the
small port, the _praus_ and the frigate arrived there. On that day
it was decided to send to Raxa Soliman, lord of Menilla, to request
peace and friendship; and that the man appointed for this should be
the brother of Mehomete, the converted Moro. It was decided that the
captive Moro and a Cafre [30] interpreter should go to examine the port
and its position, as well as to sound the mouth of the river. These men
departed the next morning, two hours before daybreak. Before leaving
the ships, Mehomate's brother, who had been married in Menilla,
said that he would be able to bring back an answer on the same day,
as he intended to rest at his own house. The master-of-camp was so
desirous of making peaceful terms with the town of Menilla that,
although hasty by nature and disposition, he patiently waited there
for three days after the Moro's departure. The Moro returned with
another man, his uncle, who was said to be a servant of the king
of Menilla. He had been sent to act as ambassador, with certain
other Moros who accompanied him. He tried to make us understand,
with high-sounding words, that his master was a most magnificent
lord. After a great show of authority and many pauses, he finally
declared that the king of Menilla wished to be the friend of the
Spaniards, and that he would be pleased to have them settle in his
land, as they had done in Cubu and Panay. The master-of-camp answered,
through the interpreters, that he was much pleased to consider the
king of Menilla as a friend of the Spaniards, since his only aim in
coming was that of offering them peace and friendship. He also added
that to carry out these wishes it was necessary for them to see each
other. He therefore declared that he was going to set out immediately
for the said town of Menilla, and said that the Moro should precede him
to advise the chief of it. The Moro ambassador begged him not to set
sail until he had already gone a little distance, for he wished to go
first to advise his master. The master-of-camp promised him to do so,
and so managed that, until the Moro had gone a considerable distance,
he would not set out. But when it appeared that the Moro had advanced
about half a league away from us, all the vessels set out in the wake
of his _prau_. We sailed along a thickly settled coast. Moros came out
in _praus_ from some of the towns to complain of the Raxa Soliman, for
having plundered their towns and killed many of the inhabitants. The
ma