We had at one time five or six carpenters to do some bamboo work. They brought their fighting cocks along with them for amusement when they were not at work, which was every moment our backs were turned. They are so used to being driven that it never occurs to them to go on with their work unless someone is overseeing them. They began by putting the bamboo at the top of the room and working down, braiding, plaiting and splitting, putting in a bit here and there in a very deft way without a nail. They did all the cutting sitting down on the floor and holding the smooth bamboo pieces with their feet, while they sawed the various lengths with a bolo.
When they had completed the partition, I said to the foreman, “How much for the day’s work for all.” The head man very politely informed me that he did not propose to pay these other men anything; if I wanted to pay them all right, but he would not. The defrauded ones got down on their knees to beg for their pay. I called in a priest who could talk some English, and explained the situation to him. He told me frankly that I would have to pay these other men just the same, notwithstanding that I had paid the foreman the full amount. He said I had better do it, because if I did not the men would bring vengeance upon me. They have no idea of justice or honor. What is true of business is true of every act of theirs, as far as I know.
An American woman told me that her husband could not attend to his military duties because he had to watch the nine natives who came to his house to do work. He had to keep account of their irregular comings and goings, to examine each one that he did not steal, to investigate his work that it was not half done. Men and women are alike—they must be watched every moment, because they have been so long watched and driven. If women who are hired and paid by the month break or destroy the least thing, its value is taken out of their wages and they are beaten. It was very astonishing to me to see, notwithstanding this serfdom, that they remain submissive to the same masters and mistresses.
A man was condemned to die by one of the secret societies. His most faithful servant, a member of the order, was chosen to execute the sentence. He calmly met his master at the door, made a thrust at him and wounded him slightly, struck again, and again; the third blow was fatal. The servant was never punished for the crime. It happened just a few doors from where I was living. There was a large funeral procession and a huge black cross was placed at the door, and that ended the matter, so far as I know. They place little value upon life; they seem to think death is but the gate to great happiness, no matter what its manner may be. I used to see many persons, men and women, with crosses on their throats and bodies. I asked ever so many what it meant, but was never able to find out. It was never seen upon the so-called better class. Much that I learned of the various tribes and various castes was told me by a converted Filipino, Rev. Manakin. He expected any time to be placed under the ban of the secret societies and killed.
Wooings and Weddings.
Chapter Ten.
The manner of wooing is rather peculiar. The man who wishes to pay his addresses to a woman gets the consent of her father and mother. He is received by the entire family when he calls, but is never allowed, in any way, to show her any special favor or attention; he must devote himself to the entire family. If he wishes to take her to a theatre, or concert, or dance, he must take the entire family. For about a week before the marriage the bride elect is carried about in a sort of wicker bamboo hammock borne on the shoulders of two young men and she goes about paying visits to her intimate friends; she is not allowed to put foot to the ground or do any sort of menial labor.