We remained seven days at Samboañgan, walking and exploring in every direction, and enjoyed our stay there very much. Magindanau, as far as we have seen it, is very hilly and woody, with the exception of the neighbourhood of the Spanish settlement of Samboañgan, which has been cleared for some miles; though, for an old colony, not so much as might have been expected. The town is situated on the west point of Lanun Bay, and from the sea appears much smaller than it is in reality. It presents no very striking features; the long, low, dark fort and whitewashed houses, intermixed with a few groves of cocoa-nuts, with forest on either side, and the hills, some cleared and some wooded, rising about seven miles inland, suggest a rough idea of this pleasant little town. The plain around is very well cultivated; as you walk along the roads--very much like English country ones--you have a continual series of large rice fields, cocoa-nut groves, now swelling into extensive plantations, then a few round a detached cottage, and intermixed with these are great quantities of bananas. Many small streams intersect the plain, adding much to its fertility, and are spanned by covered bridges. The fort is to the right of the town, and has rather low walls, mounted with a good many guns; against a native force it must be impregnable, but a little shelling would soon subdue it. It is garrisoned by about two hundred and fifty native soldiers. Leaving its gate, you cross a large green, beyond which lies the principal portion of the town, laid out in a rectangular shape, with streets intersecting each other at equal distances. The houses are in general mere native ones; others a little superior; and perhaps a couple of dozen of a better class, in which reside the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Commandant, and other officers. Almost every other house has a shop, in which cigars, spirits, chocolate, sugar, and various other articles are sold. The most respectable class keep retail shops, as well as the little traders. Beyond this portion of the town is a little green, with the church--a long barn-like building. Seen within by the imperfect light of evening, it appeared destitute of ornaments, except round the altar, and beyond this are some more streets. The houses I entered had very little furniture; a small table, some chairs, a bedstead, and a kind of drawers, with a few shelves, complete the whole.