no feeling of nationality as yet among the Filipinos, and thus it is that none seems possible until a common language comes into existence and the means of communication become more extensive than they now are.

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In my school there were but two representatives of the non-Christian (or hill) tribe that occupied the territory immediately to the east of the town in which I lived. This particular tribe is known by themselves as Itneg, but by others and more commonly as Tinguianes. They are a heathen people, living in a settled, orderly manner, but with no tribal organization, and so with only a local, virtually independent, control of their own affairs. Now, I found some bits of evidence that the ancestors of a few of the inhabitants of my town might have been at one time Tinguianes. In neighboring towns traces of the process of assimilation were quite evident in the persons of those "new Christians," as the Spanish phrase has it, namely, those Tinguianes who had cut off their long hair, had embraced the Catholic faith, and been baptized with a Christian" name in addition to the former single name that they had borne, and so were admitted to the full rights of the town in which they chose to live. The theory which seemed to be accepted most generally, however, has it that the Philippine Islands were originally settled, at a time when civilization was at a very low ebb, by a wave of emigration from the Malay Peninsula and that the pioneers naturally settled along the coast. Later, at a time when civilization was at a slightly higher stage, another wave of emigration took place from the Malay Peninsula, and the last comers drove the first comers back into the mountainous interior of the country, while the newcomers occupied in turn the territory along the coast. Then when the Spaniards came to the islands they exerted all of their Christianizing and civilizing influences upon those whom they found nearest the coast, allowing those in the interior to remain in their original state of savagery, which they have virtually retained to this day.

During the Christmas week which I spent in a Tinguian village, about 10 miles farther in the hills, so far away from real civilization that we found only pitch wood used for illuminating purposes, and so far, also, from a civilized settlement, that hardly a Spanish word was of any avail whatever, I observed quite closely and agreeably the life and customs of the Tinguianes. The village in which we stopped was clean and orderly, the inhabitants were peaceable, unobtrusive, and most hospitable to us, and to all intents and purposes they lead a moral and happy life. They believe in good and bad spirits; that an eclipse is caused by some tribe on the earth eating the sun or moon to satisfy hunger; that thunder and lightning are caused by the striking of a giant flint and steel; one bright little fellow answered my question as to where he would go after he died by saying that while he did not know, I might find out for myself by dying. In the fall of 1904 some systematic school work, mostly industrial in its nature, was begun among these Tinguianes.

The similarity in nature and customs between the Ilocanos among whom I was living and the Tinguianes is perhaps not great, especially in view of the fact that all of the Ilocanos wear at least two full garments and wear their hair cut pompadour. Still, there was not a person in my town who ate his rice or other food with anything but his fingers when he was alone or with his own family. I never saw a Tinguian drunk or indulging in cock fighting, except in or near an Ilocano village. The Tinguian boys in my school made just as good progress, considering their lack of previous training, as any of their more fortunate companions.

At the beginning of the second school year I tried the experiment of putting the older and the brighter girls into the room of the man teacher, and of sending the younger boys into the room of the woman teacher, with the little girls.

Notwithstanding that this was contrary to all former customs, it worked very well, and allowed much improvement in the work accomplished. What had been the highest class of girls became a part of the second class of boys, since the girls had not shown as much aptitude as the boys. Besides, the former teacher of the boys had early given up his post, realizing that he was too old to take up readily the new ideas, and he had been succeeded by a younger and promising teacher. It had not been the custom to send the girls to school with the same regularity or for as long a period as the boys. As a consequence the number of women who could speak Spanish was much smaller than that of men, and indeed there was no woman in that town beside the teacher who could carry on a conversation in Spanish.

It was during the course of this session, too, that a number of modern American-built school desks were allotted to my school by the insular bureau of education, as well as an additional lot of slates, language books, and geographies. The Filipino teachers now occupied all of their time in teaching what they had acquired during the first year, while I gave most of my attention to the pupils, and the required hour every day to teaching the Filipino teachers. At the end of the year the boys who were farthest along (they were completing the second reader) used to seem to enjoy coming to my house to look at my papers and pictures and to carry on a fairly adequate conversation with me in English. I was the only American with whom they had come into any real contact, too, since my nearest neighbor was 7 miles away.

How to attack the problem which revealed itself to the American teachers as we first confronted the actual conditions in our respective stations, or, indeed, how to get an adequate idea of the very nature of the problem itself. in all its novelty and greatness were serious questions when we first went to work. The superintendent was no better informed than the teacher, and consequently we were permitted to work out our own individual solutions to the problem. In view of the independence and freedom that were granted in this respect it may well be strange, and yet also fortunate, that as good results have been secured as are now evident. Of course the foundation work is now virtually accomplished; competent supervisors have been developed among the now experienced American teachers, who are aiding the Filipino teachers and pupils to make the best progress consistent with the conditions.

The trials which the first teachers met with were not limited to those directly connected with seeking the best devices and methods nor to those arising from the necessity of acquiring a new language and a familiarity with new climatic conditions. The question of securing the best, or only suitable, food that was available; the hardships connected with a fluctuating currency, which was used by the civil government for more than two years; the necessity of further adjustment to the rules of the classified civil service when the whole of the bureau of education was taken into that service; and various other difficulties and annoyances that continually arose made it not easy, to say the least, to find nothing but joy or even a reasonable satisfaction at the time in carrying out the experiment to the end. Happily, nearly all of that has now disappeared through the process of crystallization of the best and the better adjustment of the various conflicting interests.

The third school year I spent on the island of Panay, about as far south of Manila as I had been north, and among a different people, the Visayans. First, I had to learn a new dialect, if I wished to be able to talk with the great body of the inhabitants, although it is true that there is much more Spanish culture evident in the southern islands than in the region north of Manila. The progress of the schools under the new régime was greater, also, because of the more favorable conditions of travel and of work. The attitude

of the Filipinos seemed to be more critical, to put it the most mildly, and the difficulties to be overcome were also greater. In Iloilo, which is the second city in the archipelago, the highest of the five classes in the provincial school was reading in the fifth reader in the fall of 1904. They were pursuing other studies, such as arithmetic, United States history, and geography at points much further advanced, however, than this would seem to indicate.

The bureau of education is under the direction of the secretary of public instruction, who is one of the four American members, besides the president, of the United States Philippine Commission. At the head of the bureau is the superintendent of education, who has his office in Manila, in which are also two assistant superintendents and a corps of clerks. Then there are some 35 division superintendents, each of whom is responsible for the school affairs of a single province, as a rule. There are about 900 American teachers in the islands, who are paid from the insular treasury, about seven-eighths of the income of which is derived from the customs receipts and the remainder from the internal-revenue tax. All of the books and supplies are purchased from the same fund, the appropriation each year being between a million and a million and a half dollars. The town authorities, from the proceeds of the local land tax and from fees and licenses, provide and maintain school buildings and pay the salaries of the Filipino teachers, of whom there are some 4,000, under the direction of the division superintendents.

The outlook, notwithstanding all the discouragements and hindrances which loom up so large when they are a part of one's life, but which shrink and disappear in time, is favorable to a healthy growth and development of the school system of the Philippine Islands. It is certain now that they must continue to increase in efficiency and numbers until they are performing their whole duty toward the uplifting of the Filipino people.

CHAPTER XVII.

EDUCATIONAL DIRECTORY."

I.-CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS.

• Corrected to Oct. 15, 1906, in so far as changes have been reported to the Bureau, except the list of State school officers, which has been corrected to April 15, 1997.

ED 1905-VOL 1-27

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