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About Western news-Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1898-1900 | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1899)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo FACTS ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCXXX3OOOOOOO HE Philippines are essentially hot erogenous. Some of the islands are mountainous , and others are flat ; some are muddy , sjampy , and feverish , others are porous limestone , well-drained and healthy ; some are en tirely wooded , some are entirely bare. The inhabitants present like diverg ence. The Moros of the south are war- ilke , active , intelligent , with a civiliza- vtion as advanced as Turkey's. The Negritos are a diseased and dying pig- aiy tribe , absolutely animal in their ex istence , less advanced than any known jpeople. The term "Filipino" embraces Manila rabble and secluded islanders , mountaineers and seamen , priests and the cannibals. It is necessary , there fore , to use only the broadest terms in describing the group collectively. The archipelago is a group of 1,200 Islands situated in the Pacific Ocean , extending from latitude 21 degrees .ziorth to 4 degrees 45 minutes north. Its length is thus about 1,000 miles ; its greatest width is G40 miles ; the total 3and area , aproxiinately , 115,000 square miles. The nearest mainland is Asia , SOO niilfs to the northeast. San Fran 4 cisco is .S.OOO miles to the west The Archipelago lies wholly within the line of Capricorn and the equator. Its characteristics , food products , and peo ple are tropical. The climate is hot and moist ; regu lar observations have been taken only cat Manila , where the temperature has 'bei-n found to vary between GO and 100 degrees. The excessive humidity makes this degree more difficult to en- dtire than in the temperate rones. As one progresses toward the swampy , flow-lying islands farther south the -heat , and especially the humidity , in- crease.s greatly. There are two seasons , the wet and dry the former lasting from June to November being the most disagree able and dangerous to health. Fever and dysentery are the diseases most dreaded by foreigners , but dangerous -localities are known and may be avoided. The Philippines are the seat of na- ture's passions. Earthquakes are com- .niou and violent ; the volcanoes are the miost dangerous * in the world. Luzon "is Ike cradle of that terrible sea storm , /the typhoon. Islands' lljtiernal History. 'On Aug. 10 , ir 19 , there started from 'Spain with a fleet of five ships Fer nando Magellan , a Portuguese navi gator. His object was to discover a ipassage from Europe , west to the Pa cific. Magellan had vainly endeav ored to interest the King of Portugal in fhis project ; had become a naturalized Spaniard and had obtained from Cliarles I. , of Spain the wherewithal to equip his fleet He reached the western coast of South America in December and turned south. As the season became harsher and the weather colder the ships' commanders nmtincd , desiring to winter on .shore. One was executed , another marooned. However , one ship did desert and another was wrecked. With three ships the great explorer con tinued south , and on Oct 28 , 1520 , passed through the Straits of Magel lan to the waters of the Pacific. He now shaped his course west by north , and in midsummer , 1523 , reached Min danao , of which he took possession in the name of the King of Spain. He next landed at Cebu , in August , 1521 , and was welcomed by the king of the usland. This monarch was baptized and took the oath of allegiance to * Jpain. Shortly after Magellan be came involved in a factional quarrel between two native chieftains and was .killed. Many members of the expedi tion had died , but the remainder , with < two ships , again sailed west and djs- covered Palawan. Later one of the two was lost , but the other pluckily continued its way and made the first complete journey around the world. In 1505. under the direction of Philip II. . the second Spanish expedition aeached the islands. The object was ( the saving of native souls ; inquisition methods were employed , and conver sions , though not valuable , were nu merous. In 1571 Manila was seized and proclaimed the capital of the islands , to be called henceforth the Islas Filipinos , in honor of King Philip. The Chinese Emperor resented the intrusion into celestial domains. Be tween 157. ; and 1575 he sent forth ten expeditions to oust , the Spaniards. . Severe battles followed , but the Euro peans managed to keep their foothold. They never , however , forgave the Chi nese these attempts. At various times fits of resentment against Chinese blood would sweep over the Spaniards and crusades were organized in order to kill or drive them out. In 1G03 23.- 000 were murdered , and in 1G39 35,000. In 1702 England took Manila from Spain , but peace was soon proclaimed , and the islands were returned. The natives have been apt to revolt at any time. When they did so Spain used fire and sword liberally , not only to subdue , but to punish after surren- der. Resources of the Islands. The resources of the islands are varied. Rice was introduced from -China centuries ago. It has since be come the staple food of the natives on .account of the ease with which it is produced. The quality is excellent. At present all the rice produced is con- .suuied in the islands , but much good .land is not cultivated. Sugar cane is grown extensively throughout the archipelago. Of late years beet sugar has cut into the profits of this business , but with the removal of the various Spanish export taxes , with the supersedence of buffalo power by steam , and with the opening up of -the back country by railroads , or at I C , E , A N PAUAWA ( .PARAC DA ) COMPREHENSIVE MAP OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. least highroads , the Philippine planta tions will reduce the present Have- meyer prices. Abaca , or hemp , is grown widely. The gathering of abaca is an operation necessitating considerable care and conscientiousness. The natives pos- cess neither of these qualifications , and , employing primitive methods , ruin the finer fiber of the plant. Observers say that machinery capable of preserv ing these delicate fibers is feasible. In that case abaca could be used for gar ments , napkins , sheets , and even hand kerchiefs. At present the hemp Is used chiefly for sails , doormats , and rope. The Philippines will probably retain a practical monoply of ttes crop ; its cultivation has been attempt ed in many other places , but never suc cessfully except in the extreme north ern part of Borneo. Native tobacco has always been in digenous to Luzon , but the quality is strong and bitter. Early in the seven teenth century missionaries introduced the Mexican plant with great success. Tobacco plantations multiplied ; the business became more and more pros perous until in 1781 it was made a state monopoly. Laws were enacted that all sales should be to the government A planter might not smoke a cigar of his own make under penaltjof $7 fine. The government was not always prompt to pay for goods received ; na tives refused to cultivate their land and fled to the mountains ; soldiers fol lowed and killed whom they found ; at night the natives returned again and fired the crops in the field. In this way Mindoro's once flourishing business has been annihilated. Spain now took an other step ; not only must all tobacco raised be sold to the state buyers ( on credit ) , but every family should own and care for at least 4,000 tobacco plants. The abuses resulting from this last statute became so horrible that even Spanish officials protested to the home government ; the Castilian statesmen , realizing the sponge was squeezed dry , repealed the monopoly laws in 1SS2. Even under such aus pices the tobacco remained excellent. Since the business has been open it has increased tremendously. Manila num bers scores of factories native , Chi nese , and Spanish ; several of them have over 500 operatives. Coffee is grown to a considerable ex tent ; the quality is unusually good. Little , however , finds its way out of the archipelago. The cocoa plant was introduced from Central America early in the seventeenth century. Philippine chocolate is .always spoken of well by returned travelers. Various minerals are found in paying quantities. Especially is this true of Luzon and Mindanao. Gold and sul phur will prove of value to prospec tors ; silver , mercury , copper and tin have furnished returns , but the extent of the deposits is a matter of investiga tion. tion.On On many islands the ax has never been raised against the immense virgin forests ; in few have its depredations been extensive. Over a hundred differ ent varieties of wood have been classi fied. Among them we find teak ; naga , resembling mahogany : tipolo , for mu sical Instruments ; lanitan , for guitars and violins ; boxwood , ebony and bam boo. The Inhabitants. The inhabitants of these islands are a strangely mixed lot Malay charac teristics generally prevail throughout. The many attempts to classify the peo ples into various district tribes and races have failed , for the reason that pure blood of any sort is rare. It is safest to divide the native Fili pinos into Christianized Malays , pagan Malays , and Mohammedan Malays. The first named comprise five and a half millions of the total population of eight millions. They resemble our ne groes in many ways. They are music lovers , fond of the sunshine , supersti tious. Though usually good-natured , they are subject to fits of murderous passion. Nature in the tropics is so industrious that man need not assist her to any great extent in order to live comfortably. The Filipino will not work as long as he is not about to starve. When he has made enough to live on for a month or two the ex-laborer re tires to his thatched hut , smokes his cigarettes , fights his gamecock , strums his guitar , and sings love songs to his wife or sweetheart The natives of the northern islands are called Tagalos. They are the small est and least brave , but also most treacherous and tricky of the Filipinos , and always have been reckoned as the poorest fighters ; have always been most completely under Spain's domina tion , and have suffered most accord ingly. The central group of islands is term ed the Visaya group. The inhabitants- called Visayos are somewhat larger , stronger , more independent than the Tagalos. The difference , however , is far less marked than between our dif ferent Indian tribes. Travelers , in or der to strengthen the .force of their distinctions and compariosns , are apt to push them a little far. The sharply drawn distinction between the Taga los and the Visayoss is not justified. The Moros or Mohammedan Malays aggregate less than a million. They inhabit the Sulu group at the south of the archipelago , parts of Mindanao , and the southern third of Palawan. One Sultanvliose residence is Sulu. is acknowledged throughout these isl ands. The Moros are a fierce , fanati cal , seafaring race , who were never conquered by Spain. It is unsafe for a white man to venture among them. To kill Christians is part of their re ligious belief. The aborigines of the islands are the Negritos , a puny , miserable , dwarf race. As the Malays swept up through the archipelago the Negritos were driven into the most remote and uncov- eted parts. Though not of true negro stock , they are much blacker than the Malays , and their inteligence is far lower. The total number is estimated at 50,000. Island of Luzon. Luzon is the largest , most populous , most developed , and most civilized of the Philippines. It has an area of 42- 000 square miles , or over one-third the whole area of the archipelago , about five-eighths of the whole population , the only railroad , and the only factor ies. It is the seat of the capital , and it contains fifty times as many foreign ers as all the rest of the islands put to gether. Luzon is supposed to support 5,000,000 inhabitants. Of these , SO pel- cent are civilized to a certain extent. In development , Luzon , though the most advanced of the Philippines , is disgracefully backward. There is one little , badly managed railroad , 120 miles in length. The highroads , twen ty miles inland , are either lacking alto gether or are merely trails. There are no flat-bottomed steamers on the larger rivers , though they could do a thriving business. The sugar mills are operated by buffalo power. In consequence , par tially exhausted sugar land near Man ila , or other ports , brings over $100 an acre , while further back In the coun try land a third more fertile brings $30 Manila sprawls over a good deal of ground , being built up on both sides of the River Pasig , and including rice fields and other submarine territory. Its population is about 300,000 , which Is small considering its area , but large considering its opportunities. Of this number two-thirds are natives , 30,000 Chinese , 50,000 Chinese half-breeds , 15,000 Spanish half-breeds , and 5,000 Spanish. Previous to the war the Americans and English together num bered 400. Contrary to general belief , the city is neither pretty nor unhealthy. Earthquakes cause houses to be con structed broad and squat , with tin roofs. This prevents beauty , and it must be said in the Spaniards' favor that it is excellently well drained , ( which pervents ill health. In 1893 elec tric light was substituted for oil , and in the same year an American fire en gine was brought over. Fires are common , and a blaze started in a na tive shack spreads fast. Manila's cnief interest lies in Its commerce. It is the tollgate of the Philippines. The Smaller Islands. Of the 1,200 islands which constitute the Philippine archipelago the number inhabited is between 35 and 50 per cent. The smaller islands resemble in physi cal characteristics and inhabitants the larger islands to which they are near est. Occasionally an entire island bo- longs to a single planter , and usually in such case it is a laud of milk and honey for the natives. The padrone is of necessity kindly , else he would most infallibly disappear. There is plenty to eat. and not too much to do. The , padrone's lot is easy , too. He merelv has to sit on his own veranda and al low the Philippine soil to make hi in rich. High Salaried Clergymen. New York has numerous instance where clergymen receive from $10,000 to $20,000. The late Dr. Hall , of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church had $20,000 and a manse. Henry Ward Beecher was paid $20,000 a year , which barely sufficed to maintain his Peek- skill farm. Bishop Potter has $15.00G with a rectory , with its upkeep thrown In. Time flies ; those who giggled in the back seats at church a few weeks ago pxe now snoring in thD seats in front LABOR OF COMPOSITION. Time Consumed by I/tterary Men in Producing Their Works. Those who are thirsting for literary fame and who fancy that the great writer has only to sit down and allow the genius to ooze through his finger tips might do worse than read through : his interesting record. Francis Jeffrey commonly spent two or three weeks on each one of nis ar ticles in the Edinburgh Review. Locke is said to have spent over six years in the preparation of his essay DU the "Human Understanding. " Byron spent the leisure hours of near ly four years in the work of preparing and writing his "History of Greece. " Charles Lamb would write one of his essays in an evening , after a day spent at his desk in the East India office. Mulhall , the great statistician , de voted nearly thirty years to the prep aration of his "Dictionary of Statis tics. " Goldsmith wrote "The Vicar of Wakefield" in six weeks. It is said to have been a story of his own recollec tions. Young wrote his "Night Thoughts" in less than six weeks , as a means of comforting himself under his bereave ment. Spenser , from first to last , consumed four years of tolerably steady labor in the preparation of the "Faerie Queen. " Newton spent over eight years in ex periments and the collection of data for his "Principles of Natural Philosophy. " Fielding is said to have written "Tom Jones" in three months. The work was written as a satire on one of Richardson's novels. Baxter , it is said , kept the manu script of the "Saint's Everlasting Rest" In his hands for thirteen years , revising and condensing. Machiavelli was many years in gath ering material for "The Prince , " but the actual work of writing was done in six months. Hazlitt , after the necessary work of preparation had been concluded , wrote one lecture a week of the series "Lec tures on Authors. " Longfellow turned out about one vol ume of poems a year for many years ; nearly four years were required for his translation of Dante. Montgomery , the famous hymn wri ter , required but a single afternoon to prepare one of his magnificent para phrases of the Psalms. Wordsworth would write one or two sonnets every day. When engaged on "The Excursion" he produced from 150 to 200 lines a day. Cowper required three days for the production of "John Gilpin. " He re vised the work very carefully , almost rewriting many 9f its lines. Macauley , from the inception of the plan to the time when the work was cut short , spent eight or nine years on his "History of England. " Hume spent fifteen years in collect ing materials and writing his "History of England , " and two years more in revising and correcting it Scottish- American. Field for Archaeologists. The opening of the Soudan offers a rich field for the archaeologist , and Egyptology will be enriched by many important "finds. " A large number of monuments of Egypt's power which have never been thoroughly investigated lie scattered about upper Nubia. The temples of Soleb , the ruins of the great Cushite cities Napata and Meroe , of which the latter is 5GO miles above Assouan , between the fifth and sixth cataracts , the antiquities at El-Mesaou- rat , eight hours' journey from Shendy , are all waiting for the archaeologist In fact , it is almost a virgin country , for its antiquarian treasures have not been investigated since Cailliaud , the French traveler , studied them in the early part of this century. His work , "Voyage a Meroe , " etc. , " published in 1826 , is still the main authority for a country which if not the cradle of Egyptian culture as was at one time supposed is full of memorials of the power of the Pharoahs. English ar chaeologists have not been idle in fol lowing In the sirdar's wake. Dr. Wal- lis Budge , the keeper of the Egj-ptian and Assyrian departments at the Brit ish museum , was there last year , and has been visiting some of the antiqui ties in the neighborhood of Shendy this year. London Chronicle. The Why. In describing her visit to one of the mission schools of Africa , Miss Kings- ley tells of a negro of 12 to whom she addressed the question : "What are j'ou studying ? " "Eberyt'ing , " replied the child. "What do you know ? " asked the young woman. "Eberyt'ing , " was the answer. "You are the very person I've been looking for , " said Miss Kingsley ; "now tell me why you are black. " "Certainly. I'm black because my pa's pa's pa saw Noah without his clothes on. " New York Tribune. i'res > rinir Oead Bodies. Trio success in preserving dead bodies that ha been achieved by a Naples surireon. Dr. E. Manini , has ox- cited the wonder of European physi cians. He uses a series of special baths , without incisions or injection. The first of the three stages is provis ional desiccation , which keeps the body in a condition for ready dissection by the anatomist ; the second is petri faction , giving the hardness of marble in a few hours , and the third is the restoration of natural color , flexibility and freshness , so that the subject ap pears to be simply sleeping. Whip as They Please. A resolution adopted by the Atlanta school board leaves the application of the rod to the discretion of the teach ers. Money talks , but it never gives itself away. "The noAvspaper correspondents , with cameras in their hats and pencils stick- lug out of their pockets like quills on a porcupine , didn't get hold of everything that happened in the late Avar , " re marked the lieutenant "There AA-as the time the Spanish fooled the One Hun- dred and Twenty-seventh volunteers , for Instance. " "How AAas it , lieutenant ? " asked soraebodj * . "Why , it AA-as the sharpest trick you ever heard of , and simple as A B' C. You know , the One Hundred and TAventy-seventh is made up of men from New York City all heroes , of course , but still they are accustomed to the civil Avalks of life. And the civil walks of life , taken literally , now adays , are peculiar paths. It AVIS at San Juan. The regiment had been or dered to advance and lie down close among some IOAV bushes. The Span iards Avere onlja short distance In front. The firing had ceased in that neighborhood and all Avas still. Our men were in a state of intense though suppressed excitement. You could never guess Avhat those crafty Span iards did. Suddenly they rang a bicy cle bell , and folloAved it Avith a cable car gong. The Hundred and Twenty- seventh jumped into the air as one man. The Spaniards blazed away and tried to take 'em on the wing. Of course , they didn't hit a thing , because Spaniards never do ; but if they had been good shots they might havi : bagged the whole regiment And I Avould not be surprised If they'd had an elevated road guard to yell 'Step lively ! ' that they could have stampeded every last man. " Harper's Bazar. Now that the volunteers are back , the opportunities for obtaining at first hand a knoAvledge of the real horrors o Avar are percepti bly i n c r e a s e d. Two Chicago boys Avho Avere together at Santiago , gnm-- i n g reminiscent , disclosed a fearful fact yesterday. "I have often Avondered , " s a 5 d one , "and now that we are back home , I Avant to kuoAV why you re ported for sick call about four days out of every Aveek and yet never seemed any more sick than I Avas ? " "Why , if you were only foxy you'd have been Avise like the rest of us. One doctor A\as a homeopathist and , no matter Avhat kind of pills he gave out , they were all sugar-coated and they made the beat sweetening for coffee that ever happened. " Chicago NCAVS. A A'eterau of the Avar of the rebellion was telling some of his experiences to a civilian , and he AA'as dAvelling upon the terrific courage of the captain of his company , and also his profanity. In those days profane officers Avere much more common than they IIOAV are , and they were especially noticeable among the A'olunteer troops. The captain re ferred to Avas notorious in tAVo armies for his command of profane language , and he never entirely ret'OA'ered from it , though his admission to the regular army at the close of the Avar moder ator his manner someAvhat. "It meant death to every man of us. " said the veteran , speaking of a pro posed charge on a line of breastworks before Richmond , "if Ave Avent in there , and Ave knew it , but there wasn't any thing else to do , unless AVC got different orders. There had been a mistake in ordering us to take the Avorks until some re-enforcements had come up , but that wasn't any of our business. " "Well , now , " demurred the civilian. "I don't look at it that Avay. It ought to haA'e been your business not to have fought Avhen you knew you AA'ere going to be whipped. " "If Ave had put up any sort of a bluff like that , you bet our captain would haA'e got one of his swearing spells on. and then , the dickens AA-ould haA'e been to pay. He just never would have got done cussing us for being cowards. " "Do you mean to say your company Avould haA-e gone in and been killed rather than to stand the captain's swearing ? " "That's what. " "Well. I wouldn't. " "Oh. but you neA'er heard the captain cuss. " Washington Star. A story is being told which serves to illustrate the American characteristic of giving slight heed to rank and place as against efficiency and daring and supreme achievement. The story has to do Avith Mr. McKin ley. anil it relates that Avhile A'isiting one ( ; f the camps during his recent Southrrii tour he chanced to be stroll- inir ab ut unattended and sought to : ass a certain line Avhich Avas patrolled l y : ; vigilant sentinel. The s-iiuinel promptly stopped him and demanded the countersign. "I don't know the countersign. " said Mr. McKinley. "Then you don't pass , " said the sol dier. "But" said Mr. McKinley , "I am the President of the United States ! " "I don't know about that. " replied the imperturbable sentry ; "but if you have not got the countersign you could not get by here even if you were George Dewev himself ! " A preferred creditor 1 ? one who nevej troubles you.
