Refreshed by such consolation, the father continued on his way, crossing the entire island of Ibabao, as far as the river of Catubig, where he found the whole people busied in their grain-fields.  Accordingly, he went farther to some small islands lying adjacent in the broad sea, where the people had already gathered in their rice crops.  In one of them, called Batac, he made a short stay, and the people from all the neighboring islands assembled there to celebrate the Christmas festivals, and attend to the things pertaining to their salvation.  When they were about to return home, advice was given to the women in other matters relating to civilized ways and to modesty—­especially in regard to their mode of dress, which, on account of their being a rough and barbarous people, was not quite decent; but after they were taught, they adorned and covered themselves more modestly.  They had built, in anticipation of the father’s coming, a church and house and even a confessional for the women.  After a goodly number had been made Christians, the father returned to the principal station, which is Catubig; and at his departure these poor creatures besought him earnestly not to leave them so forsaken, now that he was going away, but to teach some Christian the form and ceremony, so that he could baptize them in cases of necessity.  The father did so, and left them with much grief in his heart.  But these pains, which in truth are more intense than those of childbirth, we often suffer there, since the harvest is so great and the laborers are so few.  So many were the baptisms in Catubig that the father, fearing lest the blessed oil and chrism would give out, carried the water of baptism from place to place, in order not to prepare it so often. [26]

Among the notable conversions in this mission, which amounted to seven hundred, the most distinguished and remarkable of all was that of a chief some sixty years of age, and highly esteemed in that region.  In this case much time was needful to extricate his conscience from the former robberies and tyrannies which we have already described.  He gave their freedom to many slaves, and, in order to settle other obligations which were not defined by the church, presented to us a handsome house, so large that, together with the church (a building about fifteen brazas long), it serves us a commodious habitation for our fathers who are there; and finally, after a thorough preparation, baptism was conferred upon him.  He was governor of the village, and yet as a catechumen he attended each morning the sermons for the children.  There he encouraged all, both children and adults, exhorted them to adopt Christian customs, and rebuked in them anything that seemed to be opposed to these.  When the father reminded him that all his household should be baptized, he attended to that matter with surprising energy.  He himself conducted them to the church, and with efficacious arguments persuaded them to be baptized.  In this way the greater number of his household were baptized, the rest being deferred.