Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

260 AITSTEALASIA.two miles from each other. Below Lake Batu, where it becomes navigable, theVicol flows by Nabua and Nacja or Nuevn-Caceres, capital of the province ofCamarincs-Sur, bej^ond which it falls into San-Miguel Bay opposite the fortressof Cahusao, and not far from Daet, capital of the province of North Camarines.Albay and its neighbourFig. iiG.—SAiiAE AND Leytb. Dai'drja occupy a charmingscale 1:2,500,000.Depths.100 Fathomsand upwards.—— GO Miles.p^^j^j^^^ ^^ ^^^^ f^^^ ^f ^^^verdant lower slopes of theMayon volcano. Daraga,officially designated Cagsciiia,replaces an older townof this name which stoodhigher up on the flanks ofthe mountain, but whichwas destroyed by the eruptionof 1814. The port ofboth towns is Legaspi, whichis exposed to the full furyof the north-east monsoons,and consequently inaccessibleduring the wintermonths ; at this season allthe traffic is transferred totSorsogoii on the west side ofLuzon.Other ports in thisregion are Tibi and Tabaco,north of Albay, and Bulitmnat the east foot of Mayon.In the island of Samar,which forms a south-easternextension of the Camarinespeninsula, there are no largetowns.The most importantcentres of population areGuinan near the southernextremity ; Borongaii on theeast coast, like Guinan surroundedby vast forests ofcocoa-nut palms ; and thecapital Catbalogan on the west coast, on an almost inaccessible roadstead.Of the adjacent island of Leyte the capital and chief seaport is Taclohan, at thesouthern entrance of the channel separating the two islands. This channel, sometwenty-four miles long, contracts in some places to a narrow defile, expands inothers to a broad lake, and at certain points is only a few hundred yards wide.