﻿THE ASCENT OF MOUNT HALCON. 189 



southwest to an altitude of 1,200 feet. At the top of this ridge we entered 

 the first Mangyan clearing and here saw the only representatives of 

 these people who were encountered on the entire trip. 



Three small houses, each consisting of a platform raised 2 to 3 feet 

 from the ground, with a thin roof of palm leaves, but without walls, 

 were located in this clearing, and later, along the ridge a short distance 

 to the southwest, a larger house was found. All the houses were deserted 

 on our arrival in the clearing, but on the return trip, in the first house 

 we found an old man and his son, who told us that h's family had fled 

 at our approach, but that when he saw there were white men in the party 

 he had returned. These people were all small in size, being about 4 feet 

 10 inches in height, their hair was short and curly. 



From the opening which we had reached we secured a magnificent 

 view of Halcon to the south, while the coast region and Calapan were 

 visible to the east. We found two trails leading clown to the Alag Biver, 

 one from the southeast corner of the clearing and the other from the 

 south side. The latter, being more in the direction of Halcon Peak, was 

 selected for our route. On Xovember 5, our carriers having arrived 

 from Subaan the day before, we left the Binabay Biver and on arrival 

 in the clearing mentioned above again encountered the old Mangyan who 

 said that he was too old to act as our guide, but that he could secure for 

 us one who knew the trails. As a guide familiar with the routes leading 

 to Halcon would have greatly facilitated our work, he was asked to procure 

 one, but after waiting about an hour we decided that he had no intention 

 of returning and so we went on to the Alag Biver. The trail was well 

 defined, leading down a 30° to 45°, well forested slope. Just before we 

 reached the Alag the path crossed a tributary stream of considerable 

 size which offered no difficulties in fording and as none of our natives had 

 a name for it, we christened it the Egbert Biver in memory of the late 

 General Harry V. Egbert, United States Army. The distance from the 

 Binabay Biver to the Alag was about 2 miles. At the point where the 

 trail reached the Alag, the stream was about 100 yards wide, not very 

 deep but quite swift and from the place where we first forded the stream 

 to an altitude of 1.200 feet, where we made our last crossing in the ascent, 

 we found no still water whatever. The American miners living on 

 the Binabay informed us that during the previous ten days there had 

 been comparatively little rain and accordingly we found the Alag ford- 

 able. An attempt was made to cross it at the junction of the Egbert 

 Biver. but it was found to be too swift and deep at that point and we 

 were obliged to proceed up the stream for several hundred yards and 

 then to follow an indirect course along the bars in the more shallow 

 water. It was necessary to ford the stream several times during the 

 day's march in order to avoid abrupt bluffs and cliffs. The Alag, at a 

 distance of about 1 mile above the junction of the Egbert, divides into 



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