52 THE SULU ISLANDS. [chap. 



le Diable " the sergeant of the guard placed the heavy key of the 

 gates in the Governor's hand. 



The northern side of the island is said to have a greater rainfall 

 than the southern. The Spaniards had not taken any observations, 

 but we gathered that it was considerable. The first three months 

 of the year are on the whole fine and dry, but at the end of April 

 or the beginning of May the rains come, and the monsoon changes. 

 Part of July and September and the whole of August are again fine, 

 but in the middle of September the second rains usually begm, and 

 last until the end of the year. The easterly monsoon does not set 

 in steadily before November. During our visit in April and May 

 the thermometer on board ship stood pretty steadily at 80° or 81°. 

 Inland the temperature was three or four degrees higher. Cholera 

 had visited Jolo durmg the previous year, doubtless imported from 

 Manila, for as far as we could learn only a few cases occurred on 

 the island generally. In the town itself, however, a large number 

 of people fell victims, and, sanitarily speaking, it was in very bad 

 condition at the time of the 3farchesa's visit, although the streets 

 and houses were beautifully clean. The garrison were dying at 

 the rate of one man a day, chiefly from dysentery and fever, the 

 latter disease being especially rife, owing no doubt to the amount 

 of digging always gomg on within the precincts of the town. This 

 mortality is, however, no criterion whatever of the healthiness of 

 Sulu itself, which appears to be equal to that of any tropical island 

 in this part of the world, and far superior to that of Xorthern 

 Borneo. The crowding, the disturbance of the soil, and the con- 

 dition of hopeless ennui resulting from the prison -Hfe of Jolo, — 

 each of these is sufficient alone to make any tropical station 

 unhealthy. When they are combined the only wonder is that the 

 death-rate is not higher. 



Our friend Don Julian, always bright and cheerful in spite of 

 his ill-health, and with a mixed vein of keen humour and kindly 

 cynicism in his manner which rendered him a charmmg companion, 

 seemed alone to prevent Jolo from falling into a condition of utter 



