The Head Hunters of Northern Luzon From Ifugao to Kalinga A Ride Through the Mountains of Northern Luzon With an Appendix on the Independence of the Philippines

 By

 Cornélis De Witt Willcox, Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. Army, Professor United States Military Academy, Officier d'Académie. 

 Kansas City, Mo. , U. S. A. Franklin Hudson Publishing Co. , 1912. 

 Copyright 1912 By Franklin Hudson Publishing Company. 

 To J. G. H. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PREFACE

CHAPTER I

Highlanders of Northern Luzon. --Meaning of the word_Igorrote_. --Trails. --The Mountain Province. --Nature of the country. 

CHAPTER II

Annual inspection of the mountain tribes. --We set out fromBaguío. --Pangasinán Province. --Agno River. --Reception by the people. 

CHAPTER III

Padre Juan Villaverde. --His great trail. --The beginning of themountain journey. --Nozo. 

CHAPTER IV

Early start. --Pine forest. --Vegetation. --Rest at Amugan. --The_gansa_--Boné. 

CHAPTER V

Aritao. --Bubud. --Dúpax. --Start for Campote. 

CHAPTER VI

The Ilongots and their country. --Efforts of our Government to reachthese people--The forest trail. --Our first contact with the wild man. 

CHAPTER VII

School at Campote--Our white pony, and the offer made for his tail. 

CHAPTER VIII

Appearance of the Ilongots. --Dress. --Issue of beads and cloth. --WarriorDance. --School work. --Absence of old women from meeting. 

CHAPTER IX

Return to civilization. --Reception at Bambang. --Aglipayanos andProtestants. 

CHAPTER X

Magat River. --Enthusiastic reception at Bayombong. --Speeches andreports. --Solano. --Ifugao "college yell. "--Bagábag. 

CHAPTER XI

We enter the Mountain Province, --Payawan. --Kiangan, itsposition. --Anitos. --Speech of welcome by Ifugao chief. --Detachment ofnative Constabulary. --Visit of Ifugao chiefs to our quarters. --Dancing. 

CHAPTER XII

Day opens badly. --Ifugao houses. --The people assemble. --Dancing. --Speeches. --White paper streamers. --Head-hunter Dance. --Cañao. 

CHAPTER XIII

Dress of the people. --Butchery of carabao. --Prisoner runs _amok_and is killed. 

CHAPTER XIV

Barton's account of a native funeral. 

CHAPTER XV

Visit to the Silipan Ifugaos at Andangle. --The Ibilao River. --Athleticfeat. --Rest-house and stable at Sabig. 

CHAPTER XVI

Change in aspect of country. --Mount Amuyao and the native legend ofthe Flood. --Rice terraces. --Benawe. --Mr. Worcester's first visit tothis region. --Sports. --Absence of weapons. --Native arts and crafts. 

CHAPTER XVII

We ride to Bontok. --Bat-nets. --Character of the country. --Ambawan. --Difficulties of the trail. --Bird-scarers. --Talubin. --BishopCarroll of Vigan. --We reach Bontok. --"The Star-spangled Banner. "--Appearance of the Bontok Igorot. --Incidents. 

CHAPTER XVIII

Importance of Bontok--Head-taking--Atonement forbloodshed. --Sports. --Slapping game. 

CHAPTER XIX

The native village. --Houses. --Pit-a-pit. --Nativeinstitutions. --Lumawig. 

CHAPTER XX

We push on north. --Banana skirts. --Albino child. --Pineuplands. --Glorious view. 

CHAPTER XXI

Deep Valley. --A poor _ranchería_. --Escort of boys. --Descent ofTinglayan Hill. --Sullen reception at Tinglayan. --Bangad. --First viewof the Kalingas. --Arrival at Lubuagan. 

CHAPTER XXII

Splendid appearance of theKalingas. --Dancing. --Lubuagan. --_Basi_--Councils. --Bustles andbraids. --Jewels and weapons. --Excellent houses. 

CHAPTER XXIII

We leave the mountains. --Nanong. --Passage of the Chico. --TheApayao. --Tabuk. --The party breaks up. --Desolate plain--The CagayánValley. --Enrile. 

CHAPTER XXIV

Tobacco industry. --Tuguegarao. --Caves. --The CagayánRiver. --Barangayans. --Aparri. --Island of Fuga. --Sail for Manila. --Stopat Vigan. --Arrival at Manila. 

CHAPTER XXV

Future of the Highlanders. --Origin of our effort to improve theircondition. --Impolicy of any change in present administration. --Transfer of control of wild tribes to ChristianizedFilipinos. --Comparison of our course with that of the Japanesein Formosa. 

APPENDIX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

An Igorot WarriorHon. Dean C. WorcesterViews of the Benguet RoadWorking on the Benguet RoadPadre Juan VillaverdeBenguet Road, Zig-zagTree Fern, Province of BontokIlongot WomenNative PolicemenReception Committee of IfugaosMountain Scene in the Ifugao CountryMountain Scene between Benawe and KianganInaba, Ifugao VillageIfugao Couple with Adornments of a Wedding CeremonyIfugao ChildrenHeadless Body of Ifugao WarriorIfugao WarriorTypical Ifugao HouseIfugao Making Rounds of GranaryAnitos, KianganIfugao Chief Making a SpeechConference between Government Officers and the Headmen of the DistrictIfugao Head-hunter, Full DressHead-hunter Dance, KianganDancing at KianganIfugaos DancingSilipan Ifugao EarringIfugaos Dancing, BenaweCrossing Ibilao River by Flying TrolleyIfugao Head DanceRice Terraces at BenaweBody of Igorot Girl Prepared for BurialCarabao FightIgorot TribunalA Bontok Igorot HouseIgorot Rice FieldsOn the Trail from Benguet to CervantesBontok Igorot WomanElaborate Tattooing of the Head-hunterBontok Igorot Constabulary SoldiersBontok Igorot Slapping Game_Gansas_ with Human Jaws as HandlesWomen and Girls Wearing Banana-leaf SkirtsNew School-house, BontokValley of the Rio ChicoKalinga GirlLooking Down the Rio ChicoSpiral Camote PatchMadallam, Kalinga HeadmanTwo Headmen of LubuaganKalinga WarriorsTypical Kalinga HouseConference at LubuaganView of Lubuagan, Capital of KalingaKalinga Head-axIgorot ShieldIfugao Carved BowlIfugao Pipe, Carved Figure, and Wooden SpoonCarved Wooden FigurinesMap of Northern Luzon

PREFACE

In 1910 the Secretary of the Interior of the Philippine Islands didme the honor to invite me to accompany him on his annual tour ofinspection through the Mountain Province of Northern Luzon. In thefollowing pages I have tried to describe what fell under my noticeduring the journey, with such comments, observations, and conclusionsas seemed pertinent. 

I should like here to thank Mr. Worcester for having invited me to joinhim, and Major-General Duvall, United States Army, for allowing meto accept. My thanks are also due the various officers and officialsof the Insular Government who placed me under obligations by theirhospitality and other courtesies and by the never-failing patiencewith which they received and answered my many questions. To myfriend Colonel J. G. Harbord, United States Army, Assistant Directorof Constabulary, I am beholden for instructions sent out in advanceof the journey to the various Constabulary posts on the itinerary, directing them to offer me every opportunity to accomplish the purposeof my trip. Except where otherwise indicated, the illustrationsare from photographs taken either by Mr. Worcester himself, or elseunder his direction. Some of these, as shown, were lent to me by theNational Geographic Magazine of Washington, and others by the Bureauof Insular Affairs of the War Department. My best thanks are due andgiven in each case. Dr. Heiser was kind enough to let me have a fewphotographs taken by him. To Lieutenant P. D. Glassford, 2d Regimentof Field Artillery, I am indebted for the map of Northern Luzon andfor one or two other illustrations copied from Jenks' "The BontocIgorot"; to Father Malumbres, of the Dominican Monastery in Manila, for information relating to Padre Villaverde and for the portrait ofthat missionary; it is to be regretted that this portrait should beso unsatisfactory, but it is the only one available. The frontispieceis by Mr. Julian Miller, who has lived in the Igorot country, andwhose drawing is from life. 

C. De W. W. West Point, N. Y. , January, 1912. 

CHAPTER I

 Highlanders of Northern Luzon. --Meaning of the word "Igorot. "--Trails. --The Mountain Province. --Nature of the country. 

It is to be regretted that the people of the United States should ingeneral show so little interest in the Philippine Islands. This lackof interest may be due to lack of knowledge; if this be so, then itis the duty of those better informed to do all that lies in theirpower to develop the interest now regrettably absent. Be this as itmay, it is assumed here that most of our people do not know that avery large fraction of the inhabitants of the Philippines consistsof the so-called wild men, and that of these the greatest group orcollection is found in the mountains of Northern Luzon. 

These mountaineers or highlanders constitute perhaps, all otherthings being equal, as interesting a body of uncivilized people asis to be found on the face of the earth to-day. The Spaniards, ofcourse, soon discovered their existence, the first mention of thembeing made by De Morga, in his "_Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas_"(1609). He speaks [1] of them as inhabiting the interior of a roughmountainous country, where are "many natives who are not pacified, nor has anyone gone into their country, who call themselves Ygolotes, "Here we have the first form, the classic form according to Retana, ofthe word now universally written _Igorrote_, or in English _Igorot. _The word itself means "highlanders, " _golot_ being a Tagalog word for"mountain, " and _I_ a prefix meaning "people of. " De Morga mentionsthe "Ygolotes" as owning rich mines of gold and silver, which "theywork as there is need, " and he goes on to say that in spite of allthe diligence made to know their mines, and how they work and improvethem, the matter has come to naught, "because they are cautious withthe Spaniards who go to them in search of gold, and say they keep itbetter guarded under ground than in their houses, "

The Spaniards at a very early date sent armed exploring partiesthrough the highlands and maintained garrisons here and there downto our own time. [2] But they never really held the country. 

The Church, too, early entered this territory, the field being givenover to the Dominicans, [3] who furnished many devoted missionariesto the cause. But here, too, failure must be recorded in respect ofpermanency of results in the really wild parts of the Highlands. Ithas remained for our own Government to get a real hold of the peopleof these regions, to win their confidence, command their respect, and exact their obedience in all relations in which obedience isproper and just. 

The indispensable material condition of success was to make themountain country accessible. Only those who have had the fortune totravel through this country can realize how difficult this endeavorhas been and must continue to be, chiefly because of the great localcomplexity of the mountain system, but also because of the severelydestructive storms of this region, with consequent torrential violenceof the streams affected. But little money, too, can be, or has been, spent for the necessary road-work. In spite of the difficultiesinvolved, however, a system of road-making has been set on foot, the labor needed being furnished by the highlanders themselves inlieu of a road tax. Very briefly, the system is as follows:

(_a_) The first thing done is to open what is known as the "metertrail, " i. E. , a trail one meter wide, at a grade not to exceed 6per cent, and where possible to be kept at 4 per cent. At certainpoints where the absolute necessity exists, a 10 per cent grade isadmissible for very short distances, as at river crossings, but onlywhere a gentler grade would involve a long detour at great expense. 

This "meter trail" weathers for one year, and thus automaticallydevelops its own weak spots. These are repaired as fast as discovered(which is practically at once, by reason of constant supervision), and the trail thus hardens, as it were, into something approachingpermanency. 

(_b_) The next step in the history of the trail is to widen it totwo meters, the same general course being followed as outlined in(_a_). As a satisfactory state of permanency is reached we come to(_c_) The final widening, draining, and metalling of the trail toaccommodate wagon traffic. The trail now becomes a permanent road. 

In many cases only wooden tools have been available, and the lack ofmoney has compelled a sparing use of explosives. Nevertheless underthis system there now exist in the Mountain Province 730 miles ofexcellent horse trail of easy grade, [4] and what is significant, the people of the highlands are using these trails, and so becomingpeacefully acquainted with one another. 

The Mountain Province itself is the outcome of the difficultiesencountered in governing the wild tribes so long as these wereleft in provinces where either their interests were not paramount, or else the difficulties of administration were unduly costly ordifficult. Established in 1908, it has a Governor, and each of itsseven sub-provinces a Lieutenant-Governor, the sub-province as far aspossible including people of one and of only one tribe. The creationof this province was a great step forward in promoting the welfareof the highlanders. 

A word must be said here in explanation of the nomenclature of themountain tribes. Generically, having in mind the meaning of the word, they are all Igorots. But it is the practice to distinguish the variouselements of this great family by different names, restricting the term"Igorot" to special branches, as Benguet Igorot, Bontok Igorot, meaningthose who live in Benguet or Bontok. The other members are known asIfugao, Ilongot, Kalinga, and so on. [5] Lastly, the following extractfrom the "Census of the Philippine Islands" [6] gives some idea of themountain system in which dwell the people whom we are about to visit. 

"West of this Valley [the Cagayán] and separating it from theChina Sea, stands a broad and complex system of mountains, known asthe Caraballos Occidentales. Its length is nearly 200 miles, andits breadth, including the great spurs and subordinate ranges andridges on either side, is fully one-third its length. The centralrange of the system forms the divide between the waters flowing toCagayán River on the east and those flowing to the China Sea on thewest. Its northern part bears the name Cordillera Norte. Farther southit is called Cordillera Central, while the southern portion is calledCordillera Sur. " "At its south end the Cordillera Sur swings to theeast, and, under the name of Caraballos Sur, joins the Sierra Madre, or East Coast Range. "

This description, it must be understood, gives no adequate idea of thelocal intricacy of the system, while at the same time it is preciselythis intricacy, both vertical and horizontal, that increases the costand difficulty of making roads, and that has served in the past tokeep the inhabitants of these regions apart. 

CHAPTER II

 Annual inspection of the mountain tribes. --We set out from Baguio. --Pangasinán Province. --Agno River. --Reception by the people. 

Every year Mr. Worcester makes a formal tour of inspection throughthe Mountain Province to note the progress of the trails and roads, to listen to complaints, to hear reports, devise ways and means ofbetterment and in general to see how the hillmen are getting on. Thistour is a very great affair to the highlanders, who are assembledin as great numbers as possible at the various points where stopsare made; during the stay of the "Commission" (as Mr. Worcester isuniversally called by the highlanders) at the points of assemblage, the wild people are subsisted by the Government. 

The trip is long and hard, nor is it altogether free fromdanger. Preparations have to be made two months ahead to have foragefor animals, and food for human beings, at the expected halts, whileeverything eaten by man or beast on the way must be carried by the_cargadores_ (bearers) who accompany the column, since living offthe country is in general impossible. Under these circumstances butvery few guests can be invited. I was so fortunate as to be one ofthese in 1910; how fortunate, I did not realize until the trip wasover. For although an American may ride alone unmolested through thecountry we visited, still he would see only what might fall under hiseye as he made his way; whereas, on this official trip, thousands ofpeople are brought together at designated points, and one can thusdo and see in a month what it would take a much longer time to doand see under one's own efforts. 

This year (1910) the party was made up of Mr. Cameron Forbes, theGovernor-General of the Philippine Islands; Mr. Worcester, Secretary ofthe Interior; Dr. Heiser, Director of Health; Dr. Strong, Chief of theBiological Laboratory; Mr. Pack, Governor of the Mountain Province;and of two officers besides myself, Captain Cootes, 13th Cavalry, Aide de Camp to the Governor-General, and Captain Van Schaick, 16th Infantry, Governor of Mindoro. General Sir Harry Broadwood, commanding His Majesty's forces at Hong Kong, had been invited, but atthe last moment cabled that his duties would prevent his coming. Unlesshe reads this book he will never know what he missed! As we passedthrough the various sub-provinces their respective governors and oneor two officials would join us and ride to the boundary. 

On account of the difficulties of supply and transportation, we wererequested to bring no _muchachos_ (boys--i. E. , servants), so we had toshift for ourselves. Our baggage was very strictly limited; each manbeing allowed two parcels, one of bedding, and the other of clothes, neither to be more than could be easily carried on the back of a single_cargador_. Mr. Worcester took along for the whole party an ingeniousapparatus of his own contrivance for boiling drinking-water, as allstreams in the Philippines at a level lower than 6, 000 feet have beenfound to contain amoebae, [7] the parasitic presence of which in theintestines produces that frightful disease, amoebic dysentery. We wereespecially desired to leave our revolvers at home, and had no escort. 

Accordingly, our mounts and kit having been sent on a day or two inadvance, we set out from Baguio in motor-cars, April 26, at eightA. M. , of an extraordinarily fine day. The day before it had rainedmercilessly; not only that, but clouds and mists had enveloped us sothat one could not see twenty yards ahead. We were nearing the rainyseason, and conditions were uncertain, but this morning the gods wereon our side and we could not have asked for better weather. We wentdown the splendid Benguet Road, following the bed of the Bued River [8]to the railway, a drop of over 4, 000 feet in thirteen miles. Strangeto say, the stream had not risen at all, a fortunate circumstance, as one hundred and sixty bridges are crossed in the drop, and attimes a rise will wash out not only the bridges, but all semblanceof a road. [9] At the railway we turned south over the great plainof Pangasinán. This, in respect of roads, is the show province ofthe Archipelago and deserves its reputation, one hundred and twentymiles having been built. Those we passed over this day would havebeen called good in France even. Our passage was of the nature ofa progress, thanks to the presence of the Governor-General. Simplebamboo arches crossing the road greeted us everywhere, Mr. Forbespunctiliously raising his hat under every one. All the villages haddecorated their houses; handkerchiefs, petticoats, red table-cloths, anything and everything had been hung out of the windows by way offlags and banners. Across the front of the municipal building of onevillage was stretched a banner with this inscription, "_En honor dela venida del Gobernador General y de su Comitiva_" ("In honor of thearrival of the Governor-General and of his retinue"), and then below onthe next band, "_Deseamos iener un pozo artesiano_" ("We should liketo have an Artesian well"), which led Mr. Worcester to remark thatfour years before the banner would have demanded "_independencia_"(independence), and not an Artesian well. 

Even in Pangasinán, good roads must come to an end, and ours did aswe neared the Agno River. For this blessed river is a curse to itsneighborhood, and rises in flood from a stream say seventy-five yardswide to a rushing lake, if the expression be permitted, half a mileand more across. Our car finally refused to move; its wheels simplyturned _in situ_, so deep was the sand. There was nothing for it butto walk to the river bank, where we were met with many apologies. Abamboo bridge had been built across the stream a few days before sothat our cars might cross, but yesterday's rain had washed it down, and would we try to cross on rafts? We looked at the rafts, bambooplatforms built over large _bancas_ (canoes, double-enders cut out of asingle log), the bamboos being lashed together with _bejuco_ (rattan, the native substitute for nails), and decided that no self-respectingmotor would stand such transportation, but would go to the bottom firstby overturning. So we got our stuff aboard the rafts, were poled over, and made the rest of the journey to Tayug, our first considerable halt, in _carromatas_ (the native two-wheeled, springless cart). Fortunatelythe distance was short, the _carromata_ being an instrument of torturehappily overlooked by the Spanish Inquisition. 

At Tayug a great concourse of people welcomed us, with arches, flags, and decorations. The _presidencia_, or town hall, was filled with thenotabilities, and Mr. Forbes was presented with an address by one ofthe _señoritas_. Suitable answer having been made, we adjourned, themen first, the women following when we had done, according to nativecustom, to the side rooms, where a surprisingly good tiffin had beengot ready for us, venison, chickens, French rolls, _dulces_ (sweets), whiskey and soda, Heaven knows what else, to which, all unwitting ofour doom, we did full justice. About two miles beyond Tayug lies SanFrancisco, the initial point of our real mounted journey. The peoplealong this part of the road had simply outdone themselves in the matterof arches, there being one at every hundred yards almost. At SanFrancisco the crowd was greater than at Tayug; and here was set outfor us another sumptuous tiffin, in a house built the day before forthis very purpose, of bamboo and nipa palm. Access to it was had by aladder and we sat down at a table, while the _señoras_ of the placewaited on us, every inch of standing-room being occupied by peoplewho had crowded in to see the performance of the Governor-General andof his _comitiva!_ And perform we did--we had to! Ducks, chickens, venison, _camotes_ (sweet potatoes), peppers, beer, red wine--no onewould have thought that but three-quarters of an hour before we hadjust gone through the same thing. But it would have been the heightof discourtesy to give way to our inclination by showing a lack ofappetite; moreover, it is not often that a party is held in a housebuilt to be used merely one hour. So we did honor to the occasion, but had to let out our belts before mounting immediately afterward. 

CHAPTER III

 Padre Juan Villaverde. --His great trail. --The beginning of the mountain journey. --Nozo. 

The point to which we had come, San Francisco, marks the beginning ofthe Juan Villaverde trail from the Central Valley of Luzon throughthe mountains before us, to the province of Nueva Vizcaya. All daythe chain we were to pierce had been in sight, and I for one had beenwondering where we were to find a practicable entrance, so forbiddinglyvertical did the range appear to be. 

Now the Spaniards in the Philippines at best were but poor road-or trail-makers. Indeed, in the matter of trails they were simplystupid, in some cases actually going straight up a hill and downthe other side, when the way around was no longer, and of course fareasier to maintain. But Padre Juan Villaverde of the Dominicans wasa great and honorable exception. Quite apart from this aspect, wehear so much that is evil of the friars that it is a pleasure, whenpossible, to point out the good they did, a thing more frequentlypossible than people imagine it is. For Father Villaverde gave hislife to missionary work among the hill-people, seeking in every way tobetter their condition materially as well as morally. Born in 1841, as early as 1868 we find him on duty at Bayombong, in Nueva Vizcaya, the province we were about to enter. From the first he seems to havebeen impressed by the possibilities of the country in which he waslaboring; and, foreseeing that good communications would ultimatelysettle most of the questions relating to the highlanders, he builttrails, trails that are still in use, whereas nearly all the others(but few in number) established by the Spaniards have been abandoned byus, where Nature has not indeed saved us the trouble by washing themout of existence. For thirty years Villaverde worked unceasingly, building roads and bridges and churches, and striving to civilizethe people among whom he lived; but his chief work, that by whichhis memory is kept green to this day, is the great trail from theotherwise almost inaccessible province of Nueva Vizcaya, across theCaraballos to the Central Valley of Luzon, where access to the outerworld by rail becomes possible. This trail is officially designatedby his name, and is maintained by Government. This was the one wewere about to enter upon. [10] Accordingly we thanked our kind hostsof San Francisco; and at last set out on our real trip. But, curiousand eager as I felt to engage upon it, I could not help regretting thatthis part of our journey was over, that we had to turn our backs on thesmiling plains of Pangasinán, its hospitable and courteous people. Theday had been so cool and fresh, and our progress so easy; flat aswas the country, it had its charm, the charm of cultivated plains, relieved by lanes of feathered bamboos, by clumps of nodding palms, by limpid streams. But we were off, nevertheless, the Governor-Generalon a cow-pony, nearly all the rest on Arabs and thoroughbreds, VanSchaick and I riding mountain ponies. We had fifteen miles to go toreach our first resting-place. 

Crossing a stream, we began to climb at once, and as we rose theplain of Central Luzon began to unroll itself below us, with our roadof the morning stretching out in a straight white line through thegreen rice-fields. Far to the west we now and then caught glimpses ofLingayen Gulf, with the Zambales Mountains in full view running southand bordering the plain, while still farther to the south Mount Arayat[11] rose abruptly from its surrounding levels. Now Arayat is plainlyvisible from Manila. Here and there solitary rocky hills, looking forall the world like ant-heaps, but in reality hundreds of feet high, broke the uniformity of the plains. Flooded as the whole landscapewas with brilliant sunshine, the view was exquisite in respect both ofform and of color. But as we moved on, turning and twisting and everrising, we were soon confined to just the few yards the sinuositiesof the trail would allow us to see at one time. For a part of the waythe country was rocky, hills bare and fire-swept; not a tree or shrubsuggested that we were in the tropics. Soon pines began to appear, and then thickened, till the trail led through a pine forest, pure andsimple, the ground covered with green grass, and the whole fresh andmoist from recent rains. It was up and down and around and around. Nota sign of animal life did we see, not a trace of human beings. 

I was disgusted, and still more disconcerted, this afternoon, to findmy pony going badly. He was perfectly willing to walk, but at a mostdignified rate, selected by himself. He apparently had no objection tocatching up the party every now and then, but only to relapse into hisfuneral walk, after contact had been re-established. But then Cootestook the lead that afternoon, and as his thoroughbred had had two days'rest, and breasted all the rises with apparent joyousness, nobody wasable to keep up, until Mr. Worcester took the head with his black, a powerful but reasonable animal. However, everybody gets into campsooner or later, and so did we all at a resting-point called Nozo, where we all turned in after supper, for reveille was to be at threeo'clock. This had been a great day of contrasts in a descending scale, from motors, electric lights, and telephones in the morning to oursolitary camp in the mountains at night, surrounded by watch-firesand guarded by Constabulary sentinels. This, by the way, was the onlytime we were so guarded. 

CHAPTER IV

 Early start. --Pine forest. --Vegetation. --Rest at Amugan. --The _gansa_. --Boné. 

We set out next morning at five-thirty. Our journey so far, that is, since we mounted, had taken us over a preliminary range, and now webegan a more serious climb. The morning was delightfully fresh andcool, with promise of a fine blazing sun later. Far ahead and aboveus on the skyline, we could see a cut in the forest where our trailcrossed the divide. But that was miles away, and in the meantime wewere ascending a lovely valley, pines, grass, and bright red soil. Itwas delicious that morning, riding under the pines. 

 "Pinea brachia cum trepidant, Audio canticulum zephyri!"

And part of the pleasure was due to the fact that we had anunobstructed view in all directions, usually not the case in thetropical forest. At one point we had a full view of Arayat, at anotherof Santo Tomás, near which we had passed yesterday on coming down fromBaguío. But fine as were the distant views we got from time to time, the great attraction was the country itself, through which we werepassing. Barring the total absence of any sign of man, it might havebeen taken for Japan, in the neighborhood of Miyanoshita, without, however, any trace of Japanese atmosphere. 

The valley was steep-walled, narrow and twisting, at one point closedby a single enormous rock nearly three hundred feet high--in fact, a conical hill rising right out of the floor of the valley, andapparently leaving just room for the stream to pass on one side. 

A curious fact was that while the mountains were decidedlynorthern-looking as to flora, yet the groins, wherever possible, werethoroughly tropical. For in these water runs off but slowly, withconsequent richness of vegetation. And yet, on the other side of thedivide which we were now approaching not a pine could be seen, but, on the contrary, the typical tropical forest in full development. Thewatershed, our skyline, was an almost absolute dividing-mark. At anyrate, there the pines stopped short. 

At the divide we crossed from Pangasinán into Nueva Vizcaya. And withthe crossing began the forest just mentioned, and a long descent forus. Our immediate destination was Amugan, our first rest halt. Itis of absolutely no use to try to describe this part of the trip. Ifthe confusion of trees, vines, orchids, tree ferns, foliage plants, creepers, was bewildering, so was the impression produced. But we sawmany examples of the most beautiful begonia in existence, in fullblossom, gorgeous spheres of dark scarlet hanging above and aroundus. According to Mr. Worcester, all attempts to transplant it havefailed. Its blossoms would be sometimes twenty and thirty feet inthe air. Nothing could exceed the glory of these masses of flowers, sometimes a foot and more in diameter, as projected by the rays ofthe early morning sun against the dark green background, the wholeglistening and dripping in the rain-like dew. Tree ferns abounded;we passed one that must have been over sixty feet high. At one haltthe ground about was aflame with yellow orchids, growing out of theground. And there was one plant that I recognized myself, unaided, the wild tomato, a little thing of eight or nine inches, but holdingup its head with all the rest of them. As always, on this trip, however, it was the splendor of the country that held the attention, the wild incoherent mountain masses thrown together apparently withoutorder or system, buttressed peaks, mighty flanks riven to the coreby deep valleys, radiating spurs, re-entrant gorges, the limit ofvision filled by crenellated ranges in all the serenity of theirdistant majesty. And then, as our trail wound in and out, differentaspects of the same elements would present themselves, until reallythe faculty of admiration became exhausted. And so on down we went, to be greeted as we neared Amugan by a sound of tom-toms; it was aparty that had come out to welcome us, carrying the American flag andbeating the _gansa_ (tom-tom) by way of music. The _gansa_, made ofbronze, in shape resembles a circular pan about twelve or thirteeninches in diameter, with a border of about two inches turned up atright angles to the face. On the march it is hung from a string andbeaten with a stick. At a halt it is beaten with the open hand. 

After crossing a coffee plantation, we reached a little settlement, where we off-saddled and took a bite after six hours' riding. Thehalf-dozen houses of this tiny village are of the usual Filipino type, and the very few inhabitants were dressed after the fashion of theChristianized provinces. Nevertheless, we here first encountered thesavage we had come up to see; for not only did they have the _gansa_, but they offered us a _cañao_. This is a feast of which we shallhave splendid examples later on, with dancing, beating of _gansas_, drinking and so on, and the sacrifice of a pig. 

Here the affair was to be much smaller, all the elements being absentexcept the pig and drums. We had noticed as we dismounted a pig tiedto a post and evidently in a very uneasy frame of mind, and justly, for, although the honor of a _cañao_ was declined, on account ofthe length of the ceremony and of the distance we had yet to go, still they were resolved upon the death of the pig. He, however, atthe same time had made up his mind to escape, and by a mighty effortbroke his tether, and got off; but in vain, for after a short butexciting chase he was caught and then, an incision having been made inhis belly, a sharpened stick was inserted and stirred about until hisinsides were thoroughly mixed, when he died. We left them cleaning andscraping and dividing, and beating two drums, about four feet long, eight inches in diameter, covered with leather at one end. These arebeaten with the open hand, the performer sitting on the ground withthe instrument coming up over his left thigh, and produce a muffledand melancholy note. Mr. Forbes had some notion of buying one ofthem, but was told he would be simply wasting his time, both _gansas_and drums having an extraordinary value in the eye of their owners. 

We moved on, gradually descending, rested at Santa Fé, a rest-houseand nothing else, for two or three hours, and then turned north, following an affluent of the Magat River, by an old and poor trail, the new one having been washed out for three hundred yards some twoor three miles ahead. And after dark we made Boné, our resting-placefor the night. 

CHAPTER V

 Aritao. --_Bubud_. --Dúpax. --Start for Campote. 

We all slept in the school-house, for Boné is a Christianized village, and next day, April 28th, made a late start, for it was to be aday of easy stages. By nine o'clock, passing through an undulatingchampaign country, we reached Aritao, being met at the outskirtsby _gansa_-beaters and also by the Christian school-children withmedieval-looking banners, and all in their best bibs and tuckers;the heathen and the Christians mingling apparently on the best ofterms. Aritao is an old town, now much decayed, but showing evidencesof former affluence. It has a brick church, the bells of which wererung on our approach. 

As there is some Government here, of course we had to pay a visitof ceremony, and were accordingly received by the _presidente_ andother dignitaries in an upper chamber, the little children withtheir banners massing around the gate of the house and forming areally pretty picture. When we were all in, the _presidente_ madethe Governor-General and his suite a dignified speech of welcome, very well done, to which Mr. Forbes made answer in fluent and prettygood Spanish. 

_Bubud_ was then passed about--but this is going too fast! _Bubud_(called _tapuy_ elsewhere) is an institution in the parts where we nowwere, and I had been hearing of it for days. It is the native (Ifugao)name of a drink produced by the fermentation of rice, a drink thatvaries in color and in flavor, according to the care taken in its make, but nearly always agreeable to the palate and refreshing. That offeredus to-day was greenish yellow, slightly acid and somewhat bitter fromthe herbs added. Unfortunately, it will not bear transportation, but we made up for this by carrying off personally as much as wasconvenient. It had a happy effect on my pony, too: all the way toAritao he had been slower than the wrath to come, but from this on heshowed life and spirit; in fact, he danced and pranced through everytown we crossed for some days afterward. I always meant to ask if someone had given him any _bubud_ at Aritao, during the speech-making;on reflection I am inclined to doubt it, but at any rate, in honorof the circumstances, he was known as Bubud the rest of the trip. 

A short ride through the charming, smiling country (part of it mighthave been France), over a really good road most of the way, broughtus to Dúpax. On the way we were met by some of the American officialsof the province, among them Mr. Norman Connor, Superintendent ofEducation (Yale, 1900), and by two Belgian priests, De Wit of Dúpaxand Van der Maes of Bayombong. The natives met us, all mounted, witha band, so that we made a triumphant entrance, advancing in line tothe _presidente's_ house, while the church-bell pealed out a welcome. 

Dúpax must, like Aritao, have been a point of some importance in thepast. It has a large brick church with a decidedly Flemish facade, and a detached pagoda-like belfry. Its streets are overgrown with finesoft grass, and its houses had somehow or other an air of comfort andease. Here we made quite a stop, first of all quenching our thirst with_bubud_, beer, cocoanut milk, anything, everything, for we had riddennearly all the way so far in the sun. We then sat down to an excellentbreakfast, and smoked and lounged about until two, when fresh ponieswere brought, and we set off on a side trip to Campote, where we wereto have our first contact with the real wild man, the Ilongot. [12]

CHAPTER VI

 The Ilongots and their country. --Efforts of our Government to reach these people. --The forest trail. --Our first contact with the wild man. 

These people, the Ilongots, although very few in number, only sixthousand, stretch from Nueva Vizcaya to the Pacific Coast, inhabitingan immense region of forested and all but inaccessible mountains. Overthese they roam without any specially fixed habitation. They have thereputation, and apparently deserve it, of being cruel and treacherous, as they certainly are shy and wild. It was these people who killedDoctor Jones, of the Marshall Field Museum, after he had been withthem eight or nine months. So recently as 1907 they made a descent onDúpax, killing people and taking their heads. When they mean to kill aman fairly, according to their ideas, they hand him a fish. This is asignal that he must be on his guard: to refuse the fish is of no use, because by so doing one puts one's self beyond the pale, and may bekilled in any fashion. We heard a story here of a Negrito stealing apig from two Ilongots who had a Negrito brother-in-law. Failing torecover the pig, they decided that they must have a Negrito head, and so took their brother-in-law's. Pig-stealing, by the way, inthe mountain country is regarded much as horse-stealing used to beout West. Besides the spear and head knife, the Ilongots, like theNegritos, with whom they have intermarried to a certain extent, usethe bow and arrow, and are correspondingly dreaded. For it seems to bebelieved in Luzon that bow-and-arrow savages are more dangerous thanspear-and-ax-men; that the use of this projectile weapon, the arrow, induces craftiness, hard to contend against. An Ilongot can silentlyshoot you in the back, after you have passed. A spear-man has to getcloser, and can not use an ambush so readily. [13]

Now our Government in the Philippines, by and through and becauseof Mr. Worcester, had made repeated efforts to reach these Ilongots, to bring them in, as it were, and only recently had these efforts metwith any success. For one thing, it is a very serious matter to seekthem out in the depths of their fastnesses if only because of thedifficulty of reaching them; many of them even now have never seen awhite man, and would escape, if I recollect aright, on the approach ofour people. But in 1908 some fifty of them did "come in, " and, gainingconfidence, this number grew to one hundred and fifty in 1909. They, or some of them at least, now sent an invitation to Mr. Worcesterto come and see them, and he accepted on condition of their makinga trail, saying that they could not expect a man of his stature tocreep through their country on his hands and knees. This trail theyhad built, and they had assembled at Campote, four hours from Dúpax, for this first formal visit; It was the desire of Mr. Worcesterthat this visit should be happy in all respects; for, if not, thedifficulties of intercourse with this people, already great, wouldbe so seriously increased as to delay the civilizing intentions ofthe Government for many years to come. 

We rode off at about two o'clock, passing under numberlessbamboo arches, on an astonishingly good road, built by Padre JuanVillaverde. About two miles out we left the road, turning off eastacross rice-paddies, and then followed a stream, which we crossednear the foot of a large bare mountain facing south. Up this wezigzagged four miles, a tiresome stretch with the sun shining fullupon us. But at the top we had our reward: to the south reached abeautiful open valley, its floor a mass of green undulations, itswalls purple mountains blazing in the full glory of the afternoonsun. At the extreme south, miles away, we could make out Las Salinas, Salt Springs, [14] whose deposits sparkled and shone and scintillatedand danced in the heated air. Grateful as it would have been to restat the top and enjoy the scene, we nevertheless had to turn our backsupon it, for we had yet far to go over an unknown trail, and it wasmost desirable to get in before dark. So we turned and now plungedinto a forest of tall trees so thick overhead and so deeply buried invines, and creepers and underbrush generally, that just as no lightgot in from above, so one could not see ten yards in any directionoff the trail. This effect was no doubt partly due to the shades ofevening, and to our being on the eastern slope of the mountain. Andthat trail! The Ilongots, poor chaps, had done their best with it, and the labor of construction must have been fearful. [15] But thefooting was nothing but volcanic mud, laterite, all the worse froma recent rain. Our ponies sank over their fetlocks at every step, and required constant urging to move at all. Compared to the oneI was riding, Bubud was a race-horse! Cootes, Strong, and I kepttogether, the others having ridden on. As the day grew darker anddarker, the myriad notes of countless insects melted into one mighty, continuous shrill note high overhead, before us, behind us, in whichnot one break or intermission could be detected. Anything faster thana walk would now have been unsafe, even if it had been possible, forat times the ground sloped off sharply down the mountain, the footinggrew more and more uncertain, and part of the time we could not seethe trail at all. Indeed, Cootes's pony stepped in a hole and fell, pitching Cootes clean over his head, and sending his helmet down themountain-side, where Cootes had to go and get it. Soon after this, though, the forest thinned perceptibly, the trail grew better, andwe met Connor, who had turned back to see how we were getting on, and who informed us we had only one-half hour more before us. Goingon, we were greeted by a shout of welcome from our first Ilongot, standing in the trail, subligate, or gee-stringed, otherwise starknaked, and armed with a spear, the sentinel of a sort of outpost, equally naked, with which we soon came up. They were all armed, too, spears and shields, and all insisted on shaking hands with everyone of us. You must shake hands when they offer to, an unpleasantmatter sometimes, when you notice that the man who is paying you thisattention is covered with _toenia imbricata_, or other rare tropicalskin disease. [16] _Noblesse oblige_, here as elsewhere; besides, a consideration for your own skin may require you to put aside yourprejudices. The trail now turned down over a broad, cleared hog-back, at the flattened end of which we could see two shacks and a temporaryshed for our mounts. Smoke was rising cheerfully in the air and peoplewere moving about. This was Campote. 

CHAPTER VII

 School at Campote. --Our white pony, and the offer made for his tail. 

It was too dark by this time to see or do much. We had supper, lookedup the place where we were to sleep, and then collected at the lowerof the two shacks. Here we received visits, so to say, from as manyIlongots, grown men only, as could get into the place. In truth, we were as much objects of curiosity to them as they possibly couldhave been to us. To Mr. Worcester the occasion was one of business, explaining through interpreters why we had come, what the Governmentwanted, getting acquainted with the _cabecillas_ (head men), andlistening to what they had themselves to say. One of our visitors wasa grandfather, remarkable, first, because of his heavy long beard, and, second, because his own grandfather was alive; five generationsof one family in existence at the same time. 

Campote, I may as well say it here as anywhere else, is merely apoint where Connor has established a school for children, undera Christianized Filipino teacher. Some thirty children in all areunder instruction, the average attendance being twenty-four. It isalmost impossible, so Connor told us, to make these people understandwhy children should go to school, or what a school is, or is for, anyway. However, a beginning has been made. They all have a dose of"the three Rs"; the boys are taught, besides, carpentry, gardening, and rope-making, and the girls sewing, weaving, and thread-makingfrom cotton grown by the boys on the spot. They ought to show someskill in all these arts; for the native rice-basket is a handsome, strong affair, square of cross-section, with sides flaring out, andabout three feet high, and some of their weapons show great manualskill. The garden was on show the next morning, displaying beans, tomatoes, cotton, perhaps other things that I failed to recognizeor have forgotten, anyway, a sufficient garden. There is besides anexchange here for the sale of native wares. 

One of our party had ridden a white pony, and was much amused, aswere all of us, to receive an offer for his tail! There is nothingelse the Ilongots hold in higher estimation than white horse-hair, and here was a pony with a tail full of it! But the offer was refused;the idea of cutting off the tail was not to be entertained for onemoment. Certainly, he might keep its tail: what they wanted was thehair. Would he sell the hair? No; that was only a little less badthan to sell the tail itself. 

On our way back to the shack in which some of us were to sleep (theschool-house it was) we noticed an admiring crowd standing around thepony, tethered under the house, and all unconscious of the admirationhe was exciting, most rudely presenting his hind-quarters to hisadmirers. But that was not his intention; the crowd--half women, by the way--wanted to be as close to the tail as possible. We leftthem gesticulating and pointing and commenting, much as our ownwomen might while looking at crown jewels, but not so hopelessly;for the next morning, when we next saw the pony, nearly all the hairhad been pulled out of his tail, except a few patches or tufts hereor there, tougher than the rest, and serving now merely to show whatthe original dimensions must have been. 

While we were undressing in came a little maiden, who marched upto every one of us, shook hands, and said, "Good evening, sir. " Wewere pretty well undressed, but our lack of clothes looked perfectlynatural to her, perhaps inspired her with confidence. She said hername was Banda, that she was thirteen, but of this she could not know, as all these children had had ages assigned to them when they enteredthe school; after greeting us all, and airing her slight stock ofEnglish, she withdrew as properly as she had entered. A triflingincident, perhaps not worth recording, but in reality significant, for it marked confidence, especially as she had come in of her ownaccord. We all agreed that she was very pretty. 

CHAPTER VIII

 Appearance of the Ilongots. --Dress. --Issue of beads and cloth. --Warrior dance. --School work. --Absence of old women from meeting. 

The next morning we turned out early, and got our first real"look-see. " Campote is completely surrounded by mountains, thehogback dropping off into the valley below us. About four or fivehundred people had assembled, men, women, and children. As a rule, they were small and well built, but not so well built as the tribesfarther north. The men were fully armed with spears, bows and arrows, shields, and head-knives; gee-strings apart, they were naked. Some ofthem wore on the head the scarlet beak of the hornbill; these had takenheads. Quite a number, both men and women, had a small cross-likepattern tattooed on the forehead; the significance of this I didnot learn. The shield is in one piece, in longitudinal cross-sectionlike a very wide flat V open toward the bearer, the top terminatingin a piece rising between two scoops, one on each side of the medianline. The women had on short skirts and little jackets (like what, I am told, we call bolero jackets), the bosom being bare. Aroundthe waist they wore bands of brass wire or of bamboo stained red andwound around with fine brass wire. These bamboo bands were pretty andartistic. You saw the children as they happened to be; the only thingto note about them being that they were quite bright-looking. Whatthe men lacked in clothes they made up in their hair, for they woreit long and some of them had it done up in the most absolute Psycheknots. Such earrings as we saw were worn in the upper cartilage ofthe ear. It may be remarked, too, that the women had a contented andsatisfied air, as though sure of their power and position; we foundthis to be the case generally throughout the Mountain Country. 

The purpose of the visit being to cultivate pleasant relations with andreceive the confidence of these shy people, the real business of theday was soon opened. Mr. Worcester took his place in the shade of hisshack, and proceeded to the distribution of red calico, beads, combs, mirrors, and other small stuff, the people coming up by _rancherías_(settlements or villages); none of the highlanders seem to have anyconception of tribal organization, a condition no doubt due to theabsence of communications. A _cabecilla_, or head man, would receivetwo meters, his wife one, and others smaller measures. This sortof thing was carefully studied out, so far as rank was concerned, for it would never do to give a common person even approximatelyas much as a _cabecilla_. One _ranchería_ would take all red beads, another white, another blue, and so on. Not once did I see a traceof greediness or even eagerness, though interest was marked. Thewhole thing was conducted in the most orderly fashion, the various_rancherías_ awaiting their turn with exemplary patience. [17]

The issue over, dancing began. In this only men and boys took part, to the music of small rude fiddles, tuned in fifths, [18] played bythe men, and of a queer instrument consisting of two or three joints ofbamboo with strings stretched over bridges, beaten with little sticksby the women. The fiddles must be of European origin. The orchestra, seven or eight all told, sat in the shade, surrounded by an admiringcrowd. Among them was a damsel holding a civilized umbrella over herhead, whereof the stick and the rib-points were coquettishly decoratedwith white horse-hair tied in little brushes, doubtless furnished byour white pony. 

The dancing at once fixed our attention. Two or three men, thoughusually only two, took position on the little terreplein below theshack, and began a slow movement, taking very short, formal, staccatosteps in a circle against the sun. Keeping back to back and side toside, they maintained the whole body in a tense, rigid posture withthe chest out, head up and thrown back, abdomen drawn in, right handstraight out, the left also, holding a shield, eyes glazed and fixed, knees bent forward. Between the steps, the dancers would stand inthis strained, tense position, then move forward a few inches, and soon around the circle. After a little of this business, for that isjust what it was, the next part came on, a simulation of fighting:and, as everything before was as stiff, strained, and rigid as itwas possible to be, so now everything was light, graceful, agile, and quick; leaps forward and back, leaps sideways, the two combatantsmaneuvering, as it were, one around the other, for position. It washard to realize that human motions could be so graceful, light andeasy. Then head-knives were drawn, and cuts right, and cuts left, cuts at every part of the body from the head to the ankles, wereadded to the motion; the man on the defensive for the moment makingsuitable parries with his shield. 

The dance completed, the dancers would advance and face Mr. Worcester, put their heels together in true military fashion, hold their arms outright and left, and make a slight inclination of the head, a sort ofsalute, in fact, to the one they regarded as the principal personageof the party. 

We saw much dancing later on in our trip, but none that equalled thisin intensity and character, apart from its being of a totally differentkind, Heiser managed, with some difficulty, to take a photograph ofthe tense phase of one of the dances; it gives a better idea of thephase than my imperfect description. 

The dancing was followed by archery, the target being a small bananastem at some thirty paces. This calls for no especial comment, except that many hits were made, and many of the misses would havehit a man. More interesting was an ambush they laid for us, to showhow they attacked. While collecting for it, to our astonishment theentire party suddenly ran in all directions at top speed and hidbehind whatever offered. On their return, in four or five minutes, they explained that a spirit had suddenly appeared among them, andthat they had had to run. On our asking how they knew a spirit hadturned up, they asked if we had not noticed leaves and grass flying ina spiral. As a matter of fact, some of us had, a very small and verygentle whirlwind having formed for a second or two. They had seen it, too, and that was the spirit. 

It was now mid-day; we had _tiffin_, and began preparations forour departure. The various arms, shields, and other things we hadbought were collected to be cargadoed back to Pangasinán. Among them, alas! were not two beautiful head-knives, which their wearers hadabsolutely declined to part with on any terms whatever. They resistedthe Governor-General even. I give a photograph here of a knife andscabbard that Connor sent me on later. It is a handsome one, but notas handsome as those two jewels!

Our last performance was to look at the garden and to see the schoolat work, making thread and rope, weaving mats, and so on. I take itthat this school was really the significant thing at Campote, apartfrom the significance of the occasion itself. We spent but little timeover it, however, our interest in the arts of war having left us onlya few minutes for those of peace. Nevertheless, here is a beginningthat will bear fruit, and in the meantime Connor rides alone andin safety among these wild people, which proves a good many things, when you select the right man to do your hard work. 

Mr. Worcester, as we rode off, expressed the liveliest satisfactionwith the meeting. These people, returning to their _rancherías_, hesaid, would talk for a year of their treatment at the hands of theAmericans, of the gift of _palay_ (rice) to four hundred people, for two days, to say nothing of two _vacas_ (cows) and of othergifts. Next year, he hoped, half of them would come in; besides, thestart made was good; the presence of so many women and children was agood sign, and equally good was the total absence of old women. Forthese are a source of trouble and mischief with their complaints ofthe degeneracy of the times. They address themselves particularlyto the young men, accusing them of a lack of courage and of otherparts, taunting them with the fact that the young women will havenone of them, that in _their_ day _their_ young men brought in heads, etc. Thus it has happened, especially when any native drink was goingabout, that trouble has followed. It is the practice, therefore, of our Government when arranging these meetings to suggest that theold women be left at home, and if so left, it is a good indication. 

CHAPTER IX

 Return to civilization. --Reception at Bambang. --Aglipayanos and Protestants. 

The return to the main road from Campote was a great improvement overthe advance. The sun had partly dried the trail, and his vertical raysenabled us to see about us a little, and realize what a tremendousphenomenon tropical vegetation can be. Some Philippine trees, forexample, the _narra_, throw out buttresses. One we saw on this trailmust have measured twenty feet across on the ground, from vertex tovertex of diametrically opposite buttresses, the bole itself not beingover two and one-half feet in diameter, and the buttresses startingabout fifteen feet above the ground. But the greatest differenceto me personally was in my mount, Connor having lent me his pony, as admirable as mine of the day before had been wretched. In spiteof the fact that Connor had to stay behind at Campote and could catchus up later, this attention on his part was one of the most generousthings that ever happened to me, for certainly the pony he got fromme was the most irritating piece of horseflesh imaginable. I am gladpublicly to give him my warmest thanks again! Mr. Worcester was wellmounted, too; he rode this day at two hundred and thirty-five pounds, and his kit must have weighed some thirty more, yet his little beastcarried him soundly to Bambang, our destination, about seventeenmiles, twelve of them at a "square, unequivocal" trot, by no meansan unusual example of the strength and endurance of some of thesenative ponies. In what seemed a very short time (but the trail wascomparatively dry) we broke out of the forest, and again had ourlovely valley below and in front of us. At the top we saw some giantfly-catchers, a bird of so powerful and erratic a flight that noone has so far, according to Mr. Worcester, succeeded in killing oneof them. It may be mentioned here that we saw very few birds or anyother animals on our journey. Shortly after beginning the descent, some of the party, impatient of the zig-zags, decided to go straightdown, the temptation being a cool green stream at the foot of themountain; half an hour afterward, on turning a point, we could seethem disporting themselves in the waters, and at that distance lookingvery much like Diana and her nymphs in the usual pictures. 

Back in the main road, we stopped to rest at a point covered witha sensitive plant so delicate that, on stepping on it anywhere, thenervous thrill, if that is what it is, would run three or four feetor more in all directions before dying down. From this point we turnednorth, our way taking us through a broad open valley, past rice-fieldsand between clumps of flowering guava bushes. As we neared Bambang, where we were to spend the night, we were as before met by the localnotabilities on horseback; and breasting a rise, we saw our road downin the plain in which this town lies, lined on both sides by all theschool-children of the place, dressed in their very best clothes, someof them American fashion with shoes and stockings and looking mightyuncomfortable in consequence. Nearly everyone had a flag. Riding intothe town, we found the _plaza_ crowded with men and women, dressedmostly in white, and what with the flags, the church-bells clangingwith all their might, the crowd, and the children trooping in, ourcavalcade made a triumphant entrance. 

We dismounted at the _presidente's_, where muscatel and cocoanut milkwere given us. A little muscatel goes a long way, but this is not trueof the milk when one's tongue is hanging out from riding in the sun, and there are only two or three cocoanuts. Filipinos apparently arenot fond of this drink, and we nearly always had to send out andget more. No sooner were we in the house than addresses began, oneof these being in Ilokano. The native language of Bambang, however, is the Isanay, spoken elsewhere only at Aritao and Dúpax, a dyingtongue, doomed to early extinction. 

Bambang, like nearly all the other Nueva Vizcaya towns we had seenor were to see, shows signs of decadence. It has a good church and_convento_, a great _plaza_, and is surrounded by a fertile country, but something is missing. After dinner, I went over and called onthe padre, one of the Belgians, whom we had met the day before. Heinformed me that Bambang had many Protestants, which he explained bythe sharp rivalry between the _Aglipayanos_, or members of the "native"church, headed by the secessionist Aglipay, and the Catholics. Toavoid the issues raised by this rivalry, many natives would appearto have abandoned the errors of Rome (or of _Aglipayanismo_, as thecase may be) for those of the Reformation. 

When I got back to the _presidente's_, everybody had turned in, and thehouse was dark. However, I found a bed not occupied by anyone else, butof my bedding there was not a sign. So I stretched out on the _petate_[19] of my bed, only to wake up later shivering with cold, which Itried to remedy by fishing around for cover in a pile of straw mats, from which I extracted what turned out in the morning to be a _jusi_table-cloth, through which you could have shot straws. It is altogethera mistake to imagine that one can not be cold in the tropics. 

CHAPTER X

 Magat River. --Enthusiastic reception at Bayombong. --Speeches and reports. --Solano. --Ifugao "college yell. "--Bagábag. 

The next day, April 20, we rode out at six, a splendid morning;Bubud felt the inspiration, too, for he got on capitally. We soonreached the Magat River on the other side of which was Bayombong, the capital of the province and our first halt of the day. 

The Magat is another of those turbulent, uncertain rivers of theArchipelago; we were not sure as we neared it whether we could getover or not. When up, it carries waves in midstream six to seven feetfrom crest to trough. But we had no such ill-luck, and _bancas_ sooncame over for us, the horses swimming. While waiting for them we hada chance to admire the beautiful country; on one side tall spreadingtrees and broad savannahs, on the other the mountain presenting abare scarp of red rock many hundreds of feet high; immediately infront the cool, green river, over all the brilliant sun, not yet toohot to prevent our thinking of other things. 

Once over, we had no occasion to complain of our reception! Allthe notabilities were present, of course, mounted, but in additionthere were three bands, all playing different tunes at the same time, in different keys, and all _fortissimo_. No instrument was allowedto rest, the drums being especially vigorous. One of the bands wasthat of the Constabulary, playing really well, and with magnificentindifference to the other two. I am bound to say they returnedit. We had the Constabulary troops, too, as escort, a well set-up, well-turned-out and soldierlike body. What with the bands, the pigs, the dogs, the horses, the children, the people, it was altogetherone of the most delightful confusions conceivable, not the leastinteresting feature being the happy unconsciousness of the peopleof the incongruity of the reception. However, we formed a column, the Constabulary at the head, with its band, and were played intoBayombong, with the other bands, children, dogs, etc. , as a mightyrear guard. 

Our first business was to listen to reports and addresses. So weall went upstairs in the Government House, the _presidencia_; theGovernor-General, Mr. Worcester, and the _presidente_ took their seatson a dais, while the rest of us, with the local Americans and some ofthe native inhabitants, formed the audience, and listened to a reportread by the treasurer. This made a great impression on us, so sensibleand businesslike was it; not content with a statement, it went on todescribe the affairs of the province, the possibilities of agriculture, and what could be accomplished if the people would turn to and work, and in particular it made no complaints. Apparently this report alarmedthe _presidente_, for he left his seat on the platform as soon ashe decently could, and delivered a speech intended to traverse thetreasurer's report. His concern was almost comic: the idea of saying tothe Governor-General that a great deal could be done locally by work, when there was a central Government at Manila! Mr. Forbes, as usual, made in his turn a very sound speech, based on his observation inthe province, on its fertility, its possibilities, the necessity ofimproving communications and of diversifying crops. I noticed here, as elsewhere in the province, the excellence of the Spanish used inspeeches. As for the treasurer, we were informed that he had been takenin hand at an early age by the Americans and trained, so that in makinghis reports he had developed the ability to look upon the merits ofthe question in hand. But he must feel himself to be a unique person!

We rested here in Bayombong through the heat of the day, part going toGovernor Bryant's house, the rest of us to that of Captain Browne, thelocal Inspector of Constabulary. I have a grateful recollection of hishospitality, as well as of that of his brother officers, with whom wedined. Nor must I forget the Standard Oil Company. For had not Brownerigged up a shower, consisting of the Standard five-gallon tin? A_muchacho_ filled it with water and pulled it up over a pulley, andyou got an excellent shower from the holes punched in the bottom. Infact, the Standard five-gallon tin is as well known in the East asits contents, and is carefully preserved and used. We had severalopportunities to bless its existence. 

Pleasant as was the nooning, it had to end: we mounted and rode onto Solano. On the way Bubud insisted on drinking from a dirty swampby the roadside, although there was a limpid stream not fifty yardsahead which he could see as well as I. But there was nothing forit but the swamp; I accordingly let him have his way, only to findthe bank slippery and the water deep, so that he went in up to hisshoulders, with his hindquarters on the bank. While I was trying topull him back, he got in his hindquarters, and then, in further answerto my efforts, sat down in the water! And such water! Thick, greasy, smelly! A _carabao_ wallow it was. He now gave unmistakable evidence ofan intention to lie down, when a friendly hand got me up on the bank, whereupon Bubud, concluding he would get out too, emerged with a coatof muddy slime. This seemed to have no effect whatever on his spirits, for on entering Solano a few minutes later, to the sound of bellsand bands, with banners fluttering in the breeze, he got into sucha swivet that before I knew it he was at the head of the procession, having worked himself forward and planted himself squarely in frontof the Governor-General's horse, where he caracoled and curvetted andpranced to his heart's delight. As soon as we got out of the _barrio_, he was quite satisfied to take a more modest position, but occasionsof ceremony seemed to deprive him of all realization of his properplace in the world. 

The people of Solano made a great effort to have us stay the night, but it was impossible; we had to get on to Bagábag. Solano, by the way, is the commercial emporium of this end of the province, for thereis not a single shop in Bayombong. So on we went, through a calm, dignified afternoon, the country as before impressing me with its open, smiling valleys, its broad fields, its air of expectant fertility, inviting one to come scratch its surface, if no more, in order toreap abundant harvests. In fact, it seemed to me that we were ridingthrough typical farming land at home, instead of through a Malay valleyunder the tropic. And if anything more were needed to strengthen theillusion, it was a college yell, given by a gang of Ifugaos (the peoplewe were now immediately on our way to visit) repairing a bridge we hadto cross! They did it in style, and naturally had no cheer-leader;time was kept by beating on the floor of the bridge with tools. Forthis uttering of a shout of welcome or of other emotion in unison is acharacteristic trait of the Ifugaos, like their using spoons, and canbe likened to nothing else in the world but our American college yell. 

Our reception at Bagábag was much like all the others we had had:bands, arches, addresses, one in excellent English. But on thisoccasion, after listening to a speech telling how poor the people were, how bad the roads were, how much they needed Government help, etc. , etc. , Mr. Forbes squared off in his answer, and told them a few things, as that he had seen so far not a single lean, hungry-looking person, that the elements were kindly, that they could mend their own roads, and that he was tired of their everlasting complaint of poverty andhunger, when a little work would go a great way in this country towardbettering their material condition. This, of course, is just the kindof talk these people need, and the last some of them wish to hear. 

CHAPTER XI

 We enter the Mountain Province. --Payawan. --Kiangan, its position. --Anitos. --Speech of welcome by Ifugao chief. --Detachment of native Constabulary. --Visit of Ifugao chiefs to our quarters. --Dancing. 

We were now on the borders of the Mountain Province; literally one moreriver to cross, and we should turn our backs on Nueva Vizcaya. Andwith regret, for it is a beautiful smiling province, of fertilesoil, of polite and hospitable people, of lovely mountains, limpidstreams and triumphant forests. In Dampier's quaint words, spoken ofanother province, but equally true of this one, "The Valleys are wellmoistened with pleasant Brooks, and small Rivers of delicate Water; andhave Trees of divers sorts flourishing and green all the Year. " [20]Its people lack energy, perhaps because they have no roads; it may beequally true that they lack roads because they have no energy. Howeverthis may be, the province can and some day will grow coffee, tobacco, rice, and cocoa to perfection; its savannahs will furnish pasturagefor thousands of cattle, where now some one solitary _carabao_ servesonly to mark the solitude in which he stands. 

We crossed the stream about seven in the morning, May 1, and openedout on an immense field, which we estimated at about thirty-fivehundred acres, a whole plantation in a ring fence, and offering notthe slightest suggestion of the tropics in its aspect. The ground nowbroke and we went on down to a bold stream so deep that those of usriding ponies got wet above the knees and were almost swept down bythe current. The _cogon_ grass in this river bottom was the tallest Iever saw, some clumps being well over twenty feet high. Then we beganto climb till we reached another divide, across the stream at thefoot of which was Payawan, our immediate objective. Payawan consistsof two shacks and a name. Here we were to have had our first meetingwith the clans of the Ifugao, but through some misunderstanding theytook the place of meeting to be at Kiangan, some, miles further on;so we all rested a while, and some of us took a swim in the littleriver we had just crossed, finding the water on first shock almostcold, but delightful beyond belief. Cootes and I were quite satisfiedwith the pool we found near the shack, but Strong and the rest thoughtthey saw a better one downstream, so they crawled in the water arounda small cliff, reached their pool, and then had to walk a mile anda half through the _cogon_ and in the sun to return, there being nogetting back upstream. Now, if there is anything else hotter on theface of the earth than a walk through the _cogon_ in the dry seasonwith the sun shining vertically down, it has yet to be discovered. 

At Payawan we were met by Captain Jeff D. Gallman, P. C, Lieutenant-Governor of the Sub-province of Ifugao, accompanied byone of his chieftains, who made a splendid picture in his barbaricfinery. Erect, thin of flank and well-muscled, he had a bold, cleareye and a fearless look; around his neck he wore a complicated necklaceof gold and other beads; each upper arm was clasped by a boar's tusk, from which stood out a plume of red horse-hair. His gee-string wasdecorated with a belt of white shells, the long free end hangingdown in front, and he had his bolo, like the rest of his people, in a half-scabbard--that is, kept by two straps on a strip of wood, shaped like a scabbard. But all these were mere accessories; whatdistinguished him was his free graceful carriage, the lightness andease of his motions, the frankness and openness of his countenance. 

Our rest over, we pushed on through a beautiful forest, unlike anyother seen so far in that it was open. The trail was excellent, and rose steadily, for we had to cross a sharp range before makingKiangan. I shall make no attempt to describe this exquisite afternoon:but there was a breeze, the forest tempered the sun's rays a good partof the time; and, as we rose, range after range, peak on peak openedon our view, valley after valley spread out under our feet untilI wearied of admiring. The others had gone over the trail before, and looked on nature with a more matter-of-fact eye. At the top ofthe range I noticed an outcrop of fossil coral. Bubud distinguishedhimself to-day. Gallman, who was trotting immediately in front(and who ought to know his own trails!), called "Ware hole!" justas Bubud put one of his forefeet in it, pitched forward, and threwme over his head, thus establishing a complete breach of continuitybetween us. However, as long as the thing had to happen, it was agood place to select, for the trail was four feet wide here, and, in case of going over the side, the drop was only eighty or ninetyfeet, with bushes conveniently arranged to catch hold of on the waydown. This was Bubud's solitary mishap, and it was not his fault. 

Past the divide, the trail became a road over which one might havemarched a field battery, so broad and firm and good was it: we werenearing Kiangan. Presently we turned a low spur to the left, and theIfugao town burst upon our view. It was the headquarters of a Spanish_Comandancia_ in the old days, and here Padre Juan Villaverde livedand worked, seeking to convert the people, and to teach them to growcoffee and to plant European vegetables. The mission, however came tonaught, leaving behind no trace visible to the casual traveller, savea few lone cabbages: the garrison maintained here was massacred to aman, the native who surprised and cut down the sentry being pointedout to us the next day. Kiangan was celebrated in Spanish times, and even more recently, as the home of some of the most desperatehead-hunters of the Archipelago. But, thanks to Gallman, head-huntingin the Ifugao country is now a thing of the past. 

The town stands on the top of a bastion-like terrace, thrustavalanche-wise and immense between its pinnacled mountain walls;the site is not only of great beauty, but of great natural strength, like nearly all the other considerable settlements we saw on thisjourney. The two mountain walls approach somewhat like the branchesof the letter V, having between them, near their intersection, as itwere, the natural bastion mentioned rising from the bed of the IbilaoRiver, hundreds of feet below, and some thousands of yards distant. Thewhole position is on a large generous scale; it would have appealedto the ancient Greeks. And so, of course, we yet had some distanceto go, and now made our way through rice-paddies, echeloned on theflanks of the spurs that came down to meet us. These rice-terraces(_sementeras_), the first I had seen, at once excited my interest, to the scorn of Pack, who bade me wait until we had come upon thereal thing: these were nothing. It turned out he was entirely right;but I thought them remarkable, and anyway they were most refreshingand cooling to look at, after our long hot ride. The sound of runningwaters, the sight of the little runlets bubbling away for dear life, ofthe tall rice swaying to the breeze, the acropolis before us with itsclumps of waving bamboos, of nodding bananas, and the soft afternoonlight over all, the combination made a picture that, will live in myrecollection. The impression immediately formed was that of a sceneof quiet peace and beauty, more or less rudely shocked the followingday. As we drew nearer and nearer we were welcomed by arches of bamboodecorated with native flowers and plants, and guarded by life-size_anitos_ [21] of both sexes _in puris naturalibus_, cut out of thetree fern, but with no connotation whatever of indecency. For thesestatues are either an innocent expression of nature, or, what seemsmore likely, an expression of Nature or phallic worship. 

We had now got up to the parade of the _cuartel_ (quarters orbarracks) and were greeted by shouts from the people gathered towelcome us. The chief who had met us at Payawan, and who, on foot, had beaten us into Kiangan, appeared in all his bravery and with aprolonged "Who-o-o-o-e-e!" commanded silence. He then mounted a bamboostand some twenty feet high, with a platform on top, and made us aspeech! Yes, a regular speech, with gestures, intonations, and allthe rest of it. For these Ifugaos are born orators, and love to showtheir skill. Accordingly, thanks to Mr. Worcester's appreciation, orators' tribunes have been put up at points like Kiangan; it isstrange that the Ifugaos had never thought of it themselves. Thistribune, by the way, was ornamented with tufts of leaves and grassesat the corners. When the speaker had done, he clapped his hands overhis head, and all the people followed suit. 

Later on Gallman, who speaks Ifugao like a native, interpreted forus. The speaker told his people that a great honor had been done themby this visit of the "Commission, " and that, besides, the great _apo_[22] of all had come, too. His arrival could not fail to be of goodluck for them, as it meant more rice, more chickens, more pigs, morebabies, more good in all ways than they ever had had before. As otherspeeches began to threaten, on a hasty intimation from Mr. Forbes wemoved on to our quarters, preceded by the escort of Constabulary. 

This detachment, composed entirely of Ifugaos, would have delightedany soldier. They certainly excited my admiration by the precisionof their movements, their set-up, and their general appearance. APrussian Guardsman could not have been more erect. There are fivecompanies of Constabulary in the Mountain Province, each serving inthe part of the country from which recruited, and each retaining inits uniform the colors and such other native features as could beturned to account. Thus the only "civilized, " so to say, elementsare the forage cap and khaki jacket worn directly over the skin;otherwise the legs, feet, and body are bare; the local gee-string isworn, with the free end hanging down in front. Here at Kiangan eachman has below the knee the native brass leglet, and on the left hipthe _bultong_, or native bag, a sporran, indeed, showing the localinfluence in its blue and white stripes. Thus accoutered, the firstimpression formed was that these troops were actually highlanders;on reflection, this impression is correct, for they are highlandersin every sense of the word. I obtained permission to inspect thedetachment after the honors were over, and found their equipmentand uniforms in admirable condition. Of their discipline, everyonespoke in the highest terms; indeed, we had next day, as will soonappear, an example of this quality. Their loyalty to the Government isunquestioned. These mountaineers are all, as might be expected, hardy, strong, able-bodied, and active; in fact, the physical qualities ofthese mountain people are remarkable. But at Kiangan, as elsewhere, it was noticeable that discipline, regular habits, regular food, hadimproved the naturally good physical qualities of the people. TheConstabulary appeared to me to be physically better than the tribefrom which they were drawn. I noticed, too, that after protractedwearing of the khaki the skin of the body was several shades lighterthan that of the legs. 

We now entered our quarters, being those of Lieutenant Meimban, the native officer in command. Here, too, we met Mr. Barton, thelocal school superintendent. His predecessor had had to be relieved, because one day, as he was going up the trail, an Ifugao threw a spear"into" him, as they say in the mountains, and he consequently got asort of distaste for the place, although it was clearly establishedin the investigation that followed, and carefully explained to him, that it was all a mistake, and that the spear had been intended forsomebody else. Mr. Barton is doing a useful work here in devotinghis spare time and energy to a study of the Ifugao religion withits myths and mythology. He told me that he had so far defined sevenhundred different spirits and was not sure that he had got to the endof them. The publication of Mr. Barton's research is awaited with someavidity by the Americans living in the Province, as enabling them tohave a better control of the people through their religious beliefs. 

We had not long been seated in our quarters before a deputation ofchiefs with their _gansas_ and a large number of _bubud_ [23] jarsentered, and offered us _bubud_ to drink. Very soon our visitorsbegan to dance for us to the sound of the _gansa_, their dance beingdifferent from that we had seen a few days before at Campote. As, however, the next day was one dance from morning to night, I shall notspend any more time upon this affair, except to say that, turn aboutbeing fair play, Cootes got up and gave such a representation as hewas able of a _pas seul_. When he had done, our visitors startedanew, and the _gansas_ proving irresistible, Cootes and I joinedin. The steps, poise of body, motion of the arms and hands are somarked and peculiar that a little observation and practice enabledus in a short time to produce at least a fair imitation; indeed, so successful were our efforts that we were informed we should beinvited to dance on the morrow before the multitudes! This broughtus up standing, and it was time anyway. So our chieftains took theirleave, their _bubud_ jars remaining in our charge. These jars areworth more than a passing mention: the oldest ones come from China, and are held in such high esteem by the Ifugaos that they will partwith them for neither love nor money. According to the experts, someof them are examples of the earliest known forms of Chinese porcelain, and are most highly prized by collectors and museums. [24]

We put up our mosquito-bars this night, the only time on the trip, but I think without any necessity. So far we had not seen, heard orfelt a single fly or mosquito, and were to see none until we struckcivilization once more in the Cagayán Valley. 

CHAPTER XII

 Day opens badly. --Ifugao houses. --The people, assemble. --Dancing. --Speeches. --White paper streamers. --Head hunter dance. --Cañao. 

Needless to say we were up betimes the next morning, May 2d, for the clans were to gather, and the day would hardly be longenough for all it was to hold. The day began ominously. As Kianganis a sort of headquarters, it has a guard-house for the service ofshort imprisonments, a post-and-rail affair made of bamboo under the_cuartel_. For while our administration is kindly, these mountaineersfrom the first have had to learn, if not to feel as yet, that theymust be punished if guilty of infringing such laws and discipline ashave so far been found applicable. Accordingly, our guard-house heldtwo men, sentenced for twenty days, for having threatened the life ofone of their head men. Short as was the sentence, these two men hadnevertheless dug a passage in the earthen floor of their quarters, and had just the night before opened the outer end of it, but notenough to admit the passage of a human body. A private of Constabulary, passing by this morning, stooped to examine this hole new to him, whenone of the prisoners threw a spear at him, made of a stalk of _runo_[25] the head being a small strip of iron which he had kept concealedin his gee-string. So true was his aim that, although he had to throwhis improvised spear between the rails, he nevertheless struck theprivate in the neck, cutting his jugular vein, so that in five minuteshe was dead. The pen was now entered for the purpose of shackling thecriminal, when he announced that he would kill any white man that laidhands on him. Upon Lieutenant Meimban of the Constabulary advancing, both of the prisoners rushed him. In the mellay that followed themurderer was shot and killed and his companion badly beaten up; Stronglater had to put seventeen stitches in one scalp wound alone. Althoughthe _ranchería_ from which the murdered private came was two hoursoff, so that it usually took four hours to send a message and getan answer, yet an hour and a half after the man died a runner camein to ask for his body so it could be suitably buried. Altogether, this double killing damped our spirits considerably; for one thing, there was no telling how it would be received, particularly if thereshould be any excessive drinking of _buhud_; there were very few ofus, mostly unarmed, and the Ifugaos were coming in hundreds at a time, so that long before the forenoon was well under way several thousandshad collected. However, on moving out, we could not find that thecheerfulness of the people had been in the least disturbed. 

Before beginning the business of the day we walked about the villageand examined one or two houses. These are all of one room, enteredby a ladder drawn up at night, and set up on stout posts seven oreight feet high; the roof is thatched, and the walls, made of wattle_(suali)_, flare out from the base determined by the tops of theposts. In cutting the posts down to suitable size (say 10 inches indiameter), a flange, or collar, is left near the top to keep ratsout; chicken-coops hang around, and formerly human skulls, too, were set about. But the Ifugaos, thanks to Gallman, as already said, have abandoned head-hunting, and the skulls in hand, if kept at all, are now hidden inside their owner's houses, their places being takenby carabao heads and horns. One house had a _tahibi_, or rest-couch;only rich people can own these, cut out as they are of a single log, in longitudinal cross-section like an inverted and very flat V withsuitable head- and foot-supports. The notable who wishes to own oneof these luxurious couches gets his friends to cut down the tree(which is necessarily of very large size), to haul the log, and tocarve out the couch, feeding them the while. Considering the lackof tools, trails, and animals, the labor must be incredible and thecost enormous. However, wealth will have its way in Kiangan as wellas in Paris. 

By the time we had done the village, the hour of business had come, and we moved up to the little parade in front of the _cuartel_, wherean enormous crowd had already assembled. As at Campote, so here, andfor the same reasons, very few old women were present, but about asmany young ones and children as there were men. Our approach was thesignal for the dancing to begin, and once begun, it lasted all day, the _gansas_ never ceasing their invitation. Apparently anybody couldjoin in, and many did, informal circles being formed here and there, for the Ifugaos, like all the other highlanders, dance around in acircle. Both men and women took part, eyes on a point of the grounda yard or so ahead, the knees a little bent, left foot in front, bodyslightly forward on the hips, left arm out in front, hand upstretchedwith fingers joined, right arm akimbo, with hand behind right hip. Themusicians kneel, stick the forked-stick handle of the _gansa_ in theirgee-strings, with the _gansa_ convex side up on their thighs, anduse both hands, the right sounding the note with a downward stroke, the left serving to damp the sound. The step is a very dignified, slow shuffle, accompanied by slow turns and twists of the left hand, and a peculiar and rapid up-and-down motion of the right. 

True to what had been said the day before, a particularly large circlewas formed, and Cootes and I were invited to join, which we did; ifany conclusion may be drawn from the applause we got (for the Ifugaosclap hands), why, modesty apart, we upheld the honor of the Service. 

Every now and then the orators had their turn, for a resounding"Whoo-o-ee!" would silence the multitudes, and some speaker wouldmount the tribune and give vent to an impassioned discourse. One ofthese bore on the killing of the prisoner that morning: the oratordeclared that he was a bad man, and that he had met with a just end, that the people must understand that they must behave themselvesproperly, and so on. I forget how many speeches were made; but thetribune was never long unoccupied. Another performance of the daywas the distribution of strips of white onion-skin paper. On oneof his previous trips Mr. Worcester had noticed that the peoplehad taken an old newspaper he had brought with him, cut it up intostrips, and tied them to the hair by way of ornament. Acting onthis hint, it is his habit to take with him on his trips to thiscountry thousands of strips, and everybody gets a share accordingto rank, a chief five, his wife four, an ordinary person three, andlittle children two. Accordingly, he spent hours this day handingout these strips, for this was a duty that could not be delegated:the strips must come from the hands of the "Commission" himself. Byafternoon, every man, woman, and child--and there were thousands ofthem all told--was flying these white streamers from the head, thecombined resulting effect being pleasing and graceful. Meanwhile thepeople kept on coming from their _rancherías_, one arrival creatingsomething of a stir, being that of the _Princesa_, wife of the oratorwho had welcomed us the day before. She came in state, reclining in asort of bag hanging from a bamboo borne on the shoulders of some ofher followers. She had an umbrella, and, if I recollect aright, wassmoking a cigar. On emerging from her bag, a circle formed about her, and she was graciously pleased to dance for us, no one venturing tojoin her. As she was fat and scant o' breath, [26] her performance, was characterized by portentous deliberation, precision, and dignity, and was as palpably agreeable to her as it was curious to us. 

The great performance of the morning, however, was a head-hunter dance, arranged by Barton; that is, he had gone out a day or two beforeand told a neighboring _ranchería_, that they must furnish a showof the sort for the _apos_ whose visit was imminent. But, accordingto the old women of the village, he had made a great mistake in thathe said it was not necessary to hold a _cañao_ in advance. A _cañao_(_buni_ in Ifugao), as already explained, is a ceremonious occasion, celebrated by dancing, much drinking of _bubud_, the killing of apig, speeches. Whenever an affair of moment is in hand, such as afuneral or a head-hunting expedition, a _cañao_ is held. Our entirestay at Kiangan might be called a _cañao_, or, rather, it was made upof _cañaos_. Now when Barton, two or three days before, refused to_cañao_, the old women shook their heads, declaring that somethingwould happen, and the killings of the morning were at once summonedas proof that they were right and he was wrong. However this may be, not long after the _Princesa's_ dance we heard below us a cadencedsound and saw a long column in file slowly approaching. Its head wasformed of warriors armed with spears and shields stained black withwhite zig-zags across; the leading warrior walked backward, continuallymaking thrusts at the next man with his spear. A pig had immediatelypreceded, trussed by his feet to a bamboo, and interfering mightilywith the music that followed. This was percussive in character, andwas produced by twenty-five or thirty men beating curved instruments, made of very hard, resonant wood, with sticks. These musicians marchedalong almost doubled over, and would lean in unison first to the rightand then to the left, striking first one end, then the other of theirinstruments, which they held in the middle by a _bejuco_ string froma hole made for the purpose. The note was not unmusical. Many of themen had their head-baskets on their backs, and one or two of them thepalm-leaf rain-coat. I had never imagined that it was possible forhuman beings to advance as slowly as did these warriors; in respectof speed, our most dignified funerals would suffer by comparison. Thetruth is, they were dancing. They got up the hill at last, however;laid the pig down in the middle of the vast circle that had instantlyformed, and then began the ceremonious head-dance. Two or three men, after various words had been said, would march around in statelyfashion, winding up at the pig, across whose body they would lay theirspears. On this an old man would run out, and remove the spears, whenthe thing would be repeated. At last, a tall, handsome young man, splendidly turned out in all his native embellishments, on reachingthe pig, allowed his companions to retire while he himself stood, and, facing his party with a smile, said a few words. Then, withoutlooking at his victim, and without ceasing to speak, he suddenly thrusthis spear into the pig's heart, withdrawing it so quickly that theblade remained unstained with blood; as quick and accurate a thingas ever seen! Of course, this entire _cañao_ was full of meaning tothe initiated. Barton said it was a failure, and he ought to know;but it was very interesting to us. I was particularly struck by thebearing of these men, their bold, free carriage and fearless expressionof countenance. 

CHAPTER XIII

 Dress of the people. --Butchery of carabao. --Prisoner runs _amok_ and is killed. 

It was now drawing near midday, and as though by common understandingwe all separated to get something to eat. Our head-dancers formedup and resumed their slow march back down the hill; only this time, Cootes and I borrowed instruments and joined the band, partly to seehow it felt to walk in so incredibly slow a procession, and partlyfor me, at least, to try the music. A little of it went a long way. 

The afternoon was, with two exceptions, much like the forenoon. Tiffinover, Mr. Worcester and Gallman held councils with the head men ofthe various _rancherías_ present; Pack inspected; and the rest of usmoved about, looking on at whatever interested us. 

As elsewhere, but few clothes are seen: the women wear a short stripedskirt sarong-wise, but bare the bosom. However, they are beginning tocover it, just as a few of them had regular umbrellas. They leave thenavel uncovered; to conceal it would be immodest. The men are nakedsave the gee-string, unless a leglet of brass wire under the knee beregarded as a garment; the bodies of many of them are tattooed ina leaf-like pattern. A few men had the native blanket hanging fromtheir shoulders, but leaving the body bare in front. The prevailingcolor is blue; at Campote it is red. The hair looked as though abowl had been clapped on the head at an angle of forty-five degrees, and all projecting locks cut off. If the hair is long, it meansthat the wearer has made a vow to let it grow until he has killedsomeone or burnt an enemy's house. We saw such a long-haired man thisday. Some of the men wore over their gee-strings belts made of shell(mother-of-pearl), with a long free end hanging down in front. Thesebelts are very costly and highly thought of. Earrings are common, but apparently the lobe of the ear is not unduly distended. Here atKiangan, the earring consists of a spiral of very fine brass wire. 

It is pertinent to remark that the Ifugaos treat their women well;for example, the men do the heavy work, and there are no women_cargadores_. In fact, the sexes seemed to me to be on terms of perfectequality. The people in general appeared to be cheerful, good-humored, and hospitable. Mr. Worcester pointed out that whereas most of themen present were unarmed (at any rate, they had neither spears norshields), in his early trips through this country, as elsewhere, every man came on fully armed, and the ground was stuck full ofspears, each with its shield leaning on it, the owner near by withthe rest of his _ranchería_, and all ready at a moment's notice tokill and take heads. For although these people are all of the sameblood and speak nearly the same language, still there is no tribalgovernment; the people live in independent settlements (_rancherías_), all as recently as five or six years ago hostile to one another, and taking heads at every opportunity. This state of affairs wasundoubtedly partly due to the almost complete lack of communicationthen prevailing, thus limiting the activities of each _ranchería_to the growing of food, varied by an effort to take as many headsas possible from the _ranchería_ across the valley, without undueloss of its own. And what is said here of the Ifugao is true alsoof the Ilongot, the Igorot, the Kalinga, the Apayao, and of all therest of the head-hunting highlanders of Northern Luzon. The resultsaccomplished by Mr. Worcester with all these people simply exceedbelief. But this subject, being worthy of more than passing mention, will be considered later. The afternoon is wearing on, and we mustget at the two exceptions mentioned some little time ago. 

Since these highlanders have but little meat to eat, it is the policyof the Government, on the occasion of these annual progresses, to furnish a few carabaos, so that some of the people, at least, while they are the guests of the Government, may have what theyare fondest of and most infrequently get. And they have been untilrecently allowed to slaughter the carabao, according to their owncustom, in competition, catch-as-catch-can, so to say. For the poorbeast, tethered and eating grass all unconscious of its fate, orelse directly led out, is surrounded by a mob of men and boys, eachwith his bolo. At a signal given, the crowd rushes on the animal, and each man hacks and cuts at the part nearest to him, the ruleof the game being that any part cut off must be carried out of therush and deposited on the ground before it can become the bearer'sproperty. Accordingly, no sooner is a piece separated and broughtout than it is pounced on by others who try to take it away; usuallya division takes place, subject to further sub-division, however, ifother claimants are at hand. The competition is not only tremendous, but dangerous, for in their excitement the contestants frequentlywound one another. The Government (_i. E. _, Mr. Worcester), whileat first necessarily allowing this sort of butchering, has steadilydiscouraged and gradually reduced it, so that at Kiangan, for example, the people were told that this was the last time they would everbe allowed to kill beef in this fashion. It was pointed out to themthat the purpose being to furnish meat, their method of killing wasso uneconomical that the beef was really ruined, and nobody got whathe was really entitled to. 

On this occasion, the carabao was tied to a stake in a small swaleand I nerved myself to look on. I saw the first cuts, the poor beastlook up from his grass in astonishment, totter, reel, and fall as blowsrained on him from all sides. The crowd, closing in, mercifully hid therest from view; the victim dying game without a sound. In this respect, as well as in many others, the carabao is a very different animalfrom the pig. But, while looking on at the mound of cutting, hacking, sweating, and struggling butchers, the smell of fresh blood over all, something occurred that completely shifted the center of interest. Aboy came up to us in great excitement to say that the prisoner had gothold of a bayonet and was running _amok_. This was the prisoner of themorning who had been so badly beaten; to make him more comfortable, he had been laid on the veranda of the _cuartel_ (just behind us), hobbled, but otherwise free. The boy spoke the truth; the prisoner hadsnatched his bayonet from a passing Constabulary private, and, turninginto the _cuartel_, made for the provincial treasurer, who was busyinside. Him he chased out, getting over the ground with extraordinaryrapidity, considering his wounds and hobbles; when we turned to look, the prisoner had come out and was running for just anybody. There wasnow but one thing to do, and done it was. Some one in authority calledout to the sentry on duty before the _cuartel_. "Kill him!" The sentry, who up to this time had been walking up and down as a sentry should, brought down his carbine, aimed at the running man, and dropped himin his tracks by a bullet through the heart. He then ejected hisempty cartridge-case, shouldered his piece, and continued to walk hispost as unconcernedly as though he had shot a mad dog; as strikingan example of discipline as any soldier could wish to see. So faras I could mark, this occurrence made no impression on the peoplegathered together. The day went on as before. We should recollect, however, that these highlanders have no nerves, have, in the thepast held human life cheap, and must have realized in this case thatthe poor fellow who had been shot was himself trying to take humanlife; according to mountain law, he had got his deserts. Hence noastonishment should be felt that, while this human tragedy was beingplayed to a finish, the carabao-butchers had not turned a hair'sbreadth from their business. For when I turned again to see how theywere getting on, I found that they had disappeared, and, walking tothe place, saw not a trace of the butchery save the trampled groundand a small heap of undigested grass. Mr. Worcester had told me beforethat I should find this to be the case; not a shred of hoof, hide, or bone had been left behind. 

The multitude had now begun to disperse, for the sun's rays weregrowing level, and the day was over. We were glad ourselves tofind our quarters, for we had had some ten hours of _gansa_-beating, dancing, and all the rest of it: the _cañao_ had been a great success, and, although _bubud_ had passed vigorously, the people had made notrouble. We wound up with a little bridge, and there was, as therealways is, some business to be dispatched before turning in. Butwe were all soon sound asleep, for next morning we had to be up atfour. [27]

CHAPTER XIV

 Barton's account of a native funeral. 

Mr. Barton, already mentioned as in residence at Kiangan as localSuperintendent of Schools, went out to see the funeral of theConstabulary private killed on the morning of the 2d. He was stronglyadvised not to go, because these highlanders resent more or less thepresence of strangers at their funeral ceremonies. But this made himonly the more eager, as very few Americans, or any others for thatmatter, have ever been present on these occasions. 

Passing through Manila a month or two later, he very kindly dictatedfor me an account of what he saw, and I give it here, with hispermission, in his own words:

The Funeral of Aliguyen. 

"On the third day after the soldier was killed, the principal funeralceremonies took place. To these ceremonies came a great number ofpeople from their various _rancherías_, the party from each _ranchería_being led by the relatives of the soldier, some of them very distantrelatives. 

"Aliguyen, the dead soldier, lived in the _ranchería_ of Nagukaran, a _ranchería_ until quite recently very unfriendly to Kiangan, whereI live. Aliguyen, however, had some kin in Kiangan, and this kin, together with their friends, went to the funeral. Their shields, as well as the shields of all who attended, were painted with whitemarkings, taking some the form of men, some of lizards, some werezig-zags. All men who attended had a head-dress made of the leafpetiole of the betel tree and the red leaves of the dongola plant. Tothese leaves were attached pendant white feathers. Everybody wasdressed in his best clout, and the women in their best loin-clothsand in all their finery of gold beads and agate necklaces. 

"Nagukaran is one _ranchería_ of several in a very large valley. WhenI reached a point in the trail commanding this valley, there could beseen from various _rancherías_ in the valley a procession from eachof them wending their way slowly toward Aliguyen's home. From the timethat they came within sight of the house, which was sometimes when theywere a mile and a half or two miles from it, each procession dancedits way, beating on the striped shields with their drum-sticks andon their _bangibang_. This last is a kind of wooden stick, made ofresonant hard wood, coated over with chicken blood. It is extremelyold. It is curved slightly and is about two feet long, and is held inone hand suspended by a _bejuco_ string so that the vibrations arenot interfered with. It is beaten with a drum-stick, as is also theshield. The _gansa_, or brass gong, the usual musical instrument ofthe Ifugaos, is never used in the funeral of a beheaded man. The twomen who headed each procession carried two spears each. Behind came aman carrying a spear and shield. The two in front faced the on-comingprocession, stepping most of the time backward, making thrusts towardthe two who bore the spears and shields. The bearers of spear andshield made thrusts at them, the whole being a dance which in somerespects resembles one of the head-dances of the Bontoc Igorots. Fromthe high place on the trail where I was, they looked, in the distance, like nothing so much as columns of centipedes or files of ants allcreeping slowly along the dikes of the rice-paddies toward the centralplace. It usually takes an hour for such a procession to cover onemile. The beating of shield and stick could easily be heard acrossthe wide valley on that still morning. 

"Arriving at Aliguyen's house, we found him sitting on a blockfacing the sun, lying against his shield, which was supportedby the side of the house. The body was in a terrible state ofdecomposition. It was swollen to three times its living girth. Greatblisters had collected under the epidermis, which broke from timeto time, a brownish red fluid escaping. The spear wound in hisneck was plugged by a wooden spear-head. In each hand Aliguyenheld a wooden spear. No attempt whatever had been made to preventdecomposition of the body or the entrance to it of flies. From themouth gas bubbled out continually. Two old women on each side withpenholder-shaped loom-sticks about two feet long continually pokedat Aliguyen's face and the wound to wake him up. From time to timethey caught the grewsome head by the hair and shook it violently, shouting, Who-oo-oo! Aliguyen, wake up! Open your eyes! Look downon Kurug. [Kurug being the _ranchería_ from which came Aliguyen'smurderer. ] Take his father and his mother, his wife and his children, and his first cousins and his second cousins, and his relatives bymarriage. They wanted him to kill you. All your kin are women. [Theysay this in order to deceive Aliguyen into avenging himself. ] Theycan't avenge you. You will have to avenge yourself! There is _ordén_[law]; no one can kill them but you! Take them all!

"This calling on Aliguyen's soul never ceased. When an old woman gothoarse, another took her place. As the procession came to the houseit filed past Aliguyen and its leaders stopped and shouted words tothe same effect. The key-note of the whole ceremony was vengeance. Itis true that both persons who were involved in killing Aliguyen werethemselves killed, but the people of a _ranchería_ regard themselvesas being about the only real people in the world and hold that three, four, or five men of another _ranchería_ are not equal to one oftheirs. 

"Nagukaran being the _ranchería_ that speared and nearly killed mypredecessor, Mr. ----, I explained my presence to the people there bysaying that the soldier, being an agent of our Government, was in away a relative of mine. The explanation was a perfectly natural oneto the people, and they treated me with the greatest courtesy andhelped me to see whatever was to be seen. 

"Toward noon they told me that they were going to perform the feastwhich looked towards securing vengeance for Aliguyen's death. They wentto where the people had built a shed to protect them from the sun'sfierce rays on a little hillock some distance from any house. Twopigs were provided there, one being very small. Only the old menwere permitted to gather around the pigs and the rice-wine and theother appurtenances of the feast. The feast began by a prayer to theancestors, followed by an invocation to the various deities. The mostinteresting and the principal part of the feast was the invocation tothe celestial bodies, who are believed to be the deities of War andJustice, Mánaháut (The Deceiver), a companion of the Sun God, was firstinvoked. The people cried: Who-oo-oo! Mánaháut, look down! Come downand drink the rice-wine and take the pig! Don't deceive us! Deceiveour enemies! Take them into the remotest quarters of the sky-world;lock them up there forever so that they may not return! Vengeancefor him who has gone before!' Then an old man put his hands overhis forehead and called: 'Come down, Mánaháut. ' Mánaháut came andpossessed him, causing him to call out: 'Sa-ay! sa-ay! I come downMánaháut; I drink the rice-wine; I will deceive your enemies, butI will not deceive you, ' The old man, possessed, jumps up and, withcharacteristic Ifugao dance step, dances about the rice-wine jar andabout the pig. Quickly follows him a feaster who has called Umalgo, the Spirit of the Sun, and was possessed by him. Mánaháut dances aheadof Umalgo to show him the pig. Umalgo seizes a spear, dances about thepig two or three times, when he steps over to it and with a thrust, seemingly without effort, pierces its heart. The blood spurts outof the pig's side and there quickly follows a feaster who has beenpossessed by Umbulan, who throws himself on the pig and drinks itsblood. He would remain there forever, say the people, drinking thepig's blood, were it not that one of the Stars, his son, possesses afeaster, causing him to dance over to Umbulan, catch him by the hairand lead him from the pig. Following these ceremonies, there camefeasters of various spirits of the Stars to cut the pig's feet andhis head off. Then comes the cutting up of the pig to cook in thepots. The blood that has settled in its chest is carefully caught;it is used to smear the _bangibang_ and the _jipag_. The _jipag_ areinteresting. They are little images of two or three of the deitiesthat help men to take heads. The images are of wood about six oreight inches high. Sometimes there are images of dogs also. When anIfugao goes on a head-hunting expedition, he takes the images in hishead-basket, together with a stone to make the enemy's feet heavy sothat he cannot run away, and a little wooden stick in representationof a spear, to the end of which is attached a stone--this to make theenemy's spear strike the earth so that it might not strike him. [28]

"As the pig was being put in the pot to be cooked for the old menwho had performed the feast, some unmannerly young fellow startedto make away with one piece of the flesh. Immediately there was ascramble which was joined by some three or four hundred Ifugaos ofall the different _rancherías_. Then the feasters (I think there wereabout one thousand who attended the feast) leaped for their spearsand shields. The people who had come from Kiangan rushed to where Iwas and took their stand in front of and around me, and told me tostay there and that they would protect me from any harm; all of which, as may well be supposed, produced no trifling amount of warmth in myfeelings toward them. Fortunately nothing came of the scramble. 

"I have no hesitancy in saying that two or three years ago, beforeGovernor Gallman had performed his excellent and truly wonderful workamong the Ifugaos, this scramble would have become a fight in whichsomebody would have lost his life. That such a thing could take placewithout danger was incomprehensible to the old women of Kiangan, whodoubtless remembered sons or husbands, brothers or cousins, who hadlost their lives in such an affair. With the memory of these old timesin their minds they caught me by the arms and by the waist and said, 'Barton, come home; we don't know the mind of the people; they arelikely to kill you. ' When I refused to miss seeing the rest of thefeast, they told me to keep my revolver ready. 

"Looking back on this incident, I am sure that I was in little, Ibelieve _no_ danger, but must give credit to my Ifugao boy who attendedme in having the wisest head in the party. This boy immediately thoughtof my horse, which was picketed near, and ran to it, taking with himone or two responsible Kiangan men to help him watch and defend it. Hadhe not done so, some meat-hungry, hot-headed Ifugao might easily havestuck a bolo in his side during the scramble and its confusion; andimmediately some five hundred or more Ifugaos would have been righton top of the carcase, hand-hacking at it with their long war-knives, and it would probably have been impossible ever to find out who gavethe first thrust. 

"The old men who had performed the feast, after things had quieteddown somewhat, began scolding and cursing those who had run away withthe meat. Finally they managed to prevail upon the meat-snatchersto bring back three small pieces, about the size of their hands, from which I concluded that Ifugao is a language which is admirablyadapted to making people ashamed of themselves. For I knew how hungryfor meat these Ifugao become. 

"Three old men stuck their spears in a piece of meat and began a longstory whose text was the confusion of enemies in some past time. Atthe conclusion of each story, they said: 'Not there, but here; notthen, but now. ' By a sort of simple witchcraft, the mere telling ofthese stories is believed to secure a like confusion and destructionof the enemies of the present. When this ceremony had been completed, each old man raised his spear quickly and so was enabled to securefor himself the meat impaled. In one case, one of the old men justmissed ripping open the abdomen of the man who stood in front. 

"The feast being finished, the people made an attempt toassemble by _rancherías_. Then they filed along the trail to buryAliguyen. Nagukaran _ranchería_ took the lead. As the processioncame near the grave the men took off their head-dresses and strungthem on a long pole, which was laid across the trail. A Nagukaran_ranchero_ went to where Aliguyen was sitting and picked him up, carried him to the grave, and placed him in a sitting posture facingKurug, the _ranchería_ that killed him, Aliguyen was not wrapped ina death-blanket, as corpses usually are. His body was neglected inorder to make him angry, so to incite him to vengeance. 

"The grave was a kind of sepulchre dug out of a bank. It was walled upwith stones after Aliguyen was placed in it, and an egg thrown againstthe tomb, whereupon the people yelled: '_Batna kana okukulan di bujolmiud Kurug!_ ('So may it happen to our enemies at Kurug!') The poles onwhich were strung the head-dresses were taken and hung over the door ofAliguyen's house. After this the people dispersed to their homes. Onthe way home they stopped at a stream and washed themselves, prayingsomewhat as follows: 'Wash, Water, but do not wash away our lives, our pigs, our chickens, our rice, our children. Wash away death byviolence, death by the spear, death by sickness. Wash away pests, hunger, and crop-failure, and our enemies. Wash away the visits ofthe Spear-bearing Nightcomer, the Mountain Haunters, the Ghosts, the Westcomers. Wash away our enemies. Wash as vengeance for him whohas gone before. '"

CHAPTER XV

 Visit to the Silipan Ifugaos at Andangle. --The Ibilao River. --Athletic feat. --Rest-house and stable at Sabig. 

We set out the next day, May 3d, at dawn, our destination beingAndangle, selected as a rendezvous of the Silipan Ifugaos, anotherbranch of the great tribe under Gallman's domination. And, to mygreat regret, we here parted from Connor, who had accompanied us thusfar, but now had to return to his post in Nueva Vizcaya. I have thegreatest pleasure in acknowledging here his many courtesies, thegood humor and patience with which he answered my many questions, and I hated to see him turn back. 

The trail we were to take to-day was most of it new, the SilipanIfugaos having finished it but a short time before our arrival. Werode through the reddening dawn, down the great bastion of Kiangan, with the Ibilao River, far below us, showing now and then on the turnof a spur, till at last it uncovered so much of its length as lay inthe valley, and disappearing to the southeast through its tremendousgates of rock. For the everlasting mountains, narrowing down on eachside, as though to halt the impetuous stream, nevertheless yield itpassage through smooth, vertical walls of solid rock, a gate neverclosed, nor yet ever open. It would have been most interesting towork our way down to this example of Nature's engineering, but wehad to content ourselves with a look from afar, and soon the trailturned sharply to the left and shut out the view. The whole valleywas keen that morning with its fresh, cool air and sound of rushingwaters. It was a happiness to be alive, up, and riding. 

In about half an hour we reached the right bank of the river, wherewe off-saddled, crossing by a trolley platform; the horses were swumover, and the kit carried by the _cargadores_ on their heads. My_cargador_ must have gone down, for when I got my gear later itwas soaking wet. On the other side we began to climb, and sharply;we now could look back on Kiangan. Rounding the nose of a gigantic, buttress-like spur, covered with _camote_ patches, we descended toa small affluent of the Ibilao, where we halted and rested, and, crossing it, again began to climb, the trail being cut out of theside of another gigantic spur. At last we reached the top, to find anew deep, steep valley below us, and just across, only a few parasangsaway, Andangle. But it was far more than a few parasangs by the trail, for we had to go completely around the head of the valley, mostly onthe same contour. Andangle itself is barely more than a name, but wefound here a house of bamboo and palm fresh built for us, tastefullyadorned with greens and plants, and protected by _anitos_, resemblingthose of Kiangan. Like nearly all the other places visited by us, it was finely situated, the mountains we had just ridden throughforming a great amphitheater to the north. 

Our stay here was uneventful. There is really little to record orreport. This branch of the Ifugaos impressed me as being a quieter[29] lot than the people we had just left and apparently fonder, if possible, of speech-making. For speeches went on almost withoutintermission, all breathing good-will and declaring the intention ofthe people to behave in a lawful manner and promising to have donewith killing and stealing. 

There were many women and children, the children very shy. Ofweapons there were none. Dancing went on uninterruptedly the wholeday and night of our stay, and Cootes and I had to dance again. Onlywe had now arranged to simulate a boxing-match, which we presentedto the beat of the _gansa_, and to the applause of our gallery. Arunner came in while we were here, carrying a note in a cleft stick, the native substitute for a pocket. In dress and appearance, theAndangle people differed in no wise from those of Kiangan. Many ofthem, however, have a silver jewel, of curious and original design, worn chiefly as earring, but also on a string around the neck. Oursplendid chief at Payawan also wore many of these jewels, but his wereof gold. Mr. Worcester distributed his white slips to the ever-eagermultitudes, listened to reports, and held council with the head men;the people were fed with rice and meat, appeared thoroughly to enjoythemselves, and so the time passed. 

The next morning, May 4th, we rode off. Shortly after leaving, we came suddenly upon a party apparently wrangling over a pieceof meat, at a point where the trail was crossed by a small stream, flowing in a thin sheet over a smooth face of rock, twenty or morefeet high, and tilted at about seventy degrees. The wranglers tookalarm on our approach and scattered in all directions. One of them, a boy of perhaps sixteen, ran up the rock just described at fullspeed on his toes, and disappeared in the bushes at the top. Evenif he had wished to use his hands, there was nothing to lay holdon. If I had not seen it performed with my own eyes, I should havedeclared the feat impossible: I mention it to mark the agility andstrength of these people. Bear in mind that this youngster ran up, that the rock was not far from the vertical, and that the water-wornface was smooth and slippery. The thing was simply amazing. 

We stopped again at our rest-house of the day before, meeting afew _cabecillas_, who showed us, with much pride, long ebony caneswith silver tops, and inscriptions showing that they had been givenby the Spanish Sovereign as rewards for faithful service, etc. Oneof these canes had been given by Maria Cristina. Others produced, from bamboo tubes, parchments of equally royal origin, setting forthin grandiloquent Spanish the confidence reposed by the Sovereign insuch and such a _cabecilla_. 

This day's journey was without incident of any sort. But, like all ourother rides, it took us through country that beggars one's powers ofdescription. We rode part of the way through an open forest, many ofwhose trees were of great height. One of these had, on a single largebranch thrust out from the trunk at a height of sixty feet or so, as many bird's-nest ferns as could crowd upon it, looking comicallylike a row of hens roosting for the night. From the ground, aboutfifteen feet from the root of this same tree, rose a single-stemliana, joining the main trunk at the branch just mentioned; to thisliana a huge bird-nest fern had attached itself twenty feet or moreabove the ground, completely surrounding the stem, a singular sight. 

The day was fine, the trail good--like all the others of Gallman'strails, --and the people glad to see us. From time to time, as weneared Sabig, we were met by detachments, each with _gansas_ andspears and our flag, and, besides, _bubud_ in bamboo tubes; for, asmust now be clear, the Ifugaos are a hospitable and courteous people, and we were made welcome wherever we went. 

At about three we reached Sabig, situated on a hog-back between thetrail on the left and a deep valley on the right. Here the peoplehad built us the finest rest-house seen on the trip. For this househad separate rooms all opening on the same front, the roof beingcontinued over the front so as to form a sort of veranda, underwhich a bamboo table had been set up. But, as though this were notenough, there were hanging-baskets of plants, bamboo and other leavesornamenting the posts. Our cattle were as well off as we, havinga real stable with separate stalls. Just north of the house, wherethe ground sloped, a platform had been excavated for dancing, whichwent on all night. There was the customary distribution of slips andthe usual business of reports and interviews with the head men. Herewe first saw the rice-terraces for which these mountain people arejustly famous, that is, terraces climbing the mountain-side. But ofweapons we saw none. 

CHAPTER XVI

 Change in aspect of country. --Mount Amuyao and the native legend of the flood. --Rice-terraces. --Banawe. --Mr. Worcester's first visit to this region. --Sports. --Absence of weapons. --Native arts and crafts. 

We pushed on next morning early for Banawe, the capital of thesub-province of Ifugao, and Gallman's headquarters. The cheers ofour late hosts accompanied us as we entered the trail and beganto climb. The country now took on a different aspect, due to ourincreasing altitude. The valleys were sharper and narrower, and so ofthe peaks. From time to time we could see the proud crest of Amuyaoahead of us. Over 8, 000 feet high, this mountain, whose name means"father of all peaks, " or "father of mountains, " is the Ararat ofthe Ifugaos. Their legend has it that, a flood overcoming the land, a father and five sons took refuge on this topmost peak, coming downwith the waters as they fell. They even have their Cain, for one ofthese five was killed by a brother. This family traditionally arethe ancestors of all the mountain people. 

It took us some five hours to ride to Banawe, through a country ofimposing beauty. It was not that we were in the presence of mightyranges or peaks, so much as that the alternation of elevation withdepression offered a bewildering variety of aspect. At every turn, turns as unnumbered this day as the woes of Greece, the landscapechanged its face. No sooner had one's appreciation become oriented, than it had to give way to the necessity of a fresh orientation. Ofcourse there must be some orographic system; but to mark it, weshould have had to fly over the land. To us on the trail it wasnot evident, mountain shouldering mountain, and valley swallowingvalley, in confusion. And wherever possible, rice-terraces! If weposit the struggle for existence, then in this view alone theseIfugaos, and other highlanders as well, are a gallant people. Notevery hillside will grow rice; if the soil be good, water will belacking; or else, having water, the soil is poor. But, wherever thetwo conditions are combined, there will one find the slope terracedto the top, and scientifically terraced, too, so that every drop ofwater shall do its duty from top-side to bottom-side. The labor oforiginal construction, always severe, in some cases must have beenenormous, as we shall see later. Many of these terraces are hundredsof years old; their maintenance has required and continues to requireconstant watchfulness. Nearly every year the supply of rice runsshort and the people fall back on _camotes_ (sweet potatoes). Andyet, in marked contrast with their cousins of the plains, whom theseconditions would drive to helpless despair, we heard on this tripnot one word of complaint. Not once did they put up a poor mouth andbeg the Government to come to their help. On the contrary, they werecheerful throughout, knowing though they did that before the yearwas over they would probably all have to pull their gee-strings ina little tighter. It is not too much, therefore, to say that thesehighlanders are in a true sense a gallant people. Indeed, they arethe best people of the Archipelago, and with any sort of chance theywill prove it. This chance our Government, thanks to Mr. Worcester'sinitiative and sustained interest, is giving them, the first and onlyone they ever have had. 

This digression brings us a little nearer to Banawe; we leave theterraced hills behind us, after noting how free of all plants theretaining-walls are kept, the sole exception here and there beingthe dongola, with its brilliant leaf of lustrous scarlet. 

In time we began to descend, and finally there burst on the viewthe sharpest valley yet, as though some Almighty Power had split themountains apart with a titanic ax. Down one flank we went with Banawenear the head, but farther off than we thought, because the trailwas now filled with men that had come out to welcome us, all of whominsisted on shaking hands with all the _apos_. Our last three mileswere a triumphal procession--columns, _gansas, bubud_, spears, shouts, escorts, flags. Every now and then a halt; a bamboo filled with _bubud_would be handed up, and everybody had to take a pull. Once I noticedGallman in front hastily return the bamboo, and reach desperatelyfor his water-bottle; the next man did the same thing. It was now myturn, and I understood; I tipped up the tube, and thought for themoment that I had filled my mouth with liquid fire, so hot was thestuff! If there had ever been any rice in the original composition, it had completely lost its identity in the fearful excess of pepperthat characterized this particular vintage. It was hours and hoursbefore our throats forgave us. 

But at last we threaded our way down, and, turning sharp to theright, rode out on the small plateau that is Banawe, to be salutedand escorted by the Constabulary Guard and to be received by theshouts of thousands. They at once opened on us with speeches, butthese were markedly fewer here than farther south. The quarters ofthe Constabulary officers were hospitably put at our disposition, and our first enjoyment of them was the splendid shower. 

Banawe stands at the head of a very deep valley, shut in by mountainson three sides; the stream sweeping the base of the plateau breaksthrough on the south. This plateau rises sharply from the floor ofthe valley; in fact, it is a tongue thrust out by the neighboringmountain, and forms a position of great natural strength against anyenemy unprovided with firearms. Across the stream on the east mountthe rice-terraces over a thousand feet above the level of the stream;a stupendous piece of work, surpassed at only one or two other placesin Luzon. Elsewhere we saw terraces higher up, but none on so greata scale, so completely enlacing the slope from base to crest. Theretaining walls here are all of stone, brought up by hand from thestream below. This stream makes its way down to the Mayoyao country, and I was told that the entire valley, thirty-five or forty miles, was a continuity of terraces. Indeed, it requires some time andreflection to realize how splendid this piece of work is: it is almostoverwhelming to think what these people have done to get their dailybread. In contemplation of their successful labors, one is justifiedin believing that, if given a chance, they will yet count, and thatheavily, in the destinies of the Archipelago. 

Banawe was first visited by Mr. Worcester in 1903, coming down from thenorth with a party of Igorots. At the head of the pass he was met byan armed deputation of Ifugaos, who came to inquire the purpose of hisvisit. Was it peace or was it war? He could have either! But he mustdecide, and immediately. Assured as to the nature of the visit, thehead man then gave Mr. Worcester a white rooster, symbol of peace andamity, and escorted him in. But the accompanying Igorots came very nearundoing all of Mr. Worcester's plans. Not only were they shut in duringtheir stay, an obvious and necessary condition of good order and thepreservation of peace, but, on Mr. Worcester's asking food for them, they were told they could have _camotes_, but no rice; that rice wasthe food of men and warriors, and _camotes_ that of women and children, and that the Igorots were not men. This almost upset the apple-cart, for the Igorots in a rage at once demanded to be released from theirconfinement so as to show these Ifugaos who were the real men. Butcounsels of peace prevailed. In fact, it is a matter of astonishmentthat Mr. Worcester should be alive to-day, so great at the outset wasthe danger of personal communication with the wild men of Luzon. [30]It was not always a handsome white rooster, in token of peace, thatwas handed him; sometimes spears were thrown instead. However, onthis trip of ours he got a whole poultry-yard of chickens, besideseggs in every stage of development from new-laid to that in whichone could almost feel the pin-feathers sticking through the shell. 

We spent two days here, and over 10, 000 people were collected;some of them apparently showed traces of Japanese blood. Gallmanallowed me to make an inspection of his Constabulary, their quartersand hospital. The men were as fine and as well set-up as those wesaw at Kiangan. Everything was in immaculate condition, and readyfor service. From the circumstance of this inspection, I could notafterward pass near the _cuartel_ that the guard was not turned out for"the General"--a fact amusing to me, but which I carefully concealedfrom the other members of the party. During these two days, nights too, the _gansas_ never stopped, neither did the dancing. Mr. Worcesterdistributed thousands of paper slips, and, besides, much seriousbusiness was dispatched. Then we had sports and ceremonial formaldances, much like those we saw at Kiangan, but better done. There wasthe same slow advance with shields, the same sacrifice of a pig--onlythis one was not speared, but had his insides mixed with a stick. Heproved obstinate, however, and refused to die, so a man sat down onthe ground, put his thumbs on the victim's throat, and choked him todeath. Before that the usual lances had been laid across his body, and some _bubud_ poured (judiciously, not extravagantly) on him asa libation. This was a head-dance, the taken head being simulated bya ball of fern-tree pith stuck on a spear fixed in the ground. 

But these formal dances were not the only ones. Everybody danced, even Cootes and I again; but it was our last time. People kepton arriving from miles around, columns in single file, headed bymen bearing _bubud_-jars on their heads. Every party, of course, brought its _gansas_, and had to give an exhibition of dancing onthe parade. The arrival of the Mayoyao people on the 6th reallymade a picture, because we could see the trail for a long distance, occupied by men and women in single file, headed by Mr. Dorsey, ofthe Constabulary, on his pony. What with the _budbud_-bearers, thebright blue skirts of the women (color affected by these _rancherías_), and the cadence of the _gansas_ to which they marched, it was a goodsight, received with cheers. [31]

In general, but few parties were armed; and, as elsewhere, therewere no old women. Some of the shyer people, coming from afar, had brought their spears, and, squatted on the slopes round about, apparently passed their time in silent contemplation of the greatgame going on below. Everybody seemed to be in a good humor. This wasespecially manifest in the great wrestling-match that took place on theafternoon of the 6th, when _ranchería_ after _ranchería_ sent up itsbest man to compete for the heads of the carabaos that had furnishedmeat for the multitude. The wrestling itself was excellent. Thehold is taken with both hands on the gee-string in the small ofthe back; and, as all these men have strong and powerful legs, theevents were hotly contested and never completed without a desperatestruggle. Defeat was invariably accepted in a good spirit. As beforeremarked, however, when Mr. Worcester first organized these meetings, the _rancherías_ came together armed to the teeth. Each would stick itsspears in the ground, with shields leaning on them, and then wait fordevelopments. Suspicion, hostility, defiance were the rule, and hostilecollisions were more than once only narrowly averted. But on theseoccasions the native Constabulary proved its worth, by circulating inthe crowd, separating parties, and so asserting the authority of theGovernment in favor of good order. Moreover, the highlanders soonlearned to respect the power of "the spear that shoots six times"(the Krag magazine rifle, with which our Constabulary is armed);but it can not be repeated too often that our hold on these peopleis due almost entirely to the moral agencies we have employed. 

Gradually Mr. Worcester satisfied some _rancherías_, at least, thathad been open enemies for generations, whose men, in Mr. Worcester'sgraphic expression, had never seen one another except over the topsof their shields, that nothing was to be gained in the long run bythis secular warfare; and his purpose in bringing the clans togetheris to make them know one another on peaceful terms, to show them thatif rivalry exists, it can find a vent in wrestling, racing, throwingthe spear, in sports generally. And they take naturally to sports, these highlanders. Success has crowned Mr. Worcester's efforts; inwitness whereof this very concourse of Banawe may be cited, whereover 10, 000 persons, mostly unarmed, mingled freely with one anotherwithout so much as a brawl to disturb the peace. 

Two years ago people would not go to Mayoyao from Banawe, throughtheir own country, save in armed groups of ten to twelve; now womengo alone in safety. And it is a significant fact that the Ifugaosare increasing in numbers. Of course, this particular sub-province isfortunate in having as its governor a man of Gallman's stamp. But itis generally true that village warfare is decreasing, and that travelbetween villages is increasing. These Ifugaos ten years ago had thereputation, and deserved it, of being the fiercest head-hunters ofLuzon. Gallman has tamed them so that to-day they have abandonedthe taking of heads. Now what has been done with them can be donewith others. 

At Banawe we saw more examples of native arts and crafts than wehad heretofore. For example, the pipe is smoked, and we saw somecurious specimens in brass, much decorated with pendent chains;others were of wood, some double-bowled on the same stem. Some ofthe men wore helmets, or skull-caps, cut out of a single piece ofwood. Other carved objects were statuettes, sitting and standing;these are _anitos_, frequently buried in the rice-paddies to makethe crop good; besides, there were wooden spoons with human figuresfor handles, the bowls being symmetrical and well finished. Thenthere were rice-bowls, double and single, some of them stained blackand varnished. Excellent baskets were seen, so solidly and stronglymade of _bejuco_ as to be well-nigh indestructible under ordinaryconditions. Mr. Maimban got me a pair of defensive spears (so-calledbecause never thrown, but used at close quarters) with hollow-groundblades of tempered steel, the head of the shaft being wrapped with_bejuco_, ornamentally stained and put on in geometrical patterns. 

Our officials regarded this great meeting as entirely satisfactory. Wemade ready for an early start the next morning, saying good-bye toBrowne, who had accompanied us from Bayombong, and who had shown mepersonally many courtesies. His last act of kindness was to take backwith him the various things I had got together, and later to sendthem on to me at Manila. Our column was to be increased by a party ofIfugaos, whom, with a head man named Comhit, Gallman wished to takethrough the Bontok into the Kalinga country. The fact that these menreturned safely unaccompanied by Gallman or any other American isthe best possible proof of the positive results already achieved byour Government in civilizing the highlanders. 

CHAPTER XVII

 We ride to Bontok. --Bat-nets. --Character of the country. -- Ambawan. --Difficulties of the trail. --Bird-scarers. --Talubin. --Bishop Carroll of Vigan. --We reach Bontok. --"The Star-Spangled Banner. "--Appearance of the Bontok Igorot. --Incidents. 

From Banawe we rode to Bontok, thirty-five miles, in one day, May7th. This day it rained, the only rain we had during the whole trip, although the season was now on. But the disturbance in question wasdue to a typhoon far to the southward; and as it passed off into theChina Sea, so did the day finally clear. Our first business thismorning was to cross the pass on Polis Mountain, some 6, 400 feetabove sea-level, the highest elevation we reached. As we rode out ofBanawe we could see on the wooded sky-line to our right front a cutas though of a road through the forest; it was not a road, of course, but an opening normal to the crest of the ridge. Across this a net isstretched, and the bats, flying in swarms by night to clear the top, drop into the cut on reaching it, and so are caught in the net inflying across. We saw several such bat-traps during our trip. In thisway these highlanders eke out their meager supply of meat. The bat inquestion is not the animal we are familiar with, but the immenselylarger fruit bat, the flesh of which is readily eaten. Our trailtook us up, and sharply; by nine o'clock we had crowned the pass, and stopped for chow and rest. In front of us, as we looked back, plunged the deepest, sharpest valley yet seen, around the headof which we had ridden and across which we could look down on theIfugao country we had just come from; down one side and up the othercould be traced the remains of the old Spanish trail, a miracle ofstupidity. To the right (west), but out of sight, lay Sapao, where therice-terraces have received their greatest development, rising from thevalley we were gazing into some 3, 000 feet up the slope. Sapao, too, is the seat of the Ifugao steel industry, so that for many reasons Iwas sorry it was off our itinerary. The point where we were restinghas some interest from its associations, for our troops reached itin their pursuit of Aguinaldo, at the end of a long day of rain, and had to spend the night without food or fire or sleep. It was notpossible to light a pipe even, a _noche triste_ indeed. Most of themen stood up all night, this being better than lying down in the mud;to march on was impossible, as the country was then trailless, exceptfor the Spanish trail mentioned, to attempt which by night would havebeen suicide. A tropical forest can be pretty dreary in bad weather, almost as dreary as a Florida cypress swamp on a rainy Sunday. 

We now made on, having crossed into Bontok sub-province, and bymidday had reached a point on the trail above an Igorot villagecalled Ambawan. Here we were met by a number of the officials ofthe province, who gave us a sumptuous tiffin in the rest-house. Andhere, too, we bought a number of baskets made in Ambawan, gracefulof design and well-woven, though small. Governor Evans offered anescort of Constabulary through the next village, Talubin, the temperof its inhabitants being uncertain, but Mr. Forbes declined it, and ordered the escort sent back. We were riding as men of peace, determined to mark our confidence in the good intentions and behaviorof the various _rancherías_ we passed through. 

Immediately on leaving Ambawan, we had to drop from the new trail(ours) to the old Spanish one for a short distance, for our trailhad run plump upon a rock, waiting before removal for a little moneyto buy dynamite with. Having turned the rock, the climb back to thenew trail proved to be quite a serious affair, as such things go, the path being so steep and so filled with loose sand and gravelclattering down the slope at each step that only one man leadinghis horse was allowed on it at a time, the next man not startingtill his predecessor was well clear at the top. A loss of footingmeant a tumble to the bottom, a matter of concern if we had all beenon the path together. But finally we all got up and moved on, thistime over the narrowest trail yet seen, a good part of the way notmore than eighteen or twenty inches wide, with a smooth, bare slopeof sixty to eighty degrees on the drop side, and the bottom of thevalley one thousand to fifteen hundred feet or more below us. Manyof us dismounted and walked, leading our horses for miles. With uswent an Igorot guide or policeman, who carried a spear in one hand, and, although naked, held an umbrella over his head with the other, and a civilized umbrella too, no native thing. However, it must beadmitted that it was raining. 

The mists prevented any general view of the country; as a matter offact, we were at such an elevation as to be riding in the clouds, which had come down by reason of the rain. However, the valleys belowus were occasionally in plain enough sight, showing some cultivationhere and there, rice and _camotes_, the latter occasionally in queerspiral beds. The bird-scarers, too, were ingenious: a board hungby a cord from another cord stretched between two long and highlyflexible bamboos on opposite banks of a stream, would be carrieddown by the current until the tension of its cord became greaterthan the thrust of the stream, when it would fly back and thus causethe bamboo poles to shake. This motion was repeated without end, and communicated by other cords suitably attached to other bamboopoles set here and there in the adjacent rice-paddy. From these hungrough representations of birds, and a system was thus provided in astate of continious agitation over the area, frequently of many acres, to be protected. The idea is simple and efficacious. 

This long stretch terminated in a land-slide leading down into the dry, rocky bed of a mountain stream. At the head of the slide we turned ourmounts loose, and all got down as best we could, except Mr. Forbes, who rode down in state on his cow-pony. Once over, we crossed avillage along the edge of a rice-terrace, in which our horses sankalmost up to their knees. As the wall was fully fifteen feet high, a fall here into the paddy below would have been most serious; itwould have been almost impossible to get one's horse out. However, all things come to an end; we crossed the stream below by a bridge, one at a time (for the bridge was uncertain), and found ourselvesin Talubin, where we were warmly greeted by Bishop Carroll of Viganand some of his priests. The Bishop, who was making the rounds of hisdiocese, had only a few days before fallen off the very trail we hadjust come over, and rolled down, pony and all, nearly two hundred feet, a lucky bush catching him before he had gone the remaining fourteenhundred or fifteen hundred. 

Talubin somehow bears a poor reputation; its inhabitants have avillainous look, owing, no doubt, in part to their being as black anddirty as coal-heavers. This in turn is due to the habit of sleepingin closed huts without a single exit for the smoke of the fire thesepeople invariably make at night, their cook-fire probably, for theycook in their huts. However this may be, the people of this _ranchería_showed neither pleasure nor curiosity on seeing us, and I noticed thata Constabulary guard was present, patrolling up and down, as it were, with bayonets fixed and never taking their eyes off the natives thatappeared. These Igorots lacked the cheerfulness and openness of ourrecent friends, the Ifugaos. Their houses were not so good, builton the ground itself, and soot-black inside. The whole village wasdirty and gloomy and depressing, and yet it stands on the bank of aclean, cheerful stream. However, the inevitable _gansas_ were here, but silent; one of them tied by its string to a human jaw-bone as ahandle. This, it seems, is the fashionable and correct way to carrya _gansa_. At Talubin the sun came out, and so did some bottles ofexcellent red wine which the Bishop and his priests were kind enoughto give us. But we did not tarry long, for Bontok was still some milesaway. So we said good-bye to the Bishop and his staff and continuedon our way. The country changed its aspect on leaving Talubin:the hills are lower and more rounded, and many pines appeared. Thetrail was decidedly better, but turned and twisted right and left, up and down. The country began to take on an air of civilization--whynot? We were nearing the provincial capital; some paddies and fieldswere even fenced. At last, it being now nearly five of the afternoon, we struck a longish descent; at its foot was a broad stream, on theother side of which we could see Bontok, with apparently the wholeof its population gathered on the bank to receive us. And so it was:the grown-ups farther back, with marshalled throngs of children on themargin itself. As we drew near, these began to sing; while fording, the strains sounded familiar, and for cause: as we emerged, the"Star-Spangled Banner" burst full upon us, the shock being somewhattempered by the _gansas_ we could hear a little ahead. We rode past, got in, and went to our several quarters, Gallman and I to GovernorEvans's cool and comfortable bungalow. 

I took advantage of the remaining hour or so of daylight to get ageneral view of things. One's first impression of the Bontok Igorotis that he is violent and turbulent; it is perhaps more correct tosay that, as compared with the Ifugao, he lacks discipline. It iscertain that he is taller, without being stronger or more activeor better built; in fact, as one goes north, the tribes increase inheight and in wildness. The women share in the qualities noted. Bothmen and women were all over the place, and much vigorous dancing wasgoing on. Using the same _gansa_ as the Ifugao, the Igorot beatsit on the convex side with a regular padded drumstick, whereasthe Ifugao uses any casual stick on the concave side. Moreover, the Bontok dancers went around their circle, beating their _gansas_the while, in a sort of lope, the step being vigorous, long, easy, and high; as in all the other dances seen, the motion was againstthe sun. The _gansa_ beat seemed to be at uniform intervals, all fullnotes. While our friends the Ifugaos were, on the whole, a quiet lot, these Bontok people seemed to be fond of making a noise, of shouting, of loud laughter. They appeared to be continually moving about, backand forth, restlessly and rapidly as though excited. On the whole, theimpression produced by these people was not particularly agreeable;you felt that, while you might like the Banawe, you would always beon your guard against the Bontok. But it must be recollected that wehad no such opportunity to see these people as we enjoyed in the caseof Banawe and Andangle. The occasion was more exciting; they weremore on show. It is not maintained that these are characteristics, simply that they appeared to be this afternoon and, indeed, duringthe remainder of our stay. 

Individuals appeared to be friendly enough, though these werechiefly the older men. One of them, a total stranger to me, came upand intimated very clearly that he would like the transfer of thecigar I was smoking from my lips to his. In a case like this, it iscertainly more blessed to give than to receive, but in spite of thisScriptural view of the matter, I nevertheless naturally hesitated tobe the party of even the second part in a liberty of such magnitude, and on such short acquaintance, too. However I gave him the cigar;he received it with graciousness. I found now that I must give cigarsto all the rest standing about, and, after emptying my pockets, sentfor two boxes. An expectant crowd had in the meantime collected below, for we were standing on the upper veranda of Government House, and, on the two hundred cigars being thrown out to them all at one time, came together at the point of fall in the mightiest rush and crushof human beings I ever saw in my life. A foot-ball scrimmage underthe old rules was nothing to it. Very few cigars came out unscathed, but the scramble was perfectly good-humored. 

Of weapons there was almost none visible, no shields or spears, but here and there a head-ax. The usual fashion in clothes prevailed;gee-string for the men, and short sarong-like skirt for the women. Hairwas worn long, many men gathering it up into a tiny brimless hat, forall the world like Tommy Atkins's pill-box, only worn squarely on theapex of the skull, and held on by a string passed through the hair infront. In this hat the pipe and tobacco are frequently carried. Manyof these hats are beautifully made, and decorated; straw, dyed ofvarious colors, being combined in geometrical patterns. Ordinary onescan be easily got; but, if ornamented with beads or shell, they commandvery high prices, one hundred and fifty pesos or more. Many men wereelaborately tattooed, the pattern starting well down the chest on eachside and running up around the front of the shoulder and part way downthe arm. If, as is said, this elaborate tattoo indicates that its ownerhas killed a human being, then Bontok during our stay was full of menthat had proved their valor in this particular way. Earrings were verycommon in both sexes; frequently the lobe was distended by a plug ofwood, with no appreciable effect of ornament, and sometimes even tornopen. In that case the earring would be held on by a string over theear. One man came by with three earrings in the upper cartilage ofeach ear, one above the other. Still another had actually succeeded inpersuading nature to form a socket of gristle just in front of eachear, the socket being in relief and carrying a bunch of feathers. Afew men had even painted their faces scarlet or yellow. No one seemedto know the significance of this habit (commoner farther north than atBontok), but the paint was put on much after the fashion prevailingin Manchuria, and, if possibly for the same reason, certainly withthe same result. The pigment or color comes from a wild berry. 

CHAPTER XVIII

 Importance of Bontok. --Head-taking. --Atonement for bloodshed. --Sports. --Slapping game. 

Bontok is a place of importance, as becomes the capital of theMountain Province. Here are schools, both secular and religious; twochurches in building (1910), one of stone (Protestant Episcopal), theother of brick (Roman Catholic), each with its priest in residence;a Constabulary headquarters; a brick-kiln, worked by Bontoks; atwo-storied brick house, serving temporarily as Government House, club and assembly; a fine provincial Government House in building;streets laid off and some built up, these in the civilized town. Thislist is not to be smiled at; a beginning has been made, a good strongbeginning, full of hope, if the unseen elements established andforces developed are given a fair chance. The place was importantbefore we came in; the native part is ancient and has a municipalorganization of some interest. Spain first occupied the place in 1855and garrisoned it with several hundred Hokanos and Tagalogs. She hasleft behind a bad name; but the _insurrectos_ (Aguinaldo's people), who drove the Spaniards out, have left a worse. Both took withoutpaying, both robbed and killed; the _insurrectos_ added lying. 

Some four hundred Igorot warriors were persuaded by the _insurrectos_to join in resisting the Americans and went as far south as Caloocanjust north of Manila, where, armed only with spears, axes, and shields, they took their place in line of battle, only to run when fire wasopened. According to their own story, [32] which they relate witha good deal of humor, they never stopped until they reached theirnative heath, feeling that the _insurrectos_ had played a trick onthem. Accordingly, it is not surprising that when March went throughBontok after Aguinaldo, the Igorot should have befriended him, norlater that the way should have been easy for us when we came in tostay, about seven or eight years ago. 

The site is attractive, a circular dish-shaped valley, about a mileand a half in diameter, bisected by the Rio [33] Chico de Cagayán, with mountains forming a scarp all around. Bontok stands on the leftbank, and Samoki [34] on the right; separated only by a river easilyfordable in the dry season, these two Igorot centers manage to live intolerable peace with each other, but both have been steadily hostileto Talubin, only two hours away. However, it can not be too oftensaid that this sort of hostility is diminishing, and perceptibly. 

We spent two days at Bontok very quietly and agreeably. The firstday, the 8th, was Sunday, and somehow or other I got to church(Father Clapp's, the Protestant Episcopal missionary's) only intime to see through the open door an Igorot boy, stark naked savegee-string and a little open coat, passing the plate. Father Clapphas been here seven years, has compiled a Bontok-English Dictionary, and translated the Gospel of Saint Mark into the vernacular. As alreadysaid, he has a school, a sort of hospital; is building a stone church;is full of his work, and deserves the warmest support. It must bevery hard to get at what is going on behind the eyes of his nativeparishioners. For example, shortly before our arrival, a young Igorothad been confirmed by Bishop Brent. Now this boy was attending school, and in the school was another boy from a _ranchería_ that had takena head from the _ranchería_ of the recent convert. When the latter'speople learned of this, they sent for their boy, the recent convert, the Monday after confirmation, held a _cañao_ (killing a pig, dancing, and so on), and sent him back resolved to take vengeance by killingthe boy from the offending _ranchería_. Accordingly, on Thursday, atnight, the victim-to-be was lured behind the school-house under thepretext of getting a piece of meat, and, while his attention was heldby an accomplice with the meat, the avenger came up behind, killedhim, and was about to take his head when people came up and arrestedhim. This case illustrates the difficulties to be met in civilizingthese people. Legally, under our view, this boy was a murderer; underhis own customs and traditions, he had done a commendable thing. Whenthe boys' school was first opened, they used to take their spears andshields into the room with them; this proving not only troublesome, but dangerous, their arms are now taken away from them every morning, and returned after school closes. 

Many people came to see Governor Evans this day, among them a young manbegging for the release of a prisoner held for murder. He really couldnot see why the man should not be set free, and sat patiently for twohours on his haunches, every now and then holding up and presenting awhite rooster, which he was offering in exchange. The matter was notone for discussion at all, but Evans was as patient as his visitor, paying no attention to him whatever. Whenever the pleader could catchEvans's eye, up would go the rooster and be appealingly held out. Onlytwo or three weeks before, a private of Constabulary had shot andkilled the head man of Tinglayan some miles north of Bontok. He wasarrested, of course, and when we came through was awaiting trial. Buta deputation had come in to wait on Mr. Forbes, and ask for the slayer, so that they might kill him in turn, with proper ceremonies. Naturallythe request was refused; but these people could not understand why, andwent off in a state of sullen discontent. Here, again, was a conflictbetween our laws, the application of which we are bound to uphold, and native customs, having the force of law and so far regarded by thehighlanders as meeting all necessities. The practice of head-huntingstill exists in the Bontok country, though the steady discouragementof the Government is beginning to tell. Here in Bontok itself, a boy, employed as a servant in the Constabulary mess, dared not leave themess quarters at night; in fact, was forbidden to. For his father, having a grudge against a man in Samoki across the river, had senta party over to kill him. By some mistake, the wrong man was killed, and it was perfectly well understood in Bontok that the family of thevictim were going to take the son's head in revenge, and were onlywaiting to catch him out before doing it. These homicides can, however, be atoned without further bloodshed, if the parties interested willagree to it. A more or less amusing instance in kind was recentlyfurnished by the village of Basao, which had in the most unprovokedmanner killed a citizen of a neighboring _ranchería_, the name ofwhich I have unfortunately forgotten. The injured village at once madea _reclama_ (_i. E. _, _reclamatión_, claim for compensatory damages), and Basao agreed, the villages meeting to discuss the matter. Whenthe claim was presented, Basao, to the unspeakable astonishment andindignation of the offended village, at once admitted the justiceof the _reclama_, and handed over the damages--to-wit, one chickenand pesos six (three dollars). This was an insult to the claimant;for on these occasions it seems that each party takes advantageof the opportunity to tell the other what cowards they are, whatthieves and liars, how poor and miserable they are, that they live on_camotes_--in short, to recite all the crimes and misdemeanors theyhave been guilty of from a time whereof the memory of man runnethnot to the contrary, this recital being accompanied, of course, by anaccount of their own virtues, qualities, and wealth. The claimants inthis case accordingly withdrew, held a consultation, and, returning, declared that in consequence of the insult put upon them the damageswould have to be increased, and demanded one peso more! The body isalways returned, and the damages cited are for a body accompaniedby its head; if the head be lacking, the damages go up, no less thantwo hundred pesos, a fabulous sum in the mountains. 

The highlanders [35] believe in bird signs and omens drawn from animalsgenerally. A party sent out to arrest a criminal had been ordered tocross the river at a designated point. Returning without their man, the chief was asked where they had crossed, and, on answering atso-and-so (a different point from the one ordered), was asked why hehad disobeyed orders. It seems that a crow had flown along the banka little way, and, flying over, had alighted in a tree and lookedfixedly at the party. This was enough: they simply had to cross atthis point. Sent out again the next day, a snake wriggled across thetrail, whereupon the chief exclaimed joyfully that he knew now theywould get their man at such a spot and by one o'clock, that the snakeshowed this must happen. Unfortunately it did so happen!

The afternoon passed listening to stories and incidents like those justgiven, until it was time to go and see the sports. [36] These, with oneexception, presented no peculiarity, races, jumping, tug-of-war, anda wheelbarrow race by young women, most of whom tried to escape whenthey learned what was in store for them. But the crowd laid hold onthem and the event came off; the first heat culminating in a helplessmix-up, not ten yards from the starting-line, which was just whatthe crowd wanted and expected. The exception mentioned was notable, being a native game, played by two grown men. One of these sits ona box or bench and, putting his right heel on it, with both handsdraws the skin on the outside of his right thigh tight and waits. Theother man, standing behind the first, with a round-arm blow and openhand slaps the tightened part of the thigh of the man on the box, thepoint being to draw the blood up under the skin. The blow delivered, an umpire inspects, the American doctor officiating this afternoon, and, if the tiny drops appear, a prize is given. If no blood shows, the men change places, and the performance is repeated. The greatestinterest was taken in the performance this afternoon, many pairsappearing to take and give the blow. The thing is not so easy asit looks, the umpire frequently shaking has head to show that noblood had been drawn. The prizes consisted of matches, which thesehighlanders are most eager to get. 

The day closed with a _baile_, given by the Ilokanos living inBontok. Many of these are leaving their narrow coastal plains on theshores of the China Sea and making their way through the passes tothe interior, some of them going as far as the Cagayán country. Itis only a question of time when they will have spread over the wholeof Northern Luzon. This _baile_ was like all native balls, _rigodón_, waltzes, and two-steps; remarkably well done too, these, consideringthat the _señoritas_ wear the native slipper, the _chinela_, whichis nothing more or less than a heelless bed-room slipper. But one_señorita_ danced the _jota_ for us, a graceful and charming dance, with one cavalier as her partner, friend or enemy according to thephase intended to be depicted. 

CHAPTER XIX

 The native village. --Houses. --Pitapit. --Native institutions. --Lumawig. 

The next day, the 9th, Father Clapp very kindly offered to showStrong and me the native village, an invitation we made haste toaccept. This village, if village it be, marches with the Christiantown, so that we at once got into it, to find it a collection of hutsput down higgledy-piggledy, with almost no reference to convenience ofaccess. Streets, of course, there were none, nor even regular pathsfrom house to house; you just picked your way from one habitation tothe next as best you could, carefully avoiding the pig-sty which eachconsiderable hut seemed to have. I wish I could say that the Igorotout of rude materials had built a simple but clean and commodioushouse! He has done nothing of the sort: his materials are rude enough, but his hut is small, low, black, and dirty, so far as one could tellin walking through. The poorer houses have two rooms, an inner and anouter, both very small (say 6 × 6 feet and 4 × 6 feet respectively, inside measurement), cooking being done in the outer and the innerserving as a sleeping-room. There is no flooring; although the fireis under the roof (grass thatch), no smoke-hole has been thoughtof, and as there are no window-openings, and the entrance is shutup tight by night and the fire kept up if the weather be cold, theinterior is as black as one would expect from the constant depositof soot. The ridge-pole of the poorer houses is so low that a manof even small stature could not stand up under it. The well-to-dohave better houses, not only larger, but having a sort of secondstory; these are soot-black, too. We made no examination of these, not even a cursory one. The pig-sty is usually next to the house, and is nothing but a rock-lined pit, open to the sky, except wherethe house is built directly over it. 

It is astonishing that these people should not have evolved a betterhouse, seeing that the Ifugaos have done it, and the Kalinga houses, which we were to see in a day or two, are really superior affairs. 

Passing by a certain house, Father Clapp stopped and said, "Here iswhere Pitapit was born, " and stood expectant. Strong and I lookedfurtively at each other; it was evident that we were supposed toknow who Pitapit was. But as we did not, the question was put:"Who is Pitapit?" Father Clapp, gazing pityingly upon us, as thoughwe had asked who George Washington was, then enlightened us. Pitapitis a Bontok boy of great natural qualities, so great, indeed, that hewas sent to the States to a church school, where he had recently wona Greek prize in competition! Father Clapp was naturally very proudof this, as he well might be. The fact of the matter is that Igorotchildren are undeniably bright; given the chance, they will accomplishsomething. And I repeat what I have said before: we are trying togive them and their people a chance, the only one they have ever had. 

We remarked, as we walked about this morning, that although FatherClapp seemed to know some of the people we met and would speak to them, they never returned his greeting. None of these highlanders have anywords or custom of salutation. In the Ifugao country, however, theyshake hands, and would frequently smile when on meeting them we wouldsay, "_Mapud!_"--_i. E. _, "Good!"--the nearest thing to a greetingthat our very scanty stock of Ifugao words afforded. But the Igorotnever shook hands with us nor offered to: they have no smile for thestranger, though they seem good-humored enough among themselves. 

Poor as we found the village on the material side, it has neverthelesssome interesting institutional features. For example, it has sixteenwards, or _atos_, and each _ato_ has its meeting-place, consistingof a circle of small boulders, where the men assemble to discussmatters affecting the _ato_, such as war and peace; for the _ato_is the political unit, and not the village as a whole. A remarkablething is the family life, or lack of it rather: as soon as childrenare three or four years old, they leave the roof under which theywere born and go to sleep, the boys in a sort of dormitory called_pabajunan_, occupied as well by the unmarried men, [37] and the girlsin one called _olog_. And, as one may ask whether pearls are costlybecause ladies like them or whether ladies like pearls because theyare costly, so here: Is the Igorot house so poor an affair becauseof the _olog_, etc. , or does the _olog_ exist because the house ispoor? Be this as it may, and to resume, the children go on sleepingin their respective _pabajunan_ and _olog_ until they are grown upand married. A sort of trial marriage seems to exist; the young menfreely visit the _olog_--indeed, are expected to. If results follow, it is a marriage, and the couple go to housekeeping; otherwise all theparties in interest are free. Marriage ties are respected, adulterybeing punished with death; but a man may have more than one wife, though usually that number is not exceeded. However, a man was pointedout to us, who maintains in his desire for issue, but without avail, a regular harem, having no fewer than fifteen wives in differentvillages, he being a rich man. 

Among other things shown us by Father Clapp was a circle of highlypolished boulders, said traditionally to be the foundation of the houseof Lumawig, the Deity of the Bontok. One stone was pierced by a roundhole, made by Lumawig's spear: on arriving, he decided he would remainpermanently in Bontok, and began by sticking the shaft of his spearin the stone in question--a very minor example, by the way, of hismagical powers. More interesting, perhaps, than the ruins of Lumawig'shouse was a sacred grove on a hill rising just back of the village, in which, according to Father Clapp, certain rites and ceremoniesare held once a year. The matter is one for experts, but it appearsstrange that this people should have a sacred grove, as being unusual. 

We wound up our stay in Bontok by going to a grand dinner in GovernmentHouse, given by Pack. [38]

CHAPTER XX

 We push on north. --Banana skirts. --Albino child. --Pine uplands. -- Glorious view. 

Our two days' stay had greatly refreshed our horses and ponies, andthey needed it, not only because of the work already done, but becauseof the effort we were going to ask of them during the next forty-eighthours, when the sum total of our ascents was to be 18, 000 feet, andof descents the same, and the distance to be travelled seventy miles. 

We continued our journey on the 10th, leaving Van Schaick behind, and also Cootes, both of whom had been taken ill, not seriously, but enough to make it safer to fall out than to go on. On this day, the relations between neighboring _rancherías_ being uncertain, wechanged _cargadoros_ at the outskirts of each village we came to. Wecould undoubtedly have taken the same set of men through, but itwas thought best not to try it. At the same time, the mere fact ofour riding through unmolested, and still more the fact that Gallmanwas taking a party of Ifugaos with him to show them the country, isproof positive that peace is making its way in the North, just as ithas already done farther south. 

Our first day the going was very hilly, and very hot; we dismountedfrequently so as to spare our cattle over the steepest ups anddowns. As before, not only was the scenery that unfolded itself, as we rose from the valley of the Río Chico, of great beauty, butit increased in beauty the farther north we travelled. And I cannot but regret again my inability to give some idea, however faint, of these mountains and valleys and rivers, especially of those thatparaded themselves before us on the second day's ride. 

About four hours out (the hour, and not the mile, being the unit ofthe highlands), as we were nearing the top of a ridge, a party ofyoung women and girls came out of the wood on our left, each with abanana-leaf skirt on, no less and no more. They had simply stripped offone side of the leaf, and, after splitting the other into ribbons, hadwrapped the stem about their waists, and there they were, each with asufficient skirt. One of them had apparently never seen a horse before, and showed so much interest that Pack gallantly offered to let hermount his and take a ride. When the remainder of her party understoodfrom her motions that she was actually going to bestride that monster, they set up a chorus of ear-piercing shrieks and screams and laidhold on their insane sister, and besought her with lamentations notto risk her life. During the struggle, Mr. Worcester came up andproduced a diversion by offering red cloth, and, moving to the topof the ridge for the distribution, we found there some twenty-fiveor thirty more damsels, of all ages from grandmother to mere tot, and all banana-skirted. Mr. Worcester said that in all his experiencehe had never seen the like before. Heiser, in the meantime, had gotout his camera and tried to form a group with the children in frontand the older ones back. But when they realized that the effect ofthis would be to conceal all but the heads and shoulders of thosein rear, the group broke up almost automatically, giving way to aline with arms linked, which no amount of effort on anyone's partsucceeded in breaking. Each one was resolved to be in the picture atfull length! In the crowd, looking on, was a man carrying an albino, a child two or three years of age, with absolutely fair white skinand yellow hair. It was sound asleep, and so I did not see its eyes, but otherwise it was a perfect albino; even here at home and asa normal child it would have been regarded as unusually fair. Thepack had now got up, and Mr. Worcester began his issue. At his feetstood a little lassie, whom he overlooked, and whose countenance, as she saw the red cloth diminishing and likewise her chances, displayed the most vivid play of emotion. Finally, when the lastyard of the stuff had been given out and she had got none of it, two large tears formed and ran down her cheeks. Poor little thing, but ten minutes ago she had braved it with the best of them, but herskirt had now suddenly gone out of style! The eternal feminine! Ineither saw nor heard any other child cry during the whole trip. Aswe rode off, our banana-grove accompanied us part way, singing, and, disappearing behind a hillock on our left, "Unrobed and unabashed in Arcady, " shifted from Nature's weave to man's. 

From this point to the stream at its foot, the ridge on whichwe found ourselves was completely bare of trees, and presenteda different appearance from any other so far seen or to be seen, tremendous rounded masses. One of these had been split through themiddle by a recent earthquake: the right half, as we looked at it, dropping down eight or ten feet below the other, a splendid example ofconvulsive power. Across the stream and nearly at the top of the climbthat followed we halted for chow and sleep under some tall pines. Twohours later we were off again, through a country from which all visiblesuggestion of the tropics had disappeared. We were passing throughred soil uplands, grass and pines, with a clear view in all directions. 

Passing on, we now faced one of the most disagreeable ascents of thewhole trip: a bare, mountainous hill facing south, so steep that wehad to switch-back it to the top, with the sun blazing down on ourbacks, the hour being three of the afternoon, and not a breath ofwind going. It was too steep to ride, and our water-bottles wereempty. When we got to the top, Gallman and I, we could both haveexclaimed with Villon, "_Je crache blanc comme coton. _"

What wonder, then, that on finding a clear, cold spring at hand, Gallman should have drunk his fill of the cool water, and thathe should have persuaded me, against my better judgment, to take aswallow of it, just one swallow, no more? Who would have believed thata mere taste of such innocent-looking, refreshing water could havehad such dire consequences? For it made me ill for six weeks, at timesall but disabling me. However, as water, it was irreproachable; and, anyway, as though to compensate the tiresome climb just finished, wehad before us now one of the most glorious views imaginable. From farto the south--indeed, from the blue mountains bounding the view milesaway, the silver ribbon of the Río Chico unrolled itself in a straightline between green-sloped mountains, rising from its very banks andtowering into the clouds. At our feet, but far below, the river turnedsquare to the east in a boiling rapid between gigantic walls of rock, the mountains here yielding to its sweep in a broadening valley onlyto press on it beyond and thrust it back on its way northward. Itwas all splendid and simple; if you please, nothing but a streamfilling the intersecting slopes of a wedge-shaped valley and turningoff because it had to. But the serenity of the whole composition:gray rocks, shining waters, green slopes; white mists, enveloping thecrests, smiling in the afternoon sun! Jaded as were our faculties ofadmiration by the many exquisite scenes we had already passed through, this one held us. We had to leave it, though, making our halt laterfor the night at a rest-house in a pine wood, near a good stream. 

CHAPTER XXI

 Deep valley. --A poor _ranchería_. --Escort of boys. --Descent of Tinglayan Hill. --Sullen reception at Tinglayan. --Bangad. --First view of the Kalingas. --Arrival at Lubuagan. 

We were off early the next morning, the 11th, our destinationbeing Lubuagan, the capital of the Kalinga country. We had a long, hard day before us. As I was about to mount, I noticed that Doyle, Mr. Forbes's groom, looked seedy, and learned that Bubud had brokenloose in the night and gone the rounds of the herd, kicking everyanimal in it before he could be caught, and so robbing poor Doyleof a good part of his sleep. After riding a bit through the pines, the ground apparently dropped off in front of us out of sight, risingin a counter slope on the other side, in a great green wall from whichsprang a hogback; only this time it was a razor-back, so sharp was itsedge, up which back and forth ran the trail. It was another of thosedeep knife-like valleys; this one, however, challenging our passage, and justly, for it was more cañon than valley, and it took us nearlytwo hours to cross it. But it was worth the trouble and time. Forimagine a cañon with forested sides and carpeted in green from thestream in its bed to the highest bounding ridge! Near the top we cameupon a bank of pitcher-plants, the pitchers of some of them being fullysix inches long. A mile or so farther on, we halted and dismountednear a little _ranchería_, Butbut by name, in a corner of the hills, the people of which had been assembled for the "Commission. " Thesewere the only physically degraded-looking people we saw on the trip;small of stature, feeble-looking and spiritless. The reason was notfar to seek: it is probable that they live hungry, through lack ofsuitable ground for rice-cultivation, and because their neighborsare hostile. Now, I take it on myself to say that it is just thissort of thing that will come to an end if Mr. Worcester is allowed tocarry out his policies. For, with free communication and diminishinghostility, interchange of commodities must needs take place. Indeed, the relations existing between _rancherías_ are nothing but our ownsystem of high protection carried to a logical extreme by imposinga prohibitive tariff on heads! Fundamentally, granted an extremelylimited food-supply, every stranger is an enemy, and the shortestway to be rid of the difficulty involved in his presence is to reducehim to the impossibility of eating. 

On reaching the top of Tinglayan Hill, which we did shortly afterleaving the poor people just mentioned, we saw a man coming towards usaccompanied by thirty or forty boys not more than ten or eleven yearsof age, all gee-stringed, and eight of them carrying head-axes on theirhips. When the man got up, he handed Mr. Worcester a bamboo about ayard long. Mr. Worcester drank and then passed it on back to us, thebest stuff, it seemed to us that hot morning, we had ever tasted. Wewere now in the _basi_ country; this being a sort of fermentedsugar-cane juice, judiciously diluted with water. [39] The boys nowformed a sort of column with the ax-bearers immediately in front ofMr. Worcester as a guard of honor, and we got a good look at them, well-built, erect, of a light brown, with black flowing hair. Theywere as healthy-looking as possible, and, what is more, intelligent ofcountenance--by all odds the brightest, most cheerful lot of youngsterswe had yet seen. As we moved off they set up a chant, clear and wild, beginning with a high note and concluding with as deep a one as theiryoung voices could compass. The thing was as beautiful as it was wild, and astonishing from the number and range of notes used. 

Marching thus, we came upon a large gathering of men, women, andchildren, to whom various gifts of cloth, pins, beads, etc. , weremade. Here Gallman found, to his amazement, that he could understandthe speech of these people. Not trusting his own ear in the matter, he sent Comhit about to talk to them, and reported afterward thatboth not only had understood what was said, but had made their ownselves understood. Neither of them could make out a word in the poorvillage we had just passed through, nor anywhere else on the road inthe Bontok country. 

We now began the long descent to Tinglayan, seven miles, most of uswalking and leading our ponies. At Tinglayan, instead of the usualcheerful crowd waiting to welcome us, we found only a few extremelysullen men and women, who held themselves persistently aloof. Therewere no children, neither were chickens nor eggs offered--a badsign. This reception was due entirely to the refusal of the authoritiesto give up the Constabulary private that had but recently shot andkilled the head man of the _ranchería_, as already explained. However, in time, Mr. Worcester prevailed on the few present to accept gifts, and we affected not to notice the character of our reception, not onlythe best, but indeed the only thing to do. Here we had _chow_. Wewere now directly on the left bank of the Chico, and, passing on, found the country more open, and so better cultivated, the paddiesbeing broad, the retaining-walls low, and the countryside generallywearing an air of peace and affluence. This impression deepened aswe reached Bangad, extremely well situated on a tongue running outat right angles to the main course of hills. Here was a semblanceof a street, following the trail, or, rather, the trail, goingthrough, had followed the street. The houses were larger, cleaner, better built; in short, substantial. One of them, unfinished, gaveus some idea of its construction: floor sills on posts to ground;roof frame of planks, 1 × 6 inches, bent over to form the sides ofthe house when completed, all hard wood, without a single nail, thewhole being held together by mortises and tenons and other joints, accurately made and neatly fitted. We remained here an hour or so, while the "Commission" was making gifts to the people. No weaponswhatever were visible, and the women and children moved about freelywithout a trace of shyness or fear. Our way beyond the village nowtook us by many turns back to the river, the trail finally risingin the side of a vertical cliff, such that by leaning over a littleone could look past one's stirrup straight down to the water manyhundreds of feet below. At the highest point the trail turned sharpto the left, almost back on itself. I am proud to say that I rode itall, but was thankful when it was behind us. Heiser's horse this daygot three of his feet over the edge and rolled down eighty or ninetyfeet, Heiser having jumped off in time to let his mount go alone. Itwas fortunate for him that this particular cliff was not the scene ofthis fall. Some three miles farther, on fording a stream, we passedfrom Bontok into Kalinga, and were met by Mr. Hale, the Governor, withtwo warriors, tall and slender, broad of chest and thin of flank, withred and yellow gee-strings, tufts of brilliant feathers in their hair, and highly polished head-axes on their hips. Greetings over, we wenton, and soon reached the river again, going down the left bank untilwe came upon what seemed to me to be a most interesting geologicalformation. For the bank of the river here rose sharply in a rounded, elongated mass, the end of which toward us was cut off, as it were, just as one cuts off the end of a loaf of bread, and showed alternatethin black and white strata only three or four inches thick tiltedat an angle of sixty or seventy degrees and mounting several hundredfeet in the air. The trail itself had been cut out in the side ofthe mass, and was so narrow that not only was everyone ordered todismount, but the American horses were all unsaddled, the inch ortwo so gained being important in passing along. The black and whitestrata showing on the path, there was an opportunity to examine them;the black layers were so soft and friable that they could be gougedout with ease with the hand, and appeared to be vegetable, while thewhite stripes were most probably limestone. This bit of the trailis regarded as dangerous, because the rock overhead is continuallybreaking loose and tumbling down; for this reason it was unsafe to tryto dislodge pieces for later examination. One of our _cargadores_, as it was, fell over, his pack getting knocked in, while he himselfescaped with a bruise or two. It was a bad place! At the end of ita host of Kalingas acclaimed us, as picturesque as the warriors wehad met at the stream, and took over the pack. Leaving the river, we began what appeared to be an interminable climb to Lubuagan. Upran the trail, disappearing far ahead above us, behind the shoulderof the ridge; and we would all be hoping (those of us to whom thecountry was new) that Lubuagan would be just around the turn, only tofind we had the same sort of climb to another shoulder; the fact beingthat the ridge here thrust itself out in rising echeloned spurs, eachone of which had to be turned, so that we began to doubt if there wassuch a place as the capital of the Kalinga province. In truth, we hadbeen up since 3:30 and were nearly spent from heat and thirst. But atlast we made the final turn, and entered upon a narrow green valley, with a bold, clear stream rushing over and between the rocks thatfilled its bed. Broad-leafed plants nodded a welcome from the waters, as we rode through the grateful shadow of the overarching trees, andshining pools smiled upon us. We crossed a bridge, came down a bit, and, breaking through the fringe of trees and shrubs, saw before usthe place-of-arms of Lubuagan. 

CHAPTER XXII

 Splendid appearance of the Kalingas. --Dancing. --Lubuagan. --_Basi_. --Councils. --Bustles and braids. --Jewels and weapons. --Excellent houses. 

The sight that greeted us was stirring, suggesting to the piouslyminded Bishop Heber's unmatched lines:

 "A noble army, men and boys, The matron and the maid. "

There must have been thousands of people, as many women as men, andalmost as many children as women, all of whom set up a mighty shoutas our little column emerged. But what especially and immediatelycaught the eye was the brilliancy of the scene. For, whereas thepeople so far encountered had impressed us by the sobriety of colordisplayed, these Kalingas blazed out upon us in the most vivid redsand yellows. Many of them, women as well as men, had on tight-fittingMoro jackets of red and yellow stripes; but whatever it was--skirt, jacket, or gee-string--only one pattern showed itself, the alternationof red and yellow, well brought out by the clear brown of the skin. Asthough this were not enough, some men had adorned their abundantblack hair with scarlet hibiscus flowers, and all, or nearly all, wore plumes of feathers, one over each ear. Each _ranchería_ has itsdistinctive plume; as, red with black tips, black with red, all red, white with black, and so on, some with notched and others with naturaledges. Many men had axes on their hips. The whole effect was startling, and all the more that these people, erect, sinewy, of excellent buildlike their comrades farther south, were perceptibly taller, men fivefeet ten inches tall not being uncommon. Add to this a stateliness ofwalk and carriage, combined with a natural, wholly unconscious easeand grace of motion, and it is easy to imagine the fine impressionmade upon us by our first look upon these assembled people. It isnot too much to say that the whole sight was splendid; but, more thanthis, under the surface of things, it was easy to catch at once thepossibility of a real development by these people under any sort ofopportunity whatever. 

We had hardly dismounted before the dancing began, in general againstthe sun, as elsewhere. Each _ranchería_ of the many present had itsdancers, and all made a display. One event, if the sporting term bepermissible, seemed to be a sort of "follow-my-leader"; the motions, however, being confined to the circle, across which the file would gofrom time to time, thus differing from any other dance seen. In somecases, the step was bold and lively; in others, slow and stately, witharms outstretched. The _gansa_ music was not nearly so well marked asthat of the Ifugaos; it seemed to lack definition (an opinion advancedwith some hesitation, and which a professional musician might notagree with). Sometimes women only appeared; in fact, up here thesexes did not mix in the dance. If we had remained longer in thispart of the country, perhaps the differences and characteristics ofthis expression of native genius would have stood out more clearly;but in our short time, with so much dancing going on, impressionsnecessarily overlapped. And, in any case, shortly after our arrival, night fell, putting an end to the show, and we betook ourselvesto our quarters; Captain Harris, of the local Constabulary forces, most kindly receiving some of us in his house. 

_Kalinga_ is neither a race nor a tribe name, but a word meaning"enemy" or "outlaw, " as though the hand of the people that bearit had been against everybody's else. These people have been greathead-hunters, and have not yet entirely abandoned the practice, thoughit is steadily diminishing. It should be recollected, however, thatit is only within the last three or four years that we have had anyrelations with them, Mr. Worcester's first visit to Lubuagan havingoccurred in 1907. On this occasion, immediately on arriving, he wasshut up with his party in a house; and all night a lively debate wenton outside as to whether the next morning his head should be taken ornot, his native interpreter informing him of the progress of opinionas the night wore on. 

In some respects these Kalingas differed from the tribes alreadyvisited. Their superior height has already been noted. It may be notedfurther that they are sloe-eyed, and their eyes are wide apart. Itis said that they have an infusion of Moro blood, brought in, manyyears ago, by exiles from Moroland turned loose on the north coast ofLuzon by the Spaniards, with the expectation that the local tribeswould kill them; instead, they intermarried. Among themselves theycall their important men _dato_, a Moro title, and their Moro dresshas already been mentioned. They will not marry outside of their ownblood, and their women, so we were told, would not look at a white man. 

Lubuagan itself is extremely well situated on a gigantic terrace-likeslope, as though, as at Kiangan, an avalanche of earth had burstthrough the rim of encompassing mountains. Here live the Governor ofthe province and the inspector of Constabulary with a detachment; theirhouses, with the _cuartel_ and public offices, are disposed around asort of parade, divided into an upper and a lower terrace. Aguinaldomarched through the place during his flight, and left behind seventeenof his men, sick and wounded. He had no sooner gone than these wereall taken out and beheaded. The native town lies above and just backof the parade, with its houses running well up on the slopes. Theseare, everywhere possible, terraced for rice, and so successfullythat two crops are made every year, as against only one at Bontokand elsewhere. It follows that the Kalingas have more to eat thantheir relatives to the south, and that is perhaps one reason of theirgreater stature. 

The morning of the 12th, our one full day at Lubuagan, broke clear, bright, and hot, and so the day remained. Events during the next fewhours had no particular axis. We looked on mostly, though, of course, here as elsewhere, business there was to be dispatched. The upperterrace was the scene of crowded activity, being packed with peoplefrom sunrise to sunset. Dancing went on the whole day; the soundof the _gansa_ never ceased. A particularly interesting dance wasthat of a number of little girls, eight or ten years of age, who wentthrough their steps with the greatest seriousness and dignity, a verypretty sight. In yet another the performers, nine all told, grown men, attracted attention from the fact that the handles of their _gansas_were human lower jaws, apparently new, in the teeth of two of whichgold fillings glistened. The Ifugaos, who, it will be recollected, had accompanied us from Banawe, also danced, their steps, motions, and music forming a sharp contrast. This dance over, Comhit couldnot restrain himself, but made a speech, in which he declared that"These people up here, the Kalingas, are very good people indeed, but not so good as the Ifugaos. " Fortunately, only his own peopleunderstood him. He had noticed on the way that the people we passedoffered nothing to drink to the traveller, and had commented freely toGallman on this lack of hospitality, so different from his country'shabits. We had nothing to complain of, however, on this score atLubuagan, for _basi_ circulated freely the whole day, being passedalong sometimes in a tin cup, at others in a bamboo; everybody drankout of one and the same vessel. On the whole, this _basi_ was poorstuff, not nearly so good as _bubud_. Harris told me after the daywas over, and we had taken innumerable tastes, at least, of the brew(for one must drink when it is passed), that in preparing _basi_ adog's heart, [40] cut up into bits, is added to the fermenting liquidto give it body. One man amused us by going around with a bamboo sixinches or more in diameter and at least eight feet in length overhis shoulder, and obligingly stopping to let his friends bend downthe mouth and help themselves--a "long" drink if there ever was one!

But it was not all _basi_ and dancing: councils were held, the visiting_rancherías_ profiting by the opportunity of enforced peace to clear upissues. At these councils, which came off in the open, on the parade, the people of the _rancherías_ interested would sit on the groundin a circle, maintaining absolute silence, while their spokesmen, ahead man from each, walked around in the circle. The man who had thefloor, so to say, would remain behind and address his adversary inthe debate, who meantime kept on walking around with his back turnedsquarely on the speaker. As soon as the argument in hand had beenmade, both would countermarch, and the listener would now become thespeaker. A great part of the debate was taken up on both sides by arecital of the crimes and misdemeanors of which the other party hadbeen guilty. In one of these councils, one debater--wearing civilizeddress, by the way--suddenly broke through the circle and disappeared, much to our astonishment, until it was explained that his opponentin the debate had charged him with having recently poisoned sixpersons; as this was perilously near the truth, the criminal simplyran away. The accuser was a fine-looking man, splendidly dressed, ofa haughty countenance, displaying the greatest contempt for all thearguments addressed to him, his impatience being marked by "_Hás!_"accompanied by stamping on the ground the while and striking it withthe butt of his spear. This chief was in confinement at Lubuagan, but, to save his face, Governor Hale had enlarged him during our stay. 

Naturally there was an opportunity during the day of observing manythings in some detail. Who shall say, for example, that the Kalingasare not civilized? The women and girls all wear bustles, a continuousaffair made of _bejuco_, an endless roll, in short, of varying radius, that over the small of the back being considerably the greatest. Thetop of the skirt is tucked in all round, instead of being directly onthe skin, as farther south. In further proof of the local civilization, the women wear false hair. One matron was obliging enough to undo hercoiffure for our benefit, and held out by its end, for our admiringinspection, a mighty wisp nearly three feet long. She put it back onfor us after the manner, as I have since been informed, of a coronetbraid. The men gave fewer evidences of civilization, unless smokingcigars in holders will serve. However, one man brought up his wifeand children and regularly introduced them to us, the woman doingher part with great coolness, while the children gave every sign ofterror. This incident struck me as being very unusual. Everyone had onat least one necklace, and some three or four necklaces, of dog-teeth, of agate beads (these being immensely prized, agate not being native tothe Philippines), or of anything else the form, color, and hardness ofwhich could make it answer for purposes of ornament. One young womanhad on sleigh-bells, the tinkle of which we heard before we saw itssource, an incongruous sound in those parts. These bells must havebeen brought down by Chinese trading from the plains of Manchuria. Twoor three young men displayed what looked like lapis lazuli aroundtheir necks, but what turned out at closer quarters to be pieces ofa blue china dinner-plate. They had cut out the white interior andthen divided the rim radially, the jewels thus formed being all of thesame size and shape, with perfectly smooth edges. Here, too, were thesame pill-box hats as those seen at Bontok, some elaborately beadedand costing from one to five carabaos apiece; in one case the lid ofa tomato tin had been pressed into service as a hat. But the finestthing of all was the head-ax, a beautiful and cruel-looking weapon, the head having on one side an edge curving back toward the shaft, andon the other a point. To keep the weapon from slipping out of the hand, a stud is left in the hard wood shaft, about two-thirds of the way fromthe head, the shaft itself being protected by a steel sheathing halfway down; the remainder being ornamented with decorative brass platesand strips, and the end shod in a ferrule of silver. The top of the axis not straight, but curved, both edge and point taking, as it were, their origin in this curve; the edge is formed by a double chamfer, the ax-blade being of uniform thickness. All together, this weapon isperhaps more original and characteristic than any other native to thePhilippine Archipelago. With it goes the Kalinga shield of soft wood, made in one piece, with the usual three horns or projections at thetop and two at the bottom. These projections, however, are cylindrical, and the outside ones are continued down the edge of the shield and soform ribs. In the ordinary Igorot shield the horns are flat, merelyprolonging the surface of the shield, or else presenting only a verysmall relief. As usual, a lacing of _bejuco_ across top and bottomprotects the shield against a separation in the event of an unluckystroke splitting it in two. 

We found the town unusually clean. Public latrines exist, and publicdrinking-tanks, both put in by Governor Hale, and highly approved ofthe people. The houses themselves were the best we had seen, some ofthem hexagonal in ground plan, and built of hard woods. The pigs stayunderneath, to be sure, but their place is kept clean. Rich men haverows of plates, the dinner-plates of civilization, all around theirhouses, and take-up floors of split bamboo are common, being rolled upand washed in the neighboring stream with commendable frequency. Alltogether, Lubuagan made the impression of an affluent, not to sayopulent, center, inhabitated by a brave, proud, and self-respectingpeople. 

CHAPTER XXIII

 We leave the mountains. --Nanong. --Passage of the Chico. --The Apayao. --Tabuk. --The party breaks up. --Desolate plain. --The Cagayán Valley. --Enrile. 

The morning of Friday, May 13th, broke clear after a night of hardrain. We set off before sunrise, our way now taking us eastward forthe last stage of the mountain journey proper. The whole earth thismorning seemed to be a-drip: every stream was rushing, and banks ofcloud, fog, and mist crowned the heights and filled the valleys. Todescribe even approximately our course as we descended from the greatterrace of Lubuagan is well-nigh impossible; but, as we came down, scene after scene of the greatest beauty offered itself to ouradmiration. The landscape softened too; we were leaving the highmountain land behind us, not too suddenly, however; for example, at one point a huge valley lay below us, bounded on the other sideby a tremendous vertical wall of rock, over which fell a powerfulstream. I estimated the fall at the time as at least four hundred feet. 

In due course we came to an affluent of our old friend the Chico, andhad to ford. The stream was up, but we got over without mishap. Fordingis always a delicate operation in these, mountains after a hard rain, since no one can ever tell what the nature of the footing will be, because of the boulders swept down. On this occasion Evans's ponystopped short in mid-stream, refusing either to move on or back. Therewas nothing for it but dismount and investigate, Evans discoveringthat his pony had put one foot down between two large stones closetogether and so was simply caught fast. The country had now becomedecidedly more open; the trail for long stretches was almost a road. Asa matter of fact, we were on the old main line of communication fromthe highlands to the Cagayan Valley. We made our first halt at Nanong, where everybody brought in gifts of chickens, eggs, and _camotes_and received beads, red cloth, pins and needles in return. What madea particular impression here was the number of children brought in, all wide-eyed, sloe-eyed, and some of them extremely pretty. Theremainder of the day we spent going down the left bank of the Chico, encountered again at Nanong. Shortly after leaving this point twolarge monkeys, brown with white breasts, appeared on the edge ofthe trail, apparently protesting with the utmost indignation againstour presence in those parts. Harris remarked that once passing thispoint alone he had run into eighteen of them, and that for a time hethought they were going to dispute his passage. These were the onlyanimals we saw on the whole trip, not counting a few birds. The valleyopened hereabouts, and on the other bank, the right, a sharp-edgedterrace came into view, fully three hundred feet above the river andcontinuing for miles as far as the eye could see. This must be anunusually good example of river terrace. On our side the trail was cutout of the cliff, solid rock, with a straight drop to the river below, a stretch of two of the hottest miles conceivable, what with the fullblaze of the sun and the heat radiated and reflected from the faceof the cliff. I was so weak from the water I had drunk the other daythat I dismounted and walked the whole way, so that, if knocked outby the heat, I should at least not fall off my pony; a tumble on thewrong side would have brought the journey to a very sudden end. But, fortunately, nothing happened, and we at last got down to the levelof the river again, only to find it half in flood and fording out ofthe question. We were on the upstream side of a huge dome of rock, rising from the river itself, the only way around which was tocross twice. The rest of the party coming up with the _cargadores_, we had to wait until bamboo rafts could be built, the raft reallybeing nothing but a flat bundle lashed together with _bejuco_. Inthis case our rafts were so small that under the weight of only oneman and his kit they immediately became submarines, so that one gotpartially wet crossing. Our horses and ponies were swum over. 

We were six hours making the two passages; still we were in luck, for had the stream been really up, we should simply have had to campon its bank and wait for the waters to fall, a fate that sometimesovertakes the traveller in a country where an innocent stream maybecome a raging torrent almost while one is looking at it. 

We slept that night in a rest-house just across the river from Tabuk, and next morning the party divided, Mr. Worcester, Dr. Strong, Governor Pack, and Lieutenant-Governor Villamor to continue themountain trip into Apayao, while the remainder of us, having beeninvited to accompany Mr. Worcester only as far as Tabuk, went on tothe Cagayán River. It may be of interest, however, to say a few wordshere about the Apayao country, my authority being the "Seventh AnnualReport of the Secretary of the Interior to the Philippine Commission"for the fiscal year 1907-1908. 

This country was first visited by Mr. Worcester in 1906. The SpanishGovernment never having succeeded in gaining a foothold in it. "Duringthe insurrection Lieutenant Gilmore, of the United States Navy, andhis fellow-captives were taken into the southern part of it and thereabandoned. " "So far as is known, no white man had ever penetratedthe southern and central portions of Apayao until" Mr. Worcester, suitably accompanied and escorted, crossed the Cordillera, in 1906, from North Ilokos. A later expedition, commanded by a Constabularyofficer, was attacked, not necessarily from any hostility to itas such, but because it was accompanied by natives hostile to a_ranchería_ (Guenned) approached on the way. A punitive expedition, led by the same officer, afterward met with some success, but Americanpopularity suffered in consequence. The Apayao country is the onlysub-province under a native Governor, and its Governor, Señor BlasVillamor, is the only Filipino that has ever shown any interest inor sympathy for the highlanders. His task has been a difficult one;for example, his only line of communication, the Abulug River, runsthrough a territory inhabited by Negritos, who had been so abusedby the Christian natives on the one hand, and whose heads had beenso diligently sought by the wild Tinguians of the mountains, on theother, that they had acquired the habit of greeting strangers withpoisoned arrows. His mountain region itself was inhabited by inveteratehead-hunters, most of whom had never even seen a white man. Conditionsare improving, however; the raids against the Christian and Negritoinhabitants of the lowlands of Cagayán have been completely checked, and Mr. Worcester hopes that head-hunting will diminish. It stillexists. Strong told me, on his return to Manila, that, looking intoa head-basket after leaving Tabuk, he found in it fresh fragmentsof a human skull; for the Apayaos take the skull like the otherhighlanders, but unlike them, break it into pieces. But with thesepeople head-hunting is a part of their religious belief, and so allthe harder to uproot. With the others it is a matter of vengeance, or else even of sport. "On the other hand, the people of Apayao havemany good qualities. They are physically well-developed and are quitecleanly. They erect beautifully constructed houses. Their women arewell clothed, and both men and women love handsome ornaments. Theyare quite industrious agriculturists and are now begging for seed andfor domestic animals in order that they may emulate their Christianneighbors in the raising of agricultural products. "

Of course we should have been very glad to go on with Mr. Worcesterinto the Apayao country if he had asked us; but it is practicallytrailless as yet, and for a party as large as ours would have been, questions of supply and transportation would have been difficult, tosay nothing of the impolicy of taking a large number into the countryat all. And so, on Saturday morning, May 14th, we shook hands withMr. Worcester and his companions. His progress so far had been anunqualified success, unmarred by a single adverse incident, for thedeplorable loss of life at Kiangan could in no wise be attributedto our presence or to the occasion. What the results of the visitof 1910 will be, only time can tell; but experience shows that everyyear marks an advance in the spread of friendly relations, not onlybetween the Government and the people, but between the subdivisionsof the people itself. [41]

The Chico being still up when we reached it, we crossed again onsubmarines, climbed the bank, and found ourselves in Tabuk (or Talbok), the most pestilential hole in the Archipelago. Nothing is left of itnow but a ruinous church and one or two houses. The first mass was saidhere or hereabouts in 1689, by the Dominicans, who kept up the missionuntil the monks all died of fever. Did an occasional officer in the olddays prove objectionable to the authorities in Manila, he got an orderto proceed to Tabuk for station; it was almost certain that he wouldnever return. The point is of unquestionable importance, commanding, as it does, the main outlet, of the Kalinga country to the plains ofthe Cagayán Valley; and so our own Government undertook to garrisonit with Constabulary as a check on raids. The garrison remained longenough to be carried out on stretchers, and was removed to Lu-bagan, where the check is just as complete and personal control possible. 

We had a long and hard day before us, but we did not know it when weset out from Tabuk at about seven in the morning. Gallman, Harris, and I kept together; our first business was to cross a vast, roughlycircular plain fifteen miles in diameter, and densely overgrown with arough, reedy grass two feet and more high. A foot-path ran across theplain, visible for only a very short distance ahead as long as one wasin it, but imperceptible twenty yards to the right or left. To losethis path would have been a serious matter, as it would have been aheart-breaking thing to force one's way through the undisturbed grass. 

It would be hard to imagine anything else more wearisome than thatfifteen-mile stretch. The sun was riding high in the heavens, "shiningon both sides of the hill"; not a breath of wind was stirring norwas there, barring a rare bird or two, a sign of life save thethousands of flies which, as our ponies pushed aside the grassoverhanging the path, rose in clouds only to settle on our faces, hands, necks, backs, everywhere. We began by brushing them off, but it was of no use, and so we rode with our faces turned to a dimhaze of low mountains bounding the plain on the east, and themselvesdominated by still another range, the Sierra Madre, so distant asto look like a bank of immovable blue cloud. For miles our ploddingseemed to bring them no nearer. If we could only get out of that seaof olive-gray grass, on which the heavy, stifling air seemed to press, and reach those nearer mountains! Twice the path led us into sinks ordepressions fully ninety or one hundred feet below the level of theplain; why these could not have been avoided when the path was firststruck out is hard to imagine, unless it was to get to water. Forone of these sinks boasted of a clear, bold stream with all of itscourse underground save the part in the depression. In both werefull-grown trees and grateful shade. Had we not been pressed to getthrough, it would have been interesting to explore these huge sinks;but we passed on, the flies, which had abandoned us on our descent, rejoining us when we climbed out on the other side. In time we reachedour mountains, arid, bare, eroded, wind-bitten, and made our wayslowly and painfully up and through the pass, our trail hereaboutsbeing nothing but a trench so deep and narrow that part of the way wecould not keep our feet in the stirrups. As we neared the crest ofthe range the pass disappeared, and for the last half-mile or so weattacked the ridge directly. When we got to the top, we found a gallantbreeze blowing, and, spreading out before us, the vast plains of theCagayán Valley. Far over in the east, and apparently no nearer thanever, rose the blue, cloud-like mountains of the Sierra Madre, nowshowing like a wall, which indeed they are, and one which no man hasso far succeeded in scaling. But not a sign of life, of man or beast, caught our eye. And yet this valley is an empire in itself; its axialstream, the Rio Grande de Cagayán, or Ibanag, the "Philippine Tagus"of the ancient chronicles, the longest river of the Archipelago, byoverflowing its banks every year, renews the fertility of the soilwherever its waters can reach. We stood here on the ridge a long time, resting and looking. Below us green ribbons, following the undulationsof the plain, marked the trail of various water-courses; but, apartfrom this evidence of Nature's living forces, somehow or other theentire landscape was silent and desolate. We now began the descent, leading our ponies, for it was too steep to ride, and at last came toa stream where we found shade and grass, and, better yet, the advanceguard of the party with food and drink ready. Our next stage was overrolling country, covered with fine short grass; once over this, theground broke in our front, and we made the descent, finally comingout on the lowest floor of the valley at Enrile, two or three milesfrom the river. Night was falling as we made our way through itsgrass-grown streets, finding the air heavy, the people dull-looking, and everything commonplace: we had already begun to miss our mountains. 

CHAPTER XXIV

 Tobacco industry. --Tuguegarao. --Caves. --The Cagayán River. --Barangayans. --Aparri. --Island of Fuga. --Sail for Manila. --Stop at Vigan. --Arrival at Manila. 

The great valley in which we now found ourselves really deserves morenotice than perhaps it is suitable to give it here. As everyone knows, it furnishes the best tobacco of the Islands, tobacco that under propercare would prove a dangerous rival to that of Cuba, though it cannever quite equal the product of the Vuelta Abajo. The cattle industryshould prosper here--in fact, did a few years ago; the broad savannas, some of which we had crossed, furnishing excellent pasturage. It wasproved long ago that this region was naturally adapted to the cultureof silk and to the raising of indigo and sugar-cane. While tobaccowas a Government monopoly, [42] the valley was wealthy, traces ofwealth being still found in the hands of the people under the formof jewels, some of them costly and beautiful. 

The passage of the Payne bill has already brightened the prospects ofthe people, and especially of the small growers, for prices paid onthe spot have already gone up very considerably. The valley is sureto flourish before many years shall have passed, and nothing elsewould so much hasten this end as the completion of the railway fromManila. But when we passed through, a sort of general apathy seemedto fill the air: the people were listless, and so much of the tobaccocrop as we could see looked neglected. A partial explanation is to befound in the belief, wide-spread in these parts at this time, that thecomet had come to mark the end of all things, and that any work donewould be wasted. This belief, however, did not check the native andcourteous hospitality of the people; all of us were taken in for thenight, Evans and I going to Señor Cipriano Pagulayan's, where we foundan excellent dinner awaiting us--in particular, coffee of superlativeexcellence. Don Cipriano was very modest about it, explaining that thecoffee had been roasted only after our arrival and ground just beforeit was set on; but none the less it was admirable. Now, this coffee, of course, was grown in the valley, and there is no reason why itscultivation should not be taken up on a large scale for export. 

Enrile held us only for the night. The next morning we all mounted, alas! for the last time, and, escorted by a great number of localmagnates, took the road for the river. Here we left our mounts toDoyle, who was to return with them to Baguío. It was with great regretthat I parted from Bubud: he had carried me faithfully and well, andI shall not soon forget his saucy head, looking after us as we gotdown the bank to go on board the motor-launch of the Tabacalera. [43]

In a few minutes we had crossed and landed at Tuguegarao, thecapital of the province, and still retaining traces of its wealthand importance in the great days of the tobacco monopoly. It has animposing church built of brick, a hospital, and a Dominican college, all of substantial construction; its streets are broad and well laidout, but of the town itself not much can be said, as a fire swept offmost of it a few years ago. Still Filipino towns rise easily from theashes, and there is no reason why prosperity should not again smileupon this ancient borough. 

We tarried two or three days in Tuguegarao, waiting for rivertransportation and meanwhile greatly enjoying the hospitalityso generously shown us. Major Knauber, of the Constabulary, andMr. Justice Campbell, of the Court of First Instance, invited me tostay with them in a fine old Spanish house they had together. Everyevening Herr ----, of the ---- Company, had us to dinner in hisbeautiful bungalow. At a grand _baile_ given us the day after ourarrival, Heiser asked me if I had not dined that day and the day beforeat Herr ----'s; on my saying yes, he laughed and remarked that he hadjust taken up his cook as a leper to be sent to the leper hospitalon the Island of Culion. But in the East nobody bothers about a thinglike that. 

Tuguegarao is a point of departure for some interesting trips, notably one to some limestone caves, larger than the Mammoth Caveof Kentucky. In one of these caves, receiving light, air, andmoisture from fissures in the natural surface of the ground, palms(cocoa and other), bamboos, and other plants and trees are growingin natural miniature. I was told that this cave was fascinating andthat I ought to go and see it. But time was pressing; although thecommanding General had set no limit on my absence, I felt I ought nowto return. Accordingly, on the morning of the 18th, our transportationbeing ready, Mr. Justice Campbell and I went aboard a motor-launchand set out for Aparri, at the mouth of the river. 

All river trips here in the East have an interest; this one proved noexception to the general rule, though it presented nothing especiallyworthy of record. But the Río Grande is the great road of the Valley, to such an extent, indeed, that there are no land roads to speak of. Wepassed between low, muddy banks, frequently of uncertain disposition, as though wondering how much longer they could possibly resist the washof the current. The stream itself is shallow, uncharted, unbeaconed;its navigation requires constant attention, which it certainly got thisday from our quartermaster, who remained on duty for ten consecutivehours. We had the ill-luck not to see a single crocodile, although theriver is said to be full of them, all of ferocious temper. On the otherhand, we did see the oddest possible ferry: a bundle or raft of bamboo, with chairs on top, towed across stream by a carabao regularly hitchedup to it and getting over himself by swimming. This he does on aneven keel, his backbone being entirely out of the water when under way. 

There is nothing picturesque about the lower reaches of the Río Grande, though its upper course, through hilly country, is different inthis respect. The remains of one or two old towns, cut in two by theshift of the river-bed, excited our curiosity. So did, from to time, the _barangayans_, or native river-boats, huge, clumsy, ill-built, and generally with but four or five inches of free-board amidshipson full load. These craft look as though they ought to sink by merecapillary attraction. However, people are born, live, and die aboardof them, so they must be safe enough. In the afternoon the riverwidened and its right bank, anyway, grew bolder and occasionallymore permanent-looking, and finally, about an hour before sunset, weperceived the low white godowns of Aparri. We landed not at a wharf, but at the outer edge of the huddle of craft crowding the water front, and put up at the Fonda de Aparri, having done eighty-odd miles ina little over ten hours. 

All the tobacco of the Valley reaches the world through Aparri;it is consequently a port of considerable importance. But it has nosafe anchorage and is frightfully exposed to typhoons, all of which, if they do not pass over the place directly, somehow or other appearto step aside to give this region a blow. There is a never-endingconflict in the adjacent waters between the currents of the China Seaand those of the Pacific, making navigation hazardous, and for smallboats perilous. On the day of our arrival, calm and fair as it was, a tremendous surf was beating on the bar, the spray and foam mountingin a regular wall many feet high, and driven up, not by the gradualattack of an advancing wave, but by the tireless energy of angrywaters ceaselessly beating upon the same spot. 

Of Aparri itself little can be said here: but, small as it is, ithas nevertheless the bustle of all seaports in activity. Many of itsstreets are paved with cobble-stones, and some of its buildings are, if not handsome, at least substantial. But it is cursed with flies:in our inn, otherwise comfortable enough, the kitchen and the temple ofVenus Cloacina were side by side. The flies were all the more annoyingthat we had seen none in the mountains, nor indeed do I recollect everhaving seen them in any number elsewhere in the Archipelago than atAparri and in the never-to-be-forgotten plain of Tabuk. However, wesurvived the flies, and late in the afternoon of the third day wenton board a Spanish steamer bound for Manila. We used our cabin tostow our kit, but lived and slept on the deck of the poop, the maindeck between which and the forecastle was crowded with natives. Poorthings! Each family appeared to have an area assigned to it, on whichwere piled indiscriminately all its earthly possessions in the shapeof clothes, bags, pots and pans generally; the heap once formed, its owners sat and slept on it, with the inevitable family roosterat its highest point lording it over all. In fact, every spot on themain deck not otherwise occupied was simply filled with roosters, all challenging one another night and day by indefatigable crowing. Asillustrating the difficulties of navigation in these parts, our steamerwas two hours getting out of the river and across the bar, a matterof not more than a mile. Once out, she began to roll and pitch in anincomprehensible manner, seeing there was no wind and no sea. It wassimply the never-ending contest between the Pacific Ocean and theChina Sea. Once fairly in the latter, she behaved steadily enough. 

Our journey was without incident; it did not, much tomy disappointment, include the side trip sometimes made to theBabuyanes Islands for cattle. One of these islands, Fuga, isespecially interesting; urn-burial prevailed in it in the past, theurns in some cases being arranged in a circle around a central urnor altar. Moreover, there is in Fuga a stone building known as the"Castle, " with arched doorways, said not to be of Spanish origin, and near by is a plain strewn with human skulls and other bones, probably the scene of a battle. The skulls are remarkable from theirgreat size, some of them being reported as extraordinary in thisrespect. The present inhabitants of these islands and of the Bataneslive in stone houses, much like those of North Ireland and the islandswest of Scotland. [44] And so we had hoped, Campbell and I, thatwe might get at least a look at Fuga. For, although it lies near toAparri, it is hard to reach; small boats, even on calm, smooth days, being occasionally caught in the wicked currents of these waters andswamped out of hand. The next morning we made Kurrimao, which has ashore-line strikingly picturesque in a land almost surfeited with thepicturesque. We stayed long enough to take on a number of carabaos, which were swum out to the ship, and then hauled out of the water bya sling passed around their horns. 

Our next stop was at Vigan, a well-built town, many of whose housesare of stone. We reached the town in a motor-car, passing through wellcultivated fields of maguey. The mountains, rising abruptly from thecoastal plain, are here cut by the famous Abra de Vigan, a conspicuousgap serving as a land-mark to the mariner for miles. And it is thecustom to take a ride of many hours up the pass, and then come downthe rapids in two, on bamboo rafts built for the purpose. This isa most exciting trip; alas! we had to be contented with an accountof it! But Vigan itself was worth the trouble of going ashore; itschurches and monasteries are extensive, dignified of appearance, and far less dilapidated than is unfortunately so frequently thecase elsewhere in the Islands. Not the least interesting item of ourvery short stay was a visit to a new house, built and owned by anIlokano, and equipped with the most recent American plumbing. Thehouse itself happily was after the old Spanish plan, the only onereally suited to this climate and latitude. But then the Ilokanos arethe most businesslike and thrifty of all the civilized inhabitants:their migration to other parts, a movement encouraged of long dateby the Spanish authorities, is one of the most hopeful present-daysigns of the Archipelago, I was sorry to take my leave of Vigan;the place and its environs seemed full of interest. One more stop wemade at San Fernando de Unión the following day, a clean-built town, but otherwise of no special characteristics. Here we met an officerof Constabulary that had been recently stationed at Lubuagan, whotold us of coming suddenly one day upon a fight between two bodiesof Kalingas, numbering twenty or twenty-five men each, and this inLubuagan itself. According to our ideas, it was no fight at all, the champions of each side engaging in single combat, while the restlooked on and shouted, waiting their turn. One man had already beenkilled, his headless trunk lying on the ground. On the approach of theofficer they all ran. Here, too, we heard from another Constabularyofficer, that the _insurrectos_ in 1898-1899 forced the Igorots tocarry bells and other loot taken from the _conventos_ and churches, and would shoot the _cargadores_ if they stumbled or fell, or couldgo no farther under the weights they were carrying. 

Twenty-four hours later we steamed up Manila Bay. The trip was over. 

CHAPTER XXV

 Future of the highlanders. --Origin of our effort to improve their condition. --Impolicy of any change in present administration. --Transfer of control of wild tribes to Christianized Filipinos. --Comparison of our course with that of the Japanese in Formosa. 

The question now presents itself: What is to become of thesehighlanders of Northern Luzon? And if the answer to be given ishere applied only to them, let it be distinctly understood thatlogically the question may be put in respect of all the wild peopleof the Philippines. Of these there are over one million in a totalpopulation of perhaps eight millions. At once it appears thatany conclusions we may draw, any speculations we may cherish, inrespect of the Archipelago, as being inhabited by a Christian peopleunjustly deprived of liberty by us, must be subject to a very largeand important correction. Limiting our inquiry to Luzon alone, let itbe recollected that of its 4, 000, 000 population nearly four hundredthousand, or one-tenth, are highlanders, and that these highlanders, in all probability, arrived in the Islands at an earlier date thantheir Christianized cousins of the lowlands. Let us recollect furtherthat these people are ethnologically not savages at all; not onlyare they workers in steel and wood, weavers of cloth, but hydraulicagriculturists of the very highest merit. On the side of moralqualities they invite our approving attention: they speak the truth, they look one straight in the eye, they are hospitable, courageous, and uncomplaining; their women are on a footing of equality, moreor less, with the men, and are respected by them. Where they havehad an opportunity, they have shown an aptitude to learn of no meanquality. Physically they are the best people of the Archipelago, andunder this head would be remarkable anywhere else in the world. Now, the Spaniards, with a few exceptions, made no systematic, continuousattempt to civilize these peoples; or, if they did, no measurableresults have come down to our own day, even Villaverde's efforts, genuine as they were, having left almost no trace. So far from havingdone anything for the hillmen, the record of the Spanish at thevery few points garrisoned by them is one of injustice and robbery, and worse. That of the Filipinos, [45] in imitation of their Spanishmasters, is no better. At any rate, when we took over the Archipelagoin 1898, a vast area of Luzon was held by a people who looked, andjustly, so far as their experience had gone, upon the white man andhis Filipino understudy as an enemy. The difficulty of guiding andcontrolling these people undoubtedly had been (and still is) great, and partly accounts for the state of affairs we encountered whenwe first entered the country, but it was necessarily no greaterfor our predecessors in the Islands than it has been for us. Now, where they failed, we, it may be said without fear of contradiction, are succeeding, and it is but the simplest act of justice to say thatthe credit for our success belongs to the Secretary of the Interior ofthe Philippine Islands, Mr. Dean C. Worcester. He would be the lastman on earth to say that his success is complete; on the contrary, he would assert that a very great quantity of work yet remains to bedone, and that what he has done so far is but the beginning. But it isnevertheless a successful beginning, and successful because it restson the solid foundation of honesty and fair dealing, and is inspiredby interest in and sympathy for a vast body of people universallyhated and feared by the Filipino, and until lately neglected andmisunderstood by almost everybody else. 

The physical difficulty alone of reaching these various peoples wasnot only very great, but mere presence in their country involvedgreat risk of one's life. Again, the absence of even the rudestform of tribal organization made the way hard. Take the Ifugaos, forexample, about 120, 000 in number, all speaking essentially the samelanguage, inhabiting the same country, and having the same originsand traditions. Yet this large body was and is yet broken up intoseparate _rancherías_, or settlements, each formerly hostile to allthe others, this hostility being so great that merely to walk intoa neighboring _ranchería_ in plain sight, not more than two milesoff across the valley, was a sure way to commit suicide. And what istrue of the Ifugaos is true of all the others. Could any other fieldhave been more unpromising, have offered more difficulties? Therewere those thousands of savages shut up in their all but inaccessiblemountains. Why not leave them there, to take one another's heads whenoccasion offered? They raised nothing but rice and sweet potatoes, anyway, and not enough of those to keep from going hungry. Whyconcern one's self about them, when there was already so much to bedone elsewhere?

To Mr. Worcester's everlasting honor, be it said, he took nosuch view. On the contrary, he went to work, and that after asimple fashion, but then, all great things are simple! The firstthing was to see the people himself; and then came the beginningof the solution, to push practicable roads and trails through thecountry. Once these established, communication and interchangewould follow, and the way would be cleared for the betterment ofrelations and the removal of misunderstandings. Today an American mayride through the country alone, unarmed and unmolested; [46] twentyyears ago a Spaniard trying the same thing would have lost his headwithin the first five miles. And this difference is fundamentallydue to the fact, already mentioned, of the honesty of our relationswith these simple mountaineers. We have their confidence and theiresteem and their respect, and this in spite of the necessity underwhich our authorities have constantly labored of punishing them whennecessary and of insisting upon law and order wherever our jurisdictionprevails. The lesson has been hard to learn, but it has been drivenhome. The truth of the matter is, that a great missionary work hasbeen begun; missionary not in the limited sense of forcing upon theunderstanding of a yet circumscribed people a religion unintelligibleto them, but in the sense of teaching peace and harmony, respect fororder, obedience to law, regard for the rights of others. 

A beginning accordingly has been made, but what is to be the end? Weshould not stay for an answer, could we but feel sure that but oneanswer were possible. But we can not feel sure on this head; the peopleof the Islands, whether civilized or uncivilized, have not yet gonefar enough to proceed alone. To drop the work now, nay, to lessenit, would merely be inviting a return to former evil conditions. Nogreater disaster could befall these highlanders to-day than a changeentailing a diminution of the interest and sympathy felt for them atthe seat of government. It is best to be plain about this matter:the Filipinos of the lowlands dislike the highlander as much asthey fear and dread him. They apparently can not bear the idea thatbut three or four hundred years ago they too were barbarians; [47]for this reason the consideration of the highlander is distastefuland offensive to them. The appropriations of the Philippine Assemblyfor the necessary administration of the Mountain Province are nonetoo great; they would cease entirely could the Assembly have its ownway in the matter. The system of communications, so well begun andalready so productive of happy results, would come to an end. To turnthe destiny of the highlander over to the lowlander is, figurativelyspeaking, simply to write his sentence of death; to condemn as fair aland as the sun shines on to renewed barbarism. We are shut up to thisconclusion, not by theoretical considerations, but by experience. Thematter is worth examining a little closely, covering, as it does, not only the hill tribes, but non-Christians everywhere else. 

Certain persons have demanded from time to time that the controlof non-Christian tribes shall be turned over to the Filipinos. Now, pointing out in passing that the Filipinos and the non-Christians aredistinct peoples, fully as distinct as the Dutch and the Germans, and that the Filipinos have no just claim to the ownership of theterritory occupied by the wild men, let us ask ourselves if theFilipinos are able and fit to control the non-Christian tribes. [48]

Consider for a moment the facts set out in thefollowing extracts:

"With rare exceptions, the Filipinos are profoundly ignorant of thewild men and their ways. They seem to have failed to grasp the factthat the non-Christians, who have been contemptuously referred to inthe Filipino press as a 'few thousand savages asking only to be letalone, ' number approximately a million and constitute a full eighthof the population of the Archipelago. "

"The average hillman hates the Filipinos on account of the abuses whichhis people have suffered at their hands, and despises them because oftheir inferior physical development and their comparatively peacefuldisposition, while the average Filipino who has ever come in closecontact with wild men despises them on account of their low socialdevelopment, and, in the case of the more warlike tribes, fears thembecause of their past record for taking sudden and bloody vengeancefor real or fancied wrongs. "

"It is impossible to avoid plain speaking if this question is tobe intelligently discussed; and the hard fact is, that whereverthe Filipinos have come in close contact with the non-Christianinhabitants, the latter have almost invariably suffered at theirhands grave wrongs, which the more warlike tribes, at least, have beenquick to avenge. Thus a wall of prejudice and hatred has been built upbetween the Filipinos and the non-Christian tribes. It is a noteworthyfact that hostile feeling toward the Filipinos is strong even amongpeople like the Tinguians who, barring their religious beliefs, are in many ways as highly civilized as are their Ilocano neighbors, "

"The success of American rule over the non-Christian tribes of thePhilippines is chiefly due to the friendly feeling which has beenbrought about. "

"The wild man has now learned for the first time that he has rightsentitled to a respect other than that which he can enforce withhis lance and his head-axe. He has found justice in the courts. Hisproperty and his life have been made safe, and the American governor, who punishes him sternly when he kills, is his friend and protectorso long as he behaves himself. "

"Finally, it should be clearly borne in mind that the Filipinos havebeen given an excellent opportunity to demonstrate practically theirinterest in the non-Christians, and their ability wisely to direct theaffairs of primitive peoples. While the inhabitants of the MountainProvince, Nueva Vizcaya, Agusan, and the Moro Province are not nowsubject to control by them, and the inhabitants of Mindoro and Palawanare subject to their control only through the Philippine Legislature, there are non-Christian inhabitants in the provinces of Cagayán, Isabela [and eighteen others]. 

"At the outset, these governors and provincial boards [_i. E. _, ofthe provinces just mentioned] exercised over their non-Christianconstitutents precisely the same control they had over Filipinos. Tothe best of my knowledge and belief, not one single importantmeasure looking to the betterment of the condition of thesenon-Christian inhabitants was ever inaugurated by a Filipino duringthis period. Indeed, the fact that no expense would be voluntarilyincurred for them became so evident as to render necessary the passage, on December 16, 1905, of an act setting aside a portion of the publicrevenues for the exclusive benefit of the non-Christians. 

"After Apayao was established as a sub-province of Cagayán and theduty of providing funds for the maintenance of its government wasexplicitly imposed upon the provincial board of that province, thegovernor stated to me that, in his opinion, it would be useless tomake the necessary expenditure, and that, in his opinion, it would bebetter to kill all the savages in Apayao! As they number some 52, 000, this method of settling their affairs would have been open to practicaldifficulties, apart from any humanitarian consideration!"

"Contrast with this record of inaction and lack of interest the recordof the special Government provinces [49] and the Moro Province, where dwell really formidable tribes, which have until recentlyengaged in piracy, head-hunting, and murder. Here very extensivelines of communication have been opened up by the building of roadsand trails and the clearing of rivers. A good state of public orderhas been established. Head-hunting, slavery, and piracy are now veryrare. The liquor traffic has been almost completely suppressed. Lifeand property have been rendered comparatively safe, and in muchof the territory entirely so. In many instances, the wild men arebeing successfully used to police their own country. Agricultureis being developed. Unspeakably filthy towns have been made cleanand sanitary. The people are learning to abandon human sacrificesand animal sacrifices and to come to the doctor when injured orill. Numerous schools have been established and are in successfuloperation. The old sharply drawn tribal lines are disappearing. BontocIgorots, Ifugaos, and Kalingas now visit each other's territory. Atthe same time that all of this has been accomplished, the good-willof the people themselves has been secured. They are outspokenin their appreciation of what has been done for them and in theirexpression of the wish that American rule should continue. They wouldbe horror-stricken at the thought of being turned over to Filipinocontrol, " [50]

"So far as concerns the warlike tribes, the work for their advancementthus far accomplished would promptly be lost; for they would instantlyoffer armed resistance to Filipino control, and the old haphazardintermittent warfare, profitless and worse than profitless for bothpeoples, would be resumed. "

"I say, in all kindness, but with deep conviction, that there isno reason for believing that Filipino control of the more pacificnon-Christian tribes would not promptly result in the re-establishmentof the old system of oppression which Americans have found it necessaryto combat from the day when military rule was first established inthese islands until now. I speak whereof I know when I say that thepeople of these tribes have been warned, over and over again, bythose interested in re-establishing the old régime, that Americancontrol in the Philippines will be only temporary, and that whenthe government is turned over to the Filipinos the tribesmen will bepunished for their present 'insubordination' and failure tamely tosubmit to injustice and oppression, as many of them formerly did. "

These extracts speak for themselves. So far as is known, the reportfrom which they are drawn has gone unchallenged. Is it necessary anyfurther to consider the question of a transfer of control from thepresent authorities to the Filipinos or to any other authority? Wouldnot any change in the present administration be singularly unwise? Ofcourse, the views and arguments set forth here are extremely unpopularamong the politicians of the native ruling class. But then no Filipinolikes the plain, unvarnished truth, a fact that should receive fullweight in considering any demand or request of native or racial origin, involving questions of government. 

With our own treatment of the American Indian in mind, our peopleshould be the last to consent to any change in the relations oradministration of the wild men of the Philippine Islands not fullyjustified by the amplest necessity, not warranted by well-groundedhopes of greater improvement. These men, for the first time in theirhistory, are having a chance. That chance is fair to-day, and willcontinue fair so long as its administration lies in American hands. , competent, trained, and experienced. 

In taking over the Philippines, we have incidentally become responsiblefor a large number of wild men. Their fate is bound up in that ofthe Islands. Now, these islands may remain under our control, orthey may not. Obviously, then, the question has its political side:we may grant full international independence to the Philippines. Inthe belief of some this would be merely a signal for civil war in theArchipelago, the issue of which no man can guess. But whether or not, in granting independence to the Philippines, we shall be signing thedeath-warrant of the highlander. Let us repeat that, this people formone-tenth of the population of Luzon: save as we arc helping him, he can not as yet assert himself beyond the reach of his spear. Shallwe be the ones to mark this as the limit beyond which he shall nevergo? Let us not deceive ourselves: a grant of independence means theabandonment of hundreds of thousands of people to perpetual barbarism. 

What would happen if the Islands fell into alien hands of course noone can tell. But there is strong ground for believing that Japanwould enter a mighty bid for the sovereignty of the Archipelago, ifwe ever contemplate parting with it. Now, Japan in Formosa has foryears been struggling, and without success, to control or subduethe aborigines of the mountains, a people of the same blood asthe Igorots, of the same habits and traits, savage head-hunters, the terror of all the plainsmen of no matter what origin. It isinteresting to read [51] that "among other measures taken by theJapanese authorities to 'control' the aborigines was the erection ofbarbed wire entanglements charged with electricity, " the idea being, after surrounding a savage position by these entanglements, to havethe troops drive the savages upon them. Many people have refused tobelieve that this electrical process has ever been put into effect, butthe Kobe newspaper goes on to quote the correspondent of the _Times_in confirmation. And a correspondent from Shanghai, writing [52] togive the truth about the state of affairs in Formosa and to defend theJapanese against the charge of ill-treating the savages, neverthelessadmits having been shown the entanglements, which, he says, are"as harmless as any ordinary fence wire during the day, except incases of serious uprising on the part of the savages. At night itis charged, but all the savages know this grave fact. " Accordingto the _Times_ correspondent, some three hundred miles have alreadybeen set up, and the work will be pushed until the aborigines "arewholly caged. " Lastly, the _Chronicle_ reports the Governor-Generalof Formosa as fixing a term of three years for the suppression ofthe bravest and fiercest tribe of all, numbering 50, 000, at a cost of17, 000, 000 yen. Now, we have no interest here or elsewhere in what is, after all, a municipal affair of Japan's. She must and will settle herown problems as seems best to her, and, if she is driven to "suppress"her Formosan aborigines, it is none of our business. Moreover, beforepronouncing upon the matter, we should in all fairness hear the otherside, although it does look as though the electric wire fence must beadmitted. But there is enough in what is reported from Formosa to giveus pause when we consider the possibility of parting with the controlof the Philippine Islands, whether to Japan or to any other nation. 

In so far as the wild tribes of the Archipelago are concerned, we havemade a happy beginning; we owe it to our self-respect to carry on thework to a happy end. This we can do by heeding the simplest of rules:Leave well alone. 

The Independence of the Philippines. 

"Am I my brother's keeper?" _Genesis iv. 9. _

"If we lose sight of the welfare of the people in a creed or a phraseor a doctrine, we have taken leave of our intelligence, and we haveproved ourselves unfit for leadership. "--_A Letter to Uncle Sam. _

Shall we give their independence to the Philippines? To this questionan answer is still to be made by the American people. Not only dowe not know whether we shall give this independence or not, but wehave not yet decided whether we ought to or not. Even if we couldsuppose that the country had made up its mind on the subject, itwould still be true that no competent authority has considered themanner in which our country would translate its desires into action, whether in one direction or another. 

The reason of this state of affairs is not far to seek: our peopleneither know anything about these islands, nor do they care anythingabout them. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that our ignorance isthe logical result of our indifference. The Islands are far away, asit were, inhabited by a different race, busied, on the whole, aboutthings that form no part of our life, whether national or private. Wehave, as a people, bestowed no serious thought upon them; we havenot yet raised the disposition to be made of them to the dignity ofa national question. 

I. 

The Philippines became ours by the fortune of war. On the subsidenceof the immediate questions raised by the war, we have continuedin the ownership of the Islands without concerning ourselves thusfar as to the ultimate place they are to occupy in our nationalecomony. Of this state of affairs, but one opinion can be expressed:it is extraordinary. Even in a grossly material point of view, our attitude is indefensible; if we regard ourselves as landlords, we are indifferent to our tenants; if as mere owners, then are wecareless of the future of our property. We have not assumed theresponsibilities involved with any national sense of responsibility;we have neither declared nor formed any policy. But in this factlies the extraordinariness of the situation. Of the soundness of ourtitle to the Islands at international law there is not the shadow of adoubt; the Islands are ours. What do we intend to do with them? Whyhave we not, after fourteen years' possession, found an answerto the question, or, in other words, declared a policy? Nations, no less than individuals, must take an interest in their property, and society demands as a right that any property of whatever natureshall be adjusted in respect of relations to all other property. Wehave followed this course as regards Cuba and Porto Rico; but, apart from taking the Philippines and continuing to own them, wehave made no adjustment of their case. The property, as such, hasbeen administered, and, on the whole, well administered; the amountof work done, indeed, is astonishing. But that is not the issue:however good has been the official administration of the Archipelago, whatever the progress under our tutelage of its peoples as a whole, no one knows to-day what relation will be permanently establishedbetween the Archipelago and the United States, what our policy is, oris to be, in respect of the Islands. And yet upon our declaration of apolicy hangs their future. The matter in its interest and importance isnational; equally national is the indifference we have displayed withrespect to its settlement. Both the United States and the Philippinesare entitled to a decision. 

II. 

At the outset of any consideration of the question in hand, it isobvious that we are not shut up _à priori_ to any one solution. Thus, we may decide, to keep the Islands, or we may grant them immediateindependence, or independence at some future date; we may establish aprotectorate, or give a qualified independence, or even turn them overto some other power--for example, England or Japan; or, finally, wemay secure an international agreement to neutralize the Islands, thusostensibly guarding them against the ambitions of powerful neighborsof colonizing disposition. All of these solutions have at one timeor another been mentioned; not one of them has ever been officiallyannounced by the Government, or ratified by the people. Although theyare all possible, yet a moment's thought shows that they are of verydifferent weight: it is hard to conceive, for example, of our turningthe Islands over to England. Excluding, then, cession to any foreignpower, we may roughly arrange the various possibilities in a scale, as it were: (_a_) absolute retention; (_b_) qualified retention; (_c_)protectorate; (_d_) neutralization; (_e_) international independenceat some future date; (_f_) immediate international independence. Onexamining this list thus arranged, certain deductions appear. Thestated various possibilities are not all independent, nor are theyall exclusive one of the others. Thus (_a_) excludes all the rest, or, better, implies (_b_), (_c_), and (_d_), and excludes (_a_) and (_f_);(_b_) and (_c_) between them are not independent, since a qualifiedretention may pass into a protectorate. Neutralization not impossiblymay ultimately call for a protectorate. Future, independence, solong as unaccomplished, implies (_a_), (_b_), (_c_), and (_d_), while(_f_) is completely exclusive. It may, however, not prevent foreignabsorption, if, once out, we stay out. 

We shall not here take up all of these possibilities. Whatever otherconclusion may be reached, the American people must first pass, eithertacitly or explicitly, on retention or independence. If either of theseextreme be selected, the other possibilities go by the board. If bothare rejected, the remaining four will then have their day in court. 

Our immediate purpose, then, is to discuss the question with whichthis investigation opens, with the definite purpose of suggesting, if not of reaching, conclusions that may help others in forming adecision. It is only when individual decisions have so increased innumber as in some sort to form a body of public opinion that futureaction, whether for or against independence, is to be expected. 

III. 

However unjustly the American people may treat its own self in respectof tariffs and other issues deeply affecting its welfare, it may betaken for granted, and is so taken here, that in foreign relations thedesire of the people is to do what is right. The right determined, a duty is imposed. Clearly, then, we must first try to discover inthis case what is right--what is right for us, what is right for theIslanders. It may be that what is theoretically right, or regardedas theoretically right, shall turn out to be practically wrong; orthat what is right for the one shall be wrong for the other. Again, some common standing-ground may be found, where the right of each, converted into the rights of both, may so far overlap as substantiallyto coincide. 

The idea is held by a vigorous few, and incessantly expressed, that the American people, through force of arms, is holding insubjection and depriving of liberty another people; that thisstate of affairs is wrong, bad for both sides, and should come toan end by an immediate grant of full independence to the Filipinopeople, because no one nation is good enough to hold any otherin subjection. It is pertinent to remark, that these ideas so farhave found no nation-wide expression: as already said, they are theexpression of only a few, but they may be the private opinions ofmany. Taken together, they constitute what may be called the purelyabstract view of the case. This view takes no account of attendantconditions; it asserts that the right is one and only one thing, and can not be anything else; that is to say, it defines the rightand refuses to admit that any other definition will hold, or thatany elements can enter into the definition other than those which ithas seen fit to include. If no other aspect of the case be correct, our duty is indeed plain. But it is conceivable that this view maynot be correct, or at least that so many other factors have to beconsidered that what might be true in the abstract is subject to veryconsiderable modification when applied to things as they are. 

Of this, no better illustration can be given here than the errorcommitted when it is asserted that we, one people, are holding anotherpeople, the Filipino, in subjection. As a matter of fact, there is noFilipino people. A certain number of persons, about eight millions, inhabit, the Philippine Archipelago, but it is no more correct to callthese one people than it is to call the Europeans one people, becausethey happen to inhabit the European continent. It is well to keepthis point in mind, because, unless a grave error is here committed, the impression prevails that it is one single, homogeneous peoplewhom we are unjustly depriving of independence. At any rate, if notcategorically expressed, the connotation of the idea of homogeneityexists. How far this is from the truth is so evident to any personhaving the slightest real acquaintance with the Philippines, thatit would hardly be worth while to dwell upon the matter here, wereit not for the ignorance of our people at large. It is convenientto speak of the Filipino people, just as it is convenient to speakof the Danish people, or of the English; but whereas, when we say"Danish" or "English" we mean one definite thing that exists as such, when we say "Filipino" we should understand that the term standsfor a relatively great number of very different things. For example, confining ourselves for the moment to the Christianized tribes, itmay be asserted that the inhabitants of the great Cagayan Valley, thetobacco-growing country, are at least as different from those of theVisayas, the great middle group of Islands, as are the Italians fromthe Spanish. Precisely similar differences, increasing, roughly, withthe difference of latitude, may be drawn almost at random between anyother pairs of the elements constituting the Filipino population. TheIlokanos, to give only one more illustration, have almost nothing more, in common with the Bicols than the fact that they both probably comefrom the same original stock, just as the English and the Germans havethe same ancestors. All these subdivisions speak different languages, and the vast majority do not speak Spanish at all. 

But this is not all. The Filipino peoples are divided into twogreat classes, the Christian and the non-Christian. Now, thesenon-Christians number over a million, and are themselves broken up intomany subdivisions, not only differing in language, customs, habits andtraditions, but until very recently bitterly hostile to one another, and so low in the scale of political development that, unlike ourown Indians, they have never risen to any conception of even tribalgovernment or organization. Moreover, in Moroland, in the great islandof Mindanao with its neighbors, the situation is further complicated bythe fact that the dominant elements are Mohammedan. Over most of thesenon-Christians the Spaniards had not even the shadow of control. Theappellation "Filipino people" is therefore wholly erroneous; morethan that, it is even dangerously fallacious, in that its use blindsor tends to blind our own people to the real conditions existing inthe Archipelago. It is correct to speak of the Filipino _peoples_, because this expression is, geographically, accurately descriptive;but it is absolutely misleading to speak of the Filipino _people_, because of the false political idea involved and conveyed by the useof the singular number. Similarly, there is no objection to the term"Filipino" or "Filipinos, " so long as we understand it to mean merelyan inhabitant or the inhabitants of the Philippine Archipelago, more narrowly the Christianized inhabitant or inhabitants; but itis distinctly wrong to give to the term a political or nationalcolor. It may be remarked now that the divisions, both Christian andnon-Christian, of which we have been speaking, determined as they areby natural conditions, are likely to survive for many generations tocome. At any rate, the fact that many, and those the most important, constituent elements of the proposed independent government are widelyseparated by the seas, and that even those situated on the same islandsare confined by mountain ranges hitherto extremely difficult to cross, makes it plain that the homogeneity necessary to the formation andpermanency of a strong government will be hard to secure, or, if eversecured, to maintain. 

When, therefore, it is proposed to grant independence to thePhilippine Islands, let it be recollected that this grant is tobe made not to a single homogeneous people, of one speech, of onereligion, of one state of civilization, of one degree of social andpolitical development, but to an aggregation of peoples, of differentspeech, of different religions, of widely varying states of socialand political development, of little or no communication with oneanother--to an aggregation, in short, whose elements, before 1898, had had but one bond, the involuntary bond of inherited subjectionto Spanish authority, and all of which to-day are distinguished bythe characteristic trait of the Oriental, absence of the qualityof sympathy. 

IV. 

Since, at international law, our title to the Islands is unclouded, it follows that our responsibility in the premises is complete. If, therefore, in the administration of our responsibility, our wardsshould make a request for independence, it is our duty to examinethis request, to inquire into its origin, and then to investigateits reasonableness with the purpose of determining whether, in thecircumstances, our wards are able, prepared, or ready to undertakethe responsibilities which they pray us to discharge upon them. 

That the request for independence is made, and frequently made, therecan be no doubt. It has been made in the past and it will continueto be made in the future. One hears it in speeches, and the nativepress echoes it. Regularly the Assembly closes, or used to close, its sessions by a resolution calling upon the United States togrant immediate independence to the Philippine Islands. Apparentlythe request has some volume; in any case, it is more or less loudlymade. Now, if the demand is widespread, if it conies from all ranks ofsociety, from the humblest peasant in the rice-paddies to the richestmerchant of Manila, from the tobacco-planter of the Cagayán Valleyto the hemp-stripper of Dávao, if it is made in full recognition ofthe responsibilities involved, then, whether we are disposed to grantit or not. It is a serious matter. It becomes serious, objectively, because so many people arc asking for it. Even if the demand comebut from a few, the matter is nevertheless, subjectively, one ofconcern, because we are responsible, and no factor or element shouldbe overlooked in making up our minds. 

Now, it is a fact that the chief demand for independence comes fromthe Tagálogs, the subdivision or tribe of the Filipinos (we are usingthe word here and elsewhere as a convenience merely) inhabiting Manilaand the adjacent provinces. We speak in all kindliness when we say thatthey are distinguished by a certain restlessness of disposition, by aconsiderable degree of vanity. They are not so given to labor as someothers--for example, the Ilokanos, to whom they are measurably inferiorin point of trustworthiness. More numerous than any other tribe exceptthe Visayans, they are also wealthier and better educated. Some ofthem have therefore earned and achieved distinction, but these areexceptions, for in general they are characterized by volatility andsuperficiality. They are more mixed in blood than other tribes. It isnot without significance that it was these same Tagálogs who organizedin the past the chief insurrections against the domination of Spain, principally, as is well known, because of the misrule of the friars. Itis also a fact that the farther one removes from Manila the feeblerbecomes the cry for independence. If we consider the condition of theloudest supporters of the movement, we find them all, or nearly all, to be politicians, _políticos_. Some of these politicians are notTagálogs--for example, Señor Osmeña, the Speaker of the Assembly, is a Visayan; so that it would perhaps be more accurate to sayof the entire propaganda that it is an affair of the politicians, supported chiefly by Tagálogs. In other words, it is worth while toask ourselves if the demand for independence be real, arising outof the necessities of the people, or artificial, exploited by thepoliticians for ends not unfamiliar to us here in the States. It isuseless to appeal for a decision to public opinion in the Archipelago, that shall include the whole population, for no such public opinionexists or can exist. And if it be argued that lack of public opinionis no disproof of the existence of a real desire for independence, therejoinder springs at once to the tongue, that independence would bea sham where public opinion is impossible. There is cause to believethat the true aspect of the case is to be found in a remark madeby a young Tagalog (to Mr. Taft himself, if we recollect aright), that there was no reason why independence should not be establishedat once, seeing that the two things needed already existed in thePhilippines, to-wit, the governed in the shape of the peasantry ofthe fields, and the governors among the _gente fina, _ the _genteilustrada_ (the superior classes) of Manila. However this may be, a native newspaper of Manila, distinguished by its hostility to allthings American, by its insistent demand for independence, did nothesitate to accuse the wealthy Filipino class of being "refractoryto the spirit of association, " of being "egotistical and disdainfultoward the middle and lower classes, " and of refusing "to join theirinterests with those of the lower classes. " [53]

We do not go so far as do some, and believe that the whole agitationis but a conspiracy to place the destinies of the Islands in the handsof an oligarchy. But, in all probability, a Tagálog oligarchy wouldbe formed; for the capital, Manila, is Tagálog, the adjacent provincesare Tagálog, the wealthy class of the Islands on the whole is Tagálog, and there is no middle class anywhere. The mere fact that the capitalis situated in the Tagálog provinces would perhaps alone determinethe issue, apart from the fact that the Tagálogs are the dominantelement, of the native population. Before granting independence, therefore, we should be reasonably sure that we are not in realityplacing supreme control in the hands of a few. 

But let us suppose that in fact the populations of the Archipelago werequite generally to ask for independence. We must again ask ourselves, How genuine or real would this demand be? It is not very difficult toanswer this question. The Filipino is most easily led and influenced;indeed, it is to be doubted if anywhere else in the world a beingcan be found more easily led and influenced. [54] For example, it isrelatively not an uncommon thing, certainly in the Tagálog provinces, for a man having a grudge against a neighbor to invite three orfour friends to join him in boloing his enemy. The invitation isfrequently accepted, although the guests may themselves have nothingwhatever against the victim-to-be. Early in 1909, a miscreant who hadbeen parading himself in women's clothes as a female Jesus Christ, upon exposure by a native doctor, out of revenge got together a bandof nineteen men, and with their help proceeded to cut the doctor topieces. This occurred within a day's march of Manila. The example justgiven suggests another Filipino trait, the readiness with which themore ignorant will swallow any and all religious nostrums, and formabsurd sects, usually for the financial or other material benefit oftheir leaders. In yet another case, a murderous bandit [55] of TayabasProvince, a Tagálog province, whom we caught and very properly hanged, used to promise as a reward for any deed of special villainy in whichhe might be interested, a bit of _independencia_ (independence), and then would show a box with the word painted on it, declaring thatit contained a supply sent down to him from Manila. He never failedto find men to do his will. Our purpose in citing these examples, whose number might be indefinitely multiplied, is not to show thatthe poor, ignorant Filipino is especially criminal of disposition, but to point out the ease with which he can be led by other men. If, under evil influence, he will altruistically, as it were, consent toalmost any crime, obviously he can be induced to consent to almostanything else. His consent or acquiescence can not be taken to indicateappreciation of the issue. 

If told, then, by his political leaders that he must ask forindependence, the Filipino most certainly will ask for it; and the factthat in the majority of cases he has no idea of what he is asking forwill make no difference to him, just as this makes no difference to his_cacique_, or boss. But it ought to make a great deal of differenceto us. We may be giving him edged tools to play with, only to findwhen too late that the edge has been turned against him, a resultfor which we should then be directly responsible. If a general oruniversal request could be taken to show that lack of independence isoperating to deprive the Filipino of his liberty and to estop him inthe pursuit of happiness, the situation of affairs would be confessedlyacute. But it is a fact patent to all who know the country, that theFilipino enjoys a freedom at least as great as that of the averageAmerican citizen, and is at complete liberty to pursue happiness inany way consistent with the law of the land and with the rights ofothers. We must conclude that a request, even if universal, would notnecessarily be for us a safe guide of action. The universality shownmight prove merely that all had agreed to what had been proposed bythe leaders, and would leave untouched the merits of the case. 

V. 

Intimately allied with this question of reasonableness are those ofreadiness, preparedness, capacity to assume the burdens as well asthe rights and privileges of independence. 

On readiness, we need not dwell; it is the readiness of acquiescence, not of preparation: the Filipinos are ready, just as children areready to play with matches. But preparedness and capacity call formore consideration, however brief. 

No one will pretend that the Filipinos have had any politicaltraining. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, only 350 years ago, they were all uncivilized. Many of them are still semi-savages; othersare savages pure and simple. These facts are indisputable. If, then, we turn to history for assistance, we can not find a single instanceof any real political evolution in any of the various divisions ofthe inhabitants of the Archipelago. The exception furnished by thedebased Mohammedan sultanates of the great Island of Mindanao is onlyapparent. The germ of fruitful growth is everywhere missing. Now, the Spaniards assuredly took no steps to teach their new subjectsthe art and science of government; there was every reason, from theirpoint of view, why they should not teach this art and science. On theother hand, our own course has been totally different. We have lostno time in putting political power into the hands of the natives, so that to-day, after fourteen years' possession, municipal andprovincial government are almost wholly native. To crown all, we have given the Filipinos an elective legislature, an Assembly, all the members of which are native. Students of the subject atfirst hand, impartial observers on the spot, declare freely thatwe have gone much too fast, and that we have granted a measure ofpolitical administration and government beyond the native power ofassimilation and digestion. With this opinion, sound though it be, we are not immediately concerned: the point we wish to bring out isthat the experiment we have made is not free; that the case is oneof constrained motion, since everyone knows that the mighty power ofthe United States dominates the entire situation, and that under theseconditions the Filipinos have been exercising themselves in the form ofgovernment, rather than in responsible government itself. The Filipinogovernment as such has faced no crisis: behind its treasury standsthat of the metropolis. Order is assured by the garrison maintainedby us, internal police by the Constabulary, another agency of Americanorigin. But, even if all this were not true, it is questionable if anexperience of only eight or nine years affords sufficient ground forthe belief that a nascent government could exist and advance underits own power alone. 

Our training, ample and generous though it may have been, as it hasnot, for lack of time if for no other reason, prepared the native togovern himself, so it furnishes no real test of his capacity to governhimself. Self-government is not a function of the mere ability to fillcertain offices, to discharge certain routine duties of administration:it depends for its existence and maintenance on the possession ofcertain qualities, and still more, perhaps, on the possession of thosequalities by a majority of the people who practice or are to practiceself-government, on an educated and inherited interest of the citizenin the questions affecting his welfare in so far as this is conditionedby government. Tested in this wise, the Filipino breaks down locally;to believe that anything else will happen internationally is to blindone's self to the teaching of experience. 

But there is yet another test. If political independence is to be ofvalue to those who have it, if it is to endure in any useful way, it must rest on economic independence. The state must be able tomeet its obligations, and by this we do not mean merely its currentbills, its housekeeping bills, as it were, but its obligations ofall and whatever nature, interior police, finance, administration, dispensation of justice, communications, sanitation, education, defense. We do not find these things too easy in our own land, andall of us can without effort bring to mind examples of independentsocieties in tropical regions, where, these things being neglected, the resultant government is a mockery. Have we any reason to believethat the Filipino, untrained, inexperienced, occupying an undevelopedarea of special configuration in a region where continuous effort isdisagreeable and initiative distressing, will achieve success whereothers of greater original fitness have made a failure?

Evidently the possibility of obtaining an answer to this questiondepends on the possibility of determining, within allowable limits ofprecision, the qualities and defects of the Filipino peoples. Now, this is a difficult thing to do, but it is not an impossible thing;at any rate, a first approximation may be derived from the authoritiesquoted in the "Census of the Philippine Islands, " 1903, pp 492 _etseq. _ In time, these authorities range from Legaspi, 1565, to ourown day, and include governors, prelates, travellers, engineers, priests, etc. , among whom are found Spaniards, Englishmen, Americans, and Filipinos, As might be expected, all sorts of qualities and defectsare reported. Classifying these, and rejecting from consideration all, whether quality or defect, not supported by at least five authorities, it may be concluded, so far as this induction goes, that the Filipinois, on the one hand, hospitable, courageous, fond of music, show, and display; and, on the other, indolent, superstitious, dishonest, and addicted to gambling. One quality, imitativeness, is possiblyneutral. It would appear that his virtues do not especially look towardthrift--_i. E. _, economic independence--and that his defects positivelylook the other way. If the witnesses testifying be challenged on thescore of incompetency, let us turn to the reports of the supervisorsof the census, contained in the volume already cited; for thesecover the entire Archipelago, and set forth actual conditions atone and the same epoch, 1903, the date of the census. Moreover, these supervisors, as welt as the special agents and enumerators, were nearly all natives. When, therefore, these supervisors reportthe mass of the Christianized Filipinos as simple and superstitious, we may be sure that we have the truth; but we are also inevitablyled to the conclusion of economic unfitness. As this matter ofeconomic independence is one of the first importance in determiningthe future of the Islands, we must look for all the light possibleon the question. A flood is thrown on it by an article entitled"_Nulla est Redemptio_, " published in the (native) _La Democracia_, of Manila, October 10, 1910, and believed to be the production ofperhaps the ablest Filipino alive to-day. Premising that agriculture isthe chief source of Philippine wealth, and that this source failing, all others must fail, the author points out that, although taxes arelighter in the Archipelago than in any other country, production ismuch less, and that this is the chief cause of the prevailing economicdistress. He points out further that the Assembly is wholly native, as are all municipal and nearly all provincial officers, and thattherefore they, and the constituencies that elected them, must assumeresponsibility. Now, what has been achieved? The provinces have spentmoney on buildings and parks, but, with one brilliant exception, noneon roads. Nothing has been done for agriculture. Of the municipalities, the least said the better; they are a wreck in the full extensionof the word. And, as the hope of a people must rest in its youth, what does he find to be the case? Thousands of candidates in pharmacy, law, medicine; as regards the Civil Service, enough candidates to fillall the posts in the Islands for generations to come. But of farmers, young men willing to return to the fields, their own fields, and by thesweat of their brow to work out the salvation of the country? None:the development of this principal element of national existence isleft to the ignorant and indolent peasantry. He draws no less gloomya picture in respect of capital and property. Nine-tenths of Manila, and all important provincial real estate, is mortgaged. Capital isfurnished at exorbitant rates of interest, and usury prevails. In thecountry, no security is accepted save real property, and then onlywhen the lender is satisfied that his debtor will be unable to pay, and that the security will pass. 

Bad as the outlook is, no remedy suggests itself. For, returningto the theme that agriculture is recognized as vital, much energyis spent in discussion, discourses, lectures, in writing articles, in discovering reasons why agriculture does not flourish, but nothingelse and nothing more. [56]

The picture may be overdrawn; but it is a Filipino picture, drawn bya Filipino hand. Let us now permit, the native press to speak againon the subject engaging our attention. Thus _Vanguardia_ [57] a bitteranti-American sheet, arraigns its wealthy fellow-countrymen for lack ofinitiative and fondness of routine. It accuses them of a willingness toinvest in city property, to deposit money in banks, "to make loans atusurious rates, in which they take advantage of the urgent and pressingnecessities of their countrymen, " but of unwillingness "to engagein agriculture, marine or industrial enterprise"; and says they are"generally lacking in the spirit of progression. " According to anothernative newspaper, the vice of gambling has infected all classes ofsociety, men and women alike, rich and poor, young and old. Mere itis almost impossible to overdraw the picture, so widespread is thevice. Let us now couple these statements, drawn from native sources, with the fact that the Christianized tribes, all told, number some7, 000, 000; that of these but one-tenth speak Spanish; and that ofthis tenth only a very few are educated in any accepted sense of theword. Repeating here a form of summation already employed in thisdiscussion, let us bear in mind that, if we decide to make a grantof independence, we shall be deciding to grant it to a population, composed, first, of a very few educated persons; next, of a smallfraction able, through the possession of Spanish, to communicate, with one another; and, lastly, of a remainder--the vast, the immensemajority--not only unable so to communicate, but characterized byqualities that, however commendable in themselves, do not constitute afoundation on which popular self-government may safely rest. Further, we mean to grant it to a population which contains no middle class, to one in which the poor are peculiarly at the mercy of the rich, andin which nearly all the elements that make for economic independenceare conspicuously lacking. 

VI. 

What would happen if we were to grant immediate independence tothe Islands? Without having the gift of prophecy, one runs no riskin declaring that civil war would be almost unavoidable. At leastthis is the belief of some well-informed Filipinos, a belief thatappears to have some ground when we take into account, the greatprobability of a Tagálog oligarchy. But, without going so far as topredict armed strife, it would seem that any government, not heldtogether by some strong external power, would soon begin to breakup. Its various elements, not only differentiated from one anotherby speech, but physically separated, in many cases, by the seas, would tend to fall apart. The Visayas, for example, would refusesooner or later to acknowledge the Tagalog supremacy of Luzon. Ifwe proceed farther south still, what practicable bond can be foundto exist between Mindanao, peopled by Mohammedans and savages, and Luzon or Panay or Negros? The consequences of such a disruptionas is here predicted must occur to everyone. The gravest of these, gravest in that it would defeat our purpose in granting independence, would be foreign intervention. Japan would most certainly insist onbeing heard. Now, the Filipinos, as a whole, prefer our sovereigntyto that of the Japanese. England, too, would have a right to interferefor the protection of her commercial interests in the Archipelago. Itexercised this sort of right, in 1882, by seizing Egypt in behalf ofcivilization in general. In the meantime, the Moros of Mindanao andJolo would have resumed their piratical excursions to the northward, burning, killing, and carrying off slaves. If this be questioned, then let us recollect that as recently as 1897 they carried off slavesfrom the Visayas, a sporadic case, probably, but giving evidence thatthe disease of piracy is to-day merely latent. Given an opportunity, it will break out again. Under independence, the large, beautiful, and fertile island of Mindanao would be left to its own devices, would be lost to civilization. Upon this point we need have no doubtwhatever. The issue of Filipino control of Mindanao was very clearlyraised, when Mr. Dickinson, the late Secretary of War, visited Mindanaoin August of 1910. Upon this occasion Mr. Dickinson, in response toa Filipino plea for immediate independence, with consequent controlof the Moros, made a speech in which he declared the unwillingnessof the Government to entrust to the 66, 000 Filipinos living inMindanao the government of the 350, 000 Moros of this province. Atthe close of this speech, four _datus_ (chiefs), present with 2, 000of their people, and controlling the destinies of 40, 000 souls, swore allegiance to the United States; and, requesting that, if theAmericans ever withdrew from Mindanao, the Moros should be placedin control, firmly announced, at the same time, their intentionto fight if the Americans should ever take their departure. One ofthe _datus_, Mandi by name, was outspoken in praise of the presentGovernment, and both he and the other chiefs declared that they werecontented with things as they are. Such testimony as is afforded bythe foregoing incident is not lightly to be brushed aside to makeway for an abstraction. If disregarded, then the efforts that we havemade to better the condition of Mindanao, to introduce some idea oflaw and order, some notion of the value of peace and of industry, will come to a sudden end; for the Christianized Filipinos can neverhope to cope with the active, warlike pirates of Moroland. So far asthis part of the Archipelago is concerned, a grant of independencemeans the re-establishment of slavery, the recrudescence of piracy, [58] the reincarnation of barbarism. How great a pity this would bemay be inferred from the fact that Mindanao forms nearly one-thirdof the Archipelago in area, and exceeds Java in arable land. Now, Java supports a population of over 25, 000, 000. 

If we turn our attention to the other non-Christian elements of theIslands, the case is no better. The Christianized Filipino fearsand dreads the pagan mountaineers, the head-hunters who occupy solarge a part of Luzon, the largest and most important island of theArchipelago. He grudges every _centavo_ spent under our directionfor the betterment of these truly admirable wild men The governor, the Christian governor, of a province bordering on the wild men'sterritory, had, indeed, no other idea of the way to treat his paganneighbors, about 50, 000 in number, than to kill them all. His argumentwas that they were worse than useless, why spend any money on them, when, by exterminating them, all questions affecting them would beforever answered? But, under our administration, some excellent workhas been done, and is growing, to turn these as yet unspoiled peoplesto account in the destinies of the Archipelago. Independence wouldmean the _end_ of this work, the restoration of the old order ofrapine, murder, and all injustice as between Christians and pagans, and of internecine strife and warfare as between the communities ofthe pagans themselves. That this result would follow is not evenquestioned by those who have acquired their knowledge at firsthand. Are we willing to shoulder the responsibility of such a result?

We have at our very doors an example of the danger of independenceto a people unfilled for the burdens and responsibilities ofself-government. We have already since 1900 been compelled onceto intervene in the affairs of Cuba: the possibility of a freshintervention continually stares our statesmen in the face. But Cuba, let it be observed, in contrast with the Philippines, has but onelanguage, one religion; it has no wild tribes, no Mohammedans; itsprovinces are not separated from one another by seas of difficultnavigation, are bound together by suitable communications. The curseof Cuba is personal politics: have we any assurance that this samecurse in a worse form would not come to blast the Philippines?

VII. 

Some of the conclusions reached or hinted at in the course of thisargument must have formed themselves in the minds of at least a fewFilipinos of independent character. Otherwise how shall we accountfor the fact that some declare their disbelief in the possibility ofindependence? How else shall we explain what is far more significant, the silence under this head of the really first-rate men of theArchipelago? Is it not worthy of note that Rizal himself, theposthumous apostle of the Philippines, never advocated or contemplatedindependence? In yet other cases, the belief held finds expressionin the assertion that the Islands must be declared independent, but only under the protection of the United States. What that wouldultimately mean is so plain to those who know the country as torequire no consideration here. It may even be asserted on the best ofauthority, so far as any authority is possible in such a case, thatnot even those who shout the loudest for independence arc sincere intheir clamor the Assembly itself would be seriously disturbed if itsresolution to this end should suddenly be honored by the United States. 

We make bold to quote here, in full, a short editorial that appearedin the _Weekly Times of_ Manila, December 30, 1910:

"Mr. Perry Robinson, whose articles on the Philippines are nowbeing published by the London _Times_, makes one point that offersa valuable, suggestion to our ardent friends of the Nationalistparty. [59] While here, Mr. Robinson interviewed a number of theleaders of the party and discovered that they were all afraid ofimmediate independence. They admitted that the country and people wouldnot be ready for it for years, and, when pressed for an explanation, said they feared, if they did not press the question now, it would notavail them to do so later on. The inconsistency of the present positionmust strike every sensible person who examines it. Let us assume thatthe United States Government decides at this time to give ear to theplea of those who are politically active in the Philippines--what willhappen? It will dispatch a commission or committee to the Islandsto examine the representations of those who make the plea. It isadmitted by even the Nationalist leaders, when speaking privately onthis question, that the people are not ready to shift for themselvesand can not be made ready for some years. Surely it is not believedthat the investigators are going to be deceived about the real truthas to conditions in the Islands, and we are unable to see what goodis to be accomplished by having this inquiry made. 

"Would it not be infinitely better for the Nationalist and otherleaders in this country to squarely face the facts and base all theirfuture operations on the facing of those facts? One difficulty isthat they have made a lot of promises and professions to the peoplethat they are incapable of fulfilling, and another is that they havelargely aided in deceiving the people themselves as to where theyreally stand and as to what they are really capable of under presentconditions. But to go on means discredit and failure in the end, and agreater work could be done for the country at large by squarely facingthe facts. It must be admitted that neither position is especiallypleasant. There has been created among the people a vanity of abilityand power that will make the blow a hard one; but unless there areFilipino leaders capable of making the people realize the truth abouttheir position, there is really not much hope for them in the future. 

"The truth is, that the race must be built up physically and itsnumbers be enormously increased before it may seriously assume theobligations of statehood; and, for our part, we await the statesmanwho is prepared to drive this and other important lessons home tothe minds and hearts of the people. 

"Assurance and pretense serve their purposes on many occasions, butthey must be set aside when it comes to the test that will be appliedto the plea that Filipino leaders now make with such persistency. "

It is maintained that the matter of this short editorial deserves tobe as deeply pondered by the people of the United States as by theFilipinos to whom it is specially addressed. 

That all this talk of independence, the motions to that endoccasionally made in Congress, the circulation of so-calledanti-imperialistic literature, have so far endangered the realinterests of the Philippines, there can be no reasonable doubt. Theindependence propaganda prevents, or tends to prevent, recognition ofthe fact that the Philippines will be greater with the United Statesthan they can ever hope to be standing alone, if so be that they canstand alone at all. It has retarded the development of the Islandsand has checked progress. It forces into the background the fact thatwith an infinitude of work lying before Americans and Filipinos alike, if the Islands are to have their full value in the world's economy, the best way to do this work is for Americans and Filipinos to labortogether, each contributing his share to the common result. Upon thissafe ground both may stand. "The law of life is labor; the joy oflife is accomplishment. " But we can not labor if the fruits of ourtoil may be torn from us; accomplishment is impossible in the faceof uncertainty and dissension. If our people have the welfare ofthe Philippines genuinely at heart, it must thoroughly consider thequestion of permanent retention; for this course, on the one hand, would not only clear away all misunderstanding, but, on the other, it would meet the real responsibilities of the case. There is nodisposition here to burke the fact that these responsibilitiesare serious, if not onerous; that they call for administrativestatesmanship of a very high order. But we should also recognize thefact that these responsibilities are ours, created by us, and that ourrejection of them is sure to be followed by consequences disastrous, not to us, but to the Filipinos themselves. If, on the other hand, we accept these responsibilities, then sooner or later Americans andFilipinos together could bend their energies to the development of acountry in which they would now have the same interest. And if, underthe prevailing uncertainty, so much has already been accomplished inpreventing disease, abating epidemics, building roads and bridges, erecting telegraphs and telephones, lighting the coasts, establishingcourts of law, equalizing taxation, conserving forests, foundingschools and colleges, encouraging commerce and agriculture, what maynot unreasonably be expected if all shall feel that the foundationsof order, system, and justice are permanent, that life is secure, liberty assured, and the pursuit of happiness possible?

Surely there is significance in the effect at once produced inthe sugar-raising islands by the passage of the Payne Bill:idle fields were planted to cane, and the elections took anunmistakable _americanista_ trend. There is no better peacemakerthan the pay-master. The Assembly, it is true, fulminated againstthe bill: success, prosperity, contentment under its operationmight mean the dissolution of a dream. So they might; but the billalso categorically established the possibility, and more than thepossibility, of permanently profitable relations under the ægis ofthe United States. It might even ultimately greatly reduce, if notentirely destroy, the racial issue. Here is already common ground, limited though it be, on which Americans and Filipinos may and dostand together. If any doubt should exist on this score, we have butto look at Porto Rico, whose total external commerce has grown, inround numbers, from 17 1/2 million dollars in 1901 to 79 millions in1911. During this same interval that of the Philippines has risen from53 million to 90 million dollars, nearly 20 millions of the increasebeing due to the Payne Bill. The population of Porto Rico (census of1910) is 1, 120, 000; that of the Philippines, 8, 200, 000: the area ofPorto Rico is 3, 606 square miles; that of the Philippines, 128, 000square miles. This comparison is frankly commercial; but thrivingcommerce means prosperity, and prosperity spells content. Aftereliminating certain natural and social advantages enjoyed by PortoRico, and not by the Philippines, the vast economic differencebetween the two can be accounted for only by the different relationthey respectively bear to the United States, a conclusion confirmedby the effect of the Payne Bill. In the case of one, this relationis defined; in that of the other, undefined. We intend to remain inPorto Rico; we do not know what we shall do with the Philippines. 

VIII. 

To conclude, and in part to repeat: when we took over the Philippines, we unquestionally at the same time acquired a burden. Of this burdenwe can rid ourselves by setting the Islands adrift; or we can declarethat we intend to keep the Islands, as we have kept Porto Rico. In thelight of the argument hereinbefore submitted, which of these coursesappeals to the people of the United States? May we, or may we not, without incurring an accusation of injustice to a dependent population, honestly ask ourselves if actual conditions should not sometimes limitor control the application of an abstract principle? Does our duty inthe premises consist or not in merely satisfying such a principle? Isit or is it not possible that practical considerations--and whatis practical is not always sordid--may outweigh an abstraction? Isit or is it not conceivably our duty to use our superior knowledge, power and experience to the best advantage of those chiefly concerned, even if these should apparently for a time not agree with us in theapplication we purpose to make of our knowledge, power, and experience?

NOTES

[1] See Retana's edition, p. 183, Madrid, 1909. 

[2] It is interesting to note that as late as 1889 General Weyler, then Governor-General of the Archipelago, in establishing various_comandancias_, drew up regulations for the treatment of the natives, etc. , as remarkable for lenity and good sense as his later measuresin Cuba were, whether justly or not, distinguished for severity. 

[3] For an account of the early missions of this order, see the Manila_Libertas_ of May 23, 1910. 

[4] Report of the Secretary of the Interior, Philippine Islands, 1910; Washington Government Printing Office, 1911. 

[5] See "Census of the Philippine Islands, " Vol. I. , p. 453 _et seq. , _for a discussion of the non-Christian tribes. 

[6] Vol. I. , p. 60 _et seq_. 

[7] Mr. A. H. Savage Landor, in his "Gems of the East, " protests againstour practice of boiling water before drinking it, but the experienceof others is against him. He was simply fortunate in not being madeill by the natural water. 

[8] An attempt has been made to stock this river with trout, but ithas proved a failure. The fish grew and throve, but did not breed. 

[9] This happened on a large scale in the spring, of this year(1912). Landslides having occurred on both banks of the cañon, andas luck would have it, at the same point, the waters rose behindthe natural dam thus formed to a height of over one hundred feet, and breaking through, scoured the valley in their sweep, completelywiping out the road. 

[10] For a fuller account of Padre Villaverde's labors, see the Manila_Libertas_ of May 17, 1910. Villaverde remained at his post until hishealth broke completely; he set out for Spain, but never reached it, dying August 4, 1897, and being buried at sea a few hours only fromBarcelona. The great trail he built reduced the cost of transportationby nine-tenths. 

[11] According to the native legend, this mountain used to form part ofthe Zambales range. It became, however, by reason of its quarrelsomedisposition, so objectionable to its neighbors of this range, thatthey finally resolved no longer to endure its cantankerousness andaccordingly banished it to its present position in the plain ofCentral Luzon, where it would have no neighbors to annoy, and whereit has stood ever since, rising solitary from the surrounding plain. 

[12] Dr. Barrows, in the "Census of the Philippine Islands, " Vol. I. , p 471, says that the etymology of this word is unknown. As it seemsto mean "people of the mountains, " it is not unlikely to be a form of"Igolot, " by metathesis, as it were. 

[13] According to some accounts, the Highlanders, in throwing thespear, give it a rotation around its longest axis, twirling it rapidlyin the hand as this is brought up before the throw. In other words, they have discovered that a rotating spear has greater accuracy thana non-rotating one. If this is true, this discovery is worthy to bebracketed with the use of the fire-syringe by the Tinguians of theNorth, and by certain other wild people of the Archipelago. 

[14] These salt deposits are now (1912), to the great satisfactionof the people of the province, being worked by the Government, andsalt has ceased to be a luxury within the reach of only the few rich. 

[15] The Ilongots are so few in number and scattered over so vastand rough a country that trail-making can never be as successful intheir territory as it has been farther north. 

[16] Dampier's description of what he saw in Mindanao fits here:"This Distemper runs with a dry Scurf all over their Bodies, andcauseth great itching in those that have it, making them frequentlyscratch and scrub themselves, which raiseth the outer skin in smallwhitish flakes, like the scales of little Fish, when they are raisedon end with a Knife. This makes their skin extraordinary rough, and in some you shall see broad white spots in several parts oftheir Body. I judge such have had it, but are cured; for theirskins were smooth, and I did not perceive them to scrub themselves:yet I have learnt from their own mouths that these spots were fromthis Distemper. "--Dampier's "Voyages, " Masefield's edition, p. 341;New York, E. P. Dutton & Co. , 1906. 

[17] On one of his first expeditions elsewhere, however, when thewomen realized that they were really to receive gifts of beads, etc. , they rushed Mr. Worcester and his assistants, upsetting them all intheir eagerness to get at the stuff. 

[18] So Strong said, himself an accomplished violinist. 

[19] The straw mat covering the "split bottom" of the nativebed. There is no other mattress, and the "split bottom" constitutesthe springs. Once accustomed to it, the bed is cool and comfortable. 

[20] Dampier's "Voyages, " p. 319, Masefield's edition. 

[21] According to De Morga (p. 196, Retana's edition), the _anito_was a representation of the devil under horrible and frightful forms, to which fruits and fowl and perfumes were offered. Each house had and"made" (or performed) its _anitos_, there being no temples, withoutceremony or any special solemnity. "This word, " says Retana, "isordinarily interpreted 'idol, ' although it has other meanings. Therewere _anitos_ of the mountains, of the fields, of the sea. The soul ofan ancestor, according to some, became embodied as a new _anito_, hencethe expression, 'to make _anitos_. ' Even living beings, notably thecrocodile, were regarded as _anitos_ and worshiped. The _anito-figura_, generally shortened to _anito_, ... Was usually a figurine of wood, though sometimes of gold. " (Glossary to his edition of De Morga, pp. 486-487. )

"The _anito_ of the Philippines is essentially a protectingspirit. " (F. Jagor, "Travels in the Philippines, " p. 298. Englishtranslation, London, Chapman & Hall, 1875; originally published inBerlin. 1873, "Reisen in den Philippinen, " Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. )

"The religion of the islands, what may be called the true religion ofFilipinos, consisted of the worship of the _anitos_. These were notgods, but the souls of departed ancestors, and each family worshippedits own, in order to obtain their favorable influence. " (Pardo deTavera, "Reseña Histórica de Filipinas, " Manila, 1906. )

[22] _Apo_ means "lord, master. " In the mountains every Americanis called _apo_. "Sir" in Tagalo is _po_, and the highest mountainof the Archipelago is named Apo. The native word for fire in theseparts is something like _apo_. To distinguish Mr. Forbes from other_apos_. He was called _apo apo_ in communicating with the natives. 

[23] Now frequently called _ub-ub_, _i. E_. , "spring, " in the Ifugaocountry; a change of name due to Gallman. 

[24] See De Morga, "_Sucesos_, " etc. , p. 184, Retana's edition, and Retana's note on the passage; see also Jagor, "Travels, " etc. , p. 162 _et seq_. 

[25] _Runo_ is a stiff reed grass growing to several feet, the mountaincousin of the _cogon_ of the plains. 

[26] The _Princesa_ was the only fat person we saw in the mountains:apparently these Highlanders all grow thin with age, and wrinkledfrom head to foot. 

[27] See _Philippine Journal of Science_, July, 1909, for Villaverde'saccount of the Ifugaos of Kiangan, translated and edited by Worcester, with notes and an addendum by Major Case, of the Constabulary. 

[28] Gallman says they also carry their spears point down to causethe enemy's spears to miss. --_C. De W. W. _

[29] As a matter of fact, they were "the terror of the Spaniards"; they"annihilated an entire garrison at Payoan, " "exacted a heavy annualtoll of heads from the people of Ragábag, and ... Made the main trailfrom Nueva Vizcaya to Isabela so dangerous that three strong garrisonswere constantly maintained on it, and ... People were not allowed totravel over it: except under military escort, and even so were oftenattacked and killed. " (Worcester, _The National Geographic Magazine_, March, 1911. ) Gallman's mere name now suffices to do what three strongSpanish garrisons failed to do. 

[30] This danger still exists in the case of the savages of theSouthern Islands of the Archipelago, but Mr. Worcester, if undisturbed, will bring these in too, all in time. In the fall of this very year, 1910, his party was attacked in Palawan. 

[31] Many years ago some Moros were brought to Mayoyao to worktobacco. The Ifugaos deeply resenting this invasion, at the firstopportunity attacked and killed them all. Only one woman escaped, covered with wounds, to Echagüe, where she was in 1910, stillalive. The fight was most desperate, three Ifugaos biting the dustfor every Moro killed. 

[32] See a native account of the part played by the Igorots in thisbattle, in Seidenadel's "The First Grammar of the Language Spoken bythe Bontoc Igorot"; Chicago, Open Court Publishing Company, 1909. 

[33] Sometimes also called the Caicayán. 

[34] Samoki is celebrated for its pottery, sold all through thisregion, and of such quality that the Igorots use vessels made hereto reduce copper ore. The potter's wheel is unknown. In regard to theskill of the highlanders in metallurgy, see Jagor, "Travels, " p. 181. 

[35] So do their cousins of Formosa. Pickering, "Pioneering inFormosa, " p. 150; London, Hurst & Blackett, 1898. 

[36] For a full account of the way in which the Igorots have takento our sports, see Mr. Worcester's article in the March, 1911, numberof the _National Geographic Magazine_. 

[37] A similiar institution exists among the aborigines ofFormosa. "... The unmarried men and boys slept in a shed raised fromthe ground. This building was regarded as a kind of temple, in whichthe vanquished heads were hung. " (Pickering, "Pioneering in Formosa, "p. 148. )

[38] For a more or less complete account of the Bontok Igorot, see Jenks's "The Bontoc Igorot"; Manila, Bureau of Public Printing, 1905. For the language, consult "The First Grammar of the LanguageSpoken by the Bontoc Igorot, " by Doctor Carl Wilhelm Seidenadel;Chicago, Open Court Publishing Company, 1909. 

[39] Dampier mentions this drink in his "New Voyage Around theWorld. " He calls it _bashee_, and found it in the Batanes Islands, just north of Luzon: "And indeed, from the plenty of this Liquor, and their plentiful use of it, our Men call'd all these Islands, the Bashee Islands. " (Masefield's edition, p. 425. )

[40] De La Gironière, in his "Aventures d'un Gentilhomme Breton auxIles Philippines, " describes (Chapter V. ) a feast, at which he had, while on a visit to the Tinguianes, to drink human brains mixedwith _basi_. Whatever De La Gironière says must be received withconsiderable caution; but Pickering, a prosaic and matter-of-factBritisher, speaking of the Formosan savages, says that "they mixed thebrains of their enemies with wine. " ("Pioneering in Formosa, " p. 153). 

[41] For example, this year (1912) more people "came in" tomeet Mr. Worcester then ever before. In Bontok every valleyof the sub-province was represented, and there was a time whenrepresentatives of all the villages danced together on the plaza, an event of importance in the history of these people as marking thepassing of old feuds and a determination to live at piece with oneanother. A moving picture machine was taken along in a four-wheeledwagon (showing incidentally that the main trails have become roadssince 1910), and created both enthusiasm and alarm: enthusiasmwhen some familiar scene with known living persons was thrown uponthe screen, and alarm when a railway train, for example, was shownadvancing upon the spectators, causing many of them to flee for safetyto the neighboring hills and woods. 

[42] For an account of what this Government monopoly really meant, see Jagor, "Travels, " etc. , p. 324. A Spaniard of my acquaintancetold me that if a native's attention to his crop did not pleasethe inspectors, they would cause him to be publicly flogged onSunday before the church after mass; and if this course brought noamendment, they would then cut his stand down. Jagor, who travelledin the Philippines as long ago as 1859-60, could see no future forthem save under American control, and he predicted that this controlwould come, an astonishing prophecy. "In proportion as the navigationof the west coast of America extends the influence of the Americanelement over the South Sea, the captivating, magic power which thegreat Republic exercises over the Spanish colonies will not fail tomake itself felt also in the Philippines. The Americans are evidentlydestined to bring to a full development the germs originated by theSpaniards. " ("Travels in the Philippines, " p. 369. ) Jagor's work, it may be remarked, will always remain an authority on the Philippines. 

[43] The cable and popular name of the "Compañía General de Tabacosde Filipinas"; it owns plantations up the Grande in Isabela Province. 

[44] So do the aborigines of Formosa. "These aborigines of the hillslive in villages. Their houses are built, of stone, roofed with slate, and have a remarkably clean, home-like appearance. " (Pickering, "Pioneering in Formosa, " p. 69. )

[45] The word "Filipino" is taken to mean the civilized, Christianizedinhabitant of Malay origin of the Philippine Islands. As such, it isconvenient and useful. It should be recollected, however, that thereis no such thing as a _Filipino people_. There are Tagalogs, Visayans, Bicols, Pampangans, Ilokanos, Cagayanes, etc. , etc. , to say nothingof the wild people themselves, all speaking different languages;but these can not be said to form one people. 

[46] Retana, in his edition (1909) of De Morga remarks (p. 502):"To-day there would not be many to dare go from Manila to Aparri bythe road taken by the Spaniards in 1591. "

[47] Some Igorots brought down to the Manila carnival of 1912were forced, at the request of Filipino authorities, to put ontrousers. This was not for comfort's sake, nor yet for decency's, for the bare human skin is no uncommon sight in Manila. Apparently, the Filipinos of Manila were unwilling to let the world note thattheir cousins of the mountains were still in the naked state. 

[48] For a full discussion of this entire matter, see the Report of theSecretary of the Interior, Philippine Islands, for 1910, WashingtonGovernment Printing Office, 1911, from which the quotations givenabove are taken. 

[49] E. G. The Mountain Province. --C. De W. W. 

[50] It is interesting to note, that since the foregoing report waspublished, Captain Harris, Philippine Constabulary, has persuadedthe Kalingas to turn in one hundred and eighty-seven firearms intheir possession, and this without firing a shot himself. What thismeans may be inferred from the fact that all over the Islands, whetheramong Christians or non-Christians, the desire to have firearms is ofthe keenest. The great ambition of the Ifugao is to be a policeman, and so be authorized to carry a gun. The Moros will give $400. 00 foran Army rifle and a belt of ammunition worth, say, $18. 00. --C. De W. W. 

[51] _Japan Chronicle_, weekly edition, Kobe, January 5, 1911. 

[52] Ibid. , same date. 

[53] See the weekly Manila _Times_, October 21, 1910. 

[54] According to a story current some years ago, a distinguishedofficer of our Army serving in the Philippines once remarked to ajustly celebrated native judge of the highest character, that hehad no opinion of the native justice, and added, that for a thousandpesos he could procure witnesses to prove that the judge had committeda murder in such a place, although the judge had never been in theplace in his life. "Absurd, " remarked the judge. "How absurd?" "Youmisunderstand me, " answered the judge; "it would be absurd to spenda thousand pesos on such a purpose when two hundred would suffice. "

[55] This worthy, Ruperto Rios by name, in succession promotedhimself to brigadier and major general, and then announced himselfas generalissimo. As though this were not enough, he next proclaimedhimself pope, "Papa Ríos, " and then crowned his earthly glories bycalling himself Jesus Christ, and as such was hanged. Our pity forsuch sell-delusion is tempered by the fact that the purpose in viewwas crime. 

[56] It is only fair to remark that the Government is doing every thingin its power to develop native interest in agriculture. Of course itis too early as yet to say whether its efforts will be rewarded. 

[57] Quoted in the weekly Manila _Times_ of October 21, 1910. 

[58] That piracy, even under our strong control is not dead is shownby the following:

"_Manila_, April 15. A pirate raid is reported from Jolo, where aJapanese pearl-fishing bout was found adrift and looted. The crew ofthe pearler are missing, and are believed to be murdered. The MatajaLighthouse has also been attacked and robbed, presumably by the sameband. Gunboats have been sent to investigate. " New York _Times_, April 15, 1912. 

[59] The party of immediate independence.