[To Albay by schooner.] Towards the end of August I started from
Manila for Albay in a schooner which had brought a cargo of hemp and
was returning in ballast. It was fine when we set sail; but on the
following day the signs of a coming storm increased so rapidly that
the captain resolved to return and seek protection in the small but
secure harbor of Mariveles, a creek on the southern shore of Bataan,
the province forming the western boundary of Manila bay. We reached
it about two o'clock in the night after cruising about for fourteen
hours before the entrance; and we were obliged to remain here at anchor
for a fortnight, as it rained and stormed continuously for that period.
[Mariveles.] The weather obliged me to limit my excursions to the
immediate neighborhood of Mariveles. Unfortunately it was not till the
close of our stay that I learnt that there was a colony of negritos in
the mountains; and it was not till just before my departure that I got
a chance of seeing and sketching a couple of them, male and female. The
inhabitants of Mariveles have not a very good reputation. The place
is only visited by ships which run in there in bad weather, when
their idle crews spend the time in drinking and gambling. Some of
the young girls were of striking beauty and of quite a light color;
often being in reality of mixed race, though they passed as of pure
Tagal blood. This is a circumstance I have observed in many seaports,
and in the neighborhood of Manila; but, in the districts which are
almost entirely unvisited by the Spaniards, the natives are much
darker and of purer race.
[Storm-bound shipping.] The number of ships which were seeking
protection from the weather in this port amounted to ten, of which
three were schooners. Every morning regularly a small pontin [70]
used to attempt to set sail; but it scarcely got a look at the
open sea before it returned, when it was saluted with the jeers and
laughter of the others. It was hunger that made them so bold. The
crew, who had taken some of their own produce to Manila, had spent
the proceeds of their venture, and had started on their return voyage
scantily provided with provisions, with the hope and intention of soon
reaching their home, which they could have done with any favorable
wind. Such cases frequently occur. A few natives unite to charter
a small vessel, and load it with the produce of their own fields,
which they set off to sell in Manila.
[The straits.] The straits between the Islands resemble beautiful
wide rivers with charming spots upon the banks inhabited by small
colonies; and the sailors generally find the weather gets squally
towards evening, and anchor till the morning breaks.
[Filipino hospitality.] The hospitable coast supplies them with fish,
crabs, plenty of mussels, and frequently unprotected coconuts. If it
is inhabited, so much the better. Filipino hospitality is ample, and
much more comprehensive than that practised in Europe. The crews are
accommodated in the different huts. After a repast shared in common,
and washed down by copious draughts of palm-wine, mats are streched
on the floor; the lamps--large shells, fitted with rush wicks--are
extinguished, and the occupants of the hut fall asleep together. Once,
as I was sailing into the bay of Manila after a five day's cruise, we
overtook a craft which had sailed from the same port as we had with a
cargo of coconut oil for Manila, and which had spent six months upon
its trip. It is by no means uncommon for a crew which makes a long
stay in the capital to squander the whole proceeds of their cargo,
if they have not done it before reaching town.
[Coasting Luzon.] At last one evening, when the storm had quite passed
away, we sailed out of Mariveles. A small, volcanic, pillar-shaped
rock, bearing a striking resemblance to the Island of the Cyclops,
off the coast of Sicily, lies in front of the harbor--like there, a
sharp pyramid and a small, flat island. We sailed along the coast of
Cavite till we reached Point Santiago, the southwestern extremity of
Luzon, and then turned to the east, through the fine straits that lie
between Luzon to the north and the Bisayan islands to the south. As
the sun rose, a beautiful spectacle presented itself. To the north
was the peak of the Taal volcano, towering above the flat plains of
Batangas; and to the south the thickly-wooded, but rock-bound coast
of Mindoro, the iron line of which was broken by the harbor of Porto
Galera, protected from the fury of the waves by a small islet lying
immediately before it. The waters around us were thickly studded with
vessels which had taken refuge from the storm in the Bisayan ports,
and were now returning to Manila.
[Importance of straits.] These straits, which extend from the
south-east to the northwest, are the great commercial highway of
the Archipelago, and remain navigable during the whole year, being
protected from the fury of the north-easterly winds by the sheltering
peninsula of Luzon, which projects to the south-east, and by Samar,
which extends in a parallel direction; while the Bisayan islands
shield them from the blasts that blow from the south-west. The
Islands of Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Cebu and Bohol, which Nature has
placed in close succession to each other, form the southern borders
of the straits; and the narrow cross channels between them form as
many outlets to the Sea of Mindoro, which is bounded on the west
by Palawan, on the east by Mindanao, and on the south by the Sulu
group. The eastern waters of the straits wash the coasts of Samar
and Leyte, and penetrate through three small channels only to the
great ocean; the narrow straits of San Bernardino, of San Juanico,
and of Surigao. Several considerable, and innumerable smaller islets,
lie within the area of these cursorily explained outlines.
[Batangas coast.] A couple of bays on the south coast of Batangas
offer a road-stead, though but little real protection, to passing
vessels, which in stormy weather make for Porto Galera, in the Island
of Mindoro, which lies directly opposite. A river, a league and a
half in length, joins Taal, the principal port of the province, to
the great inland sea of Taal, or Bombon. This stream was formerly
navigable; but it has now become so sanded up that it is passable
only at flood tides, and then only by very small vessels.
[Batangas exports.] The province of Batangas supplies Manila with
its best cattle, and exports sugar and coffee.
A hilly range bounds the horizon on the Luzon side; the striking
outlines of which enable one to conjecture its volcanic origin. Most
of the smaller islands to the south appear to consist of superimposed
mountainous ranges, terminating seaward in precipitous cliffs. The
lofty and symmetrical peak of Mount Mayon is the highest point in the
panoramic landscape. Towards evening we sighted Mount Bulusan, in the
south-eastern extremity of Luzon; and presently we turned northwards,
and sailed up the Straits of San Bernardino, which separate Luzon
from Samar.
[Bulusan like Vesuvius.] The Bulusan volcano, "which appears to have
been for a long time extinct, but which again began to erupt in 1852,"
[71] is surprisingly like Vesuvius in outline. It has, like its
prototype, a couple of peaks. The western one, a bell-shaped summit,
is the eruption cone. The eastern apex is a tall, rugged mound,
probably the remains of a huge circular crater. As in Vesuvius, the
present crater is in the center of the extinct one. The intervals
between them are considerably larger and more uneven than the Atrio
del Cavallo of the Italian volcano.
[San Bernardino current.] The current is so powerful in the Straits
of San Bernardino that we were obliged to anchor twice to avoid
being carried back again. To our left we had continually in view the
magnificent Bulusan volcano, with a hamlet of the same name nestling at
the foot of its eastern slope in a grove of coco-trees, close to the
sea. Struggling with difficulty against the force of the current, we
succeeded, with the assistance of light and fickle winds, in reaching
Legaspi, the port of Albay, on the following evening. Our skipper, a
Spaniard, had determined to accomplish the trip as rapidly as possible.
[A native captain.] On my return voyage, however, I fell into the hands
of a native captain; and, as my cruise under his auspices presented
many peculiarities, I may quote a few passages relating to it from
my diary.... The skipper intended to have taken a stock of vegetables
for my use, but he had forgotten them. He therefore landed on a small
island, and presently made his reappearance with a huge palm cabbage,
which, in the absence of its owner, he had picked from a tree he
cut down for the purpose.... On another occasion the crew made a
descent upon a hamlet on the north-western coast of Leyte to purchase
provisions. Instead of laying in a stock for the voyage at Tacloban,
the sailors preferred doing so at some smaller village on the shores
of the straits, where food is cheaper, and where their landing gave
them a pretext to run about the country. The straits of San Juanico,
never more than a mile, and often only eight hundred feet broad,
are about twenty miles in length: yet it often takes a vessel a week
to sail up them; for contrary winds and an adverse current force it
to anchor frequently and to lie to for whole nights in the narrower
places. Towards evening our captain thought that the sky appeared
very threatening, so he made for the bay of Navo, of Masbate. [An
intermittent voyage.] There he anchored, and a part of the crew went
on shore. The next day was a Sunday; the captain thought "the sky
still appeared very threatening;" and besides he wanted to make some
purchases. So we anchored again off Magdalena, where we passed the
night. On Monday a favorable wind took us, at a quicker rate, past
Marinduque and the rocky islet of Elefante, which lies in front of
it. Elefante appears to be an extinct volcano; it looks somewhat like
the Iriga, but is not so lofty. It is covered with capital pasture,
and its ravines are dotted with clumps of trees. Nearly a thousand
head of half-wild cattle were grazing on it. They cost four dollars
a-piece; and their freight to Manila is as much more, where they sell
for sixteen dollars. They are badly tended, and many are stolen by
the passing sailors. My friend the captain was full of regret that the
favorable wind gave him no opportunity of landing; perhaps I was the
real obstacle. "They were splendid beasts! How easy it would be to put
a couple on board! They could scarcely be said to have any real owners;
the nominal proprietors were quite unaware how many they possessed,
and the herd was continually multiplying without any addition from its
masters. A man lands with a little money in his pocket. If he meets a
herdsman, he gives him a dollar, and the poor creature thinks himself
a lucky fellow. If not, so much the better. He can do the business
himself; a barrel of shot or a sling suffices to settle the matter."
[Plunder.] As we sailed along we saw coming towards us another vessel,
the Luisa, which suddenly executed a very extraordinary tack; and in a
minute or two its crew sent up a loud shout of joy, having succeeded
in stealing a fishbox which the fishermen of Marinduque had sunk in
the sea. They had lowered a hook, and been clever enough to grapple
the rope of the floating buoy. Our captain was beside himself with
envy of their prize.
[Legaspi.] Legaspi is the principal port of the province of Albay. Its
road-stead, however, is very unsafe, and, being exposed to the
north-easterly storms, is perfectly useless during the winter. The
north-east wind is the prevailing one on this coast; the south-west
breeze only blows in June and July. The heaviest storms occur between
October and January. They generally set in with a gentle westerly wind,
accompanied with rain. The gale presently veers round to the north
or the south, and attains the height of its fury when it reaches
the north-east or the south-east. After the storm a calm generally
reigns, succeeded by the usual wind of the prevailing monsoon. The
lightly-built elastic houses of the country are capitally suited
to withstand these storms; but roofs and defective houses are
frequently carried away. The traffic between Manila and Legaspi is
at its height between January and October; but during the autumn
months all communication by water ceases. The letter-post, which
arrives pretty regularly every week, is then the only link between
the two places. At this season heavy packages can be sent only by
a circuitous and expensive route along the south coast, and thence
by water to Manila. Much more favorably situated for navigation is
the port of [Sorsogon.] Sorsogon, the mouth of which opens to the
west, and is protected by the Island of Bagalao, which lies in front
of it. Besides its security as a harbor, it has the advantage of a
rapid and unbroken communication with the capital of the archipelago,
while vessels sailing from Legaspi, even at the most favorable time
of the year, are obliged to go round the eastern peninsula of Luzon,
and meet the principal current of the Straits of San Bernardino,
frequently a very difficult undertaking; and, moreover, small vessels
obliged to anchor there are in great danger of being captured by
pirates. The country about Sorsogon, however, is not so fertile as
the neighborhood of Legaspi.
[A worthy official.] I took letters of introduction with me to both
the Spanish authorities of the province; who received me in the most
amiable way, and were of the greatest use to me during the whole of
my stay in the vicinity. I had also the good fortune to fall in with
a model alcalde, a man of good family and of most charming manners;
in short, a genuine caballero. To show the popular appreciation of
the honesty of his character, it was said of him in Samar that he
had entered the province with nothing but a bundle of papers, and
had left it as lightly equipped.