Chapter XXIXThe foundation of a church in the island of Hermosa and the holy deaths of some religious[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.
Chapter XXIXThe foundation of a church in the island of Hermosa and the holy deaths of some religious[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.
Chapter XXIXThe foundation of a church in the island of Hermosa and the holy deaths of some religious[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.
Chapter XXIXThe foundation of a church in the island of Hermosa and the holy deaths of some religious[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.
Chapter XXIXThe foundation of a church in the island of Hermosa and the holy deaths of some religious[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.
Chapter XXIXThe foundation of a church in the island of Hermosa and the holy deaths of some religious
[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.
[The Order of St. Dominic has always had its eyes fixed upon Great China; and father Fray Bartholome Martinez was especially anxious for the conversion of that great realm. In this conversion he was like Moses, who came in sight of the promised land; for he carried religious and planted the faith in the island of Hermosa, from which that most populous realm is almost in sight. This island had been greatly coveted by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The king of España was the first to undertake to conquer it; and by his order there wereprepared two ships of moderate size with a force of two hundred soldiers and sailors. The leader was Don Juan Zamudio, who came to the Philippinas in 1593. He chose the time of his voyage unfortunately, and was driven back to the coast of Batan; but he was rescued by the intervention of our Lady of the Rosary. The emperor of Japon in 1615, after his victory over Fideyori, sent an expedition against the island. It left Nangasaque in 1616 and wintered in the Lequios Islands. Setting sail again in the following November [sic], it was scattered by storms upon the coast of China. The Dutch, desirous of weakening the power of España and of interfering with the work of the preachers of the holy gospel, had taken possession of an uninhabited island called Island de Pescadores,30which lay off the coast of China. This was in 1624. By the Chinese the Dutch were persuaded to go thence to another island (Formosa) running from northeast to southwest, sixty-four leguas in length, and extending from latitude twenty-one to latitude twenty-five, and being thus twenty leguas in breadth. They established themselves at the southern point, in latitude twenty-three, in a port called Taiban, opposite Hayteng in Chincheo. From this post they could scour the seas and capture the vessels sailing from China. Here they built a small fort from which they could do much damage to the inhabitants ofManila and might close very important gateways to the holy gospel.31
In the year 1625 Don Fernando de Silva was governor of the Philippinas. He determined to send a fleet to take possession of a port in the island of Hermosa, in the name of the king of España, that the designs of the Dutch might be frustrated. He counseled with the provincial of the Order of St. Dominic, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who promised to go to the island of Hermosa and to take religious there, hoping in this way to gain an entry into China. In order to keep the design secret it was said that the troops were going to pacify the rebellious Indians of Yrraya, who had fled to the mountains. On February 8, 1626, the fleet sailed from the port of Cavite; it was composed of twelve champans and two galleys. There were three captains of infantry and their companies, and the force was under the command of the sargento-mayor, Antonio Carreño de Valdes. The ecclesiastical authority was in the hands of the provincial, Fray Bartholome Martinez, who took with him five religious, including those whom he later brought from Nueva Segovia. They anchored in the port of Nueva Segovia on the fifteenth of March, and remained there for some time. During the interval troops were sent to theriver of the Mandayas, the Indians of which had rebelled in the previous June, as was said in the foregoing chapter. In order to reduce them, a great number of palms were cut down, that they might more easily be brought to subjection for lack of food. Since the reduction of the Mandayas took more time than was expected, and the voyage to the island of Hermosa was urgent, this matter was left without being brought to a conclusion. To carry out their principal purpose they sailed on the fourth of May, coming in sight of the island on the seventh of the same month. They coasted the island for three days, and on the tenth of May anchored on an estuary which they named Sanctiago. The provincial and Pedro Martin Garay, the chief pilot, went in two small vessels to the northern headland, exploring the coast. Within five hours they discovered a port which they called La Sanctissima Trinidad. They took back the news to the fleet, which came on to the port and in the divine name of the most Holy Trinity took the port under the protection of España. They built a fort upon an islet32a little more than a legua in circumference. This they called San Salvador. They also constructed a rampart on the top of a hill three hundred feet or more in height, which made the place impregnable. The Dominicans erected a humble church, dedicating it to St. Catharine of Siena. Here they heard the confessions of the Spaniards, preached, taught, and filled the office of parish priests, up to the year 1635. The inhabitants of this region had fled from fear of the arquebuses of the Spaniards, and desired to avenge themselves for the wrong which they felt that theyhad suffered because the soldiers made use of the rice which the natives had left behind them. To quiet and satisfy them, the religious set about learning their language; and, although they knew very little of it, they began to communicate with the natives, caressing them and giving them presents. The Lord prospered their work, and the barbarians, who had lived the lives of savages, drinking the blood of their neighbors, and eating the flesh of their enemies, were tamed by the treatment of the religious. They brought their wives and children to be baptized. The first fruits were delicate and tender children, many of whom, after being laved in the baptismal font, went to enjoy the possession to which they had acquired a right from the waters of the holy Jordan. The convent of All Saints of the island of Hermosa was accepted in the intermediate chapter of the year of our Lord 1627, and was erected into a vicariate, father Fray Francisco Mola33being appointed as its vicar and superior.
On the fourth of February of this year father Fray Alonso del Castillo, a native of Andalucia and a son of Sancto Domingo de Sant Lucar, set sail from his convent in the islands of the Babuyanes to go to Nueva Segovia. The distance is a little more than six leguas, but the crossing is dangerous at some times. His vessel was swamped, and the father and those who were with him were all drowned. He was an abstemious and devoted religious. FatherFray Alonso lived in the islands of the Babuyanes. He was at one time tempted by a thought which was unworthy of his state as a religious, and the purity which he maintained—the devil urging him to it, and putting before him the means of carrying out the design, and the method of keeping it in secrecy during the absence of the superior. Father Fray Alonso, recognizing from whose bow this arrow had been shot, went to his superior and told him the temptation of the devil with all the details. He and the superior laid the matter before God with prayers and scourgings. The devil was unable to oppose such humility, and in a few days father Fray Alonso was able to assure the vicar that there was nothing to fear. In the following April died father Fray Ambrosio de la Madre de Dios, a native of Guatimala, a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Mexico. He came to the Philippinas in the year 1595, and was assigned to the province of Nueva Segovia. Without any controversy, it is he who up to the present day has most accurately learned the language there, and who was the teacher of those who understood it best. No one surpassed him in his pronunciation and his choice of words. He wrote a methodical grammar, arranged a vocabulary, translated the gospels, various examples of holy life, an explanation of the articles, the passion of our Lord, and other works highly esteemed for the elegance of the writing and the propriety of the words. He was a religious of great virtue, and our Lord wrought many miracles by his prayers. It was in response to his prayers that when the lime-kiln in Abulug fell, those upon whom it fell did not lose their lives. In Pata occurred two cases, as it seemed,of resurrection; and in Tocolana he saved the church from burning.
At the last of May, father Fray Diego Carlos, a native of Guatimala and a son of the convent at Puebla de Los Angeles, died in the same province. He suffered much at the time of the insurrection of the Mandayas Indians, whose minister he had been, and whom he had brought down from their mountains. In the provincial chapter of 1621 he twice received half the votes in the election for provincial. In the month of June, father Fray Juan de San Jacintho, a native of Los Guertos in Segovia, and a son of San Estevan at Salamanca, fell ill in the province of Ytuy. He lived a devout and a devoted life in the province of Pangasinan. He was greatly beloved by all. Some Indians of the province of Ytuy having asked for baptism, he went thither twice, suffering greatly from the hardships of the journey. The second time, he fell ill; and it was rumored that the Indians had given him poison, as they often do. He died at Manila. In the year of our Lord 1627, toward the end of March, died in the province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Juan Garcia,34a lay religious, a native of Yebenes in La Mancha, and a son of the convent of Sancto Domingo at Manila.]
To aid in supplying the want of these noble ministers, and to fill up the gap caused by the death of many more, our Lord gave us in July, 1626, a reënforcement of religious, who had been assembled in España by father Fray Jacintho Calvo, and whom he had entrusted in Mexico to father Fray AlonsoSanchez de la Visitacion—a son of the convent at Ocaña, who had come to the Philippinas in the year 1613.35He was at the time vicar of San Jacintho, where he had been sent by the chapter of the year 1623; and he now undertook the charge of conducting the religious, returning to the ministry of Nueva Segovia, where he had previously been. He had been appointed by the Inquisition of Mexico as its commissary for the cases which might arise in the said province pertaining to that holy tribunal.