are decidedly of a different stock to the ordinary native. The notable
physical differences are the fine aquiline nose, bright expression,
and regular features. They are Christians--far more laborious than the
Philippine natives, and are a law-abiding people. I have known many of
them personally for years. They were the only class who voluntarily
presented themselves to pay the taxes to the Spaniards, and yet,
on the ground that generations ago they were intruders on the soil,
they were more heavily laden with imposts than their fellow-neighbours
until the abolition of tribute in 1884.

There are also to be seen in these Islands a few types of that class
of tropical inhabitant, preternaturally possessed of a white skin
and extremely fair hair--sometimes red--known as _Albinos_. I leave
it to physiologists to elucidate the peculiarity of vital phenomena
in these unfortunate abnormities of Nature. Amongst others, I once
saw in Negros Island a hapless young Albino girl, with marble-white
skin and very light pink-white hair, who was totally blind in the
sunny hours of the day.

The _Mahometan_ and other tribes, inhabiting the Sulu Sultanate,
Mindanao, Palaúan (Parágua) and the adjacent islands of the South
constituting "Moroland," are described in Chapters x. and xxix.

CHAPTER X

Mahometans and Southern Tribes

Simultaneously with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, two
Borneo chiefs, who were brothers, quarrelled about their respective
possessions, and one of them had to flee. His partisans joined him,
and they emigrated to the Island of Basílan, [56] situated to the
south of Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.). The _Moros_, as they are called in
the Islands, are therefore supposed to be descended from the Mahometan
Dyaks of Borneo. They were a valiant, warlike, piratical people, who
admired bravery in others--had a deep-rooted contempt for poltroons,
and lavished no mercy on the weak.

In the suite of this emigrant chief, called Paguian Tindig, catoe his
cousin Adasaolan, who was so captivated by the fertility of Basílan
Island that he wished to remain there; so Tindig left him in possession
and withdrew to Sulu Island, where he easily reduced the natives
to vassalage, for they had never yet had to encounter so powerful
a foe. So famous did Paguian Tindig become that, for generations
afterwards, the Sultans of Sulu were proud of their descent from such
a celebrated hero. After the Spaniards had pacified the great Butuan
chief on the north coast of Mindanao, Tindig consented to acknowledge
the suzerainty of their king, in exchange for undisturbed possession
of the realm which he had just founded.

Adasaolan espoused the Princess Paguian Goan, daughter of Dimasangcay,
King of Mindanao, by his wife Imbog, a Sulu woman, and with this
relationship he embraced the Mahometan faith. His ambition increased
as good fortune came to him, and, stimulated by the promised support
of his father-in-law, he invaded Sulu, attacked his cousin Tindig,
and attempted to murder him in order to annex his kingdom. A short
but fierce contest ensued. Tindig's fortified dwelling was besieged
in vain. The posts which supported the upper storey were greased
with oil, and an entrance could not be effected. Wearied of his
failures, Adasaolan retired from the enterprise, and Tindig, in
turn, declared war on the Basílan king after he had been to Manila
to solicit assistance from his Spanish suzerain's representative,
who sent two armed boats to support him.

When Tindig, on his return from Manila, arrived within sight of Sulu,
his anxious subjects rallied round him, and prepared for battle. The
two armed boats furnished by the Spaniards were on the way, but, as
yet, too far off to render help, so Adasaolan immediately fell upon
Tindig's party and completely routed them. Tindig himself died bravely,
fighting to the last moment, and the Spaniards, having no one to
fight for when they arrived, returned to Manila with their armed boats.

Adasaolan, however, did not annex the territory of his defeated
cousin. Rajah Bongso succeeded Tindig in the Government of Sulu,
and when old age enfeebled him, he was wont to show with pride the
scars inflicted on him during the war of independence.

Adasaolan then made alliances with Mindanao and Borneo people,
and introduced the Mahometan religion into Sulu. Since then, Sulu
(called "Joló," by the Spaniards) has become the Mecca of the Southern
Archipelago. [57]

The earliest records relating to Mindanao Island, since the Spanish
annexation of the Philippines, show that about the year 1594 a
rich Portuguese cavalier of noble birth, named Estevan Rodriguez,
who had acquired a large fortune in the Philippines, and who had a
wealthy brother in Mexico, proposed to the Governor Perez Dasmariñas
the conquest of this island. For this purpose he offered his person
and all his means, but having long waited in vain to obtain the
royal sanction to his project, he prepared to leave for Mexico,
disgusted and disappointed. He was on the point of starting for
New Spain; he had his ship laden and his family on board, when the
royal confirmation arrived with the new Governor, Dr. Antonio Morga
(1595-96). Therefore he changed his plans, but despatched the laden
ship to Mexico with the cargo, intending to employ the profits of
the venture in the prosecution of his Mindanao enterprise. With the
title of General, he and his family, together with three chaplain
priests, started in another vessel for the south. They put in at
Otong (Panay Is.) on the way, and left there in April, 1596. Having
reached the great Mindanao River (Rio Grande), the ship went up it
as far as Buhayen, in the territory of the chief Silongan. A party
under Juan de la Jara, the _Maestre de Campo_, was sent ashore to
reconnoitre the environs. Their delay in returning caused alarm, so the
General buckled on his shield, and, with sword in hand, disembarked,
accompanied by a Cebuáno servant and two Spaniards, carrying lances. On
the way they met a native, who raised his _campilán_ to deal a blow,
which the General received on his shield, and cut down the foe to
the waist. Then they encountered another, who clove the General's
head almost in two, causing his death in six hours. The Cebuáno at
once ran the native through with a lance. This brave was discovered
to be the youngest brother of the chief Silongan, who had sworn to
Mahomet to sacrifice his life to take that of the Castilian invader.

The General's corpse was sent to Manila for interment. The expedition
led by the _Maestre de Campo_ fared badly, one of the party being
killed, another seriously wounded, and the rest fleeing on board. The
next day it was decided to construct trenches at the mouth of the
river, where the camp was established. The command was taken by the
_Maestre de Campo_, whose chief exploit seems to have been that he
made love to the deceased General's widow and proposed marriage to her,
which she indignantly rejected. Nothing was gained by the expedition,
and after the last priest died, the project was abandoned and the
vessel returned to Cebú.

In 1638 another expedition against the Moros was headed by the
Gov.-General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who made the first landing
of troops in Sulu Island on April 17 of that year. He also established
some military posts on the coast of Mindanao Island, one of which
was Sampanilla (now called Malábang) on the Illana Bay shore. Four
years afterwards it was abandoned until 1891, when General Weyler
went there and had a fort built, which still exists.

It would appear that all over these Islands the strong preyed on
the weak, and the boldest warrior or oppressor assumed the title
of Sultan, _Datto_, etc., over all the territory he could dominate,
making the dignity hereditary. So far as can be ascertained, one of
the oldest titles was that of Prince of Sibuguey, whose territory
was situated on the bay of that name which washes the N.E. coast of
Zamboanga Province. The title fell into disuse, and the grandson of
the last prince, the present _Manguiguin_, or Sultan of Mindanao,
resides at Dinas. The sultanate dates from the year 1640, but, in
reality, there never was a sultan with effective jurisdiction over
the whole island, as the title would seem to imply. The Sultan's heir
is styled the _Rajahmudah_.

The alliances effected between the Sulu and Mindanao potentates gave
a great stimulus to piracy, which hitherto had been confined to the
waters in the locality of those islands. It now spread over the whole
of the Philippine Archipelago, and was prosecuted with great vigour
by regular organized fleets, carrying weapons almost equal to those
of the Spaniards. In meddling with the Mahometan territories the
Spaniards may be said to have unconsciously lighted on a hornets'
nest. Their eagerness for conquest stirred up the implacable hatred
of the Mahometan for the Christian, and they unwittingly brought
woe upon their own heads for many generations. Indeed, if half the
consequences could have been foreseen, they surely never would have
attempted to gain what, up to their last day, they failed to secure,
namely, the complete conquest of Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate.

For over two and a half centuries Mahometan war-junks ravaged every
coast of the Colony. Not a single peopled island was spared. Thousands
of the inhabitants were murdered, whilst others were carried into
slavery for years. Villages were sacked; the churches were looted;
local trade was intercepted; the natives subject to Spain were driven
into the highlands, and many even dared not risk their lives and goods
near the coasts. The utmost desolation and havoc were perpetrated,
and militated vastly against the welfare and development of the
Colony. For four years the Government had to remit the payment of
tribute in Negros Island, and the others lying between it and Luzon, on
account of the abject poverty of the natives, due to these raids. From
the time the Spaniards first interfered with the Mahometans there was
continual warfare. Expeditions against the pirates were constantly
being fitted out by each succeeding Governor. Piracy was indeed an
incessant scourge and plague on the Colony, and it cost the Spaniards
rivers of blood and millions of dollars only to keep it in check.

In the last century the Mahometans appeared even in the Bay of
Manila. I was acquainted with several persons who had been in
Mahometan captivity. There were then hundreds who still remembered,
with anguish, the insecurity to which their lives and properties were
exposed. The Spaniards were quite unable to cope with such a prodigious
calamity. The coast villagers built forts for their own defence, and
many an old stone watch-tower is still to be seen on the islands south
of Luzon. On several occasions the Christian natives were urged, by
the inducement of spoil, to equip corsairs, with which to retaliate on
the indomitable marauders. The Sulu people made captive the Christian
natives and Spaniards alike, whilst a Spanish priest was a choice
prize. And whilst Spaniards in Philippine waters were straining every
nerve to extirpate slavery, their countrymen were diligently pursuing
a profitable trade in it between the West Coast of Africa and Cuba!

One must admit that, indirectly, the Mahometan attacks had the good
political effect of forcing hundreds of Christians up from the coast
to people and cultivate the interior of these Islands.

Due to the enterprise of a few Spanish and foreign merchants,
steamers at length began to navigate the waters of the Archipelago,
provided with arms for defence, and piracy by Mahometans beyond
their own locality was doomed. In the time of Gov.-General Norzagaray
(1857-60), 18 steam gunboats were ordered out, and arrived in 1860,
putting a close for ever to this epoch of misery, bloodshed, and
material loss. The end of piracy brought repose to the Colony, and
in no small degree facilitated its social advancement.

During the protracted struggle with the Mahometans, Zamboanga
(Mindanao Is.) was fortified, and became the headquarters of the
Spaniards in the south. After Cavite it was the chief naval station,
and a penitentiary was also established there. [58] Its maintenance
was a great burden to the Treasury--its existence a great eyesore
to the enemy, whose hostility was much inflamed thereby. About
the year 1635 its abandonment was proposed by the military party,
who described it as only a sepulchre for Spaniards. The Jesuits,
however, urged its continuance, as it suited their interests to have
material support close at hand, and their influence prevailed in
Manila bureaucratic centres.

In 1738 the fixed annual expenses of Zamboanga fort and equipment were
17,500 pesos, and the incidental disbursements were estimated at 7,500
pesos. These sums did not include the cost of scores of armed fleets
which, at enormous expense, were sent out against the Mahometans to
little purpose. Each new (Zamboanga) Governor of a martial spirit,
and desiring to do something to establish or confirm his fame for
prowess, seemed to regard it as a kind of duty to premise the quelling
of imaginary troubles in Sulu and Mindanao. Some, with less patriotism
than selfishness, found a ready excuse for filling their own pockets
by the proceeds of warfare, in making feigned efforts to rescue
captives. It may be observed, in extenuation, that, in those days,
the Spaniards believed from their birth that none but a Christian
had rights, whilst some were deluded by a conscientious impression
that they were executing a high mission; myth as it was, it at least
served to give them courage in their perilous undertakings. Peace
was made and broken over and over again. Spanish forts were at times
established in Sulu, and afterwards demolished. Every decade brought
new devices to control the desperate foe. Several Governors-General
headed the troops in person against the Mahometans with temporary
success, but without any lasting effect, and almost every new Governor
made a solemn treaty with one powerful chief or another, which was
respected only as long as it suited both parties. This continued
campaign, the details of which are too prolix for insertion here,
may be qualified as a religious war, for Roman Catholic priests took
an active part in the operations with the same ardent passion as the
Mahometans themselves. Among these tonsured warriors who acquired
great fame _out_ of their profession may be mentioned Father Ducos,
the son of a Colonel, José Villanueva, and Pedro de San Agustin, the
last being known, with dread, by the Mahometans in the beginning of
the 17th century under the title of the Captain-priest. One of the most
renowned kings in Mindanao was Cachil Corralat, an astute, far-seeing
chieftain, who ably defended the independence of his territory,
and kept the Spaniards at bay during the whole of his manhood.

An interesting event in the Spanish-Sulu history is the visit of the
Sultan Mahamad Alimudin to the Gov.-General in 1750, and his subsequent
vicissitudes of fortune. The first royal despatch addressed by the
King of Spain to the Sultan of Sulu was dated in Buen Retiro, July 12,
1744, and everything, for the time being, seemed to augur a period
of peace. In 1749, however, the Sultan was violently deposed by an
ambitious brother, Prince Bantilan, and the Sultan forthwith went to
Manila to seek the aid of his suzerain's delegate, the Gov.-General of
the Philippines, who chanced to be the Bishop of Nueva Segovia. In
Manila the Priest-Governor cajoled his guest with presents, and
accompanied him on horseback and on foot, with the design of persuading
him to renounce his religion in favour of Christianity. The Sultan
finally yielded, and avowed his intention to receive baptism. Among the
friars an animated discussion ensued as to the propriety of this act,
special opposition being raised by the Jesuits; but in the end the
Sultan, with a number of his suite, outwardly embraced the Christian
faith. The Sultan at his baptism received the name of Ferdinand I. of
Sulu; at the same time he was invested with the insignia and grade
of a Spanish Lieut.-General. Great ceremonies and magnificent feasts
followed this unprecedented incident. He was visited and congratulated
by all the _élite_ of the capital. By proclamation, the festivities
included four days' illumination, three days' procession of the
giants, [59] three days of bull-fighting, four nights of fireworks,
and three nights of comedy, to terminate with High Mass, a _Te Deum_,
and special sermon for the occasion.

In the meantime, the Sultan had requested the Governor to have the
Crown Prince, Princesses, and retainers escorted to Manila to learn
Spanish manners and customs, and on their arrival the Sultan and
his male and female suite numbered 60 persons. The Bishop-Governor
defrayed the cost of their maintenance out of his private purse
until after the baptism, and thenceforth the Government supported
them in Manila for two years. At length it was resolved, according to
appearances, to restore the Sultan Ferdinand I. to his throne. With
that idea, he and his retinue quitted Manila in the Spanish frigate
_San Fernando_, which was convoyed by another frigate and a galley,
until the _San Fernando_ fell in with bad weather off Mindoro Island,
and had to make the Port of Calapan. Thence he proceeded to Yloilo,
where he changed vessel and set sail for Zamboanga, but contrary winds
carried him to Dapítan (N.W. coast of Mindanao Is.), where he landed
and put off again in a small Visayan craft for Zamboanga, arriving
there on July 12, 1751. Thirteen days afterwards the _San Fernando_,
which had been repaired, reached Zamboanga also.

Before Ferdinand I. left Manila he had (at the instance of the Spanish
Gov.-General, José de Obando, 1750-54) addressed a letter to Sultan
Muhamad Amirubdin, of Mindanao. The original was written by Ferdinand
I. in Arabic; a version in Spanish was dictated by him, and both were
signed by him. These documents reached the Governor of Zamboanga by
the _San Fernando_, but he had the original in Arabic retranslated,
and found that it did not at all agree with the Sultan's Spanish
rendering. The translation of the Arabic runs thus:--

"I shall be glad to know that the Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin and all his
chiefs, male and female, are well. I do not write a lengthy letter,
as I intended, because I simply wish to give you to understand, in
case the Sultan or his chiefs and others should feel aggrieved at my
writing this letter in this manner, that I do so under pressure, being
under foreign dominion, and I am compelled to obey whatever they tell
me to do, and I have to say what they tell me to say. Thus the Governor
has ordered me to write to you in our style and language; therefore,
do not understand that I am writing you on my own behalf, but because
I am ordered to do so, and I have nothing more to add. Written in
the year 1164 on the ninth day of the Rabilajer Moon, Ferdinand I.,
King of Sulu, who seals with his own seal."

This letter was pronounced treasonable. Impressed with, or feigning,
this idea, the Spaniards saw real or imaginary indications of a design
on the part of the Sultan to throw off the foreign yoke at the first
opportunity. All his acts were thus interpreted, although no positive
proof was manifest, and the Governor communicated his suspicions to
Manila. There is no explanation why the Spaniards detained the Sultan
at Zamboanga, unless with the intention of trumping up accusations
against him. The Sultan arrived there on July 12, and nothing was known
of the discrepancy between the letters until after July 25. To suppose
that the Sultan could ever return to reign peacefully as a Christian
over Mahometan subjects was utterly absurd to any rational mind.

On August 3 the Sultan, his sons, vassals, and chiefs were all cast
into prison, without opposition, and a letter was despatched, dated
August 6, 1751, to the Governor in Manila, stating the cause. The
Sultan was the first individual arrested, and he made no difficulty
about going to the fort. Even the Prince Asin, the Sultan's brother,
who had voluntarily come from Sulu in apparent good faith with friendly
overtures to the Spaniards, was included among the prisoners. The
reason assigned was, that he had failed to surrender christian captives
as provided.

The prisoners, besides the Sultan, were the following, viz.:--

    Four sons of the Sultan.
    Prince Asin (brother).
    Prince Mustafá (son-in-law).
    Princess Panguian Banquiling (sister).
    Four Princesses (daughters).
    Datto Yamudin (a noble).
    160 ordinary male and female retainers.
    Five brothers-in-law.
    One Mahometan Cherif.
    Seven Mahometan priests.
    Concubines with 32 female servants.

The political or other crime (if any) attributed to these last is
not stated, nor why they were imprisoned. The few weapons brought,
according to custom, by the followers of the Sultan who had come from
Sulu to receive their liege-lord and escort him back to his country,
were also seized.

A decree of Gov.-General José de Obando set forth the following
accusations against the prisoners, viz.:--

(1) That Prince Asin had not surrendered captives. (2) That whilst
the Sultan was in Manila, new captives were made by the party who
expelled him from the throne. (3) That the number of arms brought to
Zamboanga by Sulu chiefs was excessive. (4) That the letter to Sultan
Muhamad Amirubdin insinuated help wanted against the Spaniards. (5)
That several Mahometan, but no christian books were found in the
Sultan's baggage. (6) That during the journey to Zamboanga he had
refused to pray in christian form. (7) That he had only attended Mass
twice. (8) That he had celebrated Mahometan rites, sacrificing a goat;
and had given evidence in a hundred ways of being a Mahometan. (9)
That his conversation generally denoted a want of attachment to the
Spaniards, and a contempt for their treatment of him in Manila, [60]
and, (10) that he still cohabited with his concubines, contrary to
christian usage.

The greatest stress was laid on the recovery of the captive Christians,
and the Gov.-General admitted that although the mission of the fleet
was to restore the Sultan to the throne (which, by the way, does
not appear to have been attempted), the principal object was the
rescue of christian slaves. He therefore proposed that the liberty
of the imprisoned nobles and chiefs should be bartered at the rate
of 500 christian slaves for each one of the chiefs and nobles,
and the balance of the captives for Prince Asin and the clergy. One
may surmise, from this condition, that the number of Christians in
captivity was very considerable.

A subsequent decree, dated in Manila December 21, 1751, ordered the
extermination of the Mahometans with fire and sword; the fitting out of
Visayan corsairs, with authority to extinguish the foe, burn all that
was combustible, destroy the crops, desolate their cultivated land,
make captives, and recover christian slaves. One-fifth of the spoil
(the _Real quinto_) was to belong to the King, and the natives were
to be exempt from the payment of tribute whilst so engaged.

Before giving effect to such a terrible, but impracticable resolution,
it was thought expedient to publish a pamphlet styled a "Historical
Manifest," in which the Gov.-General professed to justify his acts
for public satisfaction. However, public opinion in Manila was averse
to the intended warfare, so to make it more popular, the Governor
abolished the payment of one-fifth of the booty to the King. An
appeal was made to the citizens of Manila for arms and provisions
to carry on the campaign; they therefore lent or gave the following,
viz.:--Twenty-six guns, 13 bayonets, 3 sporting guns, 15 carbines, 5
blunderbusses, 7 braces of pistols, 23 swords, 15 lances, 900 cannon
balls, and 150 pesos from Spaniards, and a few lances and 188 pesos
from natives.

Meanwhile, Prince Asin died of grief at his position.

Under the leadership of the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga,
hostilities commenced. With several ships he proceeded to Sulu,
carrying a large armament and 1,900 men. When the squadron anchored off
Sulu, a white and a red flag were hoisted from the principal fort, for
the Spaniards to elect either peace or war. Several Sulus approached
the fleet with white flags, to inquire for the Sultan. Evasive answers
were given, followed by a sudden cannonade.

No good resulted to the Spaniards from the attack, for the Sulus
defended themselves admirably. Tawi Tawi Island was next assaulted. A
captain landed there with troops, but their retreat was cut off and
they were all slain. The Commander of the expedition was so discouraged
that he returned to Zamboanga and resigned. Pedro Gastambide then
took command, but after having attacked Basílan Island fruitlessly,
he retired to Zamboanga. The whole campaign was an entire fiasco. It
was a great mistake to have declared a war of extermination without
having the means to carry it out. The result was that the irate
Sulus organized a guerilla warfare, by sea and by land, against all
Christians, to which the Spaniards but feebly responded. The "tables
were turned." In fact, they were in great straits, and, wearied at
the little success of their arms, endless councils and discussions
were held in the capital.

Meanwhile, almost every coast of the Archipelago was energetically
ravaged. Hitherto the Spaniards had only had the Sulus to contend
with, but the licence given by the Gov.-General to reprisal excited
the cupidity of unscrupulous officials, and, without apparent right
or reason, the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga caused a Chinese
junk from Amoy, carrying goods to a friendly Sultan of Mindanao, to
be seized. After tedious delay, vexation, and privation, the master
and his crew were released and a part of the cargo restored, but the
_Maestre de Campo_ insisted upon retaining what he chose for his own
use. This treachery to an amicable chief exasperated and undeceived the
Mindanao Sultan to such a degree that he forthwith took his revenge
by co-operating with the Sulus in making war on the Spaniards. Fresh
fleets of armed canoes replenished the Sulu armadillas, ravaged the
coasts, hunted down the Spanish priests, and made captives.

On the north coast of Mindanao several battles took place. There is a
legend that over 600 Mahometans advanced to the village of Lubungan,
but were repulsed by the villagers, who declared their patron, Saint
James, appeared on horseback to help them. Fray Roque de Santa Mónica
was chased from place to place, hiding in caves and rocks. Being again
met by four Mahometans, he threatened them with a blunderbuss, and
was left unmolested. Eventually he was found by friendly natives, and
taken by them to a wood, where he lived on roots. Thence he journeyed
to Linao, became raving mad, and was sent to Manila, where he died
quite frantic, in the convent of his Order.

The Sultan and his fellow-prisoners had been conveyed to Manila
and lodged in the Fortress of Santiago. In 1753 he petitioned the
Gov.-General to allow his daughter, the Princess Faatima, and two
slaves to go to Sulu about his private affairs. A permit was granted on
condition of her returning, or, in exchange for her liberty and that
of her two slaves, to remit 50 captives, and, failing to do either,
the Sultan and his suite were to be deprived of their dignities
and treated as common slaves, to work in the galleys, and to be
undistinguished among the ordinary prisoners. On these conditions,
the Princess left, and forwarded 50 slaves, and one more--a Spaniard,
José de Montesinos--as a present.

The Princess Faatima, nevertheless, did return to Manila, bringing
with her an Ambassador from Prince Bantilan, her uncle and Governor
of Sulu, who, in the meantime, had assumed the title of Sultan
Mahamad Miududin. The Ambassador was Prince Mahamad Ismael Datto
Marayalayla. After an audience with the Governor, he went to the fort
to consult with the captive Sultan, and they proposed a treaty with
the Governor, of which the chief terms were as follows, viz.:--

An offensive and defensive alliance.

All captives within the Sultanate of Sulu to be surrendered within
one year.

All articles looted from the churches to be restored within one year.

On the fulfilment of these conditions, the Sultan and his people were
to be set at liberty.

The treaty was dated in Manila March 3, 1754. The terms were quite
impossible of accomplishment, for the Sultan, being still in prison,
had no power to enforce commands on his subjects.

The war was continued at great sacrifice to the State and with little
benefit to the Spaniards, whilst their operations were greatly retarded
by discord between the officials of the expedition, the authorities
on shore, and the priests. At the same time, dilatory proceedings
were being taken against the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga, who was
charged with having appropriated to himself others' share of the war
booty. Siargao Island (off the N.E. point of Mindanao Is.) had been
completely overrun by the Mahometans; the villages and cultivated
land were laid waste, and the Spanish priest was killed.

When the Governor Pedro de Arandia arrived in 1754, the Sultan
took advantage of the occasion to put his case before him. He had,
indeed, experienced some of the strangest mutations of fortune, and
Arandia had compassion on him. By Arandia's persuasion, the Archbishop
visited and spiritually examined him, and then the Sultan confessed
and took the Communion. In the College of Santa Potenciana there was
a Mahometan woman who had been a concubine of the Sultan, but who now
professed Christianity, and had taken the name of Rita Calderon. The
Sultan's wife having died, he asked for this ex-concubine in marriage,
and the favour was conceded to him. The nuptials were celebrated
in the Governor's Palace on April 27, 1755, and the espoused couple
returned to their prison with an allowance of 50 pesos per month for
their maintenance.

In 1755 all the Sultan's relations and suite who had been incarcerated
in Manila, except his son Ismael and a few chiefs, were sent back
to Sulu. The Sultan and his chiefs were then allowed to live freely
within the city of Manila, after having sworn before the Governor, on
bended knees, to pay homage to him, and to remain peaceful during the
King's pleasure. Indeed, Governor Arandia was so favourably disposed
towards the Sultan Mahamad Alimudin (Ferdinand I.) that personally he
was willing to restore him to his throne, but his wish only brought
him in collision with the clergy, and he desisted.

The British, after the military occupation of Manila in 1763, took up
the cause of the Sultan, and reinstated him in Sulu. Then he avenged
himself on the Spaniards by fomenting incursions against them in
Mindanao, which the Gov.-General, José Raon, was unable to oppose
for want of resources. The Mahometans, however, soon proved their
untrustworthiness to friend and foe alike. Their friendship lasted
on the one side so long as danger could thereby be averted from the
other, and a certain Datto Teng-teng attacked the British garrison
one night at Balambangan and slaughtered all but six of the troops
(_vide_ pp. 92, 98).

In 1836 the sovereignty of the Sultan was distinctly recognized in a
treaty made between him and Spain, whereby the Sultan had the right
to collect dues on Spanish craft entering Joló, whilst Sulu vessels
paid dues to the Spaniards in their ports as foreign vessels.

In 1844 Gov.-General Narciso Claveria led an expedition against the
Moros and had a desperate, but victorious, struggle with them at
the fort of Balanguigui (an islet 14 miles due east of Sulu Is.),
for which he was rewarded with the title of Conde de Manila.

The town of Sulu (Joló) was formerly the residence of the Sultan's
Court. This Sovereign had arrogantly refused to check the piratical
cruisings made by his people against Spanish subjects in the locality
and about the Islands of Calamianes; therefore, on February 11, 1851,
General Antonio de Urbiztondo, Marquis de la Solana (an ex-Carlist
chief), who had been appointed Gov.-General of the Philippines in
the previous year, undertook to redress his nation's grievances by
force. The Spanish flag was hoisted in several places. Sulu town, which
was shelled by the gunboats, was captured and held by the invaders,
and the Sultan Muhamed Pulalon fled to Maybun on the south coast,
to which place the Court was permanently removed. At the close of
this expedition another treaty was signed (1851), which provided for
the annual payment of P1,500 to the Sultan and P600 each to three
_dattos_, on condition that they would suppress piracy and promote
mutual trade. Still the Mahometans paid the Spaniards an occasional
visit and massacred the garrison, which was as often replaced by
fresh levies.

In 1876 the incursions of the Mahometans and the temerity of the
chiefs had again attained such proportions that European dominion over
the Sulu Sultanate and Mindanao, even in the nominal form in which it
existed, was sorely menaced. Consequent on this, an expedition, headed
by Vice-Admiral Malcampo, arrived in the waters of the Sultanate,
carrying troops, with the design of enforcing submission. The chief of
the land forces appears to have had no topographical plan formed. The
expedition turned out to be one of discovery. The troops were marched
into the interior, without their officers knowing where they were
going, and they even had to depend on Sulu guides. Naturally, they
were often deceived, and led to precisely where the Mahometans were
awaiting them in ambush, the result being that great havoc was made in
the advance column by frequent surprises. Now and again would appear
a few _juramentados_, or sworn Mahometans, who sought their way to
Allah by the sacrifice of their own blood, but causing considerable
destruction to the invading party. With a kris at the waist, a javelin
in one hand, and a shield supported by the other, they would advance
before the enemy, dart forward and backwards, make zigzag movements,
and then, with a war-whoop, rush in three or four at a time upon a body
of Christians twenty times their number, giving no quarter, expecting
none--to die, or to conquer! The expedition was not a failure, but
it gained little. The Spanish flag was hoisted in several places,
including Sulu (Joló), where it remained from February 29, 1876,
until the Spanish evacuation of the Islands in 1898.

The Mahometans (called by the Spaniards _Moros_) now extend over
nine-tenths of Mindanao Island, and the whole of the Sultanate of
Sulu, which comprises Sulu Island (34 miles long from E. to W., and
12 miles in the broadest part from N. to S.) and about 140 others,
80 to 90 of which are uninhabited.

The native population of the Sulu Sultanate alone would be about
100,000, including free people, slaves, and some 20,000 men-at-arms
under orders of the _Dattos_. [61] The domains of His Highness reach
westward as far as Borneo, where, up to 25 years ago, the Sultanate of
Brunei [62] was actually tributary (and now nominally so) to that of
Sulu. The Sultan of Sulu is also feudal lord of two vassal Sultanates
in Mindanao Island. There is, moreover, a half-caste branch of these
people in the southern half of Palauan Island (Parágua) of a very
subdued and peaceful nature, compared with the Sulu, nominally under
the Sulu Sultan's rule.

In Mindanao Island only a small coast district here and there was
really under Spanish empire, although Spain (by virtue of an old
treaty, which never was respected to the letter) claimed suzerainty
over all the territory subject to the Sultan of Sulu. After the Sulu
war of 1876 the Sultan admitted the claim more formally, and on March
11, 1877, a protocol was signed by England and Germany recognizing
Spain's rights to the Tawi Tawi group and the chain of islands
stretching from Sulu to Borneo. At the same time it was understood
that Spain would give visible proof of annexation by establishing
military posts, or occupying these islands in some way, but nothing
was done until 1880, when Spain was stirred into action by a report
that the Germans projected a settlement there. A convict corps at
once took possession, military posts were established, and in 1882
the 6th Regiment of regular troops was quartered in the group at
Bongao and Siassi.

Meanwhile, in 1880, a foreign colonizing company was formed in
the Sultanate of Brunei, under the title of "British North Borneo
Co." (Royal Charter of November 7, 1881). The company recognized the
suzerain rights of the Sultan of Sulu, and agreed to pay to him an
annual sum as feudal lord. Spain protested that the territory was hers,
but could show nothing to confirm the possession. There was no flag,
or a detachment of troops, or anything whatsoever to indicate that the
coast was under European protection or dominion. Notes were exchanged
between the Cabinets of Madrid and London, and Spain relinquished
for ever her claim to the Borneo fief of Brunei.

The experience of the unfortunate Sultan Alimudin (Ferdinand I.) taught
the Sulu people such a sad lesson that subsequent sultans have not
cared to risk their persons in the hands of the Spaniards. There was,
moreover, a Nationalist Party which repudiated dependence on Spain, and
hoped to be able eventually to drive out the Spaniards. Therefore, in
1885, when the heir to the throne, Mohammad Jamalul Kiram (who was then
about 15 years old) was cited to Manila to receive his investiture at
the hands of the Gov.-General, he refused to comply, and the Government
at once offered the Sultanate to his uncle, Datto Harun Narrasid, who
accepted it, and presented himself to the Gov.-General in the capital.

The ceremony of investiture took place in the Government House at
Malacañan near Manila on September 24, 1886, when Datto Harun took
the oath of allegiance to the King of Spain as his sovereign lord,
and received from the Gov.-General, Emilio Terrero, the title of His
Excellency _Paduca Majasari Maulana Amiril Mauminin Sultan Muhamad
Harun Narrasid_, with the rank of a Spanish lieut.-general. The
Gov.-General was attended by his Secretary, the Official Interpreter,
and several high officers. In the suite of the Sultan-elect were his
Secretary, _Tuan Hadji Omar_, a priest, _Pandita Tuan Sik Mustafá_,
and several _dattos_. For the occasion, the Sultan-elect was dressed
in European costume, and wore a Turkish fez with a heavy tassel of
black silk. His Secretary and Chaplain appeared in long black tunics,
white trousers, light shoes, and turbans. Two of the remainder of his
suite adopted the European fashion, but the others wore rich typical
Moorish vestments.

The Sultan returned to his country, and in the course of three months
the Nationalist Party chiefs openly took up arms against the King of
Spain's nominee, the movement spreading to the adjacent islands of
Siassi and Bongao, which form part of the Sultanate. [63]

The Mahometans on the Great Mindanao River, from Cottabato [64]
upwards, openly defied Spanish authority; and in the spring of 1886
the Government were under the necessity of organizing an expedition
against them. The Spaniards had ordered that native craft should
carry the Spanish flag, otherwise they would be treated as pirates or
rebels. In March, 1887, the cacique of the Simonor ranche (Bongao Is.),
named Pandan, refused any longer to hoist the christian ensign, and he
was pursued and taken prisoner. He was conveyed on the gunboat _Panay_
to Sulu, and on being asked by the Governor why he had ceased to use
the Spanish flag, he haughtily replied that "he would only answer such
a question to the Captain-General," and refused to give any further
explanation. Within a month after his arrest the garrison of Sulu
(Joló) was strengthened by 377 men, in expectation of an immediate
general rising, which indeed took place. The Spanish forces were led by
Majors Mattos and Villa Abrille, under the command of Brig.-General
Seriná. They were stoutly opposed by a cruel and despotic chief,
named Utto, who advanced at the head of his subjects and slaves. With
the co-operation of the gunboats up the river, the Mahometans were
repulsed with great loss.

Scores of expeditions had been led against the Mindanao natives,
and their temporary submission had usually been obtained by the
Spaniards--on whose retirement, however, the natives always reverted to
their old customs, and took their revenge on the settlers. Moreover,
the petty jealousies existing between the highest officers in the
south rendered every peaceful effort fruitless.

Datto Utto having defiantly proclaimed that no Spaniard should ever
enter his territory, an armed expedition was fitted out; and from the
example of his predecessor in 1881 (_vide_ p. 124) the Gov.-General,
Emilio Terrero, perchance foresaw in a little war the vision of titles
and more material reward, besides counterbalancing his increasing
unpopularity in Manila, due to the influence of my late friend,
the Government Secretary Felipe Canga-Argüelles. Following in the
wake of those who had successfully checked the Mahometans in the
previous spring, he took the chief command in person in the beginning
of January, 1887, to force a recantation of Datto Utto's utterances.

The petty Sultans of Bacat, Buhayen and Kudarangan in vain united
their fortunes with those of Utto. The stockades of cocoanut trunks,
_palma-bravas_ (q.v.) and earth (_cottas_) were easily destroyed by
the Spanish artillery, and their defenders fled under a desultory
fire. There were very few casualties on either side. Some of the
Christian native infantry soldiers suffered from the bamboo spikes
(Spanish, _puas_) set in the ground around the stockades, but the
enemy had not had time to cover with brushwood the pits dug for the
attacking party to fall into. In about two months the operations ended
by the submission of some chiefs of minor importance and influence;
and after spending so much powder and shot and Christian blood, the
General had not even the satisfaction of seeing either the man he was
fighting against or his enemy's ally, the Sultan of Kudarangan. This
latter sent a priest, Pandita Kalibaudang, and Datto Andig to sue for
peace and cajole the General with the fairest promises. Afterwards
the son and heir of this chief, Rajahmudah Tambilanang, presented
himself, and he and his suite of 30 followers were conducted to
the camp in the steam launch _Carriedo_. Utto, whose residence had
been demolished, had not deigned to submit in person, but sent, as
emissaries, Dattos Sirungang, Buat and Dalandung, who excused only
the absence of Utto's prime minister. Capitulations of peace were
handed to Utto's subordinates, who were told to bring them back signed
without delay, for despatches from the Home Government, received four
or five weeks previously, were urging the General to conclude this
affair as speedily as possible. They were returned signed by Utto--or
by somebody else--and the same signature and another, supposed to be
that of his wife, the Ranee Pudtli (a woman of great sway amongst her
people) were also attached to a letter, offering complete submission.

The Spaniards destroyed a large quantity of rice-paddy, and stipulated
for the subsequent payment of a war indemnity in the form of cannons
(_lantacas_), buffaloes, and horses.

The General gave the emissaries some trifling presents, and they went
their way and he his,--to Manila, which he entered in state on March
21, with flags flying, music playing, and the streets decorated with
bunting of the national colours, to give welcome to the conqueror
of the Mahometan chief--whom he had never seen--the bearer of peace
capitulations signed--by whom? As usual, a _Te Deum_ was celebrated
in the Cathedral for the victories gained over the infidels; the
officers and troops who had returned were invited by the Municipality
to a theatrical performance, and the Gov.-General held a reception in
the Palace of Malacañan. Some of the troops were left in Mindanao,
it having been resolved to establish armed outposts still farther
up the river for the better protection of the port and settlement
of Cottabato.

Whilst the Gov.-General headed this military parade in the Cottabato
district, the ill-feeling of the Sulu natives towards the Spaniards
was gradually maturing. An impending struggle was evident, and
Colonel Juan Arolas, the Governor of Sulu, concentrated his forces in
expectation. The Sulus, always armed, prepared for events in their
_cottas_; Arolas demanded their surrender, which was refused, and
they were attacked. Two _cottas_, well defended, were ultimately
taken, not without serious loss to the Spaniards. In the report
of the slain a captain was mentioned. Arolas then twice asked for
authority to attack the Mahometans at Maybun, and was each time
refused. At length, acting on his own responsibility, on April 15,
1887, he ordered a gunboat to steam round to Maybun and open fire at
daybreak on the Sultan's capital, which was in possession of the party
opposed to the Spanish nominee (Harun Narrasid). At 11 o'clock the
same night he started across country with his troops towards Maybun,
and the next morning, whilst the enemy was engaged with the gunboat,
he led the attack on the land side. The Mahometans, quite surprised,
fought like lions, but were completely routed, and the seat of the
Sultanate was razed to the ground. It was the most crushing defeat
ever inflicted on the Sulu Nationalist Party. The news reached Manila
on April 29, and great praise was justly accorded to Colonel Arolas,
whose energetic operations contrasted so favourably with the Cottabato
expedition. All manner of festivities in his honour were projected
in Manila, but Arolas elected to continue the work of subduing the
Moro country. Notwithstanding his well-known republican tendencies,
on September 20, 1887, the Queen-Regent cabled through her Ministry her
acknowledgment of Colonel Arolas' valuable services, and the pleasure
it gave her to reward him with a Brig.-General's commission. [65]

In 1895 an expedition against the Mahometans was organized under the
supreme command of Gov.-General Ramon Blanco. It was known as the
Marahui (or Marauit) Campaign. The tribes around Lake Lanao (ancient
name Malanao) and the Marahui district had, for some time past, made
serious raids on the Spanish settlement at Ylígan, which is connected
with Lake Lanao by a river navigable only by canoes. Indeed, the lives
and property of Christians in all the territory adjoining Yligan were
in great jeopardy, and the Spanish authorities were set at defiance. It
was therefore resolved, for the first time, to attack the tribes and
destroy their _cottas_ around the lake for the permanent tranquillity
of Yligan. The Spanish and native troops alike suffered great hardships
and privations. Steam launches in sections (constructed in Hong-Kong),
small guns, and war material were carried up from Yligan to the lake by
natives over very rugged ground. On the lake shore the launches were
fitted up and operated on the lake, to the immense surprise of the
tribes. From the land side their _cottas_ were attacked and destroyed,
under the command of my old friend Brig.-General Gonzalez Parrado. The
operations, which lasted about three months, were a complete success,
and General Gonzalez Parrado was rewarded with promotion to General
of Division. Lake Lanao, with the surrounding district and the route
down to Yligan, was in possession of the Spaniards, and in order to
retain that possession without the expense of maintaining a large
military establishment, it was determined to people the conquered
territory with Christian families from Luzon and the other islands
situated north of Mindanao. It was the attempt to carry out this
colonizing scheme which gave significance to the Marahui Expedition
and contributed to that movement which, in 1896, led to the downfall
of Spanish rule in the Archipelago.

The last Spanish punitive expedition against the Mindanao Mahometans
was sent in February, 1898, under the command of General Buille. The
operations lasted only a few days. The enemy was driven into the
interior with great loss, and one chief was slain. The small gunboats
built in Hong-Kong for the Marahui Campaign--the _General Blanco,
Corcuera_, and _Lanao_--again did good service.

There are three branches or tribes of the _Malanao_ Moros around the
Lake Lanao:

(1) _Bayabos_, at the north of the Lake, their centre being Marahui.

(2) _Onayans_, at the south of the Lake, their centre being Bayan.

(3) _Macui_ tribe includes the remaining Lake Lanao people, except a
few independent ranches to the east of the Macui, belonging to the
Bayabos. The Macui claim to be the most ancient, although no tribe
can trace descent farther back than the 13th century. Intermarriage
has destroyed traces, but there are over a hundred sultans who claim
to be of royal blood.

The other principal Mindanao tribes are as follows, viz.:--_Aetas_,
in the regions near Mount Apo (_vide_ p. 121).

_Bagobos_, on the foothills of Mount Apo. A peaceful people, disposed
to work, and reputed to be human sacrificers.

_Manobos_, in the valley of the Agusan River. There are also some on
the Gulf of Davao and in the Cottabato district.

_Samales_ inhabit the small islands in the Gulf of Davao, but there
is quite a large colony of them at Magay, a suburb of Zamboanga,
(from the neighbouring islets) under Rajahmudah Datto Mandi.

_Subuanos_ occupy the peninsula of the Zamboanga Province. They
are docile and lazy, and much prone to stealing. They are far
less courageous than the _Samales_, by whom they are overawed. Some
physiognomists consider them to be of the same caste as the _Manobos_,
the _Guimbanos_ of Sulu, and the _Samecas_ of Basilan.

_Tagubans_ live on the north shore of the Gulf of Davao.

_Tirurayas_ inhabit the mountains to the west of the Rio Grande.

There is a large number of smaller tribes.

A few years ago we were all alarmed on Corpus Christi Day, during the
solemn procession of that feast in Cottabato, by the sudden attack of
a few Mahometans on the crowd of Christians assembled. Of course the
former were overwhelmed and killed, as they quite expected to be. They
were of that class known as _juramentados_, or sworn Mahometans, who
believe that if they make a solemn vow, in a form binding on their
consciences, to die taking the blood of a Christian, their souls will
immediately migrate to the happy hunting-ground, where they will ever
live in bliss, in the presence of the Great Prophet. This is the most
dangerous sect of Mahometans, for no exhibition of force can suffice
to stay their ravages, and they can only be treated like mad dogs,
or like a Malay who has run _ámok_.

The face of a Mindanao south coast Moro is generally pleasant, but
a smile spoils his appearance; the parting lips disclose a filthy
aperture with dyed teeth in a mahogany coloured foam of masticated
betel-nut. Holes as large as sixpences are in the ears of the women,
who, when they have no ear-rings, wear a piece of reed with a vermilion
tip. The dress is artistically fantastic, with the _sárong_ and
the _jábul_ and no trousers visible. Apparently the large majority
(perhaps 70 per cent.) of the Párang-Párang Moros have a loathsome
skin disease. Those who live on shore crop their hair, but the swamp,
river, and sea people who live afloat let it grow long.

The Sulu Islanders, male and female, dress with far greater taste and
ascetic originality than the christian natives. The women are fond
of gay colours, the predominant ones being scarlet and green. Their
nether bifurcated garment is very baggy, the bodice is extremely tight,
and, with equally close-fitting sleeves, exhibits every contour of
the bust and arms. They use also a strip of stuff sewn together at
the ends called the _jábul_, which serves to protect the head from
the sun-rays. The end of the _jábul_ would reach nearly down to
the feet, but is usually held _retroussé_ under the arm. They have
a passion for jewellery, and wear many finger-rings of metal and
sometimes of sea-shells, whilst their ear-rings are gaudy and of
large dimensions. The hair is gracefully tied in a coil on the top
of the head, and their features are at least as attractive as those
of the generality of Philippine christian women.

The men wear breeches of bright colours, as tight as gymnasts'
pantaloons, with a large number of buttons up the sides; a kind of
waistcoat buttoning up to the throat; a jacket reaching to the hips,
with close sleeves, and a turban. A chief's dress has many adornments
of trinkets, and is quite elegant, a necessary part of his outfit
being the _bárong_ (sword), which apparently he carries constantly.

They are robust, of medium height, often of superb physical
development; of a dusky bronze colour, piercing eyes, low forehead,
lank hair, which is dressed as a chignon and hangs down the back of
the neck. The body is agile, the whole movement is rapid, and they
have a wonderful power of holding the breath under water. They are
of quick perception, audacious, haughty, resolute, zealous about
their genealogies; extremely sober, ready to promise everything
and do nothing, vindictive and highly suspicious of a stranger's
intentions. Their bearing towards the Christian, whom they call
the infidel, is full of contempt. They know no gratitude, and they
would not cringe to the greatest Christian potentate. They are very
long-suffering in adversity, hesitating in attack, and the bravest
of the brave in defence. They disdain work as degrading and only
a fit occupation for slaves, whilst warfare is, to their minds, an
honourable calling. Every male over 16 years of age has to carry at
least one fighting-weapon at all times, and consider himself enrolled
in military service.

They have a certain knowledge of the Arts. They manufacture on the
anvil very fine kris daggers, knives, lance-heads, etc. Many of their
fighting-weapons are inlaid with silver and set in polished hardwood
or ivory handles artistically carved.

In warfare they carry shields, and their usual arms on land are
the _campilán_, a kind of short two-handed sword, wide at the tip
and narrowing down to the hilt, the _bárong_ for close combat, the
straight _kris_ for thrusting and cutting, and the waved, serpent-like
_kris_ for thrusting only. They are dexterous in the use of arms,
and can most skilfully decapitate a foe at a single stroke. At sea
they use a sort of assegai, called _bagsacay_ or _simbilin_, about
half an inch in diameter, with a sharp point. Some can throw as many
as four at a time, and make them spread in the flight; they use these
for boarding vessels. They make many of their own domestic utensils of
metal, also coats of mail of metal wire and buffalo horn, which resist
hand-weapons, but not bullets. The wire probably comes from Singapore.

The local trade is chiefly in pearls, mother-of-pearl, shells,
shark fins, etc. [66] The Sultan, in Spanish times, had a sovereign
right to all pearls found which exceeded a certain size fixed by
Sulu law--hence it was very difficult to secure an extraordinary
specimen. The Mahometans trade at great distances in their small craft,
called _vintas_, for they are wonderfully expert navigators. Their
largest vessels do not exceed seven tons, and they go as far as Borneo,
and even down to Singapore on rare occasions.

I found that almost any coinage was useful for purchasing in the
market-places. I need hardly add that the Chinese small traders have
found their way to these regions; and it would be an unfavourable
sign if a Chinaman were not to be seen there, for where the frugal
Celestial cannot earn a living one may well assume there is little
prosperity. Small Chinese coins (known as _cash_ in the China Treaty
Ports) are current money there, and I think, the most convenient
of all copper coins, for, having a hole in the centre, they can be
strung together. Chinese began to trade with this island in 1751.

The root of the Sulu language is Sanscrit, mixed with Arabic. Each
Friday is dedicated to public worship, and the faithful are called
to the temple by the beating of a box or hollow piece of wood. All
recite the Iman with a plaintive voice in honour of the Great Prophet;
a slight gesticulation is then made whilst the _Pandita_ reads a
passage from the Mustah. I observed that no young women put in an
appearance at the temple on the occasion of my visit.

At the beginning of each year there is a very solemn ceremonial, and,
in the event of the birth or death of a child, or the safe return
from some expedition, it is repeated. It is a sort of _Te Deum_ in
conformity with Mahometan rites. During a number of days in a certain
month of the year they abstain from eating, drinking, and pleasure
of all kinds, and suffer many forms of voluntary penance. Strangers
are never allowed, I was told, inside the Mosque of the Sultan. The
higher clergy are represented by the hereditary _Cherif_, who has
temporal power also. The title of _Pandita_ simply means priest, and
is the common word used in Mindanao as well as in Palaúan Island. He
seems to be almost the chief in his district--not in a warlike sense,
like the _Datto_; but his word has great influence. He performs all
the functions of a priest, receives the vow of the _juramentados_,
and expounds the mysteries and the glories of that better world whither
they will go without delay if they die taking the blood of a Christian.

In theory, the Moros accept the Koran and the teachings of Mahomet:
in practice, they omit the virtues of their religious system and
follow those precepts which can be construed into favouring vice;
hence they interpret guidance of the people by oppression, polygamy
by licentiousness, and maintenance of the faith by bloodshed. Relays
of Arabs come, from time to time, under the guise of Koran expounders,
to feed on the people and whet their animosity towards the Christian.

The _Panditas_ are doctors also. If a _Datto_ dies, they intone a
dolorous chant; the family bursts into lamentations, which are finally
drowned in the din of the clashing of cymbals and beating of gongs,
whilst sometimes a gun is fired. In rush the neighbours, and join in
the shouting, until all settle down quietly to a feast. The body is
then sprinkled with salt and camphor and dressed in white, with the
kris attached to the waist. There is little ceremony about placing
the body in the coffin and burying it. The mortuary is marked by a
wooden tablet--sometimes by a stone, on which is an inscription in
Arabic. A slip of board, or bamboo, is placed around the spot, and a
piece of wood, carved like the bows of a canoe, is stuck in the earth;
in front of this is placed a cocoanut shell full of water.

The old native town, or _cotta_ of Sulu (Joló) was a collection of
bamboo houses built upon piles extending a few hundred yards into the
sea. This was all demolished by the Spaniards when they permanently
occupied the place in 1876, excepting the Military Hospital, which
was re-constructed of light materials, native fashion. The sea-beach
was cleared, and the native village put back inland.

The site is an extremely pretty little bay on the north of the island,
formed by the points Dangapic and Candea, and exactly in front,
about four or five miles off, there are several low-lying islets,
well wooded, with a hill abruptly jutting out here and there, the
whole forming a picturesque miniature archipelago.

Looking from the sea, in the centre stands the modern Spanish town of
Sulu (Joló), built on the shore, rising about a couple of yards above
sea-level, around which there is a short stone and brick sea-wall, with
several bends pleasantly relieving the monotony of a straight line.

Forming a background to the European town, there are three thickly
wooded hillocks almost identical in appearance, and at each extremity
of the picture, lying farther back inland, there is a hill sloping
down gradually towards the coast. The slope on the eastern extremity
has been cleared of undergrowth to the extent of about 50 acres,
giving it the appearance of a vast lawn. At the eastern and western
extremities are the native suburbs, with huts of light material built a
few yards into the sea. On the east side there is a big Moro bungalow,
erected on small tree-trunks, quite a hundred yards from the beach
seawards. To the west, one sees a long shanty-built structure running
out to sea like a jetty; it is the shore market. The panorama could
not be more charming and curious. Still farther west, towering above
every other, stands the _Bad Tumantangas_ peak (Mount of Tears),
the last point discernible by the westward-journeying Joloano, who
is said to sigh with patriotic anguish at its loss to view, with all
the feeling of a Moorish Boabdil bidding adieu to his beloved Granada.

The town is uniformly planned, with well-drained streets, running
parallel, crossed at rectangles by lovely avenues of shading
trees. Here and there are squares, pretty gardens, and a clean and
orderly market-place. There is a simple edifice for a church, splendid
barracks equal to those in Manila when these were built, many houses of
brick and stone, others of wood, and all roofed with corrugated iron.

The neighbourhood is well provided with water from natural streams. The
town is supplied with drinking-water conducted in pipes, laid for the
purpose from a spring about a mile and a quarter distant, whilst other
piping carries water to the end of the pier for the requirements of
shipping. This improvement, the present salubrity of the town (once a
fever focus), and its latest Spanish embellishments, are mainly due to
the intelligent activity of its late Governors, Colonel (now General)
González Parrado, and the late General Juan Arolas.

The town is encircled on the land side by a brick loop-holed wall. The
outside (Spanish) defences consisted of two forts, viz:--The "_Princesa
de Asturias_" and "_Torre de la Reina_" and within the town those of
the "_Puerta Blockaus_", "_Puerta España_" and the redoubt "_Alfonso
XII._"--this last had a Nordenfeldt gun.

The Spanish Government of Sulu was entirely under martial law, and
the Europeans (mostly military men) were constantly on the alert for
the ever-recurring attacks of the natives.

The general aspect of Sulu (Joló) is cheerful and attractive. The day
scene, enlivened by the Moro, passing to and fro with his lithe gait,
in gay attire, with the _bárong_ in a huge sash, and every white man,
soldier or civilian, carrying arms in self-defence, may well inflame
the imaginative and romantic mind. One can hardly believe one is
still in the Philippines. At night, the shaded avenues, bordered by
stately trees, illuminated by a hundred lamps, present a beautiful,
picturesque scene which carries the memory far, far away from the
surrounding savage races. Yet all may change in a trice. There is
a hue and cry; a Moro has run _ámok_--his glistening weapon within
a foot of his escaping victim; the Christian native hiding away in
fear, and the European off in pursuit of the common foe; there is a
tramping of feet, a cracking of firearms; the Moro is biting the dust,
and the memory is brought abruptly back from imagination's flights
to full realization of one's Mahometan _entourage_.

By a decree dated September 24, 1877, all the natives, and other
races or nationalities settled there, were exempted from all kinds of
contributions or taxes for 10 years. In 1887 the term was extended for
another 10 years; hence, no imposts being levied, all the Spaniards
had to do was to maintain their prestige with peace.

In his relations with the Spaniards, the Sultan held the title
of Excellency, and he, as well as several chiefs, received annual
pensions from the Government at the following rates:--

                                                        Pesos.
        Sultan of Sulu                                  2,400
        Sultan of Mindanao                              1,000
        Datto Beraduren, heir to the Sulu Sultanate       700
        Paduca Datto Alimudin, of Sulu                    600
        Datto Amiral, of Mindanao                         800
        Other minor pensions                              600
                                                        =====
                                                       P6,100

and an allowance of 2 pesos for each captive rescued, and 3 pesos
for each pirate caught, whether in Sulu or Mindanao waters.

The Sultan is the _Majasari_ (the stainless, the spotless)--the
Pontiff-king--the chief of the State and the Church; but it is said
that he acknowledges the Sultan of Turkey as the _Padishah_. He is
the irresponsible lord and master of all life and property among his
subjects, although in his decrees he is advised by a Council of Elders.

Nevertheless, in spite of his absolute authority, he does not seem to
have perfect control over the acts of his nobles or chiefs, who are
a privileged class, and are constantly waging some petty war among
themselves, or organizing a marauding expedition along the coast. The
Sultan is compelled, to a certain extent, to tolerate their excesses,
as his own dignity, or at least his own tranquillity, is in a great
measure dependent on their common goodwill towards him. The chiefs
collect tribute in the name of the Sultan, but they probably furnish
their own wants first and pay differences into the Royal Treasury,
seeing that it all comes from their own feudal dependents.

The Sultan claims to be the nominal owner of all the product of Sulu
waters. In the valuable Pearl Fisheries he claims to have a prior
right to all pearls above a certain value, although the finder is
entitled to a relative bounty from the Sultan. "Ambal," a product found
floating on the waters and much esteemed by the Chinese as medicine,
is subject to royal dues. The great pearl-fishing centre is Siassi
Island (in the Tapul group), lying about 20 miles south of Sulu Island.

The Sultanate is hereditary under the Salic Law. The Sultan is
supported by three ministers, one of whom acts as Regent in his absence
(for he might choose to go to Singapore, or have to go to Mecca,
if he had not previously done so); the other is Minister of War,
and the third is Minister of Justice and Master of the Ceremonies.

Slavery exists in a most ample sense. There are slaves by birth and
others by conquest, such as prisoners of war, insolvent debtors, and
those seized by piratical expeditions to other islands. A creole friend
of mine was one of these last. He had commenced clearing an estate for
cane-growing on the Negros coast, when he was seized and carried off
to Sulu Island. In a few years he was ransomed and returned to Negros,
where be formed one of the finest sugar haciendas and factories in
the Colony.

In 1884 a Mahometan was found on a desolate isle lying off the Antique
coast (Panay Is.), and of course had no document of identity, so he
was arrested and confined in the jail of San José de Buenavista. From
prison he was eventually taken to the residence of the Spanish
Governor, Don Manuel Castellon, a very humane gentleman and a personal
friend of mine. In Don Manuel's study there was a collection of
native arms which took the stranger's fancy; one morning he seized
a kris and lance, and, bounding into the breakfast-room, capered
about, gesticulated, and brandished the lance in the air, much to the
amusement of the Governor and his guests. But in an instant the fellow
(hitherto a mystery, but undoubtedly a _juramentado_) hurled the lance
with great force towards the Public Prosecutor, and the missile, after
severing his watch-chain, lodged in the side of the table. The Governor
and the Public Prosecutor at once closed with the would-be assassin,
whilst the Governor's wife, with great presence of mind, thrust a
table-knife into the culprit's body between the shoulder-blade and
the collar-bone. The man fell, and, when all supposed he was dead,
he suddenly jumped up. No one had thought of taking the kris out of
his grasp, and he rushed around the apartment and severely cut two of
the servants, but was ultimately despatched by the bayonets of the
guards who arrived on hearing the scuffle. The Governor showed me
his wounds, which were slight, but his life was saved by the valour
of his wife--Doña Justa.

It has often been remarked by old residents, that if free licence were
granted to the domesticated natives, their barbarous instincts would
recur to them in all vigour. Here was an instance. The body of the
Moro was carried off by an excited populace, who tied a rope to it,
beat it, and dragged it through the town to a few miles up the coast,
where it was thrown on the sea-shore. The priests did not interfere;
like the Egyptian mummies cast on the Stygian shores, the culprit
was unworthy of sepulture--besides, who would pay the fees?

During my first visit to Sulu in 1881, I was dining with the Governor,
when the conversation ran on the details of an expedition about to be
sent to Maybun, to carry despatches received from the Gov.-General
for the Sultan, anent the Protectorate. The Governor seemed rather
surprised when I expressed my wish to join the party, for the journey
is not unattended with risk to one's life. [I may here mention that
only a few days before I arrived, a young officer was sent on some
mission a short distance outside the town of Joló, accompanied by a
patrol of two guards. He was met by armed Mahometans, and sent back
with one of his hands cut off. I remember, also, the news reaching
us that several military officers were sitting outside a café in
Joló Town, when a number of _juramentados_ came behind them and cut
their throats.] However, the Governor did not oppose my wish--on the
contrary, he jocosely replied that he could not extend my passport so
far, because the Sulus would not respect it, yet the more Europeans
the better.

Officials usually went by sea to Maybun, and a gunboat was now and
again sent round the coast with messages to the Sultan, but there
was no Government vessel in Joló at this time.

Our party, all told, including the native attendants, numbered about
30 Christians, and we started early in the morning on horseback. I
carried my usual weapon--a revolver--hoping there would be no need to
use it on the journey. And so it resulted; we arrived, without being
molested in any way, in about three hours, across a beautiful country.

We passed two low ranges of hills, which appeared to run from S.W. to
N.E., and several small streams, whilst here and there was a ranche
of the Sultan's subjects. Each ranche was formed of a group of
10 to 20 huts, controlled by the cacique. Agriculture seemed to
be pursued in a very pristine fashion, but, doubtless owing to the
exuberant fertility of the soil, we saw some very nice crops of Rice,
Indian Corn, Sugar Cane, and Indigo and Coffee plantations on a small
scale. In the forest which we traversed there were some of the largest
bamboos I have ever seen, and fine building timber, such as Teak,
Narra, Molave, Mangachapuy, and Camagon (_vide_ Woods). I was assured
that Cedars also flourished on the island. We saw a great number of
monkeys, wild pigeons, cranes, and parrots, whilst deer, buffaloes,
and wild goats are said to abound in these parts.

On our arrival at Maybun, we went first to the bungalow of a
Chinaman--the Sultan's brother-in-law--where we refreshed ourselves
with our own provisions, and learnt the gossip of the place. On
inquiry, we were told that the Sultan was sleeping, so we waited at
the Chinaman's. I understood this man was a trader, but there were no
visible signs of his doing any business. Most of our party slept the
_siesta_, and at about four o'clock we called at the Palace. It was
a very large building, well constructed, and appeared to be built
almost entirely of materials of the country. A deal of bamboo and
wood were used in it, and even the roof was made of split bamboo,
although I am told that this was replaced by sheet-iron when the
young Sultan came to the throne. The vestibule was very spacious,
and all around was pleasantly decorated with lovely shrubs and plants
peculiar to most mid-tropical regions. The entrance to the Palace was
always open, but well guarded, and we were received by three _Dattos_,
who saluted us in a formal way, and, without waiting to ask us any
question, invited us, with a wave of the hand, to follow them into
the throne-room. [67] The Sultan was seated on our entering, but when
the bearer of the despatches approached with the official interpreter
by his side, and we following, he rose in his place to greet us.

His Highness was dressed in very tight silk trousers, fastened partly
up the sides with showy chased gold or gilt buttons, a short Eton-cut
olive-green jacket with an infinity of buttons, white socks, ornamented
slippers, a red sash around his waist, a kind of turban, and a kris at
his side. His general appearance was that of a Spanish bull-fighter
with an Oriental finish off. We all bowed low, and the Sultan,
surrounded by his Sultanas, put his hands to his temples, and, on
lowering them, he bowed at the same time. We remained standing whilst
some papers were handed to him. He looked at them--a few words were
said in Spanish, to the effect that the bearer saluted His Highness
in the name of the Governor of Sulu. The Sultan passed the documents
to the official interpreter, who read or explained them in the Sulu
language; then a brief conversation ensued, through the interpreter,
and the business was really over. After a short pause, the Sultan
motioned to us to be seated on floor-cushions, and we complied. The
cushions, covered with rich silk, were very comfortable. Servants, in
fantastic costumes, were constantly in attendance, serving betel-nut
to those who cared to chew it.

One Sultana was fairly pretty, or had been so, but the others were
heavy, languid, and lazy in their movements; and their teeth,
dyed black, did not embellish their personal appearance. The
Sultan made various inquiries, and passed many compliments on us,
the Governor, Gov.-General, etc., which were conveyed to us through
the interpreter. Meanwhile, the Sultanas chatted among themselves,
and were apparently as much interested in looking at us as we were
in their style, features, and attire. They all wore light-coloured
"dual garments" of great width, and tight bodices. Their _coiffure_
was carefully finished, but a part of the forehead was hidden by an
ungraceful fringe of hair.

We had so little in common to converse on, and that little had to
be said through the interpreter, that we were rather glad when we
were asked to take refreshments. It at least served to relieve the
awkward feeling of glancing at each other in silence. Chocolate and
ornamental sweetmeats were brought to us, all very unpalatable. When we
were about to take our departure, the Sultan invited us to remain all
night in the Palace. The leader of our party caused to be explained
to him that we were thankful for his gracious offer, but that, being
so numerous, we feared to disturb His Highness by intruding so far
on his hospitality. Still the Sultan politely insisted, and whilst
the interpretation was being transmitted I found an opportunity to
acquaint our chief of my burning curiosity to stay at the Palace. In
any case, we were a large number to go anywhere, so our leader, in
reply to the Sultan, said that he and four Europeans of his suite
would take advantage of His Highness's kindness.

We withdrew from the Sultan's presence, and some of us Europeans
walked through the town accompanied by functionaries of the royal
household and the interpreter. There was nothing striking in the
place; it was like most others. There were some good bungalows of
bamboo and thatching. I noticed that men, women, and children were
smoking tobacco or chewing, and had no visible occupation. Many of
the smaller dwellings were built on piles out to the sea. We saw a
number of divers preparing to go off to get pearls, mother-of-pearl,
etc. They are very expert in this occupation, and dive as deep as 100
feet. Prior to the plunge they go through a grotesque performance of
waving their arms in the air and twisting their bodies, in order--as
they say--to frighten away the sharks; then with a whoop they leap
over the edge of the prahu, and continue to throw their arms and legs
about for the purpose mentioned. They often dive for the shark and
rip it up with a kris.

Five of us retired to the Palace that night, and were at once conducted
to our rooms. There was no door to my room; it was, strictly speaking,
an alcove. During the night, at intervals of about every hour, as it
seemed to me, a Palace servant or guard came to inquire how the Señor
was sleeping, and if I were comfortable. "Duerme el Señor?" ("Does
the gentleman sleep?") was apparently the limit of his knowledge of
Spanish. I did not clearly understand more than the fact that the man
was a nuisance, and I regretted there was no door with which to shut
him out. The next morning we paid our respects to His Highness, who
furnished us with an escort--more as a compliment than a necessity--and
we reached Joló Town again, after a very enjoyable ride through a
superb country.

The Sultan's subjects are spread so far from the centre of
government--Maybun--that in some places their allegiance is but
nominal. Many of them residing near the Spanish settlements are quick
at learning Castilian sufficiently well to be understood, but the
Spaniards tried in vain to subject them to a European order of things.

About 20 miles up the coast, going north from Zamboanga, the Jesuits
sent a missionary in 1885 to convert the _Subuanos_. He endeavoured
to persuade the people to form a village. They cleared a way through
the forest from the beach, and at the end of this opening, about
three-quarters of a mile long, I found a church half built of wood,
bamboo, and palm-leaves. I had ridden to the place on horseback along
the beach, and my food and baggage followed in a canoe. The opening
was so roughly cleared that I thought it better to dismount when
I got half way. As the church was only in course of construction,
and not consecrated, I took up my quarters there. I was followed
by a _Subuano_, who was curious to know the object of my visit. I
told him I wished to see the headman, so this personage arrived
with one of his wives and a young girl. They sat on the floor with
me, and as the cacique could make himself understood in Spanish,
we chatted about the affairs of the town _in posse_. The visiting
priest had gone to the useless trouble of baptizing a few of these
people. They appeared to be as much Christian as I was Mahometan. The
cacique had more than one wife--the word of the _Pandita_ of the
settlement was the local law, and the _Pandita_ himself of course had
his seraglio. I got the first man, who had followed me, to direct me
to the _Pandita's_ house. My guide was gaily attired in bright red
tight acrobat breeches, with buttons up the side, and a jacket like
a waistcoat, with sleeves so close-fitting that I suppose he seldom
took the trouble to undress himself. I left the cacique, promising to
visit his bungalow that day, and then my guide led me through winding
paths, in a wood, to the hut of the _Pandita_. On the way I met a
man of the tribe carrying spring-water in a bamboo, which he tilted
to give me a drink. To my inquiries if he were a Christian, and if
he knew the _Castilian Pandita_ (Spanish priest), he replied in the
affirmative; continuing the interrogation, I asked him how many gods
there were, and when he answered "four," I closed my investigation of
his Christianity. My guide was too cunning to take me by the direct
path to the _Pandita's_ bungalow. He led me into a half-cleared plot
of land facing it, whence the inmates could see us for at least ten
minutes making our approach. When we arrived, and after scrambling up
the staircase, which was simply a notched trunk of a tree about nine
inches diameter, I discovered that the _Pandita_, forewarned, had fled
to the mountain close by, leaving his wives to entertain the visitor. I
found them all lounging and chewing betel-nut, and when I squatted
on the floor amongst them they became remarkably chatty. Then I went
to the cacique's bungalow. In the rear of this dwelling there was a
small forge, and the most effective bellows of primitive make which I
have ever seen in any country. It was a double-action apparatus, made
entirely of bamboo, except the pistons, which were of feathers. These
pistons, working up and down alternately by a bamboo rod in each hand,
sustained perfectly a constant draught of air. One man was squatting
on a bamboo bench the height of the bellows' rods, whilst the smith
crouched on the ground to forge his kris on the anvil.

The headman's bungalow was built the same as the others, but with
greater care. It was rather high up, and had the usual notched
log-of-wood staircase, which is perhaps easy to ascend with naked
feet. The cacique and one of his wives were seated on mats on the
floor. After mutual salutations the wife threw me three cushions, on
which I reclined--doing the _dolce far niente_ whilst we talked about
the affairs of the settlement. The conversation was growing rather
wearisome anent the Spanish priest having ordered huts to be built
without giving materials, about the scarcity of palm-leaves in the
neighbourhood, and so forth, so I bade them farewell and went on to
another hut. Here the inmates were numerous--four women, three or four
men, and two rather pretty male children, with their heads shaven so
as to leave only a tuft of hair towards the forehead about the size of
a crown piece. To entertain me, six copper tom-toms were brought out,
and placed in a row on pillows, whilst another large one, for the bass
accompaniment, was suspended from a wooden frame. A man beat the bass
with a stick, whilst the women took it in turns to kneel on the floor,
with a stick in each hand, to play a tune on the series of six. A few
words were passed between the three men, when suddenly one of them
arose and performed a war-dance, quaintly twisting his arms and legs
in attitudes of advance, recoil, and exultation. The dance finished,
I mounted my horse and left the settlement in embryo, called by the
missionaries Reus, which is the name of a town in Catalonia.

The climate of Mindanao and Sulu Islands is healthy and delightful. The
heat of Zamboanga is moderated by daily breezes, and in Sulu, in the
month of June, it is not oppressive. A year's temperature readings
on the Illana Bay coast (Mindanao Is.) are as follows, viz.:--

Average of    Inside the House,             Outside in the Shade,
                Fahrenheit.                     Fahrenheit.

              6 a.m.   Noon.   6 p.m.       6 a.m.  Noon.   6 p.m.
Jan.-March    73°       84°    83°          72°     84°     80°
April-June    74 1/2°   83°    78 1/2°      74 1/2° 92 1/2° 78°
July-Sept.    74°       84°    80°          72 1/2° 88°     79°
Oct.-Dec.     73°       85°    80°          73°     83°     78°

The Island of Palaúan (Parágua) was anciently a dependency of the
Sultanate of Brunei (Borneo), hence the dominion over this island
of the Sultan of Sulu as suzerain lord of Brunei. At the beginning
of the 18th century Spaniards had already settled in the north of
it. It had a very sparse population, and a movement was set on foot
to subjugate the natives. In order to protect the Spanish settlers
from Mahometan attacks a fort was established at Labo. However, the
supplies were not kept up, and many of the garrison died of misery,
hunger, and nakedness, until 1720, when it was abandoned.

Some years afterwards the island was gratuitously ceded to the
Spaniards by the Sultan of Sulu, at their request. Captain Antonio
Fabeau was sent there with troops to take formal possession, being
awarded the handsome salary of P50 per month for this service. On
the arrival of the ships, an officer was sent ashore; the people
fled inland, and the formalities of annexation were proceeded with
unwitnessed. The only signs of possession left there were the corpses
of the troops and sailors who died from eating rotten food, or were
murdered by Mahometans who attacked the expedition. Subsequently a
fortress was established at Taytay, where a number of priests and
laymen in a few years succeeded in forming a small colony, which at
length shared the fate of Labo. The only Spanish settlement in the
island at the date of the evacuation was the colony of Puerta Princesa,
on the east coast. [68]

Before starting on my peregrination in Palaúan Island, I sought in vain
for information respecting the habits and nature of the _Tagbanúas_,
a half-caste Malay-Aeta tribe, disseminated over a little more than
the southern half of the island. [69] It was only on my arrival at
Puerta Princesa that I was able to procure a vague insight into the
peculiarities of the people whom I intended to visit. The Governor,
Don Felipe Canga-Argüelles, was highly pleased to find a traveller
who could sympathize with his efforts, and help to make known, if
only to the rest of the Archipelago, this island almost unexplored
in the interior. He constantly wrote articles to one of the leading
journals of Manila, under the title of "Echoes from Parágua" (Palaúan),
partly with the view of attracting the attention of the Government
to the requirements of the Colony, but also to stimulate a spirit of
enterprise in favour of this island, rich in hardwoods, etc.

Puerta Princesa is a good harbour, situated on a gulf. The soil
was levelled, trees were planted, and a slip for repairing vessels
was constructed. There was a fixed white light visible eleven miles
off. It was a naval station for two gunboats, the Commander of the
station being _ex-officio_ Governor of the Colony. It was also a
Penal Settlement for convicts, and those suspected by the civil or
religious authorities. To give employment to the convicts and suspects,
a model sugar-estate was established by the Government. The locality
supplied nearly all the raw material for working and preserving the
establishment, such as lime, stone, bricks, timber, sand, firewood,
straw for bags, rattans, etc.

The aspect of the town is agreeable, and the environs are pretty,
but there is a great drawback in the want of drinking-water, which,
in the dry season, has to be procured from a great distance.

The Governor showed me great attention, and personally took command of
a gunboat, which conducted me to the mouth of the Iguajit River. This
is the great river of the district, and is navigable for about three
miles. I put off in a boat manned by marines, and was rowed about
two miles up, as far as the mission station. The missionary received
me well, and I stayed there that night, with five men, whom I had
engaged to carry my luggage, for we had a journey before us of some
days on foot to the opposite coast.

My luggage, besides the ordinary travelling requisites and provisions,
included about 90 yards of printed stuffs of bright colours, six dozen
common handkerchiefs, and some 12 pounds' weight of beads on strings,
with a few odds and ends of trinkets; whilst my native bearers were
provided with rice, dried fish, betel-nut, tobacco, etc., for a week
or more. We set out on foot the next day, and in three days and a
half we reached the western shore.

The greatest height above the sea-level on our route was about 900
metres, according to my aneroid reading, and the maximum heat at
mid-day in the shade (month of January) was 82° Fahr. The nights were
cold, comparatively speaking, and at midnight the thermometer once
descended to 59° Fahr.

The natives proved to be a very pacific people. We found some engaged
in collecting gum from the trees in the forest, and others cutting
and making up bundles of rattans. They took these products down to
the Iguajit River mission station, where Chinese traders bartered
for them stuffs and other commodities. The value of coin was not
altogether unknown in the mission village, although the difference
in value between copper and silver coinage was not understood. In
the interior they lived in great misery, their cabins being wretched
hovels. They planted their rice without ploughing at all, and all
their agricultural implements were made of wood or bamboo.

The native dress is made of the bark of trees, smashed with stones,
to extract the ligneous parts. In the cool weather they make tunics of
bark, and the women wear drawers of the same material. They adorn their
waists with sea-shell and cocoanut shell ornaments, whilst the fibre
of the palm serves for a waistband. The women pierce very large holes
in their ears, in which they place shells, wood, etc. They never bathe
intentionally. Their arms are bows and arrows, and darts blown through
a kind of pea-shooter made of a reed resembling _bojo_ (q.v). They
are a very dirty people, and they eat their fish or flesh raw.

I had no difficulty whatever in procuring guides from one group of
huts to the next on payment in goods, and my instructions were always
to lead me towards the coast, the nearest point of which I knew was
due west or a few points to the north.

We passed through a most fertile country the whole way. There
were no rivers of any importance, but we were well supplied with
drinking-water from the numerous springs and rivulets. The forests
are very rich in good timber, chiefly _Ipil_ (_Eperma decandria)_,
a very useful hardwood (_vide_ Woods). I estimated that many of these
trees, if felled, would have given clean logs of 70 to 80 feet long. I
presume the felling of timber was not attempted by these natives
on account of the difficulties, or rather, total want of transport
means. From a plateau, within half a day's journey of the opposite
coast, the scenery was remarkably beautiful, with the sea to the west
and an interminable grandeur of forest to the east. There were a few
fishermen on the west coast, but further than that, there was not a
sign of anything beyond the gifts of Nature. About half a mile from the
coast, on the fringe of the forest, there was a group of native huts,
two of which were vacated for our accommodation in exchange for goods.

With an abundance of fish, we were able to economize our
provisions. One of my men fell ill with fever, so that we had to
wait two days on the west coast, whilst I dosed him with Eno's fruit
salt and quinine. In the meantime, I studied the habits of these
people. Among the many things which astonished them was the use of
matches, whilst our cooking highly amused them. Such a thing as a
horse I suppose had never been seen here, although I would gladly have
bought or hired one, for I was very weary of our delay. We all went
on the march again, on foot nearly all the way, by the same passes
to the Iguajit River, where we found a canoe, which carried us back
to Puerta Princesa.

The island produces many marketable articles, such as beeswax, edible
bird's nests, fine shells, dried shell-fish, a few pearls, bush-rope
or _palásan_ (q.v.) of enormous length, wild nutmegs, ebony, logwood,
etc., which the Chinese obtain in barter for knives and other small
manufactures.

The first survey of the Palaúan Island coast is said to have been
made by the British. A British map of Puerta Princesa, with a few
miles of adjoining coast, was shown to me in the Government House
of this place. It appears that the west coast is not navigable for
ships within at least two miles of the shore, although there are a
few channels leading to creeks. Vessels coming from the west usually
pass through the Straits of Balábac, between the island of that name
and the islets off the Borneo Island coast.

In the Island of Balábac there was absolutely nothing remarkable to
be seen, unless it were a little animal about the size of a big cat,
but in shape a perfect model of a doe. [70] I took one to Manila,
but it died the day we arrived. No part of the island (which is
very mountainous and fertile) appeared to be cultivated, and even
the officials at the station had to obtain supplies from Manila,
whilst cattle were brought from the Island of Cuyo, one of the
Calamianes group.

In the latter years, the Home Government made efforts to colonize
Palaúan Island by offering certain advantages to emigrants. By Royal
Order, dated February 25, 1885, the Islands of Palaúan and Mindanao
were to be occupied in an effectual manner, and outposts established,
wherever necessary, to guarantee the secure possession of these
islands. The points mentioned for such occupation in Palaúan Island
were Tagbusao and Malihut on the east coast, and Colasian and Malanut
on the west coast. It also confirmed the Royal Decree of July 30,
1860, granting to all families emigrating to these newly established
military posts, and all peaceful tribes of the Islands who might
choose to settle there, exemption from the payment of tribute for six
years. The families would be furnished with a free passage to these
places, and each group would be supplied with seed and implements.

A subsequent Royal Order, dated January 19, 1886, was issued, to the
effect:--That the Provincial Governors of the Provinces of North and
South Ilocos were to stimulate voluntary emigration of the natives
to Palaúan Island, to the extent of 25 families from each of the two
provinces per annum. That any payments due by them to the Public
Treasury were to be condoned. That such families and any persons
of good character who might establish themselves in Palaúan should
be exempt from the payment of taxes for ten years, and receive free
passage there for themselves and their cattle, and three hectares of
land gratis, to be under cultivation within a stated period. That two
chupas of rice (_vide_ Rice measure) and ten cents of a peso should
be given to each adult, and one chupa of rice to each minor each day
during the first six months from the date of their embarking. That
the Governor of Palaúan should be instructed respecting the highways
to be constructed, and the convenience of opening free ports in that
island. That the land and sea forces should be increased; and of
the latter, a third-rate man-o'-war should be stationed on the west
coast. That convicts should continue to be sent to Palaúan, and the
Governor should be authorized to employ all those of bad conduct in
public works. That schools of primary instruction should be established
in the island wherever such might be considered convenient, etc.,
etc. [71]

The Spaniards (in 1898) left nearly half the Philippine Archipelago
to be conquered, but only its Mahometan inhabitants ever persistently
took the aggressive against them in regular continuous warfare. The
attempts of the Jesuit missionaries to convert them to Christianity
were entirely futile, for the _Panditas_ and the Romish priests were
equally tenacious of their respective religious beliefs. The last
treaty made between Spain and Sulu especially stipulated that the
Mahometans should not be persecuted for their religion.

To overturn a dynasty, to suppress an organized system of feudal
laws, and to eradicate an ancient belief, the principles of which
had firmly established themselves among the populace in the course of
centuries, was a harder task than that of bringing under the Spanish
yoke detached groups of Malay immigrants. The pliant, credulous nature
of the Luzon settlers--the fact that they professed no deeply-rooted
religion, and--although advanced from the migratory to the settled
condition--were mere nominal lieges of their puppet kinglings, were
facilities for the achievement of conquest. True it is that the
dynasties of the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru yielded to
Spanish valour, but there was the incentive of untold wealth; here,
only of military glory, and the former outweighed the latter.

If the Spaniards failed to subjugate the Mahometans, or to incorporate
their territory in the general administrative system of the Colony,
after three centuries of intermittent endeavour, it is difficult to
conceive that the Philippine Republic (had it subsisted) would have
been more successful. It would have been useless to have resolved
to leave the Moros to themselves, practically ignoring their
existence. Any Philippine Government must needs hold them in check
for the public weal, for the fact is patent that the Moro hates the
native Christian not one iota less than he does the white man.

CHAPTER XI

Domesticated Natives--Origin--Character

The generally-accepted theory regarding the origin of the composite
race which may be termed "domesticated natives," is, that their
ancestors migrated to these Islands from Malesia, or the Malay
Peninsula. But so many learned dissertations have emanated from
distinguished men, propounding conflicting opinions on the descent
of the Malays themselves, that we are still left on the field of
conjecture.

There is good reason to surmise that, at some remote period,
these Islands and the Islands of Formosa and Borneo were united,
and possibly also they conjointly formed a part of the Asiatic
mainland. Many of the islets are mere coral reefs, and some of the
larger islands are so distinctly of coral formation that, regarded
together with the numerous volcanic evidences, one is induced to
believe that the Philippine Archipelago is the result of a stupendous
upheaval by volcanic action. [72] At least it seems apparent that
no autochthonous population existed on these lands in their island
form. The first settlers were probably the _Aetas,_ called also
_Negritos_ and _Balugas_, who may have drifted northwards from New
Guinea and have been carried by the strong currents through the
San Bernadino Straits and round Punta Santiago until they reached
the still waters in the neighbourhood of Corregidor Island, whilst
others were carried westwards to the tranquil Sulu Sea, and travelling
thence northwards would have settled on the Island of Negros. It is
a fact that for over a century after the Spanish conquest, Negros
Island had no other inhabitants but these mountaineers and escaped
criminals from other islands.

The sturdy races inhabiting the Central Luzon highlands, decidedly
superior in physique and mental capacity to the _Aetas,_ may be of
Japanese origin, for shortly after the conquest by Legaspi a Spanish
galley cruising off the north coast of Luzon fell in with Japanese,
who probably penetrated to the interior of that island up the Rio
Grande de Cagayán. Tradition tells us how the Japanese used to sail
down the east coast of Luzon as far as the neighbourhood of Lamon Bay,
where they landed and, descending the little rivers which flowed into
the Lake of Bay, settled in that region which was called by the first
Spanish conquerors Pagsanján Province, and which included the Laguna
Province of to-day, with a portion of the modern Tayabas Province.

Either the Japanese extended their sphere from the Lake of Bay shore,
or, as some assert (probably erroneously), shipwrecked Japanese went
up the Pansipít River to the Bómbon Lake: the fact remains that Taal,
with the Bómbon Lake shore, was a Japanese settlement, and even up to
now the Taaleños have characteristics differing from those of the pure
Malay immigrant descendants. The Philippine patriot, Dr. José Rizal,
was a good Japanese-Malay type.

The Tagálogs, who occupy a small portion of Luzon Island, chiefly
the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan, are believed
to be the cross-breed descendants of these Japanese immigrants. At
the period of the Spanish conquest the _Tao ílog_, that is to say,
"the man who came by the river," afterwards corrupted into the
more euphonious name of _Tagálog_, occupied only the lands from the
south shore of Laguna de Bay southwards. Some traded with the Malay
settlers at Maynila (as the city on the Pasig River was then called)
and, little by little, radicated themselves in the Manila suburbs of
Quiapo, Sampáloc, and Santa Cruz. [73]

From the West, long before the Spanish conquest, there was a great
influx of Malays, who settled on the shores and the lowlands and drove
the first settlers (_Aetas_) to the mountains. Central Luzon and
the Lake environs being already occupied, they spread all over the
vacant lands and adjacent islands south of Luzon. These expeditions
from Malesia were probably accompanied by Mahometan propagandists,
who had imparted to the Malays some notions, more or less crude,
of their religion and culture, for at the time of Legaspi's arrival
in Manila we find he had to deal with two chiefs, or petty kings,
both assuming the Indian title of _Rajah_, whilst one of them had the
Mahometan Arabic name of Soliman. Hitherto the _Tao ílog,_ or Tagálog,
had not descended the Pasig River so far as Manila, and the religious
rites of the Tondo-Manila people must have appeared to Legaspi similar
to the Mahometan rites, [74] for in several of his despatches to his
royal master he speaks of these people as _Moros_. All the dialects
spoken by the Filipinos of Malay and Japanese descent have their root
in the pure Malay language. After the expulsion of all the adult
male Japanese Lake settlers in the 17th century, it is feasible to
suppose that the language of the males who took their place in the
Lake district and intermarried there, should prevail over the idiom
of the primitive settlers, and possibly this amalgamation of speech
accounts for the difference between the Tagálog dialect and others
of these islands peopled by Malays.

The Malay immigration must have taken place several generations
prior to the coming of the Spaniards, for at that period the lowland
occupants were already divided into peoples speaking different
dialects and distinguishing themselves by groups whose names seem to
be associated with the districts they inhabited, such as Pampanga,
Iloco, and Cagayán; these denominations are probably derived from
some natural condition, such as _Pámpang_, meaning a river embankment,
_Ilog_, a river, _Cauáyan_, a bamboo, etc.

In a separate chapter (x.) the reputed origin of the Mahometans of
the southern islands is alluded to. They are also believed to be
immigrants from the West, and at the time of the conquest recent
traditions which came to the knowledge of the Spaniards, and were
recorded by them, prove that commercial relations existed between
Borneo and Manila. There is a tradition [75] also of an attempted
conquest of Luzon by a Borneo chief named Lacasama, about 250 years
before the Spanish advent; but apparently the expedition came to
grief near Luzon, off an island supposed by some to be Masbate.

The descendants of the Japanese and Malay immigrants were the people
whom the Spanish invaders had to subdue to gain a footing. To the
present day they, and the correlative Chinese and Spanish half-castes,
are the only races, among the several in these Islands, subjected,
in fact, to civilized methods. The expression "Filipino" neither
denotes any autochthonous race, nor any nationality, but simply one
born in those islands named the Philippines: it is, therefore, open to
argument whether the child of a Filipino, born in a foreign country,
could be correctly called a Filipino.

The christianized Filipinos, enjoying to-day the benefits of European
training, are inclined to repudiate, as compatriots, the descendants
of the non-christian tribes, although their concurrent existence,
since the time of their immigrant forefathers, makes them all equally
Filipinos. Hence many of them who were sent to the St. Louis Exhibition
in 1904 were indignant because the United States Government had chosen
to exhibit some types of uncivilized natives, representing about
one-twelfth of the Philippine population. Without these exhibits,
and on seeing only the educated Filipinos who formed the Philippine
Commission, the American people at home might well have asked--Is
not American civilization a superfluity in those islands?

The inhabitants of these Islands were by no means savages, entirely
unreclaimed from barbarism before the Spanish advent in the 16th
century. They had a culture of their own, towards which the Malay
settlers themselves appear to have contributed very little. In the
nascent pre-Spanish civilization, Japanese immigrants were almost
the only agriculturists, mine-workers, manufacturers, gold-seekers,
goldsmiths, and masters of the industrial arts in general. Pagsanján
(Laguna) was their great industrial centre. Malolos (Bulacan) was
also an important Japanese trading base. Whilst working the mines of
Ilocos their exemplary industry must undoubtedly have influenced the
character of the Ilocanos. Away down in the Bicol country of Camarines,
the Japanese pushed their trade, and from their great settlement in
Taal their traffic must have extended over the whole province, first
called by the Spaniards Taal y Balayán, but since named Batangas. From
the Japanese, the Malays learnt the manufacture of arms, and the
Igorrotes the art of metal-working. Along the coasts of the large
inhabited islands the Chinese travelled as traders or middlemen, at
great personal risk of attack by individual robbers, bartering the
goods of manufacturers for native produce, which chiefly consisted
of sinamay cloth, shark-fin, balate (trepang), edible birds'-nests,
gold in grain, and siguey-shells, for which there was a demand in Siam
for use as money. Every north-east monsoon brought down the junks
to barter leisurely until the south-west monsoon should waft them
back, and neither Chinese nor Japanese made the least attempt, nor
apparently had the least desire, to govern the Islands or to overrule
the natives. Without coercion, the Malay settlers would appear to
have unconsciously submitted to the influence of the superior talent
or astuteness of the sedulous races with whom they became merged and
whose customs they adopted, proof of which can be traced to the present
day. [76] Presumably the busy, industrious immigrants had neither time
nor inclination for sanguinary conflicts, for those recorded appear
to be confined to the raids of the migratory mountaineers and an
occasional attack by some ambitious Borneo buccaneer. The reader who
would wish to verify these facts is recommended to make a comparative
study of native character in Vigan, Malolos, Taal, and Pagsanján.

In treating of the domesticated natives' character, I wish it to be
understood that my observations apply solely to the _large majority_
of the six or seven millions of them who inhabit these Islands.

In the capital and the ports open to foreign trade, where cosmopolitan
vices and virtues obtain, and in large towns, where there is a constant
number of domiciled Europeans and Americans, the native has become
a modified being. It is not in such places that a just estimate of
character can be arrived at, even during many years' sojourn. The
native must be studied by often-repeated casual residence in localities
where his, or her, domestication is only "by law established," imposing
little restraint upon natural inclinations, and where exotic notions
have gained no influence.

Several writers have essayed to depict the Philippine native character,
but with only partial success. Dealing with such an enigma, the most
eminent physiognomists would surely differ in their speculations
regarding the Philippine native of the present day. That Catonian
figure, with placid countenance and solemn gravity of feature, would
readily deceive any one as to the true mental organism within. The
late parish priest of Alaminos (Batangas)--a Franciscan friar, who
spent half his life in the Colony--left a brief manuscript essay
on the native character. I have read it. In his opinion, the native
is an incomprehensible phenomenon, the mainspring of whose line of
thought and the guiding motive of whose actions have never yet been,
and perhaps never will be, discovered.

The reasoning of a native and a European differs so largely that
the mental impulse of the two races is ever clashing. Sometimes a
native will serve a master satisfactorily for years, and then suddenly
abscond, or commit some such hideous crime as conniving with a brigand
band to murder the family and pillage the house.

When the hitherto faithful servant is remonstrated with for having
committed a crime, he not unfrequently accounts for the fact by saying,
"_Señor_, my head was hot." When caught in the act on his first start
on highway robbery or murder, his invariable excuse is that he is
not a scoundrel himself, but that he was "invited" by a relation or
_compadre_ to join the company.

He is fond of gambling, profligate, lavish in his promises, but _lâche_
in the extreme as to their fulfilment. He will never come frankly and
openly forward to make a clean breast of a fault committed, or even a
pardonable accident, but will hide it, until it is found out. In common
with many other non-European races, an act of generosity or a voluntary
concession of justice is regarded as a sign of weakness. Hence it
is that the experienced European is often compelled to be more harsh
than his real nature dictates.

If one pays a native 20 cents for a service performed, and that be
exactly the customary remuneration, he will say nothing, but if a
feeling of compassion impels one to pay 30 cents, the recipient will
loudly protest that he ought to be paid more. [77] In Luzon the native
is able to say "Thank you" (_salámat-pô_) in his mother-tongue, but
in Panay and Negros there is no way of expressing thanks in native
dialect to a donor (the nearest approach to it is _Dios macbáyat_);
and although this may, at first sight, appear to be an insignificant
fact, I think, nevertheless, a great deal may be deduced from it,
for the deficiency of the word in the Visaya vernacular denotes a
deficiency of the idea which that word should express.

If the native be in want of a trivial thing, which by plain asking he
could readily obtain, he will come with a long tale, often begin by
telling a lie, and whilst he invariably scratches his head, he will
beat about the bush until he comes to the point, with a supplicating
tone and a saintly countenance hiding a mass of falsity. But if
he has nothing to gain for himself, his reticence is astonishingly
inconvenient, for he may let one's horse die and tell one afterwards
it was for want of rice-paddy, or, just at the very moment one wants
to use something, he will tell one "_Uala-pô_"--there is not any.

I have known natives whose mothers, according to their statement,
have died several times, and each time they have tried to beg the loan
of the burial expenses. The mother of my first servant died twice,
according to his account.

Even the best class of natives do not appreciate, or feel grateful
for, or even seem to understand a spontaneous gift. Apparently,
they only comprehend the favour when one yields to their asking. The
lowest classes never give to each other, unsolicited, a cent's worth,
outside the customary reciprocal feast-offerings. If a European makes
_voluntary_ gratuities to the natives, he is considered a fool--they
entertain a contempt for him, which develops into intolerable
impertinence. If the native comes to borrow, lend him a little less
than he asks for, after a verbose preamble; if one at once lent, or
gave, the full value requested, he would continue to invent a host of
pressing necessities, until one's patience was exhausted. He seldom
restores the loan of anything voluntarily. On being remonstrated with
for his remissness, after the date of repayment or return of the
article has expired, he will coolly reply, "You did not ask me for
it." An amusing case of native reasoning came within my experience
just recently. I lent some articles to an educated Filipino, who had
frequently been my guest, and, at the end of three months, I requested
their return. Instead of thanking me for their use, he wrote a letter
expressing his indignation at my reminder, saying that I "ought to know
they were in very good hands!" A native considers it no degradation
to borrow money: it gives him no recurrent feeling of humiliation or
distress of mind. Thus, he will often give a costly feast to impress
his neighbours with his wealth and maintain his local prestige, whilst
on all sides he has debts innumerable. At most, with his looseness
of morality, he regards debt as an inconvenience, not as a calamity.

Before entering another (middle- or lower-class) native's house, he
is very complimentary, and sometimes three minutes' polite excusatory
dialogue is exchanged between the visitor and the native visited
before the former passes the threshold. When the same class of native
enters a European's house, he generally satisfies his curiosity by
looking all around, and often pokes his head into a private room,
asking permission to enter afterwards.

The lower-class native never comes at first call; among themselves it
is usual to call five or six times, raising the voice each time. If
a native is told to tell another to come, he seldom goes to him to
deliver the message, but calls him from a distance. When a native
steals (and I must say they are fairly honest), he steals only what he
wants. One of the rudest acts, according to their social code, is to
step over a person asleep on the floor. Sleeping is, with them, a very
solemn matter; they are very averse to waking any one, the idea being,
that during sleep the soul is absent from the body, and that if slumber
be suddenly arrested the soul might not have time to return. When a
person, knowing the habits of the native, calls upon him and is told
"He is asleep," he does not inquire further--the rest is understood:
that he may have to wait an indefinite time until the sleeper wakes
up--so he may as well depart. To urge a servant to rouse one, one has
to give him very imperative orders to that effect: then he stands
by one's side and calls "Señor, señor!" repeatedly, and each time
louder, until one is half awake; then he returns to the low note,
and gradually raises his voice again until one is quite conscious.

In Spanish times, wherever I went in the whole Archipelago--near the
capital, or 500 miles from it--I found mothers teaching their offspring
to regard the European as a demoniacal being, an evil spirit, or,
at least, as an enemy to be feared! If a child cried, it was hushed
by the exclamation, "Castila!" (European). If a white man approached
a poor hut or a fine native residence, the cry of caution, the
watchword for defence was always heard--"Castila!"--and the children
hastened their retreat from the dreaded object. But this is now a
thing of the past since the native crossed swords with the "Castila"
(q.v.) and the American on the battle-field, and, rightly or wrongly,
thoroughly believes himself to be a match for either in equal numbers.

The Filipino, like most Orientals, is a good imitator, but having no
initiative genius, he is not efficient in anything. He will copy a
model any number of times, but one cannot get him to make two copies
so much alike that the one is undistinguishable from the other. Yet
he has no attachment for any occupation in particular. To-day he will
be at the plough; to-morrow a coachman, a collector of accounts,
a valet, a sailor, and so on; or he will suddenly renounce social
trammels in pursuit of lawless vagabondage. I once travelled with a
Colonel Marqués, acting-Governor of Cebú, whose valet was an ex-law
student. Still, many are willing to learn, and really become very
expert artisans, especially machinists.

The native is indolent in the extreme, and never tires of sitting
still, gazing at nothing in particular. He will do no regular work
without an advance; his word cannot be depended upon; he is fertile
in exculpatory devices; he is momentarily obedient, but is averse
to subjection. He feigns friendship, but has no loyalty; he is calm
and silent, but can keep no secret; he is daring on the spur of
the moment, but fails in resolution if he reflects. He is wantonly
unfeeling towards animals; cruel to a fallen foe; tyrannical over
his own people when in power; rarely tempers his animosities with
compassion or pity, but is devotedly fond of his children. He is
shifty, erratic, void of chivalrous feeling; and if familiarity be
permitted with the common-class native, he is liable to presume upon
it. The Tagálog is docile and pliant, but keenly resents an injustice.

Native superstition and facile credulity are easily imposed upon. A
report emitted in jest, or in earnest, travels with alarming rapidity,
and the consequences have not unfrequently been serious. The native
rarely sees a joke, and still more rarely makes one. He never reveals
anger, but he will, with the most profound calmness, avenge himself,
awaiting patiently the opportunity to use his bowie-knife with
effect. Mutilation of a vanquished enemy is common among these
Islanders. If a native recognizes a fault by his own conscience,
he will receive a flogging without resentment or complaint; if he
is not so convinced of the misdeed, he will await his chance to give
vent to his rancour.

He has a profound respect only for the elders of his household, and
the lash justly administered. He rarely refers to past generations
in his lineage, and the lowest class do not know their own ages. The
Filipino, of any class, has no memory for dates. In 1904 not one in
a hundred remembered the month and year in which General Aguinaldo
surrendered. During the Independence war, an esteemed friend of mine,
a Philippine priest, died, presumably of old age. I went to his town
to inquire all about it from his son, but neither the son nor another
near relation could recollect, after two days' reflection, even the
year the old man passed away. Another friend of mine had his brains
blown out during the Revolution. His brother was anxious to relate
the tragedy to me and how he had lost 20,000 pesos in consequence,
but he could not tell me in which month it happened. Families are
very united, and claims for help and protection are admitted however
distant the relationship may be. Sometimes the connection of a
"hanger-on" with his host's family will be so remote and doubtful,
that he can only be recognized as "_un poco pariente nada mas_"
(a sort of kinsman). But the house is open to all.

The native is a good father and a good husband, unreasonably jealous of
his wife, careless of the honour of his daughter, and will take no heed
of the indiscretions of his spouse committed before marriage. Cases
have been known of natives having fled from their burning huts,
taking care to save their fighting-cocks, but leaving their wives
and children to look after themselves.

If a question be suddenly put to a native, he apparently loses his
presence of mind, and gives the reply most convenient to save himself
from trouble, punishment, or reproach. It is a matter of perfect
indifference to him whether the reply be true or not. Then, as the
investigation proceeds, he will amend one statement after another,
until, finally, he has practically admitted his first explanation
to be quite false. One who knows the native character, so far as its
mysteries are penetrable, would never attempt to get at the truth of
a question by a direct inquiry--he would "beat about the bush," and
extract the truth bit by bit. Nor do the natives, rich or poor, of any
class in life, and with very few exceptions in the whole population,
appear to regard lying as a sin, but rather as a legitimate, though
cunning, convenience, which should be resorted to whenever it will
serve a purpose. It is my frank opinion that they do not, in their
consciences, hold lying to be a fault in any degree. If the liar be
discovered and faced, he rarely appears disconcerted--his countenance
rather denotes surprise at the discovery, or disappointment at his
being foiled in the object for which he lied. As this is one of the
most remarkable characteristics of the Filipino of both sexes in all
spheres of life, I have repeatedly discussed it with the priests,
several of whom have assured me that the habit prevails even in the
confessional. [78] In the administration of justice this circumstance
is inconvenient, because a witness is always procurable for a few
pesos. In a law-case, in which one or both parties belong to the
lowest class, it is sometimes difficult to say whether the false or
the true witnesses are in majority.

Men and women alike find exaggerated enjoyment in litigation, which
many keep up for years. Among themselves they are tyrannical. They have
no real sentiment, nor do they practise virtue for virtue's sake, and,
apart from their hospitality, in which they (especially the Tagálogs)
far excel the European, all their actions appear to be only guided
by fear, or interest, or both.

The domesticated Tagálogs of Luzon have made greater progress
in civilization and good manners than the Visayos of Panay and
Negros. The Tagálog differs vastly from his southern brother in
his true nature, which is more pliant, whilst he is by instinct
cheerfully and disinterestedly hospitable. Invariably a European
wayfarer in a Tagálog village is invited by one or another of the
principal residents to lodge at his house as a free guest, for to
offer payment would give offence. A present of some European article
might be made, but it is not at all looked for. The Tagálog host
lends his guest horses or vehicles to go about the neighbourhood,
takes him round to the houses of his friends, accompanies him to any
feast which may be celebrated at the time of his visit, and lends
him his sporting-gun, if he has one. The whole time he treats him
with the deference due to the superiority which he recognizes. He is
remarkably inquisitive, and will ask all sorts of questions about
one's private affairs, but that is of no consequence--he is not
intrusive, and if he be invited to return the visit in the capital,
or wherever one may reside, he accepts the invitation reluctantly,
but seldom pays the visit. Speaking of the Tagálog as a host, pure
and simple, he is generally the most genial man one could hope to meet.

The Negros and Panay Visayo's cold hospitality is much tempered with
the prospect of personal gain--quite a contrast to the Tagálog. On
the first visit he might admit the white traveller into his house
out of mere curiosity to know all about him--whence he comes--why he
travels--how much he possesses--and where he is going. The basis of
his estimation of a visitor is his worldly means; or, if the visitor
be engaged in trade, his power to facilitate his host's schemes would
bring him a certain measure of civility and complaisance. He is fond
of, and seeks the patronage of Europeans of position. In manners, the
Negros and Panay Visayo is uncouth and brusque, and more conceited,
arrogant, self-reliant, ostentatious, and unpolished than his northern
neighbour. If remonstrated with for any fault, he is quite disposed
to assume a tone of impertinent retort or sullen defiance. The Cebuáno
is more congenial and hospitable.

The women, too, are less affable in Panay and Negros, and evince an
almost incredible avarice. They are excessively fond of ornament,
and at feasts they appear adorned with an amount of gaudy French
jewellery which, compared with their means, cost them a lot of money
to purchase from the swarm of Jew pedlars who, before the Revolution
of 1896, periodically invaded the villages.

If a European calls on a well-to-do Negros or Panay Visayo, the
women of the family saunter off in one direction or another, to
hide themselves in other rooms, unless the visitor be well known to
the family. If met by chance, perhaps they will return a salutation,
perhaps not. They seldom indulge in a smile before a stranger; have no
conversation; no tuition beyond music and the lives of the Saints, and
altogether impress the traveller with their insipidity of character,
which chimes badly with their manifest air of disdain.

The women of Luzon (and in a slightly less degree the Cebuánas)
are more frank, better educated, and decidedly more courteous and
sociable. Their manners are comparatively lively, void of arrogance,
cheerful, and buoyant in tone. However, all over the Islands the
women are more parsimonious than the men; but, as a rule, they
are more clever and discerning than the other sex, over whom they
exercise great influence. Many of them are very dexterous business
women and have made the fortunes of their families. A notable example
of this was the late Doña Cornelia Laochanco, of Manila, with whom
I was personally acquainted, and who, by her own talent in trading
transactions, accumulated considerable wealth. Doña Cornelia (who died
in 1899) was the foundress of the system of blending sugar to sample
for export, known in Manila as the _fardería._ In her establishment
at San Miguel she had a little tower erected, whence a watchman
kept his eye on the weather. When threatening clouds appeared a bell
was tolled and the mats were instantly picked up and carried off by
her Chinese coolie staff, which she managed with great skill, due,
perhaps, to the fact that her three husbands were Chinese.

The Philippine woman makes an excellent general servant in native
families; in the same capacity, in European service, she is, as a rule,
almost useless, but she is a good nursemaid.

The Filipino has many excellent qualities which go far to make
amends for his shortcomings. He is patient and forbearing in the
extreme, remarkably sober, plodding, anxious only about providing
for his immediate wants, and seldom feels "the canker of ambitious
thoughts." In his person and his dwelling he may serve as a pattern
of cleanliness to all other races in the tropical East. He has little
thought beyond the morrow, and therefore never racks his brains about
events of the far future in the political world, the world to come,
or any other sphere. He indifferently leaves everything to happen as
it may, with surprising resignation. The native, in general, will go
without food for many hours at a time without grumbling; and fish,
rice, betel-nut, and tobacco are his chief wants. Inebriety is almost
unknown, although strong drink (nipa wine) is plentiful.

In common with other races whose lives are almost exclusively passed
amid the ever-varying wonders of land and sea, Filipinos rarely express
any spontaneous admiration for the beauties of Nature, and seem little
sensible to any aspect thereof not directly associated with the human
interest of their calling. Few Asiatics, indeed, go into raptures
over lovely scenery as Europeans do, nor does "the gorgeous glamour
of the Orient" which we speak of so ecstatically strike them as such.

When a European is travelling, he never needs to trouble about where
or when his servant gets his food or where he sleeps--he looks after
that. When a native travels, he drops in amongst any group of his
fellow-countrymen whom he finds having their meal on the roadside,
and wherever he happens to be at nightfall, there he lies down to
sleep. He is never long in a great dilemma. If his hut is about to
fall, he makes it fast with bamboo and rattan-cane. If a vehicle breaks
down, a harness snaps, or his canoe leaks or upsets, he always has his
remedy at hand. He stoically bears misfortune of all kinds with the
greatest indifference, and without the least apparent emotion. Under
the eye of his master he is the most tractable of all beings. He never
(like the Chinese) insists upon doing things his own way, but tries to
do just as he is told, whether it be right or wrong. A native enters