The ship from Japon for which the Dutch had so ardent a desire ran great risk in its voyage.  It arrived [in Japon] after a violent gale, almost under water, without rigging and masts.  There it learned from the Dutch factors that their vessels were about to come to harass these islands.  On that account they did not return as quickly as they intended, waiting until they believed that we had already driven the Dutch away with our fleet.  Although, when they had reached the province of Pangasinan, we had already obtained the victory, still they had no news of it.  Accordingly, assured of finding enemies, they went into a safe river after landing their cargo, because of the bar, which was dangerous.  Then when about to leave the river again, after hearing the good news, they were wrecked, and lost considerable property, besides their boat.

The vessel from Macao, laden with wealth of amber, musk, pearls, and precious stones, and more than three hundred slaves, would have fallen into the hands of the Dutch, who were awaiting it, had not a shoal stopped it, and knocked it to pieces, and caused the death of some hundred persons of the five hundred aboard it.  Among the drowned were two ecclesiastics who were returning from Macao, but recently ordained priests; and Captain Tijon, who not a few times had escaped from similar shipwrecks.  The rest of the people went to an uninhabited island, where the Lord had prepared for their support a great number of turtles, and of the birds called boobies [bobos, i.e., “stupid"], [35] to which this name is applied because they allow themselves to be caught with the hand.  After the wreck of that ship, Garci Perez de Baltasar, appointed sargento-mayor of this camp, embarked in a small boat which they fitted up, with as many people as it could carry, to beg that some one be sent from this city to get the people on the island.  After several days’ voyage, they were seen and perceived by the Dutch, which obliged them to ground their boat on the beach and take to the woods inland.  They all escaped overland, and arrived safely at Manila; their boat was burned by the Dutch.  When the expedition against the latter was ended, they sent for the people who had been left on the island; but as yet they have not arrived.

In the beginning of January, 1610, a fragata was sent to Macao with warning for the said ship to remain there until the Dutch were driven from these seas.  As commander in it was the pilot, Juan Bernardo de Fuentiduenas, who was sick with the fever.  He went on the voyage, and before dawn of Thursday, January 28, ran foul of a reef, where no land could be seen in any direction, except a few rocky points at low tide.  The fever left the pilot at this sudden catastrophe, and at dawn the Spaniards saw on the reefs a large ship, that looked like a Chinese vessel, which had been wrecked.  They went to this vessel to get its small boats.  Entering it, they found not a soul, living or dead.  But they found considerable