George Percival Scriven:
An American in Bohol, The Philippines, 1899-1901

An On-line Archival Collection
Special Collections Library, Duke University

Section Seven

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estuary is deep and of considerable width <(about 50 yards)>. The ferry is made by boats covered by a bamboo matting, the whole drawn across by a fixed rope; but one carriage could pass at a time and after crossing Hale and I had ample time to consider the melancholy beginnings of an iron bridge lying on the northern shore, where the Spaniards had left it, far gone now in rust and decay. We were both struck by the tactical strength of the little town whose hill commands the road from Maribojoc, and would make the river crossing practically impossible if well defended. Hence had Tagbilaran been approached from the north and resistance here offered Cortez would have been a difficult problem. Well on we went along by the excellent road -- almost a boulevard, & marked with Kilometer posts, across a pleasant open country well cultivated but with somewhat barren hills on the right; and so after a pleasant <charming> drive came to the little coast village of Maribojoc where we were to breakfast and pick up our escort sent out the night before <by [boat?]>. They were already there. We drove directly to the church in part of which the priest lived and there were received by the padre who offered the customary cigars, cigarettes, and thimble full of gin in the great bare room almost without furniture but looking out pleasantly over the sea, and the long stone [continued on p. 63]
Maribojoc lies perhaps 75 feet above the sea in a small [illegible] by hills.

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pier where the fishing boats come. (Nearly all of the towns of this coast have piers of this kind extending perhaps four or five hundred feet into the sea, and giving a landing place for small boats at all tides. They are made of loosely piled fragments of coral rock.)
Maribojoc has no sheltered harbor, and the water off shore seems very shallow. The place is a small unimportant town, but like most others has a really fine good stone church and the usual two schools one for little boys, the other for little girls. The church seems to have been built for all time with stone walls four or five feet thick, the proportions are good and the building imposing, but the interior decoration is small.
The Presidente and one or two other functionaries came in to pay their respects to the party, and we breakfasted very well with the padre, who seemed a pleasant sort of man speaking Spanish of course. (Little or no French is heard in the Philippines): and soon after started on our way towards Loon, about nine o'clock in the morning. A carriage having been obtained for Sg't. [Carson?], that he might see the roads -- in order to construct telegraph lines later -- the others now going on by sea to Loon. The excellent coast highway -- with now and then an old stone bridge continued close along the shore amidst pleasant groves of cocoanut trees from which here and there peeped quaint little bamboo huts with checker board walls made of different colored cane and small and trim as a doll's house.

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Near by the crystal sea broke in little sparkling waves that ran off into deeper waters all blues and greys and greens under the brilliant sun to where long lines and squares and circles of bamboo marked the fish traps so common along this coast. Through them passed [silently?] now and again a quaint shaped native boat narrow almost as a knife, with outriggers of bamboo that skim the water like a duck's wing propelled by a lithe almost naked Malay half hidden beneath his huge round hat making a picture that might have come from some <schools boy's geography of long ago.>
But presently the road began to climb the hills, and the scene to expand into beauty worthy of the celebrated Corniche road itself, and not indeed unlike it. On the one hand green hills and pleasant fields, a saphire [sic] sea on the other, and away to the west the green coast and wooded mountains of Cebu. Signs of comfort and well being appeared on every hand, a patch of tobacco here [corn?] and cocoanuts there, and always pleasant faced people who invariably saluted by passing their hand over the hair in an odd fashion of civility. Yet here <we> were Hale and I in a hostile island occupied a fortnight before by Americans for the first time. And so driving pleasantly along over the excellent road in a comfortable carriage with all the beauties of the scene before us the march of invasion was continued and the Presidente with his pistol and Chief of Police left to follow as they might. About eleven we reached Loon and as usual drove at once to the church there alighted and

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awaited the arrival of our formal introducer the Presidente.
Loon is an interesting place on account of its situation on a bluff rising perhaps 250 feet from the sea, on the summit of which stands an old stone parapet flanked by two [barred?] bastions the whole having been built by the Spaniards in times long passed as a protection against the Moros of Mindanao of whom their people have to this day an extreme dread. <-- The [place?] is now [unarmed?]> The church lies back of the parapet and is grand and bare as the others, but from the level ground beside it a broad and well built flight of stone steps worthy of a Roman temple leads down to the shore from which as at Maribojoc runs a long narrow pier. In front and seeming very near -- though really some 16 miles away -- [lies?] the coast of Cebu, the buildings and church tower of Argao gleaming in the sun.
Loon is a little town composed chiefly of bamboo huts, but with two or three large stone buildings [whose floors threaten to tremble at every step?]. Two of these were used as schools; or rather one end of the huge loft of the second floor <of one building> contained a few timid little boys, and in the other a bevy of wee girls huddled together their little black eyes glistening with curiosity and fright as we paid a visit to them. The teachers seemed mortified at the small number of scholars they could muster but explained by saying that the children were too frightened to appear. Indeed I think children and grown people ex-

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pected to see some strange kind of creature in the American half man half ogre and whether black or white they did not know. Going down the [grand?] steps of Loon that lead to the pier, with Argao standing out white and clear on the opposite coast, I had the idea of establishing a heliograph station which should connect Bohol with the telegraphs and cables of Cebu. This was afterwards successfully accomplished. After chatting with the Padre and walking through the bare rooms of a former monastic building connected with the church, whose terrace or belvedere commanded a most beautiful view over sea and shore, we walked to the lower town and through its main street lined with bamboo huts to a beautiful natural pool in the rocks partly shaded with great trees and filled by the sea. Into this welled from the hills behind a [illegible] spring of fresh water, and the whole place with its limpid ever changing water, surrounding rocks and trees made a perfect bath of Diana and the little [illegible] <brown> imps of boys jumping cross legged from a jutting rock answered well as the water sprites of the place. The road <back> however,

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was hot enough to make one doubt whether we had not been looking on some molten lake of the inferno, and with the weakness of fever still on me, I was glad to get shelter from the sun in the house of the Presidente of Loon.
This man was an unusual type of the Filipino of a village; well dressed in Khaki, with a [linen?] coller [sic], and coat buttoned to the throat, and with pleasant if somewhat too convivial manners, he was rather a surprising personage. His house was small but well appointed. In the drawing room on the second floor -- of course -- the usual double row of [bent?] wood chairs -- mostly rockers, various bed rooms visible in the distance, and the dining room furnished with one long table where presently we sat down to a most elaborate breakfast. The wife appeared for a moment in the parlor but did not remain or come to the table, indeed we could see her flitting about in the kitchen amongst the servants and directing the feast. She was a well looking Boholana, dressed in the same general fashion as the women of the country and probably barefooted most of her days. The meal was elaborate, well cooked and good but the amount of meat served was astonishing and the fish of course came in about the middle of the repast. A good Spanish wine was given, and various other drinkables including Tuba, which the host seemed to prefer to all others; then we were given choice of waters one rain caught from the nipa roof, which

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[illegible] of leaves, the other from a spring, and so [sitting?] and chatting after this very solid meal, and nearly dropping asleep in the warm still afternoon we rested for an hour or so, and were then summoned to mirianda(?) a pleasant afternoon meal of [illegible], and cooling drinks as a rule, but to which we went like turkeys stuffed for fatening [sic]. Then once more to the terrace of the priest's house, and the carriages. About four o'clock the banca from Maribojoc brought the men and was sent on to Tubigon which we expected to reach next day. And so when the sun's heat dropped we started again by the good metaled road towards Calape, near which we were to face the night.

Loon is a town of about 16,000 people, say 6000 of whom are adults who pay taxes (which omits old women and children). There is much tobacco raised in the neighborhood, as well as corn; but cocoanuts are the chief export of this part of the island -- in the form of copra -- and a coarse fabric is made from the fibre of a species of bannana [sic]. Neither Loon nor Maribojoc have sheltered harbors and the water seems shoal in shore. In rear of Loon rise large hills apparently uncultivated except near the bases. Live stock is not abundant, and horses are few. The people seem well to do, peaceful and contented and very respectful. Road from Tagbilaran a good [illegible] highway; Tagbilaran to Maribojoc, 14 Kilometres, Tagbilaran to Loon 26 Kilos, Tagbilaran to

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Tubigon 50 Kilometres (say 51 to building to be there used as barracks).
Note 2 leagues (as marked on road Tagbilaran to Maribojoc) are nearly exactly equal to 11 Kilometros, hence 1 league = 51/2 Kilometros. 1 Kilo = 5/8 mile English, hence 1 League Spanish 3.44 miles English about, say 3.5 miles. Cable should not land at either Loon, Maribojoc or Tagbilaran, an excellent land line can be built along this coast to say Tubigon. Cable, however, could run Argao to Loon fairly well better Cebu Tubigon, I think.
X X X X X
The road from Loon to Calape passes for the most part through a pleasant well cultivated country, which a few miles north of the former place becomes a veritable garden, the hills here [illegible] towards the east and a wide plain extends from their bases to the sea. Evidently the soil is very rich and corn sugar-cane and rice with the inevitable cocoanut tree grow in abundance. The houses are trim and neat the people well to do and prosperous in appearance and the landscape beautiful to look upon. It is [true?] an occasional white flag showed the presence of the scourge of small pox, but that <scourge> is everywhere <present> on these islands. On leaving Loon the region was hilly and the soil well suited to tobacco, then the road descended to near the level of the sea, at times becoming a causeway that passed through mangrove swamps of foul black water and snaky bushes, but again