The bamboo is very useful in the country where it grows. It is a kind
of reed, and grows very tall. It has joints like the joints of a corn
stalk. It is not solid like a corn stalk, but is hollow inside. It is
so thick and strong that the people make houses of it and all kinds of
furniture.
[Illustration: Bamboo.]
The Moro men are good sailors and swimmers. They are also good divers.
They dive into the water for pearls and coral. They can stay under the
water for two or three minutes at a time. The children also are good
swimmers. They spend a great deal of time in the water.
There is another tribe called the Man'gy-ans. These people live in the
mountains. They have black hair and flat noses. They are very strong,
for they spend most of their time out of doors.
Some months of the year they do not live in houses. They sleep under
trees. But other months of the year it rains very much. Then they
sleep in houses. Their houses are made of poles with roofs of leaves.
The Mangyan women and girls wear a very strange kind of dress. It is
made of cords coiled around their waists. The cords are narrow strips
of rattan braided together. Rattan is the stem of a plant which grows
to a very great height.
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