St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-04-08
sAvAGEs OF PHILIPPINES.

| SAvAGES OF PHILIPPINES.
Various Tribes Of Natives Who Are
Blood-Thirsty and Difficult
to Cope With.
The ElOngotes, inhabiting Principe
province, are q cannibal tribe, writes
L. NJ. Murphy, OF Company C, Six
teenth infantry. who has had an in
teresting experience with them. When
he came in sight Of their village, he
says, his appearance frightened the
natives, who Immediately ran for the
thick brush that circled the clearing.
There they remained, watching him
furtively, and wondering what sort OF
a creature he might be.
Night came on and hunger forced
| the unwelcome guest to look about
I, for food. His unwilling hosts resented
this and approached cautiously. The
| chief came closer than the rest and
accepted Murphy's signs of friendship
He donned their garb and Remained
in their country some time, gathering
curios and taking pictures These peo-
pie have associated with neighboring
tribes enough to have learned some
thing about the value of mney Muir
ply relates how he at first did not
understand to what extent their
knowledge went. Ii he was bargain
ing for fine specimen of a head
knife" full of notches, which indicate
how many heads it's owner has hung
under his matched roof, he would
offer several pieces of coin. Later he
learned better. To these savages 4
coin is coin, and one of considera-
able value is worth no more to them
than a smaller piece. After that his
trophies cost him less.
While many of these tribes have un-
doubted courage, they do battle in a
singularly cowardly manner. A war;
rior will lie in wait at the side of a
trail, hiding in the thick bushes, for
days. When the rival tribasman ap-
pears. he hurls long spear or lance
at him. II his aim is good the dead
mans head is promptly deposited ia
the head basket" and carried 10 lis
rattan hut in triumph.
These constant wars beween neigh
boring tribesmen have had their effect
ON the population. The Long Haired
Negritos," which was formerly a nu-
merUus people on Lrzon. now number |
less than 300. The feuds are largely |
the result, strangely enough, of a So
cial custom. VIXEN young man |
wishes to marry some young maiden Of |
the tribe he first has TO gain tie con-
sent of the parents. If he is not es-
tablished as a warrior, he is told to go |
and secure a head. This of course |
keeps the feuds alive, because he will |
certainly not present himself to the
parents of his chosen one till he has q
CORY head in his head basket" The
skulls of victims are placed above the
entrance of the warriors hut II the
successful warrior belongs to the
Elongote tribe feast follows his VIC
tory An interesting item which T1ur-
ply stated as actually true is that the
victim is devoured entirely There Is
nothing left uneaten but the bones
Tile most sava@e and barborous
tribe ON the island is, Murphy says,
The 1fugOas, on Luzon. At tho same
time, 1t is the most Industrious 1t is
his tribe which cultivates the won
1erful 1fugoa rice field, which is ter-
faced out of a mountain to the height
if 5000 feet. The fiat, step-like areas
being sown with rice. In this tribe, II
! girl is suspected of immortality she
s Immediately beheaded If she runs
lWay and marries a warrior without
he consent of her parents, the guilty
nan is beheaded. 49," said Murphy,
you see, even with their savagery
hey have some definite ideas OF moral
ty."
The marriage ceremony is simplicity
Itself. Unaccus:omed clothes are worn
or the occasion. The bride AMI groom
tand beside each other white tom
ums beat. They keep step to the
Measure and parade through the
treets Of the village to show that they
re now husband and wife. If the
ext collection of huts is near by,
hey march through that place as
veil. That is their newspaper notice,
nd constitutes all the ceremony
here lis.
The Elongote burial service is equal {
Y simple The corpse is deposited out
lde of the family hut, in tomb above
round, which is then sealed. When :
mother death occurs in the same fam. D
y the tomb is reopened If sufficient
me has elapsed to make the plan :
easible, the remains of the prior ten
Mt are placed in sack and hung on
lie walls of the hut.
A most interesting people which q
[urphy also visited were those of
le Isabella tribe, as they are called. a
hey formerly lived in huts made in T.
lie branches of trees. As there were
D firearms among their rival tribes.
lis people had safe retreat in t11efr
'boreal homes. At night they would
limb into their "home-tree" by means -
notched pole; then they would :
'aw pole up. During the first I
,ar of the instruction, Aguinaldo i
I'VE their nefghboring foes. the Alsa- =