A CARABAO TANDEM IN LUZON

Oh, look at these strange animals with such wide-spreading horns! Do you know what they are? They are named “carabaos,” and are sometimes called “water buffaloes” because they are so fond of the water. Often through the day they go into the rivers or lakes and splash about; and if they are kept too long from their bath they are likely to go mad and become dangerous. They are very powerful animals and are used a great deal in the Philippine Islands in place of horses, to do farm work and draw carts.

Do you see this queer carriage with the woven canopy top and the wooden wheels? Carts like this are used in the southern part of Luzon, which is the largest of the Philippine Islands. It is a beautiful island with many rivers and mountains, and there are also volcanoes. Do you know what a volcano is? It is a mountain with a deep hole or crater in it, in which there is a mass of fire, and gases which sometimes explode. When there is an explosion great quantities of molten stuff called lava pour from the mouth of the volcano, sometimes burying villages at the foot of the mountain. A volcano is not a very pleasant neighbour, should you think so? Many of the islands of the Philippines were formed by volcanoes under the sea, that have thrown up masses of lava until a new island was made.

A Tagalog Tandem, Bambam, Luzon, Philippine Islands