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.