THE MACABEBE SCOUTS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2951, 24 November 1900, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE MACABEBE SCOUTS.

THE BLOODHOUNDS OF THE PHILIPPINES.

HOW THE MACABEBES CAME TO THE ASSISTANCE OF AMERICA.

Have you ever heard of the Macabebe scouts, the sleuth-hounds of the Philippines? (Avntes Frank G. Carpenter in the Ncav Orleans “ Times-Democrat.”) We have almost one thousand of them in our army. They form a part of every brigade, and in every march a company of them goes ahead to develop the enemy. With bolos and rifles they slip along through the bamboos. They ford rivers ; they climb mountains ; they Avlnd this Avay and that through the high grass, fairly smelling out the Tagalos Avho are lying in ambush. When on the scent they will trot along for days Avithout tiring, Avatching all night for fear of surprise.

They hate the Tagalos Avith the hatred of a tribal vendetta Avliich has lasted for more than a century, and Avhich has put hundreds of their bravest men under the sod. Every company of the Macabebes is commanded by an American officer, but in battle this hatred becomes so strong that the Americans cannot control their men. They find it difficult to get the Macabebes to spare their Avonnded, and they prefer to kill rather than capture. With them there is no Tagalo so good as a dead Tagalo, and they fight to the death. HOW THE MACABEBES CAME TO UNCLE SAM.

I write this letter in the principal town of the Macabebe tribe. I have come to Maca-bebe-land to learn, who they are, and what they are, and how they live. First, however, I want to tell you how they came to form an aliance with our Government. They have, as I intimated, been for generations at war with the Tagalos; and still there are only 60,000 of them, while the Tagalos number about 2,000,000. Nevertheless, the little Macabebes have held their own, first, by allying themselves with the Spaniards, and •now by becoming the friends of the United States. Aguinaldo, at the beginning df the insurrection, asked them to bury the bolo of enmity and unite with him in expelling the Americans, saying that if they did so the Tagalos and Macabebes would henceforth be friends, but if not the insurrectos would wipe the Macabebe people and their towns out of existence. The leaders of the Macabebes refused, and at the same time offered themselves to the United States forces, and General Otis took them into the army. They have proved themselves most efficient soldiers, and as scouts have been so valuable that it is hard to see how we could have got along without them. They have shown that they can be relied upon, and they will probably have the same place in our army in the Philippines that the Sepoys have in the army in India. They may be used in policing the islands, and more and more of them will be enlisted from time to time. They are now organised in companies of 120 men, and are used altogether as scouts. They have a uniform and each carries a haversack, a canteen and a blanket. They are paid about 15dol a month each, and are given the same rations as our soldiers. They usually trade their rations, however, for Filipino food. They are armed with Krag-Jorgensen guns, and are able to use them with great effect. In a close fight they prefer the bolo- Each man carries two bolos, a long one and a short one, or rather a sword and a dagger. When at close quarters they take one of these knives in each hand, and they can use the right or the left hand equally well. The dagger is usually used in the left hand as a guard, while the bolo, or long sword, is wielded with the right, the Macabebe endeavouring to disembowel his enemy with it.

The Macabebes have shown a wonderful endtirance. They never grumble, and after the hardest day’s march they are still ready to fight. In the heat of battle they advance under the heaviest fire, and once or twice they have been considerably ahead of the American soldiers. When they w,ere first organised they lacked discipline. And it is still hard to keep them together, but they are always ready in time of battle. They usually inarch in their bare feet, carrying their shoes, which they put on when they come into the towns. IN MACABEBE-LAND.

The war has made tilings rather lively about Macabebe-land. This country is situated, in the province of Pampanga. It is a beautiful strip of level land, containing some tens of thousands of acres, lying between the Rio Grande River and the Zambales mountains. It is surrounded by Tagalos, and the insurrectos have been hovering about it for the past year and making raids upon the people. During the insurrection against the Spaniards Aguinaldo and his army burnt a large part of the town of Macabcbe, destroying the magnificent cathedral, a church covering two or three acres of ground. They burnt many of the houses, and perpetrated all sorts of out rages l so that to-day no Macabebe can utter the name of Aguinaldo without a curse. In coming to Macabebe I had to have guards with me. I came from, Manila to Calumpit by train. Here was' one of our army posts, and connected with it a company of Macabebe scouts. Lieutenant Chadwick, one of the commanders of the company, offered to go with me, and we took two of the scouts as an escort. The scouts had guns and.revolvers, and we were each armed with six-shooters. We rode for six miles down the Rio Grande River, watching the clumps of bamboos which we passed very carefully for fear of an ambush. We next got a dug-out and had ourselves fended across the river. When we stepped on the other side we were in Macabebe-land, I wish I could describe to you our ride over the Macabebe' plains to Macabebe town. The country is as fat as the Valley of the Nile. Wo went through rice-fields where the green sprouts were shooting out of the ground. We rodo past vast plantations of sugar-cane, oceans of pale green, which rose and fell in billowy waves under the fresh wind from the Zambales Mountains. The road was lined with a very arbour of bamboo, the feathery stalks rising fifty and sixty feet above the ground and whispering in the wind. , Now and then we passed rows of beetle palms, slender silvertrunked trees topped with green bunches of green nuts, hanging down like a fringe where the leaves sprouted out twenty feet from the ground. We saw many houses. Nearly all were thatched huts built upon poles not unlike the homes of the Tagalos. Indeed, the country and its surroundings are much the same as those of other parts of Luzon. There is a great difference, however, in the people. In Tagaloland the men and women are sullen. If they smile you can see that the grin is a forced one and their politeness is cringing and servile and treacherous. Here everything is open. Every man, woman and child that we met on the road waved his hand and said “ good morning-” Even the halves had been taught to lisp “ good morning,” and wo often hoard the words : “ Americanos uuicho bueno.” Every one seemed glad to see us. and all \veut out of their way to show it. It is the same in the town. The people can’t do'enough for us, and the experience, makes me long for the time when the Filipinos shall really know that the Americans are their friends and we ,shall have a condition like, this over the whole archipelago. THE CAPITAL OF THE MACAHEHES.

Maeabebe is the capital of MaeabebcInnd. ft is a town of about 4000 people, made up of hundreds of good-sized bamboo houses ami roofs of iiipa- palm. The houses are built high upon poles. They are close to the street, along wide roads, which meet in a great plaza in the centre. Upon this plaza arc an enormous church, a temporary structure which has been btiilt upon (lie ruins' of the burnt cathedral 1 the bell lower, which calls the people*/to prayers; the

quarters in which our soldiers are stationed for the protection of the town, and Uie bazaar or market, in which most of the business of Macabebe is done. THE PUBLIC GAMBLING HALL.

But stop ; I have forgotten one very important part of the plaza. This is the billiard hall and the gambling room. These fill the best building of the whole square, and they are right in the centre of the town. Like all Filipinos, the Macabebes are fond of games of chance. They will bet on anything and at any time. The scouts, after fighting all day, will sit up half the night and gamble. The children gamble, pitching centavos. ■ You see women playing cards upon the street in front of their stores. Every other man has a game cock, which he is willing to back against all comers, and every day the gambling goes on in the centre of the plaza. The slakes there are high, and I saw several hundreds change hands in one game one afternoon. The greatest gambling of Macabebe town takes place Saturday night. At this time there are immense tables put up in the plaza, and everyone comes out to take his part in the game. On one of the tables the different games of chance are played, and on the other are dishes of salads, fish, meats, cakes, etc. The man who wins at certain of the games has a right to select any one of the dishes on the eating table. He can take this home for Sunday, or, if he prefers, treat his friends on the plaza. The participation in the gambling is general, and all the officers of the municipality are present. The band plays and the people come out and promenade up and down. HOW THE MACABEBES DO BUSINESS.

I have been much interested in watching the girls shop in Macabebe town. There are no stores except the sheds or booths in the plaza. These sheds have bamboo floors and walls and roofs of loose thatch. They form, in fact, a great bazaar of cells opening out upon the street, each of which is a store. The merchants are all women, and many of them very pretty women. Each merchant sits down on the floor among her goods. If she is selling cloth it is piled up about her. Pieces of brightcoloured calicoes are hung on poles over her head and laid over other poles at the back and sides, so that she is framed, as it were, in dry goods. If you wish to buy you must expect to bargain, for, as a rule, the maiden merchant has no fixed price, and expects you to jew her down to at least 25 per cent less than she asks. If you make a good purchase she will offer you a cigarette or a chew of beetle nut, and the chances are that she may smoke a cigarette or a cigar at the time she is talking to you. I am told that the women are very good traders. They manage the money matters of their respective families, and there is not one of them who does not aid her husband in building up his income. The storekeepers' carry their goods to their houses every night and bring them back every morning. They watch the maikets and know when to buy and sell. Among the poorer classes of Macabebes, the women do a great deal of work. They labour in the fields, doing all kinds of farming. They may be seen peddling in the markets, and you meet them on the country roads, gwing along with great burdens on their heads. They are, I think, better looking than the Tagalos. They are said to he very virtuous, and to make excellent wives. SOME ARE RICH.

In company with Lieut. Chadwick, I called on a number of the leading citizens of Macabebe Town. There are many rich among them, and some of the houses which we visited were large and well furnished. The living-rooms are o.n the second floor, the entrance usually being from stairs on the side. Every house had its piano, and in some the ladies played for us, and that as well as —indeed, much better than the average girl of the States. The Macabebes are very fond of music. They know many of our favourite tunes, and among those which I heard to-day were “After the Ball is Over,” “There 11 Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” and “Louisiana Lou.” We had also some pieces from the best of the German composers, including much classical music. In nearly every case _ the host complained of the tune of the piano, saying) that owing to the insurrection he had been unable to secure a musician from Manila to put it in order. The bojm of several of the families took their places at the piano, and played equally well with their sisters. HOW MACABEBE IS GOVERNED. Later on we called upon the Presidente, and had a chat with him and his officials about the situation. He is a straight, fine-looking, brown-skinned, smoothfaced Macabebe of about forty years of age. He told us that he was very glad the Americans had come to the islands, and that he doubted not we would eventually find them a profitable investment. He told me that his people liked the soldiers, and that many of them were studying English in order that they might be better acquainted with us and our government.

The president here holds much the same place as one of our mayors. He is the chief officer of the town, and is elected by the people. In addition to him there is a vicepresident, a city council and a civil guard or police. The town has a little prison or ialaboose in which criminals are confined. The people are, however, very orderly. Their chief vice is gambling, drunkenness being almost unknown. They are like the Tagalos in that they have very quiet tempers, and when enraged are revengeful. They carry their hatred a long way, and usually fight to the death. They do not regal'd life as much account, and in their quarrels slash at one another with bolos. VERY RELIGIOUS.

The Macabebes are a very religious people. They are Catholics, and all attend church regularly. They have native priests and decidedly object to the Spanish friars. Every afternoon at six o’clock the bells in the tower of the plaza ring out the angelus. At this time, everyone, whether in the street or at home, bows his head and says his prayers. If at home the children salute the father and mother by kissing their hands. They have a curious method of dividing the day into morning and evening, the division being marked by the ringing of the angelus. Salutation up to that time is good morning. After the angelus bell rings they say “ good evening,” and usually repeat this salutation to one another even if they have been together all day.

The minor services of the church are announced with a drum, the bell being used only for important occasions. I spent some time in the church, which had been erected to take the place of the burned cathedral. It is a structure of galvanised iron and basketwork. covering fully half an acre, as big as any church in Washington City. The walls arc of bamboo splints, woven together like a chair seat. The roof is of bamboo matting, with galvanised iron above it, and there is a wide space between the wall ami the roof through which the air blows, making the church delightfully cool. There is a porch of gallery outside of the church, where the overflow of the congregation is accommodated. Everyone comes to church Sunday morning, although he leaves at the close of the services to engage in cock fighting) and gambling. This is common throughout the Philippines. I noticed a wooden cross over every front gate leading into the Macabebc houses. There are also crosses marked on the walls of some of the houses, and sometimes crosses on the house roofs. LITTLE MAOABEBES. I am delighted with the Macabcbo children. They are very bright, and can easily be Americanised, I visited one of the schools here this morning. It was held in a thatched hub about twenty-five feel square. On one side of the hut was a room for the boys, and on the opposite side one for the girls. There were altogel her about thirty little girls, ranging! in ago from live to thirteen. They were

brown-faced, black-haired, bright-eyed little women, full of fun, and wonderfully intelligent. They look clean, and they were, according to Macabebe etiquette, well mannered. Strange to say, some of the little girls were smoking cigarettes while they were studying. One had a cigar in her month. As I looked at her, she evidently thought it was out of place, for she pulled it out, turned it around, and again put it in her mouth with the lighted end inward. It seemed strange that her tongue was not burnt, but if so she gave no evidence of the fact. I asked the schoolmaster some questions as to the general education cl the people. He told me that only about one in three could read and write, but that the children were very anxious to learn, and that if a common school system was established, there would he no trouble in having a veiy general attendance.