Note 66 — Chapter XVIII

Those who hastened to believe this were the Indians of Mindoro, who are also something like the Moros. This island is more than twenty leguas from Manila on one side; on the other it is so near that [223] there are but two or three leguas to cross, namely, by way of Batangas. The island is very large, and very well covered with mountains; and it has beautiful rivers and a plentiful supply of fish, and above all, of wax. It has a corregidor, and is more than one hundred leguas in circuit. It has two benefices, in which live beneficed seculars. One is called Bacoy, and the other Nauhang. They have about six and seven hundred Indians respectively. Services are held in the Tagál speech. But there are here, further, some Indians whiter than the Tagáls, who live in troops in the mountains. They are the ancient inhabitants of the country, and it is they who gather the great abundance of wax which is yielded there. I said that there was a benefice of them, namely, of the people called Mangyan.66 They are very good, and if they were instructed and taught, it would be easy to reduce them [224] to settlements and missions. But no one attempts to do any work in the Lord’s service. Especially do these Mangyanes fear the sea. They pay no tribute. They fear lest the Spaniards take them to man their ships. They go naked; and deliver the wax to the Tagáls, which the latter pay as tribute, and give as their share. More than three hundred quintals of wax yearly must be obtained in this island. This mission, then, was first in our charge, and at the time of the pirate Limahon’s descent upon Manila, that island was a priorate. Its prior was father Fray Francisco de Ortega, and his companion was father Fray Diego Mójica.67 As soon as those Moros heard, then, of the result at Manila, they threw off the yoke, attacked the fathers, seized them, and talked of killing [225] them. However, they forbore to kill the fathers immediately—I know not for what reason, since the Moros were setting out to execute that resolve.