The carabao or water buffalo (_nuang_) is the most prized and valuable animal possessed by this tribe. As a rule, it is handled and petted by the children from the time of its birth, and hence its taming and breaking is a matter of little moment. In the mountain region about Lakub, where most of the animals are allowed to run half wild, only the strongest are broken. The animal is driven into a A-shaped pen, and a heavy pole is fastened across its neck just behind the horns. It is thus prevented from using its strength, and is loaded or ridden until it becomes accustomed to the treatment. Carabao are used for drawing the sleds and for ploughing and harrowing in the lower fields. Should one be seriously injured, it would be killed and eaten; but strong animals are slaughtered only on very rare occasions. Wild carabao are fairly abundant in the mountains. They closely resemble the tame stock, and are generally considered to be derived from animals which have escaped. CHAPTER IX PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY _Iron-Working_.--Little iron work is now done in the valley of the Abra for the competition of the Ilocano smiths of Santa and Narvacan, in Ilocos Sur, and the cheap products brought to the coast, and as far inland as Bangued, by Chinese traders, have swamped the native industry. Forges are still found in many villages of eastern Abra, particularly those of the upper Buklok river, but the real center of the industry is in and around Balbalasang, on the eastern side of the mountain range. We have in northern Luzon a situation similar to that found throughout the archipelago, namely, that the most flourishing smithies are usually those farthest removed from the coast traders. Where communication is easy and trade unrestricted, the native industry has vanished, or is on the wane. To-day the forges of the Bontoc Igorot, of the Tinguian-Kalinga border villages, and of Apayao, are turning out superior weapons, but elsewhere in the northwestern districts the pagan people have either lost the art, or make only very inferior articles. It is certain that iron-working has long been known, not only in the Philippines, but throughout Malaysia, and it is likewise evident that these regions secured the art from the same source as did the people of Assam, Burma, and eastern Madagascar, for the description of the Tinguian forge and iron-working which follows would, with very little modification, apply equally well to those in use in Southern Mindanao, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Assam, Burma, and Madagascar. [227]