256 
CRUISE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
overgrown with a second jungle. For miles on either 
side of the volcano the trees are blighted, and vege- 
tation is destroyed by the sulphureous exhalations. 
Temperatures were taken in 185 fathoms, close to the 
foot of the mountain ; but that shown, 57°, was in 
no way other than usual at similar depths in these 
seas. 
From Camiguin we proceeded along the west coast 
of Mindanao to Samboanga, a distance of 250 miles 
(occasionally sounding and dredging), where we 
arrived on the 29th January. The scenery is very 
pretty. Indian houses were visible through the 
plantain-trees and cocoa-nut groves ; and scattered 
here and there amidst the woodland of the coast 
were storehouses, barracks, and a large fortification, 
with the yellow and scarlet flag of Spain flying, 
advising us that we were near the seat of govern- 
ment. At the landing-place is a convenient wooden 
pier, with a lighthouse on it, which is carried out for 
some distance in the harbour. From the appearance 
of the town, I should think that it is not likely to 
become a port of much importance : there seems but 
little capital invested, and the trading establishments 
are on a small scale. The few stores seem to be 
occupied by Chinese, who supply all the wants the 
population appear to have. 
In the immediate neighbourhood of the town the 
roads are in tolerably good order, and the country is 
rich in all the varieties of tropical vegetation ; but 
