Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara Volume Ii Part 13

The princ.i.p.al tobacco-growing districts of the island of Luzon are Cagayan and Bisayx, in which on an average 180,000 cwt. of tobacco are grown annually; of these about 80,000 cwt. are sent annually in the leaf to Spain, while the surplus are worked up into cigars in Luzon itself, sold at auction (_al martillo_) every month, and knocked down to the highest bidder. The average price is 8 to 10 dollars per 1000 _Costados_. There is but one species of tobacco grown in Manila, and the size of the leaf is the sole element that regulates the value. The Manila tobacco is a very strong narcotic; there is, notwithstanding the prevailing opinion in Europe, no opium mingled with it; one end being simply dipped in rice juice to glue it together. Indeed, the enormous cost of that liquid drug, which plays so important a part in the history of the Chinese empire, would alone prevent its being used. As cigars are greatly in request by both s.e.xes in Manila, and it is necessary first to provide for the supply of the country itself, it occasionally happens that the stocks are not sufficiently large at once to supply all demands for exportation. Except during the public sales by auction, no one is permitted to buy of Government more than 1000 cigars at once, a regulation most vicious in principle and useless in practice, as persons who wish to possess larger quant.i.ties of cigars have simply to send round to any number of persons in the tobacco trade, in order to provide themselves with what they require.

We ourselves experienced how any one, who was desirous of buying 45,000 cigars, sent 45 different individuals to the bonded magazine, from which each brought 1000 cigars without any further interference.

Although altogether more tobacco is raised on the island of Luzon than in Cuba, yet the exportation from the former is far less in quant.i.ty, for the reason already commented upon, that a large portion of the tobacco so grown is consumed in the country itself. Luzon provides 1/10th, and Cuba 1/12th of the entire production of tobacco on the earth, which amounts to 4,000,000 cwt.[96] There are indeed two countries which produce a far larger quant.i.ty of tobacco than either Luzon or Cuba,[97] but in no other country does the tobacco leaf attain such superior quality, owing to favourable climate and congenial soil, as in the Spanish possessions already named.

Another chief product of the Philippines, which first found its way into the markets of the world from these islands, is what is called Manila hemp. This, however, is not the common hemp plant (_Cannabis sativa_), but is procured from the fibres of the "_Musa textilis_," a species of banana, and is called by the Tagals _abaca_. The plant comes in great quant.i.ties from almost every one of the Philippines, from Luzon to Mindano, so that the area over which it extends stretches between the equator and 20 N. This seems, however, to be the most northerly limit of vegetation of the _Musa textilis_, and consequently it is out of question to attempt to introduce into Europe the cultivation of this most useful plant, which, ere it can be profitably grown, requires a temperature of 77 Fahr. The stem of this _musacea_ grows in the Philippines to a height of from 9 to 12 feet, by about 6 inches in thickness, its leaves being of an exceedingly dark green colour, 8 feet in length by 1-1/2 feet in width.

The fruit is smaller, and neither so yellow nor so palatable as that of the common banana. To procure the hemp, the trunk, so soon as the fleshy bulbous fruit makes its appearance, is stripped of its splendid leaves, which serve as fodder for the oxen, and is left about three days to ferment. It is then peeled off in pieces, which by the application of a corresponding pressure are drawn between two knives, not too sharp, in order to separate the hemp, which now begins to be visible, from the bast, which, owing to the fermentation, has become rather brittle. This process is continued until the hemp is sufficiently cleaned to admit of its being spread out and dried in the sun. A skilful workman may make extract from 8 to 10 feet of hemp a day. There are 450,000 cwt. of hemp produced annually, of the value of 520,000, the greater part of which is sent to the United States of North America, while from 30,000 to 60,000 cwt. is manufactured into rigging for s.h.i.+ps in the country itself, at the splendid factory of Messrs. Russell and Sturgis, an American firm, by whom it is exported to Singapore, Australia, and China. This raw material, as well as the various products manufactured from it, has a magnificent future opening to it, and will ere long compete advantageously with English and Russian hemp in the European markets. The princ.i.p.al objection as yet made to the use of the Manila hemp for rigging, viz. its contracting in wet weather, can easily be obviated by more careful treatment of the fibres in the process of manufacture. On the other hand, in strength and elasticity the abaca surpa.s.ses its rival, as has been proved by repeated experiments, especially over common European, and even Russian, hemp.[98] Messrs.

Russell and Sturgis have, it is true, monopolized the hemp product of the entire Archipelago, but under their fostering care it must sensibly increase and become perceptibly improved. From the leaves of _Musa textilis_, like those of all other species of the banana tribe, very excellent paper can be made, and by the increasing cultivation of the _musaceae_ in the tropics, two main objects could be attained, viz.

providing a plentiful subsistence for the natives, and extending and cheapening the medium that mainly contributes to widen the circle of knowledge of mankind.[99]

Next to _Musa textilis_, the Rame-shrub (_Boehmeria tenacissima_) especially deserves the attention of business men. The fibre of this member of the _urticaceae_, which unites extraordinary toughness with much beauty and fineness, is stronger and more durable than that of Russian hemp, and with careful preparation would make into finer thread than the very expensive material which is used in Europe at the present day for making the world-famous Brussels point-lace. The variety of purposes to which this useful plant may be applied has. .h.i.therto been less fully recognized than those of the Manila hemp. In Europe the _Boehmeria tenacissima_ is but found in botanical gardens, or herbariums, and as yet not the slightest use is made of it for industrial purposes. And yet the introduction on a large scale of Manila hemp and Rame fibre into the European markets in place of Russian hemp, would have more than merely a commercial and industrial importance![100]

We may also notice in this connection another description of fabrics made from fibrous material, which, though but little known beyond the limits of the Archipelago, seems to us to deserve to be more extensively known, and, it would seem, may be most profitably taken up. These are the delicate almost transparent tissues prepared from the fibres of one of the _Bromeliaceae_ (_anana.s.sa sativa_), which are used by the natives for ornamental s.h.i.+rts, _chemisettes_, and necklaces, and are known in commerce by the names of _Pina_ or gra.s.s-cloths.[101] The threads of these textures are so thin, that they can only be woven in apartments where there is not the slightest breath of air. The natives contrive to weave them into the most beautiful designs, and were they submitted to some chemical process which should impart to the web a clearer colour, less of a dirty yellow, the world of taste would be enriched by the addition of one of the most exquisite materials that could be presented to adorn the graceful form of woman, and while seeming to conceal her charms, would but render them more conspicuously attractive.

Although the rainy season, during which we visited Manila, was but little inviting for excursions, we yet could not resist the temptation to make an excursion to the celebrated _Laguna de Bay_, a short distance in the interior. Mr. J. Steffan, consul for Bremen, a Swiss by birth, and a partner in one of the most eminent mercantile houses in Manila (Jenny and Co.), who from the moment the Austrian expeditionaries set foot in the Philippines manifested to them the most delightful hospitality, was on this occasion also our companion and cicerone. Two other foreigners, an English artist and a merchant from Amsterdam, joined our party. The first-named had lived for long on the island, and had already visited all its most accessible spots, whence he had returned with some very accurate sketches; the latter had been sent out by his firm to Manila, in 1857, when the price of sugar had fallen, for the purpose of purchasing, at the price to which he was limited, a large quant.i.ty of that important article of colonial produce. By the time, however, he had reached the capital of the Philippines, the value of the sugar had already, in consequence of a favourable crop, exceeded the limit a.s.signed him, and has since then advanced 300 per cent. Still the Amsterdam agent held on, awaiting a fall, and meanwhile did his best to wile away his time of exile by feasting his eyes with all the various beauties of the island.

On a grey, dreary morning we found ourselves pulling up the Pasig in small covered boats, till we reached the Lagune, where a larger craft was awaiting us, to take the entire company of pilgrims on board and transport them to the opposite sh.o.r.e of this inland lake, as far as Los Banos. In clear sunny weather a row in a _banca_ upon the river Pasig, the aorta of Manila, which forms the communication between the city and the Lagune, together with all the various settlements along the sh.o.r.es of that internal sea, must be exceedingly pleasant. The banks of the river, indeed, are flat and unsightly, but the vegetation rejoices in a marvellous profusion of the most beautiful forms and colours. The _Bambusaceae_ are the chief ornament of the sh.o.r.es, on which there are but few palms to be seen, while the banana, the sugar-cane, or the rice-plant are only exceptionally met with at certain points. The delicate-leaved bamboo accordingly presents hereabouts an elegance and variety of form, which at first sight seems to mark out its individual representatives as belonging to so many different families of plants. Wherever the subjacent rock is visible along the banks it presents beds of an ashen-grey pumice-stone, which const.i.tutes the chief building material of Manila. On the sh.o.r.es of the river, near the city, are situate the various factories and iron-foundries, above which are the residences of the wealthy Mestizoes and foreign settlers, as also the country-seat of the Governor-general, whence, still ascending the stream, are Tagal villages of wretched cane huts, grouped round stately churches and parsonages, which peep picturesquely through lovely groves of bamboo.

There are three modes of boating on the Pasig and through the Lagune, namely, the _banca_, consisting of a large trunk of a tree hollowed out and covered with an awning of bamboo; the _lorcha_ or _falua_ (corruption of felucca), large, comfortable, but exceedingly clumsy row-boats, which, particularly during the rainy season when there is a heavy sea running, are those chiefly used in this navigation; and finally, the _casco_, which is of equal breadth at either end, and has more the appearance of a raft.

The last-named is princ.i.p.ally made use of for the transport of heavy merchandise, and is in especial favour with the natives, for the reason that it is practicable to hoist sail upon it as well as to row. On the Lagune there is also found yet a fourth kind of boat, the Paraho, the principle of which, as well as the name, has obviously been borrowed from the Malay _Prahu_, which it closely resembles in form and mode of steering.

On the Pasig there is a constant and amazing tide of human activity.

Numberless boats pa.s.s and repa.s.s, some bound for the city, to supply it with provisions and other necessary articles, even to drinking-water, which has to be s.h.i.+pped in casks at a considerable distance, others returning with all sorts of purchases made in Manila, for the supply of the various residents on the sh.o.r.es of the Lagune with the necessaries of life. On this voyage we got a sight of numbers of grackles (_Pastor Rosen_), the well-known gra.s.shopper-destroyer, which, about five years before, had been introduced from China at considerable expense, with the view of extirpating this formidable locust. But since these birds, to kill which is punishable by imprisonment, have become acclimatized, they seem to have lost all relish for gra.s.shoppers, sitting quiet and unmoved on the trees and roofs of the houses, while swarms of locusts are disporting under their very eyes. Apparently the number of these destructive insects is less great in China than in Manila, where these voracious wanderers often appear in dense swarms, which, in the shape of black clouds, absolutely obscure the daylight! Probably, too, their means of sustenance is much more limited in China than in the Philippines, where these birds, being in fact treated as tame animals, and fairly domesticated, find frequent opportunities of satisfying their hunger otherwise.

At the village of Patero (from _Pato_, duck), which is situated five miles from the capital on the left bank, the inhabitants are mainly employed in breeding ducks. In front of each hut, and near the river, there is a large area fenced in, where these birds can bask in the sun or bathe at pleasure. The floor of the little poultry house is carefully cleaned every morning with river-water, and the ground dug up and plentifully filled daily with sh.e.l.l-fish for the use of the ducks, which the natives bring in their small canoes from the sea, where they thrive by millions in the mud.

The spectacle of the gently-sloping a.s.sembling-places of these cackling denizens of the watery element, and the clamours with which we were saluted, strongly recalled to us the penguins of the Island of St. Paul.

In Patero millions of ducks are annually reared as articles of trade, as the Tagalese look upon the half-hatched eggs and the new-born chickens as special dainties.

The natives whom we met on the way all wore large round hats, made of plaited straw or bamboo, white hose, and above these the invariable s.h.i.+rt, a custom so singular, that it is but very gradually the eye of the foreigner becomes reconciled to it. The farther we got from the capital the more the use of Spanish seemed to diminish, till at the Lagune the natives only speak Tagal and Bisay.

Our original intention had been to row up in _bancas_ as far as the entrance to the Lagune, where it had been arranged that the _lorcha_, which had started from Manila a day or two before, was to await our arrival. But when little more than half way beyond the village of Pasig we overtook the great clumsy concern, and it was forthwith resolved to remove into it bag and baggage, not forgetting the "provant," and endeavour to make ourselves as comfortable as we could for a few days and nights.

As it was perfectly calm, and the _lorcha_ had to be poled along, we were a considerable time before reaching the entrance to the Lagune, where the industrious natives had erected a variety of nets and other fis.h.i.+ng apparatus of very peculiar nature. The banks of the Lagune are for some distance from the sh.o.r.e thickly studded with thousands of what are called _corals_, or fish-runs, and a special pilot is required to enable the _lorcha_ to thread this labyrinth of fis.h.i.+ng apparatus of every conceivable form, so as to reach the open water. Singularly enough, it is for the most part the Tagalese women who manipulate the fis.h.i.+ng instruments, while the men, as we were told, sit in the house and embroider. Near the entrance is stationed a sort of guards.h.i.+p. A Tagalese overseer overhauled our pa.s.sports, turned them over in his hands two or three times with much official importance, and then returned them to us.

The worthy officer of the law was obviously ignorant of the art of reading, but for that very reason he looked doubly ma.s.sy, for fear of exposing his weak side to the Europeans.

The Lagune de Bay is a fresh-water lake of such dimensions, that even on a clear day it is impossible, from the entrance, to see the coast on the further side, much less, of course, in the wretched rainy weather which stuck by us throughout our trip. Nevertheless, it is far inferior in size to the great lakes of North America. Its greatest breadth is little more than 30 miles.[102] All around the fertile sh.o.r.es of this charming lake nestle little villages, and the daily intercourse with the capital is so extensive that a steam-boat company would pay well. While on the one hand the Colonial Government objects to the expense of entering upon an undertaking so important for developing the general trade, engineers, on the other hand, have for the last 14 years been busily engaged projecting the immense work of connecting the Lagune with the ocean by means of a ca.n.a.l, in such manner as would enable s.h.i.+ps approaching Luzon from the southwards to reach Manila easily, and with great saving in time, instead of having to sail all round the island. This short cut through the tongue of land would, it may well be supposed, be in other respects of incalculable benefit for the country, for the s.h.i.+pping and for trade generally, especially were the execution of this splendid project to be carried out hand in hand with a liberal policy, that should shake off that despotism which at present weighs like a mountain upon every sort of intellectual and political activity. Let Manila be declared a free port, let the s.h.i.+ps of all mercantile nations visit unrestrictedly the various harbours of the Archipelago, and Spain will under such relaxations reap far more profit than from her present retrograde colonial policy, which can only result in permanent discontent and impoverishment. A thoroughly unprejudiced Spanish statesman might make most valuable observations by a brief visit to the neighbouring colony of Singapore, that marvellous British settlement, which, owing to a commercial policy conceived in the free, liberal spirit that characterizes the 19th century, has sprung up from a nest of pirates into the most flouris.h.i.+ng and the wealthiest emporium in the entire Malay Archipelago. The situation of Manila, as also its numerous natural advantages and resources, would soon make it a rival to Singapore. But of what avail are the choicest treasures of nature, if the mind be wanting which can turn them to their proper use, and elicit their real value?

The continued bad weather compelled us to pa.s.s the night most uncomfortably on board the _lorcha_; however, the morning after our departure from Manila we arrived at the village of Los Banos on the southern sh.o.r.e of the Lagune, where we were most courteously received by Padre Lorenzo, a Tagalese (only the monks being of Spanish blood, whereas among the secular clergy there are numbers of coloured persons). The parsonage, formerly an hospital, is an extensive edifice, with covered terraces, from whence the visitor enjoys the most splendid views of the neighbouring hills, as also over the village. Here we were rejoined by those members of the Expedition who, there not being room for all on board the _lorcha_, had made out the voyage to Los Banos in a small boat. The Government officer of the village of Pasig was so kind as to provide for our exploration of the lake a well-appointed, thoroughly armed and equipped war-galley; by no means a superfluous precaution when making an excursion upon the lake, as it has not unfrequently happened that unprotected strangers have returned to Manila robbed of everything.

We had great difficulty in making our kind Father Lorenzo, whose wanderings had been rather limited, comprehend from what country we came, and to what nation we belonged. The natives of Luzon for the most part believe that all mankind consists of but two nations, Spaniards and English; the former they regard as their own masters, while the political and commercial power of the latter impress them with more terror than sympathy, and this feeling is still further deepened by that spiritual teaching, which makes everything seem to their untutored minds of the most terrible criminality, which does not strictly accord with Roman Catholicism.

Los Banos (the baths), so named on account of the numerous hot springs, whose source is close at hand at the foot of the now extinct volcanic cone of Maquilui, thickly wooded to its very summit, was so far back as the end of the 16th century a place of resort for invalids, who hoped here to find a cure for their various maladies. In the interests of suffering humanity, the Franciscans of those days, then in the height of their influence, built over the baths a sort of hut, and a hospital dedicated to "_Nuestra Senora de las Aguas santas de Maynit_" (our Lady of the Holy waters of Maynit, the latter name expressing _hot_ in Tagal). Although at present in a very forlorn and dilapidated condition, there is still in existence, quite near to the edge of the Lake, an apartment enclosed within a wall, within which there boils up from a considerable depth a spring of hot water of a temperature of 186.8 Fahr.; which is occasionally used, both by natives and foreigners, as a vapour bath, although these _Thermae_ are more used to scald poultry than for their original purpose of curing disease. The entire neighbourhood is volcanic.

Behind Maquilui, which is about 3400 feet high, lies, surrounded by a deep lake, the active crater of the renowned volcano of Taal, while to one side of the first-named mountain rises in the blue distance, to a height of from 6000 to 7000 feet, the gigantic ma.s.s of the Majayjay[103] range, a volcanic system long since extinct. An oppressive sultriness in the atmosphere, such as we had never before experienced, and a drenching thunder-storm, put a complete stopper on our projected excursion to make a closer acquaintance with the hills. Somewhat of the terrific heat experienced here, may, with much justice, be attributed to the great number of almost boiling springs which issue from the foot of the Maquilui, so that even on entirely clear days, when the mountain-top is quite free of clouds, the country about Los Banos seems enveloped in an atmosphere of mist.

The main object and ever-memorable result of our excursion was the _Laguna Encantada_ (or Enchanted Lake,--the _Socol_ of the Tagalese), distant not much more than a mile from Los Banos. Volcanic agency and tropical beauty have combined to prepare here one of the most singular and mysterious phenomena that the eye of man may ever behold. Although this small lake is only separated by a low hill from the larger basin, yet the approach to it is extremely troublesome and arduous. It is necessary here and there to use one's hands, in order to creep through the brushwood along the steep wall of rock, till the sh.o.r.e of the lake is at last reached. Even the very "dug-outs," in which the lake is to be navigated, have to be transported over this lonely inhospitable hill. As the Lagune enjoys the unenviable reputation of being the haunt of numbers of ravenous crocodiles, which have on several occasions overturned the light canoes navigating it at the time, and without further ceremony devoured their crews, the natives had learned to take the precaution of binding two or three canoes close together with bamboos and cords, in order to diminish the risk of being overturned while boating on this dreary haunt of "caymano."

While the natives were getting ready this handsome specimen of a craft, we stood on the sh.o.r.e, every one absorbed in gazing at this singular natural picture. Calm and mysterious-looking the lake lay before us, a circular basin, of a deep green from innumerable almost microscopic water plants, unfathomable, if we may trust common report, and enclosed by a crater-like wall of lava-blocks. All along the sh.o.r.e grew the tropical forest; gigantic primeval trunks, wildly festooned with wondrously luxuriant creepers, raised their towering crests, their splendid coronets of leaves reflected in the calm mirror below, and casting the lake in every corner into a dusky, shadowy obscurity of outline. From the topmost branches of the trees were suspended huge brown, indistinct-looking fruits. There was death-like silence all around. Only at fitful intervals might be distinguished the note of a bird, or the muttered growl of distant thunder. We now got into our canoes and rowed silently over the waters of the lake. As though to add to the interest of the adventure, it came on to rain pretty heavily. Some of the party followed the very practical custom of the natives, who forthwith divested themselves of their clothing, and left the rain to beat upon their naked bodies, while they put their dresses under the seats of the boat to prevent their being soaked.

Fortunately the alligators at no time made their appearance in such numbers as the tales of the natives had led us to antic.i.p.ate. We saw but one of these monsters, apparently about 15 feet long, who however speedily dived out of our sight.[104] Our guides maintained it would be advisable to take a dog with us, whose howl would have aroused the alligators and brought them up to the surface in hope as of prey. Indeed people frequently sacrifice dogs in order to entice these rapacious monsters from their haunts for the purpose of hunting them.

If however disappointed in this spectacle, we were recompensed by another not less peculiar. For hardly had a shot been fired at one of the water-fowls which were skimming to and fro over the lake, than at once tree and thicket seemed filled with life. Birds of all kinds, screaming and whirring, fluttered about or dashed wildly against each other on every side. Thousands that had been sitting on the beach concealed in the deep shade, wood-pigeons and legions of gigantic bats, which had been suddenly frightened out of their listless repose, now flew about directly before the murderous fowling-pieces. The singular-looking fruits which seemed to be so strangely dependent from the trees, were transformed into Kalong bats (_Pteropus edulis_), and flew about in immense flocks that obscured the light of day, directly over our heads, hastily seeking a shelter in the forest, which should hide them from the gaze of the sportsmen.

Probably we should have brought down some of these singular animals, had not our fowling-pieces, owing to the incessant pour of rain, got so thoroughly out of order that we had to content ourselves with getting a very few specimens for our zoological collection.

On returning to the parsonage from this interesting excursion, we found the _Alcalde Mayor_, who had come to Los Banos from the adjacent small town of Santa Cruz, to welcome the foreigners, and be of service to them.

The _Alcalde Mayor_, or _Gobernador_, is the highest official, the chief both of administration and justice in the province, a sort of prefect, under whom are the _Gobernadorcillos_, or departmental administrators, beneath whom again the Cabezas,[105] or parish justices, form yet a lower grade. The chief duties of these native officials consist in seeing that the proper amount of tribute or head-money is duly collected. This impost is divided into three parts: the duty for defraying the State expenses amounting to five reals, that for supporting the Church amounts to three reals, and that for the wants of the community amounting to one real, so that the whole taxation levied upon each individual liable is about nine reals (4_s._ 9_d._ English). In addition to the natives, the Chinese resident in Manila and the half-breed Chinese are subject to a poll-tax, the pure Chinese being rated according to their social position and the nature of their calling. They pay on the average about 17 dollars, or about 15 times as much as the native. The poll-tax of the Chinese Mestizo amounts to 18 reals, or about twice as much as that on the native. All males are liable to be rated for the poll-tax, as also all females when married, or when they have attained the age of 25. Those exempted from the poll-tax are all Spaniards and their half-caste children, all foreign residents except the Chinese, as also all natives above 60, and a few native families, whose ancestors had performed certain services for the Spaniards at the period of the conquest; and, lastly, all native authorities during their tenure of office (usually six years).[106]

The morning after our excursion to the Enchanted Lake, a hunt of water-fowl was organized among the swamps surrounding Calamba, which furnished us with plenty of sport, as well as important scientific results, in which it would have been yet more productive, had it not been suddenly brought to a close by the acute illness of one of the canoe-men.

As some cases of cholera had occurred during the few days immediately preceding, it seemed to be only a wise precaution to exercise some little prudence on the present occasion. Strange to say, however, the man attacked, despite his sickness, rowed resolutely till the party reached Los Banos, during all which period he showed the most lively interest in the hunt, constantly calling our attention to birds which his keen eye detected at a distance, or which were moving softly over the water without being observed.

Meanwhile one of the zoologists was busy at the parsonage, making preparations of the most interesting specimens procured. Padre Lorenzo could hardly believe his eyes when he beheld the naturalist engaged in such a b.l.o.o.d.y business, apparently on precisely the most agreeable spot of the whole terrace, and performing the various dissections requisite upon the dead bodies of some couple of dozen of birds. In whatever direction one turned in the apartment, the eye encountered nothing but birds of variegated plumage, gigantic Kalong bats, monkeys, or else barrels filled with spirits of wine, in which were preserved snakes, fish, and other small inhabitants of the deep. The poor padre, accustomed to peaceful meditation and full of simplicity, appeared quite convinced he must have sinned grievously that such a visitation should have overtaken him, as that this horde of foreigners should have disturbed the repose of his peaceful asylum with such appalling practices. The youths of the village, encouraged by the promise of remuneration, busied themselves with yet further increasing our zoological collection, and made their appearance, breathless with running, each with some still more curious and important object to show to the strange gentleman, who found such interest in snakes and insects, that he even paid money down for them!

Padre Lorenzo, however, was ere long rid of his singular guests, with whom he could even not get upon an intelligible footing. On the same day on which the hunt among the swamps of Calamba took place in the morning, the Expeditionary party returned from Los Banos, and by way of recompense to the obliging padre for the discomfort inflicted, they presented him with some provisions and some bottles of claret, which filled the worthy gentleman with delight, and seemed completely to reconcile him to the "Estranjeros." Some of the members of our Expedition also visited the two villages of Jalla-jalla and Binangonan, lying close to the sh.o.r.e of the lake, places of great interest in a geographical sense, while the remainder of the party returned to Manila in the same way they had come.

Unfortunately throughout the entire distance the rain fell worse than ever. It never ceased pouring in deluges, so that for hours together we could not get upon deck, but had to remain below in the small bleak, comfortless cabin. Here there was nothing for it but to wile away the time as best we might. We talked "_de omnibus rebus, et quibusdam aliis_," we laughed, we sang, and we--SMOKED, a habit, be it remarked incidentally, so constant and universal here, that the _Pebete_ with its glowing top is constantly circulating from hand to hand. This is a sort of tinder in the shape of small thin rods, a cubit long, which is prepared in China from a mixture of fine dried sawdust, fir, and clay, and forms a by no means insignificant article of commerce, the greater part coming from Macao.[107] A chest of eight cubic feet, filled with _Pebete_ or "joss-sticks," as the English call this tinder, the use of which pervades the entire Malay Archipelago as far as Madras, costs from 10_s._ to 16_s._ 6_d._ sterling.

By 11 P.M. we had got back to Manila. The weather had cleared up somewhat, the rain had ceased, and the city and environs were gay with the gleam of innumerable variegated lamps, intended to represent the illuminations expressive of the joy of the people at the birth of a prince of the Asturias. This did not however continue long; the enthusiasm that was finding vent through the glitter of the lamps was drowned in another deluge of rain, and as the exhibition had now lasted for several nights in succession, people at last had got weary of the trouble of constantly relighting them; the gaudy triumphal arches were decomposed into their const.i.tuent atoms--rough boards, wooden pegs, nails, and filthy little oil-lamps.

The continuance of the wet weather put more distant excursions out of the question. We had to content ourselves with having seen all that was really worth seeing in the city and environs during our limited stay.

Many additional visits were paid to the interior of the city, to the fort, to the monasteries, and the various public inst.i.tutions. Of these latter, two call for a more particular notice: the "_Biblioteca Militar_," and the immense hospital of San Juan de Dios, under the charge of the Charitable Friars.

The attraction of the Military Library, which is situated in one portion of the cloister of the Jesuits which had been almost entirely destroyed[108] by a former earthquake, consisted far less in its bibliographic treasures, than in a small collection of objects ill.u.s.trative of natural history, of which the first beginning had been made but a few months before our arrival. It deserves the more notice that it was not the project of a professed naturalist, but solely of an "aficimado," or friend to scientific inquiry, Colonel Miguel Creus.

Although very deficient, still the bare experiment has paved the way to a better and more complete collection, which at present comprises, besides about 100 species of birds and a few mammalia, a number of objects ill.u.s.trative of ethnography, geological specimens, and the various manufactures and natural products of the Archipelago (among which are 37 species of rice). Considering the natural resources of this Archipelago, (some of which, especially the Conchylia,[109] far surpa.s.s in richness of colour, beauty, and gracefulness of form anything that has yet been met with in any part of the globe,) the inauguration of this small collection may yet prove the foundation of one of the most magnificent and marvellous museums of natural history, provided the laudable intention of the founder receive adequate support; and the work, commenced as a labour of love, be continued and promoted with energy and perseverance.[110]

The great Civil Hospital, to which Dr. Fullerton, a Scotchman settled in Manila, was so kind as to accompany us, is a very extensive range of buildings, with large airy rooms, but so unclean and ill-kept, that it is no wonder if the report be true, that many natives in bad health prefer to run the chance of death without, to being brought to this infirmary.

Indeed most of the rooms are empty and unoccupied, there being in the whole building but 30 confined to their beds, which in a city of not less than 130,000 souls, with but _one_ hospital, is at all events a remarkable phenomenon. Every year on St. John's day the brethren of the order give a fete, when all the different rooms are scoured, swept, and garnished, and the sick in the hospital are present at the festivities, and, unrestricted by considerations of diet, are regaled with food and wine to their heart's content. This is likewise the period at which the hospital is most extensively patronized, and not only by those actually sick, but far more by those who qualify for a residence in the hospital by a too great devotion to the plentiful viands provided on St. John's day. When the English were in possession of Manila during the Seven Years' War, this range of buildings was used as a barrack, for which reason the church was considered as desecrated for 90 years, and only in 1857 consecrated once more as a temple of G.o.d.

There is also in the _Calle de Hospicio_ a Military Hospital, somewhat better kept, and not like the former under the charge of a brotherhood, but of a medical staff. Unfortunately the arrangements here leave very much to be desired. The rooms, insufficiently ventilated, are in the immediate vicinity of the kitchen, the smoke and odours from which cannot but be very prejudicial to the patients. In the various wards there were about 150 to 200 sick, whose lot called for redoubled sympathy, considering the little attention paid them.

Unfortunately no opportunity presented itself during our stay at Manila of witnessing any of those processions of the Church, which are necessarily so frequent in the course of the year. This was the more to be regretted, as we were told of many peculiarities of these costly processions. Here apparently, as in the earlier dependencies of Spain, in Central and Southern America, the Roman Catholic ritual has become mingled in the most extraordinary manner with ceremonies borrowed from paganism. The earliest Spanish missionaries were especially p.r.o.ne to believe that by retaining some of the former ceremonies they would facilitate the work of conversion, and increase the number of neophytes. They saw no scandal in the native, attired sometimes as a giant twelve feet high, sometimes as a Malay warrior, sometimes as an aboriginal savage, fantastically painted, and accoutred with bow and arrow, in a word, in all sorts of masquerading costume, frolicking in the very midst of the sacred procession, and performing all manner of buffoonery in front of the life-sized and gaily-adorned images of saints; but appeared rather to contemplate with pleasure that these wild beings, who had resisted the Spaniards on their first arrival on the island, were now subjected to the Holy Church, and rejoiced in her service! There are also numbers of natives dressed up as animals, and girls gaily decorated with flowers and in robes of spotless white, as also a fantastically-attired jester, who from time to time gives national dances and sings national songs, to the best of his ability, all in one long procession, accompanied by monks singing chorals and carrying wax tapers, while a promiscuous crowd of the faithful bring up the rear.

The sight of such processions have anything but an edifying influence upon a European, but on the mind of the ma.s.ses they seem to make a deep impression, and for weeks after, when smoking a cigarette in the privacy of the family circle, they will talk of the splendour of such solemnities, and the motley episodes that accompanied it. If it were admissible to judge of the religious mind of a people by their outward observances, the Tagalese would be the most devout race in the world. Wherever the natives come in contact with the Church, they put on an extraordinary stern and reverential deportment, and even in the most trivial matters the great influence of the priesthood upon the ma.s.ses becomes abundantly apparent.

This is the most conspicuous every evening as the clock tolls for the Ave Maria. The tones work like enchantment upon the people at whatever distance they may be audible, and for a few moments a profound silence succeeds to the noise and bustle. The labourer and the promenader, the ladies and gentlemen of the upper ranks in their elegant carriages, as well as the poor Tagale returning homeward from his hard day's work, and driving his laden mule before him, are for the s.p.a.ce of an instant awed by the solemn sounds. All vehicles stop suddenly short, the gentlemen and servants uncover their heads, the restless ma.s.ses stand as though nailed to the ground, and then sink gradually on their knees in prayer, their heads bared and their cigars extinguished; no one would venture to break in upon the universal stillness so long as the bell continues to toll. But as soon as it is silent, each jumps to his feet, and proceeds on again, believing he may now in safety give way to his frolicsomeness and pursue his pleasures.

Life in Manila during the dry season was described to us as exceedingly agreeable and gay. Then almost every evening joyous groups thread the city singing and joking, while from every hut resounds some s.n.a.t.c.h of melody accompanied by the guitar. We had a slight foretaste of the joviality which must prevail in Manila during the delicious summer evenings from the joyous disposition manifested by the various Tagal families, even during the wet season, when the almost incessant rain, and the swampy state of the streets, compelled the natives to remain crowded in the narrow rooms of their poor little huts. In St. Miguel, a hamlet in the immediate neighbourhood of Manila, with a number of country-seats of wealthy foreigners and natives, we repeatedly heard the sweet plaintive notes of the native women singing Tagal ditties, which for pathos and thrilling tenderness surpa.s.sed all we had hitherto heard or read of the talents of the coloured races for song and melody. We shall be able in the Appendix to give the notes of a very characteristic melody, the words of which form a very favourite popular song (Condiman), which we ultimately succeeded in taking down through the kindness of Senor Balthasar Girandier of Manila.

It was at San Miguel that we had not alone the most agreeable, but also the most melancholy, experience of our entire stay in the capital of the Philippines. On an island opposite the handsome, beautifully situate residence of our hospitable friend Mr. Steffan, the Bremen Consul, is the Poorhouse, in which the insane as well as the sick are confined together, the whole being, like all the other humane inst.i.tutions of Manila, under the superintendence of an ecclesiastic, in the present case a Mestizo. It appeared there was no proper or regular medical attendance. Without a.s.sistance, or any one responsible for their proper care, these miserable beings, left in an indescribably desolate and neglected condition, cower down upon the bare stone floor in the damp, filthy rooms, staring vacantly before them, or slink about among the cool corridors, murmuring unintelligibly to themselves. The padre, habituated to such a state of matters, seems never to give it a moment's thought, but rather to make it his amus.e.m.e.nt to conduct strangers through the dismal, horrible wards, where at each step one encounters some fresh form of misery. We felt most pity at the sight of a female, whose features and whole appearance spoke of a happier lot in by-gone days. It seemed a mystery crying aloud for reparation, that this unhappy being, an orphan, worthy of all compa.s.sion, should for a slight attack of melancholy be liable to be sent to the asylum for the insane by her unscrupulous relations, that they might with the greater security possess themselves of her property. So deep and so permanent was the impression made by this melancholy spectacle, that even now, after the lapse of years of varied experience, since our visit to the lunatic asylum of Manila, the ill-fated being, with her wan yet striking features, her large, melancholy black eyes, and her wavy, s.h.i.+ning black hair, her dress neglected and half torn into pieces, stands out life-like before us, as an embodiment of misery.

Early on the day on which we bade adieu to Manila we found an opportunity of seeing a live boa-constrictor, said to be 48 feet long and seven inches thick, at the house of a secular ecclesiastic in the suburb of Santa Cruz. This gigantic reptile had been confined for 32 years in a large wooden cage, where it had enjoyed such a carefully tended existence that it had fairly outlived the good padre, and was now for sale by his heirs. The indolent animal, constantly lying almost motionless among the sand, is fed only once in every four weeks, when it is usually presented with a young pig.

On the 24th of June the members of our Expedition went on board the small steamer plying to Cavite, where lay the frigate, on board which all necessary preparations had been made. Now, on the eve of departure, almost every one of our number mourned the disappointment of cherished expectations. The inclemency of the weather had not alone precluded our undertaking the more distant excursions which would have repaid our researches in the natural history of the islands, but had even interposed serious obstacles to our wanderings in the immediate neighbourhood; moreover, up to the very moment of our departure the Government manifested the utmost indifference to the objects of the Expedition, while even the educated portion of the Spanish residents never took the slightest notice.

The more reason therefore is it, under such circ.u.mstances, that we should not be unmindful of the few, such as Messrs. Steffan, Schmidt, Wegener, Wood, Fullerton, Fonseca, Girandier, and Creus, who, with warm interest in our plans, furnished us with new material relating to the Philippines and their inhabitants, and left us with the agreeable prospect of a permanent exchange of literary and scientific labours.

At one A.M. of the 25th June we weighed anchor in the harbour of Cavite, on our voyage to the Empire of China. The land breeze, which sets in regularly every night, carried us clear out of the Bay of Manila, but in the open sea outside we found, contrary to expectation, instead of the S.W. monsoon, light variable winds and calms, which materially interfered with our progress. At last, when we were about mid-way across the China Sea, we fell in with the long-looked for S.W. wind, which speedily wafted us to the next station we were to visit, the British colony of Hong-kong, or Victoria. With favourable winds the voyage from Manila to Hong-kong, a distance of about 700 nautical miles, is four or five days' sail; owing to the constant contrary winds we were double that time.

Already, before we came in sight of land, a Chinese fis.h.i.+ng vessel had put a pilot on board in the shape of a long-tailed son of the Celestial Empire, who jabbered English in a fas.h.i.+on to set the hair on end, and was lost in wonder at our flag, which he had never before seen. We afterwards found that the dialect used by our pilot was what is called Canton-English, such as is spoken by all Chinese who have dealings with the British, and consisting exclusively of a most ludicrous distortion of the commonest English phrases.

About noon on the 4th July we sighted the Chinese coast; and before sundown we had pa.s.sed the Lemmas islands, and found ourselves in the island-studded, many-bayed archipelago at the mouth of the Canton River, where the English have selected Hong-kong, with its admirable harbour, for the site of their colony. Thousands of fis.h.i.+ng-boats covered the surface of the ocean all around us, always sailing parallel with each other, in fact, quite a fleet of fishermen, who, on a favourable opportunity, add a little buccaneering, and have numerous secure retreats among the thousands of coves all around, so that even up to the present day they can carry on almost unpunished their piratical attempts upon their own fellow-countrymen, as well as upon foreigners ignorant of their danger. It was the first time we had seen in any numbers the Chinese Junk, with its strange-looking rigging. On most of these small but clumsy vessels there was cut or painted on either side of the forecastle a huge eye, as though the crew were anxious to increase the power of vision of their vessel, so that it might more readily pick its way through the numerous dangerous reefs and coral banks. On the other hand the superst.i.tious sea-faring Chinese sometimes veil and cover up the eyes of their vessels, in order that they should not behold certain strange things pa.s.sing by, as, for instance, a dead body, or an approaching thunder-storm, and not be frightened by them.[111]

The nearer we approached the coast, the more was our gaze rivetted by a landscape of the most imposing character, and now not owing to the alt.i.tude of the hills (for the highest peak is only 3000 feet), but to the grandeur of their form and their contour. Here are sharp, needle-shaped pinnacles, their steep rocky cones reminding one of the Sugar Loaf at Rio, and then round shoulders of hills, and far-extending ranges, penetrated by deep defiles, all nearly perpendicular, and without any extent of level land, and rising sheer out of the sea. These mountain ranges are almost entirely naked, or covered only with a scanty gra.s.s or bush vegetation: no tree, no forest hides the majestic groups of rocks and stones, and when the setting sun picked out with dark, well-defined shadows the sharp outline of the granite rock, it was as though there lay before us a "bit"

of the Swiss Alps, bathed in the sea as far as the limit of forest-vegetation, and our sailors contemplated with redoubled enjoyment a scene which reminded them of their native Dalmatia.