On May 2 he complied with these instructions, [67] describing the conditions under which slaves were taken by the neighbouring Kalingas and Ifugaos, whom he wrongly calls "Igorrotes," the methods employed in selling them, and the treatment subsequently given them by their purchasers. He also furnished a list of "Igorrotes" sold in the province during the past year, with names of the purchasers and prices paid. The ages of these unhappy individuals varied from eight to twenty-seven years, the prices paid for them, from one hundred and ten to two hundred and fifty Mexican dollars. This report led Governor Taft to write to Governor Dichoso of Isabela, who was charged with owning a slave, asking him for a frank statement of the facts as to the prevalence of slavery in his province. Governor Dichoso's reply, dated September 9, 1903, will make interesting reading for those who claim that slavery does not exist, and has never existed, among the Filipinos. I give it practically in full, omitting only the titles of the governor:-- "Having noted the contents of the official letter of the Honourable the Civil Governor in the Philippine Islands, Mr. W. H. Taft, dated the 8th of August, last, and of the copy of the report annexed thereto, which were received yesterday, I have the honour to respectfully reply that during the 21 years, more or less, that I have resided in this provincial capital (Ilagan), I have never thought of buying a member or a child of the race mentioned in the report, or of any other tribe, to serve as a slave in my household, not for the reason that this is prohibited and punished by section 484 and the following sections of the Spanish Code now in force, relative to the crime of kidnapping, but because it goes against my nature to treat in this manner a person who, like all human beings alive, is a likeness of the Highest. This I prove by means of the documents annexed hereto. "I could easily have done so in time of the late Spanish Government, because I had good opportunities for doing so, and could have afforded to do so on account of my social position from that time on up to date, during which period I held successively the following public offices:-- "This having been my status, and considering the power and the opportunity which I had for obtaining slaves, I might not have had only one, but enough to harvest the tobacco on my plantation, and the other crops which I had planted. "Under the past Government there existed slaves in this province, but only a small number, for only wealthy families could afford to keep them. The same was the case in the neighbouring Provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan; in the former they also used to have slaves of the Ifugao tribe, and in the latter Negritos, but very few of these.