Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-26

from the sea The water is very deep. ma
at Parang Parang. which lies on one side Of
the harbor, the transport, which drew soy
enteen feet, came within few yards of the
shore. The country about the harbor Is
rolling. The land rises gently, spotted with
forest and patches of the greenest green
The whole country, although it Is wild
looks like a beautiful garden. 1t makes one
think of the coasts of Ireland, or the hills
of Staten Island in June. except that there
are blue mountains in the distance, and the
only buildings here are matched huts at
wide distances apart, except at the two
towns of -Parang and Pollok, which
lie on opposite sides of the bay. Both Pol
lok and Parang Parang had garrisons of
Spanish troops. and for this purpose they
built forts and barracks and other modern
have troops here in order to keep the Moros
in check. and. If historical records are cor
rect they had plenty to do.
The Garden of the Philippines.
This region is one Of the richest of the
undeveloped parts of the Philippine Islands.
1t contains 100000 acres and has only
1900 people. AT present 1t is cultivated
only close to the coast and along the valley
of the Rio Grande river. but the soil IS
good. l am told. clear to the tops of the
mountains, and 1t is said there are rolling
lands and plains in the interior. The cof-
fee tree grows as luXuriantly as in the re-
gion about Zamboanga and the hills might
be covered with plantations. The land will
also produce sugar cane. cotton. cacao and
hemp. AS a rice raising region there is
none better anywhere. The Rio Grande is
one of the largest of the Philippine rivers
and 1t has floods every year which fit the
land for the rice crop. The river is /
learn from the private notes of the Jesuit
missionaries. who have been the only ex-
plorers of this island. $50 miles long, and
OF this 102 miles are navigable for small
boats.
Cottabato. the capital of the province of
Cottabato. is situated on this river. about
six miles from where 1t flows into the Boy
OF LLAMA, and small steamers can sail with
the tide up to it. There is bar at the
mouth which gives only five feet of water
at low tide, which leads me to think that
the future city will be on this Pollok bay,
where ships OF the largest draft can have
saie anchorage and be perfectly protected
from the storms
IT would seem to me that this harbor
Will naturally be the great seanort for
southern Mindanao. 1t is far better than
the harbor of Zamboanga and better than
that of Davao. which is at the eastern end
OF the island. some two hundred miles
away. The Rio Grande valley will eventn
ally be the center of large populetion
and the trade of the interior win come
down the river by boat to be shipped
abroad. One of the natural lines of the
railroads which will some day be built to
open up this great island will be through
this valley. AT present nearly everything
goes down to Cottabato city, but on ac-
tDunl OF the par lnlS Will be turned n q
Bay of Pollok. There is now a military
road eight miles long, built by the Span
iards, between the bay and Cottabato. 1t
is in bad condition, but is being repaired
by our troops.
For American PrOspecto-s.
After the islands become settled and 1t is
possible to tell just how lands can be ac-
CURED and held, it will be well for Ameri-
cans expecting to invest or settle in the
/, l. toto tl.ta.
country. 1 am told that the most of the
land about the bay belongs to the United
States government. including the water
fronts OF Pollok and Parang-Parans
On the northern side of the bay reach
ing away for hundreds of miles into the
interior. the land is all government prop
erty. 1t is made up Of forests of the most
valuable hard woods, interspersed with
patches of natural pasture, covered with
grass as high as your head. Back of the
hills, lining the shore. are mountains, but
the whole of the Island of Mindanao is
rolling and there are plains and tablelands
in the interior AS to these, and also as to
the mineral resources, no prospecting has
been done. Everywhere l have gone so
far l have heard stories of gold existing in
the sands of the riYerS. In most cases the
but no one knows what there is Capt
White, who is stationed at Cottabato, tells
me he has washed some of the streams in
the hills and has found black sand and
small grains of gold. He says he found
color in nearly every case
At present large part of the cultivated
lands are in the hands of the Chinese, of
whom there are about 200 in Cottabato, al
though there is one Spaniard who has 100
acres Of rice The Chinese number about
one-third Of the population of Cottabato
town. They do the mercantile business
of the country and have all the stores.
They are to be found everywhere in the
Philippines and see them engaged in bust
ness at the two little towns Of Pollok and
Parang-Parang. The trade Of the district
In Pollok.
I spent a day in the town Of Pollok. This
is across the bay. about six miles from
Parang-Parang. The latter is a Moro Sc
tlement. but Pollok is almost altogether
Christian and Chinese. 1t Is little trop-