Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

TOPOGEAniY OF THE nilLIPPiyES. 269importance. Unfortunately the climate is so unhealthy that some hundreds ofconvicts sent to clear the ground in the vicinity of the rising town all died offever.The ancient city of Sh/k, at the western extremity of the island of likename, has also become a Spanish station, and the descendant of the dreadedsultans who ruled the whole archipelago together with North Borneo, is nownothing more than an obscure pensioner of the Philippine Government. Hiscapital has lost all its industries, and the famous krisses made at this place arenow replaced by weapons of English or German manufacture.In the large island of Paragua or Palawan, Spain also maintains two militaryFig.lis.— Si'LU Archipelago.Scale 1 : 2,250,000.y^.—.=^Depths.stations : Tay-tay, near the northern extremity on a well-sheltered inlet, andPucrto-Princesa, on a fine natural harbour on the east coast. The forests in theimmediate neighbourhood of the latter station are still occupied by the Tagbanuhoy,wild tribes of Malay origin, and the mountains of the interior are inhabited bythe Bataks, who are supposed to be of Negrito stock.In the island of Balabac, facing the Bornean archipelago of Banguay, the onlycentre of population is a mere village, while the islets studding the China Seafarther west are uninhabited.