Part 19

After making this treaty and securing this result (which, of a truth, your Lordship may regard as most felicitous and of great importance, and as the beginning of much good), I retired to my fleet. Next day the chiefs came to the river-bank, and I made them friends with Danganlibor and Lumaquan, and they embraced each other. Some of them boarded the galleys, and began thus to lose their fear gradually. Already some of the chiefs have started to go to their villages, and have collected their people in order to settle them. I hope, God willing, that everything will assume a settled and quiet condition. And albeit that my toil and my service rendered to your Lordship in this affair do not equal my desire, still your Lordship can represent it to his Majesty as one of the greatest that have been rendered in these islands. I am not going to leave them; so, when any greater opportunity arises, your Lordship may entrust it to me. I assert that if this occasion had not had the almost unexpected favorable ending, and if our Lord had not evidently been pleased to lend His aid, your Lordship would suffer great anxiety and all the islands would be in great straits; for, with the alliance that they had formed with Terrenate, there would be no safety in the entire district.

[The victorious troops were in the greatest need. There were many messes of four or five with only one shirt among them, which they wore by turns. There was only ammunition enough for two hours. There was only rice enough to allow fifteen gantas a month to Spaniards and ten to Indians; and even this ration would only last till the end of August. They had no meat or fish. Ronquillo had "set a dragnet," and taken the rice of all the people within reach, beginning with himself. Then he sent out officers in fragatas to search for rice, giving them four hundred pesos for the purpose, and directing them to pay as long as the money lasted, and then to take provisions in any way in which they could get them. They were, if necessary, to use force to obtain supplies from encomenderos or Indians, for their pay giving them orders on the charges of the land (_situado_), or the tribute, or to be paid when possible. As for the other parts of the island, the very chiefs were perishing of hunger, because of the war, and came daily to beg for rice. This they received, in order that they might be bound to the Spaniards. Accordingly Ronquillo asks for assistance and supplies from Manila until the stress should be over in Mindanao. He gives honorable mention to his officers and troops, many of whom were wounded. He looks forward to great difficulties as soon as any attempt shall be made to collect tributes. The leading chiefs collect tribute from their vassals; and the only demand hitherto has been for open friendship and the recognition of the sovereignty of Spain. If these men--Raxa Mura, Sala, Silonga, and Lumaquan--are now told that they must not collect tribute, but that all the tribute must be paid to his Majesty and to individuals, "it will be a very bitter draught for them to swallow." These Indians, Ronquillo says, are not like those in Luzon, but are accustomed to power and sovereignty. Some collect five or six thousand tributes. If the tributes are to be collected, two hundred more soldiers and a large quantity of ammunition will be necessary, or much additional time. The troops have not been paid what Figueroa owed them; and it is plain that no profit is to be expected in the island for a long time to come. When it does come, the encomenderos, who have fraudulently remained at leisure in Manila, will get it. Hence the soldiers have petitioned that the property of Figueroa in the island be sold and the proceeds applied to their payment. Fourteen hundred pesos of worked silver was sold; and the soldiers received six pesos each. The captains also asked and received some compensation. The discontent was so great that Ronquillo declares that no resolution can command men so ragged and starving, penniless and unpaid; and that they are already saying that they cannot eat good words. He concludes this section by asking for twenty thousand pesos and eight hundred Indian rowers, and for some exchanges of his men.]

_That the country is not such as it has been painted, and not so excellent as has been reported._ Hitherto it has not been possible to tell your Lordship anything certain of this country, except that it will be of but little advantage to his Majesty, but a source of great expense. It has far fewer inhabitants than was reported, and all are very poor, so that their breakfast consists only in cleaning their arms, and their work in using them, and not in cultivating the land, which is low and swampy in this river. There is no chief who can raise twenty taes of gold. Rice is very scarce; in the tingues is found a small amount, which is used for food by the chiefs only. They are some swine, and a few fowls that are very cunning, and less fruit. It abounds in fish in some districts, but this river contains only eels. They are as good as those of España. They are not found all the year round, but only during the rainy season. The climate does not differ much from that there. It has very dense fogs. I have been unable to make a complete map of the island. I am sending your Lordship only that of this river, made with exactness, with all its arms and estuaries, and their settlements. The arithmetical symbols represent the number of people in each, and the letters the names of the chiefs. I have corrected it with all care. We have already examined almost everything from the coast of La Canela, Dapitan, and Botran [Butúan?]. There is a full report there which may be filed with this map.

_The island of Matheo is excellent, and a better expedition could be made there._ Concerning the island of Matheo, I have been able to learn from men who have been there that it is very fertile, thickly populated, and rich in food products, including rice. The inhabitants are not very warlike. Would to God that your Lordship had expended there what was left here, for with less effort we would have gained more. Terrenate has some dealings with this island. [I say this] in case anything is to be done before it has more. Of Maluco I have not ascertained anything new, except that things are in their usual condition.

_He has not effected a settlement, as he has not found a convenient site. He is awaiting the pleasure of your Lordship, and [a more favorable] season._ As yet I have not effected any settlement, as I have not found a suitable and convenient location for it, for all the river above is swampy; and, if we were to look for dry land along its course, it is so far away that it would take a week to reach it from the mouth of the river. Although beyond this river, toward La Canela, there is a good place for a settlement, yet it is not advisable to leave this river now until matters are more settled and quiet. This river is the residence of the chief men of the island. Accordingly I shall wait the result of this rainy season; and if the discomfort be not too great, I shall settle on the site where I am now established, which is in a very good position, and here I shall await your Lordship's decision.

_That the Indians are warlike and have fortified themselves, with their forces now there, and others that they will collect, when the proposal is made that they must pay tribute. Hence, reënforcements of soldiers, ammunition and food are necessary, and time._ Although things have so fortunate a beginning as I have related, it is by way of peace. All the chiefs retain their full complements of artillery and arquebuses, so that, whenever they wish to defend themselves, they may do so. Beyond any doubt, on the day that tribute is demanded from them, not only our new friends, but Danganlibor and Lumaquan as well, who rendered homage of their own free will, will rebel. For the speedy subjection of them all, we need a large force. Hence I repeat to your Lordship, in order that you may not be deceived by certain opinions of persons who have not seen this region for many years--for it is not as of yore, and they did not know it, and the inhabitants are Indians only in name--that a great force of soldiers is needed, as well as ammunition, in order to make them pay tribute. This matter is of prime importance. I would not be complying with my obligation unless I entreated your Lordship to consider this matter deeply. You should consider whether this enterprise must be given up or sustained, for it is very costly, and we must not allow odds to be taken of us when we have our best opportunity. Thus I think that we can finish this matter at one time, and that your Lordship should send two hundred men in one summer. With this number we can overrun all districts, take away the natives' artillery, and collect tribute. This manner of proceeding would be very economical.

_All the men, counting those maimed, number two hundred and sixty._ The number of men that I found in this island and those who should be brought from Zibu fell far short of what I expected. All that I could gather together--gunners, sailors, and maimed men--do not number more than two hundred and sixty-four men. Some of them have died. I am sending there the crippled and maimed, who are useless, so that I shall have left in this river a trifle above two hundred men, many of whom are sick, because of past hardships and their wretched existence.

_That medicines and delicacies be provided._ The master-of-camp is sick, and I fear lest, with the advance of the rainy season, the sickness will continue to increase; for it cannot be alleviated by medicines and delicacies, because we have none. This is a great pity. I entreat your Lordship to have medicines and some delicacies provided for the sick, and clothing for the hospital.

_That religious are not going there to furnish instruction_. Father Chirinos [40] came to this island with the sargento-mayor, and on his first sight of it was so discontented that for no other reason, he turned his back upon it, and was in so great a hurry to return that he declared that if a vessel were not given him immediately in which to leave, he would swim away. He went away speaking ill of this place, and has caused great annoyance and wrong to these poor soldiers. If a religious who ought to be happy with a hard life, and who ought to seek hardships in which to serve God better, refused those which might be offered him here, the soldiers, who are less perfect and less filled with God, will do but little. Father Juan de Sanlucar asked me for leave likewise to go there with this vessel, in order to go to get a companion, as he could not stay here alone. I did not grant it him. If the fathers of the Society are to have this place in charge, it will be right for them to send religious. If not, then they should say so, and your Lordship should request the ecclesiastical government to provide ministers. The one here at present has labored to our great approbation and has set a good example. But he is greatly grieved at being alone, and he is not without reason, for he has no one to whom to make his confession.

The ration given to these people is so small that it can only be endured in times of great stress. Indeed it is doubtful whether a Spaniard could live on only one-half ganta of rice, without anything else; and even the Indian is unable to do so without having some fish with it. For the future we need abundance of provisions; for, as I have noted, we cannot expect this land to furnish them, because it does not have any. Your Lordship must have them provided in accordance with the accompanying memorandum.

_That it is advisable to send hither the encomenderos, and from there to give the soldiers and captains some gratification and pay._ All the captains and soldiers of this camp perform their duties grumblingly, since the encomenderos enjoy the fruits of their labor. Through false representations the encomenderos have remained behind, instead of coming here on this pacification. If each encomendero has to live on his encomienda, and the heirs of Estevan Rodriguez in some part of the island, there is nothing left for the captains and soldiers. The owners should come, therefore, to reduce their encomiendas to subjection, since they take the gain. They do not go very far upon the road, and it is not a good argument to say that each one will pacify his own encomienda; for so long as this river is unpacified, nothing is pacified. Your Lordship should order all of them, without any exception, to come in person, and to bring some soldiers at their own cost, with sufficient food for a year's maintenance. In this way, something will be done; for an encomienda cannot be pacified with only one soldier, paid by an encomendero. I entreat your Lordship to decide quickly upon the course to be taken, and, with the same haste, to send me immediate advice by a birey. The route is open, and the virey can come here any time in June; thus I may be advised in advance of your Lordship's orders as to the course to pursue here, and this needy people may be encouraged with the hope of speedy relief. Your Lordship should write to them, thanking them for their labors, and encouraging them with their pay, to continue their work. May God preserve your Lordship many years, with the increase of dignities that we your servants desire. Tanpaca, May 10, 97. Your Lordship's most humble servant.

_Don Juan Ronquillo_

[_Endorsed:_ "Mindanao, 1597. General Don Juan Rronquillo."]

_The campaign_

The sargento-mayor of the city of Manila left for Mindanao on the thirtieth of December of ninety-six, and arrived at the city of Zebu on the fourteenth of January. He left there for La Caldera [41] on the twenty-ninth of the said month, and arrived at La Caldera on the second of February, where he found the fleet of Mindanao, which had gone away for lack of supplies. The whole fleet left La Caldera on the sixth of said month, in the direction of Mindanao; and on the eleventh Captain Torivio de Misa was sent forward with a galliot and two lapis, as he suspected that the unfriendly Indians had surrounded the friendly natives from Tanpacon. On the fourteenth he sent Sargento-mayor Diego de Chaves with two galleys, and other light vessels, to follow up Torivio de Miranda; and he remained behind with the three fragatas, which, as they were heavy vessels, could not follow the rest of the fleet.

On the fifteenth of December, Captain Graviel Gonzales, who was on board one of the lapis which accompanied Torivio de Miranda, was drowned while passing Las Flechas, at the edge of the river of Mindanao. On the seventeenth, Captain Torivio de Miranda entered the river, where he found that the enemy had drawn a blockade about our friends of Tanpacon, and had killed more than seventy of them; but at his arrival they raised the blockade, and retired to their fort in flight.

On the eighth of January, Captain Chaves arrived with his fragatas at the river, and on the twelfth planned and founded the fort of Tanpacan near this settlement of our friends. On the twenty-fifth, the sargento-mayor sailed for the river of Simay to capture certain vessels belonging to the enemy, in which they were going to seek aid from Terrenate. During a certain battle which they had there with the enemy, he had a leg cut off, well toward the thigh, and recived a shot in the helmet above the ear. One of his comrades, who was fighting at his side, had his right leg cut off. On the tenth of March, the master-of-camp arrived; and, on the twenty-first, General Don Juan Ronquillo.

On the tenth of April the enemy's fleet came up, and on the seventeenth they landed, sweeping along the allies in front of them, together with forty arquebusiers, who were escorting them in their line, and on their right wing. A few days ago the enemy made an attack from ambuscade, with more than two thousand men. They came on, closing in until they reached the squadron, where they encountered the resistance of arms to their advance, and retired fleeing. They left some of their bravest dead, together with a few Terrenatans, without doing any damage to us, except killing five Visayans. Accordingly our squadron, which consisted of a hundred and sixty-nine men, on the fourth day intrenched themselves as best they could; and little by little moved the intrenchments forward until they were a hundred and sixty-six paces from the enemy. During this time the enemy defended themselves with a park of small artillery and two large guns. On the twenty-fifth, the general sent to consult Sargento-mayor Diego de Chaves, who was in the fleet; and by his opinion a traverse was built as a half-moon, where were stationed seven pieces of artillery, with which they battered the fort of the enemy.

On the twenty-eighth, when the enemy saw the damage which our artillery was doing them, they rendered obedience and sued for peace; and on the twenty-ninth peace was agreed upon with the following conditions: They were to return the Visayan slaves whom they hold, and pay tribute, and must not receive Terrenatans in their country. They were to give obedience to his Majesty, and the chiefs were to give oath; and in pledge of this they gave a golden chain. They are all going back to their villages, and gathering up the Visayan slaves. It will be well to reënforce the Spaniards with troops and money this year, so that matters may remain settled and they shall not try to create a disturbance again.

Memorial on Navigation and Conquest

[This memorial, addressed to Felipe II by Hernando de los Ríos, is prefaced by a letter from Luis Perez Dasmariñas, as follows:]

Sire: In these islands resides a person named Hernando de los Ryos, a colonel, a man of much information concerning important matters, and particularly learned in mathematics and astrology, and possessed of such virtue and such uprightness of life, and so zealous and desirous of the service of God and your Majesty, and of the common welfare, that I know not if there be a man in these parts to exceed him in this; and may it please our Lord to give us many who shall succeed in being so disinterested in worldly things and earthly claims. At any rate, in the secular estate, in my opinion and perhaps that of many good men, I know not if you will find in this country, or even for the most part in others, a man of more learning, respectability, and virtue, accompanied by other good qualities and gifts with which God has graced him, and which are so well employed and profited by, as in himself. For his sole object is to serve God and desire his service and that of your Majesty, and the great good which can be accomplished in these regions; and he is not interested in the occupations and advantages of office, although it would be well indeed if all those who hold them had the qualifications that he has for them. At any rate, he has refused and rejected some of the best offices of this country, particularly an offer to be a royal official of the royal exchequer of your Majesty, when I desired him to be so during my government, as I understood that he was a fit man for the service of God and of your Majesty. It was impossible, however, to persuade him. His intention, as I have understood, is to become a priest. He has made a very peculiar instrument of general usefulness in many curious and important ways, particularly in navigation, for getting bearings and taking measurements, which are rendered very easy. I do not send one to your Majesty, because he has not finished a book of description and explanation of this instrument. I have persuaded him to send one to your Majesty, as I also shall do, as I consider it well that your Majesty should have information of the learning, virtue, and parts which are found in him, as it may be of use and importance for the service of God and your Majesty--whom may our Lord protect many years of life, according to His power and the desire and need of us all. Manyla, June 27, 1597.

_Luys Perez Das Marinas_

_Memorial_

Indeed, the desire which possesses me of serving your Majesty and ending my life in your service, as I am a humble vassal of your Majesty, was too mixed with awe to allow of this boldness, if Don Luis Perez de las Marinas, former governor of these islands, had not encouraged me and persuaded me to give information to your Majesty of several matters concerning these parts, as a person who has spent nine years here. I could wish that it was with better reason, if time had been given me to finish a book which treats of the use of an astrolabe, very important for the service of your Majesty, for use in the art of navigation. This I would send you this year, with an ample relation of various matters, if Don Francisco Tello, governor of these islands, had not occupied me in ridding them of a great number of Chinese and Japanese Sangleys, who, under pretense of being merchants, were seeking to remain in this country, and with whom there is no manner of safety. They know how to set about so cunningly to gain the good-will of the citizens that it appears almost impossible, if your Majesty does not send and order a remedy, to better the matter here, although I have used all possible diligence in it. The reason for this is that each particular citizen defends those whom he needs, as they are a people who are cunning at all crafts. Accordingly they keep them in their houses, and hide them; so that they sleep inside the city at night, to the number of about two thousand. There are more than five thousand who remain this year with the governor's license in the service of the colony, for they tell the governor that this is exoedient. It appears to me that three thousand is enough, and even with this number more care and precaution could be taken than is done here, and there should be no more of the infidels. I give this account ... [42] as a person who has them in his charge, in other matters touching ... that which Don Luis Perez de las Marinas gives your Majesty ... I have informed him so that, being so Christian and zealous a knight in the service of your Majesty, he will give a true and certain relation of all.

With this astrolabe, which, with the aid of God, I have discovered, can be found the altitude from the pole, and the latitude of any region whatsoever at any hour of the day, and at the same time it will tell the hour, in the same way that it gives directions at night by any known star more easily than the mariners usually take it at midday. Besides this, it also serves like other astrolabes at midday, to indicate the various points of the compass, and show and verify with precision the deviations and deflection of the needle from the pole. In this way it serves to give the longitude where one is sailing, on whatever parallel to the equinoctial. Likewise it shows the position of the stars, even when all their latitudes [_i.e.,_ altitudes?] and declinations are unknown, so easily that even the most uninstructed can in a short time learn it. It is of use in other curious, useful, and important ways, for the perfection of this art, which can by its aid be verified. As it is an article so curious and useful, the said Luis Perez de las Marinas persuaded me to give an account of it to your Majesty, with a brief relation and discourse concerning the information which I have of these parts.