The Spaniards at a very early date sent armed exploring parties through the highlands and maintained garrisons here and there down to our own time. [2] But they never really held the country.

The Church, too, early entered this territory, the field being given over to the Dominicans, [3] who furnished many devoted missionaries to the cause.  But here, too, failure must be recorded in respect of permanency of results in the really wild parts of the Highlands.  It has remained for our own Government to get a real hold of the people of these regions, to win their confidence, command their respect, and exact their obedience in all relations in which obedience is proper and just.

The indispensable material condition of success was to make the mountain country accessible.  Only those who have had the fortune to travel through this country can realize how difficult this endeavor has been and must continue to be, chiefly because of the great local complexity of the mountain system, but also because of the severely destructive storms of this region, with consequent torrential violence of the streams affected.  But little money, too, can be, or has been, spent for the necessary road-work.  In spite of the difficulties involved, however, a system of road-making has been set on foot, the labor needed being furnished by the highlanders themselves in lieu of a road tax.  Very briefly, the system is as follows: 

(a) The first thing done is to open what is known as the “meter trail,” i.e., a trail one meter wide, at a grade not to exceed 6 per cent, and where possible to be kept at 4 per cent.  At certain points where the absolute necessity exists, a 10 per cent grade is admissible for very short distances, as at river crossings, but only where a gentler grade would involve a long detour at great expense.

This “meter trail” weathers for one year, and thus automatically develops its own weak spots.  These are repaired as fast as discovered (which is practically at once, by reason of constant supervision), and the trail thus hardens, as it were, into something approaching permanency.

(b) The next step in the history of the trail is to widen it to two meters, the same general course being followed as outlined in (a).  As a satisfactory state of permanency is reached we come to (c) The final widening, draining, and metalling of the trail to accommodate wagon traffic.  The trail now becomes a permanent road.

In many cases only wooden tools have been available, and the lack of money has compelled a sparing use of explosives.  Nevertheless under this system there now exist in the Mountain Province 730 miles of excellent horse trail of easy grade, [4] and what is significant, the people of the highlands are using these trails, and so becoming peacefully acquainted with one another.