The locusts come in storms, literally like a pelting, large-flaked snowstorm, driving across the country for hours and even days at a time.  All Igorot have large scoop nets for catching them and immense bottle-like baskets in which to put them and transport them home.  The locust catcher runs along in the storm, and, whirling around in it with his large net, scoops in the victims.  Many families sometimes wander a week or more catching locusts when they come to their vicinity, and cease only when miles from home.  The cry of “enemy” will scarcely set an Igorot community astir sooner than will the cry of “cho’-chon.”  The locust is looked upon by them as a very manna from heaven.  Pi-na-lat’ is a food of cooked locusts pounded and mixed with uncooked rice.  All is salted down in an olla and tightly covered over with a vegetable leaf or a piece of cloth.  When it is eaten the mixture is cooked, though this cooking does not kill the strong odor of decay.

Other insect foods are also eaten.  I once saw a number of men industriously robbing the large white “eggs” from an ant nest in a tree.  The nest was built of leaves attached by a web.  Into the bottom of this closed pocket the men poked a hole with a long stick, letting a pint or more of the white pupae run out on a winnowing tray on the earth.  From this tray the furious ants were at length driven, and the eggs taken home for cooking.

Beverages

The Igorot drinks water much more than any other beverage.  On the trail, though carrying loads while the American may walk empty handed, he drinks less than the American.  He seldom drinks while eating, though he makes a beverage said to be drunk only at mealtime.  After meals he usually drinks water copiously.

Ba-si is the Igorot name of the fermented beverage prepared from sugar cane.  “Ba-si,” under various names, is found widespread throughout the Islands.  The Bontoc man makes his ba-si in December.  He boils the expressed juice of the sugar cane about six hours, at which time he puts into it a handful of vegetable ferment obtained from a tree called “tub-fig’.”  This vegetable ferment is gathered from the tree as a flower or young fruit; it is dried and stored in the dwelling for future use.  The brewed liquid is poured into a large olla, the flat-bottom variety called “fu-o-foy’” manufactured expressly for ba-si, and then is tightly covered over and set away in the granary.  In five days the ferment has worked sufficiently, and the beverage may be drunk.  It remains good about four months, for during the fifth or sixth month it turns very acid.