168 THE PLANT WORLD 



for mananiti (spirits), and people were afraid to pass by, especially after 

 night-fall. Of course Don Jose does not believe in such superstitions. 

 Some people told of ghosts without heads (it was a custom of the aborig- 

 inees to keep the heads of the departed in baskets suspended in their 

 houses, where they offered a sort of worship to them in times of distress); 

 others said that there were malignant spirits in the forests which some- 

 times clutched people round the neck when riding along in the darkness. 

 Don Jose said that it was considered unlucky to joke near ladte, as the 

 parallel rows of pillars are called, or to speak irreverently of the ancients. 

 He did not believe in such things, but many thought it best to be on the 

 safe side; and "besides, seiior, who knows what means the Devil may 

 adopt to do harm to Christians ! ' ' 



I asked Don Jose to take me to the place where Father Palomo's 

 father had died ; so we took a little road which led down into a valley on 

 the right and found a plantation in a flourishing condition, where there 

 were coffee, and fruits of many kinds growing. Don Jose told me that 

 the first act of Father Palomo when he returned from Manila, after 

 having been ordained, was to come out to this ranch and gather up the 

 bones of his father. He carried them to Agaiia and had them buried 

 beneath the floor of the church. There are many tombs under the floor. 

 It is now covered with ifil boards, but the stones are beneath with the 

 inscriptions on them. 



We resumed our journey and took a little path leading down the hill 

 from the road to Sinahaiia. Passed a great funnel-shaped sink-hole, and 

 shortly afterwards reached a ranch belonging to Maria Gogiie, where we 

 found no one at home. Then we went to a ranch now owned by Don 

 Jose Herrero, which he had received from his nephew, Jose Portusach. 

 It was the old estate of Father Ciriaco del Espiritu Santo, the thrifty 

 priest who came here years ago from the Philippines and who did so 

 much to develop the resources of the island. In the archives I find him 

 mentioned frequently. He was a good tiller of the soil, and took great 

 interest in agriculture. Don Jose showed me the ruins of the house 

 built by Padre Ciriaco as a country resort. It was a massive structure 

 of masonry. One gable is still standing and the worn steps of coral 

 limestone are in perfect condition. The other gable has been destroyed 

 by a banyan tree, the roots of which spread over it like the arms of a 

 huge octopus. The interior is heaped with debris of plaster and stone, 

 in which a dense thicket of acacias and other shrubs has sprung up. 

 " This house," said Don Jose, " was a favorite resort of Governor Villa- 

 lobos, who would come out here with Padre Ciriaco and spend several 

 days together. I remember Governor Villalobos very well — Don Fran- 

 cisco, we used to call him. His cook played the flute very well. He 

 was very pious and used to have processions and litanies in the palace. 



