The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 13 of 55 / 1604-1605 / Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions,
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Date: 2005-02-26T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Philippines -- History -- Sources; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Demarcation line of Alexander VI

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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 13 of 55

Editor: Emma Helen Blair

Commentator: Edward Gaylord Bourne

Editor: James Alexander Robertson

Release date: February 26, 2005 [eBook #15184]
Most recently updated: December 14, 2020

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1493-1898 — VOLUME 13 OF 55 ***

Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the PG Distributed Proofreaders Team

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and
their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions,
as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the
political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those
islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the
close of the nineteenth century,

Volume XIII, 1604-1605

Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XIII

Preface 9
Relación de las Islas Filipinas (concluded) Pedro Chirino, S.J.;
Roma, 1604 2
Documents of 1604

Letters to Felipe III. Pedro de Acuña; Manila, July 15
and 19 221
Decrees regarding religious orders. Felipe III, and others;
Valladolid, February-July 246
Grant to the Jesuit seminary at Cebú. Pedro Chirino;
[undated; 1604?] 251
Decree regulating commerce with Nueva España. Felipe III;
Valladolid, December 31 256

Documents of 1605

Complaints against the Chinese. Miguel de Benavides,
and others; Manila, February 3-9 271
Letter from a Chinese official to Acuña. Chincheo,
March 287
Letters from Augustinian friars to Felipe III. Estevan
Carillo, and others; Manila, May 4-June 20 292
Letter to Felipe III. Antonio de Ribera Maldonado; Manila,
June 28 307

Bibliographical Data 317

ILLUSTRATIONS

Autograph signature of Pedro Chirino, S.J.; photographic facsimile
from MS. in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 215
Autograph signatures of Pedro de Acuña and members of the
Audiencia; photographic facsimile from MS. in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 243

PREFACE

The larger part of the present volume is occupied with the Relacion of the Jesuit Chirino, begun in Vol. XII, and here concluded. In this work is recorded the progress of the Jesuit missions up to the year 1602, by which time they have been established not only in Luzón and Cebú, but in Bohol, Leyte, Negros, Samar, and northern Mindanao. The arrival of the visitor García in 1599 results in new vigor and more thorough organization in the missions, and the numbers of those baptized in each rapidly increase. The missionaries are able to uproot idolatry in many places, and greatly check its practice in others. Everywhere they introduce, with great acceptance and edification among the natives, the practice of flagellation—"the procession of blood." Religious confraternities are formed among the converts, greatly aiding the labors of the fathers; and the latter open schools for boys, among both the Spaniards and the Indians. In time of pestilence they minister to the sick and the dying; and they gain great influence among all classes. They secure the good-will of hostile natives, quell a threatened revolt among those of Leyte, and reclaim certain outlaws and bandits. The Spaniards also receive their ministrations, especially in Manila; the fathers adjust dissensions and family quarrels, and reform several dissolute persons. The college at Manila prospers, and enlarges its curriculum. The labors of the Jesuits effect certain important changes in social conditions among the natives. Usury, unjust enslavement, and polygamy are greatly lessened, and sometimes entirely abolished, among the Indians in the mission districts; and most notable of these results, the fathers have much success in gathering not only their own converts, but even many of the wild and savage mountaineers, into villages under their personal care and supervision.

A new monastic order, the Augustinian Recollects, is permitted to send missionaries to the islands. Little of importance occurs there in 1604; but among the Spaniards there is much fear of an invasion by the Chinese, in revenge for the late slaughter of their countrymen in Luzón. Yet the cupidity or laxity of the officials has permitted the number of Chinese resident in the islands to increase beyond proper limits; and the archbishop of Manila endeavors to secure strict enforcement of the laws against this dangerous immigration. The leading officials of the Augustinian order complain (1605) of their provincial as unscrupulous and overbearing, and ask for relief and the suitable adjustment of the affairs of their province.

Chirino's narrative of the Jesuit missions (here concluded) narrates events from 1598 onward. In June of that year Father Vera goes to obtain more missionaries from Europe. In Mexico he meets orders from the general of the Jesuit order that Diego García shall go with a reënforcement of laborers to the Philippines. In Manila, during that year, the Jesuits meet much success in their ministries—especially in the confessional, in public preaching, and in various benevolent works. They also accomplish much in private affairs, reconciling enemies, preventing lawsuits, and checking licentious conduct. The annals continue with the progress of the Antipolo mission during 1598. The mountain-dwellers continue to come to the mission, of whom many are baptized—among these some of the heathen priests. Among the converts are formed confraternities which most efficiently aid the labors of the missionaries. The people have given up their pagan practices, and display great piety and devotion as Christians.

At Cebú the bishop has greatly favored the Jesuits, who have opened a school for his clergy and the sons of some citizens. Their labors are chiefly among the Visayan natives and the Chinese, and meet much success. The writer relates some instances of especial virtue and piety among these converts; there, as in missions elsewhere, the women are distinguished in those respects. No less important are the labors of the Jesuits among the Spaniards of Cebú, among whom they exercise great influence, even the bishop depending upon their advice; and they often preach in the cathedral. The bishop, "in imitation of Manila," introduces the practice of flagellation at Lent, and himself leads the "procession of blood."

In the island of Bohol the infant church continues to grow. The converts have entirely abandoned idolatry; and certain miraculous cures have kindled in them a most fervent piety. In Butúan (in northern Mindanao) "Christianity is in a flourishing condition," according to Father Ledesma, whose letters are cited. Conversions are steadily increasing: and several chiefs are to be baptized soon, although the most noted leader, Silongan, is not yet cured of his polygamous inclinations. He is, however, most friendly to the fathers, and protects them in certain dangers. In Alangalang, Tomás de Montoya (an American Indian who has gone to the islands) has resumed the work dropped at the death of Cosme de Flores; he relates some instances of piety among his converts, and of punishment visited on the impenitent. At Ogmuc much caution had been exercised in conferring baptism, and those who have received it show most edifying piety. In Holy Week occurs a procession in which "the most pleasing and touching sight was to see all the children disciplining themselves with scourges which they themselves had made for that day." The missionaries adjust various family quarrels, and put an end in the islands to the practices of usury and unjust enslavement. Chirino here gives some account of these evils, but adds that they are abolished among all the christianized tribes in the islands.

Good reports come from Carigara and Paloc; the latter village is unusually prosperous because one of the Jesuits has aided the people to construct better dwellings. They have abandoned their idols, and take pleasure in scourging themselves on Fridays. At Dulac many baptisms have occurred, and various diseases, among them leprosy, have been cured by this sacrament. A letter from Father Otaço, who is in charge at Tinagon, shows that idolatry has been abandoned, and immoral customs are almost uprooted. He gives an interesting description of the methods pursued by the missionaries in their preaching, and by one of their native helpers in teaching his fellows.

In June, 1599, Diego García is sent to the islands as official visitor of the Jesuit missions there, and he at once reorganizes and systematizes their plan and conduct. Soon after his arrival there is a violent earthquake at Manila, which injures two of the churches. The Jesuits receive much aid for restoring their building—contributions from the Spaniards, and services from the Indians. In an epidemic of disease among them much good is done by the confraternity established among the converts, and the sick depend upon the fathers for spiritual comfort. When the people harvest their rice, their first care is to carry an offering of the first-fruits to the church. As usual, the Jesuits here do much to better the lives of their penitents, both Indian and Spanish, reconciling those who were at enmity, and breaking up licentious alliances. The pestilence extends to Antipolo and other villages near Manila, and both the missionaries and their converts aid the sick and the dying in every possible way.

The uprooting of idolatry in the Taytay mission has been effectual; various instances of this are related by Chirino, as also the cure of a lunatic by wearing an Agnus Dei. Garcia, the official visitor, arrives at Cebú in 1600, and makes arrangements by which the Chinese there are cared for by other priests, the Jesuits being thus free to labor among the Indians. But the harvest of souls is far greater than the few laborers there can reap and more are urgently needed. Chirino relates some instances of conversion and pious deaths in that mission.

He then relates the progress of the mission in Bohol, citing for this purpose the letters of the two missionaries there. The new converts display much devotion, and even the pagans receive the fathers kindly. Many are converted, and some of their children are trained to instruct the people in the Christian faith. Sánchez procures the destruction of many instruments of witchcraft in a certain village; and relates some marvelous cures made by administering the sacraments, and some instances of feminine virtue.

In Butúan (Mindanao) a rich harvest of souls is being gathered by Ledesma and Martínez; and even the infidels are very friendly to the new religion. The converts are very devout, and will not countenance any pagan practices. Certain miraculous cures are recorded. The practice of flagellation is maintained in the Jesuit church there, as in other places.

The Filipinos had formerly lived in perpetual warfare between the petty chiefs and their adherents; those who could remove migrated to new homes inland, and thus the mountain regions became settled. In order to reach the natives, the Jesuits at Alangalang bend all their efforts, which are soon successful, to gathering these scattered settlements into large villages—mission "reductions" like those which they had already made so noted in Paraguay and other lands. Their labors are thus more advantageously conducted, and many conversions result. At Carigara their church services are greatly aided by a native choir, who sing in both their own and the European modes. A letter from Father Enzinas praises the purity of the converted Indian women. Father Sánchez relates a notable case in his missionary labors at Barugo. The progress of the church at Ogmuc is related, with ardent praise for the piety and fervor of the converts. The infidels are steadily growing more inclined to receive the faith; and polygamy is being suppressed. A brief mission at Paloc by Father Rodriguez results in fifty baptisms; and other subsequent missions there reap a rich harvest of souls. Flagellation is a usual practice in Lent; nearly all the people have received baptism; and the converted chiefs offer atonement to all whom they may have wronged.

The record of the Dulac mission shows seven hundred baptisms in one year; and the details of some conversions are related, especially that of two deaf-mutes, whose piety is most edifying. During Holy Week the converts practice flagellation; and on one occasion one of the fathers gives his flock a practical lesson in Christian charity.

In Tinagon the Jesuits baptize, during the year ending in April, 1600, nearly a thousand persons. The number of missionaries for this field is so inadequate that they send to some villages the Indian boys who have been instructed, in order that they may teach the people the catechism and doctrine. Accounts of missionary labors and of certain conversions are given in extracts from some letters written by the fathers. All the people are friendly to the new faith, and the prospect is most encouraging.

Chirino mentions the shipwreck of the vessels bound for Mexico, and the conflict with Oliver van Noordt, in connection with which he describes the deaths and the pious lives of some Jesuits who perished therein. In 1601 Father Gregorio López brings to the islands a reënforcement of nine missionaries; and their long and dangerous voyage across the Pacific, safely accomplished through the intercession of St. Ignatius, is fully described. In the same year and the next arrive also many missionaries of the other orders: Chirino praises their devotion and zeal, the fraternal spirit among the various orders, the excellent influence exerted by their members among the Spaniards in Manila, and the religious spirit exhibited by the latter; and describes various exercises of piety practiced there—the institution of a religious congregation among the students in the Jesuit college, and, later, one among the townspeople; the practice of flagellation every week during the year, as well as in Lent; attendance at Sunday afternoon sermons; the choice of patron saints by lot; etc. The particulars of certain conversions and virtuous acts are also related—especially the conversion of the Dutch prisoners captured from van Noordt.

The Indians in Manila, who are largely in care of the Jesuits, are devout by nature, and much inclined to confession and other pious exercises. A confraternity among them accomplishes many pious and benevolent works, and exerts a great influence on those outside it. In the Taytay mission there is cheering progress, and many of the mountain Indians, hitherto infidels, are converted and baptized. The visitor Garcia has founded at Antipolo a hospital, and a seminary for boys, both of great assistance to the missionaries' labors.

Toward the end of 1600 the bishop of Cebú holds a council of secular clergy and missionaries, wherein their work is better planned and regulated, and various salutary enactments are made for the diocese. The Jesuit fathers pay especial attention to the Indians and the soldiers, giving up the charge of the Chinese in Cebú; an Indian hamlet near that city yields them many converts. Letters from Valerio Ledesma give encouraging reports of progress and gain in the Bohol mission. He is successful in gathering the scattered settlements into mission villages—in Loboc, "more than a thousand souls, gathered from the mountains and rivers, most of them people reared in war, robbery, and murder;" and on the Viga River two wild hill-tribes, who had never before seen a priest.

Ledesma visits many villages in that island, finding the people eager to receive baptism, and hospitable toward the missionaries; and many conversions occur among the savage and fierce mountain tribes. On one occasion Ledesma goes, alone and unarmed, to meet a hostile band (who had never before seen a Spaniard); and by his gentle and kind demeanor, and some small gifts, induces them to depart in peace, after winning their friendship for himself and his converts. The harvest is great, and more laborers are greatly needed in that field. This is largely due to the policy of the missionaries in forming the mission reductions of converts. The savage mountaineers still continue to migrate to these mission villages; and heathen priestesses are converted to the faith. In the Bohol mission there are now more than three thousand Christians. The island is again menaced by the Moro pirates of Mindanao; in 1600 they ravaged other islands, but did little damage in Bohol. Various citations from missionary reports show the docility and eagerness of the natives in embracing the Christian faith.

At the request of the secular priest in charge there, the district of Tanai (in Negros Island) is placed in the mission-field of the Jesuits, and Gabriel Sánchez is transferred thither from Bohol; he is welcomed by the people. His report contains accounts of numerous conversions and miraculous cures, as well as of a heavenly vision beheld by some converts. Returning to Tanai later, Sánchez finds his converts steadfast, and most exemplary in their lives.

In Ibabao (Samar), are conducted flying missions, from the central residence at Tinagon, the indefatigable missionaries coasting along the shores of that and other adjacent islands "casting their nets for souls." During the year they have baptized nearly four thousand persons, most of them adults. Six missions are formed, reports from which present many interesting accounts of the labors, methods, and achievements of the fathers.

In the Dulac mission (in Leyte), the fathers are also gaining many souls; at the Christmas feast alone, six hundred former infidels were baptized at Paloc. Various incidents are related of pious deaths, and of deliverance of those in danger.

Good progress is being made in the missions of Leyte—Alangalang, Carigara and others; nearly three thousand persons were baptized therein during the years 1600-1602. At Alangalang there are in the Jesuit church three choirs of Indians, who "surpass many Spaniards." The Christians at Ogmuc are exceedingly fervent; and the children instructed in the Jesuit school become, in their turn, teachers of their parents. The Indians of the Alangalang mission practice flagellation during Holy Week, "shedding their blood with such fervor that it became necessary to restrain them. Nor was there less fervor among the children;" and these, when too young to be allowed to scourge themselves, invent another penance of their own. In Leyte a notable disturbance among the natives, arising from the murder of a prominent chief, is quelled by the influence of the Jesuits, who reconcile the different factions and restore harmony, besides reclaiming certain outlaws.

While a ship is being built at Panámao (now Biliran), one of the fathers ministers (1602) to the workmen gathered there—Spaniards, Indians, and others. A Spanish youth is slain by a negro; this sad event disposes the minds of all to religion, and the missionary gathers a rich harvest of souls. He is almost overwhelmed with his labors, but is consoled by the deep contrition and devotion displayed by his penitents, and twice defers his departure at their entreaties and for the sake of their souls' welfare.

At the end of 1601, Father Francisco de Almerique dies at Manila, worn out with long and incessant toil in his ministry to the Indians. Chirino relates his virtues, labors, and pious death; he has rendered especial service by attracting the wild Indians of the mountains to settle in the mission villages, thus bringing them under the influence of the gospel. The Jesuit college at Manila prospers; a course in philosophy is begun, and the two religious congregations stimulate religious devotion among their members. The spells used by certain witches in that city are neutralized by the influence of an Agnus Dei.

In 1602 the Taytay and Antipolo mission grows rapidly, and more laborers are needed in that field. The devotions of Lent are, as usual, emphasized by "processions of blood," wherein the devotees scourge themselves through the streets. The mantle of Father Almerique falls upon Father Angelo Armano. The devotion of these converts is praised. The seminary for Indian boys, and the hospital, are efficient aids to the labors of the missionaries.

The mission of Silan has been recently assigned to the Jesuits; they find the people well-disposed and tractable, and soon have many, both children and adults, under instruction. In caring for these, they are greatly aided by a blind native helper, formerly a heathen priest. Letters from the fathers in charge of this mission describe their arduous labors, the faith and piety of their neophytes, and certain miracles wrought by an image of St. Ignatius. Here, too, the missionaries pursue their favorite policy of gathering the natives into reductions.

A chapter is devoted to the customs of the Filipinos in bestowing personal names. Surnames are conferred only at the time of marriage; but various appellations of relationship and endearment are given besides that chosen at a child's birth. Chirino praises the fertility, elegance, and politeness of the Tagál language. He says that formerly the natives did not adorn themselves with titles; but now "the wretched 'Don' has filled both men and women with such vanity that every one of them who has a tolerably good opinion of himself must place this title before his name; accordingly, there are even more Dons among them than among our Spaniards."

The bishop of Cebú visits the island of Bohol, accompanied by a Jesuit missionary who briefly relates something of their experiences in this journey. The bishop confirms, in the Jesuit missions, about three thousand Christians, and wins their hearts by his paternal love and benevolence. The fervor of these converts is very great, and even the little children are full of zeal to learn the Christian doctrine. The people are all well disposed toward the faith, and "the whole island would now be converted" if they had missionaries to give them instruction. There are islets adjacent to Bohol, where the people are going to hell for lack of religious aid; but the Jesuits cannot take care of them for lack of ministers. This difficulty is especially encountered in the island of Samar; a journey of Father Juan de Torres to a needy mission station is described at some length. At Catubig a flourishing mission is established (1601); the headman of that village is converted, and shows his faith by many pious works. Various instances of encounters with crocodiles, and some miraculous deliverances from danger or death, are related as occurring at Catubig. Chirino closes his narrative with an appeal for more laborers to be sent to the Philippines, as a field where so great a harvest of souls awaits them.

Permission is given (February 23, 1604) for the Augustinian Recollects to establish themselves in the Philippines. On June 3 the king sends orders to Acuña to repress the high-handed proceedings of some of the religious orders there; and on July 30 he directs the archbishop to punish those of the teaching friars who abandon their mission fields and sell or exchange church furniture.

Acuña writes to the king (July 15) about various business matters. He asks for money with which to make restitution to certain Chinese, and for royal favor to Christoval de Azqueta. Much fear of a Chinese invasion is felt in Manila. Trade with the Japanese is in good condition; but Acuña refuses to let them bring money to Manila for investment. Acuña makes various recommendations as to officials, their appointment, and the official inspection of their conduct; and asks that the royal treasury of the islands be properly inspected and regulated. In other letters of the same date, the governor urges at some length that the Audiencia at Manila should be abolished. The Spanish population is so small that the Audiencia has but little occupation; the auditors bring to the islands numerous relatives or friends, for whom they secure the offices and benefits which rightfully belong to the inhabitants; they appropriate the best of the Chinese trade and of its profits, compelling the citizens to stand aside; and they tyrannize over the latter in many ways. The auditors interfere with the affairs of the military service, and hinder the governor from performing his duties. The expense of their salaries is a heavy burden on an impoverished country, and the treasury has not enough means to meet the demands constantly made upon it. The people are discontented and clamorous, and they ought to be freed from this encumbrance. A postscript dated July 19 refers to the king a dispute between the Audiencia and archbishop regarding the seminary of Santa Potenciana.

Letters from Pedro Chirino (undated; 1604?) to the king ask for royal grants to aid the Jesuit seminary for boys at Cebú. In support of this request he cites the benefits derived from this school by natives as well as Spaniards, and the ministrations to all classes by the Jesuits in charge of it; and adduces the testimony of various witnesses, secular and ecclesiastical, to the same effect. His request is granted by the royal council. By a decree of December 31, 1604, the Spanish government regulates the trade of the American colonies with the Philippines. The substance of previous decrees is rehearsed, and Felipe orders that the trade of the islands with Nueva España be continued, although under some restrictions. The commander and other officials are to be appointed by the governor and archbishop at Manila, and chosen from citizens of the islands. The officials of the ships may not engage in trade, and the salaries of the two highest are fixed. Provision is made for more rigid inspection of vessels and their cargoes, for equitable allotment of space, and for the safety of the crews. Freight charges are to be moderated and regulated; additional duties on goods are levied, and provision is made for the care and expenditure of these, also for inspection of cargoes and money shipped at Acapulco. No person may go to the Philippines unless he shall give security for his permanent residence there.

In February, 1605, a formal complaint against the Chinese is made before the authorities at Manila by Archbishop Benavides, supported by the depositions of several witnesses. The Parián in that city, destroyed in the insurrection of 1603, has been rebuilt, and is again peopled by "infidel Sangleys." These Chinese are idolatrous, and exceedingly licentious and vicious; and in both these respects are demoralizing the Indian natives, and drawing them away from the Catholic faith. The Chinese, moreover, are inclined to revenge themselves on the Spaniards for the slaughter of their countrymen in the insurrection of 1603, and thus are a constant source of danger. He recommends that they be driven out of the city, except that they be allowed a place where they can live during the months while the ships for the Mexican trade are being unloaded and freighted; and that they be not allowed to hold intercourse with the Indians. The archbishop also denounces the Japanese (who reside not far from the Chinese quarter in Manila) as being equally vicious and dangerous. For all these reasons, he causes a secret investigation to be made of the whole matter, which he has not been able to induce the governor to do. Further testimony to the same effect is given by several witnesses. Talavera, a cura of the natives in Manila, states that he has been told that the Mindanao pirates were incited to hostilities by the Chinese; also that the archbishop had repeatedly striven, but in vain, to correct the evils arising from the proximity of the natives to these vicious foreigners. A sworn statement by Francisco de Avila (June 15) is appended, showing that Chinese were then residing in the houses of prominent citizens of Manila. A letter is written (March, 1605) by the officials of the Chinese province of Chincheo, to Governor Acuña, demanding investigation of the late Sangley revolt at Manila and redress for the killing of so many Chinese.

The leading Augustinians at Manila send to the king (May 4) a formal complaint against Fray Lorenso de León, whom they charge with arbitrary and illegal acts, and with scheming to gain power in the order, and with forcing his own election as provincial. They ask the king to induce the papal nuncio to revoke Fray de León's authority, and to send a visitor to regulate the affairs of the order in the islands. This request is supported by a brief letter from the commissary of the Inquisition (a Dominican), One of the Augustinian officials signing the above document, Joan de Tapia, writes another and personal letter to the king, giving further accounts of Fray de León's illegal acts and general unfitness for his office. Tapia also accuses him and one Fray Amorin of having appropriated to themselves various funds entrusted to their care; and says that León is investing in mercantile speculations money which must have come from the convents.

One of the auditors, Antonio de Ribera Maldonado, writes to the king (June 28); he complains of the conduct of Governor Acuña toward himself and others, and of his appointments to government positions. Maldonado also asserts that Acuña evades the laws regulating the Mexican trade, securing for himself and his friends privileges which rightfully belong to the citizens at large. He asks that he may be permitted to remain longer at Manila, instead of going to Mexico.

The Editors

March, 1904.

RELACION DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS (concluded)

By Father Pedro Chirino, S.J. Roma: printed by Estevan Paulino, in the year MDCIV.

Source: This is translated from the original printed work, for which purpose have been used the copies belonging to Harvard University and to Edward E. Ayer of Chicago.

Translation: This is made by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard University, and Emma Helen Blair.

RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS

And of What Has There Been Accomplished by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus

How Father Francisco de Vera returned to España for more fathers. Chapter XXXVII.

The men of the Society remained in the rest of those Pintados Islands, occupied as we have already seen. In various places, during those two years, there had been newly erected to the glory of Jesus Christ thirty churches; but in all this the least important thing was the material gain, for the real success was in the continual increase of the body of Christians in all those churches. In places where Ours did not reside, each church had its own representative [fiscal], who took care of it and assembled the people, at least on feast-days, to recite the prayers and chant the Christian doctrine. They did this, not only in the church, but in their houses; and even when journeying by water, or cultivating the soil, their usual recreation is to sing these exercises. In proportion at the fruit grew more abundantly, so did the need of laborers increase—until Ours, exhausted by their lack of strength to reap such copious harvests, unanimously called for the succor of new companions. But as this aid must be sent from Europe, which is so far away, and as they could not depend upon letters, it was agreed to despatch Father Francisco de Vera, as a person who had been most successful in conveying the last reënforcement, so useful and so large—which, however, was now too small for so greatly increased a harvest, and more reapers were needed. The father set out from Manila on this journey, in the month of June of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight, in the ship "Santa Margarita," which, after a prosperous voyage of four months, reached Nueva España. Soon afterward, orders arrived there from our very reverend father-general, Claudio Aquaviva, that Father Diego Garcia, who had completed his term as rector of the college of Mexico, should repair at once to the Filipinas, to visit and console, on behalf of his Paternity, Ours who were there; and should take with him a reënforcement of earnest laborers in the vineyard of the Lord, which was the same object for which Father Francisco de Vera had gone. It seemed best to the superiors that the good father should remain there and obtain his much needed rest, and not undergo at once the fresh hardships of a second voyage to the Filipinas. Besides this, they desired to retain him in Mexico, because his presence in that province was important, as it had been in the Filipinas, and, still earlier, in Madrid, and in Alcala de Henares where he had been superior. So the father-visitor departed, as we shall later see, with some companions for the Filipinas.

Further transactions in Manila up to the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight. Chapter XXXVIII.

Although in Manila we had received novices from the very beginning, and although a goodly number of acceptable men of various ranks had entered our Society there, and had proved to be zealous servants of God and very useful in our ministries, at the time of which we are speaking their number was greater. For there were seven novices—all very religious, humble, and devout—also three brethren of long standing, and six priests; all were busy, each according to his degree and vocation. The number of those who attended Lenten services and the regular sermons continued to grow with the increase of the Spaniards in Manila, and our Lord was pleased to give our fathers the immediate reward for their labors, so that they might be thus encouraged to toil with even greater ardor. Besides the large number of ordinary confessions, many general confessions were made of great importance, and by persons who for many years had not confessed—at least, not as they should. In a single year one father heard forty general confessions; another, fifty; and another, two hundred. There were also many persons who desired, some to amend their lives, others to attain a higher degree of virtue, and who made retreat at home, in order to perform the exercises—especially persons serious and of high standing, such as the schoolmaster of Manila, the commander of the fleet, and other captains and men of reputation. During Lent and Advent sermons were preached on Sunday afternoons to the soldiers in the guard-room; and these were attended by many people of the city, as well as by the governor and some of the auditors of the royal Audiencia. Before commencing the sermon the children were, as usual, instructed in the Christian doctrine, with questions and their answers. After the sermon was concluded, the soldiers were invited to make their confessions, which they did with alacrity. After that a kind of usury was abolished, which the soldiers, without considering it as such, were inadvertently practicing in their eagerness for gain. This was to sell certain things for a higher price, on condition that the purchaser should make his payments from what he might gain at play. This they called "putting into one's hands" [dar a las manos]. During Lent, the discipline was practiced three days in each week, with so extraordinary a concourse of people that besides the Indians, who came in large numbers, there were more than five hundred Spaniards of all ranks and conditions—ecclesiastics and laymen, merchants, captains, soldiers, and men of other callings. Various friendships were made in this way, especially between ecclesiastics and laymen, which were of great service to our Lord.

Many needs of poor people were remedied, especially of those in the prison; and efforts were made to alleviate the hunger and thirst that they were suffering, and compassionately to settle their difficulties, so far as we had means and opportunity.

Efforts were also made to shelter in the seminary for girls some women who, on account of the absence of their husbands, were in danger. Arrangements were also made with the governor, Don Francisco Tello, to secure the marriage of certain other women, in which matter he lent assistance not only with his authority but with his money. Upon one occasion he charitably bestowed a dowry of six hundred pesos upon a woman of noble parentage who, for various reasons, had gone from Madrid to sojourn in that country. The brethren of La Santa Misericordia of Manila also lend assistance in these matters with great solicitude and charity, conformably to their profession and the aims of the Confraternity. The members are among the most noble and distinguished people in that community, and are most useful therein, to the great glory and service of God our Lord.

Our fathers devote themselves at all hours to consoling and confessing the sick and afflicted, for these always have us summoned, even though far away. In this connection I shall relate a special instance. A sick man, having abandoned hope of life (for the physician had declared him past recovery), seeing that human remedies were of no avail, had recourse to the divine; and he sought aid from the mother of God, to whom he made a vow to betake himself for nine days to her chapel called Ermita de Guia, which, as I have said, lies without the city walls. Having made the vow, he arose at once, just as he was, to fulfil it. A marvel of God! as the days went by, his health continually improved; and at the end of the nine days, he was entirely well. This meant health of body, but the two days following his recovery brought him life for both body and soul.

An honorable woman lived in great suffering through the cruel treatment to which her husband subjected her; and she determined to free herself from this pain and anguish by putting an end to her life, which was passing in such bitterness. For this purpose, she placed a noose around her neck, the demon aiding her, and hanged herself. The noise which she made while in the pains of death was heard by one of her neighbors, who hastened to her, and, encountering this horrible sight, promptly cut the rope. The woman, when she came to herself, repented of her wicked act, and had recourse to one of Ours for counsel; and, through the mercy of the Lord, she now lives in peace and contentment. Another married woman, likewise disheartened by the abuse and bad temper of her husband, resolved to leap into the sea and drown herself. Collecting some of her goods, with tears and great sorrow she bade her daughter farewell, and set out to accomplish at once her desperate purpose. When she was on the point of throwing herself into the water, the Lord, having compassion on her wretched lot, sent to her a voice which caused her to hesitate, and to realize what she was doing. "What art thou doing, woman? Trust in God, for thy husband shall treat thee well." With this she was affrighted; but, as a proof that this deliverance had come from Heaven, her husband came soon afterward, and began to caress her and to show her much kindness. Then she grew calm, recognizing the great mercy which the Lord had showed her.

In this same year our students gave evidence of their intelligence and application, on the occasion of the safe arrival at Manila of the most reverend archbishop and suffragans, whom they entertained in their schools with two ingenious dialogues, and other proofs of erudition. In that season arrived also some of the gentlemen of the royal Audiencia who were visiting our schools for the purpose of showing them favor and honor. They greatly enjoyed a third literary exercise which had been prepared for them and were thus encouraged to carry out their intention of placing their sons in these schools, as they did. In time, these studies began to bear fruit, and some of our students even entered the religious life.

The leading events at this time among the Indians in Manila. Chapter
XXXIX.

The ministries to the Indians are those which are exercised with the greatest satisfaction in our college, for which occupation we had in that year three fathers who had gained a mastery of their language. If there had been many more, each one would have had something to occupy him, on account of the great number of the Indians, not only within the city, but beyond the walls, in many villages which are in the vicinity of Manila, and whose inhabitants attend our church. In that year our Lord was pleased to favor this ministry with new tokens of His favor; for although in former years the conditions were such as are described above, in this year [1598] the attendance in our church for sermons and confessions was extraordinary—indeed, there was one father who heard more than three hundred general confessions. This was due partly to the increase in the number of fathers who knew the language; and partly to the cessation of the sermons which were formerly preached by other religious orders, through the press of other labors with which they ever busy themselves most zealously in the service of God. By these holy means we set aright many important affairs which concerned enmities and sinful lives. As an instance of this, certain legal proceedings were instituted for the separation of a married pair; these had made considerable progress, but were abandoned, and the husband and wife were reconciled, and again lived together in peace. Efforts were also made to break up illicit relations, and separate those who lived therein; and the result was that, through the mercy of God, those persons have not relapsed into evil ways. Although among these were some cases of special interest, I will confine myself to other matters which occur to me, which are cleaner and more agreeable. The first concerns an infidel Indian woman whose conversion was a difficult matter, on account of her marriage with a Chinese or Sangley who was also an infidel; for her husband kept her, as is the custom among the Chinese, under close confinement and guard. One of our fathers was desirous to gain this woman for Christ; and, finding no other means, placed some Christian Indians where she could hear them talk about the things of God and the life eternal. The woman was so impressed by what she heard that, fleeing from her husband and abandoning her home and child, she came to our house and asked to be instructed for baptism; her request was granted, and by this means the husband was also converted. His conversion is a valuable one, since it is very difficult to incline the people of his nation toward the truths of our holy faith.

Some Indian women, during a pest of locusts, erected in their sowed field a cross containing some relics; and our Lord was pleased to honor the emblem of His death, as well as the faith of these, His new faithful ones, for the locusts passed on without causing them any loss. The owner of the land gave, in gratitude, all its harvest as alms—which he was able to do, as he possessed some wealth.

Although these incidents, and many others which are not here related, show that our Lord is desirous of drawing these peoples to Himself by the bonds of Adam, namely, by love and mercy, He also chooses to show them that He is a God of justice. This He made evident in the dreadful fate of a man and wife who swore to be faithful to each other during his absence, and, supplemented their oaths with terrible curses which are in use among them. Yet the woman, overcome by the devil, was false to her compact and promise of fidelity; and while the unhappy adulterers were thus sinfully engaged, both were struck dead, and were found thus by persons who told it to the father. By his orders the matter was suppressed, as much as was possible in so frightful an event.

Of the villages of Antipolo and San Juan del Monte. Chapter XXXX.

So great was the increase of that mission throughout those two years [1597-98], by the continual arrival of people who came to us, as we have already stated, from those mountains and deserts, that besides two entire villages which were established near Antipolo, at a distance convenient for the instruction of the people, more than a hundred persons came down from the mountains with some children, who were at once baptized. Among these were three ministers of their idols, who, upon arriving at Antipolo, went to Father Almerique, and, making avowal of the evil employment which they had up to that time practiced, renounced it before him and many others who were then present. They promised never again to resume it, and asked that this declaration be given them in writing, as a proof of their conversion, and that no one in times to come might attribute to them guilt for what they had done in the mountains when they had no knowledge of the true God.

In each of these two villages there was formed a confraternity, which, besides other works of piety and devotion, practices two that act as a preservative against the two great evils of idolatry and intoxication—which, as we have already stated, were customary in cases of sickness or death—since in this confraternity are the people who are most prominent, most Christian, and most trustworthy in those villages. Moreover, they take the utmost care to ascertain who in the village may be sick or dying; and they aid the families of both the sick and the dead by frequent visits—in such cases not only exercising perfect piety and charity, but preventing the abuses, superstitions, idolatries, intoxications, dirges, music, and wailing which had been their own custom when they were pagans, as now among these others. These confraternities have rendered Christianity in those regions most glorious, and for their good deeds are so highly esteemed that he is not considered a person of worth who is not received into one of them. On two special occasions they made processions, in excellent order, and with great solemnity and concourse of the people, and attended mass and preaching; and very many frequented the communion. One of these was at the foundation of a confraternity; the other was occasioned by a plague of locusts which had been devastating all those islands for two years. In order to obtain from God a remedy for this evil, they chose the most holy Virgin Mary as their intercessor, and made a vow to celebrate the feast of her most pure conception, and to give on that occasion liberal alms as aid for the marriages of the poor and the orphans. They fulfilled their promises, and our Lord received their humble tokens of service and showed them that He was well pleased, by turning aside the locusts from their crops, and giving them that year very abundant harvests. All the people of the village have now directed to the church that recourse and dependence which they formerly exercised toward the ministers of the devil; and, consequently, when they experience any ill, however trifling it maybe, they summon the father to hear their confessions, or to have the gospel recited to them. Hardly a day passes, while their sickness lasts, when they do not cause themselves to be conveyed to the church, at the time of mass; and when that is ended they approach the priest, to have him recite the gospel and sprinkle them with holy water. Sometimes there are so many of them that, when the priest has done this for them, he is compelled to wait until they go away before he can leave the altar. They also carry first to the church whatever grain or seeds they are about to sow, to have these blessed, in return for which they offer the priest the first-fruits of their harvests.

The leading events in the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus. Chapter
XXXXI.

As a result of the favors bestowed upon the six resident members of the Society by the right reverend bishop of Sebu, Don Fray Pedro de Agurto, a religious of the Order of St. Augustine (who entered this year into his church and erected it into a cathedral), the fruits of our ministries were at this time most abundant and prosperous. As I have already stated, these were exercised among the various nationalities who inhabit that city, or who resort thither from various regions for their business and traffic. Likewise, at the instance of his lordship, a school of Latin was opened in our college for his servants and clergy, who were joined by the sons of some of the citizens. This school was not only a common and general benefit, but also very useful as a retreat and aid for those who in the school for children were already advanced in reading, writing, and reckoning. Although many of the boys remained in the lower school as pupils, a considerable number of students began the study of grammar with the new master, Father Francisco Vicente Puche, who as an initiation to the studies, and as a welcome to the bishop, gave with his students a two-hours' dramatic representation in the cathedral, in honor of his Lordship, which proved most agreeable, learned, dignified, and devout, and gave extraordinary pleasure to all the citizens, who had never before seen such a thing in their city.

There were two Indian peoples among whom we were especially laboring at that time: one the Bissayans, who are the natives of that country, to whom we preached, on Sundays and feast-days, throughout the year, in their own language; the other the Chinese—many of whom, coming from their own land into this (and many do come in the merchant-vessels), remain here. They have established in this city, near our house, a quarter of their own, which at that time was in charge of the Society; and our fathers administered the sacraments to them and their families, including their women and servants—Chinese, Japanese, Malucos, and Bissayans. They repaired with great frequency to confession and communion, especially on days in jubilees and in Lent; and we always had catechumens among the infidel Chinese, whom we baptized only at the notable feasts, and with great solemnity—excepting on occasions when that sacrament was bestowed on persons at the point of death. The first confirmations which the lord bishop celebrated outside of his cathedral were in our church, where he most devoutly bestowed this holy sacrament upon our Chinese and their families. On Easter of this last year, he celebrated in the same church, as an encouragement and a favor, the solemn baptism of the catechumens, of whom there were a large number; and he was greatly delighted and edified to behold one of our fathers, his assistant on that occasion, conversing in the Chinese language.

The fruitful results of these ministries were displayed in many instances, more especially in regard to purity and constancy. I shall mention one case only, wherein it seemed to us extraordinary constancy which could inspire with courage for such resistance an Indian woman whose former occupation, while she was a heathen, was so contrary to such conduct, as we have related. It happened in this way. One of those women was solicited by a wicked man whom she bravely repulsed. But he finally began cautiously to offer her money, urging her to receive it, and assuring her that he made no claim upon her thus. Not less valorously than before did she reject his offering, saying that she desired no money which, when she must appear before God; would cry out against her, and be an accuser and witness against her; and she reminded him that this money, with which he was striving to wage such war against her, could serve only for her condemnation and chastisement. In proportion to her resistance, so did the furious passion of this wicked man increase, who gave himself no repose in devising projects for her downfall. Attempting to accomplish this, on a certain occasion when she was alone, she uttered loud cries, at which someone came to her aid and delivered her from his violence. With that his love turned to hatred, and his cajolery to threats, which he carried out by accusing her to her masters, with false testimony. She went from their house, in great affliction and distress, but ever repeating, with much patience: "God sees it all." Still further to exercise her virtue, God permitted that even her master, who was a person of high rank, instigated by the devil, should solicit her with great importunity. She answered him by saying that she would, under no persuasion, commit such a sin, and that he should consider that he would greatly disgrace himself, as a man of so high position, by seeking relations with her, a woman of lowly state. She added that, besides this, she kept before her the thought of God, in whose presence she dared not commit any vile act, or consent to it in her heart, knowing that God sees all things; and, moreover, she had consideration for her mistress, who treated her as her own daughter, and against whom she could in no wise commit such treachery. The man, irritated by this resistance, threatened her with harsh treatment; but she replied that even if he were to kill her, it was enough for her that God saw all that she was suffering to avoid sin. The evil man, notwithstanding, carried out his threat, annoying her and treating her with great harshness; yet this only increased the strength and virtue of this innocent and chaste woman. Another Indian woman, left a widow, was so devoted to the preservation of her chastity that, without the advice of anyone, she made to God a vow of chastity, and most strictly kept it. There are many other women who, though they make no vow, preserve intact their chastity and virginity. Nor are the men behind the women in the fervor and contrition wherewith they make their confessions, and the rigor with which they scourge themselves and do penance. One of those Indian women made her confession with so abundant tears and signs of true contrition, that the father who confessed her was greatly aroused and moved thereat, and afterward related that the feelings of devotion caused by those so fervent tears and true contrition remained with him for many days; and that when he wished to humiliate himself or enliven his piety he had only to remember what he had beheld in that Indian woman. For it is vastly different to but talk of contrition for sins, and to contemplate its vivid image and reality in a soul. Another woman came to the confessional and, without noticing the multitude of people in the church, began her confession, and continued it with so many tears and such grief for her sins that she could with difficulty speak. She was thereupon seized with a great longing to do penance, and desired to go at once through the streets of the city, publicly scourging herself, as many do here [in Europe] throughout Lent, in the early part of the night. A young man in the confessional experienced such horror at his sins that, incensed against himself, and without informing the father, he scourged himself through the streets with such severity that he fell down as one dead, and was considered as such. He came later to our house to confess his offenses, and was as disfigured as if he were recovering from a severe illness; but, not content with the former scourging, he desired to inflict on himself another—for, as he said, his heart was transfixed, as by a nail, with grief for his sins. The father, however, commanded him to cease for the present, and he obeyed. There were many other special instances which, for the sake of brevity, I here omit. Not the least affecting among them were those where there was manifested the eternal predestination which has mercifully provided for many at the hour of death the resource of baptism.

Our ministries in behalf of the Spaniards were no less fervent at this time. They repaired in great numbers to our fathers, especially during Lent and on days of jubilee, when the results of their instruction were most apparent. There were, very commonly, consultations in cases of conscience, not only with laymen, but with ecclesiastics, and religious, and even with the bishop—who hardly took any step without the advice of our fathers, although he was a most learned and discreet prelate. It must have been from seeing that persons of so high standing held our Society in so great esteem that the people conceived the idea, and made the resolve, of coming to our house for their confessions; and for that very reason they felt under obligation to lead better lives. With regard to this, one man said that during our absence he had endured many inward struggles on account of not having made his confession to Ours; but that, after he had done so, he had, through the mercy of God, overcome them all. In short, no matter of weight or importance arose where the advice of the Society was not sought with confidence and truth, especially when it was seen that the bishop had such confidence in us—which his Lordship manifested on many public occasions and before many people, by words and deeds which could not then be heard or now repeated, without confusion and embarrassment.

Our sermons in the cathedral and in our own church were regular and frequent, and were all attended by the right reverend bishop, who also honored our church with a pontifical mass for our feast of New Year's day, which was celebrated with much solemnity, many persons, from all classes of people, repairing to confession and communion. His Lordship also preached at the titular feast of the same church (that of the glorious St. Ildefonso), which was celebrated with the like attendance and devotion, in the presence of a concourse of people, and with many communions. His Lordship was also desirous of introducing, in imitation of Manila, the practice of scourging in the church during Lent; and he actually visited it, on the first Friday, with a considerable following. He began by preaching a very devout sermon, at the conclusion of which, seeing that, although night had set in, the church was still light with the rays of a full moon, he determined to leave it for the time, and accordingly returned after his choir had sung the Miserere.

On account of the heat in this region, the churches are so constructed as to be open and airy, and for this reason are poorly adapted for taking the discipline. Accordingly he changed his plan and, inviting the children of the school, and the students, with these and many others of the town, he arranged for every Friday of that Lent a procession of blood, in which the bishop himself marched barefoot. This procession left the cathedral in the evening, and proceeded to the other church (of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady), some distance away. In the meantime the rest were flagellating themselves, even to the extent of drawing blood; and while the choir was singing the Miserere, the holy bishop scourged himself alone in the sacristy.

How the Christian religion extended in the island of Bohol. Chapter
XXXXII.

Through the solicitude and fervor of the two fathers who were in Bohol, who soon received the help of a brother, that new Christian church was notably increased, especially among the old people, from sixty to eighty years of age. These—the world no longer for them, or they for the world, but for Him who died for them—He did not disdain to receive into His church when their sun was setting, although they had not begun so early to follow and obey Him as He had to seek and invite them; many of them died shortly after they were baptized, having left many tokens and proofs of their salvation and the sincerity of their faith. All of them—little children and grown men, youths and aged people, the well and the sick—all convinced and persuaded by the truths of Catholicism, are certain that no other road leads to heaven; and so, without resistance or objection, they prepared themselves for holy baptism—although the fathers with praiseworthy prudence, restrained them by conferring the sacrament on those only who were well prepared, or really in need of it. Many who received the holy sacraments were cured of their maladies, and, consequently, the earnestness and devotion with which they sought and received them were intense. Even when they are in health, it is indeed marvelous to see the satisfaction and willingness with which they repair to all virtuous exercises, especially to confessions and masses. There was no scent or trace of vice or idolatry, or witchcraft, or of other evil customs practiced by them while they were pagans; and if, in confession or elsewhere, mention were made to them of these things, they became deeply offended, saying: "Since we are now Christians, how could we do such things again?" Especially notable is the fidelity maintained by married people, which they observe not only in outward act, but in their hearts.

I cannot mention without sorrow the many souls, in this and neighboring islands, who clamor for deliverance and have no one to give it to them. During this same year some chiefs came from one of the adjacent islands who asked, almost in tears, that one of the two fathers who were there would, for the love of God visit them at least once a week. In another island, called Siquihor, or the island of fire, distant from Bohol some four leguas, there are many so well inclined to the faith that, upon receiving the Christian doctrine of one who went from that region to their island, they learned it very carefully, and the chiefs even came with the others to ask for baptism. They were all, however, appeased with the good prospects that were held out to them, although these did not suffice to console them in their sorrow at returning still hungry for the bread of heaven; or Ours at seeing them with such righteous hunger for it, yet unable to procure it, and with no one who might give them a share of it with the many who in other regions have more than enough.

The increase of Christianity in Botuan. Chapter XXXXIII.

What the other two fathers accomplished in Botuan I shall relate in their own words; for, if I am not mistaken, he who has the task in his own hands can well declare it. Father Valerio de Ledesma in one of his letters writes thus: "Christianity here is in a flourishing condition, as is seen in the large attendance at divine services and in the silence and reverence displayed in the church (for even when it is crowded with many people it seems as if not one were there), and in the affection of the people for the sacrament of confession. In even their petty troubles, many repair to the confessional; and some have already begun to receive communion, concerning which sermons have been repeatedly preached. I trust in our Lord that many will be ready by Corpus Christi; although in the beginning it is best to proceed very gradually that they may reverence the sacrament and know how to distinguish this divine food. The people attend the services more than ever, and on Sundays a very large audience listens to the word of God. The doctrine is sung at night, and the heavens themselves seem to rejoice at music so sweet. In all the families there are many persons well-disposed to the Christian faith; and soon a large number of adults will be baptized; among them some chiefs of high standing, although the largest fish of all is not yet caught. If it were not for the difficulty of learning the doctrine, it seems to me now that almost the whole village would come to us." Thus writes the father. This "largest fish" whom he mentions is that great Silongan of whom we spoke. Although he divorced five of his wives, one of them holds him so in captivity that finally he is keeping both of them [i.e., this one and his lawful wife]. Although every possible means of a gentle sort has been used to free him from this impediment, nothing could be done; and yet he showed a great desire to become a Christian, and the utmost esteem for the things of God, as well as extraordinary affection toward our fathers—which he manifested by giving his son to their care, and on two occasions of special importance. One of these was when the inhabitants, in fear of their enemies, the Ternatans, who were scouring their coasts, received the news that there were some ships at the mouth of the river, which, although they belonged to friends, were not recognized as such; the inhabitants, fearing that these might be enemies, accordingly armed themselves at once. It was then that this chief, with all the men of his district, all armed with lances and shields, crossed to the other side of the river, where our house stood; and there, upon learning the deception and recognizing the friends, Silongan in front of our house performed some feats of activity to show his valor and strength, and said that it was he, Silongan, who protected and defended the fathers and who, in trying circumstances, showed what should be done in their behalf. The other occasion was when one of our fathers, while going up the river, happened to encounter another chief who, on account of a murder, was plundering that district with many others who defended and guarded him. The father, dreading this man, sought the protection of Silongan, who happened to be in the same locality. The latter, with his numerous slaves, surrounded the church where the father was, guarding it with great vigilance; and, when he returned, took, in his own boat the box of church ornaments and brought them all back in safety.

The departure of Father Tomas de Montoya for the doctrina of
Alangalang. Chapter XXXXIV.

To take charge of this Christian community (which, as we have said, was bereft by the death of Father Cosme de Flores), Father Tomas de Montoya left Manila, abandoning the instruction which, to their great profit, he was imparting to the students. He himself tells what he accomplished there, and I shall state it in his own words: "As a result of the good music that we have in the church, the divine services are celebrated with much solemnity, and to the great satisfaction of the natives. Many solemn baptisms and marriages have been celebrated which were attended with great fervor, especially by the inhabitants of one village, who in this respect have had the advantage of the others. One of the women of this village received the sacrament with such devotion and joy that a few days after her baptism she made her confession, and persuaded her husband to become a Christian; and she was one of those who practiced the exercises of the Christians with most pleasure. An old man, already so exhausted by age that he could hardly stand upon his feet, came one day with the others to the church, and upon being enjoined to become a Christian, that he might give to God the little of life that remained to him, told them to leave him in peace, for he was no longer fit for anything except death. Seeing that for the time being nothing impressed him, I left him; and afterward caused him to come to my house, where I represented to him the benefits which he would gain in heaven by becoming a Christian. This had such an effect that our Lord moved his heart; and, unable to repress his satisfaction, with much gladness he urgently sought immediate baptism. I told him to go away and to reflect upon the matter for a time, for an affair of such moment could not be hastily settled. He again answered that it should not be delayed, as he desired baptism immediately; but, at last, the ceremony was deferred. While being instructed he made the most joyful answers, and afterwards received holy baptism with the same tokens of pleasure. During the remaining short period of his life his happiness was such that he imparted it to everyone who spoke to him. The great goodness and mercy of God were seen in the case of a new born babe whose pagan mother—an inhabitant of another village, far distant—gave birth to it in a village of this mission. To escape the burden and labor which she must sustain in rearing it, she took it in her arms and, descending to the bank of a river, was about to bury it alive. A Christian chanced to see her and hastened to inform us. Upon reaching the spot I found the child, so small that it was a cause for astonishment. I baptized it, and it soon passed away to the eternal rest of which the imprudent mother (worse than a step-mother) had recklessly tried to deprive it. But as God our Lord showed to these the gentleness of His great mercy, so on others did He execute the rigor of His justice, chastising them for their obstinacy and hardness; and others He terrified, so that some day they might enjoy His mercy. One of Ours had asked a certain man to receive baptism, following the advice of his father, who was an Indian of high standing and governor of the village. He made excuses, saying that he did not wish to receive the sacrament until he had been married. But God our Lord did not allow him to fulfil this desire, on account of which he deferred holy baptism until he paid for the delay by an untimely death. Besides dying as he did, in his heathenism, and very hastily, the character of his death was violent and horrible; for he was carried away by a poison which caused the flesh to fall from his body in pieces. Another man was continually ill, and, fearing that any day he might die, he asked me to baptize him. Upon summoning him one day for instruction, he failed to appear, having abandoned his purpose. Soon afterward he embarked for a neighboring island, where he died in his paganism. One day, the children of a village came together to be baptized, but one of the pagans refused to allow her child to receive the sacrament; neither entreaties nor arguments availing to soften her. Accordingly, we had to give her up—our Lord taking charge of this obdurate one, as He did, suddenly deprived her one night of life."

But the event which caused among these Indians the greatest surprise and terror, was the death of two of their most esteemed and respected chiefs. The first was an Indian who in former days had married six wives. He was so arrogant and cruel that whenever he made a journey he sent Indians ahead of him to cut the branches of the trees, in order that he might pass without bending his body; and if any of his followers neglected to clear away a branch he paid for his carelessness with his life. This chief became sick, and a father entreated him with much earnestness to receive baptism. This he refused, and, having no fear of death, said: "Father, as yet I have sufficient strength in my eyes to see, in my hands to work, and in my feet to walk. Leave me for the present, for, since thou art near by, I will send one of my slaves for thee if I find that I am in distress." The father left him, seeing that he would do nothing for us; and within two days was told that this man was dead, having gone where he must expiate his obstinacy as well as his pride and cruelty.

For the better understanding of the second case, we must assume that one of the ways in which God has been best served in that mission is in persuading the Indians who have two or three wives to abandon them and to content themselves with one. The means used to accomplish this end was to condemn polygamy, to the assembled natives, as a state unworthy of the nobility of man, saying that they ought not to make themselves beasts and brutes by having so many wives. Our Lord granted a fortunate outcome to this effort, for the men were thus persuaded to give up their wives. The Indians were so impressed by this teaching that once when a swarm of locusts lit in the grain-fields of a certain village, they accounted for it by saying that God had sent this pest on the people of that village, because the men were wont to keep two wives. There was an Indian chief of high rank in the island of Leite, by the name of Umbas, one of the most prominent among the chiefs on account of his riches and the good government which he maintained in the villages under his rule, and the thoroughness with which he fulfilled all his responsibilities; he was esteemed by not only the Indians but the Spaniards. All eyes were turned to him, and consequently, had he but become a Christian, large numbers of people would have followed his example, for he was regarded by the rest, even in distant parts, as a pattern to follow. This Indian had two wives, and being frequently urged, with many entreaties and arguments, to abandon one of them, so great was his love for his sons that he could not make up his mind to divorce one of the women, preferring not to be separated from their children. He was urged in the church, before all the people of the village, to divorce one of his wives; but he only answered that he had already been told this. Many of our fathers, as well as his encomendero, therefore besought him with great earnestness to be baptized, but all in vain. But finally, seeing that all the rest (and especially one of his sons, also much esteemed and beloved) were abandoning their wives, he said that he would do the same after he had harvested his rice, for which the time had arrived—alleging as a reason that since he and they had toiled together in the sowing, they should together enjoy the harvest; and when that had been done, he would remain with but one wife. But the Lord, who already had just cause against him, by His lofty judgments prevented him from carrying out this intention; for, very soon afterward, when he suspected no misfortune, he was stabbed by an Indian whom he tried to seize. No second blow was needed, for he fell to the ground dead, thus ending his disobedience and obduracy.

Of the fervor of the Christians of Ogmuc. Chapter XXXXV.

Our fathers in the residence at Ogmuc, having proceeded with due prudence and caution, had up to this time baptized only eighty-eight adults. There was, however, a goodly number of catechumens, who were very earnest in seeking baptism. Those who are baptized seem to have known for many years the things of our holy faith, to judge by their knowledge of its mysteries, especially those concerning Christ our Lord and His most holy mother. They highly esteem the confessional, and when they become sick they clamor at once for the father, and find relief in making their confession. A sick man said that day and night he thought of the father, who was absent, and desired him for confession, adding that what most aggravated his sickness was to know that he did not have the father at hand for that purpose. His relatives, desirous of taking him to another place, had no success, nor could they persuade him to go; for he maintained that they were about to take him where he must die without confession, and where there was no church in which he could be buried after death. As soon as he learned that the father had arrived, he went, although very ill, to make his confession, weeping for gladness, and never ceasing to render thanks to the Lord that he had permitted the father to arrive at such a time; and he declared that he could die consoled, now that he had made his confession. During Holy Week there was a great concourse of people who devoutly attended the divine services, keeping the receptacle of the most holy sacrament handsomely adorned. On Holy Thursday, in the afternoon, after the sermon a very devout procession was formed, by which the people were more thoroughly instructed in the faith, and taught what Christ our Lord had done for our salvation. The most pleasing and touching sight was to see all the children disciplining themselves with scourges which they themselves had made for that day. At Easter some Spaniards chanced to be here, who augmented the solemnity of the occasion with salvos from their arquebuses. Peace was restored between many married people who had been living in discord; and some abuses were corrected, especially two very baneful practices anciently common among them, namely, usury in loans, and enslavement through tyranny. In order that my readers may better understand and recognize the power of God, who has unrooted these evils, it has seemed to me best to describe them in greater detail.

Of usury and slavery among the Filipinos. Chapter XXXXVI.

Among other vicious practices common to these nations and proceeding from that fountain and abyss of evil, idolatry, one was that insatiable cupidity mentioned by the evangelist St. John as one of the three which tyrannize over the world. [1] This caused them, forgetful of that natural compassion which we owe to one another, never to lend succor in cases of need without assurance of profit. Consequently, whenever they made loans (not of money, which they did not use or possess, but of other things, most commonly rice, bells, and gold—this last more than all else, for when weighed it took the place of money, for which purpose every one carried in his pouch a balance), they must always agree upon the profit which should be paid them in addition to the sum that they were to lend. But the evil did not stop here, for the profit or gain itself went on increasing with the delay in making payment—until finally, in the course of time, it exceeded all the possessions of the debtor. The debt was then charged to his person, which the poor wretch gave, thus becoming a slave; and from that time forth all his descendants were also slaves. There was another form of this usury and slavery, by which the debtor or his son must remain from that time a slave, until the debt, with all the usury and interest which were customary among them, was repaid. As a result of this, all the descendants of him who was ether a debtor or security for the debt, remained slaves. Slaves were also made through tyranny and cruelty, by way of revenge and punishment for offenses of small account, which were made to appear matters of injury. Examples of these are: failure to preserve silence for the dead (which we have already mentioned), or happening to pass in front of a chief who was bathing (alluded to in the fable of Actæon), and other similar oppressions. They also captured slaves in war by means of ambuscades and attacks, keeping as such all those whom they did not wish to kill. Since these cruelties were so usual among them, and, on the other hand, the poor are commonly oppressed by the powerful, it was easy to increase the number of slaves. Consequently they used to have, and still do have, a very large number of slaves, which among them is the greatest of riches. This has been no small hindrance to their conversion, and has fettered the hands of many ministers of the gospel, and subjected them to great doubts and perplexities. But since, on the one hand, pious individuals have, although with difficulty, paid ransoms; and, on the other, the royal magistrates have ascertained the facts and provided redress for those thus tyrannically treated who seek their liberty; and, moreover, since God our Lord has influenced many in their baptisms and confessions, an enormous number of ransoms have been given. Usury also quickly diminished, the creditors being satisfied with the original interest, without expecting a continual increase. But now, through the grace of our Lord, all that custom has been abolished, and the natives now proceed with mercy and Christian charity, not only in Ogmuc and throughout the island of Leite, but in all the other islands where there is knowledge of Jesus Christ.

What the Christians accomplished in Carigara. Chapter XXXXVII.

From the very beginning, the people of this mission showed their fervor; consequently, the Christians continued to increase in numbers, although, as I have said, our fathers were very cautious in granting holy baptism. All those Christians have frequent recourse to the confessional, prizing it highly and greatly benefiting their own souls. Those who are not Christians are all catechumens; and there is not one of them who does not desire holy baptism. There was formed in this church, and completed this year, a very delightful musical choir, composed of the children themselves, who are very clever in this exercise; and thus the divine services are celebrated with solemnity.

Of the remarkable increase in the mission of Paloc. Chapter XXXXVIII.

This village is one of the finest and best regulated in all the island, thanks to the labors of one of our fathers, who helped the natives to construct good houses. The Christian doctrine is taught every day to the children in all the villages; and so many of them attend this exercise that it is necessary to appoint four chanters in order that they may be heard. Every day the people attend mass, after they have had their lessons in the doctrine. One day of the week is set apart when all the Christians come together to learn the doctrine and catechism; and, even without the presence of the father, they all assemble in every village. Great benefit has been derived from this practice, for thus those who know the doctrine do not forget it, and those who do not know it may learn it. Every night an Indian goes forth with a little bell, warning all to prepare for death and to repent for their sins, and enjoining the Christians to pray to God in behalf of those who are not, that they may know God. While he is uttering this message, perfect silence reigns, for they call this "the warning of God;" and, in truth, it has been so effective that there is not an Indian who does not reflect on death and desire baptism. Before Lent some sermons were preached to them on confession, and they were taught that they must not conceal their sins; to enforce this, a very appropriate instance was cited, which had such an effect upon them that many persons, though they had left the church very late that night, returned the next morning to make another confession.

Although idolatry was formerly very common among these pagans, who practiced it on every trivial occasion, our Lord has been pleased so to diminish it that hardly anything is now known of it. Two children, whose mother was sick, took three fowls for the purpose of making a sacrifice to the demon. While on the way to the house of the priestess (who in that country is usually old, and belongs to a mean class), one of the children said to the other: "Whither are we going, and what are we doing—we who are Christians and know that God sees us? Let us give up this purpose." With this they abandoned their projected sacrifice, and returning to their home, set the fowls at liberty. The practice of disciplining on Fridays was begun, and was taken up by all the children and the adults of the village. On the first night when they assembled for this purpose, the father made known to them the spirit in which it should be done, and so profoundly impressed them that they soon named Friday (which is the usual day for the discipline) "the day of atonement for sins."

Some notable incidents in Dulac. Chapter XXXXIX.

In this residence, from the month of June in the year ninety-eight to January in the year ninety-nine, there were solemnly baptized more than one hundred catechumens who greatly desired the sacrament and prepared themselves very carefully for holy baptism. This did not include the sick, who through the mercy of God had been but few that year; but among these sick persons, both children and adults, was experienced the virtue of this holy sacrament for bodily health. Some persons who were covered with leprosy and their recovery despaired of, were restored by baptism to so good health that, although borne down by years, they were able to till the soil and sow their fields. I wish to relate the faith of a pagan woman whose husband, also a pagan, lay sick. Believing his condition to be dangerous, she persuaded him to accept baptism. For this purpose she sent for the father, and, when the latter asked the sick man if he desired baptism or instruction, she helped him to make his answers. The father, observing her to be so capable and so desirous of the welfare of her husband, inquired if she also wished to become a Christian. She answered affirmatively, saying that she had heard in the church that only the good Christians went to heaven, and that those who were not Christians must burn in hell; and that for the sake of retaining her husband's affection she was not willing to die an infidel, and come to so bad an end. Finally, when it seemed that the sick man was well prepared, and his sickness was becoming dangerous, he was baptized, and then our Lord was pleased to give him health—whereat the good woman was more than ever anxious to receive baptism for herself. After they were both baptized, they received the nuptial benediction, as do all the other married people who are baptized, renewing their marriage according to Christian usage. I will also mention the death of a child, which was no less remarkable than the recovery of the other. The father was passing through a village late in the day, on his way to another settlement. He was hastening his steps, for the sun was setting and there still remained a considerable strip of road before he could reach his destination. But at the very entrance of the village a Christian came out and called to him, entreating him to go and baptize a child, the son of infidel parents, who was very sick. The father went to the house and baptized the child; and, having offered a prayer for it, went away. No sooner had he gone, than our Lord called the child to Himself; and it seemed as if the little one was only waiting baptism in order to enter heaven immediately.

The method of preaching which our Fathers employed in Tinagon, and the results thereby obtained. Chapter L.

What was accomplished at that time in Tinagon is well related by Father Francisco de Otaço in the following special account which he gave of his labors there: "It is wonderful to see how these people have all at once and generally abandoned their sins. For the greater glory of the Lord, there has not been known, nor have I heard of, throughout this year, a single act of idolatry, and these formerly were so common. Concubinage has been rare, and their drinking feasts so moderate that they do not deserve such a name. The knowledge of the things of our Lord is ever increasing, as well as the pleasure of the people in them; and our fathers are steadily gaining their love and gratitude. A father once told them that for a certain feast it was their share to adorn the church; immediately they set themselves to the task, and the one who began it was a pagan, who did his share of the work. Our method of preaching to these people is not so much by means of arguments and consecutive discourses, which make but little impression on them, as by a sort of spiritual conference, in which the father briefly presents to them one or two points, repeating these and asking questions concerning them. Thus his hearers become proficient, and the result is plainly seen; more than seven hundred have been baptized this year—most of them in two villages, where the faith has penetrated with notable results, the people being well inclined to if. This has been especially evident in one village, where the fiscal is a chief acknowledged by all its people, whom our Lord has been pleased to use as the instrument for much good to those souls. What he has accomplished and is still accomplishing in that doctrina causes me unusual edification and consolation; for in truth, if I may judge by what I myself see when I go there, and by the common account of all, both Spaniards and Indians, even one of our fathers who might have been stationed in that village could not have wrought such results as he has done. And this I say without exaggeration; God provides it all, and blessed be He! This village of Paranas [2] is on the coast, and contains a few Indian fishermen, but there are many Indians in the mountains, divided, scattered, and far away; some of these have established their abodes on the coast, but they frequent it but rarely, and are (or rather were) a very churlish and fugitive people. Yet Don Gonçalo (that is the name of the fiscal) has taken hold of them in such a way that he does what he will with them, and that, too, by so quiet, gentle, and efficacious means as to cause one to wonder. Although it is exceedingly difficult to attract their young children from home (especially among those who dwell in the mountains) Don Gonçalo draws them to himself by the same means that I have already mentioned, and to such an extent that he usually has in his house nearly a hundred young boys; such was their number the other day, when I was there, and now he tells me that some twenty or thirty more have just come. He now has them so tamed, gentle, intelligent, and contented that, considering their former savage and terrible character, I know not how I can certify it. Those who formerly knew little or nothing of the doctrine, at present are, by common consent, those who in this mission are most proficient. The fiscal maintains with them a regular plan and order: morning and evening, their prayers and procession; and at night before retiring, and in the morning before dawn, they also offer their prayers—so that the Spaniards, their encomendero said, and the collectors are notably edified thereby. Nor does this occupation depend upon the presence there of the father or of the Spaniards, for it is always maintained. The older boys he sends to their villages for food and shell-fish, and the little ones remain to learn, as if they were in a school. What I especially value is, that it is all done through love; for both the children and their parents have so much affection for this man that, as I noticed the other day, the boys hardly give heed to the father, but are captivated by their Don Gonçalo, and it is he whose permission they seek. This man has received a special blessing from the Lord, and what he does comes entirely from his heart. He not only looks after the knowledge and recitation of the doctrine, but even trains them in good habits, and punishes them gently when they are at fault. He brings together the adult Indians in the church to pray on feast-days, and if it becomes necessary to do or undo anything in the mission, it is always entrusted to him. Without doubt, if there were many men of this sort the lack of ministers here would be well supplied in many respects."

The arrival in the Philippines of the father-visitor, Diego Garcia, and how he began his visitation. Chapter LI.

When affairs were in the condition which we have described, the father-visitor, Diego Garcia, very opportunely arrived in the islands, with some companions, [3] on the seventeenth of June in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine. His arrival was a source of much consolation and joy, on account of the reënforcement which he brought us, and was of much importance and advantage to the internal government of the Society in those parts, on account of the good order to which he reduced all our affairs, particularly in our ministries and in the methods of aiding those souls. Upon careful investigation he learned that, during those four years while our fathers had given instruction in the islands of Pintados, twelve thousand persons had been baptized, and that there were about forty thousand catechumens—not to mention many others who, although they were not on the list of catechumens, had also an inclination (or at least no repugnance) to receive the faith and the gospel. In accordance with this information, the father-visitor set about organizing the affairs [of the missions], and providing needed assistance, as we shall later see. Before entering upon this, however, I will relate, in order to show the mercies of God toward our fathers, a special instance of this which His Divine Majesty displayed toward them and the vessel which brought them from the port of Acapulco to the Filipinas. The pilots were confidently sailing over their accustomed course, heedless that in it there were shoals. One evening at the hour when the Salve is wont to be repeated, and while all were devoutly reciting it, a young man fortunately (or rather through the singular providence and mercy of God) descried shoals from the maintop and immediately began to shout a warning. With that the crew—although everyone was agitated and fearful lest, with the freshening of the wind, they would be driven upon the shoals—hastened, some to the sails, ropes, and rigging, others to the helm, and the pilot to direct the ship's course. Our fathers, meanwhile, repaired to their quarters and berths to invoke the most blessed Virgin, to call upon God, and to pray for the intercession of the saints—all of them especially invoking that of blessed Father Ignacio, [4] a relic of whom the father-visitor carried with him. Showing this to his companions while the rest were busied in the other occupations, he augmented the fervor with which they cried to heaven, and at the same time their confidence that by means of that holy relic our Lord would deliver them from their danger. And so He did; for, upon steering so as to direct the vessel to one side, to avoid the shoals, the vessel, in spite of their efforts, would not obey, but, turning in the other direction, doubled the shoals. If their attempt to steer had been successful, not only could they not have passed the shoals, but they would have drifted hopelessly upon them; but, as it was, the flagship was saved. Moreover, her lighted lantern (for evening had already arrived) guided the other ships, which followed behind her, through the channel, and in this manner all of them were saved.

Occurrences in Manila at this time. Chapter LII.

In the latter part of June in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine, the father-visitor and his companions were resting from the hardships of their voyage, and preparing to begin anew their labors—the father on his tour of inspection, and the others in the fishery for souls—for which purpose they had gone into retreat to perform the exercises, [5] and to allow themselves more leisure for solitary prayer. At this time there occurred in Manila, as a result of the unusually dry season, a very violent earthquake, which injured many buildings. Among these it rent and laid open the vault of our church; and in the church of Santo Domingo it loosened and tore apart the woodwork (which was very beautiful, and handsomely wrought), and crushed in all the walls in such a manner that it was necessary to tear down the building. We also were obliged to demolish the vault of our church; for whereas that of Santo Domingo could be left standing for a few days, we were compelled to begin at once to tear down the vault of our church, which was the part most injured. The Spaniards came to our aid, with contributions amounting to more than a thousand pesos, to pay the workmen who were tearing down the church, and to aid in the expense of repairing it. The Indians assisted us with their labor, helping us to remove the obstructions, and to clear the building from the ruins and from the earth and stones which remained from them. More than a thousand Indians, without exaggeration, came to offer their services; men, women, and children; young men and girls, and old men; chiefs and common people—all busied themselves to such an extent that the place appeared like an anthill or a beehive. These were assisted by the inhabitants of all the neighboring villages, who, animated and encouraged by the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine, and by the clergy who had them in their charge, aided us to roof the church temporarily with canes and palm-leaves (which is the usage there). Thus in four days was accomplished the work of twenty or thirty days; thus the church was made fit for service, and is being used thus until it can be properly roofed. The industry and good-will with which the Indians assisted us on our church were soon repaid to them by our fathers, when a general malady prevailed among them, causing the death of many persons. Then our fathers aided them, especially by hearing their confessions, and administering to them the communion and extreme unction, in the church itself; hardly ever during the day was it free from sick persons who had been carried thither on the shoulders of men that they might receive those holy sacraments. The devil, who slumbers not, seized the opportunity of this malady to sow the seeds of error among some wretched old women, his ministers—saying that at first the God of Castile had vanquished their anitos, but that the latter were now the conquerors, and were chastising the people for having abandoned them. To counteract this evil, among others, a solemn procession and mass were ordered, wherein our Lord was supplicated for the health of the people. Inasmuch as a sermon was necessary, its preparation was assigned to Father Diego Sanchez, at the instance of the canon, Pablo Ruiz de Talavera, who is the priest of the Indians in Manila; he chose this father on account of his devotion to the Society, and of the great affection of the Indians for him, caused by his eloquence and the many and signal services that he has rendered them. The father, discussing in his sermon the above-mentioned error, refuted it, and expelled it from their minds and hearts with that admirable force of expression and persuasion with which our Lord had equipped him; while He gave to the hearers grace and sensibility to perceive and be influenced by the truth, as since then has been evident on many, and notable occasions.

In that very time of the malady, admirable evidence appeared of the importance of the confraternity which, as we said above, that people had instituted for the purpose of exercising themselves in similar pious acts. Its members aided the sick with the utmost solicitude, striving to provide them with comforts and medicines; and when deaths occurred they kept watch over the corpses, and accompanied them to burial, to the great edification of all who saw them. As a natural result, the confraternity came to be much esteemed and valued, and many sought the intercession of influential persons in order to be admitted to its membership. It is proverbial among the Spaniards that its members can be recognized by their quiet and modest address, for which they are much respected. Not to mention other details, the devotion which they showed that year in the harvesting of their rice was certainly a source of great consolation; for they would not taste it until, after they had brought part of it as an offering to our Lord in His temple, that part had been blessed which they must immediately use. Their offering was a sort of grateful acknowledgment that God had delivered their grain-fields from the plague of locusts, and themselves from the sickness.

Care was taken to check offenses against our Lord, and to break up vile illicit relations—some secretly, and others by other gentle means—by which many Indian women were kept in bondage. These women, in their eagerness for worldly gain and kind treatment, were gratified by certain men, who maintained them in that mode of life without fear of God. Indeed, there were two women who had killed their husbands that they might gain greater freedom in this respect. Some, too, had lived during many years in this wretched state—one ten years, another twelve, another thirteen; and still another, twenty long years. Yet God, in His infinite patience, had been waiting for them all this time, and at the end received them into His most gentle mercy.

As in past years, our ordinary ministries were also exercised among the Spaniards; in particular, many general confessions were made, and friendly relations were established between certain prominent persons. Among these latter was one notable case concerning a prebendary of the cathedral of Manila—whom, for certain good reasons, I do not name; but his noble conduct on this occasion gives him sufficient fame. Knowing that another prebendary of the same church, an aged and venerable man, was offended at him, he secured an opportunity to meet him in the house of an auditor of Manila, and in the presence of several dignified persons; there, after having expressed himself in such gentle and conciliatory terms as to appease all angry feelings, he knelt at the feet of his elder, and, taking his hand, kissed it. Then they embraced each other; and thus began a very stable friendship between them, which I saw with my own eyes for many days—confirmed, months later, by their very intimate and fraternal intercourse.

The progress in eradicating idolatry from Taitai, and the piety and constancy of its Christians. Chapter LIII.

The pest, with its mortality, spread among all the Indians of that region, even to the villages of San Juan del Monte, Antipolo, and others. This kept our fathers busy night and day, caring not only for the welfare of souls, administering to them the holy sacraments with much fervor and concern, but for that of their bodies, aiding them with medicines and the necessary comforts—an important consideration with those people, in view of the value that they attach to kind treatment during illness and the pleasure that it gives them; indeed they often recover their health from very contentment at seeing that they are cherished and cared for. The confraternities of that village and of Manila gave no less useful aid, on this occasion, to the sick and the dead, their members taking turns in caring for the sick and attending funerals, which were usually accompanied by more than two hundred persons bearing lighted candles; these attentions were especially bestowed on the dead who had belonged to the confraternity, who were also honored by special funeral rites.

Superstition and idolatry have been so thoroughly uprooted that there is hardly a trace or evidence of them left; if any had remained from former years, it was due to carelessness rather than to evil intent, and an end was put to them this year, through the favor of our Lord. Even the little plates and other insignificant articles which they were wont to use in making sacrifices they brought to the fathers, to be broken and burned. An Indian owned, growing on his land, a very luxuriant clump of the great reeds which they call cauayan [i.e., bamboo], which we have already described. This man came to notify us that this clump had formerly been offered to an idol, for whose service its canes had been cut; and he himself condemned it to be burned to the very roots, in order that it might not sprout again, and himself be thus reminded of an object which had been used for so evil purposes; accordingly, yielding to his feeling of devotion, orders were given that it be burned. Others showed a little house that was dedicated to another idol, and requested that it should be burned to the ground, which was done. The first to show their abhorrence of idolatry (in Which they surpassed the others) were the people of San Juan del Monte, where formerly this practice had reigned, and where there were so many priestesses of the idols, that there was hardly a street which did not contain three, four, or even more. But they have now turned their false superstitions into true religion and Christian piety, repairing to the church so regularly that on certain week-days, while the bell is rung for mass, the church is entirely filled with those who come to hear. They are wont to complain that, as there are so few fathers, they are unable to attend, as often and as regularly as they desire, confession and communion—which they seek with loving eagerness, not once, but many times during the year, to their own edification and profit. As a result, the sweet odor of this Christianity and esteem for the labors of Ours, have, to the glory of our Lord, reached other villages, so affecting and edifying them that the vicar-general of the archbishop, as well as other priests and religious, and even secular magistrates, have sent to that village for a few months, to be restrained, reformed, and kept in safety, certain persons who were sorely tempted. It has pleased our Lord that by good example and suitable instruction these persons should be delivered from danger and their lives reformed; they have made general confessions, and given other satisfactory proofs of the change in their lives.

Among the mountains of this mission district, where the people are less experienced in the faith, there had remained a notorious catalonan, or priest, of a celebrated idol which had been hidden away, no one of those who knew about it daring to disclose the idol. This root was capable of producing many cursed shoots. But our Lord was pleased that it should be discovered through the praiseworthy diligence of Father Francisco Almerique, who obtained possession of the things pertaining to the adoration of the idol, and had them all burned. He was successful in converting the priest, and for greater security, made him live in a village where Ours usually reside. The devil, the father of lies, now that credence is no longer placed in him or importance attached to his superstitions and follies, transforms himself into an angel of light, striving to deceive the simple-minded. In this way he deluded a woman of rank with many visions and revelations which seemed to her real and true, and in which, according to her statement, he appeared in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ, taught her many things, and bade her instruct the people therein. The same father, as soon as he became aware of this, sought to undeceive her, enjoining her not to repeat those things to any one. But she paid no heed to this, and assembled secretly, at night, a number of persons; and, in order that they might go more willingly, she said that the father had told her to proceed. In this way she persevered in making known her fancies and illusions. Those who were present, noticing that her method of instruction and speech was similar to that employed by the priestesses of the idols when they are possessed by the demon—making a thousand gestures and movements like those of a madman or deranged person (which was the method formerly employed by the devil in making answers through the mouths of the catalonans)—hastened to give information of this proceeding. The father, learning for the second time of this, which was again taking place, assembled in the church the people who had heard this woman speak; and, showing them what it really was, undeceived them, pointing out the falsity of all those things, and the wiles of the devil. By these means an evil was corrected which doubtless would have been very great if so timely and appropriate a remedy had not been applied. In another instance a poor fellow was relieved by an Agnus Dei [6] which one of our brethren gave him. The latter had sent some Indians to cut grass, and one of them fled inland, among the mountains, as if terrified and beside himself; and wandered from hill to hill during an entire day, until he was found in that condition by some other Indians, who conveyed him to his house. When the brother visited him, the Indian said that he wished to confess, for the demons were harassing him in such a manner that he could not rest; and that, without any intention, and unable to control himself, he had wandered alone and in terror through the wilderness. The brother brought him to a father, who heard his confession; but afterward he again suffered in the same way. Again he repaired to the brother, and told him of his trouble; and the latter advised him to have faith in our Lord and confidence in the virtue of the holy Agnus Dei—making known to him the favors which our Lord has granted to men, and the miracles which He has wrought through the efficacy of this holy relic; he then placed an Agnus Dei on the Indian's neck. From that very moment the latter felt relieved, and our Lord, in order to show that He had granted that favor by means of the holy relic, caused him, whenever the emblem was removed from his neck, even for a short time, to lose at once his reason, and go astray. The Indian himself stated that, as soon as it was removed, he lost his wits and had no control of himself, but that when wearing it his mind was quite calm; so he gave many thanks to our Lord, and related the efficacy of the holy Agnus Dei.

Some notable incidents that happened in the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus. Chapter LIV.

The fortunate arrival at this city of the father-visitor occurred in Lent of the year one thousand six hundred. Although he increased the number of our fathers in that city, he realized that their labors among the Chinese were a hindrance to their work among the Indians; he therefore entreated the right reverend bishop of that city to place the Chinese in the care of some other order, which his Lordship did. By this measure our fathers had less responsibility, but were not less occupied; for, not to mention the other peoples who, as I have said, resort to this port, the Bissayans alone kept six fathers so busy during Lent that the people hardly left them alone by day or by night. Nevertheless, so great is the need, and at the same time the scarcity, of the bread of divine truth, for lack of those who may distribute it, that many people dwelling very near the city die in this hunger and cannot be assisted; for although the right reverend bishop of Sebu and the few priests who are under him do much, and the fathers of St. Augustine much more, neither the former nor the latter suffice for the care of so many children. After Lent and Easter, one of the fathers visited, by way of recreation (for such are the vacations which they enjoy there), some pagan villages which are about six leguas from the city. He remained there eight days, which gave him opportunity for the usual occupations. Although the time was very short, our Lord was served by some good results; for the father found many Christians who, through lack of teaching and their constant association with infidels, had returned with these to their former idolatrous practices. By means of sermons and discourses he touched the consciences of these people, and, recognizing their wretched condition, they made a general confession; they received his instructions for their future conduct, and were very grateful for the good that had been done them. The infidels were so attracted and inclined to the things of our holy faith that they urgently besought the father to remain with them a few days more; but, as this was not possible, they contented themselves with the hope that he might soon be able to revisit them. After four months had elapsed, seeing that he did not return, they sent their messengers earnestly to entreat him to return for a short time to teach them the things of our holy faith, which they all desired to accept; but this could not be done, and so they were left in their hunger.

In the city of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus there was a Malucan Indian, the slave of a Spaniard, who, although he had been a Christian for many years, lived negligent of his salvation, and his masters had never been able to induce him to make confession and fulfil the obligations of a Christian; he always displayed much unwillingness and obstinacy. This man became ill with a malady, apparently not very serious, accompanied by a slow fever; but within three or four days he suddenly lost the power of speech and seemed to be surely dying. A little food and some drink were offered to him but he could not be induced to take any; and finally became so low, that he lost all consciousness. Some holy water was brought him from our house and a few drops were sprinkled over his face; some of these ran down into his mouth, and he began to lick them, so that he tasted the water. One of those present placed some of it near his mouth, and, opening his lips, he received the water. At once regaining consciousness, he said that it seemed as if someone had seized him and clutched his throat, and for that reason he was unable to speak; but drinking the holy water had, as it were, released him, and set him at liberty, and he gladly listened to what they said to him concerning his salvation. After he had received instruction, he made a general confession of his entire life; and our Lord was pleased to restore him to complete health of body, as He had already deigned to give him health of soul.

Another Indian, while very ill, was afflicted with horrible apparitions; when he was left alone, hideous and fierce black men appeared to him, threatening him with death. He asked his friends to summon our fathers; finally, after he had endured many sufferings, either he or the people of his house sent for a priest to hear his confession. The priest repaired at once to the sick man, and found him in great suffering. He gave him consolation, and after thorough instruction, the Indian made a general confession, to his own great relief—from that time experiencing entire rest, and seeing no more of the visions that had tormented him.

There was an infidel Indian woman who lived near this city among Christians. A serious illness attacked her, and she was carried to the house of another Indian woman, who attended our church and led a most pure and edifying life, who persuaded her to become a Christian. She sent for a priest of our order, who catechized her and so prepared her that she soon received holy baptism. During the remaining days of her life she gave tokens of the grace that she had received; for, although she suffered the utmost pain, hardly a word was heard from her lips, save "Jesus, Mary," or, "My God, have mercy on me."

One day two of Ours, chancing to pass through the Chinese quarter, were informed that in one of the houses an infidel woman lay dying. They at once ascended into the house, and found her very near death, but very far from knowing the truth of our holy faith. But our Lord, who had provided teachers, aided her in His great mercy, and with sovereign help; accordingly, she listened very willingly to what they said to her, and prepared herself in so short a time that they gave her baptism that very night, fearing her critical condition. She was greatly consoled by the sacrament, and grateful to our Lord for the mercy that she had received, edifying those who were present by her words, which were all invocations for help to Jesus and Mary. With such good proofs of her salvation, she passed away on the following day. Among the persons who, to the edification of the people and the service of our Lord, have profited by the teaching of our fathers, was a woman advanced in years, and a native of China; her case is one of great importance, as her nation are so hard to reach, and so unwilling to receive the gospel; and so it does not seem beyond the scope of my plan to give some account of her conversion. This woman had married an honorable Portuguese, who left her a widow some six years ago. Most of her support is what she gains by the labor of her own hands, with the help of three slaves, in whose company she lives in a wretched house, apart from the crowd of the Chinese, dwelling therein in great seclusion. Her confessions and communions are frequent, with excellent results. She practices penance so severely that it has been necessary to moderate the rigors she inflicts upon herself, in long scourgings every night, and in fasts throughout the year, four days in every week; and even on the other two days she seldom eats meat. Prayer is her one consolation, for which she has much natural aptitude in her excellent judgment, and supernatural aid in the gifts which the Lord communicates to her. She is present every day in the church during the masses, hearing them always upon her knees. Nothing so afflicts her as to know that God has been offended, especially if by those of her nation. In short, she has offered herself entirely to our Lord, and He has plucked her with His own hand as a rose from among so many thistles and thorns.

Other interesting events, which occurred in Bohol. Chapter LV.

In order to give a more detailed account of what took place at that time in the island of Bohol, I shall avail myself of two letters from Fathers Alonso de Umanes and Gabriel Sanchez, who were in that region; for in my opinion their account is given minutely and with pleasing and enjoyable simplicity. Both of them, writing to the father-visitor, give him a detailed account of their labors, as is the custom in our Society. The superior, Father Alonso de Umanes, writes as follows: "As soon as we had returned from Sebu in last year, ninety-nine, as it was the season of Lent we busied ourselves in hearing confessions; and with remarkable devotion and promptness all this new band of Christians, without any reward, repaired to the sacraments—even those coming to us who lived very distant from the village where we ordinarily reside. The Christians throughout the island came together for the exercises of Holy Week, and many of those who were not yet baptized attended the divine services during all that week, with great devotion, also the feast of Easter, when a goodly number of them received communion. Having fulfilled our obligations as to confession, we set out to visit some of the pagan villages, in all of which we found the people well disposed. Those who most attended our preaching were the inhabitants of Panglao, a small island almost adjoining this; all the people came very willingly to hear about the things of our holy faith, and soon began of their own accord to build a church. As the first-fruits of Christianity there, we first baptized the sons of the chiefs, in order that they might open the door for the others. Their parents were greatly pleased at this, in token of which they held a feast that same day, with dancing and other festivities. This little island we visited again, at which time a considerable number of adults as well as a hundred children received baptism. The chiefs besought us to leave there someone who might instruct them, that they might thus learn more speedily all that was necessary. For this purpose we took from the island their brightest boys, so that they, after receiving instruction, might teach their people. Thus we shall be able to supply, to some extent, the great need of men from our Society, until our Lord shall multiply our number. During a visit that was made to the village of Lobo, an important event occurred which served to overthrow their errors and remove some great fears with which the devil had inspired them. An alguazil learned that in a little village near by there was a chief who kept in his house many small horns and little jars full of charms, and other instruments, which served for casting lots, for determining if in sickness sacrifice should be made to the devil, and for deciding other matters. Father Gabriel Sanchez resolved to go in person to take away those cursed instruments. In fact, no other means would have been successful, because, upon arriving at the house, he was obliged with his own hands to unhang and heap together the bottles and horns; for the Indians who had accompanied him did not dare even to touch them—fearing that, if they did, they would die; and that, if they threw them into the river, the caimans would be enraged against them—such was their belief in these delusions. But the father, having quieted their fear and removed their mistaken apprehension by himself touching those objects and yet remaining alive, induced them to seize the horns and bottles and expose them publicly. Then he summoned the young boys who spat and trod upon them—actions which among those people, as among other nations, are a token of contempt, detestation, and infamy. He finally caused the charms to be burned, and thrown into the river. By these means they were all freed from error, and became more devoted than ever to our true and well-grounded Catholic religion.

"I cannot refrain from relating an incident that has just befallen us, as it was a source of great consolation to me. As soon as our people learned that your Reverence had ordered us to go to Sebu, fearful lest we might not speedily return, they all repaired to us to make their confessions, with such fervor that it seemed like the season of Lent. Those who had not received baptism came also, with like earnestness seeking that holy sacrament. Thus, by way of farewell, we made a goodly number of Christians." The account of Father Alonso de Umanes ends here.

Father Gabriel Sanchez, in another letter to the father-visitor, writes thus: "Glory be to our Lord, Christianity in this island is receiving much increase. They all frequent the most holy sacraments with great fervor at Christmas, Epiphany, and other leading feasts. So many were the confessions and the communions that it seemed to me like Holy Week. They possess great confidence and faith, and through the most holy sacraments and the sacramental offices they are sure to receive (and his Majesty does bestow upon them even in temporal affairs) most signal favors. An old woman, a good Christian, was so reduced by sickness, and brought so near to death, that she no longer possessed her senses, or power of speech; in short, there was no hope that she would live. The sacrament of extreme unction was administered to her, and at once she began to improve, and at last regained entire health. A few days ago they brought to us a sick man, so tormented and harassed by a severe malady that he could not even raise his head; he therefore made his confession while reclining, and with great difficulty. But, as soon as he had ended it, he began to feel better, with the result that in two days he came to the church to render thanks to our Lord for the mercy that he had received, which he attributed to the holy sacrament of penance. A few days ago a child of four years—not realizing, as he was so little, what he was doing—waded into the sea, and, despite the haste with which he was taken from the water, was almost drowned. They brought him in haste to our house, that we might repeat the gospel over him, for they had no hope of preserving his life by natural means. When they brought him to us he showed almost no sign of respiration, his face was black, and his stomach much swollen with the water which he had swallowed. The gospel was read for him, and he was sprinkled with holy water; and then, in the presence of the many people who had assembled, he straightway recovered consciousness and became entirely well, in return for which they all gave many thanks to our Lord. Another incident, which occurred quite recently, I cannot refrain from relating. Our Lord has this day exercised His accustomed mercy in the case of two old men, very venerable and more than a hundred years old. The greater part of their long lives they had spent in diabolical acts of outrage, murder, cruelty, and lawlessness; and yet our Lord had waited for them until now—when, illumining them with His divine light, they were marvelously converted. I was astonished at beholding the fervor, sincerity and grief with which they expressed abhorrence for their past life and sought baptism, which they received today after careful instruction. To see the perseverance and constancy of this people has given great consolation to me. I shall relate in brief a few things which certainly give strong evidence of that constancy. An unmarried Indian woman was persecuted by a soldier with innumerable plots, yet she always resisted him valiantly. Once in particular, he sent her by a servant some twenty escudos; but she drove the servant away, and threatened that if he should come again she would fling him and his money through her window. The soldier, rendered bold by the fury of his passion, as he had a headstrong disposition, and realizing that he could not gain his damnable purpose by bribes, had recourse to threats. As these did not suffice, he laid violent hands on her, seriously hurting her; but our Lord came to her assistance, and she emerged victorious from the struggle, leaving the wretch in confusion and shame. Another woman was no less persecuted, a man offering her, among other gifts, a gold chain that was worth more than thirty escudos; but she rejected all his gifts with Christian courage. Then, fearing the fury of her persecutor and her own great danger, she persuaded her mother to accompany her, and they fled to some grain-fields, where she remained in hiding until he who was molesting her had left the village. Another, a young girl hardly eighteen years of age, and so poor that she could procure only a little rice for her support, was persecuted by many men, who offered her large sums of money to relieve her poverty; one of them offered her more than forty eight-real pieces. But she made answer that our Lord, in whom she trusted, would relieve her need; that she did not care to live by any means that would offend Him, but in serving Him was well content in her poverty; and that she was confident that our Lord would not abandon her. Another poor woman resisted with equal courage no less vexatious importunities, refusing a quantity of gold worth more than eighty escudos, thus leaving her persecutor in amazement. Another woman, fearing that she would have to defend her body by force from so many and violent importunities, removed it from danger, and herself from any occasion of offending God, by fleeing to the mountains, where she wandered about for almost four months, suffering, although with much satisfaction, many hardships and privations; nor did she return to the village until she learned that he who had brought her to such a plight had departed thence."

The good conduct of the Christians of Botuan. Chapter LVI.

I shall, continuing as I began, relate the prosperous condition of Christianity in Botuan in the same words which Father Valerio de Ledesma and his companion, Father Manuel Martinez, used in writing this year to the father-visitor. The letter of Father Valerio gives the following account: "Glory to our Lord, the inhabitants of this town are well instructed. There are nearly eight hundred Christians, and nearly all the rest of the people are catechumens, engaged in learning the necessary truths. We hold back these persons that they may prize more highly the mercy which God is showing them, and understand more thoroughly the Christian doctrine and acquire good habits. All the rest of the people have the best possible inclination to receive our holy faith and come on every Sunday and feast-day to hear the sermons and discourses; a large audience always assembles, and all of them, even the infidels, entertain a great affection for holy things. Of their own accord they bring their children to be baptized, and their sick people, to hear the gospel read. They erect crosses in their grain-fields, and sing the Christian doctrine with the Christians, of whom there are usually some in every house. In times of sickness they come at once to be baptized; and as they are universally well instructed, and have sufficient knowledge of the things of our faith, it is easy to succor them upon such occasions, so that hardly any one dies without having first received holy baptism. An Indian, seeing himself afflicted by a violent disease, asked to be baptized. They went to call the father for that purpose, but in the meantime the malady had gained such headway, that when he arrived he found the house in confusion and everyone bewailing the sick man as one dead. The father, seeing that he could not speak and seemed unable to hear, assured himself that he had asked for baptism; and, knowing that he was one of those who frequented the church, he asked for water to baptize him. Then, speaking in a loud voice, he persuaded him to try to say 'Jesus.' It seems that at the sound of that most sweet name the sick man recovered somewhat, and, making a great effort, pronounced the word. He soon regained breath, and made answer to the questions of the catechism, to the great wonder of all who were present. He received holy baptism, and soon afterward our Lord granted him complete health. His parents, who were pagans, astonished at his recovery, attributed it to the virtue of the holy name of Jesus, and to holy baptism. Through the mercy of God, there is constancy among the faithful. In all the time I have resided here I do not know of any Christian who has been present at a pagan sacrifice, although living among so many of them. The corregidor of this town related to me, with surprise, that although he had investigated many cases pertaining to this matter, he had never found any Christian guilty therein. This same man related that he had [on official journeys] taken in his company, among other Indians, some Christians of this town; that in some places which were unsafe, on account of enemies, he placed sentinels; and, when it was the turn of the Christians to go on guard, they were found praying, and singing the doctrine. He noticed, besides this, that they never let a day pass without reciting the rosary; and he greatly valued and praised such solicitude among persons so new in the faith."

To this account Father Manuel Martinez adds the following: "The esteem in which they hold holy baptism is universal. Consequently, those who have not received it, and some who in health refused it, when they become sick ask at once for the sacrament, confident that by this means they will acquire health, not only for their souls but for their bodies, inasmuch as our Lord has many times granted this to them. A little boy, the son of a chief of this town, was brought so low by sickness that he was thought to be dead; and as such they were weeping for him when an Agnus Dei and some holy water were sent to him from our house. Our Lord was pleased to restore him very soon to health, and his parents related it to every one, ascribing this result to the efficacy of the Agnus Dei and the holy water. A Spaniard was exhausted by a violent pain that had been afflicting him for some time. Seeing himself in such distress, he sent for one of our fathers, who read the gospel to him. Immediately he began to improve, and in less than a quarter of an hour felt entirely well. He then gave thanks to God, and made it publicly known that he had recovered his health by means of the holy gospel. In Advent and Lent the practice of discipline has been maintained in the church, in which participate the Spaniards who are wont to come to this town. Sometimes public and bloody flagellations took place; and on Holy Thursday and Friday there were two admirably arranged processions, in which many people accompanied the flagellants with torches. I will conclude this letter with two incidents, omitting many others, to avoid prolixity. The first concerns a pagan, who was grievously wounded by a wild boar while hunting. Thinking that the hour of death was at hand, and remembering to have heard in the church that in our necessities we should invoke the most holy name of Jesus, he fell upon his knees, and, folding his hands, repeated, 'Jesus, have mercy on me.' Our Lord heard his prayer; and, soon healed of his wounds, he came to recount this experience, and asked to be at once baptized. With great devotion he relates to others this act of God's mercy, and says that he received it through having heartily invoked the most holy name of Jesus. Another pagan, affrighted by some terrible thunder, and fearful that some flash of lightning might strike him, invoked many times with confidence the sweet name of Jesus, accompanied by all the people of his household; and all were protected and encompassed by one cross. A brilliant flash of lightning burst forth, accompanied by a frightful peal of thunder. The pagan, in his fright, fell to the ground, and all believed that their hour had come, and that they would be consumed by fire on the spot. But they noticed only a bad odor of something burning, and in the morning found that a palm-tree which grew close to the house was completely burned by the lightning. This incident filled them all with wonder, and they rendered thanks to our Lord, who by means of His own sweet name and holy cross had delivered them."

The number of people who were gathered into villages in the district of Alangalang, and the result of our labors therein. Chapter LVII.

At no time did the Filipinos have any form of towns with civic order and political government, such that at least one island, or a number of villages, recognizing one person as their lord, might live under his protection and rule; but he who was most powerful conquered others, and ruled over them. As there was not only one such, but almost all the chiefs asserted their authority, and conquered and ruled, the general result was that each chief remained apart from the rest, having his own followers, and fortified himself, keeping up an attitude of defense. Consequently, they were usually at war with one another, neighbors against neighbors—perpetually engaged in petty warfare, with ambuscades, violence, robbery, murders, and captures.

Very seldom, if ever, did any of these bands become friendly and live in the same neighborhood or village, and aid each other and combine against enemies. Even rarer were the lords who ruled large towns, such as Sebu, Manila, Cainta, and a very few others. To this must be added the fact that those who were able to remove from the vicinity and danger of such turmoils, and flee to the mountains to spend their lives, would there build their houses and, close by, cultivate their groves and fields. As a result, in places and at times favorable to the enjoyment of this tranquillity, many persons migrated; and soon the country districts abounded with homes—so that in some districts, and even in many today, one may journey many leguas, all the way through dwellings and plantations (which are cultivated and divided into fields), in the same manner as, here in Europe, the farm-houses and cottages are wont to stand. This was the condition of all those islands, and, in particular, of this island of Leite; the greater part of the people everywhere divided and scattered in rural hamlets, in rugged, inaccessible, and mountainous localities. Besides these, there were houses at considerable distances from one another, without any order, or any trace of streets or village, placed along the banks of the rivers, and surrounded by their grain-fields and groves. On account of these conditions, the first concern of Father Cosme de Flores, upon entering the district of Alangalang, was to gather all these settlements into one village, which he did; and this policy has been followed by those who have succeeded him in the charge of that mission field. This measure has been of no small advantage to those people; for in the year one thousand six hundred alone, two villages were established, containing each three hundred houses, and a third one with five hundred—all amounting to about four thousand five hundred souls, of whom more than a hundred were baptized in that year. During Lent all the Christians attended the services with eagerness, especially in Holy Week, when the people of the other villages joined them. They attended the divine services which were celebrated in as fitting a manner as possible. On the morning of Holy Thursday a sermon was preached to them concerning the holy sacrament; and in the afternoon the superior of that house washed the feet of a dozen poor persons (explaining in a brief sermon the signification of that holy ceremony), by which they were all greatly edified. Toward evening a well-ordered procession was formed containing a large number of flagellants, with other persons who carried some large crosses. This procession was repeated the next day, after the sermon on the passion.

On Easter the people from other villages assembled, and, after the mass and sermon, celebrated the occasion with all the tokens of rejoicing that they could display. A very graceful dance was performed, and all the people made merry in the court of the church with dancing according to their custom. What especially pleased us was, that in so great a concourse of people, who amused themselves and feasted after their own fashion, there was not one person who was known to have taken wine, although formerly this was a very ordinary vice among those people in their feasts and merry-making.

The condition of Christianity in Carigara. Chapter LVIII.

Our church here, although no older than five years, was both served and attended as if it were a church in Europe. Its services were rendered more magnificent by the choir of music, especially on feast-days; the musicians not only celebrated divine worship in consonance with the organ, but accompanied it with motets and other compositions in their own Bissayan language. These latter were sung, some to the leading of the organ, others in the musical mode and the manner of the country. Both methods greatly attracted the people, moved them to devotion, and caused them to learn willingly and with pleasure our sacred mysteries, thus couched in their own meter and style of music. In short, these were affected in the same way which the glorious doctor St. Augustine mentions concerning himself; and we all experienced the same emotions. By these means those Christians became fervent, and frequented with profit the holy sacraments. The fruit of their devotion was apparent in their lives, as Father Francisco de Enzinas relates in one of his letters; therein he continually praises, as one who keeps this matter in his mind, and is personally concerned in it, the good disposition of those people, their readiness to accept the teachings of virtue, and their service to God, concerning which he relates the following:

"It is a source of great consolation to see the purity that shines in many of these poor women. I know concerning some of them that, after being annoyed and even persecuted with liberal offers of money, neither by gifts nor threats were they in any way overcome. I also know of other women who, when, they have learned that lawless men have entered the village, have absented themselves from home and retired to their grain-fields, to avoid the danger of offending God. One of those soulless men promised a young boy, one of those who aid us at our house, that he would give him I know not what gift, if he would search after a certain woman for him. The lad answered that he could not, since he belonged to the house of the father, assist in such a matter. When he was told that the father would not know it, he replied: 'But will God fail to see it, even if the father does not know it?' At this reply the man became abashed and ashamed, and ceased to importune him. From Easter-time until the date of this writing, which is about a month and a half, more than eighty adults have been baptized—the greater part of them very old, but well prepared—and with these about ninety who are younger. While journeying during Lent, to the village of Leite, we were overtaken by a storm so violent that it drove our boat upon the shore and compelled us to continue our course by land. This change, however, was not without the special providence of God; for, as we were passing by some grain-fields, an old woman lay very sick in her wretched hut. Learning that I was going by, she had me summoned; and after I had given her instruction, I baptized her, with great consolation to both, and on the following day she died."

The remarkable case of three old men, of whom two were converted, and the third, who was blind, refused. Chapter LIX.

The village of Leite, which the father here mentions, lies on the banks of a very beautiful stream of the same name; which gives its name to the whole island. The village lies at the very entrance of the island, as one goes eastward from Manila, from which it is distant about one hundred and thirty leguas. The distance between Carigara and Leite is five leguas by land and ten by sea. The fathers usually make the journey by sea, to avoid the fatigue of crossing on foot the great mountain-ranges in that route. On the other side of Carigara, proceeding along the coast of this island—which, as we have said, runs east and west—there is another river, called Barugo, two leguas distant; on its shore are many dwellings, which, being united in a village, numbered three hundred houses (besides which there were many others). Father Mattheo Sanchez repaired to the village of Barugo, where at one haul he caught two of three fishes; the third remained in spiritual and bodily darkness. As the incident is a notable one, I shall relate it in the words of a letter from the same father, who writes thus: "In the village of Barugo an event occurred by which our Lord displayed to me the effects of His divine predestination, and how cujus vult miseretur, et quem vult indurat. I was summoned to baptize an old man who was very ill. Upon entering his house, I found him in company with two other men, also very aged—one, indeed, so old that he did not go from the house, nor could he even walk. This last, hearing me instruct the sick man, began to exert himself, and approached us by creeping across the floor. Then, with remarkable attention, he began to listen; and, very opportunely, he heard the catechism. Seeing the satisfaction which the old man and his companion received from hearing the things of our holy faith, I remained a long time, explaining it to them. When I had baptized the sick man, the other began with eagerness and devotion to ask for the sacrament, saying that he had faith in all that I had said, and was desirous of salvation. He said that in no case ought I to leave him without baptism, since his old age gave him not many more days of life and those he wished to spend as a Christian; accordingly, I baptized him. The third old man was blind; and all the time while I was catechizing his companions he spent in twisting some threads, and while the others were receiving so much pleasure and their hearts becoming softened, he was jesting and becoming more and more hardened. Taking pity on him, I tried to incline him to conversion; but I could do nothing with him, and his soul remained as forsaken as was his body."

How the Christian church continued to increase in Ogmuc. Chapter LX.

Every one of these mission-fields [doctrinas] is truly a school of celestial theology; for just as, in the schools, are seen the students assembled at the lectures, and their eagerness in studying and reciting their lessons, and afterward their reception of degrees, so in these missions it is a cause for praise to God to see old men become again children, and the chiefs made humble—all learning, with eagerness, delight, and perseverance, the Christian doctrine, and writing, repeating, studying, reciting, and singing it. As a final reward, they receive the degree of holy baptism, a blessing which those people as anxiously seek and desire, and receive with as much joy, as do students the degree of doctor or master. In some places they are assigned on one Sunday the lesson they are to learn for the next; in others, without being assigned a lesson, they are questioned as to what they know. In some districts, as here in Ogmuc, are formed as many classes as there are divisions of the Christian doctrine, from making the sign of the cross to the act of confession, and each student, whether child or old man, continues to advance as he learns, until he takes his degree, and is graduated—that is, until he knows the doctrine—which, as we said, was done with the old men of Antipolo. Not only do they, as good students, write their lessons—mainly in their own characters, and using a piece of a reed [7] as a book of memorandum, and an iron point as a pen; but they always carry with them these materials, and whenever one ceases his labors, whether at home or in the field, by way of rest he takes his book, and spends some time in study. Such is the fervor and zeal of these eager students in learning their supernatural and divine theology; and their ardor in learning is also evident in their demeanor and actions, for their lively faith enkindles and inflames their deeds, and after the ardent heart follows the eager and ardent hand. All this (omitting many other details, which might be related) is seen in their often frequenting the holy sacraments, with notable results in the amendment of their lives; and yet these are people newly born in the church, and but yesterday begotten in Christ. They devoutly and confidently ask that the gospel may be read to their sick, and that holy water be given them; and our Lord responds to their faith by frequently granting them complete health. Accordingly, they acknowledge these favors from His hand, being thus confirmed in the faith, and abhorring the sacrifices which in their maladies they were wont to make to the devil. Even the infidels are so undeceived concerning these vain illusions that scarcely a case is known of those accursed sacrifices which formerly were so frequent. Many infidels have brought their sick children to be baptized, saying that by this means our Lord would give them health. Indeed it has often happened so, and their cure has been the cause of converting their parents. They are greatly devoted to the holy cross, and have upon occasions experienced its protection. One night, while some Christians were reciting, as usual, the doctrine in their house, someone outside began to throw stones at the building, and made a great noise, and injured whatever was near the house. Several times they sallied forth to discover who was doing them harm, but saw no one; yet, again entering the house, the same disturbance was made outside. Thinking that it was an artifice of the devil, they persevered in prayer, and under this persecution confirmed themselves in the faith; and, as a defense, they erected a cross in front of the house. From that time, they were not in any way disturbed. The infidels are steadily growing more inclined to receive our holy faith; moreover, we are gradually uprooting that hindrance to conversion, so common among those people, and so difficult to remove, the practice of having several wives. They are easily persuaded that it is impossible and unseemly for them to have more than one wife, accordingly they have forsaken the others, although in doing so the husbands lose their property; for in marrying the women the men give them dowries, and if they leave their wives they must lose the dowries that they gave. To do this is no slight merit, for people who are not even Christians.

Of some baptisms conferred in Paloc. Chapter LXI.

In the absence of Father Christoval Ximenez, this village was left alone; and while in this plight it was visited by Father Alonso Rodriguez, who went there to hold a mission. What he accomplished in the few days that he could spend among them he himself relates in a letter, a section of which is as follows: "We held a mission at Paloc; and the method of teaching the doctrine by decurias [8] so aroused the enthusiasm of all that within ten days many learned the prayers and gained all the knowledge necessary for baptism. Such was the emulation among them that their prayers never ceased—at night, in their homes; and by day, in the church. As a result, on the feast of the glorious St. Joseph I baptized fifty adults, among them the most prominent persons of this village. To see their leaders already Christians is a strong incentive for the others to follow these. From many others I withheld baptism, as it was necessary to investigate their marriages, and this could not be done on account of the absence of the persons concerned. Of these latter there is a considerable number, but I trust in our Lord that within a few days not a man will remain unbaptized in this village; for already they are all catechumens and attend the church. At the same time I baptized also fifty children." The father proceeds to relate other devout exercises of those Christians, which I do not repeat here, as they are similar to those which I have recounted of others. Afterward, Father Juan de Torres held another mission in the same town, and our Lord made him joyful by granting him another rich haul, when he cast from the pulpit the net of the word of God, in order to fish for souls. This was a chief, one of the most powerful in that district; in imitation of the chiefs of Botuan (although ignorant of what they had done), he arose like them in the congregation, and after earnestly asking for baptism, began then and there his preparation—by publicly asking pardon of all those whom he might have wronged, and offering full satisfaction, whatever might be the amount of his obligation; and (an act of much greater importance), by putting away one of his two wives. Through this the Spirit of truth, [9] which is uniform, swayed the hearts of the others to be like this man's, and brought them, most efficaciously and harmoniously, under the gentle yoke of Christ, although he and they were so far away. But inasmuch as this divine Spirit is present in all places, in all alike it operates as if they were but one, its strength and power being subtly and efficaciously active.

A third mission was held in this village during Lent of the year one thousand six hundred, by Father Melchior Hurtado, who had gone to these islands in the previous year with the father-visitor. Devoting himself to the study of the language, he used it effectively as we may judge from a letter written by him from Paloc to the same father, as follows: "In the village of San Salvador (which is the same as Paloc) the number of those who had recourse to the discipline was greatly increased, especially on Fridays, when it was necessary to exclude the children [from the church], to make room for the adults. Many went out for the bloody discipline, and it was cause for edification to behold the fervor with which at the conclusion of a short sermon which was preached to them before the procession began, all the people fell upon their knees, asking in a loud voice pardon for their sins, with such emotion and weeping that we who were present were also brought to tears. They were all deeply impressed by the sermons on the various stages of the passion; and also when we pictured to them the life of Christ our Lord, from His childhood until He was fastened to the cross. They shed many tears thereat, and their minds were so impressed by those sacred events that for many days they talked of nothing else. On Easter Sunday a most joyful procession was formed, in which was borne the cross triumphant, handsomely adorned; all were clad in white tunics, and bore garlands of flowers. Those who have received communion have set a notable example. They have a sort of brotherhood the members of which are the most assiduous in their attendance at church. There are two women, among the most exemplary and capable, who take care of the rest; and when any woman asks to receive communion for the first time, they instruct her how to approach it. The example of these few women has induced the rest of the people to ask eagerly for the most blessed sacrament. During this time some seventy adults have been baptized, among them six datos, or headmen of districts, with their wives. Matters are in such condition that in a short time all the people of this village will be baptized. The baptisms are conferred by families, in order that the Christians may not live intermingled with infidels, but may daily augment their virtue in the uniformity of the Christian religion. It was a source of great edification to see with what sincerity the chiefs, before receiving holy baptism, asked from all the people pardon for any wrongs that they had done them in the matter of slavery—a common practice in their heathenism, for very trifling causes. They also besought those who had grievances against them to betake themselves to the father, for they were willing and prepared to give full satisfaction therefor." All of this is told by Father Melchior Hurtado.

Of two mutes who were baptized in Dulac; and other matters of special interest in that mission. Chapter LXII.

This year the baptisms in Dulac reached the number of seven hundred, of which the most notable was that of a chief, whose conversion had (as is usual) much influence in bringing about that of an entire village, named Bincai, inasmuch as he was its head man and governor. This chief came one day to the church and eagerly sought holy baptism, saying that his people were negligent and dilatory, and were waiting for him to be first baptized; and that it seemed to him that if he should become a Christian many would follow his example. Accordingly he urged that this blessing might not be withheld from him and from so many others. To test him, however, he was put off for several days, upon various pretexts; but each day he displayed greater constancy, and each day his desire grew stronger.

But even more wonderful was the baptism of two mutes, who, besides their natural barbarism, were still further hindered in receiving human instruction by their lack of the usual qualification therefor, which, as the apostle St. Paul declares, [10] is the hearing—which they, being mutes, lacked entirely. But God our Lord, in order to show His great mercy, and to demonstrate that His law, as the royal prophet says, is "unspotted, converting souls," and that His divine word (as the apostle also says) is sharp-edged and piercing—so that, unhindered by the absence of the senses, it reaches "unto the division of the soul and the spirit," [11] and with hidden force instructs, illumines, and sanctifies the soul—wrought a supernatural marvel in these mutes, whom He made such (as in that other case of the blind man) [12] for the manifestation of His glory, not because of their own sins or those of their parents.

There were then in Dulac two mutes, who caused our fathers much regret, as they supposed it would be so difficult to baptize these persons on account of their lack of capacity for instruction. Father Ramon de Prado, who was still our vice-provincial, determined, upon learning this, to instruct them by means of signs, believing that Divine Mercy desires that we should all be saved, and denies His grace to no one. [13] He undertook the task, persisted, and won success, our Lord so operating therein that the father, and the father-visitor, and all who knew them, regarded these men as fit for baptism. Nor were they deceived in this opinion; for the two mutes received the sacrament, and since then the divine grace which is communicated therein has been resplendent in them, with such tokens and effects as Fathers Francisco de Otaco and Melchior Hurtado attest in some of their letters concerning this matter. In that written by Father Francisco de Otaco to Father Ramon, he says: "I will not fail to inform your Reverence in a special letter, of the two mutes whom your Reverence catechized, and whom I baptized on the day following your Reverence's departure. Your Reverence was deprived of much consolation in not being present on that occasion: for in all this land I have not seen another person receive holy baptism with greater demonstrations of devotion and joy, while thus setting an example for the others who received the sacrament in their company. They could not restrain their joy—especially the elder one, who seemed as if his heart were bursting with gladness. But it was not only during the baptism that these admirable tokens and results were evident, for they were continued in the church, these new Christians attending mass upon their bended knees, with folded hands, and their eyes fixed upon the altar with extraordinary attention and reverence." Here Father Francisco de Otaco ends his account. Father Melchior Hurtado, in another letter to the father-visitor, thus writes: "The baptism of the mutes whom the father vice-provincial catechized was performed with all possible solemnity, and with the utmost satisfaction that our Lord had made good in these poor men their lack of hearing and speech. Their expressions of devotion—and especially those of the elder, who was christened Raimundo—were extraordinary, not only during the ceremonies at holy baptism, but when they were sprinkled with the water. So devoted has Raimundo become that he seldom goes from home. He diligently attends to all the requirements of devotion, never failing to attend mass, carrying his rosary, beating his breast; and he lacks nothing save speech. We are convinced that God supplies much more than we can understand. During this Holy Week Raimundo scourged himself in the procession, and it seemed to me that even had he possessed the power of speech and hearing, he could not have given more satisfactory tokens of his Christian faith."

The same Father Melchior Hurtado solemnized another baptism, also of considerable importance, as occurring at the point of death. This baptism took place in a village near to Dulac, called Tambo, whither he had gone to visit and console its people. This incident and its attendant circumstances are depicted to the life by that father in another letter, in which he says: "We reached Tambo thoroughly soaked, but with much consolation that we had so opportunely arrived; for at once we were hastily summoned to visit an old man who was dying, who desired holy baptism. Immediately we set out for his house, where he lived in his grain-field, a little more than a quarter of a legua from the village. Struggling through mud almost knee-deep, we reached his wretched abode, where we found the poor man in such extremity that speech had failed him. Knowing that he was a catechumen, and considering the statements of all those present that he had sent for me in order to be baptized, and fearing that he might die on my hands, I at once baptized him, although wishing that I could have prepared him better for the sacrament. But the Lord, who had inspired him with the desire to ask for baptism, I trust gave him what more he needed for his salvation; for he died soon afterward, on that same night."

As we have stated, the other Christians continued to increase together in numbers, as well as in virtue and edification, as may be seen from some special instances. At the beginning of Advent, we preached to them about fasting and abstinence, which are practiced throughout the world by good Christians in their piety and devotion. So earnestly did they set about this that one of them fasted four days in the week, in all that time eating only roots. Throughout Lent they repaired to the church, three days in the week, to take the discipline, the singers meanwhile chanting the Miserere to the accompaniment of the organ; and with the same devotion they attended the sermons which were preached to them two days in the week. During Holy Week there was a great concourse of people from the neighboring villages; and on Holy Thursday and Friday they had well-ordered processions with many flagellants, in which some bore on their shoulders large crosses. The most blessed sacrament was kept in a receptacle adorned with many ornaments and jewels of gold; all the time while it was enclosed therein, the chiefs were present in behalf of their districts armed according to their custom.

On this day a poor Indian failed to appear with the others at the church for the divine services, having gone to the river to bathe; there, by divine permission, a cayman seized him, and well nigh caused his death. He was brought to the church covered with gashes, and in such agony that he could neither understand, nor hear, nor utter a word. On account of his precarious condition, and as he was one of the catechumens, he was at once baptized. Being urged to invoke the most holy name of Jesus, this man, who had not been able to speak one word, was granted such strength that twice he uttered distinctly, "Jesus, Jesus," and died with that honey on his lips.

I will relate another and similar incident, equally interesting, although it occurred at a different time and in a different place. A poor Indian one night, in his grain-field, suspecting no harm, received several knife thrusts, so grievous that it is considered almost a miracle that they did not instantly kill him; for all his abdomen was cut open, and his entrails lay on the ground. In this condition he remained until morning, when he sent another Indian, who by chance left his route to pass that way, to summon the fiscal of the church, since the fathers did not reside in that village. The fiscal went, and found the poor man in such misery that some dogs were actually beginning to devour him alive. Asking with great earnestness for the sacrament, he was accordingly baptized, whereupon he at once expired. It seemed that our Lord would wait no longer to receive him to Himself.

But to return to Lent at Dulac: The good example set by a Spaniard who happened to be there during this holy time, was most valuable. It was he who adorned, as we have mentioned, the receptacle of the most blessed sacrament, and who sent much wax to furnish its illumination; and he remained under arms, guarding the sepulchre, and marched in the procession with the Indians, bleeding severely under the scourge. Not content with this, he went a second time along the streets through which the procession had passed (a long distance), scourging himself. The Indians were greatly edified at this, and, as I have said, hastened to imitate him.

Not less readily did they imitate a virtuous action by one of our fathers, who performed it in order to preach to them by deeds as well as words, that he might at once constrain them and render good deeds easier for them; and, by the grace of our Lord, he succeeded in his purpose. Those people are fastidious to such an extreme that they are annoyed and disgusted by any object offensive to the senses, especially to sight and smell. They are passionately fond, on the other hand, of fine colors and flavors, and eager to see or hear agreeable things. Accordingly, they cannot endure foul odors, and have great aversion for persons who are wounded or bruised; among them such persons suffer, in consequence, great privation and neglect, bodily as well as spiritual. On this point, several sermons were preached to them; but, as the achievement of victory in such a cause is, in truth, arduous and heroic, the preacher, seeing that words were of no avail, determined to preach a sermon of deeds. They had one day in the week set apart when all the old, the sick, and the wounded assembled to receive instruction; and the father knew that some were not present because they had no one to carry them, or help them to come—among these, especially, there was a female slave who belonged to one of the chiefs; her masters had never been willing to carry her to the church, on account of their great loathing for her. At a time when many of these poor creatures were assembled, and the most notable of the people were present, the father took in his hands the feet of a poor slave who was covered with sores, kissed them, and placed his lips on the wound itself. There was another unfortunate whom they all held in great contempt, who himself did not dare to expose his countenance, on account of an ulcer which had eaten away his mouth, nose, and the greater part of his face; but the father drew this man to himself, spoke to him, and caressed him, even touching his face. This example made so great an impression upon them that, from that time forth, they have displayed great compassion for such unfortunates—aiding them in their necessities, and, when they cannot walk, carrying them on their shoulders to the church. One of the chiefs did this several times for his slave woman, although, before that occurrence, he had not been accustomed even to approach her. The governor of that same village, an Indian of very high rank and much esteemed by his people, seeing that all refused to help a poor woman, who was in a very loathsome condition, to go to the church, placed her on his own shoulders and carried her thither, heedless of the stench and sores, and careless of staining a very elegant gown which he had put on that same day. When some persons attempted to restrain him, he responded that such was the obligation of a Christian.

The increase and fervor of Christianity in Tinagon. Chapter LXIII.

When the first fruits had been paid with a thousand Christians, who, as we have said, died newly-baptized, in Tinagon and its district, there were left, upon the arrival there of the fathers of the Society, about eight thousand five hundred souls. Of this number we baptized from the month of April of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine, to the same month of the year one thousand six hundred, more than nine hundred and seventy persons, almost amounting to a thousand. For the rest of the catechumens, and for some Christians besides who are scattered through various villages, the services of three fathers and three brethren did not suffice, although they were constantly occupied in instructing them. But our Lord provided us with some boys, so well disposed and so intelligent in the things of our holy faith, that they have, upon various occasions, supplied the lack of priests and the need for catechizing and instruction in those villages. It was in this way that a native chief in one of those neighboring villages, having heard one of Ours preach, became so enamored of the things of our holy faith, and so desirous that he and his villagers might know them, that he went straightway to his encomendero and entreated him to find for them some Indian well instructed in our doctrine, who might impart to them the prayers and catechism. An Indian was sent, as he had desired; they received him very hospitably, and all promptly learned the doctrine. They manifested their gratitude for such benefits by entertaining their teacher liberally during his stay and presenting some gifts to him at his departure. Two or three times afterward, this same chief came to ask our fathers to send someone to his district to baptize his people, saying that they all desired to receive holy baptism. The earnest affection wherewith they asked for it was manifest in another Indian whose baptism our fathers delayed until he should be better prepared for it: but each day his desire and fervor increased, and each day he became more fixed in his good resolution. One day a father asked him why he did not cut off his hair, since he desired to become a Christian. At once he made answer with much affection: "The hair, Father, and nothing more? Do but grant me what I ask, and I will cut off, not only my hair, but even my arm, in return for baptism." This man was almost on the point of tearing out his eyes, or cutting off his hand or foot, to his own shame.

But who can exaggerate the satisfaction and devotion wherewith they receive in their villages these servants of the Lord, when the latter go to visit them? This will be seen in an account of such a journey, made by Father Juan de San Lucar, who himself thus describes it: "I cannot express the satisfaction which was caused by our visits to all these villages. We reached the first one, called Ibatan, in the middle of the night. The people had already learned that we were to go to their village, and, in spite of the late hour, they did not weary of waiting; indeed, they were all waiting on the shore, where they had lighted fires. As soon as we arrived, the leading chiefs cast themselves into the water in order to take hold of our boat; and we could not prevent them from carrying us ashore on their shoulders. In the two weeks that we spent there, great was the fervor of their attendance at our church, as well as the concourse of men and boys on certain nights for the purpose of scourging themselves; at the same hour the women throughout the village performed the same exercises at their homes. Ten children and thirty adults were baptized, and to some holy communion was granted after they had been prepared by a sermon on that subject. All those who received the most blessed sacrament manifested great unworldliness and exemplary virtue. In this village there was an old woman, more than eighty years of age, blind, deaf, and so sick and crippled that she could not leave her bed. Upon several occasions we had passed much time with this poor woman trying to persuade her to receive holy baptism; but she had never shown any desire for it, and even stubbornly resisted. But the Lord took pity on her and enlightened her, at a time when I was most forgotten or distrusted. Her husband came to me as many as eight or ten times to ask me to go to baptize her telling me that he loved her very much, and it would cause him much grief if she should incur damnation; he was therefore anxious that she should be baptized, so that she might enjoy God; and he added that such was already her wish. But I did not believe him, for my visits to her house had so many times proved useless. I told him that I would baptize her on the condition that she would come to the church, thinking that what I required from him was impossible. On his returning with this answer, the poor woman, in her desire to receive holy baptism, was so aroused that she, although formerly she could not even move her limbs, recovered strength, with the help of our Lord, and came to the church. She listened to the instruction with pleasure and attention; and finally, as she was prepared for the sacrament, I granted her baptism. During all the time while I was administering this sacrament to her, she remained standing, to the wonderment of all the people. Great was their edification at seeing how heartily she had sought baptism, and how our Lord accomplishes more in one moment than we in many days. In the village of Paet our Lord moved the hearts of two women who were a cause of offense and stumbling on account of their dissolute lives. Protected by certain profligate men, these women, although they were slaves, had become so arrogant that they despised the other women; and all the village felt ashamed to have among them so evil a company. These women came with deep grief to make their confession, and remained thoroughly reformed, to the great satisfaction of all the people. There dwelt in this village a young girl, the daughter of a chief, whom we had urged to attend the catechisms and the sermons, hoping that if she were baptized others would follow; but the devil hindered our efforts, for she either hid herself or was concealed by her parents. This time I made more diligent endeavors; she came to the church and, having heard a few sermons, earnestly asked for baptism. I gave her a teacher for the doctrine, promising that I would baptize her when I returned to that place—although so great was her desire for the sacrament that the least delay seemed to her very long; accordingly, she applied herself so closely to study that within the space of two days she knew the prayers and the catechism. On examining her, great was my surprise that she should have learned so much in so short a time; accordingly, with great satisfaction on my part, I baptized her and two other adults.

In the village of Cauayan there lives an Indian woman of rank, already advanced in years, whom our Lord has inspired with zeal for winning souls and for the conversion of her people. She devotes herself to persuading, preparing, and catechizing the Indians for holy baptism; and whenever we visit that doctrina, she has a troop collected, and well instructed, for us to baptize. In this place I baptized twelve adults, and four or five younger persons. In all the other villages the people are very well disposed, and a great harvest will be continually gathered, with the help of our Lord."

In the measure of this fervor does our Lord correspondingly bestow upon them visits and spiritual consolations, most liberally accorded by His Divine Majesty to these His new faithful. Of these we have already given some general account, and now I will relate in detail one case, only, in the words of Father Francisco de Otaco, who wrote from Tinagon, before he departed thence to be superior in Dulac: "There came today from Catubig a Christian Indian, a youth of about sixteen years, to hear mass and make his confession; it was a long and toilsome journey. He showed much candor and goodness, and special affection for the things of Christianity, speaking of them with intelligence and appreciation. He related to me an incident that had befallen him, which had been the cause of that interest and intelligence. He was sick, and, fearing that the hour of death was already at hand, he charged a companion of his to place at the head of his bed, at the last hour, a cross and some lighted candles. His end approached, so near that all regarded him as one already dead, and his companion fulfilled the charge that had been given him. Then, he said, he became as one who dreams, although it seemed to him to be more than dreaming, and even quite different. There appeared at his right side a father of the Society, holding in his hand a rosary of our Lady: upon his head he bore a diadem of golden brightness and a halo of the same splendor encompassed his breast. The apparition, calling him by name in affectionate terms, said to him: 'Turn this way, my son, to the right side, which is that of the elect, and count these beads. Thou wert to die of this sickness; but, because thou art a Christian, our Lord has been pleased to give thee life and health; but it is only that thou mayest be a good Christian, always remembering our Lord, living in prayer and carefully guarding thyself from every sin—that is, from all that offends the sight of God.' Having in a long discourse given him other profitable counsels, the figure disappeared; and the sick man regained his consciousness, as if he had been resuscitated (for all thought him really dead), and with sudden energy began to speak. He asked for food, and soon felt much better, to the astonishment of all who were present. These, terrified at such a change, inquired from him its cause, and he related to them the above occurrence—attributing his recovery to the singular mercy of our Lord, and to the fact that he was a Christian; and he often related the affair with no little benefit to his hearers. Having heard him speak, for some time, so well and so affectionately concerning our Lord and the observance of His holy commandments, I praised his discourse and meritorious sentiments. He answered that it was no cause for surprise, since all those things had been taught him in the aforesaid vision, and had remained deeply impressed upon his mind."

The loss of some vessels, and in them of two of the fathers of the
Society. Chapter LXIV.

Among other calamities and troubles which our Lord has been pleased to send upon these islands in the form of loss of life, property, and ships, one was the destruction of two large ships (a flagship and an almiranta) which, in the previous year, six hundred, set out for Nueva España with cargoes of very rich merchandise. These vessels, after having sailed the seas for eight months, with violent storms, and encountered great dangers, and after having lost many men through hunger, pest, accidents, and the billows of the sea (which washed them from the vessel itself), were driven back and stranded—or rather dashed to pieces—on the shores of the Ladrones and the Catanduanes, where they were destroyed. But few persons were able to escape, who only served, like the servants of Job, to carry the news of the disaster—which, following upon many other losses and misfortunes of war, was keenly felt and bitterly lamented. In one of these vessels, named "San Geronimo," went Father Pero Lopez de la Parra, a professed member of our Society, who after this long voyage and another, even longer, of thirty-seven years in the religious life, finally came to port, as we believe, in the Fortunate Land, toward which he was making his main voyage with good works. In Nueva España he taught the arts and theology, and was one of the first founders [of missions] who went thither from the Society; and both there and here he exercised our ministries with good results. Although we know no details concerning his death, it is believed, from his having been one of the last to die, and from his great devotion to confession and the care of souls, that in that hour of peril he must have been of service to all with much charity, as he always acted thus during his life. By another disaster and misfortune in these islands, we lost another father and a brother, if we may call those lost who, to win souls and aid their brethren, die with them in a righteous war. Some heretic corsairs from the islands of Olanda and Gelanda went to those of Filipinas, bent on plunder, in the month of October of the year one thousand six hundred; they had robbed a Portuguese vessel in the North Sea, and in the South Sea, having passed the Strait of Magallanes, some fragatas from Piru. These corsairs entered among these islands, committing depredations and threatening even greater excesses. For this purpose their almiranta and their flagship (in which sailed, as commander, a corsair named Oliverio del Nort) were stationed at a place six leguas from Manila, where the ships from España, China, and Japon were obliged to enter, and where all the ships and vessels which leave that city must be inspected. Against the two Dutch ships went forth two others from Manila, carrying more than three hundred men, the flower of the militia of those islands, with much artillery and military supplies. In the flagship went Father Diego de Santiago and Brother Bartolome Calvo, at the request of General Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia, and other officers, who were wont to confess to the father, because he had a very affable manner, and could adapt himself to all persons. At the outset he heard the confessions of most of the men, and encouraged them, as well as he could, to make the attack and to fight valiantly. Finally, on the fourteenth day of December, they sighted the enemy; and crowding on sail, in their eagerness to overtake him, both flagships grappled together, so closely that one could cross unimpeded from one vessel to the other. They finally succeeded in seizing the enemy's colors and hoisting them on our flagship, our men confident of success, and already shouting "Victory!" But the ship, whether unsteady (for, carrying so many people on one side, it took in water through the port-holes of the lower tier of cannon), or laid open at the keel by the very weight of our guns (which were very large), or by the will of God, went to the bottom with all its crew—except a few men who seized the enemy's shallop and escaped in it, and some others who reached the shore by swimming. Among the latter was the commander, who with the enemy's two flags gained the shore. Our almiranta (which was a new galizabra), in charge of Admiral Juan de Arcega, grappled with the enemy's almiranta, captured it, and brought it to Manila, where justice was executed upon the corsairs who were in it. Among the dead and drowned—who numbered one hundred and nine Spaniards, the pick of the captains and soldiers of those islands; and one hundred and fifty negroes and Indians—perished Father Diego de Santiago. He died bravely, encouraging the men, and having heard the confessions of nearly all. Seeing, a short time beforehand, that the ship was about to go down, he intended to save himself by swimming; but he heard the voice of a captain, who said to him: "Father, hear me but a word, for it concerns my salvation." With much charity, he remained until the last moment, to hear the soldier's confession; and afterward neither the father nor his companion was seen. The father was twenty-nine years old, a member of the Society for fifteen years, and a shepherd of the Indians and Spaniards. Brother Bartolome Calvo was of the same age, attached to the Society in these parts for seven years. He possessed much virtue and died through obedience, a quality for which he ever professed much esteem.

Nine new members of the Society reach Manila, having been saved from a ship-wreck—through the intercession, as is devoutly believed, of our Blessed Father Ignatius. Chapter LXV.

In the month of May in the year one thousand six hundred and one, there arrived in the Filipinas Father Gregorio Lopez with a welcome reënforcement, of nine fathers of the Society. [14] Their arrival was most opportune for filling the places of the dead, and aiding the living who are ever clamoring for new companions to help them draw in the net of this spiritual fishery. It was an extraordinary consolation to hear of the mercies vouchsafed to them by our Lord through the intercession of our propitious Father Ignatius—especially when they reached the opposite coast of that island of Manila, near Catanduanes—as I shall here briefly relate, referring to the judicial investigation of this disaster, which was made with many and competent witnesses, and was brought to Rome for the honor and glory of God our Lord, and of his saints. In the latter part of April in that year, 1601, when the galleon from Nueva España [15] (in which came the ten fathers of our Society) reached the region of those islands, bad weather shut them in with heavy fogs and rains, so that, although in front and on both sides the land was not far away, it could hardly be descried or recognized as such. As soon as the weather cleared somewhat, they found themselves in a bay hemmed in by shoals and rocks, with a rugged shore, upon which the wind was driving them. In spite of their efforts they were unable to gain the open sea, for the force of the wind was driving them out of their course and upon the shoals. They then resolved to cast anchor, hoping in this way to gain some safety for the vessel, and thus they remained during an entire night in twenty-six brazas of water, exposed to great danger, and in fear of being lost. On the next morning, the auditor Don Antonio de Ribera (who went as commander and chief of the vessel), seeing the great danger to which they were exposed, and considering all human means weak and useless, hastened to entreat the Divine favor; and, recalling those which our Lord had recently bestowed upon certain persons through the mediation of our blessed Father Ignatius, resolved upon this occasion to implore his favor and assistance, and to beseech our Lord, through the merits of His servant, to give them at ten o'clock that day a propitious wind whereby the vessel might reach a place of safety. He added that he did not set that time as a limitation to the divine Majesty, but because such answer to their prayer would show that the mercy bestowed upon them had come through the intercession of the blessed Father Ignatius, to whom they made an offering of the vessel and its deliverance. This petition and its conditions he called those to witness who were then present in the stern-cabin.

The shallop was launched, to seek some refuge within the shelter of the shore where the ship might be anchored, and the men were ordered to give signals when they should find it. But while the shallop was reconnoitering the shore, the galleon began to drift from its moorings toward the shoals and the rocky coast, whither the force of the wind was bearing it. Accordingly a cannon was fired, to call back the crew of the shallop, so that it might accompany the vessel and lend to its crew what assistance it could. The shot was heard a long distance on land, but those in the shallop could not hear it, although they listened attentively and observed the fire and smoke; they continued, therefore, their search for a more suitable landing. Thereupon the men on the ship cut the anchor, and hoisted sail, aiming to get as far out into the sea as possible. At that moment a miracle occurred; the wind suddenly became favorable, shifting three or four points, so that they were able to steer the vessel to the only place which was secure and sheltered, where the shallop's crew had already found bottom and a place for anchorage. At the same time Captain Francisco Cadena—a Venetian, and an expert in nautical affairs—without knowing of the commander's petition, said with great surprise: "This is a great miracle; for just when we hoisted sail the wind shifted four points, so that we who thought ourselves lost may now hope to be saved." This unexpected shift in the wind was also observed by the chief pilot and other seamen.

The commander, Don Antonio de Ribera, beholding this change and good fortune, and recognizing God's mercy toward them at the very hour of ten which he had appointed, twice repeated with extraordinary tenderness and devotion what he had that morning sought from our Lord—through the intercession, as they piously believed, of our blessed Father Ignatius. Soon afterward he related the same incident, in his stern-cabin, to some Augustinian and Franciscan fathers, with many tears and great devotion; and those religious fathers, full of admiration, rendered thanks to the Lord that He had chosen thus to honor His servant Ignatius, by displaying in that hour of peril his great holiness and merits. On reaching shelter and casting anchor, the commander announced to all, publicly, what he had requested from our Lord through the mediation of our blessed Father Ignatius; at which those who had been about to cast themselves into the sea, to escape, if they could, by swimming, and had seen themselves at the point of death, realizing that they had been saved by such means, offered many thanks to the Lord and praises to His saint. Both religious and laymen asked that the image of our blessed Father Ignatius be brought, and thereupon they all, of every rank and age, began to adore it—falling on their knees, and kissing it with great devotion, while all the religious chanted the Te Deum laudamus. In memory of this event, all, with one voice, desired that this place be called the Puerto de San Ignacio, which name it now bears. Afterward, that our Lord might reveal more clearly the merits of His servant—while the ship was at anchor in the very place where they had so marvelously been aided, and while they were about to leap joyfully ashore—a violent hurricane suddenly arose, on Tuesday, the first of May, which toward midnight caused the galleon's single anchor to drag, so that it was carried toward the shoals and the perilous coast. At this, all feared the utmost danger, for peril seemed most certain amid the darkness of the night, and with so angry a tempest; but when they began to cry out and entreat the favor of our blessed Father Ignatius, then the vessel ceased to drift. Thus invoking him in every danger—as they frequently did, both religious and laymen—the Lord again bestowed upon them a special favor; for when the mainmast fell, which they were obliged to cut, its fall was not, as they feared, such as to sink the vessel, inasmuch as the yard and the topsail, falling upon the rocks, served as a support, and on that side held back the ship so that it could not drift to destruction. At the same time, as they were held by only one anchor, with so great risk of further dragging, or of the cable's being cut by the many submerged rocks, they urgently requested an image of the blessed Father Ignatius, and with great devotion and confidence, made it fast to the cable. It was wonderful to see how the cable was held in place during the rest of that night and a great part of the following day; and how, when they tried to improve the position of the ship by casting another anchor, they were able to raise the first one, which was very heavy, by working the capstan, although they found that the three cords of the cable were fretted, and only one remained entire—whereat they all were greatly astonished and proclaimed it a miracle.

Other devout practices which were augmented in Manila, and edifying events which occurred therein. Chapter LXV. [i.e., LXVI]

In these vessels which arrived in the year one thousand six hundred and one, there were also many religious of the sacred Orders of St. Francis and St. Augustine, and in the following year, of the Order of St. Dominic; they were men selected and well qualified for the succor of those souls. Immediately they were assigned posts, each in His own province, that they might devote themselves with fervor to the conversion of the Indians. I do not here describe their occupations, and the large harvest which they gathered and still are reaping; for that is not within my present scope, although there is much, and of great interest, to say about them. I will only say this, that the excellent example set by the religious orders in the Filipinas is a most efficacious means for the conversion of those souls; and likewise serves to stimulate and maintain the Christian spirit of former times among our Spaniards. Among these there are men and women who may serve as examples of virtue and piety from whatever point this may be considered, and who both profess and exercise piety with the utmost sincerity, and in perfection. I observed and noted in those people, without distinction of good and bad, three habitual virtues: they do not blaspheme, they hear mass every day, and they are present at every sermon. As for confession and communion, I may affirm that there is not a feast-day appointed during the year when they do not, almost every one, confess and receive communion; indeed, we hardly have leisure to administer those sacraments to them, for no sooner is one communion concluded than we must prepare for the next one. And this piety is displayed not only by select Christians, of recognized virtue, but by almost all the people of the city; and they are constrained thereto by the saintly labors, example, and teaching of these holy religious orders. These, not to mention other virtues which make them conspicuous in that country, possess two which are especially notable: first, the strictness of religious observance and the purity of life which they all teach, and which, in truth, they exercise with great consistency; second, the peaceable and fraternal relations which they maintain among themselves—a virtue which is born from the first. For the likeness between them in this respect awakens and kindles, in the minds of their members, a readiness to esteem and value one another, and, in consequence, to take pleasure in the society and welfare of their brethren; and thus are born peace and harmony. Of this and many other excellent things, much could be said.

But to return to our ministries: with the reënforcement of that year, and the pious inclinations of the people of Manila (which had been aroused and cultivated in them by the hand of the Lord, through tribulations), we had excellent facilities for increasing the practice of pious exercises—not only maintaining those of former days, but adding others which were new—in return for which, some notable and edifying events occurred. First, the students founded the congregation of La Anunciata in imitation of other colleges of our Society, where it flourishes with so much distinction and piety. Although those who began it were but six, it grew apace, inasmuch as it was a work of God and of His most glorious mother. As the rays of this light spread through the city, it ravished the eyes and hearts of many laymen of various conditions, filling them with desire to enter this congregation; and in less than eight months its membership grew so large that it was necessary to form two congregations from the one, separating the laymen from the students, and assigning to each congregation its officials. At public feasts, however, they assemble together, and celebrate their services in the chapel. These pious and devout exercises, with the example and sweet odor [of piety] displayed in their conduct, and the benefits resulting from it to their own souls, would require a separate narrative.

The discipline, which formerly was practiced during Lent, was now extended to every Friday in the year; and on every day thus appointed, without missing one, many people of distinction, and those from all classes, repair [to the church] to scourge themselves. Every Sunday afternoon many people, whether or not members of the congregation, assemble in the church to hear a short sermon, in which are explained the divine mandates, accompanied by some pleasing example, an interesting story or edifying narrative. The father-visitor began these sermons with good results, which were soon realized in the changed lives of many persons—especially one, who, coming by chance to hear the sermons, was—although bent on leading a shameless life and giving loose rein to his appetites—brought to himself by one sermon and began to lead a new life. There was also begun, that same year, the devotion practiced by certain cities; namely, that of accepting saints by lot. This was done on All Saints' day, with a great concourse of the citizens. There was a certain person who, falling into the sea, with many others who were drowned, in the expedition against the Englishman, and being already overcome by the waves, remembered St. Nicanor, who had fallen to him by lot; and calling out to that saint in a loud voice, from that moment, he affirmed, his courage and strength returned, and he felt a confidence that he would not be drowned. As a result, he swam nearly a legua, and reached the shore, to his own great surprise and with much devotion to that saint.

Several interesting cases occurred of fervor in these devotions of which I shall mention only two or three. A certain woman, to whom God our Lord had communicated lofty purposes and sentiments of chastity and purity, was for a long time beset with gifts and importunities from wicked men. Her refuge was to confess and devoutly to receive communion, arming herself with these holy sacraments. One day, after she had received communion in our house, one of these men lay in wait to seize her when alone; and, with a bare dagger at her breast, was about to slay her if she would not consent to his evil purpose. But she, fortified with the bread of the strong, and with the wine springing forth virgins, [16] told him that she was ready to die on the spot, rather than offend God. He abused her with words, and even handled her roughly, but left her, astonished and overcome by her chastity.

Another man lived for many years in great impiety, and, forgetful of his God, in mortal sins—especially a base passion so fixed and rooted in his heart that when one of our fathers talked with him, striving to convert him, he seemed mad and beside himself. In truth, he was beside himself, for he still remained with that evil companion with whom he had lived, nor did he seem to have feeling or thought for any other thing. It pleased our Lord that by serious conversations and arguments he was induced not to visit his wicked companion; and after a reluctant "yes" had been drawn from him, almost by force, he did afterward abandon her, so entirely that it seemed as if he had never known her. He made a general confession, and began a new life, to the wonder of those who knew him.

The corsairs from Gelanda [Zeeland] who had been brought as prisoners to the city of Manila were condemned to death. The governor of those islands deemed it advisable that they should be distributed among the religious orders, to see if they would be converted to our holy Catholic faith; our Lord was pleased that twelve of the thirteen should be converted. The exception was the admiral, who died a heretic, while obstinately uttering a thousand blasphemies against our holy faith; he was executed by the garrote, [17] and thrown into the sea. The other twelve reflected, and, in great anguish for their sins, were converted to our Lord. They professed our holy Catholic faith and rendered obedience to the holy Roman church. This was done with such sincerity that they entreated the religious orders of that city to give them the most blessed sacrament at the altar, which they devoutly received; as for the five who fell to the care of our Society, and whom we saw die, I may affirm that they left us notably edified. With the utmost grief for their sins, they made a general confession and received communion with many tears. Before receiving the latter sacrament, they made public declaration of their belief in the holy Roman Catholic faith, maintaining that they died within the church, and abominating the heresies of Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, and other heretics. Two days from that time, having asked pardon of all, they died with rosaries about their necks, and with the bulls of the holy crusade (by means of which they obtained absolution) sewed upon their breasts, each one holding his crucifix in his hands, devoutly adoring it. They embraced us all, and in great joy at seeing that, by such a death, they were expiating their sins, they suffered death, to the great edification of all. On the following morning they were buried with great solemnity by the Confraternity of La Santa Misericordia, which was founded by the most prominent people of the city. But enough for the present concerning the Spaniards; it will be desirable to make some mention of the Indians.

Other edifying matters, among the Indians of Manila. Chapter
LXVI. [i.e., LXVII]

That part of our employment and occupation which lies among the Indians is no less important, since they retort to that city in numbers exceeding those of the Spaniards, and their love and affection for us is more recent. Usually they are a people inclined to make confession; and this would give, throughout the year, work for six fathers who know the language. The Indians seek communion most eagerly, and thereby are their souls much profited, and they are aided in cultivating the virtues, especially that of chastity. All that concerns devotion and the ceremonies of the church makes a marvelous impression upon them, and they set an example to Christians of long standing. They practice the discipline every Friday in the year; and many more would come to these exercises, if the gates of the city (which separate their villages from the Spaniards) were not closed at night.

The Confraternity which has been established among those natives arouses the rest to fervor; for its members are the leaven, with their good example leavening the mass of dough. At the Christmas feasts they give food to all the poor whom they can assemble, and in such abundance that there is even a surplus for the prisoners (Spaniards as well as Indians), and also for another very needy class of people, those who work in the powder-house. After this repast they wash and kiss the feet of all the poor, who fall upon their knees and offer up prayers for those who have performed for them this charitable act. In company with those of our Society, they betake themselves to the hospital of the natives, especially during Advent and Lent, to serve and entertain its inmates. They make the beds, sweep out the house and clean it thoroughly—which for them is a great deal, since the Indians are a fastidious people, who are wont to remain in their homes to die, in order not to see the hospital; but with their fervor and devotion the members of the Confraternity overcome this and other obstacles.

They are greatly addicted to prayer and fasting; some, indeed, have passed whole weeks subsisting on bread and water alone. They have made retreat in our house, to make their general confessions, and perform similar exercises, greatly to their own profit and to the edification of the people.

There was a Christian woman who, in former days, had been made a captive by infidels who had taken her to the islands of Mindanao and Burnei, where the doctrine of Mahoma is taught; and they carried her through many peoples of that infidel land, but never did she relapse from the Christian faith.

A certain Indian had, with others, made his confession for the purpose of receiving communion; but he remained silent in regard to some circumstances of his sins. He says that in a dream he beheld a very beautiful child who seemed to desire to give him the communion; the Indian excused himself from receiving it, as being so great a sinner. The child said to him: "It is true, thou dost not deserve communion, because in thy confession thou didst conceal this and that circumstance." On awakening, the Indian betook himself to our house; and, communicating to one of Ours what had befallen him, he said that he wished to make his confession anew, which he did.

Another Indian, who was wont to take the discipline in our house, became through that excellent practice so accustomed to his prayers and scourgings that, while marching on an expedition with a company of soldiers, he left the camp at night in order to practice his discipline. One night, while the captain of infantry was going the rounds, he saw this man leave the camp, and followed him, believing him to be some soldier who was going out with some evil purpose. He saw the man go to a church cemetery, where, after offering his prayers, he began to scourge himself severely. When his penance was ended, the captain approached him, and recognizing him as an Indian, was even more edified than before. Asked whence he came, the Indian replied that he belonged to one of the suburbs of Manila, and that he made his confessions to the fathers of the Society. The captain, impressed by this new converts solicitude for his soul, gave him some money and sent him home, saying: "Take this and do not corrupt thyself among soldiers."

The number of Christians in the mission of Taitai, and their exercises. Chapter LXVIII.

Of those who were Christians in the year 1600—who might number six or seven thousand—in San Juan del Monte and other villages of that mission, one thousand five hundred were newly baptized in that same year, among the many infidels who were continually coming down to us from the mountains and thinly settled districts. Our observation and experience among those people show, of late, greater devotion and more frequent attendance at the holy sacraments of confession and communion, and in processions, discipline, and works of charity; and every day may be observed constant progress and reformation in their lives.

The father-visitor founded a hospital in Antipolo, which has been most important to the welfare of their souls and bodies. On the day when it was opened, after a solemn mass and sermon (which was drawn from the story of the paralytic), the father-visitor rendered service to the poor, washing and kissing their hands while he knelt before them. In this he was assisted by the chiefs, whose wives performed, in a separate place, the same act of humility toward some sick women. A rule was made that the poor should be fed each day by four brethren of the Confraternity, who aid them with much charity and pleasure.

The father-visitor also began a seminary for boys, where they are reared in virtue and good habits, obeying the rules imposed upon them, according to their capacity, of Christian and civilized living. This school is of great importance to the whole mission, for from these children must come the good rulers of the people; and it is an easy and gentle means for all reformation. Some of the children (those who have some means) are fed with the rice which their parents give them, and others through alms. They are taught to pray, to assist at mass, to read, to write, and (most important of all) to be good Christians.

In San Juan del Monte it is customary to sing the Salve to our Lady throughout the year. During Fridays in Lent, after some spiritual instruction, they perform the discipline in the church. It once happened that some Indians, who were bathing, as is their custom, heard while in the river the bells calling to the Salve and the discipline; most of them at once made preparations to go thither. One alone played the obstinate, and, in ridicule of the others, said in his own language: A coi ovian niño "Bring back something for me," which in their mode of speech is a sort of mockery.

The rest went to the Salve, and this man remained alone; a caiman, or crocodile, seized and killed him, before he could be assisted or confessed. What most surprised me was that, although this animal is very voracious and always devours a man after killing him, or at least carries away a hand or foot, this man it left untouched, although dead; and thus he was found by the Indians, to their great horror, and causing them to hold in great esteem the disciplines, and the Salves to our Lady.

The council held by the bishop in the city of Santissimo Nombre de
Jesus; and other events which occurred there. Chapter LXIX.

The right reverend bishop of Sebu, having through a residence of two years acquainted himself with the affairs of his bishopric, determined to hold a council [sinodo], composed of the clergy and religious who were busied in the conversion of the tribes, in order to regulate many things, and to agree upon the method to be used by them in giving instruction. Their advice was especially desired in regard to the translation of the Christian doctrine, in order to select, from the various versions of it which were current in the Bissayan tongue, one which might serve as a Vulgate and be generally used in the province of Pintados. [18] Before assembling this council, that great prelate chose to visit some of his flocks, which he did, traveling in person throughout a good part of his bishopric. In this tour our fathers were honored by his being their guest in the island of Leyte—over which he journeyed on foot, although seventy years of age. He took up his lodging in our houses and residences, in as simple and familiar a manner as if he were one of ourselves; and confirmed our Christians with the most holy sacrament of confirmation, and strengthened them by his example, and by the kindnesses that he showed them, with much charity and good-will. He was highly pleased with them, and with the excellent evidences of Christianity which he beheld in them, especially with the chastity of the Bissayan women—concerning whom he said that they had been unjustly slandered; for, although he had spent so long a time in Nueva España, he had not seen there so much reserve and modesty. He told Ours that they might feel well content with their ministries, since that region was one of the most favored spots on earth, and, in his opinion, it was most pleasing and precious in the sight of God. He finally held his council, convening therein all the superiors of those residences; and after many very salutary regulations had been made for all classes of people in his bishopric, the council was concluded with great harmony, and to the consolation of all.

During Lent of that year the disciplines were commenced in our house, with a goodly number of persons and with the devotion of all the people. Sermons and instruction were also begun in the barracks, on account of the soldiers who had been stationed there for the protection of the city; these were highly profitable to them, as well as to the people of the city. The Indians have received more attention in our house this year than have any other class of people, because there was no priest in the city who could understand their language, save only three members of our Society, any one of whom would have been sufficient to care for them.

The following occurrence was considered by some as wonderful: A father went to visit a sick Indian, to assist him when dying; the sick man was unable to speak, and had not yet made his confession. The father urged him to utter the name of Jesus; he made a great effort, and tried to pronounce it as best he could, uttering the word, but in so broken a voice that it could hardly be understood. The father asked him to try to say it a second time, and as soon as he pronounced it he gained the power of speech; then he made a full confession, and on the following day was sound and well.

Part of the employment of our fathers in that city was with the Sangleys from the kingdom of China; this was exchanged (and for the better) for labors among the natives of that land; and we took charge of a little settlement called Mandavi, half a legua distant from our house; they are a simple people, docile and inoffensive by nature. Father Miguel Gomez recently sent us, in a letter, this account of a visit which he made there: "I made inquiries, to learn who had not yet been baptized, and seventy were brought to me, besides some others whom the Bissayans call Daotáñgatao, which signifies, 'People who are good for nothing;' these people are wont to reply, when we preach to them the law of God: 'I am good for nothing at being a Christian or learning the prayers.' I began to preach to all these people the truths of our holy faith, and the foolishness of their divatas, or idols. Our Lord was pleased that they should learn the doctrine in a very short time, although they were old men and obstinate, and ask for holy baptism with a devotion which caused my admiration. The day had scarcely dawned when old men and women, septuagenarians, were at the door, in order to become Christians. I baptized sixty of these persons—among them the most influential chief of that district, a man seventy years old, Andug by name—and six others, infant boys. All this has been a source of great consolation to me, and I hope in our Lord that He will vouchsafe much to those people."

Many conversions are made in Bohol. Chapter LXX.

From the end of the year one thousand six hundred to the spring of the year one thousand six hundred and one, that fire which the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, came to earth to light, so earnestly desiring to set the world aflame, seemed to burn with great heat in the island of Bohol—as may be seen by the letters of our fathers who at that time had gone thither. The most interesting letter, as giving the most detailed account, is, if I am not mistaken, one from Father Valerio de Ledesma, rector of Sebu, to the father-visitor; he writes thus:

"In this letter I shall give an account of what our Lord was pleased to accomplish in the island of Bohol after I departed from Sebu with Father Ximenez and Brother Dionisio, on the twenty-ninth of May in the year one thousand six hundred. When the council adjourned, I set forth to visit the island of Bohol, as your Reverence had instructed me. There I immediately undertook to unite and bring together the people, a very difficult task, but quite necessary for their instruction. I began with the people of Loboc, who were dispersed and disunited; and, after many peaceful methods and forcible arguments, God was pleased to bring together more than a thousand souls, gathered from the mountains and rivers—most of them people reared in war, robbery and murder; until then, it had been impossible to bring them down from the hilly regions and inaccessible mountains where they dwelt. But non est impossibile apud Deum omne verbum. Encouraged by our good fortune in Loboc, we sought to unite the Tinguianes (or mountaineers) of Dita and Marabago, a wild people who had never before seen a father. We brought them together by blandishments and mild threats, and by other methods suited to their capacity, and it pleased our Lord that we were able to persuade them to settle along the river which they call Viga. There they have erected a church, and Father Gabriel writes me that on Sundays it does not contain them all. He says that he began by baptizing more than one hundred and twenty children; and that the adults are not only tamed, but even ask for baptism with much fervor. At night they pray, and sing the doctrine; and in the day-time they chant praises to our Lord. Those who have dwelt in Bohol, and know the unruly nature of that people, will appreciate the change which our Lord has wrought in them. When we first begin to address them, your Reverence might behold them on the bank of the river, armed, and so fierce as to arouse one's fear; yet, at the same time, desirous that I should address them. This I did, showing them so much affection that they and I became friends; and as hostages they gave me their children for baptism, preparing them to learn the doctrine and to receive holy baptism. Having brought together the people of Dita, when it seemed to me that they would have no difficulties in the small villages round about, it happened that, when least I expected, I saw as many as forty men coming, armed with lances and shields, whose design it was to break up the union by violence, especially if they should be ordered to assemble in any place not to their liking. Realizing from their determination the danger to which the others would be exposed, I dissimulated as best I could, so that the others might not perceive their uncivil conduct, and feigned that my desire was the same as theirs—but with such conditions that I know that they will not fulfil them; and it is obvious, from this very incident, that he who has the authority and force to intimidate them can subdue them. I think, with Father Francisco Xavier, of blessed memory, that a little gained in peace is worth more than much secured by war. Thus was ended that disturbance; I did what I could, but not what I desired. They can, it is true, be instructed where they now are; but the task will be a hard one.

"Thence I returned toward Sebu, passing through some villages where Father Miguel Gomez had given instruction; and I can assure your Reverence that while I tarried there I found more consolation, and gathered a greater harvest of souls, than I have ever before known. For theirs was so great a longing and hunger to hear of the things of God, and so ardent a desire to learn the doctrine that throughout the night could be heard in their houses, now here and now there, ceaseless songs and praises to God; and morning and night, in the field and in the church, nothing could be heard but praises of our Lord. A chief said to me: 'Would you believe, Father, that all night long I did not close my eyes, I was so anxious and eager to pray?' Accordingly, it appeared in eight or nine days that all the people had learned the prayers and other things needful for baptism. Your Reverence will doubtless ask: 'Who inspired them with such warmth and fire, since they are a people so heedless by nature?' I know not what answer to give your Reverence save, Digitus Dei est hic. What I can say is, that he whose heart is set on an end, also holds dear the means to that end. They were inspired by God to desire holy baptism, and for that reason they so heartily availed themselves of the means which we offered them to gain it, and heeded no difficulty in their way. Upon the feast-day of Saint Anne, when the church was called together, our Lord was pleased to make for us a goodly beginning in the conversion of an aged chief regarded by all as their father. While in the church, he fell upon his knees and said: 'Father, baptize me, for God is calling me.' I said to him in a loud voice, while all the rest preserved silence: 'Dost thou say this heartily?' 'Yes, Father, with all my heart do I say it.' 'Does love for God and for thy salvation move thee?' 'Yes, Father; that and nothing else.' 'Hast thou determined to abandon all the maganitos and to exchange them for the true God?' 'Yes, Father.' 'Art thou resolved to serve the true God and to be a good Christian, or dost thou ask this with thy mouth only?' 'There is nothing else in my heart.' 'That is well, then,' said I; 'I admit thee as a catechumen.' With this example those who were already prepared were so convinced, and others so deeply moved, that more than a hundred came, one after another, and knelt in the same way and asked for baptism. I, on my part, began to ask them questions, to confirm even more their faith; for this virtue, as well as other habits, grows and is increased by acts. Brother Dionisius and I returned home, astonished at such fervor and devotion among Bissayans. At one time I baptized more than eighty-nine adults; a few days later, ninety-four, children and adults together; and, at still another baptism, the other people in that village. A few whom I did not baptize fell upon their knees and asked for the sacrament; but I deferred it until the next time when I should, God willing, return to them.

"While we were passing, on the way from that village, over some mountains, the Lord offered us, as a spiritual gain, twenty-nine children, who were like so many little angels [19] (which is a safe money); these we baptized, together with three adults whom I took on this journey with me that they might hear some masses, and be instructed, by word and example, in the things of Christianity. Although those people were mountaineers, they entertained us with the best that they had; and he was not held in honor by them who did not bring a banana, some papaya [20] fruit, rice, or a fowl. Here I have learned by experience how important it is that we should not rear these Indians in such [spiritual] aridity that they know not how to perform any act of charity. For admitting that they are poor, yet even in their poverty there is room for merciful and charitable deeds with the little possessions which are theirs; and by performing these they are made humane, and they find pleasure therein. On the other hand, they can be recompensed by us with other gifts, by which they are greatly pleased, and their hearts are more easily won for God.

"From that place we set out for another little village which is called Tobigu, where, in anticipation of our arrival, they had quickly erected a very convenient church. We cast our nets—or, to speak correctly, those of Jesus Christ—and the Lord pressed into them all the fish there were. Indeed, even if there were no other return than this, I would consider myself well repaid for having come from España; for all—the headmen and chiefs, the children, old men, and women—prostrated themselves at the feet of Jesus Christ, making public confession and asking for the waters of baptism. The first time, we baptized a hundred souls; the second time, the rest of the people in the village, so that we did not know of any perverse one remaining—although, at the beginning, there were a few who resisted. When I arrived at the village, I heard someone say in a loud voice: 'I do not have to become a Christian;' but he was afterward converted, being unable to resist the Holy Spirit. Another savage, fierce and intractable in disposition, after having heard the sermon on salvation and hell, said that he would go to hell; and he maintained this so obstinately that he seemed to be possessed by the devil. He was arousing the same spirit in others, as he was an influential man, respected by those of the village. I told him of the terrible punishments of hell, and in return he asked what he was to do if his ancestors and parents were there, and he wished to be with them. I told him that he ought first to try the fire, to see if he could endure it, and I ordered some red-hot coals to be brought, that he might make this test; but his hands were as hard as his heart, and the fire had little effect on them. After a few days had passed, however, he turned over a new leaf, so completely that he went through the plains and grain-fields, calling together his people so that they might become Christians and be baptized with him. He is now one of our good Christians, and the most earnest one whom I have known among the Bissayans.

"The devil, envious of such success, sought to disturb our new Christian community with rumors of war, which compelled us to return to the village of Tobigo. There, while the people were wrought up to the most ardent fervor of prayers and conversions, forty-eight armed men descended upon the village, to plunder it and to burn the church. That night our people posted a sentinel, and kindled large fires, and so the enemy did not dare to enter openly; but they remained in the neighborhood to rob anyone who might enter or leave the village. On the morning of the next day, armed with better weapons than theirs—namely, with confidence in the Lord, whose work we are doing—I set out to go where they were, taking with me Brother Dionisio (who has been, in all these experiences, my very faithful companion); and there I said to them: 'Fear not, my children, for I am your father, not the alcalde-mayor; I come to do you good, not harm. What do you fear from a man unarmed and alone, who puts himself in your power? You behold me here. If you desire me for a slave, I will live with you in your village of Tibor, and will serve you as a slave if you will in turn let me teach you how you may obtain salvation. I have compassion on you when I see you acting thus, for if the Spaniards seize you they will do you much harm. Let us be friends, and in token of our friendship, take this garment:' and I handed to the chiefs an elegant striped mantilla, asking them to give me also some pledge. They presented to me a necklace, and then we embraced each other and drank from the same cup. In short, we became so good friends that they promised me that whenever I might summon them to Loboc, they would come, provided that they would bring but few people. They gave me a little fruit and some eggs, and I gave them a basket of rice. After expressions of friendship had been exchanged, I asked them to make peace also with my friends of Tobigon; this they did, and departed abashed without having done any harm. May God bring them to a place where they can receive instruction; for some of them, when questioned, replied that I was the first Spaniard whom they had ever seen in their lives. This took place near Sebu; what must be the condition of affairs elsewhere?"

Another letter from Father Valerio to the father-visitor, dated October 4, gives the following account: "Father Gabriel writes me that he has baptized in Loboc and Dita more than four hundred souls, most of them children under the age of reason. In these three months I find, upon examination, that more than a thousand souls have been baptized, and that the ardor of numberless others is aroused. The fathers write me that the hour has come in which God is present in this island. May your Reverence send us laborers, or at least one father, until those from España arrive. Fortunate is he who may come hither, for he will delight in the fervor of this primitive church."

Father Gabriel Sanchez writes thus, in a letter of October 5: "Our Lord has favored the plans and labors of the father rector and other fathers; for in uniting the villages, their people have been so thoroughly converted to the Lord that I know not what to say, except that the Lord, who created and redeemed them, has been pleased to call them with so special a vocation. Of the people in those reductions there have been newly baptized in the last four months more than two thousand souls, and it seems to me that, if we had fathers, the whole island would be converted in one month. I am filled with devotion when I see people who are practically savages come from the mountains, and on their knees ask for baptism, and children as well, like angels, who have already learned the prayers, although I know not who are their teachers. Today, for instance, one of them came down, a child about ten years old, whom I had never before seen; and yet he knew the catechism and the questions, and was most eager to be baptized. Catolonas, or priestesses, also come to us, and have given so many proofs of their holy desire that we have not been able to deny them baptism. Truly, my father, I am living in great consolation and joy; for here in these regions there is nothing more to be desired than that we may faithfully serve our Lord, and that all the people may be brought into the presence of His Divine Majesty. On Sunday we had in the church of Loboc six or seven hundred souls, which is the usual attendance. If your Reverence could see in the early mornings nearly a hundred children from the mountains, boys and girls but recently baptized, march with praises to God in a procession along the bank of this river, singing the doctrine with angelic voices that seem to come from heaven, I verily believe that your Reverence would be moved to devout tears, at seeing how God has brought them down from these mountains and dragons' caves that they may praise and glorify Him. During the last few days there were baptized in Dita five hundred more souls, so that in this mission of Bohol there are now more than three thousand Christians. At the beginning, we had eight hundred, and now, with the blessing of God and the mercy that He has shown them, two thousand three hundred have been baptised. Since God decrees it, may St Peter bless it. Amen."

In another letter he writes: "For days I have been toiling alone; and when I depart from a village, a considerable time passes before I return to it. But it is evident that the spiritual benefit of those poor people acquits me for this delay, in order that your Reverence may take pity on them. For this reason, my father, let fathers be brought from España; and will your Reverence send hither even twenty, for there will be a harvest for all of them. In Loboc and Dita in the last few days nearly four hundred little ones have been baptized; this has given me much consolation in the Lord, for I find great satisfaction in these little creatures. The adults are learning the doctrine with such fervor that even until midnight the sound of their voices is incessant. We have received information that enemies are coming to attack this island, and the people are therefore greatly disturbed. Would to God that we might be made captives for His love, and might die for pure love of Him!" All this is from Father Gabriel Sanchez.

The enemies whom the father here mentions are Indians from the island of Mindanao which lies near the islands of Terrenate and Maluco, where the doctrine of Mahoma is professed. In the year one thousand six hundred that people collected an armed fleet of sixty small vessels, which descended upon these islands subject to the government of Manila, and wrought much damage. They laid waste the island of Bantayan and the river of Panai, and burned the churches. Then they coasted along other islands, robbing and murdering, and finally carried away as captives one thousand two hundred souls. But it pleased our Lord that when they came to this island of Bohol, where our fathers reside, they should inflict no considerable losses, nor did they burn our church and house—which they could have done with impunity, for all the people fled to the mountains. Yet they passed on without stopping, as Father Gabriel relates in part of his letter of November 16, which runs as follows:

"In order that your Reverence may aid us in rendering thanks to our Lord for a great act of mercy which He has shown us, your Reverence, as father-visitor, should know that on the twenty-sixth of October in this year, 1600, the enemy attacked Baclayun just after our fathers had gone thence to Sebu, summoned thither by holy obedience; for the father rector had sent in haste for the three of us who were in the island, and lo! the enemy were there. As evidence of the value of holy obedience, and to show how it exempts from dangers, as well as another token of mercy—the enemy committed scarcely any ravages in Bohol, considering what was in their power to do. Their approach was made known three or four hours in advance, and all, as I have been informed, fled to the mountains—except three old women and an old man, whom they killed; and three women and a man, whom they carried away captive. One of the old women whom they killed had been a notorious witch; but God our Lord, who loved her soul, inspired her with so fervent a desire to become a Christian and receive baptism that for three months she did not cease asking me for it. Finally, on account of her importunity, I baptized her, after she had several times given evidence of her sincerity by expressing in public her abhorrence of her idolatrous belief. But she was fortunate indeed, for soon after she had been baptized they killed her, which is certainly a singular blessing from our Lord. The other old woman who was about seventy years of age had also been baptized a little while before. They did no damage in our church, although I am told that they disinterred some bodies—why, I know not. Here is another instance of God's mercy: although they passed very near the river of Lobo, Dita, and other little villages belonging to our newly converted Christians, they neither visited nor attacked them; this seems miraculous, considering that they had, as your Reverence well knows, committed so deplorable ravages in other places."

Another of our fathers held a mission in that island, during the vacation in the Latin studies in the College of Sebu; and, among other things, he writes thus about his short stay there: "So great is the heavenly influence which God sends upon this village of Tobigon, and the abundance of gifts which He bestows upon it, that I have not dared to go hence, and cut the thread of a progress so auspicious, thinking it best to remain and behold the marvels of God. The church is full night and day, and there is no leisure to leave the building, and hardly to eat when I must; and it is necessary to have my food brought to me from a distance. All are eager to become Christians and be baptized. During the two weeks that I have spent here, among those to whom we have been able to give instruction, one hundred and fifty adults have been baptized, and today we are to baptize about forty catechumens; the rest will be left until our return. Their affection for us is great; they bring their children and sick that we may bless them, and in the street they fall upon their knees to receive the benediction. They make frequent use of holy water for their houses, at their meals, in their grain-fields, and for their sick; indeed, to drink a swallow of it they consider an efficacious remedy. In short, all that I see in them is piety and devotion—which is all the more precious since they are Christians so recently converted. An old man asked on his knees for baptism, and, as it was necessary to defer the sacrament, he said with his hands crossed upon his breast: 'Father, teach me how to invoke God, since I do not know how to pray and thou wilt not baptize me; for I truly reverence Him in my soul, and desire to serve Him:' Another old man—a chief, whom all respect—who hitherto had been obdurate, has just asked me for baptism; he is very hoary, and so old that it seems as if he could not, from very age, utter a word. I go to his house to instruct him, for he is too feeble to come to the church. I shall soon baptize him, and another old man of his age; and it seems to me a certain proof of their predestination that God should have kept them so long, and now have inspired in them so ardent a desire to be saved. The Lord be blessed, amen! for His marvels, who from the stones can raise sons of God and heirs of heaven, at the time and hour that pleases Him, and by instruments most inadequate, so that all may know that it is the work of His power. Up to this time we have in this island three thousand three hundred Christians, and I am confident in the Divine goodness that by next year there will not be one man who is not baptized."

The mission held in Tanai. Chapter LXXI.

Tanai is a beautiful and thickly-settled river in the great island called Negros, on the side which forms a strait with the island of Sebu. This part of the island is under the parochial care of Don Diego Ferreira, the bishop's vicar there, and first archdeacon of the cathedral of Sebu. This priest, in his great affection for our humble Society, and influenced by seeing the results of our fathers' labors in those islands—aided by the demand of the natives of Tanai themselves, who had at various times asked for us—so urgently requested our presence there that at last the authorities were obliged to consent. Overjoyed that they had assigned this field to Father Gabriel Sanchez, whom he held in great esteem, the said Don Diego went in person to Bohol with a ship, expressly to convey Father Sanchez, and carried him to their Tanai. What this faithful minister of Jesus Christ accomplished there the Indians themselves made known, and the archdeacon lauded it in various letters, being most grateful to God and to the Society for this service that we had rendered him. We gave him therein no little aid in carrying his burden of the many souls which are under his care, alone as he is, without any other assistance or instruction than ours. But Father Gabriel Sanchez, with his accustomed plainness, has written a more detailed account of some particular cases, while making a report of his labors to the superiors, as is the custom among us. In a letter to the father-visitor, dated in November of the year one thousand six hundred, he writes thus:

"The archdeacon of Sebu, who holds the benefice of Tanai—a venerable and meritorious man, as your Reverence well knows—went in person to the island of Bohol, twelve leguas away, to beseech Father Alonso de Umanes, our superior, to send, for God's love, a father to teach his people the law of God, since he himself did not know their language. I was chosen, and it pleased our Lord to give us a good foothold in the island; on the very first day we found all the people gathered on the beach, awaiting us with music and other tokens of joy. We went to the church, and there I began to address them and discuss our holy faith. At the first or second sermon, your Reverence might have seen almost all the people suddenly changed. Indeed, as they had not before had any minister who could address them in their own language, they had not, as I learned, been able to form any conception of the things of God. When the light penetrated their souls, they were astonished; and, full of joy, they began to ask one another, 'What is this?' They gazed on me (poor wretch that I am), as on one descended from heaven. As the greater number of those who assembled there were Christians, but had not made their confession nor did they even know si Spiritus Sanctus est, I discussed with them the remedy of confession, explaining its purpose, and arousing their affection for it. Within one month about four hundred persons made their confessions, with the utmost sorrow for their sins; and many received communion, with such devotion that to behold them inspired a like emotion. I baptized about eighty, most of them infants, although there were a few adults. We instituted the procession of children which, in our doctrinas, is wont to march through the streets. We began, too, in the church to give instruction and ask questions, which so pleased them that the chiefs answered them, and were offended if we did not question them.

"During our stay several incidents occurred which I shall relate. An Indian woman, wife of the governor of the village, and of high rank, lay sick. One night her malady grew so violent that it left her without power of speech. Believing her to be dead, they hastened to summon us late in the night. When we arrived she was speechless and unconscious, and they were bewailing her as one dead. It grieved me that the woman should die in that state; for she had been a Christian for some years, and yet had not attended confession (although she led a blameless life) because there was no priest who knew her language. I was anxious that she should, if only by a sign, ask for confession, but she could not do even this. We repeated the gospel to her, sprinkling her with holy water; and God, the Father of mercy, gave such efficacy to these means that we had not finished reciting the holy gospel when the woman regained consciousness and asked for confession, saying: 'Jesus, have mercy on me.' Many people were present on this occasion, and we gave thanks to our Lord. Within ten minutes the sick woman was as well as before her illness; accordingly, I would not confess her in her own house, but left her, directing her people to bring her to the church the next day. This was done, and on the following day she confessed, to her great consolation. Another woman, also of rank, was attacked by an illness so violent that she could not be held, and even dashed herself against the walls. Finally, she was dying, and they hastily summoned us; we read to her the gospel, as usual, and gave her holy water. Then with much difficulty, on account of the many persons who were in the house, I began to confess her before she should die. But it was God's pleasure that, just as she began to confess, her malady and the pains of death should be mitigated—so fully that before her confession was concluded she was as well as before. The next day she went to the church, and there, before many persons, she made known the mercy which our Lord had shown to her the night before. Another woman was reduced by sickness to the point of death, so that she was speechless; her people hurriedly summoned us, saying that she was already dead, and we found her unconscious, and already lamented as dead. We recited the holy gospel, and gave her holy water; and we had not yet finished the reading when the woman regained her senses and said 'Jesus.' She then made her confession, and even before we departed she had recovered health, and was offering thanks to our Lord.

"They also called us in to see two children who were dying. We went to them in haste, putting aside the confessions which we had on hand; and found both of them speechless and unconscious—one of them with no sign of respiration—and already bewailed as dead. We recited the holy gospel to them, and gave them holy water; and soon we left them so well that one of them, who was four or five years old, came down that same day to play with the other children, and the other one soon became well. We went to hear the confession of a man who lived a legua and a half away from the village; he was so sick that they could not bring him to the church, for his body was in such a state of corruption that no one would touch him. We went to hear his confession and found him in the condition which we have described; he could not even move from one side to another. We sought to induce him to confess, and repeated to him the holy gospel. This was on Friday or Saturday; on the following Sunday, when I asked for him, they told me that he was sound and well, and had gone to another island in quest of food. We were informed that another, a pagan woman, was at the point of death; at her request, we went to baptize her. I gave her this sacrament in some haste, lest she should die on my hands; but after baptism she regained her health. All these things aroused in their hearts a deep affection for our Lord, and they recognized that what had been preached to them was the truth, and that their idols are but demons.

"I also desire to relate to your Reverence how one night, about ten o'clock, while I was commending myself to our Lord, round about the church I heard many persons weeping most piteously, yet in gentle tones, as if grieving for something which had been lost. Fearing lest it might be some case of death, I sent out two boys to inquire what it was. Some women of rank, the daughters of the master of the house, replied that they and the other women were weeping because on that night, having finished chanting the Christian doctrine, while in a passage-way or corridor of the house and gazing toward the sky, they saw as it were one fastened on a cross with a crown on his disfigured but beautiful head. His body and breast were brighter than the sun, white, and lovelier than words can depict. This [vision of the] Lord gradually receded from them, rising toward heaven, until it reached the moon, when it disappeared from their sight. This lovely vision aroused in them deep love, and, when it departed from them, sadness and sorrow. I sent to bid them calm their grief. On the following day, in the church, those same young women, with their servants and those of their household, arose before all the people; and when I asked them what that meant, they recounted what had occurred to them the night before. Yet they are simple and artless people, who were quite bashful and timid when I questioned them. The next day we learned that this vision, or cross, had been seen at the same time in another village, one or two leguas distant from this one. What most impressed me in this incident was that those persons, although virtuous before it occurred, were afterward much more so, and in their exemplary and modest behavior are the example and pattern for the other women; for they pass many hours on their knees in prayer, they hear mass every day, and, while we remained there, they made their confession every Saturday. The incumbent of that benefice wrote me, several months later, that they were persevering, and setting a rare example in virtue.

"The time for my departure and my return from Tanai arrived, in accordance with the orders of holy obedience. Such was the sorrow, and so many were the tears of those poor people that I was constrained thereby to weep for compassion. They cast themselves at my feet, and upon their knees besought me not to depart, saying: 'If we again fall into sin, to whom shall we have recourse?' I consoled them as best I could; and they accompanied me as far as the river, where I embarked. Then they plunged into the water, and surrounded the boat—men, women, and children—dripping with water, and shedding tears. They brought me for the journey their offerings of rice, chickens and other presents, which I did not accept, as it seemed to me more becoming not to take them. I left them with much regret at seeing so many souls exposed to danger and without a shepherd or minister who knew their language. May God our Lord provide aid for them, according to His mercy."

Seeing the excellent disposition of those people, and the harvest which our Lord was gaining from the missions, the same Father Gabriel Sanchez held another one among those people which he briefly mentions in one of his letters. He says: "I found the people steadfast in their good intentions, and in the doctrine which I had taught them. When I asked them, on certain occasions, if they had committed such and such a sin, they would answer: 'Jesus. Father, would I be false to God? When we were taught last year that we must not sin against the Divine Majesty, would we dare to do so?' And their works confirmed their deeds, for their lives were like those of the primitive church. There were women who, although they were offered chains of gold and presents of great value, could not be influenced thereby to consent to sinful acts. Others suffered insults, and harsh treatment until their blood was shed from the blows and wounds they received, because they would not consent to offend our Lord. Many instances of this could be related."

The fruits of other missions in the island of Ibabao. Chapter LXXII.

As the inhabitants of the island of Ibabao are scattered along the coast and shores of the sea, it has been necessary to despatch thither, on missions, three fathers and three brethren, during most of the year, who instruct the people with the excellent results that are wont to accrue from such missions. In these the harvest has been very large, the divine grace corresponding to the earnest desires of those fathers, and with their labors and perils. Nearly all the time they are journeying by sea, sailing along the coast of this and other adjacent islands, and crossing from one to another, never without danger. They have become fishermen of souls, casting their nets for the heavenly catch—from these journeys returning to Tinagon, where, as we have said, is the house of their residence. This residence cares for fourteen villages, large and small. During the year, there have been baptized therein three thousand six hundred and eighty persons, most of them adults. Father Alonso de Umanes, superior of the residence, Father Manuel Martinez, and Father Juan de San Lucar formed six principal missions, each father with his companion being assigned to certain villages. Father Alonso de Umanes writes that in the first mission two hundred and sixty-nine persons were converted to Christianity, eighty of whom were children, and the rest adults.

In this mission two small and isolated islands were visited, concerning which Father Juan de San Lucar writes to the father-visitor, as follows: "Knowing the satisfaction which your Reverence receives when we render to you an account of our missions, I will now tell you of the last one which I made in the two little islets of Maripipi and Limancauayan, which for more than two years had not been visited by any priest. The people were most eager to have some father to instruct them; and when they knew that Brother Francisco Martin and I were going to them, they made a great feast, and adorned with branches of trees the streets of the village, and the shore as far as the church. The boys and girls came forth, singing the doctrine and bearing a cross, which was to me a most gratifying reception. Afterward, in the church, I thanked them with tears for the affection which they showed us. From the time of our arrival until we departed from those islands, they were continually bringing us gifts from the products of the land, such as wax, rice, and bananas, and other articles of more value. When I undertook to make a list of those who sought baptism, they asked me not to do so, since all those who were not converted (who were very few) desired to become Christians; so I did as they wished. The old men, who elsewhere are usually obdurate and stubborn, and answer that they are now too old to learn the doctrine and begin a new manner of life, here used this very same argument to induce me to baptize them, saying: 'Father, consider that we are already old, and soon shall end our lives; do not let us die without baptism, since we are so anxious to be Christians.' With this good disposition on their part, I began to preach to them, and our Lord was pleased that they should all become Christians. They not orly learned the doctrine, but discussed together the sermons and instructions in the church and in their houses; indeed, so concerned were they about this matter that they seemed to pay no attention to anything else.

"We were greatly aided in facilitating their instruction by the method of [learning by] decuries which your Reverence imparted to us. Dividing them by tens, as if in classes, some learned the Pater-noster, others the Ave Maria; and thus they came to acquire with much facility and ease all the prayers of the primer. I baptized one hundred and forty persons, some of whom were old men of rank. One of them was very anxious that his mother should become a Christian, and on the day when our Lord accorded him this mercy he was greatly rejoiced; he made a great feast, inviting the people to eat at his house, and furnished to them a bountiful repast. We celebrated the octave of Corpus Christi with a solemn procession, in which we bore the most blessed sacrament through the streets, which were decorated and adorned for the occasion with as much splendor as was possible. They laid all their riches and gold chains on the platform; and although it was all insignificant enough, greater was the good will and love with which they offered it.

"With the report that those two islands had been converted to the faith, the island of Cauayan and others of Samar were led to ask for fathers to instruct them. I repaired to Cauayan, and in fifteen days I baptized, after some instructions and sermons, one hundred and seventy adults, with four or five little children. I inquired if any one yet remained to be made a Christian; they replied that only one was left, an old woman, outside the village, but that I need not concern myself about her, for, on account of her great age (she must have been more than a hundred and thirty years old), she had not sufficient understanding or judgment to penetrate into the things of God. I had her conveyed to the village with great care, and they brought me a clod of clay, which had only a little perception, and hardly any understanding; sight had forsaken her, and her hearing was very dull. She had no more power of motion than a stone, for wherever they placed her, there she remained without stirring. She had great-great-grandsons living, and I believe that the descendants extended even further. I began to catechize her, or rather to test her, to see if she had the use of reason; but for the time I could not convince myself whether she had it or not. I had her conveyed to the house of a worthy Christian, an Indian woman of much judgment, by whom the old woman could make herself understood; and I asked her to talk with the old woman very carefully about the things of God, and to draw from her all that she could. Relying upon what this good woman told me (she acted as my interpreter in the church, and as catechist in her own house), I was finally persuaded that the old woman had the use of reason; but when I began to instruct her in the things that were absolutely necessary, the Christian woman told me that, as for the other truths, it was morally impossible, on acount of the old woman's limited capacity, to give her further instruction. I then baptized her, with much consolation, being persuaded that God had preserved her for that hour. I am convinced that she has a very short time to live, but I trust, in the mercy of God, that in the other life she will obtain eternal blessedness through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gained it for her with His precious blood. From Cauayan I went to a little hamlet called Cotai, where I baptized eighty-three persons. From that place I went to Paet, where I baptized one hundred and twenty, all adults; thence to Canauan, where I baptized one hundred and forty. According to my reckoning, then, more than five hundred persons have been baptized, all of age, besides twelve children. What I especially value in this is the sight of the fervor and devotion with which they received baptism, their horror of sin, and their zealous desire that other neighboring peoples should become Christians. They often take the initiative with those people, and preach to their friends with a fervor and power that astonish me. I am also much gratified at having brought about more than eighty marriages within the church, for I suspect that the alliances formed by those people are not marriages, but rather the taking of concubines, considering the readiness with which they divorce and marry again, according to the custom of the country.

"It seems to me that the road to the conversion of those natives is now smooth and open, with the conversion of the chiefs and of the majority of the people; for the excuse which they formerly gave, saying, 'I will become a Christian as soon as the rest do,' has now become their incentive toward conversion, and they now say: 'We desire to become Christians because all the rest are Christians.' While I was passing through Canauan, one of the chiefs was enraged because a slave woman of his had become a Christian, and rebuked her angrily for it; but recently he brought her to me with all his slaves, and he, with his wife and all his family, have become Christians. Another chief prevented his wife from hearing the divine word and becoming a Christian, which she desired most heartily to be. Being unable to go to the church, as she was kept at home, she sent a message to the father informing him that her husband was using this violence toward her. Orders were given to arrest him, and, this done, the woman was baptized. But she obtained from God, as I believe, the conversion of her husband; for within a few days he returned to the church, subdued, and was baptized. This occurred during the first mission.

"Another mission was held at Catubig; this village is farthest from the residence, for it is at the extremity of the island of Ibabao, which is very large. The Indians are very well disposed, and among them are some Christians, who lack instruction; and all are desirous of having a father to teach them. There are more than four thousand souls who only await the coming of ministers of the holy gospel to distribute among them the bread of heaven. If we had chosen to open the door for baptism many might have received that sacrament; but during that mission only one hundred and fifty-four children were baptized, the others being reserved for a better opportunity, when our Lord might be pleased to send them those who would preserve them with the food of instruction in the new life which, with the divine grace, they would receive.

"In the third mission, there were baptized in three months eight hundred and thirty-seven persons; seven hundred and five of these were adults, and ninety-two children. At first, the men encountered great difficulty in putting away their many wives; but finally the divine Majesty made the outcome propitious, softening the hearts of those pagans, and they brought their undertaking to a glorious end.

"In the fourth sortie or foray, six hundred and thirteen were baptized; in the next, two hundred and seventy; and in the last, two hundred and fifty-four. With these and other baptisms in this residence alone, three thousand six hundred and eighty persons were therefore made Christians, as I stated above; and many more might be converted if the earnestness with which they ask for baptism were appreciated. But our fathers proceed by inspiring them first to desire baptism, and to give proofs of their desires, and constraining them to learn the doctrine, to attend the church, and to abandon all their heathen rites, their paganism, and their polygamy; thus they become more thoroughly acquainted with and rooted in the faith."

Instances occurring in the mission of Dulac. Chapter LXXVIII.

The year one thousand six hundred and one also gave evidence of great increase and perfecting in the Christian community of Dulac, effected through the ordinary labors and occupations of four fathers and three brethren. These laborers, making their retreat at the appointed times, to practice the spiritual exercises (as is the custom in all those residences), repair thereafter with greater courage to their ministry to souls; and the results of their work thus correspond to their fervor. But, of all the means that they have employed, we must attribute their good fortune in winning souls to their exposing the most blessed sacrament in our churches, thus stimulating the devotion and respect with which it should be regarded; celebrating with solemn processions the feast of Corpus [Christi]; and inviting the faithful to the table and feast of heaven. As a result of these measures, the people were so fond of holy communion, and so greatly enjoyed receiving it, that on some feast-days the crowd was as great as in cities of Europe; and with so thorough preparation, by fasting, discipline, prayer, fervor, and confession, that it seemed to be a primitive church. Thus their esteem for our holy faith is so increased that few are those who do not ask for or desire baptism. Indeed, there are so many who seek it that during the two weeks of advent and Easter in 1601 more than seven hundred persons were baptized; and from the Easter of the previous year, 1600, there were counted in this mission-field more than two thousand and twenty persons baptized—and all this with great fervor, eagerness, and esteem for the new law which they profess with holy baptism.

The residence of Dulac has in its care, among many others, the two large villages called Dagami and San Salvador (which is Paloc), both populous; their people are well instructed and submissive, and our fathers have labored among them with great success. Father Melchior Hurtado writes that in San Salvador, during the celebration of the Christmas feast, almost eight hundred infidels were baptized, and that the confessions and communions were such as might be expected in España—so many, that the fathers could not attend to them all. This is occasion for much glory to our Lord, especially in a land so new, which the Society had entered but six years before to instruct its people, and had found them so obdurate, as I have already stated. From the letters of this father, and from others of Father Juan de Torres and Father Francisco Vicente, some special incidents have been drawn, which I shall here relate.

A father, passing through a little village belonging to that residence and inquiring who were Christians, was told of an old man who lived out in the country, alone in his little hut, and remained there unable to walk. The father gave orders that this man be brought to his presence, and asked him concerning his life, not expecting him to recall much of the doctrine; but he gave so good an account of himself as to leave the father astounded. Among other things the old man said: "Although I remain in this life with my body, my desires are in heaven; and so much so that at night I dream only of the things of the other life. There I see all the dwellers of heaven covered with splendor, and especially one, who excels all the others in brightness. O, father, would that I might be there, freed from this decaying and burdensome body!" The father showed him a print of the judgment, in which heaven was depicted with splendor and beauty, and then asked him if it looked like what he had seen. He answered, Abà, which is one of their words of surprise, and, as it were, of disdain. "That and nothing more, Father? Much more, much more!" Then the father wondered as he beheld the riches which God our Lord had deposited in that clod of earth; and he felt sure that, as the old man said, his only occupation thereafter would be to repeat "Jesus" and "Mary"—which would never leave his memory or his lips, until he should end this life and begin that which is eternal. Two of Ours, passing a wretched hut, found a man, who must have been more than eighty years old, stretched upon some reeds, unconscious and dying. So thin was his body that it was hardly more than skin adhering to bones; and so wasted that he seemed the living picture of death. In their pity for him they prayed our Lord to have compassion on that poor soul. In a short time he recovered consciousness, and gladly asked for the waters of holy baptism, which he greatly desired; this was plainly evident in the ardor with which he declared his belief in our holy faith. After being baptized, his senses were entranced, and he very sweetly invoked the most blessed name of Jesus, and that of Mary; and then he died.

One of our fathers desired to visit another sick man (who had, when in danger of death, been baptized by the schoolmaster of the village), but, with his many confessions and other duties, he had forgotten to do so. Afterward, while resting, he had heard loud wailing and outcries, such as they are wont to utter for their dead; and they came to tell him that the man had died. The father could not refrain from going to see him (although he left all the people in the church), deeply grieved that he had not seen the sick man before. But with great confidence (although everyone said that he was already dead), he approached the unconscious sick man, and said: "Clement" (such was his name), "dost thou hear us, my son?" He opened his eyes and said: "Yes, Father." Then the father bade him invoke the most blessed name of Jesus, and the most sweet name of Mary, and aided him with some nourishment; the sick man regained consciousness, and some strength, and at the end of a few days made his confession, and died in the Lord.

Ours had been asked to visit a sick man, and, when the visit to him was ended, the father, while descending from the house, was seized with the desire to ascertain if there were any other sick person in the vicinity. In the next house he found an old woman, an infidel, ninety years old, although not very sick; he approached her, gave her instruction, and baptized her. On the following day, when he was setting out from the village at the same hour, his heart would not allow him to depart without first visiting his sick people. He gained the little hut, and found therein a dead person, shrouded. He inquired who it was and they told him that it was Ana (the name of the woman whom he had baptized the day before). He continued his way, praising the divine Providence and judgments of God, who had thus predestined the lot of that soul. We were informed that a sick man lay at the point of death, far out from the village. The road thither was hard to descry in the darkness of the night, and abounded with serpents, which were continually encountered, stretched out in the road. In addition to this, a very broad river must be passed, with rapid current and full of crocodiles—which, when they become ravenous, rush upon anything. Yet all these obstacles were of less importance than one soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; so the father went to visit his sick man, and, with a certain medicine, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, cured and comforted him. But the marvel was that on the way he found another sick person, a woman, apparently in less danger; he baptized her, and she died immediately, while the sick man, for whom the father had undertaken all that hardship, was healed.

An Indian, finding himself in the clutches and jaws of a crocodile, covered with wounds, and almost dead, began to invoke the most holy name of Jesus, which a little before he had heard in the sermon of a father; and our Lord was pleased that the savage beast should release him.

This befell a father and a brother while journeying along a sandy tract, greatly fatigued by the heat of the noonday sun, without any restorative or food, and parched with thirst—in short, deprived of everything that might serve them as a relief or comfort; yet enduring their suffering and with devout meditation offering to God that hardship, even desiring that it might be increased if his Majesty might thus be served. Unexpectedly and suddenly they descried a man seated in the midst of the sand, with a collation of fresh cocoanuts and other fruits; and so gracious and serene was his appearance that he inspired admiration and pleasure. When the fathers and those who accompanied them accepted from him those delicacies, refreshing their heated bodies and appeasing their hunger, this man displayed unusual satisfaction and joy, inviting them to partake of more, since what he possessed was theirs, and he was a servant of the Spaniards. With this they continued their journey (which otherwise would have been very wearisome), giving thanks to Him who had thus succored them in their dire necessity. Although at the time the father took little notice of this incident, afterward recalling the circumstances, as well as the gracious manner of the man, he became convinced that he must have been some angel. Nor was he far out of the way, considering the occasion on which he succored them, when they could not go any farther on account of the oppressive heat of the season, and the lack of food; the spot where they had encountered him, a place where it had never occurred that they found an Indian so solitary and, moreover, unknown; and then his gracious manner and serene countenance, and his generosity and liberality in sharing with them what he had, saying that it all belonged to the fathers, and that he was a servant of the Spaniards (at a time when there was not one Spaniard in the island): all this induces the belief that the incident was something more than ordinary, or, at least, a token of our Lord's especial providence. There can be no doubt that the incident was most pleasing to Him, on account of the unusual and extraordinary harvest which He permitted to be gathered in the village from which the father had that day set out. I shall not relate this in detail, in order not to repeat the same events, and to pass on to what yet remains to be narrated, which is much.

The many conversions to the Christian faith in Carigara and its district. Chapter LXXIV.

We deem it a special providence of our Lord that while the native language of the Indians of our various residences is the same, and it is easy for our workers to remove from one place to another, since they are not, in doing so, obliged to learn several tongues—there is, at the same time, such variety in the stations and missions. Some of them may be visited entirely by sea, such as those of Tinagon or Samar; others wholly by land, as the mission of Alangalang. Again, others may be reached partly by sea, partly by land, such as Dulac, Carigara, and Bohol. This is a great convenience, in assigning the missionaries according to the abilities and temperament of each, allotting to those who cannot journey by land, stations on the coast, and inland posts to those who can endure the hardships of the roads.

There is enough of such hardship in the residence of Alangalang, where four fathers and three brethren are employed, toiling in the vineyard of the Lord—journeying on foot (as is our custom there) under sun and shower, through swamps and rivers, with the water often waist-deep; yet with much consolation and joy in the Lord, for whose love are undertaken these and like hardships.

Our brethren live in those villages well content at seeing that our Lord is continually gaining souls to Himself, and inclining to His holy law the hearts of those who but a few years ago were living without God and without law. From the year 1600 to the year 1602, when I departed from those regions, two thousand six hundred and ninety-four persons had been baptized in that mission. They attend with great punctuality the sermons, masses, and other divine services, which in that mission are celebrated with greater splendor and more punctiliousness than in others, through the advantage which it has in three choirs of Indians, who [in this service] surpass many Spaniards. They are wont to sing the Salve to our Lady; on some days, the litany; and on the Fridays of Lent the Miserere to accompany the discipline—all of which indicates the faith which burns and glows in their souls.

To that residence of Alangalang are annexed those of Ogmuc and Carigara, with seven or eight other villages; through these our fathers have dispersed (having made their retreat, in the course of the year for the [spiritual] exercises), being assigned [to certain villages] to instruct their people. The superior, Father Mateo Sanchez, took charge of the newer villages, in order to build there churches and establish stations convenient for the affairs of those Christian churches—as he did in the village of Lingayon, and in others. On the way, he baptized in Barugo twenty-five adults, and in Carigara sixty-three.

At the residence of Ogmuc we had completed a church, one of the finest in that island, through the diligence and labors of Father Alonso Rodriguez, who spent a long time there. Father Francisco de Enzinas went to that residence, and baptized one hundred and two persons; of these eighty-one were adults, and among them some old men. These last asked for baptism, as it seemed, with reason, saying that they were already at the gates of death, and they ought to be most favored since they were most needy. They asked questions about the life eternal; and while the father was explaining to them the resurrection of the body he was aided, by a man recently baptized, with the simile of the serpent, which sheds and then renews its skin, and with other comparisons of that sort. On his road the same father visited a little village, called Baibai, and baptized there ninety persons, of whom eighty-seven were adults.

Father Alonso Rodriguez held another mission in a little village called Ugyao, where he baptized twenty-eight persons, among whom was the wife of the chief of the village; she was afterward an instrument for the conversion of many. He also sojourned in a village called Leite, whence he writes a letter to the father-visitor, which runs as follows: "The lord bishop was greatly consoled at the aspect of this village. The Indians seemed to him very tractable, and submissive to the things of our holy faith. They are continually in the church, morning and evening, frequenting the services to such an extent that the time I spent there seemed like a jubilee. I noticed among the chiefs much zeal in bringing me pagans that I might baptize them. During this visit and the next that I made there, I baptized one hundred and thirty-seven persons, who were children and old people. I was in Alangalang and was much pleased with the people there; indeed, everything in that island seemed to me to be from heaven. I cannot sufficiently thank our Lord for the signal favor that He has granted me in bringing me to this land, and employing me in this Catholic ministry—of which I feel myself most unworthy, often acknowledging this before our Lord, with tears and humiliation. I regard it as most lavish pay for many faithful services that our Lord should consent to employ one in these missions, and that one may behold His mercy toward these new Christians. I have just visited the people of Ugyao, and to live among them, enjoying the mercies which God conters upon them, seems to me like Paradise."

Such is the father's general account; I will illustrate the details by only two instances. While a father was sojourning in one of those seacoast villages, there arrived in a little boat a solitary Indian, to the astonishment of all, as he had neither feet nor hands. But God and his good angel aided him to steer the boat, and so he reached that place where the father was, and urgently asked him for baptism. The reason for this was, that he had heard a Spaniard say that those who were not Christians went to hell. The father baptized him with great satisfaction, and gave praises to our Lord that He had preserved this man on the sea, and had guided that little vessel and a man who was alone, and bereft of hands and feet. There were some persons—especially a Spaniard in whose charge he was—who earnestly desired that a certain Indian should become a Christian. This Spaniard sought to convert him by arguments and inducements, and by other efforts; but apparently he became steadily more hardened. At that time one of our brethren chanced (although it was not without divine Providence) to speak to him of the things of heaven; and all at once that soul turned in earnest toward our Lord. At his baptism the Spaniard acted as his godfather, and was much gratified at seeing his pious desire fulfilled.

Great benefits have resulted from the schools and the education of the children; for these pupils are, in their homes, teachers to their own parents, and in the villages through which they are scattered they arouse the people to devotion. A young boy, one of the singers in the church, thus replied to a Spaniard who communicated to him his evil desires, in order that the youth might help him to attain them: "Sir, I know of an excellent remedy for this temptation which thou art suffering. Do thou repeat a rosary to the Virgin Mary, and I will say another in thy behalf; thus thou wilt drive away these evil thoughts." Thus he who should by right have been the teacher was himself instructed by this new Christian.

Other events in the same residence of Alangalang and in
Carigara. Chapter LXXV.

When a certain father was setting out from one of the villages that he had been visiting, in order to return to the chief town [of the mission], an incident befell him which the father himself relates, in a letter which is in part as follows: "In this village there was a sick man, an infidel, whom the father had visited, and provided with someone to instruct and catechize him for holy baptism. As the father thought that the malady was making but slow progress, he left the sick man thus. But God, who chose to comfort that soul so desirous for its salvation, caused such a change in the weather that, although the sky was serene and clear when they went to visit the sick man, a rainstorm suddenly arose, so violent that it seemed as if our Lord were constraining the father (as he did the glorious St. Benedict) to halt and abandon his journey in order that that soul might enter by the true way into heaven. With this he began to instruct the sick man very slowly; and, having taught him what was sufficient, gave him holy baptism, to the great consolation and joy of both. At once the rainstorm ceased, and the sky became so clear that the father, leaving that poor man much consoled—or, more correctly, rich in celestial gifts—made his journey very comfortably. A few days having passed without his making any inquiry about the sick man, an Indian came to the father, and said to him: 'Father, that Indian whom thou didst baptize, coming hither, our Lord has taken.'

"During Lent and Holy Week they performed their penances with great devotion, shedding their blood with such fervor that it became necessary to restrain them. So strong and ardent was their desire to do penance that those who could not procure woolen shirts would not go in the procession, waiting for those garments already stained with blood, in order that they might bathe these anew with their own. Nor was there less fervor among the children, who sought permission [to take the discipline], even at a very tender age, and became disconsolate indeed if it were denied them. These new Christians practiced another sort of penance during the last two weeks of Lent, which caused great edification. In the early evening they went out, clad in their woolen shirts; their hands extended in the form of a cross, were bound to a piece of wood; and from each hand hung a very heavy stone. In this manner they went about the village, halting finally at the church whence they had set out. There they remained a long time on their knees, offering their penance to God our Lord. The children had practiced this penance before; for during the Shrovetide festival (at which time there are so many disorders among our Christians of long standing) they formed themselves in pairs, and went forth with great devotion, having their hands extended, in the form of a cross, on a piece of wood, with heavy stones hanging at each side. For this purpose one child bound the other, accompanying him until he returned to the door of the church; there, unfastening the other's bonds, he himself took the stick and stones, and thus they again went forth, and he who had first borne the stones now accompanied the other. Thus did each one acquit his obligation to the other, with more devotion and understanding than the Shrovetide season demands from persons of greater age, judgment, and obligations. In this way does our Lord bestow upon them His mercy—as happened to a young boy, whose story, as it is very attractive, I am unwilling to omit. There was a child, about five or six years old, who was suffering from a disease of the eyes; the little one in his pain went to a father, to whom he tenderly made his plaint. The father, inasmuch as a few days before he had taught the child the Ave Maria, bade him enter the church, and on his knees to say that prayer and offer it to the most blessed Virgin, our Lady. The child did thus, and when his prayer was concluded went out from the church, and began to play contentedly with the other children of his age. The father, perceiving him so merry with the rest, called to him and asked him if he were well. He answered that as soon as he had said the Ave Maria to our Lady, the pain left him and he became well."

Among the occasions when Ours have gone to make excursions into the country, and to despoil the enemy of his former possessions, there is one which Father Mateo Sanchez describes in a letter to the father vice-provincial, as follows: "The voyage of the fathers who were sailing for Ogmuc and Sebu proved to be unfortunate; for they suffered many hardships through contrary winds, being finally driven into a small bay, where they remained as long as their provisions lasted. When these were consumed, they determined, as the weather remained unfavorable, to return to Carigara. The two of us who remained had made, in the meantime, some important visits, especially in Tunga, where the village was in great excitement on account of some murders among the Indian chiefs. It pleased our Lord that our fathers should begin to calm and soothe the respective factions, and reconcile their differences, and establish friendly relations between them. Although this was not accomplished at once, the affair made gradual progress toward settlement; and even the murderers came to our fathers for protection, so that through our agency, peace might be restored and established. This affair was one of the greatest importance, for the island [of Leyte] was well-nigh in a state of insurrection, and overrun by bandits. Our Lord was pleased that by means of the gentleness and love with which we approached them, this condition of affairs should pass away like smoke, and the bandits be dispersed. There were twelve criminals, who, on account of the various murders that they had committed, were roaming in bands through the mountains and highways, sheltering the slaves and fugitives who joined them, as well as base women and notorious witches—who accompanied them either through love for evil, or in fear of punishment for their own heinous crimes. All these people have been reclaimed, and have come to our fathers—not only the men, but the women—asking for protection, pardon, and penance. Only one has failed to come, and he was the beginning and, as it were, the source of all this disturbance; but I hope that God, in His great mercy, will bring in this man. In truth, it will be very difficult for him to effect a reconciliation with the parties concerned and obtain a pardon, on account of their rank and wealth; for the murdered man (whose name was Humbas) was one of the most noted and valiant Indians in the island, and always had been, and was at the time, governor of the village of Ogyao [sic]. But since his sons were all Christians, and the eldest, Don Philipe Tipon, is an excellent man, greatly attached to us, and well instructed, and informed in the Christian religion, I promise myself that it will not be very difficult to obtain from him a pardon for this man, and reconcile them, and settle this affair as we have desired and sought for the greater glory of God." Thus writes Father Mateo Sanchez. [21]

The mission in Panamao. Chapter LXXVI.

Panamao [22] is one of the islands which lie adjacent to Leite, on its northern side, and is almost a continuation of the latter, since they are separated only by a strait so narrow that a ship can scarcely pass through it. As it contains a great abundance of trees, it is well adapted for shipbuilding, as are many others of these islands. On this account workmen were building there, in December of the year one thousand six hundred and one, the ship in which I departed from those islands, early in July of the year one thousand six hundred and two. As many Spaniards, Indians, and other peoples had gathered there for this work of construction, they furnished sufficient occupation to Father Francisco Vicente of our Society, who came from Carigara, or Alangalang, to visit them and provide for them spiritual consolation. The father arrived there at a juncture when our Lord had undertaken to prepare the hearts of all those people. They were indeed prepared, as by the Divine hand, by an occurrence which affrighted and horrified them. There was a Spanish speaking negro who entered the service of the captain there, and was accompanied by his wife. It became necessary for him to go away, to procure some articles necessary to the progress of the work. Returning one night, he found his wife with another man, and, maddened by jealousy, he killed the adulterer with a lance and wounded the woman, leaving her for dead. This was a deplorable occurrence, for the murdered man was a youth of comely parts and beloved by all; and to see him thus slain—a reputable man, without confession, and in such circumstances, by the hand of a negro—was sufficient to lead all to do penance. For assistance in this, it was necessary for Father Francisco Vicente to proceed to Panamao; and he, finding the harvest ready, was soon reaping, with his sermons, discourses, and confessions, the now ripened grain—as that father reports in one of his letters, which runs as follows: "I reached Panamao, on Saturday before the last Sunday of Advent, and we were welcomed by the captain with much affection and kindness. It is a large population which has been gathered there, of both Indians and Spaniards, and among them God our Lord gave us a goodly harvest of souls. On arriving there I sought to speak to them and show them my affection. At the outset, I undertook to have a church built; and this was done so that we said mass on the following day. I also preached to them on matters relating to sin, explaining to them its hideous and injurious nature—especially by recalling to their minds that recent example or sermon which our Lord had preached to them a short time before. They were all deeply moved, and resolved to ask me for confession and the cure for their souls. In order that so rich a prize should not be lost, I labored assiduously, preaching now to the Spaniards, now to the Indians. On that Sunday I preached three sermons, and tried, moreover, by special discourses to attract the headmen and chiefs, explaining to them how they ought to make confession. When they understood that I must go immediately after the first day of Easter, they entreated me to remain, if only until the third day, in order that they might make their confessions as they should. I consented to this; and from that hour, all the people, Spaniards as well as Indians, began to consecrate themselves with such devotion as to make me ashamed. I did not lose this opportunity—now encouraging and consoling them, now removing their difficulties, now instructing them; and striving most heartily to assist them. The confessions began before dawn, about four o'clock in the morning; and the people came with general confessions for a whole life or for many years, uttering them with tears and sobs. Indeed, it was necessary to loosen the reins and encourage them, for it was not necessary to seek, as is usually done, incentives to contrition and grief. During this mission some of the Spaniards were obliged to go away to another islet; some of them, in order not to lose this opportunity, hastened to confess, making up for the shortness of the time allowed them by their great devotion; others, who were deprived of even this satisfaction, deferred their confessions until my return, to their own great sorrow and with holy envy for those who remained. In truth, God knows best what went on in those souls: what I can say is, that I have never seen such tears, or conversions so sincere. There were persons who spent entire nights in weeping, with the crucifix in their hands. During the Easter season they were so withdrawn from worldly concerns that it seemed to be Holy Friday; and they did not leave their houses except to go to mass or to confer with me about the welfare of their souls. In their silence and downcast looks, and the grief which they felt within, they gave evidence of the mercies which our Lord had showed them, and the light which He was bestowing upon them, as they went from and to their houses. I experienced a thousand scruples in regard to calming and satisfying their consciences; but I gave a thousand thanks to God our Lord for having brought me to that place for the great good of so many souls. Certain persons assured me that they had never before seen the like. We continued to hear the confessions, so that they might be better prepared for Easter. Certainly, had I to purchase by dint of toil those moments of consolation, when I was administering to each one the sacrament of communion and seemed to read his very heart, a thousand journeys from España were little to give for that. I was to go on the fourth day of Easter, but that was impossible, for with earnest solicitations they entreated me to remain—and some, moreover, had not finished their confessions; it was therefore necessary to wait until Sunday. On that day we effected a reconciliation between the murderer and the adulteress, who embraced and pardoned each other and made their confession with much devotion. On Monday morning I was obliged, on account of my departure, to say mass shortly after two o'clock; and yet the service was not so secret as to prevent them from attending it, all being present, and manifesting great devotion. With tears and words they expressed their great regret at my departure, and made me promise that I would soon return to console them; and with this I came away, glorifying the Lord. I left, in process of erection, a little hospital for the sick and poor, which all aided with charitable offerings and personal attendance. Glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom proceed all things."

The death of Father Francisco Almerique, and other events in
Manila. Chapter LXXVII.

At the end of that year, one thousand six hundred and one, Father Francisco Almerique ceased his labors, death claiming him while he was busily occupied, and full of joy and consolation therein. He had no illness save that occasioned by his very excessive labors, which for a period of almost twenty years had been so wasting and reducing his energies that the coming of hot weather carried him off, without strength to resist, in five days. At the time of his death he was engaged in forming villages, some of Indians and others of blacks. These latter are in Manila called Itas; he had lured them from a rugged mountain region, and persuaded them to settle in a lovely, peaceful spot, fertile and pleasant, about two or three leguas from Antipolo, giving to the new settlement the name of Santiago. First in Manila, and afterward in the mission of Taitai, he busied himself with the study of languages and the care of souls, to the very great satisfaction (as we have already said) of all those who had relations with him; for, on account of his great humility and gentleness, he was loved and sought for, followed and obeyed, honored and respected, and regarded as a saint. He never spared toil when the aid of souls was concerned, nor did he heed times and seasons; by day and by night, in rain or the sun's heat, and both far and near, forgetful of himself and his health, he indefatigably rendered his services to whomsoever called him. His most important occupation was to bring the people down from the mountains and thinly settled districts, drawing them by cords of love and gentleness. Such was his grace in this that as we have said, on more than one occasion entire villages would come to him; and, leaving to the care of others those whom he had already won, he devoted himself to winning and inviting other and new souls. Not a feast day or Sunday passed when he did not preach a sermon; and often he said mass twice and delivered two sermons, in two different villages. Inasmuch as those people usually had recourse to the father with all their affairs, it always happened at the end of mass that he remained to answer and console his Indians, with untiring patience, without touching food until past midday, or even two or three hours later. His soul went out toward some one of those poor creatures, and the meaner the Indian, the greater was his love. In this exercise and occupation, God our Lord communicated with him most familiarly and affectionately, the father holding Him ever before his mind by frequent and fervent prayer. This power he acquired in so high a degree that those who were in close intercourse with him affirm, in the words of the glorious St. Dionysus, that, erat divina patiens; and it called forth our admiration to behold in him the gift of prayer so lofty and sublime, united to a power of action so incessant and effective. In harmony with these characteristics was his peaceful and easy death, joyful and full of heavenly consolation. He died on the first Sunday of Advent at the college of Manila (whither I had taken him for medical treatment), after having received the most blessed sacraments with great devotion. His death occurred just as all the churches were ringing for the Ave Marias, on the second of December, 1601, the day of the glorious departure of the blessed father Francisco Xavier, whose true follower he ever was. His death was deeply felt and lamented, and his obsequies were celebrated with tears and solemn ceremonies; his body was deposited in the main chapel of our church at Manila, before the steps of the great altar.

At that time we were still pursuing our occupations in Manila among our neighbors, where our Lord was continually forwarding the progress of all our ministries, not only in those that pertained to divine worship and the salvation of souls, but in those which concerned learning and letters. To the Latin studies was added a course in philosophy, which was begun in that year by Father Miguel Gomez, who had previously taught it in Gandia. At the first lecture, which served to open the studies of that year and which was itself grave and learned, there assembled a goodly number of students, clergy, religious, and persons of other ranks; and dignity was lent to the occasion by the presence of the governor, president, and magistrates. The course was continued, with a membership of many students, and with the theses, conferences and other exercises which are customary to that branch of learning, wherein the students gave excellent proof of their talent and ability. The two congregations of La Anunciata (composed respectively of students and laymen), who continually emulated each other in their devotion and service to the most blessed Virgin, celebrated together the feast of the Annunciation with great splendor and dignity, and much devotion on their part and that of the people. The youth of this city were in the utmost need of a seminary where they could be withdrawn from the world and reared in virtue. Although this had been desired for years, it had been impossible to carry out the plan until the preceding year [i.e., 1600], when, with the divine favor, a seminary was begun, which chose as its patron the glorious St. Joseph. The institution was placed in charge of two members of the Society, a father and a brother. On the day of its foundation were assembled the royal Audiencia, [those who direct] the vacant Bishopric, the religious orders, and many other people of rank in this city. The collegians were clad in mantles of husi, which is a thin fabric like picote, [23] inclining toward violet, with insignia of red braid extending to the feet. They went out at the gate of the college to receive the royal Audiencia, and soon afterward in the chapel the archdeacon of Manila said the first mass, the acolytes being two of the above-mentioned collegians, Don Pedro Tello de Guzman, nephew of the president, and Don Antonio de Morga, son of Don Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia. At the conclusion of mass, two other collegians made harangues, giving an account of what was intended in the foundation of this college; wherewith they were well satisfied, and pleased with the work which the Society had undertaken. The collegians at the foundation of the institution were thirteen. That number has continued to increase until it has reached twenty, as at present, which is not an insignificant beginning in so new a land. Many people came to visit the college and its apartments, admiring its good order and plan, and praising this work, so serviceable to God our Lord, and to this commonwealth. They attend with punctuality the devotional exercises and the divisions of time according to the arrangements of the college, and thus derive profit in letters and in virtue. The Indians, too, repair to Ours, as they would to parents; and with the confidence of faithful children they make known their doubts and give account of their affairs. For instance: An Indian, on the day of the birth of Christ our Lord, was in his house contentedly repairing his boat and preparing to make a voyage the next day for matters concerning his occupation, when a certain person chanced to pass his house, who said to him: "How now? dost thou dare to work on Christmas day?" The other answered him, in jest: "Oh, yes! I have permission from Jesus Christ to do this." But his chastisement was not long delayed, for just when he was making ready for his voyage on that very day a violent and mortal illness attacked his family, sparing neither wife nor children, and laying him at the door of death, so that for three months he could not leave his house. He came to us in remorse, and acknowledging his guilt; and after telling us these things asked for advice, made his confession, and prepared for communion, through the efficacy of which he recovered his health, and was able to accomplish those things which, on account of his sins, our Lord had prevented him from doing.

While one of our brethren was sojourning in an Indian village far from that city [of Manila], two incidents occurred whereby was seen and manifested the supernatural virtue of the holy Agnus Dei, so famed for many other great miracles. Two women were quarreling, as is usual among barbarians and vulgar people. One of them was a famous witch, and in anger and passion she threatened the other woman with summary vengeance through her charms. She went home; and the poor Indian woman, entering her own house without fear of evil, was seized with a violent trembling throughout her body. In this paroxysm she arose from her husband's side while they were eating their food and fought desperately to throw herself down from the window. The husband ran, in his consternation, to save her, and called loudly to his neighbors for help. Three persons ran to her, and were hardly able to hold her. Our brother sent to ascertain what this disturbance meant, and when he learned what had happened he called the husband and gave him a little piece of the Agnus in a reliquary, exhorting him at the same time to have faith, and promising that his wife would soon be healed. Then, upon his knees, the brother prayed our Lord to deign to grant his request, for the greater strengthening of the faith of those new Christians. The husband went home with the Agnus, and no sooner had he applied it to his wife, than she was freed of the trembling and terror and remained quite calm. This occurrence soon became public, and another Indian, who had been bewitched by the same Indian woman, on seeing this marvel was convinced that God granted health to those who invoked Him; accordingly, he asked for the same relic, and the result was conformable to his faith. Thus the people were confirmed in their faith, and grateful for the benefits received from the bounteous hand of the Lord.

The number of villages in the mission of Taitai, and the events therein of the year MDCII. Chapter LXXVIII.

The villages of San Iuan del Monte, Antipolo, and others, were instructed by Father Francisco Almerique and Father Tomas de Montoya, with the help of another priest who desired to enter our Society, and who busied himself in assisting us in this work to the great profit of the Indians, of whose language he had an excellent knowledge. These fathers were joined by Father Angelo Armano, who had gone hence two years before and had been detained in Manila compiling the history of the saints, whose relics, as we have said, had been deposited in our Church—a work which this father made very learned and eloquent. Having completed this task, he went to Antipolo, where he began the study and practice of the native language, with admirable results in all of those villages. On the death of Father Almerique (who was stronger than the rest), the burden of work so exhausted the others that, falling sick one by one, the entire load fell upon Father Angelo, who bravely sustained it for several months. This mission contains three principal villages, all of which are capitals of their respective districts, other villages being annexed and subordinate to each of these three. Each one of these villages requires and needs at least two priests with their usual assistants, in order to give adequate care to so many souls. San Iuan del Monte, which is a village of about four hundred inhabitants, has near it Dalig and Angono. Antipolo contains seven hundred houses, and has the two villages of Santa Cruz and Maihai. Santiago was then being settled, with more than four hundred inhabitants, and had in its vicinity other villages, especially two inhabited by blacks, or Itas. All those people were in charge of Father Angelo Armano, who, during Lent of the year one thousand six hundred and two, maintained them in great devotion and fervor without their losing sight, on that account, of their devotional exercises throughout that season, especially in Holy Week. During the latter period, the divine services were celebrated with great solemnity, and there were processions of blood in the two churches of San Juan and Antipolo, with a goodly number of confessions and communions. Another father—a middle-aged man, who knew the language—came from Manila to help in this work, with orders not to remain more than one week, on account of the need of priests in Manila. However, on the second day of Easter, the rector of Manila came with two other fathers who knew the language, on their vacation, very opportunely for concluding the confessions and communions in those villages. During the month that we spent there, there was a notable concourse of people who came to confess, and great was the number of communions. At that time there occurred to Father Pedro de Segura, who was one of those who had gone thither from Manila, an extraordinary incident in connection with the image of our blessed Father Ignatius. One morning, at daybreak, he was summoned in behalf of a woman who lay in a critical condition from childbirth, and wished to confess with Father Segura. While the father was dressing himself to go, he sent for an image of our father, to whom he professed great devotion—which had been increased by the outcome of the shipwrecks which we have described, in which he himself had been present. There was some delay in bringing the image, so that the father reached the sick woman first; and after he had confessed her the image arrived. The poor woman was much exhausted, and, according to the midwife, in extreme danger. The infant was dead, and as it lay obliquely in the womb, the mother could not obtain relief by expelling it. The father exhorted her to have confidence in our Lord, and placing the image before her, left her calling loudly to heaven in her anguish. A second time they called him to hear her confession; and the father, having done so and encouraged her as before, went away. As he was descending from the house the woman expelled the infant, to the wonder of all at seeing the dead child, and the mother living and free from so great a peril.

The people of Antipolo celebrated with great solemnity the feast of the most blessed sacrament, which was attended by the people of our mission as well as of many others. A dialogue in the Tagal language was spoken by the children of the seminary with much cleverness and indication of ability, and to the satisfaction and pleasure of the hearers. This seminary is making great progress in both spiritual and temporal affairs. It is aided by the Indians, with generous alms for its maintenance; and (what is of even greater value) they act with such harmony and edification that they may well serve as an example to the Spanish youth. Some of these pupils are of signal virtue, and our Lord shows them many favors. Every day they go to hear mass, or, in case there is no one to say it, to commend themselves to our Lord in the church. They regularly go from their houses reciting aloud the Christian doctrine; and, upon reaching the church, they conclude it upon their knees. They celebrate the feasts with much solemn pomp and music (for the seminary can furnish good music); and they practice there reading and writing, and other honorable and virtuous exercises. The hospital is making excellent progress, and the Confraternities assign each week those of their members who are to care for the service of the sick, doing this, as I have said, with great alacrity and devotion.

The new residence of Silan and its Christians. Chapter LXXIX.

This new field of Silan was assigned to the Society of Jesus from the year 1599, as the people of those villages, among whom were some Christians, were without a priest to minister to them, although they were but a day's journey from Manila. [24] There are five villages, which contain about one thousand five hundred inhabitants, besides the many other people who, as is their custom, are separated and dispersed through the country districts, in their cultivated lands. These villages are in the tingues, as they call them, of Cavite, among some mountains; the climate there is very moderate, and in no season of the year is there excessive heat—rather, the mountains render it cooler. The people are simple, tractable, and well inclined toward all good things. The first members of the Society who went expressly to instruct them and to settle there were Father Gregorio Lopez and Father Pedro de Segura, who went in the year 1601. In previous months and years some of us had gone there for a short time, as we had visited other places, on a mission or by way of recreation; and by the friendly reception that they gave us and the results which, by Divine grace, were accomplished among them, we were encouraged to establish among them in that year a regular mission, stationing there the two fathers whom I have mentioned. Through the teaching and good example of those fathers they abandoned some of their evil practices, and applied themselves to the Christian customs with good will and pleasure; and many (for there were no Christians among them) received holy baptism.

Not only do they attend their own mass and sermon on Sundays (never missing one of these services), but on Saturdays they go to hear that in honor of our Lady, which is said for them with as much solemnity as that on Sundays. They were greatly encouraged in the observance of these masses and feasts by the following incident which occurred at that time: A woman, who was very eager to finish the weaving of a piece of cloth, sat down at her loom one Sunday to work thereon; afterward, upon returning to her task, she found the cloth all eaten away by moths. She herself made this known, with the full knowledge that it had been a chastisement and penalty for that offense of hers. To assist us in instructing the large number of catechumens in those villages, and in teaching the doctrine to the innumerable children who assemble at the mission from all the settlements, our Lord provided for that work an Indian blind in body but truly enlightened of soul, who, with great faith, charity, and love for the things of God, instructs those who wish to be baptized, catechizing them morning and night in the church. He is so expert in the catechism that none of us could excel him therein. Consequently, they come from his charge marvelously well instructed; and, although he is blind, he is so watchful over the large number of catechumens in his charge, that he notes if even one person is absent, and reports it to the father. The first time when he received communion, which was on the feast of our Lady, he displayed such profound respect and reverence that his body trembled while receiving the holy sacrament, and so great devotion that the sight of it inspired that emotion in others. This man deserves all the greater credit for what he is doing, for having gone from one extreme to another; formerly he was one of the heathen priests, whom they here call catalones, and now he has become a preacher of our holy faith. This he relates, while uttering fervent thanks and exalting the great favors and benefits which God has bestowed upon him.

The increase of this mission has been very great, although it requires arduous labors on the part of the fathers, who have been obliged to go forth among mountains and rugged cliffs seemingly inaccessible; for they go to seek the people in their huts and grain-fields, where it seems as if the devil, in order to deprive them of instruction and gospel truth, had persuaded them to seek wild and rugged places which can be reached only with the greatest difficulty. In this work the fathers have spent the greater part of their time, and have gathered into settlements (to the consolation of their own souls) a great number of people, of all classes. Old persons who seemed the living and fearful images of death, men, women, and tender little children, of all ages, have in this way become acquainted with gospel truth; and as they see that we act disinterestedly in all things, even aiding them in our poverty, they are attracted to us, and soon are ranked in the number of the faithful.

The fathers have succored them in their sickness; and during a pestilence which was prevalent in one of the places visited from this mission, they went there twice to confess the people, although the distance was great, and the roads so difficult that in the going to that one place one must go through nine or ten precipitous ravines, to pass which, as it was then the rainy season, they must walk barefoot, the mud in many places being knee-deep. The fathers heard the confessions of all the sick, some of whom our Lord soon took to Himself. While returning from this village the father passed through a little hamlet of Christians not dependent on this mission, which lay within some very rugged ravines; and among all its people there was not one who had in all his life made confession. They welcomed the father with great joy, going more than a quarter of a legua out of the village to meet him; and when he departed from the village they accompanied him to a like distance. He heard the confessions of some, and all were desirous of removing to our mission-village; they put this desire into execution, at the end of four months, by breaking up the entire village, and proceeding with their families to Silan. This and other beneficial results from that residence of Silan are well described by Father Gregorio Lopez in a letter written by him for the father-visitor, thus:

"Early in my stay there, the people told me that in Caibabayan was a catalona, or priestess; and in order to cut the thread of evil, and to gain a knowledge of those distant fields and peoples, I went thither, desiring to act toward them as a father rather than as a judge; and the Lord, who is the true Father of all, fulfilled my desire. Finding no present evil, but only the report of past things, I sought to reëstablish the reputation of the person whom they defamed. I found in one of the most distant fields, an old man about seventy years of age, who was crippled and had been sick for days. I baptized him, giving him the name of Ignacio, and invited many others who had not even been baptized—encouraging in them the desire for so great a good, helping them to learn what was necessary, to which they commonly give attention. Word was sent from one to another among those mountains and plantations, and those people followed me about with tokens of love and offered to entertain me. Afterward were baptized there many persons of all ages—children, youths, and old men. A few days ago I was informed that in the villages of Malabag, Balete, and Dinglas there were many sick persons who needed help. I set out in the morning after saying mass, thinking to return in the evening; but when I arrived there and saw the needy condition of the people, I changed my plan, for I found in Malabag many sick persons. After I had cared for them I heard the confessions of many who were infirm and old, and those who wished to guard against the malady which was attacking many of them—and perhaps not a few that they might profit, at little cost, by the presence of the new confessor in their village. I passed on to Balete and found that it had become a hospital. I went through all the houses to hear confessions, but could not finish them on that day; so I continued this task on the following day, and then went to Dinglas, where I found the same needs. All, both the sick and those in health, were greatly consoled by my visit; and finally I returned to Silang in the night, with the fiscal and others, who accompanied me. I had occasion to make other and shorter trips among the plantations in the vicinity of Silang, as they contained sick persons who were in need; I also desired to ascertain what houses and persons were in those country districts. Moreover, I thus did something to further my plan of removing them to the village and to have them carry thither their rice and their little possessions, desiring to accomplish what your Reverence so desires, and which is so expedient for the proper instruction of those people. The great activity and solicitude of the father, who is my companion, was of great value to me in this as in all other matters; and the coming of the father rector and Father Diego Sanchez, who assisted us here until Lent, was most valuable, adding more energy and ability to our forces, and consoling and encouraging those people with suitable instruction.

"After Christmas I was summoned back to Manila, but in Lent was sent again to the village of Silang. At that time I found the mission greatly increased by the many natives whom the fathers had recently brought together; they were coming to us each day from other villages (the entire village of Indan had joined us), all of them very needy, and almost half of them unbaptized. On the feast of St. Gregory I baptized twenty-five persons, only one of whom, a sick woman, was of adult age, and on the feast of the Annunciation twenty-one, of whom nineteen were adults; at present another goodly number of them are being prepared. The number of those baptized this year is about two hundred, and the confessions very numerous; and the number of those admitted to communion is about fifty, the choicest of whom are members of the confraternity. We erected our altar of the sepulchre [25] as skilfully as we were able, and celebrated the offices [appropriate to the occasion], by the help of which this new people gained new light upon the services of Holy Week. Those who took the discipline, going forth in a formal procession, were on Holy Monday, the singers, who did this by way of preparation; others desired to march on Holy Tuesday, but, as the day was stormy and the winds violent, I forbade them to do so. They had their procession on Holy Wednesday; and others, in greater number, marched on Holy Thursday. Our most important procession was on Holy Friday, in the evening; two images were carried—one, a small crucifix (for we had no larger one); the other, an image of our Lady—while the choir sang the litanies. When this procession ended, people gathered in sufficient number to form another; this was caused by the lack of [woolen] tunics, which were removed by their wearers and lent [to those in the second procession]. In all the processions except the principal one, the music consisted of the Christian doctrine, sung by the children as they walked.

"I must continue the account which in other letters I have written to your Reverence of the favors which the Lord communicates by means of a print of our blessed Father Ignatius; for He is continually bestowing these favors upon those new Christians, on account of their strong faith in Him. A woman was brought in to us, sick and unable to speak, and was dying before us without our being able to obtain from her a word or sign so that we could give her absolution; the statement of her friends, moreover, that she had asked for confession, was doubtful. I was therefore anxious and grieved, until I brought her an image of our blessed father, and I said mass for the sick woman, and when I returned she was able to speak, and made a good confession; but utterance again failed her, and she died in peace.

"When I returned the second time, I was called in haste to visit a sick woman, great with child, who was suffering violent pains and torment. We went to see her, and it aroused our compassion to behold her in convulsions of pain, both she and the infant (which was entering the ninth month) being in danger of death. I sent for the image of our blessed father, and then left the sick woman with Diego, our good blind man, and his wife, who performs the duties of a midwife. So good service did they render, in conjunction with the intercession of our blessed Father Ignatius (to whom they were greatly devoted), that very soon they sent for me to baptize the child, which was born alive. I baptized it, but it died; and the mother regained her health.

"On Holy Saturday a young man came to me in alarm, saying that a demon was trying to choke his sister. I went to her house and found her suffering from an oppression in her breast and throat, and distressed by fear. I asked for the image, and when it was brought, I heard the sick woman's confession; she was at once relieved from the oppression and anxiety. For her greater consolation I left the image in order that she might have good company.

"On the following day, the Lord accorded us a most joyful Easter Sunday. In the morning there came to me a man, but recently arrived from Indan, who said that his wife was in a very exhausted condition from the pains of childbirth. I sent him with a boy to take the image of our blessed father and carry it to his home. He departed at once, and when the image was carried into the house his wife brought forth her child. It seems that the Lord has chosen to confirm this newly-converted people in their recent coming to Him, and in their faith. A few days ago, a Bilango came to us in haste to ask for the image in behalf of a woman who was in childbirth; and as soon as it was brought to her, she gave birth to a child. In Santiago also the fiscal, remembering what he had heard about our blessed father, entreated his aid, as his wife was in a like critical condition, and her life in great danger. Immediately her infant was born alive, and, while receiving the water of holy baptism, passed on to the bliss of eternal light." Thus far I have cited the letter of Father Gregorio Lopez; he could easily have related therein many other unusual events and marvelous incidents which occurred among those new believers. He omitted them probably for the sake of brevity, and because many of them are quite similar—for which reason I too omit them. But I must not fail to mention one incident which occurred during the absence of Father Gregorio Lopez, at which time his companion, Father Pedro de Segura, remained in Silan. Two Indians came to this father one night, seeking relief for a woman who was the wife of one and a relative of the other. She was suffering violent pangs in childbirth, and was in a most critical state, being unable to expel the child. The two Indians earnestly entreated the father, in their simplicity, for some blessed beads. He gave them his own reliquary, and as they were carrying it away he bethought himself of the image of our blessed Father Ignatius. Immediately he summoned the fiscal (who is always a man of mature years and trustworthy character), and gave him the image to be carried to the sick woman. The Indian woman, when she beheld the image, took it in her hands with devotion and love, and at the same moment gave birth to a child as beautiful as an angel, to her own great joy and the wonder of those who were present. Soon afterward she named the child, on this account, Maliuag, which signifies "difficult;" and again, at the baptism, Ignacio, in memory of so signal a favor. The name which this woman gave her child at its birth gives me occasion to describe the custom of these people in giving names.

The manner in which names are conferred among the Filipinos. Chapter
LXXX.

When a child is born, it is the mother's duty to give it a name; and whatever appellation she gives it must remain its name. The names are most often conferred on account of certain circumstances—as, for example, Maliuag, which means "difficult," because the child's birth was such; Malacas, which signifies "a man of strength," because the mother thinks that the child will be strong, or desires that it be so. At other times they name it, without any symbolism or special reason, by the first word which occurs to them—as, for example, Daan, which signifies "road;" Babui, which means "pig;" or Manug, which signifies "fowl." All persons are called by these names from birth, without using surnames until they are married. The first-born son or daughter then gives his or her name to the parents; for until they die they call the father Ama ni Coan, "father of So-and-so," and the mother Ina ni Coan, "mother of So-and-so." The names of the women are distinguished from those of the men by adding "in." Thus, while the name of a man and of a woman may be practically the same, that of the man is left intact, and to the woman's is added the [termination] "in;" for example, Hog (which means "river") being the name of two persons of different sex, the man is called Hog, the woman Hoguin. In naming children they use diminutives, just as we do; but in order not to exceed the limits of my narrative, or to enter those of grammar, I shall not enumerate these, or the other appellations more personal, more intimate, or more elegant, which those people use for nearly all the degrees of relationship. For instance, ama means "father;" thus the son, in speaking of him to a third person calls him ang amaco, that is, "my father." But the son in addressing his father directly does not call him ama, but bapa, which is a more intimate and affectionate term; nor does he address his mother as ina, but bai. On the other hand, the father and mother in familiar intercourse call their sons, brothers, uncles, and other near relatives, not by the common appellations of such relationship, but by others more intimate and personal, which signify a like connection. This is but another illustration of the fertility, elegance and courtesy of the Tagal language, which we described in chapter 16. The children of those natives were reared in such respect and reverence for the names belonging to their parents that they never called them by these, whether the parents were living or dead; they believed, moreover, that if they uttered these names they would fall dead, or become leprous.

At first, I was much often annoyed at these superstitions, because, as I did not know the secret, I would upon occasions of affability or flattery, or necessity or obligation, inquire of the son for his father; and, as he gave me no answer, I remained confused and abashed. But, with the aid of Divine grace, this and other bad customs and errors were banished and forgotten; and we played a game—our fathers, and the little children, and even the adults—in which each one told the name of his father, I also telling them the name of mine. Not only this, but anyone would name the parents of another—a thing which they consider a great incivility and insult.

It is a general custom among all these nations not to have any special family names, titles, or surnames; using, as I have before said, but one appellation. Now, besides the Christian name, Juan or Pedro, they use as a surname that which the mother gives them at birth—although there are mothers so Christian and civilized that they will not use this latter name, but prefer that both Christian name and surname be conferred in baptism; this we often do. The wretched "Don" has filled both men and women with such vanity that every one of them who has a tolerably good opinion of himself must place this title before his name; accordingly, there are even more Dons among them than among our Spaniards.

The visit which the right reverend bishop of Sebu made to Bohol, and the fervor and growth of those Christians. Chapter LXXXI.

The right reverend bishop of Sebu, in the course of his visits among his flocks, determined to go for this purpose to the island of Bohol—which, as we have said, is about eight leguas to the south of the island of Sebu—taking as his companion Father Francisco Gonzalez of our Society. We learned of the outcome of this visit through that father's account of it in one of his letters, as follows: "I think that your Reverence knows of the visit which his Lordship made to the island of Bohol; but, as it was my lot to accompany him, I shall relate to your Reverence, if only in outline, something of what befell us there. He visited in the island of Bohol eight villages which are instructed by the fathers of the Society, and confirmed therein three thousand Christians, spending about twenty days in the visit. Most remarkable was the fervor which resulted from it, for the Christians made excellent preparation for receiving the sacrament, many of them, in all the villages, making their confessions. Besides this, he had previously trained and examined them, all being assembled in the church, in the catechism, causing them to repeat aloud the principal mysteries of our faith. A sermon was preached them wherein they were exhorted to feel much grief at having offended our Lord. At the conclusion of the sermon, they all fell upon their knees, and offered audible acts of contrition and of love to God. They were next asked if they desired to receive the sacrament of confirmation; and they answered aloud that they desired it, in order that our Lord might pardon their sins and strengthen them in the faith. Then, his Lordship confirmed them, with a short exhortation at the end of the ceremony, by which they were all greatly consoled and fortified in the truth of our holy faith. This result was greatly aided by the love and so paternal affection which the lord bishop manifested to them not only in the church but in their houses—going to visit the sick, and confirming them in their very cabins; giving alms, ransoming slaves, and clothing the poor; and performing many other deeds of mercy. His Lordship was especially delighted at beholding those new flocks of his so well instructed, when they were answering the questions on catechism, which was done in the presence of his Lordship." Such is the brief account given by the father.

All these are but flames of that celestial fire which we said had taken hold of this island, and with which even the little children are ablaze. Thus in each of those villages nearly two hundred children assemble every day, uttering praises to the Divine Majesty, acknowledging His greatness, learning the Christian doctrine, and imparting it to their parents and elders. The confessions cannot be enumerated, for they are as many as there are Christians. No one fails to make his confession during Lent, even though he may have confessed many times during the year; and with like ardor the other exercises of piety and devotion are performed. This was especially evident on Holy Friday of that year, one thousand six hundred and two, during the adoration of the cross, in which they displayed deep emotion; they even removed the rings from their fingers and the jewels from their ears, to make offerings of these. As Father Gabriel Sanchez has been the usual laborer in that island, I shall here set down a part of one of his letters in which, with his usual simplicity, he gives some account of the island and of Christianity therein: "Our Lord has been well served this year in the island of Bohol, with the fruits gathered from the conversion of those pagans, for in this barren waste we have set out a beautiful garden of new plants which our Lord has planted. Many people have been brought together and induced to settle in villages, wherein they are instructed. At the time when I am writing this, we are in a village on the coast, whither there came down to us yesterday two other villages of the Tinguianes, or mountaineers, asking us, of their own accord, to allow them to live here. As an earnest of their desire, they brought as many as forty children that we might baptize them, which we have done. We value this all the more because these two villages have up to this time been the most obstinate and stubborn in all the island: but God has now been pleased to soften their hearts. May He be blessed and praised that, if there had been fathers for all of them, the whole island would now be converted; for, although there are actually in this mission no more than four thousand Christians, its people are so well disposed that on the day when they shall have someone to teach and baptize them they will all be converted. The very villages that we are unable to teach come frequently to ask that we will go to instruct them and unite them into one, and give them baptism. But, as so few fathers have been in this island, we have not been able to succor them; and so they remain until God shall send them a reënforcement of fathers—of whom they themselves are so desirous that they have already built us houses and churches, before a priest has been brought to them, or even mentioned, to my knowledge. May God, whose plantation this is, send workmen hither, since there is harvest enough in all this island; and when they shall undertake to extend their labors further, there are, near by, some little islands in extreme spiritual want, and entirely deprived of any human succor for their conversion. Therein might be held some missions most acceptable to God, all the more so because those people are so forsaken; for, as those are insignificant little islands, no one cares for them. Those people are on the road to hell, if we do not succor them; and we do not aid them for lack of ministers. One of these islands is called Isla de Fuegos ["Island of Fires"], and is a half day's sail distant from here. Several times its chiefs have come to ask that we would go thither. The people already know how to recite the Christian doctrine, and yet not one has been baptized there (although they are calling for that sacrament), for there is no one who may distribute the bread, and thus they are perishing of spiritual hunger.

"But, to return to our island, there is great cause to glorify our Lord in seeing the esteem with which its people regard the Christian religion, and the fervor with which they one and all fulfil their obligations as Christians, in confession and communion, and in their pious and general affection toward the things of God. A week ago, there was in our house a young man, an infidel, who had come from another village to see us. He was laughing and enjoying himself with the others, although quite modestly; yet another lad who was there, a Christian, said to him: 'How is it that thou, who art not a Christian, dost laugh and sport?'" Thus writes the father; he adds that the new baptisms during this past year amounted to four hundred. The number was no larger, because they did not dare to baptize converts in other villages until those people could have fathers to maintain them in the faith and in Christian customs.

The growth of Christianity in Catubig. Chapter LXXXII.

The same want of gospel ministers is felt by other residences (as is plainly evident from what I have thus far said), but especially in the island of Samar, where for that very reason the exercises of Holy Week and Easter were celebrated this year in one village; and there were many confessions and communions together with the feast and procession of the institution of the most blessed sacrament—both of which were conducted with devotion and grandeur, although with some inconvenience, as they were not celebrated at their proper time.

Nevertheless, on account of the extraordinary and crying needs of Catubig—which, as we have said, is in the eastern part of the island of Ibabao, bathed by the South Sea—Father Juan de Torres, accompanied by a brother, was constrained to go thither from Tinagon at the end of the year one thousand six hundred and one. For a year and a half no one had visited Catubig, because there was no one who could go there; and now, although this caused a lack of service at other stations, the greater needs of Catubig compelled us to leave them [for the present]. Well did our Lord exercise them in their journey, so that upon arriving they might enjoy the pleasant fruit which they afterward gathered; for besides the rivers and swamps—through which they journeyed with the water, in some places, and the mud in others, to their knees—the slopes and mountains were so rugged that it was impossible to advance except by using their hands as feet. But consolation was not long delayed; even before they reached Catubig, on their very way, our Lord aided them, as the father himself describes in the following words: "One night three villages met together, rejoicing at our arrival, and, thinking that it would be appropriate, I told them about the things of the other life, the immortality of the soul, and the existence of God; and of the reward for Christians, and the torment for those who are not. I am sure, my father, that among the many people who were there you would not think that there was one who had not faith, to judge by what they said and the questions they asked, and the way in which they encouraged one another to receive baptism. They soon made arrangements to build a large church, and gave me a list of all the inhabitants, including the children, of whom there are an infinite number. God knows what my grief was at seeing them in the arms of their mothers; for they appeared to me like unto the ripe fruit hanging from the bough, which, if the gardener neglects it, is either stolen or decays, and thus is lost."

Refreshed by such consolation, the father continued on his way, crossing the entire island of Ibabao, as far as the river of Catubig, where he found the whole people busied in their grain-fields. Accordingly, he went farther to some small islands lying adjacent in the broad sea, where the people had already gathered in their rice crops. In one of them, called Batac, he made a short stay, and the people from all the neighboring islands assembled there to celebrate the Christmas festivals, and attend to the things pertaining to their salvation. When they were about to return home, advice was given to the women in other matters relating to civilized ways and to modesty—especially in regard to their mode of dress, which, on account of their being a rough and barbarous people, was not quite decent; but after they were taught, they adorned and covered themselves more modestly. They had built, in anticipation of the father's coming, a church and house and even a confessional for the women. After a goodly number had been made Christians, the father returned to the principal station, which is Catubig; and at his departure these poor creatures besought him earnestly not to leave them so forsaken, now that he was going away, but to teach some Christian the form and ceremony, so that he could baptize them in cases of necessity. The father did so, and left them with much grief in his heart. But these pains, which in truth are more intense than those of childbirth, we often suffer there, since the harvest is so great and the laborers are so few. So many were the baptisms in Catubig that the father, fearing lest the blessed oil and chrism would give out, carried the water of baptism from place to place, in order not to prepare it so often. [26]

Among the notable conversions in this mission, which amounted to seven hundred, the most distinguished and remarkable of all was that of a chief some sixty years of age, and highly esteemed in that region. In this case much time was needful to extricate his conscience from the former robberies and tyrannies which we have already described. He gave their freedom to many slaves, and, in order to settle other obligations which were not defined by the church, presented to us a handsome house, so large that, together with the church (a building about fifteen brazas long), it serves us a commodious habitation for our fathers who are there; and finally, after a thorough preparation, baptism was conferred upon him. He was governor of the village, and yet as a catechumen he attended each morning the sermons for the children. There he encouraged all, both children and adults, exhorted them to adopt Christian customs, and rebuked in them anything that seemed to be opposed to these. When the father reminded him that all his household should be baptized, he attended to that matter with surprising energy. He himself conducted them to the church, and with efficacious arguments persuaded them to be baptized. In this way the greater number of his household were baptized, the rest being deferred.

Another conversion no less notable also occurred, which I shall relate. An Indian chief from another island happened to pass through a village where the father was sojourning. He went with the press of people to hear the father speak, and our holy faith so convinced him that he did not for a moment leave our fathers, asking them questions about his salvation. So pleased was he with the instruction that they gave him, that without saying a word, keeping to himself this new secret of his vocation, he went back to his island, where he became a new preacher. He persuaded his wife, children, and relatives, actually carrying away all his kindred; and went to the place where the father was, in order to enjoy the light of the gospel, which had not shone on that country of his. He went in quest of the father, and carried him as a gift a turtle, the shell of which required two men to lift it—so monstrous in size are the turtles in those seas; some of them I have seen and eaten. This chief often made known to the father the state of his soul, and sought spiritual aid in very exact and clear terms; and if he forgot anything therein, he told of it in the same maner on the next day. His preparation continued thus until, having given full evidences of his faith, he entered with all his household—wife, children, sons-in-law, and servants, in all, twelve persons—through the gate of holy baptism, into the flock of the great shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ our Lord. He was a man of great valor, as will be seen from an incident which we learned concerning him. A large crocodile often came to the neighborhood of his house; and the Indian, angered thereat, determined to punish the hardihood of the beast. For this purpose, abandoning the usual means of catching those animals (that is, with a large hook), blinded by rage and trusting to his own valor, he assembled as many as twenty persons; and while they stood watching him, he leaped alone into the water, and swam toward the beast with a knife in his hand. Then, diving beneath the crocodile, like another valiant Eleazar, [27] he gave it several knife-thrusts in the belly and killed the beast. And, as a greater trophy, he was not, as was Eleazar, buried in his triumph, [28] but remained alive and sound—without a wound, or any lesion beyond two insignificant scratches, one on his forehead, and one on his leg. At this instant his followers hastened toward him, and dragging the beast to the shore, were hardly able, with the strength of all, to land it, although it was floating on the water. They saw (and told me of it) a monster of incredible size, the largest that I have ever seen there, or heard of. The animal measured, from its shoulders to the tip of its tail, five brazas, [29] and from the shoulders to the mouth one braza—making its total length six brazas; and across the breast alone measured a full braza.

There was another crocodile, smaller than this one, which inflicted loss on the household of a reputable Spaniard of Manila; and this man came therefore to our house to entreat that Ours would provide him with a father who would make his Indians Christians. The affair occurred thus: This Spaniard was in his encomienda, where his house stood on the shore of a river much infested by these beasts. While he was dining one day, a youth, one of those who waited on the table, went to the river to wash some plates; but he did not finish his task, for a crocodile suddenly sprang upon him and swallowed him. The people [in the house] saw this tragic event, and the good man left the table, grieved that the youth should perish without baptism, and desirous to see if there might be some means of giving him the sacrament before he should die in the belly of the crocodile. He soon decoyed the animal by means of a little dog, a food of which these beasts are very fond; and, having captured the crocodile and landed it on the shore, he cut it open and found the boy within, whole but dead. This man, who measured the beast (which was not a large one) told us that it was fifteen [Spanish] feet in length, but that the capacity of its stomach was extraordinary: for within it were found, besides the corpse of the boy, a great number of eggs of various animals, and fifteen human heads. Grieved by this sad event, he had come to entreat that instruction might be supplied in his villages; but this could not be done, as there was no one to give it.

But to return to Catubig: I shall conclude my account of this mission with the miraculous experiences of two children, which gave us more consolation than did the incident which we have just related. While some Indians were on their way to visit the father, one of those fierce beasts attacked their boat, and seized a boy by the arm, carrying him away before anyone could rescue him. The boy, following the pious custom that those people have of invoking Jesus and Mary, when he found himself in the water in the power of the crocodile, cried aloud: "Jesus and Mary, help me!" and the marvelous thing was that the beast at once let him go practically unharmed, for the few scratches that he had received from the nails hurt him but little. Rejoicing at this, and strengthened in the faith, they drew the child from the water into the boat, praising God for His mercies toward them. One night the same father was summoned in behalf of another child, who was very sick. His parents were very sorrowful, for, although but ten days old, he had not sucked his mother's breast for three days. They were anxious for his recovery, but desired, even more, that he should not die without baptism. The father went, and baptized the child; and the next morning, when he inquired about it, they replied that the infant was already well, for holy baptism had immediately cured it.

Let this suffice concerning that mission, and at the same time conclude my narrative, since I have now related the most notable events, and those which seemed most important and edifying, up to my departure from those islands—which, as I said in the beginning, was in the month of July of the year one thousand six hundred and two. [30] I trust that the progress of events from that time until the present, a period of almost two years, may give no less satisfaction and consolation, and that of the future even more; and I hope that it will have a more able chronicler; indeed, any one in the Society can do it better than I. It is enough for me that I have tried to render some service to the Society by this humble work, which although a small one, has cost me much effort. This, and that other and greater task of undertaking so many and so long voyages (made not for my own pleasure, but in response to the claims of obedience), I think deserve the reward which I desire and claim for them, which is nothing else than the object to which those labors were dedicated—the increase and extension of the holy Catholic faith in those so remote islands, by the conversion of so many souls who are so ready to receive it. May your Paternity and all those who are able to come to their aid take pity upon them, so that ministers of the gospel may distribute to them the bread of heaven, for the hunger from which they are dying. It is a sorrowful thing, more sorrowful than can be told, to see them die without relief. At Roma, March 5, 1604.

Father Chirino, of the Society of Jesus.

DOCUMENTS OF 1604

Letters to Felipe III. Pedro de Acuña; July 15 and 19.
Decrees regarding religious orders. Felipe III, and others;
February-July.
Grant to the Jesuit seminary at Cebú. Pedro Chirino; [undated;
1604?].
Decree regulating commerce with Nueva España. Felipe III;
December 31.

Source: All of these documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla.

Translations: These are made by Robert W. Haight—excepting the third, which is by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University of Wisconsin.

LETTERS TO FELIPE III FROM PEDRO DE ACUNA

On the Sangleys

Sire:

The two ships which came this year from Nueva Hespaña arrived in sight of these islands on the tenth of last month, and the captain made the port of Cavite on St. John's day. The Almiranta, not being so good a ship, could not follow him, and remained on the shoal of Mindoro until the fifth of the present month, which caused great loss. The viceroy of Nueva Hespaña writes me that the cause of these ships leaving Acapulco so late was because they had met this despatch and that of the Conde de Monterey for Peru, and that for the coming year he will see to it that it is earlier. This is necessary, for it has likewise been unavoidable, on this account, that those who were going back to Nueva Hespaña should be late in leaving here; for the Sangley merchants, taking warning from the many losses which they have suffered, and the neglect of the Spaniards to pay them during years past, will not give up their cloth without first seeing the silver at hand. Accordingly they waited until the money came before buying the goods and making up the packages and cases, all of which used to run on credit.

I wrote your Majesty by way of Yndia, in November and December past, of the uprising by the Sangleys, and the outcome of it, with what up to that time had occurred to me, which your Majesty will have ordered examined when this arrives. In case my sheets may have been lost, duplicates of them will go with this.

In that despatch I informed your Majesty that I was considering sending a ship to China with information of the event, so that if any ship belonging to the rebels should arrive there and try to place on us the blame for their loss and ours, they might be made aware of the truth. This was done, although with some opposition, and was of so much use that when certain captains learned that this ship was in Macan they determined to come, although with little merchandise—for they came with some hesitation, as they afterward said, as they do not wish vengeance to be executed upon them for the loss which the others had caused by the said uprising. I had the property which was deposited returned to them (which I think amounted to more than [MS. defective] pesos), which was to them a strong proof of our innocence; this was done that they might not credit in China what those rebels who arrived there had published, for they said that, in order to seize the property for ourselves, we had taken the lives of those Sangleys. These goods deposited belonged to quiet Chinese merchants, reputable persons, who were not in the uprising—and even for the most part had hanged or suffocated themselves, at seeing what a plight those of their own nation had put them in, and that their own countrymen were robbing and maltreating them, as is told in the relation of this affair. From the said deposited property had been appropriated, by my order and that of the Audiencia and the council on finances, a sum amounting to more than thirty-six thousand pesos, to aid the troops; and when the affair was over I was quite unprovided and embarrassed, as there were likewise other expenses for fortification and for the exigencies of the service of your Majesty, and there was no other place whence it could be supplied. We cannot satisfy the Chinese at present, as we have not the means to do so; this troubles me much, as I should wish to be able to fulfil the offer I made to the viceroys of China by my letters, which was the restitution of this property, which would remain on deposit until it was surrendered to the owners. As the necessities have been so great since then, we could not avoid deferring this; it appeared best to carry out our agreement with these people by giving them the money, since they had the cloth to sell, but it has not been possible. I beseech your Majesty to be pleased to order that the viceroy of Nueva Hespaña send us this amount for this purpose, as I doubt much if the obligation can be satisfied here for many years. This commonwealth has been greatly consoled at seeing that the Chinese have chosen to continue the commerce, of which we were much in doubt; but they have actually done so. This was made easier by sending the information, and the entire failure of one year; in many ways this loss cannot be repaired. Nevertheless, the lack of money is felt in the treasury; for the duties on the entry and clearance of the goods from China, the royal officials tell me, amount to forty thousand pesos less this year than the year past. I believe that in the coming year we will have many goods here; for the little which they brought this year has sold very well, and they are content and quite satisfied at the freedom allowed them in their traffic, and that nothing is taken from them without their consent, as they were not before favored in this manner.

I have responded to almost all the points of a paper which your Majesty ordered me to write on the sixteenth of February of the past year 1602—as your Majesty will command to be examined in my answer, to which I refer you, merely saying that there I explain everything which might be said in this.

Christoval de Azqueta, captain and sargento-mayor of this camp, has passed more than twenty-eight years in these islands. During all this time he has been occupied in the service of your Majesty in the affairs of war, and a very good account of him has been given. He is one of the most serviceable men I have for this employment; for, besides being a very good soldier, he has wide experience in all the islands and their ports. Likewise I was very well satisfied with his person on account of his having so well and so industriously attended to his duty as sargento-mayor at the time when the Sangleys had invested this city. It being understood that a great body of them had fortified themselves at San Pablo and another at Batangas, and that they were in a region where much food could be obtained on short notice, as it was near the harvest time in those provinces, it was resolved that some person of tried valor should go to punish them, being provided with a number of Indian arquebusiers, archers, and other soldiers, and a few Japanese, with one hundred and fifty Spaniards, and the necessary munitions for that purpose. I chose for this the said sargento-mayor, Christoval de Azqueta, and he left with his troops. He went about it so skilfully that the undertaking was successful, and all the Sangleys were left dead except a few whom he brought for the galleys. Therefore, considering the condition in which this colony was, and the risk which he ran in this service, it was one of the most important which have ever been performed in these islands for your Majesty. I have desired to give the sargento-mayor some testimonial for his honor and gratification, but I have not done so because I had not the means to do so. I have therefore offered him this, to give him a good encomienda; and accordingly it will be given and allotted to him in the name of your Majesty, at the first opportunity. He has, moreover, earned it by the services which he performed long ago. It is fitting that it should be known that your Majesty favors and honors those who serve him, so that others may be encouraged to do the same. It has seemed best to me to give an account of this to your Majesty and to beseech you, as I do, that you should be pleased to command that the affairs and claims of the sargento-mayor always be favored, and that honor and grace be done him; for in this affair I can assure you, the service which he has done here was greater than appears by this writing.

The punishment of the Sangleys being accomplished, there remains to us another care no less great, which is the suspicion we have that within a short time a great fleet is to come from China to take possession of this country, as I wrote your Majesty last year. This arises from the coming of the mandarins, and from information that some of those Chinese who were punished for their guilt in their uprising were trying to circulate. Accordingly all the people were persuaded that this rebellion depended upon that; and at one time a rumor was current to the effect that seven hundred Chinese ships had been seen not far from here—on which occasion it seemed best to me to put things in order as thoroughly as if I had certain advice that the said fleet was on this coast. Among other precautions which I took, I appointed for the company left vacant by Don Tomas Brabo (my nephew, whom the Sangleys killed in the uprising), Captain Juan de Villaçon, as he is a soldier who has spent many years in Flandes, and during that time had been the alferez of Don Luis Brabo de Acuña, my brother; and because he has had experience in the conduct of war in besieged cities—as it was expected this one must be so in a short time, and as we had very few or none to whom we could have recourse in such a case. It was necessary for me to urge and coax him, and he accepted it because it was on such an occasion, and to please me. Although the auditors were in the midst of so many cares, and I was hard at work fortifying the weak places, erecting bulwarks and opening trenches, they issued an act in which they commanded me to make appointments according to the royal ordinances, and that in the meantime there should be no changes—as if that were the time for such offices to be filled by whomsoever the auditors wish and ask to do it, or in which to be considering ordinances, instead of what was most fitting for your Majesty's service and the good of the cause. It was necessary in order to make them understand this, or make them willing to understand it, to use much time and energy; and they finally approved of it as if they were doing me some great honor. By this event your Majesty may see to what tune the affairs of war were going, with demands and responses. God was pleased to bring it about that the information which I sent from Macan caused the Chinese not to collect any fleet in China for the present, and that the merchant ships came; I accordingly dismissed Captain Villaçon, giving him his discharge, seeing that the reason for his accepting the said company had ceased; I have thought best to give an acount of this to your Majesty, that you may be informed thereof, and may have given such order as may be expedient in similar cases which may arise in the future.

The decree which your Majesty ordered to be sent to me with the declaration of the places which must be taken in the processions and public acts by the president, auditors, and prelates when they take part therein together, arrived at a very opportune time, and has been necessary to avoid the troubles which have arisen with the archbishop in this regard, as he would not be persuaded that this was the will of your Majesty; but he is satisfied with the decree.

We are on good terms with the emperor of Japon, and likewise with his vassals who come here to trade and to make money on flour, hams, tunny-fish, nails, iron, weapons, and other things which they bring to sell. They go back with loads of deerskins and Chinese merchandise, as they have always done. This year, owing to the loss of the ship from Macan, they brought some money and spent it. I have overlooked this for the present, and allowed it to be done in order not to displease them. But I have warned them not to bring any more, or I shall not give them any chance to employ it.

The accountant Juan de Bustamante, who acts in that capacity for the royal exchequer of your Majesty in these islands, is very old, infirm, and crippled, for which reason the affairs of his office are not so well expedited as they should be. I last year besought your Majesty to order him retired and pensioned, and to appoint a person in his place. At present I shall again make the same suggestion, as it appears to me important for the service of your Majesty.

The Marques of Montes Claros, [31] viceroy of Nueva Hespaña, last year made the allotment of the money which your Majesty has graciously permitted to be assigned to the citizens of these islands. As this cannot be done punctually in Mexico, and there are in that country interested persons—perchance the very ones who are apportioning the money, or giving their advice therein—there have been many complaints. This could not be otherwise, as Mexico is so far away and they cannot know there what each of the citizens here has and deserves, and what ought to be given them. The viceroy writes that he did the best he could, and could do no better, and accordingly I believe him. He likewise wrote me to send him some information in regard to this matter. What I have done is to appoint eight persons from the most honored of this colony, and disinterested in the matter of partnership, to make the allotment among the citizens, as is done with the cargo, considering what is most expedient and most just and satisfactory for the people; and it has been so done. I have allotted to the distributers themselves their own part because I was not willing that they should allot it. I have sent the memorandum to the viceroy. Your Majesty will be pleased to order that the said allotment be made in accordance therewith, as well as the licenses; and that, this be continued from year to year; for it is most expedient, and with it there will be less uncertainty and fraud.

The royal treasury of these islands is in great need of inspection and reform. It should be put in good order and well regulated; for, according to the officials, there are no ordinances, nor is there proper government and administration for the property. Although I do what I can to maintain it, some measure must be taken in this regard which will be more radical and put it on an entirely different footing from the present one. The original inspection made in past years was by the factor, Francisco de las Missas, alone. I have this in my possession, and a copy of it was sent to the Council by Doctor Morga, who took it. As the commission for the inspection of the other officers—delivered to me in order that the late licentiate Cambrano, might make it—covers only the time of four months (which is not even a long enough period to look over the papers), I instructed them to take a further adjournment, so that this vacancy in the inspector's office should not cause the neglect of necessary work; and accordingly I am doing so at present. Your Majesty will command according to your pleasure.

It has likewise seemed best to give your Majesty an account of the inexpediency of appointing as inspector of the auditors any of their companions, especially those who have exercised that office at the same time with them, and given judgment in the same affairs; for if one of them has acted unjustly, the other one may have done so as well, and might not perform his duty in reprimanding or inspecting those whom he should. Your Majesty will order as is most expedient.

In the despatches which I have sent from here since I arrived via Nueva Hespaña, I have advised your Majesty of the great difficulty which lies in the appointment by the viceroy of Mexico of persons there, as the commanders, admirals, and other officials who come and go on the ships; and how important it was that they should be appointed here from those who have here served your Majesty, for the reasons which I there gave, as your Majesty will command to be examined. The same matter confronts me now, and every day I am coming more to see the great injury which this commonwealth suffers, without finding any means for its redress. I promise your Majesty that I am not moved to this step by the greater importance which this office will then have, but only for the service of your Majesty, and by seeing that this is as I have said in my other letter; and that there is great need of reform, in order to ward off disaster at all points, for it is very near. May our Lord protect the Catholic person of your Majesty, in the prosperity which is necessary for Christendom. Manila,

July 15, 1604.

Don Pedro de Acuña

It is not expedient that there should be an Audiencia in the
Philipinas.

Sire:

For a long time I have been reflecting upon the matter which I shall here mention, and many times I have resolved to give your Majesty an account of it, and of others as important. I have been kept back and restrained, by fear that it might or could be suspected that I was moved by some personal interest or passion; but owing to the difficulties which have confronted me in one way and another, having consulted and conferred with serious religious and other persons, both ecclesiastical and lay, who look at the matter dispassionately [MS. defective] resolved not to delay any longer, for it appeared to me that otherwise I did not act in accordance with the obligations of my office, or the favor which your Majesty has done me by putting me in this position.

Your Majesty has a royal Audiencia in these island with four auditors, one fiscal, and other officers, whereby your Majesty spends each year sixteen thousand five hundred pesos. It seems that this might be dispensed with for the reasons set forth in the paper which goes with this, and to which I refer, only adding (what I may say in all truth) that, although this commonwealth is in the greatest trouble, through the many causes of death, wars, conflagrations, afflictions, shipwrecks, and the destruction of so much property, as your Majesty has learned, there is nothing which it feels more keenly today, or which afflicts it more, than to have the Audiencia here judging, and with it to lack all freedom of person or property. The name of auditor is so odious here that it alone offends; and we have come to such a state of affairs that because I, in conformity to what your Majesty has ordered, have attempted to maintain and have maintained amicable relations with the auditors; and have shown, on various occasions, more patience and endurance than the people considered right; and more than seemed fitting to my situation, in order not to give rise to scandal: some have conceived hatred for me, publicly saying that, to comply with the expenditures and opinions of the said auditors, I was neglecting to look after them, and that I could correct the evil which the Audiencia was doing. But as I cannot do that, it has seemed to me the best means to let the public see that there was good feeling between me and the Audiencia, and to give an account to your Majesty now of the reasons which lead me to this conclusion, in a letter separate from other matters, as I am now doing, and to which I refer you. I shall end by saying that I remind your Majesty that no private interest moves me to take this step, but merely the obligation and zeal which I have always had and now have for the service of your Majesty. This is vouched for by the fact that, a year ago, I sent my brothers the order and authority to beseech your Majesty to be pleased to grant me the favor of commanding an appointment for this charge, and giving me permission to go to España, where I might continue my service more nearly in the sight of your Majesty; and although I hold it certain that this was not neglected, I would again on this occasion lay on them the same obligation, and beg your Majesty to be pleased to command that my request be favorably regarded. May our Lord protect the Catholic person of your Majesty through many long years, with the prosperity necessary to Christendom. Manila, July 15, 1604.

Don Pedro de Acuña

[In the margin: "Let it be answered that his letter is received, and have him thanked for his zealous interest and care in all that he mentions. Respecting what he says of abolishing the Audiencia, suitable measures have been taken, and for the present nothing will be done in regard to it. As to the general statements made in his report, in regard to the trade and traffic which he speaks of and the proceedings of the Audiencia, let him give particular information of what auditor or officer is trading in this way, and whatever is worthy of correction—so that, having considered it in the Council, fitting measures may be taken."]

[Endorsed: "Manila, to his Majesty; 1604. Don Pedro de Acuña, on the fifteenth of July, concerning the inexpediency of having an Audiencia in the Philipinas. July 20, 1606, examined and decreed within."]

Reasons why there should be no Audiencia in the Filipinas Islands, and why the one there should be abolished.

In all the islands there are not more than twelve hundred Spaniards; and the suits are so few that for the greater part of the year the Audiencia has nothing to do, and there is no business to be despatched therein, and the auditors are dismissed after having passed judgment on a few petitions from Indians—and sometimes not even these, because none are presented. The administrative session is just the same, and most of the time only exists in name.

There are no cases here of importance which cannot be adjudged by the alcaldes-in-ordinary; and if we had a lawyer for a lieutenant-governor, as we used to have before the said Audiencia was established, that is sufficient for business—which would be despatched with less difficulty, and without the Audiencia being missed; for when there is any suit of importance, which seldom happens, appeal can be made to the Audiencia of Mexico, as was formerly done.

It must be taken into consideration that each auditor or fiscal brings with him, his household, wife, children, and relatives, who are drawn by the idea of coming to the Yndias, and has other creatures and connections; and for one and all of them he must procure aid and favor so that they may become rich; for this is the aim and intention with which they come here. Accordingly, although your Majesty has commanded that the livings and offices of these islands be given to the old citizens and those deserving of these rewards, the auditors and their wives bring it about that the said relatives, dependents, and other persons whom they bring with them are the first to be provided for. If the governors do not consent to this, the auditors dislike them, and seek means and expedients whereby the worthy persons to whom the said offices and livings are given shall not be received therein. Accordingly the governors, in order not to displease the auditors, give up their claims and dare not insist upon them.

The said creatures and connections of the said auditors trade and traffic a great deal in merchandise from China; and the citizens complain that it is with the auditors' money (their own, or borrowed), and that with the favor they receive they cause great injury to the commonwealth, for they take up the whole cargo. They desire to be preferred therein, and in buying the cloth, and in every other way, try to take advantage. If the president wishes to remedy this they do not cease to offer him little annoyances; for the auditors know how to magnify themselves, in such a manner that they give one to understand that any one of them is greater than he; and they attain this by saying that what the president and governor does they can cancel, and that what the auditors decree has no appeal, recourse, or redress.

This country is not at peace but at war; and it is therefore more fitting for the time being to attend particularly to military affairs and to the government, for our defense, than to keep courts of high justice. For in countries so new the rigor of the law should not be applied in all cases; and, when some punishment must be applied, they say that it shall not be done, and are of no use except to undo what the governor and captain-general orders (as well in matters of war as of government), although these things may be quite just.

All the resources of this land are scanty, but if there is anything good the auditors also say that they want it for themselves; and when there is a Chinese embroiderer, tailor, carver, or other workman, they proceed to take him into their houses and have him do much work—in such a way that the Sangley himself has no freedom. Such benefits do not extend to the citizens; but rather, if any of these things are available, the said auditors demand them and by entreaty or intimidation get possession of them. It is the same thing in regard to jewels, slave men and women, articles of dress, and other things—in such manner that, as experience has proved to me since I have considered it very well, when there were very few officers in this colony affairs went more smoothly, and the affairs of the service of God and your Majesty in a more orderly manner. Aid could be given to the one or the other, and to the defense of this land, with fewer hindrances and less difficulty; for in my opinion there is no one who in one way or another is not seeking his own gain and private interest, and the more there are of them the greater injury is wrought. We are compelled to overlook these things, and others of more importance, that we may not experience worse trouble; for we are unable to do more, as your Majesty is five thousand leguas from here, and redress comes so slowly.

The same trouble arises in the matter of provisions, each one looking after the care of his own house without considering the needs of others or of the poor, who should be looked after; consequently nothing can be heard but complaints and clamors from the people—poor and rich, and of all conditions—loudly asserting that the auditors are seeking everything for themselves.

Since in what regards the payment of their salaries they consider and assert that these must be preferred and the first paid even if it be from the stated fund for the religious orders, bishops, ministers of instruction, and for the military forces, who are before them in order—they have difficulties and misunderstandings with the royal officials; and as the said auditors do not care for the great importance of paying the soldiers, and look only to their private interests, I have had many complaints from the said royal officers, as they must have written you.

The soldiers, captains, master-of-camp, and military officials are greatly discontented and grieved at the ill-treatment which the said auditors accord them; and at seeing that they are hindered by them, an auditor commanding at his will the arrest of a captain, official or soldier, without cause or reason, and interfering in all the details of service—even going so far as to inspect their quarters, and send them to the public prison, for very trivial affairs, against all military precedents. If affairs are going in an orderly and concerted way, it is when the auditors do not meddle with them; for all this concerns primarily the chief commander and officers provided therefor. Judging by the state in which things are in the Filipinas today, and in the opinion of right-thinking men, soldiers are of more use and benefit in the commonwealth than are judges, for the former do more than their share, and the others are deficient. Considering the evil which results to the soldiers from seeing themselves punished and checked by so many magistrates; the hardships which they so commonly endure, and the occasions which are every day arising where these are necessary; and in view of the scant and poor pay which is given them, and as they are the defenders of the land, and are so far distant and little favored; and seeing the great hindrance which the Audiencia is for military affairs—for they will give no opportunity for the execution of edicts, nor do they attend to what is necessary, as it appears to them that they are sufficient for everything; and that they can manage this matter like those which they have studied—we may fear some irreparable injury. We should immediately prepare for this, especially as the enemies which we have here are not like those in other parts of the Yndias, but much greater in number and more skilful in war, and accordingly more adroitness and prudence are necessary to maintain us; and the soldiers must be content and well paid, and ordered by their leaders, of whom they should not have so many.

The property which your Majesty has here is very little for the ordinary expenses which every day arise; and if it is not brought here from Mexico with more care and punctuality than hitherto, affairs cannot be maintained here in any way. Even with that which is sent we suffer much hardship; and accordingly it is necessary to avoid expense, so far as is possible. That which is incurred for the auditors and Audiencia is not so insignificant, as it is not less than sixteen thousand five hundred pesos, not counting other expenses; and then the fines from condemnations, which they apply to suit their own convenience. These amounts, taken altogether, would be enough for an armed fleet, with which to help in the defense of this land—which is needed badly enough, but which for lack of money we cannot equip—and many other things could be remedied. In the future there will be still more difficulty in this matter, because of the extraordinary expenses which have resulted from the uprising of the Sangleys, and the deficiency which on this acount has this year resulted in the royal duties on merchandise from China, which goes as high as thirty-five to forty thousand pesos; and there is a further loss of five or six thousand pesos each year, which is the amount of the tributes from the Sangleys—an income that we formerly received, which is now at an end. Consequently, I do not believe that the Audiencia will be of any use at all, but rather it will cause great injury to the service of your Majesty and the welfare of this commonwealth. Even if the two were not rivals, I doubt very much if the Audiencia could be maintained without there being great deficiency in everything else, if their salaries are to be paid here. I consider it more advantageous and safe to spend what the said Audiencia draws in salaries, to aid in paying the soldiers and maintaining the fleet of galleys which [MS. defective] we defend, and not the presence of the said auditors and Audiencia, as they themselves assert who were of the opinion that the Audiencia should again be established; for this country is not even in a state to be able to bear such a burden, as it is so ill provided, as I have said, and so borne down with troubles and even with war.

Likewise another difficulty is presented, as the treasury is always straitened; and, on account of the great care which the auditors take to collect their salaries, as it cannot be so prompt as they would wish, they seek borrowed money from the citizens—who give it to them, willingly or unwillingly, each one according to his means or designs. From this follow difficulties, to which they pay no heed; as some of them demand these loans from persons who are parties to suits at the time, who grant these to the auditors in order to place them under obligations, and profit by them.

The difficulty which presents itself to me in this matter is that, if the Audiencia is abolished and everything left in charge of the governor, there will be but slow and poor remedy for the grievances and disorders which may occur. For they must be taken to the Audiencia of Mexico, which is so far away that the aggrieved ones would consume both life and property before the business was settled. Several difficulties occur to me, which are connected with this; but having informed myself fully on this point as to what has happened in the past, all say that they consider government by one person the best, when he governs justly. These men know what the governor can do without the Audiencia, and with it; and they believe that it is better when there are not so many to command them, for they have never seen the audiencias redress illegal acts by the governors. I therefore consider it better, before God and my conscience, that your Majesty should choose for this charge some gentleman and soldier who has proved trustworthy, and whose mode of governing and procedure has been learned and tried in other offices. He should be a good Christian, and, above all, not greedy; for if he is affected with this last the country is ready and eager for an alteration of its condition, whereby the same losses which we have seen in other cases might be caused here.

I am likewise confronted with another difficulty, which is redress for violations of the law by the ecclesiastical judges; but these are cases which seldom happen, and it does not seem just, in order to settle an affair of this sort, that others of a different nature should be deranged, and that an opportunity should be given for so many troubles as result from the contrary—especially as we might attend to such a case by some suitable means, referring it to trustworthy persons here, who would take it in charge.

Although there is no doubt that much of what this paper recounts occurs in other regions where there are audiencias, it must be remembered that in this country, which is the newest of all and more engaged in war than any of the others; and where the hardships of conquest and maintenance are so omnipresent; and your Majesty has little profit or advantage, except the cargo of cloth which goes to Nueva Hespaña, and which is divided among all; and as the resources of the country are so scant that there it no place to go in order to seek a livelihood outside of Manila: there is much criticism in this matter, and the people are much grieved at seeing themselves in the utmost part of the world, harassed and troubled by so many magistrates and officers and their dependents, and at having so many to satisfy; and that matters are in such a state that he who has an auditor for a protector may, it appears, go wherever he wishes and with as much as he wishes, and he who has not must be ruined. Dated at Manila, July 15, 1604.

Don Pedro de Acuña

Sire:

There is in this city a seminary named Sancta Potençiana, of which your Majesty is the patron, where the daughters of the citizens of these islands are sheltered, and carefully taught and instructed. It has been visited by the archbishop of the islands, Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, and when he observed the custom that obtained of allowing the wives of citizens to enter within the seminary, he issued a decree with censures, ordering that no person, without any exception, should have entrance there. The fiscal of your Majesty considered this a matter for complaint, saying that it was not in the said archbishop's power to do this, as the matter did not concern him. The case came before this Audiencia as one of fuerza. When the proceedings were examined, he was charged to raise the said excommunication, and leave the matter as before, as it was purely a case for the [secular] government, and concerned the governor of these islands, who represents the royal person of your Majesty by virtue of the royal patronage. Various controversies regarding this having arisen, and answers on the part of the archbishop, this Audiencia continually overlooked his actions that they might avoid a rupture with him, as your Majesty will see by the documents that accompany this. Since it is most expedient that in the future he should be restrained from issuing such decrees, and that scandals should not become necessary, we beseech your Majesty that, after having examined this matter, you will take such action as is expedient for your royal service.

[In the margin: "Santa Potençiana. Take this clause in the process cited to the reporter." "Elsewhere provided for."]

On two voyages from Nueva España Don Diego de Çamudio Manrique has come to these islands as admiral and commander. He has enjoyed our entire confidence, and has discharged his duties to the entire satisfaction of all in these islands; nor has anyone ever said anything about him other than that he is a good servant of your Majesty. All this, and the great ability displayed by him in so few years, constrain us to make this representation to your Majesty, as we have no authority to reward him. May the Lord protect the Catholic person of your Majesty. July 19, 1604. In session.

[In the margin: "Recommendation of Don Diego Çamudio Manrique, telling how meritorious he is, and how worthy to receive reward."]

Don Pedro de Acuña
The licentiate Don Antonio de Ribera Maldonado
The licentiate Tellez Almaçan
The licentiate Andres de Alcaraz
The licentiate Manuel de Madrid y Luna

DECREES REGARDING RELIGIOUS ORDERS

Sire:

The order of the Recollects of St. Augustine [32] desire to be established in the Indias, and have entreated your Majesty to order that permission be given therefor, and that several religious may go for that purpose, and to preach the gospel, to Nueva España, the Philippinas Islands, and China. This request having been examined in the Council, it has appeared desirable that—as this concerns the mendicant orders, so highly esteemed, pious and strict in religious observance, and as they can accomplish much good in those regions by their teaching, preaching, and example—your Majesty, if such be your will, might give them permission to go to establish themselves in the Philippinas Islands, where there is most need of ministers of the gospel; and these religious are fitted for so new a country by the poverty and strictness which they profess. Valladolid, February 23, 1604. [There are nine signatures, apparently those of councilors.]

[Endorsed: "Council of the Indias, February 23, 1604. That permission may be given to the Augustinian Recollects to go to establish themselves in the Philippinas." In a different hand: "Since this order wishes to send religious to the Indians, notify the superiors to take care that those who go be learned men, and of mature age."]

The King: Don Pedro de Acuña, governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia there: In my Council of the Indias has been examined the clause of a letter from the ecclesiastical cabildo of the church there, a copy of which accompanies this, wherein was recounted the transactions in relation to the taking posession by the religious of the Order of St. Augustine of a certain chapel of Nuestra Señora de Guia, which had been erected into a parish; and how the friars of the Order of St. Francis, on their own authority, and without any permission, had established another church in the village of Dilao; and the freedom with which the said fathers of St. Augustine acted, and the arrogance shown by them in not receiving a visitor of their order. As these are matters that should be carefully looked after, I charge and command you neither to allow nor give opportunity for such irregularities, and to take measures to check and correct them, with the utmost discretion, and by the most expedient means possible, advising me of all that may occur. Valladolid, on the third of June of the year one thousand six hundred and four.

I The King

Countersigned by Joan de Ybarra; signed by the members of the Council.

[Note at beginning of MS.: "To the governor of the Philipinas, directing him to take effective measures to check and correct in future the high-handed proceedings of the Augustinian religious. Corrected."]

The King: Most reverend father in Christ, the archbishop of Manila, and member of my Council: A letter from you has been received and examined in my Council of the Yndias, from which has been learned your advice to the effect that when it is necessary to summon councils to discuss reforms in certain matters, the religious of the orders do not attend them as they should, availing themselves as they do of the privileges which they hold; and that some of them abandon the missions of Indians which they have already instructed and baptized, and dispose of and exchange the appurtenances and furniture of the churches where they administer the sacraments. I thank you for the care and zeal for the service of our Lord with which you ascertained this, and have given me an account of it. However, in so far as concerns the councils, measures will be taken to have his Holiness order a brief to be issued directing the said religious to attend the said councils when the prelates summon them. As for the exchanges and sales of the properties of the churches which you say the teaching religious make, you will check these by the remedies of the law, excommunicating and punishing those who oppose you. Accordingly I charge you to do this; and to be watchful for the preservation and instruction of the natives, so that what they need may be furnished to them everywhere, for this is the principal thing that should be looked to by all the ministers of the gospel. Valladolid, on the thirtieth day of July in the year one thousand six hundred and four.

I The King

Countersigned by Joan de Ybarra; signed by the members of the Council.

[Note at beginning of MS.: "Reply to the archbishop of Manila in regard to stopping the bartering and sale of church furniture by the religious who give instruction."]

GRANT TO THE JESUIT SEMINARY AT CEBU

Sire:

I Pedro Chirino, of the Society of Jesus, and procurator thereof for the Philipinas, affirm that the said Society, as a result of its desire that there may be in these islands persons who during their youth may engage in exercises of virtue, to the end that letters may flourish there, founded a residence [colegio] in the city of El Santissimo Nombre de Jesus eight years ago; [33] and that in it there are such religious as are needed for the purpose not only of teaching religion to the natives, but also of giving instruction in reading and writing to their children and to the Spanish children; and that also Latin is studied there—from all of which great good has resulted to the natives, as well as to the Spaniards. Since the country is very poor, and since the said residence has no income, it suffers from great need; and in order that the said residence may advance and may be able to carry on these laudable exercises in learning still further, and may include the study of other subjects of knowledge, I offer my petition to your Majesty that you will be pleased to bestow a gift of one thousand pesos of annual income for the support of the said religious who regularly reside therein for the said purpose, charged against the royal treasury of Mexico or against the proceeds of the saleable offices which are received there.

Father Pedro Chirino

I offer my petition to your Majesty that you will make a grant against the following sources of income: In the first place, against the royal treasury of Mexico, and especially against the saleable offices; against the royal treasury of Manila; against the dues collected on the merchandise brought to Manila by the Chinese and Japonese; against the tributes collected from the Chinese in the island of Manila; against the dues and tributes collected from the Chinese in Cebu and Oton; against the Indians who are assigned to the royal crown, so long as funds remain in the treasury of the fourth. [34]

The Camara [i.e., Council]; let this be now examined. At Valladolid,
January 14, 1605.

The licentiate Alonzo Fernandez de Castro

I, Pedro Chirino, of the Society of Jesus and procurator thereof for the Philipinas, affirm, in the name of the residence of the said Society in the city of Santo Nombre de Jesus, that when your Majesty had examined the official reports conveyed in letters from the royal Audiencia of Manila and from the bishop of the said city of Santo Nombre de Jesus, and the ex parte statement made at the request of the said residence, your Majesty decreed that the matter should be considered at the present time. Since the present necessity of the residence is so urgent, as appears from the documents presented, and since the service which it will perform to our Lord God and to your Majesty is so great, provided that the grant desired for the said residence shall be given, I supplicate your Majesty anew to be pleased to consider again the documents which in virtue of a royal decree of your Majesty were made and have been presented. From the four Statements of testimony officially presented, will plainly appear the care and attention with which the religious of the said Society have attended and do attend to the administration of the holy sacraments, and to preaching and hearing confessions, not only from the Spaniards of the said city of El Santo Nombre de Jesus but from the natives and Sangleys. They give their assistance in all the necessities of the people, both spiritual and temporal, with special care; and the said residence has schools in which their children are not only taught to read and write, but also receive instruction in good morals and habits, and, for all those who desire it, in Latin also. There are many students, from whose education and instruction results much good and advantage to all that country. At the same time, the aforesaid residence is very poor, since it has no fixed income to sustain it. The result is that it suffers great need; and if it receives no assistance there is no doubt that the necessity in which it at present is will be increased, since the country is very poor, and the gifts which are made to it are extremely small. At the same time the expenses are heavy; and it is now housed in a very small, old, wooden building, which at the present time is decaying and is in great need of repairs. The members of the said Society receive for the masses, administration of the sacraments, preaching, reading and all their other ministries to their fellow-men nothing whatever, but do all these things gratis. It should further be observed that the citizens of the said city of Santo Nombre de Jesus are few and very poor, and are unable to aid the said religious with any gifts or alms. In addition to the aforesaid affirmations, which are contained in the official evidence, there are other statements in the ex parte testimony in which the same things are said by twelve witnesses, one of whom is Bishop Don Fray Pedro de Agurto. Besides the above, he has written a letter, which is enclosed herewith, in which he declares as an eye-witness the great service done to our Lord God in those regions by religious of the aforesaid Society; and the great value of their residence there, from which great profit results to the said city and all that province of Cebu, distant from Manila one hundred and fifty leguas by sea. This said residence is, as it were, a nursery and asylum for all the missions and centers of teaching that are under the charge of the aforesaid Society in that province. There are two letters from the royal Audiencia in which they state that which they consider necessary to relieve the wants of the aforesaid residence, and the excellent use to which such a grant would be put. I pray your Majesty that, in view of these considerations, this favor may be granted, by giving commands that a regular income of two thousand ducados of eight reals may be allowed, as has been requested, for the support of the religious who reside therein. The aforesaid sum is to be charged against the royal treasury of Mexico, from the proceeds of offices which are sold, deposited therein; and therewith the Society will receive a great grace from your Majesty.

Father Pedro Chirino

Granted by the Camara, May 26, 1607:
The licentiate Alonzo Fernandez de Castro

DECREE REGULATING COMMERCE WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA

The King: The king my lord and father (may he rest in peace!) by various decrees prohibited trade and commerce of the Western Indias with the Philipinas Islands and China generally, to obviate the loss that resulted therefrom to these kingdoms and to their trade and commerce; and he ordered and commanded that no vessel whatsoever should go from the provinces of Peru, Tierra Firme, Guatimala, or any other part of the Western Indias, to the said kingdoms of China and the Philipinas Islands, under the penalties which were for that purpose imposed. But further, considering the importance of the preservation of the parts of those lands that are reduced to our obedience and to the Christian faith (which had been established there), and likewise for the greater extension of the gospel and of our holy Catholic faith, he allowed and gave permission for two ships to go each year from Nueva España to the said Philipinas Islands, each of three hundred toneladas, in which were to be conveyed reënforcements of troops and other things necessary, and the goods for trade which were to come thence to Nueva España, and which were shipped on account of the royal exchequer; the cost of sending these ships was to be taken from the freight-moneys for the goods, and the quantity and value of the goods freighted each year was not to exceed two hundred and fifty thousand pesos of eight reals, nor the return in money five hundred thousand for principal and profit, this trade being restricted to the citizens of the said Philipinas Islands. All the said goods must be consumed in the said Nueva España, or brought to these kingdoms; and in no case might they be taken to Peru nor to any other part of the Indias, [35] under the penalties imposed for such violation, as more fully explained in the decrees cited, to which we refer. Although it has been ordered by other decrees at various times that these should be observed and complied with, I have been informed that this has nut been done, and that the quantity allowed has been and is being greatly exceeded in the amount taken each year, with the knowledge and permission of my viceroys, audiencias, and governors—goods to the extent of more than two millions of ducats being registered and openly sent, besides what is secretly shipped. All this money finally makes it way into infidel kingdoms, whereby their power is increased; and from this have resulted great losses to our exchequer and to the commerce of these kingdoms with the Western Indias. Those chiefly interested in this trade are the citizens of Nueva España, Peru, and other provinces; they have taken the said merchandise there against the provisions and commands of the said decrees, and the warnings sent to the said viceroys, audiencias, and governors, and the measures that have been and are now being taken are not sufficient to prevent these violations. As the correction of these lawless acts and a remedy for the greater injuries that may be expected, are of so great importance and moment (all these difficulties having been represented to me), and as I have been petitioned by the prior and consuls of the mercantile corporation of Sevilla, and other persons who are zealous in behalf of my service that, in order to stop this, I should command the entire prohibition also of the trade of the said Nueva España with the said Philipinas Islands: Having discussed and considered this in my royal Council of the Indias, and consultations being held on all that should be considered in this matter, as it appears that they desire to prevent and avert future losses, and likewise aim to secure the preservation and growth of the Christian religion in the said islands, and the neighboring kingdoms, wherein the service of our Lord is so greatly concerned, I have decided that for the present the trade and commerce of the said Philipinas Islands with Nueva España should be maintained according to the ordinances; that the quantity of merchandise which may be carried each year from the Philipinas Islands to Nueva España is by no means to exceed two hundred and fifty thousand pesos of eight reals, as is provided; and the return of principal and profit in money is not to exceed five hundred thousand pesos, which I have permitted. For no pretext, cause, or reason to be alleged therefore is this to be exceeded, and the traders in every case must be citizens of the said Philipinas Islands, and none others whatsoever, as is likewise ordered by the royal decrees of the king my lord, and under the penalties therein provided. These I command to be executed without fail against the trangressors, without there being any exemption or excuse.

Further, in order that this may be better accomplished, and to remove the opportunities for shipping a great deal of merchandise, and likewise that the crews may go and come in safety, it is my will and I permit that there be four ships in this trade, each of two hundred toneladas burden, and no more; and they shall be my vessels, and shall sail on my account, two each year; and the others shall remain in port making ready for the voyage of the succeeding year, as is ordered—for in this way they will sail at the proper time, without waiting for one another; nor shall they exceed this number and capacity. These ships shall be built expressly for that route, of the said size and of the required strength, on account of the inconveniences that have heretofore resulted from the ships being large and having been navigated on the account of private persons, in whose charge they were placed—which last must without fail cease.

Furthermore, in order to avoid such large expenses as have hitherto been incurred on that route, owing to the large number of agents and officials who have gone in the ships thereon, it is my will and command that from now on there shall be only one commander of the two ships, and one lieutenant, who shall be admiral. Each vessel shall take not more than one captain of war, besides the ship-master, and there may be as many as fifty effective soldiers in each ship, drawing pay; and the sailors who shall be necessary to go and return. These shall be kept under discipline, that they may be effective and practiced. There shall be two examined pilots and one assistant pilot for each vessel, of the necessary qualifications. For the present, and until further orders, I desire, and it is my will, that since the property to be traded will be that of the citizens of those Philipinas Islands, all these officials—commander, lieutenant, captains, masters, and pilots—shall be appointed by my governor and captain-general of the said Philipinas Islands and the archbishop of Manila, the present or the future incumbents of those offices, notwithstanding that they have heretofore been appointed and furnished by my viceroy of Nueva España; and him I command to cease doing this from now on. If the said governor and archbishop do not agree in this selection, I command that they shall join with them the senior auditor of the Audiencia, and the decision of the majority of these shall be carried into effect. The persons appointed for these offices shall be chosen among the principal and honored citizens of the said islands, and the fittest to be found for the duties that they must perform. They shall give securities in the form and amount that may seem best to the said governor and archbishop, for the greater security of what may be in their charge. Their residencias shall be taken for each voyage by the auditors of my said Audiencia of Manila; and I command that they shall not be allowed to make a second voyage until they shall have given the said residencia, and account satisfactorily for what was in their charge.

As I have been informed that there have been many infractions and irregularities during past years on the part of the commanders, admirals, and officers of the said ships, in the matter of carrying money and bringing back great quantities of merchandise on their own behalf; and that they have caused serious grievances to the traders, especially to the citizens of the said islands: for the present I forbid and prohibit them in any case to trade or traffic, or to occupy or lade the said ships during the voyage made in their charge, in small or great quantity, under their own or any other name, in any article whatsoever; nor shall a single tonelada be assigned to them, as to the other citizens; nor can they buy or take from others any space for freight—under penalty of a perpetual deprivation of the said offices on the trade-route, and confiscation of the goods which they may have laded, carried, or taken, which on investigation may be found to be theirs.

I consider it well, and so decree, that, in order that the said officials may be maintained according to their station and the obligations of their offices, there shall be give to the said commander a salary of four thousand ducats, and to the admiral three thousand, for each voyage out and back. And I permit and allow the said governor and archbishop to give to the captains, soldiers, sailors, and artillerymen who shall go in the said ships for each voyage, the wages that they may assign as their earnings, and as just, for the said voyage; for to these no more [than to their superiors] shall permission be given to lade, or cause to be laded, merchandise in quantities small or great, under the said penalties.

And as it has been understood that in the past more commanders than necessary have been appointed for the ships on the said route, and they have carried in the posts of artillerymen and sailors many who were not such, it is my will that this should cease and be corrected henceforth; and that for each piece of artillery that the ships carry, there shall go one artilleryman, and no more, nor shall wages be paid to superfluous men.

And in order that there may be the fitting account and regularity in all things, all proceedings shall be conducted equitably and with great precision in the matters ordered. It is my will and command that there shall be in the said vessels, and sail with them, an inspector and an accountant, to keep account and system in everything. And they shall inspect the articles laded as merchandise, and carried back on return in the said ships, and account for them in their books. The said inspector and accountant shall be appointed by the governor and archbishop in the same maner as they select the commander, admiral and other officers, and with the same intervention of the senior auditor of the Audiencia in case they do not agree. They shall take care that these be persons of approved qualifications, satisfactory, and worthy of confidence; and shall assign them such salary as may appear sufficient and just, provided that it does not exceed two thousand ducats a year to each man for each voyage, for they must not ship goods [for themselves] either little or much, under the penalties provided for the commander and admiral. And the said inspector and accountant must sail, one in the commander's ship and the other in the admiral's ship, alternating each voyage. The said governor and archbishop shall give them the instructions and plan which they must follow on the voyage, and they must give residencia like the other officers of the said fleet, before they embark again for another voyage; and the consciences of the said governor and archbishop are charged with the selection and appointment of all the said ministers and officials.

And since, on account of the overloading of the vessels which thus far have plied on the said Philipinas route, we have seen that many have been wrecked, with the men and goods which they contained, and as it is fitting that this be remedied and prevented, we command that in future care be taken that the tonnage to be carried in the said ships shall be conformable to their capacity, leaving the space necessary for the men who sail in them, and the supplies they take—which must be sufficient so that in case of the lengthening of the voyage, for any cause which may arise, the men may not perish for lack of them. Great care should be taken that they be not overloaded or encumbered, so as to put them in danger of wreck or some misfortune; on the contrary, they should be lightly laden, and in such manner as will secure their safety against storms or enemies that may be encountered. The tonnage which, as aforesaid, is to be laden in them shall be allotted by my governor, the archbishop of Manila, the senior auditor and the fiscal of my said Audiencia, and two regidora of the cabildo of the said city of Manila, among the citizens of the said islands who may have property to invest. This allotment shall be made in the most equitable manner, and without aggrieving anyone (as we are confident they will do), for it is just that all should enjoy this benefit and convenience for their maintenance and benefit; and their object should likewise be that the country be peopled with useful colonists, such as will remain there.

I also command that my viceroy of Nueva España and the governor of the said Philipinas Islands, each so far as this concerns him, shall moderate and regulate the freight charges to be paid on what is laded in the said ships on their voyages to and fro, according to the expenses thereof—conformably to the reduction that is made in the tonnage of the said ships and the number of men who are to sail in them, and the other expenses incurred—in such manner that no superfluous or unnecessary expenses shall be incurred (but not so that necessaries or conveniences shall be lacking), and that it shall not be necessary to supply anything from my exchequer for the expenditures for the said fleet. For this reason the duties now levied and collected on the merchandise shall be raised two per cent, and that on silver another two per cent, by way of avería [36] as is done on that carried from the Indias via the Northern Sea in the fleets and armed vessels; for this is conformable to the profits of those that trade in the said Philipinas route. The proceeds of this shall be a special fund, with a separate account carefully kept, in the said city of Manila, to be used for the expenses contracted for the said ships and their crews; with this shall be placed the freight charges which may be collected conformably to the order which will be given, as has hitherto been done; and in all things the necessary order and system must be maintained by the said accountant and inspector, and by my royal officials of the said Philipinas Islands.

I charge and command my viceroys of Nueva España, both present and future, to take especial care in the accomplishment and execution of all the foregoing; and to station in the port of Acapulco, besides the royal officials who are now there, a person of great integrity, trustworthiness, and competence, with a commission as alcalde-mayor, so that this decree may be suitably enforced in all respects; and no more money may be carried [in the ships] than the amount permitted, whether with or without license. In the said port the registers of all that is brought from the said Philipinas Islands shall be opened by the person to whom that duty is entrusted by my viceroy and by the officials of my royal exchequer at the said port of Acapulco. They shall also together inspect and check off the bales and chests, with the scrutiny and care necessary to ascertain what has come without registry and contrary to permission. The said registers are to be sent to Mexico, as usual, with the results of the investigations made in the said port of Acapulco, by a person of integrity or by one of my said officials. In Mexico everything shall be again checked off, and appraised; and the duties that belong to me shall be collected and proper measures shall be taken to ascertain and learn what has come registered, and whatever shall be found to have come without registry, and whatever is carried contrary to the said prohibition, shall be confiscated: but no permission or opportunity shall be given for committing, in this procedure, or under pretext or occasion thus afforded, any injury or act of injustice against the owners of the said property.

And I command that the same care be taken at the port of Acapulco in examining the royal silver and other articles which may be embarked and carried to the said Philipinas Islands. The royal officials of the said port shall take account of them, and shall inform my governor thereof and the royal officials of the said islands, sending them the registers, and giving them all necessary information. As the majority of the persons who go every year from Nueva España to the said islands do not remain there, but return immediately, investing what money they possess, I command my viceroy of Nueva España to give permission to no one to go to the Philipinas Islands, unless such person shall give securities that he will become a citizen and resident there for more than eight years, or unless he shall go as a soldier, sent to the governor; and against those who violate this decree, and their bondsmen, he shall execute the necessary penalties without fail.

And as it is my will that all the aforesaid should be complied with, observed and executed inviolably, as also the decrees which were ordered to be despatched by the king my lord, which are hereinbefore mentioned, concerning the said trade, in so far as they are not contrary to what is decreed and ordered, I command my viceroy of the said Nueva Spaña and my governor and captain-general of the said Philipinas Islands, and my audiencias there, and my other judges and magistrates, and all private persons whomsoever—each in so far as concerns him—to observe and comply with, and cause to be observed and complied with this decree, with exactness, and to execute the said penalties without any exemption or remission. And in all cases of remissness or carelessness which these my ministers shall display in the fulfilment and execution of the said orders, I command that the penalties be executed against them, and the example which the affair demands shall be made; for this reason I command that, when the residencias of their offices shall be taken, they shall be made responsible for such matters. And that these commands may come to the notice of all, and none may pretend ignorance of them, I command that this my decree be publicly proclaimed. Issued at Valladolid, on the last of December of the year one thousand six hundred and four.

I The King

Countersigned by Pedro de Ledesma; signed by the Council.

[Note at beginning of MS.: "Your Majesty's decision and mandates concerning the trade of the Philipinas Islands with Nueva España. Corrected."]

DOCUMENTS OF 1605

Complaints against the Chinese. Miguel de Benavides, and others;
February 3-9.
Letter from a Chinese official to Acuña. March.
Letters from Augustinian friars to Felipe III. Estevan Carrillo,
and others; May 4-June 20.
Letter to Felipe III. Antonio de Ribera Maldonado; June 28.

Source: All of these documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla.

Translations: The first and fourth are translated by Robert W. Haight; the second and third, by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University of Wisconsin.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE CHINESE

In the city of Manila, on the third day of the month of February in the year one thousand six hundred and five, the most reverend Señor Don Fray Miguel de Benavides, archbishop of these islands, member of the council of the king our lord, etc., declared that, since the uprising of the Chinese Sangleys who were formerly settled in this city, in a market [alcayçeria], or large town (which they call Parian) that was situated there, the said Parian and town has been commanded to be built, and has now been built anew, and is at this time again peopled with the said infidel Sangleys. The said Sangleys are infidels and idolaters, and a most pernicious and injurious people to be settled among the Christian natives, newly converted to our holy Catholic faith; for the said infidel Sangleys are most vicious, both with women and in an unnatural manner, and are extremely liberal in spending money for their purposes and desires, and artful and crafty for every form of evil. Moreover, these Indian men and women of these islands, especially those of the neighborhod of Manila, are very easily persuaded to carnal sins, in short, as natives of so hot and humid a climate; although it is a crime against nature, this they do not know, and in some regions did not even have a word for it in their language, until these infidel Chinese made this sin known to them. These native Indian men and women are very greedy, and as they are but lately made Christians, and are not thoroughly instructed, a great many of them find it very easy to leave not only Christian morals, but even the Catholic faith as well, and embrace the superstitions and rites which the idolatrous infidels desire to teach them. Likewise—and this is very important, considering the state of the faith here, and upon what depends the peace and preservation of these islands (namely, the faith in God and obedience to the king our lord), and the extreme danger and peril in which these infidel Sangleys placed us in the previous year of one thousand six hundred and three, in the month of October, from which we were delivered only by the mercy and infinite power of God, by which alone we could be freed—their desire to slaughter all of us Spaniards, and to make themselves masters of this kingdom, is much inflamed now at seeing so many thousands as were here of their fathers, sons, brothers, and kinsmen, and of their friends and countrymen, slain; and how so great an amount of their property here was destroyed. With this so open enmity, hatred, and thirst for vengeance so aroused, they will seek, great in cunning and craft as they are, to sow discord between us Spaniards and the Indian natives of these islands, and separate us, mind and heart. For this purpose they promise and give them articles of value; for of all known people they best understand how to bribe, and they will contrive to know all secrets. And all this they can easily accomplish, if they succeed in maintaining dishonorable carnal intercourse with the Indian men and women. To stop all this, there is no other means out to send all the said infidel Sangleys out of this city, and give them only a place to live and dwell in during the two or three months of April, May, and June, while the trading and lading for Nueva España is being carried on; or, if it seems best to his Majesty, to give license to a few of them, even though they be such cruel and open enemies of him and of God; and to give an order that no Indians, men or women, shall settle near them, but shall remain at a considerable distance from the settlement or market where these infidel Sangleys may dwell. His most reverend Lordship, considering these things from the point of view of a person who has known the Sangleys so many years, is acquainted with their language and customs, has been in that country of China for a long time, and has noticed that since the said rebellion and war which the said Sangleys set on foot and waged against us, some of the natives have made a settlement on a part of the site where the market and Parian formerly stood, in which dwelt these infidel Sangleys; and that the new settlement of the said natives adjoins the new market and Parian which has been erected for the said infidel Sangleys, in which they now are, and at present dwell. The said natives are so near to the said infidel Sangleys, that it is not more than a rivulet, no wider than a narrow street, that separates them; and it has a foot-bridge of timbers, which affords passage from one side to the other. And even this is not the only evil and danger, but as the said Parian of the said infidels is midway between Manila and the said new settlement of the natives, every time when those Indian men or women have to come to this city, they must do so by passing through the street of the said Parian of the said infidel Sangleys; and at morning, noon, and night the latter can securely plan and execute all their misdeeds. What is perhaps the worst is, that from birth the Indians of this country, men and women, grow up in the water, bathing and swimming. The said Sangleys see them naked in the said creek, or at best in the river which is there, close to both districts. What with this unavoidable chance for caressing them, and particularly for attracting the boys with fruits and other little presents, they must draw them into their own vices. This is particularly so as these boys actually go upon the bank in the district of the infidel Sangleys, and there disport, and enjoy themselves; and they are usually naked, or, if dressed, they are almost the same as naked. It is very noticeable with these Sangley people that they intermix with any other people who are here, in a very singular fashion; for at once they intermarry with the women of these nations, adopt their customs, and live like Indians. These are not the only evils connected with the said settlement of the said natives remaining there, but there are even other injuries, perhaps greater, at any rate as great. One is that the said settlement and district of these said Indian natives is very close to another district and market, that of the Japonese, so near that they are only about a stone's throw from each other; and the Japonese are fully as bad as the Sangley infidels, both on the score of the infamous sin, and as concerns the need of protecting ourselves from them as from enemies. For on the banner that the infidel Sangleys raised when they rebelled and made the late war against us, so endangering us, there were written Chinese letters, which declared the Sangleys to be friends of the Japonese; and in the rebellion about sixteen years ago, when the former royal Audiencia of these islands commanded and caused to be executed Don Agustin and Don Martin Panga, Indian chiefs from Tondo, they found a Japonese implicated in the plots and the rebellion, and hanged him in the plaza here at Manila. There is no one that does not know the well-founded rumors and suspicions that have been afloat to the effect that the king of Japon wished to come against this city. It is likewise a matter of importance that these natives of this new village and district before mentioned, neither sow grain nor have lands for that purpose, but can only act as peddlers and wanderers; and as such, must be ready for any ill deed, especially if there be profit in it—as there will be, and that a great one, as has been pointed out. His most reverend Lordship, considering that he stood alone, has done his utmost to persuade the lord governor of these islands, Don Pedro de Acuña, to provide a remedy for an evil so greatly developed (or rather for so many evils), by removing the said natives from the vicinity of the said infidel Sangleys; but the said lord governor would not do it. When his most reverend Lordship commenced to point out the great evils attendant on having the said natives so near the said infidel Sangleys, the remedy was easy and without difficulty; for the said district and settlement of natives had but just begun, and they had not even commenced to build the new Parian of the infidel Sangleys. Thus, each day the said settlement grows larger, and its destruction grows every day more difficult; and later it will be a greater damage to the said natives to remove them.

Therefore his most reverend Lordship, desiring to check so enormous sins, and to avert the so evident dangers from them, and the destruction and end of this kingdom—both in faith and morals, and in loyalty to the king our lord—commanded and commands that there be drawn and received an investigation of the said matter, to seek and apply the remedy, if in justice and right that be fitting; and that the witnesses received shall declare the truth in all matters, under oath, and under penalty of major excommunication, late sententia, ipso facto, incurring [word illegible in MS.] canonical admonition and [word illegible]—as only this said penalty and oath will secure secrecy so that they will not tell that they were cited for this purpose, or what they declared, or any part thereof, or that this investigation is being made, or anything concerning or touching the matter. Accordingly I so provide, command, and sign; and they shall declare, under the said oath and penalty, not only whether there have not been infidel Sangleys here, since his Lordship has taken up this matter of separating these natives from the said infidel Sangleys in the district of the said Parian; but likewise whether they were not living there in the said quarter of the said natives, until his most reverend Lordship was constrained to make known the truth, and cause them to be removed from the place—for it had already become an intolerable thing, in the sight of any man whatsoever.

Fray Miguel, archbishop of Manila. By command of his most reverend Lordship: Francisco de Carranca

In the city of Manila, on the fifth day of February in the year one thousand six hundred and five, his most reverend Lordship, Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, archbishop of this said city, caused to appear before him the canon Pablo Ruiz de Talavera, cura for the natives of this city, from whom he took and received oath in verbis sacerdotis, placing his hand upon his breast. Having done this, he swore to tell the truth; and being questioned after the tenor of the caption of this document, declared that this is what he knows, and what is occurring. After the uprising and rebellion of the Sangleys which occurred on the fourth of October in the previous year of six hundred and three, as the settlement and Parian built by the said Sangleys was burned—which stood outside the walls of this city, at about an arquebus-shot from them, where the first houses began—all the site on which the said Sangleys had thus settled was abandoned. As it was thus depopulated, several Indian natives of this country, with some servants of Captain and Sargento-mayor Christoval de Asqueta, settled in several houses close by and adjoining the said site of the Parian, so that there is nothing but a creek between (so small that at low tide it is almost dry), with a wooden bridge; and on the further side, a stone's throw more or less, is the site of the Parian of the Sangley merchants (or auhaes), where the Xaponese are at present settled. This witness, as a person who has been in this country more than thirty years, and who is an interpreter of the natives, knows that the said Sangleys are a very pernicious people, and are cunning in all evil. They are especially so in the unnatural sin, which they practice commonly among themselves, and likewise with women, with whom they commit the same sin. For this they are very generous, and readily give bribes for the fulfilment of their desires. Likewise he knows that the natives, especially those of this district, are very vicious, and the Indian women very facile and unchaste in regard to offending God. Moreover, among themselves they never knew of the unnatural sin, and they had no word or name for it, nor would they know of it, until these Chinese came to this country; and from them they have learned it. Further, this witness knows that indeed these said natives are but lately converted to our holy Catholic faith, and therefore are easily approachable; for they easily give up not only the good morals that have been taught them by the ministers of the gospel, but likewise our holy Catholic faith, that has been taught them with so much pains, and is being taught them from day to day. And if they communicate and have dealings with the Chinese, it will be an easy matter to persuade them to abandon their obedience to his Majesty, as they did when the said Sangleys rebelled in the previous year of six hundred and three, when the Chinese gardeners of the village of Huiapo, where this witness holds a benefice, persuaded many Indians to rise in rebellion with them, saying that they were good people and the Spaniards bad. And the said Indians, not wishing to fall with them, gave information to this witness, as their cura, which he communicated at length to his most reverend Lordship, bringing the Indians to him so that they might tell him. And shortly after this the Sangleys rebelled, and placed this city in so great straits that if God our Lord had not miraculously delivered us, they would have killed all the Spaniards, and remained in possession of the country; and the Catholic faith would have perished here, which has cost so much to the king our lord for its establishment and support. Owing to the loss of life inflicted on them so justly at that time, they have become irritated, both those who remained alive, who now maintain the new Parian—which has been built on a part of the site of the old one, close to the village of Indians above referred to—and likewise those that live in Great China, where their brothers and kinsmen are. These also had a part of their property burned. And this witness knows that the said Chinese are a people full of craft in all they undertake, and that they can in one way or another turn the mind to any rebellion or uprising. This witness heard Ensign Christoval Gomez—who was sent as ambassador to the province of Myndanao by the governor of these islands, Don Pedro de Acuña, and who came back to this city—say concerning a ship of infidel Chinese, which was in Myndanao and came armed to the port of this city, where it at present is, that the infidel Chinese of this ship while they were in Mindanao persuaded the said people of Mindanao to come to these islands in an armed fleet, encouraged them to do this, and gave them many supplies of war, catans, and metal to make artillery, powder, and battle-axes; and the said ensign added, to this witness, that these Chinese were great rascals, and that they ought all to be in the galleys. Further, he told this witness that they did not come to the port of this city of their own will, but were forced to it by winds; and that another vessel had gone to the island of Xolo for the same reason. And, both, for this and on account of the hatred they bear for us, this witness knows that they will do all in their power to stir up the Indians against us—which will be easy for them, with the bribes that they give the Indians; and easier still if they have committed the crime against nature with them, and with their women. And it appears to this witness that there is no other remedy than to drive the Chinese out of the country, and allow them here only during the three months of the year while their trade lasts, and then let them go back to their own country. And if it should appear best to his Majesty to give permission to some few of them to remain in this land, he should order that no Indian men or women be settled near them, or near the market where dwell the infidel Sangleys. And this witness knows that his most reverend Lordship is considered to know the language and customs of the Chinese, having been acquainted with them for many years past, and that he has spent a considerable time there in China. He also knows that the Indians of the village above mentioned are so close to the new Parian of the Chinese that they must pass through it in going and coming, when they are obliged to come to this city; and there they have opportunity to talk with the said Sangleys, to concoct their misdeeds and sins. This witness knows that the said houses and village of the natives, as has been said, are also near the Parian of the Japonese, a pernicious people, who, like the Sangleys, do great harm through practice of the infamous sin; and they are a more restless and warlike people than the said Sangleys. They have always been threatening this country with war, and they have molested it and its coasts by their ships, with which they come to plunder; and they bring Sangleys as pilots and sailors. In a native rebellion organized sixteen years ago by certain Indians, at which time several chiefs who were implicated were executed, they were in communication with the Japonese, and one Japonese was hanged. This witness likewise knows that at the time when the Sangleys rebelled, in the said past year of six hundred and three, there was taken from them a banner, with an inscription in the characters which they use, which was examined and read by one who understood it; and he said that in the said inscription the said Chinese declared themselves friends of the Xaponese. Besides, it is easy to see the loss that would result from the intercourse of these natives with the said Xaponese and Chinese. And this witness knows (for he was present and saw it) that at the time when they were commencing to rebuild the Parian of the said Sangleys there were present his most reverend Lordship, with the president and all the auditors of this royal Audiencia, the regidors, and many other persons, on the site of the Parian—at which time they were considering its rebuilding, it being on the first anniversary of the burning of the said Parian, which was on the sixth of October of the said year six hundred and three. This witness saw that the lord archbishop opposed it, saying that it was inexpedient to build it for many reasons, until an account of them had been given to his Majesty. And finally he called to this witness, and said to him that those houses of the Indians—pointing out to him the said village above mentioned—would better be moved back and taken from that place; for it was not good that they should remain there, and particularly when they were considering putting Sangleys so near. This was heard by the lord governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, and other persons who were there. And this witness knows that on that same day the lord governor and both the cabildos, the secular and ecclesiastical, were in the church of San Andres, where mass was being chanted in honor of the patron saints of this city, in thanksgiving for their aid, which, on such a day as this, had given us victory over the Chinese; and the said lord archbishop preached, and in the sermon discoursed at length concerning the inadvisability of a second Parian, owing to the many offenses against God there committed, and the great danger in which it would again place this city. Notwithstanding this and other measures which the said lord archbishop took in the matter—such as sending to tell the lord governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, with Captain Pedro de Ortega, alcalde-in-ordinary of this city, that this village of the natives should be removed, as it was so near to the Parian, in order to avoid the offenses that would there be committed against God our Lord—so far as he has learned, they have not up to the present day removed the said village. And this witness knows that in the said village of the said natives, there was a house of Sangleys, in which this witness saw three Sangleys; for this witness, as cura of the natives of this city, was commanded by his most reverend Lordship to investigate their way of life, and see whether there were any infidel Sangleys among them. In compliance with what his most reverend Lordship commanded, he went to the said village, with Señor Geronimo de Alcaraz, and both together saw the said three infidel Sangleys, who were living there; and, when asked how long they had been living there, they answered "three months." Likewise this witness asked the Indians of the said village and another Indian—a chief from Mindoro, who frequently went to the said village—whether there had been more Sangleys. They answered that as many as six other Sangleys had lived there, in this said Indian village, for more than two months. This witness knows further that, by a strenuous effort made by the said archbishop, the said Chinese were removed from the said village. This procedure was public, as was also the fact that the said archbishop had informed Señor Don Pedro de Acuña, governor of these islands, that the Chinese were among these Indians, and that the said lord governor sent to investigate this an ensign of the guard, who returned and told the said lord governor that the said Sangleys were not there; or at any rate the said governor so understood the said ensign. But as the lord archbishop was certain of the truth, he told the said lord governor, in the presence of all the people, that they were deceiving him, and that the said infidel Sangleys were among the said natives of the said village. As the lord governor was not yet satisfied, he himself went in person to the said Parian, and, from the bank of the stream, called for the Sangleys who were living in the said village with the natives; immediately the said three infidel Sangleys came into the presence of the said lord governor. This witness asked them how long they had been there, and they answered that they had been there three months, and had come from Çebu. This was heard by the lord governor, who was present, and by other persons who were accompanying him. Then the said lord governor ordered the said Sangleys to leave the said village straightway. And the said village of the said natives is, at this very day, as has been said, in the danger explained in the document heading these proceedings, and in this statement and declaration. And this is the truth, by the oath he has taken, which he affirmed, ratified, and signed; and he says that he is about thirty-five years of age.

Fray Miguel, archbishop of Manila. Pablo Ruiz de Talavera Before me: Francisco de Carranca, notary.

[On the ninth of February of the year one thousand six hundred and five, the archbishop caused to appear before him for the said investigation, the canon Diego de Leon, who, having been sworn in the manner before described, made a declaration in every way similar to that of the preceding witness. He mentioned as an instance of the bad faith of the Chinese, the death of Gomez Perez Das Mariñas, and the many good soldiers that they then killed. Below the formal closing of the declaration, but before the signature, he adds the following to his testimony:] This witness further says that in his opinion, if the infidel Sangleys were to come only for purposes of trade to these islands, and none of them were to remain here, the kingdom of China would be altogether friendly toward us for the sake of our trade; and if none of them remained here, the Spaniards would have no occasion to injure them, and they would not have time to acquire influence over these natives, who are quick at learning a new language, and are excellent soldiers, shooting even better than do the Spaniards with arquebuses, and possessing very good weapons.

Fray Miguel, archbishop of Manila. Diego de Leon Before me: Francisco de Carranca, notary.

I, Francisco de Carranca, canon of this holy church of Manila, appointed notary by his Lordship, by his command caused this copy of this information to be made from the original, which was drawn before me, and remains in the archives of the notary-public of this archbishopric. It is a certain and true copy, to the best of my knowledge, and I refer to the original. Witness its copying, correcting, and comparison, Thomas de Cardenas and Juan Camacho de el Hello, residents of this city of Manila, where it is dated, on to the seventh of July of the year one thousand six hundred and five.

Francisco de Carrança, notary.

[We append to this document the following affidavit:]

Sworn statement to the effect that there are Sangleys in Manila in the present year 1605.

In the city of Manila, on the fifteenth day of the month of June in the year one thousand six hundred and five, the schoolmaster Don Luis de Salinas, whom I affirm that I know, declared that it was necessary for expediency's sake that I, Francisco Davila, notary of the king our lord, should testify on oath that today, on the said day here given, there live, exist, and reside infidel Sangleys in the houses of the citizens of Manila, or in some of them. It should be known that they are in the house of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and in the house of the master-of-camp Augustin de Arceo, who is at present exercising the said office and military rank in this camp—and the said houses form one side of the palace, and front on the Plaza de Armas—and in the houses of the dean Don Juan de Bivero and those of Antonio de Spinosa, which are on the plaza of this said city; and in a number of others belonging to the most prominent citizens—that is, those of the highest life and rank in the city. The said notary requested me to give the said testimony, and by these presents I ask that there be witnesses, that I the said Francisco de Avila, give my word and truthful testimony that I have seen today, on the said date, the said Sangleys in the said houses, selling their merchandise and being present therein as if in their own homes. And in accordance with the said request I have given these presents in the said city of Manila on the said day, month, and year, being witnesses thereto the prebendary Tomas de Cardenas, Antonio Baçan, and Alonso Cano, residents in Manila. And therefore I have set my seal in witness of the truth.

Francisco Davila

We, the notaries who have here signed our names, certify and give faith that Francisco de Avila, by whom the statement above is signed and sealed, is a royal notary, and to the acts and instruments which have been or are drawn before him full faith and credit are given, in and out of court; and that this may be apparent we have given these presents, in Manila, on the sixteenth day of the month, of June in the year one thousand six hundred and five.

Bartolome de Quesada, royal notary. Alonzo Gomez, his Majesty's notary. Francisco de Alanis, notary-public.

LETTER FROM A CHINESE OFFICIAL TO ACUNA

(Translation of a letter from the inspector-general of Chincheo in the kingdom of China, which was received in this year 1605, addressed to Don Pedro de Acuña, governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands. The address is to the great captain-general of Luzon. The same letter was sent by the viceroy of Chincheo and the eunuch of the same province; and since they are all three identical, without any discrepancy except in the signatures, this copy stands for all of them.)

Learning that the Chinese who went for purposes of trade to the kingdom of Luzon have been put to death by the Spaniards, I have inquired into the cause of these deaths and have prayed the king that he will do justice upon the person who has been the cause of this great evil, that redress for it may be undertaken and that the merchants may enjoy peace and quietness. Some years before I came here as inspector, a Sangley, by name Tionez, [sic; sc. Tiognen] [37] went by permission of the king of China with three mandarins to Luzon, searching at Cabite for gold and silver. The whole thing was a lie, for they found neither gold nor silver; accordingly the king directed this deceiver Tionez to be punished, that the strict justice done in China might be known.

During the time of the preceding viceroy and eunuch, Tiognen and his companion, named Yanlion, told this lie; and I, after I came hither, begged the king to have a copy made of all the documents in the case of Tiognen, and to command the said Tiognen to be brought before him with the record in the case. I myself saw the aforesaid papers and caused him to see that the whole thing had been a deceit uttered by the said Tiognen. I wrote to the king declaring that on account of the deceits of the said Tiognen the Castilians had suspected us of intending to make war upon them; and that on this account they had put to death more than thirty thousand Chinese in Luzon! The king did as I asked him and therefore punished the said Yanglion by ordering him to be killed, and the said Tiognen, by commanding his head to be cut off and suspended in a cage. The Chinese who were put to death in Luzon were innocent, and I with others discussed this matter with the king, that we might learn what was his will in this grave affair. There was also another matter of importance to be considered, which was that two English ships had come to this coast of Chincheo, a very dangerous thing for China. This we did that the king might learn what was to be done in these two matters of such importance. We also wrote to the king that his Majesty should command the two Sangleys who pointed out this port to the English to be punished. After we had written the aforesaid letter to the king he answered us that since English vessels had come to China, they should be commanded to go away immediately to Luzon, for fear that they had come for piratical purposes; and that they should carry word to the inhabitants of Luzon not to give credit to a deceitful and lying set of Chinese, He also commanded the two Sangleys who had piloted the English to be immediately executed. As for the other things that we had written to him he declared that our will should be done. Immediately, after having received this document, we—the viceroy, the eunuch, and I—sent these documents to the governor of Luzon, that his Lordship might know the greatness of the king of China and of his realm (for they are so great that he governs everything upon which the moon and the sun shine), and likewise that the governor of Luzon may know the great justice with which this vast realm is governed. It is long since anyone has dared to give offense to this kingdom; and although the Japonese have endeavored to disturb Corea, which is under the government of China, they have been unable to succeed therewith, and have been driven from the said kingdom, and Corea has remained in great peace and quiet, as the peoale of Luzon know well from what has been told them. [At the beginning of this paragraph, and on the margin: "They knew that the English are our friends."]

Last year, after we learned that, as a result of the deceit of Tiognen, so many Chinese had been put to death in Luzon, many mandarins assembled to agree upon urging the king to take vengeance for all these deaths. We said that the land of Luzon was a wretched land of little importance, of old inhabited only by devils and snakes; and that, as a result of the immigration there a few years ago of so many Sangleys to trade with the Castilians, the country has been enriched to the extent to which the said Sangleys have labored therein. They have built the walls, and made houses and gardens, and other things of great advantage to the Castilians. Nevertheless, the Castilians had no consideration for these things, and have felt no gratitude for these good works, but have 60 cruelly slain all those people. Although we wrote this statement two or three times to the king, he replied to us that, although he was grieved by what had happened, there were three reasons why we should not avenge ourselves or make war upon Luzon. The first was that the Castilians had long been friends of the Chinese in this region; the second is that it was uncertain who would be victorious, Chinese or Castilians; and the third and last reason, that the people slain by the Castilians were a base people, ungrateful to China, their native country, to their parents, and to their relatives, since so many years had passed during which they had not returned to China. The king said that he did not consider these people of any value, for the aforesaid reasons; and he merely commanded the viceroy, the eunuch, and me to write this letter sent by this ambassador, that the people of Luzon may know that the king of China has great kindness, great patience, and great pity, since he has not commanded them to make war against the people of Luzon. His justice is plainly to be seen, since he has punished the deceit of Tiognen. As the Spaniards are a wise and prudent race it must be that they would be grieved for having put so many people to death, and will repent thereof and will show justice to the Chinese who have survived. If the Castilians show justice to the Chinese, send back the Sangleys who have survived the war, and pay the money due for the goods taken from the Sangleys, there will be amity between this kingdom and that, and merchant vessels will sail there every year. If not, the king will not permit merchant vessels to make the voyage, but will command a thousand vessels of war to be built with a force of soldiers—relatives of the deceased, and inhabitants of the other nations and kingdoms that pay tribute to China; and, without having mercy upon anyone, they will make war, and afterward the kingdom of Luzon will be given to that people which will pay tribute to China. [On the margin: "Those who pay tribute are Siang, Cochinchina, and Corea."]

(The letter of the inspector-general was written on the twelfth of the second month, which, according to our reckoning, is March of the [blank in MS.] year of the reign of Bandel. [38] The letter of the eunuch was written on the sixteenth of the same month and year; and that of the viceroy on the twenty-second of the same month and year.)

LETTERS FROM AUGUSTINIAN FRIARS TO FELIPE III

Sire:

This province of our father St. Augustine in the Philipinas enjoyed a fortunate and prosperous season as a result of the care, zeal, and strictness in religion of the provincial, who (to my great sorrow) has just completed his term, and was chiefly inspired by the advice, directions, and commands which your Majesty has sent us in your letters, all of which have been scrupulously obeyed and respected. During this happy time there returned to this province Fray Lorenso de Leon, [39] a man who after having been provincial here went on business of the province to España and Roma for six years, as your Majesty has been fully notified. This father Fray Lorenso de Leon came, then, to disturb all this good, having sought and pursued nothing but his own personal interest and desires, with his notorious vanity and ambition, and having wholly neglected the general advantage of this forgotten province.

He arrived last year, one thousand six hundred and four; and up to the present time (our provincial chapter having been held in the interim) his only occupation and efforts have been to bring it about by unfair contrivances that he should attain his own pretensions and advancement, as is evident by the result. In the face of the requisitions and notifications made by our assembly of definitors, he, although he was under solemn oath, concealed the papers and documents which he brought with him, and brought them forward only in this present chapter. These documents, although they were nothing but simple letters from our father-general, were accepted there, in order to avoid contentions and scandals; and accordingly, as they directed, he presided in the chapter as vicar-general, the same authority being valid for all chapters and congregations [of the order] at which he might be present. Thus he has taken this ancient and rightful name from our provincials of Castilla, to whom it was granted by his Holiness; and this without command from your Majesty and your royal Council, to whom all this is subject. We pray will all humility that such assumption of authority may be permitted to go no further, in order that the evils thus begun in such a decay of this province (of which your Majesty will be informed in this letter) may no longer continue.

After the majority of the chapter, including those most worthy of confidence, had agreed and determined, for the greater peace and quiet of the chapter, to elect as provincial a deserving religious of the qualifications required by our rules, we proceeded peacefully with the election, until the said father Fray Lorenso de Leon took control of it. Although he had no right to be present in spite of his being president, he eagerly seated himself so near the clerk who gave out the blank ballots that, whether by fear or affection, he certainly by this, and with his gestures and signs, being himself a candidate, affected and changed the wills and intentions of some of the electors, contrary to the freedom of the election. Moreover, he was present at the counting of the votes and ballots with the three tellers. When he discovered that he had some votes, at which time he ought to have departed, and that another (whom he feared) was receiving more than he was then, so as to be sure of the election—and that candidate is said certainly to have had it—exceeding his authority, he barred the votes and commanded the counting to cease, declaring the election to be void. He showed—as a pretext, as will later appear from all this—a ballot or vote somewhat torn, in order to force a new election. Hence followed much ill-will, which he manifested on his side. In order to compel a new decision, as a result of the fear and change of purpose which he intended to cause in their minds, he delivered deceitful and satirical speeches (with which he is provided), in which he let them know that there was no one else in the chapter who could be elected except himself. He declared that he was not obliged to confirm him whom they might elect, making this declaration for the benefit of him who presumed to be most fit to be chosen. Although he was challenged and called upon to declare the impediment or incapacity of that man or of any other, he was not willing to do so, since in truth there was no such disability. As a result of this and other acts of tyranny, he forced a new election and new vote, to the great disgust and astonishment of the chapter. This sufficed to elect him (as he was in fact elected) provincial. He caused himself to be confirmed by one of the definitors; and, as the chapter had begun by siding with him, so it was continued. He now saw himself provincial, president, and vicar-general; and all this encouraged and enabled him to take our courage and spirit away from us in all elections, both small and great. Thus they all resulted in accordance with his will, and with the promises which he had made to those of his party, and to those from whom he had asked votes. This he had done through some laymen, a thing which makes the matter worse.

The result is manifest in the holders of all the better offices and convents. They are chosen from the friars of his province of Mexico, and from those who have assumed the habit here—unlearned, dissipated, and worthless boys. At the same time he has put out of office those whom he has oppressed, solely because they have come, being sent out by your Majesty from the provinces of España. The hatred and division among ourselves arising from his party cannot be remedied unless you Majesty take prompt measures to cure it from there, so completely have these fathers who are not from España obtained possession of the province, which is not very lucrative under their control. All the rest of us remain in discouragement and unhappiness to see such things, so opposite to good government and the Christian religion, and so full of peril to consciences. The result has been that some religious have not been willing to accept priorships in this chapter, for fear that they cannot hold them securely, inasmuch as the said father has not in their view been elected as a lawful superior, considering the coercion in the proceedings. Taking warning from past experience, fearing to cause public scandal and the rumors that result from disputes and investigations in such matters, and timid because of the little redress that can be had here, we have endured this affliction, and will suffer the harm within our own gates. For the whole series of proceedings is in violation of law; yet we have not, although your Majesty has many just counselors in this his royal council, entered our plea for justice and liberty before the council; for we desire to avoid scandals, and the governor of these islands has shown himself to be greatly biased in favor of the provincial elected. This is due to the activity and unlawful proceedings of the sargento-mayor Christoval de Asqueta, long since an agent for father Fray Lorenso de Leon. Such a relation is completely contrary to the rule of our order and our withdrawal from the world. Our only redress is in recourse to your Majesty, prostrate before whose feet we send our petition from this remotest province to our patron, defender, and gracious king, praying for justice, relief, and liberty in this case and in all other cases in which oppression is brought upon our good purpose and holy zeal, which were taught us in the convents in the provinces of España. We assure your Majesty that we who make this earnest and truthful report are the most prominent and sound part of the chapter; and that we are moved solely by the purpose of serving our Lord God and of promoting the advance of our holy order in credit and reputation, to the benefit of the royal crown and to the spiritual desert of your Majesty in these regions. We feel certain that your Majesty will soon send the remedy for all these evils, as we entreat, by interposing the authority of the nuncio of his Holiness, that he may by his official censure revoke all documents, rights of preëminence, or letters of our father-general which the said father Fray Lorenso de Leon may have, since it is entirely improper that he should take advantage of them. By this means and by the decrees which your Majesty will issue, this province can be assembled anew for an election—that is, those of it who have the right to vote—free from domination, under the presidency of a bishop of these Philipinas Islands. That which is supremely necessary is, as we have often prayed your Majesty, that there may come here from that province of Castilla a religious to inspect this province and set its affairs in order. If need be, he should have plenary authority to govern it, without allowing other elections; and he whom your Majesty shall send should come accompanied by religious fit to restore and preserve this province. Like a young vine, it is in need of such laborers, and not of such as dry up its moisture and pluck its fruit, like the friars who come here from Mexico. They have no other care, imitating in this their head; for it is evident that the said father Fray Lorenso de Leon has always acted in this way, since for his own private claims he has taken almost ten thousand pesos in past years and at present he has begun to collect the same a second time, in order to satisfy these claims entirely. We are eye-witnesses that in his behavior, desires, possessions, and unlawful wealth [40] he lays claim to great things. According to rumor and his beginnings, he aims at a bishopric; and this is made certain by the saying that he brought back here, when he complained that he would have received the bishopric of Manila if some persons had not written against him, and declared that he brought letters with him which would cause him to be feared, and that he would be provincial, by fair means or foul. May your Majesty be pleased to abate this evil by causing him to leave this province, and by granting us this boon and redress for which we pray, and which will conduce so greatly to the restoring of this province. Be assured that we make this truthful representation without any sort of malice or evil purpose, but only with wholesome and well-founded zeal. Your Majesty will have satisfactory proof of this in the letters and advices which will be sent from the government, the community, and the religious orders here, all of which will furnish information in the case. The cause is that of God and of your Majesty, and this will give us calmness and courage, in certain hope of receiving this great grace and protection. We remain your Majesty's humble chaplains and faithful servants, praying our God to grant your Majesty many years of happy life with all spiritual gifts, to the increase of your royal estates and Christian seigniories. Dated after the session of our chapter in our convent of San Augustin in Manila, on the fourth day of the month of May, one thousand six hundred and five.

Fray Estevan Carrillo, definitor. Fray Bernabe de Villalovos, definitor of Guadalupe. Fray Miguel Garcia, visitor. Fray Jhoan de Tapia, associate of the late provincial and secretary of the province [?]. Fray Francisco Serrano, sometime visitor. Fray Miguel de Siguenza, sometime visitor. Fray Mathedo Daças, prior. Fray Jhoan de Pineda, prior, and lecturer in theology. Fray Diego Pardo, procurator-general. Fray Jheronimo de Salas, prior. Fray Jhoan de Rojas, sub-prior of Manila. Fray Miguel de San Marco Fray Bartolome de Aguirre Fray Ambrosio de Leon, procurator.

[Endorsed: "September 12, 1606. Considered; the decree on a separate paper."]

Sire:

The Order of St. Augustine in these islands has for years been in need of reform, and many letters have been written to your Majesty on this subject. During the provincialate which has just come to an end, that of Fray Pedro Arce, some reforms were accomplished as a result of his good example, for he is a friar who follows the rules of his order very scrupulously; but as he had no one to carry this beginning to perfection, for lack of friars such as himself, he did not achieve what he desired. His successor is named Fray Lorenzo de Leon; and he has begun to overthrow everything which his predecessor established, by oppressing the Castilian friars and encouraging the creoles, [41] who are utterly shiftless and a set of fools. From this will necessarily follow the entire ruin of the province. The only means of remedy is that your Majesty should send religious from Castilla and those provinces of España in order that this province may lift its head and be reformed. The religious of the said order will write to your Majesty. There are very zealous ones among them, especially Fray Pedro de Arce, [42] the late provincial, to whom entire credit may be given.

May our Lord keep your Majesty for the good of your many kingdoms. Manila, June 1, 1605.

Fray Bernardo de Santa Catherina, commissary of the Holy Office, of the Order of St. Dominic. [43]

Sire:

In spite of the fact that I am one of those who joined in signing a common letter which was sent to your Majesty by the majority of the chapter of this province of our father St. Augustine in the Philippinas, I cannot satisfy my conscience or manifest the zeal which I ought to possess, without giving personal notice to your Majesty of certain things with which as associate of the late provincial and as secretary of the province I became acquainted, and which still continue to exist, to the great harm and diminution of the province. I am encouraged to do this, although it is the first time that I address you, by reasons which demand a remedy; and by considering, with the certain proofs which I have, that your Majesty as a king and father most benevolent and most Christian will not be indignant that a chaplain, servant, and vassal such as I should give information, by means of these and other just suggestions, in order that reform may result from them. Ever since father Fray Lorenso de Leon returned to this province, it has steadily degenerated from the harmony and influence which it had previously gained, as a result of the great improvement shown in all things under the control of the virtuous superior of the previous term. It now grows worse and worse the more it has of him who is at present the superior, the father already mentioned. The plan and the tricks with which he was elected I do not write to your Majesty, since they have already been recounted in a common letter, to which I refer. As a result of his election the religious from Mexico who are here, and have assumed the habit in this country have recovered their strength. They are nearly all of little ability, ignoramuses, uncontrolled, and of most perverse inclinations. Out of the respect and reverence due your Majesty I do not enter into details; I only state particularly that the games of cards have been revived among them. The one who has especially distinguished himself is a certain Fray Jhoan de Amorin, who with the said father Fray Lorenço de Leon went from this province to the province of Mexico, returning again with a very bad reputation and the name of having a restless disposition, ambitious and injurious to all, and personally vicious and dissolute, unrestrained in all respects.

The said father being in Mexico took under his charge the conduct of some religious intended for this province, and recruited from that one. He was in charge of the clothing and other possessions of these religious, and even of the fund granted from your Majesty's treasury of that kingdom for such conveyance of friars. He deceitfully affirmed that it has been spent, but rendered no account for it; and tells different stories about it, such as to condemn him. He has always been under the protection of the said father Leon, who has received his pay from the great amount which the other has obtained for him, during this last chapter, by means of secular and religious persons belonging to his party. As the climax of all this, he has appointed the said father Amorin prior of the convent of Tondo, in the sight of all this community. The common people have objected and murmured much, since in that village they have previously had special proofs of our disinterestedness and purity of motive.

Of the many things which were taken in charge by Father Lorenço de Leon to be attended to in the kingdoms of España and Roma, for the benefit of this distant province, not one of the least importance or necessity has been concluded; yet he has spent, just as if he had carried everything through, the assessments and additional contributions which were given him in common by the province. He has cared only for his private interests and his private claims, as is manifestly shown by the titles that have been lavished upon him … master, though he has not sufficient learning; and president and vicar-general for all chapters and assemblages, to the manifest injury of the members of this province. He was received as such, although in violation of law, only in order to avoid contention and scandal. But he has assumed still more authority, as a result of the liberty which he has, and in the documents which he issues adds the title of provincial and vicar-general. All this is without the command of your Majesty and of your royal Council of the Indias, and is contrary to the grants made to our provincial fathers of Castilla who have so long exercised a similar office. This is right, since this province was established and is maintained by them and the honored friars who have come out hither from España. We have greatly suffered from the lack of such Spanish friars, since it is now six years since religious were sent out to us here. The cause has been the fact that the said father Fray Lorenzo de Leon went thither, and although he might have brought back a noble shipload of them, he did not undertake the work with sufficient diligence—expecting to obtain friars from Mexico, and to convert to his own use the grants made for such conveyance in Sevilla from your Majesty's treasury. The fact is, that although he received a decree and allowance to bring eighteen religious from those provinces, he actually brought only seven to whom the habit of our father St. Augustine belonged. The other eleven he supplied with laymen who were traveling secretly to the Indias, and he received from them special bribes, putting upon them habits of the order, that they might in this way get as far as the registry in Vera Cruz and afterward return to their own condition. The said father thus retained in his hands all the allowance which he had received. I would not dare to make this statement to your Majesty if I did not know it from the relation of those very seven religious whom he brought hither from España. Additional evidence is a letter (which I saw) from Dr. Antonio de Morga, written soon after his arrival in Mexico, in which he gave this information to persons from there. Nothing has been done in this matter because of the fear and subjection in which the said father Leon has placed those of us who might speak and demand justice for this and other most unjust acts of which he has been guilty. I testify to your Majesty that his cell and manner of dress are like those of a trading merchant, and not of a poor and abstinent friar; and, through the trade conducted by the Chinese here, I know that he has invested a great amount of money in sending merchandise to Mexico. Now this he could not do except at the expense of the convents; for in the larger and richer houses he has granted offices to those of his party and those under his control, while he dislikes and ill-treats the virtuous and grave religious from España. All this causes us sorrow and affliction, especially because of the offense committed against our Lord God, and the loss to our order and the disservice of your Majesty and of your Majesty's holy zeal, and because your Majesty's directions are not fulfilled. May your Majesty be pleased to put an end to all this by exercising your authority and sending as promptly as possible an inspector from the province of Castilla, accompanied by religious like himself. Such a one may amend this and take these two religious from here, depriving them of the titles of which they have made so bad a use. I beseech your Majesty to pardon my boldness in having dwelt so long on this matter. I may have failed, in my manner of writing, to observe the respect and form due to my king and lord, but I believe that I have not been at fault in purpose or zeal. I am now occupied in the service of your Majesty as chief chaplain and vicar of the galleys and fleets of your Majesty in these kingdoms, upon the important expedition which is now being made. [44] In this and in all things I am the meanest servant and vassal of your Majesty. I kiss your royal hand and pray that God may keep your Majesty in a long and happy life with the increase of every good.

Manila, June 20, 1605. Fray Jhoan de Tapia

[Endorsed: "June 22, 1606; to the Count of Lemos." "September 12, 1606; examined; no answer."]

LETTER FROM MALDONADO TO FELIPE III

Sire:

On every occasion which has arisen I have regularly advised you of whatever seemed desirable for the proper service of your Majesty, which is my only desire. Accordingly, last year I sent a letter by the two ships which were despatched, a duplicate of which I send in this, with other matters that have come to my notice. Your Majesty will be pleased to have this examined, as it treats of some affairs which demand remedy; and in regions so remote many difficulties arise when due provision is not made—as will be seen in some papers which are sent with this, concerning the little respect which the soldiers and troops of war show toward the auditors, as the governor claims that we are not their judges; and regarding the galleys which the governor has built, and their excessive cost, which is the ruin of this country; likewise will be seen therein the many offices and positions of profit which the governor has given to his creatures, against the decrees of your Majesty and the instructions for his office, so that all those who have served here feel very indignant over it. These things, and the obligation of my office, have constrained me to give this report, and to try to secure the remedy which the vassals of your Majesty hope for, when your Majesty shall cast your gaze upon this land which was so cared for and favored by his Catholic Majesty (whom may God keep!) which your Majesty is still caring for, with the great favors which your Majesty grants it for the spiritual and temporal good which is your object.

The royal [estate] in these islands is in debt for a large sum of money in gold, as your Majesty has been informed; on this account all those who draw salaries and stipends therefrom are in the utmost need—so much so that we have not been able to pay this year the president, auditors, archbishop, bishops, prebendaries, or ministers of instruction and justice, not having the means to pay them. Most pitiable of all has been the plight of the soldiers, who are suffering the utmost extremity, without there being any resources with which to aid them. All this has been caused by the excessive cost of the galleys, and the great expenses incurred by some expeditions made with them without anything being thus gained. In the interim, until your Majesty be pleased to order some provision, we shall take great pains to do what is most expedient so that these expenses may cease and the country be defended without them. [In the margin of this paragraph is written: "No answer to be given."]

This year it will be very necessary to appropriate a considerable loan of money from what comes from Nueva Spaña—because the viceroy of Mexico has not sent the usual aid, and it is impossible to get along without obtaining it from private persons—that the land may not go to ruin; for I can assure you that it has come to this extremity.

Last year I advised you of the many offices which the governor had granted, and in this he has continued—going so far that, observing the general complaint of all the meritorious persons, I have tried to restrain him. At this he showed little inclination to favor my efforts, and offered me some affronts—which I shall not mention, as they were of such a nature as to affect only me personally and not my office or its authority. But, because it appears to me expedient to inform you concerning one such case, I shall do so, as it is a matter which touches the preëminence of the officers whom your Majesty maintains here, so that your Majesty, if you please, may order it to be set right. [On the margin of this paragraph: "Concerning the offices which the governor has filled; join this relation which Don Antonio de Ribera sends to that which the governor writes concerning the offices, and have it all brought."]

By the ordinance of this royal Audiencia it is directed that an Audiencia building be erected in which the president and auditors shall live; and by a later decree it is ordered that there shall be a royal building, very imposing, so that these infidels may see the authority with which your Majesty is served and which the officers who serve in these offices must possess. I, as the senior auditor, lived in the royal building, whence, on the occasion when your Majesty directed the treasury of the royal exchequer to be established in the royal building, the governor ordered me to move, in order to make room for the treasury. As this wrong was done to me, I laid it before the Audiencia, saying that he was exceeding the commission given by the royal decree; and that, in accordance therewith, it was not the will of your Majesty that my place of abode should be taken from me, as it had been occupied from the time when it was built by the president and auditors. This was shown to the governor by the [Audiencia's] record of proceedings; and it was decreed in the Audiencia that in the royal building where I was two main apartments should be cleared out, in which the treasury and the books of the royal exchequer should be accommodated. The governor, in spite of this action, took all my apartments from me and lodged therein a royal official; whereupon, as there is a great lack of houses in this city, I was obliged to move into a house of wood and thatch, which was unsuitable to the last degree, and attended by much danger because of the frequent fires which occur in this city. Accordingly, in the two fires which have occurred this year I have been obliged to go with my effects and books from one place to another, until at last I rented for them and my papers an apartment outside of my house in a building of stone belonging to a citizen, where I keep them. Besides experiencing so great inconvenience, this country is so warm that I assure your Majesty, with all due regard for truth, that my health is failing; and I fear that I shall lose my life, through the poor appointments of the house and on account of the intemperate heat from which I suffer in going to the Audiencia. But so great is the dislike which the governor has taken toward me, that neither the injustice and wrong, nor the danger of fire, nor the failure of my health has moved him to give me a lodging; nor is one to be found at any cost. I beg your Majesty that, even if it may not be necessary for me, you may command what is to be done in regard to the other auditors, for he has depreciated my authority and maltreated me in such manner that I would consider it a great neglect of duty to your Majesty if I did not advise you of it, and this has led me to give so detailed an account. [In the margin: "No answer to be given."]

In the letter of last year which will accompany this, I communicated an expedient which has occurred to me whereby this land might be maintained in abundance, with only the property which the royal treasury has in these islands, without there being any need of aiding it from the royal exchequer of Mexico; and the paid soldiers could be increased, and other good results might be achieved. I beseech your Majesty to have it examined, as it appears desirable to both the archbishop and the bishop of Nueva Segovia, to whom I have communicated it, and who thought it very good. [In the margin of this paragraph is an order which says: "Let the governor and the Audiencia inform us concerning this plan, sending them a copy thereof without issuing any decree; and let them send an account of the advantages and difficulties which may have occurred to them, with their opinion."]

It is more than eight years since your Majesty was pleased to do me the favor of giving me a post as auditor of Mexico, with an order to establish the Audiencia in these islands. I sat therein four years, and I am now advised by way of Nueva España that the place in that Audiencia which was occupied by the licentiate Francisco Alonso de Villagra, who passed on to the royal Council of the Yndias, has been given to me. Although the time for which I was to serve here is already past, I have not dared to leave these islands this year, as I have no order expressing the wish of your Majesty; and likewise because the governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, is obliged to go on the expedition to Maluco, and, if I go to Nueva España, only three auditors will remain. The eldest of these, who, according to the ordinance, must take up the duties of the captain-general, is so burdened and his health so poor that he cannot attend to the affairs of war. On this account, and because I understand that your Majesty would be better pleased to have me in this country, I have not gone to enjoy the favor which has been extended to me in Mexico—which is very great, and a notable promotion—although the greatest favor that I can receive is to let me serve in this Audiencia at a time when important affairs may occur, whereby I may show my desire. I beseech your Majesty that what I am doing in staying here to further serve your Majesty be permitted and approved. [In the margin is this order: "Let him go immediately, in accordance with the decree which was sent him." [45]]

During the whole time since I have been favored with this post in Mexico, I have been occupied in your Majesty's service, and with sitting in this royal Audiencia. I beseech your Majesty that, since in similar offices of justice all the privileges are enjoyed from the day of the nomination, as if the office were being exercised, the favor may be done me that I may not lose my seniority, from the day when your Majesty was pleased to appoint me auditor in Mexico (especially as I have been occupied in what I was commanded to do), as was done with Doctor Francisco Alonso de Villagra when he went to fill the same post at Mexico; he was detained by an official visit at Santo Domingo, and did not lose his seniority, [In the margin: "What he asks is unreasonable."]

Last year two ships were despatched somewhat late, and the flagship arrived in a dismantled condition at the end of four or five months of sailing, with little damage; but the other was lost on the opposite coast of these islands, without any person or any part of her cargo being saved. This was a great pity, and especially so after so many wrecks as we have had in years past. God was pleased to bring hither in safety two other ships, which go out this year, which has been some relief to the citizens and merchants of this city. [In the margin: "No answer to be given."]

The licentiate Geronimo de Salazar y Salcedo, fiscal of this royal Audiencia, is dead. He leaves his wife in very poor circumstances and a daughter who is without any resources, which is a great pity.

In a letter of last year I told your Majesty how the sargento-mayor went to La Laguna, which is about fifteen leguas from this city, in pursuit of the Sangley rebels. As they were in two bodies of at least two thousand each, unarmed, wounded, and fatigued, and without any means of defense; and the sargento-mayor had two hundred Spanish arquebusiers, and three hundred others from Pampanga who are natives of these islands, armed with arquebuses and muskets, and eight hundred well-armed Japonese, besides five or six thousand natives with lances, pikes, halberds, partizans, javelins, and bows and arrows, their strength was so great that, without the Sangleys facing them, the natives killed them—attacking first one troop and then the other, with perfect safety and not the slightest danger. In this affair twelve or fifteen days were spent in the going, the work, and the return, and for this he claims more remuneration than if he had pacified the states of Flandes; and he is not even contented with the governor having given him an excellent encomienda in the vicinity of this city, besides another good one which he possesses in Pangasinan. At present he is enjoying both of them contrary to the instructions of your Majesty, and they are among the best in the islands. I advise you of this so that the service which he has rendered, the time spent, the danger of the expedition, and the risk that he personally ran, may be known, so that the reward may be conformable to that and not to the favor which the governor extends to him and the claim which he makes. For he dares not ask to have investigations made in the Audiencia, nor should an opinion be given in it as your Majesty orders by the royal decrees; for it is not known in the royal Council how little he did, that it was not a service of such importance as to demand more reward than what he held in the first encomienda.

All the welfare of this land, for its maintenance and the prosperity of those who reside in it, lies in the cargoes of the ships which are despatched to Nueva España, with which your Majesty favors the citizens of this city and the settlers. I assure your Majesty with the truth that I desire to employ, that much wrong is done them, and that the ships are laded for the dependents and connections of the governor, by which they are benefited with great riches; and the same thing is done by the commanders and admirals who come from Mexico, who, as they are persons from the household of the viceroy, are the ones who get the benefit. The governor will not allow the Audiencia to interfere in this; and thus the persons to whom this favor was extended suffer, and those enjoy it who were prohibited from doing so, and counted undeserving. I communicate this, that your Majesty may be pleased to order it corrected; for it is a matter which affects all with much grief and resentment. [In the margin: "No answer to be given, for suitable provision has already been made."]

The plan which appears suitable for this (which I humbly beseech may be looked into, according to my desire) is what your Majesty has commanded by his royal decree—that there should be sent each year to the Council a report of what is laded in the ships, and to what person it belongs; and this is not done. In order that this should be carried out, it is expedient that an auditor should be sent by the royal Audiencia—and not by the governor, as that is not fitting—who should take, on the oath of a notary, account of everything which enters in the ship, nothing being laded without his presence and supervision. In this manner the freighting will be justly done without the freighters who are appointed having a chance to sell the tonnage, as they do today. Thus they leave the citizens without the share which belongs to them, defrauding the royal customs, as would appear if this plan were observed—at which I know your Majesty would be very glad, and all the citizens would enjoy fully the favor which has been granted them. God protect the Catholic person of your Majesty. Manila, June 28, 605.

The licentiate Don Antonio de Ribera Maldonado

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Relacion de las Islas Filipinas, by Pedro Chirino (concluded).—See Bibliographical Data at end of Vol. XII. Full details regarding this work will be given in the bibliographical volume at the end of this series.

All the rest of the matter contained in this volume is obtained from original MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; their pressmarks are as follows:

1. Letters from Acuña.—"Simancas—Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del Gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años de 1600 á 1628; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 7." The postscript regarding Santa Potenciana—"Simancas—Filipinas; cartas y espedientes del presidente y oidores de dha Audiencia vistos en el Consejo; años de 1600 á [1612?]; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 19."

2. Decrees regarding religious orders.—(A) The first: "Simancas—Audiencia de Filipinas; consultas originales correspondientes á dha Audiencia desde el año de 1586 á 1636; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 1." (b) The second and third: "Audiencia de Filipinas; registros de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas a las autoridades del distrito de la Audiencia; años de 1597 á 1634; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 1."

3. Grant to Jesuit seminary.—"Simancas—Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de religiosos y misioneros en Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años de 1569 á 1616; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 37."

4. Decree regulating commerce.—The same as No. 2, (b).

5. Complaints against the Chinese.—"Audiencia de Filipinas; Simancas—Eclesiastico; cartas y espedientes del arzobispo de Manila vistos en el Consejo; años de 1579 á 1679; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32."

6. Letter from Chinese official.-The same as No. 1.

7. Letters from Augustinians.—"Simancas—Eclesiastico; cartas y expedientes de personas eclesiasticas vistos en el Consejo; años 1570 á 1608; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 42." The letter from Santa Catherina—the same as No. 5.

8. Letter from Maldonado.—"Simancas—Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del presidente y oidores de dicha Audiencia vistos en el Consejo; años de 1600 á 1606; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 19."

NOTES

[1] Marginal reference: "I John, 2."

[2] A town on the western coast of Samar, ten miles east of Catbalogan.

[3] These were Father Melchor Hurtado and Francisco González, and the brother coadjutor Diego Rodriguez. They were sent from Mexico in March by Francisco Váez, the provincial of Nueva España.—Pablo Pastells, S.J.

[4] Referring to Ignatius de Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Jesuit order, and afterward a saint; he is here mentioned as "blessed," as he was not canonized until 1622.

[5] The religious exercises recommended by Loyola, and composed by him while in retirement near Manresa, Spain, in 1522; they from a book entitled Exercitia spiritualia ("Spiritual exercises") which has ever since been a text-book of the Jesuit order.

[6] "The figure of a lamb stamped on the wax which remains from the paschal candles, and solemnly blessed by the pope on the Thursday after Easter, in the first and seventh years of his pontificate." (Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary, pp. 17, 18.)

[7] Apparently meaning the interior pellicle of bamboo (Bambus arundo; Vol. XII, pp. 189, 190, note 44), used in Eastern lands as a substitute for paper.

[8] Decurias: alluding to a custom in Spanish schools of placing the pupils, by tens (or sometimes in smaller numbers), under the charge of the most competent of the older students, under the supervision of the master of the school.

[9] Marginal reference: "Wisdom, 7."

[10] Marginal reference: "Romans, 10"—evidently to the seventeenth verse of that chapter, "Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ." All citations from the Holy Bible, and references thereto, made in the translations for this work, are taken from the standard editions of the English Douay Bible.

[11] Marginal references: "Psalms, 18," and "Hebrews, 4."

[12] Marginal reference: "John, 9."

[13] Marginal reference: "I Timothy, 2."

[14] These were Fathers Gregorio Baroncini, Fabricio Cersali, Tomás de Villanueva, Diego Laurencio, Pedro de Segura, and Angel Armano; and the brother coadjutors Francisco Simon, Martin Sánchez, and Diego Zarzuela.—Pablo Pastells, S.J.

[15] This was the "Santo Thomas;" a full account of its voyage, and of its wreck at the Catanduanes Islands, is given by La Concepción (Hist. de Philipinas, iii, pp. 428-435). He says that at the Ladrones Ribera found the survivors of the ship "Santa Margarita," which had been wrecked there only a month before; of these he ransomed four, promising to send from Manila for the others, later. He mentions, as a part of the cargo, "horses, sheep, goats, and cats." At the end of this account, he states the pressing need of better ships for the long and stormy voyage to Nueva España.

[16] Marginal reference: "Psalms, 77; Zacharias, 9."

[17] A punishment by which the culprit was strangled with an iron collar.

[18] La Concepción gives (Hist. de Philipinas, iii, pp. 409-411) a summary of the proceedings of this council. They appointed a committee to provide a vernacular translation of the catechism (of which the Christian doctrine had already been rendered into the Visayan tongue), in harmony with the Tagal translation of that book. They also appointed a representative to go to Manila and confer with the Audiencia on various matters concerning the royal jurisdiction—especially regarding the proposal to enact statutes suppressing polygamy among the natives. In the council complaints were made by the ecclesiastics against the encomenderos, that they treated the Indians with injustice; in return, the encomenderos attacked the priests, and the bishop was obliged to interfere between them to quell the dissensions, reproving the encomenderos.

[19] Spanish, angelitos; a play upon words, apparently alluding to the gold coin known as angelot (from the figure of an angel thereon), used in the Low Countries in the sixteenth century. A similar name (angelet) was given to one of the coins struck by English rulers of France in the period 1150-1460.

[20] A delicate and refreshing fruit, the Carica papaya; sometimes called "papaw," but is not the same as the papaw of North America (Asimina). Crawfurd regards it, however (Dict. Ind. Islands, p. 327) as having been introduced in the Philippines by the Spaniards, from tropical America. See descriptions of the papaya in Delgado's Historia, pp. 520, 521; Blanco's Flora, pp. 553, 554; and U.S. Philippine Commission's Report, 1900, iii, p. 280.

[21] La Concepción gives a similar account of this episode in Hist. de Philipinas, iv, pp. 67-69.

[22] Panámao is the ancient name of the island of Biliran, off the northwestern extremity of Leyte, and is still applied to a mountain in the northern part of Biliran.

[23] Picote: a sort of silken fabric, very lustrous, used for garments. Jusi (husi) is thus described in the U.S. Philippine Commission's Report, 1900, iv, pp. 55, 56: "The especial product of Philippine looms, especially those from the towns of Caloocan and Iloilo, is jusi. These Philippine jusis, celebrated for their lightness, beauty, and delicate patterns, are made from silk alone, or more commonly with the warp of cotton or pineapple fiber and the woof of silk. Pieces are made to suit the buyer. These pieces are usually 30 or more yards in length, and from three-quarters of a yard to a yard in width, and beautifully bordered in colors. This beautiful cloth, which varies in price from 50 cents to $1 a yard, compares favorably with fabrics of European manufacture."

[24] The present Silang is nineteen miles south of Cavite.

[25] Spanish, monumento; an altar erected in churches on Holy Thursday which resembles a sepulchre.

[26] Water blessed in the font on Holy Saturday and the vigil of Pentecost, which must be used at least in solemn baptism…. The priest then pours oil of catechumens and chrism into the water." These are two of the three kinds of "holy oils;" chrism is composed of olive oil mixed with balm. See Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary, pp. 64, 152, 616.

[27] Marginal reference: "I Maccabees, 6."

[28] Marginal reference: "St. Ambrose, De officiis clericorum, i, chap. 40."

[29] Equivalent to about twenty-eight feet, U.S. measure.

[30] He left Cavite on the seventh day of July, in the vessel "San Antonio," which was built in the island of Panámao. This vessel was lost in 1604, while making its second voyage from Cavite to Acapulco.—Pablo Pastells, S.J.

[31] Juan Manuel Hurtado de Mendoza y Luna, Marques de Montesclaros, who held an important office in Sevilla, was made viceroy of Nueva España, arriving at Mexico in September, 1603. This office he held until 1606, when he was made viceroy of Peru. He died in 1628.

[32] Spanish, Recoletos: the barefooted branch of the Augustinians, known also as Descalzos in Spain and its former colonial possessions. The origin of this brotherhood is due to a reform movement in Spain in the sixteenth century, started by the Venerable Thomas de Jesús, who was for many years a captive among the Moors in Africa. He, with other lovers of primitive observance of the Augustinian rule, essayed to reintroduce divers customs no longer common among the brotherhood, as frequent fasts, midnight prayers, wearing beards, and going with uncovered heads. In 1588. at a chapter of these brethren held at Toledo (the general of the order presiding), Luis de Leon, the famed scholar and poet, was commissioned to draw up constitutions for the observants, and these were approved by Rome. In 1614, the new branch known now (as then) as "discalced" were freed from dependence on the general of the order; and in 1622 Pope Gregory XV approved their constitutions. In 1589, the reform movement (as above) spread to some of our nunneries; these sisters were, like their brethren, established as Descalzas, with their first house at Madrid under Madre Maria de Jesus (or Covarubias) as Superioress—the first house of the Recoletos being at Tatavera de la Reyna. In 1606, the Recoletos entered the Philippines, where their first house was at Bagungbayan, with the title of S. Juan. In 1602, by decree of November 16, the general of the Augustinians, Fulvius of Ascoli, sanctioned the division of the Philippine fathers of the order into two provinces—those who held with the old rule to be known as Augustinians of the province of Santísimo Nombre de Jesús; the Discalced, or Recoletos, as those of the province of San Nicolas de Tolentino; so when the Recoletos went to the Philippines they bore the name of their home province with them to Malaysia. In Manila the famous Puente de España ("Bridge of Spain") was projected and built under the superintendence of a Recoleto father. (Thus Zamora, in Las Corporaciones en Filipinas, p, 358.) In 1726, the Discalced were dispensed from wearing beards; in 1746, from going barefooted. Their earliest form of dress resembled the Capuchin habit, except that its color was black. In 1736, the beaterio of S. Sebastián at Calumpang, in Luzón—which seventeen years previous had been established by four Indian maidens, who were devout to Nuestra Señora de Carmel—was handed over to the care of Recoleta sisters; it is not known when these first came to the islands. The province of the Recoletos in the Philippines bears the title of San Nicolas de Tolentino. In Spain the Recoleto study-houses of their Philippine missionaries are (or were in 1897), at Alfaro, Monteagudo, Marcilla, and San Millan de la Cogolla.—Rev. T.C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[33] Cf. the document in Vol. XI, "Grant to Jesuit school in Cebú," dated December 11, 1601. See note thereon regarding translation of colegio.

[34] Referring to the fund arising from the fourth part of the tributes in encomiendas where no religious instruction was given; this fourth was reserved for the benefit of the Indians. See Vol. VIII, pp. 29, 160.

[35] In legajo 2637, sec_a_, de est_o_. of the Simancas archivo is a document recording the proceedings at a session of the Council of State on July 20, 1604; among the questions discussed was this one of trade between the American and the Oriental colonies. The councilors gave their opinions separately. Their conclusion was that the prohibition of trade in Chinese goods then in force between Peru and Nueva España be made general; and that a period of only six or eight months be allowed for the consumption of such goods already on hand, instead of the two years recommended by the Council of the Indias. "It is desirable to do this promptly and rigorously; but merchandise brought for use in the churches and in Divine worship should be excepted from this prohibition—save that in the future neither this nor any other exception should be considered, but the door to this trade should be closed by all means. The Marques of Montesclaros was recommended as the proper person to carry out these instructions, as he had not been concerned in that trade. One of the councilors advised that the appointments of the commanders on ships in the Philippine trade be retained by the viceroy of Spain, rather than given to the governor and archbishop at Manila.

[36] Literally, "average;" a certain duty levied on merchandise in the India trade.

[37] See account of this affair in Vol. XII, in the first document 1603; this name is there given as Tio Heng.

[38] Apparently a corrupt phonetic rendering of the name of Wan-Leh, then emperor of China (Vol. III, p. 228). As he succeeded his father in 1572, the blank date here must refer to the thirty-third year of his reign (1605).

[39] Lorenzo de Leon was a native of Granada, and entered the Augustinian order in Mexico where he made profession in 1578. Four years later, he entered the Philippine mission, and spent twelve years as minister in Indian villages in Luzón. He was then advanced to various high offices in his order, among them that of provincial (1596). He was a religious of exceptional abilities, and the general of the order, as a recognition of his great endowments in virtue and knowledge, appointed him master and president of provincial chapters. After his second election as provincial (1605) he was at the intermediate congregation deposed from this dignity by the fathers definitors. Accepting this rude blow with humility and Christian resignation, he withdrew to the convent of San Pablo de los Montes, where he spent the following year in prayer and pious works. Returning to Mexico in 1606, he died in that city in 1623. This account is condensed from Pérez's Catálogo, p. 29.

[40] Spanish, propiedad: property enjoyed contrary to their vows by members of religious orders.

[41] As the word "creole" is often used in a vague or inexact manner, it seems best to state that, as used in our text, it means a person of pure Spanish blood, born in any of the Spanish colonies.

[42] Pedro de Arce was born in the province of Vitoria, in Spain, and made his profession in the convent at Salamanca, in 1576. He came to the Philippine Islands in 1583, and ministered in various Indian villages, then filled several high offices, finally becoming bishop of Nueva Cáceres (1609) and bishop of Cebú (1613). After a long and laborious career, he died at Cebú, on October 16, 1645, at the age of eighty-five.

[43] Bernardo Navarro de Santa Catalina was one of the first Dominican missionaries, arriving at Manila in July, 1587. His labors were principally among the Indians of Pangasinan (in whose language he composed many short devotional works), until he became provincial of his order in the islands, June 15, 1596. When the term of this office expired, he was appointed commissary of the Inquisition; and in 1616 was again elected provincial. Undertaking soon afterward a journey to Cagayan in the rainy season, he was made ill by fatigue and exposure, and died at Nueva Segovia (the modern Lal-ló or Lallo-c), on November 8, 1616. See sketch of his life in Reseña biog. Sant. Rosario, pp. 80-86.

[44] The enterprise here mentioned was an attempt to regain possession of the Maluco Islands, which had just been seized by the Dutch. In June, 1605, arrived at Manila the commandant of the Portuguese fort at Tidore, with some of his soldiers, accompanied by three Jesuits and many native Christians—all of whom had been expelled from Amboyna and Tidore by the Dutch. At the same time came a reinforcement of a thousand troops from Spain; and Acuña resolved, with this aid, to prepare an expedition for the recovery of the Spice Islands. In February, 1606, a powerful fleet set out for this purpose, carrying more than one thousand three hundred Spaniards, who were aided by six hundred Indian auxiliaries; they were successful, under Acuña's personal command, in recapturing Amboyna, Tidore, and Terrenate, and carried to Manila as a prisoner the petty king of the last-named island. See La Concepción's account of this expedition, in Hist. de Philipinas, iv, pp. 20-93.

[45] In July, 1606, Rivera sailed for Mexico to fill his post in the Audiencia there; but an epidemic (probably ship-fever) on the ship caused the death of eighty persons, among them Rivera. See La Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, iv, p. 108.

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Table of Contents

- CONTENTS OF VOLUME XIII

- ILLUSTRATIONS

- PREFACE

- RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS

- DOCUMENTS OF 1604

- LETTERS TO FELIPE III FROM PEDRO DE ACUNA

- DECREES REGARDING RELIGIOUS ORDERS

- GRANT TO THE JESUIT SEMINARY AT CEBU

- DECREE REGULATING COMMERCE WITH NUEVA ESPAÑA

- DOCUMENTS OF 1605

- COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE CHINESE

- LETTER FROM A CHINESE OFFICIAL TO ACUNA

- LETTERS FROM AUGUSTINIAN FRIARS TO FELIPE III

- LETTER FROM MALDONADO TO FELIPE III

- BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

- NOTES

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE