110 PASANHAN. [1846. 



very distant, by one of the Officers of the garrison during 

 our sojourn, and so delighted him that he must needs force 

 me into the compliment of drinking a tumbler with him, as 

 if it had been first-rate wine. The crown of the hill, and to 

 musket shot in the rear, as well as down to the canal at the 

 sea, easterly, is already felled, burning, and in process of 

 clearing from rock, which is readily split by water when 

 heated by the burning trees, and is in great demand for 

 the construction of the fort. Near the water the ground 

 is still very swampy, but this will shortly be filled in, and 

 in all probability form the jetties to the new town, which, 

 if judiciously managed, may be rendered one of the most 

 valuable ports in these seas. For a long period Basilan 

 has supplied Mindanao with fruit, vegetables, cattle, 

 poultry, &c., and if the native population, which are Ma- 

 homedan, are once brought to friendly terms, Pasanhan 

 must become the principal resort of the whalers frequent- 

 ing these seas; but it should be freed from the dis- 

 abilities under which penal settlements labour, and be 

 under a separate Government, favouring commerce, and 

 totally disconnected with Samboanga. The western 

 harbour is open to the sea, having a long bay terminated 

 by the Island of Lapinigan, at a distance of three miles 

 westerly, but still affords excellent anchorage over a 

 tough clay bottom, with shelter from prevailing winds. 

 A small island, nearly mid-channel, protects the inner 

 anchorage, which is completely land-locked, and between 

 this island and Malavi is a deep pool with space to shelter 

 a ship of the Line in depths from five to fifteen fathoms, 

 most admirably adapted for careening or repairs. From 

 the space fronting the town, easterly, the channel affords 



