ANCHORAGE AT THE ISLAND OF GUAM
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ANCHORAGE AT THE ISLAND OF GUAM.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY, AND OF THE SPANISH COLONY THERE.
We were much thwarted by winds on our land-fall at the island of Guam. After having beat to windward several days, the pilots came on board and steered us into the port, where we anchored in twenty fathoms on a mud bottom, the surface of which is covered with broken shells.
The harbour is situated on the western side, and almost in the middle of the island. It is bounded on the south by a tongue of land running two leagues out into the sea, and on the north by a reef of similar length, which almost surrounds it. The entrance is very narrow, and protected by a brick battery, which the Spaniards call St. Louis, mounted with eight bronze twelve-pounders of an old pattern. The harbour is capable of holding four vessels, sheltered from all winds except those from the south-east, which never blow but feebly in these parts. It
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DESCRIPTION OF AGANA.
is dangerous to enter without pilots, because of the numerous rocks and coral reefs. It is situated in N. latitude 13 deg. 26', and longitude 141 deg. 30' E. of Paris; the magnetic variation being 70 deg. N. E.
The chief settlement, which the Spaniards call the town of Agana, is situated four leagues to the north of the harbour on the sea-coast, at the foot of some low mountains, in a beautiful country full of springs, and watered by a small, very clear, and good brook. The Commandant of the island lives there. The streets of the town are laid out in straight lines, the private houses are for the most part built solidly of wood, raised on piles, about three feet above the level of the ground, and most of them are roofed with shingles, or with tiles, the rest with palm leaves. There is a beautiful church highly decorated according to Spanish custom. The Commandant's house is spacious and well built. The former residence of the Jesuits, now occupied by the St. Augustine brotherhood, is spacious and convenient; but the former Jesuits' College, built for the education of the Indians, is not inhabited, their successors, the St. Augustines, having removed the college to a building near their convent. There is a barracks capable of lodging a garrison of five hundred men, and there is the King's fine large magazine. All these public buildings are built of brick and tile. The island of Guam is the only island in the vast extent of the South Sea, sprinkled as it is with innumerable islands, which has a European built town, a church, fortifications, and a civilized population.
When we arrived at the town of Agana, we were received with a great deal of civility by M. Tobias, the Commandant. We explained to him that our crews were suffering from scurvy, and I asked him for help, which was all the more pressing, as on our arrival we had not more than fifteen men fit for duty in both vessels together. This honourable and humane Commandant began by sending on board a quantity of provisions consisting of fresh meat, vegetables, and fruits, especially of oranges and citrons. He gave up to our use the former Jesuits' College, he even allowed us to station a guard
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to keep order, and he very civilly insisted that the officers of the two vessels should, during our stay at his island, make use of no other table than his own. We accepted with pleasure such very generous offers, which were made with the best possible grace. We had our unfortunate scurvy-stricken fellows brought on shore, and only left sufficient men in the vessels as were absolutely necessary for guarding them, and M. Tobias moreover furnished both vessels gratuitously with twenty-five Indians each as servants. With the abundant help we thus received from M. Tobias our sailors recovered rapidly.
In the whole extent of these seas there is no other harbour where weary navigators can re-establish their health more quickly or where they can obtain better or more abundant refreshment. The island of Guam appeared a terrestrial paradise to us; the air was excellent, the water was very good, the vegetables and fruits perfect, the mobs of cattle as well as those of goats and pigs innumerable, while there was no end to the quantity of poultry.
However, things were not always so plentiful in Guam. When Magellan discovered it in 1521, together with eight other important islands lying to the north, 1 and a multitude of very much smaller islands, forming the little archipelago known first of all as the Ladrones and afterwards as the Mariannes Group, these islands, which were thickly inhabited, could only offer fish, bananas, coco-nuts, and breadfruit as refreshments to travellers, and these were only procurable by means of force against the arrows and blades of their savage inhabitants. The Spaniards brought from America the first stock of animals, of every variety of poultry, of the plants or fruit-seeds, as well as of the vegetables we find at the present day.
But this abundance, due to the care and genius of Europeans, has cost humanity very dear. The Ladrones, and especially Guam, were thickly populated when discovered, and it is said
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POPULATION OF GUAM.
that on the shores of Guam alone 20,000 inhabitants could be counted. These men were wild savages, and, like all the islanders of the South Sea, owing to the fact that they did not recognize any rights of property, they were great thieves. 2
But they were so savage and so incapable of supporting the yoke of civilization that the Spainards who undertook to subdue them so as to make Christians of them saw their population annihilate itself so to speak within the course of two centuries. Under the reign of their missionaries the wild islanders were finally obliged to give way to the superiority of Spanish arms, and after having for a long time defended by cruel wars their right to exist like savage beasts, according to their free instinct, they gave themselves up to a despair of which there is no other example on the face of the earth. They induced their women to take drinks which caused abortion and to have no more children, rather than to leave behind them children who, according to the ideas of liberty entertained by these savage beings, would no longer be free. Such violent resolves, so contrary to the wishes of Nature, were followed up by a stubbornness in the nine Marianne Islands sufficient to reduce the population of the whole archipelago, which was 60,000 at the time of the discovery, to eight or nine hundred souls. About twenty years ago the scattered remnants of this population were gathered together by the Spaniards on to the island of Guam, where, during the last few years, by means of wise although tardy precautions of a Government perhaps best adapted to the climate of these islands and to the genius of the people, the population has commenced to increase. 3
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The present remains of the former great population are descended from those Indians who, having attached themselves to the service of the Spaniards and especially to that of the missionaries, have allowed themselves to be domesticated by the mildness of the present government. All the others have disappeared without leaving any posterity.
The present population consists of about fifteen hundred Indians, They are happy under the government of a wise man, who has the good sense to see that religion is given to man for his happiness, even on earth, and not for his annoyance. It was with the greatest satisfaction that I saw this worthy and honourable man's only care was for the good of his island and that he never showed his authority except for the benefit of the Indians who serve him. Under such a Commandant even the monks appeared tolerant to me. The five or six Spaniards who have various subordinate posts under the chief conform perfectly to his views. 4
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GUAM SAVANNAHS.
The greatest order reigns in Agana, and the country is really a delightful abode. Besides Agana there are twenty-one small Indian settlements round the islands, all on the sea-coast, and composed of five or six families each, who cultivate grain crops and vegetables, and occupy themselves with fishing.
The centre of the island still lies in its virgin state. The trees are not very high, but they are suitable for the building of houses and boats. The forests generally are very dense. Long ago the Spaniards cleared spaces of land for pastoral purposes. No other nation possessing colonies in the tropics appears to have laid themselves out like the Spaniards for the formation of savannahs. The whole art of this rural operation consists in making small clearings, which are only separated from each other by bushes and clumps of trees, simply cleared and cleaned of every variety of underwood. The Spaniards sow the clearings with varieties of grass seeds suitable for pasturage.
These savannahs, being shaded on all sides, always retain their freshness, and give shelter to the cattle against the sun and the great heat of the day. Vast prairies entirely cleared are not a success in the Torrid Zone, and cattle transferred from a colder climate only find the pasturage hard and burned by the power of the sun, being without any shade; and in cases where they are not able to rest during the greater heat of the day, they infallibly perish.
The cattle formerly transported from America to the savannahs of Guam and the other Ladrone Islands have multiplied without end. These animals have run wild, and now, when one wishes to eat them, one has either to shoot them or take them by lassooing. I noticed that the Guam cattle are generally white, with black ears, without any variety of colour, but with big frames and well nourished, and their flesh is very good to eat.
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The forests are also full of goats, pigs, and poultry, of which the first stock was brought over by the Spaniards. All these animals have run wild, and can only be obtained by shooting or running them down, or by lassooing. Their flesh is excellent.
Some time ago, M. Tobias brought over from the Philippines some stags and hinds, which have begun to multiply in the forest. These deer are as big as ours, but their coat is different. In Guam, from the month of December to May, the deer has a very long, thick, and grey coat; the hair is very thick round the neck of the animal, and forms a sort of hanging cravatte. In the month of May the deer puts on its summer coat, which is utterly different from that borne in winter. The hair is then fawn-coloured and almost yellow, smooth, and brilliant; there are three black stripes on its back, between which there are white stars, and one would say that it is not the same animal.
On the cleared lands and even in the interior of the forests an extraordinary quantity of turtle-doves, parrots, thrushes and blackbirds are met with.
Amongst the indigenous trees of the country one notices especially the coco-nut and the breadfruit trees. I observed three varieties of coco-nut palms: firstly the big common coconut palm similar to that which is found throughout the Indies, whose fruit furnishes a very pleasant, refreshing, anti-scorbutic milk, and spirit, oil, and a strong thread suitable for making up into twine, and even into ship's cables. Secondly the coco-nut palm, which may be called of medium size, because it does not grow so high as the other one, and whose nut, deprived of its fibrous husk and tender shell, is eaten like the heart of the artichoke, which it resembles. Finally, the black coco-nut, which does not grow above eight or ten feet high at most, although it grows much quicker than the common coco-nut palm, and the fruit of which is perfectly round and of the size of a six-pounder cannon ball; the flesh of this nut is much thicker and more delicate than that of the common coco-nut; spirit, oil, and thread are made from it in greater quantities than the others. The leaves of all three
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BREADFRUIT TREE.
coco-nut palms are equally suitable for thatching houses and making mats.
The breadfruit tree is one of the most beautiful vegetable productions of Nature. It is a tall tree, of which the strong trunk grows straight upwards; its bark is perfectly smooth like that of our beeches. The branches do not start from the trunk until about the height of ten or twelve feet; they grow alternately, as do also the leaves. These leaves are generally eighteen inches to two feet long, very deeply indented like those of our French fig trees; they are stiff, thick, and of a very beautiful green, and form excellent food for cattle. With such a foliage the breadfruit tree affords the most perfect shelter. The fruit grows on the branches from the axil of the leaves, and attains the size of a cantaloupe melon, but more oval, and generally eight to ten inches long; it has a stalk proportioned to its size, and exactly resembles the jackfruit, which is known to all those who have journeyed to the Indies. Like the jackfruit it is covered with a thick skin, which is somewhat thorny, but of which the points are coarse, short, and blunted; its flower also resembles that of the jackfruit, but its pulp is different. That of the breadfruit tree is farinaceous, and of a taste which pleases all, even of those who eat it for the first time. 5 This fruit is one of the most useful presents which Nature has given to man, and it seems extraordinary that Nature should only have placed the tree which produces it in the islands of the South Seas. It tastes exactly like bread, has the same nutritive properties, supplies its place in every respect, and has a fragrant and delicious odour which our cleverest bakers will never be able to impart to our bread.
It is consequently very pleasant for the fortunate inhabitant of these islands, to be assured of his daily bread; to nourish himself he has only to cull it and eat it, and that too without any of the troubles attaching to ploughing the field, sowing the grain, hoeing, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, grinding, kneading, or baking.
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The fruit can be eaten when it has attained its full size, but though it be still green. In this stage the islanders cook it before eating; they take off its knotty rind and cut it in slices like pieces of bread. When they wish to preserve it, they cut it in round slices, and in this very thin sea-biscuit form they dry it in the sun or in the oven. This natural biscuit preserves its quality for years, and very much better than does our ships' biscuit. Our sailors ate it green, slightly grilled; they also made their soup of it; they had no other bread, and we attributed the quick recovery of those suffering from scurvy to the breadfruit diet. To this diet the inhabitants have always attributed anti-scorbutic properties.
When this fruit is ripe, it becomes yellow and soft, its odour is more fragrant, but it loses its farinaceous taste and becomes insipid. At this stage it has no longer the same properties as before; it is now laxative and heating; its pulp no longer takes the place of bread, and it has little to recommend it. Some of the breadfruit trees bear the male fruit and the others bear female fruit. In the latter, which are rare, the seed consists of shell-less stones enveloped in a simple almost cylindrical pellicle of about the size of a chestnut but longer. When ripe these stones make up for the uselessness of the pulp; they are cooked and eaten like chestnuts, having the same taste.
As the male breadfruit tree is the most useful, but has no seed, it is propagated by the Indians by making slight incisions in the roots, from which shoots spring up; these are transplanted together with a piece of the original root which has produced them.
It is very desirable that such a very useful tree should spread all over the earth. That there were some already in the Isle of France I knew well, thanks to M. Poivre, who during his administration collected with the greatest success all the most useful productions from the four corners of the globe. But as I was desirous of making common property of, and of multiplying as quickly as possible, such a very precious tree, I determined to fill a case of these plants in Guam and so to transport more to the Isle of France, thus placing the Governors in a position to encourage its planting in our other
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CULTIVATION AT GUAM.
colonies, where the breadfruit tree alone without cultivation might furnish a very good food-substance, at least to our unhappy slaves. But I did not succeed as I had desired, and all but two of the plants perished.
The forests of Guam are full of guavas, several varieties of bananas, citrons, lemons, sweet, bitter and mandarin oranges, and breadfruits. The fruit of all these trees, which I presume are not indigenous to the island, but have been introduced by the Spaniards, are now-a-days so plentiful that they only cost the trouble of picking, and one finds them everywhere.
The sea-coast and the skirts of the forests are covered with a large variety of the caper tree. These small trees are indigenous to the soil. The Spaniards assure me that the nine Ladrone Islands were full of them when discovered, and that, like the breadfruit tree, they have been transplanted from here to the Philippines. Like the citrons, orange trees, and several other indigenous shrubs, these caper bushes flower all the year round, forming ravishing scenes; they exhale a pleasant odour, which makes a walk in the fields and in the forests very delicious.
Bananas are found throughout the world between the tropics and as far as the Cape of Good Hope in latitude 33 deg. S. As several travellers have described them and their varieties, I will not repeat the descriptions here, but I noticed at Guam two varieties which deserve attention, and which I believe are peculiar to the Marianne Islands as well as to the Philippines, where the Spaniards assure me they have them also.
The first species is a dwarf banana, which does not grow higher than three feet; in its leaves, which are in proportion to its height, as well as in the substance of its trunk and in its flower, it resembles the generality of all banana trees, but its fruit is different, and very superior in taste to all the bananas known in other parts of the world. It produces a very thick perfectly round stalk, carrying five or six hundred fruits pressed closely together, every fruit about the size of an almost round nut, and covered with a very fine skin which yellows or reddens in ripening, for it is of either colour, and which is easily separated from the enclosed pulp. This fruit has not the fault
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common to other bananas of being clammy or dry; it is watery, with a very delicious taste, slightly acid, and scented. It is very superior, even to the little yellow banana known in the East Indies as the Gengi fig, which is truly delicate, but the one of which I am now speaking is beyond compare the best banana that I have ever eaten. This excellent fruit ought certainly to be transplanted into all our tropical colonies, and it certainly deserves the preference to all other varieties of banana, quite as much for its diminutiveness as for the excellence of its fruit, and should be cultivated in our hot-houses, where until now only the bad variety has been grown, and the fruit of which is not even eaten there where Nature originally placed it.
The second species is a wild variety, which grows taller than any of the others, and of which the trunk is thicker, it has also a more uncultivated appearance. Its leaves and flowers resemble those of all bananas, and its fruit is not edible, being nothing more than a mass of grain bound together by a very poor pulp which has a sharp and disagreeable taste. The trunk of this wild banana is of the greatest use to those who cut it down and steep it, on account of the quantity of thread which it furnishes. The entire trunk consists of nothing more than a mass of very long and strong threads, and of which the Indians make cloth, cord, and even cables for the galleons of Acapulco. 6 This wild banana is locally called abaca. The Spaniards, who have put such cables to the proof, maintain that, the thickness being equal, they are stronger than the hempen European cables, and resist the action of wind and salt-water better, especially for the bow anchor. This variety of banana has already been largely propagated at the Isle of France, and deserves to be transplanted to all our colonies. It is well known that bananas can be propagated without end and without cultivation. The abaca multiplies still more rapidly, and every
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FISH OF GUAM.
trunk one year old gives ten to twelve pounds of thread suitable for making into rope.
The rivers of Guam, which after all are only brooks, or torrents, abound in fish. During their convalescence, our sailors amused themselves by fishing, and caught eels, mullets, gobys, and a sort of carp. All these fish are excellent, but the Indians do not eat them, preferring salt-water fish, which are generally very inferior in quality to the fresh-water ones. It is true that the abundance of meat, vegetables, and fruit is so great in Guam, and the Spanish Commandant provided us with them so generously, that during the whole stay we hardly thought of getting any sea-fish.
There is, besides, some inconvenience in a preference for salt-water fish. Among those which are caught on the coast of Guam, as in all the Marianne Islands, there are some which are very unwholesome, for they nourish themselves on the little polypes, which form the coral. It appears that these sea-insects, like the sea-galleys and sea-nettles, have some caustic property which is imparted to the fishes, and the fishes have a coralline taste which betrays their poisonous properties. The Indians know which are unwholesome, but it is better not to eat any sea-fish at all. This, however, does not hold good with the sea-turtles which are caught on the coasts of Guam. They are very good and as big as those of the island of Ascension, but the Spaniards and Indians do not eat them. I collected sufficient to form a good supply during our journey to the Philippines.
THE AGRICULTURE AND ARTS OF THE GUAM INDIANS.
Before the arrival of M. Tobias, the Indians did not occupy themselves with any sort of cultivation on a large scale, for the galleons brought thither the requisite flour for the bread of the missionaries and of the garrison; but the Jesuits, who were in charge of the mission, cultivated a few fruit trees and vegetables, while the Indians lived on breadfruit and sea-fish.
The new Commandant, believing that one of the best measures for re-establishing the almost annihilated population of the
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Mariannes, reduced to a mere handful of inhabitants collected together at Guam, would be by making the little colony into an agricultural one, introduced the cultivation of rice, maize, indigo, cotton, cacao, and sugar cane, all of which have succeeded very well. The cultivation of maize especially gives incredible results. It is common to find on the maize fields plants twelve feet high, with eight to ten cobs, nine to ten inches long, well stocked with good nourishing grain. The Indian reduces the maize to flour and makes bread of it.
M. Tobias has also established cotton mills and salt pans on his island; in a word, he has awakened industry in this little people, whom he could not better civilize than by procuring them new gratifications and wants and tastes for industry.
His views have led him to establish a public free school for the Indian children, where they are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and vocal and instrumental music. There is a school for the boys and a separate one for the girls. It was always a new and pleasant surprise to us when we attended divine service on Sundays and holidays to find the church full of musicians, and to hear all the instruments in tune and time.
Under the guidance of this wise man all the Indians have become agriculturists. Every family has its property, which is divided into gardens, orchards, and ploughed or spade-worked fields. Every variety of European vegetables, especially delicious melons, and the very refreshing water-melons, are found in these gardens. Ships wishing to provision will find cabbages and gourds in very large quantities.
The orchards are full of mangoes and pine apples, and every fruit tree of which I have spoken is to be found in the fields and right up into the forests; but the cultivated trees give the best and most abundant fruit, especially as regards the mangoes, which have been brought from Manilla, and are of a very superior quality. The mango is one of the best fruits in the world and one can eat many of them without being inconvenienced!
In order to set the example in agricultural matters the Commandant has himself laid out some very pleasant gardens;
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GUAM CATTLE.
he has had avenues of coco-nut palms and breadfruit trees four deep planted along the sea-shore round the town, and in public spaces, and these avenues have made Agana an enchanting place.
To facilitate work in connection with cultivation and land transport, the Government has built good roads and has imported horses from Manilla, and donkeys and even mules from Acapulco. The Indians have been taught to break-in cattle and to use them as draughts, and as the variety of cattle are big and strong, they make very fine teams. The Indians have more particularly succeeded in accustoming the cattle to carry them, the same as horses do, and there are no Indians who have not several riding beasts on which they ride when making a journey into the interior of the islands and on whom they saddle their baggage. In their method of breaking-in they follow the Malabar custom; they pierce the nostril of the beast and pass the end of a cord through it, and by means of this cord, to which the cattle get accustomed in a fortnight, they are led about as easily as horses by their bridles.
The art of cultivation in its turn causes the birth of the art of the smith, of the wheelwright, of the joiner and carpenter. The Indians of Guam have learnt all these trades and follow them with great skill; they make bricks and lime, and are even good masons.
In establishing the useful arts on his island M. Tobias has not neglected that particular one which is unfortunately necessary for safety and defence: and he has formed an Indian militia two hundred strong, which wears a uniform and is well paid. The militiamen are under the command of four Spanish captains. The other officers are mostly mestizos and Indians from the Philippines. I thought these troops performed their duties well; but the Commandant, regarding indolence as one of the greatest disadvantages of life, has continued his men as cultivators without in the least interfering with their daily duties, employing them in cultivating certain lands which he has divided off under the title of Royal Demesnes. The soldiers thus plough, sow, and harvest the
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lands, the produce of which serves to nourish them, and being thus always occupied, they are happy and well contented with the rice, or the bread made from the maize, which they have themselves cultivated and harvested.
In acquiring new knowledge by their contact with civilization, the islanders have at the same time preserved perfectly the art of making canoes received from their forefathers. In this respect they had nothing new to learn. It is quite certain that the invention of the form of their craft would do honour to any boatbuilder amongst the most advanced maritime people. This form has not been copied from any model, for it differs from all those which have been given to sea-going vessels by any of the known peoples in different parts of the world.
The Indians being of one nationality, but divided up amongst nine very thickly populated islands, and separated from one another by considerable distances within an extent of about six degrees, naturally require good boats wherewith to inter-communicate. As the islands are situated in a row running north and south, and as the wind blows from the east almost all the year round, it is an advantage that their boats should have no stern. Their boats are therefore built with bows at each end, so that they never require to be turned round. The prevailing winds blow sometimes very violently in squalls, and the islanders have found out how to provide against this inconvenience, for they furnish their boats with outriggers, which will uphold them against the stiffest breezes and the biggest waves. These canoes, always having the wind on one side, are built flat on that, the windward, side and rounding on the lee side, which, being more under water, requires a more suitable surface for cutting through the water. The mast is never placed in the middle of the boat, but on the curved lee side, so that the mast is, so to speak, between the boat and the outrigger. The weight of the mast thus causes the side to list, and with all the more ease, since the windward side of the boat being flat offers less resistance. Nothing is so simple or so well devised as these boats, which the Indians call proas.
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GUAM CANOES.
The outrigger is composed of four pieces of wood, built oblong in form, and of which the longest side is set parallel with the round side of the boat. At the beam ends of the outrigger is fixed a large piece of very light wood cut in the shape of a canoe. This piece of wood floats on the water and opposes such resistance to the efforts of the strongest breezes as to prevent the upsetting of the boat; the arms of the outrigger are fixed at right angles into the upper planks of the boat, and strongly tied on to the planks on the windward side. Three pieces of wood cross the framework and make it firmer, and two other longer pieces which cross the framework transversely, that is, parallel with the boat and its outrigger, help to bind the whole firmly together. A narrow plank is placed along the lee rail to prevent the water entering the boat, and fixes still more securely in their position the arms of the outrigger, which it does by covering its whole length.
On the arms of the outrigger and partly on the lee rail, the Indians rig up a platform, which is again a source of strength, and acts as a sort of counter-weight to the boat. The boatmen and the passengers sit on this platform and the cargo is placed there.
The mast is of bamboo and is consequently very light. It is let into a socket on the lee side of the bottom of the boat. Two stays from each end of the boat keep it in its place, a shroud holds it on the windward side and another on the leeward side; the latter is lashed to the framework of the outrigger, and the mast is further shored up by a bamboo fixed in the middle of the outrigger.
The boat is furnished with a triangular mat sail, furnished with a yard and boom. The boom is supported at its base in the boat by a semicircular socket; there is one of these at either end of the boat. When the Indians, troubled by contrary winds, wish to tack about, they run the end of the boom along the flat side of the boat, and fix it in the opposite socket at the other end; then in changing the boom, end for end, the stern of the boat becomes its prow, and the tack is accomplished. When the wind is too strong and the Indians
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wish to shorten sail, they simply roll it round the boom, and so diminish the exposed surface.
The boat I observed was forty feet long by three broad; the bottom was made of a single hollow tree, in the form of a big canoe; its sides raised a couple of inches by means of planks and sewn together with bark of trees and caulked with a mixture of coco-nut oil and quicklime. Their sides were joined by cross-pieces, which served as seats. These boats have no bridge, neither have they any rudder; an Indian squatted at the end of the boat governs it with a very broad-bladed paddle.
I made a short passage in one of these proas when the wind was fresh, and estimated its speed at three leagues an hour. The islanders assured me that with a very strong wind they could go five leagues an hour, but that such speed was rarely attained. These proas are therefore the best sailers amongst the small sea-going craft known, and are very ingeniously constructed. It appeared to me that those of Guam are not quite safe at sea, for a wave might detach the outrigger or break it, and the boat would then capsize or founder; but I have been assured that the Indians are such good swimmers, and so experienced in their art of navigation, that when a boat capsizes through the loss of its outrigger, they have sufficient skill to right it in the open sea, and they never lose more than their cargo. It has been found possible elsewhere to give the proas greater solidity, preserving at the same time their form and swiftness, and boats uniting these advantages are found on the coast of Cochin China. 7
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BEAUTY OF GUAM.
CONTINUATION OF VARIOUS OBSERVATIONS MADE AT GUAM.
According to the estimates of the Spaniards, the island of Guam is about forty leagues in circumference. From the seashore it rises by very slow degrees towards its centre, but it is not mountainous. The inhabitants maintain that the soil, is everywhere good and fertile, with the exception of the northern portion, which forms a peninsula, and is only slightly watered, the rest of the island being well watered, and one cannot go a league in any direction without coming across a stream. Towards the interior of the country, east and south of Agana, there are many fresh-water springs issuing out of the rocks, and which form at intervals pools of clear water, which, being shaded by bushy trees, maintain a most refreshing coolness in spite of the great heat of the climate.
The island is studded with picturesque and delicious scenes. In my promenades it often happened that I came across these enchanting places where Nature had made all, and the hand of man none of, the arrangements. It was not possible to feel bored, everything was arranged for the happiness of the man who loves solitude, verdure, shade, freshness, the smell of flowers, crystalline water springing from a rock and falling in cascades; who enjoys the songs of numberless birds, and glimpses of scenery, coco-nuts, breadfruits, oranges, citrons, and an infinity of wild fruits found equally on trees with their flowers, and growing in that charming irregularity in which art has never been able to imitate Nature. It was only with regret that I could leave such delicious places, for I could have spent my whole life there. Between these delightful spots and the sea-coast there is an open space, about two hundred fathoms broad, consisting of sand mixed with coral, which appears to have been abandoned by the sea, or to have emerged from its bosom by the effect of some volcanic shock or upheaval. These lands consist of a series of valleys perfectly filled up with coral, and which appear to have been formerly the beds of marine currents. One has to pass three or four of these dales one after another
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before arriving at the vegetable soil of the island on the skirts of the forest. All this space is full of uncultivated growth, of caper trees and coco-nut palms, which thrive well in the midst of the coral.
It appeared to me that the greater part of the rocks around Agana are granitic; the pebbles which are found on the seashore are crystallized inside. I noticed that amongst the small pyramidal crystals enclosed in these pebbles there were some which were yellow and red, like topazes and rubies.
The Guam islanders are such as they were depicted by Magellan: short in stature, ugly enough, black, and generally scabby, although they bathe frequently. The women are generally beautiful, well made, and with a red skin. Both men and women have very long hair. Through civilization this small people have become hospitable, honest, and peaceful; at the same time they have adopted a vice unknown to their ancestors, for the men are slightly given to drunkenness, and will drink a great deal of coco-nut spirit. They love music and dancing, but do not care much about work. They are passionately fond of cock-fighting. On Sundays and holidays they assemble after service at the door of the church, every man bringing his cock to fight that of another, and every man bets on his own bird.
The Guam Mission is at the present day in the hands of the St. Augustines, who have replaced the Jesuits, and there are five of the brotherhood attached to the Mission. One of them is appointed to the parish of Agana, three of them are divided between different parishes among other tribes in the Island, and the fifth inhabits the Island of Saipan, which is ten leagues to the north of Guam, and where a small population has been located.
These good monks thoroughly second the views of M. Tobias for the welfare of his beloved Indians. I cannot repeat too often, in praise of this excellent man, that he has no other ambition than that of making his islanders happy; and that he is happy himself because he succeeds in all his views. The Indians look upon him and love him as a father. He has often repeated to me that he should like to finish his days in
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FATE OF M. TOBIAS.
Guam, calling my attention to the fact that in no other part of the world could he be happier, since he had the satisfaction of seeing a small tribe confided to his care, in the enjoyment of a very good climate and of an abundance of all the productions of the earth. 8
We had landed with more than two hundred sick men at Guam, and we had not lost a single one of them; all had completely recovered within the space of a month, in spite of the almost continual rains we had to put up with, until towards the middle of October. The northern monsoon, which commenced at this period, brought us fine weather and a clear sky, and we profited by the occasion to repair our vessels.
During our abode at Guam I noticed that at the change of the moon the sea grew very rough for two or three days. After a rest of about two months, we were disposed to profit by the N. E. monsoon in order to get to the Philippine Islands. On the 18th of November we took on board both our vessels abundant provisions, so generously furnished us by M. Tobias; these consisted of beef, pigs, goats, poultry, vegetables and fruit of every description. We had paid four piastres for the bullocks, but were not allowed to pay for any other provisions. M. Tobias furnished us with a pilot to guide us into the Philippine Archipelago.
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DEPARTURE FROM THE ISLAND OF GUAM AND CONTINUATION OF OUR JOURNEY TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
We left Agana with deep regret on the 19th of November, but with a good north-easterly wind, and our sailors, who were in better health than they would have been even in leaving a French port, called the island a terrestrial paradise. Our course lay W. by a quarter N. W. in order to get into the Strait of San Bernardino, which is the ordinary course for galleons on returning from Acapulco to Manilla. On the 20th, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the Mascarin sprang a leak forward, below the lower deck in the starboard bow, which we were unable to stop, and she made water at the rate of six inches an hour. During the whole of our journey from Guam until we sighted Catanduanes, to the east of Luzon, and to the north of the Straits of San Bernardino, we had easterly and north-easterly winds; when the wind was in the east, we had fine weather and a calm sea; and when the wind was in the north, we had strong squalls, rain, and a heavy sea, and thunder and lightning.
On the 27th and 28th of November we had spread but little sail, on account of the rough weather, and we kept head to wind during two nights, because, according to our reckoning and to the Spanish Chart of Father Mourillo, we should have been on the coast of the Isle of Luzon since the 27th; by M. d'Apres' 9 chart we were, according to our reckoning, five leagues off at noon on the 28th. However that may be, and although the horizon was very clear, we did not discover land that day, and we kept head to wind again on the night of the 28th and 29th. It seems that there is a strong easterly current in the different straits in the stretch of sea which separates the Philippines from the Marianne Islands.
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SAN BERNARDINO.
At daybreak on the 29th we made land without being able to distinguish it well; the tide was making and the waves made a noise like that of breakers. At six o'clock in the morning we sighted distinctly the northern part of the island of Catanduanes, which appeared to me to be ten leagues off. This part of the island is high, mountainous, and covered with trees. At seven o'clock we sighted the easternmost point of Luzon, called Montafou on the charts, then the little island of San Bernardino, which appeared to be barren and surrounded with breakers, and which at eight o'clock in the morning was three leagues off to the S. S. E. This island is three hundred and seventy-seven leagues distant from Guam, and according to my observation it is situated in latitude 12 deg. 44' N. and longitude 121 deg. 13' east of Paris; magnetic variation was 1 deg. N. E. On entering the straits, we saw the Island of Samar very clearly, it appeared to be low, rocky, covered with trees, and surrounded by islets.
We did not see Cape Spiritto Santo, which is the N. E. point of the island of Samar, where the galleons returning from AcapulcO land during the S. E. monsoon. It was at this cape that M. Anson established his quarters for his attack on the Manilla galleon, which he had the good fortune to take in June, 1743. 10
The Island of San Bernardino is situated in the middle of the straits bounded to the north by the S. E. point of Luzon, and the N. E. point of Samar Island; the channel is four leagues broad here, and six leagues broad between the cape of Samar Island and the Island of San Bernardino. With the winds of the northern monsoon we entered the north channel by coasting along Bulusan, on the Island of Luzon. The galleons which enter this strait during the S. W. monsoon pass through the channel between Samar and San Bernardino.
As soon as we had passed this little island, which we left
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on our S. E., we encountered such a very strong south-westerly current that we could hardly manage our vessels. In coasting along Luzon we saw to the west of San Bernardino the settlement of Bulusan, in which I noticed a big building which might be a church. We hoisted our ensign, and were immediately answered by the Spaniards. This coast is pleasant to look at, with easily accessible sand coves and several fresh-water creeks.
At two o'clock we found ourselves two leagues off the northern point of the Island of Capul. This island is the only one on the whole route off which we could, so to speak, anchor in the open sea. The bottom for three leagues gave us very unequal soundings, but we found it good at 70 to 35 fathoms, although we did not begin to reach it until the Island of San Bernardino was five leagues to our N. E. At the same time the islands of the Cape of Bulusan were to the N. of us, and the northern point of Capul was to our S. We found no bottom when the same point was four leagues E. S. E. of us.
During the night we had little wind and less current. On the 30th November we continued our journey up the mid channel between the Island of Ticao and Luzon. In passing the head of the north of Ticao I noticed the settlement of Colentas, which appeared to be tolerably large. The church was especially striking. Throughout this journey we did not find bottom at one hundred fathoms, and we passed, on the north of the Island of Luzon, the beautiful port Sol-Sogou, of which the Island of Bagatao forms the entrance. As soon as we had passed the little islands at the N. of Ticao, we made for the S. E. point of the Island of Bourias, which we coasted for a league, leaving the northern point of Masbate Island, which is three times as big, about two leagues to the south.
The passage amongst these islands could not possibly be more beautiful; there is no danger and one can beat about everywhere, although it is true there is no bottom except close to the shores. On the 1st of December the wind fell, and with it came rain and thunder, and we made little progress. On the 2nd, the sea having calmed down, we saw the little Island of Bancou five leagues to the W. S. W. At one o'clock, having sighted the
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THE PHILIPPINES.
Island of Marindonque, we steered W. S. W. in order to coast the southern point, and so avoid striking the Two Hermanas, or the Two Sisters, which are on the N. W. of Bancou Island. In this passage, which is about five leagues broad, the currents carried us rapidly along on to the island of Mindoro, but we recovered by tacking about. The southern point of Marindonquo is terminated by a large islet. On coasting the eastern side of this island we found, at two leagues from the coast, three islets, which the Spaniards have named the Viregos, the Viceroys, which we doubled a league off.
On leaving these islands, we had been obliged to tack, so that we might go N. N. W. and N. W. in order to gain Point Galbau, on the Island of Luzon, and pass between Calampau and Green Island. Calms, rains and squalls followed alternately. On the 3rd December we reached the coast of Luzon, and passed between this island and Green Island. I noticed that the latter island has breakers on the S. E. side, and I should prefer the two-leagues-wide passage between Luzon and Green Island to that which appears bigger between the latter island and Mindoro. The latter passage is endangered by several islets, although it is said that this is the passage used by the galleons on their way from Manilla through the Straits of San Bernardino to Acapulco. Since we arrived in the Philippine Archipelago I have observed that there was no magnetic variation. All these islands are well wooded, look pleasant, and have plenty of streams.
On the 4th of December, having doubled Green Island, and the wind having veered to the S. E., we steered for Mindoro, passing the southern point of the Island of Maricaban a league off. In the afternoon we had a clear view of Callavitte Point, to the N. of Mindoro, the coast of Luzon, San-Jago Point, Taal Lagoon, and Loubang, and the Goats and Fortune Islands. Contrary winds detained us in this passage, which is not without its dangers. During the night, in spite of the strong S. E. currents which carried us on to the dangerous islands of Ambil, Loubang and the Goats, we safely passed Fortune Island a league off to the W.
The next morning, the 5th of December, we had to tack about
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to gain the entrance to Manilla Bay. We had anchored the night before on a good thirty fathom black sand bottom outside the Island of Marivelles, about two leagues off. After experiencing three calm days and three days with contrary winds, we entered the bay by the southern passage of Marivelles Island, and anchored on the 8th in Port Cavitte, in a three-and-a-half fathom mud bottom. There we met the Spanish frigate Venus, commanded by M. Langara, 11 who was preparing to return to Spain via the Cape of Good Hope. We also found the galleons ST. Joseph and St. Charles, with several other craft and galleys.
