crops of grass, on which are pastured many herds of horses, oxen, and buffaloes.
fhwtnrit th® lake aff°rds a large supply of fish, especially of the
favourite one called the dalag. From these, the whole neighbourhood of the lake is
suppned and some, fresh as well as cured, are exported to Manilla and other parts
named & Some fish, also, are found during the dry season, in the pools above-
CANNON. See Abms.
CAi!IS- One of th e thirty-five provinces of the Spanish Philippines, and one of
r®f 0 which the fine island of Panay is divided, forming the northern part
ot it. Its average length is 68 geographical miles, and its breadth 20, so that it has
an area of 1400 square geographical miles. The land of Capis is eminently fertile
and well watered, but being low, some portions of it are liable to be inundated in
^ season. I t is the most productive in rice of all the Philippine provinces,
seed “ccordmg to some Spanish writers, returning from 150 to 200 fold. The
mass ot the inhabitants of Capis are of the Bisaya nation, speaking the Bisaya language:
in the mountains are found some tribes of Aetas, or negritos. In 1849, the
population of the province amounted to 186,587; of whom 34,660 paid the capitationtax,
which came to 316,600 reals of plate.
he principal town of Capis, which bears the same name, lies between the two
lancnes, into which the river Panay divides itself before falling into the sea in a
small bay. I t contains 2840 houses, and a population of 10,948. I t is a place of
large native trade, the staple export being rice. Latitude 11° 30', longitude 122° 28'.
CAPSICUM. This, and not any of the genus Piper, is the universal peppery
condiment of all the inhabitants of the Asiatic islands. The latter, indeed, are little
used, being mostly raised for exportation. From its native names in Malay and
avanese, there can be little doubt of the capsicum being a native product; these are,
c abe for the first, and lombok for the last. Foreign species or varieties, however,
‘ " t r ™ introduced. Thus we have Chabe China, the Capsicum of China: and
Cbabb sabrang, the Capsicum of India, literally, of “ the other side of the water.”
CAP.UL. .1 nam,e of an island tying off the large one of Samar, in the Philip-
ItmHes t , o°e?o/eSlity’ and beIoDSiDg to the t lies in north latitude 12 38, has an area of about 5 leaguperso,v ianncde ao ft otwhins onfa mthee,
same name on its eastern coast.
CAPULAN The name of an island lying off the southern end of the main body
™ ; f . L" zon- and the northern end of that of Marinduque. It lies in
latitude 13 52 , is about a league m length, and half that in breadth, and is distant
from the province of Tayabas, to which it belongs, about half a league.
CAR, CART, CHARIOT. The name, in Malay and Javanese, for a car or cart
tor ordinary use, is pad-ati, a word the origin of which I do not know Wheel-
camages are hardly in use among the Malays, for the boat takes their place: and
even with the agricultural nations they are little used, except where European power
has been established. For a carriage for luxury, the terms used are kareta and rata,
ootn banscnt. In Malayan romances we frequently read of a particular carriage of
this description; and the Portuguese historian, Castagneda, has described one taken
or rather destroyed at the capture of Malacca. His account of it is as follows • and it
will give the reader some notion of the kind of barbaric pomp in which a Malav
prince indulged three centuries and a half ago. “ There was also set on fire a great
wooden house placed on a car, which had thirty wheels, every one of them equal in
r I r °i 6- ° j a g ad‘ Tilia chariot was made by command of the king
ot Malacca, in order to convey in procession through the city the king of Pam
(Pahang), to whom he had given one of his daughters in marriage. He had prepared
a great festival for the nuptials, and this chariot was one of the contrivances for
the purpose. I t was hung with silk inside, and adorned with banners without”
Vol. in., p. 194.
CARABALLOS. The Cordillera of Caraballos, is the common name given by the
¡Spaniards to the chain of mountains which runs through the whole island of Luzon
over six degrees of latitude. I t attains its greatest height, which however is not stated'
bfeadth, which is about 15 leagues, in latitude 16° 7', and longitude
120 50. From this point, proceeding northward, it divides into two chains, one
terminating in the Cape of Engaflo, and the other in that of Pato, at the northern
end of the island. From the same elevated point, the Caraballos runs in a single
CARAGA 83 CARDAMOMS
chain to the south end of the island, terminating in the volcano of Buluran, in the
province of Albay. This last portion is known by the name of Cordillera del Sur,
the more easterly of the two northern branches by that of the Sierra Madre and the
more westerly in its more early course by that of the Cordillera del Centro, and
towards its termination by that of the Cordillera del Norte.
CARAGA. One of the thirty-five Spanish provinces of the Philippines, and of
the four into which the Spanish portion of the island of Mindano is divided. It
forms the north-eastern and projecting angle of the island where it is divided from
the island of Leytd by the strait of Surigao. I t is bounded inland by the territory
of the sultan of Mindano, and the Spanish province of Misamis. To the east and
west it has the sea. Its land frontier extends over 37 leagues, and its coast line over
94. On its western coast it has the great bay of Butuan, the long eastern side of
which goes under the name of the coast of Aran. On its eastern coast it has some
small bays and harbours, as that of Bislig. The province extends from latitude
6 15 to 9 50 , and from longitude 125° to 125° 53'. Its extreme length from north
to south is 235, and its breadth from east to west 58 geographical miles • but its
area is computed not to exceed 7000. The land is generally mountainous, but of the
height or the direction of its mountain-ranges no account has been rendered. For
the most part the mountains are said to afford evidence of a volcanic formation The
most considerable river of the province is the Butuan, which falls into the spacious
bay of the same name. This has a sand-bank at its entrance, but is navigable for
small vessels for a considerable distance. Altogether the province appears to be
naturally ill-drained, and abounds in stagnant water and marsh.
The climate is hot, humid, and stormy, and th e country liable to violent e a rth quakes,
especially during volcanic eruptions in o th er pa rts o f th e island. On account
oi th e prevalence o f malaria, it is unhealthy.
.5® greatest part of the province's covered with a stupendous forest; the trees,
of which the teak, Tectona grandis, is one, and would be most useful, were there anv
economical means of transport to the coast. Another product of it which deserves
notice, is a species of Cinnamon, which cannot be the Cinnamomum iners of the
moi«™1 MalaJan islands if what is stated of it be true, that it yields by distillation
more essential oil than the cinnamon of Ceylon, although of inferior flavour. The
forests, also, are said to contain wild buffaloes, wild hogs, deer, the civet cat a n d
several other animals of the same family yielding musk. *
h H S K a laPPe,ars „to be one of the poorest parts of the Spanish Philippines. The
cultivated parts of the province are mere specks. Rice is little cultivated, most of
what is consumed being imported from Luzon and £ebu; and the inhabitants for
ThmVf 8llbflstlI,gonroots> frequently of spontaneous growth, and on Sago
W +v °Ur employment is washing gold, which appears to be more abundfnt
here than m any other part of the Philippines. un
The bulk of the population of Caraga is of the Bisaya nation, speaking a dialect of the
Z & S iSslaBndsP. ,Bf uf tS tb*ere if c eixSits?ts bme “thfee lTpreodv tihnac‘e tabls®oy saervee srtarla wngiledr st rfirboems Ehoamvienogf
then own distinct tongues. The names of some of these, and it is all that is known
respecting them, are the Mandaya, the Nanobo, the Talacaogo, the Taga-ba lovoand
the Mamamanua. The first four are of the Malayan race, but the lastTs d e S e d as
very black negroes. The Mandaya are said to be so much fairer than »tt,
tv, Mmdano’ f f | i some Spanish writers have come to the fanciful com
elusion that they are a mixed race descended from shipwrecked Dutchmen Tn tPo
Eggfc "s
L “ ¿ T b 7 t™ w " S i l S , tiS1" ,JT 1 ,h ” ™ A t i o n in 'both
CA BA N fl iS S U T i 7 TO"1“**»» amounted to no mote than IS,987.
int0
n om t “ ‘1 “ d I *™ “ « by two
and ye t th e p lan t is n e ith e r inditrpnmia V6 6 Vel7 . appearance of being native words,
th e exclusive product of th re e co n n tr ° 'iirlTau m tb e *ndian islands. I t is
these th e spontaneous p ro d u c t o T Z Cey‘° n ’, and KamboJa- and in
morial commercial intercourse h«. • , f f ! incapable of cultivation. An immemtercourse
has existed between these and th e Malayan countries.
G 2