smaller associated islands. Thus, the island of Sámar, has an area of 5,031 square miles, while the province of Sámar, which contains not only this but other islands, has an area of 5,276 square miles, or 245 square miles more than the island of Sámar. Provinces and military districts with areas and capitals. The original Spanish communities of the Philippines consisted of the presidio, or military quarters, the pueblo, or town, and the mission for the conversion of the natives. The ground selected for the pueblo was laid out in the form of a square or rectangle, near the central point of which was placed the plaza, or public square; then followed the streets dividing the pueblo into blocks. The public buildings, the church, and adjoining convento, or residence of the friars, and the dwellings of the officials were erected around the plaza, facing it. On this plan nearly all the pueblos-now municipalities of the Philippines were arranged. In most of the provinces the original pueblo became the capital, and, with some exceptions, has so remained. By referring to the outline map of the municipality of Lingayén, in the introduction to this report, some idea of the geographic arrangement of a municipality can be formed. It consists of a collection of barrios, one of which is the seat of the tribunal, or municipal government, and corresponds in area to a township in the United States, and the barrios, to small villages. The municipalities are all named, as are the barrios, but in referring to a municipality in ordinary conversation, the seat of government is understood to be meant. Some of these are of such size as to be called cities, like Iloilo, Cebú, Vigan, Laoag, Lucena, Batangas, etc., but there is but one chartered city, Manila, in the islands. As will be seen, the barrios are usually separate communities, although forming a single unit, and are laid out in streets, the houses being arranged on either side of the streets and usually close together, except in the rural barrios where they are well separated, each one standing in a fair-sized plot of ground in which the resident raises his crop of bananas and possibly other fruits and vegetables. The streets, as a rule, are not paved, and the roads generally are in poor condition, especially in the rainy season. For potable water, except in Manila, reliance is placed on wells and cisterns, and very little attention has ever been paid to sanitation. The houses of people of means are built of stone, brick, or wood, and their homes are provided with all available comforts. But it is safe to say that nine-tenths of the houses in the Philippines are built of bamboo, thatched with nipa, cogon, or other grasses, and are admirably adapted to the climate and to the condition of the occupants. Since the census was taken the territory included in military comandancias, or districts, has been put under civil authority; Paragua Sur has been added to the province of Paragua; the province of Moro has been created with limits as set forth in Act No. 787, of the Philippine Commission, June 1, 1903, and consists of the island of Mindanao and adjacent islands (except most of the province of Misamis and all of Surigao), the island of Basilan, and all other islands south of Mindanao including the Joló, Siassi, and Tawi Tawi groups, and it thus embraces all the Moros, except a small number in the southern half of the island of Paragua. For administrative purposes the province is divided into five districts-Cottabato, Dávao, Lanao, Sulu and Zamboanga-each under a district governor appointed by the governor of the province. At the date of the census these districts were military districts under officers of the United States Army, and the figures of the census, as far as they relate to the Moro province, are given by military districts and not by civil districts as now arranged. They are, however, practically identical in area. In the detailed description of the islands, which follows, navigable rivers are scheduled, with their character and extent of navigability, from information furnished by J. W. Beardsley, consulting engineer for the Commission, and from the records of the QuartermasterGeneral's office. Excepting the small islands of the Batán and Babuyán groups, Luzón is the most northern of the Philippines, lying, as it does, between the parallels of latitude 12° 30′ and 18° 40′ north, and between the meridians of longitude 119° 40′ and 124° 10' east. It is of irregular shape, the extreme length being 530 miles and the greatest breadth, which is along the parallel of 17° north latitude, being 140 miles, while in the latitude of Manila the breadth is but 43 miles and at Lamón bay in Tayabas province, only 8 miles. The area of Luzón is 40,969 square miles, being 10 per cent greater than Mindanao, the second island in area. Besides being the largest it is the most populous and wealthy island of the archipelago. MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS. Stretching along the east coast and closely following it, from the northeastern point of the island to Laguna de Bay, in latitude 14° 30′ north, is a continuous and simple mountain range, the Sierra Madre, broken by a few gaps, or passes, and no water gaps. Throughout this distance of 350 miles it forms the divide between the waters flowing to the Pacific direct and those flowing northward by the Cagayan river and westward to the China sea. Near the parallel of latitude 16° north it is joined by a short cross or east-and-west range known as Caraballos Sur, which connects it with the western range of the island, the Caraballos Occidentales. The Sierra Madre has a general elevation of from 3,500 to 4,500 feet, rising above the latter height in only a few summits. West of this great range lies the broad and fertile valley of the Cagayán river, 160 miles in length, with a breadth between the limiting mountain ranges of about 50 miles. West of this valley, and separating it from the China sea, stands a broad and complex system of mountains, known as the Caraballos Occidentales. Its length is nearly 200 miles, and its breadth, including the great spurs and subordinate ranges and ridges on either side, is fully one-third its length. The central range of the system forms the divide between the waters flowing to Cagayán river on the east and those flowing to the China sea on the west. Its northern part, where it forms the boundary between the provinces of Cagayán and Ilocos Norte, bears the name Cordillera Norte. Farther south, where it separates Abra from Cagayán and Bontoc, it is called Cordillera Central, while the southern portion, which separates Lepanto from Bontoc |