Andres Martin del Arroyo, royal notary.

We, the undersigned notaries, testify that Andres Martin del Arroyo, by whom this copy appears to be signed and sealed, is a notary of the king our sovereign, and exercises the office of notary-in-chief of government and war of these islands.  To his copies, acts, and dispatches, entire faith and credit is and has been given in and out of court.  Given in Cavite, July thirty, one thousand six hundred and twenty-nine.

Luis de Torres, royal notary. Pedro de Valdes, royal notary. Augustin de Valenzuela, notary-public.

Relation of 1629-30

Relation of events in the Filipinas Islands and other surrounding regions, from the month of July, 1629, until that of 1630.

I shall commence the affairs of these islands with the expedition to Jolo.  It is an island of this archipelago, rebellious for years past; and its natives, who are Mahometans, have made a thousand incursions against us in these islands, pillaging whenever opportunity arises, burning villages and churches, and capturing numerous people.

In order to remedy all these evils, Governor Don Juan Nino de Tabora determined to equip a powerful fleet in order to destroy that enemy and conquer a stronghold which nature has made in their island—­so lofty and so difficult of approach, that there is no better stone castle; for the approach to it is by one path, and it has some artillery which defends it.  The people are courageous and warlike.  For our fleet were collected one galley, three brigantines, twelve freight champaos (which are like small pataches), and about fifty caracoas.  The last named are the usual craft of these islands, and generally have thirty or forty oars on a side.  All these vessels together carried about four hundred Spaniards and two thousand five hundred Indians, and they had considerable apparatus and war supplies.  It was quite sufficient for another conquest of greater importance than the one on which they were going.

All that fleet departed, then, from the port of Dapitan on March 17.  Dapitan is the port nearest to the enemy, and the island of Jolo was reached in [blank space in the Ventura del Arco MS.] days.  At dawn our men were landed, and began the ascent to the stronghold.  The master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso, who was commander-in-chief of the fleet, preceded the men.  The Joloans defended their stronghold with valor.  They killed some of our men and wounded eight, among them the master-of-camp himself.  He was overthrown, as if dead, and went rolling down the hill.  However, he was not dead, but only wounded, nothing more.  Our men retired on the run, and to speak plainly, such terror entered into them that they did not dare to attack again.  They skirted the island in their craft, entered the villages, burned, wrecked, destroyed them, and killed a few people.