UCSULnHlH'.KlW*,f,L,
LIBRARY FACIUTY
D 000 8450249
71
'^y-
.'-'v-^-
THE
BURTON HOLMES
LECTURES
With IUustratio?is from Photographs
By the Author
I/AJIU
COMPLETE IN TEN VOLUMES
VOL. V
BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN
THE LITTLE-PRESTON COMF^^NY, LIMITED
M C M I
FIILANI
THE
BURTON HOLMES
LECTURES
IVith Illustrations from Photographs
By the Author
COMPLETE IN TEN VOLUMES
VOL. V
BATTLE CREKK., MICHIGAN
THK LITTLE-PRESTON COMPANY, LIMITF.D
M C M I
Copyright 1901
BY E. BURTON HOLMES
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
IRL'
The "Edition Original " of The Burton Holmes Lectures
is Limited to One Thousand Sets.
The Registered Number of This Set is ,
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
he
HcxwcLiian
Islands
fT WAS a calm niglit in tlie month
of June when we drifted silently
from the docks of San Francisco, passed swiftly
out through the Golden Gate, and set our course across the
silvery moonlit sea toward the Hawaiian Islands. About
two thousand miles of peaceful ocean sleep between our coast
and the palm-fringed shores of the Republic of Hawaii, and
over this we speed, not knowing that ere we retrace our way,
this stretch of ocean — almost equal in width to the Atlantic
— will have been transformed by our wise men at Washing-
ton into an American channel, and that tiie trans-Pacitic
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
steamers will have become boats that convey the traffic of
mere "ferries," running from San Francisco, Cal., to Hono-
lulu, United States of America.
There is not time to dwell upon the voyage, but I must
at least confess that I have never more thoroughly enjoyed
a week at sea. Conditions of weather, service, and accom-
modations I have never seen surpassed : and as for speed —
our steamer, the " Moana, " traveled all too swiftlv across
THE Sl'MMEK SEA
this fascinating summer sea, and brought us into Honolulu
Harbor at sunrise on the morning of the seventh day. The
first impressions of the traveler, as he sees the islands rise
like pale blue clouds out of the dark blue sea, I shall not
endeavor to describe. I trust that all of \ou are some day
going to the islands, and believe no one has a right to rob you
of your first impressions. I hold that ever}' traveler should
be permitted to enjoy his own, without suggestions or inter-
ruptions by the omnipresent and ul)i(|uitc)us tourist who has
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
"been there" several times before. Of course the first land
that we saw was Molokai, the island home of those upon
whom the awful curse of leprosy has fallen, but we passed
it afar off, as if the ship herself had heard the cry "un-
clean! unclean!" and soon the outline of the island faded
from our view, while the volcanic shapes of Oahu rose
hijjher and higher against the morning sky. Then Coco
Head and Diamond Head are passed, and finally, almost
Wi^,
lIuNtJH LL IIAKBIJU
before we know it, we are in port, scanning the shores
with that delightful eagerness that animates the traveler
\\'hen he scents a new land and a new experience.
So much has been told us of the beauty of the land that
we are at Hrst, I fear, a little disappointed ; the hills are
green, but not so green as travelers have painted them ;
the palms are tall, but not ([uite tall enough ; the sea and the
sky are beautiful, yet \\\i expected niort/. 1 do not know
\\h\', but we expected the impossible. So much for enthu-
8
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
siastic lectures and fulsome books of travel ! As ,ue discoxer
later, the reality surpasses all that a sane pleasure-seeker or
beaut\-lover can desire. A friend, a resident of Honolulu,
indicates the various features of the view as the ship swings
around. There are the boat-houses, wading in the harbor ;
yonder the new naval coal-sheds, constructed by the United
States government, as if in anticipatir)n of immediate neces-
sity ; and there behind the cit\- on the riyht is the volcanic
DIVING FOR DIMES
cone called Punch-Bowl — a "punch-bowl" scandalously
huge for a town so temperate and well behaved as Honolulu,
a punch-bowl big enough to serve as loving-cup for the
entire nation when it shall celebrate the realization of its
long-cherished dream of annexation. Cheers greet our ar-
riving steamer, for she brings good news ; and as she is
warped slowly up to the dock, the crowds of citizens awaiting
us cheer again and again, for they have seen painted on a
long blackboard, fixed to the railing of the bridge, these
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
WELCOMK NEWS ANNOUNCED
words: "House of
Representatives
passed Annexa-
tion Resolution
209-91." Of
course this does
not mean annexa-
tion ; as yet the
Senate has not
acted, but the
news is full of
promise, and im-
mediately Hono-
Hf lulu goes wild
with joy. News-
IJy periiiibsion
I in \\ K! I OMIM , tR( i\\ l>
lO
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
papers eight days old that have heen lying in the saloon
and cabins are seized upon with eagerness by those who
come on board to greet their friends. We must not for-
get that Honolulu gets its news but once a week, and
sometimes only once a fortnight ; there is no telegraphic
cable to link this little city to the nerve-centers of the world.
Therefore the ^-^•^■^■^■■i"^^^.^ ''steamer
A noNt)Lri_r wiiAkF
is a most important function ; everybody makes it a ]>oint to
be upon the dock, no matter what the hour of the ship's
arrival, and those who ha\e discovered friends on board,
hastily purchase floral garlands with which to deck the wel-
come ones. These garlands are called " /r/s. " They are of
many different flowers, of many different colors ; some are
bright red, others a gorgeous yellow, while the most distingue
of all is the lei of beautiful green niaile. " But," you may
be tempted to ask, "have not some of these ladies on the
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
II
pier entirel}- for-
gotten both the
place and hour in
their haste to
greet and deco-
rate their friends ?
Have they not
thoughtlessly
rushed out in
dressing gowns ? ' '
But ere we have
a chance to form-
ulate a question,
other visions of
rebellious dry-goods are revealed to us. Surely there must
be sanction for this informal costume, or else the absent-
mindedness of Honolulu
femininity is little short of
shocking. These " Moth-
er Hubbards" would not
be tolerated in the state
BUYING LEIS
Plioto^r,iph by Anton Hodenpyl
12
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
the orif^in and history of the
lo/okii, ' — for that is what these
damsels call it, — we view it in a
different light. When the mis-
sionaries first came to these
isles of innocence, the ladies
knew as little about clothes as
about bicycles ; smiles and tropic
tan were the materials then used
for feminine attire. The mission-
aries thereupon immediately in-
venteil the holoku ; in fact, so
hastily was it contrived that there
was not time enough for trying on, and therefore the holoku
remains ill-fitting to this very day. The smiles and tropic
tan were not abolished, but became accessory rather than
essential features of feminine adornment. Some holokus are
DECORATKD WITH LEIS
SMILES AND FLOWERS
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
13
HOLOKIS
stiff with starch, in rigid superior! c}-, others hang more in
Grecian folds ; but coolness, comfort, and economy, perfect
adaptabilit}' to climate and to purse are the dominant char-
acteristics of this Hawaiian costume. It is worn by all
classes and by all nationalties. \\'e
shall see it in the Asiatic quarter, a
crude substitute for the artistic
Japanese kimono, and annd tiie
aristocratic surroundings of
suburban bungalows where,
it is fair to add, the American
wearers give more thought
to cut and (piality, and su])-
plement the smiles and tan
with shoes and stockings.
HCILOKUS
14
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
But let us not anticipate. Let us jump into a cab and
drive to the hotel. Up I^^irt Street speeds our carryall between
long blocks of business houses, stores, and offices. Surely this
is no foreign country ; this street is like a dozen streets that
we could name in the minor cities of America. And as if
to emphasize the obvious Americanism of the place, there,
high abo\e, brightening the tropic sky, are the familiar Stars
and Stripes, flung out in honor of the coming of our ship with
news of promised annexation. The traveler from the United
States instantly feels at home. This is delightful in one
sense, in another it is a less welcome sensation. The
traveler who seeks novelty and strangeness inav be at hrst
rebellious when confronted by a typical American thorough-
fare, in which there is not one beautiful or one exotic note.
But let him wait a
little — all this is
admirable and
progressive ; that
which is tropical
and charming is
not far a w a y .
Let him but turn
a corner, and he
will halt in won-
der at sight of a
floral conflagra-
tion such as he
never saw before
— a gorgeous tree
ablaze with ruddy
flame-like flow-
ers. His first
thought is to call
IN GRKCIA.N i-OLDS . .
IMiotofraiih l.y ,\moii HoJetipyl OUt tile fire bri"
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
15
Hv permission
HULA DANCERS
ga.de. Nor is this the only blaze in town. The residential
streets are all aglow with the blossoms of the Poinciana
Kegia — it is as if a rain of molten lava had fallen on the
tree-tops. At almost every turn the visitor is startled by
these bursts of tlanie-tlowers. It is as if an anarchistic
plot to burn the city had been foiled by the sudden trans-
formation of wide-spread incipient fires into masses of harm-
less, lovely, floral flame. Now and then the trade-wind fans
the arborescent fires and wakes them to life, and petals,
like red-hot embers, fall through
the grating of the branches to
the street below, where
they are soon extin-
guished by the feet
of passers-by.
Before we have
lost sight of this
glorious bower, our
cab turns suddenly
and plunges into a
THK l-LOWER-GIRLS ARE SHV
1 6
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
domesticated jungle — the garden of the principal hotel of
Honolulu. The garden is greeh, the hotel is blue, and this
scheme of color pervades the institution ; for candor compels
me to add that the cooks also are very green, and as a conse-
quence the guests become thrice a day, at meal-times, ex-
tremely blue. This is \vhere Hawaiian hospitality finds its
noblest scope ; the traveler is almost certain to be asked out
to dinner at least three times a week. We beamed with joy
when our good friends took pity on us and blushed for very,
shame when we were served a second time to every course.
There is no reason why this hotel should not be one of the
most delightful in the western hemisphere. Its situation, struc-
ture, and appointments leave little to desire ; broad, cool ve-
randas, spacious rooms, charming surroundings, — a touch of
proper management would render it ideal. As it was, thanks
to the invitations of kind friends — or, failing these, visits
I HI-: l'.A(.IFIC CLIB
Ill} HAWAIIAN IK 1 TKI.
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
19
to the neighboring ice-
cream parlor — and the
hospitality of the Pacific
Club, we lived like Syb-
arites. Our first sight-
seeing excursion, like that
of every well-regulated
tourist, has for its object
.1 high place whence we
may look down on Hono-
lulu. We choose the
tower of the Govern-
ment Building, which
commands an interesting
panorama. Looking
landward we see, far
away, the verdurous
mountains cleft by val-
levs, flooded with mist
on the
ht.
and vegetation
HI-: H \\\ \i
the nearer slope of Fun
Bowl, nearer still th
roofs of houses peep-
ing through the tree-
tops, and in the
foreground that
well-known struct-
ure, the lolani Pal-
ace, once the abode
of Royalty, now the
Executive Building o
the Republic of Ha
HAWAIIAN HOIKL
20
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
THT-: GOVERNMENT BLILDINi.
Above it waves the national emblem of the Islands, a Hag that
as it flutters resembles by turns the flag of England and the
HOTEL STREET
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
21
flag of the United States, a most perplexing peculiarity.
The explanation given us is plausible and simple.
We are told that long years ago the king, Kamehameha,
desirous that the new nation which had come into being
THK lOLANl PALACE
through his victories and his concpicst of the entire archi-
pelago, should have a Hag of its own, chose from among
the flags of all nations the one he thought the prettiest, —
the one his people liked best, — and in his simple, head-
22
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
amazement,
strong way, disregarding the unwritten
copyright of nations, adopted the Stars
and Stripes as the emblem of Hawaii.
Strange that that grand old savage, who
died more than eighty years ago, should
have anticipated in this matter the will
of the Hawaiian people of to-day, for the
i^ag he chose as the prettiest flag was the
ver\' flag that is now waving above the
territor\' of Hawaii. But to his great
England protested against this adoption of the Stars and
Stripes, and so his majesty, eager to please
and satisfy all parties, struck out the stars,
and in the place of their blue field, set
Saint George's cross, the British emblem.
Thus for the second time did old Ka-
mehameha truly prophesy, for the flag
tliat he designed, the flag that his suc-
cessors raised over this their modern
palace, t_\pified the closer union of the
two great Anglo-Saxon nations. The
time at last has come when Englishmen
and Yankees can see, without a trace of
aught save satisfaction, the Union Jack
and the Red, White, and Blue,
in loving ju.xtaposition on the
same expanse of bunting.
And here in these Pacific Is-
lands the Anglo-Saxon — or per-
haps more properly the English-
speaking — race now re-
presents the intelligence
and the culture of
the land. The
KAMEHAMEH \
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
-AGS — PAST AND FUTL'RE
Christianization, civilization, and present prosperity of Hawaii
are the fruits of tiie efforts of
English-speaking men and wo-
men. Nor have those who
turned the huui from bar-
barism to civilization
failed of their own re-
ward. Riches and
luxurv liavc come to
the pioneers and to
their Hawaiian-born
24
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
descendants. No cit}- of its size in
the entire world boasts more
luxurious, delightful homes
than Honolulu. The very
approaches to these
homes are of almost
regal beauty and dig-
nity- . Royal palms,
like polished pillars,
line the driveways,
while overhead their
p 1 u in e s , resembling
the old " kahilis, " or
emblems of Hawaiian
royalty, sway majesti-
cally in the breeze. And
who dwell in the mansions
to which these column-
bordered roads conduct .''
Is the occupant a native
jirince, or a throne less
queen .' In one or two conspicuous cases, yes. But the
majority of these ideal abodes belong to men and women of
our race, to those who came in early da3^s — some of them
to harvest souls, others to harvest sugar-cane. One of these
homes particularly fascinated me. The house was modest as a
cottage ; the unique and crowning splendor of the place con-
sisted in a semicircular peristyle of Royal Palms, an archi-
tectural arrangement of majestic trees, than which I have
never seen anything more thoroughly artistic and satisfying
in any park or garden in the world. The merest native
hut, fronted by this classic peristyle, of which the pillars were
designed by nature, arranged by man, and polished, shaped,
and perfected by the tropic sun and rain, would attain palatial
PALM-BORDER RD AVENGES
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
dignity. Each time I passed before
the gate and read the sign announc
ing that this house and garden
were for sale, I marveled that
a hundred purchasers were not
already clamoring at the door.
There is no end to the va-
riety of Honolulu architect-
ure, although it all reflects the
inlluence of American design.
One of the newest and most
perfectly appointed homes, in
which we were most hospitably en-
tertained, was the home of an Ameri-
can family. The words "Hawaii" hawmian hospitality personified
and "Hospitality ' are to one who has visited this land,
synonymous. Never in any corner of the globe, save in the
foreign settlement in Yokohama, have I found a hospitality
comparable to that of Honi)liilu in its spontaneity, its unaf-
fected cordialit}', in short, its genuine genuineness. Pardon
the tautology : good, lawful English cannot express Hawaiian
hospitality. Doors all stand open, there are no bells to ring.
The visitor arrives, walks across the ^ broad ^•eranda, or
lanai, and enters unannounced. -A, M\
fail
I m-: nisHoi' misimm
26
THE H.WNAIIAN ISLANDS
interiors in Honolulu. The
photographs were take n
during the summer \aca-
tion-days, when all the
little things that give a
homelike touch are
aid away. \\'hen
we Were first received
in this unique apart-
ment, a combination of
A HONOLILi; RESIDENCK
dining-hall, the foun-
tain played in a min-
iature jungle of young
palms, hooks, maga-
zines, and illustrated
papers lay upon desks
and tables, — and be-
yond the Pompeiian
pillars there awaited
COMFORT AM) LIGHT
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
us a table spread with such delicacies as are never seen in
colder climes. And think not, O starvinj? stranger, when
hotel thou eatest thy monotonous
et and mutton three times daily and
urmurest thy maledictions — that
culinary art is alien to Honolulu.
One other home we must not
fail to see, one famous for its
TlIK AH r-(lNG \T(J-A
thirteen fair daughters, almond-eyed, accomplished, with the
graces of the West and the mysterious charm of Oriental
women. It is, of course, of the home of Mr. A\\ I'ong, the
Chinese Croesus, that I now speak. But —
Von have all heard tlie story of Mr. Ah Kong,
I '11 retell it in verse, for it won't take me long : —
How from China he came with his brains and liis hands,
How lie landed, a poor man, on Hawaiian sands,
How he labored in cane-lields, then traded in fans.
How wealth beyond counting rewarded his plans.
28
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
How he married a lady, half native, half white,
How he reared thirteen daughters, all fair in men's sight,
How he gave them each fortunes in strong-boxes tight,
How he wearied of Hawaii and vanished from sight.
How he went back to China with only one son,
To begin life anew with old wife number one.
How his Hawaiian family live here to this day,
Rich, happy, resigned, and distinctly an fait.
But, seriously, this family about whom so much has been
written are charming people, ami although I had not the
privilege of meeting any of the thirteen Misses Ah Fong,
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
29
AFTER T[IE FIRE
I know that they are not less popular nor less hospitable than
their fair Anglo-Saxon rivals. When warships are in port,
the Ah Fong home becomes a sort of club for naval officers,
two of whom there lost their hearts and found their life com-
panions among the heiresses of Mr. Ah F"ong's millions.
The business world of Honolulu, in which the Chinese
merchant was a most conspicuous figure, is centered in five
or si.\ squares of modern stores and offices. When on King
Street the traveler can easily imagine himself in the business
district of a small .Vmerican town ; he sees familiar articles
exposed for sale, reads signs that he has read before, meets
people like the people whom he knows at home. Even
the policeman, although a native, is a reminder, in his
uniform and manner, of our gallant Hibernian defenders.
We may find in half a dozen drug-stores sizzling soda-water
fountains where soft ice-cream and soapy froth are doled
out b}' a Japanese or Chinese clerk ; we may buy in book-
stores San Francisco papers, in files of seven or eight copies,
the latest copy bearing a date that has already drifted a full
30
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
week into the past. The war, of
■^/V^^ course, ' wrought havoc with
the postal ser\ice. the
steamers being all taken
by the government to
transport our troops to
far-away Manila, but al-
though the regular service
was interrupted, ships came
in swift succession loaded down
\\ith gallant Boys in Blue to the
wharves of Honolulu. And how
they were welcomed ! Recent history affords no parallel to
the unbounded hospitality and enthusiasm manifested by the
people of Hawaii to these, our soldier boys. Scarce has
the approach of a transport fleet been signaled ere half the
■•-.■=l«!5Pr';^
THE NEW ELECTRIC CARS — Iqol
rK\NSP(^RTS FOR MANILA
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
31
population, white, brown, and yellow, is massed along the
water front. As the transports near, cheers are exchanged
and flags are waved. The bands on shore play the Star-
Spangled Banner, the bands on board retort with the Ha-
waiian anthem. Then as the ships swing broadside on, the
people on the wharf bombard j^/ss the unarmed Boys
in Blue with harmless, welcome "*5lGto"^ missiles. The ship
is met bv a most terrific storm of * " '' |jk. shells — cocoa-
.MARCHING TO U'.^1KIK[
nut shells; a rain of grape-shot — real luscious grapes, shot
from eager hands ; volleys of mangoes, broadsides of bananas,
followed by scattering discharges of pineapples and papayas ;
and the boys hurl back, between the luscious moutlifuls,
broadsides of cheers of gratitude.
Then later in the day, a thousand nun or more are
marched to the bathing-beaches about four miles from town.
Cheered b\' the iiojuilact-, fDllowed bv children of every age
32
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
and color, stared at by Chinamen and Japanese and natives,
\\ ho thns receive an object-lesson in the strength of the
United States, our boys march on at a swinging pace, happy
to have escaped from the ships in which they have been
stowed like bales of merchandise for seven days and to which
they must return to remain in crowded confinement for thirty
days or more. Arrived at Waikiki, blue uniforms are doffed
and soon the beach is alive \\ith pale bodies, topped by sun-
burned faces ; but as the supply of bathing-suits numbers
two hundred, and as there are a thousand bathers, we fear
that unless a miracle like unto that of the loaves and fishes
be immediately
performed, the
multitude will be
but sparsely clad.
After the bath we
march back with
the boys along the
road from Waiki-
ki ; like them we
look in admiration
at the tall palm-
trees, the most
charming feature
of the Honolulu
landscapes. To
me they seemed
to be always an-
gr\', ahvays con-
tending with the
t rad e- winds, or
ef y ing one an-
other. Travelers
lui\c compared
RETURNING FROM THE BATM
\()l-rNTI-:KRS AT WAIKIKI
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
35
them to a grove of
damaged umbrellas,
or to feather dusters
struck by lightning.
But while we have
been following pro-
cessions, the people
of Honolulu have
been busy with prep-
arations for a ban-
quet of almost four
thousand covers ; and
at two o'clock the
grounds of the Ex-
ecutive Building pre-
sent a scene of which
the pictures can give
but a faint notion. Under the shady trees and the hastily
erected trellises, half a mile or more of tables have been
spread, loaded with good things for the hungry soldiers.
ANGRY-LOOKING PALMS
36
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
I-OK THKHB THOI'SAND
For days the pie-coininittee has been baking wholesale home-
made pies ; for days the beverage-committee has been grind-
ing coffee, brewing pop and ginger ale ; other connnittees
HONOLltLU SOCIETV
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
37
have worked with equal zeal to make this banquet a suc-
cess. The prettiest girls in Honolulu act as waitresses,
the wives of high officials and of diplomats take command
of Asiatic cooks and stewards. All Honolulu is assembled
to honor the men who go to fight our battles.
And as after the feast we watch the troops passing in
review before the President of the Republic and his staff, let
me add that had the luncheon lasted longer than it did, there
could have been no review at all. The rate at which
the brass buttons of the boys were being amputated by
the souvenir-seeking daughters of Hawaii, promised to
necessitate a speedy withdrawal of the troops lest, utterly
despoiled of buttons, their uniforms fall off. Then other wait-
resses collected autographs, using for albums the thin wooden
plates on which the tropic fruit was served. And many of
the Boys in Blue swore that when the cruel war was over,
they would return and settle down for life in Honolulu.
The freedom of the entire ^^-i^tlSKI^SSPSl^^^^ town
was given to the troops.
Free street-car rides,
free ice-cream
soda, free beers
at two saloons,
free baths
and gospel
meetings at
the Y. M.
C. A., and
full liberty to
strip the trees
of their fruits
and flowers were
among the jjrivi-
leges granted to the
i HI-: KIRST ATI ACK
38
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
men. It is a fact well worthy of record that of the thou-
sands of young Americans, turned loose after a week's cap-
tivity on shipboard not one abused these privileges. Dozens
of pretty girls patrolled the streets, carrying floral garlands.
They decorated every soldier whom they met, luinging a lei
around his neck or fixing crowns of flowers on his head.
■EBB^sraa
SiN'. IN Kh\lt:U'
And this unheard-of exhibition of good-will was not a unique
instance. Three expeditions met with a like reception while
we were in Hawaii ; and Honolulu stood prepared, with
money gladly offered, and with innate loving-kindness, to
speed the coming regiments upon their way, or to care for
the sick and helpless in her Red Cross Hospital. In all she
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
39
IN FLORAL CHAINS
welcomed and
feasted no fewer
than twent\- thou-
sand men. And
tfiis in defiance of
all precedent in
international law.
Hawaii, the tini-
est of the nations
dared, even be-
fore the news of
Dewey's victory,
to declare that,
annexation or no
anne.xation, the
troops of the
United States should find a haven and a welcome here.
But we must turn to those things which are of paramount
interest to travelers who visit Honolulu at less e.xciting
seasons. First there is the traditional e.xcursion to the
Pali, the historic precipice at the head of Nuuanu Valle\-,
a little more than six miles
from the sea and about
twelve hundred feet
above it. W'ehave
come up through
a verdant val-
ley until, sud-
denly emerging
from the gap
b e t w e e n tall
green-clad pinna
cles of rock, we
find ourselves upon
THK I'IKST
1 HI-; LOCAL K\-M rWOSS
40
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
the verge of an abyss from which a wind of such great
violence sweeps up that, were a suicide to leap out into
space, he would undoubtedly be tossed back upon the road
as by the fury of a mighty wave of the ocean.
THK WAY TO THE PALI
So impressive is the scene that travelers do not often
speak while gazing upon it ; in fact, they dare not.
Some one has said: "If you open your mouth at the Pali,
you can't shut it again until you get in the lee of some-
thing,— the wind blows so hard."
This Pali is the scene of the most dramatic event re-
corded in Hawaiian history. Here in 1795 the great con-
queror, Kamehameha, defeated the warriors of the King of
Oahu, and they, in desperation, leaped from the Pali rather
than live to see their island subjugated.
The new road, to the parapet of which we cling while
the wind tugs fiercely at us, leads down into a strange, silent
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
41
world, different from
the other side. Bel
rice-fields, pastur
mills, and villages
beyond, the blue sea
is dovetailed into
the green and tes-
s elated shores.
Few^ travelers de-
scend into this
peaceful world de-
spite the fact that
the old trail, so steep
and cruel, has been
replaced by the finest
modern road in all
the island ; most
are content to look
down upon it wist-
fully, and then releasing '^'"^ '"'"-'
their hold upon the parapet, they are blown ignominiously back
through the gateway into Nuuanu Valley. I defy an arch-
bishop or a crowned head to look dignified while in the grasp
of the riotous breezes of the Pali. Pursued by the importunate
winds we hasten back to Honolulu. Viewed from a height the
city itself appears submerged in a sea of verdure, from which
arise the spires of the churches, the lighthouses of the land.
The roofs of other structures float like giant whales amid the
waves of green, while in the distance, like a small volcanic
island, the extinct crater of Diamond Head lifts its scarred,
savage form. And yonder, near the base of Diamond Head,
is Waikiki, where, as the poet says : —
"The cocoa, with its crest of pahiis,
Stands sentry rouml the crescent shore."
42
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
And the word " Waikiki " recalls to us, as to almost
every traveler, delightful reminiscences. As we find ourselves
amid the cocoa-palms at Waikiki, we understand why this
delightful suburb is considered a sort of subdivision of Para-
dise. Beautiful villas line the beach or hide themselves amid
the tropic verdure of the gardens bordering the wide and
dusty road ; along this road invalid street-cars crawl, re-
minding one of poor consumptives exiled to this land of
perfect days in order to prolong their lives. But Waikiki is
HONOLULU FRO.M PACIFIC HEIGHTS
not entirely given up to the homes of wealth and luxury ; it
is as well a paradise for the mixed Asiatic population, and
here }'oung China and Japan are seen in all their sweet
simplicity.
Mark Twain has told us of seeing here " certain smoke-
dried children, clothed in nothing but sunshine — a very neat-
fitting and picturesque apparel indeed. " Here, also, are the
rice-fields tilled by patient Orientals, and here are the taro
patches, where the natives grow their favorite \egetable.
A word about the indispensable taro plant and its uses
may be in order here ; for the root of this plant is the staple
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
45
A DISl Kl SI 1 I 1
mentation soon
begins.
article of food for the
native population.
The root resembles a
corpulent sweet po-
tato ; when cooked,
it rapidly assumes a
purplish, mildewed
look. After this it is
mashed and mixed
with water until a sort
of dingy, paper-hang-
er's paste is formed.
This cold, thick soup
is set aside and fer-
And this sour, semi-fermented,
LOOKING rOWAKl' WAIKIkl
46
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
,or Hensh.iM
ASIATIC INFANTS
great gusto
mushy, mildewy,
mass of lavender
matter is the fa-
mous " poi, ' the
favorite food of
the Hawaiian
people . It ap-
peals as well to
the adopted chil-
dren of the land,
and the traveler
may see youthful
Orientals dipping
their fingers into
pails of poi with
But we must here digress to remark that while
one of these poi-fed heathen in the picture seems to be
smilingly telling us that his mother used Wool Soap, another
little chap dares not look up, because his mama didn't. To
return to our poi.
You must know
that it is most nu-
tritious ; it is said
that one square
mile of taro patch
will feed fifteen
thousand natives r^ j
for a year. The W
man who is the —
owner of forty ^^^v
square feet of taro "^^
land need take no
thought for the
morrow ; only an
Sl'GGKSTS wool SOAP
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
47
hour's work per day, and the great problem of existence is
solved for him, and he is free to spend the other twenty-three
hours of the tropic day and night in happy idleness. But
while the natives sing away the hours, the thrifty Japanese
and the industrious Chinese is slowly but surely possessing
himself of the heritage of the Kanaka. The Asiatic can live
on as little as the native, but while the one is lazy the other is
indefatigable and profits doubly by the bounty of Dame Nature.
DIAMOND Hh.AU 1- KOM l'At:iFK' IIKIGHIS
It is said that the Hawaiian people numbered 400,000 when
the islands were discovered, and to-day there are scarcely
thirty thousand of them left. Fifteen years ago there were
not a lunidrcd Jajjanese in the islands. To-day Japan is
represented by 25,000 of her lKUih\-orking peasants and her
shrewd business men. China has sent more than twenty
thousand pig-tailed natives hither. Fifteen thousand Portu-
guese are now competing with them.
While we pass a typical Hawaiian home,— the home that
has supplantt'il the primitive grass hut, we cannot but fear that
48
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
the leisure-loving
native is doomed.
He Nourished like
the vegetation of
his island so long
as he was left to
grow his taro,
pick his mango,
and idly repose.
There was no ne-
cessity for labor.
Then the white
man came with
his doctrine of ac-
tivity, whereupon
for the first time the curse of Cain descended on this happy
land. The islander did not resist ; one by one he simply laid
riiotopr.iph by Profe'iSOr Henshaw
CELKSTIAL CONTEMPLATION
A HAWAIIAN HO.MIi
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
49
him down to die ; he will revenge
himself by disappearing from
the earth where he no long-
er feels at home. Within
another century there
may not be one of these
pure-blooded islanders
to raise the cry, " Ha-
waii for the Hawaii-
ans. " Since 1853 the
nation has decreased
one-half. Fifty short
years ago there were living
just twice as many natives as
there are to-day. Are not these
startling facts ? Two deaths to every
birth. Truly, there never was a land that stood in greater
need of immigration that its daily work might be done, that
its destinies might be guided bj^ wise, thoughtful men. The
Orient supplies the needed hands, America the brains. And
KANAKA FAMILY
brains are surely
this small corn-
numbers all told
edict to be made
printed in five
necessary wisely to rule
munity, for although it
only 109,000 souls, every
intelligible to all must be
different languages. To
ti\ in mind more firmly
A TYPICAL HAWAIIAN
50
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
IN FIVE LANGTAGES
tlie relative strength of the various peoples in Hawaii, let me
say, in drawing your attention to a printed
tax-notice, that the Ai'/so aos Coutrilm-
////t\s\ will be reatl b\" fifteen thousand
Portuguese; the "Hoolaha' by thirty
thousand Hawaiians, the ' ' Tax-Asses-
sor s Notice" by two thousand Eng-
lish and 3,000 Americans ; that the
lower left-hand hieroglyphics convey
a meaning to the minds of 25,000
Japanese, and the right-hand rows of
ideographs bring a message causing sor-
row to 22,000 Chinese taxpayers.
PRESIDENT DOl-K
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
51
IHK WAN
\\ A 1 K I K I
This mixed population, scattered over the eight inhabited
islands of the group, has been as clay in the hands of a few
hundred wide-awake American potters. The New England
missionaries found Hawaii in 1820 a savage pagan despotism ;
with the potter's wheel of Christianity they molded it into
a law-abiding Christian monarchy ; and, this less crude
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
vessel having served its time, they who had formed it broke
it ; and then with the cement of expediency they put to-
gether its shattered pieces in the form of a repubhc and gave
it into the care of a most admirable man, who by his wise
and zealous guardianship has won the world's respect; and
finallv, lest aliens should lay rough hands upon this carefully
reformed and restored piece of pottery so delicate and un-
protected, its guardians sent it as a gift to a rich and power-
THE NEW MOANA HOTEL 1-KuM I HE i'lER
ful relative, a certain Uncle Sam, who had recently de-
veloped a passion for "insular ceramics"; and Uncle Sam,
enthusiastic collector that he is now become, has placed
this beautiful Pacitic specimen securely on the shelves of
his National Museum, to rest in definite security forever side
bv side with other lovely tropic curios recently acquired in
the Caribbean and the China Seas.
But let us now make the acquaintance of our new fellow-
citizens of our own race, whose dwellings line the shore at
Waikiki. Never shall I forget the entertainment that was
here offered us one perfect afternoon. We often speak of
unique entertainments. How many times in life does one
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
53
attend an entertainment that is in truth unique or even
novel ? Scarce once in twenty years ; yet among our ex-
periences in Hawaii \ve can count two that are unparalleled.
We were one day invited to a Poi luncheon, a native feast,
or liiaii with the natives and discomforts all eliminated. The
scene of the affair was the lanai of a residence at Waikiki.
The lanai is the one necessary feature of a Hawaiian resi-
dence ; there is no absolute need of a house with rooms, or
halls or parlors, — but a bi'oad, open space, roofed with a
trellis, carpeted with mats, furnished with reclining-chairs,
hannnocks, and a well-stocked sideboard is the soul-center
of the typical Hawaiian home. It is the simplest, cheapest,
and most supremely luxurious institution ever devised by
man in the name of comfort. Man has but to choose the
spot, do a little simple carpentry, plant a tree and a vine,
and Nature will soon transform the wooden skeleton into a
bower of delight and beauty. Well, it was in such a leafy-
roofed apartment that a merry company one day sat down
to watch two strangers struggle with the fearful mysteries of
a native feast, which to the unaccustomed eye looks like
a gastronomic nightmare. I shall not try to tell you what
we ate, though I may gather courage soon to tell you how
54
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
we ate the very various and uncominon, but distinctly tooth-
some novelties that were heaped before us on a table that
resembled a huge bank of fresh green ferns. The natives
sit upon the ground to feast, but we are spared this added
embarrassment and give our whole attention to the seemingly
impossible task of eating the weird things prepared to give
our foreign palates many a shock of surprise. First, there
is poi, — in calabashes made of cocoanut shells. We wash
ciur hiigers in a proffered basin and, like our experienced
fellow-feasters, deftly jilunge two fingers into the sticky
mess. It is like caressing a bowl of \\arm lavender ice-
cream that is on the point of dissolution. Instinctively we
draw our fingers out again, but lo ! each one is poulticed
with a thick coat of poi ; which, ere it drips and drops, must
be transported in safety through the air, conveyed to a
reluctant mouth, and introduced to a rebellious palate.
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
55
We therefore try to imitate the other guests. We wave
our poi-daubed lingers in the air, describing first an S and then
a figure eight. This maneuver with the others brings the
poi to their e.xpectant lips ; but executed by our unpracticed
hands, it leaves us at its conclusion with the poi adorning
our cravats or rubbed into our eyes. My friend, to cover
his confusion, picks up and eats complacently a little bean-
like//r>r^- dir/tiTt which proves to be a pepper of the
hottest breed — and the contortions in which he then in-
'^''!^l'
AT THE RACES -
\\ A I K I K I
dulges make even the calm-faced Japanese mosquito-chasers
smile bland, Oriental smiles. Thus having at one fell swoop
done our very worst, we boldly attack the other viands with
our clumsy fingers, and find much genuine enjoyment in
violating every rule of table etiquette. But everything tasted
good, and even the assurance that the meat which we
thought to be delicious young pig, was nothing less than a
succulent slice of a poi-fattened dog, could not thereafter
disconcert us, for we did not credit that assurance.
Hut let me now present our host and hostess — the
gallant Marshal of the Islands, in his uniform of snowy duck.
56
THK HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
and his charming wife, who raises her glass as if to drink a
toast to speedy annexation. But this toast is not even pro-
posed ; courtesy forbids ; for in the place of honor at the
Marshal's right sits a young girl to whom annexation means
the abandonment of hope, the end of her dream of royalty.
Princess Kaiulani, niece of the ex-queen and heiress to the
throne of Hawaii, sits there in friendly converse with those
who, had it not been for the mistakes of Liliuokalani, would
have been compelled to bend the knee to her as subjects.
As it is, she is queen in the hearts of many, although her dis-
appointments and sorrows have tinged her character with just
a shade of bitterness, for it is difficult to be resigned to a career
so different from that which fortune promised. During the
eight years of her school-life in England, she was received
as a princess and an equal by the royal family of England ;
A SfKl-lM. I'AKIV
riiotoj^'rapll by D.ivi-y
I'RINCESS KAIULANI
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
59
Sl!KK CANllI-:^
the throne of Hawaii was to be hers in time ; the revenues of
the crown lands were to be hers to do with as she wished.
She was to be a queen. Then came the bloodless revolution,
and Princess Kaiulani returns to find herself merely the
daughter of a Scotch gentleman, to find her revenues reduced
from a royal privy-purse of a hundred thousand a year to
a meager pension of $3,000, sparingly granted by the new
republic. It is not possible to meet a throneless queen,
especially if she be twenty-two years old and pretty, and not
become a rabid royalist.
But to return to our interrupted feast. The luau is ended.
What we have eaten we have eaten ; peace be unto it ! be
it pig or dog, for without question it was appetizing. The
6o
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
afternoon hours are soon wafted into a regretted past on the
wings of music and song. Native musicians chant and strum
their iikidalis, tlie guests join in the soft refrains, until at
hist tlie host and hostess give the signah and all hands dis-
appear into the bathing houses, to don the costume which
is used when Honolulu society pays the daily visit to their
grand old neighbor, Father Neptune. All reappear in bath-
ing suits, but each retains the lei of flowers, as a token that
festivities are not yet over. In fact, the best is still to come.
This is to be no ordinary swimming party, no casual daily
dip in the cool blue ocean, which here almost invades the
drawing-room. There's better, newer fun in store for us —
we are to ride the surf in native boats — a water-sport more
thrilling, more delightful than anything ever devised by man
in civilized lands. Surf-riding is the sport par excellence
with Polynesians.
The boatmen
who so promptly
appear to make
ready the Mar-
.sluil's little fleet
of five canoes, are
pictures of Ha-
waiian ph\-sical
perfection and
seem as eager as
young boys to be-
gin their welcome
and exhilarating
labors.
A word about
the boats in which
we are to receive
more real concen-
IHI-: MARSHAL'S FLEET
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
63
trated pleasure than usually falls to the lot of man in a
single afternoon. They are very long and very narrow,
but there is scarce a possibility of their capsizing, for the
heavy outriggers, fixed to the extremities of the curving
beams, will keep us safely right-side up. Our canoes are
quickly launched, and with all hands on board, speed swiftly,
furiously out to sea, propelled by paddles wielded by strong
bronze arms. Five happy boat-loads race far out to meet
the huge incoming breakers ; then when we reach the place
where the grand ocean-swells come rolling in like smooth,
watery mountain-ranges, we pause and wait, allowing fluid
Catskills and liquid Alleghanies to glide past us, for we are
waiting for the Rockies or the Himalayas. At last there comes
a range of billows worthy of our crews, who raise a wild shout.
" Hoi, Hoi, Hoi, " the boatmen howl, and this word is taken
up in shrill cries by the women ; then all hands paddle
frantically shorewards until the boat attains the proper
speed — a speed that permits the towering v.all of water to
overtake the canoe and lift up the stern. From that mo-
ment we are the toy and plaything of that shoreward-moving
ridge of water. Our little bark tries to slide down and away,
but the huge curler follows us so fast that our relative posi-
tions remain the same, and on we rush together, wave push-
ing boat and boat
gliding down wave
at a speed of thirty
miles an hour. We
literally slide down
hill on an advanc-
ing chute of wattT
for Tiiore than half
a mile. Each sec-
ond we expect to
see the chasing,
THE BFACH AT WAIKIKI
64
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
foaming palisade, upon the face of which the canoe is held as
by some mysterious attraction, overwhelm us ; yet it does
not, and thus we are hurled forward, always about to be
overtaken, always escaping in tiie nick of time. And mingled
with the roar of waters are the cries of the riders, half
crazed with delight. There before me is the Princess Kaiu-
lani, her face aglow with excitement, shouting and paddling
frantically, her eyes flashing with the wild pleasure of it all,
h t'l-lAIJL HAKBOK
as doubtless the eyes of her princely ancestors flashed in the
days when surfing was exclusively a royal sport. So thrilling
is it all that we forget the beach until with a sudden broad
stroke of the paddle our helmsman swings us out of the grip
of the curler, which hisses angrily beneath our keel and rushes
to its death uptm the glittering sands.
Then out we race for another and another of these
exhilarating dashes. And while waiting there near the reef,
for waves worthy of our mettle, all hands plunge overboard,
and the sea around the canoes is alive with human porpoises,
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
67
until at the cry of " Hoi!" again, all clamber in and paddle
and yell and thrill with the very joy of living. What if one
boat was swamped by a huge breaker? — the passengers feel
more at home in water, and the women rioat about com-
placently until men have skilfully baled out the long and
slender craft. What if w^e did learn on returning to the
Marshal's that a shark had been seen cruising inside the
reef.' — we know that we have added to our store of happv
days one that was worth the journey of eight thousand miles.
The apparition of the shark suggested to other friends the
second unique enter-
tainment to which we
were bidden, — a real
shark-hunting e.\pe-
dition. A few days
later we found our-
selves at sunset cruis-
ing in the calm waters
of Pearl Harbor. As
the haunt of man-eat-
ing sharks and as the
scene of many an ex-
citing chase. Pearl
Harbor is famous in
Hawaii
SHARK Hl'NTERS
but it has, as we know, a wider fame, as the only
available site for a naval station in all that vast watery desert
between California and .\sia, between Alaska and the
Antarctic seas. It is not only the sole safe harbor of
Hawaii, it is as perfectly adapted to the needs of a
modern nasal power as if it had been planned and dredged
and blasted out by na\al engineers. The entrance is
seven miles west of Honolulu ; a channel a third of a mile
in width gives access to an inland lake, six miles by three,
dividetl into four calm lochs bv two ptMiinsulas and a pretty
68
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
OL'K hUTLRE NAVAL HAIiUo;;
island. The water is from five to ten fathoms deep ; in
many places men-of-war could be moored immediately along-
side the coral bluffs, in seven fathoms of clear water. No
hurricanes can reach this haven, no malaria broods upon the
shores by night ; there is abundant water from artesian wells,
and Honolulu is but twenty minutes distant by the railway.
The removal of a sandbar, a very simple proposition, will
transform these almost virgin waters into the grandest,
safest, and most attractive harbor in the world. Nature ap-
parently foresaw the destiny of these Pearl Lochs, for she
has wisely built a coral belt, two and one-half miles wide
between the inner lochs and the sea ; then to prevent the
landing of an enemy — to force an attacking fleet to abandon
strategy, to compel it to transact its business at the fortified
front-door, she has concealed beneath the fawning breakers,
far out at sea, a deadly coral-reef, which may be passed
only by ships that steer directly for the harbor entrance.
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
69
For more than twenty years this
harbor has belonged to the
United States, for it was
granted us in 1876, in
exchange for the re
mission of duties on
Hawaiian sugar.
And as we look
upon the waters,
charmed to slum-
ber by the moon,
we remember that
Hawaii was not slow
to profit by the Reci-
procity Treaty. She
owes to it her present pros-
perity ; but the United States
has not yet seen fit to dredge
out a few thousand tons of sand, and thus open to its ships
the grandest refuge in the western hemisphere. Let us hope
the future will soon see our fleets at anchor in this ideal harbor.
Our errand here is not a peaceful one. We come to
make war on the monsters of the deep. Our fighting fleet
consists of a stanch whaleboat, manned by a native crew,
and a small sailing-yacht in which about a score of ladies
and gentlemen are whiling away the afternoon with music.
As dusk approaches, the disconcerting fact transpires that
the bait has been forgotten, and hence a detachment of
amateur marines is detailed to effect a landing and secure
at any cost some tempting piece of flesh, be it a Kanaka
baby or a poi-fed dog. The party wades ashore, attacks a
native settlement, captures a poor white goat, and tlic brute,
as if it had, like men, a foreknowledge of death, is so loud
in its complaints and protests that we fear that it will
THK WHALEBOAT CREW
70
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
OUR CATCH
which our native servants striv
charm us. But finally its voice
is stilled, and a few hoii
later we find ourselves float-
ing between sea and sky at
the gateway of Pearl Har-
bor, ready to make it in-
teresting for the man-eat-
ers of the deep. The four
quarters of the musical goat
now dangle on huge hooks, deep
in the waters at the e.xtremities of
certainly frighten
the sharks away.
Even while we
picnic at sunset
on the shore, the
lamentations of
that goat break in
now and again
upon the sweet
soft music with
BRINGING THI-: SHARK-BAH
TWIiLNE I-hl-.T I-orU INCHES
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
71
long lines, and here and
lere the moonUght shows
us on the surface of the
sea spots that are red
— not blue. Patience
is the first qualifica-
tion of the successful
shark fisher, but with
our happy company the
ours glide by with merry
less, and it is half-past
AT DR. MCGREWs 006 lu tlic mornioff before we cease
to talk and begin to seek for soft boards on which to lie and
doze. We have decided that as a jolly picnic our excursion is
a huge success, but as for sharks — they are a myth. We have
forgotten them, and soon all hands are fast asleep. And then,
of course, when nobody was looking, we got a bite, and there
followed a moment of excitement we shall not soon forget.
At two o'clock one of the ropes snaps taut, three men take
hold, and haul in with a will, two or three shrieks of excite-
ment rise from the ladies, a crowding of all hands to the port
side follows ; there is a glimpse of some huge thing now
black, now white, struggling alongside, churning the water
to foam. Then three shots from a repeating Winchester
are fired point-blank into that vortex of flesh and blood and
foam, then more spasmodic struggles, and then a brief de-
ceptive calm, during which we on our hands and knees lean
over and examine the still palpitating body of our victim.
Later, we measured him, and he was 12 feet 4 inches long.
One of the crew rashly attempted to fix a rope around
the shark. This woke him to new life, and even after he
has been firmly moored alongside, life lingers in the per-
forated carcass for two hours or more ; and every now and
then the yacht is shaken, and the sleeping guests disturbed
72
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
by the monster in his supreme fight with death. All night
we he on the hard deci<s, hoping to hve again those moments
of excitement, but other sharks are shy, and when the sun
comes up, it finds our three other lines untouched, and the
poor mortals who have watched all night uncomfortable and
hollow-eyed, but happy, hungry, and content.
And after a sunrise picnic on the shore we cruise away
and make a Sunday-morning call at one of the delightful
summer homes that border on the shores of our future naval
harbor. We are received by a man, than whom no one has
done more to bring about the annexation of the Islands to
the United States, for Dr. McGrew, our host, is called the
"Father of Annexation," and, more than this, he is one
of the most kindly and delightful old gentlemen between
America and Asia. CouUl he have had his way, we should
be still enjoying his hospitality, and through his aid discover-
ing other charms of the island of Oahu. But we may not
linger ; we must now
sail away toward the
other islands that lie
just out of sight across
the summer sea. We
have not time to do full
justice to any one of
the eight islands, and
I must here beg the in-
dulgence of those who
may find that I have
left u n V i s i t e d the
places in which they
are most interested.
A comprehensive lect-
ure on Hawaii woul
occupy five times the
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 71
IN FATHER DAMIEN S HAND
space here given and then leave untouched many inter-
esting and picturesque sites and situations.
As we sail this midnight ocean, we see again upon the
dim horizon the shape of Molokai, the leper island, and from
out the darkness there shines forth a vision of that face,
the radiance of which for more than sixteen years illuminated
that place of living death. The sacrifice of Father Damien,
the Belgian priest, focused the sympathy of the world upon
that awful ocean-girded plague-spot. He was called by
Stevenson, "The man who shut with his own hands the
door of his own sepulcher. " And as we read, written by that
same hand, the words by which his life was ruled, we remem-
ber that it was in 1876 that he joined the community of the
social dead, and as a leper dwelt with his repulsive brethren ;
that in 1 8S9 he was translated from hideous Molokai to the place
of eternal beauty and eternal peace. His earthly work was
taken up (piietly and unostentatiously by his brother, blather
Pamfile, and Father Sutton, an American Catholic priest,
men not less saintly, if less widely famed.
Banishing from mind the sacrifice at once so noble and
so horrible, we sail on across this tropic ocean, where
moonlight showers pass like filmy specters, like ghostly
"4
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
messengers, twixt isle and isle, twixt sky and sea. We are
nearing now the isle of Maui, famous for its cane-fields, its
verdant valleys, and its desert leeward slopes, but, above all,
famous for its great extinct volcano, the largest volcanic
crater in the world, called by the natives, Haleakala : ''The
Palace of the Sun.' And it is our intent to surprise the
Monarch of Brightness ere he leaves his bed. We are re-
solved to reach his royal chamber ere he wakes.
I shall not dwell upon the prosaic preparations for ascent
nor on the gloomily poetic all-night ride on horseback up
the cruellv rugged slope that rears itself I0,000 feet directly
from these waves. Suffice it that after a night of exertion,
fatigue, and bitter cold, we stand at last upon the threshold
of the sun s abiding-place and watch the waking of the sleep-
ing Lord of Light. And — strange illusion! — we are at an
elevation of almost two miles above the sea, upon the very
topmost crag of the volcanic island, and yet it seems as if
we were at the bottom of a bowl as big as half the universe.
Just as the skv appears to form a dome above us, so do the
earth and sea appear to form an inverted dome beneath us,
and the circumferences of the two meet at the horizon, which
apparently is on a level with our present plane of altitude.
And this illusion has been noted by nearly every traveler who
has stood upon this magic mountain at this magic hour. Of
course, photograph}" here falls piti-
fully short. This ridge em-
braces the dead crater
of Haleakala, with a
broad sweep of
twenty miles or
more. The
crater is a half
mile in depth,
and there rise a
ol'R MAl'I " SPECIAL "
CRATER Ol' IIALEAKAI.A
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
77
score of cinder cones from its floor, mouths of the inferno
that countless ages ago raged there beneath. The hps
of those gaping mouths are red and parched, the mark
of fire is upon all that we see, the redness and the black-
ness of desolation are the tones that dominate in this gloomy
but impressive picture. But lift your eyes from the cloud-
haunted depths, and gaze afar to the south. There you
will see two grand imposing outlines, the dim enormous
shapes of the two huge mountains on the great southern-
HALEAKALA FROM THE SEA
most island of the archipelago — Hawaii. The famous Mauna
Loa rises on the right, the equally stupendous Mauna Kea,
on the left. These two volcanoes are nearly fourteen thou-
sand feet in height. Their craters rise four thousand feet
higher in the heavenly seas than Haleakala. Between us
and the nearer of them are fifty miles of space ; the further
one is over seventy miles away.
A few days later we are cruising round their bases. The
leeward coast of Hawaii offers us calmer cruising, and several
interesting landings, notably that in Kealakekua Bay, where
a monument in honor of the old navigator. Captain Cook,
78
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
recalls the dramatic story of his discovery of the islands and
his tragic death here on this very spot. It was in 1777 that
the old explorer, sailing for the South Seas to the coast of
North America, touched the Hawaiian Islands. His was the
first English-speaking crew to land upon these shores, having
been preceded only by the Spaniards, for Juan Gaetano,
tile real discoverer, had set the archipelago upon a Spanish
'Sf.NRISt: FBO.M rl!H SL'MMIT
chart more than two hundred years before. In the mean-
time, however, no white man had been seen ; and when the
natives went forth in their huge war-canoes and beheld the
pale-faced strangers on board the ships of Captain Cook,
they said : " At last the prophecy has been fulfilled! Our
great god Lono, who departed from us ages ago, has now
returned, according to his promise ; for he said : ' I will
return in after time upon a floating island.'" And, there^
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
79
CINDER CONES OF HALEAKAl.A
fore, they received Cook as a god, made sacrifices to him,
loaded down his ships with gifts and propitiatory offerings.
The King of the island, prede-
cessor of the great Kameha-
meha, hastened thither to
render homage. The
high priest led their sa-
cred guest to the an-
cient temple, and there
he was worshiped by
king and priests and
people. His deifica-
tion, however, resulted
disastrously. He plaved "^7i5
the part of a too ruthless
WHEKli CAPTAIN COOK WAS KILLED
8o
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
and too exacting god ; then when one of his followers was
indiscreet enough to die on shore, doubts arose as to the
immortality of these unreasonable deities ; and finally, the
strangers having violated many sacred places and broken the
strict "tabus," or prohibitions, hostilities began, and in a
petty skirmish near the shore the splendid career of the great
navigator was cut short by a thrust from an angry native.
KEALAKEKL'A BAY
As we linger on this now peaceful shore of Kealakekua
Bay, where the arrival of our steamer has brought together
the inhabitants from miles around, let me add a word of
explanation about the meaning of the word "tabu." In
the old pagan days the chiefs and priests were as gods to
the common people, and their system of tabus, or prohibi-
tions, helped to perpetuate their power and insure them in
the enjoyment of their supreme position. It was declared
tabu, or unlawful, to remain standing at mention of the
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
Si
king's name, to cross his shadow, or that of his house, to
occupy a position higher than the kings head. The, penalty
for breaking these tabus was death. Then there were other
special temporary tabus. Silence was enforced during long
periods ; certain enclosures, or even certain provinces were
declared tabu, whereupon no one might speak or move about
in them on pain of death. Women might not eat in com-
pany with men at any time. Upon the women of the land
these unreasonable restrictions fell with cruel risror. \\'ithin
the memory of those still living, a woman was killed because
she entered the eating-house of tier lord and master. More-
over, in tiiis land of tropic plenty, fruit was tabu to the
feminine half of the population. These simple heathen in
the Paradise of the Pacific seem to have possessed a vague
knowledge of the evil that resulted from feminine fruit-eating
in another Paradise, and they resolved to take no chances.
Alas, why was not Father Adam a Hawaiian .'
Before we continue our voyage southward toward the far
end of this island, let us cruise in imagination for a few mo-
ments alonjr the eastern, or the windward shore. Here verdant
82
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
bluffs or Palis rise directh' from the storm-tossed sea. Our
first impression is that some great wave has but a moment
since overwhelmed the entire coast, and that the salty waters
are falling back again into the sea, following the receding
breaker, that soon the precipices will be drained and the roaring
cataracts run dry. But no ; the waterfalls persist, and hour
after hour as we roll along,
almost within the shadow of
these bluffs, there is no
diminution of their
\olume ; the cataracts
are cataracts in very
truth. There are
from ten to four-
teen of these lovely
%\'aterfalls to every
mile along this por-
tion of the coast ;
they fall from heights
that vary from five hun-
dred to a thousand feet,
while farther inland, at
ACQUAINTANCES
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
83
the extremities of long^,
narrow, and umbra-
geous gulches, tower
walls of rock one thou-
sand two hundred feet
in height, over which
other slender ribbons
of spray are dangling
gracefully. These are
the tribute paid by the
eternal snows of Mauna
Kea, to the lovely low-
lands where eternal
summer dwells. An
entire month might be
employed most profit-
ably in e.xplorations on "^'''"''
this coast ; within a space of thirty miles there are no
fewer than sixty-nine of these impressive gulches, each with
its waterfall, its mountain torrent rushing toward the ever-
angry sea, its insecure mule-trails leading down to little God-
forsaken ports where steamer-passengers are landed or em-
barked only ^^^"^^^^^^^^^SB"^^*^ at risk of life
A I'tCNIC IN lAO VALLEV
84
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
A CANI-:-FLUME
or limb. At one of these perpetually storm-bound ports, the
daughter of the U. S. Minister to Hawaii, Mr. [ohn L. Stevens,
was thrown from a capsized boat and dashed to death in
the relentless breakers. Then we ^^»»asB= n^jm-a^^ find
farther down the coast
gulches spanned hv what
at first appear to be
magnificent steel rai
way-trestles. D i s -
tance, however, de-
ceives us. These
structures are of
wood, and are found
to be, on closer in-
spection, as dainty
as the webs of spiders ; ^^ ,^_^ ^,. . -^»,^,.,_-. _,, , ,
thev are not bridges, but ''. ->- "'-v-.C^ '.-^ ""-ii v4^
aqueducts, "cane-flumes ~''-^^!^'-^"Ji( '^
JAPANESE WOMEN
fAf / '^
THE HA^^'AIIAN ISLANDS
87
is the proper term ; for it is by means of them that the water of
the irrigating canals is
nels of space. The sugar-
levels, is floated swiftly
lie on the mount-
ferried across these chan-
cane, cut on the higher
from the plantations that
ain slopes, down through
the cane-flumes to the
(vAjw .. ,<g^H^ sugar-mills, sometimes a
?i?"tiJI| Wy^^iiSlliiy^lK^^ dozen miles below. The
most important industry
of Hawaii is the grow-
ing and the grinding
of the sugar-cane.
The industry speaks
for itself. In 1841
the output was a few
hundred tons ; in 1 896
Hawaii e.xported almost
a quarter of a million tons, and some of the plantations pay
dividends of 60 per cent annually. It would be interesting
to follow the processes from the planting to the hnal sacking
#
A TROPIC SLEDGE
88
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
A LANOING-I'LACK
spectacle par cxcclloicc of
the Hawaiian tour. We
stand now on the crater's
brink, about a thou-
sand feet above its
hardened lava floor,
and there beyond
rises the massy
slope of Mauna
Loa, lifting its
s u ni ni i t ten
thousand feet
above us; the
equivalent of
fourteen
thousand
feet above
of the rich brown,
granulated product,
but lack of space for-
bids. Moreover, the
cutting of the cane is
the only picturesque
feature of plantation-
toil. We may ac-
cordingly pass on to
other topics, and the
next topic is, natur-
ally, the \'olcano Ki-
lauea ,
the
AM. ABOARD '
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
89
the level of tlie
sea. But even 1
from the sea the
rn o u n t a i n does.
not impress us
with its height ; it
is so huge that
man cannot ap-
preciate it. It is
roughly two and
one-half miles in
height and sixty
miles in diameter,
and to go around
its base one must
travel almost two
nunured miles. frdm ihe i^rink of kh^al-ea
Moreover, like an iceberg, its greater bulk is submerged in the
sea ; its foundations lie more than three miles below the le\el
of the waters. Upon its summit is a crater six miles in cir-
cumference, which has been active within the last two years.
Our place of abode in this strange region is, of course, the
well-known Volcano House, upon the brink of Kilauea. We
THK I'AHAl.A KXPRHSS
90
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
have not come bv the usiuil route from Honohihi via Hilo.
Instead we cruised down the western coast and landed at a
place called Punaloo ; thence we ascended through the cane-
fields of Pahala, in a tiny plantation train, and from Pahala
we were hauled by stage, over the barren, treeless, wind-
swept slopes of Mauna Loa, up into the regions of lava, fog,
ABYSS OK rHK BURNING LAKE
and rain, and finally arrived at the \'olcano House, where
we learn that there is in store for us a disappointment, not
less severe because anticipated. The famous crater of
Kilauea is still inactive ; no signs of action have been mani-
fest for many months. We have hoped against hope, and
prayed to mighty Pele, the old pagan Fire-Goddess, but all
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
91
1 H1-- VOLCANO H
has been in \aiii. Kilauea, we are told, is silent, dark,
inactive, dead, ^^'e spend the misty evening by the fireside,
where all travelers, since Mark Twain's time, have dried
their fog-soaked garments. We turn the leaves of the old
tourist-registers, wherein each traveler since 1863 has set
IN T UK VniXANO nor
92
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
THK KlI-ArtA CRATER FROM THi-: BRINK
down his or her iinpressions. Most records open with the
words : " I arrived after a long, ' ' or " tiresome, "or " dehghtf lil
ride from Honolulu "; but one entry, made by a Chicago
girl, bore this refreshing introduction ; " Like nearly every
one who has written here, I arrived at the Volcano House.
I did not arrive through any lack of originality on my part,
but I really saw no other way of getting here. To-morrow
I shall go away again, — the volcano refuses to show off."
DHAD LAVA
THE HAWAIIAN' ISLANDS
The following morning dawns
fair and clear, and at an early
hour we descend to the la\a
floor of Kilauea, and trudge
across its seamed and
cracked expanse toward
the huge pit that marks
the spot where the last
lake of living fire dis-
appeared. I shall not
i lit; (K \CK
attempt to de-
scribe that which
I did not witness.
The liurning lava
lake in action is
one of the few su-
preme spectacles
of the earth, but
unfortunately we
did not behold it.
We see only the
charred or black-
cnrd frame hold-
ing what was and
ina\ at any time
again be the most
.stupendous pic-
94
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
By |.ermissi,.„ ^^^.^ CASCADE
ture of awfulness in the world. The traveler of to-day, as he
crosses this glooniv waste with a confidence born of knowl-
edge, cannot appreciate the terror with which this place once
inspired the untutored savages. Here was the home of Pele,
the Fire-Goddess, and here was performed one of the grandest
acts of moral cour-
age that history
records. In 1825,
five years after the
first missionaries
landed, a princess
of the royal blood,
by name, Kapio-
lani, a convert to
the new faith, led
hither eighty fol-
lowers and in their
presence, despite
the protests and
threats from the
'* LOOK now N !
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
pagan priestesses, she ope
fied the dreaded deity, ate
the sacred berries in viol
tion of the tabu, and
then, when at last she
stood upon the border
of the lake of tire, —
where now this bot-
tomless abyss gapes as
if in consternation at
recollection of this ex-
hibition of intrepidity, —
Kapiolani cried with a bold
voice : "Jehovah is my
He kindled these fires,
not Pele ! If I perish by the anger of the volcano road
Pele, then you may fear the power of Pele ; but if I trust
in Jehovah, and he should save me from the wrath of Pele,
wlien I break through her tabus, then you must fear and serve
the Lord Jehovah. All the gods of Hawaii are vain. Great
is Jehovah's goodness in sending teachers to turn us from these
vanities to the living God and to the way of righteousness.
There has been nothing grander since Elijah mocked the
priests of Baal, and cried unto the Lord God of Israel.
One of the most striking contrasts of this journey in
Hawaii is that afforded by this place of death and terror, and
the region of exuberant life and beauty through which the
traveler passes on his way from the volcano to the coast.
The road that leads from the volcano down to Hilo is justly
famous for its tropic loveliness ; it is as if we rode all day
through an interminable hothouse; ; the redundant growth
on either side, the warm moist air, the smell of dampened
earth and budding leaves and flowers, all suggest the atmos-
phi-re of a conservator}'. We met a shower almost every
96
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
mile. This is, in fact, one of the wettest regions of Hawaii ;
if the rainfall of the entire year should be delivered suddenly,
all at once, our coach would now be floating in fifteen feet
of water, for the annual rainfall is more than i8o inches, or
about five yards. No wonder that the moisture-loving ferns
and creepers flourish here in wild profusion and unexampled
magnitude. I am no botanist ; I cannot give you Latin
names for all these lovely forms of green. I know that there
are ferns of every size, graceful as feathers on a Bird of
Paradise, and wild bananas sheltered by huge leaves of rich
bright green, and besides these a hundred other things, so
lovely that the word "beautiful" describes and classifies
them best. .\nd thus it is that we roll downward toward the
sea for thirty miles, our four-horse coach swinging us all too
swiftly around angles of Eden, past paradisiacal perspectives.
At last the bay of Hilo opens wide before us, and the blue
sea welcomes us again to its palm-bordered shore. We have
-N \Tt Kt S FhKNbk^
THE HA\\AIIAN ISLANDS
97
been preceded and followed — and sometimes for miles at-
tended— by gentle tropic showers, of a marvelous rain that
is so much dryer than the atmosphere that it seems to gather
on our coats like dust or silver powder. It certainly re-
freshes but it does not
wet us !
There is a local say-
ing to the effect that,
" It is always raining at
Hilo, " and we were
therefore overjoyed to
find that we were ush-
ered into Hawaii s wet-
test town by brilliant
summer sunshine. And
as we sit on the veranda of the Hilo hotel, a really excellent
hotel, surprisingly well managed, we are inclined to e.xclaim
like Mark Twain, " What if the rain sifts down.' — the um-
brella tree is at hand, and the india-rubber tree stands at our
^
■..•r4^
I ^'— "'-' - " ' "I Ht-rf^^'i-'-
Sl lU RHA
98
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
THE MAIN STREET OF HILO
very door. " Here, also, we see liis " trees that cast a shadow
Hke a thunder-cloud." Moreover, he must have written here
his inspired recipe for securing a night's rest in spite of the
mosquitoes. These are the words of wisdom that Mark
Twain set down ; " \\'ait until the mosquitoes have al! crawled
lilH Hll.u HOTEL
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
99
in under the bar, then sHp out quietly, shut llicDi in, and
sleep peacefully on the floor till morning! "
Apropos of rain, it is no unusual thing in Hilo to see
ladies on one side of the main street, strolling along with
sunshades, to protect them from the tropic ra^'s, while those
upon the other side require stout umbrellas to keep their
bonnets dry. Showers parade across and up and down the
town with military precision — the edge of a shower fre-
quently leaving a mark as clear and sharply defined as the
wheel ruts in the streets. Suppose you ask to be directed
to a certain house, do not be astonished if you are told to
go up such and such a street until you come to the third
shower, then turn to the right, and to stop just this side of
the second rainbow ! If there ever was a
city dedicated to the Water God, it
is this town of Hilo. One Sunday
the pastor of the leading church
A MC1M1-; IN IIILU
lOO
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
preached on the text, "Be ye also ready, " and that very
ni^ht a tidal wave came ashore and made a boisterous visit
to his parishioners. Some epif^ranimatic traveler has said,
"Follow a Pacific shower, and it leads you to Hilo. " \\'e,
on our own authority, may add, "Follow a Hilo guide, and
he leads you to Rambow Falls. ' ' For, as if the daily down-
pour from the skies were not sufficient, as if the tidal waves
were not enough, nature deluges the vicinity of Hilo with
RAINBOW lALLS NEAR HILO
countless waterfalls and cataracts, of which the prettiest
tumbles into this nest of rainbows, and for all we know stays
there forever, for no escape for the waters is visible to those
who stand upon the brink of this roofless lava-tunnel where
the element of water has supplanted that of hre. It is as if
Dame Nature wished to make amends for having so often in
the past hurled down her seething lava-floods from Mauna
Loa's crater. And as we pause near another cascade that
leaps over a lava shelf into another basin formed by the
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
lOI
cracking of some ancient
la\'a-bubble, we remem-
ber that Hilo has oft been
threatened with destruc-
tion. In 1 88 1 a river of
lava advanced to the very
outskirts of the town ; the
population was prepared
for flight, the ponderous
machinery of the sugar-
mill was made ready for
instant embarkation, but
at last the red-hot current
cooled, slackened, ceased
to flow only three quarters
of a mile from Hilo, and
now Uame Nature has
A CASCADK sent a multitude of lovely
ferns to hide from sight the evidence of her cruel threat. An-
other lava How, in 1855, ran si.xty miles, and Hooded three hun-
dred S(iuare miles of territory, continuing for thirteen months.
I02
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
The beauti-
ful little island
that lies at one
extremity of Hi-
lo harbor was
formed by some
prehistoric lava
flow ; the coast
itself
but marks the place where,
in the great war of the
elements, Neptune's
waters won a victory
and checked the ad-
vance of Pele s hery
forces that charged
down from her for-
tresses in the moun-
tains— from craters
14,000 feet above.
Battles like these have
been fought elsewhere
within the memory of man.
In 1 868 a lava river rushed into
the sea, heated the waters for
over a mile fromthe
shore, and cooked
every shark, whale,
and every little lish
that chanced to be
cruising off that red-
hot coast.
The entire archi-
pelago is of volcanic
A LAVA STREAM
COCOANUT ISLAND
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
103
CLIiFT IN 1H1-: JINC-.I.K
Fifteen volcanoes of the
t class have existed and
jeen in lirilliant action, ac-
cording to Professor Max-
well, who is an eminent
authority. ' ' This island
of Hawaii," he says,
' ' has resulted from the
action of four grand cen-
ters of eruption. These
four \'olcanoes have been
of individual origin and also
growth — first coining into
ible existence above the sur-
f the ocean, and building up
by the material of subsequent erup-
tions until the huge cones were raised to heights varying from
five to fourteen thousand feet above the sea." Of these the
highest is the peak of Mauna Kea, the gentle slope of which
is visible to us as we drift lazily from Hilo Bay into the
smooth waters of the Waiakea River. So gradual is the
incline of that volcanic mound that it appears not more than
one or two thousand feet in height, but its real height is
nearly 14,000 feet. These cones are about thirty miles dis-
tant one from another. The spaces between, formerly ocean
channels, are now interior valleys and plateaus, formed by
later discharges from the craters or outbursts from the slopes.
The valleys are of tropic luxuriance. There the banana and
the mango and the useful taro tfourish ; then higher lies
the belt of the cane-lands, yielding sometimes ten tons of
sugar to the acre ; above the sugar-region lies a broad belt
of ideal coffee-land ; then higher still are pastures for the
mountain cattle, and then clear to the distant sk\-line stretch
the desert la\a wastes, trackless, inanimate, and horrible.
I04
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
We had no wish to see those idesolate highlands, but the
reputed beauty of the coffee-region, reached by a new road
through the tropic jungle, appealed to us, and at the earnest
solicitation of an enthusiastic coffee-planter, I gave up my
steamer-berth for Honolulu and joined him on a tour of in-
spection of this new field of industry.
A few years ago the Puna district was an impassible
tangle of fierce, savage, lovely vegetation, a wilderness of
green, hundreds of square miles in extent. It was ni 1898 the
newest region in Hawaii, the latest land of promise to allure
both the man who seeks to invest safely a fortune already
made, and the man who seeks to make a new one. My
companion is of the former class, and with the true American
spirit is using his wealth to turn the lovely wilderness into
a paying piece of property. I need not tell you of the
beauty of this ride. Even
the celebrated road to the
volcano must yield the
palm, — and in fact, the
banana and everything
else — to this new-cut road
that penetrates almost to
the heart of the promised
land of Puna. The tall
trees are the Ohia, and
around their -trunks are
twined the serpent-like
tendrils of the leie, a very
strong creeping thing that
seems with its knife-like
leaves to be an armed
protector of the tree that
it entwines from root tn
very tip. Both the ohia
IV TKKIS AMI IFIF AIVKS
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
107
Linii the ieie bear at certain
seasons of the year a httle
blossom of intense red, as
if the blades of the ieie-vine
had actually drawn blood.
A few miles farther on
we meet our hosts, two cof-
fee-planters of the younger
generation ; both are Ameri-
cans, one born, however, in
Hawaii and resident in the
islands all his life ; the other,
he of the broad-brinnned hat,
a self-exiled San Franciscan.
T H I-; I- N 11 01- II
Both of them wear the indispensable
crude water-proof or pummel-slicker
- — for Puna is a place of drench
ing rains. W'e follow them along
the corridor of verdure till thr
corridor comes to a sudden end
The road imhIs as abruptly as a
shaft in a silver mine, bringing
up against the solid wall of the
apparently impenetrable jungle.
IN lliK JUNOLli
io8
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
And now, forsaking cart and buggy, we load our baggage on
the horses, and mounting mules that' have been sent from the
plantation we boldly plunge into the tropic tangle. We feel
as if all hope should be abandoned here ; surely no human
habitation can be hid in this labyrinth of rain-soaked vegeta-
tion. They must be leading us into the haunts of savage
beasts or the abode of serpents, — only there are no wild
beasts and no deadly reptiles in Hawaii. For a mile or more
we struggle through the leafy tunnel — so green and damp as
to appear unearthly, as if it were a forest at the bottom of the
up to their knees
mud ; a dozen
there is a
r a swinging-
fie-vine to
linally we
once more
w o r 1 d of
good, kind,
and hearty
ttle group of
'e been liv-
ong years, wait-
trees to grow, watch-
nen — of uj
;heerf ul , w
sea. The
in a rich blai
times to every
log to clear
rope of the
avoid, but
come out
into tile
m
chee
men, for the
fellows, w h o
ing here for th
ing for their coffee-
ing each budding berry as it slowly turns from green to
ripened red, — are like a lot of college men on a prolonged
and possibly perpetual picnic in the woods. Their home
is of semi-native construction, its walls of leaves, its roof
of corrugated iron. There are two rooms. In one they
sleep and in the other they dine with appetites born of an
outdoor life. A Japanese cook prepares for them far better
meals than can be had at the hotel in Honolulu. The tem-
perature is almost invariably of such degree that it is not
noticed, and the drafts that filter through the leafy walls are
A PATH I.N PL'.N'A
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
109
THE PLANTERS HOUSE
not the kind that cause pneu-
monia. Twenty-four show-
ers every day beat their
tattoos upon the roof,
and after every show-
er the sun comes out
and smiles as if to say,
"That Httle rainfall
was nothing but a joke. "
The coffee-fields, of course,
claim our attention. There are here
about a hundred acres under cultivation in clearings of from
five to ten acres each. Some of their coffee is already in
its fourth year and promises a crop with a little profit for
the present season. The planters estimate that a tract of
seventy-tive acres will in five years have paid expenses for
clearing, plant-
ing, cultivating,
picking, sorting,
drying, and ship-
ping, and there-
after it should
yielil a profit of
from eight to ten
thousand dollars
annually.
The labor is
performed largely
by the better class
of Japanese ( the
offspring of whom
is just as quaint
and fascinating as
ill Japan itself),
A UDMK IN THIv I'l'NA JUNGl.h
I lO
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
ere is no reason why white men
1 not find it profitable and
e a s a n t . The most trying
thin,sj for the owners of a cof-
fee-ranch is the four or five
years' waiting while tender
little trees are growing up,
I preparing to reward the men
) who cared for them in child-
hood. Men who love soli-
tude and nature and are pos-
sessed of patience and a little
capital may find in coffee
culture an ideal existence
in an ideal land. But as
I ride with one of my hosts
through the dense tangled
forest that shuts in this
little community of half a
dozen white men and half
A TOiI.ER FROM J \
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
1 1 1
a hundred Japanese, I am led
to suspect that this peaceful
novel life, so grateful to us
who come as visitors for a
brief season, is most mo-
notonous to those who have
to spend here twelve months
of the year, with no diversion
save an occasional ride to Hilo
or a semi-annual trip to Honolulu.
Our stay in Puna ended, we return
A ri.A.N 1 A I lUN HAND
through the gor-
geous forest to the
coast, and find
ourselves nearing j
Hilo, at the hour
when the whole
earth is transfig-
ured by the glory
of the setting sun.
The clouds, the
sky, the river, and ti.h pina shore
the palms, the tasseled cane-fields and the
distant mountain slopes conspire to trans
form this earth of ours into the sem-
blance of another world, in which
there is no thing that is not beau-
tiful. Two borrowed phrases here
insist on repetition, for "overhead
there rolls a sea of smashed rain-
bows, " and "here and there are
drifting patches of iridescent vapors
like itinerant stained-glass windows
A COFFEK TRKK
I 12
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
v^CM^" ..^'^ wi^sfsw^'^:
THK HILO SHORE
from some great cathedral." Here, truly, is the picture of
"the land where it is always afternoon."
And as the sunset fires i^ow from the west like liquid gold,
we tremble when we think hi>w far this flood of golden light
has journeyed over trackless oceans to touch and glorify
these tiny dots of earth in the midst of the greatest ocean on
our globe. We catch our breath at thought of all the
leagues of barren waters that stretch away to north and south
and east and west ; of the everlasting surrountling deep that
washes both the shores of Asia and America and rolls its
mighty volume from continent to continent and pole to pole.
A great loneliness sweeps over us as we gaze out upon the
empty sea. And as we stand on this Hawaiian shore, so far
from our own land, a stranger passes, asks us if we have
heard the news brought by the latest steamer from Amer-
ica,— and in a do^en words he gives us hastily two bits of
information, the like of which are seldom given in two simple
sentences. One is: "Cervera's fleet has been destroyed
at Santiago," and at his next words, " Anne.xation is an
accomplished fact," we fix our ieet more firmly on this lava
shore, for we, who a moment since were
now at home
come part of the
"ange land are
Hawaii has be-
United States.
"/ OT •/. I. 'J — M( )>I ;>TH«H ED€E HXF 0HIM^T H H T / 1
IN" THK TKMPLK (JF THK EMP!<:K( )R — CAXTOX
THE EDGE OF CHINA
he Ed^e
of China
CHI^
sic
[NA is a colossal puzzle. The out-
side world has tried in vain to solve
it, by means of force, railways, and Christianity.
To force, China opposes weakness, and weakness
is victorious ; to railways, she opposes unconquerable sup-
erstition, and superstition conquers ; and to Christianity, she
opposes the weij^ht of accumulated tradition, and thus far
tradition lias prevailed. The tide of Progress is sweeping
the naticms of the west out upon the ocean of a glorious new
Ii6
THE EDGE OF CHINA
century, but China, moored to the rocks of innnutabihty,
resists the modern current, despite the efforts of all Christen-
dom to cut the cables of conservatism that bind her to the past.
Canton is the metropolis of China and the most charac-
teristically Chinese community in the Empire.
From Canton and from the surrounding province flows
the main tide of emigration to our shores. .\t Hongkong,
which is practically the port of Canton, touches nearly every
ship that sets sail from our Pacific Coast for the Philippines.
If Canton is interesting to the traveler
at large as the truest type of a
Chinese city, it certainly is
THE MOST GRACEFUL PROW OF THK PACIFIC
THE EDGE OF CHINA
119
doubly interesting to the American, because it is the com-
mercial gateway to South China, where lie the markets to
which the merchants of Manila must look for the realization
of their ambitious dreams.
It was on the first anniversary of Dewey's victory that I
started for the Philippines, intending to touch briefly en route
at several cities on the edge of China.
There are two ocean pathways to the Philippines across
the wide Pacific. One begins at Golden Gate, the other at
the gateway to Puget Sound, the Strait of San Juan de Fuca.
We choose the northern route, because it is the shortest and
coolest, because the ships are wonderfully fine, because the
railway ride through the Canadian Rockies is a magnificent
e.xperience with which to initiate a summer holiday.
I20
THE EDGE OF CHINA
Our ship, the "Empress of China, " sister to the Em-
presses ot India and of Japan, when we first see her at the
Vancouver wharf from the windows of our approaching
train, appears as small as a yacht, for we have come from the
depths of the F"raser Canon, where mountains were piled
all about us. But she seems big enough when once we are
on board, for there are few ships afloat that offer roomier
accommodations than the Canadian Pacific "Empresses. "
To serve us there is a regiment of well-drilled Orientals,
the C-hinese stewartls being far more efficient than the aver-
age white servants on the Atlantic liners. Our first impres-
sions of the Chinese are decidedly favorable.
The weekly inspection of the crew and stewards brings
out the full strength of the Oriental service. The captain
and first officer stride down the line drawn by neat white
socks along the deck, and there is never a Celestial that does
not pass inspection. "Neat as a Chinaman" may sound
strange, but "neat as a Chinaman " means a great deal on a
Pacific liner. The monotony of shipboard existence is
relieved by the
Sunday inspec-
tion and also by
the weekly fire-
drill, or call to
fire quarters. At
sound of an alarm
all hands rush to
the upper decks,
cast loose the life-
boats, drag out
long coils of hose,
play big streams
upon imaginary
fires, or prepare
INSPECTION
THE EDGE OF CHINA
121
CKING FOR DOLLARS
FLOL'R AND MOLASSKS
HII'-BOAKD DIVERSIONS
to rescue passengers. Then,
after the excitement is all
over, a bugle sounds,
and all hands scramble
down the ladders and
return to their rou-
tine duties.
The Chinese, of
course, object to being
photographed, and for
that reason try to
dodge the camera,
not knowing that
the motion-picture
camera is a pho-
tographic Catling,
certain to hit its
victim, no matter
how fast he may
be able to run.
Among our fellow-pas-
sengers those who inter-
est us most are two dark
and dapper little men,
— the first real Filipinos
that we have ever seen.
You may remember that
immediately after Dewey's
victory the papers told us of
an intfuentiai Filipino family by
i,OI DKN Mi)l-\SS1.^
122
THE EDGE OF CHINA
the name of Cortes, one
of the richest in Manila,
who had acknovvledfjed
the supremacy, and asked
for the protection of the
United States. I3on Max-
imo Cortes and his brother
are the chief representa-
tives of the Cortes mill-
ions, and are returning
from a visit to \\'ashing-
ton, happy in the assur-
ance there given them that
the huuls and houses, con-
hscated by the Spanish and turned over to the United
States as government propertx , will in due time be restored
to them. At first they appeared very taciturn, but one day I
.KNri-K.MHN
!!■ I % IN 7HK SM< iKINf. K'lll )\1
THE EDGE OF CHINA
123
let them know tliat Spanish was not Greek to me, whereupon
their lips were unsealed, and the whole story of their woes
and subsequent joys was poured into my ears. Such a
tumultuous flow of Spanish I had never listened to ; and they
talked with hands and feet and eyes as well as mouth. As
they are continually pecking at sleeve or lapel to emphasize a
point, a conversation with them is almost like a fencing
match, — it keeps you parrying at every phrase.
We have not time to dwell upon the long davs of the voy-
age nor on the brief and hurried hours spent on shore
in Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki, nor to tell of the
delightful hours in the Japanese Inland Sea. Nor does
our brief glimpse of
Shanghai call for
more than passin
mention, for Hong-
kong is our destina-
tion, and thither we
proceed down the
Formosa channel.
IN nili INLAND PEA
124
THE EDGE OF CHINA
A warm wind follows us and makes our speed seem
doubly slow, givinj^ the ship a lazy, tired motion, as if she
were weary with the long voyage, run down, and on the
point of giving up the race. The dreaded Hoijgkong damp-
FAIR JAPAN
ness has begun to make itself felt ; the paper on which we try
to write is so soft that the pen perforates it at every stroke ;
collars last only for a passive hour or for an active minute ;
books stick to the leather-covered desks and tables — and
\'et this is nothing, we are still comparatively cool and
dry, — so say those who have experienced the Hongkong
summer ! We realize with regret that our days on the
"Empress of China " will soon be only pleasant memories.
Soon we must <pnt our lodgings in this floating hotel, in
which we have lived for three weeks and one day — this
voyage being the longest we have yet made, but not dis-
agreeably long in spite of all. It has been restful and full of
THE EDGE OF CHINA
12:
variety. There have been Arctic days off the Aleutian Is-
lands in the North Pacific, temperate days along the lovely
shores of Japan, and days that were almost torrid in the
Formosa straits ; we have stepped down the same gangway
into British Columbia, Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, and
Shanghai — and to-morrow that gangway will be for us the
gateway to Hongkong, Macao, and Canton.
The weather on the morning of our arrival was what
might be termed varied : apparently three fearful thunder-
storms were mustering on one side ; on the other, bright
sunshine touched and scorched a narrow strip of shore, while
fogs hung black and purple, in the harbor-entrance.
Till- KIH.K tH <-HINA
126
THE EDGE OF CHINA
After the ugliness of the approach to Shanghai, the beauty
of the outlying islands and of the coast itself surprises us.
We enter the narrow channel between the mainland and the
island of Hongkong. Clusters of huts, scarcely distinguish-
able from the earth and rock bidiind them, are the only
evidences of human presence, and we are vaguely surprisi;d
at this apparent desolation ; we almost expected to see the
teeming millions of yellow men, crowded to the very edge
of China, struggling to retain a foothold on its sacred shore.
Yet yonder province of Kwangtung, although smaller than
the state of Kansas, has a population of 29,000,000 souls.
Suddenly the City of Victoria bursts upon us, the top of
it lost in the mist of morning.
Then as the mist drifts aside for a moment, we see the
whole gigantic mass of ' ' The Peak " — it is as if we were
THE CITV OK VICTORIA
THE EDGE OF CHINA
127
looking at a green Gibraltar — the resemblance is wonderfully
striking. The peak is eighteen hundred feet in height.
We are in the busiest harbor in the Eastern Seas, the
meeting-place of ships from every corner of the world. So
broad is the anchorage that there is no crowding ; the count-
nONGKONG SAMPANS
less mighty ships swing freely with the tide, each in its
watery orbit, each with its nebula of satellites. Our steamer
soon runs into a veritable milky way of little native boats.
The disembarkation of the Chinese steerage-passengers is
a treat for eye and ear. A flotilla of sampans surrounds the
" Empress of China. " They are crowded with the runners
for the native inns — half-nude individuals wearing hats as
big as umbrellas. Suddenly all the hats — more than a hun-
dred of them — are lifted and held upright like round shields
above the pig-tailed heads. Why this salute or pose.'
Because on the "roof "of every hat is painted in huge red
letters an "ad. " for a hotel or lodging-house.
128
THE EDGE OF CHINA
The sight of that hundred-odd advertising disks, waving
on the waters was worth coming a long way to see. By this
time an acre of Httle boats is alongside — and ere the anchor
has gone splashing down, the ship is grappled by long bam-
boo poles with big hooks at the upper end, and up these poles
some fifty men, with the agility of monkeys, come gliding
swiftly, leaping over the rail, and dropping among the pas-
sengers like soldiers who have stormed and taken a redoubt.
.Arrival in a new land is always delightful ; enchantment
always attends the coming into a strange harbor. We are
surprised to find the harbor of Hongkong so beautiful. We
pass the warship "Bennington," just detached from the
Manila fleet. Then a rumor runs along our decks. Some one
has said that Dewey has already left Manila, that the " Olym-
pia," too, is here, and sure enough, there in the distance lies
another warship, fl\ing the stars and stripes. But can it be
the admiral's flag-ship, that dingy cruiser with her hull
HONGKONL. HAKBOK
THE EDGE OF CHINA
129
painted a gory red, her upper works still
wearing the war-time coat of gray ?
But looking through our glasses we
see upon her stern the letters
OLY — we can guess the rest.
It is the Olympia ! She is
making her toilet, laying off
her campaign gray, and put-
ting on a suit of white in
which to travel homeward
through the tropics.
Then people come on
boaril from launches, and we
learn that the admiral is rest-
ing at Peak Hotel, up "top-
side ' ' among the clouds, which
at this season usually hide the
summit of Hongkong. Lieu-
tenant Hobson, too, lives there
in the mist, in the hotel, which we
see now and then for a brief moment,
when it has been pointed out to
us, far up the slope in a gap between two peaks.
Meantime the English porters of the various great hotels
have boarded the ship in a manner less acrobatic than that of
their Chinese rivals. A man with the words " Hongkong
Hotel " upon his cap, points out the house he represents. A
few moments later we land at a stone pier, and thence pro-
ceed on foot to the hotel, leaving our baggage to be carried
in our wake by two pair of sturdy coolies. There is no Cus-
tom House. Hongkong is a free port; the pleasure of arrival
is not marred by official molestations. We are permitted to
arrive without committing perjury or breaking our finger-nails
upon tilt; refractory catches of our trunks. We follow the
9
THK PEAK RAILWAY I-ROM THE CI-IR
I30
THE EDGE OF CHINA
splendid stone quay to the right along the water-front. All
this is comparatively new ; the water-front familiar to the
traveler of ten 3'ears ago is now two blocks from shore : the
gray structures far to the left with three tiers of arcaded bal-
conies formerly marked the harbor edge of Hongkong. We
cross a spacious square, graced by the statue of Her Majesty
the Queen ; the square is but a small part of the great
" Prava Reclamation " begun about ten 3'ears ago. No less
than fiftv-seven acres of promenades and level building-lots
have been created bv a process of filling in, for the town has
grown weary of bracing itself on the steep incline of the
rock\' slope. Nor will the corner lots remain long unim-
proved. We see, at every turn, buildings in process of con-
struction; but the\' are not skeletons of steel with a veneer of
terra cotta, like the new buildings that we see rising so
rapidlv in our cities ; for these rise in vaulted solidity, stone
upon stone, brick upon brick, arch supporting arch.
ft
Ml KKA\S WHARF AT HnN<;KC)N(i
THE EDGE OF CHINA
131
But despite the European architecture we know that we
are in an Oriental country, and we reahze that we have
scented a new land. The discovery of a new smell is always
an event in the life of a traveler. Every foreign land worth
visiting has its peculiar, its unmistakable aroma. Delight-
PART OP THE PRAYA RKCLAMATION
edly we sniff the heavy atmosphere in an attempt to analyze
the new-found perfume ; in it we detect an ()/(///t\ss that is
not antiquity, a raciness that is not of decay, a touch of
aromatic wood, and a suspicion of incense burned long ago
and far away, all this saturated with the steam of a perspir-
mg population, such is the smell of Hongkong. It gives us
a keen sense of remoteness, not altogether grateful to a
traveler who finds himself alone in Hongkong.
As I wrote home the first evening in Hongkong, "I am
full — of things to say. To-day has been a big day — a day
to be remembered ; for to-day I have learned a new smell —
the smell of China, the ' bouquet dti C/ihiois ' as the French so
1^2
THE EDGE OF CHINA
A NEW BUIl-DlNi
delicately put it. It
is not the opium-
hiden perfume of the
San Francisco Chin-
ese quarter, nor is it
the stuffy stink of the
Asiatic steerage — it
is a smell apart, a sort
of CSSC//CC (f Or/c)//,
distilled by the trans-
piration of four hun-
dred millions of toil-
ing Celestials, — a
racy, sweetish, sour-
ish wholesome smell, not disagreeable, at least to me, for it
is new and interesting, suggestive and exotic. It is every-
where, even in the stately halls of the Club ; it is wafted by
every wave of every punkah — a trace of it must surely come
to you folded in this
letter! "
It is on landing
that the new smell
smites the traveler —
at the same moment
he begins to perspire ;
and continues to per-
spire until he leaves
this Anglo-Chinese
Turkish bath. At the
Hongkong Hotel — a
five-story pile, buff-
colored and balco-
nied, I secure a big,
bare room with a sec-
THE EDGE OF CHINA
133
tion of a broad
sheltered bal-
cony, for ten
Mexican dollars
a day — about
four dollars and
eighty cents in
our money. The
house seems old
and damp; it
has a smell like
a gymnasium and
everybody in it
IN THIi HONGKONG HOTEL 1^ UUip aUQ Qrip"
ping more or less. An attempt to strike a match results in
daubing on the under side of the mantel a streak of softened
yellow sulphur. Quick-tempered travelers have been known
to produce blue streaks of sulphurousness. Our shoes if
left out over night turn white with mildew. Everything
is thoroughly damp and warmly clammy to the touch.
My first sortie
is to the Chinese
tailor to order
suits of white,
which are made
in no time, for
practically noth-
ing— about one
dollar and seven-
ty-five cents a
suit. The cost
of laundering is
only live cents
each. \Ve elbow
FIVE t) CI.0C:K 7 KA in IHK MOKNING
IP
! —
ri
r
134
THE EDGE OF CHINA
our way in Queen's Road, tlie principal thoroughfare, through
busy crowds, along the arcaded sidewalks ; we see myriads of
beautiful brown legs, with splendid brown bodies above them,
bodies nude to the waist, backs streaming with warm rain,
wide straw hats dripping water ; calm coolie faces wet with
sweat. Toil, toil on every side ! for all these brown men
are hauling jinrikishas or carrying chairs, suspended from long
THE CLLB FROM THE PEAK RAILWAY
bamboo poles — the -passing human panorama is all new to
us, for the Chinese predominate to such an extent that it
appears as if the white man were being crowded out. There
is scarcely room in the thronged streets of Hongkong for
its masters, the sturdy Britons who builded it as a strong-
hold for their commerce in the Far East.
The first day of sight-seeing includes a 'rikisha tour wher-
ever it is possible to go in a wheeled vehicle — along the
water-front from end to end, from "Sugar House " to "Gas
1111-, InWlK AM) THE TOWN
THE EDGE OF CHINA
137
\\'orks, " and then up and down all the level streets in
the lower town, then to the race-course and the cemeteries,
Parsee, Catholic, Protestant, and Mohammedan. The hand
of the order-loving Englishman is seen in all things. The
police are Sikhs from India, tall, splendid, dark-skinned men
with curious beards that are rolled or braided and turned up
and tucked under the turban forming a frame around the face.
VICTOKIA AND KOWLOON
THE EDGE OF CHINA
.The evening brings
no relief from the op-
pressive humid lieat, to
the dwellers in the
lower town, but we are
told that it is cooler
' ' topside, ' ' and we take
the "funiculare " for a
skyward trip
The tramway is very
steep ; there are places
where }ou catch your
breath as you look down
on the city and harbor.
The ascent by night is a weird experience ; from the rear
of the up-going car we peer down upon an inverted starry sky,
crowded with constellations. The lights are numberless, on
CONSUL-GENERAL UILD.M.AN
A.N msroKIC DESK.
THE EDGE OF CHINA
139
ship and shore, though we cannot distinguish the hind Hghts
from the marine ; we see only hghts, pale, dim, bright, — all
kinds of lights, lights of all colors ; then suddenly we collide
with a cloud upon the Peak suinniit, and the sea of glim-
mering lights is lost to view.
A moment later and we are at the Peak Hotel ; a cool
breeze is hurrxing the vapors through the verandas, a band is
playing in the bar-room — it is the Olympia s band, ordered
noNGKONc; HARBOR
140
THE EDGE OF CHINA
"topside" by the ad-
miral. On the office
black-board that serves
as a register, we note
among other names,
the following: —
Room No 38
ADMIRAL G. DEWEY.
Room No. 33
LIEUT. R. P. HOBSON
' ' They are out there,
savs the hotel niana-
ager, pointing to a
sheltered corner of the
piazza ; but there is no
gaping crowd. Dewey
and Hobson can rest
in peace on the Peak,
wrappetl in its protect-
ing mist. The band
strikes up "The Star
Spangled Banner."
" That 's the first time
that was ever played
here, ' ' remarked an
Englishman. Then
through the damp fog
comes "God Save the
Oueen ' ' ; the admiral
and his group applaud.
The musicians pack up
their instruments and
take the last car, on
which I, too, go ghd-
ing down to the muggy
DKWFV AND BOB AT MIRRAV'S WHARF
THE EDGE OF CHINA
141
lower town. Beside ine sits the German trombone-player ;
he tells me all about it — he tooted his trombone during
the battle of Manila Bay.
Next morning we present ourselves at the American con-
sulate to meet the man who was the hrst American, not in
Manila, to learn the story of the victory of Manila Bay, —
ADMIRAL DEWEY LEAVING HONGKONG — 1899
Consul-General Rounsevelle Wiklman. Upon his desk, para-
graph by paragraph, was laid that new chapter of our history,
as written by Dewey, — begun by Dewey on the first of May.
I spend three interesting hours with our consul-general,
first in the office while Chinese interpreters and servants
come and go, bringing documents for seal and signature.
Later we sit on the veranda of the magnificent Hongkong
Club, looking over the harbor, with the Olympia in view,
142
THE EDGE OF CHINA
FLAG-LIEUTKNANT BRl.'MBV
while Coiisul-General W'ildinaii tells me things that would
have been worth millions to the man who could have heard
them during the week following May i, 1898, that week of
terrible suspense. His diction is dramatic, his story of the
sailing of the fleet from Hongkong takes me back a j'ear and
a month, the illusion is complete, and the stage-setting is
real ; there is the ()lympia (now red as gore, waiting for her
new white coat in which she will go round the world to the
big nation that is waiting to paint everything red in her
honor), and there is the tug in which Wildman carried
McKinley's orders to the admiral, who was holding his ifeet
in readiness be\'ond those mountains in Mirs Bay.
I \\ish I could repeat all he told me of those eventful days,
but we are travelers, we have come to see and not to listen.
I learn that on the following Sunday Admiral Dewey is to
descend from his refuge among the clouds, and that he has
ordered his launch to be at Murray's wharf at 10 A. M. At
THE EDGE OF CHINA
143
9 A. M. I am at Murray s wharf behind a battery of cameras.
The admiral, I know, has been so pestered by the snap-shot
armv that he now says " no " to all requests to sit or pose.
While he does not object to beinji; tired at in passing, he
refuses to become a fi.xed target. We cannot blame him
for applj'ing the very principle which proved so eminently
successful in Manila Bay. A few officers, some in civil
dress are waiting at the wharf. There is no sign of an ex-
pectant crowd, unless we count a group of four Americans ;
the Tn'biDic correspondent from Chicago, two young dentists
going to fill Filipino teeth, and myself, intrenched behind the
chronomatograph, and two other cameras, and reinforced
f'trws'-^^^^ \
ORIENT AND OCCIDENT
144
THE EDGE OF CHINA
by Mr. Mee Cheung, a Chinese fellow artist. The admiral
appears at the appointed moment with Bob, the dog, frisking
beside him. Our photographic batteries open fire. Dewey
walks down the steps, looks up with a half smile, and .says
to Ensign Caldwell at his side, "Well, look at those photo-
THE OLYMPIA AND THE PEAK
graph fellows up there ! ' He carefully superintends the em-
barkation of Bob, the chow dog, and cordially he shakes the
hands of a few officers and friends. My Chinese servant,
charged to fire one of the cameras, caught the admiral at the
very instant he began his homeward journey, followed by
Flag-Lieutenant Brumby, and Ensign Caldwell, his private
secretary. We scarcely recognize the admiral in civil dress,
THE EDGE OF CHINA
145
but we remark his splendid carriage, his brisk, decisive air ;
there is no hesitation in his step as he leaves Asiatic shores
to face the overwhelming welcome that awaits him in his
native land. Lieutenant Brumby, during the homeward
vovage, came between his famous superior and the public,
MOUF.RN ()I.%Mr'lANlKKS
and performed the duties of his most difficult position with
discretion, courtesy, and tact. And Ensign Caldwell must
have been an ideal secretary for a modest man, for he pos-
sessed that same virtue for which we love George Dewey
most. I chanced to lunch three times with Caldwell at the
Club, as with a casual acquaintance, for I did not then know
his name or his profession. The fact that he was one of
1(1
146
THE EDGE OF CHINA
the heroes of Manila Bay had to be wormed out of him. I
took him for a traveler ; I asked him if he had been in
Manila. " Yes, " he said. " How lon^^ .^ " I asked. "About
a year." "Did you live in the walled city.'" "No,
on a ship." "What ship.'"' "The 'Olympia.' I'm in
the navy. " That s the spirit of modesty that our boys have
caught from Dewey.
)N PHWEV S DECK
The Flagship of our Asiatic squadron is now resplendent
in spotless white — clean, trim, and businesslike. On the eve
of departure she is dressed with a hundred tfags in honor of
the birthday of the King of Italy, but we prefer to think it is
in honor of the admiral's return, after his brief vacation on
the misty Peak ; and even the Peak unwraps itself to-day and
stands forth clear and sharp against the summer sky, which
THE EDGE OF CHINA
149
smiles upon
George Dew-
ey as he em-
barks to circle
half the globe.
But before the
" 0 1 y m p i a "
sails, let us go
on board and
grasp the hand
and listen to
the words of
the man, who
only thirteen
months before
said, "Grid-
ley, when you
are ready, you
may Hre. '
'pen the quarter
deck we are re-
ceived in per-
son by Flag-
Lieutenant
Brumby who
conducts us,
a few min-
utes later, to
the cabin of the
victorious but
odest admiral.
rilK HONGKONG CLUB
ISO
THE EDGE OF CHINA
George Dew-
ey does not affect
the air of a ce-
lebrity; his greet-
ing is hke that
of any other gen-
tleman ; nor did
he let fall any of
those remarks
which we expect
from great men's
lips, phrases that
are framed for
repetition by the
hearer. When
we beg the ad-
miral not to be
too hard upon
the American
people, if in their
enthusiasm at his
return they fail
to respect his in-
clination toward
retirement and
rest, he replies
that he cannot
understand why
there should be
any manifesta-
tion in his hon-
or ; " the people
out here do not
think that we did
BKFORH TIFFIN — HONGKONG CLl'B
THE EDGE OF CHINA
151
anything wonder-
ful, ' ' he says, in
a tone which in-
d icates that he
shares their opin-
ion. Then with
a hearty hand-
shake he wishes
us good fortune
in Manila, but
seems to say at
the same time,
■■ I am not sorry
to be sailing to-
morrow in the
opposite d i r e c -
tion. "
Through the
kind offices of the
consul-general
we are put up
for an indefinite
period at the palatial Hongkong Club, where we meet
men prominent in all the enterprises of the colony. We are
presented to a doctor, who prescribes for us an easy chair
out on the balcony, and a long cool glass of something.
The long cool glass is one of the institutions of Hongkong.
While the ice melts, the doctor confides to us the fact
that he has had a hard day of scientific labor. "Just been
studying four Chinese plague patients, — dead ones of course, "
he calmly remarks, whereupon we are so impolite as to
shrink instinctively from the man of science. "No danger,"
he continues, as he follows us into the library; "the
plague seldom touches Europeans, and there is no use trying
\ ERA.^DA OF THE CLUB CHAMBERS
Ii2
THE EDGE OF CHINA
to avoid it. The servant who brinj^s your morninf< tea
and toast may have left a brother dying- in a Chinese tene-
ment. The papers report from twenty-five to thirty cases
daily ; these are the i^nown cases only. Five times as many
cases are jealously concealed." Then he relates startling
1 I 111-: w't IK I I
incidents of the present outbreak. The night before he had
stumbled over something in the roadway. It proved to be
the head servant of a rich English family, stricken down by the
bubonic terror as he was returning to serve dinner at their
villa on the Peak. The morning of our arrival a jinrikisha
coolie fell dead between the shafts, while running wiih' a
passenger. The dead man was picked up, placed in his own
THE EDGE OF CHINA
153
jiiiiikisha, and rushed away ; the first ride he had ever had,
and the last. "Therefore, why make yourselves miserable
with worry ? Take your chances cheerfully like the rest of
us, and come to tiffin." "Tiffin," in the language of the
East, means the midday meal. "But why do they hang
the tablecloths to dry in the dining-room ? ' ' the griffin will
ask as he perceives long white linen affairs suspended verti-
cally from the ceiling. I must explain that "griffin " is the
Far Eastern word for "tenderfoot." The griffin is bound
to make mistakes. The supposed tablecloths are "punkas,"
Indian word for fans, huge, white, suspended wind-pro-
ducers, which waving slowly to and fro keep the air con-
stantly in circulation. Without the punka it would be im-
possible to eat. The superiority of this contrivance to the
electric fan is at once apparent. The buzzing wheel of the
latter projects a dangerous draft
through the stagnant atmosphere
of a hot room, ruffling our nerves,
while the silent waving of the
punka- wings produces the effect
of a gentle breeze, which cools
the room and soothes the senses.
The punka is the delight of all
154
THE EDGE OF CHINA
save the poor punk;i-piillers, the miserable boys and men
who stand outside on the sunny balcony and tug at the
resisting ropes by means of which the motive power is trans-
mitted. Vou can hire a boy to pull a punka-rope all day and
A TOPSIDli KESIDENCH
part of the night for a monthly salary of about two dollars.
The side streets of Hongkong are lined with sleepy Orientals,
tugging rhythmically at ropes w hich dangle even from the
windows of the topmost stories.
We have secured rooms that open on a broad, cool
balcony on the top floor of the club. There every morning
at six o'clock — for even clubmen rise early in the land where
the morning nap brings no refreshment because of the in-
creasing heat — men lie in bamboo chairs, taking their tea
and toast, served bv silent Chinese valets.
THE EDGE OF CHINA
155
An indispensable adjunct of every self-respecting traveler
in the East is a Chinese " boy, " a trim, well-trained, and in-
expensive valet and interpreter. My "boy," Ah Kee, agrees
to follow and to serve me on land and sea for the exorbitant
monthly wage of $1 1 . 10. The regular pay for bo\s is only
six dollars, but as my plans include a sojourn amid the
THE PEAK
dangers of the Filipino war, Ah Kee demands five dollars
and ten cents extra for the risk. Thanks to Ah Kee, the
petty cares of life do not exist for me.
But let us now begin a ramble around, or, rather, up and
down the town, for as we extend our investigations we shall
find Hongkong a place of many climbs and steep descents.
The passing 'rikishas and chairs remind us that the white
man seldom walks in Ciiina. Why should he.' Let me give
the rates of fare for 'rikishas : one-fourth hour, live cents ;
first hour, fifteen cents ; subsequent hours, ten cents. Jin-
■56
THE EDGE OF CHINA
rikishas are used only in the lower, level streets. To make
excursions on the Peak we take the comfortable chairs sup-
ported by long, springy bamboo poles and borne by two,
three, or sometimes four sturdy coolies. These are a trifle
THE HARBOR, FROM T ItK PEAK
dearer than the 'rikishas : with two bearers, one hour, twenty
cents ; all day, one dollar. These prices seem pitifully low,
but we must still cut the figures in half, and then snip off
a trifle more, for the silver dollar of China is worth less than
fifty cents. Thus the two barebacked brown men who have
borne your chair upon their shoulders all day long each re-
ceives at nightfall the equivalent of one American quarter.
If we ask the reason for all this, the resident will point toward
yonder mainland province of Kwangtung and remind you of
its 2(j, 000,000 plodding persistent workers, gaining a daily
wage of from three to seven cents, who look envyingly upon
THE EDGE OF CHINA
IS7
the well-paid coolies of Hongkong. Strikes are of rare oc-
currence. A chair-e.xcursion up and around about the Peak
is as delightful as it is cheap. Smooth roads and paths wind
from sea-level to the several mountain-tops and down the
farther side to native hamlets on southern shore. The chairs
are comfortable, the springy movement imparted by the
bamboo poles, so long and flexible, is delightful, and the
steady, almost automatic stride of the men inspires confi-
dence in their ability to bear us safely
to the topmost points and down the
steepest slopes. Thus, charmed by
the novelty of our conve3ance and
)y the sunny splendor of our sur-
roundings, we e.xplore the residential
It i\\ \K 11 KUWLOON
158
THE EDGE OF CHINA
suburbs on the Peak. Up "top-side, " as has been said
the temperature is lower than in that part of town called
"dovvn-side, ' but the humidity is greater. Sometimes for
weeks the Peak is wrapped in damp cloud masses, and every-
thing inside the houses is wringing wet. The first day of sun-
shine following a foggy period sees these same homes literally
turned wrong-side out. Bedding, mattresses, and curtains hang
limp from ever_\- window, soggy upholstered furniture is ranged
out on the lawn as if for a grand auction-sale, — even the
shadows try to creep around into the sun to dry themselves.
Above the Peak Hotel looms a larger structure, origi-
nally intended for a hotel, but now used as an army sanatorium
and barracks. How marvelously well has England done her
work here on this rugged island,
where in 1841 there was not a
A PKAK PATHWAY
THE EDGE OF CHINA
159
THK TAI TAM DAM
sign of civilization, and where to-day we find a splendid
city of a quarter of a million people ! The story of Hong-
kong is worth the telling. The island came into British
hands in 1841 as a Voluntary Cession on the part of the
Chinese government. China in our day has made voluntary
cessions and friendly leases to other powers, but by a strange
coincidence the giving of these valuable gifts is always pre-
ceded by the assembling of fleets, the roar of cannon, and
the march of troops. In 1840, British trade with the great
city of Canton had come to a standstill as the result of
Chinese interference and hostility. A British fleet block-
aded the Canton River. The forts of the Bogue were taken,
a lleet of war-junks was destroyed, and British trade was
speedily resumed. Then came the " voluntary cession " of a
barren island to the so-called barbarian foe. The British
found a pojjulation of 2,000 miserable fishermen and farmers.
A city was founded. It was called Victoria, but it is more
widely known as Hongkong, the name of the island on which
it stands. In sixty years this thriving city with its splendid
commercial palaces, warehouses, factories, dwellings, and
i6o
THE EDGE OF CHINA
churches, have been created by the mighty impulse of British
trade ambition. The opposite peninsula of Kowloon, ceded
in 1 86 1, IS now the site of splendid dry-docks, ship-yards,
and naval-shops, where the fleets of the Pacific may be as
thoroughly cared for as in the ship-yards of the Occident.
The Spanish ships which Dewey sunk were there refitted
under the direction of Lieutenant Hobson.
In 1899, an extensive hinterland, behind Kowloon, came
into the possession of the British, — of course, by voluntary
I I AM KKSERVOIR
cession, although two hundred Chinamen were killed, — of
course by accident, or rather through their own ignorance
of what was best for them, for British rule has proved a
blessmg to the native population. Xo fewer than 250,000
Chinese have settled in Hongkong to escape the exactions of
their own authorities, to benefit by the just laws, and to
enjoy the protection which Great Britain gives to guest as
well as subject. Thus, thanks to its moral, commercial, and
geographical advantages, \'ictoria is in 1900 the third sea-
port of the world, rivaling New York, surpassing Liverpool.
Seventeen million tons of shipping enter the port each year.
THE EDGE OF CHINA
i6i
In 1896 the ships numbered nearly 35,000. Leaving out
of consideration the 30,000 Chinese ships, we find that of the
foreign vessels more than three thousand were British, 700 Ger-
man, 120 French, but only fifty-six came under the Stars and
Stripes, and the United States is to-day a next-door neighbor !
The public works of the city of Victoria keep pace with
her commercial glory. Witness the superb roads and prome-
nades ; look at her water-works and reservoirs. Far up
1 HH HONr.KUNG AND SHANGHAI BANK
amid the island summits we find the splendid Tai Tarn reser-
voir with a capacity of four million gallons and, in spite of
its altitude, a catchment area of two thousand acres.
These things all speak of vast commercial success, of
rapidly increasing capital. To care for this, to canalize this
flood of wealth, there are world-famous banking institutions,
of which the most prominent is the Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation with a capital of ten million dollars,
with an annual net profit to the shareholders of a million and
a half. Many of the stupendous loans which China is period-
n
l62
THE EDGE OF CHINA
ically making, and the recent great railway concessions and
construction contracts are financed by the "Hongkong
Bank. " The manager. Sir Thomas Jackson, receives a
salary larger than that of the President of the United States,
and has besides the use of two residences, each one more com-
1!IK TOP OF HONGKONG
fortable and more luxurious than the White House in Wash-
ington. And yet as we gaze from the peak summit where,
eighteen hundred feet above the sea, we find the gardens,
tennis courts, and palaces of men enriched by the commerce
of that almost impenetrable nation the edge of which we see
upon the far horizon, we realize that all that we have seen is
but the beginning, the promise of a future prosperity to which
THE EDGE OF CHINA
i6:
no man dare set a limit. And an eagerness to see what lies
beyond those distant hills, to penetrate into the China of the
Chinese, lays hold on us. Nor is our desire difficult to
realize. We know that Canton, the most populous city of all
China, may be reached in half a day by modern river steamers.
En route to Canton the traveler usually stops at the City
of Macao, the oldest colony in China, founded by Portugal
in 1557. A voyage of half a day brings us from the busy
present to the inactive past. The last thing that we saw at
Hongkong was the " Olympia, " witness of latter-day events
and American conquests. The first thing that arrests the
eye as we scan the silhouette of old Macao is a lighthouse,
called the Gitia, or the guiding light — the first and for
many years the only lighthouse on the treacherous Chinese
coast. It speaks of the forgotten past and of the early con-
quests of the Portuguese in commerce and in war. Macao,
1 66
THE EDGE OF CHINA
THE CITV OF THE PORTUGUESE
though lying near the mainland, is built on a peninsula,
which itself is a part of an island called Heung Shan. The
city, in spite of its medieval origin, presents a fresh and
young face to the sea. la^^^^igK^^wQv,^ -fv^
The long sweep of the HBBIBn[!PHV^9<^i^H^^^V>L'^ Xr^^K
water-front, called
the Pray a Grande,
has been likened to a
modest replica of the
Neapolitan shore.
Macao s commerce,
although strong in -its
^^'"i'4l
THE EDGE OF CHINA
167
three centuries of supremacy, could not withstand the com-
petition of Hongkong. Grass grows in the streets to-day,
and the shipping trade is largely confined to native junks.
Much old wealth still lingers here, but we must not for-
get as we admire the pure white facades of rich men s
dwellings that in the basement of many houses we could
find the dark cellars, called barracoons, where stocks of
hunuin merchandise were pitilessly confined during the days
of the abominable "coolie traffic, " a form of contract slavery
which was suppressed only in 1S74. Advancing along the
curving Praya, our native guide points out a
stately residence and j* tells us that it
is the property of
lUt UKUMO OK CA.MUt.NS
i68
THE EDGE OF CHINA
CAMOENS GARDEN
Chinese millionaire. There is a familiar ring about the
name Ah Fong, that carries our thoughts back to Hono-
lulu. Can we have stumbled upon the dwelling of the
vanished Chinese Croesus, whose Hawaiian family is so well-
known in the islands.' Yes, so it is — although this is but
one of the many residences possessed by him in southern
China. His favorite abode is in the hamlet of Wong-mo-si,
eight or ten miles inland. It was his boyhood home, and
after an absence of forty years he returned to create there,
with his foreign millions, a magnificent estate. He has built
picturesque Chinese palaces, pavilions, and ancestral temples ;
there are also memorial pagodas and gateways, with lauda-
tory tablets erected by permission of the Emperor, as endur-
ing testimonials that those who follow the example of Ah
Fong, and by lives of industry and honesty amass great
wealth, are deserving of Imperial praise. But it is to be
noted that the wise plutocrat invests the bulk of his vast
THE EDGE OF CHINA
169
fortune in other lands, where plutocrats, althoujjh not praised,
are protected — not, as in China, praised and plucked.
Wandering into the higher regions of the town we find in
the midst of an ancient garden a grotto, sacred to the mem-
ory of Luiz de Camoens, author of the Lusiad, the epic
poem of old Portugal. Banished from his native Lisbon in
1 547 because of a youthful love-affair, Camoens served his
country in the war with Moorish pirates near Ceuta, on the
Barbary Coast. Pardoned, he returned to find his verses
far more famous than his deeds of valor. He traveled in the
Orient, told in verse of the abuses in the Indian colonies of
Portugal, and was again sent into banishment. It was here
in the silence of this garden in a rock\" recess that he com-
posed the closing stanzas of " Os Lusiadas, " the poem in
which he sang the illustrious deeds of his adventurous coun-
trymen in all parts of the narrow, medieval world which the
Lusitanians were, by their explorations, making wider every
year. Through his in-
fluence and efforts
the language of
THK FAi;-ADK OK SAN PAt'l.O
170
THE EDGE OF CHINA
his ungrateful country was preserved when threatened with
extinction by the Spanish occupation. Spanish was spoken
at the court of Lisbon, but Camoens' stanzas were read and
cherished by the people. He died in po\erty in Lisbon.
.Vnother of the sights which every traveler must see is the
hollow ruin of the San Paulo Church, a structure dating from
the sixteenth century and partly destroyed by fire in 1835.
As we gaze through its casements, glazed only by fragments
of the transparent sky, let me remind \'ou that Macao s pre-
tenses to political morality are as hollow as this empty
church, which stands here as a fitting symbol of degenera-
tion. The revenues of the colony are almost entirely de-
rived from opium and gambling licenses. In the main street
we see illuminated signs that read: " /^/rs/-r/ass Gam-
hliufy' House ! ' ' Lawless characters are numerous, and al-
though the peninsula was originally granted to the Portu-
guese as a thank-offering for their assistance in suppressing a
band of medieval pirates, to-da\- daring outrages are perpe-
ted bv the ^^^*S!S^S^^^^B^^^ modern black
IN «^U1ET
THE EDGE OF CHINA
171
A CANTON RIVKR CAPTAIN
rovers and pirates
on the neighboring
streams and sea,
and even in the
very town itseU'.
In the summer of
1898 a pirate band
landed by night,
sHpped past the
sleepy guards, en-
tered the house of
a rich native mer-
chant, captured
the two wives and
ten children of the
absent milHonaire,
put tiieni in sacks,
shouldered their living booty, and regained their boats. The
authorities prepared to demand reparation from the viceroy
of the Province, but the merchant begged to be allowed to
pay the ransom, 20,000 taels, to save his family from mas-
sacre. He promised ultimately to betray the pirates ; but
when later he was urged to reveal the place to which the
ransom had been sent, he declined to speak, fearing the ven-
geance of the band. Finally wearied by the inquisitions of
the police, ho moved to Canton with all his goods, and to
guarantee himself against future losses of kindred or of
money the wily merchant entered into an association with the
pirate company to act for them as financier and capitalist.
The large river-steamtr, on which we tra\el from Macao
to Canton is not unlike in appearance a Hudson Kiver boat.
But there the resemblance ceases. There are but seven
European passengers ; seven hundred chattering Chinese are
locked below ; yes, locked in huge compartments between
172
THE EDGE OF CHINA
\ SI l.AMhl-: AI CAMUN
decks, some far down in the
hold ; we peer down at them
through grated hatchways, as
if they were wild animals in
a deep pit. " Are they all pris-
oners ? " we ask the captain.
"Yes, " he replies, glancing at
the gun marked ' ' loaded ' ' near
at hand. "Yes, in a way
they 're prisoners until we reach
Canton. If they were not, zuc
might soon be. Many times a
steamer has been stolen bodily
by its own steerage passengers,
among whom were pirates in
disguise, run up some quiet
river and there looted or de-
stroyed. We are only four
white men in charge ; we must
take no chances. "
There is not space for a
description of the eight-hour
voyage. The trip is enjoyable
and above all restful ; there is
nothing to do but to sit in a
long chair and watch the is-
lands, the green shores, and
the lazy junks drift by, until
we find ourselves in the rapid
reach of the Pearl River, which
flows between the two vast ag-
gregations of architectural drift-
wood that compose the chief
city of this prolific province
THE EDGE OF CHINA
1/5
of Kwangtung. Nothing that we have seen in foreign
ports has prepared us for this arrival in Canton. At first
glance the city repels, and at the same time fascinates the
traveler. Our approach is the signal for squadrons of sam-
pans to form in line of battle. Each craft is crowded with
half-naked natives gesticulating wildly in their efforts to at-
tract the attention of the Chinese passengers whom they are
eager to serve either as porters or as boatmen. As the big
steamer nears the pier, while she has still considerable head-
way, the line of overloaded sampans, impelled by frantic
scullers, strikes the starboard side, and at the moment of the
shock the clamorous horde scrambles aboard and is lost in
the confusion of the steerage decks.
Ofttimes these reckless sampan people meet with disaster ;
their boats are frequently crushed or overturned by the advanc-
ing steamer, and
the crews man-
gled by the pro-
pellers or paddles.
But these lit-
tle mishaps cre-
ate scarce a ripple
of dismay, and no
regret whatever
— there are too
many sampans in
the Canton River
and many more
poverty - stricken
boat-folk depend-
ent on this traffic
— a sampan less
means a score less
of competitors.
:^l'M. JR.. CONDrCTS fS T<1 TMK SH\MHl-;N
176
THE EDGE OF CHINA
A guide is absolutely indispensable in the labyrinthine
city of Canton. Knowing this, we had telegraphed from
Hongkong to engage a member of the Ah Cum family, who
for two generations have been famous as guides.
THE SHAMEBN WATER-FRONT
The answer duly came, assuring us that the eldest son
would meet us at the wharf. The telegram read like a cor-
dial invitation, for it closed with the words "Ah Cum! "
We came and, on
arrival, Mr. Ah
Cum, Jr., took
possession of us.
In his book of tes-
timonials we find
the names of Car-
ter Harrison, Chi-
cago, and John L.
Stoddard, Boston.
Ah Cum, Jr.,
conducts us first to
M ,.^^^-p,^^ll.lj|
CANTON CONSITLATES
THE EDGE OF CHINA
1/7
the Shameen, the concession
occupied by the foreign com-
munity. The Shameen is an
artificial island, created by till-
ing in a mud-flat in the river.
It is about a half a mile in
length, one thousand feet in
breadth, and is separated from
the native town behind by a
canal. On our right are gar-
dens, tennis courts, and con-
sulates, but we cannot forget
that this is China still, for on
the left we see the curious junks
plying on the yellow Ching-
kiang. The strangeness of the
river craft reaches a clima.x in
the Chinese stern-wheel pro-
pellers, long junks with broad
paddle wheels at the stern.
We have seen similar contriv-
ances on the shallow rivers of
America ; but in China the mo-
tive power is not steam, but
human muscle, for on each
boat is a gang of coolies like
galley-workers, slaving on a
treadmill. Long river-voyages
are made by these man-pro-
pelled "steamers." These
fantastic boats, passing along
the Shameen quai, tell the
dwellers in this alien precinct
that China is still China ; that
12
THE HONGKONG KUl.i.Mli.M — BA^DNKT
EXERCISE
I/S
THE EDGE OF CHINA
At
dinner
while man s labor
can be hired for
a handful of rice
dailv, there is no
need for inven-
tions of the west.
An Englishman
observed ; " Our
problem is how
one man can do
the work of many.
China s problem
is how to subdi-
vide a given piece
of work that it
may furnish sub-
sistence to the
largest number of
persons.
the Victoria Hotel we find a decent room and a passable
— we "pass " most of the courses, especially the meats.
THE VICTORIA HOTEL
A HKll ISH HoNH-. IS CANTON
THE EDGE OF CHINA
179
WITH HUB SMITH AT CANTON
At the United States Consulate delightful hours are spent
in the cheery company of our entertaining consul, who tells
i8o
THE EDGE OF CHINA
I HI-: C'->NSIL\R CHAIR
with picturesque directness
amusing stories of his life and
tribulations in Canton. He
gives to everything he says an
illuminating touch, for he is a
rare kind of consul — an able,
honest, clever man, whom we
all have come to love, for he
is none other than Hub Smith,
who wrote the dainty music
for Gene Field's dainty lyric,
"The Little Peach of Emerald
Hue, " that grew in the orchard
of "Johnnie Jones and his
sister Sue. " No wonder that
we listen gladly to his Oriental
"tales of woe. " He kindly
arranges for us to make a
motion picture of a departure
of the Representative of the
United States, in his official
Pea-Green Sedan Chair, for a
visit of state to the Imperial
Viceroy. After three tremen-
dously amusing rehearsals the
scene was played successfully,
although it came near being
ruined by a lot of balky super-
numeraries, the superstitious
coolies, finally induced by ex-
hortation and handsome bribes
to pass before the camera.
The day has now arrived
for us to make our first venture
THE EDGE OF CHINA
i8i
into the native town. Four chairs await us near the door of
the Hotel Victoria, where we have lodged in tolerable com-
fort and dined only when we could not get an invitation to
dine out with some kindly resident.
Canton has the fascination of mystery ; it gives that thrill
of pleasure for which the traveler travels. At first the diffi-
culties of photography in such a place appear insurmountable,
but pictures or no pictures, to scr this city of Canton is
enough — it is a new experience, another Red-Letter Page in
life's diary! The sights of Canton, the temples, guilds, and
yamens are hid in the appalling native city, the edge of which
we see upon the opposite shore of the canal. All day a babel
of voices is wafted on the heat waves from the crowded bank
over the roofs of boats which never leave their moorings, for
they are meant for habitation, not for transportation. At
l82
THE EDGE OF CHINA
EDGE OF THE NATIVE CITY
nifjht we are startled by the banging of cannon, the din of
drums, and the awful lamentations of the long trumpets of
the military guard. These sounds announce the closing of
the city gates. \\'e never become quite accustomed to them ;
they evoke always a shivering consciousness of the awful gulf
between the European present and the past where China
lives, a gulf so deep that we grow dizzy as we try to measure
it, and so narrow that we toss a stone across it ; for it is no
wider than the canal that i\o\vs between the Shameen and the
Chinese city. The gulf is spaimed by a bridge ; a stout iron
grill at the Chinese end is opened at the approach of our four
sedan-chairs, and closed behind us with a clank as we plunge
into the Canton of the Cantonese. ^
The natural aspect of a Canton street has not yet been
suggested by photographic means. The atmosphere escapes
the camera ; the people, too, escape, to right and left, into
the shops and alleys. The corridor first entered, which is
the street of the shoemakers, was densely packed with a
movini; throng before we halted to set up a tripod. Unfortu-
THE EDGE OF CHINA
1S3
nately the darkness of the streets precludes the possibility of
snap-shot work, and the picture resulting from a time ex-
posure shows an almost empty thoroughfare, with here and
there the blurred face of some more daring individual. There
is onl}' one Chinaman in Canton who will pose willingly for
the photographer. But he, alas, is but the Oriental proto-
type of the cigar-store Indian ! The difficulty in ordinary
picture-making being great, it seems like folly to attempt to
use the chronomatograph. Yet a desire to show one of
these canals of commerce in full flood, induces us to make
an effort to secure a motion picture. The first three trials
resulted in perilous blockades. The human river, dammed
rilK CAN I ON OE-' TIIK CANKJNKSK
184
THE EDGE OF CHINA
by the crowd that invariably assembled behind the instru-
ment, ceased to How. Circulation for a moment interrupted,
clots of humanity were formed in every lane and side street,
and soon the movement of the entire quarter came to a
nervous standstill. We always found ourselves the center of
a curious mob. Fearing to prolong the excitement, we
hastily entered our chairs and worked our way into other
channels, there to renew our efforts. Fortunately, we find
another animated street w^here for a few yards sunshine is
dripping from the eaves; there l'\- quirk work we get the
film in motion
before the busy
throngs have no-
ticed us, then by
shouting menaces
in English at the
few who manifest
an inclination to
linger and look
on, we delay for
a few seconds the
formation of the
jam. Imagine
miles and miles of
dimly lighted in-
tersecting corri-
dors, through
which an endless
procession of
hundreds of thou-
sands of toiling
creatures is pass-
ing thus all day,
THE ONLY posti K IN CANTON aud day after day.
THE EDGE OF CHINA
185
4J
m
1
^§L
i'<i
1
r
1
ta^jfl
1 ,
■'- .. ,
■ ' 1
r-
CLOTS OF HUMANITY
and you may gain a faint conception of street-life in China 's
busiest, biggest beehive. Nine men in every ten are bearing
burdens, huge bales of goods slung from a shoulder pole,
bricks balanced on scale-like contrivances, or baskets filled
with everything from living pigs to fish that have been too long
out of the water. Every bare shoulder has its callous scar,
where the hard smooth bamboo has left its mark. The man
most heavily weighted has the right of way. Thus we, because
we ride in chairs, advance much faster than the crowd ; the
empty-handed, or rather the free-shouldered, passer-by must
step aside for every toiling coolie ; the coolie with his twin
dangling burdens must shrink aside to let us pass, and we
in turn are switched into an alley-way, with unflattering
haste, to clear the main street for the passing of a mandarin,
a pompous, spectacled official shut in a heavy, curtained,
coffin-like conveyance, borne by four miserable coolies, who
1 86
THE EDGE OF CHINA
MANDARINS
chant a groaning warning as
they come swiftU' along at a
springy, short-stepped trot.
Never have our ex'es been
busier than in tliese streets.
And so swiftly moves the pano-
rama that we should carry off
only a confused impression of
multi-colored signs and breath-
less cries, and indistinguishable
miles of merchandise, were
it not for the fact that every
detail of these kaleidoscopic
corridors is repeated many
scores of times. In every street
we have on both sides a suc-
cession of shops, each differing
so little from the next that all
become one shop and give us
a distinct composite picture of
that special sort of shop, be
it stocked with shoes, ivory
car\ings, jade bracelets, dry-
;;oods, or multi-colored gar-
ments. A glance into the
street of tailors convinces us
that clothes are made for ex-
hibition only, for coats hang
ever\\vhere e.xcept upon the
backs of citizens. And though
the streets are very noisy, yet
to us they are doubly dumb.
We cannot comprehend the
meaning of a single sound, and
THE EDGE OF CHINA
187
^^^ the signs, however vivid
their appeal to our sense
of color, tell us absolutely
nothing. Thus we are
both deaf and blind to a
wealth of curious impres-
sions. For instance all
the shops show bombas-
tic titles on their brilliant
boards. One will read
"Ten Thousand Times
Successful," another
"Heavenly Happiness,"
or "By Heaven Made
SHOE-SHOPS
Prosperous, ' and
one reads simply,
"Honest Gains. "
And as we are
looking down on
the roofs of these
establishments
and are striving
to trace the line
of the crooked
snake-like thor-
oughfare wrig-
gling away toward
one of the city
gates, let me re-
cite a list of the
STREET OK THE SHOEMAKERS
i88
THE EDGE OF CHINA
curious titles of the streets through which we have been carried.
Surely a few misnomers have crept in, for we found in " Peace
Street " a terrific turmoil ; in the "Street of Benevolence and
Love " we heard a man reviling ; "The Street of Refreshing
Breezes" was intenselv close; "The Street of Nine-Fold
STOCKINGS STREET
Brightness," very dark. Two streets were appropriately
named, "The Street of the Thousand Grandsons," and
' ' The Street of Ten Thousand Grandsons, ' ' — for they were all
there, with their grandfathers and their fathers, too, apparently
ten thousand times ten thousand of those prolific Cantonese.
And while in those streets, which by law must be seven
feet in width, we marvel at their comparative cleanliness
H
X
K
X
M
H
>
r
O
0)
THE EDGE OF CHINA
191
and decency ; paved with stone slabs, with no apparent
drainage scheme, and lined throughout the city's whole
extent with serried shops and shanties they yet remain com-
paratively free from visible tilth. Near the markets there are
disagreeable odors, but do not our own cities at times ofTend
the nostrils ? Decidedly we are disappointed in the Canton
smells. When we take into account our pretensions to
HOl'SETOPS AND SlRKKl" AWNINGS
superior sanitary methods and to scientific knowledge, and
the frankly e.xpressed indifference to all such things of the
Chinese, no fair-minded observer can deny that the condition
of Canton is far less shameful than that of many of our mod-
ern towns. China is still living in the Middle Ages. Could
we go back to the Paris and London of the earlier centuries,
should we not find that filth and odors were the portion of
192
THE EDGE OF CHINA
Queen Elizabeth and Louis the Magnificent, when they rode
in state through the streets of the cities to which we now
compare Canton ? Moreover, in these Cantonese alleys, much
reviled of travelers, we find large shops, that in the richness
of their fittings and the immaculateness of their floors and
walls and counters would put to shame many a dingy mctira-
s/// in the Paris of to-day. Carved ebony and teak-wood, —
CANTON
gilded, sculptured screens, — lanterns with beautiful designs,
painted on delicate rice-paper or on silk, — these things
abound in hundreds of these shops ; and everywhere, in the
humble niche of the petty dealer and in the high-ceiled hall
of the complacent silk or ivory merchant, there hang two
incongruous, ugly, useful articles imported from our land — a
Yankee kerosene-lamp and a New England time-piece, ticking
THE EDGE OF CHINA
193
out the lon^ hours of the Orient with the same tick that
measures the ileeting seconds of the West. A Chinese clock
differs in many important details from the imported article.
A famous specimen of native manufacture is found in the
upper chamber of a dingy tower. It dates from the year
K HMI'OKU'M
I 500. It has no springs, no wheels, no hands. It consists
of four copjjer vases. Water trickling from one to another
graduall\ tills the lowest receptacle, and lifts the slender
gauge, resembling a light two-foot rule. The Chinese day
has twelve periods of two hours each, divided into eight
shorter periods of fifteen minutes each ; the shortest unit of
time in China is a cjuarter of an hour. This gives an idea of
194
THE EDGE OF CHINA
the comparative value of time in the Celestial Empire — a
Chinese second is, so to speak, a ijiiarter of an hour long.
There are many shops which the traveler cannot enter
without danger, that is, unless he be strong to resist the irre-
sistible temptations offered by the fabrics and the curios
therein displayed. The danger lies in the cheapness of the
gorgeous fabrics or (juaint conceits, in the feigned indifference
of the merchant, and in the thought that never again will
there be an opportunity to buy so many beautiful and curious
things for so insignihcant a sum of money. Embroideries,
brocades, and gorgeous garments are spreatl before us until
the color senses ache ; and soon our resolutions iiot to bu\- lie
shattered on the floor beneath a heap of useless loveK' things
that we have bought. Then, on the verge of bankruptcy, we
turn from shops where goods are sold for cash to shops where
NANKKH LAMP AND CLOCKS
THE EDGE OF CHINA
195
cash is the commodity
on sale, and goods of
every sort the purchas-
ing meiiium. Literally
speaking, pawnshops
are the most prominent
business enterprises in
Canton. From the roof
of one pawnshop, an
Oriental skyscraper, a
hundred others are seen
in \arious directions,
and we should tind on
the parapet of each an
array of paving stones,
conveniently arranged the water clock
to be dropped upon the heads of rioters or thieves should
a mob gather in times of turmoil and pillage.
Among the surprises in store for strangers in Canton is
the Provincial Mint, one of the best equipped and largest
money-factories not only in the East, but in the world. Of
course the machinery, of European make, is under the direc-
tion of an English manager and expert. Two million coins
per day have been struck. The currency of China is still in
a chaotic state. The modern mints in various provinces each
turn out a dollar differing in weight and fineness from the
dollars of its rivals ; there are silver dollars of ten different
values now in circulation. Although no gold is coined, the
mints are not open to the free coinage of silver ; the amount
to be issued is determined by the authorities in charge of the
finances of the province. The " tael, which is the standard
of value, is not a coin, it is a given weight of silver used in com-
mercial reckonings. The taels also vary in value ; there are
the long taels of the Custom Department, w(Kth sevent_\'-two
196
THE EDGE OF CHINA
TEMPTATIONS
cents in gold and the short
taels of Shanghai worth
only sixty-five cents. But
\\\i\\ the poor, and this
means almost the entire
population, the familiar
unit is the copper cash,
a crude perforated disk,
worth about one twentieth
of a cent. A gold dollar 's
worth of Chinese cash
would weigh no less than
eighteen pounds, and be
composed of from two to
four thousand coins, ac-
cording to the kind of
cash, for even the cash
lacks uniformity of value. The climax of absurdity is reached
when we are told that a string of looo cash is sometimes
composed of 700 pieces, and sometimes of i lOO, according
to the regulations that prevail in different localities !
Leaving the Mint, we make our way to Canton's most
conspicuous edifice, the French Cathedral. It stands upon
the site of the former Yamen, or official residence of the
famous Viceroy Yeh, who inspired and organized Canton's
resistance to the French and English during the war of 1857.
He was the viceroy who even in defeat remained true to his
boast that he would never meet a European face to face, for
he was found by British blue-jackets in the act of crawling
ignominiously over the back wall of a secluded garden. For
four years the French and English allies occupied the city, —
from i857to 1861, — and this cathedral, built a few years later
by the French, must be to every thinking citizen a hate-
ful reminder of his city's foolish obstinacy, reckless folly,
THE EDGE OF CHINA
197
inglorious capture, and ignominious occupation. The spires
dominate the flat expanse of the ramshackle metropolis and are
seen from the steamer s deck long before the city comes in view.
Along the Canton river-front usual conditions are re-
versed ; the river does not inundate the city — instead, the city
overflows its banks and pours a flood of dwellings into the
yellow stream. In amazement we ask, "Is Canton on land
or on water.' " It is on land loid water; about 2,000,000
people li\e on land, about 200,000 people on the water. And
the land-dwellers look with contempt upon the floating popu-
lation. But the river-folk are happy in their independence of
landlords and land-taxes. This aquatic connnunitw equal to
the population of New Orleans, rarely sets foot upon the land,
but circulates upon streets and alleyways of planks and gang-
ways leading into this maze of floating homes, moored in the
stagnant canals and in the rapid-flowing river.
The double-decked and gaily decorated barges anchoreii
in close arrav are among the most curious institLitions of this
198
THE EDGE OF CHINA
fluvial quarter. While ail th
of Canton sleeps, this sub
on the tide is wide-awake an
the "Flower Boats or
restaurants are brilliantly
illuminated. One night
we \-isited the quarter
with two guides, a cam-
era, and a flashliglit jjis-
tol. We peered into boat
after boat, for everything
is open to the public gaze
\\"e saw rich men entertai
friends at costly dinners, prov
for their guests elaborate puppet
shows, or regaling them with the ear-
Hl .MANAGER OF THE MINT
rcing vocalizations
of the Chinese
"singsong" girls.
Under cover of a
dark outer deck
or balcony of one
( 'f the elaborate
Mower Boats, we
jilanted a camera,
discharged a
flashlight, and as
the thick cloud of
smoke s\\irled in
t'. choke the mer-
r \- - m a k e r s , we
fled along the slip-
pery planks anil
uangwaysinto the
obscurity of the
A FEAST IN A ■■l-HnVl;R HOAT
THE EDGE OF CHINA
201
rainy, pitch-dark night. A perfect!}' natural, unposed picture
was the reward of our teinerit}", the sitters all unconscious of
our presence. They saw a great light — swallowed a lot of
smoke — and wondered what had happened. A Chinese dinner
party is a very long, elaborate affair ; hours are consumed in
dallying with sweetmeats at a preliminary table before the
guests adjourn to the larger festal board spread with the
essentials of the meal, the bird s-nest soup, shark's fins, and
other luxuries. The bird's nests eaten by the rich Chinese
are not, as we imagine, composed of
grass and twigs and leaves, like the
bird's nests that
we know. They
are whitish
202
THE EDGE OF CHINA
masses of gelatinous substance, partly secreted and partly
accumulated bv the sea birds which inhabit the caves of
Borneo and of the Philipinnes. Shark's fins ouj^ht not to
shock people who eat lobster, crabs, and oysters, while as for
other articles of Chinese diet in the feline, canine, and asinine
line, some one has put it very euphemistically by saying :
"In regard to the first recjuirement of the body, food, they
[the Chinese] are singularly free from prejudices which inter-
fere with the utilization of any harmless nutritive substance. "
Among the lesser vices of these yellow folk is a curious
habit, most common among the Filipinos and other Malay
races — the chewing of the betel-nut. An illustration shows
the outfit of a purveyor of this luxury. The nuts of the
IN THfc; GARDEN UF THE MINT
THE EDGE OF CHINA
203
areca palm have been neatly sliced, revealing the whitish
meat ; to right and left are pots of lime stained pink with a
powder called suggestively "sing chew, " with which to
smear the nut to give the proper savor. The green leaves of
the betel plant serve as wrappers for the masticatory morsel.
One tenth of the human race is addicted to this haljit of
chewing the betel. It stains the lips a brilliant red and in
time blackens every tooth. Yet its effects are declared to be
identical with those attributed to pepsin gum : it sweetens the
breath, strengthens the gums, and improves digestion. The
1 MJ-. l-"ki:N( II , \ I lU' Ilk \
204
THE EDGE OF CHINA
s'TON RIVKR FRONT
I'liulu^iaph by John Wright, Rochester.
foreigner, however, feels called upon to condemn the habit,
and in his effort to reform the Orient, he introduces as a
tempting substitute for the areca nut, a supply of deadly
cigarettes, benevolently placed within the reach of the
well-to-do at three cents per box of twenty.
The fact that western civilization is making way in China
is convincingly illustrated in a neighboring street. A native
dental practitioner, educateil by a
German dentist, has, with
unconscious irony, estab-
lished his booth of sci-
entific torture in the
"Street of Heavenly
Peace. ' ' Comparative
insensibility to pain is one
EDIBLE BIRD'S NESTS
THE EDGE OF CHINA
205
rked characteristics
Chinese race. To
hey seem to be a
erveless people ;
but if they have
dormant nerves,
the instruments
of modern den-
tal surgery will
soon awaken
them. While
upon painful sub-
jects let us have
done with a very
isagreeable and yet
ver omitted feature
uide's itinerar\'. —
RETEL-NUTS
the visit to the place
of e.xecution. This
gloomy alleyway, in
which the potters of
the quarter set out
their jars and bowls
to dry, boasts of more
of the slain than a
great many battle-
fields— ^the Chinese
headsmen boast more
victims than do the
executioners of the
French Revolu-
tion. I shall
CHINESK CUISINE
2o6
THE EDGE OF CHINA
A CANTON DKNTIST
sufferings of otJTer living beings
lives and the lives of others so
give lifelong consid-
eration to the com-
fort and convenience
of the dead, and wor-
ship so assiduously at
the shrines of their
departed ancestors.
" More trouble than a
funeral " is a common
saying in this land, \\ju,,kl!ki
where funerals some- f"
times result in bank-
ruptcv for the survi\-
ing members of the
not describe the
crude, cruel, and
merciless proceed-
ings that attend
the decapitations
(it the impassive
native criminals,
nor shall I speak
of the more horrid
spectacles that are
suggested by the
two crosses that
lean against the
neighboring wall.
It is indeed strange
that a people who
pay no heed to
their own or the
, and w ho sacrifice their own
cahnly and unfeelingly should
IW.i ( kiisS1-S AMI A SKILL
THE EDGE OF CHINA
207
family. The death of a parent entails a never-ending sequence
of complicated costly ceremonials. An altar to the dead must
be erected in his dwelling, and there remain one hundred
days ; before it, relatives must bow and weep twice daily. It
is not until the seventh day after death that the deceased
becomes aware of the fact that he is dead. The eyes of the
dead are covered with gilt money-paper to prevent the
departed from counting the tiles in the roof, for if he should
do so the family could never build a more spacious dwelling.
The coffin-maker when he sells one of his heavy wooden
caskets must give the purchaser a present of a box of bon-
bons,— that the transaction may not be altogether sad. The
man who buys the
coffin must guide
the bearers to the
house of mourn-
ing ; for should
the bearers, not
knowing the e.\-
act locality, ask
the way, terrible
misfortune would
befall the inno-
cent people whom
they question.
Upon the death
of an old man it
is not always nee- '^
essary to patron-
ize the mortuary
carpenter; the
need of a coffin
has been long an-
ticipated. It is a
THK l'IVK-Sri)K-IKr> PAi;
2o8
THE EDGE OF CHINA
COMr-ORTABI.E CONVKVA
custom for thoughtful children and grandchildren when
the chief ancestor reaches the age of sixty-one, to club
together and purchase for the dear old gentleman the cost-
liest coffin that their means afford. The giving of this grew-
some birthday present is regarded as a beautiful expression of
filial piety and love. Failing, however, to receive this most
welcome present, a
wealthy Chinese will
order at his own ex-
pense an elaborate
coffin against the day
of need. The Grand
0]<1 Man of China,
Li Hung Chang, car-
ried a coffin near-ly
half wav round the
world ; but at Mar-
seilles, apparently
convinced that he
would li\'e to reach
his native land, left it
in the baggage-room
CANTON COFFINS
l.lll IS I IMI-, IN 1 lll.NA
THE EDGE OF CHINA
211
of the hotel. At hist
the manager of the
hotel, embarrassed by
this legacy, sent it to
the Custom House to
be put up at auction.
Hut there was not a
single bidder, coffins
being but an after-
thought in the gay
land of F"rance.
Other funeral cus-
toms excite our mirth
as well as our sur-
prise, for who can
learn without a smile
that grief-stricken
sons always put /a)is into the coffins of respected and pre-
sumably respectable parents.' Moreover, the sons unbraid
their cues to indicate confusion, and if they have lost both
its, they bare the body to the
Judging from the pre-
ig semi-nudity, half the
eople in Canton are or-
phans. The father's
land is divided equally
among the sons, the
eldest receiving an
a<l(litional tenth be-
cause of the extra ex-
pense he must incur
from worshiping the
spirits of the ancestors,
"he funeral itself is an
rMF PAGdliV I.\KI)KN
212
THE EDGE OF CHINA
elaborate affair,
lasting for many
days. During
this time relatives
near and remote
must be gener-
ously bono r e d
and fed, priests
must be paid, and
spirit offerings
purchased. All
the necessaries of
spirit life are sent
to the departed
by burning them
in paper effigy.
A CARVED SHRINK Silver aud gold,
clothing, opium and tobacco, pipes, eyeglasses, wallets, boxes,
horses, sedan-chairs, boats and servants, — all elaborately fash-
ioned of paper, and very costly, are fed to the Hames. Other
families seize the
opportunity to
send supplies and
money to their
kin in the ne.xt
world. Other
supplies of an in-
ferior quality are
burned to satisfy
the pauper dead
and to persuade
them not to inter-
cept these ship-
ments to the rich. ancestral tablets
THE EDGE OF CHINA
213
SACRED PIGS
cisms of relatives, who may not be
of conducting the ceremonies or
provided for the
mourners. More-
over, as a student
of Chinese cus-
toms has written:
"The occult in-
fluence of the
resting - place of
the dead upon
the weal of the
living is believed
to be so great
that no man who
has prospered
since the death
of his chief an-
cestor would [jer-
niit a cluuif^e in
the conhijuration
New clothing is
sent on the three
recurring a n n i -
versaries of the
day of decease.
During the funer-
al ceremonies all
the sons wear tall
caps of sackcloth
and wads of spirit
money dangling
over the ears to
shut out the criti-
pleased with their manner
with the quality of food
CILDKD GODS
214
THE EDGE OF CHINA
THK Hni.>' I I\'K HI'NDRKD
(.)f the laiulscajie surrounding the tomb. Those upon whom
calamity comes always remove the fjraves to another site.
The hundreds of millions of living Chinese are under the
galling subjection of thousands of millions of the dead. The
generation of to-day is chained to the generations of the
past.' This cult of the dead is carried to extremes that are
to us preposterous, yet we are compelled to admit the cor-
rectness of the logic which prompts
the government to ennoble the
dead parents of men who
distinguish themselves.
Thus, titles are e.xtended
backward to the an-
cestors who produced
the hero, or the gen-
ius, rather than for-
ward to his descend-
ants who may ])rove
entirely unworthy of
the honor. The only
A rkMPLK I OIIRT
THE EDGE OF CHINA
217
sacred places that appear to be respected or kept in repair are
ancestral temples. Even the Temple of the Emperor, con-
taining the imperial tablets, is dilapidated, dirt\', and aban-
doned. It has the air of an old barn or stable standing in
the middle of a vacant lot. Yet in this old building is en-
shrined a simulacrum of the famous Dragon Throne of Peking,
DAINTV DECORATIONS
the throne of the i)oor young Emperor, whose nann;, Kwang
Shu, which means "the Glorious Succession, " sounds to us
like a mocking epithet of fate. According to the celestial
symbolism, the dragon stands for majesty and power, au-
thority ami dignity ; but entering this imperial shed, we
find two dragons conspicuously lacking in these attributes,
2l8
THE EDGE OF CHINA
THF. EXAMINATION KNCLUSURK
fantastic creatures, made of papier-mache glaringly colored,
stabled at the very foot of the Dragon Throne.
( )n the throne rises the Imperial Tablet, which represents
the sacred person
I if the "Son of
Heaven, " ruler
over one quarter
of the whole hu-
man race and
over one twelfth
part of this broad
earth. Itbearsin
,t;i)l(l letters the in-
scription : " May
the Emperor
irign ten thou-
sand years, ten
thousand times
ten t h () u s a n d
vears.' '
THE EDGE OF CHINA
219
Another tablet condemns the Empress to an early demise,
for it reads : "May the Empress live one thousand years,
one thousand times one thousand years. ' ' \\'ith this com-
paratively short allotment of time can we blame the Em-
press for making the most of her earthly opportunities ?
The temples are almost without exception abandoned to
decay and tilth ; and if the Emperor's shrine deserves the
name of stable, a certain Buddhist Temple might well be
called a pigsty, did we not fear to do injustice to the very
sacred pigs which occupy the very neatest, cleanest corner
of the institution. These happy porkers, offerings to
Buddha, are protected by a sign which reads: " \'isitors
will do Well not to Annoy the Pigs, for an All-Seeing Eve
will take Cognizance of their Cruelty, and on the Day of
Retribution most seriously Resent it. " In a Buddhist temple
we find the gilded idols that are believed actually to see
and hear and feel. F"or instance, during the infreijuent re-
pairing of the shrine, red paper is pasted over the eyes lest
they behold disorder and be troubled. A rural god, who
failed to listen to lonjj continued
prayers for rain, was
out into the parched
ajid left to blister in
sun. Again, legal suit
was brought against
a priest, and the god
of his temple, as
his accomplice,
was ordered into
court and when the
image did ncjt kneel
at the conmiand of
the high magistrate
I HI', LI I tKAIv\ L i
220
THE EDGE OF CHINA
it was sentenced for contempt of court to receive five hun-
dred blows as punishment. It behoovesa Chinese god to be
as circumspect as possible and to attend strictly to business.
The saving that " there is a god to every eight feet of space "
is literallv true in the Hall of the Five Hundred Genii, the
five hundred early followers of Buddha, who sit in smug
self-satisfied poses in Flowery Forest Monastery.
"And do you really believe that there are gods like
all these various personages in carven wood and gilded
EXAMINATION SHEDS
clay.' " was asked of an intelligent Chinese. His answer was
indeed rich in Oriental subtlety, "If you believe in them then
there arc gods, if you do not believe in them then they are
not. To worship them can do no harm and it may do
some good. It is well to be on the safe side."
The Chinese have no creed, only a cult, or rather several
cults ; for one and the same man frequently professes a belief
in ("onfucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The exercise of
intellectual hospitality has led him to entertain, without the
slightest mental embarrassment, the most incongruous forms
of belief. It might be said with truth that literature is the
THE ILDGE OF CHINA
221
religion of the Chinese. It is the one thing that they treat
with unvarying respect. While they may insult idols inat-
tentive to their supplications, and abandon temples to the
tooth of time, every scrap of paper on which a single letter
of their endless alphabet is traced becomes at once a sacred
thing, — a thing that may not be neglected or profaned. It
is incredible, but true, that we might rather e.xpect to see the
streets of London littered with five-pound notes, than to find
l\ing in the streets of Canton bits of waste paper with
printed, stamped, or written characters upon them. Every
torn scrap is gathered up as conscientiously as we should pick
up hundred-dollar bills, and reverently deposited in special
boxes, placed at convenient distances in every street ; a corps
of men hired by the literary mandarins scour the city ever}-
day, assembling all loose bits of manuscript, and the contents
of these boxes ; this mass of paper is then conve\ed to various
temples and burned in metal furnaces. The ashes are placed
in jars, and carried to the river bank where the incinerated
literary refuse of the dav is scattered on the surface of a
seaward - flowing
stream.
What is the
ambition of a
Chinese boy.' To
become a general,
a millionaire, a
governor, or a
politician .' — No.
To become a
scholar ; for only
scholars may as-
pire to the high
places. Chinese
scholars are the
SALON OF THK 11 1 ERARV CLl'B
222
THE EDGE OF CHINA
most educated scholars in the world. 1 do not say best edu-
cated, but )ii(>st educated. The mass of. learning which they
absorb is as vast a.- it is useless. .\t the age of five, boys are
able to read and repeat \-olumes of the classics of Confucius,
Mencius, and other sages, and this before they know the mean-
ing of the words they utter. They must know by heart the
works of all the sages if they are to compete in the great
examinations, success in which is the only road to honor and
to power. Every male from eighteen to ninety years of age is
eligible to compete for a degree. The triennial examinations
are held in a twenty-acre enclosure, tilled with long sheds of
brick and tile, each divided into tiny cells for the confinement
of the candidates. There are no fewer than 11,673 of these
LOTLS LEAVES
THE EDGE OF CHINA
223
examination boxes, and usually there are more candidates than
can be properly isolated for the preliminary tests. For three
days and nights the unhappy prisoners fret in their narrow-
stalls, turning out essays on quotations from the classics,
poems of a given length, or themes on abstruse points of nat-
ural philosophy. In a recent, competition there were thirty-
five candidates over eighty years of age, and eighteen vener-
able unsuccessful plodders at the age of ninety years came with
the boys and men of middle age to try once more for the long-
coveted reward. But even those who finally obtain the first
degree, called that of "Flowering Talent," are but upon the
I rXL'RIOliS I-ILIES
threshold of advancement. They must achieve, in weightier
mental contests at Peking, the Degree of " Promoted Talent "
and the Degree of "Advanced Scholar. " Then onlv do they
become "Expectants of Office." Thus with the better part
of life wasted in arduous misdirection, with minds oppressed
by the weight of ponderous inconse<]ueutial theories and max-
uiis, they are ready to assume responsibilities of government.
Men who succeed in this memorizing strife have attaineii the
highest social plane ; they are regarded as succe.ssful men, and
enjoy the reverence and admiration of tliL- une(hicate<l masses.
224
THE EDGE OF CHINA
But, you may ask. "What of the women? You have
said no word of them. Your talk has been of mandarins and
coohes. What of their wives and daughters? You have
shown us shops and temples, what of the Chinese homes?
W'e saw no homes ; the traveler rarely enters them. Of
women we saw a few toddling' upon their tiny deformed feet
along the crowded streets. One was knocked down by the
pole of mv advancing chair. 1 could not force the men to
stop to pick her up. They merely laughed as if to sa\',
" Did you not see that it was nothing but a woman ? " And
when we remember that Confucius taught that woman was
man's chattel and had no soul, we see the awful force of the
missionary statement that the "answer to Confucianism is
China." And y(;t the yellow man in spite of his mental
deformities is a marvelous piece of human mechanism. He
is apparentlv able to do almost everything by means of al-
most nothing. He is rich in industry and frugality. His
mind is capable of feats, which, although barren of results,
surpass as mere achievements the triumphs of the white
man's intellect. He is above all numerous, his number
baffles computation ; we say, four hundred millions, hut we
cannot conceive of such an aggregation of humanitw " What
shall we do with him?" Western Civilization asks to-day.
"What will he do with West- I ern Civilization ? ' ' may be the
question of a future century ^^whcn four hundred milHons
of him shall have learned ^^^w to llti)ik !
THK i-Kh 1 I Ihsl 1
1>.\ UK eA.NTuN
MANILA
OAUUAa — TVIA^UATSHH OQ8I0KAiIH VLAZ
SAN FRANCISCO RESTAURANT — BALIUAG
MANILA
IN 1899 America was looking with anxious mterest toward
the Philippines. Admiral Dewey, his work accomplished,
had left Manila ; General Otis, as military governor, was in
command ; the Filipinos under Aguinaldo were successfully
defending themselves, and all the American forces were
confined to the immediate surroundings of Manila and to a
thin wedge of country bordering the railway that leads north-
ward from the capital. This being the situation, it would
appear that little inducement was offered to the traveler to
direct his steps toward the Far Eastern archipelago that fate
had assigned to Uncle Sam. But Manila itself was acces-
sible, and the situation, political and military, presented
picturesque aspects that appealed even to the globe-trotter
intent only upon what is called in the East a "Look See."
228
MANILA
It takes three days to cross the China Sea from Hong-
kong to Manila. Our steamer is the famous "Esmeralda, "
grown old in this service. Our traveling companions are
white folk, black folk, brown folk, yellow folk, and sundry
other individuals variously "complected."
Oj,^«^i '-'-GwUiiiMiJi^
HONGKONG
The voyage begins gaily enough ; a lovely night, big
tables spread on deck, all hands hungry. But once outside
the harbor, the winds begin to howl and the sea rises.
Diners one by one forsake the tables and retire to bunks
which are so stuffy that those who are not already helpless
pre-empt sleeping-places on the upper deck. I slept upon a
pile of life-rafts, my companions in cots and long-chairs of
V.
G
MANILA
231
bamboo. The first day out was the hottest and the wettest
I have ever Hved through ; shower after shower of tropic fury
came in half-hourly succession, and each one stayed with us
for a full hour, so, as it were, the showers overlapped. Thus
we accumulated downpours until the decks ran deep and the
canvas awning leaked copious streams. A miserable, sticky,
lazy, hopeless day ! The second day is fair and calm, a rare
NIGHTMARE?
day in these troubled waters. Few of us have energy enough
to dress ; we open and shut unread books, and after a day
of utter idleness closed by a gorgeous sunset, after a glimpse
of the peaks of Northern Luzon, we again make our beds on
deck, — men, women, and children in pajamas and kimonos, —
and sleep like patients in a hospital ward. Terrihc rain- and
thunder-storms break the monotony of the night. We wrap
ourselves in mackintoshes, roll up our bedding, and sit upon it
232 MANILA
to keep it dry till the awning ceases to leak ; then we lie
down again until another downpour forces us to repeat the
operation. And wIilmi finally we wake at 5 a. m., we dis-
cover that we have already passed the island of Corregidor —
that we are already in Manila Bay. There in the distance
the long low line of the F"ilipino capital is cut against the
misty morning sky. The Bay is very vast, Corregidor is
almost tliirty miles behind us and quite invisible. Cavite is
indicated by a thin white line, so faint that it is scarcely
MANILA FROM [UK nw
seen, while the encircling shore, except that immediately
adjacent to Manila, is lost in distance. It is only on the
clearest days that Manila Bay appears to be a landlocked
sheet of water ; it usually resembles the open sea, and fre-
quently the roughness of its waves makes the resemblance
unpleasantly remarkable. All hands are eager to put ashore.
But the hcaltii officer orders us into quarantine because
we come from Hongkong, where the plague is raging. And
so for three long days we are to frizzle on the crowded ship,
at anchor in a tropic harbor, under a tropic sun. And the
Nir.HT ON THE CHINA PEA
MANILA
235
passengers who have donned fresh white suits and made
themselves look unrecognizably respectable, relapse into their
former limp and helpless manner and give up trying to keep
their clothes clean. The mail is fumigated and taken ashore
by American officers. While we sit growling at the break-
fast table, we hear a big faint roar, and rushing out on deck,
we see the ships of the American squadron far away in
Bacoor Bay, shelling the insurgents on the shore. They say
our land forces are also engaged, and all the morning we sit
Ml A HARBOR
calmly on the deck, watching the bursts of smoke, and tim-
ing the big shots from the Monitors. It is a terrific spectacle,
made unreal and vague by the long miles of space between
us and the warships. From nine until eleven, and again
from one until three o'clock, the guns thunder. We can see
the " Monadnock " belch forth a cloud of smoke ; then after
twenty-one seconds comes the deep report ; meanwhile,
somewhere on the shore, a column of white smoke rises like
a sudden geyser eruption and then fades awav. Hundreds of
lesser shells are seen bursting thus, ten or a dozen white
columns being simultaneously visible. At five o'clock heavy
236
MANILA
volley fire is heard. No smoke is seen, but the long drum-
like rolls, merging into one another, seem more awful, more
suggestive of death than the picturesque rain of shells which
preceded them. We learn that seventy-five men were
MANILA BAY
w'ounded in the course of the day. We are astounded to
find the fighting line so near the city ; for men are killing one
another there, not eight miles from the gates of Old Manila,
and this after a si.\-months' pursuit of an enemy whom we,
contemptuous white men, have pretended to despise.
For three days and nights \ve are confined on boai'd our
steamer, which we call the "Pest Ship."
Yet we are not nearly so miserable as our situation would
appear to warrant. \\"e have met the fact of quarantine
with a cheerful, perspiring resignation, and we find consola-
tion in voracious eating. All of us have high-sea appetites ;
of course there is no suspicion of sea-sickness, for the bay is
glassy in its torrid calm.
MANILA
237
Even the most trivial incidents cause a stir. If a man
falls asleep and snores, it interests and delights everybody.
If a steam-launch passes, all eyes are fixed on her.
A Filipino passenger produces a phonograph, and every
evening all hands crowd around the mouth of the machine
and listen ecstatically to the French songs antl American
marches that are ground out by the instrument. The group
is a motley one — Spanish friars, Filipinos, half-castes, Ameri-
can fortune-seekers, British business men, Chinese sailors,
stewards and coolies, and two young women from Argentina,
— all hanging upon the shrill notes of the talking-machine.
There are many other things to interest us. All night we
see the search-lights on the distant men-of-war, wigwagging
signals to Manila, while little launches silently patrol the bay.
On the second day we w'itness the sailing of the transports of
the Oregon volunteers. We cheer them
DISTRAfI IONS I-OR rilK CIT'A k ANT I NKI>
238
MANILA
of our steamer does not order a salute as our big ships Kl'fle
by, whereupon a stout American lady, with a patriotic fervor
worthy of Barbara Frietchie herself looses the halyards and
dips the British ensign repeatedly, while the captain and
the crew look on in stark and speechless horror.
THE PASir. RUEU
The third day comes with the same rosy sunrise, the fresh
coolness of morning, and the new thought, "To-day we go
ashore — perhaps." The doctor is on board examining the
Chinese steerage. Then all cabin passengers are ordered to
line up on deck, men port side, women starboard. There
we stand, most of us in pajamas or kimonos, with bare or
slippered feet, unbrushed hair, and smiles of hope. We are
t/)
>
MANILA
241
merely counted to make sure that no plague-stricken body
had been surreptitiously chucked overboard. Convinced of
this, the handsome young' M. 1). declares quarantine off.
We give a howl of joy, dress, pack, and then sit on our piled-
up bundles, and wait an hour for the customs-officer. At
last he comes, one lone young volunteer, wearing a khaki
uniform and a dejected expression. He looks into our kit
and says, in a discouraged tone : "All right, you can take
your hand-baggage ashore." Joyful confusion ensues.
Just as I am congratulating myself that my troubles are
now ended, a new trouble comes up the gangway, in the per-
son of the immigration-officer, a courteous young fellow who
fin<is that three Chinese have no passports and therefore
OHNERAl. UTIS'S MLLA ON THE PA.SIG
16
242
MANILA
cannot land. " But my boy has the consul's consent to ac-
company me. The Steamship Company assured me that no
further papers were required except an order from Mr.
Wildman, to authorize them to issue a ticket to Ah Kee. "
This is my confident protest. But the officer is obstinate,
though he promises to try to arrange matters with the cap-
tain of the port if I will leave Ah Kee on board until I hear
«^» .
, ^ >
■--^^
HH
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^■■B
^'^
\
■*- - —
^^m^
mm
II
_
' ^^
■1
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■5
N
Kl^^^^^^H
f ■ t
■"•
F .
'•■..
^jmd^k
^t
Urn ««:'!■
-'
*f-
MANILA DEFENSES
from the shore authorities. Ten minutes later temptation
follows trouble. The captain tells me there has been a mis-
take in the count-up ; Ah Ivee did not line up and was not
counted in ; the three Chinese who have no passports are
confined in the hold ; the letter of the regulations is not
violated, therefore I may take Ah Ivee away, say nothing,
and all will be well. I assure the captain that I don't wish
to get him or m_\'self into trouble.
"No fear, go ahead"; and go ahead I do.
H
m
o
2
5
MANILA
245
The passengers are crowding into a steam-launch. I
charter a small Filipino "bote" with three native paddlers,
embark my thirteen pieces of baggage, and push off from
the " Pest Ship. " My craft is long and narrow, with a low-
arched mat roof, under which we crouch. We are already
far from the ship before the thought takes hold of me :
' ' Suppose these boatmen are insurgents ? There is the rebel
shore to the right ; suppose they paddle over that way and
deliver me to the enemy ? ' '
AFTER TIFFIN
But no treacherous designs are entertained by my per-
spiring crew, who land us loyally near the Custom House on
the right bank of the Pasig River, where we step across the
threshold of our new possessions. The baggage and the con-
traband " boy " are shipped into town without the slightest
difficulty. But Uncle Sam was not outwitted, as subsequent
events proved, for Ah Kee was discovered — sent back to the
ship and remained in duress on the "Esmeralda " to await
246
MANILA
reshipinent to Hon.tjkong, until released b}' personal order of
General Otis, who assured me that if Ah Kee was, as I
stated, invaluable to me as an assistant in my pictorial
work, the Government could not and would not bar him
out. "Tell the Captain of the Port to release the " 'Chin-
ese artist ' on the ' Esmeralda ' ! " A special launch is sent
out for Ah Kee, who returns to Manila in triumph, wearing a
smile so wide that he has to tilt it up to permit the tender
to come alongside the pier.
" \Miat did the captain say to you. Ah I\ee, when he saw
that \ou had been caught, and that he was subject to a
fine.' " I ask. "Oh tellifile thlings, he talkee, — 'go down,'
puttee me black holee ! ' '
IHK "Bhbl " llulhL IN .MAMi
MANILA
247
The best hotel
in town is the
Hotel de Oriente,
but it is not ad-
miration for that
hostelry that im-
pels me to write
words which may
be construed as
words of praise.
In hotel matters
the superlative
means nothing in
Manila; the situa-
tion is completely
hopeless. True,
the structure is
imposing, spa-
cious, airy, and
suggestive of coolness, comfort, and good cheer ; but these
are vain suggestions. The table at this and every other
place of public entertainment in Manila is impossible. True,
the breakfast menu is rich in printed promises ; each dish is
numbered to facilitate the task of giving orders to the Chinese
waiters ; there are eight numbers. Let me run the gas-
tronomic octave: —
A !■ ILiriM 1 \\ INDUVV
1. PORRIDGE
Watery gruel. We pass.
2. BEEFSTEAK
Oriental beefsteak. We pass again ; but the subsequent
items, despite a suggestion of monotony, seem to offer grounds
for hope.
3. BOILED EGGS
4. SCRAMBLED EGGS
5. POACHED EGGS
6. OMELETTES
7. HAM AND EGGS
8. EGGS AND BACON
248
MANILA
What more do you recjuire ? Very good ; let us order
No. 6. " Bov, catchee ine one piecee number six," is the
command. The yellow gargon smiles a sad, cruel smile, and
answers, "No have got eggs! " We are unfortunate in ar-
riving just after the hotel has been taken over from the
Spaniards by an English company. Prices have gone up,
and the service has gone all to pieces. Chinese boys replace
the Filipino waiters. The Spanish cuisine, good of its gar-
licky kind, has given place to a sort of emergency galley in
charge of ignorant Celestials, and the only attempts at re-
organization are confined to swearings, long and loud, on the
part of the distracted manager. But as he swore in a new,
A Fll UMNO BKD
MANILA
249
unfamiliar language, his words were lost upon the servants,
while the guests received the full force of his utterances. I
paid ten dollars (Mexican) per day for the privilege of eating
my own canned goods in the dining-room, and occupying a
huge apartment overlooking the square. The house is spa-
cious if not elegant : hails wide as streets, long stairways at
a gentle incline, ceilings distant as skies, and rooms as big as
dormitories. The floor and walls and ceiling are of wood, —
no plaster could resist the dampness of the rainy season.
Everywhere there is the smell of kerosene, with which the
floors are rubbed to make them unpopular as parade-grounds
for the armies of ants that otherwise would overrun them.
\^'herever kerosene has not been used, the insect regiments
maneuver. The window-sill is a busy thoroughfare ; on
close inspection it resembles a miniature London Bridge on a
busy day. There
is no lack of ven-
tilation, for the
side of the room
facing the street
can be thrown
entirely open.
The Filipino bed
has been unjustly
ridiculed and ma-
ligned; it has been
called an instru-
ment of torture,
a rack, aninspirer
of insomnia. It
is none of these.
It is a " sleeping
machine," per-
fectly adapted to
A '■ SI.KEl'ING-MACHINE " PRECAKKD FOR SIF
250
MANILA
local conditions, — a bed evolved by centuries of experience
in a moist, hot, insect-ridden tropic land, and from the artistic
point of view it is not unattractive. Its peculiarity consists in
the absence of slats, springs, mattress, and blankets. In place
of these there is a taut expanse of rattan, as if the bed were a
gigantic cane-seat chair ; on this a bamboo mat is laid, on this
a single sheet. There is, of course, a pillow, very hard, but
cool, and an unfamiliar object like an abbreviated bolster.
A i-ii.illN
called a " Dutch Wife, " which originated in the Dutch East
Indies. The bed is fortified with an elaborate mosquito-net-
ting, dense enough to keep out the tiniest gnats, and at the
same time strong enough to resist the onslaught of the flying
cockroaches. The Manila insects of that name deserve a
bigger name ; they seem not insects, but athletic creatures,
partaking of the nature of three classes, — the crustacean, the
rodent, and the raptores, — an unhappy combination of lob-
ster, rat, and vulture. Bv dav thev crawl on walls and
MANILA
!53
tables, startling the stranjjer with their formidable aspect.
At night after candles are extinguished, they begin aerial
festivities. As they charge through the darkness from wall
to wall, with a whizz and whirr, we seem to see the ride of
the Valkyries and hear their long Wagnerian shriek. He is
indeed a tired traveler who can sleep during his first night in
Manila. The close heat of the evening, the presence of
strange neighbors, and the fact that he is lying on what feels
SAN SEBASTIAN
like a tightly drawn drumhead keep him awake until the sun
streams into his big bare room and drives him out into the
cooler streets.
Of course, he goes first to the Escolta ; in fact, no matter
where he wants to go, he usually passes through this thor-
oughfare, the busiest, most interesting street in all Manila.
It is the main artery of the newer quarter called Binondo,
the commercial district ; the o\d Walled City, with its palaces
and monasteries, is across the river. A splendid bridge of
254
MANILA
many arches spans the river, connecting the animated modern
quarter with the sleepy medieval town called " Intra Mures, "
or "within the walls. Tram-cars traverse the Escolta, and
then wind on their halting wa\' through the suburb of San
FROM THE KAMr'ARTS
Sebastian, past the graceful church of the same name, which
is one of the curiosities of Manila. It is made entirely of
metal ; it was "made in Germany," set up there first to be
examined and approved by the Filipino purchasers ; then it
was taken apart, shipped to the Orient, and re-erected in
Manila. It looks, however, like an edifice of solid stone.
In Spanish da\-s the tram-cars, invariably crowded, were
drawn by a single miserable pony ; but our people decided
that such a system should not flourish in the shadow of our
humanizing institutions.
The governor accordingly compelled the English tram-
way company to hitch two ponies to each car. Even the
pair proved inadequate, whereupon the people took a hand,
MANILA
255
as witnessed b\' an incident, which is, I think, unique in the
history of city railway companies. On the Fourth of July a
crowded car was on its way to the Luneta. The two Httle
brutes attached could barely crawl, — one of them was upon
the point of dropping from exhaustion. The passengers,
among them many of our soldiers, held a brief consultation,
and decided on a course of action. They turned the two
poor creatures loose in the neglected Botanical Garden, and
then put shoulders to the horseless car, and pushed it with
its load of women and children and a few lazy men to the
scene of the celebration, three quarters of a mile away.
The Escolta is rapidly assuming an American complexion.
If you believe in sig-//s, you may, without the least difficulty.
liAKl.N IN iHI-. KllvLD
256
MANILA
imagine that you are in one of our cities. The tide of
street Hfe runs much higher than in the davs before the war ;
new currents are flowing through the narrow thoroughfares ;
even the natives seem to have caught the restless spirit of
the conquerors, for they step out more briskh" than they did.
The old-time ferries ply more swiftly across the slow canal,
YOl'NG MKN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
and when they touch the quay, the passengers "step lively,"
as if at the command of a conductor on the " L. "
There is a "hot time " in Manila every dav from i i A. M.
until 4 p. M., and this accounts for the immediate success
achieved by the first American ice-cream soda-water foun-
tain erected in the Philippines. What if there is no milk or
cream to be had .^ The so-called "ice-cream " here has at
least one virtue, — it is cold ; and what if the fountain fre-
quently fails to fizz and the syrups sour earh' in the day?'
MANILA
259
There is a grateful reminder of home in the familiar printed
signs concerning checks and phosphates. Among the local
restaurants there is at least one that looks attractive. Al-
though the cooking at the Cafe de Paris is an insult to the
name of the establishment, it is pleasant to lunch or dine on
the broad balcony, above the Pasig River, near the busy
Bridge of Spain. A table d'hote is served at a very modest
price, $1.00 Me.xiran nr one half-dollar gold. The wines are
cheap, and none too good ; but beer is plentiful and costs no
more than in America. In fact, the importation of American
beer has been the most profitable business in Manila since
our first twenty thousand thirsty soldiers came to town.
Campaigning in summer within fifteen degrees of the
equator and a long way east of Suez enables men to cultivate
a thirst on which a hundred breweries can thrive. Still, it
must be said, in justice to our soldiers, that no grog whatever
is permitted at the front where the majority of our tired boys
i6o
MANILA
are facing terrible hardships ;
while in Manila, where there is
no restraint, I was surprised
to see so few intoxicated men
in the saloons. Unfortunately,
one happy soldier celebrating
a brief leave of absence is more
conspicuous than a regiment of
sober men.
Three days at the hotel
In-ought me to the verge of mel-
ancholia and starvation. My
canned goods had run out, and
my spirits were fast following
when a friend from far-away
Chicago insisted on moving me,
bag, baggage, and Chinese boy,
from the Hotel de Oriente to
the best house in the Calle
Nozaleda, literally from "Ori-
ente " to "Occidente, " from
the discomforts of a barnlike
caravansar\- to the comforts of
a cosy home and the compan-
ionship of a delightful family.
There is an atmosphere of home
intensely grateful to one who
hail begun to feel a sense of
isolation and of exile. In this
congenial corner of comfort-
less Manila, I passed the busy
weeks of June and July. We
did not suffer from the heat.
In a typical Manila dwelling
MANILA
263
everything; is cool and bare and open. Long bamboo chairs
from China invite midday slumbers, and other chairs, peculiar
to the tropics, are furnished with extended arms, on which
the sitter rests his legs, assuming thus an attitude as airily
luxurious as it is at first sight offensively undignified. But
when once you have tried this pose on a hot afternoon, you
will not criticize your friends if they, too, make the soles of
their shoes obtrusively conspicuous. One of the most comical
and comfortable spectacles in Manila is witnessed in the
reading-room of the Tiffin Club, where every day, after tiffin,
sixteen members sit in sixteen of these chairs, with their
thirty-two legs and thirty-two feet protruding from beneath
their sixteen daily papers. One of the crying needs during
the early days in Manila was an adequate cold-storage plant
I("U("KK\M SODA
264
MANILA
and a more generous supply of ice. The ice-man comes
every day, 'tis true, but he leaves only a tiny glittering cube,
at which we point the finger of scorn, for it is but a ten-
pound souvenir of his Heeting presence, ami it loses half its
bulk ere we can lay it carefuUv in the ice-chest like a
precious diamond in a jewel casket. With ten pounds of ice
per day, eight dry Americans must be content. We are not
allowed to purchase more, for the supply is limited.
The servant-question causes little trouble. Two Filipino
boys do all the housework. One, the ever-smiling Valentin,
has charge of our apartments. The first time that I saw
him beginning the da\''s work, I thought he had gone crazy.
THE ICE- .MAN HAS COME !
OUR GARDEN
MANILA
267
He had cleared the sitting-room of furniture, his feet were
wrapped in cumbrous bandages, as if he were suffering from
gout, but thus weighted he was dancing a vigorous two-step
all by himself, gliding up and down and across the room, at
the same time singing a lively Spanish air ; this performance
he repeats every morning ; it is the Filipino method of
polishing the floor.
Adjoining the house is a damp, green garden, a pretty,
pleasant little garden into which we rarely ventured. But
we found it cool and refreshing to look at as we reclined in
bamboo chairs placed near the open windows. Yet do not
think that the Americans do nothing but repose in our new
Oriental city ; there is a task for every man and woman,
tasks that most of them are meeting bravely. My host, a colo-
nel of the regulars, is with his regiment, the Third Infantry,
at Baliuag, an iso-
lated post on the
north line. One
son is a lieuten-
ant, the others
hold responsible
positions in the
Custom House ;
while for the la-
dies of the famil}-,
there is an end-
less round of du-
ties—visits to the
hospitals where
sick or wounded
members of the
regiment are be-
ing cared for, the
encouragement
A CANTHEN
268
MANILA
and the entertainment of con-
valescent officers, besides a
host of social obligations to be
fulfilled.
We, too, have work to do.
for we have come to study old
Manila in transition.
A curious feature of the
street life of i\fanila is the cara-
l)ao, or water buffalo, a creat-
ure slow, deliberate, and dig-
nified, scores of which pass
our dwelling every day, drag-
ging in their lazy wake long
trains of carts now used for
forwarding supplies to soldiers
at the front ; all night we hear
the laden carts go creaking by,
by da\" the empty ones return ;
but sometimes there are dead
and wounded men heaped on
these Oriental tumbrels. Fol-
l(.)w this street less than a dozen
miles, and you will see the place
where men are killing one an-
other. Not twenty minutes'
drive from our door is one of
the block-houses which not
manv weeks before was a scene
of conflict. Along this road
the slow supply-trains wend
their wav. The movement of
the carabao must have been
sootliing to the Spanish eye.
NINTH l^hANrK^ ON IHK BKIDUE <)I- SPA1^
MANILA
269
To us it is exasperating. The bnite advances at a something
slower than a walk, unininciful of the blows and cries of the
Chinese or native driver. He will roll on, each day, just as
many miles as is his custom ; then, when by some internal
calculation he arrives at the conclusion that his dav's work
is done, no power on earth can make him move another step
in the path of duty. He bolts for the first river, pond, or
moat, where he will stand for hours immersed to the horns,
gazing serenely at his helpless master on the bank. The
moat of old Manila near our house always grows black with
these water-loving mammals when the supply-trains from the
front reach their destination near the city gates. The pass-
ing of the carabao soon becomes a ve.xing detail of our daily
drives or walks about the town, the cause of numberless
delavs and much impatient condenniation of the useful brute.
<;bNl.;RAI. LAWTON S VILLA
2 70
MANILA
CALLE NOZALEDA
Even tlie new-born American press in Manila now clamors
for the exclusion of the carabao and his attendant cart from
the streets of the city proper. But you, whose daily down-
town perplexities are occasioned by swift trolley-cars, may
look %\ ith interest on the slow caravans of carabaos.
A day or two after arrival I became the proud lessee of a
horse and cart, or, rather, two ponies, one for mornings and
one for afternoons, and a " calcsa," a two-wheeled gig with
an airy rumble aft for my Filipino boy. Neither the a. m.
nor the p. M. pony is ambitious ; both balk and exhibit an
equal fondness for gutters, stone walls, and carabao carts.
On starting we either hit or shave everything within a radius
of forty feet, or else we do not start until some one jumps
out and leads the brute for half a block, while the boy plies
the whip and uses expressive Spanish. For all this exciting
amusement I pay $3.00 Mexican per day, $1.50 in gold. A
private trap is a necessity, for the public cabs are hopeless.
MANILA
271
COMFORTABLE
The Filipino cabby is original in his peculiarities. He will
accept us as passengers, reluctantly. He dislikes being
.\1U.%AS I tHltS
MANILA
UtitKl-: WK KKl.LOWS CAMI'KD
Ol R HKIHNDS
A CANVAS RKAI)lN<J-KOOM
MANILA
2/5
HEROES AND SCRIBES
compelled to leave a shady corner. He will drive us for
just about so long, then he gets tired and discouraged. If
he is kept waiting longer than he
thinks is proper, he will
mose, " paid or unpaid,
leave us to tramp home oi
foot. Frequently I have
been abandoned by driv-
ers to whom I was in-
debted for two hours'
service. The cab rates
are still low, although
the cost of living in Ma-
nila has been trebled since
the open-handed Yankees
TO THH ARMV AND THE PRESS
276
MANILA
came. There is little m the way of souvenirs and curios for
which to spend one s money. The only native products that
are tempting to travelers are the Filipino fabrics, the " piTia "
cloth, made from the Hber of the pineapple leaf and a lovely
fabric called "/'''■^'''. part pine leaf and part hemp. Good
piiia is now hard to get, while all the prettiest designs in jusi
have been picked up by early buyers. Prices have gone up,
and joy reigns among these little merchant women, who, like
brides, are in\"ariably called pretty by our journalistic writers,
although in realitv they cannot lay claim even to good looks.
Nor can we squander much upon amusements in Manila.
In all the larger theaters a permanent audience having taken
OLK llU.Mh: l.\ MA.ML^
IN OLD MANILA
MANILA
279
■
P"
^Hi^S^
SS!:
ir
j
■■*■ ■ ' -M
-
k
b
f
ii'*
}f^
^nQ9
Ml
^ n
*
'.- ■- '
--••v
r
'. ■.■*i.'*j^^
1^
^tf*^*^^
THE MOAT
possession has made itself at home with beds and hammocks,
and settled down to await the hnal curtain on the drama
A SUBURBAN AVENUE
28o
MANILA
of the insurgent war.
The officers sleep in
private ' boxes ; pri-
vates in pre-empted
perches in the circle ;
mess-tables are sprtad
behind the footlights,
and the parquet is
used in rainy weather
for a drill -ground.
There are, however,
two theaters not yet
occupied as barracks ;
in one a Spanish com-
pany gives an occa-
sional performance of
farces set to music ;
while in the other we
were permitted to see
LEASED BV THK MO.NIU
native theatrical company pre-
senting plays in the Tagala lan-
guage. One day " II Trova-
|K tore" was announced ; it
proved to be a drama
founded on the opera.
The prompter read
each line in a loud
voice, the actor then
repeated it, and paus-
ing, waited for the next.
Thus every line was given
twice, and the action inter-
rupted by a nervous stop at
the end of each sentence. The
IN IHK DRV-GOODS DISTRICT
MANILA
281
THEATRICAL BARRACKS
PINA AND JUSI SHOPS
282
MANILA
I.N nil:: CEMETERY
hero wore the conventional slashed doublet and short satin
trunks, but in place of silken tights his legs were encased
..:■ A\ hb 'Ji I HH AS I ( IK B \ I I KH S s l»h \D
MANILA
283
in a garment stron
tive in texture and i]
of Dr. Jaeger's com
able woolen wear.
The only other
organized amuse-
ment enterprise
is the Fire Bri-
gade, and I am
inclined to re-
gard it as the
most amusing ot
the three. The
usual type of en-
gine resembles to a
great extent a kitch
boiler. On arrival
fire, the wheels are
The provost marshal kindly ordered out the department for
an exhibition run. It was the
funniest performance imag-
inable. On leaving the
engine-house, ostensi-
bly for a fire, one
driver dropped his
helmet. There-
upon he drew
rein, ordered a
hovibcro to pick
it up, settled it
squarely on his
head, and then
calmly whipped up
nis team and pro-
THEATER
NATIVE FLANEKS A I KhUEARSAI.
284
MANILA
ceeded leisurely to the scene
of the supposed conflagration.
The leaders, harnessed to the
four-horse engine, balk, back,
anci throw the postilion under
the wheeler's heels, and the
entire force devotes about ten
minutes to the ensuing disen-
tanglement.
The Spanish " Capitan de
Bomberos " apologizes for the
confusion, saying with naive
frankness, "It is always so
when we use four horses!"
We make inquiries concern-
ing a certain form of amuse-
ment that is now prohibited.
To the sorrow of the Filipinos
our military government de-
clared it unlawful to indulge in
cock-fighting, a pastime which
for centuries had been the
national sport, — the ruling pas-
sion of the Filipinos. This, at
a time when we should have
been doing everything to con-
ciliate the 250,000 Filipinos of
the capital, did more to alien-
ate the sympathies of Manila's
native population than even the
occasional abuse to which they
were subjected by the soldiery.
However, we found no dif-
ticulty in arranging a cock-tight
BO.MliKKOS
MANILA
287
for motion-picture purposes.
Tlie animated record shows the
contending' birds surrounded by
a crowd of excited owners and
backers, offering bets. The
spectators finally fled at the
approach of the provost guard.
The medieval moats of Old
Manila are very picturesque ;
we skirt them every day in
driving to and from Escolta.
Manila's medieval walls were
once models for defenses of
their kind. They were reared
more than three hundred years
ago. Beyond them rises the
long low roof of a monastery,
one of the many somber piles
raised by Spanish friars in this
Oriental stronghold of Catholi-
cism. On near approach the
building loses nothing of its
severe religious aspect, and the
gloomy atmosphere of Old Ma-
nila is not difficult to explain
when we remember that a
score of these vast silent struct-
ures are set down within the
limited area enclosed by her
sluggish moats and verdure-
covered walls. The gateways
to the \^'alled City recall the
entrance to the Spanish fort at
old St. Augustine in Florida.
288
MANILA
THE WALLS AN[t M< > \ I OH <<IA> MANILA
Within the walls, as well as in the suburban quarters,
sentries eve us critically bv dav, and challenire us to halt and
GATES Oi' THE WALLKD CITY
MANILA
!89
IN JAIL
show our papers after half-past eight at night. Until the
curfew law was rigid!}' enforced, a section of the city was
BILIBID PRISON
19
290
MANILA
LANIiW AKlt |il--l-iiNSfc:*^
set on fire every
night by lawless
Filipinos, but
now that every
man must stay in
his own house,
the malcontents
have lost their
eagerness to play
with fire. No
one is allowed to-
move abroad in
any portion of the
city after half-
past eight, unless
he be an officer
or the bearer of
a pass. In S]5ite
WITHIN THE WALLED CI TV
MANILA
293
A CONVENTO
of this we went by night in carriages to several dances and
receptions. It was the most picturesque, exciting party-going
that you can imagine. At every gate or at street intersections
we hear the cry " halt .' " and the click of a Krag-Jorgensen.
FRANCIStrAN 1- k [ A K S
294
MANILA
The Filipino driver, invariably terror-stricken by the sharp
challenge, reins in convulsively and brings the carriage to a
stop so sudden that the ladies are almost thrown forward into
the laps of gentlemen upon the opposite seat. Then comes
the question, " Who goes there ? '" and our reply, " Friends, "
then, "Friend, advance one and be recognized," and one of
us must alight, walk slowly toward the sentry, explain our
THK ( ATHKr>RAL
presence, and make known our destination. This done we
are permitted to proceed, the driver urging on the horses as
if in fear of a pursuit, until at another corner, another shad-
owy figure rushes to the middle of the street, and cries
"halt! "Once more the clattering hoofs are silenced sud-
denly, and the now familiar colloquy is repeated.
Among the religious institutions the most imposing is the
monastery of the Augustin friars. At the windows white
>
a
s
o
MANILA
297
robed brethren now and then appear. The palatial pile ad-
joining it is Jesuit property. Its beautiful fagade, apparently
of marble and mosaic, is in reality of wood, elaborately de-
signed and painted in a most deceptive manner. We visited
the interior of the Franciscan co)ivc)//o, where we were
courteously welcomed by the friars. At the present moment,
the long-robes, black and white and brown, once so con-
spicuous in the city streets, are rarely seen in public places.
Though there are still several hundred monks housed in these
many coivoi/os, few dare to venture out. The Filipinos
have too many old scores to settle. Occasionally, during
concert hours when there is a reassuring number of our sol-
diers in evidence on the Luneta, a dozen friars may walk
forth in groups for a sunset airing near the shore ; but as a
feature in the street life of Manila the friar is a reminiscence.
ATlihUKAL COLUMNS
298
MANILA
It is not my provin
cuss the influence for
or evil of these Span
friars in the Philippines
Their rule is ended,
and the church, at
last awake to their
shortcomings in the
past, will, without
doubt, under the
guidance of Ameri-
can Catholics, trans-
form the institutions
which the friars havt
founded and fostered
the Philippines into agi
for future good. The
of Manila is certainly worthy of a Continental capital.
Its magnificence reminds us that in the old days the Arch-
Bishops of Ma-
nila were more
powerful than the
Military Govern-
ors-General who
THELl'NEIA HAS AN A I MOSPHhKK OF EXILE
MANILA
299
held their court in the neighboring Ayiiiihnm'oi/o or Pala-
tio. The Palace is now the seat of the American adminis-
tration. In an upper corner room General Otis sits at
Blanco's desk; old portraits of Spanish royalty, which once
looked down on W'eyler, now glower upon his successor,
the man who is trying to unravel a skein of difficulties — an
entanglement resulting from three centuries of Spanish mal-
administration.
Our afternoons are usually spent on the Luneta. The
Luneta cannot be called either beautiful or picturesque,
and save at the fashionable driving hour, when the band
is playing and the driveway thronged, it presents a sadly
desolate appearance. It is a place to inspire loneliness
and homesickness ; it brings to us that sense of exile, which
will be the bane of future colonists. By all means let
our authorities do something to remove the hopeless aspect
of this famous spot, or else prohibit Americans from conung
300
MANILA
here until the hour of sunset, when the glory in the sky and
the strains of the "Star Spangled Banner " conjure away the
gloomy thoughts inspired by the place. In Spanish days it
was far more attractive ; but the trees have been cut down,
the glass globes on the lamp-posts shattered, and four cold
electric lights replace the softer, warmer glare of the hundred
blazing wicks.
At the sunset hour all Manila is then in evidence circling
slowly round the elliptical parade, in carriages of every
shape, drawn by ponies ridiculously small. The promenade
CATHEDRAL INTliKlOR
MANILA
301
A T-"R ANCISC ^N
is crowded with our soldiers, poor wounded chaps, or conval-
escents who have crawled or limped out from the neighboring
hospitals. Hither they come, a motley, weary, ragged throng,
with faces haggard, and beards grow-
ing in the wildest, weirdest fash-
ions, so that we almost laugh
at sight of them. They sit on
the stone benches or on the
mossy curb and listen to the
music and gaze seaward at
the transports, wondering
when their turn to sail away
will come. Then at the
hrst strain of the National
Anthem they rise and stand
stiffly at "attention," hat
hand until the last note fa
away. Then the gay cro\
EVKN A VOLL'NIhKR MAY LOOK AT A KlNti
^02
MANILA
carriages scampers home to dinner, the sick men wander
toward their crowded wards, and the sun drops hke a ball
of fire into the China
Sea, and another day
of work and suffering
in the Philippines is
ended.
A few days later
we cross the wind-
swept harbor to Ca-
vite, where the issue
of the great sea bat-
tle decreed our occu-
i pation of these far-
away islands. It is a
i.EWEYs WORK OFF cAviTE gloomy day. The
rainy season, long delayed, gives promise of immediate arrival ;
the squalls that sweep across the bay make it impossible for
us to reach the sunken Spanish ships. We view the Flag-
ship of Montojo from the walls
and strive in vain to picture
to ourselves the scene
enacted here on
eventful mornin;
when the sover-
eignty of Spain
in the Orient at
last sank with
these battered
hulks never to
rise again.
We have al-
most forgotten that
Spain was then our
SAN ROQUE
w
2:
MANILA
305
1 IHH MANII A RACE CtMI.'SI-:
enemy ; we have forgiven much since we assumed her
buniens, since we undertook the task of conquering these
1 FIK R Air \\'\V SI A I UJN
3o6
MANILA
islands, — a task with which she has been struggling for three
hundred years. Our thouglits are turned to our new enemy
as we cross the isthmus that joins
the mainland and
the deserted town
San Roque. There
c st-e the work of
I'llipinos ; not a
house is left, they
burned them all
when they re-
tired from the
place. Ever\-
\\'here along the
hue of our ad-
\ance we see these
souxenirs of lleeing
A HOUSE AT BAIIUAG
o
lO
o
11
1)
>
■<
MANILA
309
Filipino forces. It is not my intent to speak of the cam-
paign, but as a traveler I must tell you of my short journey
to the front at San Fernando, the northernmost town held
by our forces on the line of the Dagupan Railway. We are
carried toward the front in a train with the Twelfth Infantry.
The cars are full inside and out, for soldiers and Chinese
carriers are perched upon the roofs. Officers and corres-
pondents are packed into the only passenger coach. At
Malolos we quit the train to make a side expedition to the
MKADQUARTKRS Ar HAl.lUAi
town of Baliuag, fourteen miles from the railway, the most
isolated outpost now held by the American forces.
The town is garrisoned by the Third Infantry under com-
mand of Colonel Page. The regiment depends for its sup-
plies upon a wagon train, which every day makes the long
journey to Malolos, escorted by a company of ninety men.
We arrived in the laden wagons drawn by imported army
mules. The ride through a hostile country was a picturesque
3IO
MANILA
wagons struggling along the
experience. The string o
shad}-, muddy road, where puddles are sometimes as big as
lakes ; the stalwart regulars on either side, in single file, and
in the fields to right and left scouts or flankers trudging
through paddy patches, wading ditches, climbing hedges, but
keeping always several hundred yards from the road to dis-
cover if there be a lurking loe in waiting to surprise or, as the
THF rHTKrH AT ItAlIlAG
men express it, "to jump" the wagon train. But we see
no sign of enemies. Friendly natives sit in the windows of
their nipa huts and wonderingly watch the passing of the
caravan ; they have not yet become accustomed to the gi-
gantic mules, which are four times as big as Filipino ponies.
And the town itself is as calm and peaceful as if war was a
thing undreamed of. We spend a quiet evening at head-
(juarters — a fine old dwelling, formerly the home of a rich
MANILA
311
citizen, which only a few months before had been occupied
by Aguinaldo. The insurgents hoped to hold Baliuag.
They had constructed wonderful entrenchments along the
road leading toward the railway. They felt secure ; but the
Americans, instead of fighting their way past line after line of
trenches and fortifications, merely changed their plans,
marched rou:;d behind the town, and then walked calnih- in
througli the back duor, while Aguinaldo and his Filipinos ded
so hurriedly that they had not time to set the place on tire.
Hence Baliuag is the most comfortable post along our line.
It is intact, and every officer has decent quarters. The men
are quartered in the church — a splendid barracks, spacious,
clean, and elaborately decorated. Throughout the islands
churches are used both as barracks and forts. They are
usually solid structures, capable of being easily defended.
^12
MANILA
But every Sun-
day the church at
Baliuag is cleared
while an Ameri-
can priest, chap-
lain of the regi-
ment, officiates at
the high altar, in
the presence of
the native popu-
lation.
The garrison
is almost contniu-
ally at work. .\t
all hours of the
day we meet com-
COLONEL r\(;K — 1 t
panies of infantry
marching through
the streets, can-
non being hauled
to the new revet-
ments to accus-
tom the men to
getting there with
no delay when the
call shall come.
The Gatling gun
is also taken to
different points it
may be called
upon to defend.
Sometimes these
moves are made
at iiiidnisrht and
MANILA
315
sometimes at sunset. There is no regular routine. The
colonel wishes to let the natives see that his men are awake
and active at all hours. At any moment the insurgents
may attack this little force of only eight hundred effective
men, but as the colonel says, "Let em come, the Third
Infantry can take care of the whole Filipino army."
To show just what would happen should they come, the
colonel placed two companies at our disposal, to take part in a
carefully planned defense of an entrenchment. The dav was
ORDERED TO THE FRONT
dark and wet, conditions all unfa\c)rable, but the motion pic-
ture successfully reproduces the dramatic sequence of inci-
dents as they occur. F"irst, four men are seen retiring from
the outpost, giving the alarm, one company promptly mans
the trench, and begins a vigorous hre, using smokeless pow-
der ; an orderly brings a dispatch to the commanding officer,
then re-enforcements dash forward from the town, then
comes the best friend of the soldiers, the unerring Gatling,
and hnall}- the enemy having been seen to waver, the
3>6
MANILA
command to charge is given, and the entire force breaks over
the earthwork, and with a wild yell dashes across the fields
in hot pursuit of the imaginary enemy. Meanwhile the dead
and wounded who have fallen in the foreground are cared for
by the surgeon and his Chinese stewards. So realistic is the
feigned death of one soldier that spectators will not believe
that the picture represents only a sham battle.
The commander of the Third Infantr\', as Autocrat of Bali-
uag, plays his part with grace and firmness. As he rides
through the streets, he acknowledges the salute of every
ragged or half-naked citizen ; but when he passes the guard-
house and sees the American prisoners dangling their legs
= '1 mia
IHK KAKBKK OF BALlUAi;
MANILA
317
'i^Mi^mm
over the window-sill, he roars in rif;hteons anj^er, "Take in
those feet! ' and in ^o the feet as if they had been shot away.
Tile colonel's government has been so just and mild that
nearly all the old inhabitants have now returned. They do a
thriving business with our soldiers and seem content and
hap|i\-. The market in the Plaza is more animated than in
the Spanish days, and new business enterprises are daily
springing into life. Among them is a restaurant directed by
a Chinese caterer. The typical Filipino house is a bo.\ of
3i8
MANILA
1 UK Slt.N \L
IN' h K 1 [ *
IN I HE SAN [-K AN. i ^^
I- -. i A I K A N 1
split bamboo,
jiL-rcheil high on
b a 111 boo poles
and covered with
a roof of nipa
thatch.
Early iiiorn-
iiii^' scenes aioiifj
the banks of the
Bagbag River are
interesting, — big
white soldiers
bathing, — little
brown w omen
washing military
underwear, while
its wearers bathe;
near at hand a
group of natives
MANILA
319
;kinning a carabao and pre-
the carcass for mar-
; for carabao chops
are not disdained by
the Fihpino palate.
One evening while
chatting with the
look-out up in the
belfry of the stone
church, we notice
a column of smoke
rising on the line of
the road to Malolos
— it is undoubtedly a
Signal of distii>->.
for our men art-
instructed to tire
a grass hut when-
ever attacked and
thus make known
their danger to
the garrison at
Bahuag. "Must
be the telegraph
squad in troub-
le, " is the look-
out's comment as
he reports the sig-
nal. That very
morning tlu- wires
had been cut ; the
TH1-: DOCTOR'S HOrSK — BALIU/iG
320
MANILA
FOURTH CAVALRY
signal men had gone to repair
tile line ; the inference is that
the}-' have been ambushed, and
are "smoking up" for help.
The colonel is making his even-
ing rounds — nothing can be
done before he returns. At last
he rides in. Ten minutes later
a troop of big United States
Cavalrymen, mounted on little
Filipino ponies, dashes away
along the dark, wet road.
Two hours later they re-
turn, escorting the telegraph
squad which has been delayed
but not attacked — the smoke
must have come from an acci-
dental tire. However, the colo-
nel orders that when the escort
of the wagon train on the
morrow passes the place where
the wire was cut, a native house
shall be burned, as a warning
that tampering with the tele-
graph line will invariably bring
chastisement upon the village.
We leave Baliuag in the
wake of the early wagon train
and overtake it near the scene
of the wire cutting. The cap-
tain is parleying with the in-
habitants of the little village,
trying to discover the cul-
prit. But every citizen is an
MANILA
321
^'aiiiig'o ' of tlie most loyal and enthusiastic persuasion.
No evidence to fix the guilt can be secured ; but never-the-
less the wire was cut and a house must be burned. In his
dilemma the captain turns to me and bids me pick out the
house that will make the most effective motion picture as it
goes up in smoke !
SAN FKRNANDO
Fortunately the one lending itself best to artistic neces-
sities was an abandoned nipa dwelling — a pretty little affair
with a neat little garden around about it. But the green
hedge hides part of the house — and the drooping branches
of a splendid tree will cut off the view of the rolling smoke,
which should form an important feature of the dramatic pic-
ture that we are about to make. I mention these objections
to the captain. Gruffly he orders half a dozen Filipinos to
fetch their bolos and chop down that pretty hedge ; two
other obedient natives are sent up the tree to lop off the
interfering branches.
Then when all is ready, several soldiers enter the house,
pour kerosene on the walls and lloors of thatch and bamboo,
and set fire to the fiimsy structure. When we rode on
nothing but ashes marked the cite.
21
322
MANILA
Thence we proceeded under escort to Malolos and thence
by railway to San Fernando, which was in July the extreme
front of our line on the north. The town lies about thirty
miles from Manila on the railway, beyond it the tracks have
been torn up. The northern end of the road — the longer
section — is still controlled and operated by the Filipinos,
who with foresight ran most of the cars and locomotives to
the northern terminus before hostilities broke out. The
ownership is vested in an English company, and whenever
there is an advance, the wide-awake British manager goes up
the line and superintends the work of the insurgents in tear-
ing up the track, so that they do not damage the property
unnecessarily, and when Americans relay the track a few
PEACEFUL SAN FERNANDO
1-~1I.1I'I\I] WORK A r SAN ll'kNANUl)
MANILA
325
VALENTINE
ater. the same business-like Briton stands
by to see that the work is properly done.
; is not much to see in San
nnando. The Filipinos had
burned the church and all the
public buildings before re-
tiring from the town.
There is, of course, no
hotel, no place to go, un-
less you chance to have a
friend among the officers,
who occupy the few re-
maining habitable houses.
We fortunately have ac-
quaintances and force our-
selves into their overcrowded
less. We bring our own can-
goods and other things in
_ bottles; our hosts provide us with
camp cots in the corridor. We are tired.
326
MANILA
THE COLORS
hilt, am! hungry on
arri\al, and grateful
for a place to lay our
heads. The officers
look worn out and
almost discouraged.
For weeks they have
been ill, and the rains
now aggravate the
malady. Four or five
times each week their
men are called upon
to man the trenches
and spend a weary
TROOPS AT SA.N FliRNANDO
COMFORTABLE QUARTERS
MANILA
329
night lying in the mud. A force of 8,000 FiHpinos almost
surrounds the town ; occasionally they close even the one
gap when the railway enters. Opposed to them are not
more than 3,000 Americans.
In the center of the town few uniforms are visible, the
greater part of the garrison being on duty near the outlying
trenches. They tell us that Aguinaldo has announced his in-
AN ADVANCKD POST NEAR SAN I-KRNANDO
tention of sleeping in our beds to-night, therefore we turn in
at nine to get as much use of the beds as possible. It is the
anniversary of the tight at El Caney in Cuba. The men with
whom we lodge were in that fight. I fall asleep while listen-
ing to the slow dripping of water on a neighboring roof.
Each drop produces a metallic sound as it falls upon the iron
roof, — a sound "like that of bullets striking" as one of the
330
MANILA
officers remarks, and then he shows us the small round holes
in all the walls through which the bullets really came two
weeks before. We sleep until half-past ten, then some one
shakes me, says, "Holmes, here's the battle }ou came to
see. Better get up and look at it. ' Rousing myself I
listen ; the patter of the raindrops that lulled us to sleep has
grown more remote but quicker, for thousands of men are
firing in the distant darkness, exchanging shots with unseen
enemies. Mean\\hile the officers shout quick connnands
from the window, jump into their uniforms, and rush into
the street. \\'e follow as rapidly as possible, for it is not
safe to linger in an upper story while leaden rain is pouring
into town.
One company is drawn up, the others have already
started for the firing line. The tiring doubles in intensity
EL RIO PASIG
MANILA
and spreads from its startinf^-point to right and left, until
it seems to come from all directions. Then rockets are sent
in' I HK KIVKK
332
MANILA
srMME::^ AMr* sicknkss have comk
up from the Filipino line. It must be the threatened general
attack. Aguinaldo is trxini; t(^ make ofiod his prc^mise to
<_,UlNr, VISITING
MANILA
335
sleep in town to-nij<ht. Meantime I find it far more com-
fortable to sit beneath a balcony behind a sturdy pillar of
masonry than in the open street. My friend the correspond-
ent seeks me out and asks, " Have you got your revolver and
cartridges? " " No," I reply, "but I ve got my camera and
an extra roll of films. " I wanted to ba prepared in case the
fighting lasted until sunrise. An hour and a half is passed
thus in suspense, listening to the distant, smothered rattling
of the guns. Then suddenly the firing ceases, and the men
return to the barracks. Only one man was killed in our
ranks. He was struck by a stray bullet as he groped his way
through the darkness toward the trenches.
♦, ;;
*> >vtV> Ky ',
*^t'.
336
MANILA
There being no prospects of further fighting, we hasten
back to town next day. The arrival of the rainy season has
put an end to fighting. The opposing forces at the front go
into ' ' summer quarters, ' ' postponing all thought of active
hostilities until a more propitious season. Travel and pho-
tography are alike impossible. Therefore, late in July we
leave Manila. The typhoon signals are flying as we steam
down the Pasig and across the wind-swept bay. But al-
though two fierce typhoons are swirling up the China Sea,
we glide smoothly between the centers of disturbance and
come in safety to Hongkong, where the great transpacific
liners wait. We are far from satisfied with the results of
our war-time visit to the Philippines, in fact, we have not
seen the Philippines — we have seen only the city of Manila
and the narrow strip of Luzon territory held by our forces.
Of the wonderful Philippine Archipelago we have seen virtu-
ally nothing. We depart, therefore, with the firm resolve
to return on the conclusion of the war to study the Ameri-
canized Luzon of the near future and to e.xplore the other
islands of the archipelago when peace shall have made them
accessible to the traveler.
Yet it is something to have been witnesses of the trans-
formation of Manila, to have seen the sleepy haunt of Span-
ish inactivity suddenly become the busy center of American
enterprise in the Far East.
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