Decade Eight

Decade EightChapter IMention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.The Year 1661§ IOne insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.§ IIContinuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.§ IIIArrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.§ IVRelation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

Decade EightChapter IMention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.The Year 1661§ IOne insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.§ IIContinuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.§ IIIArrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.§ IVRelation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

Decade EightChapter IMention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.The Year 1661§ IOne insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.§ IIContinuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.§ IIIArrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.§ IVRelation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

Decade EightChapter IMention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.The Year 1661§ IOne insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.§ IIContinuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.§ IIIArrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.§ IVRelation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

Chapter IMention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.The Year 1661§ IOne insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.§ IIContinuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.§ IIIArrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.§ IVRelation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

Mention of the insurrections of some provinces in Philipinas, with the labors that began for our religious. The exemplary lives of some, who died holily in their convents.

The Year 1661

§ IOne insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.

One insurrection having been put down in Pampànga, another one follows in Pangasinàn. Mention of the great sufferings of our religious in Zambàles, in keeping their villages duly loyal to God and the king.

... 2. From the beginning of the year 1660, the Indians of Pampanga, a province not far from the city of Manila in Philipinas, incited by many grievous annoyances unjustly caused by the superintendent of timber cutting, which was ordered to be done within their boundaries by the governor of the islands, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, determined to withdraw themselves from the yoke of the Spanish dominion. Although that dominion is very mildper se, some subordinate government employes generally make it intolerable, for tyrannically availing themselves of the name of the king, they endeavor to trample everything under foot. The Pampangos elected as leader a master-of-camp of their own nation, one Don Francisco Manyàgo. He clutched the staff of office as though it were a scepter. Although this insurrection caused considerable fear in Manila at the beginning, since the Pampango nation is so warlike, yet since at the same time, its individuals are the most reasonable of the islands, the governor hastening thither in person together with many religious of various orders (for the religious form the most powerful army for quieting the Indians) the whole disturbance was readily quieted by means of negotiation. Justice was done them in their grievances, while no punishment was omitted, and was administered to theseditious leaders. Fathers Fray Joseph de la Annunciacion, and Fray Juan de San Antonio, ex-provincials of our Family, together with fathers Fray Carlos de Jesus, and Fray Juan de San Diego, were of considerable aid in that pacification. Those fathers, exposing themselves to not few dangers, had the boldness to go to some of the principal Indians, who were their acquaintances, whom by dint of their persuasion, they succeeded in bringing back to reason. And by their means, discussion and friendly agreements having been introduced, those so harmful insurrections were put down.

3. But at the beginning of their insurrection, the Pampangos had written many letters to the provinces of Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, which lie farther north in the island of Luzon. In those letters they assured the inhabitants of those provinces that they had risen with so great force that they had no doubt but that they could gain Manila by force of arms. They besought those people to heed the common cause, for once that the Spanish yoke was thrown off, they could all get together in firm friendship and relations, and maintain their liberty, by electing a king to govern them, or become feared by the other nations under the form of a republic. Those were counsels which like a cancer in the human body, continued to spread in the civil affairs of those provinces, and the majority of the Indians followed them with only too great rapidity. Hence, when the Indians of Pampanga were quieted they were incapable of extinguishing the fire that they themselves had kindled.

4. In Pangasinàn, Ilòcos, and Cagayàn, the flame acquired too much force because of the fiercenessof the well arranged combustibles, which were applied by several Indian chiefs, who endeavored, under the specious name of liberty, to oppress in the most intolerable manner the ones who did not recognize the blessings which they had while they had the good fortune to call themselves a part of the Spanish monarchy. But in order that this history may not wander into parts that do not belong to it, we shall treat only of what happened in the province of Pangasinàn; for one part of that province, namely the territory of Zambàles, which is composed of ten villages, was then, and is also at present, cultivated in regard to spiritual matters by our holy Recollect order. On that account our religious necessarily suffered considerably, and they aided in the pacification of the Indians, as did the other holy orders in the villages entrusted to their care.

5. At the end, then, of the year 1660, the insurgents of Pangasinàn elected as their leader an Indian chief of the village of Binalatòngan, one Don Andrès Màlong. He having usurped the title of king, went to Campaña, escorted by nine thousand Indian warriors. This number was increased enormously within a few days; for it was either a boast of the rebels and they so published it, or it was a fact, his army was composed of forty thousand men. An Indian noble, by the name of Don Francisco Sumùlay, a very near relative of Màlong, was living in Bolinào, a village within our administration. On account of that relationship he looked upon his progress as his own, and helped him as much as he could to attain his purposes. He, in order to incite Bolinào and its environs to revolt, spared no effort that he considered fitting. But the fatherprior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios (or Blancas), opposed him openly and in secret, destroying with cunning whatever Sumùlay wrought deceitfully. No sooner did the restlessness and excited condition of the Indians force him to take prudent precautions, than he caused ten soldiers to disembark from a champan which was on its way to Cagayàn. The latter obeyed him for the captain agreed thereto, and because they knew how much the governor of the islands favored the above-named religious, and that he would approve whatever was done with the latter’s advice. The father found himself somewhat ready to offer resistance with those soldiers and with the faithful Indians, who by dint of his persuasions were not few; but he had not sufficient forces to attack the rebels or to seize the wicked Sumùlay, who was the cause of all the disorder.

6. The latter starting a rumor that the hostile Mindanàos were in the neighborhood, imagined that by that false report, and by setting fire to the convent and church at night, the soldiers would flee to the mountains, and that the religious and the loyal Indians of the village would imitate them. It would then follow that, since he would remain behind with the insurgents who were already thoroughly advised, he would be able, after having conquered the port and settlement at his safety, to kill all who were not of his party. Those ideas were not very badly conceived, and had they arrived at the desired success, would have been only too potent for the attainment of his malicious purpose. For, after the surrender of Bolinào, would doubtless follow that of all the territory of Zambàles, and then, the great difficulty of maritime aid from Manila to Pangasinàn, a circumstancewhich gave great strength to the revolt. But the same arguments also served the father prior to procure the preservation of Bolinào with the greatest watchfulness. Hence scarcely had Sumùlay fired the edifice, when the soldiers and loyal Indians protecting it, and fortifying themselves as well as they could, maintained the village in the faith for their God, and in the loyalty due their king. It is a fact that while attending to that, the church was reduced to ashes, as were the sacristy and most of the convent. But that was considered as a little loss as it was well employed, so long as the enemy did not attain their purpose.

7. The above happened in the early part of December, when authentic tidings were not known in Bolinào of the insurrection, and only various movements were descried in the Indians which provoked fear. However, they had been compelled to dissimulate through lack of forces. But on the twentieth day of the above-mentioned month, the conspiracy was finally published in the village, and Simùlay and his associates notified the religious in the following manner. In front of the cells of the father prior and of his associate father Fray Luis de San Joseph, were placed two bamboos and at the end of them two cocoanuts. That is a barbarous ceremony of those countries by which to threaten one with decapitation. Simùlay thought that that would be sufficient to frighten the fathers and make them abandon the village, and especially since they now had no soldiers, as the soldiers mentioned above had proceeded on their way. But he was mistaken in his reckoning, for although father Fray Luis was of that opinion, and Indian chiefs were not wanting whosupported him, either because they were already infected with the rebellion, or, perhaps, in order to assure the lives of the fathers, were carried away by their good zeal, the father prior resolved to die rather than fail in his service to God and the king. He did not change his decision, however much the sign was repeated the following day. On the contrary, he considered the time suitable to ascertain and establish with cunning the degree of the fidelity of his parishioners. He convened the Indians in the atrium of the convent, and in eloquent and powerful arguments gave them to understand that God having entrusted their souls to him, he would not leave their land, although he knew that he was to suffer a thousand martyrdoms. “I am not ignorant,” he said, “that the aim of those who occasion these insurrections is to apostatize from the Catholic faith, and to return to their former paganism; but for that same reason, I must oppose myself to that with the greatest strength. Go ahead, send news of my constancy to the partisans of the rebel Màlong, if perchance there are any in the village, so that they may not tire themselves with threatening me with death. Assure them that I shall consider myself very fortunate, if I transform myself into a good martyr from so poor a priest. But meanwhile, I warn you, that I shall know by each one’s actions who are the rebels and who are faithful; and that accordingly the proper reward or punishment will follow each one, when the Manila fleet, which will not delay, subdues affairs properly.” By that effort some who were wavering in their loyalty were confirmed in it, while those who were on the side of the seditious ones did not dare to put their treacherous thoughts into execution.

8. Very soon did experience show the great importance of the firmness of so valiant a religious. For on the night of that same day, after the convent was locked, some of the loyal Indians, who were guarding the outside of it, captured a strange Indian, who declared that he was bringing a message to the father prior, which was to be given into his own hand. He was taken into the father’s presence after observing the necessary precautions, where he delivered the message. It was from the father vicar of Lingayèn and contained extensive notices of the insurrection of Pangasinàn which had broken out, the murder of the alcalde-mayor, and the devastation of that part of so flourishing a province. He sent letters for his provincial and for the governor of the islands, in which a speedy relief was asked in order that the sedition might be stifled at its beginning. He besought the father prior to send them quickly to Manila, as it was impossible to send them from Pangasinàn overland. And now it is seen that if the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, had retired from Bolinào as fear persuaded him, that despatch would have been fruitless, and perhaps had those advices been unknown in Manila, Pangasinàn would have been endangered; but since he remained inflexible against the incentives of fear, he was able to take the fitting means, in order that the promptest and most efficacious aid might be obtained.

9. It was not considered advisable to entrust the conveyance of such letters to the Indians of Bolinào, and accordingly it was resolved to despatch father Fray Luis de San Joseph overland to Masingloc under the pretext that he was going on affairs connected with the spiritual administration, but his realpurpose was to deliver the messages to the minister of the said village, in order that the latter might despatch them. The religious exposed himself to evident danger of death; for the village of Agno, through which he could not avoid passing, was almost entirely in insurrection, and because in the stretch extending from the territory of Agno to that of Bàlcac, it was necessary to take the rough sea in a small fishing boat which carried no sail and only one oar with the religious himself at the helm. At last he reached Masingloc, after conquering so great an obstacle. Thence, not without the most serious dangers, the minister sent the messages to Manila, arranging to have them carried by father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, accompanied by three of the most faithful chiefs. One of those chiefs was appointed master-of-camp by the governor as a reward for so excellent a service, another, sargento-mayor, and the third, captain of the militia of his village; and they were exempted for life from paying tribute. And since the father vicar of Lingayèn despatched a second mail to Bolinào in case that the first should fail, the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, despatched the letters in a Chinese vessel which made a way-station there, and was on its way from the island of Hermosa to Manila. But while the army and naval fleet are being prepared in that city, in order to take relief to Pangasinàn, let us return to our villages of Zambàles, in order to see what is happening there, and the dangers by which our religious were afflicted.

§ IIContinuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.

Continuation of the foregoing matter, with the declaration of what happened to our religious in Masingloc, Cagayàn, Agno, and Bolinào.

10. With the absence of the three said chiefs in Masingloc, the prior found himself greatly troubled and persecuted, for those who favored the rebellion, who had thitherto not dared to show their faces in public, showed openly the most foul face of treason on the day of St. Stephen. They threw the village into such consternation that if God had not aided it, it would have been impossible to restore it to its former quiet. It happened that, as some Indians had not been at mass on either the eve or day of the nativity, the prior meeting one of them afterward who was most esteemed for his bravery, chid him for his fault, although with demonstrations of paternal charity. He had no intentions of exasperating him, for he knew quite well that the Indian was inducing his countrymen to swell the number of the insurgents by persuasion and threat. But the Indian would not suffer the mild rebuke for that sin, which in other circumstances would have made him experience the severities of punishment, and deeming the occasion very suitable for the revolt of the village, he began to pretend implacable annoyance because the father admonished him. Following this, he became excessively angry, and hurled many insults at the evangelical minister, and concluded by crying out: “Long live Màlong! Death to the Spaniards and the fathers!”

11. By that means the Indian obtained his desires, for more than fifty armed companions gatheredabout him. They proclaimed the traitor Màlong as king; hacked the Spanish coat-of-arms which was placed on the site where theprincipalesmet to administer justice; and they obliged the prior, whom it was a miracle of divine Providence that they did not kill instantly, to retire to his convent, where a guard was established by means of some Indians who could be gathered together, while many others who were of the loyal party, were oppressed in their homes. There they held the prior and those who accompanied them besieged, and did not allow them to communicate with the outside, and refused to allow any kind of food to be taken to them, trying by this means to restrict them to the heighth of necessity. Within the danger was so much greater, as it was less known by the loyal villages near by which could have sent them some aid. If the rebels did not attack the convent in order to kill the loyal ones, it was because they were afraid of some few arquebuses with which those of the inside threatened them. But they endeavored to set fire to the convent and church three times without being able to succeed, notwithstanding that the material of the building was but little less combustible than tinder, for it was all constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa. Those who tried to burn that edifice, regarded that as a miracle. Moreover, one can well understand the necessity that they suffered for they had no place whence to get relief, not even for the necessities of life. Consequently they were placed at the will of the divine Providence, who as is His custom with those in tribulation, very quickly declared His patronage.

12. Having passed the time in this way until New Year’s eve, it was noted then that a medium-sizedvessel was anchored not far from the convent, and that almost all of its Indians having landed, engaged in a very interesting conversation with the insurgents. On that account, the prior and his men had an opportunity, to leave the convent without being perceived, to go to the beach, and make themselves masters of the above-mentioned vessel. They set sail without loss of time in it. Thus freed from their peril they took their course toward Manila. But as they were in need of food, they put in at Bagàc, where they met the three chiefs who had guided father Fray Bernardino, and were now returning to their village. They recounted to those chiefs the deplorable condition in which they were; and considering that the remedy for wrongs generally lies in quickness, they determined to take thirty well-armed Indians, whom the father minister of Bagàc prepared, and who were fortunately at that place; and then retracing their way, to attack Masingloc suddenly. They hoped that if they attacked the rebels when they appeared to be most secure, it would not be difficult to reduce them all to their former quiet. So did it happen, for the season favoring them, they disembarked on the night of the third of January in a bay one-half hour’s distance from Masingloc, and went overland to that village. At dawn of the fourth, they surprised the insurgents so completely, that overtaken by fear, the latter could not put themselves in a state of defense, while they even had no opportunity for flight. They were all seized, and the prior, although he was full of grief at the robbery of the sacristy and church, interceded for the prisoners, and succeeded in having all except three set at liberty.Those three were the leaders and later paid for their wickedness on the gallows.

13. In Cigayèn (a village which had decreased very sensibly in houses and inhabitants since the violent death of the venerable father, Fray Alonso de San Agustin, in the year 1612), was father Fray Francisco de San Agustin, an especially zealous minister, who was applying all the persuasive powers of his eloquence to retaining the remnants of that great settlement in due fidelity to God and the king. But a chief, called Don Antonio Sìrray, desired the contrary, in order to keep things in confusion for his own profit. Knowing that he would have no opportunity so long as father Fray Francisco was living, he tried to kill him twice, but the religious man was delivered from his ambushes, for God took his part in a very visible and special manner. In the discussion that the two had together, (one persuading to good, and the other inducing to evil), it happened that Sìrray and all his partisans went to swell the army of Màlong. The loyal Indians with their families and possessions went to another village; father Fray Francisco retired to Manila. With that the village was completely abandoned and no more thought was expended on its rebuilding. Such harm do dissensions cause, when, because there is no strength to attack them, they increase to the highest degree when agitated by violence.

14. In Agno (a visita or annex of Bolinào), there was a chief called Don Juan Dùrrey, a very near relative of Sumùlay, and consequently he was bound up very closely to the rebels. Three Spaniards reached that place on Christmas day, who werefleeing from the insurgents of Pangasinàn. They showed the Indians a diamond ring, as a reward or payment for something to eat, for they were suffering dire need. But scarcely had they sat down to table, when Dùrrey inhumanly killed them. As father Fray Luis de San Joseph (who was returning from Masingloc whither he had taken the messages as related above), was passing in the afternoon toward Bolinào, he noted the loud shouts in the village, caused by the feasting and dancing that they made according to their custom with the heads of the three Spaniards. He attempted to approach nearer in order to check their inhumanity, but an Indian instigated by the devil, scarcely saw the father when he threw two spears at him. It was regarded as a miracle that the father escaped the blow and was not wounded. Thereupon our valiant religious lifted up his voice, and loudly condemned so unjust actions in a fervent sermon. According to circumstances, the words on each occasion must have served as does music on the ears of the tiger. But in the midst of the necessary disturbance, he was enabled to tell them with the help of God, such things that Dùrrey with twelve others who followed him, had to leave the village. The others, humble and obedient to the voice of their shepherd, surrendered the heads in order that he might give them ecclesiastical burial. From that moment Agno remained in the greatest quiet, like the sea, which shows the most exquisite quietness and serenity after the most terrible storm.

15. But the place where the rage of the insurgents was felt more was in Bolinào. Màlong regarded its minister, father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, with irreproachable hatred, for he was not unawareof his great labor in restraining the Zambals. They are so warlike a nation that they have always caused themselves to be respected not only in Pangasinàn, which province they glorify as a not despicable part, but also throughout the Philipinas Islands where they have been able to acquire renown through their arms. Having, then, as we have related, sent his associate to Masingloc, he considered that the Indians left him alone in the convent, and that they were going about cautiously talking one with another. He summoned one of the chiefs to him and chid him for that coldness. He learned from the Indian that Don Francisco Caucào, a cousin of the usurping king, had arrived from Binalatòngon with an order to the effect that the Zambals should declare against the Spaniards, under pain of being treated as rebels if they did not do so. The Indian added that Caucào was staying in Sumùlay’s house, and they were afraid that he intended to conquer their countrymen, and that was the reason why they were all so confused. Without allowing, then, the talk which generally increases dangers beyond what they are in themselves, the religious father set out for Sumùlay’s house in order to have an interview with Caucào, as well as for the purpose of examining and exploring the village, in order to see whether there were any ambuscades about it.

16. After he was assured that there were no strange enemies, he went into the presence of the Indian, who received him seated, without showing him the least sign of respect. The father asked him why he came, and he answered haughtily that his cousin Don Andres Màlong, the powerful king of Pangasinàn, looking with love on the Zambal nation, and not desiringto treat them with the greatest rigor of war, sent him to inform them to recognize him as their seignior, and that on that same day some papers were to be read in the church in which that would be intimated; and that the father was to reply to a letter written by his cousin the king, conceding whatever was asked of him, for if he did not do so, it would cost him his life. Another of less valor than father Fray Juan would doubtless have been intimidated at the sight of such arrogance, especially when it be considered that he could not be sure of the people of the village. But the very injustice of the Indian giving the father courage, he said to the chiefs who had accompanied him: “What is this? What is this? Can it be possible to write of the loyalty of Bolinào, that a traitor, sent by a rebel to God, and the king, publicly induces you to insurrection, and that he remain unpunished? Come, seize him. But no, it is to his advantage to have been found in the house of Sumùlay, whose nobility is worthy of this attention. But I warn you, O wretch, that you do not leave the house which serves you as a sanctuary, and that you do not sow any discord in order to pervert the fidelity of the Zambals, until I have answered this letter of your vicious cousin; for if you disobey my order, and these men do not tear you to pieces, I shall be able to send you to Manila laden with irons and chains, where you will pay for your treason on the gallows.”

17. Caucào, Sumùlay, and all the others were full of dismay at hearing the argument of the prior: Caucào, because he thought that the village sided with the Spaniards since the father spoke with so great assurance; Sumùlay, because he imagined the same,and because he thought also that the prior was ignorant of his evil designs, since he spoke so lovingly to him; and the others, because a rumor that had been shortly before cunningly spread to the effect that a fleet was already coming from Manila to punish those who had declared for Màlong, was thus corroborated. For, they argued, if it were not so, a poor religious would not have the courage to do so much. In short the father prior obtained his wish, namely, to puzzle them all in order to gain time. That done, the venerable man retired to his convent quite perplexed. Opening the letter, he beheld that Màlong expressed himself in the same manner as Caucào had done. He deemed best not to answer it, for while he was thinking how he would dismiss the messenger, he was advised that a champan had just anchored in the port, in which were two religious. He proceeded thither in order to receive them, and was met by fathers Fray Juan de Bergàra and Fray Juan de Fisla, who were retiring from Ilòcos, where the rebels were committing innumerable acts of cruelty, and had inhumanly taken the life of father Fray Joseph Arias, all of our observance.

18. He led them to the convent, arranging also that two Spaniards and six Tagálog Indians who could be withdrawn from the champan without their loss being felt therein, should accompany them with firearms. Then seeing that he was in a state of defense if anything should be attempted by the rebels, he had Caucào and Sumùlay summoned. They came at the first notice, but curiosity brought all the people of the village. Then the father tearing the letter of Màlong to pieces in the presence of the multitude, said: “This is the reply merited by such an arrogantmethod of writing, and especially since it is the letter of a traitor. You,” he proceeded, addressing Caucào, “who have had the shamelessness to come on so insolent an embassy, well merit being sent a prisoner to Manila, and in order that I might do so, God has, perhaps, presented me with this champan. But since you would go to the gallows, the kindness of my estate does not allow me to cooperate in the death of my neighbor. Therefore, get you gone immediately to Binalatòngon, and tell your cousin that I pity him, since the fleet of Manila is already on its way to punish him. Assure him that his threats make me laugh; that his demand for obedience from the Zambal nation is irrational; and that I am sending him his relative Sumùlay in order to increase his army, besides twenty-five Indians of this village, who are, according to appearances, looking upon him with too much affection.” The father designated those persons by name, and added with a show of great anger: “Not a single one of those whom I have just named will remain in Bolinào, under penalty that whoever refuses to obey, he and the one who hides him shall be sent to Manila without fail, where justice will punish his resistance.” Thus did he say, and then turned his back with a show of so great anger that no one dared not to fulfil his orders. On the contrary, all those comprehended in the order, left the village immediately, for they feared the threat of punishment. By that means after thus getting rid of the evil humors of that body politic that troubled it, it remained in its former health, and the great and estimable blessing of peace followed.

19. After the execution of so heroic an action, the father prior endeavored to welcome his newguests, whom he provided with all that was needful for the continuation of their journey to Manila. They set sail December 26, leaving Ours behind especially sad, because we were defenseless if the traitor Màlong attempted any new persecution. They were not deceived in their judgment, for the rebel angered at the lack of effect produced by his letter, sent an order to Don Juan Dùrrey, chief of the hamlet of Agno, to cut off the head of that illustrious man without fail and to send it to him. That chief went to Bolinào accompanied by another valiant Indian, and entered the convent for the feast of the new year. He found the prior praying outside of his cell, and the good religious imagining that he was come to ask aid, began to exhort him especially to be loyal and offered him pardon in the king’s name. God giving force to these words, Dùrrey changed his intention, and refused to kill the father of his spirit. But the Indian who accompanied him, shutting his ears, like an asp, to the voices of health, seeing that his chief would not do the deed, unsheathed a weapon callediguain those parts, and approached quickly in order to strike the father. But since the chiefs of the village who had come to speak with the prior on a matter of moment, entered at the same time, the Indian was completely embarrassed and both of them were greatly confused. Thus can God, by so casual happenings, set a hindrance to even greater fatalities, making use of the very occurrence of secondary causes in order to free His servants from the dangers that threaten them.

20. It appears that Màlong was not entirely satisfied with the order that he had despatched to Dùrrey; for, aroused to anger he also ordered Sumùlayto return to Bolinào in order to cut off the prior’s head, as well as the heads of all the other religious whom he might find there. Sumùlay obeyed instantly, for he was confident that he still had some well inclined to him in the village. He arrived atnight, and waiting until the morning of January 3, entered the convent at the time that the venerable minister was about to go out with a rattan staff in his hand in order to go to confess a sick man. Sumùlay attacked him with a short sword, without any waste of arguments. The poor religious, seeing himself involved in the worst kind of a conflict, but infused with valor by the divine hand, beat back the first blows with his cane, and defending himself with it, just as he might have done with the best kind of a sword, seeing that no one came to his aid, passed to the offensive. The cane had a long sharp steel point and the father gave the aggressor so powerful a blow or thrust in the breast, that he brought him to the earth grievously wounded. Then the prior called out, whereupon the village chiefs came up. However, they were remiss in arresting Sumùlay, but on the contrary favored his retreat, and allowed him to go away after he recovered from his wound. Consequently, when the prior returned from his confession (whither he had not omitted to go, despite all the confusion), Sumùlay no longer appeared. The prior had to put a good face on regarding the ill behavior of his parishioners, in order not to put the village in a worse condition, which, at least publicly, did not aid the seditious ones as much as they could have done.

§ IIIArrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.

Arrival of the Manila fleet which was aided by our religious. Destruction of the rebels.

21. Having now related what happened in the villages of Zambàles, and the dangers which our religious suffered, let us turn our eyes toward Manila, and see what preparations the government was taking in order to meet so many depredations. Scarcely had father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion delivered his messages, when Don Sabiniano Manriquez de Lara, governor of the islands, with extraordinary quickness mustered an army of two hundred Spaniards, besides four hundred other soldiers, consisting of Pampàngos, negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. As general he appointed the master-of-camp, Francisco de Esteybàr, a Visayan noble, who in addition to his credit as so fine a soldier, appeared a most observant religious in his habits. He was ordered to march overland to Pangasinàn without loss of time. A fleet consisting of four champans, two galleys, and six medium-sized vessels, which were manned with many good soldiers, and a goodly supply of all sorts of firearms were also prepared. This fleet was put in command of General Don Phelipe de Ugalde, who was ordered to set out on the voyage at once, and go to the port of Bolinào, where he was to confer with the father prior, Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios, whose counsel he was to prize greatly. He was advised that he was not to attempt anything ashore, until the arrival of Esteybàr, and their forces were united.

22. Everything was done in so short a time (to the contrary of what is generally written of Spanish aid), that the father prior was advised by thebantàyesor sentinels at dawn of January 5, that several vessels were seen to be headed to the port, which as was judged from their direction appeared to be from Manila. At nine in the morning the fleet anchored in the port of Bolinào, which is about one-quarter legua from the village. The father prior flew thither, with the rapidity of one who is in search of consolation, for he was most afflicted. Scarcely was he descried on the beach, when the general sent a skiff for him. He was taken by the skiff to the flagship, where he was received with repeated salvos of artillery. All the men expressed mutual joy, which sprung from the bottom of the heart, and were not superficial and born from the habit of deceit. Father Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion returned as chaplain of the fleet, because he urged the father provincial that he might do so, for he considered his absence from the field of battle, where his comrades were accomplishing so much for the crown, dishonorable to his valor in the spiritual militia. When the mutual congratulations which were exchanged between the father prior and those who composed the relief were exhausted, the general gave the former a letter from the governor. It read as follows:

“My Dear Father Fray Juan: Very sad has been the news that we have had here of your Reverence and of the other fathers, and we were even assured that you had all been killed. Consequently, the news from your Reverence served me as a special source of joy, notwithstanding the melancholy information contained therein of those insurrections. I trust implicitly through God that your person will be kept safe for the service of both Majesties. And I hopethat that fleet which I have been able to assemble quickly will keep you safe and that it will have your Reverence’s advice which I have ordered the general to receive as you are a person of experience in that district. The army in charge of General Esteybàr is ordered to make forced marches. And next to God, I look for success in all things to your Reverence because you are there. May God preserve you, etc. Manila, January 2, 1661.Don Sabiniano”

23. The general and the prior then discussed many points in regard to the order that was to be followed in the war. It was known that the weapons of the insurgents were poisoned arrows which caused death irremediably no matter how small a wound they made. And although there is not wanting an antidote to counteract that danger, yet that secret is known only by certain Indians who refused to disclose it because they desired the insolent multitude to conquer. But the vigilance of our religious had already shown its foresight in a matter of so great weight, and availing himself of a chief of Bolinào, one Don Antonio Dàcap, he had obtained from him the recipe for making the antidote; and he had even prepared a large quantity of it, which he gave to the general, in order that the latter might distribute it among the men of the fleet, so that they might suffer no harm from the arrows. Ugalde asked for some things which could not be prepared in Manila on account of the haste [of their departure]: namely, bamboo and cowhide for making parapets, small boats for use in shallow water; rice for the crew; spears such as the Indians use, and certain shields or bucklers which are calledcaràzas, in order tomake use of them in default of the firearms. He was provided with all that he asked immediately. After these arrangements were made, the father prior advised the general, notwithstanding the forced delay of the army as it was coming overland, to go immediately with his fleet to the port of Suàl; for although he could not begin operations until the arrival of Esteybàr, yet his appearance with his vessels in Pangasinàn in sight of Lingayèn, would be of great use in terrifying the rebels, and in encouraging the loyal.

24. The general did so, and although the prior desired to accompany the fleet, the former would not consent, alleging as a reason therefor that since Bolinào was so important a post, its conservation was considered necessary, and the presence of the father religious was inevitable for that, and also to provide the fleet with necessities in the accidents of war. On that ever propitious and sacred day of the Epiphany, after mass had been said, which was celebrated in the flagship by the father prior, the fleet left the port of Bolinào. At five in the afternoon it came within sight of Lingayèn, to the joy of the religious of St. Dominic, who had retired there from almost all of Pangasinàn, as it was the least exposed place. Until that moment they had been besieged by constant frights. The general did not dare to go ashore, as many crowds of people were seen on the beach, who appeared to be hostile; as well as because he had yet no news of the army, without which he had orders not to do anything, and he had no forces for that. On that account the fleet kept tacking to windward on one tack and another for the space of three days. But at the end of that time, a felucca was seen tocross the bar of Lingayèn headed toward the flagship. The father vicar of the said village came aboard and informed the general that the Indians of that district, although they had risen, were maintained in their insurrection with great difficulty, and that without making pacts or contracts, desired to surrender to the piety of the king, according to the arrangements that he had already discussed with the chiefs. Consequently, in his opinion, the men could disembark without the slightest fear.

25. A council of war was called to discuss the matter. The said father vicar, and the father chaplain, Fray Bernardino de la Concepcion, were given a vote with the others, as was right. All were of the opinion that the general should land with all his soldiers in order that he might place himself in a position of defense for whatever might happen. But that was unnecessary, for the Indians received him with the greatest proofs of surrender, and from that time the village of Lingayèn, which is the capital of the province, was one of the most safe villages. The rebels who were there fled, as they were fearful of punishment. But at that same time, the sedition was very much alive in the rest of the province; for Màlong treated those who refused obedience to him with the utmost rigor unless they had forces with which to resist him. This rigor was seen in his native place Binalatòngan, which he reduced to ashes, and allowed his soldiers to sack, as the Indians fearful of the Spaniards opposed his purposes. In Ilòcos and Cagayàn, the provinces lying next to Pangasinàn, was another Indian Don Juan Manzàno, who acted as Màlong’s agent, and who was general of his armies. He burned villages, killedIndians, and reduced everything to the most fatal pass, because he claimed that they denied obedience to our king.

26. On that account, Ugalde knew that the sword would be necessary in order to cut the gordian knot of so obstinate an insurrection. He, believing that since the Zambals were so valiant and were especially experienced in the mountains, where the rebels had their haunts, they could be of great use to the army, wrote the father prior of Bolinào to procure a goodly levy of them, and send them out as soldiers, with the assurance that he would give them help. That famous hero went through the villages of Zambàles with the greatest diligence, and collected about three hundred of the most faithful, valiant, and well-intentioned Indians. They, furnished with their accustomed arms, and the above-mentioned Don Antonio Dàcap, being appointed master-of-camp with the necessary captains (whose titles the general confirmed, as did afterward the governor, as a payment for their good services) were despatched to Lingayèn, where they arrived on the eighteenth of January. And in order that the joy of the fleet might be complete, on the afternoon of that same day, the desired news was received that the army of Esteybàr had entered the district of Pangasinàn without having met any considerable disaster in its difficult march. Thereupon, Ugalde arranged his troops, in order to go to join him. When the two armies were united they began to work together. They attacked Màlong first, and after several engagements, the traitor was obliged to retire together with those who remained of his men, to certain inaccessible mountains, where they imagined that they would be safe.But here the valor of the Zambals shone forth, for directed by father Fray Bernardino who never deserted them, they pursued the rebels through crag and thicket, so that they compelled them, defiling gradually one after the other, to surrender. Finally Màlong himself fell into an ambush which was boldly set for him, and he was seized on February 6 whereupon the Pangasinàn war ended.

27. But in order not to leave this matter without conclusion, we must add that our army, immediately increased by some companies of Pangasinans (a nation that declared itself entirely favorable to the Spaniards as soon as Màlong was defeated), resolved after holding a council of war to go immediately to Ilòcos for the purpose of destroying Manzano. But he with few men because many had been lost in several frays, retired to some desolate places where he built a fort. Our captains attacked him, however, full in front, and inspired by their example the soldiers and Indians, and conquered him. Many of the enemy were slaughtered, and we on our side did not fail to lose many, because the resistance was especially obstinate. Manzano escaped thence with some few of his men, and hid in certain mountains, but the Zambals, Pangasinans, and Cagayans pursued him, and finally, the justice of our arms prevailed. For, in order that no spark might be left which might kindle a new fire, he was also seized on March 22. Thus was that difficult war ended, which had caused Manila many terrors, for it caused not a few fears to the Spaniards. Thereupon, the provinces continued to become pacified. The governor Don Sabiniano, in obedience to the action of the royal Audiencia, despatched a commissary-general of causes, sothat, forming a tribunal together with Esteybàr, Ugalde, and other necessary ministers, he might make a process in regard to those who had been most active among the rebels; and after giving such persons the necessary punishment, publish a general pardon, which would comprehend the remainder. It was reported then that the judges proceeded with too great rigor, but I should not be so bold as to impute that guilt to them, for they aimed to spread a warning, without it ceasing to be very necessary.

28. The least thing that was seen in the disorders of so unjust a rebellion was the deaths that were caused, notwithstanding that they were numerous. There was seen vengeance clothed with zeal; ambition usurping the staff of justice; tyranny proclaiming liberty; treason applauded with adoration; and he who never knew the law of reason, making laws. There were seen thefts, conflagrations, profanations of the temples, persecutions, scorn, and the evangelical ministers killed sacrilegiously; the Catholic religion abandoned in great part; and the door opened to apostasy and infidelity. For what time, then, is the purpose of inexorable justice, if it is not applied at such a time? That was no sickness that could be cured by mild means when only iron and fire were found capable of reëstablishing that vast body in health, rigor exercised there being a preservative medicine for the rest. And if, perchance, any innocent one paid what he did not owe, one must reflect that public vengeance was inflicted by the hands of men, who, although they try to work with equity, are after all only men, and that they would cease to be men, if they proceeded without the least defect in all things. At last among many others who sufferedthe last punishment, Màlong was shot in Lingayèn, Caucào hanged in Binalatòngan, Sumùlay in Bolinào, Sìrray in Masingloc, Dùrrey in Agno, and Manzàno, in the village of Bacàrra, killed himself in order to escape the hand of the hangman. But if some of them left the marks of treason in the Zambal nation, which is ever valiant and loyal to the king, most of them in number and rank, washed away that stain more than clean. Everything yielded the great praise to the discalced Augustinians, who were able, by their exhortations, to restrain and maintain the loyalty of so many Indians of their districts, despising for that purpose many perils.

§ IVRelation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

Relation of the insurrection of the Sangleys or Chinese and how our religious aided in bringing about peace and victory.

29. Outside the walls of the city of Manila, under the cannon of the plaza, there is a very thickly populated settlement called the Parién, where a large number of Chinese live. Those people are known there under the name of Sangleys. Although heathen they have been allowed to reside there for the sake of commerce and because they are employed in almost all the mechanical trades. It cannot be denied that that nation fomented and maintained with aid and cunning the rebellions of the Indians which we have just related. That is apparent, because, when the alcalde-mayor Don Francisco Pulido was killed in Pangasinàn, some Sangleys were found among the rebels, who contrived that under cover of the small boats they might capture the large vessel where the alcalde-mayor was defending hislife very gallantly; and on the arrival of our naval fleet to explore the beach of Lingayèn, there were seen there many armed men, consisting of Sangleys and Indians, as is affirmed by Father Santa Cruz, in volume 2 of his Dominican history of the Philipinas.2But it is still more fully shown by the many bodies of Sangleys which were found in the field whenever there was an engagement with the rebels, for on all occasions they served the Indians as auxiliaries. Let us examine the motive for the Chinese taking part in a war that concerned them so little.

[Here follows a brief description of China and an account of the victories of the Tartars about this time, the alliance of the pirate Kuesing with the legitimate Chinese king Junglie, and following the latter’s death, the retreat of the pirate to Formosa whence he expels the Dutch. His design to make the conquest is also related, and his embassy by Father Victorio Riccio to Manila, demanding “prompt vassalage, and a huge tribute from the islands, and threatening the most bloody war if Spaniards and Indians did not obey this obligation and recognize him as king.” The Chinese in Manila, hating the Tartars and favorable to Kuesing, begin to raise disturbances. Their anger is also further aroused by a commercial treaty between the Spaniards and the Tartar emperor of China. But little attention is paid to the Chinese of the Parián, however, but both interior and exterior fortifications are strengthened and constructed in case of an attack by Kuesing. The narrative continues:]

34. For this purpose some scaffolds were built outside the wall so that the pioneers might work comfortably. This, which was a means for fortification, might, had not the divine aid intervened, have been the cause of the loss of the city, the center of the faith in Assia and a firm column of the Catholic religion. For the Sangleys determined with the utmost secrecy not to let the opportunity slip, but, on the contrary, to seize time by the forelock, and to climb in great numbers by night by means of those scaffolds which were not guarded in proportion to the danger. They thought that if they did so, and first gained the wall by an unexpected and furtive rush they could obtain the mastery of the city immediately without any opposition. In fact they would have planned well had it not been that God tied their hands. It happened, then, that the father sacristan of our convent going down one morning to arrange the altar of the Santo Ecce Homo (an image of which mention was made in volume iii,3as well as the great devotion that Governor Don Sabiniano had for it), found at its divine feet a message reading as follows: “Governor, guard thy city, for they are trying to take thee by surprise.” The sacristan immediately put that message into the hands of the father prior. The latter, considering that no one had to hide himself in order to give such advice, (for, if it were true, any person would be assured of a not small reward), he formed the concept that that notice came from the hand of God; and above all that it would be well to inform the governor of it.For where there are so many enemies, the most careful watch is none too much.

35. Consequently, he took the message to the governor, to whom he told the manner in which he had found it. The prudent superior not only esteemed the caution, but he doubled his care and vigilance by visiting the walls and sentinels hourly. But on the morning of the following day, another more detailed paper was found in the same place, which read as follows: “Governor, guard thy city. Remove the scaffoldings from the walls, and do not trust anyone, for the enemy are very near thee.” The father prior also took that message to the governor, alleging that because of his quality as a good vassal, he could not avoid giving him that annoyance. But the governor was not annoyed but instead thanked him again and again, and in his presence had an adjutant, one Don Joseph Zamora, summoned, and ordered the latter to remove the scaffolding of the walls, and double the guards in all the posts. It was afterwards learned how important the arrangement that has been practiced had been, for it was discovered when the deserved punishment was meted out to the insurgents that the surprise of the city was to have been attempted on the night following that day, but that they had not succeeded because what was to have served them as a ladder had been removed.

36. The Sangleys seeing the destruction of their designs, resolved, at the beginning of the year 1662, to arm suddenly one day, with the weapons which came first to hand, and to take the city openly, for they trusted too much to their valor. There is a gate in the city called the gate of the Parián, which giveson the Sangley settlement, and innumerable numbers of that nation enter the city through it hourly. They would find it easy if some of them were to make themselves masters of this gate, for the others to enter the city armed. By a special Providence of God, as brother Fray Diego de Santa Ana, one of our religious lay-brothers, went to adjust an account with a certain Sangley, on the morning of the day on which they had resolved to make the attack, he observed that the Chinese were in great disorder, and he even heard some words indicative of arrogance, and that they were premeditating some sedition. The brother understood the Chinese language somewhat, and having conceived the said suspicion, he went about the Parián carefully and joined in conversation cunningly with several Sangley acquaintances. By that means originated the confirmation of his fears. He advised a captain of everything, who took him into the presence of the governor so that he might inform the latter. Upon receiving that information, the guards of the gates and of the walls were doubled without any confusion, and most opportune orders were given secretly for the artillerymen and soldiers to be prepared to resist any attack.

37. Scarce six o’clock could have struck, when the Sangleys advanced to the gate of the city in a confused mass, with such violence that doubtless they would have gained it, had our men not been so prepared for its defense. With the regular discharge of the artillery, and with the muskets of the guards, many of them were killed. At that misfortune the others retired as furiously as they had begun the attack. But honoring our discalced religious greatlythe governor was wont to say whenever he saw brother Fray Diego, that next to the patronage of the Santo Ecce Homo, the defense of the city was due to his opportune advice. The enemy having been repulsed in this manner, a portion of them, about two thousand, threw themselves into the river in order to cross it. About three hundred of them having perished there, the others fled to the mountains. As they passed it, they left our convent and church of San Sebastian reduced to ashes. Its building had been finished but a short time before, as it had been burned during another insurrection. It could not but cause time and trouble to reduce those rebels, but it was accomplished at last although accompanied with the shedding of much blood. They were pursued on one side by the Pampango Indians and on the other by the Zambals, who were led and captained by our religious. The remaining Sangleys, who reached the number of ten thousand, took their stand on the field in front of the walls, thus causing not a little anxiety to Manila. But they were so disposed that, anticipating a general pardon, conceded by the governor, with the exception of some few leaders, before nightfall they were all subdued, and that troubled sea was totally calm.

38. Father Palanco,4a Dominican, declared very truly in the memorial which he presented to the king, on that rebellion of the Sangleys, “that all the Orders worked and aided with singular vigilance on that occasion exposing their lives to the service of both Majesties.” For the individuals of all the ordersendeavored to excel, as ever, in their zeal and deeds, now by taking arms to go to the defense of the walls, just as the most ordinary soldier might do; now imploring divine clemency with supplications and prayers; and anon assisting with advice and information. But there is no doubt that, as is inferred from the abovesaid, our Recollects had a great share in that victory, and that they shared considerably in the dangers of the war. Thus are they able without failing in their obligations as evangelical ministers, to serve their earthly king on all occasions, as professors of both militias.

[Sections v–vii relate the lives of various Recollects, both priests and lay-brothers, who died in Spanish convents at this time. No one of them had been in the Philippine missions.]

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