mantle and gilded crown upon the head; on Good Friday it lay in a
white shroud as if in death; on Easter day it was arrayed in flowing
white robes and was brought from the cemetery into town and borne at
the head of a great parade. Those who could afford to do so would set
up a special shrine in front of their homes, adorned with flowers and
household images. The priest would, as a special favor, have special
services before these shrines, and the more money spent on these
shrines and the more paid to the priest the more distinguished the
citizen. For days before the natives were busy making long candles
out of carabao tallow. Some of these candles, huge and crude, would
weigh four or five pounds. None of the so-called common people or
the poor class would take part in any of these wonderful parades
unless they were able to wear good clothes and have long trains to
their dresses. I never saw any one in these processions who was at
all poor; the poor simply stand by the roadside and look on. I asked
my Filipino woman why she did not join; she said she would just as
soon as she could get a dress with a train. It was not many weeks
before she was in the procession, having earned the train by laundry
work for the officers and soldiers. For the men, it was their joy to
be able to purchase a derby hat. I never knew there could be so many
kinds of derbies as I saw on the heads of these natives. It was said
that a ship-load of them was brought over once, and they so charmed
the male population that from that time on they all aspired to own
a derby, no matter how ancient its appearance or of what color it
might be. And no matter if they did not have a shirt to their back,
if they had on a good stiff derby hat, they were dressed for any
occasion and to appear before anybody.
The priests wear, first, a long, plain white robe, over this a black
cassock, then a white cotta; and the more richly it is embroidered the
better they like it. There was with this white cotta a white petticoat
plain at the top and ruffled at the bottom. I did not know the names
of the outer vestments but they were all embroidered. I offered to buy
one of the heavily embroidered vestments from a priest but he refused,
saying that it was very hard to get that kind of cloth embroidered so
beautifully. He gave me one of the Filipino skirts; it was badly worn,
but I kept it as a curiosity. Not knowing very much about the Roman
church, there were a great many things done every day that I could not
understand; for instance, when a priest went out in a closed carriage
attended by two or three boys he would come from the church door with
one of the boys in front of him ringing a bell vigorously. He would
ring this bell just as hard as he could until the priest would get
inside with his attendants and then they would drive away. When they
returned they would go through this same performance of ringing this
bell until they got inside of the church. I saw this many times and
once asked a Roman Catholic soldier what it meant; he said he did
not know.
It may be that these people need to be terrorized by the priests;
certain it is that, when a priest walks through the village or when
any of the people see him, they kneel and kiss his hand, if he is so
gracious as to honor them with the privilege. The people bow down
before him and reverence him though he may at any moment lift his
cane and give them a good whack over the head or shoulders. I never
saw this done, but several of our men told me they had seen it; and
one captain told me that he saw the priest take a huge bamboo pole
and knock a man down because he failed to get into the procession in
double-quick time. They do literally rule these people with the rod.
OSTEOPATHY.
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
In 1895, for the benefit of one dearer to me than life, I went to
Kirksville, Mo., and from Dr. A. T. Still learned something of the
principles and practice of his great art. The subject grew in interest;
I became a regular student of the American School of Osteopathy, and,
in time, completed the course and took the decree. In the islands
it was a great pleasure to me to help our sick soldiers; scores of
them, with touching gratitude, have blessed the use that I made of
my hands upon them. Officers and men came daily for treatment. Soon
the Filipinos came, too. Women walked many miles carrying their sick
children; the blind and lame besought me to lay my hands upon them. It
was noised about that I had divine power. My door was beset. I gladly
gave relief where I could, but for the most of them help was one
hundred years too late.
I recall with special pleasure one successful case. A woman came to
me who said she had walked forty miles to bring her sick child; for
compensation she offered a pigeon and three eggs. I could not look
out of my window without seeing some poor sick native squatted on the
ground waiting to see if I could do anything for her sick child or
herself. The natives when burning up with fever think they dare not
wash their bodies; they will lie hopeless and passive on the ground or
on a small bamboo mat. It is pitiable to see them so utterly destitute;
not one single thing that would go to make up a bed or pillow, nor
do they seem to have any mode of taking care of their sick at all.
Our army hospitals were very well kept, indeed, but it was a great
struggle to get help enough and to get the things needed for hundreds
of sick soldiers. There were many large buildings, but as soon as the
government attempted to purchase them, the Filipinos asked exorbitant
prices. And then the sanitary conditions are such that it is hard to
establish hospitals anywhere. I read with great pleasure that the
capitol of Luzon will be on a plateau in the mountains where the
temperature will be lower, the air better, and the water purer.
I am sure that Americans can live in the Philippines; I know that
the resources of the islands are vast, especially in agricultural
and mineral products; that we have, indeed, acquired in our new
possessions immeasurable riches.
As soon as any Filipino wishes to become a friend and to impress you
that he is rich and has vast possessions, the entire family, father,
mother, and children, will call and bring quantities of fruits, fine
clothes, carved shells, and native pearls with curiously wrought gold
settings, and present them with great earnestness of manner and many
words of praise. They tell you what great value they place upon your
friendship, and that of all the people in all the world you are the
one person that they do most ardently believe in, and finally that
they consider you the greatest acquisition to their islands.
A Filipino general and his wife came again and again to see me;
they brought a magnificent sunburst of diamonds which they urged
me to accept with their greatest love and affection. I declined
positively and absolutely. They seemed very much downcast that I
would not accept this little token of their deep affection. They
went home, but in about two hours came back, brought the diamonds,
and again urged and urged so strongly that I finally consented to let
the wife pin the elegant brooch on my dress; perhaps I should find
out the hidden meaning of this excessive devotion. As soon as the
officer in command returned, I told him of the gift, of my refusal,
and of their return. A written note was hastily sent to the general
that he must come and remove the brooch at once. Fearing the wrath of
the officer, he came immediately and I returned the diamonds. Even
after this the family renewed their efforts. I found out afterwards
that the general had violated his oath of allegiance; his bribe was
to buy my influence with the commanding officer.
It was evident that many of the better class of natives, in spite of
oath and fair face, were directing and maintaining the murderous bands
of banditti. Often letters were found that the Filipino generals
had written to their women friends in Jaro, Iloilo and Molo, to
sell their jewels, to sell all they could, to buy guns, ammunition,
and food, and later other letters were captured full of the thanks
of the Filipino army for these gifts. While the good Filipinos were
taking the oath of allegiance with the uplifted right hand, the left
was much busier sending supplies to the insurrectos.
The hypocrisy of the upper classes was matched by their cruelty. A
native of prominence was gracious enough upon one occasion to direct
a party of officers on their way. He was attended by his servant who
walked or ran the entire distance carrying a heavy load suspended
partly from his shoulders, and partly by a strap about the forehead.
The servant failed to start with the party, but in a short time he
caught up by running swiftly. The master calmly got off his horse,
motioned to the servant to drop his load, and proceeded to beat the man
unmercifully with a cane made out of fish tail, a sword-like, cruel,
barbed affair, about four feet long. The poor servant never uttered
a cry. As soon as possible the officers interfered and stopped the
torture. So bloody and faint was the poor victim that they gave him
a horse to ride. The master was angry, declared he would not have
his authority questioned and left the party.
A ball was given in the town of Jaro by the officers who were there
and in the town of Iloilo. Army, navy, ladies, and nurses from the
hospital were invited. It was considered quite an unusual thing to
do at this time, as the Filipino soldiers were near at hand day and
night, approaching and firing upon the town. One of the Filipino
women said, "I do not see how the American officers dare congregate
at so dangerous a time." The men decorated the huge ball room with
magnificent palms and ferns which they had gathered and put up many
flags. The regimental band was stationed on the porch at the rear of
the building. It was, altogether, a very fine gathering, and all went
merry "as the marriage bell."
There was a German on the dance programme that was to end in a mock
capture. Not thinking that it might occasion alarm, at a certain
point, some of the soldiers were instructed to fire off some cannon
crackers; in addition the soldiers thought it would be just as well to
fire off a few pistols. The surprise was very great. The colonel of a
volunteer regiment nearby heard the commotion and gave orders for the
company to turn out and find out where this fusillade was occurring,
not supposing that it could be in private quarters. The Presidente
of the town was greatly alarmed, as he was expecting any moment to
be captured for serving under the U. S. government as head man of a
town. The firing created a great commotion, people ran hither and
thither to find out where the battle was going on; the musicians,
who did not understand about the firing, were frightened, too; there
was a call to arms and great commotion. But soon explanations came,
and immediately it was on with the dance. It was a huge joke, and when
the sentry told that a colonel and his wife were the most frightened
of all, barricading their doors and having extra guards placed around,
the merriment knew no bounds.
It was seldom that the officers had any of these receptions or balls,
but when they did everybody felt they must attend, and those taking
part in the dance enjoyed themselves very much. Sometimes the officers
would charter a small steamer and go to one of the nearby islands,
but it was rarely they could do so, because of the skulking natives
and their manner of signaling where these parties landed, making it
unsafe for any but large companies to attend these excursions.
It was often the duty of our officers and men to stop the cruelties
they saw practiced upon dumb brutes. I have in mind the way pigs were
brought to market, their forefeet across a bamboo pole and their heads
bound so that they could not squeal, and in this uncomfortable way
they were carried many miles. Of the many stories that were told of
the cruelties our soldiers perpetrated upon the helpless Filipinos,
I do not believe one word; indeed, our men were constantly assisting
the natives in every way possible.
On the 4th of July, 1900, our officers decided to tender a reception to
the Filipino families whose hospitalities they had enjoyed. They issued
invitations and decorated their quarters in fine shape with flags,
bunting, palms, and pictures. It was quite the talk of the town. The
beauty and chivalry of the island were there. For refreshments
they served commissary supplies with ice cream and cake. The guests
thought it a very poor banquet for such pretentious people as the
officers were. The Filipinos always have a ten or twelve course meal
at twelve o'clock at their dances, especially when they have festivals
or wedding banquets. There were many of these given. I could often
watch the throng from my window; they went at this particular kind of
hilarity in the same listless, slow, silent manner in which they did
everything. The popular dance is the "Rigadon." There is a great deal
of swinging of couples and going forward and back. None of the common
people seem to indulge in any form of a dance, so far as I could learn.
We invited upon several occasions some Filipino men and women to dine
with us, and it was interesting to hear their remarks about various
dishes we had prepared for them. They would ask questions concerning
the preparations. Mince pies, which we made of canned meat and canned
apples, were a source of great wonder; they would ask where they could
get the fruit for that kind of a pudding. I know that they made wry
faces at some dishes, and I know that we did ourselves, for some of
them were beyond comparison; no chef in all the world could produce
a good thing out of such materials.
The May festival was given by the children, chiefly by the little
girls of the cathedral congregation. The leader was a woman of fine
character and standing. She worked hard every day with these little
tots to train them to do their parts well, which consisted of marching
into the cathedral by twos', arranging themselves into a circle
about the Virgin Mother and throwing flowers and bouquets, singing
and speaking. The ludicrous part of it all was that these little
things were supposed to be dressed like American children. The models
had been taken from some old magazine,--huge sleeves, small waists,
skirt to the knees, and pantlets to the top of shoes. The shoes were
painfully tight and the little feet, unaccustomed to being held in
such close quarters, limped and hobbled piteously. The festival was
carried on every day for weeks. Bushels of flowers were thrown at
the figure of the Blessed Virgin.
Some of the festivals in the larger cathedrals in Manila were gorgeous
indeed. There were floats on which were carried the different
patron saints, all gorgeously arrayed in the most magnificent
costumes. Evidently the churches were never meant for the common
or poor people, so few of them were ever seen within their walls;
but without were vast crowds of beggars, of the blind, the deformed,
the diseased; victims of smallpox and of leprosy in every stage of
suffering. It is said that the first thing ordered by Bishop Brent,
who took charge of the Protestant Episcopal church in the Philippines,
was soap.
THE McKINLEY CAMPAIGN.
CHAPTER TWENTY.
The excitement on the islands ran quite high during the McKinley-Bryan
campaign. The natives conceived that if Bryan were elected they could,
in some way, they could not explain how, not only be very greatly
benefited personally, but the U. S. troops would be withdrawn; they
would then be rid not only of the Spaniards but of the Americans,
and could then have a ruler of their own choosing. I knew that
there were small papers or bulletins published to intensify these
sentiments. Popular favor was all for Bryan and not one person for
McKinley, while on the other hand I do not think there was a single
soldier who was not a McKinley man. The feeling ran high, and, while
our papers gave us every assurance that the Republican party would
be victorious, we were very anxious for the news. On the night of the
6th of November we had the glorious report. It did not take long for
the shouts to go up from every American soldier. About eleven o'clock
P. M. all the American officers and men formed in procession with the
band at the head; they came around to the house where I was staying and
called out, "Come, Mrs. Conger, you must join in this jubilee." I did
not need a second invitation. Snatching my little American flag that I
take wherever I go, I formed in line with the boys. We marched around
and around the park, cheering, singing patriotic songs, and hurrahing
for McKinley. In front of one of the houses where I knew they were the
most bitter toward the Americans, we cheered lustily. I had been there
only a few days before to purchase a Jusi dress for Mrs. McKinley. I
said that I would like one of their very best weaves, as it would go
to the White House to Mrs. McKinley. With a great deal of scorn in her
voice and manner she declared she would not make it. We continued on
our march through and around the town until after one o'clock, when I
returned to my room. I was about to retire when a detachment from the
Scouts came and said, "Oh, Mrs. Conger, we want you to come over to
the park, we are going to have a big bonfire." So I went over and we
had another jollification, hurrahing, singing, shouting for McKinley,
until we made ourselves hoarse. We burned up all the old debris that
we could gather and plenty of bamboo, which makes a cracking noise,
quite like a roll of musketry. From every window and crevice in every
house about that park native heads were gazing at us, and never one
cheer came from a single throat, but we gave them to understand in
no uncertain terms where we stood. I suppose they thought it was
only one more unheard of thing for a woman to do, to be out marching
and singing, and I am sure they thought "Señora Blanco," the name I
was called by the people all over the Island of Panay, had gone mad;
and I was certainly doing unheard of things, for, as I said before,
it is not considered at all proper for a woman to be walking or
riding with a man. And to think that a woman of my years, and the
only American woman in that part of the country, would, at such an
hour, be marching with those hundreds of boys in the dead of night
was wholly beyond their comprehension, and they had no words adequate
to express their disgust at my outburst of enthusiasm and patriotism.
GOVERNOR TAFT AT JARO.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
When Governor Taft and other members of the peace commission were
expected at Iloilo and Jaro, there were great preparations for several
weeks before hand. The guests came to Jaro for a morning reception at
the home of one of the wealthy citizens. The house had been beautifully
decorated and the refreshments were served in the large room at the
left of the hall; the buffet luncheon consisted of every kind of cake
and sweetmeats, champagne, wine, and beer. The Filipino guests were
in the large front room, seated in rows, six or eight rows, perhaps
twenty in a row, with their backs to each other or facing each other.
I was the only American woman there until Mrs. Taft and other ladies
with the peace commission arrived. Not wishing to sit solemnly in line
gazing at these newly acquired sisters of mine, I ventured some remarks
in Spanish about the weather and the coming guests. There was little
response. My curiosity getting the better of me, I made bold to examine
the gowns of these women for I had seldom seen before such handsome
material, rich brocaded satins, cloth of gold wrought with seed pearls
and jewels; huge strings of pearls on the neck, diamond and pearl
rings on the fingers and very handsome ornaments in the hair; every
head bore a huge pompadour and every face was heavily powdered; the
perfume was stifling even with every window stretched to the fullest
extent. Each woman carried a handsome fan and each was attended by at
least one servant. After waiting in this rigid company manner about
an hour and a half, the distinguished guests arrived. We were then
entertained by some of the local artists and celebrities. There was
vocal and instrumental music; a fine grand piano, very good violins,
and the concert was by far the best music I had heard in the islands.
At 1:30 we were all carried over in carriages to the house of the
Presidente and thirty-five of us sat down to a very sumptuous banquet
of about eighteen courses. The menu of soup, fish, game, birds,
salads, was very quickly served, a waiter for each guest. The table
was furnished with much silver and cut glass, and at each plate was
a bouquet holder with napkin ring attached; there were after-dinner
speeches by Governor Taft, Judge Wright, and others; then we were
ushered into the large drawing-room where coffee and cigars were
served. The room had been especially prepared by the labor of many days
spent on tacking flags on the ceiling and side walls, making a very
beautiful effect. There were huge bunches of artificial flowers. For
the entertainment at this house, all the Filipino bands from the
surrounding towns were massed together. Governor Taft complimented
his hosts upon their very delightful "entretener," and said he had
seen nothing to compare with it for elegance and enthusiastic welcome
since he had been on the islands. At every corner of the plaza there
were erected handsome bamboo arches and booths, and every strip of
bunting and every flag that could be got out were waving in Jaro
on this great day of inauguration of the Civil Commission on the
Island of Panay. To me it seemed anything but a peaceful time as
the scouts were then out after a very desperate band of insurrectos,
but I have never seen anywhere more beautiful ornamentation or more
lavish display of wealth, and yet there was lacking in it all the
genuine ring of cordiality and enthusiasm. In Iloilo there were
many receptions and various kinds of entertainments given. Governor
Taft invited leading citizens out to the ship where he returned the
compliment with refreshments, good cheer, and a salute.
In writing of my life in the islands, I must mention incidents of
serious nature and yet of common happening. Almost daily would come an
instant call for troops to mount and ride post haste by night or day
after some of these worse than lawless bands of Filipinos. One evening
while we were at dinner we had as our guest a Lieutenant of one of the
volunteer regiments. He had been ill and had spent the time of his
convalescence in acquiring some of the manifold Filipino dialects,
about sixty in all, it is said. He was detailed by the commanding
officer to visit some of the inland villages and inspect the schools
and inquire generally after the condition of the people. He told us
that evening that he intended to make quite an extensive tour around
the island of Panay in the interest of the schools. "You are going to
take a strong guard, of course?" we asked. "Anyone going on such a
peaceful mission as mine would not need even an orderly, but I will
take an orderly to assist in carrying the books and pamphlets." The
very next evening while we were at dinner, word was brought that this
splendid young man had been killed not three miles from where we were
sitting. In a few minutes men mounted and were off to the scene of
the murder. In a nearby hut the young officer lay dead. He, who had so
trustingly confided in these "peaceful people," had fallen the victim
of his noble impulses. Every article of any value had been taken from
his body except a little watch that he carried in a small leather case
on his wrist; he had bought it that very day to send to his wife. No
trace of the "insurrectos," the murderers, was ever found. A native
woman said the officer was riding peacefully along with his orderly
at his side when suddenly they were stopped by a volley of balls. The
Lieutenant turned, as did also the orderly; their horses took fright,
one rider was thrown, probably already dead, the other escaped. The
funeral rites of our noble soldier were conducted with military honors;
the body was sent home to his bereaved wife and family.
One day a missionary was on his way from town to town; he had,
unfortunately, an orderly with him. He was stopped and asked his
business; he replied that he was a missionary. "Why carry a gun?" was
the scornful retort. He was stripped of everything of value but was
allowed to return. The soldier did not fare so well; he was killed
before the rescuing party could reach him. A detachment was sent out
one day to procure some young beef for sale in a nearby village. They
were received with open arms by the Presidente of the village and the
Padre and were most sumptuously entertained. It was kindly explained
that they had no young cattle for sale but that about a mile further
on there were some very fine young calves that could be had at five
dollars in gold.