THE DESCRIPTION OF AN EARTHQUAKY CITY
In the afternoon of the second day out Professor Giroud called his
pupils together in the library, which was the schoolroom of the ship,
and resumed the lessons which had been interrupted since the arrival at
Sarawak. The long intermission had sharpened the intellects of the
class, and they were very earnest in their studies. But it could be only
for the afternoon and the next day, for the commander was very diligent
in the business of sight-seeing.
At half-past nine the next forenoon, the passengers were all assembled
in Conference Hall, as the captain had appointed; and the siamangs, who
spent much of the time aloft running up and down and along the
foreyards, were in their usual places, for chairs had been provided for
them; and they looked as grave and attentive as though they understood
the whole of the lecture. Captain Ringgold appeared on the rostrum,
after he had patted Mr. and Mrs. Mingo on the head, and glanced at Miss
Mingo in the lap of Miss Blanche.
"Manila is the capital of all the Spanish possessions in the East, as
the professor has informed you; it has a population of 270,000, which is
40,000 greater than Havana," he began. "It is on the south-west coast
of Luzon, 650 miles from Hong-Kong, which is a run of about forty-seven
hours for the ship. It is located on both sides of the little river
Pasig, which is the outlet of Lake Bahia, or the Lake of the Bay. When I
was here many years ago, I spoke Spanish enough to get along; but I
shall leave the language now to the professor and Mr. Belgrave, for I
forget most of it.
"In going to the city we have to pass through Manila Bay, which is
really a sea of itself; and, though it is land-locked, it affords little
if any protection for vessels in heavy weather, for it is about thirty
miles long from north to south, and twenty-five from east to west. A
west or south-west wind rakes it about the same as the ocean.
"The city forms a circle, with a piece of it cut off on the bay; and the
suburbs are on several islands in the river and bay. To keep a clear
channel, the Pasig is extended into the bay between two piers, with a
fort at the end of one, and a lighthouse at the end of the other. The
anchorage in the bay is good enough so far as holding ground is
concerned, except in the south-west monsoon, when vessels of four
hundred tons or more have to go to Cavite, ten miles south south-west
from the city; and their cargo must be taken to and from them in
lighters.
"The oldest part of Manila is on the southern bank of the Pasig, and is
strongly fortified; but it has a dilapidated look, for it was founded in
1571. On the north side of the river is the Binondo suburb, as it is
called, which is more populous than the old part. The foreign merchants
live here, and it is the more important commercial centre. You would
hardly know, if you waked from a sleep there, whether you were in a
Spanish or an Oriental city, for you would see something of both.
Gloomy-looking churches, awkward towers, and heavily built stone houses
are mixed up with pleasant cottages in groves of tropical trees. I
believe the people are now inclined to build more of wood than stone on
account of the prevalence of earthquakes, which shake down the heavier
structures, and crush the occupants under the weight of the material.
"As in Burma and Siam, the cottages I mentioned are built on posts; for
the land is sometimes inundated, and the water requires a free passage,
or it would do more mischief. In the month of August, nearly two feet of
water falls on a level; and it makes bad work in the low places. The
streets are wide and not paved; and in the rainy season, with a foot or
two of water lying loose around, they become very nearly impassable. The
houses are built in Spanish fashion, with a central court-yard. They are
generally two stories high; for in an earthquaky country like this,
where terra firma becomes terra shaky, the people are not encouraged to
erect buildings twenty stories high, as in New York and Chicago.
"An iron suspension bridge connects the old town with Binondo. It was
formerly a stone bridge, built more than two hundred years ago, which
was thrown down by the earthquake of 1863. A street in the new suburb,
called the Escolto, seems to be the Broadway of the city; for it is the
great shopping locality, and it is flanked with shops and stalls, filled
with people of various races. Beyond this the Chinese, Tagals, and
half-castes congregate in numerous occupations, as jewellers, oil and
soap dealers, confectioners, painters, and those of other trades. Here
you will find plenty of gambling-houses, if you are looking for them.
"As in Singapore, certain sections of the city are given up to
particular branches of business. At San Fernando, there are immense
cigar manufactories, like the one you saw in Sevilla in Spain, where six
thousand women are employed; and probably as many are to be found in
some of them here," continued the commander, consulting memoranda he
took from his pocket. "At Santo Mesa is a cordage manufactory; at
Alcaicerfa the Chinese have a landing-place for their sampans; fishermen
and weavers live at Tondo, whose gardens supply the markets with fruit
and vegetables; Malate is the resort of the embroiderers; Paco is
favored by artists and artisans; and Santa Ana and San Pedro Macati are
health resorts."
"McCarty!" exclaimed Felix, as he caught what sounded like an Irish
name. "I wondher if he comes from Kilkenny."
"A place, and not a man; and it did not come from Kilkenny. It is a
Spanish name, spelled Ma-ca-ti," replied the captain. "I have read off
all these names from my memoranda, not that I expect you to remember
them, but to show you how things work here. All the buildings for public
use in a capital city are found here, and a cathedral, the palaces of
the governor-general and the archbishop, an elegant town-house,
churches, three colleges for young men, and two for young women (not
behind the times, you see), a large theatre, probably not as large as
that in Barcelona, custom-house, barracks, etc. The Prado is the largest
public square, and is ornamented with a statue of Charles IV., or
Carlos, King of Spain from 1788 to 1808; and I wonder there is not one
of Magellan, who discovered the islands, and lost his life here.
"The streets of the city are lighted with kerosene-oil lamps, and not
with gas, for the reason that the earthquakes made bad work of the
latter; and the works were destroyed in a hurricane in 1882, as was half
the city. They do not build houses of brick or stone now, but of wood,
the former being so destructive of human life in an earthquake. The
native dwellings are constructed of bamboo, thatched with the leaves of
the nipa palm.
"Glass windows are not used here; but the flat shell of a large oyster
is substituted for glass, and the sashes all slide horizontally. Both of
these departures from ordinary methods are said to be to exclude the
great heat; but I confess that I cannot see it. I find among my
memoranda that 21,000 women and 1,500 man are employed in making
cigars; which in Sevilla includes the putting up of tobacco in papers
for smoking, and it may be so here. Before I close I wish to say that
authorities differ in regard to the population of the city; but I think
the professor was about right in putting it at 270,000. Lippincott gives
it with the suburbs at 160,000, and Chambers at nearly 300,000. You have
been patient and longer suffering than I intended you should be, and I
thank you."
The commander made his bow, and descended from the rostrum. Hearty
applause followed, and the siamangs joined with repeated cries and
squeaks. Miss Mingo had fallen asleep in her comfortable quarters; but
the noise woke her with a start, and she sprang to the shoulder of Miss
Blanche, where she gave her "Ra! Ra! Ra!" and the squeak which is the
"tiger" at the end of it. As the audience left their chairs for a walk
on the deck, Mr. and Mrs. Mingo sprang into the fore-rigging, climbing
the shrouds, and over the futtock-shrouds, disdaining to crawl through
the lubber-hole to the top.
Miss Mingo looked up at them, and then sprang into the rigging; for her
strength and agility seemed to have greatly increased since she came on
board, making it probable that the sea-air agreed with her. But her
mamma did not appear to be quite satisfied with this venture; and she
sprang over the futtocks, and seized her with one arm as she began to
mount them.
Mr. Mingo ran up the topmast rigging, and seated himself on the
cross-trees. The anxious mother looked at him a moment, and then darted
down to the deck with the baby in her arm. Then, seeing Mrs. Belgrave
seated in one of the arm-chairs on the promenade, she carried Miss Mingo
to her, placing the infant in her lap. The lady immediately folded the
little one in her arms so that she could not escape, caressing her so
that she did not offer to follow her mother up the rigging, though she
watched her ascent.
Mrs. Mingo ascended to the cross-trees, where she and the gentleman
siamang seemed to hold a conference. The latter then sprang up to the
topgallant yard, and was closely followed by his mate. They turned
somersets, and went through a variety of athletic feats, which greatly
interested their audience on deck, who gave them a round of applause.
They seemed to understand and appreciate this manifestation of
approbation, for they attempted various other feats.
Mrs. Mingo got hold of the topgallant halliards, and finding them loose,
swung out over the lee side of the ship. Captain Ringgold was startled
at this movement. She swung out as far as she could, the line yielding,
and suddenly she dropped into the water. The captain rang the gong to
stop the screw, and then to back it. If the siamang could swim at all,
she was very clumsy in the water; and the waves, for there was
considerable sea on, seemed to bother her.
"Clear away the second cutter, Mr. Gaskette!" shouted the commander as
soon as he had rung the gong to stop the screw, and the ship was as
nearly at rest as she could be on the billows.
"All the second cutters, on deck!" shouted Biggs, the boatswain, after
he had piped his whistle, at the order of the second officer.
The boat was swung out in as much haste as though the cry had been "Man
overboard!" and her crew took their places in good order. The cutter was
lowered into the water, and the men gave way on a favoring wave and went
clear of the ship. They pulled with all their might; and Lanark, the
cockswain, steered her for the siamang.
"Stand by, bowmen, to haul in the lady!" called Mr. Gaskette, as the
cutter approached the unhappy animal. "In bows!" and the two bowmen
tossed their oars, and brought them down in place, the men springing
into the fore-sheets to seize hold of the creature. "Way enough!"
It looked to those who were anxiously watching the operations of the
men, fearful that Miss Mingo would become an orphan, as though the boat
would strike Mrs. Mingo, and kill her by the collision.
"Stern all!" cried Mr. Gaskette with energy.
The order was obeyed, and the cutter came to a stop when near the
animal. The bowmen were reaching to get hold of her, when she made a
vigorous leap into the fore-sheets, grasping the rail as she did so. She
shook herself with all her might as soon as she was in the boat, and a
cheer went up from the deck of the ship. The lady then seated herself on
the little platform in the bow, and seemed to be as happy as ever, and
that was saying a great deal.
"Give way!" said Mr. Gaskette, laughing at the apparent self-possession
of Mrs. Mingo when her troubles were over. The cutter came alongside the
ship under its davits, the falls were hooked on, and the boat was
hoisted up. The lady was the first to leap from her place to the rail of
the ship.
The passengers applauded as she moved aft; and she replied with her
usual cry, and ended it with a squeak. She went directly to the
promenade, which she mounted, and then hastened to Mrs. Belgrave's
chair. She looked at her baby as though it had been overboard. Miss
Mingo's keeper had taken care that the infant should not see her mother
in the water; and the little one could not have told what was the matter
if any one had asked her, first because she did not know, and second for
an obvious reason.
The ship was going ahead again, and the captain came to the promenade.
He took the lady into the sun, and persuaded her to lie down and dry
herself. She seemed to understand the matter, and stretched herself out.
"What made her fall overboard, Captain?" asked the lady--meaning Mrs.
Belgrave this time, and not the siamang.
[Illustration: SHE MADE A VIGOROUS LEAP INTO THE FORE-SHEETS.
_Page 267._]
"The fore topgallant halliard was not made fast to the cleat, and when
it ran out, it jerked her from it," replied the commander. "It ought not
to have been loose, and there is a bit of discipline for some jack-tar."
The ship went along as before; and when the passengers turned out the
next morning Manila was in sight, and not five miles distant.