Chapter I.

TOPOGRAPHY.

[Revised by Rev. Father José Algué.]

Scenery General outlines - Coast line

Adjacent waters

Area - Important islands-Mountain systems-Mountain system of Luzón, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Mindanao-Rivers-Rio Grande de Cagayan-The Agno-The AbraRio Grande de Pampanga-The Pasig-Rio Grande de Mindanao or Pulangui-The Agusan-The Agus.

One enthusiastic writer calls the Philippines a magnificent rosary of glowing islands that nature has hung above the heaving bosom of the warm Pacific. The combination of mountain and plain, lake and stream, everywhere rich with glossy leafage, clustered growths of bamboo and palm, fields of yellow cane, groves of banana, great reaches of growing rice, and groves of verdant coffee resulting from an abundant rainfall, a rich soil, an even climate, and a warm influence of equatorial waters. tend to make a picture richer by far than nature ever painted in the temperate zone.

The general outlines of the Philippine Archipelago are those of a triangle with the base to the south and the apex formed by the small islands north of Luzón. The water area of this triangle is far greater than that of the land. In the southwest is the great Joló Sea, surrounded by the Islands of Panay, Negros, Mindanao, the Joló Archipelago, and Paragua. East of the Joló Sea, north of Mindanao and south of the Island of Bohol, is the Mindanao Sea, and still east of that body of water is the Surigao Sea. Between Bohol and Cebú is the Sea of Cebú, and the Islands of Cebú and Negros are separated by the Strait of Tañón, while Negros and Panay are divided by the Strait of Guimarás. The Visayan Sea is north of Panay and south of Mindoro, and the latter island is separated from Luzón by the Verde Island Passage. To the east of the Philippines is the Pacific Ocean, the Célebes Sea lies to the south, while the China Sea is found on the west.

Most of the large islands, such as Luzón, Sámar, Leyte, Panay, Palawan, and Mindanao, have irregular coast lines, the seas cutting in and making many bays, capes, and promontories. The plains are, as a rule, found along the rivers in their lower reaches and between the mountain ranges, whose general trend, like that of the islands and the waters that separate them, is north and south. The lowlands are rich with the accu

mulated alluvial deposits of ages. Most of the bays are deep, but the larger streams deposit bars at or near their mouths, thus preventing the entrance of seagoing vessels, though they offer good anchorage some distance from the shore. Vessels are loaded and unloaded by means of lighters.

The Archipelago is bounded on the north by the China Sea, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Célebes Sea and Borneo, and on the west by the China Sea. The nearest land to the north is the Island of Formosa, a dependency of Japan, taken from China in 1894, and situated but 93 miles from Y'Ami, the most northern of the Batanes Group; on the east the Pelew Islands (German), 510 miles distant from Mindanao; on the south Ariaga (de la Silla Island), the most northerly of the Carcaralong Group (Dutch), 37 miles south of the Saranganis, off the coast of Mindanao; on the southwest the extreme eastern point of Borneo is but 24 miles southwest of Sibutu; and on the west is Cochin China, 515 miles west of Paragua.

The waters surrounding the Philippines are very deep, not far from the east coast the Pacific being from 4,000 to 6,000 meters in depth. The Joló Sea, between Mindanao and Joló, reaches a depth of 4,069 meters; off the Célebes 3,750 to 4,755 meters, and not far from the south coast of Mindanao the depth reaches 5,000 meters, or a little over 3 miles. Nevertheless, the Philippines are united to the Asiatic Archipelago at two points where the straits filled with islands reach but little depth, namely, north of Borneo by the Joló Group and on the northeast of Célebes by the Islands of Sauguir and Talut.

Without doubt, therefore, the whole of the Philippine Archipelago belongs to the same geographical region as Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and the other islands of the great Asiatic Archipelago, and in consequence to Asia rather than Oceania. Considering, therefore, both geographical and geological indications, it is sufficient to note the analogy which the situation of the Sunda Islands, the Célebes, the Moluccas, and the Philippines bear to Asia, and that which the Antilles bear to America. The former bound the interior China and Sunda Seas, the latter the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, washing, respectively, the Asiatic and American coasts. According to this analogy, therefore, if the latter belong to America the former belong to Asia. The Archipelago lies between parallels 21° 25′ north and 4° 45′ north, and meridians 116° and 127° east of Greenwich, or a total of 1,152 miles from north to south and 682 miles from east to west. The exact treaty limits as defined by the treaty of Paris may be found by reference to Appendix A.

Manila is 6,943 miles from San Francisco, via Honolulu, and to go from Manila to New York via the Cape of Good Hope requires a journey of almost 14,000 miles, while by way of the Horn the distance is 17,000, but this can be shortened to a journey of 11,600 by taking the Suez route. The difference in time between Manila and other parts

of United States territory is therefore very great. When it is 12 o'clock noon, standard time, at Washington, D. C., it is 1 o'clock a. m. the next day at Manila, Philippine standard time, a difference of thirteen hours.

The area described by the treaty boundaries contains 832,968 square miles, of which it is estimated that 128,000 is land, and, until a survey is made, all statements as to the areas of the different islands composing the Archipelago can only be approximately accurate; but even taking the above conservative estimate as a basis, the Philippines are 7,000 square miles larger than the combined areas of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. They are nearly as large as Spain, while Luzón alone is equal to the combined areas of Denmark, Belgium, and Holland, and the fertile Island of Mindanao has an area almost equal to that of Portugal.

Compared with areas of certain of the United States, the Philippines are larger than the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware and nearly twice as large as the six New England States. Measured by the square miles contained in most of the European countries the Philippines becomes one of the important political divisions. of the globe. For a list of the more important islands and groups, together with their area and population, see Appendix B.

Notwithstanding the fact that it is almost four hundred years since the flag of Spain was first raised in Philippine territory and its metes and bounds have been traced upon the maps of the world, the Archipelago is practically a new country. It is true that Hernando de Magellan, sailing on and on without chart, on what must have seemed an illimitable ocean, sighted the Island of Cebú, but that island has not yet been surveyed nor thoroughly explored. It is true that neary fifty years later the white-winged fleet of Miguel de Legaspi, with canvas bellied with variable tropical winds, in devious course wended in and out among the Philippine Islands and in 1571 proclaimed Manila to be the capital, yet during all these centuries that have elapsed there has been but little more thorough exploration accomplished than the coast lines. and the more important river valleys.

Large islands remain unpopulated, and the interior of others are as unknown to-day as the territory around Lassa, the capital of Thibet. The mountain system of Luzón, the most important island of the whole Archipelago, is composed principally of three large ranges, whose springs form the sources of four full rivers, which flow through the island in different directions and irrigate it so richly and so fertilize the valleys with their abundant waters that there is scarcely a province which does not produce in abundance the fruits natural to it.

The nucleus of this mountain system is called Caraballos Sur, whose highest peak (1,400 meters) is situated in longitude 121° 4' east from Greenwich. The first of these ridges, called Caraballos Occidentales, runs

approximately north and is divided into two parts, that of the central range, which runs three-fourths of its length before it separates, between the Provinces of Abra, Ilocos Norte, and Cagayán, and that of the north range, which runs from the division mentioned to the most northern part of Luzón, called Mayraira Point. It separates the Provinces of Pangasinán, Unión, Abra, and the district of Benguet from those of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Cagayán. Departing from Cabalisían, near Caraballos Sur, toward the north, the district of Benguet, in which rise the ridges of Piños and Bayabas, is left to the west of the principal range. The mountains of Biumaca, Tapán, Cabuman, Tonglón, Lugsen, and the peak of Bayabas are the most important of the heights between Unión and Benguet. To the north of Caraballos Sur is Mount Data (2,500 meters), one of the most conspicuous of the whole region. Its branches run in the general direction of north and south: Among them rises the Sabagan Range, which extends toward the district of Bontoc to the east, and also the chain called Polis, the highest region of all that country.

The second important range, called the Sierra Madre, begins at Caraballos de Baler, situated southeast of Caraballos Sur. It extends in the general direction of northeast, and altogether forms a continuous chain of mountains which extends from Caraballos de Baler to Cape Engaño, in the northern part of the island, crossing the Provinces of Isabela and Cagayán.

Its length is somewhat greater than that of the Caraballos Occidentales, but its exact length has never been accurately determined, nor has it been possible to determine the height of its principal peaks.

The third important range beginning at the Caraballos Sur has a lower elevation, and its direction is also more irregular than the two others, while its length is at least twice that of the Caraballos Occidentales. It extends from the Caraballos de Baler to the Strait of San Bernardino. Its trend from its point of separation to the boundary of the Provinces of Laguna and Tayabas is north and south. From Banahao the range turns to the southeast and maintains this direction until near Guinayangan, in the Province of Tayabas, where it divides into two

spurs.

Most of these mountains are forest clothed. In the higher elevations are found large pine trees, with open spaces between carpeted with pine needles, but lower down huge trees tower to an enormous height. These mighty forest monarchs are draped and festooned with fantastic creepers and beautified with graceful ferns and exquisite orchids. Vegetation runs. riot. Unlike Hawaii, the Philippines have few if any barren lava beds, none of the bare desolate shores of northern coasts, and are free from sandy deserts. The flora is so rich that it makes a paradise for the florist, and for the botanist it is a wonderland.

On the Island of Mindoro is found Mount Halcon, situated in the northern part at an equal distance from the eastern and western coasts,

and the mountain system dividing into three ranges starts from that point. One trends northwest and southeast and the other two from the north to the south. The northern range is almost parallel to the other two, and they, on account of being parallel not only to the coast but also to each other, give rise to a large central plain between. The interior of the island is but little known, on account of the absolute lack of communication across the mountains between fishing villages on the opposite. coasts.

The frame of the mountain system of the Island of Negros is formed by a large range which crosses the island almost from north to south and by various spurs branching from it and running in opposite directions and ending on both the eastern and western coasts of the island. Panay has about the same distribution of its mountain ranges, and therefore the rivers of both islands are short, running, as a rule, east and west, with a rapid descent, especially in their upper portions, where they spring from precipice to precipice in their hasty journey to the sea.

The mountain system of Mindanao, on account of the great changes which that island has experienced through the eruption of volcanoes and the destructive action of earthquakes is not easily defined. The volcano. of Apo and the mountain of Matutun constitute the nucleus from which rise two of its principal ranges. Apart from the rest of the system, which is not easily defined, there can be distinguished four ranges, called, on account of the position which they occupy, the eastern, central-eastern, central-western, and western range. They give rise to large rivers, which, flowing through the island in all directions, enrich it with the tribute of their waters, and many of the valleys are wide and fertile, while the slopes of the mountains are covered with dense forests, through which with difficulty the explorer must penetrate before the topography of this great island can be accurately known.

The river systems of the Islands are better known than the mountain ranges, for they have been in the past and are to-day the arteries of commerce along which the products of the interior are carried to tide water. There are four large rivers in Luzón which flow in opposite directions for nearly the entire length of the island, namely, the Rio Grande de Cagayán, the Agno Grande, the Abra, and the Rio Grande de la Pampanga. Their basins are determined by the three great mountain ranges already mentioned as belonging to the system of the Caraballos.

Among the rivers of Luzón the Rio Grande de Cagayán, sometimes called El Tajo by the Spaniards, easily holds the first place, not only on account. of its great length but also by reason of the volume of water it carries to the sea. It drains all the territory embraced in the region lying between the western Caraballos, the Sierra Madre, and the southern Caraballos. It flows first in a northeasterly direction, and after receiving the waters which come from the eastern slope of the Mamparan Range and those which come from the western slope of the Sierra Madre, it continues