Death of my Brother Robert—Our Party at Jala-Jala—Illness and Last Moments of my Friend Bermigan—Recovery and Departure for France or Lafond—Joachim Balthazard: his Eccentricity—Tremendous Gale of Wind—Narrow Escape in Crossing the Lake—Safe Return to Jala-Jala—Destruction of my House and the Village by a Typhoon—Rendezvous with a Bandit—Ineffectual Attempts to Reform Him—His Death—Journey to Tapuzi—Its Inaccessibility—Government of the Tapuzians—Morality and Religious Character of their Chief—Their Curiosity at Beholding a White Man—Former Wickedness and Divine Punishment—We bid Adieu to the Tapuzians, and Return to Jala-Jala.
Suppression of War between two Indian Towns—Flourishing Condition of Jala-Jala—Hospitality to Strangers—Field Sports—Bat and Lizard Shooting—Visit to, and Description of, the Isle of Socolme—Adventure with a Cayman—Cormorants—We Visit Los Banos—Monkey Shooting—Expedition to, and Description of, the Grotto of Sun-Mateo—Magnificent aspect of the Interior.
[Chapter X.]204
Dumont d’Urville—Rear-Admiral Laplace: Desertion of Sailors from his Ship—I recover them for him—Origin of the Inhabitants of the Philippine Islands—Their General Disposition—Hospitality and Respect for Old Age—Tagal Marriage Ceremony—Indian Legal Eloquence—Explanation of the Matrimonial Speeches—The Caymans, or Alligators—Instances of their Ferocity—Imprudence and Death of my Shepherd—Method of entrapping the Monster which had devoured him—We Attack and eventually Capture it—Its Dimensions—We Dissect and Examine the Contents of its Stomach—Boa-Constrictors—Their large size—Attack of a Boa-Constrictor on a Wild Boar—We Kill and Skin it—Unsuccessful Attempt to capture a Boa-Constrictor alive—A Man Devoured—Dangerous Venomous Reptiles.
The Prosperity and Happiness of my Life at Jala-Jala—Destructiveness of the Locusts—Agriculture in the Philippines—My Herds of Oxen, Buffaloes, and Horses—My Wife presents me with a Daughter, who Dies—The Admiration of the Indian Women for my Wife—Birth of my Son—Continued Prosperity—Death of my brother Henry—My Friendship with Malvilain—His Marriage with my eldest Sister—His Premature Death—I take my Wife to Manilla—Melancholy Adieus—We Return to Jala-Jala—Death of my Wife—My friend Vidie—I determine to Return to France.
My friend Adolphe Barrot visits me at Jala-Jala—The Bamboo Cane—The Cocoa-Nut Tree—The Banana—Majestic Forests of Gigantic Trees—The Leeches—A Tropical Storm in a Forest—An Indian Bridge—“Bernard the Hermit”—We arrive at Binangon-de-Lampon—The Ajetas—Veneration of the Ajetas for their Dead—Poison used by the Ajetas—I carry away a Skeleton—We Embark on the Pacific in an old Canoe, reach Maoban, and ultimately arrive at Jala-Jala.