The National tribune., 1898-07-21
ADVENTURES
IN THE
PHILIPPINES
BY PAUL P. DE LA GIRONIERE,
Chevalier Of the Order of the Legion of Honor.

and compassionate to that internal race.
You, who pursue and prosecute the ban
ditti, who are a hundred times better than
these wretches are and who are Chris
tians besides"
DEFENDING THE BRIGANDs.
WHAT" cried j; "brigands, robbers, and
assassins better than poor primitive
beings, who have no one to guide and
conduct them to the path of virtue!'
"Oh, masterr' replied my Lieutenant,
and most sententiously this time; "oh,
the brigands as it plcases you to call
them, are in nowise what you think them.
he takes away life it is only when he is
compelled, in defense Of his own, and If
he do kill, why, it is always de bon cpur. "
"Ohi ohi' said J.; land the robberies-
how do you explain them"
III he rob, why, it is only to get pos
session of little of the superiority of the
rich, and that he divides among the poor
that's all. Now, master, do you knew
what use the Tulisan makes of his plum
der? Well, he keeps nothing of it for
himself; in the first place, he gives a part
OF 1t to the priest, to have masses said for
him.
And then he gives another part of it to
his mistress, or bonnie annie, because he
loves her, and likes to see her finely
dressed out; and as for the remainder,
why, faith. he spends it among his friends.
You may therefore see master, that the
Tulisan possesses himself of the super
fluffy of one person to satisfy several
other persons with it. Obi but he is far
very far indeed, from being so wicked as
those savages, who kill you without say
ing word to you, and then eat up your
brains-fei' And here Alila heaved a
deep sigh, for the brain feast was ever
present to his mind. His conversation Sc
interested me, his system was so curious
and he himself so frank in drawing it out
that l almost forgot the Igorrots in listen
ing to him.
We pursued our road through the wood
keeping as much as possible to the south
i'll order to get near the Province of Ba
tangas, where l was to meet my poo
patient, who no doubt was very uneas,
about my long absence. When started
SAID not word about my project, and hat
| done SO it is most likely should have
been thought as no longer belonging (,
this world. The recollection of my wife
| whom l had left at Manila, and who wa.
far from suppOsing me to be among tn
| Igorrots, inspired me with the most anxi
Ous desire of returning home to my famiI.
as quick as possible.
THE GREAT FIG-TREE.
| Absorbed in my thoughts, and carrie
away by my reflections, | walked SILENT
along, without even casting glance upo
the luxuriant vegetation all around US.
must indeed have been very much pre-
occupied, for virgin forest between tn
tropics, and particularly in the Philippin
Islands, is in nowise to be compared wit
our European forests. was aroused froT
my pensiveness, and recalled to the re
membrance OF my whereabouts, by tn
noise of a torrent, and l gratefully ad
mired nature in her gigantic productions
| l looked up, and before me / perceive
an immense balete, an extraordinary fie
tree, that thrives in the somber an
mysterious forests of the Philippines, an
| / stopped to admire il. This immens
tree springs from seed similar to TIN
seed of the ordinary fig-tree; it's wood i
white and spOngy, and in a few years
grows to an extraordinary size. Natur
! has shown herself in all her genius in til
| fig-tree of the Philippine Islands, whic
grows SO rapidly and SO immensely. TIL
branches of this tree generally sprin
from the base Of the trunk; they extern
| themselves horizontally, and, after form
4 ing an elbow or curve, rise up perpen
dicularly; but, as I said before, the tire
is spongy, and easily broken, and tn
branch, while forming the curve, woul
inevitably be broken, did not a Hgamen
which the Indians call drop of water
goutte d'eau-fall from the tree and tax