me afterwards, even against people who were
entirely uninterested in it--Filipinos and Europeans. The expedition
this year was to take place in the beginning of April; the Igorots
consequently were in a state of great agitation, and had, a few
days previously, murdered a young unarmed Spaniard in the vicinity
of Mabotoboto, at the foot of the mountain, by bringing him to the
ground with a poisoned arrow, and afterwards inflicting twenty-one
wounds with the wood-knife (bolo).

[A policy of peace.] Fortunately there arrived soon after a countermand
from Manila, where the authorities seemed to have been gradually
convinced of the harmful tendency of such violent measures. It could
not be doubted that this intelligence would quickly spread amongst the
ranchos; and, acting upon the advice of the commandant (upon whom,
very much against his inclination, the conduct of the expedition
had devolved), I lost no time in availing myself of the anticipated
season of quiet. The Government have since adopted the prudent method
of purchasing the tobacco, which is voluntarily cultivated by the
Igorots, at the ordinary rate, and, where practicable, encouraging
them to lay out new fields, instead of destroying those in existence.

[A populous fertile district.] The next day at noon I left Naga on
horseback. The pueblos of Mogarao, Canaman, Quipayo, and Calabanga, in
this fertile district follow so thickly upon one another that they form
an almost uninterrupted succession of houses and gardens. Calabanga
lies half a league from the sea, between the mouths of two rivers,
the more southerly of which is sixty feet broad and sufficiently deep
for large trading vessels. [145]

[A bare plain and wretched village.] The road winds round the foot
of the Isarog first to the north-east and then to the east. Soon the
blooming hedges cease, and are succeeded by a great bare plain, out of
which numerous flat hillocks raise themselves. Both hills and plain,
when we passed, served for pasturage; but from August to January they
are sown with rice; and fields of batata are occasionally seen. After
four hours we arrived at the little village of Maguiring (Manguirin),
the church of which, a tumble-down shed, stood on an equally naked
hillock; and from its neglected condition one might have guessed that
the priest was a native.

[Many mountain water courses.] This hillock, as well as the others
which I examined, consisted of the debris of the Isarog, the m