The enemies whom the father here mentions are Indians from the island of Mindanao which lies near the islands of Terrenate and Maluco, where the doctrine of Mahoma is professed.  In the year one thousand six hundred that people collected an armed fleet of sixty small vessels, which descended upon these islands subject to the government of Manila, and wrought much damage.  They laid waste the island of Bantayan and the river of Panai, and burned the churches.  Then they coasted along other islands, robbing and murdering, and finally carried away as captives one thousand two hundred souls.  But it pleased our Lord that when they came to this island of Bohol, where our fathers reside, they should inflict no considerable losses, nor did they burn our church and house—­which they could have done with impunity, for all the people fled to the mountains.  Yet they passed on without stopping, as Father Gabriel relates in part of his letter of November 16, which runs as follows: 

“In order that your Reverence may aid us in rendering thanks to our Lord for a great act of mercy which He has shown us, your Reverence, as father-visitor, should know that on the twenty-sixth of October in this year, 1600, the enemy attacked Baclayun just after our fathers had gone thence to Sebu, summoned thither by holy obedience; for the father rector had sent in haste for the three of us who were in the island, and lo! the enemy were there.  As evidence of the value of holy obedience, and to show how it exempts from dangers, as well as another token of mercy—­the enemy committed scarcely any ravages in Bohol, considering what was in their power to do.  Their approach was made known three or four hours in advance, and all, as I have been informed, fled to the mountains—­except three old women and an old man, whom they killed; and three women and a man, whom they carried away captive.  One of the old women whom they killed had been a notorious witch; but God our Lord, who loved her soul, inspired her with so fervent a desire to become a Christian and receive baptism that for three months she did not cease asking me for it.  Finally, on account of her importunity, I baptized her, after she had several times given evidence of her sincerity by expressing in public her abhorrence of her idolatrous belief.  But she was fortunate indeed, for soon after she had been baptized they killed her, which is certainly a singular blessing from our Lord.  The other old woman who was about seventy years of age had also been baptized a little while before.  They did no damage in our church, although I am told that they disinterred some bodies—­why, I know not.  Here is another instance of God’s mercy:  although they passed very near the river of Lobo, Dita, and other little villages belonging to our newly converted Christians, they neither visited nor attacked them; this seems miraculous, considering that they had, as your Reverence well knows, committed so deplorable ravages in other places.”