Four Young Explorers; Or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XXIX

  GOING ON SHORE IN MANILA

  The ship had slowed down in the afternoon, and reached the entrance ofManila Bay about eight bells, or four o'clock in the morning. At theBoca Grande she had taken a pilot; but she still had twenty-five milesto run. She had come in by the larger of the two passages, formed by agroup of islands, both of which are called "mouths" (_bocas_); and thesmaller of them is the Boca Chica. The Blanche had followed the exampleof the Guardian-Mother in slowing down, and had taken a pilot at aboutthe same time.

  The passengers had asked the steward on watch in the cabin to call themat half-past five, and they were all on deck as soon as it was lightenough for them to see the shore clearly. But the bay is so large thatthey could make out the shores only ahead of the ship. They could seethe mountains in the distance, with a lower stretch of land between themand the low ground of the shore. All that they could observe wastropical verdure, with lofty palms on every hand. The low ground,covered with water in the rainy season, was planted with rice-fields.

  The ladies declared that the view was lovely; and certainly it presentedvariety enough, with the high lands in the background, and the rich andluxuriant growth near the bay. The pilot was a Spaniard who could speaka little English; and the commander ordered him to bring the ship toanchor at a safe place, as near as convenient off the end of the twopiers at the mouth of Pasig. The Blanche took a position abreast of her,off the fort, while the first was off the lighthouse.

  The health-officer came on board, and by this time it was after sunrise.He was blandly received by the commander, as every official or visitorwas, and the conversation was carried on in English. All the ship'scompany and the passengers were mustered on the upper deck. The papers,including lists of all the persons on board, were examined, and comparedwith the number presented, which made it clear that no one was sick inhis stateroom or in the forecastle.

  The custom-house officers were not far behind, and the character of thesteamer was explained. There was no manifest, for there was no cargo tobe invoiced. The principal officer was very minute in his inquiry, andnot particularly courteous. He was evidently impressed by his authority;and the captain did not invite him to breakfast, as he would have doneif he had been somewhat less conscious of the magnitude of his office.

  The duties on merchandise brought into the islands were formerlydiscriminating in favor of Spanish vessels, which caused othermerchantmen to avoid the port to its commercial injury; but abouttwenty years before a uniform tariff was established, without regard tothe flag under which the ship sailed, and all export duties wereabolished. The official went over the ship, and the arrangement of heraccommodations ought to have been enough to convince the man that thevessel was a pleasure yacht. The self-sufficient officer retreated ingood order when he had completed his examination, leaving a subordinateon board to see that no merchandise was landed. The latter was agentlemanly person, spoke English, and was disposed to make himselfagreeable. He was invited to breakfast in the cabin.

  The passengers had seated themselves on the promenade during theofficial examination, observing all the proceedings, and watching theboats in sight, some of which were different from anything they had seenbefore. They were near enough to the piers to see some distance up theriver. Of course the Blanche was subjected to the same examination; buta different set of officials had boarded her, and completed their workin a much shorter time. It could be seen that her crew were putting thesteam-launch into the water.

  "The Blanchita will be exceedingly serviceable here," said thecommander, who had taken a stand near the steps of the promenade. "Wecan go on shore, and land anywhere we please; for there are quays allalong the river."

  "Boat coming down the river with the American flag at the stern,Captain Ringgold," said Mr. Scott, saluting the commander.

  "Our consul probably," added the captain. "Would you like to go to ahotel in Manila, ladies?" asked he.

  No one answered the question, but three of them glanced at Mrs.Belgrave, as though they expected her to reply; but she made no sign.

  "You don't answer, ladies," added the captain.

  "We are waiting for Mrs. Belgrave to speak," said Mrs. Woolridge.

  "I beg you will excuse me," said that lady, laughing. "I do not know whyI am expected to voice the sentiments of the party."

  "Because, like the wife of the President of the United States at home,you are the first lady on board," returned the wife of the magnate ofthe Fifth Avenue. "Your son is the owner of the Guardian-Mother, and youare the mother for whom the ship is named."

  "I most respectfully decline to be so regarded; and if I have ever puton any airs, I will repent and reform," replied Mrs. Belgrave, laughingall the while.

  "You have never put on airs, or assumed anything at all," protested Mrs.Woolridge.

  "I consider my son a very good boy, and an earnest advocate of fair playwith others," continued the "first lady" more seriously; and all theparty heartily approved the remark. "Louis found that the other membersof the 'Big Four' were disposed to rely upon him, and wished to do as hedesired. On the Borneo question he took a secret ballot, and would notexpress his own opinion till the vote was declared, though he votedhimself. Every one voted for himself, and could not have been influencedby his desire. I propose to follow my son's example. I wish thecommander to be guided by the views of all rather than mine."

  All the passengers, gentlemen included, applauded her unselfish stand.The lady tore off a blank leaf from a letter she took from her pocket,and made it into twelve pieces, which she proceeded to distribute amongthe passengers.

  "I think the gentlemen are just as much interested in the question asthe ladies; and I invite them to vote, Mr. Scott included. The questionis, Shall we go to a hotel in Manila, or live on board of the ship,"said the lady. "You will vote yes or no; yes for the hotel, and no forthe ship."

  "Perhaps I ought to inform you before you vote that there are at leastthree hotels in Manila,--the Catalana, the Universo, and the Madrid. Ofthe merits of each I cannot speak; but we can obtain correct informationbefore we go to any one of them, and probably there are more than I havementioned," interposed the commander, very much amused at theproceedings.

  "Please to separate now; and I put you on your honor to be secret, andnot consult any person in regard to your vote," Mrs. Belgrave added. "Iappoint Mr. Gaskette to collect, sort, and count the ballots. Aftervoting, please return to the promenade."

  The passengers went individually to various corners, and wrote theirvotes. The second officer collected them in his cap, and then went intothe pilot-house to make out his return. It required but three minutes todo this, as there was no scattering votes; and he returned to thepromenade.

  "Whole number of votes, 12; necessary to a choice, 7; Yes, 2, No, 10,and the No's have carried it," read Mr. Gaskette, handing the paper toMrs. Belgrave, and retiring with a graceful bow.

  "Yes means hotel, and no means ship," said the lady. "Mr. Commander, theparty have voted to live on board of the ship. I am willing toacknowledge that I cast one of the two yes ballots. But I am infinitelybetter satisfied than I should have been if I had influenced you theother way. I hope you all consider that the thing has been fairly done."

  "Boat coming alongside, sir," reported Mr. Scott to the captain."Another boat near, flying the English flag, headed for the Blanche."

  Captain Ringgold hastened to the gangway to receive the occupant of theboat, whoever he might prove to be. One of the men on the platformbrought him a card, on which he found the name of the American consul,who mounted at once to the deck just as the gong sounded for breakfast.

  "I am very glad to meet you, Mr. Webb, and to welcome you to my ship,which is the steam-yacht Guardian-Mother, on a voyage around the world,"said the captain, as he grasped the hand of the official. "CaptainRinggold, at your service."

  "I am very happy to meet you, Captain, for I have heard of you; and Itender my services for any assistance I may be able to render to y
ou andyour party," replied the consul.

  "Now I will introduce you to the ladies and gentlemen on board, and youwill do us the honor to breakfast with us," added the commander, as hetook the arm of his guest, and conducted him to the promenade, where hewas duly presented to all the passengers individually.

  Louis Belgrave was presented as the owner of the steamer, for thecaptain never omitted to give him a prominent position. The breakfastwas the usual one; but it was always very nice, and Mr. Sage had haileda boat, and obtained some very fine fish for the meal. Mr. Webb wasplaced on the right of the commander, Louis's usual place; but he wasglad enough always to get the seat next to Miss Blanche. The consul wasnext to Mrs. Belgrave; and he found her very agreeable, as she neverfailed to be.

  "Now, what are we going to do here, Mr. Commander?" asked the "firstlady," as some had actually begun to call her already.

  "We are going to see the city, of course," he replied.

  "I feel for one as though we had already seen it, and I can see it allin my mind's eye now," added the lady. "You and the professor have givenus such a minute account of the place and its surroundings that it seemsto me that I have taken it all in."

  "I think most of us have," said Mrs. Woolridge; and several of thecompany expressed themselves to the same effect.

  "We have several books in the library about the city and the islands,and some of us have read them all," suggested Louis.

  "What books have you on board, Mr. Belgrave?" asked the consul.

  "We have 'Twenty Years in the Philippines' by Monsieur de la Gironiere,which some say was written by Alexandre Dumas, but I don't know aboutthat; 'Travels in the Philippines,' by F. Jagor, with an epitome of thework in _Harper's Magazine_; and we have Chambers's Encyclopaedia,Lippincott's Gazetteer of the present year, and some other works."

  "You seem to be well provided with information, and with the bestextant, unless you consult the archives of Spain at Madrid," returnedthe consul.

  "The Blanchita is coming alongside, Captain," said Mr. Scott, to whom amessage to this effect had been sent down by the officer of the deck.

  The breakfast was nearly finished when the word came; and the party soonwent on deck, where they found all the passengers of the Blanche and theBritish consul. The usual hugging and kissing on the part of the ladiesand handshaking by the gentlemen followed, and the two consuls were dulypresented to all.

  "It is time for us to go on shore," said General Noury, looking at hiswatch. "The Blanchita is at the gangway, and I have engaged a pilot forher. Of course you are all invited to go on shore in her."

  The two consuls volunteered to act as guides; and the company took theirplaces in the launch, which was large enough to accommodate double thenumber. The pilot took her into the river; and if the ears of thetourists had been filled full of Manila, there was plenty for the eyesto take in, and it was not five minutes after they passed the lighthousebefore most of the passengers were laughing at some of the queercostumes worn by the people.

  They passed a craft which Mr. Webb called a passage-boat. It was a sortof canoe, manned by three men, two of them rowing, and one working apaddle to steer her. Over the after part was an awning, made of the bigleaves of the nipa palm; and under it were two men and two women, boundup the river. But a freight-boat interested the young men most. The hullof it looked more like a canal-boat than any other craft they couldthink of. The planking of the sides extended a little higher up forwardand aft than amidships; and the whole was covered with an arched roofwoven on hoops, like those of a baggage-wagon, with palm leaves. Theportion at the bow and stern could be removed, as the whole could. Theman at the helm was under the stern section of the cover, and it waslifted about a foot to enable him to look ahead.

  A wide plank was secured on iron brackets fastened to each side of thecraft, on which were two men poling the boat up the stream. It was sofar like the mud-scows formerly in use on some of the waters of NewEngland, except that the men who worked her with poles walked on thegunwale of the scow. The boys watched it till it passed out of viewastern. The Blanchita made a landing near the bridge, on the Binondoside; and all the passengers went on shore.