[Rain prevents another ascent.] At Buhi, which is not sufficiently sheltered towards the north-east, it rained almost as much as at Daraga.  I had found out from the Igorots that a path could be forced through the tall canes up to the summit; but the continual rain prevented me; so I resolved to cross the Malinao, returning along the coast to my quarters, and then, freshly equipped, descend the river Bicol as far as Naga.

[Mountaineers’ arrow poison.] Before we parted the Igorots prepared for me some arrow poison from the bark of two trees.  I happened to see neither the leaves nor the blossoms, but only the bark.  A piece of bark was beaten to pieces, pressed dry, wetted, and again pressed.  This was done with the bare hand, which, however, sustained no injury.  The juice thus extracted looked like pea-soup, and was warmed in an earthen vessel over a slow fire.  During the process it coagulated at the edges; and the coagulated mass was again dissolved, by stirring it into the boiling fluid mass.  When this had reached the consistency of syrup, a small quantity was scraped off the inner surface of a second piece of bark, and its juice squeezed into the vessel.  This juice was a dark brown color.  When the mass had attained the consistency of a thin jelly, it was scraped out of the pot with a chip and preserved on a leaf sprinkled with ashes.  For poisoning an arrow they use a piece of the size of a hazel-nut, which, after being warmed, is distributed uniformly over the broad iron point; and the poisoned arrow serves for repeated use.

[Sapa river.] At the end of November I left the beautiful lake of Buhi, and proceeded from its eastern angle for a short distance up the little river Sapa [103], the alluvial deposits of which form a considerable feature in the configuration of the lake.  Across a marshy meadow we reached the base of the Malinao or Buhi mountain, the slippery clay of the lower slope merging higher up into volcanic sand. [Leeches.] The damp undergrowth swarmed with small leeches; I never before met with them in such numbers.  These little animals, no stouter when streched out than a linen thread, are extraordinarily active.  They attach themselves firmly to every part of the body, penetrating even into the nose, the ears, and the eyelids, where, if, they remain unobserved, they gorge themselves to such excess that they become as round as balls and look like small cherries.  While they are sucking no pain is felt; but afterwards the spots attacked often itch the whole day long. [104] [Fig-trees.] In one place the wood consisted for the most part of fig-trees, with bunches of fruit quite six feet in length hanging from the stems and the thicker branches; and between the trees grew ferns, aroids, and orchids.  After nearly six hours’ toil we reached the pass (841 meters above the sea level), and descended the eastern slope.  The forest on the eastern side of the mountain is still more magnificent than that on the west.  From a clearing we obtained a fine