. Many buffaloes were observed wallowing
in the mire, and the woods swarmed with monkeys and numbers of birds,
among them the horn-bills; these kept up a continued chatter, and made
a variety of loud noises. The forests here are entirely different from
any we had seen elsewhere; and the stories of their being the abode
of large boas and poisonous snakes, make the effect still greater
on those who visit them for the first time. Our parties, however,
saw nothing of these reptiles, nor anything to warrant a belief that
such exist. Yet the officer at the fort related to me many snake
stories that seemed to have some foundation; and by inquiries made
elsewhere, I learned that they were at least warranted by some facts,
though probably not to the extent that he represented.

Traces of deer and wild hogs were seen, and many birds were obtained,
as well as land and sea shells. Among the latter was the Malleus
vulgaris, which is used as food by the natives. The soil on this
part of the island is a stiff clay, and the plants it produces
are mostly woody; those of an herbaceous character were scarce,
and only a few orchideous epiphytes and ferns were seen. Around the
dwellings in the villages were a variety of vegetables and fruits,
consisting of sugar-cane, sweet-potato, gourds, pumpkins, peppers,
rice, water and musk melons, all fine and of large size.

The officer at the fort was a lieutenant of infantry; one of that rank
is stationed here for a month, after which he, with the garrison,
consisting of three soldiers, are relieved, from Zamboanga, where
the Spaniards have three companies.

[Zamboanga.] Zamboanga is a convict settlement, to which the native
rogues, principally thieves, are sent. The Spanish criminals, as I
have before stated in speaking of Manila, are sent to Spain.

The inhabitants of the island of Mindanao, who are under the subjection
of Spain, are about ten thousand in number, of whom five or six
thousand are at or in the neighborhood of Zamboanga. The original
inhabitants, who dwell in the mountains and on the east coast, are
said to be quite black, and are represented to be a very cruel and
bad set; they have hitherto bid defiance to all attempts to subjugate
them. When the Spaniards make excursions into the interior, which is
seldom, they always go in large parties on account of the wild beasts,
serpents, and hostile natives; nevertheless, the latter frequently
attack and drive them back.

The little