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diff --git a/30347-0.txt b/30347-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..38c773a --- /dev/null +++ b/30347-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8014 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30347 *** + + Adventures + in the + Philippine Islands. + + + Translated from the French of + + Paul P. de la Gironiere, + + Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honour. + + + Revised and extended by the author, + Expressly for this edition. + + London: Charles H. Clarke, 13, Paternoster Row. + + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +On hearing a recital of some adventures which had occurred to me +during my long voyages, many of my friends have frequently begged of +me to publish a narrative of them, which might perhaps be interesting. + +"Nothing can be more easy for you," they said, "as you have always +kept a journal since your departure from France." + +I hesitated, however, to follow their advice, or to yield to their +wishes, when I was one day surprised to see my name in one of the +feuilletons in the "Constitutionnel." + +M. Alexandre Dumas was publishing, under the title of "The +Thousand-and-One Phantoms," a romance, one of the principal personages +of which, in a voyage to the Philippine Islands, must have known me +when I was residing at Jala-Jala, in the colony that I founded there. + +It must be evident that the lively romancist has ranked me in the +category of his Thousand-and-One Phantoms; but, to prove to the public +that I am really in existence, I have resolved to take up the pen, +under an impression, that facts of the most scrupulous veracity, +and which can be attested by some hundreds of persons, might possess +some interest, and be read without ennui, by those especially who +are desirous of learning the customs of the savage tribes amongst +whom I have resided. + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + A Family Sketch--My Youthful Days--I Study for the Medical + Profession--Obtain a Naval Surgeon's Diploma--Early Voyages--Sail + for Manilla in the Cultivateur--Adventurous Habits--Cholera and + Massacre at Manilla and Cavite--Captain Drouant's Rescue--Personal + Dangers and Timely Escapes--How Business may make Friends of + one's Enemies--An Unprincipled Captain--Tranquility restored at + Manila--Pleasures of the Chase--The Cultivateur sails without + me--First Embarrassments. + + +My father was born at Nantes, and held the rank of captain in the +regiment of Auvergne. The Revolution caused him the loss of his +commission and his fortune, and left him, as sole remaining resource, +a little property called La Planche, belonging to my mother, and +situated about two leagues from Nantes, in the parish of Vertoux. + +At the commencement of the Empire he wished to enter the service again; +but at that period his name was an obstacle, and he failed in every +attempt to obtain even the rank of lieutenant. With scarcely the means +of existence, he retired to La Planche with his family. There he lived +for some years, suffering the grief and the many annoyances caused +by the sudden change from opulence to want, and by the impossibility +of supplying all the requirements of his numerous family. A short +illness terminated his distressed existence, and his mortal remains +were deposited in the cemetery of Vertoux. My mother, a pattern +of courage and devotedness, remained a widow, with six children, +two girls and four boys; she continued to reside in the country, +imparting to us the first elements of instruction. + +The free life of the fields, and the athletic exercises to which +my elder brothers and I accustomed ourselves, tended to make me +hardy, and rendered me capable of enduring every kind of fatigue +and privation. This country life, with its liberty, and I may well +say its happiness, passed too quickly away; and the period soon came +when my education compelled me to pursue my daily studies in a school +at Nantes. I had four leagues to walk, but I trudged the distance +light-heartedly, and at night, when I returned home, I ever found +awaiting me the kind solicitude of our dear mother, and the attentive +cares of two sisters whom I tenderly loved. + +It was decided that I should enter the medical profession. I studied +several years at the Hôtel-Dieu of Nantes, and I passed my examination +for naval surgeon at an age when many a young man is shut up within +the four walls of a college, still prosecuting his studies. + +It would be difficult to form any idea of my joy when I saw myself in +possession of my surgeon's diploma. Thenceforward I regarded myself +as an important being, about to take my place among reasonable and +industrious men; and what perhaps rendered me still more joyous was, +that I could earn my own livelihood, and contribute to the comfort +of my mother and my sisters. + +I was also seized with a strong desire to travel abroad, and make +myself acquainted with foreign countries. + +Twenty-four hours after my nomination as surgeon I went and offered +my services to a ship-owner who was about freighting a vessel to the +East Indies. We were not long in arranging terms, and, at forty francs +per month, I engaged myself for the voyage. + +Within twelve months afterwards I returned home. Who can depict the +sweet emotions which, as a young man, I felt on again beholding my +native land? I stayed a month on shore, surrounded by the affectionate +attentions of my mother and sisters. Despite their assiduities I was +seized with ennui. I made a second and a third voyage; then, after +having rounded the Cape of Good Hope half-a-dozen times, I undertook +one which separated me from my country during twenty years. + +On the 9th October, 1819, I embarked on board the Cultivateur, +an old half-rotten three-masted vessel, commanded by an equally old +captain, who, long ashore, had given up navigating for many years. An +old captain with an old ship! Such were the conditions in which I +undertook this voyage. I ought, however, to add, that I obtained an +increase of pay. + +We touched at Bourbon; we ran along the entire coast of Sumatra, +a part of Java, the isles of Sonde, and that of Banca; and at last, +towards the end of May, eight months after our departure from Nantes, +we arrived in the magnificent bay of Manilla. + +The Cultivateur anchored near the little town of Cavite. I obtained +leave to reside on shore, and took lodgings in Cavite, which is +situate about five or six leagues from Manilla. + +To make up for my long inactivity on board ship, I eagerly engaged in +my favourite exercises, exploring the country in all directions with my +gun upon my shoulder. Taking for a guide the first Indian whom I met, +I made long excursions, less occupied in shooting than in admiring the +magnificent scenery. I knew a little Spanish, and soon acquired a few +Tagaloc words. Whether it was for excitement's sake, or from a vague +desire of braving danger, I know not, but I was particularly fond of +wandering in remote places, said to be frequented by robbers. With +these I occasionally fell in, but the sight of my gun kept them in +check. I may say, with truth, that at that period of my life I had so +little sense of danger, that I was always ready to put myself forward +when there was an enemy to fight or a peril to be encountered. + +I had only resided a short time at Cavite when that terrible scourge, +the cholera, broke out at Manilla, in September, 1820, and quickly +ravaged the whole island. Within a few days of its first appearance +the epidemic spread rapidly; the Indians succumbed by thousands; at +all hours of the day and of the night the streets were crowded with +the dead-carts. Next to the fright occasioned by the epidemic, quickly +succeeded rage and despair. The Indians said, one to another, that the +strangers poisoned the rivers and the fountains, in order to destroy +the native population and possess themselves of the Philippines. + +On the 9th October, 1820, the anniversary of my departure from France, +a dreadful massacre commenced at Manilla and at Cavite. Poor Dibard, +the captain of the Cultivateur, was one of the first victims. Almost +all the French who resided at Manilla were slain, and their houses +pillaged and destroyed. The carnage only ceased when there were no +longer any victims. One eye-witness escaped this butchery, namely, +M. Gautrin, a captain of the merchant service, who, at the moment I +am writing, happens to be residing in Paris. He saved his life by his +courage and his muscular strength. After seeing one of his friends +mercilessly cut to pieces, he precipitated himself into the midst +of the assassins, with no other means of defence than his fists. He +succeeded in fighting his way through the crowd, but shortly afterwards +fell exhausted, having received three sabre-cuts upon his head, and a +lance-thrust in his body. Fortunately, some soldiers happened to pass +by at the time, who picked him up and carried him to a guard-house, +where his wounds were quickly attended to. + +I myself was dodged about Cavite, but I contrived to escape, and +to reach a pirogue, into which I jumped, and took refuge on board +the Cultivateur. I had scarcely been there ten minutes when I was +requested to attend the mate of an American vessel, who had just +been stabbed on board his ship by some custom-house guards. When I +had finished dressing the wound, several officers, belonging to the +different French vessels lying in the bay, acquainted me that one +of their brethren, Captain Drouant, of Marseilles, was still ashore, +and that there might yet be time to save him. There was not a moment +to lose; night was approaching, and it was necessary to profit by the +last half-hour of daylight. I set off in a cutter, and, on nearing +the land, I directed my men to keep the boat afloat, in order to +prevent a surprise on the part of the Indians, but yet to hug the +shore sufficiently close to land promptly, in case the captain or +myself signaled them. I then quickly set about searching for Drouant. + +On reaching a small square, called Puerta Baga, I observed a group +of three or four hundred Indians. I had a presentiment that it was +in that direction I ought to prosecute my search. I approached, and +beheld the unfortunate Drouant, pale as a corpse. A furious Indian was +on the point of plunging his kreese into his breast. I threw myself +between the captain and the poignard, violently pushing on either +side the murderer and his victim, so as to separate them. "Run!" I +cried in French; "a boat awaits you." So great was the stupefaction +of the Indians that the captain escaped unpursued. + +It was now time for me to get out of the dangerous situation in which +I was involved. Four hundred Indians surrounded me; the only way of +dealing with them was by audacity. I said in Tagaloc to the Indian who +had attempted to stab the captain: "You are a scoundrel." The Indian +sprang towards me; he raised his arm: I struck him on the head with a +cane which I held in my hand; he waited in astonishment for a moment, +and then returned towards his companions to excite them. Daggers +were drawn on every side; the crowd formed a circle around me, which +gradually concentrated. Mysterious influence of the white man over his +coloured brother! Of all these four hundred Indians, not one dared +attack me the first; they all wished to strike together. Suddenly a +native soldier, armed with a musket, broke through the crowd; he struck +down my adversary, took away his dagger, and holding his musket by the +bayonet end, he swung it round and round his head, thus enlarging the +circle at first, and then dispersing a portion of my enemies. "Fly, +sir!" said my liberator; "now that I am here, no one will touch a +hair of your head." In fact the crowd divided, and left me a free +passage. I was saved, without knowing by whom, or for what reason, +until the native soldier called after me: "You attended my wife who +was sick, and you never asked payment of me. I now settle my debt." + +As Captain Drouant had doubtless gone off in the cutter, it was +impossible for me to return on board the Cultivateur. I directed +my steps towards my lodgings, creeping along the walls, and taking +advantage of the obscurity, when, on turning the corner of a street, +I fell into the midst of a band of dockyard workmen, armed with axes, +and about to proceed to the attack of the French vessels then in +harbour. Here again I owed my preservation to an acquaintance, to whom +I had rendered some service in the practice of my profession. A Métis, +or half-breed, who had quickly pushed me into the entry of a house, +and covered me with his body, said: "Stir not, Doctor Pablo!" [1] When +the crowd had dispersed, my protector advised me to conceal myself, +and, above all, not to go on board; he then started off to rejoin +his comrades. But all was not yet over. I had scarcely entered my +lodgings when I heard a knocking at the door. + +"Doctor Pablo," said a voice, which was not unknown to me. + +I opened, and I saw, as pale as death, a Chinese, who kept a tea-store +on the ground-floor of the same house. + +"What's the matter, Yang-Po?" + +"Save yourself, Doctor!" + +"And wherefore?" + +"Because the Indians will attack you this very night; they have +decided upon it!" + +"Is it not your apprehension on account of your shop, Yang-Po?" + +"Oh, no! do not treat this matter lightly. If you remain here you +are doomed; you have struck an Indian, and his friends cry aloud +for vengeance." + +The fears of Yang-Po were, I saw, too well-founded; but what could +I do? To shut my door and await was the safest plan. + +"Thank you," said I to the Chinese; "thank you for your kind advice, +but I shall remain here." + +"Remain here, Signor Doctor! Can you think of so doing?" + +"Now, Yang-Po, a service: go and say to these Indians that I have, +at their service, a brace of pistols and a double-barreled gun, +which I know how to use." + +The Chinese departed sighing deeply, from a notion that the attack +upon the Doctor might end in the pillage of his wares. I barricaded +my door with the furniture of the room; I then loaded my weapons, +and put out the lights. + +It was now eight o'clock in the evening. The least noise made me think +that the moment had arrived when Providence alone could save me. I was +so fatigued that, despite the anxiety natural to my position, I had +frequently to struggle against an inclination to sleep. Towards eleven +o'clock some one knocked at my door. I seized my pistols, and listened +attentively. At a second summons, I approached the door on tip-toe. + +"Who's there?" I demanded. + +A voice replied to me: "We come to save you. Lose not an instant. Get +out on the roof, and climb over to the other side, where we will +await you, in the street of the Campanario." Then two or three persons +descended the stairs rapidly. I had recognised the voice of a Métis, +whose good feelings on my behalf were beyond doubt. There was now +no time to be lost, for at the moment I got out of a window which +served to light the staircase, and led on to the roof, the Indians had +arrived in front of the house, and in a few minutes were breaking and +plundering the little I possessed. I quickly traversed the roof, and +descended into the street of the Campanario, where my new preservers +awaited me. They conducted me to their dwelling: there, a profound +sleep caused me quickly to forget the dangers I had passed through. + +The following day my friends prepared a small pirogue to convey me +on board the Cultivateur, where, apparently, I should be in greater +security than on shore. I was about to embark when one of my preservers +handed me a letter which he had just received. It was addressed to me, +and bore the signatures of all the captains whose vessels were lying in +the harbour, and it informed me that, seeing themselves exposed every +moment to an attack by the Indians, they were decided to raise anchor +and seek a wider offing; but that two among them, Drouant and Perroux, +had been compelled to leave on shore a portion of their possessions, +and all their sails and fresh water. They entreated me to lend them +my assistance, and had arranged that a skiff should be placed at my +command. I communicated this letter to my friends, and declared that +I would not return on board without endeavouring to satisfy the wishes +of my countrymen; it was a question of saving the lives of the crews of +two vessels, and hesitation was impossible. They used every effort to +shake my resolution. "If you show yourself in any part of the town," +said they, "you are lost; even supposing the Indians were not to kill +you, they would not fail to steal every object intrusted to them." I +remained immovable, and pointed out to them that it was a question of +honour and humanity. "Go alone, then!" exclaimed that Métis who had +contributed the most to my escape; "not one of us will follow you; +we would not have it said that we assisted in your destruction." + +I thanked my friends, and, after shaking hands with them, passed on +through the streets of Cavite, my pistols in my belt, and my thoughts +occupied as to the best means of extricating myself from my perilous +position. However, I already knew sufficient of the Indian character +to be aware that boldness would conciliate, rather than enrage them. I +went towards the same landing-place where once before I had escaped +a great danger. The shore was covered with Indians, watching the +ships at anchor. As I advanced, all turned their looks upon me; but, +as I had foreseen, the countenances of these men, whose feelings had +become calmed during the night that had intervened, expressed more +astonishment than anger. + +"Will you earn money?" I cried. "To those who work with me I will +give a dollar at the end of the day." + +A moment's silence followed this proposition; then one of them said: +"You do not fear us!" + +"Judge if I am alarmed," I replied, showing him my pistols; "with +these I could take two lives for one--the advantage is on my side." + +My words had a magical effect, and my questioner replied: + +"Put up your weapons; you have a brave heart, and deserve to be safe +amongst us. Speak! what do you require? We will follow you." I saw +these men, who but yesterday would have killed me, now willing to bear +me in triumph. I then explained to them that I wished to take some +articles which had been left on shore to my comrades, and to those who +assisted me in this object I would give the promised recompense. I told +the one who had addressed me to select two hundred men, nearly double +the number necessary; during the time he made up his party I signaled +a skiff to approach the shore, and wrote a few words in pencil, in +order that the boats from the French vessels might be in readiness +to receive the stores as soon as they were brought to the water's +edge. I then marched at the head of my Indian troop of two hundred +men, and by their aid the sails, provisions, biscuits, and wines, +were soon on board the boats. That which most embarrassed me was the +transport of a large sum of money belonging to Captain Drouant. If the +Indians had conceived the least suspicion of this wealth, they would no +longer have kept faith with me. I therefore determined to fill my own +pockets with the gold, and to traverse the distance between the house +and the boats as many times as was necessary to embark it. There, +concealed by the sailors, I deposited piece after piece as quietly +as possible. In carrying the sails belonging to Captain Perroux, a +circumstance occurred which might have been fatal to me. A few days +before the massacre, a French sailor, who was working as sail maker, +had died of the cholera. His alarmed companions wrapped the body in a +sail, and then hurried on board their ships. My Indians now discovered +the corpse, which was already in a state of putrefaction. Terrified +at first, their terror soon changed to fury; for an instant I feared +they would fall upon me. + +"Your friends," they cried, "have left this body here purposely, that +it might poison the air and increase the violence of the epidemic." + +"What! you are afraid of a poor devil dead of the cholera!" I said to +them, affecting to be as tranquil as possible; "never fear, I will +soon rid you of him;" and, despite the aversion I felt, I covered +the body with a small sail, and carried it down to the beach. There +I made a rude grave, in which I placed it; and two pieces of wood, +in the shape of a cross, for some days indicated the spot where lay +the unhappy one, who probably had no prayers save mine. + +It had been a busy and agitating day, but towards the evening I +finished my task, and everything was embarked. I paid the Indians, +and in addition gave them a barrel of spirits. + +I did not fear their intoxication, being the only Frenchman there, +and when it was dark I got into a boat, and towed a dozen casks of +fresh water at her stern. Since the previous day I had not eaten; +I felt worn out by fatigue and want of food, and threw myself down to +rest upon the seats of the boat. Ere long a mortal chilliness passed +through my veins, and I became insensible. In this state I remained +more than an hour. At last I reached the Cultivateur, and was taken +on board, and, by the aid of friction, brandy, and other remedies, +was restored to consciousness. Food and rest quickly renovated my +powers of mind and body, and the next day I was calm as usual among +my comrades. I thought of my personal position; the events of the two +last days made the review extremely simple. I had lost everything. A +small venture of merchandise, in which I invested the savings of +my previous voyages, had been intrusted to the captain for sale at +Manilla. These goods were destroyed, together with all I possessed, +at Cavite. There remained to me but the clothes I had on--a few old +things I could wear only on board ship--and thirty-two dollars. I +was but a little richer than Bias. Unfortunately I recollected +that an English captain--whose ship I had seen in the roads--owed me +something like a hundred dollars. In my present circumstances this sum +appeared a fortune. The captain in question, from fear of the Indians, +had dropped down as far as Maribélé, at the entrance of the bay, ten +leagues from Cavite. To obtain payment it was necessary I should go on +board his vessel. I borrowed a boat, and the services of four sailors, +from Captain Perroux, and departed. I reached the ship at dusk. The +unprincipled captain, who knew himself to be in deep water and safe +from pursuit, replied that he did not understand what I was saying +to him. I insisted upon being paid, and he laughed in my face. I was +treated as a cheat. He threatened to have me thrown into the sea; +in short, after a useless discussion, and at the moment when the +captain called five or six of his sailors to execute his threat, +I retreated to my boat. The night was dark, and as a violent and +contrary wind had sprung up, it was impossible to regain the ship, +so we passed the night floating upon the waves, ignorant as to the +direction we were going. In the morning I discovered our efforts had +been thrown away; Cavite was far behind us. The wind becoming calmer, +we again commenced rowing, and two hours after noon reached the ship. + +Meanwhile tranquillity was restored at Cavite and Manilla. The +Spanish authorities took measures to prevent a recurrence of the +frightful scenes I have detailed, and the priests of Cavite launched a +public excommunication against all those who had attempted my life. I +attributed this solicitude to the character of my profession, being in +fact the only Æsculapius in the place. When I left the town the sick +were obliged to content themselves with the hazardous presumptions of +Indian sorcerers. One morning, I had almost decided upon returning to +land, when an Indian, in a smartly decorated pirogue, came alongside +the Cultivateur. I had met this man in some of my shooting excursions, +and he now proposed that I should go with him to his house, situated +ten leagues from Cavite, near the mountains of Marigondon. The prospect +of some good sport soon decided me to accept this offer. Taking with +me my thirty-two dollars and double-barreled gun--in fact, my whole +fortune--I intrusted myself to this friend, whose acquaintance I had +just made. His little habitation was delightfully situated, in the +cool shadow of the palm and yang-yang--immense trees, whose flowers +spread around a delicious perfume. Two charming Indian girls were the +Eves of this paradise. My good friend kept the promises he had made +me on leaving the vessel; I was treated both by himself and family +with every attention and kindness. + +Hunting was my principal amusement, and, above all, the chase of +the stag, which involves violent exercise. I was still ignorant of +wild-buffalo hunting, of which, however, I shall have to speak later +in my narrative; and I often requested my host to give me a taste of +this sport, but he always refused, saying it was too dangerous. For +three weeks I lived with the Indian family without receiving any news +from Manilla, when one morning, a letter came from the first mate--who, +on the death of the unfortunate Dibard, had taken the command of the +Cultivateur--telling me he was about to sail, and that I must go +on board at once if I wished to leave a country which had been so +fatal to all of us. This summons was already several days old, and +despite the reluctance I felt to quit the Indian's pleasant retreat, +it was necessary that I should prepare to start. I presented my +gun to my kind host, but had nothing to give his daughters, for to +have offered them money would have been an insult. The next day I +arrived at Manilla, still thinking of the cool shade of the palm and +the perfumed flowers of the yang-yang. My first impulse was to go to +the quay; but, alas! the Cultivateur had sailed, and I had the misery +of beholding her already far away in the horizon, moving sluggishly +before a gentle breeze towards the mouth of the bay. I asked some +Indian boatmen to take me to the ship; they replied that it might be +practicable if the wind did not freshen, but demanded twelve dollars +to make the attempt. I had but twenty-five remaining. I considered +for a few moments, should I not reach the vessel, what would become +of me in a remote colony, where I knew no one, and my stock of money +reduced to thirteen dollars, and with no articles of dress than those I +had on--a white jacket, trousers, and striped shirt. A sudden thought +crossed my mind: what if I were to remain at Manilla, and practise my +profession? Young and inexperienced, I ventured to think myself the +cleverest physician in the Philippine Islands. Who has not felt this +self-confidence so natural to youth? I turned my back upon the ship, +and walked briskly into Manilla. + +Before continuing this recital, let me describe the capital of the +Philippines. + + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + Description of Manilla--The two Towns--Gaiety of + Binondoc--Dances--Gaming--Beauty of the Women--Their Fascinating + Costume--Male Costume--The Military Town--Personal Adventures--My + First Patient--His Generous Confidence--Commencement of my + Practice--The Artificial Eye--Brilliant Success--The Charming + Widow--Auspicious Introduction--My Marriage--Treachery and Fate + of Iturbide--Our Loss of Fortune--Return to France postponed. + + +Manilla and its suburbs contain a population of about one hundred and +fifty thousand souls, of which Spaniards and Creoles hardly constitute +the tenth part; the remainder is composed of Tagalocs, or Indians, +Métis, and Chinese. The city is divided into two sections--the military +and the mercantile--the latter of which is the suburb. The former, +surrounded by lofty walls, is bounded by the sea on one side, and +upon another by an extensive plain, where the troops are exercised, +and where of an evening the indolent Creoles, lazily extended +in their carriages, repair to exhibit their elegant dresses and +to inhale the sea-breezes. This public promenade--where intrepid +horsemen and horsewomen, and European vehicles, cross each other in +every direction--may be styled the Champs-Elysées, or the Hyde Park, +of the Indian Archipelago. On a third side, the military town is +separated from the trading town by the river Pasig, upon which are +seen all the day boats laden with merchandize, and charming gondolas +conveying idlers to different parts of the suburbs, or to visit the +ships in the bay. + +The military town communicates by the bridge of Binondoc with the +mercantile town, inhabited principally by the Spaniards engaged in +public affairs; its aspect is dull and monotonous; all the streets, +perfectly straight, are bordered by wide granite footpaths. In general, +the highways are macadamised, and kept in good condition. Such is +the effeminacy of the people, they could not endure the noise of +carriages upon pavement. The houses--large and spacious, palaces in +appearance--are built in a particular manner, calculated to withstand +the earthquakes and hurricanes so frequent in this part of the +world. They have all one story, with a ground-floor; the upper part, +generally occupied by the family, is surrounded by a wide gallery, +opened or shut by means of large sliding panels, the panes of which +are thin mother-of-pearl. The mother-of-pearl permits the passage +of light to the apartments, and excludes the heat of the sun. In the +military town are all the monasteries and convents, the archbishopric, +the courts of justice, the custom-house, the hospital, the governor's +palace, and the citadel, which overlooks both towns. There are three +principal entrances to Manilla--Puerta Santa Lucia, Puerto Réal, +and Puerta Parian. + +At one o'clock the drawbridges are raised, and the gates pitilessly +closed, when the tardy resident must seek his night's lodging in +the suburb, or mercantile town, called Binondoc. This portion of +Manilla wears a much gayer and more lively aspect than the military +section. There is less regularity in the streets, and the buildings +are not so fine as those in what may be called Manilla proper; but in +Binondoc all is movement, all is life. Numerous canals, crowded with +pirogues, gondolas, and boats of various kinds, intersect the suburb, +where reside the rich merchants--Spanish, English, Indian, Chinese, +and Métis. The newest and most elegant houses are built upon the banks +of the river Pasig. Simple in exterior, they contain the most costly +inventions of English and Indian luxury. Precious vases from China, +Japan ware, gold, silver, and rich silks, dazzle the eyes on entering +these unpretending habitations. Each house has a landing-place from +the river, and little bamboo palaces, serving as bathing-houses, to +which the residents resort several times daily, to relieve the fatigue +caused by the intense heat of the climate. The cigar manufactory, +which affords employment continually to from fifteen to twenty +thousand workmen and other assistants, is situated in Binondoc; also +the Chinese custom-house, and all the large working establishments +of Manilla. During the day, the Spanish ladies, richly dressed in +the transparent muslins of India and China, lounge about from store +to store, and sorely test the patience of the Chinese salesman, who +unfolds uncomplainingly, and without showing the least ill-humour, +thousands of pieces of goods before his customers, which are frequently +examined simply for amusement, and not half a yard purchased. The +balls and entertainments, given by the half-breeds of Binondoc to their +friends, are celebrated throughout the Philippines. The quadrilles of +Europe are succeeded by the dances of India, and while the young people +execute the fandango, the bolero, the cachucha, or the lascivious +movements of the bayadères, the enterprising half-breed, the indolent +Spaniard, and the sedate Chinese, retire to the gaming saloons, to +try their fortune at cards and dice. The passion for play is carried +to such an extent, that the traders lose or gain in one night sums +of 50,000 piasters (£10,000 sterling). The half-breeds, Indians, and +Chinese, have also a great passion for cock-fighting; these combats +take place in a large arena. I have seen £1,500 betted upon a cock +which had cost £150; in a few minutes this costly champion fell, +struck dead by his antagonist. In fine, if Binondoc be exclusively +the city of pleasure, luxury, and activity, it is also that of +amorous intrigues and gallant adventures. In the evening, Spaniards, +English, and French, go to the promenades to ogle the beautiful +and facile half-breed women, whose transparent robes reveal their +splendid figures. That which distinguishes the female half-breeds +(Spanish-Tagals, or Chinese-Tagals) is a singularly intelligent +and expressive physiognomy. Their hair, drawn back from the face, +and sustained by long golden pins, is of marvellous luxuriance. They +wear upon the head a kerchief, transparent like a veil, made of the +pine fibre, finer than our finest cambric; the neck is ornamented +by a string of large coral beads, fastened by a gold medallion. A +transparent chemisette, of the same stuff as the head-dress, descends +as far as the waist, covering, but not concealing, a bosom that has +never been imprisoned in stays. Below, and two or three inches from +the edge of the chemisette, is attached a variously coloured petticoat +of very bright hues. Over this garment, a large and costly silk sash +closely encircles the figure, and shows its outline from the waist +to the knee. The small and white feet, always naked, are thrust into +embroidered slippers, which cover but the extremities. Nothing can +be more charming, coquettish, and fascinating, than this costume, +which excites in the highest degree the admiration of strangers. The +half-breed and Chinese Tagals know so well the effect it produces on +the Europeans, that nothing would induce them to alter it. + +While on the subject of dress, that of the men is also worthy of +remark. The Indian and the half-breed wear upon the head a large +straw hat, black or white, or a sort of Chinese covering, called a +salacote; upon the shoulders, the pine fibre kerchief embroidered; +and round the neck, a rosary of coral beads; their shirts are also +made from the fibres of the pine, or of vegetable silk; trousers of +coloured silk, with embroidery near the bottom, and a girdle of red +China crape, complete their costume. The feet, without stockings, +are covered with European shoes. + +The military town, so quiet during the day, assumes a more lively +appearance towards the evening, when the inhabitants ride out in +their very magnificent carriages, which are invariably conducted +by postilions; they then mix with the walking population of +Binondoc. Afterwards visits, balls, and the more intimate réunions +take place. At the latter they talk, smoke the cigars of Manilla, +and chew the betel, [2] drink glasses of iced eau sucrée, and eat +innumerable sweetmeats; towards midnight those guests retire who do +not stay supper with the family, which is always served luxuriously, +and generally prolonged until two o'clock in the morning. Such is the +life spent by the wealthy classes under these skies so favoured by +Heaven. But there exists, as in Europe, and even to a greater extent, +the most abject misery, of which I shall speak hereafter, throwing +a shade over this brilliant picture. + +I shall now return to my personal adventures. While I spoke with +the Indians upon the shore, I had noticed a young European standing +not many paces from me; I again met him on the road I took towards +Manilla, and I thought I would address him. This young man was a +surgeon, about returning to Europe. I partly told him the plans I +wished to form, and asked him for some information respecting the city +where I purposed locating myself. He readily satisfied my inquiries, +and encouraged me in the resolution to exercise my profession in +the Philippine Islands. He had himself, he said, conceived the same +project, but family affairs obliged him to return to his country. I +did not conceal the misfortune of my position, and observed that it +would be almost impossible to pay visits in the costume, worse than +plain, which I then wore. + +"That is of no consequence," he replied; "I have all you would +require: a coat almost new, and six capital lancets. I will sell you +these things for their cost price in France; they will be a great +bargain." The affair was soon concluded. He took me to his hotel, +and I shortly left it encased in a garment sufficiently good, but +much too large and too long for me. Nevertheless, it was some time +since I had seen myself so well clad, and I could not help admiring +my new acquisition. + +I had hidden my poor little white jacket in my hat, and I strode +along the causeway of Manilla more proud than Artaban himself. I was +the owner of a coat and six lancets; but there remained, for all my +fortune, the sum of one dollar only; this consideration slightly +tempered the joy that I felt in gazing on my brilliant costume. I +thought of where I could pass the night, and subsist on the morrow +and the following days, if the sick were not ready for me. + +Reflecting thus I slowly wandered from Binondoc to the military town, +and from the military town back to Binondoc,--when, suddenly, a bright +idea shot across my brain. At Cavite I had heard spoken of a Spanish +captain, by name Don Juan Porras, whom an accident had rendered almost +blind. I resolved to seek him, and offer my services; it remained but +to find his residence. I addressed a hundred persons, but each replied +that he did not know, and passed on his way. An Indian who kept a +small shop, and to whom I spoke, relieved my trouble: "If the senor +is a captain," he said, "your excellency would obtain his address at +the first barrack on your road." I thanked him, and eagerly followed +his counsel. At the infantry barracks, where I presented myself, the +officer on duty sent a soldier to guide me to the captain's dwelling: +it was time, the night had already fallen. Don Juan Porras was an +Andalusian, a good man, and of an extremely cheerful disposition. I +found him with his head wrapped in a Madras handkerchief, busied in +completely covering his eyes with two enormous poultices. + +"Senor Captain," I said, "I am a physician, and a skilful oculist. I +have come hither to take care of you, and I am fully convinced that +I shall cure you." + +"Basta" (enough is said), was his answer; "all the physicians in +Manilla are asses." + +This more than sceptical reply did not discourage me. I resolved +to turn it to account. "My opinion is precisely the same as yours," +I promptly answered; "and it is because I am strongly convinced of +the ignorance of the native doctors, that I have made up my mind to +come and practise in the Philippines." + +"Of what nation are you, sir?" + +"I am a Frenchman." + +"A French physician!" cried Don Juan; "Ah! that is quite another +matter. I ask your pardon for having spoken so irreverently of men of +your profession. A French physician! I put myself entirely into your +hands. Take my eyes, Senor Medico, and do what you will with them!" + +The conversation was taking a favourable turn: I hastened to broach +the principal question: + +"Your eyes are very bad, Senor Captain," said I; "to accomplish a +speedy cure, it is absolutely necessary that I should never quit you +for a moment." + +"Would you consent to come and pass some time with me, doctor?" + +Here was the principal consideration settled. + +"I consent," replied I, "but on one condition; namely, that I shall +pay you for my board and lodging." + +"That shall not part us--you are free to do so," said the worthy man; +"and so the matter is settled. I have a nice room, and a good bed, +all ready; there is nothing to do but to send for your baggage. I +will call my servant." + +The terrible word, "baggage," sounded in my ears like a knell. I cast +a melancholy look at the crown of my hat--my only portmanteau--within +which were deposited all my clothes--consisting of my little white +jacket; and I feared Don Juan would take me for some runaway sailor +trying to dupe him. There was no retreat; so I mustered my courage, +and briefly related my sad position, adding that I could not pay +for my board and lodging until the end of the month--if I was so +fortunate as to find patients. Don Juan Porras listened to me very +quietly. When my tale was told he burst into a loud laugh, which made +me shiver from head to foot. + +"Well," cried he, "I am well pleased it should be so; you are poor; +you will have more time to devote to my malady, and a greater interest +in curing me. What think you of the syllogism?" + +"It is excellent, Senor Captain, and before long you will find, I hope, +that I am not the man to compromise so distinguished a logician as +yourself. To-morrow morning I will examine your eyes, and I will not +leave you till I have radically cured them." + +We talked for some time longer in this joyous strain, after which +I retired to my chamber, where the most delightful dreams visited +my pillow. + +The next day I rose early, put on my doctoral coat, and entered the +chamber of my host. I examined his eyes; they were in a dreadful +state. The sight of one was not only destroyed, but threatened the +life of the sufferer. A cancer had formed, and the enormous size it +had attained rendered the result of an operation doubtful. The left +eye contained many fibres, but there was hope of saving it. I frankly +acquainted Don Juan with my fears and hopes, and insisted upon the +entire removal of the right eye. The Captain, at first astonished, +decided courageously upon submitting to the operation, which I +accomplished on the following day with complete success. Shortly +afterwards the inflammatory symptoms disappeared, and I could assure +my host of a safe recovery. I then bestowed all my attention upon +the left eye. I desired the more ardently to restore to Don Juan his +vision, from the good effect I was convinced his case would produce +at Manilla. For me it would be fortune and reputation. Besides, I had +already acquired, in the few days, some slight patronage, and was in a +position to pay for my board and lodging at the end of the month. After +six weeks' careful treatment Don Juan was perfectly cured, and could +use his eye as well as he did previous to his accident. Nevertheless, +to my great regret, the Captain still continued to immure himself; +his re-appearance in society, which he had forsaken for more than +a year, would have produced an immense sensation, and I should have +been considered the first doctor in the Philippines. One day I touched +upon this delicate topic. + +"Senor Captain," said I, "what are you thinking about, to remain +thus shut up between four walls, and why do you not resume your old +habits? You must go and visit your friends, your acquaintances." + +"Doctor," interrupted Don Juan, "how can I show myself in public with +an eye the less? When I pass along the street all the women would say: +'There goes Don Juan the One-eyed!' No, no; before I leave the house +you must get me an artificial eye from Paris." + +"You don't mean that? It would be eighteen months before the eye +arrived." + +"Then here goes for eighteen months' seclusion," said Don Juan. + +I persisted for upwards of an hour, but the Captain would not listen +to reason. He carried his coquetry so far that, although I had +covered the empty orbit with black silk, he had his shutters closed +whenever visitors came; so that, as they always found him in the dark, +none would credit his cure. I was very anxious to thwart Don Juan's +obstinacy, as may well be imagined; I had not the time to waste, during +eighteen months, in dancing attendance at fortune's door; therefore +I determined to make this eye myself, without which the coquetish +captain would not be seen. I took some pieces of glass, a tube, and +set to work. After many fruitless attempts, I at last succeeded in +obtaining the perfect form of an eye; but this was not all--it must +be coloured to resemble nature. I sent for a poor carriage-painter, +who managed to imitate tolerably well the left eye of Don Juan. It +was necessary to preserve this painting from contact with the tears, +which would soon have destroyed it. To accomplish this I had made by +a jeweller a silver globe, smaller than the glass eye, inside which +I united it by means of sealing-wax. I carefully polished the edges +upon a stone, and after eight days' labour I obtained a satisfactory +result. The eye which I had succeeded in producing was really not so +bad after all. I was anxious to place it within the vacant orbit. It +somewhat inconvenienced the Senor Don Juan, but I persuaded him that +he would soon become accustomed to it. Placing across his nose a +pair of spectacles, he examined himself in the looking-glass, and +was so satisfied with his appearance that he decided on commencing +his visits the following day. + +As I had anticipated, the re-appearance in the world of Captain Juan +Porras made a great sensation, and soon the consequence was, that +Senor Don Pablo, the eminent French physician--most especially the +clever oculist--was much spoken of. From all quarters patients came to +me. Notwithstanding my youth and inexperience, my first success gave +me such confidence that I performed several operations upon persons +afflicted with cataracts, which succeeded most fortunately. I no longer +sufficed to my large connection, and in a few days, from the greatest +distress, I attained perfect opulence: I had a carriage-and-four in my +stables. I could not, however, notwithstanding this change of fortune, +resign myself to leave Don Juan's house, out of gratitude for the +hospitality he so generously offered me. In my leisure hours he kept +me company, and amused me with the recital of his battle stories and +personal adventures. I had already spent nearly six months with him, +when a circumstance, which forms an epoch in my life, changed my +existence, and compelled me to quit the lively captain. One of my +American friends often called my attention in our walks towards a +young lady in mourning, who passed for one of the prettiest senoras +of the town. Each time we met her my American friend never failed +to praise the beauty of the Marquesa de Las Salinas. She was about +eighteen or nineteen years of age; her features were both regular +and placid; she had beautiful black hair, and large expressive eyes; +she was the widow of a colonel in the guards, who married her when +almost a child. The sight of this young lady produced so lively an +impression upon me, that I explored all the saloons at Binondoc, +to endeavour to meet her elsewhere than in my walks. Fruitless +attempts! The young widow saw nobody. I almost despaired of finding +an opportunity of speaking to her, when one morning an Indian came +to request me to visit his master. I got into the carriage and set +off, without informing myself of the name of the sick person. The +carriage stopped before the door of one of the finest houses in the +Faubourg of Santa-Crux. Having examined the patient, and conversed a +few minutes with him, I went to the table to write a prescription; +suddenly I heard the rustling of a silk dress; I turned round--the +pen fell from my hand. Before me stood the very lady I had so long +sought after--appearing to me as in a dream! My amazement was so +great that I muttered a few unintelligible words, and bowed with such +awkwardness that she smiled. She simply addressed me to inquire the +state of her nephew's health, and withdrew almost immediately. As +to myself, instead of making my ordinary calls, I returned home; +questioned Don Juan minutely about Madame de Las Salinas: he entirely +satisfied my curiosity. He was acquainted with all the family of this +youthful widow, and they were highly respected in the colony. The +next morning, and following days, I returned to this charming widow, +who graciously condescended to receive me with favour. These details +being so completely personal, I pass them over. Six months after +my first interview with Madame de Las Salinas, I asked her hand, +and obtained it. I had therefore found, at more than five thousand +leagues from my country, both happiness and wealth. I agreed that +we should go to France as soon as my wife's property, the greater +part of which lay in Mexico, should be realised. In the meantime my +house was the rendezvous of foreigners, particularly of the French, +who were already rather numerous at Manilla. At this period the +Spanish government named me Surgeon-Major of the 1st Light Regiment, +and of the first battalion of the militia of Panjanga. Having been so +successful in so short a time, I never once doubted but that fortune +would continue to bestow her smiling favours upon me. I had already +prepared everything for my return to France; for we hourly expected +the arrival of the galleons that plied from Acapulco to Manilla, +which were to bring my wife's fortune. Her fortune was no less than +700,000 francs (£28,000 sterling). + +One evening, as we were taking tea, we were informed that the vessels +from Acapulco had been telegraphed, and that the next morning they +would be in; our piasters were to be on board; I leave you to guess +if our wishes were not gratified. But, alas! how our hopes were +frustrated: the vessels did not bring us a single piaster. This is +what occurred: five or six millions were sent by land from Mexico +to San Blas, the place of embarkation, and the Mexican government +had the van escorted by a regiment of the line, commanded by Colonel +Iturbide. On the journey he took possession of the van, and fled with +his regiment into the independent states. It is well known that later +Iturbide was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico, then dethroned, and at last +shot, after an expedition that offers more than one analogy with that +of Murat. The very day of the arrival of the vessels we learnt that +our fortune was entirely lost, without even hopes of regaining the +smallest part. My wife and self supported this event with tolerable +philosophy. It was not the loss of our piasters that distressed us +the most, but the necessity we were in to abandon, or at least to +postpone, our journey to France. + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Continued Prosperity in Practice--Attempted Political + Revolution--Desperate Street Engagement--Subjugation of the + Insurgents--The Emperor of a Day--Dreadful Executions--Illness + and Insanity of my Wife--Her Recovery and Relapse--Removal to + the Country--Beneficial Results--Dangerous Neighbours--Repentant + Banditti--Fortunate Escape--The Anonymous Friend--A Confiding + Wife--Her Final Recovery, and our Domestic Happiness Restored. + + +Despite the misfortune I have alluded to, I kept up my house in +the same style as before. My connection, and the different posts I +occupied, permitted me to lead the life of a grandee belonging to +the Spanish colonies; and probably I should have made my fortune in a +few years, if I had continued in the medical profession, but the wish +for unlimited liberty caused me to abandon all these advantages for a +life of peril and anxiety. At the same time do not let us anticipate +too suddenly, and let the reader patiently peruse a few more pages +about Manilla, and various events wherein I figured, either as actor +or witness, before taking leave of a sybarite citizen's life. + +I was, as I said before, surgeon-major of the 1st Light Regiment of +the line, and on intimate terms with the staff, and more particularly +with Captain Novalès, a Creole by birth, possessing a courageous and +venturesome disposition. He was suspected of endeavouring to excite +his regiment to rebel in behalf of the Independence. An inquiry was +consequently instituted, which ended without proof of the captain's +culpability; nevertheless, as the governor still maintained his +suspicions, he gave orders for him to be sent to one of the southern +provinces, under the inspection of an alcaide. Novalès came to see +me the morning of his departure, and complained bitterly of the +injustice of the governor towards him, and added that those who had +no confidence in his honour would repent, and that he would soon +be back. I endeavoured to pacify him: we shook hands, and in the +evening he went on board the vessel commissioned to take him to his +destination. The night after Novalès departure, I was startled out of +my sleep by the report of fire-arms. I immediately dressed myself in +my uniform, and hastened to the barracks of my regiment. The streets +were deserted; sentinels were stationed at about fifty paces apart. I +understood that an extraordinary event had occurred in some part of +the town. When I reached the barracks I was no little astonished to +find the gates wide open, the sentry's box vacant, and not a soldier +within. I went into the infirmary, set apart for the special service +of the cholera patients, and there a serjeant told me that the bad +weather had compelled the vessel that was taking Novalès into exile to +return into the port; that about one o'clock in the morning, Novalès, +accompanied by Lieutenant Ruiz, came to the barracks, and having +made himself certain of the votes of the Creole non-commissioned +officers, put the regiment under arms, took possession of the gates, +and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Philippines. + +This extraordinary intelligence caused me some anxiety. My regiment +had openly revolted; if I joined it, and were defeated, I should +be considered a traitor, and, as such, shot; if, on the contrary, +I fought against it, and the rebels proved victorious, I knew +Novalès sufficiently well to be convinced that he would not spare +me. Nevertheless I could not hesitate: duty bound me to the Spanish +government, by which I had been so well treated. I left the barracks, +rambling where chance might lead me. I shortly found myself at the +head-quarters of the artillery; an officer behind the gate stood +observing me. I went up to him, and asked him whether he was for +Spain. Upon his answering me in the affirmative, I begged him to +open the gate, declaring that I wished to join his party, and would +willingly offer my services as surgeon to them. I went in, and took +the commander's orders, which soon showed me how matters stood. During +the night Ruiz went, in the name of Novalès, to General Folgueras, +the commander during the absence of Governor Martinès, who was +detained at his country house, a short distance from Manilla. He +took the guard unawares, and seized the keys of the town, after +having stabbed Folgueras; from thence he went to the prisons, set +the prisoners at liberty, and put in their places the principal men +of the public offices belonging to the colony. The 1st Regiment was +on Government Place, ready to engage in battle; twice it attempted +to fall unexpectedly upon the artillery and citadel, but was driven +back. Many expected assistance from without, and orders from General +Martinès to attack the rebels. Very soon we heard a discharge of +artillery: it was General Martinès, who, at the head of the Queen's +Regiment, broke open Saint Lucy's Gate, and advanced into the besieged +town. The body of the artillery joined the governor-general, and we +marched towards Government Place. The insurgents placed two cannons +at the corner of each street. Scarcely had we approached the palace, +than we were exposed to a violent discharge of loaded muskets. The +head chaplain of the regiment was the first victim. We were then +engaged in a street, by the side of the fortifications, and from +which it was impossible to attack the enemy with advantage. General +Martinès changed the position of the attack, and in this condition we +came back by the street of Saint Isabelle. The troops in two lines +followed both sides of the street, and left the road free; in the +meantime the Panpangas regiment, crossing the bridge, reached us +by one of the opposite streets: the rebels were then exposed to the +opposite attacks. They nevertheless defended themselves furiously, +and their sharpshooters did us some harm. Novalès was everywhere, +encouraging his soldiers by words, exploits, and example, while +Lieutenant Ruiz was busy pointing one of the cannons, that swept the +middle of the street we were coming up. At length, after three hours' +contest, the rebels succumbed. The troops fell upon everything they +found, and Novalès was taken prisoner to the governor's. As to Ruiz, +although he had received a blow on his arm from a ball, he was +fortunate enough to jump over the fortifications, and succeeded, +for the time, in escaping; three days afterwards he was taken. The +conflict was scarcely over, than a court-martial was held. Novalès +was tried the first. At midnight he was outlawed; at two o'clock in +the morning proclaimed Emperor; and at five in the evening shot. Such +changes in fortune are not uncommon in Spanish colonies. + +The court-martial, without adjourning, tried, until the middle of the +following day, all the prisoners arrested with arms. The tenth part +of the regiment was sent to the hulks, and all the non-commissioned +officers were condemned to death. I received orders to be at Government +Place by four o'clock, on which spot the executions were to take place; +two companies of each battalion of the garrison, and all the staff, +were to be present. + +Towards five the doors of the town-hall opened, and between a double +file of soldiers advanced seventeen non-commissioned officers, each one +assisted by two monks of the order of Misericordia. Mournful silence +prevailed, interrupted every now and then by the doleful beating of +the drums, and the prayers of the agonising, chanted by the monks. The +procession moved slowly on, and after some time reached the palace; +the seventeen non-commissioned officers were ordered to kneel, their +faces turned towards the wall. After a lengthened beating of the drums +the monks left their victims, and at a second beating a discharge +of muskets resounded: the seventeen young men fell prostrate on the +ground. One, however, was not dead; he had fallen with the others, +and seemed apparently motionless. A few minutes after the monks +threw their black veils upon the victims: they now belonged to Divine +justice. I witnessed all that had just happened. I stood a few steps +from him who feigned death so well, and my heart beat with force +enough to burst through my chest. Would that it had been in my power +to lead one of the monks towards this unfortunate young man who must +have experienced such mortal anguish; but, alas! after having been so +miraculously spared, at the moment the black veil was about to cover +him, an officer informed the commander that a guilty man had escaped +being punished; the monks were arrested in their pious ministry, and +two soldiers received orders to approach and fire upon the poor fellow. + +I was indignant at this. I advanced towards the informer and reproached +him for his cruelty; he wished to reply; I treated him as a coward, +and turned my back to him. Express orders from my colonel compelled +me to leave my house, to assist at this frightful execution; still, +deep anxiety ought to have prevented me from so doing, as I will +explain. On the eve when the battle was over, and the insurgents +routed, the distress of my dear Anna came across my mind. It was now +one o'clock in the afternoon, and she had received no tidings from +me since three in the morning; might she not think me dead, or in the +midst of the rebellion? Ah! if duty could make me forget for a moment +she whom I loved more than life, now all danger was over her charming +image returned to my mind. Dearest Anna! I beheld her pale, agitated; +asking herself at each report of the cannon whether it rendered her +a widow; when my mind became so agitated that I ran home to calm her +fears. Having reached my house I went quickly up stairs, my heart +beating violently; I paused for a moment at her door, then summoning +a little courage I entered. Anna was kneeling down praying; hearing my +footsteps she raised her head, and threw herself into my arms without +uttering a word. At first I attributed this silence to emotion, but, +alas! upon examining her lovely face, I saw her eyes looked wild, +her features contracted: I started back. I discovered in her all the +symptoms of congestion of the brain. I dreaded lest my wife had lost +her senses, and this fear alarmed me greatly. How fortunate it was +that it lay in my power to relieve her. I had her placed in bed, and +ministered myself to her wants. She was tolerably composed; the few +words she uttered were inconsistent; she seemed to think that somebody +was going to poison or kill her. All her confidence was placed in +me. During three days the remedies I prescribed and administered +were useless; the poor creature derived no benefit from them. I +therefore determined to consult the doctors in Manilla, although I +had no great opinion of their skill. They advised some insignificant +drugs, and declared to me that there were no hopes, adding, as a +philosophical mode of consolation, that death was preferable to the +loss of reason. I did not agree on this point with these gentlemen: +I would have preferred insanity to death, for I hoped that her madness +would die away by degrees, and eventually disappear altogether. How +many mad people are cured, what numbers daily recover, yet death is +the last word of humanity; and, as a young poet has truly said, is +"the stone of the tomb." + +Between the world and God a curtain falls! I determined to wage a +war against death, and to save my Anna by having recourse to the most +indisputable resources of science. I looked now upon my brotherhood +with more contempt than ever, and, confident in my love and zealous +will, I began my struggle with a destiny, tinged indeed with gloomy +clouds. I shut myself up in the sick-chamber, and never left my wife. I +had great difficulty in getting her to take the medicaments I trusted +she would derive so much benefit from; I was obliged to call to my +assistance all the influence I had over her, in order to persuade +her that the draughts I presented to her were not poisoned. She did +not sleep, but appeared very drowsy; these symptoms denoted very +clearly great disorder of the brain. For nine days she remained in +this dreadful state; during which time I scarcely knew whether she +was dead or alive; at every moment I besought the Almighty to work a +miracle in her behalf. One morning the poor creature closed her eyes. I +cannot describe my feelings of anguish. Would she ever awake again? I +leant over her; I heard her breathing gently, without apparent effort; +I felt her pulse, it beat calmer and more regular; she was evidently +better. I stood by her in deep anxiety. She still remained in a calm +sleep, and at the end of half-an-hour I felt convinced that this +satisfactory crisis would restore my invalid to life and reason. I +sat down by her bed-side, and stayed there eighteen hours, watching +her slightest movements. At length, after such cruel suspense, my +patient awoke, as if out of a dream. + +"Have you been long watching?" she said, giving me her hand: "Have I, +then, been very ill? What care you have taken of me! Luckily you may +rest now, for I feel I am recovered." + +I think I have during my life been a sharer of the strongest emotions +of joy or of sadness man can feel; but never had I experienced +such real, heartfelt joy as when I heard Anna's words. It is easy +to imagine the state of my mind in recollecting the bitter grief +I was in for ten days; then can be understood the mental anguish I +felt. Having witnessed such strange scenes for a considerable time, +it would not have been surprising had I lost my senses. I was an +actor in a furious battle; I had seen the wounded falling around me, +and heard the death-rattle. After the frightful execution, I went home, +and there still deeper grief awaited me. I had watched by the bed-side +of a beloved wife, knowing not whether I should lose her for ever, +or see her spared to me deprived of reason; when all at once, as if by +a miracle, this dear companion of my life, restored to health, threw +herself into my arms. I wept with her; my burning eyes, aching for +want of rest, found at last some tears, but they were tears of joy and +gladness. Soon we became more composed; we related to each other all +that we had suffered. Oh! the sympathy of loving hearts! Our sorrows +bad been the same, we had shared the same fears, she for me and I for +her. Anna's rapid recovery, after her renovating slumber, enabled her +to get up; she dressed herself as usual, and the people who saw her +could not believe she had passed ten days struggling between death +and insanity--two gulphs, from which love and faith had preserved us. + +I was happy; my deep sadness was speedily changed to gladness, +even visible on my features. Alas! this joy was transitory, like +all happiness; man here below is a continual prey to misfortune! My +wife, at the end of a month, relapsed into her former sickly state; +the same symptoms showed themselves again, with similar prospects, +during the same space of time. I remained again nine days at her +bed-side, and on the tenth a refreshing sleep brought her to her +senses. But this time, guided by experience, that pitiless mistress, +who gives us lessons we should ever remember, I did not rejoice +as I had done the month before. I feared lest this sudden cure +might only be a temporary recovery, and that every month my poor +invalid would relapse, until her brain becoming weaker and weaker, +she would be deranged for life. This sad idea wounded my heart, and +caused me such grief that I could not even dissimulate it before her +who inspired it. I exhausted all the resources of medicine; all these +expedients proved unavailable. I thought that perhaps, if I removed my +poor invalid from the spot where the events had occurred that caused +her disorder, her cure might be more easily effected; that perhaps +bathing and country walks in the fine weather would contribute to +hasten her recovery; therefore I invited one of her relations to +accompany us, and we set out for Tierra-Alta, a delightful spot, +a real oasis, where all things were assembled that could endear +one to life. The first days of our settling there were full of joy, +hope, and happiness. Anna got better and better every day, and her +health very much improved. We walked in beautiful gardens, under the +shade of orange-trees; they were so thick that even during the most +intense heat we were cool under their shade. A lovely river of blue +and limpid water ran through our orchard; I had some Indian baths +erected there. We went out in a pretty, light, open carriage, drawn +by four good horses, through beautiful avenues, lined on each side +with the pliant bamboo, and sown with all the various flowers of the +tropics. I leave you to judge, by this short account, that nothing +that can be wished for in the country was wanting in Tierra-Alta. For +an invalid it was a Paradise; but those are right who say there is +no perfect happiness here below. I had a wife I adored, and who loved +me with all the sincerity of a pure young heart. We lived in an Eden, +away from the world, from the noise and bustle of a city, and far, too, +from the jealous and envious. We breathed a fragrant air; the pure and +limpid waters that bathed our feet reflecting, by turns a sunny sky, +and one spangled with twinkling stars. Anna's health was improving: +it pleased me to see her so happy. What, then, was there to trouble +us in our lovely retreat? A troop of banditti! These robbers were +distributed around the suburbs of Tierra-Alta, and spread desolation +over the country and neighbourhood by the robberies and murders +they committed. There was a regiment in search of them; this they +little cared about. They were numerous, clever, and audacious; and, +notwithstanding the vigilance of the government, the band continued +their highway robberies and assassinations. In the house where I then +resided, and which I afterwards left, Aguilar, the commander of the +cavalry, who had replaced me as occupant, was fallen upon unexpectedly, +and stabbed. Several years after this period, the government was +obliged to come to some terms with these bandits, and one day twenty +men, all armed with carbines and swords, entered Manilla. Their +chieftain led them; they walked with their heads upright, their +carriage was proud and manly; in this order they went to the governor, +who made them a speech, ordered them to lay down their arms, and sent +them to the archbishop that he might exhort them. The archbishop in a +religious discourse implored of them to repent of their crimes, and +become honest citizens, and to return to their villages. These men, +who had bathed their hands in the blood of their fellow-creatures, +and who had sought in crime--or rather, in every crime--the gold they +coveted, listened attentively to God's minister, changed completely +their conduct, and became, in the end, good and quiet husbandmen. + +Now let us return to my residence at Tierra-Alta, at the period when +the bandits were not converted, and might have disturbed my peaceful +abode and security. Nevertheless, whether it was carelessness, or the +confidence I had in my Indian, with whom I spent some time after the +ravages occasioned with the cholera, and with whose influence I was +acquainted, I did not fear the bandits at all. This Indian lived a +few leagues off from Tierra-Alta; he came often to see me, and said +to me on different occasions: "Fear nothing from the robbers, Senor +Doctor Pablo; they know we are friends, and that alone would suffice +to prevent them attacking you, for they would dread to displease me, +and to make me their enemy." These words put an end to my fears, +and I soon had an opportunity of seeing that the Indian had taken me +under his protection. + +If any of my readers for whom I write these souvenirs feel the same +desire as I experienced to visit the cascades of Tierra-Alta, let +them go to a place called Yang-Yang; it was near this spot where +my Indian protector resided. At this part the river, obstructed in +its course by the narrowness of its channel, falls from only one +waterspout, about thirty or forty feet high, into an immense basin, +out of which the water calmly flows onwards, to form, lower down, three +other waterfalls, not so lofty, but extending over the breadth of the +river, thereby making three sheets of water, clear and transparent as +crystal. What beautiful sights are offered to the eyes of man by the +all-powerful hands of the Creator! And how often have I remarked that +the works of nature are far superior to those that men tire themselves +to erect and invent! + +As we went one morning to the cascades we were about to alight +at Yang-Yang, when all at once our carriage was surrounded with +brigands, flying from the soldiers of the line. The chief--for we +supposed him to be so at first--said to his companions, not paying the +slightest attention to us, nor even addressing us: "We must kill the +horses!" By this I saw he feared lest their enemies should make use of +our horses to pursue them. With a presence of mind which fortunately +never abandons me in difficult or perilous circumstances, I said to +him: "Do not fear; my horses shall not be used by your enemies to +pursue you: rely upon my word." The chief put his hand to his cap, +and thus addressed his comrades: "If such be the case, the Spanish +soldiers will do us no harm to-day, neither let us do any. Follow +me!" They marched off, and I instantly drove rapidly away in quite +an opposite direction from the soldiers. The bandits looked after +me; my good faith in keeping my word was successful. I not only +lived a few months in safety at Tierra-Alta, but many years after, +when, I resided in Jala-Jala, and, in my quality of commander of the +territorial horse-guards of the province of Lagune, was naturally a +declared enemy of the bandits, I received the following note: + + + "Sir,--Beware of Pedro Tumbaga; we are invited by him to go to + your house and to take you by surprise; we remember the morning we + spoke to you at the cascades, and the sincerity of your word. You + are an honourable man. If we find ourselves face to face with + you, and it be necessary, we will fight, but faithfully, and + never after having laid a snare. Keep, therefore, on your guard; + beware of Pedro Tumbaga; he is cowardly enough to hide himself + in order to shoot you." + + +Everybody must acknowledge I had to do with most polite robbers. + +I answered them thus: + + + "You are brave fellows. I thank you for your advice, but I do + not fear Pedro Tumbaga. I cannot conceive how it is you keep + among you a man capable of hiding himself to kill his enemy; + if I had a soldier like him, I would soon let him have justice, + and without consulting the law." + + +A fortnight after my answer, Tumbaga was no more; a bandit's bullet +disembarrassed me of him. + +I will now return to the recital I have just interrupted. When I had +left the bandits at Yang-Yang, I pulled up my horses and bethought +me of Anna. I was anxious to know what impression had been produced +on her mind from this unpleasant encounter. Fortunately my fears were +unfounded; my wife had not been at all alarmed, and when I asked her +if she was frightened, she replied: "Frightened, indeed! am I not with +you?" Subsequently I had good proofs that she told me the truth, for +in many perilous circumstances she always presented the same presence +of mind. When I thought there was no longer any danger we retraced our +steps and went home, satisfied with the conduct of the bandits towards +us, for their manner of acting clearly showed us that they intended us +no harm. I mentally thanked my Indian friend, for to him I attributed +the peace our turbulent neighbours allowed us to enjoy. The fatal time +was drawing near when my wife would again be suffering from another +attack of that frightful malady brought on by Novalès revolt. I had +hoped that the country air, the baths, and amusements of every kind +would cure my poor invalid; my hopes were deceived, and, as in the +preceding month, I had the grief once more to assist at a period of +physical and mental suffering. I despaired: I knew not what course +to pursue. I decided, however, upon remaining at Tierra-Alta. My +dear companion was happy there on the days her health was better, +and on the other days I never left her, endeavouring by every means +that art and imagination could invent to fight against this fatal +malady. At length my care, attempts, and efforts were successful, and +at the periods the symptoms usually returned I had the happiness not +to observe them, and believed in the certainty of a final cure. I then +felt the joy one experiences after having for a long time been on the +point of losing a very dear friend, who suddenly recovers. I now gave +myself up without fear to the various pleasures Tierra-Alta offers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Hunting the Stag--Indian Mode of Chasing the Wild Buffalo: its + Ferocity--Dangerous Sport--Capture of a Buffalo--Narrow Escape of + an Indian Hunter--Return to Manilla--Injustice of the Governor--My + Resignation of Office--I Purchase Property at Jala-Jala--Retire + from Manilla to Take Possession of my Domains--Chinese + Legend--Festival of St Nicholas--Quinaboutasan--Description + of Jala-Jala--Interview with a Bandit Chief--Formation of a + Guard--Preparations for Building--Visit to Manilla, and Return + to Jala-Jala--Completion of my House--Reception of my Wife by + the Natives--The Government of the Philippines--Character of the + Tagaloc Indians--Unmerited Chastisement--A Curate Appointed--Our + Labours at Civilisation--My Hall of Justice--Buffalo Hunting + Expedition. + + +Naturally fond of hunting, I often went to the home of my Indian +friend in the Marigondon mountains. Together we chased the stag, +and killed the various kinds of birds which abound in these regions +to such an extent that one may always choose between fifteen or +twenty different species of pigeons, wild ducks, and fowl, and it +frequently happened that I brought down five or six at a shot. The +manner of killing wild fowl (a sort of pheasant) much amused me. We +rode across the large plains, strewed with young wood, on good and +beautiful horses, broken in for the purpose; the dogs raised the game, +and, armed with whips, we endeavoured to knock the birds down at a +single blow, which is not so difficult as might be imagined. When a +number of the frightened flocks left the shelter of the wood we put +our steeds to the gallop, and it became a veritable steeple-chase, +such as amateur jockeys would much delight in. I also hunted the stag +with the lance, on horseback; this sport is likewise very amusing, +but, unfortunately, often attended with accidents. This is how they +occur:--The horses employed are so well trained to the sport, that +as soon as they perceive the stag it is no longer necessary, neither +is it possible, to guide them; they pursue the animal at the top of +their speed, and leap over every obstruction before them. The horseman +carries a lance seven or eight feet long, which he holds in readiness +to cast as soon as he thinks himself within reach of the stag. If he +misses his aim the lance sticks in the ground, and it then requires +great skill to avoid coming in contact with the opposite end, which +often wounds either the hunter or the horse. I speak not of the falls +to which one is liable from going at a furious gallop along unknown +and uneven roads. I had already enjoyed this sport during my first +sojourn at the Indian's, but, well as I acquitted myself, I was never +able to gain his permission that I should assist at a chase far more +dangerous, and which I might almost call a combat--that of the wild +buffalo. To all my questions my host had replied: "In this sport there +is much to fear: I would not expose you to the risk." He avoided, also, +taking me near that part of the plain touching upon the mountains of +Marigondon, where these animals could generally be found. However, +after repeated solicitation, I managed to obtain what I so ardently +desired; the Indian only wished to know whether I was a good horseman, +if I possessed dexterity; and when he had satisfied himself on these +two points, we started one fine morning, accompanied by nine huntsmen +and a small pack of dogs. In this part of the Philippines the buffalo +is hunted on horseback, and taken with the lasso, the Indians not being +much accustomed to the use of guns. In other parts fire-arms are used, +as I shall have occasion to recount in another part of my narrative; +but, in whichever case, there is little difference in the danger, +for the one requires good riding and great skill, the other much +presence of mind and a good gun. + +The wild buffalo is quite different from the domesticated animal; +it is a terrible creature, pursuing the hunter as soon as it gets +sight of him, and, should he transfix him with its terrible horns, he +would promptly expiate his rashness. My faithful Indian was much more +anxious about my safety than his own. He objected to my taking a gun; +he had little confidence in my skill with the lasso, and preferred +that I should merely sit on horseback, unarmed and unencumbered +in my movements; accordingly I set out, with a dagger for my sole +weapon. We divided our party by threes, and rode gently about the +plains, taking care to keep at a distance from the edge of the wood, +lest we should be surprised by the animal we were seeking. + +After riding for about an hour, we at last heard the baying of +the dogs, and understood that the enemy was forced from its forest +retreat. We watched with the deepest attention the spot where we +expected him to break forth. He required a great deal of coaxing +before he would show; at last there was a sudden crashing noise +in the wood; branches were broken, young trees overthrown, and a +superb buffalo showed himself, at about one hundred and fifty paces' +distance. He was of a beautiful black, and his horns were of very large +dimensions. He carried his head high, and snuffed the air as though +scenting his enemies. Suddenly starting off at a speed incredible in +so bulky an animal, he made for one of our groups, composed of three +Indians, who immediately put their horses to a gallop, and distributed +themselves in the form of a triangle. The buffalo selected one of them, +and impetuously charged him. As he did so, another of the Indians, +whom he passed in his furious career, wheeled his horse and threw the +lasso he held ready in his hand; but he was not expert, and missed +his aim. Thereupon the buffalo changed his course, and pursued the +imprudent man who had thus attacked him, and who now rode right in +our direction. A second detachment of three hunters went to meet the +brute; one of them passed near him at a gallop, and threw his lasso, +but was as unsuccessful as his comrade. Three other hunters made the +attempt; not one of them succeeded. I, as a mere spectator, looked +on with admiration at this combat--at those evolutions, flights, and +pursuits, executed with such order and courage, and with a precision +that was truly extraordinary. + +I had often witnessed bull-fights, and often had I shuddered at seeing +the toreadors adopt a similar method in order to turn the furious +animal from the pursuit of the picador. But what comparison could +possibly be established between a combat in an enclosed arena and +this one in the open plain--between the most terrible of bulls and +a wild buffalo? Fiery and hot-blooded Spaniards, proud Castilians, +eager for perilous spectacles, go, hunt the buffalo in the plains +of the Marigondon! After much flight and pursuit, hard riding, and +imminent peril, a dexterous hunter encircled the animal's horns with +his lasso. The buffalo slackened his speed, and shook and tossed +his head, stopping now and then to try to get rid of the obstacle +which impeded his career. Another Indian, not less skilful than his +predecessor, threw his lasso with a like rapidity and success. The +furious beast now ploughed the earth with his horns, making the +soil fly around him, as if anxious to display his strength, and to +show what havoc he would have made with any of us who had allowed +themselves to be surprised by him. With much care and precaution the +Indians conveyed their prize into a neighbouring thicket. The hunters +uttered a shout of joy; for my part I could not repress a cry of +admiration. The animal was vanquished; it needed but a few precautions +to master him completely. I was much surprised to see the Indians +excite him with voice and gesture until he resumed the offensive, +and bounded from the ground with fury. What would have been our fate +had he succeeded in shaking off or breaking the lassos! Fortunately, +there was no danger of this. An Indian dismounted, and, with great +agility, attached to the trunk of a solid tree the two lassos that +retained the savage beast; then he gave the signal that his office +was accomplished, and retired. Two hunters approached, threw their +lassos over the animal, and fixed the ends to the ground with stakes; +and now our prey was thoroughly subdued, and reduced to immobility, +so that we could approach him with impunity. With blows of their +cutlasses the Indians hacked off his horns, which would so well have +revenged him had he been free to use them; then, with a pointed bamboo, +they pierced the membranes that separate the nostrils, and passed +through them a cane twisted in the form of a ring. In this state +of martyrdom they fastened him securely behind two tame buffaloes, +and led him to the next village. + +Here the animal was killed, and the hunters divided the carcass, the +flesh of which is equal in flavour to beef. I had been fortunate in my +first essay, for such encounters with these shaggy sovereigns of the +plain do not always end so easily. A few days afterwards we renewed +the sport, which, alas! terminated with an accident of too frequent +occurrence. An Indian was surprised by a buffalo, at the moment the +animal issued from the wood. With one blow from his horns the horse +was impaled and cast to the earth, while his Indian rider fell near +to him. The inequality of the ground offered some chance of the man +escaping the notice of his redoubtable foe, until the latter, by a +sudden movement of his head, turned the horse over upon his rider, +and inflicted several blows with his horns, either of which would have +proved fatal, but from the force becoming diminished in traversing +the carcass of the horse. Fortunately some of the other sportsmen +succeeded in turning the animal, and compelled him to abandon his +victim. It was indeed time, for we found the poor Indian half dead, +and terribly gored by the horns of the buffalo. We succeeded in +stopping the blood which flowed copiously from his wounds, and +carried him to the village upon a hastily constructed litter. It was +only by considerable care and attention that his care was eventually +effected, and my friend the Indian strongly opposed my assisting at +such dangerous sport for the future. + +Anna's health was now completely re-established. I no longer dreaded +the return of her fearful malady. During the space of several +months I had enjoyed all the pleasures that Tierra-Alta afforded, +and my affairs now requiring my presence at Manilla we set out for +that city. Immediately after my arrival I was compelled, much to my +regret, to resume my ordinary occupation; that is, to visit the sick +from morning to night, and from night to morning. My profession did +not well accord with my natural character, for I was not sufficiently +philosophic to witness, without pain, the sufferings I was incapable +of alleviating, and, above all, to watch the death-beds of fathers, +of mothers, and of dearly loved children. In a word, I did not act +professionally, for I never sent in my bills; my patients paid me +when and how they could. To their honour, I am bound to say that I +rarely had to complain of forgetfulness. Besides, my appointments +permitted me to live sumptuously, to have eight horses in my stables, +and to keep open house to my friends and the strangers who visited +Manilla. Soon, however, what my friends designated a coup-de-tête +caused me to lose all these advantages. + +Every month I summoned a council of revision in the regiment to +which I belonged. One day I brought forward a young soldier for +rejection; all went well; but a native surgeon, long jealous of my +reputation, was nominated by the governor to make inquiry and check my +declaration. He naturally inserted in his report that I was deceived; +that the malady of which I spoke was imaginary; and he succeeded in +all this so well that the governor, enraged, condemned me in a penalty +of six piasters. The following month I again brought forward the same +soldier, as being incapable of performing his duties; a commission +of eight surgeons was nominated; their decision was unanimous in my +favour, and the soldier was accordingly discharged. This reparation +not quite satisfying me, I presented an appeal to the governor, who +would not receive it, upon the strange pretext that the decision of +the medical committee could not annul his. I confess that I did not +understand this argument. This method of reasoning, if reasoning it +was, appeared to me specious in the extreme. Why allow the innocent +to suffer, and the ignorant practitioner, who had contradicted my +opinions and deceived himself, to escape? This injustice revolted +me. I am a Breton, and I have lived with Indians--two natures which +love only right and justice. I was so much annoyed by the governor's +conduct towards me that I went to him, not to make another reclamation, +but to tender my resignation of the important offices which I held. He +received me with a specious smile, and told me that after a little +reflection I should change my mind. The poor governor, however, was +deceived, for, on leaving his palace, I went direct to the minister +of finance and purchased the property of Jala-Jala. My course was +marked out, my resolution unshakable. Although my resignation was +not yet duly accepted, I began to act as though I was completely +free. I had at the beginning informed Anna of the matter, and had +asked her if she would reside at Jala-Jala. "With you I should be +happy anywhere." Such was her answer. I was free, then, to act as I +pleased, and could go wherever my destiny might lead me. I forthwith +decided upon visiting the land that I had purchased. + +For the execution of this project it was necessary to find a faithful +Indian upon whom I could rely. From among my domestics I chose the +coachman, a brave and discreet man, who was devoted to me. I took some +arms, ammunition, and provisions. At Lapindan, a small village near the +town of Santa Anna, I freighted a small boat worked by three Indians: +and one morning, without making my project known to my friends, and +without inquiring whether the governor had replaced me, I set out to +take possession of my domains, respiring the vivifying and pure air of +liberty. I ascended in my pirogue--which skimmed along the surface of +the waters like a sea-gull--the pretty river Pasig, which issues from +the lake of Bay, and traverses, on its way to the sea, the suburbs of +Manilla. The banks of this river are planted with thickets of bamboo, +and studded with pretty Indian habitations; above the large town of +Pasig it receives the waters of the river St. Mateo, at the spot where +that river unites itself with that of the Pasig. Upon the left bank +are still seen the ruins of the chapel and parsonage of St. Nicholas, +built by the Chinese, as the legend I am about to relate informs us. + +At an unknown epoch, a Chinese who was once sailing in a canoe, either +upon the river Pasig, or that of St. Mateo, suddenly perceived an +alligator making for his frail bark, which it immediately capsized. On +his finding himself thus plunged in the water, the unfortunate Chinese +whose only prospect was that of making a meal for the ferocious animal, +invoked the aid of St. Nicholas. You, perhaps, would not have done +so, nor I either; and we should have been wrong, for the idea was a +good one. The good St. Nicholas listened to the cries of the unhappy +castaway, appeared to his wondering eyes, and with a stroke of a +wand, like some benevolent fairy, changed the threatening crocodile +into a rock, and the Chinese was saved. But do not imagine that the +legend ends here; the Chinese are not an ungrateful people--China +is the land of porcelain, of tea, and of gratitude. The Chinese who +had thus escaped from the cruel fate that awaited him, felt desirous +of consecrating the memory of the miracle; and, in concert with his +brethren of Manilla, he built a pretty chapel and parsonage in honour +of the good St. Nicholas. This chapel was for a long time officiated +in by a bonze; and every year, at the festival of the saint, the rich +Chinese of Manilla assembled there in thousands, to give a series of +fêtes which lasted for fifteen days. But it happened that an archbishop +of Manilla, looking upon this worship offered up by Chinese gratitude +as nothing but paganism, caused both the chapel and parsonage to be +unroofed. These harsh measures had no other result than to admit the +rain into the buildings; but the worship due to St. Nicholas still +continued, and remains to this day. Perhaps this arises from the +attempt to suppress it! + +At present, at the period when this festival takes place--that is, +about the 6th of November every year--a delightful view presents +itself. During the night large vessels may be seen, upon which are +built palaces actually several stories high, terminating in pyramids, +and lit up from the base to the summit. All these lights are reflected +in the placid waters of the river, and seem to augment the number of +the stars, whose tremulous images dance on the surface of the waters: +it is an extemporised Venice! In these palaces they give themselves +up to play, to smoking opium, and to the pleasures of music. The +pévété, a species of Chinese incense, is burning everywhere and at +all times in honour of St. Nicholas, who is invoked every morning +by throwing into the river small square pieces of paper of various +colours. St. Nicholas, however, does not make his appearance; but +the fête continues for a fortnight, at the termination of which the +faithful retire till the year following. + +And now that the reader is acquainted with the legend of the crocodile, +of the Chinese, and of the good St. Nicholas, I will resume my voyage. + +I sailed on peaceably upon the Pasig, proceeding to the conquest of my +new dominions, and indulging in golden dreams. I gazed on the light +smoke of my cigarette, without reflecting that my dreams, my castles +in the air, must evaporate like it! I soon found myself in the lake +of Bay. The lake occupies an extent of thirty leagues, and I greatly +admired this fine sheet of water, bounded in the distance by mountains +of fantastic forms. At length I arrived at Quinaboutasan--this is a +Tagal word, which signifies "that which is perforated." Quinaboutasan +is situated on a strait, which separates the island of Talem from +the continent. We stopped for an hour in the only Indian hut there +was in the place, to cook some rice and take our repast. This hut +was inhabited by a very old fisherman and his wife. They were still, +however, able to supply their wants by fishing. At a later period I +shall have occasion to speak of old Relempago, or the "Thunderer," +and to recount his history. When I was in the centre of the sheet of +water which separates Talem from Jala-Jala, I came in sight of the new +domain which I had so easily acquired, and I could form some opinion of +my acquisition at a glance. Jala-Jala is a long peninsula, extending +from north to south, in the middle of the lake of Bay. This peninsula +is divided longitudinally for the space of three leagues by a chain of +mountains, which diminish gradually in height till they become mere +hillocks. These mountains, are easy of access, and generally covered +on one side with forests, and on the other with fine pasturage, +abounding with waving and flexible grass, three or four feet high, +which, agitated by the breeze, resembles the waves of the sea when in +motion. It is impossible to find more splendid vegetation, which is +watered by pure and limpid springs that gush from the mountain heights, +and roll in a meandering course to join the waters of the lake. These +pasture grounds constitute Jala-Jala the greatest game preserve +in the island: wild boars, deer, buffaloes, fowls, quail, snipe, +pigeons of fifteen or twenty different varieties, parrots--in short +all sorts of birds abound in them. The lake is equally well supplied +with aquatic birds, and particularly wild ducks. Notwithstanding its +extent, the island produces neither noxious nor carnivorous animals; +the only things to be apprehended are the civet cat, which only preys +upon birds, and the monkeys, which issue in troops from the forests +to ravage the fields of maize and sugar-cane. The lake, which abounds +with excellent fish, is less favoured in this respect than the land, +for it contains numerous crocodiles and alligators, of such immense +size that in a few moments one of them can tear a horse to pieces, +and swallow it in its monstrous stomach. The accidents they occasion +are frequent and terrible, and I have seen many Indians become their +victims, as I shall subsequently relate. I ought, doubtless, to have +begun by speaking of the human beings who inhabited the forests of +Jala-Jala, but I am a sportsman, and must therefore be excused for +beginning with the game. + +At the time I purchased it Jala-Jala was inhabited by some Malay +Indians, who lived in the woods, and cultivated a few spots of +ground. During the night they carried on the trade of piracy, and +gave shelter to all the banditti of the neighbouring provinces. At +Manilla this country had been described to me in the most gloomy +colours. According to the citizens of that place it would not be long +before I fell a victim to these robbers. My adventurous disposition, +however, only made all these predictions, instead of frightening me, +increase my desire to visit these men, who lived in an almost savage +state. As soon as I had purchased Jala-Jala, I had laid down a line of +conduct for myself, the object of which was to attach to me such of +the inhabitants as were the most to be dreaded. I resolved to become +the friend of these banditti, and for this purpose I knew that I must +go amongst them, not like a sordid and exacting landlord but like a +father. For the execution of my enterprise, everything depended on the +first impression that I should make on these Indians, who had become +my vassals. When I had landed, I directed my steps along the borders +of the lake, towards a little hamlet composed of a few cabins. I was +accompanied by my faithful coachman; we were both armed with a good +double-barreled gun, a brace of pistols, and a sabre. I had taken the +precaution of ascertaining from some fishermen the name of the Indian +to whom I should especially address myself. This man, who was the most +respected amongst his countrymen, was called in the Tagal language, +"Mabutiu-Tajo," which may be translated the "bravest of the brave" +he was a thorough-paced robber, a real piratical chief; a fellow that +would not hesitate to commit five or six murders in one expedition; +but he was brave, and with a primitive people bravery is a quality +before which they bow with respect. My conference with Mabutiu-Tajo +was not long. A few words were enough to win me his favour, and to +make him my faithful servant during the whole time I remained at +Jala-Jala. This is the manner in which I spoke to him: "You are a +great villain," I said; "I am the lord of Jala-Jala. I insist on your +changing your conduct; if you refuse, I shall punish you for all your +misdeeds. I have occasion for a guard: will you pledge me your honour +to become an honest man, and I will make you my lieutenant?" + +After these few words, Alila (this was the name of the robber) +continued silent for a few moments, while his countenance displayed the +marks of profound reflection. I awaited his answer with considerable +anxiety and doubt as to what it would be. + +"Master," he at length replied, with enthusiasm, presenting me his +hand, and bending one knee to the ground: "I shall be faithful to +you till death!" + +His answer made me happy, but I did not let him see my satisfaction. + +"Well and good," I replied; "to show you that I confide in you, +take this weapon, and use it only against the enemy." + +I gave him a Tagal sabre, which bore the following Spanish inscription, +in large letters: "No me sacas sin rason, ni me envainas sin +honor." "Never draw me unjustly, and never sheath me with dishonour." + +I translated this legend into the Tagaloc language: Alila thought it +sublime, and vowed never to deviate from it. + +"When I go to Manilla," I added, "I shall procure you a handsome +uniform, with epaulettes; but you must lose no time in assembling +the soldiers you will have to command, and who are to form my +guard. Conduct me to the house of one of your comrades whom you +think most capable of obeying you as serjeant." We went some distance +from his cabin to the hut of one of his friends, who almost always +accompanied him in his piratical excursions. A few words like those +I had spoken to my future lieutenant produced a similar influence +on his comrade, and induced him to accept the rank I offered him. We +occupied the day in recruiting amongst the various huts, and in the +evening we had a guard of ten effective men, infantry and cavalry, +a number I did not wish to exceed. + +Of these I took the command as captain; and thus, as will be seen, +I went promptly to work. The following day I assembled the population +of the peninsula, and, surrounded by my extempore guard, I chose a +situation where I wished to found a village, and a site on which +I wished my own habitation to be built. I ordered the heads of +families to construct their huts on an allotment which I indicated, +and I directed my lieutenant to employ as many hands as possible, to +quarry stones, to cut down timber for the wood-work, and to prepare +everything in short for my house. Having issued my orders, I departed +for Manilla, promising to return soon. When I reached home, I found +them in a state of inquietude, for, as nothing had been heard of me, +it was thought I had fallen a prey to the crocodiles, or a victim to +the pirates. The recital of my journey, and the description I gave of +Jala-Jala, far from disgusting my wife with the idea I had conceived +of inhabiting that country, made her, on the contrary, impatient to +visit our estate, and to establish herself there. It was, however, a +farewell she was taking of the capital--of its fêtes, its assemblies, +and its pleasures. + +I paid a visit to the governor. My resignation had been considered as +null and void: he had preserved all my places for me. I was touched +by this goodness. I sincerely thanked him, but told him that I was +really in earnest, that my resolution was irrevocably fixed, and that +he might otherwise dispose of my employments. I added, that I only +asked him for one favour, that of commanding all the local gendarmerie +of the province of La Lagune, with the privilege of having a personal +guard, which I would form myself. This favour was instantly granted, +and a few days after I received my commission. It was not ambition +that suggested to me the idea of asking for this important post, +but sound reason. My object was to establish an authority for myself +at Jala-Jala, and to have in my own hands the power of punishing my +Indians, without recurring to the justice of the alcaid, who lived +ten leagues away from my dominions. + +Wishing to be comfortably settled in my new residence, I drew +out a plan of my house. It consisted of a first-floor, with five +bed-chambers, a large hall, a spacious drawing-room, a terrace, and +bathing rooms. I agreed with a master-mason and a master carpenter +for the construction of it; and having obtained arms and uniforms +for my guard, I set out again. On arriving I was received with joy +by my Indians. My lieutenant had punctually executed my orders. A +great quantity of material was prepared, and several Indian huts were +already built. + +This activity gave me pleasure, as it evinced a desire for my +gratification. I immediately set my labourers to work, ordering them +to clear away the surrounding wood, and I soon had the pleasure of +laying the foundation of my residence; I then went to Manilla. The +works lasted for eight months, during which time I passed backwards and +forwards continually from Manilla to Jala-Jala, and from Jala-Jala to +Manilla. I had some trouble, but I was well repaid for it when I saw +a village rise from the earth. My Indians constructed their huts on +the places I had indicated; they had reserved a site for a church, +and, until this should be built, mass was to be celebrated in the +vestibule of my mansion. At length, after many journeys to and fro, +which gave great uneasiness to my wife, I was enabled to inform her +that the castle of Jala-Jala was ready to receive its mistress. This +was a pleasing piece of intelligence, for we were soon to be no +longer separated. + +I quickly sold my horses, my carriages, and useless furniture, and +freighted a vessel to convey to Jala-Jala all that I required. Then, +having taken leave of my friends, I quitted Manilla, with the +intention of not returning to it but through absolute necessity. Our +journey was prosperous, and on our arrival, we found my Indians +on the shore, hailing with cries of joy the welcome advent of the +"Queen of Jala-Jala," for it was thus they called my wife. + +We devoted the first days after our arrival to installing ourselves +in our new residence, which it was necessary to furnish, and make both +useful and agreeable; this we accordingly effected. And now that years +have elapsed, and I am far removed from that period of independence +and perfect liberty, I reflect on the strangeness of my destiny. My +wife and I were the only white and civilised persons in the midst of a +bronzed and almost savage population, and yet I felt no apprehension. I +relied on my arms, on my self-possession, and on the fidelity of my +guards. Anna was only aware of a part of the dangers we incurred, +and her confidence in me was so great, that when by my side she knew +not what it was to fear. When I was well established in my house, I +undertook a difficult and dangerous task, that of establishing order +amongst my Indians, and organizing my little town according to the +custom of the Philippine islands. The Spanish laws, with reference to +the Indians, are altogether patriarchal. Every township is erected, +so to speak, into a little republic. Every year a chief is elected, +dependant for affairs of importance on the governor of the province, +which latter, in his turn, depends on the governor of the Philippine +islands. I confess that I have always considered the mode of government +peculiar to the Philippines as the most convenient and best adapted +for civilization. The Spaniards, at the period of their conquest, +found it in full operation in the isle of Luzon. + +I shall here enter into some details. Every Indian population is +divided into two classes, the noble and the popular. The first is +composed of all Indians who are, or have been cabessas de barangay, +that is to say, collectors of taxes, which situation is honorary. The +taxes established by the Spaniards are personal. Every Indian of more +than twenty-one years of age pays, in four instalments, the annual sum +of three francs; which tax is the same to the rich and the poor. At a +certain period of the year, twelve of the cabessas de barangay become +electors, and assembling together with some of the old inhabitants of +the township, they elect, by ballot, three of their number, whose names +are forwarded to the governor of the Philippines. The latter chooses +from amongst these names whichever he pleases, and confides to him +for one year the functions of gobernadorcillo, or deputy-governor. To +distinguish him from the other Indians, the deputy-governor bears +a gold-headed cane, with which he has a right to strike such of his +fellow-citizens as may have committed slight faults. His functions +partake at the same time of those of mayor, justice of the peace, +and examining magistrate. He watches over good order and public +tranquillity; he decides, without appeal, suits and differences of +no higher importance than sixteen piasters (£3 6s. 8d.). He also +institutes criminal suits of high importance, but there his power +ceases. The documents connected with these suits are sent by him to +the governor of the province, who, in his turn, transmits them to +the royal court of Manilla. The court gives judgment, and the alcaid +carries it into execution. When the election for deputy-governor takes +place, the assembled electors choose all the officials who are to act +under him. These are alguazils, whose number is proportioned to the +population; two witnesses, or assistants, who are charged with the +confirmation of the acts of the deputy-governor--for without their +presence and sanction his acts would be considered null and void; +a jouès de palma, or palm judge, with the functions of rural guard; +a vaccinator, bound to be always furnished with vaccine matter, for +newborn children; and a schoolmaster, charged with public instruction; +finally, a sort of gendarmerie, to watch banditti and the state of +the roads within the precincts of the commune and the neighbouring +lands. Men, grown up, and without employment, form a civic guard, who +watch over the safety of the village. This guard indicates the hours +of the night, by blows struck upon a large piece of hollow wood. There +is in each town a parochial house, which is called Casa Réal, where +the deputy-governor resides. He is bound to afford hospitality to all +travellers who pass through the town, which hospitality is like that +of the Scotch mountaineers--it is given, but never sold. During two +or three days, the traveller has a right to lodging, in which he is +supplied with a mat, a pillow, salt, vinegar, wood, cooking vessels, +and--paying for the same--all descriptions of food necessary for +his subsistence. If, on his departure, he should even require horses +and guides to continue his journey, they are procured for him. With +respect to the prices of provisions, in order to prevent the abuses +so frequent amongst us, a large placard is fixed up in every Casa +Réal, containing a tariff of the market prices of meat, poultry, +fish, fruit, &c. In no case whatever can the deputy-governor exact +any remuneration for the trouble he is at. + +Such were the measures that I wished to adopt, and which, it is true, +possessed advantages and disadvantages. The greatest inconvenience +attending them was undoubtedly that of placing myself in a state +of dependence upon the deputy-governor, whose functions gave him a +certain right, for I was his administrator. It is true that my rank, +as commandant of all the gendarmerie of the province, shielded me from +any injustice that might be contemplated against me. I knew very well +that, beyond military service, I could inflict no punishment on my men +without the intervention of the deputy-governor; but I had sufficiently +studied the Indian character to know that I could only rule it by the +most perfect justice and a well-understood severity. But whatever were +the difficulties I foresaw, without any apprehension of the troubles +and dangers of every description that I should have to surmount, +I proceeded straightforward towards the object I had traced out for +myself. The road was sterile and encumbered with rocks; but I entered +upon it with courage, and I succeeded in obtaining over the Indians +such an influence, that they ultimately obeyed my voice as they would +that of a parent. The character of the Tagaloc is extremely difficult +to define. Lavater and Gall would have been very much embarrassed by +it; for both physiognomy and craniology would be, perhaps, equally +at a loss amongst the Philippines. + +The natural disposition of the Tagal Indian is a mixture of vices +and virtues, of good and bad qualities. A worthy priest has said, +when speaking of them: "They are great children and must be treated +as if they were little ones." + +It is really curious to trace, and still more so to read, the moral +portrait of a native of the Philippine islands. The Indian keeps his +word, and yet--will it be believed?--he is a liar. Anger he holds in +horror, he compares it to madness; and even prefers drunkenness, which, +however, he despises. He will not hesitate to use the dagger to avenge +himself for injustice; but what he can least submit to is an insult, +even when merited. When he has committed a fault, he may be punished +with a flogging; this he receives without a murmur, but he cannot brook +an insult. He is brave, generous, and a fatalist. The profession of a +robber, which he willingly exercises, is agreeable to him, on account +of the life of liberty and adventure it affords, and not because it may +lead to riches. Generally speaking, the Tagalocs are good fathers and +good husbands, both these qualities being inherent. Horribly jealous +of their wives, but not in the least of the honour of their daughters; +and it matters little if the women they marry have committed errors +previous to their union. They never ask for a dowry, they themselves +provide it, and make presents to the parents of their brides. They +dislike cowards, but willingly attach themselves to the man who is +brave enough to face danger. Play is their ruling passion, and they +delight in the combats of animals, especially in cock-fighting. This +is a brief compendium of the character of the people I was about +to govern. My first care was to become master of myself. I made a +firm resolution never to allow a gesture of impatience to escape me, +in their presence, even in the most critical moments, and to preserve +at all times unshaken calmness and sang-froid. I soon learned that it +was dangerous to listen to the communications that were made to me, +which might lead me to the commission of injustice, as had already +happened under the following circumstances. + +Two Indians came one day to lodge a complaint against one of their +comrades, living at some leagues' distance from Jala-Jala. These +informers accused him of having stolen cattle. After I had heard all +they had to say, I set off with my guard to seize upon the accused, and +brought him to my residence. There I endeavoured to make him confess +his crime, but he denied it, and said he was innocent. It was in vain +I promised him if he would tell the truth to grant him his pardon, for +he persisted even in the presence of his accusers. Persuaded, however, +that he was telling me falsehoods, and disgusted with his obstinacy +in denying a fact which had been sworn to me, with every appearance +of sincerity, I ordered him to be tied upon a bench, and receive a +dozen strokes of a whip. My orders were executed; but the culprit +denied the charge, as he had done before. This dogged perseverance +irritated me, and I caused another correction to be administered to him +the same as the first. The unfortunate man bore his punishment with +unshaken courage: but in the midst of his sufferings he exclaimed, +in penetrating accents: "Oh! sir, I swear to you that I am innocent; +but, as you will not believe me, take me into your house. I will be a +faithful servant, and you will soon have proofs that I am the victim of +an infamous calumny." These words affected me. I reflected that this +unfortunate man was, perhaps, not guilty after all. I began to fear I +had been deceived, and had unknowingly committed an act of injustice. I +felt that private enmity might have led these two witnesses to make +a false declaration, and thus induce me to punish an innocent man. I +ordered him to be untied. "The proof you demand," I said to him, "is +easily tried. If you are an honest man, I shall be a father to you; +but if you deceive me, do not expect any pity from me. From this moment +you shall be one of my guard; my lieutenant will provide you with +arms." He thanked me earnestly, and his countenance lit up with sudden +joy. He was installed in my guard. Oh! human justice! how fragile, +and how often unintelligible art thou! Some time after this event, +I learnt that Bazilio de la Cruz--this was the name of the man--was +innocent. The two wretches who had denounced him had fled, to avoid +the chastisement they merited. Bazilio kept his promise, and during my +residence at Jala-Jala he served me faithfully and without malice or +ill-will. This fact made a lively impression on me; and I vowed that +for the future I would inflict no punishment without being sure of +the truth of the charge alleged. I have religiously kept this vow--at +least I think so; for I have never since ordered a single application +of the whip until after the culprit had confessed his crime. + +I have before said that I had expressed a wish to have a church +built in my village, not only from a religious feeling, but as a +means of civilisation: I was particularly desirous of having a curate +at Jala-Jala. With this view I requested Monseigneur Hilarion, the +archbishop, whose physician I had been, and with whom I was on terms of +friendship, to send me a clergyman of my acquaintance, and who was at +that time unemployed. I had, however, much difficulty in obtaining this +nomination. "Father Miguel de San-Francisco," the archbishop replied, +"is a violent man, and very headstrong: you will never be able to live +with him." I persisted, however; and as perseverance always produces +some result, I at length succeeded in having him appointed curate +at Jala-Jala. Father Miguel was of Japanese and Malay descent. He +was young, strong, brave, and very capable of assisting me in the +difficult circumstances that might occur; as, for example, if it were +necessary to defend ourselves against banditti. Indeed I must say that, +in spite of the anticipations, and I may add the prejudices, of my +honourable friend the archbishop, I kept him with me during the whole +time of my abode at Jala-Jala, and never had the slightest difference +with him. I can only reproach him with one thing to be regretted, +which is that he did not preach sufficiently to his flock. He gave +them only one sermon annually, and then his discourse was always the +same, and divided into two parts: the first was in Spanish, for our +edification, and the second in Tagaloc, for the Indians. Ah! how many +men have I since met with who might well imitate the worthy curate +of Jala-Jala! To the observations I sometimes made he would reply: +"Let me follow my own course, and fear nothing. So many words are not +necessary to make a good Christian." Perhaps he was right. Since my +departure from the place the good priest is dead, bearing with him +to the tomb the regret of all his parishioners. + +As may be seen, I was at the beginning of my labour of +civilisation. Anna assisted me with all her heart, and with all her +intelligence, and no fatigue disheartened her. She taught the young +girls to love that virtue which she practised so well herself. She +furnished them with clothes, for at this period the young girls from +ten to twelve years of age were still as naked as savages. Father +Miguel de San Francisco was charged with the mission more especially +belonging to his sacred character. The more readily to disseminate +through the colony that instruction which is the beneficent parent of +civilisation, the young people were divided into squads of four at a +time, and went by turns to pass a fortnight at the parsonage. There +they learned a little Spanish, and were moulded to the customs of +a world which had been hitherto unknown to them. I superintended +everything in general. I occupied myself in works of agriculture, +and giving proper instruction to the shepherds who kept the flocks I +had purchased to make use of my pasturage. I was also the mediator of +all the differences which arose amongst my colonists. They preferred +rather to apply to me than to the deputy-governor; and I succeeded +at last in obtaining over them the influence I desired. One portion +of my time, and this was not the least busy, was occupied in driving +the banditti from my residence and its vicinity. Sometimes I set +off for this purpose before daybreak and did not return until night; +and then I always found my wife good, affectionate, and devoted to +me: her reception repaid me for the labours of the day. Oh, felicity +almost perfect! I have never forgotten you! Happy period! which has +left indelible traces in my memory, you are always present to my +thoughts! I have grown old, but my heart has ever continued young in +recollecting you. + +In our long chit-chat of an evening we recounted to each other the +labours of the day, and everything that occurred to us. This was +the season of sweet mutual confidence. Hours too soon vanished, +alas! Fugitive moments, you will never return! It was also the time +when I gave audience; real bed of justice, imitated from St. Louis, +and thrown open to my subjects. The door of my mansion admitted all +the Indians who had anything to communicate to me. Seated with my +wife at a great round table, I listened, as I took my tea, to all the +requests that were made to me, all the claims that were laid before +me. It was during these audiences that I issued my sentences. My guards +brought the culprits before me, and, without departing from my ordinary +calmness, I admonished them for the faults they had committed; but I +always recollected the error I bad committed in my sentence against +poor Bazilio, and I was, therefore, very circumspect. I first listened +to the witnesses; but I never condemned until I heard the culprit say: + +"What would you have, sir? It was my destiny. I could not prevent +myself from doing what I did." + +"Every fault merits chastisement," I would reply; "but choose between +the deputy-governor and me--by which do you wish to be chastised?" + +The reply was always the same. + +"Kill me, if you will, master; but do not give me up to my own +countrymen." + +I awarded the punishment, and it was inflicted by my guards. When this +was over, I presented the Indian with a cigar, as a token of pardon, +I uttered a few kind words to him to induce him not to commit any fresh +faults, and he went away without hearing any malice to his judge. I +had, perhaps, been severe, but I had been just; that was enough. The +order and discipline I had established were a great support for me +in the minds of the Indians; they gave me a positive influence over +them. My calmness, my firmness, and my justice--those three great +qualities without which no government is possible--easily satisfied +these natures, still untrained and unsophisticated. But one thing, +however, disquieted them. Was I brave? This is what they were ignorant +of, and frequently asked of one another. They spurned the idea of being +commanded by a man who might not be intrepid in the face of danger. I +had indeed made several expeditions against banditti, but they had +produced no result, and would not serve as proofs of my bravery +in the eyes of the Indians. I very well knew that they would form +their definite opinion upon me from my conduct in the first perilous +extremity we should encounter together. I was therefore determined +to undertake anything, that I might show myself at least equal to +the best and bravest of all my Indians: everything was comprised in +that. I felt the imperious necessity of showing myself not only equal +but superior in the struggle, by preserving my self-possession. + +An opportunity at length offered. + +The Indians look upon buffalo hunting as the most dangerous of all +their wild sports, and my guards often said they would rather stand +naked at twenty paces from the muzzle of a carbine than at the same +distance from a wild buffalo. The difference they said is this, that +the ball of a carbine may only wound, but the horn of a buffalo is +sure to kill. I took advantage of the terror they had of this animal, +and one day declared, with the utmost possible coolness, my intention +to hunt one. They then made use of all their eloquence to turn me from +my project; they gave me a very picturesque, but a very discouraging +description of the dangers and difficulties I should have to encounter, +especially as I was not accustomed to that sort of warfare,--and such +a combat is, in fact, a struggle for life or death. But I would listen +to nothing. I had spoken the word: I would not discuss the point, +and I looked upon all their counsels as null and void. My decision +was right; for these kind counsels, these frightful pictures of the +dangers I was about to incur, had no other object than to entrap +me; they had concerted amongst themselves to judge of my courage by +my acceptance or refusal of the combat. My only answer was to give +orders for the hunt. I took great care that my wife should not be +informed of our excursion, and I set off, accompanied by half a score +Indians, nearly all of whom were armed with muskets. Buffalo hunting +is different in the mountains from what it is in the plains. On the +plain one only requires a good horse, with address and agility in +throwing the lasso; but in the mountains it requires something more: +and, above all, the most extraordinary coolness and self-possession +are essentially necessary. + +This is the way in which it is done: the hunter takes a gun on which +he can depend, and places himself in such a position that the buffalo +must see him on issuing from the wood. The moment the animal sees +him, he rushes on him with the utmost velocity, breaking, rending, +and trampling under foot every obstacle to the fury of his charge; +he rushes on as if about to crush the enemy, then stops within some +paces for a few seconds, and presents his sharp and threatening +horns. This is the moment that the hunter should fire, and lodge his +ball in the forehead of the foe. If unfortunately his gun misses fire, +or if his coolness fails him, if his hand trembles, or his aim is bad, +he is lost--Providence alone can save him! This was, perhaps, the +fate that awaited me; but I was resolved to tempt this cruel proof, +and I went forward with intrepidity--perhaps to death. We at length +arrived on the skirts of an extensive wood, in which we felt assured +there were buffaloes, and here we halted. I was sure of my gun, +and I conceived I was equally so of my self-possession; I therefore +determined that the hunt should be conducted as if I had been a simple +Indian. I placed myself at the spot where it was fully expected that +the animal would come out, and I forbade anyone to remain near me. I +ordered everyone to his proper place, and I then stood alone on the +open ground, about two hundred paces from the borders of the forest, +to await an enemy that would show me no mercy if I missed him. It is, +I confess, a solemn moment, when one stands between life and death by +the more or less certainty of a gun, or the greater or less steadiness +of the arm that holds it. I was, however, perfectly tranquil. When +all were at their posts two hunters entered the forest, having +first thrown off some of their clothing, the more readily to climb +up trees in case of danger: they had no other arms than a cutlass, +and were accompanied by the dogs. A dead silence continued for +upwards of half-an-hour; everyone listening for the slightest noise, +but nothing was heard. The buffalo continues a long time frequently +without betraying his lair; but at the end of the half-hour we heard +the repeated barking of the dogs, and the shouts of the hunters: +the animal was aroused from his cover. He defended himself for some +time against the dogs, till at length, becoming furious, he sprang +forward with a bound towards the skirts of the forest. In a few minutes +after, I heard the crashing of the branches and the young trees that +the buffalo rent asunder in the terrible velocity of his course. His +advance could only be compared to the galloping of several horses--to +the rushing noise of some frightful monster--or, I might almost say, +of some furious and diabolical being. Down he came like an avalanche; +and at this moment, I confess, I experienced such lively emotions that +my heart beat with extraordinary rapidity. Was it not death--aye, +and frightful death--that was perhaps approaching me? Suddenly the +buffalo made his appearance. He stopped for an instant; gazed, as if +frightened, around him; sniffed up the air of the plain which extended +in the distance; then, with distended nostrils, head bent, and horns +projected, he rushed towards me, terrible and furious. The moment was +come. If I had longed for an opportunity of showing off my courage +and sang-froid to the Indians, these two precious qualities were now +put to a severe test. There I was, face to face with the peril I had +courted; the dilemma was one of the most decided and unavoidable that +could possibly be: conqueror or conquered, there must be a victim--the +buffalo or me, and we were both equally disposed to defend ourselves. + +It would be difficult for me to state exactly what was passing in my +mind, during the brief period which the buffalo took in clearing the +distance that lay between us. My heart, so vividly agitated while the +ferocious animal was rushing through the forest, now beat no longer. My +eyes were fixed upon him, my gaze was rivetted on his forehead in such +a manner that I could see nothing else. My mind was concentrated on +one object alone, in which I was so absorbed, that I could actually +hear nothing, though the dogs were still barking at a short distance, +as they followed their prey. At length, the buffalo lowered his head, +presented his sharp-pointed horns, stopped for a moment, then, with +a sudden plunge, he rushed upon me, and I fired. My ball pierced his +skull, and I was half saved. The animal fell within a pace of me, like +a mass of rock, so loud, and so heavy. I planted my foot between his +two horns, and was preparing to fire my second barrel, when a long and +hollow bellowing indicated that my victory was complete--the monster +had breathed his last sigh. My Indians then came up. Their joy was +succeeded by admiration; they were in ecstasy; I was everything they +could wish for. All their doubts had vanished with the smoke of my +rifle, when, with steady aim, I had shot the buffalo. I was brave; +I had won their confidence; I had stood the test. My victim was cut +up in pieces, and borne in triumph to the village. As the victor, +I took his horns; they were six feet long. I have since deposited +them in the museum of Nantes. The Indians, those imaginative beings, +called me thenceforward, "Malamit Oulou," Tagal words, which signify +"cool head." + +I must confess, without vanity, that the proof to which my Indians had +subjected me was sufficiently serious to give them a decided opinion +of my courage, and to satisfy them that a Frenchman was as brave as +themselves. The habit I subsequently acquired of hunting convinced +me that but little danger is really incurred when the weapon is a +good one, and the self-possession does not fail. Once every month I +indulged in this exercise, which imparts such lively sensations; and +I recognised the facility with which one may lodge a ball in a plain +surface, a few inches in diameter, and at a few paces distance. But +it is no less true that our first huntings were very dangerous. Once +only I permitted a Spaniard named Ocampo to accompany us. I had taken +the precaution to station two Indians at his side; but when I quitted +them to take up my own post, he imprudently sent them away, and soon +after, the buffalo started from the wood, and rushed upon him. He +fired both his barrels, and missed the animal; we heard the reports +and ran towards him, but it was too late! Ocampo was no longer in +existence. The buffalo had gored him through and through, and his body +was ploughed up with frightful wounds. But no such accident ever took +place again; for when strangers came to witness our buffalo hunts, +I made them get up in a tree, or on the crest of a mountain, where +they might remain as spectators of the combat, without taking any +part in it, or being exposed to any danger. + +And now that I have described buffalo hunting in the mountains, +I must return to my colonising labours. + + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Description of my House at Jala-Jala--Storms, Gales, and + Earthquakes--Reforming the Banditti--Card-playing--Tagal + Cock-fighting--Skirmishes with Robbers--Courage of my Wife--Our + Domestic Happiness--Visits from Europeans--Their Astonishment at + our Civilisation--Visit to a Sick Friend at Manilla--Tour through + the Provinces of the Ilocos and Pangasinan Indians--My Reception + by the Tinguians--Their Appearance and Habits--Manners and + Customs--Indian Fête at Laganguilan y Madalag--Horrible Ceremonies + to Celebrate a Victory--Songs and Dances--Our Night-watch--We + Explore our Cabin--Discovery of a Secret Well--Tomb of the + Tinguian Indians. + + +As I have previously said, my house possessed every comfort that +could possibly be desired. It was built of hewn stone, so that in +case of an attack it could serve as a small fortress. The front +overlooked the lake, which bathed with its clear and limpid waters +the verdant shore within a hundred steps from my dwelling; the back +part looked upon woods and hills, where the vegetation was rich and +plentiful. From our windows we could gaze upon those grand majestic +scenes which a beautiful tropical sky so frequently affords. At +times, on a dark night, the summits of the hills suddenly shone +with a weak faint light, which increased by degrees; then the bright +moon gradually appeared, and illuminated the tops of the mountains, +as large beacon-fires would have done; then again, calm, peaceful, +and serene, she reflected her soft poetic light over the bosom of +the lake, as tranquil and unruffled as herself. It was indeed an +imposing sight. Towards evening, Nature at times showed herself +in all her commanding splendour, infusing a secret terror into the +very soul. Everything bore evidence of the sacred influence of the +Divine Creator. At a short distance from our house we could perceive +a mountain, the base of which was in the lake and the summit in the +clouds. This mountain served as a lightning conductor to Jala-Jala: +it attracted the thunder. Frequently heavy black clouds, charged with +electricity, gathered over this elevated point, looking like other +mountains trying to overturn it; then a storm began, the thunder roared +tremendously, the rain fell in torrents; every minute frightful claps +were heard, and the total darkness was scarcely broken by the lightning +that flashed in long streams of fire, dashing from the top and sides +of the mountain enormous blocks of rock, that were hurled into the +lake with a fearful crash. It was an admirable exemplification of the +power of the Almighty! Soon the calm was restored, the rain ceased, +the clouds disappeared, the fragrant air bore on its yet damp wings +the perfume of the flowers and aromatic plants, and Nature resumed +her ordinary stillness. Hereafter I shall have occasion to speak +of other events that happened at certain periods, and were still +more alarming, for they lasted twelve hours. These were gales of +wind, called in the Chinese seas Tay-Foung. At several periods of +the year, particularly at the moment of the change of the monsoon, +[3] we beheld still more terrifying phenomena than our storms--I +allude to the earthquakes. These fearful convulsions of nature +present a very different aspect in the country from what they do in +cities. If in towns the earth begins to quake, everywhere we hear a +terrible noise; the edifices give way, and are ready to fall down; +the inhabitants rush out of their houses, run along the streets, which +they encumber, and try to escape. The screams of frightened children +and women bathed in tears are blended with those of the distracted +men; all are on their knees, with clasped hands, their looks raised to +Heaven, imploring its mercy with sobbing voices. Everything totters, +is agitated; all dread death, and terror becomes general. In the +country it is totally different, and a hundred times more imposing and +terrific. For instance, in Jala-Jala, at the approach of one of these +phenomena, a profound, even mournful stillness pervades nature. The +wind no longer blows; not a breeze nor even a gentle zephyr is +perceptible. The sun, though cloudless, darkens, and spreads around +a sepulchral light. The atmosphere is burdened with heavy and sultry +vapours. The earth is in labour. The frightened animals quietly seek +shelter from the catastrophe they foresee. The ground shakes; soon it +trembles under their feet. The trees move, the mountains quake upon +their foundations, and their summits appear ready to tumble down. The +waters of the lake quit their bed, and inundate the country. Still +louder roaring than that produced by the thunder is heard: the earth +quivers; everywhere its motion is simultaneously felt. But after this +the convulsion ceases, everything revives. The mountains are again firm +upon their foundations, and become motionless; the waters of the lake +return by degrees to their proper reservoir; the heavens are purified +and resume their brilliant light, and the soft breeze fans the air; +the wild buffaloes again scour the plain, and other animals quit the +dens in which they had concealed themselves; the earth has resumed +her stillness, and nature recovered her accustomed imposing calm. + +I have not sought to enter upon those minute descriptions, too tedious +generally for the reader; I only wished to give an idea of the various +panoramas that were unfolded to our eyes whilst at Jala-Jala. + +I now return to the details of my ordinary life. + +As I had killed a wild buffalo when hunting, I had given sufficient +proofs of my skill, and my Indians were devoted to me, because they +had confidence in me. Nothing more now pre-occupied me, and I spent +my time in superintending some necessary alterations. Shortly the +woods and forests adjoining my domain were cut down, and replaced by +extensive fields of indigo and rice. I stocked the hills with horned +cattle, and a fine troop of horses with delicate limbs and haughty +mien; I also succeeded in dispersing the banditti from Jala-Jala. I +must say a great many of them abandoned their wandering sinful lives; +I received them on my land, and made good husbandmen of them. How +was it that I had collected such a number of recruits? In a strange +manner, I will admit, and worthy of relating, as it will show how +an Indian allows himself to be influenced and guided, when he has +confidence in a man whom he looks upon as his superior. I frequently +walked in the forests alone, with my gun under my arm. Suddenly a +bandit would spring out, as if by enchantment, from behind a tree, +armed from top to toe, and advance towards me. + +"Master," said he to me, putting one knee to the ground, "I will be +an honest man; take me under your protection!" + +I asked him his name; if he had been marked out by the high court of +justice, I would answer him severely: + +"Withdraw, and never present yourself again before me; I cannot +forgive you, and if I meet you again, I must do my duty." + +If he was unknown to me, I would kindly say to him: + +"Follow me." + +I would take him home, and then tell him to lay down his arms; and +after having preached to him, and exhorted him to persist in his +resolution, I would point out to him the spot in the village where +he might build his cabin, and, in order to encourage him, I would +advance him some money to support himself until he became transformed +from a bandit into an agriculturist. I congratulated myself each +day on having left an open door to repentance, since by my cares I +restored to an honest and laborious life, people who had gone astray +and been perverted. I endeavoured also to persuade the Indians to +abandon their vicious wild customs, without being too severe towards +them; to obtain much from them I knew it was necessary to give way a +little. The Indians are passionately fond of cards and cock-fighting, +as I have said before; therefore, in order not to debar them entirely +from these pleasures, I allowed them to play at cards three times a +year--the day of the village festival, upon my wife's birthday, and +upon my own. Woe to the one who was caught playing out of the times +prescribed above; he was severely punished. As to the cock-fights, +I allowed them on Sundays and holidays, after Divine service. For +this purpose I had public arenas built. In these arenas, in presence +of two judges, whose decrees were without appeal, the spectators +laid heavy wagers. There is nothing more curious than to witness a +cock-fight. The two proud animals, purposely chosen and trained for +the day of the contest, come upon the battle-field armed with long, +sharp, steel spurs. They bear themselves erect; their deportment +is bold and warlike; they raise their heads, and beat their sides +with their wings, the feathers of which spread in the form of +the proud peacock's fan. They pace the arena haughtily, raising +their armed legs cautiously, and darting angry looks at each other, +like two old warriors in armour ready to fight before the eyes of an +assembled court. Their impatience is violent, their courage impetuous; +shortly the two adversaries fall upon and attack each other with equal +fury; the sharp weapons they wear inflict dreadful wounds, but these +intrepid combatants appear not to feel the cruel effects. Blood flows; +the champions only appear the more animated. The one that is getting +weak raises his courage at the idea of victory; if he draw back, it is +only to recruit his strength, to rush with more ardour than ever upon +the enemy he wishes to subdue. At length when their fate is decided, +when one of the heroes, covered with blood and wounds, falls a victim, +or runs away, he is declared vanquished, and the battle is ended. + +The Indians assist with a sort of ferocious joy at this +amusement. Their attention is so captivated by it that they do not +utter a word, but follow with particular care the most minute details +of the conflict. Almost all of them train up a cock, and treat him +for several years with comical tenderness, when one reflects that +this animal, taken as much care of as a child, is destined by its +master to perish the first day it fights. I also found that it was +necessary to provide some amusement compatible with the tastes, +manners, and habits of my former bandits, who had led for so long +a space of time such a wandering vagabond life. For this purpose I +allowed hunting on all parts of my estate, conditionally, however, +that I should take beforehand, as tithe, a quarter of any stag or wild +boar they should kill. I do not think that ever a sportsman--one of +those men reclaimed from the paths of vice to those of virtue--failed +in this engagement, or endeavoured to steal any game. I have often +received seven or eight haunches of venison in a day, and those who +brought them were delighted to be able to offer them to me. + +The church I had laid the foundation of was progressing rapidly; +the population of the township was daily increasing: and everything +succeeded according to my wishes. I had still occasional difficulties +with the hardened robbers who surrounded me; but I pursued them +without intermission, for it was to my interest to remove them from the +neighbourhood of my residence. Frequently they annoyed me by the alarms +that they gave us. These resolute, determined men arrived in gangs to +besiege our house. My guards surrounded me, and we occasionally fought +skirmishes, which always terminated in our favour. Providence has +unfathomable secrets. I was never struck by a ball from a bandit. I +bear the scars of seventeen wounds; but these wounds were made with +naked blades. It could be said of me, as in I know not which Scotch +ballad: "Did not the Devil's soldiers pass through the balls, instead +of the balls passing through them." Yet I have often been fired at; +sometimes the barrel of a gun has been pointed at my chest, and that +at a few paces from me. My clothes have been torn by the bullet, +but my body has always escaped harm. + +One morning I was cautioned to put myself on my guard, because some +banditti had met together at a few leagues from my house, and intended +attacking it. Hearing this, I armed my people, and set out to meet +the band that was coming to assail me, so as to anticipate their +attack. At the place that had been indicated to me I found nobody, +and passed the day in exploring the neighbourhood, in hopes of meeting +the bandits, but my search was useless. Suddenly the thought struck me +that a secret enemy had imposed upon me, and that, at the moment I was +going to face imaginary danger, perhaps my house I had left would be +suddenly attacked. I trembled--I shivered all over. I gallopped off, +and reached home in the middle of the night. My fears were but too +well-founded. I had fallen into a snare. I found my servants armed, +watching, with my wife at their head. "What are you doing here?" I +exclaimed, going up to her. "I am keeping watch," she replied, with +great presence of mind; "I was told that the advice given to you +was false; that you would not find the robbers where you expected, +and that, during your absence, they would come here." This act of +heroism proved to me what courage and energy God had given to a woman +apparently so delicate. The banditti did not attack us: was there +not some guardian angel watching over my dwelling? + +We were more than a year at Jala-Jala without seeing a European. One +would have thought that we had withdrawn ourselves entirely from the +civilised world, and that we were going to live for ever with the +Indians. Our mountains had so bad a reputation, that nobody dared +expose themselves to the thousand dangers they feared to encounter in +the locality. We were therefore alone, yet still very happy. It was, +perhaps, the most pleasant time I spent in my life. I was living with a +beloved and loving wife; the good work I had undertaken was performed +under my eyes; the comfort and happiness, the natural results of +such good work, spread themselves among my vassals, who daily became +more and more devoted to me. How could I have regretted quitting +the pleasures and entertainments of a town, where those diversions +and pleasures are bought by lies, hypocrisy, and deceit--those three +vices of civilised society? However, the terror spread around by the +banditti was not great enough to keep away the Europeans entirely; +and one morning some people, [4] mad enough to dare to visit a mad +man--such was the name given to me at Manilla, when I left to go and +live in the country--came to see me, armed to their very teeth. The +surprise of these venturesome visitors is impossible to be described, +when they found us at Jala-Jala, calm, and in perfect safety. Their +astonishment increased when they went entirely through our colony; and +on their return to town they gave such an account of our retreat, and +of the entertainments they found there, that shortly after we received +more visits, and I had not only to give hospitality to friends, but +likewise to strangers. If, now and then, our affairs compelled us to +go to Manilla, we very soon came back to our mountains and forests, +for there only Anna and myself were happy. Very great reasons alone +could induce us to leave our pleasant abode; however, a slight event +occurred that obliged us to quit it for a short time. I was informed +that one of my friends, who had acted as witness to my marriage, +was seriously ill. [5] What the greatest pleasure, the most heartfelt +joy, the most splendid banquet, could not obtain from me, friendship +exacted. At this sad intelligence I determined at once upon going to +Manilla, to give my advice to the sick man, whose family had solicited +my aid; and as my absence might be prolonged, I packed up my things, +and we left, our hearts sadder than ever at having to quit Jala-Jala +on so melancholy an errand. Upon my arrival there, I was told that +my friend had been taken from Manilla to Boulacan, a province to the +north of that town, where it was hoped the country air would hasten +his recovery. I left Anna at her sister's, and went off to join Don +Simon, whom I found convalescent; my presence was almost useless, +and the journey I had made resulted in shaking affectionately my +former comrade by the hand, whom I would not leave until convinced +that he was entirely recovered. + +In order to utilise my time, I decided upon making a tour to the north +into the provinces of Ilocos and Pangasinan. I had my reasons for so +doing: I wished, if possible, to make an excursion to the Tinguians +and Igorrots, wild populations, who were much talked of, but little +known. I wished to study them myself. I took the precaution not to +confide this idea to anybody, for then, indeed, people would not +have known what name to give my folly. I made my preparations, and +set out with my faithful lieutenant, Alila, who never left me, and +who was justly styled Mabouti-Tao. We were mounted upon good horses, +that carried us along like gazelles to Vigan, the chief town of the +province of South Ilocos, where we left the animals. From there we +took a guide, who conducted us on foot to the east, close to a small +river called Abra (opening). This river is the only issue by which +we could penetrate to the Tinguians. It winds around high mountains +of basalt; its sides are steep; its bed is encumbered with immense +blocks of rock, fallen from the sides of the mountains, which render +it impossible to walk along its banks. To reach the Tinguians, it +is necessary to have recourse to a slight skiff, that can easily +pass through the current and the most shallow parts. My guide and +my lieutenant soon contrived to make a small raft of bamboos; when +it was finished we embarked, Alila and myself, our guide refusing +to accompany us. After much trouble and fatigue, casting ourselves +often into the water to draw our raft along, we at length got clear +of the first range of mountains, and perceived, in a small plain, +the first Tinguian village. When we reached there we got out, and +went towards the huts we had distinguished in the distance. I allow +it was acting rather foolishly to go and thus expose ourselves, +in the midst of a colony of ferocious and cruel men whose language +we did not know; but I relied upon my usual good fortune. I will add +that I had taken divers objects with me to give as presents, trusting +to meet some inhabitant speaking the Tagaloc language. I walked on, +then, without troubling myself about what would become of us. In a +few minutes we reached the nearest cabins, and the inhabitants gave +us at first an unwelcome reception. Frightened at seeing us approach, +they advanced towards us, armed with hatchets and spears; we waited +for them without recoiling in the least. I spoke to them by signs, +and showed them some necklaces of glass beads, to make them understand +we were friendly disposed. They deliberated among themselves, and when +they had held their consultation, they beckoned us to follow them. We +obeyed. They led us to their chief, who was an old man. My generosity +was greater towards him than it had been to his subjects. He appeared +so delighted with my presents, that he immediately put us at our ease, +by making us understand that we had nothing to fear, and that he took +us under his special protection. + +This pleasing reception encouraged us. + +I then set about examining with attention the men, women, and children +who surrounded us, and who seemed as much astonished as ourselves. My +amazement was very great when I beheld tall men, slightly bronzed, +with straight hair, regular features, aquiline noses, and really +handsome, elegant women. Was I really among savages? I should rather +have thought I was among the inhabitants of the south of France, +had it not been for the costume and language. The only clothing the +men wore was a sash, and a sort of a turban, made out of the bark of +the fig tree. They were armed, as they always are, with a long spear, +a small hatchet, and a shield. The women also wore a sash, and a small +narrow apron that came down to their knees. Their heads were ornamented +with pearls, coral beads, and pieces of gold, twisted among their hair; +the upper parts of their hands were painted blue; their wrists adorned +with interwoven bracelets, spangled with glass beads--these bracelets +reached the elbow, and formed a kind of half-plaited sleeve. On this +subject I learnt a remarkable fact. These interwoven bracelets squeeze +the arm very much; they are put on when the women are quite young, +and they prevent the development of the flesh to the advantage of the +wrist and hand, which swell and become dreadfully big; this is a mark +of beauty with the Tinguians, as a small foot is with the Chinese, +and a small waist with the European ladies. I was quite astonished +to find myself in the midst of this population, where there was no +reason whatsoever to be alarmed. One thing only annoyed me; it was +the odour that these people spread around them, which could be smelt +even at a distance. However, the men and women are cleanly, for they +are in the habit of bathing twice daily. I attributed the disagreeable +smell to their sash and turban, which they never leave off, but allow +to fall into rags. I remarked that the reception given me by the +chief gained us the good-will of all the inhabitants, and I accepted, +without hesitation, the hospitality proffered us. This was the only +means of studying well the manners and customs of my new hosts. + +The territory occupied by the Tinguians is situated about 17 degrees +north latitude, and 27 degrees west longitude; it is divided into +seventeen villages. Each family possesses two habitations, one for +the day and the other for the night. The abode for the day is a +small cabin, made of bamboos and straw, in the same style as most +Indian huts; the one for the night is smaller, and perched upon great +posts, or on the top of a tree, about sixty or eighty feet above the +ground. This height surprised me, but I understood this precaution +when I knew that thus, under shelter at night, the Tinguians are saved +from the nocturnal attacks of the Guinanès, their mortal enemies, +and defend themselves with the stones which they throw from the tops +of the trees. [6] In the middle of each village there is a large shed, +in which are held the assemblies, festivities, and public ceremonies. I +had been already two days in the village of Palan (this was the name +of the place where I stopped at), when the chiefs received a message +from the small town of Laganguilan y Madalag, that lies far off to the +east. By this message the chiefs were informed that the inhabitants of +this district had fought a battle, and that they had been victorious. + +The inhabitants of Palan hearing this news screamed with joy; it +was quite a tumult when they heard that a fête would be given in +commemoration of the success at Laganguilan y Madalag. All wished +to be present--men, women, children; all desired to go to it. But +the chiefs chose a certain number of warriors, some women, and a +great many young girls: they made their preparations and set out. It +was too favourable an opportunity for me not to avail myself of it, +and I earnestly begged my hosts to allow me to accompany them. They +consented, and the same night we set out on our journey, being in all +thirty in number. The men wore their arms, which are composed of a +hatchet, that they call aligua, a sharp-pointed spear of bamboo, and a +shield; the women were muffled up in their finest ornaments. I remarked +that these garments were cotton materials, of showy colours. We walked +one behind another, according to the custom of the savages. We went +through many villages, the inhabitants of which were also going to +the fête; we crossed over mountains, forests, torrents, and at last, +at break of day, we reached Laganguilan y Madalag. This small town was +the scene of much rejoicing. On all sides the sound of the gong and +tom-tom were heard. The first of these instruments is of a Chinese +shape; the second is in the form of a sharp cone, covered over at +the bottom with a deer's skin. + +Towards eleven o'clock, the chiefs of the town, followed by all the +population, directed their steps towards the large shed. There everyone +took his place on the ground, each party, headed by its chiefs, +occupying a place marked out for it beforehand. In the middle of a +circle formed by the chiefs of the warriors were large vessels, full +of basi, a beverage made with the fermented juice of the sugar-cane; +and four hideous heads of Guinans entirely disfigured--these were +the trophies of the victory. When all the assistants had taken their +places, a champion of Laganguilan y Madalag took one of the heads +and presented it to the chiefs of the town, who showed it to all the +assistants, making a long speech comprehending many praises for the +conquerors. This discourse being over, the warrior took up the head, +divided it with strokes of his hatchet, and took out the brains. During +this operation, so unpleasant to witness, another champion got a second +head, and handed it to the chiefs, the same speech was delivered, +then he broke the skull to pieces in like manner, and took out the +brains. The same was done with the four bleeding skulls of the subdued +enemies. When the brains were taken out, the young girls pounded them +with their hands into the vases containing the liquor of the fermented +sugar-cane; they stirred the mixture round, and then the vases were +taken to the chiefs, who dipped in their small osier goblets, through +the fissures of which the liquid part ran out, and the solid part that +remained at the bottom they drank with ecstatic sensuality. I felt +quite sick at this scene, so entirely new to me. After the chieftains' +turn came the turn of the champions. The vases were presented to them, +and each one sipped with delight this frightful drink, to the noise +of wild songs. There was really something infernal in this sacrifice +to victory. + +We sat in a circle and these vases were carried round. I well +understood that we were about undergoing a disgusting test. Alas! I +had not long to wait for it. The warriors planted themselves before +me, and presented me with the basi and the frightful cup. All eyes +were fixed upon me. The invitation was so direct, to refuse it would +perhaps be exposing myself to death! It is impossible to describe +the interior conflict that passed within me. I would rather have +preferred the carbine of a bandit five paces from my chest; or await, +as I had already done, the impetuous attack of the wild buffalo. What a +perplexity! I shall never forget that awful moment. It struck me with +terror and disgust; however, I contained myself, nothing betraying my +emotion. I imitated the savages, and, dipping the osier goblet into the +drink, I approached it to my lips, and passed it to the unfortunate +Alila, who could not avoid this infernal beverage. The sacrifice was +complete; the libations were over, but not the songs. The basi is a +very spirituous and inebriating liquor, and the assistants, who had +partaken rather too freely of this horrible drink, sang louder to the +noise of the tom-tom and the gong, while the champions divided the +human skulls into small pieces destined to be sent as presents to all +their friends. The distribution was made during the sitting, after +which, the chiefs declared the ceremony over. They then danced. The +savages divided themselves into two lines, and howling, as if they +were furious madmen or terribly provoked, they jumped about, laying +their right hand upon the shoulder of their partners, and changing +places with them. These dances continued all day; at last night came +on, each inhabitant retired with his family and some few guests to +his aerial abode, and soon afterwards tranquillity was restored. + +We cannot help feeling astonished, when we are in Europe--in a +good bed, under a warm eider-down coverlet, the head luxuriously +reclining upon good pillows--when we reflect on the singular homes +of the savages in the woods. How often have I represented to myself +these families--roosting eighty feet above ground, upon the tops of +trees. However, I know that they sleep as quietly in those retreats, +open to every wind, as I in my well-closed and quiet room. Are they +not like the birds who repose at their sides upon the branches? Have +they not Nature for a mother, that admirable guardian of all she has +made, and do they not also close their eyelids under the tutelary +looks of the Supreme Father of the universe? + +My faithful Alila retired with me into one of the low-storied +cabins to pass the night, as we had been in the habit of doing +while staying with the Tinguians. For our better security we were +accustomed to watch one another alternately; we never both slept at +the same time. Without being timid, ought we not to be prudent? This +night it was my turn to go to sleep the first. I went to bed, but the +impressions of the day had been too strong: I felt no inclination to +sleep. I therefore offered to relieve my lieutenant of his watch; the +poor fellow was like myself--the heads of the Guinans kept dancing +before his eyes. He beheld them pale, bloody, hideous; then torn, +pounded, broken to pieces; then the shocking beverage of the brains, +that he also so courageously swallowed, came back to his mind, +and he suffered sufficiently to make him repent our visit. "Master," +said he to me, looking very much grieved, "why did we come among these +devils? Ah! it would have been much better had we remained in our good +country of Jala-Jala." He was not perhaps in the wrong, but my desire +to see extraordinary things gave me a courage and a will he did not +partake of. I answered him thus: "Man must know all, and see all it is +possible to see. As we cannot sleep, and that we are masters here, let +us make a night visit; perhaps we shall find things that are unknown +to us. Light the fire and follow me, Alila." The poor lieutenant +obeyed without answering a word. He rubbed two pieces of bamboo one +against the other, and I heard him muttering between his teeth: + +"What cursed idea has the master now? What shall we see in +this miserable cabin--with the exception of the Tic-balan, [7] +or Assuan? [8] We shall find nothing else." During the Indian's +reflections the fire burnt up. I lit, without saying a word, a cotton +wick, plastered over with elemi gum, that I always carried with me in +my travels, and I began exploring. I went all through the inside of +the habitation without finding anything, not even the Tic-balan, or +Assuan, as my lieutenant imagined. I was beginning to think my search +fruitless, when the idea struck me to go down to the ground-floor of +the cabin, for all the cabins are raised about eight or ten feet above +ground, and the under part of the floor, closed with bamboos, is used +as a store: I descended. Anyone who could have seen me--a white man, +a European, the child of another hemisphere--wander by night, with a +taper in my hand, about the hut of a Tinguian Indian, would have been +really surprised at my audacity, and I may almost say, my obstinacy, +in seeking out danger while pursuing the wonderful and unknown. But +I went on, without reflecting on the strangeness of my conduct: as +the Indians say: "I was following my destiny." When I had reached the +ground, I perceived in the middle of a square, inclosed with bamboos, +a sort of trap, and I stopped quite pleased. Alila looked at me with +astonishment. I lifted up the trap, and saw a rather deep well; +I looked into it with my light, but could not discover the bottom +of it. Upon the sides only, at a depth of about six or seven yards, +I thought I distinguished some openings that I took for entrances +into sub terraneous galleries. What had I now discovered? Was I, +like Gil Blas, about to penetrate into the midst of an assemblage of +banditti, living in the internal parts of the earth; or should I find, +as in the tales of the "Arabian Nights," some beautiful young girls, +prisoners of some wicked magician? Indeed, my curiosity increased +in proportion to my discoveries. "There is something strange here," +said I to my lieutenant; "light a second match, I will go down to the +bottom of the well." Hearing this order, my faithful Alila shrunk back +in dismay, and ventured to say to me, in a frightfully dismal tone: + +"Why, master, you are not content to see what is upon the earth, +you must also see what is inside of it!" + +This simple observation made me smile. He continued: "You wish to +leave me alone here; and if the souls of the Guinans whose brains I +have just drank come to fetch me, what will become of me? You will +not be here to defend me!" + +My lieutenant would not have been frightened at twenty banditti, he +would have struggled against every one of them until death; but his +legs trembled, his voice faltered, he was terrified at the idea of +remaining alone in this cabin, exposed to the view of the spirit of +a Guinan, which would come and ask him to restore his brains! Whilst +he addressed me these complaints, I had leant my back against one +side of the well, my knees were applied against the other, and down +I went. I had already descended about four yards, when I felt some +rubbish falling upon me. I raised my head, and saw Alila coming down +too. The poor fellow would not remain alone. "Well done," said I to +him, "you are becoming curious too; you will be rewarded, believe +me, for we shall see fine sights." And I continued my under-ground +research. After proceeding six or seven yards I reached the opening +I had remarked from above, and stopped. I placed my light before me, +and espied a corner, where sat the dried black corpse of a Tinguian in +the same state as a mummy. I said nothing; I waited for my lieutenant, +anxious as I was to enjoy his surprise. When he was aside of me: "Look, +look," I exclaimed; "what is that?" He was stupified. "Master," said he +at last, "I entreat of you to leave this place; let us get out of this +cursed hole! Take me to fight against the Tinguians of the village--I +am quite willing to do that--but do not remain among the dead! What +should we do with our arms, if they suddenly appeared to ask us why +we are here?" "Be quiet," I answered him; "we shall go no farther." I +felt satisfied that this well was a tomb, and that lower down I should +see some more Tinguians in a state of preservation. I respected the +abode of the dead, and came up, to Alila'a great satisfaction. We +put everything in its place, and returned to the upper story of the +cabin. I soon fell asleep, but my lieutenant could not: the thoughts +of the mummy and horrible beverage kept him awake. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Visit to Manabo--Conversation with my Guide--Religion of the + Tinguians--Their Marriage Ceremony--Funereal Rites--Mode + of Warfare--I take leave of the Tinguians--Journey to the + Igorrots--Description of them--Their Dwellings--A Fortunate + Escape--Alila and the Bandits--Recollections of Home--A Majestic + Fig-tree--Superstition of Alila--Interview with an Igorrot--The + Human Hand--Nocturnal Adventure--Consternation of Alila--Probable + Origin of the Tinguians and Igorrots. + + +The following morning, before dawn, our hosts began to descend +from their high regions, and we left our temporary abode, to +make preparations for our departure. I had resided long enough at +Laganguilan y Madalag; I was desirous of visiting Manabo, a large +village, situated at a short distance from Laganguilan. I availed +myself of the presence of the inhabitants of Manabo, who had come +to assist at the Brain Feast--this was the appellation I had given +to this savage fête--and I set out with them. Among the troop there +was one who had spent some time among the Tagalocs; he spoke their +language a little, and I knew it tolerably well. I profited by this +fortunate occurrence, and during the whole of the way I conversed with +this savage, and questioned him upon the habits, customs, and manners +of his fellow-countrymen. One point particularly pre-occupied me. I +was unacquainted with the religion of these people, so very curious to +study. Until then I had seen no temple; nothing that bore resemblance +to an idol; I knew not what God they worshipped. My guide, chatty for +an Indian, gave me quickly every information necessary. He told me +that the Tinguians have no veneration for the stars; they neither +adore the sun, nor moon, nor the constellations; they believe in +the existence of a soul, and pretend that after death it quits the +body, and remains in the family. As to the god that they adore, it +varies and changes form according to chance and circumstances. And +here is the reason: When a Tinguian chief has found in the country +a rock, or a trunk of a tree, of a strange shape--I mean to say, +representing tolerably well either a dog, cow, or buffalo--he informs +the inhabitants of the village of his discovery, and the rock, or +trunk of a tree, is immediately considered as a divinity--that is to +say, as something superior to man. Then all the Indians repair to the +appointed spot, carrying with them provisions and live hogs. When +they have reached their destination they raise a straw roof above +the new idol, to cover it, and make a sacrifice by roasting hogs; +then, at the sound of instruments, they eat, drink, and dance until +they have no provisions left. When all is eaten and drank, they set +fire to the thatched roof, and the idol is forgotten until the chief, +having discovered another one, commands a new ceremony. + +With regard to the morals of the Tinguians, my guide informed me that +the Tinguian has generally one legitimate wife, and many mistresses; +but the legitimate wife alone inhabits the conjugal house, and the +mistresses have each of them a separate cabin. The marriage is a +contract between the two families of the married couple. The day +of the ceremony, the man and wife bring their dowry in goods and +chattels; the marriage portion is composed of china vases, glass, +coral beads, and sometimes a little gold powder. It is of no profit to +the married couple, for they distribute it to their relations. This +custom, my guide observed to me, has been established to prevent a +divorce, which could only take place in entirely restituting all +the objects that were contributed at the marriage by the party +asking for divorce--a rather skilful expedient for savages, and +worthy of being the invention of civilised people. The relatives +thus become much interested in preventing the separation, as they +would be obliged to restitute the presents received; and, if one of +the couple persisted in requesting it, they would prevent him or her +by making away with one of the objects furnished, such as a coral +necklace, or a china vase. Without this wise measure, it is to be +supposed that a husband, with mistresses, would very often endeavour +to obtain a divorce. My fellow-traveller enlightened me upon all the +points that I wished to investigate. The government, said he to me, +after resting himself for a few minutes, is very patriarchal. It is +the oldest man who commands.--As at Lacedæmonia, thought I, for there +old age was honoured.--The laws are perpetuated by tradition, as the +Tinguians have no idea of writing. In some instances they apply the +punishment of death. When the fatal sentence has been pronounced, +the Tinguian who has merited it must escape, if he wishes to avoid +it, and go and live in the forests; for, the old men having spoken, +all the inhabitants are bound to perform their orders. Society is +divided into two classes, as with the Tagalocs, the chiefs and the +commonalty. Whoever possesses and can exhibit to the public a certain +number of china vases is considered a chief. These jars constitute +all the wealth of the Tinguians. We were still conversing about the +natives of the country when we reached Manabo. My guide had scarcely +ceased talking all the way from Laganguilan. + +My attention was now attracted by some flames that were issuing from +under a cabin, where a large fire was burning. Around it many people +were sitting, howling like wolves. + +"Ah! ah!" said my guide, seemingly very pleased; "here is a funeral. I +did not tell you anything about these ceremonies; but you will judge +for yourself of what they are. It will be time enough to-morrow. You +must be tired. I will take you to my day-cabin, and you may repose +yourself without any danger of the Guinans, for a funeral compels a +great many people to be on the watch all night." + +I accepted the offer made to me, and we took possession of the Tinguian +cabin. It was my turn to take the first watch, and my poor Alila, +a little more at his ease, fell into a sound sleep. I followed his +example, after my watch, and we did not wake up until it was broad +daylight. + +We had scarcely finished our morning repast, composed of +kidney-potatoes, palms, and dried venison, when my guide of the +preceding day came to conduct me to the spot where the funeral of +the deceased was about to take place. I followed him, and placing +ourselves a few steps from the cortége, we assisted at a strange +sight. The deceased sat in the middle of his cabin upon a stool; +underneath him, and at his side, fires were burning in enormous +chafing-dishes; at a short distance about thirty assistants were +seated in a circle. Ten or twelve women formed another circle; they +were seated nearer to the corpse, close by which the widow was also +placed, and who was distinguished by a white veil, that covered her +from head to foot. The women brought some cotton, with which they +wiped off the moisture that the fire caused to exude from the corpse, +which was roasting by degrees. From time to time one of the Tinguians +spoke, and pronounced, in a slow, harmonious tone of voice, a speech, +which he concluded by a sort of laugh, that was imitated by all the +assistants; after which they stood up, ate some pieces of dried meat, +and drank some basi; they then repeated the last words of the orator, +and danced. + +I endured--such is the word--this sight for an hour; but I did not +feel courage enough to remain in the cabin any longer. The odour that +exhaled from the corpse was unbearable. I went out, and breathed the +fresh air; my guide followed me, and I begged him to tell me what +had occurred from the beginning of the illness of the deceased. + +"Willingly," he answered me. + +Delighted to breathe freely, I listened with interest to the following +recital: + +"When Dalayapo," said the narrator, "fell sick, they took him to the +grand square, to apply severe remedies to him; that is to say, all the +men of the village came in arms, and, to the sound of the gong and +the tom-tom, they danced around the sick man from the rising to the +setting of the sun. But this grand remedy had no effect--his illness +was incurable. At the setting of the sun they placed our friend in +his house, and no more heed was paid to him: his death was certain, +as he would not dance with his fellow-countrymen." + +I smiled at the remedy and the reasoning, but I did not interrupt +the narrator. + +"For two days Dalayapo was in a state of suffering; then, at the end +of these two days, he breathed no more; and, when that was perceived, +they immediately put him on the bench where we saw him just now. Then +the provisions that he possessed were gathered together to feed the +assistants, who paid him all due honours. Each one made a speech +in his praise: his nearest relations began the first, and his body +was surrounded with fire to dry it up. When the provisions are +consumed, the strangers will leave the cabin, and only the widow and +a few relations will wait until the body is thoroughly dried. In a +fortnight's time he will be placed in a large hole that is dug under +his house. He will be put in a niche, or aperture, in the wall, where +already his deceased relatives' remains are deposited, and then all +is over." + +This hole, thought I, must be similar to the one I went into the +other night at Laganguilan. + +The explanation that I had just received completely satisfied me, and +I did not request to be present again at the ceremony. I resolved, +since I was very comfortably seated, under the shade of a balété, +upon availing myself of the obliging disposition of my guide, to ask +him to inform me, suddenly changing the conversation all the while, +how his tribe managed to wage war on the Guinans, their mortal enemies. + +"The Guinans," said he to me, without drawing in any way on my +patience, "wear the same arms as we do. They are neither stronger, +nor more skilful, nor more vigorous. We have two modes of fighting +them. Sometimes we give them a grand battle at mid-day, and then we +meet them face to face, under a burning sun; at other times, during +some dark night, we creep in silence to their dwelling-places, and +if we be able to surprise any of them we cut off their heads, which +we take away with us, and then we get up a feast, such as you have +already witnessed." + +That word "feast" recalled to my mind the sanguinary orgie, or +carousing, I had been present at, and particularly the share I +had taken in it, so that I felt I was blushing and growing pale by +turns. The Indian took no heed of it, and went on thus: + +"In the grand battles all the men belonging to a village are compelled +to take up arms, and to march against the foe. It is generally in +the midst of a wood that the two armies meet. As soon as they come in +sight of each other they set up crying and howling on both sides. Each +man then rushes upon his enemy, and upon this shock depends the +fate of the victory; for one of the armies is always panic-struck, +and scampers away; then it is that the other pursues it, and kills +as many as possible, taking care to preserve the heads, which they +bring home with them." [9] + +"Why it is a hide-and-seek fight, the consequences of which are, +however, very cruel," I said. My Indian was of the same opinion, +and rejoined: + +"In general the conquerors are ever those who are cleverest in +concealing themselves, in order to surprise their enemies, and who +then dash on them bawling and howling." + +Here my guide stopped short, the fight having no longer any interest +for him; and then, perceiving I questioned him no longer, he left me +to myself, when I returned to my habitation and Alila, who was sick +enough of Manabo. For my own part I had seen enough of the Tinguians, +and besides I thought I had observed that they seemed not too well +pleased with the long stay I had made among them. I passed over in my +mind the brain feast, so I resolved upon leaving. I therefore went to +take leave of the elders. Unfortunately I had nothing to offer them, +but I promised them many presents, when I should get back among the +Christians--and then I left them. + +The satisfaction of my faithful lieutenant was at its height when +we started for home. Not being disposed to go back by the same way +I had come, I determined upon keeping more to the east, crossing +over the mountains, and upon taking the sun as my guide. This road +seemed preferable to me, inasmuch as I was about to traverse a country +inhabited by a few Igorrots, that other species of the savage tribe I +was not acquainted with. The mountains we crossed over were crowned +with magnificent forests. Now and then we perceived lovely fertile +valleys below our feet, and the grass was so high and thick-set, that +it was with great difficulty we could pass through it. During our +journey, my lieutenant kept a sharp look-out, wishing to kill some +game for our support. As for myself, I was indeed far from thinking +of the pleasure of shooting, so great was my contemplation of the +admirable panoramic views that we met with every moment; and I was +too much enraptured with the virgin and fruitful soil that spread +itself so incommensurately around us to think even of eating. But my +faithful Alila was less an enthusiast than I was myself: however, +in return, he was more prudent. At the close of the day on which +we started he killed a stag; so we halted on the brink of a stream, +cut off some palm-tree strips, in guise of rice and bread, and set +about eating the roasted liver of the animal. Our repast was truly +a copious one. Ah! how often since that time, when seated before a +richly served table--having before me delicious and recherché viands, +and that in dining-rooms where the atmosphere was balmy and perfumed by +the aroma arising from the highly flavoured dishes--how often, I say, +have I regretted the supper I partook of with Alila in the forest, +after a day's ramble on the mountains! Nay, what mortal could forget +such hours--such places? + +Our repast over, we made our bed of some branches we lopped off +from the trees, and which we joined together on the very moist soil +in the interior of the vast forest, and there we slept soundly till +the morrow, without fear, and particularly without having any sombre +or disagreeable dreams. At the dawn of day we were on foot again, +all Nature seeming to wake up with ourselves. Oh! how fine and calm +did she appear to us! The vapours that arose from her breast covered +her all over with a veil, like a young virgin at her waking; and then +this veil by degrees would break up into pieces, which pieces, gently +balanced on the morning breeze, would disappear, and be lost on the +tops of the trees or the summits of the rocks. On we walked for a long +time, till at last, towards the middle of the day, we came to a small +plain inhabited by the Igorrots. We found, in all, three cabins, or +huts, so that the population was far from being large. At the door +of one of these cabins I saw a man, of about sixty years of age, +and a few women. As we had arrived from behind the huts we took the +savages by surprise, so that they had no time to fly at our approach: +we were in the midst of them. + +I assumed the line of conduct I had pursued on arriving at Palan, +but as I had no more coral beads or coloured glass, I presented them +with a part of our stag, making them understand at the same time that +we came with the most friendly intentions. From that moment there +was established between us a very curious sort of mimic conversation, +during which I was able to examine at my ease the new race of beings I +saw around me. I perceived that the costume of the Igorrots was pretty +nearly the same as that of the Tinguians, the ornaments excepted, +but their features and physiognomy were quite different. The men were +smaller, their breasts being exceedingly broad, their heads immensely +big, their limbs developed, their strength herculean; their shape was +not so handsome as that of the savages I had just left; their colour +of a dark bronze, very dark indeed; their noses are less aquiline, +their eyes yellow and fully open--a la Chinoise. The women's shape +was also very protuberant, their complexion dark, their hair long, +and combed up--a la Chinoise. Unfortunately it was impossible for +me, with all my mimicry, to obtain the information I wished for, so +I was obliged to content myself with visiting the cabin, which was +a real hut, having but the ground-floor. The surrounding parts were +closed in by very thick piles, covered with a roof in the form of a +bee-hive. There was but one issue, through which it was impossible to +have either egress or ingress, except in crawling on all-fours. In +spite of this difficulty I would see the interior of this Indian +dwelling; so, having made a sign to my lieutenant to keep watch, I +penetrated into the hut. The Igorrots seemed quite surprised at my +so doing, but they made no opposition to it. I found myself within +an obnoxious hole, or hovel, through a small opening in the summit +of which the daylight peeped in and the smoke crept out. The floor +was thickly covered with dust, and it was upon such a soft couch that +the whole family laid down to rest. In one of the corners I perceived +some bamboo lances, a few cocoa-nuts divided into two parts, so as to +serve as cups, a heap of good-sized round pebbles, that were used in +case of attack, and a few pieces of wood, of very common workmanship, +that served as pillows. + +I soon got out of such a den, from which I was driven by the nauseous +smell it contained in its every part, but I had been able to see +everything in it. I then inquired, by signs, of the Igorrot, the way +I should go, in order to join the Christians. He fully understood +me, showed me the road with his finger, and we then proceeded on +our journey. As I journeyed on, I remarked here and there fields +of patates and sugar-cane, which of course must have been the only +husbandry of those miserable savages. After about an hour's journey +we were near running into a very great danger. On entering into a +vast plain we saw an Igorrot, flying away as quickly as possible. He +had remarked us, and I attributed his flight to fear, when suddenly I +heard the sound of the tom-tom and gong, and saw, at the same time, +twenty men armed with lances, rapidly advancing towards us. I felt +that a fight was about to ensue, so I told my lieutenant to fire at +the group, so as to injure none of them. + +Alila fired: his bullet passed over the heads of the savages, who were +so astonished at the detonation that they suddenly halted, and examined +us attentively. I prudently took advantage of their surprise, and an +immense forest presenting itself on our right, we entered it, leaving +the village on our left, but the savages did not follow us into it. + +During the whole of this scene my lieutenant did not utter a word. I +had already remarked that when in presence of danger he became dumb, +but when he had lost sight of the Igorrots his speech and loquacity +returned to him. + +"Master," said he to me, in a very dissatisfied tone, "how I do regret +not having fired directly into the middle of those miscreants!" + +"And why so?" asked I. + +"Because I am certain I should have killed one of them at least." + +"Well?" + +"Well, master, our journey would not have terminated without our +sending at least one soul of a savage to the devil." + +"Ah! Alila," said I; "so you have become wicked and naughty, have you?" + +"No, no, no, master," replied he; "but I cannot conceive why you +are so kind and compassionate to that infernal race. You, who pursue +and persecute the Tulisans, [10] who are a hundred times better than +these wretches are, and who are Christians besides." + +"What!" cried I; "brigands, robbers, and assassins better than poor +primitive beings, who have no one to guide and conduct them to the +path of virtue!" + +"Oh, master!" replied my lieutenant, and most sententiously this time; +"Oh! the brigands, as it pleases you to call them, are in nowise +what you think them. The Tulisan is not an assassin. When he takes +away life it is only when he is compelled, in defence of his own, +and if he do kill, why it is always de bon coeur." + +"Oh! oh!" said I; "and the robberies--how do you explain them?" + +"If he rob, why it is only to get possession of a little of the +superfluity of the rich, and that he divides among the poor--that's +all. Now, master, do you know what use the Tulisan makes of his +plunder?" + +"No, indeed, master Alila," answered I, smilingly. + +"Well, he keeps nothing of it for himself," said my lieutenant, with +great pride; "in the first place he gives a part of it to the priest, +to have masses said for him." + +"Indeed! it is mighty edifying--go on." + +"And then he gives another part of it to his mistress, or bonne amie, +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 superfluity of one person to satisfy several other persons with +it. [11] Oh! but he is far, very far indeed, from being so wicked as +those savages, who kill you without saying a word to you, and then eat +up your brains--fie!" And here Alila heaved a deep sigh, for the brain +feast was ever present to his mind. His conversation so interested me, +his system was so curious, and he himself so frank in drawing it out, +that I almost forgot the Igorrots in listening to him. + +We pursued our road through the wood, keeping as much as possible +to the south, in order to get near the province of Batangas, where +I was to meet my poor patient, who no doubt was very uneasy about +my long absence. When I started I said not a word about my project, +and had I done so it is most likely I should have been thought as no +longer belonging to this world. The recollection of my wife, whom I +had left at Manilla, and who was far from supposing me to be among +the Igorrots, inspired me with the most anxious desire of returning +home to my family as quick as possible. Absorbed in my thoughts, +and carried away by my reflections, I walked silently along, without +even casting a glance upon the luxuriant vegetation all around us. I +must indeed have been very much pre-occupied, for a virgin forest +between the tropics, and particularly in the Philippine islands, is in +nowise to be compared with our European forests. I was aroused from +my pensiveness, and recalled to the remembrance of my whereabouts, +by the noise of a torrent, and I gratefully admired nature in her +gigantic productions. I looked up, and before me I perceived an +immense balété, an extraordinary fig-tree, that thrives in the sombre +and mysterious forests of the Philippines, and I stopped to admire +it. This immense tree springs from a seed similar to the seed of the +ordinary fig-tree; its wood is white and spongy, and in a few years it +grows to an extraordinary size. Nature, who has had foresight in all +things, and who allows the young lamb to leave its wool on the bushes +for the timid bird to pick it up and build its nest with--Nature, +I say, has shown herself in all her genius in the fig-tree of the +Philippine islands, which grows so rapidly and so immensely. The +branches of this tree generally spring from the base of the trunk; +they extend themselves horizontally, and, after forming an elbow or +curve, rise up perpendicularly; but, as I said before, the tree is +spongy, and easily broken, and the branch, while forming the curve, +would inevitably be broken, did not a ligament, which the Indians +call a drop of water--goutte d'eau--fall from the tree and take root +in the earth; there it swells, and grows in proportion with the size +of the branch, and acts to it as a living prop. Besides which, around +the trunk, and at a considerable distance from the ground, are natural +supports, which rise up in points or spirals to about the middle of the +trunk. Has not the Grand Architect of the world foreseen everything? + +The appearance presented by the balété is very frequently indescribably +picturesque; and this is so true that, within a space of some hundred +paces in diameter--which these gigantic fig-trees usually occupy--one +may see by turns grottoes, halls, chambers, that are often furnished +with natural seats, formed out of and by the roots themselves. No! no +vegetation is more diversified, nor more extraordinary! This tree +sometimes grows out of a rock, where there is not an inch of earth; +its long roots run along the rock, encompass it, and then plunge into +the neighbouring brook. It is indeed a masterpiece of nature--a chef +d'oeuvre--which, however, is very ordinary in the virgin forests of +the Philippine islands. + +"Here," said I to my lieutenant, "is a good spot for us to spend the +night on." + +He recoiled some paces. + +"What!" said he; "do you wish to stop here, master?" + +"Certainly," replied I. + +"Oh! but you don't see that we are in still more danger here than in +the midst of the Igorrots!" + +"And why, then, are we in danger?" asked I. + +"Why? why? Do you not know that the Tic-balan dwells in the large +balétés. If we stop here you may be very sure that I shan't sleep a +moment, and that we shall be tormented the whole night." + +I smiled, which my lieutenant perceiving: + +"Oh! master," said he, most dolefully, "what should we do with an +evil spirit that fears neither bullet nor dagger?" + +The terror of the poor Tagal was really too great for me to resist +him, so I yielded, and we took up our quarters for the night at a +place much less to my own taste, but much more to Alila's. The night +passed away like many others--I mean, perfectly well, and we woke up +to resume our journey through the forest. + +We had been walking about two hours, when, on leaving the wood, +and entering on a plain, we met an Igorrot, mounted upon a buffalo, +face to face. The encounter was somewhat curious. I levelled my gun at +the savage: my lieutenant took hold of the animal by the long leather +strap, and I made a sign to the Igorrot not to stir: then--always +in my mimic language--I asked if he were alone. I understood from +him that he was accompanied by no fellow-traveller, and that he was +going northwards, in the opposite direction to our own. But Alila, +who decidedly had a grudge against the savages, was most anxious to +lodge a ball in this fellow's head. However, I strenuously opposed +such a project, and ordered him to let go the bridle. + +"But, master," said he, "allow me at least to see what these jars +contain." + +Around the neck of the Igorrot's buffalo were strung three or four +jars, covered with leaves of the banana tree. + +My lieutenant, without even waiting for my answer, applied his nose +to them, and discovered, to his infinite satisfaction, that they +contained a deer or stag ragout, which sent forth a certain perfume; +so, still without consulting me, he undid the smallest of the jars, +struck the buffalo a blow with the but-end of his gun, and, letting +go the animal at the same time, exclaimed: + +"Go, you rascal--go!" + +The Igorrot, finding himself free, fled as quick as the beast could +carry him, and we re-entered the woods, taking care to avoid the +openings, for fear of being surprised by too large a number of savages. + +Towards four o'clock we halted to take our repast. This wished-for +moment was impatiently expected by my lieutenant, as the savage's jar +sent forth a very savoury smell. At last the desired moment arrived: +we sat down on the grass. I stuck my poignard into the jar, which +Alila had brought up to the fire, and I withdrew--an entire human +hand! [12] My poor lieutenant was as stupified as I was myself, so +we remained a few minutes without saying a word. At last I gave a +vigorous kick to the jar, and smashed it in pieces, so that the human +flesh it contained was scattered over the ground, while still I held +the fatal hand on the point of my dagger. + +That hand horrified me; yet I examined it most carefully, and it +appeared to me to have been the hand of a child of an Ajetas, a species +of savages that inhabit the mountains of Nueva-Exica and Maribèles, +of which race I shall have an opportunity of speaking during the +course of this work. I took some strips of palm-tree, roasted in the +burning embers; Alila did the same, and we set out, not in the best +of humours, in search of another resting-place for the night. + +Two hours after sun-rise we issued from the forest and entered upon +the plain. From time to time--that is, from distance to distance--we +met with rice-fields, cultivated after the Tagal manner, and then +did my lieutenant exclaim most joyously to me: + +"Master, we are now in Christian ground." + +He was right; the road was becoming more easy. We followed on a narrow +pathway, and towards evening arrived in front of an Indian cabin, +at the door of which a young girl was sitting, while abundant tears +trickled down her sorrowful countenance. I drew near her, and inquired +into the cause of her grief. On hearing my question she rose up, and +without replying to my queries, conducted us into the interior of the +habitation, where we beheld the inanimate body of an old woman, whom +we learned was the mother of the young girl; the brother of the latter +had gone to the village in quest of the relations of the deceased, +to aid them in transporting the corpse to its final destination. + +This scene affected me very much. I did my best to console the +poor young girl, and solicited hospitality for the night, which was +instantly granted. To be in company with a dead body nowise affrighted +me; but I bethought of Alila, so superstitious and so fearful with +regard to ghosts and evil spirits. + +"Well," said I to him; "are you not afraid to spend the night near +a corpse?" + +"No, master," replied he, courageously; "this dead person is a +Christian soul, which, far from wishing us evil, will watch over us." + +I was really astonished at the answer of the Tagaloc, at his calmness +and security: the rogue had his own motives for thus speaking to +me. The Indian huts in the plains, are never composed of more than +one room; the one we were in was scarcely large enough to hold us +all four; however, we one and all managed as well as we could. The +deceased occupied the back part; a small lamp, placed by her head, +threw out a feeble light, and beside her lay the young Indian girl. I +had established my quarters at a short distance from the bed of death, +and my lieutenant was nearest the door, left open purposely to dispel +the heat and foul air. + +Towards two o'clock in the morning I was waked up by a shrill voice, +and I felt at the same time that some one was passing over me, and +uttering cries that soon were heard outside the cabin. I immediately +stretched out my hand towards the place where Alila had lain down, +but that place was empty; the lamp was out, and the darkness complete. + +This made me very uneasy. I called to the young girl, who answered +me that she had heard, like me, cries and noise, but she was ignorant +of the cause. I snatched up my gun and sallied forth, calling out to +my lieutenant; but to no purpose. No one answered; the stillness of +death reigned all around. I then set out, walking over the fields at +hazard, calling out now and then Alila's name. I had not, perhaps, +gone a hundred paces when I heard the following words, pronounced +most timidly, proceeding from a tree by which I was passing: + +"I am here, master." + +It was Alila himself. I drew nigh, and saw my lieutenant ensconced +behind the trunk of the tree, and trembling like one of its leaves. + +"What then has happened to you?" I inquired; "and what are you +doing there?" + +"Oh! master," said he to me; "pray forgive me! Bad thoughts got the +better of me; it was the young Indian girl inspired me with them, +and the demon blew them into my inner man. I--I--I--drew nigh, during +the night, to the young girl's resting-place, and when I saw you fast +asleep--I put out the lamp." + +"Well, and then--" said I, most impatiently and angrily. + +"And then--I wished to take a kiss from the young girl; but, at the +very moment I drew nigh, the old dead woman took her daughter's place, +so I only met with a cold and icy face, and at the same moment two +long arms stretched out to seize upon me. Oh! it was then I gave such +a cry--and I fled! fled! fled! but the old woman pursued me--yes, +the corpse tracked me behind; and she has only just now disappeared, +on hearing the sound of your voice. I then hid behind this tree, +where you now see me, in a piteous plight." + +The fright of the Tagal and his mistake made me almost laugh out; +but I severely reprimanded him for the bad intention he had of +abusing the hospitality that had been so graciously afforded us: +he repented, and begged of me to excuse him. He was, I should think, +sufficiently punished by his fright. I wished to take him back to the +cabin with me; but for no consideration would he return. I therefore +left my gun in his charge, and went back to the house of mourning, +where I found the poor young girl just as frightened as he was. I +soon made her acquainted with the adventure; so thanking her for +her kind hospitality, and morning coming on, I returned to Alila, +who was most impatiently expecting me. + +The hope of seeing soon again our relations, our homes, our friends, +gave us new courage, and before sunset we arrived at an Indian village, +without anything remarkable having taken place: this was to be our +last stage. [13] + +After this long and interesting journey I arrived at Quingua, +a village in the province of Boulacan, where I had left my friend +in convalescence. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + I return to Jala-Jala--An Excursion on the Lake--Relempago's + Narrative--Re-organisation of my Government--A Letter from + my Brother Henry--His Arrival--He joins me in the Management + of my Plantations--Cajoui, the Bandit: Anten-Anten--Indian + Superstition--A Combat with the Bandit--His Death--A Piratical + Descent--My Lieutenant is Wounded--I extract the Ball, and + cure him. + + +My prolonged absence from home caused great uneasiness. Very +fortunately my wife remained at Manilla, and was totally ignorant of +the journey I had recently undertaken. + +My patient had not exactly followed the prescribed regimen, so that +his distemper had increased, and he was impatiently expecting to +return and die, he said, in his house: his wishes were complied +with. A few days after my arrival we set out and arrived the next +day at Manilla, where my poor friend rendered his last sigh in the +middle of his family. This event damped, of course, the pleasure I +should have enjoyed in beholding my wife once more. + +A few days after the demise of our friend we embarked, and set sail +for Jala-Jala. + +We glided most agreeably upon the lake until we left the strait +of Quinanbutasan, but, once there, we met with so violent an east +wind, and the water of the lake was so ruffled, that we were obliged +to re-enter the strait, and cast anchor near the cabin of the old +fisherman, Relempago, whom I have already noticed. + +Our sailors landed to prepare their supper; as for ourselves, we +remained in our boat, where we stretched ourselves at our ease, the +old fisherman, as he sat doubled up in the Indian fashion, amusing +us in the best way he could by the narration of brigand stories. + +I interrupted him all on a sudden, saying to him: + +"Relempago, I should prefer hearing the history of your own personal +adventures; do, therefore, relate your misfortunes to us." + +The old fisherman heaved a sigh, and then, unwilling to disoblige me, +began his story in the poetical terms so familiar to the Tagal tongue, +and which it is almost impossible to reproduce by a translation: + +"Lagune is not my native place," said he; "I was born in the +island of Zébou, and was at the age of twenty what is called a +fine young man; but, pray believe me, I was by no means proud of my +physical advantages, and I preferred being the first fisherman of my +village. Nevertheless, my comrades were jealous of me, and all that +because the young girls would look at me with a certain complaisant +air, and seemed to find me to their liking." + +I could not but smile at this frank avowal of the old man, which he +perceiving, continued: + +"I tell you these things, sir," replied he, "because at my age +one can speak of them without fearing to appear ridiculous--it is +so long ago. And besides, allow me to inform you that I relate to +you such things, not from vanity--Oh, no! but merely to furnish you +with an exact recital. Besides, the sly and roguish looks that young +girls threw at me, as I passed through the village, flattered me in +no manner. I was in love with Theresa, sir; yes, I was passionately +in love with her, and my love was returned, for fondly did she love +me; a look from any other but from her was totally indifferent to +me. Ah! Theresa was the prettiest lass in the village! but, poor +soul! she has done like myself--she has greatly altered; for years +are an enormous weight, which bends and breaks you down in spite of +yourself, and against which there is no way of struggling. + +"When, seated as I am at present, I bethink me of the fine by-gone days +of my youth--of the strength, the courage, that we used to find in our +mutual affection--Oh! I shed tears of regret and sensibility. Where +are now those fine--those happy days? Gone, gone, gone! they have +fled before the piercing and terrible winds that forerun the storms +and the hurricanes. Like the day, life has its dawn; like the day, +also, it has its decline!" + +Here the poor old fisherman made a pause, and I was loth to interrupt +him in his meditation. There then ensued a profound silence, that +lasted several minutes. Suddenly Relempago seemed to start from a +dream, and passing his hand over his forehead, looked at us for some +time, as if to excuse himself for those few moments of mental absence, +and then he continued as follows: + +"We had been brought up together," said he, "and had been affianced as +soon as we had grown up. Theresa would have died rather than belong to +any other, and, as I shall hereafter prove it, I would have accepted +any condition, even the most unfavourable one, rather than abandon the +friend of my heart. Alas! it is almost always with our tears that we +trace our painful way through life. Theresa's relations were opposed +to our union; they even put forward vain and frivolous pretexts; +and whatever efforts I made to bring them to decide upon bestowing +her affianced hand on me, I never could succeed. And yet they well +knew that, like the palm trees, we could not live without each other, +and were we to be separated, it would be condemning us to die. But our +tears, our prayers, our griefs, were only heard by senseless people, +and we were labouring under the most poignant grief, while no one would +understand or sympathise with our sorrow. I was beginning to lose all +courage, when one morning there came into my mind the pious thought +of offering to the Infant Jesus, in the church of Zébou, the first +pearl I should fish up. I therefore repaired earlier than usual to +the sea-shore, implored the Almighty to grant me his protection, and +to have me married to my beloved Theresa. The sun was just beginning +to dart his burning rays upon the earth, and was gilding the surface +of the waters. Nature was awaking from her transitory sleep, and +every living being or object was singing in its language a hymn to +the Creator. + +"With a beating heart I began diving to the bottom of the sea, in +search of the pearl which I so ardently wished for, but my searches +and struggles were completely fruitless at first. Had anyone been +near me at that moment he would have easily read my disappointment +in my face. Nevertheless, my courage failed me not. I began again, +but with no better success. 'Oh, Lord!' cried I, 'thou hearest not +then my prayers, my supplications! Thou wilt not then accept for thy +beloved son the offering that I destine for him.' [14] For the sixth +time I plunged, and brought up from the bottom of the sea two enormous +oysters. Oh! how my heart leaped with joy! I opened one of them, and +found it contained a pearl so large that never in my life had I seen +one like it. My joy was so great that I set to dancing in my pirogue, +as if I had lost my reason. The Lord, then, did vouchsafe to protect +me, since He enabled me to accomplish my vow. With a joyful heart I +retraced my steps to my dwelling, and, not wishing to fail in my word, +I took my magnificent pearl to the curate of Zébou. + +"The reverend father," continued the old fisherman, "was delighted with +my present. That pearl was worth 5,000 piasters (or 25,000 francs, +i.e., £1,000 English money), and you must have admired it--you, as +well as all other persons who attend the church--for the Infant Jesus +always holds it in his hand. The curate thanked and congratulated me +on my very good idea. + +"'Go home in peace, brother,' said he to me; 'go home in peace. Heaven +will not forget thy meritorious action--yea, the disinterestedness of +thy good work, and sooner or later thy desires will he hearkened to.'" + +"I left the holy man with my heart joyful indeed, and I hastened to +inform Theresa of the pastor's consoling words: we rejoiced like two +children together. Ah! true indeed it is to say that youth has been +endowed by the Almighty with every privilege, particularly with that +of hope. At the age of twenty if the heart think that it may live +in hope, away with all cares immediately; and, as the morning breeze +sips up the drops of moisture that have been left by the storm in the +chalice of flowers, so does hope dry up the tears that moisten the eyes +of the young, and drive away the sighs that inflate and oppress the +breast. So sure were we that our tribulations would ere long be over, +that we no longer thought of our by gone sorrow! In the spring-time +of life grief leaves do more trace after it than the nimble foot of +the wily Indian on the strand, when the sea-wind has blown over it. + +"The inhabitants of the village, seeing us so joyful, so purely happy, +were envious of our lot, and Theresa's relations could no longer +find any pretext for opposing our being united. We were now in full +sight of connubial bliss; our boat of life was gently rocked by a +very mild wind; we were singing the return-home hymn, not supposing, +alas! that we were going to be dashed against a breaker! Our young +Indians foresee not in the morning the storm that is to assail them +in the evening. The buffalo cannot avoid the lasso, and most often, +in order to avoid it, he anticipates the danger. I roved about, I may +say heedlessly thoughtless of the precipice before my feet. Misfortune +marked me for her own when I least expected it. + +"One evening, on my return from fishing, at the moment when I was +repairing to Theresa's, there to repose myself after my fatigues of +the day, I saw one of my neighbours advancing towards me. That man +had always shown me the greatest affection, so that on seeing him +thus advance, my limbs began to tremble, and the pulsations of my +heart gradually ceased. His face was pale, and entirely altered. His +haggard eyes threw forth flashes of terror, and his voice was trembling +and agitated. + +"'Los Moros [15] have made a descent upon the coast,' said he to me. + +"'Good Heavens!' exclaimed I, covering my face with my hands. + +"'They surprised some persons of the village, and carried them off +prisoners.' + +"'And Theresa?' exclaimed I. + +"'Carried off with the others,' he replied. + +"I heard no more of this revelation, and for some minutes--like the +warrior pierced to the heart by a poisoned arrow--was completely +deprived of all consciousness. + +"When I came back to myself tears flooded my face, and brought me some +relief: but suddenly I resumed my courage, and felt that no time was +to be lost. I ran to the shore where I had left my pirogue, which +I unfastened, and, as quickly as oars could pull me, I pursued the +Malays, not in the hope of wresting Theresa from them, but resolved +upon partaking of her captivity and misfortune. We better endure the +sufferings we have to undergo when we are two together than when we +are alone. He who had brought me the fatal tidings saw me start, and +thought I had lost my senses; the fact is, my countenance bore all the +traces of mental alienation. Methought I was inspired by the grand +master-spirit; my pirogue bounded along the troubled waters of the +ocean as if it possessed wings. One would have said that I had twenty +rowers at my disposal, and I cleft the waves with the same rapidity +as the halcyon's flight, when wafted away by the hurricane. After +a short time's laborious and painful rowing I at last came in view +of the corsairs who were carrying away my treasure. At the sight my +strength was renewed again, and I was soon up with them. When I was +side by side with them I informed them, in words the most feeling, +and which sprang from my poor lacerated heart, that Theresa was my +wife, and that I would prefer being a slave with her to abandoning +her. The pirates listened to my voice, stifled by my tears, and took +me on board, not from commiseration, but from cruelty. In fact, I was +a slave more added to their numbers: why should they have repulsed +me? A few days after that fatal evening we arrived at Jolo. There the +division of the slaves was made, and the master into whose hands we +fell took us away with him. Was it, then, to undergo a like destiny +that I had dived so early in the morning for a pearl for the Infant +Jesus of Zébou? Yes, was it for this that I had made a vow to bring +him the first pearl I should find? Notwithstanding my profound sorrow +I murmured not, neither did I regret my offering. The Lord was the +master! His will should be done." + +Here Relempago paused, and looked towards Heaven with a smile of +angelic resignation, and we then remarked upon his face the furrows +traced by the deep sorrows of his life. The wind was still blowing +with violence, and our boat was dancing on the waves; our sailors had +finished their repast, and, in order to listen to the fisherman's +tale of woe, had taken up their place by his side. Their features +wore an expression of the most innocent attention; so, having made +a sign to the narrator, he resumed his story as follows:-- + +"Our captivity lasted two years, during which time we had to endure +very great sufferings. Very often would my master take me away with +him to a lake in the interior of the island, and these absences +lasted for whole months together, during which time I was perforce +separated from my Theresa, my dear wife; for, not having been able +to get united by a clergyman, we had joined ourselves, under the +all-benevolent and protecting eye of the Almighty! On my return, +I used to find my poor companion still the same good, faithful, +devoted, and affectionate friend, whose courage sustained my own. + +"One circumstance decided me upon taking an audacious +resolution. Theresa was in an interesting situation! Oh! what would +not my joy have been had I been at Zébou, in the midst of our family +and of our friends! What happiness should I not have felt at the idea +of being a father! Alas! in slavery, that very same thought froze my +blood with terror, and I firmly resolved upon snatching both mother +and child from the tortures of captivity. In one of our excursions +I had been wounded in the leg, and this wound came greatly to my +aid. One day my master set out for the borders of the grand lake, and, +knowing I had a bad leg, left me at Jolo. I availed myself of this +opportunity to put into execution a project that I had formed for a +long time, that of flying with Theresa. The task was a daring one, +but the desire of freedom doubles one's strength and increases one's +courage, so I did not hesitate for a moment. When night had lowered, +my dear Theresa took a road I had pointed out to her; I went by another +one, and we both arrived at the sea-shore at a short distance from +each other. There we jumped into a pirogue, and threw ourselves upon +the protection of Divine mercy! + +"We rowed vigorously the whole night, and never in my life shall +I forget that mysterious flight. The wind blew rather violently, +the night was dark, and the stars insensibly lost their vivid +brightness. Every moment we thought we heard behind us the noise of our +pursuers, and our hearts beat so loud and so violently that they could +be heard in the midst of the silence that reigned around all nature. + +"Day at last appeared: we descried by degrees, in the mist of the +morning, the rocks that lined the shore, and we could see far enough +in the distance that no one was pursuing us. Then were our hearts +filled with cheering hope, and we continued rowing towards the north, +in order to land on some Christian isle. + +"I had taken with me some cocoa-nuts, but they were a very small +resource, and we had been at sea three whole days without eating +anything, when, exhausted by fatigue and want, we fell upon our knees +and invoked the pity, compassion, and succour of the Infant Jesus of +Zébou. Our prayer over, we felt our strength completely exhausted; +the oars fell from our hands, and we lay down in the bottom of the +pirogue, decided upon dying in each other's arms. + +"Our weakness gradually increased, and finally we swooned away, +the pirogue all the while dashing heedlessly on with the waves. + +"When we recovered from our fainting fit--I know not how long it +lasted--we found ourselves surrounded by Christians, who, having +perceived us in our light skiff, had come to our aid, conveyed us +to their hospitable dwelling, and took the most pious care of us. We +had not long been disembarked when Theresa was taken with the pains +of labour, and was confined of a very diminutive, sickly child. I +went down on my knees before the innocent little creature that had +so miraculously escaped from slavery, and prayed for it--it was a boy!" + +Here the poor old fisherman heaved a heavy sigh, while tears were +fast falling upon his shrunken hands. + +We one and all respected this painful recollection of the poor old man. + +"Our convalescence was very long indeed," said Relempago; "at last our +health was sufficiently restored to permit of us leaving the isle of +Negros, where the Infant Jesus had so miraculously caused us to land, +and we came to settle here, on the side of this large lake, which, +being situated in the interior of the isle of Luçon, afforded me the +means of pursuing my avocation of fisherman without in any way fearing +the Malays, who might very easily have captured us again at Zébou. + +"My first care--yes, the dearest act of my life--on arriving, was to +have our marriage celebrated in the church of Moron. I had promised it +to God, and I would not fail in the promise I had made Him who reads +all hearts. After that I built the little cottage you see hard-by, +and my existence glided on most peacefully. The fishing trade went +on prosperously. I was still a young man, active and intelligent, +and sold my fish very easily to the vessels passing through the +strait. My son had by this time become a fine young man." + +"Of course he resembled his father," said I, recollecting the beginning +of the old man's tale, but my remark could not excite a smile upon +his countenance. + +"Oh! the lad was a good fisherman," continued he, "and happily did we +all three live together, till a dreadful misfortune befell us. The +Infant Jesus had no doubt forsaken us, or perhaps the Almighty was +displeased with us; but I am far from murmuring. He has visited us +most severely, since He has overwhelmed us with grief of such a strong +nature, that it must accompany us to our last resting-place!" + +And here the poor old man's tears trickled down his weather-beaten +cheeks once more, in abundance, in bitterness, and in sorrow. + +Ah! how right was the Italian poet, when he said:-- + + + "Nought lasteth here below but tears!" + + +The voice of Relempago was stifled by his sobbing; however, he made +one more effort, and continued thus: + +"One night--a fine moonlight night--we set our nets in a certain part +of the strait, and as we felt some difficulty in drawing them up, +the lad plunged into the water to ascertain what obstacle we had to +contend with, and to set all to rights. I was in my pirogue, leaning +over the side, waiting for his return, when all of a sudden I thought +I saw, through the silvery beams of the lamp of night, a large spot +of blood spreading itself over the surface of the water. Fear took +possession of me, and I quickly hauled up my nets. My hapless child +had seized upon and become entangled in them--but, alas! when he came +to the surface he was a corpse!" + +"What! your son?" cried I. + +"My poor dear José-Maria," said he, "had his head bitten off by a +cayman that had got entangled in our nets. Ever since that night--that +fatal night!--Theresa and I offer up our prayers to the Omnipotent, +imploring Him to take us to himself; for, alas! nothing now has +any charms for us here below. The first of us that will depart for +that bourn from whence no traveller returns will be interred by the +survivor beside our beloved child--there, under that little hillock +yonder, which is surmounted by a wooden cross, in front of my humble +cottage; and the last of us two to leave this valley of tears will no +doubt meet with some charitable Christian hand, to place our mortal +remains beside the bodies of those we loved so tenderly during our +hapless pilgrimage here below." + +Here Relempago ceased his painful history, and, that he might give a +free course to his grief and tears, he rose up, and bowed us his adieu, +which we returned to him with hearts oppressed with sympathetic sorrow. + +The wind had ceased blowing, and the attentive sailors were awaiting +our orders, so that in a few moments afterwards we were sailing +towards Jala-Jala, where we landed before sunset. + +On the morrow of my arrival I entered on the business of my little +government, to which my absence had been far from useful or favourable, +so that I was obliged to suppress many abuses that had crept into it +while I had been away. Some slight corrections, joined to an active +and incessant surveillance, or inspection, soon established once more +the most perfect order and discipline; so that, from that moment, I +was at liberty to devote all my time and attention to the cultivation +of my lands. + +We were now at the beginning of the winter--the rainy and windy +season. No stranger had dared crossing the lake, to come and visit us, +so that, alone with my dear wife, our days glided most happily and +tranquilly away, for we knew not what ennui was or meant: our mutual +affection was so great that our own presence was sufficient company +for each other. + +This delightful solitude was soon interrupted by a fortunate and +unforeseen event. A letter from Manilla--a very rare circumstance at +Jala-Jala--reached me, informing me that my eldest brother, Henry, +had just arrived there; that he had put up at my brother-in-law's; +and that he was expecting me with all imaginable impatience. I was +not aware that he had left France to come and see me, so that such +news, and his sudden, as well as unexpected, arrival, surprised and +overjoyed me. + +I was once more to see one of my dearest relations--a brother whom I +had always tenderly loved. Ah! he who has never quitted his home, his +family, and his early attachments, will with difficulty understand the +emotions I experienced on receiving this agreeable letter. When the +first transports of my joy were somewhat allayed, I resolved to set +out at once for Manilla. Preparations for my departure were speedily +made. I chose my lightest canoe, and my two strongest Indians, and a +few minutes after, having embraced my beloved Anna, I was scudding +over the waters of the lake, slowly--too slowly for my impatience, +as I wished to be able to give wings to my fragile skiff, and to +traverse the distance that separated me from my brother as rapidly as +my thoughts: no journey ever appeared to me so long, and nevertheless +my two robust rowers exerted all their strength to favour my wishes. At +length I arrived, and immediately hastened to my brother-in-law's, +and there I threw myself into Henry's arms. Our emotions were such +that for some time we could not speak; the abundant tears we shed +alone showed the joy of our hearts. When the first transport was +over, I asked him questions beyond number. Not one member of my +family was forgotten; the smallest details concerning these beloved +beings were to me of the greatest interest. We passed the remainder +of the day and the following night in incessant and interesting +conversation. The next day we started for Jala-Jala. Henry was eager +to become acquainted with his sister-in-law, and I to make the dear +companion of my life a sharer in my happiness. Excellent Anna! my joy +was joy for you--my happiness was your delight! You received Henry +as a brother, and this sisterly attachment was always, on your part, +as sincere as your affection for me had ever been. + +After a few days spent in the most agreeable conversation about +France, and about all those beloved friends who remained there, +feelings of sadness that I could with difficulty repress became +intermingled with my joy. I thought of our numerous family, so far +distant, and so scattered over the globe. My youngest brother was, +to my great regret, dead at Madagascar. My second brother, Robert, +resided at Porto-Rico; and my two brothers-in-law, both captains of +vessels, engaged in long voyages, were gone to the Indies. My poor +mother and my poor sisters were alone, without protectors, without +support: what sad moments of fear and anxiety you must have spent in +your solitude! Ah! how I should have rejoiced to have you near me; but, +alas! a whole world separated us, and the hope of seeing you again +one day could alone scatter the clouds that darkened occasionally +the happy days adorned by the presence of my brother. + +After some time of rest, Henry asked to join me in my labours. I then +made him acquainted with my mode of cultivation, and he took upon +himself the management of the plantations and of their products. I +reserved to myself the regulation of my Indians, the charge of the +flocks, and that of putting down the bandits. + +I had frequent quarrels, and even incessant conflicts, with these +turbulent Indians; but I never boasted of these petty engagements, in +which I was often obliged to take a most active part. On the contrary, +I recommended strict silence to my attendants, for I did not wish to +cause anxiety to my excellent Anna, nor to give my brother the desire +of accompanying me. I did not like to expose him to the dangers I +ran myself, as I had not equal hopes of safety for him. I relied +upon my star, and really, to a certain degree, all modesty aside, +I think that the bandits' balls respected me. When I was engaged in +contests in the plain, or in some of the skirmishes, the danger was +not great; but it was quite a different thing when it was necessary +to fight hand to hand, which happened more than once; and I cannot +forbear the pleasure of relating one of those circumstances that made +me say just now the bandits' balls respected me. + +One day I was alone with my lieutenant, having both of us only our +daggers, and we were coming back to our habitation, and passing through +a thick forest, situated at the end of the lake. Alila said to me: +"Master, this neighbourhood is much frequented by Cajoui." Cajoui +was known as the chief of a most daring gang of brigands. Among +his numerous atrocities he had amused himself, on that very day, by +drowning twenty of his fellow-countrymen. I then determined to free +the country of the odious assassin, and the advice of my lieutenant +induced me to take a narrow path, that led us to a hut concealed in +the midst of the woods. I told Alila to remain below, and to watch, +while I went to endeavour to reconnoitre the persons who inhabited +it. I went up by the small ladder that leads to the interior of the +Tagalese huts; a young Indian woman was there, quite alone, and very +busy plaiting a mat. I asked her for some fire to light my cigar, and +returned to my lieutenant. Having accidentally cast my eyes upon the +exterior of the hut, it appeared much larger than it did inside. I +ran up again quickly, and looked all round the place in which the +young girl was, and observed at the extremity of it a small door, +covered over by a mat. I gave it a strong push, and at the moment, +Cajoui, who, with his carbine on cock, was waiting for me behind the +door, fired straight at me. The fire and the smoke blinded me, and +by a most inconceivable chance the ball slightly grazed my clothes +without wounding me. Alila, knowing I had no fire-arms, hearing the +report, thought I was killed. He ran up to the top of the steps, and +found me enveloped in a cloud of smoke, with my dagger in my hand, +trying to find my enemy, who seeing me still standing erect, after he +had shot at me, thought, no doubt, I had about me some anten-anten--a +certain diabolic incantation that, according to the Indian belief, +makes a man invulnerable to all sorts of fire-arms. The bandit was +frightened, jumped out of a window, and ran away as fast as he could +across the forest. + +Alila could not believe what had happened to me; he felt all over +my body, in order to convince himself that the ball had not passed +through me. When he was quite sure that I had not received a wound, +he said to me: + +"Master, if you had not had the anten-anten about you you would have +been killed." + +My Indians always believed I was possessed of this secret, as well +as of many others. For instance, when they often saw me go for +twenty-four, even for thirty-six hours, without eating or drinking, +they became persuaded that I could live in that manner for an +indefinite period; and one day, a good Tagalese padre, in whose +house I chanced to be, almost went upon his knees while begging me +to communicate to him the power I possessed, as he said, to live +without food. + +The Tagals have retained all their old superstitions. However, thanks +to the Spaniards, they are all Christians; but they understand that +religion nearly in the way that children do. They believe that to +attend on Sundays and festival days at the Divine offices, and to go +to confession and to communion once a year, is sufficient for the +remission of all their sins. A little anecdote that occurred to me +will show how far they understand evangelical charity. + +One day two young Indians stole some poultry from one of their +neighbours, and they came to sell them to my major-domo for about +sixpence. I had them called before me, to administer a lecture, and +to punish them. With the utmost simplicity they made me this answer: + +"It is true, master, we have done wrong, but we could not do otherwise; +we are to go to communion to-morrow, and we had not money enough to +get a cup of chocolate." + +It is a custom with them to take a cup of chocolate after communion, +and it was considered by them a greater sin to miss taking that than +to commit the trifling theft of which they were guilty. + +Two evil-doing demons play an important part among them, and in which +all believed before the conquest of the Philippine islands. One +of those malevolent demons is the Tic-balan which I have already +mentioned, who dwells in the forests, in the interior of the large +fig-trees. This demon can do every possible harm to anyone who dares +not to respect him, or who does not carry certain herbs about his +person; every time an Indian passes under one of these fig-trees +he makes a movement towards it with his hand, saying: "Tavit-po," +Tagal words, signifying: "Lord! with your permission!" The lord of +the place is the Tic-balan. + +The other demon is called Azuan. She presides especially over +parturitions in an evil manner, and an Indian is often seen, when his +wife is in labour, perched upon the roof of his hut, with a sabre in +his hand, thrusting the point into the air, and striking on all sides +with the edge, to drive away, as he says, the Azuan. Sometimes he +continues this manoeuvring for hours, until the labour is over. One +of their beliefs--and one that Europeans might envy--is, that when +a child that has not reached the age of reason dies, it is happy for +all the family, since it is an angel that has gone to heaven, to be +the protector of all its relations. The day of the interment is a +grand fête-day; relations and friends are invited; they drink, they +dance, and they sing all night in the hut where the child died. But I +perceive that the superstitions of the Indians are drawing me from my +subject. I shall have occasion, further on, to describe the manners +and customs of these singular people. + +I now resume my statement, at the moment when my lieutenant tried to +assure me that I had some anten-anten, and that consequently I could +not be wounded by a shot fired at me. + +He then addressed the young girl, who had remained in the corner, +more dead than alive. + +"Ah! cursed creature!" said he to her; "you are Cajoui's mistress: +now your turn is come!" + +At this moment he advanced towards her with his dagger in his hand. I +ran between him and the poor girl, for I knew he was capable of +killing anyone, particularly after I had been attacked in a manner +that had placed me in danger. + +"Wretch!" said I to him, "what are you going to do?" + +"No great things, master; only to cut off the hair and ears of this +vile woman, and then send her to tell Cajoui that we shall soon +catch him!" + +It cost me much trouble to prevent him from executing his plan. I was +obliged to use all my authority, and to allow him to burn the cabin, +after the terrified young girl, thanks to my protection, had fled +into the forest. + +My lieutenant was right in sending word to Cajoui that we should catch +him. Some months after, and several leagues from the place where we had +set fire to his cabin, one day, when three men of my guard accompanied +me, we discovered, in the thickest part of the wood, a small hut. My +Indians rushed forward in quick time to surround it; but almost all +round it there was found a morass, covered over with sedges and bushes, +when all three sunk in the mud, up to their middle. As I did not run +as fast as they did I perceived the danger, and went round the marsh, +so as to reach the cabin by the only accessible way. Suddenly I found +myself face to face with Cajoui, and near enough almost to touch him. I +had my dagger in my hand; he also had his--the struggle began. For +a few seconds we aimed many strokes at each other, which each of us +tried to avoid as well as he could. I think, however, that fortune was +turning against me; the point of Cajoui's poignard had already entered +rather deeply into my right arm, when with my left hand I took from +my belt a large-sized pistol. I discharged it full at his breast: +the ball and the wadding went through his body. For a few seconds +Cajoui endeavoured still to defend himself; I struck him with all my +force, and he fell at my feet; I then wrested from him his dagger, +which I still retain. My people came out of the mud-hole and joined +me. Compassion soon replaced the animosity we bore against Cajoui. We +made a sort of litter; I bandaged his wound, and we carried him more +than six leagues in this manner to my habitation, where he received +all the care his state required. Every moment I expected him to die; +every quarter of an hour my people came to tell me how he was; and +they kept saying to me: + +"Master, he cannot die, because he has the anten-anten upon him; and +it is very lucky that you have some of it too, and that you fired at +him, for our arms would have been of no avail against him." + +I laughed at their simplicity, and expected from one minute to +another to hear that the wounded man had breathed his last, when my +lieutenant brought me, quite joyously, a small manuscript, about two +inches square, saying to me: + +"Here, master, is the anten-anten I found upon Cajoui's body." + +At the same time one of my men announced his death. + +"Ah!" said Alila, "if I had not taken the anten-anten from him he +would be still alive." + +I searched the small book through and through; prayers and +invocations that had not much sense were therein written in the +Tagalese language. A good friar who was present took it out of my +hands. I imagined that he had the same curiosity as I had, but by +no means; he rose up and went into the kitchen, and in a short time +after came out and told me that he had made an auto-da-fé of it. My +poor lieutenant almost cried with vexation, for he considered the +little book to be his property, and thought that in possession of it +he would be invulnerable. I should also have wished to have kept it, +as a curious specimen of Indian superstition. The next day I had much +trouble to persuade my stout friend, Father Miguel, to bury Cajoui in +the cemetery. He maintained that a man who died with the anten-anten +upon him ought not to receive Christian burial. To make him accede to +my wishes it was necessary to tell him that the anten-anten had been +taken from Cajoui before his death, and that he had time to repent. + +A few days after Cajoui's death it was my faithful Alila's turn to +encounter danger, not less imminent than that to which I had been +exposed, at the time of my combat with the bandit chief. But Alila +was brave, and, although he had no anten-anten, fire-arms did not +frighten him. + +Large vessels--real Noah's arks--freighted by various merchants, +sailed every week from the town of Pasig for that of Santa-Cruz, where +every Thursday a large market was held. Eight daring and determined +brigands went on board one of these vessels: they hid their arms among +the bales of goods. The ship was scarcely out at sea when they seized +them, and a horrible scene of slaughter ensued. All who endeavoured +to resist them were butchered, even the pilot was thrown overboard; +at length, finding no more resistance, they plundered the passengers +of the money they had upon them, took every article of value they +could find, and, loaded with their booty, they steered the vessel to +a deserted spot on the shore, where they landed. + +I had been informed of this nefarious enterprise, and went with haste +to the spot where they landed. Unfortunately I arrived too late, for +they had already escaped to the mountains, after they had divided the +spoil. Notwithstanding the slight hope I entertained of overtaking +them, I set off in pursuit, and after a long march I met an Indian, +who informed me that one of the bandits, not so good a walker as the +others, was not far off, and that if I and my guards ran quickly we +might overtake him. Alila was the best runner--he was as fleet as +a deer; so I told him: "Set out, Alila, and bring me that runaway, +either dead or alive." + +My brave lieutenant, to be less encumbered in the race, left his +gun with us, took a long spear, and went off. Shortly after we had +lost sight of him we heard the report of firearms; we knew it must +be the brigand firing upon Alila, and we all thought that he was +killed or wounded. We hastened forward, in the hopes of arriving in +time to render him assistance; but we soon saw him coming leisurely +towards us; his face and clothes were covered with blood, the spear +in his right hand, and in his left the hideous head of the bandit, +which he carried by the hair--as Judith had formerly done with that +of Holophernes. But my poor Alila was wounded, and my first care was +to examine if the wound was serious. When I was satisfied it was not +dangerous, I asked him for the details of his combat. + +"Master," said he to me, "shortly after I left you I perceived the +bandit; he saw me also, and ran off as quickly as he could, but I ran +faster than he, and was soon close to him. When he lost all hopes +of escaping he turned upon me and presented his pistol; I was not +alarmed, and advanced towards him at all risk. The pistol was fired, +and I felt myself wounded in the face; this wound did not stop me. I +darted at him and pierced his body with my spear; but, as he was too +heavy for me to bring to you, I cut off his head, and here it is." + +When I had congratulated Alila upon his success, I examined his wound, +and found that a fragment of a ball, cut into four pieces, had hit +him upon the cheek, and was flattened on the bone. I extracted it, +and a speedy cure followed. + +Now, as I have almost terminated, and shall not return to, my numerous +adventures with the bandits, I resume the continuation of my ordinary +life at Jala-Jala. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Death of my Brother Robert--Our Party at Jala-Jala--Illness and + Last Moments of my Friend Bermigan--Recovery and Departure for + France or Lafond--Joachim Balthazard: his Eccentricity--Tremendous + Gale of Wind--Narrow Escape in Crossing the Lake--Safe Return + to Jala-Jala--Destruction of my House and the Village by a + Typhoon--Rendezvous with a Bandit--Ineffectual Attempts to Reform + Him--His Death--Journey to Tapuzi--Its Inaccessibility--Government + of the Tapuzians--Morality and Religious Character of their + Chief--Their Curiosity at Beholding a White Man--Former Wickedness + and Divine Punishment--We bid Adieu to the Tapuzians, and Return + to Jala-Jala. + + +At this period a sad event plunged my house into mourning. Letters from +my family announced to me that my brother Robert had returned from +Porto-Rico, but that soon after a serious illness had carried him to +the grave. He died in the arms of my mother and sisters, in the small +house of La Planche, where, as I said before, we had all been brought +up. My excellent Anna, wept with us, and exerted every means that +interesting affection could suggest to alleviate the grief my brother +Henry and myself experienced from this melancholy bereavement. A few +months afterwards a new source of sorrow fell to our lot. Our little +social party at Jala-Jala consisted of my sister-in-law; of Delaunay, +a young man from St. Malo, who had come from Bourbon to establish at +Manilla some manufactories for baking sugar; of Bermigan, a young +Spaniard; and my friend, Captain Gabriel Lafond, like myself, from +Nantes. He had come to the Philippine islands on board the Fils de +France, had passed some years in South America, and had occupied +several places of distinction in the navy, as captain-commandant, +until at last, after many adventures and vicissitudes, he came with +a small fortune to Manilla, where he bought a vessel, and set sail +for the Pacific Ocean, to fish for the balaté or sea-worm. He had +scarcely readied the island of Tongatabou when the vessel struck upon +the rocks that surround this island; he saved himself by swimming +to the shore, having lost everything. From thence he went to the +Marianne islands, where grief and bad food caused him to fall ill; +he returned to Manilla, labouring under dysentry. I had him brought +to my house, and whilst there attended to him with all the care +a fellow-countryman and a good friend, endowed with sterling and +amiable qualities, deserved. Our evenings were spent in amusing and +instructive conversation. As we had all travelled a great deal, each +had something to relate. During the day the invalids kept company +with the ladies, while my brother and myself followed our respective +avocations. But soon, alas! a shocking event disturbed the calm that +reigned at Jala-Jala. Bermigan fell so dangerously ill, that a few days +sufficed to convince me there was no hope of saving him. I shall never +forget the fatal night: we were all assembled in the drawing-room, +grief and consternation were in every heart and pourtrayed in every +countenance; in an adjoining room a few short steps from us, we heard +the death-rattle of poor Bermigan, who had only a few minutes to +live. My excellent friend, Lafond, whom sickness had reduced almost +to the last stage, broke silence, and said: "Well! poor Bermigan goes +to-day, and in a few days, perhaps to-morrow, it will be my turn. Just +see! my dear Don Pablo; I may almost say that I no longer exist. Look +at my feet--my body! I am a mere skeleton; I can scarcely take any +food. Ah! it is better to be dead than live like this!" + +I was so persuaded that his forebodings would not be delayed in being +realized, that I scarcely dared to utter the smallest consolation or +any hopes. Who could then have told me that he and I alone were to +survive all those who surrounded us, full of life and health? But, +alas! let us not here anticipate future events. + +Poor Bermigan breathed his last. Our house at Jala-Jala was no longer +untouched by the hand of Death--a human being had expired therein; +and on the following day, in sadness and silence, we all proceeded +to the cemetery, to inter the body of our friend, and to render him +the last proofs of our respect. The body was laid at the foot of a +large cross, which is placed in the centre of the grave-yard. For +many days sadness and silence prevailed in our home at Jala-Jala. + +Some time afterwards I had the gratification to see the efforts +I employed for my friend Lafond were successful. By means of the +strong remedies I administered his health was speedily restored, his +appetite returned, and he was soon able to set sail for France. He +is now residing in Paris, married to a woman possessed of every +quality necessary to make a man happy, and is the father of three +children. Holding an honourable position, and enjoying public esteem, +he has never forgotten the six months he spent at Jala-Jala, for +ingratitude never sullied his noble, loving, and devoted heart. A +sincere attachment still subsists between us, and I am happy thus to +assure him that he is, and ever will be, to me a valued friend. [16] + +As I have now mentioned several persons who resided for some time at +Jala-Jala, I must not forget one of my colonists, Joachim Balthazard, +a native of Marseilles, as eccentric a man as I have ever known. When +Joachim was young, he set sail from Marseilles. When he arrived at +Bourbon, his name not being on the crew's list, he was arrested, +and put on board the Astrolabe, which was then making a voyage +round the world. He deserted at the Marianne islands, and came to +the Philippines in the greatest distress, and addressed himself to +some good friars, in order, as he said, to effect his conversion +and his salvation. He lived among them, and at their expense, for +nearly two years; afterwards he opened a coffee-house at Manilla, +and spent in pleasure and debauchery a large sum of money that a +fellow-countryman and I had advanced him. He afterwards built upon +my grounds a large straw edifice, that had more the appearance of +a huge magazine than of a house. There he kept a kind of seraglio, +adopted all the children which his numerous wives gave him, and, with +his own family, made his house not unlike a mutual school. Whenever +he was weary of either of his wives he called one of his workmen, +saying to him in the most serious manner: + +"There is a wife that I give you; be a good husband, treat her well: +and you, woman, this is your husband, be faithful to him. Go, may +God bless you! Be off, and let me never see you again." + +He was generally without a farthing, or all of a sudden rich with heavy +sums, that were spent in a few days. He borrowed from everybody, and +never paid them back; he lived like a real Indian, and was as cowardly +as a half-drowned chicken. His light-coloured hair, sallow complexion, +and beardless face, gave him the nick-name among the Indians of +Onela-Dogou, Tagalese words, that signify "one who has no blood." + +As I was one day crossing over the lake in a small canoe with him and +two Indians, we were assailed by one of those extraordinary gales of +wind, which in the Chinese seas are called Tay-Foung (typhoon). These +gales of wind, though extremely rare, are tremendous. The sky is +covered with the heaviest clouds; the rain pours in torrents; the +day-light disappears, almost as much as in the densest fog; and the +wind blows with such fury that it throws down everything it reaches +in its course. [17] + +We were in our canoe; the wind had scarcely begun to blow with all +its violence than Balthazard commenced to invoke all the saints in +Paradise. Almost in despair, he cried out aloud: + +"Oh, God! have mercy upon me, a wretched sinner! Grant me the grace +that I may have an opportunity of confessing my sins, and of receiving +absolution!" + +All these lamentations and appeals served only to frighten my two +Indians, and most undoubtedly our position was critical enough for us +to endeavour to retain our presence of mind, so as to attend to the +management of our little boat, which from one moment to another was in +danger of being swamped. However, I was certain that, being provided +with two large beams of bamboos, it could keep its position in the +current between two waters and not capsize, if we had the precaution +and strength to scud before the wind, and not turn the side to a wave, +for in such case we should all have been drowned. What I foresaw, +happened. A wave burst upon us; for a few minutes we were plunged +in the deep, but when the wave passed over we came above water. Our +canoe was swamped between the currents, but we did not abandon it; +we put our legs under the seats, and held them fast; the half of +our body was above water. But every time that a wave came towards +us it passed over our heads, and then went off, giving us time to +breathe until another wave came and dashed over us. Every three or +four minutes the same manoeuvring took place. My Indians and I used +all our strength and skill to scud on before the wind. Balthazard +had ceased his lamentations; we all kept silence; from time to time +I only uttered these words: + +"Take courage, boys, we shall reach the shore." + +Our position then became much worse, for night set in. The rain +continued to pour in torrents, the wind increased in fury. From time to +time we received some light from globes of fire, like what the sailors +call "Saint Elmo's fire." While these rays of light continued I looked +as far around me as I could, and only perceived an immense body of +water in furious agitation. For nearly two hours we were tossed about +by the waves that drove us towards the beach, and, at a moment when +we least expected it, we found ourselves driven into the midst of an +extensive grove of lofty bamboos. I then knew that we were over the +land, and that the lake had inundated the country for several miles +around. We were up to our breasts in water, and it was not in our power +to pass through the inundation. The darkness was too great to allow +us to go in any direction; our canoe was no longer of any use to us, +as it was entangled among the bamboos. We climbed up the trees as well +as we could, even to the height where the bamboos end in sharp points; +our bodies were much torn by the sharp thorns growing on the small +branches; the rain continued to pour without intermission; the wind +still blowed, and each gust caused the bamboos to bend, the flexible +branches of which tore our bodies and faces. I have suffered a great +deal in the course of my life, but no night ever appeared to me so +long and cruel as this! Joachim Balthazard then recovered his speech, +and, in a trembling, broken voice, said to me: + +"Ah! Don Pablo, do write I beg of you, to my mother, and tell her +the tragical end of her son!" + +I could not help answering him: "You cowardly rascal! Do you think, +then, that I am more at my ease than you are? Hold your tongue, +otherwise I shall make you turn diver, so that I may never hear you +again." Poor Joachim then knew what to do, and did not utter a word; +only from time to time he made us aware of his trouble by his deep +moans. + +The wind, which was blowing from the north-west, towards four o'clock +in the morning suddenly changed to the east, and shortly afterwards +gave over. It was almost daylight: we were saved. We could at last +see one another; all four of us looked in a wretched condition; our +clothes being torn to pieces. Our bodies were lacerated, and covered +with deep scratches. The cold had penetrated into the very marrow +of our bones, and the long bath we had taken had wrinkled the skin; +we looked just like drowned people taken out of the water, where +they had been for some hours. Nevertheless, crippled as we were, we +slipped down from the bamboos, and were soon bathing in the waters +of the lake. The effect was healthful and agreeable: it seemed like +a warm bath at 30 degrees of heat. + +We were quite restored by this mild temperature. We got our canoe out +of the grove, where fortunately it had been caught so fast that neither +the waves nor the currents could drive it any farther. We again set it +afloat, and soon succeeded in reaching an Indian hut, where we dried +ourselves, and recruited our strength. Calm was now re-established; +the sun shone in all its splendour, but everywhere traces of the +typhoon were visible. In the course of the day we reached Jala-Jala, +where our arrival caused great joy. They knew at home that I was on +the lake, and everything led them to presume that I had perished. My +good and dear Anna threw herself into my arms in tears; she had been +in such anxiety for my safety, that for some moments the tears that +flowed down her cheeks alone expressed her joy at again seeing me. + +Balthazard returned to his seraglio. As long as he was under my +protection the Indians respected him, but after my departure from +Jala-Jala he was assassinated; and all those who knew him agreed that +he had deserved his fate for more than one cause. + +As I have mentioned this typhoon, I am going to anticipate a little, +in describing, as briefly as possible, a still more frightful one than +that which I experienced in my slight canoe and in the bamboo grove. + +I had just completed some pretty baths upon the lake opposite my +house. I was quite satisfied and proud of procuring this new pleasure +for my wife. On the very day that the Indians had added the last +ornaments to them, towards evening a western wind began to blow +furiously; by degrees the waters of the lake became agitated, and +shortly we no longer doubted but that we were going to have a typhoon. + +My brother and I stayed some time examining, through the panes of +glass, whether the baths would resist the strength of the wind, +but in a heavy squall my poor edifice disappeared like a castle +made of cards. We withdrew from the window, and luckily too, for a +heavier squall than that which had destroyed the baths burst in the +windows that faced to the west. The wind drove through the house, +and opened a way for itself, by throwing down all the wall over the +entrance-door. The lake was so agitated that the waves went over my +house, and inundated all the apartments. We were not able to remain +there any longer. By assisting each other, my wife, my brother, a young +Frenchman who was then staying at Jala-Jala, and myself, succeeded in +reaching a room on the ground-floor; the light came from a very small +window; there, in almost total darkness, we spent the greater part of +the night, my brother and I leaning our shoulders against the window, +opposing with all our strength that of the wind, which threatened to +force it in. In this small room there were several jars of brandy: my +excellent Anna poured some into the hollow of her hand, and gave it us +to drink, to support our strength and to warm us. At break of day the +wind ceased, and calm re-appeared. All the furniture and decorations +of my house were broken and shattered to pieces; all the rooms were +inundated, and the store-rooms were full of sand, carried there by the +waters of the lake. Soon my house became an asylum for my colonists, +who had all spent a wretched night, and were without shelter. + +The sun soon shone splendidly; the sky was cloudless; but my sadness +was extreme when, from a window, I examined the disasters produced +by the typhoon. There was no village! Every hut was levelled to the +ground. The church was thrown down--my store-houses, my sugar factory, +were entirely destroyed; there was then nothing more than heaps of +ruins. My fine cane-fields were altogether destroyed, and the country, +which previously had appeared so beautiful, seemed as if it had passed +through a long wintry season. There was no longer any verdure to be +seen; the trees were entirely leafless, with their boughs broken, and +portions of the wood were entirely torn down; and all this devastation +had taken place within a few hours. During that and the following day +the lake threw up, upon the shore, the bodies of several unfortunate +Indians who had perished. The first care of Padre Miguel was to +bury the dead, and for a long time afterwards there were to be seen, +in the grave-yard of Jala-Jala, crosses, with the inscription: "An +unknown who died during the typhoon." My Indians began immediately to +rebuild their huts, and I, as far as possible, to repair my disasters. + +The fertile nature of the Philippine islands speedily effaced the +aspect of mourning which it had assumed. In less than eight days +the trees were completely covered with new leaves, and exhibited +themselves as in a brilliant summer, after the frightful winter had +passed over. The typhoon had embraced a diameter of about two leagues, +and, like a violent hurricane, had upset and shattered everything it +met during its course. + +But enough of disasters: I return to the epoch when the death of poor +Bermigan caused affliction to us all. + +All was prosperity in my dwelling: my Indians were happy; the +population of Jala-Jala increased every day; I was beloved and +respected. I had rendered great service to the Spanish government +by the incessant warfare I carried on against the bandits; and I may +say that even amongst them I enjoyed a high reputation. They looked +upon me, indeed, as their enemy, but in the light of a brave enemy, +incapable of committing any act of baseness against them, and who +carried on an honourable warfare; and the Indian character was so +well known to me, that I did not fear they would play me any low +tricks, or would treacherously attack me. Such was my conviction, +that around my house I was never accompanied by day or by night. I +traversed without fear all the forests and mountains, and I often even +treated with these honourable bandits, as one power does with another, +by not disdaining the invitations sometimes sent to me to come to a +certain place, where, without fear of surprise, they could consult me, +or even invoke my assistance. This sort of rendezvous was always held +in the night, and in very lonely places. On their side, as well as +on mine, a promise given of not doing any injury to each other was +religiously observed. In these nocturnal conversations, held without +witnesses, I often brought back to a life of peace mistaken men, whom +the turbulence of youth had thrown into a series of crimes, which +the laws would have visited with most severe punishment. Sometimes, +however, I failed in my attempts, and especially when I had to do +with proud and untameable characters, such as are to be found among +men who never have had any other guide but natural instinct. One day, +among others, I received a letter from a half-breed, a great criminal, +who infested the neighbouring province of Laguna; he told me that +he wished to see me, and begged me to come alone in the middle of +the night to a wild spot, where he would also come alone: I did not +hesitate to go to the place appointed. I found him there as he had +promised me. He told me that he wished to change his mode of life, +and to dwell on my estate. He added, that he had never committed any +crime against the Spaniards, but only against the Indians and the +half-breeds. It would have been impossible for me to have received +him without compromising myself. I proposed to place him in the house +of a friar, where he might remain concealed for several years, until +his crimes were forgotten, and then he could enter into society. After +a moment's reflection, he replied: + +"No, that would be to lose my liberty. To live as a slave! I would +prefer to die." + +I then proposed to him to go to Tapuzi, a place where the bandits, when +hotly pursued, were enabled to conceal themselves with impunity.--(I +shall very soon have occasion to speak of this village.)--The +half-breed, with an insignificant gesture, replied: + +"No; the person I wish to take with me would not come there. You can +do nothing for me, adieu!" + +He then pressed my hand, and we separated. Some days afterwards, a hut +in which he was seen, near Manilla, was surrounded by the troops of +the line. The bandit then caused the owners of the hut to quit it, +and when he saw them out of danger he took his carabine and began +firing upon the soldiers, who on their side returned the attack on +the hut. When it was riddled with balls, and the bandit had ceased +to defend himself, a soldier approached the hut and set fire to it, +so great was the fear they entertained of then finding him alive. + +These nocturnal interviews having led me to mention Tapuzi, I cannot +refrain from dedicating a few lines to this remarkable retreat, +where men, when proscribed by the law, live together in a sort of +accord and union of a most extraordinary kind. + +Tapuzi, [18] which in the Tagal language, signifies "end of the world," +is a little village, situate in the interior of the mountains, nearly +twenty-five leagues from Jala-Jala. It was formed there by bandits +and men who had escaped from the galleys, who live in liberty, govern +themselves, and are altogether, on account of the inaccessible position +which they occupy, safe from any pursuit which could be ordered against +them by the Spanish government. I had often heard this singular village +mentioned, but I had never met anyone who had visited it, or could give +me any positive details relative to it. One day, therefore, I resolved +to go thither myself. I stated my intention to my lieutenant, who said: + +"Master, I shall find there, no doubt, some of my old comrades, +and then we shall have nothing to fear." + +Three of us set out together, under the pretext of quite a different +journey. For two days we walked in the midst of mountains, by paths +almost impracticable. The third day we reached a torrent, the bed of +which was blocked up by enormous stones. This ravine was the only road +by which we could get to Tapuzi; it was the natural and impregnable +rampart which defended the village against the attack of the Spanish +troops. My lieutenant had just told me: + +"Look, master, above your head. None but the inhabitants of Tapuzi +know the paths which lead to the top of the mountains. All along the +length of the ravine they have placed enormous stones, that they have +only to push to throw them down upon those who should come to attack +them; a whole army could not penetrate among them, if they wished to +give any opposition." + +I clearly saw that we were not in a very agreeable position, and +against which, if the Tapuzians should consider us as enemies, we could +oppose no defence. But we were involved in it, and there was no means +of retreating, it was absolutely necessary to go to Tapuzi. We had +been already more than an hour in this ravine when an immense block +of stone fell down perpendicularly, and broke into pieces only twenty +yards before us: it was a warning. We stopped, laid down our arms, +and sat down. Perhaps just such another block as what had fallen was +hanging over our heads, ready to crush us to pieces. We heard a scream +near us. I told my lieutenant to proceed alone towards the direction +it came from. In a few minutes he returned, accompanied by two Indians, +who, confident in my pacific intentions towards them, came to fetch us, +to take us to the village. We proceeded cheerfully on the remainder +of the road until we reached the spot where ended the sort of funnel +we were walking in. Upon this height there was to be seen a plain, +some miles in circumference, surrounded by high mountains. The part +that we were in was stopped up by enormous blocks of rocks, lying +one on the top of the other. From behind stretched forth an abrupt +threatening mountain, without any signs of vegetation--not unlike +an ancient European fortress, that some magical power had raised in +the midst of the high mountains that commanded it. With one glance I +beheld the whole of the site we were crossing, and at the same time +reflected upon the great varieties nature presents to our view. We +soon reached the long wished-for object of our journey--the village of +Tapuzi. It lies at the extreme end of a plain, composed of about sixty +thatched huts, similar to those of the Indians. The inhabitants were +all at their windows, to witness our arrival. Our guides conducted +us to their chief, or Matanda-sanayon, a fine old man, from the look +of his face about eighty years of age. He bowed affably to us, and +addressed himself to me. + +"How are you come here--as a friend, or is it curiosity--or do the +cruel laws of the Spaniards perhaps compel you to seek refuge among +us? If such is the case, you are welcome; you will find us brothers." + +"No," I said to him; "we do not come to stay among you. I am your +neighbour, and lord of Jala-Jala. I am come to see you, to offer you +my friendship, and to ask yours." + +At the name Jala-Jala the old man looked quite astonished; he then +said to me: + +"It is a long time since I heard you spoken of as an agent of the +government for pursuing unfortunate men, but I have heard also that +you fulfilled your mission with much kindness, and that often you +were their protector, so be welcome." + +After this first recognition they presented us some milk and some +kidney potatoes, and during our repast the old man conversed freely +with me. + +"Several years ago," said he to me, "at a period I cannot recollect, +some men came to live in Tapuzi. The peace and safety they enjoyed +made others imitate their example, who sought like themselves to avoid +the punishment of some faults they had committed. We soon saw fathers +of families, with their wives and children flock hither; this was +the foundation of the small government that you see. Now here almost +all is in common; some fields of kidney potatoes or Indian corn, and +hunting, suffice for us; he who possesses anything gives to him who has +nothing. Almost all our clothing is knitted and woven by our wives; +the abaca, or vegetable silk, from the forest supplies us the thread +that is necessary; we do not know what money is, we do not require +any. Here there is no ambition; each one is certain of not suffering +from hunger. From time to time strangers come to visit us. If they +are willing to submit to our laws, they remain with us; they have a +fortnight of probation to go through before they decide. Our laws +are lenient and indulgent. We have not forgotten the religion of +our forefathers, and God no doubt will forgive me my first faults, +on account of my efforts for so many years to promote his worship, +and the well-being of my equals." + +"But," said I to him, "who is your chief, who are your judges and +priests?" + +"It is I," said he, "who fulfil all those functions. Formerly they +lived like savages here. I was young, robust, and devoted to all my +brothers. Their chief had just expired: I was chosen to replace him. I +then took care to do nothing but what was just, and conducive to the +happiness of those who confided in me. Until then they had devoted +but little attention to religion: I wished to put my people in mind +that they were born Christians. I appointed one hour every Sunday +for us to pray together, and I have invested myself with all the +attributes of a minister of the Gospel. I celebrate the marriages, I +pour water upon the foreheads of the infants, and I offer consolations +to the dying. In my youth, I was a chorister; I remembered the church +ceremonies; and if I do not actually possess the necessary attributes +for the functions I have given myself, I practise them with faith and +love. This is the reason I trust that my good intentions will obtain +my forgiveness from Him who is the Sovereign Lord of all." + +During the whole time of the old man's conversation I was in continual +admiration. I was among people who had the reputation of living in +the greatest licentiousness as thieves and robbers. Their character +was altogether misunderstood. It was a real, great phalanstery, +composed of brothers, almost all worthy of the name. Above all I +admired this fine old man, who with moral principles and simple laws, +had governed them for so many years. On the other hand, what an example +that was of free men not being able to live without choosing a chief, +and bringing one another back to the practice of virtuous actions! + +I explained to the old man all my thoughts. I bestowed upon him a +thousand praises for his conduct, and assured him that the Archbishop +of Manilla would approve all the religious acts he performed with so +noble an object. I even offered to intercede with the archbishop in +his behalf, that he might send a pastor to assist him. But he replied: + +"No, thank you, sir; never speak about us. We should certainly +be glad to have a minister of the Gospel here, but soon, under his +influence, we should be subjected to the Spanish government. It would +be requisite for us to have money to pay our contributions. Ambition +would soon creep in amongst us, and from the freedom which we now +enjoy, we should gradually sink into a state of slavery, and should +no longer be happy. Once more I entreat of you, do not speak of us: +give me your word that you will not." + +This argument appeared so just to me that I acquiesced to his +request. I again gave him all the praise he deserved, and promised +never to disturb the peace of the inhabitants of his village under +any pretext whatever. + +In the evening we received visits from all the inhabitants, +particularly from the women and children, who all had an immoderate +curiosity to see a white man. None of the Tapuzian women had ever been +out of their village, and had scarcely ever lost sight of their huts; +it was not, therefore, astonishing that they were so curious. + +The next day I went round the plain, and visited the fields of +kidney potatoes and Indian corn, the principal nourishment of the +inhabitants. The old chief and some elderly people accompanied +me. When we reached the spot where, upon the eve, I had already +remarked enormous blocks of rock, the old man paused and told me: + +"Look yonder, Castilla. [19] At a time when the Tapuzians were without +religion, and lived as wild beasts, God punished them. Look at all +the part of that mountain quite stripped of vegetation: one night, +during a tremendous earthquake, that mountain split in two--one part +swallowed up the half of the village that then stood on the place +where those enormous rocks are. A few hundred steps further on all +would have been destroyed; there would no longer have existed a single +person in Tapuzi: but a part of the population was not injured, and +came and settled themselves where the village now is. Since then we +pray to the Almighty, and live in a manner so as not to deserve so +severe a chastisement as that experienced by the wretched victims of +that awful night." + +The conversation and society of this old man--I might say the King +of Tapuzi--was most interesting to me. But I had already been four +days absent from Jala-Jala. I ordered my lieutenant to prepare for +our departure. We bid most affectionate adieus to our hosts, and set +off. In two days I returned home, quite pleased with my journey and +the good inhabitants of Tapuzi. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + Suppression of War between two Indian Towns--Flourishing Condition + of Jala-Jala--Hospitality to Strangers--Field Sports--Bat + and Lizard Shooting--Visit to, and Description of, the Isle + of Socolme--Adventure with a Cayman--Cormorants--We Visit Los + Banos--Monkey Shooting--Expedition to, and Description of, the + Grotto of Sun-Mateo--Magnificent aspect of the Interior. + + +I found Anna in great trouble, not only on account of my absence, +but because, on the previous evening, information had been received +that the inhabitants of the two largest towns in the province had, +as it was stated, declared war against each other; the most courageous +amongst them, to the number of three or four hundred on each side, had +started for the island of Talem. There both parties, in the presence +of each other, were upon the point of engaging in a battle; already, +while skirmishing, several had been mortally wounded. + +This news frightened Anna she knew that I was not a man who would +await quietly at home the issue of the battle; she already fancied +she saw me, with my ten guards, engaged in the thick of the fight, +and perhaps a victim of my devotedness. I comforted her as I had +always done, promising to be prudent, and not forget her; but there +was not a moment to lose; it was necessary, at all risks, to try to +put an end to a conflict that might no doubt cause the death of many +men. How could I do so with my ten guards? Dare I pretend to impose my +will as law on this vast multitude? Clearly not. To attempt to do it +by force would be to sacrifice all: what was to be done? Arm all my +Indians--but I had not boats enough to carry them to Talem: in this +difficulty I decided upon setting out alone with my lieutenant. We +took our arms, and set sail in a canoe, that we steered ourselves; we +had scarcely come near the beach within hail of the shore, when some +armed Indians called out to us to stand off, otherwise they would fire +upon us. Without paying attention to this threat, my lieutenant and I, +some minutes later, jumped boldly on shore, and after a few steps we +found ourselves in the midst of the combatants. + +I went immediately up to the chiefs and addressed them, "Wretched +men," I said to them, "what are you going to do? It is upon you who +command that the severity of the law will fall. It is still time: +try to deserve your pardon. Order your men to give me up their arms; +lay down your own, or else in a few minutes I will place myself at +the head of your enemies to fight against you. Obey, if not you will +be treated as rebels." + +They listened attentively to me; they were half conquered. However, +one of them made me this reply: + +"And if you take away our arms who will satisfy us that our enemies +will not come to attack us?" + +"I will," I told them; "I give you my word; and if they do not obey +me as you are going to do, I will return to you, I will give you back +your arms, and will fight at your head." + +These words, said with a tone of authority and command, produced the +effect I expected. The chiefs, without uttering a word, laid their +arms at my feet. Their example was followed by all the combatants, +and, in a moment, a heap of carabines, guns, spears, and cutlasses +were laid down before me. I appointed ten among these individuals +who had just obeyed me, gave them each a gun, and told them: + +"I confide to you the care of these arms. If anyone attempts to take +possession of them, fire upon the assailants." + +I pretended to take down their names, and went off to the opposite +camp, where I found all the combatants on foot, ready to march and +fight against their enemies. I stopped them, saying: + +"The battle is over--your enemies are disarmed. You, too, must give +me up your arms, or else immediately embark in your canoes, and go +home. If you do not obey me, I will give back their arms instantly to +your opponents, and I will put myself at their head to fight against +you. Perform what I command you; I promise you all shall be forgotten." + +There was no room for hesitation. The Indians knew that I did not +allow much time for reflection, and that my threats and chastisements +followed each other closely. Shortly after, they all embarked in +their canoes. I remained on the beach alone, with my lieutenant, +until I had almost lost sight of this small fleet. I then returned +to the other camp, where I was impatiently expected. I announced to +the Indians they had no longer any enemies, and that consequently +they could go back quietly to their village. + +But a few days elapsed, as may be seen, without my having new dangers +to encounter. I was accustomed to them: I relied upon my star, and +triumphed from all my imprudences. My Indians were blindly submissive +to me. I was so certain of their fidelity, that I no longer took +against them the precautions which I considered necessary during the +first year of my residence at Jala-Jala. + +My Anna took part every day more and more in my labours, anxieties, +and even in some of my dangers. Would it have been possible not to +have loved her with deeper affection, than that which one feels for a +companion leading a peaceful and insignificant life? With what gladness +she received me after the shortest absence! Joy and satisfaction +shone on her face, her caresses were as a balsam that healed all my +lassitude, and even the reproaches she addressed me so gently, for the +uneasiness I had caused her, fell upon my heart us drops of beatitude. + +Jala-Jala was most flourishing; immense fields of rice, sugar-cane, +and coffee, had taken the place of woods and forests unproductive +in themselves. Rich pasture-grounds were covered with numerous +flocks; and a fine Indian village stood in the centre of the +labouring-ground. Here, there was everywhere to be seen plenty, +activity; and joy smiled on the countenances of all the inhabitants. My +own dwelling had become the rendezvous, or resorting-place, of all +the travellers arriving at Manilla, and a refuge of convalescence +of many patients, who would come and breath the good and mild air of +Jala-Jala, as well as enjoy its pleasures and amusements. Under that +roof there was no distinction, no difference; all were equals in our +eyes, whether French, Spanish, English, American. No matter to what +nation belonged those who landed at Jala-Jala, they were received like +brothers, and with all that cordial hospitality to be found formerly +in our colonies. My visitors enjoyed full and active liberty on my +little estate; but he who was not desirous of eating alone was obliged +to remember the time of meals: during the other hours of the day one +and all followed their own inclinations. For instance, naturalists +went in pursuit of insects and birds, and made an ample harvest of +every species of plants. Persons ailing met with the assiduous care +of a physician, as well as with the kind attention and enjoyed the +company of a most amiable and well-informed mistress of the house, +who had the natural talent of enchanting all those who spent but a +short time in her society. They who liked walking might look about for +the fine views, and choose their resting-place either in the woods, +the mountains, near the cascades or the brooks, or on the beautiful +borders of the lake. + +But to sportsmen Jala-Jala was really a "promised land;" there they +always found a good pack of hounds, Indians to guide them, good +stout horses to carry them across the various mountains and plains, +where the stag and wild boar were to be met with most plentifully; +and were they desirous of less fatiguing exercise, they only had to +jump into some of our light canoes, and skim over the blue waters, +shooting on their way at the hosts of aquatic birds flying around +them in all directions,--they could even land on the various small +islands situated between Jala-Jala and the isle of Talem. There +they could find a sort of sport utterly unknown in Europe--that is, +immense bats, a species of vampire, designated by naturalists by the +name of roussettes. During six months in the year, at the period of the +eastern monsoon, every tree on these little isles is covered, from the +topmost down to the lowest branch, with those huge bats, that supply +the place of the foliage which they have entirely destroyed. Muffled +up in their vast wings they sleep during the whole day, and in the +nighttime they start off in large bodies roaming about in search +of their prey. But as soon as the western monsoon has succeeded the +eastern, they disappear, and repair always to the same place,--the +eastern coast of Luzon, where they take shelter; after the monsoon +changed, they return to their former quarters. + +As soon as our guests would alight upon one of these islands, they +opened their fire, and continued it till--frightened by so many +explosions and the screams of the wounded, clinging to and hanging +from the branches--the bats would fly away in a body--en masse. For +some time they would whirl and turn round and round like a dense +cloud over their abandoned home, imitating, in a most perfect way, +those furies we see in certain engravings representing the infernal +regions, and then, flying off a short distance, would perch upon the +trees in a neighbouring isle. If the sportsmen were not over-fatigued +by the slaughter they might then follow them, and set-to again; but +they generally found they had made victims enough, and diversified +their pleasure by picking up the slain from under the trees. The bat +shooting over, our sportsmen would then proceed to a new sport-- + + + "To fresh fields and pastures new;" + + +that is, in pursuit of and shooting at the iguanas, a large species of +lizard, measuring from five to six feet long, which infest the rocks +on the borders of the lake. Tired of firing without being obliged to +show any skill, our chasseurs would re-embark in their pirogues and +row in search of new amusement,--this was, to shoot at the eagles that +came hovering over their heads. Here skill was requisite, as well +as a prompt, sure glance of the eye, as it is only with ball that +these enormous birds of prey can be reached. Our fowlers would then +return home, with their boats full of game; and everyone, of course, +had his own feats of prowess to relate. + +The flesh of the iguana and the bat is savoury and delicate; but as +for its taste, that entirely depends upon the imagination, as may +here be seen. + +After returning from one of these grand shooting excursions to the +minor islands, a young American informed me that his friends and he +himself were most desirous of tasting the iguana and the bat; so, +supposing them all to be of the same mind, I ordered my maître-d'hôtel +to prepare for dinner a curry of iguana and a ragout of bats. The +first dish served round at dinner was the curry, of which they one +and all partook with very good appetite; upon which I ventured to say: +"You see the flesh of the iguana is most delicate." At these words all +my guests turned pale, and they all, by a sudden motion, pushed their +plates from before them, not even being able to swallow what their +mouths contained. I was therefore obliged to order the removal of +the entrées of iguana and bats before we could proceed with the repast. + +When it was in my power, I would accompany my guests in their +excursions, and then the chase was abundant and full of interest, +because I ever took care to guide them towards places abounding +in game and very picturesque. Sometimes I would take them to +the isle of Socolme, a still more curious place indeed than +the bat islands. Socolme is a circular lake--being one league in +circumference--in the midst of the great lake of Bay, from which it +is separated by a cordon or ribbon of land; or, to express myself +better, by a mountain which rises to an elevation of from twelve to +fifteen hundred feet; the centre of the mountain at the summit is +occupied by the lake of Socolme, and is evidently the crater of an +extinct volcano. Both sides are completely covered with large trees +of luxuriant growth. It is on the border of the small lake--where +the Indians never go, through fear of the caymans--that almost all +the aquatic birds of the grand lake resort to lay their eggs. Every +tree, white with the guano which they deposit there, is covered with +birds'-nests, full of eggs and birds of every size and age. + +One day, in company of my brother and Mr. Hamilton Lindsay, [20] an +Englishman, who was as fearless an explorer as ourselves, I started +from the plantation, with the intention of having some light canoes +carried across the high ground which separates the Socolme lake from +the lake of Bay, and of using them on the lake; and, after overcoming +many difficulties, we, by the assistance of our Indians, carried out +this project. + +We were the first tourists that ever ventured to expose our lives +on this Socolme lake. The Indians who had come with us refused most +decidedly to enter the boats, and exerted all their eloquence to +prevent us from going on the water. They spoke to us thus:-- + +"You are going, for no good purpose, to expose yourselves to very +great dangers, against which you have no means of defence, for +before you have gone far you will see thousands of caymans rising +out of the deep water; they will come to attack you, and what can +you oppose to those ferocious and invulnerable monsters? Your guns +and bullets cannot wound them. And as for escape by rowing quickly, +that is not possible. In their own element they swim much faster +than your canoes, and when they come up to you they will turn your +boats up-side-down with far more ease than you can drive it along; +and then the frightful scene will begin, from which you cannot escape." + +There was much good sense in what they said, and there can be no doubt +that it was most imprudent of us to embark in a little frail canoe, +and to make a trip over a lake inhabited by such numbers of caymans, +and especially since it was to be feared that the lake did not supply +fish enough to satisfy their voracity; and of course when enraged by +hunger they were more to be dreaded. + +But we were never deterred by dangers or difficulties; so, taking +no account of the prognostics of my prudent Indians, we, while they +were delivering their long speeches, had lashed together two canoes +for greater security. + +We had not proceeded many yards from the bank, when we all experienced +feelings of alarm, attributable, no doubt, to the expectation of +danger being immediate, as well as to the aspect of the place which +presented itself to our view. + +We were down in the deepest part of a gulf, surrounded by lofty +and precipitous mountains, which were externally covered with very +thick vegetation. They, on all sides, presented a barrier, through +which it was impossible to pass. The shadows which they cast over +the water, at the extreme point of the lake, produced the effect of +half darkness, which, in conjunction with the silence prevailing in +that dismal solitude, gave it an aspect so dreary and saddening, +as to produce in us most painful feelings; each of us as it were, +struck with terror, kept his thoughts to himself, and no one spoke. + +Our canoes went on, moving farther and farther from the brink from +which we had embarked; and it glided easily over the glassy sheet of +water, which is never agitated by even the roughest gales, and does not +receive the rays of the sun except when that luminary is at the zenith. + +The silence in which we were absorbed was suddenly broken by the +appearance of a cayman, which raised its hideous head, and opened +its enormous jaws, as if about to swallow the canoes, as it darted +after us. + +The moment was come; the grand drama announced by the Indians was +about to be realised, or all our fears would be dissipated without any +delay. There was not one instant to be spared, and we had no choice +but to try and escape as fast as we could, for the enemy was gaining +on us, and it would be madness to await his attack. I was steering, +and I exerted myself to the utmost to get away from the danger and +to escape to the shore. But the amphibious beast was approaching so +fast that he could almost seize us, when Lindsay, running all risks, +fired his gun direct at the brute. + +The effect produced by the detonation was prodigious, for, as it were +by enchantment, it dispelled all our apprehensions. The awful silence +was broken in the most striking manner; the cayman was frightened, and +sank abruptly to the bottom of the lake; hundreds of echoes resounded +from all sides, like the discharges of a rifle corps, and these were +repeated to the tops of the mountains, while clouds of cormorants, +starting from all the trees around, uttered their screaming and +piercing cries, in which they were joined by the Indians, who shouted +with joy on seeing from the bank the flight of the hostile beast, +of which they are always so much afraid. + +All then became tranquil, and we proceeded at our leisure. From time +to time a cayman made his appearance; but the explosions caused by +our firing soon drove the monsters down into the deepest parts of +the lake, more frightened than hurt, for even when we struck them +our balls rebounded from their scales without piercing them. + +We went close to the large trees, the branches of which were spreading +over the water; they were thickly covered with nests, filled with eggs, +and so great a quantity of young birds, that we not only captured as +many as we wished, but could have filled several boats with them. + +The cormorants, alarmed by the explosions we made, whirled over us +continually, like an immense cloud, during the time we troubled their +gloomy abode, and seemed to "disturb their solitary reign;" but they +did not wish to go far from their nests, in which their young broods +were crying out for parental care. + +After we had rowed round the lake, we came to the spot from which we +started, having ended our expedition happily without any accident, +and even without having incurred all the dangers that our Indians, +who were awaiting our return in order to take our boats once more +across the mountain, had wished to make us believe. + +Resolved not to finish the excursion without producing some beneficial +results for the sake of scientific knowledge, we measured the +circumference of the lake, which we found to be about two miles and +a-half. We were able to take soundings in the deepest parts towards +the middle, where we found the depth about three hundred feet; while at +some few fathoms from the banks we found it was invariably one hundred +and eighty feet. And here the remark may be made, that in no part of +the great Lake of Bay has the depth been found to exceed seventy-five +feet; from which it may be concluded, as we have previously stated, +that the lake of Socolme is formed within the crater of an extinct +volcano, its waters having percolated or filtered through from the +outer lake of Bay. + +From Socolme I took my guests to Los Banos, at the foot of a mountain, +several thousand feet high, from which several springs of boiling +water flow into the lake, and, mixing with its waters, produce every +temperature to be desired in a natural bath. There also, on the hill, +we were sure to meet with good and plentiful sport. Wild pigeons and +beautiful doves, perched upon majestic trees, "mistrustful of their +doom," allowed our sportsmen to approach very near, and they never +returned from "the baths" without having "bagged" plenty of them. + +Upon our appointed days of relaxation from labour, we would go into the +neighbouring woods, and wage war on the monkeys, our harvest's greatest +enemies. As soon as a little dog, purposely brought up to this mode +of warfare, warned us by his barkings that marauders were in sight, +we repaired to the spot, and then the firing was opened. Fright seized +hold on the mischievous tribe, every member of which hid itself in its +tree, and became as invisible as it possibly could. But the little +dog would not leave his post, while we would turn round the tree, +and never failed discovering the hidden inmate. We then commence +the attack, not ceasing until pug was laid prostrate. After having +made several victims, I sent them to be hung up on forks around the +sugar-cane fields, as scarecrows to those that had escaped; I, however, +always sent the largest one to Father Miguel, our excellent curate, +who was very fond of a monkey ragout. + +Sometimes I would take my guests to a distance of several days' march, +to show them admirable views, cascades, grottoes, or those wonders +of vegetation produced by the fertile nature of the Philippines. + +One day, Mr. Lindsay, the most intrepid traveller I had ever known, +and who had recently accompanied me to the lake of Socolme, proposed +to me to go with him to the grotto of San-Mateo, a place that several +travellers and myself had visited more than once, but always in +so incomplete a manner, that we had only been able to explore +a small portion of it. I was too well pleased with the proposal +not to accept it with eagerness; but this time I resolved that I +would not return from this expedition, as I had from former ones, +without having made every possible effort to explore its dimensions +and recesses. Lindsay, Dr. Genu, and my brother, participated in +my resolution of verifying whether or not there was any semblance +of truth in what the Indians related concerning that grotto; or if, +as I had so often experienced it myself, their poetic minds did not +create what had never existed. Their old Indian traditions attributed +to that cavern an immense extent. There, they would say, are to be +seen fairy palaces, with which nothing could be compared, and which +were the residences of fantastical beings. Determined, then, on seeing +with our own eyes all these wonders, we set out for San-Mateo, taking +with us an Indian, having with him a crowbar and a couple of pickaxes, +to dig us out a way, should we have the chance of prolonging our +subterraneous walk beyond the limits which we all already knew. We +also took with us a good provision of flambeaus, so necessary to +put our project into execution. We arrived early at San-Mateo, and +spent the remaining part of the day in visiting admirable views and +situations in the neighbourhood. We also went down into the bed of +a torrent that takes its source in the mountains, and passes through +the north side of this district; there we saw several Indians, male +and female, all busy in washing the sand in search of gold-dust. Their +daily produce at this work varies from one to ten francs; this depends +on the more or less fortunate vein that perchance they fall on. This +trade, together with the tilling of land--to be equalled by no other +in fertility--and hewing timber for building, which is to be found +most plentifully on the neighbouring mountains, is all the wealth of +the inhabitants, who, in most part, live in abundance and prosperity. + +At the next day's dawn we were on our way to the grotto, which is +about two hours' walk from the village. The road, which is bordered +by nature's most beautiful productions in vegetation, traverses the +finest rice plantations, and is of most easy access; however, about +half-way, it suddenly becomes dangerous and even difficult. Here we +leave the cultivated fields, and follow along the banks of the river, +which flows in the midst of not very high mountains, and has so many +bends, twistings, and meanderings, that, in order to cross it, it is +necessary at almost every moment to have recourse to swimming, and +then to take the narrow paths leading from its margin. Nothing, until +at a very short distance from the grotto, interrupts the monotony of +these rural sites and situations. The traveller plods his way through +a gorge, or ravine, where upon all sides the view is bounded by rocks, +and a long line of verdant vegetation, composed of the shrubs that +cover the hills. But through a vast winding, or rather turning, made +by the river, the eye is suddenly dazzled by the splendid panorama +that seems to develop itself and move on with fairy magnificence. Let +the reader imagine that he is standing at the base of two immense +mountains, resembling two pyramids in their form, both equally alike +and similar in height. The space that intervenes between them allows +the eye to plunge into the distance, and to discover there a tableau, +a picture, or view, which is impossible to be described. Between +the two monster mountains the river has found an issue, and there +the traveller beholds it at his feet, precipitating itself like an +impetuous torrent in the midst of white marble rocks. The water, both +limpid and glossy, seems to play with every object that impedes its +course; at one moment it will form a noisy cascade, and then suddenly +disappear at the foot of an enormous rock, and soon after appear again, +bubbling and foaming, just as if some supernatural strength had worked +it from the bowels of the earth. Farther on, and in forming itself into +a continuous number of minor cascades, this same river flows, with a +vast silvery surface, over a bed of marble, as white and as brilliant +as alabaster, and falls upon others of still equal whiteness. Finally, +after having passed over all difficulties, all dangers, it flows with +much more modesty over a humble bed, where may be seen the reflection +of the admirable vegetation its banks are embellished with. + +The famous grotto is situated in the mountain on the right side of +the river, which the traveller crosses over by jumping from one block +of marble to another; and then, after having ascended a steep height +of about two hundred yards, he finds himself at the entrance to the +grotto, whither I shall conduct the reader step by step. + +The entrance, the form of which is almost regular, represents pretty +well the portico of a church, with a full arch, adorned with verdant +festoons, composed of creeping plants and bind-weeds. When the visitor +has once passed under the portico he enters into a large and spacious +hall, studded with stalactites of a very yellowish colour, and there +a dense crowd of bats, frightened by the light of the torches, fly +out with great noise and precipitation. For about a hundred paces, +in advancing towards the interior, the vault continues to be very +lofty, and the gallery is spacious; but suddenly the former declines +immensely, and the latter becomes so narrow that it scarce admits +of a passage for one man, who is obliged to crawl on his hands and +knees to pass through, and continue in this painful position for +about a hundred yards. And now the gallery becomes wide again, and +the vault rises several feet high. But here, again, a new difficulty +soon presents itself, and which must be overcome; a sort of wall, +three or four yards high, must be climbed over, and immediately behind +which lies a most dangerous subterraneous place, where two enormous +precipices, with open mouths on a level with the ground, seem ready +to swallow up the imprudent traveller, who, although he have his +torch lighted, would not walk, step by step, and with the greatest +precaution, through this gloomy labyrinth. A few stones thrown into +these gulfs attest, by the hollow noise produced by their falling +to the bottom, that they are several hundred feet deep. Then the +gallery, which is still wide and spacious, runs on without presenting +anything remarkable till the visitor arrives on the spot where the +last researches stopped at. Here it seems to terminate by a sort of +rotunda, surrounded by stalactites of divers forms, and which, in one +part, represents a real dome supported by columns. This dome looks +over a small lake, out of which a murmuring stream flows continually +into the precipices already described. It was here that we began our +serious investigations, desirous of ascertaining if it were possible +to prolong this subterraneous peregrination. We dived several times +into the lake without discovering anything favourable to our desires; +we then directed our steps to the right, examining all the while, by +the light of our torches, the smallest gaps to be seen in the sides +of the gallery, when at last, after many unsuccessful attempts, we +discovered a hole through which a man's arm could scarcely pass. By +introducing a torch into it, how great was our surprise to see within +it an immense space, studded with rock-crystal. I need not add that +such a discovery inspired us with the greatest desire of more closely +examining that which we had but an imperfect view of. We therefore +set our Indian to work with his pick-axe, to widen the hole and make +a passage for us; his labour went on slowly, he struck his blows +gently and cautiously, so as to avoid a falling-in of the rock, which +would not only have marred our hopes, but would, besides, have caused +a great disaster. The vault of rocks suspended over our heads might +bury us all alive, and, as will be seen by the sequel, the precautions +we had taken were not fruitless. At the very moment when our hopes +were about to be realised,--the aperture being now wide enough +to admit of us passing through it--suddenly, and above our heads, +we heard a hollow prolonged rustling noise that froze us to death; +the vault had been shaken, and we dreaded its falling upon us. For a +moment, which seemed to us, however, very long, we were all terrified; +the Indian himself was standing as motionless as a statue, with his +hands upon the handle of his pick-axe, just in the same position as +he was when he gave his last blow. After a moment's solemn silence, +when our fright had a little subsided, we began to examine the nature +of the danger we had just escaped. Above our heads a long and wide +split ran along the vault to a distance of several yards, and, at +the place where it stopped, an enormous rock, detached from the dome, +had been most providentially impeded in its fall downwards by one of +the columns, which, acting as a sort of buttress, kept it suspended +over the opening we had just made. Having, after mature examination, +ascertained that the column and the rock were pretty solid, like rash +men, accustomed to daunt all danger and surmount any sort of obstacle +and difficulty, we resolved upon gliding one by one into the dangerous +yawning. Dr. Genu, who till then had kept a profound silence, on +hearing of our resolution was suddenly seized with such a panic fear +that he recovered his voice, imploring and begging of us to take him +out of the cavern; and, as if he had been suddenly seized with a sort +of vertigo, he told us, with interrupted accents, that he could not +breathe--that he felt himself as if he were smothering--that his heart +was beating so violently, were he to stay any longer amidst the dangers +we were running he was certain of dying from the effects of a rupture +of the heart. He offered all he possessed on earth to him who would +save his life, and with clasped hands he supplicated our Indians not +to forsake him, but to guide him out of the place. We therefore took +compassion upon his state of mind, and allowed the Indian to guide +him out; but as soon as the latter returned, and having ascertained +during his absence that neither the rocky fragment nor the column had +stirred, but which had been the momentary cause of our alarm, we put +our project into execution, and like serpents, one after the other, +we crawled into the dangerous opening, which was scarcely large enough +for our passing through. We soon ceased thinking of our past dangers, +nor did our present imprudence much pre-occupy our minds, all our +attention being entirely absorbed by what presented itself to our +ravished eyes. Here we were in the midst of a saloon wearing a most +fairy aspect, and, by the light of our torches, the vault, the floor, +and the wall were shining and dazzling, as if they had been covered +over with the most admirably transparent rock-crystal. Even in some +places did the hand of man seem to have presided over the ornamenting +of this enchanted palace. Numberless stalactites and stalagmites, as +pellucid as the limpid stream that has just been seized by the frost, +assumed here and there the most fantastic forms and shapes--they +represented brilliant draperies, rows of columns, lustres, and +chandeliers. At one end, close to the wall, was to be seen an altar, +with steps leading up to it, and which seemed to be in expectation +of the priest to celebrate divine service. It would be impossible +for my pen to describe everything that transported us with joy, and +drew forth our admiration; we really imagined ourselves to be in one +of the Arabian Nights' palaces, and the Indians themselves were far +from guessing the one-half of the wonders we had just discovered. + +Having left this dazzling palace, we continued our underground ramble, +penetrating more and more into the bowels of the earth, following +step by step a winding labyrinth, but which for a whole half-league +offered nothing remarkable to our view, except now and then the +sight of the very great dangers our undauntable curiosity urged us +on to. In certain parts the vault no longer presented the aspect +of being as solid as stone, earth alone seemed to be its component +parts; and here and there, recent proofs of falling-in showed us that +still more considerable ones might take place, and cut off from us +all means of retreat. Nevertheless we pushed on still, far beyond +our present adventurous discovery, and at last arrived at a new, +magnificent, and extensive space, all bespangled, like the first, +with brilliant stalactites, and in no way inferior to the former in +the gorgeous beauty of its details. Here again we gave ourselves up +to the most minute examination of the many wonders surrounding us, +and which shone like prisms by the light of our torches. We gathered +from off the ground several small stalagmites, as large and as round +as hazel-nuts, and so like that fruit, when preserved, that some days +later, at a ball at Manilla, we presented some of them to the ladies, +whose first movement was to put them to their mouth; but soon finding +out their mistake, they entreated to be allowed to keep them, to +have them, as they said, converted into ear-ring drops. Having fully +enjoyed the beautiful and brilliant spectacle presented to our eyes, +we now began to feel the effects of hunger and fatigue. We had been +walking in this subterraneous domain to the extent of more than three +miles, had taken no rest or refreshment since morning, and the day +was already far advanced. + +I have often experienced that our moral strength decreases in +proportion as our physical strength does; and of course we must have +been in that state when sinister suppositions took possession of +our imaginations. One of our party communicated to us a reflection +he had just made--which was, that a falling-in might have taken +place between us and the issue from the grotto; or, what appeared +still more probable, that the enormous rock, that was suspended and +buttressed up by the column, might have fallen down, and thus bar +up all passage through the hole we had so rashly made. Had such a +misfortune happened to us, what a horrible situation we should have +been in! We could hope for no help from without, even from our friend +Genu, who, as we had witnessed, had been so upset by fear; so that, +rather than suffer the anguish and die the death of the wretch buried +alive in a sepulchre, our poignards must have been our last resource. + +All these reflections, which we analysed and commented upon, one by +one, made us resolve upon returning, and leaving to others, more +imprudent than ourselves, if any there be, the care of exploring +the space we had still to travel over. We soon got over the ground +that separated us from the place we had most to dread. Providence +had favoured and protected us--the large fragment of rock, that +object of all our fears, was still propped up. One after the other +did we squeeze ourselves through the narrow opening, avoiding as +much as possible the least friction, till at last we had all passed +through. Joyous indeed were we on seeing ourselves out of danger after +so perilous an enterprise, and we were already beginning to direct +our steps towards the outlet of the cavern, when suddenly a hollow, +prolonged noise, and below our feet a rapid trembling excited once +more all our fears. But those fears were soon calmed by our Indian, +who came running towards us at full speed, brandishing in his hand +his pick-axe. The imprudent fellow, unwilling to sacrifice it, had +waited till we were some paces distant, and then pulling it to him +most forcibly, while all the while he took good care to keep quickly +moving away, when thanks to Providence, or to his own nimbleness, +he was not crushed to atoms by the fragment of the rock, which, +being no longer buttressed up by the column that had been shaken, +had fallen to the ground, completely stopping up the issue through +which we had passed one after the other: so that no doubt no one, +after us, will be able to penetrate into the beautiful part of that +grotto which we had just passed through so fortunately. After this +last episode we no longer hesitated in returning, and it was with great +delight that we beheld once more the great luminary of the world, and +found our friend Genu sitting upon a block of marble, reflecting on +our long absence, and, at the same time, on our unqualifiable temerity. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Dumont d'Urville--Rear-Admiral Laplace: Desertion of + Sailors from his Ship--I recover them for him--Origin of + the Inhabitants of the Philippine Islands--Their General + Disposition--Hospitality and Respect for Old Age--Tagal + Marriage Ceremony--Indian Legal Eloquence--Explanation of the + Matrimonial Speeches--The Caymans, or Alligators--Instances of + their Ferocity--Imprudence and Death of my Shepherd--Method + of entrapping the Monster which had devoured him--We Attack + and eventually Capture it--Its Dimensions--We Dissect and + Examine the Contents of its Stomach--Boa-Constrictors--Their + large size--Attack of a Boa-Constrictor on a Wild Boar--We Kill + and Skin it--Unsuccessful Attempt to capture a Boa-Constrictor + alive--A Man Devoured--Dangerous Venomous Reptiles. + + +I shall perhaps be accused of exaggeration for what I say of the +enjoyments and emotions of my existence at Jala-Jala: nevertheless +I adhere to the strict truth, and it would be very easy for me to +cite the names of many persons in support of the truth of all my +narrative. Moreover, the various travellers who have spent some time at +my habitation have published, in their works, the tableau or recital of +my existence in the midst of my dear Indians, who were all so devoted +to me. Among other works, I shall cite "The Voyage Round the World," +by the unfortunate Dumont d'Urville; and that of Rear-Admiral Laplace, +in each of which works will be found a special article dedicated to +Jala-Jala. [21] + +Since I have named M. Laplace, I shall here relate a little anecdote +of which he was the hero, and which will show to what a degree my +influence was generally considered and looked up to in the province +of Lagune. + +Several sailors, belonging to the crew of the frigate commanded +by M. Laplace, had deserted at Manilla, and, notwithstanding all +the searches that the Spanish government had caused to be made, +it was found impossible to discover the hiding-place of five of +them. M. Laplace coming to pay a few weeks' visit to my little domain, +the governor said to him: "If you wish to find out your men you have +only to apply to M. Gironiere--no one will discover them if he do not; +convey to him my orders to set out immediately in pursuit of them." + +On arriving at my habitation M. Laplace communicated to me this order, +but I was too independent to think of executing it: my business and +occupation had nothing to do with deserters. A few days afterwards a +captain, accompanied by about a hundred soldiers, under his orders, +arrived at Jala-Jala, to inform M. Laplace that he had scoured +the province without being able to obtain the least news of the +deserters, whom he had been looking after for the last fortnight; at +which news M. Laplace was very much grieved, and coming to me, said: +"M. de la Gironiere, I perceive I shall be obliged to sail without the +hands that have deserted, if you yourself will not look after them. I +therefore beg and beseech of you to sacrifice a little of your time, +and render me that important service." + +This entreaty was no order: it was a prayer, a supplication, that +was addressed to me, consequently I took but little time to reply +as follows: "Commander, in one hour hence I shall be on my way, +and before forty-eight hours are expired you shall have your men here." + +"Oh! take care," replied he; "mind, you have to do with more than +rough fellows: do not therefore expose your life, and should they +perchance make any resistance, give them no quarter, but fire on them." + +A few minutes afterwards, accompanied by my faithful lieutenant and +one soldier, I crossed over the lake, and went in the direction +where I thought that the French sailors had taken refuge. I was +soon on their track; and on the second day afterwards I fulfilled +the promise I had made Commander Laplace, and delivered up to him +his five deserters against whom I had been obliged to employ neither +violence nor fire-arms. + +I have already had the occasion of speaking about the Tagalocs, and +describing their disposition. However, I have not yet entered into +the necessary details to make well known a population so submissive +to the Spaniards, and whose primitive origin never can be anything +but hypothesis--yea, a true problem. + +It is probable, and almost incontestible, that the Philippine Islands +were primitively peopled by aborigines, a small race of negroes still +inhabiting the interior of the forests in pretty large numbers, called +Ajetas by the Tagalocs, and Négritos by the Spaniards. Doubtless +at a very distant period the Malays invaded the shores, and drove +the indigenous population into the interior beyond the mountains; +afterwards, whether by accidents on sea, or desirous of availing +themselves of the richness of the soil, they were joined by the +Chinese, the Japanese, the inhabitants of the archipelago of the +South Seas, the Javanese, and even the Indians. It must not, then, +be wondered at, that from the mixture proceeding from the union of +these various people, all of unequal physiognomy, there have risen +the different nuances, distinctions and types; upon which, however, +is generally depicted Malay physiognomy and cruelty. + +The Tagal is well made, rather tall than otherwise. His hair is long, +his beard thin, his colour brass-like, yet sometimes inclining to +European whiteness; his eye expanded and vivacious, somewhat á la +Chinoise; nose large; and, true to the Malay race, his cheek bones are +high and prominent. He is passionately fond of dancing and music; is, +when in love, very loving; cruel towards his enemies; never forgives an +act of injustice, and ever avenges it with his poignard, which--like +the kris with the Malays--is his favourite weapon. Whenever he has +pledged his word in serious business, it is sacred; he gives himself +passionately to games of hazard; he is a good husband, a good father; +jealous of his wife's honour, but careless of his daughter's; who, +despite any little faux-pas, meets with no difficulty in getting +a husband. + +The Tagal is of very sober habits: all he requires is water, a +little rice, and salt-fish. In his estimation an aged man is an +object of great veneration; and where there exists a family of them +in all periods of life, the youngest is naturally most subservient +to the eldest. + +The Tagal, like the Arab, is hospitably inclined, without any sentiment +of egotism, and certainly without any other idea than that of relieving +suffering humanity: so that when a stranger appears before an Indian +hut at meal-time, were the poor Indian only to have what was strictly +necessary for his family, it is his greatest pleasure to invite and +press the stranger to take a place at his humble board, and partake +of his family cheer. When an old man, whose days are dwindling to +the shortest span, can work no longer, he is sure to find a refuge, +an asylum, a home, at a neighbour's, where he is looked upon as one +of the family. There he may remain till he is called to "that bourne +from whence no traveller returns." + +Amongst the Tagals the marriage ceremony is somewhat peculiar. It +is preceded by two other ceremonies, the first of which is called +Tain manoc, Tagal words, signifying or meaning "the cock looking +after his hen." Therefore, when once a young man has informed his +father and mother that he has a predeliction for a young Indian girl, +his parents pay a visit to the young girl's parents upon some fine +evening, and after some very ordinary chat the mamma of the young man +offers a piaster to the mamma of the young lady. Should the future +mother-in-law accept, the young lover is admitted, and then his future +mother-in-law is sure to go and spend the very same piaster in betel +and cocoa-wine. During the greater portion of the night the whole +company assembled upon the occasion chews betel, drinks cocoa-wine, +and discusses upon all other subjects but marriage. The young men +never make their appearance till the piaster has been accepted, +because in that case they look upon it as being the first and most +essential step towards their marriage. + +On the next day the young man pays a visit to the mother, father, +and other relatives of his affianced bride. There he is received as +one of the family; he sleeps there, he lodges there, takes a part in +all the labours, and most particularly in those labours depending +upon the young maid's superintendence. He now undertakes a service +or task that lasts, more or less, two, three, or four years, during +which time he must look well to himself; for if anything be found +out against him he is discarded, and never more can pretend to the +hand of her he would espouse. + +The Spaniards did their best to suppress this custom, on account of the +inconveniencies it entailed. Very often the father of a young girl, +in order to keep in his service a man who cost him nothing, keeps on +this state of servitude indefinitely, and sometimes dismisses him who +has served him for two or three years, and takes another under the same +title of prétendant, or lover. But it also frequently happens that +if the two lovers grow impatient for the celebration of the marriage +ceremony--for "hope deferred maketh the heart sick,"--some day or +other the girl takes the young man by the hair, and presenting him +to the curate of the village, tells him she has just run away with +her lover, therefore they must be married. The wedding ceremony then +takes place without the consent of the parents. But were the young +man to carry off the young girl, he would be severely punished, +and she restored to her family. + +If all things have passed off in good order, if the lover has undergone +two or three years of voluntary slavery, and if his future relations +be quite satisfied with his conduct and temper, then comes the day +of the second ceremony, called Tajin-bojol, "the young man desirous +of tying the union knot." + +This second ceremony is a grand festival-day. The relations and +friends of both families are all assembled at the bride's house, +and divided into two camps, each of which discusses the interests of +the young couple; but each family has an advocate, who alone has the +right to speak in favour of his client. The relations have no right +to speak; they only make, in a low tone of voice, to their advocate, +the observations they think fit. + +The Indian woman never brings a marriage portion with her. When she +takes a husband unto herself she possesses nothing; the young man alone +brings the portion, and this is why the young girl's advocate speaks +first, and asks for it, in order to settle the basis of the treaty. + +I will here set before my readers the speeches of two advocates in a +ceremony of this kind, at which I had the curiosity to be present. In +order not to wound the susceptibility of the parties, the advocates +never speak but in allegorical terms, and at the ceremony which +I honoured with my presence the advocate of the young Indian girl +thus began:-- + +"A young man and a young girl were joined together in the holy +bands of wedlock; they possessed nothing--nay, they had not even a +shelter. For several years the young woman was very badly off. At last +her misfortunes came to an end, and one day she found herself in a +fine large cottage that was her own. She became the mother of a pretty +little babe, a girl, and on the day of her confinement there appeared +unto her an angel, who said to her:--'Bear in mind thy marriage, +and the time of penury thou didst go through. The child that has +just been born unto thee will I take under my protection. When she +will have grown up and be a fine lass, give her but to him who will +build her up a temple, where there will be ten columns, each composed +of ten stones. If thou dost not execute these my orders thy daughter +will be as miserable as thou hast been thyself.'" + +After this short speech, the adverse advocate replied:--"Once upon a +time there lived a queen, whose kingdom lay on the sea-side. Amongst +the laws of her realm there was one which she followed with the +greatest rigour. Every ship arriving in her states' harbour could, +according to that law, cast anchor but at one hundred fathoms deep, +and he who violated the said law was put to death without pity or +remorse. Now it came to pass one day that a brave captain of a ship was +surprised by a dreadful tempest, and after many fruitless endeavours +to save his vessel, he was obliged to put into the queen's harbour, +and cast anchor there, although his cable was only eighty fathoms +long, for he preferred death on the scaffold to the loss of his ship +and crew. The enraged queen commanded him to her audit chamber. He +obeyed, and throwing himself at her feet, told her that necessity +alone had compelled him to infringe upon the laws, and that, having +but eighty fathoms long, he could not possibly cast out a hundred, +so he besought her most graciously to pardon him." + +And here ended his speech, but the other advocate took it up, and +thus went on:-- + +"The queen, moved to pity by the prayer of the suppliant captain, +and his inability to cast his anchor one hundred fathoms deep, +instantly pardoned him, and well did she devise." + +On hearing these last words joy shone upon every countenance, +and the musicians began playing on the guitar. The bride and +bridegroom, who had been waiting in an adjoining chamber, now made +their appearance. The young man took from off his neck his rosary, or +string of beads, put it round the young girl's neck, and took back hers +in lieu of the one he had given her. The night was spent in dancing +and merriment, and the marriage ceremony--just as Christian-like as +our own--was arranged to take place in a week. + +I shall now, just as I heard it myself, give the explanation of the +advocates' speeches, which I did not entirely understand. The bride's +mother had married without a wedding portion on her husband's side, +so she had gone through very adverse and pinching circumstances. The +temple that the angel had told her to demand for her daughter was, a +house; and the ten columns, composed of ten stones each, signified that +with the house a sum of one hundred piasters would be requisite--that +is, twenty pounds sterling. + +The speech of the young man's advocate explained that he would give +the house, as he said nothing about it; but, being worth only eighty +piasters, he threw himself at the feet of the parents of his betrothed, +that the twenty piasters which he was minus, might offer no obstacle +to his marriage. The pardon accorded by the queen signified the grace +shown to the young man, who was accepted with his eighty piasters only. + +The servitude which precedes matrimony, and of which I have spoken, +was practised long before the conquest of these isles by the +Spaniards. This would seem to prove the origin I attribute to the +Tagalocs, whom I believe to be descended from the Malays, and these +latter, being all Mussulmans, would naturally have preserved some of +the ancient patriarchal customs. + +Believing that I have sufficiently described the Indians and their +habits, I will now introduce to my readers two species of monsters +that I have often bad occasion to observe, mid even to combat--the +one a denizen of forests, the boa constrictor; the other of lakes +and rivers, the cayman or alligator. At the period at which I first +occupied my habitation, and began to colonise the village of Jala-Jala, +caymans abounded on that side of the lake. From my windows I daily +saw them sporting in the water, and waylaying and snapping at the +dogs that ventured too near the brink. One day, a female servant of my +wife's, having been so imprudent as to bathe at the edge of the lake, +was surprised by one of them, a monster of enormous size. One of my +guards came up at the moment she was being carried off; he fired his +musket at the brute, and hit it under the fore-leg, or arm-pit, which +is the only vulnerable part. But the wound was insufficient to check +the cayman's progress, and it disappeared with its prey. Nevertheless, +this little bullet hole was the cause of its death; and here it is +to be observed, that the slightest wound received by the cayman is +incurable. The shrimps which abound in the lake get into the orifice, +gradually their number increases, until at last they penetrate deep +into the solid flesh, and into the very interior of the body. This +is what happened to the one which devoured my wife's maid. A month +after the frightful occurrence the cayman was found dead upon the +bank, five or six leagues from my house. Some Indians brought back +to me the unfortunate woman's earrings, which they had found in the +monster's stomach. + +Upon another occasion, a Chinese was riding onwards in advance +of me. We reached a river, and I let him go on alone, in order to +ascertain whether the river was very deep or not. Suddenly, three or +four caymans which lay in waiting under the water, threw themselves +upon him; horse and rider disappeared, and for some minutes afterwards +the water was tinged with blood. + +I was curious to obtain a near view of one of these voracious animals, +and, at the time when they frequented the vicinity of my house, I made +several attempts to accomplish my wishes. One night I baited a huge +hook, secured by a chain and strong cord, with an entire sheep. Next +morning, sheep and chain had disappeared. I lay in wait for the +creatures with my gun, but the bullets rebounded, half flattened +upon their scales, without doing the slightest injury. One evening +that a large dog of mine had died, belonging to a race peculiar to +the Philippines, and exceeding in size any of the canine species of +Europe, I had his carcass dragged to the shore of the lake, and hid +myself in a little thicket, with my gun ready cocked, in the event +of any cayman presenting itself to carry off the bait. Presently +I fell asleep; when I awoke, the dog had disappeared, the cayman, +luckily for me, not mistaking his prey. + +In the course of a few years' time, these monsters had disappeared +from the environs of Jala-Jala; but one morning, when out with my +shepherds, at some leagues' distance from my house, we came to a river, +which could only be crossed by swimming. One of my people said to me: + +"Master, the water is deep here, and we are in the courses where the +caymans abound; an accident soon happens, let us try further up the +river, and pass over in a shallower spot." + +We were about to follow this advice, when another man, more rash +than his comrades, said: "I'm not afraid of caymans!" and spurred +his horse into the stream. He had scarcely got half-way across, when +we perceived a monstrous cayman rise and advance to meet him. We +uttered a warning shout, the Indian himself perceived the danger, +threw himself from his horse, and swam for the bank with all his +strength. He had already reached it, but imprudently stopped behind +the trunk of a tree that had been felled by the force of the current, +and where he had the water up to his knees. Believing himself secure, +he drew his cutlass, and watched the movements of the cayman, which, +meanwhile, had reached the horse just as, the Indian quitted the +animal. Rearing his enormous head out of the water, the monster threw +himself upon the steed and seized him by the saddle. The horse made +a violent effort, the girths broke, and thus enabled him to reach +the shore. Soon, however, finding that his prey had escaped, the +cayman dropped the saddle, and made towards the Indian. We perceived +this movement, and quickly cried out: "Run, run, or the cayman will +have you!" The Indian, however, would not stir, but calmly waited, +cutlass in hand. The monster advanced towards him; the Indian struck +him a blow on the head, which took no more effect than a flip of the +fingers would have on the horns of a bull. The cayman made a spring, +seized him by one of his thighs, and for more than a minute we beheld +my poor shepherd--his body erect above the surface of the water, +his hands joined, his eyes turned to heaven, in the attitude of a man +imploring Divine mercy--dragged back again into the lake. The drama +was over: the cayman's stomach was his tomb. During these agonizing +moments, we all remained silent, but no sooner had my poor shepherd +disappeared than we all swore to avenge him. + +I caused to be made three nets of strong cords, each of which nets +was large enough to form a complete barrier across the river. I also +had a hut built, and put an Indian to live in it, whose duty was to +keep constant watch, and to let me know as soon as the cayman returned +to the river. He watched in vain, for upwards of two months, but at +the end of that time he came and told me that the monster had seized +a horse, and had dragged it into the river to devour at leisure. I +immediately repaired to the spot, accompanied by my guards, and by my +priest, who positively would see a cayman hunt, and by an American +friend of mine, Mr. Russell, [22] who was then staying with me. I +had the nets spread at intervals, so that the cayman could not escape +back into the lake. This operation was not effected without some acts +of imprudence; thus, for instance, when the nets were arranged, an +Indian dived to make sure that they were at the bottom, and that our +enemy could not escape by passing below them. But it might very well +have happened that the cayman was in the interval between the nets, +and so have gobbled up my Indian. Fortunately everything passed off +as we wished. When all was ready, I launched three pirogues, strongly +fastened together, side by side, with some Indians in the centre, +armed with lances, and with long bamboos, with which they could touch +the bottom. At last, all measures having been taken to attain my end, +without risk of accident, my Indians began to explore the river with +their long bamboos. + +An animal so formidable in size as the one we were in search of, +could not hide himself very easily, and soon we beheld him on the +surface of the river, lashing the water with his long tail, snapping +and clattering with his jaws, and endeavouring to get at those +who disturbed him in his retreat. A universal shout of joy greeted +his appearance; the Indians in the pirogues hurled their lances at +him, whilst we, upon either shore of the lake, fired a volley. The +bullets rebounded from the monster's scales, which they were unable +to penetrate; the keener lances made their way between the scales, +and entered into the cayman's body some eight or ten inches. Thereupon +he disappeared, swimming with incredible rapidity, and reached the +first net. The resistance it opposed turned him back; he re-ascended +the river, and again appeared on the top of the water. This violent +movement, broke the staves of the lances which the Indians had stuck +into him, and the iron alone remained in the wounds. Each time that +he appeared the firing recommenced, and fresh lances were plunged +into his enormous body. Perceiving, however, how ineffectual firearms +were to pierce his cuirass of invulnerable scales, I excited him by +my shouts and gestures, and when he came to the edge of the water, +opening his enormous jaws all ready to devour me, I approached the +muzzle of my gun to within a few inches, and fired both barrels, in +the hope that the bullets would find something softer than scales in +the interior of that formidable cavern, and that they would penetrate +to his brain. All was futile. The jaws closed with a terrible noise, +seizing only the fire and smoke that issued from my gun, and the balls +flattened against his bones without injuring them. The animal, which +had now become furious, made inconceivable efforts to seize one of +his enemies; his strength seemed to increase, rather than to diminish, +whilst our resources were nearly exhausted. Almost all our lances were +sticking in his body, and our ammunition drew to an end. The fight +had lasted more than six hours, without any result that could make us +hope for its speedy termination, when an Indian struck the cayman, +whilst at the bottom of the water, with a lance of unusual strength +and size. Another Indian, at his comrade's request, struck two vigorous +blows with a mace upon the but-end of the lance; the iron entered deep +into the animal's body, and immediately, with a movement as swift as +lightning, he darted towards the nets and disappeared. The lance pole, +detached from the iron head, returned to the surface of the water; +for some minutes we waited in vain for the monster's re-appearance; +we thought that his last effort had enabled him to reach the lake, and +that our chase would result fruitlessly. We hauled in the first net, a +large hole in which convinced us that our supposition was correct. The +second net was in the same condition as the first. Disheartened by +our failure, we were hauling in the third, when we felt a strong +resistance. Several of the Indians began to drag it towards the bank, +and presently, to our great joy, we saw the cayman upon the surface +of the water. He was expiring. We threw over him several lassos of +strong cords, and when he was well secured, we drew him to land. It +was no easy matter to haul him up on the bank; the strength of forty +Indians hardly sufficed. When at last we had got him completely out +of the water, and had him before our eyes, we stood stupified with +astonishment, for it was a very different thing to see his body thus +and to see him swimming, when he was fighting against us. Mr. Russell, +a very competent person, was charged with his measurements. From the +extremity of his nostrils to the tip of his tail, he was found to +be twenty-seven feet long, and his circumference was eleven feet, +measured under the arm pits. His belly was much more voluminous, +but we thought it unnecessary to measure him there, judging that the +horse upon which he had breakfasted must considerably have increased +his bulk. + +This process at an end, we took counsel as to what we should do +with the dead cayman. Every one gave his opinion. My wish was to +convey it bodily to my residence, but that was impossible; it would +have required a vessel of five or six tons burthen, and we could not +procure such a craft. One man wanted the skin, the Indians begged for +the flesh, to dry it, and use it as a specific against asthma. They +affirm, that any asthmatic person who nourishes himself for a certain +time with this flesh, is infallibly cured. Somebody else desired to +have the fat, as an antidote to rheumatic pains; and, finally, my +worthy priest demanded that the stomach should be opened, in order to +ascertain how many Christians the monster had devoured. Every time, +he said, that a cayman eats a Christian he swallows a large pebble; +thus, the number of pebbles we should find in him would positively +indicate the number of the faithful to whom his enormous stomach had +afforded sepulture. To satisfy everybody, I sent for an axe wherewith, +to cut off the head, which I reserved for myself, abandoning the rest +of the carcass to all who had taken part in the capture. It was no +easy matter to decapitate the monster. The axe buried itself in the +flesh to half-way up the handle without reaching the bones; at last, +after many efforts, we succeeded in getting the head off. Then we +opened the stomach, and took out of it, by fragments, the horse which +had been devoured by the monster that morning. The cayman does not +masticate, he snaps off a huge lump with his teeth, and swallows it +entire. Thus we found the whole of the horse, divided only into seven +or eight pieces. Then we came to about a hundred and fifty pounds' +weight of pebbles, varying from the size of a fist to that of a +walnut. When my priest saw this great quantity of stones: + +"It is a mere tale," he could not help saying; "it is impossible that +this animal could have devoured so great a number of Christians." + +It was eight o'clock at night when we had finished the cutting up. I +left the body to our assistants, and had the head placed in a boat to +convey it to my house. I very much desired to preserve this monstrous +trophy as nearly as possible in the state in which it then was, but +that would have required a great quantity of arsenical soap, and I +was out of that chemical. So I made up my mind to dissect it, and +preserve the skeleton. I weighed it before detaching the ligaments; +its weight was four hundred and fifty pounds; its length, from the +nose to the first vertebræ, five feet six inches. + +I found all my bullets, which had become flattened against the bones +of the jaws and palate as they would have done against a plate of +iron. The lance thrust which had slain the cayman was a chance--a sort +of miracle. When the Indian struck with his mace upon the but-end +of the pole, the iron pierced through the nape, into the vertebral +column, and penetrated the spinal marrow, the only vulnerable part. + +When this formidable head was well prepared, and the bones dried and +whitened, I had the pleasure of presenting it to my friend Russell, +who has since deposited it in the museum at Boston, United States. + +The other monster, of which I have promised a description, is the +boa-constrictor. The species is common in the Philippines, but it is +rare to meet with a specimen of very large dimensions. It is possible, +nay probable, that centuries of time are necessary for this reptile to +attain its largest size; and to such an age, the various accidents to +which animals are exposed, rarely suffer it to attain. Full-sized boas +are consequently to be met with only in the gloomiest, most remote, +and most solitary forests. + +I have seen many boas of ordinary size, such as are found in our +European collections. There were some, indeed, that inhabited my +house, and one night I found one, two yards long, in possession of my +bed. Several times, when passing through the woods with my Indians, +I heard the piercing cries of a wild boar. On approaching the spot +whence they proceeded, we almost invariably found a wild boar, about +whose body a boa had twisted its folds, and was gradually hoisting +him up into the tree round which it had coiled itself. + +When the wild boar had reached a certain height, the snake pressed +him against a tree with a force that crushed his bones and stifled +him. Then the boa let its prey fall, descended the tree, and prepared +to swallow it. This last operation was much too lengthy for us to +await its end. To simplify matters, I sent a ball into the boa's +head. My Indians took the flesh to dry it for food, and the skin to +make dagger sheaths of. It is unnecessary to say that the wild boar +was not forgotten, although it was a prey that had cost us but little +trouble to secure. One day an Indian surprised one of these reptiles +asleep, after it had swallowed an enormous deer. Its size was so great, +that a buffalo waggon would have been necessary to transport it to the +village. The Indian cut it in pieces, and contented himself with as +much as he could carry off. Having been informed of this, I sent after +the remains, and my people brought me a piece about eight feet long, +and so large in circumference that the skin, when dried, enveloped the +tallest man like a cloak. I presented it to my friend Hamilton Lindsay. + +I had not yet seen any of these largest sized serpents alive, when, +one afternoon, crossing the mountains with two of my shepherds, our +attention was drawn to the constant barking of my dogs, which seemed +to be assailing some animal that stood upon its defence. We at first +thought that it was a buffalo that they had roused from its lair, and +approached the spot with due caution. My dogs were dispersed along the +brink of a deep ravine, in which was an enormous boa constrictor. The +monster raised his head to a height of five or six feet, directing it +from one edge to the other of the ravine, and menacing his assailants +with his forked tongue; but the dogs, more active than he was, easily +avoided his attacks. My first impulse was to shoot him; but then it +occurred to me to take him alive, and to send him to France. Assuredly +he would have been the most monstrous boa that had ever been seen +there. To carry my design into execution we manufactured nooses of +cane, strong enough to resist the efforts of the most powerful wild +buffalo. With great precaution we succeeded in passing one of our +nooses round the boa's neck; then we tied him tightly to a tree, +in such a manner as to keep his head at its usual height--about six +feet from the ground. This done, we crossed to the other side of the +ravine, and threw another noose over him, which we secured like the +first. When he felt himself thus fixed at both ends, he coiled and +writhed, and grappled several little trees which grew within his reach +along the edge of the ravine. Unluckily for him everything yielded +to his efforts: he tore up the young trees by the roots, broke off +the branches, and dislodged enormous stones, round which he sought in +vain to obtain the hold or point of resistance he needed. The nooses +were strong, and withstood his almost furious efforts. + +To convey an animal like this, several buffaloes and a whole system +of cordage were necessary. Night approached; confident in our nooses, +we left the place, proposing to return next morning and complete +the capture; but we reckoned without our host. In the night the +boa changed his tactics, got his body round some huge blocks of +basalt, and finally succeeded in breaking his bonds and getting +clear off. When I had assured myself that our prey had escaped us, +and that all search for the reptile in the neighbourhood would be +futile, my disappointment was very great, for I much doubted if a like +opportunity would ever present itself. It is only on rare occasions +that accidents are caused by these enormous reptiles. I once knew of +a man becoming their victim. It happened thus:-- + +This man having committed some offence, ran away, and sought refuge +in a cavern. His father, who alone knew the place of his concealment, +visited him occasionally to supply him with food. One day he found, +in place of his son, an enormous boa sleeping. He killed it, and +found his son in its stomach. The poor wretch had been surprised +in the night, crushed to death, and swallowed. The curate of the +village, who had gone in quest of the body to give it burial, and +who saw the remains of the boa, described them to me as being of +an almost incredible size. Unfortunately this circumstance happened +at a considerable distance from my habitation, and I was only made +acquainted with the particulars when it was too late to verify them +myself: but still there is nothing surprising that a boa which can +swallow a deer should as easily swallow a man. Several other feats of +a similar nature were related to me by the Indians. They told me of +their comrades, who, roaming about the woods, had been seized by boas, +crushed against trees, and afterwards devoured; but I was always on my +guard against Indian tales, and I am only able to verify positively the +instance, I have just cited, which was related to me by the curate of +the village, as well as by many other witnesses. Still there would be +nothing surprising that a similar accident should occur more than once. + +The boa is one of the serpents the least to be feared among those +infesting the Philippines. Of an exceedingly venomous description is +one which the Indians call dajon-palay, (rice leaf). Burning with +a red-hot ember is the only antidote to its bite; if that be not +promptly resorted to, horrible sufferings are followed by certain +death. The alin-morani is another kind, eight or ten feet long, and, +if anything, more dangerous still than the "rice leaf," inasmuch as +its bite is deeper, and more difficult to cauterise. I was never +bitten by any of these reptiles, despite the slight precaution I +observed in wandering about the woods, by night as well as by day. + +Twice only I endangered myself: the first time was by treading upon +a dajon-palay; I was warned by a movement under my foot. I pressed +hard with that leg, and saw the snake's little head stretching out +to bite me on the ankle; fortunately my foot was on him at so short a +distance from his head that he could not get at me. I drew my dagger, +and cut off his head. On another occasion, I noticed two eagles +rising and falling like arrows amongst the bushes, always at the +same place. Curious to see what kind of animal they were attacking, +I approached the place; but no sooner had I done so, than an enormous +alin-morani, furious with the wounds the eagles had inflicted on him, +advanced to meet me. I retreated; he coiled himself up, gave a spring, +and almost caught me on the face. By an instantaneous movement, +I made a spring backwards, and avoided him; but I took care not to +turn my back and run, for then I should have been lost. The serpent +returned to the charge, bounding towards me; I again avoided him, and +was trying, but in vain, to reach him with my dagger, when an Indian, +who perceived me from a distance, ran up, armed with a stout switch, +and rid me of him. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + The Prosperity and Happiness of my Life at + Jala-Jala--Destructiveness of the Locusts--Agriculture in the + Philippines--My Herds of Oxen, Buffaloes, and Horses--My Wife + presents me with a Daughter, who Dies--The Admiration of the Indian + Women for my Wife--Birth of my Son--Continued Prosperity--Death + of my brother Henry--My Friendship with Malvilain--His Marriage + with my eldest Sister--His Premature Death--I take my Wife to + Manilla--Melancholy Adieus--We Return to Jala-Jala--Death of my + Wife--My friend Vidie--I determine to Return to France. + + +Never was life more actively spent, or more crowded with emotions, +than the time I passed at Jala-Jala, but it suited my tastes and +my character, and I enjoyed as perfect happiness as one can look +for when far away from one's home and country. My Anna was to +me an angel of goodness; my Indians were happy, peace and plenty +smiled upon their families; my fields were covered with abundant +crops, and my pasturages with numerous herds. It was not, however, +without great difficulty and much toil that I accomplished my aim; +how often did I find all my courage and all my philosophy necessary +to face, without despair, reverses which it was impossible for me +to avoid? How often did I behold hurricanes and inundations destroy +the fine harvest that I had protected with so much labour against +the buffaloes, the wild boars, the monkeys, and even against an +insect more destructive still than all the other pests which I have +just mentioned--the locust, one of the plagues of Egypt, apparently +transported into this province, and which almost regularly, every seven +years, leave the isles of the south in clouds, and fall upon Luzon, +bringing desolation, and often famine. It is indeed necessary to have +witnessed this desolation to be able to form any idea of it. When the +locusts arrive, a fire-coloured cloud is perceived in the horizon, +formed of countless myriads of these destructive insects. They fly +rapidly, often covering, in a closely packed body, a space of two or +three leagues in diameter, and occupy from five to six consecutive +hours in passing over head. If they perceive a fine green field they +pounce down upon it, and in a few minutes all verdure has disappeared, +the ground is stripped completely bare; they then continue their flight +elsewhere, bearing on their wings destruction and famine. At evening +it is in the forests, upon the trees, that they take shelter. They +hang in such dense masses upon the ends of the boughs that they break +down even the stoutest limbs from the trees. During the night, from +the spot where they are reposing, there issues a continual croaking, +and so loud a noise, that one scarcely believes it to be produced by +so small an insect. The following morning they leave at day-break, and +the trees upon which they have reposed are left stripped and broken, +as though the lightning had swept the forest in every direction; they +pursue their course elsewhere to commit fresh ravages. At certain +periods they remain on vast plains or on fertile mountains; where, +elongating the extremity of their bodies in the form of a gimblet, +they pierce the earth to the depth of an inch and upwards to deposit +their eggs. The operation of laying being completed, they leave +the ground pierced like a sieve, and disappear, for their existence +has now reached its termination. Three weeks afterwards, however, +the eggs open, and myriads of young locusts swarm the earth. On +the spot where they are born, whatever will serve them for food is +quickly consumed. As soon as they have acquired sufficient strength +they abandon their birth-place, destroy all kinds of vegetation that +comes in their way, and direct their course to the cultivated fields, +which they desolate until the period when their wings appear. They +then take flight in order to devastate more distant plantations. + +As may be seen, agriculture in the Philippines presents many +difficulties, but it also yields results that may be looked for in +vain in any other country. During the years which are exempt from +the calamities I have described the earth is covered with riches; +every kind of colonial produce is raised in extraordinary abundance, +frequently in the proportion of eighty to one, and on many plantations +two crops of the same species are harvested in one year. The rich and +extensive pasturages offer great facilities for raising a large number +of cattle, which absolutely cost nothing but the trifling wages paid +by the proprietor to a few shepherds. + +Upon my property I possessed three herds--one of three thousand +head of oxen, another of eight hundred buffaloes, and the other of +six hundred horses. At that period of the year when the rice was +harvested, the shepherds explored the mountains, and drove these +animals to a vast plain at a short distance from my dwelling. This +plain was covered by these three species of domesticated animals, +and presented, especially to the proprietor, an admirable sight. At +night they were herded in large cattle-folds, near the village, and on +the following day a selection was made of the oxen that were fit for +slaughter, of the horses that were old enough for breaking-in, of the +buffaloes that were strong enough to be employed in working. The herds +were then re-driven to the plain, there to remain until night. This +operation lasted during a fortnight, after which time the animals +were set at liberty until the same period of the following year. When +at liberty the herd divided itself into bands, and thus roamed about +the mountains and the valleys they had previously quitted, the only +trouble caused to the shepherds being an occasional ramble about the +spots where the animals tranquilly grazed. + +Around me all was prosperity. My Indians were also happy, +and entertained towards me a respect and obedience bordering on +idolatry. My brother gave me every assistance in my labours, and when +near my beloved Anna I forgot all the toils and the contrarieties I +had experienced. About this time a new source of hope sprung up, which +augmented the happiness I enjoyed with her, and made her dearer to me +than ever. During several months the health of my wife had changed: she +then found all the symptoms of pregnancy. We had been married twelve +years, and she had never yet shown any signs of maternity. I was so +persuaded that we should never have children that the derangement +of her health was causing me serious uneasiness, when one morning +as I was going to my work she said to me: "I don't feel well to-day, +and I wish you to remain with me." Two hours afterwards, to my great +surprise, she gave premature birth to a little girl, whose arrival no +one expected. The infant was born before the due time, and lived only +one hour, just sufficient to receive baptism, which I administered to +her. This was the second human being that had expired in the house +of Jala-Jala; but she was also the first that had there first drawn +the breath of life. The regret which we all experienced from the loss +was softened by the certainty that my dear Anna might again become a +mother, under more favourable circumstances. Her health was speedily +re-established, and she was again gay and beautiful as ever: indeed +she appeared so handsome, that often Indian women came from a long +distance for the sole purpose of looking at her. They would remain for +half-an-hour gazing at her, and afterwards returned to their villages, +where they gave birth to creatures little resembling the model which +they had taken such pains to observe, with a confidence approaching +to simplicity. + +Eventually Anna exhibited new signs of maternity; her pregnancy went +through the usual course, and her health was not much affected. In due +time she presented me with a little boy, weakly and delicate, but full +of life. Our joy was at the highest, for we possessed that which we +had so long wished for, and that which alone was in my opinion wanting. + +My Indians were delighted with the birth, and for several days there +was a round of rejoicings at Jala-Jala; and my Anna, although confined +to bed, was obliged to receive visits, at first from all the women +and maidens of the village, and afterwards from all the Indians who +were fathers of families. Each brought some little present for the +newly born, and the cleverest man of them was commissioned to express +a compliment in the name of all; which comprised their best wishes +for the happiness of the mother and child, and full assurances of +the satisfaction they felt in thinking that they would one day be +ruled over by the son of the master from whom they had experienced so +much kindness, and who had conferred upon them such benefits. Their +gratitude was sincere. + +The news of the accouchement of my wife brought a very numerous +party of friends and relations to my house, where they waited for +the baptism, which took place in my drawing-room. Anna, then almost +thoroughly well, was present on the occasion: my son was named Henry, +after his uncle. At this time I was happy; Oh, so truly happy! for my +wishes were nearly gratified. There was but one not so--and that was +to see again my aged mother and my sisters; but I hoped that the time +was not far distant when I should realise the project of revisiting +my native country. My farming speculation was most prosperous: my +receipts were every year on the increase; my fields were covered with +the richest crops of sugar-canes, to the cultivation of which, and of +rice, I had joined that of coffee. My brother had taken upon himself +the management of a very large plantation, which promised the most +brilliant results; and appeared likely to secure the premium which +the Spanish government had promised to give to the proprietor of a +plantation of eighty thousand feet of coffee in product. But, alas! the +period of my happiness had passed away, and what pain and what grief +was I not doomed to suffer before I again saw my native country. + +My brother--my poor Henry--committed some imprudences, and was +suddenly attacked with an intermittent fever, which in a few days +carried him off. + +My Anna and I shed abundance of tears, for we both loved Henry with +the warmest affection. For several years we had lived together; he +participated in all our labours, our troubles, and our pleasures. He +was the only relative I had in the Philippines. He had left France, +where he had filled an honourable position, with the sole object +of coming to see me, and of aiding me in the great task which I +had undertaken. His amiable qualities and his excellent heart had +endeared him to us: his loss was irreparable, and the thought that I +had no longer a brother added poignancy to my bitter grief. Prudent, +the youngest, had died at Madagascar; Robert, the next to me, died +at La Planche, near Nantes, in the little dwelling where we spent +our childhood; and my poor Henry at Jala-Jala. I erected a simple +tomb for him near the door of the church, and for several months +Jala-Jala was a place of grief and mourning. + +We had scarcely begun, not indeed to console ourselves, but rather +to bear with resignation the loss we had experienced, when a new +dispensation of fate came to strike me to the earth. + +On my arrival in the Philippines, and while I resided at Cavite, +I formed a close connection with Malvilain, a native of St. Malo, +and mate of a ship from that port. During several years which he +spent at Cavite our friendship was most intimate. A day seldom passed +that we did not see each other, and two days never, for we were much +attached. Our two ships were at anchor in the port, not far one from +the other. One day as I was walking on deck, waiting for a boat to +take me on board Malvilain's ship, I saw his crew at work in regulating +one of the masts, when a rope suddenly snapped, and the mast fell with +a frightful crash on the deck, in the midst of the men, amongst whom +Malvilain was standing. From the deck of my own ship I beheld all that +passed on that of my friend, who I thought was killed or wounded. My +feelings were worked to the highest pitch of anguish and alarm; I +could not control myself; I jumped into the water and swam to his +ship, where I had the pleasure of finding him uninjured, although +considerably stunned by the danger from which he had escaped. Wet +as I was from my sea-bath I caught him in my arms, and pressed him +to my heart; and then hastened to afford relief to some of the crew, +who had not been so fortunate to escape without injury as he had been. + +Another time I was the cause of serious alarm to Malvilain. One day, +a mass of black and thick clouds was gathered close over the point +of Cavite, and a frightful--that is, a tropical--storm burst. The +claps of thunder followed each other from minute to minute, and +before each clap the lightning, in long serpent-like lines of fire, +darted from the clouds, and drove on to the point of Cavite, where +it tore up the ground of the little plain situate at the extremity, +and near which the ships were moored. Notwithstanding the storm I was +going to see Malvilain, and was almost in the act of placing my foot on +the deck of his vessel, when the lightning fell into the sea so near +to me that I lost my breath. Instantly I felt an acute pain in the +back, as if a burning torch had been laid between my shoulders. The +pain was so violent, that the moment I recovered myself I uttered a +sharp scream. Malvilain, who was within a few paces of me, felt very +sensibly the electric shock which had struck me, and, on hearing my +cry, imagined that I was dangerously hurt. He rushed towards me and +held me in his arms until I was able to give every assurance of my +recovery. The electric fluid had grazed me, but without causing any +positive injury. + +I have related these two slight anecdotes to show the intimacy that +subsisted between us, and how I afterwards suffered in my dearest +affections. + +My existence has to this day, when I write these lines, been filled +with such extraordinary facts, that I have been naturally led to +believe that the destiny of man is regulated by an order of things +which must infallibly be accomplished. This idea has had great +influence over me, and taught me to endure all the evils which have +afflicted me. Was it, then, my destiny which bound me to Malvilain, +and bound him to me in the same manner? I have no doubt of it. + +Some days before the terrible scourge of the cholera broke out in +the Philippines, Malvilain's ship set sail for France. With hearts +oppressed with grief we separated, after promising each that we should +meet again; but, alas! fate had ordained it otherwise. Malvilain +returned home, went to Nantes to take the command of a ship, and there +became acquainted with my eldest sister, and married her. This news, +which reached me while I resided in Manilla, gave me the greatest +satisfaction, for if I had had to choose a husband for my dear sister +Emilie, this marriage was the only one to satisfy the wishes I had +formed for the happiness of both. + +After his marriage Malvilain continued to sail from the port of +Nantes. His noble disposition and his accurate knowledge of his +duties caused him to be highly esteemed by the leading merchants. His +affairs were in a state sufficiently good as not to require him to +expose himself longer to the dangers of the sea, and he was on his +last voyage, when, at the Mauritius, he was attacked by an illness, +which carried him off, leaving my sister inconsolable, and with three +very young girls to lament him. + +This fresh and irreparable loss, the news of which had then reached +me, added to my grief for the sad death of my poor brother. Every +calamity seemed to oppress me. After some years of happiness I saw, +by little and little, disappear from this world, the persons on whom I +had concentrated my dearest affections; but, alas! I had not even then +reached the term of my sorrows, for other and most bitter sufferings +were still to be passed through. + +I saw with pleasure my boy was enjoying the best health, and that he +was daily increasing in strength; and yet I was far from being happy, +and to the melancholy caused by the losses I had experienced was +added another most fearful alarm. My beloved Anna had never thoroughly +recovered after her accouchement, and day by day her health was growing +weaker. She did not seem aware of her state. Her happiness at being +a mother was so great that she did not think of her own condition. + +I had gathered in my sugar-cane crop, which was most abundant, +and my plantations were finished, when, wishing to procure some +amusement for my wife, I proposed to go and spend some time at the +house of her sister Josephine, for whom she entertained the warmest +affection. She, with great pleasure, agreed to do so. We set out with +our dear little Henry and his nurse, and took up our quarters at the +house of my brother-in-law, Don Julian Calderon, then residing in a +pretty country-house on the banks of the river Pasig, half a league +from Manilla. + +Of the three sisters of my wife, Josephine was the one for whom I had +the most affection: I loved her as I did my own sister. The day of our +arrival was one of rejoicing. All our friends at Manilla came to see +us, and Anna was so pleased in seeing our little Henry admired that +her health seemed to have improved considerably; but this apparent +amelioration lasted but a few days, and soon, to my grief, I saw that +she was growing worse than ever. I sent for the only medical man in +Manilla in whom I had confidence, my friend Genu. He came frequently +to see her, and after six weeks of constant attention, he advised +me to take her back to my residence near the lake, where persons +attacked with the same malady as my dear Anna had often recovered. As +she herself wished to return, I appointed a day for our departure. A +commodious boat, with good rowers, was ready for us on the Pasig, at +the end of my brother-in-law's garden; and a numerous assemblage of our +friends accompanied us to the water's edge. The moment of separation +was one of most melancholy feelings to us all. The countenance of each +seemed to ask: "Shall we meet again?" My sister-in-law Josephine, in a +flood of tears, threw herself into Anna's arms. I had great difficulty +in separating them; but we were obliged to set out. I took my wife +into the boat, and then those two sisters, who had always maintained +towards each other the most tender love, addressed with their voices +their last adieus, while promising not to be long separated, and that +they would see each other very soon. + +Those painful adieus and the sufferings of my wife caused the trip, +which we had often previously made with the greatest gaiety, to be +melancholy and silent. On our arrival, I did not look on Jala-Jala with +the usual feelings of satisfaction. I had my poor patient placed in +bed, and did not quit her room, hoping by my continual care to afford +her some relief in her sufferings. But, alas! from day to day the +malady made fearful progress. I was in despair. I wrote to Josephine, +and sent a boat to Manilla for her to come and take care of her sister, +who was most anxious to see her. The boat returned without her; but a +letter from kind-hearted Josephine informed me that she was herself +dangerously ill, and confined to her room, and could not even leave +her bed; that she was very sorry for it, but I might assure Anna that +they would soon be re-united, never again to be separated. + +Fifty days--longer to me than a century--had scarcely elapsed since our +return to Jala-Jala than all my hopes vanished. Death was approaching +with rapid strides, and the fatal moment was at hand when I was to be +separated from her whom I loved with such intensity. She preserved her +senses to the last, and saw my profound melancholy, and my features +altered by grief; and finding her last hour was near, she called me +to her, and said: "Adieu, my beloved Paul, adieu. Console thyself--we +shall meet again in Heaven! Preserve thyself for the sake of our dear +boy. When I shall be no more, return home to thy own country, to see +thy aged mother. Never marry again, except in France, if thy mother +requires thee to do so. Do not marry in the Philippines, for thou wilt +never find a companion here to love thee as I have loved." These words +were the last which this good and gentle angel spoke. The most sacred +ties, the tenderest and purest union, were then severed--my Anna was +no more! I held her lifeless body clasped in my arms, as if I hoped by +my caresses to recall her to life; but, alas! her destiny was decided! + +It required absolute force to tear me from the precious remains which +I pressed against my heart, and to draw me into a neighbouring room, +where my son was. While I pressed him convulsively to my breast, +I wished to weep; but my eyes were tearless, and I was insensible to +the caresses even of my poor child. + +The strongest constitution cannot resist the fatigue of fifty days +of constant watching and uneasiness; and the state of annihilation in +which I was, both physically and morally, after despair had taken the +place of the glimmering hope which sustained us to the last moment, +was such that I fell into a state of insensibility, which ended +in a profound sleep. I awoke on the following day with my son in my +arms. But how frightful was my state on awaking. All that was horrible +in my position presented itself to my imagination. Alas! she was no +more; my adorable companion, that beloved angel and consolatrix, +who had, on my account, abandoned all--parents, friends, and the +pleasures of a capital--to shut herself up with me in a deserted +wilderness, where she was exposed to a thousand dangers, and had but +me to support her. She was no more; and fatal destiny had torn her +from me, to sink me for ever in desolation and grief. + +The funeral took place on the following day, and was attended by +every inhabitant of Jala-Jala. Her body was deposited near the altar +in the humble church which I had caused to be erected, and before +which altar she had so often poured forth prayers for my happiness. + +For a long time mourning and consternation reigned in Jala-Jala. All +my Indians showed the deepest sympathy for the loss which they had +suffered. Anna was, during her life, beloved even to idolatry, and +after her death she was most sincerely lamented. + +For several days I continued in a thorough depression, unable to attend +to anything, except to the cares which my son, then my only remaining +consolation, required. Three weeks elapsed before I quitted the room in +which my poor wife had expired. I then received a note from Josephine, +in which she stated that her illness had grown worse. The note ended +with these words: "Come, my dear Paul; come to me: we shall weep +together. I feel that your presence will afford some consolation." + +I did not hesitate to comply with the request of dear Josephine, for +whom I entertained an affection as if for my own sister. My presence +might prove a solace to her, and I myself felt that it would prove +to me a great consolation to see a person who had so sincerely loved +my Anna. The hope of being useful to her re-animated my courage a +little. I left my house under the care of Prosper Vidie, an excellent +friend, who during the last days of my wife's life had not quitted me, +and departed, accompanied by my son. + +After the first emotion which Josephine and I felt on meeting, and when +we both had shed abundant tears, I examined her state. It required a +strong effort on my part to conceal from her my anxiety, on finding +her labouring under a most serious malady, and which gave me grounds +for fearing that a fresh misfortune was not far distant. Alas! my +forebodings were correct; for eight days afterwards poor Josephine +expired in my arms, after the most poignant sufferings. What abundant +sources of woe in so short a space of time! It required a constitution +strong as mine was to bear up against such a number of sorrows, +and not to fail under the burthen. + +When I had paid the last duties to my sister-in-law I went back to +Jala-Jala. To me everything was burthensome. I was obliged to betake +myself to my forests and to my mountains, in order to recover a little +calmness. Some months passed over before I could attend to my affairs; +but the last wishes of my poor wife required to be fulfilled, and I +was to quit the Philippines and return to my country. I commenced +preparations for the purpose. I made over my establishment to my +friend Vidie, who was, as I considered, the person best adapted for +carrying out my plans, and for treating my poor Indians well. He +requested me to stop a little time with him, and to show him the +secrets of my little government. I consented, and the more willingly, +as those few months would serve to render my son stronger, and better +able to support the fatigues of a long voyage. I therefore remained at +Jala-Jala; but life had become painful to me, and without an object, +so that it was positively a trouble. There was nothing to distract +me--nothing to remove the most painful thoughts from me. The pretty +spots of Jala-Jala, over which I had often looked with the greatest +pleasure, had become altogether indifferent to me. I sought out +the most melancholy and silent places. I often went to the banks +of a rivulet, concealed in the midst of high mountains, and shaded +by lofty trees. This spot was perhaps known to no other person; and +probably no human being had ever previously been seated in it. There +I gave free vent to my bitter recollections--my wife, my brothers, +my sister-in-law, engrossed my imagination. When the thought of my +son drove away these sombre reveries, I returned slowly to my house, +where I found the poor child, who, by his caresses, seemed to try to +find some way to cause a change in my grief; but they seemed only to +recall the time when Anna always came to welcome me home, and when, +clasping me in her arms, she caused me to forget all the toil and +trouble I met with when absent from her. Alas! that blissful time +had flown away, and was never to return; and in losing my companion +I lost every happiness. + +My friend Vidie tried every means in his power to rouse me. He spoke to +me often of France, of my mother, and of the consolation I should feel +on presenting my son to her. The love of my country, and the thought +of finding there those affections of which I stood so much in need, +was a soft balm, which lulled for a while the sufferings that were +constantly vibrating in the bottom of my heart. + +My Indians were deeply afflicted on learning the resolution I had +taken of quitting them. They showed their trouble by saying to me, +every time they addressed me! "Oh, master: what will become of us +when we shall not see you again?" I quieted them as well as I could, +by assuring them that Vidie would exert himself for their welfare; +that when my son should be grown up, I would come back with him and +then never leave them. They answered me with their prayers: "May God +grant it, master! But what a long time we shall have to pass without +seeing you! However, we shall not forget you." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + My friend Adolphe Barrot visits me at Jala-Jala--The Bamboo + Cane--The Cocoa-Nut Tree--The Banana--Majestic Forests of Gigantic + Trees--The Leeches--A Tropical Storm in a Forest--An Indian + Bridge--"Bernard the Hermit"--We arrive at Binangon-de-Lampon--The + Ajetas--Veneration of the Ajetas for their Dead--Poison used by + the Ajetas--I carry away a Skeleton--We Embark on the Pacific in + an old Canoe, reach Maoban, and ultimately arrive at Jala-Jala. + + +At this epoch of my recollections, in the midst of my melancholy and +of my troubles, I formed an intimate and enduring friendship with +a compatriot, a good and excellent man, for whom I always preserve +the attachment first formed in a foreign country, several thousand +leagues from home. I now speak of Adolphe Barrot, who was sent as +consul-general to Manilla. He came with several friends to spend +some days at Jala-Jala. Being unwilling that he should suffer any +unpleasantness from the state of my feelings, I endeavoured to render +his stay at Jala-Jala as agreeable as in my power. I arranged several +hunting and shooting parties, and excursions through the mountains +and on the lake. For his sake I resumed my old mode of life, such as +I had been used to before I was overwhelmed by misfortune. + +The days which I thus spent in company with Adolphe Barrot aroused +within me my former taste for exercise, and my ruling passion for +adventure. My friend Vidie--always with the intention of exciting me +to action--pressed me very much to go and visit a certain class of +the natives which I had often expressed a wish to examine. My affairs +being almost regulated; my son being placed under his care, and that +of his nurse, and of a housekeeper in whom I had every confidence; +I was induced, by this feeling of security, and by the instances of my +friend, to proceed to visit the district of the Ajetas, or Black-men, +who were a wild race, altogether in a state of nature. They were the +aborigines of the Philippines, and had for a long time been masters +of Luzon. At a time not very far distant, when the Spaniards conquered +the country, the Ajetas levied a kind of black-mail from the Tagalese +villages situated on the banks of the lake of Bay. At a fixed period +they quitted their forests, entered the villages, and forced the +inhabitants to give them a certain quantity of rice and maize; and +if the Tagalese refused or were unable to pay these contributions, +they cut off a number of heads, which they carried away as trophies +for their barbarian festivities. After the conquest of the Philippines +by the Spaniards, the latter took upon themselves the defence of the +Tagalese, and the Ajetas, terrified by their fire-arms, remained in +the forests, and did not re-appear among the Indians. + +The same race is found in various parts of the Malay country; and the +people of New Zealand--the Paponins--resemble them very much in form +and colour. + +My intention was to pass some days amongst those wild savages, and +our preparations were speedily made. I chose two of my best Indians to +accompany me. It is not requisite to state that my lieutenant was one +of the party, for he was always with me in all my perilous expeditions. + +We took each of us a small haversack, containing rice for three or +four days, some dried venison, a good provision of powder, ball, +and shot for game, some coloured handkerchiefs, and a considerable +quantity of cigars for our own use, and to insure a welcome +amongst the Ajetas. Each of us carried a good double-barreled gun +and his poignard. Our clothes were those which we wore in all our +expeditions,--on our heads the common salacote, a shirt of raw silk, +the pantaloon turned up to above the knee; the feet and legs remained +uncovered. With these simple preparations we set out on a trip of +some weeks, during which, and from the second day of our starting, +we could expect no shelter but the trees of the forest, and no food +but the game we shot, and the edible parts of the palm tree. + +I took special care not to forget the vade mecum which I always +took with me, whenever I made these excursions for any number of +days--I mean paper and a pencil, with which I made notes, to aid my +recollections, and enable me afterwards to write down in a journal +the remarks I made during my travels. Every preparation being made, +we one morning started from Jala-Jala. We traversed the peninsula +formed by my settlement, and embarked on the other side in a small +canoe, which took us to the bottom of the lake to the north-east of +my habitation. We passed the night in the large village of Siniloan, +and at an early hour the following day resumed our march. This first +day's journey was one of toil and suffering: we were then beginning +the rainy season, and the heavy storms had swelled the rivers. We +marched for some time along the banks of a torrent, which rushed +down from the mountains, and which we were obliged to swim through +fifteen times during the day. In the evening we came to the foot of +the mountains where begin the forests of gigantic trees, which cover +almost all the centre of the island of Luzon. There we made our first +halt, lighted our fires, and prepared our beds and our supper. I think +that I have already described our beds, which use and fatigue always +rendered agreeable to us, when no accident occurred to disturb our +repose. But I have said nothing of the simple composition of our meals, +nor of our manner of preparing them. Our rice and palms required to +be cooked, an operation which might seem rather embarrassing, for we +had with us no large kitchen articles: we sometimes wanted a fire-box +and tinder. But the bamboo supplied all these. The bamboo is one of +the three tropical plants which Nature, in her beneficence and care, +seems to have given to man to supply most of his wants. And here I +cannot forbear dedicating a few lines to the description of those +three products of the tropics, viz: the bamboo, the cocoa-nut tree, +and the banana-plant. + +The bamboo belongs to the gramineous family; it grows in thick groves, +in the woods, on the river banks, and wherever it finds a humid +soil. In the Philippines there are counted twenty-five or thirty kinds, +different in form and thickness. There are some of the diameter of the +human body, and hollow in the interior: this kind serves especially +for the construction of huts, and for making vessels to transport +and to keep water. The filaments are used for making baskets, hats, +and all kinds of basket-work, cords, and cables of great solidity. + +Another bamboo, of smaller dimensions, and hollow within, which +is covered with varnish, almost as hard as steel, is employed in +building Indian houses. Cut to a point it is extremely sharp, and is +used for many purposes. The Indians make lances of it, and arrows, +and fleams for bleeding horses, and lancets for opening abscesses, +and for taking thorns or other things out of the flesh. + +A third kind, much more solid, and as thick as one's arm, and not +hollow within, is used in such parts of the buildings as require sold +timber, and especially in the roofing. + +A fourth kind, much smaller, and also without being hollow, serves to +make the fences that surround enclosed fields when tilled. The other +kinds are not so much employed, but still they are found to be useful. + +To preserve the plants, and to render them very productive, the shoots +are cut at ten feet from the ground. These shoots look like the tubes +of an organ, and are surrounded with branches and thorns. At the +beginning of the rainy season there grows from each of those groves a +quantity of thick bamboos, resembling large asparagus, which shoot up +as it were by enchantment. In the space of a month they become from +fifty to sixty feet long, and after a short time they acquire all the +solidity necessary for the various works to which they are destined. + +The cocoa-nut tree belongs to the palm family: it requires to grow +seven years before it bears fruit; but after this period, and for +a whole century, it yields continually the same product--that is, +every month about twenty large nuts. This produce never fails, and +on the same tree may be seen continually flowers and fruits of all +sizes. The cocoa-nut affords, as everyone knows, nutritious food, +and when pressed yields a quantity of oil. The shell of the nut +serves to make vases, and the filamentary parts are spun into ropes +and cables for ships, and even into coarse clothing. The leaves are +used to make baskets and brooms, and for thatching the huts. + +A liquor is also taken from the cocoa-nut tree, called cocoa-wine; +it is a most stupifying drink, of which the Indians make great use +at their festivities. To produce the cocoa-wine, large groves of +the cocoa-trees are laid out, from which merely the sap or juice +is expected, but nothing in the shape of fruit. These trees have +long bamboos laid at their tops from one to another, on which the +Indians pass over every morning, bearing large vessels, in which they +collect the liquid. It is a laborious and dangerous employment,--a +real promenade in the air, at the height of from sixty to eighty +feet from the ground. It is from the bud which ought to produce the +flower that the liquid is drawn of which the spirit is afterwards +made. As soon as the bud is about to burst, the Indian employed in +collecting the liquid ties it very tight, a few inches from its point, +and then cuts across the point beyond the tying. From this cutting, +or from the pores which are left uncovered, a saccharine liquid +flows, which is sweetish and agreeable to the palate before it has +fermented. After it has passed the fermentation it is carried to the +still, and submitted to the process of distillation, it then becomes +the alcoholic liquor known in the country as cocoa-wine. + +Besides these uses, the cocoa-nut shell, when burned, gives the fine +black colour which the Indians make use of to dye their straw hats. + +The banana is an herbaceous plant, without any woody matter: the +trunk of each is formed of leaves placed one above the other. This +trunk rises from twelve to fifteen feet from the ground, and then +spreads out into long broad leaves, not less than five or six feet +each. From the middle of these leaves the flower rises, and also the +spike (régime). By this word is to be understood a hundred of large +bananas growing from the same stalk, forming together a long branch, +that turns towards the sun. + +Before the fruit has reached its full ripeness, the spike is cut, and +becomes fit for use. The part of the plant which is in the earth is +a kind of large root, from which proceed successively thirty shoots, +and each shoot ought not to have more than one spike, or bunch; it +is then cut fronting the sun, and as all the shoots rising from the +same trunk are of different ages, there are fruits to be found in all +the stages of growth; so that every month or fortnight, and at all +seasons, a spike or two may be gathered from the same plant. There +is also a species of banana the fruit of which is not good to eat, +but from which raw silk is formed, called abaca, which is used to make +clothes, and all kinds of cordage. This filament is found in the trunk +of the plant, which, as I have said, consists of leaves placed one +over another, which, after being separated into long strips, and left +for some hours in the sun, is then placed on an iron blade, not sharp, +and then dragged with force over it. The parenchyme of the plant is +taken off by the iron blade, and the filaments then separate. Nothing +is now wanting but to expose them for some time to the sun's rays; +after which they are brought to market. + +I observe that I have left my journey aside to describe three tropical +plants, which afford a sufficiency for all the wants of man. Those +plants are well-known; yet there may be some persons ignorant of +the utility, and of the various services which they render to the +inhabitants of the tropics. My readers will from them be naturally +led to reflect how the inhabitants of the torrid zone are favoured +by nature, in comparison with those of our frigid climate. + +We were at the foot of the mountains, preparing to pass the night. Our +labour was always divided: one got the beds ready, another the fire, +a third the cookery. He who had to prepare the fire collects a quantity +of dry wood and of brambles. Under this heap of firewood he puts about +twelve pounds of elemi gum, which is common in the Philippines, where +it is found in quantities at the foot of the large trees from which +it flows naturally. He then takes a piece of bamboo, half a yard long, +which he splits to its length, tears with poignard so as to make very +thin shavings, which he rubs together while rolling them between his +hands, and then puts them into the hollow part of the other piece, +and lays it down on the ground, and then with the sharp side of the +piece from which he had taken the shavings, he rubs strongly the +piece lying on the ground, as if he wished to saw it across. In a +short time the bamboo containing the shavings is cut through and on +fire. The flame rising from the shavings, when blown lightly upon, +quickly sets the elemi gum in a blaze, and in an instant there is a +fire sufficient to roast an ox. + +He who had to manage the cooking cut two or three pieces of the large +bamboo, and put in each whatever he wished to cook--usually rice or +some part of the palm tree--he added some water, stopped the ends of +the bamboo with leaves, and laid it in the middle of the fire. This +bamboo was speedily burned on the outside, but the interior was +moistened by the water, and the food within was as well boiled as +in any earthen vessels. For plates we had the large palm leaves. Our +meals, as may be observed, were Spartan enough, even during the days +while our provision of rice and dried venison lasted. But when game +was found, and that a stag or a buffalo fell to our lot, we fed like +epicures. We drank pure water whenever a spring or a rivulet tempted +us, but if we were at a loss we cut long pieces of the liana, called +"the traveller's drink," from which flowed a clear and limpid draught, +preferable perhaps to any which we might have procured from a better +source. + +It was evident I was not travelling like a nabob; and it would have +been impossible to take more baggage. How could any one, with large +provisions and a pompous retinue move in the midst of mountains +covered with forests literally along untouched by human feet, and +forced, in order to get through them, at every instant to swim across +torrents, and having no other guide than the sun, or the blowing of +the breeze. There was no choice but to travel in the Indian style, +as I did, or to remain at home. + +The first night we spent in the open air passed quietly; our strength +was restored, and we were recruited for the journey. At an early hour +we were up, and, after a frugal breakfast, we resumed our march. For +more than two hours we climbed up a mountain covered with heavy timber, +the ascent was rough and fatiguing, at last we reached the top, +quite exhausted, where there was a vast flat, which it would take us +some days to traverse. It was there, on this flat, that I beheld the +most majestic, the finest virgin forest that existed in the world. It +consists of gigantic trees, grown up as straight as a rush, and to +a prodigious height. Their tops, where alone their branches grow, +are laced into one another, so as to form a vault impenetrable to +the rays of the sun. Under this vault, and among those fine trees, +prolific nature has given birth to a crowd of climbing plants of +a most remarkable description. The rattan and the flexible liana +mount up to the topmost branches, and re-descending to the earth, +take fresh root, receive new sustenance, and then remount anew, and +at various distances they join themselves to the friendly trunks +of their supporting columns, and thus they form very often most +beautiful decorations. Varieties of the pandanus are to be seen, +of which the leaves, in bunches, start from the ground, forming +beautiful sheaves. Enormous ferns were to be met with, real trees +in shape, and up which we clambered often, to cut the top branches, +for their delicious perfume and which serve as food nearly the same as +the palms. But, in the midst of this extraordinary vegetation nature +is gloomy and silent; not a sound is to be heard, unless perhaps +the wind that shakes the tops of the trees, or from time to time the +distant noise of a torrent, which, falling precipitately, cascades +from the heights of the mountains to their base. The ground is moist, +as it never receives the sun's rays: the little lakes and the rivers, +that never flow unless when swollen by the storms, present to the eye +water black and stagnant, on which the reflection of the fine clear +blue sky is never to be seen. + +The sole inhabitants of these melancholy though majestic solitudes +are deer, buffaloes and wild boars, which being hidden in their lairs +and dens in the daytime, come out at night in search of food. Birds +are seldom seen, and the monkeys so common in the Philippines, shun +the solitude of these immense forests. One kind of insect is met +with in great abundance, and it plagues the traveller to the utmost; +they are the small leeches, which are found on all the mountains of +the Philippines that are covered with forests. They lie close to the +ground in the grass, or on the leaves of the trees, and dart like +grasshoppers on their prey, to which they fasten. Travellers are +therefore always provided with little knives, cut from the bamboo, +to loosen the hold of the insects, after which they rub the wound +with a little chewed tobacco. But soon another leech, attracted by +the flowing blood, takes the place of the one which was removed, and +constant care is necessary to avoid being victimised by those little +insects, of which the voracity far exceeds that of our common leeches. + +Our way lay through these singular creations of nature, and I was +engaged in looking at and examining the curiosities around me, while my +Indians were seeking some kind of game--deer, buffalo, or wild boar--to +replace our stock of rice and venison, which was exhausted. We were at +length reduced to the palms as our only resource; but the palms, though +pleasing to the palate, are not sufficiently nutritive to recruit the +strength of poor travellers, when, suffering under extreme fatigue, +and after a laborious march, they find no lodging but the moist ground, +and no shelter but the vault of the sky. + +We directed our course as near as possible towards the eastern coast, +which is bathed by the Pacific ocean. We knew that it was in that +direction the Ajetas commenced their settlement. We wished also to pass +through the large Tagalese village, Binangonan de Lampon, which is to +be found, isolated and hidden, at the foot of the eastern mountains, +in the midst of the savages. We had already spent several nights in +the forest, and without experiencing any great inconvenience. The +fires which we lighted every evening warmed us, and saved us from +the myriads of terrible leeches, which otherwise would certainly +have devoured us. We imagined that we were within one day's march of +the sea-shore, where we expected to take some time for rest, when, +of a sudden, a burst of thunder at a distance gave us reason to +apprehend a storm. Nevertheless, we continued our journey; but in +a short time the growling of the thunder approached so near as to +leave no doubt that the hurricane would burst over us. We stopped, +lighted our fires, cooked our evening's repast, and placed some of +the palm leaves on poles by the side of a slope to save us from the +heavy rain. We had not finished all our preparations when the storm +broke. If we had not had the glimmering glare of our firebrands we +should have been in profound obscurity, although it was not yet +night. We all three, with pieces of palm branches in our hands, +crouched under the slight shelter which we had improvised, and there +awaited the full force of the storm. The thunder-claps were redoubled; +the rain began with violence to batter the trees, and then to assail +us like a torrent. Our fires were speedily extinguished; we found +ourselves in the deepest darkness, interrupted only by the lightning, +which from time to time rushed, serpent-like, through the trees of +the forest, scattering a dazzling light, to leave us the moment after +in profound obscurity. Around us the din was horrible; the thunder +was continuous, the echoes of the mountains repeating from distance +to distance its sound, sometimes deadened, and sometimes with awful +grandeur. The wind, which blew with violence, shattered the uppermost +parts of the trees, breaking off large branches, which fell with a +crash to the ground. Some trunks were uprooted, and, while falling, +tore down the boughs of the neighbouring trees. The rain was incessant, +and in the intervals between the thunder we could hear the awful roar +of the waters of a torrent which rushed madly past the base of the +mound where we had taken refuge. Amidst all this frightful commotion, +mournful and dismal sounds were heard, like the howls of a large +dog which had lost its master: they were the cries of the deer in +their distress, seeking for a place of shelter. Nature seemed to +be in convulsions, and to have declared war in every element. The +loose thatch under which we had taken refuge was soon penetrated, +and we were completely deluged. We soon quitted this miserable hole, +preferring to move our stiffened and almost deadened limbs, covered +with the fearful little leeches, which terrible infliction deprived +us of the strength so necessary in our awful position. + +I avow that at this moment I sincerely repented my fatal curiosity, +for which I paid so dearly. I could compare this frightful night only +to the one I had passed in the bamboos, when I was wrecked on the +lake. In appearance there was not such pressing danger, for we could +not be swallowed up by the waves; but there were large trees, under +which we were obliged to stop, and one of which might be uprooted +and fall upon us; a bough torn off by the wind might crush us; and +the lightning, equally terrific in its reports and its effects, +might strike us at any moment. One thing was especially painful, +and that was the cold, and the difficulty of moving our frozen and +almost paralysed limbs. We awaited with impatience the cessation of +the storm; but it was not until after three hours of mortal agony that +the thunder gradually ceased. The wind fell; the rain subsided; and +for some time we heard nothing but the large drops which dripped from +the trees, and the dread sound of the torrents. Calm was restored; +the sky became pure and starry: but we were deprived of that view +which gives hope to the traveller, for the forest presented only a +dome of green, impenetrable to the sight. + +Exhausted as we were by our exposure to the elements and our +exertions, we were so overpowered by nature's great renovator sleep, +that, notwithstanding our clothes were saturated with the rain, +we were able to pass the remainder of the night in tranquillity. At +break of day the forest, which a few hours previously had been the +scene of the terrors which I have described, was again tranquil +and silent. When we quitted our lair we were frightful to look at; +we were covered with leeches, and the marks of blood on our faces +rendered us hideous. On looking at my two poor Indians I could not +avoid laughing aloud; they also looked at me, but their respect +for me prevented their laughing. I was no doubt equally punished, +and my white skin must have served to show well the ravages of those +creatures. We were, indeed, knocked up; we could scarcely move, so +weak had we become. However, act we must, and promptly,--to light a +fire quickly, in order to warm us; to cook some of the palm stalks; +to cross, by swimming, a torrent which, with a terrible noise, was +rushing on below us; and to reach, during the day, the shores of the +Pacific ocean. If we delayed to start it might not be possible to pass +through the torrents,--we had left several behind us,--we might find +ourselves in the impossibility of going either backward or forward, +and perhaps be obliged to remain several days waiting for the waters +to subside before we could proceed. Besides, other storms might arise, +frequent as they are at this season, and we should have to remain for +several weeks in a desert spot without resources, and where the first +night passed under such a bad roof was no recommendation, There was no +time to be lost. From a large heap of palm leaves, where we had placed +and covered up our haversacks in order to preserve them from the wet, +we drew them out safe; our precautions had fortunately been successful, +they were quite dry. We made a large fire, thanks to the elemi gum, +which burns with such ease. Our feelings were delightful when the +heat entered our frames, dried our dripping garments, re-animated our +courage, and gave us some strength. But, to enjoy that satisfaction +fully, one should have acquired it at the same cost as I had. I very +much doubt that any European would like to participate in the scenes +of that night simply for the enjoyments of the following day. + +Our scanty cookery was soon ready, and expeditiously dispatched, +and we moved off in quick time. + +My Indians were uneasy, as they feared they would not be able to +pass through the torrent which was heard at a distance, consequently +they marched quicker than I did. On reaching the bank I found them +in a consternation. "Oh, master!" said my faithful Alila, "it is not +possible to pass; so we must spend some days here." I cast my eyes +on the torrent, which was rolling between steep rocks, in a yellow, +muddy stream: it had all the appearance of a cascade, and was carrying +down the trunks of trees and branches broken off during the storm. My +Indians had already come to a decision, and were arranging a spot for +a fit bivouac; but I did not wish to give up all hopes of success so +speedily, and set about examining with care the means of overcoming +the difficulty. + +The torrent was not more than a hundred yards in breadth, and a +good swimmer could with ease get over in a few minutes. But it was +necessary, on the opposite side, to arrive at a spot which was not too +steep, and where one could find safe footing, and out of the torrent; +otherwise the risk would be run of being drawn down, no one could +tell whither. + +From the bank on which we were it was easy to jump into the water, +but on the other side, for a hundred yards down the stream, there was +but one spot where the rocks were interrupted. A small stream joined +there the one we wished to cross. After I had carefully calculated by +sight the length of the passage, I considered myself strong enough to +attempt it. I was a better swimmer than my Indians; and I was certain +if I was once on the other side, that they would follow. I told them +that I was going to cross over the torrent. + +But one reflection caused me to hesitate. How could I preserve our +haversacks, and save our precious provision of powder? How keep +our guns from injury? It would not be possible to think of carrying +those articles on my back through a torrent so rapid, and in which, +beyond doubt, I should be under water more than once before I gained +the other side. + +The Indians, being fertile in expedients, speedily extricated me +from this difficulty: they cut several rattans, and joined the ends +together, so as to form a considerable length. One of them climbed a +tree which leant over the torrent, and there fastened one end of the +rattan length, while I took the other end to carry it over to the other +bank. All our arrangements being effected I plunged into the water, +and without much difficulty gained the opposite side, having the end +of the rattan with me, which I fastened to a tree on the steep bank I +had gained, allowing a slight inclination of the line towards me, yet +raised sufficiently over the water to allow the articles which we were +anxious to pass over to slide along without touching the water. Our +newly constructed bridge was wonderfully successful. The articles +came across quite safe and dry; and my Indians, by its aid, quickly +joined me. We congratulated each other on our fortunate passage, +and the more so, as we expected before sunset to reach the Pacific +ocean. Of the woods we had had enough: and we now looked for the sun, +which for several days had been obscured by clouds; the leeches caused +us considerable suffering, and weakened us very much, and our miserable +diet was not sufficient to recruit our exhausted frames. Moreover we +did not doubt that, on reaching the sea, we should be amply recompensed +for all the privations we had endured. In fine, with renewed hopes we +found our courage revive, and soon forgot the fatal night of the storm. + +I walked nearly as quick as my Indians, who, like me, hastened to +get clear of the insupportable humidity in which we had existed for +several days. + +Two hours after we had passed the torrent a dull and distant sound +struck our ears. At first we supposed it to be a fresh storm; but +soon we knew, from its regularity, that it was nothing less than the +murmur of the Pacific ocean, and the sound of the waves which come +from afar to break themselves on the eastern shore of Luzon. This +certainty caused me a most pleasing emotion. In a few hours I should +again see the blue sky, warm myself in the generous rays of the sun, +and find a boundless horizon. I should also get rid of the fearful +leeches, and should soon salute Nature, animated in creation, in +exchange for the solitudes from which we had just emerged. + +We were now on the declivity of the mountains, the descent of which +was gentle and our march easy. The sound of the waves increased by +degrees. Near three o'clock in the afternoon we perceived through the +trees that the sun was clear; and an instant afterwards we beheld the +sea, and a magnificent beach, covered with fine glittering sand. The +first movement of all three was to strip off our clothes and to +plunge into the waves; and while we thus enjoyed a salutary bath, we +amused ourselves in collecting off the rocks a quantity of shell-fish, +which enabled us to make the most hearty meal we had eaten since we +started from home. + +Having thus satisfied our hunger, our thoughts were directed to taking +rest, of which we stood in great need; but it was no longer on knotty +and rough pieces of timber, that we were going to repose,--it was on +the soft sand, which the shore offered to us, warmed as it was by the +last rays of the setting sun. It was almost night when we stretched +ourselves on this bed, which to us was preferable to one of down. Our +sacks served as pillows; we laid our guns, which were properly primed, +close by our sides, and after a few minutes were buried in a profound +sleep. I know not how long I had enjoyed this invigorating balm when +I was awakened by the painful feeling of something crawling over +me. I felt the prickings of sharp claws, which fastened in my skin, +and occasionally caused me great pain. Similar sensations had awakened +my two Indians. We collected the embers which were still ignited, and +were able to see the new kind of enemies which assailed us. They were +the crabs called "Bernard the Hermit," [23] and in such quantities that +the ground was crawling with them, of all sizes and of all ages. We +swept the sand on which we laid down, hoping to drive them away, +and to have some sleep; but the troublesome--or rather, the famishing +hermits--returned to the charge, and left us neither peace or quiet. We +were busy in resisting their attacks, when suddenly, on the edge of +the forest, we perceived a light, which came towards us. We seized +our guns, and awaited its approach in profound silence and without +any movement. We then saw a man and woman coming out of the wood, +each having a torch in their hands. We knew them to be Ajetas, who +were coming, no doubt, to catch fish on the beach. When they reached +within a few steps from us, they stood for an instant motionless and +gazed at us with fixed attention. We three were seated, watching them, +and trying to guess their intentions. One of them put his hand to his +shoulder, as if to take his bow; and I instantly cocked my gun. The +noise caused by the movement of the gun-lock was sufficient to frighten +them: they threw down their light, and scampered off like two wild +beasts, in the highest alarm, to hide themselves in the forest. + +Their appearance was enough to prove that we were in a place frequented +by the Ajetas. The two savages whom we had seen were perhaps gone to +inform their friends, who might come in great numbers and let fly +at us their poisoned arrows. This dread, and the incessant attacks +of Bernard the Hermit, caused us to spend the remainder of the night +near a large fire. + +As soon as day broke we made an excellent breakfast, thanks to the +abundance of shell-fish, of which we could take whatever quantity we +liked, and then set out again. Our way lay sometimes along the shore, +and at other times through the woods. The journey was very fatiguing, +but without any incident worthy of notice. It was after night-fall +when we arrived at the village of Binangonan de Lampon. This village, +inhabited by Tagalocs, is thrown, like an oasis of men, somewhat +civilised, in the midst of forests and savage people, and who had no +direct communication with the other districts which are governed by +the Spaniards. + +My name was known to the inhabitants of Binangonan de Lampon, +consequently we were received with open arms, and all the heads of +the village disputed with each other for the honour of having me as +a guest. I gave the preference to him who had first invited me, and +in his dwelling I experienced the kindest hospitality. I had scarcely +entered when the mistress of the house herself wished to wash my feet, +and to show me all those attentions which proved to me the pleasure +they felt that I had given them this preference. + +During supper, while I was enjoying the good food which was before me, +the small house in which I was seated became filled with young girls, +who gazed at me with a curiosity which was really comic. When I had +finished my meal the conversation with my host began to weary me, +and I stretched myself on a mat, which on that occasion I regarded +as an excellent substitute for a feather-bed. + +I spent three days with the kind Tagalocs, who received and treated me +like a prince. On the fourth day I bade them adieu, and we shaped our +course to the northward, in the midst of mountains covered with thick +forests, and which, like those that we had quitted, showed no path +for the traveller, except some tracks or openings through which wild +animals passed. We proceeded with great caution, for we found ourselves +in the district peopled by Ajetas. At night we concealed our fire, and +each of us in turn kept watch, for what we dreaded most was a surprise. + +One morning, while marching in silence, we heard before us a number +of shrill voices, resembling rather the cries of birds than human +sounds. We kept strict watch, and shaded ourselves as much as possible +by the aid of the trees and of the brushwood. Suddenly we perceived +before us, at a very little distance, forty savages of both sexes, +and of all ages; they absolutely seemed to be mere brutes; they were +on the bank of a river, and close to a large fire. We advanced some +steps presenting the but-end of our guns. The moment they saw us +they set up a shrill cry, and were about to take to flight; but I +made signs, and showed the packet of cigars which we wished to give +them. Fortunately I had learned at Binangonan the way by which I was +to approach them. As soon as they understood us they ranged themselves +in a line, like men about to be reviewed; that was the signal that we +might come near them. We approached with the cigars in our hands, and +at one end of the line I began to distribute my presents. It was highly +important to make friends of them, and, according to their custom, +to give to each an equal share. My distribution being finished, our +alliance was cemented, and peace concluded: the savages and we had +nothing to dread from each other. They all began smoking. A stag +had been suspended to a tree; their chief cut three large pieces +from it with a bamboo knife, which he threw into the glowing fire, +and a moment afterwards drew it out again and handed it round, a piece +being given to each of us. The outside of this steak was burned, and a +little spotted with cinders, but the inside was raw and full of blood; +however it was necessary not to show any repugnance, and to make a +cannibal feast, otherwise my hosts would have been affronted, and I +was anxious to live with them for some days on a good understanding. I +therefore eat my portion of the stag, which, after all, was not bad: +my Indians did as I had done. Good relations were thus established +between us, and treachery was not then to be expected. + +I now found myself in the midst of a tribe of men whom I had come from +Jala-Jala to see, and I set about examining them at my ease, and for +as long as I wished. We fixed our bivouac some steps from theirs, as +if we wished to form part of the family of our new friends. I could +not address them but by signs, and I had the greatest difficulty in +making them understand me, but on the day after my arrival I had an +interpreter. A woman came to me with a child, to which she wished +to give a name; she had been reared amongst the Tagalocs; she had +spoken that language, of which she remembered a little, and could +give, although with much difficulty, all the information I desired +which was to me of interest. + +The creatures with whom I had thus formed a connection for a few days, +and as I saw them, seemed rather to be a large family of monkeys than +human beings. Their voices very much resembled the shrill cries of +those animals, and in their gestures they were exactly like them. The +only difference I could see was that they knew how to handle a bow +and a lance, and to make a fire. To describe them properly I shall +give a sketch of their forms and physiognomies. + +The Ajeta, or little negro, is as black as ebony, like the Africans; +his greatest height is four feet and a-half; his hair is woolly, +and as he takes no trouble about cutting it, and knows not how to +arrange it, it forms around his head a sort of crown, which gives him +an odd aspect, and, at a distance makes him appear as if surrounded +with a kind of halo; his eye is yellowish, but lively and brilliant, +like that of an eagle. The necessity of living by the chase, and of +pursuing his prey, produces the effect on this organ of giving to +it the most extraordinary vivacity. The features of the Ajetas have +something of the African black, but the lips are not so prominent; +while young their forms are pretty; but their lives being spent in the +woods, sleeping always in the open air without shelter, eating much +one day and often having nothing--long fastings, followed by repasts +swallowed with the voracity of wild beasts--gave them a protruding +stomach, and made their extremities lank and shrivelled. They never +wear any clothing, unless a belt of the rind of a tree, from eight to +ten inches in breadth, which they tie round their waist; their arms +are composed of a bamboo lance, a bow of the palm tree, and poisoned +arrows. Their food consists of roots, of fruits, and of the products +of the chase; the flesh they eat nearly raw; and they live in tribes +composed of from fifty to sixty individuals. During the day, the old +men, the infirm, and the children, remain near a large fire, while +the others are engaged in hunting; when they have a sufficiency of +food to last for some days, they remain round their fire, and sleep +pell-mell among the cinders. + +It is extremely curious to see collected together fifty or sixty of +these brutes of every age, and each more or less deformed; the old +women especially are hideous, their decrepit limbs, their big bellies +and their extraordinary heads of hair, give them all the looks of +furies, or of old witches. + +I had scarcely arrived than women with very young children came in +crowds to me. In order to satisfy them I caressed their babes: but +that was not what they wanted, and, notwithstanding their gestures +and their words, I could not make out their wishes. On the following +day, the woman whom I have already mentioned as having lived for +some time among the Tagalocs, arrived from a neighbouring tribe, +accompanied by ten other women, each of whom had an infant in her +arms. She explained what I was not able to comprehend on the previous +day, and said: "We have amongst us very few words for conversation: +all our children take at their birth the name of the place where they +are born. There is great confusion, then, and we have brought them +to you that you may give them names." + +As soon as I understood this explanation, I wished to celebrate +the ceremony with all the pomp that the circumstances and the +place allowed. I went to a small rivulet, and there, as I knew the +formula for applying the baptismal water, I took my two Indians as +sponsors, and during several days baptised about fifty of these poor +children. Each mother who brought her infant was accompanied by two +persons of her own family. I pronounced the sacramental words, and +poured water on the head of the child, and then announced aloud the +name I had given to the child. Therefore, as they have no means of +perpetuating their recollections, from the time that I pronounced +the name,--Francis, for instance,--the mother and her accompanying +witnesses repeated it very often, until they learned to say it +correctly, and commit it to memory. Then they went away, and were +constantly repeating the name, which they were anxious to retain. + +The first day the ceremony was rather long; but the second day the +number lessened, and I was allowed to pursue my examination of the +character of my hosts. I had retained the woman who spoke Tagaloc, +and in the long conversations which I held with her, she initiated +me thoroughly in all their customs and usages. + +The Ajetas have no religion; they do not adore any star. It +seems, however, that they have transmitted to, or received from, +the Tinguianes, the practice of adoring, during one day, a rock or +a trunk of any tree on which they find any resemblance whatever of +an animal; they then abandon it, and think no more of an idol until +they meet with a strange form, which, for a short time, constitutes +the object of their frivolous worship. They have a strong veneration +for the dead; and during several years it is their practice to visit +their graves, and there to leave a little tobacco or betel. The bow +and arrows which once belonged to the deceased are hung up over his +grave on the day of his interment; and every night, according to +the belief of his surviving comrades, he rises up out of his grave, +and goes to hunt in the forest. + +Interments take place without any ceremony. The dead body is laid at +full length in a grave, which is covered up with earth. But whenever +one of the Ajetas is dangerously ill, and his recovery despaired of, +or that he has been even slightly wounded by a poisoned arrow, his +friends place him seated in a deep hole, with the arms crossed over +his breast, and thus inter him while living. + +I thought of speaking to my interpreter on religion, and asked her +if she did not believe in a Supreme Being--an all-powerful Divinity, +on whom all nature--even we ourselves--depend in all things; and who +had created the firmament, and who was looking on at our acts. She +looked at me with a smile, and said: "When I was young, amongst +your brothers, I remember that they spoke to me of a master, who, as +they said, had Heaven for his dwelling-place; but all that was lies; +for see"--(she here took up a small stone and threw it into the air, +saying, in a very serious tone)--"how can a king, as you say, remain +in the sky any more than that stone?" What answer could I give to +such reasoning? I left religion aside, to put to her other questions. + +I have already stated that the Ajetas did not often wait for the death +of a person to put him into the ground. As soon as the last honours are +rendered to a deceased, it is requisite, conformably to their usages, +to take revenge for his death. The hunters of the tribe to which he +belonged set out, with their lances and their arrows, to kill the first +living creature which should appear before their eyes--be it man, +stag, wild boar, or buffalo. From the moment they start in search +of a victim, they take care, in every part of the forest through +which they pass, to break the young shoots of the arbustus shrub, +by pointing its tops in the direction which they are following. This +is done to give a caution to their friends, and other passers-by, +to avoid those places in which they are searching for a victim, for +if one of themselves fell into their hands, he would, without fail, +be taken as the expiatory victim. + +They are faithful in marriage, and have but one wife. When a young +man has made his choice, his friends or his parents make a demand for +the young girl; a refusal is never given. A day is chosen; and on the +morning of that day the young girl is sent into the forest, where she +hides herself or not, just as she pleases, and according as she wishes +to be married to the young man who has asked her. An hour after her +departure, the young man is sent to find out his bride. If he has the +good luck to find her, and to bring her back to her parents before +sunset, the marriage is concluded, and she becomes his wife without +fail; but if, on the contrary, he returns to the camp without her, +he is not allowed to renew his addresses. + +Among the Ajetas old age is highly respected. It is always one of +the oldest men who governs the assembled body. All the savages of +this race live, as I have stated, in large families of from sixty to +eighty persons. They ramble about through the forests, without having +any fixed spot for their abode; and they change their encampment +according to the greater or less quantity of game which they find in +various places. + +While thus living in a state of nature altogether primitive, these +savages have no instrument of music, and their language imitating, +as I have stated, the cries of monkeys, has very few sounds, which +are extremely difficult for a stranger to pronounce, how much soever +may be his eagerness to study them. They are excellent hunters, and +make a wonderful use of the bow. The young negroes, however little, +of each sex, while their parents are out hunting, amuse themselves on +the banks of the rivulets with their small bows. If by chance they +see any fish in the translucent stream they let fly an arrow at it, +and it is seldom that they miss their aim. + +All the weapons of the Ajetas are poisoned; a simple arrow could not +cause a wound so severe as to stop a strong animal, such as a deer, +in its course; but if the dart has been smeared with the poison known +to them, the smallest puncture of it produces in the wounded animal +an inextinguishable thirst, and death ensues upon satisfying it. The +hunters then cut out the flesh around the wound, and use the remainder +as food, without any danger; but if they neglect this precaution, +the meat becomes so exceedingly bitter that even the Ajetas themselves +cannot eat it. + +Never having given credit to the famous boab of Java, I made +experiments at Sumatra on the sort of poison of which the Malays make +use to poison their weapons. I discovered that it was simply a strong +solution of arsenic in citron juice, with which they coated their arms +several times. I tried to find the poison used by the Ajetas. They +led me to the foot of a large tree, and tore off a piece of its bark, +and told me that that was the poison they used. I chewed some of it +before them; it was insupportably bitter, but otherwise not injurious +in its natural state. But the Ajetas make a preparation of it, the +secret of which they refused to impart to me. When their poison is +made up as a paste, they give to their arms a thin coating of it, +about an eighth of an inch in thickness. + +The Ajetas in their movements are active and supple to an incredible +degree; they climb up the highest trees like monkeys, by seizing the +trunk with both hands, and using the soles of their feet. They run +like a deer in the pursuit of the wild animals: this is their favourite +occupation. It is a very curious sight to see these savages set out on +a hunting excursion; men, women, and children move together, very much +like a troop of ourang-outangs when going on a plundering party. They +have always with them one or two little dogs, of a very special breed, +which they employ in tracking out their prey whenever it is wounded. + +I enjoyed quite at my ease the hospitality exercised towards me by +these primitive men. I saw amongst them, and with my own eyes, all +that I was desirous of knowing. The painful life which I had led +since my departure from home, without any shelter but the trees, +and eating nothing but what the savages provided, began to tire me +exceedingly: I resolved to return to Jala-Jala. Having previously +noticed several graves at a short distance from our bivouac, an idea +struck me of carrying away a skeleton of one of the savages, which +would, in my judgment, be a curiosity to present to the Jardin des +Plantes or to the Museum of Anatomy at Paris. The undertaking was one +of great danger, on account of the veneration of the Ajetas for their +dead. They might surprise us while violating their graves, and then +no quarter was to be expected. I was, however, so much accustomed to +overcome whatever opposed my will, that the danger did not deter me +from acting upon my resolution. I communicated my intentions to my +Indians, who did not oppose my project. + +Some few days afterwards we packed up our baggage, and took farewell +of our hosts. We shaped our course towards the Indian cemetery. In +the first graves which we opened we found the bones decayed in part, +and I could only procure two skulls, which were not worth the danger +to which they exposed us. However, we continued our researches, and +towards the close of the day discovered the remains of a woman, who, +from the position of the body in the grave, must have been buried +before her death. The bones were still covered with skin; but the +body was dry, and almost like a mummy. This was a fit subject. We +had taken the body out of the grave, and were beginning to pack it +up piece by piece into a sack, when we heard small shrill cries at a +distance. The Ajetas were coming upon us, and there was no time to be +lost. We seized our prize and started off as quick as possible. We had +not got a hundred yards, when we heard the arrows whistling about our +ears. The Ajetas, perched on the tops of the trees, waited for us and +attacked us, without our having any means of defence. Fortunately night +came to our aid; their arrows, usually so sure, were badly directed, +and did not touch us. While escaping we fired a gun to frighten them, +and were soon able to leave them far behind, without having received +any other injury than the alarm, and a sufficient notice of the danger +to be encountered in disturbing the repose of their dead. On emerging +from the wood, some drops of blood caused me to remark a slight +scratch on the forefinger of my right hand; I attributed this to the +hurry of my flight, and did not trouble myself much about it, as was +my practice with trifles, but continued my march towards the sea-shore. + +We still retained the skeleton, which we laid on the sandy beach, +as well as our haversacks and guns, and sat down to rest after the +fatigue of the journey. My companions then began to make reflections +on our position, and my lieutenant, inspired by his affection for me, +and his sense of the danger we were exposed to, addressed me in the +following strain: + +"Oh, master! what have we done, and what is to become of us? To-morrow +morning the enraged Ajetas will come to attack us for the execrable +booty which we have carried off from them at the risk of our lives. If +they would attack in the open ground, with our guns we might defend +ourselves; but what can one do against those animals, perched here +and there like monkeys in the top branches of the trees of their +forest? Those places are for them so many fortresses, from which they +will to-morrow shower down upon us those darts, which, alas! never fail +to do mischief. Luckily it was night when they attacked us just now, +for otherwise we at this hour should have a lance through each of our +bodies, and then they would have cut off our heads to serve as trophies +for a superb fête. Your head, master, would first have been laid on the +ground, and the brutes would have danced round it, and, as our leader, +you would have been a target of honour for them to practise upon. + +"And now, master, all that which would have occurred to us if the +night had not favoured our escape is but deferred, for, alas! we cannot +remain continually on this beach, although it is the only spot where +we can protect ourselves against these black rascals. We must go to +our homes, and this we cannot do without passing through the woods +inhabited by these abominable creatures, who made us eat raw meat, +and seasoned only with cinders. Well, master, before you undertook +this excursion, you ought to have recollected all that happened to +us among the Tinguians and the Igorrots." + +I listened calmly to this touching lamentation of my lieutenant, who +was perfectly right in all he said; but when he finished I sought to +rouse his courage, and replied: + +"What! my brave Alila! are you afraid? I thought the Tic-balan, and +the evil spirits could alone affect your courage. Do you want to make +me think that men like yourself, without any arms but bad arrows, are +enough to make you quake? Come, enough of this cowardice; to-morrow +we shall have daylight, and we shall see what is to be done. In +the meantime let us search for shell-fish, for I am very hungry, +notwithstanding the alarm into which you are trying to throw me." + +This little sermon gave courage to Alila, who immediately set about +making a fire, and then, by the aid of lighted bamboos, he and his +comrade went to the rocks to find out the shell-fish. + +Alila was nevertheless quite right, and I myself could not disguise +the fact, that good luck alone could extricate us from the critical +position in which we were placed by my fault, in having thought of +my country, and in wishing to ornament the Museum of Paris with a +skeleton of an Ajetas. [24] + +From disposition and habit I was not a man to alarm myself with any +danger which was not immediate; yet I avow that the last words I +had said to Alila:--"To-morrow we shall have daylight, and we shall +see what is to be done:"--came back to my mind, and for a short time +occupied my thoughts. + +My Indians brought back a large quantity of shell-fish, sufficient +for our supper, and Alila ran up quite breathless, saying: + +"Master, I have made a discovery! A hundred steps from this I have +found a canoe, which the sea has cast upon the beach; it is large +enough to hold us three. We can make use of it to get to Binangonan, +and there we shall be safe from the poisoned arrows of these dogs +the Ajetas." + +This discovery was either that Providence had come to our aid, or it +was a complication of dangers greater than those reserved to us on +land on awaking in the morning. + +I went instantly to the spot where Alila had made his important +discovery, and having disencumbered the canoe from the sand with which +it was partly covered, I soon became certain that, with some bamboos, +and by stopping a few cracks, it would be staunch enough to take us +over the Pacific ocean, away from the Ajetas. + +"Well," said I to Alila, "you see I was right, and you must admit the +hand of Providence is here. Is it not evident that this fine boat, +built, perhaps, several thousand leagues from this, has arrived +express from the Polynesian islands to carry us away from the claws +of the savages." + +"True, master, true; it is our luck. To-morrow they will finely be +taken in on not finding us here; but let us set to work, for we have +much to do before this fine boat, as you call it, will be in a fit +state for going through the water." + +We immediately made a large fire on the shore, and went into the +woods to cut down bamboos and rattans; then we set to work to stop +the holes, which decreased fast enough under our handy-work upon the +abandoned canoe. + +Persons who have never travelled amongst the savages cannot imagine +how, without having been instructed in the arts, and without nails, +one could stop up the fissures in such a boat, and put it in a state +fit for sea. Yet the means were very simple; our poignards, bamboos, +and rattans supplied everything; by scraping a bamboo we obtained from +it something like tow, which we put into the chinks, so that the water +could not enter. If it was necessary to stop any breach a few inches +in width, we took from the bamboo a little plank, somewhat larger +than the opening we wished to close, and then with the point of the +poignard we pierced it all round with little holes, to match those +which were made in the same manner in the boat itself. Afterwards, +with long strings of the rattan, which we split up and made fine, +we sewed the little plank to the boat, just as one would a piece of +cloth on a coat; we covered the sewing with the elemi gum, and were +sure the water could not pass through. The rattan served instead of +hemp, and supplied all our necessities on the occasion. + +We worked with ardour at this our new and only means of safety. Once +caulked, we placed in it two large bamboos as beams, for without +those beams we could not have sailed for ten minutes without being +upset. Another bamboo served as our mast; the large sack of matting +that contained our skeleton was transformed into a sail. At last, +before the night was far advanced, every preparation was finished. The +wind was favourable, and we hastened to try our boat, and to struggle +with new difficulties. + +We placed in the canoe our arms and the skeleton, the cause of our new +troubles; we then pushed the boat over the sand and got it afloat. It +took us a good half-hour to get clear of the breakers. We were every +moment in danger of being swamped by the large waves, which rolled +on, dashing against the rocks that bound the shore. At last, after +we had overcome a thousand difficulties and dangers, we reached the +open sea, and the regular wave--a real movable mountain--lifted up, +without any sudden shock, our frail boat almost to the skies, and +then in the same quiet manner let it sink into an abyss, from which +it was again raised to the top of a liquid mountain. These large +waves, which follow each other usually from interval to interval very +regularly, cause no danger to a good pilot, who takes the precaution +of turning the prow of his boat so as to meet them. But woe to him +if he forgets himself, and makes a false manoeuvre, he is then sure +to be upset and wrecked. Being used to the management of canoes, +and, more confident in my own vigilance when at sea than in that +of my Indians, I took the helm. The wind was favourable; we set +up our little sail, and went very fast, although every moment I +was obliged to turn the prow to the heavy waves. We were already a +sufficient distance from the shore not to fear, if the wind changed, +that we should be driven in among the breakers. Everything led us to +expect a safe voyage, when unfortunately my poor Indians were taken +ill. They had never sailed before except on the lakes of fresh water, +and were now attacked with sea-sickness. This was vexatious to me, +for I knew from experience that a person so attacked for the first +time is altogether incapable of rendering any service, and even of +protecting himself against the smallest danger that threatens him. I +had no one to aid me in managing the boat, and was obliged to rely +on my own exertions. I told him who held the sheet of the sail to +hand it to me, and I twisted it round my foot, for both my hands +were engaged in holding the paddle which was our helm. My Indians, +like two inanimate bodies, lay at the bottom of the boat. + +When I reflect on my position,--on the ocean, in a frail boat; having +only for helps two individuals who could not move, two skulls, and a +skeleton of an Ajetas,--I cannot help thinking that the reader may +imagine that I have concocted a story for his amusement. However, +I relate facts exactly as they occurred, and I leave all at liberty +to believe as they please. + +I was, as it were, alone in my frail boat, struggling continually +with the large waves, which obliged me every moment to deviate from +the course. I longed for daylight, for I hoped to be able to discern +the beach of Binangonan de Lampon, as a place of refuge, where I +should find the frank hospitality and the valuable assistance of my +old friends. + +At last the long-wished-for sun arose above the horizon, and I saw +that we were about three leagues from the coast. I had gone far too +much out to sea, and had passed Binangonan a long way. It was not +possible to steer back, the wind would not allow it; so I decided on +pursuing the same course, and on doing my best to reach, before night, +Maoban, a large Tagaloc village, situate on the coast of Luzon, and +which is separated by a small ridge of mountains from the lake of +Bay. The first rays of the sun and a little calm restored my Indians +to a state of being able to render me some service. We passed the +day without eating or drinking, and we had the regret of seeing that +we had not attained our purpose. Our position was most distressing: +a storm might rise, the wind might blow with force, and our only +resource then would be to throw ourselves into the breakers, and to +reach the shore as well as we could. But luckily nothing of the kind +took place; and about midnight we knew, from meeting a small island, +that we were in front of the village of Maoban. I steered to it, and +in a short time we arrived in a calm quiet bay, near a sandy shore. The +fatigue and want of food had thoroughly exhausted my strength. I had no +sooner landed than I threw myself on the ground, and fell into a deep +sleep, which lasted until day. When I awoke I found the sun's rays +were shining full upon me: it was near seven o'clock. On any other +occasion I should have been ashamed of my laziness, but could I feel +dissatisfied with myself for sleeping soundly after thirty-six hours' +fasting, and spent in such extraordinary exertions? During my sleep +one of my Indians went into the village in search of provisions, and +I found excellent rice and salt fish near me. We made a delicious and +splendid breakfast. My Indians, on behalf of the inhabitants, asked me +to go to the village, and spend the day, but I was too eager to reach +home. I knew by walking quickly we could get through the mountains, +and arrive at night on the banks of the lake, within a few hours' +journey from my house. I determined to start without any delay. We took +our things out of the boat; the little sail retook its former shape, +as a sack, to hold the skulls and the skeleton, the cause of all the +disasters to which we had been exposed, and, with reunited strength, +and abundant provisions for the day, we began to mount the high hills +which separate the gulf of Maoban from the lake of Bay. The journey +was laborious and painful. At seven o'clock we embarked on the lake, +and towards midnight we reached Jala-Jala, where I very speedily +forgot all the toil and trouble of my long and dangerous journey, +while pressing my son in my arms and covering him with paternal kisses. + +My excellent friend Vidie, to whom I sold my house and establishment, +gave me letters which he had received from Manilla, and from them I +learned that my presence was desired there on affairs of importance. I +resolved to start on the following day. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + I Determine not again to Separate from my Son--I take + him to Manilla--The Effects of the Wound I received among + the Ajetas--My Recovery--Kindness of the Spanish and other + Inhabitants of Manilla--Illness of my Son--I return with him to + Jala-Jala--Sorrowful Remembrances--The Death of my poor Boy--His + Interment--My frantic Grief and Despair--I Determine to Quit the + Philippines--I am Called to Manilla by Madame Dolorès Seneris--My + Final Departure from Jala-Jala--I Arrive at Manilla, where I + resume Practice as a Surgeon--I Embark for France--Discontent--My + Travels through Europe--I Marry again--Death of my Mother and my + Second Wife--Conclusion. + + +Having now concluded my last trip into the interior of the Philippines, +I was desirous of not separating myself again from my son, the only +being that remained to me of all those whom I had loved so tenderly. I +took him with me to Manilla; but I did not altogether bid farewell +to Jala-Jala, yet I had almost the intention of never going back to it. + +The journey was as agreeable as my melancholy recollections would +permit. I experienced such pleasure in holding my boy in my arms, +and in receiving his gentle caresses, that I occasionally forgot +every sorrow. + +I arrived at Manilla, and took up my quarters in the environs, at +the abode of Baptiste Vidie, brother of the friend whom I had left +at Jala-Jala. + +After my escape from the Ajetas, I had noticed a small wound on +the forefinger of my right hand, which I attributed to having +been accidentally scratched by a branch or a thorn, while we were +endeavouring to make our escape with such precipitation from the arrows +which the savages let fly at us. The first night I spent at Manilla, +I felt in the place where the wound was such extreme pain that I fell +down twice totally senseless. The agony increased every instant, and +became so violent that I could no longer doubt that it was caused by +the poison of an arrow, shot at me by the Ajetas. I sent for one of +my confréres, and after a most careful examination, he made a large +incision, which did not, however, afford me any relief: the hand, +on the contrary, festered up. By little and little the inflammation +extended itself up my arm, and I was soon in an alarming state. + +In short, after suffering during a whole month, and after the most +cruel incertitude, it seemed that the poison had passed into my +breast. I could not sleep for an instant; and, in spite of me, dead +and painful cries came forth from my breast, which was on fire. My +eyes were veiled--I could not see; a burning sweat covered my face; +my blood was on fire, and did not circulate in my veins; my life +seemed about to become extinct. The medical men declared that I could +not pass through the night. According to the usages of the country, +I was told that I ought to regulate my affairs for death. I asked +that the consul-general of France, my excellent friend Adolphe Barrot, +should be sent for. + +Adolphe I knew to be a man of true heart and affection, and to him I +recommended my poor boy. He promised to take care of him as if he were +his own son, to take him to France, and to give him over to my family. + +Lastly a good Dominican friar came, and with him I had several long +conferences, and after he had dispensed to me the consolations of his +ministry, he gave me extreme unction. Everything was done according +to the customary form, and nothing was wanting but my death. + +However, amidst all these preparations, I alone was not so eager; +and, although in excessive anguish, I preserved my presence of +mind, and declared I should not die. Was it courage? Was it great +confidence in my strength and robust health, which made me believe in +my recovery? Was it a presentiment, or was it an inward voice which +told me: "The doctors are wrong, and how great will be their surprise +tomorrow on finding me better?" In short, I did not wish to die; for, +according to my system, my will ought to stop the order of nature, +and to make me survive all imaginable pain. + +The following day I was better: the doctors found my pulse regular, +and without any intermitting symptom. Some days afterwards the poison +passed out to my skin: my whole body was covered with a miliary +eruption, and thenceforth I was safe. My recovery was very gradual, +and for more than a year I felt acute pains in my breast. + +During the course of my illness I received the kindest attention from +my fellow-countrymen, and in general from all the Spanish inhabitants +of Manilla; and here I ought to state, to the praise of the latter +class, that during twenty years spent in the Philippines, I always +found amongst those with whom I had dealings, a great nobleness of +soul and a devotedness free from egotism. I shall never forget the +kindnesses I received from this noble race, for which I entertain +feelings of the warmest gratitude. To me, every Spaniard is a brother; +and to him I shall always be happy to prove that his countrymen have +not conferred obligations on an ungrateful character. I hope the +reader will pardon me for having quitted my subject for a short time +to fulfil the duty of gratitude; but are they not my recollections +which I am detailing? [25] + +The wish to undertake, together with my boy, the voyage which would +restore me to my country; the hope of seeing my kind good mother, +my sisters, and all the friends whom I had left behind, reconciled me +somewhat to existence, and made me experience a little happiness. I was +awaiting with impatience the time for embarking; but, alas! my mission +was not yet terminated in the Philippines, and a new catastrophe, +quickly opened afresh all my sorrows. + +I was scarcely recovered, when my dear boy--my sole delight the last +beloved being that remained to me on this earth, so fruitful in joys, +and still so destructive of them--my poor Henry fell suddenly ill, +and his disease made the most rapid progress. My friends immediately +foreboded that a great misfortune would befall me. I alone did not know +the state in which my child really was. I loved him with such an ardent +passion, that I believed it impossible that Providence would deprive +me of him. My medical attendant, or rather my friend, Genu, advised +me to take him to Jala-Jala, where his native air and the country, +as he said, would without doubt promote his recovery. I liked the +advice, for so many persons had recovered their health at Jala-Jala +that I hoped for my child a similar good result. I set out with him +and his governess; the voyage was one of sadness, for I saw my poor +boy continually suffering, without being able to afford him any relief. + +On our arrival Vidie came to receive us, and in a few moments I +occupied, with my Henry, the room which brought to my remembrance two +very sorrowful losses--the death of my little daughter and that of my +beloved Anna. It was, moreover, in that very room my Henry was born,--a +cruel association of the happiest moments of my existence with that +when I was bewailing the state of my beloved boy. Nevertheless, I did +not altogether despair, for I had hopes in my art and experience. I +seated myself by his bedside, and did not leave him for a moment. I +slept close to him, and I passed every day in administering the +medicine and all the comforts in my power, but without any good result, +or any relief for his sufferings. I lost all hope, and on the ninth +day after our arrival the dear boy expired in my arms. + +It is not possible for me to give an account of my feelings on this +last trial. My heart was broken, my head on fire! I became mad, and +never did despair take such a hold on me. I listened to nothing but +my sorrow; and force became necessary to tear from my arms the mortal +remains of my child. + +On the following day he was laid close to his mother, and another +tomb was erected in the church of Jala-Jala. + +In vain did my friend Vidie endeavour to afford me consolation, or +to change the current of my affliction. Several times he tried to +remove me from the fatal room, which I now looked upon as a scene +of misfortunes, but he could not succeed. I hoped at the time--and +I also thought that I too had a right--to die there, where my wife +and my son had breathed their last sighs. My tears refused to flow, +and even words failed me to express the full extent of my grief. An +ardent fever, which devoured me, was far too slow for the eagerness +of my wishes. In a moment of bewilderment, I was near committing +the greatest act of cowardice which man can perpetrate against his +Creator. I double-locked the door; I seized the poignard which I had +so often used to protect my life, and pointed it against myself. I +was already choosing the spot in which I should strike, in order by +one blow to terminate my miserable existence. My arm, strengthened by +delirium, was about to smite my breast, when one sudden thought came to +prevent me from consummating the crime which has no pardon--although +the crime of despair. My mother, my poor mother, whom I had so much +loved, my good mother presented herself to my mind, and said to me: +"Thou wouldst abandon me--I shall see thee no more!" I recollected +then the words of Anna: "Go, and see thy mother again!" This thought +changed my resolution completely. I threw the poniard aside with +horror, and fell on my bed quite exhausted. My eyes, which during many +days had been dry and burning, were once again overflowing with tears, +which removed the heavy weight from my lacerated heart. + +The force of mind of which I stood so much in need was awakened again +within me: I no longer thought of death, but of fulfilling my rigorous +destiny. Calmed and relieved already by the abundant flow of tears, +I gave myself up wholly to the idea of embracing my mother and my +sisters. Then I wished to add the following pages to my journal. My +head was not thoroughly right. I shall translate what I then wrote +in Spanish, which was my adopted and familiar language, in preference +even to French, which I had scarcely spoken during twenty years:-- + +"How have I strength to take this pen? My poor boy!--my son!--my +beloved Henry!--is no more: his soul has flown to his Creator! Oh, +God! pardon this complaint in my distress. What have I done to be +thus cruelly afflicted? My boy!--my dear son!--my only hope!--my last +happiness!--I shall never again see thee! Formerly I was happy; I had +my good Anna and my dear child; but cruel fate soon tore my companion +from me. My trouble was indeed great, and my affliction was profound; +but thou wast still with me, Oh, my child! and all my affections were +concentrated in thee. "With thy caresses thou didst dry my tears; thy +smile was like that of thy mother, and thy beautiful features reminded +me of her, and in thee I found her again. But to-day, alas! I have +lost you both. What a void! Oh, God! what a solitude! Oh! I ought to +die in this room which is the depository of all my misfortunes. Here I +bewailed my poor brother; here I closed the eyes of my daughter; here, +also, Anna, when dying, bade me, bathed in tears, her last adieus; +and here, at last, thou, my son, they tore thee from my arms, to lay +thee near the ashes of thy mother. + +"So many afflictions and so many troubles for one man! Oh, God of +goodness and mercy, will you not restore to me my poor child? Alas! I +scarcely feel that I am mistaken: but He will pity my bewilderment--he +who has been beloved and who has seen carried off, one by one, all +the elements of his happiness. As for me, an isolated being, and +henceforward useless on this earth, it matters little where I shall +sink under the weight of my afflictions. If it was not from the hope of +seeing my mother and sisters, I should terminate my wretched existence, +my grave should be with you--you all!--whom I loved so much. I should +remain near you, and during the rest of my miserable existence I should +every day visit your tombs! But no; a sacred duty obliges me to leave +you, and to separate for ever from you. Cruel! Oh, cruel indeed will +be the hour when I shall depart from you. And thou, my beloved, my +good, excellent wife, my Anna, thy last words shall be accomplished. I +will set out, but regret and grief accompany me during the voyage; my +heart and my memory will remain at Jala-Jala. Oh! land bedewed with +my sweat, with my blood, and with my tears! when fate brought me to +thy shores thou wast covered with dismal forests which this day have +given place to rich harvests: among thy inhabitants order, abundance, +and prosperity have taken the place of debauchery and misery. My +efforts were crowned with full success; all was prosperity around +me. Alas! I was too happy! But while misfortune strikes me down and +overwhelms me, it will have stricken me alone, my work will outlive +me. You will be happy, Oh, my friends! and if I myself have been so +in contributing to your welfare, let a thought sometimes awaken your +feelings towards him to whom you often gave the name of 'Father;' +and if you preserve gratitude towards him, Oh, take a religious care +of the tombs, trebly dear to him, which he now intrusts to you." + +My readers will pardon this melancholy and long lamentation; they +will understand it if they examine with care my position. Separated +from my country by five thousand five hundred leagues, the stroke +of fate which laid all my cherished hopes in the dust was the +more acutely felt as it was unexpected. I had no relatives in the +Philippines; in France alone I might yet find some affections; and, +at the moment of quitting Jala-Jala for ever, the idea of parting with +my Indians--attached, devoted, as they were to me--was an additional +grief to the many which overpowered me. Thus I could not resolve to +acquaint them beforehand of this separation. I remained in my room, +without quitting it even at meal times. My friend Vidie did everything +possible to prepare me for these adieus, and to console me. He pressed +me to start speedily for Manilla, and to make arrangements for my +departure; but an irresistible force retained me at Jala-Jala. I +was weak; my heart was so crushed by sorrows that I had no courage +to adopt any resolutions. I put it off from day to day, and from day +to day I was more undecided. An unexpected occasion was necessary in +order to conquer my apathy; it was requisite also to triumph over me +by sentiments of gratitude--sentiments which I could never resist. + +On this occasion, the motive which decided my departure was furnished +by Providence. I had a friend in Manilla, a lady of angelic goodness, +gentleness, and devotedness. United from the period of my arrival in +the most intimate manner with all her family, I had known her as a +child, and afterwards married to a highly honourable man, of whom when +she was subsequently bereaved, I afforded her all the consolations +which the sincerest friendship could offer. She was a witness of the +happiness which I enjoyed with my dear Anna, and, hearing that I was +unhappy, she did not hesitate to undertake a long journey, and in her +turn to come and take a part in my troubles. The excellent Dolorès +Seneris arrived one morning at Jala-Jala; she threw herself into my +arms, and for some moments tears alone were the interpreters of our +thoughts. When we recovered from our first emotions, she told me that +she had come to take me away, and she herself made the preparations +for my departure. I was too grateful for this proof of the friendship +of the good Dolorès not to acquiesce in her wishes, and it was decided +that on the following day I should quit Jala-Jala for ever. + +The report was soon spread among my Indians. They all came to bid me +farewell: they wept, and they said to me: + +"Oh, master, do not deprive us of all hope of seeing you again. Go, +and receive consolation from your mother, and then return to your +children." That day was filled with most distressing feelings. + +The day following was Sunday. I went to say adieu to the remains of +those whom I had loved even in their tombs. I heard for the last time +the divine service in the modest little church which I had erected, +and in which for a long time, surrounded by my dearest friends, I was +happy to assemble, on the same day of the week, the small congregation +of Jala-Jala. + +After the service I proceeded to the beach, where the boat was waiting, +which was to take me to Manilla. There--surrounded by my Indians, the +good parish priest, Padre Miguel, and my friend Vidie--I bade adieu +to them all for the last time. Dolorès and I got into the boat, which +was scarcely pushed off from the shore when every arm was stretched +out towards me, and every one exclaimed:--"May your voyage be happy, +master! And oh! return soon!" + +One of the oldest Indians made a sign for silence, and then in a loud +voice uttered these solemn words:--"Brothers, let us weep and pray, +for the sun is obscured to us; the star which is going has shed light +on our best days, and now for the future, being deprived of that light, +we cannot tell how long will last the night in which we are plunged +by the misfortune of his departure." + +This exhortation of the old Indian were the last words that reached +us: the boat moved away, as I, for the last time, fixed my eyes on +the beloved land which I was never again to behold. + +We reached Manilla late: it was one of those enchanting nights, which +I have described in the happy period of my voyages. Dolorès insisted +that I should not lodge in any house but hers. Before she set out +her careful friendship had provided for everything. I was surrounded +by all those little attentions of which woman alone has the secret, +and which she knows how to confer with such grace on him who is the +object for whom they are designed. + +My windows looked on the pretty river Pasig. I there passed whole +days in looking at the graceful Indian canoes gliding over the water, +and receiving the visits of my friends, who came with eagerness to +endeavour to divert my thoughts, and to afford sources of pleasing +conversation. + +When I was alone I sought to dispel my melancholy by thinking of my +voyage; on the happiness I should experience on seeing again my poor +mother and sisters, a brother-in-law whom I did not know, and nieces +born during my absence. + +The obligation of returning the visits I received, and the +re-establishment of my health, allowed me at length to enter into +affairs connected with my departure. + +My friend, Adolphe Barrot, consul-general of France, was every day in +expectation of intelligence from his government, with orders for his +return home. He proposed to me to wait for him, so that we might make +the voyage together. I accepted the proposal with pleasure, and we +decided amongst ourselves that, for our return, we should take the +route of India, of the Red Sea, and of Egypt. + +While I stayed at Manilla I did not wish to be idle. The Spaniards +reminded me that at a former epoch I had carried on the art of +medicine, and with great success. I soon had patients from all quarters +of the island, and I resumed my old profession, and gave advice. But +what difference between this time and that of my débût. Then I was +young, full of strength and of hope; then I indulged in the illusions +usual to youth; a long future of happiness presented itself to my +imagination. Now, overwhelmed by the weight of troubles and of the +laborious works I had executed, there was only one wish to excite +me, and that was, to see France again; and yet my recollections took +me continually back to Jala-Jala. Poor little corner of the globe, +which I civilised! where my best years were spent in a life of labour, +of emotions, of happiness, and of bitterness! Poor Indians! who loved +me so much! I was never to see you again! We were soon to be separated +by the immensity of the ocean. + +Reflections and recollections beyond number thus occupied my mind. But, +alas! it is vain to struggle against one's destiny; and Providence, +in its impenetrable views, was reserving me for rude trials and +fresh misfortunes. + +Having again become a doctor at Manilla, where I had such difficulty +at my commencement, I visited patients from morning until night. To +Dolorès and to her sister Trinidad I was indebted for the most touching +and most delicate attentions, calculated to heal the wounds which were +still bleeding in the bottom of my heart. I frequently saw the two +sisters of my poor wife, Joaquina and Mariquita, as well as my young +niece, the daughter of excellent Josephine, for whom I had entertained +so warm a friendship, and who so soon followed my darling Anna to +the grave. By little and little I was forming new ties of affection, +which I was soon to break, and never afterwards to renew. I could +not forget Jala-Jala, and my recollections never quitted that place +where were deposited the remains of those whom of all the world I +had most loved. My eager wishes induced me to hope that my work of +colonisation should continue, and that my friend Vidie should find some +compensation for the rough task he had undertaken. At this period, even +while I remained in Manilla, a great misfortune was nearly the cause +of throwing Jala-Jala back into its former state of barbarism. The +bandits, who always respected the place while I was in possession of +it, came one night to attack it, and made themselves masters of the +house in which Vidie had shut himself up, and defended until he was +forced to escape out of a window, and to run and hide in the woods, +leaving his daughter, then very young, to the care of an Indian +nurse. The bandits pillaged and shattered everything in the house; +wounded his daughter by a sabre-cut, of which to this day she bears the +marks; and then went off with the plunder they had made. But Jala-Jala +had become too important a point to be neglected; and the Spanish +government sent troops to it, to protect Vidie, and to maintain order. + +At last, Adolphe Barrot received from the French government the +long-awaited instructions to return home; all my preparations were +made for setting out. It was in 1839; twenty years had passed over +since I left my country, which I was now about to return to with +satisfaction. For a long time I had received no news from my mother, +and the pleasure which I anticipated from seeing her was troubled by +the dread of having new sorrows to experience on my arrival. My mother +was then very old; her life had been passed in long tribulations, +and in complete sacrifice of self. The numerous moral troubles which +she had gone through must have affected her state of health. Besides, +I had been so unfortunate: fate seemed to have so roughly treated all +my affections, that I could not refrain from thinking that I should +never again see her for whom I abandoned my much-loved country. The +day for sailing came; yet it was not without a heartfelt grief that +I tore myself away from my friends, and bade adieu to the Philippines. + + + +Here ought to terminate the account which I proposed: yet I cannot +refrain from dedicating a few lines to my return to my native land. + +On board various vessels I passed the coasts of India, the Persian +Gulf, and the Red Sea. + +After having often admired the grand works of Nature, I felt a strong +desire to see the gigantic works executed by the hand of man. + +I went to Thebes, and there visited in detail its palaces, its tombs, +and its monolithes. I descended the Nile, stopping at every place +which contained any monuments worthy of my curiosity. I ascended +one of the Pyramids. I passed several days in Cairo, and set out for +Alexandria, where I embarked anew, to pass over the small space of +sea which separated me from Europe. + +I have sometimes wished to compare the grandest of human productions +with the works of the Creator; the comparison is by no means +favourable to the former, for all those useless ornaments are nothing +but lasting proofs of pride, and of the fanaticism of a few men, who +were obeyed by a people in slavery. I also saw all that remained of +the traces of destruction committed by two of the greatest conquerors +of the world: the first was but a haughty despot, causing cohorts of +slaves to act as he pleased, and carrying the sword and destruction +amongst peaceful people, to profane their tombs, to follow up useless +conquests,--history afterwards shows him dying of an orgie; and the +other, alas! was enchained to a rock. + +From the summit of one of the Pyramids, in religious abstraction, I +had contemplated the majestic Nile, which glides serpent-like through +a vast plain, bordered by the Desert and arid mountains. Looking, +then, below me, I could with difficulty descry some of my travelling +companions, who were gazing at the Sphinx, and who appeared like little +spots on the sand. And I then exclaimed: "It is not these useless +monuments that we ought to admire, but rather this magnificent river, +which, in obedience to the laws of all-powerful wisdom, overflows +every year, at a fixed period, its limits, and spreads itself, like +a vast sea, to water and to vivify these immense plains, which are +afterwards covered with rich harvests. If this immutable and beneficent +order of Nature did not endure, all these fertile districts would be +but a desert waste, where no living creature could exist." + +These reflections took their origin, without doubt, from my having +spent almost all my life amidst those grand creations of Nature, +from which man continually derives sentiments that elevate him to +the Supreme Being. I had studied that Nature--in all her details, +her beneficence, and her magnificence--too attentively to allow +the productions of man's genius to make upon me the impression +which I thought might be expected, when I first formed the wish +to see the monuments of Egypt; and, while sailing for Europe, I +already anticipated the feeling that a short sojourn in the midst of +civilisation would cause me to regret my ancient freedom, my mountains, +and my solitudes in the Philippine Islands. + +On arriving at Malta I was for eighteen days locked up in Fort Manuel, +and then passed the quarantine. I there received news of my family. My +mother and sisters wrote to me that they were in the enjoyment of +excellent health, and were awaiting with impatience my coming to +them. After the quarantine was over, I stopped nearly a week in +the city, while waiting for a steamer that was going to France. I +embraced the opportunity of seeing every curiosity in the island. I +then resumed my voyage to my native land, and the following week I +recognised the arid rocks of Provence and France, from which I had +been absent for twenty years. + +In a few days I reached Nantes, where for some time I enjoyed, in every +respect, all the happiness which one feels when those beloved beings +from whom one had been long severed, and who formed the last living +ties of affection for an unhappy being who had been severely tried +by a capricious destiny. But the want of excitement in which I lived +soon became irksome; my life had been too active, so that the sudden +transition could not fail to prove injurious to my health, and the idea +of submitting during the remainder of my existence to a life sterile +and monotonous became intolerable. Not knowing how to employ myself, +I resolved to travel through Europe, and to study the civilised world, +which was then so strange to me. I travelled through France, England, +Belgium, Spain, and Italy, and returned to my family, without being +able to discover anything that could induce me to forget my Indians, +Jala-Jala, and my solitary excursions in the virgin forests. The +society of men reared in extreme civilisation could not efface from my +memory my past modest life. Notwithstanding all my efforts, I retained +in my heart a fund of sadness, which it was not possible to conceal. My +kind-hearted mother, who with deep regret observed my repugnance +to establish myself in any part of the country, and who entertained +fears, perhaps well-founded ones, that I should yet endeavour to go +back to the Philippines, used every means to prevent me. She spoke +to me of marriage, and in all her letters repeated that she should +not be happy until I agreed to enter into the ties of a new union: +she said my name would otherwise become extinct, and, as her last +consolation, she asked me to allow her to choose a companion for me. + +The wish to satisfy her, and also the remembrance of Anna's last words: +"Return to thy country, and marry one of thy countrywomen," decided +my resolution. + +I soon made choice of one, who would have fully rendered a man happy +who had not too frequently before him the remembrance of a previous +union. Nevertheless, I was as happy as I could be. My new wife +possessed every quality necessary for my happiness. By her I became +father of two children, and I began to bless the determination which my +mother had contributed so much to make me adopt; but, alas! happiness +was never for me lasting; the cup of bitterness was not yet exhausted, +and I had still to shed many tears. + +In the cemetery of Vertoux, a modest tomb for thee, poor mother! is +erected, between that of a husband and a son; and soon after another +grave was opened at Neuilly. In profound affliction I had the following +lines engraved on the latter: + + + "Veille, du haut des cieux, sur ta triste famille; + Conserve-moi ton fils et revis dans ta fille." [26] + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] Pablo signifies Paul, my Christian name. I was always called thus +at Manilla and at Cavite. + +[2] The betel is a species of pepper plant, the leaves of which +are wrapped round areca nuts and the chunam--the latter is a kind +of burnt-lime made of shells, and the areca nut is the fruit of +a species of palm. The Indians, Chinese, half-breeds, and a great +number of Creoles, continually chew this mixture, which is reputed +to sweeten the breath and assist digestion. + +[3] During six months the winds blow continually from the north-east, +and during the other six months from the north-west: these two periods +are termed north-east monsoon and north-west monsoon. + +[4] At their head was Don José Fuentès, my constant friend. + +[5] Don Simon Fernandez, Oidor at the Court Royal. + +[6] The most bitter enemies of the Tinguians are a race of cruel, +blood-thirsty savages, who inhabit the interior of the mountains. They +have also to fear the Igorrots, who live nearer, but who are less +savage. + +[7] Evil Spirit. + +[8] A malicious divinity of the Tagalocs. + +[9] It is on account of this cruel custom of beheading their victims +that the Spaniards have given to these savages the name of "corta +cabesas," "decapitators." + +[10] Banditti. + +[11] "The nakedness of the poor might be clothed out of the trimmings +of the vain."--Dr. Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield."--Tr. + +[12] The Igorrots, however, according to the reports of the Indians, +are not anthropophagi; perhaps the one in question had received these +ragouts from some other savages--the Guinans, for instance. + +[13] It would be difficult to establish from what nations the divers +species of men who inhabit the interior of Luzon originally came. The +Tinguians, from their fine shape, their colour, their eyes, their +almost aquiline nose, the value they set upon china vases, their music, +and finally from their habits, would appear to be the descendants +of the Japanese. It is most likely that at a very distant period +some junks from the Japan coasts, hurried along by strong northern +winds, may have been wrecked upon the Luzon shores, and that their +crews, seeing no possibility of returning to their native country, +as well as to avoid the Malayan population that was in possession +of the beaches,--it is possible, I say, that the shipwrecked persons +withdrew into the interior of the mountains, the difficulty of access +to which protected them from all invasion. + +The Japanese sailors, who are merely coasters, sail about with their +wives, as I had an opportunity of witnessing on board many junks, +whither I went through mere curiosity. Those same junks, beaten by +the tempest, had steered for shelter to the eastern coast of Luzon, +where they anchored for four months, waiting for the return of the +monsoon; and had they not met with a protecting government, their crews +would have been compelled to fly into the mountains, as I suppose the +Tinguians had been obliged to do. The latter having some women with +them, must have procured others from among the neighbouring population, +and as they inhabit the finest and healthiest country in the world, +their number must have considerably increased. They are now spread +over sixteen villages: Palan, Jalamey, Mabuantoc, Dalayap, Lanquiden, +Baac, Padanquitan y Pangal, Campasan y Danglas, Lagayan, Ganagan, +Malaylay, Bucay, Gaddani, Laganguilan y Madalag, Manab, Palog y Amay. + +The Igorrots, whom I had less opportunities of studying, seem to +be the descendants of the remains of the grand naval army of the +Chinese Lima-On, who, after attacking Manilla, on the 30th November, +1574, had taken refuge in the province of Pangasinan, in the gulf of +Lingayan, where he was a second time defeated, and his fleet completely +destroyed. A part of the crew escaped into the mountains of Pangasinan, +where the Spaniards could not pursue them. + +The Igorrot has long hair, eyes à la Chinoise, a flat nose, thick +lips, high cheek bones, broad shoulders, strong and nervous limbs, +and bronze colour; he greatly resembles the Chinese of the southern +provinces of the Celestial Empire. + +I could obtain no information as to extraction concerning the Guinans, +another people of savages, ferocious and cruel, who live in the +neighbourhood of the Tinguians. + +I keep back for a future period a description of the Ajetas, or +Negritos, the aborigines of Luzon. + +[14] According to Indian tradition, and to Spanish tradition +likewise, the Infant Jesus of Zébou existed before the discovery of +the Philippines. After the conquest the Infant was found upon the +sea-shore; the Spanish conquerors deposited it in the cathedral, +where it performed great miracles. + +[15] The Malays. + +[16] See Appendix, I. + +[17] I experienced two such gales during my residence at Jala-Jala--the +one I am now speaking of, and another to which I shall afterwards +allude. + +[18] Tapuzi is situated in the mountains of Limutan. Limutan is a +Tagalese word, signifying "altogether forgotten." + +[19] In the eyes of the natives of Tagal all Europeans are Spaniards. + +[20] While this work was in the press, Mr. Hamilton Lindsay, who has +already published an account of his "Voyage to the Northern Ports of +China," kindly furnished the Publishers with confirmatory proofs of +M. de la Gironiere's narrative, see Appendix, No. II. + +[21] See Appendix III. and IV. + +[22] Of the house of Russell and Sturges, a good and true friend, the +recollection of whom, often present to my mind, will never be effaced. + +[23] Bernard the Hermit is a crab, which lodges in the abandoned +shell of the molluscæ, and comes at night in search of food, which +it finds on the sea beach. + +[24] The skeleton is now in the Musée Anatomique of Paris. + +[25] Gratitude here requires that I should name some of those to +whom I am specially indebted for marks of affection and kindness. It +would be indeed ungrateful on my part to forget them, and I beg them +to accept this proof of my recollections. + +The Governors of the Philippines to whom I owe these remembrances +are:--Generals Martinès, Ricafort, Torres Enrile, Camba, and Salazar; +in the various administrations of the colony, the Judges (Oidorrs) +Don Inigo Asaola, Otin-i Doazo, Don Matias Mier, Don Jacobo Varela, +administrator-general of the liquors; Don José de la Fuente, commissary +of the engineers, who rendered me innumerable kindnesses; Colonel Don +Thomas de Murieta, corregidor of Tondoc; the colonel of engineers, Don +Mariano Goicochea; the Colonel-Commandant Lante Romana; the Governor of +the province, Don José Atienza; the brothers Ramos, sons of the judge; +all the family Calderon; that of Seneris; Don Balthazar Mier, Don +José Ascaraga; and lastly my friend, Don Domingo Roxas, whose son, Don +Mariano Roxas, after having received a solid and brilliant education at +Manilla, came to travel in Europe. He has acquired the most extensive +information in the sciences and arts, and when he shall have returned +to the Philippine Islands, he will most worthily replace his dignified +father, whom a premature death has snatched away from the industry, +the agriculture, and the advancement of his country. If gratitude +has induced me to mention here the Spaniards from whom I experienced +many acts of kindness, the same feeling compels me to allude to an +English gentleman to whom I was indebted for one of those important +services which are never to be forgotten. I allude to Mr. Thomas Dent, +with whom I have frequently conversed upon our hunting parties at +Jala-Jala, in which he was occasionally one of the principal actors. + +[26] "From Heaven's height look down and see + The sorrows of thy family; + Preserve for me thy only boy, + And in thy daughter give me joy." + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30347 *** |