Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-02-11
A NeSrito

clad In nothing more than gee string
who are pounding on gongs the handles
OF which are the jaws Of the human
beings they have probably killed. The
teeth in the jaws are plainly visible
There are some of thess head hunters
today, but the American governors Of
tho tribes write that the custom has been
almost wiped out. During 1911 there were
no heads taken by the Ifugaos. and very
few among the Igorrotes or Kalingas.
Lieutenant Governor Hale was warned
that he would lose his head II he visited
one OF the Kallnga settlements. He went,
nevertheless. His head Is still on.
In the Mountain Province.
It Is right in this region Of head hunters
and others that the government has now
organized what is known as. the mountain
province Of northern LuEon. That coun-
try Is as big as Massachusetts, and Con-
necticut combined. and II Is Inhabited by
Wild or mi-civilized peoples. II has,
altogether. about 10000, many OF whom
have been head hunters. and practically
all OF whom are the descendants OF head
hunters '.- -..
The province has a governor, who lives
at the capital, which IL Bontoc. and 1t
has seven lieutenant governors, one over
each OF the subpruvinces into which the
mountain province has been divided.
b In this region there are five great
tribes, all OF which live In villages and
have more or less civilization. Many of
them have been semi-civiiiEed In the past,
only the wilder ones being hsad hunters.
Take the Tingyans. OF whom there are
perhaps 10000. They are farmers living
In villages. They have a religion OF their
own, one part Of which is a belief in
spirits who are always lowering around
them and affecting every act Of their
lives. The Tingyans sacrifice pigs and
chickens to these spirits.
Another big tribe is the Kalingss, who
in the past have been famous as head
hunters. They have axes made for chop
ping off the head at blow. and shields
for defense. Some Of them live In the
trees and they are expert raftsrnen and
make their way TO and fro as far as
possible by water. ...4H#
ness with the Kalingas, one OF the cere-
monies being the taking out Of the brains
and eating them. The chiefs OF these
head hunters are now cooperating with
the American lieutenant governor. They
have settled In villages and are beginning
10 farm.
The Ifugaos and Their Rice Fields.
Every one in the United States has
heard Of the Igorrotes, some OF whom
were seen at the st. Louis exposition
They have a number OF tribes in northern
LuZon. and, Notwithstanding their head
hunting. have had a high degree Of civili-
nation. They have farms and grow. coffee
and rice and raise stock. From reports
which have recently cUme from Dr..
Merton Miller and other ethnologists Of
the bureau Of science at Manila learn
that these people are rapidly improving
They are beginning to send their children
TO school. and hundreds OF little Igorrote
boys, clad In nothing but a cap. jacket
and a string around the waist, may be
seen trudging along with books in their
arms
savages who Are worth $3.50.
The same is true OF the fugaos, an
other agricultural people. The Ifugaos
have rice fields which are faced with
stone walls. The walls are built to hold
back the earth and in some places they
are forty feet high. These TERRACES rise
up the hills like gigantic stsirways, run
ming hundreds and sometimes thousands
Of feet over the rivers where they begin.
In each little terrace rice grows. and the
land is so valuable that the people are
among the richest semi-savages Of the
world. --r
Their wealth is said to be about q. 900,
ooa American dollars or S59 per capita.
The Ifugaos have their own religion
and their own priests. They think the
world is divided into six regions, all OF
which are inhabited by both spirits and
human beings. At first they were much
afraid Of the Americans and looked upon
them as magicians. One time a party Of
them came to Manila and Dean wor-
cester gave each Of them a piece Of fec
and told them that in America water
became like that in winter The men
handled the Ice and one said he was
going 10 take his piece home and show