Many of the pictures are photographs taken by myself. The rest were selected from a great number of others, that were accessible, as being most typical of Philippine life and scenery. The student of history, and he that would learn something about the customs of the people, and the natural resources of the country, may, I trust, find the perusal of this work not without profit and interest. I desire to attest here my gratitude for the many courtesies shown me, and for the hearty manner in which I have been received, in this great, free country. Everywhere it was the same. And I would say to all loyal, ardent Filipinos, that I believe that they eventually will not regret the day when Commodore Dewey sundered the galling chains of Spanish dominance, and when General Merritt, later, hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the Archipelago. They will, rather, most surely live to recognize and appreciate the unsullied manifold advantages and benefits incident to American occupation and to a close contact with this honest, vigorous type of manhood. The Author. New York December, 1898. EARLY HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS. Discovery and Conquest. When Magellan in the spring of 1521 took formal possession of Mindanao, one of the largest of the Philippine group, he was surrounded by crowds of the curious brown-skinned natives of that island; with sensations of awe, they watched their strange white visitors, believing them to be angels of light. It was Easter-week, and the Spanish discoverers, with all the ritualistic splendor of the mass, dedicated the newly-found islands to God and the Church. The natives, too, manifested great friendliness to the tempest-tossed mariners. Indeed, one of their most prominent chieftains himself piloted the exploring party to Cebú, where thousands of natives, arrayed in all the barbarous paraphernalia of savagery, stood on the beach, and, with their spears and shields, menaced the strangers. The Mindanao chieftain, who had acted as pilot, thereupon went on shore and volunteered an explanation: these strange voyagers were seeking rest and provisions, having been many weary months away from their own country. A treaty of amity was then ratified according to their native custom, each party thereto simultaneously drawing and drinking blood from the breast of the other. Magellan then caused a rude chapel to be built on this new and hospitable shore, and here the natives witnessed the first rites of that Church that, within a century, extended its oppressive sway from one end of the Archipelago to the other. The King and Queen of the natives were soon persuaded to accept the rite of baptism. This they seemed to enjoy greatly. To persuade the good-natured savages to take the oath of allegiance to the King of far-away Spain was but a step farther. One ceremony was probably as intelligible to them as the other; and thus the first two links in the fetters of the Filipinos had been forged.