46 THE SULU ISLANDS. [chap. 



for us to come to terms, so we resumed our course. About seven miles 

 west of Jolo, and little more than a mile off shore, the small island of 

 Tulian is passed on the port hand. A few years ago the Spaniards 

 had a small detachment of soldiers here, a sort of outpost to keep 

 a watch upon the movements of praus. It was a constant source 

 of employment to the Sulus, who for a long time made frequent, 

 and invariably successful attacks upon it by night, cutting down 

 the sentries and slaughtering the cattle without the loss of a single 

 man on their side. So silently were these raids carried out, and 

 so demoralising was their effect, that the Spaniards eventually 

 abandoned the post, and the island is now deserted. 



Jolo, as it is spelt by the Spaniards, rejoices in many 

 names. It appears as Sulu m the English charts, but the 

 Bornean traders speak of it as Spanish Town. To the natives it is 

 Tiangi, — "the market-place," while Admiral Keppel and Sir 

 Edward Belcher mention it as Soog, though this latter name, with 

 its varied spellings of Sugh and Soung, has long disappeared. The 

 town was in old days the capital of the island and the residence 

 of the Sultan, and at the time of Belcher's visit was built much in 

 the same manner as Brunei, the "Venice of the East." The 

 buildings ran out in three Imes into the sea, the piles of the outer 

 houses being in twenty -four feet of water, and the intervals 

 between the rows admitting of H.M.S. Samarcmg being secured 

 at the mouth of the main street.^ Hardly a trace of this native 

 town now remains. The Spaniards, who permanently established 

 themselves here in 1878, completely destroyed it, and set to work 

 to build a fortified town, which should give them, once and for all, 

 a secure footing on the island. 



"We arrived off the settlement at mid-day. It is a taking place 

 at first sight, as indeed any place in the island must be. To the 

 right rise the graceful slopes of Buat Timantangis, while the white 

 houses and grassy glades give a homelike appearance to the little 

 town, wliich is in itseK attractive. We were a little uncertain as 



1 "Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang," Belcher, vol. i. 



