right across the
stream compelled us to make a circuit on land, which in half an hour
brought us again to the river, above the obstacles. Here we constructed
rafts of bamboo, upon which, immersed to the depth of half a foot,
the material being very loosely adjusted, we reached the lake in ten
minutes. We found it covered with green confervae; a double border
of pistia and broad-leaved reed grasses, six to seven feet high,
enclosing it all round. On the south and west some low hillocks rose
up, while from the middle it appeared to be almost circular, with a
girdle of forest. Coello makes the lake much too large (four instead
of one square mile), and its distance from Abuyog can be only a little
over a league. With the assistance of a cord of lianas tied together,
and rods placed in a line, we found its breadth five hundred and
eighty-five brazas or nine hundred and seventy-seven meters, (in the
broadest part it might be a little over one thousand meters); and the
length, as computed from some imperfect observations, one thousand
and seven brazas (sixteen hundred and eighty meters), consequently
less than one square mile. Soundings showed a gently inclined basin,
eight brazas, or over thirteen meters, deep in the middle. I would
gladly have determined the proportions with more accuracy; but want of
time, the inaccessibility of the edge of the bank, and the miserable
condition of our raft, allowed of only a few rough measurements.

[A forest home.] Not a trace of human habitations was observable
on the shore; but a quarter of an hour's distance from the northern
edge we found a comfortable hut, surrounded by deep mud and prickly
calamus, the tenants of which, however, were living in plenty, and
with greater conveniences than many dwellers in the villages. We were
very well received and had fish in abundance, as well as tomatoes,
and capsicum to season them with, and dishes of English earthenware
out of which to eat them.

[Snaring swine.] The abundance of wild swine had led the settlers
to invent a peculiar contrivance, by which they are apprised of
their approach even when asleep, and guided to their trail in the
darkness. A rope made of strips of banana tied together, and upwards
of a thousand feet in length, is extended along the ground, one end
of which is attached to a coconut shell, full of water, which is
suspended immediately over the sleeping-place of the hunter. When a
pig comes in contact with the rope, the wa