All night
we dreamed of human sacrifices and the warm blood spurting from the
victim's breast.... They had the padre now upon the altar, and the
chief had bidden me to take the knife and draw his blood. But the
great god--a creature with the horns of a bull carabao--descended,
crying that the enemy was now upon us and the crops had failed. From
our uneasy sleep the crowing of the jungle-fowl awakened us, and
for the first time we expressed ourselves in words. "Padre," I said,
"it's just like being in a book of Du Chaillu's or Rider Haggard's;"
and the padre smiled.

After the ponies, who were very stiff, were limbered up a bit, we
traveled on in the direction of the sea. We stopped beside a mountain
stream to bathe and eat a breakfast of canned sausages. That afternoon
we rode into a small Mandaya settlement where the head man showed
Padre Cipriano every courtesy at his command. They listened eagerly to
Padre Cipriano, who could speak their language well, as he explained
to them about another Mansilitan, greatest God of all. A number of
them even consented to be baptized; but I am very much afraid that the
conversion was at best a transient one. The head man ordered that his
runners bring into the village of Davao for the padre gifts of game,
wild hog, deer, and jungle-fowl, and, after the padre had presented
him with several strings of green and yellow beads--for the Mandayas
have no use for black beads as their neighbors, the Manobos have--we
took our departure, guided to the trail by a distinguished warrior.

During our sojourn in the settlement we picked up many curious
and interesting facts. Like most of the wild tribes of Mindanao,
that of the Mandayas is athletic and robust. The faces of the men
are somewhat girlish and effeminate, while the expressions of the
warriors are unique. Upon their countenances cunning, cruelty, and
diabolical resource are stamped indelibly. In front of every house
a wooden idol stands, while inside, on a little table, is a smaller
image overwhelmed by gifts of fruit and rice, which members of the
family continually leave upon the shrine. A tiny sack of rice hangs
from the idol's neck, and betel-nuts for him to chew are placed where
they are easily accessible. During the preparation of the evening meal,
one of the family will play upon a native instrument, dancing meanwhile
around the room, and lifting up his voice in supplication to the deity.

The petty ruler or head man is chosen