chapter II

, is related rightly the occurrence with regard to the king of Borneo, after the arrival of Legazpi. Combés says that the Dapitans imagined that the Spaniards were eating fire when they smoked, and the hard white sea-biscuits they imagined to be stones. The noise of the artillery they took to be thunder, and the sword with which each one was girt, they thought to be a tail.

[43] The term "Malanao" is derived from "ma," "people of" and "lanao," "lake," and has long been used to distinguish the Moros living on the watershed of Lake Lanao. See Census of the Philippines, i, p. 473.

[44] In 1596, Fathers Valerio de Ledesma and Manuel Martinez first established the mission of the River of Butuan. That same year, there not being as yet any division into bishoprics, the Manila ecclesiastical cabildo (as the see was vacant), gave Mindanao into the formal possession of the Society of Jesus, an act that was confirmed by Francisco Tello, as viceroyal patron. Later, the question of the jurisdiction about Lake Malanao was argued in court between the Jesuits and Recollects, and was decided in favor of the former by Juan Niño de Tabora, a sentence confirmed by Corcuera September 5, 1637. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, cols. 655, 656.)

[45] The bay of Panguil or Pangil takes its name from a fruit, pangi (Hidnocarpus polyandra--Bl.), which is carried down to the coast by the rivers. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 759.)

[46] The Manobos are a Malay head-hunting heathen tribe of northern Mindanao who live in the interior about the watershed of the Agusan River. "Manobo" is a native word, which, in the Bagobo language of the gulf of Dávao, means "man." Blumentritt (with whom Retana agrees) says that the correct form of the name is "Manuba" or "Man-Suba," i.e., "river-people." The term might possibly be extended to the mountain people of Misamis province. See Census of the Philippines, i, pp. 461, 473; Blumentritt's Tribes of the Philippines (Mason's translation); and Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 780.

[47] Blumentritt (Tribes of the Philippines, Mason's translation) says of the Mananapes: "A heathen people alleged to dwell in the interior of Mindanao, possibly a tribe of Buquidnones or Manobos." Retana (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 780) says that the appellation is equivalent to "Manap," and is not the name of a tribe, but merely a nickname to indicate that those bearing that name are wild like beasts.

[48] Retana (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 780), derives "Sameacas" from "Sumasacas," a word which he says is equivalent to the Visayan "tagasaca," "people of the uplands." According to him, they are Malayan Moros, but Montero y Gay (Blumentritt's Tribes of Philippines, Mason's translation) says that they are heathen. It should be observed that Retana is not always a safe guide in etymological and ethnological matters.

[49] This entire sentence is, like many others of Combés, of loose and vague construction. Apparently what he means is, that the Lutaos had, like the Javanese, a polite and a vulgar tongue; and that the former more closely resembles the Sanskrit (since he implies that the Lutaos came from India).

[50] The Spaniards, mindful of their own struggles with the Moors of Spain (Moros) called all Mahometan peoples Moors.

[51] See Vol. XXXVI, p. 174, note 33.

[52] A classic allusion, occasioned by the marine life and habits of the Lutaos.

[53] Paguian Tindig is equivalent to "just king." In their literal sense, both words signify "he who causes persons and things to pass by the right path." (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 727.)

[54] Elsewhere written Limansacay; see Vol. IV, pp. 241-278, the account of Gabriel de Ribera's expedition against the Mindanaos in 1579.

[55] Such was the first outbreak of hostilities which caused the rebellion of the Moros of Joló against Spain, and originated the piracy of that small archipelago, which wrought so much ruin, and caused so much bloodshed and depopulation among the Visayan and Tagálog islands. (Pastells and Retanas Combés, col. 658.)

[56] Regarding the introduction of Mahometanism in those islands, see Vol. IV, pp. 150, 151, 168, 178.

[57] A common name for the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), a fruit of delicate flavor and highly prized; this tree grows in Joló and Mindanao. (Official Handbook of Philippines, p. 316.)

[58] Becoquin: "A sort of cap made with a piece of cloth." When the Joloans made a treaty with the Jesuit Lopez, they ratified it by an oath taken "on the becoquin or cap of Tampan, one of the old-time ministers of their deceit.... When the princes of Joló swear by this becoquin, using this ceremony, it is the strongest oath that they can take, and that which is most respected." (Combés, Hist. de Mindanao, col. 478, 785.)

[59] The limocon (Calcophups indica) is a species of turtledove with red feet and beak. It is very beautiful, its plumage being green on a white background. See Delgado's Historia, p. 830.

[60] There are offerings and sacrifices among the Mindanao heathen. The first [pagcayog] consist in offering rice, buyo, and money before a small idol of bayog [Pterospermum] wood (placed on a small altar adorned with bamboo and bonga [Areca]), called diuata or Manáug. This idol, which is a poorly-made image, has for eyes the red fruit of the tree called mabugaháy, and is painted with the sap of the narra. The blood sacrifices are of animals, and even of human beings. The first are called talíbong, if the animal sacrificed is a cock, and pag-balílig, if it is a hog. In either case, the priestesses (bailanes) having assembled, to the sound of the agun and guímbao, are clad according to rule; that is, with embroidered handkerchiefs on the head; magnificent red shirts, rich glass beads hanging from the neck; silver medals fastened to the breast; large gold earrings with strings of beads; a jabol or dagmay which serves them as a skirt, and is very skilfully woven and figured with crocodiles and other designs; at the girdle, in the midst of fragrant flowers and hawk's-bells, they carry the balarao or dagger with which the sacrifice of the victim is made; on the arms precious bracelets of ságai-ságai and pamóans; and on the feet hoops and hawk's-bells, which sound in cadence with the dance which legalizes such ceremonies. When the priestesses have taken their places about the altar, upon which the victim is to be sacrificed, they commence their dances to the sound of the culintangan, some of them playing on the guimbao and the agun. They walk about the altar; they tremble and belch, while singing the "miminsad," until they fall senseless to the ground like those stricken with epileptic fits. Then the spectators go to them, fan them, sprinkle them with water, and the other women bear them up in their arms until they recover consciousness. Then they repeat the ceremony and the chief priestess buries her balarao in the heart of the hog or slits the cock's neck. Thereupon, she sucks up the blood which gushes forth from the victim, partaking thus of the sacrifice. The other bailanes do the same. During the epileptic fit, they assert that Mansilatan has appeared to them and notified them of the good or ill outcome of the war, sickness, harvest, or whatever they have been investigating. Then it all ends in excessive eating and drinking. The human sacrifice is called huaga, and is only practiced among the Bagobos and most barbarous heathen of Mindanao. The victim is offered to the Mandarangan, the god of the mountain or volcano of Apo; this person's value is generally apportioned among those who

## participate in the sacrifice, and he who pays most is the first to

wound the unfortunate victim. The latter is cut into mincemeat in a moment amid the horrifying cries of his infamous executioners. Thanks to the painstaking vigilance of the authorities of that district, and to the incessant care of the missionaries, so impious and criminal a ceremony is almost entirely eradicated, and is only practiced in secret, in the densest woods. In addition to the huaga, there are true cases of cannibalism among the Baganis, who are wont to eat the raw entrails of those who fall before their lances, krises, and balaraos in battle. They do that as a mark of bravery. They have a proverb which says: "I am long accustomed to eat the entrails of men." (Pastells and Retana's Combés, cols. 657, 658.)

[61] Referring to Tuambaloca, the queen of Raya Bongso; Bactial (misprinted Bachal in the Combés text) was his bastard son, who for a time ruled Joló, during his father's life.

[62] These patolas are mentioned by Pigafetta in his relation. See Vol. XXXIV, p. 59.

[63] A measure of capacity equivalent to about one-half an English gallon, or two liters.

[64] This last sentence is in the language of the Inquisition, the original being "y aun entre barbaros puso con sambenito al vicioso, para que no tengan escusa los que se le hizieron Familiares." "Sambenito" (translated "penance") is the "garment worn by penitent convicts of the Inquisition;" or "an inscription in churches, containing the name, punishment, and signs of the chastisement of those doing penance."

[65] The dedo is a measure equivalent to one forty-eighth of the vara or Spanish yard.

[66] Father Pastells has seen the immediate effects of the execution of judgment by boiling water, and cured a young man, who had thrust his hand into boiling water, by sentence of the chiefs, in order to prove his innocence. The judgment of plunging the parties into water is also practiced, and he who remains in the water the shortest time is adjudged the criminal. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

[67] These prices are mentioned in Vol. XLI, appendix.

[68] One of the chief causes of the great depopulation of Mindanao and the Visayan Islands was the slavery produced by the piracy of the Lutaos, encouraged by the Moros of Borneo, Célebes, Gilolo, Macazar, Ternate, and the other Moluccas, who brought the slaves in the markets to which they were conveyed. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

[69] The Baganis, who dress in the manner described by the author, generally count the number of their victims, by placing on the edge of the shield as many locks of hair as the assassinations that they have committed. One Macusang gave Father Pastells his shield as a present, as a sign that he would kill no more Christians; and that shield held one hundred and eight locks of hair. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

[70] Now called bido. They dress like women; and some think them hermaphrodites. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

Henry Ling Roth, in his Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo (London, 1896), i, pp. 270, 271, describes these men in women's attire as found in Borneo, where they are called Manang bali. Before such assume women's dress they are unsexed; and thenceforth they endevour to imitate as nearly as possible the women in everything, he who can best do so being regarded as the most successful. Their services are in great demand and they generally grow wealthy, when in order the better to act their assumed character as women, the manang bali takes a husband. The latter is despised by the women and disliked by the men of the tribe, and is completely under his so-called "wife's" domination. Men are not brought up in this office as a profession, but one becomes a manang bali from pure choice, or by sudden inclination, at a mature age. He is always a person of great consequence in the village, and may become the chief. He has many cares, and acts often as a peacemaker, in which he excels, all little differences being brought to him. His wealth is often at the service of his followers, and he is ready to help in times of trouble and distress. When the manang bali marries, he generally adopts some children; and if he has had children before he becomes a manang bali, he must give them their portions and start in that career unencumbered.

Cf. the "berdashes" among the North American Indians; see Jesuit Relations (Cleveland reissue), lix, pp. 309, 310.

[71] Retana (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 786) derives "labia" from "labi" and "a" "he who advantages the others." "Tuto" is said by Retana (ut supra, col. 790) to be equivalent to "tuud-tuud" meaning "in real truth."

[72] Either the eleventh or twelfth of November. The first date is the day of St. Martin, the blessed confessor; and the second that of St. Martin, pope and martyr, who was martyred in 655.

[73] The island of Pañgutarang, of the Sulu group. It is about 11 × 9 miles in extent, and is low, but is densely inhabited and has considerable trade with Joló. It has some settlements of the Sámals, the descendants of the Sámal Laút or "sea gypsies." See U. S. Philippine Gazetteer, and Census of the Philippine Islands, i, p. 464.

[74] At present, when anyone dies, those of his house break out into uncontrollable lamentations, and the father or husband becomes so beside himself at times that, seizing his bolo, he slashes right and left whatever he finds, destroying his clothes, furniture, utensils, and even the very floor of the house; and it is necessary to lay hold of him in order to avoid a worse ending to such uncontrolled

## actions. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 660.)

[75] Socsocan (Sofocan, Sogsocan) was a Basilan by birth and one of the most esteemed of Corralat's chiefs. He became friendly to the Spaniards and served them well as commander of the Lutaos. His name is said to signify "he who penetrates the fortresses or the ranks of the enemy." (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 735.)

[76] Captain Gaspar de Morales was made admiral of the squadron in Joló. He fought bravely in La Sabanilla and in Joló, where he was severely wounded. He became commandant of the stronghold and afterward was governor of the Joloan fort. As governor he was an utter failure; for by his avarice and licentiousness he occasioned the insurrection of Salibansa (whose daughter he had seized), and the loss of the Sulu archipelago for more than two centuries. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 723.)

[77] Among woods of extraordinary hardness is the magconó (Xanthostemon verdugonianus naves). This wood is so hard that if a nail be driven into its heart and it be afterward sawn apart, one does not observe where the saw strikes the nail, and it said that both substances are of equal hardness. Father Pastells asserts that he has seen bits of this wood that have been converted into real flint after only twenty-five years. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 660.)

[78] Of these people, properly called Guimbajanos (Guinbajanos, Guimbanos, Guimbas, and Quimpanos), Blumentritt (Tribes of the Philippines, Mason's translation) says: "The historians of the seventeenth century, under this title, designated a wild, heathen people, apparently of Malay origin, living in the interior of Sulu Island. Their name is derived from their war drum (guimba). Later writers are silent concerning them. In modern times the first mention of them is by P. A. de Pazos and by a Manila journal, from which accounts they are still at least in Caroden and in the valley of the Loo; it appears that a considerable portion of them, if not the entire people, have received Islam." Retana (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 779) derives the name of these people from guimba, "a mountain." They are not mentioned under this name by the Census of the Philippines.

[79] Pedro de Almonte Vérastegui, of Sevilla, was a brave soldier, who served as general and sargento-mayor, and admiral of an expedition against Maluco. He was especially distinguished for his honesty and uprightness. In Sibuguey he attained equal merit with Corcuera, and in 1638 conquered Joló. Diego Fajardo assigned him the encomienda of Lorenzo Cañete, left vacant (July 1, 1645), by the death of the latter's son. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 695.) Almonte Vérastegui has often been mentioned in this series.

[80] The Chinese, during the Spanish régime of the Philippines, were allowed to smoke opium under certain rules; but its use was prohibited to the natives, although it was at times used secretly. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 781.)

[81] The former officer of the crown of Aragon, who was assigned to duty immediate to the king's person. He enjoyed several privileges, one of them being to hold the royal sword naked in public ceremonies. (Dominguez, Diccionario nacional.)

[82] The arms of the natives of Mindanao, like their clothes, are manufactured by themselves. The spears and campilans are said to be finely tempered. They themselves adjust the dies for their pataquias. The sheaths, like the hafts of their krises, are of gold richly engraved. The haft of the kris used by Dato Ayuman of Tabiran was of solid gold, and was engraved with sentences from the Koran in Arabic characters. The usual weapons are: campilans, krises (straight and wavy), machetes, bolos, ligdaos, súndanes, various kinds of spears, balaraos, and badis. They use coats-of-mail made of brass, tortoise-shell, malibago [-bark], or very thick cloth, or long sashes wound about the breast. Spears and arrows are generally poisoned with the resin of the tree called quemandag or the poison of red ants or scorpions; and the points of their daggers and balaraos are also poisoned. They also use darts made of steel, iron, bone, palm-wood and bamboo. For defense they construct traps, dig pits, and set bamboo points. They use also various kinds of lantacas and other kinds of firearms, with which the Chinese supply them, or which they manufacture themselves. These were considered contraband of war during the Spanish régime. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 782.)

[83] Juan José Delgado was a native of Cadiz; the time of his birth is not known. In 1711 he left Spain for Filipinas, and perhaps remained for some time in Mexico: it is probable that he reached Filipinas as early as 1717. He seems to have spent most of his life in the Visayan Islands--Sámar, Cebú, Leyte, etc.--but to have visited most of the peoples in the archipelago at some time or other. His Historia was written during the years 1751-54; the date of his death is not known. See sketch of his life in the Historia (Manila, 1892), pp. x-xi.

[84] Mas used the MS. of the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, which is wrongly dated. See post, pp. 278-280. Of the letter itself he says (i, "Poblacion" p. 63): "These paragraphs and other ancient documents will show us ... how little the individuals who now occupy us have changed since that time."

[85] For instance, Mas says (p. 63): "Here follows what the author of the celebrated work on the Philippines, called Cronicas franciscanas [referring to San Antonio's Chronicas] says: 'The very reverend father, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, an Augustinian from Madrid,'" etc. Bowring makes this: "Among the most celebrated books on the Philippines are the 'Cronicas Franciscanas' by Fr. Gaspar de San Agustin, an Augustine monk of Madrid;" and following gives the impression that he makes the selections directly from San Agustin--a ridiculous error.

In regard to the word "monk" used by Bowring, that author is again in error, technically at least, an error that is quite often met with in many works. As pointed out by Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A., in a letter dated December 8, 1902, the only regulars in the Philippines who could rightfully be styled "monks" were the Benedictines. The members of the other orders are "friars," the equivalent of the Spanish "frailes." The monks are strictly cloistered. The friars appeared first in the thirteenth century, and do not live a strictly cloistered life.

[86] M. reads on the outside wrapper: "Letter by Fray Gaspar de San Agustin;" and the heading of the letter is as follows: "+ Letter written by an aged religious of Philipinas to a friend in España, who asked him as to the nature and characteristics of the Indian natives of these islands." D. reads: "Letter written by the very reverend father Fray ... giving him an account ..."

[87] M. and D. read "mathematical side;" and continuing D. reads "of the double of the cube of the sphere."

[88] i.e., "I was with this generation for about forty years, and I said 'These people always err from the heart.'" M. omits the Latin phrase and reads in its place "and I have only learned that they are almost incomprehensible." D. reads as M. and then adds "and therefore I shall only say," followed by the Latin phrase.

[89] i.e., "He himself knew our formation." The last word of the Latin phrase is omitted in M.

[90] D. reads "excuse myself from the burden and difficulty."

[91] i.e., "It is difficult to know man--a changeable and variable animal." M. gives only the first four words of this Latin phrase.

[92] i.e., "I see men as trees walking."

[93] Not set off into lines in the Ayer MS. A literal translation of the citation, which is rather freely translated in the text, is: "Spring makes me green; burning summer, yellow; autumn, white; and chill winter, bald." M. omits all the quotation after the first three words; D. reads "Glaucumque" instead of "flavamque." The poet mentioned by San Agustin was a Welshman by the name of John Owen, or, according to his Latin name, Joannis Audoenus. He was born about 1560, at Armon, Wales, and died in London, in 1622. He studied law at Oxford, and afterward became a teacher at various places. He imitated the Epigrams of Martial, and his Epigrammata were published first in three books at London, in 1606, but were later augmented by seven more books. They were reprinted many times in various countries and even translated into other languages--among the latter, into English, French, and Spanish (Madrid, 1674-82). One of the best editions is that printed at Paris in 1774.

[94] D. omits this last phrase.

[95] M. omits the epigram. It is the forty-seventh epigram of the twelfth book, and is translated thus in Henry G. Bohn's Epigrams of Martial (London, 1877): "You are at once morose and agreeable, pleasing and repulsive. I can neither live with you nor without you." It has been several times translated into English verse.

[96] i.e., "As many opinions as persons."

[97] From the Greek words monos, "one," "single," and pas, "all;" thus meaning, "homogeneous."

[98] The Monophysites held that there was but one nature in Christ. They were condemned at the fourth general council held at Chalcedon in 451, but the decision of that council was a few years later set aside by an imperial encyclical issued by the emperor Basilicus. During the next century the Monophysites split up into many sects, and fought among themselves. The Monophysites still exist in Armenia, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia; and are represented by the Armenian National church, the Jacobite Christians of Syria and Mesopotamia, the Coptic church, and the Abyssinian church. The schismatic Christians of St. Thomas are now connected with the Jacobites. See Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary, pp. 597, 598.

[99] M. greatly abridges this paragraph, among other things omitting all mention of the Monophysites. D. also omits the latter.

[100] At this point M. adds "who are the true Indians, so named from the River Indus or from Indostan, for our Indians are so by catachresis or misusage."

[101] The title of the Franciscan Juan de Torquemada's book, is as follows: Ia (-IIIa) Parte de los veynte y un libros rituales y monarchia Indiana con el origen y guerras de los Indios occidentales de sus poblaçones, descubrimiento, conquista, conversion y otras cosas maravillosas de la misma tierra (Sevilla, 1615; in three parts).

[102] The title of Antonio de Ramesal's book is Historia general de las Indias Ocidentales, y particular, de la governacion de Chiapa, y Guatemala. Escrivese juntamente los principios de nuestro glorioso Padre Santo Domingo, y de las demas religiones (Madrid, 1620).

Remesal was born in Allariz in Galicia, and took the Dominican habit in Salamanca, where he also became doctor of theology. He was sent to Central America in 1613, and on his return wrote his book. See Moreri's Dictionaire, vii, p. 68; and Hoefer's Nouvelle biographie générale, xli, col. 956.

[103] See Vol. VIII, p. 38, note 1.

[104] Bartolome (not Bernardino) de las Casas, the great apostle of the Indians. He first went to the New World in 1502 as a planter, became a Dominican religious in 1510, and in 1514 began to preach against the cruelty inflicted on the Indians by the Spaniards, for the purpose of alleviating their misfortunes, making numerous trips to Spain. He finally obtained from Cárlos I the "New Laws," which were so rigorous that an attempt to enforce them resulted in an insurrection in Peru under Gonzalo Pizarro, for an account of which see Pedro Gutiérrez de Santa Clara's Historia de las guerras civiles del Peru, 1544-1548 (Madrid, 1904-05). He finally returned to Spain for the last time, and died after a few years in the Dominican convent of Valladolid. His writings are many, and important. The reference in the text may be to his Brevissima relacion de la destruycion de las Indias (Sevilla, 1552); or to his Historia general de las Indias, which existed only in MS., until 1875.

[105] See Vol. XXIX, p. 189, note 42. San Agustin probably refers to his Virtudes del Indio (1650?). Palafox left many writings, a number of which are of a controversial nature.

[106] In D., "taught."

[107] In D., "collect."

[108] M. and D. call these last two peoples the "Mogores" and the "Camarines."

[109] Baltasar Gracian was born in Calatayud, Aragon, in 1601, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1619. He taught belles-lettres, philosophy, moral theology, and the Holy Scriptures, and preached for several years. He was rector of the college at Taragona, Catalonia, where he died December 6, 1658. His first book, El Heroë, appeared in 1630. The most famous of his numerous works was his Criticon, which is probably the book referred to in the text. It is a sort of satire on the vices and customs of the times; and in places reminds one of Pilgrim's Progress. It was published in three parts, the first in 1650 at Madrid, and the other two at Huesca, in 1653. Most of his works were published under his brother Lorenzo's name. His talent in writing is vitiated by his affectation and other faults. See Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature (New York, 1854); Sommervogel's Bibliothèque; Moreri's Dictionaire, iv, p. 174; and Hoefer's Nouvelle biographie générale, xxi, cols. 570, 571.

[110] M. and D. add "For most of the defects and vices of these Indians are common, on account of the," and continue as above.

[111] This passage is badly confused in the three copies. The transcriber of M. has wrongly made the viviendo acephalos of the Ayer copy, bebiendo à sed [i.e., drinking when thirsty?] which hardly makes sense. That MS. continues, "and in confused anarchy," which is better than the Ayer reading. D. reads "Who besides having been living as the greatest barbarians, leaderless, and in confused anarchy."

[112] Both M. and D. omit the passage referring to the influence and dominion of the moon. M. gives the names as "Beyerlinhe," and D. as "Bayarlinch."

Laurentius Beyerlinck was a noted Flemish savant and litterateur. He was born at Antwerp in 1578, and, after studying in that city with the Jesuits, went to Louvain, where he enjoyed a benefice until 1605. In that year he was recalled to Antwerp to become head of the seminary, and soon afterward obtained a canonry and then an archdeaconry there. His death occurred in Antwerp June 22, 1627, at the age of forty-nine. Notwithstanding his short life and his religious labors, he wrote a surprising amount. An edition of his Magnum Theatrum Vitæ Humanæ appeared in London, in eight volumes, in 1678. See Moreri's Dictionaire.

[113] "When they grow delirious in their sickness, they are never frantic, but calm." (Mas, p. 64.)

[114] M. and D. add here "slow."

[115] In the Ayer MS. "serithnophagos." D. makes it "ictiófagos," which reading we have adopted; and M. omits the phrase.

[116] The abundance of fish is one of the means by which nature aids their necessities. In the rainy season, all the creeks and ravines are full of water and fish. The very rice fields swarm with eels, shrimps, and a species of fish called dalag, which is about two palmos long and more than two inches thick. It is especially interesting for an European to see a crowd of people in the month of October on the high-road, busily fishing in the sowed fields. As the rice is now grown, it is impossible to see the water that bathes and wets its roots, and consequently, when the hooks are drawn out with fish two palmos long on them, it appears to be enchantment, or the inconsequential things of a dream. As the water dries up, the fish, still living, gather down in toward the hollows where there is yet some water; and they are there caught with the hand, or killed with clubs.

"The Indians have three meals [per day]: breakfast, dinner, and supper. These three meals consist of rice boiled in water but dry like the rice cooked in the Valencian style, or like the Turkish pilao. In addition they eat a trifle of fresh or salt fish, some sort of meat stew, camotes, etc.; but rarely do they have more than two different dishes, unless it is the occasion of a banquet. In the dearest provinces, the [expense of] common food cannot be estimated at more than one-half real of silver per day per adult; and since the daily wage that they earn is at least one-half real and their food, it results that this race have great opportunity to save and acquire considerable wealth. But their vices, their few necessities, and their disposition, which is indifferent and lacking in foresight, does not allow them to better the condition of their birth; and they remain in the wake of the mestizos, who are always the wealthy people of the villages." (Mas, pp. 64, 65.)

[117] Mas says (p. 65): "It is not easy for anyone to explain them, so long as he tries to consider these men equal to the Europeans."

[118] This sentence is omitted in M. and D.

[119] All the matter above between the word "father" and this point is lacking in M.

[120] The solidus was a coin of the Roman empire, which was at first called "aureus," and worth about twenty-five denarii, but afterward reduced to about one-half that value. It is used in the same manner as "farthing" or "cent" would be in English.

[121] These passages are translated as follows in the Douay version of the Bible:

4. Many have looked upon a thing lent as a thing found, and have given trouble to them that helped them.

5. Till they receive, they kiss the hands of the lender, and in promise they humble their voice.

6. But when they should repay, they will ask time, and will return tedious and murmuring words, and will complain of the time:

7. And if he be able to pay, he will stand off, he will scarce pay one-half, and will count it as if he had found it:

8. But if not, he will defraud him of his money, and he shall get him for an enemy without cause:

9. And he will pay him with reproaches and curses, and instead of honour and good turn will repay him injuries.

[122] i.e., "Scarce does he return the half."

[123] In the Douay version: "The sinner shall borrow and not pay again;" being only one-half the verse. M. omits the reference, but gives the passage.

[124] Delgado (Historia, p. 306) commenting on this passage says: "I find noted many actions of the Indian boys who serve in the houses and convents; and all are ridiculous things which we ourselves did in our own country when we were boys like them." He objects to San Agustin's quotation from Scripture on the ground that it is too general, and that those words were not written merely for them. "If twenty cases have been experienced where the Indian borrower has failed to return what he borrowed, it cannot be said that the entire Tagálog nation are sinners, let alone other nations, which may not have been seen. Such a supposition is illogical."

[125] The paragraph structure of M. and D. differs from our text in the above two paragraphs, and in other places throughout this letter; and the paragraphs are also unnumbered in both of these versions. The copy owned by Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., Valladolid, agrees with the Ayer MS. in having numbered paragraphs, but the numbering is not in all cases the same.

[126] At this point the following paragraphs which are not contained in either the Ayer MS. or in D. occur.

"They think that it is a fine thing to meddle and take part in things where they are not invited. Consequently, if any of Ours wishes to attend to any bodily necessity, not fit to mention, even when he least wishes it, there comes an Indian before or behind him even though he leave the banca and seek the most retired spot to do what no other can do for him.

"They cruelly treat the animals that serve them, and the danger of losing them does not move them to the contrary. Thus following the very opposite of St. Paul's command: Non alligavis vos bobi trituranti [i.e., "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn,"--I Tim. v, 18, a quotation from Deut. xxv, 4], they tie the poor cow or carabao to a post after it has worked all day; and, if it is a horse, they feed it without removing bit or bridle. And if they have to look after their carabao it must be on condition of their being atop of it while it moves from place to place; and on the road they make sores on its buttocks."

That the Indian does not shut a door that he has opened, etc.; Delgado says (p. 306): "This is done by boys, and is common in our own country. It is not because of laziness, but perchance, for lack of attention, or the liveliness or mischievousness of boys, in which the aged and prudent Indians cannot be included." He has often seen the carpenters carefully collect their tools and take them away, so that they should not be lost. San Agustin's criticism is too general and has proceeded from what he has experienced in a few foolish lads.

[127] "This," says Delgado (p. 307) "is peculiar only to some workmen, and not to all the nations of these islands, and the same thing happens also in our own country among cobblers, tailors, and other deceitful and tricky workmen."

Mas comments as follows (pp. 66, 67): "There is no tailor, cobbler, or workman of any kind, who does not begin by begging money when any work is ordered. If he is a carpenter, he needs the money in order to buy lumber; if a laundryman, to buy soap. This is not for lack of confidence in receiving their pay, for the same thing happens with those who have the best credit, with the cura of the village, and even with the captain-general himself. It consists, firstly, in the fact that the majority have no money, because of their dissipation; and secondly, because they are sure that after they have received a part of their price, their customer will not go to another house, and that he will wait for the workman as long as he wishes (which is usually as long as what he has collected lasts), and that then the customer will have to take the work in the way in which it is delivered to him."

[128] M. reads, "in the region of the genitals;" and D., "ears."

[129] Delgado says of this: "Let us give thanks to God that our parents reared us in civilized ways; for if they had not, we would do the same. But how many blows and lashes we had to take to become so! And indeed it must be noted that it is not so much because of rudeness that the Indian scratches himself, or does other things somewhat more indecent and coarse, as has happened to me at times when with them; but because of a sort of fear or respect, that so confuses them that they do not know at times what they are doing, or even what they are saying." The criticism, like others of San Agustin, is too sweeping. Delgado has not noticed this among the Visayans, although he has noted it among the Tagálogs. Because some women are coarse, coarseness cannot be charged in general upon all the women of the islands.

[130] D. reads "And as yet they have not gotten over the difficulty of folding a cloak with the right side in."

[131] M. and D. read "make gestures of wonder."

[132] "I have observed that they are very stupid in making anything when one tries to give them instructions, but not when one allows them to work in their own manner. For example, one desires to have the cork which has slipped down into a bottle drawn. The best thing to say then, is 'See here, get this cork out without breaking the bottle. Take care!' Thereupon the Indian goes and fixes it as well as he can. Once I asked an old woman for some fire to light my cigar. There were many live coals on the ground remaining from a fire. She took a handful of earth in her palm, and atop of that placed a coal which she presented to me. In this way they do things that at times show sufficient ingenuity and skill, especially with bamboo and rattan. General Alava declared that their brains were in their hands." (Mas, pp. 67, 68.)

[133] These last six words are lacking in M. This refers to the well-known myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. By Auresteo, San Agustin means Aristæus, probably an early Greek poet, but deified as a beneficent god and worshiped in various parts of Greece and other places. He was said to be the son of Apollo and the Thessalian nymph Cyrene, and was reared by Hermes, who made him immortal; although he is also sometimes called the son of Urana and Gæa. His connection with the Orpheus myth was probably an innovation of Virgil (Georgics, iv, ll. 315-558) who tells how he caused the death of Eurydice, who was killed by a serpent while fleeing from his persecutions. See Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, and Seyffert's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (London, 1891).

"It is still the custom in many of the churches for the men to take their positions in the center toward the upper part, and the women in the lower half." (Mas, p. 68.)

[134] The last two words are missing in M. and D.

Curiosity, says Delgado (p. 307) and impertinence is a characteristic of all the peoples of Asia.

"They have asked me often as to my employment or occupation, my manner of living, and the amount of my pay. This proceeds from the tolerance and benevolence that they generally find in The Spaniards." (Mas, p. 68.)

[135] This argues only their wildness and lack of civilization, says Delgado (pp. 307, 308), and they ought to be taught civilized manners by their masters, or at least by the missionaries. The Spanish houses generally have porters, so that the Indians cannot penetrate into the most retired apartment. It may happen at times in Manila, or in some of the missions; but it is not the custom in the Visayas, or in the province of Tagálos. Delgado has never had such a thing happen to him, for the Indians have always announced their arrival before entering.

[136] "This proves the severity with which they are treated by their own people, and the kindness that they experience in us." (Mas, p. 68.)

[137] "Thank God," says Delgado (p. 308) "that I find the prognosis above that says 'they are great sleepers' absolutely false."

[138] This sentence is lacking in M. and D.

[139] In D., "where the women go."

"They do this because they are humored like children in the convents." (Mas, p. 69.)

[140] M. and D. omit "and perukes."

[141] Literally, "the flower of the saints," perhaps alluding to some book of lives of saints, thus entitled. M. has "the isles of the saints."

[142] M. and D. omit the last three words.

[143] "Nearly all the villages have theaters for cock-fighting. Before fighting, some very sharp knives are fastened to the spurs so that one or the other is killed at the first meeting. On this account the cockfight does not offer the interest or sport that it does in España and other places, and it occupies the attention of these people solely as a means of winning or losing money. In reality, a cockpit is a house of play. Before the two fowls are placed in attitude of fight, the bets are placed on two spindles. One of them generally offers a great sum in favor of the black cock, while others bet on the white one, until the sum is matched. The leading cocks are loosed and one of them is killed in less than two minutes. This is in fact a 'monte,' as is playing the races or betting on the jack [at cards]. The Filipinos, by nature idlers and greedy, are passionately fond of play, for they consider it an excellent and unique way of getting money without working; and they gather like flies to these pernicious places, in order to spend what they have and what they can succeed in borrowing or robbing, abandoning their most sacred and peremptory obligations. Furthermore, they pass many hours, both in their houses and in the cockpit, teaching a cock how to fight and to have no fear of the people; and examining the other cocks, in order to ascertain by certain rules and marks which will triumph and which will succumb. There is nothing more commonly seen even in the very streets of Manila itself, than a man squatted down on his heels with one of these fowls, in order that it might become accustomed to the noise, so that it might not grow confused or become frightened in the pit. There are men who take heed of nothing else or have other thought during the day than of their cocks.

"The government authorizes these wretched gatherings, not only on Sundays, but also on Thursdays or fair-days, which are not few, and has rented out the right of opening these theaters. Last year this department produced about 40,000 pesos fuertes. A sad recourse which must have occasioned and will occasion so many tears, crimes, and punishments, since so much vagabondage is thereby caused. There are often serious quarrels, which two judges of the theater end by deciding according to the laws. When any one of the contestants does not conform to the sentence, he has recourse to the alcalde, who takes the evidences in regard to the matter; and these quarrels generally go on appeal to the superintendency and to the upper litigious assembly. These causes are judged according to existing instructions, which were written in America.

"The Indians are also very fond of cards. They play brisca, burro (which is distinct from that of España), and panguingui, which is a game played very commonly by the Chinese. In this occupation they often pass all the night until dawn; and the cabezas de barangay lose the tributes of their subjects, and they have to go immediately to jail, or take to the mountain.

"They generally play duplo at their parties--a game consisting in arithmetical combinations--and also our game of forfeits." (Mas, pp. 69-71.)

[144] Delgado (p. 308) admits that the youthful servants do break dishes, but they are cheap. "There are Indians in Manila who make and repair watches and other delicate baubles, and do not break them. Consequently, not only can they handle bamboo, rattan, nipa, and bolos, but also other things; and they make and handle them lovingly."

"This is because they are generally heedless, sometimes through stupidity, and at other times because they are thinking of their sweetheart, or of something else, instead of what they are doing. When the Filipino drops a dish, the Spaniard says nothing, or is satisfied by calling him only a brute, animal, or savage; while in his own home, he would not escape without some buffets, which have more effect on this race than would the Philippics of Cicero." (Mas, p. 71.)

[145] "The father must have said this of the country people, or of those who are servants; for among those who devote themselves to the arts there are some who turn out work very delicate and difficult to execute, even in Europa--as, for instance, the textiles and embroidery of piña, and the gold chains or bejuquillos, etc." (Mas, pp. 71, 72.)

[146] D. adds "or [rather] not eating." This incident is related in the second part of Don Quixote,