nightly from Hongkong, were sifted by
priestly censors, who left little but the chronicles of the Spanish
and French courts to feed the barren columns of the local sheets. [46]
The pompously celebrated religious festivals were the only events
that sometimes chequered the wearisome monotony.

[Cock-fighting.] The chief amusement of the Filipinos is cock-fighting,
which is carried on with a passionate eagerness that must strike every
stranger. Nearly every man keeps a fighting cock. Many are never seen
out of doors without their favorite in their arms; they pay as much
as $50 and upwards for these pets, and heap the tenderest caresses
on them. The passion for cock-fighting can well be termed a national
vice; but the practice may have been introduced by the Spaniards, or
the Mexicans who accompanied them, as, in a like manner, the habit of
smoking opium among the Chinese, which has become a national curse,
was first introduced by the English. [Probably Malay Custom.] It is,
however, more probable that the Malays brought the custom into the
country. In the eastern portion of the Philippines, cock-fighting
was unknown in the days of Pigafetta. The first cock-fight he met
with was at Palawan. "They keep large cocks, which from a species of
superstition, they never eat, but keep for fighting purposes. Heavy
bets are made on the upshot of the contest, which are paid to the
owner of the winning bird." [47] The sight is one extremely repulsive
to Europeans. [The cockpit.] The ring around the cockpit is crowded
with men, perspiring at every pore, while their countenances bear
the imprint of the ugliest passions. Each bird is armed with a sharp
curved spur, three inches long capable of making deep wounds, and which
always causes the death of one or both birds by the serious injuries it
inflicts. If a cock shows symptoms of fear and declines the encounter,
it is plucked alive. Incredibly large sums, in proportion to the means
of the gamblers, are wagered on the result. [Its bad influence.] It
is very evident that these cock-fights must have a most demoralising
effect upon a people so addicted to idleness and dissipation, and so
accustomed to give way to the impulse of the moment. Their effect
is to make them little able to resist the temptation of procuring
money without working for it. The passion for the game leads many
to borrow at usury, to embezzlement, to theft, and even to highway
robbery. The land and sea pirates, of whom I