September 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



697 



What I Saw In the Philippines — III. 



By the Editor of The India Rubber World. 



L.raving Manila for the South— The Governor of Mindanao— On Board a Revenue Cutter— Sleeping, Eating and Living on Deck— The Beautiful Philip- 

 pine Inlzuid Sea— A Bit About Mindoro— The Chicago Plantation— Opon and Its Great Oil Factory— Dean Worcester at Home— Cebu— Visit from a 

 German Propagandist — Visayan Laborers Board the Cutter — Something About This Type of Labor. 



THIS being primarily a story of 

 rubber hunting I shall, perhaps, 

 be pardoned for postponing de- 

 scriptions of Manila, Baguio ct ai, as 

 well as my thrilling adventures with 

 calesas, carabaos, carromatas and other 

 indigenous dangers. Nevertheless, I in- 

 tend to return to them, for they should 

 be chronicled for the benefit of those 

 who follow. 



The rubber lands of the Philippines 

 really He far to the south of Luzon, 

 centering in and about the great island 

 of Mindanao. I had long been in touch 

 with a newspaper man in Zamboanga, 

 the capital of that island, and through 

 him had conceived a vast respect for 

 Governor Carpenter, the present civil 

 ruler. When, therefore, an influential 

 American arranged for me to meet the 

 governor, who was then in Manila, I 

 was delighted. The meeting resulted in 

 an invitation on the part of his exceb 

 lency to visit the Southern Islands and 

 to go on the revenue cutter "Mindanao," 

 sailing the day following. I should 

 say in explanation that the journey i^ 

 a long one and rather difficult to nego- 

 tiate. It is, of course, by water, the 

 usual means of conveyance being the 

 small inter-island boats that run at ir- 

 regular intervals, 

 and that are 

 crowded w i t h 

 natives and 

 freight to a de- 

 gree that must be 

 seen to be appre- 

 ciated. There 

 are, to be sure, 

 the government 

 transports, but 

 unless one is in 

 government serv- 

 ice they are not 

 available. Gov- 

 e r n o r Carpen- 

 ter's invitation 

 was, therefore, 

 eagerly accepted. 

 It was mid- 

 night when we 

 went aboard, and 

 within an hour 

 we were quietly 

 steaming out of 

 the harbor and 

 headed south. 

 Even if it was a 

 governor's boat 

 it was crowded. 



Le.wing the H-ARBOR. 



Governor Carpenter and Sultan of Sulu in Front of Government Building, Zamboanga. 



Six of us shared one tiny staterooin; 

 not to sleep in, however. It was sim- 

 ply a dressing room, from which, 

 pajama-clad, we emerged, climbed to 

 tile main deck and bestowed ourselves 

 on cots. Of the six were a young 

 architect from Boston in charge of 

 Philippine public buildings, a lieuten- 

 ant of constabulary on his way to 

 Tawi-tawi, the superintendent of 

 schools of Mindanao, and two Davao 

 planters. 



It was cool and comfortable on the 

 windswept deck, and one clutched the 

 blanket tight and slept, awakening 

 every now and then to grab the clothes 

 that the breeze had almost succeeded in 

 Mowing away. 



Breakfast was served on the after 

 deck at a long table at one end of which 

 sat the governor, and at the other the 

 ■ ilert captain of tlie steamer, while be- 

 iwcen were the passengers or guests, 

 >iven -Americans, a couple of native 

 priests and several Filipino officials. It 

 was a very friendly and jolly com- 

 rany. and the fare, prepared and served 

 by Chinese stewards, was excellent. 



The captain was a young, athletic 

 Californian, the only American left in 

 inter-island service, and he was without 

 exception the 

 most e -x p e r t 

 handler of a 

 steam vessel that 

 I have ever seen. 

 When others 

 would stop 50 

 feet from a pier 

 and warp in, he 

 ran boldly in, set 

 the boat's nose 

 against the quay 

 so gently that 

 the shock would 

 not crack an egg, 

 and then swung 

 into place with- 

 out bump or 

 splash. Or if a 

 native boat was 

 in his berth, he 

 slipped in and 

 gently but firmly 

 edged it away. 



Breakfast over, 

 the panorama of 

 sea and shore 

 was enthralling. 

 I liavc traversed 

 Japan's "Inland 



