Although Mindanao is of volcanic formation, and has even within historic times undergone great changes, there is only one active volcano in the island. This is Mount Apo (ä´pō), a few miles from the coast of Davao (dä vä´ō) Gulf. The mountain has three peaks. The top is covered with sulphur, which sometimes gleams white as snow in the sunshine and at other times makes Apo look like a mountain of gold.
There are a number of fine rivers and lakes on Mindanao. The best port in the island is Balanag (bä lä-näg´), in the Gulf of Davao. The harbor of Zamboanga is very good, and there is a still better harbor at Lindangan (lēn dän´gän). Nowhere on the island, however, are there such sheltered harbors as are found on the southern coast of Luzon.
Very few storms visit this part of the archipelago. The typhoons only touch one corner of it in the far northeast. The climate of Mindanao is more healthful than it has in the past been supposed to be. The soil is very rich and fertile, and almost any tropical crop can be readily grown there. Hemp, sugar-cane, tobacco, coffee, cocoa, rice, Indian corn, and many other things are raised, and all do well; but the island is backward as regards development. No serious attempt has ever been made to build up its agriculture or its commerce. There are many tribes living among its mountains whose names, even, are not known to the civilized people of the archipelago. There are few Malays in Mindanao, and their manufactures and industries have never been encouraged. Some gold has been found in the hills, and silver is plentiful. Coal has also been discovered in the mountains.
It is likely, however, that when Mindanao is opened up and its resources are better known, it will be found that its wealth consists less in minerals than in vegetable growths. We already know that the vegetation of the island, little as it has been developed, surpasses that of Luzon and the Visayas. The soil is of excellent quality, and the rains are so abundant and the climate is so favorable that the entire island is covered with vegetation. In the forests are found India rubber vines, mahogany, ironwood, teak, ebony, and other trees of great value. There are immense tangles of bamboo and rattan; hemp and banana trees grow well, and cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon.
This great island is divided into seven districts—Zamboanga, Misamis, Suragao (sö rä gä´ō), Davao, Cottabato (kot tä bä´tō), Basilan (bäs ē län´), and Lanay (län ī´). Although the population is small in comparison with the great extent of the island, seventeen different dialects are spoken among its people. Zamboanga is the capital town of Mindanao. It has a good port, although somewhat open to the sea, and in the river Masdong, three miles to the southeast, is safe anchorage, protected from all winds.
South of Mindanao lies the Sulu archipelago. It is made up of four groups. The population of this archipelago is estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000; but so very little is known about it that this estimate is not likely to be correct. Joló, the capital city, on the island of Sulu, is the residence of the sultans. It is a beautiful town, clean and well-kept. It has a good port, and a line of steamers runs direct from Joló to Singapore, and another to Manila. The vegetation of this archipelago is very like that of Mindanao. There is abundance of teak, mahogany, cedar, and other highly prized woods. Horses, cattle, buffaloes, and goats are plentiful. The people of Joló manufacture fine knives and chisels. The pearl fisheries of the archipelago are also very important.
A RIVER SCENE ON THE ISLAND OF LUZON.
Lying far off to the west, with the Sulu Sea on one side and the China Sea on the other, with Borneo on the south and the island of Mindoco to the north, is the long, narrow island of Palaúan (päl ä-wän´). The Spanish called it Paragua (pär´a gwā). This island is inhabited chiefly by the wild tribes. There are some 10,000 or more of the native Christian population, and perhaps 10,000 Moros.
Palaúan, on account of its geographical position, is very important to the archipelago. It will become important also from a commercial point of view, as it forms, with the island Balabac (bäl´ä bäk), the Strait of Balabac. At certain times of the year sailing vessels are compelled to pass through this strait to enter the archipelago.