﻿184 MERRILL. 



In October, 1895, John Whitehead, an English naturalist tried to 

 reach the summit, but although he did not succeed in attaining the 

 highest peak he was undoubtedly the first person to reach an altitude 

 of 6,000 feet. As Whitehead's primary object was to collect objects of 

 natural history and especially birds, he apparently made no serious 

 attempt to reach the highest point on the mountain. I can do no better 

 here than to quote from W. K. Ogilvie-Grant's ' account of Whitehead's 

 experience on Mount Halcon. 



On the 19th of Oetber, 1895, he (Whitehead) left Manila with a staff of seven 

 collectors for the Island of Mindoro, with the object of exploring the well-wooded 

 highlands of this comparatively little known island, and returned to Manila on 

 the 16th of February, 1896, after four months' absence. The results of this expe- 

 dition are, Mr. Whitehead considers, by no means satisfactory, for at the time of 

 his visit the wet season was at its height and, owing to the almost continuous 

 rains, collecting could be carried on only under the greatest difficulties. He tells 

 us that during his stay on Mindoro seventy days out of a hundred were very wet, 

 twenty dull and drizzling, while but ten were comparatively bright and fine; so it 

 can be understood easily that he was unable to do as much as he had hoped. 



Unfortunately, he experienced great trouble with his collectors, all of whom 

 suffered at one time or another from fever, and took every opportunity of misbe- 

 having. One man robbed him of his money, while others, left at the foot of the 

 mountain to make a lowland collection, did practically nothing during many 

 weeks, and sold both gun-caps and powder to the natives. He characterizes his 

 Mindoro collection as representing "four months' very hard work and slow 

 starvation" 



On landing in Mindoro a guide was engaged as pilot to the high ground, but 

 this worthy led the expedition by a wrong path, and after a long day's march in 

 the usual deluge of rain, Mr. Whitehead found himself on the bank of a fine river 

 surrounded by the most dense and magnificent forest, where he was forced to 

 remain for ten days waiting for porters. It was here that the expedition was 

 nearly wrecked, the river coming down in a tremendous flood with very little 

 warning. The cami) had been pitched about 20 feet above the river, which at 

 this part was about 200 yards wide, but in less than twelve hours, fortunately 

 in daylight, the water was running from 2 to 3 feet deep like a mill race through 

 Mr. Whitehead's tent, while his men had to escape in canoes from another house 

 lower down the river, where most of the less portable boxes had been left. 



By great exertions all the baggage was saved. "I have," writes Mr. Whitehead, 

 "seen a good deal of Tropics, but I never encountered such deluges, such incessant 

 rains, or such thousands of leeches. The leeches quite crippled two of my men, 

 and one of the two caught 'beriberi' so I sent him back to Manila. All the others 

 had fever, but I got off with two mild attacks of dysentery. I was so reduced, 

 from having nothing to eat but tinned foods and rice, that I became quite weak, 

 losing most of my energy at times. In four months I had eaten only five pigeons, 

 two parrots, and some few thrushes, and, with the exception of eggs, there was no 

 other fresh food to be had." Such is life in the highlands of the Philippines. 



By making friends with the true aborigines of Mindoro (the Mangyans) the 

 twenty-five porters required to carry the baggage to the mountains were at last 



7 Grant, W. R. Ogilvie: On the Birds of the Philippine Islands, Part 7. The 

 Highlands of Mindoro. With field notes by John Whitehead. Ibis: (1906) 

 VIII, 6, 457. 



