- Author:
- Lala, Ramon Reyes
- Publication Info:
-
New York:
Continental publishing company,
1899,
pg 95
Text on page 95
The Various Tribes.
ioi
of foot. They subsist mainly by hunting. Their usual weapons are a lance of bamboo, a palm-wood bow, and a quiver of poisoned arrows.
About fifty families commonly live together, and their villages of rude, thatched huts, raised on bamboo poles high from the ground, present a curious appearance. They were the original lords of the islands, and when the first Malays settled here, they, with unfailing regularity, exacted tribute from the newxomers. The latter, however, soon became too powerful, and the Negritos are now either employed by the Tagalogs as servants, or they have fled to their retreats in the mountains.
negritos enjoying a primitive sun-shade.
But they are fast disappearing, and, hence,
before many generations, will have perished before the destructive blast of progress.
Their principal food is fish, roots, fruits, and rice. They are notorious cattle - thieves, swooping down upon the valley and carrying their prey to their fastnesses in the mountains. Their agricultural skill consists in scratching the soil with a stick and throwing in the seed. They rarely ever spend more than one season in one locality, thus constantly moving from place to place.Their principal food is fish, roots, fruits, and rice. They are notorious cattle - thieves, swooping down upon the valley and carrying their prey to their fastnesses in the mountains. Their agricultural skill consists in scratching the soil with a stick and throwing in the seed. They rarely ever spend more than one season in one locality, thus constantly moving from place to place.
