River resorts.They are a source of great attraction to the passing sailors, who resort to them for eating, drinking, and other convivialities; and while away the time there in gambling, betel chewing, and smoking, with idle companions of both sexes.
Sleeping pilots.At times somebody may be seen floating down the stream asleep on a heap of coconuts. If the nuts run ashore, the sleeper rouses himself, pushes off with a long bamboo, and contentedly relapses into slumber, as his eccentric raft regains the current of the river. One cut of his bolo-knife easily detaches sufficient of the husk of the nuts to allow of their being fastened together; in this way a kind of wreath is formed which encircles and holds together the loose nuts piled up in the middle.
Labor-saving conditions.The arduous labors of many centuries have left as their legacy a perfect system of transport; but in these Islands man can obtain many of his requirements direct with proportionately trifling labor, and a large amount of comfort for himself.
Easy food.Off the Island of Talim, in the great Lagoon of Bay, my boatmen bought for a few cuartos several dozens of fish quite twelve inches long; and those which they couldn’t eat were split open, salted, and dried by a few hours’ exposure to the heat of the sun on the roof of the boat. When the fishermen had parted with their contemplated breakfast, they stooped down and filled their cooking-vessels with sand-mussels (paludina costata, 2.a G.), first throwing away the dead ones from the handfuls they picked up from the bottom of the shallow water.
River’s importance.Nearly all the dwellings are built by the water’s edge. The river is a natural self-maintaining highway, on which loads can be carried to the foot of the mountains. The huts of the people, built upon piles, are to be seen thickly scattered about its banks, and particularly about its broad mouths. The appropriateness of their position is evident, for the stream is at once the very center of activity and the most convenient spot for the pursuit of their callings. At each tide the takes of fish are more or less plentiful, and at low-water the women and children may be seen picking up shell-fish with their toes, for practice has enabled them to use their toes as deftly as their fingers, or gathering in the sand-crabs and eatable seaweed.
Riverside gaiety. The riverside is a pretty sight when men, women, and children are bathing and frolicking in the shade of the palm-trees; and others are filling their water-vessels, large bamboos, which they carry on their shoulders, or jars, which they bear on their heads; and when the boys are standing upright on the broad backs of the carabaos and riding triumphantly into the water.
Coco-palms.It is here too that the coco-palm most flourishes, a tree that supplies not only their food and drink, but also every material necessary for the construction of huts and the manufacture of the various articles which they use. While the greatest care is necessary to make those growing further inland bear even a little fruit, the palm-trees close to the shore, even when planted on wretched soil, grow plentiful crops without the slightest trouble. Has a palm-tree ever been made to blossom in a hothouse? Thomson[5] mentions that coco-trees growing by the sea-side are wont to incline their stems over the ocean, the waters of which bear their fruit to desert shores and islands, and render them habitable for mankind. Thus the coco-tree would seem to play an essential part in the ocean vagabondage of Malaysia and Polynesia.
Nipa-palms.Close to the coco-trees grow clumps of the stunted nipa-palms, which only flourish in brackish waters;[6] their leaves furnish the best roof-thatching. Sugar, brandy, and vinegar are manufactured from their sap. Three hundred and fifty years ago Pigafetta found these manufactures in full swing, but nowadays they seem to be limited to the Philippines. Besides these, the pandanus-tree, from the leaves of which the softest mats are woven, is always found in near proximity to the shore.
Fertile fields.Towards the interior the landscape is covered with rice-fields, which yearly receive a fresh layer of fertile soil, washed down from the mountains by the river, and spread over their surface by the overflowing of its waters; and which in consequence never require any fertilizer. The carabao.The carabao, the favorite domestic animal of the Malays, and which they keep especially for agricultural purposes, prefers these regions to all others. It loves to wallow in the mud, and is not fit for work unless permitted to frequent the water.
Bamboo.Bamboos with luxuriant leafy tops grow plentifully by the huts in the rice-fields which fringe the banks of the river. In my former sketches of travel I have endeavored to describe how much this gigantic plant contributes to the comfort and convenience of tropical life. Since then I have become acquainted with many curious purposes to which it is turned, but to describe them here would be out of place.[7] I may be allowed, however, to briefly cite a few examples showing what numerous results are obtained from simple means. Nature has endowed these splendid plants, which perhaps surpass all others in beauty, with so many useful qualities, and delivered them into the hands of mankind so ready for immediate use, that a few sharp cuts suffice to convert them into all kinds of various utensils. Strength.The bamboo possesses, in proportion to its lightness, an extraordinary strength; the result of its round shape, and the regularity of the joints in its stem. The parallel position and toughness of its fibers render it easy to split, and, when split, its pieces are of extraordinary pliability and elasticity. To the gravelly soil on which it grows it owes its durability, and its firm, even, and always clean surface, the brilliancy and color of which improve by use. Convenience.And finally, it is a great thing for a population with such limited means of conveyance that the bamboo is to be found in such abundance in all kinds of localities and of all dimensions, from a few millimeters to ten or fifteen centimeters in diameter, even sometimes to twice this amount; and that, on account of its unsurpassed floating power, it is pre-eminently fitted for locomotion in a country poor in roads but rich in watercourses. A blow with a bolo is generally enough to cut down a strong stem. Usefulness.If the thin joints are taken away, hollow stems of different thicknesses can be slid into one another like the parts of a telescope. From bamboos split in half, gutters, troughs, and roofing tiles can be made. Split into several slats, which can be again divided into small strips and fibers for the manufacture of baskets, ropes, mats, and fine plaiting work, they can be made into frames and stands. Two cuts in the same place make a round hole through which a stem of corresponding diameter can be firmly introduced. If a similar opening is made in a second upright, the horizontal stem can be run through both. Gates, closing perpendicularly or horizontally in frames moving without friction on a perpendicular or horizontal axis, can be made in this way.