Part 5

In this river of Bato was found some green pepper [25] growing on trees as small as shrubs, with their clusters like agias. Here they learned that the town of Mindoro, which is the capital of that island, was five leagues from Bato, and that three more Chinese ships were there. They also heard that the Moros of Mindoro had made great preparations for its defense, and had provided themselves with a large number of culverins, arrows, and other offensive weapons, and were intrenched in a very strong fort. In consideration of this, and the fact that the Spaniards in this country have always desired to come in conflict with people who do not flee from them, they decided to proceed immediately to that island--although the natives of the river of Bato offered them peace, and promised to pay them two hundred gold _taels_ [26] (the equivalent of two thousand _pesos de minas_ in Spanish reckoning), if they would remain there a few days. The master-of-camp assured them of peace, and, telling them to have the money ready upon his return, set out for the port of Mindoro. Departing from the river of Baco in the morning, the Spaniards arrived, by noon, at the town of Mindoro, which is an excellent though poorly-sheltered seaport. The harbor has only one entrance. Its waters beat against a hill which is the first and the smallest of a chain of three hills overlooking the port. The other two hills are very craggy and thus form a defense to the pass for the natives. Many armed Moros appeared on the first hill--bowmen, lancers, and some gunners, linstocks in hand. All along the hillside stood a large number of culverins. The foot of the hill was fortified by a stone wall over fourteen feet thick. The Moros were well attired after their fashion, and wore showy head-dresses, of many colors, turned back over their heads. Many of them were beating drums, blowing horns made from shells, and ringing bells. The number of men was quite large.

The master-of-camp arrived with his ship, ahead of the oared _praus_. When the first _prau_ arrived, he embarked in it with the chief notary, Hernando Rriquel, the interpreter, and a recently-converted Moro, who served as guide. With only these men, and one soldier armed with a shield, the master-of-camp advanced toward the Moro fort. He reached the foot of the hill, without allowing any others to follow him; and, being unable to proceed any further on account of its steepness, he summoned from above two Moros, to treat for peace. There seemed to be a difference of opinion among the Moros, as was gathered from their demeanor, for some made gestures of war, and others of peace, some of them even going so far as to throw a few stones and level the culverins. On the whole, they were not very anxious to fight. Meanwhile, the master-of-camp was so near them that they could have spit on him. All the Spaniards had already disembarked, and stood at an arquebuse-shot from the master-of-camp. The latter was so anxious to win over those Moros and gain their confidence, because they exhibited fear, that he wished to climb the hill on all fours to reach them; but his companions dissuaded him from this. At this time Captain Juan de Salzedo, the sergeant-major, the high constable, and the ensign-major, came up; and the master-of-camp, the captain, and the officials were assembled there, with but one soldier, for the master-of-camp would not allow the others to advance. The Moros having seen the peaceful attitude of our people, one of them descended the hill, almost on all fours. Our Moro guide advanced toward him; but, on account of the great steepness of the hill, he had to be helped up by the other Moro. After they had seen and recognized each other, and after the customary embrace and kiss, they descended to the master-of-camp. The latter told the Moro who had come down, through the interpreter, that he need not fear; for he had not come to harm them, but to seek their friendship. The Moro carried the message to the others upon the hill, and a chief came down; and, upon reaching the master-of-camp, said that he and all the town wished to be his friends, and to help the Spaniards with whatever they possessed. The master-of-camp answered that the proposition was acceptable; whereupon the Moro chief asked him to withdraw from that place--saying that, after they had withdrawn, he would come to treat of friendship and of what was to be given. The master-of-camp, in order to please him, agreed to this; and told the chief that he was going to review his men, and that he should not be offended when he should hear arquebuse-shots and the noise of artillery. Accordingly, he withdrew to the place where his men were drawn up in order, and there a fine review took place--the company closing ranks in such perfect order that both the friendly Indians (who came with us, to the number of five or six hundred) and the Moros were greatly frightened. The master-of-camp ordered that the cannon amidship on the large vessel be fired, although not to increase their fright. The review had not yet ended when a Moro came with sixty gold taels, which he gave to the master-of-camp--asking him not to be offended if the gift were not brought quickly, because the people had dispersed through fear, and therefore it could not be collected so soon; but he promised that they would raise the amount to four hundred taels. The master-of-camp received this gold, and had it placed in a small box, the key of which he gave to the Moro, telling him to keep it until the promise was fulfilled; but to consider that after treason nothing could be more blameworthy than falsehood. The Moro salaamed low, and said that he would not lie, and that they would fulfil their promise, little by little. And so they did, for, on that same day, four more messengers came with gold; and all entreated and begged the master-of-camp not to be offended at the delay, if there should be any. With these flatteries and promises the Moros detained us about five days, during which time we had friendly dealings and intercourse with them, although they mistrusted us to a certain extent. They had already abandoned the first town on the shore and had withdrawn to a hill about two hundred paces away. There most of them had taken their wives, children, and part of their goods, although the best part of their property was kept farther inland. This hill was so well fortified by nature, that, had it not been for the two ladders, which the Moros kept in two places, one could have ascended it only with wings. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, our Spaniards paid them friendly visits. On this little fortified spot the Moros had built their huts, as high as Mexican market-tents. They resembled a crowd of children with their holiday toys. During these five days, the Moros had, little by little, given two hundred taels of impure gold, for they possess great skill in mixing it with other metals. They give it an outside appearance so natural and perfect, and so fine a ring, that unless it is melted they can deceive all men, even the best of silversmiths. While in this port of Mindoro the master-of-camp sought information concerning the distance to Manilla and the towns which would be found on the journey. Our interpreter disagreed with the Moros of Mindoro as to the number of days it would take; but they all agreed that it was far, and that perhaps the weather would not permit us to sail thither. The natives of Mindoro added also that the Spaniards were crazy to go to Manilla with so small a force, and that they pitied us. They recounted so many wonders of Manilla that their tales seemed fabulous; they said that there were very large oared boats, each carrying three hundred rowers, besides the warriors; that the people were well armed and excellent bowmen; that the ships were well equipped with artillery, both large and small; and that any one of those vessels could attack two _praus_, and sink them when within range. With these accounts the Moros tried to discourage the Spaniards; but the more they attempted to frighten them with such things the more desirous they all became to set foot in Manilla. In view of this, the master-of-camp did not wait for the full payment of what the Moros had promised; but, warning them to have the remainder ready upon his return, he left them on friendly terms, and set out for the town of Manilla with all his men.

He left the port of Mindoro at midnight, and the next morning cast anchor before a small island lying between Mindoro and Lucon, where he remained two days waiting for the _praus_. Meanwhile, having sufficient leisure, he crossed over to the shore of Lucon, which was about two leagues distant; and discovered in that same island a wide, spacious bay. The _praus_ went forward, in company with one of the Moros belonging to the town of Balayan, who had offered their friendship. These Moros pointed out to Captain Juan de Salcedo, who went with the oared _praus_, the mouth of a river which led inland to a lake, called Bombon. [27] All the _praus_ entered this river, and came upon an uninhabited town. After the Moro guides from Balayan had gathered all the house commodities that they could store in their _prau_, they told the Spaniards that they wished to warn their own village, so that their people should not be anxious; and so they went away, leaving the Spaniards in that river.

The master-of-camp took a different route with his junk, and cast anchor before the town of Balayan, two leagues from the river of Bombon. While anchored there, and while the master-of-camp was fretting over the non-appearance of the _praus_ that sailed with him (since now it was already two hours after nightfall), at that very time one of them, under command of Captain Juan de Salcedo, made its appearance. He had been wounded in the leg by a poisoned arrow. Soon afterward, the other _praus_ and vessels which had sailed in his company arrived. They reported to the master-of-camp that they had entered a narrow arm of the sea, which the land inward forms into a medium-sized lake, around which seemed to be many people and much cultivated land. The country seemed thickly populated and well tilled. Captain Juan de Salcedo advanced farther up those waters, in search of a fortified place of which information had been received on the way thither--situated on both sides of the water, and thus very high and rugged, and suitable for laying ambuscades. This proved to be true; for suddenly, and without them being able to see any one, many arrows came flying through the air, one of which wounded Captain Juan de Salcedo in the leg; and many more would have been wounded had not the _prau_ been supplied with canvas guards. The arquebusiers immediately hastened to their posts with their medicine, [28] and prevented the Moros from discharging another volley of arrows, which ceased at their coming. The captain secured an antidotal herb for his wound; and, seeing that the approach to the fort was too dangerous and that it was impossible to effect a landing, he went back to collect his _praus_, and to look for a shore where he could easily disembark. A landing-place was found near the town; the men disembarked, and set out on foot in search of the Moros. The latter appeared in a broad plain, covered with grass about a hand-span high. The men were divided into two troops, in order to attack the Moros, who were shooting arrows as rapidly as they could, and wildly shouting. The Moros waited until the Spaniards began to hit their flanks with arquebuse bullets; and then, seeing the rage of their opponents, they took to flight. Our men pursued them to the very gate of their town, where more than forty Moros fell under the fire from the arquebuses.

The Spaniards entered the town, and set free two Chinamen, who were kept there in chains. They learned from these men the ostensible reason for their imprisonment, as follows. Two Chinese ships had come to trade with the Moros in this river; but, hearing of our presence in Mindoro, they desired to betake themselves thither. The Moros would not allow them to go away. In the quarrel that ensued over the question of their departure, the Chinese fired a culverin from one of the ships and killed a Moro chief. The Moros assembled to avenge him, and overtook the Chinese as they were about to sail out to sea through the estuary. It seems that the vessels were wrecked on certain shoals at the entrance to the estuary, and the Chinese with all their possessions fell into the power of the Moros, who inflicted on them a severe punishment--seizing them all, and putting them to death by inches in a most cruel manner, flaying their faces, and exposing them on reeds and mats. When the Spaniards entered the town, they encountered not a few similar sights; and so recent was this deed that the flayed faces of the Chinese were still bleeding.

Such was the account given by Captain Joan de Salcedo of what had occurred that day during his absence from the master-of-camp. The Balayan Moros who had come out peacefully detained the master-of-camp there for three or four days, giving him, little by little, some impure gold. The latter, to avoid any further delay, decided to proceed to Manilla. Accordingly, he left these Moros, on peaceful terms, telling them to collect for his return what was lacking of the amount promised. Then he sailed along the coast toward Manilla, which was said to be three leagues from that town. The chiefs of this town of Balayan said that they wished to accompany the Spaniards one day's journey from their town, in order to avenge themselves for injuries and wrongs received at the hands of some neighboring communities on the coast called Tulayansi. Therefore seven or eight _praus_ of Moros went with us, and, when we reached that coast, two _praus_ with white flags were seen, which advanced to the ship of the master-of-camp. Upon arriving there, they declared that they were natives of that coast, and that three towns, which could be seen with the naked eye, wished to be our friends, and to give us tribute as the others did. The master-of-camp received them in peace, and assured them of friendship, notwithstanding that the Balayan Moros who came with us opposed him--saying that those people ought not to be admitted to friendship, because they were hostile to themselves for making peace with us first. These arguments were of little avail, for the master-of-camp declared to both parties, that he had come to make friendship with all, and that his friends should have no differences between themselves; that, in case they did, it would be right for them to go to the Spaniards for the settlement of them; and that the one breaking with the other would be considered as enemy of the Spaniards. When they heard this answer, both sides promised to abide by that decision, whereupon the master-of-camp dismissed them all, advising those natives who had lately offered their friendship, to have the tribute ready upon his return.

According to the men of Balayan the enmity between these towns was because a Balayan vessel, on its return from Manilla, laden with merchandise, was driven by stormy weather on that coast of Tulay, and the natives showed them so excellent hospitality that, instead of helping and receiving them kindly, as neighbors should, they stole the goods of the Balayans and killed two of them, setting their heads on stakes. Similar sights were noticed by the Spaniards in these towns, which still exhibited the cruelty of the deed.

This coast is called Tulay. It has broad shoals and for this reason, as well as for the keen desire of all our men to set foot in Manilla, they remained there only one night. Therefore at dawn they set out for the town called Menilla, which according to report was quite near. They sailed along the coast, noting many bays and ports. There were some towns along the shore, whose inhabitants and citizens had sought other shelter, taking away the best of their possessions. The oared vessels came to shore, to see what these towns contained; but, finding no people, they sailed on. The large vessel was sailing about a league from the coast. Here they met some small boats, which the natives call _tapaques_. They were laden with provisions, rice, and salted sardines without the heads, resembling those which are found in España. The soldiers of the _praus_ took away a quantity of rice from the Moros, who did not defend themselves. The latter were allowed to depart in freedom, with their vessels. There were some who did defend themselves, and wounded two Spaniards and killed one of the friendly Indians who accompanied us. The master-of-camp, as he was sailing in the large vessel, was unable to put a stop to these disorders, for they were occurring in his absence. When he learned of this, and that the Moro ships were coming from the bay of Menilla laden with provisions, he cast anchor in a small port; and there, calling together all the _praus_, censured the men for their disorderly conduct, ordering them not to depart from his ship from that time on.

The next morning, having heard from a Moro captured in one of the _tapaques_ that the town of Menilla was very near, all the vessels and _praus_ set sail, taking the captured Moro as guide. In the afternoon they came in sight of a very large bay, which formed a wide gulf. It resembled a narrow sea with its entrance at that point; but the guides affirmed that the land was one, and so it proved to be when we entered the bay. We had taken with us from Panae a Moro, a native of the town of Menilla, who has had intercourse with Spaniards for many years and is well known among them; for, when the camp was in Zebu, he always came to sell them provisions. Before the master-of-camp started on this expedition from Panay, this Moro, and his wife and one son, had become Christians. He left his wife in Panay, and accompanied the master-of-camp as interpreter. He had taken with him his brother, who was likewise a native of Menilla. When we entered the bay, these men advised the master-of-camp not to cast anchor before the town of Menilla itself, for the coast was treacherous, and to enter the river it was necessary to wait for high tide. They advised him to anchor in a small sheltered port, two leagues from the port of Menilla; and thence to send word to Raxa [29] Soliman, the greatest chief of all that country, with whom the terms of peace and friendship were to be made, and whose opinion was to be heeded.