Chapter VI: Part 6

When the flagship of the fleet on which I was went to the bottom, there was no shallop or boat to saye the men, because the boats had been taken by some sailors and soldiers, who to escape the danger, had gone with them to the aforesaid island of Fortun. Consequently when the ship sank I was left in the water, and saved myself at the end of four hours by swimming with great exertion to the island of Fortun, which was a legua and a half away, against many waves and a high wind. The same thing was done by two hundred other persons, including Spaniards and slaves, but the rest drowned and perished, with what was left in the ship. Then I made haste to take all the people from that island, because it was without inhabitants and without water, and I started them on the way to this city. After that I went along the coast to get information about the enemy which had fled, and in search of the admiral's ship and of the captured vessel; but I could not find them, nor could I in the islands of that district, although I searched among them in light vessels, for they had departed thence. At last, having heard that they were near Mariveles, I came to claim them, but did not enter them because your Lordship wrote to me, at just that time, to come to this city on other business in the service of his Majesty.

Thus that expedition ended. It is true that the desired end was accomplished--namely, to destroy the aforesaid corsair so that he should not be able to do the damage which he was doing in this sea, and to conquer him, which was done. Nevertheless it could have been accomplished fully without the loss which there was, if my orders had been followed in the aforesaid fleet, and if there had not been other transgressions and irregularities--which I should have proceeded against and executed justice upon if I had had opportunity to return to the aforesaid fleet, as I tried to do. Since on my part this is all ended, it remains for your Lordship, as captain-general of this realm, to take action in this cause--not only to execute whatever may be just in the matter, but also in order to give an account to our lord the king of what has happened. I have had this in mind in giving to your Lordship so faithful and exact an account of the case, and of the aforesaid irregularities, of which the ones that need particular attention are the following.

First. When the fleet was on the point of setting out from the port of Cavite, although it was already scantily equipped with seamen and artillerymen (which was a matter of the greatest importance), the majority of those who had been provided and supplied absented themselves and fled from the aforesaid fleet at the time of setting out, so that they could not be reached; and the fleet had to go without them, which was the cause of a great deal of suffering and loss. It can be determined who were guilty of this through the lists of allowances and apportionment which are in the possession of the factor of the royal treasury, and through the register which the accountant afterwards made of both fleets at Mariveles.

_Item_: Although your Lordship, at my request, had some seamen sought out in this city, and had them sent to me with the sergeant Pedro Lopez to Mariveles (where the fleet was anchored) on Wednesday, December thirteenth, and although the aforesaid men arrived on Wednesday, they refused to go on the expedition because they were men of wealth and property; and they did not go to the fleet that night, but went to the settlement on the island. There they remained until the fleet had gone in pursuit of the enemy in the early morning, when they left the village and returned to this city.

Third. The Sangley nation of this city offered themselves, with three ships, according to their custom, to go in the service and convoy of the aforesaid fleet. They were armed and set out after it from Cavite for that purpose, but when they reached the station at Mariveles, where the fleet was anchored, they left it; and it was necessary to send to them and order that on the following day they should join the fleet and follow it without moving off, under pain of their lives. Not only did they not comply with this, but on the following day, when they saw the battle, they remained more than three leguas behind, looking at it; and although they could have been of great assistance, when they saw my flagship founder, they returned toward the bay, ringing bells and beating drums, as is their custom.

Fourth. The aforesaid captain Joan de Alcega, admiral of the fleet, did not obey the orders and instructions which on the day before the battle I gave to him in writing, signed with my name, according to which both ships, flagship and admiral's ship, were to board and fight with the enemy's flagship, because it was a strong vessel. Nevertheless, though he had seen me board, he passed by without having an order from me to do so, and still less having any order to follow and to fight with the opposing admiral's ship, and thus abandon me. If he had done as he was under obligation to do, the flagship would have been made to surrender completely without the loss of one of our men; and we could have captured for his Majesty a beautiful ship and twenty-six pieces of artillery, and many other things of price and value for all, and my flagship would not have been lost, and the people of worth who died in it would not have perished. After that, it would have been a sure and easy thing to capture the admiral's ship, which was a small boat, of no strength. Your Lordship should send promptly to the admiral to write the instructions which I gave him originally in Mariveles on the thirteenth of December by the hand of the captain Joan Tello y Aguirre, who came for them--signed with my name, without any erasures or changes whatever--because through them the above matter will be verified, without any fraud or deceit.

Fifth. After my flagship had foundered, the enemy in his, as broken as it was, took to flight with only the foresail up, and passed within sight of the admiral's ship of my convoy, and although the admiral was aware of my loss, and that that was the enemy's ship, and made sail after her, he did not try to follow her; and so he let her go, although he could easily have overtaken her, as she bore only the foresail, and could have captured her, as she was so broken and without men. Most of us who were on the island of Fortun saw this from there; and the captive Flamenco admiral will say the same thing, as well as those who came in our admiral's ship and remained in it.

_Item_: Although our admiral's ship ought to have come in search of its flagship, which it saw sinking in the sea from its companion ship--or at least in aid of its men who had escaped to the island of Fortun, which was near, in order to rescue us from that island, uninhabited and without water, where we were in evident risk of our lives--yet he did not do it. On the contrary, he went away with all speed, and returned to the mainland to the station of Mareyuma; consequently we could not find him, and he could not receive orders from me, his commander, concerning what he was to do in such matters as following the aforesaid enemy (in which a great opportunity was lost), as well as in other things in the service of his Majesty which ought to have been done.

Seventh and last. Although the aforesaid admiral ought not to have allowed out of his convoy the vessel which he had captured and taken from the enemy, so that it might not be lost again on account of his having put very few men on it, he left it; and, under pretense that he was sending it to be repaired, he ordered it to the island of Luban with other intentions--where on the same day, near night-time, there appeared the flagship of the enemy, which, if it had seen this ship, could have seized and taken it easily, because it was without defense. Then, without having been repaired, it left Luban and returned to the aforesaid admiral's ship at Mareyuma.

Of all this your Lordship is sufficiently informed through the reports which have been sent to your Lordship about the aforesaid event, and through the investigations made by the alcalde-mayor of the province of Balayan, in whose territory and under whose jurisdiction the event took place. Your Lordship will also be informed by the searchings and investigations which your Lordship ought to make concerning the aforesaid case and every particular of it, personally and very soon, before the guilty ones pervert them so that the truth may not be understood. They have been preparing for this, holding investigations before themselves in the admiral's ship, about their own affairs and business; but opportunity ought not to be given for these, nor any attention paid to them, for they are void and fraudulent, and malicious.

I ask and pray your Lordship to do and perform in this matter, since it is of such quality and importance, whatever may be proper in the service of God and of his Majesty, so that those may be punished who are guilty in a matter of such harm and loss, and that our lord the king and the gentlemen of his Council of the Indias may be informed faithfully of all that has happened and of what has been done--since, as far as I am concerned in this matter, as there no longer remains to me any authority or jurisdiction of commander in the fleet, I have done my duty. For this I have, etc., and ask it for testimony.

_Doctor Antonio de Morga_

In Manila, on the fifth of the month of January in the year one thousand six hundred and one, before the governor and captain-general of these islands, Don Francisco Tello, appeared the doctor Antonio de Morga, and presented this petition; and when his Lordship had seen it, he ordered it to be joined with the investigation which the alcalde-mayor of Balayan made, in order that the other proper verifications may be made according to what is provided, and that whatever is just may be done.

_Tello_

Before me:

_Gaspar de Azebo_

This copy was made, as has been said, from the aforesaid original petition, which is in the aforesaid suit of petition and mandate by the aforesaid auditor, and is exact and correct. In the city of Manila, on the twentieth of the month of November in the year one thousand six hundred and two; the witnesses being: Joan P[ablo?] Monfredo, and Gregorio del Castillo, and Josephe de Naveda Alvarado.

In testimony of truth, I have affixed my seal.

_Joan Paez de Sotomayor_, royal notary.

We, the notaries who sign here, certify and give our word that Joan Paez de Sotomayor, by whom this testimony is signed and sealed, is a royal notary, as he signs himself, and commissioner of the royal Audiencia of these islands; and, as such, complete faith and credit has been given and is given to all acts and writings which have passed and do pass before him, in court and out of it. And, to certify to this, we give these presents in Manila on the twentieth of November in the year one thousand six hundred and two. I have affixed my seal, in witness of truth.

_Francisco de Valencia_, notary-public.

I have affixed my seal, in testimony of truth.

_Jhoan Francisco Aparicio_, notary-public.

Annual Letters from the Philippine Islands

_From Father Francisco Vaez, [32] June 10, 1601, to Reverend Father Claudio Aquaviva, general of the Society of Jesus._

Amid all the calamities and miseries which it has pleased the Lord to inflict on these islands, the chief has been the loss of some ships which were wrecked, including among others the flagship and the ship of the second in command. They set sail from this coast during the last year, 1600, for Nueva España, being laden with a large amount of treasure and merchandise; and by them the records of this province and the letters from Japan for your Paternity were sent. But, after sailing for eight months, these ships encountered a violent contrary wind, and, having on board a great number of sailors, were gradually driven back by sickness, hunger, and the fury of the waves, which swept the men from the very decks of the ships to be drowned in the waters. The vessels struck on rocks and were wrecked, a few men only being rescued, like the servants of Job, from the immediate danger, to announce the destruction--which, being increased by one misfortune and mishap in war after another, heaped sorrow upon us. On one of these ships, called the "San Geronimo," was Father Pedro Lopez de Parra, a professed religious of our Society--who, as we trust, after this long voyage (or rather that longer one of thirty-seven years in religion), has entered the gate of eternal life, laden with a rich treasure of good works. He taught philosophy and theology in Nueva España, having been one of the first members of the Society formerly sent thither; he trained our ministers with fruitful results. Although we have heard nothing certain with regard to the details of his death, yet, as he took great delight in the duty of hearing confessions and helping souls, it is likely that with great devotion he aided all in that extremity of danger. [33]

In another disaster we have lost another priest and a brother, if loss be the proper name to give to the death of those who have been slain for the gain of souls, and while aiding their brethren in a just war against heretic pirates. These were Hollanders and Zeelanders who were driven to the Philippine Islands in the year 1600, and came to get booty on the sea called the Northern Ocean, or "Mar del Norte" (for they had already made spoil of a Portuguese ship), and, after passing the Strait of Magellan, had, in that southerly ocean called "Mar del Sur," done likewise with a small vessel from Peru. Their leading vessels, the flagship and the almiranta, took a station six leagues from Manila, where the Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese ships had to unload their cargoes, and to which all the smacks and other small boats that left the city had to hold their course. Against these ships of the enemy there were sent out from Manila two ships provided with three hundred of the best soldiers of these islands, together with many bombards and other equipments of war. In the chief ships were Father Diego de Santiago and Brother Bartolomeo Calvo, at the request of the general, Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia, and of other officers of rank, who were accustomed to confess to the said father.

Now when the father had exerted himself to receive the confessions of the soldiery, and had exhorted them to fight bravely, on the fourteenth of December they came in sight of the enemy; and the flagship spread its sails and bore down so swiftly on the other flagship that the passage from one to the other was easy. In the conflict our men tore away the enemy's flags and carried them back to their own ship, shouting, "Victory!" with joyful voices. Just then our ship, having taken in a great quantity of water from all sides, was by the permission of God suddenly swallowed in the waves with all the sailors, except a few who by the help of a skiff captured from the Dutch, or by swimming, made their way to land. The general was one who threw himself into the water with two flags of the enemy's.

Then the almiranta, having encountered the enemy's almiranta, captured it, and carried it away to Manila, where punishment was inflicted on all the sailors. Among the number of those on our side who were slain or drowned, a hundred and fifty-nine in all, Father Diego was drowned. He had heard, as it appeared, the confessions of all; and as he was making the effort to throw himself clear into the sea, he was called back by the voice of a captain desiring to make his confession. While he was hearing the confession he was drowned, with the brother and the rest. The father was in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and had lived fifteen years in the Society. The brother, his companion, was of the same age, and had lived in the Society seven years; he had entered it in these regions. He was a man endowed with every virtue, being especially noteworthy for his obedience, to which he was always greatly inclined.

Of the brethren there has also died Martin Sanchez, a native of these islands, who was for a decade a member of the Society, and who left a glorious example in life and death. There remain in this vice-province thirty priests and twenty-nine brethren (of whom two are scholastics and four novices)--those nine being included whom your Paternity has sent hither with Father Gregorio Lopez, in whom this vice-province assuredly receives a great assistance. As it is of later birth, more scantily supplied with workers, and further from Rome, it is likewise poorer; and, as the younger daughter, ought to be the dearer and more precious to your Paternity.

College of Manila

There live in this college (the leading one [34] in this vice-province) seventeen of Ours--seven priests and ten brethren. All of them, by the favor of divine Providence, have by their example and labor brought in a rich harvest from the spiritual tilling of this city. This has been added to on account of the war and the earthquake, the loss of the ships, and other calamities; and we have learned by experience that piety grows more rapidly in adverse than in prosperous fortune. The earthquake has made us hesitate to go on with the completion of the college buildings, for we are compelled first to repair what has already fallen or is on the verge of ruin. Last year we wrote that on the twenty-first of June the main part of the nave of the church had fallen; but in this year of 1601, on the sixteenth of January, the other part corresponding to it was overthrown, and the rest so shaken that it had to be leveled with the ground. We regard it as a great blessing that these buildings fell without injuring anyone, although the first of the earthquakes came while the people were in the church at mass, the other when it was least expected. The people of Manila have accordingly been warned by Ours of the daily peril of life on earth, and have begun to lift up their hearts to heaven, and to pray for its care and protection. By a happy lot it has been obtained for them by the patronage and advocacy of St. Polycarp, [35] bishop and martyr, the disciple of St. John the Evangelist; and in his honor they have begun to celebrate an annual feast with a solemn procession.

The beginning of another pious work has been made this year with marked results. This is the practice of scourging, not as hitherto on three days in Lent, but every Friday throughout the year, in our church. There is a great concourse of people at that time to hear the fiftieth psalm, _Miserere_, by the melancholy harmony of which they are most moved to devotion and to doing penance. Not infrequently the royal auditors and the governor himself have been present, as well as other leading men.

Those in prison also have been aided by the reception of sacramental confessions and by pious exhortations; and--a thing that has edified the people not a little--the necessary food was for some days carried all the way to the prisons on our shoulders. From children, too, the food of Christian doctrine has not been withheld on Sundays; and with the children arranged in the form of a procession we went out during Lent to the military barracks, where after delivering sermons we reaped fruit not to be ashamed of.

The congregation of scholastics begun this year has made the best of progress. Every month, according to the rules, they make their confession to the priest, and partake of the divine food. On feast-days they spend the afternoons in listening to spiritual reading and in commemorating the examples of the saints. The solemn feasts of the Blessed Virgin they celebrate with the greatest fervor and joy. On one of these they go with their cloaks cast off, each with a silver ewer and basin in his hands, and carry food to the prisons, marching in the finest order and system; and with great readiness and humility they serve the unhappy men. They are believed to have taken their manner of procedure, in all respects, from the congregation at Rome. The privileges of the Sodality, also, have so much attracted laymen that it has been necessary to divide them into two orders. As for the adult men and householders who look forward to spending Sundays and feast-days to advantage in the Sodality, the father-visitor has made a beginning, by delivering to them familiar exhortations, and narratives of pious examples taken from the Lives of the Saints; and we have every reason to hope that the undertaking will succeed to the greater glory of God, with the most noble of advantages to the city. Even now there are some who, having heard one or another sermon, have entered upon more holy and profitable ways of living than they followed before.

A beginning was also made this year in selecting some saint's name by lot (a custom introduced in some towns); and there has been a great concourse of people. One man was plunged into the sea along with many others in the naval battle with the Dutch already spoken of; but because he invoked the name of his patron, St. Nicanor, who had fallen to his lot that month, he was rescued from that danger in which the others were swallowed up; and by swimming a whole league at last got to shore, to his own great wonder.

The number of those confessing and communicating this year has surpassed that of any previous year, for upon their old devotion has been heaped up new, kindled by the torches of calamity. The quarrels of many have also been brought to an end. In Lent, moreover, their zeal for all piety flamed forth in the confession of many evils, and in doing penance for them with daily scourgings, and other exercises of devotion.

The chastity of a certain woman was assailed by some of the wicked, with entreaties and the bestowal of gifts; but by the weapons of more frequent communion and confession she repulsed the attacks of the enemy. Yet even then the enemy was not made entirely to desist. One day, after the holy communion, which she had devoutly taken in our church, she was walking in a lonely place; and there he came up to her, and with his dagger at her bosom, he threatened her with death unless she consented to wickedness. But she answered with firmness that she preferred death to offending God. Then with blows and words of insult she vanquished the beastly desires of her adversary, barely escaping with her honor.

Another, giving up all thought of God and of his own salvation, had spent many years in dreadful sin, and especially in a disgraceful lust, which was so deeply rooted and fixed in his innermost heart that he regarded our priest, who strove to lead him away from this vile manner of life, as only less than a fool. So completely had he plunged himself into the filth of these pollutions of his soul that, like a sow in a wallow, he seemed to take pleasure in nothing else. Yet at last this obstinate man yielded to argument and persuasion, and not only gave up visiting his harlot, but tore all lust from his heart by the roots as completely as if he had had no knowledge of it; for by a general confession of the lapses of his past life he so corrected his morals that all those who knew him before were amazed at the sudden change in his life.

When the Dutch pirates of whom we have spoken were condemned to death in Manila by the judges, the governor thought it well to entrust them to several religious, as they might perhaps abjure their errors and be reconciled to Holy Church. It pleased the divine goodness to restore all, to the number of thirteen, except the admiral, who as an obstinate heretic was hanged and cast into the sea. The others with so great sorrow for their crimes subjected themselves to the obedience of the holy Roman church that it seemed good to the religious fathers to admit them to the holy communion. Of five commended to our Society I can affirm that they greatly edified all, for they made a confession of the sins of all their life and approached the holy communion with many tears, having previously made public profession of the Roman Catholic faith and abjured their heresies, being prepared to live and die in the said faith. Two days later, with rosaries around their necks they were led forth to the place of execution in great joy of mind that they could atone for their sins by death.

Our Order has been no less occupied with the Indians in these regions than with others--partly because there is a greater number of them gathered in this town of Manila than anywhere else, partly because they feel a greater good-will toward the members of the Society than toward any others. They never lack some one of Ours to aid their confessions; and they would need old priests the year round, if there were so many who understood the language, to hear the confessions of all. They greatly affect the holy communion, and report wonderful fruit from it. Every week, on Saturday, very many hasten to perform their discipline with the others; and more would come if the city gates which separate the Indians from the Spaniards were not closed at nightfall. Indeed many do not fear to creep through the little hole in the gates in order not to neglect that salutary penance. They hasten, too, on the Sabbath to hear the sacrament of the mass of the Blessed Virgin, and in Lent to hear sermons, and that in such numbers that, although our church is of considerable size, they fill it completely. And when it was overthrown by the earthquake, they all hastened together, down to the very children, to give their help in carrying stones away. It was a delightful sight to see them swarming like ants upon the rubbish and the wall--men and women, young and old, powdered with dust and lime, carrying baskets on their shoulders and vying with each other in carrying off the ruins so as to clear the space.

The girls' sodality, recently introduced among the natives, has marvelously roused all the others. Sometimes they have fed the poor with such liberality that much was left for the prisoners and other needy persons. After the meal was over, they poured water for the hands of the poor persons, and kissed them; and then the poor persons fell on their knees and prayed God for their benefactors. At another place these same Indian members of sodalities went to the Indian hospital and there gave their aid to the sick by making their beds and digging up the ground for them--a thing worthy of special admiration in this race, for they abhor visiting hospitals. The sodality members, although poor, offer the usual alms to the church and to those who are in need. They are given to hearing sermons and to fasting, being content for whole weeks with bread and water. They are glad to go to our churches for confession and spiritual instruction, and obtain great spiritual benefit and edification.

A certain Christian woman who was for a long time held in slavery to the infidels in the islands of Mindanao and Borneo, which are given to the faith of Mahomet, could not be torn from the true belief, or be persuaded to the worship of idols, although she visited many of their places.

An Indian man, who along with some others had made his confession that he might receive the holy communion, declares that he had kept silent as to the circumstances of some sins; and that in a vision he saw a beautiful child offering to him the holy eucharist. But when he answered that he was a great sinner, the child replied: "Thou are indeed not worthy of the communion, for in thy confession thou hast hidden such and such a circumstance." Therefore when he awoke he hurried to our church, revealed the vision to one of the fathers, and desired to repeat his confession.

Another had so accustomed himself to the scourging of his body that one day when he was required to march with a troop of soldiers, he withdrew from it in the night, in order that he might not omit this holy exercise. When the officer of the infantry, going his rounds at night, secretly perceived this, he thought the man was meditating some mischief, and silently followed him. At last he saw him enter the cemetery of a church, and after pouring forth prayers to God, beat his back severely. When the scourging was finished, the officer approached; and when he recognized this Indian, he was even more edified. And when he asked him where he was from, he answered that he came from the city of Manila, and said that he was in the habit of confessing to Ours. The captain, marveling that a tyro in the Christian religion should take such care of his soul's health, gave him some money and told him to go back home, that he might not be perverted by the habits of the soldiery.

A priest with a brother as his companion was sent off as on a mission to some Seilan villages, which, being without parish priests, needed instruction. When they reached there the plague was raging; and the father and brother freely assisted them, not only by the administration of the sacraments of confession and the communion, but by that of food, which was prepared in our church.

On another mission performed by the rector of the college and another priest, there was a mighty fruit of their labors reaped in hearing confessions, in reconciling enemies, and in recalling the perverse to a better life. Twenty adults were initiated by the sacrament of baptism, having been imbued with the Christian faith by a certain blind man. He, though deprived of the use of his eyes, yet took such care of his catechumens that if a single one out of any number, however great, was missing, he regularly informed the father. We think the more of this from the fact that he who formerly was numbered among the catalons--that is, petty priests of idols--now since his conversion has become a teacher of Christian doctrine.

Residence of Antipolo [36]

In this residence are ordinarily maintained three priests, to care for the harvest of three thousand Christians. More than five hundred have been baptized this year. We have tested the great devotion of this people, and their rare sense of piety in frequenting the sacraments, in offering prayers, and in undergoing discipline and performing other good and edifying works; and, finally, there has been wrought in them all a great change in conduct.

The father-visitor has laid the foundation of a hospital, which is of great importance. On the day when the roof was finished the father-visitor led them in serving the poor who were gathered there, by pouring water on their hands, and then kissing their hands on his bended knees, which example was followed by all the chief men there present. And thus the custom has been established that four members of the confraternity established for this purpose bring them their food every day. The same thing is done by the women for the sick of their sex.

A beginning has been made of a school for boys, in which they may be educated from their earliest years in all virtue and good morals, according to the laws of Christ, so far as these are open to their capacity. This is a thing not merely necessary for their receiving the true doctrine, but also easy and delightful. They are all fed with rice sent by their parents, and by other contributions. Their occupations are learning to read and to form their letters, and to do such other things as are appropriate to childish years.

The custom has everywhere been introduced of singing throughout the year, in honor of the Virgin Mother of God, the anthem _Salve Regina_; and on Saturdays in Lent of performing the discipline in church. So when some Indians were bathing in the river, as is the custom in hot countries, and heard the bell give the call for _Salve_ and the discipline, they put on their clothes and set out. Only one remained, and laughing at his companions said in their language: "_Acoi ouian_!"--that is, "Bring back something for me," which is their expression of ridicule. When the others had gone away, he who was alone was attacked and killed by a crocodile--a fierce animal of these regions, which is very fond of human flesh--and that before they could render him any assistance, spiritual or temporal. This event was indeed the occasion of no little wonder, for this beast is very voracious, and swallows men whole, or piece by piece, or at least tears off hand or foot; but this man he left whole and untorn, which the Indians attribute to the virtue of the _Salve_ that they sang and the discipline that they performed.

Residence of Zebu

This residence is in the province called Pintados, in which the greater part of Ours have lived and are working for the salvation of the Indians, although ordinarily not more than three priests and four brothers labor there. The situation is extremely convenient, because all the other residences carry on their work from it as a center. The ministry of the Society is exercised with great profit to the city. A boys' school has been opened, and the Latin language is taught. Last year the most reverend bishop, the officials, and other leading men, in letters sent to his Catholic Majesty, made a full statement of the great spiritual harvest with which Ours in these regions exercise their ministry, among both Spaniards and Indians; and they also earnestly entreated that he would be pleased to render that residence permanent by some annual provision, in order that they might be able to continue to enjoy the labors of our fathers.

The excellent bishop walked on foot, although a man sixty years old, throughout the whole of his diocese; [37] and, turning aside into our houses, he there dwelt with us in such humility and familiarity that he seemed to be one of our members. After he had finished the visitation of the diocese, he was accustomed to say that he had greatly admired the modesty and piety of the women in it; for in gossip and conversation their reputation had long been very much to the contrary. He added that he had seen nothing like it in all Nueva España. Turning to our fathers, he declared that they ought to be contented with their lot, because they had undertaken the duty of disseminating the word of God in those regions; for in his opinion they were spending their lives in a part of the world which was the best of all, and the best beloved by God, and that from which they would be able to obtain the most ample fruit for their labor.

In our churches we began this year the practice of the discipline, with a great number of penitents and great devotion from the people. We also delivered sermons, with the Christian catechism, to the garrison, with extraordinary results.

A certain father added that a sick Indian had lost the faculty of speech before he had confessed, so that he could not receive an exhortation to a pious death. Accordingly, he urged him to attempt at least to pronounce the name of Jesus. The sick man obeyed, and uttered it obscurely so that he could scarcely be heard. The father continued to urge him to speak more distinctly. Finally with a moderate effort he uttered it with the greatest distinctness, made a complete confession, and on the following day left his bed well.

Father Miguel Gomez [38] was sent to a tribe at a considerable distance. At first he gave all his attention to learning the names of those who had not yet been washed in the holy waters of baptism; and there were brought to him sixty, besides some others who are known as Visaians. And to all these, after he had sufficiently demonstrated the vanity of idols and the truth of the Christian belief, he imparted baptism, with so great a degree of consolation to them all, although they were old men, that they all marveled. But before dawn, behold some others, men and women of very great age, who had hidden by the gate of our house that they might be initiated by means of the same sacrament. Accordingly sixty, along with six children, were initiated; and in this number was included the chief of the place, a man already more than sixty years old.

Residence of Bohol

This residence is subject to the preceding one, that of Zebu. The harvest reaped in it your Paternity will learn from the letter of Father Valerio Ledesma [39] herewith enclosed. He says: "In accordance with the direction of your Reverence I visited the island of Bohol and gave my first attention to collecting the people, who were scattered everywhere, into one place. To many I suggested means of peace, and proposed efficacious remedies; and at last I succeeded in getting a thousand men, the greater part of whom had been trained in the use of arms, to leave their mountains, from which it had been impossible to draw them before, and to assemble at one spot. We also attempted to attract a number of barbarian inhabitants of the mountains, who had never looked upon any mortals before they saw our fathers, making use of all of the offices of humanity and of the allurements suitable to their nature, and we succeeded. We assigned them a settlement near the river, where they have now built a church, to which they flock on Sundays. We have baptized one hundred and twenty of their children, or even more. The adults have not only laid aside all of their fierceness, but pray for baptism with the greatest ardor, singing chants, and night and day recite the Christian faith.

"On the day sacred to St. Anne, to whom the church was dedicated, the conversion of a certain old chief, on whom they all look as a father, made a beginning for the conversion of the rest. He on bended knees begged me with the most humble prayers that I would bathe him in the sacred fount. His example greatly confirmed in their purpose those who were ready for baptism, and excited others to desire it; so that one after another, to the number of more than one hundred, came as suppliants for baptism. In Visaia I baptized eighty-nine adults at one time, and a few days later ninety-four--partly children, partly adults; and on another day all the rest of the natives. Leaving here I crossed a mountain; and the Lord obtained as spiritual gain twenty-nine children, with faces like those of angels; and with the cleansing water we sprinkled them in the name of the Holy Trinity, along with three adults whom I had taken with me that they might hear the sacrifice of the mass, and might by word and example be more accurately instructed in the Christian faith. After we had gone some distance thence, we came to a hamlet in which the natives had built a convenient church in preparation for our arrival, extending over a space of ten cubits. Here we began to spread our net, or rather the net of Christ, and caught in it all the fish that were there; for all the leading men and women, with old and young, great and small, cast themselves at the feet of Christ Jesus, recognizing Him as the true God and ardently pleading to be joined to Him in faith through the mystery of baptism. And here I began to recognize the favor which God had shown me, in calling me forth from España in these days; for this single instance was enough reason to call me forth. On the very first occasion when we baptized, we plunged a hundred persons in the sacred fount; on the second, all the rest without exception.

"When I was once explaining to a fierce and barbarous fellow the great glory of paradise and the dire pains of hell, he answered, just as if he had been possessed by a demon, that he had rather go to hell than to paradise; and, as he was one of the chiefs in that region, he carried a great many with him to the same decision of a perverse mind. But I did not hesitate to attack the foolish fellow again and again, and I insisted upon the horror and the eternity of the torments with great vehemence of language; but he answered that he certainly ought to go, after this life, there, where his parents and the rest of his ancestors had departed, rather than anywhere else. Then I responded that he had better just try the force of fire; but he, with hands as hard as his heart, did not hesitate to snatch up some burning coals from the hearth. However, a few days later, his mind divinely changed, he ran out into the fields and meadows, and, calling all his tribesmen together, he urged them to accept the Christian sacraments, with such zeal that he had no equal among the Visaians."

In another letter sent to the father-visitor from the same place, the same Father Valerio writes that another father had written to him that in the islands Lobo and Dita he had sprinkled four hundred persons, chiefly infants, with the most holy waters. Thus within the interval of three months more than a thousand had been initiated by the same sacraments, and numberless others are left burning with the same desire. Therefore the members of our Order declare that the time is come for the salvation of that island, and eagerly wait for workers.

But your Paternity will learn of a more glorious fruit from these missions in Bohol from the letters of Father Gabriel Sanchez and Father Cristofero Ximenez, [40] who have been assigned to that mission. [41] In letters written in the month of October, Father Gabriel writes as follows: "Our Lord has singularly blessed our attempts and labors. For after the flocks of the heathen were gathered in one place they were converted to God with such earnestness, so completely without pretense, that I can say nothing else than that God their Maker and Redeemer has desired by some peculiar favor in their calling to add them to His flock--inasmuch as within two months two thousand mortals have yielded themselves to the laws and customs of Christ, by accepting baptism. And it is my opinion that, if some fathers are ready, the whole of them will accept the yoke of Christ. It is beyond the power of language to tell with what spiritual joy I am affected when I see men who are almost savages of the forests hastening down from the mountains to supplicate the benefits of baptism. Nay, the very children, like to angels, taught by I know not whom, now repeat the Christian faith. Indeed, a few days ago one came to me not ignorant of his catechism, whom I had not seen for ten years, and with great earnestness begged me not to refuse to baptize him. The catalons, or priests of the idols, also come, and show by so many proofs that they desire baptism with all their hearts, that it is necessary to satisfy their desires. Truly, my Father, I abound in delight, I rejoice, I exult; nor is there anything in this world set before me than to serve our Lord God with all my heart, and to desire that all should be turned to the worship of His Divine Majesty. On Sunday, in church and elsewhere, there were counted seven hundred persons. If your Reverence were to see at sunset a hundred mountain boys and girls who have been newly added to Christ marching in procession along the bank of the river, praising God in harmony and chanting all together the Christian faith, he could not help dissolving in tears of joy. A few days ago in Dita five hundred were purified with holy baptism. Thus in the whole region of Bohol we may now easily count three thousand Christians. At the beginning there were only eight hundred; now, by the accession of a new blessing of God, twice thirteen hundred have been added in baptism."

With regard to another brief mission undertaken by a priest, the same Father writes as follows: "God adorns and enriches this Tobigon [42] people with so many heavenly gifts that I do not dare depart hence, and break the thread of our most happy progress. The church is filled with people morning and evening; no one is anxious about food, although they may not have it, or may have to bring it from a distance. All their care is to be Christians, and to be initiated in baptism. In these fifteen days in which we have instructed them in the rudiments of the Christian faith, there have been baptized more than two hundred and fifty adults. There remain forty catechumens, for the rest will be baptized after our return.

"An old man, a chief who is held in high honor, and who has hitherto been obstinate, has at last told me that he is ready to bow his head to baptism. He is all white-haired and decrepit, so that he can scarcely combine word with word. Since he is unable to come to church, I am compelled to go to his house. I will baptize him, with another man of advanced age, as early as possible. It seems to me no small evidence that they have been predestinated, that both of them have waited so long, and that they now begin to glow with so great a desire for baptism."

With regard to another mission, Father Gabriel Sanchez writes that the archdeacon of Zebu, who holds a benefice in Tana, went to the island of Bohol, twelve leagues distant, to ask our superior for a father skilled in the language, to preach the gospel to his tribe. Father Gabriel was sent, and in one month heard four hundred confessions, and offered to many the sacred body of the Lord. He also baptized eighty small children and some larger ones. The custom was there introduced of having boys march in procession in the public streets, and chant the Christian belief. The same thing has been done in the church, so greatly to the delight of the people that even the chiefs of the tribe think it small honor to them if they are not sometimes examined in the same belief.

The Indian wife of a local governor was bedridden, and one night began to suffer so intensely that she was entirely deprived of the power of speech. A father of the Society was called, who found her entirely speechless. And since she had not confessed her sins, although she tried to do so, the father began to recite the holy gospel, and to sprinkle her with holy water; and when this was done she collected her strength and, after pronouncing the name of Jesus, said, "Have mercy upon me!" Then, in the presence of many, she desired to confess; and after less than a quarter of an hour she arose from her bed, so well and whole that the father would not listen to her, but directed her to come to church on the following day to make her confession, which she did. The same thing happened to the same father in the case of two other sick persons, whom by the recitation of the gospel and by the sprinkling of holy water he restored to sense and health, so that they were able to confess their sins. Further, on two different days having gone to two children near to death, and deprived of the power of speech, with the same antidote of the gospel and of holy water, he restored both to their former health, so that one of them went so far as to jump suddenly out of his bed and return to his boyish sports.

The same priest also went, for the sake of hearing confession, to a man who lived a league and a half from the town, whose body was so weakened and torn by sickness that he could not bear to be touched or to be turned from one side to the other. When his confession had been heard and the gospel had been recited, the father went away on Saturday of that week. On the following Sunday, when the father asked how the sick man was, he was told that he had been restored to health, and had gone out to an island in order to get by hunting what was necessary for his food. One night, while the daughters of one of the chiefs were chanting the heads of the Christian law, they looked up from a sort of portico and saw a crucifix in the sky, with a kind of crown on the head, rough but beautiful, and with the whole body and breast plainly visible. It shone like the sun, and went up to heaven until it reached the sphere of the moon; as soon as it had reached that it vanished. The sight of this vision caused the spectators as much joy as its disappearance did sorrow. The father commanded that the whole thing be recounted in church, in the presence of many, by those very persons who had seen it; although, as that tribe is very simple and modest, they showed great fear and shame in telling the story. Afterwards it was learned that the same crucifix had appeared in another place two leagues away. This vision ought to be recognized as of greater value because it befell persons of exceeding virtue, who are persevering in their pristine habits of holy living.

Residence of Samar

Since the inhabitants of this island are scattered along an extended coast-line of the sea, it was necessary to send six of the fathers for the greater part of last year to cultivate it, with the results which might be expected from such missions. We learned from the letters of Ours that the people of this island who live along the coast have begun to offer their names in order to receive the Christian religion, and that all the chiefs have already been purified by holy baptism. The duty of visiting fourteen places rests upon this residence. In this year three thousand six hundred and eighty persons, for the most part adults, have been joined to the spouse of Christ through the holy waters of baptism. In one tiny island, which had not been visited for two years, two of Ours who had been sent thither on mission were received by the whole tribe with such delight that, all the way from the beach of the sea to the church of the place, they adorned all the roads with green branches; and then they were led to the church by a procession of boys and girls singing the Christian teaching with joyous voices. And when Ours asked to have placed on the lists the names of those who desired to receive baptism, they answered that there was no need of a list, that they all wished to become Christians. The old men--who are generally more perverse than the rest, and are unwilling to learn the Christian teaching--brought forward no other ground for the baptism which they so much desired than that their old age promised them no long life. Thus all by the divine grace were made children of God, and inheritors of eternal life.