Chapter IV

_The Augustinian Recollects are charged with the administration and conquest of the province of Calamianes. Geographical and natural description of that province_.

1. The extension of its spiritual progress to the province of Calamianes does much honor to the religious Recollect family. It was not the effect of a rash temerity; it was a matter of slow and careful deliberation. When once established and determined, resolution free from terrible doubts was necessary to undertake it. "Not only is fear not a cause for surety," said the emperor Leo [71] in his tactics, "but it is also most adverse for good strategies; since in difficult undertakings it is necessary to consult God, and, assured in one's inmost beliefs, to attack without trepidation of spirit. The best good of expeditions (especially military), if they are difficult, consists in discovering thoroughly the condition of the enemy, the number and quality of their troops, and their enterprise in military discipline. With that keen knowledge, the captain prepares his assaults, and plans his sudden counter strategies." In the present conversion, maxims so prudent were very suitable--in which, prepared by the spiritual food of faith, hope, and charity, they made manifest the mystery of the ineffable Trinity, and subdued the infidels to the sacrament of holy baptism. It was a difficult thing, and one that exceeds human strength; but obeying God, attacks become spirited. By His help one can soothe difficulties, explain intricate mysteries, and resolve everything easily. After having consulted that superior oracle, accompanied solely by his armor-bearer, one can attack whole armies, rout them, and throw them into a general confusion and consternation; and it is the enemy's own weapons that wound and disperse them.

2. The archipelago of Calamianes consists of an infinity and indeterminate number of islands, large and small, and most of them very fertile. [72] Those best known and best supplied with the products of commerce which might make them rich are [here] set down. But their lack of attention [to these products] reduces the natives to a wretched and unhappy state. The first island, and that which is first encountered from the course of Mindoro, about fifty leguas across from Luban, is Calamian the great, which gives name to the whole province. It is commonly called Busuagan, taking that name from a principal village or settlement. It is a large and pleasant island in the form of an oblong, eight long leguas in length and about four wide. Its rivers are of great volume; there are sufficient mountains; and from that nature [of the land], there is an abundant yield of wax of superior quality, which is produced naturally, and without [human] labor, by the vast multitude of industrious bees. The only work in it is the gathering of the honeycomb in its season (which is very securely fastened in the large, high, and leafy branches of the trees), by the sole effort of making fires with thick smoke, which compels those little animals, which defend their property at the cost of their lives, to flee in confusion.

3. A more profitable product is the nest made by certain small black birds, which are mistakenly called swallows. The material of which the nest is made, in order to lay and hatch their eggs, is yet unknown. It is regarded as sure that its manufacture takes place in the breast or crop, whence issues a long filament. Those filaments stick together because of their viscous nature, and at their extremities adhere to the rock. Those nests are usually located in very overhanging and rough places, in such a way that the continual rains do not unfasten or destroy them, although the birds always endeavor to place them under shelter. The shape of the nest is similar to that of the regular swallow, although smaller. It is known that that filament is produced with difficulty. It is like fine vermicelli, which is sometimes accompanied with drops of blood. It is white and somewhat transparent, like ice. It is prepared in various ways, but a soup resembling that of vermicelli, but of better taste, and incomparably more nourishing, is made with the broth from a substantial olio, or stew. It is very useful for those who suffer from evacuations and dysentery; it corrects those ailments and is good as a mild and dissolvent food. The Chinese esteem it highly, and generally pay, according to its scarcity or abundance, eight, nine, and sixteen pesos per cate, which contains twenty-one onzas. They are very difficult to gather, for the birds always build them in craggy locations, in whose tortuous and precipitous caverns they are only obtained by descending a rope. Some are obtained by climbing up bamboos, finding a rest for the feet on the knots, which are left with large projections for that purpose. So dangerous evolutions cost even broken arms and legs, and sometimes even cause death. The taking of the nests is repeated three times during the calm months of the year. The latter part of December, those to whom are assigned crags--in which it is not right for one to meddle with those of another, a rule that is observed with much fidelity--go out. They gather the old nests, which are sufficiently blackened by the preceding rains; however, they do not lose much of their nourishment. Thus do they force the little bird to make a new nest, as it cannot make use of the old one for breeding. As the desire to breed is excited by its nature, the industrious little bird strives to build its nest before breeding. All the month of January is spent in its costly labors. The destroyers come and tear them down. Sometimes they are found with eggs, and sometimes even imperfect; but nothing restrains their greed, and they tear down all indifferently. The disconsolate birds again begin to build their nest, and at the end of February or the beginning of March the Indians repeat their robbery. The saddened bird, forced to build its shelter at the behest of nature in the multiplication of the species repeats its anxious labors. Either because there is not enough material for so many labors, or because the season has passed in their periods, the bird does not possess the same inclination in its formation; the nest is finished later, and is less juicy, as experience has shown, for at that time the rainy season generally sets in. That, and the Moros who infest these seas cause the harvest of nests involuntarily to be abandoned. However, if the above circumstances do not prevent, the third excursion is not lacking. All the crags are not accessible, and where those furtive assaults cannot be made, the number of those industrious little birds is prodigious." [73]

4. The beaches are protracted into very extensive shoals and reefs. There the excellent balate is very abundant. This is a shellfish, [74] which when cooked and dried in the smoke is preserved dry. This product is highly relished by the Chinese or Sangleys. They lade as much as possible into their boats, paying thirty and even thirty-eight pesos per pico (which is equivalent to five arrobas twelve and one-half libras), according to the season. The flesh is very wholesome, and tastes like shrimp. The fisheries of fine-shelled turtles are also abundant, and they also form a conspicuous product. Some of the shells have markings as deep red as a fine garnet; and the four principal shells are of an extraordinary size. From the shells are made very neat boxes, trays, and other pretty things. They are given a jasper finish, which makes their colors shine out strongly. The island has abundance of deer, wild boars, and wild hogs, and monkeys and birds of singular rarity. There are many pagans of good appearance and better disposition. The frequent raids of the Moros hold that most fertile island in the greatest abandonment. A narrow channel separates the island of Coron [75] from it. The latter is a rocky crag about three leguas in circumference. The only entrance to it is by a narrow tongue of land, which forms, as it were, a small port. But it is so easy of defense that a few men can prevent any entrance there without danger. Because of the strength and independence of its location many natives of savage inclination, and most warlike, live there. Calamian the little follows, where the capital is at present located. [76] There is a fort there, well armed. The men in their capacity as soldiers, with their corresponding officers, defend from the natives. It is also fertile in the same products, although less abundantly than Calamian the great, but it is so overrun with rats or moles that no seed plant can live, for they destroy everything. The natives are forced to engage in the trade of jars and salt, although they are much interested in the nest business, and in that of wax; the one being their own occupation and the other the exchange.

5. Passing without comment other innumerable islands, comes the famous one of Paragua, [77] about eighty leguas long and from ten to twenty in its greatest width. It is a rich and fertile island. Besides the common articles of commerce, such as wax (of which the harvest is more abundant than in any other district), nests, fine shell, and balate, it has various fisheries for fine pearls of beautiful luster, some of them found at a depth of three or four brazas. Shells, or _madres abiertas_, of excellent mother-of-pearl, of various beautiful colors, are found on its coasts. The matrix-shell of these pearls has been seen of one and one-half ordinary palmos in length and almost one palmo in its narrowest part--whose pearl could not be obtained, because the valve opened on drawing it from the sea, and the sensitive fleshy part that contained the pearl fell into the water. According to its appearance, it must have contained pearls of many grains and carats in size. The island has various exquisite and useful woods which distil special gums. There is one which is an effective remedy for cancers; it is so powerful a caustic that it burns out the cancer even when it is deep, although the wounds caused by its burning are dangerous. However, those wounds have their suitable remedy. There is a quantity of nutmeg of two varieties--the long and the round. The latter is valued more because it is more fragrant. It is easily destroyed by grubs, because the precautions useful for its preservation are unknown. There are bejucos or Indian canes for walking-sticks, with their branches as much as five and one-half palmos long; they are of better luster and of greater toughness than are those gathered by the Dutch in the islands of the Sonda. I am sure that camphor would be found, if one looked for it, just as good as that of Borney; for the resemblance of Paragua's productions to those of that great island is very marked, and the latter is not very far from its southern point.

6. There are but few quadrupeds [78] that are not found in the other islands: porcupines, armadillos, _tezones_, leopards, _colcobos_, and certain very beautiful foxes, but of the same species as the stink-foxes of Peru, and very pestilent. They come to the houses in their greed for fowls, among which they cause considerable havoc. But whether it is due to their urine or some other posterior evacuation, such is their stench that is necessary to abandon the house for a time, as it is unendurable. There are many and rare birds. Royal peacocks are very common; they are but slightly larger than a hen, though without any difference from the large peacocks of India in the vividness of their colors. Several efforts have been made to domesticate them, but in vain; they become greatly depressed, and soon die. There are nightingales that sing harmoniously near the coolness of the small streamlets, repeating their melodious trills, and gifted with most nimble throats. There are many varieties of parrots of brilliant colors; green, white, and vari-colored pigeons; squirrels or _paniquesas_, of several distinct species--some are white with a black ring which sets them off well; there are some with wings and some with membranes that facilitate their flight, although that is but short. It is known that the land is one continuous mineral district. Extensions of pure iron jut from the shores laid bare by the breaking of the waves, as rocky shoals. There are others of vitriol or verdigris, in very rich veins. It must be that the centers of the mountains are like this. The island abounds in exquisite and healthful waters, now in the springs, now in the large rivers--so many in number that sixty-seven are counted from Catbuli to the bay of Ypolote, on the side and coast of the east. Numerous tribes live there. In the roughest locations the Aetas or black Cimarrones are gathered. Along the rivers and level farm lands the natives are of a lighter complexion, and less ugly in feature. This island is peculiar in what we have already mentioned, namely, that earthquakes are not experienced there. But there are stormy clouds that emit vivid lightnings and terrifying thunder. But we have not heard that the fury of the thunderbolts is in those clouds, or results from them, for the inhabitants of Paragua have experienced none of those ravages. Consequently, they do not have any words or terms peculiar to their language, for these or for earthquakes, which is a very convincing proof....

7. The coasts, bays, and rivers of that large island abound plentifully in divers and savory fish. In the bay of Malampaya, opposite Taytay, in the same district as Manila, although with a clear and deep bottom, there are many islands, which beautify the bay with their foliage. A vast multitude of vicudas enter the great rivers at the spawning season--a fine cod-fish that differs in no wise from that of Terranova [_i.e.,_ Newfoundland], and when fresh they are of delicious taste. The Indians catch them (although with danger from the Moros), and without other appliances than certain hooks, and as many as they wish. For lack of salt, they smoke-dry them, which always leaves an unpleasant taste, and the fish spoil easily. Paragua has its own near-by islands scattered along its coast, some of which are inhabited by pigeons, various species of parrots, peacocks, and aquatic birds; others in which sailors get as many eggs and squabs, or the young of such birds, as they wish. The largest and most fertile [of these islands] is that of Dumaran, which is separated from Paragua by a narrow strait. It is a fertile island, in which there is a most abundant harvest of rice, which as a general rule yields more than a hundred-fold.

8. The island of Alutaya belongs to that province. It is a rocky and arid land. However, it has plenty of domestic and useful animals, [the rearing of which forms], the careful industry of its natives. It is about thirty leguas across the open sea from the islands of Calamianes. About six leguas away is the island of Cuyo, which is small, being about three leguas in circuit, and low, but very fertile. It contains whatever is fitting and desirable for the sustenance of human life. Its natives, being for the most part descendants of Sangleys, are industrious and shrewd in trade. In exchange for the edible and potable products of their island, and the textiles of Yloylo, and tobacco, they lade fine products in Calamianes, an exchange that causes anger to the alcaldes-mayor. The latter endeavor to prevent that trade, which injures their interests; but those people by their shrewdness deceive them easily, and frustrate the efforts of the alcaldes. The natives were on the whole very savage, and had even more barbarous customs and greater stupidity than the inhabitants of the other islands. They have a knowledge of herbs. In Paragua especially, there are some very poisonous ones. They use them to bewitch their fellows and deprive them of life. There is one of so uncommon deadliness, that if it be chewed in the mouth, and if the exhalations from it be directed in a gentle current toward any person whom it is wished to destroy, his life is quickly taken away. I heard that from some who have intercourse with the Negroes of Dapit, who know more about it and use it mere easily. The way to overcome those fatal effects is to carry the effective remedy with one--another herb or root. Thus the evil breath loses all its force, and the [aforesaid] herb or root is a sure antidote for its deadliness.

9. This Recollect province set itself to conquer those savage monsters. They had but little religion, and that an idolatry so barbarous and stupid that no light of reason was visible in it. Their knowledge of the first cause was very erroneous and confused. They admitted another life, but through certain very confused transmigrations. They revered their dead greatly, for they prepared food for their resting-places. They had certain little idols--one who presided over the fields, one over wars, one over illnesses--and they offered ridiculous sacrifices to all. They revered the moon greatly, as the mistress of death, and celebrated their funeral rites only at the full moon. Their priests had high honor among them, and still more the priestesses, who arrogated despotic power to themselves. They had no civil body, but were scattered, and had communication only in their families. They were timid and cowardly, and avenged their grievances only by treachery. Five religious were assigned for that difficult undertaking, their director and superior being father Fray Juan de Santo Thomas, a missionary of proved spirit and a man of resolute mind. They left Manila provided with the necessary supplies. They put in first at the island of Cuyo, whose natives, being of excellent disposition, were hoping to have Spaniards in their island--although this was against the will of their priests, who were losing their profits (which their offices made easy) by admitting them. The missionaries were received with affection by the others, who had no such interests. They first reduced those people to a social life and united them, settling quarrels among the families, and forming a goodly village; and, urging their obligation, they built a church and house. They continued gently to insinuate themselves in the natives' hearts and succeeded in reducing them to the bosom of the Catholic church. Thence they went to Alutaya. They preached the gospel, and, in the same manner, established a town, church, and house, for the people received the instruction with docility.

10. After those so fortunate beginnings, they determined to send two of the said religious and one lay brother to Paragua. They entered the bay of Taytay, where they experienced greater resistance. The people were opposed to living congregated in one settlement, and that was the gravest hindrance; but the fathers were able to attain in part, by dint of patience and constancy. The greatest annoyance arose from the Moros, who infested those coasts, and the natives were unwilling to expose themselves to their injuries by establishing themselves on the beach. The religious hoped that the Spaniards would defend them with their arms, and that with their reduction they would become established there. By that method and other effective efforts they attained the erection of a large village. Thence the religious informed the superior government of their progress, and that for its continuation and the defense of the natives--both those already reduced, and those whom they expected to reduce--the construction of a fort was necessary for the reduction of the island of Paragua, in which a Spanish garrison might be stationed. By that means the reduction of all that large island was certain. Accordingly, that determination was taken in a meeting of the royal treasury tribunal; and two companies were detached for the garrison, one Spanish and the other Pampanga. The title and pay of royal chaplain was given and conceded to the minister of that village. The fort mounted on its ramparts some excellent artillery. The conquests were carried farther along that coast, and inland. The Spaniards were also received, and without any repugnance the natives accommodated themselves to the fitting homage, even the infidels recognizing the tribute. Villages were established on the river of Barbacan, Aborlan, and as far as Ypolote. They also reduced the island of Dumaran, and spread to the Calamianes Islands, where they founded reductions in Linacapan, Culiong, or Calamian the lesser, and in the greater [Oalamian] at Busuagan. To the above, which they regarded as capitals, they added other near-by villages; and as their ministrations spread so extraordinarily, it became necessary for a greater number of religious to go there. That was made possible by the second arrival from España of father Fray Rodrigo de San Miguel, [79] who had been sent to make various efforts in their interests, and who returned with eight religious.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

The principal document in this volume, "Early Recollect missions in the Philippines," is compiled from the following works:

1. _Historia general de los religiosos descalzos del orden de San Avgvstin_, by Fray Andrés de San Nicolas (Madrid, 1664), pp. 396-510.

2. _Historia general de los religiosos descalzos del orden de S. Augustin_, by Fray Luis de Jesús (Madrid, 1681), pp. 1-61. (This work is a continuation of the preceding one.)

3. _Historia general de Philipinas_, by Fray Juan de la Concepción (Manila, 1788), tomo iv, pp. 189-265, and v, pp. 32-100.

The following documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla:

4. _Seminary for Japanese missionaries_,--"Simancas-Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del governador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años 1600 á 1628; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 7."

5. _Extract from Serrano's letter_.--"Simancas--Eclesiástico; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del arzobispo de Manila vistos en el Consejo; año de 1579 á 1679; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32."

6. _Royal orders regarding the religious_.--"Audiencia de Filipinas; registro de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades del distrito de la Audiencia; años 1597 á 1634; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 1." The second part of this document, however, is obtained from the "Cedulario Indico" of the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid: "tomo 40, fol. 26, verso, n°. 38."

The following document is taken from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library):

7. _Conflict between civil and religious authorities_.--In vol. i, pp. 515-523.

The following document is found in Pastells's edition of Colin's _Labor evangélica_ (Barcelona, 1904):

8. _Ecclesiastical affairs in the Philippines_.--In tomo iii, pp. 674-697.

NOTES

[1] Translated from Pastells's _Colin_, iii, pp. 674-677. The original is conserved in Archivo general de Indias, with the following pressmark: "Registros de oficio y partes; reales ordenes dirigidos a las autoridades y particulares del distrito de la Audiencia; 1568-1808; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 11, libro 1, folio 233, verso, part 2."

[2] Thus in Pastells's text (p. 690); but it is apparently a misprint for June 22, 1622, the date of Serrano's act.

[3] Throughout this document, the matter contained in brackets is editorial comment by Rev. Pablo Pastells, S.J., who has published the present document in the appendix to the third volume of his edition of Colin's _Labor evangélica_ (Barcelona, 1904), _ut supra_.

[4] The passage of the council of Trent referred to above reads as follows: "In monasteries, whether the houses of men or of women, with which the care of the souls of secular persons is connected, all persons--excepting those who belong to their monasteries, or who are servants of those places--both secular and religious, who exercise that care after this manner, shall be immediately subject in those things which pertain to the said care and administration of sacraments, to the jurisdiction, visit, and correction of the bishop in whose diocese they are located. Neither shall any there, even those removable at will [_ad nutum amovibilis_], be considered unless by the consent of that bishop, and by the latter's previous examination, made personally or by his vicar; excepting the monastery of Cluny and its boundaries, and also excepting those monasteries or places in which abbots, generals, or the heads of the orders establish their ordinary and chief residence, and other monasteries or houses in which abbots, or other superiors of the regulars, exercise episcopal or temporal jurisdiction in parish churches and parishes; excepting likewise from the right of those bishops even persons who exercise greater jurisdiction in the said places." See the original reading in Pastells's edition of Colin's _Labor evangélica_, appendix, p. 677.

[5] See the above bull in this series, _Vol_. IV, pp. 119-124.

[6] See the last two decrees here mentioned, later in this document. The first decree--the original of which is preserved in the Archivo general de Indias, in "Cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años 1567-1699; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 10"--which we translate, as well as all the above document, from Pastells's edition of Colin's _Labor evangélica_, iii, pp. 682, 683, is as follows:

"The King: Very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the metropolitan church of the city of Mexico of Nueva España; reverend fathers in Christ, bishops of my council, venerable deans, dignidades, canons, and other persons, who are assembled in the provincial council which is held in the city of Mexico. You have already been informed by my decree--of which duplicates signed by my hand were sent out, directed to all the prelates of the churches of the Yndias--dated December six, of the year one thousand five hundred and eighty-three, that I ordered you all, and each of you in particular, that if you have clerics who are suitable and competent, you shall appoint them to benefices, curacies, and missions, in preference to the friars of the mendicant orders, who hold them at present--observing, in the said appointment, the order that is mentioned in the title of my patronship, as is more minutely set forth in the said decrees, the tenor of which, being precisely the same as that of the one sent to you, the above-mentioned archbishop, is as follows:

"The King: Very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the metropolitan church of the city of Mexico of Nueva España, and member of our council: Already you know that, in accordance with the ordinances and established rules of the holy Catholic church, and with the ancient custom received and observed in Christendom, the jurisdiction of the holy sacraments in the curacies of the parishes of the churches belongs to the seculars, they being aided as assistants in preaching and confessing by the religious of the orders; and that if missions and curacies have been entrusted to religious of the mendicant orders in those regions by apostolic concession, it was because of the lack that was experienced of the said lay priests, and the convenience that was found in the said religious for busying themselves in the conversion, instruction, and teaching of the natives, with the example and profit that is required. Now granting that this was the object aimed at in that arrangement, and that the effect has been greatly in accordance with the efforts made for it, and that they have obtained so much fruit through their apostolic lives and holy perseverance, and that so great a multitude of souls have come to the knowledge of our Lord through His favor and aid by means of their teaching: still, inasmuch as it is advisable to bring back this matter to its beginning, and that, in so far as is possible, what pertains to the said curacies of parishes and missions be restored to the common and received use of the Church, so that there may be no defect in that of the Indians, I request and charge you that now and henceforth, if you have suitable and competent clergy, you appoint them to the said curacies, missions, and benefices, preferring them to the friars, and observing in the said appointments the order that is mentioned in the title of our patronship. As long as there are not all the seculars necessary for the said missions and benefices, you shall divide those which are left over, equally, among the orders in those provinces, so that there may be some of all the orders, to the end that each order may labor according to its obligation, striving to excel in so holy and apostolic an enterprise. And you shall watch above all, as a good shepherd, so that your subordinates live with great watchfulness, relieving our conscience and your own, so that the results that are desirable be obtained among those natives. Madrid, December six, 1583.

_I The King_

By order of his Majesty: _Antonio de Eraso_

"Certain religious of the above-mentioned orders having come from those provinces and from others of the Yndias, and having related the many annoyances that have followed and that might follow from the observance and fulfilment of the said decree, I ordered some of the members of my council and other persons of great learning, prudence, and intelligence to assemble. They having examined the indults, briefs, and concessions of the supreme pontiffs, and the other papers that are filed in the secretary's office of my Council of the Indias, in regard to this matter of the missions--as well as the informations, letters, relations, and opinions that have been given, sent, and brought from all parts but lately, and upon the occasion of this decree, both by the religious and by the prelates and clergy--have given me their opinion. Considering that it was proper, in order to come to a resolution and decision in a matter of so great moment and importance, and commencing with what is of greatest importance--namely, to commend it to God our Lord, whom you all, as is done here, are to entreat very urgently to guide and direct it as may be most to His service, the proper spiritual government of those kingdoms, the welfare of the souls of the inhabitants and natives therein, and the propagation of the holy gospel: I have determined to await a more detailed relation of what may appear from these new documents, and the general consensus of opinion in all classes, so that after examining them all (since we all must aid for one and the same purpose, and the result must be for the welfare of all, and particularly for mine, for the fulfilment of the great obligation under which our Lord, besides the many benefits which I continually receive from His blessed hand, has placed me by adding thereto so great kingdoms and seigniories, where so great a multitude of souls have come to His true knowledge, and where they will continue to come daily, by the help of His grace which illumines them, so that they may leave their blindness) the best conclusion may be reached. Accordingly, I request and charge you that, having assembled and congregated in that holy council, you discuss and confer over what pertains to this matter. You shall send me a very minute relation of the measures that you shall deem it advisable to take in each province and bishopric by itself, and for all in general, in regard to the execution of the said decree. You shall say what missions are in possession of the religious and those in charge of the seculars, and in what villages and vicinity these are, and all the other things concerning it that you think to be necessary for the sake of greater clearness; so that, having examined the said relations and the others that are awaited, and the papers that are here, and holding consultation with my Council of the Indias, as well as with the other persons whom I shall appoint for this purpose, I may take the most advisable measures. While that is being done and determined, you shall suspend (as I now for the time being do suspend), and I shall consider as suspended, the execution of the decree herein inserted.

"All, and each one by himself, if they are in your dioceses, shall leave the said missions freely and quietly to the said orders and religious, so that those who have held, hold, and shall hold them, may hold them as hitherto, without making any innovation, or changing the manner of filling those missions or appointing the religious to them.

"Each of you personally, in his own district, without entrusting it to any other person, shall visit the churches of the missions where the said religious shall be established, and inspect the most holy sacraments and the baptismal fonts in them, the buildings of the said churches, the alms given for them, and all the other things pertaining to such churches and the services of divine worship. You shall also visit and fraternally correct the religious established in the said missions, in regard to curacies, and shall take special care to consider the honor and good fame of such religious in irregular acts that may be hidden; and when more than this should be necessary or advisable you shall inform their prelates, so that these may punish them. If the latter do not inflict punishment, you shall do so, each one of you, in accordance with the ordinance of the holy council of Trent, after the period of time mentioned in it is passed. And inasmuch as it is not advisable that a matter that is so important as is the care of souls--and, further, those souls that are so new in the faith--be at the will of the religious who shall be established in the said missions, curacies, and benefices, they must understand, both superiors and members [of the orders] that they are to hold the office of cura _non ex voto charitatis_, as is said, but by justice and obligation, administering the holy sacraments, not only to the Indians, but also to the Spaniards who may be found living among them--to the Indians by virtue of the above-mentioned apostolic indults, and to the Spaniards by commission from the prelates. For that each of you shall give, in his own district, and to me, a very specific account of how the religious, on their part, observe what pertains to them of this--which they are to perform exactly and according to their obligation--together with what, in your opinion, they may do to aid you in fulfilling your pastoral duties, in which you shall consider the safety of the souls in your charge, for whom you must give so strict an account to God our Lord. Barcelona, June first, one thousand five hundred and eighty-five.

_I The King_ By order of his Majesty: _Antonio de Erasso_"

[7] Referring to his _Nova collectio et compilatio privilegiorum apostolicorum regularium_ (Turnoni, 1609).

[8] Gregory XIV, in his brief _Cum sicuti nuper accepimus_, after approving the first diocesan council (convened in Manila by Bishop Salazar), and the reservation of cases that the bishop should make with the advice of the said council, imposes on him the visitation of his flock and of the religious who administer it, forbidding any religious to go out for the conquest of unpacified infidels without the express command of their regular superior and the license of the bishop in writing. The extract to this effect is as follows:

"And lest the rules and resolutions made for the said bishop [_i.e._, of Manila], and the religious and missionaries assembled in the same place, for the happy progress of the Christians newly converted to the faith, should be infringed by them for their own special pleasure, profit, or inclination, we will and decree by our apostolic authority that those things that shall have been ordained and commanded by that congregation, by the votes of the majority, for the protection of the Christian faith or for the salvation of souls for the thorough conversion of those converted Indians, be steadfastly and rigorously observed, as long and so far as that congregation shall ordain and command it.

"Moreover, whenever that bishop, at the advice of the said congregation, shall have reserved any case for himself, according to what shall have appeared expedient for the nature of the times, persons, and affairs, no secular priest nor a member of any religious order or congregation shall, under pretext of any privilege or indult (even though apostolic), excepting the bishop himself, or by his express license and command, be authorized, or dare or presume to grant absolution in any manner in cases so reserved, during the said reservation, under penalty of being suspended from the ministry of the mass and from the confession of the faithful, incurring that penalty by the very act.

"Moreover, we enjoin and order that bishop that, since it is the special duty of the bishop to minister to his own sheep and to visit them in person, he shall visit the flock entrusted to him, the religious of the Christian instruction, and those missions, in his own person or in that of his vicar-general in spiritual things, or at least in the persons of other very grave men, and not at all by simple and unskilled clergy, ignorant of letters, and of no judgment.

"And inasmuch as some of the inhabitants of those islands, and members of the above-mentioned orders, eager to see new things, and wandering or passing from one district to another, abandon those newly converted and baptized; and inasmuch as such persons cause the latter at times to revert to idolatry, which is greatly to be deplored; and inasmuch as many others who otherwise would acknowledge the faith and accede to baptism neglect it on account of the lack of ministers, or remain in infidelity; and inasmuch as the religious themselves, ignorant even of the languages of those districts, are despised, to the shame of their orders, and render more difficult the conversion of the Indians: We, desirous of checking this evil by an opportune remedy, strictly forbid and prohibit all and singular, of whatever religious order, and all others whomsoever who are engaged in the conversion of the infidels and the teaching of Christian doctrine, under penalty of excommunication, not to dare or presume to go from a pacified to an unpacified land, except by the express license and command of their bishop and of the religious superiors, given in writing.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the seal of the fisherman, April xviii, MDXCI, in the first year of our pontificate."

See Pastells's _Colin, ut supra_, iii, p. 679.

[9] Tomo i of his _Questiones regulares et canonicæ_ was published at Salamanca in 1598; another edition, in four volumes, was issued some years later.

[10] Probably contained in his _Epitome, o compendio de la Suma_ (Madrid, 1610).

[11] See the bulls concerning the Indias granted by Alexander VI, in _Vol_. I of this series, pp. 97-114. The bull here referred to is the _Inter cætera_ of May 4, 1493.

[12] This bull was dated May 9, 1522, and begins _Omnimodo exponi nobis_; it grants authority to the friars of the mendicant orders to go to the Indias, after securing permission from their king or from his royal council. See Pastells's _Colin, ut supra_, iii, p. 677.

[13] See this decree _ante_, note 6.

[14] The original of this decree is in the Archivo general of Sevilla, "Cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años 1567-99; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 10."

[15] The two decrees here mentioned (see Pastells's _Colin, ut supra_, iii, pp. 684, 685)--the originals of which are conserved in Archivo general de Indias, having the same pressmark as that in the preceding note--are respectively as follows:

"The King: To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the city of Manila, of the Philipinas Islands. Certain prelates of those regions have written to me that many religious who are appointed to the missions of Indians which are in charge of the orders do not have the competency and qualities that are required for the office of cura, which they fill; that they do not know the language of those whom they have to instruct; and that the archbishops and bishops cannot remedy this, because the religious do not come before them to be examined. And in the visits that the former make, the latter claim to be exempt from their jurisdiction, even in regard to curacies, saying that they have an indult for it; neither can their superiors remedy it. Inasmuch as it is a matter of so great consideration, I have now ordained that, in so great conformity with what is decreed and ordained, the said archbishops and bishops shall not allow any religious to enter to perform or exercise the duties of cura in the missions which are in their charge, without first being examined and approved by the prelate of that diocese, both in regard to his competency and in the language, in order to exercise the duty of cura and to administer the sacraments to the Indians of their missions, as well as to the Spaniards who may be there; that, if in the visits that the said prelates make to them in regard to curacies, any of the said religious missionaries should be found without the ability, qualifications, and example that are requisite, and who do not know sufficiently the language of the Indians whom they instruct, such religious shall be removed and their superiors advised, so that the latter may appoint others who have the necessary qualifications, in which they are to be examined; and that, if any indult or bull of his Holiness is presented to them exempting the said religious from this, they shall advise you, so that you may do your duty. And inasmuch as it is advisable that that be observed, executed, and obeyed, I charge you that you give the said prelates in that district the encouragement, protection, and aid necessary for this; and that you do not permit or allow religious to be admitted into the missions in any other way. You shall advise me of what you shall do. Given in San Lorenço, November fourteen, one thousand six hundred and three.

_I The King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Juan de Ybarra_"

"The King. Very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the city of Manila of the Philipinas Islands, and member of my council: You will see by my decree of the same date as this, which this accompanies, what I have resolved and ordered in regard to the examination of the religious who shall exercise duties as curas in the district of that archbishopric--which is not discussed here in regard to seculars, as it is a settled and fixed matter. And inasmuch as it is advisable for the relief of my conscience, and that of yours, that that decree be fulfilled and obeyed carefully, I charge you that you do so; and if any indult or brief from his Holiness be presented to you, in behalf of the orders, exempting them from this, you shall advise my royal audiencias, so that they may do their duty, and my fiscal shall plead what is suitable. You shall advise me of what you shall do in everything. San Lorenzo, November fourteen, one thousand six hundred and three.

_I The King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Juan de Ybarra_."

[16] The following decree was given by the king prohibiting certain practices of the regulars:

"The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the city of Manila of the Philipinas Islands: I have been informed that the religious who reside in those regions have the custom of assigning at times Indian villages for the celebration of their chapter meetings, from which, besides the annoyances and wrongs that the Indians receive, it happens that the audiencias and governors are unable to apply the remedy for certain things that occur in the said chapter meetings, and that require despatch. And inasmuch as it has been considered that that is a cause for trouble, it has been deemed advisable to prevent it by ordering--as I do order and command by this present--that now and henceforth, chapter meetings of the religious be not celebrated in Indian villages; and that if there be reasons obliging the meeting to be celebrated at any time in any such village, those reasons be communicated to you, both the president and the Audiencia, and that your order and permission be obtained. Such is my will. Given in Valladolid, June thirteen, one thousand six hundred and fifteen.

_I The King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Juan Ruiz de Contreras_"

This decree is translated from Pastells's Colin, _ut supra_, p. 685; its original is conserved in the Archivo general of Sevilla, its pressmark, "Registros de oficio; reales ordenes dirigidos á las autoridades del distrito de la Audiencia; años 1597-1804; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 1, lib. 1, vol. 64."

[17] The passage of the brief referred to above, is as follows:

"We, therefore, who gladly favor the increase of Divine worship and the salvation of souls, especially since we have been petitioned by each of the Catholic kings, giving assent to them petitioning after this manner, do, by virtue of our apostolic authority, concede and grant license and authority, by the tenor of these presents, to all and singular, the religious of any, even the mendicant orders, living in monasteries of their orders in the said regions of the Indias (of the Ocean Sea), or outside of them, by the consent of their superiors, so that they may freely and legally use the license obtained from their superiors, as is declared in their provincial chapters, to exercise the office of parish priest in the villages of those regions, such office having been and being assigned to them by a similar license, in the celebration of marriages and in the administration of the ecclesiastical sacraments, as has been their wont hitherto (provided that they observe the form of the said council in other ceremonies); and to preach the word of God and hear confessions, as is declared, so long as those religious know the languages of those districts; and no other permission of the ordinaries of those places, or of any other persons, shall be necessary. And moreover, by the same authority and tenor, we decree and ordain that the said bishop shall make no innovation in the places of those regions where there are monasteries of religious who exercise the care of souls. So likewise [we decree and ordain] that it must be resolved and determined by any judges and commissaries, who exercise any authority whatever, delegated to them or to any one of them, to him determining and interpreting otherwise by virtue of any authority whatever; and we declare null and void whatever else shall be attempted in regard to these things, by anyone under any authority whatever.... Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the seal of the fisherman, March 23, 1567."

See Pastells's _Colin, ut supra_, iii, p. 678.

[18] The passage referred to above, which we translate from the original bull as given in Pastells's _Colin, ut supra_, p. 678, is as follows:

"Since, therefore, our predecessor Pope Pius V of happy memory, after hearing of the troubles which were said to have been inflicted on the friars of the mendicant orders by the ordinaries of the places and the rectors of ecclesiastical parishes in many ways, in regard to ... the care of souls and the administration of the sacraments ... not only decreed many things differently in certain of his letters to the said friars, but even those things that were recently decreed in regard to these things in the council of Trent, ... we ... decree and ordain concerning the said and concerning all other letters and regulations which emanated in any manner from the same predecessor concerning those matters to any orders and congregations of any regulars, including the mendicants, and concerning all and whatever is contained therein, that that regulation and decision, which was legal before the declaration of the said letters and regulations, whether by the ancient law, or by the holy decrees of the said council, or in any other way, be regarded as having force hereafter, and which they would have, had not those letters and regulations emanated, to which regulation and decision and to their former undiminished condition and limitation, we reduce them all.... Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord, 1572 [_sic_] on the kalends of March."

[19] _Monitoria_: Summons issued by an ecclesiastical judge to command the personal appearance and deposition of a witness.

[20] The original of this letter is conserved in the Archivo general of Sevilla; its pressmark, "Cartas y expedientes del Arzobispo de Manila; años 1579-1697; est. 68, caj. I, leg. 32."

[21] This document is obtained from Pastells's _Colin_, iii, pp. 685, 686. The original decree is conserved in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; its pressmark the same as that indicated in note 14, _ante_.

[22] Juan de Bueras was born in the mountains of Burgos. He went to the American missions after having taught moral theology at Toledo. He was provincial of the Philippines in 1627. Later he became visitor of the provinces of New Spain and Mexico, dying at Mexico, February 19, 1646. See Sommervogel's _Bibliothèque_.

[23] See _Vol_. IV, p. 222.

[24] Following is a translation of the title page of this work, a facsimile of which is here presented:

"General history of the discalced religious of the Order of the hermits of the great father and doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, of the congregation of España and of the Indias. To his Catholic Majesty our sovereign Felipe Fourth. By father Fray Andres de San Nicolas, son of the same congregation, its chronicler, and rector of the college of Alcalá de Henàres. Volume first. From the year M.D.LXXXVIII. to that of M.DC.XX. Divided into three decades. With privilege. In Madrid. Printed by Andres de la Iglesia. Year M.DC.LXIV."

[25] Fray Juan de San Jerónimo was born at Malagón, Spain; he became a priest, and when already in middle life entered the discalced Augustinian order at Talavera, in 1593, making his profession in the following year. He soon attained high standing in this new order, and was the envoy sent to Rome to negotiate its separation from the regular Augustinians and secure approval for its constitution. In 1602 he was elected its first provincial, and under his rule the order flourished and spread in Spain. He was nominated to the bishopric of Chiapa, in Nueva España, but declined this honor that he might devote himself to foreign missions. Arriving at the Philippines in 1606, he organized there his mission, built a convent at Bagunbayan, and undertook the conversion of the natives in the province of Zambales. The convent expanded into a college, but its buildings were demolished in 1644. Being soon afterward rebuilt, it lasted until the eighteenth century, when it was again torn down. San Jerónimo had charge of it during two years; but, his health being much enfeebled, he set out on the return to Spain. When in sight of Ormuz, he died, in 1610. See account of his life in San Nicolás's _Historia_, pp. 469, 470; and in _Provincia de S. Nicolás de Tolentino_ (Manila, 1879), pp. 20-23.

[26] This and various other accents which are grave instead of acute follow the text of the original work.

[27] Andrés de San Nicolás died at sea, when the ship was in sight of the Ladrone Islands.

Miguel de Santa María, after reaching Manila, was assigned to the settlement of Mariveles; but the natives were angered at his preaching, and stoned him so severely that he died from the effects of this attack, in the Manila convent.

Jerónimo de Christo was an old man when he departed for the Philippine mission, but was noted for his learning and ability. He was elected prior of the Manila convent, and afterward vicar-provincial in San Jerónimo's absence; and died while in active service in the missions, in 1608.

[28] Pedro de San Fulgencio soon afterward returned to Europe, to obtain more missionaries; having made arrangements for their voyage, he died on reaching Milan.

Diego de la Anunciacion, born in 1565, made his profession in the Recollect convent at Madrid, in 1597; and held several high positions in his order before he entered the Philippine mission. He was superior of the convent at Bagunbayan, and afterward prior. After some years he returned to Spain, where he spent the rest of his life, dying December 13, 1625.

[29] Rodrigo de Agandum Moriz (in religion, Fray Rodrigo de San Miguel) was born in Valladolid--or, according to some authorities, in Orio of Guipuzcoa--in 1584, and entered the discalced Augustinian order at the age of fourteen years. Joining the Philippine mission in 1606, he ministered to the natives in various districts of Luzón with great acceptance, employing his poetical talents in teaching the Christian faith to the Indians. In 1614 he went to Spain for more missionaries, returning to the islands in 1617-18. Again voyaging to Europe (1622), he went, via India and Persia, to Rome, where he arrived in 1626. Declining the pope's offer to make him a bishop and patriarch in the Indias, he planned a mission to Chaldea; but he died at Orio, while en route to Madrid, December 26, 1626. He left several manuscript works, mainly historical, among which was _Historia general de las islas accidentales á la Asia adyacentes, llamadas Philipinas_; this was published in _Documentos inéditos para la historia de España_, tomos lxxviii and lxxix (Madrid, 1882), but it was apparently left unfinished by the author, the part that is extant treating mainly of the early explorations by Magalhães and Villalobos, and of the history of the Moluccas.

In the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla, is the following letter from Felipe IV to a brother of Fray Rodrigo:

"The King. It has been learned in the Council of the Indias that father Fray Rodrigo de San Miguel, a discalced Augustinian religious, who is said to be a brother of your Grace, brought from the Yndias a general history of the Filipinas Islands, compiled with great care, as, in order to write it, he had examined the archives and authentic memoirs of those regions; that it has been lately our Lord's pleasure to take father Fray Rodrigo, who has died in Vizcaya; and that your Grace was given two of his books, especially the above history. And inasmuch as that work would be very important for what is written on the general history of the said islands by order of his Majesty, the matter having been discussed with the father provincial of the said order, in which the latter has declared that the said history is in possession of your Grace; the Council has directed me to write to your Grace, in its name, that it would be greatly to the service of his Majesty for your Grace to send me the said history for the said purpose. And if your Grace wish remuneration for it, or that it be returned after having used it for the said purpose, your Grace will advise me of what you desire in this matter, so that those gentlemen may know it, and so that the advisable measures may be taken. May God preserve your Grace, as I desire. Madrid, May seventeen, one thousand six hundred and twenty-seven.

_Antonio Gonzalez de Legardo_

On the receipt of this letter, I beg your Grace to advise me immediately, for the Council anxiously awaits a reply because of the history." (_Pressmark_: "est. 139, caj. 1, leg. 15.")

[30] Andrés del Espíritu Santo was born at Valladolid in 1585, and made his profession at Portillo in 1601. Entering the Philippine mission, he began his labors with the natives in the province of Zambales, where he was very successful. In 1609, and again in 1615, he was chosen vicar-provincial. Afterward going to Spain for more missionaries, he returned to the islands in 1622, and four years later became provincial, as again in 1632. The rest of his life was spent at Manila, where he died in 1658.

[31] A city between Vera Cruz and Mexico City, more commonly known as Puebla; it was founded about 1530, and became the seat of the diocese in 1550, and soon was a flourishing agricultural and manufacturing center.

[32] _Instituto_: constitution, or rules of observance, adopted by the order.

[33] "Now I shall die happy."

[34] Luís de Jesús states (_Historia_, p. 79) that this name is a corruption of Manavilis.

[35] Cf. the accounts by Loarca (_Vol_. V of this series) and Plasencia (_Vol_. VII).

[36] This tree (_Mangifera altísima_) resembles the mango, but its fruit is much smaller. The tree grows to a greater height than the mango. The fruit is eaten by the natives, being used with vinegar. See Blanco's _Flora_.

[37] "Behold the cross of the Lord. Flee, ye adverse ones. The lion of Judah is conqueror."

[38] Antonio de San Agustin was born in Manila, the son of Francisco de las Misas, and made his profession in the Recollect convent there, in December, 1614. He was a minister in various places, and had been prior of several convents. In 1658, while returning from an official visit to the Calamianes Islands, he was captured by Moros, who slew him. At the time of his death he was sixty-six years old.

[39] The first father named above was afflicted by a grievous plague of vermin [_chinches_--literally, "bedbugs"], seemingly after a request that he might suffer his purgatory on earth. At the time of his death, "raising his voice and saying, _In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum_, he expired, without making another movement. Immediately the _chinches_ disappeared and not one could be found, although one could gather than by handfuls before, as they say."

[40] The _Congregatio de Propaganda Fide_, one of the "sacred congregations" of the Catholic Church, was founded in 1622, by Pope Gregory XV, conferring upon it most ample powers for the propagation of the faith, and especially for the superintendence of missions in countries where heretics or infidels had to be evangelized. The jurisdiction proper of the congregation extends to all territories which are governed _more missionum_, or as missionary countries--not by the bishops of the regular hierarchy, but by prefects and vicars apostolic. It has, moreover, legislative and judicial power. See Hoffmanns' _Catholic Directory_, 1896, p. 48.

[41] The status of a tertiary, or "member of the third order," was originated by St. Francis of Assisi, after the foundation of his own order, and that of the Minorite nuns who lived under a rule prescribed by him. In 1221 he instituted a third order, the members of which, men and women, should be bound by rule to more unworldliness of life, pious devotion, and works of mercy than those of ordinary persons living in the world. He called them "Brothers and Sisters of Penance." They had to take a year's novitiate, and a simple vow to observe the rule. Many tertiaries, in course of time, desired to take solemn vows and live in community, while still conforming to the rule of the Third Order; thus arose various congregations of tertiary monks and nuns. Other religious orders had their Third Order; that of the Augustinians was established at the beginning of the fifteenth century. (Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_, p. 792.)

[42] Following are translations of the title-pages of this work, of which facsimiles are here presented:

_Engraved title-page_: "General History of the discalced religious of the Order of the hermits of the great father and doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, of the congregation of España and of the Indias. To the most excellent duke of Ixar count of Salinas. By Father Fray Luis de Jesus son of the same congregation, and its chronicler. Volume second. From the year M.DC.L. Divided into three decades. Engraved by Pedro a Villafranca royal engraver, Madrid. 1663."

_Printed title-page:_ "General History of the discalced religious of the Order of the hermits of the great father and doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, of the congregation of España and of the Indias. By Father Fray Luis de Jesus, son of the same congregation, pensioned lecturer, general chronicler, and acting provincial of Castilla the old and the new. Dedicated to the most excellent Señor Don Jayme Francisco de Hijar Silva Sarmiento, etc., protector of our sacred Reform convent. Volume second. Divided into three decades, from the year twenty-one to that of fifty. With privilege. In Madrid: Printed by Lucas Antonio de Bedmar, printer of the kingdom. Year of 1681."

[43] Delgado in his _Historia_, pp. 813-816, describes this bird. _Tabón_, he says, is a word that signifies in the Pintados "to hide by covering, or to cover by concealing it with earth." When the chick first appears its plumage is white and gray. Its wings are used at first for aid in running rather than in flying. The bird lives mainly on fish, which it catches in the sea. The eggs, which are very nutritious, are eaten with gusto by the natives.

[44] This is the flying lemur (_Galeopithecus philippinensis_; called _káguang_ or _caguán_ by the Visayans), an animal belonging to the Quadrumana, and the Prosimidæ (semi-apes). Alfred R. Wallace found it in Sumatra, Borneo, and Singapore; see his description of it in _Malay Archipelago_ (New York, 1869), pp. 145, 146. Jagor found it in Sámar--_Travels in the Philippines_ (English translation, London, 1875), pp. 242-244. See also Delgado's description (_Historia_, p. 845). This lemur has, like the flying squirrel, a volucral membrane, which not only covers all its limbs but reaches to its tail; and thus the creature glides from tree to tree. This explains the writer's allusion to it as a bird.

[45] The creature thus described is the tarsier (_Tarsius spectrum_), belonging to the same class (semi-apes) as the lemur, _ante._ Jagor (_ut supra_, p. 252) was told in Luzón that it could be found only in Samar, and that it lived exclusively on charcoal--of course, an erroneous notion. In Samar it was called _mago_ or _macauco._ The _Report_ of U.S. Philippine Commission for 1900 (iii, p. 311) mentions several Islands as its habitat, and the belief of the natives that it lives on charcoal. Delgado cites the same notion (_Historia_, p. 875); he supposes the tarsier to be a sort of wild cat.

[46] The gecko (_Gecko verticillatus_), a reptile allied to the lizard. Two species of this animal in the Philippines frequent the houses: one very small, which feeds on mosquitoes, flies, and other pests, and works noiselessly; the other larger (up to eight inches long) with a heavy body and a loud call. The latter is, to judge from Delgado's description (_Historia_,p. 885) the one mentioned in our text.

[47] The cuttlefish, or octopus (_Sepia octopus_).

[48] This was in 1609, and the fort erected was that of Tandag; it was on a bay on the northeast coast of Surígao province, Mindanao.

[49] Apparently the same as the present Gigáquit, a town an the northeast coast of the province of Surígao.

[50] Juan de la Madre de Dios assumed the habit of the discalced Augustinians at Valladolid, making his profession in 1615. With eight other missionaries, he arrived at Manila in 1620; and some two years later he entered the Mindanao mission. His ministry there was short; for toward the end of 1623 he was slain by a fierce Moro chief whom he had rebuked for his acts of injustice and tyranny. See sketches of his life, in Luis de Jesús's _Historia_, pp. 53-55; and _Provincia de S. Nicolas de Tolentino_, pp. 308, 309.

[51] Apparently referring to the missions founded by the Jesuits, some years before, in northern Mindanao; see _Vol_. XIII, pp. 48, 80. Fuller accounts of these missions are given in Combés's _Historia de Mindanao_, which will be presented in later volumes of this series.

[52] Situated in central Surigao, on a chain of lakes and rivers from which issues the Butúan River, flowing northward into the bay of same name.

[53] See Delgado's account of the various kinds of bees in the Philippines (_Historia_, pp. 848-850).

[54] The pangolin or _Manis_, commonly known as ant-eater. The preceding sentence probably refers to the flying lemur (note 44, _ante_.)

[55] Cf. account of the weapons used by the Mindanaos, given by Retana and Pastells in their edition of Combés's _Historia de Mindanao_, cols. 782 and 783. Also cf. weapons of North American Indians, as described in _Jesuit Relations_--see Index, vol. lxxii, pp. 337, 338.

[56] Referring to Sìargao Island, off northeast coast of Mindanao; about twenty-one miles long and fourteen wide.

[57] _Cimarrón_ is an American word meaning "wild" or "unruly," and is also applied to a runaway slave. O.T. Mason, in his translation of Blumentritt's _Native Tribes of the Philippines_ (Washington, 1901), says (p. 536) that "this characterization is given to heathen tribes of most varied affiliation, living without attachment and in poverty, chiefly posterity of the Remontados." Buzeta and Bravo (_Diccionario_) say that these people are "collections or tribes of infidels known by this name in the island of Luzón and others of the archipelago. There is at present a tribe living in the dense forests of the mountain Isaroc in the province of Camarines Sur. There are also some collections of these and some hostiles in the mountains of the island and province of Samar. They are descendants of the Negrito race, who seem to become differentiated from their own species because of their extraordinarily wild and mountainous life." Hence the name seems to have been given these people in Mindanao simply to distinguish them as especially barbarous and difficult to establish relations among. They were probably one of the numerous tribes of Negritos such as inhabit Mindanao today.

[58] In a brief description of the Philippine Islands which occurs in a geographical work by the Chinese writer Chao-Yu-Kua (who flourished in the thirteenth century)--which account will appear later in this series--is an interesting mention of "nests" built in trees by the Aetas or Negritos, who live therein in single families. Professor Friedrich Ratzel (_History of Mankind_, Butler's translation, London and New York, 1896) says (i, p. 111) that the Battaks in Sumatra, and many Melanesians lived in trees; and on p. 422, he says: "Among the Battaks safe dwelling-places are also found at the point where a tree-stem forks or throws off branches; the central shoot is lopped off, and the surrounding branches remain." Continuing he speaks of the huts built by the Ilongotes of Luzón on tree stems, which are made from leaves of the nipa-palm and bamboo. "The Orang-Sakei and the Lubus of Sumatra also live to some extent in trees" (p. 423). There are also tree-dwellers in Africa and India.

[59] "In older works are so named [Caragas] the warlike and Christian inhabitants of the localities subdued by the Spaniards on the east coast of Mindanao, and, indeed, after their principal city, Caraga. It has been called, if not a peculiar language, a Visaya dialect, while now only Visaya (near Manobo and Mandaya) is spoken, and an especial Caraga nation is no longer known." (Blumentritt's "Native Tribes of the Philippines," in _Smithsonian Report_, 1899, p. 535.)

[60] The title-pages of La Concepción's fourteen volumes show more or less difference in their wording. Following is a translation of the title of vol. iv, a facsimile of which is here presented: "General history of Philipinas: temporal and spiritual conquests of these Spanish dominions, their establishment, progress, and decadence; comprehending the empires, kingdoms, and provinces of islands and continents with which there has been communication and commerce by immediate coincidences, with general notices regarding geography, hydrography, natural history, politics, customs, and religions, in which so universal a title should be interested. By father Fray Juan de la Concepcion, discalced Augustinian Recollect, pensioned lecturer, ex-provincial, synodal examiner of the archbishopric of Manila, and chronicler of his province of San Nicolas of the Philipinas islands. Volume IV. With permission of the superiors. At Manila, in the printing office of the royal and conciliar seminary of San Carlos; printed by Agustin de la Rosa y Balagtas. Year of 1788."

[61] A term applied to the gun-room on a ship, which was considered as under the protection of St. Barbara.

[62] The Armenian church was founded by St. Gregory, who was consecrated bishop of Armenia in the year 302 A.D. Owing to a misunderstanding, this church refused to accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) regarding certain questions of heresies, which led to its gradual separation from the Greek church. In the middle of the fifteenth century arose dissensions, which resulted in a schism; these were mainly occasioned by Roman Catholic missionaries who endeavored to proselytize the Armenians to the doctrine, liturgy, and ceremonies of the Roman church, to which they gained many adherents. This led to dissensions and persecutions, which continued until, in the middle of the eighteenth century, the Armenian patriarch secured the intervention of Peter the Great, and the protection of the Russian church, under which that of Armenia has since remained.

[63] The Order of the Carmelites was founded by a crusader named Berthold, in the middle of the twelfth century. Some time after becoming a monk in Calabria he went to Mount Carmel, where he was joined by various other hermits living there in solitude. They adopted the rule of life framed for them by Albert, patriarch of Jerusalem, which consisted of sixteen articles. These forbade the possession of property; ordered that each hermit should live in a cell by himself; interdicted meat; recommended manual labor and silence; and imposed a strict fast from the exaltation of the cross to Easter, Sundays being excepted. The hermits were compelled to abandon Mount Carmel by the advance of the Mahomedan power, and established themselves in Cyprus, and other places. In Europe they were compelled to live in common and mitigate their rule, and they became known as one of the mendicant orders. In England, where they became very numerous, they were called the "White Friars." To St. Simon Stock, the first general, the Virgin is said to have shown the scapular in a vision. The order became divided into two branches, according to whether they observed the strict or the mitigated rule, being designated as Observatines and Conventuals. The Carmelite nuns were first instituted by John Soreth, general of the order in the fifteenth century. See Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_, pp. 120-122.

[64] Gregorio de Santa Catalina, who had gone to Rome with twelve religious to urge the support of the pope for the Recollects.

[65] "Fray Miguel de Santa Maria, with his seven companions, arrived at Tandág in the year 1622" (_Provincia de S. Nicolás de Tolentino_, p. 276).

[66] A letter dated May 22, 1904, from father Fray Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., Valladolid, Spain, who spent many years in the Philippines, thus defines several terms as used in the islands. _Pueblo_ ["town" or "village"] is to be understood in its usual significance. But beside the pueblo proper, where are established the church, parochial house, and city hall, all the pueblos have, at a greater or less distance, groups of a greater or less number of houses. If they belong to Christians, they are called barrios ["suburbs"], and have a distinctive name; if of infidels, they are called rancherías ["a collection of huts"] of such and such a chief.

[67] _i.e._, "at the entrance to the church;" said of marriages duly performed with church rites.

[68] "Strictly speaking, then, the work of the redemption of those islanders [in Mindanao] belongs to the Jesuits and the Recollects. The latter commenced their labors by virtue of an arrangement made in the year 1622, by the bishop of Cebú, Very Reverend Father Fray Pedro de Arce--agreed upon with the captain-general of the archipelago, who was then the famous Don Alonso Fajardo de Tenza. Their first enterprises were on the northern and eastern coasts of Mindanao, as well as in the adjacent islets of Dinagat, Camiguin, and Siargao. In the year 1631, the ninth of their evangelizing work, the Recollect fathers suffered painful but glorious losses; for six of those missionaries were martyred by the inhabitants of the island." (Retana and Pastells, in their edition of Combés's _Historia de Mindanao_, col. 788.)

[69] River and pueblo of same name in the province of Misamis, in northern Mindanao; the river falls into the bay of Macajalar.

[70] A point on the northern coast of Misamis province.

[71] Referring to Leo VI, Emperor of the East, styled "the Philosopher" and "the Wise;" he occupied the throne of Constantinople from 886 to 911 A.D. He wrote several books, among which is a treatise on military tactics, which was published by J. Meursius, at Leyden, in 1612.

[72] The islands in the Calamianes and Cuyos groups number one hundred and forty-five that are charted, besides nearly sixty that are uncharted. See descriptions of these groups in _U. S. Gazetteer of Philippine Islands_, pp. 412-415, 480-484. The names Calamian and Busuañga are now applied to separate islands, the largest, of the Calamianes group.

[73] The bird here referred to (_Collocalia troglodites_) is a specie of swift; the nests, composed of a gelatinous secretion from the salivary glands in the mouths of the birds, sell at high price almost their weight in gold, when fresh and clean. The best nests are obtained on the precipitous sides of the Peñon de Coron, between Culion and Busuanga, where the natives gather them at no little personal risk. The nests are known to commerce as _salangana_. (_U. S. Gazetteer of Philippine Islands_, pp. 170, 482.)

Delgado says (_Hist. de Filipinas_, p. 821) that the material used by the bird is a species of seaweed, called _ñgoso_, or another called _lano_--and not, as Colin and San Antonio would have it, the foam of the sea. See _ut supra_, pp. 727, 728, and 822.

See also Retana's note in his edition of Zúñiga's _Estadismo_, ii, pp. 430*, 431*.

[74] The balate--also known as "sea slug," "sea cucumber," "beche de mer," and commercially as "trepang"--is a slug (_Holothuria edulis_) used as food in the Eastern Archipelago and in China, in which country it is regarded as a delicacy by the wealthy classes, and brings from seven to fifty cents a pound in the markets. (See _U. S. Gazetteer of Philippine Islands_, pp. 482, 483.) Delgado, writing in 1754, says (p. 935) that in Manila the dried balate was usually worth thirty-five to forty (or even more) silver pesos a pico (or pecul; equivalent, in the Philippines, to 137.9 U.S. pounds).

[75] "Better known as Peñon de Corón ("Crown Peak"); a small, rocky island off the eastern end of Busuañga Island, famous for the fine quality of the edible bird's-nests found there.

[76] Apparently the present Calamián island is here referred to; its chief town is Culion.

[77] Now known as Palawan; its northern part forms the province of Paragua, which includes many dependent islands lying near it.

[78] "In general it may be said that the Philippines politically speaking, and the Philippines zoologically speaking, are not identical areas, for Balabac, Palawan, and the Calamianes Islands are strongly characterized by the presence of numerous Bornean forms which are conspicuously absent throughout the remaining islands of the archipelago. Although the Philippines are commonly held to form an eastern extension of the Indo-Malayan subregion, it should not be forgotten that at least among the birds and mammals there is a large amount of specialization in the islands to the eastward of the Balabac-Palawan-Calamianes group.... The Philippines are very poor in mammals.... They are undoubtedly well adapted to a large and diversified mammalian fauna, and the only plausible explanation of the scarcity of forms is to suppose either that they have never been connected with Borneo and the Asiatic continent or that, if at one time connected, they have since been subjected to such subsidence as to wipe out the greater part of their mammalian fauna." (U.S. Philippine Commission's _Report_, 1900, iii, p. 307.)

[79] This is an error on the part of La Concepción; Fray Rodrigo went to Europe in 1622, but died there in 1626. The missions of Mindanao and Paragua were begun by Recollects who arrived at Manila in 1620 and 1622, and continued by missionaries who came in 1627 and 1637.