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.