330 S O O L O O. 



lowing in the mire, and the woods swarmed with monkeys and 

 numbers of birds, among them the horn-bills : these kept up a con- 

 tinued chatter, and made a variety of loud noises. The forests here 

 are entirely different from any we had seen elsewhere ; and the stories 

 of their being the abode of large boas and poisonous snakes, make 

 the effect still greater on those who visit them for the first time. 

 Our parties, however, saw nothing of these reptiles, nor any thing to 

 warrant a belief that such exist. Yet the officer at the fort related 

 to me many snake stories that seemed to have some foundation ; and 

 by inquiries made elsewhere, I learned that they were at least war- 

 ranted by some facts, though probably not to the extent that he re- 

 presented. 



Traces of deer and wild hogs were seen, and many birds were ob- 

 tained, as well as land and sea shells. Among the latter was the Mal- 

 leus vulgaris, which is used as food by the natives. The soil on this 

 part of the island is a stiff clay, and the plants it produces are mostly 

 woody ; those of an herbaceous character were scarce, and only a few 

 orchideous epiphytes and ferns were seen. Around the dwellings in 

 the villages were a variety of vegetables and fruits, consisting of 

 sugar-cane, sweet-potato, gourds, pumpkins, peppers, rice, water and 

 musk melons, all fine and of large size. 



The officer at the fort was a lieutenant of infantry ; one of that rank 

 is stationed here for a month, after which he, with the garrison, con- 

 sisting of three soldiers, are relieved, from Samboangan, where the 

 Spaniards have three companies. 



Samboangan is a convict settlement, to which the native rogues, 

 principally thieves, are sent. The Spanish criminals, as I have before 

 stated in speaking of Manilla, are sent to Spain. 



The inhabitants of the island of Mindanao who are under the sub- 

 jection of Spain, are about ten thousand in number, of whom five or 

 six thousand are at or in the neighbourhood of Samboangan. The 

 original inhabitants, who dwell in the mountains and on the east coast, 

 are said to be quite black, and are represented to be a very cruel and 

 bad set ; they have hitherto bid defiance to all attempts to subjugate 

 them. When the Spaniards make excursions into the interior, which 

 is seldom, they always go in large parties on account of the wild 

 beasts, serpents, and hostile natives ; nevertheless, the latter frequently 

 attack and drive them back. 



The little fort is considered as a sufficient protection for the fisher- 

 men and small vessels against the pirates, who inhabit the island of 

 Basillan, which is in sight from Mindanao, and forms the southern 

 side of the straits of the same name. It is said that about seven 



