“Mindoro, the large island just south of the main bulk of Luzon, pierced by the 121st meridian of longitude east of Greenwich, is thick with densely wooded mountains and jungle over a large part of its area, has a reputation of being very unhealthy (malarious), is also very sparsely settled, and does not now, nor has it ever, cut any figure politically as a disturbing factor.” [325]

Apart from the fact that the political problem involved in the government of the important islands which Blount would thus leave out of consideration, is not solved by ignoring it, certain of his further statements cannot be allowed to go uncorrected.

The allegation that the island has never “cut any figure politically as a disturbing factor” is absurd.  In the Spanish days its forests furnished a safe refuge for evildoers who were from time to time driven out of Cavite and Batangas.  A large proportion of its Filipino inhabitants were criminals who not infrequently organized regular piratical expeditions and raided towns in Masbate, Romblon and Palawan.  The people of the Cuyos and Calamianes groups lived in constant terror of the Mindoro pirates, and tulisanes, [326] who paid them frequent visits.  I myself have been at Calapan, the capital of the province, when the Spanish officials did not dare to go without armed escort as far as the outskirts of the town for fear of being captured and held for ransom.  During considerable periods they did not really pretend to exercise control over the criminal Filipinos inhabiting the west coast of the island.  Conditions as to public order were worse in Mindoro than anywhere else in the archipelago north of Mindanao and Jolo.

No less absurd are Blount’s suggestions as to the general worthlessness of the island.  There are high mountains in its interior, and there are great stretches of the most fertile land in the world along its coast.  Its northern and eastern portions have a very heavy and evenly distributed rainfall, and are admirably suited to the growing of cocoanuts, hemp, cacao, rubber and similar tropical products.  In this region rice flourishes wonderfully without irrigation.  There was a time in the past when Mindoro was known as “the granary of the Philippines.”  Later its population was decimated by constant Moro attacks, and cattle disease destroyed its draft animals, with the result that the cultivated lands were abandoned to a considerable extent and again grew up to jungle, from which, however, it is easy to redeem them.  The west coast has strongly marked wet and dry seasons similar to those at Manila.  There is abundant water available for irrigation, furnished by streams which never run dry.  Much of the soil is rich, and will grow the best of sugar in large quantity.  The forests, which now cover extensive areas, abound in fine woods, and produce rubber and other valuable gums.  There are outcroppings of lignite at numerous points on the island, and in the vicinity of Mt.  Halcon is found the finest marble yet discovered in this part of the world.  Gold is also present in some quantity at various places.  In short, Mindoro is naturally one of the richest islands in the Archipelago.  If its tillable lands were under high cultivation, it would support half the population of the Philippines.