The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 29 of 55, 1638–40 / 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

by Unknown

The enemy return to Sagar and San Mateo

The governor had no information of the road that the enemy took in their flight; accordingly, while he was waiting for this, he endeavored to have his army take some rest in the village of Bocaue. But little rest did the insurgents have; for, seeing the misfortunes that pursued them, and so many of their men (in whose numbers they were trusting to make themselves masters of the country) dead, or wounded, or disheartened, they resolved to remove from [the vicinity of] our camp. Returning to their familiar haunts of Sagar and San Mateo—which is a visita of the village of Pasig, belonging to the fathers of St. Augustine—desirous of avenging their defeats and the loss of their dead, and feeling safe on account of our troops being so far away, they sent some bands of their people to burn the church and village of Pasig, which they did. Other Sangleys, roaming through the hills, found among them some tiny hamlets of the natives, where they had concealed their valuables, and their children and wives, to save them from the common danger; and these were in very great danger of falling into the hands of these enemies. Our Lord delivered these people, although the Sangleys took possession of what they found in the huts. Then their scattered bands being reunited with those whom they had sent to hunt for provisions, they formed their camp on a hill, and the various bands built shelters for themselves.

As soon as the governor knew where the enemy were now encamped, he went in pursuit of them, and on the twelfth [of January] he halted on the river San Mateo. The next day he went in person, with some few horsemen, to reconnoiter, and on the way encountered a troop of about a hundred Sangleys; fifty of them were armed, and the rest were laden with rice and other provisions. Our men attacked them and killed twenty or more of the Sangleys, without any loss on our side—although Captain Juan Fiallo found himself in great danger. On this as on other occasions he displayed honorable proofs of his valor; for, having wounded a Sangley in the forehead with a lance-thrust, and felled him to the ground, the latter, suddenly raising himself from between the horse’s feet, slashed at him with a Japanese catana, with which at one thrust he wounded both the captain and the horse. The captain quickly turned his horse about, and securing room for using his lance, ran it entirely through the Sangley’s body, at one side; it pierced so deeply that it was impossible to pull out the weapon, so he had to leave it sticking in the body. But the Sangley, with the anguish or the desperation of death, eager to avenge it rather than endure it, with his own hands drew out the lance, and, bracing himself with it on the ground, attempted to attack the man who had wounded him. But at this moment he was himself attacked by a lay religious belonging to the Society of Jesus, who rendered good service in the war throughout its active period—and at this time with especial good fortune, since he freed the captain from danger by completing the killing of the Sangley. All the rest of the Sangleys fled, and the governor returned to his camp, to give orders for the attack on the enemy, who during all the time while they remained in the hills never ceased from inflicting damages. They burned the church of San Mateo, and that of Taytay, a house and church of the Society of Jesus, and a visita of Antipolo; also Santa Cruz and Mahayhay. According to what many of them said, their chief incentive to setting these fires was what happened to a certain Sangley. Desiring to become a Christian, he buried an idol which he had, of which they relate fables very similar to those about Mars, calling it “the god of battles.” This Christian Sangley was one of the insurgents, and, desiring to appease this god, managed with others to disinter it, entreating its protection on the present occasion. They say that the idol spoke to them, saying that it considered itself appeased and satisfied for the previous injury done to it; and promising them, besides this, its favor, provided that they would burn all the churches, profane all that was sacred, and inflict on the Christians all the harm that they possibly could.