eyes
sparkling and his face and manner eager.

They are much like children in their curiosity to see the white
man's belongings, and are as greatly pleased with the gift of a
trinket. Their expressions and actions on beholding themselves in
a mirror for the first time are extremely ludicrous. One man who
had a goatee gazed at it and stroked it with feelings of pride and
admiration not unmixed with awe.

Superstitions

It will also take a close acquaintance to learn much of the
superstitious beliefs of the Negritos. Some hints have already been
given in regard to feeding the spirits after a hunt and reasons
for changing names of children. Other superstitious were mentioned,
as the wearing of bracelets and leglets of wild boar's skin and the
burning of deer's bones to scare away thunder.

The basis of all the superstitious beliefs of the Negritos, what
might else be termed their religion, is the constant presence of the
spirits of the dead near where they lived when alive. All places are
inhabited by the spirits. All adverse circumstances, sickness, failure
of crops, unsuccessful hunts, are attributed to them. So long as things
go well the spirits are not so much considered. There seems to be no
particular worship or offerings to gain the good will of the spirits,
other than the feeding already noted, except in one particular. On
the Tarlac trail between O'Donnell (Tarlac Province) and Botolan
(Zambales Province) there is a huge black bowlder which the Negritos
believe to be the home of one powerful spirit. So far as I could learn,
the belief is that the spirits of all who die enter this one spirit or
"anito" who has its abiding place in this rock. However that may be,
no Negrito, and in fact no Christianized native of Zambales or Tarlac,
ever passes this rock without leaving a banana, camote, or some other
article of food. If they do, bad luck or accident is sure to attend
the trip.

Senor Potenciano Lesaca, the present governor of Zambales, when
quite young, once passed the rock and for amusement--and greatly to
the horror of the Negritos with him-spurned it by kicking it with
his foot and eating part of a banana and throwing the rest in the
opposite direction. The Negritos were much concerned and said that
something would happen to him. Sure enough, before he had gone far he
got an arrow through both legs from savage Negritos along the trail
who could have known nothing of the occurrence. Of course this o