THE BAT CHILD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12536, 25 June 1901, Page 11

THE BAT CHILD.

(Nm YOrl: Eraiing Post.) Behind the Sultanate of Cotta Batto, in Mindanao, is a vast' country'inhabited by the Free Men. Nil‘'OttftiliTm : daretimoEsiits borders, and. the fiercest 'More- thinks 'twice before entering the country. It is a rich land, full of game, fish, fruit and yams, and its air is so warm that none ever need to wear clothing. It has thick forests and iugh mountains, beautiful lakes and noisy waterfalls, jungles where the pythons grow to forty reef, and marsh-ponds where the. crocodiles are thirty feet from nose to tailtip. Though no one dares molest the Free Men, they, at© not many, nor nro tiny free. They worship devils, and hold converse with the -children of hell. They have no kings nor princes, but only Baganis, which, in our language, means men of might. Every male child is brought up as a - warrior. Ho is trained carefully until he is fifteen or more, but, at fifteen, he is allowed to go out and get his first head. If .at ' cighteoni he has not taken a head, his own is cut off as tho punishment oi his worthlessness. Not until ho has captured ten heads dare he speak to his elders. Nob-until .he has captured thirty may he-look with love on a woman, and take her to 'wife.: Not until he has captured sixty can he be a Bagaai and wear a scarlet turban. When ho is a Bagani he can be a chief, and -have as many wives as he can take in warfare, piracy or stealth. Before the time of the Bat Child, the Baganis were as many as the leaves on the moiaye tree. They warred on the Sultan of Gotta Batto, the Sultan of Buhaten, th© Sultan of Butuan and the Sultan of Iliga-n,, from the beginning of the year to the end thereof. Many they slew, and many were the heads which they took back to their villages. Most of ail, they warred on the Mandayas, a quiet people who once dwelt on tho plains and tilled the soil in peace. These, though poor pagans, were not cruel and bloodthirsty, but gentle and inoffensive. Tho very gentleness aroused -the enmity of the Free Men, who believed.that battle and ''bloodshed were tho only callings worthy of manhood. They killed so many Man day as that the survivors gave up their houses on the plains and built huts in the branches of high trees, or made homes in oaves or bnrrOTvs. Even this did not protect them from the Free Men. When tic Mandayas found refuge in caverns, the Baganis built fires and -suffocated all who did not break Through the flames to fall upon the boles and creese-s of the enemy. Thus, after many years the Mandayas who dwelt in. caves passed away the same ,as those who lived upon the plains, and none were left except those who had huts far up in trees. Even these did not prosper greatly. Sometimes the Baganis shot blazing arrows, which set .fire to the dry thatch of'the tree-houses and burnt aE tho inmates. Sometimes, in pure lust of .blood, the Free Men locked shields, and climbed the trunks, while the -tree-dwellers hurled stones and spears down upon them. So many were killed and maimed in these exploits that the Baganis grew tired. Nevertheless, the -Mandayas suffered”' so much that ‘their numbers grew smaller from year to year. The old men mourned that ero long the last of their children would bo slain by the Free Men, and his head nailed upon.the walls or roof of the slayer. And beyond all .doubt, this -would have happened bub for the' Bat Child.

There was a Mandaya named Pago. He lived high -up in a inolave tree, at least twenty yards from the ground. The tree was old,^ and so -large that it could not be climbed in an ordinary fashion. There were no lower branches, and the upper branches were so strong and thick that they made up a, large part of the floor of his home. Up there he had -a pile of rocks -and many fire-pointed spears to throw down upon Baganis, stores of water, yams, dried fruit, dried fish, fuel, and bows and arrows. Higher np in tho tree he had a -pigeoncote, made cunningly of bamboo and cane, where hundreds of birds rested at night. Thus he was prepared for a soigo of. weeks or months if needs be. The rains supplied an abundance of water, and the heavy d&ws which fell upon the molave leaves were enough to prevent any suffering from thirst in case of a long beleagnermerit. Pago’s youngest child was ay boy called Akasalaon. He wa.s unlike all other boys. He cared nothing for sport, neither did he like to lie and dream in tho sunlight. Ho inherited .strange , strength of body. Before he could walk he could hold himself fr«m a branch with either his hands or- his feet for several minutes. -When five, years old, lie could run aloug branches and climb trees with the ease and quickness of a monkey. He loved birds and animals, -'and knew all those which dwelt in the moiaye tree and 1 nearly all in the .neighbourhood. Most of all, he loved the bats which are so helpless by day. There were many trees near his own which -had hollows within them,, .where, tho bats lived. He, knew every one, and spent hours studying the ways-of the little creatures. He carried bananas to the big-mouthed bats, -and little pieces of meat to tho vampires; At home, when the humour came upon him; he would tell his people of what the bats said and ■did. At first they laughed at him, and said his stories were childish fancies. But when one day, after ho hud told them that the bats had seen a company of. Baganis coming towards their .neighbourhood, and tho Free Men appeared,- then they knew that he had uttered the,truth. From that time mi he was called the Bat Child, and even. to-day the Baganis speak of the Bat Child with terror. At '(his time, Akasalaon.wa.s thirteen years old, but- he was as strong as his father, and, as they soon discovered, wiser than any Mandaya or Free Man.

The head-hunters were some filty in number. Two-thirds of them wore the red turban, while tiis rest were young men eager to kill ami so obtain the same honour. They acted under the direction of a. war chief, who was so marked by scars that -beseemed to” be dressed in a tightly-fitting crocodile’s hide. The first hut they attacked was built between four trees a-nd was scarcely thirty feet from the ground.. Around thi^ the.Free Men gathered in a ahd.at' lTie'-.;wq^d from their leader, -begAy 'slffi&tingTMr arrows at the house. . Eight warioi-s climueh up the trunks’ to the platform around the place. The inmates fought as bravely as they could. They -dropped stones and. threw spears at the climbers, maiming several and knocking one insensible to the ground. But one by one the defenders were pierced hy .arrows and fell to the platform, and thence to the earth. Tho moment they struck the 'soil a Free Man sprang at them, and, with creese or bolo, beheaded the fallen. At last the climbers gained the platform. There wa-s a brief struggle, in which all the Mandava men were slain, and -also such of the women as resisted the victors. The other women and the children were taken captives.

The second tree-house attacked was larger than the first and higher from the ground. The s ame tactics were employed as before, but this time without success. As soon as the climbing began, heavy stones fell, and two warriors were killed and four severely wounded. The platform had an outside wall, which protected the inmates from the vrrovrs of the Free Men. The attacking ■prr'v -luld a cun;v:;ii of war, which lotted -a i—Tlian tliey built a fire cf

dead wood, and began.a discharge of arrows, whoso heads, all covered with oilsoaked rags, were ablaze. The defenders extinguished them successfully at first, out every now and then were wounded by arrows of ordinary sort. Soon the thatch began to smoke and then to blaze. A woman whose dress was on fire pitched headlong to the ground, followed by a wounded Mandaya. The-flames and smoke increased; screams rose in tho air, and then more bodies, fell. Then the platform swayed, trembled and collapsed. There was a rush of beams, stones, thatch, flames and bodies through the air, a dull crash on the earth, a springing-up of a million: sparks, and then the Free Men, with a wild war-ersq dashed into the embers to secure the heads of the dead and the dying. The afternoon was well gone, when toe Free men sighted Pago’s house. The Mandaya family.had worked hard all day, making ready for the defence. On the clay hearth a score of stones wore red-hot in a dry-wood - fire.,; Bucks lay in piles near doors in tiie pjatfq’rffi-floor, and thatch and walls were as wet as green leaves, live moss and moistened skins could make them. A hundred spears, fire-pointed, were distributed about the place, and all, from Pago to the Bat Child, were ready to fight till death. ■ * ' The Free Men advanced, led by tho tail warrior. They paused just beneath the platform door, at which the Bat Child had been stationed. Just beyond him, to the left, was -a clay in which a savory stew was cooking. Tne steam floated in his nostrils and started a strange strain of thought. The next instant ha had stepped to the fireplace, lifted the pot, and dropped it through the door. As fate would have it, it struck the Bagani war chief, crushing Lis shoulder, and scald* ung his face and body with its fiery contents, Ho screamed and fell. The warriors started back, and then sprang to lift their leader to his feet. This wa<3 the signal to the Mandayas above. Through the doors, and from the parapet wall, they threw rocks, red-hot stones, and heavj spears. The Free Men ran back_ out of range, of the missiles, carrying with them their wounded leader. It had been a cost.y venture. Two Baganis lay transfixed with spears, and three crushed by rooks, while ten were sorely bruised or wounded. The Free Men were wild with rage and revenge, but knew not what to do. They talked and quarrelled .among themselves an hour, vainly attempting to invent a new plan of attack. They walked over to where the chief was lying, and broke into yells of baffled fury when they found him dead. All differences were now buried in the unanimous desire for revenge'. They built camp fires to keep away reptiles, and, after a light meal, set sentries and went to sleep. The Mandayas were alarmed at the prospect. The men gnashed their teeth and the women refused to be comforted.. Only tho Bat Child showed neither fear nor sorrow. As the day died he . climbed higher np into the molave tree and, perching himself on a. huge branch, sounded what is known as the “batr,call.” Jt was answered at first by a few flying creatures, but as the evening deepened by more and more. When darkness set in the trees seemed alive with shadows which came and went. Pago and his people trembled as they heard the strange sounds overhead and saw the night filled with swiftly passing winged things. A Bangani awoke and said: “I thought I had received but five cuts, but the blood trickles at a dozen!” and fell asleep again. A third woke and said; “It was a rock which bruised, but in the rock I must have been cut with. little arrows.” Towards morning the sentry screamed: “Awake, Free Men, or be killed in your sleep!. The vampires are; on us!” They awoke, but were so weak they could scarcely stand. On each were hundreds of little round holes, from which the blood flowed, but from the bodies of twenty warriors no blood flowed, because they had died in the night. Of the twenty was the second sentry, who had fallen asleep and been drained dry of his life’s current while dreaming of battle on the morrow. The Bat Child, and Pago, his father, and three of his brothers, descended their rope: ladders land , crept stealthily near the Free Men. Soon they were on their journey home, the strong leading and the weak bringing up tne rear. The Mandayas followed and slew them, one by one, until trie beginning of the afternoon. They then, turned and-went back to the molave tree. The Free Men kept on their journey. Some fell by the way from weakness and died. Some were- stung, by serpents aud perished. One was crushed by a python, and one eaten by a young alligator. - Of the fifty odd warriors who went out against the Mandayas head-hunting, but six came back, and three of these never recovered their ne-alth and strength., Two had seen Akasalaon in the pursuit, and told stories of vampire bats as big as eea-eagtes, and of the goblin creature, half bat and half child, which ran or flew, bit and sucked blood, speared and fought on foot and in the air. They made the story target every time they told-it, lest the Free Men should laugh at them for having been routed and slain by the tree-dwelling Mandayas.

Pago and his kinsmen were overjoyed at their victory, the first which had ever been gained over the cruel Baganis. But the Bat Child shook his head and said,; “Rejoice if you will, but get ready, for a greater straggle, because; ere a year has passed away the head-hunters will come back for revenge.”

The Bat Child made a bow. It was strong, but so small that, when first shown, id- was ridiculed by the tree people. For it he made arrows, which were no largei than the rib of a. bankiva’s tail feather. They were stained greenish, brown, and when they flew none saw them. The point was fire-hardened and so venomed than when it broke the skin of man, beast, bird or fish the creature died as if it had been bitten by a hagsnake ; but what the venom was or where it found it the Bat Chiid never told. ' '

When he had made a hundred bows, he gathered as many Mandayas, choosing only those’ who could climb tress and run the branches like himself. To eacn. he gave a bow, and each many arrows, which the Bab Child venomed like those he had first shown. Five months passed before the work was completed, aud for another 1 five months the bowmen were drilled every day, until one and'ail had become good marksmen.

The year was nearly over when , the Bat Child sent work for his men to assemble. They came, but- -many complained 'that there was no need.fqr the summons. Akasalaon heard them patiently arid replied r “ Last night the bats told me that the Free Men were making ready to march into cur country and to take revenge upon us. They will start to-morrow, and.will never dream oL mseting us -ncaf their Q\vn land. There isra'rgreat.rtoresteprar.the border, where tho road'is’-.a, buffalo,-path Uirough the wood and jungle. Here our enemies can do but little, while wc, who have always lived in the trees, can assail them, unseen and unexpected.” All came off as he foretold. Two thousand Free Mem; of whom half, wore red turbans, started on,the next r>y. On tho second day they entered, the -forest, where the trees were,so high and vast as,to make day a dark twilight, and the path of the jungle so narrow that never more than two warriors could move abreast.. Among the branches were hidden the Mandaya, bowmen. , All day long, the arrows sped, bearing death to the head-hunters. The bowmen feught wisely and well. They never fired an arrow except at the -enemy's back, when more than severity yards distant. They made no noise, and when the Baganis paused , to listen, there was no sound but that of tho forest. One by one the victims fell and died. Some perished as soon as the arrows .struck, others swelled and burst: Borne died in silence, and others rent, the air with their screams. The oldest Bagani could offer ,no exph-nation or advice. Nona had ever heal'd cf warriors in foraut, or of uoi-

soned arrows. Still less bad anyone heard of peaceful Man day as becoming soldiers and marching into a strange country. A Bagani recalled the story of the Bat Child, and the defeat of his countrymen. He had laughed at it when it was told, but now it rose in his memory with awful meaning. Ho whispered tho thought to his comrades, and it passed from warrior to warrior'until every Free Mam. was tilled with the same deep fear. The flight of arrows continued, but in a way so unusual as to excite dread. Sometimes none would bo seen for half an hour, and then ono and another would strike a doomed warrior. Sometimes twenty would come together as if shot by one hand. At nightfall tho Baganis came to an opening in the wilderness. It was partly rock land and partly swamp, and round it rose the huge trees in an unbroken wall.

Here they built camp-fires for the night, and prepared their simple supper. They were no longer the proud and fearless host of the day before. Hundreds lay dead and dying along the journey, and those who were left felt for the first time the shadow of a horrible doom. Suddenly a war chief made a faint cry, raised his hand to bis neck, and then fell lifeless. When they came close to him they found a thin brown arrow, half broken, beneath his hand. They were brave men, but shuddered at fighting an invisible foe through the night. An owl hooted, and was answered and re-answered, until it seemed as if the darkness were filled with these fierce birds. Silence fell, and then came another shower of brown arrows. Again there was silence for a. spell, broken by the bat call. It was not a loud sound, but to the nervous Baganis it was louder than the shrill hoot of the owl. Through the circles of light around each camp-fire bats began to dart to and fro. A young Free Man cried out: “The Bat Child, the Bat Child!” and then toppled over, skin by a venomed arrow. Thus the night wore on. Many tried to forget their fears in sleep, bnt as soon as they grew drowsy and unconscious, a sharp bite from an unseen vampire brought them to their feet. A piece of bullet wood exploded in a camp-fire and threw sparks in every direction, just as the owl shrieked and a flight of arrows fell. Those near the fire became panic stricken, and flew into the doarkness. They ran into the swamp, which closed over them, though not until many of the drowning had made the forest ring with their cries for aid. Morning came at last, to the delight of the Baganis; Tho joy was short-lived, however. Among the many skin during tho night were the guides. There was a council of war, and the host started under the leadership of its ablest chiefs. Now and then the arrows fell, and one warrior and another lay down for ever. Ere long the path was lost, and the bolos were drawn to cut a road, through the brush. At nightfall the Baganis found themselves in a, narrow valley shut in by trees and high cliffs. A storm rose shortly afterward, and the ground became covered with rushing water. The lightning struck the crags from time to time, and twice huge rocks dislodged far up on the mountain side, plunged downward, carrying with them trees and earth and writhing creat ures. One of the landslides buried a score pf Free Men, who cbwered together in the shelter of a cliff. When the sun rose the water had passed off, but in the.web earth or in the pasty mud were many bodies. It looked like a battlefield, but was more terrible. There was no meal that morning. The storm had destroyed the few supplies. There was no cry for vengeance. Every warrior -wished now to escape the Bat Child and to return to his own land. The journey home was slow and painful. The storm had blotted out much of the trail and changed many stretches of land into muddy water. The poisoned arrows fell incessantly. In the evening the hoot of the owls aiid the “bat call” were heard, and in the morning there were always dead men to lament. On the fifth day the Free Men reached home. Their-kinsmen turned out to welcome them. But the welcome change ed quickly to tears and mad lamentations. Of the host which had left eight days be fore nob 500 had come back. Each told a different tale of What had happened, but each charged the misfortune to the monster Bat Child. He had shob the arrows and called his brothers, the bat and the owl, to his assistance; ho had poured down the rain and started the landslide. He bad followed them, unseen and unresting, with bow and deadly quiver. His pame spread from village to village. Soon he was seen by the credulous at Cotta Batto and at Iligan. Superstitious pirates recognised him on swift prahus, and nervous hunters were pursued by him when in the forest looking for game. But all this time the Bab Child was at h6me, where he gave red turbans to the Mandraya women and bolos and creeses to the Mandraya. men. After giving gifts, he again made arrows and drilled his people In the use of the bow. , The next year strange things took place in the Bagani country. The first which was noted was the appearance of bats, to which were fastened pieces of fine, red cloth, like that of turbans. Sudden deaths became common. In every village a man, woman or child, dog or buffalo, cither disappeared altogether; or else was found d?»d. Most, of these occurrences were at night, but many happened in broad day. Then came a rumour that the dreaded Bat Child had come to reap vengeance upon the oppressors of his tribe. It spread like magic, and although none spoke of it openly, people no longer went alone. lb was more than confirmed a few days afterward, when of a hunting party of ten which bad left shortly before, one surviving warrior returned. He said that in the middle of a thick wood they heard owls calling, and when the sounds had died away there came a volley of arrows, which killed all his colleagues. ' As he ran he caught a glimpse of a being, half man and half bat, high up in a tree, which chattered at him and showed teeth of surprising whiteness. At a caxapusan in the village of Baltokg, when the festivities were at the highest, the hoy ting of .owls was heard by those not dancing, and then came a. shower, of tiny- shafts .which- killed a hundred. . ..-

Death came to many villages, and soon all sudden deaths were charged, to the Bat Child., The fear grew into terror,' and the terror, went everywhere. Robbers took advantage of it to ply their trade. Then, the Sultans of the coast country heard the news, and . sent 1 their armies against the Baganis, These fought as bravely as they could, but by degrees their homes were burned and they were driven far awaj into the interior. The end of the* second year the Free Men were but a remnant, and their glory was gone for ever. Hie ■ war • went on. The Mandayas, through' repeated' success, became proud. They gathered, spoil after each foray,, and .captured the daughters, of the Free Men. ■ Last of all the Bat Child took unto himself a captive. She was the daughter of a •’Teat' war' chief, and beneath her beauty and soft voice had the soul of a warrior. She was to have married a young and handsome.Bagani,' but her lover and father had both been, slain by her captor. She went uncomplainingly to the house m tho molave tree, which, 'was twice as large as before, and here ministered to her lord. He was busy making ready for a new campaign, and the platform had a -great stock of venomed arrows, a hundred to a quiver, and five quivers to each of his thousand men. . lie was charmed by her beauty, and foolishly told her that he alone* possessed the venom, and mat the arrows he ' was preparing would, before many months, destroy the last of the Free Men. - That night, when he was asleep, she arose, and from his spoils took out a cfewi. the point of which was a needle’s. idhe approached her sleeping lord, and, with cue mighty blow, drove the blade into ‘ns heart. Then «he walked to the fireplace, and, from the dying embers took • ufc the live coals and threw them into the dried thatch. A little flame leaped up and spriai on every hand. The dried timbers caught, and as "the fire rose up into the night she broke into sent:, the death song of vhs Batmans. The Monday as awoke, and soon

made a wild throng around the gianttrunk of the molave, but no rope-k'Jdtr.v fell, and no leader spoke to them f rom above. The song rolled out, and was echoed far and wide, the flames shot heavenward, the sparks poured downward, and,', the house of the Bat Child fell with ft crash to the green earth below.