The servant failed to start with the party, but in a short time he caught up by running swiftly. The master calmly got off his horse, motioned to the servant to drop his load, and proceeded to beat the man unmercifully with a cane made out of fish tail, a sword-like, cruel, barbed affair, about four feet long. The poor servant never uttered a cry. As soon as possible the officers interfered and stopped the torture. So bloody and faint was the poor victim that they gave him a horse to ride. The master was angry, declared he would not have his authority questioned and left the party.
A ball was given in the town of Jaro by the officers who were there and in the town of Iloilo. Army, navy, ladies, and nurses from the hospital were invited. It was considered quite an unusual thing to do at this time, as the Filipino soldiers were near at hand day and night, approaching and firing upon the town. One of the Filipino women said, “I do not see how the American officers dare congregate at so dangerous a time.” The men decorated the huge ball room with magnificent palms and ferns which they had gathered and put up many flags. The regimental band was stationed on the porch at the rear of the building. It was, altogether, a very fine gathering, and all went merry “as the marriage bell.”
There was a German on the dance programme that was to end in a mock capture. Not thinking that it might occasion alarm, at a certain point, some of the soldiers were instructed to fire off some cannon crackers; in addition the soldiers thought it would be just as well to fire off a few pistols. The surprise was very great. The colonel of a volunteer regiment nearby heard the commotion and gave orders for the company to turn out and find out where this fusillade was occurring, not supposing that it could be in private quarters. The Presidente of the town was greatly alarmed, as he was expecting any moment to be captured for serving under the U. S. government as head man of a town. The firing created a great commotion, people ran hither and thither to find out where the battle was going on; the musicians, who did not understand about the firing, were frightened, too; there was a call to arms and great commotion. But soon explanations came, and immediately it was on with the dance. It was a huge joke, and when the sentry told that a colonel and his wife were the most frightened of all, barricading their doors and having extra guards placed around, the merriment knew no bounds.
It was seldom that the officers had any of these receptions or balls, but when they did everybody felt they must attend, and those taking part in the dance enjoyed themselves very much. Sometimes the officers would charter a small steamer and go to one of the nearby islands, but it was rarely they could do so, because of the skulking natives and their manner of signaling where these parties landed, making it unsafe for any but large companies to attend these excursions.
It was often the duty of our officers and men to stop the cruelties they saw practiced upon dumb brutes. I have in mind the way pigs were brought to market, their forefeet across a bamboo pole and their heads bound so that they could not squeal, and in this uncomfortable way they were carried many miles. Of the many stories that were told of the cruelties our soldiers perpetrated upon the helpless Filipinos, I do not believe one word; indeed, our men were constantly assisting the natives in every way possible.
On the 4th of July, 1900, our officers decided to tender a reception to the Filipino families whose hospitalities they had enjoyed. They issued invitations and decorated their quarters in fine shape with flags, bunting, palms, and pictures. It was quite the talk of the town. The beauty and chivalry of the island were there. For refreshments they served commissary supplies with ice cream and cake. The guests thought it a very poor banquet for such pretentious people as the officers were. The Filipinos always have a ten or twelve course meal at twelve o’clock at their dances, especially when they have festivals or wedding banquets. There were many of these given. I could often watch the throng from my window; they went at this particular kind of hilarity in the same listless, slow, silent manner in which they did everything. The popular dance is the “Rigadon.” There is a great deal of swinging of couples and going forward and back. None of the common people seem to indulge in any form of a dance, so far as I could learn.
We invited upon several occasions some Filipino men and women to dine with us, and it was interesting to hear their remarks about various dishes we had prepared for them. They would ask questions concerning the preparations. Mince pies, which we made of canned meat and canned apples, were a source of great wonder; they would ask where they could get the fruit for that kind of a pudding. I know that they made wry faces at some dishes, and I know that we did ourselves, for some of them were beyond comparison; no chef in all the world could produce a good thing out of such materials.
The May festival was given by the children, chiefly by the little girls of the cathedral congregation. The leader was a woman of fine character and standing. She worked hard every day with these little tots to train them to do their parts well, which consisted of marching into the cathedral by twos’, arranging themselves into a circle about the Virgin Mother and throwing flowers and bouquets, singing and speaking. The ludicrous part of it all was that these little things were supposed to be dressed like American children. The models had been taken from some old magazine,—huge sleeves, small waists, skirt to the knees, and pantlets to the top of shoes. The shoes were painfully tight and the little feet, unaccustomed to being held in such close quarters, limped and hobbled piteously. The festival was carried on every day for weeks. Bushels of flowers were thrown at the figure of the Blessed Virgin.
Some of the festivals in the larger cathedrals in Manila were gorgeous indeed. There were floats on which were carried the different patron saints, all gorgeously arrayed in the most magnificent costumes. Evidently the churches were never meant for the common or poor people, so few of them were ever seen within their walls; but without were vast crowds of beggars, of the blind, the deformed, the diseased; victims of smallpox and of leprosy in every stage of suffering. It is said that the first thing ordered by Bishop Brent, who took charge of the Protestant Episcopal church in the Philippines, was soap.
