prices, the Govern
ment resolved to export the tobacco themselves to the usual
markets for sale ; and in the year 1868 this resolution was really
carried out. It was sent to London, where it secured so favour
able a market that it was at once decreed that no tobacco in
Manilla should thenceforth be sold at less than 25 dollars per
cwt.* This decree, however, referred only to the first three
qualities, the quantity of which decreased in a relative measure
with the increased pressure upon the population. Even in the
table annexed to the record of La Gandara this is very clearly
shown. Whilst the total produce for 1867 stood at 176,018 cwt.
(not much under the average of the years 1860 to 1867, viz.,
182,102 cwt.), the tobacco of the first class had decreased in
quantity since 1862 from over 13,000 to less than 5,000 cwt.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth classes, the greater part of which^
would before have been burnt, but which now form no incon
siderable portion of the total crop, are in the open markets
positively unsaleable, and can be utilised only in the form of a
bonus to Spain, which annually receives, under the title of
* On an average 407,500,000 of cigars and 1,041,000 of raw tobacco are exported
annually, .the weight of which together is about 56,000 cwt. after deducting what
is given away in the form of gratuities.

TOBACCO TRIBUTE. 335
"atenciones a la peninsula," upwards of 100,000 cwt. If the
colony were not compelled to pay half the freight of these gifts,
Spain would certainly ask to be relieved of these " marks of atten
tion." Seeing that, according to the decision of the chief of the
Government, the greater portion of this tobacco is of such in
ferior quality that it can find no purchaser at any price, it is
impossible that its value should cover either the cost of carriage
or the customs duty. Moreover, this tobacco tribute is a great
burden on the colonial budget ; which, in spite of all deficits, is
charged with the expenses attending the collection of the tobacco,
its packing, its cost of local transport, and half the expense of its
carriage to Europe.
March, 1871, was to witness the advent of the. Happy Age in
the realisation of La Gandara' s proposals. The Intendant-
General of the Exchequer laid an excellent statement before
the Colonial Minister, pointing out plainly to the chief of the
Government the disadvantages arising from this mode of adminis
tration, and urging the immediate repeal of the monopoly. In
the next place proof was adduced, supported by official vouchers,
that the profits derived from the tobacco monopoly were much
smaller than usual. The total average receipts of the tobacco
administration for the five years 1865 to 1869, according to official
accounts, amounted to 5,367,262 dollars ; for the years 1866 to
1870, only 5,240,935 dollars. The expenses cannot be accurately
estimated, inasmuch as there are no strict accounts obtainable ; if,
however, the respective expenses charged in the colonial budget
are added together, they amount to 3,717,322 dollars, of which
1,812,250 dollars is for purchase of raw tobacco.
Besides these expenses pertaining exclusively to the tobacco
administration there are still many other different items to be taken
into account ; yet the cost incurred in this branch of the service
would be saved, if not altogether, at least largely, if the State
surrendered the tobacco monopoly. The total of the disburse-

336 THE PHILLPPINE ISLANDS.
ments must certainly, at the very lowest, be estimated at 4,000,000
dollars; so, therefore, the State receives only a net profit of
1,367,000 dollars ; but even this is not to be reckoned on in the
future, for if the Government does not speedily cease carrying on
this trade, they will be forced into a very considerable and un
avoidable expense. To begin with, they must erect new factories
and warehouses ; better machinery must be bought ; wages will
have to be considerably increased ; and, above all, means must be
devised to pay off the enormous sum of 1,600,000 dollars, in
which the Government is indebted to the peasants for the crops
of 1869 and 1870, and to assure cash payments for future harvests.
This is the only possibile mode of preventing the decay of the
tobacco cultivation in the different provinces, as well as relieving
the misery of the wretched inhabitants.
At the same time Agius pointed out how trifling in reality
the arrears were on account of which the Government was
abandoning the future of the colony, and showed the misfortunes
resulting from the monopoly. He represented that the people of
the tobacco district, who were the richest and most contented of
all in the Archipelago, found themselves plunged into the deepest
distress after the increase of the Government dues. They were,
in fact, far more cruelly treated than the slaves in Cuba, who,
from self-interested motives, are well-nourished and taken care of;
whereas in this case, the produce of compulsory labour has to be
delivered to the State at an arbitrarily determined price ; and
even this price is paid only when the condition of the treasury,
which is invariably in difficulties, permits. Frequently their
very means' of subsistence failed them, in consequence of their
being forbidden to carry on the cultivation ; and the unfortunate
people, having no other resources for the relief of their pressing
necessities, were compelled to alienate the debtor's bond, which
purchased the fruits of their enforced toil but had been left
unpaid. Thus, for an inconsiderable deficit of about 1,330,000

MISERY OF THE PEOPLE. 337
dollars, the whole population of one of the richest provinces is
thrown into abject misery ; a deep-rooted hatred naturally arises
between the people and their rulers ; and incessant war ensues
between the authorities and their subjects. Besides which, an
extremely dangerous class of smugglers have recently arisen,
who even now do not confine themselves to mere smuggling, but
who, on the very first opportunity presented by the prevailing
discontent, will band themselves together in one solid body. The
official administrators, too, are charged with gross bribery and
corruption ; which, whether true or not, occasions great scandal,
and engenders increasing disrespect and distrust of the colonial
administration as well as of the Spanish people generally. *
The preceding record of facts has been not only written, but
also printed ; and it seems , to indicate that gradually in Spain,
and also in wider circles, people are becoming convinced of the
untenableness of the tobacco monopoly ; yet, in spite of this
powerful review, it is considered doubtful by competent judges
whether it will be given up so long.as there are any apparent or
appreciable returns derived therefrom. These acknowledged evils
have long been known to the Colonial Government ; but, from
the frequent changes of ministers, and the increasing want of
money, the Government is compelled, so long as they are in office,
to use all possible means of obtaining profits, and to abstain from
carrying out these urgent reforms lest their own immediate down
fall should be involved therein. Let us, however, cherish the
hope that increased demand will cause a rise in the prices ; a
few particularly good crops, and other propitious circumstances,
would relieve at once the Colonial Exchequer from its diffi
culties ; and then the tobacco monopoly might be cheerfully
* Th« poor peasant being brought into this situation finds it very hard to
maintain his family. He is compelled to borrow money at an exorbitant rate of
interest, and, consequently, sinks deeper and deeper into debt and misery. The dread
of fines or bodily punishment, rather than the prospect of high prices, is the chief
method by which the supplies can be kept up.— (Report of the English Consul.)
z

338 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
surrendered. One circumstance favourable to the economical
management of the State that would be produced by the sur
render of the tobacco monopoly would be the abolition of the
numerous army of officials which its administration requires.
This might, however, operate reversely in Spain. The number
of place-hunters that would be created thereby must be very
welcome to the ministers in power, who would thus have the
opportunity of providing their creatures with profitable places,
or of shipping off inconvenient persons to the Antipodes from
the mother-country, free of cost. The colony, be it known, has
not only to pay the salaries, but also to bear the costs of their
outward and homeward voyages. Any way, the. custom is so
liberally patronised that occasionally new places have to be
created in order to make room for the newly arrived nominees. *
At the time of my visit, the royal factories could not turn out
a supply of cigars commensurate with the requirements of com
merce ; and this brought about a peculiar condition of things ;
the wholesale dealer, who purchased cigars in very considerable
quantities at the Government auctions, paying higher than the
retail rates at which he could buy them singly in the estancia.
In order, therefore, to prevent the merchants drawing their stocks
from the estancias, it was determined that only a certain quantity
should be purchased, which limit no merchant dared exceed.
A very intricate system of control, assisted by espionage, had to
* From December 1853 to November 1854 the colony possessed four captains-
general (two effective and two provisional). In 1850 a new nominee, Oidor
(member of the Supreme Court of Judicature) who with his family voyaged to
Manilla by the Cape, found, upon his arrival, his successor already in office, the
latter having travelled by way of Suez. Such circumstances need not occasion
surprise when it is remembered how such operations are repeated in Spain itself.
According to an essay mthe Revue Nationale, April, 1867, Spain has had, from 1834
to 1862, i.e. since the accession of Isabella, 4 Constitutions, 28 Parliaments, 47
Chief Ministers, 629 Cabinet Ministers, and 68 Ministers of the Interior ; of which
last class of officials each, on an average, was in power only six months. For ten
years paBt the Minister of Finance has not remained in office longer than two
months; and since that time, particularly since 1868, the changes have followed
one another with still greater rapidity.

SYSTEM OF CONTROL. 339
be employed in seeing that no one, through different agents and
different estancias, collected more than the authorised supply ;
and violation of this rule, when discovered, was punished by con
fiscation of the offender's stock. Everybody was free to purchase
cigars in the estancia, but nobody was permitted to sell a chest of
cigars to an acquaintance at cost price. Several Spaniards with
whom I have spoken concerning these strange regulations main
tained them to be perfectly just, as otherwise all the cigars would
be carried off by foreigners, and they would not be able themselves
in their own colony to smoke a decent cigar.
There was, as I afterwards learnt, a still more urgent reason for
the existence of these decrees. The Government valued their
own gold at sixteen dollars per ounce, while in commerce it
fetched less, and the premium on silver had, at one time, risen to
thirty-three per cent. Moreover, on account of the insufficient
quantity of copper money for minor currency, the small change
frequently gained a premium on the silver dollar, so much so
that by every purchaser not less than half a dollar was realised.
In exchanging the dollar from five to fifteen per cent, discount
was charged ; it was profitable, therefore, to purchase cigars in
the estancias with the gold ounce, and then to retail them in
smaller quantities nominally at the rate of the estancias. Both
premiums together might in an extreme case amount to as much
as 43 per cent. *
* The reason of this premium on silver was, that the Chinese bought up all the
Spanish and Mexican dollars, in order to send them to China, where they are
worth more than other dollars, being known from the voyage of Nao thither in
olden times, and being current in the inland provinces. (The highest price there
can be obtained for a Carlos III.)
A mint erected in Manilla since that time, which at least supports itself, if the
Government has derived no other advantage from it, has removed this difficulty.
The Chinese are accustomed to bring gold and silver as currency, mixed also with
foreign coinage, to Manilla for the purpose of buying the produce of the country ;
and all this the native merchants had recoined. At first only silver ounces were
usually obtainable in Manilla, gold ounces very rarely. This occasioned such a
steady importation that the conditions were completely reversed. In the Govern
ment Exchequer the gold and silver dollar are always reckoned at the same value.
z 2

340 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Not being able to give a description of the cultivation of
tobacco from personal knowledge and experience, I refer the
reader to the following short extract from the " Cartilla
Agricola" : —
Directions for preparing and laying out the seed beds. — A suitable
piece of land is to be enclosed quadrilaterally by boundaries,
ploughed two or three times, cleared of all weeds and roots, made
somewhat sloping, and surrounded by a shallow ditch, the bed of
which is to be divided by drains about 2 feet wide. The soil of
the same must be very fine, must be ground almost as fine as
powder, otherwise it will not mix freely and thoroughly with
the extremely fine tobacco seed. The seed is to be washed, and
then suspended in cloths during the day, in order to allow the
water to run off ; after which it is to be mixed with a similar
quantity of ashes, and strewn carefully over the bed. The sub
sequent successful results depend entirely upon the careful per
formance of this work. From the time the seed first begins to
sprout, the beds must be kept very clean, in dry weather sprinkled
daily, and protected from birds and animals by brambles strewn
over, and by means of light mats from storms and heavy rains.
After two months the plants will be between five and six inches
high, and generally have from four to six leaves ; they must then
be replanted. This occurs, supposing the seed-beds to have been
prepared in September, about the beginning or the middle of
November. A second sowing takes place on the 15th of October,
as much as a precaution, against possible failure, as for obtaining
plants for the lowlands.
Concerning the land most advantageous to the tobacco and its
cultivation. Replanting of the seedlings. — Land must be chosen of
middling grain ; somewhat difficult, calciferous soil is particularly
recommended, when it is richly manured with the remains of
decayed plants, and not less than two feet deep ; and the deeper
the roots are inserted the higher will the plant grow. Of all the

CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO. 34'
land adapted to the tobacco cultivation, that in Cagayan is the
best, as from the overflowing of the large streams, which occurs
every year, it is laid under water, and annually receives a new
stratum of mud, which renders the soil particularly productive.
Plantations prepared upon such soil differ very materially from
those less favoured and situated on a higher level. In the
former the plants shoot up quickly as soon as the roots strike ; in
the latter they grow slowly and only reach a middling height.
Again, in the fertile soil the plants produce quantities of large,
strong, juicy leaves, giving promise of a splendid harvest. In
the other case the plants remain considerably smaller and grow
sparsely. Sometimes, however, even the lowlands are flooded in
January and February, and also in March, when the tobacco
has already been transplanted, and grown to some little height.
In that event everything is irreparably lost, particularly if the
flood should occur at a time when it is too late to lay out new
plantations. High-lying land also must, therefore, be cultivated,
which perhaps by very careful attention might yield a similar
return. In October these fields must be ploughed three or four
times, and harrowed twice or thrice. On account of the floods,
the lowlands cannot be ploughed until the end of December, or the
middle of January ; when the work is light and simple. The
strongest plants in the seed-beds are chosen, and set in the
prepared ground at a distance of three feet from each other, care
being taken that the earth clinging to the roots is not shaken off.
Of the care necessary to be bestowed upon the plants. — In the
east a little screen, formed by two clods, is to be erected, with a
view to protecting the plant from the morning sun, and retaining
the dew for a longer time. The weeds to be carefully extermi
nated, and the wild shoots removed. A grub which occasionally
appears in great numbers is particularly dangerous. Rain is
very injurious immediately before the ripening, when the plants
are no longer in a condition to secrete the gummy substance so

342 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
essential to the tobacco, which, being soluble in water, would be
drawn off by the action of the rain. Tobacco which has been
exposed to bad weather is always deficient in juice and flavour,
and is full of white spots, a certain sign of its bad quality. The
injury is all the greater the nearer the tobacco is to its ripening
period ; the leaves hanging down to the ground then decay, and
must be removed. If the subsoil is not deep enough, a carefully
tended plant will turn yellow, and nearly wither away. In wet
years this does not occur so generally, as the roots in insufficient
depth are enabled to find enough moisture.
Cutting and manipulation of the leaves in the drying shed. — The
topmost leaves ripen first ; they are then of a dark yellow colour,
and inflexible. They must be cut off as they ripen, collected
into bundles, and brought to the shed in covered carts. In
wet or cloudy weather, when the nightly dews have not been
thoroughly evaporated by the sun, they must not be cut. In the
shed the leaves are to hang upon cords or split Spanish cane, with
sufficient room between them for ventilation and drying. The
dried leaves are then laid in piles, which must not be too big, and
frequently turned over. Extreme care must be taken that they
do not become overheated and ferment too strongly. This
operation, which is of the utmost importance to the quality of the
tobacco, demands great attention and skill, and must be continued
until nothing but an aromatic smell of tobacco can be noticed
coming from the leaves : but the necessary skill for this manipula
tion is only to be acquired by long practice, and not from any
written instructions,

CHAPTER XXYI.

THE CHINESE.

I have still to speak of an important portion of the popu
lation, viz. the Chinese, who are destined to play a remarkable
part, inasmuch as the development of the land-cultivation
demanded by the increasing trade and commercial intercourse can
be effected only by Chinese industry and perseverance.
Manilla has always been a favourite place for Chinese immi
grants ; and neither the hostility of the people, nor oppressing
and prohibitory decrees for a long time on the part of the Govern
ment, not even the repeated massacres, have been able to prevent
their coming. The position of the islands, south-east of two of
the most important of the Chinese provinces, must necessarily
have brought about a trade between the two countries very early,
as ships can make the voyage in either direction with a moderate
wind, as well in the south-west as the north-east monsoon. In
a few old writers may even be found the assertion that the
Philippine Islands were at one time subject to the dominion of
China; and Father Gaubil ("Lettres iMifiantes") mentions that
Joung-lo (of the Ming dynasty) maintained a fleet consisting of
30,000 men, which at different times proceeded to Manilla. The
presence of this fleet as early as the arrival of Magellan in the
extreme east of the archipelago, as well as the China plates and
earthenware vessels discovered in the excavations, plainly show
that the trade with China had extended far earlier to the most
distant islands of the archipelago. It formed the chief sup-

344 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
port of the young Spanish colony, and, after the rise of the
Encomiendas, was nearly the only source of its prosperity. It
was feared that the junks would offer their cargoes to the Dutch
if any obstacle was put in the way of their coming to Manilla.
The colony certainly could not maintain its position without the
" Sangleyes,"* who came annually in great numbers in the junks
from China, and spread all over the country and in the towns
as shopkeepers, artisans, gardeners, and fishermen ; besides
which, they were the only skilful and industrious workers, as
the Indians under the priestly domination had forgotten alto
gether many trades which they had engaged in in former times.
I take these facts from Morga.
In spite of all this, the Spaniards have, from the very com
mencement, endeavoured rigorously to limit the number of the
Chinese ; who were then, as they are now, envied and hated
by the Indians for their industry, frugality, and cunning,
by which means they soon became rich. They were an abomi
nation, moreover, in the eyes of the priests as being irreclaimable
heathens, whose example prevented the natives from making pro
gress in the direction of Christianity ; and the Government
feared them on account of the strong bond of union existing be
tween them, and as being subjects of so powerful a nation, whose
close proximity threatened the small body of Spaniards with
destruction, t Fortunately for the latter, the Ming dynasty,
which at that time was hastening to its downfall, did not think
of conquest ;' but wickedly disposed powers which sprang into
* The Chinese were generally known in the Philippines as "Sangleyes;" ac
cording to Professor Schott, " sang-lui (in the south szang-loi, also senng-loi)
mercatorum ordo." "Sang" is more especially applied to the travelling traders,
in opposition to " ku," tabernarii.
t • . . " They are a wicked and vicious people, and, owing to their numbers, and
to their being such large eaters, they consume the provisions and render them dear
... It is true the town cannot exist without the Chinese, as they are the workers
in all the trades and business, and very industrious, and work for small wages ;
but for that very reason a lesser number of them would be sufficient."— Morga,
p. 349. - '

MASSACRE OF CHINESE. 345
existence upon their downfall brought the colony into extreme
danger. In the attack of the noted pirate, Limahong, in 1574, they
escaped destruction only by a miracle ; and soon new dangers
threatened them afresh. In 1603 a few mandarins came to
Manilla, under the pretence of ascertaining whether the ground
about Cavite really contained gold. They were supposed to be
spies, and it was concluded, from their peculiar mission, that an
attack upon the colony was intended by the Chinese.
The archbishop and the priests incited the distrust which was
felt against the numerous Chinese who were settled in Manilla.
Mutual hate and suspicion arose ; both parties feared one another
and prepared for hostilities. The Chinese commenced the attack;
but the united forces of the Spaniards being supported by the
Japanese and the Indians, 23,000, according to other reports
25,000, of the Chinese were either killed or driven into the
desert. When the -news of this massacre reached China, a
letter from the Royal Commissioners was sent to the Governor' of
Manilla. That noteworthy document shows in so striking a
manner how hollow the great Government was at that time that
I have given a literal translation of it at the end of this chapter.
After the extermination of the Chinese, food and all other
necessaries of life were difficult to obtain on account of the utter
incapacity of the Indians for work ; but by 1605 the number of
Chinese * had again so increased that a decree was issued limiting
them to 6,000, "these to be employed in the cultivation of the
country ;" while at the same time their rapid increase was taken
advantage of by the Captain-General for his own interest, as he
exacted eight dollars from each Chinaman for permission to
remain. . In 1639 the Chinese population had risen to 30,000,
according to other information 40,000 ; when they revolted and
were reduced to 7,000. " The natives, who generally were so
* " Recopilacion," Lib. iv., Tit, xviii,, ley. 1.

346 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
listless and indifferent, showed the utmost eagerness in assisting
in the massacre of the Chinese, but more from hatred of this
industrious people than from any feeling of friendship towards
the Spaniards.*
The void occasioned by this massacre was soon filled up again
by Chinese immigrants ; and in 1662 the colony was once more
menaced with a new and great danger, by the Chinese pirate
Kog-seng, who had under his command between 80,000 and
100,000 men, and who already had dispossessed the Dutch of the
Island of Formosa. He demanded the absolute submission of the
Philippines ; his sudden death, however, saved the colony, and
occasioned a fresh outbreak of fury against the Chinese settlers in
Manilla, a great number of whom were butchered in their own
"quarter" (ghetto), t Some dispersed and hid themselves; a
few in their terror plunged into the water or hanged themselves ;
and a great number fled in small boats to Formosa. +
In 1709 the jealousy against the Chinese once more had reached
su«h a height that they were accused of rebellion, and particularly
of monopolising the trades ; and, with the exception of the most
serviceable of the artisans and such of them as were employed by
the Government, they were once again expelled. Spanish writers
praise the salutariness of these measures ; alleging that " under
the pretence of agriculture the Chinese carry on trade ; they are
cunning and careful, making money and sending it to China, so
that they defraud the Philippines annually of an enormous
amount." Sonnerat, however, complains that art, trade, and
commerce, had not recovered from these severe blows ; though,
he adds, fortunately the Chinese, in spite of prohibitory decrees,
are returning through the corrupt connivance of the governor
and officials. To the present day they are blamed as being mono-
* "Informs," I., iii., 73.
t The Chinese were not permitted to live in the town, but in a district specially
set apart for them.
X Velarde, 274.

SPANLSH JEALOUSY. 347
polists, particularly by the Creoles ; and certainly, by means of
their steady industry and natural commercial aptitude, they have
appropriated nearly all the retail trade to themselves. The sale
of European imported goods is entirely in their hands ; and the
wholesale purchase of the produce of the country for export is
divided between the Indians, Creoles, and the Chinese, the latter
taking about one half. Before this time only the Indians and
Creoles were permitted to own ships for the purpose of forwarding
the produce to Manilla.
In 1757 the jealousy of the Spaniards broke out again in the
form of a new order from Madrid, directing the expulsion of the
Chinese ; and in 1759 the decrees of banishment, which were
repeatedly evaded, were carried into effect : but, as the private
interests of the officials did not happen to coincide with those of
the Creole traders, the consequence was " that the Chinese soon
streamed back again in incredible numbers," and made common
cause with the English upon their invasion in 1762.* Thereupon,
Senor Anda commanded " that all the Chinese in the Philippine
Islands should be hanged," which order was very generally
carried out.f
The last great Chinese massacre took place in 1819, when the
aliens were suspected of having brought about the cholera by
poisoning the wells. The greater part of the Europeans in
Manilla also fell victims to the fury of the populace, but the
Spaniards generally were spared.
The prejudice of the Spaniards, especially of the Creoles, had
always been directed against the Chinese tradesmen, who inter
fered unpleasantly with the profits of the natives ; and against
this class in particular were the laws of limitation aimed.
The Chinese would willingly have given their attention to farming,
were it not that the enmity of the Indians generally prevented
them. A decree, issued in 1804, commanded all Chinese shop-
* See following chapter. t Zufiiga, xvi.

348 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
keepers to leave Manilla within eight days, only those who were
married being allowed to keep shops ; and their residence in the
provinces was permitted only upon the condition that they
confined themselves entirely to agriculture. Magistrates who
allowed them to leave the district over which they commanded
were fined 200 dollars ; the deputy-governor 25 dollars ; and
the wretched Chinese were punished with from two to three years'
confinement in irons. In 1839 the penalties against the Chinese
were somewhat mitigated, but those against the magistrates were
still maintained on account of their venality.
In 1843 Chinese ships were placed upon terms of equality with
those of other foreign countries (Leg. Ult., II., 476).
In 1850 Captam- General Urbiztondo endeavoured to introduce
Chinese colonial farming, and with this object promised a reduc
tion of the taxes to all agricultural immigrants. Many Chinese
availed themselves of this opportunity in order to escape the
heavy poll-tax; but in general they soon betook themselves to
trading once more.
Of late years the Chinese have not suffered from the terrible
massacres which used formerly to overtake them ; neither have
they suffered banishment ; the officials being content to suppress
their activity by means of heavy and oppressive taxes. For
instance, at the end of 1867 the Chinese shopkeepers were
annually taxed 60 dollars for permission to send their goods to
the weekly market ; this was in addition to a tax of from 12 to
100 dollars on their occupations ; and at the same time they were
commanded thenceforth to keep their books in Spanish (English
Consular Report, 1869).
The Chinese remain true to their customs and mode of living
in the Philippines, as they do everywhere else. When they
outwardly embrace Christianity, it is done merely to facilitate
marriage, or from some motive conducive to their worldly advan
tage ; and occasionally they renounce it, together with their wives

CHINESE EMIGRATION. 349
in Manilla, when about to return home to China. Yery many of
them, however, beget families, are excellent householders, and
their children in time form the most enterprising, industrious,
and wealthy portion of the resident population.
Invigorated by the severe struggle for existence which they
have experienced in their own over-populated country, the Chinese
appear to preserve their capacity for labour perfectly unimpaired
by any climate. No nation can equal them in contentedness,
industry, perseverance, cunning, skill, and adroitness in trades
and mercantile matters. When once they gain a footing, they
generally appropriate the best part of the trade to themselves.
In all parts of external India they have dislodged from every
field of employment not only their native but, progressively,
even their European competitors. Not less qualified and success
ful are they in the pursuit of agriculture than in trade. The
emigration from the too thickly peopled empire of China has
scarcely begun. As yet it is but a small stream, but it will
by-and-by pour over all the tropical countries of the East
in one mighty torrent, completely destroying all such minor
obstacles as jealous interference and impotent precaution might
interpose. Over every section of remote India, in the South Sea, in the
Indian .Archipelago, in the Southern States of America, the
Chinese seem destined in time either to supplant every other
element, or to found a mixed race upon which to stamp their
individuality. In the Western States of the Union their number
is rapidly on the increase; and the factories in California are
worked entirely by them, achieving results that cannot be accom
plished by European labour.
One of the most interesting of the many questions of large
comprehensiveness which connect themselves with the penetra
tion of the Mongolian race into America, which up till now it
had been the fashion to regard as the inheritance of the Cauca-

350 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
sians, is the relative capacity of labour possessed by both these
two great races, who in the Western States of America have
for the first time measured their mutual strength in friendly
rivalry. Both are there represented in their most energetic
individuality ; * and every nerve will be strained in carrying on
the struggle, inasmuch as no other country pays for labour at
so high a rate.
The conditions, however, are not quite equal, as the law places
certain obstacles in the way of the Chinese. The courts do not
protect them sufficiently from insult, which at times is aggra
vated into malicious manslaughter through the ill-usage of the
mob, who hate them bitterly as being reserved, uncompanionable
workers. Nevertheless, the Chinese immigrants take their stand
firmly. The western division of the Pacific Railway has been
chiefly built by the Chinese, who, according to the testimony of
the engineers, surpass workmen of all other nationalities in dili
gence, sobriety, and good conduct. What they lack in physical
power they make up for in perseverance and working intelli-
* No single people in Europe can in any way compare with the inhabitants of
California, which, in the early years of its existence, was composed only of men in
the prime of their strength and activity, .without aged people, without women, and
without children. Their activity, in a country where everything had to be provided
(no civilised neighbours hving within some hundred miles or so), and where all
provisions were to be obtained only at a fabulous cost, was stimulated to the highest
pitch. Without here going into the particulars of their history, it need only be
remembered that they founded, in twenty-five years, a powerful State, the fame of
which has spread all over the world, and around whose borders young territories
have sprung into existence and flourished vigorously; two of them indeed having
attained to the condition of independent States. After the Californian gold-diggers
had changed the configuration of the ground of entire provinces by having,
with Titanic might, deposited masses of earth into the sea until they expanded
into hilly districts, so as to obtain therefrom, with the aid of ingenious machinery,
the smallest particle of gold which was contained therein, they have astonished
the world in their capacity of agriculturalists, whose produce is sent even to the
most distant markets, and everywhere takes the first rank without dispute, a Such
mighty results have been achieved by a. people whose total number scarcely,
indeed, exceeds 500,000 ; and therefore, perhaps, they may not find it an easy
matter to withstand the competition of the Chinese.
[a Many portions of the City of San Francisco were extended into the bay in this
manner. — Translator's note.]

INDUSTRY OF THE CHINESE. 351
gently together. The unique and nearly incredible performance
that took place on the 28th April, 1869, when ten miles of rail
way track were laid in eleven working hours along a division of
land which had in no way been prepared beforehand, was accom
plished by Chinese workmen ; and indeed only by them could
it have been practicable.*
Of course, the superiority of the European in respect of the
highest intellectual faculties is not for a moment to be doubted ;
but, in all branches of commercial life in which cleverness and
persevering industry are necessary to success, the Chinese certainly
appear entitled to the award. To us it appears that the influx of
Chinese must certainly sooner or later kindle a struggle between
capital and labour, in order to set a limit upon demands percep
tibly growing beyond moderation.
The increasing Chinese immigration already intrudes upon the
attention of American statesmen questions of the utmost social
and political importance. What influence will this entirely new
and strange element exercise over the conformation of American
relations ? Will the Chinese found a State in the States, or go
into the Union on terms of political equality with the other
citizens, and form a new race by alliance with the Caucasian
element ? These problems, which can only be touched upon here
in a transitory form, have been dealt with in a masterly manner
by "Pumpelly," in his work "Across America and Asia,"
published in London in 1870.
* The rails, if laid in one continuous line, would measure about 103,000 feet, the
weight of them being 20,000 cwt. Eight Chinamen were engaged in the work,
relieving one another by fours. These men were chosen to perform this feat on
account of their particular activity, out of 10,000.
(This statement is incorrect, so far as the fact of the feat being accomplished by
the Chinese is concerned.
Eight Europeans were engaged in this extraordinary piece of work. During the
rejoicings which took place in Sacramento upon the opening of the line, these men
were paraded in a van, with the account of their splendid achievement painted in
large letters on the outside. Certainly not one of them was a Chinaman. — Trans
lator's note.)

352 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
LETTER OF THE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF CHINCHEO TO DON
PEDRO DE ACTJNA, GOVERNOR OF THE PHILIPPINES.
'' To the powerful Captain-General of Luzon.
" Having been given to understand that the Chinese who pro
ceeded to the kingdom of Luzon in order to buy and sell had
been murdered by the Spaniards, I have investigated the motives
for these massacres, and begged the King to exercise justice
upon those who had engaged in these abominable offences, with a
view to security in the future.
" In former years, before my arrival here as royal commissioner,
a Chinese merchant named Tioneg, together with three mandarins,
went with the permission of the King of China from Luzon to
Cavite, for the purpose of prospecting for gold and silver ; which
appears to have been an excuse, for he found neither gold nor
silver ; I thereupon prayed the King to punish this impostor
Tioneg, thereby making patent the strict justice which is exer
cised in China.
" It was during the administration of the ex-Yiceroy and
Eunuchs that Tioneg and his companion, named Yanglion,
uttered the untruth already stated ; and subsequently I begged
the King to transmit all the papers bearing upon the matter?
together with the minutes of Tioneg's accusation ; when I myself
examined the before-mentioned papers, and knew that everything
that the accused Tioneg had said was utterly untrue.
" I wrote to the King and stated that, on account of the untruth
which Tioneg had been guilty of, the Castilians entertained the
suspicion that he wished to make war upon them, and that they,
under this idea, had murdered more than 30,000 Chinese in
Luzon. The King, complying with my request, punished the
accused Yanglion, though he omitted to put him to death •
neither was Tioneg beheaded or confined in a cage. The Chinese J
people who had settled in Luzon were in no way to blame. I and
others discussed this with the King in order to ascertain what his U

CHINESE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS LETTER. 353
pleasure was in this matter, as well as in another, namely, the
arrival of two English ships on the coast of Chincheo (Fukien) —
a very dangerous circumstance for China ; and to obtain His
Majesty's decision as to both these most serious matters.
" We also wrote to the King that he should direct the punish
ment of both these Chinese ; and, in acknowledging our com
munication, he replied to us, in respect of the English ships
which had arrived in China, that in case they had come for the
purpose of plundering, they should be immediately commanded to
depart thence for Luzon ; and, with regard to the Luzon difficulty,
that the Castilians should be advised to give no credence to
rogues and liars from China ; and both the Chinese who had dis
covered the harbour to the English should be executed forthwith ;
and that in all other matters upon which we had written to him,
our will should be his. Upon receipt of this message by us —
the Yiceroy, the Eunuch, and myself — we hereby send this
our message to the Governor of Luzon, that his Excellency may
know the greatness of the King of China and of his Kingdom,
for he is so powerful that he commands all upon which the sun
and moon shine, and also that the Governor of Luzon may learn
with what great wisdom this mighty kingdom is governed, and
which power no one for many years has attempted to insult,
although the Japanese have sought to disturb the tranquillity of
Coria, which belongs to the Government of China. They did not
succeed, but on the contrary were driven out, and Coria has
remained in perfect security and peace, which those in Luzon well
know by report.
" Years ago, after we learnt that so many Chinese perished in
Luzon on account of Tioneg's lies, many of us mandarins met
together, and resolved to leave it to the consideration of the King
'o take vengeance for so great a massacre ; and we said as fol-
ows : — The country of Luzon is a wretched one, and of very
title importance. It was at one time only the abode of devils
A A

354 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
and serpents ; and only because (within the last few years) so
large a number of Chinese went thither for the purpose of trading
with the Castilians has it improved to such an extent ; in which
improvement the accused Sangleyes materially assisted by hard
labour, the walls being raised by them, houses built, and gardens
laid out, and other matters accomplished of the greatest use to the
Castilians ; and now the question is, why has no consideration
been paid for these services, and these good offices acknowledged
with thanks, without cruelly murdering so many people ? And
although we wrote to the King twice or thrice concerning the
circumstances, he answered us that he was indignant about the
before-mentioned occurrences, and said for three reasons it is not
advisable to execute vengeance, nor to war against Luzon. The
first is that for a long time till now the Castilians have been friends
of the Chinese ; the second, that no one can predict whether
the Castilians or the Chinese would be victorious ; and the third
and last reason is, because those whom the Castilians have killed
were wicked people, ungrateful to China, their native country,
their elders, and their parents, as they have not returned to China
now for very many years. These people, said the King, he valued
but little for the foregoing reasons ; and he commanded the
Yiceroy, the Eunuch, and myself, to send this letter through those
messengers, so that all in Luzon may know that the King of China
has a generous heart, great forbearance, and much mercy, in not
declaring war against Luzon ; and his justice is indeed manifest,
as he has already punished the liar Tioneg. Now, as the Spaniards
are wise and intelligent, how does it happen that they are not
sorry for having massacred so many people, feeling no repentance
thereat, and also are not kinder to those of the Chinese who are
still left ? Then when the Castilians show a feeling of good- will,
and the Chinese and Sangleyes who are left after the dispute
return, and the indebted money is repaid, and the property which
was taken from the Sangleyes restored, then friendship will again

LETTER OF THE GOVERNOR OF JAPAN. 355
exist between this kingdom and that, and every year trading-ships
shall come and go ; but if not, then the King will allow no
trading, but on the contrary will at once command a thousand
ships of war to be built, manned with soldiers and relations of the
slain, and will, with the assistance of other peoples and kingdoms
who pay tribute to China, wage relentless war, without quarter to
any one ; and upon its conclusion will present the kingdom of
Luzon to those who do homage to China.
" This letter is written by the Yisitador-General on the 12th of
the second month."
A contemporary letter of the Governor of Japan forms a some
what notable contrast : —
LETTER OF DAIFUSAMA, GOVERNOR OF JAPAN.
" To the Governor Don Pedro de Acuna, in the year 1605.
" I have received two letters from your Excellency, as also all
the donations and presents described in the inventory. Amongst
them was the wine made from grapes, which I enjoyed very much.
In former years your Excellency requested that six ships might
come here, and recently four, which request I have always com
plied with.
" But my great displeasure has been excited by the fact, that of
the four ships upon whose behalf your Excellency interposed, one
from Antonio made the journey without my permission. This was
a circumstance of great audacity, and a mark of disrespect to me.
Does your Excellency wish to send that ship to Japan without my
permission ?
" Independently of this, your Excellency and others have many
times discussed with me concerning the antecedents and interests
of Japan, and many other matters, your requests respecting which
I cannot comply with. This territory is called Xincoco, which
means ' consecrated to Idols,' which have been honoured with
the highest reverence from the days of our ancestor until now,
a a2

356 THE PHILLPPLNE ISLANDS.
and whose actions I alone can neither undo nor destroy. Where
fore, it is in no way fitting that your laws should be promulgated
and spread over Japan ; and if, in consequence of these misunder
standings, your Excellency's friendship with the kingdom of
Japan should cease, and with me likewise, it must be so, for I
must do that which I think is right, and nothing which is con
trary to my own pleasure.
" Finally, I have heard it frequently said, as a reproach, that
many Japanese — wicked, corrupt men — go to your kingdom,
remaining there many years, and then return to Japan. This
complaint excites my anger, and therefore I must request your
Excellency henceforth not to g.nn-w""5iTp.K p<?m>«iiig»ife»»«iM^^
ships which trade here. Concerning the remaining matters, I
trust your Excellency will hereafter employ your judgment and
circumspection in such a manner as to avoid incurring my dis
pleasure for the future."

CHAPTER XXYII.

EPITOME — CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

The Philippines were discovered by Magellan on the 16th of
March, 1521 — St. Lazarus's day.* But it was not until 1564,
after many previous efforts had miscarried, that Legaspi, who
left New Spain with five ships, took possession of the Archi
pelago in the name of Philip II. The discoverer had chris
tened the islands after the sanctified Lazarus. This name,
however, never grew into general use ; the Spaniards persistently
calling them the Western Islands — Islas del Poniente ; and
the Portuguese, Islas del Oriente. Legaspi gave them their
present name in honour of Philip II. , who, in his turn, conferred
upon them the again extinct name of New Castile, t
Legaspi first of all annexed Cebti, and then Panay ; and six years
later, in 1571, he first subdued Manilla, which was at that time
a village surrounded by palisades, and commenced forthwith the
construction of a fortified town. The subjection of the remaining
territory was effected so quickly that, upon the death of Legaspi
(in August, 1572), all the western parts were in possession of the
Spaniards. Numerous wild tribes in the interior, however, the
* Magellan fell on the 27th April, struck by a poisoned arrow, on the small
island of Mactan, lying opposite the harbour of Cebu. His lieutenant, Sebastian de
Elcano, doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and on the 6th September, 1522, brought
back one of the five ships with which Magellan set sail from St. Lucar in 1519, and
eighteen men, under Pigafetta, to the same harbour, and thus accomplished the
first voyage round the world in three years and fourteen days.
t " According to recent authors they were also named after Villalobos in 1543." —
Morqa, p. 5. _

358 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
Mahomedan states of Mindanaos and the Sulu group, for
example, have to this day preserved their independence. The
character of the people, as well as their political disposition,
favoured the occupancy. There was no mighty power, no old
dynasty, no influential priestly domination to overcome, no tradi- *
tions of national pride to suppress. The natives were either
heathens, or recently proselytized superficially to Islamism, and
lived under numerous petty chiefs, who ruled them despotically,
made war upon one another, and were easily subdued. One such
community is called Barangay ; and it forms to this day, though
in a considerably modified form, the foundation of the constitu
tional laws. The Spaniards limited the power of the petty chiefs,
upheld slavery, and abolished hereditary nobility and dignity,
substituting in its place an aristocracy created by themselves for
services rendered to the State ; but they carried out all these
changes very gradually and cautiously.* The old usages and
* According to Morga (p. 140) there was neither king nor governor, but
in each island and province were numerous persons of rank, whose dependants
and subjects were divided into quarters (barrios) and families. These petty
rulers had to render homage by means of tributes from the crops (buiz), also by
socage or personal service : but their relations were exempted from such services
as were rendered by the plebeians (timauas). The dignities of the chieftains
were hereditary, thoir honours descended also to their wives. If a chief particu
larly distinguished himself, then the rest followed him ; but the Government retained
to themselves the administration of the Barangays through their own particular
officials. Concerning the system of slavery under the native rule, Morga says (p.
41, abbreviated), — "The natives of these islands are divided into three classes —
nobles, timauas or plebeians, and the slaves of the former. There are different sorts
of slaves : some in complete slavery (Saguiguilires), who work in the house, as
also their children. Others live with their families in their own houses and render
service to their lords at sowing and harvest-time, also as boatmen, or in the con
struction of housea, &c. They must attend as often as they are required, and give
their services without pay or recompense of any kind. They are called Namama-
hayes ; and their duties and obligations descend to their children and successors.
Of these Saguiguilires and Namamahayes a few are full slaves, some half slaves,
and others quarter slaves.
When, for instance, the mother or father was free, the only son would be half
free, half slave. Supposing there were several sons, the first one inherits the father's
position, the second that of the mother. When the number is unequal the last one is
half free and half slave ; and the descendants born of such half slaves and those who
are free arc quarter slaves. The half slaves, whether saguiguilires or namamahayes,

LEGASPI. 359
laws, so long as they did not interfere with the natural course ol
government, remained untouched and were operative by legal
sanction ; and even in criminal matters their validity was equal
to those emanating from the Spanish courts. To this day the
chiefs of Barangay, with the exception of those bearing the title
of " don," have no privileges save exemption from the poll-tax
and socage service. They are virtually tax-collectors, excepting
that they are not paid for such service, and their private means
are made responsible for any deficit. The prudence of such a
measure might well be doubted, without regard to the fact that
it tempts the chiefs to embezzlement and extortion ; and it must
alienate a class of natives who would otherwise be a support to
the Government.
Since the measures adopted in alleviation of the conquest and
occupancy succeeded in so remarkable a manner, the governors
and their subordinates of those days, at a time when Spain was
powerful and chivalrous, naturally appear to have been distin
guished for wisdom and high spirit. Legaspi possessed both
qualities in a marked degree. Hardy adventurers were tempted
there, as in America, by privileges and inducements which
power afforded them; as well as by the hope, which, for
tunately for the country, was never realised, of its being rich
in auriferous deposits. In Luzon, for instance, Hernando
Riquel stated that there were many gold-mines in several
places which were seen by the Spaniards ; " the ore is so
rich that I will not write any more about it, as I might possibly
serve their lords equally every month in turns. Half and quarter slaves can, by
reason of their being partially free, compel their lord to give them their free
dom at a previously determined and unfluctuating price : but full slaves do not
possess this right. A namamahaj'e is worth half as much as a saguiguilire.
All slaves are natives."
Again, at p. 143, he writes : — " A slave who has children by her lord is thereby
freed together with her children. The latter, however, are not considered well
born, and cannot inherit property ; nor do the rights of nobility, supposing in such
a case the father to possess any, descend to them."

360 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
come under a suspicion of exaggerating ; but I swear by Christ
that there is more gold on this island than there is iron in all
Biscay." They received no pay from the kingdom ; but a formal
right was given them to profit by any territory which was
brought into subjection by them. Some of these expeditions in
search of conquest were enterprises undertaken for private gain,
others for the benefit of the governor ; and such service was
rewarded by him with grants of lands, carrying an annuity,
offices, and other benefits (encomiendas, oficios y aprovechami-
^ntos). The grants were at first made for three generations (in
New Spain for four), but were very soon limited to two ; when
Di los Rios pointed this out as being a measure very prejudi
cial to the Crown, " since they were little prepared to serve his
Majesty, as their grand- children had fallen into the most extreme
poverty." After the death of the feoffee the grant reverted to
the State ; and the governor thereupon disposed of it anew.
The whole country at the outset was completely divided into
these livings, the defraying of which formed by far the largest
portion of the expenses of the kingdom. Investitures of a similar
nature existed, more or less, in a territory of considerable extent,
the inhabitants of which had to pay tribute to the feoffee ; and
this tribute had to be raised out of agricultural produce, the value
of which was fixed by the feudal lord at a very low rate, but sold
by him to the Chinese at a considerable profit. The feudal lords,
moreover, were not satisfied with these receipts, but held the
natives in a state of slavery, until forbidden by a Bull of Pope
Gregory XIY. dated 18th April, 1591. Caffre and negro slaves,
whom the Portuguese imported by way of India, were, however,
still permitted.
The original holders of feudal tenures amassed considerable
booty therefrom. Zuniga relates that as early as the time of
Labezares, who was provisional governor between 1572 and 1575,
he visited the Bisayas and checked the covetousness of the enco-

JUAN DE SAL CEDO. 3 6 1
menderos, so that at least during his rule they relaxed their
system of extortion. Towards the end of Lasande's government
(1575-80) a furious quarrel broke out between the priests and the
encomenderos ; the first preached against the oppression of the
latter, and memorialised Philip II. thereon. The king com
manded that the Indians should be protected, as the extortionate
greed of the feudal chiefs had exceeded all bounds; and the
natives were then at liberty to pay their tribute either in money
or in kind. The result of this well-intentioned regulation
appears to have produced a greater assiduity both in agriculture
and trade, " as the natives preferred to work without coercion,
not on account of extreme want." And here I may briefly refer
to the achievements of Juan de Salcedo, the most illustrious of all
the conquerors. Supported by his grandfather, Legaspi, with
forty-five Spanish soldiers, he fitted out an expedition at his
own expense, embarked at Manilla in May, 1572, examined all
parts of the west coast of the island, landed in all the bays
which were accessible to his light-draught ships, and was well
received by the natives at most of the places. He generally
found great opposition in penetrating into the interior ; yet
he succeeded in subduing many of the inland tribes; and
when he reached Cape Bogeador, the north-west point of Luzon,
the extensive territory which at present forms the provinces of
Zambales, Pangasinan, and North and South Ylocos, acknow
ledged the Spanish rule. The exhaustion of his soldiers obliged
Salcedo to return. In Bigan, the present capital of South
Ylocos, he constructed a fort, and left therein for its protection
his lieutenant and twenty-five men, while he himself returned,
accompanied only by seventeen soldiers, in three small vessels.
In this manner he reached the Cagayan River, and proceeded up
it until forced by the great number of hostile natives to retreat
to the sea. Pursuing the voyage to the east coast, he came
down in course of time to Paracali ; where he embarked in a boat

36z THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
for Manilla, was capsized, and rescued from drowning by some
passing Indians.
In the meantime Legaspi had died, and Labezares was pro
visionally carrying on the government. Salc^do heard of this
with vexation at being passed over ; but, when he recovered
from his jealousy, he was entrusted with the subjugation of
Camarines, which he accomplished in a short time. In 1574
he returned to Ylocos, in order to distribute annuities among his
soldiers, and to receive his own share. While still employed
upon the building of Bigan, he discovered the fleet of the
notorious Chinese pirate, Limahon, who, bent upon taking posses
sion of the colony, was then passing that part of the coast with
sixty -two ships and a large number of soldiers. He hastened at
once, with all the help which he could summon together in the
neighbourhood, to Manilla, where he was nominated to the com
mand of the troops, in the place of the already deposed master
of the forces ; and he drove the Chinese from the town, which
they had destroyed. They then withdrew to Pangasinan, and
Salcedo burnt -their fleet ; which exploit was achieved with very
great difficulty. In 1576 this Cortes of the Philippines died.
Apart from the priests, the first-comers consisted only of
officials, soldiers and sailors; and to them, naturally, fell
all the high profits of the China trade. Manilla was their
chief market, and it also attracted a great portion of the ex
ternal Indian trade, which the Portuguese had frightened away
from Malacca by their excessive cruelty. The Portuguese, it is
true, still remained in Macao and the Moluccas : but they wanted
those remittances which were almost exclusively sought after
by the Chinese, viz., the silver which Manilla received from
New Spain. In 1580 Portugal, together with all its colonies,
was handed over to the Spanish Crown ; and the period extending
from this event to the decay of Portugal (1580-1640) witnessed
he Philippines at the height of their power and prosperity.

CHANGES OF THE GOVERNMENT. 363
The Governor of Manilla ruled over a part of Mindanao, Sulu,
the Moluccas, Formosa, and the original Portuguese possessions
in Malacca and India. " All that lies between Cape Singapore
and Japan is subject to Luzon ; their ships cross the ocean to
China and New Spain, and drive so magnificent a trade that, if
it were only free, it would be the most extraordinary that the
world could show. It is incredible what glory these islands
confer upon Spain. The Governor of the Philippines treats with
the Kings of Cambodia,- Japan, China. The first is his ally, the
last his friend ; and the same with Japan. He declares war or
peace, without waiting for the command from distant Spain."*
But the Dutch had now begun the struggle, which they managed
to carry on against Philip II. in every corner of the world ;
and even in 1610 Di los Rios complained that he found the
country very much altered through the progress and advance
made by the Dutch ; also that the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu,
feeling that they were supported by Holland, were continually in
a state of discontent.
The downfall of Portugal occasioned the loss of her colonies
once more. Spanish policy, the government of the priests, and
the jealousy of the Spanish merchants and traders especially, did
everything that remained to be done to prevent the development
of agriculture and commerce — perhaps, on the whole, fortunately
for the natives.
The subsequent history of the Philippines is, in all its par
ticulars, quite as unsatisfactory and uninteresting as that of all
the other Spanish- American possessions. Ineffectual expeditions
against pirates, and continual disputes between the clerical and
secular authorities, form the principal incidents.!
* Grav. 30.
t Chamisso ("Observations and Views," p. 72), thanks to the translator of
Zuniga, knew that he was in duty bound to dwell at some length over this excellent
history; though Zufiiga's narrative is always, comparatively speaking, short and to
the point. The judiciously abbreviated English translation, however, contains many
miscomprehensions.

364 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
After the first excitement of religious belief and military
renown had subsided, the minds of those who went later to these
outlying possessions, consisting generally as they did of the very
dregs of the nation, were seized with an intense feeling of selfish
ness ; and frauds and peculations were the natural sequence.
The Spanish writers are full of descriptions of the wretched state
of society then existing, which it is unnecessary to repeat here.
The colony had scarcely been molested by external enemies,
with the exception of pirates. In the earliest time the Dutch had
engaged occasionally in attacks on the Bisayas. But in 1762
(during the war of the Bourbon succession) an English fleet sud
denly appeared before Manilla, and took the surprised town
without any difficulty. The Chinese allied themselves with the
English. A great insurrection broke out among the Indians,
and the colony, under the provisional government of a feeble
archbishop, was for a time in great danger. It was reserved for
a dignitary of the Church, Anda, an energetic patriot, to inflame
the Indians against the foreigners ; and the opposition incited by
the zealousness of the priests grew to such an extent that the
English, who were confined in the town, were actually glad to be
able to retreat. In the following year the news arrived in
Europe of the conclusion of peace ; but in the interval this
insurrection, brought about by the invasion, had rapidly and
considerably extended ; and it was not suppressed until 1765,
when the work was accomplished by creating enmity among
the different tribes. But this was not done without a loss to the
province of Ylocos of 269,270 persons — half of the population,
as represented by Zuiiiga.
Severity and want of tact on the part of the Government and
their instruments, as well as bigoted dissensions, have caused many
revolts of the natives ; yet none, it is true, of any great danger
to the Spanish rule. The discontent has always been confined to a
single district, as the natives do not form a united nation ; neither

DISCONTENT OF THE CREOLES. 3&5
the bond of a common speech nor a general interest binding the
different tribes together. The state communications and laws
among them scarcely reach beyond the borders of the villages
and their dependencies.
A consideration of far more importance to the distant metropolis
than the condition of the constantly excited Indians, who are
politically divided among themselves, and really have no steady
object in view, is the attitude of the half-castes and Creoles,
whose discontent increases in proportion to their numbers and
prosperity. The military revolt which broke out in 1823, the
leaders of which were two Creoles, might easily have terminated
fatally for Spain. The latest of all the risings of the half-castes
seems to have been the most dangerous, not only to the Spanish
power, but to all the European population.
On the 20th of January, 1872, between eight and nine in the
evening, the artillery, marines, and the garrison of the arsenal
revolted in Cavite, the naval harbour of the Philippines, and mur
dered their officers ; and a lieutenant who endeavoured to carry the
intelligence to Manilla fell into the hands of a crowd of natives.
The news therefore did not reach the capital until the next morn
ing, when all the available troops were at once dispatched, and,
after a heavy preliminary struggle, they succeeded the following
day in storming the citadel. A dreadful slaughter of the rebels
ensued. Not a soul escaped. Among them was not a single
European ; but there were many half-castes, of whom several were
priests and lawyers. Though perhaps the first accounts, written
under the influence of terror, may have exaggerated many par
ticulars, yet both official and private letters agree in describing
the conspiracy as being long contemplated, widely spread, and
well planned. The whole fleet and a large number of troops
were absent at the time, engaged in the expedition against
Solo. A portion of the garrison of Manilla were to rise at
the same time as the revolt in Cavite, and thousands of natives

366 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
were to precipitate themselves on the car as blancas (pale faces),
and murder them. The failure of the conspiracy was, it appears,
only attributable to a fortunate accident — to the circumstance,
namely, that a body of the rebels mistook some rocket fired
upon the occasion of a Church festival for the agreed signal, and
commenced the attack too soon.
Let me be permitted, in conclusion, to bring together a few
observations which have been scattered through the text, touch
ing the relations of the Philippines with foreign countries, and
briefly speculate thereon.
Credit is certainly due to Spain for having bettered the condition
of a people who, though comparatively speaking highly civilised,
yet being continually distracted by petty wars, had sunk into
a disordered and uncultivated state. The inhabitants of these
beautiful islands, upon the whole, may well be considered to have
lived as comfortably during the last hundred years, protected
from all external enemies and governed by mild laws, as those of
any other tropical country under native or European sway, —
owing, in some measure, to the frequently discussed peculiar
circumstances which protect the interests of the natives.
The monks, also, have certainly had an essential part in the
production of the results.
Sprung from the lowest orders, inured to hardship and want,
and on terms of the closest intimacy with the natives, they
were peculiarly fitted to introduce them to a practical conformity
with the new religion and code of morality. Later on, also,
when they possessed rich livings, and their devout and zealous
interest in the welfare of the masses relaxed in proportion as
their incomes increased, they materially assisted in bringing
about the circumstances already described, with their favourable.
and unfavourable aspects. Further, possessing neither family
nor good education, they were disposed to associate themselves
intimately with the natives and their requirements ; and their

GOVERNMENT MONOPOLIES. 367
arrogant opposition to the temporal power generally arose through
their connection with the natives. With the altered condition of
things, however, all this has disappeared. The colony can no
longer be kept secluded from the world. Every facility afforded
for commercial intercourse is a blow to the old system, and a
great step made in the direction of broad and liberal reforms.
The more foreign capital and foreign ideas and customs are
introduced, increasing the prosperity, enlightenment, and self-
esteem of the population, the more impatiently will the existing
evils be endured.
England can and does open her possessions unconcernedly to
the world. The British colonies are united to the mother country
by the bond of mutual advantage, viz. the production of raw material •
by means of English capital, and the exchange of the same for
English manufactures. The wealth of England is so great, the
organization of her commerce with the world so complete, that
nearly all the foreigners even in the British possessions are for
the most part agents for English business houses, which would
scarcely be affected, at least to any marked extent, by a political
dismemberment. It is entirely different with Spain, which
possesses the colony as an inherited property, and without the
power of turning it to any useful account.
Government monopolies rigorously maintained, insolent dis
regard and neglect of the half-castes and powerful Creoles, and
the example of the United States, were the chief reasons of the
downfall of the American possessions. The same causes threaten
ruin to the Philippines : but of the monopolies I have said
enough. Half-castes and Creoles, it is true, are not, as they formerly were
in America, excluded from all official appointments ; but they feel
deeply hurt and injured through the crowds of place-hunters
which the frequent changes of Ministers send to Manilla. The
influence, also, of the American element is at least visible on the

368 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
horizon, and will be more noticeable when the relations increase
between the two countries. At present they are very slender.
The trade in the meantime follows in its old channels to EnglantL
and to the Atlantic ports of the United States. Nevertheless,
whoever desires to form an opinion upon the future history of the
Philippines, must not consider simply their relations to Spain,
but must have regard to the prodigious changes which a few
decades produce on either side of our planet.
For the first time in the history of the world the mighty
powers on both sides of the ocean have commenced to enter upon
a direct intercourse with one another — Russia, which alone is
larger than any two other parts of the earth ; China, which
contains within its own boundaries a third of the population of
the world ; and America, with ground under cultivation nearly
sufficient to feed treble the total population of the earth. Russia's
future role in the Pacific Ocean is not to be estimated at present.
The trade between the two other great powers will therefore be
presumably all the heavier, as the rectification of the pressing
need of human labour on the one side, and of the corresponding
overplus on the other, will fall to them.
The world of the ancients was confined to the shores of the
Mediterranean; and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans sufficed at
one time for our traffic. When first the shores of the Pacific
re-echoed with the sounds of active commerce, the trade of the
world and the history of the world may be really said to have
begun. A start in that direction has been made ; whereas not so
very long ago the immense ocean was one wide waste of waters,
traversed from both points only once a year. From 1603 to 1769
scarcely a ship had ever visited California, that wonderful country
which, twenty-five years ago, with the exception of a few places
on the coast, was an unknown wilderness, but which is now
covered with flourishing and prosperous towns and cities, divided
from sea to sea by a railway, and its capital already ranking the

AMERICAN INFLUENCE. 369
third of the seaports of the Union ; even at this early stage of its
existence a central point of the world's commerce, and apparently
"destined, by the proposed junction of the great oceans, to play a
most important part in the future.
In proportion as the navigation of the west coast of America
extends the influence of the American element over the South
Sea, the captivating, magic power which the great republic exer
cises over the Spanish colonies* will not fail to make itself felt
also in the Philippines. The Americans are evidently destined
to bring to a full development the germs originated by the
Spaniards. As conquerors of modern times, they pursue their
road to victory with the assistance of the pioneer's axe and
plough, representing an age of peace and commercial prosperity
in contrast to that bygone and chivalrous age whose champions
were upheld by the cross and protected by the sword.
A considerable portion of Spanish America already belongs to
the United States, and has since attained an importance which
could not possibly have been anticipated either under the Spanish
Government or during the anarchy which followed. With
regard to permanence, the Spanish system cannot for a moment be
compared with that of America. While each of the colonies, in
order to favour a privileged class by immediate gains, exhausted
still more the already enfeebled population of the metropolis by
the withdrawal of the best of its ability, America, on the con
trary, has attracted to itself from all countries the most energetic
element, which, once on its soil and, freed from all fetters, rest
lessly progressing, has extended its power and influence still
further and further. The Philippines will escape the action of
* I take the liberty, here, of citing an instance of this. In 1861, when I found
myself on the West Coast of Mexico, a dozen backwoods families determined upon
settling in Sonora (forming an oasis in the desert) ; a plan which was frustrated by
the invasion at that time of the European powers. Many native farmers awaited
the arrival of these immigrants in order to take them under their protection. The
value of land in consequence of the announcement of the project rose very
considerably. B B

370 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
the two great neighbouring powers all the less for the fact that
neither they nor their metropolis find their condition of a stable
and well-balanced nature.
It seems to be desirable for the natives that the above-men
tioned views should not speedily become accomplished facts,
because -their education and training hitherto have not been of a
nature to prepare them successfully to compete with either of
the other two energetic, creative, and progressive nations. They
have, in truth, dreamed away their best days.

THE END.

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