d on the
Padada river about six miles back of the coast. According to Mr. H. S.
Wilson, tribal ward headman for the Bila-an, this tribe numbers about
ten thousand persons, of which number fifteen hundred reside on the
Sarangani Islands.

The material here presented was gathered from the people of Labau, the
Malalag cogon, and those living near the headwaters of the Ma-al and
Padada rivers.

Formerly a neutral, uninhabited belt extended between them and the coast
people, and at stated intervals they went to recognized trading points
in this territory to exchange their agricultural and forest products for
salt, fish, and other articles of barter. Beyond this trading and an
occasional fight, they had few dealings with the coast people and seem
never to have encountered the Spaniard.

They are almost unknown to history, for aside from two or three short
accounts,[55] based mostly on hearsay, we find no mention of them. The
coast natives who knew them by name only had many stories concerning
their life and prowess, and one still hears that "the Bila-an are of
small stature but agile like monkeys. One may wander for days through
their territory without encountering a person and then when in a bad
place suddenly see the little people in hundreds swarming down the sides
of impassable cliffs. They are always in such numbers that, while they
use only the bow and arrow, they are almost sure to exterminate the
intruders." As a matter of fact, the Bila-an compare in stature with the
coast natives and differ little from them in color, although a few
individuals of decidedly lighter cast are met with.

[55] BLAIR and ROBERTSON The Philippine Islands, Vol. XLIII, pp. 239,
282-283. Census of the Philippine Islands, 1905.

Observations were made on thirty-eight men, but no women could be
induced to submit to being measured. The maximum height of the men was
found to be 163.6 cm.; minimum 142.3 cm.; with an average of 154.7 cm.
The cephalic indices showed 87.8 cm. as the maximum; 74 cm. the minimum;
and 80.4 cm. the average. The greatest length-height index was 78.6 cm.;
the minimum 62.4 cm. and the average 69.7 cm. From these measurements it
appears that the Bila-an are somewhat shorter than the Bagobo; are more
short headed, the majority being brachycephalic; while the height from
tragus to vertex is about the same in both groups, and both have the
crown and back of the head strongly arched. The face[56] is absolutely
shorter and