ight to his house and to come on the next day with
the two Raxas, saying that he would make peace with the latter, and
would treat them as sons; for he had no ill-feeling toward them, but
rather regretted that they had resisted the master-of-camp. Thus with
these assurances, Alcandora took his leave, going to his house greatly
pleased. The next day the governor disembarked in Manilla and the three
chiefs came to talk with him and declare themselves his friends. It
should not be understood in Nueva Espana or in Espana that the chiefs
in this land are absolute rulers, or that they have great authority
or power. Rather the very opposite is true, for there exist among
them the most primitive conditions to be found in any race. It often
befalls that in one village, however small it may be, there are five,
six, or ten chiefs, each of whom possesses twenty or thirty slaves,
whom he has the power to sell, or treat as he pleases. Others there
are who are called _timaguas_ (that is to say, freemen), over whom the
chiefs have no power--except that the timaguas are under obligation to
follow their own chief when war arises between the different factions;
and even this service is not compulsory and cannot be obtained by
force. As I have said, there prevails among them the utmost rudeness
and lack of harmony; so that if one says "basket," the other responds
"crossbow." He who has the most gold and riches is the greatest chief
and of the highest nobility, and is the most respected, in accordance
with the vanity and vainglory of this world. It occurs to me now that
this is borne out by the proverb current among the Spaniards, namely,
"Dost thou wish to know thy value? see what thou hast."

These three chiefs, having become our friends, offered to bring all the
surrounding country to terms of peace with us, a thing which they did
not succeed in accomplishing, for they were not sufficiently powerful,
as I have said, each village having its own chiefs. Indeed there are
but very few chiefs who have authority over as many as two or three
villages, for the reason which I have given above. The character and
customs of these people, and their clothing, ornaments, and mode of
government I shall describe further on--that is to say, of the people
of this island of Luzon and of the other islands round about. As for
those farther away in China, we are informed by those who come from
there to trade with these islands that they are a cleanly, well-clo