﻿182 MERRILL. 



clearing, at an altitude of about ,3,000 feet, we found in cultivation : rice, 

 corn, sugar-cane, bananas, yams, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, squasbes 

 and taro, while domestic pigs and chickens were in evidence. Most of the 

 dwellings were very small and primitive, consisting of a platform raised 

 two or three feet above the ground, with a thin palm-leaf roof and usually 

 without walls, but in the clearing mentioned above we found an unusually 

 large and well-constructed house about 20 feet long, 15 feet wide and 

 12 feet from the floor to the apex of the roof. It was firmly constructed, 

 elevated on posts about 6 feet above the ground, with a pole floor and 

 grass-thatched roof and walls and was evidently the abode of a person 

 of prominence in a local tribe. Such a pretentious house certainly is 

 unusual among the Mangyans. 



Mindoro has attained and still retains a widespread but apparently not 

 entirely deserved reputation for unhealthfulness, frequently being spoken 

 of as "the white man's grave.'" In spite of adverse reports as to the un- 

 wholesomeness of Mindoro and the prevalence of fevers and various tropical 

 diseases in the island, on our trip, which extended over forty days in the 

 height of the rainy season when on nearly every day all members of the 

 party were wet at least once and sometimes all day and for many days in 

 succession, working our way slowly through drenched forests, fording 

 streams and much of the time on short rations, none of the Americans in 

 the party were sick and among the twenty-five natives employed, only three 

 contracted fever and then in a very mild form. In common with previous 

 explorers in Mindoro, we found the leeches very abundant and exceedingly 

 troublesome at the lower altitudes but we became entirely free of them 

 after reaching the height of about 5,000 feet. Ordinary brown soap 

 was found to be an excellent leech repellant and this was given each 

 day to our native carriers who smeared it on their naked legs. Previous 

 experience had taught us that canvas or leather leggings are entirely un- 

 satisfactory as a protection against leeches, and all the Americans in 

 the party were equipped with woolen "puttees." These proved to be 

 more satisfactory and gave absolute protection against the attacks of 

 leeches. Quinine was issued regularly to all members of the party. 



MOUNT HALCON. 



The name Halcon is of Spanish origin signifying falcon, but the 

 application of this name to the mountain is not clear. As usual, the 

 native names vary. According to Lieut. Fitzhugh Lee's report of his 

 trip made across Mindoro in 1904, the natives living at the mouth of the 

 Baco River knew it as the Alag Mountain. We found those living at 

 Subaan, only 7 miles from Baco, speaking of it as the Baco. 



The altitude of the highest peak is given on Spanish charts as 3,865 



