The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640
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Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640
Editor: Emma Helen Blair
Author: Diego Aduarte
Commentator: Edward Gaylord Bourne
Editor: James Alexander Robertson
Release date: March 24, 2013 [eBook #42399]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1493-1898: VOLUME 31, 1640 ***
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 XXXI, 1640
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMV
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXI
Preface 9
Historia de la provincia del Sancto Rosario de la Orden
de Predicadores (continued)
Diego Aduarte, O.P.; Manila, 1640 23
Bibliographical Data 301
ILLUSTRATIONS
Title-page of Historia de la provincia del Santo Rosario
de Filipinas, tomo primero, by Diego Aduarte, O.P.
(Zaragoca, 1693); photographic facsimile from copy in
library of Harvard University 21
Map showing portions of Cochinchina and the Philippine
Islands; photographic facsimile of Dutch parchment MS.
map (in colors; undated, but of eighteenth century), in
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris 177
Map of Ituy and other provinces in northern Luzón, ca.
1641; photographic facsimile from original MS. map in
Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 289
PREFACE
The present volume is devoted to a further installment of Aduarte's
Historia, begun in Vol. XXX--which work will be completed in our
next issue. The part here given covers the years 1596 to 1608 in the
history of the Dominican order in the Philippines.
Resuming Aduarte's account of the missions carried on by his order
among the Indians of Cagayán, in northern Luzón, the pious and
devout acts of their converts, and the joy and gratitude of the
religious thereat, are recounted at length. In 1596, news comes to
the islands of the death of Bishop Salazar in Spain. Aduarte describes
in detail the life, achievements, and virtues of that prelate. He was
distinguished--not only in the Philippines, but during a long residence
in Nueva España--as the friend and protector of the Indian natives. His
mode of life was most simple and austere; he was charitable and
generous to the full extent of his limited means. By nature choleric
and quick-tempered, he trained himself to patience and forbearance;
and the slanders of the evil-minded against him only roused his
compassion. He was public-spirited, and foremost in all enterprises
for the good of the community. To him are attributed the royal grant
to the Jesuits for maintaining a school, and the establishment and
much of the endowment of the hospital for sick Indians.
Bishop Salazar's journey to Spain enables him to secure for
his cathedral important aid, and the division of his diocese,
so that its manifold duties may be more satisfactorily performed;
soon afterward, he dies at Madrid. During his absence, his see is
directed by his vicar-general, Fray Christobal de Salvatierra, to
an account of whose exemplary life, valuable labors, and apostolic
virtues a chapter is devoted. He protects the Indians, and does much
to reform the morals of the Spaniards. Among other things, he compels
the Chinese to cease such of their theatrical performances as contain
idolatrous and superstitious matter; and obliges the Spaniards to give
up attendance at these comedies. It is he who begins the spiritual
conquest of the Cagayán region, and he goes on other expeditions;
and he assumes charge of the Bataán mission until missionaries come
for that field. At his death, he appoints two Dominicans to assume his
duties as vicar-general; but they are so opposed by the ecclesiastical
cabildo that they resign the office to the latter. Next comes a
biographical sketch of the younger Juan de Castro, who is assigned
to the toilsome and difficult mission of Pangasinán. In December,
1593, he accompanies an embassy to China; on the return voyage, the
ship is wrecked. Castro escapes to land, but soon afterward dies as
a result of the shock and exposure thus suffered.
Aduarte recounts, with much detail, the expedition of 1596 to Cambodia,
which is accompanied by himself and another Dominican, Fray Alonso
Ximenez. Velloso's junk is driven ashore by a storm, and the men, after
much privation and suffering, make it over into a shallow oared vessel,
and row along the coast in search of water and inhabited places. When
reduced to the last extremity, they accidentally find fresh water,
and thus are saved, finally making their way to a fort where some
Cambojan soldiers are stationed. From these the Spaniards learn that
the king who was friendly to them has been driven out by a usurper,
and that one of their consorts in the Spanish fleet has reached that
country. They join this ship, and soon afterward, learning that the
king is plotting to destroy them all, and coming to blows with the
Chinese traders who have come to Chordemuco, the Spaniards attack
the Cambojans at night and defeat them, killing the usurper of that
throne. The Spanish commander Gallinato arrives, and decides to
return to Manila; but contrary winds force them to land at Malaca,
after twice encountering enemies. Nearly a year later, they succeed
in reaching Manila, without other result of their journey "but that
of having suffered for the gospel."
In 1596, Fray Bernardo de Santa Catharina is elected provincial; under
his rule, the conversion of the natives greatly increases. A new band
of missionaries arrives soon afterward, most of whom go to the Cagayán
field. In Cambodia Velloso and Blas Ruiz, Spanish adventurers, have
aided the lawful king to regain his throne, and they persuade him to
send to Manila requesting soldiers and the return of the two Dominican
friars. Luis Pérez Dasmariñas offers to make this expedition at his own
cost, and Aduarte and Ximenez accompany him. A fierce storm scatters
the ships; that of Dasmariñas is driven upon the coast of China,
and that in which Aduarte sails is wrecked on one of the Babuyanes
group. He sends word of this misfortune to Manila; the governor orders
the Spaniards to proceed to China, on which coast they again suffer
shipwreck, but find Dasmariñas--who has met a like disaster there,
and is enduring great privations. Aduarte has meanwhile returned
to Manila; but word of Dasmariñas's misfortune reaches that place,
and Governor Tello sends him a ship with aid, and orders to return at
once to Manila. Aduarte accompanies this vessel. He goes to Canton,
to obtain the viceroy's permission for Dasmariñas's return to Manila;
but there falls into the hands of a greedy and corrupt official, who,
thinking to extort money from the friar, has him tortured. Finally,
Aduarte is placed in prison with the Spanish sailors, but is soon
bailed out by a Chinese friend. He makes his escape, and joins
Dasmariñas; the latter returns to Manila, but Aduarte's health is
so injured that he is obliged to halt at Macao. Fray Alonso Ximenez
dies at that place, as a result of his hardships and sufferings in
the Camboja expedition; a sketch of his life and virtues is given.
In 1597 another mission arrives at the islands, with Bishop
Benavides. The intermediate chapter of the Dominican province is in
session, and the new arrivals are therefore assigned to the needy
missions; various incidents in those of Cagayán and Pangasinan
are related. Biographical sketches of Antonio de Soria and other
pioneer missionaries are given. Two of these are sent (1598) on a
politico-religious mission to Camboja, with a Spanish officer named
Mendoza; they are attacked by Malays, and most of the Spaniards
are slain. The rest escape to Siam, but are attacked there also,
with further loss of life. Among the dead are the two Dominicans
and Mendoza.
At the chapter-session of 1600, Juan de Santo Thomas is elected
provincial. The Cagayán missions are extended further into the
interior; and the religious zealously pursue and destroy any trace
of idol-worship. At the intermediate chapter of 1602, the house of
San Juan del Monte, without the city, is established as a retreat for
convalescent brethren of the order. At that time occurs a miraculous
healing of a friar possessed by an evil spirit; also, a large band of
missionaries arrives from Spain, being divinely aided to escape various
dangers of pestilence and shipwreck. With these friars all the convents
in the province are supplied, and some even go to Japan. Aduarte
explains the reason for Dominican missionaries being called to that
country, and describes their first establishment, which is in Satsuma.
In 1603 the new king of Camboja asks the Manila government for soldiers
and missionaries. Three Dominicans are sent, with a few soldiers as
guards, and letters to the king. They are well received; but two
of them die, and the factions in that country and the fickleness
of the natives induce the remaining friar to return to Manila. In
April, 1604, occurs the great conflagration in Manila, and, in the
succeeding autumn, the revolt and massacre of the Chinese in and near
that city--which have been fully described in previous volumes.
At the chapter of 1604, Fray Miguel de San Jacinto is elected
provincial, and several new churches in heathen communities are
received. These are supplied with ministers from a new company that
arrives that year from Spain. Some account is given of the journey
of these friars, with its hardships and dangers--among these being
an attack made upon them by hostile Indians at Guadalupe Island,
in which six friars are slain and three wounded. Many of these new
missionaries are sent to the Cagayán missions--some to the Itaves
Indians, who were considered fierce and untamable by the Spaniards
(some of whom, having oppressed the natives, were slain by them)
until "the holy gospel declared by the Dominican religious changed
them from bloodthirsty wolves to gentle sheep." Aduarte declares
that wonderful results were thus achieved, rendering those Indians
moral and obedient, and achieving this entirely by kindness and
gentleness. The Indians even consent to change their abodes to the
mission reductions. The fathers are almost worn out by these tasks,
and one dies; but they are encouraged by the wonderful results of
their labor and by miracles which the Lord vouchsafes them.
Aduarte presents a long biographical account of Archbishop Benavides,
Salazar's immediate successor. He is distinguished in Spain, both
as a student and as an instructor. Coming to the Philippines, he
immediately undertakes to learn the Chinese language, that he may
minister to the men of that nation who come to Manila; and founds
a hospital for the poor sick Chinese there. Benavides goes to China
(as previously narrated), and afterward to Spain. There he does good
service in refuting the opinion prevalent there that conquest must
precede conversion, and soldiers clear the way for missionaries. He
also procures the recall of a papal brief authorizing the bishops to
visit the friars in charge of the Indians, the same as if they were
parish priests; and accomplishes other important business, especially
in behalf of the Indians, winning golden opinions of his abilities,
good judgment, and virtue. Returning to the islands, Benavides takes
charge of the diocese of Nueva Segovia, where he labors zealously
for the moral improvement of the Spaniards, but most of all for the
protection of the Indians from Spanish rapacity. After Salazar's
death, Benavides takes charge of the vacant see, and is finally
appointed archbishop; but his mode of life is always as simple and
austere as that of the poorest friar, and he spends all his income in
almsgiving. At his death, he bequeaths the little that he possesses to
his brethren, for the founding of a college at Manila. Biographical
accounts of other friars are presented. One of these, Jacinto Pardo,
dies suddenly, it is supposed from poison given him by hostile
Indians. Another, Juan de la Cruz, is a notable linguist.
In 1605, a papal brief (obtained by the Jesuits) forbids any religious
to go to Japan except by way of India; but it is revoked three years
later. This, in the interim, causes the friar orders much trouble;
and Japan, moreover, is greatly unsettled and disturbed by various
political matters. In 1606 an intermediate chapter is held at Manila,
at which the religious of the order are directed to collect materials
(of which Aduarte has availed himself) for a history of the Dominican
province. The great victory of Acuña at Maluco, which occurs about
that time, is ascribed to the agency of our Lady of the Rosary,
to whom the Dominicans have a special devotion; a confraternity in
her honor had been founded in Acuña's army, and the captured town is
dedicated to her. In this same year, another company of religious
arrives from Spain; one dies before reaching Manila. At this time,
a Dominican mission is established in the province of Hizen, Japan.
In 1605 the mission in Pangasinan is extended to the village of
Manáoag, farther inland; and, "within a few months, there was not a
heathen in the village." A chief in a neighboring village is also
converted, to whom a miracle occurs. In 1607, two new churches
are established in Cagayán. In Nalfotan the Indians, led by their
excellent chief, build a church even before a missionary is sent to
them; and all is prospering when a priestess of the old idols stirs
up the people, against the new faith, and the villagers take to the
hills. Later, they burn the church; but the good chief saves the
missionary's life. Another revolt occurs in that province, caused
by the cruelty of an encomendero. Troops are sent from Manila; their
commander finds that the Indians had cause for revolt, and sends the
people of Nalfotan home with their pastor. This mission prospers, and
the chief is its mainstay during his life--a function long continued
by his pious sister.
The provincial chosen in 1608 is Baltasar Fort. Some account is given
of the persecution of Christians in Japan; they are banished from
Satsuma, but many find shelter in Nagasaki. The Dominicans accomplish
much in Hizen. They also extend their missionary labors among the wild
mountaineers of northern Luzón, gathering many scattered hamlets into
larger villages, and converting many of their heathen inhabitants. In
Ituy they attempt to open a mission, but the Franciscans claim that
as their territory; the Dominicans yield, but regret to see these
Indians abandoned soon afterward by their Franciscan teachers. In 1609
the general of their order commands the provincials of the mission
provinces to report every year the work and achievements of the
missionaries, with information regarding the numbers and condition of
the order in each province. Several friars die in that year, of whom
biographical sketches are presented. One of these, Pedro Rodriguez,
has rendered special and distinguished service in the hospital for
Chinese at Manila.
The Editors
August, 1905.
HISTORIA DE LA PROVINCIA DEL
SANCTO ROSARIO DE LA ORDEN
DE PREDICADORES
(Continued)
By Diego Aduarte, O.P.; Manila, 1640.
Source: Translated from a copy of the above work in the
possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago.
Translation: This is made by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University
of Wisconsin. The present instalment covers pp. 167-384 of book i
of the Historia (which will be concluded in Vol. XXXII).
HISTORY OF THE DOMINICAN PROVINCE OF THE HOLY ROSARY
By Fray Diego Aduarte, O.P.
(Continued)
CHAPTER XXXVIII
The advance made by the Indians of this province in virtue, and their
attendance upon the sacraments
Even if the religious in this province of Nueva Segovia had done
no other good than bringing to an end or preventing so many sins of
idolatry as these Indians used to commit, every day and every hour,
by adoring the devil and offering him superstitious reverence in
all the ways which have already been described, a very great service
indeed would have been done to the Lord, to whom all such actions as
these are directly offensive. In these idolatrous acts His honor is
taken from Him, and His divine supremacy is overthrown and given to
His greatest enemy. To prevent one of these offenses to God would be
of much more merit than to prevent any homicide whatsoever, for that
is a direct offense only against a man; while idolatry is directly
against God, and takes from Him His divine honor, which is much more
valuable than the life of a man. If this be true, how high is the
merit of having prevented the innumerable acts of idolatry which used
to be committed daily by those Indians, and having brought to an end
the multitude of sins which followed upon this one--constant wars,
murders, robberies, drunkennesses which surpassed one another, lewd
actions, and all the other vices which were committed--without the
rulers of those people concerning themselves the least in them or
punishing them, except when they personally were wronged. And this
they did, not out of zeal for justice, but as their personal act of
revenge, so that they sinned more in the excess of the punishment
than the delinquents had sinned in the faults for which they were
punished. Now all these evils came to an end, as the result of the
preaching of the religious, to the great glory of God. Hence, if they
had done no more than this, very great indeed would the service have
been which thereby they wrought and continue to work for the Creator of
all and the universal Lord. But this was not all; for when these evil
growths had been rooted out, there were planted in the hearts of these
Indians the opposite virtues. By the aid of the Lord they began so
soon to bear flowers and fruit that the first bishop of this province,
Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, a holy and most learned prelate, wrote
to his Holiness Clement VIII, who at that time governed the church,
the following report, in which he gives a faithful account of the
establishment of his bishopric, with the accuracy to which his office
and dignity obliged him. "This province," he says, "is very new in the
preaching of the gospel, for it is only three years since there were
ministers of the Order of St. Dominic in it. Before that time there
used to be seen now and then a priest in the place where the Spaniards
lived. As for preaching to the Indians, there was no idea of such a
thing. This province is very near Great China, being distant from it
less than seventy leguas; so that now the faith of the Lord appears
to be approaching their powerful and great kingdom. The native race
of the province is a very spirited one, whom it has cost the Spaniards
many efforts and the lives of many men to subdue. As soon as the Order
of St. Dominic came into this region, they immediately went to live
among the Indians; and they built their churches and houses, which
were more like huts built to last two days. They employed upon them
very few laborers, and had no teacher or journeymen. The Indians would
have died before they admitted them to their villages (and, as it was,
there was some difficulty about it), if the good name of those who had
been in Pangasinan had not reached these Indians also--who in this way
learned how the religious treated the Indians as if they were their
own children, and defended them against those who wronged them. When
they began to consider the mode of life followed by the religious,
their patience and labors, their avoidance of flesh food, their many
fasts, continual prayers, great poverty--for the poverty of the Order
of St. Dominic here is very great--and the gentleness and love with
which they treated the natives, God was pleased that in those villages
where there are missionary religious, all the inhabitants desired
to be Christians. They have not only become very devout toward God,
but very friendly to the Spaniards; thus the religious have put peace
and security where they were not before. As a result, in regions where
soldiers and garrisons used to be necessary, there now are none, and
the country is very peaceful. Every evening the men gather together and
recite prayers before a cross, which is usually set up in the plaza
of the village, the women doing the same by themselves in another
place. Baptisms in the heathen villages are constantly increasing,
while those for whom there are not missionaries enough ask for them
with all their hearts, and are so desirous to become Christians that
we ought therefore to offer thanks to God. [Some chiefs invited the
missionaries to their village, saying that they all wished to become
Christians. A Spaniard who had command in one village where they were
building a church, directed the soldiers to interfere with the work,
which would have injured his private interests; but within a short
time all those men died horribly. The fathers drive out devils from
those who are possessed by them. It is only for lack of missionaries
that the whole country is not filled with churches."
The report is very short, and it is therefore necessary for us to
expand upon it, making use of the reports of the founders and first
missionaries themselves. In addition to what has already been said,
they report as follows. Great as was the labor of bringing these souls
from darkness to light, they have come to understand their duties,
worshiping the Lord with great devotion, and regularly attending
His holy sacraments. They go beyond the commandments of God and of
His church to do additional works of devotion--especially the women,
for they can more easily come to be instructed, and can more easily
do what they are told, as they are less occupied than the men are with
things to distract their minds and thoughts. Some of them are so devout
that they walk always in the presence of God, doing nothing without
an inward prayer to Him. In Tular, or Abulug, a village of more than
a thousand inhabitants, in which there were more communicants than
in the other villages, the religious taught many of them to strive to
meditate every day upon some of the mysteries of the rosary. This was
an exercise to which the first founder of the province, father Fray
Juan de Castro, was very much given, and in which many of his disciples
and subjects have followed him. Thus these Indians day by day meditate
upon one after another of the fifteen mysteries of the rosary. Other
Indians lay aside part of their daily food for charity. Bringing
about these results requires from the minister much labor, teaching,
assistance, perseverance, and prayer; for without these there is very
little or nothing that they can do of themselves, without books or
any other guide to direct them. As it is, the Indians have advanced
wonderfully--visiting and caring for their sick, especially when
they are poor; taking discipline at night in their houses; fasting
beyond what they are required; frequenting the churches; and offering
their prayers at dawn and at evening. There were some of them who,
at the very beginning of their Christian career, went through the
fields looking for the little children of poor people who could not
take them to town; and, bringing these to be baptized, they acted as
their sponsors, making gifts to them afterward of swaddling-clothes
or some such thing. Heavy as are the labors of the religious, their
joy in them is still greater.
Very great difficulty was found, at first, in bringing the Indians
to confess. They regarded it as a shameful thing for them to report
to the confessor all the evil things they had done and thought, and
they also feared to give the religious power to annoy or blame them by
means of their confession. "When a dozen persons were gathered together
for their first confession, there was not one of them who was willing
to begin, for everyone wished the other to make the experiment. At
last the fathers summoned an Indian who came from Pangasinan, and
who had longer been a Christian and was better acquainted with the
fathers. The Indians asked him many questions about the matter,
all of which he answered well, encouraging them greatly; he told
them that in his country the Christians confessed without any evil
results following. At last one Indian woman, more courageous than
the rest, ventured to go to make her confession where the father
was patiently waiting in the church--commending the matter to God
with all his heart, because it was very plain that the hesitation
of the Indians was on account of the fear they felt. She confessed,
went away very well satisfied, and, returning to the rest, told them
what had happened. They asked her a thousand new questions, especially
if the father was angry when she told her sins, and whether he had
scolded her. She answered 'No,' and that, on the contrary, he had
treated her very kindly and lovingly; so they all determined to make
their confessions, and began them heartily." So they come now and make
their confessions; and in general it is not necessary to summon them,
for they anticipate the confessors, and sometimes even beg that their
confessions may be heard, as a penance. They showed the greatest faith
and sincerity in their confessions, striving to be reconciled with all
their enemies before making their confession. The religious generally
encouraged them to make their confessions on the day of their patron
saint; and one Indian woman, named for St. Anne, was unwilling to
confess on that saint's day. When the father asked her the reason,
she answered that she had had a quarrel with one of her neighbors,
and that they did not speak to each other; and she begged the father
to reconcile them. After he had done that, she very readily made her
confession. It frequently happens that a man accused in a court of
law denies the accusation, and that the religious is unable to draw
anything else from him; while in confession the same man will clearly
accuse himself of the same fault which he had previously denied, and
will deny again if the same question is asked him on another trial. It
not infrequently happens that if they have any ill-will against the
religious, or have said anything against him, they confess to that
very man, telling him of the ill-will that they have felt against him.]
CHAPTER XXXIX
The devotion with which these Indians approached the holy communion,
and some events which give much glory to the Lord.
[Since the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist is so high and
difficult a thing to teach a people whose heathen state makes them
opposed to ideas so lofty, the religious in this region spend a great
deal of effort upon teaching the Indians this supreme mystery.] At
first, only very few and very carefully chosen persons were admitted
to the communion, according to the ordinance of a provincial council
of Lima, confirmed by the Apostolic See, which in Act ii, chapter
20, says, [1] Precepit sancta sinodus parochis, ceterisque Indorum
praedicatoribus, ut saepe ac serio, de fide huius mysterii eos
instituant; and, later, Quos autem parochus, et satis instructus,
et correctione vitae idoneos iudicaverit, iis saltem in paschate,
Eucharistiam administrare non praetermittat. It is true that the
Indians of these regions have much greater capacity than those of Peru,
of whom this council spoke; yet because they were so new in the faith,
and so badly fitted by their ancient customs for this supreme mystery,
the holy communion is not given to them indifferently at Easter, but
is given to those whom the minister judges to be properly prepared. At
the beginning, greater attention and caution were necessary. Hence,
after they had been thoroughly instructed in the mysteries of the
faith, and in particular in the doctrine of this holy mystery,
and when they showed a desire to receive the holy communion, they
were examined as to their lives, habits, and reputation, the most
credible witnesses in the village being called in to testify. If
they were found prepared, they were admitted to this supreme meal,
to this holy table. A week before they communicated, unless they
were occupied--and they generally gave up their occupations for this
purpose--they went to church and heard spiritual addresses every
day. [On these days they prepared themselves with more than ordinary
prayer, and rose at midnight to pray and to take their discipline. If
they were married, they separated their beds at least on the eve
and the day of the communion. Many of the men went to the convent,
and followed the hours with the religious. On the day of receiving
communion, they followed the same customs as did the members of our
order, dedicating the whole day to God, and keeping in it the silence
which we observe in our convents on the day when those religious who
are not priests communicate. They were taught to say something after
mass in order to give thanks to the Lord; for since they cannot read,
and have no books, the ministers have to teach them everything of
this kind--especially at the beginning, for afterward there are many
of them who teach the others. At the same time, they receive what the
minister tells them with greater respect. Many extraordinary examples
of piety have been exhibited by the communicants.] In the village
of Pata there was an Indian chief, a man of great valor, named Don
Francisco Yringan, of whom mention has several times been made. He,
being governor there, had as a guest in his house a Spaniard who
was traveling that way. He treated him kindly and entertained him as
well as he could. The guest, not being content with this, asked him
to find an Indian woman, that he might sleep with her; and gave him
some trinkets with which to gratify her. But the Indian refused to
accept them and to do what the Spaniard asked him, saying that this
was wicked and that no one ought to do such a thing, least of all a
communicant. This was a reply with which the old Christian ought to
have been put to confusion, and which should have made him correct
his desires; but it was not so; on the contrary, he grew angry at
the answer, and threatened to cane the Indian unless he did what
he was told. The Indian turned his back and bending his head said,
"Give me as much of a caning as you please, for I am not going to do
what you ask." The Spaniard was so intemperate and discourteous that
he vented his anger upon him and caned him, the Indian suffering with
great patience, as if he had received from God not only faith in Him,
but the power of suffering because he refused to offend Him. This is
a grace which the Apostle praises, urging the Philippians to esteem
it highly; and now it was found in a Philippine Indian. The Indian
who suffered this was a man who could have employed lawyers against
him who wronged him, though he was alone; and, if he had shouted to
his followers, they would have cut the Spaniard to pieces. But, as he
was a communicant, he would neither be an accomplice in the sin of the
Spaniard, nor would he avenge himself; nor would he even make use of
a just defense, as was taught in the counsel of Paul quoted above,
Non vos defendentes carissimi [i.e., "Not defending yourselves,
beloved"]. On another occasion when a great insult was offered to
this same Indian, a religious comforted him and encouraged him to
patience. The Indian answered: "O father, how good it would be if we
all served God with truth. If it were so, that wrong which has been
done to me would not have been done. If this thing had happened in
the days of our heathendom, it would have sufficed to cause me and
my followers to make war to the death against this town; but now that
we are Christians, patience!" He said nothing more and uttered not a
word of indignation, but passed over his sufferings and endured the
insult, although he felt it keenly and was ashamed (though in a very
Christian manner). Thus he gave proof that his virtue was enduring,
because such a blow could not overthrow it. There was one poor Indian
slave woman whom a Spaniard, who had communicated a few days before
in that village, tried to violate. She resisted him with spirit; and,
as if horrified at the lack of respect which by his actions he showed
to the Lord, whom he had received, she said to him: "How is it that,
being a communicant, you dare to commit such a sin?" In this way may
be seen how some of the new Christians surpass others who are old
in the faith, going beyond them in virtue, devotion, and the fear
of God. [In the village of Masi, which is near to that of which we
have been speaking, there was an Indian, a communicant, the fiscal
of the church, who was of blameless life. His name was Sebastian
Calelao. His sown rice had not sprouted on account of the drought;
but, in response to his prayers, God sent rain so that his crop
was saved. In Pilitan there was an Indian woman, named Ysabel Pato,
a faithful Christian. When she was about to receive the viaticum,
the priest found that the Lord had anticipated him. Other marvels and
instances of virtue have been exhibited among these Indians.] Some
Indian women accused themselves of having eaten buyos on fast-days,
but not on Fridays. When the confessor asked them if they had
fasted on other days than Friday--for the Indians are not obliged
to fast on the other days in Lent--they answered that they fasted
the whole of Lent, performing these fasts as works of devotion; for
the holy Apostolic See has excused them from this fast, because of
their weakness and the scantiness of their food. When the religious
thought that this was excessive, and told them that they could not
do so much, they answered that by the favor of God they could do
so, as they had already fasted during the whole of Lent on previous
occasions. The buyo is an aromatic leaf, shaped like an ivy-leaf,
which the Indians are accustomed to chew with a sort of wild acorn
and a little bit of lime. Even some of the Spaniards in this country
very commonly use it, though they do not swallow it, so that only the
juice reaches the stomach; it invigorates the stomach, and preserves
the teeth. To carry some buyos in their mouths, if there were not
many of them, would not break their fast; but in spite of all this,
these Indian women made a scruple of taking it in their fasts, out of
pure devotion and in an entirely voluntary way. [Visions of demons
are frequent among the Indians. One such happened in a part of this
province called Ytabes, of which the order took charge in 1604. The
Indian concerned had a vision of demons driven away by persons whom
he did not know, but who were clothed with white underneath and with
black cloaks. This was something which the Indian had never seen,
because the religious rarely wear their cloaks in the Indian villages,
assuming them only when they go into the pulpit to preach. At that
time the Christians there were so few that the sermons were not
delivered from the pulpit, but from a seat, the cloak not being put
on for the purpose. Frightful visions of the anito drove the father
of Don Francisco Tuliau to baptism. In Camalaniugan father Fray Gaspar
Zarfate drove out several demons who were tormenting Indian women.]
CHAPTER XL
The great comfort which the religious commonly felt in their ministry
both in life and in death
[In spite of the sufferings of the religious in this region--the heat,
the strangeness, the homesickness, the poverty of their life--they had
great joy in their work. The aniteras, or priestesses of the devil,
who became Christians, often told them that as soon as they came to
heathen villages the devil left the houses in which he was worshiped,
which were wretched little hovels. They dreamed that they saw their
anitos in the form of carabaos, or buffaloes, and of black men;
and that they likewise suffered greatly at such times, because the
devil was so much their owner that he used to enter them visibly--one
of them, who was the mistress of the others, saying that he entered
her in the form of a shadow, and in that way gave his oracles. The
aniteras were, as the Indians said, beside themselves and out of
their minds at such times. Many miracles were wrought by the fathers,
and they had great joy in the marvels which the Lord showed them
in permitting them to save by holy baptism children and others who
were at the point of death, from eternal damnation. The bishop of
Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Diego de Soria, writing to his great friend,
father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Cathalina, or Navarro, on March 24,
1608, said that when they had come from the province of Ylocos, they
had been detained in a port for two weeks by as heavy a storm as if
they had been in Segovia itself, and that they had suffered much on
the road; but that now they felt consoled by what they had found in
the province, which was a perfect picture of Pangasinan. He reported
that in the mountains of Fotol and Alamonag they had confirmed more
than six hundred Indians; and that even the little boys and girls knew
the definition of the sacrament of confirmation. He reports that the
religious of the province are very harmonious, especially those who
came from the college of Alcala, to which they purpose sending a golden
cup worth a thousand pesos, hoping that the college may pay for it with
missionaries, which will not be simony. He goes on to say that he had
been three days in the village, and that they had already confirmed
eight or nine thousand Indians. The cup of gold was sent, but never
reached its destination. His remarks with reference to the college
of Alcala are due to the fact that several of the religious who came
over on various expeditions had been supplied by that college. Among
them were some of the most devoted of the missionaries--for instance,
the bishop himself, father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Cathalina, and
father Fray Juan Cobo. The report of this father may well be followed
by that of father Fray Francisco de San Joseph, or Blancas, [2] who
wrote from this province of Nueva Segovia to the father provincial,
father Fray Miguel de San Jacintho. His letter is given in full by
Aduarte; the substance of it is as follows: "I have seen with my own
eyes something of what I have read in the letters of your Reverence
with regard to the great need of ministers here, and to the desire of
the people for them. We found the inhabitants kindly and peaceful, and
delighted to see us. When we disembarked at one of the heathen villages
on the way, some of the children ran to kiss our scapulars. Some of
the boys ran before us, reciting the prayers very well, not because
they had been taught, but because they had picked them up from a
couple of our boys whom they had seen several times. Yet in spite of
all this they will be lost and damned, for lack of friars. The wife
of the governor of this village was very ill; and desiring to die
a Christian, she had herself carried to the village of Pia, which
is a Christian village about a day's journey from hers. Father Fray
Pedro was at Pipig, a village near there, at the time, so that he was
in time to baptize her." In another letter to the same provincial,
he said: "Your Reverence might see here this morning a company of
old men learning the doctrines of Christianity; another of girls;
another of married women; another of young boys--giving praises
to God like so many choirs of angels, proclaiming His doctrine and
learning it to prepare themselves for baptism." Father Fray Jacintho
de San Geronimo, [3] who is still living, writes a letter to a friend
of his in Nueva España, which is dated on the last day of the feast
of the Resurrection, in 1607. It is substantially as follows: "I am
at present in the province of Nueva Segovia, in great happiness to
see the desire of the people to become Christians. Our poverty and
disinterestedness have caused them to have great confidence in us. I
would not change my lot for any other in the world, in spite of the
hardness of our life here." The same father wrote another letter to
a friend in Manila, to the following effect: "There are more than
four thousand souls in this village, not the eighth part of whom are
Christians, though all desire to become so. On Holy Saturday three of
us baptized six hundred persons." The date of this letter was April 2,
1607. Although this father had been but a short time in the province,
he had already learned enough of the language for such great results,
and could rejoice in the fruit of his labors. From all this it is
plain that the missionaries in this region who are busied with the
ministry of souls have no need of España nor of anything Spanish
for their comfort, except companions to help them in the work. As
there is no rule without an exception, it must be so in this case;
but if any missionary is unhappy here, it is generally because he has
failed in his obligations and become lukewarm in his devotions. Those
that can speak the language and thereby convert souls are happy
in their work; and those who cannot learn the language should
accordingly be unhappy. But the Lord is not so poor as that, as will
be sufficiently shown by a letter from father Fray Garcia de Oroz,
written from Nueva Segovia to a brother at Manila: "Though I have been
told that I would be very unhappy and discouraged by the difficulty of
learning the language, and though I find that it is very difficult to
me because of my age and lack of memory, I am not disconsolate; because
merely to be in company with a father who is a master of the language,
and to act as his confessor, will greatly serve our Lord. This region
is a pleasant one, and my health is good in it during the winter, which
lasts from the beginning of October to March. It resembles the climate
of Valencia during the same period, having cool and fresh nights. A
great part of the country is very open, and the mountains are not high
or rugged. Some of the convents are on the shore of the sea; others,
on the bank of a copious river, which is navigated by canoes for a
distance of sixty leguas up the river. No one has reached the head of
it, or knows where the spring is." The happiness of the missionaries
in their work will be plain from what has been said. As a result of
having lived devoted lives they died happy deaths, rejoicing in their
firm hope that they were going to enjoy the Lord whom they had served,
and for whom they had abandoned their parents, kinsmen, native lands,
and the ease which they might have enjoyed in España.]
CHAPTER XLI
The servant of God, Don Fray Domingo de Salaçar, first bishop of
the Philippinas
By the ships which came to these islands from Nueva España in 1596,
arrived the sad news of the death of their father and first bishop,
Don Fray Domingo de Salaçar. This was one of the greatest losses
which they could have met with at that time, for they lost in him a
most loving father and a most faithful defender. In their defense
he had not hesitated to set out on a long and perilous journey to
España, and that in his very last years, when his great age would
have excused him from such excessive labors. But the fervent love
which he had for his sheep would not permit him to offer any excuses,
when he saw them in so great need as they were in at that time. There
was in these regions no place from which he could obtain relief for
them, nor could he have obtained relief from España if he had not
gone there in person to get it, for he had tried all other means. He
had sent a procurator; and he had written most urgent letters, and
had learned by experience that they did not bring about the results
desired. In fine, these islands lost a shepherd and a holy bishop;
and when this has been said, everything has been said. The Order of
St. Dominic, which had been so recently established in these islands,
suffered the greatest loss in this general affliction, for it had
in him a father and a brother who loved it most affectionately;
and a continual benefactor, who, though he was poor in the extreme,
seemed rich and generous in the benefits which he conferred upon the
order. Without them it would have suffered much, because the religious
came as apostolic preachers, in the greatest poverty, and in the
greatest need of the favor which they always received from this pious
bishop. Don Fray Domingo de Salacar was born in La Rioja in Castilla,
and had assumed the habit in the distinguished convent of San Estevan
at Salamanca, where he was contemporary with some who afterward became
famous professors of theology in this illustrious university--the
father masters Fray Domingo Bañes and Fray Bartholome de Medina
[Fray Domingo de Salacar was not inferior to them in scholarship,
but his heart was set more on sanctity than on learning; and hence
he desired to go to the province of Santiago de Mexico, which seemed
to have renewed the primitive austerity of the time of our father
St. Dominic. When he reached Mexico, though he wished to labor among
the Indians, the orders of his superior kept him from doing so, and
he became a teacher, and finally a master of theology, the highest
degree of this kind which can be reached in the order. His virtue was
such that during all the time while he was in Nueva España (namely,
forty years), he never broke any of our sacred constitutions in any
point. As one of the popes has said, a religious who thus follows the
constitutions of our order, has done enough to be canonized. When the
directions of his superiors at last permitted him to give the reins
to his desire, he devoted himself to missionary work among the Indian
tribes in the province of Vaxac. He suffered deeply from every wrong
that the Spaniards did to the Indians; and his suffering was doubled
because he could not remedy their wrongs. However, he did what he could
for those that were under his charge by comforting them and encouraging
them to patience; and it is no small consolation for the unfortunate
to see that there is someone who pities them and sympathizes with their
suffering. So desirous was father Fray Domingo of laboring for the Lord
that he joined the expedition to Florida, [4] accompanying the holy
Fray Domingo de la Anunciacion in the hardships which he endured,
which he felt the more because he could not make the conversions
which he hoped for among those Indians. Before beginning his journey,
he asked the superior to bless all the waters of the streams and
rivers from which he should have to drink, that he might not break
the constitution which directs us not to drink without permission and
a blessing. The want of food from which they suffered was such that
they were obliged to boil the leather straps of their helmets and of
the other parts of their armor that they might have something to keep
them alive, or to delay death a little. When they had exhausted this
supply they ate roots and the bark of wild trees. On this journey our
Lady of the Rosary showed her favor to father Fray Domingo by assisting
him in a remarkable way on several occasions. Once she enabled him
to save the life of a poor soldier who had been condemned to death,
and once gave him grace to change the heart of a man who intended to
commit suicide. Although he desired to give himself to work among the
Indians, he was obliged by the orders of his superiors and by his
vow of obedience to assume several honorable posts in the province
of Mexico, becoming prior and vicar-provincial, and finally the chief
consultor of the Holy Office; but he gave up these positions as soon
as he could to devote himself to the work which he preferred among
the natives. He spent thirty-eight years in laboring for those poor
people, teaching them, and protecting them against wrong. He was at
one time sent to España by his superiors on matters of important
business connected with the missions to the Indians. Here he met
many difficulties, as vested interests and great wealth were arrayed
against him; and on one occasion the nuncio of his Holiness, to
whom he had complained, commanded him not to visit the palace. But,
though he did not attain the end for which he set out, he made a
great impression upon his Majesty, who appointed him first bishop of
the Philippinas.] His Majesty felt a particular affection for these
islands, because their conversion had begun in his time and as a
result of his initiative. As they had received their name from his,
he desired also to give them a bishop with his own hand. He chose a man
whose learning, virtue, and deep zeal for the good and the protection
of the Indians qualified him to be the father and first shepherd
of regions so new and so remote from the presence of their king. In
such regions it is very easy for the wrongs which the powerful do to
the weak to be more and greater than in others; hence they needed a
valiant defender, and a strong pastor and master to contend with the
great difficulties which are always met with in new conquests. At
first father Fray Domingo did not venture to accept the bishopric,
and consulted learned and able religious. They all advised him to
accept it, as being a very heavy charge, but one in which he could do
great service to God and be of great advantage to the Indians. They
suggested that, if he were the bishop of the Indians, he could
help them better in the great sufferings which it might be expected
that they would have to endure, as all newly-conquered people have
endured them. These sufferings he saw and deplored when he went to his
bishopric; and he strove to remedy them as completely as he could. He
accepted the dignity for the labor and the banishment which it offered
him, knowing well that there was no honor and profit to be expected
from it. At this time he strove to bring with him religious of his own
order, feeling that they would be more closely allied to him and under
greater obligations to him; and that thus they would help him to carry
his burden. His Majesty granted them to him, and they reached Mexico;
[5] but here there were so many who died or fell ill that he had left
but one companion, father Fray Christobal de Salvatierra--who was a
wonderfully helpful associate, and aided him greatly in the government
of his bishopric, as well as in everything else which had to be done;
and these additional duties were neither few nor pleasant. He went to
the city of Manila and built in it his cathedral church, assigning
prebends and arranging everything necessary for the service of the
cathedral--although poorly, because he had no ecclesiastical income,
and because the royal income in these islands was very small. He found
his bishopric like sheep without a shepherd, and strove to gather them
together and bring them to order; but, as they had learned to live
without control, they took his efforts very ill. Some of them broke
bounds entirely, one of them going so far that he dared to tell the
bishop to his face that he would better moderate his enthusiasm; for
that if he did not, the speaker could hit a mitre at fifty paces with
his arquebus. But the good bishop in these and similar cases followed
the commands of St. Paul to his disciple St. Timothy: Argue, obsecra,
increpa, in omni patientia et doctrina. [6] The good prelate put his
shoulder and his breast to the wheel against all these difficulties,
and with all his heart strove to reform the morals of the colony. By
his example he animated the preachers and confessors to tell the
truth with greater clearness and courage than before; and, that
this might be the better and more effectively done, he called a
conference, or quasi-synod, composed of the superiors from all the
religious orders and of the learned men who were in the land, both
theologians and jurists. This conference sat for a long time. In it
there were also six captains who had had experience in that country,
and in the conquests which had been made there. These officers were
added to the conference that they might give information with regard
to many matters of fact upon which the determination of justice and
conscience in the case depended; and that the truth and righteousness
of the proceedings of the conference might be more apparent. It was
hoped that in this way the decisions of the conference would be better
received. In this assembly the holy bishop showed his great capacity,
his great knowledge and the clearness of his mind; and skilfully
directed and disposed of a great variety of matters which were there
very effectively decided. Many questions were there propounded and
settled; and from the decrees of the conference there resulted a
sort of general list or set of rules by which the confessors were
to govern themselves in assigning penance to all sorts of people
in that country. These rules affected the governor, the auditors,
the royal officials, the alcaldes, the corregidors, those who had
taken part in the conquest, the encomenderos, the collectors of
tributes, and people of all ranks--in a word, all the inhabitants
of the country. It had validity for what had been done as well as
for what was to come. This was a very helpful matter, because it
dealt with affairs which offered no precedents, did not regularly
happen, and could not be understood by everyone because of their great
difficulty. On this account those who understood them best, and desired
to deal with them as truth and reason required, were not respected by
those who were most concerned. The latter, in order that they might
avoid their obligations, ordinarily tried to find confessors who would
show leniency, to their own harm and to that of their penitents. But as
soon as these decrees appeared, having been voted by so many learned
and holy men, they were such that neither confessors nor penitents
dared oppose them. This conference was accordingly a very important
one; and in a few days it was possible to see the new light which had
come to these islands and to perceive how thoughtful and careful,
and how full of knowledge, was the new shepherd and spouse of this
church. The holy bishop afforded much edification with his teaching,
his addresses, and his sermons, for he was a learned theologian and an
excellent preacher; but he did very much more by the example of his
admirable life. The sermons which he preached in this way had great
power over the souls of those who looked upon this noble example,
and even hardened hearts could not resist them. He did not alter his
habit, his bed, or his diet. His habit was of serge, as was customary
in Nueva España. He wore a woolen shirt, and slept upon a bed which
was even poorer than that of the poorest religious. His food was eggs
and fish; his dwelling had no paintings or adornments in it. He rose
at midnight to recite matins, and after this he offered his mental
prayer. That he might not trouble anyone to give him a light, he
always kept a tinder and flint, and struck and kindled his own light
without having any servant to attend upon him when he went to bed or
when he rose. He was especially devoted to our Lady of the Rosary,
whose grace and favor he had many times experienced; and he desired
to see this same devotion well established in all. When he spoke upon
this matter, he seemed to surpass himself; and some believed that our
Lady spoke in him, because of the grandeur of the heavenly ideas which
he uttered on this subject. When our religious reached this country,
he entertained them in his dwelling, as has been said; and he kept
and cherished them there for many days, gave them extraordinary alms,
and bought a site for their convent. He helped very much in the
building of the convent, without ever feeling poor for this or for
similar objects--though he was really in extreme poverty on account
of the smallness of the salary which he received, without having
any other source of income. Although the salary was small, it never
failed him when the poor required it, to whom belonged everything
that he acquired. Thus he was always consuming his income, without
ever lacking something to give.
CHAPTER XLII
A more detailed account of the virtues of the servant of God, Don
Fray Domingo de Salaçar
The conformity of the good bishop with the divine will, and his desire
to be approved before the pure eyes of that heavenly Lord with whom he
always desired most intimately to unite himself, and the knowledge that
he could not attain this approval without striving with all his heart
to imitate His virtues, and by means of them to acquire something of
His likeness, made the bishop endeavor constantly with great solicitude
to attain these virtues--although to attain them it was necessary for
him to strive manfully to conquer his own nature; in so far as it was
opposed to them; and to multiply, in order to attain this victory over
himself, penances and austerities, to the end that his nature might
surrender and be subjected. The virtue of patience, which is in all
circumstances very desirable, and no less difficult to acquire and
maintain, was that which the bishop most needed, for at every step
occasions offered themselves for the exercise of this virtue. Since
he was by nature wrathful and hot-tempered, and was always engaged
in defending the right, it cost him much to control himself and to
be patient. However, he had so restrained himself and so become lord
of his nature, that he did not permit it to display itself. This
was not only in cases where he had time for consideration and for
preparation, but in those sudden and unexpected accidents in which
those who are wronged are accustomed to lose control of themselves,
if the virtue of patience is not well rooted within their souls or has
not reached perfection. He was often obliged to hear many insulting
words from soldiers who were angry because he had interfered with their
excesses; but he kept silent, and walked on as if he had not heard
them, attending to his business without taking any account of things
which did not belong to it. Since the Indians suffered from the abuses
which were inflicted upon them, he went in one day to speak on their
behalf to the governor who was then in office. He was not permitted
to proceed with his business without hearing many insulting words
from the governor, who even put his hands upon his breast and gave
him a push. The bishop did not change countenance; and, following the
counsel of St. Paul, who bids us give place to wrath, he left the hall
that he might not more inflame the wrath of this man. After a while,
when he thought it was time, he went in again, and with great serenity
of countenance and with gentleness of heart and words, he said to him:
"Bend your knees, because my heart does not permit me to leave you
under so heavy a condemnation;" and he added: "By virtue of a brief
of the Supreme Pontiff which I have for this purpose, I absolve you
from the most dreadful excommunication which you have incurred." When
he had done this, he went out again; and even commanded the cleric
who accompanied him not to reveal to anyone what had happened, under
penalty of excommunication. On another occasion another ecclesiastic
whom he rebuked said to him, very angrily: "How badly you treat me,
though you know that I am better than you are." The bishop answered,
with great calmness, that he was delighted to have in his bishopric so
honorable a person. With this gentleness he suffered the blows of those
who exercised his patience, leaving his cause to God, as God commands
us. The Lord assumed the care of his cause, and rigorously chastised
those who spoke evil of him. Some people wrote letters against him to
España; and, before the answer came back, they were called upon to give
their answer before the tribunal of God, ending their lives in sudden
and dreadful death. He took great pains to preserve his chastity and
the purity with which he was born, esteeming it highly like a precious
jewel, and performing many penances to defend it from the assaults of
the enemies who hated its beauty and ever strove to destroy it. Two
priests have borne witness that he was a virgin: father Fray Diego
de Soria, late bishop of Nueva Segovia, to whom he made a general
confession in his old age, at the time when he was about to embark
on the last voyage which he made to España. The other priest was a
clergyman to whom he had confessed more than two hundred times, and
who was well acquainted with the state of his conscience. This priest
confirmed his testimony with an oath. In spite of this, the world
is such that the chaste bishop found it necessary to defend himself
against accusations in regard to this matter, and to bear testimony
to the purity of his own conscience. At a public celebration of the
holy sacrifice of the mass, with the divine sacrament in his hands, he
affirmed, because necessity required it, that he hoped this celestial
food might be his eternal damnation if he was conscious of any fault
of such a kind. If those who spoke against him in this matter had
been only laymen, angry because they had been corrected and forcibly
drawn from such vices, and mad with passion--for such persons will
not forgive those who are most holy--if this accusation had proceeded
from such as these, it would have been matter for sorrow, but would
not have been intolerable; but there were even some ecclesiastics
who saw that the bishop took great pains to seclude abandoned women,
and who ventured to make themselves defenders of these persons of
disorderly life. They declared that a man who gathered in so many
of these women of evil life (some of them handsome), shut them up,
and heard them at their trials, would be sure to put out his hand and
select those who pleased him. This reached the ears of the bishop;
and the vengeance which he took was to commend them to the Lord in
prayer with all his heart--pitying them as being persons who were
really worthy of compassion; since, without comparison, the harm that
one who speaks evil does to himself is greater than the harm done to
him who is wronged. The Lord heard these pious prayers, and touched
their hearts. They acknowledged the evil that they had spoken, and
very repentantly came to beg his pardon, at the episcopal residence,
in the presence of those who lived there. The bishop received them
with open arms and with abundance of tears, and had them that day
as companions at his table. The vengeance which the saints desire to
take upon their enemies is, to have them repent for their faults when
they become conscious of their errors.
He was very compassionate, and felt the utmost pity for the sufferings
of his neighbor. Of this a marked example was given on the voyage from
Nueva España to Manila. There were in the same ship more than twenty
Augustinian religious, and, while they were at sea, their water gave
out. This is one of the greatest hardships which may be suffered on a
voyage. The bishop took pity upon them; and, although he had not enough
to supply the necessity of so many, he preferred suffering with the
others to seeing them suffer while he was comfortable. Accordingly
he offered them the opportunity to drink from what he carried in
his martabana, which is a large jar holding twenty cantaros [7]
of water. Their need would not permit them to refuse what was thus
offered them voluntarily; and, though they all drank of it, the Lord
was pleased that it should last until they landed on the islands,
as the servant of God had prayed. It is no new or rare thing for the
Lord to multiply food and drink, that it may not be lacking to those
who bring themselves to need out of pity. This same virtue caused
the bishop to watch over this municipality of Manila, by taking care
that in the houses of the fathers of the Society [of Jesus] there
should be religious to give instruction in profitable learning to
those who desired to study it. That this might be made permanent,
and that there might not be any failure in it, he brought it about
that his Majesty gave command that the religious should receive an
allowance to be spent upon the teachers. The answer of his Majesty is
contained in the royal decree given at Barcelona the eighth [sic] of
fifteen eighty-three. The document runs as follows: "To the reverend
father in Christ, Fray Domingo de Salacar, bishop of the Philippinas
Islands. Three letters from you have been received from my Council,
etc. Considering the good report which you give of the great results
which have followed and which are likely to follow from the maintenance
of the Order of the Society of Jesus, and considering that to this end
it is necessary that the Society should receive from me what is needed
for the support of the religious who desire to teach and instruct in
Latinity, sciences and good morals, those who come to them, I have,
until some one shall come forward to undertake this business, granted
the decree enclosed. In pursuance of this decree, the president of
the Audiencia and you will together determine how this object may
be carried out," etc. From this same spirit of compassion arose the
benevolence which he displayed toward all the natives by building
a hospital in Manila in which sick Indians might be cared for. He
gave so much energy to this that he not only was the chief person
who concerned himself with it, but he gave the first and the chief
contribution to establish and endow it. At the very beginning of
the hospital he did something worthy of his virtue and prudence. The
sick in this hospital were cared for by religious of the order of the
seraphic father St. Francis, and particularly by a brother named Fray
Juan Clemente. The infirmity for which they were ordinarily treated
was buboes, which are very frequent on these poor Indians because
they ordinarily have to walk in the water in their grain-fields. [8]
The brother had much to suffer with the Indian men, and still more
with the Indian women, the care of whom was in general not very
consonant with decency. On this account, the religious determined
to give up this duty, and actually asked the bishop for permission
to leave the hospital. The bishop, who was well acquainted with the
conscience of Fray Juan, and who saw the reason for his unhappiness,
encouraged and consoled him; and exhorted him not to give up, on
account of these temptations, the good work and the service which he
had begun there. He gave the brother holy and devout reasons for this,
and finally said: "My son Fray Juan, fast for three days in the week;
give yourself a discipline, and keep your hour of prayer. As for the
rest, I will charge myself with it, and will take the responsibility
upon myself." The result was marvelous, for, because of the good
advice which had been given him and the prayer which the bishop made
for him, Fray Juan found himself so much consoled and changed that he
no longer felt the least difficulty or disquiet in the world; and,
as if he had cast all these difficulties upon another person, he no
longer perceived them in himself. Yet before this he had found himself
so much oppressed by them that, in order not to fall, he had desired to
flee. In a case of this kind, to take flight is to conquer--but not so
nobly as when the Lord puts forth His hand that His servants may handle
such serpents as these without being harmed by them, which happened
in this case as the result of the prayer of His servant the bishop.
The many virtues which this servant of God possessed were higher in
degree as a result of the fire of charity which dwelt in his breast,
which, as a queen of all the rest, held the highest place in his
soul and governed all. He could not eat or drink in comfort without
dividing with the poor; and therefore every day he set aside a part of
his food, and, placing it on the corner of the table, said: "You know
for whom this is"--namely, the poor, as his servants understood. This
was given to them, and not only this, but other alms. That the matter
might be the better attended to, they kept, by order of the bishop,
a memorandum of the poor and needy of the city. He directed his
servants that whenever the poor women who asked alms were Spaniards,
they should indicate the fact by saying, "Here is a lady that asks
alms;" if they were Indians or mestizas, they should say, "Here is a
woman." In this way, without seeing them, he would be able to tell
their station, and to aid them conformably thereto. Still, when he
was told about some such matter, he often went down with the servant;
and, if it was the first time that she came, he used to say to her:
"Come, good friend, what is the matter now? Beware not to offend God,
nor to be tricked by the devil into doing any base act for need or
for selfish interest. Trust in God, who will aid you; and I for my
part will assist with all my heart." In order that she might see that
these were not merely good words, he used to give her some assistance
and to write her name with the rest, so that he might aid her with the
care required by her need, and by that of her children, if she had
any. Every week he visited the prisons and the hospitals, generally
assigning Fridays for that purpose. He encouraged and consoled the
prisoners and the sick with kindly words and with alms, according
to the need of each one. The money which he could get together from
restitutions and confirmations he kept with the greatest care, that
not a real might be lost; and, as if he were the most miserly man in
the world, he took care of it for the poor alone, without permitting
the members of his household or anyone else to take anything from the
confirmations, as is customary. He used to say that this belonged to
the poor, and that it was not proper that one who was not poor should
share with them. From some of these alms, and from what he could add
from his own poor income, he bought some lots near the Franciscan
convent, and some cattle, with which he established a stock-farm,
and gave it for the establishment of a hospital for the care of the
natives. The hospital was built and still exists, having been very
greatly increased by the care of the Franciscan fathers, who attend
to it with the greatest charity. To exalt the hospital still more, the
bishop obtained for it a liberal concession of plenary indulgence for
the Sunday of Lazarus, [9] as he did for the hospital of the Spaniards
on Palm Sunday. So great was his charity and his desire to do good to
the poor that once, when he was without money to give them, he sold
his pectoral cross, which was worth one thousand eight hundred pesos,
and gave it to them in alms. In the same way went his table silver;
and his silver pontifical ornaments were almost always in pawn. His
steward used to try to excuse himself when he was told to give alms,
saying that he had not the means. The bishop, calling him to one side,
would say to him, "Tell me the truth; how much money have you?" He
commonly said that there was not in the house more than eight reals
for the daily expense, and sometimes only four. The bishop then
made him give half of what he had, saying that it was sufficient
good-fortune to have some money in the house all the time, so long as
the Lord would provide more; and the Lord to whom he gave took care
that he should never lack, sending him what he needed for himself
and for his poor from some source from which he had never expected
it. When he got it, he would show it to the steward, or give it to
him, and say: "Trust in God, father, and know that even if you had
given me all that you had, the Lord would have sent us more." It was
a common saying among the people of his household that the Father of
the poor provided money miraculously, in order that the bishop might
give them alms. A person of rank was once obliged by necessity to ask
alms from him. The bishop was much grieved, as this person seemed to
be an honorable one; and he directed the steward to give him all the
money there was in the house. As he found no more than eight reals,
the bishop gave this to him, and asked the man to pardon him, saying
that there was no more at that time, but that, as soon as he had any,
he would be sure to come to his aid. The Lord did not delay assisting
him who had not only given alms from his superfluity, but had given
all that he had for the maintenance of himself and his household. For
on that very night He touched the heart of a man who had laid upon
him for ten years the duty of the restitution of four hundred pesos,
and caused him, without waiting till morning, to embark at night and
to come from Cavite to Manila; and in the morning he gave the money to
the bishop without the bishop's ever having spoken to him. The bishop
had desired that his penniless condition should be cared for wholly by
the Lord, who was called upon to relieve the urgent need of him who
was in such need as a result of aiding the poor. When the bishop saw
himself suddenly enriched with four hundred pesos, he gave thanks to
the Lord, from whose hand he had received them rather than from the
hand of him who had brought them hither. He instantly summoned the
person to whom he had given only one peso the day before, because he
had no more, and said to him: "For the little which I have given you
and the much which you desired, the Lord has sent me some money. Take
these fifty pesos and give me that one which I gave you yesterday;
for it is that which attracted all this. Be sure that you spend well
that which I give you; and, when you shall see yourself in prosperity,
take care to be liberal to the poor." The good man promised this;
and in a short time God, in fulfilment of what the bishop had said
to him, gave him so much money that he brought four hundred pesos,
and gave them to the bishop to be distributed among the poor. The rest
of what the bishop had received he did not spend on his household,
though it was so poor; but published in the church that he had some
money to distribute, and summoned the poor to his residence. Among
them he distributed it (as he wished to) very quickly; and, showing
them the eight-real piece which he had given in the first place,
he said to them with much happiness and joy: "Just this peso is for
me, because it is that which attracted so many." When the bishop
was at his meal, having with him at the table the first founders of
this province, who had recently come to the city, a man came to beg
alms. The bishop gave him a peso; and, as it seemed to the beggar
too little, he showed it to the bishop, and said that he had not
given him as much as he needed. This conduct appeared to those who
were present bold, and even insolent; so they told the bishop that he
ought to send the man away, because he had received sufficient alms,
and that it was impossible at one time to succor every necessity. The
bishop agreed; but before long his heart was moved to compassion
at the thought that the poor man had gone away dissatisfied; and,
with his eyes moist with tears, he said: "Call that poor fellow back
again. His need must be very great, because it has forced him to be
importunate." The beggar came back; and the bishop, augmenting the
alms so that the beggar should be contented, was contented himself,
and sent him away with his blessing. Once it happened that he went
to bed with fifteen pesos, which, though for persons of his dignity
it was a mere nothing, for him who gave everything to the poor it
was great riches; and in the morning before nine o'clock he had not a
penny, because the poor had taken it all. He used to say: "The riches
of bishops are in caring for the poor, who are their proper purses;
and, so long as my money is not in them, they will suppose that I have
appropriated it." This did not appear only in his words, but he was
so certain of the truth of it that he carried it out in practice; and
it often resulted that he did not have money for the ordinary expenses
of his household. He was obliged to set sail from Manila to España on
important business; and one of the chief supplies which he ordered to
be laid in was a provision of chickens and of conserves--things which
he never tasted, and which were so foreign to his way of living that
he ate nothing but fish, as if he had been in the refectory of an
extremely austere convent. They got together three hundred chickens
for him; but before he had left port two hundred of them were gone;
while with the conserves and other things that he took he was all
the time feasting and making presents to the poor and needy, so that
nobody could even induce him to taste a chicken. [On the road from
Mexico to San Juan de Ulua, though very ill, he charitably undertook
the ordination of some candidates for the priesthood, who had been
caught in a flood on their way to be ordained at Jalapa.]
CHAPTER XLIII
The marvels wrought by our Lord for His servants while in this life,
and the happy death of the bishop.
[It is not strange that the Lord should have honored the virtues of
the bishop by working many marvels through him. Many of these have
fallen into oblivion because he strove to keep them concealed, and
also because there has been no one to keep a record of them. Several
times his prayers have saved men in imminent danger of death; among
these was father Fray Miguel de Venavides, who fell overboard on the
voyage from Manila to Nueva España.]
When he reached España it is said that his Majesty at first was vexed
on account of his return, because his bishopric would need him during
his absence. But afterward, when he saw him, his Majesty was greatly
pleased with him, and carried out the wishes of the bishop in regard
to the principal matters which had brought him there. The income of
the church was greatly augmented, his Majesty bestowing upon him a
large gift, and greatly increasing the small income assigned for the
prebendaries. He succeeded in augmenting the number of prebends so that
the church might be better served. A single bishop was not sufficient
to attend to the confirmations and other episcopal acts in all the
islands, still less to watch over the conversion of so many provinces
as are contained in them, practically all of them being at that time
heathen. Hence the bishop succeeded in having his bishopric divided
among four prelates--an archbishop and three suffragan bishops--and
he marked out the limits of each bishopric. He succeeded in gaining
in Roma what he desired, and was himself appointed archbishop. This
promotion did not suffice to alter the ordinary mode of life of this
servant of God, and made no more change in him than if he had never
been promoted. It is even said that he did not care to be informed
or assured with regard to it; that as his soul had other purposes and
more elevated desires, he cared little for these things. He was right
in doing so, since he was soon to see how little substance there is
in them; for he was attacked by a severe infirmity which, before the
bulls for his archbishopric were despatched from Roma, despatched him
to heaven, ending his labors and commencing his eternal rest. He had
no need to make a will, for he distributed all that he could get among
the poor. In the hour of his death, he had no more than six reals;
and though he had a poor sister, he never gave her a real, because of
his helping those who were in greater need. This came to the knowledge
of his Majesty, and it pleased him so much that he displayed his royal
generosity toward her, as indeed our Lord does command, who takes upon
His own shoulders the obligations which His disciples fail to fulfil
because of their love for Him. [These facts attracted great attention
in the court, and the small estate of the bishop of the Indias became
famous. He was buried in his convent of San Thomas at Madrid. The day
before, the archbishop of Toledo had died, Don Gaspar de Quiroga; he
was cardinal, and the richest prelate in Christendom. As he was to be
buried on that same day, the counselors of the king did not know which
funeral to attend; and his Majesty directed that they should go to
that of the poorest. His epitaph states that he died December 4, 1594.]
CHAPTER XLIV
Father Fray Christobal de Salvatierra, associate of the first bishop
of the Philippinas and governor of his bishopric.
There was but a short space of time between the death of the first
bishop of this region of which we have just spoken, and that of his
associate and vicar-general, father Fray Christobal de Salvatierra. The
bishop, when he went to España, had selected him as governor of his
bishopric--having by many years' acquaintance come to know that he was
worthy, not only of this charge, but of much greater ones, because of
his great and well-established virtue, his marked ability, singular
prudence, watchful zeal for the honor of God, indomitable spirit,
and the other noble qualities which he had found in father Fray
Christobal. All these were necessary for the duties of vicar-general
and governor of this bishopric at such times as these, which were so
near to the first conquest of these islands. Even though the conquest
had continued for some time, the very great difficulties encountered
in their spiritual government will be evident. It will be even better
understood by any one who has any knowledge of the conquests of the
Indias; for though it did not involve so many cruelties as others,
it was still impossible to avoid many evil deeds which wars always
bring with them, however well justified they may be. This is still
more the case against poor Indians, who cannot defend themselves,
and sometimes who cannot even complain of the wrongs that have been
done to them, since these are committed by those from whom their
redress should proceed. Since there had not been in the islands,
before the coming of the first bishop and his vicar-general, any
bishop to govern them as their own prelate, the two ecclesiastics
found them abounding in vices which by inveterate custom had put
out such roots and obtained such strength that it was not possible
to destroy them without great difficulty and labor, much vigilance,
and a courageous spirit, in order to meet the thousand peril which
these duties brought with them at this time. God, who never fails the
government of His church, provided for these offices persons with such
endowments as were possessed by father Fray Christobal. He was a son
of the distinguished convent of San Esteban at Salamanca; and showed
that he was so, not only by words, which often perish on the wind, but
by works--and by noble works, which he had learned in that so prominent
school of virtue and letters. He left his convent, intending to become
one of the pioneers assembled by the bishop for this province. The
number of these, as has been stated, was thirty. When they reached
Nueva España, many died and others fell sick. The rest of them,
daunted by the voyage which they had already taken, and attracted by
the agreeable climate of Mexico, remained there. The good bishop was
unable to persuade any of them to come to these regions except father
Fray Christobal, who, like an immovable column, was always firm in his
opposition to these temptations, never abandoned the company of the
bishop, and remained constantly at his side--not only in this tempest,
in which all the others fell away, but in all the other and greater
tempests which afterwards fell upon them. He was greatly aided in this
by the conformity that there was in the natures of the two men. They
were both grave and prudent, intrepid of soul in the performance of
the right, and fearful of everything that not only might be evil, but
might even seem so. Above all, they were of one mind in their efforts
to attain virtue--devout, chaste, charitable, religious; zealous for
the honor of God, in themselves and in others; and ready for this
cause to undergo hardships or dangers of any kind. Hence, though the
dangers through which they had gone had conquered all the others and
discouraged them, father Fray Christobal was always firm and faithful
to his promise; and he accomplished it by persevering with constancy
in that which he had begun, even until death. This he did to his own
great good and to that of his neighbors, serving the Lord not only as
one good religious, but as if he had been many. He was like another Aod
[i.e., Ehud], working with both hands, and having spirit, courage, and
industry for every undertaking of importance that offered itself. He
carried on together the offices of vicar-general and of missionary
to Bataan, at a day's journey from Manila, where he was obliged to
reside. Withal, he filled the functions of these two positions,
which seemed incompatible, with such perfection and vigilance,
that he has left for each one of them eternal fame behind him. As if
this was but little in itself, whenever any military expedition was
undertaken he accompanied the soldiers, in the capacity of chaplain,
as if he had been the most unoccupied person in the province. He gave
his greatest energies to the office of vicar-general, which he filled
with the greatest justice and watchfulness, and in which he offered
a very edifying example. He was greatly loved by the good and feared
by the bad; for his only purposes were to do good to all, to adjust
their disputes, and to make friendships, or to unmake them when they
were bad. He defended and protected the Indians, as being a race in
the greatest need of defense and protection. When it was necessary,
he chastised them, but like a loving father. Hence he was much loved
by them, and was feared both by them and the Spaniards--even by the
Spaniards in official positions, because, when there was a question as
to making restitution for the honor of God, he pardoned no one. The
zeal which he displayed in rooting out vices and scandalous sins
was extraordinary. He never hesitated at any labor in this cause,
however great it might be; he never feared any danger which appeared in
the prosecution of his holy purpose, not even the danger of death. He
was at one time threatened with death itself; for a desperate man
entered his very room with the purpose of taking his life, at a time
when he was careless and not expecting any such evil intention. But the
Lord, to whom he left his defense, protected him; and the malevolent
man was unable to carry out his purpose and to conquer the constancy
of Fray Christobal. The latter knew that whatsoever hardship or
death befell him in this way would surely be for his own greater
glory; and hence, certain that no evil could happen to him that was
really an evil, he did his duty with courage in opposing all the
wicked, fearing no one, but feared by all. This was the case not
only when he was present in the city or village where people were
living scandalously, but even when he was at a distance from them;
because without any warning he would appear, like a ray of light,
in any place where he was needed. He would be at night in the city,
and in the morning ten or twelve leguas away, following the track of
those who were living in concubinage. When they seemed to themselves
to be most safe, he caught them in flagranti delicto. He used to take
out wicked women from any house, no matter how prominent it was,
and no matter to what insults he might be exposed. Nothing of this
kind daunted him, or held him back, or harmed him; nay, it did him
much good, for, armed with patience for any wrong to himself, he was
able to overcome any opposition to his holy zeal, and came out always
victorious and with the upper hand. He knew the women of evil life so
well that they were not able to escape him, or to conceal themselves
from him. The punishment which he gave them was very appropriate,
because he shut them up in a secure place and forced them to work
to earn their living; and this, on account of their licentiousness
and idleness, was the worst punishment that could be inflicted upon
them, while for the holy purposes of Fray Christoval, it was the most
efficacious remedy which could be applied. By being shut up they were
kept from the sins which were caused by their being at large; while
by their bodily labor they paid for something of what they wasted
in their idleness. Hence in the time of this father this wretched
class of people fled to the mountains, without daring to appear
in the city. The Spaniards feared and hesitated to do many things
which after his days began to be very common. All of these actions
of the father were accompanied by such prudence, purity of life
and manners, and by such love and such good works for the people,
that although at the time those who were blinded and carried away
by their passions suffered greatly, and were very angry with the
man who interfered with their vices, still afterwards, when their
minds became calmed, they could not fail to recognize the goodness
of father Fray Christobal. He even gained the hearts of these people,
and forced them to love and esteem them. Wherever he went, he received
information from the most honorable people of what needed a remedy;
and being sure that they were persons who would not deceive him,
he immediately applied the remedy, with the least possible cost to
the delinquents. He knew them all very well, and knew how to treat
them. Hence with some he used no more rigorous means than looking at
them, and letting them know that he was acquainted with their faults;
and this was enough to bring about their improvement, which was what
he purposed and desired. But when more severe measures were requisite,
he was not slow or hesitating in employing them. Accordingly he was
very useful to God in his office by attacking many sins and scandals,
and by preventing others (which is an act of higher prudence). For
the juridical acts which he performed as an ecclesiastical judge he
accepted no fees, and he moderated as much as possible the fees of
the officials of his jurisdiction. Since he understood the language
of the Indians, he had no need of an interpreter, a matter of great
importance and the means of avoiding much injury, deceit, and expense
in the suits of the Indians. Since their means are very small, it is
very easy to distort justice by bribing them, unless the activity
of the judges prevents this evil. Even when this does not happen,
the expenses of suitors are always very large. The vicar-general
was desirous of avoiding these expenses, and therefore employed no
interpreter, as in everything he took care that all might plead and
gain their rights at small expense. This is an evidence that the great
fear which he caused was not due to the fact that he was quarrelsome
or litigious, but because he was zealous for the honor of God and the
good of the souls that were in his care. So long as the bishop was
in the islands, he had some comfort and defense; but as soon as the
bishop had gone to España the father, being the sole governor of the
bishopric (which at that time included all the islands), could not fail
to suffer from the great increase of his labors, and greatly feel the
want of the bishop's support. The thing to which he gave the greatest
amount of attention and in which he found the greatest difficulty,
was the prohibition to the Chinese heathen of the comedies that they
performed, and to Spanish men and women attendance on those comedies,
on account of the manner in which they were performed, which was full
of superstition and idolatry. Up to the time when our religious had
come, there was no one who understood their language and customs, so
no one paid any attention to this point. The Chinese felt sure that
no one but themselves could understand their comedies, and performed
them as in China, full of superstitions and idolatries. This was found
out by Father Juan Cobo when he had learned their language, letters,
and customs. He gave notice thereof to the vicar-general, who ordered
the comedies to cease, as being superstitious. The Chinese were greatly
grieved, and so were the Spaniards--the latter because, although they
did not understand the comedies, they enjoyed seeing them for the sake
of the actions and representations which the Chinese make in a very
realistic way; and the Chinese, because they are devoted to this kind
of entertainment. So every one, including the governor, was opposed
to the vicar-general. He, because he did not understand the evil in
the thing, took the side of the Chinese; but the vicar-general was
certain that these comedies were an offense to the Lord, as well for
the reason stated as because they were performed by night, and many
other evil results used to follow. They were attended at night by
Spanish men and Spanish women and their female servants, and by other
Indian women--who, covered by the dark cloak of night, did many things
which ought not to be done in Christian lands. But the vicar-general
put his shoulder to the difficulty, and commanded that no one, on
pain of excommunication, should go to see the comedies. Since the
governor was of the opposite opinion, there was no one who dared to
publish the excommunications; so the vicar-general himself went and
fastened them on the church-doors, accompanied only by his friars,
since there was no one else who ventured to accompany him. At last,
although it cost him much and much evil was said against him, he
brought this evil practice to an end. Since that time Spanish men,
and many more Spanish women, do not go to see these comedies; and no
permission is given for their performance until they are first looked
over and approved by a religious who understands the language, and
who sees that they are not superstitious but are historical, or have
plots which are not idolatrous. This is what ought to be done in the
realms of a Catholic prince, although the comedies are performed by
heathens and idolaters; for as the latter are not permitted to perform
their idolatries, they ought not to be permitted to play superstitious
comedies made in honor of false gods, for such comedies are part of the
idolatry, which is forbidden to them. It would be supposed that father
Fray Christobal, being so busy and so usefully occupied, would have no
time to attend to anything else except to his position as governor and
vicar-general of this diocese. Yet this was not the case, but whenever
the opportunity was offered--as was not often, there being then so few
whom he could employ--he took advantage of it to leave his duties for
the time. Hence when the first Spaniards went to the pacification or
conquest of Nueva Segovia, he went as chaplain of the soldiers, and
was with them in all the conflicts which they had with the Japanese,
which conflicts have already been described. He was the first priest
that entered that country--as it were, to take possession of it for the
friars of his order, who afterward converted it to the law of God and
to His gospel. In the same way, when another expedition was made to
Maluco, he embarked as chaplain, purposing in both expeditions to do
the greater service to his king and lord by restraining the soldiers,
by his authority and by the respect which they had for him, from the
disorders which the inconsiderate are likely to be guilty of under
such circumstances as these. This same desire of being useful in all
things caused him to take charge of the district of Bataan, which,
although it contained many Christians, had no minister and no one to
take pity upon them or to assume the charge of them. This aroused great
compassion in him; and though these Indians were a day's journey by sea
from Manila, where he was obliged to reside, he assumed the ministry
to them and cared for them with great solicitude and love and with
no less labor. [The situation of that district made the labor of the
ministry very great. Father Fray Christobal went on foot through all
the lakes and swamps, attending to the needs of all the Indians, for
whom the four religious who succeeded him were scarcely able to do the
work. He did all this labor in spite of a painful ailment from which
he suffered. Among the things which afflicted him was the necessity of
sleeping in his clothes for the little time when he could repose. This
is no small discomfort in so hot a country. His love for the Indians
was such that, although his labors caused him this painful infirmity,
he devoted himself to them up to the time of the coming of the other
missionaries; and even after they came he used to take his holidays
by visiting these Indians as his beloved sons. He greatly assisted the
first religious to learn who were and who were not Christians, for the
absence or loss of records had brought everything into confusion. He
was very charitable, especially to the Indians. To the Spaniards he
was a father and a master, assisting them in all their necessities
in peace and in war. He showed his zeal for the honor of God and
for the rooting out of vice in the very last hours of his life,
by writing to the governor, Don Luis Perez das Mariñas, the request
that he would have a bad woman taken from a captain's house which he
indicated; and that he would send three soldiers to arrest a cleric
of whom the report was spread that he was leading an evil life. The
asthma from which he had so long suffered finally brought his life
to an end. He died in the hospital of the Sangleys, in the midst
of the brethren of his order.] He was mourned by the whole country,
and especially by the religious of all the orders who were in it. All
declared that there would never again come to this region such a friar,
such a governor of the diocese, such a father of the poor, such a
zealot for the honor of God, a man of such gifts for everything. When
he died, the need of him was exhibited by the public way in which
those vices which, so long as he lived, dared not appear or lift up
their heads, began to prevail in the country. He received a solemn
interment, attended by the ecclesiastical chapter and by all the
religious orders, to all of whom he had done many friendly acts,
and by all of whom he was therefore heartily beloved. At this very
day his fame is as much alive as if he had died but yesterday. He
appointed to be governors of the diocese, by the authority which he
had received therefor from the bishop (whose death was not yet known),
father Fray Alonso Ximenez, provincial of this province, and father
Fray Juan de San Pedro Martyr, or Maldonado. The ecclesiastical chapter
resisted; and although the nominees plainly had right on their side,
and the governor, Don Luis Perez das Mariñas, offered to put them in
possession, they were unwilling to obtain the control of the bishopric
by lawsuits. They renounced or did not accept the appointment, and left
the government to the chapter, as something which should not be sought
or even received except as the result of compulsion or sheer necessity,
not for one's own advantage, but for the common weal--which very seldom
is attained when the entry upon such offices is obtained by lawsuits.
CHAPTER XLV
Father Fray Juan de Castro, one of the first founders of this province
[When father Fray Juan de Chrisostomo went to Rome to get the documents
necessary for founding the new province, he carefully looked in every
one of the convents that he visited for men of the devotion, prudence,
and holiness which he regarded as necessary for a firm establishment
of the new province. In it the rule and the constitutions were to
be punctually observed, and the religious were not to be contented
with observing them as others do, for we all profess to observe them
as they were written. He purposed to make this province one of such
virtue that it should be not only holy in itself, but should have
power by the aid of the Lord to fix holiness and virtue in the souls of
persons so alienated from them as were these Indians, who had always
been in the service of the devil. Among those upon whom father Fray
Juan Chrisostomo turned his eyes was father Juan de Castro, of the
convent of Sancta Cathalina in Barcelona. He was from the city of
Burgos, and was the nephew of the other father, Fray Juan de Castro,
the provincial of this province. God always shows His power in His
saints; but to be superior among many saints, to shine with special
glory among shining stars, is a much more marvelous effect of the
divine grace. Such was father Fray Juan de Castro in this convent,
which of itself has the name of being a very religious one; and
father Fray Juan Chrisostomo selected him for the high end which
he designed. Christ our Lord did not need to seek for holy men. His
divine power was such that He could make apostles of great sinners,
like St. Matthew or St. Paul; but Father Juan Chrisostomo, being a
man, was obliged to choose, for the foundation of the province upon
which he had begun, persons whose holiness was already formed. In
order to obtain father Fray Juan de Castro, he caused the general
of the order to assign him by name to the new enterprise. In this
way the convent of Barcelona, much as they regretted losing Father
Juan de Castro, were obliged to let him go to the Philippinas. His
uncle, having been appointed to the leadership of this company, sent
his nephew to the most laborious, but most meritorious part of the
work--namely, to the province of Pangasinan. Father Fray Juan, to
save the other fathers from hardship, carried water from the river,
brought and split the wood, kindled and stirred the fire, and was,
in a word, the servant of the rest; he anticipated all the others
in these works and labors, so that the rest of the religious might
not be wearied out, and that the Indians might not be annoyed, or
feel ill-will toward the preachers of the gospel, by being forced,
against their declared intention, to bring what was necessary for
the services of the church and of the poor convent. He suffered the
lack of food with special content and joy. He took great care of the
neatness and cleanliness of the church and the altar. In spiritual
things he distinguished himself as he did in these material labors;
yet his uncle did not appoint him to any place as superior, but gave
him that which he most delighted in, the position of the greatest
labor and the lowest honor. When the heaviest part of the duty in
Pangasinan was over, the Lord ordained that he should seek labor
somewhere else. It was decided to send an embassy to China after the
death of the governor, Gomez Perez das Mariñas. He had been killed
by some Chinese traitors, who had afterwards made their escape with
the galley, in which was the royal standard, much good artillery,
and other things of value. The purpose of the embassy was to demand
justice upon these traitors. On account of father Fray Juan Cobo's
success in the embassy to Japan, it was decided to select religious
of the same order for the present embassy. Father Fray Luis Gandullo
was accordingly chosen, and named as his associate father Fray Juan de
Castro. As secular ambassador went Don Fernando de Castro, cousin of
the governor who sent the embassy, and nephew of the dead governor. A
storm blew them out of their course toward the province of Chincheo,
to which they had intended to go, and drove them to the province of
Canton, one of the thirteen into which the Chinese realm is divided. As
the Chinese there had had no dealings with the people of Manila, they
did not receive the ambassadors with the respect due their office,
or with the kindness which ought to be shown to men who had suffered
so from the storms of the sea. They were arrested on the charge of
piracy, but, by giving two hostages, they obtained somewhat better
treatment. They were finally permitted to go to Macan, and afterward
proceeded to Chincheo, but could not find a trace of the galley which
they were looking for. The traitors had not gone back to their own
country, but to a neighboring kingdom which was less civilized and had
less justice. Some of them, not expecting to be recognized, afterward
ventured to go to Malaca, and paid for their crime with death. At
last the ambassadors returned, without having obtained any of the
results which were desired from the embassy. The fathers, however,
had at least carried the sweet savor of the Christian religion to
those regions. On the return journey, they met with such a storm that
the vessel was lost, and the people aboard her had to save themselves
by swimming. Father Fray Juan de Castro was carried by a plank to the
coast of Pangasinan, a day's journey from the coast of Bolinao, where
the wreck occurred. The exposure brought on a severe illness. Father
Fray Juan was taken to Manila and died in the hospital of the Chinese,
passing away serenely and devoutly.]
CHAPTER XLVI
The journey made by the father provincial Fray Alonso Ximenez to
Camboxa
[After father Fray Alonso Ximenez had completed his provincialate,
he went to Camboxa to preach the gospel there. Circumstances seemed
to make this absolutely necessary. In 1595 there came to the city
of Manila as ambassadors from the king of Camboxa two soldiers--a
Portuguese, named Diego Velloso; and a Castilian, a native of La
Mancha, named Blas Ruiz de Fernan Goncales. The kingdom of Camboxa
is on the mainland, like China and like Spain. The king asked the
governor of Manila for soldiers to assist in the defense of his kingdom
against the king of Siam, his neighbor; and also for Dominican friars,
to preach the law of God in his kingdom. The people of Camboja have
special knowledge of our order because of some religious, from the
India of Portugal, who lived there a long time. [10] One of them, named
Fray Silvestre, was so highly esteemed by the king that he had him
about his person continually. The Portuguese, however, were unwilling
to attempt the conversion of this region, because they thought,
and quite properly, that they could not carry it on to advantage
from India. The governor, in spite of the small force of soldiers
which he had, and the religious order, although likewise they had
but few laborers, decided to do what they could to fulfil the wishes
of the king. The order accordingly appointed the father provincial,
who was within a few months of the end of his term. The governor gave
him the title of ambassador, associating with him in the embassy
the commander of the forces, Captain Juan Xuarez Gallinato. Great
difficulty was found in providing an ecclesiastical companion for the
father provincial, as those who were at first suggested could not be
spared from their duties. Finally I was appointed, accepting this duty
in accordance with my vow of obedience. Three vessels were prepared
for the expedition, one of them of Spanish build, the other two of
the sort used in this country which are known as juncos. These are
large boats, and carry a great deal of freight; but they are weakly
built to meet the storms, and have very little rigging on their
masts, and accordingly are easily lost in bad weather. A hundred and
thirty soldiers were collected, most of them without permission of
the governor, who had given his license for only forty. There were
also some Japanese, who are too much given to rashness in war; and
some Indians of this country, who on occasions of honor are very
good auxiliaries. The leader of the expedition [i.e., Gallinato]
commanded the frigate; Diego Velloso, the smaller junk, in which we
religious went; and Blas Ruiz de Fernan Gonçalez, the larger, which
contained most of the forces. [11] January 18, 1596, we set sail
from the harbor of Manila, badly equipped and worse accommodated,
as usually happens on such occasions. We went to the island of Luban,
[12] fourteen leguas from the fort, to finish our preparations for the
voyage, which, though it is but a short one (only two hundred leguas in
length), is across a treacherous sea; for the best-fitted vessels often
suffer severely upon it, much more so those which are poorly equipped,
as were ours. The frigate and the smaller junk made port that night;
but the larger junk was unable to enter, and was not to be seen in
the morning. We assumed, as was true, that it had taken advantage of
the favorable wind and proceeded with its journey. We were, however,
anxious; because it was not well supplied with food or water, though
it was better supplied than the other vessels. Two days afterward,
we set sail; but on a calm sea, and with the wind fair, our mainmast
snapped as if it had been made of candy. It was all rotten; and we
were left like a cart on the water, with nothing but our foresail,
and that very small. The flagship took us in tow and we towed a
small boat with four Chinese sailors, which was the cause of no
little trouble. We sailed in this way for eight days, the sea being
calm. One night at the end of this time, the boat cable broke. The
sailors that were in the boat called out for us to wait for them;
and the flagship hove to, and began to sound while we were waiting
for the boat. Finding bottom in forty brazas, they perceived that we
were near the country of Camboja. In order to reach port early on the
following day, they left us, thinking that in spite of the smallness
of our sail we could reach there on the same day. The result, however,
was not as was expected; for by bad navigation we had gone many leguas
to leeward of the port. To make our way back there we had to sail
against the wind. A storm arose soon after, and the flagship was
obliged to run before the wind; it made port in Malaca, more than
two hundred leguas to leeward of its destination, and was unable to
return for three months. Our vessel could not make sail against the
sea, being entirely unequipped, and good for nothing but to ask for
the mercy of God. Under these circumstances fell the night between
the eighth and ninth of February. We all supposed that this was the
last of our days, and no man expected to see the next morning. The
force of the wind drove us aground more than two leguas from shore; we
had to cut away the stump of the mainmast, which was still standing,
and to throw into the sea the rudder and everything there was in
the ship. The boat, which might have saved us, was swamped; and the
sailors who were in it got aboard the ship. The waves broke over the
vessel, but could not sink it because it was already fast aground.] I
sat all that night in the waist (for it was impossible to stand),
confessing the Christians and catechizing the heathen. I baptized
twenty-two of them, feeling that the great danger in which we were,
authorized the act. When they had all received the sacraments,
I encouraged them to the work which was necessary to keep us from
perishing. Several times I went into the poop to confess myself,
and to receive the confession of the holy old man, my provincial,
who was there waiting for death--at the point of which we now were,
with the rope, as they say, about our necks. We could do nothing but
put up supplications and appeal from the justice to the mercy of God,
by whom sentence of death seemed to have been issued upon us. It was,
however, only a sentence of warning; and He accepted our prayer for
the time, giving us hope that with His aid we might atone for our
transgressions. The efficacy of God's mercy we almost felt with our
hands on this occasion; for death appeared to be actually upon us,
making execution upon the lives of those who were there. We were
somewhat encouraged by the hope of reaching the land which was so
near to us; but we did not know what it was, and what we were to
expect from it. If we had known, we would have preferred to die in
the sea; for our sufferings in this way would have been less than
those which we underwent by reaching the land. We were like those
of whom Jeremiah speaks in his Lamentations, for whom it would have
been better to have the lot of those who died with the sword at one
stroke than of those whose lives were brought to an end by hunger;
for the latter died a prolonged and painful death, being destroyed
by the barrenness of the land. The barrenness of this coast was such
that it greatly exceeded that of which Jeremiah speaks. It was such
that no one would go to it, even to escape death, unless, like us,
he was not acquainted with it. Finally those waves which were on their
way to burst upon the shore pushed on the ship, which was practically
empty, and went along as if it had been a dry stick. This was a result
of the coming in of the tide, and when the tide ebbed afterwards,
we were left aground, a cannon-shot from the sea; and we saw in the
mud (of which all this coast is composed) the track of the ship like
a trench, for the force of the sea as it rose had pushed it along,
breaking a road in the very ground. On this same day the tide came in
again with such fury, because it was a spring-tide, that it carried
the ship up to the trees and even buffeted it about there with such
violence that we were obliged to disembark for fear of perishing
in it. When we were on shore, exploring parties went off in various
directions. After they had made an arduous march, they brought back
the news that it was a wilderness inhabited only by wild beasts,
without any trace of a river or a spring, at least near the coast;
and that the country within proved to be inaccessible because it was
overflowed and very thickly overgrown. This news made us feel that
the sea was less evil for us than such a land, and that the tortures
which we had endured were slight compared with those to which we were
exposed by this desired but unhappy landing. Since eating and drinking
are a necessary and a daily obligation, and as our supply of food
and drink was very small, while we were more than a hundred persons,
we put forth all our energies to search for some remedy. As thirst
was that from which we suffered most, we dug wells in the dryest
parts we found, and when we met water, it was more salty than that
of the sea. I declare, as one who has found out by experience, that
the very dew which appeared in the morning on the leaves of the wild
trees there, was salt. Hence since the land denied us the sustenance
which we required, we determined to return to the sea, which had at
least granted us our lives, and which now gave us greater hopes than
the land of being able to preserve them. For this it was necessary to
help ourselves by means of the unlucky ship which was stranded on the
shore, for it had remained there after the spring tide was over. It
had no masts, or sails, or rudder, or anything that could be used,
because between losing them and perishing there had been no choice. To
supply these, it was necessary to put our hands to the work, until
it was finished. The most necessary thing to be done to the ship was
to cut it down and fit it so that it would draw but little water, and
might be rowed along the coast. Our relief was to be sought on land,
but he who should find it had to seek for it by sea. We were not now
planning for conquests or embassies, but for getting water--for which
we would have given all that has been yielded by the hill of Potosi,
if it had been ours. We spent ten days in getting the ship ready. We
cast overboard all the upper works and a good part of the under
works. We fitted to it twelve oars. In this way it was like a badly
made galliot; rudder, masts, and sails we replaced by rowing. While
some of us were at this work, others went to explore the country,
doing their utmost in the search for water. Some of these came back
very joyful, with good news, saying that about four leguas up the
coast from there a great river ran up into the land; that where it
flowed into the sea the water was salt, but that it must be fresh
above. They also said that they had seen the footprints of men on the
shore. The work was hurried on in the hope of satisfying our thirst,
which was increased by it, and still more by the heat of that region;
for we were in the most torrid part of the torrid zone, and had
practically no defense or covering against the heat. The vessel,
being of so light a draught, was easily launched; and embarking in
it all that we had left of provisions and clothes, which was very
little, we put forth one evening and entered the bight of the river
of which we have spoken, reaching its mouth in the morning by hard
rowing. We entered it with great delight, which was increased by the
sight of a hut on the bank not far from the ocean. Though there was
no one in it, we promised ourselves large towns when we saw it, and
even assured ourselves of certain news of our companions, of whom as
yet we knew nothing, nor they of us. But within a few days we found
out the deceit and lost our joy in it. After going for three days up
the river, we constantly found the water salt like that of the sea,
whose arm it was, and not a river. Upon its banks on either side
there was nothing but impassable undergrowth. At last we reached a
point from which we could not go further up, because the seeming river
divided into so many little creeks that the ship had not room in any
of them. The change from the false hope of water and of towns, which
had possessed our minds, served to redouble our misery; since now, as
it seemed to us, we had lost the hope of relief by land or by sea. Our
necessity had now reached such an extreme that the food was distributed
by ounces, and the drink almost by drops--though the labor of rowing,
each man in his turn (from which no one was excused), was such as to
require much food; and the heat was so excessive that even if we had
been in idleness we should have needed much to drink. But at last,
having confidence in the Father of mercies--who, though He distresses,
does not overwhelm; and, though He chastises, does not slay--we
returned to the sea by which we had come. At sight of it we left the
vessel, in order to rest a little from the labor which we had endured
to attain that for which we were hoping; and I went on land with my
four Chinese (with whom I was very intimate), and had them build a
little boat of four planks--fastened together by some twigs, so to
speak, for we had no nails; and calked with clay, for we had no tow,
or any other thing better than the clay. This made a sort of canoe. If
awkwardly handled, it filled with water. But, such as it was, I had
two of the soldiers get into it--for if they kept close to shore they
would run no risk--and told them to go up to the hut that we had seen
to discover whether there were any people there; because perhaps they
had hidden themselves, from fear of our vessel, when they saw it on
the way up the river. They did so, and at nightfall they discovered
two grown Indians and a boy. They made their way up to them, little by
little; and when they got near them they found that they were asleep
on the shore, not expecting anything to happen to them. They caught
the Indians, and bound them. When the rest of us came by soon after
in our ship, they called out from the land, telling us what they had
done. Our joy was so great that to render thanks the holy old man
and I sang a Te Deum laudamus; and at this hour, which was midnight,
half a cuartillo [i.e., pint] of water was served out to the troops
in token of joy. The soldiers came on board with their captives,
treating them gently and showing them all sorts of kindness. It
seemed to us that God had sent them to us as angels to guide us,
as He sent St. Raphael to Tobias. We began to put questions to them
by an interpreter, asking what country this was, what population it
had; and where they had come from, and where they ate and drank. They
answered that they were from Camboxa, and that the country along this
coast, and inland for many leguas, was uninhabited; and that to go
to the towns we should have to enter a large river and to sail up
for eighty leguas. They said that large vessels went up the river,
and that it was many leguas to windward of this place. They declared
that they were natives of that country, slaves of one of its chief
lords; and that, because of the ill treatment which they had received,
they had fled from him, and had come hither where no man had ever
landed. They said that they ate nothing except shell-fish, which
they caught with their hands, and wild cocoanuts, that grew there;
and that they had no other water except what fell from heaven. When
it rained they caught what they could and kept it in some large reeds
to drink afterward. They said that two years had passed since they
had come there. The effect of such sad news upon the hearts of men
who had suffered as we had may easily be imagined. They also told
us that some days' journey further there was a port; but that, if
we meant to go inland, where the king was, it would be necessary to
leave the vessel at the port, because there was no river that entered
inland. Since our desire was only not to die of thirst, any means by
which we could get water seemed easy and light to us. We accordingly
set out by sea in search of this port, taking these Indians with us,
not with the purpose of increasing consumers when we had so little
to consume, but to have guides. We went along the coast, running
up to it very often wherever we thought we saw any signs of water,
and sometimes digging wells, but always in vain, for the land could
not give what it did not have. On the day of St. Matthew the Apostle,
we discovered a high island in the sea, named Pulonubi. [13] It was
about six leguas from land. We laid our course toward it in search
of water, thinking that doubtless it would have some, being high and
mountainous, and having a sandy shore; but as the equipment of the
ship was fastened on with pins, as the saying is, our rudder broke,
when we had gone out a legua to sea. Being buffeted by the slight sea
which was running, we had to return to land, and even to run aground,
in order to mend the rudder. The Lord seemed to have declared that He
intended to bring death upon us, because the sustenance necessary for
our life was entirely consumed; for since we had no water, we were
not only without drink, but also without food, our provision being
rice, which cannot be eaten unless it is boiled in water. For lack
of water, some ate it parched, which dried their entrails. Others
ate it imperfectly boiled in the steam of salt water, putting it
in a little basket over a pot of this water on the fire, so that by
the steam thus sent out it might be softened. The water was so salt
that it made the rice like itself, and left it uneatable. There were
some who, even after this fine example of cookery, drank sea-water,
which increased the thirst they were so impatiently desiring to
remedy. Others distilled it over the fire and got some fresh water,
but very little, at the expense of much wood and with the necessity
of keeping up fire day and night, which dried them more than the
water that they got moistened them. All this taught us the great need
in which we live, with our life on a thread, and the Lord many times
threatening to cut it short. When we had mended the rudder as well as
we could at the time, we went on up the coast, being disillusioned,
so that we would not have thought of going out to sea even if the
ocean had been as smooth as milk. Three days later, the twenty-seventh
of February, which was Shrove Tuesday, we took our hands from the
oars and placed ourselves in those of God, despairing of life. The
remedy came to us as from God's own hand without our expecting it,
when we were overcome by labor, and dying of hunger and thirst, and
had given up ourselves to death. Thus it is most certain that the Lord
comes to the aid of him who calls upon Him when all things created
fail him--blessed be God's holy name. We had reached such an extremity
that of that sorry ration of water which we had now had about a month,
and which was less than half a cuartillo daily for each person, there
was only enough for two days. We were not now thinking of making
any effort to find any, but had our minds wholly turned to preparing
ourselves for death, when the Lord of life ordained that the waves
of the sea should drive us into a little inlet which the land formed
there, where we went on shore with the intention of never leaving the
place, but of ending in it our voyage and our lives. It happened that
one of the Indians in the ship went to bathe in the water, to relieve
the great heat from which he suffered, and somewhat to moderate the
thirst which was destroying us. He swam to land, and there right on the
shore (which was muddy, like all of that along which we had coasted),
his feet sank in at the foot of a wild palm-tree. Feeling that they
had gone into water, he drew them out, applied his lips to the hole
which he had made, and found that the water was fresh. The thirst
from which he suffered not permitting him to wait until it settled,
he drank mud and water until he was satisfied. He shouted to us to
tell us what he had discovered, but no one believed him. At last,
the Indian persisting in his affirmation, all hurried to the water
to look upon this marvel, which might be compared to that which God
performed in drawing water from a rock that His people might drink in
the desert; for no less miraculous appeared to us this fresh water
in a marsh so near the ocean. We gave God a thousand thanks, and
rejoicing in the feast, we forgot the labor and the fasting which
we had undergone in the long vigil. We easily dug a well, for the
whole soil was muddy, and on the next morning we filled all our casks
with the water, which had now settled. We set sail to look for food,
and even aspired to greater things. [In a few days we reached the
port, where there was a garrison of Indians against their neighbors,
the Siamese. All the news which we obtained about our comrades, and
about the country to which we had come, was bad. The flagship had
not been heard of, and the other ship was at Churdumuco, which is a
large town eight leguas from the port and eighty from the sea. [14]
We were told that the king who had sent for us from Manila, and
whose name was Langara, was not in the country; but that his place
in the kingdom had been taken by his chief vassal, because of the
following circumstances. The king of Sian had made war against the
king of Camboja, with eight hundred thousand men. This number should
not astonish anyone, because the kings could make war almost at no
expense, their vassals providing their own arms and food. The king
of Camboja did not dare to wait for so great a multitude of enemies,
and retreated up the river to another kingdom known as that of the
Laos. The king of Siam made himself master of the country, and after
burning it all returned to his own country, being harassed by hunger,
which made more war upon him than did the king his enemy. The army
being in disorder, one of the chiefs of Camboja, with those who had
retreated to the mountains (about thirty thousand men), attacked
his rearguard, thus obliging him to hasten his retreat. This chief,
having conquered him who had conquered his king, took possession of
the kingdom. The new king regarded those who had come at the request
of the previous king as allies of his enemy, and therefore as his own
enemies. This news alarmed us greatly, as we were without our comrades,
our commander-in-chief, and our ships. However, being obliged to
disembark, and to put ourselves into the hands of the rulers of the
country, we made an honest man of the thief, as the proverb goes,
and decided to send a soldier to him as an ambassador--offering to
him our aid and service, on the ground that we had come to help the
king of this country, and found no other king in it but him. The king
received him kindly, saying that he only held the kingdom as a regent,
and that he was ready to restore it to the lawful king when he should
return. He sent an order to the mandarin of the coast where we were,
to provide us with boats and carts. The soldier on his return met the
Spaniards of the other ship, and learned from them that all that the
king had said was false and that his purpose was to kill us at his
ease. They advised us to join them in their ship, dissimulating in
regard to our affairs, and keeping on our guard. The father provincial
sent me ahead to confess those in the ship, because it was Lent,
and they had sent to him to ask for a confessor. I was on foot and
suffered much, although some things that I saw on the journey afforded
me some alleviation of these hardships. I one day reached a village
where there was a monastery of religious of their sort, of whom there
are many in this kingdom. I went to it and talked to a venerable old
man, who was as it were the superior of it. He was seated on a little
platform about a palm's breadth in height, with a small mat on it,
and the others sat on the ground. Without saying anything, I sat down
next to the old man--at which they smiled, thinking that I had done
so because I did not understand the custom of the country, which did
not permit that. We both showed each other much courtesy by signs,
and I by using some words of their language which I knew, although,
because I did not put them together properly, they laughed much. They
gave me a collation of some fruits; and the sacristan immediately took
me to his temple, which was at some distance from the house. It had a
sort of cemetery about it, surrounded by some slightly raised stones
which divided it from the rest. The door to the temple was small, and
the temple itself was arched, round, and small. (Here follows a full
account of the appearance of the temple. Some description of their
prayers and of their religious customs is also given. Aduarte states,
upon the authority of the Portuguese religious, that these native monks
are vicious and licentious in the extreme.) I finally reached the ship
of our people, and on both sides we told each other what had happened.]
CHAPTER XLVII
The wars which followed in the prosecution of this embassy
[By the sufferings and danger which we had passed through, the Lord
had prepared us to endure those which were to follow. To protect the
ship, some of the men had encamped on a little sand island in the
middle of the river. On one bank was the town (i.e., Chordamuco)
of the natives, near which there were about two thousand Chinese,
some settled here, others who had recently come from China as traders,
with their merchandise, in five large vessels, which they kept in the
river near the town. They had controlled the natives, and resented
the coming of the Spaniards, thinking that the latter had come to
disturb or take away the superiority which they had. So they sought
for an opportunity to quarrel with them, seeing that the Spaniards
were few and that they were many. Whenever the men on the ship went to
buy food on land, the Chinese tried their patience by annoying them
without any reason. By orders of the captain, Blas Ruyz de Fernan
Goncalez, they endured this annoyance, though sorely against their
will. The captain sent a message to the king asking him to bring the
Chinese to order. The king spoke fair words, but did nothing. Finally,
the anger of our men got beyond their control. On the Sunday after
Easter, when all had received communion, three or four were in the
town with the captain's permission. One of them came back with his
sword drawn, saying that the Chinese had chased and abused them, and
that they had not dared to violate the captain's orders. The troops
armed themselves, and, breaking away from all restraints, went to take
vengeance on the Chinese. I went along to calm the Chinese, if I could,
by speaking to them in their language, which I understood. They were
all armed with their catanas (a sort of hanger), and languinatas, or
long knives drawn to a point. I dared not put myself in their hands,
because I was told that they would be better pleased to get me than
anyone else. Soon after, sixty of our men in two companies, with some
of our Japanese and Indians, came ashore and instantly attacked the
Chinese. As our bullets took effect at such a distance that the latter
could not attack our troops hand to hand, the Chinese were routed;
and our men followed, killing them, until they had driven them out of
the town. The natives of the country took no part in the conflict on
either side. I saved as many lives as I could. The soldiers, seeing
themselves masters of the field, pursued the Chinese to their ships,
into which the Spaniards were able to shoot from the high banks. In
this way they soon got control of the ships, which was necessary,
because with these large ships they would easily have overcome our
smaller vessel, and thus all hope to escape from the anger of the
king would have been taken away from us. The king [15] was in great
wrath. To send a message to him, and to carry a statement of the
case, the father provincial, Fray Alonso Ximenez, was chosen. He
went accompanied by half of the forces, the rest of us remaining in
the ships. Several days were passed in sending messages backwards and
forwards, but the king would not receive the ambassadors in person. It
was plain that the king was planning to take all our lives. The demands
which he made would have put us entirely in his power; and, when the
father provincial asked permission to return and discuss them with the
rest of the forces, the king refused permission for anyone to return
except the father provincial alone. The intention of the king was to
wait for a rainy day, so that our powder should be moistened and we
be unable to use our arquebuses. When the father provincial came back,
he asked me if I would venture to go to the camp, confess the soldiers
and encourage them, and carry to the king our response declining to
follow his wishes. When I reached the forces near the palace of the
king, we did not consider the question of taking any answer to him,
but discussed two plans of escape. One was to withdraw in good order,
defending ourselves on the way; the other to attack the palace of
the king by night and strive to capture him, his son, or his wife,
whom we might use as hostages. Captain Diego Velloso declared that
if we should attack these Indians boldly they would retreat to the
mountains, and leave the field to us; but that if we should retreat
they would all attack us. He had had experience in this part of the
world, and what he said was confirmed by others, so that his plan was
accepted. That night I confessed the men and told them what under the
circumstances it was lawful for them to do, enjoining them to commit no
unnecessary violence, and to take no lives except in self-defense. The
attack was planned carefully, the troops being divided into a front
and a rear guard, and some of the soldiers being left with a barge
in the river near where we were encamped, with orders to capture
two Indian boats as soon as they should hear the noise of conflict,
so that we could make use of them in our retreat. I should have been
glad to remain with the barge in order to avoid being present at
the conflict, which promised to be sanguinary.] However, it seemed
necessary for me to accompany the rest, and, armed as they were,
and wearing no part of my habit except my scapular, I accompanied the
troops who advanced against the palace. We were immediately detected,
but succeeded in reaching the royal dwelling--which was built of wood,
like the other houses in the town, but was very large. We broke in
the doors, but the people all escaped through other doors; and thus,
though we gained control of the palace, it was empty and we had failed
in our purpose. I restrained the troops from burning the palace;
but we lighted some bonfires, so that we might see each other. One
of these saved my life, for as an Indian on an elephant was charging
upon me and was already very close to me, so that I looked around
at hearing the noise, the beast fled in alarm, being scared away
by the fire. The Indians were not frightened by our daring, as we
had falsely imagined that they would be, but gathered in a large
square near the palace to face us. Everything, however, was noise
and confusion among them, surprised as they were, and there was no
less among us; for the number of our opponents was so much greater
than theirs that, if darkness had not protected us, they could have
buried us in handfuls of sand. [Like Joshua, I would have held back
the dawn if I could. At daylight we were all in disorder. When the
Indians could distinguish us from themselves and saw how few we were,
they began to rain arrows upon us, several being wounded, Captain
Diego Velloso having one leg pinned to another, so that he could not
walk. Our troops were in entire confusion, some calling out that we
ought to come to an understanding with the Indians, others finding
fault with the plan that we had followed, until God was pleased to
give me courage that I might give courage to the others, and I took
upon myself the office of captain. Our last day, as we expected it
to be, was bright and clear. A body of courageous Indians charged
down the street at us, and their captain almost reached our line. I
confess that I wished to leap out upon him, not that I might kill him,
but that I might be the first to die, and not see the carnage which
I feared--or the worse than carnage, if we were taken alive. But
wisdom ruled me, and I ordered Captain Blas Ruiz to attack him with
his halberd; with one blow he thrust the Indian through, shield and
body. The death of their captain somewhat abated the courage of the
rest. God was pleased that one of our bullets should strike the king,
who was in the rear, unseen by us, animating his troops. We did not
learn of this for some days afterward, but we could see that the
Indians attacked us with less ardor. The Indians cut off our retreat
to the barge, and we were obliged to leave the soldiers who were with
it and to make our way, back by the road. As we marched along, we were
obliged to defend ourselves on all sides, and especially against the
crowd of Indians which followed in our rear. We could go but slowly,
burdened as we were with our arms, and being obliged to carry our
wounded.] Two arrows struck but did not wound me, one being caught by
a coat of mail which I wore, and the other by my shield. We suffered
greatly from hunger and thirst. When we came to some puddles with
rain-water in them (which was more mud than water), all drank of them,
and when I came there, though I was one of the last, I did the same;
and though the best had already been drunk, and the rest was mixed
with mud, it tasted better to me than any water that I ever drank in
my life. Under all these circumstances, we marched on this day, which
was the twelfth of May, four leguas by four o'clock in the afternoon,
[when we were obliged to halt because we had reached the bank of a
river. The Indians and we ourselves supposed that we should never
be able to cross. Here some of our men urged that we ought to give
ourselves up to the Indians as slaves for life; others declared that
we ought to attack them, and force them to kill us. At nightfall, rain
began; and the Indians, supposing that our powder would be moistened,
prepared to attack us. I passed along the line, confessing some and
encouraging all, though I must admit I was in great fear myself lest
before midnight we should be cut into bits, that each one of our
enemy might have his piece, as is the custom of Indians when they
are victorious. The storm ceased before they dared to attack, but
the river was still before us. There were two fords, one narrow and
deep; the other, wide and shallow, and at about ten o'clock at night I
decided that we ought to make the venture, and learn whether we were
to live or die. We chose the longer and shallower ford, marching as
quietly as we could, and leaving behind us a number of burning bits
of the matches that we used for firing our guns, tied on the bushes,
in order to make the Indians suppose that there was a large number
of troops there. Our retreat was covered by six courageous men with
two arquebuses each. When we entered the river, our vanguard, which
was already in the middle, began to retreat upon us, fearing the
people who were on the other bank, and their elephants, which they
said they were driving into the water. I succeeded in reanimating
them, and they fired a volley from the middle of the stream, where
the water reached the beards of many of them. The enemy fled, and
our passage was impeded only by the difficulty of dragging ourselves
through the mud. We marched on for the rest of the night very slowly,
with our clothes sticking to our bodies. On the morrow we found
some fruit-trees and broke our fast of two nights and one day. We
had great difficulty in carrying our wounded. One of the men being
left behind by all, I had to carry him myself with his arms over my
shoulders, for he was taller than I, until, after his wound began to
grow feverish, he was able to walk a little himself. Not long before
sunrise we reached the great river in which the ships were, but at a
distance of two leguas from us. We put three of the wounded who were
the hardest to carry into a little boat there, and ordered them to
row down the river and carry the news of what had happened, and to
direct the others to bring the ship near the bank where we were. In
the meantime we cut some trees and made a breastwork; and when the
Indians (who are not accustomed to attack by night) prepared to make
their last rush and overwhelm us, our ship came up and, approaching
the bank as closely as possible, played on the Indians with some
artillery, and fired at them with arquebuses. Under this protection
we succeeded in getting to the ship, being carried in two boat-loads.]
CHAPTER XLVIII
Our departure from the kingdom and the events which happened during
our return to Manila
[On the same day on which we reached the ships, Captain Juan Xuarez
Gallinato arrived. He was told of our experience with the Chinese
and with the Cambodians, and of the good-will displayed in this
kingdom for its conversion, and also for the temporal ends proposed
in the service of his Majesty. Captain Gallinato showed that he
disbelieved much of what was told him, and that what he did believe
impressed him badly. In spite of all that was done to persuade him
to wait a few days, he was resolved to depart immediately; so we
sailed to Cochinchina for provisions. Here we were at first very
well received. Then Gallinato sent Captain Gregorio de Vargas as
ambassador to visit the king, and to ask him for the royal standard,
the galley, and the artillery, and the other things which had been
carried to that kingdom by the traitors who murdered Governor Gomez
Perez das Mariñas. The king took this demand so ill that he tried
to kill the ambassador, who barely escaped with his life. The king,
partly because of his rage, and partly from fear that the news of his
treatment of the ambassador would be carried back by the Spaniards,
sent two fleets and a large land force to destroy us. We here got
news of the death of the tyrant who had ruled over the kingdom of
Camboja and of the plan of a number of loyal chiefs to reinstate the
lawful king with the assistance of the Spaniards, to whom they meant
to offer great rewards. The Spanish ships were just putting out to
sea when the Indians reached the shore with the purpose of giving
them this invitation. It was known that the kingdom of the Laos
(to which the king of Camboja had withdrawn) was very near that of
Cochinchina; and Captains Blas Ruyz and Diego Velloso asked permission
to go by land and find the king. Gallinato permitted them to do so,
and I accompanied them to the city of Sinoa, where a son of the king
acted as viceroy. Some Augustinian friars who were in that country
begged father Fray Alonso Ximenez to go with them and celebrate the
feast of St. Augustine. During his absence, the rumor that the Indians
intended to murder us treacherously kept increasing; so that we all
went aboard, in order to be able to defend ourselves better. The time
for sailing to Manila had come, of which we had to take advantage
without waiting for either father Fray Alonso or the captain, because
we should otherwise have been obliged to winter there. On the third
of September, a multitude of people suddenly appeared on the hills,
and a fleet came sailing up into the cove where we were. There were
many galleys and small boats, and among them there were fifteen larger
two-masted vessels, fastened together three by three, with no one on
them but a steersman. These were loaded with wood and fagots, to set
fire to us; while, if we took refuge in the water, the people in the
small boats were ready to receive us. The men on the hills began to
shoot at us with their arquebuses, which they used skilfully, aiming
well, though they were slow in taking aim. The bullets, however,
fell short. Our two smaller vessels set sail, and by the aid of a
light breeze moved out into the middle of the bay. The ship in which
I was was larger; and, though we tried to do as the other boats did,
the wind was too light for us, and the fire-boats came upon us and
gave us a great deal of trouble. They came so near that from the top
of our poop we could see the steersmen, some of whom our men shot,
while others took refuge in some little boats which they towed. When
the fire-boats were left without anyone to steer them, they followed
the current of the water, and left us in peace. At this point father
Fray Alonso Ximenez reached the shore. They took off his habit and
dragged him, with nothing on but his breeches, before the viceroy,
who had come as general of this enterprise. He told him to put on his
habit again, and talked of his ransom; but our captain was so angry
at their treachery that he sent back a very wrathful answer. Thus
father Fray Alonso Ximenez was left a prisoner, but was not ill
treated. He received permission to live with the Augustinian fathers,
and at last was permitted to go to Macan without being obliged to pay
a ransom. From there he came back to this country at the end of a year
and a half. On the next day we set sail for Manila. There are shoals in
the midst of this gulf running for eighty leguas directly across the
straight course for Manila; and to pass these shoals it was necessary
to round one of the two ends of the chain--one in latitude nine, the
other in latitude seventeen. The latter being nearer the direct line,
we governed our course by it; and the flagship, sailing well against
the wind, rounded it. The vessel in which I was, being a poor sailer,
went by the other end, but got out of its course. We were becalmed
one night, so near the coast of the Philippinas that the people were
already beginning to prepare their clothes for going on shore. In the
morning we found ourselves in the midst of reefs which were not on
the charts. To make our way out from them, we were obliged to sail
back on our course; and after we had made our way out the wind was
against us, and we were obliged to sail toward the country which we
had left. We decided to land at Malaca, that we might at least escape
with our persons, for we cared little for anything else.] We reached
an island named Pulotimon, [16] which is forty leguas from Malaca. The
Indians here told us that there were some pirates in that sea; that
they were anchored about five leguas off, and that we should have
to pass them. This news greatly disquieted us, because our vessel
did not sail well or answer the helm well, which is the worst thing
that can be in a sea-fight. But it was not possible to escape this
danger, because there was greater danger in every other direction
where we wished to go. So we continued our voyage and met with the
pirates, as they had told us. They had five ships, four of them small,
and one of them large, strong, and well equipped, and provided with
nettings. On these boats there were many little flags, which, we were
told, were tokens of the prizes that they had taken. They were of a
tribe called China-patan, descendants of Chinese who have colonized
the kingdom of Patan. They had learned this business [of piracy],
because it is easier than others; and they had now sailed out to
practice it. That we might not show fear, but might excite fear in
them, we passed close to their ships, with our flag flying and our
drum beating. They failed to see that our invitation was feigned,
accepted it, and, weighing their anchors, followed us all night, giving
us chase till morning. The small vessels surrounded us, and with the
large one attacked us. Their arms at close quarters were pikes and
javelins with points hardened in the fire [tostadas]. The arms which
they used at a distance were culverins and arquebuses. In using our
arquebuses we did not waste a bullet, for there were many on whom to
employ them. [We were alarmed by the explosion of a keg of powder, but
fortunately only one man was killed. I was standing alone on the poop,
watching for the result of the fight; and at first the enemy did not
notice me, since the waist was full of their pikemen. At last, one of
them perceived me and flung a pike at me, giving me a wound of three
dedos in depth. I descended from the poop; but, before I reached the
deck, one of the fire-hardened lances struck me in the right jaw,
leaving its point and innumerable splinters in the flesh. With my
two hands upon my two wounds I went to confess some wounded men
who were in danger. At last when the enemies saw that their prize
cost them much, they left us and went away without our being able to
follow them, because our vessel was so unfit. We afterward learned in
Malaca that out of two hundred pirates (which was their total number)
more than half had been killed. Most of us were wounded, and two or
three died--besides two others, who were shot by accident by their
own friends. After we had escaped this danger we came, two days later,
upon a surprise which was equally great. In the strait of Sincapura,
by which we were obliged to pass, we found a fleet of eighty large
galleys, with heavy artillery amidships and along the sides. This
was the fleet of the king of Achen, who was going to do what injury
he could to the king of Jor [i.e., Johor] to whom belongs the country
of that strait. The latter had sixteen galleys for its defense, which
were in the mouths of the rivers to prevent his enemy from entering
them. Malaca is between these two kingdoms. There was at that time an
agreement that neither of these kings should be assisted with men,
but only with provisions and ammunition, one side receiving the
one and the other the other, but neither receiving both. We passed
ourselves off to them as Portuguese; and when they called upon us to
enter their galleys we excused ourselves, because of the aforesaid
agreement, and went on in peace to Malaca. I went to our convent,
where the religious were surprised at my coming, partly because it
was the middle of November, when they did not expect a vessel from
any direction, and partly because they saw me in so coarse a habit,
very different from that which they wore. Besides that, I was very
dirty and very lean, and had my body and face all bound up because
of my wounds. Although my appearance was so strange, they were so
discreet (or I had better say so charitable) that, without asking any
questions they arranged to take care of me, called in the surgeon,
and brought me underwear and a habit after their fashion. After I
was cared for and clothed, they asked me whence I came and how I had
been brought there. I was charmed with the kindness which they had
shown me, and told of my wanderings and of the sufferings which I had
endured, by which they were greatly astonished. I remained there for
six months. My cure took three months, and from the wound in my face
every day two or three splinters were discharged, some larger and
others smaller, until at least a hundred had come out. Though the
wound closed, two remained within, which came out two years later,
two dedos below the wound. I was much inconvenienced during those
three months, because I could only open my mouth a little way; and
hence it was very painful for me to eat until, by exercise, my jaw
came back to its former usefulness. Of the soldiers who came with me,
some went to India and twelve to Camboxa, supposing that the rightful
king was now probably there. They found on the throne his son,
who with a great army given him by the king of the Laos, and with
the captains of whom I have spoken, had returned to his kingdom of
Camboxa and pacified it. Here they remained for a considerable time,
though they were disappointed in everything. I and the others returned
to Manila. The voyage is one of five hundred leguas, and it took us
fifty days because of the many calms.] One calm night, when there
was no one at the helm, the binnacle, or three-wicked candle which
lights up the compass, fell down from the quarterdeck; and the flame
instantly burst out through a hatchway which was over it, frightening
all of us--for there is nothing more dreadful at sea than fire, for
everything in a ship is like tinder. In this ship, although it was
small, there were more than three hundred slaves, men and women. All of
them raised their cries to heaven. The captain, whose duty it was to
encourage them, immediately fell on his knees to make his confession,
as if things had already gone beyond remedy, but I pushed him away a
pace and a half, saying that it was not time for that yet, and that
he ought to look out for the fire first. I am almost certain that if
he had been permitted to confess to me we should all have burned to
death, because, however little our safety might have been delayed
by confessions, there would have been no remedy afterwards. We put
all the clothes there were there into the water, to soak them, and
then threw them down the hatchway, one on top of another. In this way
God was pleased that the fire should be put out; and we were left as
much amazed by this sudden and dangerous accident as people are who
are waked out of their sleep by a beam of light falling on them. We
at last reached Manila by St. John's day at the end of a year and a
half of this tedious and painful journeying. Soon after, father Fray
Alonso Ximenez arrived by way of Macan from Cochinchina, where he had
remained a prisoner. After all our hardships, afflictions, dangers,
and wounds, we brought back no other fruit but that of having suffered
for the gospel. Our only intention was to go to preach in that kingdom,
having been invited by its king, and influenced by his promises to that
end. These were great, though he was unable to fulfil them, since he
had been despoiled of his kingdom when we reached it, as has been said.
CHAPTER XLIX
The election as provincial of father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Catharina
or Navarro, and the churches which were incorporated in the province
On the fifteenth of June, 1596, the fathers assembled in the convent
of Manila to elect a provincial, because father Fray Alonso Ximenez
had finished his term. The definitors (who, as they afterward were
to confirm the provincial, were elected first) were: father Fray
Diego de Soria, second time prior of the said convent; father Fray
Bartholome de Nieva, a religious of very superior virtue, as will be
narrated in due time; father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas, or Ormaca;
and father Fray Juan Garcia--all persons of conspicuous devotion to
their religious duties, and of noble example. Several times they
cast votes for the provincial without result. Because there were
many who deserved the office, and because the votes were divided
among them, no one had the number necessary for election. Those who
had the largest number of votes were father Fray Diego de Soria and
father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas. These same persons endeavored to
persuade everyone to vote for father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Catharina,
who was accordingly elected. The election was a very satisfactory
one, for, in addition to being a very holy man, he was very wise
and learned, and most devoted to the ministry and preaching of the
holy gospel--in which, and in patience, and in the endurance of the
most severe hardships which befell him for this cause, no one ever
surpassed him, and he surpassed many. During his time he had seen
the province greatly favored by the Lord, by a very great spread of
the Christian faith among the Indians who were under his care. Many
of them in the villages where there were religious were baptized;
and, where there were no religious, they were desirous and eager
to receive baptism. Accordingly, at this chapter not only were new
churches admitted which had been built in the towns where there were
already religious--as, among the Chinese, the church of San Gabriel
at Minondoc; and, in Bataan, the church in the village of Samal,
besides others--but it also seemed good to admit heathen villages,
although they had no religious, and there were none in the province so
that teachers could be provided for them. Yet in this way they strove
to comfort those who asked and desired them, and raised in them the
hope that in this way they would receive religious when they came from
España. Thus were received the church of San Vicente of the village
of Buguey, afterward called Sancta Anna; Sancta Catarina of Nasiping,
afterward called San Miguel; and others like them--to which, in the
course of time, religious were sent when they came to the islands.
Soon after this provincial chapter had come to an end, another
shipload of religious arrived from España. They had been gathered
with great care and diligence by the new bishop of Nueva Segovia,
Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, whose new dignity had not sufficed to
diminish the love which he felt for his associates. He gave to this
matter more than ordinary attention, because he knew how greatly
needed were good workmen to aid in the great harvest which the Lord
had placed in their hands, ready to be gathered by the means of
baptism into this church militant, that the faithful might pass from
it to the church triumphant. The Indians themselves asked to have
preachers sent to their villages, and were grieved that these could
not be given to them. This not a little afflicted the religious, who
desired to satisfy them by the fulfilment of their just desires, but
were unable to do so on account of their own small number--too small
even for that which they had undertaken, and much more to go to the
aid of new regions. Besides this, the careful bishop was influenced
by the need of his own sheep; for nearly everything to which we
ministered fell within the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, which was
under his direction. Accordingly, taking advantage of his authority
as a bishop, and of the reputation which he had as a learned and holy
religious, he gathered the second shipload, and afterward the third
(with which he came). Father Fray Pedro de Ledesma [17] happened
to be in Castilla when the shipload which the good bishop sent was
about to sail. His presence was very convenient for his superior,
because he was an old and venerable father who had been many years
in the Indias in the very religious province of Guatimala, and who
therefore knew what was needed for the voyage. He was also of a very
gentle disposition, which is of great importance for such purposes
as his. The bishop laid upon this father the charge of conducting
the religious who had been gathered for this province; and he, being
inclined to all good, readily accepted the office, although he knew
that it was a very troublesome one. It not only required him to go
on business to the office of accounts--and, to him who knows what
that is, it is not necessary to say anything more--but he had also
to keep in contentment many religious who, as it was the first time
when they were at sea, were seasick, miserable, and very much in need
of someone to comfort them, bear with them, and encourage them. For
all this father Fray Pedro was very well suited, and conducted them
as comfortably as possible through the two long voyages which have
to be made on the way from España here. He did not shrink from the
great labor which this duty brought with it, that he might serve the
Lord, and aid in the preaching of His gospel and in the conversion of
these heathen. They arrived in the month of July in this year of 1596,
and were received with great joy; and with them those missions which
were in need of religious were strengthened.
Captains Blas Ruiz de Fernan Goncalez and Diego Velloso, who (as
has been stated in the preceding chapter) went from Cochinchina to
the kingdom of the Laos to look for the king of Camboja, met with
success. They found his son (for the king was already dead), and
told him all that the Spaniards had already done to help him, and how
they had slain the tyrant who had undertaken to establish himself in
the kingdom and had usurped it. They told him that they had come to
seek him that they might put him in quiet possession of his kingdom,
and other things of this kind, and roused his courage so that he put
himself in their hands. Depending upon them, he returned to Camboja
with a tolerably large army, which the king of the Laos gave him; and
the Spaniards fulfilled their word and established him in his royal
throne and palace, causing the largest and best part of the kingdom
to be obedient to him. The king in reward of services so faithful
and useful gave them lands and vassals in his kingdom. To Blas Ruiz
he gave the province of Tran; to Diego Velloso that of Bapano, with
titles very honorable in this kingdom. The two captains in their
new favor did not forget God, to whom they had so especial reasons
to be thankful; or their natural king and lord, from whom also they
had received rewards. They informed the king of Camboja of the great
good that it would be to his kingdom to know and reverence God by
entering into His service through holy baptism, and to have the king
of España for his friend. For the first purpose, father Fray Alonso
Ximenez and myself were proposed. They urged the great devotion,
virtue, and prudence of the holy old man, and the many sufferings
which we had both undergone from favoring the king's own cause; and
they said that, if he sent to call us back, we would very readily
come to preach the holy gospel. As for the second purpose they said
that he ought to send an embassy to the governor of Manila; and, as
a sign of the beginning of this friendship, that he ought to ask for
some soldiers, by whose aid he might easily complete the pacification
of his country. The king assented to all this, and sent his embassy
with letters to the governor, telling him that his principal reason
for asking for soldiers was that his vassals might be baptized with
greater certainty and less difficulty. To father Fray Alonso Ximenez
he wrote another letter, in the language and characters which those
people use, and sealed with his royal seal, of a red color. In the
Castilian language its tenor was as follows: ["Prauncar, king of
Camboja, to father Fray Alonso Ximenez of the Order of St. Dominic:
Greeting. From what I have heard from the captain Chofa Don Blas
Ruiz of Castilla, and from the captain Chofa Don Diego of Portugal,
with regard to the conduct of father Fray Alonso Ximenez when the
Spaniards slew Anacaparan, I have conceived a great affection for
father Fray Alonso Ximenez. Now that I am in my kingdom I beg father
Fray Alonso Ximenez to come to it, and to bring with him father Fray
Diego. I promise to build them churches and convents, and to give
permission to all in my kingdom to become Christians. Though I have
shown the two chofas [18] great favor and wish to keep them in my
kingdom, they are unwilling to stay, because there are no religious
here." The two captains wrote in the same strain to the fathers,
begging them to come and reunite this kingdom with the Church.
The governor of Manila saw how much could be done for the service of
the king by sending the soldiers for whom the king of Camboja asked;
but they were in such need of men and money that they could not well
meet his desires. For this reason, a knight of the Habit of Calatraba
who had been governor of these islands, by name Don Luis Perez das
Mariñas, promised to pay the expenses of the expedition from his own
fortune. The enterprise thus being made possible, we two religious
of the order for whom the king of Camboja asked were obliged to go;
and with us some religious of the Order of St. Francis, who were
much beloved by Don Luis. There were equipped for the expedition two
vessels of Spanish build, of moderate tonnage, and a galleot. The
preparations were made (as preparations usually are made by the
hand of servants of the king) slowly and faultily, as was seen by
the results. We did not set out for some months, and our ships were
so badly equipped and so weak that they began to leak as soon as the
voyage began--a forewarning of the evils that we afterwards suffered,
in which the poor knight Don Luis was disappointed, while all of us
who accompanied him paid for the inadequacy of the preparation. [19]
Since we were so late, the pilots decided to follow the course by
the gulf of Haynau to go round the shoals by the end in latitude
seventeen, because in that way the wind would be favorable; while if
they rounded the end in latitude nine, which was the regular course,
the wind would be adverse. They left Manila September 17 [1598], with
one hundred and fifty soldiers and sailors. In the flagship Don Luis,
who went as commander, took with him father Fray Alonso Ximenez and
the two Franciscan fathers. He directed me to go in the ship of the
second in command, [20] giving that officer orders to govern himself
by my advice. Within six days the vessels were scattered in the storm
and were all lost, no one knowing anything of the rest, and each one
supposing that the others were continuing their voyage in safety. The
galleot met with the best fortune, for, although damaged, it reached a
friendly port, was repaired, and continued its journey. The flagship
was obliged to cut away the mainmast, and sailing under its foresail,
ran aground in China on the eve of St. Francis. All who were on board
had to save themselves by swimming, and lost even their clothes. In
the ship of the second in command, in which I was, the mainmast broke
close to the deck, fortunately falling over the side so as not to
injure the vessel or to kill any of the men. The mizzenmast, being
badly wedged, began to topple, and had to be cut away. We sailed
on under the foresail, hoping to reach a port. But the fury of the
tempest and the force of the waves were such as to break the gudgeons
of the rudder. Some of our men flung themselves into the sea after
it and brought it back, but it was lost again; and we steered the
vessel with two long spars fastened to the side of the boat with a
cable. The ship was so strained that the boards on the sides began to
play up and down like organ-keys; but we threw cables about her, and
drew them taut with arquebuses. Then the bow began to work loose, from
the weight of the foremast and bowsprit, and we were forced to bind it
firmly with cables to the poop. All that we could do against the storm
and the wind was like the strength of a child exerted to restrain the
fury of a mad bull. In fear of another storm, we took refuge upon an
island which we encountered, one of the group called the Babuyanes. We
found a harbor, ran the bow ashore, and dropped two anchors from the
poop. We put the ammunition and the provisions that we had on shore;
and had hardly begun to dry our clothes, on the eve of St. Francis,
when the storm broke upon us with such violence that it seemed to me to
try to swallow us. The ship was broken in pieces; but the keel, and the
artillery which was carried as ballast, being too heavy for the deck,
were buried in the sand. We protected ourselves from the storm--which
lasted two days, and was one of both wind and rain--in some huts, which
we built on the beach of branches.] After the storm was over we dug up
the artillery, which consisted of four medium-sized cannon, mounted,
and set them up in a little fort which we made of logs, because there
were many Indians on the islands, and we did not know whether they
were friends or enemies. In a short time many of them appeared in a
troop on the shore, with their weapons. These consisted of two lances,
one for hurling, and the other large like a pike, with iron points;
both were made of ebony, of which there is much here. For defensive
armor they had sheets of the bark of trees, resembling cork. We sent
to them a man as a hostage and mark of peace, and they made signs to
him from a distance to put down his arms. He laid them at one side
and went to the Indians; and then they sent to us one of their own
number, whom we treated kindly, and after giving him some trinkets,
sent him back to his comrades; agreeing with him that they should
bring us provisions at a just price. They did this for two days,
although very scantily; and on the third day they broke the peace
by killing one of our Japanese, and badly wounding another who had
come in our company. He came back with his arm pierced, and with a
wound a span long above the pit of his stomach, but not entering it;
but he was very well satisfied because, by throwing himself forward
by the pike, he had killed the Indian who had wounded him--so proud
is that race. Now that our supplies were cut off, we were obliged,
since food is necessary, to take it by force, where we could find it,
since they would not sell it willingly; so for several mornings a
troop of our Indians went out under escort of our soldiers, gathered
what they could from the fields, and brought it back as food for
all. At one time when they were engaged in this, they thought that
they had discovered a great treasure; for they found some jars of
moderate size covered by others of similar size. Inside they found
some dead bodies dried, and nothing else. In that shipwreck we had
had the good luck to bring the boat ashore, and thus to save it. This
we intended to make use of by sending it to ask for aid from Nueva
Segovia, which was only twenty leguas distant. In order to do this,
it was necessary to lengthen the keel a braza, and to raise the sides
about half a vara. Both these things were done, though there was no
one among us who understood more carpentry than that best teacher,
Necessity, had taught them. We all thought that it was best that the
pilot and two men and I should go in it, because they believed that,
if I went, more effectual aid would be sent. We did so, and then,
when we sailed around the island we gave thanks to the Lord for His
kindness in having brought us to this little bay; for on any of the
other sides of the island we should certainly have been drowned in
the ocean, or, if any of us had escaped, should have perished at
the hands of the Indians. The Lord gave us a favorable wind, which
was needed by our tiny boat in that rough ocean, and we reached the
river of Nueva Segovia, which is very large; the distance from the
mouth to the city is three leguas. The alcalde-mayor immediately set
about the rescue, appropriated two fragatas, and had them prepared
to go to our people who were in the islands. At the same time I wrote
to Manila to the agents of Don Luys to send a ship, ship-stores, and
everything else required for continuing the voyage. I also wrote to my
superior, giving him an account of what had happened. The answer to my
letters was made plain, both on the island and in Manila. The governor
commanded that the voyage should be continued, all of the expenditure
being made anew, while my superior directed me to return to Manila;
and so I did, although my companions were greatly grieved. In truth,
by failing to go with them I caused their destruction; because, as they
were sailing toward the coast of China, they saw a Chinese ship, and,
against the will of the pilot and some few others, the rest determined
to pursue and plunder it. The ship fled, turning toward the coast of
its own country, which was all sown with shallows, well known to them
but not to our men. So eagerly did the Spaniards chase after them
in their greed for the prize, which they now regarded as certain,
that our ship ran aground and broke into two parts. The men were all
thrown into the sea, where some of them were drowned immediately,
and others, who took refuge on shoals, were drowned when the tide came
in. Some few only escaped, with the pilot, in a raft which they made of
planks from the ship. Even of those few some died of the cold, which
was very great, and was still more severe for them because they were
all wet. At last those who escaped reached the coast, with difficulty
enough. They were seized by the Chinese, and carried about for many
leguas from one judge to another. In this way they learned that Don
Luis was on the same coast, and that he had been wrecked on the same
day of St. Francis, and at the same time with us. They learned that
he was twenty leguas from there, on an island called Lampacao. They
received permission to join him; and in spite of their miseries they
forgot their ills in their pity for the poor knight and his men,
who kept themselves alive with shellfish, which they found there
and ate in small quantities. They all suffered patiently, because
of the example of their commander--who, that he might not offend
[the people of] the land, never allowed his men to ask for anything,
even what necessity almost compelled them to request.
CHAPTER L
I am commanded to go to China; events there, and the death of father
Fray Alonso Ximenez
[In spite of the wretched state of the noble knight Don Luis, the
Portuguese of Macan, who were only seven leguas away, were so far
from pitying him that they rather made bloody war against him. He
accordingly decided to send the pilot of the second in command,
with eight other men, to Manila in a small boat, to ask for what was
needed to escape from that labyrinth. They arrived after great peril,
and delivered their letters which were filled with the innumerable
complaints of those who remained there. They moved all the city to
great compassion, but our religious more than the others, who always
had a very tender regard for the good knight, Don Luis, both for his
virtue, and for his great love toward us. He never forsook us or our
churches, where he received all the sacraments, and went to hear all
the masses that were said, to the great edification of the village
of Minondoc--where he lived, near to our house. Consequently, I was
charged with the immediate care of procuring what was needed for the
relief of the present trouble, since the past troubles had none. My
superior notified me that I should go to take the relief to Don Luis,
and ordered me to attend to that matter with the greatest possible
despatch, since delay meant manifest danger. With all that care he was
unable to get the help out within four months, and notwithstanding
that I exercised very great earnestness in it, and attended to
the equipment of the ship that was assigned, which I had fitted
up so that it would stand any storm--having taken warning from the
previous ships, which had proved deficient in the first storm that
came upon us. By such diligence, we set sail, with suitable relief,
on September six. Arriving with it in less than twenty days, we were as
well received, as we were so heartily desired. We also found bad news
from Camboja, which had been brought by some ships that had returned
from that country. That news was that all the Spaniards there--both
those of our galliot, and all the others--had perished at the hands
of the Indians themselves, because of quarrelsome persons among
them, who were intolerable to the natives. Since it was impossible
to go thither as friends, and since our forces were very few to go
in any other manner, consequently, a general council having been
held, it resulted that we should return to Manila. To carry that
into effect, it was necessary to go to the court of the viceroy at
Canton to get permission, for we could not leave his port without
it. It was determined that I should go to get the permission. I was
accompanied by two soldiers and an Indian up a large river with most
beautiful and refreshing banks, which contained some very densely
populated villages. Arrived at Canton, we were lodged in a house
in the suburbs, as foreigners were not allowed to live in the city,
nor even to enter it without express permission from the judge who is
in charge. Guards are stationed for that reason at all the gates, so
that they may refuse admittance without such permission. It happened
that there was a eunuch of the king there at that time, as inspector
of that province. Within his palace the king of China is served only
by eunuchs, and many are castrated, in order to be eligible to serve
the king; and as they alone have access to his person and ear, they
persuade him of whatever they wish, and derive immense bribes from
the judges throughout the kingdom. The latter give them the bribes,
so that the inspectors may hand in a good report of them. That year
the eunuchs got for themselves the inspection of the provinces of that
kingdom, as a great harvest was offered therefrom, not only to the king
but also to the others who remained at his side in order to perpetuate
their acts of injustice with security, the gates to the complaints
that could have been uttered against them having been closed. Then
was it my unhappy lot that I should fall into the hands of one of
them, called Liculifu, who had charge of the visit to Canton, and
who, under pretext of the visit, was making haste to impoverish the
country and the inhabitants; for his charge there also comprehended
the inspection of a pearl-fishery for the king in the gulf of Haynao,
which was situated about one hundred leguas farther along the coast. It
was said that he had borrowed one thousand ships for that purpose,
and that he was in haste; but that he wanted first what fish he
could get on land--for which he had innumerable parasites at his
side who were wont to seek out means by which, rightly or wrongly,
he could employ them, by which they were always the gainers; and who,
in addition, always flattered him by showing him such means of gain,
by which he considered himself as well served, and rewarded those
most who were most advantaged by it. Certain of those creatures,
ferreting us out, immediately went to denounce us, not as evildoers,
but as men absolutely rolling in silver; for that is their opinion
of the Spaniards, even though they see them going naked. Therefore,
it suited him to employ his greed on us, although asking silver from
us was equivalent to asking pears from the elm tree. The inspector,
believing that we had maliciously concealed the silver, tried to get
it by force; but instead of silver he drew blood. Acting upon that
information he had us summoned before him, a day or two after our
arrival. We entered the gate used by foreigners, and there is only
one such gate. The guards registered us there, so carefully do they
watch and guard their city, although so rare are the foreigners who
enter it. We approached the inspector's court, but before we entered
it I had the inspector notified, by an interpreter whom I had with
me, that I would not kneel before him, as such was not the custom of
Castilians--whether religious or captains--even were it before the
kings of that land. He had me told that I should do so, but I answered
to the contrary twice more. However, finally paying greater heed to
the advantage that he expected [to derive], than to his honor and
courtesy which he claimed, he had me told that the soldiers should
kneel and that I should make him the bow and reverence that I was
wont to make to my king. Thereupon we entered, and found him seated
in great state at his desk, on which were the instruments used in
writing, according to their usage. Many servants stood near him, in a
chapel-like place that faced a large open court, whence those having
business entered as he summoned them. Placed on their knees between
two rows of executioners with frightful visages--twelve to the side,
who stood there--their cases were disposed of, and they were punished
there immediately, as soon as he ordered it, without further appeal
or recourse. The soldiers and the interpreter knelt before them,
while I remained upright, after having made him a very deep bow. He
received us well, and addressed some pleasant words to us. I thanked
him heartily, and made him a present of a piece of scarlet cloth
and a large and excellent mirror, with its silver chain by which to
hang it up, which had been given me for that purpose by General Don
Luis. The latter already was aware that no business was transacted
without a present. The inspector received the present very gladly,
as it consisted of articles that were scarce in that country. He
expressed many scruples in regard to it, so that it might not appear
that he was receiving it as a bribe, and said that it would be taken
as part payment of the duties due and to be paid by the ships; and that
he had a conscience and kept his gaze on the heavens, so that he might
not commit any unjust act. But in truth, although I thought that he
would be satisfied with that present, he regarded it as the beginning
of what we had to give and waited for the rest. I asked him to send
someone to measure the ships and receive the duties, for it was now
time for us to leave. He did so immediately, and sent officials like
himself. Those officials declared, because they were not bribed at
the beginning, that the duties amounted to one thousand eight hundred
ducados. Don Luis, having been advised of what ought to be done,
asked that the measurements be made a second time; and after he had
given them their bribe, they took off the thousand ducados, and the
duties remained at only eight hundred. Believing that the inspector's
greed was satisfied, I delayed two or three days in going to see him;
but he, as his appetite had been whetted for the desire of more with
the taste that he had received, took my delay very ill, and had only
the two soldiers and the interpreter summoned, but ordered me not to go
to him. On seeing them, he broke out into great anger because they had
not treated him according to his dignity. He ordered the interpreter
to be beaten as the most guilty, since, knowing the custom of the
country, he had not advised us thereof. They actually administered
five blows to him, and the blows that they give are always few, but
very severe. Those blows accordingly formed great wounds on the upper
part of his legs, that being where they are administered. He ordered
the soldiers to be all but lashed. They were thrown to the ground,
and their legs bared, while the executioner stood near them with his
lash raised. That instrument is made from a very large bamboo (such
as grow there), split in two and weighted somewhat with lead, and
having many slits, whose edges cut like knives. And as the executioner
stood thus, waiting for the order to strike the blow, he ordered him
to stay his hand, being satisfied to see them thus fearful. Then
he ordered all three to be taken prisoners to a public prison,
which was located at a considerable distance from his house. While
on the way thither they had me summoned, and bribed the officials
to stop in an idol temple. I went there alone, although with great
difficulty. They implored me again and again not to leave them in
custody, for they would die in prison. I promised them not to leave
that place until they were liberated, or else I would share the same
fortune with them. I well understood that those blows were directed
at me, rather than at them; and that, although given to others,
were a threat to me so that I should tremble and give the inspector
what he desired, or he would cause me also to suffer such things,
or even greater. I knew already that his parasites had informed him
of the esteem in which the Spanish hold their priests and religious,
and that they would redeem by weight of silver whatever insult he
might try to inflict on me; and that if he wished to fill his hand
well, he should make what extortions from me his tyrannous and greedy
taste dictated. I had no silver to satisfy his desire, nor, even had
I desired to supply that lack by any efforts, did I have any method
or means to do so. It even cost me very dearly to enter the city,
and I could not go on that account. I was persecuted by children, who
accosted me as did the children of Bethel the holy prophet Elisha;
while not one of the men had compassion on me, for they do not know
what compassion means toward their own countrymen, however afflicted
they see them to be. And further, if they behold them persecuted by
the more influential men, then in such case they flee from the sight
of them, in fear lest they receive a portion of the punishment, as
being accomplices in the guilt. The soldiers, as they were afflicted,
attributed the slowness of the relief to my neglect, and the inspector
to obstinacy. Finally he endeavored to satisfy his greed by making
open proof of my patience. Therefore, he summoned me on All Saints'
day. I heard of his resolve some days beforehand, and prepared for it
by saying mass--for which I had the opportunity, as the Portuguese
from Macan happened to be there at that time, by virtue of their
ordinary permission to go to Canton twice each year, to purchase
the articles that they need in certain fairs which are held there
at that time. However, they are not permitted to live in the city,
but must remain in their own boats in the river. As that purchasing
(which lasts many days) is a matter of consequence, the Portuguese
bring a priest, who says mass to them, in a little house near the
river. At that time there were three fathers of the Society there,
one of whom was acting in the capacity of chaplain for the traders,
while the other two were about to enter the interior with Father Matheo
Riccio, who had lived there for years. One of those two fathers, one
Lacaro Catanio, had lived with the above father for some years; and,
having gone to Macan on business, was then returning with another
Spaniard named Diego Pantoja. Both of them dressed themselves,
on the afternoon of the eve of All Saints, in Chinese habits, in
order to make their journey with some guides that they had with
them. Father Lacaro Catanio, as he had been a long time in China,
had long hair and beard, but the other father, having only recently
arrived, did not; and consequently he was in some danger, as he did
not follow the customs of the country in everything. By way, then,
of those fathers I was enabled to say mass. Scarcely had I concluded
it, when I was accosted by an official of the inspector, with his
chapa (or summons) to take me before the inspector. I went thither,
and found him in his courtroom, as at the first time. Although I
intended to show him the same courtesy as the first time, he made me
kneel down, besides going between those two files of executioners, who
appeared to me like demons. The inspector began then to shout at me,
in his treble voice, and poured forth a torrent of words, which were
explained to me by a Chinese who understood some Portuguese. He charged
me in his speech with being a spy, as I had not observed my duty. At
the end of the speech came his deeds. At the inspector's order one
of those executioners threw me to the ground, and, baring my legs,
raised himself in a position to lash me. While in that position,
the inspector repeated many times his assertion that I must be a
spy. Thereupon I drew a report from my bosom that I brought from
the Chinese who were living in Manila, both Christians and heathens,
which told of the great good that the members of my order had done
there to all of their nation--how we cared for their sick, supported
the poor, and defended them all from injuries which were attempted
against them. It was written in their own characters, on a sheet of
paper one braza long, and was folded within a covering, also made of
paper, after their manner and custom. I had come prepared with that
for whatever might happen, and accordingly I presented it at that so
pressing moment. The inspector read it, while I was kept stretched out
and bared ready for the lash, and the executioner awaiting only the
sign to chastise me. As the letter was not to the inspector's liking,
he paid no heed to it. However, he did not carry out the execution
[of the punishment], but ordered me to rise and adjust my clothing
and come to his desk. I thought that it was to make peace, but it
was only to vary the mode of affliction by changing the torture,
which he ordered to be given me between the fingers, while placed on
my knees before him with folded hands. For that purpose some little
rounded sticks were brought, in which there were some small grooves
at each end and in the middle. Those sticks were placed between the
fingers of both hands and were then pressed together by some cords,
tighter and tighter as the inspector ordered--until, when I fell as if
in a faint, he ordered the torment to cease. He ordered me to be gone,
and said that, if I did not give him a thousand taes of silver on the
morrow (each tae being equivalent to ten reals, thus all amounting to
about one thousand ducados), he would kill me. I left his presence,
with the bad treatment that I have described, and went to my lodgings
as best as I could, where I found an order from the inspector not to
receive me. I knew not where to go, for all fled from me, being fearful
lest some blow should come upon them by reason of me. I determined to
go to the ship where the fathers were. Then the merchants returned,
much earlier than was their custom, saying that all the city had
risen against them, because I had gone to their ship. They besought
me not to do so evil an act, for they feared a serious danger from
that. As they refused to receive me, I returned to the shore, where
a Chinese trader who had been in Manila on various occasions received
me into his house. He got me the loan of one hundred taes of silver,
payable with interest; and that night I went clad as a Chinese,
so that I might not be recognized, to the Portuguese ships. On my
word--which I pledged on that of General Don Luis, in whose cause
I was acting--they lent me two hundred more. I sent that whole sum
to the inspector next day by my host, who was a man of esteem in
the city; I also had him ask that the inspector would be satisfied
with that amount, as I had borrowed it as an alms, and could find
no more, and that he would be pleased to liberate the prisoners,
and grant us permission to go to our ship. That was a just petition,
but it was ill received and worse despatched; for although I thought
that that gift would soften that heart of stone, I discovered that it
had been like throwing a little water on the forge which blazes all
the fiercer. The inspector sent a constable with his chapa to summon
me that afternoon. It was necessary to go; and, thanks to my host,
who accompanied me, they took me to the entrance by another gate of
the city, as it was nearer his house. But when the guards saw me they
refused to allow me to enter, and although the constable showed them
the chapa of the inspector, they declared that that concerned me, and
not them; accordingly, they refused me entrance. It was necessary for
the constable to go to his master, and report the matter to him. The
latter gave another chapa for the gatekeepers, and they, taking it,
copied it and allowed me to enter. I did not find the inspector in his
court, but in a lodging nearer the center of the city. He was the only
one seated, while all his officials were standing. The money which I
had had sent to him was on a desk. I knelt down, at a considerable
distance from him, whereupon he began to chide me, and to say many
things to me that I did not understand. It seemed to me that he was
asking questions of me, and I only answered Purhiautet--that is to say,
"I do not understand." He rose from his chair, and came toward me,
in order to address me from a shorter distance. It seemed from his
actions that he meant to scratch out my eyes with his fingers (they
are great men for such deeds, the more when they are angry). He finally
satisfied his wrath by ordering me to be taken straight to the prison
where the soldiers were. An iron chain was therefore quickly put about
my neck, and fastened with a padlock; and one of the executioners,
holding the end of it, walked before me, obliging me thus to follow
him as a captive. The prison was at a considerable distance, and was
under the orders of another mandarin, to whom he sent me, so that
the latter might incarcerate me. In such guise, I crossed all those
streets, which swarmed with people, at four o'clock in the afternoon,
and appeared before this mandarin--who was in his tribunal, into which
the door of the prison opened. When the soldiers saw me through the
door, they began to weep. [I fell on my knees before him, and he asked
me through my interpreter the cause of my imprisonment. I replied,
and the cause seemed to him bad: but he told me that no one could
undo what the inspector did. He said that he would try to satisfy the
inspector, because the latter was obliged to go off very quickly on
his inspection, and, if he left me a prisoner here, no one else had
the authority to release me. With this he ordered the chains to be
taken off, and sent me into the prison. When I saw myself in prison
with the soldiers I was without anxiety, because for their sake I
had made all these stations, [21] and after all without succeeding in
rescuing the prisoners--though I could have taken refuge in our ships
if I had chosen, as I afterwards did; while now, by adventuring the
same fortune with them, I left God to watch over all. There were in
this prison some three hundred prisoners, many condemned to death,
but permitted to work during the daytime in order to earn their
food. I suffered in the prison, because I had little protection and
the weather was very cold. God delivered me within only three days;
my host became my security for a thousand taes. As I was about to
leave the prison, all the servants crowded about me asking for plata
(silver), for they already knew its name in our Castilian. There were
so many that, even if I had had much to give, there would have been
little for each one. As I had nothing to give, I gave them nothing,
and they paid me with hard words and blows. It was very late; and we
were obliged to go to the house of the inspector, and from it to that
of the guarantor outside of the city, in which we were not permitted
to sleep. All this was to be done before they closed the gates. We
were kept waiting in the courtyard of the inspector for some time. In
addition to falling on our knees before him, he made us bow our heads
and then turned us over to our bondsman. When we reached the latter's
house, we had to enter by leaping over a lighted fire which they said
was the ceremony of security. The poor guarantor immediately began
to suffer persecution, for all the servants and attendants of the
inspector, though they had in no way intervened in our business, came
to beg money from him from that which they said he must have received
from me, to persuade him to become my security. The man brought all
these demands to me; but I answered him that nothing more was to be
paid than the thousand taes, and these we should get from Don Luis. He
was unwilling to go to Don Luis, and took great care to prevent us from
escaping. We, fearing that Don Luis and his soldiers might be forced
by our delay to leave us in this embarrassment, determined to save
ourselves. We agreed with a Chinaman, for ten taes to help us escape,
letting us out through a secret door opening upon a creek that flowed
into the large river, and taking us down in a boat. We sailed down
stream that night and the next day, no one appearing on the boat in
the daytime except the Chinese sailors. We succeeded in eluding all
the vessels that might have wished to inspect us, and reached our
ships. As soon as our sailors received their pay they ran away. A
few hours later, my guarantor appeared with an armed vessel. He was
unable to find out who had helped us, and was satisfied with receiving
the amount of money for which he had been pledged. We then set sail,
Don Luis and the rest to Manila, and I to Macan, for I was in such a
condition of ill health as a result of hardship and exposure that I did
not dare to undertake the voyage to Manila. At this time father Fray
Alonso Ximenez died in Macan. His death was caused by the hardships
and exposure which he had undergone in endeavoring to evangelize the
kingdom of Camboja. Though he was almost seventy years of age when
he set out on the expedition, he endured everything that befell him
with patience and courage, consoling the others, though he had always
himself the most to suffer. He was very devout, never omitting his
daily hours of prayer on his journeys or voyages. When in Cochinchina,
his captivity was comforted by the opportunity given him to convert
two condemned criminals. The failures of his attempts to reach the
kingdom of Camboja and to convert the people there did not discourage
him or diminish his enthusiasm. When Don Luis and his men were
cruelly attacked by the Portuguese of Macan, father Fray Alonso
went to Macan to interpose his authority, and to act as mediator
between the Portuguese and the Castilians. Father Fray Alonso had
great difficulty in pacifying the Portuguese, and was obliged to
encounter much vituperation; but he received more joy in the baptism
of two sick persons at the point of death than he had lost in all
the sufferings which have been narrated. He died in our convent at
Macan, to the great sorrow of the religious about him at the loss of
so holy an associate. General Don Luis and all of the troops that he
had brought with him attributed to the loss of father Fray Alonso
all the sufferings which they were obliged to undergo afterward;
while they ascribed to his presence and his prayers the rescue of
their ship in the dreadful storm which they had experienced on the
day of St. Francis. On that day they had been in the midst of shoals,
and had seen many Chinese vessels wrecked about them; and the
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