Nay, what mortal could forget
such hours--such places?
Our repast over, we made our bed of some branches we lopped off
from the trees, and which we joined together on the very moist soil
in the interior of the vast forest, and there we slept soundly till
the morrow, without fear, and particularly without having any sombre
or disagreeable dreams. At the dawn of day we were on foot again,
all Nature seeming to wake up with ourselves. Oh! how fine and calm
did she appear to us! The vapours that arose from her breast covered
her all over with a veil, like a young virgin at her waking; and then
this veil by degrees would break up into pieces, which pieces, gently
balanced on the morning breeze, would disappear, and be lost on the
tops of the trees or the summits of the rocks. On we walked for a long
time, till at last, towards the middle of the day, we came to a small
plain inhabited by the Igorrots. We found, in all, three cabins, or
huts, so that the population was far from being large. At the door
of one of these cabins I saw a man, of about sixty years of age,
and a few women. As we had arrived from behind the huts we took the
savages by surprise, so that they had no time to fly at our approach:
we were in the midst of them.
I assumed the line of conduct I had pursued on arriving at Palan,
but as I had no more coral beads or coloured glass, I presented them
with a part of our stag, making them understand at the same time that
we came with the most friendly intentions. From that moment there
was established between us a very curious sort of mimic conversation,
during which I was able to examine at my ease the new race of beings I
saw around me. I perceived that the costume of the Igorrots was pretty
nearly the same as that of the Tinguians, the ornaments excepted,
but their features and physiognomy were quite different. The men were
smaller, their breasts being exceedingly broad, their heads immensely
big, their limbs developed, their strength herculean; their shape was
not so handsome as that of the savages I had just left; their colour
of a dark bronze, very dark indeed; their noses are less aquiline,
their eyes yellow and fully open--a la Chinoise. The women's shape
was also very protuberant, their complexion dark, their hair long,
and combed up--a la Chinoise. Unfortunately it was impossible for
me, with all my mimicry, to obtain the information I wished for, so
I was obliged to content myself with visiting the c
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