[On the same day on which we reached the ships, Captain Juan Xuarez Gallinato arrived. He was told of our experience with the Chinese and with the Cambodians, and of the good-will displayed in this kingdom for its conversion, and also for the temporal ends proposed in the service of his Majesty. Captain Gallinato showed that he disbelieved much of what was told him, and that what he did believe impressed him badly. In spite of all that was done to persuade him to wait a few days, he was resolved to depart immediately; so we sailed to Cochinchina for provisions. Here we were at first very well received. Then Gallinato sent Captain Gregorio de Vargas as ambassador to visit the king, and to ask him for the royal standard, the galley, and the artillery, and the other things which had been carried to that kingdom by the traitors who murdered Governor Gomez Perez das Mariñas. The king took this demand so ill that he tried to kill the ambassador, who barely escaped with his life. The king, partly because of his rage, and partly from fear that the news of his treatment of the ambassador would be carried back by the Spaniards, sent two fleets and a large land force to destroy us. We here got news of the death of the tyrant who had ruled over the kingdom of Camboja and of the plan of a number of loyal chiefs to reinstate the lawful king with the assistance of the Spaniards, to whom they meant to offer great rewards. The Spanish ships were just putting out to sea when the Indians reached the shore with the purpose of giving them this invitation. It was known that the kingdom of the Laos (to which the king of Camboja had withdrawn) was very near that of Cochinchina; and Captains Blas Ruyz and Diego Velloso asked permission to go by land and find the king. Gallinato permitted them to do so, and I accompanied them to the city of Sinoa, where a son of the king acted as viceroy. Some Augustinian friars who were in that country begged father Fray Alonso Ximenez to go with them and celebrate the feast of St. Augustine. During his absence, the rumor that the Indians intended to murder us treacherously kept increasing; so that we all went aboard, in order to be able to defend ourselves better. The time for sailing to Manila had come, of which we had to take advantage without waiting for either father Fray Alonso or the captain, because we should otherwise have been obliged to winter there. On the third of September, a multitude of people suddenly appeared on the hills, and a fleet came sailing up into the cove where we were. There were many galleys and small boats, and among them there were fifteen larger two-masted vessels, fastened together three by three, with no one on them but a steersman. These were loaded with wood and fagots, to set fire to us; while, if we took refuge in the water, the people in the small boats were ready to receive us. The men on the hills began to shoot at us with their arquebuses, which they used skilfully, aiming well, though they were slow in taking aim. The bullets, however, fell short. Our two smaller vessels set sail, and by the aid of a light breeze moved out into the middle of the bay. The ship in which I was was larger; and, though we tried to do as the other boats did, the wind was too light for us, and the fire-boats came upon us and gave us a great deal of trouble. They came so near that from the top of our poop we could see the steersmen, some of whom our men shot, while others took refuge in some little boats which they towed. When the fire-boats were left without anyone to steer them, they followed the current of the water, and left us in peace. At this point father Fray Alonso Ximenez reached the shore. They took off his habit and dragged him, with nothing on but his breeches, before the viceroy, who had come as general of this enterprise. He told him to put on his habit again, and talked of his ransom; but our captain was so angry at their treachery that he sent back a very wrathful answer. Thus father Fray Alonso Ximenez was left a prisoner, but was not ill treated. He received permission to live with the Augustinian fathers, and at last was permitted to go to Macan without being obliged to pay a ransom. From there he came back to this country at the end of a year and a half. On the next day we set sail for Manila. There are shoals in the midst of this gulf running for eighty leguas directly across the straight course for Manila; and to pass these shoals it was necessary to round one of the two ends of the chain—one in latitude nine, the other in latitude seventeen. The latter being nearer the direct line, we governed our course by it; and the flagship, sailing well against the wind, rounded it. The vessel in which I was, being a poor sailer, went by the other end, but got out of its course. We were becalmed one night, so near the coast of the Philippinas that the people were already beginning to prepare their clothes for going on shore. In the morning we found ourselves in the midst of reefs which were not on the charts. To make our way out from them, we were obliged to sail back on our course; and after we had made our way out the wind was against us, and we were obliged to sail toward the country which we had left. We decided to land at Malaca, that we might at least escape with our persons, for we cared little for anything else.] We reached an island named Pulotimon,[16] which is forty leguas from Malaca. The Indians here told us that there were some pirates in that sea; that they were anchored about five leguas off, and that we should have to pass them. This news greatly disquieted us, because our vessel did not sail well or answer the helm well, which is the worst thing that can be in a sea-fight. But it was not possible to escape this danger, because there was greater danger in every other direction where we wished to go. So we continued our voyage and met with the pirates, as they had told us. They had five ships, four of them small, and one of them large, strong, and well equipped, and provided with nettings. On these boats there were many little flags, which, we were told, were tokens of the prizes that they had taken. They were of a tribe called China-patan, descendants of Chinese who have colonized the kingdom of Patan. They had learned this business [of piracy], because it is easier than others; and they had now sailed out to practice it. That we might not show fear, but might excite fear in them, we passed close to their ships, with our flag flying and our drum beating. They failed to see that our invitation was feigned, accepted it, and, weighing their anchors, followed us all night, giving us chase till morning. The small vessels surrounded us, and with the large one attacked us. Their arms at close quarters were pikes and javelins with points hardened in the fire [tostadas]. The arms which they used at a distance were culverins and arquebuses. In using our arquebuses we did not waste a bullet, for there were many on whom to employ them. [We were alarmed by the explosion of a keg of powder, but fortunately only one man was killed. I was standing alone on the poop, watching for the result of the fight; and at first the enemy did not notice me, since the waist was full of their pikemen. At last, one of them perceived me and flung a pike at me, giving me a wound of three dedos in depth. I descended from the poop; but, before I reached the deck, one of the fire-hardened lances struck me in the right jaw, leaving its point and innumerable splinters in the flesh. With my two hands upon my two wounds I went to confess some wounded men who were in danger. At last when the enemies saw that their prize cost them much, they left us and went away without our being able to follow them, because our vessel was so unfit. We afterward learned in Malaca that out of two hundred pirates (which was their total number) more than half had been killed. Most of us were wounded, and two or three died—besides two others, who were shot by accident by their own friends. After we had escaped this danger we came, two days later, upon a surprise which was equally great. In the strait of Sincapura, by which we were obliged to pass, we found a fleet of eighty large galleys, with heavy artillery amidships and along the sides. This was the fleet of the king of Achen, who was going to do what injury he could to the king of Jor [i.e., Johor] to whom belongs the country of that strait. The latter had sixteen galleys for its defense, which were in the mouths of the rivers to prevent his enemy from entering them. Malaca is between these two kingdoms. There was at that time an agreement that neither of these kings should be assisted with men, but only with provisions and ammunition, one side receiving the one and the other the other, but neither receiving both. We passed ourselves off to them as Portuguese; and when they called upon us to enter their galleys we excused ourselves, because of the aforesaid agreement, and went on in peace to Malaca. I went to our convent, where the religious were surprised at my coming, partly because it was the middle of November, when they did not expect a vessel from any direction, and partly because they saw me in so coarse a habit, very different from that which they wore. Besides that, I was very dirty and very lean, and had my body and face all bound up because of my wounds. Although my appearance was so strange, they were so discreet (or I had better say so charitable) that, without asking any questions they arranged to take care of me, called in the surgeon, and brought me underwear and a habit after their fashion. After I was cared for and clothed, they asked me whence I came and how I had been brought there. I was charmed with the kindness which they had shown me, and told of my wanderings and of the sufferings which I had endured, by which they were greatly astonished. I remained there for six months. My cure took three months, and from the wound in my face every day two or three splinters were discharged, some larger and others smaller, until at least a hundred had come out. Though the wound closed, two remained within, which came out two years later, two dedos below the wound. I was much inconvenienced during those three months, because I could only open my mouth a little way; and hence it was very painful for me to eat until, by exercise, my jaw came back to its former usefulness. Of the soldiers who came with me, some went to India and twelve to Camboxa, supposing that the rightful king was now probably there. They found on the throne his son, who with a great army given him by the king of the Laos, and with the captains of whom I have spoken, had returned to his kingdom of Camboxa and pacified it. Here they remained for a considerable time, though they were disappointed in everything. I and the others returned to Manila. The voyage is one of five hundred leguas, and it took us fifty days because of the many calms.] One calm night, when there was no one at the helm, the binnacle, or three-wicked candle which lights up the compass, fell down from the quarterdeck; and the flame instantly burst out through a hatchway which was over it, frightening all of us—for there is nothing more dreadful at sea than fire, for everything in a ship is like tinder. In this ship, although it was small, there were more than three hundred slaves, men and women. All of them raised their cries to heaven. The captain, whose duty it was to encourage them, immediately fell on his knees to make his confession, as if things had already gone beyond remedy, but I pushed him away a pace and a half, saying that it was not time for that yet, and that he ought to look out for the fire first. I am almost certain that if he had been permitted to confess to me we should all have burned to death, because, however little our safety might have been delayed by confessions, there would have been no remedy afterwards. We put all the clothes there were there into the water, to soak them, and then threw them down the hatchway, one on top of another. In this way God was pleased that the fire should be put out; and we were left as much amazed by this sudden and dangerous accident as people are who are waked out of their sleep by a beam of light falling on them. We at last reached Manila by St. John’s day at the end of a year and a half of this tedious and painful journeying. Soon after, father Fray Alonso Ximenez arrived by way of Macan from Cochinchina, where he had remained a prisoner. After all our hardships, afflictions, dangers, and wounds, we brought back no other fruit but that of having suffered for the gospel. Our only intention was to go to preach in that kingdom, having been invited by its king, and influenced by his promises to that end. These were great, though he was unable to fulfil them, since he had been despoiled of his kingdom when we reached it, as has been said.
Chapter XLIX
The election as provincial of father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Catharina or Navarro, and the churches which were incorporated in the province
On the fifteenth of June, 1596, the fathers assembled in the convent of Manila to elect a provincial, because father Fray Alonso Ximenez had finished his term. The definitors (who, as they afterward were to confirm the provincial, were elected first) were: father Fray Diego de Soria, second time prior of the said convent; father Fray Bartholome de Nieva, a religious of very superior virtue, as will be narrated in due time; father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas, or Ormaca; and father Fray Juan Garcia—all persons of conspicuous devotion to their religious duties, and of noble example. Several times they cast votes for the provincial without result. Because there were many who deserved the office, and because the votes were divided among them, no one had the number necessary for election. Those who had the largest number of votes were father Fray Diego de Soria and father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas. These same persons endeavored to persuade everyone to vote for father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Catharina, who was accordingly elected. The election was a very satisfactory one, for, in addition to being a very holy man, he was very wise and learned, and most devoted to the ministry and preaching of the holy gospel—in which, and in patience, and in the endurance of the most severe hardships which befell him for this cause, no one ever surpassed him, and he surpassed many. During his time he had seen the province greatly favored by the Lord, by a very great spread of the Christian faith among the Indians who were under his care. Many of them in the villages where there were religious were baptized; and, where there were no religious, they were desirous and eager to receive baptism. Accordingly, at this chapter not only were new churches admitted which had been built in the towns where there were already religious—as, among the Chinese, the church of San Gabriel at Minondoc; and, in Bataan, the church in the village of Samal, besides others—but it also seemed good to admit heathen villages, although they had no religious, and there were none in the province so that teachers could be provided for them. Yet in this way they strove to comfort those who asked and desired them, and raised in them the hope that in this way they would receive religious when they came from España. Thus were received the church of San Vicente of the village of Buguey, afterward called Sancta Anna; Sancta Catarina of Nasiping, afterward called San Miguel; and others like them—to which, in the course of time, religious were sent when they came to the islands.
Soon after this provincial chapter had come to an end, another shipload of religious arrived from España. They had been gathered with great care and diligence by the new bishop of Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Miguel de Venavides, whose new dignity had not sufficed to diminish the love which he felt for his associates. He gave to this matter more than ordinary attention, because he knew how greatly needed were good workmen to aid in the great harvest which the Lord had placed in their hands, ready to be gathered by the means of baptism into this church militant, that the faithful might pass from it to the church triumphant. The Indians themselves asked to have preachers sent to their villages, and were grieved that these could not be given to them. This not a little afflicted the religious, who desired to satisfy them by the fulfilment of their just desires, but were unable to do so on account of their own small number—too small even for that which they had undertaken, and much more to go to the aid of new regions. Besides this, the careful bishop was influenced by the need of his own sheep; for nearly everything to which we ministered fell within the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, which was under his direction. Accordingly, taking advantage of his authority as a bishop, and of the reputation which he had as a learned and holy religious, he gathered the second shipload, and afterward the third (with which he came). Father Fray Pedro de Ledesma[17] happened to be in Castilla when the shipload which the good bishop sent was about to sail. His presence was very convenient for his superior, because he was an old and venerable father who had been many years in the Indias in the very religious province of Guatimala, and who therefore knew what was needed for the voyage. He was also of a very gentle disposition, which is of great importance for such purposes as his. The bishop laid upon this father the charge of conducting the religious who had been gathered for this province; and he, being inclined to all good, readily accepted the office, although he knew that it was a very troublesome one. It not only required him to go on business to the office of accounts—and, to him who knows what that is, it is not necessary to say anything more—but he had also to keep in contentment many religious who, as it was the first time when they were at sea, were seasick, miserable, and very much in need of someone to comfort them, bear with them, and encourage them. For all this father Fray Pedro was very well suited, and conducted them as comfortably as possible through the two long voyages which have to be made on the way from España here. He did not shrink from the great labor which this duty brought with it, that he might serve the Lord, and aid in the preaching of His gospel and in the conversion of these heathen. They arrived in the month of July in this year of 1596, and were received with great joy; and with them those missions which were in need of religious were strengthened.
Captains Blas Ruiz de Fernan Goncalez and Diego Velloso, who (as has been stated in the preceding chapter) went from Cochinchina to the kingdom of the Laos to look for the king of Camboja, met with success. They found his son (for the king was already dead), and told him all that the Spaniards had already done to help him, and how they had slain the tyrant who had undertaken to establish himself in the kingdom and had usurped it. They told him that they had come to seek him that they might put him in quiet possession of his kingdom, and other things of this kind, and roused his courage so that he put himself in their hands. Depending upon them, he returned to Camboja with a tolerably large army, which the king of the Laos gave him; and the Spaniards fulfilled their word and established him in his royal throne and palace, causing the largest and best part of the kingdom to be obedient to him. The king in reward of services so faithful and useful gave them lands and vassals in his kingdom. To Blas Ruiz he gave the province of Tran; to Diego Velloso that of Bapano, with titles very honorable in this kingdom. The two captains in their new favor did not forget God, to whom they had so especial reasons to be thankful; or their natural king and lord, from whom also they had received rewards. They informed the king of Camboja of the great good that it would be to his kingdom to know and reverence God by entering into His service through holy baptism, and to have the king of España for his friend. For the first purpose, father Fray Alonso Ximenez and myself were proposed. They urged the great devotion, virtue, and prudence of the holy old man, and the many sufferings which we had both undergone from favoring the king’s own cause; and they said that, if he sent to call us back, we would very readily come to preach the holy gospel. As for the second purpose they said that he ought to send an embassy to the governor of Manila; and, as a sign of the beginning of this friendship, that he ought to ask for some soldiers, by whose aid he might easily complete the pacification of his country. The king assented to all this, and sent his embassy with letters to the governor, telling him that his principal reason for asking for soldiers was that his vassals might be baptized with greater certainty and less difficulty. To father Fray Alonso Ximenez he wrote another letter, in the language and characters which those people use, and sealed with his royal seal, of a red color. In the Castilian language its tenor was as follows: [“Prauncar, king of Camboja, to father Fray Alonso Ximenez of the Order of St. Dominic: Greeting. From what I have heard from the captain Chofa Don Blas Ruiz of Castilla, and from the captain Chofa Don Diego of Portugal, with regard to the conduct of father Fray Alonso Ximenez when the Spaniards slew Anacaparan, I have conceived a great affection for father Fray Alonso Ximenez. Now that I am in my kingdom I beg father Fray Alonso Ximenez to come to it, and to bring with him father Fray Diego. I promise to build them churches and convents, and to give permission to all in my kingdom to become Christians. Though I have shown the two chofas[18] great favor and wish to keep them in my kingdom, they are unwilling to stay, because there are no religious here.” The two captains wrote in the same strain to the fathers, begging them to come and reunite this kingdom with the Church.
The governor of Manila saw how much could be done for the service of the king by sending the soldiers for whom the king of Camboja asked; but they were in such need of men and money that they could not well meet his desires. For this reason, a knight of the Habit of Calatraba who had been governor of these islands, by name Don Luis Perez das Mariñas, promised to pay the expenses of the expedition from his own fortune. The enterprise thus being made possible, we two religious of the order for whom the king of Camboja asked were obliged to go; and with us some religious of the Order of St. Francis, who were much beloved by Don Luis. There were equipped for the expedition two vessels of Spanish build, of moderate tonnage, and a galleot. The preparations were made (as preparations usually are made by the hand of servants of the king) slowly and faultily, as was seen by the results. We did not set out for some months, and our ships were so badly equipped and so weak that they began to leak as soon as the voyage began—a forewarning of the evils that we afterwards suffered, in which the poor knight Don Luis was disappointed, while all of us who accompanied him paid for the inadequacy of the preparation.[19] Since we were so late, the pilots decided to follow the course by the gulf of Haynau to go round the shoals by the end in latitude seventeen, because in that way the wind would be favorable; while if they rounded the end in latitude nine, which was the regular course, the wind would be adverse. They left Manila September 17 [1598], with one hundred and fifty soldiers and sailors. In the flagship Don Luis, who went as commander, took with him father Fray Alonso Ximenez and the two Franciscan fathers. He directed me to go in the ship of the second in command,[20] giving that officer orders to govern himself by my advice. Within six days the vessels were scattered in the storm and were all lost, no one knowing anything of the rest, and each one supposing that the others were continuing their voyage in safety. The galleot met with the best fortune, for, although damaged, it reached a friendly port, was repaired, and continued its journey. The flagship was obliged to cut away the mainmast, and sailing under its foresail, ran aground in China on the eve of St. Francis. All who were on board had to save themselves by swimming, and lost even their clothes. In the ship of the second in command, in which I was, the mainmast broke close to the deck, fortunately falling over the side so as not to injure the vessel or to kill any of the men. The mizzenmast, being badly wedged, began to topple, and had to be cut away. We sailed on under the foresail, hoping to reach a port. But the fury of the tempest and the force of the waves were such as to break the gudgeons of the rudder. Some of our men flung themselves into the sea after it and brought it back, but it was lost again; and we steered the vessel with two long spars fastened to the side of the boat with a cable. The ship was so strained that the boards on the sides began to play up and down like organ-keys; but we threw cables about her, and drew them taut with arquebuses. Then the bow began to work loose, from the weight of the foremast and bowsprit, and we were forced to bind it firmly with cables to the poop. All that we could do against the storm and the wind was like the strength of a child exerted to restrain the fury of a mad bull. In fear of another storm, we took refuge upon an island which we encountered, one of the group called the Babuyanes. We found a harbor, ran the bow ashore, and dropped two anchors from the poop. We put the ammunition and the provisions that we had on shore; and had hardly begun to dry our clothes, on the eve of St. Francis, when the storm broke upon us with such violence that it seemed to me to try to swallow us. The ship was broken in pieces; but the keel, and the artillery which was carried as ballast, being too heavy for the deck, were buried in the sand. We protected ourselves from the storm—which lasted two days, and was one of both wind and rain—in some huts, which we built on the beach of branches.] After the storm was over we dug up the artillery, which consisted of four medium-sized cannon, mounted, and set them up in a little fort which we made of logs, because there were many Indians on the islands, and we did not know whether they were friends or enemies. In a short time many of them appeared in a troop on the shore, with their weapons. These consisted of two lances, one for hurling, and the other large like a pike, with iron points; both were made of ebony, of which there is much here. For defensive armor they had sheets of the bark of trees, resembling cork. We sent to them a man as a hostage and mark of peace, and they made signs to him from a distance to put down his arms. He laid them at one side and went to the Indians; and then they sent to us one of their own number, whom we treated kindly, and after giving him some trinkets, sent him back to his comrades; agreeing with him that they should bring us provisions at a just price. They did this for two days, although very scantily; and on the third day they broke the peace by killing one of our Japanese, and badly wounding another who had come in our company. He came back with his arm pierced, and with a wound a span long above the pit of his stomach, but not entering it; but he was very well satisfied because, by throwing himself forward by the pike, he had killed the Indian who had wounded him—so proud is that race. Now that our supplies were cut off, we were obliged, since food is necessary, to take it by force, where we could find it, since they would not sell it willingly; so for several mornings a troop of our Indians went out under escort of our soldiers, gathered what they could from the fields, and brought it back as food for all. At one time when they were engaged in this, they thought that they had discovered a great treasure; for they found some jars of moderate size covered by others of similar size. Inside they found some dead bodies dried, and nothing else. In that shipwreck we had had the good luck to bring the boat ashore, and thus to save it. This we intended to make use of by sending it to ask for aid from Nueva Segovia, which was only twenty leguas distant. In order to do this, it was necessary to lengthen the keel a braza, and to raise the sides about half a vara. Both these things were done, though there was no one among us who understood more carpentry than that best teacher, Necessity, had taught them. We all thought that it was best that the pilot and two men and I should go in it, because they believed that, if I went, more effectual aid would be sent. We did so, and then, when we sailed around the island we gave thanks to the Lord for His kindness in having brought us to this little bay; for on any of the other sides of the island we should certainly have been drowned in the ocean, or, if any of us had escaped, should have perished at the hands of the Indians. The Lord gave us a favorable wind, which was needed by our tiny boat in that rough ocean, and we reached the river of Nueva Segovia, which is very large; the distance from the mouth to the city is three leguas. The alcalde-mayor immediately set about the rescue, appropriated two fragatas, and had them prepared to go to our people who were in the islands. At the same time I wrote to Manila to the agents of Don Luys to send a ship, ship-stores, and everything else required for continuing the voyage. I also wrote to my superior, giving him an account of what had happened. The answer to my letters was made plain, both on the island and in Manila. The governor commanded that the voyage should be continued, all of the expenditure being made anew, while my superior directed me to return to Manila; and so I did, although my companions were greatly grieved. In truth, by failing to go with them I caused their destruction; because, as they were sailing toward the coast of China, they saw a Chinese ship, and, against the will of the pilot and some few others, the rest determined to pursue and plunder it. The ship fled, turning toward the coast of its own country, which was all sown with shallows, well known to them but not to our men. So eagerly did the Spaniards chase after them in their greed for the prize, which they now regarded as certain, that our ship ran aground and broke into two parts. The men were all thrown into the sea, where some of them were drowned immediately, and others, who took refuge on shoals, were drowned when the tide came in. Some few only escaped, with the pilot, in a raft which they made of planks from the ship. Even of those few some died of the cold, which was very great, and was still more severe for them because they were all wet. At last those who escaped reached the coast, with difficulty enough. They were seized by the Chinese, and carried about for many leguas from one judge to another. In this way they learned that Don Luis was on the same coast, and that he had been wrecked on the same day of St. Francis, and at the same time with us. They learned that he was twenty leguas from there, on an island called Lampacao. They received permission to join him; and in spite of their miseries they forgot their ills in their pity for the poor knight and his men, who kept themselves alive with shellfish, which they found there and ate in small quantities. They all suffered patiently, because of the example of their commander—who, that he might not offend [the people of] the land, never allowed his men to ask for anything, even what necessity almost compelled them to request.