and presently became an extremely bad one. After I had passed Gubat,
my way lay along the shore; and I saw several ruined square towers,
made of blocks of coral, and built by the Jesuits as a protection
against the [Moro pirates.] Moros, or "Moors"--a term here applied to
the pirates, because, like the Moors who were formerly in Spain, they
are Mahometans. They come from Mindanao and from the north-west coast
of Borneo. At the time of my visit, this part of the Archipelago was
greatly infested with them; and a few days before my arrival they had
carried off some fishermen, who were busy pulling their fish-stakes,
close to Gubat. A little distance from the shore, and parallel to it,
ran a coral reef, which during the south-west monsoon was here and
there bare at low tide; but, when the north-east wind blew, the waves
of the Pacific Ocean entirely concealed it. Upon this reef the storms
had cast up many remains of marine animals, and a quantity of fungi,
amongst which I noticed some exactly resembling the common sponge of
the Mediterranean. They were just as soft to the touch, of a dark brown
tint, as large as the fist, and of a conical shape. They absorbed water
with great readiness, and might doubtless be made a profitable article
of commerce. Samples of them are to be seen in the Zoological Museum at
Berlin. As I went further on, I found the road excellent; and wooden
bridges, all of which were in good repair, led me across the mouths
of the numerous small rivers. But almost all the arches of the stone
bridges I came to had fallen in, and I had to cross the streams they
were supposed to span in a small boat, and make my horse swim after
me. Just before I reached Bulusan, I had to cross a ravine several
hundred feet deep, composed almost entirely of white pumice stone.

[Bulusan.] Bulusan is so seldom visited by strangers that the
"tribunal" where I put up was soon full of curiosity-mongers, who came
to stare at me. The women, taking the places of honor, squatted round