THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 
87 
bear tlie worst reputation. For centuries their pirate 
praus have been the terror of the Eastern seas, and the 
Spanish settlement at Zamboanga was established with 
the special object of suppressing them. At the present 
time it may be said that piracy is within measurable 
distance of extinction. The tribes of supposed Bisayan 
stock chiefly occupy north-eastern Mindanao, and are 
specially numerous in the Agusan valley. They are 
complete savages, constantly engaged in inter-tribal war, 
and are partly cannibals. Captives are made slaves, and 
there is a title of honour for those who have succeeded 
in slaughtering as many as sixty of their enemies—a 
distinction which M. Montano found to be far from 
uncommon. Of these tribes the best known are the 
Mandayas of the Sahug Biver and the Manobos of the 
Agusan. The former people number some 30,000, of 
whom about 8000 have been converted to Christianity. 
In some parts of the Davao Gulf these people are more 
civilised, knowing how to weave and to forge krisses, and 
breeding good horses. All the work in civilising the 
natives has been done by the Jesuits. 
Mindanao is both rich and fertile. It is probable 
that gold exists in tolerable quantities, and coal also. 
Sulphur is exported, and quicksilver has been discovered. 
There is considerable cultivation, especially in the north 
of the island; and in addition to the ordinary vegetable 
products of the archipelago, cacao and coffee are grown, 
and of the latter, which is said to be of better quality 
than that of Puerto Eico, a considerable quantity appears 
to be exported. The island is densely forested, and grows 
a great deal of valuable timber, including ebony and teak. 
The latter tree is found nowhere else in these islands, ex¬ 
cepting in Sulu. The mangosteen and durian also abound, 
fruits which will not flourish farther to the north. 
