BRIEF GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF LUZON.
Irregular shape--Harbours--Bays--Mountain ranges--Blank
spaces on maps--North-east coast unexplored--River and
valley of Cagayan--Central valley from Bay of Lingayen
to Bay of Manila--Rivers Agno, Chico, Grande--The Pinag of
Candaba--Project for draining--River Pasig--Laguna de Bay--Lake
of Taal--Scene of a cataclysm--Collapse of a volcanic cone 8000
feet high--Black and frowning island of Mindoro--Worcester's pluck
and endurance--Placers of Camarines--River Bicol--The wondrous
purple cone of Mayon--Luxuriant vegetation.
The island of Luzon is of so irregular a shape that it cannot be
intelligibly described without the aid of a map.
That part of it to the north and west of the isthmus of Tayabas lies
with its longitudinal axis due north and south, and has a fairly
even coast line, there being only two great indentations, the Bays of
Lingayen and Manila, both on the west coast. There are also on that
side and to the south the smaller bays of Subic, Balayan, Batangas,
and Tayabas.
On the east coast of this northern part are the unimportant bays of
Palanan, Dilasac, Casiguran and Baler, besides the great bay of Lamon,
sheltered by the islands Calbalete and Alabat.
But in the remainder of Luzon, from the isthmus of Tayabas eastward
and southward, the coast line is most irregular, and the width much
reduced. A chain of mountains commencing at and forming the two
above-mentioned islands and running in a south-easterly direction
forms the peninsula of Tayabas.
Another range, starting near the Bay of Sogod, runs a little south of
east as far as Mount Labo (1552 metres), turns south-east, and runs
along the southern shore of the fertile valley of the River Vicol,
and with many a break and twist and turn reaches Mount Bulusan, whose
slopes run down to the waters of the Strait of San Bernardino. The
convolutions of this range form on the south the secure harbour of
Sorsogon, and on the north the bays of Albay, Tabaco, Lagonoy and
Sogod, besides a multitude of smaller ports and bays, for the coast
line is wonderfully broken up by spurs of the main ranges running out
into the sea. Luzon generally is very mountainous, and more especially
so that part lying to the north of 16 deg. 5', where the great ranges
of mountains run in crooked lines but with general north and south
direction. The range running parallel to the Pacific coast is called,
in its most southern part, the Caraballos de Baler, and the rest of
it, up to Punta Escarpada, is known as the Cordillera del Este, or
the Sierra Madre. The central range, starting from Mount Caraballo in
the latitude before mentioned, is called the Cordillera Central for
about a degree of latitude, and from there is known as the Cordillera
del Norte, terminating at Punta Lacatacay, in longitude 121 deg. east
of Greenwich.
The mountains on the western coast are not so lofty, nor do they form
a connected range. They are known as the Sierras de Ilocos. Some of
these ranges are thirty or forty miles long. There are cuts in places
where rivers find an outlet to the sea, such as the Rio Grande de
Laoag, the Rio Abra, and some lesser streams. All these ranges have
spurs or buttresses. Those of the Central Cordillera extend as far,
and join with, the coast range on the west, covering the whole country
and leaving no large plain anywhere, for the valley of the Abra though
long is very narrow. There is a little flat land about Vigan.
But the eastern spurs of the central range, in the part of Luzon under
consideration, do not interlace with the spurs of Sierra Madre, but
leave a magnificent valley more than two degrees of latitude in length
and varying breadth. This is the only great valley of northern Luzon,
and through it runs the Rio Grande de Cagayan and its tributaries,
the Magat and the Rio Chico, with numerous minor streams.
Coasting steamers with about twelve feet draught cross the bar of
the Rio Grande and lie at Aparri. The river is navigable in the dry
season as far as Alcala for light draught steamers. Alligators abound
in these rivers. In this valley, which extends through the provinces
of Cagayan and Isabela up into Nueva Vizcaya, there is to be found a
great extension of rich alluvial soil on which can be raised, besides
other tropical crops, most excellent tobacco, the cultivation of
which was for many years obligatory upon the inhabitants, who were
forbidden to grow rice.
Little has been done in the way of making a trigonometrical survey of
the Highlands of Luzon, but some military reconnaissance sketches have
been made from time to time by staff or engineer officers employed in
building forts, and from these several maps have been compiled. One of
the most complete of these is by that intrepid explorer and painstaking
geographer, D'Almonte. Another map has been published by Colonel
Olleros. It must be admitted that these maps do not agree with each
other, but that is not unusual in maps of the Philippines, and results
from a custom of the Spanish engineers of doing too much in the office
and not enough in the field. Colonel Olleros has, however, on his map
shown the lesser known mountain ranges very vaguely, and has left more
than a thousand square miles of territory quite blank. This tract lies
between the central range and the Cagayan River, and is inhabited by
the Apayaos, Calingas, Aripas, and Nabayuganes. Olleros also leaves
some large blanks on the east coast, and he is quite right to do so,
for this coast has hardly been visited since Salcedo sailed past it at
the time of the Conquest, and nothing is known about that part of the
island which remains to this day in possession of the savage Dumagas,
a Negrito tribe. That coast is almost entirely destitute of shelter,
and is exposed to the full force of the Pacific surf. It is made more
dangerous by tidal waves which are formed either by distant cyclones
or by submarine upheavals and occur without warning.
The largest and richest valley in Luzon is that which extends without
a break from the shores of the Bay of Lingayen to the Bay of Manila,
having an area of some 3000 square miles, and comprising the best
part of the Provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga,
Bulacan and Manila.
The town of Tarlac is situated about half-way between the two bays,
and approximately marks the watershed. About half-way between Tarlac
and the northern shores of Manila Bay there rises from the plain an
isolated mountain of volcanic origin, Mount Arayat. The crater has been
split through and the mountain thus shows two peaks. It is covered with
forest to the very summit. Arayat was thrown up within historic times,
and the Indians have a tradition that it was completed in one night,
which is a most unlikely story.
Mount Arayat is 2880 feet in height, and in fine weather is plainly
visible from Manila and Cavite, and even from the mouth of the bay.
The principal rivers of this valley are the Agno, the Dagupan, the
Rio Grande and the Rio Chico of Pampanga.
The Agno rises in the mountains of Lepanto, runs south through the
province of Benguet, and S.W., W. and N.W. in Pangasinan into a
labyrinth of creeks communicating by many mouths with the Bay of
Lingayen. The river between Dagupan and San Isidro is navigable
for vessels drawing seven or eight feet, and such craft could reach
Salasa. From there to Rosales only lighters of very small draught
could pass, and after a long spell of dry weather rice-boats drawing
only one foot sometimes run aground. Its principal tributaries are
the Tarlac and the Camiling, with dozens of smaller streams bringing
the whole drainage of the eastern slopes of the Zambales mountains
from Mount Iba to San Isidro.
The Dagupan river rises in the mountains about the limits of Union and
Benguet and runs parallel to the Agno to 16 deg. N. lat., and between it
and the sea. Then it turns to the westward, and runs past the towns
of Urdaneta, Sta, Barbara, and Calasiao, entering the Bay of Lingayen
at Dagupan. It has a multitude of small tributaries which are very
differently shown on D'Almonte's and Olleros' maps, and undoubtedly
this part has never been surveyed.
The Pampanga river has its source on the southern slopes of the
Caraballo, in about 16 deg. 10' N. lat. It runs south in two branches,
the Rio Grande and the Rio Chico; the first, being the easternmost,
receives the drainage from the western slopes of the Cordillera del
Este, whilst the Chico receives tributaries from both sides in the
flat country and also the overflow from the Lake of Canarem.
These two branches unite just north of Mount Arayat, and continue in
a southerly direction. The river is navigable for small craft drawing
three feet as far as Candaba in the dry season, and in the rainy
season as far as San Isidro in Nueva Ecija. When in flood during
the rainy season, this river brings down a large body of water and
annually overflows its banks in certain places, where gaps occur. The
escaping water spreads itself over a low plain forming an inundation
some sixteen miles long and several miles wide, called the Pinag de
Candaba. This remains during the rainy season, and when the level
of the Rio Grande has fallen sufficiently, the water of the Pinag
commences to fall also, and during the middle and latter part of the
dry season, and the beginning of the rainy season, only patches of
water remain here and there, which are utilized for breeding fish,
and a crop is raised on the land left dry. A project for draining
the Pinag and reclaiming the land was many years ago got up by a
Spanish colonel of engineers, and, at the request of an English
company, I went up to investigate and report on it. I found that,
irrespective of the difficulties and expense of the proposed works,
the vested rights of the natives of the many towns and villages in
and around the Pinag rendered it impossible to carry out the scheme.
Vast flocks of wild duck and other water-fowl frequent the Pinag,
and good sport is to be had there. Below the Pinag the river spreads
itself over the low country, forming a labyrinths of creeks mostly
navigable for craft drawing three to four feet, but the mouths are
all very shallow and the bars can only be crossed about high tide. The
water is brackish or salt. An immense extent of country is intersected
by these creeks, certainly 200 square miles, and there are said to
be 120 mouths connecting with the bay. With the exception of two or
three of the principal channels, this swamp has never been surveyed,
and what is shown on the map is merely guessed at. The muddy soil
is covered with mangrove in the low parts submerged at each tide,
and with the Nipa palm where the banks rise above high water. Under
the heading Pampangos will be found particulars of the manufacture
of nipa-thatch carried on here, and of collecting and distilling
the juice. With the exception of a few half-savage natives the only
living things are wildfowl, fish in abundance, alligators, snakes,
and blue crabs. This is indeed a great dismal swamp, more especially
at low tide.
It is difficult to find one's way in these creeks, and although
I frequently traversed them, I found it necessary to take a swamp
Indian as a guide.
The city of Manila is situated astride the River Pasig on a strip
of land between the Bay of Manila and a great sheet of freshwater
called the Lake of Bay. In consequence of this situation, Manila
can communicate by the bay, the lake, the creeks and rivers with the
provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Morong, Laguna,
and Cavite. Until the opening of the Manila-Dagupan railroad the
whole transport of the Archipelago was by water, and the possession
of navigable rivers meant progress and wealth, whilst the absence
of rivers meant stagnation and poverty. Around the city the land is
quite flat, but at about four miles distance there is a sharp rise
to a plateau of volcanic tuff, the surface of which is from sixty to
eighty feet above sea level, of which more anon. The River Pasig is
the overflow from the lake and the outlet for the River San Mateo,
which runs into it at right angles. The lake serves as a receiver for
the great floods that come down the San Mateo valley; for the level of
that river at Santolan, the intake of the waterworks, sometimes rises
more than twenty feet. When this occurs, the flood on reaching the
Pasig is divided; part runs into the lake, and part into the bay. The
current of the Pasig in that part between the junction of the San
Mateo and the outlet from the lake is reversed. Then when the flood
subsides, the water which has entered the lake runs out very slowly
into the bay, for the head produced by the greatest flood becomes
insignificant from being spread over the vast extent of the lake.
Rice, sugar, cocoa-nuts, bamboos, timber, and fruits are the principal
products of the province of La Laguna. The inhabitants supply the
Manila markets with poultry. The Pasig and the lake are navigated by
light draught steamers which ply daily to Binan, Calamba, and Santa
Cruz. There are also numerous native small craft, which bring down
the produce. To the south of Manila the province of Cavite slopes
gently up from the shores of the bay and from the lake to the
high cliffs at the northern end of the volcanic lake of Taal. The
valley is intersected by numerous streams all of which run into the
bay. Part of this province, near Manila, is a stony and sandy desert,
but other parts of it are extremely fertile, and large crops of rice,
with some coffee, and cacao, and fruits, are raised. The Augustinians
and Dominicans have large estates here, and have expended considerable
sums on dams to retain water for irrigation.
The Lake of Bombon, or Taal, has in its centre an island containing
the remains of the volcano. From the nature of the surrounding
country it is conjectured that on the spot now occupied by the lake
a volcanic mountain, some 8000 feet high, formerly stood. The great
bed of volcanic tuff already mentioned, extending from thence up to
Meycauayan more than sixty miles distant, is thought to have been
ejected from that lofty volcano, leaving a vast hollow cone, which
ultimately collapsed, causing a convulsion in the surrounding country
that must have rivalled the famous cataclysm of Krakatoa. This is
the opinion of D. Jose Centeno, a mining engineer employed by the
Spanish Government, and was fully confirmed by my learned friend,
the late Rev. J. E. Tenison-Wood, who carefully examined the locality,
and studied all the records.
The province of Batangas is very rich and fertile; it has some
mountains, but also a considerable extension of sloping or flat
land. In beauty it will compare with the best parts of Surrey, such
as the view from Leith Hill, looking south. Sugar and coffee are the
principal products, and the towns of Taal, Bauang, Batangas, and Lipa
are amongst the wealthiest of Luzon. The fields are well cultivated,
and oxen are much used, both for ploughing and for drawing carts. The
beef in this province is excellent.
Opposite to this beautiful and wealthy province lies the huge island
of Mindoro. Ever black and gloomy does it look, its lofty mountains
almost perpetually shrouded in rain-clouds. When I lived in Balayan
I had a good view of this island from my windows, and can scarcely
remember its looking otherwise than dark and forbidding. Nothing
comes from it but timber and jungle produce. There are known to be
some beds of lignite. Only the coast is known, and the jungle fever
prevents exploration. The island of Marinduque is healthier and more
advanced. It produces hemp of fine quality.
The province of Tayabas is very mountainous, and is still mostly
covered with forest; there are no wide valleys of alluvial soil. Some
rice is grown, also large quantities of cocoa-nuts, and some coffee
and cacao. Timber and jungle produce form the principal exports. I
have seen many specimens of minerals from this province and think it
would be well worth prospecting. But the climate is unhealthy, and
dangerous fevers prevail. This circumstance has been useful to the
Spanish Government, for when a governor or official had made himself
disliked he could be appointed to Tayabas with a fair prospect of
getting rid of him either by death or by invaliding in two or three
years at most.
Camarines Norte is also mountainous, and there is not much cultivation,
only a little rice and hemp. The population is very sparse,
and the inhabitants are mostly employed (when they do anything)
in washing for gold at Mambulao, Paracale, and other places on the
Pacific coast. If they strike a pocket, or get a nugget, they go on
the spree till they have spent it all and can get no more credit,
and then unwillingly return to work. Camarines Sur possesses a wide
expanse of fertile soil in the valley of the River Bicol, in which
are the Lakes of Buhi and Bato, and the Pinag of Baao. The Bicol
rises in the province of Albay and runs through the whole length of
Camarines Sur, generally in a north-westerly direction, running into
the great Bay of San Miguel. It is navigable for small vessels up
to the town of Nueva Caceres. Alligators abound here. A gap in the
coast range gives access to this valley from the port of Pasacao. The
ground is level for leagues around, yet from this plain two extinct
volcanoes rear their vast bulk, the Ysarog, 6500 feet high, and
the Yriga, nearly 4000 feet high. Camarines Sur contains more than
five times as many inhabitants as Camarines Norte, although not very
different in area. Their principal occupation is the cultivation of
the extensive rice lands. They also produce some hemp and a little
sugar. Large quantities of rice are exported to Manila, to Albay,
and to Bisayas. Cattle are raised in the island of Burias, which
belongs to this province; it also produces some palm sugar. This
province is much richer than either Tayabas or Camarines Norte.
The province of Albay is the southernmost and easternmost part of
Luzon, and is one of the richest and most beautiful regions of that
splendid island. The northern part, which commences at Punta Gorda
on the Bay of Lagonoy, is similar to the neighbouring Camarines Sur,
as is also the western part, about the shores of Lake Bato. A little
to the southward, however, the gigantic Mayon rears its peak 8000
feet into the sky. The symmetry of this wondrous cone is but feebly
rendered by the photograph. Some of the most violent eruptions of this
remarkable volcano are mentioned under another heading in the Appendix.
On this volcanic soil, with the life-giving heat of the sun tempered
by frequent rains, the vegetable kingdom flourishes in the utmost
luxuriance. Tree-ferns, lianas, orchids, palms grow vigorously. On
the mountain slopes the Musa textilis, or abaca plant, finds its most
congenial habitat. Little rice is grown, the inhabitants being mostly
engaged in the more remunerative occupation of planting and preparing
this fibre.
A description of the manner of its preparation, with photographs
of the growing plants and of the apparatus for cleaning the fibre,
will be found under the description of the Vicols.
The island of Catanduanes belongs to Albay province, and its
characteristics and productions are the same. The configuration of
the province of Albay is most favourable to the production of this
fibre. The plant seems to require a light volcanic soil, a certain
height above the sea, and exposure to the Pacific breezes in order
to flourish.
To summarise the description of Luzon we may say that its agricultural
wealth, present and future, lies in the valley of the Rio Grande
of Cagayan, in the great valley lying between the Gulf of Lingayen
and the shores of the Bay of Manila, in the rich lands of Cavite,
Batangas, and Laguna, in the valley of the River Bicol, and on the
slopes of the volcanoes of Albay.
The production of the great northern valley is principally tobacco;
of the middle valley, sugar and rice; of the southern valley, rice,
and of the volcanic slopes, Manila hemp. The Sierras of Ilocos are
highly mineralised, as are also the mountains of Tayabas, whilst as
already stated washing for gold is the principal industry of Camarines
Norte. Parts of this great island, as in Bulacan and Pampanga, support
a dense population of 500 to the square mile; whilst, in other parts,
hundreds or even thousands of square miles are absolutely unknown,
and are only populated by a few scattered and wandering savages,
many of whom have never seen a white man.
THE INHABITANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES.
Description of their appearance, dress, arms, religion, manners
and customs, and the localities they inhabit, their agriculture,
industries and pursuits, with suggestions as to how they can be
utilized, commercially and politically. With many unpublished
photographs of natives, their arms, ornaments, sepulchres, and idols.