


1891.] The Island of Mindoro. 1051 
same way as before. Under the hot sun and the frequent rains 
our camp began to take on a decidedly strong odor, and meat 
was plenty. Word somehow got down the river to the settle- 
ment, and several Indians came up with their buffaloes, and 
loaded up with meat. Then for three days the weather was too 
rainy for Mateo to get ¢amarou. I was busy in hurrying my 
skins out into the air to dry, and then hurriedly folding them, 
and dragging them under shelter, when the showers came on; 
while old Juan was nearly distracted over his jerked beef, which 
was too high to be kept longer in our hut, and showed signs of 
running away of itself. A patch of open woodland lay back of 
our camp, and between showers I would get into this and kill a 
few of the great fruit pigeons to keep us in meat, while Mateo 
would get out whenever possible after tamarou. One evening he 
and Antonio had taken the buffalo and had gone up the river to 
tie the buffalo fast on the beach, in hope the ¢amarou would come 
out to attack it. I had already gone to bed in my hammock, 
which hung, covered by its mosquito net, under an open roof, 
and swung only a few inches above the sand. Before I got to 
sleep I heard a great splashing across the river, where Antonio 
had set a rattan lasso by the zamarou meat, and the Indians in 
camp took a torch, and crossing in the canoe, spent some time in 
tying the captured crocodile with rattans. I knew well how this 
was done. The hind and fore legs were tied over the back, 
and the jaws tied together, and then I was dimly conscious of 
their dragging the helpless fellow to the camp and tying him fast 
to one of the poles of our hut. In the night some time I was 
suddenly awakened by the sharp noise of the crocodile’s jaws 
coming together, and by the pulling at the mosquito net and 
hammock curtain near one of my feet. Divining the cause, I 
roused the whole Indian camp by my shouts, when they pried 
the fellow’s jaws loose, and again tying him fast, dragged him 
down near the river and tied him to a stake. They had tied him 
fast to the same post my hammock hung upon; he had worked 
his jaws loose, and seeing my foot move, had struck at it. The 
next morning a rattan rope was fastened about the crocodile’s 
body just before the hind legs, and he was tied with some twenty 

