NOTES ON SOME PRIMITIVE PHILIPPINE TRIBES 295 



Naujan told me with deep disgust of the reply of a Mangyan to 

 whom he had attempted to demonstrate the benefits of civiliza- 

 tion and Christianity. The unregenerate savage had replied that 

 if he adopted civilization and became a christian it would cost 

 money to be born, money to be allowed to live, money to marry, 

 money to die, and money to be buried, and he considered him- 

 self better off as he was. Inasmuch as his statement of the case 

 was strictly correct and as it was my observation that morality 

 increased among the Philippine natives as the square of the dis- 

 tance from Spanish centers of " civilization," I could not but 

 feel that this mountain philosopher had decided wisely. 



THE TAGBANUAS OF PALAWAN 



Palawan or, as the Spaniards call it, la Paragua, is the west- 

 ernmost of the Philippine islands. Although some 300 miles 

 long, it is very narrow, and there are a score of points where it 

 could be crossed in a day ; so that the only difficulties attending 

 its exploration would be the obtaining of porters and food. The 

 fact remains, however, that little is known about the island. The 

 only Spanish settlement is a penal colony at Puerto Princesa, the 

 capital of the island, although there are a few little military out- 

 posts in the southern and western districts. 



The island is covered with magnificent forest, in which are to 

 be found many woods of great value. There are also numerous 

 " mines " of damar, which are worked a little by the natives. 

 Like most of the large islands in the Philippines, Palawan has 

 a central mountain chain extending in the direction of its great- 

 est length. Toward the 'south the mountains are covered to their 

 summits with vegetation, but at the north they are as jagged and 

 bare as our own Rockies. 



Three tribes inhabit Palawan. These are the Moros, or pirat- 

 ical mohammedans of the south, the mountain-dwelling Battaks 

 of the north, who are said to resemble the Papuans, and the 

 Tagbanuas, who occupy the central portion of the island and 

 the northern coast region. Three distinct dialects are spoken 

 by the Tagbanuas alone, and I was informed that in one in- 

 stance the inhabitants of two towns 15 miles apart did not un- 

 derstand each other. 



Mr John Foreman, in his excellent book on the Philippines, 

 has rightly said that the Tagbanuas are little known. He fur- 

 ther informs us that they never bathe intentionally, and that 

 they eat their fish and flesh raw. Apropos of their not bathing, 



