Semarara is moderately high, and about fifteen miles in circumference; it is inhabited, and like Mindoro much wooded.  According to the native pilot, its shores are free from shoals.  It was not until the next day that we succeeded in reaching Panay.  I determined to pass the night off Point Potol, the north end of Panay, as I believed the sea in its neighborhood to be free of shoals, and wished to resume our running survey early in the morning.

[Panay.] At daylight on the 27th we continued the survey down the coast of Panay, and succeeded in correcting many errors in the existing charts (both English and Spanish).  The channel along this side is from twelve to twenty miles wide, and suitable for beating in; little current is believed to exist; and the tides, as far as our observations went, seem to be regular and of little strength.

The island of Panay is high and broken, particularly on the south end; its shores are thickly settled and well cultivated.  Indigo and sugar-cane claim much of the attention of the inhabitants.  The natives are the principal cultivators.  They pay to government a capitation tax of seven reals.  Its population is estimated at three hundred thousand, which I think is rather short of the actual number.

On all the hills there are telegraphs of rude construction, to give information of the approach of piratical prahus from Sulu, which formerly were in the habit of making attacks upon the defenceless inhabitants and carrying them off into slavery.  Of late years they have ceased these depredations, for the Spaniards have resorted to a new mode of warfare.  Instead of pursuing and punishing the offenders, they now intercept all their supplies, both of necessaries and luxuries; and the fear of this has had the effect to deter pirates from their usual attacks.

We remained off San Pedro for the night, in hopes of falling in with the Flying-fish in the morning.

On the morning of the 28th, the Flying-fish was discovered plainly in sight.  I immediately stood for her, fired a gun and made signal.  At seven o’clock, another gun was fired, but the vessel still stood off, and was seen to make sail to the westward without paying any regard whatever to either, and being favored by a breeze while the Vincennes was becalmed, she stole off and was soon out of sight. [270]

After breakfast we opened the bay of Antique, on which is situated the town of San Jose.  As this bay apparently offered anchorage for vessels bound up this coast, I determined to survey it; and for this purpose the boats were hoisted out and prepared for surveying.  Lieutenant Budd was despatched to visit the pueblo called San Jose.

On reaching the bay, the boats were sent to different points of it, and when they were in station, the ship fired guns to furnish bases by the sound, and angles were simultaneously measured.  The boats made soundings on their return to the ship, and thus completed this duty, so that in an hour or two afterwards the bay was correctly represented on paper.  It offers no more than a temporary anchorage for vessels, and unless the shore is closely approached, the water is almost too deep for the purpose.