tribe, and to cause them to incorporate into their language many new
words and terms.

The friendly relations with the Moro seem to have been broken off upon
the arrival and settlement of the Spaniards in Davao. The newcomers were
then at war with the followers of Mohammed and soon succeeded in
enlisting the Bagobo rulers in their cause. A Chinese plate decorated
with the picture of a large blue fish was offered for each Moro head the
tribesmen presented to the Spanish commander. The desire for these
trophies was sufficient soon to start a brisk trade in heads, to judge
from the number of these plates still to be seen among the prized
objects of the petty rulers.

After the overthrow of Moro power on the coast, Jesuit missionaries
began their labors among the Bagobo, and later established their
followers in several villages. In 1886 Father Gisbert reported eight
hundred converts living in five coast towns. Following the conflict
between Spain and the United States, and during the subsequent
insurrection, these villages were left without protection or guidance.
As a result, large numbers of the inhabitants retired to the hills where
they were again merged with their wilder brothers. Naturally, they
carried with them new ideas as well as material objects. With the
re-establishment of order under American rule many returned to the
deserted villages while others were induced by Governor Bolton to form
compact settlements midway between the coast and the mountain
fastnesses. The influence of the Government has become stronger each
year, and following the human sacrifice at Talun in 1907, that powerful
village and several of the neighboring settlements were compelled to
move down near to the sea where they could be more easily controlled.