Part 6 (2/2)

”Come to think of it, yes; for in the Bible it says that the food of John the Baptist, the great prophet, was locusts and wild honey, when he was in distress in the wilderness.”

”What does _locust_ mean?” asked the wise Padre. n.o.body seemed to know.

”It means leaping,” said the Padre.

”That's how we catch them,” said Fil. ”Before their wings grow, they jump. We dig deep ditches and chase them by beating drums, for they dislike noise. They jump and fall into the ditch, which, however, is too high for them to jump out of. Then we pour on oil and burn them.”

”If we didn't, they'd eat up all our crops,” remarked the Padre.

”I know a bird that catches them. I've seen it,” said Fil, whose eyes were very sharp, like a boy scout in the woods.

”What kind of a bird?” inquired Filippa, who loved bird pets.

”A kind of Chinese ground-lark. It has large eyes and a long bill, and its feathers are spotted,” replied Fil.

CHAPTER XIV

BOATS AND FISH

We were pa.s.sing over the bridge that carried the road over an arm of the sea,--the purple sea, which had a white foam-edge.

I noticed a boat moving against the tide. It had no engine, no sails, no rowers at the oarlocks. Only one man was on deck, leaning on a long pole. He walked slowly from the front to the back of the boat, still leaning on the long pole.

”Here's another wonder of your marvelous Philippines--a boat moving without exerting power,” I exclaimed.

Fil looked at Moro and smiled. I saw that they both pitied my ignorance in a strange land. Then Fil said kindly:

”Don't you see the man walking steadily along the running board, from the front to the back of the boat? Well, he is pus.h.i.+ng on a long pole, and that power moves the boat against the tide. The pole reaches down to the bottom, through the shallow water. If the boat is loaded, and if the cargo is very heavy, two men push on each pole. The pole is a thick bamboo stick.”

”I also notice a curved deck or covering, laid over the boats,” I said.

”Yes, that is a roof, or thatch, made out of nipa palm leaves tied on to bamboo sticks,” Fil explained.

”Please look!” said sweet little Filippa. ”Out there on the purple ocean is a more wonderful boat still.”

I looked. Oddest of sights! A boat shaped like a long leaf was scudding before the wind. The one sail seemed to pull the boat over from the wind. No one was really in the boat. But sitting far out, on a bamboo out-rigger, high into the wind-side, above the water, a sailor was balancing the boat and holding the sail by a long rope. Only on one side of the boat was there a bamboo pole fixed lengthways. It did not seem to be a well-balanced boat, yet it sailed along at a great speed; and risky as the sport seemed, the sailor sat perfectly safe on his high and dangerous looking perch, above the water.

”What kind of boat is that?” I asked.

”An out-rigger boat. Some people call it a dug-out boat,” replied Filippa.

”I'll tell you more about it,” added Fil. ”The boat itself is half of a solid log, hollowed out by fire and axe and knife. It is chipped and sc.r.a.ped smooth on the outside, and the ends are pointed. If the wind dies down, the sailor has to paddle the heavy boat home. Then he sits over on the side opposite the out-rigger, so as to balance it. But when he has hoisted sail, he sits on the out-rigger, as the sail balances the boat on the sailing side, opposite the wind. The boat easily rolls over, because it has no sharp keel going down into the water. But it is swifter before the wind, just because it has no keel to keep it back.”

<script>