Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-19

A NEGRITO AND ON
shells about the neck and a waist strip of
cotton which extends to the knees. The
men have only string and breech cloth.
l can't say that / like the looks of these
people. They have very thin legs and very
full stomachs, possessing what is known IN
Porto Rico as the banana belly" an en-
largement Of the abdomen which comes
from their diet. Their food is roots and
wild fruits, especially wild bananas, and
also such game as they can find in the
mountains. They have no settled FARMS
although we pass now and then a little
patch of rice or Indian corn. Such patches
are not bigger than bed quilts and they
are found in natural clearingS. The Negri-
tos merely scratch the surface of the
ground and sow the seed, taking up new
places year after year.
The Hunters of the Philippines.
The Negritos are good hunters and trap
pers. They catch many deer and wild hog.
/ saw several deer traps on our way
through the mountains. One which we
passed this morning was merely a long
bamboo pole fastened to the trees across a
path down which the deer came to a
drinking place at stream. The pole had
loops of rattan so hung from 1t that when
a deer ran under 1t the horns would catch
in the loops. The loops had a slip moose
and held him until the Negritos who were
watching could spear or shoot him while
so entangled. In places there are long
rows of these traps. They must be of
value, although 1t would seem that the
deer could easily pull loose.
1 am told that the Negritos are excellent
archers. General Fred Grant has a large
collection of their bows and arrows, gath
cred from different parts of these noun
tains. The bows are of black hard wood,
and the strings are Of twisted rattan; the
arrow shafts are Of bamboo and the arrow
heads are Of iron with needle-like points
and so barbed just above where they join
the wood that it is impossible to pull them
out. Some have detachable heads fastened
by strings to the shafts. When an animal
Is wounded the arrow head stays in the
mesh, held there by the harpoon-like barbs,
and the shaft flies Off and drags along the
ground. catching on every obstruction and
impeding the flight Of the animal.
They Are Cave Dwellers.
I am disappointed in not seeing more Ne
grito houses. 1 learn that most Of the pyg-
mics live in caves, although they now and
then build up little shelters or sheds made
of grasses and bamboo poles. These sheds
seem to be for temporary use. A Negrito
car erect one in couple Of hours, and so
he leaves it at will. They wander about
from place to place, sleeping where night
overtakes them, and not caring for perma-
nent habitation. They have little clothing
or other belongings. and the woman can
easily carry the household utensils, which
consist of but few cups and shells. Out
side some of the huts you can see the re-
mains of the cooking. The stove consists Of
three stones placed In the shape of TRAN
gle SO that a pot can rest upon them over
the Goals. The people eat with their fin
gers and drink from the streams.
Religion and Marriage.
hear that the savage Negritos in all
parts Of the island are afraid Of white peo-
pie and that they will run at their ap-
proach. For this reason little is known Of
their customs. Those used as slaves are
captured so young that they can tell but
little about their own people. The race Is
apparently as weak intellectually as 1t is
physically. They are heather, and so far
missionaries have made no impression upon
them.
, The average Negrito has but one wife,
although he may have female slaves hav-
ing adopted as such the widows of his de-
ceased friends or female relatives Mar
riages take place at an early age, and
girls are usually welded by the time they
are thirteen. In the marriage ceremony
the groom catches the bride and drags her
to her parents, telling them he wants to
marry her. If the old folks consent. a
cocoanut shell Of water is poured over the
couple, their woolly heads are pressed to-
gether and from that time on they are
man and wife. Whether the bride gets
new wedding waist cloth I do not know,
but | am told that the two always go off
by themselves on a trip through the woods
during the honeymoon. This lasts for five
days. Then they come back and live with
the rest of the tribe.
In the Zambales Mountains.
I am now travelling through the Fam
bales mountains with Gen. Fred Grant and
his staff. We have a guard of fifty of the
brigade scouts under Lieut.. Frank s. Burr.
General Grant is making tour of inspec-
ton Of his military posts. which are scat
tered over large part of the central val
ley of Luzon and through the mountains
as far south as Manila bay. The tour will
last week and it will include some of the
widest country of Luzon.
We are travelling on horseback. and at
this moment are at Calang In the very
heart of the mountains. Here our soldiers
have a camp which is as pristine as the
habitation Of Robinson Crusoe. The tents
are little structures of hay and bamboo
just large enough for the soldiers to crawl
into them. They are hidden by the high
grass, and troop Of insurrectos might
stumble upon them without knowing It.
There are about fifty soldiers in the camp.
but the mountains are full of brigands and
the men are allowed to go nowhere without
their guns. There is a swimming pool
nearby, but the swimmers do not get far
away from the bank where their guns lie
and while they are in bathing other sol,
diers watch with loaded rifles.
Campaigning the Mountains.
I had no idea what campaigning In Luzon
meant until came into the mountains.
have never visited country so rugged, SO
wild and so dangerous. Our trail here was
over hills so steep that the horses almost
fell backward as they tried to mount them
and so steep that we had to get of and
walk while going down. In some places 1t
seemed like climbing down the side of a
wall, and the horses Strengthened out their
feet and slid. The foothills Of the noun
tains are covered with a wiry grass from
ten to twelve feet high. My horse Is over
sixteen hands and my head Is entirely hid
den as I ride through these regions.
cannot see the oficers in front OF OF be-
hind me. and I have to hold my arms be-
ting me. Much Of the trail has been
chopped out OF the Jungle along the bed
of the streams. 1t was made by the rebels
a. %hoA -