Adventures
in the
Philippine Islands.
Translated from the French of
Paul P. de la Gironiere,
Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honour.
Revised and extended by the author,
Expressly for this edition.
London: Charles H. Clarke, 13, Paternoster Row.
PREFACE.
On hearing a recital of some adventures which had occurred to me
during my long voyages, many of my friends have frequently begged of
me to publish a narrative of them, which might perhaps be interesting.
"Nothing can be more easy for you," they said, "as you have always
kept a journal since your departure from France."
I hesitated, however, to follow their advice, or to yield to their
wishes, when I was one day surprised to see my name in one of the
feuilletons in the "Constitutionnel."
M. Alexandre Dumas was publishing, under the title of "The
Thousand-and-One Phantoms," a romance, one of the principal personages
of which, in a voyage to the Philippine Islands, must have known me
when I was residing at Jala-Jala, in the colony that I founded there.
It must be evident that the lively romancist has ranked me in the
category of his Thousand-and-One Phantoms; but, to prove to the public
that I am really in existence, I have resolved to take up the pen,
under an impression, that facts of the most scrupulous veracity,
and which can be attested by some hundreds of persons, might possess
some interest, and be read without ennui, by those especially who
are desirous of learning the customs of the savage tribes amongst
whom I have resided.
CHAPTER I.
A Family Sketch--My Youthful Days--I Study for the Medical
Profession--Obtain a Naval Surgeon's Diploma--Early Voyages--Sail
for Manilla in the Cultivateur--Adventurous Habits--Cholera and
Massacre at Manilla and Cavite--Captain Drouant's Rescue--Personal
Dangers and Timely Escapes--How Business may make Friends of
one's Enemies--An Unprincipled Captain--Tranquility restored at
Manila--Pleasures of the Chase--The Cultivateur sails without
me--First Embarrassments.
My father was born at Nantes, and held the rank of captain in the
regiment of Auvergne. The Revolution caused him the loss of his
commission and his fortune, and left him, as sole remaining resource,
a little property called La Planche, belonging to my mother, and
situated about two leagues from Nantes, in the parish of Vertoux.
At the commencement of the Empire he wished to enter the service again;
but at that period his name was an obstacle, and he failed in every
attempt to obtain even the rank of lieutenant. With scarcely the means
of existence, he retired to La Planche with his family. There he lived
for some years, suffering the grief and the many annoyances caused
by the sudden change from opulence to want, and by the impossibility
of supplying all the requirements of his numerous family. A short
illness terminated his distressed existence, and his mortal remains
were deposited in the cemetery of Vertoux. My mother, a pattern
of courage and devotedness, remained a widow, with six children,
two girls and four boys; she continued to reside in the country,
imparting to us the first elements of instruction.
The free life of the fields, and the athletic exercises to which
my elder brothers and I accustomed ourselves, tended to make me
hardy, and rendered me capable of enduring every kind of fatigue
and privation. This country life, with its liberty, and I may well
say its happiness, passed too quickly away; and the period soon came
when my education compelled me to pursue my daily studies in a school
at Nantes. I had four leagues to walk, but I trudged the distance
light-heartedly, and at night, when I returned home, I ever found
awaiting me the kind solicitude of our dear mother, and the attentive
cares of two sisters whom I tenderly loved.
It was decided that I should enter the medical profession. I studied
several years at the Hôtel-Dieu of Nantes, and I passed my examination
for naval surgeon at an age when many a young man is shut up within
the four walls of a college, still prosecuting his studies.
It would be difficult to form any idea of my joy when I saw myself in
possession of my surgeon's diploma. Thenceforward I regarded myself
as an important being, about to take my place among reasonable and
industrious men; and what perhaps rendered me still more joyous was,
that I could earn my own livelihood, and contribute to the comfort
of my mother and my sisters.
I was also seized with a strong desire to travel abroad, and make
myself acquainted with foreign countries.
Twenty-four hours after my nomination as surgeon I went and offered
my services to a ship-owner who was about freighting a vessel to the
East Indies. We were not long in arranging terms, and, at forty francs
per month, I engaged myself for the voyage.
Within twelve months afterwards I returned home. Who can depict the
sweet emotions which, as a young man, I felt on again beholding my
native land? I stayed a month on shore, surrounded by the affectionate
attentions of my mother and sisters. Despite their assiduities I was
seized with ennui. I made a second and a third voyage; then, after
having rounded the Cape of Good Hope half-a-dozen times, I undertook
one which separated me from my country during twenty years.
On the 9th October, 1819, I embarked on board the Cultivateur,
an old half-rotten three-masted vessel, commanded by an equally old
captain, who, long ashore, had given up navigating for many years. An
old captain with an old ship! Such were the conditions in which I
undertook this voyage. I ought, however, to add, that I obtained an
increase of pay.
We touched at Bourbon; we ran along the entire coast of Sumatra,
a part of Java, the isles of Sonde, and that of Banca; and at last,
towards the end of May, eight months after our departure from Nantes,
we arrived in the magnificent bay of Manilla.
The Cultivateur anchored near the little town of Cavite. I obtained
leave to reside on shore, and took lodgings in Cavite, which is
situate about five or six leagues from Manilla.
To make up for my long inactivity on board ship, I eagerly engaged in
my favourite exercises, exploring the country in all directions with my
gun upon my shoulder. Taking for a guide the first Indian whom I met,
I made long excursions, less occupied in shooting than in admiring the
magnificent scenery. I knew a little Spanish, and soon acquired a few
Tagaloc words. Whether it was for excitement's sake, or from a vague
desire of braving danger, I know not, but I was particularly fond of
wandering in remote places, said to be frequented by robbers. With
these I occasionally fell in, but the sight of my gun kept them in
check. I may say, with truth, that at that period of my life I had so
little sense of danger, that I was always ready to put myself forward
when there was an enemy to fight or a peril to be encountered.
I had only resided a short time at Cavite when that terrible scourge,
the cholera, broke out at Manilla, in September, 1820, and quickly
ravaged the whole island. Within a few days of its first appearance
the epidemic spread rapidly; the Indians succumbed by thousands; at
all hours of the day and of the night the streets were crowded with
the dead-carts. Next to the fright occasioned by the epidemic, quickly
succeeded rage and despair. The Indians said, one to another, that the
strangers poisoned the rivers and the fountains, in order to destroy
the native population and possess themselves of the Philippines.
On the 9th October, 1820, the anniversary of my departure from France,
a dreadful massacre commenced at Manilla and at Cavite. Poor Dibard,
the captain of the Cultivateur, was one of the first victims. Almost
all the French who resided at Manilla were slain, and their houses
pillaged and destroyed. The carnage only ceased when there were no
longer any victims. One eye-witness escaped this butchery, namely,
M. Gautrin, a captain of the merchant service, who, at the moment I
am writing, happens to be residing in Paris. He saved his life by his
courage and his muscular strength. After seeing one of his friends
mercilessly cut to pieces, he precipitated himself into the midst
of the assassins, with no other means of defence than his fists. He
succeeded in fighting his way through the crowd, but shortly afterwards
fell exhausted, having received three sabre-cuts upon his head, and a
lance-thrust in his body. Fortunately, some soldiers happened to pass
by at the time, who picked him up and carried him to a guard-house,
where his wounds were quickly attended to.
I myself was dodged about Cavite, but I contrived to escape, and
to reach a pirogue, into which I jumped, and took refuge on board
the Cultivateur. I had scarcely been there ten minutes when I was
requested to attend the mate of an American vessel, who had just
been stabbed on board his ship by some custom-house guards. When I
had finished dressing the wound, several officers, belonging to the
different French vessels lying in the bay, acquainted me that one
of their brethren, Captain Drouant, of Marseilles, was still ashore,
and that there might yet be time to save him. There was not a moment
to lose; night was approaching, and it was necessary to profit by the
last half-hour of daylight. I set off in a cutter, and, on nearing
the land, I directed my men to keep the boat afloat, in order to
prevent a surprise on the part of the Indians, but yet to hug the
shore sufficiently close to land promptly, in case the captain or
myself signaled them. I then quickly set about searching for Drouant.
On reaching a small square, called Puerta Baga, I observed a group
of three or four hundred Indians. I had a presentiment that it was
in that direction I ought to prosecute my search. I approached, and
beheld the unfortunate Drouant, pale as a corpse. A furious Indian was
on the point of plunging his kreese into his breast. I threw myself
between the captain and the poignard, violently pushing on either
side the murderer and his victim, so as to separate them. "Run!" I
cried in French; "a boat awaits you." So great was the stupefaction
of the Indians that the captain escaped unpursued.
It was now time for me to get out of the dangerous situation in which
I was involved. Four hundred Indians surrounded me; the only way of
dealing with them was by audacity. I said in Tagaloc to the Indian who
had attempted to stab the captain: "You are a scoundrel." The Indian
sprang towards me; he raised his arm: I struck him on the head with a
cane which I held in my hand; he waited in astonishment for a moment,
and then returned towards his companions to excite them. Daggers
were drawn on every side; the crowd formed a circle around me, which
gradually concentrated. Mysterious influence of the white man over his
coloured brother! Of all these four hundred Indians, not one dared
attack me the first; they all wished to strike together. Suddenly a
native soldier, armed with a musket, broke through the crowd; he struck
down my adversary, took away his dagger, and holding his musket by the
bayonet end, he swung it round and round his head, thus enlarging the
circle at first, and then dispersing a portion of my enemies. "Fly,
sir!" said my liberator; "now that I am here, no one will touch a
hair of your head." In fact the crowd divided, and left me a free
passage. I was saved, without knowing by whom, or for what reason,
until the native soldier called after me: "You attended my wife who
was sick, and you never asked payment of me. I now settle my debt."
As Captain Drouant had doubtless gone off in the cutter, it was
impossible for me to return on board the Cultivateur. I directed
my steps towards my lodgings, creeping along the walls, and taking
advantage of the obscurity, when, on turning the corner of a street,
I fell into the midst of a band of dockyard workmen, armed with axes,
and about to proceed to the attack of the French vessels then in
harbour. Here again I owed my preservation to an acquaintance, to whom
I had rendered some service in the practice of my profession. A Métis,
or half-breed, who had quickly pushed me into the entry of a house,
and covered me with his body, said: "Stir not, Doctor Pablo!" [1] When
the crowd had dispersed, my protector advised me to conceal myself,
and, above all, not to go on board; he then started off to rejoin
his comrades. But all was not yet over. I had scarcely entered my
lodgings when I heard a knocking at the door.
"Doctor Pablo," said a voice, which was not unknown to me.
I opened, and I saw, as pale as death, a Chinese, who kept a tea-store
on the ground-floor of the same house.
"What's the matter, Yang-Po?"
"Save yourself, Doctor!"
"And wherefore?"
"Because the Indians will attack you this very night; they have
decided upon it!"
"Is it not your apprehension on account of your shop, Yang-Po?"
"Oh, no! do not treat this matter lightly. If you remain here you
are doomed; you have struck an Indian, and his friends cry aloud
for vengeance."
The fears of Yang-Po were, I saw, too well-founded; but what could
I do? To shut my door and await was the safest plan.
"Thank you," said I to the Chinese; "thank you for your kind advice,
but I shall remain here."
"Remain here, Signor Doctor! Can you think of so doing?"
"Now, Yang-Po, a service: go and say to these Indians that I have,
at their service, a brace of pistols and a double-barreled gun,
which I know how to use."
The Chinese departed sighing deeply, from a notion that the attack
upon the Doctor might end in the pillage of his wares. I barricaded
my door with the furniture of the room; I then loaded my weapons,
and put out the lights.
It was now eight o'clock in the evening. The least noise made me think
that the moment had arrived when Providence alone could save me. I was
so fatigued that, despite the anxiety natural to my position, I had
frequently to struggle against an inclination to sleep. Towards eleven
o'clock some one knocked at my door. I seized my pistols, and listened
attentively. At a second summons, I approached the door on tip-toe.
"Who's there?" I demanded.
A voice replied to me: "We come to save you. Lose not an instant. Get
out on the roof, and climb over to the other side, where we will
await you, in the street of the Campanario." Then two or three persons
descended the stairs rapidly. I had recognised the voice of a Métis,
whose good feelings on my behalf were beyond doubt. There was now
no time to be lost, for at the moment I got out of a window which
served to light the staircase, and led on to the roof, the Indians had
arrived in front of the house, and in a few minutes were breaking and
plundering the little I possessed. I quickly traversed the roof, and
descended into the street of the Campanario, where my new preservers
awaited me. They conducted me to their dwelling: there, a profound
sleep caused me quickly to forget the dangers I had passed through.
The following day my friends prepared a small pirogue to convey me
on board the Cultivateur, where, apparently, I should be in greater
security than on shore. I was about to embark when one of my preservers
handed me a letter which he had just received. It was addressed to me,
and bore the signatures of all the captains whose vessels were lying in
the harbour, and it informed me that, seeing themselves exposed every
moment to an attack by the Indians, they were decided to raise anchor
and seek a wider offing; but that two among them, Drouant and Perroux,
had been compelled to leave on shore a portion of their possessions,
and all their sails and fresh water. They entreated me to lend them
my assistance, and had arranged that a skiff should be placed at my
command. I communicated this letter to my friends, and declared that
I would not return on board without endeavouring to satisfy the wishes
of my countrymen; it was a question of saving the lives of the crews of
two vessels, and hesitation was impossible. They used every effort to
shake my resolution. "If you show yourself in any part of the town,"
said they, "you are lost; even supposing the Indians were not to kill
you, they would not fail to steal every object intrusted to them." I
remained immovable, and pointed out to them that it was a question of
honour and humanity. "Go alone, then!" exclaimed that Métis who had
contributed the most to my escape; "not one of us will follow you;
we would not have it said that we assisted in your destruction."
I thanked my friends, and, after shaking hands with them, passed on
through the streets of Cavite, my pistols in my belt, and my thoughts
occupied as to the best means of extricating myself from my perilous
position. However, I already knew sufficient of the Indian character
to be aware that boldness would conciliate, rather than enrage them. I
went towards the same landing-place where once before I had escaped
a great danger. The shore was covered with Indians, watching the
ships at anchor. As I advanced, all turned their looks upon me; but,
as I had foreseen, the countenances of these men, whose feelings had
become calmed during the night that had intervened, expressed more
astonishment than anger.
"Will you earn money?" I cried. "To those who work with me I will
give a dollar at the end of the day."
A moment's silence followed this proposition; then one of them said:
"You do not fear us!"
"Judge if I am alarmed," I replied, showing him my pistols; "with
these I could take two lives for one--the advantage is on my side."
My words had a magical effect, and my questioner replied:
"Put up your weapons; you have a brave heart, and deserve to be safe
amongst us. Speak! what do you require? We will follow you." I saw
these men, who but yesterday would have killed me, now willing to bear
me in triumph. I then explained to them that I wished to take some
articles which had been left on shore to my comrades, and to those who
assisted me in this object I would give the promised recompense. I told
the one who had addressed me to select two hundred men, nearly double
the number necessary; during the time he made up his party I signaled
a skiff to approach the shore, and wrote a few words in pencil, in
order that the boats from the French vessels might be in readiness
to receive the stores as soon as they were brought to the water's
edge. I then marched at the head of my Indian troop of two hundred
men, and by their aid the sails, provisions, biscuits, and wines,
were soon on board the boats. That which most embarrassed me was the
transport of a large sum of money belonging to Captain Drouant. If the
Indians had conceived the least suspicion of this wealth, they would no
longer have kept faith with me. I therefore determined to fill my own
pockets with the gold, and to traverse the distance between the house
and the boats as many times as was necessary to embark it. There,
concealed by the sailors, I deposited piece after piece as quietly
as possible. In carrying the sails belonging to Captain Perroux, a
circumstance occurred which might have been fatal to me. A few days
before the massacre, a French sailor, who was working as sail maker,
had died of the cholera. His alarmed companions wrapped the body in a
sail, and then hurried on board their ships. My Indians now discovered
the corpse, which was already in a state of putrefaction. Terrified
at first, their terror soon changed to fury; for an instant I feared
they would fall upon me.
"Your friends," they cried, "have left this body here purposely, that
it might poison the air and increase the violence of the epidemic."
"What! you are afraid of a poor devil dead of the cholera!" I said to
them, affecting to be as tranquil as possible; "never fear, I will
soon rid you of him;" and, despite the aversion I felt, I covered
the body with a small sail, and carried it down to the beach. There
I made a rude grave, in which I placed it; and two pieces of wood,
in the shape of a cross, for some days indicated the spot where lay
the unhappy one, who probably had no prayers save mine.
It had been a busy and agitating day, but towards the evening I
finished my task, and everything was embarked. I paid the Indians,
and in addition gave them a barrel of spirits.
I did not fear their intoxication, being the only Frenchman there,
and when it was dark I got into a boat, and towed a dozen casks of
fresh water at her stern. Since the previous day I had not eaten;
I felt worn out by fatigue and want of food, and threw myself down to
rest upon the seats of the boat. Ere long a mortal chilliness passed
through my veins, and I became insensible. In this state I remained
more than an hour. At last I reached the Cultivateur, and was taken
on board, and, by the aid of friction, brandy, and other remedies,
was restored to consciousness. Food and rest quickly renovated my
powers of mind and body, and the next day I was calm as usual among
my comrades. I thought of my personal position; the events of the two
last days made the review extremely simple. I had lost everything. A
small venture of merchandise, in which I invested the savings of
my previous voyages, had been intrusted to the captain for sale at
Manilla. These goods were destroyed, together with all I possessed,
at Cavite. There remained to me but the clothes I had on--a few old
things I could wear only on board ship--and thirty-two dollars. I
was but a little richer than Bias. Unfortunately I recollected
that an English captain--whose ship I had seen in the roads--owed me
something like a hundred dollars. In my present circumstances this sum
appeared a fortune. The captain in question, from fear of the Indians,
had dropped down as far as Maribélé, at the entrance of the bay, ten
leagues from Cavite. To obtain payment it was necessary I should go on
board his vessel. I borrowed a boat, and the services of four sailors,
from Captain Perroux, and departed. I reached the ship at dusk. The
unprincipled captain, who knew himself to be in deep water and safe
from pursuit, replied that he did not understand what I was saying
to him. I insisted upon being paid, and he laughed in my face. I was
treated as a cheat. He threatened to have me thrown into the sea;
in short, after a useless discussion, and at the moment when the
captain called five or six of his sailors to execute his threat,
I retreated to my boat. The night was dark, and as a violent and
contrary wind had sprung up, it was impossible to regain the ship,
so we passed the night floating upon the waves, ignorant as to the
direction we were going. In the morning I discovered our efforts had
been thrown away; Cavite was far behind us. The wind becoming calmer,
we again commenced rowing, and two hours after noon reached the ship.
Meanwhile tranquillity was restored at Cavite and Manilla. The
Spanish authorities took measures to prevent a recurrence of the
frightful scenes I have detailed, and the priests of Cavite launched a
public excommunication against all those who had attempted my life. I
attributed this solicitude to the character of my profession, being in
fact the only Æsculapius in the place. When I left the town the sick
were obliged to content themselves with the hazardous presumptions of
Indian sorcerers. One morning, I had almost decided upon returning to
land, when an Indian, in a smartly decorated pirogue, came alongside
the Cultivateur. I had met this man in some of my shooting excursions,
and he now proposed that I should go with him to his house, situated
ten leagues from Cavite, near the mountains of Marigondon. The prospect
of some good sport soon decided me to accept this offer. Taking with
me my thirty-two dollars and double-barreled gun--in fact, my whole
fortune--I intrusted myself to this friend, whose acquaintance I had
just made. His little habitation was delightfully situated, in the
cool shadow of the palm and yang-yang--immense trees, whose flowers
spread around a delicious perfume. Two charming Indian girls were the
Eves of this paradise. My good friend kept the promises he had made
me on leaving the vessel; I was treated both by himself and family
with every attention and kindness.
Hunting was my principal amusement, and, above all, the chase of
the stag, which involves violent exercise. I was still ignorant of
wild-buffalo hunting, of which, however, I shall have to speak later
in my narrative; and I often requested my host to give me a taste of
this sport, but he always refused, saying it was too dangerous. For
three weeks I lived with the Indian family without receiving any news
from Manilla, when one morning, a letter came from the first mate--who,
on the death of the unfortunate Dibard, had taken the command of the
Cultivateur--telling me he was about to sail, and that I must go
on board at once if I wished to leave a country which had been so
fatal to all of us. This summons was already several days old, and
despite the reluctance I felt to quit the Indian's pleasant retreat,
it was necessary that I should prepare to start. I presented my
gun to my kind host, but had nothing to give his daughters, for to
have offered them money would have been an insult. The next day I
arrived at Manilla, still thinking of the cool shade of the palm and
the perfumed flowers of the yang-yang. My first impulse was to go to
the quay; but, alas! the Cultivateur had sailed, and I had the misery
of beholding her already far away in the horizon, moving sluggishly
before a gentle breeze towards the mouth of the bay. I asked some
Indian boatmen to take me to the ship; they replied that it might be
practicable if the wind did not freshen, but demanded twelve dollars
to make the attempt. I had but twenty-five remaining. I considered
for a few moments, should I not reach the vessel, what would become
of me in a remote colony, where I knew no one, and my stock of money
reduced to thirteen dollars, and with no articles of dress than those I
had on--a white jacket, trousers, and striped shirt. A sudden thought
crossed my mind: what if I were to remain at Manilla, and practise my
profession? Young and inexperienced, I ventured to think myself the
cleverest physician in the Philippine Islands. Who has not felt this
self-confidence so natural to youth? I turned my back upon the ship,
and walked briskly into Manilla.
Before continuing this recital, let me describe the capital of the
Philippines.