A NATIVE PLOUGH IN LUZON.
"It would be difficult to name all the services he performs for the natives. If you look at Gironiere's book, you will find it stated that the Indian associates the buffalo with nearly everything he does, and from my observation I fully believe it. With the buffalo he ploughs, and on his back he rides or transports articles across mountains, by paths where even a mule would be unable to go. The Indian also uses the buffalo for crossing rivers and small lakes; he sits or stands on the broad back of the animal, which patiently enters the water, and often drags behind him a small cart that floats on the surface. As you go farther into the country you will see more of the buffalo, and learn how to appreciate him."
A BUFFALO YOKE.
At this point of the conversation the party arrived at the edge of a field where some twenty or more natives were at work, under the charge of a half-caste overseer. Some were ploughing with buffaloes or oxen, and others were driving the same animals in harrows. The boys stopped to examine the implements used by the natives, and found they were of a character that would be called exceedingly primitive in America. The plough consisted of only four pieces of wood and two of iron, and the workmanship was such that almost any man could produce witha few rough tools. Their guide told them that the wood came from the forests of Luzon, and cost only a few cents, and the pieces of iron for mould-board and share were sold in Manilla for half a dollar the set.
The next thing considered was the yoke for the buffalo; and while Frank sketched the plough, Fred made a drawing of the yoke, which was a single piece of wood made to fit the animal's neck, and bring the draught to the middle of the shoulder. It was held in place by a short rope passing under the neck, and the traces were fastened to the ends of the wood. "A plough, yoke, and traces, for a single buffalo, ought not to cost more than a dollar," Fred remarked; and the Doctor quite agreed with him. The further observation was made that when two or more buffaloes were used, they were harnessed "tandem," and not side by side as with oxen in most parts of the world.
NATIVE WOODEN PLOUGH AND YOKE FOR OXEN.
A stronger and heavier plough was shown to our friends, and Mr. Segovia explained that it was intended for oxen instead of buffaloes, and was used for stirring the ground where the lighter plough was insufficient. Frank observed that the yoke was not supplied with bows, after the American plan, but had a couple of upright pins at each end to enclose the neck of the ox. When the team is to be made up, the yoke is held over the necks of the animals, and dropped into place; and if they are at all restive, the space at the lower ends of the pins is closed by means of a cord. A rope, instead of a chain, forms the connection between the yoke and the beam of the plough. The latter has only one handle, on the theory that the ploughman needs the use of oneof his hands for guiding his team, and consequently a double hold on the plough is impossible.
THE COMB HARROW.
From the ploughing-ground they passed a little farther on to where a stretch of muddy ground was being harrowed, so as to make it ready for planting rice. Two or three inches of water covered the ground, and the object of the harrowing was to convert the water and earth into a bed of liquid mud. For this purpose a novel kind of implement was used; it was called a comb harrow, and had a single row of iron teeth fixed in a wooden frame. The traces of the buffalo were fastened so that they had a tendency to draw the teeth forward, and the machine was steadied by a handle or cross-bar parallel to the beam in which the teeth were placed. It was a simple and very effective instrument, and Frank thought it might be used to advantage on certain parts of his father's farm in America.
The soil of the Philippine Islands is, in general, so rich that it yields very bountifully; and, as it is in the tropics, there is no season of frost, and snow, when cultivation must cease. Agriculture goes on through the entire year, and on some parts of the soil three and occasionally four crops can be raised. The year is divided into the wet season and the dry; in the former, the rain falls in torrents, and fills the rivers and lakes, together with artificial reservoirs, where water is stored for irrigating the fields in the time of drought. Crops are made to follow each other so that the soil may not be exhausted by repetitions; thus, in the mountain districts, it is customary to plant the ground with rice, and, as soon as it is gathered, it is followed by a planting of tobacco.
Formerly the island of Luzon produced large quantities of pepper for exportation, but at present there is hardly enough grown there to supply the local demand. Fred asked the reason of this, and was told the following story:
"The price of pepper was fixed by a measure called aganta, which was used by both sellers and buyers. The Philippine Company had the monopoly of the pepper-trade, and were making a fine profit out of it, but it seems they were not satisfied to let well enough alone. One year, when the pepper-growers came to Manilla to sell their product for the season, they found that the agents of the Company had altered the measureby making the ganta of the Company double the ganta of the Indians, so that the sellers were enormously cheated. The Indians were angry at this trick, and immediately went home, destroyed their pepper plantations, and devoted their attention to other articles of culture."
"Served the Company right," said the boys, "provided the poor Indians were able to get along with something else."
"As to that," was the reply, "they were not likely to suffer, as they could raise tobacco, rice, sugar, and two or three other things, on the same ground; but it is proper to say that there are few articles that can be cultivated as easily as pepper. Pepper requires very little care; all that is needed is to take a little twig of it, bend the two ends together, cover the middle with a little earth, and tie the ends to a prop of wood six or eight feet long. The plant grows and clings to the prop till it reaches its top, and there it stays and takes care of itself. The owner has only to remove the weeds once in a while, and to stir up the earth around the foot of the plant so that it can absorb plenty of moisture. The grains are gathered as fast as they change from green to black, and are then spread out in the sun and dried."
TAGAL INDIANS CLEANING RICE.
From the fields where they saw the natives at work, our friends proceeded on their ride. Sometimes they were in the open country, and then in the forest; and as they rode along, their guide called their attention to many things of interest. The forest was rich and luxuriant, and sometimes the vines and creepers were so numerous that it was difficult to proceed. There were pitcher-plants hanging from the trees, and two or three times the excursionists drank from them to slake their thirst. A wild boar was roused from his lair, but, as the party was unprovided with hunting weapons, he was not pursued, and the same was the case with a deer that came bounding across their path. In one part of the forest several wild monkeys chattered from the tops of the trees, and made grimaces at the intruders; but they were not otherwise disturbed than by the presence of the strangers.
They came at length to the shore of the lake, and dismounted. The boys suggested that a bath in the tepid water would be agreeable; but their guide shook his head very impressively, and remarked that their lives would not be worth much after they took their first plunge.
"Why so?" inquired one of the boys.
"Because," was the reply, "the lake swarms with crocodiles, and you would be in the jaws of one of them before you could swim a dozen yards."
As he spoke, he pointed to a dark object on the surface of the water a hundred yards or so from shore. At first glance it appeared like a log of wood, and so the strangers would have considered it but for the special direction they had received.
The boys regarded it a few moments with great attention, and then Fred cried out,
"I believe it's the head of a crocodile!"
"And I, too," said Frank. "Perhaps he'd like to have us take a bath here; but we won't do anything of the kind."
"It is quite unsafe to bathe here," said Mr. Segovia, "and after what you have seen you are not likely to venture; but we will mount our horses, and ride a few miles back from the lake to where there is a pretty cascade with a fine pool below it; there you may have a bath without the least danger."
CASCADE NEAR JALA-JALA.
They suited the action to the word, and were off on the instant. A smart ride of half an hour brought them to the cascade, which is on the estate of Jala-jala, and the boys were soon having a gay time in the pure water that came rolling over the rocks. The Doctor sat down on the bank and made a sketch of the scene, and the native guides climbed to a niche half-way up the rocky side of the cascade by means of a longliana, or hanging plant, that abounds in the forests of the Eastern islands. After half an hour at the cascade the party returned to their horses, which were waiting a short distance away, and as the afternoon was well advanced, it was determined to make all haste to the house, where dinner would be awaiting them, in accordance with the promise of their host.
THE HOUSE AT JALA-JALA.
On the way back, Mr. Segovia had a short conference with Doctor Bronson while the boys were riding ahead. It was evidently concerning Frank and Fred, as the Doctor assured his friend that the youths were both of excellent disposition, and could be relied upon in an emergency. "If you take them along," said he, "you will find they will be perfectlycool and self-possessed, and will not make the least interference with any of your plans."
"In that case," the gentleman responded, "it is all right, and we will make the excursion to-morrow."
Frank and Fred overheard the latter part of the conversation, but they were too well bred to ask any questions. They were satisfied to let events develop themselves, and meantime they devoted their attention to the practical matters that surrounded them.
"What an interesting ride we've had!" said Fred, as they passed near a rice-field where the young plants were just pushing above the ground. "I might get tired of looking at these rice-fields after a while, but don't see any signs of it yet."
"What I would like to see," Frank responded, "is a string of fields with all the different kinds of rice growing side by side. How many do you suppose there are?"
"I can't tell, I'm sure."
STACKING RICE IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
"One of the books we bought says there are more than thirty kinds of rice grown in the Philippine Islands, all quite distinct in color, form, and weight of the grain. They are divided into two classes—mountain rice and aquatic rice; but the mountain variety can be treated just like the aquatic rice, and it will grow."
"Mountain rice," Fred continued, "grows on the higher ground, where it is not liable to inundations from the rivers, but the aquatic rice needs a great deal of water, and the fields must be very moist all the time it is growing, or till it gets near ripening. It is like the rice raised in the United States, and in Japan and China; and the rice-swamps of Luzon are probably just as unhealthy as those of the Southern States of America, that we used to hear so much about."
"Do all the kinds of rice yield the same?" Frank asked.
"Some of them are better than others," Fred answered; "at least the book says so. Some kinds return thirty, some forty, and some eighty fold—that is, from a bushel of seed they get thirty, forty, or eighty bushels. The best rice generally does not yield so well as the poorer varieties, so that what they make up in one way they lose in another by the end of the year."
"When the rice is harvested it is put up in high stacks, with a roof of pandanus-leaves on top to keep out the wet. That must be a rice stack over there," said Fred, as he pointed to a circular enclosure a little distance away. "Yes, and there are several stacks with a fence around them, and a clump of bamboo-trees in the centre. I suppose they put the rice there to dry, and when it is ready it will be thrashed out."
They passed the enclosure, and a little farther on there was a group of Indians engaged in pounding rice to separate the grain from the husk. The apparatus was exceedingly primitive, being simply a mortar with a heavy pestle, which was raised in the air and then brought down with all the power of the person who was wielding it. Just then the Doctor and Mr. Segovia rode up, and the latter explained that, while mills forcleaning rice were in use all over the islands wherever rice was grown, many of the natives preferred the old process, and were contented with the mortar and pestle. "In the back regions," said he, "where mills are scarce, they thrash the rice from the stalk by treading it out with buffaloes, and remove the hulls as you see them now."
Frank asked if there was any variation in the rice-crop from year to year, so as to make its cultivation a matter of uncertainty.
THE PHILIPPINE LOCUST.
"There is not much variation," said the gentleman, "but we can never be certain of a crop till it is gathered. A short supply of water may dry up the fields, and too much rain may inundate them and wash the plants out, but this is not often. The greatest uncertainty is with the locusts, as they come suddenly, and sometimes destroy an entire crop in a day or two."
"How often do you have the locusts?" one of the boys asked.
"About once in seven years," was the reply. "They come from the islands farther south, and you can hardly realize the desolation they make till you have seen it. A reddish-colored cloud is seen on the horizon; it comes nearer and nearer, and is frequently ten or twelve miles from one side to the other, and occupies five or six hours in passing over. This cloud is formed of millions and millions of locusts, and sometimes it is so dense that the sun is darkened the same as when a thunder-shower rises. If the locusts perceive a green field they fall upon it, and in an hour every vestige of verdure has disappeared; then they rise and move on to join their companions in the air, and the different parts of the column seem to take turns in feeding. When enough have come down to cover a field, the rest move on, and those who have satisfied their appetites take their places in the rear. In the evening they halt in a forest and rest on the limbs of the trees, and frequently so many of them cover a limb that it breaks off and falls to the ground. When they leave in the morning, the forest looks as though every tree had been struck and shattered by lightning; the leaves are all gone, the limbs are broken, and the ground is strewn with the scattered fragments. At certain periods they remain on broad plains, or the sides of fertile mountains, and lay their eggs. Three weeks later the eggs are hatched, and the young locusts appear; they live upon whatever green food they can find till theirwings are formed, and then they fly away to do their work of devastation."
Dinner was ready on their arrival at the house, and the party sat down to it with excellent appetites—the result of their ride over the estate. All went to bed early, as the hint was given that the next day would be a fatiguing one. But the character of the sport to be provided was not given.
They breakfasted early, and immediately started in a boat that was ready at the little pier in front of the house. Two boats had already gone ahead of them, and while the boys were wondering what was to be done, the Doctor called their attention to something below the surface of the water. The boys looked, and speedily discovered that the strange object was a huge crocodile.
"There's no fear of him," said Mr. Segovia, "as he happens to be dead."
"How was he killed?" Frank asked.
"I can't say positively," their guide replied, "but he has probably been shot at by somebody, and died in consequence."
"The crocodile is very difficult to kill, as his scaly hide will turn a bullet, except in a few places. The most vulnerable point is behind the foreleg, where the skin is comparatively thin; and if you can creep up to within fifty yards of a sleeping crocodile, and lodge a ball in that spot, he is done for. If you make use of explosive balls, so much the better, as you then tear a great hole in him, and disturb his organs of digestion and respiration. Nineteen-twentieths of the crocodiles that are shot at escape apparently unharmed, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that many of them afterward die from the effect of their wounds."
"How is that?"
"If a crocodile has ever so small a scratch in his skin, it is his death-warrant. He lies down to sleep in the mud, the shrimps find the scratch and begin eating at it, and in a little while they enlarge it to a huge wound. They continue to eat away at it, are joined by other occupants of the water, and in the course of a week or two the crocodile is literally devoured. He has nothing to do but die, and so he climbs to a sand-bank or sinks to the bottom of the lake, and ceases to be a terror to the inhabitants of the shore.
A NATIVE WOMAN SEIZED BY A CROCODILE.
"I was one day down by the shore of the lake," the gentleman continued, "where a little stream flows in from the forest. One of the female servants of the house was sitting near the bank, when a huge crocodilerose suddenly from the water and seized her. A herdsman was on the opposite bank of the stream with his rifle; he fired, but apparently to no purpose, as the crocodile disappeared into the water, and carried the unfortunate woman with him. A month later his body was found on a sand-bank several miles away, and an examination showed that the shrimps had made an entrance through the scratch caused by the bullet, and as soon as this was done the death of the crocodile was only a questionof time. The identity of the murderer was established by the earrings of the woman in his stomach.
A HUGE CAPTIVE.
"I once had a fight of three or four hours with a crocodile that had entered a narrow lagoon connecting with the lake, and seized a horseman who was crossing. We made a strong net of ropes, and stretched it across the entrance of the lagoon to prevent his escape into the lake; then we lashed two canoes side by side, and with long poles stirred the bottom till he rose to the surface. As he opened his mouth to attack us, we sent a couple of explosive balls down his throat with as many Remington rifles, and another was lodged in his skin under the foreleg, when he turned about to dive. He went down and tried to break through the net, but it was too strong for him, and then it took an hour or more to urge him to show himself again. We fired nearly a dozen balls into him, and at last he caught his head in the net when he was about expiring; we drew him to the shore, and found, on taking his measurement, that he was twenty-seven feet long, and had a girth of eleven feet around the body just behind the fore-legs.
"So much for the crocodile, but we are not going to hunt him to-day; we are in pursuit of game that lives on land, and is not amphibious. Iffortune favors us we will capture a wild boar, and perhaps we may find something else before the day is over."
Then it became clear to the boys what was meant by the boats in advance. They contained the dogs, guns, ammunition, provisions, and other things for the day's sport, together with a dozen or more men to act as beaters, and stir up the game. The Doctor told them they were bound for a point half a dozen miles up the shore, where horses had been sent around by land to meet them.
In due time the hunting-party was at the appointed place, and the beaters set out for their share of the work, followed by the hunters. It was expected that a wild boar would be stirred up not more than a mile or two away, as this kind of game was plentiful, and had not been much hunted of late. In fact, one was stirred up, but in a manner quite different from what had been looked for.
A WILD BOAR ATTACKED BY A BOA-CONSTRICTOR.
While the party was on its way through the forest to the point where the hunt was to begin, the screams of a wild boar were heard, as though the animal was in great agony. Mr. Segovia was the first to hear the sound, and immediately he dashed off, and was followed by the rest. The sound appeared to come from a tall tree that could be seen rising above the rest; the brushwood near it was so dense that the horses could not get through, and so our friends dismounted and proceeded on foot. The sight that met their eyes was an astonishment to the boys!
A great snake had caught a wild boar in his coils, and was slowly lifting him from the ground, while the victim was manifesting his terror in his loudest tones. The Doctor was about to fire at the snake, but at a sign from Mr. Segovia he stopped, and the party stood in a place of concealment to see the end of the combat between, as Frank expressed it, "the boa and the boar."
When he had lifted the boar clear from the ground the snake swung him against the tree, crushing his bones and killing him. Then he let his prey fall, and proceeded to unwind himself and descend preparatory to eating his breakfast. As he loosened his coil the signal was given for the Doctor to fire; and, as he had an explosive bullet in his rifle, he shattered the head of the snake completely. The serpent fell to the ground at once; he lashed the trees and bushes in a frightful way, but as he was totally blinded by the smashing of his head, he could do no damage to anybody. The attendants came forward and secured some bamboo loops around the reptile's neck, and suspended him from the tree, where he continued to twist and turn till the party moved on. The natives said that these contortions would continue for hours, and that they rarelyceased till sundown, even though the head of the snake had been detached before noon.
As they moved on to their hunting-ground, our friends discussed the incident of the morning, and wondered if they would see anything more of the same sort. Mr. Segovia told the boys that the boa-constrictor was a very common snake in the Philippines, and sometimes grew to greatsize, though less so than in Sumatra and Borneo. "He is far less dangerous than you might suppose," said he, "as he rarely attacks man, and there is no poison in his bite; in fact, he has no bite at all, and his mode of killing his prey is by crushing it as you have just seen. Once in a while a native is killed by a boa, but the occurrence is rare, and generally owing to the carelessness of the victim rather than the superior cunning of the snake. He is not very active in his ordinary movements, but if roused he can display considerable agility, when the size of his body is considered.
FIGHT WITH A GREAT SNAKE.
"I once had a fight with a boa that had taken refuge in a crevice among the rocks, where my dogs found him. They barked furiously, and the snake tried to reach them with his jaws, but they were very agile in their movements, and managed to elude him. I came up with my men, and sheltering myself behind a rock close to the crevice, took careful aim, reserving my fire till his head was poised for a blow. I put a large ball through his head, and soon afterward another through his body, and then his writhings were furious; he twined himself round the rocks and bushes within his reach, and in so doing overturned a large rock, that fell on one of his folds and pinned him down. In thisposition he continued to dart his head from side to side with great rapidity, and with such force that a blow from it would have been no small matter. In an hour or so his strength gave way; I had sent one of my men for assistance in skinning the snake, and by the time the re-enforcements arrived the reptile was in a condition to be lashed up to the nearest tree. He measured nearly seventeen feet in length, and his skin was most beautifully marked.
"There are several venomous serpents in the Philippines, one of the most dangerous being thedajon-palay, or rice-leaf. The only antidote to its bite is to burn the wound with a red-hot iron or live coal, and this operation must be performed very quickly, to prevent the spread of the poison. There is another called thealin-morani, which is as bad as the other, and perhaps worse, as it makes a wound that is deeper, and therefore more difficult to cauterize. It grows to the length of eight or ten feet, and lives in the thickest part of the forest; its habitation may sometimes be known by observing the movements of the eagles, and the prudent hunter will keep as far away from it as possible. The eagles are its great enemy, and attack it fiercely; two of them generally fight together, and in such a case the snake has very little chance of escape."
A STAG-HUNT IN LUZON WITH HORSES AND DOGS.
A little while after the incident with the snake the party came to where the servants were waiting for them with breakfast: according to the custom of the East, the early meal taken at the house was a slight affair, so that by the middle of the forenoon one is apt to get fairly hungry. They sat down under a shady tree, and discussed the good things before them with a relish that came from the walk and ride through the open air and the excitement of the scenes of the morning. The boys were much amused at seeing the way the natives cooked their rice in a piece of bamboo, and served it up all fresh and hot. This is the process:
A green bamboo is cut in the forest, and one of the hollow joints is separated from the rest of the stalk; the rice is put inside the bamboo, with a sufficient quantity of water to cook it, and then both ends are loosely closed. The bamboo is then laid in the fire as if to burn it; it gets somewhat charred on the outside, but, before it reaches the point of burning through, the rice is cooked and ready to be poured out. Thus you can always be sure, in the region of the bamboo, of having a kettle for cooking your rice, although you have not brought one along.
When breakfast was over the hunters were assigned to their various stands, as the hunt was to be of the kind known as a battue. The beaters go out and drive up the game, which is induced to run in the direction where the marksmen are standing to receive it; the latter have nothing to do but remain quiet, and shoot at the animals as they go past them. There was a sufficient number of guns for the three strangers as well as their host, and so the boys were assigned to places by themselves, instead of standing with their elders. Quite naturally, they were proud of the honor thus shown them, and each was hoping very earnestly, though he did not say so aloud, to do something worthy of the occasion.
They were instructed not to fire except in certain directions, lest they might endanger the lives of others, and they faithfully promised not toviolate the order; then, when the horn was blown in a particular way, they were not to fire at all, as the beaters would be close upon them, though invisible through the underbrush, and might be hurt through carelessness.
"It is an even chance," the Doctor remarked, "whether we get a deer or a wild boar first. The latter are the more numerous in this forest, but the others are the best runners, and the more easily disturbed. We will see."
A HOWLING MONKEY.
So saying, he went to his post, while the boys went to theirs. For half an hour or so there was nothing to indicate the possibility of game, with the exception of some monkeys in a neighboring tree, that kept up a perpetual chatter on account of the disturbance of their seclusion. There were several varieties of these brutes, but they kept so far away that their character could not well be made out. There was one kind, larger than the rest, that appeared to be a champion howler, as he occasionally set up a most unearthly noise that could have been heard for a long distance. Frank had a good view of one, and said he was a sort of maroon color, with a red beard, and had a swelling under his neck, from which he brought out the music. "He seems to enjoy it," said Frank, "and if he can be happy by making such an outrageous tumult, by all means let him have his fun."
DEER IN A TROPICAL FOREST.
By-and-by the barking of the dogs was heard in the distance; it slowly approached, and then everybody made ready to do the best possible work with his weapon. A crash was heard among the brushwood, and soon a fine deer came bounding out of the wood, and ran directly toward Fred's place.
Fred brought his gun to his shoulder, and when the deer was not more than twenty feet away the youth fired. The aim was good, and the whole charge passed into the shoulder of the animal just over the region of the heart. With one bound he fell dead at the feet of the young hunter.
A moment later came the report of Frank's gun, and with a result equal to that of Fred's shot. The two boys were about to give a loudhurrah, when the Doctor motioned them to silence; it was his turn and that of their host to have a chance at something.
In less than ten minutes two other deer appeared, and were brought down by the guns of the elders of the party. Another deer ran past them, but he was too far away for a good shot, and as they now had plenty of venison, they allowed him to go unharmed.
The beaters soon appeared, and then the deer-hunt was declared at an end. "We will now go," said Mr. Segovia, "to a place where there are plenty of wild boars and fewer deer. Unless you have a most excellent opportunity for a shot, do not trouble yourself about deer, but devote your attentions to the wild boars, which you will find no easy brutes to kill."
"And perhaps," the Doctor added, "you may as well let the largest of them go undisturbed, and only shoot the young fellows; the old boars are dangerous when wounded, and we don't want to go home with holes torn in our skins by their tusks."
POND SCENE IN LUZON.
The boys promised to obey the directions that had been given, and took the places assigned to them. They were not far from a little pond, which had a thick growth of tropical trees and plants all round it, and there was so little wind blowing that the water was like a mirror, and reflected its banks with great distinctness. Frank was so intent upon studying the picture that he did not pay proper attention to the hunt, and before he was aware of it a fair-sized pig had dashed by him, and disappeared in the thick underbrush.
A moment later a shot was heard from the Doctor's gun, and then another came ringing through the woods, followed by a shout from Fred for assistance. Frank ran to his cousin, and found that he had wounded a boar, but had not killed him, and while he was reloading his gun the weapon became clogged, and the cartridge would neither go back nor forward. The boar was dashing wildly about, and threatening danger to the youth; the latter was endeavoring to keep a tree between himself and the infuriated beast, and, with his disabled gun in his hand, was somewhat awkwardly situated.
"Finish him! finish him!" said Fred, "and be quick about it!"
Frank performed the finishing touch almost as soon as Fred pronounced the words. The boar fell dead at the shot, and gave Fred the opportunity to devote his entire attention to putting his gun into a serviceable condition again. In a few minutes the refractory cartridge was removed, and then the boys surveyed their game.
"Seems to me he's a good-sized one," said Fred; "and see, he has a pair of tusks; they are not large, but we must keep them as a trophy of our day's hunting in Luzon."
"Yes," replied Frank, "but how shall we divide a pair of tusks? We must shoot another like him, and then we can have a fair trophy for each of us."
"We'll stay here together," Fred answered, "and when the next one comes we'll both shoot him, and the honors will be equal."
Just as he spoke there was another crash in the bushes, and a boar, that might have been a brother of the dead one, made his appearance. Frank was first to fire, and Fred immediately followed with a shot. Between them they killed the animal, and in such a way that neither could claim all the glory of the slaughter. As Fred had predicted, the honor was divided, and they were partners in possession of the game.
Other shots soon followed from the Doctor and their host; and then there was a long interval, with not a sound to break the stillness. Then the beaters made their appearance; the horn was blown to announce the end of the hunt, and the party assembled for the return homeward. Everybody was in fine spirits, as the chase had been successful, not only for the party collectively, but for each individual. The attendants went to collect the game, and, when it was all brought together, there was a goodly amount of it. Four deer and seven wild hogs comprised the result of the day's shooting, without counting the snake; Frank thought the latter should be included, and remarked that snake-shooting was fairly entitled to be ranked as hunting, when the snake was a large one.
A PAVAVA.
The transportation of the game was something to be considered. Mr. Segovia solved the problem by suggesting that he had sent to an Indian village, a mile or so away, for a pavava. This and the pack-horses would be sufficient; but he had told the attendant to bring a couple of pavavas if he could get them.
One of the boys very naturally inquired what a pavava was, as he had never heard the word before.
"We shall meet it on our way to the boat," was the reply. "It is a sort of sled or cart made by the Indians, and used for purposes of transportation, and it is drawn by a single buffalo. There are a couple of runners which curve so that their rear ends only rest on the ground, while the front of the vehicle is supported by the shafts. The frame and body of the pavava are of bamboo, and so are the shafts; the collar of the buffalo is of heavier wood, and the roof of the concern is of pandanus-leaves, over a frame of light bamboo. It is so light that a man can easily lift it, and it will hold as heavy a load as one buffalo can draw."
Having acquired this information, the boys next wished to know something about the wild boar, and especially about those they had killed—whether they were to be considered first, second, or third class. On this subject the Doctor enlightened them.
"The ones you have killed," said he, "are probably about two years old, and therefore are not first class. The boar does not attain his full size and strength till he is four years old; the proper classification is like this: first year, pig of the saunder, or briefly 'pig;' second year, hog of the second, or 'hog;' third year, hog-steer; and fourth year, and afterward, wild boar, or sanglier. You have killed a pair of 'hogs,' and very good ones they are. They probably weigh about two hundred pounds each, and when we get to Jala-jala we will put them on the Fairbanks scales we saw there yesterday, and see how far out I am in my guessing."
Frank wished to know if these animals were natives of the Philippine Islands, or had been brought there from some other country.
"The hog was originally unknown in a natural condition in America, Australia, and the Pacific islands," replied Doctor Bronson, "and his presence there is due to the early navigators, who turned pigs loose in the forests, and allowed them to shift for themselves. The Spaniards did so in the Philippines three hundred years ago, and it is to them that we owe the great number in the forests of Luzon. Those you have killed are descended from the original importations of the Spaniards, just as the wild hogs in the forests of South America, and on the many islands of the Pacific, are descended from those left by Captain Cook and other explorers."
Fred asked how large these animals became when left to themselves for years in the forest.
"That depends on circumstances," the Doctor answered. "Some of them have been known to weigh four hundred pounds, and occasionally you hear of one that tips the scale at five hundred. I saw one in India that weighed four hundred and fifty-six pounds, and had tusks about ten inches long. The peculiarity of the wild boar is his powerful tusks; they have an awkward appearance, but he can do terrible execution with them, ripping up the flank of a horse as though the horn of a bull had passed through it, and tearing a dog or man to pieces in a few moments. As I told you, when we started in on the hunt, it is well to be cautious about attacking a full-grown boar, on account of the danger from his tusks."
SKULL OF BABIRUSA.
"In some of the islands of the Malay Archipelago," he continued, "there is a species of wild hog called thebabirusa, that does not seem to belong to the hog family as we know it. Its legs are longer, and its body is more slender than in the rest of the swine species; it does not root in the ground, but lives on the fruit which falls from the trees. The tusks of the lower jaw are very long and sharp, but the upper ones, instead of growing downward in the usual way, are curvedupward and backward to near the eyes, and sometimes they attain a length of eight or ten inches. These tusks do not seem to be of any use, except to protect the eyes from the thorns of the trees and bushes where the animal lives. The babirusa is quite as fierce as the ordinary wild boar, and is more fond of the water. He will take to a pond or river when pursued, and is said to swim with great ease."
"The chase of the wild boar has been a recognized sport in all ages; we read of it in ancient histories as well as in modern ones, and in certain periods of the world it was more fashionable than any other form of hunting. During the Middle Ages it was highly popular in England and on the Continent, but in our day the wild boar has disappeared from England entirely, and is only found in a few parts of Europe. The best localities for hunting him in Europe are in Greece and Italy, but if you want the sport in all its glory you must go to India. One of the great amusements of the British officers in India is "pig-sticking," as it is called, and those who have indulged in it say that the excitement of a pig-chase equals anything they have ever seen."
The conversation was here interrupted by meeting the pavava that had been sent for to bring home the game from the forest. Mr. Segoviagave some directions concerning the work in hand, and then the party rode rapidly to the boat that lay waiting for them. There was a light breeze blowing in the right direction, and so a quick passage was made back to Jala-jala. There was enough to talk about for the evening, and neither of the boys could keep his thoughts away from the fact that he had shot a deer and a boar on the same day, and assisted in the slaughter of a boa-constrictor. It was glory enough for twenty-four hours at least, Frank said, as he went to bed; Fred thought it could be spread over three or four days without becoming too thin, and even a month would not be too much.
"A deer, a hog, and a share in a snake," murmured Fred, as he settled his head on his pillow.
"A wild hog, a deer, and a share in a snake-fight," whispered Frank to himself, as he dropped off to sleep. "Wonder what Miss Effie and Mary will say to that? I declare I haven't written home since we left Java; but then there hasn't been time, and besides we've had no chance to send letters. I must ask the Doctor in the morning when there is a mail for America, and how it goes."
A moment later he was in the land of dreams.
The question relative to the postal facilities of the Philippines was duly propounded in the morning, and received the following answer:
"There is a steamer once a fortnight each way between Manilla and Hong-Kong; the distance is 650 miles, and the voyage usually occupies about three days. It is nearly the same distance to Singapore; in the busy season there is a semi-monthly steamer to Singapore, but it is not generally maintained through the whole year. For letters to America the quickest route isviaHong-Kong, whence there is a mail twice a month to Yokohama and San Francisco. The last mail for Hong-Kong left Manilla a day before your arrival, and so you have plenty of time to get your letters ready for the next.
"At the time of year when the crops have been harvested, and the product is going forward to the European market, there are many irregular steamers from Manilla to Singapore, and also to Hong-Kong. There are also sailing-ships bound for European and American ports, though not as many as from one of the great ports of China or Japan. We shall have no difficulty in getting away from the islands, as we had no difficulty in getting here; though we may possibly be compelled to wait a few days after we are ready to start."
At this moment a servant came to call our friends to breakfast, and the conversation came to an end. During breakfast it was announcedthat an excursion would be made on the lake that day, and would start in half an hour.