The Brownie and the Bolo
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FILIPINO GOVERNMENT BUUJJINU REPRODUCTION OP THE ATUNTAMIENTA IN MANILA AT THE WORLD'S FAIlt
T T.T.TMS1 l.'i.h 12 (nor-lul r"rir.
I rcspondenee.) Perhaps the mrst
I nnvl Mluht In ! Kirn in Amerlci
these midwinter days Is that of
the native Filipino carpenters liarj
at work In building llilr city at tha
World's fair at St. Louis. The word car
penter suggest hatchet and saw, auger
and plane. The Filipino carpenter uses
none of these tools. With only Ms bo!o
which Rome persona facetiously term a
cornknlfe he constructs complete housis,
roofs, walls, floors, partitions and all. Ye,
there Is one other tool that he usej occa
sionally, and that Is a small hummer with
which to pupti home his hand-made bamboo
nails.
It Is Interesting to watch the half ft hun
dred Filipinos now at the World's fair
grounds, doing their part of the work of
constructing the scores of buildings that
will house the Fill, Ino exhibit, Including
the 1,500 Filipino natives who are to be
brought over for the exposition period. A
number of the houses are being built en
tirely by the Filipinos, while for others
they furnish only the ronf of nlpu, leaves
and bamboo lattice work. The Filipino
building!, covering a tract of forty acres,
are more than three-fourths completed.
Months ago many carloads of Immbo.i
and nlpa from the Philippine Ipb.uds wer
delivered on the ground. Then the brownla
got out bis bolo and ret to work. It was
merely necessary for him to yank his bolo
from Its sheath, or scabbard, wlil.h he
wears belted to Ms waist as an American
army officer wears his sword. A Filipino
without this bolo scabbard at bis waist
would feel like a Missouri river catfish in
the Sahara desert. This short, thick,
sharp knife Is his constant companion. Its
blade is about ten inches long and has two
edges. Sometimes the hilt is handsomely
carved, for the Filipino takes as much prlds
In his bolo as does the Mexican In his som
brero. The bolo is the Filipino's badge of
cltlxenshlp.
Ixng trunks of bamboo trees He In stacks
on the ground. They are s'lm poles, Jolntet
here and there, some thick enough to make
tout sjpports, others so thin that they are
easily pliable and can be bent and tied Into
knots.
Our Filipino carpenter squats hlmrelf
upon the ground with a padded plank un
der him these chilly days. He selects from
the pile a bamboo pole and gets to work
with his bolo. Diligently ha scrar.es anil
Shaves, turning out curling shavings tha
In his own land he would use for the mak
Ing of mattresses. With tedious care ha
continues scraping and shaving with his
aharp knife until the bamboo Is reduced
to a strip which bends double under its own
(Continued on Page Fifteen )
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FILIPINO EDUCATIONAL, BUILDING REPRODUCTION OF MANILA NORMAL, SCHOOL. AT THE WORLD'S FAIR.
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FILJrrNO AGRICULTURAL. BUILDING, NATIVE CONSTRUCTION. THATCHED WITH NIPA GRASS. AT THE WORLD'S
FAIR,
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REPRODUCTION OF THE WALLED CITT OF MANILA. OR "INTRAMCROS," AT THE WORLD'S FAIR.
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