_Of the voyage made by our religious to the Western Islands_
Great undertakings are wont never to lack their obstacles, which
although they do not fail to unnerve those of feeble intellect, yet
seem to serve only as spurs to the lofty-minded, to make them not
abandon what is undertaken; and these latter show greater courage,
when Fortune shows herself most contrary. And the devil, when he
divines that any work is on foot that may be for the service of the
Lord unless he can hinder it, at the very least manages to impede
it, and does his utmost to render it of none effect. Thus in this
departure, they did not fail to have their misfortunes, but having
conquered these by their courageous souls, they continued their
voyage. For four days had they ploughed the waters of the sea, when
the general thought it best to open his Majesty's despatch and read
the instructions given him, and find the route that he was ordered to
take. The instructions were given him under lock and seal, and he was
ordered not to open them, until he had sailed at least one hundred
leguas. For the opening of the instructions, he had all the men of
account in the fleet assembled; they found that, in accordance with
his Majesty's decree, they were ordered to go straight to the islands,
now called Filipinas. When they were reached, a portion of the army
and the religious were to remain there, while Father Urdaneta, with
the other portion of the fleet, was to return in order to establish
the route, until then unknown, as this was the object and chief
purpose of his Majesty Father Urdaneta was extremely sorry at this,
for he had always been given to understand that his opinion would be
followed on this voyage. But it was certainly considered best by the
Audiencia; for, besides their fulfilling in it his Majesty's will,
they observed that the journey to Nueva Guinea embraced many things,
and Father Urdaneta could not discover so quickly the return voyage
from the Filipinas to Nueva España--and this was the chief aim of
that expedition, and the object of greatest importance that was sought.
After they had understood, then, his Majesty's will, by the
instructions that were read in their presence, all obeyed them as loyal
vassals, and in pursuance thereof, began to lay their course, which
with so certain a beginning as that of obedience and the sacrifice
of their own wills, already promised a prosperous end. They changed
their course, descending to the nineteenth degree, in which lie the
islands of Los Reyes [15] and Corales. [16] From this point they
began to take a direct course to the Filipinas. In order to do this,
an order was issued to steer west by south, and all the fleet was
ordered to do the same, and, as far as possible, not to separate from
the flagship. But should the vessels be separated by any storm, they
were given to understand that they were to follow the said route,
until they made some of the islands of the Filipinas, where they
would all meet. Upon this they again invoked the most sweet name
of Jesus, and sailed with favoring breezes until they reached the
ninth degree; and then the commander again called an assembly to
discuss the voyage. There they took the latitude, and all the pilots
disagreed by as much as a point of the compass, some of them making
it two hundred leguas more than the others; and they could agree on
neither the latitude nor the daily runs.
Father Urdaneta asserted that the Corales Islands had already been
passed, and that they were farther on their journey. Accordingly he
gave orders to make the tenth degree and sail toward the Arrecifes [17]
and Matalotes [18] Islands, which are very much farther. They sailed
along this course until January 9, when they discovered land. They went
closer to it, and saw a small island, which was seemingly about three
leguas in circumference. It was covered with trees and cocoa-palms,
but as it was surrounded by reefs, they could not anchor at it. They
sailed about the island, and spied a settlement situated among
some palms, and some Indiana on the shore. But they were likewise
unable to anchor there, for, on casting their anchor, they found
more than fifteen brazas of water. Finally a small boat was lowered,
which contained Father Urdaneta, together with the master-of-camp,
Captain Juan de la Isla, and Felipe Salcedo. They reported on their
return that those people were friendly, well disposed, and gentle;
that they had no manner of weapon, either defensive or offensive;
that they were clad in reed mats, very fine and well finished; and
that the island contained many excellent fruits, fish, Castilian fowl,
and millet. They reported also that the Indians were full-bearded. On
this account those islands were called Barbudos. They did not stop at
these islands, or at any of the others that they sighted afterward,
where, certainly, our religious would leave portions of their hearts,
melted with fire and love for their fellow-creatures, to all of whom
they would desire to give a portion of the light that they carried, so
that those peoples might be withdrawn from their dense darkness. But
since now they could do no more, they would commend them to God,
so that by His goodness He might open the door for them which He
was now about to open to the other islands, for those people had
been redeemed no less than the others. In short, they continued to
pass those islands, obedient to the orders that they must not stop
until they should teach Filipinas. At those islands it was better
ordained that the seminary should be established, so that from that
point the light and instruction might spread to the shores of other
islands. Without any doubt, the Filipinas are the best suited for this
purpose, as they are near great China, and not far from Japón, Siam,
and Camboja, while even the land of India is said to be within sight;
and the islands are surrounded by an infinite number of other islands,
inhabited by immense multitudes of people.
The fleet set sail and left those islands of the Barbudos--and now
the route to the Filipinas is very far from them. Next day they
sighted another island, Which seemed of vast extent. But when they
had arrived nearer, they found some small barren islands, stretching
north and south, to which they gave the name Placeres. [19] In the
afternoon another island, upon which lived many birds, was sighted,
and they named it from the birds. From this point they continued,
to discover islands and barren islets, all of them in the latitude
of ten degrees; and they gave various names to them. Here Father
Urdaneta ordered the vessels to ascend to the thirteenth degree, so
that by running westward and turning their course to the southwest,
until they reached twelve and one-half degrees, they might reach
the Filipinas. On Saturday, January 22, the Ladrones Islands were
discovered, so called because their inhabitants are robbers, to as
great an extent as possible. They are very different from the natives
of the other islands, whose goodness is such, that they do not know
what it is to steal. And if I admit that there are many robbers [in
the Filipinas] they have become so since the Spaniards, have governed
them; for the natives learn our bad habits better than our good
ones. Hence they are quite expert in all the vices of the Spaniards,
but dull and ignorant in their virtues. In this is seen the bias of
their disposition, and that they are much more inclined to evil than
to good. Father Urdaneta said mass in these Ladrones Islands, and gave
their inhabitants to understand, as well as he could, the purpose of
his coming, making use likewise of the interpreter Pacheco. Possession
was taken of those islands for the king, our sovereign, with all
the solemnities of law. The natives expressed great satisfaction
with everything; for, as they are by nature robbers, they assured
the Spaniards, in order to commit their depredations better. And not
few were the jests that our Spaniards endured from that people, all
out of respect to the general, who with his goodness, bore it all,
claiming in this wise to win the hearts of those islanders better
than with arms. For if the natives were exasperated they would receive
tardily the blessings that were intended for them.
This island of the Ladrones where the Spaniards anchored is a lofty,
mountainous land, with its coasts fringed with thick cocoa groves,
and other cool and shady trees. The natives of the islands eat rice,
which is the chief food of all the islands. At times, when I consider
how many people use rice as bread, I think that three-fourths of the
world are sustained on this kind of food. These Ladrones Islands number
thirteen, [20] and extend north and south. As they were the first
islands of which the general took possession, his Majesty granted them
to Melchor López de Legaspi, only son of the general, giving him the
title of adelantado. These Indians go naked. Both men and women are
fine sailors and swimmers, for they are accustomed to jump from their
little boats after fish, and to catch and eat them raw. Their boats
are very narrow, and have only a counterweight at the opposite end,
where they carry their sail. The sail is lateen, and woven from palms,
in these craft do they venture forth intrepidly through those seas,
from island to island, so that one would think that they had a treaty
with wind and water. The ships en route to the Filipinas pass through
these islands, at different latitudes at various times. So many boats
go out to meet them, that they quite surround the ships. The natives
try to trade water and the products of their islands for iron, the
substance that they esteem most; but, if they are able to steal the
iron, without giving anything for it, they do so. It is necessary to
aim an arquebus (which they fear greatly) at them in order to get
the article returned. And to induce them to leave the ships free,
there is no better method than to fire the arquebus in the air, the
reverberations of which cause them to hide, fear, and vanish. While
the ship in which I took passage was passing one of the islands,
many small boats came out as usual. Among them came one belonging to
a robust youth, who was coming to look for a Castilian, who had been
his captive, as he desired to see him. This Spaniard, with others
who escaped from the ship "Santa Margarita" (which was wrecked on
those islands), lived among those barbarians, until, by good fortune,
the ships with succor passed there, and they embarked in them. The
Spaniard, who had been the slave of this Indian, was with us. As soon
as the latter saw him, he boarded our vessel fearlessly. And still with
no signs of fear, he went among our men and threw himself into the
arms of the man whom he knew, and who had eaten his bread and lived
in his house. He was quite covered with marks of teeth; and when the
Spaniard, who knew something of their language and customs because of
his stay among them, was asked the reason, he said that that native
had but just been married, and the dowry that he had given was to
receive those bites from his wife without murmuring. In that way do the
women elect and choose their husbands. The native was loaded down with
scissors, knives and iron. With all this load he dived into the water,
and at the moment he was thought to have gone to the bottom, because
of the weight of his load, he reappeared quite at his ease, placed
his load in his little craft, then got in himself, and hoisted his
sail. He himself attended to all the duties of steersman and lookout,
and ploughed those seas as if his craft were a powerful galleon. The
household economy of these, as of the other natives, is uniform, as
will be told later on; so that all appear as if cut out by one pair
of shears--notable indications that they are all lopped from one trunk.