PHOTO BY C. F. O KEEFE. 



A PHILIPPINE BIRD TRAP. 



PHOTO BY C. F. O KEEFE. 



A NATIVE PHILIPPINE DEER. 



Editor Recreation: I send you here- 

 with 2 photos. One of a Philippino bird 

 trap, a machine which is both novel and ef- 

 fective. In going through the country one 

 finds many of these traps, most of which are 

 sprung and each has a bird fluttering about, 

 caught by a leg with a piece of raw hemp. 

 It strikes me this trap might be used for 

 catching birds for photographing, because 

 it does not hurt them. It would save a great 

 deal of work and time. 



The Philippine deer is a good specimen. 

 He is only about 3 feet high, and is small 

 every way as compared with our American 

 mule deer. This Philippine species is of a 

 reddish brown color. The horns are now in 

 the velvet. He is a pretty little animal, very 

 active and graceful but lacks that beauti- 

 full expression about the eyes which is so 

 conspicuous a feature of our American 

 deer. 



In the back ground is a bunch of native 

 bamboo, and the foreground is a rice field. 



Later I hope to send you a picture of the 

 native Philippine hunter and his blow gun. 

 One smiles on looking at this primitive 

 weapon, but when one sees how effective it 

 is in the hands of a native one generally 

 wants to have another look at it. Thev use 



the gun entirely for shooting small birds. 

 It is a straight bamboo pole about 7 feet 

 long, with a smooth hole through it of about 

 .30 calibre. The missile is a chunk of clay. 

 The native puts this in his month, and after 

 softening it rolls it into a conical shape and 

 places it in the breech with his tongue. 

 Then when he finds game he inhales all the 

 air he can hold and blows the slug at it with 

 wonderful force and precision. I see natives 

 on the streets of Manila nearly every day, 

 with large bunches of live snipe, which they 

 trap. 



We are getting along nicely here in 

 Manila and it is really not a bad place at all. 

 Judging from the result of the recent elec- 

 tions at home the United States will take 

 everything in sight. 



There are many chances for money mak- 

 ing here, if the United States holds these 

 islands; but of course it's the same old story 

 — it takes money to make money. 



Everything is more or less interesting 

 here. It is all so different from what we are 

 used to seeing that sometimes I imagine 

 I have been transported to another planet 

 entirely. 



C. F. O'Keefe, 1st Lieutenant, 1st Colo. 

 Regiment, Manila, P. I. 



" The first act, you know, is supposed to 

 cover a period of twenty years." 



" What a long time between drinks! " — 

 Cincinnati Enquirer. 



190 



