general show so little interest in the Philippine Islands. This lack
of interest may be due to lack of knowledge; if this be so, then it
is the duty of those better informed to do all that lies in their
power to develop the interest now regrettably absent. Be this as it
may, it is assumed here that most of our people do not know that a
very large fraction of the inhabitants of the Philippines consists
of the so-called wild men, and that of these the greatest group or
collection is found in the mountains of Northern Luzon.

These mountaineers or highlanders constitute perhaps, all other
things being equal, as interesting a body of uncivilized people as
is to be found on the face of the earth to-day. The Spaniards, of
course, soon discovered their existence, the first mention of them
being made by De Morga, in his "_Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas_"
(1609). He speaks [1] of them as inhabiting the interior of a rough
mountainous country, where are "many natives who are not pacified,
nor has anyone gone into their country, who call themselves Ygolotes,"
Here we have the first form, the classic form according to Retana, of
the word now universally written _Igorrote_, or in English _Igorot._
The word itself means "highlanders," _golot_ being a Tagalog word for
"mountain," and _I_ a prefix meaning "people of." De Morga mentions
the "Ygolotes" as owning rich mines of gold and silver, which "they
work as there is need," and he goes on to say that in spite of all
the diligence made to know their mines, and how they work and improve
them, the matter has come to naught, "because they are cautious with
the Spaniards who go to them in search of gold, and say they keep it
better guarded under ground than in their houses,"

The Spaniards at a very early date sent armed exploring parties
through the highlands and maintained garrisons here and there down