THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 77 



inhabited. It lies immediately to the south of the 

 Batangas district of Luzon, from which it is separated 

 by a narrow strait about seven or eight miles in breadth. 

 It has a length of about 90 miles, and is from 40 to 50 

 miles wide. Its area is about 4050 square miles. With 

 the neighbouring islands of Marinduque and Lubang it 

 forms one of the thirty -three provinces of the Luzon 

 administration, its population amounting to 37,648. It 

 is under a civil governor, who resides at Calapan on the 

 north coast. There is no other village of large size in 

 the island, and no civilisation except upon the coast. 



Mindoro was discovered by Legaspi, who sent his 

 nephew, Juan de Salcedo, to take possession, a task which 

 he accomplished with thirty Spaniards and some native 

 allies. The island was always the haunt of Illanun and 

 Sulu pirates, but the Spanish gunboats have now 

 effectually suppressed them. Still, little attempt at 

 cultivation and civilisation has been made of late. The 

 Jesuits did much, l3ut since their evacuation there has 

 been almost no advance. Many formerly populous j^uehlos 

 in the interior are now deserted and ruined. The in- 

 habitants of the coast are Tagals, but the people of the 

 interior — the Manguianos— are in a state of almost 

 complete savagery, though of harmless disposition. They 

 are of sub-Malayan stock, speaking a peculiar language, 

 and livmg in a very miserable manner on the products 

 of a rude agriculture. 



Mindoro has lofty mountain ranges, which culminate 

 in the north in Mount Halcon (8865 feet), and are 

 covered everywhere with dense forest. Near the coast 

 there is much marsh land, and the island bears the repu- 

 tation of being extremely unhealthy. There are no 

 active volcanoes in Mindoro, and its geological structure 

 is almost unknown. In the north-west a valley crosses 



