NATIVE HOUSE IN THE SUBURBS OF MANILLA.
[CHAPTER V.]
AN EXCURSION TO THE INTERIOR.—BUFFALOES AND AGRICULTURE.
In the afternoon Mr. Segovia called at the hotel to make a suggestion for an excursion into the interior. He explained that he was not at all pressed with business at that season of the year, and could spare a few days for a trip inland: he offered to make all the needed arrangements, and proposed that they should start on the following morning.
A GROUP OF NATIVES OF MANILLA.
"The island of Luzon," said he, "on which Manilla stands, is the largest of the group; its length is 520 miles, and its greatest breadth about 140. The estimate of its area is 40,000 square miles, and the next largest island, Mindanao, contains 33,000 square miles; the remainder of the group are much smaller, and of less consequence. It would take you several months to visit all of the islands, and you would find them so much alike as hardly to pay for the expense and fatigue. But you can make a small tour of Luzon, and see the principal features of the Philippines; and if everything is satisfactory, we will set out to-morrow."