. The Philippine Islands . be made asplendid soldier. As sailors, too, I do not believe they canbe equalled. For, lithe, active, and fond of the water, the Malayshave ever showntheir inclinationfor the sea. Theirpirates, coursing intheir prahus, have,till a few yearsago, for centuriesinfested the baysand inlets of theeastern Archipela-gos, looting thetowns and villageson shore and tak-ing as booty suchforeign merchant-men as they wereable to account of theravages of thesefierce eastern Vi-kings, Europeanshave come to re-gard the wholeMalay race as cruel negmtos of and b
. The Philippine Islands . be made asplendid soldier. As sailors, too, I do not believe they canbe equalled. For, lithe, active, and fond of the water, the Malayshave ever showntheir inclinationfor the sea. Theirpirates, coursing intheir prahus, have,till a few yearsago, for centuriesinfested the baysand inlets of theeastern Archipela-gos, looting thetowns and villageson shore and tak-ing as booty suchforeign merchant-men as they wereable to account of theravages of thesefierce eastern Vi-kings, Europeanshave come to re-gard the wholeMalay race as cruel negmtos of and bloodthirsty. But these were pirates in their own waters, and preyed upon theirown countrymen, by whom they were feared no less than were theSpanish and English freebooters of old by their , then, should -their outrages and rapacity be taken as indi-cative of the Malay character any more than are the atrocities ofthe Caucasian corsair of their race ? The natives are all excellent swimmers, and are absolutely6. 82 The Philippine Islands. fearless in the water. I have seen groups of boys diving thirtyor forty feet for pennies, dropped into the sea by foreign officerson ships anchored in the bay. Many swim miles with the greatestease; and it is no uncommon sight in the outlying districts to seegroups of naked men plunging with drawn dagger among a shoal of sharks, with whomthey fight with a fierce-ness that always re-sults in the victory ofthe native. Along the beach atManila, on a summerevening, at the closeof the days labor, hun-dreds of hands fromthe various tobaccofactories — men,women, and children,of all ages and sizes,married and unmar-ried—may be seen dis-port ing themselves,with peals of laughterand squeals of delight,in the cool surf. As a result of thestoicism of the nativecharacter, he neverbewails a misfortune, and has no fear of death. When any-thing happens he merely says. It is fate, and calmly goes abouthis business as if nothing had happened. Eur
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectphilippinesdescripti
