The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1853-05-19
PHILIPPINE ISLANDERS.

I b-en visited by travellers Of the book-naking
. sort Recently, however, Frenchman- II. de
; Ia GIroniers, has published work IN which he
1Lrra Jes ms adventures IN those Islands during
/ d residence Of many years, and which contains
1 4 vast amount Of enlrely new information, res
/ PecGag the Islands and their inhabitants From
/ BLZealg0o1's review Of this work extract
passage Of great intsrest:7-
Zone morning writes II de Ia Gir0niere,
.-as We were Silently pursuing cur way, we heard
before Is q chorus Of sArlI voices, more resem-
b-Ing those Of birds than Of men Presently We
perceived at short distance about forty sGvGEes
OF both sexes and al ages, and having com
ptetely the appearance Of animals They were
gathered round q large FIRE. hard by q stream
/ " e took 3 few steps forward, presenting our
guns n them On perceiylnE Us, they shrIeked,
( and were ab0ut 10 dy; but l showed them
packet Of cigars, and made signs that wish
+ Cd 10 present these 70 them When they under
stood this they drew up II "a line ike soldiers
On parade; Il was the signal that might aP-
Proach. We did 50, cigars IN hand, and, CON-
melcl1g 1t one extremity OF the line. I distribu-
ted ny gift Il was very important 10 make
friends o1 them and, according u their usages,
70 give 10 each equal part The distribution
over. Cur alliance was complete; the savages had
nothing more 10 fear from Us, nor We from them
They al began smoking. A deer was hanging
fE9m a tree; the chief took bamboo knife and
cut OF three large pieces Of venison, threw them
into the glowing eubers. and, a minute after
wards withdrew them and presented piece 70
each Of rs. The oatside Of this savage carbo-
nado was rather burnt and ashy, the inside quite
raw and bloody. Il would not do 70 snow re
Pugnance ny entertainers would have been
scaldalized, and l wished 10 I've with them for
q few days II harmony. 50 I ate ny BIT Of deer,
which, upon the whole, was not 80 very bad; ny
Indians followed ny example, and thence-for-
ward Lreachery was out Of the question.
NJ. de IA tJlr0nlere found Il very difficult 10
make himself understood but the next day he
tel IN with : woman who spoke the TaCal
tCngue- She acted as his interpreter; and from
her he obtained such Information as he desired
concerning the Ajetas- These people appeared
70 him 10 Ge far more Ike monkeys than human
beings; even their voices resem bling the cries
and Jab0erI1g Of the animal, whist their ges-
tures were monkey ali over. Their superiority
. consists II knowing how make a fire, and 10
use bow and lance Thsir eolgr Is the ebon
black Of The African negro: their utmost stature
hardly at1ai1ls five feet English, their hair Is
w0olly; and as they know not how 10 get rid Of
=, Il forms strange sort Of crown. OF halo
round their heads. Their features resemble
those Of the African blacks, but the lips are less
prominent Their sole dress Is a gIrG1e eight
/ or ten inches broad, made Of the bark Of trees.
They feed On roots, fruit, and the produce Of
The chase A bamboo lance, a palLl-ToOd bow.
and poisoned arrows, are Jbesr weapons. They
eat their meat nearly raw, and I've IN groups or
. tribes composed Of hfry OF sixty persons Du-
ring the day the old people the inva-
lids, and children sit around Une fire. whilst the
Others 20 huHtIng- when they have enough food
70 last Tor some days. Ihey al remain round the
fire ana 81 night they sleep pr0nIscuOusly II
the ashes. 1t Is extremely curious 10 see thus
assembled some fifty Of these brutes, Of all ages,
and ali more or lezs def0rneI. The old women
are especially Eideous their decrepiT limbs
their pgt-5el-I5s. and their sx1raordIuary hair.
giving them the Appearance Of fGrIes or witch
. es. Nothing human can possibly be more de-
graded than these Ajetaz- They have no
religion they neither worship sun nor stars
nor boE before permanent IDOLS. but adore for
the day any rock tree trunk II which they
+ trace resemblance TO an animal Their Ian
guage has very few words their children take
Tor sole name that Of the place where they are
born They have great respect for old age, and
and for the dead For years after the decease
Of one Of them, they place tobacco and betel-nur
{ upon his grave, above which his bow and arrows
are suspended Every night-so they believe
. he quits his grave 70 90 a-huuting. They have no
+ funeral ceremony. They lay the corpse 81 full
length N the grave, and cover i with earth But
when an Ajetas Is III Of a nalady deemed incu-
rable, or has. been slightly wounded with a poi
soned arrow. his friends place him n large
hole, his arms crossed upon his breast. and bury
him alive. All the weapons Of the Ajetas are
poisoned a wound from one Of their arrows
wuuld suffice 70 check the career Of so strong
an animal as the stag. But the least scratch OF
the poisoned dart produces an unquenehable
thirst, and as soon the animal drinks he dies.
The hunters then cat away the flesh from around
the gOund, fer otherwise the whole earcase would
! quickly acquire 50 intensely bitter flavor that
+ even the 4jetas mot very dainty feeders) could
not eat II When IN SUInatra, II. de IA GIron-
iere had investigated the nature Of the poison
used by the MaIays for their arms, and had
found Il TO be simply q strong solution OF arse
Elc II leaOn-juice. he was curious 70 know " nat
the a Jstas used They took him 10 4 large tree,
tore on d bit of the bark, and told hrZn that was
what served them Ior poison He chewed some IN
+ their presence; II was Insupportably bitter, but
\ otherwise harmless IN rs natural state. To rem
der Il fatal the AJectas prepare 1t n particular
way, bat they would not communicate their Sc
Cret. Il forms paste, Of which they spread
thin coat upon their arms. NJ de Ia GIrouiere
had painful experience Of It's powerful and per
nici0us effect On quitting tAe Aietas, who had
+ treated him Hospitality, and TO the best Of their
ability. he took II into his head 10 carry away
with him one CT their skeletons which he thought
would be an acceptable present 20 the JaFdIH
: des Pgaztss, or anatomical museum at Paris 1t
was rather a dangerous undertaking, owing to
4 the sazaces7 Tenerati0n for their dead; and he
had little quarter TO expect If caught body
snatehing Undeterred by this risk, he had got
/ but a quarter Of a league from the camp. when
he commenced opening some old graves The
! first skeletons he got TO were mo1lderea, bui
I towards evening he met with that OF a woman,
/ who, from her attitude had evidently been bur
led alive. Her bones were still covered with the
! skin she Vas q sert Of mummy, and exactly