or GUAHON, one of the Ladrones Islands, in the Eastern Seas. It is a large island, about 120 miles in circuit, high and shelving on each side, and fenced with steep rocks, against which the surf perpetually beats. There is a harbour on the west side, in which there are several small bays. The climate is mild and salubrious, and the soil yields a great profusion of vegetables and fruits, particularly guavas, bananas, cocoas, oranges, and limes. Here the bread-fruit tree was first seen by the Europeans, who have since become more familiar with its manifold benefits in the islands of the South Pacific Ocean. Capers are also produced from a shrub which is indigenous to the soil. The native inhabitants of this island are stout and well made, copper-coloured, and have long black hair. They are dispersed in twenty-one hamlets or villages situated along the coast, the interior being overrun with woods, and in a state of nature; and they all pursue agriculture to the neglect of the fisheries. A town called Agana, built by the Spaniards, stands on the shore, about twelve miles from the harbour, which is defended by a strong battery. The population is uncertain. The island was discovered by Magellan in 1521, and at that time the inhabitants, a wild and savage race, were numerous. But they were greatly reduced, by the barbarity of the Spanish invaders, from many thousands to about 800 or 900. The whole are collected in Guam, and by lenient treatment they had been augmented to 1500. But there is no recent enumeration of them.