ROD, SHOTGUN AND RIFLE
The Philippines offer strong attractions to the devotees of the
shotgun and the rifle, and they are a fisherman's paradise.
Having in my earlier days spent some four years in collecting natural
history specimens in the islands I did not need to be enlightened as
to the pleasure which might be had in hunting ducks, snipe, shore
birds, jungle fowl, and wild pigeons; nor as to those afforded to
the hunter of large game by bringing down wild carabaos, hogs, and
deer, bagging an occasional man-eating crocodile, or trying to outwit
the wily tamarau of Mindoro, which is one of the most difficult of
all forest-inhabiting ruminants to track down and kill, and has an
uncomfortable habit of hunting the hunter when molested; but now,
in view of my neglected early opportunities, I must confess with
shame and confusion of face that it remained for Governor-General
Forbes to show me, after I had resided in the islands for sixteen
years that I had been missing a sport fit for kings by not sooner
taking up fishing in the sea.
To one who has been even temporarily attached to a hundred-pound
barracuda through the medium of a split bamboo rod, a tarpon reel,
three hundred yards of line, and a good strong spoon hook, or has
fought a sixty-pound tanguingui, or even a thirty-pound pampano, to a
finish, it seems strange that any one should ever have characterized
fishing as a "gentle art."
If good old Sir Izaak Walton had struggled with a big tuna until his
fingers and thumbs were blistered or skinned, and every muscle in his
body was tired and sore, only to see a huge shark bite his finny prey
off back of the gills when it was almost ready to gaff, it is possible
that his language in discussing fishing would have been less mild,
and his general attitude toward the subject less gently philosophic.
Verily, Sir Izaak missed much by not having been born after modern
fishing tackle had been invented and employed in taking the denizens of
deep tropical seas. Let no one be unduly dismayed over the diminution
of big game fish in the vicinity of Catalina Island, or off the Florida
coast, for among the myriad islands of the Philippine Archipelago one
may fish to one's heart's content, visiting grounds already well known,
or seeking new ones for himself, in the assurance that the supply of
marine game fishes will not be perceptibly diminished for many a long
year to come.
Soon after his arrival, Governor-General Forbes began to inquire
about the opportunities for sea fishing. He received little reliable
information and less encouragement, but undeterred, proceeded to find
out for himself when and where to fish and what tackle to use in order
to obtain the best results. At the outset his efforts netted him few
fish or none, but he kept at it as opportunity offered, and, thanks to
his perseverance, the sport is now firmly established on a sound basis.
One must have rod, reel, line and gaff suitable for tarpon fishing, and
an abundant supply of good spoon hooks, wire leaders and swivels. Live
bait and cut bait are as useful here as elsewhere, but game fish are
so abundant, and spoon hooks have proved so successful in taking them,
that comparatively little use has as yet been made of other lures. One
should fish from a power boat which can be slowed down to four miles
an hour without stopping, and will safely ride a moderately heavy sea.
When thus equipped, if the fisherman hies him to the edge of a coral
reef where the bottom slopes steeply downward, runs the boat so
that he sees green water on one side and black water on the other,
and pays out fifty to a hundred yards of line, he will not have long
to wait before his reel sings the merry tune so dear to the heart of
his kind, and he finds himself vainly striving, with both thumbs on
the brake, to lower the pitch of that insistent high note by slowing
down the speed of the barracuda which has grabbed the spoon, hooked
itself securely, and started for the coast of China with the obvious
intention of getting there before dark.
A big barracuda may take fifty yards of line in his first rush and he
may take two hundred, but one can be certain that when he is finally
stopped he will jump clear of the water, and then will jump again just
to show that he means it. After that, as he is reeled in, he will
jump some more to keep up the interest. Ultimately, having acquired
the habit of coming toward the boat, he will continue to practise
it until he sees that craft, whereupon he is likely to start off at
a rate which makes his first rush seem slow and deliberate. Now and
then he will run down on the line for variety's sake, and then is
the time for the boatmen to get into action, for if he gets slack
line nothing remains but to bid him good-by as cheerfully as possible.
The largest specimen yet taken in the Philippines and actually
weighed was a hundred ten pound monster caught on a trolling line
trailed behind the coast guard cutter Polillo, on which I was making
an inspection trip along the west coast of southern Palawan.
The largest specimen yet taken with rod and reel weighed fifty-two
and eight-tenths pounds. It was brought to gaff in Biobican Bay by
Governor Leo J. Grove of Nueva Vizcaya.
Very numerous individuals weighing between twenty and forty-five
pounds have been captured, and the only reason why numbers of much
larger specimens have not been taken is that tackle was not strong
enough, or the skill of the fishermen was not sufficiently great. Big
barracudas have teeth that would do credit to small sharks, and have
sawed through or broken many a wire leader.
In the Philippines, as in other civilized countries, there are not
lacking narrators of good "fish stories." From Filipino residents
of San Juan, Siquijor, I recently heard a tale of a barracuda which
towed a native dugout boat all day, jumping frequently, and was
finally cut loose after dark by its disgusted would-be captors who
found themselves unable to tire it out!
Of tanguingui, or sail fish, there are at least two species. The
smaller commonly attains a weight of twenty to forty pounds. In the
open sea off the coast of Leyte I took a specimen which measured
sixty-four inches in length and weighed sixty-five pounds. It proved
to be of a species new to science. This magnificent fish, when fresh
from the sea, was a sight calculated to cheer a graven image.
Tanguingui fight much as do barracuda, except that they seldom jump
out of the water after being hooked unless pursued by sharks. This
seems strange, as under normal conditions they leap for the pure joy
of the thing, attaining heights which I hesitate to specify lest I
be held to have qualified for the Ananias club. I know of nothing
more startling in its way than the shock one gets when his eye has
missed the upward leap of a big tanguingui but catches the fish as
it is dropping back toward the sea, apparently from the clouds.
While barracuda and tanguingui may be taken throughout the year,
there seems to be a time when the fish of the latter species "run." At
all events they are found in great numbers during April and May in
the vicinity of Fortune Island, a short distance south of Manila Bay,
but are very scarce, or entirely absent, there during the remainder of
the year. I once visited the famous fishing grounds around Tanguingui
Island, north of Cebú, in August, only to be assured by a light-keeper
that I would find no fish at that season. He said that the barracuda
would return in November and the tanguingui in February. His prediction
as to the fishing in August promptly came true.
Pampano rank high among the game fish of the Philippines. What
will California coast fishermen, accustomed to taking little fellows
weighing a pound or two, say to fifty-pound individuals? I can imagine
what they would say if not confronted by hard facts, but the truth is
that a number of such pampanos have already been taken with rod and
reel in the Philippines, and that there are plenty more waiting to be
caught. During a trip to Palawan in December, 1911, Captain Tornroth of
the coast guard cutter Polillo took a forty-nine-pound specimen. The
same evening Dr. Victor G. Heiser, Director of Health, took an
individual weighing thirty-two pounds. The following August the record
was raised first to fifty-three pounds and then to sixty-three and
a half pounds, the latter fish being caught by Mr. Frank W. Sweitzer.
The pampano takes the hook with a rush and seldom misses his
strike. He never leaps while being played, but helps himself to line
very liberally at the outset and runs deep at once. A large specimen
is never satisfied until almost directly under the boat with several
hundred feet of line out, and will get bottom, snag the line on a sharp
point of rock or a branch of coral, and break away, if such a thing
is materially possible. A pampano never quits fighting until he is
in the boat, and is an adept at turning up his broad side after being
hooked and swimming in a circle, resisting to the utmost all efforts
to raise him. Under reasonably favourable circumstances it usually
takes from twenty minutes to half an hour to land a twenty-five-pound
individual. Pampano run in schools and when they once begin to bite
the fun is fast and furious.
The sergeant fish is one of the gamest fighters for his weight to
be met with in Philippine waters. He keeps up his determined rushes
until brought to the side of the boat and leaps frequently while
being played, at the same time making vigorous efforts to shake the
hook. None of the specimens so far taken have exceeded twenty pounds
in weight.
Ocean bonito are often met with in great schools and present a
wonderful sight when one drives one's boat among them and sees them
leaping high into the air, close at hand, on every side. The largest
specimen yet caught with rod and reel is a sixty-pounder taken by
Governor Forbes. I have seen numerous individuals which must certainly
have weighed a hundred pounds or more.
Red snappers weighing five to twenty pounds also occur in great
schools. They are usually caught with bait by sinking in deep water,
but at times take the spoon freely. The larger individuals make a
game fight. Annually during November and December these fish run in
very large numbers from Naujan Lake in Mindoro to the sea. Whether
or not they can be captured with rod and line while in fresh water
remains to be determined.
The lapu-lapu, or "groupers," of which there are twenty-four known
species in the Philippines, do not attain very great size, but are much
prized on account of the delicious flavour of their especially tender
flesh. Dr. Heiser has taken one weighing twenty-two pounds and I have
seen the dried flesh of one which must have weighed approximately forty
pounds. The colouring of a number of the species is extraordinarily
beautiful. Some are light gray with round blue spots; others carmine
red with blue spots over the body and blue lines and bars about the
head; others are dark blue with carmine spots. There seems no end to
the variety and beauty of the colour patterns, and each new one appears
for the moment more wonderful than those which one has seen before.
Lapu-lapu have a special fondness for crevices in the rocks, and
for holes in coral reefs, and in consequence are responsible for the
loss of much good tackle. One must fight them from the moment they
strike and give them no slack. The penalty for any carelessness in
this regard is a broken line.
Leather jacks, commonly called dorados in the Philippines on account
of their beautifully coloured yellow bellies, are extraordinarily
abundant at certain seasons of the year when they run into the shallow
waters at the heads of bays and sounds, apparently to spawn. When
encountered at all they afford good sport for their size, fighting
well and frequently making splendid leaps out of the water even after
they are brought close to the boat and are apparently tired out. They
commonly run from five to fifteen pounds in weight, but occasionally
reach eighteen or twenty pounds.
The Philippine giant sea-bass, or jewfish, belongs to the same family
as does the California species. While I was on shore at Mæander Reef in
August, 1911, numerous hand lines with which sailors were fishing from
the Polillo were carried away by jewfish. With the permission of the
captain, the ship's log line was then pressed into service. I returned
to the steamer just in time to assist in landing a hundred-and-thirty
pound specimen. A steam trawler, which operated for a short time in
the Philippines, took a specimen seven feet three inches in length,
which weighed three hundred thirty-four and a fourth pounds.
In Coron Passage during July, 1911, I fought a very large fish,
probably a jewfish, for an hour and twenty minutes, at the end of which
time his dead weight broke my line when Governor Forbes, who was with
me, attempted to lift him by it after he had indulged in a prolonged
sulk in deep water. Although I had fought him steadily, I could not
see that I had tired him in the least. In the course of the fracas
the butt of my rod had made a two by three inch black and blue spot
on my right leg and had worn the skin off over a similar area on my
left leg, while my abdomen lacked a good deal of epidermis and I was
tempted to believe that it lacked some dermis as well. My companions
who witnessed the fruitless fight christened this particular fish the
"sea carabao." [157]
Belt and socket should, of course, be used in fighting fish of such
size. Heavy cots for the thumb and first finger of the left hand and
the thumb of the right hand are very essential. I once got a badly
burned thumb because I thought that I was not likely to hook a fish
which would make a quarter-inch-thick leather brake heat through. A
big ocean bonito promptly undeceived me.
Very exciting sport may be had by harpooning the huge rays which
come to the surface in great numbers at certain seasons of the
year. Specimens thirty feet across have been taken in the vicinity of
the island of Siquijor. When one of these great fishes is harpooned,
Filipino fishermen make two or three large boats fast to it as soon as
possible for the reason that a single boat might be dragged under. Even
so the taking of giant rays is not unattended with danger, for they
make most extraordinary leaps into the air, and were one of them to
fall on a boat the result would be disastrous.
We have knowledge of the existence of other very large game fishes
which we have not as yet so much as seen. One species is taken by the
natives of Siquijor, who use a three-quarter inch Manila rope and fish
in water of considerable depth. A number of boats work close together
and as soon as a fish is hooked all flock to the assistance of the
lucky fisherman. A tremendous struggle then ensues and we are assured
that if the fish is landed, it makes a meal for a whole village. What
this species may be we do not know.
One of the charms of fishing in the Philippines lies in the fact
that one can never tell what one is going to strike next. At Mæander
Reef I took the first yellowtail ever caught in the islands with
rod and line. Doubtless there are plenty more where that one came
from. Indeed, yellowtails are common in the market at Zamboanga at
certain seasons. Off the coast of Mindoro I took the first dolphin
known to have been captured in these waters. On a recent trip I took
a large porgy of a species new to the Philippines and likely to prove
new to science. As yet we have hardly begun to explore the fishing
grounds. What shall we find among the swift currents of the Batanes
Islands, and what along the barrier reef of the unexplored east coast
of northern Luzón? No one knows!
Although some 1400 species of fish have already been reported from
the Philippines, new ones are constantly being added to the list, and
it is rather a rare event when a returning party of fishermen fails to
present the ichthyologist with one or more puzzles. On my first trip to
Apo Reef, Dr. Heiser hooked a tremendous fish which leisurely went its
way regardless of his efforts to control its movement. At one time it
deigned to come under the bottom of the launch and within forty feet of
the surface, where it could be seen with perfect distinctness. It was a
long, slender, gamy-looking creature weighing perhaps one hundred fifty
pounds, and it had vertical yellow bars on its sides. No such fish is
known from these waters. Having viewed the boat to its satisfaction,
it proceeded to go back to the reef and to take refuge under its
overhanging edge. Vigorous efforts to dislodge it, lasting for half
an hour, resulted only in sawing off a heavy wire leader.
One may tire for the moment of catching fish, but with a glass-bottomed
boat at his disposal he will never tire of looking at them as he
floats over the wonderful coral reefs for which the archipelago
is famous. Certainly there are no "sea gardens" anywhere which can
excel those of the Philippines. The powerful tropical sun penetrates
the marvellously clear sea water to a great depth, revealing marine
animal and plant life in endlessly varied and marvellously beautiful
forms which beggar description. Former Secretary of War Dickinson is
a rather serious-minded man, but when he gazed for the first time
through the glass bottom of a boat into one of these wonder houses
of nature, he shouted in his excitement and delight for all the world
like a small and enthusiastic boy.
In a few moments one may see fish of the most amazing forms
and extraordinarily bizarre colours: huge sharks; enormous rays;
great sea-turtles; clam shells big enough for children's bath-tubs;
sea-urchins; starfish; sea-anemones; jellyfish in endless variety
of form and colour; sea-fans; and many other varied forms of marine
animal and plant life.
When one grows weary of the water, one may land on snowy coral-sand
beaches, bordered by cocoanut palms, may visit old deserted Spanish
forts rapidly being invaded by rank tropical vegetation; may gather
exquisite orchids; or may for the time being substitute hunting for
fishing. In the Sulu Sea he may visit wonderful bird islands where
the feathered folk refuse to get out of his way and peck viciously
at his legs if he comes too near.
All these delightful experiences may be had without suffering
any discomfort from the Philippine climate, concerning which such
absurd ideas prevail among the uninformed. From November to March the
temperature is delightful, except during the midday hours of bright
days, when fish do not bite well in any event, and when sensible
people keep off the water.
Thus far I have referred only to those game fishes which I myself have
taken, or concerning which I happen to have personal knowledge. I
will now briefly summarize what is at present known about the game
fishes of the Philippines.
The albacore is fairly common, especially during the cooler months.
Amberjacks, reaching a length of two feet or more, are also common.
There are barracudas of seven different species, some of which attain
a length of six feet and weigh a hundred pounds or more.
Bonitos of four different species have been taken. The "ocean bonito"
and the "true bonito" are both abundant and afford fine sport. The
larger individuals sometimes attain a weight of a hundred pounds
or more.
There are six different species of croakers, also called
roncadores. Some individuals reach a weight of a hundred pounds.
Groupers, locally known as lapu-lapu, are found in great variety,
no less than twenty-four species having been recorded.
Hardtails, reaching a length of three feet, are abundant.
Leather-jacks, commonly called dorados, are also very abundant. They
take the spoon freely and fight well. In weight they commonly run
from five to fifteen pounds.
There are several small species of mackerel which are excellent table
fish and afford fair sport.
Pampanos are found in great variety, no less than thirty species
having already been recorded. Individuals weighing as much as fifty
pounds are not uncommon.
Porgies of twelve different species have been taken, and some of the
individuals have weighed up to thirty pounds.
Of snappers we have thirty-four known species. The red snapper
not infrequently attains a weight of twelve to fifteen pounds,
and the larger individuals fight well. At times they take the spoon
freely. The gray snapper runs up to forty pounds in weight and makes
a good fight. The rivulated snapper, which takes its name from the
form of its beautiful colour pattern, is a good game fish, and I have
seen specimens which weighed up to twenty pounds.
Sea-bass of two distinct species are common. Specimens weighing
fifty to seventy-five pounds are frequently seen in the markets. The
largest specimen as yet recorded from the islands weighed three
hundred thirty-four and a fourth pounds.
Spanish mackerel, or tanguingui, are common throughout the islands at
the proper season. A very intelligent Filipino collector of natural
history specimens in the service of the government, who saw my
sixty-five-pound specimen landed, assured me that he had previously
seen larger ones caught.
Swordfish, nine feet or more in length, may be taken during the
cooler months.
Tarpons up to five feet in length may be taken at the proper season,
off the mouths of large streams. The species is distinct from that
found in Atlantic waters, and the young take the fly freely.
Ten pounders, commonly called bid-bid in the Philippines, are not
uncommon, and in spite of their name often attain a weight of thirty
pounds.
Tunas. The great, or leaping, tunas are met with in large schools
during the winter months. The natives call them "cachareta." So far
as I am aware, none have yet been taken with rod and line, but their
capture is, of course, only a question of time.
I believe it certain that the Philippines will become a Mecca for
deep-sea fishermen, and to the end that piscatorial pilgrims may not
come in vain, reliable data are being gathered and compiled by the
Division of Fisheries of the Bureau of Science. The exact locations
where exceptionally good catches are made are being marked on a
comprehensive series of charts which cover the entire archipelago,
and an accurate card record is also kept giving full information as
to the localities where, the seasons when and the weather conditions
under which exceptional catches have been made. Fishermen seeking
fine sport and novel experiences will surely not be disappointed if
they come to the Philippines.
While it is possible to find sheltered waters at any season, and
to take fish throughout the year, our experience thus far seems to
justify the belief that the months from January to August are on the
whole the most favourable ones.
Fishermen may establish themselves at some favourable point, such
as one of the many excellent camping grounds on Malampaya Sound,
and work from this as a base, with no other water transportation
than the motor boats from which they fish. Those who wish to have a
good movable base of operations and to explore for themselves may, by
making seasonable application, secure the use of one of the government
coast guard boats at a cost of $115 a day. These convenient little
vessels measure one hundred forty-eight feet over all and draw nine
to eleven feet of water, according to the amount of coal carried and
its distribution. They are safe in all weathers. Most of them have
four good staterooms for passengers, with berths for eight people;
but as they are provided with good double awnings and have abundant
deck room, a much larger number of persons can be made comfortable, if
willing to sleep on deck, using the staterooms for dressing-rooms. As
a matter of fact, people who have been long in the islands seldom
think of sleeping inside. The coast guard boats readily carry four
motor boats on their davits, and two more might be placed on deck
forward. The Negros is especially fitted out, and has stateroom
accommodations for twenty people. All of these vessels have electric
light, refrigerating plants and distilling plants.
I know of nothing more delightful than to explore the shores and bays
of this wonderful archipelago in such a vessel, fishing and landing
when and where one pleases. With the certainty of fine weather during
the winter months the nights under the deck awnings are a delight, and
nothing will more promptly restore jangling nerves to a normal state,
straighten out impaired digestion and bring back vigorous health,
than will such a salt water fishing trip in the Philippines.
Ducks and snipe are the stand-bys for the hunters who love the
shotgun. A few years ago magnificent duck shooting was to be had
on the Laguna de Bay, as well as in the province of Bataan just
across the bay from Manila. Unfortunately the ducks on the Laguna
were educated by some stupid fellows who shot at them with a Colt
automatic gun. The ideas which they then developed as to danger zones
seem to have persisted ever since, and it is now difficult to get
within range of the great flocks which still continue to frequent
this the largest fresh-water lake in the Philippines.
Ducks have been shot in season and out of season around the water-holes
in Bataan and in the Candaba Swamp, as well as in the vicinity of
the fish pens in Bulacan. The shooting has fallen off rapidly here,
and in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, for the same cause. We are powerless
to remedy this condition. Some years ago a law was passed authorizing
the secretary of the interior to provide regulations governing the
seasons during which game might be shot, but through oversight no
penalty was provided for the infraction of these regulations, and
the assembly has persistently refused to amend the law in this respect.
On Naujan Lake in Mindoro, and elsewhere in the provinces, magnificent
duck shooting may still be had. The whistling tree-duck and the
Philippine mallard are the two species which afford the best sport,
although pin-tails, bluebills, widgeons, and blue- and green-wing teal
come in on migration as does a tiny goose, smaller than the ordinary
duck. Several other species stray into the southern Philippines from
the Celebes, while at least one Formosan species sometimes visits
the Batanes Islands.
Jacksnipe come to the islands in enormous numbers from Asia,
usually arriving about the middle of August in northern and central
Luzón and gradually working their way south to Mindanao. The return
migration commonly comes during February. The flight of the Asiatic
jacksnipe is exactly like that of his American brother. In fact only
an ornithologist can distinguish between the two species. A bag of
one hundred birds to the gun is by no means unusual at the height of
the season, and a strong sentiment is developing among Americans in
favour of limiting the bag.
There are very numerous species of pigeons and doves in the
Philippines. All of them are excellent table birds and several of
them offer good sport. If one can take up his position under a fruit
tree frequented by the great gray and green pigeons, known locally
as baluds, about the middle of the afternoon he will get a wonderful
series of shots at incoming birds flying fifty or more yards up in
the air. They approach very rapidly, so that one must lead them a
long distance, "pulling them out of sight" in order to bring them
down. One may burn many a cartridge before he learns the knack of
stopping these powerful, swift-flying birds. During certain seasons
the larger pigeons roost, in countless thousands, in trees on little
isolated cays remote from the larger islands, where wonderful shooting
may be had during the morning and evening flights.
Junglefowl, the ancestors of all our domestic breeds of poultry,
are to be found throughout the islands but only in a few places do
they offer much opportunity for the sportsman who likes to kill his
birds on the wing. Prior to the last eruption they were very numerous
on the slopes of Taal Volcano.
A party which happened to visit Cavilli, a small isolated coral island
in the Sulu Sea, once found it alive with junglefowl. No one else
has ever seen any there. Obviously a great flock flew in and then
flew away again.
Particularly fine sport may be had on Fuga Island by walking along
the edge of the forest in the late afternoon. The birds which are
then feeding in the open fly straight for cover and present difficult
cross shots.
The larger hornbills are very good to eat, but as easy to hit on
the wing as a fair-sized door sailing through the air would be,
so do not offer much sport.
Wild hogs are abundant throughout the archipelago. Deer are found on
nearly all of the islands, but there are several noteworthy exceptions,
such as Palawan and Cebú. The Filipinos are very fond of hunting
deer. Sometimes they run them down with dogs and drive them into
nets where they lance them--a most unsportsman-like proceeding. The
wealthier Filipinos like to take up their stations at good strategic
posts, and then have the country beaten toward them. In this way they
sometimes get fifty or more deer in a single drive. I have never been
able to see anything very exciting about this method of hunting.
It is very good sport, on occasion, to still-hunt deer. The best deer
shooting I have ever had was at what is called the Cogonal Grande in
the center of the island of Culion. It is a great circular valley
sloping very gradually toward the center. Its higher portions are
overgrown with cógon grass which gives the valley its name. Probably
it was once the bed of a lake. At all events its center is swampy at
the present time and has grown up into a hopeless jungle of pandanus,
bamboo grass, etc., through which runs a maze of deer paths. Numerous
little cañons lead down from the neighbouring hills to this valley
and each of them has forest in it.
In the month of December, when the cógon is dry, if fired it burns
toward the centre on all sides until the blaze reaches the wet
swampy portion where the vegetation is not dry enough to burn. If
dogs are then put into the little stretches of forest which run down
the ravines toward the open valley, they almost invariably drive out
deer which run straight for the tangle at its centre, necessarily
crossing ground which has been burned bare.
As a result one gets hard cross shots but has the advantage of seeing
every bullet strike, as the soil is very dry at this season. This
makes interesting shooting. One gets game enough to keep the camp in
meat and not enough so that he feels like a butcher.
Many hunters go out at night with bull's-eye lanterns, shine the
deer and fire at their eyes. This is not so bad as jacking them
from a boat, because a man who hunts on foot necessarily makes a
good deal of noise, and they are apt to become alarmed and run away,
whereas one can approach in a boat so silently that they do not hear
the noise of the paddles or the rippling of the water.
Hunting at night in this way in the Philippines is very
interesting. One sees all sorts of nocturnal animals which are never
met with by day, and also gets a good opportunity to pick up owls,
nighthawks and other birds which are not ordinarily taken except
by accident. However, the ordinary hunter is not an ornithologist,
and does not care for such opportunities.
Wild hogs are hunted much as are deer. They drive readily. On account
of the habit of the old boars of turning and facing dogs when the
latter molest them, it is easy to bring them down.
The common people kill wild hogs with spears after the dogs have
brought them to bay. This is by no means a safe undertaking, as some
of the old boars attain tremendous size, have very formidable tusks
and are capable of killing a man in short order if able to come to
close quarters with him.
The wild hogs of the Philippines are very cleanly beasts. They take
daily baths whenever possible, and often build for themselves beds
of clean, fresh brush. They are extremely intelligent animals, and
it is therefore very difficult to still-hunt them. In view of their
huge bulk and ungainly proportions the absolute silence with which
they move through the forests cannot fail to impress one who sees
them stealing quietly along. After being disturbed they make plenty
of noise as they rush away.
One of the best ways to still-hunt them is to secrete one's self near a
water hole which they frequent for bathing purposes, but their sense
of smell is very keen, and if the wind happens to blow in the wrong
direction they will not approach the place where a hunter is lying
in wait.
Wild hogs are fruit eaters for the most part, and their flesh is
delicious. They are enormously abundant on the island of Tawi Tawi,
where the durian tree abounds. The Moro inhabitants will not touch
them, and as food is very plentiful during much of the year the island
swarms with them, and they attain the largest size. Moros say that
during the fruit season they become so covered with fat that if pursued
for any length of time they fall, overcome by the heat and the running!
When I was in Tawi Tawi in 1901 with Dr. Bourns and a Filipino helper,
one of us took a rifle along each morning when we went out to collect
birds and in a few moments, after finishing his bird shooting for
the day, was able to kill hogs enough to keep not only our party but
the local Spanish garrison in meat, while the lard which our servants
tried out lasted us for more than a year thereafter.
There are two animals in the Philippines which can with propriety
be dignified by the name of "big game." These are the wild carabao,
which is still to be found in various parts of the archipelago, and
the tamarau, a true buffalo of a species which occurs nowhere in the
world except on the island of Mindoro.
The wild carabao is a formidable antagonist, hard to stop and a
vicious fighter after he is once wounded. Under ordinary circumstances
he is very wary and difficult to approach. It is highly important
in hunting him to use bullets with great stopping power. A number
of men have been killed in the Philippines by wild carabaos which
they had severely wounded. The most recent case which has come to
my knowledge was that of a Mr. Barbour, in Mindoro. He was an old
hand at the game, and had killed fifty-odd specimens. He shot a bull
three times and it dropped apparently dead. Walking close up to it he
dropped the butt of his rifle to the ground between his legs, and held
the barrel with his knees while trying to light a cigarette. Without
the slightest warning the injured bull sprang to its feet and drove
a horn completely through him, killing him instantly.
There is an interesting and unsettled question as to whether the
wild carabaos of the Philippines are indigenous to the islands or
are merely the descendants of imported animals which have made their
escape from captivity. My own opinion is that both beliefs are true
or, in other words, that we have both a native wild race and other
carabaos just as wild and just as fierce which are the descendants of
tame individuals. The ordinary wild bulls have comparatively short and
thick horns, while the bulls of the species found in Nueva Ecija and
in northern Luzón generally have long, slender, very sharp, strongly
curved horns. I believe that the latter animals belong to the true
native race.
Wild carabaos are found not only at various points in Luzón,
but abundantly in Mindoro and the Calamianes Islands. They appear
in considerable numbers in Masbate, Negros and elsewhere in the
archipelago.
To the inexperienced hunters who are inclined to try to bring them
down my advice is "Don't!"
Few indeed are the men who have killed so much as a single specimen of
the tamarau of Mindoro. It is a small jungle-inhabiting ruminant. Its
color, when adult, is precisely that of the carabao. It is, however,
a much smaller and more active animal. The bulls lose no opportunity
to attack carabaos, both domesticated and wild, and in spite of their
own inferior size kill them with apparent ease.
The tamarau is extremely muscular and when it charges, which it is
prone to do on very slight provocation, bores a hole through the
jungle vegetation, coming on with the speed and recklessness of a
rhinoceros. Under such conditions it is excessively hard to stop,
and when it pushes its charge home, woe be to the unlucky hunter. With
rare exceptions it attacks when wounded if it so much as catches sight
of a human being. Even when unmolested it not infrequently charges,
without warning, when one gets unduly near. It feeds at night, and
never lolls around in the water as does the carabao.
At the time I first came to the Philippines to collect natural history
specimens in 1887, this animal was known only from travellers'
tales and from what purported to be a stuffed individual in the
Dominican museum. It was certainly stuffed, being about as shapely as
a kerosene barrel. Its skin looked so exactly like that of a carabao
that uncharitable persons had suggested that it was an artifact.
At this time the most absurd tales about the tamarau were in
circulation. I was solemnly assured by one group of persons, who
claimed to have seen it, that it had only one horn which grew out of
the top of its head. Others were certain that it had two horns and
but a single eye.
We did not anticipate the good fortune of discovering either a unicorn
or a cyclops, but thought that there must be something behind all of
these remarkable stories.
After undergoing many hardships and performing much hard work, our
party succeeded in taking five individuals, the first ever killed
and properly preserved.
The best way to hunt these wary and dangerous animals is to pick
up a fresh trail early in the morning along some water course where
they come to drink during the night, and follow it as noiselessly as
possible. One is liable to jump the game at any moment. I shall never
forget my astonishment when, on climbing up a steep river bank and
diving into a tunnel through runo grass, I nearly fell over an old
bull. Ordinarily, however, no such luck awaits one. It is frequently
necessary to trail the quarry five or ten miles before one comes up
with it, and then the usual reward, after crawling through underbrush
and wriggling along on the ground, bitten by ants and mosquitoes,
torn by thorns and covered with pestiferous land leeches, is to hear
a terrific crash in the brush and never so much as catch a glimpse
of the animal which makes it. The tamarau sleeps during the day,
almost invariably lying down in the densest of jungle growth, facing
back upon its own trail. Furthermore, it is uncommonly likely to put
a bend in that trail before lying down, so that while one is still a
mile or two from it by the line which it followed, it may in reality
be not more than fifty or a hundred yards away.
A very skilful tracker is necessary if one is to have much hope of
success, and one should not fire, even after the game is in sight,
unless he can get a brain shot or can be certain of breaking the
spinal column; otherwise, he endangers his own life by shooting,
if the tamarau is at moderately close quarters.
I believe that no other ruminant is harder to kill outright. Certainly
there is no other approximating the tamarau in size which is so
tough. I refrain from chronicling my own experiences, as I am certain
that my statements would not be believed, and prefer to leave hunters
to find out for themselves how much shooting it takes to put one of
these extraordinary beasts out of commission.
There is one place in Mindoro called Canturai, where tamarau may be
taken with comparative ease. It was described to me, in Spanish days,
as an extensive open area with a conical hill near its centre, and
I was told that by burning the grass and sleeping on the hill one
could readily get early morning shots at tamarau which came out to
lick up the ashes.
But various other stories had also been told me, and one and all
had proved false. I had dug pitfalls for the wary beasts in vain. I
had perched in trees, devoured by mosquitoes, and with hard branches
cutting into my flesh, waiting for some pugnacious bull to come out
and fight a tame carabao fastened at a convenient distance from my
hiding place, all to no purpose. Under such conditions a tamarau once
came and bellowed around in the bushes, but did not show himself. I
had heard tales of men who rode tamarau down on horseback and lanced
them, and these yarns I knew to be false. So I never took the trouble
to look up the Canturai story, worse luck, for it proved to be true.
American soldiers occupied Mindoro for years before one of them
succeeded in killing a tamarau. Finally a party of officers went to
Canturai and the first morning they shot seven! Various other persons
who have since gone there have had extraordinary luck, although several
have narrowly escaped being killed, owing to their folly in following
wounded animals into the cógon grass.
A tamarau pursued under such circumstances will almost invariably
back off at right angles to its own trail, wait for its pursuers to
come up, and charge them, giving them no time to fire.
Young calves are as wild as their parents, and I am credibly informed
will often endeavour to attack female carabaos if an attempt is made
to get them to regard these animals in the light of foster mothers.
It is a curious fact that calves, and in fact young animals up to a
year or more of age, are of a light reddish colour closely resembling
that of some Jersey cattle. Their coats turn dark later on. Their
horns, too, are at first circular in cross-section. Later they become
triangular.
When pursued, tamarau cows have a curious fashion of passing their
heads under their calves, raising them with the horns pressed down in
such a way as to hold them against their necks, with forelegs hanging
on one side and hindlegs on the other, and running with them. All
in all, they are very interesting beasts, and we still have much to
learn about them. The man who attempts to hunt them with anything
but a heavy and thoroughly reliable rifle is a fool.
Crocodiles of the largest size frequent many of the streams and most
of the lakes in the Philippines. They are also to be seen occasionally
on sandbars rising out of the sea. Doubtless they will some day be
shot for their hides, but as yet they are left undisturbed, unless
they display special proclivities for eating human beings, valuable
horses or fat cattle. The Filipinos claim that with crocodiles the
liking for human flesh is an acquired taste, and that it is only
in comparatively rare instances that they become man-eaters, as do
tigers. I believe that this is true. Certainly, I have seen a clear
pool full of happy Tagbanua children with a big crocodile lying in
plain sight at the bottom of it. On the other hand, I have known of
individual crocodiles, of evil reputation, each of which have killed
numbers of human beings. In one little pool crossed by a trail which
I have had occasion frequently to use in Cagayan province ten persons
were pulled down and devoured in three years. Most men who use the
rifle sooner or later become interested in putting these vicious
reptiles out of the way whenever opportunity offers.
Hunters and fishermen, in search of new and exciting experiences,
will not fail to meet with them in the Philippines, and the tourist
will find there much that is picturesque, strange or wonderful.