guns, with vaults for supplies and munitions, and a powder magazine, with its inner space well protected, and an abundant well of fresh water; also quarters for soldiers and artillerymen and a house for the Commandant. It is newly fortified on the land side, in the place of arms, where the entrance is through a good wall, and two salient towers furnished with artillery which command the wall and gate. This fortress named Santiago, has a detachment of thirty soldiers, with their officers, and eight artillerymen, who guard the gate and entrance in watches, under the command of an alcalde who lives within, and has the guard and custody of it.

"There is another fortress, also of stone, in the same wall, at the ditance of the range of a culverin, at the end of the wall which runs along the shore of the bay; this is named Nuestra Senora de Guia; it is a very large round block, with its courtyard, water and quarters, and magazines and other workshops within; it has an outwork jutting out towards the beach, in which there are a dozen of large and middlesized guns, which command the bay, and sweep the walls which run from it to the port and fort of Santiago. On the further side it has a large salient tower with four heavy pieces, which command the beach further on, towards the chapel of Nuestra Senora de Guia. The gate and entrance of this is within the city, it is guarded by a detachment of twenty soldiers, with their officers, and six artillerymen, a commandant, and his lieutenant, who dwell within.

"On the land side, where the wall extends, there is a bastion called Sant Andres, with six pieces of artillery, which can fire in all directions, and a few swivel guns; and further on another outwork called San Gabriel, opposite the parian of the Sangleys, with the same number of cannon, and both these works have some soldiers and an ordinary guard.

"The wall is sufficiently high, with battlements and turrets for its defense in the modern fashions; they have a circuit of a league, which may be traversed on the top of the walls, with many stairs on the inside at intervals, of the same stonework, and three principal city gates, and many other posterns to the river and beach for the service of the city in convenient places. All of these gates are shut before nightfall by the ordinary patrol, and the keys are carried to the guard-room of the royal buildings; and in the morning, when it is day, the patrol returns with them and opens the city.

"The royal magazines are in the parade; in them are deposited and kept all the munitions and supplies, cordage, iron, copper, lead, artillery, arquebuses, and other things belonging to the royal treasury, with their special officials and workmen, who are under the command of the royal officers.

"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 Principal 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 constitutes 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 rsidence 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 occu