204 LAGUNA DE BAT
with good anchoring-ground all the way. The island extends from north latitude
5° l l 7 to 5° 25', and from east longitude 115' 107 to 115° 257. Its form is triangular,
the base being to the south, and the apex to the north. Its greatest length is 12 miles,
and its average breadth between 5 and 6, its area being about 40 square statute or
34 geographical square miles, and its coast line about 30. The highest land does
not exceed 300 feet. The geological formation is sedimentary, consisting of sandstone,
clay, and slate, much resembling the coal measures of England. The coal,
which is found in several parts of the island, but chiefly towards the northern end,
is a continuation of the great coal-field of the main island of Borneo.. The main
seam, which is now wrought by an English company, is 11 feet thick, and furnishes
good coal for steam purposes. The base or south end of the island is six miles in
length, and contains two hays, on the smallest and deepest of which, and on its eastern
Bhore, is the site of the new town. Off the southern end of the island and extending
towards Borneo there are no fewer than ten different islets, the largest of which,
called Daat, forms a protection to the harbour and town. Some part of Lahuan is
covered with swamp, and some consists of sandy plain, but the greater part of the soil
is a dark yellow loam, well adapted for cultivation. With the exception of the few
spots recently cleared, the whole island is covered with forest, consisting in the marshy
parts of mangroves, rattans, and palms, and in the higher grounds of a great variety of
tall timber-trees, the most remarkable of which is that which yields the native camphor,
the Dryobalanops camphora, the wood of which is used in house and ship-building.
Labuan had formed part of the principality of Borneo or Brunai, and like most of
the rest of its territory had never been occupied, and was wholly destitute of
inhabitants when we took possession, nor did it show any vestige of ever having
been occupied. With its adjacent islands it was ceded to the British crown, and
taken possession of on the 24th December, 1846. Its population does not exceed
1500, consisting principally of the parties engaged in the coal mines.
LAC. The colouring matter produced by the lac insect, or Coccus ficus, is known
and used by the inhabitants of the Malay Islands, and the insect is found in the
forests of Java, Sumatra, and the Peninsula. The produce however is neither so
good nor so abundant as that of Hindustan, Burmah, or Siam, probably owing to
the insect not being as in these countries domesticated and reared. The Malay name
of the dye is ambalau, a native one.
LACCA, iu Malay, Laka, the Tanarius major, a tree with a red-coloured wood,
a native of Sumatra, used in dyeing and in pharmacy. It is an article of considerable
native trade, and is chiefly exported to China.
LADRONE ISLANDS, or THIEVES’ ISLANDS, so called by Magellan, their
first discoverer. See Marianbs.
LAGONOY. The name of a spacious bay on the eastern coast of Luzon, and in
the province of South Camarines. It is formed by an indentation of the coast of the
main island, and by the considerable one of Catanduanes. It has two entrances, one
narrow and dangerous from the north, between the main and Catanduanes ; and the
other a wide one, between this last and the islet of Bapurapu. Spanish writers describe
the Bay of Lagonoy as a real open sea, and hence affording little shelter to shipping.
LAGONOY. The name of a town situated a t the head of the above-named bay,
in north latitude 13° 407 30", and east longitude 123° 297. Its population amounts to
-7922 souls, of whom 969 contribute to the poll-tax. I t lies on a small river, bearing
also the same name. The level portions of the country near it are cultivated with
rice, sugar-cane, sesame, and abaca, while in the pastures of the mountain sides are
reared herds of horses, oxen, and hogs.
LAGUNA DE BAY, th a t is, “ the lake of Bay,” takes this name from a town
called Bay, at its southern end. I t is the largest collection of fresh water in the
Philippines. Its greatest length is 34 miles; but its breadth is irregular, for towards
its northern and north-eastern parts, through the interposition of two peninsulas, it
spreads out into two spacious inlets or bays, so that its area will not exceed, probably,
above 350 square geographical miles. Its coast line is reckoned to be 86 leagues,—
its height above the level of the sea 58 feet; and its general depth from 15 to 16
fathoms. In a few places, however, it is shallow; while in others, it is said to be fathomless.
Everywhere its water is sweet and potable. No fewer than fifteen different
rivers contribute to form this lake; while it is emptied by one only, the Pasig, which,
after a course of six leagues, falls into the great bay, near the city of Manilla. On its
fertile shores there are no fewer than six-and-twenty townships. An east wind is
LAGUNA 205 LAMPUNG
the prevailing one on the lake, which has valuable fisheries, and an extensive boating
traffic. In it there are several islands, the largest of them, named Talim, being
three leagues in length by one in breadth : another, towards the southern end,
contains within it a lake having all the appearance of having for its basin the
extinct crater of a volcano. This last goes under the name of Los Caimanes, from
the number of alligators which frequent it.
LAGUNA, PROYINCIA DE. This province, which takes its name from the lake
above described, is bounded to the east by the sea at the Gulf of Lamon,—to the south
by the provinces of Tayabas and Batangas,—to the west by the province of Cavité,—
and to the north by the provinces of Tondo and Nueva Ecija. I t contains thirty-six
townships, the capital being Pagsanjan, on the eastern shore of the lake, in latitude
14° 15' north. Exclusive of the great lake, the area of this province is estimated at
630 square geographical miles. Its productions are the usual ones,—rice, sugar-cane,
and indigo ; but it is remarkable besides for the extensive produce of the Nipa-palm,
used for the distillation of spirits, and which affords a considerable branch of the
public revenue. The inhabitants, in common with those of Batangas, Tondo, and
most of those of the island of Mindoro, are of the Tagala nation. The following
account has been given of the progress of its population. In 1735, it amounted only to
40,610 souls; in 1799, or in sixty-four years after, it had risen to 74,799. This, too,
was without reckoning a township with 7314 inhabitants, which had been taken from
Laguna and annexed to the neighbouring province of Batangas. In 1818, or in nineteen
years more, the population was found to be 86,630 ; and in 1850, it had risen to
137,083, which gives a rate of 217 inhabitants to the square geographical mile,
making it one of the most populous provinces of Luzon. It will appear, from the
account above given, that in a period of 115 years the increase of population had been
no less than 237 per cent.
LAKSAMANA. This is the name of the brother of the demi-god, and hero of
the Hindu poem, the Ramayana ; the adventures related in which are the frequent
subjects of the romances and dramas of the Malays and Javanese. Laksamana, most
probably borrowed from this personage, is also the appellation of the commander of
the forces in several Malay states ; and as that force is, for the most part naval, the
word may be translated “ admiral.” It was so in the state of Malacca before the
arrival of the Portuguese. Thus De Barros, mistaking the title of the office for a
proper name, tells us that, on one occasion, the Portuguese under Alboquerque, after
having landed,—attacked the town and been repulsed,—found it necessary to re-
embark in order to protect their own fleet from being set fire to by the Malayans, of
which the commander was “ a valiant man, called Lacsamana ; ” and Castaghneda
talks of the same personage as the king’s admiral, who was called Lacsamana, “ a
discreet man, and a good cavalier, of eighty years of age.” I t is the same person,
indeed, that is specially distinguished by the Malays themselves as “ the laksamana,”
and whose name of adolescence was Hang-tuah. Although his story be little more
than three centuries old, he has been long the favorite hero of Malay romance*; which
is about the same thing as if we were to consider the adventures of Sir Walter Raleigh
the subject of a myth.
LAMON. The name of a deep gulf on the eastern side of Luzon, which mainly
contributes to the formation of the Isthmus of Tayabas, and the Peninsula of
Camarines ; thus dividing that great island into two parts,—a main body to the
north, and a peninsula to the south. Reckoning from the Island of Calabete, the
length of the gulf is about 61, and its average breadth about 7 miles, making its area
427 square geographical miles.
LAMPUNG. The name of one of the nations of Sumatra, and of its country
which forms the south-eastern end of the island. The territory of the Lampungs
has the Straits of Sunda to the south, the Java Sea to the east, the country of Palem-
bang to the north, and that of the Rejang nation to the west. Its southern coast,
or that washed by the Straits of Sunda, is mountainous,—indented by numerous islets
and by two large hays,—those of Lampung and Samangka ; while along it are scattered
no fewer than thirty-four islands, the most considerable of which are Samangka,
Lagundi, Besi, and Krakatoa. The eastern coast, or that washed by the Java seas,
differs remarkably from the western, for it forms a low, continuous, unbroken line,
without inlets or islands.
The country of the Lampungs lies between 3° 48' and 4° 59' south latitude, and is
computed to have an area of 8560 square geographical miles. Its southern portion