ON the farther side of the great Pacific Ocean are the Philippine Islands. These form one of the many island groups that hang like a fringe or festoon on the skirt of the continent of Asia. Like most of the islands in the Pacific, the Philippines are inhabited by people belonging to the brown race, one of the great divisions of the family of mankind. The Philippines are shared by many tribes, all belonging to the same brown race. People of one tribe may be found on one of these islands; those of a different tribe are living on another; or one tribe may live in a valley and its neighbour in the hills; and so on to the number of eighty tribes. Each tribe has its own customs and ways. And yet we shall call these various peoples of the brown race our cousins; for not only are they our kindred by the ties which unite all the races of men in this world; they have been adopted into the family of our own nation, the United States of America. The people of these islands are many of them wild and distrustful children. They have no faith in us; they do not wish to obey our laws. If we are in earnest in our wish to do them good, and not harm, we must learn to know them better, so that we may understand their needs. That is one reason why we are going to learn about our little Philippine cousin, Alila of Luzon. Contents CHAPTER PAGE I. THE NEW BABY 9 II. HIS FIRST PARTY 15 III. THE CHRISTENING 21 IV. THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE 25 V. FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS 29 VI. THE BUFFALO HUNT 33 VII. THE RICH MAN'S HOME 39 VIII. TAPPING FOR TUBA 46 IX. FOREST AND STREAM 51 X. A SWARM OF LOCUSTS 57 XI. THE NEW HOME 63 XII. IN THE FOREST 68 XIII. CROCODILES 73 XIV. TONDA'S STORY 77 XV. STRANGE NEIGHBOURS 81 XVI. THE STOUT-HEARTED SAILOR 88 List of Illustrations PAGE ALILA _Frontispiece_ "HIS MOTHER HAD BATHED HIM IN THE WATER OF THE RIVER" 21 "SOMETIMES ALILA RIDES ON HIS BACK" 31 "HE WAS AS NIMBLE AS A SQUIRREL" 49 "SUCH A DIN AND COMMOTION YOU NEVER HEARD" 58 "'AROUND ONE PART OF THE CITY THERE IS A STRONG WALL'" 78 ALILA Our Little Philippine Cousin CHAPTER I. THE NEW BABY. ALILA is such a strong, active boy now, it is hard to imagine him in his babyhood,--he was such a tiny brown tot! His nose was so flat one would hardly have noticed there was a nose at all, except for the wideness of the nostrils. His big black eyes seemed to be moving around all the time, as much as to say: