We then proceeded on our way to Banaue, being obliged to plunge down through the rice terraces to the bottom of a deep cañon and then climb two almost perpendicular earthen walls before reaching the house of the chief. I was completely exhausted when I began this climb, and did not feel comfortable clinging like a tree frog to the face of a clay bank with nothing to support me except rather shallow holes which could be better negotiated by Ifugaos, possessed of prehensile toes, than by men wearing shoes. Seeing my predicament, an Ifugao climbed down from above, pulled my coat-tails up over my head and hung on to them, while another came up behind me, put his hands on my heels and carefully placed my toes in the holes prepared for their reception. Thus aided, I finally reached the top. The Ifugaos did not invite us to enter their houses, but allowed us to camp under them. I was assigned quarters under the house of the chief. It was tastefully ornamented, at the height of the floor, with a very striking frieze of alternating human skulls and carabao skulls. One of my reasons for coming to Banaue at this time was that I had heard that the people of seven other towns had recently formed a confederation and attacked it, losing about a hundred and fifty heads before they were driven off. I therefore thought that there might be a favourable opportunity to learn something of head-hunting, and to secure some photographs illustrating customs which I hoped would become rare in the near future, as indeed they did. Trouble promptly arose between our Bontoc friends and the Ifugaos. The Bontocs wanted to purchase food. Some baskets of camotes were brought and thrown down before them and they were told that they were welcome to camotes, which were suitable food for Bontoc Igorots and pigs, but that if they wanted rice they would have to come out and get it. As twenty-five of them were armed with carbines and all the rest had lances, shields and head-axes, they were more than anxious to go, but this we could hardly permit! So we put them in a stockade under guard, and subsisted them ourselves, a thing which necessarily rendered our stay brief, as provisions soon ran low. The Ifugaos of Banaue showed themselves most friendly, but warned us that a large hostile party was waiting to attack us at Kababuyan, a short distance down the trail. My mission to the Ifugao country was to establish kindly relations with the people rather than kill them, so I did my best to get on good terms with the inhabitants of the more friendly settlements.