cations
communicate with the capital by means of a wagon road, the city being
midway between them. At the capital reside the politico-military
governor, a secretary, judge and attorney-general, a number of public
functionaries, a captain of engineers, and the captain of the port.

Maktan Island consists of an old coral reef, raised a few feet (8
or 10 at most) above the present sea level. At the northern part of
the island, where a convent stands, a low cliff fringes the shore,
being an upper stratum of the upheaved reef. The raised reef is here
preserved, but over the portion of the island immediately fronting
Cebu it has been removed by denudation, with the exception of a few
pillar-like blocks which remain, and which are conspicuous from the
anchorage. The surface is scooped out into irregular basins and sharp
projecting pinnacles and covered in all directions with mud, resulting
from the denudation. Nearly all the island is covered by mangroves,
but on the part left dry there are plantations of cocoanuts.

The only town on the island is Opon, on the west coast, SW. of Mandaui
Point in Cebu. It was here that Magellan was killed in 1521, after
making the first passage across the Pacific.

The town of Cebu is the most ancient in the Philippines; it is the
seat of government of the Visayan Islands, which include Cebu, Bohol,
Panay, Negros, and Leyte, and it is the residence of a bishop. It
is built on a large plain at the foot of the chain of hills that
traverse the island throughout its length, and is a well-constructed,
thriving place; the merchants' quarter is situated along the port,
and includes some well-built stone houses, though many are of old
construction. The huts of the Malays, for the most part fishermen,
are on the beach, and form the west part of the city. The fort is a
triangular edifice of stone, painted red, with an open square in front.

The island of Leyte is bounded on the north by the canal separating
it from Samar, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the
sea separating it from Bohol and Cebu, and on the south by the one
separating it from Mindanao. It is extensive and irregular, having
an area of 3,087 square miles and a population of 270,491. A high
and abrupt mountain chain crosses the island nearly parallel to the
west coast; the coasts are high, with good natural harbors. In the
northern part and on the western slopes of the great sierras, streams
of potable water and also man