302 SQUALL OFF POINT CALIVITE. [1845. 



northing at the rate of ten knots an hour, decided me on 

 giving up the passage eastward of Mindoro ; before mid- 

 night we had reached the southern limit of the Apo Bank; 

 and passing between it and Mindoro found ourselves a 

 little before dawn on the morning of the 1 Oth, off Point 

 Calivite, the north-western extreme of Mindoro. Here 

 we experienced a very sudden squall, from one of the 

 ravines under this very high land, which taking us under 

 all possible canvas snapped off our jib boom short at 

 the cap, without affecting the royal masts, or giving the 

 ship any great careen. This happening nearly at the 

 moment that it became requisite to haul sharp up to beat 

 through the passage between it and Luban, 1 was afraid 

 that the loss of such an important spar would cripple 

 our progress, until we could replace it by another ; this, 

 however, was very speedily effected. About ten o'clock 

 we lost the second under nearly a similar squall, but this 

 was apparently a defective stick, and as we were now 

 reduced to the spare mizen topmast, it took some time 

 to adapt this for a jib boom. Very much to our asto- 

 nishment we found the ship cared little for its loss, 

 staying freely, and going nearly ten knots, close hauled, 

 notwithstanding the absence of this most important spar 

 and its canvas. About three, P.M., we cleared the 

 islands, and with a leading wind reached the entrance of 

 Manila Bay, at ten, P.M., and at noon on the 20th, 

 reached our anchorage off the city. 



Referring to my extracts from the Spanish work upon 

 the Philippines and Sooloo, it will be remembered that 

 the author advanced pretensions to great part of the 

 islands composing the Sooloo Archipelago, but as they 



