baroto

The turns and twists grew narrower, and the difficulty of steering our long baroto around these grew greater.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

Our baroto with six native oarsmen was waiting at the stone stairway in the shadow of the bridge, and as the tide was beginning to turn we lost no time in bestowing ourselves and our provisions.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

It was "Hiawatha," and to the inspiring strains of "Let the women do the work, let the men take it easy," our forgotten baroto swept into sight in the easy water under the opposite bank.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

Sometimes we met a baroto on its way to market with a cargo of three chickens, five cocoanuts, two bunches of bananas, one head of the family, four children, and several women unaccounted for.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

The baggage and a few supernumerary young men and a mandolin orchestra were loaded into an enormous baroto, and ten sturdy brown backs bent forward as the boatmen pushed with all their strength against the great bamboo poles, which looked as if they would snap under the strain.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

The middle of the baroto, for a distance of about six feet, was floored and canopied.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

The men got but and waded, pushing the baroto lightly over the soft ooze.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

Apparently it couldn't be done, and we wasted a half-hour, in which every native in the swamp seemed to be giving orders, and the overwhelming desire of the carabaos was to swarm up the bank and get out, without regard to the effect on the baroto.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

The baroto left apparently for the port, which was four miles away.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee

The unanimity thait had so long been sought swept like an epidemic into our lumbering steeds, and our baroto started ahead with a firmness of purpose that sent the author of this book flying into the mud, and bumped us all up most gloriously as we lunged round the corner.

A Woman's Impression of the Philippines Mary Helen Fee