FIELD SPORTS OF NORTHERN LUZON 



259 



lEUGAOS DANCING ROUND A SACRED IMAGE 



dispose of them in the savage manner 

 we are now to witness. 



A tough old carabao is led out on the 

 plaza, surrounded by a score of experi- 

 enced and wary warriors, each armed 

 with a sharp, heavy bolo. They have 

 need of daring and skill at the outset, for 

 a wounded carabao is an exceedingly 

 dangerous animal. Back of the bold few 

 who are to cut the poor beast down there 

 is a solid wall of men with drawn bolos, 

 ready to rush in, chop the victim to 

 pieces, and struggle for the meat. The 

 man who is leading the carabao drops 

 the rope and strikes him a heavy blow 

 on the neck, trying to sever the spine. 

 He fails and springs aside as his victim 

 turns and lunges viciously at him. Two 



other men rush up from behind and try 

 to hamstring the now infuriated beast. 

 They, too, fail ; but as he whirls to attack 

 his new enemies a swarm of men beset 

 him and rain blows on every part of his 

 body. Down he goes, and the crowd 

 rushes in on him with a roar. 



Some men lie flat on the ground and 

 cut and hack ; on these others kneel, 

 chopping away for dear life, while those 

 who stand farther back bend forward 

 and strike with their bolos. One fortu- 

 nate individual manages to cut off the 

 carabao's tail. Half a dozen others 

 instantly lay hold of it, and, fighting 

 vigorously for its possession, they push 

 through the crowd, perhaps only to roll 

 down a steep bank into a thicket of 



