Cock-figghting.Cock-fighting is licensed by the government, and great care is taken in the breeding of game fowls, which are very large and heavy birds. They are armed with a curved double-edged gaff. The exhibitions are usually crowded with half-breeds or mestizos, who are generally more addicted to gambling than either the higher or lower classes of Spaniards. It would not be an unapt designation to call the middling class cock-fighters, for their whole lives seem to be taken up with the breeding and fighting of these birds. On the exit from a cockpit, I was much amused with the mode of giving the return check, which was done by a stamp on the naked arm, and precludes the possibility of its transfer to another person. The dress of the lower order of females is somewhat civilized, yet it bore so strong a resemblance to that of the Polynesians as to recall the latter to our recollection. A long piece of colored cotton is wound round the body, like the pareu, and tucked in at the side: this covers the nether limbs; and a jacket fitting close to the body is worn, without a shirt. In some, this jacket is ornamented with work around the neck; it has no collar, and in many cases no sleeves, and over this a richly embroidered cape. The feet are covered with slippers, with wooden soles, which are kept on by the little toe, only four toes entering the slipper, and the little one being on the outside. The effect of both costumes is picturesque.
Ducks.The market is a never failing place of amusement to a foreigner, for there a crowd of the common people is always to be seen, and their mode of conducting business may be observed. The canals here afford great facilities for bringing vegetables and produce to market in a fresh state. The vegetables are chiefly brought from the shores of the Laguna de Bay, through the river Pasig. The meat appeared inferior, and as in all Spanish places the art of butchering is not understood. The poultry, however, surpasses that of any other place I have seen, particularly in ducks, the breeding of which is pursued to a great extent. Establishments for breeding these birds are here carried on in a systematic manner, and are a great curiosity. They consist of many small enclosures, each about twenty feet by forty or fifty, made of bamboo, which are placed on the bank of the river, and partly covered with water. In one corner of the enclosure is a small house, where the eggs are hatched by artificial heat, produced by rice-chaff in a state of of fermentation. It is not uncommon to see six or eight hundred ducklings all of the same age. There are several hundreds of these enclosures, and the number of ducks of all ages may be computed at millions. The manner in which they are schooled to take exercise, and to go in and out of the water, and to return to their house, almost exceeds belief. The keepers or tenders are of the Tagalog tribe, who live near the enclosures, and have them at all times under their eye. The old birds are not suffered to approach the young, and all of one age are kept together. They are fed upon rice and a small species of shell-fish that is found in the river and is peculiar to it. From the extent of these establishments we inferred that ducks were the favorite article of food at Manila, and the consumption of them must be immense. The markets are well supplied with chickens, pigeons, young partridges, which are brought in alive, and turkeys. Among strange articles that we saw for sale, were cakes of coagulated blood. The markets are well stocked with a variety of fish, taken both in the Laguna and bay of Manila, affording a supply of both the fresh and salt water species, and many smaller kinds that are dried and smoked. Vegetables are in great plenty, and consist of pumpkins, lettuce, onions, radishes, very long squashes, etc.; of fruits, they have melons, chicos, durians, marbolas, and oranges.
Fish.Fish are caught in weirs, by the hook, or in seines. The former are constructed of bamboo stakes, in the shallow water of the lake, at the point where it flows through the Pasig river. In the bay, and at the mouth of the river, the fish are taken in nets, suspended by the four corners from hoops attached to a crane, by which they are lowered into the water. The fishing-boats are little better than rafts, and are called sarabaos.
The usual passage-boat is termed banca, and is made of a single trunk. These are very much used by the inhabitants. They have a sort of awning to protect the passenger from the rays of the sun; and being light are easily rowed about, although they are exceedingly uncomfortable to sit in, from the lowness of the seats, and liable to overset, if the weight is not placed near the bottom. The outrigger was very often dispensed with, owing to the impediment it offered to the navigation of their canals; these canals offer great facilities for the transportation of burdens; the banks of almost all of them are faced with granite. Where the streets cross them, there are substantial stone bridges, which are generally of no more than one arch, so as not to impede the navigation. The barges used for the transportation of produce resemble our canal-boats, and have sliding roofs to protect them from the rain.
Water, for the supply of vessels, is brought off in large earthen jars. It is obtained from the river, and if care is not taken, the water will be impure; it ought to be filled beyond the city. Our supply was obtained five or six miles up the river, by a lighter, in which were placed a number of water-casks. It proved excellent.
The trade of Manila extends to all parts of the world.
There are many facilities for the transaction of business, as far as the shipment of articles is concerned; but great difficulties attend the settling of disputed accounts, collecting debts, etc., in the way of which the laws passed in 1834 have thrown many obstacles. All commercial business of this kind goes before, first, the Junta de Comercio, and then an appeal to the Tribunal de Comercio. This appeal, however, is merely nominal; for the same judges preside in each, and they are said to be susceptible of influences that render an appeal to them by honest men at all times hazardous. The opinion of those who have had the misfortune to be obliged to recur to these tribunals is, that it is better to suffer wrong than encounter both the expense and vexation of a resort to them for justice. In the first of these courts the decision is long delayed, fees exacted, and other expenses incurred; and when judgment is at length given, it excites one party or the other to appeal: other expenses accrue in consequence, and the advocates and judges grow rich while both the litigants suffer. I understood that these tribunals were intended to simplify business, lessen the time of suits, and promote justice; but these results have not been obtained, and many believe that they have had the contrary effect, and have opened the road to further abuses.
Environs.The country around Manila, though no more than an extended plain for some miles, is one of great interest and beauty, and affords many agreeable rides on the roads to Santa Ana and Mariquina. Most of the country-seats are situated on the Pasig river; they may indeed be called palaces, from their extent and appearance. They are built upon a grand scale, and after the Italian style, with terraces, supported by strong abutments, decked with vases of plants. The grounds are ornamented with the luxuriant, lofty, and graceful trees of the tropics; these are tolerably well kept. Here and there fine large stone churches, with their towers and steeples, are to be seen, the whole giving the impression of a wealthy nobility, and a happy and flourishing peasantry.
The cemetery.In one of our rides we made a visit to the Campo Santo or cemetery, about four miles from Manila. It is small, but has many handsome trees about it; among them was an Agati, full of large white flowers, showing most conspicuously. The whole place is as unlike a depository of the dead as it well can be. Its form is circular, having a small chapel, in the form of a rotunda, directly opposite the gate, or entrance. The walls are about twenty feet high, with three tiers of niches, in which the bodies are enclosed with quicklime. Here they are allowed to remain for three years, or until such time as the niches may be required for further use. Niches may be purchased, however, and permanently closed up; but in the whole cemetery there were but five thus secured. This would seem to indicate an indifference on the part of the living, for their departed relatives or friends; at least such was my impression at the time. The center of the enclosure is laid out as a flower-garden and shrubbery, and all the buildings are washed a deep buff-color, with white cornices; these colors, when contrasted with the green foliage, give an effect that is not unpleasing. In the chapel are two tombs, the one for the bishop, and the other for the governor. The former, I believe, is occupied, and will continue to be so, until another shall follow him; but the latter is empty, for, since the erection of the cemetery, none of the governors have died. In the rear of the chapel is another small cemetery, called Los Angeles; and, further behind, the Osero. The former is similar to the one in front, but smaller, and appropriated exclusively to children; the latter is an open space, where the bones of all those who have been removed from the niches, after three years, are east out, and now lie in a confused heap, with portions of flesh and hair adhering to them. No person is allowed to be received here for interment, until the fees are first paid to the priest, however respectable the parties may be; and all those who pay the fees, and are of the true faith, can be interred. I was told of a corpse of a very respectable person being refused admittance, for the want of the priest’s pass, to show that the claim had been satisfied, and the coffin stopped in the road until it was obtained. We ourselves witnessed a similar refusal. A servant entered with a dead child; borne on a tray, which he presented to the sacristan to have interred, the latter asked him for the pass, which not being produced, he was dismissed, nor was he suffered to leave his burden until this requisite could be procured from the priest, who lived opposite. The price of interment was three dollars, but whether this included the purchase of the niche, or its rent for the three years only, I did not learn.
The churches of Manila can boast of several fine-toned bells, which are placed in large belfries or towers. There was one of these towers near the Messrs. Sturges’, where we stayed; and the manner in which the bell was used, when swung around by the force of two or three men, attracted our attention; for the ringers occasionally practised feats of agility by passing over with the bell, and landing on the coping on the opposite side. The tower being open, we could see the manoeuver from the windows, and, as strangers, went there to look on. One day, whilst at dinner, they began to ring, and as many of the officers had not witnessed the fact, they sought the windows. This excited the vanity of those in the belfry, who redoubled their exertions, and performed the feat successfully many times, although in some instances they narrowly escaped accident, by landing just within the outside coping. This brought us all to the window, and the next turn, more force having been given to the bell, the individual who attempted the feat was thrown headlong beyond the tower, and dashed to pieces on the pavement beneath. Although shocked at the accident, I felt still more so when, after a few minutes, the bell was again heard making its usual sound, as if nothing had occurred to interrupt the course of its hourly peals.