Altogether  the  buffalo  may  be  considered  the  most  useftil  animal  in
the  Philippines.  It  serves  for  carting,  ploughing,  canying  loads  on  its
back,  and  almost  all  labour  of  the  kind  where  great  strength  is  required
for  a  short  time.  A  peasant  possessed  of  a  bowie-knife,  a  buffalo,  and
good  health,  need  not  seek  far  to  make  an  independent  living.  I  owe  a
certain  gratitude  to  buffaloes,  for  more  than  once  they  have  pulled  my
carriage  out  of  the  mud  in  the  provinces,  where  horses  could  get  along
no  farther.  Finally,  buffalo-meat  is  an  acceptable  article  of  food  when
nothing  better  can  be  got ;  by  natives  it  is  much  relished.     Its  flesh,  like


888  Donkeys — Mules — Sheep

that  of  deer  and  oxen,  is  sometimes  cut  into  thin  slices  and  sun-<lried,
to  make  what  is  called  in  the  Philippines  Tapa^  in  Cuba  Tasq/Oy  and  in
Spain  Cecina,

In  the  Visayas  Islands  oxen  are  used  as  draught-animals  as
frequently  as  buffaloes, — sometimes  even  for  carriages.
Wild  buffaloes  are  met  with,  and,  when  young,  they  are  easily
tamed.  Buffalo-himting,  as  a  sport,  is  a  very  dangerous  diversion,  and
rarely  indulged  in,  as  death  or  victory  must  come  to  the  infuriated  beast
or  the  chaser.  A  good  hunting-ground  is  Nueva  Ecija,  near  the
Caraballo  de  Baler  Mountain.
