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

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XXX.

  EXCURSIONS ON SHORE AND UP THE PASIG

  The Pasig flowed from east to west in the city; and landing on the northside of the stream, the tourists soon came to the Escolto, whichextended both ways parallel to the river. It was the principal streetfor shoppers and promenaders, and was exactly what they wished to find,as they had informed Mr. Webb and Mr. Gollan, the two consuls who hadbrought them there.

  The avenue was filled at this hour with a motley variety of people ofall the races known in the islands, from the Tagal Indian up to thenative-born of Spain. Some of them were disposed to laugh at thestrangeness, not to say the absurdity, of some of the costumes whichconfronted them; but all of them were too well bred to indulge theirmirth, or to stare offensively at the subjects of their suppressedmerriment. One young man excited their attention especially; and Louisat the side of Miss Blanche, and the rest of the quartet of youngAmericans, were also interested.

  "He is one of the swells of the city," said Scott, looking industriouslyat the clear blue sky.

  "He looks like it," replied Louis, as he and his female companion eachgazed with one eye into a shop window while they fixed the other uponthe native, who was sporting a cane in fantastic twirls, and evidentlybelieving he was worth looking at.

  The subject of their mirth, variously concealed, was what would becalled a colored man at home, though not a negro; but he was not manyremoves in complexion from the original Negrito. He was toying with acigar, and wore a monocle and a "stovepipe" hat. His trousers were asort of plaid; and his upper works were covered with what looked like ablouse, though it was really his shirt, with a linen bosom, secured withstuds. At the base of his figure was a pair of patent-leather shoes,though he did not affect the luxury of stockings.

  The party observed his magnificent movements till he was out of sight;but their attention was immediately attracted by a femininewater-carrier, who was standing on the opposite side of the street. Onher head was a good-sized earthen jar, which she poised on the summit ofher cranium without support from either hand, one of which she employedin coquetting with a banana leaf instead of the national _abanico_, orfan, of the Spanish ladies.

  "That girl has a very fine form," said Dr. Hawkes, who was standing nearthe boys. "She is not a Spanish maiden, but her complexion is quite asfair as any of them."

  "She has an abundant crop of dark hair, and she puts it to a good use;for it is braided and rolled up so that it makes a cushion for thewater-jar," said Scott.

  "She is much taller than the natives we have been in the habit ofseeing," added Louis.

  By this time the entire party had halted, and, taking their cue from thesurgeon, were looking at the water-bearer. The girl had been observingthe strangers before any of them saw her; but as soon as she realizedthat she was the object of their scrutiny, she smiled, and her prettyface lighted up as though she did not object to being stared at. Herunder garment, with long sleeves, was all the covering she wore abovethe belt; and below it her skirt of uneven length reached just below theknees. She wore neither shoes nor stockings, and her feet looked asthough they had been "Trilbied."

  "I suppose that man over there is carrying that rooster to market," saidMrs. Belgrave, who was walking between the commander and Mr. Webb.

  "Not at all, madam; that is a game-bird. The national amusements ofSpain are bull-fighting and cock-fighting," returned Mr. Webb. "I was inMadrid one Sunday, and the programme for the day was a cock-fight atone, a bull-fight at three, and the Italian opera at six; and I went toall of them."

  "On Sunday?" queried the lady.

  "I was there to see the sights, and learn the customs of the people;and a bull-fight could be seen only on Sunday, and the cock-fight waspatronized on that day by the high admiral of the navy. In Madrid, as inother cities of Continental Europe, Sunday is not regarded as it is inEngland and the United States; and their failure to observe it as we dois not an evidence that they are irreligious. The next day was AllSaints' or All Souls' Day, I forget which; and every shop was closed.The noise and confusion of Sunday and all ordinary days were silenced.The churches were all open and well filled, and the people went to thecemeteries to deposit flowers on the graves of their dead. In Stockholm,which is a Protestant city, people went to church in the forenoon; butat one o'clock the band struck up, and the rest of the day was given upto frolicking."

  "I prefer to live in Von Blonk Park," added Mrs. Belgrave, with a smile.

  "But cock-fighting is vastly more prevalent here than in Spain, or anyother country I have visited. Wealthy people have their games, and allthe poor people also," continued the consul. "About every man who canraise money enough to buy one owns a game-cock, and many take them withthem when they go out.

  "Observe that man and woman approaching us; they are Spanish metis. Bothof them wear rather gay colors. On the other side of the street is apair of Chinese metis; and one couple is not much different from theother, except, if you are an expert, you can see something of the highcheek-bones of the Chinese. Both of the men wear stovepipe hats, whichseems to be the fashion among that class. Some of them are quitewealthy."

  "Do all these different grades fraternize, Mr. Webb?" asked thecommander.

  "In business they do, but not socially. The pure Spaniards look downupon all the native and half-caste people; and in turn all the otherclasses do considerable looking down upon some other grades, till youget to the Tagals, who are so unfortunate as to have no other class tolook down upon."

  The tourists walked along this Broadway of the city till they weretired, and then turned into a side street to observe some of thedwelling-houses. The first thing that they noticed was that most of thehouses were covered on the roof with red tiles, as in Spain and in othercountries. They all had very small windows, with sliding sashes; and thepanes, of oyster-shells instead of glass, were smaller in proportionthan the windows. Most of them had a balcony of some sort, which was anout-door sitting-room, used during leisure hours by the people.

  The consuls then conducted the party to a stand for carriages, andenough of them were engaged to accommodate all. They were taken for twohours, with the proviso that the passengers were to be set down at thelanding by the bridge.

  NATIVES PREPARING TOBACCO IN MANILA.

  _Page 285._]

  "You must pay in advance," said Mr. Webb. "That is the custom here.The drivers were cheated so often in some former time, that it became'no pay, no ride.' I bargained at five pesetas an hour for eachvehicle."

  The captain, Mrs. Belgrave, and Mr. Webb occupied the first carriage;and the consul directed the driver where to go.

  "Five pesetas," said the lady when they were seated. "How much is that?"

  "About one dollar. A peseta is the legal unit of the currency, and is ofthe same value as the French franc and the Italian lira, or nineteencents, three mills of our money, as estimated by the director of theUnited States Mint. The real is a quarter of a peseta, but the escudo often reales has been suppressed. The Spanish dollar, the same as ours,though not on a gold standard, is the usual medium of trade here."

  The tourists were driven to the cathedral, the palaces of the governorand the archbishop, and to several of the public squares; but they foundlittle occasion to describe them in their note-books, though they wereall worth looking at. They were taken through some of the streetsoccupied by the poorer classes and to the great cigar factories. Thenthey went a little way into one of these, where thousands of women ofall the lower grades of the city were employed, so that they obtained agood idea of the establishment.

  They were taken to the landing-place as agreed, and embarkedimmediately in the Blanchita for the ship, where all were to lunch,feeling that they had seen all of the city that they wished to visit.The consuls went with them, but all were tired enough to rest during thehour given them for the luncheon. At the expiration of the hour, thecommander remorselessly drove them on board of the steam-yacht for anexcursion up the Pasig to _Lago de Bahia_, which is Spanish for La
ke ofthe Bay.

  Some of the party were tired; but the captain declared that they couldrest in the little steamer, and remain seated all the afternoon if theychose. A skilful pilot for the river and lake had been obtained by Mr.Gollan, who devoted himself especially to the pacha and the princess,for they were the passengers of the English steamer, though he was verykind and polite to all the company. Above the bridge the passengersbegan to open their eyes, for they had explored the river below thispoint.

  The captain and Mrs. Belgrave (of course), with Miss Blanche, Mr. Webb,and the "Big Four," were all in what had been called the fore cabin inthe Borneo cruises. It was as handsomely and comfortably fitted up asthe after cabin, with an awning overhead, and curtains at the side,which were regulated by the relative positions of the boat to the sun.Two of the English sailors, dressed in their white uniforms, were onboard to adjust these curtains, and do any other work required of them.

  "There's a dead man on a raft!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, pointing ahead.

  "The man is not so dead as he might be," replied the consul, laughing."But the raft is something worth looking at for you. The affair issimply a native going to market with his cocoanuts. Ask the engineer towhistle sharply," he added to one of the sailors; and it was done.

  Suddenly the man on the raft sprang to his feet, and looked around him.The launch was stopped to enable the party to see his craft.

  "You can see that his boat is a lot of cocoanuts, a hundred or more,strung together with lines. The raft easily floats the man, with thecurrent, down to the city, where he sells his fruit, and then walksback, or rows in a passage-boat for his fare," Mr. Webb explainedforward, and Mr. Gollan aft.

  Presently they came to a little village where half a dozen dark-coloredgirls, with their long hair dragging in the water, were swimming in asmall bay at the side of the stream like so many nymphs. It was anaquatic frolic, and the Naiads were enjoying themselves to their hearts'content. By the riverside was a house on stilts, with an open door, fromwhich the tourists saw two girls dive into the stream, and swim away asthough the water were their natural element. They cut up all sorts ofcapers, to the great amusement of the party; and then two of them swamto the launch, and held out their hands. They received a couple ofpesetas each from the captain and the pacha. Then all the rest of themfollowed their example, and were rewarded in like manner.

  The Blanchita resumed her course up the river at her usual speed; andthe voyagers found enough to interest them, and enough in theexplanations of the consuls to instruct them. The boat rushed by thebarges and passage-boats as though they were at anchor. The villages andthe houses reminded them of those they had seen on the Menam in thevicinity of Bangkok.

  "Do you notice the horned cattle?" asked Mr. Webb. "They call thembuffaloes here."

  "They are what we should call broad-horns at home," replied the captain."I never saw any such wide-spreading and long horns as I see here."

  "I am told that you have a quartet of Nimrods in your company; and I amsure they would find plenty of sport in the country beyond the lake,where the wild buffalo is to be found in herds as on our Westernprairies formerly. But they are a dangerous beast to hunt; for they willfight like tigers, and not a few hunters have been killed by them."

  "We should like to try them; and with rifles good for nine shots, Ithink we could take care of ourselves," replied Louis.

  They found plenty of buffaloes on the shores of the river, but they wereas tame as doves. At one place on the bank they saw a naked boy of tenfooling with one of them, jumping over him, and being dragged by histail. It was but a short trip to the lake for the Blanchita, and theparty sailed all around it. They were all delighted with the excursion;and the launch was hurried down the river, and reached the Blanche,where they were to dine at seven o'clock.