Pampanga is thought to be the best. It is a small, red variety, from
four to five feet high, and not thicker than the thumb. The manufacture
of the sugar is rudely conducted; and the whole business, I was told,
was in the hands of a few capitalists, who, by making advances, secure
the whole crop from those who are employed to bring it to market. It is
generally brought in moulds of the usual conical shape, called pilones,
which are delivered to the purchaser from November to June, and contain
each about one hundred and fifty pounds. On their receipt they are
placed in large storehouses, where the familiar operation of claying is
performed. The estimate for the quantity of sugar from these pilones
after this process is about one hundred pounds; it depends upon the care
taken in the process.
Of cotton they raise a considerable quantity, and principally of the
yellow nankeen. In the province of Ylocos it is cultivated most
extensively. The mode of cleaning it of its seed is very rude, by means
of a hand-mill, and the expense of cleaning a picul (one hundred and
forty pounds) is from five to seven dollars. There have, as far as I
have understood, been no endeavours to introduce any cotton-gins from
our country.
It will be merely necessary to give the prices at which labourers are
paid to show how the compensation is in comparison with that in our
country. In the vicinity of Manila, twelve and a half cents per day is
the usual wages; this in the provinces falls to six and nine cents. A
man with two buffaloes is paid about thirty cents. The amount of labour
performed by the latter in a day would be the ploughing of a soane,
about two-tenths of an acre. The most profitable way of employing
labourers is by the task, when, it is said, the natives work well, and
are industrious.
The manner in which the sugar and other produce is brought to market at
Manila is peculiar, and deserves to be mentioned. In some of the
villages the chief men unite to build a vessel, generally a pirogue, in
which they embark their produce, under the conduct of a few persons, who
go to navigate it, and dispose of the cargo. In due time they make their
voyage, and when the accounts are settled, the returns are distributed
to each according to his share. Festivities are then held, the saints
thanked for their kindness, and blessings invoked for another year.
After this is over, the vessel is taken carefully to pieces, and
distributed among the owners, to be preserved for the next season.
The profits in the crops, according to estimates, vary from sixty to one
hundred per cent.; but it was thought, as a general average, that this
was, notwithstanding the great productiveness of the soil, far beyond
the usual profits accruing from agricultural operations. In some
provinces this estimate would hold good, and probably be exceeded.
Indigo would probably be a lucrative crop, for that raised here is said
to be of a quality equal to the best, and the crop is not subject to so
many uncertainties as in India: the capital and attention required in
vats, etc., prevent it from being raised in any quantities. Among the
productions, the bamboo and rattan ought to claim a particular notice
from their great utility: they enter into almost everything. Of the
former their houses are built, including frames, floors, sides, and
roof; fences are made of the same material, as well as every article of
general household use, including baskets for oil and water. The rattan
is a general substitute for ropes of all descriptions, and the two
combined are used in constructing rafts for crossing ferries.
The crops frequently suffer from the ravages of the locusts, which sweep
all before them. Fortunately for the poorer classes, their attacks take
place after the rice has been harvested; but the cane is sometimes
entirely cut off. The authorities of Manila, in the vain hope of
stopping their devastations, employ persons to gather them and throw
them into the sea. I understood on one occasion they had spent eighty
thousand dollars in this way, but all to little purpose. It is said that
the crops rarely suffer from droughts, but on the contrary the rains are
thought to fall too often and to flood the rice fields; these, however,
yield a novel crop, and are very advantageous to the poor, viz.: a great
quantity of fish, which are called dalag, and are a species of Blunnius;
they are so plentiful that they are caught with baskets; these fish
weigh from a half to two pounds, and some are said to be eighteen inches
long; but this is not all; they are said, after a deep inundation, to
be found even in the vaults of churches.
The Philippines are divided into thirty-one provinces, sixteen of which
are on the island of Luzon, and the remainder comprise the other islands
of the group and the Ladrones.
The population of the whole group is above three millions, including all
tribes of natives, mestizoes, and whites. The latter-named class are but
few in number, not exceeding three thousand. The mestizoes were supposed
to be about fifteen or twenty thousand; they are distinguished as
Spanish and Indian mestizoes. The Chinese have of late years increased
to a large number, and it is said that there are forty thousand of them
in and around Manila alone. One-half of the whole population belongs to
Luzon. The island next to it in number of inhabitants is Panay, which
contains about three hundred and thirty thousand. Then come Zebu,
Mindanao, Leyte, Samar, and Negros, varying from the above numbers down
to fifty thousand. The population is increasing, and it is thought that
it doubles itself in seventy years. This rate of increase appears
probable, from a comparison of the present population with the estimate
made at the beginning of the present century, which shows a growth in
forty years of about one million four hundred thousand.
The native population is composed of a number of distinct tribes, the
principal of which in Luzon are Pangarihan, Ylocos, Cagayan, Tagala,
and Pampangan.
The Irogotes, who dwell in the mountains, are the only natives who have
not been subjected by the Spaniards. The other tribes have become
identified with their rulers in religion, and it is thought that by this
circumstance alone has Spain been able to maintain the ascendency, with
so small a number, over such a numerous, intelligent, and energetic race
as they are represented to be. This is, however, more easily accounted
for, from the Spaniards fostering and keeping alive the jealousy and
hatred that existed at the time of the discovery between the different
tribes.
It seems almost incredible that Spain should have so long persisted in
the policy of allowing no more than one galleon to pass annually between
her colonies, and equally so that the nations of Europe should have been
so long deceived in regard to the riches and wealth that Spain was
monopolizing in the Philippines. The capture of Manila, in 1762, by the
English, first gave a clear idea of the value of this remote and
little-known appendage of the empire.
The Philippines, considered in their capacity for commerce, are
certainly among the most favoured portions of the globe, and there is
but one circumstance that tends in the least degree to lessen their
apparent advantage; this is the prevalence of typhoons in the China
seas, which are occasionally felt with force to the north of latitude
10 deg. N. South of that parallel they have never been known to prevail, and
seldom so far; but from their unfailing occurrence yearly in some part
of the China seas, they are looked for with more or less dread, and
cause each season a temporary interruption in all the trade that passes
along the coast of these islands.
The army is now composed entirely of native troops, who number about six
thousand men, and the regiments are never suffered to serve in the
provinces in which they are recruited, but those from the north are sent
to the south, and vice versa. There they are employed to keep a
continual watch on each other; and, speaking different dialects, they
never become identified.
They are, indeed, never allowed to remain long enough in one region to
imbibe any feelings in unison with those of its inhabitants. The
hostility is so great among the regiments that mutinies have occurred,
and contests arisen which have produced even bloodshed, which it was
entirely out of the power of the officers to prevent. In cases of this
kind, summary punishment is resorted to.
Although the Spaniards, as far as is known abroad, live in peace and
quiet, this is far from being the case; for rebellion and revolts among
the troops and tribes are not unfrequent in the provinces. During the
time of our visit one of these took place, but it was impossible to
learn anything concerning it that could be relied upon, for all
conversation respecting such occurrences is interdicted by the
government. The difficulty to which I refer was said to have originated
from the preaching of a fanatic priest, who inflamed them to such a
degree that they overthrew the troops and became temporarily masters of
the country. Prompt measures were immediately taken, and orders issued
to give the rebels no quarter; the regiments most hostile to those in
the revolt were ordered to the spot; they spared no one; the priest and
his companions were taken, put to death, and according to report, in a
manner so cruel as to be a disgrace to the records of the nineteenth
century. Although I should hope the accounts I heard of these
transactions were incorrect, yet the detestation these acts were held in
would give some colour to the statements.
The few gazettes that are published at Manila are entirely under the
control of the government; and a resident of that city must make up his
mind to remain in ignorance of the things that are passing around him,
or believe just what the authorities will allow to be told, whether
truth or falsehood. The government of the Philippines is emphatically an
iron rule; how long can it continue so is doubtful.
The natives of the Philippines are industrious. They manufacture an
amount of goods sufficient to supply their own wants, particularly from
Panay and Ylocos. These, for the most part, consist of cotton and silks,
and a peculiar article called pina. The latter is manufactured from a
species of Bromelia (pine-apple), and comes principally from the island
of Panay. The finest kinds of pina are exceedingly beautiful and surpass
any other material in its evenness and beauty of texture. Its colour is
yellowish, and the embroidery is fully equal to the material. It is much
sought after by all strangers, and considered as one of the curiosities
of this group. Various reports have been stated of the mode of its
manufacture, and among others that it was woven under water, which I
found, upon inquiry, to be quite erroneous. The web of the pina is so
fine that they are obliged to prevent all currents of air from passing
through the rooms where it is manufactured, for which purpose there are
gauze screens in the windows. After the article is brought to Manila, it
is then embroidered by girls; this last operation adds greatly to its
value.
The market is a never-failing place of amusement to a foreigner; for
there a crowd of the common people is always to be seen, and their mode
of conducting business may be observed. The canals here afford great
facilities for bringing vegetables and produce to market in a fresh
state. The vegetables are chiefly brought from the shores of the Laguna
de Bay, through the river Pasig. The meat appeared inferior, and as in
all Spanish places the art of butchering is not understood. The
poultry, however, surpasses that of any other place I have seen,
particularly in ducks, the breeding of which is pursued to a great
extent. Establishments for breeding these birds are here carried on in a
systematic manner, and are a great curiosity. They consist of many small
enclosures, each about twenty feet by forty or fifty, made of bamboo,
which are placed on the bank of the river, and partly covered with
water. In one corner of the enclosure is a small house, where the eggs
are hatched by artificial heat, produced by rice-chaff in a state of
fermentation. It is not uncommon to see six or eight hundred ducklings
all of the same age. There are several hundreds of these enclosures, and
the number of ducks of all ages may be computed at millions. The manner
in which they are schooled to take exercise, and to go in and out of the
water, and to return to their house, almost exceeds belief. The keepers
or tenders are of the Tagala tribe, who live near the enclosures, and
have them at all times under their eye. The old birds are not suffered
to approach the young, and all of one age are kept together. They are
fed upon rice and a small species of shell-fish that is found in the
river and is peculiar to it. From the extent of these establishments we
inferred that ducks were the favourite article of food at Manila, and
the consumption of them must be immense. The markets are well supplied
with chickens, pigeons, young partridges, which are brought in alive,
and turkeys. Among strange articles that we saw for sale were cakes of
coagulated blood. The markets are well stocked with a variety of fish,
taken both in the Laguna and bay of Manila, affording a supply of both
the fresh and salt water species, and many smaller kinds that are dried
and smoked. Vegetables are in great plenty, and consist of pumpkins,
lettuce, onions, radishes, very long squashes, etc.; of fruits they have
melons, chicos, durians, marbolas, and oranges.
Fish are caught in weirs, by the hook, or in seines. The former are
constructed of bamboo stakes, in the shallow water of the lake, at the
point where it flows through the river Pasig. In the bay, and at the
mouth of the river, the fish are taken in nets, suspended by the four
corners from hoops attached to a crane, by which they are lowered into
the water. The fishing-boats are little better than rafts, and are
called saraboas.
The usual passage-boat is termed banca, and is made of a single trunk.
These are very much used by the inhabitants. They have a sort of awning
to protect the passenger from the rays of the sun; and being light are
easily rowed about, although they are exceedingly uncomfortable to sit
in, from the lowness of the seats, and liable to overset if the weight
is not placed near the bottom. The out-rigger has in all probability
been dispensed with, owing to the impediment it offered to the
navigation of their canals; these canals offer great facilities for the
transportation of burdens; the banks of almost all of them are faced
with granite. Where the streets cross them, there are substantial stone
bridges, which are generally of no more than one arch, so as not to
impede the navigation. The barges used for the transportation of produce
resemble our canal-boats, and have sliding roofs to protect them from
the rain.
Water for the supply of vessels is brought off in large earthen jars. It
is obtained from the river, and if care is not taken, the water will be
impure; it ought to be filled beyond the city. Our supply was obtained
five or six miles up the river by a lighter, in which were placed a
number of water-casks. It proved excellent.
The country around Manila, though no more than an extended plain for
some miles, is one of great interest and beauty, and affords many
agreeable rides on the roads to Santa Anna and Maraquino. Most of the
country-seats are situated on the river Pasig; they may indeed be called
palaces, from their extent and appearance. They are built upon a grand
scale, and after the Italian style, with terraces, supported by strong
abutments, decked with vases of plants. The grounds are ornamented with
the luxuriant, lofty, and graceful trees of the tropics; these are
tolerably well kept. Here and there fine large stone churches, with
their towers and steeples, are to be seen, the whole giving the
impression of a wealthy nobility and a happy and flourishing peasantry.
THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TYNDALL.
CLARENCE KING.
[In 1864 Professor Josiah Dwight Whitney, State Geologist of
California, sent a band of five explorers for a summer's
campaign in the high Sierras. Clarence King was assistant
geologist of the party; he recounted their researches and
adventures in "Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada,"
published in 1871 by J. R. Osgood & Co., Boston; three years
later the same firm issued an enlarged edition with maps.
"The Ascent of Mount Tyndall," the third chapter of the book,
is one of the most thrilling stories of adventure ever
written. Clarence King suggested and organized the United
States Geological Survey, and was its director 1878-81. He
died in 1901.]
Morning dawned brightly upon our bivouac among a cluster of dark firs in
the mountain corridor, opened by an ancient glacier of King's River in
the heart of the Sierras. It dawned a trifle sooner than we could have
wished, but Professor Brewer and Hoffman had breakfasted before sunrise,
and were off with barometer and theodolite upon their shoulders,
proposing to ascend our amphitheatre to its head and climb a great
pyramidal peak which swelled up against the eastern sky, closing the
view in that direction.
We, who remained in camp, spent the day in overhauling campaign
materials and preparing for a grand assault upon the summits. For a
couple of hours we could descry our friends through the field-glasses,
their minute black forms moving slowly on among piles of giant debris;
now and then lost, again coming into view, and at last disappearing
altogether.
It was twilight of evening and almost eight o'clock when they came back
to camp, Brewer leading the way, Hoffman following; and as they sat down
by our fire without uttering a word we read upon their faces terrible
fatigue.
So we hastened to give them supper of coffee and soup, bread and
venison, which resulted, after a time, in our getting in return the
story of the day.
For eight whole hours they had worked up over granite and snow, mounting
ridge after ridge, till the summit was made about two o'clock.
These snowy crests bounding our view at the eastward we had all along
taken to be the summits of the Sierra, and Brewer had supposed himself
to be climbing a dominant peak, from which he might look eastward over
Owen's Valley and out upon leagues of desert. Instead of this a vast
wall of mountains, lifted still higher than his peak, rose beyond a
tremendous canon which lay like a trough between the two parallel ranks
of peaks. Hoffman showed us on his sketch-book the profile of this new
range, and I instantly recognized the peaks which I had seen from
Mariposa, whose great white pile had led me to believe them the highest
points of California.
For a couple of months my friends had made me the target of plenty of
pleasant banter about my "highest land," which they lost faith in as we
climbed from Thomas's Mill,--I too becoming a trifle anxious about it;
but now the truth had burst upon Brewer and Hoffman they could not find
words to describe the terribleness and grandeur of the deep canon, nor
for picturing those huge crags towering in line at the east. Their peak,
as indicated by the barometer, was in the region of 13,400 feet, and a
level across to the farther range showed its crests to be at least 1,500
feet higher. They had spent hours upon the summit scanning the eastern
horizon, and ranging downward into the labyrinth of gulfs below, and had
come at last with reluctance to the belief that to cross this gorge and
ascend the eastern wall of peaks was utterly impossible.
Brewer and Hoffman were old climbers, and their verdict of impossible
opposed me as I lay awake thinking about it; but early next morning I
had made up my mind, and, taking Cotter aside, I asked him in an easy
manner whether he would like to penetrate the Unknown Land with me at
the risk of our necks, provided Brewer should consent. In frank,
courageous tone he answered after his usual mode, "Why not?" Stout of
limb, stronger yet in heart, of iron endurance, and a quiet, unexcited
temperament, and, better yet, deeply devoted to me, I felt that Cotter
was the one comrade I would choose to face death with, for I believed
there was in his manhood no room for fear or shirk.
It was a trying moment for Brewer when we found him and volunteered to
attempt a campaign for the top of California, because he felt a certain
fatherly responsibility over our youth, a natural desire that we should
not deposit our triturated remains in some undiscoverable hole among the
feldspathic granites; but, like a true disciple of science, this was at
last overbalanced by his intense desire to know more of the unexplored
region. He freely confessed that he believed the plan madness, and
Hoffman, too, told us we might as well attempt to get on a cloud as to
try the peak.
As Brewer gradually yielded his consent, I saw by his conversation that
there was a possibility of success; so we spent the rest of the day in
making preparations.
Our walking shoes were in excellent condition, the hobnails firm and
new. We laid out a barometer, a compass, a pocket-level, a set of wet
and dry thermometers, note-books, with bread, cooked beans, and venison
enough to last a week, rolled them all in blankets, making two
knapsack-shaped packs strapped firmly together with loops for the arms,
which, by Brewer's estimate, weighed forty pounds apiece.
Gardner declared he would accompany us to the summit of the first range
to look over into the gulf we were to cross, and at last Brewer and
Hoffman also concluded to go up with us.
Quite too early for our profit we all betook ourselves to bed, vainly
hoping to get a long refreshing sleep from which we should rise ready
for our tramp.
Never a man welcomed those first gray streaks in the east gladder than I
did, unless it may be Cotter, who has in later years confessed that he
did not go to sleep that night. Long before sunrise we had done our
breakfast and were under way, Hoffman kindly bearing my pack, and Brewer
Cotter's.
Our way led due east up the amphitheatre and toward Mount Brewer, as we
had named the great pyramidal peak.
Awhile after leaving camp, slant sunlight streamed in among gilded
pinnacles along the slope of Mount Brewer, touching here and there, in
broad dashes of yellow, the gray walls, which rose sweeping up on either
side like the sides of a ship.
Our way along the valley's middle ascended over a number of huge steps,
rounded and abrupt, at whose bases were pools of transparent snow-water
edged with rude piles of erratic glacier blocks, scattered companies of
alpine firs, of red bark and having cypress-like darkness of foliage,
with fields of snow under sheltering cliffs, and bits of softest velvet
meadow clouded with minute blue and white flowers.
As we climbed, the gorge grew narrow and sharp, both sides wilder; and
the spurs which projected from them, nearly overhanging the middle of
the valley, towered above us with more and more severe sculpture. We
frequently crossed deep fields of snow, and at last reached the level
of the highest pines, where long slopes of debris swept down from either
cliff, meeting in the middle. Over and among these immense blocks, often
twenty and thirty feet high, we were obliged to climb, hearing far below
us the subterranean gurgle of streams.
Interlocking spurs nearly closed the gorge behind us; our last view was
out a granite gateway formed of two nearly vertical precipices,
sharp-edged, jutting buttress-like, and plunging down into a field of
angular boulders which fill the valley bottom.
The eye ranged out from this open gateway overlooking the great King's
Canon with its moraine-terraced walls, the domes of granite upon Big
Meadows, and the undulating stretch of forest which descends to the
plain.
The gorge turning southward, we rounded a sort of mountain promontory,
which, closing the view behind us, shut us up in the bottom of a perfect
basin. In front lay a placid lake reflecting the intense black-blue of
the sky. Granite, stained with purple and red, sank into it upon one
side, and a broad spotless field of snow came down to its margin on the
other.