Note 6 — Chapter II · The Province of Zambales

This was evidently the belief of some of the old voyagers. Navarette, whose account of his travels in 1647 is published in Churchill’s Collection of Voyages, 1704, said that the people called “Zambales” were great archers and had no other weapons than the bow and arrow. Dr. John Frances Gemelli Careri, who made a voyage around the world, 1693–1697, says in his report (Churchill’s Voyages, vol. IV): “This mixing [that is, of Negritos] with the Wild Indians produced the Tribe of Manghian who are Blacks dwelling in the Isles of Mindoro and Mundos [probably Panay], and who peopled the Islands de los Negros, or of Blacks. Some of them have harsh frisled hair like the African and Angola blacks. * * *

“The Sambali, contrary to the others, tho’ Wild have long Hair, like the other Conquer’d Indians. The Wives, of these Savages are deliver’d in the Woods, like She Goats, and immediately wash themselves and the Infants in the Rivers, or other cold Water; which would be immediate Death to Europeans. These Blacks when pursu’d by the Spaniards, with the sound of little Sticks, give notice to the rest, that are dispers’d about the Woods, to save themselves by Flight. Their Weapons are Bows and Arrows, a short Spear, and a short Weapon, or Knife at their Girdle. They Poison their Arrows, which are sometimes headed with Iron, or a sharp Stone, and they bore the Point, that it may break in their Enemies Body, and so be unfit to be shot back. For their defense, they use a Wooden Buckler, four Spans long, and two in breadth, which always hangs at their Arm.

“Tho’ I had much discourse about it, with the Fathers of the Society, and other Missioners, who converse with these Blacks, Manghians, Mandi and Sambali, I could never learn any thing of their Religion; but on the contrary, all unanimously agree they have none, but live like Beasts, and the most that has been seen among the Blacks on the Mountains, has been a round Stone, to which they pay’d a Veneration, or a Trunk of a Tree, or Beasts, or other things they find about, and this only out of fear. True it is, that by means of the Heathen Chineses who deal with them in the Mountains, some deformed Statues have been found in their Huts. The other three beforemention’d Nations, seem’d inclin’d to observing of Auguries and Mahometan Superstitions, by reason of their Commerce, with the Malayes and Ternates. The most reciev’d Opinion is, that these Blacks were the first Inhabitants of the Islands; and that being Cowards, the Sea Coasts were easily taken from them by People resorting from Sumatra, Borneo, Macassar and other Places; and therefore they retir’d to the Mountains. In short, in all the Islands where these Blacks, and other Savage Men are, the Spaniards Possess not much beyond the Sea Coasts; and not that in all Parts, especially from Maribeles, to Cape Bolinao in the Island of Manila, where for 50 Leagues along the Shoar, there is no Landing, for fear of the Blacks, who are most inveterate Enemies to the Europeans. Thus all the in-land Parts being possess’d by these Brutes, against whom no Army could prevail in the thick Woods, the King of Spain has scarce one in ten of the Inhabitants of the Island, that owns him, as the Spaniards often told me.”