en with this savage race. The
groom-to-be, making from time to time, gifts of wild hogs, rice,
and weapons to the parents of the bride-elect, is finally rewarded
with the bride, and with a dowry as well; perhaps a slave, a bucket
of _tuba_, or a silver-mounted bolo. The average value of a bride
is five or six slaves, which the bridegroom pays if he is able. At
the marriage ceremony the contracting parties generally present each
other with small cups of rice, to signify that they must now endeavor
mutually to support each other.

Among other tribes of the interior of Mindanao, in the river basins
of the Salug and the Agusan, along the east coast, and Davao Bay,
and on the mountain slopes, are the Manobos, possibly of Indonesian
origin, kings of the wilderness, inhabiting the river valleys; the
intrepid Attas, from the slopes of the volcano Apo; the Bagobos,
with their interesting faces and bright clothes, living to the east
of Apo; the fierce Dulaganes of the forests, whom the Moros fear;
Samales, from the island in Davao Bay, strong, bearded people, with
big hands and feet; Bilanes, from Lake Buluan, a wandering, nomadic
race; and the Monteses of the north, sun-worshipers and petty traders.

All of these tribes are probably of Indonesian origin, an independent
origin from that of the Visayans, the Tagalogs, the Negritos, or the
Moros, but of the same social level with the Malay-Chinese pagans of
the northern isles.

I used to see the Montese traders in the market-place of Cagayan
(Misamis), their mobile mouths swimming with betel-juice, with
rings and bracelets on their toes and arms, the girls with hair
banged saucily, adorned with bells and tassels, and with bodices
inadequately covering the breasts; and as they squatted down on
the woven mats, around the honey or the wax they had for sale, they
looked like gypsies from Roumania or Hungary. The men wore bright,
tight-fitting pantaloons and dirty turbans. They resemble the Moros
somewhat in appearance, and have either intermingled with this tribe
or else can trace their origin to Borneo. While they are not so wild
or so exclusive as their fellow-tribes, they quickly resent intrusion
into their towns or their society.

They carry on a slave trade with their neighbors, stealing or kidnaping
from the other tribes, and being stolen from in turn. The women of
some tribes brand their children, filling in the wound with a blue
dye, that serves as an identification if the