Книга - The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640
Diego Aduarte




Diego Aduarte

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 31, 1640 / 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





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 - i. e., “The holy synod commands parish priests and other preachers to the Indians to instruct them often and earnestly in the doctrine of this mystery;” and, “To those whom the parish priest shall regard as sufficiently instructed, and made fit by the correctness of their lives, he shall not fail to administer the holy eucharist, on the first Easter following.”]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 - Francisco Blancas de San José was a native of Tarazona, and entered the Dominican order at Alcalá de Henares. He came to Manila with the mission of 1595, and was sent to Bataán; afterward he spent several years in the Manila convent, preaching to Indians and Chinese, as well as Spaniards. He also gave especial attention to the instruction of the negroes and slaves there, of whom there were many thousands. He also labored in Cagayán and (1609) in Mindoro and Balayan. In 1614 he sailed for Spain, but died on the voyage, before reaching Mexico. (Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 172–177.)] 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 - Jacinto de San Jerónimo came to the islands with the mission of 1604. The rest of his life was spent mainly in the missions of Cagayán; near its end, he went to the new mission of Ituy (now Nueva Vizcaya), where he died in 1637. (Reseña biográfica, i, p. 327.)] 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 - Probably referring to the expedition sent from Mexico early in 1559, to conquer Florida, under command of Tristan de Luna y Arellano; it included 500 Spanish soldiers and a considerable number of Indian allies. This attempt proved unsuccessful, and most of the Spaniards were slain by the warlike Florida Indians.] 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 - The sketch of Salazar’s life given in Reseña biográfica (i, pp. 35–49) states that he obtained permission to carry twenty religious with him to the Philippines, all of whom he procured from the convent at Salamanca. But twelve of them died (apparently from ship-fever) before reaching Mexico; and the others were so prostrated by sickness that they could go no farther.] 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 - i. e., “Reprove, entreat, rebuke, in all patience and doctrine.”] 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 - Cantaro (from Latin, cantharus): the name of a large earthen or metal receptacle for liquids, hence for the amount contained in it; also, a measure for wine, varying in different parts of Spain. The cantaro (or alquiére) of Portugal is equivalent to nearly 2⅕ or 3⅓ U. S. gallons in Lisbon and Oporto respectively.] 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 - Referring to the cultivation of their rice, usually in fields more or less under water.] 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 - i. e., the fifth Sunday in Lent.] 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 - These were Dominicans and Franciscans (Vol. IX, pp. 161, 172). One of the latter was named Gregorio da Cruz; a letter from him to Dasmariñas may be found in Vol. IX, p. 197. Huerta, however, says (Estado, pp. 672, 673) that the early Franciscan missions lasted only from 1583 to 1586, and were not resumed until the year 1700.] 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 - See Morga’s account of this expedition and its results, in Vol. XV, pp. 78–89, 130–160, 187–190. Cf. letters sent from Manila to Camboja, and papers connected with the embassy sent to Dasmariñas, in Vol. IX, pp. 76–78, 86, 87, 161–180.] 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 - The island (and group) of Lubang, southwest of Manila; a dependency formerly of the province of Cavite, but now of Marinduque.] 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 - Pulo Obi – that is, Obi Island; it lies near Cape Camâo (sometimes called Cambodia), the southernmost point of Cochinchina.] 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 - It is difficult to identify this town with exactness, but it is probably the same as the modern Pnom-penh (Panomping) on the great river Me-khong (also called Cambodia). The usurper of Langara’s throne was Anacaparan (see Morga’s account, in Vol. XV).] 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.]





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notes



1


i. e., “The holy synod commands parish priests and other preachers to the Indians to instruct them often and earnestly in the doctrine of this mystery;” and, “To those whom the parish priest shall regard as sufficiently instructed, and made fit by the correctness of their lives, he shall not fail to administer the holy eucharist, on the first Easter following.”




2


Francisco Blancas de San José was a native of Tarazona, and entered the Dominican order at Alcalá de Henares. He came to Manila with the mission of 1595, and was sent to Bataán; afterward he spent several years in the Manila convent, preaching to Indians and Chinese, as well as Spaniards. He also gave especial attention to the instruction of the negroes and slaves there, of whom there were many thousands. He also labored in Cagayán and (1609) in Mindoro and Balayan. In 1614 he sailed for Spain, but died on the voyage, before reaching Mexico. (Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 172–177.)




3


Jacinto de San Jerónimo came to the islands with the mission of 1604. The rest of his life was spent mainly in the missions of Cagayán; near its end, he went to the new mission of Ituy (now Nueva Vizcaya), where he died in 1637. (Reseña biográfica, i, p. 327.)




4


Probably referring to the expedition sent from Mexico early in 1559, to conquer Florida, under command of Tristan de Luna y Arellano; it included 500 Spanish soldiers and a considerable number of Indian allies. This attempt proved unsuccessful, and most of the Spaniards were slain by the warlike Florida Indians.




5


The sketch of Salazar’s life given in Reseña biográfica (i, pp. 35–49) states that he obtained permission to carry twenty religious with him to the Philippines, all of whom he procured from the convent at Salamanca. But twelve of them died (apparently from ship-fever) before reaching Mexico; and the others were so prostrated by sickness that they could go no farther.




6


i. e., “Reprove, entreat, rebuke, in all patience and doctrine.”




7


Cantaro (from Latin, cantharus): the name of a large earthen or metal receptacle for liquids, hence for the amount contained in it; also, a measure for wine, varying in different parts of Spain. The cantaro (or alquiére) of Portugal is equivalent to nearly 2⅕ or 3⅓ U. S. gallons in Lisbon and Oporto respectively.




8


Referring to the cultivation of their rice, usually in fields more or less under water.




9


i. e., the fifth Sunday in Lent.




10


These were Dominicans and Franciscans (Vol. IX, pp. 161, 172). One of the latter was named Gregorio da Cruz; a letter from him to Dasmariñas may be found in Vol. IX, p. 197. Huerta, however, says (Estado, pp. 672, 673) that the early Franciscan missions lasted only from 1583 to 1586, and were not resumed until the year 1700.




11


See Morga’s account of this expedition and its results, in Vol. XV, pp. 78–89, 130–160, 187–190. Cf. letters sent from Manila to Camboja, and papers connected with the embassy sent to Dasmariñas, in Vol. IX, pp. 76–78, 86, 87, 161–180.




12


The island (and group) of Lubang, southwest of Manila; a dependency formerly of the province of Cavite, but now of Marinduque.




13


Pulo Obi – that is, Obi Island; it lies near Cape Camâo (sometimes called Cambodia), the southernmost point of Cochinchina.




14


It is difficult to identify this town with exactness, but it is probably the same as the modern Pnom-penh (Panomping) on the great river Me-khong (also called Cambodia). The usurper of Langara’s throne was Anacaparan (see Morga’s account, in Vol. XV).