IDYLLS OF THE PACIFIC.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 27 May 1925, Page 7

IDYLLS OF THE PACIFIC.

MARRIED SEVEN SISTERS. MANILA, April 24. General Wood leaves on the 26th for a cruise among the Babuyanes ar.d Babanes Islands. Despite the fact that these groups are buffeted by the northwest monsoons J;or about half the year, and by typhoons' during the other half, the natives are said to live curiously easy-going lives. The soil is very fertile, and fruits and vegetab'es grow luxuriantly. On some of the islands the women exceed the men bv 10 to 1. I' heard of a ease where a vilage headman had married an entire familv of seven sisters. Reminds one of Solomon in.all his glory. However, even attractions of this kind don’t hold the younger men, who generallv seize the first- chance to get away to the mainlands. Where typhoons' are so common hundreds of men lose their lives while in pursuit of almost the only masculine avocation —deep sea fishing. The career of a fisherman in the Balintang Channel is nearly as hazardous as flying in war-time. On some of the islands venomous snakes, including the king cobra (■“hn.madvrad”) abounds, and it is said it likewise helps to keep the population down. The people are more like native Formosans than Filipinos.