The capital city, Cebú, was the first in the Archipelago to possess a municipality, and was, in fact, until 1571, the capital of the Philippines.
It possesses some fine buildings; is the seat of a bishop, and formerly of the Governor-General of Visayas. It is open to foreign commerce, and vice-consuls of the principal nations reside there.
There can be no rivers in an island of this configuration, for the water runs away as from the roof of a house. The crops and industries have been spoken of under the head of Visayas.
There are considerable beds of lignite near Compostela, and various efforts have been made to work them, so far, I fear, without much success. Remarkable shells, and some pearls are obtained round about Cebú and the adjacent islands.
Bohol lies off the southern half of the eastern coast of Cebú, and is only half the size of that island, but it has more than half the population. It is hilly, and the towns and villages are situated on the coast. Only the southern and eastern coast is visited by coasting vessels, the navigation to the north and west being impeded by a labyrinth of coral reefs. The soil of this island is not rich, and the more enterprising of the natives emigrate to Mindanao.
Leyte is an island of very irregular shape—something like a hide pegged out on the ground—and lies between the northern half of Cebú and the southern part of Samar, from which it is only separated by a very narrow passage called the Janabatas Channel, and the Strait of San Juanico. The southern extremity of Leyte approaches the northern promontory of Mindanao, and forms the Straits of Surigao, the second entrance from the Pacific to the seas of the Archipelago. The island is mountainous, and has two lakes, one called Bito is at the narrowest part, and one called Jaro, near the town of that name. There are several good ports. The exports, which go to Manila, are hemp and sulphur of great purity.
Samar.—This is the largest of the Visayas, and yet has fewest inhabitants. It lies to the eastward of all the other islands, and consequently its east coast, like that of Luzon and Mindanao, is exposed to the full fury of the north-east monsoon, and to the ravages of the heavy rollers of the Pacific that burst without warning on its rocky coast.
Its chief port, Catbalogan, is situated on the western coast, and is well-sheltered. From the coast many lofty peaks are visible, but the interior of this island is little known. The exports are hemp and cocoa-nut oil. The northern point of Samar approaches the southern extremity of Luzon, and forms the historic Strait of San Bernardino, one of the entrances to the Philippine Archipelago from the Pacific. It was by this Strait that the annual galleon from Acapulco entered, and here also the British privateers lay in wait for their silver-laden prey.
[1] The above was the Christian Visyas population, and is exclusive of Negritos, Mundos, and other heathen savages and remontados. The area is taken from a Spanish official report.