[Samar.] The island of Samar, which is of nearly rhomboidal outline,
and with few indentations on its coasts, stretches from the north-west
to the south-east from 12° 37' to 10° 54' N.; its mean length being
twenty-two miles, its breadth eleven, and its area two hundred and
twenty square miles. It is separated on the south by the small strait
of San Juanico from the island of Leyte, with which it was formerly
united into one province. At the present time each island has its
separate governor.
[Former names.] By the older authors the island is called Tendaya,
Ibabao, and also Achan and Filipina. In later times the eastern
side was called Ibabao, and the western Samar, which is now the
official denomination for the whole island, the eastern shore being
distinguished as the Contracosta. [162]
[Seasons and weather.] As on the eastern coasts of Luzon, the
north-east monsoon here exceeds that from the south-west in duration
and force, the violence of the latter being arrested by the islands
lying to the southwest, while the north-east winds break against
the coasts of these easterly islands with their whole force, and the
additional weight of the body of water which they bring with them from
the open ocean. In October winds fluctuating between north-west and
north-east occur; but the prevalent ones are northerly. In the middle
of November the north-east is constant; and it blows, with but little
intermission, from the north until April. This is likewise the rainy
season, December and January being the wettest, when it sometimes
rains for fourteen days without interruption. In Lauang, on the north
coast, the rainy season lasts from October to the end of December. From
January to April it is dry; May, June, and July are rainy; and August
and September, again, are dry; so that here there are two wet and
two dry seasons in the year. From October to January violent storms
(baguios or typhoons) sometimes occur. Beginning generally with a
north wind, they pass to the north-west, accompanied by a little rain,
then back to the north, and with increasing violence to the north-east
and east, where they acquire their greatest power, and then moderate
to the south. Sometimes, however, they change rapidly from the east
to the south, in which quarter they first acquire their greatest force.
[Winds and storms.] From the end of March to the middle of June
inconstant easterly winds (N.E.E. and S.E.) prevail, with a very
heavy sea on the east coast. May is usually calm; but in May and
June there are frequent thunderstorms, introducing the south-west
monsoon, which though it extends through the months of July, August,
and September, is not so constant as the north-east. The last-named
three months constitute the dry season, which, however, is often
interrupted by thunderstorms. Not a week, indeed, passes without rain;
and in many years a storm arises every afternoon. At this season of
the year ships can reach the east coast; but during the north-east
monsoon navigation there is impossible. These general circumstances
are subject to many local deviations, particularly on the south and
west coasts, where the uniformity of the air currents is disturbed
by the mountainous islands lying in front of them. According to
the Estado geografico of 1855, an extraordinarily high tide, called
dolo, occurs every year at the change of the monsoon in September or
October. It rises sometimes sixty or seventy feet, and dashes itself
with fearful violence against the south and east coasts, doing great
damage, but not lasting for any length of time. The climate of Samar
and Leyte appears to be very healthy on the coasts; in fact, to be
the best of all the islands of the archipelago. Dysentery, diarrhoea,
and fever occur less frequently than in Luzon, and Europeans also
are less subject to their attacks than in that place.
[Only the coast settled.] The civilized natives live almost solely
on its coasts, and there are also Bisayans who differ in speech and
manners from the Bicols in about the same degree that the latter do
from the Tagalogs. Roads and villages are almost entirely wanting
in the interior, which is covered with a thick wood, and affords
sustenance to independent tribes, who carry on a little tillage
(vegetable roots and mountain rice), and collect the products of the
woods, particularly resin, honey, and wax, in which the island is
very rich.
[A tedious but eventful voyage.] On the 3rd of July we lost sight
of Legaspi, and, detained by frequent calms, crawled as far as
Point Montufar, on the northern edge of Albay, then onwards to the
small island of Viri, and did not reach Lauang before evening of
the 5th. The mountain range of Bacon (the Pocdol of Coello), which
on my previous journeys had been concealed by night or mist, now
revealed itself to us in passing as a conical mountain; and beside
it towered a very precipitous, deeply-cleft mountain-side, apparently
the remnant of a circular range. After the pilot, an old Filipino and
native of the country, who had made the journey frequently before,
had conducted us, to begin with, to a wrong port, he ran the vessel
fast on to the bar, although there was sufficient water to sail into
the harbor conveniently.
[Lauang.] The district of Lauang (Lahuan), which is encumbered with
more than four thousand five hundred inhabitants, is situated at an
altitude of forty feet, on the south-west shore of the small island
of the same name, which is separated from Samar by an arm of the
Catubig. According to a widely-spread tradition, the settlement was
originally in Samar itself, in the middle of the rice-fields, which
continue to the present day in that place, until the repeated inroads
of sea-pirates drove the inhabitants, in spite of the inconvenience
attending it, to protect themselves by settling on the south coast
of the little island, which rises steeply out of the sea. [163] The
latter consists of almost horizontal banks of tufa, from eight to
twelve inches in thickness. The strata being continually eaten away
by the waves at low watermark, the upper layers break off; and thus
the uppermost parts of the strata, which are of a tolerably uniform
thickness, are cleft by vertical fissures, and look like the walls of
a fortress. Pressed for space, the church and the convent have taken
up every level bit of the rock at various heights; and the effect of
this accommodation of architecture to the requirements of the ground,
though not designed by the architect, is most picturesque.
[Deterioration in the town.] The place is beautifully situated; but the
houses are not so frequently as formerly surrounded by little gardens
while there is a great want of water, and foul odors prevail. Two or
three scanty springs afford a muddy, brackish water, almost at the
level of the sea, with which the indolent people are content so that
they have just enough. Wealthy people have their water brought from
Samar, and the poorer classes are sometimes compelled, by the drying-up
of the springs, to have recourse to the same place. The spring-water
is not plentiful for bathing purposes; and, sea-bathing not being in
favor, the people consequently are very dirty. Their clothing is the
same as in Luzon; but the women wear no tapis, only a camisa (a short
chemise, hardly covering the breast), and a saya, mostly of coarse,
stiff guinara, which forms ugly folds, and when not colored black
is very transparent. But dirt and a filthy existence form a better
screen than opaque garments. The inhabitants of Lauang rightly,
indeed, enjoy the reputation of being very idle. Their industry is
limited to a little tillage, even fishing being so neglected that
frequently there is a scarcity of fish. In the absence of roads by
land, there is hardly any communication by water; and trade is mostly
carried on by mariners from Catbalogan, who exchange the surplus of
the harvests for other produce.
From the convent a view is had of part of the island of Samar, the
mountain forms of which appear to be a continuation of the horizontal
strata. In the centre of the district, at the distance of some miles,
a table mountain, famous in the history of the country, towers
aloft. [The Palapat revolt.] The natives of the neighboring village
of Palapat retreated to it after having killed their priest, a too
covetous Jesuit father, and for years carried on a guerilla warfare
with the Spaniards until they were finally overpowered by treachery.
[Pirate outrages.] The interior of the country is difficult to
traverse from the absence of roads, and the coasts are much infested
by pirates. Quite recently several pontins and four schooners,
laden with abacá, were captured, and the crews cruelly murdered,
their bodies having been cut to pieces. This, however, was opposed
to their general practice, for the captives are usually employed at
the oars during the continuance of the foray, and afterwards sold as
slaves in the islands of the Sulu sea. It was well that we did not
encounter the pirates, for, although we carried four small cannons
on board, nobody understood how to use them. [164]
[Electing officers.] The governor, who was expected to conduct the
election of the district officials in person, but was prevented
by illness, sent a deputy. As the annual elections are conducted
in the same manner over the whole country, that at which I was
present may be taken as typical of the rest. It took place in the
common hall; the governor (or his deputy) sitting at the table,
with the pastor on his right hand, and the clerk on his left--the
latter also acting as interpreter; while Cabezas de Barangay, the
gobernadorcillo, and those who had previously filled the office, took
their places all together on benches. First of all, six cabezas and
as many gobernadorcillos are chosen by lot as electors; the actual
gobernadorcillo is the thirteenth, and the rest quit the hall. After
the reading of the statutes by the president, who exhorts the electors
to the conscientious performance of their duty, the latter advance
singly to the table, and write three names on a piece of paper. Unless
a valid protest be made either by the parish priest or by the electors,
the one who has the most votes is forthwith named gobernadorcillo for
the coming year, subject to the approval of the superior jurisdiction
at Manila; which, however, always consents, for the influence of the
priest would provide against a disagreeable election. The election of
the other functionaries takes place in the same manner, after the new
gobernadorcillo has been first summoned into the hall, in order that,
if he have any important objections to the officers then about to be
elected, he may be able to make them. The whole affair was conducted
very quietly and with dignity. [165]
[Unsatisfactory forced labor.] On the following morning, accompanied
by the obliging priest, who was followed by nearly all the boys
of the village, I crossed over in a large boat to Samar. Out of
eleven strong baggage porters whom the governor's representative had
selected for me, four took possession of some trifling articles and
sped away with them, three others hid themselves in the bush, and
four had previously decamped at Lauang. The baggage was divided and
distributed amongst the four porters who were detained, and the little
boys who had accompanied us for their own pleasure. We followed the
sea-shore in a westerly direction, and at a very late hour reached the
nearest visita (a suburban chapel and settlement) where the priest
was successful, after much difficulty, in supplying the places of
the missing porters. On the west side of the mouth of the Pambujan
a neck of land projects into the sea, which is a favorite resort
of the [A pirate base.] sea-pirates, who from their shelter in the
wood command the shore which extends in a wide curve on both sides,
and forms the only communication between Lauang and Catarman. Many
travellers had already been robbed in this place; and the father, who
was now accompanying me thus far, had, with the greatest difficulty,
escaped the same danger only a few weeks before.
The last part of our day's journey was performed very cautiously. A
messenger who had been sent on had placed boats at all the mouths of
rivers, and, as hardly any other Europeans besides ecclesiastics are
known in this district, I was taken in the darkness for a Capuchin in
travelling attire; the men lighting me with torches during the passage,
and the women pressing forward to kiss my hand. I passed the night
on the road, and on the following day reached Catarman (Caladman on
Coello's map), a clean, spacious locality numbering 6,358 souls, at
the mouth of the river of the same name. Six pontins from Catbalogan
awaited their cargoes of rice for Albay. The inhabitants of the north
coast are too indifferent sailors to export their products themselves,
and leave it to the people of [Catbalogan monopoly of interisland
traffic.] Catbalogan, who, having no rice-fields, are obliged to find
employment for their activity in other places.
[A changed river and a new town.] The river Catarman formerly emptied
further to the east, and was much choked with mud. In the year 1851,
after a continuous heavy rain, it worked for itself, in the loose
soil which consists of quartz sand and fragments of mussels, a new
and shorter passage to the sea--the present harbor, in which ships
of two hundred tons can load close to the land; but in doing so it
destroyed the greater part of the village, as well as the stone church
and the priest's residence. In the new convent there are two salons,
one 16.2 by 8.8, the other 9 by 7.6 paces in dimensions, boarded with
planks from a single branch of a dipterocarpus (guiso). The pace is
equivalent to 30 inches; and, assuming the thickness of the boards,
inclusive of waste, to be one inch, this would give a solid block of
wood as high as a table (two and one-half feet), the same in breadth,
eighteen feet in length, and of about one hundred and ten cubic
feet. [166] The houses are enclosed in gardens; but some of them only
by fencing, within which weeds luxuriate. At the rebuilding of the
village, after the great flood of water, the laying out of gardens
was commanded; but the industry which is required to preserve them is
often wanting. Pasture grounds extend themselves, on the south side
of the village, covered with fine short grass; but, with the exception
of some oxen and sheep belonging to the priest, there are no cattle.
[Up the river.] Still without servants, I proceeded with my baggage in
two small boats up the river, on both sides of which rice-fields and
coco-groves extended; but the latter, being concealed by a thick border
of Nipa palms and lofty cane, are only visible occasionally through
the gaps. The sandy banks, at first flat, became gradually steeper,
and the rock soon showed itself close at hand, with firm banks of sandy
clay containing occasional traces of indistinguishable petrifactions. A
small mussel [167] has pierced the clay banks at the water-line, in
such number that they look like honeycombs. About twelve we cooked
our rice in an isolated hut, amongst friendly people. The women whom
we surprised in dark ragged clothing of guinara drew back ashamed,
and soon after appeared in clean chequered sayas, with earrings of
brass and tortoise-shell combs. When I drew a little naked girl, the
mother forced her to put on a garment. About two we again stepped into
the boat, and after rowing the whole night reached a small visita,
Cobocobo, about nine in the forenoon. The rowers had worked without
interruption for twenty-four hours, exclusive of the two hours'
rest at noon, and though somewhat tired were in good spirits.
[Salta Sangley ridge.] At half-past two we set out on the road over
the Salta Sangley (Chinese leap) to Tragbucan, which, distant about a
mile in a straight line, is situated at the place where the Calbayot,
which empties on the west coast at Point Hibaton, becomes navigable for
small boats. By means of these two rivers and the short but troublesome
road, a communication exists between the important stations of Catarman
on the north coast, and Calbayot on the west coast. The road, which
at its best part is a small path in the thick wood uninvaded by the
sun, and frequently is only a track, passes over slippery ridges of
clay, disappearing in the mud puddles in the intervening hollows, and
sometimes running into the bed of the brooks. The watershed between
the Catarman and Calbayot is formed by the Salta Sangley already
mentioned, a flat ridge composed of banks of clay and sandstone,
which succeed one another ladder-wise downwards on both its sides,
and from which the water collected at the top descends in little
cascades. In the most difficult places rough ladders of bamboo are
fixed. I counted fifteen brooks on the north-east side which feed the
Catarman, and about the same number of feeders of the Calbayot on the
south-west side. About forty minutes past four we reached the highest
point of the Salta Sangley, about ninety feet above the sea; and at
half-past six we got to a stream, the highest part of the Calbayot,
in the bed of which we wandered until its increasing depth forced us,
in the dark, laboriously to beat out our path through the underwood
to its bank; and about eight o'clock we found ourselves opposite the
visita Tragbucan. The river at this place was already six feet deep,
and there was not a boat. After shouting entreaties and threats for
a long time, the people, who were startled out of sleep by a revolver
shot, agreed to construct a raft of bamboo, on which they put us and
our baggage. The little place, which consists of only a few poor huts,
is prettily situated, surrounded as it is by wooded hillocks on a
plateau of sand fifty feet above the reed-bordered river.
[On the Calbayot River.] Thanks to the activity of the teniente of
Catarman who accompanied me, a boat was procured without delay, so
that we were able to continue our journey about seven o'clock. The
banks were from twenty to forty feet high; and, with the exception of
the cry of some rhinoceros birds which fluttered from bough to bough
on the tops of the trees, we neither heard nor saw a trace of animal
life. About half-past eleven we reached Taibago, a small visita,
and about half-past one a similar one, Magubay; and after two hours'
rest at noon, about five o'clock, we got into a current down which
we skilfully floated, almost without admitting any water. The river,
which up to this point is thirty feet broad, and on account of many
projecting branches of trees difficult to navigate, here is twice as
broad. About eleven at night we reached the sea, and in a complete
calm rowed for the distance of a league along the coast to Calbayot,
the convent at which place affords a commanding view of the islands
lying before it.
A thunderstorm obliged us to postpone the journey to the chief town,
Catbalogan (or Catbalonga), which was seven leagues distant, until
the afternoon. In a long boat, formed out of the stem of one tree,
and furnished with outriggers, we travelled along the shore, which
is margined by a row of low-wooded hills with many small visitas;
and as night was setting in we rounded the point of Napalisan,
a rock of trachytic conglomerate shaped by perpendicular fissures
with rounded edges into a series of projections like towers,
which rises up out of the sea to the height of sixty feet, like
a knight's castle. [Catbalogan.] At night we reached Catbalogan,
the chief town of the island, with a population of six thousand,
which is picturesquely situated in the middle of the western border,
in a little bay surrounded by islands and necks of land, difficult
to approach and, therefore, little guarded. Not a single vessel was
anchored in the harbor.
The houses, many of which are of boards, are neater than those
in Camarines; and the people, though idle, are more modest, more
honorable, more obliging, and of cleaner habits, than the inhabitants
of South Luzon. Through the courtesy of the governor I quickly obtained
a roomy dwelling, and a servant who understood Spanish. [An ingenious
mechanic.] Here I also met a very intelligent Filipino who had acquired
great skill in a large variety of crafts. With the simplest tools he
improved in many points on my instruments and apparatus, the purpose
of which he quickly comprehended to my entire satisfaction, and gave
many proofs of considerable intellectual ability.
[The flying monkey.] In Samar the flying monkey or lemur (the kaguang
of the Bisayans--galeopithecus) is not rare. These animals, which are
of the size of the domestic cat, belong to the quadrumana; but, like
the flying squirrels, they are provided with a bird-like membrane,
which, commencing at the neck, and passing over the fore and hinder
limbs, reaches to the tail; by means of which they are able to glide
from one tree to another at a very obtuse angle. [168] Body and
membrane are clothed with a very short fur, which nearly equals the
chinchilla in firmness and softness, and is on that account in great
request. While I was there, six live kaguangs arrived as a present for
the priest (three light grey, one dark brown, and two greyish brown;
all with irregularly distributed spots); and from these I secured a
little female with her young.
[A hasty and unfounded judgment.] It appeared to be a very harmless,
awkward animal. When liberated from its fetters, it remained lying
on the ground with all its four limbs stretched out, and its belly
in contact with the earth, and then hopped in short awkward leaps,
without thereby raising itself from the ground, to the nearest wall,
which was of planed boards. Arrived there, it felt about it for a long
time with the sharp claw, which is bent inwards, of its fore-hand,
until at length it realized the impossiblity of climbing it at any
part. It succeeded by means of a corner or an accidental crevice in
climbing a foot upwards, and fell down again immediately, because it
had abandoned the comparatively secure footing of its hinder limbs
before its fore-claws had obtained a firm hold. It received no hurt,
as the violence of the fall was broken by the flying membrane which
was rapidly extended. These attempts, which were continued with steady
perseverance, showed an astonishing deficiency of judgment, the animal
endeavoring to do much more than was in its power to accomplish. All
its endeavors, therefore, were unsuccessful, though made without
doing itself any hurt--thanks to the parachute with which Nature
had provided it. Had the kaguang not been in the habit of relying
so entirely on this convenient contrivance, it probably would have
exercised its judgment to a greater extent, and formed a more correct
estimate of its ability. The animal repeated its fruitless efforts so
often that I no longer took any notice of it, and after some time it
disappeared: but I found it again in a dark corner, under the roof,
where it would probably have waited for the night in order to continue
its flight. Evidently it had succeeded in reaching the upper edge of
the boarded wall by squeezing its body between this and the elastic
covering of bamboo hurdle-work which lay firmly imposed upon it;
so that the poor creature, which I had rashly concluded was stupid
and awkward, had, under the circumstances, manifested the greatest
possible skill, prudence, and perseverance.
[A promise of rare animals and wild people.] A priest who was
present on a visit from Calbigan promised me so many wonders in his
district--abundance of the rarest animals, and Cimarrones uncivilized
in the highest degree--that I accompanied him, on the following day,
in his journey home. In an hour after our departure we reached the
little island of Majava, which consists of perpendicular strata of
a hard, fine-grained, volcanic tufa, with small, bright crystals of
hornblende. The island of Buat (on Coello's map) is called by our
mariners Tubigan. In three hours we reached Umauas, a dependency
of Calbigan. It is situated, fifty feet above the sea, in a bay,
before which (as is so often the case on this coast) a row of small
picturesque islands succeed one another, and is exactly four leagues
from Catbalogan. But Calbigan, which we reached towards evening, is
situated two leagues N.N.E. from Umauas, surrounded by rice-fields,
forty feet above the river of the same name, and almost a league and
a half from its mouth. A tree with beautiful violet-blue panicles
of blossoms is especially abundant on the banks of the Calbigan,
and supplies a most valuable wood for building purposes in the
Philippines. It is considered equal to teak, like which it belongs
to the class verbenaceae; and its inland name is [Molave.] molave
(Vitex geniculata, Blanco).
[Serpent-charmers.] According to the statements of credible men,
there are serpent-tamers in this country. They are said to pipe the
serpents out of their holes, directing their movements, and stopping
and handling them at will, without being injured by them. The most
famous individual amongst them, however, had been carried off by
the sea-pirates a short time before; another had run away to the
Cimarronese in the mountains; and the third, whose reputation did not
appear to be rightly established, accompanied me on my excursion,
but did not justify the representations of his friends. He caught
two poisonous serpents, [169] which we encountered on the road, by
dexterously seizing them immediately behind the head, so that they were
incapable of doing harm; and, when he commanded them to lie still,
he took the precaution of placing his foot on their necks. In the
chase I hurt my foot so severely against a sharp-pointed branch which
was concealed by the mud that I was obliged to return to Catbalogan
without effecting my object. The inhabitants of Calbigan are considered
more active and circumspect than those on the west coast, and they are
praised for their honesty. I found them very skilful; and they seemed
to take an evident pleasure in making collections and preparing plants
and animals, so that I would gladly have taken with me a servant from
the place; but they are so reluctant to leave their village that all
the priest's efforts to induce one to ride with us were fruitless.
[A coral garden.] At a short distance north-west from Catbalogan a most
luxuriant garden of corals is to be observed in less than two fathoms,
at the ebb. On a yellow carpet of calcareous polyps and sponges,
groups of leather-like stalks, finger-thick, lift themselves up like
stems of vegetable growth; their upper ends thickly covered with polyps
(Sarcophyton pulmo Esp.), which display their roses of tentacula wide
open, and resplendent with the most beautiful varying colors, looking,
in fact, like flowers in full bloom. Very large serpulites extend
from their calcareous tubes, elegant red, blue, and yellow crowns of
feelers, and, while little fishes of marvellously gorgeous color dart
about in this fairy garden, in their midst luxuriantly grow delicate,
feathered plumulariae.
[Ornamental but useless forts.] Bad weather and the flight of my
servant, who had gambled away some money with which he had been
entrusted, at a cock-fight, having detained me some days in the
chief town, I proceeded up the bay, which extends southwards from
Catbalogan and from west to east as far as Paranas. Its northern
shore consists of ridges of earth, regular and of equal height,
extending from north to south, with gentle slopes towards the west,
but steep declivities on the east, and terminating abruptly towards
the sea. Nine little villages are situated on this coast between
Catbalogan and Paranas. From the hollows, amidst coco and betel
palms, they expand in isolated groups of houses up the gentle western
slopes, and, on reaching the summit, terminate in a little castle,
which hardly affords protection against the pirates, but generally
forms a pretty feature in the landscape. In front of the southern
edge of the bay, and to the south-west, many small islands and wooded
rocks are visible, with the mountains of Leyte in the high-ground,
constituting an ever-shifting series of views.
[Paranas.] As the men, owing to the sultry heat, the complete calm,
and almost cloudless sky, slept quite as much as they rowed, we
did not reach Paranas before the afternoon. It is a clean village,
situated on a declivity between twenty and a hundred and fifty feet
above the sea. The sides, which stand perpendicularly in the sea,
consist of grey banks of clay receding landwards, and overspread
with a layer of fragments of mussels, the intervals between which
are filled up with clay, and over the latter is a solid breccia,
cemented with lime, composed of similar fragments. In the clay banks
are well-preserved petrifactions, so similar in color, habitat, and
aspect to many of those in the German tertiary formations that they
might be taken for them. The breccia also is fossil, probably also
tertiary; at all events, the identity of the few species which were
recognisable in it--Cerithium, Pecten, and Venus--with living species
could not be determined. [170]
[A canal through the bog.] On the following morning I proceeded
northwards by a small canal, through a stinking bog of rhizophora
(mangroves), and then continued my journey on land to Loquilocun,
a little village which is situated in the forest. Half-way we passed
through a river, twenty feet broad, flowing east to west, with steep
banks rendered accessible by ladders.
[Hammock-travelling.] As I still continued lame (wounds in the feet are
difficult to heal in warm countries), I caused myself to be carried
part of the way in the manner which is customary hereabouts. The
traveller lies on a loose mat, which is fastened to a bamboo frame,
borne on the shoulders of four robust polistas. About every ten
minutes the bearers are relieved by others. As a protection against
sun and rain, the frame is furnished with a light roof of pandanus.
[Poor roads.] The roads were pretty nearly as bad as those at the
Salta Sangley; and, with the exception of the sea-shore, which is
sometimes available, there appear to be none better in Samar. After
three hours we reached the Loquilocun, which, coming from the north,
here touches its most southerly point, and then flows south-east to
the great ocean. Through the kind care of the governor, I found two
small boats ready, which were propelled with wonderful dexterity by
two men squatted at the extreme ends, and [Running the rapids.] glided
between the branches of the trees and rocks into the bed of the rapid
mountain torrent. Amidst loud cheers both the boats glided down a
cascade of a foot and a half in height without shipping any water.
[Loquilocun.] The little village of Loquilocun consists of three
groups of houses on three hillocks. The inhabitants were very friendly,
modest, and obliging, and so successful in collecting that the spirits
of wine which I had with me was quickly consumed. In Catbalogan
my messengers were able with difficulty to procure a few small
flasks. Through the awkward arrangements of a too obliging friend,
my own stores, having been sent to a wrong address, did not reach
me until some months afterwards; and the palm-wine, which was to be
bought in Samar, was too weak. One or two boats went out daily to fish
for me; but I obtained only a few specimens, which belonged to almost
as many species and genera. Probably the bad custom of poisoning the
water in order to kill the fish (the pounded fruit of a Barringtonia
here being employed for the purpose) is the cause of the river being
so empty of fish.
[Numerous small streams.] After a few days we left the little place
about half-past nine in the forenoon, packed closely in two small
boats; and, by seven minutes past one when we reached an inhabited
hut in the forest, we had descended more than forty streams of a
foot and a foot and a half and more in depth. The more important of
them have names which are correctly given on Coello's map; and the
following are their distances by the watch:--At ten o'clock we came
to a narrow, rocky chasm, at the extremity of which the water falls
several feet below into a large basin; and here we unloaded the boats,
which hitherto had, under skilful management, wound their way, like
well-trained horses, between all the impediments in the bed of the
river and over all the cascades and waves, almost without taking any
water; only two men remaining in each boat, who, loudly cheering,
shot downwards; in doing which the boats were filled to the brim.
[Jasper and Coal.] Opposite this waterfall a bank of rubbish had been
formed by the alluvium, in which, besides fragments of the subjacent
rock, were found well-rounded pieces of jasper and porphyry, as well
as some bits of coal containing several pyrites, which had probably
been brought during the rain from higher up the river. Its origin was
unknown to the sailors. From fifty-six minutes past eleven to twelve
o'clock there was an uninterrupted succession of rapids, which were
passed with the greatest dexterity, without taking in water. Somewhat
lower down, at about three minutes past twelve, we took in so much
water that we were compelled to land and bale it out. At about fifteen
minutes past twelve, we proceeded onwards, the river now being on
the average sixty feet broad. On the edge of the wood some slender
palms, hardly ten feet high, were remarkable by their frequency,
and many phalaenopses by their display of blossoms, which is of
rare occurrence. Neither birds nor apes, nor serpents were observed;
but large pythons, as thick as one's leg are said to be not unfrequent.
[Big pythons.] About thirty-six minutes past twelve we reached one
of the most difficult places--a succession of waves, with many rocks
projecting out of the water, between which the boats, now in full
career, and with rapid evolutions, glided successfully. The adventure
was accomplished with equal skill by the two crews, who exerted their
powers to the utmost. At seventeen minutes past one we arrived at
[Dini portage.] Dini, the most considerable waterfall in the whole
distance; and here we had to take the boats out of the water; and,
availing ourselves of the lianas which hung down from the lofty forest
trees like ropes, we dragged them over the rocks. At twenty-one minutes
past two we resumed our journey; and from twenty-two minutes past to
half past eight we descended an irregular stair composed of several
ledges, shipping much water. Up to this point the Loquilocun flowed in
a rocky bed, with (for the most part) steep banks, and sometimes for
a long distance under a thick canopy of boughs, from which powerful
tendrils and ferns, more than a fathom in length, were suspended. Here
the country was to some extent open; flat hillocks, with low underwood,
came to view, and, on the north-west, loftier wooded mountains. The
last two hours were notable for a heavy fall of rain, and, about half
past five, we reached a solitary house occupied by friendly people,
where we took up our quarters for the night.
[Down the river.] On the following morning the journey was continued
down the river. Within ten minutes we glided past the last waterfall,
between white calcareous rocks of a kind of marble, covered with
magnificent vegetation. Branches, completely covered with phalaenopses
(P. Aphrodite, Reichb. fls.), projected over the river, their flowers
waving like large gorgeous butterflies over its foaming current. Two
hours later the stream became two hundred feet broad, and, after
leaping down a ladder of fifty meters in height from Loquilocun,
it steals away in gentle windings through a flat inundated country
to the east coast; forming a broad estuary, on the right bank of
which, half a league from the sea, the district of Jubasan or Paric
(population 2,300) is situated. The latter give their names to the
lower portion of the stream. Here the excellent fellows of Loquilocun
left me in order to begin their very arduous return journey.
[Along the coast.] Owing to bad weather, I could not embark for Tubig
(population 2,858), south of Paric, before the following day; and,
being continually hindered by difficulties of land transit, I proceeded
in the rowboat along the coast to Borongan (population 7,685), with
the equally intelligent and obliging priest with whom I remained
some days, and then continued my journey to Guiuan (also Guiuang,
Guiguan), the most important district in Samar (population 10,781),
situated on a small neck of land which projects from the south-east
point of the island into the sea.
[A tideland spring.] Close to the shore at the latter place
a copious spring bursts out of five or six openings, smelling
slightly of sulphuretted hydrogen. It is covered by the sea during
the flow, but is open during the ebb, when its salt taste is hardly
perceptible. In order to test the water, a well was formed by sinking
a deep bottomless jar, and from this, after the water had flowed for
the space of half an hour, a sample was taken, which, to my regret,
was afterwards lost. The temperature of the water of the spring, at
eight o'clock in the forenoon, was 27.7°; of the atmosphere, 28.7°;
of the sea-water, 31.2°C. The spring is used by the women to dye
their sarongs. The materials, after being steeped in the decoction
of a bark abounding in tannin (materials made of the abacá are first
soaked in a calcareous preparation), and dried in the sun, are placed
in the spring during the ebb, taken out during the flow, re-dried,
dipped in the decoction of bark, and again, while wet, placed in the
spring; and this is repeated for the space of three days; when the
result is a durable, but ugly inky black (gallussaures, oxide of iron).
[East Indian monkeys.] At Loquilocun and Borongan I had an opportunity
of purchasing two live macaques. [171] These extremely delicate
and rare little animals, which belong to the class of semi-apes,
are, as I was assured in Luzon and Leyte, to be found only in
Samar, and live exclusively on charcoal. My first "mago" was, in the
beginning, somewhat voracious, but he disdained vegetable food, and was
particular in his choice of insects, devouring live grasshoppers with
delight. [172] It was extremely ludicrous, when he was fed in the day
time, to see the animal standing, perched up perpendicularly on his two
thin legs with his bare tail, and turning his large head--round as a
ball, and with very large, yellow, owl-like eyes--in every direction,
looking like a dark lantern on a pedestal with a circular swivel. Only
gradually did he succeed in fixing his eyes on the object presented
to him; but, as soon as he did perceive it, he immediately extended
his little arms sideways, as though somewhat bashful, and then, like
a delighted child, suddenly seizing it with hand and mouth at once,
he deliberately tore the prey to pieces. During the day the mago
was sleepy, short-sighted, and, when disturbed, morose; but with
the decreasing daylight he expanded his pupils, and moved about in
a lively and agile manner, with rapid noiseless leaps, generally
sideways. He soon became tame, but to my regret died after a few
weeks; and I succeeded only for a short time in keeping the second
little animal alive.