A DOMINICAN friar  named Fr. José Tomás Marín (1710 to 1769) was a pioneering hiker. Working most of his life in the northern missions of Cagayan, he thought of crossing Kalinga and Abra starting from Pudtol until Laoag, an itinerary which is still difficult to traverse today. At that time, the territory was populated by indigenous people that, for very good reasons, were unwilling to be in contact with the European intruders. Father Marín wanted to scan the area so that the Dominican province could open new missions.

Accompanied by a loyal parishioner, he found out that every single time he arrived at a village, the inhabitants would run away in desperation. They left all their belongings and just escaped. But in a certain village, there was an old handicapped man who had been left behind. He could not run. Father Marín approached him and asked: “Why are you running?” “Aren’t you the tributo devil?” the old man, full of fear, replied.

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