So he cut the
tape and used good common sense instead. Perhaps the government was a
bit patriarchal, but it was good, clean, and wholesome--and every one
profited by it.

CHAPTER XXXI

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

Our newest possession, the Philippine Archipelago, in a way, is also our
oldest, for the islands were discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521,
about twenty-nine years after the great discovery of Columbus. Magellan
called at several islands, among them Mindanao and Cebu. He anchored in
the harbor on which the city of Cebu now stands. He seems to have been
treated in a very friendly manner by the natives of Cebu, but when he
crossed to a near-by island he was attacked and killed. The friendship
of the King of Cebu was not very steadfast, for after Magellan's death
several of his officers were put to death by the king's order.

For two hundred and forty years the islands were a possession of Spain;
then they were captured by a British fleet. They were soon restored to
Spain, however, and remained a Spanish possession until 1898, when they
were ceded to us after the Spanish-American War.

There are more than three thousand islands in the archipelago, and they
are the partly covered tops of a mountainous and rugged plateau. Many
volcanoes testify to the volcanic origin of the plateau; indeed, the
surface of the plateau seems to be a thin crust over--well, over
trouble; for the dozen or more volcanoes are never quiet long enough to
be forgotten. Perhaps it was proper to name the islands after Philip II
of Spain, for he, too, had his full measure of trouble.

The archipelago is of pretty good size. The whole plateau, land and
water, is about as large as that part of the United States east of
Chicago; and the islands themselves are pretty nearly as large as the
State of Texas. Luzon, the largest island, is about as large as
Pennsylvania, and Mindanao is a bit smaller. Then there are Samar,
Panay, Palawan, and Cebu--every one large enough to make a State of fair
size, and every one with enough people to make a State.

There are about seven million people all told, most of whom are of the
Malay race. As a rule, they are pretty well along toward civilization;
some of them are educated. There are also tribes of the black
race--Negritos, they are called--who are just plain savages. They are
the original inhabitants of the islands, and it is most likely that they
are the descendants of people from New Guinea. I