ation of any sort with the outside world.

The village consists of a dozen or two native huts along the beach in a
very pretty grove of coconut trees. Back of the village is a range of
low mountains covered with tropical jungle. The main point of interest
is a well constructed fort of stone, built on a small promontory that
projects out into the bay. The walls of the fort are very massive and
are surmounted at each of the four corners by a round watch tower. On
its land side the fort is entered through a narrow gate that leads by a
stone stairway to the top of the promontory. On various parts of the
walls are carvings and inscriptions showing that the different bastions
were built at different times.

[Illustration: THE SPANISH FORT AT TAY TAY.]

Within the fort and overlooking the walls is an old stone church whose
roof has long since fallen in. Within the fort is also a large
cement-lined, stone cistern to hold water in case of siege. The Spanish
inscriptions on the walls show that the fort was begun about 1720,
though the mission there was established about 1620. Lying about within
the fort are a few large iron cannon that were doubtless used by the
Spaniards in repulsing the attacks of the Moro pirates. It was for a
refuge from these pirates that this old fort was built nearly two
hundred years ago in this tiny, reef-protected harbor, on an island that
even now is unknown to a large majority of American people although it
is a part of our territory.

On the shore, just back of the fort, is another stone church whose roof
has also fallen in; and back of this church is a small thatched bell
tower with two very good bells of harmonious tones hanging in it. How
long these bells have been silent it is difficult to say, but no priest
now remains to carry on the work begun nearly three hundred years ago by
the brave padres from Spain, and not a Spaniard now lives in that almost
forgotten village. But for the moss-covered and still massive gray walls
of the fort and the crumbling ruins of the two churches one would never
imagine that this tiny village of brown men had ever been inhabited by
subjects of the kingdom of Spain.

[Illustration: CHURCH WITHIN THE FORT.]

In passing out of the harbor of Tay Tay we visited a small volcanic
island of curiously weathered and water-worn limestone. Except for a
narrow beach the sides of this island are almost perpendicular, and the
cliffs are honeycombed with dozens of water-worn