the harbor of Manila is that here is a body of water in which could lie secure not only the entire American Navy, but also the navies of many nations. One does not have long to meditate upon the occurrences of 1898, for his transport is quickly surrounded by official boats, representing the customs service and the quartermaster's department, and also by innumerable little boats manned by natives and waiting to carry passengers ashore. At present it is impossible to take large ships near the city, as the water is not deep enough, and sudden gales may drive them from their moorings. Given a thousand islands stretching over two thousand miles, from north to south, the chief means of communication must be by water. In the harbor of Manila one sees many kinds of craft. He finds several ships bearing on their funnels the national colors, though somewhat begrimed with smoke. These are inter-island transports which carry the troops and mail, fresh meat and ice and other necessaries of life to the different posts on the isles of Luzon, Panay, Mindanao, Cebu, Negros, Samar, Leyte, and a few smaller ones. These transports travel on schedule time; their routes average from ten to twelve days in length.

Commerce and traffic have followed the American flag; and to-day many lines of steamers, passenger and freight, include Manila in their course, while several have it as one of their terminal ports. Steamers from China or Japan bring mail and passengers every week; several lines run to Hong Kong, and others to Japan direct. There are frequent arrivals from Australia. China is within three days of Manila, and Japan is reached in two days more. At Hong Kong or Nagasaki

IN A STRANGE LAND

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liners may be taken for San Francisco, Portland or Vancouver, prompt connections being made. A letter mailed in Manila may be read in New York in thirty-two days. At Hong Kong and Singapore one may catch western-bound liners and reach England and New York through the Suez Canal. There are also many local steamship lines, mostly under Spanish control, although the English and Filipinos own some of the boats which ply between Manila and other cities. The Compania Maritima, the largest of the commercial companies, has an excellent fleet of twenty vessels, with which it touches nearly all the important centers in the Archipelago. There are also in the harbor ships from Nagasaki, Hong Kong and Calcutta, and from Spanish, English and German ports; an occasional schooner from the Pacific coast is seen.

While we were looking at the shipping and watching the great steam dredges at work, the launch carried us to the wharf opposite the Customs House. As we landed we found ourselves strangers in a strange land, and in the midst of strange customs.

Imagine two Americans standing on the wharf, unable to speak a word of Spanish, and a crowd of chattering natives unable to understand a word of English. Carriages, carts and other vehicles dashed past us, many of them empty and driven at breakneck speed. All efforts to get a conveyance were futile until we discovered a group of men in khaki uniform. A cordial greeting from these American brothers, a word or two in Spanish or Tagalog from one of them to a passing native, and we were soon on our way to the Hotel Oriente.

While the soldiers were securing the carromata, a Fil

ipino lad ran toward the vehicle and engaged the attention of the driver for an instant. For this service, less than a minute in duration, he extended a brown hand and said with a pathos almost irresistible:

"Fifty cents, Mex."

Just why he claimed a half dollar it was difficult to tell, unless he believed that we represented the people who had come from America to benefit the Filipinos.

There may be vehicles which jar one more than a carromata, a two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a small native pony, but they have not come under the writer's observation. Jehu would have been distanced had he driven his chariot through Manila. The driver, or cochero, takes no chances; he lets those in his carriage do that. He simply plans to get to his destination by the quickest route and in the shortest time; the fact that he is paid by the hour or the mile does not enter into his reckoning. He aims simply to get ahead of every one else, and he usually succeeds when he has an American passenger.

We had learned on the transport that there were excellent hospitals in Manila, and we had no doubt that within a half hour we should be in the accident ward, or more probably in the morgue. We did not communicate our fears to the cochero. We could not have done so if we had tried, and we were too busy holding on to the narrow seat even to talk to each other. The ride was not so long as it seemed, as we found later; and by learning one or two Spanish words, we were able later to ride in a carromata with some hope of returning to our hotel without broken limbs, although we never ceased to watch for broken axles and other damaged parts of our carriage.