Their conversion to Christianity has proved to be an impossible task. A Royal Decree of Ferdinand VI.. dated in Aranjuez, June 18, 1758, sets forth that the infidels called _Tinguianes, Igorrotes_, and by other names who should accept Christian baptism, should be exempt all their lives from the payment of tribute and forced labour. Their offspring, however, born to them after receiving baptism, would lose these privileges as well as the independence enjoyed by their forefathers. This penalty to future generations for becoming Christians was afterwards extended to all the undomesticated races.
Many of these tribes did a little barter traffic with the Chinese, but--with the hope that necessity would bring them down to the christian villages to procure commodities, and thus become socialized--the Government prohibited this trade in 1886.
The _Tinguianes_ appear to be as intelligent as the ordinary subdued natives. They are by no means savages, and they are not entirely strangers to domestic life. A great many Christian families of El Abra and Ilocos Sur are of _Tinguian_ origin, and I may mention here that the Ilocano dominated natives have the just reputation of being the most industrious Philippine people. For this reason, Ilocano servants and workmen are sought for in preference to most others.
The _Basanes_ are a very timid people who inhabit the mountains of Mindoro Island. They have long, lank hair and whitish faces, and do not appear to be of one of the original races. They are occasionally met with (when they do not hide themselves) in the cordillera which runs north-west to south-east and then ends off in two spurs, between which, after passing Mount Halcon, there is a large valley leading to the southern shore. The _Manguianes_, another Mindoro wild tribe, come to the coast villages sometimes to barter, and bring pieces of gold for the purpose. They also wear gold jewellery made of the metal extracted by themselves.
There is another race of people whose source is not distinctly known, but, according to tradition, they descend from the Sepoys who formed part of the troops under British command during the military occupation of Manila in 1763 (_vide_ p. 88). The legend is, that these _Hindoos_, having deserted from the British army, migrated up the Pasig River. However that may be, the sharp-featured, black-skinned settlers in the Barrio de Dayap, of Cainta Town (Mórong district), are decidedly of a different stock to the ordinary native. The notable physical differences are the fine aquiline nose, bright expression, and regular features. They are Christians--far more laborious than the Philippine natives, and are a law-abiding people. I have known many of them personally for years. They were the only class who voluntarily presented themselves to pay the taxes to the Spaniards, and yet, on the ground that generations ago they were intruders on the soil, they were more heavily laden with imposts than their fellow-neighbours until the abolition of tribute in 1884.