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

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 Ledesma17 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 chofas18 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.

Chapter L

I am commanded to go to China; events there, and the death of father Fray Alonso Ximenez

[In spite of the wretched state of the noble knight Don Luis, the Portuguese of Macan, who were only seven leguas away, were so far from pitying him that they rather made bloody war against him. He accordingly decided to send the pilot of the second in command, with eight other men, to Manila in a small boat, to ask for what was needed to escape from that labyrinth. They arrived after great peril, and delivered their letters which were filled with the innumerable complaints of those who remained there. They moved all the city to great compassion, but our religious more than the others, who always had a very tender regard for the good knight, Don Luis, both for his virtue, and for his great love toward us. He never forsook us or our churches, where he received all the sacraments, and went to hear all the masses that were said, to the great edification of the village of Minondoc – where he lived, near to our house. Consequently, I was charged with the immediate care of procuring what was needed for the relief of the present trouble, since the past troubles had none. My superior notified me that I should go to take the relief to Don Luis, and ordered me to attend to that matter with the greatest possible despatch, since delay meant manifest danger. With all that care he was unable to get the help out within four months, and notwithstanding that I exercised very great earnestness in it, and attended to the equipment of the ship that was assigned, which I had fitted up so that it would stand any storm – having taken warning from the previous ships, which had proved deficient in the first storm that came upon us. By such diligence, we set sail, with suitable relief, on September six. Arriving with it in less than twenty days, we were as well received, as we were so heartily desired. We also found bad news from Camboja, which had been brought by some ships that had returned from that country. That news was that all the Spaniards there – both those of our galliot, and all the others – had perished at the hands of the Indians themselves, because of quarrelsome persons among them, who were intolerable to the natives. Since it was impossible to go thither as friends, and since our forces were very few to go in any other manner, consequently, a general council having been held, it resulted that we should return to Manila. To carry that into effect, it was necessary to go to the court of the viceroy at Canton to get permission, for we could not leave his port without it. It was determined that I should go to get the permission. I was accompanied by two soldiers and an Indian up a large river with most beautiful and refreshing banks, which contained some very densely populated villages. Arrived at Canton, we were lodged in a house in the suburbs, as foreigners were not allowed to live in the city, nor even to enter it without express permission from the judge who is in charge. Guards are stationed for that reason at all the gates, so that they may refuse admittance without such permission. It happened that there was a eunuch of the king there at that time, as inspector of that province. Within his palace the king of China is served only by eunuchs, and many are castrated, in order to be eligible to serve the king; and as they alone have access to his person and ear, they persuade him of whatever they wish, and derive immense bribes from the judges throughout the kingdom. The latter give them the bribes, so that the inspectors may hand in a good report of them. That year the eunuchs got for themselves the inspection of the provinces of that kingdom, as a great harvest was offered therefrom, not only to the king but also to the others who remained at his side in order to perpetuate their acts of injustice with security, the gates to the complaints that could have been uttered against them having been closed. Then was it my unhappy lot that I should fall into the hands of one of them, called Liculifu, who had charge of the visit to Canton, and who, under pretext of the visit, was making haste to impoverish the country and the inhabitants; for his charge there also comprehended the inspection of a pearl-fishery for the king in the gulf of Haynao, which was situated about one hundred leguas farther along the coast. It was said that he had borrowed one thousand ships for that purpose, and that he was in haste; but that he wanted first what fish he could get on land – for which he had innumerable parasites at his side who were wont to seek out means by which, rightly or wrongly, he could employ them, by which they were always the gainers; and who, in addition, always flattered him by showing him such means of gain, by which he considered himself as well served, and rewarded those most who were most advantaged by it. Certain of those creatures, ferreting us out, immediately went to denounce us, not as evildoers, but as men absolutely rolling in silver; for that is their opinion of the Spaniards, even though they see them going naked. Therefore, it suited him to employ his greed on us, although asking silver from us was equivalent to asking pears from the elm tree. The inspector, believing that we had maliciously concealed the silver, tried to get it by force; but instead of silver he drew blood. Acting upon that information he had us summoned before him, a day or two after our arrival. We entered the gate used by foreigners, and there is only one such gate. The guards registered us there, so carefully do they watch and guard their city, although so rare are the foreigners who enter it. We approached the inspector’s court, but before we entered it I had the inspector notified, by an interpreter whom I had with me, that I would not kneel before him, as such was not the custom of Castilians – whether religious or captains – even were it before the kings of that land. He had me told that I should do so, but I answered to the contrary twice more. However, finally paying greater heed to the advantage that he expected [to derive], than to his honor and courtesy which he claimed, he had me told that the soldiers should kneel and that I should make him the bow and reverence that I was wont to make to my king. Thereupon we entered, and found him seated in great state at his desk, on which were the instruments used in writing, according to their usage. Many servants stood near him, in a chapel-like place that faced a large open court, whence those having business entered as he summoned them. Placed on their knees between two rows of executioners with frightful visages – twelve to the side, who stood there – their cases were disposed of, and they were punished there immediately, as soon as he ordered it, without further appeal or recourse. The soldiers and the interpreter knelt before them, while I remained upright, after having made him a very deep bow. He received us well, and addressed some pleasant words to us. I thanked him heartily, and made him a present of a piece of scarlet cloth and a large and excellent mirror, with its silver chain by which to hang it up, which had been given me for that purpose by General Don Luis. The latter already was aware that no business was transacted without a present. The inspector received the present very gladly, as it consisted of articles that were scarce in that country. He expressed many scruples in regard to it, so that it might not appear that he was receiving it as a bribe, and said that it would be taken as part payment of the duties due and to be paid by the ships; and that he had a conscience and kept his gaze on the heavens, so that he might not commit any unjust act. But in truth, although I thought that he would be satisfied with that present, he regarded it as the beginning of what we had to give and waited for the rest. I asked him to send someone to measure the ships and receive the duties, for it was now time for us to leave. He did so immediately, and sent officials like himself. Those officials declared, because they were not bribed at the beginning, that the duties amounted to one thousand eight hundred ducados. Don Luis, having been advised of what ought to be done, asked that the measurements be made a second time; and after he had given them their bribe, they took off the thousand ducados, and the duties remained at only eight hundred. Believing that the inspector’s greed was satisfied, I delayed two or three days in going to see him; but he, as his appetite had been whetted for the desire of more with the taste that he had received, took my delay very ill, and had only the two soldiers and the interpreter summoned, but ordered me not to go to him. On seeing them, he broke out into great anger because they had not treated him according to his dignity. He ordered the interpreter to be beaten as the most guilty, since, knowing the custom of the country, he had not advised us thereof. They actually administered five blows to him, and the blows that they give are always few, but very severe. Those blows accordingly formed great wounds on the upper part of his legs, that being where they are administered. He ordered the soldiers to be all but lashed. They were thrown to the ground, and their legs bared, while the executioner stood near them with his lash raised. That instrument is made from a very large bamboo (such as grow there), split in two and weighted somewhat with lead, and having many slits, whose edges cut like knives. And as the executioner stood thus, waiting for the order to strike the blow, he ordered him to stay his hand, being satisfied to see them thus fearful. Then he ordered all three to be taken prisoners to a public prison, which was located at a considerable distance from his house. While on the way thither they had me summoned, and bribed the officials to stop in an idol temple. I went there alone, although with great difficulty. They implored me again and again not to leave them in custody, for they would die in prison. I promised them not to leave that place until they were liberated, or else I would share the same fortune with them. I well understood that those blows were directed at me, rather than at them; and that, although given to others, were a threat to me so that I should tremble and give the inspector what he desired, or he would cause me also to suffer such things, or even greater. I knew already that his parasites had informed him of the esteem in which the Spanish hold their priests and religious, and that they would redeem by weight of silver whatever insult he might try to inflict on me; and that if he wished to fill his hand well, he should make what extortions from me his tyrannous and greedy taste dictated. I had no silver to satisfy his desire, nor, even had I desired to supply that lack by any efforts, did I have any method or means to do so. It even cost me very dearly to enter the city, and I could not go on that account. I was persecuted by children, who accosted me as did the children of Bethel the holy prophet Elisha; while not one of the men had compassion on me, for they do not know what compassion means toward their own countrymen, however afflicted they see them to be. And further, if they behold them persecuted by the more influential men, then in such case they flee from the sight of them, in fear lest they receive a portion of the punishment, as being accomplices in the guilt. The soldiers, as they were afflicted, attributed the slowness of the relief to my neglect, and the inspector to obstinacy. Finally he endeavored to satisfy his greed by making open proof of my patience. Therefore, he summoned me on All Saints’ day. I heard of his resolve some days beforehand, and prepared for it by saying mass – for which I had the opportunity, as the Portuguese from Macan happened to be there at that time, by virtue of their ordinary permission to go to Canton twice each year, to purchase the articles that they need in certain fairs which are held there at that time. However, they are not permitted to live in the city, but must remain in their own boats in the river. As that purchasing (which lasts many days) is a matter of consequence, the Portuguese bring a priest, who says mass to them, in a little house near the river. At that time there were three fathers of the Society there, one of whom was acting in the capacity of chaplain for the traders, while the other two were about to enter the interior with Father Matheo Riccio, who had lived there for years. One of those two fathers, one Lacaro Catanio, had lived with the above father for some years; and, having gone to Macan on business, was then returning with another Spaniard named Diego Pantoja. Both of them dressed themselves, on the afternoon of the eve of All Saints, in Chinese habits, in order to make their journey with some guides that they had with them. Father Lacaro Catanio, as he had been a long time in China, had long hair and beard, but the other father, having only recently arrived, did not; and consequently he was in some danger, as he did not follow the customs of the country in everything. By way, then, of those fathers I was enabled to say mass. Scarcely had I concluded it, when I was accosted by an official of the inspector, with his chapa (or summons) to take me before the inspector. I went thither, and found him in his courtroom, as at the first time. Although I intended to show him the same courtesy as the first time, he made me kneel down, besides going between those two files of executioners, who appeared to me like demons. The inspector began then to shout at me, in his treble voice, and poured forth a torrent of words, which were explained to me by a Chinese who understood some Portuguese. He charged me in his speech with being a spy, as I had not observed my duty. At the end of the speech came his deeds. At the inspector’s order one of those executioners threw me to the ground, and, baring my legs, raised himself in a position to lash me. While in that position, the inspector repeated many times his assertion that I must be a spy. Thereupon I drew a report from my bosom that I brought from the Chinese who were living in Manila, both Christians and heathens, which told of the great good that the members of my order had done there to all of their nation – how we cared for their sick, supported the poor, and defended them all from injuries which were attempted against them. It was written in their own characters, on a sheet of paper one braza long, and was folded within a covering, also made of paper, after their manner and custom. I had come prepared with that for whatever might happen, and accordingly I presented it at that so pressing moment. The inspector read it, while I was kept stretched out and bared ready for the lash, and the executioner awaiting only the sign to chastise me. As the letter was not to the inspector’s liking, he paid no heed to it. However, he did not carry out the execution [of the punishment], but ordered me to rise and adjust my clothing and come to his desk. I thought that it was to make peace, but it was only to vary the mode of affliction by changing the torture, which he ordered to be given me between the fingers, while placed on my knees before him with folded hands. For that purpose some little rounded sticks were brought, in which there were some small grooves at each end and in the middle. Those sticks were placed between the fingers of both hands and were then pressed together by some cords, tighter and tighter as the inspector ordered – until, when I fell as if in a faint, he ordered the torment to cease. He ordered me to be gone, and said that, if I did not give him a thousand taes of silver on the morrow (each tae being equivalent to ten reals, thus all amounting to about one thousand ducados), he would kill me. I left his presence, with the bad treatment that I have described, and went to my lodgings as best as I could, where I found an order from the inspector not to receive me. I knew not where to go, for all fled from me, being fearful lest some blow should come upon them by reason of me. I determined to go to the ship where the fathers were. Then the merchants returned, much earlier than was their custom, saying that all the city had risen against them, because I had gone to their ship. They besought me not to do so evil an act, for they feared a serious danger from that. As they refused to receive me, I returned to the shore, where a Chinese trader who had been in Manila on various occasions received me into his house. He got me the loan of one hundred taes of silver, payable with interest; and that night I went clad as a Chinese, so that I might not be recognized, to the Portuguese ships. On my word – which I pledged on that of General Don Luis, in whose cause I was acting – they lent me two hundred more. I sent that whole sum to the inspector next day by my host, who was a man of esteem in the city; I also had him ask that the inspector would be satisfied with that amount, as I had borrowed it as an alms, and could find no more, and that he would be pleased to liberate the prisoners, and grant us permission to go to our ship. That was a just petition, but it was ill received and worse despatched; for although I thought that that gift would soften that heart of stone, I discovered that it had been like throwing a little water on the forge which blazes all the fiercer. The inspector sent a constable with his chapa to summon me that afternoon. It was necessary to go; and, thanks to my host, who accompanied me, they took me to the entrance by another gate of the city, as it was nearer his house. But when the guards saw me they refused to allow me to enter, and although the constable showed them the chapa of the inspector, they declared that that concerned me, and not them; accordingly, they refused me entrance. It was necessary for the constable to go to his master, and report the matter to him. The latter gave another chapa for the gatekeepers, and they, taking it, copied it and allowed me to enter. I did not find the inspector in his court, but in a lodging nearer the center of the city. He was the only one seated, while all his officials were standing. The money which I had had sent to him was on a desk. I knelt down, at a considerable distance from him, whereupon he began to chide me, and to say many things to me that I did not understand. It seemed to me that he was asking questions of me, and I only answered Purhiautet– that is to say, “I do not understand.” He rose from his chair, and came toward me, in order to address me from a shorter distance. It seemed from his actions that he meant to scratch out my eyes with his fingers (they are great men for such deeds, the more when they are angry). He finally satisfied his wrath by ordering me to be taken straight to the prison where the soldiers were. An iron chain was therefore quickly put about my neck, and fastened with a padlock; and one of the executioners, holding the end of it, walked before me, obliging me thus to follow him as a captive. The prison was at a considerable distance, and was under the orders of another mandarin, to whom he sent me, so that the latter might incarcerate me. In such guise, I crossed all those streets, which swarmed with people, at four o’clock in the afternoon, and appeared before this mandarin – who was in his tribunal, into which the door of the prison opened. When the soldiers saw me through the door, they began to weep. [I fell on my knees before him, and he asked me through my interpreter the cause of my imprisonment. I replied, and the cause seemed to him bad: but he told me that no one could undo what the inspector did. He said that he would try to satisfy the inspector, because the latter was obliged to go off very quickly on his inspection, and, if he left me a prisoner here, no one else had the authority to release me. With this he ordered the chains to be taken off, and sent me into the prison. When I saw myself in prison with the soldiers I was without anxiety, because for their sake I had made all these stations,21 and after all without succeeding in rescuing the prisoners – though I could have taken refuge in our ships if I had chosen, as I afterwards did; while now, by adventuring the same fortune with them, I left God to watch over all. There were in this prison some three hundred prisoners, many condemned to death, but permitted to work during the daytime in order to earn their food. I suffered in the prison, because I had little protection and the weather was very cold. God delivered me within only three days; my host became my security for a thousand taes. As I was about to leave the prison, all the servants crowded about me asking for plata (silver), for they already knew its name in our Castilian. There were so many that, even if I had had much to give, there would have been little for each one. As I had nothing to give, I gave them nothing, and they paid me with hard words and blows. It was very late; and we were obliged to go to the house of the inspector, and from it to that of the guarantor outside of the city, in which we were not permitted to sleep. All this was to be done before they closed the gates. We were kept waiting in the courtyard of the inspector for some time. In addition to falling on our knees before him, he made us bow our heads and then turned us over to our bondsman. When we reached the latter’s house, we had to enter by leaping over a lighted fire which they said was the ceremony of security. The poor guarantor immediately began to suffer persecution, for all the servants and attendants of the inspector, though they had in no way intervened in our business, came to beg money from him from that which they said he must have received from me, to persuade him to become my security. The man brought all these demands to me; but I answered him that nothing more was to be paid than the thousand taes, and these we should get from Don Luis. He was unwilling to go to Don Luis, and took great care to prevent us from escaping. We, fearing that Don Luis and his soldiers might be forced by our delay to leave us in this embarrassment, determined to save ourselves. We agreed with a Chinaman, for ten taes to help us escape, letting us out through a secret door opening upon a creek that flowed into the large river, and taking us down in a boat. We sailed down stream that night and the next day, no one appearing on the boat in the daytime except the Chinese sailors. We succeeded in eluding all the vessels that might have wished to inspect us, and reached our ships. As soon as our sailors received their pay they ran away. A few hours later, my guarantor appeared with an armed vessel. He was unable to find out who had helped us, and was satisfied with receiving the amount of money for which he had been pledged. We then set sail, Don Luis and the rest to Manila, and I to Macan, for I was in such a condition of ill health as a result of hardship and exposure that I did not dare to undertake the voyage to Manila. At this time father Fray Alonso Ximenez died in Macan. His death was caused by the hardships and exposure which he had undergone in endeavoring to evangelize the kingdom of Camboja. Though he was almost seventy years of age when he set out on the expedition, he endured everything that befell him with patience and courage, consoling the others, though he had always himself the most to suffer. He was very devout, never omitting his daily hours of prayer on his journeys or voyages. When in Cochinchina, his captivity was comforted by the opportunity given him to convert two condemned criminals. The failures of his attempts to reach the kingdom of Camboja and to convert the people there did not discourage him or diminish his enthusiasm. When Don Luis and his men were cruelly attacked by the Portuguese of Macan, father Fray Alonso went to Macan to interpose his authority, and to act as mediator between the Portuguese and the Castilians. Father Fray Alonso had great difficulty in pacifying the Portuguese, and was obliged to encounter much vituperation; but he received more joy in the baptism of two sick persons at the point of death than he had lost in all the sufferings which have been narrated. He died in our convent at Macan, to the great sorrow of the religious about him at the loss of so holy an associate. General Don Luis and all of the troops that he had brought with him attributed to the loss of father Fray Alonso all the sufferings which they were obliged to undergo afterward; while they ascribed to his presence and his prayers the rescue of their ship in the dreadful storm which they had experienced on the day of St. Francis. On that day they had been in the midst of shoals, and had seen many Chinese vessels wrecked about them; and the wind had been so violent that it had thrown down many strongly-rooted trees on land. Father Fray Alonso was a son of the convent of S. Esteban at Salamanca. Desirous for the conversion of the Indians, he passed his youth in the devout province of Guatemala. Having retired to his convent, to take up the works of Mary after he had done those of Martha, he heard of the foundation of the province of the Philippinas. When many were turned back by the difficulties in Mexico, father Fray Alonso was always firm and constant. When he reached Manila, the ministry of Batan fell to his lot. In spite of his age, and the great difficulty which he had in learning the Indian language, he at length succeeded. In this ministry he suffered the hardships which have been described already. He was especially kind and serviceable to sick Indians, preparing dishes of meat or eggs for them, and even putting the food in their mouths, with his own hands. Being taken severely ill as a result of all the hardships to which he was exposed, he was carried to the convent of Manila. Scarcely did he feel better, when he left his bed and began to work at the building of the church, turning his hand to this manual labor with the greatest skill. When he was elected prior, he had no assistance in the convent except one priest and one lay brother; but, few as they were, they performed all the offices of a community. As he had a sonorous voice and understood music well, he would sing the whole mass alone; then leave the choir to go to the pulpit and preach, and then return to the choir, though he had been hearing confessions all the morning. This he did without failing to make his regular daily prayer. Even when alone he used to say matins aloud, and on some feast-days would sing a great part of them. He was elected provincial from this office of prior; and in his provincialate he made many excellent ordinances for the ministry to the Indians, which are still observed and esteemed as if they had been ordained yesterday. During his time the province was greatly extended, the whole of the province of Nueva Segovia being admitted, and many new churches and missions being established in that of Pangasinan. It was his desire also that the kingdom of Camboxa should be added to it; and in the glorious enterprise of extending the gospel to that kingdom he ended his life.]