[35] Probably referring to the island now known as Boeton or Butung, lying southeast of Celebes.
[36] Evidently the old port in Mindanao so called.
[37] Probably referring to the island now known as Boeton or Buntung, lying S.E. of Celebes.
[38] Reference is here made to the starchy food procured from the sago-palm, called by the natives burí (Corypha umbraculifera). This tree gives name to the island of Burias, where it grows abundantly. By tapping the tree, as is done with the American maple, the sweet sap (called by the natives tuba or "water-honey") is obtained, from which are made a syrup and a dark sugar; also the natives manufacture from it wine and brandy. The young shoots or buds are edible, as is the entire inner part or pith of the tree. This pith is placed in troughs, wherein it is soaked in water, which washes out certain bitter substances; it is then pounded, which causes the starchy grains to separate from the tissues of the pith. These grains are collected and dried, and made into a flour called sago (or sagú), which furnishes a nutritious and healthful food; in the islands where this tree abounds, the sago takes the place of rice. The leaves of the sago-palm are used as a covering for houses, sails for vessels, and many other purposes. See Delgado's Hist. de Filipinas (Manila, 1892—but written in 1753-54), pp. 660-662, for a long and detailed description of this tree and its uses; also Blanco's Flora de Filipinas, p. 160, and U.S. Philippine Gazetteer, p. 74.
[39] The lagoon of Liguasan, the waters of which are discharged into those of the Pulangui River at its "great bend," thus forming the Rio Grande. The Pulangui rises in the northern part of the island, about half-way between the present towns of Cagayan and Butúan. The Tirurey or Ytilurey River of our text apparently indicates a southern tributary of the Rio Grande, flowing from Mt. Tiruray.
[40] A tribe inhabiting the western part of Mindanao, but mainly located on other islands—Basilan, Sulu, Piragua, and others; they were Mahometan Malays.
[41] The ganta contains 3 litros, a little more than 1/3 of a peck (U.S.).
[42] At the top of the sheet is written, on the original MS., "Guadalupe, March 26, 1580," which apparently indicates that the decree was sent to New Spain, and promulgated by the viceroy there.
[43] "A fleet on which were some Franciscan missionaries being at Sevilla in 1576, ready to sail for the Solomon Islands, Felipe II obtained permission from Pope Gregory XIII that they should be sent to evangelize the Philippine Islands—where they arrived on June 24, 1577. They were received in Manila with enthusiastic demonstrations of joy, and soon founded a religious province, which they named San Gregorio Magno ["St. Gregory the Great"—named in honor of Pope Gregory I (A.D. 590-604)]. The marshal, Don Gabriel de Rivera, built for them the convent of San Francisco in that same year, 1577."—Algue (Archipiélago filipino, i, p. 250).
On June 24, 1577, fifteen religious of St. Francis arrived at Manila, under the orders of Fray Pedro de Alfaro, the father custodian of the province. On June 15, 1579, Alfaro left Luzon (secretly, as our text declares, because Sande refused to permit him to go), to establish a mission in China; he was accompanied by the friars Juan Bautista, Sebastian de San Francisco, and Agustin de Tordesillas. The last-named wrote a detailed account of their journey and their experiences in China up to November 15 of that year; this relation is published in Mendoca's Hist. China, part ii, book ii.