and the investigation to punish him according to his offense is now being made.  This devolves upon Don Geronimo de Silva, castellan and governor of the forts of Terrenate, to whom your Majesty has granted the office of captain-general because of the death of Governor Don Juan de Silva, until a proprietary governor is provided.  All the rest of the fleet returned to the port of Cavite.  The bad treatment received by the galleons from the many volleys, the sailors, soldiers, and artillery aboard them, and the dead and wounded, your Majesty can ascertain, if so pleased, from the charts accompanying this letter.

May God give your Majesty many most happy victories for His honor and glory and the welfare of all Christianity.  Such may be expected, since in a land so destitute as this, and by means so weak as these now, His Divine Majesty was pleased to destroy the greatest fleet from Olanda ever seen in these districts; and at a juncture when, if the fleet sent by your Majesty by way of the cape of Buena Esperanca arrives safely, strong hopes may be entertained that it will drive that enemy from sea and land, because he has lost many men and ships, and more than ninety pieces of artillery.  The best and largest of the cannon were taken from his fortresses, and he will have difficulty in replacing them.  Although three pataches were prepared to take the usual help to the forts of Terrenate, the enemy did not allow them to sail from the port of Cavite.  Considering the need and stress that the forts were in, and that they had only sufficient food to last until the end of September, as the castellan wrote, I ordered all the champans possible to be collected and prepared with great haste in Oton, eighty leguas from this city, and to be laden with rice, meat, wine, and other supplies.  As champans are but insecure craft, and badly managed, inasmuch as they are manned by Sangleys, I sent some sailors to serve as pilots.  Eight champans were prepared, of which six reached their destination, besides one despatched from Zebu.  By all possible means I managed to succor those forts.  They were made very happy by the help that reached them—­for they were quite out of rice—­and by the hopes that I gave them of the speedy sailing of a ship laden with food, clothing, and money.  Thus the forts were provided sufficiently to enable them to await the help that was to be sent in the ship.

The viceroy of Nueva Espana despatched two advice-boats which reached these islands, early in February and in March.  They brought your Majesty’s papers for Don Juan de Silva, which the royal Audiencia received.  They contained the title of master-of-camp for Don Geronimo de Silva, knight of the Order of St. John, and castellan and governor of the soldiers of Terrenate; an order to Don Juan de Silva that the former be given the title of captain-general of artillery, and an appointment [with instructions], so that, in case of the said Don Juan de Silva’s death, it might