LUKBAN
uniting that arm of the sea called the Western Sea of Samar on the north and the bay of San Pedro and San Pablo on the south .
Towards the end of the 19th century at the beginning of the American pacification campaigns , the coasts of Samar had yet to be explored , especially the eastern coast , which is irregular , mountainous , and bordered with small islands and large rocks .
On the map , Samar looks like an oblong square but is very irregular in the southwestern part . It is about 20 leagues long in a straight line from north to south , and about 20 leagues wide in the northern part from east to west . The interior part is mountainous , “ with sheer ravines and swift , rushing rivers . In the rainy season , the floods--the dreaded avenidas--pile the water high in the gorges and sweep everything from their path . It was a place of great snakes and malaria mosquitos and sludgy , oozing swamps on the fringes of the forested mountains . Here and there were the abandoned kaingins ( swidden farms ) - the clearings of the mountain tribes , grown high with lush cogon grass and tigbao …. there were not five miles of road on the island .” 4
The area of Samar and the adjacent islands was estimated to be 13,471 square kilometers . At the turn of the 20th century , its population reached 185,386 . Its principal towns were Catbalogan , the capital , with a population of 6,072 , Balangiga , with 4 , 130 , Basey with 12,852 , Borongan , with 12,563 , Calbayog , with 20,725 , Catarman with 9,495 , Catubig with 11,517 ; Gandara with 11,101 , and Guiuan with 12,872 . Its mountains were said to be populated with about 10,000 natives “ who live an independent and almost savage life .” 5
Yet parts of Samar were fertile valleys under cultivation producing crops that gave sustenance to its population . It had an abundance of fine lumber that was especially suitable for shipbuilding , many varieties of wild fruits , various kinds of bamboo , roots suitable for food , rattan , game , and fish . Wax and honey , abundant in the extensive forests , were much prized by the inhabitants . Coconuts were also grown in abundance , and many of the inhabitants were engaged in extracting the oil , particularly in the vicinity of Guiuan . At the time of the American pacification campaign , the inhabitants produced rice , coconuts and hemp , the last two being their cash crops that they sold to merchants to trade in the pueblos . Special mention was made of a medicinal plant called “ isigud ” or the fruit of San Ignacio , known also as Catbalogan seed , because it was grown in the vicinity of that town . It was said to be an antidote for certain kinds of poisons . 6
Catbalogan is strategically located at the central point among several coastal towns . This was seen by the early Jesuit missionaries who came in 1596 in their mission of evangelization , although their first
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