der the house
in the case of those tribes living near the coast; or in a stockade,
which protects the body against desecration from the enemy."

It was with feelings such as one might entertain when looking at a
mermaid or an inhabitant of Mars, that I first saw a genuine Negrito
in a prison at Manila. The wretched pigmy had been brought in to the
city from his inaccessible retreat in the great forest; he was dazed
and frightened at the white men and the things they did. He was a
miserable little fellow, with distrustful eyes, and twisted legs,
and pigeon toes. He died after a few days of captivity, during which
time he had not spoken. A dumb obedience marked his relations with the
guard. The white man's civilization was as disagreeable and unnatural
to him as his nomadic life would be to us. A fish could just as well
live out of water as this pigmy in the white man's land.

A few of the Negritos near the coast, however, have been touched by
civilizing influences. They inhabit towns of small huts built on poles,
which they abandon on the death of any one within. The house wherein
a death occurs is generally burned. They plant a little corn and rice,
but often move away before the crop is harvested. They are too lazy to
raise anything; too weak to capture slaves. During the heavy rains,
when the great woods are saturated, they protect themselves against
the cold by wrapping blankets around their bodies. At night they
often share the tree with birds and monkeys, sheltered from rain and
dampness by the canopy of foliage. They have a head man for their
villages--sometimes a member of another tribe, who, on account of his
superior attainments, holds the respect of all. They hunt with bows
and arrows; weapons which, by means of constant use, they handle with
dexterity. At night their villages are located through the incessant
barking of the hungry dogs, which always follow them around. Sleeping
in huts, in order to prevent mosquitoes from annoying them, they
often build a fire beneath them, toasting themselves until their
flesh becomes a crust of scales.

In the south Camarines, and in Negros, they will often come down to
the coast towns, trading the wax and sweet potatoes of the mountains
for sufficient rice to last them several days. They sometimes work a
day or two in the adjacent hemp or rice fields, receiving for their
labor a small measure of the rice. When they have eaten this, they
fast until their hunger drives th