SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS. I929 81 



All primitive people have a natural history nomenclature, which 

 is generally unsatisfactory from a scientific standpoint owing to 

 dialectic divergencies, and the Filipinos are no exception. One of 

 the peculiar and interesting native names that seemed to he the same 

 in all of the dialects I encountered was the name " walo " for the 

 black banded water snake, common in the adjacent waters. The word 

 " walo " in Visayan and Tagalog dialects means " eight." The natives 

 have the idea that when a person is bitten by one of these reptiles, 

 i*f he does not die in eight minutes, he will live for eight hours ; if 

 still alive after eight hours he will live eight days ; after eight days, 

 eight weeks ; and if he is still alive at the end of eight months, he 

 is out of danger. I endeavored to learn of a case of poisoning by 

 these snakes Init was unsuccessful. Although poisonous, they are 

 not pugnacious, and when they get tangled in the fishing nets, the 

 fishermen pick them up by the tail and throw them out into the water. 



As the date for the eclipse approached, the natives of the rural 

 districts and even those of the city became rather nervous about the 

 event, and made black and white crosses on their houses. I was 

 invited by the president of the LMiilippine Central College at Jaro 

 to address the pupils on the subject of the eclipse and allay their 

 fears, and the same talk was requested by the superintendent of the 

 normal school of Iloilo. Three thousand children were reached by 

 these talks, in which I also told of the work that I was doing in 

 collecting the animals, birds, and reptiles of the island. As a result 

 of this, it was neccessary to work late at night for days preserving 

 and checking over the specimens brought in by the children. 



Fish traps along the shore were visited from time to time and 

 valuable material collected. The markets were visited regularly on 

 market days, and when the native tradesmen came to know what 

 I desired, they would often have ready for me quantities of valuable 

 material, which otherwise it would have taken months to procure. 



Much has l)een written on the Philippine Islands and its people, 

 but a few impressions may not be out of place. At present the schools 

 are overcrowded, 50,000 pupils being enrolled last year in the Province 

 of Iloilo. English is taught in all the schools, but many generations 

 would be required for it to become the universal language, for the 

 children on going home after school immediately revert to their native 

 dialect. Quoting from the introduction of an English-Visayan dic- 

 tionary compiled by Senor Jose Ma. Cuenco, Ph. D., after his many 

 years in the profession of teaching. " I am convinced that many of 

 my pupils of the advanced English classes have vague, misty ideas 

 about the most common English words." After completing the lower 



