They live principally on fish, roots, and mountain rice, but they occasionally make a raid on the neighbouring valleys and carry off the herds. So great was their cattle-stealing propensity in Spanish times, that several semi-official expeditions were sent to punish the marauders, particularly on the Cordillera de Zambales, on the west side of Luzon Island. The husbandry of the Negritos is the most primitive imaginable. It consists of scraping the surface of the earth--without clearance of forest--and throwing the seed. They never "take up" a piece of land, but sow in the manner described wherever they may happen temporarily to settle. The _Gaddanes_ occupy the extreme N.W. corner of Luzon Island, and are entirely out of the pale of civilization. I have never heard that any attempt has been made to subdue them. They have a fine physical bearing; wear the hair down to the shoulders; are of a very dark colour, and feed chiefly on roots, mountain rice, game, fruits, and fish. They are considered the only really warlike and aggressively savage tribe of the north, and it is the custom of the young men about to marry to vie with each other in presenting to the sires of their future brides all the scalps they are able to take from their enemies, as proof of their manly courage. This practice prevails at the season of the year when the tree, commonly called by the Spaniards "the fire-tree," is in bloom. The flowers of this tree are of a fire-red hue, and their appearance is the signal for this race to collect their trophies of war and celebrate certain religious rites. When I was in the extreme north, in the country of the _Ibanacs_, [55] preparing my expedition to the _Gaddanes_ tribe, I was cautioned not to remain in the Gaddanes country until the fire-tree blossomed. The arms used by the _Gaddanes_ are frightful weapons--long lances with tridented tips, and arrows pointed with two rows of teeth, made out of flint or sea-shells. These weapons are used to kill both fish and foe. The _Itavis_ inhabit the district to the south of that territory occupied by the _Gaddanes_, and their mode of living and food are very similar. They are, however, not so fierce as the _Gaddanes_, and if assaults are occasionally made on other tribes, it may be rather attributed to a desire to retaliate than to a love of bloodshed. Their skin is not so dark as that of their northern neighbours--the _Gaddanes_ or the partially civilized _Ibanacs_--and their hair is shorter.