Part 30 (1/2)
”Close to these magazines is the powder magazine, with its master, officials, and convicts, in which, on ordinary occasions, thirty mortars grind powder, and that which is damaged is refined.
”In another part of the city, in a convenient situation, is the cannon foundry, with its moulds, furnaces, and instrument founders, and workmen, who carry on the works.
”The royal buildings are very handsome, with a good view, and very roomy, with many windows opening seaward and to the parade; they are all of hewn stone, with two courts and high and low corridors with thick pillars.”
The city of to-day verifies the descriptive talent and accuracy of this writer.
CHAPTER XVIII
The Southern Philippines.
Important Facts About the Lesser Islands of the Philippine Archipelago--Location, Size and Population--Capitals and Princ.i.p.al Cities--Rivers and Harbors--Surface and Soil--People and Products--Leading Industries--Their Commerce and Business Affairs--The Monsoons and Typhoons--The Terrors of the Tempests and How to Avoid Them.
The island and province of Mindoro lies in the strait of its name and south of Luzon. It has in the center an elevated plain, we quote from the military notes issued by the War Department, from which many sierras extend in different directions to the coast, making the latter rugged and dangerous. The island is of an oval form, with a prolongation of the northern portion toward the west. Though an easy day's sail from Manila, it is one of the least populous islands of the archipelago, being extremely mountainous, covered with dense forests, and in the more level parts near the coast full of marshes, and very unhealthful. The inhabitants of the coast are Tagals, but in the interior there is a low tribe of the Malayan race, probably the indigenes of the island, and called Manguianos, speaking a peculiar language and living in a very miserable manner on the products of a rude agriculture. There are also said to be some Negritos, but of these very little is known. There are many short streams. The island is 110 miles long and has an area of 3,087 square miles. The population is 106,170. There is little known of the mountains of the interior, as the inhabitants dwell mainly on the coasts. Mindoro const.i.tutes one of the provinces of the Philippines under an alcalde.
The capital is Calapan, with a population of 5,585. It is situated to the north, on the harbor of its name, defended by a fort of regular construction; it has about 500 houses, among the notable stone ones being the parish, court house and jail, and casa real. It is the residence of the alcalde mayor and several public functionaries. The city is situated 96 miles from Manila.
Mount Kalavite is a long-backed promontory, the western slope of which forms Cape Kalavite, and the northern slope Point del Monte; the summit, about 2,000 feet high, appears dome-shaped when seen from the west, but from the north or south it shows a long ridge fairly level; the western end of this ridge is the highest part.
The capital of the province, Calapan, is a coast town. The inhabitants are occupied in hunting, fis.h.i.+ng, and ordinary weaving. The commerce is insignificant. Sand banks extend in front of the town to a distance of one-half mile. To clear these, the northern Silonai islet should not be shut out by Point Calapan. On this line, near the north edge of the banks, the soundings are 36 to 46 fathoms.
The Semirara Islands form a group of eight islands, all surrounded by reefs.
Semirara, the largest of the group, is hilly, about 512 feet high at the highest part. The west coast includes several little bays almost entirely obstructed by reefs, on the edge of which are depths of 4 3/4 to 13 fathoms; and off the town of Semirara, which stands on the top of the hill facing the largest bay, the anchorage is very bad, even for coasters. The east coast is bordered by a reef, which extends about a mile from the northeast part of the island; on coming from the north this coast of the island must not be approached within three miles until the town of Semirara bears full west. There is anchorage at the south of the island in 5 to 8 fathoms, sand, during the northeast monsoon. Good coal for steaming purposes was found on the island by Captain Villavicencio, of the Spanish navy.
Tablas Island is, mountainous, and on its northern extremity is the peak Cabezo de Tablas, 2,405 feet high; generally the coasts are clear and steep-to. Off the north end are two rocky islets, distant one cable from the coast; the larger one is clear and steep, the smaller one has rocks around it.
The west coast of Mindoro Island has no soundings off it excepting in the bays, or within one or two miles of the sh.o.r.e in some places. In the interior double and treble chains of mountains extend through the island, and some low points of land project from them into the sea.
Paluan Bay affords excellent shelter in the northeast monsoon, and is also a convenient place for vessels to obtain supplies when pa.s.sing through Mindoro Strait. The bay is five miles wide at the entrance, of a semi-circular form, running back three miles in a northerly direction. There are no dangers in it.
A small river disembogues where good water can be obtained with facility; and on the beach there is plenty of driftwood. The coral projects one-half mile from the entrance of the river, and has 10 and 12 fathoms close to its edge.
Care must be taken when working into Paluan Bay, for the squalls come violently off the high land, and very sudden, and at night do not give the least warning.
The Calamianes are a group of high islands lying between the northeast end of Palawan and Mindoro, and extending between the parallels of 11 degrees 39 minutes and 12 degrees 20 minutes N., and the meridians of 119 degrees 47 minutes and 120 degrees 23 minutes E. Busuanga, the largest island of the group, is about 34 miles in extent NW. by W. and SE. by E., and 18 miles broad. It is very irregular in form, being indented with numerous deep bays. The islands and reefs which front its northeast side form the western side of Northumberland Strait.
These islands form, with the northern part of Palawan and the Cuyos Islands, a province, the capital of which is at Port Tai Tai. The climate of these islands is in general hot and unhealthful. Intermittent fevers and cutaneous diseases prevail, attributable, in all probability, to the great moisture and the insalubrious quality of the drinking water. All these islands are, generally speaking, hilly and broken. The industry of the locality is in collecting Salanganes (edible birds' nests), honey, and wax; but cultivation is not practiced to any great extent. The forests produce good timber for building or cabinet work.
Tara Island, when seen from the northward, shows a triple summit to its northwest end; while its southern part looks like a separate island, saddle-shaped. The island does not appear to be permanently inhabited; in March, 1885, it was occupied by parties from Busuanga, burning the gra.s.s and digging ca.s.sava.
Lagat is a small island 334 feet high, surrounded by a reef with a narrow pa.s.sage between it and the reef off the south of Tara.
Botak Island, 800 feet high, is fairly well cultivated. Off its northern end there is a queer pin-shaped rock, and off its southern end are same sharp-pointed rocks. The vicinity has not been sounded.
The s.p.a.ce included between the Sulu Archipelago to the south and Mindoro to the north, and having the Philippine Islands on the east and Palawan on the west, is distinguished by the name of the Sulu Sea. Although of great depth, 2,550 fathoms, this sea, which is in connection with the China and Celebes seas, and also with the Pacific by San Bernardino and Surigao straits, has a minimum deep-sea temperature of 50.5 degrees, reached invariably at 400 fathoms. As this temperature in the China Sea is at the depth of 200 fathoms, and in the Celebes Sea at 180 fathoms, and in the Pacific at 230 fathoms, it may be inferred that the Sulu Sea is prevented from freely interchanging its waters with those seas by ridges which do not exceed those depths.
In the Sulu Sea easterly winds with fine weather prevail in October, and the northeast monsoon is not established until November. In January and February it blows hardest, but not with the force of the China seas, and it is felt strongest before the openings between Panay and Negros, and Negros and Mindanao. At the end of May southwest winds begin to blow, and in a month become established, to terminate in October, bringing with them a season made up of rain squalls and tempests, which take place princ.i.p.ally in July and August. In September a heavy mist hangs about the coast of Mindanao.