The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes Part 33

[55] As a matter of fact, productive land is always appropriated, and in many parts of the Islands is difficult and expensive to purchase. Near Manila, and in Bulacan, land has for many years past cost over $225 (silver) an acre.

[56] Ind. Arch. IV; 307.

[57] In Buitenzorger's garden, Java, the author observed, however, some specimens growing in fresh water.

[58] 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.

[59] Centigrade is changed to Fahrenheit by multiplying by nine-fifths and adding thirty-two.--C.

[60] Tylor (Anahuac 227) 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 "house," derive petaca, a cigar case.

[61] Four lines, re an omitted sketch, left out.--C.

[62] Voyage en Chine, vol. II., page 33.

[63] According to the report of an engineer, the sand banks are caused by the river San Mateo, which runs into the Pasig at right angles shortly after the latter leaves the Lagoon; in the rainy season it brings down a quant.i.ty of mud, which is heaped up and embanked by the south-west 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.

[64] They take baths for their maladies, and have hot springs for this purpose, particularly along the sh.o.r.e of the king's lake (Estang du Roy, instead of Estang de Bay by a printer's mistake apparently), which is in the Island of Manila.--Thevenot.

[65] "One can scarcely walk thirty paces between Mount Makiling and a place called Bacon, which lies 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 vapor issuing from it. The soil from which this vapor 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 temperature of the atmosphere falls to the ground in small pieces."--Estado geograph., 1865.

[66] 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 Regnaud, Natural History of the Coco-tree, the negroes of Saint Thomas pursue a similar method in the present day, a method that considerably injures the trees and produces a much smaller quant.i.ty of liquor. Hernandez describes an indigenous process of obtaining wine, honey, and sago from the sacsao palm, a tree which from its stunted growth would seem to correspond with the acenga saccharifera. The trees are tapped near the top, the soft part of the trunks is hollowed out, and the sap collects in this empty s.p.a.ce. 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.

[67] Pigafetta mentions that the natives were in the habit of making oil, vinegar, wine, and milk, from the coco-palm, and that they drank a great deal of the wine. Their kings, he says, frequently intoxicated themselves at their banquets.

[68] A number of the Ill.u.s.trated London News, of December, 1857, or January, 1858, contains a clever drawing, by an accomplished artist, of the mode of travelling over this road, under the t.i.tle, "A macadamized road in Manila."

[69] Erd and Picketing, of the United States exploring expedition, determined the height to be 6,500 English feet (7,143 Spanish), not an unsatisfactory result, considering the imperfect means they possessed for making a proper measurement. In the Manila 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 circ.u.mference, it is highest on the northern side, and its interior is shaped like an egg-sh.e.l.l: the depth of the crater apparently extends half-way down the height of the mountain."

[70] From ponte, deck; a two-masted vessel, with mat sails, of about 100 tons burden.

[71] Estado Geogr., p. 314.

[72] 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.

[73] 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 succeeded in reaching the summit; in spite of all their precautions they would certainly 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 up, they noticed frequent ma.s.ses of shining lava, thrown from the mouth of the crater, gliding down the mountain. With the greatest exertions they succeeded, 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 Sr. Munoz 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.

[74] From 36,000,000 to 40,000,000 lbs. of cacao are consumed in Europe annually; of which quant.i.ty 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'c.u.mar, and Rio Chico. England consumes the cacao grown in its own colonies, although the duty (1d per lb.) is the same for all descriptions. Spain, the princ.i.p.al consumer, imports its supplies from Cuba, Porto Rico, Ecuador, 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 (Ecuador) 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.

[75] C. 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; 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 liter of dried cacao beans weighs 630 grains; of picked and roasted, 610 grains.

[76] 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.

[77] F. Engel mentions a disease (mancha) which attacks the tree in America, beginning by destroying its roots. The tree soon dies, and the disease spreads so rapidly that whole groves of cacao-trees utterly perish and are turned into pastures for cattle. Even in the most favored localities, after a long season of prosperity, 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 cacao beans; and which only cold and wind will kill. Humboldt mentions that cacao beans which have been transported over the chilly pa.s.ses of the Cordilleras are never attacked by this pest.

[78] G. Bornoulli quotes altogether eighteen kinds; of which he mentions only one as generally in use in the Philippines.

[79] 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 candied in the same manner as the kernel of the sweet pine, which it resembles in flavor. 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-trees. 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 plaster. 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.

[80] The general name for the beverage was Cacahoa-atl (cacao water). Chocolatl was the term given to a particular kind. F. Hernandez found four kinds of cacao in use among the Axtecs, and he describes four varieties of drinks that were prepared from them. The third was called chocolatl, and apparently was prepared as follows:--Equal quant.i.ties of the kernels of the pochotl (Bombaz ceiba) and cacahoatl (cacao) trees were 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.

[81] 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 flavor much surpa.s.sed that usually made from cacao.

[82] Report of the French consul.

[83] Mysore and Mocha coffees fetch the highest prices. From $20 to $22.50 per cwt. is paid for Mysore; and as much as $30, when it has attained an age of five or six years, for Mocha.

[84] In 1865-66-67 California imported three and one-half, eight and ten million lbs. of coffee, of which two, four and five millions respectively came from Manila. In 1868 England was the best customer of the Philippines.

[85] Report of the Belgian consul.

[86] 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, Internat. 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 purchasable, in which, with the aid of a spirit lamp, small quant.i.ties can be prepared at a time. It is best, when possible, to buy coffee in large quant.i.ties, and keep it stored for two or three years in a dry place.

[87] A creeping, or rather a running fern, nearly the only one of the kind in the whole species.

[88] The official accounts stated that they had kidnapped twenty-one persons in a couple of weeks.

[89] Le Gentil, in his Travels in the Indian Seas, (1761) says: "The monks are the real rulers of the provinces.... Their power is so unlimited that no Spaniard cares to settle in the neighborhood.... The monks would give him a great deal of trouble."

[90] St. Croix.

[91] St. Croix.

[92] There are three cla.s.ses 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.

[93] The law limiting the duration of appointments to this short period dates from the earliest days of Spanish colonization 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.

[94] 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 non-commissioned officer 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 labor in Spain and Portugal, and the prospect of comfortable perquisites in the colonies, have sent many a starving caballero across the ocean.

[95] The exploitation of the State by party, and the exploitation of party by individuals, 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. (Prussian Year-Book, January, 1869.)

[96] According to Grunow, Cladophona arrisgona Kuetzing--Conferva arrisgona Montague.

[97] A visita is a small hamlet or village with no priest of its own, and dependent upon its largest neighbor for its religious ministrations.

[98] Pigafetta mentions that the female musicians of the King of Cebu were quite naked, or only covered with an ap.r.o.n of bark. The ladies of the Court were content with a hat, a short cloak, and a cloth around the waist.

[99] 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."

[100] One line here omitted.--C.

[101] Apud Camarines quoque terrain eodem die quator decies contremuisse, fide dignis testimoniis renuntiatum est: multa interim aedificia diruta. Ingentem montem medium crepuisse immani hiatu, ex immensa vi excussisse arbores per oras pelagi, ita ut leucam occuparent aequoris, nec humor per illud intervallum appareret. Accidit hoc anno 1628.--S. Eusebius Nieremberqius, Historia Naturae, lib. xvi., 383. Antwerpiae, 1635.

[102] At Fort William, Calcutta, experiments have proved the extraordinary endurance of the pine-apple fibre. A cable eight centimeters in circ.u.mference was not torn asunder until a force of 2,850 kilogrammes had been applied to it.--Report of the Jury, London International Exhibition.

[103] Sapa means shallow.

[104] To the extraordinary abundance of these annulates in Sikkin, Hooker (Himalayan 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.