The capital is Cebu, with a population of 35,243.  It is the mercantile center of the islands, and is situated 460 miles from Manila.  It is an Episcopal see, and has a good cathedral, Episcopal palace, casa real, court house, and private edifices, simple but tasty; there is also a post office and telegraph station.  On the south, and at the entrance of the channel, is the castle of Point Cauit, and north of this the tower of Mandaui; both these fortifications communicate with the capital by means of a wagon road, the city being midway between them.  At the capital reside the politico-military governor, a secretary, judge and attorney-general, a number of public functionaries, a captain of engineers, and the captain of the port.

Maktan Island consists of an old coral reef, raised a few feet (8 or 10 at most) above the present sea level.  At the northern part of the island, where a convent stands, a low cliff fringes the shore, being an upper stratum of the upheaved reef.  The raised reef is here preserved, but over the portion of the island immediately fronting Cebu it has been removed by denudation, with the exception of a few pillar-like blocks which remain, and which are conspicuous from the anchorage.  The surface is scooped out into irregular basins and sharp projecting pinnacles and covered in all directions with mud, resulting from the denudation.  Nearly all the island is covered by mangroves, but on the part left dry there are plantations of cocoanuts.

The only town on the island is Opon, on the west coast, SW. of Mandaui Point in Cebu.  It was here that Magellan was killed in 1521, after making the first passage across the Pacific.

The town of Cebu is the most ancient in the Philippines; it is the seat of government of the Visayan Islands, which include Cebu, Bohol, Panay, Negros, and Leyte, and it is the residence of a bishop.  It is built on a large plain at the foot of the chain of hills that traverse the island throughout its length, and is a well-constructed, thriving place; the merchants’ quarter is situated along the port, and includes some well-built stone houses, though many are of old construction.  The huts of the Malays, for the most part fishermen, are on the beach, and form the west part of the city.  The fort is a triangular edifice of stone, painted red, with an open square in front.

The island of Leyte is bounded on the north by the canal separating it from Samar, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the sea separating it from Bohol and Cebu, and on the south by the one separating it from Mindanao.  It is extensive and irregular, having an area of 3,087 square miles and a population of 270,491.  A high and abrupt mountain chain crosses the island nearly parallel to the west coast; the coasts are high, with good natural harbors.  In the northern part and on the western slopes of the great sierras, streams of potable water and also many lagoons abound.  This is different from the eastern part, where the latter are scarce.  The principal product of the island is abaca, but rice is also raised and cocoanut oil is extracted.  There are unworked mines of gold, magnetite, and sulphur.