Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara Volume Ii Part 14

As the night was dark, with neither moonlight nor light-house (of which latter there is unfortunately an utter lack here), we could not venture to wind our way through the narrow channel into the harbour of Hong-kong, on the north side of the island, and we anch.o.r.ed therefore about 9 P.M. on the west side, in the Lemmas Channel; and with the first beams of the sun, on the morning of the 5th July, we stood in to the enchanting harbour of Hong-kong. Where the previous day we could descry from seaward hardly any traces of human activity in the hills and rocks along the coast, so that the land seemed desolate and deserted, there now smiled upon us, as we doubled Green Island, the city of Victoria, rising amphitheatre-like; and, lying invitingly before us, its harbour, all alive with numbers of stately s.h.i.+ps and steamers, looking like an inland lake,--in fact, entirely land-locked. Several old s.h.i.+ps of the line, which the English use as hospitals and coal depots, filled the background, among which was the Royal Charlotte, 130 guns, the first three-decker that has pa.s.sed the Equator.

At 10 A.M. we cast anchor directly opposite the town; and amid the flags of England, America, France, Holland, and Russia, there now flaunted proudly forth the flag of Austria!

FOOTNOTES:

[72] In Manila the minimum annual rainfall is 84 inches, the maximum 102 inches.

[73] The expedition sailed from Madras with about 2300 men; the squadron consisted of 13 s.h.i.+ps of war and transports. The English landed without any opposition, laid siege to Manila, stormed and captured the city proper within ten days after their arrival. The Citadel capitulated; the Governor, an Archbishop, binding himself to pay a contribution of 4,000,000 dollars (833,000), in order to save the city from being sacked.

This expedition was always looked on by the Spaniards of the Philippines as a very rash adventure, which by no means tended to diminish the national antipathy to the English race, although after such freebooting expeditions as have within these last two years been witnessed on the part of civilized states in law-abiding Europe, this invasion by an army of declared enemies must be viewed in an entirely different light.

[74] Spanish writers, treating of the Philippines, derive this name from "Losong," which in the native language means the wooden mortar in which the rice, which forms the chief subsistence of the inhabitants, is sh.e.l.led and pounded. The first strangers who came to this island, and found in every hut one of these very peculiar clumsy-looking implements, spoke of the newly discovered island as "Isle de los Losenes" (island of wooden mortars), whence in process of time it became transformed into Luzon.

[75] One of these hotels, the Hotel Francais, was, at the time of our visit, kept by a Frenchman named Dubosse, a man of a most adventurous disposition, who afterwards accompanied the French army to China as a mess-man, and was one of the victims seized by Sang-ko-lin-sin's soldiers, near Pekin, in September, 1860, who met with such a horrible fate. The other inn, the Hotel Fernando, kept by a North American, is yet more filthy and noisy than the first-named, since, being situated on the harbour, it serves for a rendezvous for the various s.h.i.+ps' captains. In neither of these is the charge less than 4 to 5 Spanish dollars a day, or about 1 sterling.

[76] The Stranger's Guide to the Philippines (_Guia de Forasteros_) for the year 1859 gives the names of 61 commercial houses established by Spaniards in Manila. Besides these, there are in the capital of the Philippines, seven English, three North American, two French, one German, and two Swiss trading firms.

[77] We borrow this alphabet from the valuable work of Baron von Hugel, ent.i.tled the Pacific Ocean and the Spanish Colonies of the Indian Archipelago (Vienna, printed at the Imperial Press, 1860), and believe the reader will the more gratefully welcome it that only a small number of copies of Baron von Hugel's interesting journal were printed in ma.n.u.script for private circulation.

[78] This opinion of our Augustinian guide is not shared out there. An Austrian traveller, as widely renowned as highly cultivated, Baron Von Hugel, relates, in his Diary already alluded to, the following singular revelations by a friar in Manila: "The Philippine Islands belong to the Augustine monks; in Manila, Don Pasquale (the then Governor) or another may ruffle it and talk large,--in the interior we are the true masters.

Tell me where you want to go and everything shall be laid open for you!...

Police in the interior? It is laughable to hear of such an idea! As if such were possible! and I should be glad to make the acquaintance of that official who would venture to ask even the simple question of who any man is, who is under the protection of our order!... Should you like to ascend the Majayjay, the highest hill in the interior? An Augustinian friar shall accompany you thither. Should you care to make an excursion to the Lagoons and thence proceed to the Pacific Ocean? An Augustinian friar shall be your guide. Have you a hankering to visit the forests of Ilocos, northward from Manila, or to sail down the great river Lanatin? An Augustinian shall arrange all that for you. In one word, say what you wish to do!"

[79] Fray Manuel Blanco, whose portrait, the size of life, but by no means artistically executed, adorns one of the corridors, was born 24th November, 1778, at Navianos, in the province of Zamora in Spain, and died in the convent of Manila 1st April, 1845.

[80] Of these there were in 1857, 373,569 liable to taxation. Within the same year there were 85,629 persons baptized, 16,768 married, and 49,999 buried with the rites of the Church.

[81] In 1857 there were baptized in these 76 villages 21,604 children, 4512 couples were united in wedlock, and 12,002 were buried.

[82] In the entire Archipelago there is but _one_ newspaper, "El Boletin Oficial," published under the auspices of Government, and which treats much more of religious than of political topics. There are but two printing and publis.h.i.+ng houses in Manila, one of which is in the hands of the Dominicans, and prints almost exclusively Prayer-books and religious works.

[83] This historical poem is ent.i.tled "_Luzonia, sea Los Genios del Pasig_."

[84] Of this number of souls there were in 1857, 188,509 amenable to taxation, while during the year there occurred 31,285 births, 21,029 deaths, and 5713 marriages.

[85] In 1857, the order baptized 23,227, joined in marriage 4830 couples, and buried 15,627.

[86] The printed works obtained in the various monasteries of Manila consist of dictionaries and small grammars of the Togala, Bisaya, Ilocana, Tbanac, Bicol, and Pampangu dialects. The MSS. embrace vocabularies of the Igorotes and Ilongotes languages of Luzon, as also the idiom used by the natives of the Marianne Archipelago, together with a short treatise on the Marianne group written in Spanish by a missionary. All these works will be thoroughly and exhaustively treated of in the ethnological portion, where also the ma.n.u.scripts will be published.

[87] _Usted_--contraction for "_Vuestra Merced_" (your Grace).

[88] The fair speeches and amiable phrases of the Spaniards lose all their value when one finds upon nearer acquaintance with this courteous nation, that the heart and the feelings take no part therein. There is nothing which a Spaniard will not offer to a stranger--but it is always on the clear understanding that the latter will with equal politeness refuse the proffer. We on one occasion, however, saw a Yankee take these professions at their apparent value, and by so doing put his Spanish host to no small confusion. The Spaniard wore a very costly diamond breast-pin, for which the American could not find words sufficient to express his admiration. To his exclamations of delight, the Spaniard kept repeating his nauseous "_a la disposicion de Usted_," till at last the American fairly took the pin out of the Spaniard's scarf and transferred it to his own. The latter felt so ashamed and dumbfounded that he could not utter a word. The following day the American, who had only taken it by way of joke, returned the costly bauble to the agonized Spaniard, but took occasion in so doing to remark that he now knew what was meant by Spanish courtesy.

[89] On the island of Mactan (10 20' N., 124 10' E.) there was also erected on the promontory of Sugano, a monument to the memory of Magelhaens, and the happy idea was entertained of making it also into a light-house, to warn s.h.i.+ps of the danger in approaching the immense numbers of reefs that are found here.

[90] V. Heinrich Heine's "Romanzero."

[91] It was estimated, we were told, at from $35,000 to $40,000 annually.

[92] c.o.c.k-fighting has been so long disused in England, that to most persons it only lingers as a grim tradition, mainly authenticated by Hogarth's well-known painting. The degrading a.s.sociations which a c.o.c.k-fight generated are sufficiently well ill.u.s.trated by the prince of pictorial satirists. The "betting-ring" still brings together in England the same intermingling of grades of society, and consequent utter disruption of all social respect, but with all its faults it never has, nor can have, the same brutalizing effects of c.o.c.k-fighting, which are instanced by the following anecdote, extracted from the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for April, 1789, and which may even now be found to repay perusal:--"Died at Tottenham, John Ardesoif, Esq., a young man of large fortune, ... who if he had his foibles, had also his merits (!) that far outweighed them. Mr. Ardesoif was very fond of c.o.c.k-fighting, and had a favourite c.o.c.k, upon which he won many very profitable matches. The last bet he laid upon this c.o.c.k, he lost; which so enraged him that he had the bird tied to a spit, and roasted alive before a large fire. The screams of the miserable animal were so affecting that some gentlemen who were present attempted to interfere, at which Mr. Ardesoif was so enraged that he seized a poker, and with the most furious vehemence declared that he would kill the first man that interfered, but in the midst of his a.s.severation he fell dead upon the spot! Such we are a.s.sured were the circ.u.mstances attending the death of this great pillar of humanity!"

[93] This unhappy lady died a melancholy death, having, what rarely occurs among Spanish women, committed suicide at her hotel by swallowing Prussic acid. It was rumoured that an unhappy attachment led to this fatal resolve.

[94] Of these straw-plait manufactories the cigar-holders are especially noticeable for their fine texture and elegance. These are usually sold at very high prices; some of the more elegant of these fetching from 40 to 50 dollars (8 to 10). Straw mats and hats, not inferior in fineness of texture to those of Panama, are made here of palm fibre, and form a not unimportant article of exportation.

[95] 8 reals = 1 Spanish piastre = 3_s._ 1-3/4_d._ at par; hence 1 real = 4.71875_d._ English.

[96] Owing to the universal interest felt in tobacco, the use of which has spread over the globe, till it has become a necessary of life to the civilized man as well as the half-savage races of mankind, we subjoin by way of completing the information above attained, the following remarks upon the tobacco culture in other possessions of Spain, extracted from an unpublished journal, kept by a member of the Expedition, during a visit previously paid to the West Indies.

"The best sites for growing tobacco in Cuba lie to the westward of the capital in what is called the _Vuelta abajo_, between Rio Hondo and San Juan de Martinez, and is about ten English miles in circ.u.mference; the tobacco grown on the _Vuelta arriba_ is usually of inferior quality. In 1856 there were in Cuba 10,000 plantations or _Vegas_, with a superficial area of 8000 _Caballerias_, (about 414 square miles, 1 Caballeria being equal to 160,371,041 English square yards, or 33,134 acres), cultivated by from 14,000 to 16,000 negro slaves. The total value of the capital employed in this branch of culture (including manual labour, building utensils, draught animals, &c.) may be estimated at 13,000,000 piasters (2,730,000), and the average weight of tobacco produced at a million and a half _arrobas_, or 37,500,000 lbs. annually. Of this quant.i.ty 400,000 _arrobas_, or 10,000,000 lbs., are consumed in Cuba itself, while the rest is exported partly in the leaf, partly in the manufactured state. One _Caballeria_ of ground can produce on the average about 360 _arrobas_, or 9000 lbs., of which however only 1/20th will be of superior quality.

"A '_vega_' usually consists of three _Caballerias_, which are in regular succession devoted to the tobacco cultivation, so that while two are devoted to maize and other vegetables for human subsistence, only the remaining third is under tobacco. The season for sowing is in October or November, and the crop is got in in January or February. On one _Caballeria_ there are usually found under favourable circ.u.mstances 500,000 plants or _Matas_. Hence it results, that as the tobacco culture of Cuba extends over 8000 _Caballerias_, there are throughout the island 4,000,000,000 plants. Each plant has from 8 to 10 suitable leaves. They are collected together in bundles, called _manojos_ (handfuls), of from 120 to 130 leaves each, and 80 _manojos_ make one _tercio_, or 150 lbs. of tobacco. One _manojo_ weighs about 1-1/4 lbs., and when prepared makes into about 400 cigars. There are in Cuba altogether 600 cigar-manufactories, of which above 400 are in the capital alone. A workman can make about 150 cigars a day; the rate of pay is about 10 Spanish piasters or _duros_ for 1000. The manufacture of cigars gives employment to about 20,000 workmen, chiefly males. Under the designation of _Tabagueros_, they const.i.tute almost an exclusive cla.s.s, and owing to their improvidence are usually in wretched plight. In Cuba (as in Luzon) there is but one species of tobacco raised, but more attention seems to be paid to its cultivation in the former island. The leaves are sorted in Cuba according to colour and 'vein' (_venas_), and their quality fixed accordingly. In commerce there are three sorts, viz.--

No. I. 42 to 45 Spanish piasters (6 15_s._ to 7 5_s._) per 1000.

II. 32 " " (5) "

III. 28 " " (4 10_s._) "

The number of cigars annually exported from the Havanna averages from 200,000,000 to 250,000,000, without including the _ramos_, or tobacco exported in the leaf. The cedar-tree (_Cedrela odorata_), of which the cigar-boxes are chiefly made, is occasionally prejudicial to the contents, in consequence of the slight dampness still remaining in the wood bringing out white spots of decay upon the tips of the cigars."

[97] The United States of North America produce above 200,000 cwt., or more than one half the whole supply. The annual consumption of tobacco by the individual is in the United States 3-1/2 lbs., in England 1 lb. and 1/2 oz., in France 1 lb. 1-1/2 oz., and in Germany 2 lbs.

[98] The experiments made at Fort St. George near Madras in July, 1850, with lines and rigging made of abaca and European hemp, with the view of testing their respective availability, gave the following interesting results: a rope of Manila hemp, 12 feet long, 3-1/4 inches in circ.u.mference, and weighing 28-11/16 oz., required a strain of 4460 lbs.

to break it: on the other hand a rope of English hemp of similar dimensions, weighing 39 oz., broke with a strain of only 3885 lbs. A second smaller rope of Manila hemp, 1-3/4 inches thick, and 9-1/2 oz.

weight, also 12 feet in length, required 1490 lbs. to break it, while an exactly similar cord of English and Russian hemp, weighing 13 oz. per fathom, broke with 1184 lbs., so that in the first instance the abaca line was 13 per cent., and in the second nearly 22 per cent. stronger than ropes of similar size of European hemp.

[99] Compare with Forbes Royle's valuable treatise upon Manila hemp, ent.i.tled "The Fibrous Plants of India fitted for cordage, clothing, and paper." London, 1855.

[100] The best Manila hemp is worth from 4-1/2 to 6 dollars per Spanish _picul_=140 lbs. Cordage made by steam power of the various dimensions, from half to one inch thick, sells at 25, and from one to five inches thick, at 10, piasters per _picul_.

[101] The fabrics known by the name of _Sinamay_ are on the other hand made of the fibres of the _Musa textilis_. They are of less gossamer tissue, but almost transparent, and far more durable than the fabrics made from the Pina.

[102] According to Buzeta the Lagoon is 36 Spanish leagues in circ.u.mference, by an average depth of 15 to 16 _brazos_ (fathoms). While thirteen rivers of various dimensions flow into the lake, the Pasig alone issues from it, to carry off its waters to the sea.

[103] p.r.o.nounce Mahayhay.

[104] The size attained by the alligator or cayman in the Laguna de Bay borders on the incredible. Baron Von Hugel, in his work already referred to, tells of a French settler in _Jalla-Jalla_ (p.r.o.nounce Halla-Halla), who a.s.sured him that he had once killed an alligator, whose head alone weighed 250 lbs., while the body was 10 feet in circ.u.mference! It lay buried in the sluice at the mouth of a river, and it proved so difficult to get it brought to land and cut up, that only the head was severed by way of trophy, and brought home to his house.

[105] Cabeza, the head, whence it is further applied to express "chief,"

or "chieftain."

[106] Another description of tax is the compulsory labour exacted from the natives, which is expended in the construction of roads and bridges, transmission of mail matter, transport of military baggage, luggage of travellers, &c. &c.

[107] These joss-sticks, by the Chinese called "s.h.i.+-s.h.i.+n-hiang," burn, when lighted, so slowly and regularly, that the Chinese often use them to mark the divisions of time.

[108] The church was utterly ruined, and a large portion of the buildings are similarly in a most desolate, neglected condition. A hope was however expressed that in the following year, 1859, members of the Society of Jesus would come from Europe to settle in the Philippines, who would include among their other labours that of rebuilding their own cloister.

[109] The graceful elegance of the Conchylia brought from Manila is so remarkable that an English s.h.i.+p captain, who, without a special knowledge of the matter, brought on speculation a freight of mussels from the Philippines to Europe, not only made by their sale an enormous profit, but even attained in consequence to a certain degree of celebrity in the scientific world!

[110] Unfortunately the students of Natural Science have met with but little encouragement or support from Government, and many parts of the interior still remain a sealed book to them, or are only accessible under great difficulties. The deficiency of definite information respecting the island attracts foreign naturalists thither, and of late there have been exploring it, M. M. Feodor Jagor of Berlin, Dr. Karl Semper of Hamburg, and La Porte of Paris, all intent on matters connected with the natural history of this Archipelago, but the majority of such visitants come back discontented and thoroughly undeceived to land, where all activity of scientific inquiry is allowed reluctantly, and regarded by the Government and the priests with an envious eye.