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H. Wilfrid Walker - Wanderings Among South Sea Savages
no Englishman, American or Spaniard had ever penetrated so far back in the mountains as to reach their
villages. When he had left I thought it over, and decided to go and see them for myself, though I was still
suffering from fever. Vic, whose father had recovered from his illness, declared his willingness to
accompany me; in fact I knew that he would never allow me to go without him. He was quite miserable
at the idea of our parting, which was close at hand. As luck would have it, the day before we decided to
start, Vic was down with fever again, and the following day I was seized with it. Never before or since
have I been amongst so much fever as I was in this district. In any case I had made up my mind to see
these Buquils, but we had now lost two days, and there was only just enough time left to get there and
back and to journey back to Manila and catch my steamer. The day after my attack we started for the
mountains once more at about two p.m., my fever being still too bad for me to start earlier. It had been
very dry lately, with not a drop of rain and hardly a cloud to be seen, but just as we were starting it came
on to rain in torrents and this meant that the rainy season had set in. It seemed as if the very elements
were against us, and even Vic seemed struck with our various difficulties. I was sick and feverish, and
my head felt like a lump of lead, as I plodded mechanically along in the rain through the tall wet grass. I
felt no keenness to see these people at the time, fever removes all that, but I had so got it into my head
before the fever that I must go at all hazards, that I felt somehow as if I was obeying someone else. We
passed my old residence a short way off, and I stayed the night at the Negrito chief's hut, which I reached
long after dark. He seemed very glad to see me again, and turned out most of his family and relations to
make room for me. My troubles were not yet ended, as the two Filipinos whom I had engaged to carry
my food and bedding could not start till late, and consequently lost their way, and were discovered in the
forest by some Negritos, who went in search of them about 2 a.m. Meanwhile I had to lie on the hard
ground in my wet clothes, and as I got very cold a fresh attack of fever resulted. I had intended to start
off again about four a.m., but it was fully four hours later before we were well on our way. I managed to
eat a little before I left, our rice and other food being cooked in bamboo (the regular method of cooking
amongst the Negritos). I here noticed for the first time the method employed by the Negrito mothers for
giving their babies water; they fill their own mouths with water from a bamboo, and the child drinks
from its mother's mouth. In the early morning thousands of metallic green and cream-coloured pigeons
and large green doves came to feed on the golden yellow fruit of a species of fig tree (FICUS), which
grew on the edge of the forest near the chief's hut. They made a tremendous noise, fluttering and
squeaking as they fought over the tempting looking fruit.
We took five Negritos to carry the rice and my baggage - two men, two women, and a boy. The women,
though not much more than girls, were apportioned the heaviest loads; the men saw to that, and looked
indignant when I made them reduce the girls' loads. As we continued on our journey, I noticed that our
five Negrito carriers were joined by several others all well armed with bows and extra large bundles of
arrows, and on my asking Vic the reason, he told me that these Buquils we were going to visit were very
treacherous, and our Negritos would never venture amongst them unless in a strong body. As we went
along the narrow track in single file some of the Negritos would suddenly break forth into song or
shouting, and as they would yell (as if in answer to each other) all along the line, I could not help
envying them the extreme health and happiness which the very sound of it seemed to express; my own
head meanwhile feeling as if about to split. I shall never forget that walk up and down the steepest tracks,
where in some places a slip would have meant a fall far down into a gorge below. If Vic was to be
believed, I was the first white man to try that track, and I would not like to recommend it to any others.
Deep ravines, that if one could only have spanned with a bridge one could have crossed in five minutes
or less, took us fully an hour to go down and up again, and I could never have got down some of them
except for being able to hang on to bushes, trees and long grass. Whenever we passed a Negrito hut we
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