The Philippine Islands and Their People 109 



all viciously inclined, he is dangerous 

 of approach, and instances have been 

 known of his attacking and killing white 

 men. He is to the Filipino what the mule 

 is to the plantation negro. They under- 

 stand one another and get on together 

 excellently. 



HOTELS AND HOUSES 



The Philippine Islands are practically 

 without hotels or any other public stop- 

 ping place for travelers. True, there 

 are hotels in Manila and in two or three 

 provincial capitals, but elsewhere the 

 traveler is obliged to throw himself upon 

 the hospitality of the provincial officers, 

 the presidente of a pueblo or the teniente 

 of a barrio. If he hesitates to do this, 

 he can quarter himself upon the con- 

 stabulary, if there is a constabulary 

 post, where he may find a cot upon 

 which to spread his blankets, and prob- 

 ably will get a meal. 



The houses of the Filipinos differ 

 with their social condition and with the 

 different tribes and in different parts of 

 the islands, but they may be generally 

 classified as those built of nipa, or its 

 equivalent, and those of more durable 

 material, such as wood, brick, or stone. 



All the Filipino houses, wherever 

 they are and whatever the material, are 

 raised above the ground, generally to 

 the height of a full story. The space 

 beneath is commonly utilized as a stable 

 for ponies or for a chicken house. The 

 more durable houses are built of stone, 

 brick, or wood, and are large and roomy, 

 with plenty of window space. They are 

 commonly entered from beneath by a 

 broad, winding staircase, which lands 

 the visitor in the middle of a large hall 

 running the full length of the house. 

 This hall is 20 feet or more in width 

 and lighted by windows at the ends. 

 One end of it is commonly the dining- 

 room and the other the sitting-room, 

 while on either side of it, and communi- 

 cating with it by doors, are the bed- 

 rooms. The furniture is scanty and 



simple, consisting generally of a round 

 table and easy, cane-seat chairs. The 

 walls are double, the spaces between 

 them forming galleries four or five feet 

 in width, these galleries being entered 

 through broad openings commonly cur- 

 tained. In the outer wall are windows 

 and blinds running independently of one 

 another in grooves. The windows are 

 very commonly glazed in small panes, 

 three or four inches square, of shell in- 

 stead of glass, which are sufficient to 

 admit light, but nothing can be seen 

 through them. At night everything is 

 shut tight, windows and blinds, either 

 from fear of night air or of spirits, 

 which stalk abroad after sunset. The 

 floors of these houses are generally 

 made of the native hardwoods, are 

 often very beautiful, and are a great 

 source of pride to the possessor, who 

 keeps them well oiled and waxed. 



The roofs of this class of houses are 

 of tiles, tin, or, among the poorer ones, 

 of thatch, nipa, or cogan grass. 



The houses classed as nipa are made 

 of several different kinds of material, but 

 in the main of bamboo and nipa palm. 

 The frame, which is commonly very 

 simple, is built of bamboo poles; the 

 walls are made of a coarse mat woven 

 of nipa, while the roof is thatched 

 with the same material, nipa being a 

 palm which is found abundantly in 

 swampy places. Sometimes the sides, 

 as well as the roof, are thatched with 

 nipa instead of being made with this 

 coarse mat. Where nipa can not be had, 

 cogan, a coarse grass, is often used. 

 The windows are mere openings, closed 

 by shutters of nipa mat or of thatch. 

 The floors are open work, made of strips 

 of small bamboo tied down to the floor 

 beams. Probably nine-tenths of the 

 houses in the islands are of nipa, or 

 some equivalent plant, built upon much 

 the same plan as above. The erection 

 of a nipa house is a very simple matter, 

 requiring only a few days' labor and 

 costing only one or two hundred dollars. 



