Cabezo de Tablas, 2,405 feet high; generally the coasts
are clear and steep-to. Off the north end are two rocky islets,
distant one cable from the coast; the larger one is clear and steep,
the smaller one has rocks around it.

The west coast of Mindoro Island has no soundings off it excepting in
the bays, or within one or two miles of the shore in some places. In
the interior double and treble chains of mountains extend through
the island, and some low points of land project from them into the sea.

Paluan Bay affords excellent shelter in the northeast monsoon, and is
also a convenient place for vessels to obtain supplies when passing
through Mindoro Strait. The bay is five miles wide at the entrance,
of a semi-circular form, running back three miles in a northerly
direction. There are no dangers in it.

A small river disembogues where good water can be obtained with
facility; and on the beach there is plenty of driftwood. The coral
projects one-half mile from the entrance of the river, and has 10
and 12 fathoms close to its edge.

Care must be taken when working into Paluan Bay, for the squalls
come violently off the high land, and very sudden, and at night do
not give the least warning.

The Calamianes are a group of high islands lying between the northeast
end of Palawan and Mindoro, and extending between the parallels of
11 degrees 39 minutes and 12 degrees 20 minutes N., and the meridians
of 119 degrees 47 minutes and 120 degrees 23 minutes E. Busuanga, the
largest island of the group, is about 34 miles in extent NW. by W. and
SE. by E., and 18 miles broad. It is very irregular in form, being
indented with numerous deep bays. The islands and reefs which front
its northeast side form the western side of Northumberland Strait.

These islands form, with the northern part of Palawan and the
Cuyos Islands, a province, the capital of which is at Port
Tai Tai. The climate of these islands is in general hot and
unhealthful. Intermittent fevers and cutaneous diseases prevail,
attributable, in all probability, to the great moisture and the
insalubrious quality of the drinking water. All these islands are,
generally speaking, hilly and broken. The industry of the locality
is in collecting Salanganes (edible birds' nests), honey, and wax;
but cultivation is not practiced to any great extent. The forests
produce good timber for building or cabinet work.

Tara Island, when seen from the northward, shows a triple summit