lino Raymundo
had served in the army and the other was dead, no further secret was
made in the matter, and I was assured that this practice was common
among the poorest natives.

In November, 1887, a deserter from the new recruits was pursued
to Langca, a ward of Meycauayan, Bulacan Province, where nearly
all the inhabitants rose up in his defence, the result being that
the Lieutenant of Cuadrilleros was killed and two of his men were
wounded. When the Civil Guard appeared on the spot, the whole ward
was abandoned.

According to the Spanish army regulations, a soldier cannot
be on sentinel duty for more than two hours at a time under any
circumstances. Cases have been known of a native sentinel having been
left at his post for a little over that regulation time, and to have
become phrenetic, under the impression that the two hours had long
since expired, and that he had been forgotten. In one case the man
had to be disarmed by force, but in another instance the sentinel
simply refused to give up his rifle and bayonet, and defied all who
approached him. Finally, an officer went with the colours of the
regiment in hand to exhort him to surrender his arms, adding that
justice would attend his complaint. The sentinel, however, threatened
to kill any one who should draw near, and the officer had no other
recourse open to him but to order a European soldier to climb up
behind the sentry-box and blow out the insubordinate native's brains.

In the seventies, a contingent of Philippine troops was sent to
assist the French in Tonquin, where they rendered very valuable
service. Indeed, some officers are of opinion that they did more to
quell the Tuh Duc rising than the French troops themselves. When in
the fray, they throw off their boots, and, barefooted, they rarely
falter. Even over mud and swamp, a native is almost as sure-footed
as a goat on the brink of a quarry. I have frequently been carried
for miles in a hammock by four natives and relays, through morassy
districts too dangerous to travel on horseback. They are great adepts
at climbing wherever it is possible for a human being to scale a
height; like monkeys, they hold as much with their feet as with their
hands; they ride any horse barebacked without fear; they are utterly
careless about jumping into the sea among the sharks, which sometimes
they will intentionally attack with knives, and I never knew a native
who could not swim. There are natives who dare dive for