The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1900-12-06

slough at various places. As reminder
like that makes the cold. shivers run up
ones spine every time he strikes his foot
against Il sunken log, | swan back to the
boat and we started ahead.
Two days later we reached the great
Hacienda de Santa Isabel, where one of
the tobacco companies 0Knsdan immense
tract of land with 1000 employees, run
like Il manor in the days of fcudaliSm.
Mendez introduced us to the Spaniards,
who insisted upon our staying to the fiesta
i'll honor of the patrOneSs of the estate,
Santa Isabel. So the boat was sent ahead
to llagan, TO be Oycrtaken by an overland
trip.
This was the most interesting place on
the whole river. The administrator, Senior
Crespo, had built pavilion costing 5000
for quarters for the garrison of IL men
under Sergt. Sloan, who is one of the old
soldiers, and has three sears as melnentoes
of the MauScrS at Santiago. The detach-
ment was so pleasantly located that he
preserved perfect discipline by sending any
man who misbehaved back to his company.
AS at most places in the valley, the nhab-
ltants of the towns We're perfectly peace
full, but the gangs of ladrOnes i'll the woods
gave some trouble; and there are bands of
CalingOS in the mountains of that neigh
borhOod. These are the fercest of the
mountain savages, their profession being
head hunting. No young man can get
married until he has deposited i've heads
of Christian natives with the chief, and a
white mans head is worth five brown ones
but fortunately they are deathly afraid of
firearms.
One night several weeks before, during
a dance, an alarm had come in from a
corral several miles away. The Sergeant
and seven men saddled their ponies, over
took a gang of Calingos who had raided
a caribao corral, killed six of them, came
back and hung the captured shields and
bolos on the walls as trophies, and went
on with the dance. Some prisoners cap
tured in the same fight were sent up to
Ilagan, where Lieut.. SOrley gently eX-
planned to them that it was wrong to steal
caribaoS and human heads, and that if
they did it any more he would send some
soldiers up into the mountains to EXTERN
mate their tribe. They were sent back to
their jungle, and have been good Indians
ever since, even carrying messages upon
several occasions across the mountains to
officers in the next valley.
There was a grand bale that night,
more elaborate than the one at Cabagan,
and lasting nearly the whole night, all the
villagers from the plantation being pres
ent. A number of characteristic native
dances were exhibited, in one of which
native used one of the bowls i'll which they
pound rice. This is log as large as a
small flour barrel, with a hollow in one
end, and the dancer juggled it while keep
ing step with the music, balancing IT on
his head and ON the back Of his neck.
Another event was by two Calingos with
shields and war bolos. They circled
around each other, executing graceful
moulinets and motions like fencing salutes
sometimes cutting at the floor dangerously
near each others bare feet. The crown
ing event was that of two Moros, each
with n dagger in the left hand and knife
in the right. They went ut each other
like two game cocks, and became so ex-
cited that their faces assumed an express
sion of wild ferOcity, and their eyes bulged
out like wild boar's. The air was filled
with glittering steel, and Crespo, who was
acting as referee, said that there was dan
ger Of their killing each other, and was
compelled repeatedly to jump in and make
them break away.
A MORO COLONY.
These Moros belong to a colony that
was deported from Mindanao by the Span
iards 40 years ago, and placed in Santa
Isabel. The old chief made an eloquent
appeal to me, asking that the Americans
send his tribe back to their island, but |
tried to discourage the idea, as | knew
that they had been peaceful and indus
trious citizens during their sojourn in LII
zon, while down in the southern islands
take care of without importing any.
They are good Musselmans, and ex-
cused themselves from dinner on account
of the lard used in cooking; but | noticed
that the regulation in the Koran forbid
ding the use Of liquor was suspended for
that day. DIR. Skinner took many photo
graphs, and found them all glad to pose,
but all were disappointed because he
would not open the camera and show
them the mixtures at once,
There was an elaborate dinner with 80
persons at our table. Doc and l, with
the priest, sat at the head, with a dozen
native girls next, and then Spaniards, ma
tives, officials and soldiers. As the girls
did not speak any white mans language,
had to use the padre for Interpreter, and
did not make much progress. After din
ner, the ladies stayed with the rest, and L
very gracefully helped those within reach
to light their cigars. | proposed a toast,
in purest Castillian, of course, to Santa
Isabel, whose day we We're celebrating,
and TO Crespo and our other hosts; and.
addressed few remarks to MendeZ, who
occupied the other end of the table, and
was too happy over the Andalusian wine
to reply even i'll his own language.
At 3 p. m. we had to quit the fiesta and
start for Ilagan. A party of 10 Spaniards
and natives was formed to accompany us,
and as it was a pleasant cloudy afternoon,
and they gave us the best PONIES III tne
province, the ride was the single pleasant
feature of the long journey. a gugu gal
Hoped ahead, ostensibly as guide, but really
as sounder of mud holes and bait for am
buscades. The trail led over the prairie
through grass 10 feet high. There were
many gullies with precipitous slopes of ~
feet or more, and the ponies, instead of
sitting on their launches and sliding like
American horses, insisted upon going down
at q galop, so that there were some eX-
citing times. At one rocky place my pony
took header, and while describing n ira
jectOry of about five PAGES, had time to
hope that my revolver would not go off
when | struck. AS | landed in the man
ner we learned in the riding hall at West
Point, the only injury was parked face
for the pony.
The usual way of crossing the river
when unfordable is on n bamboo raft towed
by a caribaO, native holding on to the
animals TAIL but at Ilagan we were fer
ried across in style on catamaran formed
by a bamboo platform on two dugouts.
Ennis, Stone and others of the 10th are
stationed at Ilagan, and as vacant plates
and cots are kept ready for travelers we
were at home that night. Mehdez's panga
had become so leaky Tat no\amount of
bailing would keep it ahoat, sd we trans
ferred to one of the crowded >barangayanes
and had a two hours rOy trying to make
them start Finally thes soldiers cast off
the lines and l pulled 1he last mooring
stake out of the mud md. told the pilot,
grasping the stake likeea baseball bat,
that if he did not movethis boat up that
river / would knock him oyey the center