GEOCRAPHIC LITERATURE 



The Gems of the East. Sixteen Thou- 

 sand Miles of Research Travel Among 

 Wild and Tame Tribes of Enchant- 

 ing Islands. By A. Henry Savage 

 Landor. 8vo. Pp. 13 -+- 567. Pro- 

 fusely illustrated. New York and 

 London : Harper & Brothers. 1904. 

 $4.00. 



In his account of 250 days' travel in 

 the Philippines, Mr Landor has given 

 the most complete and accurate descrip- 

 tion of these beautiful islands, their 

 climate, people, and customs, which has 

 yet been published in popular form. 



In following him through his various 

 adventures in the islands, one is occa- 

 sionally asked to believe that only an 

 Englishman could have escaped with 

 his life from savage, crafty natives, 

 cholera epidemics, storms, and starva- 

 tion ; but, upon the whole, there is ap- 

 parently little exaggeration, and the 

 story of his trip is unusually entertain- 

 ing and instructive. 



While he probably traveled over little 

 ground which had not been previously 

 covered by American soldiers or pros- 

 pectors, he, being a keen, trained ob- 

 server, saw far more than they, and he 

 came in closer touch with the people. 

 To the ethnologist his book is especial^ 

 valuable, careful attention having been 

 given to the characteristics of each tribe 

 with which he came in contact. Many 

 measurements among the different tribes 

 are given, and the book is well supplied 

 with excellent illustrations. 



Mr Landor lays great stress upon the 

 agricultural wealth of the islands and 

 the need of instruction in the best meth- 

 ods of farming. This, he thinks, should 

 take the place of some of the other 

 teaching which the people are receiving 

 in the public schools. He deprecates 

 the teaching of English, while at the 

 same time advocating means of gen- 

 eral communication among the different 

 tribes. It is somewhat difficult to see 



why he should not consider it an ad- 

 vantage to them to have a common 

 tongue. In their dealings with other 

 nations, English would unquestionably 

 be more useful than Spanish, with which 

 language, by the way, less than one- 

 tenth of the people are acquainted. 



If any fault can be found with this 

 interesting volume, it is that so little is 

 said about the civilized people of the 

 islands. It is not surprising, however, 

 that Mr Landor devotes most space to 

 the wild tribes, as his travels have gen- 

 erally been among little-known, savage 

 people rather than among the more civ- 

 ilized ; but it must be borne in mind 

 that the wild tribes of the Philippines 

 comprise only about one- eleventh of the 

 whole population. 



It is to be hoped that Mr Landor' s 

 readers will be fortunate enough to 

 meet some of the educated, cultivated 

 Filipinos who are now visiting the 

 United States. They will then appre- 

 ciate that there are as great differences 

 among the people of the Philippine 

 Islands as between our own educated 

 classes and the wildest Indians of the 

 West. 



Mr Landor has many good words for 

 the American army officers and civil- 

 ians from whom he received much kind- 

 ness and hospitality, for he is keenly 

 alive to the fact that what the islands 

 need more than anything else (except 

 free trade with the United States) is 

 men of the highest character in both 

 public and private life. The changes 

 which have taken place since American 

 occupation and which are still going on 

 are treated in an impartial manner. 



In concluding the 567 pages of his 

 book Mr Landor says : "In some eigh- 

 teen years of travel I never enjoyed 

 more than I did in this journey over 

 these enchanting islands, really and 

 truly the ' gems of the East.' " 



M. C. G. 



