Cagayan Valley

“ Southern Luzon, the country of Batangas, and the Camarines, extends a hundred miles south of Manila Bay. [52]
In the far north are the rich provinces of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, Abra, Benguet, and Nueva Viscaya. The land at the sea level produces hemp, tobacco, rice, and cocoanuts; the heavily-timbered mountain slopes contain rich woods, cedar, mahogany, molave, ebony, and ipil. A wonderful river rushes through the mountain cañons, and the famous valley of the Cagayan is formed—the garden of Eden of the Philippines. ”

“ Besides these three districts, no other settlement on this coast is encountered until the cape of Babuyanes is reached. From the cape the coast runs east and west until the river of Cagayan is reached. This is a very large river. It is twelve leagues from the cape to the mouth of this river.
River Cagayan. Cagayan is a river of great volume, although its bar forms shallows. At high tide the bar has two brazas of water, and at low tide one. On its banks are large settlements with a population of more than thirty thousand. The people gather a great quantity of rice, and keep many swine. ”

“ Fifty others are needed. There is a considerable population of mountaineers who recognize no master. This province has an alcalde-mayor, and the [Spanish] population of a small town.
The province of Cagayan
The province of Cagayan has many rivers and bayous. On its principal river, by name Taxo, the city of Nueva Segovia has been founded, being situated two leagues inland. This city has forty citizens who are encomenderos. It has one Augustinian monastery, containing two priests; one alcalde-mayor, two alcaldes-in-ordinary, one alguaçil-mayor, and six regidors, who constitute the cabildo ”

“ They are much given to killing and to attacking the settlements of the other natives, in which they commit many depredations; and there is nothing that can be done to stop them, or to subdue or pacify them, although this is always attempted by fair or foul means, as opportunity and necessity demand.
The province of Cagayan is inhabited by natives of the same complexion as the others of the island, although they are better built, and more valiant and warlike than the others. ”

“ These savages inhabit the hilly country about the sources of the River Casepuan, which, according to D’Almonte’s map, is a tributary of the River Casiguran, which runs into the Bay of Baler; but, according to Olleros, is a tributary of the Rio Grande de Cagayan. However this may be, their habitat is on the borders of Nueva Écija and Nueva Vizcaya. Some of these people have been subjugated, but the others live a nomadic life in the mountain forests, and resemble the Negritos. Their pleasure is to lie in wait and shoot the passers-by with their arrows. ”

“ This province of Cagayan lies seventy leagues from the mainland of China and the coast cities of that country. Seventy ministers are necessary, who, with the help and protection of the soldiers, will gather the inhabitants together and pacify them all, and seek out the rest of the people—who, as we are informed, exist in great number as far as Cagayan. ”

“ But the journey of the alcalde-mayor of Cagayan was not in vain, for father Fray Pedro had formerly treated with some heathens of a place called Ambayao to descend to the new villages, and now by the aid of the alcalde and his men father Fray Pedro went down to the said Indians, with their wives, families, and household goods, and reaching the village of Ytugug with them, they were allowed to choose a site in which to live. Some hundred of them remained there, while the others went down to [63] Cabagan, Lalo, Yguig, Fotol, and to other villages. ”

“ On the way he passed another of twelve houses, called Bizinan, dependent on Balagbac. As he was passing that village, the people shot some arrows at him from a thicket, and, in the camp, it appeared that a Cagayan, who was acting as guide, was killed ”

“ ALONG THE CAUCA VALLEY On the Cauca side, like the French slope of the Pyrenees, the Central Cordillera of the Andes descends almost abruptly to the valley. As we emerged from the clouds, a brilliant sun lighted up vast landscapes of labyrinthian hills and vales mottled with cloud shadows, bits of our road ahead scratched here and there on salient, sun-polished knobs and slopes far below. With noon appeared the first broad view of the rolling Cauca valley, nestled between the central and the western ranges, a bare thousand feet above sea-level, still deep-blue as some mountain-girdled lake. ”

“ The native women of Cagayan were rather more progressive than those in the towns we had just visited. Some of them even wore hats, and straightway copied, or rather, tried to copy, those worn by the cable-ship contingent. They also rode bicycles, looking most incongruous awheel, the long, spade shaped train to their skirts tucked out of the way, their wide camisa sleeves standing out like stiff sails on either side, their demure and modest little kerchiefs swelling with the quick throbbing of their adventurous hearts. ”

“ In the Cañon Country the snow had disappeared from most of the high points. Red, black, yellow, the great face of the encircling Wall stood in everlasting majesty, looking down upon the level cup of Lost Valley. The unspeakable upheaval of peaks and crags, of cañons and splits and unfathomable depths, was almost a sealed book to the denizens of the Valley. There were those who knew False Ridge.
There were those who said they knew more. Many a man had adventured therein, and few had returned to tell of their adventures. ”

“ It is quite certain that with adequate instruction, such as is indicated in the foregoing, many people, not yet pacified, will become so, and the number of tributarios in the above-named provinces would be increased to two hundred thousand. For we have heard that in the province of Cagayan there are many more people besides those apportioned in encomiendas, as also in the islands of [Ca] lamianes, Mindoro, Luban, and Elin, as well as in many other islands included in the colonies of Oton and Çebu. ”

“ Our people, therefore, hoisted their sails, and arrived at the river of Cagayan. They sailed up this river a considerable way, and found a populous district; but they dared not attempt any hostility against the inhabitants, as they were so few in number in comparison to the natives, and they resolved to return to Manila by that side of the island, in order completely to ascertain the whole extent of Luzon. They proceeded about one hundred leagues, without discovering any population, or any thing but a rocky shore. ”

“ Of all the land adapted to the tobacco cultivation, that in Cagayan is the best, as from the overflowing of the large streams, which occurs every year, it is laid under water, and annually receives a new stratum of mud, which renders the soil particularly productive. Plantations prepared upon such soil differ very materially from those less favored and situated on a higher level. In the former the plants shoot up quickly as soon as the roots strike ”

“ As far as the eye could reach was a prosperous plain, watered by a wide river, abundantly irrigated by canals and subterranean aqueducts, broken up by green hedges and well-cultivated fields; for the ground was rich, and the temperate climate favorable to farming. Immediately below the adventurers lay the little city of Cajamarca, its white houses twinkling in the sunlight, like a precious stone shining in the dark girdle of the Sierra. ”

“ After Dumaguete, Misamis, and Iligan, the harbour of Cagayan presented a truly metropolitan appearance, what with a transport, a coasting vessel, and a navy gunboat, all in at the same time. From the Burnside we could see nothing of the town save a very dingy wharf, a few white tents pitched near the water’s edge for the convenience of soldiers guarding the unloading of vessels, and a settlement of nipa shacks, in front of which were gaily coloured washings hung out to dry in the hot sun. ”

“ In the province of Iligan, which borders on Caraga, the Manobos, a barbarian tribe, seized the peaceable village of Cagayan. The entire coast [i.e., of northern Mindanao] , and the adjacent island of Camigin, followed their example; in Camigin they bound the father prior (also a discalced Augustinian) , the impious Indians going so far as to place their brutal feet on the neck of the holy religious. ”

“ The province of Cagayan is more quiet than before. A company there was abolished, for the war has ceased; and hopes are daily entertained that more peaceful Indians will come down [from the hills] .
The inhabitants of Caraga revolted, as I stated in my last despatch, after killing the captain and commander, [217] with twenty soldiers, in an expedition that he made. Thinking that they could gain the fort with that force, they came to it, but it did not fall out as they imagined. The greater part of the province rose, and killed four discalced Recollect religious. ”

“ Water can be had in abundance at a depth of from only twelve to eighteen feet, and windmills and reservoirs would do much towards a substitute for ditches. As we drive through the valley and up the divide between El Cajon and the Sweetwater valley, the view is very attractive indeed,—on one side the many well-kept vineyards of El Cajon, on the other, way below us, the narrow and winding valley of the Sweetwater. ”

“ I venture to say that no mountaineering or travelling party would ever make a journey through Kaghan with no further objective. They are always off to the monsters and to glory and discomfort. Real glory can only be obtained in Kaghan by climbing its one giant, Mali, and the giant’s height is not enough — a mere 17,345 feet.
The valley itself is a wedge driven up between the western border of Kashmir territory and the southern borders of the independent Kohistan tribes which inhabit the mountainous country on both sides of the Indus. ”

“ THE LOST CANYON has some evidence of reality. Jack Allen, a miner and prospector of almost superhuman endurance, got drunk at Skidoo and filled with remorse and shame the morning after, decided to leave and seek a job at the Keane Wonder Mine, about 40 miles northeast across Death Valley. To save distance, Allen took a short cut over Sheep Mountain and in going through a canyon he picked up a piece of quartz and seeing a fleck of color, he broke it. ”

“ We took our lunch at the clubhouse near the dam. After resting in the shade of the friendly oaks we then pursued our journey to Descanso. We passed through Alpine and finally entered the El Cajon Valley, famed far and wide for its muscatel grapes, which seem especially adapted to its dark red soil. The vines were in early leaf, and not as pleasing to the eye as they will be when in full bloom. Then came Bostonia, a comparatively new settlement, Rosamond, La Mesa, and finally we whirled off on a splendid road, through an unsettled country overgrown with sage and shrubs, to Del Mar. ”

“ The following year the expedition was expected to be repeated, but it was not, as it became necessary for the troops to march to Cagayan, to quell an insurrection among the Indians of that province. Many expeditions have since taken place to these mountains, but with such ill success, that the Indians of this district remain independent to this hour. They, however, trade with the Spaniards in gold, wax, and tobacco, in return for cattle; and the Augustine friars have succeeded, in converting to Christianity, a few who live in the towns near the mountains. ”

“ Through the night, which was exceedingly dark, we sounded every twenty minutes, but found no bottom; and at daylight on the 7th, we made the islands of Cagayan Sooloo,53 in latitude 7° 03′ 30′′ N., longitude 118° 37′ E. The tide or current was passing the islands to the west-southwest, three-quarters of a mile per hour; we had soundings of seventy-five fathoms. Cagayan Sooloo has a pleasant appearance from the sea, and may be termed a high island. It is less covered with undergrowth and mangrove-bushes than the neighbouring islands, and the reefs are comparatively small. ”

“ A serious impediment to the construction is the narrow gorge through the mountains, impracticable even for a pedestrian; yet the difficulty will soon be overcome. After ten miles on the desert the road passes near sugar plantations and haciendas. The region of coal deposits follows, extending through 56the mountain range and up the two lateral valleys beyond, the north in the direction of Cajamarca, the south, the Huailas Valley, to Recuay. The passage of the sombre gorge will be along the side of splendid cliffs with a foaming stream below, a continuous spectacle of superb grandeur. ”

“ For three days every man was prepared to defend his portion of the town; business was suspended, and fears and panics prevailed; till at last her relations gave way to the anger of the rest of the inhabitants, and insisted upon her letting her prisoners go.
The Kadayans have great influence in the city, on account of their agricultural pursuits; they supply large amounts of rice, and nearly all the fruit and vegetables. I have wandered over their districts, and never have I seen more lovely spots than are to [269] be found at Upper Butil, Limapas, and in the interior of the Kadayan river. ”

“ The scenery of the Saguenay is wild and romantic to an uncommon degree. The first half of its course averages half a mile in width, and runs through an untrodden wilderness of pine and spruce-covered hills; it abounds in waterfalls and rapids, and is only navigable for the Indian canoe. A few miles below the most southern fall on the river, is located the village of Chicoutimi, where an extensive lumber business is transacted, and the Hudson’s Bay Company have an important post. The village has an ancient appearance, and contains about five hundred inhabitants, chiefly Canadian French. ”