136 MILLER. 



consequent difficulty of gaining access to these people, it is prac- 

 tically impossible at the present time to form an accurate idea 

 of their number. 



So far as I can judge from my own acquaintance with the 

 Mangyans ^ they are an entirely friendly, harmless people, peace- 

 able to the point of timidity. Weapons are not common among 

 them, and in some sections they seem to have only working tools 

 and appear to be without offensive weapons of any kind. I should 

 add that there is one section of them of whom I have seen 

 little. They live west of Bongabong on the east coast; a part 

 of them are known as Bangons and a part as Bukils. It is 

 these people who are said to have tails, according to a story 

 told by the coast Filipinos. If the few Bukils whom I have seen 

 were typical, their costume, customs, and general appearance 

 indicate that they are closely allied to the Mangyans elsewhere 

 in Mindoro. My interpreter, who talked without difficulty with 

 the Mangyans near Bulalakao on the east coast, found it no 

 easy matter to understand the Bukils in the interior. The fact 

 that he could understand them at all, even though with diffi- 

 culty, shows that the dialects in use by the two peoples are 

 closely related. 



The best way to give a picture of these widely-scattered people 

 will be to describe the inhabitants of some one limited section, 

 at the same time indicating the details in which those of other 

 parts of the island differ from the people of the section described. 



Various settlements of Mangyans, containing from 8 to 30 

 people, are found near Bulalakao, at distances varying from three 

 to six hours' travel on foot. Some of these are on steep hill- 

 sides in a limestone region where the soil is thin. Even the 

 crops are planted on hillsides so steep that the use of animals 

 would be impracticable, even if the people had work animals. 

 In these locations advantage is taken of any small level spot 

 for erecting two or three small houses. The people live in 

 them for years, apparently until the houses are about ready to 

 fall. Because of the topographic conditions, it might not be 

 easy in all cases to find a suitable site for a large number of 

 people to live together. 



Other settlements are located on rolling land not far from 

 the ocean, where the soil appears to be rich and deep. In these 

 places there is nothing to interfere with the building up of 

 comparatively large settlements, excepting the disinclination of 



' I have visited them in five widely separated localities. 



