head of half-wild cattle were grazing on it. They cost four dollars
a-piece; and their freight to Manila is as much more, where they sell
for sixteen dollars. They are badly tended, and many are stolen by
the passing sailors. My friend the captain was full of regret that the
favorable wind gave him no opportunity of landing; perhaps I was the
real obstacle. "They were splendid beasts! How easy it would be to put
a couple on board! They could scarcely be said to have any real owners;
the nominal proprietors were quite unaware how many they possessed,
and the herd was continually multiplying without any addition from its
masters. A man lands with a little money in his pocket. If he meets a
herdsman, he gives him a dollar, and the poor creature thinks himself
a lucky fellow. If not, so much the better. He can do the business
himself; a barrel of shot or a sling suffices to settle the matter."

[Plunder.] As we sailed along we saw coming towards us another vessel,
the Luisa, which suddenly executed a very extraordinary tack; and in a
minute or two its crew sent up a loud shout of joy, having succeeded
in stealing a fishbox which the fishermen of Marinduque had sunk in
the sea. They had lowered a hook, and been clever enough to grapple
the rope of the floating buoy. Our captain was beside himself with
envy of their prize.

[Legaspi.] Legaspi is the principal port of the province of Albay. Its
road-stead, however, is very unsafe, and, being exposed to the
north-easterly storms, is perfectly useless during the winter. The
north-east wind is the prevailing one on this coast; the south-west
breeze only blows in June and July. The heaviest storms occur between
October and January. They generally set in with a gentle westerly wind,
accompanied with rain. The gale presently veers round to the north
or the south, and attains the height of its fury when it reaches