the period of the winter months in Espana), in the south there is summer; and in the other half of the year the contrary occurs.  Consequently, when half of the island’s inhabitants are sowing, the other half are gathering in their harvests; in this way they have two harvests in one year, both very abundant.  This island is surrounded by very many adjacent islands, inhabited and uninhabited.  It abounds in fish from the sea and its many rivers, in cows from China, in fowl, deer, wild and domestic hogs, fruits, vegetables, and roots of many species.  It is inhabited by a very numerous people, whose villages therefore are not far apart; and there is not one of them which does not possess a large grove of palm-trees and a fine, full-flowing river.  Those palms, as well as other trees which the whole island produces in abundance, shade the roads to a great extent—­providing a comfort and refreshing coolness indispensable for those of us who must travel on foot for lack of any other convenience; throughout the island the roads traverse groves and forests, with foliage so cool and abundant that even at high noon the sun caused us no annoyance.  Many of the trees have trunks more than twelve brazas in circumference, which are sawed into excellent planks.  The temperature is not so hot as that of Manila, although the island is two degrees nearer the equinoctial line—­a common condition in that entire province of the Pintados.  The inhabitants are honest, simple, and intelligent, and possess among other good and laudable customs two in particular, which are common to all the neighboring islands.  The first is, that they have no need, in journeys upon land or sea, of stores or wallets; to whatever place they come, they are sure of being welcomed, sheltered, and offered food.  The second is that, whether their harvests be good or bad, they never raise or lower the price of rice among themselves, which they always sell to one another at a fixed rate.  They practice these two customs through the friendly relation that exists among them, such as the apostle sought from his Corinthians. [86] To the two residences that were in that island (one in Dulac, and the other in Carigara) there were added, with the new reenforcement of laborers, three others—­in Paloc, Alangalan, and Ogmuc.  As each one of these is still new, we shall not have as much to say about them at present as later on; for as the number of Christians increased so did the number of notable facts and events worthy of record.  Nevertheless, I shall not omit to mention here each one of those stations separately; in general, however, I may say that during the first two years a great number of Christians were made throughout the island, considering that Ours were preparing them very gradually, as being so new a people, for the faith, and for acquaintance and intercourse with us.

What was accomplished in Dulac and its territory.  Chapter XXV.